The whole town was searching for the two missing boys. No one could
imagine what had happened to them.
"We shall never see them again!" sobbed their mothers. But they did
see them.
That very day, when the little birds had gone to sleep in their nests,
and the crickets chirped by the roadside, while night and the stars
looked down upon the earth, the two tired and hungry boys appeared.
Their mothers and fathers were overjoyed at their safe return.
All the townspeople crowded about them.
But the people could hardly believe the strange story they told.
"Father Thrift! Father Thrift!" they cried. "Why, it cannot be!"
For this was none other than the quaint old town in which the queer
little old man had lived for so many years.
"Upon our word and honor!" said the boys earnestly. "See, we cross our
hearts."
And they did.
This seemed to satisfy most of the villagers that the boys were
telling the truth.
"Still, the forest is dense with trees and brush," said one old man,
shaking his head doubtfully. "And it is alive with wild and dangerous
animals.
"Not one of _us_ has ever dared to go beyond the edge of _that_
forest. How could Father Thrift live there?"
"Let us not doubt," said another old man. "We had better follow the
advice which has been sent us.
"Have we not suffered since Father Thrift left us because we would not
take his advice?
"We did not appreciate him when he was here. We have learned to
appreciate him since he went away."
So the wonderful story was told and retold for miles and miles around.
And Father Thrift's good advice was taken to heart.
And the birds came by hundreds to live in the neighborhood.
The crops grew better each year.
And the people felt happier.
Then they pondered the things which Father Thrift had taught them. And
they did again as they had done when he was with them.
They lived simply, spent wisely, and wasted nothing.
And the quaint old town and the country around it grew prosperous, as
in the days of old.
Then after many days the people said:
"We must enter the wood at all costs--even at the risk of our lives.
"We must find good Father Thrift and do him honor."
So they went down the crooked road that led to the forest and went in.
The two boys led the way.
They heard the birds singing in the trees.
They saw the squirrels leaping and running.
They heard the ripple of the silvery brook.
They breathed the perfume of the pine trees and the firs.
They traced the footprints of bears, and rabbits, and deer.
Every little thing interested them now.
They gazed at the tender blue sky above. Never before had it looked so
beautiful.
Never had the grass seemed so fresh and sweet and green.
Nor had the flowers ever seemed so richly colored and so sweetly
scented.
Truly, the forest was a glorious place!
And nowhere--nowhere did they find the dreadful animals which they had
lived to fear these many years.
But they found a cave, a very strange sort of cave. It had two windows
and a door.
Inside were two beds and two chairs, and a table and a fireplace.
On the wall hung a home-made calendar.
Just outside the door was a high bench or table, and back of it stood
a tree stump.
"This is the place where Father Thrift lived," said the boys. "How
well we remember it!" But Father Thrift was not there now. The place
was vacant.
"The queer little old man must have gone to live in the beautiful,
happy, sunny land of which he often talked," said one of the men. And
the others agreed with him.
* * * * *
Still stands the cave in the forest. People from miles and miles away
visit it.
The guide tells them the wonderful story of Father Thrift and his
animal friends. And it seems that with each retelling the story grows
more and still more wonderful.
And there is a bird that lives in the wood which on moonlight nights,
whether he sits on a branch, or hops on the ground, or flies about, is
always heard whistling, "Fa-ther Thrift! Fa-ther Thrift!"
Many people misunderstand and think that he is saying,
"Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will!"
But why any one should wish to whip any one else I do not know. For
the world is such a happy place.