TOMTY.
BRIGHTEYES had been spending the morning with Tomty of course; anyone
might have known that, for she was always with Tomty whenever she could
not be found anywhere else. Tomty was the gardener, and his real name
was Thomas Wilson, but the mice thought that Tomty was a much better
name, and I think so too. He was the kindest gardener that ever lived, I
think, and I have seen a good many. He liked nothing better than to have
all the five mice trotting at his heels while he went about his work.
They might hide his shears, and run off with his trowel, and take his
rake and hoe for hobbyhorses, but Tomty was never out of patience with
them.
"Sure, they're young things!" he used to say. "Let them enjoy themselves
now, for they'll be older before they're younger!" Which was a very
sensible remark.
"Tomty!" said Brighteyes.
"Yes, miss."
"I want to go into the barn-yard again to see Jose."
"And that is just where I am going, miss," said Tomty; "so if you will
sit in the wheelbarrow, I'll give you a ride!" so Brighteyes jumped into
the wheelbarrow and was wheeled off in fine style.
"Do you know who invented the wheelbarrow, Tomty?" she asked as they
went along.
"Yes miss," replied Tomty. "Hiram Deluce made this one, miss."
"I don't mean this one," said Brighteyes. "I mean the first one that
ever was made. It was a great painter, one of the greatest painters that
ever lived, only I can't remember his name. Uncle Jack told me about
him."
"Yes Miss!" said Tomty. "More likely a _car_-painter, Miss. I don't know
what a painter would want of a barrow, unless to paint it, and that's
soon done."
A car-painter! Brighteyes thought that was very funny, and she thought
Tomty was very clever.
But now they were in the barn-yard, and she straightway forgot about
wheel-barrows and painters, for Jose, the little brown donkey, was
loose, and was trying with might and main to open the further gate of
the yard, a trick of which he was extremely fond, and in which he
certainly excelled.
"Oh! Tomty," cried Brighteyes, "shut the gate, and let us catch Jose.
Naughty donkey, how did you get out? Come here, good Jose! come here,
poor fellow!" But Jose (that is a Spanish name, by the way, and is
pronounced Hosay,) had no idea of going there.
[Illustration: JOSE OPENING THE GATE.]
"I wont!" he said. "I wo-_hon't_! go away-_hay!_" and up went his heels,
higher than ever. It must be very provoking to animals to have human
beings pay absolutely no attention to their remarks. Really, it is so
stupid sometimes. There was Jose, speaking quite distinctly for a
donkey, and Brighteyes only clapped her hands to her ears and cried "Oh!
what a dreadful bray!" and in the barn, meanwhile, Pollux, the off
horse, was saying to John, over and over again, "I don't like this
stall, John! please give me another. And do loosen this strap a little,
for it makes my head ache." To which John replied, "So, boy! quiet now!"
which must have been extremely aggravating.
Why, I saw a little girl once,--a little German girl she was, named
Hannchen,--sit for half an hour listening with great delight to a bird
which was singing away with all its might, perched on a neighboring
twig. And what do you think the bird was saying in its song?
"You horrid little monster, why will you not go away? I want to get some
caterpillars from that tree behind you, and I cannot get at them while
you are there. My children are waiting for their dinner, and though I
have asked you fifty times, as politely as I could, to move, you will
not stir, but just sit there and look silly. Oh! you provoking little
creature! I should like to peck you!" And little Hannchen, smiling,
said "thank you, pretty bird, for your sweet song!"
[Illustration]
It was quite a piece of work to catch Master Jose, but John came out to
help Thomas and finally the obstinate little brown gentleman was fairly
cornered, and had to submit to the halter.
"Poor fellow!" said Brighteyes. "It must seem very hard to be tied up
all the time. I am sure _I_ should not like to have a strap round my
nose, Tomty, and stand all day with nothing but the barn walls to look
at."
"And indeed you would not, Miss!" replied Tomty gravely. "But sure no
one would go for to put a strap round a little lady's nose, Miss, let
alone putting her in the barn."
"Oh! you funny Tomty!" cried Brighteyes. "I meant, if I were a donkey,
of course!"
"Yes, Miss! but you see you are not a donkey," said Tomty placidly. "And
now I must go back to the flower-beds again, Miss Brighteyes," he
added. "And will you go with me, Miss, or shall I leave you here?"
"Well, Tomty, I think I will stay here for a little while and talk to
the chickabiddies. I don't think they know me yet, and I want them to
know me and love me, for Uncle Jack says I may feed them every morning.
You won't be lonely without me, will you, Tomty?"
"Well, Miss, I'll do my best!" said Tomty.
With which rather vague remark the good man took up his wheelbarrow and
departed, leaving Brighteyes alone in the barn-yard. Alone, that is,
except for the fowls. They had just arrived that morning, and they
evidently did not feel at home in their new quarters. The hens were
scratching and bustling about in great excitement, while one of the
roosters, standing on top of the fence, preached them a sermon on
keeping their tempers.
"Be calm!" he said. "Be calm, my dears! haste makes waste. Observe my
tranquil demeanor! the truly great are calm in the midst of strife."
[Illustration]
And he shut one eye, and looked at Brighteyes with the other, as much as
to say "What do you think of that? it's nothing to what I can do if I
try!" but Brighteyes burst out laughing, and said "Chook-a-raw-che-raw!
I can say that too, Mr. Rooster, so you need not be so proud."
At this the rooster was deeply offended, and withdrew to a corner of the
yard, muttering to himself.
Presently Brighteyes spied three fowls, two hens and an old rooster, who
apparently were too sleepy to care where they were, for they had all
gone to sleep, sitting side by side on a rail, and very funny they
looked.
"Oh!" said Brighteyes. "Don't they look just like the sixty-five parrots
asleep in a row, in the 'Four Little Children who went round the world?'
Don't you remember?" she went on, half to herself and half to the other
fowls, "the Pussy-Cat and the Quangle-Wangle crept softly, and bit off
the tail-feathers of all the sixty-five parrots; for which Violet
reproved them both severely. Notwithstanding which, she proceeded to
insert all the feathers--two-hundred and sixty in number--in her bonnet;
thereby causing it to have a lovely and glittering appearance,
highly--well, I forget the rest," said she, "for the words are very
long."
[Illustration]
"How pretty some of those tail-feathers would look in my hat!" she
continued. "I shouldn't like to bite them off, but I might pull some
out, for there are so many they would never be missed. Just a few out of
each tail, you know; and I am sure they wouldn't mind, if they knew it
was to make my hat have a lovely and glittering appearance. One good
smart pull, now--" and suiting the action to the word, she tugged with
might and main at the tail of the old rooster. But the old rooster had
apparently never read the story about Violet and the sixty-five parrots;
for instead of submitting meekly to having his tail-feathers pulled
out, he woke up in a great rage and fright, and uttering a tempest of
"ka-ka-kaaa-ka-raws" he flew directly in Brighteye's face.
[Illustration]
Greatly terrified, Brighteyes staggered backward, and sat down violently
in a tub filled with hay.
Yes, that would have been very well, if there had been nothing beside
hay in it. But, unfortunately, Uncle Jack had bought with these fowls
some eggs of a peculiar kind, from which he hoped to get a very fine
brood of chickens; and he had made a fine nest for them in this tub and
left them till one of the hens should take a fancy to them.
Well, that was all over now. Brighteyes heard the crash, and knew that
something dreadful must have happened. The angry rooster was fluttering
and pecking at her feet, and the poor mouse, half-wild with fright,
sprang up once more and rushed out of the barn-yard, forgetting in her
haste to shut the gate behind her. She never stopped till she had gained
the shade of the apple-trees, and there she sat down panting on the
grass.
"Oh dear!" she cried, "I will never try to do things out of story-books
again as long as I live. Whenever I do it, I am sure to get into
trouble. The other day Uncle Jack showed me a picture in _Punch_, of
some children putting out their tongues when they met the doctor, and he
laughed, and said it was very funny, and so it was: so then the next
time I met our doctor, I put out my tongue, but he didn't laugh, and
Mrs. Posset put red pepper on my tongue, to teach me better manners. And
now, just because I wanted to do what Violet did, all these dreadful
things have happened. But oh!" and she sprang to her feet, "I must do
something about my dress, or Mrs. Posset will say, I am 'a sight to
behold!' She always says that, and I am so tired of hearing it. If I
were to roll on the grass, now! we always wipe our shoes on the grass,
when they are muddy, before we go into the house."
Certainly, the dress was in a very forlorn condition, being covered with
egg behind, while the front of the skirt showed a number of dismal rents
made by the beak and claws of the angry rooster. I did not think it
would be improved by rolling on the grass, but I could not well do
anything about it.
A pretty sight Miss Brighteyes was when she got up again. Egg and grass
and mud were worked and rolled together into an even tint of brownish
green, all over her skirts, while through the holes her scarlet
petticoat looked out indignantly, blushing for its owner's misdeeds. At
least, that is what my dog said about it, and he has a very pretty way
of putting things. However, Missy Mouse was quite satisfied that she had
done all she could in the matter, so she went on her way rejoicing.
Presently she heard voices, and she came upon Puff and Fluff, who,
having put all their children to sleep, had come out to spend the rest
of the bright, sunny morning in the garden. They had got out their
gardening tools, and were hard at work in one of the flower-beds.
"What are you doing, Twinnies?" asked Brighteyes as she came up. "And
where is Tomty?"
"Tomty is gone to his dinner," answered Puff. "And we are trying to do
all his work for him before he comes back."
"Yes!" said Fluff, "because he often helps us, you know, and so we ought
to help him."
[Illustration]
"But what are all those funny-looking things sticking up?" Brighteyes
asked, stooping over the bed.
"Well, sister, those are the roots of the plants," said Puff. "We heard
Tomty say that what the plants needed now was sun, and so we thought the
roots ought to have some sun too. So we have been turning them upside
down to save Tomty the trouble."
"Save Tomty the trouble, indeed!" said Brighteyes. "Why, you naughty
little mice, you have made twice as much trouble for him. The roots
don't want any sun, they like to be in the dark, just like owls and
bats. Now you have been naughty, and Uncle Jack will punish you."
Poor little twin mice! they looked very grave indeed. Fluffy's eyes
filled with tears, and she began to rub them with her little grimy
hands, which did not improve her appearance. But Puff said bravely:
"They do not _look_ a bit like owls, Brighteyes, or like bats either;
but if you are really sure that they ought to be in the ground, we will
put them back again."
"Well, here comes Tomty himself!" cried Brighteyes, "and you will see
what he says. See, Tomty!" she went on. "These naughty twinnies have
been turning the plants upside down, and spoiling them!"
"But we didn't mean to spoil them, Tomty!" cried the twins eagerly. "We
thought the roots ought to have the sun, and we only wanted to save you
the trouble, Tomty dear! and we are so sorry!"
Tomty rubbed his left ear, which he always did when he was put out. At
least a dozen of his best plants were ruined, but he could not scold the
little mice, whose little piteous faces were turned up to him
imploringly.
"Well, well!" he said. "To be sure! isn't that a pity now! but they're
young things, they're young things! never you mind, Missies, this time,
for there are plenty more plants. But remember:
"'Roots and moles, where'er they're found,
Like to burrow in the ground.'"
"Oh! yes, you good Tomty, we will remember!" cried the twins. "And we
will turn them all back again as quickly as we can."
"Well, Missies, you may do that," replied Tomty, "though it's all one
now to them plants if they're on their heads or their heels. But Miss
Brighteyes," he continued, turning to the elder mouse, who was looking
on with an air of superior wisdom: "it's not my place to speak about the
little ladies' clothes, Miss, but whatever will Mrs. Posset say when she
sees your frock? and the barn-yard gate open, too, and the fowls all
over the place!"
Brighteyes hung down her head and blushed as red as her petticoat: then,
without saying a word, she turned away, and walked slowly toward the
house.
Yes, she had been very naughty, much naughtier than the twins, whom she
had been blaming; and now she would go directly in to Mrs. Posset and
tell her all about it, and say she was very sorry.
That was what she thought as she walked along, and that was what she
meant to do, doubtless; but dear me! sometimes I think that you people
on the earth _never_ do what you mean to do. I know a gentleman in
London, if you will believe it, who has been trying for five years to
see the sun rise. Every night when he goes to bed he says, "Aha!
to-morrow morning I shall be up bright and early, sir! Want to see the
sun rise. Haven't seen it since I was a boy. Ha! ha! ha!" and then he
goes to bed, and knows nothing till nine o'clock the next morning, when
the sunbeams flirt gold-dust into his eyes and wake him up. Then he rubs
his eyes, and says "Bless me! overslept myself again, hey? well, I never
_was_ so sleepy before in my life! the sun will have to see _me_ rise
this morning, hey? ha! ha! ha!"
[Illustration]
Yes, that is the way with you all, and that was the way with Brighteyes
that day. I did but turn away from the mirror for five minutes, to chat
with a passing meteor, and ask him how his grandmother was; and when I
turned back, where was that bright-eyed mouse but up at the very top of
a tree: trying with all her might to catch a small cat, the very same
cat which the dogs had been chasing an hour before.
"Dear little Pusscat!" cried Brighteyes in her most winning tones. "I
wouldn't hurt you for the world. Do come, and let me take you down, and
you shall be my own dear little pet, and I will love you very much
indeed!" and she stretched out one arm toward the kitten, while the
other clasped a branch of the tree.
The kitten looked hard at her, and on the whole seemed to approve of
her, for it advanced slowly, and finally allowed itself to be captured.
Yes, that was very nice; but how about getting down?
"Oh! that is easily managed!" said Brighteyes, thinking aloud as usual.
"I'll hold my kitty so, you see, with one hand, and with the other I
just swing myself down to that great big huge branch, _so_--" as she
started, there was a sound of something tearing, and this was very
natural, for the skirt of her unlucky frock was caught on a small bough
and refused to accompany her to the lower branch; but it was too late
for Brighteyes to stop herself. Down she went, alighting safely on the
big branch, from which she could easily swing herself down to the
ground. But, alas! more than half of her skirt had remained on the upper
branch. There it hung, and flapped about in a most unpleasant way, and
there stood Brighteyes, gazing ruefully at the ruin she had wrought, but
still clasping the kitten tightly in her arms.
[Illustration]
Now I want to ask you if you think Mrs. Posset could possibly have
chosen a worse time for looking out of the window? she did, however,
think it proper to look out just at that particular moment; and as I saw
from her face that she meant mischief, and as I have the strongest
possible objection to seeing children punished, I just tipped my glass
and saw the people of Nankin ringing the bells on the Porcelain Tower,
to celebrate the Emperor's birthday.