(d art)
st art le
c ast les
h urr y
p urr
(f elt)
m elt
pres ent ly
en tered
blazed
di rect ly
ter ri ble
dis ap peared
(pl ace)
f ace
(eight)
n eigh ed
(sm ile)
m ile
waul
trav eled
fin ished
hor ri ble
front
ter ri fied
re mem ber
(d ance)
pr ance
(st ar)
f ar ther
(r oof)
h oof
(r oar)
s oar
en e mies
for tune
sau cers
prom ise
broom
Once upon a time a little boy named Billy Binks set out to seek his
fortune. He traveled alone for many a weary mile, but at last he met a
little gray pony.
“Where are you going, Billy Binks?” neighed the pony.
“I am going to seek my fortune,” said Billy Binks.
“May I go, too?”
“If I take you, will you help me win my fortune?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I will carry you on my back and kick all your enemies with my hard
hoofs.”
“Very well, you may come along.”
Then they went on a little farther and met a cow.
“Where are you going, Billy Binks?” mooed the cow.
“I am going to seek my fortune,” answered Billy Binks.
“May I go, too?”
“If I take you, will you help me win my fortune?”
[Illustration]
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I will moo, and toss your enemies on my sharp horns.”
“Very well, you may come.”
When they had walked on a little farther they met a dog.
“Where are you going, Billy Binks?” barked the dog.
“I am going to seek my fortune,” answered Billy Binks.
“May I go, too?”
“If I take you, will you help me win my fortune?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I will bark, and bite your enemies with my sharp teeth.”
“Very well, you may come.”
After walking a little farther they met a cat.
“Where are you going, Billy Binks?” mewed the cat.
“I am going to seek my fortune,” answered Billy Binks.
“May I go, too?”
“If I take you, will you help me win my fortune?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I will purr, and scratch your enemies with my sharp claws.”
“Very well, you may come.”
They continued their journey and presently met a raven.
“Where are you going, Billy Binks?” croaked the raven.
“I am going to seek my fortune.”
“May I go, too?”
“If I take you, will you help me win my fortune?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I will croak, and peck your enemies’ eyes out with my sharp beak.”
“Very well, you may come.”
On and on they walked till at last they entered a deep, dark wood. All
day they journeyed through this forest, which grew denser and darker as
night came on.
“We are near a clearing in this wood,” croaked the raven, who had been
soaring above the treetops. “Let us keep right on.”
Suddenly all were startled by a bright light, the brightest any of
them had ever seen. It flashed out through the trees directly in front
of them. It fairly dazzled and blinded them. Then it as suddenly
disappeared, and left them standing terrified in the pitch-black darkness
of the night.
Again the light flashed out, and again disappeared.
“What can it be?” asked Billy Binks, hoarsely, as soon as he could find
his voice.
“Perhaps it is a lamp,” mewed the cat.
“No, it is too bright for a lamp,” answered Billy Binks.
“It might be a house on fire,” barked the dog.
“No, if it were, we could see the light all the time; and besides, there
is no house here. I have flown this way before,” answered the raven.
[Illustration]
“It may be a lighthouse,” said Billy Binks.
“No,” replied the raven, “the sea is miles from here. You all keep still
while I fly over the treetops and find out what it is.”
Billy Binks and his animal friends kept ever so quiet, while the raven
flew up and quickly disappeared in the darkness. It seemed hours before
he returned.
“Oh, my friends,” croaked the raven, alighting in their midst at last,
“you never saw such a sight! There’s the most horrible, monstrous
hob-goblin over there in the clearing. He has a nose as long as a
broomstick—”
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” cried Billy Binks and his friends.
“—Eyes as big as saucers and as green as the sea—”
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” cried Billy Binks and his friends.
“—And a mouth big enough to swallow us all!”
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” cried Billy Binks and his friends.
“He has a great fire blazing among some rocks. That is the light you saw.
When he walks in front of it you cannot see the light. That is why you
thought it disappeared.”
[Illustration]
“I see! I see! I see!” said Billy Binks and his friends.
“He is busy melting gold, and he has piles of gold and jewels hidden in
his cave—”
“Ah, ha!” laughed Billy Binks, as he climbed bravely upon his gray pony.
“His cave is full of nice plump field mice—”
“Mew! Mew!” cried the cat, as she scrambled up behind Billy Binks.
“In the bushes back of the cave live many rabbits—”
“Bow-wow!” barked the dog, as he bounded toward Billy Binks.
“Near the cave is a large green meadow, with the sweetest grass and the
coolest brook in the world—”
“Moo! Moo!” lowed the cow, as she, too, hurried up beside Billy Binks.
“And there is a tall tree that will make a fine home for me,” finished
the raven, as she flew over Billy Binks’s head.
“Come on, friends,” whispered Billy Binks, boldly. “It is time to win my
fortune. Remember you have all promised to help me.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll help. And I think I see my fortune, too,” answered each
of the animals, now as bold as Billy Binks.
Softly, quietly, and slowly they crept through the forest. Presently they
came to the clearing. There stood the ugly, black hob-goblin, bending
over his fire. His back was turned toward them.
[Illustration]
“Now!” shouted Billy Binks, and they all rushed at the terrible monster.
The raven dashed into his face and pecked at his large green eyes.
The cat scratched great gashes in his long nose.
The dog bit him, and the horse kicked him.
The enraged cow rushed upon him with lowered head, caught him on her
horns, and tossed him as high as the treetops.
[Illustration]
Then the cow began to bellow.
The dog began to howl.
The cat began to waul.
The raven began to caw.
The pony began to prance.
And Billy Binks began to shout with all his might.
Such a frightful din that old hob-goblin had never heard! He picked
himself up from the sharp rocks where he had fallen, and dashed away with
might and main through the forest. If he hasn’t stopped, he is running
still.
“Ho, ho!” cried Billy Binks, springing from the gray pony and running to
the mouth of the cave. “This heap of gold and this pile of jewels will do
for my fortune. If you carry them safely home for me, Pony, I will build
you a beautiful stable, and you shall have a full crib of oats before you
all the rest of your life. That will be your fortune.”
“This cave, full of good, plump mice, is my fortune,” called the cat, as
she pounced on the first unlucky mouse.
“All these rabbits shall be my fortune,” barked the dog, as he set off in
hot haste after a fleeing bunny.
“And this green meadow is my fortune,” mooed the cow, as she began to
crop the sweet grass.
“Who could have a better fortune than this?” croaked the raven, flying to
the top of a tall tree.
So Billy Binks said “Good-by” to his friends, and left them each with his
fortune. He quickly bagged the gold and jewels, threw them across the
pony’s back, and mounting, hurried off homeward.
The pony smelled oats all the way, while Billy Binks saw castles and
lands on all sides.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Some Things to think About]
[Illustration]