IT was late in the afternoon of the same day. In the cottage at home all
was quiet and peaceful. The grandmother was taking a nap in her room,
with the squirrel curled up comfortably on the pillow beside her. In the
kitchen, the fire and the kettle were having it all their own way, for
though two other members of the family were in the room, they were
either asleep or absorbed in their own thoughts, for they gave no sign
of their presence. The kettle was in its glory, for Bruin had polished
it that very morning, and it shone like the good red gold. It sang its
merriest song, and puffed out clouds of snow-white steam from its
slender spout.
"Look at me!" it said to the fire. "Am I not well worth looking at? I
feel almost sure that I must have turned into gold, for I never used to
look like this. A golden kettle is rather a rare thing, I flatter
myself. It really seems a pity that there is no one here except the
stupid parrot, who has gone to sleep, and that odious raccoon, who
always looks at me as if I were a black pot, and a cracked pot at that."
"To be sure!" crackled the fire, encouragingly. "To be sure! But never
mind, my dear! I admire you immensely, as you know, and it is my
greatest pleasure to see myself reflected in your bright face. Crick!
crack! cr-r-r-r-rickety!" said the fire.
"Hm! hm! tsing! tsing! tsing!" sang the kettle. And they performed
really a very creditable duet together.
Now it happened that the parrot was not asleep, though she had had the
bad taste to turn her back on the fire and the kettle. She was looking
out of the window, in fact, and wondering when the wood-pigeon would
come back. Though not a bird of specially affectionate nature, Miss Mary
was still very fond of Pigeon Pretty, and always missed her when she
was away. This afternoon had seemed particularly long, for no one had
been in the kitchen save Coon, with whom she was not on very good terms.
Now, she thought, it was surely time for her friend to return; and she
stretched her neck, and peered out of the window, hoping to catch the
flutter of the soft brown wings. Instead of this, however, she caught
sight of something else, which made her start and ruffle up her
feathers, and look again with a very different expression.
Outside the cottage stood a man,--an ill-looking fellow, with a heavy
pack strapped on his back. He was looking all about him, examining the
outside of the cottage carefully, and evidently listening for any sound
that might come from within. All being silent, he stepped to the window
(not Miss Mary's window, but the other), and took a long survey of the
kitchen; and then, seeing no living creature in it (for the raccoon
under the table and the parrot on her perch were both hidden from his
view), he laid down his pack, opened the door, and quietly stepped in.
An ill-looking fellow, Miss Mary had thought him at the first glance;
but now, as she noiselessly turned on her perch and looked more closely
at him, she thought his aspect positively villanous. He had a hooked
nose and a straggling red beard, and his little green eyes twinkled with
an evil light as he looked about the cosey kitchen, with all its neat
and comfortable appointments.
First he stepped to the cupboard, and after examining its contents he
drew out a mutton-bone (which had been put away for Bruin), a hunch of
bread, and a cranberry tart, on which he proceeded to make a hearty
meal, without troubling himself about knife or fork. He ate hurriedly,
looking about him the while,--though, curiously enough, he saw neither
of the two pairs of bright eyes which were following his every movement.
The parrot on her perch sat motionless, not a feather stirring; the
raccoon under the table lay crouched against the wall, as still as if
he were carved in stone. Even the kettle had stopped singing, and only
sent out a low, perturbed murmur from time to time.
His meal finished, the rascal--his confidence increasing as the moments
went by without interruption--proceeded to warm himself well by the
fire, and then on tiptoe to walk about the room, peering into cupboards
and lockers, opening boxes and pulling out drawers. The parrot's blood
boiled with indignation at the sight of this "unfeathered vulture," as
she mentally termed him, ransacking all the Madam's tidy and well-kept
stores; but when he opened the drawer in which lay the six silver
teaspoons (the pride of the cottage), and the porringer that Toto had
inherited from his great-grandfather,--when he opened this drawer, and
with a low whistle of satisfaction drew the precious treasures from
their resting-place, Miss Mary could contain herself no longer, but
clapped her wings and cried in a clear distinct voice, "Stop thief!"
The man started violently, and dropping the silver back into the drawer,
looked about him in great alarm. At first he saw no one, but presently
his eyes fell on the parrot, who sat boldly facing him, her yellow eyes
gleaming with anger. His terror changed to fury, and with a muttered
oath he stepped forward.
"It was you, was it?" he said fiercely. "You'll never say 'Stop thief'
again, my fine bird, for I'll wring your neck before I'm half a minute
older."
[Illustration: But at this last mishap the robber, now fairly beside
himself, rushed headlong from the cottage.--PAGE 163.]
He stretched his hand toward the parrot, who for her part prepared to
fly at him and fight for her life; but at that moment something
happened. There was a rushing in the air; there was a yell as if a dozen
wild-cats had broken loose, and a heavy body fell on the robber's
back,--a body which had teeth and claws (an endless number of claws, it
seemed, and all as sharp as daggers); a body which yelled and scratched
and bit and tore, till the ruffian, half mad with terror and pain,
yelled louder than his assailant. Vainly trying to loosen the clutch
of those iron claws, the wretch staggered backward against the hob. Was
it accident, or did the kettle by design give a plunge, and come down
with a crash, sending a stream of boiling water over his legs? Who can
tell? It was a remarkable kettle. But at this last mishap the robber,
now fairly beside himself, rushed headlong from the cottage, and still
bearing his terrible burden, fled screaming down the road.
At the same moment the door of the grandmother's room was opened
hurriedly, and the old lady cried, in a trembling voice, "What has
happened? What is it? Coon! Mary! are you here?"
"I am here, Madam!" replied the parrot, quickly. "Coon has--has just
stepped out, with--in fact, with an acquaintance. He will be back
directly, no doubt."
"But that fearful noise!" said the grandmother. "Was that--"
"The acquaintance, dear Madam!" replied Miss Mary, calmly. "He was
excited!--about something, and he raised his voice, I confess, higher
than good breeding usually allows. Yes. Have you had a pleasant nap?"
The good old lady, still much mystified, though her fears were set at
rest by the parrot's quiet confidence, returned to her room to put on
her cap, and to smooth the pretty white curls which her Toto loved. No
sooner was the door closed than the squirrel, who had been fairly
dancing up and down with curiosity and eagerness, opened a fire of
questions:--
"Who was it? What happened? What did he want? Who knocked down the
kettle? Why didn't you want Madam to know?" etc.
Miss Mary entered into a full account of the thrilling adventure, and
had but just finished it when in walked the raccoon, his eyes sparkling,
his tail cocked in its airiest way.
"Well?" cried the parrot, eagerly, "is he gone?"
"Yes, my dear, he is gone!" replied Coon, gayly. "Oh, dear me! what a
pleasant ride I have had! Why didn't you come too, Miss Mary? You might
have held on by his hair. It would have been such fun! Yes, I went on
quite a good bit with him, just to show him the way, you know. And then
I bade him good-by, and begged him to come again; but he didn't say he
would."
Coon shook himself, and fairly chuckled with glee, as did also his two
companions; but presently Miss Mary, quitting her perch, flew to the
table, and holding out her claw to the raccoon, said gravely:--
"Coon, you have saved my life, and perhaps the Madam's and Cracker's
too. Give me your paw, and receive my warmest thanks for your timely
aid. We have not been the best of friends, lately," she added, "but I
trust all will be different now. And the next time you are invited to a
party, if you fancy a feather or so to complete your toilet, you have
only to mention it, and I shall be happy to oblige you."
"And for my part, Miss Mary," responded the raccoon warmly, "I beg you
to consider me the humblest of your servants from this day forth. If you
fancy any little relish, such as snails or fat spiders, as a change from
your every-day diet, it will be a pleasure to me to procure them for
you. Beauty," he continued, with his most gallant bow, "is enchanting,
and valor is enrapturing; but beauty and valor _combined_, are--"
"Oh, come!" said the squirrel, who felt rather crusty, perhaps, because
he had not seen the fun, and so did not care for the fine speeches,
"stop bowing and scraping to each other, you two, and let us put this
distracted-looking room in order before Madam comes in again. Pick up
the kettle, will you, Coon? Look! the water is running all over the
floor."
The raccoon did not answer, being apparently very busy setting the
chairs straight; so Cracker repeated his request, in a sharper voice.
"Do you hear me, Coon? Please pick up that kettle. I cannot do it
myself, for it is twice as big as I am, but I should think you could
lift it easily, now that it is empty."
The raccoon threw a perturbed glance at the kettle, and then said in a
tone which tried to be nonchalant, "Oh! the kettle is all right. It will
get up, I suppose, when it feels like it. If it should ask me to help
it, of course I would; but perhaps it may prefer the floor for a change.
I--I often lie on the floor, myself," he added.
The squirrel stared. "What do you mean?" he said. "It isn't alive! Toto
said it wasn't."
The raccoon beckoned him aside, and said in a low tone, "My good
Cracker, Toto _says_ a great many things, and no doubt he thinks they
are all true. But he is a young boy, and, let me tell you, he does _not_
know everything in the world. If that thing is not alive, why did it
jump off its seat just at the critical moment, and pour hot water over
the robber's legs?"
"Did it?" exclaimed the squirrel, much impressed.
"Yes, it did!" replied the raccoon, emphatically. "I saw it with these
eyes. And I don't deny that it was a great help, Cracker, and that I was
very glad the kettle did it. But see, now! when a creature has no more
self-respect than to lie there for a quarter of an hour, with its head
on the other side of the room, without making the smallest attempt to
get up and put itself together again, why, I tell you frankly _I_ don't
feel much like assisting it. You never knew one of _us_ to behave in
that sort of way, did you, now?"
"N-n-no!" said Cracker, doubtfully. "But then, if any of us were to lose
our heads, we should be dead, shouldn't we?"
"Exactly!" cried the raccoon, triumphantly. "And when that thing loses
its head, it _isn't_ dead. That's just the difference. It can go without
its head for an hour! I've seen it, when Toto took it off--the head, I
mean--and forgot to put it on again. I tell you, it just _pretends_ to
be dead, so that it can be taken care of, and carried about like a baby,
and given water whenever it is thirsty. A secret, underhand, sly
creature, I call it, and I sha'n't touch it to put its head on again!"
And that was all the thanks the kettle got for its pains.