_How Opal Feels Satisfaction Feels, and Takes a Ride on William
Shakespeare; and all that Came of it._
After I did dish-towel all the dishes that we did use in the breakfast
meal, the mamma did send me to get barks for the warming stove. While
I was getting barks I did stop to screwtineyes the plump wiggles
that were in and under all the barks. Those plump wiggles will grow
and change. They will grow and change into beetles. I have seen them
do so. I have taken them from the bark and they did so grow into
beetles--after some long time. In the nursery I kept them while they
did so change.
After the barks was in I did go my way to school. I went aside to
Saint Firmin by Nonette. I made a stop where the willows grow. I
love to touch fingers with the willows. Then I do feel the feels
the willows feel. I did tell them all and every one about this
being the going-away day of Charlemagne in 814 and the borning day
of Henry VII in 1457. Each pussy-willow baby did wear a gray silk
tricot. He did look warm. He smiled, “Bonjour, petite Françoise,”
in a friendly way. I think he does remember the days in summer when
I did drink in inspirations dabbling my toes by his toes there in
the singing brook.
When I did have talks with them for a little time, I did go on.
And all along I stopped very often on the way to talk to the other
pussy-willows. I was quite late to school. Teacher made me stand in
the corner to get my lesson with my face to the wall. I did n’t mind
that at all. There was a window in that part of the wall. It was
near the corner. I looked looks at my book sometimes. Most of the
times I looked looks out the window. I had seeing of little plant
folks just peeping out of the earth to see what they could see. I
did have thinks it would be nice to be one of them, and then grow up
and have a flower and bees a-coming and seed-children at fall-time.
I have thinks this is a very interest world to live in. There is so
much to see out the window when teacher does have one to stand in
the corner to study one’s lesson.
When teacher did send me to my seat to get my slate for arithmetic,
I did put Lucian Horace Ovid Virgil in my desk by my Cyr’s Reader. I
keep my books in one little corner of my desk, and that does leave a
lot of room for my animal friends. There was room enough for Lucian
Horace Ovid Virgil to take little nice hops. But while I was having
recites with arithmetic, he hopped a little hop too far and he fell
out of my desk. I had quivers, and it was hard to pay attentions
to arithmetic. When our lessons were done I made a quick go to my
seat. I looked a look under for him. He was not there. I looked
more looks about. He was rows away over by the seat-row where Lola
has her sitting. I did almost sit sideways in my seat, I had such
anxious feels about him.
Lola had seeing. She made a reach over. She picked him up in a
gentle way. She put him in her apron pocket. She made a begin to
study her geography. She asked teacher if she might get a drink from
the dipper in the wrap-room. She went. She made a come-back from
the wrap-room down our row, going to her geography class. When she
went by my desk, she put her hand in my pocket. She went on to the
recite bench. Lucian Horace Ovid Virgil was back again in my apron
pocket. I felt an immense amount of satisfaction feels.
* * * * *
Some days there is cream to be shaked into butter. The mamma does
have me to make a handle go up and down a lot of times in the churn.
This makes the butter come. When there is only a little cream to be
shaked into butter, then the mamma has me to shake it to and fro in
a glass jar. Sometimes it gets awfully heavy and my arms do get ache
feels up and down. There are most ache feels when the butter is a
long time in coming. It so was to-day. I gave it many shakes, and I
was having hopes it soon would be come. After some long time, when
it was most come, the lid came off and it all shaked out. Then the
mamma did have cross feels and the spanks she gave made me to have
sore feels on the back part of me. I was making tries to be helps
to her. That butter was almost come.
After I did give the floor washes and mops up where the splashes
of buttermilk did jump, then the mamma put me out the door and told
me to get out and stay out of her way. I so did. I went out across
the field and in along the lane. Lars Porsena of Clusium had going
with me. I looked looks away to the meeting of the roads. There was
a horse come near unto it. A man was riding on this horse. I like to
ride upon a horse. I like to stand up when I ride upon a horse. It
is so much joy. I feel the feels the horse does feel when he puts
each foot to the ground.
When I did see that horse go on and on, then I did have feels it
would be nice to go a long way on explores. I did have thinks William
Shakespeare had wants to go. He was in the lane. I gave him pats on
the nose and I talked with him about it. We did start on. When we
were come to the end of the lane there was the gate. It did take some
long time to get it open. The plug did stick so tight and more yet.
I did pull and I made more pulls. It came out. It did come out in a
quick way. I did have a quick set-down. I got up in a slow way. I
did show William Shakespeare the way to go out the gate. He went, I
went. We went adown the road. A little way we went and we were come
to a stump. I made a climb upon it. From the stump I did climb upon
the back of William Shakespeare.
We went on. When we were come to the meeting of the roads, we went
the way of the road that goes to the upper camps. We made no stops
until we were come to where a long time ago the road had a longing
to go across the rivière, and some men that had understanding made
it a bridge to go across on. When we were come to the bridge, we
made a stop and I did sing to the rivière a song. I sang it _Le
chant de Seine, de Havre, et Essonne et Nonette et Roullon et Iton
et Darnetal et Ourcq et Rille et Loing et Eure et Audelle et Nonette
et Sarc_. I sang it as Angel Father did teach me to, and as he has
wrote it in the book.
And after I did sing it all, we did watch the water splash itself
against the legs of the bridge. The water goes not now slow as it did
in summer days. We went on. And the boards of the bridge did make
squeaks as we went across. And they said in their squeaks, “Petite
Françoise, we have been waiting a long time for you to go across the
rivière.” And I did have William Shakespeare to make a little stop
so I could tell the boards I have been waiting waits a long time to
go across. While I so was doing, they did not squeak. When we made
a start to go on, they did squeak.
[Photograph: “AFTER WE WERE ACROSS THE RIVIÈRE WE WENT IN A MORE
SLOW WAY”]
After we were across the rivière we went in a more slow way. There
was so many things to see. Trees and trees were all along the way.
There were more ranch-houses. I did have seeing of them set always
back from the road, and smoke did come in curls from out their
chimneys. At a bend in the road there was a big _chêne_ tree--it
was a very big one. On its arms there was bunches of mistletoe. I
made a stop to have looks at them. I had thinks I might reach up to
them. I stood on tiptoe on the back of William Shakespeare. I could
reach a reach to one limb. I put my arms around it and had a swing.
It was very nice to swing one forward and two back again.
But when I was ready to stand on William Shakespeare again, he was
not there. I looked a look down and about. He was gone on a little
way. I had wonders what to do. There was most too many rocks to drop
down on. Lars Porsena came and perched on the limb above. I did
call William Shakespeare four times, and in between I called him by
the bird-call that does mean I have needs of him. He did come and
he made a stop under the limb. I was most glad. My arms did have a
queer feel from hanging there. I was real glad just to sit quiet
on the back of William Shakespeare while he did walk on. And Lars
Porsena of Clusium did sit behind me.
We went on. We had seeing of the section men working on the railroad
track where the dinky engine goes with the cars of lumbers to the
mill town. They were making stoop-overs. I had seeing they did
screwtineyes the rails and the ties they stay upon. The men did wave
their hands to us, and I did wave back, and on the fence there was
a bird with a yellow and a little black moon across his front. His
back--it was like the grasses of the field grown old. And his song
is the song of all the voices of the field. We have seeing of him
and his brothers all days of the year.
After we had going past the next turn in the road I did look a
look back. A little bush with some tallness was yet a-nodding. It
was asking a question. I gave William Shakespeare two pats on the
shoulder. That means turn about. He did. When we were come to the
bush a-nodding, I leaned over to the tallness of it. I put my ear
close so I could have hearing. It had wants to know what day this
was. I did tell it this day was the going-away day of John of Gaunt
and the borning day of Felix Mendelssohn in 1809. It had hearings,
but it did not stop nodding. But it was asking no questions. It was
nodding nods of the day this is. I felt the satisfaction feels it
did feel when it did know the answer to its question. I do too have
likes to ask questions about things so to have knows.
We went on in a slow way. I did look looks about. And there were
birds--robins and two bluebirds and more larks of the meadow and
other crows like unto Lars Porsena of Clusium. When we was come to
another bend in the road, William Shakespeare made a stop. I made
a slide off. I went to pick him some grass. A wagon went by. Two
horses were in front of it, and on its high seat was a man with his
hat on sideways and a woman with a big fascinator most hiding her
face. There was seven children in the wagon--two with sleeps upon
them and a little girl with a tam-o’-shanter and a frown and a cape
on her. I have thinks from the looks on their faces they all did
have wants to get soon to where they were going to. I brought the
grass back to the road to William Shakespeare. I smiled a smile and
waved to the last little girl of all on the wagon. She smiled and
waved her hand. Then three more of them waved. I waved some more.
The wagon had its going on, and William Shakespeare had begins to
nibble at the grass I was holding in my fingers. While he did nibble
nibbles I did tell him poems. William Shakespeare does have such a
fondness for poetry and nibbles of grass and apples and sugar-lumps.
While we did have waiting at the bend of the road, I saw a maple tree
with begins of buds upon it. I did walk up to the tree. I put my ear
to it to have listens to the sap going up. It is a sound I like to
hear. There is so much of springtime in it. While I did listen, in
the other ear that was not to the maple tree I did have hearings of
the talkings of the wind and _petite_ plants just having begins to
grow out of the earth. The wind did say, “Je viens--je viens.” The
plants did answer make, “Nous entendons--nous entendons.” So they
did speak. Then the wind did say, “Le printemps viendra bientôt.”
And the plants did answer make, “Nous fleurirons bientôt.”
I did have glad feels. William Shakespeare moved a little move. I had
some doubts if he did hear all plainly they did say, so I went up to
his nose and said it all over to him. He had understanding. We went
on. When we were come again to a stump, I did climb again upon his
back. We went by a big mill with piles of lumber to its near side,
and a long wide roof it had. There was a row of lumber-shanties and
some more. There was children about and dogs. They did smile and
wave and I did too. We went on. More fir trees of great tallness was
on either side the road. They did stretch out their great arms to
welcome to us. I so do love trees. I have thinks I was once a tree
growing in the forest; now all trees are my brothers.
When we were gone a little way on from the very tall trees, in the
sky the light of day was going from blue to silver. And thoughts
had coming down the road to meet us. They were thoughts from out
the mountains where are the mines. They were thoughts from the
canyons that come down to meet the road by the rivière. I did feel
their coming close about us. Very near they were and all about. We
went on a little way only. We went very slow. We had listens to the
thoughts. They were thoughts of blooming-time and coming-time. They
were the soul thoughts of little things that soon will have their
borning-time.
When we did go on we did hear little sounds coming from a long way
down the road. They were like the shoe on the foot of a horse making
touches on the road in a hurry way. The sound, it came more near. We
made a stop to have a listen. It was coming more near gray-light-time
and we could not have plain sees until the horse was come more near
a way down the road. Then we had sees a man was riding on the horse.
They came on in the quick way that made the little fast patter sounds
on the ground. When he was most come to where we were, the man did
have the horse to go in a more slow way. When he was come to where
we were he did have the horse to stop. The man upon the horse was
the man that wears gray neckties and is kind to mice. He did seem
most glad that we were on the road he was on. He did breathe some
satisfaction breathes just like Sadie McKibben does when she finds
I have n’t broken my bones when I fall out of a tree. Then he made
begins. He said, “The fairies--” And I said, “What?” He said, “The
fairies have left a note on a leaf in the moss-box by the old log. It
was a note for me to go until I find you and William Shakespeare--to
bring you home again before starlight-time.”
There was a little fern-plant with the note on the leaf. He gave
them to me. And we came our way home. Now I have thinks it was God
in his goodness did send the fairies to leave that fern-note on the
leaf. And William Shakespeare and I were glad he was come to meet
us, for the stars were not and dark was before we were come home.
But the man that wears gray neckties and is kind to mice, he did
have knows of the way of the road by night.