THE SECOND VALLEY
Gliding out of the archway into the Second Valley of Merryland, our
little voyagers saw before them a big enclosure shaped like a
diamond. Along two sides of this diamond the river ran very slowly,
and upon the bank at their left rose a huge, straight wall of solid
rock, that seemed, as they looked up, to reach to the clouds.
Upon the bank at their right hand, however, was a broad, flat
country, which seemed at first sight to resemble any other beautiful
valley, having trees and meadow, roads and fences, and a few pretty
houses clustered near the river bank.
But on looking closer, Dot and Tot saw that all the trees had smooth
trunks, with bright colors twisted around them like sticks of candy.
The branches, though smaller than the trunks, had the same
stick-candy appearance; while the leaves, which were of various colors,
looked soft and thick, as if they were made of candy, too.
The houses were many-colored, being pink and brown and white and
lavender, and the walls of all of them were as smooth as taffy. One
big house, that was built exactly at the bend in the river, seemed to
Dot to be made entirely of molasses candy, for it had the same color
and appearance.
The trees and houses and fences were all smaller than one usually
sees, but the brilliant colors made them look very pretty indeed.
The boat floated slowly toward the bend in the stream, and finally
came close to the bank in front of the big molasses-candy house,
where it stopped. Dot stepped out upon the bank and fastened the
boat, and then Tot jumped out beside her. There was a little path,
brown in color and rather rough, that led past the house and down to
the river where they stood, and as Tot jumped upon this path he
stubbed his toe and fell down. Then Dot saw him pick up a piece of
the brown path that had become loosened, and after looking at it a
moment put it into his mouth.
"Don't do that, Tot!" called the girl, in horror. "You mustn't eat
mud."
"T'ain't mud," said Tot, with his mouth full. "It's fudge."
"Fudge!" echoed Dot. "You must be crazy, Tot." But she tasted a small
piece herself and found that Tot was right. It was very nice fudge,
too.
Just then as Dot was looking curiously toward the house, she saw the
door open and a little man come out, followed the next moment by a
little woman. They were not only very little, but short and very fat.
The man wore a tall hat, a swallow-tail coat and tight breeches; but
all his garments seemed fastened to him in some way, as if they were
not made to come off, and their bright colors looked to have been
painted on. The woman's dress had the same appearance, and the big
Shaker bonnet she wore seemed really a part of her head.
When these people saw Dot and Tot, they stopped short and looked at
each other in surprise; but the man seemed soon to recover himself
and walked quickly toward the children, swinging a candy cane in his
hand as he came.
"Good morning, my dears," he said, pleasantly.
"Good morning," answered Dot.
"Mornin'," said Tot.
"Will you kindly tell us how you came here?" continued the fat little
man. "You must excuse my curiosity, but I cannot remember ever having
seen any real children before."
"Our boat brought us," said Dot. "We're drifting down the river and
have to go wherever it takes us."
"Oh, I see," said the man. "Well, since you are here, permit me to
welcome you to the Valley of Bonbons," and he reached out his hand,
with a graceful bow, to the little girl.
Dot shook hands with him, of course; but it made her shiver a little,
the hand felt so soft and flabby; and when she withdrew her own hand
she noticed upon it a fine white powder like flour. This she brushed
off, but the little man laughed and said. "It's only powdered sugar,
my dear. I'm obliged to keep myself covered with it, you know, so I
won't stick to things."
"But--but I don't understand," stammered the girl. "Aren't you made
like other people?"
"Certainly; I am made like everyone I have ever seen until I met you
and this little boy. It strikes me you are the ones who are queerly
made. You don't seem to be candy at all."
"Oh no!" said Dot, in a matter-of-fact way. "We're just flesh and
blood and bones."
"And clothes," added Tot, who was looking with greedy eyes at the
strange little man.
"Well, well!" said the man, thoughtfully tapping the ground with his
cane; "what strange creatures you must be. In this Valley everyone is
made of candy."
"And everything else is candy," exclaimed the little woman, who was
peering over the man's shoulder and had not spoken before.
"Oh yes; everything we know of is candy except the river," continued
the man.
"Are you candy?" asked Tot, with wide open eyes.
"To be sure. My bones are all made of stick candy and my flesh is
marshmallow. That is why I must keep myself covered with powdered
sugar; otherwise I would melt or stick to everything I touched. My
wife is made in the same way, and we are very proud to know we are
very pure and wholesome."
"What do you eat?" asked Tot, curiously.
"We eat candy, of course; that is what makes us so fat. Candy is very
fattening, you know," said the little man cheerfully.
"But you haven't any teeth," remarked Dot, who had noticed this fact.
"Teeth! Certainly not. No one can eat much candy and still have
teeth. Haven't you heard that candy always destroys a person's
teeth?"
"I've been told so," replied Dot.
"But we get along very nicely without them. Indeed, our lives are
decidedly sweet and peaceful."
Just then they heard a shrill scream, and at once the woman rushed
toward the house, running in a very comical manner because she was so
short and fat.
"That's the voice of our youngest child, the baby," explained the
man. "I fear some accident has happened to it. One of our greatest
troubles is that we cannot depend upon our colored servants, who are
chocolate. Chocolates can seldom be depended on, you know."
"I hope nothing serious has happened to your baby," said Dot, with
ready sympathy.
"Probably not," answered the candy man. "But I hope you will now
permit me to escort you to my house. You must be hungry; and I will
have luncheon served at once."
"Thank you," said Dot.
So, led by their fat little host, who waddled as he walked in a way
that made Tot laugh, they went to the house and were ushered into the
front parlor.
The room was beautifully furnished; but the chairs, tables, pictures
and ornaments were all composed of candy of some sort, and there was
a fragrant odor of wintergreen, peppermint and rose about the room
that made Tot's mouth water in delightful anticipation. The boy
seated himself in a pretty pink and white chair, and Dot sat down
upon a small sofa; but happening to remember the sofa was candy, she
quickly arose and remained standing, although she was also a little
afraid of the sticky floor, which seemed to be well powdered.
Soon the woman entered the room and, having welcomed them, she said,
"Our colored nurse, Aunt Lowney, had left the baby, little Huyler,
out in the sun, and before she noticed he was getting warm, his left
hand had all melted away. That was what made him cry."
"Oh, that is terrible!" cried Dot, clasping her hands in horror at
the sad accident. "What can you do for the poor child?"
"I have sent Aunt Lowney into the marshmallow field to get him some
more fingers. We shall be able to patch him up all right, I think, so
do not let it distress you. Accidents are always happening in our
Valley. But I will order luncheon served at once, for you must be
hungry after your journey."
She then left the room, but soon returned, followed by two serving
maids, with complexions so dark brown in color that Dot was almost
afraid of them.
"They are only chocolate, you know," whispered the man, "and quite
harmless when taken in moderation."
Dot hardly understood what he meant, but felt more at ease after the
explanation.
The maids brought many candy dishes to the table all filled with
delicious bonbons and sugar-plums of every description. There were
apples, pears, oranges and grapes, berries and peaches, rose-leaves
and violets; but all were composed of candy and proved delightful
eating. For drink they had pink lemonade, served in dainty candy
cups.
"This pink lemonade," said the woman, "is one of the features of our
Valley, through which it flows in a pretty stream. Sometimes we also
drink the river water, but not often, for it is hardly sticky enough
for our taste. Our luncheon is now ready, so please draw your chairs
to the table."
Tot tried to rise then, but found he was stuck fast to his chair,
owing to the heat of his body having warmed the candy. Finding he
could not get up he began to cry, but Dot helped him, and by
carefully pulling his clothes away, an inch at a time, she managed to
get him loose. His clothes left a soft fuzz upon the seat and back of
the chair, and to avoid further trouble, the candy man scattered
powdered sugar over the chairs in which Dot and Tot sat at the table.
"I suppose it will powder your clothes somewhat," said he, "but they
can be brushed clean before you leave the Valley."
The children enjoyed their novel luncheon. "It's the first time,"
whispered Dot to Tot, "I ever had all the candy I wanted to eat."
"Won't we get sick?" asked the boy, who was busily eating a delicious
peach--rose candy outside and a soft, delicate cream within.
"I suppose so," answered Dot, truthfully, "but there's nothing else
to eat, you see."
"Don't want nuthin' else," said Tot.
"Allegretti," called the woman to one of the brown maids, "bring a
dish of those new cocoanut-kisses for our guests. Won't you have a
few more maple caramels?" she asked, politely, turning to Dot.
"No, thank you," replied the child; "I've eaten so much already that
I fear I shall be ill."
"Oh, nonsense!" returned the little man; "you cannot become ill
eating this sort of candy, for it's the purest in all the world. But
if you lived here always you would doubtless become as fat as we are,
and probably you would lose all your teeth."
"We're not going to stay," answered Dot, in alarm. "We shall have to
start in just a few minutes."
"But not until you have taken a short walk around our Valley,"
remonstrated the little man. "You may never come here again, you
know, and it is a very sweet sight."
They agreed to join their kind host in a walk, and after the candy
man had carefully dusted himself afresh with powdered sugar, they
started out.
As they walked up the street, they noticed that many people came to
the doors of the candy houses and looked at the strangers with great
curiosity. These people seemed made of many different kinds of candy,
but all were quite fat, and had their clothes painted upon them in
bright colors, like the candy images that are sold in shops at
Christmas time.
"Aren't the people here very brittle?" asked Dot, as they walked
along.
"Yes, I may admit they are somewhat brittle," answered the man. "That
is one of the drawbacks we suffer from being made of candy. Only two
days ago, Mr. Gunther, a particular friend of mine, fell down a hill
and was broken into seventeen different pieces."
"Dear me!" exclaimed Dot. "What did you do with him?"
"Oh, as he was ruined beyond repair, we divided him up among the
neighbors who loved him best, and ate him the next morning for
breakfast."
"Ate him!" cried the girl, who was greatly shocked.
"Certainly; Mr. Gunther was a very sweet man."
"But this is horrible," said Dot, with a shudder. "You are all
cannibals!"
"Cannibals! What are those?" inquired the candy man.
"Why, people who eat each other," said Dot.
"Oh, then we are cannibals, sure enough," declared the little man,
calmly.
"But cannibals are wicked creatures," said the child, aghast at such
savagery.
"Is it wicked to eat candy in the country where you live?" demanded
the man.
"No; but then people are not made of candy there."
"Well, here there is nothing else than candy; so if we eat at all we
must eat candy. Is it wicked to eat in the country you came from?"
"No," replied Dot, who was beginning to be puzzled at all this.
"Then," said the little man, "you cannot consider us wicked for
eating each other. Of course, we never eat anyone who is not broken;
but when a man breaks himself into seventeen parts, it is considered
quite a compliment to him for the neighbors who feast upon his
pieces."
This did not seem quite right to Dot, but she did not know how to
reply; and to add to her confusion, the candy man suddenly held up
his left hand, which he had placed behind him as he talked, and
showed her that his thumb and two of the fingers were missing.
"Why, what can have happened to them?" she asked, in real distress.
The candy man looked at his hand carefully, and then quickly turned
and looked at Tot.
"There are marks of teeth on my hand," said he, "and no one in this
Valley has teeth except you two children."
"Tot!" cried Dot; "did you bite off this gentleman's fingers?"
Tot hung his head.
"Answer me!" said the girl. "Have you been eating our friend?"
"Well," said Tot, slowly, "he said the folks here were good to eat;
an'--an'--he held his hand behind his back--right in front of my
mouth; an'--so I took one of little bite off his fingers, an'--"
"Tot," said Dot, "I'm ashamed of you! The idea of eating one who has
been so kind to us, and so soon after luncheon, too!"
"Pray, do not scold him," said the candy man. "He says I am good to
eat, and that makes me so proud that I shall not mind the loss of my
fingers. When I have time I can get some new ones patched on; so it
does not matter much in the least."
Still, Dot was hurt and angry at the occurrence, and Tot walked
behind them with hanging head.
Very soon they saw, sitting by the roadside, a child who was so
exceedingly black in color that Dot exclaimed:
"Surely, that baby isn't made of chocolate!"
"No," said her friend, "that's a licorice child. We have a few of
them in the Valley and they are much admired. But here is our stream
of pink lemonade, and we will cross it by this little bridge."
The bridge was remarkably pretty, being made of pea-green and
orange-colored candy, twisted together and ornamented with dainty frosted
work such as bakers put upon wedding cakes.
Upon reaching the other side of the stream they found themselves near
the mountains, which shut in the far side of the Valley. Dot looked
up at these mountains and asked, curiously, "Who are all those people
sitting on the rocks?"
At the question, Tot looked up also and saw long rows of candy men
and women sitting close together at the foot of the mountains.
"Those people are the gum chewers," replied their guide.
"What are they doing there?" inquired the girl.
"They are being punished," returned the candy man, gravely. "If you
look over yonder, to the left, you will see a number of low bushes.
On these grow all kinds of chewing gums, and sometimes those who are
naughty go out there and pick the sticks of gum."
"But I thought they had no teeth," said Dot.
"Nor have they; but their gums are hardened by long use, so they are
able to chew as well as you do. This gum-chewing is a very
disagreeable habit, as doubtless you know; so when anyone is
discovered indulging in this habit, we make them come out here to the
mountains and sit on the rocks for seven days and seven nights. It is
a terrible disgrace, of course; but all naughtiness must be punished
in some way."
Dot watched the gum-chewers thoughtfully for a time, being ashamed to
remember that she herself had often been guilty of indulging in this
condemned habit; but she said nothing about it, and soon they turned
and retraced their steps past the bridge and the village and the home
of their kind host, coming at last to the river's edge where they had
landed.
Here Dot and Tot were surprised to find one end of their boat filled
with delicious looking candies, which the colored maids had placed
there during their walk, being directed in the work by the little
candy woman with the Shaker bonnet.
Dot thanked the kind lady earnestly, for the food she had brought in
the basket was nearly gone. Then the candy lady gave each of the
children a sweet kiss, and the candy man shook hands with them, being
careful not to let Tot bite off any more of his fingers.
Our little adventurers now seated themselves in the boat, and the
chocolate maids pushed it off the bank for them. Soon they were
drifting down the river again, and before long reached the archway
that led to the Third Valley of Merryland.