"Pray, what little girl is this here, with these long pretty curls,
swinging on the gate?"
"I bees not a girl,--I bees a boy, I be."
Then passing my hand down over a little coat covered with buttons, I
said,--
"Surely, so you are a little boy; but what is your name?"
"My name bees Little Jakey; dot is my name."
"Little Jakey! Indeed! and pray, when did you come here?"
Quick as thought his little foot struck out against the post again, and
the gate went flying to and fro, as before; then coming to a sudden
halt, he said,--
"Vell, I tink I tell you. I bees here von Sunday and von Sunday and
_von_ Sunday; so long I bees here."
"How old are you, Jakey?"
"I bees seving; dot is my old,--dot is how old I bees."
"And can you not see?"
"No, I not see. Ven Gott make my eyes, my moder say he not put ze light
in zem."
"And are you going to school here, Jakey?"
"Yes, some ze time I go in ze school, and I read ze letters mit my
fing-er. Von letter vot live on ze top ze line, I know him, ven I put
my fing-er on him; hees name bees A; and von oder letter, I know him,
ven I put my fing-er on him,--round like ze hoop; hees name bees O."
"Who teaches you the letters, Little Jakey?"
"Cassie, ce teach me, but all ze time ce laugh, ven I say ze vords; so
Miss Setland sen her avay, and now Libbie, ce teach me. But not much I
go in ze school. I come down here mit ze birds in ze trees. Up to ze
house ze birds not go. Eddy and Villy, and all ze boys, ven zey play,
make big noise, and zey scare ze birds. But down here zey not scare,
and all ze time zey sing."
"You love the birds, Jakey?"
"Yes, I love ze birds. I love von bird up in dot tree. You not see him
vay high dare? Ven I have eat my dinner in ze morning, I come down
here, and ven I have eat my dinner in ze noon, I come down here; and
all ze time, ven I come, he sing. Sometimes some oder birds come in ze
tree, and zey sing mit him; but all ze time he sing. I vish I sing like
ze birds. I vish I have vings, and I go vay high in ze sky, vare ze
stars be. Gott make ze stars, and Georgy say dot zey shine vay down in
ze vater, he see zem dare; and von time I tell him dot he vill get me
von mit hees hook vot he catch ze fishes mit; but he laugh and say dot
he cannot. But I tink I see ze stars ven I come im Himmel mit"--
"Im Himmel! Where is that, Jakey? Where is Himmel?"
"Vy! you not know dot? Himmel bees vare Gott live."
I caught him down from the gate in my arms, and nearly smothered him
with kisses.
Then he put his hands up and felt my face over, so softly and tenderly,
that I fancied his little creeping fingers reading there every thought
in my heart; and finally, clasping his loving arms around my neck, he
said, in a voice hardly above a whisper,--
"I love you,--you love me?"
"I do indeed love you, you dear lamb," I said; but I could hardly
speak, my voice was so choked with tears. Perceiving this, he rested
his little hand softly on my cheek again, and whispered timidly,--
"Vy for you cry?"
But hearing some one approaching, and fearing to be disturbed, I took
his little hand in mine and led him away, across the park, to a seat
under the big mulberry, where I held him long and lovingly on my lap,
as I did often afterwards, while coaxing from his sweet lips the
following chapters of his strange little life.