One June evening, in the balcony, when Sky-High inquired about American
holidays, Mrs. Van Buren related to him the story of Washington and of
the American Independence. She enlivened her narratives by Weems's story
of the boy Washington and the hatchet.
"He never told a lie?" asked Sky-High. "Was that so wonderful?
Confucius, he tell no lies; Sky-High, he tell no lies."
Mrs. Van Buren described to him Independence Day, and how it was
celebrated. Sky-High asked many questions, and began to look forward to
the celebration.
On the morning of the Fourth the sun came up red, and glimmered on the
cool sea and dewy trees. To Sky-High the air seemed to blossom with
flags; the far State House dome rose like an orb of gold above the
bunting that floated over the great forest of Boston Common.
Cannon rent the morning silence, and everywhere there were crackers
bursting. Even the milkmen fired them as they went on their early way.
Sky-High danced about. "You have Cracker Day! It is all same as China!"
he said.
Some of the Milton boys who had many bunches of fire-crackers,
good-naturedly thought they would startle little Washee-washee-wang at
his work. So they stole around a corner of the garden, where he was busy
in his neat little cabin, and "lit" a whole bunch and threw it over the
fence, at a point where all would "go off" right at his door, then threw
after it two cannon crackers, whose fuses burned slowly.
When the small crackers began to explode Sky-High, to whom the noise was
like music, came and stood in the door and danced with delight.
Irish Norah heard the rattling explosions in the garden, and ran out.
"China! China!" shouted Sky-High. "Red crackers make the bad spirits
fly! The garden all free from evil spirits all day."
Just then both of the cannon crackers in the grass "went off," with a
deafening bang. Norah jumped, and put her fat hands to her ears. But
little Sky-High clapped his after the American fashion. His delight in
the racket and in the smell of the gunpowder was so intense, that
Charlie forebore to go out on the street, but staid in and fired his
immense supply in front of the cabin.
In the evening there were fireworks everywhere, small and great. The
children and Sky-High went up to a turret overlooking the sea. The sky
over the towns around Boston blazed.
"I will show you something fine," suddenly said Sky-High, after he had
gazed for some time.
He went down and unlocked his great chest. He spoke to Mrs. Van Buren's
friends on the verandah as he came back. "Sky-High, he is going to fire
a star! Look this side!"
He called to all as he "fired the star." The company saw a dark, swift
object ascending. It was soon lost to sight, and then appeared a
wonder--a new star high in the heavens, that burned a long time with a
steady flame and grew. How beautiful it was! At last it began to
descend. When near the earth it burst into a hundred stars of seven
colors. In all Boston there was no firework as wonderful as Sky-High's.
The day after he began to inquire about the next American holiday.
Mrs. Van Buren told him about Thanksgiving Day. Then she told him of
Christmas, and how the Christmas festival was kept. She related the
story of the birth of the Christ Child, and of the Bethlehem star, of
the singing angels in the sky, of the Magi, and the manger; of the
presents of gold and myrrh and nard. She told him how that now all
people of "good will" made presents to each other like the magi to the
Christ Child.
"So will Sky-High make you presents on the Christ Child day, then, he
has good will. You have treated him as though he were no servant but
a prince."
Charlie and Lucy told him of the Christmas-tree, and the plays under the
misletoe. Their mother ordered misletoe from Florida every year, for
Christmas decorations, from a plantation which their father owned near
Tampa, a plantation of grape-fruit groves. She had a mistle-thrush among
her caged birds, that always sang very sweetly when she hung it under
the newly-gathered waxy misletoe.
From that time on, the little Chinaman dreamed of Christmas. One day he
said to Mrs. Van Buren, "You will surely let Sky-High come up-stairs on
the night of the Christmas-tree?"
"Yes, yes, you shall come up-stairs with us, and you shall hear the
Christmas thrush sing under the misletoe."
Sky-High's heart fluttered, not at what he hoped to see, but at the
thought of the presents that he hoped to make.
Shortly before Christmas Mrs. Van Buren went to her little servant to
pay him his wages, for he had accepted no payment as yet.
"Keep it all for me," he said, as usual; "I will ask for it when I need
it."
Mrs. Van Buren was very much surprised. "Young people in this country,"
said she, "think they need a little money before Christmas day to buy
presents."
"Sky-High needs none. He will make you presents on the Christ Child day.
He has them now in his chest."
Mrs. Van Buren could not but wonder what the presents would be.
Everything that Sky-High did had a surprise in it. All things that came
out of the chest were of an astonishing character.
"And I will serve you the tea that you have not yet tasted," added the
little servant. "On the Christ Child night I will make in the cup the
tea that came from the eyelashes of the Dharma. And afterwards I will
tell you the story of the Dharma."
Again, a day or two before the holiday of Good Will, Sky-High's mistress
asked him to take his wages.
"Keep it for me, mistress," said the boy as before. "Sky-High, he works
for the good of his people."
Mrs. Van Buren stood pondering the words. What meant the little
Washee-washee-wang?
"Mistress," said the boy, busy folding the glossy napkins on the ironing
table, "the master plans to make a voyage around the world with his
family."
"Yes, Sky-High," said Mrs. Van Buren, "that the children may see the
world before they begin to study about it."
"And you will come to my country, mistress?"
"Yes; we hope to visit at least Hong Kong and Canton, Shanghai and
Pekin."
"You will wish to see the home of Sky-High, mistress."
"Yes, we would like to see you in your own country."
"When will the master go?"
"Next year, probably."
"Sky-High will go home next year. Will you let him go with you,
mistress? He will serve you on the ships, and in China he will make
your visit pleasant. He will interpret for you, and show you about,
and introduce you about."
Mrs. Van Buren was too kind to let her astonishment be seen by her
little serving-man. She said that possibly it might be so arranged.
As she went up-stairs she heard Nora exclaiming to herself in the
pantry. "And he says he'll inthroduce the misthress about, and the
misthress is narely as quare!"
After supper Mrs. Van Buren related to her husband the singular
interview she had had with their little Chinaman. Sky-High's kind offers
seemed to amuse him for a long time. "But as for the little fellow's
wages," said he, "don't bother. I'll step in to the consul's, and
deposit them with Bradley."
When Sky-High found that he was serving to amuse his mistress's
household, he turned silent. He worked, asking few questions, and
listened to even the children without answering them.
This disturbed Charlie and Lucy.
"See here, Sky-High, can't you take a joke?" demanded Charlie.
"Sky-High no joke with the mistress. Sky-High no make a lie!" said the
patient Chinaman; "Sky-High, his heart is hurt."