Aunt Melissy Lovejoy, who lived in a nice place just beyond the Wide
Paw-paw Hollows, and how Uncle Silas once visited Cousin Glenwood in
town and came home all dressed up, leading a game chicken, and with a
bag of shinny-sticks, and a young man to wait on him; and how Aunt
Melissy--instead of being pleased, as Uncle Silas thought she would
be--got mad when she saw him, and made him and the young man take off
all their nice clothes and go to work in the garden, and kept them at it
with that bag of shinny-sticks until fall.[2]
"Well, this story is about them, too. I went to live with them soon
after that, because I lost both of my parents one night when Mr. Man was
hunting in the Black Bottoms for something to put in a pan with some
sweet potatoes he had raised that year, and I suppose I would have been
used with sweet potatoes too if I hadn't come away from there pretty
lively instead of trying our old playing-dead trick on Mr. Man and his
friends.
"I thought right away that Mr. Man might know the trick, so I didn't
wait to try it myself, but took out for the Wide Paw-paw Hollows, to
visit Uncle Silas Lovejoy, who was an uncle on my mother's side, and
Aunt Melissy and my little cousins; and they all seemed glad to see me,
especially my little cousins, until they found they had to give me some
of their things and most of their food, because I was young and
growing, besides being quite sad about my folks, and so, of course, had
to eat a good deal to keep well and from taking my loss too hard.
"But by-and-by Uncle Lovejoy said that he didn't believe that he and the
hired man--who was the same one he had brought home to wait on him when
he came from town--to be his valet, he said--though he got to be a hired
man right after Aunt Melissy met him and got hold of the
shinny-sticks--Aunt Melissy being a spry, stirring person who liked to
see people busy. I remember how she used to keep me and my little
cousins busy until sometimes I wished I had stayed with my folks and put
up with the sweet potatoes and let Uncle Silas and his family alone."
Mr. 'Possum stopped to light his pipe, and Mr. Rabbit said that he
supposed, of course, Mr. 'Possum knew his story and how to tell it, but
that if he ever intended to finish what Uncle Lovejoy had said about
himself and the hired man he wished he'd get at it pretty soon.
Mr. 'Possum said of course he meant to, as soon as he could get his
breath, and think a minute. "Well, then," he said, "Uncle Silas told
Aunt Melissy that he didn't believe he and the hired man could raise and
catch enough for the family since I had come to stay with them, and he
thought they had better move farther west to a place where the land was
better and where Mr. Man's chickens were not kept up in such close,
unhealthy places, but were allowed to roost out in the open air, on the
fences and in the trees. He said he didn't think their house was quite
stylish enough either, which he knew would strike Aunt Melissy, who was
a Glenwood, and primpy, and fond of the best things.
"So then we began to pack up right away, and Uncle Silas and Aunt
Melissy quarrelled a good deal about what was worth taking and what
wasn't, and they took turns scolding the hired man about a good many
things he didn't do and almost all of the things he did do, and my
little cousins and I had a fine time running through the empty rooms and
playing with things we had never seen before, but we had to keep out of
Aunt Melissy's reach if we wanted to enjoy it much.
[Illustration: AUNT MELISSY HAD ARRANGED A BUNDLE FOR UNCLE SILAS, AND
SHE HAD FIXED UP THE HIRED MAN TOO]
"Well, by-and-by we were all packed up and ready to start. We had
everything in bundles or tied together, and Aunt Melissy had arranged a
big bundle for Uncle Silas to carry, and several things to tie and hang
about on his person in different places, and she had fixed up the hired
man too, besides some bundles for me and my little cousins.
[Illustration: DIDN'T LOOK AS IF SHE BELONGED TO THE REST OF OUR CROWD]
"Aunt Melissy said she would take charge of the lunch-basket and lead
the way, and she was all dressed up and carried an umbrella, and didn't
look much as if she belonged to the rest of our crowd.
"It was pretty early when we started, for it was getting dangerous to
camp out in that section, and we wanted to get as far as we could the
first day, though we didn't any of us have any idea then how long a trip
we _would_ make that day, nor of the way we were going to make it.
Nobody could guess a guess like that, even if he was the best guesser in
the world and made his living that way."
Mr. 'Possum stopped to light his pipe again, and said that if anybody
wanted a chance to guess how far they went that first day and how they
travelled, they could guess now. But the Hollow Tree People said they
didn't want to guess, and they did want Mr. 'Possum to go ahead and tell
them about it.
"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "we travelled fifty miles that first day, and
we travelled it in less than two hours."
"Fifty miles in two hours!" said all the Hollow Tree People. And Jack
Rabbit said:
"Why, a menagerie like that couldn't travel fifty miles in two years!"
"But we did, though," said Mr. 'Possum; "we travelled it in a balloon."
"In a balloon!"
"Well, not exactly in a balloon, but _with_ a balloon. It happened just
as I'm going to tell you.
"We went along pretty well until we got to the Wide Grass Lands, though
Aunt Melissy scolded Uncle Silas a good deal because he got behind and
didn't stand up in a nice stylish way with all the things he had to
carry, and she used her umbrella once on the hired man because he
dropped the clock.
"When we got out to the Wide Grass Lands there was a high east wind
blowing, getting ready for a storm, and when we got on top of a little
grassy hill close to the Wide Blue Water it blew Uncle Silas and the
hired man so they could hardly stand up, and it turned Aunt Melissy's
umbrella wrong side out, which made her mad, and she said that it was
Uncle Silas's fault and mine, and that she had never wanted to move
anyway.
"But just then one of my little cousins looked up in the sky and said,
'Oh, look at that funny bird!' and we all looked up, and there was a
great big long bag of a thing coming right toward us, not very high up,
and Uncle Silas spoke up and said 'That's a balloon,' for Uncle Silas
had seen one in town when he was there visiting Cousin Glenwood, and the
hired man, too. Then while we were all standing there watching it, we
saw that there was a long rope that hung from the balloon most to the
ground, and that it had something tied to the end of it (a big iron
thing with a lot of hooks on it), and that it was swooping down straight
toward us.
"Uncle Silas called out as loud as he could, 'That's the anchor! Look
out!' but it was too late to look out, for it was coming as fast as the
wind blew the balloon, and Uncle Silas and the hired man being loaded
with the things couldn't move very quick, and the rest of us were too
scared to know which way to jump, and down came that thing right among
us, and I saw it catch among Uncle Silas's furniture and the hired
man's, and I heard Uncle Silas say, 'Grab hold, all of you' and we all
did, some one way and some another, and away we went.
"Well, it was certainly very curious how we all were lucky enough to get
hold of that anchor, with all our bundles and things; but of course we
could do it better than if we had not been given those nice useful tails
which belong to our family. I had hold that way, and some of the others
did, too. Uncle Silas didn't need to hold on at all, for some of the
furniture was tied to him, and he just sat back in a chair that was hung
on behind and took it easy, though he did drop some of his things when
he first got aboard, and Aunt Melissy scolded him for that as soon as
she caught her breath and got over being frightened and was sitting up
on her part of the anchor enjoying the scenery.
[Illustration: THE BALLOON WENT OVER THE WIDE BLUE WATER JUST AFTER IT
GOT OUR FAMILY]
"I never had such a trip as that before, and never expect to have one
again. The balloon went over the Wide Blue Water just after it got our
family, and we were all afraid we would be let down in it and drowned;
but the people who were in the balloon threw out something heavy which
we thought at first they were throwing at us, but it must have been
something to make the balloon go up; for we did go up until Aunt Melissy
said if we'd just get a little nearer one of those clouds she'd step out
on it and live there, as she'd always wanted to do since she was a
child.
"Then we all sat up and held on tight, above and below, and said what a
nice day it was to travel, and that we'd always travel that way
hereafter; and Uncle Silas and the hired man unhooked their furniture,
so they could land easier when the time came, and Aunt Melissy passed
around the lunch, and we looked down and saw the water and the land
again and a lot of houses and trees, and Aunt Melissy said that nobody
could ever make her believe the world was that big if she hadn't seen it
with her own eyes.
"And Uncle Silas and the hired man said that of course this was going
pretty fast, but that they had travelled a good deal faster sometimes
when they were in town with Cousin Glenwood, and pretty soon he showed
us the town where Cousin Glenwood lived, and he and the hired man tried
to point out the house to us, but they couldn't agree about which it was
because the houses didn't look the same from up there in the air as they
did from down on the ground.
"I know I shall never forget that trip. We saw ever so many different
Mr. Men and Mr. Dogs, and animals of every kind, and houses that had
chimneys taller than any tree, and a good many things that even Uncle
Silas did not know about. Then by-and-by we came to some woods
again--the biggest kind of Big Deep Woods--and we saw that we were
getting close to the tree-tops, and we were all afraid we would get hit
by the branches and maybe knocked off with our things.
"And pretty soon, sure enough, that anchor did drop right down among the
trees, and such a clapping and scratching as we did get!
"We shut our eyes and held on, and some of our furniture was brushed off
of Uncle Silas and the hired man, and Aunt Melissy lost her umbrella,
and I lost a toy chicken, which I could never find again. Then all at
once there was a big sudden jerk that jarred Uncle Silas loose, and made
Aunt Melissy holler that she was killed, and knocked the breath out of
the rest of us for a few minutes.
"But we were all there, and the anchor was fast on the limb of a big
tree--a tree almost as big as the Hollow Tree, and hollow, just like it,
with a nice handy place to go in.
"So when we got our senses back we picked up all our things that we
could find, and moved into the new place, and Aunt Melissy looked at the
clock, which was still running, and it was just a little over two hours
since we started.
"Then pretty soon we heard Mr. Man and his friends who had been up in
the balloon coming, and we stayed close inside till they had taken the
anchor and everything away, and after that, when it was getting dark,
Uncle Silas and the hired man went out and found, not very far off,
where there were some nice chickens that roosted in handy places, and
brought home two or three, and Aunt Melissy set up the stove and cooked
up a good supper, and we all sat around the kitchen fire, and the storm
that the east wind had been blowing up came along sure enough and it
rained all night, but we were snug and dry, and went to sleep mostly in
beds made down on the floor, and lay there listening to the rain and
thinking what a nice journey we'd had and what a good new home we'd
found.
"And it _was_ a good place, for I lived there till I grew up, and if I'm
not mistaken some of Uncle Silas's and Aunt Melissy's children live
there still. I haven't heard from any of them for a long time, but I am
thinking of going on a visit over that way in the spring, and if that
balloon is still running I'm going to travel with it.
"And that," said Mr. 'Possum, "is a true story--all true, every word,
for I was there."
Nobody said anything for a minute or two after Mr. 'Possum had finished
his story--nobody _could_ say anything.
Then Mr. Rabbit coughed a little and remarked that he was glad that Mr.
'Possum said that the story was true, for no one would ever have
suspected it. He said if Mr. 'Possum hadn't said it was true he would
have thought it was one of those pleasant dreams that Mr. 'Possum had
when he slept hanging to a peg head down.
[Illustration: MR. TURTLE SAID THAT WHAT MR. 'POSSUM HAD TOLD THEM WAS
TRUE]
But Mr. Turtle, who had been sitting with his eyes shut and looking as
if he were asleep, knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and said that what
Mr. 'Possum had told them was true--at least, _some_ of it was true; for
he himself had been sitting in the door of his house on the shore of the
Wide Blue Water when the balloon passed over, and he had seen Uncle
Silas Lovejoy's family sitting up there anchored and comfortable; and he
had picked up a chair that Uncle Silas had dropped, and he had it in his
house to this day, it being a good strong chair and better than any that
was made nowadays.
Well, of course after that nobody said anything about Mr. 'Possum's
story not being true, for they remembered how old and wise Mr. Turtle
was and could always prove things, and they all talked about it a great
deal, and asked Mr. 'Possum a good many questions.
They said how nice it was to know somebody who had had an adventure like
that, and Mr. Rabbit changed his seat so he could be next to Mr.
'Possum, because he said he wanted to write it all down to keep.
And Mr. 'Possum said he never would forget how good those chickens
tasted that first night in the new home, and that Mr. Rabbit mustn't
forget to put them in.
Then they all remembered that they were hungry now, and Mr. Crow and Mr.
Squirrel and Mr. Robin hustled around to get a bite to eat before
bedtime, and Mr. 'Possum hurried down to bring up the stove-wood, and
was gone quite awhile, though nobody spoke of it--not then--even if they
did wonder about it a little--and after supper they all sat around the
fire again and smoked and dropped off to sleep while the clock ticked
and the blaze flickered about and made queer shadows on the wall of the
Hollow Tree.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] _Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book_.
THE BARK OF OLD HUNGRY-WOLF
THE BARK OF OLD HUNGRY-WOLF
HOW THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE HAVE A MOST UNWELCOME VISITOR, AND WHAT
BECOMES OF HIM
"What made Mr. 'Possum so anxious to get the wood, and what made him
stay down-stairs so long when he went after it?" asks the Little Lady
next evening, when the Story Teller is lighting his pipe and getting
ready to remember the history of the Hollow Tree.
"We're coming to that. You may be sure there was some reason for it, for
Mr. 'Possum doesn't hurry after wood or stay long in a cold place if he
can help it, unless he has something on his mind. Perhaps some of the
Deep Woods People thought of that too, but if they did they didn't say
anything--not at the time. I suppose they thought it didn't matter much,
anyhow, if they got the wood."
So they went right on having a good time, keeping up a nice fire, and
eating up whatever they had; for they thought the big snow couldn't last
as long as their wood and their things to eat, and every day they went
up to look out of the up-stairs windows to see how much had melted, and
every day they found it just about the same, only maybe a little
crustier on top, and the weather stayed _very cold_.
But they didn't mind it so long as they were warm and not hungry, and
they played games, and recited their pieces, and sang, and danced, and
said they had never had such a good time in all their lives.
[Illustration: ONE DAY MR. CROW FOUND HE WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
OF EVERYTHING]
But one day when Mr. Crow went down into the store-room for supplies he
found that he was at the bottom of the barrel of everything they had,
and he came up looking pretty sober, though he didn't say anything about
it--not then, for he knew there were plenty of bones and odds and ends
he could scrape up, and he had a little flour and some meal in his
pantry; so he could make soup and gravy and johnny-cake and hash, which
he did right away, and they all said how fine such things were for a
change, and told Mr. Crow to go right on making them as long as he
wanted to, even if the snow stayed on till spring. And Mr. 'Possum and
Mr. 'Coon said it was like old times, and that Mr. Crow was probably the
very best provider in the Big Deep Woods.
Mr. Crow smiled, too, but he didn't feel like it much, for he knew that
even johnny-cake and gravy wouldn't last forever, and that unless the
snow went away pretty soon they would all be hungry and cold, for the
wood was getting low, too.
And one morning, when Mr. Crow went to his meal-sack and his flour-bag
and his pile of odds and ends there was just barely enough for
breakfast, and hardly that. And Mr. Crow didn't like to tell them about
it, for he knew they all thought he could keep right on making
johnny-cake and gravy forever, because they didn't have to stop to think
where things came from, as he did, and he was afraid they would blame
him when there was nothing more left.
So the Old Black Crow tried to step around lively and look pleasant, to
keep anybody from noticing, because he thought it might turn warm that
day and melt the snow; and when breakfast was ready he put on what there
was and said he hadn't cooked very much because he had heard that light
breakfasts were better for people who stayed in the house a good deal,
and as for himself, he said he guessed he wouldn't eat any breakfast
that morning at all.
Then while the others were eating he crept down-stairs and looked at the
empty boxes and barrels and the few sticks of wood that were left, and
he knew that if that snow didn't melt off right away they were going to
have a _very hard time_. Then he came back up in the big living-room and
went on up-stairs to his own room, to look out the window to see if it
wasn't going to be a warm, melting day. But Mr. Crow came back pretty
soon. He came back in a hurry, too, and he slammed his door and locked
it, and then let go of everything and just slid down-stairs. Then the
Deep Woods People jumped up quick from the table and ran to him, for
they thought he was having a fit of some kind, and they still thought so
when they looked into his face: for Mr. Crow's eyes were rolled up and
his bill was pale, and when he tried to speak he couldn't. And Mr.
Rabbit said it was because Mr. Crow had done without his breakfast, and
he ran to get something from the table; but Mr. Crow couldn't eat, and
then they saw that some of the feathers on top of his head were turning
gray, and they knew he had seen some awful thing just that little moment
he was in his room.
So then they all looked at one another and wondered what it was, and
they were glad Mr. Crow had locked the door. Then they carried him over
to the fire, and pretty soon he got so he could whisper a little, and
when they knew what he was saying they understood why he was so scared
and why he had locked the door; for the words that Mr. Crow kept
whispering over and over were: "Old Hungry-Wolf! Old Hungry-Wolf! Old
Hungry-Wolf!"
All the Deep Woods People know what that means. They know that when Old
Hungry-Wolf comes, or even when you hear him bark, it means that there
is no food left in the Big Deep Woods for anybody, and that nobody can
tell how long it will be before there _will_ be food again. And all the
Deep Woods People stood still and held their breath and listened for the
bark of Old Hungry-Wolf, because they knew Mr. Crow had seen his face
looking in the window. And they all thought they heard it, except Mr.
'Possum, who said he didn't believe it was Old Hungry-Wolf at all that
Mr. Crow had seen, but only Mr. Gray Wolf himself, who had perhaps
slipped out and travelled over the snow to see if they were all at home
and comfortable.
But Mr. Crow said:
"No, no; it was Old Hungry-Wolf! He was big and black, and I saw his
great fiery eyes!"
Then Mr. 'Possum looked very brave, and said he would see if Old
Hungry-Wolf was looking into his window too, and he went right up, and
soon came back and said there wasn't any big black face at his window,
and he thought that Mr. Crow's empty stomach had made him imagine
things.
So then Mr. 'Coon said that he would go up to _his_ room if the others
would like to come along, and they could see for themselves whether Old
Hungry-Wolf was trying to get in or not.
[Illustration: THEN MR. 'COON SLAMMED HIS DOOR]
Then they all went very quietly up Mr. 'Coon's stair (all except Mr.
'Possum, who stayed with Mr. Crow), and they opened Mr. 'Coon's door
and took one look inside, and then Mr. 'Coon he slammed _his_ door shut,
and locked it, and they all let go of everything and came sliding down
in a heap, for they had seen the great fiery eyes and black face of Old
Hungry-Wolf glaring in at Mr. 'Coon's window.
So they all huddled around the fire and lit their pipes--for they still
had some tobacco--and smoked, but didn't say anything, until by-and-by
Mr. Crow told them that there wasn't another bite to eat in the house
and very little wood, and that that was the reason why Old Hungry-Wolf
had come. And they talked about it in whispers--whether they ought to
exercise any more, because though exercise would help them to keep warm
and save wood, it would make them hungrier. And some of them said they
thought they would try to go to sleep like Mr. Bear, who slept all
winter and never knew that he was hungry until spring. So they kept
talking, and now and then they would stop and listen, and they all said
they could hear the bark of Old Hungry-Wolf--all except Mr. 'Possum,
which was strange, because Mr. 'Possum is fond of good things and would
be apt to be the very first to hear Old Hungry's bark.
[Illustration: Mr. 'POSSUM SAID NOT TO MOVE, THAT HE WOULD GO AFTER A
PIECE OF WOOD]
And when the fire got very low and it was getting cold, Mr. 'Possum said
for them not to move; that he would go down after a piece of wood, and
he would attend to the fire as long as the wood lasted, and try to
make it last as long as possible. And every time the fire got very low
Mr. 'Possum would bring a piece of wood, and sometimes he stayed a good
while (just for one piece of wood), but they still didn't think much
about it--not then. What they did think about was how hungry they were,
and Mr. Crow said he knew he could eat as much as the old ancestor of
his that was told about in a book which he had once borrowed from Mr.
Man's little boy who had left it out in the yard at dinner-time.
Then they all begged Mr. Crow to get the book and read it to them, and
perhaps they could imagine they were not so hungry. So Mr. Crow brought
the book and read them the poem about
THE RAVENOUS RAVEN
[Illustration: HE WOULD SMOKE IN THE SUN WHEN THE MORNINGS WERE FAIR]
Oh, there was an old raven as black as could be,
And a wonderful sort of a raven was he;
For his house he kept tidy, his yard he kept neat,
And he cooked the most marvellous dainties to eat.
He could roast, he could toast, he could bake, he could fry,
He could stir up a cake in the wink of an eye,
He could boil, he could broil, he could grill, he could stew
Oh, there wasn't a thing that this bird couldn't do.
He would smoke in the sun when the mornings were fair,
And his plans for new puddings and pies would prepare;
But, alas! like the famous Jim Crow with his shelf,
He was greedy, and ate all his dainties himself.
[Illustration: WITH A LOOK AND A SIGH THEY WOULD STAND AND BEHOLD]
It was true he was proud of the things he could cook,
And would call in his neighbors sometimes for a look,
Or a taste, it may be, when his pastry was fine;
But he'd never been known to invite them to dine.
With a look and a sigh they could stand and behold
All the puddings so brown and the sauces of gold;
With a taste and a growl they'd reluctantly go
Praying vengeance to fall on that greedy old crow.
[Illustration: THE TASTIEST PASTRY THAT EVER WAS KNOWN]
Now, one morning near Christmas when holly grows green,
And the best of good things in the markets are seen,
He went out for a smoke in the crisp morning air,
And to think of some holiday dish to prepare.
Mr. Rabbit had spices to sell at his store,
Mr. Reynard had tender young chicks by the score,
And the old raven thought, as he stood there alone,
Of the tastiest pastry that ever was known.
Then away to the market he hurried full soon,
Dropping in for a chat with the 'possum and 'coon
Just to tell them his plans, which they heard with delight,
And to ask them to call for a moment that night
For a look and a taste of his pastry so fine,
And he hinted he might even ask them to dine.
Then he hurried away, and the rest of the day
Messrs. 'Possum and 'Coon were expectant and gay.