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diff --git a/43908-0.txt b/43908-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5a04157 --- /dev/null +++ b/43908-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3026 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43908 *** + +[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and +italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.] + + + +Our Little Siamese Cousin + + + + +THE + +Little Cousin Series + +(TRADE MARK) + + Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in + tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover, + per volume, 60 cents + + +LIST OF TITLES + + BY MARY HAZELTON WADE + (unless indicated otherwise) + + =Our Little African Cousin= + + =Our Little Alaskan Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Arabian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Argentine Cousin= + By Eva Cannon Brooks + + =Our Little Armenian Cousin= + + =Our Little Australian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Belgian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Bohemian Cousin= + By Clara V. Winlow + + =Our Little Brazilian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Canadian Cousin= + By Elizabeth R. MacDonald + + =Our Little Chinese Cousin= + By Isaac Taylor Headland + + =Our Little Cuban Cousin= + + =Our Little Danish Cousin= + By Luna May Innes + + =Our Little Dutch Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Egyptian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little English Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= + + =Our Little French Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little German Cousin= + + =Our Little Grecian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= + + =Our Little Hindu Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Hungarian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Indian Cousin= + + =Our Little Irish Cousin= + + =Our Little Italian Cousin= + + =Our Little Japanese Cousin= + + =Our Little Jewish Cousin= + + =Our Little Korean Cousin= + By H. Lee M. Pike + + =Our Little Malayan (Brown) Cousin= + + =Our Little Mexican Cousin= + By Edward C. Butler + + =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= + + =Our Little Panama Cousin= + By H. Lee M. Pike + + =Our Little Persian Cousin= + By E. C. Shedd + + =Our Little Philippine Cousin= + + =Our Little Polish Cousin= + By Florence E. Mendel + + =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= + + =Our Little Portuguese Cousin= + By Edith A. Sawyer + + =Our Little Russian Cousin= + + =Our Little Scotch Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Siamese Cousin= + + =Our Little Spanish Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Swedish Cousin= + By Claire M. Coburn + + =Our Little Swiss Cousin= + + =Our Little Turkish Cousin= + + + L. C PAGE & COMPANY + 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. + +[Illustration: CHIN.] + + + + + Our Little + Siamese Cousin + + By + Mary Hazelton Wade + + _Illustrated by_ + + L. J. Bridgman + + [Illustration] + + Boston + L. C. Page & Company + _PUBLISHERS_ + + + + + _Copyright, 1903_ + + BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY + + (INCORPORATED) + + _All rights reserved_ + + Published June, 1903 + + Fourth Impression, June, 1909 + Fifth Impression, November, 1912 + + + + +Preface + + +MANY years ago there came to America two young men who were looked upon +as the greatest curiosities ever seen in this country. + +They belonged to another race than ours. In fact, they were of two +races, for one of their parents was a Chinese, and therefore of the +Yellow Race, while the other was a Siamese, belonging to the Brown Race. + +These two young men left their home in far-away Siam and crossed the +great ocean for the purpose of exhibiting the strange way in which +nature had joined them together. A small band of flesh united them from +side to side. + +Thus it was that from the moment they were born to the day of their +death the twin brothers played and worked, ate and slept, walked and +rode, at the same time. + +Thousands of people became interested in seeing and hearing about +these two men. Not only this, but they turned their attention to the +home of the brothers, the wonderful land of Siam, with its sacred +white elephants and beautiful temples, its curious customs and strange +beliefs. + +Last year the young prince of that country, wishing to learn more of +the life of the white people, paid a visit to America. He was much +interested in all he saw and heard while he was here. + +Now let us, in thought, return his visit, and take part in the games +and sports of the children of Siam. + +We will attend some of their festivals, take a peep into the royal +palace, enter the temples, and learn something about the ways and +habits of that far-away eastern country. + + + + +Contents + + + CHAPTER PAGE + I. THE FIRST BIRTHDAY 9 + II. LITTLE CHIE LO 25 + III. NIGHT ON THE RIVER 36 + IV. WORK AND PLAY 47 + V. NEW YEAR'S 55 + VI. WHITE ELEPHANTS 61 + VII. IN THE TEMPLE 67 + VIII. THE LEGEND OF THE PEACE-OFFERING 78 + IX. QUEER SIGHTS 87 + X. THE QUEEN'S CITY 98 + XI. THE MONSOON 104 + + + + +List of Illustrations + + + PAGE + CHIN _Frontispiece_ + CHIN'S HOME 29 + THE GREAT TEMPLE AT BANGKOK 40 + "THEY CARRIED SOME OF THEIR FLOWERS TO THE STATUE OF BUDDHA" 57 + "'THEY WOULD PICK UP THE LOGS WITH THEIR TRUNKS'" 63 + SIAMESE ACTORS 92 + + + + +Our Little Siamese Cousin + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE FIRST BIRTHDAY + + +IF you had seen Chin when he was born, you would have thought his skin +yellow enough to suit anybody. + +But his mother wasn't satisfied, for the baby's nurse was told to rub +him with a queer sort of paste from top to toe. This paste was made +with saffron and oil, and had a pleasant odour. It made Chin's skin +yellower and darker than ever. + +It did not seem to trouble him, however, for he closed his big brown +eyes and went to sleep before the nurse had finished her work. + +After this important thing had been done, the tiny baby was laid in his +cradle and covered over. This does not appear very strange until you +learn that he was _entirely_ covered. Not even the flat little nose was +left so the boy could draw in a breath of fresh air. + +It is a wonder that he lived, for his home is very near the equator +and the weather is extremely warm there all the time. But he did live, +and grew stronger and healthier every day. Each morning he was rubbed +afresh and stowed away under the covers of his crib. + +He had one comfort, although he did not realize it. The mosquitoes +could not reach him, and that was a greater blessing than you can, +perhaps, imagine. There are millions of these insects in Siam,--yes, +billions, trillions,--and the people of that country are not willing to +kill one of them! + +"Destroy the life of a living creature! It is a dreadful idea," Chin's +mother would exclaim. "Why, it is against the laws of our religion. I +could never think of doing such a thing, even if my darling boy's face +were covered with bites." + +If she were to see one of Chin's American cousins killing a fly or a +spider, she would have a very sad opinion of him. + +She was only fourteen years old when Chin was born. People in our +country might still call her a little girl, yet she kept house for her +husband, and cooked and sewed and spun, and watched over her new baby +with the most loving care. + +The father was only a little older than the mother. He was so glad that +his first baby was a boy that he hardly knew what to do. He was quite +poor and had very little money, but he said: + +"I am going to celebrate as well as I can. Rich people have grand +parties and entertainments at such times. I will hire some actors to +give a little show, at any rate." + +He invited his friends, who were hardly more than boys themselves, to +come to the show. The actors dressed themselves up in queer costumes, +and went through with a play that was quite clever and witty. Every +one laughed a great deal, and when it was over the guests told the new +father they had enjoyed themselves very much. + +After a few months, Chin had grown strong enough to walk alone. He did +not need to be covered and hidden away any longer. His straight black +hair was shaved off, with the exception of a round spot on the top of +his head, and he was allowed to do as he pleased after his morning bath +in the river was over. + +The bath did not last long, and was very pleasant and comfortable. +There was no rubbing afterward with towels, for the hot sunshine did +the drying in a few moments. + +Nor was there any dressing to be done, for the brown baby was left to +toddle about in the suit Dame Nature had given him. It was all he could +possibly desire, for clothing is never needed in Siam to keep one from +catching cold. + +Chin's mother herself wears only a wide strip of printed cloth fastened +around her waist and hanging down to the knees. Sometimes, but not +always, she has a long scarf draped across her breast and over one +shoulder. + +There are no shoes on her little feet, nor is there a hat on her head +except in the hottest sunshine. There are many ornaments shining on her +dark skin, even though she is not rich; and baby Chin did not have his +toilet made till a silver bracelet had been fastened on his arms, and +rings placed on his fingers. + +After a year or two the boy's ears were bored so that gilt, pear-shaped +earrings could be worn there. Soon after that a kind relative made him +a present of silver anklets, and then he felt very much dressed indeed. +Few boys as poor as he could boast of as much jewelry. + +Chin was born on the river Meinam in a house-boat. There was nothing +strange about that, for the neighbours and friends of the family had +homes like his. It was cool and pleasant to live on the water. It was +convenient when one wished to take a bath, and it was easy for the +children to learn to swim so near home. + +Yes, there were many reasons why Chin's parents preferred to make their +home on the water. Perhaps the strongest one of all was that they did +not have to pay any rent for the space taken up by the boat. A piece of +land would have cost money. Then, again, if they should not like their +neighbours, they could very easily move to a new place on the river. + +Chin's father built the house, or the boat, just before he was married. +He had some help from his friends, but it was not such hard work that +he could not have done it all alone. + +A big raft of bamboo was first made. This served as the floating +platform on which the house should stand. The framework of the little +home was also made of bamboo, which could be got from the woods not far +away, and was very light and easy to handle. + +How should the roof be protected from the heavy rains that fell +during a portion of the year? That could be easily managed by getting +quantities of the leaves of the atap palm-tree for thatching. These +would make a thick, close covering, and would keep out the storms for a +long time if they were carefully cemented with mud. + +The broad, overhanging eaves would give shade to baby Chin when he was +old enough to play in the outdoor air, and yet not strong enough to +bear the burning sunshine. + +Of course, there were many windows in the little house, you would +think. There were openings in the walls in the shape of windows, +certainly, but they were openings only, for they were not filled with +glass, nor any other transparent substance. Chin's father would say: + +"We must have all the air we can get. At night-time, when the rain +falls heavily, we can have shutters on the windows. They are easily +taken down whenever we wish." + +Why, the whole front of the house was made so it could be opened up to +the air and sunshine, as well as the view of passers-by. The family +have few secrets, and do not mind letting others see how they keep +house. + +At this very moment, perhaps, Chin's mother is sitting on the edge of +the bamboo platform, washing her feet in the river; his grandmother +may be there preparing the vegetables for dinner; or, possibly, Chin +himself is cleaning his teeth with a stick of some soft wood. + +The boy's mother has taught him to be very careful of his teeth. It is +a mark of beauty with her people to have them well _blacked_. They will +tell you, "Any dog can have white teeth." But there is nothing they +admire more than bright red gums showing plainly with two rows of even, +dark-coloured teeth. + +How do they make their gums such a fiery red? It is caused by chewing +a substance called betel, obtained from a beautiful kind of palm-tree +very common in Siam. + +Many of Chin's brown cousins chew betel, as well as the people of +his own land. It is even put in the mouths of babies. Betel-chewing +grows to be such a habit with them that they become unhappy and +uncomfortable if long without it. Even now, although Chin is only ten +years old, he would say: + +"I can go without food for a long time, if need be, but I must have my +betel." + +Let us go back to the boy's home. + +If we should count the windows, we should find their number to be +uneven. The Siamese believe something terrible would be sure to happen +if this were not so. They seem to think "There is luck in odd numbers," +for not only the steps leading to the houses, but the stairs leading +from one floor to another must be carefully counted and made uneven. + +There are three rooms in Chin's home. First, there is the sitting-room, +where friends are received, although there is much less visiting done +in Siam than in many other countries. It took little time and money to +furnish the room. There are no pictures or ornaments here. There are +two or three mats on which one may sit, and there is a tray filled +with betel from which every one is invited to help himself. + +If callers should arrive and the betel were not offered to them, they +would feel insulted and would go away with the intention of never +coming to that house again. + +The second room is that set apart for sleeping. Very little furniture +is found here, as well, for all that Chin's father had to prepare was +a number of long, narrow mattresses, stuffed with tree-cotton. Some +pillows were made in the shape of huge bricks. They were also packed +full of tree-cotton, and were stiff, uncomfortable-looking things; but +Chin and his parents like them, so we should certainly not find fault. + +You remember there are great numbers of mosquitoes in the country. How +do they manage to sleep when the air around them is filled with the +buzzing, troublesome creatures? Coarse cotton curtains hang from the +roof down over the beds. While these keep the mosquitoes away from the +sleepers, they also keep out the air, so it is really a wonder that one +can rest in any comfort. + +When Chin is in the house during the day, he spends most of his time in +the kitchen, which is also the eating-room. But, dear me! it is a smoky +place, for the boy's father never thought of building a chimney. + +The cooking is done over a little charcoal stove and, as the flames +rise, the smoke rises, too, and settles on the ceiling and walls. Chin +has had many good meals cooked over the little fire, and eaten as the +family squatted around the tiny table. + +Just think! It stands only four inches above the floor, and is not +large enough to hold many dishes. That does not matter, for each one +has his own rice-bowl on the floor in front of him. Chin has been +brought up so that he is satisfied with one or two things at a time. +The little table is quite large enough to hold the dish of curried fish +or meat from which each one helps himself. + +Chin is a very nice boy, yet I shall have to confess that he usually +eats with his fingers! Yes, not only he, but his father and mother and +sister, and even grandmother, do the same thing. One after another +helps himself from the same dish and thinks nothing of it. + +People who are a little richer use pretty spoons of mother-of-pearl; +Chin's mother owns one of these useful articles herself, but of course, +that won't serve for five persons, so it is seldom seen on the table. +As for knives and forks, she never even saw any. + +One of her friends once watched a stranger from across the great ocean +eating with these strange things. She laughed quietly when she told of +it, and said: + +"It must take a long, long time before one can get used to them. They +are very clumsy." + +As Chin squats at his dinner he can look down through the split bamboos +and see the water of the river beneath the house. It does not matter +if he drops some crumbs or grains of rice. They can be easily pushed +through the cracks, when down they will fall into the water to be +seized by some waiting fish. + +The good woman doesn't even own a broom. Her house-cleaning is done in +the easiest way possible. Anything that is no longer useful is thrown +into the river, while the dirt is simply pushed between the wide cracks +of the floor. + +The dish-washing is a simple matter, too. Each one has his own +rice-bowl, and after the meal is over it is his duty to clean it and +then turn it upside down in some corner of the kitchen. It is left +there to drain until it is needed again. + +Chin's mother cooks such delicious rice that he wonders any one can +live without it. He needs no bread when he can have that, for it is a +feast in itself. When poured out, it looks like a mountain of snow; +each grain is whole and separate from the others. + +It is cooked in an earthen pot with the greatest care, and, when it is +done, never fails to look beautiful and delicate. Chin's mother would +think herself a very poor housekeeper if she should make a mistake in +preparing the rice. + +When a dish of rat or bat stew is added to the meal, Chin feels that +there is nothing more in the world that he could wish. He knows that +the rich people in the city often have feasts where twenty or thirty +different dainties are served. But he does not envy them. A person can +taste only one thing at a time, and nothing can be better than a stew +with plenty of curry and vegetables to flavour it. We don't need to +think of the rats and bats if it is an unpleasant idea. + +As for Chin, if he had seen you shudder when they were spoken of, he +could not have imagined what was the matter. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +LITTLE CHIE LO + + +"CHIE LO! Chie Lo! come out quickly, or you won't see it before it +passes," called Chin to his sister. + +She was playing with her dolls in the sitting-room, but when she heard +Chin calling she put them down and came out on the platform where her +brother sat dangling his feet in the water and holding his pet parrot. + +"Chie Lo! Chie Lo!" screamed the parrot, when she appeared. He was a +bright-looking bird with a shining coat of green feathers and a red +tuft on his head. He must have loved Chie Lo, for he reached up for her +to pat him as she squatted beside her brother. + +"Look, look," said Chin, "isn't that grand?" + +The boy pointed to a beautiful boat moving rapidly down the river. + +"It is the king's, you know," he whispered. "Do you see him there under +the canopy, with his children around him?" + +"Yes, yes, Chin, but don't talk; I just want to look." + +It was no wonder that Chie Lo wished to keep still, for it was a +wonderful sight. The boat was shaped like a huge dragon, whose carved +head, with its fierce eyes, could be seen reaching out from the high +bow. The stern was made in the shape of the monster's tail. The sides +of the royal barge were covered with gilded scales, inlaid with pearls, +and these scales shone and sparkled in the sunlight. + +A hundred men dressed in red were rowing the splendid boat, and they +must have had great training, for they kept together in perfect time. + +"Isn't the canopy over the king the loveliest thing you ever saw?" said +Chin, who could not keep still. "It is made of cloth-of-gold, and so +are the curtains. Look at the gold embroidery on the king's coat. Oh, +Chie Lo, it doesn't seem as though he could be like us at all. I feel +as though he must be a god. + +"The young prince who took the long journey across the ocean last year +is there with him," Chin went on. "Father told me that he visited +strange lands where all the people have skins as white as pearls, and +that he has seen many wonderful sights. But, Chie Lo, there is nothing +in the world grander than our king and his royal boat, I'm sure." + +As the barge drew nearer, the children threw themselves face downward +on the platform until it had passed down the river. It was their way +of showing honour to the ruler of the land. + +[Illustration: CHIN'S HOME.] + +In the olden times all who came into the presence of the king, did so +in one way only. They _crawled_. Even his own little children were +obliged to do this. No one dared to stand in his presence. + +But such things have been changed now. The king loves his people and +has grown wiser since he has learned the ways of other countries. When +he was a little boy, an English lady was his teacher for a long time, +and she taught him much that other Kings of Siam had never known. + +It is partly because of this that he is the best ruler Chin's people +have ever had. + +The royal barge was decorated with beautiful white and yellow +umbrellas, many stories high. There was also a huge jewelled fan, such +as no boat was allowed to carry except the king's. + +Other dragon-shaped boats followed the royal barge, but they were +smaller and less beautiful. They were the king's guard-boats, and moved +along in pairs. + +Many other interesting sights could be seen on the river this morning. +Vessels were just arriving from distant lands, while here and there +Chinese junks were scattered along the shores. Chin and his sister can +always tell such boats from any others. An eye is always painted on the +bow. + +A Chinaman who was once asked why he had the eye there, answered, "If +no have eye, how can see?" + +It is so much pleasanter outside, it is no wonder that Chin and his +sister do not spend much time indoors. + +After the royal procession had passed out of sight, Chie Lo went into +the house and brought out her family of dolls. Of course they did not +look like American dolls; you wouldn't expect it. + +Some of them were of baked mud and wore no clothes. Others were of +stuffed cotton and made one think of the rag dolls of Chie Lo's white +cousins. The father and mother dolls were dressed in strips of cloth +wound around their bodies, just like the real grown-up people of Siam, +but the baby dolls had no more clothes than the children of the country. + +Chie Lo talked to her dolls and sang queer little songs to them. She +"made believe" they were eating, just as other little girls play, far +away across the great ocean. Then she kissed them and put them to bed +on tiny mattresses under the shady eaves of the house. + +Perhaps you wouldn't have known that Chie Lo was kissing them, however, +for the fashions of Siam are quite different from those of our country. +She simply touched the dolls' noses with her own little flat one and +drew in a long breath each time she did so. That was her way of +showing her love,--gentle little Chie Lo. + +Chin didn't laugh, of course. He was used to seeing his sister playing +with her dolls, and as for the kissing, that was the only way of doing +it that he knew himself. + +"Chie Lo, I saw some beautiful dolls in a store yesterday," he said, as +he stopped working for a minute. He was making a new shuttlecock for a +game with his boy friends the next day. + +"What kind were they, Chin?" asked his sister. + +"They were lovely wooden ones. Only rich children could buy them, for +they cost a great deal. I wish I could get one for you, Chie Lo, but +you know I haven't any money." + +"What else did you see, Chin?" + +"There were doll-temples in the store, and boats filled with sailors, +and lovely ivory furniture for the doll-houses. You must see the +things yourself." + +Chie Lo went on with her play. She finished putting her own toy house +in order. It was one Chin had made for her. It looked like her own +home,--it stood on a bamboo platform, it had a high, slanting roof, +covered with palm leaves, and there were three rooms inside. Chin was a +good boy to make it. All brothers were not as kind as he. + +"Yes, I should like to see all those things," Chie Lo answered, after +awhile. "But I am happy here with my own toys. I must row up the river +to-morrow and sell some fruit for father. I won't have any time for +play then." + +"Come to dinner, children," called their mother. "Chin, take this jug +and get some fresh water before you come in." + +She handed a copper jug to Chin. He quickly filled it by reaching over +the platform, and followed his sister into the kitchen a moment later. + +Every one was thirsty, and the jug was passed from one to another for +each to help himself. There were no tumblers nor cups. Chin had made +small dishes for his mother by cutting cocoanuts in halves and scooping +out the delicious cream from the inside; but they did not use them for +drinking the water. + +Nor did they put their lips to the jug. Each one cleverly twisted a +palm leaf into the shape of a funnel and received the water through +this. It was done more quickly than I can tell you about it. + +Chin and his sister thought it was a fine dinner. The evening dews were +falling, and a gentle breeze came floating down the river. The terrible +heat of the day was over and it was the very time to enjoy eating. + +In the first place, there was the dish of steaming rice. There was also +a sort of stew made of meat chopped very fine and seasoned with red +pepper. If you had tasted it, you would probably have cried: + +"Oh dear, my mouth is burnt; give me a drink of water at once." + +But Chin and Chie Lo thought it very nice indeed, and not a bit too hot. + +"Isn't this pickled turnip fine?" said Chin's mother. "I bought it this +morning from a passing store." + +What could she mean by these words? It was a very common thing for +these little brown cousins to see not only houses but stores moving +past them down the river. The storekeepers were always ready to stop +and sell their goods to any one who wished them. + +Chin's mother never made bread, nor pies, nor cake, nor puddings. She +bought most of the vegetables already cooked from the floating stores, +so you can see she had quite an easy time in preparing her meals. + +But to-day, after the rice and stew had been cooked, she laid bananas +to roast in the hot coals, and these were now taken out and handed to +her family as they squatted on the mats around the table. + +If the children had no bread with their dinner, they ought to have had +milk, you think. But they never drink it. The cows of Siam are not +milked at all, and so the rich children of the country are brought up +in the same way as Chin and his sister. + +When the meal was finished, Chie Lo did not forget that her dear pussy +must still be fed. It was an odd-looking little creature. Although it +was a grown-up cat, yet its eyes were as blue as those of a week-old +American kitten. It had a funny little tail twisted up into a knot. It +was better off than many other cats of Siam, however, who go about with +none at all. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +NIGHT ON THE RIVER + + +AFTER Chie Lo had watched her pussy eat all the fish she could possibly +wish, the children went outdoors again to sit in the cool evening air. + +The night was already pitch-dark, for there was no moon, and there is +no long twilight in the tropics at any season of the year. + +But what a beautiful sight now met the children's eyes! It seemed +almost like fairy-land, there were so many lights to be seen in every +direction. + +Their home stood just below the great city of Bangkok, and along the +shores of the river the houses and palaces and temples could be seen +almost as plainly as in the daytime. Floating theatres were passing +by, each one lighted with numbers of coloured paper lanterns. + +"Look! look!" cried Chin. "There are some actors giving a show outside. +They want to tempt people to stop and come in to the play. See the +beautiful pointed finger-nails on that one. What fine care he must take +of them!" + +It is no wonder Chin noticed the man's finger-nails, for they were at +least five inches long. + +"See the wings on the other actor, Chin," said his sister. "I suppose +he represents some strange being who does wonderful deeds. I should +like to go to the play. Look! there is a party of people who are going +on board of the theatre." + +The children now turned their eyes toward the small boat of a Chinaman +who was calling aloud to the passers-by: + +"Come here and buy chouchou; it is a fine dish, indeed." + +A moment afterward he was kept so busy that he had no time to call. His +canoe was fairly surrounded by other boats, for many people were eager +to taste the delicious soup he served from an odd little stove in front +of him. + +It is hard to tell how chouchou is made. Many kinds of meat and all +sorts of vegetables are boiled down to jelly and seasoned with salt and +pepper. He must have had a good recipe, for every one that tasted his +chouchou seemed to like it and want more. + +"Listen to the music, Chie Lo," said her brother, as he turned +longingly away from the chouchou seller. + +It seemed more like _noise_ than music. Two men stood on a bamboo raft +causing loud, wailing sounds to come from some queer reed instruments. +A third player was making the loudest noise of all. He sat in the +middle of a musical wheel, as it is called. This wheel is made of metal +cups of different sizes placed next each other in a circle. + +It seems strange that Chin and his sister should enjoy such "music," +and stranger still that the grown-up people should also like it; but +they seemed to do so. Were they doing it for their own pleasure? Oh no, +they had dainties to sell as well as the chouchou maker, and this was +their way of attracting attention. + +New sights could be seen constantly. Here were the beautifully-trimmed +boats of the rich people taking a ride for pleasure after the heat of +the day. There were the canoes of the poor, who were also out to enjoy +the sights, for Bangkok is a city built upon the water. + +The river Meinam flows through its very centre. The name of the river +means "Mother of Waters," just as the name of our own Mississippi means +"The Father of Waters." It is well named, for many canals reach out +from it in different directions. + +[Illustration: THE GREAT TEMPLE AT BANGKOK.] + +If a person is going to a temple to worship, if he has shopping to do, +or a visit to make, he does not take a car or carriage, nor does he +often walk. He steps into a boat, and after a pleasant sail or row, he +finds himself at his journey's end. + +"Let's go down the river before we go to bed," said Chin, who had grown +tired of sitting still. + +He stepped from the platform into his own little canoe and Chie Lo +followed him. + +The children looked very much alike. Their faces were of the same +shape, their eyes were of the same colour, and the two little round +heads were shaved in exactly the same way. A tuft of hair had been left +on the top of each and was coiled into a knot. + +When Chin grew a little older there would be a great celebration +over the shaving of his tuft. It would mark his "coming of age," but +that would not be for two or three years yet. He was only eleven years +old now and was left to do much as he pleased. + +The little canoe made its way in and out among the big boats and soon +left the city behind. Tall palm-trees lined the banks of the river and +waved gently in the evening breeze. + +Suddenly there was a loud sound, like a big drum, in the water directly +under the boat. "Tom, tom! Tom, tom!" It startled Chie Lo, and she +exclaimed: + +"What is it, Chin? What is it?" + +"It must be a drum-fish, Chie Lo. Nothing else could make a sound like +that." + +"Of course, Chin. It was all so quiet, and then the sound was so +sudden, I didn't think for a moment what it could be." + +They had often seen this ugly-looking fish, which is never eaten by +the people of their country. It is able to make a loud noise by means +of a sort of bladder under its throat, and it is well called the +"drum-fish." + +The children still went onward, keeping time with their sculls. +Suddenly the air around them blazed with countless lights, and a moment +afterward the darkness seemed blacker than ever. Then, again the lights +appeared, only to be lost as suddenly, while Chin and his sister held +their oars and watched. + +"Aren't they lovely?" said Chie Lo. "I never get tired of looking at +the fireflies." + +It is no wonder she thought so. The fireflies of Siam are not only +very large and brilliant, but they are found in great numbers. And, +strange to say, they seem fond of gathering together on certain kinds +of trees only. There they send forth their light and again withdraw it +at exactly the same moment. It seems as though they must be under the +orders of some leader. How else do they keep together? + +"I can hear the trumpeter beetle calling along the shore," said Chin, +as the boat floated about. "He makes a big noise for his size, and +takes his part in the song of the night. There must be hundreds of +lizards singing up there among the bushes, too, and I don't know what +else." + +"I suppose the parrots are asleep in the tree-tops by this time, as +well as the monkeys. Don't you love to go about in the woods, Chin?" + +"It is almost the best fun in the world, I think. Oh, Chie Lo, I saw +something the other day I didn't tell you about. You made me think of +it when you spoke of the monkeys. Father and I had gone a long way up +the river in the canoe to get wild bananas. We had just turned to come +home when I saw a crocodile ahead of us, lying close to the shore. His +wicked mouth was wide open and his eyes were glittering. + +"All at once I saw what was the matter. A chain of monkeys was hanging +from a tree-top above him. They were having sport with the monster. +The lowest monkey would suddenly strike out with his paw and touch the +crocodile's head when he was off his guard. Then the whole chain of +monkeys would swing away as quick as a flash, and the crocodile would +snap too late. + +"Oh, he did get so angry after awhile, it made me laugh, Chie Lo. The +monkeys grew bolder after awhile, and chattered more and more loudly. + +"Then the crocodile began to play a game himself. He shut his eyes and +pretended to be asleep. Down swung the monkeys, straight over his head. +His jaws opened suddenly in time to seize the little fellow who had +been teasing him. That was the last of the silly little monkey, whose +brothers and sisters fled up into the tree-tops as fast as they could +go. I didn't see them again, but we could hear them crying and wailing +as long as we stayed near the place." + +"I wish I had been there," sighed Chie Lo. "It must have made you laugh +to watch the monkeys before they were caught. But they are easily +scared. I shouldn't be afraid of monkeys anywhere." + +Chin smiled when his sister said these words. + +"If there were enough monkeys together, Chie Lo, and if they were all +angry and chasing you, I don't think you would exactly enjoy it. + +"Father told me of a time when he was off with a party of men in a +deep forest. They caught a baby monkey, and one of the men was going +to bring it home. It made the mother wild to have her child taken from +her. She raised a loud cry and started after the men. Her friends and +relatives joined her, crying and screaming. + +"But this was not all, for every other monkey in the forest seemed to +get the idea of battle. On they came by the hundreds and the thousands. +Do you think those men weren't scared? They hurried along as fast as +they could, stumbling over bushes and floundering in the mud. They were +only too glad to reach the bank of the river, where they jumped into +the canoes and paddled quickly away. The monkeys crowded on the shore +and screamed at them. I wish I could have seen them." + +Chin lay back and laughed as he finished the story. + +"We mustn't stop to talk any more, for it is getting late," said Chie +Lo. "But I love to hear you tell these stories, Chin. I hope you will +remember some more to-morrow night. Now we must paddle home as fast as +we can go." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +WORK AND PLAY + + +THE next morning the children were awakened early by the cawing +of large flocks of crows. These noisy birds were leaving their +resting-places in the trees near by, and starting out to search for +breakfast in the fields and gardens of the country. + +Chie Lo and her brother jumped out of bed, and a moment afterward were +taking a refreshing swim in the waters of the river. The water felt +cool and pleasant before the hot sunshine had warmed it. + +"Come to breakfast," called their mother, as they were in the midst of +a game of chase around the platform. "Come and eat the fine hoppers I +have just bought from the baker." + +The children did not need to be called twice, for they loved the +delicious cakes made of rice flour and cocoanut milk. The breakfast was +soon eaten, and then Chin and his sister made haste to load Chie Lo's +boat with the fruit she must sell on the river. + +The mangosteens were placed in the first pile. They would surely be +sold, because they were not only beautiful to look at, but fragrant to +smell and delicious to taste. You may look for them in many parts of +the world, but you will fail to find them unless you visit Chin and +Chie Lo in their own country, or go to the islands near by. + +The rind is of a brownish purple that changes its tints in the +sunlight. Cut the fruit carefully in halves and you will find a creamy, +white pulp, with a dark-red rim. + +"They look too good to eat," you say. But if you have once tasted +them, you will long for more. + +Chin and his sister are very fond of mangosteens, and so is nearly +every person who has the pleasure of eating them. + +But Chie Lo likes the durions better still. When she sorted the +boat-load this morning, she was very careful to place this fruit so it +should not touch any other kind. What an odour came from it! Ugh! It +makes one think of bad eggs and everything else unpleasant. + +But people who stop to-day to buy from the little girl will not +consider that. If they have lived in the country for only a short time, +they have grown to think of it as the finest of all fruits. + +Picture the nicest things you have ever eaten,--walnuts, and cream and +strawberries, and a dozen other delicious things,--they are all mingled +together in the flavour of the durion. + +Besides the durions and the mangosteens, there were great luscious +oranges, noble pineapples, mangoes and bananas, breadfruit and +sour-sops. Chie Lo would certainly have no trouble in selling her goods. + +When she had rowed away from the house, Chin went inside and got his +shuttlecock. He must find his boy friends and have a game before the +day grew too hot. You mustn't blame him for letting his sister work +while he played. It is the way of his people, and the idea never +entered his head that girls should have, at least, as easy a life as +boys. Yet this cousin of ours is gentle and good-natured and loving. + +An hour after Chie Lo had gone away, Chin and his friends were having +a lively game in the shade of some tall palm-trees, near the bank of +the river. It was great sport. The shuttlecock was made of bamboo and +was very light and easy to toss. But it took great skill to keep it +moving through the air for ten minutes at a time. The boys did not once +touch it with their hands. As it came bounding toward Chin, he held the +sole of his foot to receive it, and kicked it off in another direction. +Perhaps the next boy struck at it with his heel, and the next with the +side of his ankle or his knee. Forward and back it flew from one to +another. + +These naked boys of Siam were wonderfully graceful in their play. They +must have spent many days of their short lives in gaining such skill as +this. + +There was little noise about it. There are places in the world where +children think they are not having much fun unless there is a good deal +of shouting and yelling. Siam is not such a country, and Chin is not +that kind of a boy. He has many good times and many pleasures, although +he enjoys them in a quiet manner. + +How was Chie Lo getting along with her load of fruit this morning? She +paddled down the river among the vessels which had come to anchor there. + +"Fine oranges! Ripe durions!" her sweet voice called. And the people on +the decks of the English steamers and the queer Chinese boats looked +down at the little girl in her canoe. + +Many of them smiled at the tiny fruit-seller, and beckoned to her to +bring some of her fruit on board. + +By noontime her wares were all sold and Chie Lo started homeward with +a bag of odd-looking coins to give her father. It was very hot and the +sunlight was so bright as it sparkled on the river that the little girl +kept shutting her eyes. + +All at once she felt a tremendous thump and the next moment she found +herself far down under the surface of the water. The boat had been +overturned and was bobbing around over her head. + +Do you suppose she tried to scream, or that she lost her senses from +fright? Certainly not. As soon as she got her breath, she began to swim +with one arm; with the other she reached out for the boat and quickly +righted it. + +After half a dozen strokes, she was able to spring into the canoe, and +was soon paddling homeward as if nothing had happened. + +What had caused her boat to upset? A passing fisherman had carelessly +run into her. The accident did not seem to worry him, however. He did +not even stop to see if Chie Lo needed help, but kept straight on his +way. He did not mean to be unkind. He simply did not think there was +any danger to the little girl. And there was none, for swimming is as +natural as walking to the children of Siam, who have no fear of the +water. + +All that Chie Lo thought of was her precious coins, and those were safe +in the little bag hanging around her neck. The next day would be a +holiday and she knew her father would wish the money to spend. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +NEW YEAR'S + + +IT was the 27th of March, but to Chin and his sister it was the first +day of a new year. + +They woke up happy and smiling, for they would have much fun for three +whole days. It is all very well for some people to be satisfied with +a festival which lasts only twelve hours, but it is not so with the +Siamese. They think they cannot do justice to such a joyful time unless +they frolic and feast three times as long as that, at least. + +On the first day the children must go to the temple and carry +offerings. This duty should certainly not be forgotten. But before they +left home that morning they helped their mother give dishes of rice to +the yellow-robed priests who rowed slowly down the river as the sun +was rising. + +[Illustration: "THEY CARRIED SOME OF THEIR FLOWERS TO THE STATUE OF +BUDDHA."] + +These priests in their long yellow gowns looked alike. Each one held +before him a begging-bowl. He did not ask for food or money. It was the +duty of the people to feed him and give what was needed to keep him +from want. + +This was what Chin and those of his country believed. And so, when each +night was over, the priests left their cells and entered their boats. +They passed along the river and through the canals. Some people gave to +one, and some to another; some gave money, and some, food. But each one +thought as he gave, "I am gaining merit by this deed of kindness." And +he felt better for doing so. + +When the priests had passed along, Chin and his sister began to think +of their friends. They had presents of sweetmeats for them. They +had saved all their spare coins for many days to buy them. These +sweetmeats looked very tempting as they divided them up and placed them +in tiny baskets they had woven out of grasses. + +Some of them were made of sugar and cocoanut. Others were rich with +glutinous rice and peanuts. Their friends would be delighted with their +gifts. + +Before the day was over, Chin and Chie Lo had received many presents +themselves, for the poorest people in the country manage to remember +the New Year's festival. + +The day was noisier than usual. The children laughed and shouted more +than Siamese children commonly do. They danced and they sang. They went +into the country and gathered flowers. They made wreaths and garlands. +They carried some of their flowers to the statue of Buddha and placed +them in the open palms of their saint. + +They played tricks on each other. Chin and Chie Lo were both caught +by their playmates before the day was over and their faces blackened, +and then they were shoved into the river. But they took the joke with +perfect good nature, and laughed over it as merrily as their friends. + +The best sport of the day was with their dear old grandmother. As she +sat on the platform by the water's edge, Chin came up suddenly and +dashed water all over her. After that, he sprinkled her with perfume +and a sweet-smelling powder. + +But this was not all, for he ran into the house and brought her out a +new waist-cloth and a scarf to throw over her old shoulders. At the +same time Chie Lo pressed two silver coins into her hand, and shouted +with delight at the smile on the dear grandmother's face. + +Without doubt the New Year's festival was very merry. Best of all, the +children were allowed to do just as they pleased for the three long, +happy days. It is no wonder they were sorry when it was over. + +"It is even better than the Swing Days," Chie Lo said to her brother, +as they settled themselves for a good night's rest. + +"Yes, I think so, too, yet we have a great deal of fun then," answered +her brother, sleepily. + +Girls never take part in the exercises of the Swing Days, but Chin had +been training for two or three years to try his skill when he should be +a little older. + +A part of the city is set aside for the entertainment, and it is there +that the swings are set up on high poles. A short distance away stands +another pole marked with a waving banner. Just below this banner hangs +a purse filled with gold. + +Each person who enters the swing is allowed to work it back and forth +till he brings himself near the precious purse. He has one chance +given him to reach out and seize it in his mouth. If he succeeds, it +is his to keep, and he goes down to the ground on a rope ladder by the +side of the pole, while the bystanders greet him with shouts and cheers. + +If he fails, however, he is obliged to jump from the swing and slide +down to the ground on the pole, while every one joins in a laugh at his +awkwardness. + +On Swing Days there are many processions through the streets. Banners +and flags are waving everywhere, no work is done, and every one is +gaily dressed and full of joy. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +WHITE ELEPHANTS + + +"I NEVER rode on an elephant in my life," said Chie Lo with a sigh. + +Chin had just been telling her of a trip he had made with his father. +He had gone into the teak forest, and had travelled every bit of the +way on an elephant. + +"Perhaps you wouldn't like it if you had a chance to try," answered her +brother. "You would feel safe enough, and the howdah is big enough for +you to lie down in and take a nap. But the elephant swings from side to +side as he walks, and the motion might make you feel sick until you get +used to it." + +"It looks comfortable, anyway," said Chie Lo. "A howdah looks like a +tiny house, and the bamboo top keeps off the hot sun nicely. Doesn't +it ever slip on the elephant's back, Chin?" + +[Illustration: "'THEY WOULD PICK UP THE LOGS WITH THEIR TRUNKS.'"] + +"Of course not. It is fastened behind by a crupper that goes under the +tail, while it is held in front by a band of rattan passed around the +neck. So it is perfectly safe." + +"Elephants are very wise animals, and I love them. Mother told me that +a long time ago there was an elephant in the city that used to ladle +out rice to the priests as they came out of the temple. He did it every +morning, and was as careful about it as any person could be. He made +no mistakes, for he never gave the rice to any people unless they were +priests. Wasn't that wonderful, Chin?" + +"It was very wise, at any rate, Chie Lo. But, of course, he could +tell the priests because of their long yellow robes. I've heard more +wonderful stories than that, though. + +"I've watched elephants at work in a lumber yard, myself. They would +pick up the logs with their trunks, and carry them to the place where +they were to be piled up. Then they would lay them down, one on top +of another, and each time they would place them in such good order +that the ends of the pile would be kept perfectly even. They are very +careful workers; men couldn't do any better." + +"Weren't you afraid when you crossed the river on the elephant's back, +Chin? I heard you speaking about it to father when you got home." + +"Not the least bit. The water grew deeper until at last only my howdah +and the animal's head were above the surface. But he went on slowly and +surely, and as he felt safe, I did, too. In a few minutes we were on +dry land again, and climbed up the steep bank without stopping to rest. + +"It was great fun whenever we went down hill. The big clumsy fellow +knelt on his fore legs, and actually slid down, with his hind legs +dragging behind him." + +"What good times you have, Chin. I wish I were a boy!" and Chie Lo +sighed again. + +"They say that the white elephants are going to march through the +streets to-day. Let's go up in the city to see them," said Chin. + +He was always glad to have his sister go about with him. + +The home of our Siamese cousins is a strange country. It is often +spoken of as the "Land of the White Elephant." You shall hear the +reason. + +Whenever a white elephant is seen in the forests, word is at once sent +to the king, and parties of hunters go forth to secure him. He is +looked upon as a sacred animal, for many of the people believe that the +soul of some great and wise person has come back to dwell for a while +in his body. + +In the olden times there was a great celebration after a white elephant +had been caught and was brought into the city. The king and his nobles, +as well as hundreds of priests, went out to meet him with bands of +music. He was led to the royal stables, and large pictures of the +forests were hung around him, so he should not grow lonesome and long +for his home in the jungle. + +It is even said that he was fed from golden dishes, and that only the +sweetest sugar-cane, the ripest bananas, and the tenderest grasses were +given him as food. He was loaded with gifts. + +The ways of the people are changing now, however, and both the king +and his people are wiser than they used to be. Yet the white elephants +are still treated with honour, and kept in the royal stables, while on +great days they march in state through the streets of the city. + +It is hardly right, however, to speak of them as white. Some of them +are of a pale, pinkish gray colour. Others are ashy gray. Their +eyes look washed-out and dull. They are not nearly as grand and +noble-looking as their brothers, for it seems as though Mother Nature +were tired and had not finished her work, when one looks at them. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +IN THE TEMPLE + + +AFTER the children had watched the procession of white elephants, Chin +said: + +"Let us go to the temple, Chie Lo. It will be a pleasant walk. And, +besides, father said we ought to go to-day. He gave me these coins to +carry there." Chin held up two pieces of silver. "One of them is for +you, Chie Lo, and the other is for me." + +The place where the temple stood had been set apart from the rest of +the city. It was divided up into large fields surrounded by walls. In +each of these fields there was at least one large temple, and several +small ones, besides the buildings where the priests lived with their +pupils. Such a place is called a wat. + +As Chin and his sister drew near one of these wats, they found many +little stands from which men were busily selling gold-leaf to those who +were on their way to the temples. + +What would the people do with this gold-leaf, you wonder. + +They would use it to cover any bare spots on their favourite images. +It would "make merit" for them, as they would say; or, in other words, +they would at some time be rewarded for the act of goodness. + +It is in this way that the images are kept richly gilded, and many of +them are fairly loaded with the precious stuff. + +"We can't buy any to-day," said Chin, "we haven't money enough. But I +wish I could get one of those rings that man is selling. They are made +of hairs out of the manes and tails of the sacred horses. It would +bring good fortune, I'm sure." + +Poor ignorant Chin! As though anything but his own honest little heart +and good deeds would bring him happiness and success. + +And now the children passed through the gateway and into the beautiful +grounds. Stately trees grew on every side, and flowering plants were to +be seen in every direction. Here and there stood large stone statues. +They were ugly-looking figures, but were supposed to be the guardians +of this holy place. + +"After we come out, let's have a game of hide-and-seek with those +children," said Chin. + +He pointed to some boys and girls playing among the trees and statues, +and having a merry time. + +As the children turned toward the buildings, they passed under some +trees from whose branches hung pieces of wood, stone, and porcelain. + +"People hung those offerings there because they are going to build a +home," said Chin. "Or perhaps they are just married, and are beginning +housekeeping." + +"I know that, of course," answered Chie Lo. + +As the boy and girl entered the temple, they stopped at the cistern of +water near the door. Wooden dippers were handed to them, which they +were to fill. They must wash their hands and rinse their mouths before +they dared to draw near the statue of the holy Buddha or knelt in +prayer. They must do it as a symbol that their tongues were pure. + +After this was done, they threw their coins into a large money-box, and +passed into the main part of the temple. There were no seats, but the +worshippers sat together on the floor in little circles. + +The altar was beautifully carved, and built up in the shape of a +pyramid. Many offerings could be seen lying upon it. There were lovely +flowers, luscious fruits, and piles of snow-white rice. These had all +been brought here to-day by those who had come to worship and to pray. +Behind the altar were high panels on which the life of Buddha was +pictured. + +Chin and his sister loved to study these pictures and dream of the Holy +One in whom they believed. + +Their mother had taught them that long ago a great being lived in this +world. He was born in a palace, and was the son of a king. He knew only +joy and comfort until one day, when he met a poor old man. His heart +went out in pity to him, and he said to himself: + +"I will not live in comfort any longer if others in the world suffer +and are poor." + +He went out from the palace and spent the rest of his life teaching and +giving help. + +Chin and his sister did not stop to look at the pictures now. They +joined one of the groups sitting cross-legged upon the floor. A moment +afterward their heads were bent, and their small hands were pressed +together in prayer. + +From time to time, one of the worshippers rose and stepped over to a +big bronze bell, and rung it violently. This was because he felt that +his prayers were not heard, and he wished to call attention. + +Listen! A priest is reading from a palm-leaf book; and now he chants a +prayer with his face hidden behind a big fan. He keeps time by striking +a bell, or beating on a block of wood. The people rise upon their knees +and bow to the ground as he chants. There is no music in the strange +service. + +As Chin got up to go away, he turned to Chie Lo and whispered: + +"I love to look at the bronze elephants carved on the walls. They look +very wise and strong. They are the symbols of the Buddha, who taught +men to be patient and faithful." + +"I always love to look at the flag of our country, too," answered Chie +Lo. "The great white elephant pictured on the red cloth makes me think +of the same thing." + +"I believe I shall like it when I am old enough to come here to study +with the priests," her brother went on. "I shall like to serve them, +and they will teach me many good things. But I don't believe I shall +ever be a priest myself." + +It is the custom of Chin's country for all the boys to live awhile in +the wats, as soon as they are old enough to have their heads shaved. +They help the priests in the temples, and serve them in different ways. +They are also taught to write and cipher. After they have stayed a +certain time, they may choose for themselves what they will do. They +may study to become priests themselves, or they may go back to their +homes and choose some kind of work. + +As for Chie Lo, what would she do when Chin went away from home? Her +parents were too poor to send her to a school for girls. She would sell +fruits and vegetables in her little boat until she was old enough to +get married. + +Poor little child! She turned to her brother as they left the temple, +and said: + +"I wish, Chin, that I could go to school and be able to recite poems +and stories." + +For in that strange country of Siam, few girls learn either to read or +write, even if they are able to go to school. + +Their teacher recites some lines and the pupils repeat them after him +until the whole piece is learned. Then another is taken up in the same +way, and still another. But every child must be sure of one thing: she +must know an _odd number_ of pieces when she has finished. + +You remember the Siamese seem to be afraid of even numbers in anything +whatsoever. + +As for geography, or history, or any other pleasant study, such as you +have, very few of the children of that country have even heard of them. +I doubt if Chin and his sister know anything about the great, beautiful +country on the other side of the world, where their American cousins +are living. + +But Siam is slowly changing, and, as I have already said, the king who +now rules is wiser than those before him. He will help his people to +become wiser, too. + +As the children went on their way home, they fell to talking about +their ruler. They spoke of him as "The Lord of the Celestial Elephant," +and other queer titles. + +"He worships in the temple of the Emerald Buddha," Chin told his +sister. He had heard others describe the beautiful place. + +"It seems as though I could almost see it," the boy declared. "It must +be wonderful. Just think, Chie Lo, the floor is paved with bricks of +brass, and the walls are covered with paintings. The altar is several +times as high as our house. It is loaded with images from the bottom +to the very top. They are covered with gold, except the Emerald Buddha +itself, which is above all the rest. + +"Its hair is made of solid gold, in which are diamonds and rubies and +many other kinds of precious gems. I wish I could look at it just once, +although it is so high up, a person can hardly see it as he stands on +the floor." + +"Mother said nobody made that statue," said Chie Lo when her brother +had finished. "It was a miracle, and suddenly appeared in the world +after a visit of Buddha." + +"Mother and father know a great deal," replied Chin. "When we get home +to-night, let's ask them to tell us the story of how gold and silver +came to be in the world." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE LEGEND OF THE PEACE-OFFERING + + +IT was a beautiful moonlight night. The stars shone faintly in the +clear sky. + +"They do not look as though they felt as happy as usual," said Chin to +Chie Lo, who sat beside him on the platform of the house. "They are +jealous because the moon is hiding them by her brightness. Here comes +father; now we can ask him." + +"Father, will you tell us the story of Rosy Dawn?" said his son, as the +boat drew up beside the platform and the man jumped out. + +"As soon as I fill my betel-box, Chin," was the answer. + +Five minutes afterward, the family gathered around the story-teller by +the side of the quiet river. + +"Once upon a time," he began, "Father Sun was much nearer the earth +than he is now. He was ever ready to advise his younger brother, the +king of our country, and would even order his officers, the stars, to +do anything which might help this blessed land. + +"It was long, long ago that all this happened. Everything was so +different then from what it is now, that there was no sickness nor +sorrow in the land. People lived to be hundreds of years old. Why, my +children, the King of Siam himself was looked upon as a very young man, +although he was at least one hundred and sixty years old. + +"His father, the old king, was still alive, but had grown tired of +ruling after two hundred years of such work. He had given it into his +son's hands, and now took his ease. + +"His only daughter, a beautiful maiden named Rosy Dawn, spent most of +her time in cheering him and making his life happy. No one had ever +looked upon her sweet face except her own family. She was as good and +simple as she was beautiful. Her days must have passed very quietly, +for her only amusements were singing her old father to sleep and +wandering alone through the fields and woods. + +"A sad thing happened about this time. The naughty stars grew jealous +of their lord, the Sun. They did not like it because he chose to keep +awake all the time, and was having such pleasure with the earth and its +people that he never thought of sleeping. + +"Day and night, summer and winter, he gave his bright light to the +world; he seemed afraid that something ill might happen to his young +brother the king, if he left him for a moment. Of course, the stars had +no chance of showing their own beauty, and this was what put them out +of temper. They said to each other: + +"'Our lord has some reason for not sleeping which we do not understand. +We will watch him, and set a snare for him.' + +"So, when they themselves should have been sound asleep, for it was now +bright noonday, they set to watch the jolly, laughing Sun. + +"It happened at this very time that Rosy Dawn left her sleeping +father's side and went out for a frolic in the woods. She picked the +wild flowers and made them into wreaths; she softly sang sweet songs to +herself, and she watched the squirrels and lizards as they played about +among the trees. + +"All at once she spied a beautiful butterfly move past her. It was +larger and more brilliant than any she had ever seen before. She said +to herself: + +"'I must have the lovely creature,' and ran after it. + +"On flitted the butterfly, faster and faster; on sped Rosy Dawn after +it. But it was in vain. For after a long chase, and just as she thought +she was about to succeed, the butterfly rose up into the air, higher +and higher above her head. + +"Now the fair maiden turned back toward home, and for the first time +she thought of how tired she was. Her dainty feet fairly ached from the +long chase, and she stopped at a refreshing brook to bathe. + +"Just at this moment, the Sun's glorious chariot appeared over the +hilltop. The warm light fell upon Rosy Dawn and made her feel quiet +and restful. At the same time the Sun himself looked down upon the +beautiful maiden and he fell in love with her then and there. + +"When she had finished her bath, Rosy Dawn left the stream and entered +a shady cavern near by, where she might rest. + +"The Sun's great chariot flew through the heavens as his noble steeds +were spurred onward. It seemed as though he could not wait a moment +longer before he should come to the charming girl he had just seen. + +"You ask me if he won Rosy Dawn's love in return. Ah, yes! And, sad to +say, trouble followed after. + +"You remember that the jealous stars were watching their lord's +movements. After a while they discovered that he was making love to +Rosy Dawn. They followed him one day when the two were fondly talking +together in their favourite resting-place, the cavern. + +"Alas! the chariot was outside. The wicked stars seized it and carried +it off, and the frightened steeds ran away. They did not turn their +heads until they had reached home. + +"The angry stars did not stop here. They raised a great shout against +their ruler, and declared they would be his subjects no longer. The +poor old Sun began to tremble, and shed tears of gold. + +"The mountains were truly sorry for him. They opened up a passageway +through which he might return home. They promised him that he might +drive through this cavern every day and be perfectly safe. Again he +wept, and more plentifully still. + +"At last he started on his way homeward, and, as he journeyed along, +his tears fell and formed pools of gold. Those pools are now the gold +mines of Siam. + +"It took twelve hours for Old Sol to reach home, after which he went +out every day; but he came back regularly at night-time by way of the +cavern that the mountains had given him. + +"After this poor Rosy Dawn wandered sadly about through the caves and +mountains. She, too, wept, and her tears were very plentiful. Wherever +they fell you will now find the silver mines of our country. + +"But you must not think her joy was at an end. The wicked stars at last +made an agreement with their lord, the Sun. They said he might live +with Rosy Dawn for one-half the month, if they were allowed to look at +her beautiful face for the other half. + +"Ever since that time the Sun meets Rosy Dawn at the mouth of the cave +where he first saw her, and carries her home to stay with him for two +weeks out of each month." + +"You didn't mention one important thing," said Chin, as his father +ended the story. "You forgot to say that the stars insisted on the +Sun's never kissing Rosy Dawn when any one can see him. We know hers is +another name for the Moon; and the Sun breaks his agreement with the +stars once in a great while, whenever there is an eclipse." + +"Yes, that is why the people beat drums and fire off guns at such +times," said the children's mother. "It is to shame the Sun, and to +make him stop such conduct at once. Of course it takes some time for +the sounds to reach him, but as soon as he hears, he seems to be +ashamed, for the eclipse soon passes by." + +"When I was a boy, I went on a pilgrimage to the very cavern where the +Sun first met Rosy Dawn," said the father. "I was careful to carry both +a silver coin and a gold one. When we reached the place, I threw the +money into the cavern. Every one else did likewise. We offered these +coins in hopes of making merit for ourselves." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +QUEER SIGHTS + + +"I AM going to the city to-day to buy a new waist-cloth," said Chin's +father one morning. "Chin, you may go with me, if you like." + +A few moments afterward the two were paddling down the river past the +temples and palaces which lined the shore. + +Besides the homes of the rich, surrounded by stately palm-trees and +beautiful gardens, there were other houses belonging to poorer people. +These last were built close to the river's edge, but were raised high +up above the water, on posts. + +This was a wise thing to do for several reasons. In the first place, +the river would rise after the fall rains began, and the houses might +float away,--or, at least, the people inside would be flooded, unless +they had been careful to build high enough to prepare for such times. + +The fine houses were of brick or wood, but the poorer ones were much +like Chin's house-boat, woven of bamboo and thatched with leaves. + +The boy and his father soon left the main part of the river and turned +into one of the canals. They were now in a part of the city where a +good deal of business was going on. They left the boat, after fastening +it to the bank, and walked along through the narrow street. + +The fronts of the houses here were all open and everything within could +be plainly seen. In this one was a big counter, almost filling the +room, and the merchant himself sat cross-legged upon it with his goods +around him. + +There was a bakery where the cakes and bread were made and baked +in sight of everyone who passed. Chin liked to stop and look at the +various workmen. There was much to see and learn. The metal-workers +were pounding and hammering away, and, as the boy watched them, he +could see bracelets and anklets shaped, and sheets of copper formed +into various dishes. + +In many places the families of the storekeepers lived in the one room +that was both store and dwelling, but they did not seem to be troubled +when they noticed Chin's black eyes following them. + +In one store a hammock hung from the ceiling and a baby was swinging +there. What did he care if he was brought up on the street, as one +might say? Care! He seemed to think the coming and going of so many +people was meant all for him, and he laughed and crowed at each new +face. + +"Do look, father," said Chin, as they passed a barber's shop. "There +is a Chinaman having his head and eyebrows shaved. He won't be +satisfied until his eyelashes have been pulled out. Other people have +strange fashions, don't they?" + +His father smiled. "Yes, Chin, we are all different from each other in +this world. But I know one thing in which we are like the Chinese. We +love kites, don't we?" + +Chin's eyes sparkled. "Yes, indeed, father. There is a kite store, now. +Let us go in and look around. The kites there are beautiful." + +It is no wonder Chin longed to stop. All sorts of kites were there to +tempt the passer-by. They were in the shapes of flowers and boats, +dragons and elephants, and I can't tell how many other odd or lovely +patterns. Chin's father was as much interested as his son, and a +half-hour was spent before they finally decided on buying a kite in the +form of a butterfly. + +"We will have great sport in flying it this afternoon," said Chin. +"Chie Lo must enjoy it with us." + +He had finished speaking when he caught sight of a procession coming in +that direction. A moment before there had been so many children, dogs, +and cats in the street they seemed to block the way of everything else; +but now the children quickly turned aside and ran into the doorways. + +As the procession drew near, a great shouting and beating of drums +could be heard. + +"Father, look quickly," said Chin. "The men are carrying a statue of +Buddha on a litter. Isn't it beautiful? It is all covered with gilt. +I wonder where they will carry it. Oh, now I see; they have stopped +at that open place and are going to have a play. There are the actors +themselves." + +"Some rich man is doing this," said Chin's father. "He has probably +hired the actors, and the show will be free to all. He is making merit +for himself, without doubt. We will join the crowd." + +[Illustration: SIAMESE ACTORS.] + +By this time the gilded statue had been set up on a sort of throne, and +sticks of incense were lighted and placed on the rough altar in front +of it. + +The strangest part came now, for the actors began to put on their queer +costumes right before the people who had gathered around the show. Then +came the play. + +There was neither stage nor curtain; nor was there any scenery, except +that of the place itself. But Chin and his father enjoyed it as well as +the other onlookers. They laughed and looked sad, in turn, and seemed +to forget that it was only a play, and not real life, that was pictured +before them. + +When the play was over, Chin's father said: + +"We must go back to the stores, for I have not bought my waist-cloth +yet." + +The place they soon entered was different from any dry-goods store you +ever saw. The room was fitted with pigeonholes, in each of which was +folded a strip of cloth one yard wide, and three yards long. Some of +these pa-nungs, or waist-cloths, were of silk, and others of cotton. +Some were striped, and others figured. They form, as you know, the +principal part of the dress of both men and women in Siam. + +After Chin's father had looked at a number of the cotton waist-cloths, +he finally decided on one that was gaily striped. It was of no use for +him to examine anything made of silk. It would cost more than the poor +man could afford. + +"Now, for the tailor's," he said. "I must buy thread and needles." + +A few steps brought them to the tiny shop where the tailor sat, working +busily, but on the watch for customers at the same time. He held +the cloth on which he was sewing between his toes! That did not seem +strange to Chin. He had often watched carpenters use their toes to hold +boards in place. As to himself, his own toes were put to every possible +use, so that you would almost call him four-handed. + +As his feet were always bare, why shouldn't he make them useful in +other ways than walking and running, swimming and playing games? There +was no reason at all. + +"I'm getting hungry, and we are a good ways from home, father. I wish +we could buy some cakes." + +Chin looked longingly at a stand under a stone archway where two men +stood in front of a movable furnace. Square griddles were on the +furnace, and the men were busily baking cakes. Each one was made in the +shape of the figure 8. Curlicue cakes, they were called. + +A crowd of boys was standing as near to the furnace as possible, +watching the men. Some were buying the cakes as they came from the hot +griddle; others had no money and could only look on. + +Each of the bakers held in his hand a terra-cotta bottle with a small +hole in the end. He kept the bottle horizontal while he filled it with +the batter. When the griddle was hot enough, he held the bottle upright +for a moment with his finger over the hole, then, taking his finger +away, he passed it quickly over the griddle with the motion you would +use in making the figure 8. A minute afterward, a delicious curlicue +cake was ready for a customer. + +"You may treat yourself here, Chin," said his father, "while I go to +the betel stand yonder, to get my box filled." + +It was now noon-time, and the sun was very hot. The street, which had +been crowded all the morning, was nearly empty. Almost every one in +the city, except the poorer people, was now taking a midday nap in the +shadow of some tree or veranda. + +"We must go home, Chin, for I am warm and tired," said his father, but +he smiled pleasantly, for he had enjoyed the morning as much as his son. + +On their way to the boat they passed some jugglers treading fire and +climbing a ladder of sharp knives with their bare feet. At most times, +a large crowd would have been gathered around them, but there were few +people now. It was too hot, and even Chin was glad to leave the city +street and get into his little boat once more. + +Perhaps you wonder if there are no carriages in this strange city of +the East. There are not many, since, as you remember, most of the +travelling is done on the water. But once in a while one sees a queer +sort of vehicle called a jinrikisha. + +It is much like an open buggy on two wheels and is drawn by men. It is +more common in the land of Chin's Japanese cousins, however, than in +his country. + +Then, again, if any of Chin's people are in a great hurry (but that +very seldom happens), they may hire gharries, which are very light and +have canvas tops. These are drawn by small horses brought from China. + +"The gharries are strange things," thinks Chin's father; "the idea of +using them must have been given by those queer white people, who do not +seem to enjoy life as we Siamese do. They move so much faster, and are +not satisfied to do things in the quiet, happy way of my countrymen." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE QUEEN'S CITY + + +"I HAVE had a lovely time to-day, too," said Chie Lo, when Chin had +told her of his walk through the city. + +"I sold my fruit in an hour or two, and then Pome Yik and I went off in +my canoe to have a good time by ourselves." + +Chin laughed when his sister mentioned Pome Yik. She was a curly-headed +playmate of Chie Lo's. The Siamese think that straight, wiry hair is +the only beautiful kind in the world, and make fun of any one whose +hair is even wavy. So the little girl spoken of came to have the +nickname Pome Yik, which means curly-head. + +Her real name was almost forgotten, but, poor child, she didn't +enjoy hearing herself called Pome Yik any more than if it had been +"double-toe" or "hunchback," or the name given to any kind of deformed +person by the people of her country. + +"We went several miles before we stopped," Chie Lo went on. "We passed +that big rice plantation, Chin, where you often go on errands for +father. Then we came to a field flooded with water and covered with +lotus blossoms. They had been raised for market and the people were +busy gathering them. + +"See, Chin, they gave me these to bring home. Aren't they beautiful?" + +Chie Lo held up a bunch of the great, delicate lilies for her brother +to admire. Their hearts were golden; the petals, which were of a faint +pink near the centre, were of a deep, bright red toward the tips. + +The flower had a great meaning to these children of Siam. It told the +story of life, and was sacred to the Buddha, who was often pictured +sitting on the lotus. Why should it mean so much? Let us see. + +The root of the plant lies embedded in the mud. That represents our +weak human nature. As the long stems grow, they reach up through the +deep water toward the sunlight. That is what we all do, is it not? for +we long to do right and seek the light of love and wisdom. + +At length a wondrous blossom appears on the surface of the water. It is +perfect in shape, and beautiful in colour, while its heart is golden, +we remember. That is the blossoming of a whole life. The lotus is a +fine symbol, we have to admit. + +But Chie Lo spoke of the people gathering the lotus for market. Of +course the flowers could be readily sold, but that was not all. The +Chinese in the city would be glad to buy the seeds, which they +grind and make into cakes. The stems could be cooked and served as +a delicious vegetable; the fibres of the leaf-stalks would furnish +lamp-wicks. The plant has many uses in the country where it is raised. + +"Father says the king has beautiful lotus ponds in the grounds near the +palace," said Chin, as he smelled the flowers. "He has seen them, as +well as the fountains and statues and lovely gardens." + +"It must be a grand thing to be a king," replied Chie Lo, thoughtfully. +"They say that the palace is even more wonderful than the grounds +around it. + +"Just think of it! the floors are paved with marble and the tables are +also of marble. There are all sorts of couches to lie and sit on. These +are covered with silks and satins of beautiful colours, and there are +pictures on the walls that have been painted to look just like people +the king has known. Ah! what a sight it must be!" + +Chie Lo shut her eyes, as though she might then be able to see what she +had been describing. + +"The city of the royal women is inside all the rest of the king's +grounds," said Chin. "You know that one must pass through three walls +before one can enter it. No man can go there except the king and the +priests." + +"Yes, mother has told me about it," answered Chie Lo. "It is a real +city, too, for it contains stores and temples, theatres and markets. +There are all sorts of lovely trees and plants, ponds and summer +houses. The children must have a fine time in such a lovely place. It +must be a grand thing to be born in a king's family." Chie Lo sighed. + +"Tell me what else you saw beside the lily-fields this morning," said +Chin, who was quite satisfied to be a free, careless, happy boy, and +envied nobody. + +"When we were still quite a distance from home, we saw some men fishing +in the river. They were filling their boats very fast, for they had a +wheel set up near the bank. As one of them turned the wheel, their nets +were spread out and sunk in the water. The other men darted right and +left in their boats, shouting and beating drums, and making a great +noise. The frightened fishes must have been driven into the nets in +great numbers, for the men were obliged to pull hard to lift them into +the boats." + +"That is an easy way," said Chin. "There is a good deal of sport in it, +too, for father and I fished with a wheel once, and I liked it for a +change. But see, there's father now. Let's go to meet him." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE MONSOON + + +"IT'S coming! it's coming!" cried Chin, as he sat on the floating +platform of his home. As soon as he said these words, he jumped up and +followed Chie Lo and the rest of the family into the house. + +They all moved faster than usual, for it was a time to hurry, if there +ever was such a time in Siam. The sky had been black and overcast with +clouds for two or three days, giving warning to the people that the +monsoon was drawing near, but now the wind began to blow, which told +its arrival. + +Did they fear? Surely not. They were only too glad there was a rest +from the burning sunshine and the clouds of dust. + +Unless rain should come soon, the sugar-cane would dry up and immense +crops would be lost. The fruits would shrivel and many people would +become poor. + +But now all could take refreshing sleep after they had prepared for the +yearly storm. + +Chin had helped his father mend the roof of the little home. The +clusters of loose leaves were pulled out, and fresh ones fastened +securely in their places. Heavy stones were laid here and there on the +roof to make it safe when the gusts of wind should strike it. The doors +and window-casings must also be fastened tightly. + +As for Chie Lo and her mother, they had been very busy carrying all the +jars and baskets inside the house. The mats, on which spices had been +drying, must also be put in a safe place. In fact, everything that was +loose must be made tight. + +The canoes were lifted from the water, and placed on that side of the +platform which would be protected from the rising wind. + +Now it was coming, as Chin said. The cocoanut and mango-trees on the +shore began to rustle; leaves were flying in the air; the crows were +hastening to safe resting-places. + +Then, all of a sudden, the rain fell in sheets, the thunder rolled +through the heavens, lightning flashed right and left, and the wind +roared as though in fierce anger. + +But Chin and Chie Lo sat in a snug corner of the kitchen and felt +little fear. + +"They say that a giant lives far up in the air, and when he gets +angry with his wife and chases her, we hear the thunder in the sky," +whispered Chie Lo. + +"He isn't angry with us, anyway," said Chin. "Listen, Chie Lo. How our +house rocks! but it is fastened tightly, so we are all right, and the +wind won't keep up this way very long." + +After an hour or two the storm passed by, and the blackness departed +from the sky. This was only the beginning of the fall rains, however. +Before the night was over, Chin waked up to hear the downpour on the +roof. He went to sleep in a few moments, saying to himself, "Rain, +rain, rain, for a week at least. I will make up now for the nights I +couldn't rest." + +If Chin had been kept from sleeping, you may well believe it had been +very hot and uncomfortable. + +The next day there was little to do. Chin's father did not care to +venture out in the heavy rain, and spent a good deal of the time in +taking refreshing naps. But when he was awake the children got him to +tell stories of the wonderful country in which they lived. + +He had never been in the jungle himself, but several of his friends +were hunters who had met the wild elephant and the tiger in the deep +forests. They had chased the wildcat, and had had narrow escapes from +the rhinoceros and the deadly cobra. + +"Did you ever see a cobra yourself, father?" asked Chin, as he listened +to the stories with wide-open eyes. + +"Yes, indeed. It was only the other day that I watched a snake-charmer, +who wound a cobra around his arm." + +"Please tell us about it," cried his son. "I wish I could have seen +him. Wasn't he the least bit afraid?" + +"If he had been, he would probably have lost his life," was the answer. +"He charmed the creature with music, while he swayed his body back and +forth as he played. The serpent followed his motions as it listened to +the strange sounds. Of course the man played with only one hand. He +seized the cobra's neck with the other, after which he took out its +teeth and venom-bag. When this was done the cobra was no more harmful +than your kitten." + +"How did he do it, father?" + +"It was not very hard work, for he used a pair of pincers. Coolness is +the most important thing. We should remember to be calm in all things, +my son." + +"Yes, I must remember that, for I will soon be old enough to have my +hair cut, and you will call me a man." + +"I hope I can afford to have a fine celebration. Chin, you will go to +the temple, of course. The seven steps of the altar will be covered +with fresh banana leaves, and figures of angels and animals will be +placed there." + +"Do I have to walk around the altar three times, holding a wax candle +in my hand?" + +"Yes, Chin, and then your friends will take the other candles and blow +the lights out directly over your head. + +"After that you will be given a fresh cocoanut and a cup containing +pieces of money. Music will come next." + +"It will be the great time of my life, father. I must think about it +and get ready for it." + +"There are many kinds of people in our city, Chin. There are the +Chinese, who live here in great numbers; there are Hindus with pride +in themselves; there are the white people who come here on business, +or to teach their religion to those who will listen. But Chin, we are +Siamese, and we like the ways of our own country. We hear of different +fashions, but ours are still the best to us." + + + THE END. + + + + +=THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS= + +(Trade Mark) + +_By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON_ + + _Each 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth, illustrated, per vol._ $1.50 + + + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL STORIES= + (Trade Mark) + +Being three "Little Colonel" stories in the Cosy Corner Series, "The +Little Colonel," "Two Little Knights of Kentucky," and "The Giant +Scissors," in a single volume. + + + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOUSE PARTY= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOLIDAYS= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HERO= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL AT BOARDING-SCHOOL= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL IN ARIZONA= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL'S CHRISTMAS VACATION= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL, MAID OF HONOR= + (Trade Mark) + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL'S KNIGHT COMES RIDING= + (Trade Mark) + + =MARY WARE: THE LITTLE COLONEL'S CHUM= + (Trade Mark) + + =MARY WARE IN TEXAS= + + =MARY WARE'S PROMISED LAND= + +_These 12 volumes, boxed as a set, $18.00._ + + + =THE LITTLE COLONEL= + (Trade Mark) + + +=TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY= + + +=THE GIANT SCISSORS= + + +=BIG BROTHER= + + +Special Holiday Editions + + Each one volume, cloth decorative, small quarto, $1.25 + +New plates, handsomely illustrated with eight full-page drawings in +color, and many marginal sketches. + + + +=IN THE DESERT OF WAITING:= THE LEGEND OF CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN. + + +=THE THREE WEAVERS:= A FAIRY TALE FOR FATHERS AND MOTHERS AS WELL AS +FOR THEIR DAUGHTERS. + + +=KEEPING TRYST= + + +=THE LEGEND OF THE BLEEDING HEART= + + +=THE RESCUE OF PRINCESS WINSOME:= + +A FAIRY PLAY FOR OLD AND YOUNG. + + +=THE JESTER'S SWORD= + + Each one volume, tall 16mo, cloth decorative $0.50 + Paper boards .35 + +There has been a constant demand for publication in separate form of +these six stories which were originally included in six of the "Little +Colonel" books. + + +=JOEL: A BOY OF GALILEE:= BY ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. Illustrated by L. +J. Bridgman. + + New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little + Colonel Books, 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth + decorative $1.50 + +A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the author's best-known +books. + + +=THE LITTLE COLONEL GOOD TIMES BOOK= + + Uniform in size with the Little Colonel Series $1.50 + Bound in white kid (morocco) and gold 3.00 + +Cover design and decorations by Peter Verberg. + +Published in response to many inquiries from readers of the Little +Colonel books as to where they could obtain a "Good Times Book" such as +Betty kept. + + +=THE LITTLE COLONEL DOLL BOOK= + + Large quarto, boards $1.50 + +A series of "Little Colonel" dolls. There are many of them and each +has several changes of costume, so that the happy group can be +appropriately clad for the rehearsal of any scene or incident in the +series. + + +=ASA HOLMES;= OR, AT THE CROSS-ROADS. By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. + +With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. + + Large 16mo, cloth, gilt top $1.00 + +"'Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-Roads' is the most delightful, most +sympathetic and wholesome book that has been published in a long +while."--_Boston Times._ + + +=TRAVELERS FIVE: ALONG LIFE'S HIGHWAY.= By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. + +With an introduction by Bliss Carman, and a frontispiece by E. H. +Garrett. + + Cloth decorative $1.25 + +"Mrs. Johnston's ... are of the character that cause the mind to grow +gravely meditative, the eyes to shine with tender mist, and the heart +strings to stir to strange, sweet music of human sympathy."--_Los +Angeles Graphic._ + + +=THE RIVAL CAMPERS;= OR, THE ADVENTURES OF HENRY BURNS. By RUEL PERLEY +SMITH. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +A story of a party of typical American lads, courageous, alert, and +athletic, who spend a summer camping on an island off the Maine coast. + + +=THE RIVAL CAMPERS AFLOAT;= OR, THE PRIZE YACHT VIKING. By RUEL PERLEY +SMITH. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +This book is a continuation of the adventures of "The Rival Campers" on +their prize yacht _Viking_. + + +=THE RIVAL CAMPERS ASHORE= + +By RUEL PERLEY SMITH. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"As interesting ashore as when afloat."--_The Interior._ + + +=THE RIVAL CAMPERS AMONG THE OYSTER PIRATES;= OR, JACK HARVEY'S +ADVENTURES. By RUEL PERLEY SMITH. + + Illustrated $1.50 + +"Just the type of book which is most popular with lads who are in their +early teens."--_The Philadelphia Item._ + + +=A TEXAS BLUE BONNET= + +By EMILIA ELLIOTT. + + 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +"The book's heroine Blue Bonnet has the very finest kind of wholesome, +honest lively girlishness and cannot but make friends with every one +who meets her through the book as medium."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._ + + +=BLUE BONNET'S RANCH PARTY= + +A Sequel to "A Texas Blue Bonnet." By EMILIA ELLIOTT. + + 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +The new story begins where the first volume leaves off and takes +Blue Bonnet and the "We Are Seven Club" to the ranch in Texas. The +tables are completely turned: Blue Bonnet is here in her natural +element, while her friends from Woodford have to learn the customs and +traditions of another world. + + +=THE GIRLS OF FRIENDLY TERRACE= + + +OR, PEGGY RAYMOND'S SUCCESS. By HARRIET LUMMIS SMITH. + + 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +This is a book that will gladden the hearts of many girl readers +because of its charming air of comradeship and reality. It is a very +interesting group of girls who live on Friendly Terrace and their good +times and other times are graphically related by the author, who shows +a sympathetic knowledge of girl character. + + + + +FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES + +_By CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON_ + + _Each, large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated_ $1.50 + + +=FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS= + +Biographical sketches, with anecdotes and reminiscences, of the heroes +of history who were leaders of cavalry. + +"More of such books should be written, books that acquaint young +readers with historical personages in a pleasant informal way."--_N. Y. +Sun._ + + +=FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS= + +In this book Mr. Johnston gives interesting sketches of the Indian +braves who have figured with prominence in the history of our own land, +including Powhatan, the Indian Cæsar; Massasoit, the friend of the +Puritans; Pontiac, the red Napoleon; Tecumseh, the famous war chief +of the Shawnees; Sitting Bull, the famous war chief of the Sioux; +Geronimo, the renowned Apache Chief, etc. + + +=FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN AND ADVENTURERS OF THE SEA= + +In this volume Mr. Johnston tells interesting stories about the famous +sailors of fortune. There are tales of Captain Otway Burns, patriot, +privateer and legislator; Woodes Rogers, scourge of the South Sea +trade; Captain William Death, wolf of the ocean; and of many others. + + +=FAMOUS SCOUTS= + +"It is the kind of a book that will have a great fascination for +boys and young men and while it entertains them it will also present +valuable information in regard to those who have left their impress +upon the history of the country."--_The New London Day._ + + +=FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN AND HEROES OF THE BORDER= + +This book is devoted to a description of the adventurous lives and +stirring experiences of many pioneer heroes who were prominently +identified with the opening of the great west. The stories of these +border heroes are graphically presented, and their desperate battles +with Indians, border desperadoes, and wild beasts are splendidly told. + + +=BEAUTIFUL JOE'S PARADISE;= OR, THE ISLAND OF BROTHERLY LOVE. A Sequel +to "Beautiful Joe." By MARSHALL SAUNDERS, author of "Beautiful Joe." + + One vol., library 12mo, cloth illustrated $1.50 + +"This book revives the spirit of 'Beautiful Joe' capitally. It is +fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual as anything in the +animal book line that has seen the light."--_Philadelphia Item._ + + +='TILDA JANE.= By MARSHALL SAUNDERS. + + One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 + +"I cannot think of any better book for children than this. I commend it +unreservedly."--_Cyrus T. Brady._ + + +='TILDA JANE'S ORPHANS.= A sequel to "'Tilda Jane." By MARSHALL +SAUNDERS. + + One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 + +'Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and as fond of her +animal pets as ever. + + +='TILDA JANE IN CALIFORNIA.= A Sequel to "'Tilda Jane," and "'Tilda +Jane's Orphans." By MARSHALL SAUNDERS. + + One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 + +The scene of the story is sunny California, where the heroine, 'Tilda +Jane, an Eastern girl of high resolves and warm impulses, goes on a +long visit to distant relatives. Many of the other beloved characters +in the previous "'Tilda Jane" books are introduced in this story. + + +=THE STORY OF THE GRAVELYS.= By MARSHALL SAUNDERS, author of "Beautiful +Joe's Paradise," "'Tilda Jane," etc. + + Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. Barry $1.50 + +Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and triumphs, of a +delightful New England family. + + +=BORN TO THE BLUE.= By FLORENCE KIMBALL RUSSEL. + + 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.25 + +The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on every page of +this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a captain of U. S. cavalry +stationed at a frontier post in the days when our regulars earned the +gratitude of a nation. + + +=IN WEST POINT GRAY= + +By FLORENCE KIMBALL RUSSEL. + + 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"Singularly enough one of the best books of the year for boys is +written by a woman and deals with life at West Point. The presentment +of life in the famous military academy whence so many heroes have +graduated is realistic and enjoyable."--_New York Sun._ + + +=THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORIES= + + +By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS. With fifty illustrations by Ada Clendenin +Williamson. + + Large 12mo, decorative cover $1.50 + +"An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of very small +children. It should be one of the most popular of the year's books for +reading to small children."--_Buffalo Express._ + + +=THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES= + +By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS. + + Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 + +Mr. Hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories met with such approval +that this second book of "Sandman" tales was issued for scores of eager +children. Life on the farm, and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his +inimitable manner. + + +=THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES= + +By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS, author of "The Sandman: His Farm Stories," etc. + + Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 + +"Children call for these stories over and over again."--_Chicago +Evening Post._ + + +=THE SANDMAN: HIS SEA STORIES= + +By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS. + + Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 + +Each year adds to the popularity of this unique series of stories to be +read to the little ones at bed time and at other times. + + +=THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL= + +By MARION AMES TAGGART. + + One vol., library 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +A thoroughly enjoyable tale of a little girl and her comrade father, +written in a delightful vein of sympathetic comprehension of the +child's point of view. + +"The characters are strongly drawn with a life-like realism, the +incidents are well and progressively sequenced, and the action is so +well timed that the interest never slackens."--_Boston Ideas._ + + +=SWEET NANCY= + +THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL. By MARION AMES +TAGGART. + + One vol., library 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +In the new book, the author tells how Nancy becomes in fact "the +doctor's assistant," and continues to shed happiness around her. + + +=NANCY, THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE PARTNER= + +By MARION AMES TAGGART. + + One vol., library 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +In Nancy Porter, Miss Taggart has created one of the most lovable child +characters in recent years. In the new story she is the same bright and +cheerful little maid. + + +=NANCY PORTER'S OPPORTUNITY= + +By MARION AMES TAGGART. + + One vol., library 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +Already as the "doctor's partner" Nancy Porter has won the affection of +her readers, and in the same lovable manner she continues in the new +book to press the key-notes of optimism and good-will. + + +=ALMA AT HADLEY HALL= + +By LOUISE BREITENBACH. + + One vol., 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +"This delightful tale of boarding-school life is one that cannot fail +to appeal to the lover of good things in girls' books. It will take +rank for its naturalness and truth."--_Portland Press._ + + +=GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK= + +By EVALEEN STEIN. + + Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and + decorated in colors by Adelaide Everhart $1.00 + +Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who assisted the +monks in the long ago days, when all the books were written and +illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. + +"No works in juvenile fiction contain so many of the elements that +stir the hearts of children and grown-ups as well as do the stories so +admirably told by this author."--_Louisville Daily Courier._ + + +=A LITTLE SHEPHERD OF PROVENCE= + +By EVALEEN STEIN. + + Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by Diantha H. Marlowe $1.25 + +"The story should be one of the influences in the life of every child +to whom good stories can be made to appeal."--_Public Ledger._ + + +=THE LITTLE COUNT OF NORMANDY= + +By EVALEEN STEIN. + + Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by John Goss $1.25 + +"This touching and pleasing story is told with a wealth of interest +coupled with enlivening descriptions of the country where its scenes +are laid and of the people thereof."--_Wilmington Every Evening._ + + +=ALYS-ALL-ALONE= + +By UNA MACDONALD. + + Cloth, 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +"This is a most delightful, well-written, heart-stirring, happy ending +story, which will gladden the heart of many a reader."--_Scranton +Times._ + + +=ALYS IN HAPPYLAND.= A Sequel to "Alys-All Alone." By UNA MACDONALD. + + Cloth, 12mo, illustrated $1.50 + +"The book is written with that taste and charm that prepare younger +readers for the appreciation of good literature when they are +older."--_Chicago Tribune._ + + +=THE RED FEATHERS.= By G. E. T. ROBERTS. + + Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"The Red Feathers" tells of the remarkable adventures of an Indian boy +who lived in the Stone Age, many years ago, when the world was young. + + +=FLYING PLOVER.= By G. E. THEODORE ROBERTS. + + Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull $1.00 + +Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who lives alone with +her grandson, "Flying Plover," to whom she tells the stories each +evening. + + +=COMRADES OF THE TRAILS.= By G. E. THEODORE ROBERTS. + + Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull $1.50 + +The story of a fearless young English lad, Dick Ramsey, who, after the +death of his father, crosses the seas and takes up the life of a hunter +in the Canadian forests. + + +=MARCHING WITH MORGAN.= HOW DONALD LOVELL BECAME A SOLDIER OF THE +REVOLUTION. By JOHN V. LANE. + + Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +This is a splendid boy's story of the expedition of Montgomery and +Arnold against Quebec. + + +=RODNEY, THE RANGER= OR, WITH DANIEL MORGAN ON TRAIL AND BATTLEFIELD. +By JOHN V. LANE. + + Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +Young Rodney Allison, although but fifteen years of age, played a man's +part in the troublous times preceding the American Revolution and in +the War itself. + + +=CHINESE PLAYMATES= By NORMAN H. PITMAN. + + Small cloth 12mo, illustrated $1.00 + +A worth-while, happy little story about two little Chinese boys, Lo-Lo +and Ta-Ta, and the strange fortunes that befell them when they wandered +from home. + + +=THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND;= OR, THE ADVENTURES OF ALLAN WEST. By BURTON +E. STEVENSON. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +Mr. Stevenson's hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is given a chance +as a section-hand on a big Western railroad, and whose experiences are +as real as they are thrilling. + + +=THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER.= By BURTON E. STEVENSON. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"A better book for boys has never left an American +press."--_Springfield Union._ + + +=THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER.= By BURTON E. STEVENSON. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for boys in which the +actualities of life are set forth in a practical way could be devised +or written."--_Boston Herald_. + + +=CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER.= By WINN STANDISH. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high-school boy. + + +=JACK LORIMER'S CHAMPIONS;= OR, SPORTS ON LAND AND LAKE. By WINN +STANDISH. + + Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 + +"It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested in athletics, +for it shows him what it means to always 'play fair.'"--_Chicago +Tribune._ + + +=JACK LORIMER'S HOLIDAYS;= OR, MILLVALE HIGH IN CAMP. By WINN STANDISH. + + Illustrated $1.50 + +Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to excite the +healthy minded youngster to emulation. + + +=JACK LORIMER'S SUBSTITUTE=; OR, THE ACTING CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM. By +WINN STANDISH. + + Illustrated $1.50 + +On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wrestling, +tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps than any of its +predecessors. + + + + +THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES + +(Trade Mark) + + Each one vol., 12mo, decorative cover, cloth, with + full-page illustrations in color. Price per volume $0.60 + + +_By MARY HAZELTON WADE unless otherwise indicated_ + + =Our Little African Cousin= + + =Our Little Alaskan Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Arabian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Argentine Cousin= + By Eva Cannon Brooks + + =Our Little Armenian Cousin= + + =Our Little Australian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Belgian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Bohemian Cousin= + By Clara V. Winlow + + =Our Little Brazilian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Canadian Cousin= + By Elizabeth R. Macdonald + + =Our Little Chinese Cousin= + By Isaac Taylor Headland + + =Our Little Cuban Cousin= + + =Our Little Danish Cousin= + By Luna May Innes + + =Our Little Dutch Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Egyptian Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little English Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= + + =Our Little French Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little German Cousin= + + =Our Little Grecian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= + + =Our Little Hindu Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Hungarian Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Indian Cousin= + + =Our Little Irish Cousin= + + =Our Little Italian Cousin= + + =Our Little Japanese Cousin= + + =Our Little Jewish Cousin= + + =Our Little Korean Cousin= + By H. Lee M. Pike + + =Our Little Malayan (Brown) Cousin= + + =Our Little Mexican Cousin= + By Edward C. Butler + + =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= + + =Our Little Panama Cousin= + By H. Lee M. Pike + + =Our Little Persian Cousin= + By E. C. Shedd + + =Our Little Philippine Cousin= + + =Our Little Polish Cousin= + By Florence E. Mendel + + =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= + + =Our Little Portuguese Cousin= + By Edith A. Sawyer + + =Our Little Russian Cousin= + + =Our Little Scotch Cousin= + By Blanche McManus + + =Our Little Siamese Cousin= + + =Our Little Spanish Cousin= + By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet + + =Our Little Swedish Cousin= + By Claire M. Coburn + + =Our Little Swiss Cousin= + + =Our Little Turkish Cousin= + + + + +COSY CORNER SERIES + + It is the intention of the publishers that this + series shall contain only the very highest and purest + literature,--stories that shall not only appeal to the + children themselves, but be appreciated by all those + who feel with them in their joys and sorrows. + + The numerous illustrations in each book are by + well-known artists, and each volume has a separate + attractive cover design. + + Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth $0.50 + + +_By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON_ + + +=THE LITTLE COLONEL= (Trade Mark.) + +The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its heroine is a small +girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, on account of her fancied +resemblance to an old-school Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and +old family are famous in the region. + + +=THE GIANT SCISSORS= + +This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in France. Joyce is a +great friend of the Little Colonel, and in later volumes shares with +her the delightful experiences of the "House Party" and the "Holidays." + + +=TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY= + +WHO WERE THE LITTLE COLONEL'S NEIGHBORS. + +In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an old friend, but +with added grace and charm. She is not, however, the central figure of +the story, that place being taken by the "two little knights." + + +=MILDRED'S INHERITANCE= + +A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who comes to America +and is befriended by a sympathetic American family who are attracted by +her beautiful speaking voice. By means of this one gift she is enabled +to help a school-girl who has temporarily lost the use of her eyes, and +thus finally her life becomes a busy, happy one. + + +=CICELY AND OTHER STORIES FOR GIRLS= + +The readers of Mrs. Johnston's charming juveniles will be glad to learn +of the issue of this volume for young people. + + +=AUNT 'LIZA'S HERO AND OTHER STORIES= + +A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal to all +boys and most girls. + + +=BIG BROTHER= + +A story of two boys. The devotion and care of Stephen, himself a small +boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of the simple tale. + + +=OLE MAMMY'S TORMENT= + +"Ole Mammy's Torment" has been fitly called "a classic of Southern +life." It relates the haps and mishaps of a small negro lad, and tells +how he was led by love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. + + +=THE STORY OF DAGO= + +In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, a pet monkey, +owned jointly by two brothers. Dago tells his own story, and the +account of his haps and mishaps is both interesting and amusing. + + +=THE QUILT THAT JACK BUILT= + +A pleasant little story of a boy's labor of love, and how it changed +the course of his life many years after it was accomplished. + + +=FLIP'S ISLANDS OF PROVIDENCE= + +A story of a boy's life battle, his early defeat, and his final +triumph, well worth the reading. + + +_By EDITH ROBINSON_ + + +=A LITTLE PURITAN'S FIRST CHRISTMAS= + +A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christmas was invented +by Betty Sewall, a typical child of the Puritans, aided by her brother +Sam. + + +=A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY= + +The author introduces this story as follows: + +"One ride is memorable in the early history of the American Revolution, +the well-known ride of Paul Revere. Equally deserving of commendation +is another ride,--the ride of Anthony Severn,--which was no less +historic in its action or memorable in its consequences." + + +=A LOYAL LITTLE MAID= + +A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary days, in which the +child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, renders important services to George +Washington. + + +=A LITTLE PURITAN REBEL= + +This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time when the +gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of Massachusetts. + + +=A LITTLE PURITAN PIONEER= + +The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement at +Charlestown. + + +=A LITTLE PURITAN BOUND GIRL= + +A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great interest to +youthful readers. + + +=A LITTLE PURITAN CAVALIER= + +The story of a "Little Puritan Cavalier" who tried with all his boyish +enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and ideals of the dead Crusaders. + + +=A PURITAN KNIGHT ERRANT= + +The story tells of a young lad in Colonial times who endeavored to +carry out the high ideals of the knights of olden days. + + +_By OUIDA (Louise de la Ramee)_ + + +=A DOG OF FLANDERS= + +A CHRISTMAS STORY + +Too well and favorably known to require description. + + +=THE NURNBERG STOVE= + +This beautiful story has never before been published at a popular price. + + +_By FRANCES MARGARET FOX_ + + +=THE LITTLE GIANT'S NEIGHBOURS= + +A charming nature story of a "little giant" whose neighbors were the +creatures of the field and garden. + + +=FARMER BROWN AND THE BIRDS= + +A little story which teaches children that the birds are man's best +friends. + + +=BETTY OF OLD MACKINAW= + +A charming story of child life. + + +=BROTHER BILLY= + +The story of Betty's brother, and some further adventures of Betty +herself. + + +=MOTHER NATURE'S LITTLE ONES= + +Curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or "childhood," +of the little creatures out-of-doors. + + +=HOW CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE MULVANEYS= + +A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children with an +unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. + + +=THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS= + +Miss Fox has vividly described the happy surprises that made the +occasion so memorable to the Mulvaneys, and the funny things the +children did in their new environment. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Note: Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Our Little Siamese Cousin, by Mary Hazelton Wade + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43908 *** |