THE LOUISA ALCOTT READER
_A Supplementary Reader for the Fourth Year of School_
By Louisa M. Alcott
[Illustration: "Lily rocked and ate till she finished the top of the
little tree."]
CONTENTS.
I. A CHRISTMAS DREAM
II. THE CANDY COUNTRY
III. NAUGHTY JOCKO
IV. THE SKIPPING SHOES
V. COCKYLOO
VI. ROSY'S JOURNEY
VII. HOW THEY RAN AWAY
VIII. THE FAIRY BOX
IX. A HOLE IN THE WALL
X. THE PIGGY GIRL
[Illustration: She actually stood in "a grove of Christmas trees."]
I.
A CHRISTMAS DREAM, AND HOW IT CAME TRUE.
"I'm so tired of Christmas I wish there never would be another one!"
exclaimed a discontented-looking little girl, as she sat idly watching
her mother arrange a pile of gifts two days before they were to be
given.
"Why, Effie, what a dreadful thing to say! You are as bad as old
Scrooge; and I'm afraid something will happen to you, as it did to him,
if you don't care for dear Christmas," answered mamma, almost dropping
the silver horn she was filling with delicious candies.
"Who was Scrooge? What happened to him?" asked Effie, with a glimmer of
interest in her listless face, as she picked out the sourest lemon-drop
she could find; for nothing sweet suited her just then.
"He was one of Dickens's best people, and you can read the charming
story some day. He hated Christmas until a strange dream showed him how
dear and beautiful it was, and made a better man of him."
"I shall read it; for I like dreams, and have a great many curious ones
myself. But they don't keep me from being tired of Christmas," said
Effie, poking discontentedly among the sweeties for something worth
eating.
"Why are you tired of what should be the happiest time of all the year?"
asked mamma, anxiously.
"Perhaps I shouldn't be if I had something new. But it is always the
same, and there isn't any more surprise about it. I always find heaps of
goodies in my stocking. Don't like some of them, and soon get tired of
those I do like. We always have a great dinner, and I eat too much, and
feel ill next day. Then there is a Christmas tree somewhere, with a doll
on top, or a stupid old Santa Claus, and children dancing and screaming
over bonbons and toys that break, and shiny things that are of no use.
Really, mamma, I've had so many Christmases all alike that I don't think
I _can_ bear another one." And Effie laid herself flat on the sofa, as
if the mere idea was too much for her.
Her mother laughed at her despair, but was sorry to see her little girl
so discontented, when she had everything to make her happy, and had
known but ten Christmas days.
"Suppose we don't give you _any_ presents at all,--how would that suit
you?" asked mamma, anxious to please her spoiled child.
"I should like one large and splendid one, and one dear little one,
to remember some very nice person by," said Effie, who was a fanciful
little body, full of odd whims and notions, which her friends loved to
gratify, regardless of time, trouble, or money; for she was the last of
three little girls, and very dear to all the family.
"Well, my darling, I will see what I can do to please you, and not say a
word until all is ready. If I could only get a new idea to start with!"
And mamma went on tying up her pretty bundles with a thoughtful face,
while Effie strolled to the window to watch the rain that kept her
in-doors and made her dismal.
"Seems to me poor children have better times than rich ones. I can't go
out, and there is a girl about my age splashing along, without any maid
to fuss about rubbers and cloaks and umbrellas and colds. I wish I was a
beggar-girl."
"Would you like to be hungry, cold, and ragged, to beg all day, and
sleep on an ash-heap at night?" asked mamma, wondering what would come
next.
"Cinderella did, and had a nice time in the end. This girl out here has
a basket of scraps on her arm, and a big old shawl all round her, and
doesn't seem to care a bit, though the water runs out of the toes of her
boots. She goes paddling along, laughing at the rain, and eating a cold
potato as if it tasted nicer than the chicken and ice-cream I had for
dinner. Yes, I do think poor children are happier than rich ones."
"So do I, sometimes. At the Orphan Asylum today I saw two dozen merry
little souls who have no parents, no home, and no hope of Christmas
beyond a stick of candy or a cake. I wish you had been there to see how
happy they were, playing with the old toys some richer children had sent
them."
"You may give them all mine; I'm so tired of them I never want to
see them again," said Effie, turning from the window to the pretty
baby-house full of everything a child's heart could desire.
"I will, and let you begin again with something you will not tire of,
if I can only find it." And mamma knit her brows trying to discover some
grand surprise for this child who didn't care for Christmas.
Nothing more was said then; and wandering off to the library, Effie
found "A Christmas Carol," and curling herself up in the sofa corner,
read it all before tea. Some of it she did not understand; but she
laughed and cried over many parts of the charming story, and felt better
without knowing why.
All the evening she thought of poor Tiny Tim, Mrs. Cratchit with the
pudding, and the stout old gentleman who danced so gayly that "his legs
twinkled in the air." Presently bedtime arrived.
"Come, now, and toast your feet," said Effie's nurse, "while I do your
pretty hair and tell stories."
"I'll have a fairy tale to-night, a very interesting one," commanded
Effie, as she put on her blue silk wrapper and little fur-lined slippers
to sit before the fire and have her long curls brushed.
So Nursey told her best tales; and when at last the child lay down under
her lace curtains, her head was full of a curious jumble of Christmas
elves, poor children, snow-storms, sugarplums, and surprises. So it is
no wonder that she dreamed all night; and this was the dream, which she
never quite forgot.
She found herself sitting on a stone, in the middle of a great field,
all alone. The snow was falling fast, a bitter wind whistled by, and
night was coming on. She felt hungry, cold, and tired, and did not know
where to go nor what to do.
"I wanted to be a beggar-girl, and now I am one; but I don't like it,
and wish somebody would come and take care of me. I don't know who I am,
and I think I must be lost," thought Effie, with the curious interest
one takes in one's self in dreams.
But the more she thought about it, the more bewildered she felt. Faster
fell the snow, colder blew the wind, darker grew the night; and poor
Effie made up her mind that she was quite forgotten and left to freeze
alone. The tears were chilled on her cheeks, her feet felt like icicles,
and her heart died within her, so hungry, frightened, and forlorn was
she. Laying her head on her knees, she gave herself up for lost, and sat
there with the great flakes fast turning her to a little white mound,
when suddenly the sound of music reached her, and starting up, she
looked and listened with all her eyes and ears.
Far away a dim light shone, and a voice was heard singing. She tried
to run toward the welcome glimmer, but could not stir, and stood like a
small statue of expectation while the light drew nearer, and the sweet
words of the song grew clearer.
From our happy home
Through the world we roam
One week in all the year,
Making winter spring
With the joy we bring,
For Christmas-tide is here.
Now the eastern star
Shines from afar
To light the poorest home;
Hearts warmer grow,
Gifts freely flow,
For Christmas-tide has come.
Now gay trees rise
Before young eyes,
Abloom with tempting cheer;
Blithe voices sing,
And blithe bells ring,
For Christmas-tide is here.
Oh, happy chime,
Oh, blessed time,
That draws us all so near!
"Welcome, dear day,"
All creatures say,
For Christmas-tide is here.
A child's voice sang, a child's hand carried the little candle; and in
the circle of soft light it shed, Effie saw a pretty child coming to her
through the night and snow. A rosy, smiling creature, wrapped in white
fur, with a wreath of green and scarlet holly on its shining hair, the
magic candle in one hand, and the other outstretched as if to shower
gifts and warmly press all other hands.
Effie forgot to speak as this bright vision came nearer, leaving no
trace of footsteps in the snow, only lighting the way with its little
candle, and filling the air with the music of its song.
"Dear child, you are lost, and I have come to find you," said the
stranger, taking Effie's cold hands in his, with a smile like sunshine,
while every holly berry glowed like a little fire.
"Do you know me?" asked Effie, feeling no fear, but a great gladness, at
his coming.
"I know all children, and go to find them; for this is my holiday, and
I gather them from all parts of the world to be merry with me once a
year."
"Are you an angel?" asked Effie, looking for the wings.
"No; I am a Christmas spirit, and live with my mates in a pleasant
place, getting ready for our holiday, when we are let out to roam about
the world, helping make this a happy time for all who will let us in.
Will you come and see how we work?"
"I will go anywhere with you. Don't leave me again," cried Effie,
gladly.
"First I will make you comfortable. That is what we love to do. You are
cold, and you shall be warm, hungry, and I will feed you; sorrowful, and
I will make you gay."
With a wave of his candle all three miracles were wrought,--for the
snow-flakes turned to a white fur cloak and hood on Effie's head and
shoulders, a bowl of hot soup came sailing to her lips, and vanished
when she had eagerly drunk the last drop; and suddenly the dismal field
changed to a new world so full of wonders that all her troubles were
forgotten in a minute.
Bells were ringing so merrily that it was hard to keep from dancing.
Green garlands hung on the walls, and every tree was a Christmas tree
full of toys, and blazing with candles that never went out.
In one place many little spirits sewed like mad on warm clothes, turning
off work faster than any sewing-machine ever invented, and great piles
were made ready to be sent to poor people. Other busy creatures packed
money into purses, and wrote checks which they sent flying away on the
wind,--a lovely kind of snow-storm to fall into a world below full of
poverty.
Older and graver spirits were looking over piles of little books, in
which the records of the past year were kept, telling how different
people had spent it, and what sort of gifts they deserved. Some got
peace, some disappointment, some remorse and sorrow, some great joy and
hope. The rich had generous thoughts sent them; the poor, gratitude and
contentment. Children had more love and duty to parents; and parents
renewed patience, wisdom, and satisfaction for and in their children. No
one was forgotten.
"Please tell me what splendid place this is?" asked Effie, as soon as
she could collect her wits after the first look at all these astonishing
things.
"This is the Christmas world; and here we work all the year round, never
tired of getting ready for the happy day. See, these are the saints
just setting off; for some have far to go, and the children must not be
disappointed."
As he spoke the spirit pointed to four gates, out of which four great
sleighs were just driving, laden with toys, while a jolly old Santa
Claus sat in the middle of each, drawing on his mittens and tucking up
his wraps for a long cold drive.
"Why, I thought there was only one Santa Claus, and even he was a
humbug," cried Effie, astonished at the sight.
"Never give up your faith in the sweet old stones, even after you come
to see that they are only the pleasant shadow of a lovely truth."
Just then the sleighs went off with a great jingling of bells and
pattering of reindeer hoofs, while all the spirits gave a cheer that was
heard in the lower world, where people said, "Hear the stars sing."
"I never will say there isn't any Santa Claus again. Now, show me more."
"You will like to see this place, I think, and may learn something here
perhaps"
The spirit smiled as he led the way to a little door, through which
Effie peeped into a world of dolls. Baby-houses were in full blast, with
dolls of all sorts going on like live people. Waxen ladies sat in their
parlors elegantly dressed; black dolls cooked in the kitchens; nurses
walked out with the bits of dollies; and the streets were full of tin
soldiers marching, wooden horses prancing, express wagons rumbling, and
little men hurrying to and fro. Shops were there, and tiny people buying
legs of mutton, pounds of tea, mites of clothes, and everything dolls
use or wear or want.
But presently she saw that in some ways the dolls improved upon the
manners and customs of human beings, and she watched eagerly to learn
why they did these things. A fine Paris doll driving in her carriage
took up a black worsted Dinah who was hobbling along with a basket of
clean clothes, and carried her to her journey's end, as if it were
the proper thing to do. Another interesting china lady took off her
comfortable red cloak and put it round a poor wooden creature done up in
a paper shift, and so badly painted that its face would have sent some
babies into fits.
"Seems to me I once knew a rich girl who didn't give her things to poor
girls. I wish I could remember who she was, and tell her to be as kind
as that china doll," said Effie, much touched at the sweet way the
pretty creature wrapped up the poor fright, and then ran off in her
little gray gown to buy a shiny fowl stuck on a wooden platter for her
invalid mother's dinner.
"We recall these things to people's minds by dreams. I think the girl
you speak of won't forget this one." And the spirit smiled, as if he
enjoyed some joke which she did not see.
A little bell rang as she looked, and away scampered the children into
the red-and-green school-house with the roof that lifted up, so one
could see how nicely they sat at their desks with mites of books, or
drew on the inch-square blackboards with crumbs of chalk.
"They know their lessons very well, and are as still as mice. We make
a great racket at our school, and get bad marks every day. I shall tell
the girls they had better mind what they do, or their dolls will be
better scholars than they are," said Effie, much impressed, as she
peeped in and saw no rod in the hand of the little mistress, who looked
up and shook her head at the intruder, as if begging her to go away
before the order of the school was disturbed.
Effie retired at once, but could not resist one look in at the window of
a fine mansion, where the family were at dinner, the children behaved so
well at table, and never grumbled a bit when their mamma said they could
not have any more fruit.
"Now, show me something else," she said, as they came again to the low
door that led out of Doll-land.
"You have seen how we prepare for Christmas; let me show you where we
love best to send our good and happy gifts," answered the spirit, giving
her his hand again.
"I know. I've seen ever so many," began Effie, thinking of her own
Christmases.
"No, you have never seen what I will show you. Come away, and remember
what you see to-night."
Like a flash that bright world vanished, and Effie found herself in a
part of the city she had never seen before. It was far away from the
gayer places, where every store was brilliant with lights and full of
pretty things, and every house wore a festival air, while people hurried
to and fro with merry greetings. It was down among the dingy streets
where the poor lived, and where there was no making ready for Christmas.
Hungry women looked in at the shabby shops, longing to buy meat and
bread, but empty pockets forbade. Tipsy men drank up their wages in the
bar-rooms; and in many cold dark chambers little children huddled under
the thin blankets, trying to forget their misery in sleep.
No nice dinners filled the air with savory smells, no gay trees dropped
toys and bonbons into eager hands, no little stockings hung in rows
beside the chimney-piece ready to be filled, no happy sounds of music,
gay voices, and dancing feet were heard; and there were no signs of
Christmas anywhere.
"Don't they have any in this place?" asked Effie, shivering, as she held
fast the spirit's hand, following where he led her.
"We come to bring it. Let me show you our best workers." And the spirit
pointed to some sweet-faced men and women who came stealing into the
poor houses, working such beautiful miracles that Effie could only stand
and watch.
Some slipped money into the empty pockets, and sent the happy mothers
to buy all the comforts they needed; others led the drunken men out of
temptation, and took them home to find safer pleasures there. Fires were
kindled on cold hearths, tables spread as if by magic, and warm clothes
wrapped round shivering limbs. Flowers suddenly bloomed in the chambers
of the sick; old people found themselves remembered; sad hearts were
consoled by a tender word, and wicked ones softened by the story of Him
who forgave all sin.
But the sweetest work was for the children; and Effie held her breath to
watch these human fairies hang up and fill the little stockings without
which a child's Christmas is not perfect, putting in things that once
she would have thought very humble presents, but which now seemed
beautiful and precious because these poor babies had nothing.
"That is so beautiful! I wish I could make merry Christmases as these
good people do, and be loved and thanked as they are," said Effie,
softly, as she watched the busy men and women do their work and steal
away without thinking of any reward but their own satisfaction.
"You can if you will. I have shown you the way. Try it, and see how
happy your own holiday will be hereafter."
As he spoke, the spirit seemed to put his arms about her, and vanished
with a kiss.
"Oh, stay and show me more!" cried Effie, trying to hold him fast.
"Darling, wake up, and tell me why you are smiling in your sleep," said
a voice in her ear; and opening her eyes, there was mamma bending over
her, and morning sunshine streaming into the room.
"Are they all gone? Did you hear the bells? Wasn't it splendid?" she
asked, rubbing her eyes, and looking about her for the pretty child who
was so real and sweet.
"You have been dreaming at a great rate,--talking in your sleep,
laughing, and clapping your hands as if you were cheering some one. Tell
me what was so splendid," said mamma, smoothing the tumbled hair and
lifting up the sleepy head.
Then, while she was being dressed, Effie told her dream, and Nursey
thought it very wonderful; but mamma smiled to see how curiously things
the child had thought, read, heard, and seen through the day were mixed
up in her sleep.
"The spirit said I could work lovely miracles if I tried; but I don't
know how to begin, for I have no magic candle to make feasts appear, and
light up groves of Christmas trees, as he did," said Effie, sorrowfully.
"Yes, you have. We will do it! we will do it!" And clapping her hands,
mamma suddenly began to dance all over the room as if she had lost her
wits.
"How? how? You must tell me, mamma," cried Effie, dancing after her, and
ready to believe anything possible when she remembered the adventures of
the past night.
"I've got it! I've got it!--the new idea. A splendid one, if I can only
carry it out!" And mamma waltzed the little girl round till her curls
flew wildly in the air, while Nursey laughed as if she would die.
"Tell me! tell me!" shrieked Effie. "No, no; it is a surprise,--a grand
surprise for Christmas day!" sung mamma, evidently charmed with her
happy thought. "Now, come to breakfast; for we must work like bees if we
want to play spirits tomorrow. You and Nursey will go out shopping, and
get heaps of things, while I arrange matters behind the scenes."
They were running downstairs as mamma spoke, and Effie called out
breathlessly,--
"It won't be a surprise; for I know you are going to ask some poor
children here, and have a tree or something. It won't be like my dream;
for they had ever so many trees, and more children than we can find
anywhere."
"There will be no tree, no party, no dinner, in this house at all, and
no presents for you. Won't that be a surprise?" And mamma laughed at
Effie's bewildered face.
"Do it. I shall like it, I think; and I won't ask any questions, so it
will all burst upon me when the time comes," she said; and she ate
her breakfast thoughtfully, for this really would be a new sort of
Christmas.
All that morning Effie trotted after Nursey in and out of shops,
buying dozens of barking dogs, woolly lambs, and squeaking birds; tiny
tea-sets, gay picture-books, mittens and hoods, dolls and candy. Parcel
after parcel was sent home; but when Effie returned she saw no trace of
them, though she peeped everywhere. Nursey chuckled, but wouldn't give
a hint, and went out again in the afternoon with a long list of more
things to buy; while Effie wandered forlornly about the house, missing
the usual merry stir that went before the Christmas dinner and the
evening fun.
As for mamma, she was quite invisible all day, and came in at night so
tired that she could only lie on the sofa to rest, smiling as if some
very pleasant thought made her happy in spite of weariness.
"Is the surprise going on all right?" asked Effie, anxiously; for it
seemed an immense time to wait till another evening came.
"Beautifully! better than I expected; for several of my good friends are
helping, or I couldn't have done it as I wish. I know you will like it,
dear, and long remember this new way of making Christmas merry."
Mamma gave her a very tender kiss, and Effie went to bed.
* * * * *
The next day was a very strange one; for when she woke there was no
stocking to examine, no pile of gifts under her napkin, no one said
"Merry Christmas!" to her, and the dinner was just as usual to her.
Mamma vanished again, and Nursey kept wiping her eyes and saying: "The
dear things! It's the prettiest idea I ever heard of. No one but your
blessed ma could have done it."
"Do stop, Nursey, or I shall go crazy because I don't know the secret!"
cried Effie, more than once; and she kept her eye on the clock, for at
seven in the evening the surprise was to come off.
The longed-for hour arrived at last, and the child was too excited
to ask questions when Nurse put on her cloak and hood, led her to the
carriage, and they drove away, leaving their house the one dark and
silent one in the row.
"I feel like the girls in the fairy tales who are led off to strange
places and see fine things," said Effie, in a whisper, as they jingled
through the gay streets.
"Ah, my deary, it _is_ like a fairy tale, I do assure you, and you
_will_ see finer things than most children will tonight. Steady, now,
and do just as I tell you, and don't say one word whatever you see,"
answered Nursey, quite quivering with excitement as she patted a large
box in her lap, and nodded and laughed with twinkling eyes.
They drove into a dark yard, and Effie was led through a back door to a
little room, where Nurse coolly proceeded to take off not only her cloak
and hood, but her dress and shoes also. Effie stared and bit her lips,
but kept still until out of the box came a little white fur coat and
boots, a wreath of holly leaves and berries, and a candle with a frill
of gold paper round it. A long "Oh!" escaped her then; and when she
was dressed and saw herself in the glass, she started back, exclaiming,
"Why, Nursey, I look like the spirit in my dream!"
"So you do; and that's the part you are to play, my pretty! Now whist,
while I blind your eyes and put you in your place."
"Shall I be afraid?" whispered Effie, full of wonder; for as they went
out she heard the sound of many voices, the tramp of many feet, and,
in spite of the bandage, was sure a great light shone upon her when she
stopped.
"You needn't be; I shall stand close by, and your ma will be there."
After the handkerchief was tied about her eyes, Nurse led Effie up some
steps, and placed her on a high platform, where something like leaves
touched her head, and the soft snap of lamps seemed to fill the air.
Music began as soon as Nurse clapped her hands, the voices outside
sounded nearer, and the tramp was evidently coming up the stairs.
"Now, my precious, look and see how you and your dear ma have made a
merry Christmas for them that needed it!"
Off went the bandage; and for a minute Effie really did think she was
asleep again, for she actually stood in "a grove of Christmas trees,"
all gay and shining as in her vision. Twelve on a side, in two rows
down the room, stood the little pines, each on its low table; and behind
Effie a taller one rose to the roof, hung with wreaths of popcorn,
apples, oranges, horns of candy, and cakes of all sorts, from sugary
hearts to gingerbread Jumbos. On the smaller trees she saw many of her
own discarded toys and those Nursey bought, as well as heaps that seemed
to have rained down straight from that delightful Christmas country
where she felt as if she was again.
"How splendid! Who is it for? What is that noise? Where is mamma?" cried
Effie, pale with pleasure and surprise, as she stood looking down the
brilliant little street from her high place.
Before Nurse could answer, the doors at the lower end flew open, and in
marched twenty-four little blue-gowned orphan girls, singing sweetly,
until amazement changed the song to cries of joy and wonder as the
shining spectacle appeared. While they stood staring with round eyes
at the wilderness of pretty things about them, mamma stepped up beside
Effie, and holding her hand fast to give her courage, told the story of
the dream in a few simple words, ending in this way:--
"So my little girl wanted to be a Christmas spirit too, and make this
a happy day for those who had not as many pleasures and comforts as she
has. She likes surprises, and we planned this for you all. She shall
play the good fairy, and give each of you something from this tree,
after which every one will find her own name on a small tree, and can
go to enjoy it in her own way. March by, my dears, and let us fill your
hands."
Nobody told them to do it, but all the hands were clapped heartily
before a single child stirred; then one by one they came to look up
wonderingly at the pretty giver of the feast as she leaned down to offer
them great yellow oranges, red apples, bunches of grapes, bonbons, and
cakes, till all were gone, and a double row of smiling faces turned
toward her as the children filed back to their places in the orderly way
they had been taught.
Then each was led to her own tree by the good ladies who had helped
mamma with all their hearts; and the happy hubbub that arose would have
satisfied even Santa Claus himself,--shrieks of joy, dances of delight,
laughter and tears (for some tender little things could not bear so much
pleasure at once, and sobbed with mouths full of candy and hands full
of toys). How they ran to show one another the new treasures! how they
peeped and tasted, pulled and pinched, until the air was full of queer
noises, the floor covered with papers, and the little trees left bare of
all but candles!
"I don't think heaven can be any gooder than this," sighed one small
girl, as she looked about her in a blissful maze, holding her full apron
with one hand, while she luxuriously carried sugar-plums to her mouth
with the other.
"Is that a truly angel up there?" asked another, fascinated by the
little white figure with the wreath on its shining hair, who in some
mysterious way had been the cause of all this merry-making.
"I wish I dared to go and kiss her for this splendid party," said a lame
child, leaning on her crutch, as she stood near the steps, wondering
how it seemed to sit in a mother's lap, as Effie was doing, while she
watched the happy scene before her.
Effie heard her, and remembering Tiny Tim, ran down and put her arms
about the pale child, kissing the wistful face, as she said sweetly,
"You may; but mamma deserves the thanks. She did it all; I only dreamed
about it."
Lame Katy felt as if "a truly angel" was embracing her, and could only
stammer out her thanks, while the other children ran to see the pretty
spirit, and touch her soft dress, until she stood in a crowd of blue
gowns laughing as they held up their gifts for her to see and admire.
Mamma leaned down and whispered one word to the older girls; and
suddenly they all took hands to dance round Effie, singing as they
skipped.
It was a pretty sight, and the ladies found it hard to break up the
happy revel; but it was late for small people, and too much fun is a
mistake. So the girls fell into line, and marched before Effie and mamma
again, to say goodnight with such grateful little faces that the eyes of
those who looked grew dim with tears. Mamma kissed every one; and many
a hungry childish heart felt as if the touch of those tender lips was
their best gift. Effie shook so many small hands that her own tingled;
and when Katy came she pressed a small doll into Effie's hand,
whispering, "You didn't have a single present, and we had lots. Do keep
that; it's the prettiest thing I got."
"I will," answered Effie, and held it fast until the last smiling face
was gone, the surprise all over, and she safe in her own bed, too tired
and happy for anything but sleep.
"Mamma, it was a beautiful surprise, and I thank you so much! I don't
see how you did it; but I like it best of all the Christmases I ever
had, and mean to make one every year. I had my splendid big present, and
here is the dear little one to keep for love of poor Katy; so even that
part of my wish came true."
And Effie fell asleep with a happy smile on her lips, her one humble
gift still in her hand, and a new love for Christmas in her heart that
never changed through a long life spent in doing good.
[Illustration: "Hollo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her.]
II.
THE CANDY COUNTRY.
"I shall take mamma's red sun-umbrella, it is so warm, and none of the
children at school will have one like it," said Lily, one day, as she
went through the hall.
"The wind is very high; I'm afraid you'll be blown away if you carry
that big thing," called Nurse from the window, as the red umbrella went
bobbing down the garden walk with a small girl under it.
"I wish it would; I always wanted to go up in a balloon," answered Lily,
as she struggled out of the gate.
She got on very well till she came to the bridge and stopped to look
over the railing at the water running by so fast, and the turtles
sunning themselves on the rocks. Lily was fond of throwing stones at
them; it was so funny to watch them tumble, heels over head, splash into
the water. Now, when she saw three big fellows close by, she stooped for
a stone, and just at that minute a gale of wind nearly took the
umbrella out of her hand. She clutched it fast; and away she went like
a thistle-down, right up in the air, over river and hill, houses and
trees, faster and faster, till her head spun round, her breath was all
gone, and she had to let go. The dear red umbrella flew away like a
leaf; and Lily fell down, down, till she went crash into a tree which
grew in such a curious place that she forgot her fright as she sat
looking about her, wondering what part of the world it could be.
The tree looked as if made of glass or colored sugar; for she could see
through the red cherries, the green leaves, and the brown branches. An
agreeable smell met her nose; and she said at once, as any child
would, "I smell candy!" She picked a cherry and ate it. Oh, how good it
was!--all sugar and no stone. The next discovery was such a delightful
one that she nearly fell off her perch; for by touching her tongue here
and there, she found that the whole tree was made of candy. Think what
fun to sit and break off twigs of barley sugar, candied cherries, and
leaves that tasted like peppermint and sassafras!
Lily rocked and ate till she finished the top of the little tree;
then she climbed down and strolled along, making more surprising and
agreeable discoveries as she went.
What looked like snow under her feet was white sugar; the rocks were
lumps of chocolate, the flowers of all colors and tastes; and every
sort of fruit grew on these delightful trees. Little white houses soon
appeared; and here lived the dainty candy-people, all made of the best
sugar, and painted to look like real people.
Dear little men and women, looking as if they had stepped off of wedding
cakes and bonbons, went about in their gay sugar clothes, laughing
and talking in the sweetest voices. Bits of babies rocked in open-work
cradles, and sugar boys and girls played with sugar toys in the most
natural way. Carriages rolled along the jujube streets, drawn by the
red and yellow barley horses we all love so well; cows fed in the green
fields, and sugar birds sang in the trees.
Lily listened, and in a moment she understood what the song said,--
"Sweet! Sweet!
Come, come and eat,
Dear little girls
With yellow curls;
For here you'll find
Sweets to your mind.
On every tree
Sugar-plums you'll see;
In every dell
Grows the caramel.
Over every wall
Gum-drops fall;
Molasses flows
Where our river goes
Under your feet
Lies sugar sweet;
Over your head
Grow almonds red.
Our lily and rose
Are not for the nose;
Our flowers we pluck
To eat or suck
And, oh! what bliss
When two friends kiss,
For they honey sip
From lip to lip!
And all you meet,
In house or street,
At work or play,
Sweethearts are they.
So, little dear,
Pray feel no fear;
Go where you will;
Eat, eat your fill.
Here is a feast
From west to east;
And you can say,
Ere you go away,
'At last I stand
In dear Candy-land,
And no more can stuff;
For once I've enough.'
Sweet! Sweet!
Tweet! Tweet!
Tweedle-dee!
Tweedle-dee!"
"That is the most interesting song I ever heard," said Lily, clapping
her sticky hands and dancing along toward a fine palace of white cream
candy, with pillars of striped peppermint stick, and a roof of frosting
that made it look like the Milan Cathedral.
"I'll live here, and eat candy all day long, with no tiresome school or
patchwork to spoil my fun," said Lily.
So she ran up the chocolate steps into the pretty rooms, where all the
chairs and tables were of different colored candies, and the beds
of spun sugar. A fountain of lemonade supplied drink; and floors
of ice-cream that never melted kept people and things from sticking
together, as they would have done had it been warm.
For a long while Lily was quite happy, going about tasting so many
different kinds of sweeties, talking to the little people, who were very
amiable, and finding out curious things about them and their country.
The babies were made of plain sugar, but the grown people had different
flavors. The young ladies were flavored with violet, rose, and orange;
the gentlemen were apt to have cordials of some sort inside of them, as
she found when she ate one now and then slyly, and got her tongue
bitten by the hot, strong taste as a punishment The old people tasted of
peppermint, clove, and such comfortable things, good for pain; but the
old maids had lemon, hoarhound, flag-root, and all sorts of sour, bitter
things in them, and did not get eaten much. Lily soon learned to know
the characters of her new friends by a single taste, and some she
never touched but once. The dear babies melted in her mouth, and the
delicately flavored young ladies she was very fond of. Dr. Ginger was
called to her more than once when so much candy made her teeth ache, and
she found him a very hot-tempered little man; but he stopped the pain,
so she was glad to see him.
A lime-drop boy and a little pink checker-berry girl were her favorite
playmates; and they had fine times making mud-pies by scraping the
chocolate rocks and mixing this dust with honey from the wells near by.
These they could eat; and Lily thought this much better than throwing
away the pies, as she had to do at home. They had candy-pulls very
often, and made swings of long loops of molasses candy, and bird's-nests
with almond eggs, out of which came birds who sang sweetly. They played
football with big bull's-eyes, sailed in sugar boats on lakes of syrup,
fished in rivers of molasses, and rode the barley horses all over the
country.
Lily discovered that it never rained, but snowed white sugar. There was
no sun, as it would have been too hot; but a large yellow lozenge made a
nice moon, and red and white comfits were the stars.
The people all lived on sugar, and never quarrelled. No one was ill; and
if any got broken, as sometimes happened with such brittle creatures,
they just stuck the parts together and were all right again. The way
they grew old was to get thinner and thinner till there was danger of
their vanishing. Then the friends of the old person put him in a neat
coffin, and carried him to the great golden urn which stood in their
largest temple, always full of a certain fine syrup; and here he was
dipped and dipped till he was stout and strong again, and went home to
enjoy himself for a long time as good as new.
This was very interesting to Lily, and she went to many funerals. But
the weddings were better still; for the lovely white brides were so
sweet Lily longed to eat them. The feasts were delicious; and everybody
went in their best clothes, and danced at the ball till they got so warm
half-a-dozen would stick together and have to be taken to the ice-cream
room to cool off. Then the little pair would drive away in a fine
carriage with white horses to a new palace in some other part of the
country, and Lily would have another pleasant place to visit.
But by and by, when she had seen everything, and eaten so much sweet
stuff that at last she longed for plain bread and butter, she began to
get cross, as children always do when they live on candy; and the little
people wished she would go away, for they were afraid of her. No wonder,
when she would catch up a dear sugar baby and eat him, or break some
respectable old grandmamma all into bits because she reproved her for
naughty ways. Lily calmly sat down on the biggest church, crushing it
flat, and even tried to poke the moon out of the sky in a pet one day.
The king ordered her to go home; but she said, "I won't!" and bit his
head off, crown and all.
Such a wail went up at this awful deed that she ran away out of the
city, fearing some one would put poison in her candy, since she had no
other food.
"I suppose I shall get somewhere if I keep walking; and I can't starve,
though I hate the sight of this horrid stuff," she said to herself, as
she hurried over the mountains of Gibraltar Rock that divided the city
of Saccharissa from the great desert of brown sugar that lay beyond.
Lily marched bravely on for a long time, and saw at last a great smoke
in the sky, smelt a spicy smell, and felt a hot wind blowing toward her.
"I wonder if there are sugar savages here, roasting and eating some
poor traveller like me," she said, thinking of Robinson Crusoe and other
wanderers in strange lands.
She crept carefully along till she saw a settlement of little huts very
like mushrooms, for they were made of cookies set on lumps of the brown
sugar; and queer people, looking as if made of gingerbread, were working
very busily round several stoves which seemed to bake at a great rate.
"I'll creep nearer and see what sort of people they are before I show
myself," said Lily, going into a grove of spice-trees, and sitting down
on a stone which proved to be the plummy sort of cake we used to call
Brighton Rock.
Presently one of the tallest men came striding toward the trees with a
pan, evidently after spice; and before she could run, he saw Lily.
"Hollo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her with his black
currant eyes, while he briskly picked the bark off a cinnamon-tree.
"I'm travelling, and would like to know what place this is, if you
please," answered Lily, very politely, being a little frightened.
"Cake-land. Where do you come from?" asked the gingerbread man, in a
crisp tone of voice.
"I was blown into the Candy country, and have been there a long time;
but I got tired of it, and ran away to find something better."
"Sensible child!" and the man smiled till Lily thought his cheeks would
crumble. "You'll get on better here with us Brownies than with the lazy
Bonbons, who never work and are all for show. They won't own us, though
we are all related through our grandparents Sugar and Molasses. We are
busy folks; so they turn up their noses and don't speak when we meet at
parties. Poor creatures, silly and sweet and unsubstantial! I pity 'em."
"Could I make you a visit? I'd like to see how you live, and what you
do. I'm sure it must be interesting," said Lily, picking herself up
after a tumble, having eaten nearly all the stone, she was so hungry.
"I know you will. Come on! I can talk while I work." And the funny
gingerbread man trotted off toward his kitchen, full of pans,
rolling-pins, and molasses jugs.
"Sit down. I shall be at leisure as soon as this batch is baked. There
are still some wise people down below who like gingerbread, and I have
my hands full," he said, dashing about, stirring, rolling out, and
slapping the brown dough into pans, which he whisked into the oven and
out again so fast that Lily knew there must be magic about it somewhere.
Every now and then he threw her a delicious cooky warm from the oven.
She liked the queer fellow, and presently began to talk, being very
curious about this country.
"What is your name, sir?"
"Ginger Snap."
Lily thought it a good one; for he was very quick, and she fancied he
could be short and sharp if he liked.
"Where does all this cake go to?" she asked, after watching the other
kitchens full of workers, who were all of different kinds of cake, and
each set of cooks made its own sort.
"I'll show you by and by," answered Snap, beginning to pile up the heaps
of gingerbread on a little car that ran along a track leading to some
unknown storeroom, Lily thought.
"Don't you get tired of doing this all the time?"
"Yes; but I want to be promoted, and I never shall be till I've done my
best, and won the prize here."
"Oh, tell me about it! What is the prize, and how are you promoted? Is
this a cooking-school?"
"Yes; the prize for best gingerbread is a cake of condensed yeast. That
puts a soul into me, and I begin to rise till I am able to go over the
hills yonder into the blessed land of bread, and be one of the happy
creatures who are always wholesome, always needed, and without which the
world below would be in a bad way."
"Bless me! that is the queerest thing I've heard yet. But I don't wonder
you want to go; I'm tired of sweets myself, and long for a good piece of
bread, though I used to want cake and candy at home."
"Ah, my dear, you'll learn a good deal here; and you are lucky not to
have got into the clutches of Giant Dyspepsia, who always gets people if
they eat too much of such rubbish and scorn wholesome bread. I leave my
ginger behind when I go, and get white and round and beautiful, as you
will see. The Gingerbread family have never been as foolish as some of
the other cakes. Wedding is the worst; such extravagance in the way of
wine and spice and fruit I never saw, and such a mess to eat when it's
done! I don't wonder people get sick; serves 'em right." And Snap flung
down a pan with such a bang that it made Lily jump.
"Sponge cake isn't bad, is it? Mamma lets me eat it, but I like frosted
pound better," she said, looking over to the next kitchen, where piles
of that sort of cake were being iced.
"Poor stuff. No substance. Ladies' fingers will do for babies, but pound
has too much butter ever to be healthy. Let it alone, and eat cookies or
seed-cakes, my dear. Now, come along; I'm ready." And Snap trundled away
his car-load at a great pace.
Lily ran behind to pick up whatever fell, and looked about her as she
went, for this was certainly a very queer country. Lakes of eggs all
beaten up, and hot springs of saleratus foamed here and there ready for
use. The earth was brown sugar or ground spice; and the only fruits
were raisins, dried currants, citron, and lemon peel. It was a very busy
place; for every one cooked all the time, and never failed and never
seemed tired, though they got so hot that they only wore sheets of paper
for clothes. There were piles of it to put over the cake, so that it
shouldn't burn; and they made cook's white caps and aprons of it, and
looked very nice. A large clock made of a flat pancake, with cloves to
mark the hours and two toothpicks for hands, showed them how long to
bake things; and in one place an ice wall was built round a lake of
butter, which they cut in lumps as they wanted it.
"Here we are. Now, stand away while I pitch 'em down," said Snap,
stopping at last before a hole in the ground where a dumbwaiter hung
ready, with a name over it.
There were many holes all round, and many waiters, each with its name;
and Lily was amazed when she read "Weber," "Copeland," "Dooling," and
others, which she knew very well.
Over Snap's place was the name "Newmarch;" and Lily said, "Why, that's
where mamma gets her hard gingerbread, and Weber's is where we go for
ice-cream. Do _you_ make cake for them?"
"Yes, but no one knows it. It's one of the secrets of the trade. We cook
for all the confectioners, and people think the good things come out of
the cellars under their saloons. Good joke, isn't it?" And Snap laughed
till a crack came in his neck and made him cough.
Lily was so surprised she sat down on a warm queen's cake that happened
to be near, and watched Snap send down load after load of gingerbread
to be eaten by children, who would have liked it much better if they had
only known where it came from, as she did.
As she sat, the clatter of many spoons, the smell of many dinners, and
the sound of many voices calling, "One vanilla, two strawberries, and a
Charlotte Russe," "Three stews, cup coffee, dry toast," "Roast chicken
and apple without," came up the next hole, which was marked "Copeland."
"Dear me! it seems as if I was there," said Lily, longing to hop down,
but afraid of the bump at the other end.
"I'm done. Come along, I'll ride you back," called Snap, tossing the
last cooky after the dumb-waiter as it went slowly out of sight with its
spicy load.
"I wish you'd teach me to cook. It looks great fun, and mamma wants me
to learn; only our cook hates to have me mess round, and is so cross
that I don't like to try at home," said Lily, as she went trundling
back.
"Better wait till you get to Bread-land, and learn to make that. It's
a great art, and worth knowing. Don't waste your time on cake, though
plain gingerbread isn't bad to have in the house. I'll teach you that in
a jiffy, if the clock doesn't strike my hour too soon," answered Snap,
helping her down.
"What hour?"
"Why, of my freedom. I never know when I've done my task till I'm called
by the chimes and go to get my soul," said Snap, turning his currant
eyes anxiously to the clock.
"I hope you _will_ have time." And Lily fell to work with all her might,
after Snap had put on her a paper apron and a cap like his.
It was not hard; for when she was going to make a mistake a spark flew
out of the fire and burnt her in time to remind her to look at the
receipt, which was a sheet of gingerbread in a frame of pie-crust hung
up before her, with the directions written while it was soft and baked
in. The third sheet she made came out of the oven spicy, light, and
brown; and Snap, giving it one poke, said, "That's all right. Now you
know. Here's your reward."
He handed her a receipt-book made of thin sheets of sugar-gingerbread
held together by a gelatine binding, with her name stamped on the back,
and each leaf crimped with a cake-cutter in the most elegant manner.
Lily was charmed with it, but had no time to read all it contained; for
just then the clock began to strike, and a chime of bells to ring,--
"Gingerbread,
Go to the head.
Your task is done;
A soul is won.
Take it and go
Where muffins grow,
Where sweet loaves rise
To the very skies,
And biscuits fair
Perfume the air.
Away, away!
Make no delay;
In the sea of flour
Plunge this hour.
Safe in your breast
Let the yeast-cake rest,
Till you rise in joy,
A white bread boy!"
"Ha, ha! I'm free! I'm free!" cried Snap, catching up the silver-covered
square that seemed to fall from heaven; and running to a great white sea
of flour, he went in head first, holding the yeast-cake clasped to his
breast as if his life depended on it.
Lily watched breathlessly, while a curious working and bubbling went on,
as if Snap was tumbling about down there like a small earthquake. The
other cake-folk stood round the shore with her; for it was a great
event, and all were glad that the dear fellow was promoted so soon.
Suddenly a cry was heard, and up rose a beautiful white figure on the
farther side of the sea. It moved its hand, as if saying "Good-by," and
ran over the hills so fast they had only time to see how plump and fair
he was, with a little knob on the top of his head like a crown.
"He's gone to the happy land, and we shall miss him; but we'll follow
his example and soon find him again," said a gentle Sponge cake, with
a sigh, as all went back to their work; while Lily hurried after Snap,
eager to see the new country, which was the best of all.
A delicious odor of fresh bread blew up from the valley as she stood
on the hill-top and looked down on the peaceful scene below. Fields of
yellow grain waved in the breeze; hop-vines grew from tree to tree; and
many windmills whirled their white sails as they ground the different
grains into fresh, sweet meal, for the loaves of bread that built the
houses like bricks and paved the streets, or in many shapes formed
the people, furniture, and animals. A river of milk flowed through the
peaceful land, and fountains of yeast rose and fell with a pleasant foam
and fizz. The ground was a mixture of many meals, and the paths were
golden Indian, which gave a very gay look to the scene. Buckwheat
flowers bloomed on their rosy stems, and tall corn-stalks rustled their
leaves in the warm air that came from the ovens hidden in the hillsides;
for bread needs a slow fire, and an obliging volcano did the baking
here.
"What a lovely place!" cried Lily, feeling the charm of the homelike
landscape, in spite of the funny plump people moving about.
Two of these figures came running to meet her as she slowly walked down
the yellow path from the hill. One was a golden boy, with a beaming
face; the other a little girl in a shiny brown cloak, who looked as if
she would taste very nice. They each put a warm hand into Lily's, and
the boy said,--
"We are glad to see you. Muffin told us you were coming."
"Thank you. Who is Muffin?" asked Lily, feeling as if she had seen both
these little people before, and liked them.
"He was Ginger Snap once, but he's a Muffin now. We begin in that way,
and work up to the perfect loaf by degrees. My name is Johnny Cake, and
she's Sally Lunn. You know us; so come on and have a race."
Lily burst out laughing at the idea of playing with these old friends of
hers; and all three ran away as fast as they could tear, down the hill,
over a bridge, into the middle of the village, where they stopped,
panting, and sat down on some very soft rolls to rest.
"What do you all do _here_?" asked Lily, when she got her breath again.
"We farm, we study, we bake, we brew, and are as merry as grigs all day
long. It's school-time now, and we must go; will you come?" said Sally,
jumping up as if she liked it.
"Our schools are not like yours; we only study two things,--grain and
yeast. I think you'll like it. We have yeast to-day, and the experiments
are very jolly," added Johnny, trotting off to a tall brown tower of rye
and Indian bread, where the school was kept.
Lily never liked to go to school, but she was ashamed to own it; so she
went along with Sally, and was so amused with all she saw that she was
glad she came. The brown loaf was hollow, and had no roof; and when
she asked why they used a ruin, Sally told her to wait and see why they
chose strong walls and plenty of room overhead. All round was a circle
of very small biscuits like cushions, and on these the Bread-children
sat. A square loaf in the middle was the teacher's desk, and on it
lay an ear of wheat, with several bottles of yeast well corked up. The
teacher was a pleasant, plump lady from Vienna, very wise, and so famous
for her good bread that she was a Professor of Grainology.
When all were seated, she began with the wheat ear, and told them all
about it in such an interesting way that Lily felt as if she had never
known anything about the bread she ate before. The experiments with
the yeast were quite exciting,--for Fraulein Pretzel showed them how it
would work till it blew the cork out, and go fizzing up to the sky if it
was kept too long; how it would turn sour or flat, and spoil the bread
if care was not taken to use it just at the right moment; and how too
much would cause the loaf to rise till there was no substance to it.
The children were very bright; for they were fed on the best kinds of
oatmeal and Graham bread, with very little white bread or hot cakes to
spoil their young stomachs. Hearty, happy boys and girls they were, and
their yeasty souls were very lively in them; for they danced and sung,
and seemed as bright and gay as if acidity, heaviness, and mould were
quite unknown.
Lily was very happy with them, and when school was done went home with
Sally and ate the best bread and milk for dinner that she ever tasted.
In the afternoon Johnny took her to the cornfield, and showed her how
they kept the growing ears free from mildew and worms. Then she went
to the bakehouse; and here she found her old friend Muffin hard at work
making Parker House rolls, for he was such a good cook he was set to
work at once on the lighter kinds of bread.
"Well, isn't this better than Candy-land or Saccharissa?" he asked,
as he rolled and folded his bits of dough with a dab of butter tucked
inside.
"Ever so much!" cried Lily. "I feel better already, and mean to learn
all I can. Mamma will be so pleased if I can make good bread when I
go home. She is rather old-fashioned, and likes me to be a nice
housekeeper. I didn't think bread interesting then, but I do now; and
Johnny's mother is going to teach me to make Indian cakes to-morrow."
"Glad to hear it. Learn all you can, and tell other people how to make
healthy bodies and happy souls by eating good plain food. Not like this,
though these rolls are better than cake. I have to work my way up to the
perfect loaf, you know; and then, oh, then, I'm a happy thing."
"What happens then? Do you go on to some other wonderful place?" asked
Lily, as Muffin paused with a smile on his face.
"Yes; I am eaten by some wise, good human being, and become a part of
him or her. That is immortality and heaven; for I may nourish a poet and
help him sing, or feed a good woman who makes the world better for being
in it, or be crumbed into the golden porringer of a baby prince who
is to rule a kingdom. Isn't that a noble way to live, and an end worth
working for?" asked Muffin, in a tone that made Lily feel as if some
sort of fine yeast had got into her, and was setting her brain to work
with new thoughts.
"Yes, it is. I suppose all common things are made for that purpose, if
we only knew it; and people should be glad to do anything to help the
world along, even making good bread in a kitchen," answered Lily, in a
sober way that showed that her little mind was already digesting the new
food it had got.
She stayed in Bread-land a long time, and enjoyed and learned a great
deal that she never forgot. But at last, when she had made the perfect
loaf, she wanted to go home, that her mother might see and taste it.
"I've put a good deal of myself into it, and I'd love to think I had
given her strength or pleasure by my work," she said, as she and Sally
stood looking at the handsome loaf.
"You can go whenever you like; just take the bread in your hands and
wish three times, and you'll be wherever you say. I'm sorry to have you
go, but I don't wonder you want to see your mother. Don't forget what
you have learned, and you will always be glad you came to us," said
Sally, kissing her good-by.
"Where is Muffin? I can't go without seeing him, my dear old friend,"
answered Lily, looking round for him.
"He is here," said Sally, touching the loaf. "He was ready to go, and
chose to pass into your bread rather than any other; for he said he
loved you and would be glad to help feed so good a little girl."
"How kind of him! I must be careful to grow wise and excellent, else he
will be disappointed and have died in vain," said Lily, touched by his
devotion.
Then, bidding them all farewell, she hugged her loaf close, wished three
times to be in her own home, and like a flash she was there.
Whether her friends believed the wonderful tale of her adventures I
cannot tell; but I know that she was a nice little housekeeper from that
day, and made such good bread that other girls came to learn of her.
She also grew from a sickly, fretful child into a fine, strong woman,
because she ate very little cake and candy, except at Christmas time,
when the oldest and the wisest love to make a short visit to Candy-land.
[Illustration: As soon as he was alone, Jocko ... jumped on his back.]
III.
NAUGHTY JOCKO.
"A music-man! a music-man! Run quick, and see if he has got a monkey on
his organ," cried little Neddy, running to the window in a great hurry
one day.
Yes; there was the monkey in his blue and red suit, with a funny little
cap, and the long tail trailing behind. But he didn't seem to be a
lively monkey; for he sat in a bunch, with his sad face turned anxiously
to his master, who kept pulling the chain to make him dance. The stiff
collar had made his neck sore; and when the man twitched, the poor thing
moaned and put up his little hand to hold the chain. He tried to dance,
but was so weak he could only hop a few steps, and stop panting for
breath. The cruel man wouldn't let him rest till Neddy called out,--
"Don't hurt him; let him come up here and get this cake, and rest while
you play. I've got some pennies for you."
So poor Jocko climbed slowly up the trellis, and sat on the window-ledge
trying to eat; but he was so tired he went to sleep, and when the man
pulled to wake him up, he slipped and fell, and lay as if he were dead.
Neddy and his aunt ran down to see if he was killed. The cross man
scolded and shook him; but he never moved, and the man said,--
"He is dead. I don't want him. I will sell him to some one to stuff."
"No; his heart beats a little. Leave him here a few days, and we will
take care of him; and if he gets well, perhaps we will buy him," said
Aunt Jane, who liked to nurse even a sick monkey.
The man said he was going on for a week through the towns near by, and
would call and see about it when he came back. Then he went away; and
Neddy and aunty put Jocko in a nice basket, and carried him in. The
minute the door was shut and he felt safe, the sly fellow peeped out
with one eye, and seeing only the kind little boy began to chatter and
kick off the shawl; for he was not much hurt, only tired and hungry, and
dreadfully afraid of the cruel man who beat and starved him.
Neddy was delighted, and thought it very funny, and helped his aunt take
off the stiff collar and put some salve on the sore neck. Then they got
milk and cake; and when he had eaten a good dinner, Jocko curled himself
up and slept till the next day. He was quite lively in the morning;
for when Aunt Jane went to call Neddy, Jocko was not in his basket, and
looking round the room for him, she saw the little black thing lying on
the boy's pillow, with his arm round Neddy's neck like a queer baby.
"My patience! I can't allow that," said the old lady, and went to pull
Jocko out. But he slipped away like an eel, and crept chattering and
burrowing down to the bottom of the bed, holding on to Neddy's toes,
till he waked up, howling that crabs were nipping him.
Then they had a great frolic; and Jocko climbed all over the bed, up on
the tall wardrobe, and the shelf over the door, where the image of an
angel stood. He patted it, and hugged it, and looked so very funny with
his ugly black face by the pretty white one, that Neddy rolled on the
floor, and Aunt Jane laughed till her glasses flew off. By and by he
came down, and had a nice breakfast, and let them tie a red ribbon over
the bandage on his neck. He liked the gay color, and kept going to look
in the glass, and grin and chatter at his own image, which he evidently
admired.
"Now, he shall go to walk with me, and all the children shall see my new
pet," said Neddy, as he marched off with Jock on his shoulder.
Every one laughed at the funny little fellow with his twinkling eyes,
brown hands, and long tail, and Neddy felt very grand till they got to
the store; then troubles began. He put Jocko on a table near the door,
and told him to stay there while he did his errands. Now, close by was
the place where the candy was kept, and Jocko loved sweeties like any
girl; so he hopped along, and began to eat whatever he liked. Some boys
tried to stop him; and then he got angry at them for pulling his tail,
and threw handfuls of sugarplums at them. That was great fun; and the
more they laughed and scrambled and poked at him, the faster he showered
chocolates, caramels, and peppermints over them, till it looked as if
it had rained candy. The man was busy with Neddy at the other end of the
store; but when he heard the noise, both ran to see what was the matter.
Neither of them could stop naughty Jocko, who liked this game, and ran
up on the high shelves among the toys. Then down came little tubs and
dolls' stoves, tin trumpets and cradles, while boxes of leaden soldiers
and whole villages flew through the air, smash, bang, rattle, bump,
all over the floor. The man scolded, Neddy cried, the boys shouted, and
there was a lively time in that shop till a good slapping with a long
stick made Jock tumble into a tub of water where some curious fishes
lived, and then they caught him.
Neddy was much ashamed, and told the man his aunt would pay for all the
broken things. Then he took his naughty pet, and started to go home and
tie him up, for it was plain this monkey was not to be trusted. But as
soon as they got out, Jocko ran up a tree and dropped on to a load of
hay passing underneath. Here he danced and pranced, and had a fine time,
throwing off the man's coat and rake, and eating some of the dinner tied
up in a cloth. The crusts of bread and the bones he threw at the horse;
this new kind of whip frightened the horse, and he ran away down a steep
hill, and upset the hay and broke the cart. Oh, such a time! It was
worse than the candy scrape; for the man swore, and the horse was hurt,
and people said the monkey ought to be shot, he did so much mischief.
Jocko didn't care a bit; he sat high up in a tree, and chattered and
scolded, and swung by his tail, and was so droll that people couldn't
help laughing at him. Poor Neddy cried again, and went home to tell his
troubles to Aunt Jane, fearing that it would take all the money in his
bank to pay for the damage the bad monkey had done in one hour.
As soon as he was alone Jocko came skipping along, and jumped on his
back, and peeped at him, and patted his cheeks, and was so cunning and
good Neddy couldn't whip him; but he shut him up in a closet to punish
him.
Jocko was tired; so he went to sleep, and all was quiet till
dinner-time. They were ready for the pudding, and Neddy had saved a
place for a good plateful, as he liked snow-pudding, when shrieks were
heard in the kitchen, and Mary the maid rushed in to say,--
"Oh, ma'am, that horrid beast has spoilt the pudding, and is scaring
Katy out of her life!"
They all ran; and there sat that naughty monkey on the table, throwing
the nice white snow all over poor cook, till her face looked as if she
was ready to be shaved. His own face looked the same, for he had eaten
all he wanted while the pudding stood cooling in the pantry. He had
crept out of a window in the closet, and had a fine rummage among the
sugar-buckets, butter-boxes, and milk-pans.
Kate wailed, and Mary scolded; but Aunt Jane and grandpa laughed, and
Neddy chased Jock into the garden with the broom. They had to eat bread
and jelly for dessert, and it took the girls a long time to clear up the
mess the rascal made.
"We will put his collar and chain on again, and keep him tied up all the
time till the man comes," said Aunt Jane.
"But I can't catch him," sighed Neddy, watching the little imp whisk
about in the garden among the currant-bushes, chasing hens and tossing
green apples round in high glee.
"Sit quietly down somewhere and wait till he is tired; then he will come
to you, and you can hold him fast," said Aunt Jane.
So Neddy waited; and though he was much worried at his new pet's
naughtiness, he enjoyed his pranks like a boy.
Grandpa took naps in the afternoon on the piazza, and he was dozing
comfortably when Jocko swung down from the grape-vine by his long tail,
and tickled the old gentleman on the nose with a straw. Grandpa sneezed,
and opened one eye to brush away the fly as he supposed. Then he went to
sleep again, and Jocko dropped a caterpillar on his bald head; this made
him open the other eye to see what that soft, creepy thing could be.
Neddy couldn't help laughing, for he often wanted to do just such
things, but never dared, because grandpa was a very stern old gentleman,
and no one took liberties with him. Jocko wasn't afraid, however; and
presently he crept to the table, stole the glasses lying there, put them
on, and taking up the paper held it before him, chattering as if he were
reading it, as he had seen people do. Neddy laughed out loud at this,
and clapped his hands, Jocko looked so like a little old man, in spite
of the tail curled up behind. This time grandpa opened both eyes at
once, and stared as if he saw a hobgoblin before him; then he snatched
off the spectacles, and caught up his cane, crying angrily,--
"You rascal, how dare you!"
But Jocko tossed the paper in his face, and with one jump lighted on
the back of old Tom, the big yellow cat, who lay asleep close by. Scared
half out of his wits, Tom spit and bounced; but Jocko held fast to his
collar, and had a fine race round the garden, while the girls laughed
at the funny sight, and Neddy shouted, "It's a circus; and there's the
monkey and the pony." Even grandpa smiled, especially when puss dashed
up a tree, and Jock tumbled off. He chased him, and they had a great
battle; but Tom's claws were sharp, and the monkey got a scratch on the
nose, and ran crying to Neddy for comfort.
"Now, you naughty fellow, I'll chain you up, and stop these dreadful
tricks. But you are great fun, and I can't whip you," said the boy; for
he knew what it was to enjoy a holiday, and poor Jocko had not had one
for a long time.
Jocko ate some lunch, took a nap in the grass, and then was ready for
more frolics. Neddy had fastened him to a tree in the garden, so that
he could enjoy the sun and air, and catch grasshoppers if he liked. But
Jocko wanted something more; and presently Neddy, who was reading in his
hammock on the piazza, heard a great cackling among the hens, and looked
up to see the monkey swinging by his tail from a bough, holding the
great cock-a-doodle by his splendid tail, while all the twenty hens
clucked and cackled with wrath and fear at such a dreadful prank.
"Now, that's too bad; I _will_ slap him this time," said Neddy, running
to save his handsome bird from destruction. But before he got there poor
cocky had pulled his fine tail-feathers all out in his struggles, and
when set free was so frightened and mortified that he ran away and hid
in the bushes, and the hens went to comfort him.
Neddy gave Jocko a good whipping, and left him looking as meek as a
baby, all cuddled up in a little bunch, with his head in his hands as
if crying for his naughtiness. But he wasn't sorry. Oh, dear, no! for in
half an hour he had picked every one of the sweet peas Aunt Jane was so
fond of, thrown all the tomatoes over the fence, and let the parrot out
of his cage. The sight of Polly walking into the parlor with a polite
"How are you, ma'am?" sent Aunt Jane to see what was going on. Neddy was
fast asleep in the hammock, worn out with his cares; and Jocko, having
unhooked his chain, was sitting on the chimney-top of a neighbor's
house, eating corn.
"We shall not live to the end of the week if this sort of thing goes
on. I don't know what to do with the little beast; he's as bad as an
elephant to take care of," said the poor lady, in despair, as she saw
Jocko throw his corncob down on the minister's hat as that stately
gentleman went by.
As none of them could catch him, Miss Jane let him alone till Neddy
waked up and could go and find some of the big boys to help him.
Jocko soon left the roof, and skipped in at a window that stood open. It
was little Nelly Brown's play-room, and she had left her pet doll Maud
Mabel Rose Matilda very ill in the best bed, while she went down to get
a poppy leaf to rub the darling's cheeks with, because she had a high
fever. Jocko took a fancy to the pretty bed, and after turning the
play-house topsy-turvy, he pulled poor Maud Mabel Rose Matilda out by
her flaxen hair, and stuffing her into the water-pitcher upside
down, got into the bed, drew the lace curtains, and prepared to doze
deliciously under the pink silk bed-cover.
Up came Nelly, and went at once to the dear invalid, saying in her
motherly little voice,--
"Now, my darling child, lie quite still, and I won't hurt you one bit."
But when she drew the curtain, instead of the lovely yellow-haired doll
in her ruffled nightcap, she saw an ugly little black face staring at
her, and a tiny hand holding the sheet fast. Nelly gave one scream, and
flew downstairs into the parlor where the Sewing-circle was at work,
frightening twenty-five excellent ladies by her cries, as she clung to
her mother, wailing,--
"A bogie! a bogie! I saw him, all black; and he snarled at me, and my
dolly is gone! What shall I do? oh, what shall I do?"
There was great confusion, for all the ladies talked at once; and it
so happened that none of them knew anything about the monkey, therefore
they all agreed that Nelly was a foolish child, and had made a fuss
about nothing. She cried dismally, and kept saying to her mother,--
"Go and see; it's in my dolly's bed,--I found it there, and darling
Maudie is gone."
"We _will_ go and see," said Mrs. Moses Merryweather,--a stout old lady,
who kept her six girls in such good order that _they_ would never have
dared to cry if ten monkeys had popped out at them.
Miss Hetty Bumpus, a tall thin maiden lady, with a sharp eye and pointed
nose, went with her; but at the door that led to the dining-room
both stopped short, and after one look came flying back, calling out
together,--
"Mrs. Brown, your supper is spoilt! a dreadful beast has ruined it all!"
Then twenty-five excited ladies flew across the hall to behold Jocko
sitting on the great cake in the middle of the table, his feet bathed
in cream from the overturned pitcher, while all around lay the ruins of
custards, tarts, biscuits, and sauce, not to mention nice napkins made
into hay-cocks, spoons, knives, and forks, on the floor, and the best
silver teapot in the fireplace.
While Nelly told her tale and the ladies questioned and comforted her,
this bad monkey had skipped downstairs and had a delightful party all
by himself. He was just scraping the jelly out of a tart when they
disturbed him; and knowing that more slaps were in store for him if he
stayed, he at once walked calmly down the ravaged table, and vanished
out of the window carrying the silver tea-strainer with him to play
with.
The ladies had no supper that night; and poor Mrs. Brown sent a note to
Aunt Jane, telling her the sad story, and adding that Nelly was quite
ill with the fright and the loss of dear Maud Mabel Rose Matilda,
drowned in the water-pitcher and forever spoilt.
"John shall go after that man to-morrow, and bring him back to carry
this terrible monkey away. I can't live with him a week; he will cost me
a fortune, and wear us all out," said Aunt Jane, when Jocko was safely
shut up in the cellar, after six boys had chased him all over the
neighborhood before they caught him.
Neddy was quite willing to let him go; but John was saved his journey,
for in the morning poor Jocko was found dead in a trap, where his
inquisitive head had been poked to see what the cheese tasted like.
So he was buried by the river, and every one felt much relieved; for the
man never came back, thinking Jocko dead when he left him. But he
had not lived in vain; for after this day of trial, mischievous Neddy
behaved much better, and Aunt Jane could always calm his prankish spirit
by saying, as her finger pointed to a little collar and chain hanging on
the wall,--
"If you want to act like naughty Jocko, say so, and I'll tie you up. One
monkey is enough for this family."
[Illustration: Kitty laughed, and began to dance.... Such twirlings and
skippings as she made.]
IV.
THE SKIPPING SHOES.
Once there was a little girl, named Kitty, who never wanted to do what
people asked her. She said "I won't" and "I can't," and did not run at
once pleasantly, as obliging children do.
One day her mother gave her a pair of new shoes; and after a fuss about
putting them on, Kitty said, as she lay kicking on the floor,--
"I wish these were seven-leagued boots, like Jack the Giant Killer's,
then it would be easy to run errands all the time. Now, I hate to keep
trotting, and I don't like new shoes, and I won't stir a step."
Just as she said that, the shoes gave a skip, and set her on her feet
so suddenly that it scared all the naughtiness out of her. She stood
looking at these curious shoes; and the bright buttons on them seemed
to wink at her like eyes, while the heels tapped on the floor a sort of
tune. Before she dared to stir, her mother called from the next room,--
"Kitty, run and tell the cook to make a pie for dinner; I forgot it."
"I don't want to," began Kitty, with a whine as usual.
But the words were hardly out of her mouth when the shoes gave one jump,
and took her downstairs, through the hall, and landed her at the kitchen
door. Her breath was nearly gone; but she gave the message, and turned
round, trying to see if the shoes would let her walk at all. They went
nicely till she wanted to turn into the china-closet where the cake was.
She was forbidden to touch it, but loved to take a bit when she could.
Now she found that her feet were fixed fast to the floor, and could not
be moved till her father said, as he passed the window close by,--
"You will have time to go to the post-office before school and get my
letters."
"I can't," began Kitty; but she found she could, for away went the
shoes, out of the house at one bound, and trotted down the street so
fast that the maid who ran after her with her hat could not catch her.
"I can't stop!" cried Kitty; and she did not till the shoes took her
straight into the office.
"What's the hurry to-day?" asked the man, as he saw her without any hat,
all rosy and breathless, and her face puckered up as if she did not know
whether to laugh or to cry.
"I won't tell any one about these dreadful shoes, and I'll take them off
as soon as I get home. I hope they will go back slowly, or people will
think I'm crazy," said Kitty to herself, as she took the letters and
went away.
The shoes walked nicely along till she came to the bridge; and there she
wanted to stop and watch some boys in a boat, forgetting school and her
father's letters. But the shoes wouldn't stop, though she tried to make
them, and held on to the railing as hard as she could. Her feet went on;
and when she sat down they still dragged her along so steadily that she
had to go, and she got up feeling that there was something very strange
about these shoes. The minute she gave up, all went smoothly, and she
got home in good time.
"I won't wear these horrid things another minute," said Kitty, sitting
on the doorstep and trying to unbutton the shoes.
But not a button could she stir, though she got red and angry struggling
to do it.
"Time for school; run away, little girl," called mamma from upstairs, as
the clock struck nine.
"I won't!" said Kitty, crossly.
But she did; for those magic shoes danced her off, and landed her at her
desk in five minutes.
"Well, I'm not late; that's one comfort," she thought, wishing she had
come pleasantly, and not been whisked away without any luncheon.
Her legs were so tired with the long skips that she was glad to sit
still; and that pleased the teacher, for generally she was fussing about
all lesson time. But at recess she got into trouble again; for one of
the children knocked down the house of corn-cobs she had built, and made
her angry.
"Now, I'll kick yours down, and see how you like it, Dolly."
Up went her foot, but it didn't come down; it stayed in the air, and
there she stood looking as if she were going to dance. The children
laughed to see her, and she could do nothing till she said to Dolly in a
great hurry,--
"Never mind; if you didn't mean to, I'll forgive you."
Then the foot went down, and Kitty felt so glad about it that she tried
to be pleasant, fearing some new caper of those dreadful shoes. She
began to see how they worked, and thought she would try if she had any
power over them. So, when one of the children wanted his ball, which had
bounced over the hedge, she said kindly,--"Perhaps I can get it for you,
Willy."
And over she jumped as lightly as if she too were an india-rubber ball.
"How could you do it?" cried the boys, much surprised; for not one of
them dared try such a high leap.
Kitty laughed, and began to dance, feeling pleased and proud to find
there was a good side to the shoes after all. Such twirlings and
skippings as she made, such pretty steps and airy little bounds it was
pretty to see; for it seemed as if her feet were bewitched, and went of
themselves. The little girls were charmed, and tried to imitate her,
but no one could, and they stood in a circle watching her dance till the
bell rang, then all rushed in to tell about it.
Kitty said it was her new shoes, and never told how queerly they acted,
hoping to have good times now. But she was mistaken.
On the way home she wanted to stop and see her friend Bell's new doll,
but at the gate her feet stuck fast, and she had to give up her wishes
and go straight on, as mamma had told her always to do.
"Run and pick a nice little dish of strawberries for dinner," said her
sister, as she went in.
"I'm too ti--" There was no time to finish, for the shoes landed her in
the middle of the strawberry bed at one jump.
"I might as well be a grasshopper if I'm to skip round like this," she
said, forgetting to feel tired out there in the pleasant garden, with
the robins picking berries close by, and a cool wind lifting the leaves
to show here the reddest and ripest ones hid.
The little dish was soon filled, and she wanted to stay and eat a few,
warm and sweet from the vines; but the bell rang, and away she went,
over the wood-pile, across the piazza, and into the dining-room before
the berry in her mouth was half eaten.
"How this child does rush about to-day!" said her mother. "It is so
delightful to have such a quick little errand-girl that I shall get her
to carry some bundles to my poor people this afternoon.
"Oh, dear me! I do hate to lug those old clothes and bottles and baskets
of cold victuals round. Must I do it?" sighed Kitty, dismally, while the
shoes tapped on the floor under the table, as if to remind her that she
must, whether she liked it or not.
"It would be right and kind, and would please me very much. But you may
do as you choose about it. I am very tired, and some one must go;
for the little Bryan baby is sick and needs what I send," said mamma,
looking disappointed.
Kitty sat very still and sober for some time, and no one spoke to her.
She was making up her mind whether she would go pleasantly or be whisked
about like a grasshopper against her will. When dinner was over, she
said in a cheerful voice,--
"I'll go, mamma; and when all the errands are done, may I come back
through Fairyland, as we call the little grove where the tall ferns
grow?"
"Yes, dear; when you oblige me, I am happy to please you."
"I'm glad I decided to be good; now I shall have a lovely time," said
Kitty to herself, as she trotted away with a basket in one hand, a
bundle in the other, and some money in her pocket for a poor old woman
who needed help.
The shoes went quietly along, and seemed to know just where to stop. The
sick baby's mother thanked her for the soft little nightgowns; the lame
girl smiled when she saw the books; the hungry children gathered round
the basket of food, like young birds eager to be fed; and the old woman
gave her a beautiful pink shell that her sailor son brought home from
sea.
When all the errands were done Kitty skipped away to Fairyland, feeling
very happy, as people always do when they have done kind things. It was
a lovely place; for the ferns made green arches tall enough for little
girls to sit under, and the ground was covered with pretty green moss
and wood-flowers. Birds flew about in the pines, squirrels chattered in
the oaks, butterflies floated here and there, and from the pond near by
came the croak of frogs sunning their green backs on the mossy stones.
"I wonder if the shoes will let me stop and rest; it is so cool here,
and I'm so tired," said Kitty, as she came to a cosey nook at the foot
of a tree.
The words were hardly out of her mouth when her feet folded under her,
and there she sat on a cushion of moss, like the queen of the wood on
her throne. Something lighted with a bump close by her; and looking
down she saw a large black cricket with a stiff tail, staring at her
curiously.
"Bless my heart! I thought you were some relation of my cousin
Grasshopper's. You came down the hill with long leaps just like him; so
I stopped to say, How d' ye do," said the cricket, in its creaky voice.
"I'm not a grasshopper; but I have on fairy shoes to-day, and so do many
things that I never did before," answered Kitty, much surprised to be
able to understand what the cricket said.
"It is midsummer day, and fairies can play whatever pranks they like.
If you didn't have those shoes on, you couldn't understand what I say.
Hark, and hear those squirrels talk, and the birds, and the ants down
here. Make the most of this chance; for at sunset your shoes will stop
skipping, and the fun all be over."
While the cricket talked Kitty did hear all sorts of little voices,
singing, laughing, chatting in the gayest way, and understood every word
they said. The squirrels called to one another as they raced about,--
"Here's a nut, there's a nut;
Hide it quick away,
In a hole, under leaves,
To eat some winter day.
Acorns sweet are plenty,
We will have them all:
Skip and scamper lively
Till the last ones fall."
The birds were singing softly,--
"Rock a bye, babies,
Your cradle hangs high;
Soft down your pillow,
Your curtain the sky.
Father will feed you,
While mother will sing,
And shelter our darlings
With her warm wing."
And the ants were saying to one another as they hurried in and out of
their little houses,--
"Work, neighbor, work!
Do not stop to play;
Wander far and wide,
Gather all you may.
We are never like
Idle butterflies,
But like the busy bees,
Industrious and wise."
"Ants always were dreadfully good, but butterflies are ever so much
prettier," said Kitty, listening to the little voices with wonder and
pleasure.
"Hello! hello!
Come down below,-- It's lovely and cool
Out here in the pool;
On a lily-pad float
For a nice green boat.
Here we sit and sing
In a pleasant ring;
Or leap frog play,
In the jolliest way.
Our games have begun,
Come join in the fun."
"Dear me! what could I do over there in the mud with the queer green
frogs?" laughed Kitty, as this song was croaked at her.
"No, no, come and fly
Through the sunny sky,
Or honey sip
From the rose's lip,
Or dance in the air,
Like spirits fair.
Come away, come away;
'Tis our holiday."
A cloud of lovely yellow butterflies flew up from a wild-rose bush, and
went dancing away higher and higher, till they vanished in the light
beyond the wood.
"That is better than leap-frog. I wish my skipping shoes would let me
fly up somewhere, instead of carrying me on errands and where I ought to
go all the time," said Kitty, watching the pretty things glitter as they
flew.
Just at that minute a clock struck, and away went the shoes over the
pool, the hill, the road, till they pranced in at the gate as the
tea-bell rang. Kitty amused the family by telling what she had done
and seen; but no one believed the Fairyland part, and her father said,
laughing,--
"Go on, my dear, making up little stories, and by and by you may be as
famous as Hans Christian Andersen, whose books you like so well."
"The sun will soon set, and then my fun will be over; so I must skip
while I can," thought Kitty, and went waltzing round the lawn so
prettily that all the family came to see her.
"She dances so well that she shall go to dancing-school," said her
mother, pleased with the pretty antics of her little girl.
Kitty was delighted to hear that; for she had longed to go, and went on
skipping as hard as she could, that she might learn some of the graceful
steps the shoes took before the day was done.
"Come, dear, stop now, and run up to your bath and bed. It has been a
long hot day, and you are tired; so get to sleep early, for Nursey wants
to go out," said her mother, as the sun went down behind the hills with
a last bright glimmer, like the wink of a great sleepy eye.
"Oh, please, a few minutes more," began Kitty, but was off like a flash;
for the shoes trotted her upstairs so fast that she ran against old
Nursey, and down she went, splashing the water all over the floor, and
scolding in such a funny way that it made Kitty laugh so that she could
hardly pick her up again.
By the time she was ready to undress the sun was quite gone, and the
shoes she took off were common ones again, for midsummer day was over.
But Kitty never forgot the little lessons she had learned: she tried to
run willingly when spoken to; she remembered the pretty steps and
danced like a fairy; and best of all, she always loved the innocent and
interesting little creatures in the woods and fields, and whenever she
was told she might go to play with them, she hurried away almost as
quickly as if she still wore the skipping shoes.
[Illustration: So Cocky was brought in, and petted.]
V.
COCKYLOO.
In the barnyard a gray hen sat on her nest, feeling very happy because
it was time for her eggs to hatch, and she hoped to have a fine brood of
chickens. Presently crack, crack, went the shells, "Peep, peep!" cried
the chicks; "Cluck, cluck!" called the hen; and out came ten downy
little things one after the other, all ready to run and eat and
scratch,--for chickens are not like babies, and don't have to be tended
at all.
There were eight little hens and two little cockerels, one black and one
as white as snow, with yellow legs, bright eyes, and a tiny red comb on
his head. This was Cockyloo, the good chick; but the black one was named
Peck, and was a quarrelsome bad fowl, as we shall see.
Mrs. Partlet, the mamma, was very proud of her fine family; for the
eight little daughters were all white and very pretty. She led them out
into the farmyard, clucking and scratching busily; for all were hungry,
and ran chirping round her to pick up the worms and seeds she found for
them. Cocky soon began to help take care of his sisters; and when a nice
corn or a fat bug was found, he would step back and let little Downy or
Snowball have it. But Peck would run and push them away, and gobble up
the food greedily. He chased them away from the pan where the meal was,
and picked the down off their necks if they tried to get their share.
His mother scolded him when the little ones ran to hide under her wings;
but he didn't care, and was very naughty. Cocky began to crow when he
was very young, and had such a fine voice that people liked to hear
his loud, clear "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" early in the morning; for he woke
before the sun was up, and began his song. Peck used to grumble at being
roused at dawn, for he was lazy; but the hens bustled up, and were glad
to get out of the hen-house.
The father cock had been killed by a dog; so they made Cocky king of the
farmyard, and Peck was very jealous of him.
"I came out of the shell first, and I am the oldest; so I ought to be
king," he said.
"But we don't like you, because you are selfish, cross, and lazy. We
want Cocky; he is so lively, kind, and brave. He will make a splendid
bird, and _he_ must be our king," answered the hens; and Peck had to
mind, or they would have pulled every feather out of his little tail.
He resolved to do some harm to his good brother, and plagued him all he
could. One day, when Cocky was swinging with three of his sisters on a
bush that hung over the brook, Peck asked a stupid donkey feeding near
to come and put his heavy foot on the bush. He did it, and crack went
the branch, splash went the poor chicks into the water, and all were
drowned but Cocky, who flew across and was saved. Poor little Hop,
Chirp, and Downy went floating down the brook like balls of white foam,
and were never seen again. All the hens mourned for them, and put a
black feather in their heads to show how sorry they were. Mamma Partlet
was heart-broken to lose three darlings at once; but Cocky comforted
her, and never told how it happened, because he was ashamed to have
people know what a bad bird Peck was.
A butterfly saw it all, and he told Granny Cockletop about it; and the
hens were so angry that they turned Peck out of the barnyard, and he had
to go and live in the woods alone. He said he didn't care; but he did,
and was very unhappy, and used to go and peep into the pleasant field
where the fowls scratched and talked together. He dared not show
himself, for they would have driven him out. But kind Cocky saw him, and
would run with some nice bit and creep through the fence into the wood,
saying,--"Poor brother, I'm sorry for you, and I'll come and play with
you, and tell you the news."
Now in this wood lived a fox, and he had been planning to eat Peck as
soon as he was fat; for he missed the good corn and meal he used to
have, and grew very thin living on grasshoppers and berries. While he
waited the sly fellow made friends with Peck, though the bird knew that
foxes ate hens.
"I'm not afraid, and I don't believe old Granny Cockletop's tales. I
can take care of myself, I guess," he said, and went on playing with
the fox, who got him to tell all about the hen-house,--how the door was
fastened, and where the plump chickens roosted, and what time they went
to bed,--so that he could creep in and steal a good supper by and by.
Silly Peck never guessed what harm he was doing, and only laughed when
Cocky said,--
"You will be sorry if you play with the fox. He is a bad fellow; so be
careful and sleep on a high branch, and keep out of his way, as I do."
Cocky was fat and large, and the fox longed to eat him, but never could,
because he wisely ran home whenever he saw the rogue hiding in the wood.
This made Peck angry, for he wanted his brother to stay and play; and
so one day, when Cocky ran off in the midst of a nice game, Peck said to
the fox,--
"See here, if you want to catch that fellow, I'll tell you how to do it.
He has promised to bring me some food to-night, when all the rest are
at roost. He will hide and not get shut up; then, when those cross old
biddies are asleep, he will cluck softly, and I am to go in and eat all
I want out of the pan. You hide on the top of the hen-house; and while
he talks to me, you can pounce on him. Then I shall be the only cock
here, and they will have to make me king."
"All right," said the fox, much pleased with the plan, and very glad
that Peck had a chance to get fatter.
So when it was night, Peck crept through the broken paling and waited
till he heard the signal. Now, good Cocky had saved up nice bits from
his own dinner, and put them in a paper hidden under a bush. He spread
them all out in the barnyard and called; and Peck came in a great hurry
to eat them, never stopping to say, "Thank you."
Cocky stood by talking pleasantly till a little shower came up.
"Peck, dear, put this nice thick paper over you; then you will be dry,
and can go on eating. I'll step under that burdock leaf and wait till
you are done," said Cocky; and Peck was too busy gobbling up the food to
remember anything else.
Now the fox had just crept up on the hen-house roof; and when he peeped
down, there was just light enough to see a white thing bobbing about.
"Ah, ha! that's Cockyloo; now for a good supper!" And with a jump he
seized Peck by the head before he could explain the mistake.
One squawk, and the naughty bird was dead; but though the paper fell
off, and the fox saw what he had done, it was too late, and he began to
eat Peck up, while Cocky flew into a tree and crowed so loud that the
farmer ran with his gun and shot the fox before he could squeeze through
the hole in the fence with the fowl in his mouth.
After that the hens felt safe, for there were no more foxes; and when
they heard about Peck they did not mourn at all, but liked Cocky better
than ever, and lived happily together, with nothing to trouble them.
King Cockyloo grew to be a splendid bird,--pure white, with a tall red
comb on his head, long spurs on his yellow legs, many fine feathers in
his tail, and eyes that shone like diamonds. His crow was so loud that
it could be heard all over the neighborhood, and people used to say,
"Hark! hear Farmer Hunt's cock crow. Isn't it a sweet sound to wake us
in the dawn?" All the other cocks used to answer him, and there was a
fine matinee concert every day.
He was a good brother, and led his five little sisters all about the
field, feeding, guarding, and amusing them; for mamma was lame now, and
could not stir far from the yard. It was a pretty sight to see Cocky run
home with a worm in his bill or a nice berry, and give it to his mother,
who was very proud of her handsome son. Even old Granny Cockletop, who
scolded about everything, liked him; and often said, as the hens sat
scuffling in the dust,--
"A fine bird, my dears, a very fine bird, and I know he will do
something remarkable before he dies."
She was right for once; and this is what he did.
One day the farmer had to go away and stay all night, leaving the old
lady alone with two boys. They were not afraid; for they had a gun, and
quite longed for a chance to fire it. Now it happened that the farmer
had a good deal of money in the house, and some bad men knew it; so they
waited for him to go away that they might steal it. Cocky was picking
about in the field when he heard voices behind the wall, and peeping
through a hole saw two shabby men hiding there.
"At twelve, to-night, when all are asleep, we will creep in at the
kitchen window and steal the money. You shall watch on the outside and
whistle if any one comes along while I'm looking for the box where the
farmer keeps it," said one man.
"You needn't be afraid; there is no dog, and no one to wake the family,
so we are quite safe," said the other man; and then they both went to
sleep till night came.
Cocky was much troubled, and didn't know what to do. He could not tell
the old lady about it; for he could only cackle and crow, and she would
not understand that language. So he went about all day looking very
sober, and would not chase grasshoppers, play hide-and-seek under the
big burdock leaves, or hunt the cricket with his sisters. At sunset he
did not go into the hen-house with the rest, but flew up to the shed
roof over the kitchen, and sat there in the cold ready to scare the
robbers with a loud crow, as he could do nothing else.
At midnight the men came creeping along; one stopped outside, and the
other went in. Presently he handed a basket of silver out, and went back
for the money. Just as he came creeping along with the box, Cocky gave a
loud, long crow, that frightened the robbers and woke the boys. The man
with the basket ran away in such a hurry that he tumbled into a well;
the other was going to get out of the window, when Cocky flew down and
picked at his eyes and flapped his wings in his face, so that he turned
to run some other way, and met the boys, who fired at him and shot him
in the legs. The old lady popped her head out of the upper window and
rang the dinner-bell, and called "Fire! fire!" so loud that it roused
the neighbors, who came running to see what the trouble could be.
They fished one man out of the well and picked up the wounded one, and
carried them both off to prison.
"Who caught them?" asked the people.
"We did," cried the boys, very proud of what they had done; "but we
shouldn't have waked if our good Cocky had not crowed, and scared the
rascals. He deserves half the praise, for this is the second time he has
caught a thief."
So Cocky was brought in, and petted, and called a fine fellow; and his
family were so proud of him they clucked about it for weeks afterward.
When the robbers were tried, it was found that they were the men who had
robbed the bank, and taken a great deal of money; so every one was glad
to have them shut up for twenty years. It made a great stir, and people
would go to see Cocky and tell how he helped catch the men; and he was
so brave and handsome, they said at last,--
"We want a new weather-cock on our court-house, and instead of an arrow
let us have a cock; and he shall look like this fine fellow."
"Yes, yes," cried the young folks, much pleased; for they thought Cocky
ought to be remembered in some way.
So a picture was taken, and Cocky stood very still, with his bright eye
on the man; then one like it was made of brass, and put high up on the
court-house, where all could see the splendid bird shining like gold,
and twirling about to tell which way the wind was. The children were
never tired of admiring him; and all the hens and chickens went in a
procession one moonlight night to see it,--yes, even Mamma Partlet and
Granny Cockletop, though one was lame and the other very old, so full of
pride were they in the great honor done King Cockyloo.
This was not the end of his good deeds; and the last was the best of
all, though it cost him his life. He ruled for some years, and kept his
kingdom in good order; for no one would kill him, when many of the other
fowls were taken for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. But he did die
at last; and even then he was good and brave, as you shall hear.
One of the boys wanted to smoke a pipe, and went behind the hen-house,
so nobody should see him do such a silly thing. He thought he heard
his father coming, and hid the pipe under the house. Some straw and dry
leaves lay about, and took fire, setting the place in a blaze; for the
boy ran away when he saw the mischief he had done, and the fire got to
burning nicely before the cries of the poor hens called people to help.
The door was locked, and could not be opened, because the key was in the
pocket of the naughty boy; so the farmer got an axe and chopped down the
wall, letting the poor biddies fly out, squawking and smoking.
"Where is Cocky?" cried the other boy, as he counted the hens and missed
the king of the farmyard.
"Burnt up, I'm afraid," said the farmer, who was throwing water on the
flames.
Alas! yes, he was: for when the fire was out they found good old Cocky
sitting on a nest, with his wide wings spread over some little chicks
whose mother had left them. They were too small to run away, and sat
chirping sadly till Cocky covered and kept them safe, though the smoke
choked _him_ to death.
Every one was very sorry; and the children gave the good bird a fine
funeral, and buried him in the middle of the field, with a green mound
over him, and a white stone, on which was written,--
Here lies the bravest cock that ever crew:
We mourn for him with sorrow true.
Now nevermore at dawn his music shall we hear,
Waking the world like trumpet shrill and clear.
The hens all hang their heads, the chickens sadly peep;
The boys look sober, and the girls all weep.
Good-by, dear Cocky: sleep and rest,
With grass and daisies on your faithful breast;
And when you wake, brave bird, so good and true,
Clap your white wings and crow, "Cock-a-doodle-doo."
[Illustration: The lion walked awhile to rest himself.]
VI.
ROSY'S JOURNEY.
Rosy was a nice little girl who lived with her mother in a small house
in the woods. They were very poor, for the father had gone away to dig
gold, and did not come back; so they had to work hard to get food to eat
and clothes to wear. The mother spun yarn when she was able, for she was
often sick, and Rosy did all she could to help. She milked the red cow
and fed the hens; dug the garden, and went to town to sell the yarn and
the eggs.
She was very good and sweet, and every one loved her; but the neighbors
were all poor, and could do little to help the child. So, when at last
the mother died, the cow and hens and house had to be sold to pay the
doctor and the debts. Then Rosy was left all alone, with no mother, no
home, and no money to buy clothes and dinners with.
"What will you do?" said the people, who were very sorry for her.
"I will go and find my father," answered Rosy, bravely.
"But he is far away, and you don't know just where he is, up among the
mountains. Stay with us and spin on your little wheel, and we will buy
the yarn, and take care of you, dear little girl," said the kind people.
"No, I must go; for mother told me to, and my father will be glad
to have me. I'm not afraid, for every one is good to me," said Rosy,
gratefully.
Then the people gave her a warm red cloak, and a basket with a little
loaf and bottle of milk in it, and some pennies to buy more to eat when
the bread was gone. They all kissed her, and wished her good luck; and
she trotted away through the wood to find her father.
For some days she got on very well; for the wood-cutters were kind, and
let her sleep in their huts, and gave her things to eat. But by and by
she came to lonely places, where there were no houses; and then she
was afraid, and used to climb up in the trees to sleep, and had to eat
berries and leaves, like the Children in the Wood.
She made a fire at night, so wild beasts would not come near her; and if
she met other travellers, she was so young and innocent no one had the
heart to hurt her. She was kind to everything she met; so all little
creatures were friends to her, as we shall see.
One day, as she was resting by a river, she saw a tiny fish on the bank,
nearly dead for want of water.
"Poor thing! go and be happy again," she said, softly taking him up, and
dropping him into the nice cool river.
"Thank you, dear child; I'll not forget, but will help you some day,"
said the fish, when he had taken a good drink, and felt better.
"Why, how can a tiny fish help such a great girl as I am?" laughed Rosy.
"Wait and see," answered the fish, as he swam away with a flap of his
little tail.
Rosy went on her way, and forgot all about it. But she never forgot
to be kind; and soon after, as she was looking in the grass for
strawberries, she found a field-mouse with a broken leg.
"Help me to my nest, or my babies will starve," cried the poor thing.
"Yes, I will; and bring these berries so that you can keep still till
your leg is better, and have something to eat."
Rosy took the mouse carefully in her little hand, and tied up the broken
leg with a leaf of spearmint and a blade of grass. Then she carried her
to the nest under the roots of an old tree, where four baby mice were
squeaking sadly for their mother. She made a bed of thistledown for the
sick mouse, and put close within reach all the berries and seeds she
could find, and brought an acorn-cup of water from the spring, so they
could be comfortable.
"Good little Rosy, I shall pay you for all this kindness some day," said
the mouse, when she was done.
"I'm afraid you are not big enough to do much," answered Rosy, as she
ran off to go on her journey.
"Wait and see," called the mouse; and all the little ones squeaked, as
if they said the same.
Some time after, as Rosy lay up in a tree, waiting for the sun to rise,
she heard a great buzzing close by, and saw a fly caught in a cobweb
that went from one twig to another. The big spider was trying to spin
him all up, and the poor fly was struggling to get away before his legs
and wings were helpless.
Rosy put up her finger and pulled down the web, and the spider ran away
at once to hide under the leaves. But the happy fly sat on Rosy's hand,
cleaning his wings, and buzzing so loud for joy that it sounded like a
little trumpet.
"You've saved my life, and I'll save yours, if I can," said the fly,
twinkling his bright eye at Rosy.
"You silly thing, you can't help me," answered Rosy, climbing down,
while the fly buzzed away, saying, like the mouse and fish,--
"Wait and see; wait and see."
Rosy trudged on and on, till at last she came to the sea. The mountains
were on the other side; but how should she get over the wide water? No
ships were there, and she had no money to hire one if there had been
any; so she sat on the shore, very tired and sad, and cried a few big
tears as salt as the sea.
"Hullo!" called a bubbly sort of voice close by; and the fish popped up
his head. Rosy ran to see what he wanted.
"I've come to help you over the water," said the fish.
"How can you, when I want a ship, and some one to show me the way?"
answered Rosy.
"I shall just call my friend the whale, and he will take you over better
than a ship, because he won't get wrecked. Don't mind if he spouts
and flounces about a good deal, he is only playing; so you needn't be
frightened."
Down dived the little fish, and Rosy waited to see what would happen;
for she didn't believe such a tiny thing could really bring a whale to
help her.
Presently what looked like a small island came floating through the sea;
and turning round, so that its tail touched the shore, the whale said,
in a roaring voice that made her jump,--
"Come aboard, little girl, and hold on tight. I'll carry you wherever
you like."
It was rather a slippery bridge, and Rosy was rather scared at this big,
strange boat; but she got safely over, and held on fast; then, with a
roll and a plunge, off went the whale, spouting two fountains, while his
tail steered him like the rudder of a ship.
Rosy liked it, and looked down into the deep sea, where all sorts of
queer and lovely things were to be seen. Great fishes came and looked at
her; dolphins played near to amuse her; the pretty nautilus sailed by
in its transparent boat; and porpoises made her laugh with their rough
play. Mermaids brought her pearls and red coral to wear, sea-apples to
eat, and at night sung her to sleep with their sweet lullabies.
So she had a very pleasant voyage, and ran on shore with many thanks to
the good whale, who gave a splendid spout, and swam away.
Then Rosy travelled along till she came to a desert. Hundreds of miles
of hot sand, with no trees or brooks or houses.
"I never can go that way," she said; "I should starve, and soon be worn
out walking in that hot sand. What _shall_ I do?"
"Quee, quee!
Wait and see:
You were good to me;
So here I come,
From my little home,
To help you willingly,"
said a friendly voice; and there was the mouse, looking at her with its
bright eyes full of gratitude.
"Why, you dear little thing, I'm very glad to see you; but I'm sure you
can't help me across this desert," said Rosy, stroking its soft back.
"That's easy enough," answered the mouse, rubbing its paws briskly.
"I'll just call my friend the lion; he lives here, and he'll take you
across with pleasure."
"Oh, I'm afraid he'd rather eat me. How dare you call that fierce
beast?" cried Rosy, much surprised.
"I gnawed him out of a net once, and he promised to help me. He is a
noble animal, and he will keep his word."
Then the mouse sang, in its shrill little voice,--
"O lion, grand,
Come over the sand,
And help me now, I pray!
Here's a little lass,
Who wants to pass;
Please carry her on her way."
In a moment a loud roar was heard, and a splendid yellow lion, with
fiery eyes and a long mane, came bounding over the sand to meet them.
"What can I do for you, tiny friend?" he said, looking at the mouse, who
was not a bit frightened, though Rosy hid behind a rock, expecting every
moment to be eaten.
Mousie told him, and the good lion said pleasantly,--
"I'll take the child along. Come on, my dear; sit on my back and hold
fast to my mane, for I'm a swift horse, and you might fall off."
Then he crouched down like a great cat, and Rosy climbed up, for he was
so kind she could not fear him; and away they went, racing over the sand
till her hair whistled in the wind. As soon as she got her breath, she
thought it great fun to go flying along, while other lions and tigers
rolled their fierce eyes at her, but dared not touch her; for this lion
was king of all, and she was quite safe. They met a train of camels with
loads on their backs; and the people travelling with them wondered
what queer thing was riding that fine lion. It looked like a very large
monkey in a red cloak, but went so fast they never saw that it was a
little girl.
"How glad I am that I was kind to the mouse; for if the good little
creature had not helped me, I never could have crossed this desert,"
said Rosy, as the lion walked awhile to rest himself.
"And if the mouse had not gnawed me out of the net I never should have
come at her call. You see, little people can conquer big ones, and make
them gentle and friendly by kindness," answered the lion.
Then away they went again, faster than ever, till they came to the green
country. Rosy thanked the good beast, and he ran back, for if any one
saw him, they would try to catch him.
"Now I have only to climb up these mountains and find father," thought
Rosy, as she saw the great hills before her, with many steep roads
winding up to the top, and far, far away rose the smoke from the huts
where the men lived and dug for gold. She started off bravely, but took
the wrong road, and after climbing a long while found the path ended in
rocks over which she could not go. She was very tired and hungry; for
her food was gone, and there were no houses in this wild place. Night
was coming on, and it was so cold she was afraid she would freeze before
morning, but dared not go on lest she should fall down some steep hole
and be killed. Much discouraged, she lay down on the moss and cried a
little; then she tried to sleep, but something kept buzzing in her ear,
and looking carefully she saw a fly prancing about on the moss, as if
anxious to make her listen to his song,--
"Rosy, my dear,
Don't cry,--I'm here
To help you all I can.
I'm only a fly,
But you'll see that I
Will keep my word like a man."
Rosy couldn't help laughing to hear the brisk little fellow talk as if
he could do great things; but she was very glad to see him and hear his
cheerful song, so she held out her finger, and while he sat there told
him all her troubles.
"Bless your heart! my friend the eagle will carry you right up the
mountains and leave you at your father's door," cried the fly; and he
was off with a flirt of his gauzy wings, for he meant what he said.
Rosy was ready for her new horse, and not at all afraid after the whale
and the lion; so when a great eagle swooped down and alighted near her,
she just looked at his sharp claws, big eyes, and crooked beak as coolly
as if he had been a cock-robin.
He liked her courage, and said kindly in his rough voice,--
"Hop up, little girl, and sit among my feathers. Hold me fast round the
neck, or you may grow dizzy and get a fall."
Rosy nestled down among the thick gray feathers, and put both arms round
his neck; and whiz they went, up, up, up, higher and higher, till the
trees looked like grass, they were so far below. At first it was very
cold, and Rosy cuddled deeper into her feather bed; then, as they came
nearer to the sun, it grew warm, and she peeped out to see the huts
standing in a green spot on the top of the mountain.
"Here we are. You'll find all the men are down in the mine at this
time. They won't come up till morning; so you will have to wait for your
father. Good-by; good luck, my dear." And the eagle soared away, higher
still, to his nest among the clouds.
It was night now, but fires were burning in all the houses; so Rosy went
from hut to hut trying to find her father's, that she might rest while
she waited: at last in one the picture of a pretty little girl hung on
the wall, and under it was written, "My Rosy." Then she knew that this
was the right place; and she ate some supper, put on more wood, and went
to bed, for she wanted to be fresh when her father came in the morning.
While she slept a storm came on,--thunder rolled and lightning flashed,
the wind blew a gale, and rain poured,--but Rosy never waked till dawn,
when she heard men shouting outside,--
"Run, run! The river is rising! We shall all be drowned!"
Rosy ran out to see what was the matter, though the wind nearly blew her
away; she found that so much rain had made the river overflow till it
began to wash the banks away.
"What shall I do? what shall I do?" cried Rosy, watching the men rush
about like ants, getting their bags of gold ready to carry off before
the water swept them away, if it became a flood.
As if in answer to her cry, Rosy heard a voice say close by,--
"Splash, dash!
Rumble and crash!
Here come the beavers gay;
See what they do,
Rosy, for you,
Because you helped _me_ one day."
And there in the water was the little fish swimming about, while an army
of beavers began to pile up earth and stones in a high bank to keep the
river back. How they worked, digging and heaping with teeth and claws,
and beating the earth hard with their queer tails like shovels! Rosy and
the men watched them work, glad to be safe, while the storm cleared up;
and by the time the dam was made, all danger was over. Rosy looked into
the faces of the rough men, hoping her father was there, and was just
going to ask about him, when a great shouting rose again, and all began
to run to the pit hole, saying,--
"The sand has fallen in! The poor fellows will be smothered! How can we
get them out? how can we get them out?"
Rosy ran too, feeling as if her heart would break; for her father was
down in the mine, and would die soon if air did not come to him. The men
dug as hard as they could; but it was a long job, and they feared they
would not be in time.
Suddenly hundreds of moles came scampering along, and began to burrow
down through the earth, making many holes for air to go in; for they
know how to build galleries through the ground better than men can.
Every one was so surprised they stopped to look on; for the dirt flew
like rain as the busy little fellows scratched and bored as if making an
underground railway.
"What does it mean?" said the men. "They work faster than we can, and
better; but who sent them? Is this strange little girl a fairy?"
Before Rosy could speak, all heard a shrill, small voice singing,--
"They come at my call;
And though they are small,
They'll dig the passage clear:
I never forget;
We'll save them yet,
For love of Rosy dear."
Then all saw a little gray mouse sitting on a stone, waving her tail
about, and pointing with her tiny paw to show the moles where to dig.
The men laughed; and Rosy was telling them who she was, when a cry came
from the pit, and they saw that the way was clear so they could pull the
buried men up. In a minute they got ropes, and soon had ten poor fellows
safe on the ground; pale and dirty, but all alive, and all shouting as
if they were crazy,--
"Tom's got it! Tom's got it! Hooray for Tom!"
"What is it?" cried the others; and then they saw Tom come up with the
biggest lump of gold ever found in the mountains.
Every one was glad of Tom's luck; for he was a good man, and had worked
a long time, and been sick, and couldn't go back to his wife and child.
When he saw Rosy, he dropped the lump, and caught her up, saying,--
"My little girl! she's better than a million pounds of gold."
Then Rosy was very happy, and went back to the hut, and had a lovely
time telling her father all about her troubles and her travels. He cried
when he heard that the poor mother was dead before she could have any of
the good things the gold would buy them.
"We will go away and be happy together in the pleasantest home I can
find, and never part any more, my darling," said the father, kissing
Rosy as she sat on his knee with her arms round his neck.
She was just going to say something very sweet to comfort him, when a
fly lit on her arm and buzzed very loud,--
"Don't drive me away,
But hear what I say:
Bad men want the gold;
They will steal it to-night,
And you must take flight;
So be quiet and busy and bold."
"I was afraid some one would take my lump away. I'll pack up at once,
and we will creep off while the men are busy at work; though I'm afraid
we can't go fast enough to be safe, if they miss us and come after,"
said Tom, bundling his gold into a bag and looking very sober; for some
of the miners were wild fellows, and might kill him for the sake of that
great lump.
But the fly sang again,--
"Slip away with me,
And you will see
What a wise little thing am I;
For the road I show
No man can know,
Since it's up in the pathless sky."
Then they followed Buzz to a quiet nook in the wood; and there were the
eagle and his mate waiting to fly away with them so fast and so far that
no one could follow. Rosy and the bag of gold were put on the mother
eagle; Tom sat astride the king bird; and away they flew to a great
city, where the little girl and her father lived happily together all
their lives.
[Illustration: Poor Billy dangling from a bough, high above the ground.]
VII.
HOW THEY RAN AWAY.
Two little boys sat on the fence whittling arrows one fine day. Said one
little boy to the other little boy,--
"Let's do something jolly."
"All right. What will we do?"
"Run off to the woods and be hunters."
"What can we hunt?"
"Bears and foxes."
"Mullin says there ain't any round here."
"Well, we can shoot squirrels and snare wood-chucks."
"Haven't got any guns and trap."
"We've got our bows, and I found an old trap behind the barn."
"What will we eat?"
"Here's our lunch; and when that's gone we can roast the squirrels and
cook the fish on a stick. I know how."
"Where will you get the fire?"
"Got matches in my pocket."
"I've got a lot of things we could use. Let's see."
And as if satisfied at last, cautious Billy displayed his treasures,
while bold Tommy did the same.
Besides the two knives there were strings, nails, matches, a piece of
putty, fish-hooks, and two very dirty handkerchiefs.
"There, sir, that's a first-rate fit-out for hunters; and with the jolly
basket of lunch Mrs. Mullin gave us, we can get on tip-top for two or
three days," said Tommy, eager to be off.
"Where shall we sleep?" asked Billy, who liked to be comfortable both
night and day.
"Oh, up in trees or on beds of leaves, like the fellows in our books. If
you are afraid, stay at home; I'm going to have no end of a good time."
And Tommy crammed the things back into his pockets as if there were no
time to lose.
"Pooh! I ain't afraid. Come on!" And jumping down Billy caught up his
rod, rather ashamed of his many questions.
No one was looking at them, and they might have walked quietly off; but
that the "running away" might be all right, both raced down the road,
tumbled over a wall, and dashed into the woods as if a whole tribe of
wild Indians were after them.
"Do you know the way?" panted Billy, when at last they stopped for
breath.
"Yes, it winds right up the mountain; but we'd better not keep to it, or
some one will see us and take us back. We are going to be _real_ hunters
and have adventures; so we must get lost, and find our way by the sun
and the stars," answered Tommy, who had read so many Boys' Books his
little head was a jumble of Texan Rangers, African Explorers, and
Buffalo Bills; and he burned to outdo them all.
"What will our mothers say if we really get lost?" asked Billy, always
ready with a question.
"Mine won't fuss. She lets me do what I like."
That was true; for Tommy's poor mamma was tired of trying to keep the
lively little fellow in order, and had got used to seeing him come out
of all his scrapes without much harm.
"Mine will be scared; she's always afraid I'm going to get hurt, so I'm
careful. But I guess I'll risk it, and have some fun to tell about when
we go home," said Billy, trudging after Captain Tommy, who always took
the lead.
These eleven-year-old boys were staying with their mothers at a
farm-house up among the mountains; and having got tired of the tame
bears, the big barn, the trout brook, the thirty colts at pasture, and
the society of the few little girls and younger boys at the hotel near
by, these fine fellows longed to break loose and "rough it in the bush,"
as the hunters did in their favorite stories.
Away they went, deeper and deeper into the great forest that covered the
side of the mountain. A pleasant place that August day; for it was cool
and green, with many brooks splashing over the rocks, or lying in brown
pools under the ferns. Squirrels chattered and raced in the tall pines;
now and then a gray rabbit skipped out of sight among the brakes, or
a strange bird flew by. Here and there blackberries grew in the open
places, sassafras bushes were plentiful, and black-birch bark was ready
for chewing.
"Don't you call this nice?" asked Tommy, pausing at last in a little
dell where a noisy brook came tumbling down the mountain side, and the
pines sung overhead.
"Yes; but I'm awful hungry. Let's rest and eat our lunch," said Billy,
sitting down on a cushion of moss.
"You always want to be stuffing and resting," answered sturdy Tommy, who
liked to be moving all the time.
He took the fishing-basket, which hung over his shoulder by a strap,
and opened it carefully; for good Mrs. Mullin had packed a nice lunch of
bread and butter, cake and peaches, with a bottle of milk, and two large
pickles slipped in on the sly to please the boys.
Tommy's face grew very sober as he looked in, for all he saw was a box
of worms for bait and an old jacket.
"By George! we've got the wrong basket. This is Mullin's, and he's gone
off with our prog. Won't he be mad?"
"Not as mad as I am. Why didn't you look? You are always in such a hurry
to start. What _shall_ we do now without anything to eat?" whined Billy;
for losing his lunch was a dreadful blow to him.
"We shall have to catch some fish and eat blackberries. Which will you
do, old cry-baby?" said Tommy, laughing at the other boy's dismal face.
"I'll fish; I'm so tired I can't go scratching round after berries. I
don't love 'em, either." And Billy began to fix his line and bait his
hook.
"Lucky we got the worms; you can eat 'em if you can't wait for fish,"
said Tommy, bustling about to empty the basket and pile up their few
possessions in a heap. "There's a quiet pool below here, you go and fish
there. I'll pick the berries, and then show you how to get dinner in the
woods. This is our camp; so fly round and do your best."
Then Tommy ran off to a place near by where he had seen the berries,
while Billy found a comfortable nook by the pool, and sat scowling at
the water so crossly, it was a wonder any trout came to his hook. But
the fat worms tempted several small ones, and he cheered up at the
prospect of food. Tommy whistled while he picked, and in half an hour
came back with two quarts of nice berries and an armful of dry sticks
for the fire.
"We'll have a jolly dinner, after all," he said, as the flames went
crackling up, and the dry leaves made a pleasant smell.
"Got four, but don't see how we'll ever cook 'em; no frying-pan,"
grumbled Billy, throwing down the four little trout, which he had half
cleaned.
"Don't want any. Broil 'em on the coals, or toast 'em on a forked stick.
I'll show you how," said cheerful Tommy, whittling away, and feeding his
fire as much like a real hunter as a small boy could be.
While he worked, Billy ate berries and sighed for bread and butter. At
last, after much trouble, two of the trout were half cooked and eagerly
eaten by the hungry boys. But they were very different from the nice
brown ones Mrs. Mullin gave them; for in spite of Tommy's struggles they
would fall in the ashes, and there was no salt to eat with them. By the
time the last were toasted, the young hunters were so hungry they could
have eaten anything, and not a berry was left.
"I set the trap down there, for I saw a hole among the vines, and I
shouldn't wonder if we got a rabbit or something," said Tommy, when the
last bone was polished. "You go and catch some more fish, and I'll see
if I have caught any old chap as he went home to dinner."
Off ran Tommy; and the other boy went slowly back to the brook, wishing
with all his might he was at home eating sweet corn and berry pie.
The trout had evidently gone to their dinners, for not one bite did poor
Billy get; and he was just falling asleep when a loud shout gave him
such a fright that he tumbled into the brook up to his knees.
"I've got him! Come and see! He's a bouncer," roared Tommy, from the
berry bushes some way off.
Billy scrambled out, and went as fast as his wet boots would let him, to
see what the prize was. He found Tommy dancing wildly round a fat gray
animal, who was fighting to get his paws out of the trap, and making a
queer noise as he struggled about.
"What is it?" asked Billy, getting behind a tree as fast as possible,
for the thing looked fierce, and he was very timid.
"A raccoon, I guess, or a big woodchuck. Won't his fur make a fine cap?
I guess the other fellows will wish they'd come with us." said Tommy,
prancing to and fro, without the least idea what to do with the
creature.
"He'll bite. We'd better run away and wait till he's dead," said Billy.
"Wish he'd got his head in, then I could carry him off; but he does
look savage, so we'll have to leave him awhile, and get him when we come
back. But he's a real beauty." And Tommy looked proudly at the bunch of
gray fur scuffling in the sand.
"Can we ever eat him?" asked hungry Billy, ready for a fried crocodile
if he could get it.
"If he's a raccoon, we can; but I don't know about woodchucks. The
fellows in my books don't seem to have caught any. He's nice and fat; we
might try him when he's dead," said Tommy, who cared more for the skin
to show than the best meal ever cooked.
The sound of a gun echoing through the wood gave Tommy a good idea,--
"Let's find the man and get him to shoot this chap; then we needn't
wait, but skin him right away, and eat him too."
Off they went to the camp; and catching up their things, the two hunters
hurried away in the direction of the sound, feeling glad to know that
some one was near them, for two or three hours of wood life made them a
little homesick.
They ran and scrambled, and listened and called; but not until they had
gone a long way up the mountain did they find the man, resting in an old
hut left by the lumbermen. The remains of his dinner were spread on the
floor, and he lay smoking, and reading a newspaper, while his dog dozed
at his feet, close to a well-filled game-bag.
He looked surprised when two dirty, wet little boys suddenly appeared
before him,--one grinning cheerfully, the other looking very dismal
and scared as the dog growled and glared at them as if they were two
rabbits.
"Hollo!" said the man
"Hollo!" answered Tommy.
"Who are you?" asked the man.
"Hunters," said Tommy.
"Had good luck?" And the man laughed.
"First-rate. Got a raccoon in our trap, and we want you to come and
shoot him," answered Tommy, proudly.
"Sure?" said the man, looking interested as well as amused.
"No, but I think so."
"What's he like?"
Tommy described him, and was much disappointed when the man lay down
again, saying, with another laugh,--
"It's a woodchuck; he's no good."
"But I want the skin."
"Then don't shoot him, let him die; that's better for the skin," said
the man, who was tired and didn't want to stop for such poor game.
All this time Billy had been staring hard at the sandwiches and bread
and cheese on the floor, and sniffing at them, as the dog sniffed at
him.
"Want some grub?" asked the man, seeing the hungry look.
"I just do! We left our lunch, and I've only had two little trout and
some old berries since breakfast," answered Billy, with tears in his
eyes and a hand on his stomach.
"Eat away then; I'm done, and don't want the stuff." And the man took up
his paper as if glad to be let alone.
It was lucky that the dog had been fed, for in ten minutes nothing
was left but the napkin; and the boys sat picking up the crumbs, much
refreshed, but ready for more.
"Better be going home, my lads; it's pretty cold on the mountain after
sunset, and you are a long way from town," said the man, who had peeped
at them over his paper now and then, and saw, in spite of the dirt and
rips, that they were not farmer boys.
"We don't live in town; we are at Mullin's, in the valley. No hurry;
we know the way, and we want to have some sport first. You seem to
have done well," answered Tommy, looking enviously from the gun to the
game-bag, out of which hung a rabbit's head and a squirrel's tail.
"Pretty fair; but I want a shot at the bear. People tell me there is one
up here, and I'm after him; for he kills the sheep, and might hurt some
of the young folks round here," said the man, loading his gun with a
very sober air; for he wanted to get rid of the boys and send them home.
Billy looked alarmed; but Tommy's brown face beamed with joy as he said
eagerly,--
"I hope you'll get him. I'd rather shoot a bear than any other animal
but a lion. We don't have those here, and bears are scarce. Mullin said
he hadn't heard of one for a long time; so this must be a young one, for
they killed the big one two years ago."
That was true, and the man knew it. He did not really expect or want to
meet a bear, but thought the idea of one would send the little fellows
home at once. Finding one of them was unscared, he laughed, and said
with a nod to Tommy,--
"If I had time I'd take _you_ along, and show you how to hunt; but this
fat friend of yours couldn't rough it with us, and we can't leave him
alone; so go ahead your own way. Only I wouldn't climb any higher, for
among the rocks you are sure to get hurt or lost."
"Oh, I say, let's go! Such fun, Billy! I know you'll like it. A real gun
and dog and hunter! Come on, and don't be a molly-coddle," cried Tommy,
wild to go.
"I won't! I'm tired, and I'm going home; you can go after your old bears
if you want to. I don't think much of hunting anyway, and wish I hadn't
come," growled Billy, very cross at being left out, yet with no desire
to scramble any more.
"Can't stop. Good-by. Get along home, and some day I'll come and take
you out with me, little Leatherstocking," said the man, striding off
with the dear gun and dog and bag, leaving Billy to wonder what he meant
by that queer name, and Tommy to console himself with the promise made
him.
"Let's go and see how old Chucky gets on," he said good-naturedly, when
the man vanished.
"Not till I'm rested. I can get a good nap on this pile of hay; then
we'll go home before it's late," answered lazy Billy, settling himself
on the rough bed the lumbermen had used.
"I just wish I had a boy with some go in him; you ain't much better than
a girl," sighed Tommy, walking off to a pine-tree where some squirrels
seemed to be having a party, they chattered and raced up and down at
such a rate.
He tried his bow and shot all his arrows many times in vain, for the
lively creatures gave him no chance. He had better luck with a brown
bird who sat in a bush and was hit full in the breast with the sharpest
arrow. The poor thing fluttered and fell, and its blood wet the green
leaves as it lay dying on the grass. Tommy was much pleased at first;
but as he stood watching its bright eye grow dim and its pretty brown
wings stop fluttering, he felt sorry that its happy little life was so
cruelly ended, and ashamed that his thoughtless fun had given so much
pain.
"I'll never shoot another bird except hawks after chickens, and I won't
brag about this one. It was so tame, and trusted me, I was very mean to
kill it."
As he thought this, Tommy smoothed the ruffled feathers of the dead
thrush, and, making a little grave under the pine, buried it wrapped in
green leaves, and left it there where its mate could sing over it, and
no rude hands disturb its rest.
"I'll tell mamma and she will understand: but I _won't_ tell Billy. He
is such a greedy old chap he'll say I ought to have kept the poor bird
to eat," thought Tommy, as he went back to the hut, and sat there,
restringing his bow, till Billy woke up, much more amiable for his
sleep.
They tried to find the woodchuck, but lost their way, and wandered
deeper into the great forest till they came to a rocky place and could
go no farther. They climbed up and tumbled down, turned back and went
round, looked at the sun and knew it was late, chewed sassafras bark and
checkerberry leaves for supper, and grew more and more worried and tired
as hour after hour went by and they saw no end to woods and rocks. Once
or twice they heard the hunter's gun far away, and called and tried to
find him.
Tommy scolded Billy for not going with the man, who knew his way and was
probably safe in the valley when the last faint shot came up to them.
Billy cried, and reproached Tommy for proposing to run away; and both
felt very homesick for their mothers and their good safe beds at Farmer
Mullin's.
The sun set, and found them in a dreary place full of rocks and blasted
trees half-way up the mountain. They were so tired they could hardly
walk, and longed to lie down anywhere to sleep; but, remembering the
hunter's story of the bear, they were afraid to do it, till Tommy
suggested climbing a tree, after making a fire at the foot of it to
scare away the bear, lest he climb too and get them.
But, alas! the matches were left in their first camp; so they decided to
take turns to sleep and watch, since it was plain that they must spend
the night there. Billy went up first, and creeping into a good notch of
the bare tree tried to sleep, while brave Tommy, armed with a big stick,
marched to and fro below. Every few minutes a trembling voice would call
from above, "Is anything coming?" and an anxious voice would answer from
below, "Not yet. Hurry up and go to sleep! I want my turn."
At last Billy began to snore, and then Tommy felt so lonely he couldn't
bear it; so he climbed to a lower branch, and sat nodding and trying
to keep watch, till he too fell fast asleep, and the early moon saw the
poor boys roosting there like two little owls.
A loud cry, a scrambling overhead, and then a great shaking and howling
waked Tommy so suddenly that he lost his wits for a moment and did not
know where he was.
"The bear! the bear! don't let him get me! Tommy, Tommy, come and make
him let go," cried Billy, filling the quiet night with dismal howls.
Tommy looked up, expecting to behold a large bear eating his unhappy
friend; but the moonlight showed him nothing but poor Billy dangling
from a bough, high above the ground, caught by his belt when he fell. He
had been dreaming of bears, and rolled off his perch; so there he hung,
kicking and wailing, half awake, and so scared it was long before Tommy
could make him believe that he was quite safe.
How to get him down was the next question. The branch was not strong
enough to bear Tommy, though he climbed up and tried to unhook poor
Billy. The belt was firmly twisted at the back, and Billy could not
reach to undo it, nor could he get his legs round the branch to pull
himself up. There seemed no way but to unbuckle the belt and drop. That
he was afraid to try; for the ground was hard, and the fall a high one.
Fortunately both belt and buckle were strong; so he hung safely, though
very uncomfortably, while Tommy racked his boyish brain to find a way to
help him.
Billy had just declared that he should be cut in two very soon if
something was not done for him, and Tommy was in despair, when they
thought they heard a far-off shout, and both answered it till their
throats were nearly split with screaming.
"I seem to see a light moving round down that way," cried Billy from his
hook, pointing toward the valley.
"They are looking for us, but they won't hear us. I'll run and holler
louder, and bring 'em up here," answered Tommy, glad to do anything that
would put an end to this dreadful state of things.
"Don't leave me! I may fall and be killed! The bear might come! Don't
go! don't go!" wailed Billy, longing to drop, but afraid.
"I won't go far, and I'll come back as quick as I can. You are safe up
there. Hold on, and we'll soon get you down," answered Tommy, rushing
away helter-skelter, never minding where he went, and too much excited
to care for any damage.
The moon was bright on the blasted trees; but when he came down among
the green pines, it grew dark, and he often stumbled and fell. Never
minding bumps and bruises, he scrambled over rocks, leaped fallen
trunks, floundered through brooks, and climbed down steep places, till,
with a reckless jump, he went heels over head into a deep hole, and lay
there for a moment stunned by the fall. It was an old bear-trap, long
unused, and fortunately well carpeted with dead leaves, or poor Tommy
would have broken his bones.
When he came to himself he was so used up that he lay still for some
time in a sort of daze, too tired to know or care about anything, only
dimly conscious that somebody was lost in a tree or a well, and that, on
the whole, running away was not all fun.
By and by the sound of a gun roused him; and remembering poor Billy, he
tried to get out of the pit,--for the moon showed him where he was. But
it was too deep, and he was too stiff with weariness and the fall to be
very nimble. So he shouted, and whistled, and raged about very like a
little bear caught in the pit.
It is very difficult to find a lost person on these great mountains, and
many wander for hours not far from help, bewildered by the thick woods,
the deep ravines, and precipices which shut them in. Some have lost
their lives; and as Tommy lay on the leaves used up by his various
struggles, he thought of all the stories he had lately heard at the
farm, and began to wonder how it would feel to starve to death down
there, and to wish poor Billy could come to share his prison, that they
might die together, like the Babes in the Wood, or better still the Boy
Scouts lost on the prairies in that thrilling story, "Bill Boomerang,
the Wild Hunter of the West."
"I guess mother is worried this time, because I never stayed out all
night before, and I never will again without leave. It's rather good
fun, though, if they only find me. I ain't afraid, and it isn't very
cold. I always wanted to sleep out, and now I'm doing it. Wish poor
Billy was safely down and in this good bed with me. Won't he be scared
all alone there? Maybe the belt will break and he get hurt bumping down.
Sorry now I left him, he's such a 'fraid-cat. There's the gun again!
Guess it's that man after us. Hi! hollo! Here I am! Whoop! Hurrah! Hi!
hi! hi!"
Tommy's meditations ended in a series of yells as loud as his shrill
little voice could make them, and he thought some one answered. But it
must have been an echo, for no one came; and after another rampage round
his prison, the poor boy nestled down among the leaves, and went fast
asleep because there was nothing else to do.
So there they were, the two young hunters, lost at midnight on the
mountain,--one hanging like an apple on the old tree, and the other
sound asleep in a bear-pit. Their distracted mothers meantime were
weeping and wringing their hands at the farm, while all the men in
the neighborhood were out looking for the lost boys. The hunter on his
return to the hotel had reported meeting the runaways and his effort to
send them home in good season; so people knew where to look, and, led by
the man and dog, up the mountain went Mr. Mullin with his troop. It was
a mild night, and the moon shone high and clear; so the hunt was, on the
whole, rather easy and pleasant at first, and lanterns flashed through
the dark forest like fireflies, the lonely cliffs seemed alive with men,
and voices echoed in places where usually only the brooks babbled
and the hawks screamed. But as time went on, and no sign of the boys
appeared, the men grew anxious, and began to fear some serious harm had
come to the runaways.
"I can't go home without them little shavers no way, 'specially Tommy,"
said Mr. Mullin, as they stopped to rest after a hard climb through the
blasted grove. "He's a boy after my own heart, spry as a chipmunk,
smart as a young cockerel, and as full of mischief as a monkey. He ain't
afraid of anything, and I shouldn't be a mite surprised to find him
enjoyin' himself first-rate, and as cool as a coocumber."
"The fat boy won't take it so easily, I fancy. If it hadn't been for
him I'd have kept the lively fellow with me, and shown him how to hunt.
Sorry now I didn't take them both home," said the man with the gun,
seeing his mistake too late, as people often do.
"Maybe they've fell down a precipice and got killed, like Moses Warner,
when he was lost," suggested a tall fellow, who had shouted himself
hoarse.
"Hush up, and come on! The dog is barkin' yonder, and he may have found
'em," said the farmer, hurrying toward the place where the hound was
baying at something in a tree.
It was poor Billy, hanging there still, half unconscious with weariness
and fear. The belt had slipped up under his arms, so he could breathe
easily; and there he was, looking like a queer sort of cone on the
blasted pine.
"Wal, I never!" exclaimed the farmer, as the tall lad climbed up, and,
unhooking Billy, handed him down like a young bird, into the arms held
up to catch him.
"He's all right, only scared out of his wits. Come along and look for
the other one. I'll warrant he went for help, and may be half-way home
by this time," said the hunter, who didn't take much interest in the fat
boy.
Tommy's hat lay on the ground; and showing it to the dog, his master
told him to find the boy. The good hound sniffed about, and then set off
with his nose to the ground, following the zigzag track Tommy had taken
in his hurry. The hunter and several of the men went after him, leaving
the farmer with the others to take care of Billy.
Presently the dog came to the bear-pit, and began to bark again.
"He's got him!" cried the men, much relieved; and rushing on soon saw
the good beast looking down at a little white object in one corner of
the dark hole.
It was Tommy's face in the moonlight, for the rest of him was covered up
with leaves. The little round face seemed very quiet; and for a moment
the men stood quite still, fearing that the fall might have done the
boy some harm. Then the hunter leaped down, and gently touched the brown
cheek. It was warm, and a soft snore from the pug nose made the man call
out, much relieved,--
"He's all right. Wake up here, little chap; you are wanted at home. Had
hunting enough for this time?"
As he spoke, Tommy opened his eyes, gave a stretch, and said, "Hollo,
Billy," as calmly as if in his own bed at home. Then the rustle of the
leaves, the moonlight in his face, and the sight of several men staring
down at him startled him wide awake.
"Did you shoot the big bear?" he asked, looking up at the hunter with a
grin.
"No; but I caught a little one, and here he is," answered the man,
giving Tommy a roll in the leaves, much pleased because he did not whine
or make a fuss.
"Got lost, didn't we? Oh, I say, where's Billy? I left him up a tree
like a coon, and he wouldn't come down," laughed Tommy, kicking off his
brown bed-clothes, and quite ready to get up now.
They all laughed with him; and presently, when the story was told, they
pulled the boy out of the pit, and went back to join the other wanderer,
who was now sitting up eating the bread and butter Mrs. Mullin sent for
their very late supper.
The men roared again, as the two boys told their various tribulations;
and when they had been refreshed, the party started for home, blowing
the tin horns, and firing shot after shot to let the scattered searchers
know that the lost children were found. Billy was very quiet, and gladly
rode on the various broad backs offered for his use, but Tommy stoutly
refused to be carried, and with an occasional "boost" over a very rough
place, walked all the way down on his own sturdy legs. He was the hero
of the adventure, and was never tired of relating how he caught the
woodchuck, cooked the fish, slid down the big rock, and went to bed in
the old bear-pit. But in his own little mind he resolved to wait till he
was older before he tried to be a hunter; and though he caught several
wood-chucks that summer, he never shot another harmless little bird.
[Illustration: A wasp flew out and stung her lips.]
VIII.
THE FAIRY BOX.
"I wish I had a magic bracelet like Rosamond's, that would prick me when
I was going to do wrong," said little May, as she put down the story she
had been reading.
There was no one else in the room, but she heard a sweet voice sing
these words close to her ear:--
"Now hark, little May,
If you want to do right,
Under your pillow
Just look every night.
If you have been good
All through the day,
A gift you will find,
Useful or gay;
But if you have been
Cross, selfish, or wild,
A bad thing will come
For the naughty child.
So try, little dear,
And soon you will see
How easy and sweet
To grow good it will be."
May was very much surprised at this, and looked everywhere to see who
spoke, but could find no one.
"I guess I dreamed it; but my eyes are wide open, and I can't make up
poetry, asleep or awake."
As she said that, some one laughed; and the same voice sang again,--
"Ha, ha, you can't see,
Although I am here;
But listen to what
I say in your ear.
Tell no one of this.
Because, if you do,
My fun will be spoilt,
And so will yours too.
But if you are good,
And patient, and gay,
A real fairy will come
To see little May."
"Oh, how splendid that will be! I'll try hard, and be as good as an
angel if I can only get one peep at a live fairy. I always said there
were such people, and now I shall know how they look," cried the little
girl, so pleased that she danced all about the room, clapping her hands.
Something bright darted out of the window from among the flowers that
stood there, and no more songs were heard; so May knew that the elf had
gone.
"I've got a fine secret all to myself, and I'll keep it carefully. I
wonder what present will come to-night," she said, thinking this a very
interesting play.
She was very good all day, and made no fuss about going to bed, though
usually she fretted, and wanted to play, and called for water, and
plagued poor Nursey in many ways. She got safely into her little nest,
and then was in such a hurry to see what was under her pillow that she
forgot, and called out crossly,--
"Do hurry and go away. Don't wait to hang up my clothes, you slow old
thing! Go, go!"
That hurt Nurse's feelings, and she went away without her good-night
kiss. But May didn't care, and felt under her pillow the minute the door
was shut. A lamp was always left burning; so she could see the little
gold box she drew out.
"How pretty! I hope there is some candy in it," she said, opening it
very carefully.
Oh, dear! what _do_ you think happened? A wasp flew out and stung her
lips; then both wasp and box vanished, and May was left to cry alone,
with a sharp pain in the lips that said the unkind words.
"What a dreadful present! I don't like that spiteful fairy who sends
such horrid things," she sobbed.
Then she lay still and thought about it; for she dared not call any one,
because nobody must guess the secret. She knew in her own little heart
that the cross words hurt Nursey as the sting did her lips, and she felt
sorry. At once the smart got better, and by the time she had resolved to
ask the good old woman to forgive her, it was all gone.
Next morning she kissed Nursey and begged pardon, and tried hard to be
good till tea-time; then she ran to see what nice things they were
going to have to eat, though she had often been told not to go into
the dining-room. No one was there; and on the table stood a dish of
delicious little cakes, all white like snowballs.
"I must have just a taste, and I'll tell mamma afterward," she said; and
before she knew it one little cake was eaten all up.
"Nobody will miss it, and I can have another at tea. Now, a lump of
sugar and a sip of cream before mamma comes, I so like to pick round."
Having done one wrong thing, May felt like going on; so she nibbled and
meddled with all sorts of forbidden things till she heard a step, then
she ran away; and by and by, when the bell rang, came in with the rest
as prim and proper as if she did not know how to play pranks. No one
missed the cake, and her mother gave her another, saying,--
"There, dear, is a nice plummy one for my good child."
May turned red, and wanted to tell what she had done, but was ashamed
because there was company; and people thought she blushed like a modest
little girl at being praised.
But when she went to bed she was almost afraid to look under the pillow,
knowing that she had done wrong. At last she slowly drew out the box,
and slowly opened it, expecting something to fly at her. All she saw
was a tiny black bag, that began at once to grow larger, till it was
big enough to hold her two hands. Then it tied itself tight round her
wrists, as if to keep these meddlesome hands out of mischief.
"Well, this is very queer, but not so dreadful as the wasp. I hope
no one will see it when I'm asleep. I do wish I'd let those cakes and
things alone," sighed May, looking at the black bag, and vainly trying
to get her hands free.
She cried herself to sleep, and when she woke the bag was gone. No one
had seen it; but she told her mamma about the cake, and promised not to
do so any more.
"Now this shall be a _truly_ good day, every bit of it," she said, as
she skipped away, feeling as light as a feather after she had confessed
her little sins.
But, alas! it is so easy to forget and do wrong, that May spoilt her day
before dinner by going to the river and playing with the boats, in spite
of many orders not to do it. She did not tell of it, and went to a
party in the afternoon, where she was so merry she never remembered the
naughty thing till she was in bed and opened the fairy box. A little
chain appeared, which in a flash grew long and large, and fastened round
her ankles as if she were a prisoner. May liked to tumble about, and was
much disgusted to be chained in this way; but there was no help for it,
so she lay very still and had plenty of time to be sorry.
"It is a good punishment for me, and I deserve it. I won't cry, but I
will--I _will_ remember." And May said her prayers very soberly, really
meaning to keep her word this time.
All the next day she was very careful to keep her lips from cross words,
her hands from forbidden things, and her feet from going wrong. Nothing
spoilt this day, she watched so well; and when mamma gave the good-night
kiss, she said,--
"What shall I give my good little daughter, who has been gentle,
obedient, and busy all day?"
"I want a white kitty, with blue eyes, and a pink ribbon on its neck,"
answered May.
"I'll try and find one. Now go to bed, deary, and happy dreams!" said
mamma, with many kisses on the rosy cheeks, and the smile that was a
reward.
May was so busy thinking about the kitty and the good day that she
forgot the box till she heard a little "Mew, mew!" under her pillow.
"Mercy me! what's that?" And she popped up her head to see.
Out came the box; off flew the lid, and there, on a red cushion, lay a
white kit about two inches long. May couldn't believe that it was alive
till it jumped out of its nest, stretched itself, and grew all at once
just the right size to play with and be pretty. Its eyes were blue, its
tail like a white plume, and a sweet pink bow was on its neck. It danced
all over the bed, ran up the curtains, hid under the clothes, nipped
May's toes, licked her face, patted her nose with its soft paw, and
winked at her in such a funny way that she laughed for joy at having
such a dear kitty. Presently, as if it knew that bed was the place to
lie quiet in, puss cuddled down in a little bunch and purred May to
sleep.
"I suppose that darling kit will be gone like all the other things,"
said May, as she waked up and looked round for her first pretty gift.
No; there was the lovely thing sitting in the sun among the flower-pots,
washing her face and getting ready for play. What a fine frolic they
had; and how surprised every one was to see just the pussy May wanted!
They supposed it came as kitties often come; and May never told them it
was a fairy present, because she had promised not to. She was so happy
with little puss that she was good all day; and when she went to bed she
thought,--
"I wish I had a dog to play with darling Snowdrop, and run with me when
I go to walk."
"Bow, wow, wow!" came from under the pillow; and out of the box trotted
a curly black dog, with long ears, a silver collar, and such bright,
kind eyes May was not a bit afraid of him, but loved him at once, and
named him Floss, he was so soft and silky. Pussy liked him too; and when
May was sleepy they both snuggled down in the same basket like two good
babies, and went to by-low.
"Well, I never! What shall we find next?" said Nurse, when she saw the
dog in the morning.
"Perhaps it will be an elephant, to fill the whole house, and scare you
out of your wits," laughed May, dancing about with Snowdrop chasing her
bare toes, while Floss shook and growled over her shoes as if they were
rats.
"If your cousin John wants to give you any more animals, I wish he'd
send a pony to take you to school, and save my old legs the pain of
trotting after you," said Nurse; for May did have a rich cousin who was
very fond of her, and often gave her nice things.
"Perhaps he will," laughed May, much tickled with the idea that it was
a fairy, and not Cousin John, who sent the cunning little creatures to
her.
But she didn't get the pony that night; for in the afternoon her mother
told her not to sit on the lawn, because it was damp, and May did not
mind, being busy with a nice story. So when she took up her box, a loud
sneeze seemed to blow the lid off, and all she saw was a bit of red
flannel.
"What is this for?" she asked, much disappointed; and as if to answer,
the strip of flannel wrapped itself round her neck.
"There! my throat _is_ sore, and I _am_ hoarse. I wonder how that fairy
knew I sat on the damp grass. I'm so sorry; for I did want a pony, and
might have had it if I'd only minded," said May, angry with herself for
spoiling all her fun.
It _was_ spoilt; for she had such a cold next day she couldn't go out
at all, but had to take medicine and keep by the fire, while the other
children had a lovely picnic.
"I won't wish for anything to-night; I don't deserve a present, I was
so disobedient. But I _have_ tried to be patient," said May, feeling for
the box.
The fairy had not forgotten her, and there was a beautiful picture-book,
full of new, nice stories printed in colored ink.
"How splendid to read to-morrow while I'm shut up!" she said, and went
to sleep very happily.
All the next day she enjoyed the pretty pictures and funny tales, and
never complained or fretted at all, but was so much better the doctor
said she could go out to-morrow, if it was fine.
"Now I will wish for the pony," said May, in her bed. But there was
nothing in the box except a little red-silk rope, like a halter. She did
not know what to do with it that night, but she did the next morning;
for just as she was dressed her brother called from the garden,--
"May, look out and see what we found in the stable. None of us can catch
him, so do come and see if you can; your name is on the card tied to his
mane."
May looked, and there was a snow-white pony racing about the yard as if
he was having a fine frolic. Then she knew the halter was for him, and
ran down to catch him. The minute she appeared, the pony went to her and
put his nose in her hand, neighing, as if he said,--
"This is my little mistress; I will mind her and serve her well."
May was delighted, and very proud when the pony let her put on the
saddle and bridle that lay in the barn all ready to use. She jumped up
and rode gayly down the road; and Will and mamma and all the maids and
Floss and Snowdrop ran to see the pretty sight. The children at school
were much excited when she came trotting up, and all wanted to ride
Prince. He was very gentle, and every one had a ride; but May had the
best fun, for she could go every day for long trots by the carriage when
mamma and Will drove out. A blue habit and a hat with a long feather
were bought that afternoon; and May was so happy and contented at night
that she said to herself as she lay in bed,--
"I'll wish for something for Will now, and see if I get it. I don't want
any more presents yet; I've had my share, and I'd love to give away to
other people who have no fairy box."
So she wished for a nice boat, and in the box lay a key with the name
"Water Lily" on it. She guessed what it meant, and in the morning told
her brother to come to the river and see what she had for him. There lay
a pretty green and white boat, with cushioned seats, a sail all spread,
and at the mast-head a little flag flying in the wind, with the words
"Water Lily" on it in gold letters.
Will was so surprised and pleased to find that it was his, he turned
heels over head on the grass, kissed May, and skipped into his boat,
crying, "All aboard!" as if eager to try it at once.
May followed, and they sailed away down the lovely river, white with
real lilies, while the blackbirds sang in the green meadows on either
side, and boys and girls stopped on the bridges to see them pass.
After that May kept on trying to be good, and wishing for things for
herself and other people, till she forgot how to be naughty, and was the
sweetest little girl in the world. Then there was no need of fairies to
help her; and one night the box was not under the pillow.
"Well, I've had my share of pretty things, and must learn to do without.
I'm glad I tried; for now it is easy to be good, and I don't need to
be rewarded," said May, as she fell asleep, quite happy and contented,
though she did wish she could have seen the fairy just once.
Next morning the first thing she saw was a beautiful bracelet, shining
on the table; and while she stood admiring it, she heard the little
voice sing,--
"Here is the bracelet
For good little May
To wear on her arm
By night and by day.
When it shines like the sun,
All's going well;
But when you are bad,
A sharp prick will tell.
Farewell, little girl,
For now we must part.
Make a fairy-box, dear,
Of your own happy heart;
And take out for all
Sweet gifts every day,
Till all the year round
Is like beautiful May."
As the last words were sung, right before her eyes she saw a tiny
creature swinging on the rose that stood there in a vase,--a lovely elf,
with wings like a butterfly, a gauzy dress, and a star on her forehead.
She smiled, and waved her hand as she slowly rose and fluttered away
into the sunshine, till she vanished from sight, leaving May with the
magic bracelet on her arm, and the happy thought that at last she had
_really_ seen a fairy.
[Illustration: Johnny leaned forward to enjoy the long-desired "peek."]
IX.
A HOLE IN THE WALL.
PART I.
If any one had asked Johnny Morris who were his best friends, he would
have answered,--
"The sun and the wind, next to mother."
Johnny lived in a little court that led off from one of the busiest
streets in the city,--a noisy street, where horse-car bells tinkled
and omnibuses rumbled all day long, going and coming from several great
depots near by. The court was a dull place, with only two or three
shabby houses in it, and a high blank wall at the end.
The people who hurried by were too busy to do more than to glance at
the lame boy who sat in the sunshine against the wall, or to guess that
there was a picture-gallery and a circulating-library in the court. But
Johnny had both, and took such comfort in them that he never could be
grateful enough to the wind that brought him his books and pictures, nor
to the sun that made it possible for him to enjoy them in the open air,
far more than richer folk enjoy their fine galleries and libraries.
A bad fall, some months before the time this story begins, did something
to Johnny's back which made his poor legs nearly useless, and changed
the lively, rosy boy into a pale cripple. His mother took in fine
washing, and worked hard to pay doctors' bills and feed and clothe her
boy, who could no longer run errands, help with the heavy tubs, or go to
school. He could only pick out laces for her to iron, lie on his bed in
pain for hours, and, each fair day, hobble out to sit in a little old
chair between the water-butt and the leaky tin boiler in which he kept
his library.
But he was a happy boy, in spite of poverty and pain; and the day a
great gust came blowing fragments of a gay placard and a dusty newspaper
down the court to his feet, was the beginning of good fortune for
patient Johnny. There was a theatre in the street beyond, and other
pictured bits found their way to him; for the frolicsome wind liked to
whisk the papers around the corner, and chase them here and there till
they settled under the chair or flew wildly over the wall.
Faces, animals, people, and big letters, all came to cheer the boy, who
was never tired of collecting these waifs and strays; cutting out the
big pictures to paste on the wall with the leavings of mother's starch,
and the smaller in the scrap-book he made out of stout brown wrappers
or newspapers, when he had read the latter carefully. Soon it was a
very gay wall; for mother helped, standing on a chair, to put the large
pictures up, when Johnny had covered all the space he could reach.
The books were laid carefully away in the boiler, after being smoothly
ironed out and named to suit Johnny's fancy by pasting letters on the
back. This was the circulating library; for not only did the papers
whisk about the court to begin with, but the books they afterward made
went the rounds among the neighbors till they were worn out.
The old cobbler next door enjoyed reading the anecdotes on Sunday when
he could not work; the pale seamstress upstairs liked to look over
advertisements of the fine things which she longed for; and Patsey
Flynn, the newsboy, who went by each day to sell his papers at the
station, often paused to look at the play-bills,--for he adored the
theatre, and entertained Johnny with descriptions of the splendors there
to be beheld, till he felt as if he had really been, and had known all
the famous actors, from Humpty Dumpty to the great Salvini.
Now and then a flock of dirty children would stray into the court and
ask to see the "pretty picters." Then Johnny was a proud and happy
boy; for, armed with a clothes-pole, he pointed out and explained the
beauties of his gallery, feeling that he was a public benefactor when
the poor babies thanked him warmly, and promised to come again and bring
all the nice papers they could pick up.
These were Johnny's pleasures: but he had two sorrows,--one, a very real
one, his aching back; and the other, a boyish longing to climb the wall
and see what was on the other side, for it seemed a most wonderful and
delightful place to the poor child, shut up in that dismal court, with
no playmates and few comforts.
He amused himself with imagining how it looked over there, and nearly
every night added some new charm to this unseen country, when his mother
told him fairy tales to get him to sleep. He peopled it with the dear
old characters all children know and love. The white cat that sat on
the wall was Puss in Boots to him, or Whittington's good friend.
Blue-beard's wives were hidden in the house of whose upper windows the
boy could just catch glimpses. Red Riding-hood met the wolf in the grove
of chestnuts that rustled over there; and Jack's Beanstalk grew up just
such a wall as that, he was sure.
But the story he liked best was the "Sleeping Beauty in the Wood;" for
he was sure some lovely creature lived in that garden, and he longed to
get in to find and play with her. He actually planted a bean in a bit of
damp earth behind the water-barrel, and watched it grow, hoping for as
strong a ladder as Jack's. But the vine grew very slowly, and Johnny
was so impatient that he promised Patsey his best book "for his
ownty-donty," if he would climb up and report what was to be seen in
that enchanted garden.
"Faix, and I will, thin." And up went good-natured Pat, after laying an
old board over the hogshead to stand on; for there were spikes all along
the top of the wall, and only cats and sparrows could walk there.
Alas for Johnny's eager hopes, and alas for Pat's Sunday best! The board
broke, and splash went the climber, with a wild Irish howl that startled
Johnny half out of his wits and brought both Mrs. Morris and the cobbler
to the rescue.
After this sad event Pat kept away for a time in high dudgeon, and
Johnny was more lonely than ever. But he was a cheery little soul, so he
was grateful for what joys he had, and worked away at his wall,--for the
March winds had brought him many treasures, and after April rains were
over, May sunshine made the court warm enough for him to be out nearly
all day.
"I'm so sorry Pat is mad, 'cause he saw this piece and told me about it,
and he'd like to help me put up these pictures," said Johnny to himself,
one breezy morning, as he sat examining a big poster which the wind had
sent flying into his lap a few minutes before.
The play was "Monte Cristo," and the pictures represented the hero
getting out of prison by making holes in the wall, among other
remarkable performances.
"This is a jolly red one! Now, where will I put it to show best and not
spoil the other beauties?"
As he spoke, Johnny turned his chair around and surveyed his gallery
with as much pride and satisfaction as if it held all the wonders of
art.
It really _was_ quite splendid; for every sort of picture shone in the
sun,--simpering ladies, tragic scenes, circus parades, labels from
tin cans, rosy tomatoes, yellow peaches, and purple plums, funny
advertisements, and gay bills of all kinds. None were perfect, but they
were arranged with care; and the effect was very fine, Johnny thought.
Presently his eyes wandered from these treasures to the budding bushes
that nodded so tantalizingly over the wall. A grape-vine ran along the
top, trying to hide the sharp spikes; lilacs tossed their purple plumes
above it, and several tall chestnuts rose over all, making green tents
with their broad leaves, where spires of blossom began to show like
candles on a mammoth Christmas tree. Sparrows were chirping gayly
everywhere; the white cat, with a fresh blue bow, basked on the coping
of the wall, and from the depths of the enchanted garden came a sweet
voice singing,--
"And she bids you to come in,
With a dimple in your chin,
Billy boy, Billy boy."
Johnny smiled as he listened, and put his finger to the little dent in
his own chin, wishing the singer would finish this pleasing song. But
she never did, though he often heard that, as well as other childish
ditties, sung in the same gay voice, with bursts of laughter and the
sound of lively feet tripping up and down the boarded walks. Johnny
longed intensely to know who the singer was; for her music cheered his
solitude, and the mysterious sounds he heard in the garden increased his
wonder and his longing day by day.
Sometimes a man's voice called, "Fay, where are you?" and Johnny was
sure "Fay" was short for Fairy. Another voice was often heard talking
in a strange, soft language, full of exclamations and pretty sounds. A
little dog barked, and answered to the name Pippo. Canaries carolled,
and some elfish bird scolded, screamed, and laughed so like a human
being, that Johnny felt sure that magic of some sort was at work next
door.
A delicious fragrance was now wafted over the wall as of flowers, and
the poor boy imagined untold loveliness behind that cruel wall, as he
tended the dandelions his mother brought him from the Common, when she
had time to stop and gather them; for he loved flowers dearly, and tried
to make them out of colored paper, since he could have no sweeter sort.
Now and then a soft, rushing sound excited his curiosity to such a pitch
that once he hobbled painfully up the court till he could see into the
trees; and once his eager eyes caught glimpses of a little creature, all
blue and white and gold, who peeped out from the green fans, and nodded,
and tried to toss him a cluster of the chestnut flowers. He stretched
his hands to her with speechless delight, forgetting his crutches, and
would have fallen if he had not caught by the shutter of a window so
quickly that he gave the poor back a sad wrench; and when he could look
up again, the fairy had vanished, and nothing was to be seen but the
leaves dancing in the wind.
Johnny dared not try this again for fear of a fall, and every step cost
him a pang; but he never forgot it, and was thinking of it as he sat
staring at the wall on that memorable May day.
"How I _should_ like to peek in and see just how it all really looks!
It sounds and smells so summery and nice in there. I know it must be
splendid. I say, Pussy, can't you tell a feller what you see?"
Johnny laughed as he spoke, and the white cat purred politely; for she
liked the boy who never threw stones at her, nor disturbed her naps. But
Puss could not describe the beauties of the happy hunting-ground below;
and, to console himself for the disappointment, Johnny went back to his
new picture.
"Now, if this man in the play dug his way out through a wall ten feet
thick with a rusty nail and a broken knife, I don't see why I couldn't
pick away one brick and get a peek. It's all quiet in there now; here's
a good place, and nobody will know, if I stick a picture over the hole.
And I'll try it, I declare I will!"
Fired with the idea of acting Monte Cristo on a small scale, Johnny
caught up the old scissors in his lap, and began to dig out the mortar
around a brick already loose, and crumbling at the corners. His mother
smiled at his energy, then sighed and said, as she clapped her laces
with a heavy heart,--
"Ah, poor dear, if he only had his health he'd make his way in the
world. But now he's like to find a blank wall before him while he lives,
and none to help him over."
Puss, in her white boots, sat aloft and looked on, wise as the cat
in the story, but offered no advice. The toad who lived behind the
water-barrel hopped under the few leaves of the struggling bean, like
Jack waiting to climb; and just then the noon bells began to ring as if
they sang clear and loud,--
"Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London."
So, cheered by his friends, Johnny scraped and dug vigorously till the
old brick fell out, showing another behind it. Only pausing to take
breath, he caught up his crutch and gave two or three hearty pokes,
which soon cleared the way and let the sunshine stream through, while
the wind tossed the lilacs like triumphal banners, and the jolly
sparrows chirped,--
"Hail, the conquering hero comes!"
Rather scared by his unexpected success, the boy sat silent for a moment
to see what would happen. But all was still; and presently, with a
beating heart, Johnny leaned forward to enjoy the long-desired "peek."
He could not see much; but that little increased his curiosity and
delight, for it seemed like looking into fairy-land, after the dust and
noise and dingy houses of the court.
A bed of splendid tulips tossed their gay garments in the middle of a
grass-plot; a strange and brilliant bird sat dressing its feathers on
a golden cage; a little white dog dozed in the sun; and on a red carpet
under the trees lay the Princess, fast asleep.
"It's all right," said Johnny, with a long sigh of pleasure; "that's the
Sleeping Beauty, sure enough. There's the blue gown, the white fur-cloak
sweeping round, the pretty hair, and--yes--there's the old nurse,
spinning and nodding, just as she did in the picture-book mother got me
when I cried because I couldn't go to see the play."
This last discovery really did bewilder Johnny, and make him believe
that fairy tales _might_ be true, after all, for how could he know that
the strange woman was an Italian servant, in her native dress, with a
distaff in her hand? After pausing a moment, to rub his eyes, he took
another look, and made fresh discoveries by twisting his head about. A
basket of oranges stood near the Princess, a striped curtain hung from a
limb of the tree to keep the wind off, and several books fluttered their
pictured leaves temptingly before Johnny's longing eyes.
"Oh, if I could only go in and eat 'em and read 'em and speak to 'em and
see all the splendid things!" thought the poor boy, as he looked from
one delight to another, and felt shut out from all. "I can't go and wake
her like the Prince did, but I do wish she'd get up and do something,
now I _can_ see. I daren't throw a stone, it might hit some one, or
holler, it might scare her. Pussy won't help, and the sparrows are too
busy scolding one another. I know! I'll fly a kite over, and that will
please her any way. Don't believe she has kites; girls never do."
Eager to carry out his plan, Johnny tied a long string to his gayest
poster, and then fastening it to the pole with which he sometimes fished
in the water-cask, held it up to catch the fresh breezes blowing down
the court. His good friend, the wind, soon caught the idea, and with
a strong breath sent the red paper whisking over the wall, to hang a
moment on the trees and then drop among the tulips, where its frantic
struggles to escape waked the dog, and set him to racing and barking, as
Johnny hurriedly let the string go, and put his eye to his peep-hole.
The eyes of the Princess were wide open now, and she clapped her hands
when Pippo brought the gay picture for her to see; while the old woman,
with a long yawn, went away, carrying her distaff, like a gun, over her
shoulder.
"She likes it! I'm so glad. Wish I had some more to send over. This will
come off, I'll poke it through, and maybe she will see it."
Very much excited, Johnny recklessly tore from the wall his most
cherished picture, a gay flower-piece, just put up; and folding it, he
thrust it through the hole and waited to see what followed.
Nothing but a rustle, a bark, and a queer croak from the splendid bird,
which set the canaries to trilling sweetly.
"She don't see, maybe she will hear," said Johnny. And he began to
whistle like a mocking-bird; for this was his one accomplishment, and he
was proud of it.
Presently he heard a funny burst of laughter from the parrot, and then
the voice said,--
"No, Polly, you can't sing like that bird. I wonder where he is? Among
the bushes over there, I think. Come, Pippo, let us go and find him."
"Now she's coming!" And Johnny grew red in the face trying to give his
best trills and chirrups.
Nearer and nearer came the steps, the lilacs rustled as if shaken, and
presently the roll of paper vanished. A pause, and then the little voice
exclaimed, in a tone of great surprise,--
"Why, there's a hole! I never saw it before. Oh! I can see the street.
How nice! how nice!"
"She likes the hole! I wonder if she will like me?" And, emboldened by
these various successes, Johnny took another peep. This was the most
delicious one of all; for he looked right into a great blue eye, with
glimpses of golden hair above, a little round nose in the middle, and
red lips below. It was like a flash of sunshine, and Johnny winked, as
if dazzled; for the eye sparkled, the nose sniffed daintily, and the
pretty mouth broke into a laugh as the voice cried out delightedly,--
"I see some one! Who are you? Come and tell me!"
"I'm Johnny Morris," answered the boy, quite trembling with pleasure.
"Did you make this nice hole?"
"I just poked a brick, and it fell out."
"Papa won't mind. Is that your bird?"
"No; it's me. I whistled."
"It's very pretty. Do it again," commanded the voice, as if used to give
orders.
Johnny obeyed; and when he paused, out of breath, a small hand came
through the hole, grasping as many lilies of the valley as it could
hold, and the Princess graciously expressed her pleasure by saying,--
"I like it; you shall do it again, by and by. Here are some flowers for
you. Now we will talk. Are you a nice boy?"
This was a poser; and Johnny answered meekly, with his nose luxuriously
buried in the lovely flowers,--
"Not very,--I'm lame; I can't play like other fellers."
"_Porverino_!" sighed the little voice, full of pity; and, in a moment,
three red-and-yellow tulips fell at Johnny's feet, making him feel as if
he really had slipped into fairy-land through that delightful hole.
"Oh, thank you! Aren't they just elegant? I never see such beauties,"
stammered the poor boy, grasping his treasures as if he feared they
might vanish away.
"You shall have as many as you like. Nanna will scold, but papa won't
mind. Tell me more. What do you do over there?" asked the child,
eagerly.
"Nothing but paste pictures and make books, when I don't ache too bad. I
used to help mother; but I got hurt, and I can't do much now," answered
the boy, ashamed to mention how many laces he patiently picked or
clapped, since it was all he could do to help.
"If you like pictures, you shall come and see mine some day. I do a
great many. Papa shows me how. His are splendid. Do you draw or paint
yours?"
"I only cut 'em out of papers, and stick 'em on this wall or put 'em
in scrap-books. I can't draw, and I haven't got no paints," answered
Johnny.
"You should say 'haven't any paints.' I will come and see you some day;
and if I like you, I will let you have my old paint-box. Do you want
it?"
"Guess I do!"
"I think I _shall_ like you; so I'll bring it when I come. Do you ache
much?"
"Awfully, sometimes. Have to lay down all day, and can't do a thing."
"Do you cry?"
"No! I'm too big for that. I whistle."
"I _know_ I shall like you, because you are brave!" cried the impetuous
voice, with its pretty accent; and then an orange came tumbling through
the hole, as if the new acquaintance longed to do something to help the
"ache."
"Isn't that a rouser! I do love 'em, but mother can't afford 'em often."
And Johnny took one delicious taste on the spot.
"Then I shall give you many. We have loads at home, much finer than
these. Ah, you should see our garden there!"
"Where do you live?" Johnny ventured to ask; for there was a homesick
sound to the voice as it said those last words.
"In Rome. Here we only stay a year, while papa arranges his affairs;
then we go back, and I am happy."
"I should think you'd be happy in there. It looks real splendid to me,
and I've been longing to see it ever since I could come out."
"It's a dull place to me. I like better to be where it's always warm,
and people are more beautiful than here. Are _you_ beautiful?"
"What queer questions she does ask!" And poor Johnny was so perplexed he
could only stammer, with a laugh,--
"I guess not. Boys don't care for looks."
"Peep, and let me see. I like pretty persons," commanded the voice.
"Don't she order round?" thought Johnny, as he obeyed. But he liked it,
and showed such a smiling face at the peep-hole, that Princess Fay was
pleased to say, after a long look at him,--
"No, you are not beautiful; but your eyes are bright, and you look
pleasant, so I don't mind the freckles on your nose and the whiteness
of your face. I think you are good. I am sorry for you, and I shall lend
you a book to read when the pain comes."
"I couldn't wait for that if I had a book. I do _love_ so to read!" And
Johnny laughed out from sheer delight at the thought of a new book; for
he seldom got one, being too poor to buy them, and too helpless to enjoy
the free libraries of the city.
"Then you shall have it _now_." And there was another quick rush in the
garden, followed by the appearance of a fat little book, slowly pushed
through the hole in the wall.
"This is the only one that will pass. You will like Hans Andersen's
fairy tales, I know. Keep it as long as you please. I have many more."
"You're so good! I wish I had something for you," said the boy, quite
overcome by this sweet friendliness.
"Let me see one of _your_ books. They will be new to me. I'm tired of
all mine."
Quick as a flash, off went the cover of the old boiler, and out came
half-a-dozen of Johnny's best works, to be crammed through the wall,
with the earnest request,--
"Keep 'em all; they're not good for much, but they're the best I've got.
I'll do some prettier ones as soon as I can find more nice pictures and
pieces."
"They look very interesting. I thank you. I shall go and read them now,
and then come and talk again. Addio, Giovanni."
"Good-by, Miss."
Thus ended the first interview of little Pyramus and Thisbe through the
hole in the wall, while puss sat up above and played moonshine with her
yellow eyes.