all sat round his little room smoking in silence until far into the
night, wondering at the strange events he had related. Next day, and for
a whole week, great festivities were held to celebrate his return, and
the Mayor very willingly resigned his office in favour of one who was
held in such esteem. Innumerable presentations were made to him and
addresses read to him, yet, in spite of all the honours he received,
never did he forget his old friends. Nor was he too proud to serve in
his little shop, now enlivened by the songs of the birds he had not the
heart to turn away. He spent the remainder of his useful life in the
performance of kind deeds and in well-deserved happiness.'
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE MERCHANT'S WIFE AND THE MERCHANT]
[Illustration: headpiece]
THE MERCHANT'S WIFE AND THE MERCHANT
'Very, very good, indeed,' the King remarked when the policeman had
finished his story, and he was so pleased that he gave all the
youngsters a half-holiday, with strict injunctions to be back in time
for tea.
At tea-time they all came skipping back, bringing with them a little old
man they had found, apparently lost, and moping about the common. He
carried in front of him a pedlar's tray, on which were exposed for sale
many little oddments, such as reels of cotton, needles, pins, ribbons,
and even little toys, which he now hawked round amongst the assembled
company. As many as were able bought some small thing or other out of
kindness to the little merchant, and the good-natured old monarch
invited him to tea.
While they were all enjoying this meal, they were disturbed by a great
noise, very much like the galloping of a horse, and suddenly, without
any warning, right into their midst there leapt a very large woman, who
immediately seized upon the little merchant, and attempted to drag him
away. Bill at once went to the assistance of the little fellow, and
endeavoured to pacify his assailant. At length the irate creature calmed
down, and addressing the company in an aggrieved tone, said:--'It's all
very well for you people to stand up for this wicked man, but not one of
you knows the dance the little wretch has led me for the last fifteen
years.'
'Of course,' the King answered, 'it is hardly to be expected that we
should know anything of either of you, considering that this is the very
first time we have had the pleasure of meeting you. Perhaps you will be
so kind as to enlighten us, and explain to us your strange conduct.'
The large woman now sat down upon the grass and said:--'Well, I suppose
I had better do so. Give me a cup of tea, and I'll let you know all
there is to know.'
A cup of tea was accordingly handed to her, from which she took a sip,
and then proceeded thus:--
'About fifteen years ago I was so unfortunate as to wed this poor
specimen of a man you see before you, and we had not set up house
together very long before I could see that he wanted thoroughly looking
after, and, indeed, that he could hardly be allowed out by himself. Now
this was very awkward, as his business required that he should be out
all day, so I proposed to accompany him on his rounds. Holding him
securely fastened to the end of a long cord, I never let him out of my
sight for more than a minute at a time, and so kept him from mischief.
After a year or so, however, this grew rather tiresome for me, as I had
to neglect my household duties in attending upon my husband, and, in the
end, was compelled to let him out again alone.
[Illustration: Bringing with them a little old man]
'But you may be sure I did not do this until I had laid down certain
fixed rules for his behaviour, which I made him promise to obey. Amongst
these, one was that he should start from home not a minute earlier and
not a minute later than eight o'clock in the morning; another was, that
if he returned either a minute earlier or a minute later than eight
o'clock in the evening, he should go supperless to bed. And, would
you believe me, in spite of all my care, he would sometimes return
earlier and, as I learnt afterwards, remain outside until the clock
struck eight, when he would creep in as though he had only just
returned?
'But my great trouble only began a few weeks ago, when, one evening,
having cooked his nightly turnip, I waited patiently for my good man's
return. At length the clock struck eight, and, to my surprise, it was
not immediately followed by my husband's timid knock. One minute passed;
two minutes passed; three minutes passed; four minutes passed; and, on
the fifth minute, there was a low knock at the door, and in crept the
miserable man, and cowered to his place. But, as you may suppose, there
was no turnip for him _that_ night, until he had given a satisfactory
explanation of his late return. The only excuse the frightened little
ruffian had to offer was, that he had dropped a needle on the road, and
had to return for it. So he went supperless to bed.
'The next evening, having warmed up the old turnip, I again awaited his
return. Eight o'clock struck, and, to my even greater surprise, it was
not followed by the merchant's knock, and this time it was six minutes
past before he entered, and with no better excuse for his late arrival
than that he had dropped a reel of cotton on the road, and had to return
for it. "Let this be a lesson to you, my man," said I, as I once more
put away the turnip, which he had been regarding with longing eyes, and
sent him to bed.
'For the third time, on the following evening, I warmed up the turnip,
feeling convinced that after the severe lesson he had received, my
merchant would not again serve me such a trick. But eight o'clock
struck, and then one minute passed; then two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, and as the minute-hand pointed to the ten, he
crawled in on hands and knees, not daring to raise his eyes from the
ground. And then I told him what I thought of his conduct.
[Illustration: MOPING ABOUT THE COMMON]
'Without waiting to hear a word of explanation, I now locked him in a
cupboard beneath the stairs, put the turnip away, and went to bed. In
the morning I let him out, but of course gave him no breakfast, and in
due time he took his tray of goods, and left the house without a word.
Hardly had he departed three minutes, when I hastily donned my bonnet
and shawl, and followed him, determined to learn, if possible, what had
delayed him on the three previous evenings. Keeping at a safe distance,
I followed him all over the town, but nothing unusual happened. He
called at every house, displaying his wares to any one likely to buy;
selling a ribbon here, perhaps some pins or needles there, but his
conduct, on the whole, seemed harmless enough. At length the day passed
by, and the merchant started homewards; but he had not moved many paces,
when he came to a stop, and seemed to debate in his mind whether he
should return or not. Then, looking up and down the road, and seeing no
one watching him, he suddenly took to his heels, and ran as hard as he
could in the opposite direction. I lost no time in climbing over the
wall, behind which I had been hiding, and quickly followed him. Out of
the town the villain ran as swiftly as he could go, and I followed as
close as possible, without being seen by him, and was only just in time
to see the rogue climb into an old barrel that was standing, end up, in
a field near the roadway. "Now," thought I, "I've got you in a trap, my
fine fellow," and I ran up to the barrel. I could hardly believe the
evidence of my eyes when I found it to be quite empty. Amazed beyond
measure, I at last turned my steps towards home.
'On arriving home, I found that my husband had not returned, and it was
fully twenty minutes past eight when at last he appeared, but I was so
astonished that I could not say a word to the little rascal, and once
more he went supperless to bed.
'For four more days I followed the little man without approaching a
solution to this riddle. Each day he would go about his business in the
usual manner and, in the evening, he would run to the barrel, into which
he would speedily disappear. He came home later and later every night,
until I could stand this state of things no longer; and, on the sixth
day I determined never to return until I had satisfactorily cleared up
this mystery. This time, instead of following my merchant through the
town, I went direct to the barrel, and, hiding myself behind a bush near
by, prepared to wait there all day and see what happened.
'I had not made myself comfortable many minutes before I saw two old men
coming along the road from the town; so old were they indeed, that they
could only creep along by leaning one against the other. Right up to the
barrel they crawled, and then, to my surprise, they scrambled over its
sides and disappeared. Presently two more just as old and decrepit came
along and disappeared in the same way. Now three more came, then two
again, and then only one, all as old and wretched as could be, and each
one crawled into the barrel and vanished. This went on for some time
when, unable to restrain my curiosity and wondering why on earth the
barrel didn't become full, I hurriedly left my hiding-place and looked
therein, to find that it yet remained quite empty. I had barely time
enough to regain my hiding-place when more and more old men came along
the road and disappeared into the barrel.
'This went on all day, and when the evening drew near, I could see my
little man approaching from the town. As I expected, he walked straight
up to the barrel, and in a twinkling had vanished inside. Without giving
myself a moment to think, I once more left my hiding-place and climbed
into the mysterious old tub. It was certainly rather a tight fit, but I
managed to get in somehow or other. Presently I was astonished and
alarmed to find that the bottom of the barrel, which I had imagined to
rest on the earth, began to give way and open like a trap-door, and I
felt myself sinking lower and lower, down a sort of well. The next
thing, I found myself at the bottom of the well, and at the mouth of a
tunnel so narrow and low that I could only go through it on my hands and
knees. This, however, I proceeded to do, and found that it opened into a
great chamber cut out of the solid rock.
'Not daring to enter, I gazed into this strange place, which was lighted
with many candles all affixed to the rocky walls with their own tallow.
On the centre of the floor was piled a great heap of children's
toys,--tin trumpets, wooden horses, drums, hoops, skipping-ropes,
rocking-horses, peg-tops, in fact, every conceivable toy that a sensible
child could wish for. Around this great heap, instead of children, sat
all the poor miserable old men I had seen enter the barrel, and amongst
them I now perceived my husband, who certainly seemed no happier than
the rest. Securely hidden in the narrow passage from every one in the
room, I could now watch all that took place, in the greatest comfort.
'Not a word was said by any of the decrepit creatures as they stared
absently at the toys in the middle of the room. Presently one whom I
took to be their host, as I had not seen him enter the barrel, took from
a peg on the wall, from which it had been suspended by a piece of
string, an old bent tin pipe and proceeded to play. At once the wrinkled
faces of the poor old fellows began to brighten up, and as the music
grew more lively, they rocked their withered frames to and fro to the
tunes. Soon, one by one, they stood upon their feet, and seeming to lose
their old age as the music every moment became more enchanting, they
forgot their feebleness and danced gaily about the room.
'Younger and younger they grew, until my husband appeared to be such a
dapper and bright little man that I could not prevent myself from
leaving my hiding-place and going up to him and clasping him round the
waist. Not a bit surprised did he seem to see me there, and as we
danced merrily up and down the room, to my great joy and astonishment, I
felt myself growing younger every moment, whilst the rest of the
company, now all transformed to fine young men, danced in one circle
round us, as handsome a couple as you would wish to see.
[Illustration: KEPT HIM OUT OF MISCHIEF]
'Still the magical music continued, and if anything grew more and more
enchanting as we grew younger and younger, until we seemed to be
frolicsome boys and girls once more. At last we found ourselves to be a
crowd of little toddling children, and, my word! how we grabbed at the
great heap of toys placed there for our amusement, and what a time we
had to be sure!
[Illustration: GLORIOUS TARTS AND SWEETS]
'Under the great heap of toys, we discovered the most glorious tarts,
pastries, cakes and sweets, and it didn't seem to matter how much you
ate of them, for you never lost your appetite for more. At last, alas!
the wonderful music quieted down, and by degrees we once more lost our
childhood, then our youth, and, when the music suddenly stopped, we all
returned to our old selves again, and fell flat on our faces quite tired
out, while our host hung up his old tin pipe on its peg in the wall.
'When we had all somewhat recovered, I fixed my eye upon my husband.
"Now," thought I, "I've got you. This is how you waste your time, is it?
And why you come home late for supper." The conscience-stricken
creature trembled before my gaze, and then made a rush for the door. All
made way for him, but I quickly followed through the tunnel and mounted
a ladder which led to the trap-door at the bottom of the barrel, out of
which I climbed, but only in time to see the rascal disappear into the
town. I then made the best of my way home.
[Illustration: IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW MUCH YOU ATE]
'He had not returned when I arrived, so I waited three whole days and
nights, prepared to make the unnatural man feel to the full my
resentment at his shameful conduct. On the fourth day, as he had not
come home, I went back to the tub, and not seeing any sign of him, I
gave a kick to the old thing and sent it rolling over and over on its
side. Would you believe me, there was not the slightest trace of any
passage or well ever having existed beneath it. Since then I have
wandered all over the country in search of this ungrateful wretch.' And
the indignant woman, having finished her story, once more attempted to
drag the affrighted little merchant away. Bill again intervened, and
after a few very kind words, successfully persuaded her to allow her
husband to remain with them, at the same time inviting her to make one
of their brave band.
This she only consented to do on condition that the policeman also never
left them, 'as you never know,' said she, 'what the little wretch will
be up to next.'
The policeman having no objection to fall in with her wishes, they all
marched on in peace.
[Illustration: tailpiece]
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE CAMP-FOLLOWERS]
[Illustration: headpiece]
THE CAMP-FOLLOWERS
Time was now getting on, and the fidgety old King, weary of being
constantly on the move, became more and more impatient to reach his
journey's end. For many days they had been crossing the great desert,
and were fast approaching the further side when, one evening, the
aggravating old fellow decided that they should march on right through
the night. In vain did Bill point out to him how tired they all were;
the old King would not even listen to him, so, whether they liked it or
not, they had to jog on.
Wearily they trudged along, and towards morning they came upon a great
stone sphinx, in the arms of which there nestled a company of little
children, every one of whom was fast asleep. Presently, as the sun rose
and shone under the lids of their eyes, they, one by one, awakened, and
stared in mute astonishment at the dusty figures before them. Assuring
them that they had nothing to fear at their hands, Bill, with the King's
permission, invited them all to breakfast. Seated in a great circle on
the sands, beneath the old sphinx, every one did his utmost to make the
strangers comfortable and to remove their natural shyness; and, in a
little while, it was a very jovial party that sat demolishing the
substantial breakfast prepared for them. Many songs were sung and
stories told by Bill and his comrades, and presently one of the little
fellows, who appeared to be the youngest of their new friends, stood up
and related the following story:--
'We are all brothers and sisters, and lived, until yesterday, with our
good parents upon a sandbank in the mouth of the river Blim which, as
you know, is one of the smaller tributaries of the river Nile. Our
father was a fisherman, and upon the only spot on the bank which
remained invariably high and dry, the clever man had erected a shed
which served us for home, and which, at least, protected us from the
showers of spray blown from the rough seas, and the chill winds that
blew across the neighbouring marshes, as well as the cold rains that, in
the fall of the year, flooded the adjacent country for miles around. A
dozen stout beams, that had been cast up by the waves, served, each with
one end deeply embedded in the wet sand, as a framework for our humble
mansion. These were covered over with numerous skins of fish and pieces
of old rag, all neatly stitched together by our industrious mother, or
pinned by fish-bones skilfully sharpened by grinding their ends between
two stones. Our good dad's stock-in-trade consisted of one long piece of
frayed string, with a sharpened fishbone, bent in the form of a hook,
fastened at one end, a small boat and a paddle, the former of which he
had skilfully fashioned out of an old basket that had been washed
ashore, and over which he had stretched more of the rags and fish-skins,
of which we always possessed a goodly supply saved over from our meals.
[Illustration: They came upon a great stone sphinx]
'During the long winter months we were entirely cut off from our fellow
creatures by the floods and the terrible storms at sea, and were
compelled to subsist entirely upon our own resources; and thus we
learnt, after many a bitter trial, to make almost everything we required
from the spoils brought home by our hard-working father. The flesh
of the fish, of course, served us for meat, either fresh or pickled in
brine, and then dried in the sun. The roes, prepared in the same way,
were our only delicacies, and, by an indulgence in these, we used to
celebrate our many birthdays. Fish dripping we had in plenty, and the
bones were dried and ground between two rocks, making the finest flour
for bread and pies. The tails and fins were always saved, and, after a
simple drying process, made excellent fuel, easily set alight with
sparks kindled by knocking two stones sharply together. A fine black ash
was left from fires kindled in this way, which, mixed with a little
sea-water, made one of the purest inks. The good dad always encouraged
us to make notes on the smooth white skins of the young dab, bleached
and dried in the sun, explaining how useful they would be to us in
after-life, and showed us how to cut pens from the larger bones of the
fish. The only parts which the unselfish man reserved for himself were
the eyes which, when dried, were his only substitute for tobacco in that
lone part of the world, and which he smoked in a pipe most beautifully
carved by himself, from the spine of an old cod.
'The heads of the fish served the younger children for bricks, or even,
after a little trimming, for dolls, with which they amused themselves
during the long winter evenings. Many another device had we whereby we
made the most of our very small opportunities, but you will readily see
how dependent we were for everything upon the good fortune and
resources of our father, without whom we should all very quickly have
perished.
'For many days and nights at a time our good dad would remain upon the
sea, returning sometimes with a good supply of fish; at other times,
alas! with only one or two little dabs, or even with nothing at all.
Yet, by dint of saving up for a rainy day, when we had more than enough
for our present needs, we managed to jog along fairly comfortably. One
sad winter's evening, however, our good parent returned, having caught
nothing but a very small dab and a very severe cold. Our anxious mother,
in a state of alarm, lit a great fire and, after making him take a bowl
of steaming fish gruel, with his feet at the same time in a bath of hot
sea-water, she sent him to bed, and covered him up with as many fish
skins as she could spare from the house. The next day he was decidedly
worse, and our anxiety increased day by day as he showed no signs of
improvement. Very soon, with no one to replenish our larder, our stores
began to run low, and starvation stared us in the face.
'At last one morning the invalid called our eldest brother to him and
said to him:--"Son, our stores are all eaten up, and unless we obtain
food by to-morrow morning we shall all surely die, so take my boat and
fishing-line and see what luck will attend you." With tears in his eyes,
the good-hearted boy left the house and very soon embarked.
[Illustration: THE HEADS SERVED FOR DOLLS]
'Having paddled some way out to sea, he threw his line, and fished and
fished. After a little while he drew it in again to find, alas! that he
had caught nothing. For the second time he cast his line, and fished and
fished and fished, but on again pulling in the line he found that he had
no better luck. He now for the third time threw out his line, and fished
and fished and fished and fished, yet no better fortune attended him;
so, bitterly disappointed, he wound up the tackle and paddled home.
'Sorrowfully the unhappy father heard of his eldest son's want of
success, and then sent for his second eldest son, and requested him to
see if fortune would be kinder to him than it had been to his brother.
But, alas! he returned likewise without even so much as a whitebait.
Then, one after the other, he sent all his sons except myself, who am
the youngest of all, but not a little piece of luck awaited any of them.
The wretched man now called me to him and said:--"Son, hitherto I have
been reluctant to send one so young upon such an errand, but,
alack-a-day! you are now our only hope; unless good fortune waits upon
you we shall all perish."
[Illustration: YOU ARE NOW OUR ONLY HOPE]
'After comforting him as much as I could, and assuring him that I would
do my best, I hastened down to the shore and embarked in the little
boat. I paddled a good way out to sea until I came to a suitable
fishing-ground, and then threw out my line. I fished and fished and
fished and fished, and on drawing in my line found nothing on the hook
except the bait, a wretched piece of dried fish skin, which looked very
draggled as it rose from the water. "Better luck next time," thought I,
as I threw my line for the second time, and fished and fished and fished
and fished and fished. Yet, on pulling up the line, I found to my dismay
that instead of better luck I had even worse, if that were possible, for
the wretched bait had vanished from the hook. "Once more," thought I, as
I dropped my line overboard for the third time, "and, fish or no fish, I
must give it up, even though we all die of starvation." So I fished and
fished and fished and fished and fished with all my might, and when at
length I had hauled it in you may imagine my distress when I discovered
that not merely was there no fish upon the line, but that the hook
itself had disappeared. With tears of rage and disappointment I now gave
it up and prepared to return, but I had not gone very far when I
thought, "Shall I have just one more try even without hook or bait?" And
not giving myself any time to think about it, I hurled my line out for
the fourth time and fished and fished and fished and fished and fished
and fished and fished as hard as I could, when fancying that I felt a
nibble, I hauled it in as quickly as possible and found an old
sardine-tin which had become entangled in the line.
'Hastily opening the tin, all I found therein was the head of an old
sprat. "Alas!" said I to myself, "is this, after all my troubles, the
only food I can take to my suffering father and hungering mother and
brothers and sisters; better it would have been had we never been
born!" and the tears streamed down my face.