longer: she stood, gazing with rueful looks at the broken mirror--O if
the cross old housekeeper should find it out! She thought the best
plan would be to steal out of the room, but on turning round, she
perceived that the door had become most unaccountably shut--there was
no getting out. What was to be done? While she was turning it over in
her mind, down came the ball directly upon Wishie's tail, with such a
thump! Wishie thought her poor tail must be utterly demolished--she
heard an odd sort of chuckling laugh up in the air, and, looking up,
saw that the ball had seated itself, very quietly, in its old place on
the top of the cabinet. How her tail smarted! it was worse a great
deal than the sting. She was just trying to curl it round to lick it,
when the door opened, and in came the housekeeper! She had not
advanced many steps when the broken china caught her eye; her back was
towards the mirror, so she did not see _that_--but she _did_ see
Wishie, and exclaiming, 'You naughty little kitten, you have been
throwing down the china!' She flew towards Wishie, and if she could
have caught her, would, no doubt, have given her a dreadful whipping;
but, as she had luckily left the door open, Wishie contrived to slip
past her, and dart out of the room. When the housekeeper turned round,
she spied the broken mirror; which put her into such a consternation,
that, for a few minutes, she was really too much thunderstruck to run
after Wishie. And there sate the ball on the cabinet, very quietly,
and nobody ever suspected it.
It was lucky for Wishie that she gained a few minutes on the
housekeeper, for by that means, making the best use of her time, she
flew along the gallery, down the staircase, and jumping out of an
open window, was safely hidden among the shrubs in the garden, before
her enemy had descended the stairs. Poor Wishie! the pain in her tail
was terrible; and she dared not go to her mother, to tell her
misfortunes, for she knew that if she did, her mother would be sure to
cuff her soundly. So she lay still under the bushes, licking her tail,
and trying to forget her troubles as well as she could. Evening came
on; the sun was low in the heavens, and the little birds, that had set
out in the morning full of glee, came back merrily to their nests, and
made themselves comfortable for the night: it was clear they had had a
very happy day of it, though very likely not all they wished for.
Wishie sighed as she listened to their cheerful chirpings. By and bye
she began to feel very hungry, and she thought if she could find
Contenta, she could beg a bit of her supper, for, of course, nobody
else would give her any. So she crawled out of the bushes, and stole
into the court-yard. No one was about; all was quite still: she crept
along under the house till she reached the place where the cats'
supper was always put out for them on the top of a flat stone. Her
papa and mamma, and Contenta, had certainly finished their supper, but
they had remembered Wishie, and very good-naturedly left her some in
the dish; so that she really made a very good supper, better than she
deserved a great deal. Having accomplished this important point, she
thought, as all seemed so quiet, she might venture into the house.
The great door, which opened into the court-yard, had been left ajar,
so she crept in, and peeped into the hall. No one was there; it was
getting dusk: the old knights and ladies who hung against the walls of
the great hall, looked down upon her so gloomily, that she began to
wonder whether they meant to jump upon the floor and give her a
beating. However, they staid quietly in their black frames, and Wishie
crept on, and on, shaking all over for fear she should meet anybody,
till seeing the door of the baron's dining-hall wide open, she
ventured in. The room was empty; the baron's dinner had been over
hours ago; there seemed no fear of any one coming, so she grew bolder
and jumped upon one of the window-seats to consider what she should do
with herself all night. But before she had settled that point, she
began to grow rather thirsty, and (quite forgetting that she had
already had a very good supper, and that Contenta had left her her
full share of the milk that was put out for them every night), being
naturally of a very greedy disposition, she thought how nice a great
dish full of cream would be.
Now it so happened, that close by the window-seat on which she had
stationed herself, there stood on the floor a huge old china
punch-bowl, which was never used except on very great occasions, such
as a marriage in the baron's family, and the like. Many a long year it
was since that bowl had ever been used! there it stood, half-covered
with cobwebs; but the housekeeper came and dusted it sometimes. Well;
Wishie's eye just then fell on the great bowl.
'What a quantity of cream it would hold!' she exclaimed; 'how nice it
would be to have it to lap whenever I liked! I do wish it was full of
nice thick cream, like that the baron has for breakfast!'
Wishie had hardly said it, when something began bubbling up, very
gently, as if it was very soft, from the bottom of the bowl, and in a
few minutes there floated at her feet, a perfect white sea! an ocean
of cream--smooth, delicious, and tempting. It was so conveniently
close to the window-sill, too, that by planting her fore-paws on the
rim of the bowl, she could stoop down and lap so comfortably! At least
she thought so at first; but somehow, when she came to try, the china
was so thin and so slippery, that she found she could get very little
hold. It was very provoking. But she tried a second time; really, it
was _dreadfully_ slippery, and there was nothing that she could stick
her claws into--however, she did at last contrive to get her tongue
just to the top of the cream; but she had scarcely tasted it, when
suddenly her paws shot apart, and she tumbled headlong into the bowl!
The bowl was deep and wide, and there was nothing for her to cling to,
to help herself out by. O, what a splashing and spluttering she made!
but it did her no good; the cream got into her eyes, her mouth, her
nostrils, and she could not anyhow lift herself out of it--there she
must stay, coughing, choking, and struggling, till she was drowned.
Wishie thought she had quite enough cream! But just as she was sinking
down, quite exhausted with her useless efforts, she felt her neck
seized, and that some one was drawing her out of the bowl. The next
minute she was laid safe and sound on the floor. It was some little
time before she could open her eyes, and when she did so, she was
exceedingly astonished to see, by the waning light, the beautiful lady
with the golden locks and crown of white roses, and glittering
dew-drops.
'Well, Wishie,' said the Fairy, 'have you had a pleasant day of it?
You have had everything you wished for, I think?'
'O dear, ma'am!' replied Wishie, shaking her ears to get the cream
out, 'I never had such a miserable day in my life! I have met with
such dreadful misfortunes!'
'Then,' said the Fairy, 'you think that your day would have been a
happier one, if you had _not_ had everything you fancied you should
like?'
Wishie hung her head down, and looked very silly; and at last answered
that 'she thought it would.'
'I am quite of that opinion,' replied the Fairy; 'and, as you seem by
this time to have had pretty plain proofs of the folly of _wishing_, I
will take away my dangerous gift from you; for I hope you will be
wiser now than you have ever been before.' So saying, the Fairy gave
her a stroke with her wand, and Wishie directly found herself in her
own little bed, by the side of her sister Contenta, who was sound
asleep. And in a minute Wishie fell asleep too, and never awoke till
the sun was shining in at the windows. She told all her strange
adventures to her father and mother and Contenta; upon which they all
held up their paws, and declared they had never heard anything so
wonderful. But her father and mother scolded her also, and told her it
was all her own fault, which Wishie felt was too true; and, from that
day forwards, she never mewed for anything, but became as satisfied
and good-humored as Contenta herself; and even the housekeeper at last
grew quite fond of her.
FINIS.
[Illustration]
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| Unusual words retained: |
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| Unusual phrasing retained: |
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