out of the box was quite a different matter. The box was locked, and
puss soon found it was impossible to raise the lid. She tried to push
it off the chest of drawers, hoping that if it fell on the floor it
might burst open, but the box was so heavy that she could not budge it
a hair’s breadth. It seemed a hopeless matter. If the dog were only
there, no doubt he could have pushed the box off; but then he had no
way of getting into the house; and even if he did, he could not climb
to the top of the chest of drawers.
But when puss went down to tell him about it, he did not seem to think
it was such a hopeless matter after all. He was overjoyed that she had
found the charm, and was sure that they could get it out of the box
some way or other.
“What we need,” said he, “is to get a good big rat to come and gnaw a
hole in the box for us.”
“Yes, but that is not so easy to do,” said the cat. “The rats have no
love for me, as you very well know. I have caught and eaten too many
of them. I believe they would be glad to starve me to death if they
only could.”
“You might make a bargain with them,” said the dog. “They would be glad
enough to help you, if you, in return, would promise not to catch any
of them for ten years to come.”
Well, the cat did not want to make that bargain at all. She was too
fond of catching the rats whenever she could. She and the dog argued
about it for a long time, but at last she agreed to do as he wished.
The next thing was to get a message to the king of the rats, and puss
knew of a way to manage that. She had seen a mouse-hole near one of the
out-buildings, and now she set herself very patiently to wait beside
it until the mouse should come out. She had to wait for a long time
too. Perhaps the mouse had heard the two friends prowling about. At any
rate, it lay so still in its hole that no one would have guessed it was
there at all except a cat. At length, toward evening, the mouse thought
it might be safe to venture out. But scarcely had it poked its nose out
of its hole when the cat pounced upon it and held it in her claws.
The mouse began to beg and plead for mercy. “Oh, good Mrs Cat—oh,
dear Mrs Cat, spare me, I pray of you! I have a wife and five little
mouselings at home, and they would surely die of grief if any harm came
to me.”
“I am not going to hurt you,” answered the cat, though her mouth
watered to eat it. “Instead, I am going to let you go, if you will
promise to carry a message for me to the king of the rats.”
When the mouse heard that the cat would let it go, it could hardly
believe in its good fortune. It promised that it would do anything the
cat wished it to, and at once the cat took her paws off it and set it
free. Then she told it what the message was that she wished it to carry
for her: she wished the king to send a rat to gnaw a hole in a box so
that she could get a charm that was locked away in it; if the king
would do this, she, in return, would promise not to hurt or harm any
mouse or rat for ten long years.
The mouse listened attentively, and as soon as he was sure he quite
understood the message he hurried away to carry it to the king of the
rats. He was only gone for a short time, and when he came back he
brought a stout, strong young rat with him. This rat had been sent by
the king, who was ready to agree to the bargain the cat had proposed,
and had sent the strongest, sharpest-toothed rat he had to gnaw the
hole in the box.
As soon as the cat heard this, she made her way back into the house,
while the rat and the mouse followed close after her, leaving the dog
to wait for them outside. The cat led the way to the upper room and
showed the rat the box on the chest of drawers. At once he set to work
on it. He gnawed and gnawed and gnawed, but the wood was as hard as
stone, as well as very thick.
At last he gnawed through it, but the hole was too small for him to
crawl through, and he was too exhausted to make it any larger. The cat,
indeed, could reach her paw through, and could even feel the charm, but
she could not hook it out, though she tried again and again. But here
the mouse made itself of use. It slipped through the hole into the box
and quickly brought the charm out in its mouth.
When the cat saw the charm she purred with joy. Once again she promised
the rat and mouse that she would not even try to catch them or any of
their kind for ten years. Then she took the charm in her mouth and ran
down to where the dog was.
The dog was even more delighted than she when he saw the charm.
“Oh, my dear master!” he cried. “How happy he will be.”
“Yes,” said the cat; “but now make haste. If the people in the house
discover the charm is gone, they might suspect us, and follow us, and
try to get it back.”
“Come, then,” said the dog. “But, oh, my dear master! I can hardly wait
to show him the charm.”
The cat and dog hurried on down to the river, but when they reached the
bank they met with a new difficulty. The weather had suddenly turned
very warm and the ice had begun to melt. In many places it was gone
altogether, and where it was left it was too thin even to bear such
small animals as themselves.
“And now what are we to do?” cried the cat. “We will never be able to
get back to our village.”
“Oh, yes, we can,” replied the dog. “Do you mount upon my back. Dig
your claws deep into my long hair and hold on tight, and I will carry
you across.”
The cat was terribly frightened at the thought of such a thing, but
still she saw no other way to cross the river. She climbed upon the
dog’s back, fastened her claws well in his hair, and then he plunged
into the water and began to swim across.
All went well until they neared the other bank. A crowd of children had
gathered there to see the ice break up. When they saw the dog swimming
across with the cat on his back, it seemed to them the funniest thing
they had ever seen in all their lives.
The dog was so busy swimming that he did not even notice them, but
the cat, upon his back, saw everything that was going on. She herself
suddenly began to think what a funny thing it was that she should be
riding at ease on the dog’s back, while he was swimming so hard.
She tried not to laugh, but she was so amused that at last she could
refrain no longer. She burst into a loud cat-laugh, and at once the
charm slipped from her mouth plump into the river, and sank to the
bottom.
“The charm! The charm!” the cat cried. “I have dropped it in the river,
and it has sunk to the bottom.”
As soon as the dog heard that, he dived down into the river to regain
it. He was in such a hurry that he never thought of telling the cat of
what he meant to do.
The cat’s claws were fastened so firmly in his hair that she could not
have let go if she had wished. Also her mouth was open, so that when
they went down into the river she swallowed a great deal of water. By
the time the dog came to the top again, panting and snorting, the cat
was almost drowned.
But the dog was too angry to think anything of that. “Wait till we get
to the shore,” he growled. “Just wait until we get to the shore, and
see what I will do to you for dropping the charm.”
But the cat had no idea of waiting for this. As they came near the
shore, she bounded from the dog’s back to the dry land, and then she
raced away and up a tall tree.
The dog chased after her, but he could not catch her. For some time he
stood at the foot of the tree, barking and growling, but at last he
trotted on home with drooping head and ears and a sad heart.
The old man was very glad to welcome the dog home again. He had feared
it was lost. He looked out from the door in all directions, hoping to
see the cat also, but the cat, which had now climbed down from the
tree, had gone to look for another home. It feared the dog’s anger too
much to venture back to the hut. Moreover, it had no liking for poverty
and hunger, and it hoped to find some place where it would be better
fed than with the old man.
And now indeed there were hard times in the hut. The old man grew
poorer and poorer, and thinner and thinner, and it was just as bad with
the faithful dog. The dog spent much of his time down at the river
looking sadly at the place where the charm had been lost and wishing
there were some way for him to find it.
Now there was a great deal of fishing done in that river, and sometimes
one of the fishermen, more kind-hearted than the rest, would throw a
fish to the hungry dog. This the dog always carried home to his master,
and the two faithful friends would share it together. It was always a
feast day when this happened.
One day one of the fishermen, who had been very lucky, called to the
dog and threw him a particularly large fish.
The dog caught it in his mouth and started home with it. Suddenly he
smelled something: it was like the magic rice that had bubbled up in
the pot; it must be the charm; it could be nothing but that; and the
smell came from the fish he was carrying in his mouth.
As soon as the dog was sure of this, he began to run. He could not get
home fast enough. He reached the hut and bounded in and laid the fish
upon the table.
“Good dog! Good dog!” cried his master. “Have you brought us a fine
dinner to-day?”
He took his knife and began to prepare the fish, but scarcely had he
cut into it before the blade struck against something hard. The old man
looked to see what it was, and what was his joy and amazement to find
that it was the charm, which the fish must have swallowed.
The old man was so delighted that he hardly knew how to contain himself.
“Oh, my precious charm!” he cried. “Oh, what good fortune! Oh, how
happy I am! Wait until I fill the kettle, my dear little dog, and then
what a feast we will have.”
He took out the pot and filled it with water, and hung it over the
fire. Then he threw the charm into it. At once the rice began to boil
and bubble up. The whole house was filled with the delicious smell of
it.
It did not take long for the neighbours to find out that the old man
had his wonderful rice again. They hastened to buy of him, and soon he
had made even more money than before.
One day the cat, which had grown very lean and thin, came sneaking into
the house with one of the customers. As soon as the dog saw her he gave
a snarl and was about to fly at her, but the old man caught the cat up
in his arms. “Oh, my dear little cat,” he cried, “how glad I am to see
you. But how thin you have grown! Never mind; there is plenty in the
house now, and soon you will grow fat again.”
So the cat came back to her master again, but for as long as she lived
the dog never forgave her, and they never became friends again. The old
man did not know that however. He loved them both; he was quite happy
to have them as companions, and lived very prosperous and contented
until the end of his days.
THE CROW PERI
A PERSIAN STORY
THERE was once a youth named Hassan, who was so poor that he had
scarcely rags to cover him, and he was often obliged to go hungry to
bed.
One day Hassan went out to the forest beyond the city and set a snare,
hoping to catch a bird or some small animal that would serve him for a
meal. After setting it, he hid himself in the bushes near by to wait.
He had not been there long when he heard a loud flapping, and running
out he saw that a large black crow was caught in the snare.
Hassan was greatly disappointed. He had hoped for something more worth
eating than a crow. However, even that was better than nothing. He took
the bird from the snare, and was about to wring its neck when it spoke
to him in a human voice.
“Hassan, Hassan, do not kill me! Spare my life and I will make your
fortune for you.”
Hassan was greatly surprised to hear the crow speak, but after a moment
he swallowed his surprise and answered it.
“Make my fortune!” cried he. “How can you make my fortune?—you, a crow?
No, no, I am hungry, and the best fortune that can happen to me now is
to have a full stomach!”
Again he was about to wring the bird’s neck, but it called to him so
piteously that he could not but pause.
“Hassan! Hassan! You do not know what you are doing. I am no common
crow. Let me go now, and do you return to-morrow to this same spot and
you will find something in the snare that will be worth more to you
than I can possibly be.”
“Very well,” said Hassan. “I will let you go, but I do this through
pity, and not because I believe in the least that you can better my
fortunes.”
“That is well,” said the crow. “You will see, however, that I will keep
my promise. But before you let me go, pluck three feathers from my
wings. If you are ever in trouble, blow one of these feathers into the
air and call to me, and I will come and give you aid.”
Hassan did as the crow bade him. He plucked three feathers from its
wings, but as he did so he could not keep from laughing.
“You may laugh,” said the crow, “but you will soon find that my
promises are not vain. To-morrow return to your snare, and you will
find in it something that will be of value to you.”
It then spread its wings and flew away over the tree-tops, flapping
heavily.
Hassan returned home, but the next day he came to the forest again. As
he approached the spot where the snare was, he gave a cry of joy and
wonder. Caught in it was the most beautiful bird he had ever seen or
dreamed of. Its feathers were of pure silver, and over them played the
most gorgeous colours, like the colours of a rainbow. Its eyes shone
like diamonds, and its crest was tipped with jewels of seven different
kinds.
“Such a bird as this is not to be eaten,” said Hassan to himself. “It
is a gift that is fit for the King. I will take it to the palace and
present it to him, and he will be sure to reward me handsomely.” At the
same time he could not help marvelling to think how truly the crow had
spoken.
The youth hastened back to the city and borrowed a cage from a
neighbour. Then he returned to the tree, and put the wonderful bird in
the cage, and set out for the palace. He had thrown a piece of cloth
over the cage, so as to hide the bird, but the light from it was so
bright that it shone through, and set every one to wondering what it
could be that the ragged youth was carrying so carefully.
At the palace Hassan found that it was a difficult matter to see the
King. At last, however, he was allowed to come before his presence,
and at once he uncovered the cage so that the bird could be seen.
The King was filled with wonder at the sight. He had never seen such a
bird before. He questioned Hassan and made him repeat again and again
the story of how he had caught the bird, and exactly what it was that
the crow had said to him.
“There is some magic in this,” said the King. “I will keep the bird,
and never before have I received a gift that pleased me so much. I will
also prove to you that the crow spoke the truth, for, from now on, your
fortune is made.”
The King then caused the youth to be clothed in magnificent garments,
and he also gave him for his own a handsome house near to the palace,
and slaves to serve him, and gold to spend. Every day he sent for
Hassan to come to him, and because the youth was clever and handsome
and adroit, he soon became the King’s favourite above all others.
But success is sure to make enemies. The King’s former favourite became
very jealous of Hassan, and he began to scheme to destroy the youth,
and win back the King’s favour to himself. One day he went to the King
and said, “What a pity it is that such a wonderful bird as Hassan has
brought you should be kept in a cage! What it should have is an ivory
palace, in which you could visit it and sit at ease to watch it.”
“That is true,” answered the King, “but I do not know how I could
obtain such a palace. There is not enough ivory in all my kingdom to
build such a thing.”
“It is plain enough,” answered Hassan’s enemy, “that Hassan is the
favourite of some magic power. Ask him to build the palace, and if he
refuses, threaten him with death. Then I am sure that in some way he
will be able to provide it for you.”
This the enemy said, not because he at all believed it, but because he
wished to destroy Hassan.
After spending a short time in thought, the King agreed to this plan.
He sent for Hassan and said to him, “I am, as you know, greatly
delighted with the bird that you have given me, but now I wish for
still another thing. I wish you to build an ivory palace in which the
bird can live, and in which I can go to visit it.”
“Alas, your Majesty, how can I build such a place as that?” cried
Hassan. “I have nothing of my own, as you know, but only what you
yourself have given me, and in all your kingdom there is not enough
ivory to build a whole palace of it.”
“Nevertheless, you must provide it,” answered the King, “and if you do
not do so, your life shall answer for it.”
When Hassan heard these words, he was greatly troubled. He went out
from the King’s presence and returned home, and there he prepared to
die, for he knew not where to find enough ivory to build one room, to
say nothing of a whole palace.
Suddenly, in the midst of his despair, he remembered the three feathers
that he had plucked from the crow’s wing. He feared they were lost, but
after some search he found them laid away in a corner with the rags he
had once worn. He took them up, and blowing one of them into the air he
called upon the crow to come and help him.
Almost at once he heard outside a heavy flapping of wings, and a large
crow flew in through the window and lighted beside him.
“What do you wish?” asked the crow, “and why have you called upon me?
Are you in trouble?”
“Trouble enough,” answered Hassan, “and trouble that may end in my
losing my life.” He then told the crow what it was that the King had
demanded of him, and that he did not see how it would be possible for
him to carry it out.
“Do not despair over this,” answered the crow. “It is not such a
difficult matter as you seem to think. Ask the King to give you forty
cartloads of wine, with bullocks to pull them, and forty slaves to
drive the carts, and do you come away with me into the forest, and I
may be able to get the ivory for you.”
The youth had little hope of this. Still, he asked the King for
the things, as the crow had bade him,—forty cartloads of wine, the
bullocks, and the forty slaves, and the King was not slow to give
them to him. Then Hassan went away with them into the forest, and the
crow flew before to show him in which direction to go. After they had
journeyed a long distance, they came to a pool, and all round this pool
were marks that showed that it was the drinking-place for a great herd
of elephants. There had been a drought, however, and the water had
almost dried up.
The crow bade Hassan fill the pool with the wine he had brought with
him, and this he did. Then, by the crow’s directions, Hassan hid
himself and the carts and bullocks and slaves some little distance away.
Toward evening there was a great noise of trampling and trumpeting
in the forest, and a huge herd of elephants came down to the pool to
drink. They were very thirsty, for the supply of water had been low for
some days. When they found the pool full to the brim, they trumpeted
with joy and rushed to it to drink. They drank and drank, and presently
they were all overcome with the wine and fell down and lay as though
dead.
Then Hassan called to the forty slaves, and they came and cut off all
the elephants’ tusks and loaded them upon the carts, and there were
forty cartloads.
Hassan and his slaves and carts left the forest before the elephants
awoke, and by the next day they were back in the city again.
When the King saw the loads of ivory that Hassan had brought with him,
he could not wonder enough.
Hassan’s enemy was filled with rage and envy, but he dissembled. “Did I
not know it?” said he to the King. “I tell you there is nothing in the
world that Hassan cannot do if only he wishes to.”
The ivory palace was built, and every day the King went there to sit
and watch the bird, and Hassan was more of a favourite with him than
ever.
But one day Hassan’s enemy thought of a new plot to destroy him. He
went to the King and said, “What a pity it is that such a beautiful
bird as this should never make a sound. No doubt it could make the most
ravishing music if it would but sing.”
“Yes, it is a pity,” answered the King, and at once he became
dissatisfied.
“It must be that the bird misses its former owner,” said the enemy. “If
Hassan really wished to please you, he would find the former owner and
bring him here, so that the bird might sing again.”
“Yes, that is true,” said the King, “and I would greatly like to hear
it sing.”
He then sent for Hassan and told him what he wished.
“But, your Majesty,” cried Hassan in despair, “I do not know who was
the owner of the bird, nor have I any means for finding out. As you
know, I caught it in a snare far away from the city, and where there is
no house within sight.”
Nevertheless the King was determined that Hassan must find the former
owner of the bird and bring him to the palace. If he did not, his life
should answer for it.
Hassan went out from the King’s presence very sad. Then he bethought
himself of the crow’s feathers. He took one of the two that still
remained, and blew it into the air, and called to the crow to come.
Almost at once the crow appeared and settled on the ground beside him.
“What is it that you wish now?” it asked. “Are you again in trouble?”
“Yes, I am in trouble, and my trouble is very grievous.” Hassan then
told the crow what it was that the King demanded of him.
“This is a more difficult matter than the former one,” answered the
crow. “Nevertheless, it may be managed. Do you ask the King to give
you a vessel fitted out in the most complete and magnificent way. The
sails must be of silk and the figurehead of gold. It must be painted
and gilded within and without. There must be a dining-hall hung about
with velvet curtains, and the dishes must be of solid gold. There must
also be a bathroom with a marble bath-tub, and there must be damsels on
the ship, dressed in shining colours, and with bracelets and anklets of
gold set with precious stones. Do this, and then, when the vessel is
ready, I will instruct you further.”
Hassan did as the crow bade him. He went to the King and asked him for
a vessel fitted out in exactly the manner the crow had described to
him. This the King gave him.
When the vessel was finished, Hassan went on board, taking the crow
with him. They sailed away and sailed away, and always the crow told
Hassan in which direction to steer. After seven days and seven nights,
they came within sight of an island. The island was very pleasant to
look upon, for there were flowers and trees loaded with fruit, and
shining domes and palaces.
“Look, Hassan,” said the crow. “That is the place whither we are
bound. Now listen attentively to what I tell you, for I can guide you
no farther; I must leave you, but if you will follow out exactly all
my directions, everything will go well with you. That island belongs
to the Queen of the Peris. She is a very powerful fairy, and very
beautiful. She is very curious as well. When she sees your vessel, she
will be anxious to find out about it, whence it comes, and who is the
owner. She will send her messengers to inquire about it. But you must
answer no questions, and you must let no one but the Queen herself come
on board. She will wish to go all over the vessel, and when she sees
the bathroom she will admire it so much that she will wish to take a
bath there. This you must agree to. Then, while she is bathing, you
must sail away with her, for she is the owner of the Wonder Bird, and
for her and her alone will it sing.”
Hassan promised to do exactly as the crow bade him in all things, and
then it spread its wings and flew away and out of sight. Hassan ordered
the captain to sail the vessel up close to the shore of the island, and
there they dropped anchor.
Presently he could see that they had been observed from the island.
People gathered on the shore, many of them magnificently dressed, and
presently several boats put out and were rowed over to the ship’s side.
In them were messengers from the Queen.
These messengers questioned Hassan as to whence the vessel came and
whose it was. But Hassan would answer none of these questions. Neither
would he allow them to come on board to examine the vessel, though they
greatly wished it, and it had been, indeed, their Queen’s commands that
they should do so.
“If the Queen wishes to know about the vessel, she must come herself,”
said Hassan.
The messengers returned to shore very much dissatisfied. But presently
another boat put forth from the shore, and in it was the Queen herself.
She was rowed over to the ship’s side, and she said to the youth that
she would now come on board herself and bring her maidens with her.
She was so beautiful and so magnificent that Hassan scarcely knew
how to refuse her. However, he remembered the crow’s words, and was
determined to obey them.
“Your majesty, if you will do me the honour to enter my ship, it and
all that are in it are yours,” he said; “but as to anyone’s coming on
board with you, that I cannot allow, for I was expressly forbidden to
permit anyone but yourself to visit the ship.”
The Queen was very much offended by Hassan’s words. Still, she was so
very curious that she could not resist coming on board to see whether
the ship was really as magnificent within as it seemed from the outside.