_How Opal Piped with Reeds, and what a Good Time Dear Love Gave
Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus._
Very early in the morning of to-day I did get out of my bed and I
did get dressed in a quick way. Then I climbed out the window of the
house we live in. The sun was up and the birds were singing. I went
my way. As I did go, I did have hearing of many voices. They were
the voices of earth glad for the spring. They did say what they had
to say in the growing grass and in the leaves growing out from tips
of branches. The birds did have knowing, and sang what the grasses
and leaves did say of the gladness of living. I, too, did feel glad
feels from my toes to my curls.
I went down by the swamp; I went there to get reeds. There I saw
a black bird with red upon his wings. He was going in among the
rushes. I made a stop to watch him. I have thinks to-morrow I must
be going in among the rushes where he did go. I shall pull off my
shoes and stockings first, for mud is there and there is water. I
like to go in among the rushes where the black birds with red upon
their wings do go. I like to touch finger-tips with the rushes. I
like to listen to the voices that whisper in the swamp, and I do so
like to feel the mud ooze up between my toes. Mud has so much of
interest in it--slippery feels and sometimes little seeds that some
day will grow into plant-folk if they do get the right chance. And
some were so growing this morning. And more were making begins. I
did have seeing of them while I was looking looks about for reeds.
With the reeds I did find there I did go a-piping. I went adown the
creek and out across the field and in along the lane. Every stump
I did come to I did climb upon. By-and-by I was come near unto the
house we live in. I thought it would be nice to go adown the path
and pipe a forest song to the mamma of the gladness of the spring.
When the mamma met me piping in the path, she did turn me about to
the way that does lead to the house we live in. She so did with
switches. She made me to stop piping the song of the forest, but it
did n’t go out of my heart.
When we was come into the house, the mamma did tell me works to do,
and then she went with the little girl and the baby and some lace
she was making for a skirt for the baby, all to the house of Elsie.
I did make begins on the works. I like to be helps to the mamma. I
like to sing while I have works to do. It does so help. After I did
scrub the steps and empty the ashes and fill the wood-box and give
the baby’s clothes some washes,--all as the mamma did say for me to
do,--then I made prepares to take Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus to
visit Dear Love. She has kind thoughts of him, and it is four whole
days since she has seen him.
First I brought out his nice pink ribbon that the fairies did bring
to him. I hung it on a branch of willow. Then I did sit down. I had
only a half a Castoria bottle full of warm water, so I did have needs
to be careful in the use of it. First I did wash his beautiful white
paws. I dried them on my apron as I did forget to bring his little
towel. Dear Love made that little towel for him. It is like her big
bath-towel. And she marked his initials on it with red ink like Big
Jud has a bottle of at school. She put a dot after each letter. It
is T. C. J. Z. on his bath-towel. When I do have thinks about that
nice little bath-towel of his, I do give his paws a wash, and if I
have not the towel with me, I do dry them with my apron.
So I did to-day, and we did go our way to the little house of Dear
Love, by the mill by the far woods. In our going we went among the
great trees along little paths between tall ferns, and we went over
logs. When we were come near unto the house of Dear Love, she did
come to meet us. She gave me two kisses, one on each cheek, and one
on the nose. She so does every time now since that day when she did
give me one on each cheek and I did tell her Sadie McKibben does give
me one on the nose, too. She was so glad to see Thomas Chatterton
Jupiter Zeus. We had a very nice visit. We did sit on an old log
under a big tree, and there was some vines growing by that log, and
we did have talks. I did tell her how I was praying on every day
for her baby to come real soon. And we did see a chipmunk that has
some nice stripes on its back, and I told her I was putting it into
my prayer for the angels to bring a baby brush with blue fleurs on
it, and a cradle-quilt with a blue bow on it, when they do bring her
baby, because I did have thinks a blue fleur on its baby brush and
a blue bow on its cradle-quilt would look nicer with its red hair
than pink ones would look. And she had thinks like my thinks, and
we saw a caterpillar. Some caterpillars grow into butterflies. All
caterpillars do not. Some grow into moths.
When I was coming my way home through the far woods, from the house
of Dear Love, I saw more chipmunks and I saw her husband. He was
fixing a log. His hat--it was not on him. It was on a stump a little
way away. He was most busy. His sleeves were up in a roll unto his
arms’ middle. He made bends over as he did work at that log. A little
fern by his foot had its growing up to the fringes on the legs of
his overalls. The sun did come in between the grand trees, and it
did shine upon his head. I so do like to see the sun shine upon the
hair of the husband of Dear Love. I kept most still as I did go
along, and I did look looks back. The sunbeams yet did shine upon
his head.
When I did come more near unto the house we do live in, I did see a
squirrel in a _chêne_ tree. He was a lovely gray squirrel. I came
more near unto the tree. I looked more looks at that gray squirrel
sitting out on a limb. His tail was very bushy. It had many, many
hairs on it. I did look at his tail and I did look at the tail of my
beautiful Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus. The hairs he does have on
his tail--they are not so many as are the hairs on the tail of that
big gray squirrel. When I did look looks from his tail to the tail
of my dear Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus, I did have some wishes
that there was as many hairs on his tail as are on the tail of that
gray squirrel.
While I so did think, Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus did nestle more
close in my arms, and I was glad for him as he is. He is so lovely
and his ways are ways of gentleness. We went on along the dim trail.
There by the dim trail grow the honeysuckles. I nod to them as I go
that way. In the daytime I hear them talk with sunbeams and the wind.
They talk in shadows with the little people of the sun. And this I
have learned--grown-ups do not know the language of shadows. Angel
Mother and Angel Father did know, and they taught me. I wish they
were here now--here to listen with me. I do so want them. Sometimes
they do seem near. I have thinks sometimes kind God just opens the
gates of heaven and lets them come out to be guardian angels for a
little while.
I wonder if honeysuckles grow about the gates of heaven. I’ve heard
they are made of precious jewels. I have thinks there will be flowers
growing all about. Probably God brought the seed from heaven when
he did plant the flowers here on earth. Too, I do think when angels
bring babies from heaven to folks that live here below, they do also
bring seeds of flowers and do scatter them about. I have thinks that
they do this so the babies may hear the voices of the loving flowers
and grow in the way of God.