IN THE VILLAGE OF HIDE AND SEEK
A general burst of applause greeted the ears of the story-teller as he
ceased speaking and sank into silence. All the boys now rose with merry
faces and surrounding the old oaken bucket, journeyed together to the
old well, while the little girls sat gazing intently upon the stranger,
as if he were the greatest man in the whole world.
One little girl whispered to another little girl that some day he might
be President of the United States, but the other little girl gave it as
her honest opinion that he should have been long ago. Many of the others
were now almost as much interested in the man as in his wonderful story.
A little girl asked him if Harpers Ferry was very far from there; while
another wanted to know if he could call around the next day for she was
anxious to introduce him to her father and mother, who, she declared,
would be more than delighted to meet him.
The Vagabond's only answer to all was a good-natured smile. When the
water arrived, and it had been passed around to the children, the
Vagabond helped himself to his heart's content, after which he proceeded
to tell the last of his story.
"The Queen did not have to wait long after pressing the button, for it
rang a bell that summoned into her presence a finely liveried butler,
who, when he learned the wants of Her Royal Highness, glided silently
down the steps of the throne. Presently two court attendants entered,
bearing a tray on which were a number of glasses filled with a fluid
referred to by the Queen as Nectar; although, as Maud said, it was too
good for language to describe. Shortly after the refreshment they
started to visit the Village of Hide and Seek.
"When they were part way down the steps some little doll in the village
spread the news of their coming, and all the dolls, almost wild with
joy, dropped their playthings and flocked to meet them.
"The Queen and the children followed a beautiful, pebbly path that led
through an orchard lying to the north of the village, for they wanted to
enter upon the main street; and as they went slowly along they passed
beneath boughs laden almost to breaking with ripe, mellow chocolate
drops, while the path was lined on either side with bushes where great,
rich, juicy clusters of gum drops hung, ready to fall to the ground.
"They were soon joined by the romping dolls, and together they walked
down the main street to the public square and paused in front of the
beautiful Temple of Music.
"Dolls with bright, rosy cheeks came running as if almost wild to meet
them. Some had azure eyes and light golden hair: while others, with dark
piercing eyes and long raven locks might put to blush the fairest
picture ever drawn.
"They gathered around little Maud, and pulling at the hem of her dress,
begged to be taken into her arms. At last she lifted a flaxen-haired
beauty from the ground, and with a sweet, satisfied smile upon its face,
it laid its head lovingly upon her breast as it said in a contented
half-whisper:
"'Please be my mamma, please be my mamma.'
"Then a thousand sweet doll-baby voices cried out in chorus:
"'No, she shall be my mamma. She shall be my mamma.'
"And they raised such a hue and cry and scrambled so to get hold of her
dress, that in order not to be partial, she had to let the little beauty
down again on to the ground.
"Amid the wild excitement of the dolls, Arthur was not alone. He stood
to one side watching a little doll that was lying under a tree and
talking with some other little dolls standing near by.
"Its eyelids were wide-open, yet its eyes had an unnatural expression.
For a long time he regarded her pityingly when he saw that the doll was
blind. A strange manly-looking doll walked up to him, and, peering into
his face, exclaimed:
"'Seeing you are a stranger, sir, in the village of Hide and Seek, and
noting your apparent sympathy for the blind doll lying yonder under the
tree, allow me to tell you the life story of her who has so touched your
emotions. Arthur bowed politely and expressed a desire to hear what the
strange doll might have to say. The little fellow continued:
"'Perhaps you have noticed by my long hair and studious demeanor that I
am both a gentleman and a scholar; and right here let me say, I am the
Village Poet. I can converse much more easily in verse than in prose; so
if you will kindly listen to me for a moment, I will relate a little
circumstance which occurred some time ago, and will tell you the plain,
unvarnished truth about the blind doll.'
Illustration: _"Perhaps you have noticed by my long hair and studious
demeanor that I am both a gentleman and a scholar."_
"Resting for a moment, for he did not appear to be very strong, he
breathed a long sigh as he began:
"'Once on a time a Baboon came across yon mountain crown.
He sailed down in a big balloon and landed near the town;
And seeing, as he walked along, this blind doll lying near,
He paused to say a kindly word, or shed a gentle tear.
"'Why is it, little doll?' he asked, 'you lie here all the day,
Instead of romping on the green, like other dolls at play?
And why avoid the jolly crowd, pray tell me if you will,
Is it that you thus like to be, or is it you are ill?'
"'Oh, sir,' the little doll replied, 'you're surely more than kind,
But look at me and you will see that I, alas, am blind;
And thus all day I keep away, nor venture near the throng,
For not a friend a hand will lend to guide my feet along.'
"'The Baboon picked the blind doll up and stared with all his might.
'Pray, tell me Dolly,' he inquired, 'how did you lose your sight?'
'Alas, kind sir, my sightless eyes, I strained them in a fog,
A-looking for a Christmas gift from Mother Hubbard's dog.'
"'Then up spoke Simple Simon, and with utterance unkind
He cried, 'This doll who falsifies is lazy and not blind.
I'll prove my words,' but ere he could, to everyone's surprise,
The Baboon pulled his anchor up and sailed off through the skies.
"'Poor Simple Simon, he was right. This doll is only blind
When lying flat upon its back, or partly so inclined;
But if you make it sit up straight, you'll find his words are true,
For then the sleepy-headed Doll can see as well as you.'
"Little Arthur walked over to the doll and lifted it into a sitting
position. It opened its eyes at once and looked squarely into his own.
Uttering a word of surprise to his poet friend, they walked away from
the blind doll together and passed down the street.
"When they had nearly crossed the square, the Poet Doll bade him 'Good
day' and entered a house on the corner which Arthur concluded to be the
Poet's home. He found himself standing near a curious, round-faced
boy-doll, who was looking on the gathering in silence. His head was so
close shaven that he was almost bald, except for a long queue extending
far down his back like a pig-tail, while his little black almond-shaped
eyes sat well aslant on his head.
"Arthur thought he would speak first; and, turning to the little fellow,
he said:
"'Excuse me, my little man, this is a most lovely village. Do you live
here?'
"There was a moment's pause and a look of bashfulness upon the
boy-doll's face, as, with a courteous bow and the politeness of a
prince, it said in reply:
"'I humbly beg your honorable pardon, sir, but, as my education in
foreign languages was sadly neglected, I most heartily deplore the
deficiency and am quite sorry to inform you that I do not speak your
honorable language as I understand nothing but Chinese.'
"Arthur, seeing his mistake, retired with a most polite bow and went
over to another little doll that spoke English.
"'Come,' exclaimed this new found acquaintance in a quite familiar
manner, 'let us play a game of hide and seek. I know a dandy place to
hide.'
"'All right, sir,' said Arthur, joyfully; 'but first let me tell my
sister about it for she dearly loves to play.'
"And the two walked hand in hand to where Maud stood surrounded by a
multitude of little dolls.
"As Arthur watched and listened, waiting to get an audience with his
sister, he overheard one little doll say to her:
"'When did you come here?'
"'To-day,' replied Maud, then added, 'but if I had only known the way, I
would have been here long ago. I am so sorry that I must soon leave.'
"'Where are you going?' another doll shyly inquired.
"'Going home,' replied Maud, with a deep sigh.
"All the little beauties looked up into her face as if greatly
bewildered.
"'What does she mean?' asked one of the dolls of her companions. 'What
is home?' And it arose on tip-toes to look into her face.
"'My home,' replied little Maud, 'is down in Harpers Ferry on the
Shenandoah River.'
"'River!' a doll repeated. 'Harpers Ferry!' And it turned a bewildered
look upon the rest of the assembled dolls standing in questioning
silence before her.
"Maud soon realized that the dolls failed to understand her, and,
wishing to make herself understood, she gazed wistfully over the
gathering of bright faces, as she said:
"'I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.'
"Before she could finish what she wished to say, however, one little
doll way back in the multitude spoke up, saying:
"'World, did she say? Why, I have often heard Santa Claus speak of that
place.'
"All the dolls turned their attention from Maud to the little speaker.
They assisted their little companion up on to the bottom of an inverted
tin sand pail that she might be seen as well as heard; when with a
bashful bow, she said:
"'The world, playmates, is the place where mothers die and leave their
little children all alone.'
"With a leap from the sand pail, the little speaker disappeared in the
assemblage of dolls. Instantly all turned to Maud with an inquiring
look. There was an expression of doubt upon their little faces and they
were now more than anxious for her to speak.
"'Yes,' she replied, 'alas! That is only too true.'
"And she breathed a sorrowful sigh as she thought of her mamma who had
been dead for two long years, and of how she had nestled close in her
loving arms waiting for Santa Claus to come, only three nights before
she passed away.
"She glanced into the sad face of her orphan brother standing near, and
down in her little heart there came a sad longing for the sound of that
sweet mother's gentle voice, with its tender words of love and nightly
prayer.
"Again the happy days, now gone forever, came back to her childish
memory; and the soft song of her mother stole into her soul with a
charming lullaby. Again she felt the warm, fervent kiss on her cheek, as
in fancy she heard her mother whisper a last 'Good night.'
"A sob burst from her sweet lips. A tear rose to her eye and stood
trembling upon the long black lashes. Another followed and crowded it
from its place to the ground.
"The Queen drew back horror-struck, for the Heaven-forbidden drop of
water had at last fallen upon Beauty Valley.
"A sudden chorus of wild screams rent the air. There was a terrible
shock, an upheaval, as if from an earthquake. The very ground trembled
as if in a fit of convulsions. Sharp, darting pains struck the children
mercilessly down into a state of insensibility. All then grew silent as
death and pitch dark.
"In a few moments the shrill whistle of a train resounded through the
Shenandoah Valley, as it dashed out of the tunnel in the mountain and on
over the great steel bridge into Harpers Ferry.
"Little Maud, wakened by the echoing tumult, gazed in a bewildered
manner about her. There lay her brother asleep upon the green mound,
under the same tree where they had first met 'Aunt Twaddles.' She placed
her hand tenderly upon him, and he awoke with a sudden start.
"'Oh, Maudie!' he exclaimed, 'what happened that it grew dark so
suddenly?'
"The boy half arose as he received only a sob in reply, and you can well
imagine his surprise as he gazed about; for there at his side lay a huge
pile of freshly picked pennyroyal on the very top of which was a
snow-white card. The card was most beautifully embossed with a picture
of the Village of Hide and Seek, and, in the handwriting of 'Aunt
Twaddles,' it bore the following inscription:
_"To my darling Children:
Remember always that, as you saw a tear
destroy a realm of joy, so can a spirit of discontent destroy a life of
useful happiness.
Yours very lovingly,
'Twaddles, the Queen of the Dolls_.'
"'Oh, Arthur!' exclaimed Maud, 'hurry and don't think of it any more.'
"And the two children gathered up as much of the pennyroyal as each
could possibly carry and hurried across the long foot-bridge into the
village.
"Men, women and children ran to greet them with tears of joy in their
eyes. With strong arms they bore them and their pennyroyal into the Inn,
where the stern, scolding, old inn-keeper stood ready to whip them, but
the sight of the pennyroyal caused him to relent.
"On the afternoon of the following day, Arthur and his little sister
were seated all alone on the bank of the Shenandoah, looking far across
upon the steep path that led straight up the face of the mountain. Their
little elbows were planted firmly upon their knees, their chins sunk
deeply into the palms of their wide-open hands. For a long time they sat
motionless, thinking no doubt of their wonderful journey. Little Arthur
finally broke the silence.
"'Maud!' he exclaimed, in a tone deeply touched with emotion.
"'What is it, Arthur?' she replied, with a sob.
"'Maud,' he repeated, 'I was just wishing that that big mountain over
yonder, right under Taffy River, would spring a leak.'
"For a long time they sat weeping and thinking of it; nor is there any
doubt that they wept over it until far into the night, when they fell
asleep and forgot about it.
"This then is the story, my children, of the strange path on the side of
the mountain that lies like a scar on the face of the cliff; and many
are the old settlers thereabout who will vouch for the truth of my tale.
"It is needless to prove true what is true; still if there is any
feeling of doubt in your hearts, just stand on the banks of the fair
Shenandoah almost any warm morning in springtime, and no doubt you will
see 'Aunt Twaddles' slowly ascending the path with her big bag of herbs.
"But if you should happen to miss her, and still want some proof of
these facts, just keep a close watch on the strangers who step from the
trains when they stop at the little stone station. If you see them
wiping their eyes with a handkerchief and gazing about on the
surrounding mountains, you may be sure they have once eaten some of
'Aunt Twaddles' candy and are wiping the tears from their eyes and
crying like children for more.
"At the same time you will see them looking about on the cliffs, and
searching for the steep path that leads up to the Village of Hide and
Seek, quite firmly resolved at some future day to return and go up with
'Aunt Twaddles.' But for the present, (poor things), their only hope is
to go back into the cars and cry until they forget about it.
"There are many more wonderful things I might tell you of the Village of
Hide and Seek, and likewise to the everlasting glory of 'Aunt Twaddles''
candy as well, but the very thought of it makes me feel sad; for now as
I talk, I feel tears coming to my eyes and find I must either talk on
and cry on, or quit talking and forget about it.
"Excuse me, dear children, won't you, while I weep?"
As the Vagabond ceased speaking the tears flowed down his cheeks in a
perfect torrent; and although the children were delighted with his
story, they too wept in sympathy with him. The very loudest of all was
the dear little tot who had occupied the place of honor on his knee.
While the group of children sat weeping in sympathy under the tree, the
Vagabond arose. Bidding them all farewell, he placed his old, worn-out
hat on his head, shouldered his crooked staff, waved a parting blessing
toward the well on the lawn, and still weeping, passed out of sight
along the dusty highway.
THE END.
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● Transcriber's Notes:
○ Punctuation has been standardized.
○ For illustrations which had no caption in the book, a descriptive
phrase was added. For example: [Illustration: Decoration]
○ Unbalanced quotation marks were left as the author intended.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Spelling and hyphenation were made consistent when a predominant
form was found in this book.