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diff --git a/old/54678-0.txt b/old/54678-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6899f6d..0000000 --- a/old/54678-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2781 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Match Man, by Luigi Barzini - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Little Match Man - -Author: Luigi Barzini - -Illustrator: Hattie Longstreet - -Translator: S. F. Woodruff - -Release Date: May 7, 2017 [EBook #54678] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE MATCH MAN *** - - - - -Produced by ellinora, Barbara Magni and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - [Illustration: “I LIKE THIS FUR”] - - - THE LITTLE - MATCH MAN - - _BY_ LUIGI BARZINI - - - _Illustrations by_ - HATTIE LONGSTREET - - - - THE PENN PUBLISHING - COMPANY—PHILADELPHIA - 1917 - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1917 - THE PENN PUBLISHING - COMPANY - - 1917 - - The Little Match Man - - - - - THE LITTLE MATCH MAN - - _Translated from the Italian of Luigi Barzini - by S. F. Woodruff_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I. MY SURPRISE 11 - II. THE FIRST ADVENTURE 19 - III. HE CONFIDES IN ME 27 - IV. ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE 33 - V. THE HAJI SAVES THE WARRIOR 43 - VI. THE SAD STORY OF THE TRANSFORMATION 51 - VII. THE END OF FIAM’S FEARS 59 - VIII. FIAM GOES TO THE WAR 67 - IX. POSTAGE STAMPS 73 - X. FIAMMIFERINO HAS A BATH 83 - XI. A CURIOUS COSTUME 91 - XII. FIAM AS A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER 97 - XIII. A CHANGE OF RESIDENCE 103 - XIV. FIAM OVERLOOKS THE BATTLE 109 - XV. FIAM WEARS A FUR COAT 115 - XVI. FIAM’S SILVER ARMOUR 123 - XVII. A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER 129 - XVIII. I AM ENTRUSTED WITH A DELICATE MISSION 137 - XIX. THE EFFECT OF FIAM’S FORESIGHT 143 - XX. FIAM GOES FORTH 149 - XXI. THE ZEAL OF DR. TASA 159 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - “I Like This Fur” _Frontispiece_ - The Little Man Moved 16 - “Look at Me!” 22 - “The Knot is Loose” 24 - “You Are Right,” He Said 30 - “My Friend the Stork Arrived” 36 - “I Must Conquer or Cease to Live” 46 - “You Will Be Adored” 48 - “They Took Me First Into the Valley” 56 - He Read What I Wrote 64 - Going Down From Button to Button 70 - He Hurried Under My Waistcoat 75 - He Walked Over Them 80 - Fiam Began to Dance 87 - He Leaned Over 87 - I Raised Him Up 88 - Fiam Falls In 89 - He Was Dreadfully Humiliated 95 - “It Was a Long Tunnel” 101 - I Found Him a Good Place 107 - “Bravo, Advance!” 112 - “Who is Winning?” 112 - He Was Lying There Immovable 119 - How Proud He Was 125 - He Began to Caper 126 - “I Will Tell You an Important Secret” 140 - “Don’t Lose Time” 154 - I Put Him on the Ground 157 - - - - - [Illustration: THE LITTLE MATCH MAN—My Surprise] - - - - -CHAPTER I - -MY SURPRISE - - -I am going to tell you something that you must never tell any one. -Stupid people wouldn’t believe it, anyway; and there are so many stupid -people that I should seem like the greatest fibber in the world. But if -you will keep still I will confide in you. - -Once on a time, I was in Japan in a city called Takoshima. It rained -buckets full. I was thoroughly disgusted, and not being able to walk -about the streets, decorated with lanterns and weathercocks, and -through the gardens full of flowers, I had to stay shut up in a little -room sitting on the floor, for in Japan they don’t use chairs. - -I kept yawning like a dog in front of a fire. - -Trying to forget how tedious it was I began to poke into all the -corners of the room, hoping to discover something with which to amuse -myself. After a thorough search, all I found was a box of matches. For -lack of anything else to do they might help me to pass the time, as -I could place them in all sorts of positions, and make any number of -interesting designs. - -In the box, however, there were only three, and you know with three -matches even a genius can’t make anything but a triangle, the simplest -of all the figures in geometry. - -After all, I might try to make a little man. I had learned that game -long ago when I wore short trousers and went to school, and always had -my pockets stuffed full of marbles, pens, peach stones, buttons, twine -and other precious things—sometimes even matches. - -With patience and a little string I used to tie them together and -make arms and legs, and so transform them into a very slim person that -seemed to me altogether lovely. - -I began to work, and in a quarter of an hour the three matches had -become the little man that I remembered; and I can assure you, he still -looked to me extremely fine. - -First he was very bold, with arms and legs stretched out in the -position of a fierce warrior. Then I changed him into a calm and -civilized person, and made him sit down on his box, and then began to -hold an old time conversation with him. - -“Good-morning, little match[1]; how are you?” - - [1] “Fiammiferino,” in Italian. - -I suppose that you are surprised that a man of my age could still -amuse himself with this game. But you know a man is always a boy when -he is all by himself and lonely. If you look over the manuscripts of -illustrious scientists and celebrated writers, you will see here and -there the same kind of scribbling and the same little drawings that -they made in their copy books when they were boys and didn’t want to -write their compositions. - -The little match naturally greeted my advances with dignified silence. -When I was young and talked to my toys, I made up their answers too, -and so it was possible to hold long and animated discussions. But in -these days my imagination is worn out. After a few minutes, my little -man looked to me like nothing but a match, and I thought I had better -use him in the way I was accustomed to. I put a cigarette in my mouth -and holding out my hand I said to him: - -“Dear little match, I will now strike your head and....” - -But I got no further. The little man moved, and falling on his knees -held out his hands as if in prayer. - -I was very much surprised, and examined him carefully on every side. -I had made a great many little men just like him, but I had never seen -any one of them move by himself. I looked to see if there was anywhere -a bit of string that I had pulled without meaning to. But no, I found -nothing. The little man remained quite still in his new position, until -at last I was reassured. I thought the jar of some one passing outside, -or a puff of air had thrown him from the box, he was so slim and light. -I sat him up again and watched him closely. - -After a few minutes I saw distinctly that he moved himself. For some -time he trembled very slightly, then he held out his arms, and slowly -rose to his feet. I could hear a tiny voice, which seemed to come from -him, but it was so feeble that compared with it the voice of a cricket -would sound like a trombone. - - - - - [Illustration: The First Adventure] - -CHAPTER II - -THE FIRST ADVENTURE - - -I leaned toward him, so that I almost touched I him with my ear and, -still uncertain, I said to him: - -“Did you speak?” - -“Yes,” said the voice, about as loud as a needle piercing a cork. - -“What did you say?” I asked. - -“I was so afraid you might burn me up.” - -I was stupefied. You understand why. It was all so unexpected. I didn’t -in the least know what to say to him, but the idea of a match that was -afraid of being burned up made me laugh. - -“Don’t laugh,” he exclaimed. “I am a Haji.” - -“A Haji!” I repeated. - -“Yes, I was the Haji of an old willow.” - -Ah! now I understood. Everything was explained. Certain trees in Japan -are inhabited by Genii which are like our fairies, and are called Haji. -Only we have no more fairies, and Hajis still exist, because Japan -is much younger than our countries. When a country grows old it loses -all its fairies, magicians and incantations. But how could a Haji ever -leave his woods, and his flowers, and become a match, with the risk of -being destroyed to light the cigarette of a foreigner? - -“Why are you here?” I asked. - -“Oh, I lived so happily for two hundred and fifty years on the mountain -Karniyama in the province of Noto! Now they have cut down the woods up -there.” - -“Why?” - -“Judging from the conversations I overheard, they needed the wood for -railroads. From the soft wood of trees like me they made matches. Look -at all that remains of my beautiful willow! Look at me! Just to think, -I once had branches ten arms long; and with my roots I could drink from -the fountain of Tashira, which was fifty feet away.” - -“What shall I call you, poor Haji?” I asked impetuously. - -“Call me by the name you have already given me.” - -“Fiammiferino?” - -“Yes, Fiammiferino.” - -“Let’s say Fiam then, for short.” - -With this he put out the little sticks of which his arms were made, and -caressed the lobe of my ear and asked timidly: - -“You are my friend, aren’t you?” - -“Certainly,” I replied, much moved. - -“You won’t burn me, will you?” - -“Never.” - -“If you take care of me, I will live with you, and serve you—and I am -able to.” - -“Yes, I will take care of you.” - -“I was powerful, respected, and venerated in the woods. I had a -beautiful voice, and sang when the wind swayed my branches. Now I am so -different—but I can be useful to you and help you. I know many things. -I can see a long distance, and I know the world, and can give you -advice and information, and tell you old stories when you are sad. I -promise to be affectionate and faithful. Now I will try to walk.” - -With a stiff step and unsteadily, as if he were walking on stilts, -Fiam took a trip around the room and then returned and climbed up on my -knee. - -“Is it all right?” I asked. - -“Tighten up the joint of the left leg. The knot is loose so the leg is -trembly.” - -With the help of my teeth I tightened the knot, and placed Fiam on the -floor. He tried again, and this time stepped more quickly and steadily. - -“Thank you,” he said to me, as he came back. “Now, listen to me. You -must carry me always with you; you must never leave me; you must never -give me to any one else.” - -“Don’t be afraid. I shall put you in your little box. That will be your -home. Does it please you?” - -“Yes, although I have suffered so much in there, constantly afraid of -being put to death. If I hadn’t been found by you....” - -“Thank you, my friend.” - -“And when you put me in there wrap up my head in cotton; have you any?” - -“No. Let me see; wait. I will take some from the quilt. Will that be -all right?” - -“Yes; I’m so afraid of taking fire, you see. Imagine how scared you -would be if your head were covered with phosphorus like mine.” - -“Don’t speak of it. I can imagine it very well. It makes me shudder to -think of it.” - -“Look out for fire, then. Don’t mix me up with others; I mean with -ordinary matches. Never smoke in my presence.” - -“No, no, I promise you, I won’t.” - -“Now put me away; I need a little rest. All this has made me tired. -Good-night.” - -“Good-night, little match.” - -I covered his head with a tuft of cotton which I took from the quilt on -my bed, and placed my friend in the wooden box, on which was printed -the picture of a dragon surrounded by Chinese words which meant -“Matches made in Sweden.” - - - - - [Illustration: He Confides in Me] - -CHAPTER III - -HE CONFIDES IN ME - - -In this way I came to have a new companion and dear confidant with -whom I lived happily for many months. I soon became accustomed to him, -but I must own to you that during the first two or three days, when I -wasn’t looking at him, I still thought it all a dream. As soon as I had -put him to rest I went to sleep myself (the noise of the rain was so -soothing), and when I awoke I was so sure that Fiam was a dream that I -forgot him entirely. But the little boy was near me on the floor and -before long I heard rapid tapping on the thin wooden sides. Fiam was -knocking. - -I opened his prison, and out he came. He took the cotton from his head -carefully, so as not to break the phosphorus, and sat down on top of a -slipper that was near him. - -“Glad to see you,” I said. - -“Thank you,” he replied in his feeble voice. - -As I leaned toward him he shouted at me: - -“Put me on your white wall; we can talk then more easily.” - -“What wall?” I asked, looking all around me. “I don’t see any.” - -“I mean the battlement that defends your neck. Put me on top of that. I -shall be near your ear.” - -Then I understood what the little match meant. The walls of the -Japanese fortresses are painted white, and he had taken my collar for -a bulwark to defend my neck. I explained, and put him astride of the -collar. - -“You are right,” he said to me as he sat serenely on the edge. “I find -now that it isn’t a wall. But you see I don’t know what is little and -what is big. I am so small myself that I can’t make things out. You -seem to me larger than Fuji-Yama, the sacred mountain.” - -We began to chat. He talked so well that I listened enchanted. I -already loved him. It gave me pleasure to feel on my neck the light -touch of his little leg and the caress of his wooden arms on my ear -calling my attention when he had something important to tell me. This -little trick of his was the cause of some unfortunate incidents. - -Occasionally when I was absent-minded and thinking of something else, I -would feel my ear being tickled and I would wave my hand as if brushing -away an insect, and that would throw poor Fiam to the floor from a -height that was really dangerous to him. - -That first day, sitting astride the “battlement,” he gave me some -confidences. He told about his past so sorrowfully that it made me very -sad. It was the only time Fiam ever entertained me with the story of -his life in the tree; but if I should live a thousand years I could -never forget a single word of it. - - - - - [Illustration: About a Stork and a Battle] - -CHAPTER IV - -ABOUT A STORK AND A BATTLE - - -This is what he told me. - -“My father was the geni of a maple tree. My mother was the spirit of -a birch tree. They died of old age when their trees withered. I was -lively and vigorous. My tree was the first one to get its leaves in the -spring and the last one to lose them in the autumn. I always tried to -be faithful, and after a hundred years I hadn’t a single dry branch, so -attentive had I been in keeping my tree in good condition.” - -“Isn’t it tiresome to be a tree and always stay still and be quiet?” I -interrupted. - -“Oh, no. I played with the wind, which would swing my branches, and -I amused myself with the birds that came to me by the hundreds, and -made their nests among my leaves. I was just a hundred and fifty years -old when the quiet of the woods was broken by a great event. But I am -afraid I am tiring you.” - -“No, no, go on, please tell me.” - -“Listen, then. One evening in May, a wonderful evening, my friend -the stork arrived. He was always traveling around, and when he passed -by the mountain Hamiyama he never failed to rest himself on my third -branch toward the east. He was called To. He brought a lot of news from -the other mountains and from the plains across which he had flown in -his travels. This evening while he was still far off, he stopped in the -air, poising on his wings, and looking about for his favorite branch -began to cry, ‘Mikara! terrible things are happening. It is a miracle -that I am still alive.’ - -“‘What is the matter?’ I asked. - -“He sat down, arranging the feathers on his breast, smoothing them with -his beak, and all out of breath replied, ‘Horrors, I have escaped from -the midst of a cloud of arrows which flew hissing about me. Brrrr...!’” - -Fiam paused, absorbed in his thoughts. Anxious to hear the rest, I said -earnestly: - -“And who shot the arrows?” - -“Exactly the question I asked To. - -“‘Who? The men!’ replied To. ‘The valley is full of soldiers, who are -fighting with bows and arrows, with lances and spears. There is war! -They are killing each other; they pursue, they shout, they gallop on -horseback; they are covered with shining armour. A great castle is -burning, and all around the ground is covered with the dead. Listen,’ -added To, as he scratched his head with one of his long claws, as he -always did when he was thinking. ‘I must leave you. Don’t be offended -if I don’t pass the night with you. I must go farther on. Not that I -am afraid, you know, quite otherwise, but it is best to be careful. -Lances and spears don’t frighten me, but arrows—you never know. Adieu, -Mikara,’ and he drew in his claws and stretched his wings and swept -away into the air just like an arrow himself, without giving me time to -say good-bye. He said he wasn’t afraid, but really he was trembling. -Never believe in the courage of any one who boasts of not being -afraid.” - -“And weren’t you afraid?” I asked Fiam. - -“To tell the truth, I wasn’t any too brave. I kept thinking about -the castle on fire. My father had often told me, when I was a little -tree, that in war men burned the woods in order to drive out the -enemy. If the war came near me and the woods were burned, poor me! -You can imagine how anxiously I waited. I listened all night. When the -wind blew I held my branches still so they wouldn’t make a noise. At -midnight a cuckoo came. As he was a good friend I begged him to keep -quiet. - -“‘I can’t,’ he said; ‘it is my duty to call “Cuckoo, cuckoo” a thousand -times every night. That is my work. But if it will give you any -pleasure I will go to another part of the mountain,’ and so he did. The -night passed peacefully. The dawn came, and then....” - -“I beg of you, don’t stop. What happened at dawn?” - -“At dawn I heard some noises here and there. I raised my leaves to -listen better and heard the sound of animals in flight. - -“I waited to see some of them and to ask questions, and pretty soon -out of a hole came a family of boars; father, mother and two sons. I -didn’t love wild boars; they are worthless and badly educated beasts -that often came around to clean their tusks on my trunk, stripping off -all my bark, but this time I forgot all about my hatred and tried to -welcome them by holding out a branch. The father boar tore off some -leaves and went on without even saying thank you, and all the family -followed grunting. - -“By good luck, soon after, a roebuck came along. ‘What is happening?’ I -whispered to him. He turned panting, and held up one ear, all anxiety, -and replied: - -“‘They are coming here.’ - -“‘Who?’ - -“‘Armed men,’ he said and scampered away. - -“‘And I must stay here,’ I thought.” - -“Poor little match man!” - -“Oh, yes. If I had only been able to fly. Even a mosquito can defend -himself, but a willow, even if he is large and has lived a hundred and -fifty years, can’t protect himself from any peril. It is terrible!” - -“Indeed it is.” - -“But to go on. Not long after I heard a cautious step and a -rustling among the shrubs. My leaves shivered all over when I saw -approaching—guess what!” - -“A ferocious wild beast.” - -“Worse! I saw a man coming. - -“‘This is the first,’ I said to myself. ‘Now others will come—they will -set fire to the woods, and I shall die tortured in the flames.’ And my -leaves shook even harder, as if there had been I don’t know what kind -of a wind. - -“But no more men came, and I began to calm myself and to look about -coolly. This man was very handsome, and dressed all in silver armour. -He was so exhausted he could hardly walk. It seemed to me he left drops -of blood behind him. He breathed hard. He stumbled over tufts of grass, -he fell and rose again and went on staggering. Where he fell the grass -was covered with blood. I am telling the truth when I say I forgot my -own danger, I was so full of pity for him.” - -“Good for you, Fiam!” - -“At last he fell, close to my trunk. I looked at him. He was very -young. The armour on his breast was broken. He took off his helmet, -which was tied with a red cord under his chin, and laid his head -against me to rest better. The sun had risen and I gave some shade to -the wounded man. Some time passed, but I don’t know how long it was -when I heard a distant noise.” - -“Was it the others?” - -“Wait. I heard the sound of arms, of steps, of voices. Little by little -the tumult drew nearer. It came from all sides. It filled the woods. -And the young warrior also heard it. He rose slowly to his feet, and -stood immovable, leaning against me listening. - -“Suddenly a voice shouted, ‘Haiya, Hay!’ a kind of hurrah. A hundred -voices from every side called ‘Haiya!’ and the first said, ‘Come, I -have found traces of his blood! Let us follow it! Hay!’ - -“The other voices howled, ‘Haiya’ with so much eagerness and -satisfaction that I thought they were all friends and followers of this -unfortunate young man, happy to find him to save him, and care for him. -So little did I know about men.” - -“And weren’t they friends?” - -“Far from it! The first voice said, ‘He can’t escape us any longer! He -is our prisoner!’ The others echoed, ‘He is ours. Haiya!’ They were -enemies looking for him, do you understand? He heard them. He knelt -down and bowed his head calling on Amaterasu, the god of the sun, the -god who made Japan. Then he took off his armour and bared his chest, -which was covered with blood, and put his hand to his side to find the -hilt of his sword. I saw at once that he didn’t wish to fall alive into -the hands of his enemies, and I decided to save him.” - - - - - [Illustration: The Haji Saves the Warrior] - -CHAPTER V - -THE HAJI SAVES THE WARRIOR - - -I was so astonished at what Fiammiferino said that I threw up my hand -in amazement, and came near sending him flying with his legs in the -air. - -“You,” I cried. “How could you save him?” - -“I twisted the end of one of my branches around the hilt of his sword -to attract his attention, and then I spoke to him.” - -“How could you speak to him?” - -“You know each Haji is allowed to reveal himself three times during his -life. This was my first time. I whispered: - -“‘Wait.’ - -“The young man turned and bowing politely exclaimed, ‘Honorable Willow! -may you live ten thousand years! I perceive that you are a Haji and my -friend, although I have done nothing to deserve your kindness. Thank -you for it, but you must let me die. You know what a disgrace it would -be for a soldier to fall alive into the hands of his enemies. I must -conquer or cease to live. You would not wish to have me dishonored.’ - -“I replied: ‘I desire above all things your honorable salvation. Keep -near my trunk and don’t move.’ - -“He obeyed, and I surrounded him with branches, covering him all over -with leaves, and interlacing my boughs in a tangle so thick that it -would have been impossible to see him or get at him without first -chopping off every branch with a hatchet.” - -“How about the enemies?” - -“Well, the enemies arrived. There were ever so many and all around. -They brandished their glistening swords and lances, and shouted, ‘He -is here, he is here.’ Guided by the drops of blood, they came directly -to me. I must confess I was frightened, not for myself but for him. I -strained every joint as much as I could and looked around. The one who -seemed to be the leader pointed to me with his sword and said: - -“‘The tracks of blood end here, but he can’t be hidden in this thicket; -not even a bird could get through it. It isn’t possible for him to be -here; we must look somewhere else.’ And the disorderly crowd walked off -among the stubble and scrubbly trees thrusting their swords here and -there as if they were after game.” - -“So the warrior was saved.” - -“Yes, I saved him. I raised my branches and showed him the fountain -of Tashira, in which he could bathe his wounds, and told him where -he could find some healing fruit. He stayed near me for two days. At -night he slept at the foot of my trunk. When I heard suspicious noises -I called him and put my branches around him as a mother would do to a -child. The third day he said to me, bowing low: - -“‘Generous and beloved willow, I must leave you. I am a prince; my name -is Funato. My enemy has attacked me with his army, burned my castle and -confiscated my property. But I must return to my people and save them -from further perils. I must protect them. I shall never forget what I -owe to you. You will be adored by me and my people as long as we have -life.’ And dressed in his armour, his helmet on his head, his sword at -his belt, he walked away, turning every few steps to look back as long -as he could see me.” - -“And you?” - -“I waved my branches to salute him, and from far away he could see me -swaying and bowing. No tempest ever shook me so hard. I was very sad -and not ashamed to weep.” - -“Dear little Fiam; and have you ever seen him again?” - -“Yes, listen. Exactly a year later, the stork who always stopped to -rest on my branch passed by again. - -“‘How are things going?’ I asked him. - -“‘I am in a hurry,’ he answered, scratching his head. - - [Illustration: “YOU WILL BE ADORED”] - -“‘Oh, oh!’ I observed. ‘Arrows in the air?’ - -“‘Not yet,’ he exclaimed, ‘but there are armed men near here. I am -obliged to look after some business. Good-bye,’ and he flew away. - -“There were really men in arms in the vicinity. Imagine my surprise -when I saw Prince Funato appear at the head of his soldiers and a great -number of servants all dressed in holiday clothes. They surrounded me, -they saluted me, they knelt about me, they burned incense to me under -my branches. They had brought food and saki, which is their wine made -of rice. For two days they had a great festival. Beautiful songs were -sung in my honor by their musicians. They poured saki on my trunk. I -drank so much that I wanted to dance, and to tell the truth, if I could -have walked I am afraid I should have reeled. Fortunately I was a tree -and no one discovered my condition. On the third day they returned to -the valley.” - - - - - [Illustration: The Sad Story of the Transformation] - -CHAPTER VI - -THE SAD STORY OF THE TRANSFORMATION - - -I soon learned to feel so much affection and admiration for Fiam that -even now I never light a match without thinking of him. - -“Was that the end?” I asked him. - -“No; every year at that date in May there was a festival in the wood. -You see, I had become a god to these people; they adored me. But as the -years passed the festival grew very sad. The men became old. The army -dwindled away. The musicians lost their voices, and each year the songs -were slower and feebler. Prince Funato’s hair turned white, then his -back was bent, then he came up the mountain leaning on a cane, then he -was carried on a litter, and then he came no more. - -“The first year his followers returned without him; they wept as they -burned incense under my boughs. Funato was dead. From that time the -pilgrimage was more and more melancholy. - -“Fifty years after the battle there were left only one musician, two -servants and nine soldiers. At the end of another year, that day in -May, only one man came. He looked as if he were a hundred years old. He -could hardly drag himself along. He laid his wrinkled forehead against -me and murmured: - -“‘Honorable Willow, we shall never meet again.’ - -“After that I saw no one; I was forgotten. How could I tell what -men were doing in the valley? But I am tiring you with all these old -memories.” - -“Fiam!” I exclaimed, after a few minutes of silence, “I not only love -you, but respect you. You have done some beautiful things in your -life.” - -“But think what I have come to be—a match!” - -“Tell me how it happened.” - -“Well, some years passed; then one day I heard voices and the sound of -axes in the woods, and I saw that companies of men were chopping down -the trees. This work lasted for months. Near me there was another Haji -living in a beautiful elm half-way up the mountain. One evening I heard -the crash of a great tree falling, and in the midst of the noise I -could hear the voice of my friend, who called out to me: - -“‘Farewell, Mikara.’ - -“I looked over the tops of the trees. He was gone, and I never saw him -again. The next morning a man passed near me, looked at me and, with -a brush soaked in paint as red as blood, he made on my trunk the words -that mean, ‘To be cut down.’ - -“I shook my bark in the way horses shake their skins to drive away -flies, hoping to make those horrible words drop off, but I didn’t -succeed. Some days later a group of ragged men arrived with axes; they -read the words and fell upon me.” - -“And what did you do?” - -“I? In that moment of danger I revealed myself for the second time. You -know, I told you that Hajis could make themselves known three times. I -shouted, ‘Stop!’” - -“And did they?” - -“Yes, for an instant. They listened and I repeated, ‘Stop!’ They -laughed and said it was an echo. I don’t know what sort of a thing an -echo is. Once on a time when we heard a voice in the wood we all knew -it was a Haji speaking. Now they say: ‘It is an echo,’ and laugh.” - -“And they cut you down?” - -“Yes, indeed, they cut me down. They worked a whole day. They took me -first into the valley; next I felt myself carried quickly by a monster -that spit fire.” - -“The train.” - -“Call it that, if you like. I was taken into a great house where there -was another monster that cut the trees in sheets.” - -“A sawmill.” - -“Call it that if you like. I was cut into eight hundred parts, and -each part was caught by iron jaws, swallowed and spit out, turned -into thousands and thousands of little sticks, all exactly alike. -A real army of sticks, whole regiments, were put at one time into a -suffocating bath, from which they came out with phosphorus heads. - -“At last they were shut up in little boxes, and then they were piled in -pyramids in an immense room.” - -“A store.” - -“Call it that if you like.” - -“And what became of you?” - -“You know that a Haji before dying can take refuge in whatever part of -the tree still remains. So I passed from box to box. As the boxes were -packed in larger boxes and carried away, I went from one to another of -those that remained. - -“At last the pyramid became very small; only a hundred and forty-four -boxes were left. They were all put together and I was carried to this -city. The boxes were sold one by one. I lived in the last, in this one -where you found me. All this time I had before me the picture of the -frightful end that awaited me. At first when I realized that my power, -my peace and happiness were over, I supposed I should still live, so -imagine my terror when.... It makes me crazy to think of it.” - - - - - [Illustration: The End of Fiam’s Fears] - -CHAPTER VII - -THE END OF FIAM’S FEARS - - -“Poor little thing!” I exclaimed. “Do tell me more.” - -I was anxious to hear the end of this story, with which I had -sympathized so much. - -“Well, then at last even my box was sold. I don’t know whether it was -daytime or night, for shut up in there I knew nothing about time. I -felt myself all shaken up; a little later the box was opened and two -big fingers fumbled around inside and rudely grasped one of the sticks, -which in this last store I had heard called matches. Then: tric, trac! -the head of the stick was struck violently against the side of the box -and ffroo! it burned. I jumped with horror and waited anxiously as the -little stick was consumed by its own flame between the big fingers. I -understood everything at once. This was my destiny!” - -“You suffered horribly, eh?” - -“Oh! I passed days and nights in agony. Every four or five hours the -box was opened and one of my matches was taken out to its death. Each -time I hid among the lower sticks till, at last, there remained only -three. I resigned myself to my dreadful end and began to count the -hours of my life. By this time I knew that all my tree, my beautiful -tree, with branches ten arms long, was all burned, fibre by fibre, and -had absolutely vanished. It was no use to struggle.” - -“Why didn’t you try flight?” - -“How? What could I do? How could I open the box? And if it was open -how could I fly without legs? If I had only had these legs that you -have made for me! But enough of that! By chance the box was forgotten -and laid where you found me. And you have saved me. I am your faithful -servant forever. To you I am revealing myself for the third and last -time.” - -“Fiam, you are my dearest friend.” - -“Do you know what the most evil thing in the world is?” - -“No; what?” - -“Those monsters that cut, and split and destroy and change, those new -monsters that once didn’t even exist.” - -“The machines?” - -“Call them that if you like. They are merciless. They devour the -most sacred and ancient beings to make things to sell. They respect -nothing.” - -“But, my friend, you are not able to judge.” - -Fiammiferino pinched my ear furiously and howled in a voice that -sounded like a whistle, it was so loud and shrill: - -“Don’t contradict me. You must be careful, you know, for if you make me -angry I may take fire.” - -I quieted him, talking as gently as I could. I was sorry he had such an -inflammable temper, but I suppose the phosphorus was largely to blame. - -I can’t tell you how many other intimate conversations I had with Fiam. -When we were alone he always sat astride of my collar, and I usually -let him sit there when I was working and writing. I must tell you that -he gave me excellent advice, made suggestions, and explained Japanese -affairs to me. I shall even have to own that more than once my success -as a journalist at this time was due entirely to Fiam, but for pity’s -sake don’t mention it to any one. - -He often left his post of observation on the battlement, and came down -onto my necktie, which he called “the silk waterfall.” There he read -what I wrote and gave me his opinion with a frankness that would have -made me very angry if I hadn’t been so fond of him. Sometimes in the -midst of a sentence I would hear his little voice shrieking: - -“Oh, what stupidity! What have you written? Throw it away. I can’t -understand a word of it.” - -At this interruption I would stop writing and say: - -“What is that?” - -And he would go on: “Rub out that nonsense. I will tell you what to -say, and you can put quotation marks.” - -“Don’t you want to sign it, too?” I asked, laughing. - -But I agreed to what he proposed, and was always satisfied with what he -did. In the end I accepted his services absolutely. - -“Fiam,” I would sometimes say, “I am tired. I don’t feel like thinking. -Tell me what to write.” - -And he would shout at me: “Lazy fellow, if I weren’t here what would -you do? Well, just this once” ... and he would dictate page after page. - -Dear little Fiam, how good he was! - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam Goes to the War] - -CHAPTER VIII - -FIAM GOES TO THE WAR - - -Fiam had been with me about a month when I was ordered to go to the war. - -You know, this was just the time when a great war had broken out -between Japan and another empire, and I was ordered to go out and -describe what I saw there. While writing up the important events that -sent two armies to the front I couldn’t stop to narrate the adventures -of my little friend, and so I never put a word about Fiam in any of my -writings. Besides, grown people are so incredulous! - -The war took place in a part of China called Manchuria. In order to get -there you have first to travel by railroad to a seaport, then on a ship -to China, then on horseback or afoot, crossing plains and mountains for -about a hundred miles, and so to the field of battle. - -In telling his story Fiam had shown so much fear of war that I hadn’t -dared to tell him where we were going. He fairly flooded me with -questions. - -“Why do we travel so much?” he asked me one day in the train when I -had put him up on my collar so that he could see the country out of -the window. I made him look at it well so that he could give me a -description of it, as, in fact, he did. - -“We are traveling to amuse ourselves,” I replied. - -“Beautiful amusement,” he grumbled, “to be carried by this monster -spitting out smoke. It seems to me like going back to that great -house where I was split up and cut to pieces. Look up there,” he added -after a few moments. “What lovely country! See the roof of that temple -through the trees, and that wonderful field of flowers. Let us stop -here.” - -“We can’t.” - -“Why not, if we are traveling to amuse ourselves?” - -“Yes, but the amusement will come further on.” - -Fiam gave a soft whistle—it was his way of sighing. Then he crept down -on my shirt to find the silk waterfall and rest a while in a fold; but -he couldn’t find any tie. I was wearing a kind of uniform similar to -that of the soldiers. - -“Why are you dressed this way?” he asked in a surprised tone, tapping -me on my chin. - -“It is the fashion in my country.” - -He whistled again, and going down from button to button he reached my -knees. - -“Why do you wear these great boots?” he said, looking down at my feet, -stretching himself out cautiously as if he were an Alpine climber -hanging over a precipice. - -“It is the fashion in my country.” - - - - - [Illustration: Postage Stamps] - -CHAPTER IX - -POSTAGE STAMPS - - -The train stopped at a large station. A dozen officers entered the car -all talking, threw their bags into their racks, took off their swords -and placed them near the window, seated themselves and lighted their -cigarettes. There was a perfect slaughter of matches. Poor Fiam was -so frightened that he hurried under my waistcoat and, creeping near a -buttonhole, hid his head under a button. - -Outside of the train there was the noise of a great crowd. We could -hear the tread of the troops as they went to their places in the cars -prepared for them. We heard shouted commands, the rattle of cartridges -in their boxes at the belts of the soldiers, and the guns dropping -to the ground all at once sounded like falling iron. In the distance -hundreds of people kept shrieking and repeating: “Sayonara!” which -means good-bye. “Banzai,” hurrah. “Come back victorious! Destroy the -enemy! Glory!” and other similar cries. - -One of the officers in my compartment asked: - -“What are we waiting for?” - -“They are attaching the cars of guns,” replied another. - -“There will be lots of guns needed in this war!” exclaimed a third. - -“It is going to be the greatest war of our country,” a fourth added -complacently. - -Some one began to hum a tune. The others joined in the chorus. The -train started. I felt Fiam, who had taken his head from under the -button, climb along the waistcoat and crawl into his little box, which -was in an inside pocket. The box had been used so much that it was all -broken on one side, so that Fiam had learned to come and go through the -hole by himself. - -He didn’t appear until late at night, when every one was asleep, -swaying with the motion of the train, and the car only dimly lighted -by a covered lamp. I was awakened by his little voice. He had climbed -up on my shoulder near my ear and was calling to me. In the dazed -condition of a person half awake I thought it was the singing of a -mosquito and put up my hand to catch him. - -“It is I,” he said. “I am Fiammiferino.” - -“Oh! good-morning. Aren’t you asleep?” - -“No, I never sleep. I am not a man.” - -“Then if you will excuse me, allow me to sleep. I am a man.” - -“First tell me—from the conversation I have overheard I judge there is -war; is it true?” - -“Yes, perfectly true.” - -“And are we going there?” - -“Does it displease you?” - -“No, but it displeases me that you haven’t been frank with me. Am I not -your friend?” - -“I believe so.” - -“Well, I forgive you; don’t say anything more. I will go anywhere with -you. They talked of war in my country. If I could only do something to -help them to conquer.” - -“You!” I exclaimed laughing. “Then aren’t you afraid?” - -“No. I am afraid of nothing but fire; and you will protect me.” - -“Yes, of course.” - -“And you will always tell me the truth?” - -“I promise you.” - -“That’s all. Good-night.” - -I could have kissed him if it were only possible to kiss a match. -He disappeared. At that moment some one shook me. It was one of the -officers who looked into my eyes. - -“Are you awake?” he asked me. - -“Yes,” I replied, sitting up. - -“Are you feeling sick? I am the army surgeon; my name is Tasa. Let me -feel your pulse.” - -“But I am perfectly well.” - -“No, you are talking to yourself, and must have something the matter -with your head.” - -“I assure you I am perfectly well.” - -“Show me your tongue.” - -“Not if I know myself,” I replied irritated. - -“All right,” concluded Dr. Tasa; “calm yourself. I see you are armed. I -think it would be best for you to give me your revolver, and for you to -put a little ice on your head.” - -“But I am not in the least crazy.” - -“Well, well,” and his little yellow face wrinkled up as if to say, “Who -knows?” - -“I wasn’t talking to myself,” I said in order to convince him. - -“With whom were you talking?” - -“With Fiam....” I didn’t finish, for I remembered my promise not to -reveal his presence to any one. - -“Humph, humph!” He shook his head and murmured, “Quiet yourself, -and don’t think anything more about Fiam. Go to sleep; we shall see -to-morrow.” - -The next morning I pretended to leave the train, and changed cars in -order to escape the watchfulness of Dr. Tasa. - -The journey went on without incident. I didn’t dare to have Fiam come -out during the day, as I was never alone. But at night he took a walk -on my shoulders, and we held whispered conversations. - -On board the steamer on our way to China we had more liberty, and -often conferred together. After our work was put away in an envelope, -Fiammiferino began looking for a postage stamp in the depths of the -portfolio. He went in and traveled all about the leather, explored the -little pockets, and came out with amazing dexterity. He had a passion -for putting on postage stamps after I had wet them. He walked over -them, carefully pressing the edges flat with his feet to be sure they -would stick fast to the envelope; when he had finished this operation, -which he did as carefully as an upholsterer laying a carpet, he always -danced a ballet to express his satisfaction in his completed work. - - - - - [Illustration: Fiammiferino Has a Bath] - -CHAPTER X - -FIAMMIFERINO HAS A BATH - - -One evening—it was the night before we were to land—the officers with -us were polishing their swords, trying to make them like mirrors. In -order to enjoy themselves while they worked they had had saki brought, -and invited me to drink with them. As they drank they sang. Then they -put their swords in their scabbards and went to sleep. I was about to -follow their example when I felt Fiam moving. - -He had come out of his box, and was walking energetically about on my -chest. I unbuttoned a button on my waistcoat and called to him: “Fiam!” -I forgot to tell you that sometimes he didn’t like this nickname that -I had adopted. He felt as if he had lost half his name, and would show -his disapproval by completing the word. - -“Fiam!” - -“Miferino!” he added. - -“What do you want?” - -“What do I want?” he replied excitingly, stepping outside with an -agility I had never observed in him before. “What do I want? How -delightful! I smell saki, and you left me shut up in the box.” - -“Well, what of it?” - -“Saki, sakii, sakiii,” he began to sing, dancing around on my shoulder. - -He was beside himself with excitement. - -“Be careful,” I said, “or you will fall off.” I had never seen him so -lively. - -If Fiam had one fault it was that of being melancholy. Sometimes I -scolded him for it. - -“In this world you must be resigned,” I would say. “It is true you -are no longer a beautiful willow in the woods, and I am sorry for you, -but that is no reason for being so sad, and for grumbling all the time -about everything and everybody.” - - [Illustration: FIAM BEGAN TO DANCE] - -“But you don’t understand, my good friend,” he said now, “that the odor -of saki, this delicious perfume, reminds me of the most delightful time -of my life. When Prince Funato came with his court every year they -poured saki on my trunk. I loved it. It made me want to dance. It is -more than a hundred years since I smelled this marvelous odor. I beg -you to put me near the cup.” - -I did so. The cup of saki from which I had drunk was as small as a -doll’s cup. It was beautiful blue china with white dragons and was -still half full of the good warm liquor which was something like -Marsala wine. - -Fiam began to dance around on the brim as children do on the edges of -fountains in gardens. Then he leaned over and stirred the liquid. I -could hear him singing in his mosquito voice. - -Unfortunately the dry wood of Fiam’s arms absorbed the saki, which -rose through the fibres till it reached his head. Then he indulged -in the craziest antics. At last he took a little run and, turning a -magnificent somersault, plunged into the cup. - -I realized it all too late. I was perfectly distracted when I heard -Fiam splashing in the saki, spinning around quite like a top. I drew -him out and held him between two fingers to dry, but I couldn’t keep -him still. He was so wet he slipped away and skipped about, leaving -drops of liquid everywhere, and if I held him tight he pricked me on -the nails and kicked desperately. - -Taking a good hold I raised him up so as to look at him near by. The -phosphorus on his head had melted and shone palely through my fingers. - -“What have you done?” I said. “A little more and you would have been -drowned.” - -“Who are you?” he answered, trying to make his voice heavy. “Who dares -to place mortal hands on the body of a god? Let me down, barbarian,” -and he twisted around. “Let me go or my vengeance will annihilate -you! You are a coward! I will try the effect of my divine power! -Tremble....” - -I saw now what was the matter and whispered: - -“Fiam, be good.” - -“Shame on you! I am a Haji.” - -“Yes, but you are also acting disgracefully. Let me put you in your box -and to-morrow you will thank me.” - -“You want to lock me up. You want to make me a prisoner. You aren’t -satisfied to have me for a servant to carry around with you everywhere. -You are the cause of all my woes, but my power is infinite. At a call -from me all the animals in the world will come and tear you to pieces. -My friend To, the Stork, will come and eat your eyes out. The Prince -Funato will come and cut your head off with his sword.” - -“Fiam, keep still; you are not used to wine. Don’t you see that if I -were really your enemy I should light you, and burn you to the tips of -your toes? I think I will now smoke a cigarette....” - -These words quieted him, and in a little while I put him in his box and -placed that in my pocket. - - - - - [Illustration: A Curious Costume] - -CHAPTER XI - -A CURIOUS COSTUME - - -The day after that we arrived in China. - -Far out at sea we spied the land—all green hills with pagodas -everywhere. - -In the morning, not feeling Fiam move, I looked for him in his box, but -it was empty, and he had disappeared. I was very anxious. There was no -trace anywhere of my little friend except an odor of saki. I was afraid -he had fallen on the ground and that some one had picked him up. Every -time I saw a lighted pipe or cigarette my heart beat and I ran to see -if the burning match could be Fiam. I couldn’t bear to leave the ship -until I had found him. I actually ransacked my pockets ten times in -succession. I looked in every corner of my valise, all over the floor -and in every crack of the deck and in my slippers—nothing. I was afraid -he had run away and I could have cried from grief. - -“What have you lost?” asked one of the stewards, seeing me bending over -searching on the floor and stairs. - -“I am looking for a match,” I answered. - -“Here is one.” - -Startled, I turned quickly, but he handed me an entirely fresh box of -matches. - -“No, thank you,” I said. “Mine is double.” - -He gazed at me in amazement and left me. If he had been the doctor he -might, perhaps, have ordered ice on the head; but as he was only the -steward he returned soon and gave me the bill for my meals. - -I drew out my purse to pay him, and on opening it I saw a lot of -papers. I looked between them feverishly. Just guess! Fiam was among -the postage stamps, but in what a state! - -While still wet with saki he had left his box and, without knowing what -he was doing, had crept among the stamps, because that way was familiar -to him. Of course, the glue on the stamps had stuck to him, and the -more he struggled to free himself the stickier he became. Then the saki -had dried, leaving him all covered by a collection of stamps. Think how -he looked! On his legs he had two blue five-cent stamps and three red -one-cent each; on his chest there were two red and one yellow. On his -arm was another of one cent. - -He was dreadfully humiliated, and asked me to help him get rid of them. - -I carefully stripped off those on his back, but he begged me to leave -some pieces on rather than scrape them off with my penknife. So from -this time Fiam wore a garment as gay as a clown’s. All over him you -could recognize little pieces of the face of the Emperor whose likeness -is on all Japanese stamps. - -Fiam was very proud of this costume on account of those fragments of -the Imperial face. - -“With this protection,” he said, “I can accomplish wonders.” - -“Look out,” I told him. “Your suit has cost me more than twenty cents. -What if I should wipe your coat off and put on a Chinese stamp to -punish you?” - -At this he was very angry. And when he was angry he had a queer way of -getting even with me. He would say: - -“All that I told you to write is false, absurd and stupid; it is -exactly opposite to the pure and simple truth.” After that he wouldn’t -speak for two hours. You can see that he was really dreadfully -provoked. - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam as a Mountain Climber] - -CHAPTER XII - -FIAM AS A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER - - -Twice more during that long journey I thought I had lost Fiam. Each -time it was on account of that hole in his box through which he crawled -out to ramble, and which he couldn’t always find on his way back. - -One morning in a Chinese village, where I had passed the night, just as -I was mounting my horse to ride out to the army I discovered that Fiam -had disappeared. - -I looked everywhere, especially among my postage stamps, but couldn’t -find him. - -In the afternoon as I lay under a tree in the stillness of a deserted -field I thought I heard his little voice. - -“Fiam! Fiam!” I called. - -I could make out the response distinctly: - -“Miferino! Miferino!” - -As I was warm I had taken off my waistcoat to use as a pillow as I lay -stretched out. The voice came from that. - -I fumbled around until I found him shut in between the lining and the -cloth. I pulled him out and greeted him effusively. - -“How did you ever get there?” - -“I have a habit of going out at night.” - -“A very bad one.” - -“Well, what do you expect me to do? I don’t sleep. Last night I went -out as usual. Your watch near my house made such an abominable noise, -tic, tac! It was like a blacksmith’s forge. Never mind. I went out and -took a trip over your clothes.” - -“Over my clothes?” - -“Exactly; you had thrown them on the floor, and they made a beautiful -landscape.” - -“A landscape?” - -“Surely. All in a heap they looked like mountains and valleys, ravines, -plains, precipices and grottoes—all kinds of things. It was a great -pleasure to travel all over it. I climbed up and slid down. I sat on -round things like immense tubes.” - -“They were folds.” - -“I know it, but your folds are gigantic to me. As I went around I -discovered the entrance to a cave. I went in. It was a long tunnel -where I had to crawl on all fours. When I got half-way in I wanted to -turn around; but I couldn’t, for my hands and feet got caught in the -folds, so I had to go forward.” - -“I see; you were in one of the sleeves.” - -“When I came out from the tunnel, I discovered a great opening with a -shed over it. I entered and found a cavern full of paper.” - -“It was a pocket.” - -“I traveled around until I found a little hole I could scarcely squeeze -through.” - -“Ah, yes! My pocket is a little ripped.” - -“I was now in a large and empty, wearisome place, and when I wanted to -get back I couldn’t find the hole through which I entered. Imagine my -suffering! After a while I felt you take up the clothes and put them -on. I screamed as loud as I could, but you didn’t hear me. I knew that -you were looking for me, but I could do nothing. But, at last, you -heard me and I am saved.” - -“I say, Fiam....” - -“Miferino!” - -“You ought to promise me not to go out at night or I shall be obliged -to make you an iron house and shut you up for a hundred years. Just -think, if I lose you the first person who finds you will burn you up -without giving you time to say, ‘Ouch!’” - -He promised. But a few days later he was gone again. - - - - - [Illustration: A Change of Residence] - -CHAPTER XIII - -A CHANGE OF RESIDENCE - - -This time I was sure I should never find him. I went three whole -days without seeing him. Every evening I shook my clothes, uselessly -repeating my search. I would have given ten years of my life, and paid -a large sum of money, to have found him. I blamed myself for not having -looked thoroughly; perhaps I had left him on the ground among the -coarse Chinese mats of the house in which I had passed the night. - -On the third evening, having a little spare time, I started to develop -some instantaneous photographs that I had taken during the journey. - -To my immense surprise Fiam appeared in every picture, or rather his -shadow, thrown across each landscape. It was evident that Fiam was shut -up inside of the camera. I opened it and called inside: “Fiam!” holding -it near my ear. - -“For pity’s sake help me!” It was his little voice beseeching. “Take -me out of this!” He was so desperate that he had forgotten his usual -correction of “Miferino.” - -“Come out yourself.” - -“I can’t. They are holding me by the leg.” - -“Who are?” - -“I don’t know who; please help me.” - -I looked and saw my friend held by one foot caught in the spring of the -box. It was not easy to get him out. His foot was broken, and when I -put him on the table he limped. - -“What were you doing in there?” - -“That awful place,” he whined. - -“But how did you get in there?” - -“You left the door open and I wanted to see what it was like. I went -in.... What a horrible place! Pitch dark, and every now and then a -deafening noise and blinding flash, then grinding wheels. I had to -look out or I should have been completely crushed. There wasn’t a safe -corner. At last my foot was caught.” - -“Now,” I said seriously, “you can’t live any longer in your little -house. It is for your good. You may live inside of this.” I showed -him my silver cigarette case. “You will be comfortable and live like a -lord. You see the inside is all decorated.” - -When he saw the decoration he was resigned, and wanted to see how he -felt in his new home which he called the imperial tomb. - -To make up for depriving him of his liberty at night, I found him a -good place to spend his days when he was near me. I put him in the -ribbon of my hat; only his little black head stuck outside. He saw -everything at enormous distances, and always told me what he had -discovered as if he were watching from the bridge of a ship. - -“There is a city,” he called one day. - -“How far off?” - -“Twenty miles.” - -“Is it large?” - -“Yes, and full of soldiers.” - -Then I knew we had reached the army, and were getting into the region -of the fighting. - -Fiam had a passion for the top of my hat, which he called the cupola. -When I was alone, traveling on foot through the country, observing the -position of the armies from a distance, he asked me to let him walk on -the brim, which he called the balcony, and then he went around, keeping -near the crown so as not to fall off. - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam Overlooks the Battle] - -CHAPTER XIV - -FIAM OVERLOOKS THE BATTLE - - -I don’t know how he managed it, but he understood the manœuvres of -war better than I. You see, Hajis are unusually intelligent. Often -I couldn’t make out what was going on. I could see soldiers running, -firing, apparently turning back, cavalry galloping, and could hear the -roar of cannon on all sides, yet I couldn’t tell how the battle was -going. But he explained everything to me. - -“Look there at that hill. Do you see they are attacking? Look to the -left; that is an assault. There are ten thousand men. Bravo, advance!” -He would get wildly enthusiastic, running here and there and shouting -orders in his squeaky little voice, screaming encouragement, reproof, -praise and blame. You ought to have heard him calling: “Reënforcements -to the right! Place two batteries behind that hill! Forward with the -reserves! Smash their entrenchments!” He seemed to think himself the -general. - -I often relied entirely on him for information. I put my hat, with him -on it, on the branch of a tree or on top of a cane and went tranquilly -to sleep near my horse browsing in the grass. When I awoke I called: - -“Fiam, who is winning?” - -“If you are awake,” he answered, “we will go and send a telegram to -your journal.” - -Then I would put him in the hat band, mount my horse and gallop away to -the nearest military telegraph station. - -We had many curious expressions. He could never understand firearms. -The discharge of muskets he called little thunder, and that of cannon -big thunder. He thought that men really hurled thunderbolts. When I -tried to explain to him about guns and cannon he would respond: - -“All right! All right! But the fact is that these machines which -work with that thing you call powder are nothing but factories of -thunderbolts of various sizes, and we can prove it, because we see and -hear both the lightning and the thunder.” - - [Illustration: “WHO IS WINNING?”] - -Another of his ideas was that the telegraph was nothing but a Haji. For -him it was a live Haji in a copper wire that carried the messages. He -spoke of it as “my brother of the wire.” - -I tried to tell him about it: “But no, dear Fiam. This time it is -really a thunderbolt that carries the message.” - -“Truly!” he exclaimed sceptically. “And where is the lightning, where -is the thunder? I should think that you would admit that I, a Haji, -understand such things a little better than you.” - -The telegrams that he dictated to me and that I had to alter in -private, usually began this way: “Brother of the wire, go and say to -our friends in Europe and America that to-day after four hours of big -and little thunder, etc.” - -Seeing him so infatuated with fighting, I said to him once: - -“It appears to me, Fiam——” - -“Miferino!” - -“That you love war!” - -“Not at all. Do you think any one could love slaughter?” - -“But you think of nothing else!” - -“That is true. This is a question of my country, so I would like to be -a soldier and fight with all my strength. I swear to you I wouldn’t -mind dying. Just think that the future of the country for centuries -and centuries, its prosperity and greatness, depend upon our victory. -Hurrah for the war!” - -“Brave Fiam, you are a good citizen.” - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam Wears a Fur Coat] - -CHAPTER XV - -FIAM WEARS A FUR COAT - - -One day when we were far away from our post there was a great storm. It -rained cats and dogs, and the brim of my hat dripped all around like an -overflowing gutter. - -I walked through the wood with my head bent forward, completely -forgetting Fiam, who was fastened to the band of the crown and was -soaked through and through. After many hours I reached my tent. I took -off my hat and pulled out Fiam, whom I placed on a blanket, knowing -how he loved to climb around the folds. But to my dismay I saw that he -didn’t move. He stayed just as I had put him; flat on his back, with -his arms stretched out and one leg in the air. He looked as if he were -dead. - -“Fiam!” I called frightened. “Fiam, my friend, speak to me.” - -But he was quite still. - -“He is dead, he is dead!” I exclaimed, almost with tears in my eyes. -“The rain has killed him, and it is all my fault. I was so cruel to -forget him.” I continued to call, “Fiam, come back. Forgive me! Fiam!” - -It seemed to me as if I had lost a brother of whom I should have been -careful and should have protected better. I was overcome with remorse. -I thought of all the delightful times we had had together, of his -kindness, of his courage, of the work we had shared and of our sincere -friendship. - -“Fiam, Fiam!” I called, now and again, hoping to hear once more his -little affectionate voice. - -At last I thought of trying a radical way of reviving him if there were -still the tiniest hope. - -I took a flask of saki which I had had on the ship and dropped a little -on Fiam. Then I put a wad of cotton (which I kept handy in case it -was needed for wounds) in the cigarette box; then put my friend on the -cotton, as if he were in a beautiful white feather bed, shut the box -and put it near the fire, which I lighted as best I could in the midst -of my small shelter. - -When I again opened the box and looked in, he was lying there -immovable, his arms stretched out and his little leg raised up. - -“Fiam!” I called. - -No answer. I closed the box and waited, and am not ashamed to say that -I waited in tears. At last after about an hour had passed, during which -I had looked in for the hundredth time, I jumped for joy. His little -voice had answered. - -But it was a tiny voice, even smaller and feebler than usual. I asked -him no end of questions most anxiously. - -“Speak. What is the matter? How do you feel? What can I do for you? -Tell me—why don’t you move?” - -“Why,” he replied faintly, “because the water has swollen my joints.” -That was it. The dampness had enlarged the wood and shrunk the thread -in such a way that the little fellow couldn’t move ever so slightly. - -“But you ought to have told me at once,” I said to him reprovingly and -in an affectionate tone. - -“I couldn’t. I was suffocated by the melted phosphorus. Now I begin to -feel stronger.” - -“Wait a minute; I will put you near the fire again, and when you are -comfortably dry you will be as well as you ever were.” - -“I am so afraid of the flames! Shut up the imperial tomb, and don’t put -me too near the fire,” he warned me. - -“Just keep quiet.” - -Three hours later Fiam was completely cured of his cold, and walked -carefully, like a person on stilts, around the house. - -But a queer thing had happened. You remember that after the incident -of the postage stamps Fiam had always been covered with little gummed -pieces of paper showing parts of the Emperor’s face in different -colors. The rain had softened the gum, and when he was put in the -cotton to dry it had stuck to him, and with all my attempts to get him -free I was unable to succeed, so that now my companion was completely -covered with thick down, a kind of white fur coat, which made him look -like a miniature automobilist. - -I proposed to shave him with my razor, but he opposed this -energetically. - -“Don’t do it!” he said. “In the first place your razor frightens me. -I see that you can’t even shave yourself without cutting your chin, -and one of those slips would cut me in two. Then I like this fur; it -is becoming. It makes me look bigger, you know how thin I am, and it -protects me from bad weather. Let it be.” - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam’s Silver Armour] - -CHAPTER XVI - -FIAM’S SILVER ARMOUR - - -After this to protect Fiam whenever we went out in bad or threatening -weather, I covered him with a magnificent waterproof made from the -tin-foil I had taken off of some chocolate. I wrapped him up well, and -I can’t tell you how proud he was to see himself clad in silver like an -ancient prince in armour. I put a cap made of the same material on his -head, which was exactly like a microscopic medieval helmet. - -In this outfit Fiam was a little clumsy at first, but soon he could -move with ease, and at last he was able to walk. He was never ready to -take off the brilliant suit, and even when the sun shone gloriously he -would say: - -“Put on my waterproof; the weather is threatening.” - -“It doesn’t seem so to me.” - -“Yes, yes. I feel the dampness in my joints.” - -I indulged his little vanity and made him happy. But he glistened so -brightly that a Japanese officer once asked politely: - -“What is that you wear in the band of your hat?” - -“Oh, nothing,” I replied evasively; “a little pencil.” - -Also I noticed that the general who commanded the troop looked at me -curiously, but said nothing, because he was afraid it was beneath his -dignity. - -It was the first time I had been with the general. It was the day -before a battle, and he had invited me to breakfast in a tent as large -as a house, where all the superior officers ate, and where a military -band played all the time as loud as it could. - -During the whole meal I could feel Fiam moving around. - -“Is he crazy?” I thought. “He will surely be seen.” - -Several hours later when I was alone again I stood him on a piece of -paper, and he began to caper and jump, so that he made holes in the -paper. - -“Look out!” I exclaimed. “Has the smell of the saki gone to your head?” - -“Oh, but something beside saki!” he shouted, standing still. “I am the -happiest being in the world! I have seen him again! I have found him, -his own self.” - -“Who?” - -“The prince Funato.” - -“The one you shielded from his enemies in the wood?” - -“Yes, yes, yes.” - -“But you said he was dead.” - -“Well then, precisely, so I did. He died ever and ever so many years -ago.” - -“What then?” - -“And then—oh, it is too beautiful—he has come back to life!” - -“Fiam, you are laughing at me.” - -“Indeed I’m not.” And he began to shout, ecstatically happy: “I have -seen him again, himself, his very self!” - - - - - [Illustration: A Singular Encounter] - -CHAPTER XVII - -A SINGULAR ENCOUNTER - - -When he began dancing around again I caught him by the leg and held him -still. - -“Explain yourself,” I commanded. - -“Put me astride your collar, and I will tell you.” - -“All right; now talk.” - -“Do you remember I told you Prince Funato died an old man? And every -year at the anniversary of the battle where I had protected him by my -branches”—(here Fiam gave two of those sighs of his that sounded like -whistles, and observed sadly, “What a beautiful willow I was then!”) -“he came to find me?” - -“Indeed, I remember perfectly.” - -“Very well; his spirit has entered into one of his descendants.” - -“That is only a Japanese superstition.” - -“So you foreigners say; you also think that the Haji is an old Japanese -superstition. You have told me so, and yet you see that I really -exist.” - -“That is true. I beg your pardon.” - -“There is no harm done. Now I have met the man who has the spirit of -Prince Funato.” - -“And who is it?” - -“The general.” - -“Not really.” - -“It is he who is the descendant of the prince.” - -“How did you find it out?” - -“I am a Haji, and can see things that men can’t.” - -“And does the general know it?” - -“No; the spirit never remembers its former life.” - -“Oh,” I smiled. - -“Don’t be so sceptical. You ought to have more faith in me. I can tell -you something else.” - -“Go on, tell it.” - -“Did you see that tall, serious, gray-haired colonel, with a beautiful -beard, seated at the right of the general?” - -“Yes, I think so.” - -“Colonel of the big thunderbolt?” - -“The artillery——” - -“If you like. Well, he is the old warrior that climbed up the mountain -alone the last time to greet me. He trembled all over from age. I -remember he leaned up against me and said: - -“‘Honorable Willow, we shall never meet again.’” Another little whistle -showed me that Fiam was much moved by his recollections. - -By this time my European ideas were pretty nearly turned upside down. -“What if Fiam should be right?” Two days later I called on the general -with the pretext of thanking him for the excellent breakfast of moist -bamboo roots that he had given me. I wanted to question him skilfully. - -I found him with knitted brows bending over a map. Every once in a -while he gave an order to some officer, which was received and obeyed -in silence. They were coming and going very solemnly. We could hear the -tramp of horses arriving and departing outside the tent. Far off the -cannon roared. - -After an exchange of compliments I risked asking the question which was -on the tip of my tongue. - -“General,” I said, “among your ancestors was there one called Funato?” - -“Yes,” he answered, with some surprise, but with a smile of -satisfaction; “Prince Funato Matabaci.” - -“And after a great battle was he not pursued by an enemy until he was -saved by the Haji of a willow?” - -“Ah, ah!” laughed the general. “I see you are up in the legends of the -country. I am glad to hear it.” Then ceasing to laugh, he added: “The -fact is that Funato Matabaci went to war with Nitoba Riocito, and in -great fright he hid in a wood. All the rest is legendary, and the fancy -of an ignorant and credulous age.” - -Later when I told this to Fiam he was sad and very much hurt. - -“Well,” he said, “let’s see. Look at the blessings you have brought us -from the West. Those lovely inventions that chop down, split and cut -poor willows in pieces. These are your beautiful ideas. The most sacred -things are only legends to you.” - -“Fiam, I am....” - -“You—you are a stupid....” - -“Ah, thank you.” - -He couldn’t make me angry with his insults, for after all I thought he -was quite right. Some minutes passed in silence, then Fiam went on: - -“But it doesn’t matter. I love him just the same. It isn’t his fault -that he denies me. To me he is still the Funato that I protected as if -he were my son, and I promise you I shall never fail to guard, defend, -and save him, even if it takes my life.” - -“But what can you do, poor Fiam?” I asked, much interested. - -“Ah, who knows? who knows?” and he sighed sadly. - - - - - [Illustration: I Am Entrusted With a Delicate Mission] - -CHAPTER XVIII - -I AM ENTRUSTED WITH A DELICATE MISSION - - -Although the fortunes of war turned out for the benefit of Japan in -general, this was not the case with the troops among which I found -myself. - -When I had seen the general studying the map so intently I had -concluded that he had good reason to be so serious. Frankly, I -understood very little of what was going on, but Fiam knew all about -it perfectly, and he didn’t always explain it to me, because he said it -was dangerous to tell everything to foreigners by the Haji of the wire. -But I felt from his looks that important events were taking place. - -He was restless. He seemed to be cherishing a secret sorrow. During -the fighting, while he watched from my hat, he was beside himself with -excitement and ran around the brim crying: - -“No, no! The great thunder to the right, the little thunder to the -center! Quick! Whatever are they doing! To the right, I said. Stop! It -is a mistake.” - -But he wouldn’t tell me of what error he was speaking. To me it seemed -as if things might be going very well. The enemy was withdrawing into -a mountainous region, and we followed them without hindrance. What more -could be desired? - -The mountains grew nearer and nearer. As we approached them we came -to a deep valley, long and dark, which from a distance could be seen -swarming with the enemy in the midst of clouds of dust raised by the -cannon, by the baggage and the columns of marching soldiers. - -One evening, after Fiam had been shouting “Halt!” from every side of my -hat, he said to me: - -“Listen. I will tell you an important secret. If we enter that valley -we are lost.” - -“Truly,” I observed doubtingly. - -“Immediately. This whole division of our army would be captured. You -must run to the general and tell him to halt here and take the road -toward the right.” - -“How shall I do it? He wouldn’t listen to me.” - -“Try it.” - -“Shall I say that you sent me?” - -“No, he wouldn’t believe it. Tell him that you have explored and are -persuaded. Do try.” - -He begged and implored with so much persistence that at last I decided -to please him. I put him in my hat, mounted my horse and started. - -I found the general riding in the midst of his guard. I asked to speak -to him alone on a very important affair. - -“General,” I said gravely, “if you enter that valley you are lost!” - -He stopped his horse, looked at me in amazement, and broke into a laugh. - -“Ha, ha, you are joking.” - -Indeed, I felt a little shaky. I should have liked to beg his pardon -and withdraw in peace, but I knew that Fiam was listening, and I had -unlimited faith in him. - -“I am not joking,” I said. “I beg you to believe that you risk having -this part of your army captured.” - -He looked at me attentively as I went on: - -“Send out your scouts, and you will be convinced of it.” - -Then he replied courteously: “I have sent. The road is clear. Don’t -worry. I think you need to take care of yourself. At the first stop -take a long rest. Good-bye, and thank you.” - -He held out his hand to me, spurred his horse, and rode off. - - - - - [Illustration: The Effect of Fiam’s Foresight] - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE EFFECT OF FIAM’S FORESIGHT - - -As soon as we were alone I said to Fiam: - -“You see what a fine figure you made me cut.” - -He gave no answer. My request to dictate a telegram to the newspaper he -flatly refused. Half an hour later we arrived at the encampment. From -inside my tent I heard a horse trotting and then stop. A voice asked: - -“May I come in?” - -“Come in,” I cried. - -An officer entered. I knew him at once. It was the surgeon I had talked -to on the railroad train. - -“The general sent me,” he announced. “I am an army surgeon; my name is -Tasa. Let me feel your pulse.” - -“But I am very well,” I replied, irritated. - -“Keep calm. The general’s orders,” he whispered smiling. - -I held out my hand. He felt my pulse, looking at his watch, then -commanded: - -“Let me see your tongue.” - -I showed it to him, at the same time making a face. - -“Facial contraction,” he murmured, and then asked aloud: - -“Do you still talk to yourself?” - -“No.” - -“With Fiam!” - -“Let me alone; I am perfectly well.” - -“No, you are ill, and I must cure you. I order ice on the head.” - -“I have no ice.” - -“But I have some.” - -He went outside, took a piece of ice from his saddle bag, placed it on -my head, bound it tight and said: - -“I will return later.” - -For two days I endured this torture, which gave me the worst cold I -ever had in my life. I vowed to Fiam that I would never give any more -strategical advice to a general, not if the world perished. - -The terrible perplexities of my little friend did not seem to be -fulfilled. Indeed, we entered the valley that he dreaded so much and -marched steadily a whole day. - -There was not even a shadow of an enemy. From the instant we filled -the valley all firing ceased. It seemed as if the war were over. The -advance guard reported that the region was unoccupied. No more big -thunderbolts and no more little ones. The soldiers were delighted -with this unexpected quiet. We could hear nothing but the rumble of -the marching troops, echoed by the steep mountainsides. At night the -silence was absolute, only broken by the baying of dogs from far off -and the hissing of the wind on the crest of the mountain. - -The valley grew constantly narrower; it was like a neck—and at last it -was merely an immense cleft—a great corridor of rock, without a roof -and with a narrow exit at the end. - - - - - [Illustration: Fiam Goes Forth] - -CHAPTER XX - -FIAM GOES FORTH - - -In the evening of the second day after that I felt that something -extraordinary was taking place. Every one was grave and preoccupied, -and Fiam was very much excited. - -“What’s the matter?” I asked him for the hundredth time. Instead of -answering, he said: - -“Look at me well. Do you think I could still take fire like any other -match? I mean if I should strike myself against a stone could I set -myself on fire?” - -“Yes, of course. But for heaven’s sake, what do you want to do?” He -made me anxious. “Do you want to kill yourself?” - -“No, no; don’t be afraid, my friend.” - -Later on the colonel of artillery, in whom Fiam had recognized the old -warrior, came to my tent. He had been sent by the general to ask who -had warned me of the danger of entering this valley. - -“No one,” I replied. - -“You were right,” he went on; “we are in danger, but the spirits of the -heroes protect us, and we will come out all right yet.” - -“What of the enemy?” - -“It has shut us into the valley. It seemed best to come this way -because it is the shortest, and appeared to be free.” - -“And can’t we get out through the opening ahead?” - -“That exit is closed. The enemy has buried there a thousand pounds of -dynamite. If our troops pass over it it will explode.” - -“Can they blow it up from a distance?” - -“Yes, with an electric wire.” - -“And can’t we turn back?” - -“No; the valley is barricaded in the rear. If we tried it there would -be a desperate battle in which every one would be killed or captured -from the general to the last soldier.” - -“Couldn’t we climb the mountains?” - -“They are inaccessible and the enemy occupies the summit. Listen; they -are already firing on us.” - -We could indeed hear the first guns. The sun had gone down some -time ago; the valley was dark. We could see the stars and the flash -of powder on the tops of the mountains. Stray balls fell on our -unprotected camp. The soldiers were preparing for battle. They were -digging trenches and cutting down trees to make defences. All this -silently as possible, and in the dark. - -I asked the colonel how he knew the exit of the valley was mined. - -“Two prisoners told us, deserters from the enemy.” - -“Perhaps it isn’t true,” I exclaimed, but a tiny voice that I alone -could hear said: - -“It is true.” - -Fiam, on my collar, had listened to the conversation. - -I saluted the colonel and went into my tent. - -I started to light a candle, but Fiam stopped me: - -“Don’t make a light. If they see a light they may shoot you in the -back.” - -So we stayed in the dark, and Fiam went on: - -“Take hold of me. I am on your shoulder. Now put on my waterproof,” he -ordered. - -“Why?” - -“It is necessary for me to keep dry.” - -“What are you going to do?” - -“Don’t lose time. Do as I say. It is for the good of all.” - -I reached for the tin-foil that I kept behind a book, wondering what -his words meant. When I had dressed him he said: - -“You wish me well?” - -“With all my heart.” - -“Then obey me, and have faith in me. Carry me outside the tent, walk -twenty-five steps toward the north, then put me on the ground and leave -me.” - -“Toward the north? Be careful—that way lies the mine they intend to -explode under us.” - -“Yes; be quiet—there isn’t a moment to lose.” - -I was very much impressed by his earnestness and emotion. I went out, -holding him near my face in my hand and spoke to him tenderly. I felt -it to be a solemn moment. - -“Fiam, what are you going to do?” - -“I have already told you that I love him.” - -“Whom?” - -“Prince Funato. And that I am ready to protect, to defend and save him -even if it means my death.” - -“And then?” I asked anxiously. - -“Well, the time has come. I am going to save him.” - -“But how?” - -“I am going to set fire to the mine, and so make a way out for him and -his soldiers. Go back to your tent and send this message: ‘To-morrow -will be a day of victory.’ It is the last thing I shall tell you, my -dear good foreign friend.” - -“Fiam, you are crazy. You will never succeed, never.” - -“Why not? It will take me seven hours to go from here to the mine. A -man could go in a few minutes, but my legs are so short. I shall run. I -shall run faster than seems possible to you. But I shall be seven hours -at least.” - -“But the mine is hidden; you can’t find it.” - -“I can see what a man can’t. I am a match, but I am also a Haji. I know -about the mine; do you know how? Because I saw it when they were making -it and we were forty miles off. I shall find it easily. I shall go -directly to the dynamite, and light it myself.” - -“But you will die,” I said in horror. - -“Yes, but what is my life compared to that of so many people and the -possibility of victory? Don’t you think I ought to sacrifice myself?” - - [Illustration: “I PUT HIM ON THE GROUND”] - -I couldn’t answer. I was too sorrowful. Suddenly Fiam said: - -“Here we must part. Good-bye. Think of me sometimes. I have cared a -great deal for you.” - -I couldn’t control my tears. - -“Fiam,” I protested, “let me carry you a hundred feet further.” - -“No, it is useless. We must part now. Put me on the ground.” - -“Good-bye.” - -I put him on the ground and leaned down to him. - -“Fiam,” I whispered, “forgive me if I have tried to hinder you. You are -doing well! Go and succeed. Your death is more beautiful than a hundred -lives. Some day I shall tell your story.” - -“Good-bye.” - -“Good-bye.” - -I watched him starting off in the dark. His armour shone white in the -light of the stars. He was so tiny, he looked like a strange little -animal traveling between the stones and over the tufts of grass. Then -he disappeared from sight. My little man—my wonderful little man—had -gone forever. - - - - - [Illustration: The Zeal of Dr. Tasa] - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE ZEAL OF DR. TASA - - -I entered my tent. How awfully alone I was! I should never find him -again in the bottom of the camera or in the midst of postage stamps! -I should never hear his little voice, prompting me with “Miferino.” I -should never carry him astride the battlement, or on the crown of my -hat. The imperial tomb was empty except for the white cotton bed! - -I couldn’t sleep. After I don’t know how long the moon rose. I got -up to look at the clock. It was midnight. Fiam had been walking four -hours. How far had he gone? - -The firing continued every now and then. “Little thunder,” I thought, -remembering the queer idea of my friend. Every few minutes I looked -at the clock. One o’clock passed; two o’clock passed. I was getting -anxious. I thought an hour had gone by—it was five minutes. - -At half-past two I began to listen. A quarter to three, three, a -quarter past three—— - -I thought he hadn’t found the mine, and I almost felt glad at the idea -that I might see him again. - -Half-past three. The minutes seemed like eternity. Twenty-five minutes -to four. Twenty minutes to four—— - -It was (I shall never forget it) at precisely thirteen minutes to four -when the night was lighted by an immense brilliant blue light. A few -seconds later the whole earth shook and a horrible explosion rent the -air. Then silence. - -It wasn’t long before the trumpets blew. The camp was all commotion. -Commands were issued, confused with shouts. These, I made out, were -joyful. - -“The mine has been fired! The mine has been fired!” they repeated again -and again. - -The ranks formed. The regiments drew up in line of march. The officers -galloped about. The flags were unfurled. - -At dawn the columns moved—fresh and eager, as if starting off for the -first encounter. - -The terrible pass was traversed by the soldiers singing while the -bayonets glistened in the rising sun. Two hours later we were safely -outside the mountainous defile, and were joined by the main army. - -The enemy was forced to give battle, and was defeated. - -That evening they all feasted in the general’s tent. All the officers -were happy. I alone was sad. - -After a while they began to ask, Who could have blown up the mine? Some -one said: - -“The soldiers sent to explore returned without finding anything.” - -“Perhaps,” another suggested, “it blew up of itself on account of poor -construction.” - -“No,” said a third. “It was blown up by the enemy; they thought we were -on the march, near the mine.” - -I arose and said solemnly: - -“I know who blew up the mine and made your victory and escape possible.” - -“Tell us, tell us!” they shouted in chorus. “Who?” - -“It was Fiam, who....” - -“Who is that?” asked twenty voices at once. “Who is our hero and our -rescuer? How did you know him?” - -“It is,” I proceeded firmly, “the Haji of an old willow tree that....” -A tumult of laughter greeted me. Even the general joined in. They -thought I was joking. The general cried: - -“Still more legends, ha, ha!” - -“I am in earnest,” I said, turning to him, and couldn’t help adding, -“It was the Haji of Funato, your Haji.” - -The laughter increased. “Legends, superstitions, fancies,” I heard in -the midst of the hilarity. - -I was so bewildered I didn’t know whether to get angry or laugh with -them. - -Suddenly I felt a touch on my shoulder. I turned to see an officer -looking attentively at me. “My name is Tasa. Let me feel your pulse. -Show me your tongue. I recommend a little ice on the head.” - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - -Original spelling and punctuation have been preserved as much as -possible. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Little Match Man, by Luigi Barzini - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LITTLE MATCH MAN *** - -***** This file should be named 54678-0.txt or 54678-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/6/7/54678/ - -Produced by ellinora, Barbara Magni and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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