JOLLYKALOO.
NOW is not that a pretty song? and so simple, I should think a baby
might understand it. And yet Downy did not seem to understand a word of
it, though the birds that sang it were just outside his window in the
great linden-tree.
He only said, "Oh! so pitty bird finging!" (he cannot say S, so he says
F instead, which sounds very funny). And then he rolled out of bed; and
then Fluff and Puff rolled out of bed. Puff ran to the window and put
back the curtains. The birds were still singing, and the soft May breeze
was blowing, and a perfect gust of song and sweetness came in at the
little old window as she pushed it open.
"Oh! lovely, lovely!" cried Puff. "And look, Fluffy, from this other
window. What a fine play-ground! Oh! Possy, do give us tubby-rubby
quickly, and let us get out of the window!"
"Out of the window!" cried Mrs. Posset; "The child is mad!" but then she
came and looked for herself.
Yes, it was indeed a fine place. One part of the house was lower than
the rest, and this lower part had a flat roof, covered with gravel, and
with an iron railing round it. Two of the nursery windows opened
directly on this sunny flat place, so that it really was a most
delightful spot. In a very few minutes there were three mice tumbling
about on the gravel, and then presently there were two more, for other
windows opened on the flat roof also, and Nibble and Brighteyes were not
the mice to be behindhand when any fun was going on. Ah! that was the
way to get an appetite for breakfast. Jump, dance, run, tumble, till the
rattle sounded from below; then whirr! downstairs all like a flock of
pigeons. They never lost any time in getting from one place to another,
these mice.
"Uncle Jack," said Nibble, "What shall we call this place?"
"This dear, delightful place!" cried Brighteyes.
"Dis dear, 'lightful plafe!" murmured Downy, with his mouth full of
bread-and-butter.
"Well," said Uncle Jack, "now let us see. It certainly ought to have a
name."
"Oh! of course!" said all the mice very decidedly.
"Suppose we call it the Garden House," said Uncle Jack.
"Oh, no!" said Nibble. "That isn't jolly enough, Uncle Jacket! it's such
a _jolly_ place, you know. I want to call it Jollykaloo!"
And then in a chorus rose the five voices, "Jollykaloo! Jollykaloo!" so
Jollykaloo it was named then and there, and it has been called so ever
since.
"And now, children," said Uncle Jack, when breakfast was over, "We must
go and see how our four-footed friends have passed the night. You may
find some new friends too, I think, with two feet. Come Nibble,
Brighteyes, Puff----"
"Uncle Jack," said Puff, very gravely; "Fluff and I have not unpacked
the dolls yet, and I think it is both of our duty to take care of our
children first, before we see the animals. Don't you think so, Uncle?"
"Both of your duty, eh?" said Uncle Jack, laughing. "Well, Puffsy,
perhaps it is. It is also both of your duty to learn grammar, but you
need not begin just yet. Off with you!"
[Illustration]
So the twins went one way, and Uncle Jack went the other. Which way
shall I take you first, all you other children? shall we follow the
twins first, and take a peep at the dolls? by all means! I cannot say
that I care much for dolls myself, but I always like to see what
interests children, and certainly Puff and Fluff did take great interest
in their china and wax babies. By and by I shall have some funny stories
to tell you about these dolls, for they have seen more of life than any
dolls that I have ever known, but we will not stop now, for we all want
to go and see the animals, I am sure. We will just take a peep at them
and see what they are like.
See, here they are, six of them. The one sitting in the chair, with
curls and flowers, is Vashti Ann. She was the head doll at that time,
and a person of great importance. Next to her is Tina, her daughter, a
fine baby rather larger than her mother; and then comes Rosalie, a Swiss
doll, with fine long hair. The doll in the lower left-hand corner is the
unfortunate Sally Bradford, the maid-of-all-work; next comes Fanny
Ellsler, the dancer, and the last is Katinka, a Polish lady of high
rank.
[Illustration]
The dear little twin mice unpacked all these creatures with the utmost
care.
"I think they are all ill after the journey, Puff!" said Fluffy, with a
sigh.
"We was better put them all to bed. Tina is very pale, and Rosalie is
very red."
"Then one has a chill, and the other has a fever," said Puff.
"Yes, they must go to bed; and I will get the bed ready, Fluffy, if you
will read them a story to amoose them."
"Oh! but, Puffy, if you put them both in the same bed it will be
chills-and-fever, and then we shall catch it and be ill ourselves!"
exclaimed Fluff with a distressed look.
"Fluff," said Miss Puff severely; "You are sometimes a foolish child!"
Well, Fluff knew that she was foolish, because she was often told so,
and she was a child who always believed what was said to her, so she
meekly sat down and read a story to the dolls. It was one of "Aunt
Bathsheba's" stories, and they are so funny that I always write them
down when I hear them. Listen to this, now!
[Illustration]
_THE PUDDING-STICK AND THE ROLLING-PIN._
Said the Pudding-stick so the Rolling-pin,
"Let's take a dip in the sugar-bin!"
Said the Rolling-pin to the Pudding-stick,
"We'll eat and we'll stuff till we make ourselves sick."
Off they set with a fine bold stride,
That brought them soon to the sugar-bin's side.
"Oh! how shall we reach that keyhole high?
We might as well try to storm the sky!"
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
"Let me mount on your shoulder thin,
And I'll pick the lock!" said the bold Rolling-pin.
The Pudding-stick swelled with angry pride,
"That my figure is fine has ne'er been denied,
I'll give you a slap for your impudence!"
"Well!" said the Roller: "This _is_ immense!"
So they rolled and they fought,
They thumped and they hit.
Till they trod on the tail of
the cook's pet kit.
Then the cook rose up in dreadful wrath,
And laid them out on the kitchen hearth.
[Illustration]
There were fine doings in the garden all this time, as I found when I
turned my eyes in that direction. Three mice and an uncle, (it would not
be polite to call Uncle Jack a rat, and yet if a mouse's uncle is not a
rat, what is he, I should like to know?) and John and Thomas, and three
dogs and two horses and a donkey, there were enough to make things
lively, you will confess.
The dogs interested me particularly, as I have a dog of my own, you
know. Ah! he is a good fellow, that dog of mine! His name is Bmfkmgth,
and none of you will be able to pronounce that, except the children who
live in Wales. It is rather a hard name, but he came from the Dog Star,
and the language there is somewhat difficult. Say it to your dogs,
however, and see if they do not wag their tails. Yes, they understand
each other. Bmfkmgth is green, a color that I never see in dogs on your
planet; but that may be because he eats so freely of the green cheese
which grows here instead of grass.
Well, there were three dogs at Jollykaloo, as perhaps I said before.
There was Gruff the big dog, and Grim the middle-sized dog, and Grab,
the little dog.
Gruff was a fine fellow, indeed; a great St. Bernard, clever and
good-natured, and certainly with nothing gruff about him except his name
and his bark. Indeed, it was well that he was of a cheerful turn of
mind, for he had to take a good deal of rough usage, though it was only
in play, to be sure.
Fancy trying to drive three dogs tandem, all of different sizes and
dispositions! Yes, if you will believe me, that was what Nibble was
trying to do when I looked down into the garden that morning. He had a
very nice little cart which Thomas, the gardener, had made for him, and
in this he often drove Gruff, who did not object at all to being
harnessed, and in fact rather enjoyed dragging the children about. But
when it came to having two other dogs harnessed in front of him, dogs
who could run about twice as fast as he could, and who took a fancy to
sit down and scratch their ears just as he had started into a good
swinging trot--that was rather more than Gruff could endure. But Nibble
was full of his new sport.
"Downy, baby!" he cried, "Come, Downy, and brother will give you a fine
ride! come along, little man!"
So Downy came toddling up, and Nibble lifted him into the cart, and then
got in himself, and took the reins and the whip.
"Now, Downy boy, you shall have the best ride that any one ever had. Hi!
my gallant steeds! Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer! Oh, dear!" cried
Nibble, "I wish I had eight reindeer like St. Nicholas, instead of only
three dogs. But still I can say, 'Now dash away, dash away, dash away
all!'" and the young charioteer stood up in the cart and waved the whip
round his head, while Downy clapped his hands and shouted with glee.
Yes, that was pride! but the fall also was not wanting.
[Illustration: OLD GRUFF.]
Away went the three dogs, poor old Gruff forced into a lumbering gallop
by the pace of the two others, who capered along, and let the big old
dog do all the pulling. Round the house they went once and twice, the
little cart rocking from side to side in rather an alarming way. Then,
as they came round the third time--they saw a cat! Nibble saw it first,
and tried like a clever mouse as he is, to turn his gallant steeds'
heads away before they also saw it: but it was too late. "Yap! yap!
yap!" went little Grab; "Woof! woof!" added Grim, struggling to free
himself from the harness. Good old Gruff held out bravely for a moment
or two; but finally he could not resist.
A mighty "_Bow_, wow WOW!" a leap and a plunge, and then for a moment I
could see nothing but a cloud of dust, from which came barks and shrieks
which were truly dreadful to hear. In a moment, however, the cart
luckily was caught between two bushes, and there it stuck, while the
dogs rushed to the foot of the nearest apple-tree, to leap and howl
there in vain excitement, while the peaceful cat smiled at them in
safety from the topmost bough.
[Illustration]
At the moment the explosion took place, two people came upon the scene,
one from the barn and one from the house. They were Uncle Jack and Mrs.
Posset. The latter had happened to look out of the window just as the
grand turn-out came round for the third time, and she had flown down
stairs to rescue her Downy, but arrived only in time to snatch him from
the ruins of the cart, very much frightened and covered with dust, and
what was worse with blood, which flowed from a cut in his forehead. As
for Uncle Jack, he had been very busy in the barn arranging matters with
John and had supposed that Downy was quite safe with Nibble and Gruff to
look after him.
"If you please, sir," cried Mrs. Posset in an angry tone, "what is to be
done with Nibble? this blessed child's life is not safe with him for an
instant, so it isn't! putting three dogs tantrum (Mrs. Posset meant
tandem, but she was too much vexed to think about her words,) with an
innocent baby behind them and the garden as full of cats as his head is
of mischief!" and the good woman's breath fairly failed her, from haste
and vexation combined. Uncle Jack looked very grave as he came up.
"How did this happen, Nibble?" he asked. "Mrs. Posset, if you will take
Downy into the house and bathe his forehead, I will come in and find
some court-plaster to put on that cut. Now my boy," he added, turning to
Nibble, "tell me all about this!"
Nibble hung his head and looked very much ashamed.
"I--I did have them tandem," he said. "I never thought of cats, and
Downy likes to ride so much!"
"I am very sorry, Nibble!" said Uncle Jack, "I certainly thought I could
trust you to take care of your little brother for ten minutes. There are
plenty of ways of amusing a little child without putting him in danger
of his life; for Downy might have been very much hurt, perhaps even
killed, and then you would never have forgiven yourself. Remember, my
boy, that there is a great difference between three years and eight
years, and that what may be harmless for you may be very dangerous for
your little brother."
"Indeed, Uncle, I am very sorry!" said Nibble earnestly; "and I will try
to be more careful. And--and what shall I do now, Uncle? there isn't any
punishment tree here, is there?"
This question puzzled me at the time, but I found out afterwards that in
the place where they had lived before, there was one special tree into
which Nibble always had to climb when he had been naughty, and where he
had spent many hours of penance.
Uncle Jack smiled kindly on the boy--I mean the mouse--and said "I have
not found one yet, dear child! but I think that if you were to spend the
rest of the morning in the house, and try to console Downy for his bumps
and bruises, it would be a very good thing."
Nibble looked grave at this. He would have preferred sitting in a tree,
and hearing the birds sing, and wondering where their nests might be,
and how many eggs there might be in them, to spending the lovely, sunny
morning in the house. But he went in without a word, remembering that
Downy also had to stay in the house through his carelessness, and with
aches and pains which he somehow had escaped.
He found the baby mouse curled up on the sofa in the library, looking
very forlorn, with a handkerchief tied round his head. Mrs. Posset was
sitting beside him, reading to him, for though Downy was a very little
boy, he was very fond of stories. His eyes brightened when he saw
Nibble. "Oh! Nibby!" he cried. "Did dey catf de cat?"
"Indeed, I hope not!" said Mrs. Posset. "It is a strange thing in the
nature of boys, that they like to see cats tormented."
"But I don't like to see them hurt, Mrs. Posset!" said Nibble. "It _is_
fun to see them run, but the dogs never catch them, so no harm is done.
And it is good for the cats to have a little exercise, I am sure, for
they are lazy creatures."
"Humph!" said Mrs. Posset. "Well, I am reading to Downy now, Master
Nibble, so--"
"Wouldn't you like me to take the book, Mrs. Posset?" asked Nibble. "I
must stay in the house till dinner, and I could read to Downy."
"Oh! yes, Nibby, read!" cried Downy.
"Very well, Master Nibble, and that is just what will please me, for I
have not my spectacles by me, and the print troubles my eyes. Besides,
the child's clothes are torn to shrivers, (this was a pet word of Mrs.
Posset's, and I think she must have invented it herself,) and I must
attend to them at once."
So Mrs. Posset, with an approving nod, trotted off to the nursery, and
Nibble sat down by the sofa.
"What shall I read, Downy boy?" he asked.
"Wead Pinfkin!" said Downy very decidedly.
"'Princekin,' eh?" said Nibble, "Well, here it is, so listen! And
perhaps, if you were to shut your eyes, Downy, you might see some of the
pretty things that Princekin saw."
So Nibble opened the book, from which Mrs. Posset had been reading, and
read this little rhyme:
_PRINCEKIN._
"Princekin sits on his nursery throne,
Prettiest Princekin, all alone,
Sighing a sigh, and moaning a moan,
'Oh--dear--_me!_ oh!'
'Princekin beautiful, Princekin dear,
Tell us your troubles, and do not fear!'
'Nobody come, and nobody here,
Nobody p'ay wiz me, oh!'
"'What! no little boys, and no little girls,
To play with Princekin, pearl of pearls?
Then lift your head, with its crown of curls,
And we'll do better without, oh!
Open the window and call the flowers
Birds and beasts from their trees and bowers,
To come and play with this Prince of ours,
And make him with laughter shout, oh!'
[Illustration]
"Princekin raises his sapphire eyes,
Diamond tear-drop quickly dries,
Stares and stares in such great surprise
He doesn't know what to do, oh!
In at the window, low and high,
Hundreds of creatures creep and fly,
Vines and flowerets clambering by,
Of every shape and hue, oh!
"Doves are lighting on Princekin's knee,
Close in his curls hums a honey bee,
Roses are climbing around his wee
Sweet hands, for to cling and kiss, oh!
Beetles hover on gauzy wing,
Blue-bells, lily-bells, chime and ring,
Bull-frogs whistle and robins sing,
And see, what an owl is this, oh!
"Squirrel is whispering in his ear,
'Princekin beautiful, Princekin dear,
Leave this stupid close nursery here,
Come to the woods with me, oh!'
Daisy is murmuring at his feet,
'Princekin lovely, and Princekin sweet,
Come live with us, 'mid the corn and wheat,
Out in the field so free, oh!'
"Round they flutter, and round they dance,
Wheel and hover and creep and prance,
Bird, beast, blossom, all bent on the chance
Of winning the pearl of boys, oh!
Clinging and kissing o'er and o'er,
Singing, chattering, more and more,--
But _oh!_--who slammed the nursery door,
And made such a dreadful noise, oh!
* * * * *
"Princekin sits on his nursery throne,
Prettiest Princekin, all alone.
Sighing a sigh and moaning a moan,
'Oh--dear--_me_, oh!
Had such a bootiful, bootiful p'ay!
No! I _not_ been as'eep, I say!
And now dem's everyone gone away,
Nobody left but me, oh!'"
Then Nibble stopped reading, and closed the book softly, for Downy was
just as fast asleep as Princekin had been.
"That is always the way!" he said to himself. "I never saw a child sleep
so much in the daytime. In fact, there is no use in reading to him,
unless you want him to go to sleep. But perhaps," he added "that is just
what Mrs. Posset did want, and it is the best thing to do when one
cannot go out of doors. Heigh ho! how pleasant it is out there! I wonder
where Brighteyes is! She might come in and stay with me, I think, if she
knows I am in the house." And Nibble sat down by the window, and looked
mournfully out into the garden.
[Illustration]
I also had been wondering where Brighteyes was, for I had not seen her
since breakfast. I was just going to look in another part of the mirror,
(for I can see the whole of the garden in it, and more too,) when I
heard a deep sigh at my elbow. I turned, and saw my dog standing by,
gazing into the mirror with a very wistful look. I followed the
direction of his eyes, and saw that the cat was still up in the tree,
and the dogs still at the foot of it. Gruff was tired of jumping, which
indeed was not exactly in his line; and had gone quietly to sleep; but
Grim and Grab kept up the game, occasionally lying down to rest and take
breath, and then going at it again.
"What ails thee, Bmfkmgth?" I asked. "Doth the sight of the other dogs
grieve thee?"
"Nay, master!" he answered. "But oh! I fain would have a cat to chase.
Is there no Cat-Star, good master, whence thou couldst get me a cat? see
now, how merry these dogs have been!"
"Truly," I replied, "there is no Cat-Star; and if there were, thou
wouldst be none the better off, for I would not have such noise and
strife in my quiet home. Art thou not happy? here thou hast no work to
do; canst eat green cheese all day, if it please thee, and sport with
the merry beams which my brother Sun sends over. Perhaps thou wouldst
like to go back to the Dog Star, whence thou camest. There thou hadst
work enough and to spare, for thou wast servant to Prince Canis, and he
is a hard master." And I tipped the mirror, so that we could see Sirius
(which is the name of that star,) and what was going on in it. There sat
Prince Canis on his throne, richly dressed. Hundreds of servants bowed
before him, or hurried hither and thither to do his bidding. He spoke
harshly to them, and flourished a huge whip, which was his sceptre,
about their ears, making them howl with pain.
"Wilt thou go back?" I asked.
"Oh, no, no!" cried the dog, shrinking back. "Tip the glass away, my
master, lest he see me and carry me off! I promise thee I will never
complain again!"
"That is well!" I said. "And if thou wantest something to chase, thou
mayest chase me, though that would not be very exciting. So now, we will
look for Brighteyes, and see what has become of the child."
I tipped the glass, and again the garden blossomed before me, sunny and
bright, shining with grass-emerald and dandelion gold, under the drifts
of apple-blossoms. Yes, it was a pretty sight, and whichever way I may
tip my glass, I see no prettier sight than this garden, in the spring of
the year.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]