diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:26:12 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:26:12 -0700 |
| commit | 2db5b44b12e264c7bc6b69397e8f716ec8467bab (patch) | |
| tree | dbeddc26ab0717f3ec35bf9ca0b349827a315106 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 5796.txt | 14502 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 5796.zip | bin | 0 -> 259550 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
5 files changed, 14518 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/5796.txt b/5796.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4377a3c --- /dev/null +++ b/5796.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14502 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Journeys Through Bookland V2, by Charles H. Sylvester + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Journeys Through Bookland V2 + +Author: Charles H. Sylvester + +Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5796] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on September 2, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND V2 *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + +JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND + +A NEW AND ORIGINAL +PLAN FOR READING APPLIED TO THE +WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE +FOR CHILDREN + +BY +CHARLES H. SYLVESTER +Author of English and American Literature + +VOLUME TWO +New Edition + +1922 + + + +CONTENTS + +AESOP + +THE FALCON AND THE PARTRIDGE (From the Arabian Nights) + +MINERVA AND THE OWL + +THE SPARROW AND THE EAGLE (From the Arabian Nights) + +THE OLD MAN AND DEATH + +INFANT JOY ........ William Blake + +THE BABY ........ George MacDonald + +THE DISCONTENTED STONECUTTER (From the Japanese) + +DISCREET HANS ........ Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm + +THE POPPYLAND EXPRESS ........ St. Louis Star Sayings + +BLUEBEARD + +LULLABY + +RUMPELSTILTZKIN ........ Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm + +THE MIRROR OF MATSUYANA (From the Japanese) + +A CONTRAST + +THE GOLDEN TOUCH ........ Nathaniel Hawthorne + +THE CHILD'S WORLD ........ W. B. Rands + +THE FIR TREE ........ Hans Christian Andersen + +HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN + +PICTURE BOOKS IN WINTER ........ Robert Louis Stevenson + +HOW THE WOLF WAS BOUND ........ Adapted by Anna McCaleb + +THE DEATH OF BALDER ........ Adapted by Anna McCaleb + +THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI ........ Adapted by Anna McCaleb + +SEVEN TIMES ONE ........ Jean Ingelow + +SHUFFLE-SHOON AND AMBER-LOCKS ........ Eugene Field + +AFTERWHILE ........ James Whitcomb Riley + +WINDY NIGHTS ........ Robert Louis Stevenson + +THE SNOW QUEEN ........ Hans Christian Andersen + +THE CHIMERA ........ Nathaniel Hawthorne + +A VISIT FBOM ST. NICHOLAS ........ Clement C. Moore + +THE STORY OF PHAETHON + +THE ENGLISH ROBIN ........ Harrison Weir + +TOM, THE WATER BABY ........ Charles Kingsley + +THE MILKMAID ........ Jeffreys Taylor + +HOLGER DANSKE ........ Hans Christian Andersen + +WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES is ALWAYS RIGHT ........ Hans Christian Andersen + +THE FAIRIES OF CALDON-LOW ........ Mary Howitt + +WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? ........ L. Maria Child + +THE FIRST SNOWFALL ........ James Russell Lowell + +THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER ........ John Ruskin + +THE STORY OF ESTHER + +THE DARNING-NEEDLE ........ Hans Christian Andersen + +THE POTATO ........ Thomas Moore + +THE QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD + +ORIGIN OF THE OPAL + +IN TIME'S SWING ........ Lucy Larcom + +WHY THE SEA IS SALT ........ Mary Howitt + +PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES + +For Classification of Selections, see General Index at end of Volume X. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +KAY AND GERDA AT PLAY AMONG THE FLOWEBS ... (Color Plate) Arthur +Henderson +AESOP (Halftone) ..... From Painting by Velasquez +THE OWL ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE SPARROW AND THE EAGLE ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +INFANT JOY ..... Lucille Enders +JAPANESE GATE ..... Herbert N Rudeen +THE STONECUTTER AND HIS SILKEN COUCH ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +EVERYTHING REJOICED IN A NEW GROWTH ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +BLUEBEARD ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE PASS KEY ..... Uncredited +SHE SLIPPED SILENTLY AWAY ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +SISTER ANN WATCHING FROM THE TOWER ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +RUMPELSTILTZKIN ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +AWAITING THE RETURN OF THE FATHER ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +JAPANESE LANTERN ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +HER GREATEST PLEASURE WAS TO LOOK INTO THE MIRROR ..... Herbert N. +Rudeen +YEARNING LOVE ..... Lucille Enders +THE FIGURE OF A STRANGER IN THE SUNBEAM ..... Arthur Henderson +MARYGOLD WAS A GOLDEN STATUE ..... Arthur Henderson +THE CHILD'S WORLD ..... Marion Miller +THE SWALLOWS AND THE STORK CAME ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE FAT MAN TOLD ABOUT KLUMPEY-DUMPEY ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN ..... (Halftone) Uncredited +PICTURE BOOKS IN WINTER ..... Iris Weddell White +THE GODS WERE AMAZED ..... A. H. Winkler +HODER HURLED THE DART ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +STRANGE OPAL LIGHTS FILTERED THROUGH THE WATER ..... A. H. Winkler +THOR'S HAND GRIPPED HIM ..... W. O. Reese +SHUFFLE-SHOON AND AMBER-LOCKS ..... Lucille Enders +HOLLYHOCKS ..... Donn P. Crane +THE GOBLIN AND THE MIRROR ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE SNOW-FLAKE AT LAST BECAME A MAIDEN ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THEY FLEW OVER WOODS AND LAKES ..... Herbert N Rudeen +"HE IS BLOWING BUBBLES" ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE CROW STOPPED TO LOOK AT HER ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE REINDEER RAN AS FAST AS IT COULD GO ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE SNOW QUEEN'S CASTLE ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +PEGASUS AT THE FOUNTAIN ..... Herbert N Rudeen +PEGASUS DARTED DOWN ASLANT ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +ST. NICHOLAS ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +IN VAIN PHAETHON PULLED AT THE REINS ..... Donn P. Crane +THERE WAS A LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEP, AND HIS NAME WAS TOM ..... Donn P. +Crane +THEY CAME UP WITH A POOR IRISH WOMAN ..... Donn P. Crane +BEES AND HIVES ..... Donn P. Crane +HARTHOVER PLACE ..... Donn P. Crane +ALL RAN AFTER TOM ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM LOOKED DOWN THE CLIFF ..... Donn P. Crane +THE OLD DAME LOOKED AT TOM ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM LOOKED INTO THE CLEAR WATER ..... Donn P. Crane +SIR JOHN SEARCHING FOR TOM ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM WAS NOW A WATER BABY ..... Donn P. Crane +"OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL CREATURE!" SAID TOM ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM ESCAPED THE OTTER ..... Donn P. Crane +THE SALMON, KING OF ALL THE FISH ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM ON THE BUOY ..... Donn P. Crane +PORPOISES ..... Donn P. Crane +A LOBSTER ..... Donn P. Crane +ELLIE AND THE PROFESSOR ..... Donn P. Crane +MRS. BEDONEBYASYOUDID ..... Donn P. Crane +SHE TOOK TOM IN HER ARMS ..... Donn P. Crane +TOM FOUND THE CABINET ..... Donn P. Crane +THE LAST OF THE GAIRFOWL ..... Donn P. Crane +AND BEHOLD, IT WAS ELLIE ..... Donn P. Crane +HOLGER DANSKE ..... Arthur Henderson +THE FIGUREHEAD ..... Arthur Henderson +"MY DEAR GOOD HUSBAND" ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +THE FAIRIES OF CALDON-LOW ..... Iris Weddell White +WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +"FATHER, WHO MAKES IT SNOW?" ..... Iris Weddell White +"HELLO! I'M WET, LET ME IN" ..... Donn P. Crane +"SORRY TO INCOMMODE YOU" ..... Donn P. Crane +"PRAY SIR, WERE YOU MY MUG?" ..... Donn P. Crane +"THOU HAST HAD THY SHARE OF LIFE" ..... Donn P. Crane +HE CAST THE FLASK INTO THE STREAM ..... Donn P. Crane +THE DWARF SHOOK THE DROPS INTO THE FLASK ..... Donn P. Crane +MORDECAI IN THE KING'S GATE ..... Arthur Henderson +HE PUT ON SACKCLOTH AND ASHES ..... Arthur Henderson +THEN HAMAN WAS AFRAID ..... Arthur Henderson +PLUTO SEIZED PROSERPINA ..... Arthur Henderson +IN TIME'S SWING ..... Herbert N. Rudeen +SO THE BARGAIN WAS MADE ..... Mildred Lyon + + + + +AESOP + + +Many centuries ago, more than six hundred years before Christ was born, +there lived in Greece a man by the name of Aesop. We do not know very +much about him, and no one can tell exactly what he wrote, or even that +he ever wrote anything. + +We know he was a slave and much wiser than his masters, but whether he +was a fine, shapely man or a hunchback and a cripple we cannot be sure, +for different people have written very differently about him. + +No matter what he was or how he lived, many, many stories are still told +about him, and the greater part of the fables we all like to read are +said to have been written or told by him, and everybody still calls them +Aesop's fables. + +Some of the stories told about him are curious indeed. Here are a few of +them. + +In those days men were sold as slaves in the market, as cattle are sold +now. One day Aesop and two other men were put up at auction. Xanthus, a +wealthy man, wanted a slave, and he said to the men: "What can you do?" + +The two men bragged large about the things they could do, for both +wanted a rich master like Xanthus. + +"But what can you do?" said Xanthus, turning to Aesop. + +"The others can do so much and so well," said Aesop, "that there's +nothing left for me to do." + +"Will you be honest and faithful if I buy you?" + +"I shall be that whether you buy me or not." + +"Will you promise not to run away?" + +"Did you ever hear," answered Aesop, "of a bird in a cage that promised +to stay in it?" + +Xanthus was so much pleased with the answers that he bought Aesop. + +Some time afterward, Xanthus, wishing to give a dinner to some of his +friends, ordered Aesop to furnish the finest feast that money could buy. + +The first course Aesop supplied was of tongues cooked in many ways, and +the second of tongues and the third and the fourth. Then Xanthus called +sharply to Aesop: + +"Did I not tell you, sirrah, to provide the choicest dainties that money +could procure?" + +"And what excels the tongue?" replied Aesop. "It is the great channel of +learning and philosophy. By this noble organ everything wise and good is +accomplished." + +The company applauded Aesop's wit, and good humor was restored. + +"Well," said Xanthus to the guests, "pray do me the favor of dining with +me again to-morrow. And if this is your best," continued he turning to +Aesop, "pray, to-morrow let us have some of the worst meat you can +find." + +The next day, when dinner-time came, the guests were assembled. Great +was their astonishment and great the anger of Xanthus at finding that +again nothing but tongue was put upon the table. + +"How, sir," said Xanthus, "should tongues be the best of meat one day, +and the worst another?" + +"What," replied Aesop, "can be worse than the tongue? What wickedness is +there under the sun that it has not a part in? Treasons, violence, +injustice, and fraud are debated and resolved upon by the tongue. It is +the ruin of empires, of cities, and of private friendships." + +* * * * * + +At another time Xanthus very foolishly bet with a scholar that he could +drink the sea dry. Alarmed, he consulted Aesop. + +"To perform your wager," said Aesop, "you know is impossible, but I will +show you how to evade it." + +They accordingly met the scholar, and went with him and a great number +of people to the seashore, where Aesop had provided a table with several +large glasses upon it, and men who stood around with ladles with which +to fill the glasses. + +Xanthus, instructed by Aesop, gravely took his seat at the table. The +beholders looked on with astonishment, thinking that he must surely have +lost his senses. + +"My agreement," said he, turning to the scholar, "is to drink up the +sea. I said nothing of the rivers and streams that are everywhere +flowing into it. Stop up these, and I will proceed to fulfill my +engagement." + +* * * * * + +It is said that at one time when Xanthus started out on a long journey, +he ordered his servants to get all his things together and put them up +into bundles so that they could carry them. + +When everything had been neatly tied up, Aesop went to his master and +begged for the lightest bundle. Wishing to please his favorite slave, +the master told Aesop to choose for himself the one he preferred to +carry. Looking them all over, he picked up the basket of bread and +started off with it on the journey. The other servants laughed at his +foolishness, for that basket was the heaviest of all. + +When dinner-time came, Aesop was very tired, for he had had a difficult +time to carry his load for the last few hours. When they had rested, +however, they took bread from the basket, each taking an equal share. +Half the bread was eaten at this one meal, and when supper-time came the +rest of it disappeared. + +For the whole remainder of the journey, which ran far into the night and +was over rough roads, up and down hills, Aesop had nothing to carry, +while the loads of the other servants grew heavier and heavier with +every step. + + The people of the neighborhood in which Aesop was a slave one day +observed him attentively looking over some poultry in a pen that was +near the roadside; and those idlers, who spent more time in prying into +other people's affairs than in adjusting their own, asked why he +bestowed his attention on those animals. + +"I am surprised," replied Aesop, "to see how mankind imitate this +foolish animal." + +"In what?" asked the neighbors. + +"Why, in crowing so well and scratching so poorly," rejoined Aesop. + +[Illustration: "AESOP" Painting by Valasquez, Madrid ] + + +Fables, you know, are short stories, usually about animals and things, +which are made to talk like human beings. Fables are so bright and +interesting in themselves that both children and grown-ups like to read +them. Children see first the story, and bye and bye, after they have +thought more about it and have grown older, they see how much wisdom +there is in the fables. + +For an example, there is the fable of the crab and its mother. They were +strolling along the sand together when the mother said, "Child, you are +not walking gracefully. You should walk straight forward, without +twisting from side to side." + +"Pray, mother," said the young one, "if you will set the example, I will +follow it." + +Perhaps children will think the little crab was not very respectful, but +the lesson is plain that it is always easier to give good advice than it +is to follow it. + +There is another, which teaches us to be self-reliant and resourceful. A +crow, whose throat was parched and dry with thirst, saw a pitcher in the +distance. In great joy he flew to it, but found that it held only a +little water, and even that was too near the bottom to be reached, for +all his stooping and straining. + +Next he tried to overturn the pitcher, thinking that he would at least +be able to catch some of the water as it trickled out. But this he was +not strong enough to do. In the end he found some pebbles lying near, +and by dropping them one by one into the pitcher, he managed at last to +raise the water up to the very brim, and thus was able to quench his +thirst. + + + + +THE FALCON AND THE PARTRIDGE + + From The Arabian Nights + + +Once upon a time a Falcon stooped from its flight and seized a +Partridge; but the latter freed himself from the seizer, and entering +his nest, hid himself there. The Falcon followed apace and called out to +him, saying: + +"O imbecile, I saw you hungry in the field and took pity on you; so I +picked up for you some grain and took hold of you that you might eat; +but you fled from me, and I know not the cause of your flight, except it +were to put upon me a slight. Come out, then, and take the grain I have +brought you to eat, and much good may it do you, and with your health +agree." + +When the Partridge heard these words he believed, and came out to the +Falcon, who thereupon struck his talons into him and seized him. + +Cried the Partridge, "Is this that which you told me you had brought me +from the field, and whereof you told me to eat, saying, 'Much good may +it do you, and with your health agree?' Thou hast lied to me, and may +God cause what you eat of my flesh to be a killing poison in your maw!" + +When the Falcon had eaten the Partridge his feathers fell off, his +strength failed, and he died on the spot. Know that he who digs for his +brother a pit, himself soon falls into it. + + + + +MINERVA AND THE OWL + + +"My most solemn and wise bird," said Minerva one day to her Owl, "I have +hitherto admired you for your profound silence; but I have now a mind to +have you show your ability in discourse, for silence is only admirable +in one who can, when he pleases, triumph by his eloquence and charm with +graceful conversation." + +The Owl replied by solemn grimaces, and made dumb signs. Minerva bade +him lay aside that affectation and begin; but he only shook his wise +head and remained silent. Thereupon Minerva commanded him to speak +immediately, on pain of her displeasure. + +The Owl, seeing no remedy, drew up close to Minerva, and whispered very +softly in her ear this sage remark: "Since the world is grown so +depraved, they ought to be esteemed most wise who have eyes to see and +wit to hold their tongues." + + + + +THE SPARROW AND THE EAGLE + +From The Arabian Nights + + +Once a Sparrow, flitting over a flock of sheep, saw a great Eagle swoop +down upon a newly weaned lamb and carry it up in his claws and fly away. +Thereupon the Sparrow clapped his wings and said, "I will do even as +this Eagle did." + +So he waxed proud in his own conceit, and, mimicking one greater than +he, flew down forthright and lighted on the back of a fat ram with a +thick fleece, that was matted by his lying till it was like woolen felt. +As soon as the Sparrow pounced upon the sheep's back he flopped his +wings to fly away, but his feet became tangled in the wool, and, however +hard he tried, he could not set himself free. + +While all this was passing, the shepherd was looking on, having seen +what happened first with the Eagle and afterward with the Sparrow. So in +a great rage he came up to the wee birdie and seized him. He plucked out +his wing feathers and carried him to his children. + +"What is this?" asked one of them. + +"This," he answered, "is he that aped a greater than himself and came to +grief." + +The Old Man and Death + +A poor and toil-worn peasant, bent with years and groaning beneath the +weight of a heavy fagot of firewood which he carried, sought, weary and +sore-footed, to gain his distant cottage. Unable to bear the weight of +his burden longer, he let it fall by the roadside, and lamented his hard +fate. + +"What pleasure have I known since I first drew breath in this sad world? +From dawn to dusk it has been hard work and little pay! At home is an +empty cupboard, a discontented wife, and lazy and disobedient children! +O Death! O Death! come and free me from my troubles!" + +At once the ghostly King of Terrors stood before him and asked, "What do +you want with me?" + +"Noth-nothing," stammered the frightened peasant, "except for you to +help me put again upon my shoulders the bundle of fagots I have let +fall!" + + + + +INFANT JOY + +By William Blake + + +"I have no name; + I am but two days old." +"What shall I call thee?" + "I happy am; +Joy is my name." +Sweet joy befall thee! + +Pretty Joy! +Sweet Joy, but two days old. +Sweet Joy I call thee: + Thou dost smile: + I sing the while, +"Sweet joy befall thee!" + + + + +THE BABY + +By George Macdonald + + +Where did you come from, baby dear? +Out of the everywhere into the here. + +Where did you get your eyes so blue? +Out of the sky as I came through. + +What makes the light in them sparkle and spin? +Some of the starry spikes left in. + +Where did you get that little tear? +I found it waiting when I got here. + +What makes your forehead so smooth and high? +A soft hand stroked it as I went by. + +What makes your cheek like a warm white rose? +Something better than any one knows. + +Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss? +Three angels gave me at once a kiss. + +Where did you get that pearly ear? +God spoke, and it came out to hear. + +Where did you get those arms and hands? +Love made itself into hooks and bands. + +Feet, whence did you come, you darling things? +From the same box as the cherub's wings. + +How did they all just come to be you? +God thought about me, and so I grew. + +But how did you come to us, you dear? +God thought of YOU, and so I am here. + + + + +THE DISCONTENTED STONECUTTER + +Adapted from the Japanese + + +Once upon a time there was a man who worked from early morning till late +at night cutting building stones out of the solid rock. His pay was +small and hardly enough to keep his wife and children from starving. So +the poor stonecutter grew discontented and sighed and moaned bitterly +over his hard lot. + +One day when his work seemed harder than usual and his troubles more +than he could bear he cried out in despair: + +"Oh, I wish I could be rich and lie at ease on a soft couch with a +curtain of red silk!" + +Just then a beautiful fairy floated down from heaven, and softly said, +"Thy wish is granted thee." So the poor stonecutter found himself rich +and powerful and resting easily on his silken couch with its red +curtain. As he gazed out, however, he saw the king of the country ride +by with many horsemen before and behind him, and with a great golden +sunshade held over his head. It irritated the rich man to have no +parasol over his head and to see another more powerful than himself, and +in his discontentment he exclaimed, "Would that I were a king such as +that one." + +Once again his good fairy appeared, waved his wand, and said, "It shall +be as thou desirest." Immediately the man was king, and before him and +behind him rode his men-at-arms, and over his head was a golden +sunshade. But elsewhere the sun shone fiercely down and dried up the +vegetation with its terrible heat. It was reflected into the +face of the king so that even the golden sunshade did not keep him from +suffering. Once more he sighed discontentedly, "If I could only be the +sun!" + +[Illustration: THE STONECUTTER AND HIS SILKEN COUCH] + +Almost before he spoke he found himself to be the sun, and he began +joyously to send his fiery rays above, below and everywhere roundabout +him. He scorched the grass of the earth, and burned the faces of its +rulers and felt his power unlimited until a little cloud placed itself +between him and the earth and threw back his scorching rays. It still +angered him to find something more powerful than himself, and he wished +aloud that he might be the cloud. + +[Illustration: EVERYTHING REJOICED IN A NEW GROWTH] + +Again his wish was granted, and he found himself floating where he +wished through the sky. He ran between the sun and the earth and +sheltered the latter so that the grass grew green, the trees leaved out +again, and everything rejoiced in a new growth. Then he sent great +floods of rain upon the earth, filled the rivers till they overflowed, +swept homes and herds into the sea, and destroyed the works of man in +every direction. But try as he would he could not move one great rock +that stood right across his way. Though he sent waters that roared +around its base and pushed hard against it, yet it remained immovable. +Such a failure angered the man-cloud, and again he cried out, "Would +that I were a rock, so strong and immovable is it." + +This time, also, his guardian angel interfered, and he found himself a +rock that withstood the sun, the wind and the waters. But then, one day, +there came along a rude stonecutter, who with chisel and heavy hammer +began to cut the great rock into small, regular building stones. "What +does this mean?" cried the rock. "Has this man power to cut me in +pieces? Surely I am weaker than he! Would I were a stonecutter!" + +"As thou wishest, so shall it be," said his guardian angel, and +immediately he was again a stonecutter, working hard as before and for +small wages, but happy and contented with his lot. + + + + +DISCREET HANS + +By Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm + + +Hans's mother asked, "Whither are you going, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's," replied he. + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I will take care; good-bye, mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day," said he. + +"Good day," replied Grethel. "What treasure do you bring today?" + +"I bring nothing. Have you anything to give?" + +Grethel presented Hans with a needle. + +"Good-bye," said he. + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans took the needle, stuck it in a load of hay, and walked home behind +the wagon. + +"Good evening, mother." + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's." + +"And what have you given her?" + +"Nothing; she has given me something." + +"What has Grethel given you?" + +"A needle," said Hans. + +"And where have you put it?" + +"In the load of hay." + +"Then you have behaved stupidly, Hans; you should put needles on your +coat sleeve." + +"To behave better, do nothing at all," thought Hans. + +"Whither are you going, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I will take care; good-bye mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day," said he. + +"Good day, Hans. What treasure do you bring?" + +"I bring nothing. Have you anything to give?" + +Grethel gave Hans a knife. + +"Good-bye, Grethel." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans took the knife, put it in his sleeve and went home. + +"Good evening, mother." + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's." + +"And what did you take to her?" + +"I took nothing; she has given something to me." + +"And what did she give you?" + +"A knife," said Hans. + +"And where have you put it?" + +"In my sleeve." + +"Then you have behaved foolishly again, Hans; you should put knives in +your pocket." + +"To behave better, do nothing at all," thought Hans. + +"Whither are you going, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I will take care; good-bye, mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day, Grethel." + +"Good day, Hans. What treasure do you bring?" + +"I bring nothing; have you anything to give?" + +Grethel gave Hans a young goat. + +"Good-bye, Grethel." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans took the goat, tied its legs and put it in his pocket. Just as he +reached home it was suffocated. + +"Good evening, mother." + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's." + +"And what did you take to her?" + +"I took nothing; she gave to me." + +"And what did Grethel give you?" + +"A goat." + +"Where did you put it, Hans?" + +"In my pocket." + +"There you acted stupidly, Hans; you should have tied the goat with a +rope." + +"To behave better, do nothing," thought Hans. + +"Whither away, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I will take care; good-bye, mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day," said he. + +"Good day, Hans. What treasure do you bring?" + +"I have nothing. Have you anything to give?" + +Grethel gave Hans a piece of bacon. + +"Good-bye, Grethel." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans took the bacon, tied it with a rope, and swung it to and fro, so +that the dogs came and ate it up. When he reached home he held the rope +in his hand, but there was nothing on it. + +"Good evening, mother," said he. + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"What did you take her?" + +"I took nothing; she gave to me." + +"And what did Grethel give you?" + +"A piece of bacon," said Hans. + +"And where have you put it?" + +"I tied it with a rope, swung it about, and the dogs came and ate it +up." + +"There you acted stupidly, Hans; you should have carried the bacon on +your head." + +"To behave better, do nothing," thought Hans. + +"Whither away, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I'll take care; good-bye, mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day," said he. + +"Good day, Hans. What treasure do you bring?" + +"I bring nothing. Have you anything to give?" + +Grethel gave Hans a calf. "Good-bye," said Hans. "Good-bye," said +Grethel. + +Hans took the calf, set it on his head, and the calf scratched his face. + +"Good evening, mother." + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's." + +"What did you take to her?" + +"I took nothing; she gave to me." + +"And what did Grethel give you?" + +"A calf," said Hans. + +"And what did you do with it?" + +"I set it on my head and it kicked my face." + +"Then you acted stupidly, Hans; you should have led the calf home and +put it in the stall." + +"To behave better, do nothing," thought Hans. + +"Whither away, Hans?" + +"To Grethel's, mother." + +"Behave well, Hans." + +"I'll take care; good-bye, mother." + +"Good-bye, Hans." + +Hans came to Grethel. "Good day," said he. + +"Good day, Hans. What treasure do you bring?" + +"I bring nothing. Have you anything to give?" + +Grethel said, "I will go with you, Hans." + +Hans tied a rope round Grethel, led her home, put her in the stall and +made the rope fast; then he went to his mother. + +"Good evening, mother." + +"Good evening, Hans. Where have you been?" + +"To Grethel's." + +"What did you take her?" + +"I took nothing." + +"What did Grethel give you?" + +"She gave nothing; she came with me." + +"And where have you left her, then?" + +"I tied her with a rope, put her in the stall, and threw her some +grass." + +"Then you have acted stupidly, Hans; you should have looked at her with +friendly eyes." + +"To behave better, do nothing," thought Hans; and then he went into the +stall, and made sheep's eyes at Grethel. + +And after that Grethel became Hans's wife. + + +The Brothers Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm, were very learned German scholars +who lived during the first half of the nineteenth century. They were +both professors at the University of Gottingen, and published many +important works, among them a famous dictionary. In their own country it +is, of course, these learned works which have given them much of their +fame, but in other countries they are chiefly known for their Fairy +Tales. + +Most of these they did not themselves write; they simply collected and +rewrote. They would hear of some old woman who was famous for telling +stories remembered from childhood, and they would present themselves at +her cottage to bribe or wheedle her into telling them her tales. Perhaps +the promise that her words should appear in print would be enough to +induce her to talk; perhaps hours would be wasted in trying to make her +grow talkative, without success. At any rate, the Grimm brothers finally +collected enough of these stories to make a big, fat book. + + + + +THE POPPYLAND EXPRESS + +St. Louis Star Sayings + + +The first train leaves at 6 p. m. + For the land where the poppy blows. +The mother is the engineer, + And the passenger laughs and crows. + +The palace car is the mother's arms; + The whistle a low, sweet strain. +The passenger winks and nods and blinks + And goes to sleep on the train. + +At 8 p. m. the next train starts + For the poppyland afar. +The summons clear falls on the ear, + "All aboard for the sleeping car!" + +But "What is the fare to poppyland? + I hope it is not too dear." +The fare is this--a hug and a kiss, + And it's paid to the engineer. + +So I ask of Him who children took + On His knee in kindness great: +"Take charge, I pray, of the trains each day + That leave at six and eight. + +"Keep watch of the passengers," thus I pray, + "For to me they are very dear; +And special ward, O gracious Lord, + O'er the gentle engineer." + + + + +BLUEBEARD + + +Once upon a time there lived a great lord who had many beautiful homes +and who was fairly rolling in wealth. He had town houses and castles in +the country, all filled with rich furniture and costly vessels of gold +and silver. In spite of all his riches, however, nobody liked the man, +because of his ugly and frightful appearance. Perhaps people could have +endured his face if it had not been for a great blue beard that +frightened the women and children until they fled at his very approach. + +Now, it so happened that there was living near one of his castles a fine +lady of good breeding who had two beautiful daughters. Bluebeard, for +such was the name by which he was known through all the country, saw the +two daughters and determined to have one of them for his wife. So he +proposed to the mother for one, but left it to her to decide which of +the daughters she would give him. + +Neither of the daughters was willing to marry him, for neither could +make up her mind to live all her life with such a hideous blue beard, +however rich the owner might be. Moreover, they had heard, and the +report was true, that the man had been married several times before, and +no one knew what had become of his wives. + +In order to become better acquainted with the women, Bluebeard invited +them and their mother to visit him at one of his castles in the country. +They accepted the invitation, and for nine delightful days they hunted +and fished over his vast estates, and for nine wonderful evenings they +feasted and danced in his magnificent rooms. + +Everything went so much to their liking, and Bluebeard himself was so +gracious, that the younger girl began to think that after all his beard +was not so very blue; and so, soon after their return to town, the +mother announced that the younger daughter was ready to marry him. In a +few days the ceremony was performed, and Bluebeard took his wife to one +of his castles, where they spent a happy month. + +At the end of that time Bluebeard told his wife that he was obliged to +make a long journey and would be away from home about six weeks. He +added that he hoped his wife would enjoy herself, and that he wished her +to send for her friends if she wanted them, and to spend his money as +freely as she liked in their entertainment. + +"Here," he said, "are the keys of my two great storerooms, where you +will find everything you need for the house; here are the keys of the +sideboards, where you will find all the gold and silver plate for the +table; here are the keys of my money chests, where you will find gold +and silver in abundance [Illustration: a key] and many caskets +containing beautiful jewels which you have not yet seen; and here is a +pass key which will open all the rooms in the castle excepting one. + +"But here is a little key which fits the lock in the door of the little +room at the end of the long gallery on the first floor. This little room +you must not enter. Open everything else, go everywhere you like, treat +everything as though it was your own; but I strictly forbid you to enter +the little room. If you even so much as put the key in the lock you may +expect to suffer direfully from my anger." + +The young wife promised faithfully to observe her husband's wishes to +the letter, and he, pleased with the readiness with which she consented +to obey him, kissed her fondly, sprang into his carriage and departed on +his journey. + +[Illustration: SHE SLIPPED SILENTLY AWAY] + +No sooner had Bluebeard left than the friends of his wife began to +arrive. Many of them did not wait for an invitation, but came as soon as +they heard that her husband had gone with his terrible blue beard. Then +was there great merrymaking all over the house, and it was overrun from +top to bottom with the excited guests, for all were consumed with the +desire to see the treasures the castle contained. These were truly +wonderful. Rich tapestries hanging on the walls, great mirrors that +reflected the whole image of a person from head to foot, wonderful +pictures in frames of pure gold, gold and silver vessels of graceful +shape and elegant design, cabinets filled with curiosities, lights +gleaming with crystals, caskets filled with sparkling diamonds and other +precious stones without number, all served to charm and delight the +guests so that they had little time to think about their hostess. + +The wife, however, soon wearied of the splendor of her home, for she +kept continually thinking about the little room at the end of the long +gallery on the first floor. The more she thought about it the more +curious she became, and finally, forgetting her good manners, she left +her guests, slipped silently away from them, and in her excitement +nearly fell the whole length of the secret stairway that led to the long +gallery. Her courage did not fail her till she reached the door of the +little room. Then she remembered how false she was to her trust, and +hesitated. Her conscience, however, was soon silenced by her curiosity, +and with a beating heart and trembling hand she pushed the little key +into the lock, and the door flew open. + +The shutters of the window in the little room were closed, and at first +she could see nothing; but as her eyes became accustomed to the dim +light she saw that clotted blood covered the floor, and that hanging +from the walls by their long hair were the bloody heads of Bluebeard's +other wives, while on the floor lay their dead bodies. + +When the young wife realized at what she was looking, the key fell from +her shaking hand, her heart stopped beating, and she almost fell to the +floor in horror and amazement. Recovering herself after a while, she +stooped and picked up the key, locked the door and hurried back to her +chamber. In vain she tried to compose herself and meet her guests again. +She was too frightened to control herself, and when she looked at the +little key of that awful little room at the end of the long gallery on +the first floor, she saw that it was stained with blood. She wiped the +key and wiped it, but the blood would not come off. She washed it, and +scrubbed it with sand and freestone and brick dust, but the blood would +not come off; or, if she did succeed in cleaning one side and turned the +key over, there was blood on the other side, for it was a magic key +which a fairy friend of Bluebeard's had given him. + +That night the wife was terrified to hear Bluebeard returning, though +she tried to welcome him with every show of delight and affection. He +explained his sudden change of plans by saying that he had met a friend +on the road who told him that it was unnecessary for him to make the +long journey, as the business he was intending to transact had been all +done. + +It was a very unhappy night she passed, but Bluebeard said nothing to +disturb her until morning, and then he presently asked her for his keys. +She gave them to him, but her hand trembled like an old woman's. +Bluebeard took the keys and looked them over carelessly. + +"I see the key of the little room at the end of the long gallery on the +first floor is not with the others. Where is it?" + +"It must have fallen off in the drawer where I kept the keys," she said. + +"Please get it for me at once," said Bluebeard, "as I wish to go to the +room." + +The wife, as white as a sheet, and almost too faint to walk, went back +to her chamber and returned, saying she could not find the key. + +"But I must have it," said Bluebeard; "go again and look more carefully +for it. Certainly you cannot have lost it." + +So back to the chamber went the terrified woman, and, seeing no hope of +escape, she carried the key down to her waiting husband. + +Bluebeard took the key, and looking at it closely, said to his wife, +"Why is this blood spot on the key?" + +"I do not know," said the wife, faintly. + +"You do not know!" said Bluebeard. "Well, I know. You wanted to go to +the little room. Very well; I shall see that you get there and take your +place with the other ladies." + +In despair the young woman flung herself at his feet and begged for +mercy, repenting bitterly of her curiosity. Bluebeard turned a deaf ear +to all her entreaties and was not moved in the least by her piteous +beauty. + +"Hear me, madam. You must die at, once," he said. + +"But give me a little time to make my peace with God," she said. "I must +have time to say my prayers." + +"I will give you a quarter of an hour," answered Bluebeard, "but not a +minute more." + +He turned away, and she sent for her sister, who came quickly at her +summons. + +"Sister Ann," she said excitedly, "go up to the top of the tower and see +if my brothers are coming. They promised to come and see me to-day. If +they are on the road make signs to them to hurry as fast as they can. I +am in awful despair." + +[Illustration: SISTER ANN WATCHING FROM THE TOWER] + +Without waiting for an explanation the sister went to the top of the +tower and began her watch. + +She was scarcely seated when her sister called up, "Sister Annie, do you +see any one coming?" + +Annie answered, "I see nothing but the sun on the golden dust and the +grass which grows green." + +In the meantime, Bluebeard, who had armed himself with a sharp, curved +scimitar, stood at the foot of the stairs waiting for his wife to come +down. + +"Annie, sister Annie, do you see any one coming down the road?" cried +the wife again. + +"No, I see nothing but the golden dust." + +Then Bluebeard called out, "Come down quickly now, or I will come up to +you." + +"One minute more," replied his wife; and then she called softly, "Annie, +sister Annie, do you see any one coming?" + +"I think I see a cloud of dust a little to the left." + +"Do you think it is my brothers?" said the wife. + +"Alas, no, dear sister, it is only a shepherd boy with his sheep." + +"Will you come down now, madam, or shall I fetch you?" Bluebeard bawled +out. + +"I am coming,--indeed I will come in just a minute." + +Then she called out for the last time, "Annie, sister Annie, do you see +any one coming?" + +"I see," replied her sister, "two horsemen coming, but they are still a +great way off." + +"Thank God," cried the wife, "it is my brothers. Urge them to make +haste." Annie replied, "I am beckoning to them. They have seen my +signals. They are galloping towards us." + +Now Bluebeard called out so loudly for his wife to come down that his +voice shook the whole house. His lady, not daring to keep him waiting +any longer, hurried down the stairs, her hair streaming about her +shoulders and her face bathed in tears. She threw herself on the floor +at his feet and begged for mercy. + +"There is no use in your pleading," said Bluebeard; "you must certainly +die." + +Then, seizing her by the hair with his left hand, he raised his +scimitar, preparing to strike off her head. The poor woman turned her +eyes upon him and begged for a single moment to collect her thoughts. +"No," he said; "not a moment more. Commend yourself to God." + +He raised his arm to strike. Just at that moment there was a loud +knocking at the gate, and Bluebeard stopped short in his bloody work. +Two officers in uniform sprang into the castle and ran upon Bluebeard +with drawn swords. The cruel man, seeing they were his wife's brothers, +tried to escape, but they followed and overtook him before he had gone +twenty steps. Though he begged for mercy they listened not to a single +word, but thrust him through and through with their swords. + +The poor wife, who was almost as dead as her lord, could hardly rise to +greet her brothers, but when she learned of Bluebeard's death she +quickly recovered and embraced them heartily. + +Bluebeard, it was found, had no heirs, and so all his riches came into +the possession of his wife. She was filled with thankfulness at her +rescue, and in repentance for her curiosity she gave her sister a +generous portion of her money, and established her brothers in high +positions in the army. + +As for herself, she afterwards married a worthy gentleman and lived +happily to a hale old age. The beautiful town and country houses were +constantly filled with guests, who, after they had convinced themselves +that the cruel master was actually dead, made the rooms ring with their +joyous laughter and talking. + + + + +LULLABY + + +Come hither, little restless one, +'Tis time to shut your eyes; +The sun behind the hills has gone, +The stars are in the skies. + +See, one by one they show their light-- +How clear and bright they look! +Just like the fireflies in the night, +That shine beside the brook. + +You do not hear the robins sing-- +They're snug within their nest; +And sheltered by their mother's wing, +The little chickens rest. + +The dog, he will not frolic now, +But to his kennel creeps; +The turkeys climb upon the bough, +And e'en the kitten sleeps. + +The very violets in their bed +Fold up their eyelids blue, +And you, my flower, must droop your head +And close your eyelids, too. + +Then join your little hands and pray +To God, who made the light, +To keep you holy all the day +And guard you through the night. + + + + +RUMPELSTILTZKIN + +By Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm + + +There was once upon a time a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter. +It happened one day that he had an audience with the King, and in order +to appear important he told the King that he had a daughter who could +spin straw into gold. + +"Now that's a talent worth having," said the King to the miller; "if +your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to my palace tomorrow, +and I'll test her." + +When the girl was brought to him, he led her into a room full of straw, +gave her a spinning-wheel and spindle, and said, "Now set to work and +spin all night, and if by early dawn you haven't spun the straw into +gold you shall die." Then he closed the door behind him and left her +alone inside. + +So the poor miller's daughter sat down. She hadn't the least idea of how +to spin straw into gold, and at last she began to cry. Suddenly the door +opened, and in stepped a tiny little man who said: "Good evening, Miss +Miller-maid; why are you crying so bitterly?" + +"Oh!" answered the girl, "I have to spin straw into gold, and haven't +the slightest notion how it's done." "What will you give me if I spin it +for you?" asked the manikin. + +"My necklace," replied the girl. + +The little man took the necklace, sat down at the wheel, and whir, whir, +whir, round it went until morning, when all the straw was spun away, and +all the bobbins were full of gold. + +[Illustration: Rumpelstiltzken spinning.] + +As soon as the sun rose, the King came, and when he saw the gold he was +astonished and delighted, but he wanted more of the precious metal. He +had the miller's daughter put into another room, much bigger than the +first and full of straw, and bade her, if she valued her life, spin it +all into gold before morning. + +When the girl began to cry the tiny little man appeared again and said: +"What'll you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?" + +"The ring from my finger," answered the girl. The manikin took the ring, +and when morning broke he had spun all the straw into glittering gold. + +The King was pleased beyond measure at the sight, but he was still not +satisfied, and he had the miller's daughter brought into a yet bigger +room full of straw, and said: + +"You must spin all this away in the night; but if you succeed this time +you shall become my wife." + +When the girl was alone, the little man appeared for the third time, and +said: "What'll you give me if I spin the straw for you this third time?" + +"I've nothing more to give," answered the girl. + +"Then promise me when you are Queen to give me your first child." + +Seeing no other way out of it, she promised the manikin, and he set to +work. + +When the King came in the morning, and found the gold, he straightway +made her his wife. When a beautiful son was born to her, she did not +think of the little man, till all of a sudden one day he stepped into +her room and said: "Now give me what you promised." + +The Queen offered the little man all the riches in her kingdom if he +would only leave her the child. + +But the manikin said, "No, a living creature is dearer to me than all +the treasures in the world." + +Then the Queen began to cry and sob so bitterly that the little man was +sorry for her, and said, "I'll give you three days, and if in that time +you guess my name, you may keep your child." + +The Queen pondered the whole night over all the names she had ever +heard, and sent messengers to scour the land, and to pick up far and +near any names they should come across. When the little man arrived she +began with Kasper, Melchior, Belshazzer, Sheepshanks, Cruickshanks, +Spindleshanks, and so on through the long list. At every name the little +man shook his head. + +At last a messenger reported, "As I came upon a high hill round the +corner of the wood, where the foxes and hares bid each other good-night, +I saw a little house, and in front of the house burned a fire, and round +the fire sprang the most grotesque little man, hopping on one leg and +crying, + + 'Tomorrow I brew, today I bake, + And then the child away I'll take; + For little deems my royal dame + That Rumpelstiltzken is my name!'" + +When the little man stepped in afterward and asked his name she said, +"Is your name Conrad?" + +"No." + +"Is your name, perhaps, Rumpelstiltzken?" + +"Some demon has told you that, some demon has told you that," screamed +the little man, as he vanished into the air. + + + + +THE MIRROR OF MATSUYANA + + +The following pretty little story comes from Japan, where it may be +found in a collection of tales for children. A long time ago a young +couple lived in the country with their only child, a beautiful little +girl whom they loved tenderly. The names of the parents cannot be told +now, for they have long been forgotten, but we know that the place where +they lived was Matsuyana, in the province of Echigo. + +[Illustration: AWAITING THE RETURN OF THE FATHER] + +Now it happened when the child was still very little that her father was +obliged to go to the capital of the kingdom. As it was so long a +journey, neither his wife nor his child could go with him and he +departed alone, promising to bring them many pretty gifts on his return. + +The mother had never been away from the neighborhood and was not able to +get rid of some fear when she thought of the long journey her husband +must take. At the same time, however, she could not but feel pride and +satisfaction that it was her husband who was the first man in all that +region to go to the rich city where the king and the nobles lived, and +where there were so many beautiful and marvelous things to be seen. + +At last, when the good wife knew that her husband would return, she +dressed her child gaily in the best clothes she had and herself in the +blue dress that she knew he liked very much. + +It is not possible to describe the joy of the good woman when she saw +her husband return safe and sound. The little one clapped her hands and +laughed with delight when she saw the toys her father had brought, and +he never tired of telling of the wonderful things he had seen on his +journey and at the capital. + +"To you," he said to his wife, "I have brought a thing of wonderful +power, that is called a mirror. Look and tell me what you see inside." +He handed her a little flat box of white wood, and when she opened it +she saw a metal disk. One side was white as frosted silver and +ornamented with birds and flowers raised from the surface; the other +side was shining and polished like a window-pane. Into this the young +wife gazed with pleasure and astonishment, for from the depths she saw +looking out at her a smiling face with parted lips and animated eyes. +"What do you see?" repeated the husband, charmed by her amazement and +proud to prove that he had remembered her in his absence. + +"I see a pretty young woman, who looks at me and moves her lips as if +talking, and who wears--what a wonderful thing! a blue dress exactly +like mine." + +"Silly one! What you see is your own sweet face," replied the man, +delighted to know that his wife did not recognize herself. "This circle +of metal is called a looking-glass. In the city, every woman has one, +although here in the country no one has seen one until to-day." + +Enchanted with her gift, the woman passed several days in wonderment, +because, as I have said, this was the first time she had seen a mirror, +and consequently the first time she had seen the image of her own pretty +face. This wonderful jewel she thought too precious to be used every +day, and the little box she guarded carefully, concealing it among her +most precious treasures. + +Years passed, the good man and his wife living happily through them all. +The delight of his life was the child, who was growing into the living +image of her dear mother, and who was so good and affectionate that +everybody loved her. + +The mother, remembering her own passing vanity over her beauty, kept the +mirror hidden, to protect her daughter from any chance of vanity. As for +the father, no one had spoken of the glass, and he had forgotten all +about it. Thus the child grew up frank and guileless as her mother +wished, knowing nothing of her own beauty or what the mirror might +reflect. + +But there came a day of terrible misfortune to this family, till then so +happy. The devoted and loving mother fell sick, and although her +daughter watched her with affectionate and tender devotion, the dear +woman grew worse and worse each day. + +When she knew that she must soon pass away, she was very sad, grieving +for husband and daughter that she must leave behind on earth; and +especially was she anxious for the future of her loving daughter. +Calling the girl to the bedside, she said: + +[Illustration: HER GREATEST PLEASURE WAS TO LOOK INTO THE MIRROR] + +"My beloved child, you see that I am so very sick that soon I must die +and leave you and your father alone. Promise me that when I am gone, +every morning when you get up and every night when you go to bed, you +will look into the mirror which your father gave me long ago. In it, you +will see me smiling back at you, and you will know that I am ever near +to protect you." + +Having spoken these words, she pointed to the place where the mirror was +hidden, and the girl, with tears on her cheeks, promised to do as her +mother wished. Tranquil and resigned, the mother then passed quickly +away. + +The dutiful daughter, never forgetting her mother's wishes, each morning +and evening took the glass from the place where it was hidden and gazed +at it intently for a long time. There she saw the face of her dead +mother brilliant and smiling, not pallid and ill as it was in her last +days, but young and beautiful. To this vision each night she confided +the troubles and little faults of the day, looking to it for help and +encouragement in doing her duty. In this manner the girl grew up as if +watched over and helped by a living presence, trying always to do +nothing that could grieve or annoy her sainted mother. Her greatest +pleasure was to look into the mirror and feel that she could truthfully +say: "Mother, to-day I have been as you wished that I should be." + +After a time the father observed that his daughter looked lovingly into +the mirror every morning and every evening, and appeared to converse +with it. Wondering, he asked her the cause of her strange behavior. The +girl replied: + +"Father, I look every day into the glass to see my dear mother and to +speak with her." + +She then related to him the last wishes of her dying mother, and assured +him that she had never failed to comply with them. + +Wondering at such simplicity and loving obedience, the father shed tears +of pity and affection. Nor did he ever find the heart to explain to the +loving daughter that the image she saw in the mirror was but the +reflection of her own beautiful face. Thus, by the pure white bond of +her filial love, each day the charming girl grew more and more like her +dead mother. + + + + +A CONTRAST + +[Illustration: YEARNING LOVE] + + +Light blue eyes: +Flaxen hair; +Rosy cheeks-- +Dimples there! +These are Baby's. + +Pudgy fists; +Ruddy toes; +Kissy lips-- +Mother knows! +These are Baby's. + +Cooing voice; +Winning smiles; +Pleading arms-- +Wanton wiles! +These are Baby's. + +Yearning love; +Growing fears; +Grief and worry-- +All the years. +These are Mother's. + + + + +THE GOLDEN TOUCH + +By Nathaniel Hawthorne + + +Once upon a time there lived a very rich man, and a king besides, whose +name was Midas; and he had a little daughter whom nobody but myself ever +heard of, and whose name I either never knew or have entirely forgotten. +So, because I love odd names for little girls, I choose to call her +Marygold. + +This King Midas was fonder of gold than of anything else in the world. +He valued his royal crown chiefly because it was composed of that +precious metal. If he loved anything better or half so well, it was the +one little maiden who played so merrily around her father's footstool. +But the more Midas loved his daughter, the more did he desire and seek +for wealth. He thought, foolish man! that the best thing he could +possibly do for this dear child would be to bequeath her the immensest +pile of yellow, glistening coin that had ever been heaped together since +the world was made. Thus he gave all his thoughts and all his time to +this one purpose. If he ever happened to gaze for an instant at the +gold-tinted clouds of sunset, he wished that they were real gold and +that they could be squeezed safely into his strong box. + +When little Marygold ran to meet him with a bunch of buttercups and +dandelions, he used to say, "Pooh, pooh, child! If these flowers were as +golden as they look, they would be worth the plucking!" + +And yet in his earlier days, before he was so entirely possessed with +this insane desire for riches, King Midas had shown a great taste for +flowers. He had planted a garden in which grew the biggest and +beautifulest and sweetest roses that any mortal ever saw or smelled. +These roses were still growing in the garden, as large, as lovely, and +as fragrant as when Midas used to pass whole hours in gazing at them and +inhaling their perfume. But now, if he looked at them at all, it was +only to calculate how much the garden would be worth if each of the +innumerable rose-petals were a thin plate of gold. And though he once +was fond of music (in spite of an idle story about his ears, which were +said to resemble those of an ass), the only music for poor Midas now was +the chink of one coin against another. + +At length (as people always grow more and more foolish unless they take +care to grow wiser and wiser) Midas had got to be so exceedingly +unreasonable that he could scarcely bear to see or touch any object that +was not gold. He made it his custom, therefore, to pass a large portion +of every day in a dark and dreary apartment underground, at the basement +of his palace. It was here that he kept his wealth. To this dismal hole- +-for it was little better than a dungeon--Midas betook himself whenever +he wanted to be particularly happy. Here, after carefully locking the +door, he would take a bag of gold coin, or a gold cup as big as a +washbowl, or a heavy golden bar, or a peck measure of gold dust, and +bring it from the obscure corners of the room into the one bright and +narrow sunbeam that fell from the dungeon-like window. He valued the +sunbeam for no other reason but that his treasure would not shine +without its help. And then would he reckon over the coins in the bag, +toss up the bar and catch it as it came down, sift the gold dust through +his fingers, look at the funny image of his own face as reflected in the +burnished circumference of the cup, and whisper to himself, "O Midas, +rich King Midas, what a happy man art thou!" But it was laughable to see +how the image of his face kept grinning at him out of the polished +surface of the cup. It seemed to be aware of his foolish behavior, and +to have a naughty inclination to make fun of him. + +Midas called himself a happy man, but felt that he was not yet quite so +happy as he might be. The very tip-top of enjoyment would never be +reached unless the whole world were to become his treasure-room and be +filled with yellow metal which should be all his own. + +Now, I need hardly remind such wise little people as you are that in the +old, old times, when King Midas was alive, a great many things came to +pass which we should consider wonderful if they were to happen in our +own day and country. And, on the other hand, a great many things take +place nowadays which seem not only wonderful to us, but at which the +people of old times would have stared their eyes out. On the whole, I +regard our own times as the stranger of the two; but, however that may +be, I must go on with my story. + +[Illustration: THE FIGURE OF A STRANGER IN THE SUNBEAM] + +Midas was enjoying himself in his treasure-room one day as usual, when +he perceived a shadow fall over the heaps of gold, and, looking suddenly +up, what should he behold but the figure of a stranger standing in the +bright and narrow sunbeam! It was a young man with a cheerful and ruddy +face. Whether it was the imagination of King Midas threw a yellow tinge +over everything, or whatever the cause might be, he could not help +fancying that the smile with which the stranger regarded him had a kind +of golden radiance in it. Certainly, although his figure intercepted the +sunshine, there was now a brighter gleam upon all the piled-up treasures +than before. Even the remotest corners had their share of it, and were +lighted up, when the stranger smiled, as with tips of flame and sparkles +of fire. + +As Midas knew that he had carefully turned the key in the lock, and that +no mortal strength could possibly break into his treasure-room, he of +course concluded that his visitor must be something more than mortal. It +is no matter about telling you who he was. In those days, when the earth +was comparatively a new affair, it was supposed to be often the resort +of beings endowed with supernatural powers, who used to interest +themselves in the joys and sorrows of men, women, and children half +playfully and half seriously. Midas had met such beings before now, and +was not sorry to meet one of them again. The stranger's aspect, indeed, +was so good-humored and kindly, if not beneficent, that it would have +been unreasonable to suspect him of intending any mischief. It was far +more probable that he came to do Midas a favor. What could that favor be +unless to multiply his heaps of treasure? + +The stranger gazed about the room, and when his lustrous smile had +glistened upon all the golden objects that were there, he turned again +to Midas. + +"You are a wealthy man, friend Midas," he observed. "I doubt whether any +other four walls on earth contain so much gold as you have contrived to +pile up in this room." + +"I have done pretty well--pretty well," answered Midas in a discontented +tone. "But, after all, it is but a trifle when you consider that it has +taken me my whole life to get it together. If one could live a thousand +years, he might have time to grow rich." + +"What!" exclaimed the stranger. "Then you are not satisfied?" + +Midas shook his head. + +"And pray what would satisfy you?" asked the stranger. "Merely for the +curiosity of the thing, I should be glad to know." + +Midas paused and meditated. He felt a presentiment that this stranger, +with such a golden luster in his good-humored smile, had come hither +with both the power and the purpose of gratifying his utmost wishes. +Now, therefore, was the fortunate moment when he had but to speak and +obtain whatever possible or seemingly impossible thing it might come +into his head to ask. + +So he thought, and thought, and thought, and heaped up one golden +mountain upon another in his imagination, without being able to imagine +them big enough. At last a bright idea occurred to King Midas. It seemed +really as bright as the glistening metal which he loved so much. + +Raising his head, he looked the lustrous stranger in the face. + +"Well, Midas," observed his visitor, "I see that you have at length hit +upon something that will satisfy you. Tell me your wish." + +"It is only this," replied Midas. "I am weary of collecting my treasures +with so much trouble, and beholding the heap so diminutive after I have +done my best. I wish everything that I touch to be changed to gold." + +The stranger's smile grew so very broad that it seemed to fill the room +like an outburst of the sun gleaming into a shadowy dell where the +yellow autumnal leaves--for so looked the lumps and particles of gold-- +lie strewn in the glow of light. + +"The Golden Touch!" exclaimed he. "You certainly deserve credit, friend +Midas, for striking out so brilliant a conception. But are you quite +sure that this will satisfy you?" + +"How could it fail?" said Midas. + +"And will you never regret the possession of it?" + +"What could induce me?" asked Midas. "I ask nothing else to render me +perfectly happy." + +"Be it as you wish, then," replied the stranger, waving his hand in +token of farewell. "To-morrow at sunrise you will find yourself gifted +with the Golden Touch." + +The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly bright, and Midas +involuntarily closed his eyes. On opening them again he beheld only one +yellow sunbeam in the room, and all around him the glistening of the +precious metal which he had spent his life in hoarding up. + +Whether Midas slept as usual that night the story does not say. Asleep +or awake, however, his mind was probably in the state of a child's to +whom a beautiful new plaything has been promised in the morning. At any +rate, day had hardly peeped over the hills when King Midas was broad +awake, and stretching his arms out of bed, began to touch the objects +that were within reach. He was anxious to prove whether the Golden Touch +had really come, according to the stranger's promise. So he laid his +finger on a chair by the bedside and on various other things, but was +grievously disappointed to perceive that they remained of exactly the +same substance as before. Indeed, he felt very much afraid that he had +only dreamed about the lustrous stranger, or else that the latter had +been making game of him. And what a miserable affair would it be if, +after all his hopes, Midas must content himself with what little gold he +could scrape together by ordinary means instead of creating it by a +touch. + +All this while it was only the gray of the morning, with but a streak of +brightness along the edge of the sky, where Midas could not see it. He +lay in a very disconsolate mood, regretting the downfall of his hopes, +and kept growing sadder and sadder until the earliest sunbeam shone +through the window and gilded the ceiling over his head. It seemed to +Midas that this bright yellow sunbeam was reflected in rather a singular +way on the white covering of the bed. Looking more closely, what was his +astonishment and delight when he found that this linen fabric had been +transmuted to what seemed a woven texture of the purest and brightest +gold! The Golden Touch had come to him with the first sunbeam! + +Midas started up in a kind of joyful frenzy, and ran about the room +grasping at everything that happened to be in his way. He seized one of +the bed-posts, and it became immediately a fluted golden pillar. He +pulled aside a window-curtain in order to admit a clear spectacle of the +wonders which he was performing, and the tassel grew heavy in his hand-- +a mass of gold. He took up a book from the table. At his first touch it +assumed the appearance of such a splendidly bound and gilt-edged volume +as one often meets with nowadays, but on running his fingers through the +leaves, behold! it was a bundle of thin golden plates, in which all the +wisdom of the book had grown illegible. He hurriedly put on his clothes, +and was enraptured to see himself in a magnificent suit of gold cloth, +which retained its flexibility and softness, although it burdened him a +little with its weight. He drew out his handkerchief, which little +Marygold had hemmed for him. That was likewise gold, with the dear +child's neat and pretty stitches running all along the border in gold +thread! + +Somehow or other, this last transformation did not quite please King +Midas. He would rather that his little daughter's handiwork should have +remained just the same as when she climbed his knee and put it into his +hand. + +But it was not worth while to vex himself about a trifle. Midas now took +his spectacles from his pocket, and put them on his nose in order that +he might see more distinctly what he was about. In those days spectacles +for common people had not been invented, but were already worn by kings, +else how could Midas have had any? To his great perplexity, however, +excellent as the glasses were, he discovered that he could not possibly +see through them. But this was the most natural thing in the world, for +on taking them off the transparent crystals turned out to be plates of +yellow metal, and of course were worthless as spectacles, though +valuable as gold. It struck Midas as rather inconvenient that, with all +his wealth, he could never again be rich enough to own a pair of +serviceable spectacles. + +"It is no great matter, nevertheless," said he to himself, very +philosophically. "We cannot expect any great good without its being +accompanied with some small inconvenience. The Golden Touch is worth the +sacrifice of a pair of spectacles at least, if not of one's very +eyesight. My own eyes will serve for ordinary purposes, and little +Marygold will soon be old enough to read to me." + +Wise King Midas was so exalted by his good fortune that the palace +seemed not sufficiently spacious to contain him. He therefore went +downstairs and smiled on observing that the balustrade of the staircase +became a bar of burnished gold as his hand passed over it in his +descent. + +He lifted the doorlatch (it was brass only a moment ago, but golden when +his fingers quitted it) and emerged into the garden. Here, as it +happened, he found a great number of beautiful roses in full bloom and +others in all the stages of lovely bud and blossom. Very delicious was +their fragrance in the morning breeze. Their delicate blush was one of +the fairest sights in the world, so gentle, and so full of sweet +tranquility did these roses seem to be. + +But Midas knew a way to make them far more precious, according to his +way of thinking, than roses had ever been before. So he took great pains +in going from bush to bush, and exercised his magic touch most +indefatigably, until every individual flower and bud, and even the worms +at the heart of some of them, were changed to gold. By the time this +good work was completed, King Midas was summoned to breakfast, and, as +the morning air had given him an excellent appetite, he made haste back +to the palace. + +What was usually a king's breakfast in the days of Midas I really do not +know and cannot stop now to investigate. To the best of my belief, +however, on this particular morning the breakfast consisted of hot +cakes, some nice little brook trout, roasted potatoes, fresh boiled +eggs, and coffee for King Midas himself, and a bowl of bread and milk +for his daughter Marygold. At all events, this is a breakfast fit to set +before a king, and, whether he had it or not, King Midas could not have +had a better. + +Little Marygold had not yet made her appearance. Her father ordered her +to be called, and, seating himself at the table, awaited the child's +coming in order to begin his own breakfast. To do Midas justice, he +really loved his daughter, and loved her so much the more this morning +on account of the good fortune which had befallen him. It was not a +great while before he heard her coming along the passageway crying +bitterly. This circumstance surprised him, because Marygold was one of +the cheerfulest little people whom you would see in a summer's day, and +hardly shed a thimbleful of tears in a twelvemonth. When Midas heard her +sobs he determined to put little Marygold into better spirits by an +agreeable surprise; so, leaning across the table, he touched his +daughter's bowl (which was a china one with pretty figures all around +it) and transmuted it to gleaming gold. + +Meanwhile, Marygold slowly and disconsolately opened the door and showed +herself with her apron at her eyes, still sobbing as if her heart would +break. + +"How now, my little lady!" cried Midas. "What is the matter with you +this morning?" + +Marygold, without taking the apron from her eyes, held out her hand, in +which was one of the roses which Midas had so recently transmuted. + +"Beautiful!" exclaimed her father. "And what is there in this +magnificent golden rose to make you cry?" + +"Ah, dear father!" answered the child, as well as her sobs would let +her, "it is not beautiful, but the ugliest flower that ever grew. As +soon as I was dressed I ran into the garden to gather some roses for +you, because I know you like them, and like them the better when +gathered by your little daughter. But--oh dear! dear me!--what do you +think has happened? Such a misfortune! All the beautiful roses, that +smelled so sweetly and had so many lovely blushes, are blighted and +spoiled! They are grown quite yellow, as you see this one, and have no +longer any fragrance. What can be the matter with them?" + +"Pooh, my dear little girl! pray don't cry about it!" said Midas, who +was ashamed to confess that he himself had wrought the change which so +greatly afflicted her. "Sit down and eat your bread and milk. You will +find it easy enough to exchange a golden rose like that, which will last +hundreds of years, for an ordinary one, which would wither in a day." + +"I don't care for such roses as this!" cried Marygold, tossing it +contemptuously away. "It has no smell, and the hard petals prick my +nose." + +The child now sat down to table, but was so occupied with her grief for +the blighted roses that she did not even notice the wonderful +transmutation of her china bowl. Perhaps this was all the better, for +Marygold was accustomed to take pleasure in looking at the queer figures +and strange trees and houses that were painted on the circumference of +the bowl, and these ornaments were now entirely lost in the yellow hue +of the metal. + +Midas, meanwhile, had poured out a cup of coffee; and, as a matter of +course, the coffeepot, whatever metal it may have been when he took it +up, was gold when he set it down. He thought to himself that it was +rather an extravagant style of splendor, in a king of his simple habits, +to breakfast off a service of gold, and began to be puzzled with the +difficulty of keeping his treasures safe. The cupboard and the kitchen +would no longer be a secure place of deposit for articles so valuable as +golden bowls and coffeepots. + +Amid these thoughts he lifted a spoonful of coffee to his lips, and +sipping it, was astonished to perceive that the instant his lips touched +the liquid it became molten gold, and the next moment hardened into a +lump. + +"Ha!" exclaimed Midas, rather aghast. + +"What is the matter, father?" asked little Marygold, gazing at him with +the tears still standing in her eyes. + +"Nothing, child, nothing," said Midas. "Eat your milk before it gets +quite cold." + +He took one of the nice little trouts on his plate, and, by way of +experiment, touched its tail with his finger. To his horror, it was +immediately transmuted from an admirably fried brook trout into a gold +fish, though not one of those gold fishes which people often keep in +glass globes as ornaments for the parlor. No; but it was really a +metallic fish, and looked as if it had been very cunningly made by the +nicest goldsmith in the world. Its little bones were now golden wires, +its fins and tail were thin plates of gold, and there were the marks of +the fork in it, and all the delicate, frothy appearance of a nicely +fried fish exactly imitated in metal. A very pretty piece of work, as +you may suppose; only King Midas, just at that moment, would much rather +have had a real trout in his dish than this elaborate and valuable +imitation of one. + +"I don't quite see," thought he to himself, "how I am to get any +breakfast." + +He took one of the smoking hot cakes, and had scarcely broken it when, +to his cruel mortification, though a moment before it had been of the +whitest wheat, it assumed the yellow hue of Indian meal. To say the +truth? if it had really been a hot Indian cake Midas would have prized +it a good deal more than he now did, when its solidity and increased +weight made him too bitterly sensible that it was gold. Almost in +despair, he helped himself to a boiled egg, which immediately underwent +a change similar to those of the trout and the cake. The egg, indeed, +might have been mistaken for one of those which the famous goose in the +storybook was in the habit of laying; but King Midas was the only goose +that had had anything to do with the matter. + +"Well, this is a quandary!" thought he, leaning back in his chair and +looking quite enviously at little Marygold, who was now eating her bread +and milk with great satisfaction. "Such a costly breakfast before me, +and nothing that can be eaten!" + +Hoping that, by dint of great dispatch, he might avoid what he now felt +to be a considerable inconvenience, King Midas next snatched a hot +potato, and attempted to cram it into his mouth and swallow it in a +hurry. But the Golden Touch was too nimble for him. He found his mouth +full, not of mealy potato, but of solid metal, which so burned his +tongue that he roared aloud, and, jumping up from the table, began to +dance and stamp about the room both with pain and affright. + +"Father, dear father!" cried little Marygold, who was a very +affectionate child, "pray what is the matter? Have you burned your +mouth?" + +"Ah, dear child," groaned Midas dolefully, "I don't know what is to +become of your poor father." + +And truly, my dear little folks, did you ever hear of such a pitiable +case in all your lives? Here was literally the richest breakfast that +could be set before a king, and its very richness made it absolutely +good for nothing. The poorest laborer sitting down to his crust of bread +and cup of water was far better off than King Midas, whose delicate food +was really worth its weight in gold. And what was to be done? Already, +at breakfast, Midas was excessively hungry. Would he be less so by +dinner-time? And how ravenous would be his appetite for supper, which +must undoubtedly consist of the same sort of indigestible dishes as +those now before him! How many days, think you, would he survive a +continuance of this rich fare? + +These reflections so troubled wise King Midas that he began to doubt +whether, after all, riches are the one desirable thing in the world, or +even the most desirable. But this was only a passing thought. So +fascinated was Midas with the glitter of the yellow metal that he would +still have refused to give up the Golden Touch for so paltry a +consideration as a breakfast. Just imagine what a price for one meal's +victuals! It would have been the same as paying millions and millions of +money (and as many millions more as would take forever to reckon up) for +some fried trout, an egg, a potatoes a hot cake, and a cup of coffee. + +"It would be quite too dear," thought Midas. + +Nevertheless, so great was his hunger and the perplexity of his +situation that he again groaned aloud, and very grievously, too. Our +pretty Marygold could endure it no longer. She sat a moment gazing at +her father and trying with all the might of her little wits to find out +what was the matter with him. Then, with a sweet and sorrowful impulse +to comfort him, she started from her chair, and, running to Midas, threw +her arms affectionately about his knees. He bent down and kissed her. He +felt that his little daughter's love was worth a thousand times more +than he had gained by the Golden Touch. + +"My precious, precious Marygold!" cried he. + +But Marygold made no answer. + +Alas, what had he done? How fatal was the gift which the stranger +bestowed! The moment the lips of Midas touched Marygold's forehead a +change had taken place. Her sweet, rosy face, so full of affection as it +had been, assumed a glittering yellow color, with yellow tear-drops +congealing on her cheeks. Her beautiful brown ringlets took the same +tint. Her soft and tender little form grew hard and inflexible within +her father's encircling arms. Oh, terrible misfortune! The victim of his +insatiable desire for wealth, little Marygold was a human child no +longer, but a golden statue! + +Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, grief, and pity +hardened into her face. It was the prettiest and most woeful sight that +ever mortal saw. All the features and tokens of Marygold were there; +even the beloved little dimple remained in her golden chin. But, the +more perfect was this resemblance, the greater was the father's agony at +beholding this golden image, which was all that was left him of a +daughter. It had been a favorite phrase of Midas, whenever he felt +particularly fond of the child, to say that she was worth her weight in +gold. And now the phrase had become literally true. And now at last, +when it was too late, he felt how infinitely a warm and tender heart +that loved him exceeded in value all the wealth that could be piled up +betwixt the earth and sky. + +It would be too sad a story if I were to tell you how Midas, in the +fullness of all his gratified desires, began to wring his hands and +bemoan himself, and how he could neither bear to look at Marygold, nor +yet to look away from her. Except when his eyes were fixed on the image, +he could not possibly believe that she was changed to gold. But, +stealing another glance, there was the precious little figure, with a +yellow tear-drop on its yellow cheek, and a look so piteous and tender +that it seemed as if that very expression must needs soften the gold and +make it flesh again. This, however, could not be. So Midas had only to +wring his hands and to wish that he were the poorest man in the wide +world if the loss of all his wealth might bring back the faintest rose- +color to his dear child's face. + +While he was in this tumult of despair he suddenly beheld a stranger +standing near the door. Midas bent down his head without speaking, for +he recognized the same figure which had appeared to him the day before +in the treasure-room and had bestowed on him this disastrous faculty of +the Golden Touch. + +The stranger's countenance still wore a smile which seemed to shed a +yellow luster all about the room, and gleamed on little Marygold's image +and on the other objects that had been transmuted by the touch of Midas. + +"Well, friend Midas," said the stranger, "pray how do you succeed with +the Golden Touch?" + +Midas shook his head. + +"I am very miserable," said he. + +"Very miserable, indeed!" exclaimed the stranger. "And how happens that? +Have I not faithfully kept my promise with you? Have you not everything +that your heart desired?" + +"Gold is not everything," answered Midas, "and I have lost all that my +heart really cared for." + +"Ah! so you have made a discovery since yesterday?" observed the +stranger. "Let us see, then. Which of these two things do you think is, +really worth the most--the gift of the Golden Touch, or one cup of +clear, cold water?" + +"Oh, blessed water!" exclaimed Midas. "It will never moisten my parched +throat again." + +"The Golden Touch," continued the stranger, "or a crust of bread?" + +"A piece of bread," answered Midas, "is worth all the gold on earth." + +"The Golden Touch," asked the stranger, "or your own little Marygold, +warm, soft, and loving, as she was an hour ago?" + +[Illustration: MARYGOLD WAS A GOLDEN STATUE!] + +"Oh, my child, my dear child!" cried poor Midas, wringing his hands. "I +would not have given that one small dimple in her chin for the power of +changing this whole big earth into a solid lump of gold!" + +"You are wiser than you were, King Midas," said the stranger, looking +seriously at him. "Your own heart, I perceive, has not been entirely +changed from flesh to gold. Were it so, your case would indeed be +desperate. But you appear to be still capable of understanding that the +commonest things, such as lie within everybody's grasp, are more +valuable than the riches which so many mortals sigh and struggle after. +Tell me now, do you sincerely desire to rid yourself of this Golden +Touch?" + +"It is hateful to me!" replied Midas. + +A fly settled on his nose, but immediately fell to the floor, for it, +too, had become gold. Midas shuddered. + +"Go, then," said the stranger, "and plunge into the river that glides +past the bottom of your garden. Take likewise a vase of the same water, +and sprinkle it over any object that you may desire to change back again +from gold into its former substance. If you do this in earnestness and +sincerity, it may possibly repair the mischief which your avarice has +occasioned." + +King Midas bowed low, and when he lifted his head the lustrous stranger +had vanished. + +You will easily believe that Midas lost no time in snatching up a great +earthen pitcher (but alas me! it was no longer earthen after he touched +it) and hastening to the riverside. As he scampered along and forced his +way through the shrubbery, it was positively marvelous to see how the +foliage turned yellow behind him, as if the autumn had been there and +nowhere else. + +On reaching the river's brink he plunged headlong in, without waiting so +much as to pull off his shoes. + +"Poof! poof! poof!" snorted King Midas, as his head emerged out of the +water. "Well, this is really a refreshing bath, and I think it must have +washed away the Golden Touch. And now for filling my pitcher." + +As he dipped the pitcher into the water it gladdened his very heart to +see it change from gold into the same good, honest earthen vessel which +it had been before he touched it. He was conscious also of a change +within himself. A cold, hard, and heavy weight seemed to have gone out +of his bosom. No doubt his heart had been gradually losing its human +substance and transmuting itself into insensible metal, but had now +softened back again into flesh. Perceiving a violet that grew on the +bank of the river, Midas touched it with his finger, and was overjoyed +to find that the delicate flower retained its purple hue, instead of +undergoing a yellow blight. The curse of the Golden Touch had therefore +really been removed from him. + +King Midas hastened back to the palace, and I suppose the servants knew +not what to make of it when they saw their royal master so carefully +bringing home an earthen pitcher of water. But that water, which was to +undo all the mischief that his folly had wrought, was more precious to +Midas than an ocean of molten gold could have been. The first thing he +did, as you need hardly be told, was to sprinkle it by handfuls over the +golden figure of little Marygold. + +No sooner did it fall on her than you would have laughed to see how the +rosy color came back to the dear child's cheek, and how she began to +sneeze and sputter, and how astonished she was to find herself dripping +wet and her father still throwing more water over her. + +"Pray do not, dear father!" cried she. "See how you have wet my nice +frock, which I put on only this morning." + +For Marygold did not know that she had been a little golden statue, nor +could she remember anything that had happened since the moment when she +ran with outstretched arms to comfort poor King Midas. + +Her father did not think it necessary to tell his beloved child how very +foolish he had been, but contented himself with showing how much wiser +he had now grown. For this purpose he led little Marygold into the +garden, where he sprinkled all the remainder of the water over the rose- +bushes, and with such good effect that above five thousand roses +recovered their beautiful bloom. There were two circumstances, however, +which, as long as he lived, used to put King Midas in mind of the Golden +Touch. + +One was that the sands of the river sparkled like gold; the other, that +little Marygold's hair had now a golden tinge which he had never +observed in it before she had been transmuted by the effect of his kiss. +The change of hue was really an improvement, and made Marygold's hair +richer than in her babyhood. + +When King Midas had grown quite an old man and used to trot Marygold's +children on his knee, he was fond of telling them this marvelous story, +pretty much as I have told it to you. And then he would stroke their +glossy ringlets and tell them that their hair likewise had a rich shade +of gold, which they had inherited from their mother. + +"And to tell you the truth, my precious little folks," quoth King Midas, +diligently trotting the children all the while, "ever since that morning +I have hated the very sight of all other gold save this." + + +Hawthorne was by no means the first man who ever told about King Midas, +nor are the children who have lived since his time the first who ever +heard this story; for hundreds and hundreds of years ago, in a country +very different from ours, the little Greek children heard it told in a +language that would seem very strange to us. However, Hawthorne has by +no means told the story just as the Greek mothers or Greek nurses might +have told it to their children; he has added much which makes the story +seem more real and the characters more human. + +For instance, as he says, the old myth told nothing about any daughter +of Midas's, and yet I think we are all ready to admit that we should not +love the story half so well without dear little Marygold. + +Then too, the talk about Midas's spectacles and about his trotting his +grandchildren on his knee is but a little pleasant fooling on the part +of Hawthorne, for spectacles were not even thought of for centuries +after the time of old King Midas, and it is much more than unlikely that +any old Greek ever trotted children on his knee. + +Hawthorne had a perfect right to make these changes in the story; for +the old myths have come down to us from so long ago that they seem to +belong to everybody, and every one forms his own ideas of them. + +Thus you will see that while the author of this story thought of +Marygold as a little child who climbed up onto her father's knee, the +artists in dealing with the subject have thought of her as almost a +young woman. Which of these two ideas do you like better? + + + + +THE CHILD'S WORLD + +By W. B. Rands + + +Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World, +With the wonderful water round you curled, +And the wonderful grass upon your breast-- +World, you are beautifully dressed. + +The wonderful air is over me, +And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree; +It walks on the water, and whirls the mills, +And talks to itself on the tops of the hills. + +You, friendly Earth! how far do you go +With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow, +With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles, +And people upon you for thousands of miles? + +Ah, you are so great, and I am so small, +I tremble to think of you, World, at all; +And yet, when I said my prayers to-day, +A whisper inside me seemed to say: + +"You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot-- +You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!" + + + + +THE FIR TREE + +By Hans Christian Andersen + + +Out in the forest stood a pretty little Fir Tree. It had a good place; +it could have sunlight, air there was in plenty, and all around grew +many larger comrades--pines as well as firs. But the little Fir Tree +wished ardently to become greater. It did not care for the warm sun and +the fresh air; it took no notice of the peasant children, who went about +talking together, when they had come out to look for strawberries and +raspberries. The children often came with a whole basketful, or with a +string of berries which they had strung on a straw. Then they would sit +down by the little Fir Tree and say, "How pretty and small this one is!" +The Fir Tree did not like that at all. + +Next year he had grown bigger, and the following year he was taller +still. + +"Oh, if I were only as tall as the others!" sighed the little Fir. "Then +I would spread my branches far around and look out from my crown into +the wide world. The birds would then build nests in my boughs, and when +the wind blew I would nod grandly." + +It took no pleasure in the sunshine, in the birds, or in the red clouds +that went sailing over it morning and evening. + +[Illustration: THE SWALLOWS AND THE STORK CAME] + +When it was winter, and the snow lay all around, white and sparkling, a +hare would often come jumping along and spring right over the little Fir +Tree. O, that made him so angry! But two winters went by, and when the +third came, the little Tree had grown so tall that the hare was obliged +to run around it. + +"Oh, to grow, to grow, and become old; that's the only fine thing in the +world," thought the Tree. + +In the autumn the woodcutters always came and felled a few of the +largest trees; that was done this year, too, and the little Fir Tree, +that was now quite well grown, shuddered with fear, for the stately +trees fell to the ground with a crash, and their branches were cut off, +so that the trees looked quite naked, long and slender, and could hardly +he recognized. Then they were laid upon wagons, and the horses dragged +them away out of the wood. Where were they going? What destiny awaited +them? + +In the spring, when the Swallows and the Stork came, the Tree asked +them, "Do you know where the big firs were taken? Did you meet them?" + +The Swallows knew nothing about it, but the Stork looked thoughtful, +nodded his head and said: "Yes, I think so. I met many new ships when I +flew out of Egypt; on the ships were tall masts; I fancy these were the +trees. They smelt like fir. I can assure you they're stately--very +stately." + +"Oh, that I were big enough to go over the sea. What kind of a thing is +this sea, and how does it look?" + +"It would take long to explain all that," said the Stork, and he went +away. + +"Rejoice in thy youth," said the Sunbeams; "rejoice in thy fresh growth, +and in the young life that is within thee." + +And the wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept tears upon it; but the +Fir Tree did not understand. + +When Christmas time approached, quite young trees were felled, sometimes +trees which were neither so old nor so large as this Fir Tree, that +never rested, but always wanted to go away. These beautiful young trees +kept all their branches; they were put upon wagons, and horses dragged +them away out of the wood. + +"Where are they all going?" asked the Fir Tree. "They are not greater +than I--indeed, one of them was much smaller. Why do they keep all their +branches? Whither are they taken?" + +"We know that! We know that!" chirped the Sparrows. "Yonder in the town +we looked in at the windows. We know where the fir trees go. We have +looked in at the windows and have seen that they are planted in the +middle of a warm room and dressed up in the greatest splendor with the +most beautiful things--gilt apples, honey-cakes, playthings, and many +hundreds of candles." + +"And then?" asked the Fir Tree, trembling through all its branches. "And +then? what happens then?" "Why, we have not seen anything more. But it +was wonderful!" + +"Perhaps I may be destined to this glorious end one day!" cried the Fir +Tree, rejoicing. "That is even better than traveling across the sea. How +I long for it! If it were only Christmas! Now I am great and grown up +like the rest who were led away last year. Oh, if I were only on the +wagon! If I were only in the warm room amidst all the pomp and splendor! +And then? Yes, then something even better will come, something far more +charming, else why should they adorn me so? There must be something +grander, something greater still to come; but what? Oh! I'm suffering, +I'm longing! I don't know myself what is the matter with me!" + +"Rejoice in us," said Air and Sunshine. "Rejoice in thy fresh youth here +in the woodland." + +The Fir Tree did not rejoice at all, but it grew and grew; winter and +summer it stood there, green, dark green. The people who saw it said, +"That's a handsome tree!" and at Christmas time it was felled before any +of the others. The axe cut deep into its marrow, and the tree fell to +the ground with a sigh; it felt a pain, a sensation of faintness, and +could not think at all of happiness, for it was sad at parting from its +home, from the place where it had grown up; it knew that it should never +again see the dear old companions, the little bushes and the flowers all +around, perhaps not even the birds. The Tree came to itself only when it +was unloaded in a yard, with other trees, and heard a man say: + +"This one is famous; we want only this one!" + +Now two servants came in gay liveries, and carried the Fir Tree into a +large, beautiful room. All around the walls hung pictures, and by the +great stove stood large Chinese vases with lions on the covers; there +were rocking chairs, silken sofas, great tables covered with picture +books, and toys worth a hundred times a hundred dollars; at least, the +children said so. And the Fir Tree was put into a great tub filled with +sand; but no one could see that it was a tub, for it was hung round with +green cloth, and stood on a large, many-colored carpet. Oh, how the Tree +trembled! What was to happen now? The servants, and the young ladies +also, decked it out. On one branch they hung little bags cut out of +colored paper, and every bag was filled with sweetmeats. Golden apples +and walnuts hung down as if they grew there, and more than a hundred +little candles, red, white, and blue, were fastened to the different +boughs. Dolls that looked exactly like real people--the Tree had never +seen such before--swung among the foliage, and high on the summit of the +Tree was fixed a tinsel star. It was splendid. + +"This evening," said all, "this evening it will shine." + +"Oh," thought the Tree, "that it were evening already! Oh that the +lights may be soon lit! When will that be done? I wonder if trees will +come out of the forest to look at me? Will the Sparrows fly against the +panes? Shall I grow fast here, and stand adorned in summer and winter?" + +But the Tree had a backache from mere longing, and the backache is just +as bad for a tree as the headache for a person. + +At last the candles were lighted. What a brilliance, what splendor! The +Tree trembled so in all its branches that one of the candles set fire to +a green twig, and it was scorched, but one of the young ladies hastily +put the fire out. + +Now the Tree might not even tremble. Oh, that was terrible! It was so +afraid of setting fire to some of its ornaments, and it was quite +bewildered with all the brilliance. And now the folding doors were +thrown open, and a number of children rushed in as if they would have +overturned the whole Tree, while the older people followed more +deliberately. The little ones stood quite silent, but only for a minute; +then they shouted till the room rang; they danced gleefully round the +Tree; and one present after another was plucked from it. + +"What are they about?" thought the Tree. "What's going to be done?" + +And the candles burned down to the twigs, and as they burned down they +were extinguished, and then the children were given permission to +plunder the Tree. They rushed in upon it, so that every branch cracked +again; if it had not been fastened by the top and by the golden star to +the ceiling, the Tree certainly would have fallen down. + +The children danced about with their pretty toys. No one looked at the +Tree except one old man, who came up and peeped among the branches, but +only to see if a fig or an apple had not been forgotten. + +"A story! A story!" shouted the children, as they drew a little fat man +toward the Tree. He sat down just beneath it--"for then we shall be in +the green wood," said he, "and the Tree may have the advantage of +listening to my tale. But I can tell only one. Will you hear the story +of Ivede-Avede, or of Klumpey-Dumpey, who fell downstairs, and still was +raised up to honor and married the princess?" + +"Ivede-Avede," cried some; "Klumpey-Dumpey," cried others, and there was +a great crying and shouting. Only the Fir Tree was silent, and thought, +"Shall I not be in it? Shall I have nothing to do in it?" But he had +been in the evening's amusement and had done what was required of him. + +And the fat man told about Klumpey-Dumpey, who fell downstairs, and yet +was raised to honor and married the princess. And the children clapped +their hands, and cried, "Tell another, tell another!" for they wanted to +hear about Ivede-Avede; but they got only the story of Klumpey-Dumpey. + +The Fir Tree stood quite silent and thoughtful; never had the birds in +the wood told such a story as that. Klumpey-Dumpey fell downstairs, and +yet came to honor and married the princess! + +"Yes, so it happens in the world!" thought the Fir Tree, and believed it +must be true, because that was such a nice man who told it. "Well, who +can know? Perhaps I shall fall downstairs, too, and marry a princess!" +And it looked forward with pleasure to being adorned again, the next +evening, with candles and toys, gold and fruit. "To-morrow I shall not +tremble," it thought. "I shall rejoice in all my splendor. To-morrow I +shall hear the story of Klumpey-Dumpey again, and perhaps that of Ivede- +Avede, too." + +And the Tree stood all night quiet and thoughtful. + +In the morning the servants and the chambermaid came in. + +"Now my splendor will begin afresh," thought the Tree. + +But they dragged him out of the room and up-stairs to the garret, and +there they put him in a dark corner where no daylight shone. + +"What's the meaning of this?" thought the Tree. "What am I to do here? +What is to happen?" + +And he leaned against the wall, and thought, and thought. And he had +time enough, for days and nights went by, and nobody came up; and when +at length some one came, it was only to put some great boxes in a +corner. Now the Tree stood quite hidden away, and the supposition is +that it was quite forgotten. + +[Illustration: THE FAT MAN TOLD ABOUT KLUMPEY-DUMPEY] + +"Now it's winter outside," thought the Tree. "The earth is hard and +covered with snow, and people cannot plant me; therefore I suppose I'm +to be sheltered here until spring comes. How considerate that is! How +good people are! If it were only not so dark here, and so terribly +solitary! Not even a little hare! It was pretty out there in the wood, +when the snow lay thick and the hare sprang past; yes, even when he +jumped over me; but then I did not like it. It is terribly lonely up +here!" + +"Piep! Piep!" said a little Mouse, and crept forward, and then came +another little one. They smelt at the Fir Tree, and then slipped among +the branches. + +"It's horribly cold," said the two little Mice, "or else it would be +comfortable here. Don't you think so, you old Fir Tree?" + +"I'm not old at all," said the Fir Tree. "There are many much older than +I." + +"Where do you come from?" asked the Mice. "And what do you know?" They +were dreadfully inquisitive. + +"Tell us about the most beautiful spot on the earth. Have you been +there? Have you been in the storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelves, +and hams hang from the ceiling; where one dances on tallow candles, and +goes in thin and comes out fat?" + +"I don't know that," replied the Tree; "but I know the wood, where the +sun shines and the birds sing." And then it told all about its youth. + +And the little Mice had never heard anything of the kind; and they +listened, and said: + +"What a number of things you have seen! How happy you must have been!" + +"I?" replied the Fir Tree; and it thought about what it had told. "Yes, +those were really quite happy times." But then he told of the Christmas +Eve, when he had been hung with sweatmeats and candles. + +"Oh!" said the little Mice, "how happy you have been, you old Fir Tree!" + +"I'm not old at all," said the Tree. "I came out of the wood only this +winter. I'm only rather backward in my growth." + +"What splendid stories you can tell!" said the little Mice. + +And next night they came with four other little Mice, to hear what the +Tree had to relate; and the more it said, the more clearly did it +remember everything, and thought, "Those were quite merry days. But they +may come again. Klumpey-Dumpey fell downstairs, and yet he married the +princess. Perhaps I may marry a princess, too!" And then the Fir Tree +thought of a pretty little Birch Tree that grew out in the forest; for +the Fir Tree, that Birch was a real princess. + +"Who's Klumpey-Dumpey?" asked the little Mice. + +And then the Fir Tree told the whole story. It could remember every +single word; and the little Mice were ready to leap to the very top of +the tree with pleasure. Next night a great many more Mice came, and on +Sunday two Rats even appeared; but these thought the story was not +pretty, and the little Mice were sorry for that, for now they also did +not like it so much as before. + +"Do you know only one story?" asked the Rats. + +"Only that one," replied the Tree. "I heard that on the happiest evening +of my life; I did not think then how happy I was." + +"That's a very miserable story. Don't you know any about bacon and +tallow candles--a storeroom story?" + +"No," said the Tree. + +"Then we'd rather not hear you," said the Rats. And they went back to +their own people. The little Mice at last also stayed away; and then the +Tree sighed and said, "It was very nice when they sat around me, the +merry little Mice, and listened when I spoke to them. Now that's past, +too. But I shall remember to be pleased when they take me out." + +But when did that happen? Why, it was one morning that people came and +rummaged in the garret; the boxes were put away, and the Tree was +brought out; they certainly threw him rather roughly on the floor, but a +servant dragged him away at once to the stairs, where the daylight +shone. + +"Now life is beginning again," thought the Tree. + +It felt the fresh air and the first sunbeams, and then it was out in the +courtyard. Everything passed so quickly that the Tree quite forgot to +look at itself, there was so much to look at all around. The courtyard +was close to a garden, and there everything was blooming; the roses hung +fresh and fragrant over the little paling, the linden trees were in +blossom, and the swallows cried, "Quinze-wit! quinze-wit! my husband's +come!" But it was not the Fir Tree that they meant. + +"Now I shall live!" cried the Tree, rejoicingly, and spread its branches +far out; but, alas! they were all withered and yellow, and it lay in the +corner among nettles and weeds. The tinsel star was still upon it, and +shone in the bright sunshine. + +In the courtyard a couple of the merry children were playing who had +danced round the Tree at Christmas time, and had rejoiced over it. One +of the youngest ran up and tore off the golden star. + +"Look what is sticking to the ugly old Fir Tree!" said the child, and he +trod on the branches till they cracked under his boots. + +And the Tree looked at all the blooming flowers and the splendor of the +garden, then looked at itself, and wished it had remained in the dark +corner of the garret; it thought of its fresh youth in the wood, of the +merry Christmas Eve, and of the little Mice which had listened so +pleasantly to the story of Klumpey-Dumpey. + +"Past! past!" said the old Tree. "Had I but rejoiced when I could have +done so! Past! past!" + +And the servant came and chopped the Tree into little pieces; a whole +bundle lay there; it blazed brightly under the great brewing copper, and +it sighed deeply, and each sigh was like a little shot; and the +children, who were at play there, ran up, seated themselves by the fire, +looked into it, and cried "Puff! puff!" But at each explosion, which was +a deep sigh, the Tree thought of a summer day in the woods, or of a +winter night there, when the stars beamed; he thought of Christmas Eve +and of Klumpey-Dumpey, the only story he had ever heard or knew how to +tell; and thus the Tree was burned. + +The boys played in the garden, and the youngest had on his breast a +golden star, which the Tree had worn on its happiest evening. Now that +was past, and the Tree's life was past, and the story is past, too: +past! past!--and that's the way with all stories. + + + + +HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN + + +When a man writes as beautiful and as interesting stories as Hans +Christian Andersen has written for children, we like to know something +about him; and we find that nothing that he ever wrote was much more +interesting than his own life. Certainly no one who knew him while he +was a child could have thought that he would ever have much chance of +becoming a famous man. + +He was born on April 2nd, 1805, in the city of Odense, in Denmark. The +room in which he was born was kitchen, parlor, bedroom and workshop for +the whole family, for the family of Andersen had little to do with, and +little knowledge of how to make the best of what they had. The father +was a cobbler, but a cobbler who was much more interested in other +things than he was in his trade, into which he had been forced quite +contrary to his own wishes. The mother was a careless, easy-going +person, who was kind to her child, but had not the slightest idea of +training him, or of restraining any of his odd tastes. These tastes were +determined more or less by his father, who was a great reader, +particularly of plays; and we see the results of this early introduction +to the drama in Hans Christian Andersen throughout his life. + +Little Hans Christian was a most extraordinary child. He was ugly, as he +remained all his life; for his body and neck were too long and too thin, +his feet and his hands were too large and too bony, his nose was large +and hooked, and his eyes were small and set like a Chinaman's. However, +it was not his looks, but his oddity, which cut him off from other +children. He would sit all day and make doll clothes, or cut dolls and +animals out of paper; and these were not things which would be likely to +make other boys like him and admire him. He had little schooling, and +even when he was a grown man he knew none too much of the grammar of his +own language. + +After his father's death, when he himself was about eleven, little Hans +Christian was more solitary than before, and shut himself up still more +with his doll's clothes, his toy theaters, and his books, for he was, +like his father, very fond of reading. Especially did he like those +books which had anything about ghosts or witches or fairies in them. +While he was but a child, he wrote a play of his own, in which most of +the characters were kings and queens and princesses; and because he felt +that it could not be possible that such lofty personages would talk the +same language as ordinary people, he picked out from a dictionary, which +he managed somehow to get hold of, French words, German words, English +words, and high-sounding Danish words, and strung them all together to +make up the conversation of his characters. + +It was no more than natural that such a strange, unattractive-looking +child should be made fun of by the prosaic, commonplace people of his +neighborhood, and this was untold pain to the sensitive boy. There were, +however, in the town, people of a higher class, who perceived in the boy +something beyond the ordinary, and who interested themselves in his +behalf. They had him sent to school, but he preferred to dream away his +time rather than to study, and his short period of schooling really +taught him nothing. + +His mother, careless as she was, began to see that matters must change-- +that the boy could not go on all his life in this aimless fashion; but +since he steadily declined to be a tailor or a cobbler, or indeed to +take up any trade, it seemed no easy question to settle. However, in +1818, there came to Odense a troupe of actors who gave plays and operas. +Young Andersen, who by making acquaintance with the billposter was +allowed to witness the performances from behind the scenes, decided at +once that he was cut out to be an actor. There was no demand for actors +in his native town, and he therefore decided to go to Copenhagen, the +capital of Denmark, there to seek his fortune. + +With about five dollars in his pocket, Andersen reached Copenhagen in +September, 1819, but he found that a fortune was by no means as easily +made as he had fancied. He himself felt convinced that he should be a +famous actor, but how was he to convince any one else of this fact? From +one actor to another, from one theater manager to another he went, but +all told him that for one reason or another he was not fitted for the +stage. Particularly did Andersen resent the excuse of one manager, who +told him that he was too thin. This fault Andersen assured him that he +was only too willing to remedy, if he would only give him a chance and a +salary; but still the manager refused. + +Finally the boy was destitute of money and knew not where to turn for +more, for he was too proud to go back to his native town. However, an +Italian singing teacher, Siboni, into whose home Andersen had almost +forced himself while a dinner party was in progress, became interested +in him, and with some friends provided him with enough to live on. He +also gave him singing lessons until the boy's voice gave out. Other +influential people gradually became interested in the strange creature, +who certainly did appear to have some talent, but who had even more +obvious defects; and so he lived on, supported in the most meager +fashion. + +Determined to write plays if he could not play them, Andersen composed +drama after drama. He would rush into the house of a total stranger, of +whom perhaps he had heard as a patron of genius, declaim some scenes +from his plays, and then rush out, leaving his auditor in gasping +amazement. Finally he made the acquaintance of one of the directors of +the Royal Theatre, Jonas Collin, who was ever afterward his best friend. +Through the influence of this kindly man, Anderson was sent to school at +Slagelse, and as he said later, the days of his degradation were over +once and for all. + +Andersen did not have an entirely pleasant time at school. He loved +systematic study no more than he had early in his life, and he did not +fall in very readily with his young companions. However, he persisted, +for he was ashamed to disappoint his patron, Collin, and by the time he +left school in 1827, he had an education of which he needed not to be +ashamed. After his return to Copenhagen, he was able to pass his +examinations satisfactorily. + +[Illustration: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN 1805-1875] + +From this time on, Andersen's life was in the main happy, although he +was so sensitive and so sentimental that he was constantly fancying +grievances where none existed, and making himself miserable over +imaginary snubs. It is true that his dramatic works were not well +received, but this was because there was no real merit in them, and not, +as Andersen persisted in believing, because the critics to whom they +were submitted had grudges against him. His first works that made a +distinctly favorable impression were travel sketches, for Andersen was +all his life a great traveler, and knew how to write most charmingly and +humorously of all that he saw. His trips to other countries were all +treated most delightfully, and every book that appeared increased the +author's fame. His visit to Italy, the country which all his life he +loved above any other, also resulted in a novel, THE IMPROVISATORE, +which became immensely popular and caused Andersen to be hailed as a +future great novelist. + +However, it was neither for travel sketches nor for novels that he was +to be best known, but for something entirely different, which he himself +was inclined at first to look down upon, and which many of his critics +at the outset regarded as mere child's play. These were the fairy tales +which he began in 1835, and which he published at intervals from that +time until his death. The children loved The Ugly Duckling, The Fir Tree +and The Snow Queen; but it was not only the children who loved them. +Gradually people all over the world began to realize that here was a man +who knew how to tell tales to children in so masterly a manner that even +grown folks would do well to listen to him. + +Now that Andersen was at the height of his fame, he had no lack of +friends; for whether he was in Germany, or Spain, or England, he was +everywhere given ovations that were fit for a king, and was everywhere +entertained by the best people in the most sumptuous manner. At one time +he stayed for five weeks with Charles Dickens in his home at Gad's Hill, +and the two were ever afterward firm friends. All of these people loved +Andersen, not because of his fame, but because of the stories which had +brought him fame, and because he was distinctly lovable in spite of his +oddity; for Andersen was still odd. He was ugly and ungainly, and, owing +to his fondness for decoration, often dressed in the most peculiar +fashion. Then, too, he was so childishly vain of the fame which had come +to him that he was at any time quite likely to stop in a crowded street +and call across to a friend on the other side about some favorable +notice which he had just received. After people became accustomed to +this trait, however, they saw that it was but another phase of the +childlikeness which made Andersen so charming and so unlike many other +famous men. + +Despite his intimate knowledge of children, Andersen was never really +fond of them. They worried him, and he, for some reason or other, never +seemed very attractive to them. But if he could be induced to tell them +or read them one of his stories, illustrating it with the queer antics +and faces which he alone knew how to make, he was certain of an +intensely interested audience. + +Andersen's fame and the love felt for him at home and abroad grew with +his every year, and when he died, in 1875, his death was looked upon as +a more than national calamity. The highest people in Denmark, including +the king and queen, who had come to look upon Andersen's friendship as a +great honor, followed him to his grave; and children all over the world +sorrowed when they were told that the author of the beloved Fairy Tales +would never write them another story. + + + + +PICTURE-BOOKS IN WINTER + +By Robert Louis Stevenson + + +Summer fading, winter comes-- +Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs, +Window robins, winter rooks, +And the picture story-books. + +Water now is turned to stone +Nurse and I can walk upon; +Still we find the flowing brooks +In the picture story-books. + +All the pretty things put by +Wait upon the children's eye-- +Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks, +In the picture story-books. + +We may see now all things are-- +Seas and cities, near and far, +And the flying fairies' looks-- +In the picture story-books. + +How am I to sing your praise, +Happy chimney-corner days, +Sitting safe in nursery nooks, +Reading picture story-books! + + +What we like about so fine a little poem as this is that it sets our +thoughts to flying. As we read it, we see autumn coming on, with the red +and the gold and the orange tinting the leaves. We can hear the last +notes of the birds as they wing their way through the soft blue sky to +gayer places in the warm southland. The cold comes fast, and in the +morning, as we try to play ball or gather the ripe nuts from the hazel +bushes, our thumbs tingle with the frost. + +The little Scotch boy sees his robin, a little bird with a reddish- +yellow breast, come to his window, and hears the cawing of the rooks. We +in the United States can hear the rough voice of the blue-jay, or +perhaps see the busy downy woodpecker tapping industriously at the suet +we have hung in the tree for him. + +A few days later the water in the pond becomes hard as stone, and we can +walk over its smooth, glittering surface, or, if we are old enough, can +make our way back and forth in widening circles to the music of our +ringing skates. When the cold grows too severe and our cheeks burn in +the wind, we can run inside, curl up in a big chair where it is warm and +cheery, and, burying our faces in our favorite books, can see once more +the little waves dancing on the pebbly shore of the pond, and hear the +babble of the brook. + +What can we find in the books? Everything that makes life merry, and +everything that helps us to be true and manly. Out in the pasture the +sheep are grazing, and among them walk the shepherds, singing gaily to +the wide sky and the bright sun. When, perchance, a frisking lamb strays +near the woods where perils lie, the shepherd follows, and with the +crook at the end of his staff draws the wanderer back to safety. + +These wonderful books of ours will carry us across the seas, even. We, +for instance, might go to Scotland and play with the boy Stevenson. What +a delight it would be; for the man who can write so charmingly about +children must have been a wonderfully interesting boy to play with. And +the cities we should see--quaint old Edinburgh, with its big, frowning +castle on the top of that high rugged hill, and in the castle yard, old +Mons Meg, the big cannon that every Scotch lad feels that he must crawl +into. + +If that is too far away from us, we will come back to Boston, and walk +through the Common, and hear again the Yankee boys bravely complaining +to General Gage because the British soldiers have trampled down the snow +fort the youngsters have built. + +But those are only real things; the more wonderful things are the flying +fairies whose deeds we may read in this very book. + +But how can we write in prose the praise of the picture story-books when +Stevenson thinks he cannot do it in his pretty rhymes? Moreover, we have +just found out that the poet's chimney corner is filled with the little +ones who can read only the simplest things, and need big, fine pictures +and easy words. He was not writing for us at all--but that does not +matter. His little poem pleases us just the same. + +Let us turn back and read it again--I suspect that, after all, we are +all of us small enough to sit in a chimney corner; and perhaps every +book is but a picture story-book to the man or woman who is old enough +and big enough to read it rightly. + + + + +HOW THE WOLF WAS BOUND + +Adapted by Anna McCaleb + + +It seems strange that any one who might have lived with the gods in +their beautiful city of Asgard [Footnote: The Norse peoples believed +that their gods lived above the earth in a wonderful city named Asgard. +From this city they crossed to the earth on a bridge, which by people on +earth was known as the rainbow.] and have shared in their joys and their +good works should have preferred to associate with the ugly, wicked +giants. But that was the case with Loki--Red Loki, as he was called, +because of his red hair. He was handsome like a god; he was wise and +clever like a god--more clever than any of the other gods. In one way, +however, he differed from the others; he had a bad heart, and liked much +better to use his cleverness in getting gods and men into trouble than +in making them happy. Besides this, he was very proud, and could not +bear to submit even to Odin, the king of the gods. + +"Who is Odin," [Footnote: Odin, chief of the Norse gods, had been +induced to part with one eye in exchange for wisdom.] he muttered, "that +he should be set over me? Is he more clever than I am? Is he more +handsome, with his one eye and his gray beard?" And Loki held his +handsome head high. + +Proud as he was, however, he was not too proud to do a disgraceful +thing. He went off to the home of the giants and married the ugliest and +fiercest of all the giantesses. Just why he did it does not seem very +clear, for he certainly could not have loved her. Perhaps he did it just +to spite the other gods and to show them that he cared nothing for what +they thought. + +But he must have repented of his act when he saw the children which the +giantess bore him, for they were certainly the most hideous and +frightful children that were ever born into the world. The daughter, +Hela, was the least awful, but even she was by no means a person one +would care to meet. She was half white and half blue, and she had such +gloomy, angry eyes that any one who looked at her sank into +unconquerable sadness and finally into death. But the other two! One was +a huge, glistening, scaly serpent, with a mouth that dripped poison, and +glaring, beady eyes; and the other was a white-fanged, red-eyed wolf. + +These two monsters grew so rapidly that the king of the gods, looking +down from his throne in the heavens, was struck with fear. + +"The gods themselves will not be safe if those monsters are allowed to +go unchecked," he said. "Down there in the home of the giants they will +be taught to hate the gods, and at the rate they're growing, they'll +soon be strong enough to shake our very palaces." + +He sent, therefore, the strongest of his sons to fetch the children of +Loki before him. Well was it for those gathered about Odin's throne that +they were gods and goddesses, else would the eyes of Hela have sent them +to their death. Upon her, Odin looked more in pity than in anger--she +was not all bad. + +"You, Hela," he said, "although it is not safe to allow you to remain +above ground, where you may do great harm to men, are not all wicked. +Honor, therefore, shall be yours, and ease; but happiness shall be far +from you. I shall make you queen over the regions of the dead--that +kingdom which is as large as nine worlds." + +Then it was believed that the only honorable form of death was death in +battle; and the bravest of the heroes who died in battle were brought by +Odin's messengers, the Valkyries, who always hovered on their cloud- +horses above battlefields, to the great palace of Valhalla. Therefore +only the cowards or the weak, who died in their beds, went to the +underground realm, and Hela knew that they were not subjects of whom she +could be proud. Nevertheless, she went without a word. + +Odin, then, without speaking, suddenly stooped and seized in his strong +arms the wriggling, slippery serpent. Over the wall of the city he threw +it, and the gods watched it as it fell down, down, down, until at last +it sank from sight into the sea. This was by no means the last of the +serpent, however; under the water it grew and grew until it was so large +that it formed a girdle about the whole earth, and could hold its tail +in its mouth. + +The question as to what should be done with the great wolf, Fenris, was +not so easily answered. It seemed to all the gods that he had grown +larger and fiercer in the brief time he had stood before them, and none +of them dared touch him. At length some one whispered, "Let us kill +him," and the wolf turned and showed his teeth at the speaker; for as he +was the son of Loki, he could understand and speak the language of the +gods. + +"That cannot be," said Odin. "Have we not sworn that the streets of our +city shall never be stained with blood? Let us leave the matter until +another time." + +So the wolf was permitted to roam about Asgard, and the gods all tried +to be kind to him, for they thought that by their kindness they might +tame him. However, he grew stronger and stronger and more and more +vicious, until only Tyr, [Footnote: Tyr was the Norse war-god.] the +bravest of all the gods, dared go near him to give him food. One day, as +the gods sat in their council hall, they heard the wolf howling through +the streets. + +"How long," said Odin, "is our city to be made hideous by such noises? +We must bind Fenris the wolf." + +Silence followed his words, for all knew what a serious thing it was +that Odin proposed. Fenris must be bound--that was true; but who would +dare attempt the task? And what chain could ever hold him? At length +Thor [Footnote: Thor, god of thunder, was the strongest of all the gods] +arose, and all sighed with relief; for if any one could bind the wolf, +it was Thor. "I will make a chain," he said, "stronger than ever chain +was before, and then we shall find some way to fasten it upon him." + +Thor strode to his smithy, and heaped his fire high. All night he worked +at his anvil; whenever any of the gods awakened they could hear the +clank! clank! clank! of his great hammer, and could see from their +windows the sparks from his smithy shining through the gloom. In the +morning the chain was finished, and all wondered at its strength, Then +Thor called to the huge wolf and said: + +"Fenris, you are stronger than any of the gods. We cannot break this +chain, but for you it will be mere child's play. Let yourself be bound +with it, that we may see how great your strength really is." + +Now the wolf knew his might better than any of them did, and he suffered +himself to be bound fast. Then he arose, stretched himself as if he were +just waking from a nap, and calmly walked off, leaving the fragments of +the chain on the ground. The amazed gods looked at each other with +fright in their eyes--what could they do? + +"I will make a stronger chain," said Thor, undiscouraged. And again he +went to his smithy, where he worked all day and all night. + +"This is the strongest chain that can ever be made," he said, when he +presented it to the gods. "If this will not hold him, nothing can." + +Calling the wolf, they flattered him and praised his strength, and +finally persuaded him to let himself be bound with this chain, "just for +a joke." You may be sure, however, that they said nothing about its +being the strongest chain that could ever be made. + +Fenris pretended to lie helpless for a time; then he struggled to his +feet, shook his mighty limbs, tossed his hideous head--and the chain +snapped, and fell into a hundred pieces! Then indeed there was +consternation among the gods; but Odin, the all-wise, had a sudden +helpful thought. Calling his swiftest messenger, he said: + +"Go to the dwarfs in their underground smithy. Tell them to forge for us +a chain which cannot be broken; and do you make all haste, for the wolf +grows stronger each moment." + +[Illustration: THE GODS WERE AMAZED] + +Off hastened the messenger, and in less time than it takes to tell it he +was with the dwarfs, giving them the message from Odin. The little men +bustled about here and there, gathering up the materials of which the +chain was to be made; and when these were all collected and piled in a +heap, you might have looked and looked, and you would have seen nothing! +For this extraordinary chain was made of such things as the roots of +mountains, the sound of a cat's footsteps, a woman's beard, the spittle +of birds and the voice of fishes. When it was finished the messenger +hurried back to Asgard and displayed it proudly to the anxious gods. It +was as fine and soft as a silken string, but the gods knew the +workmanship of the dwarfs, and had no fear. + +"It will be easy," they said, "to persuade Fenris to let himself be +bound with this." + +But they were mistaken. The wolf looked at the soft, shining cord +suspiciously, and said: + +"If that is what it looks to be, I shall gain no honor from breaking it; +if it has been made by magic, I shall never free myself." + +"But we will free you," cried the gods. "This is but a game to test your +strength." + +"Not you," growled the wolf. "I've lived here long enough to know that +if I don't look out for myself, no one else will look out for me." + +"All right, if you are afraid," said Thor, with a shrug of his +shoulders. And the wolf replied, "To show that I am no more cowardly +than the gods, I will suffer myself to be bound if one of you will put +his hand into my mouth." + +To refuse to do this was, as the gods knew, to admit that they had meant +trickery, and thus to make Fenris hate them worse than ever. But what +one of them was willing to sacrifice his hand? Thor was no coward, but +he knew that he was the chief defender of the gods, and he could not let +himself be maimed. However, they did not have to wait long, for Tyr came +forward, and thrust his hand into the wolf's mouth. + +The wolf, his suspicions quieted, let himself be wrapped and bound with +the cord; and then, as he had done with the other chains, he stretched +himself--or tried to. For the magic rope but drew tighter and tighter +for all his struggling, until it cut into his very skin. Enraged, he +brought his great teeth sharply together, and bit off Tyr's hand at the +wrist. Then he howled and snapped and growled, until the gods, unwilling +to have their peace disturbed, thrust a sword into his mouth, so that +the hilt rested upon his lower jaw and the point pierced the roof of his +mouth. They next fastened the cord to a rock, and left the wolf to +writhe and struggle and shake the earth. So they were freed for a time +from their enemy, but at the cost of Tyr's hand. + + + + +THE DEATH OF BALDER + +Adapted by Anna McCaleb + + +Of all the gods in Asgard, Balder was most beloved; for no one had ever +seen him frown, and his smile and the light of his eyes made all happy +who looked at him. And of all who dwelt in Asgard or ever gained +admission there, Loki was most hated. Clever as he was, he used his +cleverness to harass the other gods and to make them wretched, and often +he attempted real crimes against them. It was natural enough that Loki, +slighted and frowned upon, should hate Balder the beautiful, even though +Balder himself had never spoken an unkind word to him. + +"I cannot bear the sight of his shining hair and happy eyes," muttered +Loki to himself. "If I could just blot them out of Asgard I should be +revenging myself upon the gods for their bitterness toward me, for harm +to Balder would hurt them more than harm to themselves." + +One morning the assembled gods noticed that when Balder came among them +he looked less radiant than usual, and they gathered about him, begging +that he tell them what was wrong. + +"It's nothing! It's nothing!" said Balder; and he forced a smile, but it +was not his old smile. It reminded them all of the faint light the sun +sheds when a thin cloud has drifted before it. + +All day long, as they went about their tasks and their pleasures, the +gods were conscious of a feeling of gloom; and when they stopped and +questioned themselves, they found that the cause lay in the diminished +brightness of Balder's smile. When, the next morning, Balder again came +slowly to the great hall of the gods and showed a careworn face, Odin +and Frigga, his father and mother, drew him apart and implored him to +tell them the cause of his grief. + +"My son," spoke Odin, "it is not well that this gloom should rest on all +the gods, and they not know the cause. Perhaps we, your father and your +mother, may help you." + +At last Balder told them that for two nights he had had strange, +haunting dreams; what they were he could not remember clearly when he +awoke, but he could not shake off their depressing effect. + +"I only know," he said, "that there was ever a thick cloud, which +drifted between me and the sun, and there were confused sounds of woe, +and travelings in dark, difficult places." + +Now the gods knew well that their dreams were messages given them by the +Norns, or Fates, and not for a moment did Odin and Frigga venture to +laugh at Balder's fears. They soothed him, however, by promising to find +some means of warding off any danger that might be threatening him. +Somewhat cheered, Balder went home to his palace to comfort his +distressed wife, Nanna, while Odin and Frigga discussed measures for +their son's safety. + +"I," said Odin, "shall ride to the domains of Hela, queen of the dead, +and question the great prophetess who lies buried there, as to what +Balder's dream may mean." And mounting Sleipnir, his eight-footed steed, +he rode away. + +Across the rainbow bridge he passed, out of the light, and down, down, +down into the dark, hopeless realm of Hela. As he rode by the gate he +saw that preparations for a feast were being made within. A gloomy feast +it would have to be in those drear regions, but evidently it was being +spread for some honored guest, for rich tapestries and rings of gold +covered the couches, and vessels of gold graced the tables. Past the +gate rode Odin, to a grave without the wall, where for ages long the +greatest of all prophetesses had lain buried. Here, in this dark, chill +place, was to be spoken the fate of Balder, bringer of light. + +Solemnly Odin chanted the awful charms that had power to raise the dead, +and king of gods as he was, he started when the grave opened, and the +prophetess, veiled in mist, rose before him. + +"Who art thou?" she demanded in hollow, ghost-like tones. "And what +canst thou wish to know so weighty that only I, long dead, can answer +thee?" + +Knowing that she would refuse to answer him should she know who he +really was, Odin concealed his identity, and simply asked for whom the +feast was preparing in Hela's realm. + +"For Balder, light of gods and men," replied the prophetess. + +"And who shall dare to strike him down?" cried Odin. + +"By the hand of his blind brother Hoder shall he fall. And now let me +rest." And the prophetess sank again into her tomb, leaving Odin with a +heart more heavy and chill than the darkness which closed round him. + +Meanwhile Frigga had busied herself with a plan which her mother love +had suggested. First to all the gods in Asgard, then through all the +earth did she go, saying, "Promise me--swear to me--that you will never +hurt Balder." Every bird, every beast, every creeping thing; all plants, +stones and metals; all diseases and poisons known to gods and men; fire, +water, earth, air--all things gladly took oath to do Balder no harm. + +"For do not we," they cried to Frigga, "love him even as you do? And why +then should we harm him?" + +Gladly Frigga took her way toward home, feeling certain that she had +saved Balder forever. As she was about to enter Odin's palace, Valhalla, +she noticed on a branch of an oak that grew there, a tiny, weak-looking +shrub. "That mistletoe is too young to promise, and too weak to do any +harm," said Frigga; and she passed it by. + +All the gods rejoiced with her when she told of her success; even Odin +partially shook off his fears, as he told the younger gods and the +heroes who dwelt with him in his palace to go and seek enjoyment after +their period of gloom. To the great playground of the gods they +hastened, and there they invented a new game. Balder, smiling as of old, +took his stand in the midst, and all the others hurled at him weapons, +stones and sticks, and even hit at him with their battle-axes. They grew +very merry over this pastime, for do what they would, none of them could +harm Balder; the missiles either fell short, or dropped to his feet +harmless. + +Loki, passing by, was at first amazed when he saw Balder being used as a +target; then, when he saw that Balder remained unhurt through all, he +became angry--he could not bear this proof of the fact that all things +loved Balder. Hastening away, he disguised himself as an old woman and +hobbled off to Fensalir, the mansion of Frigga. + +"Do you know," said this old woman, entering the room where Frigga sat +spinning, "that the gods and heroes are playing a very dangerous game? +They are hurling all sorts of things at your son Balder, who stands in +their midst." + +"That is not a dangerous game," replied Frigga, smiling serenely. "Last +year it might have been, but now all things have given me their solemn +oath not to harm Balder." + +"Well, well, well," said the old woman, "isn't that wonderful? To think +that any being should be so much beloved that everything should promise +not to hurt him! You said EVERYTHING, did you not?" + +"Yes," replied Frigga. "That is, it really amounts to everything. There +is one tiny parasite, the mistletoe, which grows on the Valhalla oak, +which I did not bother with." + +Once out of sight of Frigga, Loki moved rapidly enough; and shortly he +appeared, in his own form, among the gods, who were still shouting with +joy over their game. In his hand he carried a dart; but who could have +guessed, to look at it, that it had been fashioned from the mistletoe on +the Valhalla oak? + +Outside of the circle of the gods stood Hoder, Balder's blind brother, +and there was no smile on his face. Loki approached him and asked +craftily: + +"Why do you not join in the game? Are you not afraid that Balder will +think you are jealous of his good fortune if you take no part in this +sport they have invented in his honor?" + +[Illustration: HODER HURLED THE DART] + +"Alas!" said poor Hoder, "I am left out of all the sports of the gods. +How can I, with my sightless eyes, tell where Balder is? And you see +that I have nothing in my hand. What, then, could I throw?" + +"I have here a little dart that I will give you," replied Loki. "And +since you cannot direct your aim, I will guide your arm." + +Joyfully Hoder thanked him, and when Loki indicated the direction in +which he was to throw, he hurled the dart with all his might. +Unswervingly flew the mistletoe dart, and instead of falling at Balder's +feet, it lodged in his heart, so that he fell dead on the grass. + +Then, instead of the laughter which Hoder waited to hear, there went up +a shuddering wail of terror; and angry hands seized Hoder and angry +voices were in his ear. + +"What have I done?" he pleaded. "I but wished to show honor to Balder as +the rest have done." + +"And you have killed him!" they cried. "You shall die yourself." + +"Peace! Peace!" said Heimdal. "Such a deed of violence must not stain +the home of the gods. Moreover, Hoder did it all unwittingly. It was +Loki who directed his aim, and we are all to blame that we allowed him +to set foot on our playground." + +Bitter indeed was Hoder's grief, and he implored his heart-broken +mother, Frigga, that he might be allowed to take Balder's place in dark +Hela's realm. + +"Not you alone," she replied, "but any of the gods, would willingly die +for Balder. But not in that way can he be brought back to Asgard. There +is one chance--speak to Hermod, fleetest of the gods; tell him to take +Odin's horse, Sleipnir, and ride to Hela's abode. Perchance, if he +entreat her, she may give Balder up." Hermod, at the word of the +despairing Hoder, mounted the eight-footed steed, and set off on the +perilous journey. + +Meanwhile, the other gods prepared the funeral pyre for Balder, +determined that it should be worthy of the beloved and honored god. +Great pine trees were felled and piled upon the deck of Ringhorn, +Balder's ship; tapestry hangings, garlands of flowers and ornaments of +gold and silver were heaped upon the pyre. + +And finally, in sad procession, came the gods, bearing Balder's body, +which they placed upon the flowers. His horse and his dogs were killed +and placed beside him, that they might be with him to serve him in the +underworld. Then one after one of the gods stepped forward and chanted +their farewells; but when Nanna's turn came, she was unable to speak. +Her heart broke, and her spirit fled to join that of her husband. The +gods could not sorrow for her death; they knew that the abode of the +dead would have less terrors for the loving pair if they could be +together there, so without tears they laid her beside her husband. + +Last of all, Odin advanced and cast upon the pyre his treasured ring, +Draupnir, gift of the dwarfs, as an offering to his dead son. Then Thor, +with a touch of his hammer, which caused the lightning, set fire to the +pile, and the ship, with sails set, was launched. + +In solemn silence the gods watched the ship float out upon the sea. + + "And wreathed in smoke, the ship stood out to sea. + Soon with a roaring rose the mighty fire, + And the pile crackled; and between the logs + Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt, + Curling and darting, higher, till they lick'd + The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast, + And ate the shriveling sails; but still the ship + Drove on, ablaze above her hull with fire. + And the gods stood upon the beach and gazed, + And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down + Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on. + Then the wind fell, with night, and there was calm; + But through the night they watched the burning ship + Still carried o'er the distant waters on, + Farther and farther, like an eye of fire. + And long, in the far dark, blazed Balder's pile; + But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared; + The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile. + And as, in a decaying winter fire, + A charr'd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks-- + So with a shower of sparks the pile fell in, + Reddening the sea around; and all was dark." +[Footnote: The poetic quotations in this story are from +Matthew Arnold's Balder Dead.] + +Then, when all was over, the gods went mournfully back to their homes, +there to await the return of Hermod. Their palaces were brightly +illuminated, but no lights shone from the windows of Breidablik, +Balder's palace; and as long as that was dark, the gods cared little for +the brilliance of their own dwellings. + +Hermod, in the meantime, had journeyed across the rainbow bridge, and on +and on toward the north until he reached the Giall river, which runs +between the regions of Hela and the upper world. Well the guard of the +bridge knew, when she heard on the bridge the noise of the horse's feet, +that it was no shade who was crossing; but when Hermod told his errand, +he was allowed to go on. And now his way led over trackless, slippery +ice, on which scarce any other horse could have kept his footing; and +surely no other horse could have leapt, as did Sleipnir, the gate to +Hela's own realm. Once within, Hermod came rapidly into the presence of +the queen, and on his knees before her implored her to allow Balder to +return to the light and the upper air. + + "'For Heaven was Balder born, the city of gods + And heroes, where they live in light and joy. + Thither restore him, for his place is there!'" + +Hela remained unmoved by his pleadings; and what wonder? For she was +Loki's daughter, and knew by whose act Balder had been sent below. +Finally she said: + +"Hermod, I shall try whether the protestations that all things lament +Balder are indeed true. Return to Asgard; and if, through all the earth, +all things, living and dead, weep for Balder, he shall return. But if +one thing in all the world refuses to shed tears, here he shall stay." + +Cheered by this promise, Hermod turned to depart, but before he left he +talked with Balder and with Nanna, his wife. They told him that all +honor which could be paid to any one in the realms of the dead was paid +to them; that Balder was made the judge in disputes between the shades. +But despite that, the days were weary, hopeless; no joy was there, +nothing substantial--just days and nights of unvarying twilight, with +never a gleam of real brightness. Nor would Balder admit that there was +cause for rejoicing in the promise of Hela. "Well we know the family of +Loki. Were there not some trick, Hela would never have spoken that +word." + +Nevertheless, it was with a heart lighter than at his coming that Hermod +set out on his return journey. And when he reached Asgard there was +rejoicing among the gods. For the first time since Balder's death, there +were the sounds of cheerful hurryings to and fro and of gods calling +each to each as they set out upon their tasks; for all the gods wanted a +part in the work of bringing Balder back to life. + +In twos and threes they rode throughout all the world, and soon "all +that lived, and all without life, wept." Trees, stones, flowers, metals +joined willingly in grief for Balder the beautiful; and most of the gods +speedily returned in joy. But Hermod, as he rode, came to the mouth of a +dark cave where sat an old hag named Thok. Years long she had sat there, +and the gods knew her well, for she always cried out mockingly to all +who passed by; but Hermod could not know that to-day Loki had changed +forms with the old hag, and that it was really that enemy of the gods +who sat before him. Dismounting, he besought the old woman to weep for +Balder, as all things in heaven and earth had promised to do. But in a +shrill voice she cried: + +"With dry tears will Thok weep for Balder. Let Hela keep her prey." + +And as she fled, with harsh laughter, to the cave's depth, Hermod knew +that it was Loki who had this second time stolen life from Balder. + +Sadly he rode back to Asgard, and in silent grief the gods heard his +tale; for they knew that brightness was gone forever from the abode of +the gods--that Balder the beautiful should return no more. + + +This story of Balder is one of those myths which were invented to +explain natural happenings. The ancient peoples, knowing nothing about +science, could not account for such things as the rising and setting of +the sun and the change from summer to winter; and they made up +explanations which in time grew into interesting stories. + +Some students believe that in this story the death of Balder (the sun) +by the hand of Hoder (darkness) represents the going down of the sun at +each day's close. + +Another explanation, and a more probable one, is that the death of +Balder represents the close of the short northern summer and the coming +on of the long winter. That is, the dreary winter, with its darkness, is +represented by Hoder, who had strength, but could not make use of it to +aid men or gods; who could, however, with his blind strength, slay +Balder, who stood for the blessed, life-giving qualities of the summer +sun. + +Loki represented fire. He had in him elements of good, but because of +the fact that he had used his power often to harm, as does fire, instead +of to bless, he was feared and hated and avoided; and thus he became +jealous of Balder. + +For a myth which the Greeks and Romans invented about the sun, see the +story of Phaethon, in this volume. + +[Illustration: STRANGE OPAL LIGHTS FILTERED THROUGH THE WATER] + + + + +THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI + +Adapted by Anna McCaleb + + +After Balder's death the gods felt that they had little to make them +happy. Their thoughts dwelt always on their loss, or on their desire to +punish Loki; and in neither of these thoughts was there any joy, for to +the pure minds of the gods, the thought of violence could bring nothing +but pain. + +One day the sea-god Aegir sent to the dwellers in Asgard an invitation +to a banquet in his sea caverns, and all accepted except Thor, who had +business that called him elsewhere. On the appointed morning they +appeared at Aegir's palace, and while at first they forced themselves to +smile and appear cheerful, in compliment to their host, they soon found +themselves, because of the novelty of all about them, becoming genuinely +interested. The palace was of coral, pink and white--rough on the +outside, but smooth and polished within; and the floors were strewn with +sand so fine and white that it looked like marble. Draperies of bright- +colored seaweed hung everywhere, and the gay sea flowers met their eyes +at every turn, while the dishes and cups in which the feast was served +were the most delicate pearl-tinted shells. Strange opal lights filtered +through the water and into the banqueting hall, and great whales and sea +snakes looked in through the windows on the gods as they sat at table. + +All was cheerfulness and merriment, but suddenly the gods felt a chill +come over them, as if a wind from Hela's ice-bound realm had rushed +past. Turning, they saw Loki on the threshold. With a muttered excuse +for his lateness he slipped into his seat; and then, since none except +his host greeted him, and since the merry talk was not resumed, he +glanced about the table and said: + +"Pretty manners are these! Does no one pledge me in wine? Does no one +have a word for me?" + +Painfully the gods forced themselves to take up their conversation, +though all avoided talking directly to Loki, whose expression became +more lowering every moment. At length Odin turned to his host. + +"This servant, Funfeng, is deft and skilful. Even in my palace I have +not his superior." + +Aegir bowed. "Since the king of the gods is pleased with Funfeng, +Funfeng is no longer my servant, but the servant of Odin. He shall wait +upon the heroes in Valhalla." + +With a cry of jealous rage Loki sprang to his feet. "Never!" he cried, +and he struck Funfeng so violently that he fell dead. + +All the gods leaped up, and they drove Loki from the palace, commanding +him never to appear in their presence again; but scarcely had they +seated themselves to resume their interrupted feast, when the crafty god +again entered the room. Not waiting for them to speak, he began to +revile them. His words came in a rapid stream; he stopped not to draw +breath. Beginning with Odin, he attacked the gods in turn, mocking their +physical peculiarities, recounting every deed which they had done that +was not to their credit, shaming them because he had always been able to +elude them easily, and because only he could help them out of their +difficulties. Finally he came to Sif, Thor's golden-haired wife, whom +long before he had robbed of her tresses. + +"As for Sif," he began, "I could tell a tale of her that--" + +But he went no further, for a peal of thunder drowned his words, and a +blinding flash of lightning made him cover his eyes with his hands. The +gods sighed in relief, for Thor stood among them, his eyes shooting +fire. + +"Already," he cried, "has Aegir's palace been stained with blood to-day. +I will not, therefore, kill you here. But if ever you appear before my +eyes again, I shall smite you; and if ever you dare to speak Sif's name, +I shall hear it though I am in the uttermost parts of the earth, and I +shall have vengeance." + +"Well spoken, son Thor," said Odin. "But I too have something to say to +Loki. We shall permit you to go unharmed to-day, but if you care for +your life, hide yourself. We shall seek you; and the gods have keen +eyes. And if we find you out, you shall die." + +Sullen, frightened, Loki withdrew. He wandered about long in the most +barren, desolate parts of the earth, cursing the gods and hating +himself. At length he found a spot which he felt sure would be hidden +even from Odin's eyes. It was in a steep, rocky valley, where nothing +grew, and where no sound ever came except the weird noise of the wind as +it swept through the narrow passes, and the chatter of a mountain stream +as it leapt down the rocks. + +Here, in this solitary place, Loki built himself a hut of piled-up +rocks. Four walls had the hut, and in each wall was a door, for Loki +wished to be able to see the gods, from whatever direction they +approached, and to make his escape. He had always been a famous +fisherman, and now the fish which he took from the stream formed his +only food. + +Sometimes he changed himself into a salmon and floated about in the +quieter places of the stream. He never talked with the other fish who +lived in the stream, but somehow he felt less lonely with those living +things about him than he did in his solitary hut on the mountain side. + +One day (for Loki was a very clever workman) he began to fashion +something, the like of which there had not been in the world before. +This was a net for fishing; and so interested did Loki become in +twisting and knotting the cords, that he almost forgot to keep watch for +his enemies, the gods. The net was almost finished, when one afternoon +Loki raised his head and saw through one of his doors three gods +approaching--Odin, Thor and Heimdal, wisest of the gods. With a curse he +tossed his net upon the fire--"THEY shall never have it!"--and slipped +from his hut. Splash! And there was a huge salmon deep down in the +stream, while Loki was nowhere to be seen. + +The gods were greatly disappointed when they entered the hut; they had +been so sure that at last they had found the hiding place of the wicked +one, and it seemed they had missed him again. However, they knew his +power of disguising himself, and they were not utterly discouraged. + +"He has not been gone long," said Heimdal, "for look--the fire still +burns. And what is this upon the fire?" And he drew out the partly +burned fish net. + +"What can it be?" asked Odin. "It is too coarse for any sort of covering +for the body, and not strong enough to use in entangling an enemy." + +"Wait!" said Heimdal. "I have it--I have it! It's a net for fishing-- +Loki was always a fisherman. See," he exclaimed excitedly, "you take it +SO," thrusting one end into Thor's hand, "and you drag it through the +water SO. The water runs through and the fish are held. O, clever Loki!" + +"But why," asked Thor, "should he burn it up, when he has spent so much +work upon it?" + +"I don't know," said Heimdal musingly, "unless--unless. Where could he +hide except in that stream, and how could he conceal himself there +without changing himself to a fish? Mark my words. Loki is there, and he +feared we might catch him with his own net." + +"That," said Odin, "would be a form of justice for which one would +scarcely dare hope. I fear the net is too badly burned for use." + +"Not so," replied Heimdal. "Here is more flax, and we can easily repair +the damage the fire has done." + +So the three gods sat upon the floor of the hut and mended the burned +net, keeping an eye always on the stream, that Loki might not make his +escape. And when the net was ready they went forth, and with it dragged +the stream. Not a fish did they catch, for Loki had frightened the real +fish away, and he himself was hiding between two big stones, so that the +net passed over him. + +"The thing is too light," said Thor. "It does not touch the bottom." + +"That we can soon change," replied Heimdal, and he set about fastening +stones to the lower edge of the net. + +Again they began to drag the river, and this time Loki feared that he +could not escape. But just as the net almost touched him, he gave a +mighty leap and sprang clear of the net. The silvery flash, the sudden +splash, startled the gods, so that they almost dropped the net; but it +told them what they wanted to know--Loki WAS in the stream. Turning, +they dragged the net down the stream, driving Loki nearer and nearer to +the sheer drop of the waterfall, down which he dared not plunge. +Desperate, he made another leap, and again he almost escaped; but Thor's +quick eyes saw him, Thor's strong, iron-gloved hand gripped him. The +great salmon struggled, but Thor held it fast by the tail, and finally +flung it out upon the bank. + +[Illustration: THOR'S HAND GRIPPED HIM] + +Loki, within the fish, vowed to himself that he would not return to his +own shape; but the fish's body could not live long out of the water, and +soon he found himself growing weak and faint. At length, therefore, he +was obliged to assume his own form, and there he stood, handsome, but +evil-looking, before the waiting gods. + +"It hurts us," said Odin, "that we should be forced to treat one of our +own kind in this way. Perhaps even now--tell us that you do regret your +past wickedness, that you are sorry for the trouble you have caused the +gods, that you grieve sometimes for Balder's death." + +"I grieve," said Loki, "only that I have caused so little trouble among +the gods; I regret only that the days for pitting my cleverness against +your stupidity are at an end--for I ask for no mercy. As for Balder's +death, it has been my chief cause for rejoicing as I have dwelt here in +this solitary place." + +Shocked by his hardness, the gods led him away to the punishment which +they had planned for him. The other gods met them by the way, and troops +of dwarfs and elves and human beings and animals sprang up on every +side, and followed them. And in the hearts of all these followers there +was joy, for Loki had never done them anything but harm; and besides, +had he not slain Balder, the beautiful, the beloved? + +But in the hearts of the gods there was pain, for Loki was of their own +number, and far back in the beginnings of time, before he had become +wicked, he had been their great pride, by reason of his cleverness. + +They passed, a noisy procession, to a dark, underground cavern, a damp, +slimy place, where snakes looked out from their holes, and toads sat +upon the stones. Here were three sharp-pointed rocks, which Thor pierced +with holes; and to these rocks they bound the wretched Loki with chains +of adamant. + +"Here he shall stay," said Odin, "until the last great day shall come +for gods and men." + +A giantess, whose son Loki had killed, came with a great serpent, which +she fastened directly over Loki's head; and from the serpent's mouth +dripped poison, which fell, drop by drop, upon Loki's upturned face. His +wife, Sigyn, could not bear to see her husband in such agony, so she +took her stand beside him, cup in hand, and caught the poison as it +fell. There through the ages on ages she stood, relieving Loki's pain, +and trying to cheer him, for whom there was no cheer. When the cup was +filled and she had to go to the cavern's mouth to empty it, then the +venom fell on Loki's face, and in his terrible pain he struggled and +writhed until the earth shook. And all the people, startled at their +work or from their sleep, cried, "Loki's earthquake!" + + + + +SEVEN TIMES ONE + +By Jean Ingelow + + +There's no dew left on the daisies and clover, +There's no rain left in heaven; +I've said my "seven times" over and over-- +Seven times one are seven. + +I am so old, so old I can write a letter; +My birthday lessons are done; +The lambs play always, they know no better; +They are only one times one. + +O moon! in the night I have seen you sailing +And shining so round and low; +You were bright! ah, bright! but your light is failing-- +You are nothing now but a bow. + +You moon, have you done something wrong in heaven, +That God has hidden your face? +I hope if you have you will soon be forgiven, +And shine again in your place. + +O velvet bee, you're a dusty fellow, +You've powdered your legs with gold! +O brave marsh marybuds, rich and yellow, +Give me your money to hold! + +O columbine, open your folded wrapper, +Where two twin turtledoves dwell! +O cuckoopint, toll me the purple clapper +That hangs in your clear green bell! + +And show me your nest with the young ones in it; +I will not steal them away; +I am old! you may trust me, linnet, linnet-- +I am seven times one to-day. + + + + +SHUFFLE-SHOON AND AMBER-LOCKS +[Footnote: From 'Love Songs of Childhood'. Copyright, 1894, +by Eugene Field, published by Charles Scribner's Sons.] + +By Eugene Field + + +Shuffle-Shoon and Amber-Locks +Sit together, building blocks; +Shuffle-Shoon is old and gray, +Amber-Locks a little child. + +But together at their play +Age and Youth are reconciled, +And with sympathetic glee +Build their castles fair to see. + +"When I grow to be a man," +(So the wee one's prattle ran), +"I shall build a castle so-- +With a gateway broad and grand; +Here a pretty vine shall grow, +There a soldier guard shall stand; +And the tower shall be so high, +Folks will wonder, by and by!" + +Shuffle-Shoon quoth: "Yes, I know; +Thus I builded long ago! +Here a gate and there a wall, +Here a window, there a door; +Here a steeple wondrous tall +Riseth ever more and more! +But the years have leveled low +What I builded long ago!" + +So they gossip at their play, +Heedless of the fleeting day; +One speaks of the Long Ago +Where his dead hopes buried lie; +One with chubby cheeks aglow +Prattleth of the By-and-By; +Side by side, they build their blocks-- +Shuffle-Shoon and Amber-Locks. + + + + +AFTERWHILE +[Footnote: From the poem to Afterwhiles by James +Whitcomb Riley. Used by special permission of the +publishers--The Bobbs-Merrill Company.] + +By James Whitcomb Riley + + +Afterwhile we have in view +The old home to journey to: +Where the Mother is, and where +Her sweet welcome waits us there. +How we'll click the latch that locks +In the pinks and hollyhocks, +And leap up the path once more +Where she waits us at the door; +How we'll greet the dear old smile +And the warm tears--afterwhile. + + + + +WINDY NIGHTS + +By ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON + + +Whenever the moon and stars are set, +Whenever the wind is high, +All night long in the dark and wet, +A man goes riding by. +Late in the night when the fires are out, +Why does he gallop and gallop about? +Whenever the trees are crying aloud, +And ships are tossed at sea, +By, on the highway, low and loud, +By at the gallop goes he. +By at the gallop he goes, and then +By he comes back at the gallop again. + + + + +THE SNOW QUEEN + +By Hans Christian Andersen + + +THE FIRST STORY + +WHICH TREATS OF THE MIRROR AND FRAGMENTS + + +Look you, now we're going to begin. When we are at the end of the story +we shall know more than we do now, for he was a bad goblin. He was one +of the very worst, for he was a demon. One day he was in very good +spirits, for he had made a mirror which had this peculiarity, that +everything good and beautiful that was reflected in it shrank together +into almost nothing, but that whatever was worthless and looked ugly +became prominent and looked worse than ever. The most lovely landscapes +seen in this mirror looked like boiled spinach, and the best people +became hideous, or stood on their heads and had no bodies; their faces +were so distorted as to be unrecognizable, and a single freckle was +shown spread out over nose and mouth. That was very amusing, the demon +said. When good, pious thoughts passed through any person's mind these +were again shown in the mirror, so that the demon chuckled at his +artistic invention. + +Those who visited the goblin school--for he kept a goblin school-- +declared everywhere that a wonder had been wrought. For now, they +asserted, one could see, for the first time, how the world and the +people in it really looked. Now they wanted to fly up to heaven, to +sneer and scoff at the angels themselves. The higher they flew with the +mirror, the more it grinned; they could scarcely hold it fast. They flew +higher and higher, and then the mirror trembled so terribly amid its +grinning that it fell down out of their hands to the earth, where it was +shattered into a hundred million million and more fragments. + +And now this mirror occasioned much more unhappiness than before; for +some of the fragments were scarcely as large as a barleycorn, and these +flew about in the world, and whenever they flew into any one's eye they +stuck there, and that person saw everything wrongly, or had only eyes +for the bad side of a thing, for every little fragment of the mirror had +retained the power which the whole glass possessed. A few persons even +got a fragment of the mirror into their hearts, and that was terrible +indeed, for such a heart became a block of ice. A few fragments of the +mirror were so large that they were used as window panes, but it was a +bad thing to look at one's friends through these panes: other pieces +were made into spectacles, and then it went badly when people put on +these spectacles to see rightly, and to be just; and then the demon +laughed till his paunch shook, for it tickled him so. But without, some +little fragments of glass still floated about in the air--and now we +shall hear + + + +THE SECOND STORY + +A LITTLE BOY AND A LITTLE GIRL + + +In the great town, where there are many houses, and so many people that +there is not room enough for every one to have a little garden, and +where consequently most persons are compelled to be content with flowers +in pots, were two poor children who possessed a garden somewhat larger +than a flowerpot. They were not brother and sister, but they loved each +other quite as much as if they had been. Their parents lived just +opposite each other in two garrets, there where the roof of one +neighbor's house joined that of another. And where the water pipe ran +between the two houses was a little window; one had only to step across +the pipe to get from one window to the other. + +The parents of each child had a great box, in which grew kitchen herbs +that they used, and a little rosebush; there was one in each box, and +they grew famously. Now, it occurred to the parents to place the boxes +across the pipe, so that they reached from one window to another, and +looked quite like two embankments of flowers. Pea plants hung down over +the boxes, and the rosebushes shot forth long twigs, which clustered +round the windows and bent down toward each other; it was almost like a +triumphal arch of flowers and leaves. As the boxes were very high, and +the children knew that they might not creep upon them, they often +obtained permission to step out upon the roof behind the boxes, and to +sit upon their little stools under the roses, and there they could play +capitally. + +In the winter time there was an end of this amusement. The windows were +sometimes quite frozen over. But then they warmed copper shillings on +the stove, and held the warm coins against the frozen pane; and this +made a capital peep-hole, so round! so round! and behind it gleamed a +pretty mild eye at each window; and these eyes belonged to the little +boy and the little girl. His name was Kay and the little girl's was +Gerda. + +In the summer they could get to one another at one bound; but in the +winter they had to go down and up the long staircase, while the snow was +pelting without. + +"Those are the white bees swarming," said the old grandmother. + +"Have they a queen bee?" asked the little boy. For he knew that there is +one among the real bees. + +"Yes, they have one," replied grandmamma. "She always flies where they +swarm thickest. She is the largest of them all, and never remains quiet +upon the earth; she flies up again into the black cloud. Many a midnight +she is flying through the streets of the town, and looks in at the +windows, and then they freeze in such a strange way, and look like +flowers." + +"Yes, I've seen that!" cried both the children; and now they knew that +it was true. + +[Illustration: THE SNOWFLAKE AT LAST BECAME A MAIDEN] + +"Can the Snow Queen come in here?" asked the little girl. + +"Only let her come," cried the boy; "I'll set her upon the warm stove, +and then she'll melt." + +But grandmother smoothed his hair, and told some other tales. In the +evening, when little Kay was at home and half undressed, he clambered +upon the chair by the window, and looked through the little hole. A few +flakes of snow were falling outside, and one of them, the largest of +them all, remained lying on the edge of one of the flower boxes. + +The snowflake grew larger and larger, and at last became a maiden +clothed in the finest white gauze, put together of millions of starry +flakes. She was beautiful and delicate, but of ice--of shining, +glittering ice. Yet she was alive; her eyes flashed like two clear +stars, but there was no peace or rest in them. She nodded toward the +window, and beckoned with her hand. The little boy was frightened, and +sprang down from the chair; then it seemed as if a great bird flew by +outside, in front of the window. + +Next day there was a clear frost, and then the spring came; the sun +shone, the green sprouted forth, the swallows built nests, the windows +were opened, and the little children again sat in their garden high up +in the roof, over all the floors. + +How splendidly the roses bloomed this summer! The little girl had +learned a psalm, in which mention was made of roses; and, in speaking of +roses, she thought of her own; and she sang it to the little boy, and he +sang, too: + + "The roses will fade and pass away, + But we the Christ-child shall see one day." + +And the little ones held each other by the hand, kissed the roses, +looked at God's bright sunshine, and spoke to it, as if the Christ-child +were there. What splendid summer days those were! How beautiful it was +without, among the fresh rosebushes! + +Kay and Gerda sat and looked at the picture book of beasts and birds. +Then it was, while the clock was just striking twelve on the church +tower, that Kay said: + +"Oh! something struck my heart and pricked me in the eye." The little +girl fell upon his neck; he blinked his eyes. No, there was nothing at +all to be seen. + +"I think it is gone," said he; but it was not gone. It was just one of +those glass fragments which sprang from the mirror--the magic mirror +that we remember well, the ugly glass that made every great and good +thing which was mirrored in it to seem small and mean, but in which the +mean and the wicked things were brought out in relief, and every fault +was noticeable at once. Poor little Kay had also received a splinter +just in his heart, and that will now soon become like a lump of ice. It +did not hurt him now, but the splinter was still there. + +"Why do you cry?" he asked. "You look ugly like that. There's nothing +the matter with me. Oh, fie!" he suddenly exclaimed, "that rose is worm- +eaten, and this one is quite crooked. After all, they're ugly roses. +They're like the box in they stand." + +And then he kicked the box with his foot, and tore both the roses off. + +"Kay, what are you about?" cried the little girl. + +And when he noticed her fright he tore off another rose, and then sprang +in at his own window, away from pretty little Gerda. + +When she afterward came with her picture book, he said it was only fit +for babies in arms; and when his grandmother told stories he always came +in with a BUT; and when he could manage it, he would get behind her, put +on a pair of spectacles, and talk just as she did; he could do that very +cleverly, and the people laughed at him. Soon he could mimic the speech +and the gait of everybody in the street. Everything that was peculiar or +ugly about people, Kay would imitate; and every one said, "That boy must +certainly have a remarkable genius." But it was the glass that struck +deep in his heart; so it happened that he even teased little Gerda, who +loved him with all her heart. + +His games now became quite different from what they were before; they +became quite sensible. One winter's day when it snowed he came out with +a great burning glass, held up the blue tail of his coat, and let the +snowflakes fall upon it. + +"Now look at the glass, Gerda," said he. + +And every flake of snow was magnified, and looked like a splendid +flower, or a star with ten points--it was beautiful to behold. + +"See how clever that is," said Kay. "That's much more interesting than +real flowers; and there's not a single fault in it--they're quite +regular until they begin to melt." + +Soon after, Kay came in thick gloves, and with his sledge upon his back. +He called up to Gerda. "I've got leave to go into the great square, +where the other boys play;" and he was gone. + +In the great square the boldest among the boys often tied their sledges +to the country people's carts, and thus rode with them a good way. They +went capitally. When they were in the midst of their playing there came +a great sledge. It was painted quite white, and in it sat somebody +wrapped in a rough, white fur, with a white, rough cap on his head. The +sledge drove twice round the square, and Kay bound his little sledge to +it, and so he drove on with it. It went faster and faster, straight into +the next street. The man who drove turned round and nodded in a familiar +way to Kay; it was as if they knew one another. Each time when Kay +wanted to cast loose his little sledge, the stranger nodded again, and +then Kay remained where he was, and thus they drove out at the town +gate. Then the snow began to fall so rapidly that the boy could not see +a hand's breadth before him; but still he drove on. Now he hastily +dropped the cord, so as to get loose from the great sledge; but that was +no use, for his sledge was fast bound to the other, and they went on +like the wind. Then he called out quite loudly, but nobody heard him; +and the snow beat down, and the sledge flew onward. Every now and then +it gave a jump, and they seemed to be flying over hedges and ditches. +The boy was quite frightened. He wanted to say his prayer, but could +remember nothing but the multiplication table. + +The snowflakes became larger and larger; at last they looked like white +fowls. All at once they sprang aside, the great sledge stopped, and the +person who had driven it rose up. The fur and the cap were made +altogether of ice. It was A LADY, tall and slender, and brilliantly +white: it was the Snow Queen! + +"We have driven well!" said she. "But why do you tremble with cold? +Creep into my fur." + +And she seated him beside her in her own sledge, and wrapped the fur +round him, and he felt as if he sank into a snowdrift. + +"Are you still cold?" asked she, and then she kissed him on the +forehead. + +Oh, that was colder than ice; it went quite through to his heart, half +of which was already a lump of ice. He felt as if he were going to die, +but only for a moment; for then he seemed quite well, and he did not +notice the cold all about him. + +"My sledge! Don't forget my sledge." + +That was the first thing he thought of; and it was bound fast to one of +the white chickens, and this chicken flew behind him with the sledge +upon its back. The Snow Queen kissed Kay again, and then he had +forgotten little Gerda, his grandmother, and all at home. + +"Now you shall have no more kisses," said she, "for if you did I should +kiss you to death." + +Kay looked at her. She was so beautiful, he could not imagine a more +sensible or lovely face; she did not appear to him to be made of ice +now, as she did when she sat at the window and beckoned to him. In his +eyes she was perfect; he did not feel at all afraid. He told her that he +could do mental arithmetic as far as fractions; that he knew the number +of square miles and the number of inhabitants in the country. And she +always smiled, and then it seemed to him that what he knew was not +enough. And he looked up into the wide sky, and she flew with him high +up upon the black cloud, and the storm blew and whistled; it seemed as +though the wind sang old songs. They flew over woods and lakes, over sea +and land; below them the cold wind roared, the wolves howled, the snow +crackled; over them flew the black, screaming crows; but above all the +moon shone bright and clear, and Kay looked at the long, long winter +night; by day he slept at the feet of the Queen. + + + +THE THIRD STORY + +THE FLOWER GARDEN OF THE WOMAN WHO COULD CONJURE + + +But how did it fare with little Gerda when Kay did not return? What +could have become of him? No one knew, no one could give information. +The boys only told that they had seen him bind his sledge to another +very large one, which had driven along the street and out at the town +gate. Nobody knew what had become of him; many tears were shed, and +little Gerda especially wept long and bitterly. Then she said he was +dead--he had been drowned in the river which flowed close by their +school. Oh, those were very dark, long winter days! But now spring came, +with warmer sunshine. + +"Kay is dead and gone," said little Gerda. + +"I don't believe it," said the Sunshine. + +"He is dead and gone," said she to the Sparrows. "We don't believe it," +they replied; and at last little Gerda did not believe it herself. + +"I will put on my new red shoes," she said one morning--"those that Kay +has never seen; and then I will go down to the river, and ask for him." + +It was still very early; she kissed the old grandmother, who was still +asleep, put on her red shoes, and went quite alone out of the town gate +toward the river. + +"Is it true that you have taken my little playmate from me? I will give +you my red shoes if you will give him back to me." + +And it seemed to her as if the waves nodded quite strangely; and then +she took her red shoes, which she liked best of anything she possessed, +and threw them both into the river; but they fell close to the shore, +and the little wavelets carried them back to her, to the land. It seemed +as if the river would not take from her the dearest things she possessed +because he had not her little Kay. But she thought she had not thrown +the shoes far enough out, so she crept into a boat that lay among the +reeds, went to the other end of the boat, and threw the shoes from +thence into the water; but the boat was not bound fast, and at the +movement she made it glided away from the shore. She noticed it, and +hurried to get back; but before she reached the other end, the boat was +a yard from the bank, and it drifted away faster than before. + +Then little Gerda was very much frightened, and began to cry; but no one +heard her except the Sparrows, and they could not carry her to land; but +they flew along the shore, and sang, as if to console her, "Here we are! +here we are!" The boat drove on with the stream, and little Gerda sat +quite still, with only her stockings on her feet; her little red shoes +floated along behind her, but they could not come up to the boat, for +that made more way. + +It was very pretty on both shores. There were beautiful flowers, old +trees, and slopes with sheep and cows; but not ONE person was to be +seen. + +"Perhaps the river will carry me to little Kay," thought Gerda. + +And then she became more cheerful, and rose up, and for many hours she +watched the charming green banks; then she came to a great cherry +orchard, in which stood a little house with remarkable blue and red +windows; it had a thatched roof, and without stood two wooden soldiers, +who presented arms to those who sailed past. + +[Illustration: THEY FLEW OVER WOODS AND LAKES] + +Gerda called to them, for she thought they were alive, but of course +they did not answer. She came quite close to them. The river carried the +boat toward the shore. + +Gerda called still louder, and then there came out of the house an old +woman leaning on a crutch; she had on a great velvet hat, painted over +with the finest flowers. + +"You poor little child!" said the old woman. "How did you manage to come +on the great rolling river, and to float thus far out into the world?" + +And then the old woman went quite into the water, seized the boat with +her crutch stick, drew it to land, and lifted little Gerda out. And +Gerda was glad to be on dry land again, though she felt a little afraid +of the strange old woman. + +"Come and tell me who you are, and how you came here," said the old +lady. And Gerda told her everything; and the old woman shook her head, +and said, "Hem! hem!" And when Gerda had told everything, and asked if +she had not seen little Kay, the woman said that he had not yet come by, +but that he probably would soon come. Gerda was not to be sorrowful, but +to look at the flowers and taste the cherries, for they were better than +any picture book, for each one of them could tell a story. Then she took +Gerda by the hand and led her into the little house, and locked the +door. + +The windows were very high, and the panes were red, blue and yellow; the +daylight shone in a remarkable way, with different colors. On the table +stood the finest cherries, and Gerda ate as many of them as she liked, +for she had leave to do so. While she was eating them, the old lady +combed Gerda's hair with a golden comb, and the yellow hair hung softly +round the friendly little face, which looked as blooming as a rose. + +"I have long wished for such a dear little girl as you," said the old +lady. "Now you shall see how well we shall live with one another." + +And as the ancient dame combed her hair, Gerda forgot her adopted +brother Kay more and more; for this old woman could conjure, but she was +not a wicked witch. She only practiced a little magic for her own +amusement, and wanted to keep little Gerda. Therefore she went into the +garden, stretched out her crutch toward all the rosebushes, and, +beautiful as they were, they all sank into the earth, and one could not +tell where they had stood. The old woman was afraid that, if the little +girl saw roses, she would think of her own, and remember little Kay, and +run away. + +Now Gerda was led out into the flower garden. What fragrance was there, +and what loveliness! Every conceivable flower was there in full bloom; +there were some for every season; no picture book could be gayer and +prettier. Gerda jumped high for joy, and played till the sun went down +behind the high cherry trees; then she was put into a lovely bed, with +red silk pillows stuffed with blue violets, and she slept there, and +dreamed as gloriously as a queen on her wedding day. + +Next day she played again with the flowers in the warm sunshine; and +thus many days went by. Gerda knew every flower; but, many as there were +of them, it still seemed to her as if one were wanting, but which one +she did not know. One day she sat looking at the old lady's hat with the +painted flowers, and the prettiest of them all was a rose. The old lady +had forgotten to efface it from her hat when she caused the others to +disappear. But so it always is when one does not keep one's wits about +one. + +"What, are there no roses here?" cried Gerda. + +And she went among the beds, and searched and searched, but there was +not one to be found. Then she sat down and wept; her tears fell just +upon a spot where a rosebush lay buried, and when the warm tears +moistened the earth, the tree at once sprouted up as blooming as when it +had sunk; and Gerda embraced it, kissed the roses, and thought of the +beautiful roses at home, and also of little Kay. + +"Oh, how I have been detained!" said the little girl. "I wanted to seek +for little Kay! Do you not know where he is?" she asked the roses. "Do +you think he is dead?" + +"He is not dead," the roses answered. "We have been in the ground. All +the dead people are there, but Kay is not there." + +"Thank you," said little Gerda, and she went to the other flowers, +looked into their cups, and asked, "Do you know where little Kay is?" + +But every flower stood in the sun thinking only of her own story, or +fancy tale. Gerda heard many, many, of them; but not one knew anything +of Kay. + +And what did the Tiger Lily say? + +"Do you hear the drum, 'Rub-dub'? There are only two notes, always 'rub- +dub'! Hear the mourning song of the women; hear the call of the priests. +The Hindoo widow stands in her long red mantle on the funeral pile; the +flames rise up around her and her dead husband; but the Hindoo woman is +thinking of the living one here in the circle, of him whose eyes burn +hotter than flames, whose fiery glances have burned into her soul more +ardently than the flames themselves, which are soon to burn her body to +ashes. Can the flame of the heart die in the flame of the funeral pile?" + +"I don't understand that at all!" said little Gerda. + +"That's my story," said the Lily. + +What says the Convolvulus? + +"Over the narrow road looms an old knightly castle; thickly the ivy +grows over the crumbling red walls, leaf by leaf up to the balcony, +where stands a beautiful girl; she bends over the balustrade and glances +up the road. No rose on its branch is fresher than she; no apple blossom +wafted onward by the wind floats more lightly along. How her costly +silks rustle! 'Comes he not yet?'" + +"Is it Kay whom you mean?" asked little Gerda. + +"I'm only speaking of a story--my dream," replied the Convolvulus. + +What said the little Snowdrop? + +"Between the trees a long board hangs by ropes; that is a swing. Two +pretty little girls, with clothes white as snow and long green silk +ribbons on their hats, are sitting upon it, swinging. Their brother, who +is greater than they, stands in the swing, and has slung his arm round +the rope to hold himself, for in one hand he has a little saucer, and in +the other a clay pipe. He is blowing bubbles. The swing flies, and the +bubbles rise with beautiful, changing colors; the last still hangs from +the pipe bowl, swaying in the wind. The swing flies on; the little black +dog, light as the bubbles, stands up on his hind legs, and wants to be +taken into the swing: it flies on, and the dog falls, barks, and grows +angry, for he is teased, and the bubble bursts. A swinging board and a +bursting bubble--that is my song." + +"It may be very pretty, what you're telling, but you speak it so +mournfully, and you don't mention little Kay at all." + +[Illustration: "HE IS BLOWING BUBBLES"] + +What do the Hyacinths say? + +"There were three beautiful sisters, transparent and delicate. The dress +of one was red, that of the second blue, and that of the third quite +white; hand in hand they danced by the calm lake in the bright +moonlight. They were not elves; they were human beings. It was so sweet +and fragrant there! The girls disappeared in the forest, and the sweet +fragrance became stronger: three coffins, with three beautiful maidens +lying in them, glided from the wood-thicket across the lake; the +glowworms flew gleaming about them like little hovering lights. Are the +dancing girls sleeping, or are they dead? The flower scent says they are +dead, and the evening bell tolls their knell." + +"You make me quite sorrowful," said little Gerda. "You scent so +strongly, I cannot help thinking of the dead maidens. Ah! is little Kay +really dead? The Roses have been down in the earth, and they say he is +not." + +"Kling! klang!" tolled the Hyacinth bells. "We are not tolling for +little Kay--we don't know him; we only sing our song, the only one we +know." + +And Gerda went to the Buttercup, gleaming forth from the green leaves. + +"You are a little bright sun," said Gerda. "Tell me, if you know, where +I may find my companion." + +And the Buttercup shone so gaily, and looked back at Gerda. What song +might the Buttercup sing? It was not about Kay. + +"In a little courtyard the clear sun shone warm on the first day of +spring. The sunbeams glided down the white wall of the neighboring +house; close by grew the first yellow flower, glancing like gold in the +bright sun's ray. The old grandmother sat out of doors in her chair; her +granddaughter, a poor, handsome maid-servant, was coming home for a +short visit. She kissed her grandmother. There was gold, heart's gold, +in that blessed kiss--gold in the mouth, gold in the south, gold in the +morning hour. See, that's my little story," said the Buttercup. + +"My poor old grandmother!" sighed Gerda. "Yes, she is surely longing for +me and grieving for me, just as she did for little Kay. But I shall soon +go home and take Kay with me. There is no use of my asking the flowers; +they know only their own song, and give me no information." And then she +tied her little frock round her, that she might run the faster; but the +Jonquil struck against her leg as she sprang over it, and she stopped to +look at the tall yellow flower, and asked, "Do you, perhaps, know +anything of little Kay?" + +And she bent quite down to the flower, and what did it say? + +"I can see myself! I can see myself!" said the Jonquil. "Oh! oh! how I +smell! Up in the little room in the gable stands a little dancing girl. +She stands sometimes on one foot, sometimes on both; she seems to tread +on all the world. She's nothing but an ocular delusion: she pours water +out of a teapot on a bit of stuff--it is her bodice. 'Cleanliness is a +fine thing,' she says; her white frock hangs on a hook; it has been +washed in the teapot too, and dried on the roof. She puts it on and ties +her saffron handkerchief round her neck, and the dress looks all the +whiter. Point your toes! look how she seems to stand on a stalk. I can +see myself! I can see myself!" + +"I don't care at all about that," said Gerda. "You need not tell me +that." + +And then she ran to the end of the garden. The door was locked, but she +pressed against the rusty lock, and it broke off, the door sprang open, +and little Gerda ran with naked feet out into the wide world. She looked +back three times, but no one was there to pursue her. At last she could +run no longer, and seated herself on a great stone; and when she looked +round the summer was over--it was late in autumn. One could not notice +that in the beautiful garden, where there was always sunshine, and where +the flowers of every season always bloomed. + +"Alas! how I have loitered!" said little Gerda. "Autumn has come. I may +not rest again." + +And she rose up to go on. Oh! how sore and tired her little feet were. +All around it looked cold and bleak; the long willow leaves were quite +yellow, and the dew fell down like water; one leaf after another +dropped; only the sloe-thorn still bore fruit, but the sloes were sour, +and set the teeth on edge. Oh! how gray and gloomy it looked--the wide +world! + + + +THE FOURTH STORY + +THE PRINCE WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN KAY + + +Gerda was compelled to rest again; then there came hopping across the +snow, just opposite the spot where she was sitting, a great Crow. This +Crow stopped a long time to look at her, nodding its head, and then it +said, "Krah! krah! Good day! good day!" It could not pronounce better, +but it felt friendly toward the little girl, and asked where she was +going all alone in the wide world. The word "alone" Gerda understood +very well, and felt how much it expressed; and she told the Crow the +story of her whole life and fortunes, and asked if it had not seen Kay. + +[Illustration: THE CROW STOPPED TO LOOK] + +And the Crow nodded very gravely, and said: + +"That may be! that may be!" + +"What? do you think so?" cried the little girl, and nearly pressed the +Crow to death, she kissed it so. + +"Gently, gently!" said the Crow. "I think I know. I believe it may be +little Kay; but he has certainly forgotten you, with the princess." + +"Does he live with a princess?" asked Gerda. + +"Yes; listen," said the Crow. "But it's so difficult for me to speak +your language. If you know the Crow's language, I can tell it much +better." + +"No, I never learned it," said Gerda; "but my grandmother understood it, +and could speak the language, too. I only wish I had learned it." + +"That doesn't matter," said the Crow. "But it will go badly." + +And then the Crow told what it knew. + +"In the country in which we now are lives a princess who is quite +wonderfully clever; but then she has read all the newspapers in the +world, and has forgotten them again, she is so clever. Lately she was +sitting on the throne--and that's not so pleasant as is generally +supposed--and she began to sing a song, and it was just this: 'Why +should I not marry now?' You see, there was something in that," said the +Crow. "And so she wanted to marry, but she wished for a husband who +could answer when he was spoken to, not one who only stood and looked +handsome, for that was wearisome. And so she had all her maids of honor +summoned, and when they heard her intention they were very glad. 'I like +that,' said they; 'I thought the very same thing the other day.' You may +be sure that every word I am telling you is true," added the Crow. "I +have a tame sweetheart who goes about freely in the castle, and she told +me everything." + +Of course the sweetheart was a crow, for one crow always finds out +another, and birds of a feather flock together. + +"Newspapers were published directly, with a border of hearts and the +princess's initials. One could read in them that every young man who was +good-looking might come to the castle and speak with the princess, and +him who spoke so that one could hear he was at home there, and who spoke +best, the princess, would choose for her husband. Yes, yes," said the +Crow, "you may believe me. It's as true as that I sit here. Young men +came flocking in; there was a great crowding and much running to and +fro, but no one succeeded the first or second day. They could all speak +well when they were out in the streets, but when they entered at the +palace gates, and saw the guards standing in their silver lace, and went +up the staircase, and saw the lackeys in their golden liveries, and the +great lighted halls, they became confused. And when they stood before +the throne itself, on which the princess sat, they could do nothing but +repeat the last word she had spoken, and she did not care to hear her +own words again. It was just as if the people in there had taken some +narcotic and fallen asleep till they got into the street again, for not +till then were they able to speak. There stood a whole row of them, from +the town gate to the palace gate. I went out myself to see it," said the +Crow. "They were hungry and thirsty, but in the palace they did not +receive so much as a glass of lukewarm water. A few of the wisest had +brought bread and butter with them, but they would not share with their +neighbors, for they thought, 'Let him look hungry, and the princess +won't have him.'" + +"But Kay, little Kay?" asked Gerda. "When did he come? Was he among the +crowd?" + +"Wait! wait! We're just coming to him. It was on the third day that +there came a little personage, without horse or carriage, walking quite +merrily up to the castle. His eyes sparkled like yours; he had fine long +hair, but his clothes were shabby." + +"That was Kay!" cried Gerda, rejoicing. "Oh, then, I have found him!" +And she clapped her hands. + +"He had a little knapsack on his back," observed the Crow. + +"No, that must certainly have been his sledge," said Gerda, "for he went +away with a sledge." + +"That may well be," said the Crow, "for I did not look at it very +closely. But this much I know from my tame sweetheart, that when he +passed under the palace gate and saw the life guards in silver, and +mounted the staircase and saw the lackeys in gold, he was not in the +least embarrassed. He nodded, and said to them, 'It must be tedious work +standing on the stairs--I'd rather go in.' The halls shone full of +light; privy councilors and Excellencies walked about with bare feet, +and carried golden vessels; any one might have become solemn; and his +boots creaked most noisily, but he was not embarrassed." + +"That is certainly Kay!" cried Gerda. "He had new boots on; I've heard +them creak in grandmother's room." + +"Yes, certainly they creaked," resumed the Crow. "And he went boldly in +to the princess herself, who sat on a pearl that was as big as a +spinning wheel, and all the maids of honor with their attendants, and +all the cavaliers with their followers, and the followers of their +followers, who themselves kept a page apiece, were standing round; and +the nearer they stood to the door, the prouder they looked. The +followers' followers' pages could hardly be looked at, so proudly did +they stand in the doorway!" + +"That must be terrible!" faltered little Gerda. "And yet Kay won the +princess?" + +"If I had not been a crow, I would have married her myself, +notwithstanding that I am engaged. They say he spoke as well as I can +when I speak the crows' language; I heard that from my tame sweetheart. +He was merry and agreeable; he had not come to marry, only to hear the +wisdom of the princess; and he approved of her, and she of him." + +"Yes, certainly that was Kay!" said Gerda. "He was so clever; he could +do mental arithmetic up to fractions. Oh! won't you lead me to the +castle, too?" + +"That's easily said," replied the Crow. "But how are we to manage it? +I'll talk it over with my tame sweetheart: she can probably advise us; +for this I must tell you--a little girl like yourself will never get +leave to go completely in." + +"Yes, I shall get leave," said Gerda. "When Kay hears that I'm there +he'll come out directly, and bring me in." + +"Wait for me yonder at the grating," said the Crow; and it wagged its +head and flew away. + +It was late in the evening when the Crow came back. + +"Rax! rax!" it said. "I'm to greet you kindly from my sweetheart, and +here's a little loaf for you. She took it from the kitchen. There's +plenty of bread there, and you must be hungry. You can't possibly get +into the palace, for you are barefooted, and the guards in silver and +the lackeys in gold would not allow it. But don't cry; you shall go up. +My sweetheart knows a little back staircase that leads up to the +bedroom, and she knows where she can get the key." + +And they went into the garden, into the great avenue, where one leaf was +falling down after another; and when the lights were extinguished in the +palace, one after the other, the Crow led Gerda to a back door, which +stood ajar. + +Oh, how Gerda's heart beat with fear and longing! It was just as if she +had been going to do something wicked; and yet she only wanted to know +whether it was little Kay. Yes, it must be he. She thought so deeply of +his clear eyes and his long hair; she could fancy she saw how he smiled, +as he had smiled at home when they sat among the roses. He would +certainly be glad to see her; to hear what a long distance she had come +for his sake; to know how sorry they had all been at home when he did +not come back. Oh, what a fear and what a joy that was! + +Now they were on the staircase. A little lamp was burning upon a +cupboard, and in the middle of the floor stood the tame Crow, turning +her head on every side and looking at Gerda, who courtesied as her +grandmother had taught her to do. + +"My betrothed has spoken to me very favorably of you, my little lady," +said the tame Crow. "Your history, as it may be called, is very moving. +Will you take the lamp? then I will precede you. We will go the straight +way, and then we shall meet nobody." + +"I feel as if some one were coming after us," said Gerda, as something +rushed by her. It seemed like a shadow on the wall; horses with flying +manes and thin legs, hunters, and ladies and gentlemen on horseback. + +"These are only dreams," said the Crow; "they are coming to carry the +high masters' thoughts out hunting. That's all the better, for you may +look at them the more closely, in bed. But I hope, when you are taken +into favor and get promotion, you will show a grateful heart." + +"Of that we may be sure!" observed the Crow from the wood. + +Now they came into the first hall; it was hung with rose-colored satin, +and artificial flowers were worked on the walls. And here the dreams +again came flitting by them, but they moved so quickly that Gerda could +not see the high-born lords and ladies. Each hall was more splendid than +the last; yes, one could almost become bewildered! Now they were in the +bedchamber. Here the ceiling was like a great palm tree with leaves of +glass, of costly glass, and in the middle of the floor two beds hung on +a thick stalk of gold, and each of them looked like a lily. One of them +was white, and in that lay the princess; the other was red, and in that +Gerda was to seek little Kay. She bent one of the red leaves aside, and +then she saw a little brown neck. Oh, that was Kay! She called out his +name quite loud, and held the lamp toward him. The dreams rushed into +the room again on horseback--he awoke, turned his head, and--it was not +little Kay! + +The prince was only like him in the neck, but he was young and good- +looking; and the princess looked up, blinking, from the white lily, and +asked who was there. Then little Gerda wept, and told her history, and +all that the Crows had done for her. + +"You poor child!" said the prince and princess. + +And they praised the Crows, and said that they were not angry with them +at all, but the Crows were not to do it again. However, they should be +rewarded. + +"Will you fly out free," asked the princess, "or will you have fixed +positions as court Crows, with the right to everything that is left in +the kitchen?" + +And the two Crows bowed, and begged for fixed positions, for they +thought of their old age, and said, "It is so good to have some +provisions for one's old days," as they called them. + +And the prince got up out of his bed, and let Gerda sleep in it, and he +could not do more than that. She folded her little hands and thought, +"How good men and animals are!" and then she shut her eyes and went +quietly to sleep. All the dreams came flying in again, looking like +angels, and they drew a little sledge, on which Kay sat nodding; but all +this was only a dream, and therefore it was gone again as soon as she +awoke. + +The next day she was clothed from head to foot in velvet; and an offer +was made to her that she should stay in the castle and enjoy pleasant +times, but she only begged for a little carriage, with a horse to draw +it, and a pair of little boots; then she would drive out into the world +and seek for Kay. + +And she received not only boots, but a muff likewise, and was neatly +dressed; and when she was ready to depart, a coach, made of pure gold, +stopped before the door. Upon it shone like a star the coat of arms of +the prince and princess; coachmen, footmen, and outriders--for there +were outriders, too--sat on horseback, with gold crowns on their heads. +The prince and princess themselves helped her into the carriage, and +wished her all good fortune. The forest Crow, who was now married, +accompanied her the first three miles; he sat by Gerda's side, for he +could not bear riding backward; the other Crow stood in the doorway, +flapping her wings; she did not go with them, for she suffered from +headache that had come on since she had obtained a fixed position and +was allowed to eat too much. The coach was lined with sugar biscuits, +and in the seat there were gingerbread, nuts, and fruit. + +"Farewell, farewell!" cried the prince and princess; and little Gerda +wept, and the Crow wept. + +So they went on for the first three miles, and then the Crow said good- +bye, and that was the heaviest parting of all. The Crow flew up on a +tree, and beat his black wings as long as he could see the coach, which +glittered like the bright sunshine. + + + +THE FIFTH STORY + +THE LITTLE ROBBER GIRL + + +They drove on through the thick forest, but the coach gleamed like a +torch. It dazzled the robbers' eyes, and they could not bear it. + +"That is gold! that is gold!" cried they; and they rushed forward, +seized the horses, killed the postilions, the coachmen, and the footmen, +and then pulled little Gerda out of the carriage. + +"She is fat--she is pretty--she is fed with nut kernels!" said the old +robber woman, who had a very long matted beard and shaggy eyebrows that +hung down over her eyes. "She's as good as a little pet lamb; how I +shall relish her!" + +And she drew out her shining knife, that gleamed in a horrible way. + +"Oh!" screamed the old woman at the same moment: for her own daughter, +who hung at her back, bit her ear in a very naughty and spiteful manner. +"You ugly brat!" screamed the old woman; and she had not time to kill +Gerda. + +"She shall play with me!" said the little robber girl. "She shall give +me her muff and her pretty dress, and sleep with me in my bed!" + +And then the girl gave another bite, so that the woman jumped high up, +and turned right round, and all the robbers laughed, and said: + +"Look how she dances with her calf." + +"I want to go into the carriage," said the little robber girl, + +And she would have her own way, for she was spoiled and very obstinate; +and she and Gerda sat in the carriage, and drove over stock and stone +deep into the forest. The little robber girl was as big as Gerda, but +stronger and more broad-shouldered, and she had a brown skin; her eyes +were quite black, and they looked almost mournful. She clasped little +Gerda round the waist, and said: + +"They shall not kill you as long as I am not angry with you. I suppose +you are a princess?" + +"No," replied Gerda. And she told all that had happened to her, and how +fond she was of little Kay. + +The robber girl looked at her seriously, nodded slightly, and said: + +"They shall not kill you, even if I do get angry with you, for then I +will do it myself." + +And then she dried Gerda's eyes, and put her two hands into the +beautiful muff that was so soft and warm. + +Now the coach stopped, and they were in the courtyard of a robber +castle. It had burst from the top to the ground; ravens and crows flew +out of the great holes, and big bulldogs--each of which looked as if he +could devour a man--jumped high up, but did not bark, for that was +forbidden. + +In the great, old, smoky hall, a bright fire burned upon the stone +floor; the smoke passed along under the ceiling, and had to seek an exit +for itself. A great cauldron of soup was boiling and hares and rabbits +were roasting on the spit. + +"You shall sleep to-night with me and all my little animals," said the +robber girl. + +They had something to eat and drink, and then went to a corner, where +straw and carpets were spread out. Above these sat on laths and perches +more than a hundred pigeons, and all seemed asleep, but they turned a +little when the two little girls came. + +"All these belong to me," said the little robber girl; and she quickly +seized one of the nearest, held it by the feet, and shook it so that it +flapped its wings. "Kiss it!" she cried, and beat it in Gerda's face. +"There sit the wood rascals," she continued, pointing to a number of +laths that had been nailed in front of a hole in the wall, "Those are +wood rascals, those two; they fly away directly if one does not keep +them well locked up. And here's my old sweetheart 'Ba.'" Arid she pulled +out by the horn a Reindeer, that was tied up, and had a polished copper +ring round its neck. "We're obliged to keep him tight, too, or he'd run +away from us. Every evening I tickle his neck with a sharp knife, and +he's badly frightened at that." + +And the little girl drew a long knife from a cleft in the wall, and let +it glide over the Reindeer's neck; the poor creature kicked out its +legs, and the little robber girl laughed, and drew Gerda into bed with +her. + +"Do you keep the knife while you're asleep?" asked Gerda, and looked at +it in a frightened way. + +"I always sleep with my knife," replied the robber girl. "One does not +know what may happen. But now tell me again what you told me just now +about little Kay, and why you came out into the wide world." + +And Gerda told it again from the beginning; and the Wood Pigeons cooed +above them in their cage, and the other pigeons slept. The little robber +girl put her arm round Gerda's neck, held her knife in the other hand, +and slept so that one could hear her; but Gerda could not close her eyes +at all--she did not know whether she was to live or die. + +The robbers sat round the fire, sang and drank, and the old robber woman +tumbled about. It was quite terrible for a little girl to behold. Then +the Wood Pigeons said: "Coo! coo! we have seen little Kay. A white owl +was carrying his sledge; he sat in the Snow Queen's carriage, which +drove close by the forest as we lay in our nests. She blew upon us young +pigeons, and all died except us two. Coo! coo!" + +"What are you saying there?" asked Gerda. "Whither was the Snow Queen +traveling? Do you know anything about it?" + +"She was probably journeying to Lapland, for there they have always ice +and snow. Ask the Reindeer that is tied to the cord." + +[Illustration: THE REINDEER RAN AS FAST AS IT COULD GO] + +"There is ice and snow yonder, and it is glorious and fine," said the +Reindeer. "There one may run about free in great glittering plains. +There the Snow Queen has her summer tent; but her strong castle is up +toward the North Pole, on the island that's called Spitzbergen." + +"O Kay, little Kay!" cried Gerda. + +"You must lie still," exclaimed the robber girl, "or I shall thrust my +knife into your body." + +In the morning Gerda told her all that the Wood Pigeons had said, and +the robber girl looked quite serious, and nodded her head and said, +"That's all the same, that's all the same!" + +"Do you know where Lapland is?" she asked the Reindeer. + +"Who should know better than I?" the creature replied, and its eyes +sparkled in its head. "I was born and bred there; I ran about there in +the snow fields." + +"Listen!" said the robber girl to Gerda. "You see all our men have gone +away. Only mother is here still, and she'll stay; but toward noon she +drinks out of the big bottle, and then she sleeps for a little while; +then I'll do something for you." + +Then she sprang out of bed, and clasped her mother round the neck and +pulled her beard, crying: + +"Good morning, my own old nanny goat." And her mother filliped her nose +till it was red and blue; and it was all done for pure love. + +When the mother had drunk out of her bottle and had gone to sleep upon +it, the robber girl went to the Reindeer, and said: + +"I should like very much to tickle you a few times more with the knife, +for you are very funny then; but it's all the same. I'll loosen your +cord and help you out, so that you may run to Lapland; but you must use +your legs well, and carry this little girl to the palace of the Snow +Queen, where her playfellow is. You've heard what she told me, for she +spoke loud enough, and you were listening." + +The Reindeer sprang up high for joy. The robber girl lifted little Gerda +on its back, and had the forethought to tie her fast, and even to give +her her own little cushion as a saddle. + +"There are your fur boots for you," she said, "for it's growing cold; +but I shall keep the muff, for that's so very pretty. Still, you shall +not be cold, for all that; here's my mother's big muffles--they'll just +reach up to your elbows. Now you look just like my ugly mother." + +And Gerda wept for joy. + +"I can't bear to see you whimper," said the little robber girl. "No, you +just ought to look very glad. And here are two loaves and a ham for you; +now you won't be hungry." + +These were tied on the Reindeer's back. The little robber girl opened +the door, coaxed in all the big dogs, and then cut the rope with her +sharp knife, and said to the Reindeer: + +"Now run, but take good care of the little girl." + +And Gerda stretched out her hands with the big muffles toward the little +robber girl, and said, "Farewell." + +And the Reindeer ran over stock and stone, away through the great +forest, over marshes and steppes, as fast as it could go. The wolves +howled, and the ravens croaked. "Hiss! hiss!" sounded through the air. +It seemed as if the sky were flashing fire. + +"Those are my old Northern Lights," said the Reindeer. "Look how they +glow!" And then it ran on faster than ever, day and night. + + + +THE SIXTH STORY + +THE LAPLAND WOMAN AND THE FINLAND WOMAN + + +At a little hut they stopped. It was very humble; the roof sloped down +almost to the ground, and the door was so low that the family had to +creep on their stomachs when they wanted to go in or out. No one was in +the house but an old Lapland woman, cooking fish by the light of a +train-oil lamp; and the Reindeer told Gerda's whole history, but it +related its own first, for this seemed to the Reindeer the more +important of the two. Gerda was so exhausted by the cold that she could +not speak. + +"Oh, you poor things," said the Lapland woman; "you've a long way to run +yet! You must go more than a hundred miles into Finmark, for the Snow +Queen is there, staying in the country, and burning Bengal Lights every +evening. I'll write a few words on a dried cod, for I have no paper, and +I'll give you that as a letter to the Finland woman; she can give you +better information than I." + +And when Gerda had been warmed and refreshed with food and drink, the +Lapland woman wrote a few words on a dried codfish, and telling Gerda to +take care of these, tied her again on the Reindeer, and the Reindeer +sprang away. Flash! flash! The whole night long the most beautiful blue +Northern Lights were burning. + +And then they got to Finmark, and knocked at the chimney of the Finland +woman; for she had not even a hut. + +There was such a heat in the chimney that the woman herself went about +almost naked. She at once loosened little Gerda's dress and took off the +child's muffles and boots; otherwise it would have been too hot for her +to bear. Then she laid a piece of ice on the Reindeer's head, and read +what was written on the codfish; she read it three times, and when she +knew it by heart, she popped the fish into the soup-cauldron, for it was +eatable, and she never wasted anything. + +Now the Reindeer first told his own story, and then little Gerda's; and +the Finland woman blinked with her clever eyes, but said nothing. + +"You are very clever," said the Reindeer. "I know you can tie all the +winds of the world together with a bit of twine; if the seaman unties +one knot, he has a good wind; if he loosens the second, it blows hard; +but if he unties the third and fourth, there comes such a tempest that +the forests are thrown down. Won't you give the little girl a draught, +so that she may get twelve men's power, and overcome the Snow Queen?" + +"Twelve men's power!" repeated the Finland woman. "Great use that would +be!" + +And she went to a bed and brought out a great rolled-up fur, and +unrolled it; wonderful characters were written upon it, and the Finland +woman read until the perspiration ran down her forehead. + +But the Reindeer again begged so hard for little Gerda, and Gerda looked +at the Finland woman with such beseeching eyes, full of tears, that she +began to blink again with her own, and drew the Reindeer into a corner, +and whispered to him, while she laid fresh ice upon his head. + +"Little Kay is certainly at the Snow Queen's, and finds everything there +to his taste and thinks it is the best place in the world; but that is +because he has a splinter of glass in his eye, and a little fragment in +his heart; but these must be got out, or he will never be a human being +again, and the Snow Queen will keep her power over him." + +"But cannot you give something to little Gerda, so as to give her power +over all this?" + +"I can give her no greater power than she possesses already; don't you +see how great that is? Don't you see how men and animals are obliged to +serve her, and how she gets on so well in the world, with her naked +feet? She cannot receive her power from us; it consists in this--that +she is a dear, innocent child. If she herself cannot penetrate to the +Snow Queen and get the glass out of little Kay, we can be of no use! Two +miles from here the Snow Queen's garden begins; you can carry the little +girl thither; set her down by the great bush that stands with its red +berries in the snow. Don't stand gossiping, but make haste, and get back +here!" + +And then the Finland woman lifted little Gerda on the Reindeer, which +ran as fast as it could. + +"Oh, I haven't my boots! I haven't my muffles!" cried Gerda. + +She soon noticed that in the cutting cold; but the Reindeer dared not +stop. It ran till it came to the bush with the red berries; there it set +Gerda down, and kissed her on the mouth, and great big tears ran down +the creature's cheeks; and then it ran back, as fast as it could. There +stood poor Gerda without shoes, without gloves, in the midst of the +terrible, cold Finmark. + +She ran forward as fast as possible; then came a whole regiment of +snowflakes; but they did not fall down from the sky, for that was quite +bright, and shone with the Northern Lights: the snowflakes ran along the +ground, and the nearer they came, the larger they grew. Gerda still +remembered how large and beautiful the snowflakes had appeared when she +had looked at them through the burning glass. But here they were +certainly far larger and much more terrible--they were alive. They were +advance posts of the Snow Queen, and had the strangest shapes. A few +looked like ugly great porcupines; others like knots formed of snakes, +which stretched forth their heads; and others like little fat bears, +whose hair stood up on end; all were brilliantly white, all were living +snowflakes. + +Then little Gerda said her prayer; and the cold was so great that she +could see her own breath, which went forth out of her mouth like smoke. +The breath became thicker and thicker, and formed itself into little +angels, who grew and grew whenever they touched the earth; and all had +helmets on their heads, and shields and spears in their hands. Their +number increased, and when Gerda had finished her prayer a whole legion +stood round about her, and struck with their spears at the terrible +snowflakes, so that these were shattered into a thousand pieces; and +little Gerda could go forward afresh, with good courage. The angels +stroked her hands and feet, and then she felt less how cold it was, and +hastened on to the Snow Queen's palace. + +But now we must see what Kay was doing. He was not thinking of little +Gerda, and least of all that she was standing in front of the palace. + +[Illustration: THE SNOW QUEEN'S CASTLE] + + + +THE SEVENTH STORY + +OF THE SNOW QUEEN'S CASTLE, AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE AT LAST + + +The walls of the palace were formed of the drifting snow, and the +windows and doors of the cutting winds. There were more than a hundred +halls, all blown together by the snow; the greatest of these extended +for several miles; the strong Northern Lights illuminated them all, and +how great and empty, how icily cold and shining they all were! Never was +merriment there--not even a little bear's ball, at which the storm could +have played the music, while the bears walked about on their hind legs +and showed off their pretty manners; never any little sport of mouth- +slapping or bars-touch; never any little coffee gossip among the young +lady white foxes. Empty, vast, and cold were the halls of the Snow +Queen. The Northern Lights flamed so brightly that one could count them +where they stood highest and lowest. In the midst of this immense empty +snow hall was a frozen lake, which had burst into a thousand pieces; but +each piece was like the rest, so that it was a perfect work of art; and +in the middle of the lake sat the Snow Queen, when she was at home, and +then she said that she sat in the Mirror of Reason, and that this was +the only one, and the best in the world. + +Little Kay was quite blue with cold--indeed, almost black! but he did +not notice it, for she had kissed the cold shudderings away from him, +and his heart was like a lump of ice. He dragged a few sharp, flat +pieces of ice to and fro, joining them together in all kinds of ways, +for he wanted to achieve something with them. It was just like when we +have little tablets of wood, and lay them together to form figures--what +we call the Chinese game. Kay also went and laid figures, and, indeed, +very artistic ones. That was the icy game of Reason. In his eyes these +figures were very remarkable and of the highest importance; that was +because of the fragment of glass sticking in his eye. He laid out the +figures so that they formed a word--but he could never manage to lay +down the word as he wished to have it--the word eternity. The Snow Queen +had said: + +"If you can find out this figure, you shall be your own master, and I +will give you the whole world and a pair of new skates." + +But he could not. + +"Now I'll hasten away to the warm lands," said the Snow Queen. "I will +go and look into the black spots." These were the volcanoes, Etna and +Vesuvius, as they are called. "I shall whiten them a little! That's +necessary; that will do the grapes and lemons good." + +And the Snow Queen flew away, and Kay sat quite alone in the great icy +hall that was miles in extent, and looked at his pieces of ice, and +thought so deeply that cracks were heard inside him; one would have +thought that he was frozen. + +Then it happened that little Gerda stepped through the great gate into +the wide hall. Here reigned cutting winds, but she prayed a prayer, and +the winds lay down as if they would have gone to sleep; and she stepped +into the great, empty, cold halls, and beheld Kay; she knew him, and +flew to him, and embraced him, and held him fast, and called out: + +"Kay, dear little Kay! I have found you!" + +But he sat quite still, stiff and cold. Then little Gerda wept hot +tears, that fell upon his breast; they penetrated into his heart, they +thawed the lump of ice, and consumed the little piece of glass in it. He +looked at her, and she sang: + +"The roses will fade and pass away, + But we the Christ-child shall see one day." + +Then Kay burst into tears; he wept so that the splinter of glass came +out of his eye. Now he recognized her, and cried rejoicingly: + +"Gerda, dear Gerda! where have you been all this time? And where have I +been?" And he looked all around him. "How cold it is here! How large and +void!" + +And he clung to Gerda, and she laughed and wept for joy. It was so +glorious that even the pieces of ice round about danced for joy; and +when they were tired and lay down, they formed themselves into just the +letters of which the Snow Queen had said that if he found them out he +should be his own master, and she would give him the whole world and a +new pair of skates. + +And Gerda kissed his cheeks, and they became blooming; she kissed his +eyes, and they shone like her own; she kissed his hands and feet, and he +then became well and merry. The Snow Queen might now come home; his word +of release stood written in shining characters of ice. + +And they took one another by the hand, and wandered forth from the great +palace of ice. They spoke of the grandmother and of the roses on the +roof; and where they went the winds rested and the sun burst forth; and +when they came to the bush with the red berries, the Reindeer was +standing there waiting; it had brought another young Reindeer, which +gave the children warm milk, and kissed them on the mouth. Then they +carried Kay and Gerda, first to the Finnish woman, where they warmed +themselves thoroughly in the hot room, and received instructions for +their journey home; and then to the Lapland woman, who had made them new +clothes and put their sledge in order. + +The Reindeer and the young one sprang at their side, and followed them +as far as the boundary of the country. There the first green sprouted +forth, and there they took leave of the two Reindeer and the Lapland +woman. "Farewell!" said all. And the first little birds began to +twitter, the forest was decked with green buds, and out of it, on a +beautiful horse (which Gerda knew, for it was the same that had drawn +her golden coach) a young girl came riding, with a shining red cap on +her head and a pair of pistols in the holsters. This was the little +robber girl, who had grown tired of staying at home, and wished to go +first to the north, and if that did not suit her, to some other region. +She knew Gerda at once, and Gerda knew her too; and it was a right merry +meeting. + +"You are a fine fellow to gad about!" she said to little Kay. "I should +like to know if you deserve that one should run to the end of the world +after you?" + +But Gerda patted her cheeks, and asked after the prince and princess. + +"They've gone to foreign countries," said the robber girl. + +"But the Crow?" said Gerda. + +"The Crow is dead," answered the other. "The tame one has become a +widow, and goes about with an end of black worsted thread round her leg. +She complains most lamentably, but it's all talk. But now tell me how +you have fared, and how you caught him." + +And Gerda and Kay told their story. + +"Snipp-snapp-snurre-purre-basellurre!" said the robber girl. + +And she took them both by the hand, and promised that if she ever came +through their town, she would come up and pay them a visit. And then she +rode away into the wide world. + +But Gerda and Kay went hand in hand, and as they went it became +beautiful spring, with green and with flowers. The church bells sounded, +and they recognized the high steeples and the great town; it was the one +in which they lived, and they went to the grandmother's door, and up the +stairs, and into the room, where everything remained in its usual place. +The big clock was going "Tick! tack!" and the hands were turning; but as +they went through the rooms they noticed that they had become grown-up +people. The roses out on the roof-gutter were blooming in at the open +window, and there stood the children's chairs, and Kay and Gerda sat +upon the chairs, and held each other by the hand. They had forgotten the +cold, empty splendor at the Snow Queen's like a heavy dream. The +grandmother was sitting in God's bright sunshine, and read aloud out of +the Bible, "Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise +enter into the kingdom of God." + +And Kay and Gerda looked into each other's eyes, and all at once they +understood the old song: + +"The roses will fade and pass away, + But we the Christ-child shall see one day." + +There they both sat, grown up, and yet children--children in heart; and +it was summer--warm, delightful summer. + + + +HOW TO REMEMBER THE STORY + + +When we read a good long story like The Snow Queen, we enjoy it and +think we should like to remember it. If it is really good we ought to +remember it, not only because of its excellence, but, in the case of an +old story, because we so often find allusions to it in our other +reading. The best way to fix a story in mind is to make an outline of +the incidents, or plot. Then we can see the whole thing almost at a +glance, and so remembrance is made easy. + +A good outline of The Snow Queen would appear something like this: + +I. The Goblin's Mirror. (Enlarges evil; distorts and diminishes good.) + 1. The Mirror is broken. + +II. Kay and Gerda. + 1. The little rose garden. + 2. Pieces of the mirror find their way into Kay's eye and heart. + 3. The Snow Queen. + a. Finds Kay. + b. Carries him away. + c. Makes him forget Gerda. +III. Gerda's Search for Kay. + 1. Carried away by the river. + 2. Rescued by the old witch. +IV. In the Flower garden. + 1. The rose reminds Gerda of Kay. + 2. Gerda questions the flowers. + a. The Tiger Lily. + b. The Convolvulus. + c. The Snowdrop. + d. The Hyacinth. + e. The Buttercup. + f. The Jonquil. +V. Gerda Continues Her Search in Autumn. + 1. Gerda meets the Crow and follows him. + a. The princess's castle, + b. The prince is not Kay. + c. Gerda in rich clothes continues her search in a carriage. +VI. Gerda meets the Robbers. + 1. The old woman claims Gerda. + 2. The robber girl fancies Gerda. + 3. The Wood Pigeons tell about Kay. + 4. The Reindeer carries Gerda on her search. +VII. Gerda's Journey on the Reindeer. + 1. The Lapland woman, + a. Cares for Gerda. + b. Sends message on a codfish. + 2. The Finland woman. + a. Cares for Gerda. + b. Tells what has happened to Kay. + c. Tells what ails Kay and says Kay may be saved by the power of + innocent girlhood. +VIII. Kay's Rescue. + 1. At the Snow Queen's palace. + a. Kay cannot write eternity. + b. The Snow Queen leaves for Italy. + c. Gerda finds Kay. + d. Her tears melt his icy heart. + e. Her song brings tears that clear his eyes. + f. Kay knows Gerda. + g. Pieces of ice spell the word eternity. +h. Gerda's kisses restore Kay to warmth and health. + 2. The return journey. + a. The reindeer. + b. The Finland woman. + c. The Lapland woman. + d. The prince and princess. + e. The robber girl. + 3. Gerda and Kay at home. + + + +A GOOD LESSON TO LEARN + + +There is little use in reading if we do not get from it something that +makes us wiser, better or nobler, or that gives us an inspiration to +work harder and make more of ourselves. I think the author of The Snow +Queen meant that we should get something more than a half-hour's +enjoyment out of his beautiful story. + +He makes us like little Kay and his sweet friend Gerda, and then saddens +us with Kay's misfortunes. We do not like to see him become +crossgrained, mean in disposition and stony hearted. + +Then we learn to admire the faithfulness and courage and bravery of +Gerda, and follow her to the Snow Queen's palace, afraid every moment +she will not find Kay. + +When she does find him, it is her tears of sympathy that melt his icy +heart, her sweet faith in the Christ-child that clears his eyes, and her +love that brings him back to life. + +Of course this is all a fairy story; but children and all the race of +grownups, even, may learn that it is only by innocence, sympathy and +love that the wickedness in the world can be overcome. + + + + +THE CHIMERA + +By Nathaniel Hawthorne + + +Once, in the old, old times (for all the strange things which I tell you +about happened long before anybody can remember), a fountain gushed out +of a hillside in the marvelous land of Greece. And, for aught I know, +after so many thousand years it is still gushing out of the very +selfsame spot. At any rate, there was the pleasant fountain welling +freshly forth and sparkling adown the hillside in the golden sunset when +a handsome young man named Bellerophon drew near its margin. In his hand +he held a bridle studded with brilliant gems and adorned with a golden +bit. Seeing an old man and another of middle age and a little boy near +the fountain, and likewise a maiden who was dipping up some of the water +in a pitcher, he paused and begged that he might refresh himself with a +draught. + +"This is very delicious water," he said to the maiden as he rinsed and +filled her pitcher after drinking out of it. "Will you be kind enough to +tell me whether the fountain has any name?" + +"Yes, it is called the Fountain of Pirene," answered the maiden; and +then she added, "My grandmother has told me that this clear fountain was +once a beautiful woman; and when her son was killed by the arrows of the +huntress Diana, she melted all away into tears. And so the water which +you find so cool and sweet is the sorrow of that poor mother's heart!" + +"I should not have dreamed," observed the young stranger, "that so clear +a wellspring, with its gush and gurgle and its cheery dance out of the +shade into the sunlight, had so much as one tear-drop in its bosom. And, +this, then, is Pirene? I thank you, pretty maiden, for telling me its +name. I have come from a far-away country to find this very spot." + +A middle-aged country fellow (he had driven his cow to drink out of the +spring) stared hard at young Bellerophon and at the handsome bridle +which he carried in his hand. + +"The watercourses must be getting low, friend, in your part of the +world," remarked he, "if you come so far only to find the Fountain of +Pirene. But pray, have you lost a horse? I see you carry the bridle in +your hand; and a very pretty one it is, with that double row of bright +stones upon it. If the horse was as fine as the bridle, you are much to +be pitied for losing him." + +"I have lost no horse," said Bellerophon with a smile, "but I happen to +be seeking a very famous one, which, as wise people have informed me, +must be found hereabouts if anywhere. Do you know whether the winged +horse Pegasus still haunts the Fountain of Pirene, as he used to do?" + +But then the country fellow laughed. + +Some of you, my little friends, have probably heard that this Pegasus +was a snow-white steed with beautiful silvery wings, who spent most of +his time on the summit of Mount Helicon. He was as wild and as swift and +as buoyant in his flight through the air as any eagle that ever soared +into the clouds. There was nothing else like him in the world. He had no +mate, he had never been backed or bridled by a master, and for many a +long year he led a solitary and a happy life. + +Oh, how fine a thing it is to be a winged horse! Sleeping at night, as +he did, on a lofty mountain top, and passing the greater part of the day +in the air, Pegasus seemed hardly to be a creature of the earth. +Whenever he was seen up very high above people's heads, with the +sunshine on his silvery wings, you would have thought that he belonged +to the sky, and that, skimming a little too low, he had got astray among +our mists and vapors and was seeking his way back again. It was very +pretty to behold him plunge into the fleecy bosom of a bright cloud and +be lost in it for a moment or two, and then break forth from the other +side. Or in a sullen rainstorm, when there was a gray pavement of clouds +over the whole sky, it would sometimes happen that the winged horse +descended right through it, and the glad light of the upper region would +gleam after him. In another instant, it is true, both Pegasus and the +pleasant light would be gone away together. But any one that was +fortunate enough to see this wondrous spectacle felt cheerful the whole +day afterward, and as much longer as the storm lasted. + +In the summer time and in the most beautiful of weather Pegasus often +alighted on the solid earth, and, closing his silvery wings, would +gallop over hill and dale for pastime as fleetly as the wind. Oftener +than in any other place he had been seen near the Fountain of Pirene, +drinking the delicious water or rolling himself upon the soft grass of +the margin. Sometimes, too (but Pegasus was very dainty in his food), he +would crop a few of the clover-blossoms that happened to be sweetest. To +the Fountain of Pirene, therefore, people's great-grandfathers had been +in the habit of going (as long as they were youthful and retained their +faith in winged horses) in hopes of getting a glimpse at the beautiful +Pegasus. But of late years he had been very seldom seen. Indeed, there +were many of the country folks dwelling within half an hour's walk of +the fountain who had never beheld Pegasus, and did not believe that +there was any such creature in existence. The country fellow to whom +Bellerophon was speaking chanced to be one of those incredulous persons. + +[Illustration: PEGASUS AT THE FOUNTAIN] + +And that was the reason why he laughed. + +"Pegasus, indeed!" cried he, turning up his nose as high as such a flat +nose could be turned up. "Pegasus, indeed! A winged horse, truly! Why, +friend, are you in your senses? Of what use would wings be to a horse? +Could he drag the plow so well, think you? To be sure, there might be a +little saving in the expense of shoes, but then how would a man like to +see his horse flying out of the stable window?--yes, or whisking him up +above the clouds when he only wanted to ride to mill? No, no! I don't +believe in Pegasus. There never was such a ridiculous kind of a horse- +fowl made!" + +"I have reason to think otherwise," said Bellerophon quietly. + +And then he turned to an old gray man who was leaning on a staff and +listening very attentively with his head stretched forward and one hand +at his ear, because for the last twenty years he had been getting rather +deaf. + +"And what say you, venerable sir?" inquired he. "In your younger days, I +should imagine, you must frequently have seen the winged steed." + +"Ah, young stranger, my memory is very poor," said the aged man. "When I +was a lad, if I remember rightly, I used to believe there was such a +horse, and so did everybody else. But nowadays I hardly know what to +think, and very seldom think about the winged horse at all. If I ever +saw the creature, it was a long, long while ago; and, to tell you the +truth, I doubt whether I ever did see him. One day, to be sure, when I +was quite a youth, I remember seeing some hoof-prints round about the +brink of the fountain. Pegasus might have made those hoof-marks, and so +might some other horse." + +"And have you never seen him, my fair maiden?" asked Bellerophon of the +girl, who stood with the pitcher on her head while this talk went on. +"You surely could see Pegasus if anybody can, for your eyes are very +bright." + +"Once I thought I saw him," replied the maiden, with a smile and a +blush. "It was either Pegasus or a large white bird a very great way up +in the air. And one other time, as I was coming to the fountain with my +pitcher, I heard a neigh. Oh, such a brisk and melodious neigh as that +was! My very heart leaped with delight at the sound. But it startled me, +nevertheless, so that I ran home without filling my pitcher." + +"That was truly a pity!" said Bellerophon. + +And he turned to the child whom I mentioned at the beginning of the +story, and who was gazing at him, as children are apt to gaze at +strangers, with his rosy mouth wide open. + +"Well, my little fellow," cried Bellerophon, playfully pulling one of +his curls, "I suppose you have often seen the winged horse." + +"That I have," answered the child very readily. "I saw him yesterday and +many times before." + +"You are a fine little man!" said Bellerophon, drawing the child closer +to him. "Come, tell me all about it." + +"Why," replied the child, "I often come here to sail little boats in the +fountain and to gather pretty pebbles out of its basin. And sometimes, +when I look down into the water, I see the image of the winged horse in +the picture of the sky that is there. I wish he would come down and take +me on his back and let me ride him up to the moon. But if I so much as +stir to look at him, he flies far away, out of sight." + +And Bellerophon put his faith in the child who had seen the image of +Pegasus in the water, and in the maiden who had heard him neigh so +melodiously, rather than in the middle-aged clown who believed only in +cart horses, or in the old man who had forgotten the beautiful things of +his youth. + +Therefore he haunted about the Fountain of Pirene for a great many days +afterward. He kept continually on the watch, looking upward at the sky +or else down into the water, hoping forever that he should see either +the reflected image of the winged horse or the marvelous reality. He +held the bridle with its bright gems and golden bit always ready in his +hand. The rustic people who dwelt in the neighborhood and drove their +cattle to the fountain to drink would often laugh at poor Bellerophon, +and sometimes take him pretty severely to task. They told him that an +able-bodied young man like himself ought to have better business than to +be wasting his time in such an idle pursuit. They offered to sell him a +horse if he wanted one, and when Bellerophon declined the purchase they +tried to drive a bargain with him for his fine bridle. + +Even the country boys thought him so very foolish that they used to have +a great deal of sport about him, and were rude enough not to care a fig +although Bellerophon saw and heard it. One little urchin, for example, +would play Pegasus, and cut the oddest imaginable capers by way of +flying, while one of his schoolfellows would scamper after him holding +forth a twist of bulrushes which was intended to represent Bellerophon's +ornamental bridle. But the gentle child who had seen the picture of +Pegasus in the water comforted the young stranger more than all the +naughty boys could torment him. The dear little fellow in his play-hours +often sat down beside him, and, without speaking a word, would look down +into the fountain and up toward the sky with so innocent a faith that +Bellerophon could not help feeling encouraged. + +Now, you will perhaps wish to be told why it was that Bellerophon had +undertaken to catch the winged horse, and we shall find no better +opportunity to speak about this matter than while he is waiting for +Pegasus to appear. + +If I were to relate the whole of Bellerophon's previous adventures, they +might easily grow into a very long story. It will be quite enough to say +that in a certain country of Asia a terrible monster called a Chimera +had made its appearance, and was doing more mischief than could be +talked about between now and sunset. According to the best accounts +which I have been able to obtain, this Chimera was nearly, if not quite, +the ugliest and most poisonous creature, and the strangest and +unaccountablest, and the hardest to fight with and the most difficult to +run away from, that ever came out of the earth's inside. It had a tail +like a boa constrictor, its body was like I do not care what, and it had +three separate heads, one of which was a lion's, the second a goat's, +and the third an abominably great snake's; and a hot blast of fire came +flaming out of each of its three mouths. Being an earthly monster, I +doubt whether it had any wings; but, wings or no, it ran like a goat and +a lion, and wriggled along like a serpent, and thus contrived to make +about as much speed as all the three together. + +Oh, the mischief and mischief and mischief that this naughty creature +did! With its flaming breath it could set a forest on fire or burn up a +field of grain, or, for that matter, a village with all its fences and +houses. It laid waste the whole country round about, and used to eat up +people and animals alive, and cook them afterwards in the burning oven +of its stomach. Mercy on us, little children! I hope neither you nor I +will ever happen to meet a Chimera. + +While the hateful beast (if a beast we can anywise call it) was doing +all these horrible things, it so chanced that Bellerophon came to that +part of the world on a visit to the king. The king's name was Iobates, +and Lycia was the country which he ruled over. Bellerophon was one of +the bravest youths in the world, and desired nothing so much as to do +some valiant and beneficent deed, such as would make all mankind admire +and love him. In those days the only way for a young man to distinguish +himself was by fighting battles, either with the enemies of his country +or with wicked giants or with troublesome dragons or with wild beasts, +when he could find nothing more dangerous to encounter. King Iobates, +perceiving the courage of his youthful visitor, proposed to him to go +and fight the Chimera, which everybody else was afraid of, and which, +unless it should be soon killed, was likely to convert Lycia into a +desert. Bellerophon hesitated not a moment, but assured the king that he +would either slay this dreaded Chimera or perish in the attempt. + +But, in the first place, as the monster was so prodigiously swift, he +bethought himself that he should never win the victory by fighting on +foot. The wisest thing he could do, therefore, was to get the very best +and fleetest horse that could anywhere be found. And what other horse in +all the world was half so fleet as the marvelous horse Pegasus, who had +wings as well as legs, and was even more active in the air than on the +earth? To be sure, a great many people denied that there was any such +horse with wings, and said that the stories about him were all poetry +and nonsense. But, wonderful as it appeared, Bellerophon believed that +Pegasus was a real steed, and hoped that he himself might be fortunate +enough to find him; and once fairly mounted on his back, he would be +able to fight the Chimera at better advantage. + +And this was the purpose with which he had traveled from Lycia to Greece +and had brought the beautifully ornamented bridle in his hand. It was an +enchanted bridle. If he could only succeed in putting the golden bit +into the mouth of Pegasus, the winged horse would be submissive, and +would own Bellerophon for his master, and fly whithersoever he might +choose to turn the rein. + +But, indeed, it was a weary and anxious time while Bellerophon waited +and waited for Pegasus, in hopes that he would come and drink at the +fountain of Pirene. He was afraid lest King Iobates should imagine that +he had fled from the Chimera. It pained him, too, to think how much +mischief the monster was doing, while he himself, instead of fighting +with it, was compelled to sit idly poring over the bright waters of +Pirene as they gushed out of the sparkling sand. And as Pegasus came +thither so seldom in these latter years, and scarcely alighted there +more than once in a lifetime, Bellerophon feared that he might grow an +old man, and have no strength left in his arms nor courage in his heart, +before the winged horse would appear. Oh, how heavily passes the time +while an adventurous youth is yearning to do his part in life and to +gather in the harvest of his renown! How hard a lesson it is to wait! +Our life is brief, and how much of it is spent in teaching us only this! + +Well was it for Bellerophon that the gentle child had grown so fond of +him and was never weary of keeping him company. Every morning the child +gave him a new hope to put in his bosom instead of yesterday's withered +one. + +"Dear Bellerophon," he would cry, looking up hopefully into his face, "I +think we shall see Pegasus to-day." + +And at length, if it had not been for the little boy's unwavering faith, +Bellerophon would have given up all hope, and would have gone back to +Lycia and have done his best to slay the Chimera without the help of the +winged horse. And in that case poor Bellerophon would at least have been +terribly scorched by the creature's breath, and would most probably have +been killed and devoured. Nobody should ever try to fight an earthborn +Chimera unless he can first get upon the back of an aerial steed. + +One morning the child spoke to Bellerophon even more hopefully than +usual. + +"Dear, dear Bellerophon," cried he, "I know not why it is, but I feel as +if we should certainly see Pegasus to-day." + +And all that day he would not stir a step from Bellerophon's side; so +they ate a crust of bread together, and drank some of the water of the +fountain. In the afternoon, there they sat, and Bellerophon had thrown +his arm around the child, who likewise had put one of his little hands +into Bellerophon's. The latter was lost in his own thoughts, and was +fixing his eyes vacantly on the trunks of the trees that over-shadowed +the fountain. But the gentle child was gazing down into the water; he +was grieved, for Bellerophon's sake, that the hope of another day should +be deceived like so many before it, and two or three quiet teardrops +fell from his eyes and mingled with what were said to be the many tears +of Pirene, when she wept for her slain children. + +But, when he least thought of it, Bellerophon felt the pressure of the +child's little hand and heard a soft, almost breathless, whisper: + +"See there, dear Bellerophon! There is an image in the water." + +The young man looked down into the dimpling mirror of the fountain, and +saw what he took to be the reflection of a bird which seemed to be +flying at a great height in the air, with a gleam of sunshine on its +snowy or silvery wings. + +"What a splendid bird it must be!" said he. "And how very large it +looks, though it must really be flying higher than the clouds!" + +"It makes me tremble," whispered the child. "I am afraid to look up into +the air. It is very beautiful, and yet I dare only look at its image in +the water. Dear Bellerophon, do you not see that it is no bird? It, is +the winged horse Pegasus." + +Bellerophon's heart began to throb. He gazed keenly upward, but could +not see the winged creature, whether bird or horse, because just then it +had plunged into the fleecy depths of a summer cloud. It was but a +moment, however, before the object reappeared, sinking lightly down out +of the cloud, although still at a vast distance from the earth. +Bellerophon caught the child in his arms and shrank back with him, so +that they were both hidden among the thick shrubbery which grew all +around the fountain. Not that he was afraid of any harm, but he dreaded +lest, if Pegasus caught a glimpse of them, he would fly far away and +alight in some inaccessible mountain top. For it was really the winged +horse. After they had expected him so long, he was coming to quench his +thirst with the water of Pirene. + +Nearer and nearer came the aerial wonder, flying in great circles, as +you may have seen a dove when about to alight. Downward came Pegasus, in +those wide, sweeping circles which grew narrower and narrower still as +he gradually approached the earth. The nigher the view of him, the more +beautiful he was and the more marvelous the sweep of his silvery wings. +At last, with so light a pressure as hardly to bend the grass about the +fountain or imprint a hoof-tramp in the sand of its margin, he alighted, +and, stooping his wild head, began to drink. He drew in the water with +long and pleasant sighs and tranquil pauses of enjoyment, and then +another draught, and another, and another. For nowhere in the world or +up among the clouds did Pegasus love any water as he loved this of +Pirene. And when his thirst was slaked he cropped a few of the honey- +blossoms of the clover, delicately tasting them, but not caring to make +a hearty meal, because the herbage just beneath the clouds on the lofty +sides of Mount Helicon suited his palate better than this ordinary +grass. + +After thus drinking to his heart's content, and in his dainty fashion +condescending to take a little food, the winged horse began to caper to +and fro, and dance, as it were, out of mere idleness and sport. There +never was a more playful creature made than this very Pegasus. So there +he frisked in a way that it delights me to think about, fluttering his +great wings as lightly as ever did a linnet, and running little races +half on earth and half in air, and which I know not whether to call a +flight or a gallop. When a creature is perfectly able to fly, he +sometimes chooses to run just for the pastime of the thing; and so did +Pegasus, although it cost him some little trouble to keep his hoofs so +near the ground. Bellerophon, meanwhile, holding the child's hand, +peeped forth from the shrubbery, and thought that never was any sight so +beautiful as this, nor ever a horse's eyes so wild and spirited as those +of Pegasus. + +Once or twice Pegasus stopped and snuffed the air, pricking up his ears, +tossing his head, and turning it on all sides, as if he partly suspected +some mischief or other. Seeing nothing, however, and hearing no sound, +he soon began his antics again. At length--not that he was weary, but +only idle and luxurious--Pegasus folded his wings and lay down on the +soft green turf. But, being too full of aerial life to remain quiet for +many moments together, he soon rolled over on his back with his four +slender legs in the air. It was beautiful to see him, this one solitary +creature whose mate had never been created, but who needed no companion, +and, living a great many hundred years, was as happy as the centuries +were long. The more he did such things as mortal horses are accustomed +to do, the less earthly and the more wonderful he seemed. Bellerophon +and the child almost held their breath, partly from a delightful awe, +but still more because they dreaded lest the slightest stir or murmur +should send him up with the speed of an arrow-flight into the farthest +blue of the sky. Finally, when he had had enough of rolling over and +over, Pegasus turned himself about, and, indolently, like any other +horse, put out his forelegs in order to rise from the ground; and +Bellerophon, who had guessed that he would do so, darted suddenly from +the thicket and leaped astride of his back. + +Yes, there he sat, on the back of the winged horse! + +But what a bound did Pegasus make when, for the first time, he felt the +weight of a mortal man upon his loins! A bound, indeed! Before he had +time to draw a breath Bellerophon found himself five hundred feet aloft, +and still shooting upward, while the winged horse snorted and trembled +with terror and anger. Upward he went, up, up, up, until he plunged into +the cold, misty bosom of a cloud at which, only a little while before, +Bellerophon had been gazing and fancying it a very pleasant spot. Then +again, out of the heart of the cloud, Pegasus shot down like a +thunderbolt, as if he meant to dash both himself and his rider head-long +against a rock. Then he went through about a thousand of the wildest +caprioles that had ever been performed either by a bird or a horse. + +I cannot tell you half that he did. He skimmed straight forward, and +sideways, and backward. He reared himself erect, with his forelegs on a +wreath of mist and his hind legs on nothing at all. He flung out his +heels behind and put down his head between his legs, with his wings +pointing right upward. At about two miles' height above the earth he +turned a somersault, so that Bellerophon's heels were where his head +should have been, and he seemed to look down into the sky, instead of +up. He twisted his head about, and, looking Bellerophon in the face, +with fire flashing from his eyes, made a terrible attempt to bite him. +He fluttered his pinions so wildly that one of the silver feathers was +shaken out, and, floating earthward, was picked up by the child, who +kept it as long as he lived in memory of Pegasus and Bellerophon. + +But the latter (who, as you may judge, was as good a horseman as ever +galloped) had been watching his opportunity, and at last clapped the +golden bit of the enchanted bridle between the winged steed's jaws. No +sooner was this done than Pegasus became as manageable as if he had +taken food all his life out of Bellerophon's hand. To speak what I +really feel, it was almost a sadness to see so wild a creature grow +suddenly so tame. And Pegasus seemed to feel it so likewise. He looked +round to Bellerophon with tears in his beautiful eyes, instead of the +fire that so recently flashed from them. But when Bellerophon patted his +head and spoke a few authoritative, yet kind and soothing words, another +look came into the eyes of Pegasus; for he was glad at heart, after so +many lonely centuries, to have found a companion and a master. Thus it +always is with winged horses and with all such wild and solitary +creatures. If you can catch and overcome them, it is the surest way to +win their love. + +While Pegasus had been doing his utmost to shake Bellerophon off his +back, he had flown a very long distance, and they had come within sight +of a lofty mountain by the time the bit was in his mouth. Bellerophon +had seen this mountain before, and knew it to be Helicon, on the summit +of which was the winged horse's abode. Thither (after looking gently +into his rider's face, as if to ask leave) Pegasus now flew, and, +alighting, waited patiently until Bellerophon should please to dismount. +The young man accordingly leaped from his steed's back, but still held +him fast by the bridle. Meeting his eyes, however, he was so affected by +the gentleness of his aspect and by his beauty, and by the thought of +the free life which Pegasus had heretofore lived, that he could not bear +to keep him a prisoner if he really desired his liberty. + +Obeying this generous impulse, he slipped the enchanted bridle off the +head of Pegasus and took the bit from his mouth. + +"Leave me, Pegasus!" said he. "Either leave me or love me." + +In an instant the winged horse shot almost out of sight, soaring +straight upward from the summit of Mount Helicon. Being long after +sunset, it was now twilight on the mountain top and dusky evening over +all the country round about. But Pegasus flew so high that he overtook +the departed day, and was bathed in the upper radiance of the sun. +Ascending higher and higher, he looked like a bright speck, and at last +could no longer be seen in the hollow waste of the sky. And Bellerophon +was afraid that he should never behold him more. But while he was +lamenting his own folly the bright speck reappeared, and drew nearer and +nearer until it descended lower than the sunshine; and behold, Pegasus +had come back! After this trial there was no more fear of the winged +horse's making his escape. He and Bellerophon were friends, and put +loving faith in one another. + +That night they lay down and slept together, with Bellerophon's arm +about the neck of Pegasus, not as a caution, but for kindness. And they +awoke at peep of day and bade one another good morning, each in his own +language. + +In this manner Bellerophon and the wondrous steed spent several days, +and grew better acquainted and fonder of each other all the time. They +went on long aerial journeys, and sometimes ascended so high that the +earth looked hardly bigger than the moon. They visited different +countries and amazed the inhabitants, who thought that the beautiful +young man on the back of the winged horse must have come down out of the +sky. A thousand miles a day was no more than an easy space for the fleet +Pegasus to pass over. Bellerophon was delighted with this kind of life, +and would have liked nothing better than to live always in the same way, +aloft in the clear atmosphere; for it was always sunny weather up there, +however cheerless and rainy it might be in the lower region. But he +could not forget the horrible Chimera which he had promised King Iobates +to slay. So at last, when he had become well accustomed to feats of +horsemanship in the air, and could manage Pegasus with the least motion +of his hand, and had taught him to obey his voice, he determined to +attempt the performance of this perilous adventure. + +At daybreak, therefore, as soon as he unclosed his eyes, he gently +pinched the winged horse's ear in order to arouse him. Pegasus +immediately started from the ground and pranced about a quarter of a +mile aloft, and made a grand sweep around the mountain top by way of +showing that he was wide awake and ready for any kind of an excursion. +During the whole of this little flight, he uttered a loud, brisk, and +melodious neigh, and finally came down at Bellerophon's side as lightly +as you ever saw a sparrow hop upon a twig. + +"Well done, dear Pegasus! well done, my sky-skimmer!" cried Bellerophon, +fondly stroking the horse's neck. "And now, my fleet and beautiful +friend, we must break our fast. To-day we are to fight the terrible +Chimera." + +As soon as they had eaten their morning meal and drunk some sparkling +water from a spring called Hippocrene, Pegasus held out his head of his +own accord so that his master might put on the bridle. Then, with a +great many playful leaps and airy caperings, he showed his impatience to +be gone, while Bellerophon was girding on his sword and hanging his +shield about his neck and preparing himself for battle. When everything +was ready, the rider mounted, and (as was his custom when going a long +distance) ascended five miles perpendicularly, so as the better to see +whither he was directing his course. He then turned the head of Pegasus +toward the east, and set out for Lycia. In their flight they overtook an +eagle, and came so nigh him, before he could get out of their way, that +Bellerophon might easily have caught him by the leg. Hastening onward at +this rate, it was still early in the forenoon when they beheld the lofty +mountains of Lycia with their deep and shaggy valleys. If Bellerophon +had been told truly, it was in one of those dismal valleys that the +hideous Chimera had taken up its abode. + +Being now so near their journey's end, the winged horse gradually +descended with his rider, and they took advantage of some clouds that +were floating over the mountain tops in order to conceal themselves. +Hovering on the upper surface of a cloud and peeping over its edge, +Bellerophon had a pretty distinct view of the mountainous part of Lycia, +and could look into all its shadowy vales at once. It was a wild, +savage, and rocky tract of high and precipitous hills. In the more level +part of the country there were ruins of burned houses, and here and +there the carcasses of dead cattle strewn about the pastures where they +had been feeding. + +"The Chimera must have done this mischief," thought Bellerophon. "But +where can the monster be?" + +As I have already said, there was nothing remarkable to be detected at +first sight in any of the valleys and dells that lay among the +precipitous heights of the mountains--nothing at all, unless, indeed, it +were three spires of black smoke which issued from what seemed to be the +mouth of a cavern and clambered sullenly into the atmosphere. Before +reaching the mountain top these three black smoke-wreaths mingled +themselves into one. The cavern was almost directly beneath the winged +horse and his rider, at the distance of about a thousand feet. The +smoke, as it crept heavily upward, had an ugly, sulphurous, stifling +scent which caused Pegasus to snort and Bellerophon to sneeze. So +disagreeable was it to the marvelous steed (who was accustomed to +breathe only the purest air) that he waved his wings and shot half a +mile out of the range of this offensive vapor. + +But on looking behind him, Bellerophon saw something that induced him +first to draw the bridle and then to turn Pegasus about. He made a sign, +which the winged horse understood, and sunk slowly through the air until +his hoofs were scarcely more than a man's height above the rocky bottom +of the valley. In front, as far off as you could throw a stone, was the +cavern's mouth with the three smoke-wreaths oozing out of it. And what +else did Bellerophon behold there? + +There seemed to be a heap of strange and terrible creatures curled up +within the cavern. Their bodies lay so close together that Bellerophon +could not distinguish them apart; but, judging by their heads, one of +these creatures was a huge snake, the second a fierce lion, and the +third an ugly goat. + +The lion and the goat were asleep; the snake was broad awake, and kept +staring around him with a great pair of fiery eyes. But--and this was +the most wonderful part of the matter--the three spires of smoke +evidently issued from the nostrils of these three heads! So strange was +the spectacle, that, though Bellerophon had been all along expecting it, +the truth did not immediately occur to him that here was the terrible +three-headed Chimera. He had found out the Chimera's cavern. The snake, +the lion, and the goat, as he supposed them to be, were not three +separate creatures, but one monster! + +The wicked, hateful thing! Slumbering as two thirds of it were, it still +held in its abominable claws the remnant of an unfortunate lamb--or +possibly (but I hate to think so) it was a dear little boy--which its +three mouths had been gnawing before two of them fell asleep! + +All at once Bellerophon started as from a dream, and knew it to be the +Chimera. Pegasus seemed to know it at the same instant, and sent forth a +neigh that sounded like the call of a trumpet to battle. At this sound +the three heads reared themselves erect and belched out great flashes of +flame. Before Bellerophon had time to consider what to do next, the +monster flung itself out of the cavern and sprung straight toward him, +with its immense claws extended and its snaky tail twisting itself +venomously behind. If Pegasus had not been as nimble as a bird, both he +and his rider would have been overthrown by the Chimera's headlong rush, +and thus the battle have been ended before it was well begun. But the +winged horse was not to be caught so. In the twinkling of an eye he was +up aloft, halfway to the clouds, snorting with anger. He shuddered, too, +not with affright, but with utter disgust at the loathsomeness of this +poisonous thing with three heads. + +[Illustration: PEGASUS DARTED DOWN ASLANT TOWARD THE CHIMERA'S THREE- +FOLD HEAD.] + +The Chimera, on the other hand, raised itself up so as to stand +absolutely on the tip end of its tail, with its talons pawing fiercely +in the air and its three heads spluttering fire at Pegasus and his +rider. My stars! how it roared and hissed and bellowed! Bellerophon, +meanwhile, was fitting his shield on his arm and drawing his sword. + +"Now, my beloved Pegasus," he whispered in the winged horse's ear, "thou +must help me to slay this insufferable monster, or else thou shalt fly +back to thy solitary mountain peak without thy friend Bellerophon. For +either the Chimera dies, or its three mouths shall gnaw this head of +mine, which has slumbered upon thy neck." + +Pegasus whinnied, and, turning back his head, rubbed his nose tenderly +against his rider's cheek. It was his way of telling him that, though he +had wings and was an immortal horse, yet he would perish, if it were +possible for immortality to perish, rather than leave Bellerophon +behind. + +"I thank you, Pegasus," answered Bellerophon. "Now, then, let us make a +dash at the monster!" + +Uttering these words, he shook the bridle, and Pegasus darted down +aslant, as swift as the flight of an arrow, right toward the Chimera's +three-fold head, which all this time was poking itself as high as it +could into the air. As he came within arm's length, Bellerophon made a +cut at the monster, but was carried onward by his steed before he could +see whether the blow had been successful. Pegasus continued his course, +but soon wheeled round at about the same distance from the Chimera as +before. Bellerophon then perceived that he had cut the goat's head of +the monster almost off, so that it dangled downward by the skin, and +seemed quite dead. But, to make amends, the snake's head and the lion's +head had taken all the fierceness of the dead one into themselves, and +spit flame and hissed and roared with more fury than before. + +"Never mind, my brave Pegasus!" cried Bellerophon. "With another stroke +like that we will surely stop either its hissing or its roaring." + +And again he shook the bridle. Dashing aslant-wise as before, the winged +horse made another arrow-flight toward the Chimera, and Bellerophon +aimed another downright stroke at one of the two remaining heads as he +shot by. But this time neither he nor Pegasus escaped so well as at +first. With one of its claws the Chimera had given the young man a deep +scratch in his shoulder, and had slightly damaged the left wing of the +flying steed with the other. On his part, Bellerophon had mortally +wounded the lion's head of the monster, insomuch that it now hung +downward, with its fire almost extinguished, and sending out gasps of +thick black smoke. The snake's head, however (which was the only one now +left), was twice as fierce and venomous as ever before. It belched forth +shoots of fire five hundred yards long, and emitted hisses so loud, so +harsh, and so ear-piercing that King Iobates heard them fifty miles off, +and trembled till the throne shook under him. + +"Well-a-day!" thought the poor king; "the Chimera is certainly coming to +devour me." + +Meanwhile Pegasus had again paused in the air and neighed angrily, while +sparkles of a pure crystal flame darted out of his eyes. How unlike the +lurid fire of the Chimera! The aerial steed's spirit was all aroused, +and so was that of Bellerophon. + +"Dost thou bleed, my immortal horse?" cried the young man, caring less +for his own hurt than for the anguish of this glorious creature that +ought never to have tasted pain. "The execrable Chimera shall pay for +this mischief with his last head." + +Then he shook the bridle, shouted loudly and guided Pegasus, not +aslantwise as before, but straight at the monster's hideous front. So +rapid was the onset that it seemed but a dazzle and a flash before +Bellerophon was at close gripes with his enemy. + +The Chimera by this time, after losing its second head, had got into a +red-hot passion of pain and rampant rage. It so flounced about, half on +earth and partly in the air, that it was impossible to say which element +it rested upon. It opened its snake jaws to such an abominable width +that Pegasus might almost, I was going to say, have flown right down its +throat, wings outspread, rider and all! At their approach it shot out a +tremendous blast of its fiery breath and enveloped Bellerophon and his +steed in a perfect atmosphere of flame, singeing the wings of Pegasus, +scorching off one whole side of the young man's ringlets, and making +them both far hotter than was comfortable from head to foot. + +But this was nothing to what followed. + +When the airy rush of the winged horse had brought him within the +distance of a hundred yards, the Chimera gave a spring, and flung its +huge, awkward, venomous and utterly detestable carcass right upon poor +Pegasus, clung round him with might and main, and tied up its snaky tail +into a knot! Up flew the aerial steed, higher, higher, above the +mountain peaks, above the clouds, and almost out of sight of the solid +earth. But still the earth-born monster kept its hold and was borne +upward along with the creature of light and air. Bellerophon, meanwhile, +turning about, found himself face to face with the ugly grimness of the +Chimera's visage, and could only avoid being scorched to death or bitten +right in twain by holding up his shield. Over the upper edge of the +shield he looked sternly into the savage eyes of the monster. + +But the Chimera was so mad and wild with pain that it did not guard +itself so well as might else have been the case. Perhaps, after all, the +best way to fight a Chimera is by getting as close to it as you can. In +its efforts to stick its horrible iron claws into its enemy the creature +left its own breast quite exposed, and, perceiving this, Bellerophon +thrust his sword up to the hilt into its cruel heart. Immediately the +snaky tail untied its knot. The monster let go its hold of Pegasus and +fell from that vast height downward, while the fire within its bosom, +instead of being put out, burned fiercer than ever, and quickly began to +consume the dead carcass. Thus it fell out of the sky all aflame, and +(it being nightfall before it reached the earth) was mistaken for a +shooting star or a comet. But at early sunrise some cottagers were going +to their day's labor, and saw, to their astonishment, that several acres +of ground were strewn with black ashes. In the middle of a field there +was a heap of whitened bones a great deal higher than a haystack. +Nothing else was ever seen of the dreadful Chimera. And when Bellerophon +had won the victory he bent forward and kissed Pegasus, while the tears +stood in his eyes. + +"Back, now, my beloved steed!" said he. "Back to the fountain of +Pirene!" + +Pegasus skimmed through the air quicker than ever he did before, and +reached the fountain in a very short time. And there he found the old +man leaning on his staff, and the country fellow watering his cow, and +the pretty maiden filling her pitcher. + +"I remember now," quoth the old man, "I saw this winged horse once +before, when I was quite a lad. But he was ten times handsomer in those +days." + +"I own a cart horse worth three of him," said the country fellow. "If +this pony were mine, the first thing I should do would be to clip his +wings." + +But the poor maiden said nothing, for she had always the luck to be +afraid at the wrong time. So she ran away, and let her pitcher tumble +down, and broke it. + +"Where is the gentle child," asked Bellerophon, "who used to keep me +company, and never lost his faith, and never was weary of gazing into +the fountain?" + +"Here am I, dear Bellerophon!" said the child softly. + +For the little boy had spent day after day on the margin of Pirene, +waiting for his friend to come back; but when he perceived Bellerophon +descending through the clouds, mounted on the winged horse, he had +shrunk back into the shrubbery. He was a delicate and tender child, and +dreaded lest the old man and the country fellow should see the tears +gushing from his eyes. + +"Thou hast won the victory," said he joyfully, running to the knee of +Bellerophon, who still sat on the back of Pegasus. "I knew thou +wouldst." + +"Yes, dear child!" replied Bellerophon, alighting from the winged horse. +"But if thy faith had not helped me, I should never have waited for +Pegasus, and never have gone up above the clouds, and never have +conquered the terrible Chimera. Thou, my little friend, hast done it +all. And now let us give Pegasus his liberty." So he slipped off the +enchanted bridle from the head of the marvelous steed. + +"Be free for evermore, my Pegasus!" cried he, with a shade of sadness in +his tone. "Be as free as thou art fleet." + +But Pegasus rested his head on Bellerophon's shoulder, and would not +take flight. + +"Well, then," said Bellerophon, caressing the airy horse, "thou shalt be +with me as long as thou wilt, and we will go together forthwith and tell +King Iobates that the Chimera is destroyed." + +Then Bellerophon embraced the gentle child and promised to come to him +again, and departed. But in after years that child took higher flights +upon the aerial steed than ever did Bellerophon, and achieved more +honorable deeds than his friend's victory over the Chimera. For, gentle +and tender as he was, he grew to be a mighty poet! + + + + +A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS + +By Clement C. Moore + + +Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house +Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; +The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, +In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there; +The children were nestled all snug in their beds, +While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads; +And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, +Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,-- +When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, +I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. +Away to the window I flew like a flash, +Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. +The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow +Gave a lustre of midday to objects below; +When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, +But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, +With a little old driver, so lively and quick, +I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick. +More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, +And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name: + +"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! +On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! +To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall! +Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!" + +As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, +When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, +So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, +With the sleigh full of toys,--and Saint Nicholas, too. +And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof +The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. +As I drew in my head, and was turning around, +Down the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound. +He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot, +And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; +A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, +And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. +His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! +His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry; +His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, +And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow. +The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, +And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. +He had a broad face and a little round belly +That shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. +He was chubby and plump,--a right jolly old elf; +And I laughed, when I saw him, in spite of myself. +A wink of his eye and a twist of his head +Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. +He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, +And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, +And laying his finger aside of his nose, +And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose, +He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, +And away they all flew like the down of a thistle; +But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, +"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" + + +Clement Clarke Moore, who wrote this poem, published a whole volume of +poems, but none of the others is as famous as is this. It was written +for his own children, and he did not even know that it was to be +published. It appeared in the Troy Sentinel in 1823, just two days +before Christmas, and we can imagine how delighted children were when +they had it read to them for the first time. It is not a great poem; but +no Christmas poem that has been published since has been half as popular +with children, and even grown people like it for its jolliness and its +Christmas spirit. + + + + +THE STORY OF PHAETHON + + +Phaeton, the son of the nymph Clymene, was very proud of his mother's +beauty, and used to boast of it greatly to his playmates. Tired of the +boy's bragging and conceit, one of his friends said to him one day: + +"You're very willing to talk about your mother, but I notice you never +speak of your father. Are you ashamed of him?" + +"No, I'm not," replied Phaethon, trying to look unabashed. + +"Well, then, tell us about him. If he were anything great, you would be +willing enough to brag about him." + +And because Phaethon kept quiet, all of his playmates began to jeer at +him, cruelly enough. + +"You don't know your father. You've never seen him," they cried. + +Phaethon would not cry before them, but there were tears of shame and +anger in his eyes as he told the story to his mother. + +"Never mind, my boy," she said soothingly, "To-morrow you shall tell +them the name of your father, and that will stop their taunts. Come, let +me whisper it to you." + +When Phaethon heard what she had to tell him, his eyes shone with joy +and pride, and he could scarce wait for morning to carry his news to his +mocking friends. He was first at the meeting-place, but he would say +nothing until all his playmates were gathered. Then he said, quietly, +but O, so proudly: + +"My father is Apollo, the sun-god!" + +For a moment there was silence; then came a burst of laughter from the +group crowded about Phaethon. + +"A likely story! Who ever heard anything so ridiculous? It's quite plain +that your mother is ashamed of your father, and is trying to throw you +off the track." + +Again Phaethon ran home, his cheeks burning, his eyes flashing, and +again he told his mother all that had passed. + +"It's too late to do anything about it to-day," said Clymene, "but to- +morrow you shall go yourself to your father's palace, before he sets out +on his trip across the sky; and if he is pleased with you, he will give +you some proof that you are really his son." + +Long before daylight the next morning Phaethon set out, and with his +mother's directions in mind, walked straight east until he came to the +dazzling palace of the sun. Had he not been a bold youth, he would have +been frightened and turned back; but he was determined to prove his +boasts, and passed on into the palace. At last, on a great golden +throne, he saw his father--surely a more glorious father than ever boy +had before. So glorious was he that Phaethon dared not approach him +closely, as the light about the throne was blinding. When Apollo +recognized him, however, he took off the crown of rays from about his +head and called to Phaethon to approach fearlessly. + +As the boy stood before the throne, he was a son of whom no father, even +Apollo, needed to be ashamed; and as he hurried into his story, the sun- +god smiled at the signs of his impetuous temper. + +"You're willing to own me for your son, aren't you?" finished Phaethon. + +"To be sure I am," replied the sun-god; "and that your mates may never +have chance to doubt it more, I swear by the terrible Styx [Footnote: +The Styx was one of the great rivers of Hades. The oath by the Styx was +regarded as so binding that even a god could not break it without being +punished severely for his perjury. Any god who broke his oath was +obliged to drink of the black waters of the Styx which kept him in utter +unconsciousness for a year; and after his return to consciousness he was +banished for nine years from Olympus.] to give you any proof you ask." + +It did not take Phaethon long to decide--he had made up his mind on the +way; and his words fairly tumbled over each other as he cried eagerly: + +"Then I'll drive the sun-chariot for a day!" + +Apollo was horrified, for he knew that he alone of the gods could manage +the fiery steeds; and if great Jupiter himself could not do it, what +would happen if they were placed in the power of this slight boy? He +begged Phaethon to release him from his promise, but-- + +"You promised, you promised!" repeated the boy. "You swore by the Styx, +and you CAN'T break your word." + +This was true, as Apollo knew well; and at length, with a sigh, he +turned and called to his servants, the Hours, who stood ready to attend +him on his journey: + +"Harness my steeds, and make sure that everything is right about the +chariot." + +While this was being done, Apollo explained carefully to his son the +dangers of the way, hoping yet to turn him from his purpose. + +"The path runs steeply upward at first," he said, "and with all their +strength the horses can scarce drag the chariot. During the middle of +the day the course is high, high in the heavens, and it will sicken you +and make you dizzy if you look down. But the latter part of the drive is +most dangerous, for it slopes rapidly down, and if the horses are not +tightly reined in, horses, chariot and driver will fall headlong into +the sea." + +Nothing frightened Phaethon. + +"You see," he explained, "it's not as if I didn't know how to drive. +I've often driven my grandfather's horses, and they are wild and +strong." + +By this time the magnificent golden chariot and the six horses of white +fire were ready, and after one last plea to his son, Apollo permitted +him to mount the seat. He anointed the boy's face with a cooling lotion, +that the heat might not scorch him, and placed the crown of beams about +his head. + +"And now," he said, "you must be off. Already the people on earth are +wondering why the sun does not rise. Do remember, my boy, not to use the +whip, and to choose a path across the heavens which is neither too high +nor too low." + +With but scant attention to his father's advice, Phaethon gave the word +to his steeds and dashed out of the gates which Aurora opened for him. +And thus began a day which the gods on Olympus and the people on earth +never forgot. + +[Illustration: IN VAIN PHAETHON PULLED AT THE REINS.] + +The horses easily perceived that some other hand than their master's +held the lines, and they promptly became unmanageable. In vain Phaethon +pulled at the reins; in vain he called the steeds by name. Up the sky +they dashed, and then, first to the south, then to the north, they took +their zigzag course across the heavens. What a sight it must have +presented from below, this sun reeling crazily about the sky! Worst of +all, however, the horses did not keep at the same distance from the +earth. First they went down, down, until they almost touched the +mountain tops. Trees, grass, wheat, flowers, all were scorched and +blackened; and one great tract in Africa was so parched that nothing has +since been able to grow upon it. Rivers were dried up, the snow on the +mountain tops was melted, and, strangest of all, the people in the +country over which the sun-chariot was passing were burned black. +[Footnote: In this way the ancients explained the great desert of +Sahara, and the dark color of the people of Africa.] Then, rising, the +horses dragged the chariot so far from the earth that intense, bitter +cold killed off much of the vegetation which the fierce heat had spared. + +Poor Phaethon could do nothing but clutch the seat and shut his eyes. He +dared not look down, lest he lose his balance and fall; he dared not +look about him, for there were, in all parts of the heavens, the most +terrifying animals--a great scorpion, a lion, two bears, a huge crab. +[Footnote: These terrifying animals which Phaethon saw in the sky were +the groups of stars, the constellations to which the ancients gave the +names of animals etc. We know the Big Dipper, or Great Bear, for we may +see it in the north any clear night.] Vainly he repented of his +rashness; sadly he wondered in what way his death would come. + +It came suddenly--so suddenly that poor Phaethon did not feel the pain +of it. For Jupiter, when he saw the sun rocking about the heavens, did +not stop to inquire who the unknown charioteer was; he knew it was not +Apollo, and he knew the earth was being ruined--that was enough. Seizing +one of his biggest thunderbolts, he hurled it with all his might, and +Phaethon fell, flaming, from his lofty seat into the Eridanus River; +while the horses, whom no thunderbolt could harm, trotted quietly back +to their stalls. Clymene bewailed her son's death bitterly, and his +companions, grieved that their taunts should have driven their comrade +to his destruction, helped her to erect over his grave a stone on which +were these words: + +"Lies buried here young Phaethon, who sought + To guide his father's chariot of flame. + What though he failed? No death ignoble his + Who fared to meet it with such lofty aim." + + Most of the Greek myths had meanings; they were not simply fairy +stories. And while we have no means now of finding the meanings of some +of them, many of them are so clear that we can understand exactly what +the Greeks meant to teach by them. By far the most numerous are the so- +called "nature myths"--myths which they invented to explain the +happenings which they saw constantly about them in the natural world. Of +these nature myths the story of Phaethon is one. + +The ancients believed that drought was caused by the sun's coming too +close to the earth; but how could Apollo, experienced driver of the sun- +chariot, ever be so careless as to drive close enough to the earth to +burn it? It was easy enough to imagine that the chariot, when it did +such damage, was being driven by some reckless person who knew not how +to guide it. But then arose the necessity of explaining Apollo's +willingness to trust such a reckless person with so great a task; and +what more likely than that the inexperienced charioteer was Apollo's +beloved son, who had induced his father to grant his rash request? +Gradually details were added, until the story took the form in which we +have it. + +As the drought of summer is often brought to a close by a storm which is +accompanied by thunder and lightning, and which hides the light of the +sun, so in the story Phaethon's ruinous drive is brought to an end by +the thunderbolt of Jupiter; while the horses, trotting back home before +their time, leave the world in comparative darkness. + +It must not be supposed that some one just sat down one day and said, "I +will tell a story which shall explain drought and the ending of +drought." This story, like all the others, grew up gradually. Perhaps, +one day, in time of drought, some one said to his neighbor, "The chariot +of Apollo is coming too close to the earth," and perhaps his neighbor +replied, "Some one who knows not how to guide the white horses is +driving it." Such language might in time easily become the common +language for describing times of drought; and so, at length, would grow +up, out of what was at first merely a description, in figurative +language, of a natural happening, a story, in dramatic form. + + + + +THE ENGLISH ROBIN + +By Harrison Weir + + +See yon robin on the spray; + Look ye how his tiny form +Swells, as when his merry lay + Gushes forth amid the storm. + +Though the snow is falling fast, + Specking o'er his coat with white, +Though loud roars the chilly blast, + And the evening's lost in night, + +Yet from out the darkness dreary + Cometh still that cheerful note; +Praiseful aye, and never weary, + Is that little warbling throat. + +Thank him for his lesson's sake, + Thank God's gentle minstrel there, +Who, when storms make others quake, + Sings of days that brighter were. + + +The English robin is not the bird we call robin redbreast in the United +States. Our robin is a big, lordly chap about ten inches long, but the +English robin is not more than five and a half inches long; that is, it +is smaller than an English sparrow. The robin of the poem has an olive- +green back and a breast of yellowish red, and in habits it is like our +warblers. It is a sweet singer, and a confiding, friendly little thing, +so that English children are very fond of it, and English writers are +continually referring to it. + + + + +TOM, THE WATER BABY + +By Charles Kingsley + + +INTRODUCTORY NOTE + + +Charles Kingsley, who was born in 1819, and became Canon of the Church +of England at Chester, wrote, in addition to his interesting and +brilliant novels, The Water Babies, which is a charming fairy story for +young people. It is, however, one of those stories that can be read more +than once, and read by all classes of people. + +Besides telling the delightful story of Tom, the water baby, and his +wonderful adventures on land and in water, Canon Kingsley gives in a +very amusing style accounts of many of the animals that live in and near +the water. But he brings them all into the story in such a way that they +seem to be real, living characters, and you are almost as much +interested in the stately salmon and his wife, or even in the funny old +lobster, as you would be if they were actual human beings. + +As the story was written originally, there was a great deal in it for +children of much larger growth than those who will read it here. In some +respects the story resembles Gulliver's Travels, for Kingsley took +occasion to be satirical about many of the things which men and women +say, do and believe. Some of this satire children will enjoy thoroughly, +but some of it could not be understood well except by persons who have +lived in this world for many years. Accordingly, in this book, we have +thought it best to leave out some things, giving you only the story of +Tom, and hoping that when you young readers grow to manhood or womanhood +you will find The Water Babies, complete, a good story to read. You will +enjoy recalling the delight you have in it now, and will find out that +even a children's story may be so told as to keep a man thinking. + +Moreover, the story was written by an Englishman for an English boy, and +there are a great many allusions to things that only English boys +appreciate or understand, and it has seemed wise to omit most of these. +On the other hand, nothing has been omitted to weaken the story of Tom, +and nothing has been added to destroy the charm of Canon Kingsley's +writing. + + + +CHAPTER I + + +Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep, [Footnote: A boy +would have a hard time crawling through some of our chimneys nowadays, +but years ago, when houses had open fireplaces instead of steam plants, +there was a network of huge chimneys through which a small boy could +easily work his way, brushing off the soot as he went.] and his name was +Tom. That is a short name, and you have heard it before, so you will not +have much trouble in remembering it. He lived in a great town in the +North country, where there were plenty of chimneys to sweep, and plenty +of money for Tom to earn and his master to spend. He could not read nor +write, and did not care to do either; and he never washed himself, for +there was no water up the court where he lived. He had never been taught +to say his prayers. He never had heard of God, or of Christ, except in +words which you never have heard, and which it would have been well if +he had never heard. + +[Illustration: THERE WAS A LITTLE CHIMNEY SWEEP, AND HIS NAME WAS TOM.] + +He cried half his time, and laughed the other half. He cried when he had +to climb the dark flues, rubbing his poor knees and elbows raw; and when +the soot got into his eyes, which it did every day in the week; and when +his master beat him, which he did every day in the week; and when he had +not enough to eat, which happened every day in the week likewise. And he +laughed the other half of the day, when he was tossing halfpennies with +the other boys, or playing leapfrog over the posts, or bowling stones at +the horses' legs as they trotted by, which last was excellent fun, when +there was a wall at hand behind which to hide. + +As for chimneysweeping, and being hungry, and being beaten, he took all +that for the way of the world, like the rain and snow and thunder, and +stood manfully with his back to it till it was over, as his old donkey +did to a hailstorm; and then shook his ears and was as jolly as ever; +and thought of the fine times coming, when he would be a man, and a +master sweep, [Footnote: A master sweep was a man who had grown too +large to climb up chimneys, but who kept boys whom he hired out for that +purpose.] and sit in the public-house with a quart of beer and a long +pipe, and play cards for silver money, and wear velveteens and ankle- +jacks, and keep a white bulldog with one gray ear, and carry her puppies +in his pocket, just like a man. And he would have apprentices, one, two, +three, if he could. How he would bully them, and knock them about, just +as his master did to him; and make them carry home the soot sacks, while +he rode before them on his donkey, with a pipe in his mouth and a flower +in his buttonhole, like a king at the head of his army. Yes, there were +good times coming; and when his master let him have a pull at the +leavings of his beer, Tom was the jolliest boy in the whole town. + +One day a smart little groom rode into the court where Tom lived, and +halloed to him to know where Mr. Grimes, the chimney-sweep, lived. Now, +Mr. Grimes was Tom's own master, and Tom was a good man of business, and +always civil to customers, so he proceeded to take orders. + +Mr. Grimes was to come up next morning to Sir John Harthover's at the +Place, for his old chimney-sweep was gone to prison, and the chimneys +wanted sweeping. And so he rode away, not giving Tom time to ask what +the sweep had gone to prison for, which was a matter of interest to Tom, +as he had been in prison once or twice himself. Moreover, the groom +looked so very neat and clean, with his drab gaiters, drab breeches, +drab jacket, snow-white tie with a smart pin in it, and clean round +ruddy face, that Tom was offended and disgusted at his appearance, and +considered him a stuck-up fellow, who gave himself airs because he wore +smart clothes, and other people paid for them. + +His master was so delighted at his new customer that he knocked Tom down +out of hand, and drank more beer that night than he usually did in two, +in order to be sure of getting up in time next morning, for the more a +man's head aches when he wakes, the more glad he is to turn out, and +have a breath of fresh air. And when he did get up at four the next +morning, he knocked Tom down again, in order to teach him (as young +gentlemen used to be taught at public schools) that he must be an extra +good boy that day, as they were going to a very great house, and might +make a very good thing of it, if they could but give satisfaction. + +And Tom thought so likewise, and, indeed, would have done and behaved +his best, even without being knocked down. For, of all places upon +earth, Harthover Place (which he had never seen) was the most wonderful, +and, of all men on earth, Sir John (whom he had seen, having been sent +to jail by him twice) was the most awful. + +Harthover Place was really a grand place, even for the rich North +country, and Sir John a grand old man, whom even Mr. Grimes respected; +for not only could he send Mr. Grimes to prison when he deserved it, as +he did once or twice a week; not only did he own all the land about for +miles; not only was he as jolly, honest, sensible squire as ever kept a +pack of hounds, who would do what he thought right by his neighbors, as +well as get what he thought right for himself; but what was more, he +weighed full fifteen stone, was nobody knew how many inches round the +chest, and could have thrashed Mr. Grimes himself in fair fight, which +very few folk round there could do, and which, my dear little boy, would +not have been right for him to do, as a great many things are not which +one can do, and would like very much to do. So Mr. Grimes touched his +hat to him when he rode through the town, and thought that that made up +for his poaching Sir John's pheasants. + +So Tom and his master set out; Grimes rode the donkey in front, and Tom +and the brushes walked behind; out of the court, and up the street, past +the closed window shutters, and the winking weary policemen, and the +roofs all shining gray in the gray dawn. They passed through the +pitmen's village, all shut up and silent now, and through the turn-pike; +and then they were out in the real country, and plodding along the black +dusty road, between black slag walls, with no sound but the groaning and +thumping of the pit-engine in the next field. But soon the road grew +white, and the walls likewise; and at the wall's foot grew long grass +and gay flowers, all drenched with dew; and instead of the groaning of +the pit-engine, they heard the skylark, saying his matins high up in the +air, and the pit-bird warbling in the sedges, as he had warbled all +night long. + +All else was silent. For old Mrs. Earth was still fast asleep; and, like +many pretty people, she looked still prettier asleep than awake. The +great elm trees in the gold-green meadows were fast asleep above, and +the cows fast asleep beneath them; nay, the few clouds which were about +were fast asleep likewise, and so tired that they had lain down on the +earth to rest, in long white flakes and bars, among the stems of the elm +trees, and along the tops of the alders by the stream, waiting for the +sun to bid them rise and go about their day's business in the clear blue +overhead. + +[Illustration: THEY CAME UP WITH A POOR IRISHWOMAN.] + +On they went; and Tom looked, and looked, for he never had been so far +into the country before; and longed to get over a gate, and pick +buttercups, and look for birds' nests in the hedge; but Mr. Grimes was a +man of business, and would not have heard of that. + +Soon they came up with a poor Irishwoman, trudging along with a bundle +at her back. She had a gray shawl over her head, and a crimson madder +petticoat; so you may be sure she came from Galway. [Footnote: Galway is +a county in the western part of Ireland. The dress here described was +the characteristic dress of the peasants of that county.] She had +neither shoes nor stockings, and limped along as if she were tired and +footsore; but she was a very tall, handsome woman, with bright gray +eyes, and heavy black hair hanging about her cheeks. And she took Mr. +Grimes' fancy so much, that when he came alongside he called out to her: + +"This is a hard road for a gradely [Footnote: GRADELY, or GRAITHLY, is +an old word which meant DECENT or COMELY.] foot like that. Will ye up, +lass, and ride behind me?" + +But, perhaps she did not admire Mr. Grimes' look and voice; for she +answered quietly: + +"No, thank you; I'd sooner walk with your little lad here." + +"You may please yourself," growled Grimes, and went on smoking. + +So she walked beside Tom, and talked to him, and asked him where he +lived, and what he knew, and all about himself, till Tom thought he had +never met such a pleasant-spoken woman. And she asked him, at last, +whether he said his prayers! and seemed sad when he told her that he +knew no prayers to say. + +Then he asked her where she lived, and she said far away by the sea. And +Tom asked her about the sea; and she told him how it rolled and roared +over the rocks in winter nights, and lay still in the bright summer +days, for the children to bathe and play in it; and many a story more, +till Tom longed to go and see the sea, and bathe in it likewise. + +At last, at the bottom of a hill, they came to a spring; a real North +country fountain, like one of those in Sicily or Greece, where the old +heathen fancied the nymphs [Footnote: The nymphs, according to the +ancient Greeks, were divinities in the shape of beautiful maidens, who +lived in the woods or in springs and streams.] sat cooling themselves +the hot summer's day, while the shepherds peeped at them from behind the +bushes. Out of a low cave of rock, at the foot of a limestone crag, the +great fountain rose, quelling, and bubbling, and gurgling, so clear that +you could not tell where the water ended and the air began; and ran away +under the road, a stream large enough to turn a mill; among blue +geranium, and golden globeflower, and wild raspberry, and the bird +cherry with its tassels of snow. [Footnote: These are English flowers, +but you probably know some of them. The wild geranium, for instance, +with its pinkish-purple flowers, is common in our woods. The globeflower +is of rather a pale yellow, and its petals curl in so that it looks like +a ball.] + +And there Grimes stopped and looked; and Tom looked, too. Tom was +wondering whether anything lived in that dark cave, and came out at +night to fly in the meadows. But Grimes was not wondering at all. +Without a word, he got off his donkey, and clambered over the low road +wall, and knelt down, and began dipping his ugly head into the spring-- +and very dirty he made it. + +Tom was picking the flowers as fast as he could. The Irishwoman helped +him, and showed him how to tie them up; and a very pretty nosegay they +had made between them. But when he saw Grimes actually wash, he stopped, +quite astonished; and when Grimes had finished, and began shaking his +ears to dry them, he said: + +"Why, master, I never saw you do that before." + +"Nor will again, most likely. 'Twasn't for cleanliness I did it, but for +coolness. I'd be ashamed to want washing every week or so, like any +smutty collier lad." + +"I wish I might go and dip my head in," said poor little Tom. "It must +be as good as putting it under the town pump; and there is no beadle +here to drive a chap away." + +"Thou come along," said Grimes; "what dost want with washing thyself? +Thou did not drink half a gallon of beer last night, like me." + +"I don't care for you," said naughty Tom, and ran down to the stream, +and began washing his face. + +Grimes was very sulky, because the woman preferred Tom's company to his; +so he dashed at him with horrid words, and tore him up from his knees, +and began beating him. But Tom was accustomed to that, and got his head +safe between Mr. Grimes' legs, and kicked his shins with all his might. + +"Are you not ashamed of yourself, Thomas Grimes?" cried the Irishwoman +over the wall. + +Grimes looked up, startled at her knowing his name; but all he answered +was, "No, nor never was yet"; and went on beating Tom. + +"True for you. If you had ever been ashamed of yourself, you would have +gone over into Vendale long ago." + +"What do you know about Vendale?" shouted Grimes; but he left off +beating Tom. + +"I know about Vendale, and about you, too. I know, for instance, what +happened in Aldermire Copse, by night, two years ago come Martinmas." + +"You do?" shouted Grimes; and leaving Tom, he climbed up over the wall, +and faced the woman. Tom thought he was going to strike her; but she +looked him too full and fierce in the face for that. + +"Yes; I was there," said the Irishwoman quietly. + +"You are no Irishwoman, by your speech," said Grimes, after many bad +words. + +"Never mind who I am. I saw what I saw; and if you strike that boy +again, I can tell what I know." + +Grimes seemed quite cowed, and got on his donkey without another word. + +"Stop!" said the Irishwoman. "I have one more word for you both; for you +will both see me again before all is over. THOSE THAT WISH TO BE CLEAN, +CLEAN THEY WILL BE; AND THOSE THAT WISH TO BE FOUL, FOUL THEY WILL BE. +REMEMBER." + +And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow. Grimes stood +still a moment, like a man who had been stunned. Then he rushed after +her, shouting, "You come back." But when he got into the meadow, the +woman was not there. + +Had she hidden away? There was no place to hide in. But Grimes looked +about, and Tom also, for he was as puzzled as Grimes himself at her +disappearing so suddenly; but look where they would, she was not there. + +Grimes came back again, as silent as a post, for he was a little +frightened; and, getting on his donkey, filled a fresh pipe, and smoked +away, leaving Tom in peace. + +And now they had gone three miles and more, and came to Sir John's lodge +gates. Grimes rang at the gate, and out came a keeper [Footnote: A +keeper is a man appointed, on a large estate, to see that no one +trespasses on the grounds or poaches the game.] on the spot, and opened. + +"I was told to expect thee," he said. "Now thou'lt be so good as to keep +to the main avenue, and not let me find a hare or a rabbit on thee when +thou comest back. I shall look sharp for one, I tell thee." + +[Illustration.] + +"Not if it's in the bottom of the soot bag," quoth Grimes, and at that +he laughed; and the keeper laughed and said: "If that's thy sort, I may +as well walk up with thee to the hall." + +"I think thou best had. It's thy business to see after thy game, man, +and not mine." + +So the keeper went with them; and, to Tom's surprise, he and Grimes +chatted together all the way quite pleasantly. He did not know that a +keeper is only a poacher turned outside in, and a poacher a keeper +turned inside out. + +They walked up a great lime avenue, a full mile long, and between their +stems Tom peeped trembling at the horns of the sleeping deer, which +stood up among the ferns. Tom had never seen such enormous trees, and as +he looked up he fancied that the blue sky rested on their heads. But he +was puzzled very much by a strange murmuring noise, which followed them +all the way. So much puzzled, that at last he took courage to ask the +keeper what it was. + +He spoke very civilly, and called him Sir, for he was horribly afraid of +him, which pleased the keeper, and he told him that they were the bees +about the lime flowers. + +"What are bees?" asked Tom. + +"What make honey." + +"What is honey?" asked Tom. + +"Thou hold thy noise," said Grimes. + +"Let the boy be," said the keeper. "He's a civil young chap now, and +that's more than he'll be long if he bides with thee." + +Grimes laughed, for he took that for a compliment. + +"I wish I were a keeper," said Tom, "to live in such a beautiful place, +and wear green velveteens, and have a real dog-whistle at my button, +like you." + +The keeper laughed; he was a kind-hearted fellow enough. + +"Let well alone, lad, and ill too at times. Thy life's safer than mine +at all events, eh, Mr. Grimes?" + +And Grimes laughed again, and then the two men began talking quite low. +Tom could hear, though, that it was about some poaching fight; and at +last Grimes said surlily, "Hast thou anything against me?" + +"Not now." + +"Then don't ask me any questions till thou hast, for I am a man of +honour." + +And at that they both laughed again, and thought it a very good joke. + +And by this time they were come up to the great iron gates in front of +the house; and Tom stared through them at the rhododendrons and azaleas, +which were all in flower; and then at the house itself, and wondered how +many chimneys there were in it, and how long ago it was built, and what +was the man's name that built it, and whether he got much money for his +job. + +[Illustration: HARTHOVER PLACE.] + +But Tom and his master did not go in through the great iron gates, as if +they had been dukes or bishops, but round the back way, and a very long +way round it was; and into a little back door, where the ash-boy let +them in, yawning horribly; and then in a passage the housekeeper met +them, in such a flowered chintz dressing gown, that Tom mistook her for +My Lady herself, and she gave Grimes solemn orders about "You will take +care of this, and take care of that," as if he was going up the +chimneys, and not Tom. And Grimes listened, and said every now and then, +under his voice, "You'll mind that, you little beggar?" and Tom did +mind, all at least that he could. And then the housekeeper turned them +into a grand room, all covered up in sheets of brown paper, and bade +them begin, in a lofty and tremendous voice; and so after a whimper or +two, and a kick from his master, into the grate Tom went, and up the +chimney, while a housemaid stayed in the room to watch the furniture. + +How many chimneys Tom swept I cannot say; but he swept so many that he +got quite tired, and puzzled, too, for they were not like the town flues +to which he was accustomed, but such as you would find--if you would +only get up them and look, which perhaps you would not like to do--in +old country houses; large and crooked chimneys, which had been altered +again and again, till they ran one into another. So Tom fairly lost his +way in them; not that he cared much for that, though he was in pitch +darkness, for he was as much at home in a chimney as a mole is +underground; but at last, coming down as he thought the right chimney, +he came down the wrong one, and found himself standing on the hearthrug +in a room the like of which he had never seen before. + +He had never been in gentlefolks' rooms but when the carpets were all +up, and the curtains down, and the furniture huddled together under a +cloth, and the pictures covered with aprons and dusters; and he had +often enough wondered what the rooms were like when they were all ready +for the quality to sit in. And now he saw, and he thought the sight very +pretty. + +The room was all dressed in white,--white window curtains, white bed +curtains, white furniture and white walls, with just a few lines of pink +here and there. The carpet was all over gay little flowers and the walls +were hung with pictures in gilt frames, which amused Tom very much. +There were pictures of ladies and gentlemen, and pictures of horses and +dogs. The horses he liked; but the dogs he did not care for much, for +there were no bulldogs among them, not even a terrier. But the two +pictures which took his fancy most were, one a man in long garments, +with little children and their mothers round him, who was laying his +hand upon the children's heads. That was a very pretty picture, Tom +thought, to hang in a lady's room. For he could see that it was a lady's +room by the dresses which lay about. + +The other picture was that of a man nailed to a cross, which surprised +Tom much. He fancied that he had seen something like it in a shop +window. But why was it there? "Poor man," thought Tom, "and he looks so +kind and quiet." But why should the lady have such a sad picture as that +in her room? Perhaps it was some kinsman of hers, who had been murdered +by the savages in foreign parts, and she kept it there for a +remembrance. And Tom felt sad, and awed, and turned to look at something +else. The next thing he saw, and that, too, puzzled him, was a washing- +stand, with ewers and basins, and soap and brushes, and towels, and a +large bath full of clean water--what a heap of things all for washing! +"She must be a very dirty lady," thought Tom, "by my master's rule, to +want as much scrubbing as all that. But she must be very cunning to put +the dirt out of the way so well afterwards, for I don't see a speck +about the room, not even on the very towels." + +And then, looking toward the bed, he saw that dirty lady, and held his +breath with astonishment. + +Under the snow-white coverlet, upon the snow-white pillow, lay the most +beautiful little girl that Tom had ever seen. Her cheeks were almost as +white as the pillow, and her hair was like threads of gold spread all +about over the bed. She might have been as old as Tom, or maybe a year +or two older; but Tom did not think of that. He thought only of her +delicate skin and golden hair, and wondered whether she was a real live +person, or one of the wax dolls he had seen in the shops. But when he +saw her breathe, he made up his mind that she was alive, and stood +staring at her, as if she had been an angel out of heaven. + +No. She cannot be dirty. She never could have been dirty, thought Tom to +himself; and then he thought, "And are all people like that when they +are washed?" And he looked at his own wrist, and tried to rub the soot +off, and wondered whether it ever would come off. "Certainly, I should +look much prettier then, if I grew at all like her." + +And looking round, he suddenly saw, standing close to him, a little, +ugly, black, ragged figure, with bleared eyes and grinning white teeth. +He turned on it angrily. What did such a little black ape want in that +sweet young lady's room? And behold, it was himself, reflected in a +great mirror, the like of which Tom had never seen before. + +And Tom, for the first time in his life, found out that he was dirty; +and burst into tears with shame and anger; and turned to sneak up the +chimney again and hide; and upset the fender and threw the fire irons +down, with a noise as of ten thousand tin kettles tied to ten thousand +mad dogs' tails. + +Up jumped the little white lady in her bed, and seeing Tom, screamed as +shrill as any peacock. In rushed a stout old nurse from the next room, +and seeing Tom likewise, made up her mind that he had come to rob, +plunder, destroy, and burn, and dashed at him, as he lay over the +fender, so fast that she caught him by the jacket. + +But she did not hold him. Tom had been in a policeman's hands many a +time, and out of them, too, what is more; and he would have been ashamed +to face his friends forever if he had been stupid enough to be caught by +an old woman; so he doubled under the good lady's arm, across the room, +and out of the window in a moment. + +He did not need to drop out, though he would have done so bravely +enough; for all under the window spread a tree, with great leaves and +sweet white flowers, almost as big as his head. It was magnolia, I +suppose; but Tom knew nothing about that, and cared less; for down the +tree he went, like a cat, and across the garden lawn, and over the iron +railings, and up the park towards the wood, leaving the old nurse to +scream murder and fire at the window. + +The under gardener, mowing, saw Tom, and threw down his scythe; caught +his leg in it, and cut his shin open, whereby he kept his bed for a +week; but in his hurry he never knew it, and gave chase to poor Tom. The +dairymaid heard the noise, got the churn between her knees, and tumbled +over it, spilling all the cream; and yet she jumped up, and gave chase +to Tom. A groom cleaning Sir John's hack at the stables let him go +loose, whereby he kicked himself lame in five minutes; but he ran out +and gave chase to Tom. Grimes upset the soot sack in the new-gravelled +yard, and spoilt it all utterly; but he ran out and gave chase to Tom. +The old steward opened the park gate in such a hurry, that he hung up +his pony's chin upon the spikes, and, for aught I know, it hangs there +still; but he jumped off, and gave chase to Tom. The ploughman left his +horses at the headland, and one jumped over the fence, and pulled the +other into the ditch, plough and all; but he ran on, and gave chase to +Tom. Sir John looked out of his study window (for he was an early old +gentleman) and up at the nurse, and a martin dropped mud in his eye, so +that he had at last to send for the doctor; and yet he ran out, and gave +chase to Tom. The Irishwoman, too, was walking up to the house to beg,-- +she must have got round by some byway,--but she threw away her bundle, +and gave chase to Tom likewise. Only my lady did not give chase; for +when she had put her head out of the window, her night-wig fell into the +garden, and she had to ring up her lady's maid, and send her down for it +privately, which quite put her out of the running, so that she came +nowhere, and is consequently not placed. + +[Illustration.] + +In a word, never was there heard at Hall Place--not even when the fox +was killed in the conservatory, among acres of broken glass, and tons of +smashed flowerpots--such a noise, row, hubbub, babel, shindy, +hullabaloo, and total contempt of dignity, repose, and order, as that +day, when Grimes, the gardener, the groom, the dairymaid, Sir John, the +steward, the ploughman, and the Irishwoman, all ran up the park, +shouting "Stop thief," in the belief that Tom had at least a thousand +pounds' worth of jewels in his empty pockets; and the very magpies and +jays followed Tom up, screaking and screaming, as though he were a +hunted fox, beginning to droop his brush. + +And all the while poor Tom paddled up the park with his little bare +feet, like a small black gorilla fleeing to the forest. Alas for him! +there was no big father gorilla therein to take his part--to scratch out +the gardener's inside with one paw, toss the dairymaid into a tree with +another, and wrench off Sir John's head with a third, while he cracked +the groom's skull with his teeth as easily as if it had been a cocoanut +or a paving stone. + +Tom, of course, made for the woods. He had never been in a wood in his +life; but he was sharp enough to know that he might hide in a bush, or +swarm up a tree, and, altogether, had more chance there than in the +open. + +But when he got into the wood, he found it a very different sort of +place from what he had fancied. He pushed into a thick cover of +rhododendrons, and found himself at once caught in a trap. The boughs +laid hold of his legs and arms, poked him in his face and his stomach, +made him shut his eyes tight (though that was no great loss, for he +could not see at best a yard before his nose); and when he got through +the rhododendrons, the hassock-grass and sedges tumbled him over, and +cut his poor little fingers afterwards most spitefully; the birches +birched him as soundly as if he had been a nobleman at Eton, [Footnote: +Eton is one of the most famous of English public schools. The young +British nobles here meet and associate with the young commoners in the +most democratic manner.] and over the face, too (which is not fair +swishing, as all brave boys will agree). + +"I must get out of this," thought Tom, "or I shall stay here till +somebody comes to help me--which is just what I don't want." + +But how to get out was the difficult matter. And indeed I don't think he +would ever have got out at all, but have stayed there till the cock- +robins covered him with leaves, if he had not suddenly run his head +against a wall. + +Now running your head against a wall is not pleasant, especially if it +is a loose wall, with the stones all set on edge, and a sharp-cornered +one hits you between the eyes and makes you see all manner of beautiful +stars. The stars are very beautiful, certainly, but unfortunately they +go in the twenty-thousandth part of a split second, and the pain which +comes after them does not. And so Tom hurt his head; but he was a brave +boy, and did not mind that a penny. He guessed that over the wall the +cover would end; and up it he went, and over like a squirrel. + +And there he was, out on the great grouse moors, which the country folk +called Harthover Fell--[Footnote: FELL is the name given, in parts of +England, to moors, or stretches of high, open country of any sort.] +heather and bog and rock, stretching away and up, up to the very sky. + +Now, Tom was a cunning little fellow--as cunning as an old Exmoor +[Footnote: Exmoor is a region in Somersetshire and Devonshire, in +England. It was formerly a forest, but is now a moor, and is a favorite +resort of the deer.] stag. Why not? Though he was but ten years old, he +had lived longer than most stags, and had more wits to start with into +the bargain. + +He knew as well as a stag that if he backed he might throw the hounds +out. So the first thing he did when he was over the wall was to make the +neatest double, sharp to his right, and run along under the wall for +nearly half a mile. Meanwhile the gardener and the groom, the dairymaid +and the ploughman, and all the hue and cry together, went on ahead half +a mile in the very opposite direction, and inside the wall, leaving him +a mile off on the outside; while Tom heard their shouts die away in the +woods and chuckled to himself merrily. + +At last he came to a dip in the land, and went to the bottom of it, and +then he turned bravely away from the wall and up the moor; for he knew +that he had put a hill between him and his enemies, and could go on +without their seeing him. + +But the Irishwoman, alone of them all, had seen which way Tom went. She +had kept ahead of every one the whole time; and yet she neither walked +nor ran. She went along quite smoothly and gracefully, while her feet +twinkled past each other so fast that you could not see which was +foremost; till every one asked the other who the strange woman was; and +all agreed, for want of anything better to say, that she must be in +league with Tom. + +But when she came to the plantation, they lost sight of her; and they +could do no less. For she went quietly over the wall after Tom, and +followed him wherever he went. Sir John and the rest saw no more of her; +and out of sight was out of mind. + +And now Tom was right away into the heather, over a moor growing more +and more broken and hilly, but not so rough but that little Tom could +jog along well enough, and find time, too, to stare about at the strange +place, which was like a new world to him. + +So Tom went on and on, he hardly knew why; but he liked the great, wide, +strange place, and the cool, fresh, bracing air. But he went more and +more slowly as he got higher up the hill; for now the ground grew very +bad indeed. Instead of soft turf and springy heather, he met great +patches of flat limestone rock, just like ill-made pavements, with deep +cracks between the stones and ledges, filled with ferns; so he had to +hop from stone to stone, and now and then he slipped in between, and +hurt his little bare toes, though they were tolerably tough ones; but +still he would go on and up, he could not tell why. + +What would Tom have said if he had seen, walking over the moor behind +him, the very same Irishwoman who had taken his part upon the road? But +whether it was that he looked too little behind him, or whether it was +that she kept out of sight behind the rocks and knolls, he never saw +her, though she saw him. + +And now he began to get a little hungry, and very thirsty; for he had +run a long way, and the sun had risen high in heaven, and the rock was +as hot as an oven, and the air danced reels over it, as it does over a +limekiln, till everything round seemed quivering and melting in the +glare. + +But he could see nothing to eat anywhere, and still less to drink. + +So he went on and on, till his head spun round with the heat, and he +thought he heard church bells ringing, a long way off. + +"Ah!" he thought, "where there is a church there will be houses and +people; and, perhaps, some one will give me a bit and a sup." So he set +off again, to look for the church; for he was sure that he heard the +bells quite plain. + +And so it was; for from the top of the mountain he could see--what could +he not see? + +And in a minute more, when he looked round, he stopped again, and said, +"Why, what a big place the world is!" + +Behind him, far below, was Harthover, and the dark woods, and the +shining salmon river; and on his left, far below, was the town, and the +smoking chimneys of the collieries; and far, far away, the river widened +to the shining sea; and little white specks, which were ships, lay on +its bosom. Before him lay, spread out like a map, great plains, and +farms, and villages, amid dark knots of trees. They all seemed at his +very feet; but he had sense to see that they were long miles away. + +[Illustration.] + +And to his right rose moor after moor, hill after hill, till they faded +away, blue into blue sky. But between him and those moors, and really at +his very feet, lay something, to which, as soon as Tom saw it, he +determined to go; for that was the place for him. + +A deep, deep green and rocky valley, very narrow, and filled with wood; +but through the wood, hundreds of feet below him, he could see a clear +stream glance. Oh, if he could but get down to that stream! Then, by the +stream, he saw the roof of a little cottage, and a little garden set out +in squares and beds. And there was a tiny little red thing moving in the +garden, no bigger than a fly. As Tom looked down, he saw that it was a +woman in a red petticoat. Ah! perhaps she would give him something to +eat. And there were the church bells ringing again. Surely there must be +a village down there. Well, nobody would know him, or what had happened +at the Place. The news could not have got there yet, even if Sir John +had set all the policemen in the country after him; and he could get +down there in five minutes. + +Tom was quite right about the hue and cry not having got thither; for he +had come, without knowing it, the best part of ten miles from Harthover; +but he was wrong about getting down in five minutes, for the cottage was +more than a mile off, and a good thousand feet below. + +However, down he went, like a brave little man as he was, though he was +very footsore, and tired, and hungry, and thirsty; while the church +bells rang so loud, he began to think that they must be inside his own +head, and the river chimed and tinkled far below. + + + +CHAPTER II + + +A mile off, and a thousand feet down. So Tom found it, though it seemed +as if he could have chucked a pebble onto the back of the woman in the +red petticoat who was weeding in the garden, or even across the dale to +the rocks beyond. For the bottom of the valley was just one field broad, +and on the other side ran the stream; and above it, gray crag, gray +down, gray stair, gray moor walled up to heaven. + +A quiet, silent, rich, happy place; a narrow crack cut deep into the +earth; so deep, and so out of the way, that the bad bogies can hardly +find it out. The name of the place is Vendale. + +So Tom went to go down; and first he went down three hundred feet of +steep heather, mixed up with loose brown gritstone, as rough as a file; +which was not pleasant to his poor little heels, as he came bump, stump, +jump, down the steep. And still he thought he could throw a stone into +the garden. + +Then he went down three hundred feet of limestone terraces, one below +the other, as straight as if a carpenter had ruled them with his ruler +and then cut them out with his chisel. There was no heath there, but-- + +First, a little grass slope, covered with the prettiest flowers, +rockrose and saxifrage, and thyme and basil, and all sorts of sweet +herbs. + +Then bump down a two-foot step of limestone. + +Then another bit of grass and flowers. + +Then bump down a one-foot step. + +Then another bit of grass and flowers for fifty yards, as steep as the +house-roof, where he had to slide down. + +Then another step of stone, ten feet high; and there he had to stop +himself, and crawl along the edge to find a crack; for if he had rolled +over, he would have rolled right into the old woman's garden, and +frightened her out of her wits. + +Then, when he had found a dark, narrow crack, full of green stalked +fern, such as hangs in the basket in the drawing-room, and had crawled +down through it, with knees and elbows, as he would down a chimney, +there was another grass slope, and another step, and so on, till--oh, +dear me! I wish it was all over; and so did he. And yet he thought he +could throw a stone into the old woman's garden. + +At last he came to a bank of beautiful shrubs; whitebeam, with its great +silver-backed leaves, and mountain ash, and oak; and below them cliff +and crag, cliff and crag, with great beds of crown ferns and wood sedge; +while through the shrubs he could see the stream sparkling, and hear it +murmur on the white pebbles. He did not know that it was three hundred +feet below. + +And all the while he never saw the Irishwoman coming down behind him. + +But he was getting terribly tired now. The burning sun on the fells had +sucked him up; but the damp heat of the woody crag sucked him up still +more; and the perspiration ran out of the ends of his fingers and toes, +and washed him cleaner than he had been for a whole year. But, of +course, he dirtied everything terribly as he went. There has been a +great black smudge all down the crag ever since. And there have been +more black beetles in Vendale since than ever were known before; all, of +course, owing to Tom's having blacked the original papa of them all, +just as he was setting off to be married, with a sky-blue coat and +scarlet leggings, as smart as a gardener's dog with a polyanthus in his +mouth. + +At last he got to the bottom. But, behold, it was not the bottom--as +people usually find when they are coming down a mountain. For at the +foot of the crag were heaps and heaps of fallen limestone of every size +from that of your head to that of a stage-waggon, with holes between +them full of sweet heath fern; and before Tom got through them, he was +out in the bright sunshine again; and then he felt, once for all and +suddenly, as people generally do, that he was b-e-a-t, beat. You must +expect to be beat a few times in your life, little man, if you live such +a life as a man ought to live, let you be as strong and healthy as you +may; and when you are, you will find it a very ugly feeling. I hope that +that day you may have a stout, staunch friend by you who is not beat; +for, if you have not, you had best lie where you are, and wait for +better times, as poor Tom did. + +He could not get on. The sun was burning, and yet he felt chill all +over. He was quite empty, and yet he felt quite sick. There was but two +hundred yards of smooth pasture between him and the cottage, and yet he +could not walk down it. He could hear the stream murmuring only one +field beyond it, and yet it seemed to him as if it was a hundred miles +off. + +He lay down on the grass till the beetles ran over him, and the flies +settled on his nose. I don't know when he would have got up again, if +the gnats and the midges had not taken compassion on him. But the gnats +blew their trumpets so loud in his ear, and the midges nibbled so at his +hands and face wherever they could find a place free from soot, that at +last he woke up, and stumbled away, down over a low wall, and into a +narrow road, and up to the cottage door. + +And a neat, pretty cottage it was, with clipped yew hedges all round the +garden, and yews inside, too, cut into peacocks and trumpets and teapots +and all kinds of queer shapes, And out of the open door came a noise +like that of the frogs, when they know that it is going to be scorching +hot to-morrow--and how they know that I don't know, and you don't know, +and nobody knows, + +He came slowly up to the open door, which was all hung round with +clematis and roses; and then peeped in, half afraid, + +And there sat by the empty fireplace, which was filled with a pot of +sweet herbs, the nicest old woman that ever was seen, in her red +petticoat, and short dimity bedgown, and clean white cap, with a black +silk handkerchief over it, tied under her chin. At her feet sat the +grandfather of all the cats; and opposite her sat, on two benches, +twelve or fourteen neat, rosy, chubby little children, learning their +Chris-cross-row; [Footnote: Chris-cross-row is an old name for the +alphabet] and gabble enough they made about it. + +[Illustration: THE OLD DAME LOOKED AT TOM] + +Such a pleasant cottage it was, with a shiny clean stone floor, and +curious old prints on the walls, and an old black oak sideboard full of +bright pewter and brass dishes, and a cuckoo clock in the corner, which +began shouting as soon as Tom appeared; not that it was frightened at +Tom, but that it was just eleven o'clock. + +All the children started at Tom's dirty black figure,--the girls began +to cry, and the boys began to laugh, and all pointed at him rudely +enough; but Tom was too tired to care for that. + +"What art thou, and what dost want?" cried the old dame. "A chimney- +sweep! Away with thee! I'll have no sweeps here." + +"Water," said poor little Tom, quite faint. + +"Water? There's plenty i' the beck," she said, quite sharply. + +"But I can't get there; I'm most clemmed with hunger and drought." And +Tom sank down upon the doorstep, and laid his head against the post. + +And the old dame looked at him through her spectacles one minute, and +two, and three; and then she said, "He's sick; and a bairn's a bairn, +sweep or none." + +"Water," said Tom. + +"God forgive me!" and she put by her spectacles, and rose, and came to +Tom. "Water's bad for thee; I'll give thee milk." And she toddled off +into the next room, and brought a cup of milk and a bit of bread. + +Tom drank the milk off at one draught, and then looked up, revived. + +"Where didst come from?" said the dame. + +"Over Fell, there," said Tom, and pointed up into the sky. + +"Over Harthover? and down Lewthwaite Crag? Art sure thou are not lying?" + +"Why should I?" said Tom, and leant his head against the post. + +"And how got ye up there?" + +"I came over from the Place;" and Tom was so tired and desperate he had +no heart or time to think of a story, so he told all the truth in a few +words. + +"Bless thy little heart! And thou hast not been stealing, then?" + +"No." + +Bless thy little heart; and I'll warrant not. Why, God's guided the +bairn, because he was innocent! Away from the Place, and over Harthover +Fell, and down Lewthwaite Crag! Who ever heard the like, if God hadn't +led him? Why dost not eat thy bread?" + +"I can't." + +"It's good enough, for I made it myself." + +"I can't," said Tom, and he laid his head on his knees, and then asked: + +"Is it Sunday?" + +"No, then; why should it be?" + +"Because I hear the church bells ringing so." + +"Bless thy pretty heart! The bairn's sick. Come wi' me, and I'll hap +thee up somewhere. If thou wert a bit cleaner, I'd put thee in my own +bed, for the Lord's sake. But come along here." + +But when Tom tried to get up, he was so tired and giddy that she had to +help him and lead him. + +She put him in an outhouse, upon soft, sweet hay and an old rug, and +bade him sleep off his walk, and she would come to him when school was +over, in an hour's time. + +And so she went in again, expecting Tom to fall fast asleep at once. + +But Tom did not fall asleep. + +Instead of it he turned and tossed and kicked about in the strangest +way, and felt so hot all over that he longed to get into the river and +cool himself; and then he fell half asleep, and dreamt that he heard the +little white lady crying to him, "Oh, you're so dirty; go and be +washed"; and then that he heard the Irishwoman saying, "Those that wish +to be clean, clean they will be." And then he heard the church bells +ring so loud, close to him too, that he was sure it must be Sunday, in +spite of what the old dame had said; and he would go to church, and see +what a church was like inside, for he had never been in one, poor little +fellow, in all his life. But the people would never let him come in, all +over soot and dirt like that. He must go to the river and wash first. +And he said out loud again and again, though being half asleep he did +not know it, "I must be clean, I must be clean." + +[Illustration.] + +And all of a sudden he found himself, not in the outhouse on the hay, +but in the middle of a meadow, over the road, with the stream just +before him, saying continually, "I must be clean, I mast be clean." He +had got there on his own legs, between sleep and awake, as children will +often get out of bed, and go about the room, when they are not quite +well. But he was not a bit surprised, and went on to the bank of the +brook, and lay down on the grass, and looked into the clear, clear, +limestone water, with every pebble at the bottom bright and clean, while +the little silver trout dashed about in fright at the sight of his black +face; and he dipped his feet in and found it so cool, cool, cool; and he +said, "I will be a fish; I will swim in the water; I must be clean, I +must be clean." + +So he pulled off all his clothes in such haste that he tore some of +them, which was easy enough with such ragged old things. And he put his +poor, hot, sore feet into the water; and then his legs; and the farther +he went in, the more the church bells rang in his head. + +"Ah," said Tom, "I must be quick and wash myself; the bells are ringing +quite loud now; and they will stop soon, and then the door will shut, +and I shall never be able to get in at all." + +And all the while he never saw the Irishwoman, not behind him this time, +but before. + +For just before he came to the riverside, she had stept down into the +cool, clear water; and her shawl and her petticoat floated off her, and +the green water weeds floated round her sides, and the white water +lilies floated round her head, and the fairies of the stream came up +from the bottom and bore her away and down upon their arms; for she was +the queen of them all; and perhaps of more besides. + +"Where have you been?" they asked her. + +"I have been smoothing sick folks' pillows, and whispering sweet dreams +into their ears; opening cottage casements, to let out the stifling air; +coaxing little children away from gutters and foul pools where fever +breeds; turning women from the gin-shop door, and staying men's hands as +they were going to strike their wives; doing all I can to help those who +will not help themselves; and little enough that is, and weary work for +me. But I have brought you a new little brother, and watched him safe +all the way here." + +Then all the fairies laughed for joy at the thought that they had a +little brother coming. + +"But mind, maidens, he must not see you, or know that you are here. He +is but a savage now, and like the beasts which perish; and from the +beasts which perish he must learn. So you must not play with him, or +speak to him, or let him see you; but only keep him from being harmed." + +Then the fairies were sad, because they could not play with their new +brother; but they always did what they were told. And their queen +floated away down the river; and whither she went, thither she came. + +But all this Tom, of course, never saw or heard; and perhaps if he had +it would have made little difference in the story; for he was so hot and +thirsty, and longed so to be clean for once, that he tumbled himself as +quick as he could into the clear, cool stream. + +And he had not been in it two minutes before he fell fast asleep, into +the quietest, sunniest, coziest sleep that ever he had in his life; and +he dreamt about the green meadows by which he had walked that morning, +and the tall elm trees and the sleeping cows; and after that he dreamt +of nothing at all. + +The reason of his falling into such a delightful sleep is very simple; +and yet hardly any one has found it out. It was merely that the fairies +took him. + +The kind old dame came back at twelve, when school was over, to look at +Tom; but there was no Tom there. She looked about for his footprints; +but the ground was so hard that there was no slot, as they say in dear +old North Devon. + +So the old dame went in again, quite sulky, thinking that little Tom had +tricked her with a false story, and shammed ill, and then run away +again. + + * * * * * + +When Sir John and the rest of them had run themselves out of breath, and +lost Tom, they went back again, looking very foolish. And they looked +more foolish still when Sir John heard more of the story from the nurse; +and more foolish still, again, when they heard the whole story from Miss +Ellie, the little lady in white. + +All she had seen was a poor little black chimney-sweep, crying and +sobbing, and going to get up the chimney again. Of course, she was very +much frightened; and no wonder. But that was all. The boy had taken +nothing in the room; by the mark of his little sooty feet, they could +see that he had never been off the hearth rug till the nurse caught hold +of him. It was all a mistake. + +So Sir John told Grimes to go home, and promised him five shillings if +he would bring the boy quietly up to him, without beating him, that he +might be sure of the truth. For he took it for granted, and Grimes too, +that Tom had made his way home. + +But no Tom came back to Mr. Grimes that evening; and he went to the +police office, to tell them to look out for the boy. But no Tom was +heard of. + +So Mr. Grimes came up to Harthover next day with a very sour face; but +when he got there, Sir John was over the hills and far away; and Mr. +Grimes had to sit in the outer servants' hall all day, and drink strong +ale to wash away his sorrows; and they were washed away long before Sir +John came back. For good Sir John had slept very badly that night; and +he said to his lady, "My dear, the boy must have got over into the +grouse moors, and lost himself; and he lies very heavily on my +conscience, poor little lad. But I know what I will do." + +So, at five the next morning up he got, and bade them bring his shooting +pony, and the keeper to come on his pony, and the huntsman, and the +first whip, and the second whip, and the underkeeper with the bloodhound +in a leash--a great dog as tall as a calf, of the colour of a gravel +walk, with mahogany ears and nose, and a throat like a church bell. They +took him up to the place where Tom had gone into the wood; and there the +hound lifted up his mighty voice, and told them all he knew. + +Then he took them to the place where Tom had climbed the wall; and they +shoved it down, and all got through. + +And then the wise dog took them over the moor, and over the fells, step +by step, very slowly; for the scent was a day old, you know, and very +light from the heat and drought. But that was why cunning old Sir John +started at five in the morning. + +And at last he came to the top of Lewthwaite Crag, and there he bayed, +and looked up in their faces, as much as to say, "I tell you he is gone +down here!" + +They could hardly believe that Tom would have gone so far; and when they +looked at that awful cliff, they could never believe that he would have +dared to face it. But if the dog said so, it must be true. + +"Heaven forgive us!" said Sir John. "If we find him at all, we shall +find him lying at the bottom." + +And he slapped his great hand upon his great thigh, and said: + +"Who will go down over Lewthwaite Crag, and see if that boy is alive? +Oh, that I were twenty years younger, and I would go down myself!" And +so he would have done, as well as any sweep in the country. Then he +said: + +"Twenty pounds to the man who brings me that boy alive!" And as was his +way, what he said he meant. + +Now among the lot was a little groom-boy, a very little groom indeed; +and he was the same who had ridden up the court, and told Tom to come to +the Hall; and he said: + +"Twenty pounds or none, I will go down over Lewthwaite Crag, if it's +only for the poor boy's sake. For he was as civil a spoken little chap +as ever climbed a flue." + +So down over Lewthwaite Crag he went; a very smart groom he was at the +top, and a very shabby one at the bottom; for he tore his gaiters, and +he tore his breeches, and he tore his jacket, and he burst his braces, +and he burst his boots, and he lost his hat, and what was worst of all, +he lost his shirt pin, which he prized very much, for it was gold; so it +was a really severe loss; but he never saw anything of Tom. + +And all the while Sir John and the rest were riding round, full three +miles to the right, and back again, to get into Vendale, and to the foot +of the crag. + +When they came to the old dame's school, all the children came out to +see. And the old dame came out too; and when she saw Sir John, she +curtsied very low, for she was a tenant of his. + +"Well, dame, and how are you?" said Sir John. + +[Illustration: SIR JOHN SEARCHING FOR TOM] + +"Blessings on you as broad as your back, Harthover," says she--she +didn't call him Sir John, but only Harthover, for that is the fashion in +the North country--"and welcome into Vendale; but you're no hunting the +fox this time of the year?" + +"I am hunting, and strange game too," said he. + +"Blessings on your heart, and what makes you look so sad the morn?" + +"I'm looking for a lost child, a chimney-sweep, that is run away." + +"Oh, Harthover, Harthover," says she, "ye were always a just man and a +merciful; and ye'll no harm the poor lad if I give you tidings of him?" + +"Not I, not I, dame. I'm afraid we hunted him out of the house all on a +miserable mistake, and the hound has brought him to the top of +Lewthwaite Crag, and--" + +Whereat the old dame broke out crying, without letting him finish his +story. + +"So he told me the truth after all, poor little dear! Ah, first thoughts +are best, and a body's heart'll guide them right, if they will but +hearken to it." And then she told Sir John all. + +"Bring the dog here, and lay him on," said Sir John, without another +word, and he set his teeth very hard. + +And the dog opened at once; and went away at the back of the cottage, +over the road, and over the meadow, and through a bit of alder copse; +and there, upon an alder stump, they saw Tom's clothes lying. And then +they knew as much about it all as there was any need to know. + +And Tom? + +Ah, now comes the most wonderful part of this wonderful story. Tom, when +he woke, for of course he woke--children always wake after they have +slept exactly as long as is good for them--found himself swimming about +in the stream, being about four inches, or--that I may be accurate-- +3.87902 inches long, and having round the parotid region of his fauces a +set of external gills (I hope you understand all the big words) just +like those of a sucking eft, which he mistook for a lace frill, till he +pulled at them, found he hurt himself, and made up his mind that they +were part of himself, and best left alone. In fact, the fairies had +turned him into a water baby. + +A water baby? You never heard of a water baby? Perhaps not. That is the +very reason why this story was written. There are a great many things in +the world which you never heard of; and a great many more which nobody +ever heard of; and a great many things, too, which nobody will ever hear +of. + +No water babies, indeed? Why, wise men of old said that everything on +earth had its double in the water; and you may see that that is, if not +quite true, still quite as true as most other theories which you are +likely to hear for many a day. There are land babies--then why not water +babies? ARE THERE NOT WATER RATS, WATER FLIES, WATER CRICKETS, WATER +CRABS, WATER TORTOISES, WATER SCORPIONS, WATER TIGERS AND SO ON WITHOUT +END? + +Am I in earnest? Oh dear no! Don't you know that this is a fairy tale, +and all fun and pretense; and that you are not to believe one word of +it, even if it is true? + +But at all events, so it happened to Tom. And, therefore, the keeper and +the groom, and Sir John made a great mistake, and were very unhappy (Sir +John, at least) without any reason, when they found a black thing in the +water, and said it was Tom's body and that he had been drowned. They +were utterly mistaken. Tom was quite alive; and cleaner, and merrier, +than he had ever been. The fairies had washed him, you see, in the swift +river, so thoroughly, that not only his dirt, but his whole husk and +shell had been washed quite off him, and the pretty little real Tom was +washed out of the inside of it, and swam away, as a caddis [Footnote: +The caddis worm, while it lives in the water, builds for itself a case +of stones or grass or shells, all bound together with silk When the time +for its transformation is near, the worm seals up with silk both ends of +its case, and remains withdrawn until it is ready to emerge as a caddis +fly.] does when its case of stones and silk is bored through, and away +it goes on its back, paddling to the shore, there to split its skin, and +fly away as a caperer, on four fawn-coloured wings, with long legs and +horns. They are foolish fellows, the caperers, and fly into the candle +at night, if you leave the door open. We will hope Tom will be wiser, +now he has got safe out of his sooty old shell. + +But good Sir John did not understand all this, and he took it into his +head that Tom was drowned. When they looked into the empty pockets of +his shell, and found no jewels there, nor money--nothing but three +marbles, and a brass button with a string to it--then Sir John did +something as like crying as ever he did in his life, and blamed himself +more bitterly than he need have done. So he cried, and the groom-boy +cried, and the huntsman cried, and the dame cried, and the little girl +cried, and the dairymaid cried, and the old nurse cried (for it was +somewhat her fault), and my lady cried, for though people have wigs, +that is no reason why they should not have hearts; but the keeper did +not cry, though he had been so good-natured to Tom the morning before; +for he was so dried up with running after poachers, that you could no +more get tears out of him than milk out of leather; and Grimes did not +cry, for Sir John gave him ten pounds, and he drank it all in a week. + +Sir John sent, far and wide, to find Tom's father and mother; but he +might have looked till Doomsday for them, for one was dead, and the +other was in Botany Bay. [Footnote: Botany Bay was originally the name +of a settlement established in New South Wales, in Eastern Australia, +for the reception of criminals from England. Later, the name came to be +applied to any distant colony to which criminals were transported.] And +the little girl would not play with her dolls for a whole week, and +never forgot poor little Tom. And soon my lady put a pretty little +tombstone over Tom's shell in the little churchyard in Vendale. + +And the dame decked it with garlands every Sunday, till she grew so old +that she could not stir abroad; then the little children decked it for +her. And always she sang an old, old song, as she sat spinning what she +called her wedding dress. The children could not understand it, but they +liked it none the less for that; for it was very sweet and very sad; and +that was enough for them. And these are the words of it:-- + +"When all the world is young, lad, + And all the trees are green; + And every goose a swan, lad, + And every lass a queen; + Then hey for boot and horse, lad, + And round the world away; + Young blood must have its course, lad, + And every dog his day. + +"When all the world is old, lad, + And all the trees are brown; + And all the sport is stale, lad, + And all the wheels run down; + Creep home, and take your place there, + The spent and maimed among; + God grant you find one face there, + You loved when all was young." + +[Illustration.] + +Those are the words, but they are only the body of it; the soul of the +song was the dear old woman's sweet face, and sweet voice, and the sweet +old air to which she sang; and that, alas! one cannot put on paper. And +at last she grew so stiff and lame, that the angels were forced to carry +her; and they helped her on with her wedding dress, and carried her up +over Harthover Fells, and a long way beyond that too: and there was a +new schoolmistress in Vendale. + +And all the while Tom was swimming about in the river, with a pretty +little lace collar of gills about his neck, as lively as a grig, and as +clean as a fresh-run salmon. + +Now, if you don't like my story, then go to the schoolroom and learn +your multiplication table, and see if you like that better. Some people, +no doubt, would do so. So much the better for us, if not for them. It +takes all sorts, they say, to make a world. + + + +CHAPTER III + + +Tom was now quite amphibious, and what is better still, he was clean. +For the first time in his life he felt how comfortable it was to have +nothing on him but himself. But he only enjoyed it; he did not know it, +or think about it; just as you enjoy life and health, and yet never +think about being alive and healthy; and may it be long before you have +to think about it! + +He did not remember having ever been dirty. Indeed, he did not remember +any of his old troubles--being tired, or hungry, or sent up dark +chimneys. Since that sweet sleep, he had forgotten all about his master, +and Harthover Place, and the little white girl, and in a word all that +had happened to him when he lived before; and what was best of all, he +had forgotten all the bad words which he had learned from Grimes, and +the rude boys with whom he used to play. + +That is not strange; for you know, when you came into this world, and +became a land baby, you remembered nothing. So why should he, when he +became a water baby? + +But Tom was very happy in the water. He had been sadly overworked in the +land world; and so now, to make up for that, he had nothing but holidays +in the water world for a long, long time to come. He had nothing to do +now but enjoy himself, and look at all the pretty things which are to be +seen in the cool, clear water world, where the sun is never too hot and +the frost is never too cold. + +And what did he live on? Water cresses, perhaps; or perhaps water gruel, +and water milk; too many land babies do so likewise. But we do not know +what one tenth of the water-things eat; so we are not answerable for the +water babies. + +Sometimes he went along the smooth gravel water-ways, looking at the +crickets which ran in and out among the stones, as rabbits do on land; +or he climbed over the ledges of rock, and saw the sand pipes hanging in +thousands, with every one of them a pretty little head and legs peeping +out; or he went into a still corner, and watched the caddises eating +dead sticks as greedily as you would eat plum pudding, and building +their houses with silk and glue. Very fanciful ladies they were; none of +them would keep to the same materials for a day. One would begin with +some pebbles; then she would stick on a piece of green wood; then she +found a shell, and stuck it on too; and the poor shell was alive, and +did not like at all being taken to build houses with; but the caddis did +not let him have any voice in the matter, being rude and selfish, as +vain people are apt to be; then she stuck on a piece of rotten wood, +then a very smart pink stone, and so on, till she was patched all over +like an Irishman's coat. Then she found a long straw, five times as long +as herself, and said, "Hurrah! my sister has a tail, and I'll have one +too;" and she stuck it on her back, and marched about with it quite +proud, though it was very inconvenient indeed. And, at that, tails +became all the fashion among the caddis-baits in that pool, and they all +toddled about with long straws sticking out behind, getting between each +other's legs, and tumbling over each other, and looking so ridiculous, +that Tom laughed at them till he cried. + +Then sometimes he came to a deep, still reach; and there he saw the +water forests. They would have looked to you only little weeds; but Tom, +you must remember, was so little that everything looked a hundred times +as big to him as it does to you, just as things do to a minnow, who sees +and catches the little water creatures which you can only see in a +microscope. + +And in the water forest he saw the water monkeys and water squirrels +(they had all six legs, though; everything, almost, has six legs in the +water, except efts and water babies); and nimbly enough they ran among +the branches. There were water flowers there too, in thousands; and Tom +tried to pick them; but as soon as he touched them, they drew themselves +in and turned into knots of jelly; and then Tom saw that they were all +alive--bells, and stars, and wheels, and flowers, of all beautiful +shapes and colours; and all alive and busy, just as Tom was. So now he +found that there was a great deal more in the world than he had fancied +at first sight. + +Now you must know that all the things under the water talk; only not +such a language as ours; but such as horses, and dogs, and cows, and +birds talk to each other; and Tom soon learned to understand them and +talk to them; so that he might have had very pleasant company if he had +only been a good boy. But I am sorry to say, he was too like some other +little boys, very fond of hunting and tormenting creatures for mere +sport, till they were all afraid of him, and got out of his way, or +crept into their shells; so he had no one to speak to or play with. + +The water fairies, of course, were very sorry to see him so unhappy, and +longed to take him, and tell him how naughty he was, and teach him to be +good, and to play and romp with him, too; but they had been forbidden to +do that. Tom had to learn his lesson for himself by sound and sharp +experience, as many another foolish person has to do, though there may +be many a kind heart yearning over them all the while, and longing to +teach them what they can only teach themselves. + +At last one day he found a caddis, and wanted it to peep out of its +house; but its house door was shut. He had never seen a caddis with a +house door before; so what must he do, the meddlesome little fellow, but +pull it open, to see what the poor lady was doing inside. What a shame! +How should you like to have any one breaking your bedroom door in, to +see how you looked when you were in bed? So Tom broke to pieces the +door, which was the prettiest little grating of silk, stuck all over +with shining bits of crystal; and when he looked in, the caddis poked +out her head, and it had turned into just the shape of a bird's. But +when Tom spoke to her she could not answer; for her mouth and face were +tight tied up in a new nightcap of neat pink skin. However, if she +didn't answer, all the other caddises did; for they held up their hands +and shrieked: "Oh, you nasty, horrid boy; there you are at it again! And +she had just laid herself up for a fortnight's sleep, and then she would +have come out with such beautiful wings, and flown about, and laid such +lots of eggs; and now you have broken her door, and she can't mend it +because her mouth is tied up for a fortnight, and she will die. Who sent +you here to worry us out of our lives?" + +So Tom swam away. He was very much ashamed of himself, and felt all the +naughtier; as little boys do when they have done wrong and won't say so. + +Then he came to a pool full of little trout, and began tormenting them, +and trying to catch them; but they slipped through his fingers, and +jumped clean out of water in their fright. But as Tom chased them, he +came close to a great dark hover under an alder root, and out floushed a +huge old brown trout ten times as big as he was, and ran up against him, +and knocked all the breath out of him; and I don't know which was the +more frightened of the two. + +Then he went on sulky and lonely, as he deserved to be; and under a bank +he saw a very ugly, dirty creature sitting, about half as big as +himself; which had six legs and a big stomach, and a most ridiculous +head with two great eyes and a face just like a donkey's. + +"Oh," said Tom, "you are an ugly fellow to be sure!" and he began making +faces at him; and put his nose close to him, and halloed at him like a +very rude boy. + +When, hey presto; all the thing's donkey-face came off in a moment, and +out popped a long arm with a pair of pincers at the end of it, and +caught Tom by the nose. It did not hurt him much; but it held him quite +tight. + +"Yah, ah! Oh, let me go!" cried Tom, + +"Then let me go," said the creature. "I want to be quiet. I want to +split." + +Tom promised to let him alone, and he let go. "Why do you want to +split?" said Tom. + +"Because my brothers and sisters have all split, and turned into +beautiful creatures with wings; and I want to split too. Don't speak to +me. I am sure I shall split. I will split!" + +Tom stood still and watched him. And he swelled himself, and puffed, and +stretched himself out stiff, and at last--crack, puff, bang--he opened +all down his back, and then up to the top of his head. + +And out of his inside came the most slender, elegant, soft creature, as +soft and smooth as Tom, but very pale and weak, like a little child who +has been ill a long time in a dark room. It made his legs very feebly; +and looked about it half asleep like a girl when she goes for the first +time to a ballroom; and then it began walking slowly up grass stem to +the top of the water. + +Tom was so astonished that he never said a word, but he stared with all +his eyes. And he went up to the top of the water too, and peeped out to +see what would happen. + +And as the creature sat in the warm, bright sun, a wonderful change came +over it. It grew strong and firm; the most lovely colours began to show +on its body--blue and yellow and black, spots and bars and rings; out of +its back rose four great wings of bright brown gauze; and its eyes grew +so large that they filled all its head, and shone like ten thousand +diamonds. + +"Oh, you beautiful creature!" said Tom; and he put out his hand to catch +it. + +But the thing whirred up into the air, and hung poised on its wings a +moment, and then settled down again by Tom quite fearless. + +[Illustration: "OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL CREATURE! SAID TOM.] + +"No!" it said, "you cannot catch me. I am a dragon fly now, the king of +all flies; and I shall dance in the sunshine, and hawk over the river, +and catch gnats, and have a beautiful wife like myself. I know what I +shall do. Hurrah!" And he flew away into the air, and began catching +gnats. + +"Oh! come back, come back," cried Tom, "you beautiful creature. I have +no one to play with, and I am so lonely here. If you will but come back +I will never try to catch you." + +"I don't care whether you do or not," said the dragon fly; "for you +can't. But when I have had my dinner, and looked a little about this +pretty place, I will come back, and have a little chat about all I have +seen in my travels. Why, what a huge tree this is! and what huge leaves +on it!" + +It was only a big dock; but you know the dragon fly had never seen any +but little water trees; starwort, and milfoil, and water crowfoot, and +such like; so it did look very big to him. Besides, he was very +shortsighted, as all dragon flies are; and never could see a yard before +his nose; any more than a great many other folks, who are not half as +handsome as he. + +The dragon fly did come back, and chatted away with Tom. He was a little +conceited about his fine colours and his large wings; but you know, he +had been a poor, dirty, ugly creature all his life before; so there were +great excuses for him. He was very fond of talking about all the +wonderful things he saw in the trees and meadows; and Tom liked to +listen to him, for he had forgotten all about them. So in a little while +they became great friends. + +And I am very glad to say that Tom learned such a lesson that day, that +he did not torment creatures for a long time after. And then the +caddises grew quite tame, and used to tell him strange stories about the +way they built their houses, and changed their skins, and turned at last +into winged flies, till Tom began to long to change his skin, and have +wings like them some day. + +And the trout and he made it up (for trout very soon forget if they have +been frightened and hurt). So Tom used to play with them at hare and +hounds, and great fun they had; and he used to try to leap out of the +water, head over heels, as they did before a shower came on; but somehow +he never could manage it. He liked most, though, to see them rising at +the flies, as they sailed round and round under the shadow of the great +oak, where the beetles fell flop into the water, and the green +caterpillars let themselves down from the boughs by silk ropes for no +reason at all; and then changed their foolish minds for no reason at +all, either; and hauled themselves up again into the tree, rolling up +the rope in a ball between their paws. + +And very often Tom caught them just as they touched the water; and +caught the alder-flies, and the caperers, and the cock-tailed duns and +spinners, yellow, and brown, and claret, and gray, and gave them to his +friends the trout. Perhaps he was not quite kind to the flies; but one +must do a good turn to one's friends when one can. + +And at last he gave up catching even the flies; for he made acquaintance +with one by accident and found him a very merry little fellow. And this +was the way it happened; and it is all quite true. + +He was basking at the top of the water one hot day in July, catching +duns and feeding the trout, when he saw a new sort, a dark gray little +fellow with a brown head. He was a very little fellow, indeed; but he +made the most of himself, as people ought to do. He cocked up his head, +and he cocked up his wings, and he cocked up his tail, and, in short, he +looked the cockiest little man of all little men. And so he proved to +be; for instead of getting away, he hopped upon Tom's finger, and sat +there as bold as nine tailors; and he cried out in the tiniest, +shrillest, squeakiest little voice you ever heard: + +"Much obliged to you indeed; but I don't want it yet." + +"Want what?" said Tom, quite taken aback by his impudence. + +"Your leg, which you are kind enough to hold out for me to sit on. I +must go and see after my wife for a few minutes. Dear me! what a +troublesome business a family is!" (though the idle little rogue did +nothing at all, but left his poor wife to lay all the eggs by herself). +"When I come back, I shall be glad of it, if you'll be so good as to +keep it sticking out just so;" and off he flew. + +Tom thought him a very cool sort of personage; and still more so, when +in five minutes he came back, and said, "Ah, you were tired waiting? +Well, your other leg will do as well." + +And he popped himself down on Tom's knee, and began chatting away in his +squeaking voice. + +"So you live under the water? It's a low place. I lived there for some +time, and was very shabby and dirty. But I didn't choose that that +should last. So I turned respectable, and came up to the top, and put on +this suit. It's a business-like suit, don't you think?" + +"Very neat and quiet indeed," said Tom. + +"Yes, one must be quiet and neat and respectable, and all that sort of +thing for a little, when one becomes a family man. But I'm tired of it, +that's the truth. I've done quite enough business, I consider, in the +last week, to last me my life. So I shall put on a ball dress, and go +out and be a smart man, and see the gay world, and have a dance or two. +Why shouldn't one be jolly if one can?" + +"And what will become of your wife?" + +"Oh! she is a very plain, stupid creature, and that's the truth; and +thinks about nothing but eggs. If she chooses to come, why she may; and +if not, why I go without her; and here I go." + +And as he spoke, he turned quite pale, and then quite white. + +"Why, you're ill!" said Tom. But he did not answer. + +"You're dead," said Tom, looking at him as he stood on his knee as white +as a ghost. + +"No, I ain't!" answered a little squeaking voice over his head. "This is +me up here, in my ball dress; and that's my skin. Ha, ha! you could not +do such a trick as that!" + +And no more Tom could. For the little rogue had jumped clean out of his +own skin, and left it standing on Tom's knee, eyes, wings, legs, tail, +exactly as if it had been alive. + +"Ha, ha!" he said, and he jerked and skipped up and down, never stopping +an instant, just as if he had Saint Vitus's dance. "Ain't I a pretty +fellow now?" + +And so he was; for his body was white, and his tail orange, and his eyes +all the colours of a peacock's tail. And what was the oddest of all, the +whisks at the end of his tail had grown five times as long as they were +before. + +"Ah!" said he, "now I will see the gay world. My living won't cost me +much, for I have no mouth, you see, and no inside; so I can never be +hungry nor have the stomach ache neither." + +No more he had. He had grown as dry and hard and empty as a quill, as +such silly, shallow-hearted fellows deserve to grow. + +But instead of being ashamed of his emptiness, he was quite proud of it, +as a good many fine gentlemen are, and began flirting and flipping up +and down, and singing: + +"My wife shall dance, and I shall sing, + So merrily pass the day: + For I hold it for quite the wisest thing, + To drive dull care away." + +And he danced up and down for three days and three nights, till he grew +so tired that he tumbled into the water and floated down. But what +became of him Tom never knew, and he himself never minded; for Tom heard +him singing to the last, as he floated down: + +"To drive dull care away-ay-ay!" + +And if he did not care, why nobody else cared, either. + +But one day Tom had a new adventure. He was sitting on a water-lily +leaf, he and his friend the dragon fly, watching the gnats dance. The +dragon fly had eaten as many as he wanted, and was sitting quite still +and sleepy, for it was very hot and bright. The gnats (who did not care +the least for the death of their poor brothers) danced a foot over his +head quite happily, and a large black fly settled within an inch of his +nose, and began washing his own face and combing his hair with his paws; +but the dragon fly never stirred, and kept on chatting to Tom. + +Suddenly Tom heard the strangest noise up the stream; cooing, and +grunting, and whining, and squeaking, as if you had put into a bag two +stock-doves, nine mice, three guinea pigs, and a blind puppy, and left +them there to settle themselves and make music. + +He looked up the water, and there he saw a sight as strange as the +noise; a great ball rolling over and over down the stream, seeming one +moment of soft brown fur, and the next of shining glass: and yet it was +not a ball; for sometimes it broke up and streamed away in pieces, and +then it joined again; and all the while the noise came out of it louder +and louder. + +Tom asked the dragon fly what it could be; but of course, with his short +sight, he could not even see it, though it was not ten yards away. So +Tom took the neatest little header into the water, and started off to +see for himself; and, when he came near, the ball turned out to be four +or five beautiful otters, many times larger than Tom, who were swimming +about, and rolling, and diving, and twisting, and wrestling, and +cuddling, and kissing, and biting, and scratching, in the most charming +fashion that ever was seen. + +But when the biggest of them saw Tom, she darted out from the rest, and +cried in the water language sharply enough, "Quick, children, here is +something to eat, indeed!" and came at poor Tom, showing such a wicked +pair of eyes, and such a set of sharp teeth in a grinning mouth, that +Tom, who had thought her very handsome, said to himself, "Handsome is +that handsome does," and slipped in between the water-lily roots as fast +as he could, and then turned round and made faces at her. + +[Illustration: TOM ESCAPED THE OTTER] + +"Come out," said the wicked old otter, "or it will be worse for you." + +But Tom looked at her from between two thick roots, and shook them with +all his might, making horrible faces all the while, just as he used to +grin through the railings at the old women, when he lived before. It was +not quite well bred, no doubt; but you know, Tom had not finished his +education yet. + +"Come away, children," said the otter in disgust, "it is not worth +eating, after all. It is only a nasty eft, which nothing eats, not even +those vulgar pike in the pond." + +"I am not an eft!" said Tom; "efts have tails." + +"You are an eft," said the otter, very positively; "I see your two hands +quite plain, and I know you have a tail." + +"I tell you I have not," said Tom. "Look here!" and he turned his pretty +little self quite round; and sure enough, he had no more tail than you. + +The otter might have got out of it by saying that Tom was a frog; but, +like a great many other people, when she had once said a thing she stood +to it, right or wrong; so she answered: + +"I say you are an eft, and therefore you are, and not fit food for +gentlefolk like me and my children. You may stay there till the salmon +eat you" (she knew the salmon would not, but she wanted to frighten poor +Tom). "Ha! ha! they will eat you, and we will eat them;" and the otter +laughed such a wicked, cruel laugh--as you may hear them do sometimes; +and the first time that you hear it you will probably think it is +bogies. + +"What are salmon?" asked Tom. + +"Fish, you eft, great fish, nice fish to eat. They are the lords of the +fish, and we are lords of the salmon;" and she laughed again. "We hunt +them up and down the pools, and drive them up into a corner, the silly +things; they are so proud, and bully the little trout, and the minnows, +till they see us coming, and then they are so meek all at once; and we +catch them, but we disdain to eat them all; we just bite off their soft +throats and suck their sweet juice--Oh, so good!"--(and she licked her +wicked lips)--"and then throw them away, and go and catch another. They +are coming soon, children, coming soon; I can smell the rain coming up +off the sea, and then hurrah for a fresh, and salmon, and plenty of +eating all day long." + +And the otter grew so proud that she turned head over heels twice, and +then stood upright half out of the water, grinning like a Cheshire cat. + +"And where do they come from?" asked Tom, who kept himself very close, +for he was considerably frightened. + +"Out of the sea, eft, the great, wide sea, where they might stay and be +safe if they liked. [Footnote: Salmon live in the sea, as the otter +says, but each autumn they go up the rivers to spawn.] But out of the +sea the silly things come, into the great river down below, and we come +up to watch for them; and when they go down again, we go down and follow +them. And there we fish for the bass and the pollock, and have jolly +days along the shore, and toss and roll in the breakers, and sleep snug +in the warm dry crags. Ah, that is a merry life, too, children, if it +were not for those horrid men." + +"What are men?" asked Tom; but somehow he seemed to know before he +asked. + +"Two-legged things, eft; and, now I come to look at you, they are +actually something like you, if you had not a tail" (she was determined +that Tom should have a tail), "only a great deal bigger, worse luck for +us; and they catch the fish with hooks and lines, which get into our +feet sometimes, and set pots along the rocks to catch lobsters. They +speared my poor, dear husband as he went out to find something for me to +eat. I was laid up among the crags then, and we were very low in the +world, for the sea was so rough that no fish would come in shore. But +they speared him, poor fellow, and I saw them carrying him away upon a +pole. Ah, he lost his life for your sakes, my children, poor, dear, +obedient creature that he was." + +And the otter grew so sentimental (for otters can be very sentimental +when they choose, like a good many people who are both cruel and greedy, +and no good to anybody at all) that she sailed solemnly away down the +burn, and Tom saw her no more for that time. + +And lucky it was for her that she did so; for no sooner was she gone, +than down the bank came seven rough terrier dogs, snuffing and yapping, +and grubbing and splashing, in full cry after the otter. Tom hid among +the water lilies till they were gone; for he could not guess that they +were the water fairies come to help him. + +But he could not help thinking of what the otter had said about the +great river and the broad sea. And as he thought, he longed to go and +see them. He could not tell why; but the more he thought, the more he +grew discontented with the narrow little stream in which he lived, and +all his companions there; and wanted to get out into the wide, wide +world, and enjoy all the wonderful sights of which he was sure it was +full. + +And once he set off to go down the stream. But the stream was very low; +and when he came to the shallows he could not keep under water, for +there was no water left to keep under. So the sun burned his back and +make him sick; and he went back again and lay quiet in the pool for a +whole week more. + +And then on the evening of a very hot day he saw a sight. + +He had been very stupid all day, and so had the trout; for they would +not move an inch to take a fly, though there were thousands on the +water, but lay dozing at the bottom under the shade of the stones; and +Tom lay dozing, too, and was glad to cuddle their smooth, cool sides, +for the water was quite warm and unpleasant. + +But toward evening it grew suddenly dark, and Tom looked up and saw a +blanket of black clouds lying right across the valley above his head, +resting on the crags right and left. He felt not quite frightened, but +very still; for everything was still. There was not a whisper of wind, +nor a chirp of a bird to be heard; and next a few great drops of rain +fell plop into the water, and one hit Tom on the nose, and made him pop +his head down quickly enough. + +And then the thunder roared, and the lightning flashed, and leaped +across Vendale and back again, from cloud to cloud, and cliff to cliff, +till the very rocks in the stream seemed to shake; and Tom looked up at +it through the water, and thought it the finest thing he ever saw in his +life. + +But out of the water he dared not put his head; for the rain came down +by bucketfuls, and the hail hammered like shot on the stream and churned +it into foam; and soon the stream rose, and rushed down, higher and +higher, and fouler and fouler, full of beetles, and sticks, and straws, +and worms, and addle-eggs, and wood lice, and leeches, and odds and +ends, and this, that, and the other, enough to fill nine museums. + +Tom could hardly stand against the stream, and hid behind a rock. But +the trout did not; for out they rushed from among the stones, and began +gobbling the beetles and leeches in the most greedy and quarrelsome way, +and swimming about with great worms hanging out of their mouths, tugging +and kicking to get them away from each other. + +And now, by the flashes of the lightning, Tom saw a new sight--all the +bottom of the stream alive with great eels, turning and twisting along, +all down stream and away. They had been hiding for weeks past in the +cracks of the rocks, and in burrows in the mud; and Tom had hardly even +seen them, except now and then at night; but now they were all out, and +went hurrying past him so fiercely and wildly that he was quite +frightened. And as they hurried past he could hear them say to each +other, "We must run, we must run. What a jolly thunderstorm! Down to the +sea, down to the sea!" + +And then the otter came by with all her brood, twining and sweeping +along as fast as the eels themselves; and she spied Tom as she came by, +and said: + +"Now is your time, eft, if you want to see the world. Come along, +children, never mind those nasty eels; we shall breakfast on salmon to- +morrow. Down to the sea, down to the sea!" + +Then came a flash brighter than all the rest, and by the light of it--in +the thousandth part of a second they were gone again--but he had seen +them, he was certain of it--three beautiful little white girls, with +their arms twined round each other's necks, floating down the torrent, +as they sang, "Down to the sea, down to the sea!" + +"Oh, stay! Wait for me!" cried Tom; but they were gone; yet he could +hear their voices clear and sweet through the roar of thunder and water +and wind, singing as they died away, "Down to the sea!" + +"Down to the sea!" said Tom; "everything is going to the sea, and I will +go too. Good-bye, trout." But the trout were so busy gobbling worms that +they never turned to answer him; so that Tom was spared the pain of +bidding them farewell. + +And now, down the rushing stream, guided by the bright flashes of the +storm; past tall birch-fringed rocks, which shone out one moment as +clear as day, and the next were dark as night; past dark hovers under +swirling banks, from which great trout rushed out on Tom, thinking him +to be good to eat, and turned back sulkily, for the fairies sent them +home again with a tremendous scolding, for daring to meddle with a water +baby; on through narrow strids [Footnote: strid (rare) means a place the +length of a stride] and roaring cataracts, where Tom was deafened and +blinded for a moment by the rushing waters; along deep reaches, where +the white water lilies tossed and flapped beneath the wind and hail; +past sleeping villages; under dark bridge arches, and away and away to +the sea. And Tom could not stop, and did not care to stop; he would see +the great world below, and the salmon, and the breakers, and the wide, +wide sea. + +And when the daylight came, Tom found himself out in the salmon river. + +A full hundred yards broad it was, sliding on from broad pool to broad +shallow, and broad shallow to broad pool, over great fields of shingle, +under oak and ash coverts, past low cliffs of sandstone, past green +meadows, and fair parks, and a great house of gray stone, and brown +moors above, and here and there against the sky the smoking chimney of a +colliery. + +[Illustration: THE SALMON, KING OF ALL THE FISH] + +But Tom thought nothing about what the river was like. All his fancy +was, to get down to the wide, wide sea. + +And after a while he came to a place where the river spread out into +broad, still, shallow reaches, so wide that little Tom, as he put his +head out of the water, could hardly see across. + +And there he stopped. He got a little frightened. "This must be the +sea," he thought. "What a wide place it is! If I go on into it I shall +surely lose my way, or some strange thing will bite me. I will stop here +and look out for the otter, or the eels, or some one to tell me where I +shall go." + +So he went back a little way, and crept into a crack of the rock, just +where the river opened out into the wide shallows, and watched for some +one to tell him his way; but the otter and the eels were gone on miles +and miles down the stream. + +There he waited, and slept, too, for he was quite tired with his night's +journey; and, when he woke, the stream was clearing to a beautiful amber +hue, though it was still very high. And after a while, he saw a sight +which made him jump up; for he knew in a moment it was one of the things +which he had come to look for. + +Such a fish! ten times as big as the biggest trout, and a hundred times +as big as Tom, sculling up the stream past him, as easily as Tom had +sculled down. + +Such a fish! shining silver from head to tail, and here and there a +crimson dot; with a grand hooked nose and grand curling lip, and a grand +bright eye, looking round him as proudly as a king, and surveying the +water right and left as if all belonged to him. Surely he must be the +salmon, the king of all the fish. + +Tom was so frightened that he longed to creep into a hole; but he need +not have been; for salmon are all true gentlemen, and, like true +gentlemen, they look noble and proud enough, and yet, like true +gentlemen, they never harm or quarrel with any one, but go about their +own business, and leave rude fellows to themselves. + +The salmon looked at him full in the face, and then went on without +minding him, with a swish or two of his tail which made the stream boil +again. And in a few minutes came another, and then four or five, and so +on; and all passed Tom, rushing and plunging up the cataract with strong +strokes of their silver tails, now and then leaping clean out of water +and up over a rock, shining gloriously for a moment in the bright sun; +while Tom was so delighted that he could have watched them all day long. + +And at last one came up bigger than all the rest; but he came slowly, +and stopped, and looked back, and seemed very anxious and busy. And Tom +saw that he was helping another salmon, an especially handsome one, who +had not a single spot upon it, but was clothed in pure silver from nose +to tail. + +"My dear," said the great fish to his companion, "you really look +dreadfuly tired, and you must not overexert yourself at first. Do rest +yourself behind this rock;" and he shoved her gently with his nose, to +the rock were Tom sat. + +You must know that this was the salmon's wife. For salmon, like other +true gentlemen, always choose their lady, and love her, and are true to +her, and take care of her and work for her, and fight for her, as every +true gentleman ought; and are not like vulgar chub and roach and pike, +who have no high feelings, and take no care of their wives. + +Then he saw Tom, and looked at him very fiercely one moment, as if he +was going to bite him. + +"What do you want here?" he said, very fiercely. + +"Oh, don't hurt me!" cried Tom. "I only want to look at you; you are so +handsome." + +"Ah?" said the salmon, very stately but very civilly. "I really beg your +pardon; I see what you are, my little dear. I have met one or two +creatures like you before, and found them very agreeable and well +behaved. Indeed, one of them showed me a great kindness lately, which I +hope to be able to repay. I hope we shall not be in your way here. As +soon as this lady is rested, we shall proceed on our journey." + +What a well-bred old salmon he was! + +"So you have seen things like me before?" asked Tom. + +"Several times, my dear. Indeed, it was only last night that one at the +river's mouth came and warned me and my wife of some new stake-nets +which had got into the stream, I cannot tell how, since last winter, and +showed us the way round them, in the most charmingly obliging way." + +"So there are babies in the sea?" cried Tom, and clapped his little +hands. "Then I shall have some one to play with there? How delightful!" + +"Were there no babies up this stream?" asked the lady salmon. + +"No! and I grew so lonely. I thought I saw three last night; but they +were gone in an instant, down to the sea. So I went, too; for I had +nothing to play with but caddises and dragon flies and trout," + +"Ugh!" cried the lady, "what low company!" + +"My dear, if he has been in low company, he has certainly not learnt +their low manners," said the salmon. + +"No indeed, poor little dear; but how sad for him to live among such +people as caddises, who have actually six legs, the nasty things; and +dragon flies, too! why they are not even good to eat; for I tried them +once, and they are all hard and empty; and as for trout, every one knows +what they are." Whereon she curled up her lip, and looked dreadfully +scornful, while her husband curled up his, too, till he looked as proud +as Alcibiades. [Footnote: Alcibiades was a particularly handsome and +particularly proud Greek, who lived in the time of the great wars +between the two Greek states of Athens and Sparta. He took part in these +wars, first on the side of Athens, then on the side of Sparta, and +finally succeeded in gaining the hatred of both states by his treachery +and unscrupulousness. He went into exile, but was finally put to death +by the Persians at the command of the Athenians and Spartans (404 B. +C.)] + +"Why do you dislike the trout so?" asked Tom. + +"My dear, we do not even mention them, if we can help it; for I am sorry +to say they are relations of ours who do us no credit. A great many +years ago they were just like us; but they were so lazy, and cowardly, +and greedy, that instead of going down to the sea every year to see the +world and grow strong and fat, they chose to stay and poke about in the +little streams and eat worms and grubs; and they are very properly +punished for it; for they have grown ugly and brown and spotted and +small; and are actually so degraded in their tastes that they will eat +our children." + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +So the salmon went up, after Tom had warned them of the wicked old +otter; and Tom went down, but slowly and cautiously, coasting along the +shore. He was many days about it, for it was many miles down to the sea; +and perhaps he would never have found his way, if the fairies had not +guided him, without his seeing their faces, or feeling their gentle +hands. + +And as he went, he had a very strange adventure. It was a clear, still +September night, and the moon shone so brightly down through the water +that he could not sleep, though he shut his eyes as tight as possible. +So at last he came up to the top, and sat upon a little point of rock, +and looked up at the broad yellow moon, and wondered what she was, and +thought that she looked at him. And he watched the moonlight on the +rippling river, and the black heads of the firs, and the silver-frosted +lawns, and listened to the owl's hoot, and the snipe's bleat, and the +fox's bark, and the otter's laugh; and smelt the soft perfume of the +birches, and the wafts of heather honey off the grouse moor far above; +and felt very happy. You, of course, would have been very cold sitting +there on a September night, without the least bit of clothes on your wet +back; but Tom was a water baby, and therefore felt cold no more than a +fish. + +Suddenly he saw a beautiful sight. A bright red light moved along the +riverside, and threw down into the water a long taproot of flame. Tom, +curious little rogue that he was, must needs go and see what it was; so +he swam to the shore, and met the light as it stopped over a shallow run +at the edge of a low rock. + +And there, underneath the light, lay five or six great salmon, looking +up at the flame with their great goggle eyes, and wagging their tails, +as if they were very much pleased at it. + +Tom came to the top, to look at this wonderful light nearer, and made a +splash. + +And he heard a voice say: + +"There was a fish rose." + +He did not know what the words meant; but he seemed to know the sound of +them, and to know the voice which spoke them; and he saw on the bank +three great two-legged creatures, one of whom held the light, flaring +and sputtering, and another a long pole. And he knew that they were men, +and was frightened, and crept into a hole in the rock, from which he +could see what went on. + +The man with the torch bent down over the water and looked earnestly in; +and then he said: + +"Tak' that muckle fellow, lad; he's ower fifteen punds; and haud your +hand steady." [Footnote: MUCKLE is an old English word meaning LARGE.] + +Tom felt that there was some danger coming, and longed to warn the +foolish salmon, who kept staring up at the light as if he was bewitched. +But before he could make up his mind, down came the pole through the +water; there was a fearful splash and struggle, and Tom saw that the +poor salmon was speared right through, and was lifted out of the water. + +And then, from behind, there sprang on these three men three other men; +and there were shouts, and blows, and words which Tom recollected to +have heard before; and he shuddered and turned sick at them now, for he +felt somehow that they were strange, and ugly, and wrong, and horrible. +And it all began to come back to him. They were men; and they were +fighting; savage, desperate, up-and-down fighting, such as Tom had seen +too many times before. + +And he stopped his little ears, and longed to swim away; and was very +glad that he was a water baby, and had nothing to do any more with +horrid dirty men, with foul clothes on their backs, and foul words on +their lips; but he dared not stir out of his hole, while the rock shook +over his head with the trampling and struggling of the keepers and the +poachers. + +All of a sudden there was a tremendous splash, and a frightful flash, +and a hissing, and all was still. + +For into the water, close to Tom, fell one of the men--he who held the +light in his hand. Into the swift river he sank, and rolled over and +over in the current. Tom heard the men above run along, seemingly +looking for him; but he drifted down into the deep hole below, and there +lay quite still, and they could not find him. + +Tom waited a long time, till all was quiet; and then he peeped out, and +saw the man lying. At last he screwed up his courage and swam down to +him. "Perhaps," he thought, "the water has made him fall asleep, as it +did me." + +Then he went nearer. He grew more and more curious, he could not tell +why. He must go and look at him. He would go very quietly, of course; so +he swam round and round him, closer and closer; and, as he did not stir, +at last, he came quite close and looked him in the face. + +The moon shone so bright that Tom could see every feature; and, as he +saw, he recollected, bit by bit; it was his old master, Grimes. + +Tom turned tail, and swam away as fast as he could, + +"Oh dear me!" he thought, "now he will turn into a water baby. What a +nasty, troublesome one he will be! And perhaps he will find me out, and +beat me again." + +So he went up the river again a little way, and lay there the rest of +the night under an alder root; but when morning came, he longed to go +down again to the big pool, and see whether Mr. Grimes had turned into a +water baby yet. + +So he went very carefully, peeping round all the rocks, and hiding under +all the roots. Mr. Grimes lay there still; he had not turned into a +water baby. In the afternoon Tom went back again. He could not rest till +he had found out what had become of Mr. Grimes. But this time Mr. Grimes +was gone; and Tom made up his mind that he was turned into a water baby. + +He might have made himself easy, poor little man; Mr. Grimes did not +turn into a water baby, or anything like one at all. But he did not make +himself easy; and a long time he was fearful lest he should meet Grimes +suddenly in some deep pool. He could not know that the fairies had +carried him away, and put him, where they put everything which falls +into the water, exactly where it ought to be. + +Then Tom went on down, for he was afraid of staying near Grimes; and as +he went, all the vale looked sad. The red and yellow leaves showered +down into the river; the flies and beetles were all dead and gone; the +chill autumn fog lay low upon the hills, and sometimes spread itself so +thickly on the river that he could not see his way. But he felt his way +instead, following the flow of the stream, day after day, past great +bridges, past boats and barges, past the great town, with its wharfs, +and mills, and tall smoking chimneys, and ships which rode at anchor in +the stream; and now and then he ran against their hawsers, and wondered +what they were, and peeped out, and saw the sailors lolling on board +smoking their pipes; and ducked under again, for he was terribly afraid +of being caught by man and turned into a chimney-sweep once more. He did +not know that the fairies were close to him always, shutting the +sailors' eyes lest they should see him, and turning him aside from +millraces, and sewer mouths, and all foul and dangerous things. Poor +little fellow, it was a dreary journey for him; and more than once he +longed to be back in Vendale, playing with the trout in the bright +summer sun. But it could not be. What has been once can never come over +again. And people can be little babies, even water babies, only once in +their lives. + +Besides, people who make up their minds to go and see the world, as Tom +did, must needs find it a weary journey. Lucky for them if they do not +lose heart and stop halfway, instead of going on bravely to the end as +Tom did. For then they will remain neither boys nor men, neither fish, +flesh, nor good red herring; having learnt a great deal too much, and +yet not enough; and sown their wild oats, without having the advantage +of reaping them. + +But Tom was always a brave, determined little English bulldog, who never +knew when he was beaten; and on and on he held, till he saw a long way +off the red buoy through the fog. And then he found, to his surprise, +the stream turned round, and running up inland. + +It was the tide, of course; but Tom knew nothing of the tide. He only +knew that in a minute more the water, which had been fresh, turned salt +all round him. And then there came a change over him. He felt as strong, +and light, and fresh, as if his veins had run champagne; and gave, he +did not know why, three skips out of the water, a yard high, and head +over heels, just as the salmon do when they first touch the noble, rich +salt water, which, as some wise men tell us, is the mother of all living +things. + +He did not care now for the tide being against him. The red buoy was in +sight, dancing in the open sea; and to the buoy he would go, and to it +he went. He passed great shoals of bass and mullet, leaping and rushing +in after the shrimps, but he never heeded them, or they him; and once he +passed a great, black, shining seal, who was coming in after the mullet. +The seal put his head and shoulders out of water, and stared at him, +looking exactly like a fat old greasy negro with a gray pate. And Tom, +instead of being frightened, said, "How d'ye do, sir; what a beautiful +place the sea is!" And the old seal, instead of trying to bite him, +looked at him with his soft, sleepy, wink-eyes, and said, "Good tide to +you, my little man; are you looking for your brothers and sisters? I +passed them all at play outside." + +[Illustration] + +"Oh, then," said Tom, "I shall have play-fellows at last," and he swam +on to the buoy, and got upon it (for he was quite out of breath) and sat +there, and looked round for water babies; but there were none to be +seen. + +The sea breeze came in freshly with the tide and blew the fog away; and +the little waves danced for joy around the buoy, and the old buoy danced +with them. The shadows of the clouds ran races over the bright blue sky, +and yet never caught each other up; and the breakers plunged merrily +upon the wide white sands, and jumped up over the rocks, to see what the +green fields inside were like, and tumbled down and broke themselves all +to pieces, and never minded it a bit, but mended themselves and jumped +up again. And the terns hovered over Tom like huge white dragon flies +with black heads, and the gulls laughed like girls at play, and the sea +pies, with their red bills and legs, flew to and fro from shore to +shore, and whistled sweet and wild. And Tom looked and looked, and +listened; and he would have been very happy, if he could only have seen +the water babies. Then when the tide turned, he left the buoy, and swam +round and round in search of them; but in vain. Sometimes he thought he +heard them laughing, but it was only the laughter of the ripples. And +sometimes he thought he saw them at the bottom, but it was only white +and pink shells. And once he was sure he had found one, for he saw two +bright eyes peeping out of the sand. So he dived down, and began +scraping the sand away, and cried, "Don't hide; I do want some one to +play with so much!" And out jumped a great turbot with his ugly eyes and +mouth all awry, and flopped away along the bottom, knocking poor Tom +over. And he sat down at the bottom of the sea, and cried salt tears +from sheer disappointment. + +To have come all this way, and faced so many dangers, and yet to find no +water babies! How hard! Well, it did seem hard; but people, even little +babies, cannot have all they want without waiting for it, and working +for it too. + +And Tom sat upon the buoy long days, long weeks, looking out to sea, and +wondering when the water babies would come back; and yet they never +came. + +Then he began to ask all the strange things which came in out of the sea +if they had seen any; and some said "Yes," and some said nothing at all. + +He asked the bass and the pollock; but they were so greedy after the +shrimps that they did not care to answer him a word. + +Then there came in a whole fleet of purple sea snails, floating along, +each on a sponge full of foam; and Tom said, "Where do you come from, +you pretty creatures? and have you seen the water babies?" + +And the sea snails answered, "Whence we come we know not; and whither we +are going, who can tell? We float out our life in the mid-ocean, with +the warm sunshine above our heads, and the warm gulf stream below; and +that is enough for us. Yes; perhaps we have seen the water babies. We +have seen many strange things as we sailed along." And they floated +away, the happy, stupid things, and all went ashore upon the sands. + +Then there came by a shoal of porpoises, rolling as they went--papas, +and mammas, and little children--and all quite smooth and shiny, because +the fairies French-polish them every morning; and they sighed so softly +as they came by, that Tom took courage to speak to them; but all they +answered was, "Hush, hush, hush;" for that was all they had learnt to +say. + +[Illustration: PORPOISES] + +And then there came by a beautiful creature, like a ribbon of pure +silver, with a sharp head and very long teeth; but it seemed very sick +and sad. Sometimes it rolled helpless on its side; and then it +dashed away, glittering like white fire; and then it lay sick again, and +motionless. + +"Where do you come from?" asked Tom. "And why are YOU so sick and sad?" + +"I come from the warm Carolinas, and the sand-banks fringed with pines; +where the great owl-rays leap and flap, like giant bats, upon the tide. +But I wandered north and north, upon the treacherous warm gulf stream, +till I met with the cold icebergs, afloat in the mid-ocean. So I got +tangled among the icebergs, and chilled with the frozen breath. But the +water babies helped me from among them, and set me free again. And now I +am mending every day; but I am very sick and sad; and perhaps I shall +never get home again to play with the owl-rays any more." + +"Oh!" cried Tom. "And you have seen water babies! Have you seen any near +here?" + +"Yes; they helped me again last night, or I should have been eaten by a +great black porpoise." + +How vexatious! The water babies close to him, and yet he could not find +one. + +And then he left the buoy, and used to go along the sands and round the +rocks, and come out in the night--like the forsaken Merman [Footnote: +This beautiful poem which Kingsley speaks of here is Matthew Arnold's +The Forsaken Merman, which you will find in Volume VII of these books.] +in Mr. Arnold's beautiful, beautiful poem, which you must learn by heart +some day--and sit upon a point of rock, among the shining sea weeds, in +the low October tides, and cry and call for the water babies; but he +never heard a voice call in return. And at last, with his fretting and +crying, he grew quite lean and thin. + +But one day among the rocks he found a playfellow. It was not a water +baby, alas! but it was a lobster; and a very distinguished lobster he +was; for he had live barnacles on his claws, which is a great mark of +distinction in lobsterdom, and no more to be bought for money than a +good conscience or the Victoria Cross. [Footnote: The Victoria Cross is +a decoration awarded British soldiers or sailors for distinguished +bravery. The crosses are made from cannon captured in the Crimean War, +and bear, under the crowned lion which is the British royal crest, the +words "For Valour". No other military decoration is so prized.] + +Tom had never seen a lobster before; and he was mightily taken with this +one; for he thought him the most curious, odd, ridiculous creature he +had ever seen; and there he was not far wrong; for all the ingenious +men, and all the scientific men, and all the fanciful men in the world, +with all the old German bogy-painters into the bargain, could never +invent, if all their wits were boiled into one, anything so curious, and +so ridiculous, as a lobster. + +[Illustration: A LOBSTER] + +He had one claw knobbed and the other jagged; and Tom delighted in +watching him hold on to the seaweed with his knobbed claw, while he cut +up salads with his jagged one, and then put them into his mouth, after +smelling at them, like a monkey. And always the little barnacles threw +out their casting-nets and swept the water, and came in for their share +of whatever there was for dinner. + +But Tom was most astonished to see how he fired himself off--snap! like +the leapfrogs which you make out of a goose's breastbone. Certainly he +took the most wonderful shots, and backwards, too. For, if he wanted to +go into a narrow crack ten yards off, what do you think he did? If he +had gone in head foremost, of course he could not have turned round. So +he used to turn his tail to it, and lay his long horns, which carry his +sixth sense in their tips (and nobody knows what that sixth sense is), +straight down his back to guide him, and twist his eyes back till they +almost came out of their sockets, and then made ready, present, fire, +snap!--and away he went, pop into the hole; and peeped out and twiddled +his whiskers, as much as to say, "You couldn't do that." + +Tom asked him about water babies. "Yes," he said. He had seen them +often. But he did not think much of them. They were meddlesome little +creatures, and went about helping fish and shells which got into +scrapes. Well, for his part, he should be ashamed to be helped by little +soft creatures that had not even a shell on their backs. He had lived +quite long enough in the world to take care of himself. + +He was a conceited fellow, the old lobster, and not very civil to Tom; +and you will hear how he had to alter his mind before he was done, as +conceited people generally have. But he was so funny, and Tom so lonely, +that he could not quarrel with him; and they used to sit in holes in the +rocks, and chat for hours. + +And about this time there happened to Tom a very strange and important +adventure--so important, indeed, that he was very near never finding the +water babies at all; and I am sure you would have been sorry for that. + +I hope that you have not forgotten the little white lady all this while. +At least, here she comes, looking like a clean, white, good little +darling, as she always was and always will be. For it befell in the +pleasant short December days, when the wind always blows from the +southwest, till Old Father Christmas comes and spreads the great white +tablecloth, ready for little boys and girls to give the birds their +Christmas dinner of crumbs--it befell (to go on) in the pleasant +December days, that Sir John was so busy hunting that nobody at home +could get a word out of him. Four days a week he hunted, and very good +sport he had; and the other two he went to the bench and the board of +guardians, and very good justice he did; and when he got home in time, +he dined at five. + +It befell (to go on a second time), that Sir John, hunting all day and +dining at five, fell asleep every evening, and snored so terribly that +all the windows in Harthover shook, and the soot fell down the chimneys. +Whereon my Lady, being no more able to get conversation out of him than +a song out of a dead nightingale, determined to go off and leave him and +the doctor and Captain Swinger, the agent, to snore in concert every +evening to their hearts' content. So she started for the seaside with +all the children, in order to put herself and them into condition by +mild applications of iodine. + +Now, it befell that, on the very shore and over the very rocks where Tom +was sitting with his friend the lobster, there walked one day the little +white lady, Ellie herself, and with her a very wise man indeed-- +Professor Ptthmllnsprts. + +He was a very worthy, kind, good-natured little old gentleman; and very +fond of children, and very good to all the world as long as it was good +to him. Only one fault he had, which cock-robins have likewise, as you +may see if you look out of the nursery window--that when any one else +found a curious worm, he would hop round them, and peck them, and +bristle up his feathers, just as a cock-robin would; and declare that he +found the worm first; and that it was his worm; and, if not, that then +it was not a worm at all. + +So Ellie and he were walking on the rocks, and he was showing her about +one in ten thousand of all the beautiful and curious things which are to +be seen there. But little Ellie was not satisfied with them at all. She +liked much better to play with live children, or even with dolls, which +she could pretend were alive; and at last she said honestly, "I don't +care about all these things, because they can't play with me, or talk +with me. If there were little children now in the water, as there used +to be, and I could see them, I should like that." + +"Children in the water, you strange little duck?" said the professor. + +"Yes," said Ellie. "I know there used to be children in the water, and +mermaids too, and mermen. I saw them all in a picture at home, of a +beautiful lady sailing in a car drawn by dolphins, and babies flying +round her, and one sitting in her lap; and the mermaids swimming and +playing, and the mermen trumpeting on conch-shells; and it is called +'The Triumph of Galatea;' [Footnote: This picture which little Ellie +loved so was a copy of a famous painting by the great Raphael.] and +there is a burning mountain in the picture behind. It hangs on the great +staircase, and I have looked at it ever since I was a baby, and dreamt +about it a hundred times; and it is so beautiful that it must be true." + +The professor, however, was not the least of little Ellie's opinion. + +"But why are there not water babies?" asked Ellie. + +I trust and hope that it was because the professor trod at that moment +on the edge of a very sharp mussel, and hurt one of his corns sadly, +that he answered quite sharply, forgetting that he was a scientific man, +"Because there ain't." + +Which was not even good English, my dear little boy; for, as you must +know, the professor ought to have said, if he was so angry as to say +anything of the kind--Because there are not: or are none: or are none of +them. And he groped with his net under the weeds so violently, that he +caught poor little Tom. He felt the net very heavy; lifted it out +quickly, with Tom all entangled in the meshes. + +"Dear me!" he cried. "What a large pink Holothurian; [Footnote: The +Holothurians are curious creatures, such as the sea cucumbers or the sea +slugs. One genus or class of them is known as the Synapta. These +creatures are quite rudimentary, and have, as the professor's next +remark will tell you, no eyes. A Cephalopod is higher in the scale, and +has well-developed eyes.] with hands, too! It must be connected with +Synapta." And he took him out. + +"It has actually eyes;" he cried. "Why, it must be a Cephalopod! This is +most extraordinary!" + +"No, I ain't," cried Tom, as loud as he could; for he did not like to be +called bad names. + +"It is a water baby!" cried Ellie; and of course it was. + +"Water-fiddlesticks, my dear!" said the professor; and he turned away +sharply. + +Now, if the professor had said to Ellie, "Yes, my darling, it is a water +baby, and a very wonderful thing it is; and it shows how little I know +of the wonders of nature in spite of forty years of honest labour;"--I +think that, if the professor had said that, little Ellie would have +believed him more firmly, and respected him more deeply, and loved him +better, than ever she had done before. But he was of a different +opinion. He hesitated a moment. He longed to keep Tom, and yet he half +wished he never had caught him; and at last he quite longed to get rid +of him. So he turned away and poked Tom with his finger, for want of +anything better to do; and said carelessly, "My dear little maid, you +must have dreamt of water babies last night, your head is so full of +them." + +[Illustration: ELLIE AND THE PROFESSOR] + +Now Tom had been in the most horrible and unspeakable fright all the +while; for it was fixed in his little head that if a man with clothes on +caught him, he might put clothes on him too, and make a dirty black +chimney-sweep of him again. But when the professor poked him, it was +more than he could bear; and, between fright and rage, he turned to bay +valiantly, and bit the professor's finger till it bled. + +"Oh! ah! yah!" cried he; and glad of an excuse to be rid of Tom, dropped +him on to the seaweed, and thence he dived into the water and was gone +in a moment. "But it was a water baby, and I heard it speak!" cried +Ellie. "Ah, it is gone!" And she jumped off the rock to try and catch +Tom. + +Too late! and what was worse, as she sprang down, she slipped, and fell +some six feet with her head on a sharp rock, and lay quite still. The +professor picked her up, and tried to waken her, and called to her, and +cried over her, for he loved her very much; but she would not waken at +all. So he took her up in his arms and carried her to her governess, and +they all went home; and little Ellie was put to bed, and lay there quite +still; only now and then she woke up and called out about the water +baby; but no one knew what she meant, and the professor did not tell, +for he was ashamed to tell. + +And after a week, one moonlight night, the fairies came flying in at the +window and brought her such a pretty pair of wings that she could not +help putting them on; and she flew with them out of the window, and over +the land, and over the sea, and up through the clouds, and nobody heard +or saw anything of her for a very long while. + + + +CHAPTER V + + +But what became of little Tom? + +He slipped away off the rocks into the water, as I said before. But he +could not help thinking of little Ellie. He did not remember who she +was; but he knew that she was a little girl, though she was larger than +he was now. That is not surprising; size has nothing to do with kindred. +A tiny weed may be first cousin to a great tree; and a little dog like +Vick knows that Lioness is a dog too, though she is twenty times larger +than herself. + +So Tom knew that Ellie was a little girl, and thought about her all that +day, and longed to have had her to play with; but he had soon to think +of something else. + +And here is the account of what happened to him, as it was published +next morning in the Waterproof Gazette, on the finest watered paper, for +the use of the great fairy, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, who reads the news +very carefully every morning, and especially the police cases. + +He was going along the rocks in three-fathom water, watching the pollock +catch prawns, and the wrasses nibble barnacles off the rocks, shells and +all, when he saw a round cage of green withes; and inside it, looking +very much ashamed of himself, sat his friend the lobster, twiddling his +horns, instead of thumbs. + +"What, have you been naughty, and have they put you in the lockup?" +asked Tom. + +The lobster felt a little indignant at such a notion, but he was too +much depressed in spirits to argue; so he only said, "I can't get out." + +"Why did you get in?" + +"After that nasty piece of dead fish." He had thought it looked and +smelt very nice when he was outside, and so it did, for a lobster; but +now he turned round and abused it because he was angry with himself. + +"Where did you get in?" + +"Through that round hole at the top." + +"Then why don't you get out through it?" + +"Because I can't;" and the lobster twiddled his horns more fiercely than +ever, but he was forced to confess. + +"I have jumped upwards, downwards, backwards, and sideways, at least +four thousand times; and I can't get out. I always get up underneath +there, and can't find the hole." + +Tom looked at the trap, and having more wit than the lobster, he saw +plainly enough what was the matter; as you may if you will look at a +lobster-pot. [Footnote: You will understand from the lobster's +description of his attempt to get out of the "cage of green withes" in +which he found himself, that the lobster pot had hooks or spikes which +were bent in toward the center, so that the opening in the top was but +small.] "Stop a bit," said Tom. "Turn your tail up to me, and I'll pull +you through hindforemost, and then you won't stick in the spikes." + +But the lobster was so stupid and clumsy that he couldn't hit the hole. +Like a great many fox hunters, he was very sharp as long as he was in +his own country; but as soon as they get out of it they lose their +heads; and so the lobster, so to speak, lost his tail. + +Tom reached and clawed down the hole after him, till he caught hold of +him; and then, as was to be expected, the clumsy lobster pulled him in +head foremost. + +"Hullo! here is a pretty business," said Tom. "Now take your great +claws, and break the points off those spikes, and then we shall both get +out easily." + +"Dear me, I never thought of that," said the lobster; "and after all the +experience of life that I have had!" + +You see, experience is of very little good unless a man, or a lobster, +has wit enough to make use of it. For a good many people have seen all +the world, and yet remain little better than children after all. + +But they had not got half the spikes away when they saw a great dark +cloud over them; and lo and behold, it was the otter. + +How she did grin and grin when she saw Tom. "Yah!" said she, "you little +meddlesome wretch, I have you now! I will serve you out for telling the +salmon where I was!" And she crawled all over the pot to get in. + +Tom was horribly frightened, and still more frightened when she found +the hole in the top, and squeezed herself right down through it, all +eyes and teeth. But no sooner was her head inside than valiant Mr. +Lobster caught her by the nose and held on. + +And there they were all three in the pot, rolling over and over, and +very tight packing it was. And the lobster tore at the otter, and the +otter tore at the lobster, and both squeezed and thumped poor Tom till +he had no breath left in his body; and I don't know what would have +happened to him if he had not at last got on the otter's back, and safe +out of the hole. + +He was right glad when he got out, but he would not desert his friend +who had saved him; and the first time he saw his tail uppermost he +caught hold of it, and pulled with all his might. + +But the lobster would not let go. + +"Come along," said Tom; "don't you see she is dead?" And so she was, +quite drowned and dead. + +And that was the end of the wicked otter. + +But the lobster would not let go. + +"Come along, you stupid old stick-in-the-mud," cried Tom, "or the +fisherman will catch you!" And that was true, for Tom felt some one +above beginning to haul up the pot. + +But the lobster would not let go. + +Tom saw the fisherman haul him up to the boat side, and thought it was +all up with him. But when Mr. Lobster saw the fisherman, he gave such a +furious and tremendous snap, that he snapped out of his hand, and out of +the pot, and safe into the sea. But he left his knobbed claw behind him; +for it never came into his stupid head to let go after all, so he just +shook his claw off as the easier method. + +Tom asked the lobster why he never thought of letting go. He said very +determinedly that it was a point of honour among lobsters. + +And now happened to Tom a most wonderful thing; for he had not left the +lobster five minutes before he came upon a water baby. + +A real, live water baby, sitting on the white sand, very busy about a +little point of rock. And when it saw Tom it looked up for a moment and +then cried, "Why, you are not one of us. You are a new baby! Oh, how +delightful!" + +And it ran to Tom, and Tom ran to it, and they hugged and kissed each +other for ever so long, they did not know why. But they did not want any +introductions there under the water. + +At last Tom said, "Oh, where have you been all this while? I have been +looking for you so long, and I have been so lonely." + +"We have been here for days and days. There are hundreds of us about the +rocks. How was it you did not see us, or hear us when we sing and romp +every evening before we go home?" + +Tom looked at the baby again, and then he said: + +"Well, this is wonderful! I have seen things just like you again and +again, but I thought you were shells, or sea creatures. I never took you +for water babies like myself." + +Now, was not that very odd? So odd, indeed, that you will, no doubt, +want to know how it happened, and why Tom could never find a water baby +till after he had got the lobster out of the pot. And, if you will read +this story nine times over, and then think for yourself, you will find +out why. It is not good for little boys to be told everything, and never +to be forced to use their own wits. + +"Now," said the baby, "come and help me, or I shall not have finished +before my brothers and sisters come, and it is time to go home." + +"What shall I help you at?" + +"At this poor, dear little rock; a great clumsy boulder came rolling by +in the last storm, and knocked all its head off, and rubbed off all its +flowers. And now I must plant it again with seaweeds, and coraline, and +anemones, and I will make it the prettiest little rock-garden on all the +shore." + +So they worked away at the rock, and planted it, and smoothed the sand +down round it, and capital fun they had till the tide began to turn. And +then Tom heard all the other babies coming, laughing and singing and +shouting and romping; and the noise they made was just like the noise of +the ripple. So he knew that he had been hearing and seeing the water +babies all along; only he did not know them, because his eyes and ears +were not opened. + +And in they came, dozens and dozens of them, some bigger than Tom and +some smaller, all in the neatest little white bathing dresses; and when +they found that he was a new baby, they hugged and kissed him, and then +put him in the middle and danced around him on the sand, and there was +no one ever so happy as poor little Tom. + +"Now then," they cried all at once, "we must come away home, we must +come away home, or the tide will leave us dry. We have mended all the +broken seaweed, and put all the rock-pools in order, and planted all the +shells again in the sand, and nobody will see where the ugly storm swept +last week." + +And this is the reason why the rock-pools are always so neat and clean; +because the water babies come inshore after every storm to sweep them +out, and comb them down, and put them all to rights again. + +Only where men are wasteful and dirty, and let sewers run into the sea +instead of putting the stuff upon the fields like thrifty, reasonable +souls; or throw herrings' heads and dead dog-fish, or any other refuse, +into the water; or in any way make a mess upon the clean shore--there +the water babies will not come, sometimes not for hundreds of years (for +they cannot abide anything smelly or foul), but leave the sea anemones +and the crabs to clear away everything till the good, tidy sea has +covered up all the dirt in soft mud and clean sand, where the water +babies can plant live cockles and whelks and razor shells and sea +cucumbers and golden combs, and make a pretty live garden again, after +man's dirt is cleared away. And that, I suppose, is the reason why there +are no water babies at any watering place which I have ever seen. + +Now when Tom got to the home of the water babies, in Saint Brandan's +fairy isle, he found that the isle stood all on pillars, and that its +roots were full of caves. There were pillars of black basalt and pillars +of green and crimson serpentine; and pillars ribboned with red and white +and yellow sandstone; and there were blue grottoes and white grottoes, +all curtained and draped with seaweeds, purple and crimson, green and +brown; and strewn with soft white sand, on which the water babies sleep +every night. But, to keep the place clean and sweet, the crabs picked up +all the scraps off the floor and ate them like so many monkeys; while +the rocks were covered with ten thousand sea anemones, and corals and +madrepores, who scavenged the water all day long, and kept it nice and +pure. But, to make up to them for having to do such nasty work, they +were not left black and dirty, as poor chimney-sweeps and dustmen are. +No; the fairies are more considerate and just than that, and have +dressed them all in the most beautiful colours and patterns, till they +look like vast flower beds of gay blossoms. + +And, instead of watchmen and policemen to keep out nasty things at +night, there were thousands and thousands of water snakes, and most +wonderful creatures they were. + +They were dressed in green velvet, and black velvet, and purple velvet; +and were all jointed in rings; and some of them had three hundred brains +apiece, so that they must have been uncommonly shrewd detectives; and +some had eyes in their tails; and some had eyes in every joint, so that +they kept a very sharp lookout; and when they wanted a baby snake, they +just grew one at the end of their own tails, and when it was able to +take care of itself it dropped off; so that they brought up their +families very cheaply. But if any nasty thing came by, out they rushed +upon it; and then out of each of their hundreds of feet there sprang a +whole cutler's shop of + Scythes, Creeses, + Billhooks, Ghoorka swords, + Pickaxes, Tucks, + Forks, Javelins, + Penknives, Lances, + Rapiers, Halberts. + Sabres, Gisarines, + Yataghans, Poleaxes, + Fishhooks, Corkscrews, + Bradawls, Pins, + Gimlets, Needles, + And so forth, +which stabbed, shot, poked, pricked, scratched, ripped, pinked, and +crimped those naughty beasts so terribly that they had to run for their +lives, or else be chopped into small pieces and be eaten afterwards. + +And there were the water babies in thousands, more than Tom, or you +either, could count. All the little children whom the good fairies take +to, because their cruel mothers and fathers will not; all who are +untaught and brought up heathens, and all who come to grief by ill usage +or ignorance or neglect; all the little children in alleys and courts, +and tumble-down cottages, who die by fever, and cholera, and measles, +and scarlatina, and nasty complaints which no one has any business to +have, and which no one will have some day, when folks have common sense; +and all the little children who have been killed by cruel masters and +wicked soldiers; they were all there, except, of course, the babes of +Bethlehem who were killed by wicked King Herod; for they were taken +straight to heaven long ago, as everybody knows, and we call them the +Holy Innocents. + +[Illustration: MRS. BEDONEBYASYOUDID] + +But I wish Tom had given up all his naughty tricks, and left off +tormenting dumb animals now that he had plenty of playfellows to amuse +him. Instead of that, I am sorry to say, he would meddle with the +creatures, all but the water snakes, for they would stand no nonsense. +So he tickled the madrepores, to make them shut up; and frightened the +crabs, to make them hide in the sand and peep out at him with the tips +of their eyes; and put stones into the anemones' [Footnote: The anemones +spoken of here are not to be confused with the flowers which grow on +land. The sea anemones are alive, but the circles of tentacles about +their mouths make them look like flowers of the most beautiful colors. +They have no eyes, and of course could not see what Tom was offering +them.] mouths, to make them fancy that their dinner was coming. + +The other children warned him, and said, "Take care what you are at. +Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid is coming." But Tom never heeded them, being quite +riotous with high spirits and good luck, till, one Friday morning early, +Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid came indeed. + +A very tremendous lady she was; and when the children saw her they all +stood in a row, very upright indeed, and smoothed down their bathing +dresses, and put their hands behind them, just as if they were going to +be examined by the inspector. + +And she had on a black bonnet, and a black shawl, and no crinoline at +all, and a pair of large green spectacles, and a great hooked nose, +hooked so much that the bridge of it stood quite up above her eyebrows; +and under her arm she carried a great birch-rod. Indeed she was so ugly +that Tom was tempted to make faces at her, but did not, for he did not +admire the look of the birch-rod under her arm. + +And she looked at the children one by one, and seemed very much pleased +with them, though she never asked them one question about how they were +behaving; and then began giving them all sorts of nice sea things--sea +cakes, sea apples, sea oranges, sea bullseyes, sea toffee; and to the +very best of all she gave sea ices, made out of sea-cows' cream, which +never melt under water. + +Now little Tom watched all these sweet things given away, till his mouth +watered, and his eyes grew as round as an owl's. For he hoped that his +turn would come at last; and so it did. For the lady called him up, and +held out her fingers with something in them, and popped it into his +mouth; and lo and behold, it was a nasty, cold, hard pebble. + +"You are a very cruel woman," said he, and began to whimper. + +"And you are a very cruel boy, who puts pebbles into the sea-anemones' +mouths, to take them in, and make them fancy that they have caught a +good dinner. As you did to them, so must I do to you." + +"Who told you that?" said Tom. + +"You did yourself, this very minute." + +Tom had never opened his lips; so he was very much taken aback indeed. + +"Yes; every one tells me exactly what they have done wrong; and that +without knowing it themselves, So there is no use trying to hide +anything from me. Now go, and be a good boy, and I will put no more +pebbles in your mouth, if you put none in other creatures'." "I did not +know there was any harm in it," said Tom. + +"Then you know now. People continually say that to me; but I tell them, +if they don't know that fire burns, that is no reason that it should not +burn you; and if you don't know that dirt breeds fever, that is no +reason why the fevers should not kill you. The lobster did not know that +there was any harm in getting into the lobster-pot; but it caught him +all the same." + +"Dear me," thought Tom, "she knows everything!" And so she did, indeed. + +"And so, if you do not know that things are wrong, that is no reason why +you should not be punished for them; though not as much, not as much, my +little man" (and the lady looked very kindly, after all), "as if you did +know." + +"Well, you are a little hard on a poor lad," said Tom. + +"Not at all; I am the best friend you ever had in all your life. But I +will tell you; I cannot help punishing people when they do wrong. I like +it no more than they do; I am often very, very sorry for them, poor +things; but I cannot help it. If I tried not to do it, I should do it +all the same. For I work by machinery, just like an engine; and am full +of wheels and springs inside; and am wound up very carefully, so that I +cannot help going." + +"Was it long ago since they wound you up?" asked Tom. For he thought, +the cunning little fellow, "She will run down some day; or they may +forget to wind her up, as old Grimes used to forget to wind up his watch +when he came in from the public-house; and then I shall be safe." + +"I was wound up once and for all, so long ago that I forgot all about +it." + +"Dear me," said Tom, "you must have been made a long time!" + +"I never was made, my child; and I shall go for ever and ever; for I am +as old as Eternity, and yet as young as Time." + +And there came over the lady's face a very curious expression--very +solemn, and very sad; and yet very, very sweet. And she looked up and +away, as if she were gazing through the sea, and through the sky, at +something far, far off; and as she did so, there came such a quiet, +tender, patient, hopeful smile over her face that Tom thought for the +moment that she did not look ugly at all. And no more she did; for she +was like a great many people who have not a pretty feature in their +faces, and yet are lovely to behold, and draw little children's hearts +to them at once; because though the house is plain enough, yet from the +windows a beautiful and good spirit is looking forth. + +And Tom smiled in her face, she looked so pleasant for the moment. And +the strange fairy smiled too, and said: + +"Yes. You thought me very ugly just now, did you not?" + +Tom hung down his head, and got very red about the ears. + +"And I am very ugly. I am the ugliest fairy in the world; and I shall +be, till people behave themselves as they ought to do. And then I shall +grow as handsome as my sister, who is the loveliest fairy in the world; +and her name is Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby. So she begins where I end, +and I begin where she ends; and those who will not listen to her must +listen to me, as you will see. Now, all of you run away, except Tom; and +he may stay and see what I am going to do. It will be a very good +warning for him to begin with, before he goes to school. + +"Now, Tom, every Friday I come down here and call up all who have ill- +used little children, and serve them as they served the children." + +And first she called up all the doctors who give little children so much +physic (they were most of them old ones; for the young ones have learnt +better), and she set them all in a row; and very rueful they looked; for +they knew what was coming. + +And first she pulled all their teeth out; and then she bled them all +round; and then she dosed them with calomel, and jalap, and salts and +senna, and brimstone and treacle; and horrible faces they made; and then +she gave them a great emetic of mustard and water, and began all over +again; and that was the way she spent the morning. + +And then she called up a whole troop of foolish ladies, who pinch their +children's waists and toes; and she laced them all up in tight stays, so +that they were choked and sick, and their noses grew red, and their +hands and feet swelled; and then she crammed their poor feet into the +most dreadfully tight boots, and made them all dance; and then she asked +them how they liked it; and when they said not at all, she let them go; +because they had only done it out of foolish fashion, fancying it was +for their children's good, as if wasps' waists and pigs' toes could be +pretty, or wholesome, or of any use to anybody. + +Then she called up all the careless nursery-maids, and stuck pins into +them all over, and wheeled them about in perambulators with tight straps +across their stomachs and their heads and arms hanging over the side, +till they were quite sick and stupid, and would have had sunstrokes; +but, being under the water, they could only have water-strokes; which, I +assure you, are nearly as bad, as you will find if you try to sit under +a mill wheel. And mind--when you hear a rumbling at the bottom of the +sea, sailors will tell you that it is a ground swell; but now you know +better. It is the old lady wheeling the maids about in perambulators. + +And by this time she was so tired, she had to go to luncheon. + +And after luncheon she set to work again, and called up all the cruel +schoolmasters--whole regiments and brigades of them; and when she saw +them, she frowned most terribly, and set to work in earnest, as if the +best part of the day's work was to come. And she boxed their ears, and +thumped them over the head with rulers, and pandied their hands with +canes, and told them that they told stories, and were this and that bad +sort of people; and the more they were very indignant, and stood upon +their honour, and declared they told the truth, the more she declared +they were not, and that they were only telling lies; and at last she +birched them all round soundly with her great birch-rod and set them +each an imposition of three hundred thousand lines of Hebrew to learn by +heart before she came back next Friday. And at that they all cried and +howled so, that their breaths came all up through the sea like bubbles +out of soda water; and that is one reason of the bubbles in the sea. +There are others; but that is the one which principally concerns little +boys. And by that time she was so tired that she was glad to stop; and, +indeed, she had done a very good day's work. + +Tom did not quite dislike the old lady; but he could not help thinking +her a little spiteful--and no wonder if she was, poor old soul; for if +she has to wait to grow handsome till people do as they would be done +by, she will have to wait a very long time. + +Poor old Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid! she has a great deal of hard work before +her, and had better have been born a washerwoman, and stood over a tub +all day; but, you see, people cannot always choose their own profession. + +But Tom longed to ask her one question; and, after all, whenever she +looked at him, she did not look cross at all; and now and then there was +a funny smile in her face, and she chuckled to herself in a way which +gave Tom courage, and at last he said: + +"Pray, ma'am, may I ask you a question?" + +"Certainly, my little dear." + +"Why don't you bring all the bad masters here and serve them out, too? +The butties [Footnote: Butty, in the English coal-mining regions, is the +name given to a man who takes a contract to work out a certain area of +coal. He employs other people to work for him. A nailer is a man who +makes nails.] that knock about the poor collier-boys; and the nailers +that file off their lads' noses and hammer their fingers; and all the +master sweeps, like my master Grimes? I saw him fall into the water long +ago; so I surely expected he would have been here. I'm sure he was bad +enough to me." + +Then the old lady looked so very stern that Tom was quite frightened, +and sorry that he had been so bold. But she was not angry with him. She +only answered, "I look after them all the week round; and they are in a +very different place from this, because they knew that they were doing +wrong." + +She spoke very quietly; but there was something in her voice which made +Tom tingle from head to foot, as if he had got into a shoal of sea +nettles. + +"But these people," she went on, "did not know that they were doing +wrong; they were only stupid and impatient; and therefore I only punish +them till they become patient, and learn to use their common sense like +reasonable beings. But as for chimney-sweeps, and collier-boys, and +nailer lads, my sister has set good people to stop all that sort of +thing; and very much obliged to her I am; for if she could only stop the +cruel masters from ill-using poor children, I should grow handsome at +least a thousand years sooner. And now do you be a good boy, and do as +you would be done by, which they did not; and then, when my sister, +Madame Doasyouwouldbedoneby, comes on Sunday, perhaps she will take +notice of you, and teach you how to behave. She understands that better +than I do." And so she went. + +Tom was very glad to hear that there was no chance of meeting Grimes +again, though he was a little sorry for him, considering that he used +sometimes to give him the leavings of the beer; but he determined to be +a very good boy all Saturday; and he was; for he never frightened one +crab, nor tickled any live corals, nor put stones into the sea-anemones' +mouths, to make them fancy they had got a dinner; and when Sunday +morning came, sure enough, Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby came too. Whereat +all the little children began dancing and clapping their hands, and Tom +danced too with all his might. + +And as for the pretty lady, I cannot tell you what the colour of her +hair was, or of her eyes; no more could Tom; for when people look at +her, all they can think of is, that she has the sweetest, kindest, +tenderest, funniest, merriest face they ever saw, or want to see. But +Tom saw that she was a very tall woman, as tall as her sister; but +instead of being gnarly, and horny, and scaly, and prickly, like her, +she was the most nice, soft, fat, smooth, pussy, cuddly, delicious +creature who ever nursed a baby; and she understood babies thoroughly, +for she had plenty of her own, whole rows and regiments of them, and has +to this day. And all her delight was, whenever she had a spare moment, +to play with babies, in which she showed herself a woman of sense; for +babies are the best company and the pleasantest playfellows in the +world; at least, so all the wise people in the world think. And +therefore when the children saw her, they naturally caught hold of her, +and pulled her till she sat down on a stone, and climbed into her lap, +and clung round her neck, and caught hold of her hands; and then they +all put their thumbs into their mouths, and began cuddling and purring +like so many kittens, as they ought to have done. While those who could +get nowhere else sat down on the sand, and cuddled her feet--for no one, +you know, wears shoes in the water, except horrid old bathing-women, who +are afraid of the water babies pinching their horny toes. And Tom stood +staring at them; for he could not understand what it was all about. + +"And who are you, you little darling?" she said. + +"Oh, that is the new baby!" they all cried, pulling their thumbs out of +their mouths, "and he never had any mother;" and they all put their +thumbs back again, for they did not wish to lose any time. + +"Then I will be his mother, and he shall have the very best place; so +get out, all of you, this moment." + +And she took up two great armfuls of babies--nine hundred under one arm +and thirteen hundred under the other--and threw them away, right and +left, into the water. But they did not even take their thumbs out of +their mouths, but came paddling and wriggling back to her like so many +tadpoles, till you could see nothing of her from head to foot for the +swarm of little babies. + +But she took Tom in her arms, and laid him in the softest place of all, and +kissed him, and patted him, and talked to him, tenderly and low, such +things as he had never heard before in his life; and Tom looked up into +her eyes, and loved her, and loved, till he fell asleep from pure love. + +[Illustration: SHE TOOK TOM IN HER ARMS] + +And when he woke she was telling the children a story. And what story +did she tell them? One story she told them, which begins every Christmas +Eve, and yet never ends at all, for ever and ever; and as she went on, +the children took their thumbs out of their mouths and listened quite +seriously, but not sadly at all; for she never told them anything sad; +and Tom listened too, and never grew tired of listening. And he listened +so long that he fell fast asleep again, and when he awoke, the lady was +nursing him still. + +"Now," said the fairy to Tom, "will you be a good boy for my sake, and +torment no more sea beasts till I come back?" + +"And you will cuddle me again?" said poor little Tom. + +"Of course I will, you little duck. I should like to take you with me +and cuddle you all the way, only I must not;" and away she went. + +So Tom really tried to be a good boy, and tormented no sea beasts after +that as long as he lived; and he is quite alive, I assure you, still. + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +Here I come to the very saddest part of all my story. + +Now you may fancy that Tom was quite good, when he had everything that +he could want or wish; but you would be very much mistaken. Being quite +comfortable is a very good thing; but it does not make people good. +Indeed, it sometimes makes them naughty, and I am very sorry to say that +this happened to little Tom. For he grew so fond of the sea bullseyes +and sea lollipops that his foolish little head could think of nothing +else; and he was always longing for more, and wondering when the strange +lady would come again and give him some, and what she would give him, +and how much, and whether she would give him more than the others. And +he thought of nothing but lollipops by day, and dreamt of nothing else +by night--and what happened then? + +That he began to watch the lady to see where she kept the sweet things; +and began hiding, and sneaking, and following her about, and pretending +to be looking the other way, or going after something else, till he +found out that she kept them in a beautiful mother-of-pearl cabinet away +in a deep crack of the rocks. + +And he longed to go to the cabinet, and yet he was afraid; and then he +longed again, and was less afraid; and at last, by continual thinking +about it, he longed so violently that he was not afraid at all. And one +night, when all the other children were asleep, and he could not sleep +for thinking of lollipops, he crept away among the rocks, and got to the +cabinet, and behold! it was open. + +But when he saw all the nice things inside, instead of being delighted, +he was quite frightened, and wished he had never come there. And then he +would only touch them, and he did; and then he would only taste one, and +he did; and then he would only eat one, and he did; and then he would +only eat two, and then three, and so on; and then he was terrified lest +she should come and catch him, and began gobbling them down so fast that +he did not taste them, or have any pleasure in them; and then he felt +sick, and would have only one more; and then only one more again; and so +on till he had eaten them all up. + +And all the while, close behind him, stood Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid. + +Some people may say, "But why did she not keep her cupboard locked?" +Well, I know. It may seem a very strange thing, but she never does keep +her cupboard locked; every one may go and taste for himself, and fare +accordingly. It is very odd, but so it is; and I am quite sure that she +knows best. Perhaps she wishes people to learn to keep their fingers out +of the fire by having them burned. She took off her spectacles, because +she did not like to see too much; and in her pity she arched up her +eyebrows into her very hair, and her eyes grew so wide that they would +have taken in all the sorrows of the world, and filled with great big +tears, as they too often do. + +[Illustration: TOM FOUND THE CABINET] + +But all she said was: "Ah, you poor little dear! you are just like all +the rest." + +But she said it to herself, and Tom neither heard nor saw her. Now, you +must not fancy that she was sentimental at all. If you do, and think +that she is going to let off you, or me, or any human being when we do +wrong, because she is too tender-hearted to punish us, then you will +find yourself very much mistaken, as many a man does every year and +every day. + +But what did the strange fairy do when she saw all her lollipops eaten? + +Did she fly at Tom, catch him by the scruff of the neck, hold him, hit +him, poke him, pull him, pinch him, pound him, put him in the corner, +shake him, slap him, set him on a cold stone to reconsider himself, and +so forth? + +Not a bit. You may watch her at work if you know where to find her. But +you will never see her do that. For, if she had, she knew quite well Tom +would have fought and kicked, and bit, and said bad words, and turned +again that moment into a naughty little heathen chimney-sweep, with his +hand, like Ishmael's of old, against every man, and every man's hand +against him. + +Did she question him, hurry him, frighten him, threaten him, to make him +confess? Not a bit. You may see her, as I said, at her work often enough +if you know where to look for her; but you will never see her do that. +For if she had, she would have tempted him to tell lies in his fright; +and that would have been worse for him, if possible, than even becoming +a heathen chimney-sweep again. + +No. She leaves that for anxious parents and teachers (lazy ones, some +call them), who, instead of giving children a fair trial, such as they +would expect and demand for themselves, force them by fright to confess +their own faults--which is so cruel and unfair that no judge on the +bench dare do it to the wickedest thief or murderer, for the good +British law forbids it--ay, and even punish them to make them confess, +which is so detestable a crime that it is never committed now. + +So the fairy just said nothing at all about the matter, not even when +Tom came next day with the rest for sweet things. He was horribly afraid +of coming, but he was still more afraid of staying away, lest any one +should suspect him. He was dreadfully afraid, too, lest there should be +no sweets--as was to be expected, he having eaten them all--and lest +then the fairy should inquire who had taken them. But behold! she pulled +out just as many as ever, which astonished Tom, and frightened him still +more. + +And when the fairy looked him full in the face, he shook from head to +foot; however she gave him his share like the rest, and he thought +within himself that she could not have found him out. + +But when he put the sweets into his mouth, he hated the taste of them; +and they made him so sick that he had to get away as fast as he could; +and terribly sick he was, and very cross and unhappy, all the week +after. Then, when next week came, he had his share again; and again the +fairy looked him full in the face; but more sadly than she had ever +looked. And he could not bear the sweets; but took them again in spite +of himself. + +And when Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby came, he wanted to be cuddled like +the rest; but she said very seriously: "I should like to cuddle you, but +I cannot; you are so horny and prickly." + +And Tom looked at himself; and he was all over prickles, just like a sea +egg. + +Which was quite natural; for you must know and believe that people's +souls make their bodies just as a snail makes its shell (I am not +joking, my little man; I am in serious, solemn earnest). And therefore, +when Tom's soul grew all prickly with naughty tempers, his body could +not help growing prickly too, so that nobody would cuddle him, or play +with him, or even like to look at him. + +What could Tom do now but go away and hide in a corner and cry? For +nobody would play with him, and he knew full well why. + +And he was so miserable all that week that when the ugly fairy came and +looked at him once more full in the face, more seriously and sadly than +ever, he could stand it no longer, and thrust the sweetmeats away, +saying, "No, I don't want any: I can't bear them now;" and then burst +out crying, poor little man, and told Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid every word +as it happened. + +He was horribly frightened when he had done so; for he expected her to +punish him very severely. But instead, she only took him up and kissed +him, which was not quite pleasant, for her chin was very bristly indeed; +but he was so lonely-hearted, he thought that rough kissing was better +than none. + +"I will forgive you, little man," she said. "I always forgive people the +moment they tell me the truth of their own accord." + +"Then you will take away all these nasty prickles?" + +"That is a very different matter. You put them there yourself, and only +you can take them away." + +"But how can I do that?" asked Tom, crying afresh. + +"Well, I think it is time for you to go to school; so I shall fetch you +a schoolmistress, who will teach you how to get rid of your prickles." +And so she went away. + +Tom was frightened at the notion of a schoolmistress; for he thought she +would certainly come with a birch-rod or a cane; but he comforted +himself, at last, that she might be something like the old woman in +Vendale--which she was not in the least; for when the fairy brought her, +she was the most beautiful little girl that ever was seen, with long +curls floating behind her like a golden cloud, and long robes floating +all round her like a silver one. + +"There he is," said the fairy; "and you must teach him to be good, +whether you like or not." + +"I know," said the little girl; but she did not seem quite to like, for +she put her finger in her mouth, and looked at Tom under her brows; and +Tom put his finger in his mouth, and looked at her under his brows, for +he was horribly ashamed of himself. + +The little girl seemed hardly to know how to begin; and perhaps she +would never have begun at all if poor Tom had not burst out crying, and +begged her to teach him to be good and help him to cure his prickles; +and at that she grew so tender-hearted that she began teaching him as +prettily as ever child was taught in the world. + +And what did the little girl teach Tom? She taught him, first, what you +have been taught ever since you said your first prayers at your mother's +knees; but she taught him much more simply. For the lessons in that +world, my child, have no such hard words in them as the lessons in this, +and therefore the water babies like them better than you like your +lessons, and long to learn them more and more; and grown men cannot +puzzle nor quarrel over their meaning, as they do here on land; for +those lessons all rise clear and pure, out of the everlasting ground of +all life and truth. + +So she taught Tom every day in the week; only on Sundays she always went +away home, and the kind fairy took her place. And before she had taught +Tom many Sundays, his prickles had vanished quite away, and his skin was +smooth and clean again. + +"Dear me!" said the little girl; "why, I know you now. You are the very +same little chimney-sweep who came into my bedroom." + +"Dear me!" cried Tom, "And I know you, too, now. You are the very little +white lady whom I saw in bed." And he jumped at her, and longed to hug +and kiss her; but did not, remembering that she was a lady born; so he +only jumped round and round her till he was quite tired. + +And then they began telling each other all their story--how he had got +into the water, and she had fallen over the rock; and how he had swum +down to the sea, and how she had flown out of the window; and how this, +that, and the other, till it was all talked out. And then they both +began over again, and I can't say which of the two talked fastest. + +And then they set to work at their lessons again, and both liked them so +well that they went on well till seven full years were past and gone. + +You may fancy that Tom was quite content and happy all those seven +years; but the truth is, he was not. He had always one thing on his +mind, and that was--where little Ellie went, when she went home on +Sundays. + +To a very beautiful place, she said. + +But what was the beautiful place like, and where was it? + +Ah! that is just what she could not say. And it is strange, but true, +that no one can say; and that those who have been oftenest in it, or +even nearest to it, can say least about it, and make people understand +least what it is like. + +But the dear, sweet, loving, wise, good, self-sacrificing people, who +really go there, can never tell you anything about it, save that it is +the most beautiful place in all the world; and if you ask them more, +they grow modest, and hold their peace, for fear of being laughed at; +and quite right they are. + +So all that good little Ellie could say was, that it was worth all the +rest of the world put together. And of course that only made Tom the +more anxious to go likewise. + +"Miss Ellie," he said at last, "I will know why I cannot go with you +when you go home on Sundays, or I shall have no peace, and give you none +either." + +"You must ask the fairies that." + +So when the fairy, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, came next, Tom asked her. + +"Little boys who are only fit to play with sea beasts cannot go there," +she said. "THOSE WHO GO THERE MUST GO FIRST WHERE THEY DO NOT LIKE, AND +DO WHAT THEY DO NOT LIKE, AND HELP SOMEBODY THEY DO NOT LIKE." + +"Why, did Ellie do that?" + +"Ask her." + +And Ellie blushed, and said, "Yes, Tom, I did not like coming here at +first; I was so much happier at home, where it is always Sunday. And I +was afraid of you, Tom, at first, because--because--" + +"Because I was all over prickles? But I am not prickly now, am I, Miss +Ellie?" + +"No," said Ellie. "I like you very much now; and I like coming here, +too." + +"And perhaps," said the fairy, "you will learn to like going where you +don't like, and helping some one that you don't like, as Ellie has." + +But Tom put his finger in his mouth, and hung his head down; for he did +not see that at all. + +So when Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby came, Tom asked her; for he thought in +his little head, "She is not so strict as her sister, and perhaps she +may let me off more easily." + +Ah, Tom, Tom, silly fellow! and yet I don't know why I should blame you, +while so many grown people have got the very same notion in their heads. + +But when they try it, they just get the same answer as Tom did. For when +he asked the second fairy, she told him just what the first did, and in +the very same words. + +Tom was very unhappy at that. And when Ellie went home on Sunday, he +fretted and cried all day, and did not care to listen to the fairy's +stories about good children, though they were prettier than ever. +Indeed, the more he overheard of them, the less he liked to listen, +because they were all about children who did what they did not like, and +took trouble for other people, and worked to feed their little brothers +and sisters instead of caring only for their play. And when she began to +tell a story about a holy child in old times, who was martyred by the +heathen because it would not worship idols, Tom could bear no more, and +ran away and hid among the rocks. + +And when Ellie came back, he was shy with her, because he fancied she +looked down on him, and thought him a coward. And then he grew quite +cross with her, because she was superior to him, and did what he could +not do. And poor Ellie was quite surprised and sad; and at last Tom +burst out crying; but he would not tell her what was really in his mind. + +And all the while he was eaten up with curiosity to know where Ellie +went to; so that he began not to care for his playmates, or for the sea +palace or anything else. But perhaps that made matters all the easier +for him; for he grew so discontented with everything round him that he +did not care to stay, and did not care where he went. + +"Well," he said, at last, "I am so miserable here, I'll go, if only you +will go with me." + +"Ah!" said Ellie, "I wish I might; but the worst of it is, that the +fairy says that you must go alone if you go at all. Now don't poke that +poor crab about, Tom" (for he was feeling very naughty and mischievous), +"or the fairy will have to punish you." + +Tom was very near saying, "I don't care if she does;" but he stopped +himself in time. + +"I know what she wants me to do," he said, whining most dolefully. "She +wants me to go after that horrid old Grimes. I don't like him, that's +certain. And if I find him, he will turn me into a chimney-sweep again, +I know. That's what I have been afraid of all along." + +"No, he won't--I know as much as that. Nobody can turn water babies into +sweeps, or hurt them at all, as long as they are good." + +"Ah," said naughty Tom, "I see what you want; you are persuading me all +along to go, because you are tired of me, and want to get rid of me." + +Little Ellie opened her eyes very wide at that, and they were all +brimming over with tears. + +"Oh, Tom, Tom!" she said, very mournfully--and then she cried, "Oh, Tom, +where are you?" + +And Tom cried, "Oh, Ellie, where are you?" + +For neither of them could see the other--not the least. Little Ellie +vanished quite away, and Tom heard her voice calling him, and growing +smaller and smaller, and fainter and fainter, till all was silent. + +Who was frightened then but Tom? He swam up and down among the rocks, +into all the halls and chambers, faster than ever he swam before, but +could not find her. He shouted after her, but she did not answer; he +asked all the other children, but they had not seen her; and at last he +went up to the top of the water and began crying and screaming for Mrs. +Bedonebyasyoudid--which perhaps was the best thing to do, for she came +in a moment. + +"Oh!" said Tom. "Oh dear, oh dear! I have been naughty to Ellie, and I +have killed her--I know I have killed her." + +"Not quite that," said the fairy; "but I have sent her away home, and +she will not come back again for I do not know how long." + +And at that Tom cried bitterly. + +"How cruel of you to send Ellie away!" sobbed Tom. "However, I will find +her again, if I go to the world's end to look for her." + +The fairy did not slap Tom, and tell him to hold his tongue; but she +took him on her lap very kindly, just as her sister would have done; and +put him in mind how it was not her fault, because she was wound up +inside, like watches, and could not help doing things whether she liked +or not. And then she told him how he had been in the nursery long +enough, and must go out now and see the world, if he intended ever to be +a man; and how he must go all alone by himself, as every one else that +ever was born has to go, and see with his own eyes, and smell with his +own nose, and make his own bed and lie on it, and burn his own fingers +if he put them into the fire. And then she told him how many fine things +there were to be seen in the world, and what an odd, curious, pleasant, +orderly, respectable, well-managed, and, on the whole, successful (as, +indeed, might have been expected) sort of a place it was, if people +would only be tolerably brave and honest and good in it; and then she +told him not to be afraid of anything he met, for nothing would harm him +if he remembered all his lessons, and did what he knew was right. And at +last she comforted poor little Tom so much that he was quite eager to +go, and wanted to set out that minute. "Only," he said, "if I might see +Ellie once before I went!" + +"Why do you want that?" + +"Because--because I should be so much happier if I thought she had +forgiven me." + +And in the twinkling of an eye there stood Ellie, smiling, and looking +so happy that Tom longed to kiss her; but was still afraid it would not +be respectful, because she was a lady born. + +"I am going, Ellie!" said Tom. "I am going, if it is to the world's end. +But I don't like going at all, and that's the truth." + +"Pooh! pooh! pooh!" said the fairy. "You will like it very well indeed, +you little rogue, and you know that at the bottom of your heart. But if +you don't I will make you like it. Come here, and see what happens to +people who do only what is pleasant." + +And she took out of one of her cupboards (she had all sorts of +mysterious cupboards in the cracks of the rocks) the most wonderful +water-proof book, full of such photographs as never were seen. For she +had found out photography (and this is a fact) more than 13,598,000 +years before anybody was born; and what is more, her photographs did not +merely represent light and shade, as ours do, but colour also. And +therefore her photographs were very curious and famous, and the children +looked with great delight at the opening of the book. + +And on the title-page was written, "The History of the great and famous +nation of the Doasyoulikes, who came away from the country of Hardwork, +because they wanted to play on the Jew's-harp all day long." + +In the first picture they saw these Doasyoulikes living in the land of +Readymade, at the foot of the Happy-go-lucky Mountains, where flapdoodle +[Footnote: Flapdoodle is the food on which fools are supposed to be +fed.] grows wild; and if you want to know what that is, you must read +Peter Simple. [Footnote: Peter Simple is a novel by Captain Marryat.] + +They were very fond of music, but it was too much trouble to learn the +piano or the violin; and as for dancing, that would have been too great +an exertion. So they sat on ant-hills all day long, and played on the +Jew's-harp; and if the ants bit them, why they just got up and went to +the next anthill, till they were bitten there likewise. + +And they sat under the flapdoodle trees, and let the flapdoodle drop +into their mouths; and under the vines, and squeezed the grape juice +down their throats; and if any little pigs ran about ready roasted, +crying, "Come and eat me," as was their fashion in that country, they +waited till the pigs ran against their mouths, and then took a bite, and +were content, just as so many oysters would have been. + +They needed no weapons, for no enemies ever came near their land; and no +tools, for everything was ready-made to their hand; and the stern old +fairy Necessity never came near them to hunt them up, and make them use +their wits, or die. + +"Well, that is a jolly life," said Tom. + +"You think so?" said the fairy. "Do you see that great peaked mountain +there behind, with smoke coming out of its top?" + +"Yes." + +"And do you see all those ashes, and slag, and cinders lying about?" + +"Yes." + +"Then turn over the next five hundred years, and you will see what +happens next." + +And behold, the mountain had blown up like a barrel of gunpowder, and +then boiled over like a kettle; whereupon one-third of the Doasyoulikes +were blown into the air, and another third were smothered in ashes; so +that there was only one-third left. + +And then she turned over the next five hundred years; and there were the +remnant of the Doasyoulikes, doing as they liked, as before. They were +too lazy to move away from the mountain; so they said, "If it has blown +up once, that is all the more reason that it should not blow up again." +And they were few in number; but they only said, "The more, the merrier, +but the fewer, the better fare." However, that was not quite true; for +all the flapdoodle trees were killed by the volcano, and they had eaten +all the roast pigs, who, of course, could not be expected to have little +ones. So they had to live very hard, on nuts and roots which they +scratched out of the ground with sticks. Some of them talked of sowing +corn, as their ancestors used to do, before they came into the land of +Readymade; but they had forgotten how to make ploughs (they had +forgotten even how to make Jew's-harps by this time), and had eaten all +the seed corn which they had brought out of the land of Hardwork years +since; and of course it was too much trouble to go away and find more. +So they lived miserably on roots and nuts, and all the weakly little +children died. + +"Why," said Tom, "they are growing no better than savages." + +And the fairy turned over the next five hundred years. And there they +were all living up in trees, and making nests to keep off the rain. And +underneath the trees lions were prowling about. + +"Why," said Ellie, "the lions seem to have eaten a good many of them, +for there are very few left now." + +"Yes," said the fairy; "you see, it was only the strongest and most +active ones who could climb the trees, and so escape." + +"But what great, hulking, broad-shouldered chaps they are," said Tom; +"they are a rough lot as ever I saw." + +"Yes, they are getting very strong now; for the ladies will not marry +any but the very strongest and fiercest gentlemen, who can help them up +the trees out of the lions' way." + +And she turned over the next five hundred years. And in that they were +fewer still, and stronger, and fiercer; but their feet had changed shape +very oddly, for they laid hold of the branches with their great toes, as +if they had been thumbs, just as a Hindoo tailor uses his toes to thread +his needle. + +The children were very much surprised, and asked the fairy whether that +was her doing. + +"Yes, and no," she said, smiling. "It was only those who could use their +feet as well as their hands who could get a good living; or, indeed, get +married; so that they got the best of everything, and starved out all +the rest; and those who are left keep up a regular breed of toe-thumb- +men, as a breed of shorthorns, or skye terriers, or fancy pigeons is +kept up." + +"But there is a hairy one among them," said Ellie. + +"Ah!" said the fairy, "that will be a great man in his time, and chief +of all the tribe." + +And when she turned over the next five hundred years, it was true. + +For this hairy chief had had hairy children, and they hairier children +still; and every one wished to marry hairy husbands, and have hairy +children, too; for the climate was growing so damp that none but the +hairy ones could live; all the rest coughed and sneezed, and had sore +throats, and went into consumptions, before they could grow up to be men +and women. + +Then the fairy turned over the next five hundred years. And they were +fewer still. + +"Why, there is one on the ground picking up roots," said Ellie, "and he +cannot walk upright." + +No more he could; for in the same way that the shape of their feet had +altered, the shape of their backs had altered also. + +"Why," cried Tom, "I declare they are all apes." + +"Something fearfully like it, poor foolish creatures," said the fairy. +"They are grown so stupid now, that they can hardly think; for none of +them have used their wits for many hundred years. They have almost +forgotten, too, how to talk. For each stupid child forgot some of the +words it heard from its stupid parents, and had not wits enough to make +fresh words for itself. Beside, they are grown so fierce and suspicious +and brutal that they keep out of each other's way, and mope and sulk in +the dark forests, never hearing each other's voice, till they have +forgotten almost what speech is like. I am afraid they will all be apes +very soon, and all by doing only what they liked." + +And in the next five hundred years they were all dead and gone, by bad +food and wild beasts and hunters; all except one tremendous old fellow +with jaws like a jack, who stood full seven feet high; and M. Du Chaillu +[Footnote: Paul du Chaillu, who was born in 1835, in New Orleans, +Louisiana, made some very remarkable discoveries during his explorations +in Africa--so wonderful, in fact, that people refused to believe them. +He was the first man to observe the habits of gorillas, and to obtain +specimens.] came up to him, and shot him, as he stood roaring and +thumping his breast. And he remembered that his ancestors had once been +men, and tried to say, "Am I not a man and a brother?" but had forgotten +how to use his tongue; and then he tried to call for a doctor, but he +had forgotten the word for one, So all he said was "Ubboboo!" and died. + +And that was the end of the great and jolly nation of the Doasyoulikes. +And when Tom and Ellie came to the end of the book, they looked very sad +and solemn; and they had good reason so to do, for they really fancied +that the men were apes. + +"But could you not have saved them from becoming apes?" said little +Ellie, at last. + +"At first, my dear, if only they would have behaved like men, and set to +work to do what they did not like. But the longer they waited, and +behaved like the dumb beasts, who only do what they like, the stupider +and clumsier they grew; till at last they were past all cure, for they +had thrown their own wits away. It is such things as this that help to +make me so ugly, that I know not when I shall grow fair." + +"And where are they all now?" asked Ellie. + +"Exactly where they ought to be, my dear." + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +"Now," said Tom, "I am ready to be off, if it's to the world's end." + +"Ah!" said the fairy, "that is a brave, good boy. But you must go +farther than the world's end if you want to find Mr. Grimes; for he is +at the Other-end-of-Nowhere. You must go to Shiny Wall, and through the +white gate that never was opened; and then you will come to Peace-pool, +and Mother Carey's Haven, where the good whales go when they die. And +there Mother Carey will tell you the way to the Other-end-of-Nowhere, +and there you will find Mr. Grimes." + +"Oh, dear!" said Tom. "But I do not know my way to Shiny Wall, or where +it is at all." + +"Little boys must take the trouble to find out things for themselves, or +they will never grow to be men; so that you must ask all the beasts in +the sea and the birds in the air, and if you have been good to them, +some of them will tell you the way to Shiny Wall." + +"Well," said Tom, "it will be a long journey, so I had better start at +once. Good-bye, Miss Ellie; you know I am getting a big boy, and I must +go out and see the world." + +"I know you must," said Ellie; "but you will not forget me, Tom. I shall +wait here till you come." + +And she shook hands with him, and bade him good-bye. Tom longed very +much again to kiss her; but he thought it would not be respectful, +considering she was a lady born. So he promised not to forget her; but +his little whirl-about of a head was so full of the notion of going out +to see the world, that it forgot her in five minutes; however, though +his head forgot her, I am glad to say his heart did not. + +[Illustration: Tom looking up at a bird wearing glasses on a boulder.] + +So he asked all the beasts in the sea, and all the birds in the air, but +none of them knew the way to Shiny Wall. For why? He was still too far +down south. But for that there was a remedy. And so he swam northward, +day after day, till at last he met the King of the Herrings, with a +currycomb growing out of his nose, and a sprat in his mouth for a cigar, +and asked him the way to Shiny Wall; so he bolted the sprat head +foremost, and said: + +"If I were you, young gentleman, I should go to the Allalonestone, and +ask the last of the Gairfowl. [Footnote: Gairfoul, or garefowl, was +another name for the great auk. This bird was about thirty inches long, +and its wings were so small in proportion to its body that it could not +fly. There have been no great auks since about the middle of the +nineteenth century.] She is of a very ancient clan, very nearly as +ancient as my own; and knows a good deal which these modern upstarts +don't, as ladies of old houses are likely to do." + +Tom asked his way to her, and the King of the Herrings told him very +kindly, for he was a courteous old gentleman of the old school, though +he was horribly ugly, and strangely bedizened too, like the old dandies +who lounge in clubhouse windows. + +But just as Tom had thanked him and set off, he called after him, "Hi! I +say, can you fly?" + +"I never tried," said Tom. "Why?" + +"Because, if you can, I should advise you to say nothing to the old lady +about it. There; take a hint. Good-bye." + +And away Tom went for seven days and seven nights due northwest, till he +came to a great cod-bank, the like of which he never saw before. + +And there he saw the last of the Gairfowl, standing up on the +Allalonestone, all alone. And a very grand old lady she was, full three +feet high, and bolt upright, like some old Highland chieftainess. She +had on a black velvet gown, and a white pinner and apron, and a very +high bridge to her nose (which is a sure mark of high breeding), and a +large pair of white spectacles on it, which made her look rather odd; +[Footnote: The great auks were dark above and white beneath, and had +huge white spots about their eyes.] but it was the ancient fashion of +her house. + +And instead of wings, she had two little feathery arms, with which she +fanned herself, and complained of the dreadful heat. + +Tom came up to her very humbly, and made his bow; and the first thing +she said was: + +"Have you wings? Can you fly?" + +"Oh, dear, no, ma'am; I should not think of such a thing," said cunning +little Tom. + +"Then I shall have great pleasure in talking to you, my dear. It is +quite refreshing nowadays to see anything without wings. They must all +have wings, forsooth, now, every new upstart sort of bird, and fly. What +can they want with flying, and raising themselves above their proper +station in life? In the days of my ancestors no birds ever thought of +having wings, and did very well without; and now they all laugh at me +because I keep to the good old fashion." + +And so she was running on, while Tom tried to get in a word edgeways; +and at last he did, when the old lady got out of breath, and began +fanning herself again. And then he asked if she knew the way to Shiny +Wall. + +"Shiny Wall? Who should know better than I? We all came from Shiny Wall, +thousands of years ago, when it was decently cold, and the climate was +fit for gentlefolk; but now, we have quite gone down in the world, my +dear, and have nothing left but our honour. And I am the last of my +family. A friend of mine and I came and settled on this rock when we +were young, to be out of the way of low people. Once we were a great +nation, and spread over all the Northern Isles. But men shot us so, and +knocked us on the head and took our eggs--why, if you will believe it, +they say that on the coast of Labrador the sailors used to lay a plank +from the rock on board the thing called their ship, and drive us along +the plank by hundreds, till we tumbled down in the ship's waist in +heaps, and then, I suppose, they ate us, the nasty fellows! Well--but-- +what was I saying? At last, there were none of us left, except on the +old Gairfowlskerry, just off the Iceland coast, up which no man could +climb. Even there we had no peace; for one day, when I was quite a young +girl, the land rocked, and the sea boiled, and the sky grew dark, and +all the air was filled with smoke and dust, and down tumbled the old +Gairfowlskerry into the sea. The dovekies and marrocks, [Footnote: The +dovekies and the marrocks, or marrots, are smaller birds belonging to +the auk family.] of course, all flew away; but we were too proud to do +that. Some of us were dashed to pieces, and the rest drowned, and so +here I am left alone. And soon I shall be gone, my little dear, and +nobody will miss me; and then the poor stone will be left all alone." + +"But, please, which is the way to Shiny Wall?" said Tom. + +"Oh, you must go, my little dear--you must go. Let me see--I am sure-- +that is--really, my poor old brains are getting quite puzzled. Do you +know, my little dear, I am afraid, if you want to know, you must ask +some of these vulgar birds about, for I have quite forgotten." + +And the poor old Gairfowl began to cry tears of pure oil; and Tom was +quite sorry for her, and for himself too, for he was at his wit's end +whom to ask. + +But there came by a flock of petrels, who are Mother Carey's own +chickens; and Tom thought them much prettier than Lady Gairfowl, and so +perhaps they were; for Mother Carey had had a great deal of fresh +experience between the time that she invented the Gairfowl and the time +that she invented them. They flitted along like a flock of black +swallows, and hopped and skipped from wave to wave, lifting up their +little feet behind them so daintily, and whistling to each other so +tenderly, that Tom fell in love with them at once, and called to them to +know the way to Shiny Wall. + +"Shiny Wall? Do you want Shiny Wall? Then come with us, and we will show +you. We are Mother Carey's own chickens, and she sends us out over all +the seas, to show the good birds the way home." + +Tom was delighted, and swam off to them, after he had made his bow to +the Gairfowl. But she would not return his bow, but held herself bolt +upright, and wept tears of oil. + +Then the petrels asked this bird and that whether they would take Tom to +Shiny Wall; but one set was going to Sutherland, and one to the +Shetlands, and one to Norway, and one to Spitzbergen, and one to +Iceland, and one to Greenland; but none would go to Shiny Wall. So the +good-natured petrels said that they would show him part of the way +themselves, but they were only going as far as Jan Mayen's Land; and +after that he must shift for himself. + +On the way, in a wrecked ship Tom found a little black and tan terrier +dog, which began barking and snapping at him, and would not let him come +near. + +Tom knew the dog's teeth could not hurt him; but at least it could shove +him away, and did; and he and the dog fought and struggled, and he did +not want to throw the dog overboard; but as they were struggling, there +came a tall green sea, and walked in over the weather side of the ship, +and swept them both into the waves. + +And the poor little dog? + +Why, after he had kicked and coughed a little, he sneezed so hard, that +he sneezed himself clean out of his skin, and turned into a water dog, +and jumped and danced around Tom, and ran over the crests of the waves, +and snapped at the jellyfish and the mackerel, and followed Tom the +whole way to the Other-end-of-Nowhere. + +Then they went on again, till they began to see the peak of Jan Mayen's +Land, standing up like a white sugar loaf, two miles above the clouds. + +And there they fell in with a whole flock of mollymocks, [Footnote: The +mollymocks, or mallemawks, are petrels, larger than the stormy petrels.] +who were feeding on a dead whale. + +"These are the fellows to show you the way," said Mother Carey's +chickens; "we cannot help you farther north. We don't like to get among +the ice pack, for fear it should nip our toes; but the mollys dare fly +anywhere." + +So the petrels called to the mollys; but they were so busy and greedy, +gobbling and packing and spluttering and fighting over the blubber, that +they did not take the least notice. + +"Come, come," said the petrels, "you lazy, greedy lubbers, this young +gentleman is going to Mother Carey, and if you don't attend to him, you +won't earn your discharge from her, you know." + +"Greedy we are," said a great, fat old molly, "but lazy we ain't; and as +for lubbers, we're no more lubbers than you. Let's have a look at the +lad." + +And he flapped right into Tom's face, and stared at him in the most +impudent way (for the mollys are audacious fellows, as all whalers +know), and then asked him where he hailed from, and what land he sighted +last. + +And when Tom told him, he seemed pleased, and said he was a good plucked +one to have got so far. + +"Come along, lads," he said to the rest, "and give this little chap a +cast over the pack, for Mother Carey's sake. We've eaten blubber enough +for to-day, and we'll e'en work out a bit of our time by helping the +lad." + +So the mollys took Tom up on their backs, and flew off with him, +laughing and joking--and oh, how they did smell of train oil! + +And now they came to the edge of the pack, and beyond it they could see +Shiny Wall looming, through mist, and snow, and storm. But the pack +rolled horribly upon the swell, and the ice giants fought and roared, +and leapt upon each other's backs, and ground each other to powder, so +that Tom was afraid to venture among them, lest he should be ground to +powder too. + +But the good mollys took Tom and his dog up, and flew with them safe +over the pack and the roaring ice giants, and set them down at the foot +of Shiny Wall. + +"And where is the gate?" asked Tom. + +"There is no gate," said the mollys. + +"No gate?" cried Tom, aghast. + +"None; never a crack of one, and that's the whole of the secret, as +better fellows, lad, than you have found to their cost; and if there had +been, they'd have killed by now every right whale [Footnote: A right +whale is a whale which yields much whalebone and much oil; it is so +called because it is the "right" whale to take.] that swims the sea." + +"What am I to do, then?" + +"Dive under the floe, to be sure, if you have pluck," + +"I've not come so far to turn now," said Tom; "so here goes for a +header." + +"A lucky voyage to you, lad," said the mollys; "we knew you were one of +the right sort. So good-bye." "Why don't you come too?" asked Tom. + +But the mollys only wailed sadly, "We can't go yet, we can't go yet," +and flew away over the pack. + +So Tom dived under the great white gate which never was opened yet, and +went on in black darkness, at the bottom of the sea, for seven days and +seven nights. And yet he was not a bit frightened. Why should he be? He +was a brave English lad, whose business is to go out and see all the +world. + +And at last he saw the light, and clear, clear water overhead; and up he +came a thousand fathoms, among clouds of sea moths, which fluttered +round his head. There were moths with pink heads and wings and opal +bodies, that flapped about slowly; moths with brown wings that flapped +about quickly; yellow shrimps that hopped and skipped most quickly of +all; and jellies of all the colours in the world, that neither hopped +nor skipped, but only dawdled and yawned, and would not get out of his +way. The dog snapped at them till his jaws were tired; but Tom hardly +minded them at all, he was so eager to get to the top of the water, and +see the pool where the good whales go. + +And a very large pool it was, miles and miles across, though the air was +so clear that the ice cliffs on the opposite side looked as if they were +close at hand. All round it the ice cliffs rose, in walls and spires and +battlements, and caves and bridges, and stories and galleries, in which +the ice fairies live, and drive away the storms and clouds, that Mother +Carey's pool may lie calm from year's end to year's end. And the sun +acted policeman, and walked round outside every day, peeping just over +the top of the ice wall, to see that all went right; and now and then he +played conjuring tricks, or had an exhibition of fireworks, to amuse the +ice fairies. For he would make himself into four or five suns at once, +or paint the sky with rings and crosses and crescents of white fire, and +stick himself in the middle of them, and wink at the fairies; and I +daresay they were very much amused, for anything's fun in the country. + +And there the good whales lay, the happy, sleepy beasts, upon the still +oily sea. They were all right whales, you must know, and finners, and +razor-backs, and bottle-noses, and spotted sea unicorns with long ivory +horns. But the sperm whales are such raging, ramping, roaring, +rumbustious fellows, that, if Mother Carey let them in, there would be +no more peace in Peacepool. So she packs them away in a great pond by +themselves at the South Pole, two hundred and sixty-three miles south- +southeast of Mount Erebus, the great volcano in the ice; and there they +butt each other with their ugly noses, day and night from year's end to +year's end. + +Tom swam up to the nearest whale, and asked the way to Mother Carey. + +"There she sits in the middle," said the whale. + +Tom looked; but he could see nothing in the middle of the pool but one +peaked iceberg, and he said so. + +"That's Mother Carey," said the whale, "as you will find when you get to +her. There she sits making old beasts into new all the year round." + +"How does she do that?" + +"That's her concern, not mine," said the old whale; and yawned so wide +(for he was very large) that there swam into his mouth 943 sea moths, +13,846 jellyfish no bigger than pins' heads, a string of salpae nine +yards long, and forty-three little ice crabs, who gave each other a +parting pinch all round, tucked their legs under their stomachs, and +determined to die decently, like Julius Caesar. + +"I suppose," said Tom, "she cuts up a great whale like you into a whole +shoal of porpoises?" + +At which the old whale laughed so violently that he coughed up all the +creatures; who swam away again, very thankful at having escaped out of +that terrible whalebone net of his, from which bourne no traveler +returns; and Tom went on to the iceberg, wondering. + +And when he came near it, it took the form of the grandest old lady he +had ever seen--a white marble lady, sitting on a white marble throne. +And from the foot of the throne there swam away, out and out into the +sea, millions of newborn creatures, of more shapes and colours than man +ever dreamed. And they were Mother Carey's children, whom she makes out +of the sea water all day long. + +She sat quite still with her chin upon her hand, looking down into the +sea with two great, grand blue eyes, as blue as the sea itself. Her hair +was as white as the snow, for she was very, very old--in fact, as old as +anything which you are likely to come across, except the difference +between right and wrong. And when she saw Tom, she looked at him very +kindly. + +"What do you want, my little man? It is long since I have seen a water +baby here." + +Tom told her his errand, and asked the way to the Other-end-of-Nowhere. + +"You ought to know yourself, for you have been there already," + +"Have I, ma'am? I'm sure I forgot all about it." + +"Then look at me." + +And as Tom looked into her great blue eyes, he recollected the way +perfectly. + +Now, was not that strange? + +"Thank you, ma'am," said Tom. "Then I won't trouble your ladyship any +more; I hear you are very busy." + +"And now, my pretty little man," said Mother Carey, "you are sure you +know the way to the Other-end-of-Nowhere?" Tom thought; and behold, he +had forgotten it utterly. + +"That is because you took your eyes off me." + +Tom looked at her again, and recollected; and then looked away, and +forgot in an instant. + +"But what am I to do, ma'am? For I can't keep looking at you when I am +somewhere else." + +"You must do without me, as most people have to do, for nine hundred and +ninety-nine thousandths of their lives; and look at the dog instead; for +he knows the way well enough, and will not forget it. Besides, you may +meet some very queer-tempered people there, who will not let you pass +without this passport of mine, which you must hang round your neck and +take care of; and, of course, as the dog will always go behind you, you +must go the whole way backward." + +"Backward!" cried Tom. "Then I shall not be able to see my way." + +"On the contrary, if you look forward, you will not see a step before +you, and be certain to go wrong; but if you look behind you, and watch +carefully whatever you have passed, and especially keep your eye on the +dog, who goes by instinct, and therefore can't go wrong, then you will +know what is coming next, as plainly as if you saw it in a looking- +glass." + +Tom was very much astonished; but he obeyed her, for he had learnt +always to believe what the fairies told him. + +Tom was very sorely tried; for though, by keeping the dog to heels (or +rather to toes, for he had to walk backward), he could see pretty well +which way the dog was hunting, yet it was much slower work to go +backwards than to go forwards. + +But I am proud to say that, though Tom had not been to Cambridge--for if +he had he would have certainly been senior wrangler--he was such a +little dogged, hard, gnarly, foursquare brick of an English boy, that he +never turned his head round once all the way from Peacepool to the +Other-end-of-Nowhere; but kept his eye on the dog, and let him pick out +the scent, hot or cold, straight or crooked, wet or dry, up hill or down +dale; by which means he never made a mistake, or had to retrace a single +step. + + + +CHAPTER VIII AND LAST + + +Now, as soon as Tom had left Peacepool, he came to the white lap of the +great sea mother, ten thousand fathoms deep; where she makes world-pap +all day long, for the steam giants to knead, and the fire giants to +bake, till it has risen and hardened into mountain-loaves and island- +cakes. + +And there Tom was very near being kneaded up in the world-pap, and +turned into a fossil water baby; which would have astonished the +Geological Society of New Zealand some hundreds of thousands of years +hence. + +For as he walked along in the silence of the sea twilight, on the soft +white ocean floor, he was aware of a hissing, and a roaring, and a +thumping, and a pumping, as of all the steam engines in the world at +once. And when he came near, the water grew boiling hot; not that that +hurt him in the least; but it also grew as foul as gruel; and every +moment he stumbled over dead shells, and fish, and sharks, and seals, +and whales, which had been killed by the hot water. + +And at last he came to the great sea serpent himself, lying dead at the +bottom; and as he was too thick to scramble over, Tom had to walk round +him three quarters of a mile and more, which put him out of his path +sadly; and when he had got round, he came to the place called Stop. And +there he stopped, and just in time. + +For he was on the edge of a vast hole in the bottom of the sea, up which +was rushing and roaring clear steam enough to work all the engines in +the world at once; so clear, indeed, that it was quite light at moments, +and Tom could see almost up to the top of the water above, and down +below into the pit for nobody knows how far. + +But as soon as he bent his head over the edge, he got such a rap on the +nose from pebbles, that he jumped back again; for the steam, as it +rushed up, rasped away the sides of the hole, and hurled it up into the +sea in a shower of mud and gravel and ashes; and then it spread all +around, and sank again, and covered in the dead fish so fast, that +before Tom had stood there five minutes he was buried in silt up to his +ankles, and began to be afraid that he should have been buried alive. + +And perhaps he would have been, but that while he was thinking, the +whole piece of ground on which he stood was torn up and blown upwards, +and away flew Tom a mile up through the sea, wondering what was coming +next. + +At last he stopped--thump! and found himself tight in the legs of the +most wonderful bogy which he had ever seen. + +It had I don't know how many wings, as big as the sails of a windmill, +and spread out in a ring like them; and with them it hovered over the +steam which rushed up, as a ball hovers over the top of a fountain. And +for every wing before it had a leg below, with a claw like a comb at the +tip, and a nostril at the root; and in the middle it had no stomach and +one eye; and as for its mouth, that was all on one side, as the +madreporiform tubercle in a starfish is. Well, it was a very strange +beast; but no stranger than some dozens which you may see. + +"What do you want here," it cried quite peevishly, "getting in my way?" +and it tried to drop Tom; but he held on tight to its claws, thinking +himself safer where he was. + +So Tom told him who he was, and what his errand was. And the thing +winked its one eye, and sneered: + +"I am too old to be taken in in that way. You are come after gold--I +know you are." + +"Gold! What is gold!" And really Tom did not know; but the suspicious +old bogy would not believe him. + +But after a while Tom began to understand a little. For, as the vapours +came up out of the hole, the bogy smelt them with his nostrils, and +combed them and sorted them with his combs; and then, when they steamed +up through them against his wings, they were changed into showers and +streams of metal. From one wing fell gold dust, and from another silver, +and from another copper, and from another tin, and from another lead, +and so on, and sank into the soft mud, into veins and cracks, and +hardened there. Whereby it comes to pass that the rocks are full of +metal. + +But, all of a sudden, somebody shut off the steam below, and the hole +was left empty in an instant; and then down rushed the water into the +hole, in such a whirlpool that the bogy spun round and round as fast as +a teetotum. But that was all in his day's work, like a fair fall with +the hounds; so all he did was to say to Tom: + +"Now is your time, youngster, to get down, if you are in earnest, which +I don't believe." + +"You'll soon see," said Tom; and away he went, as bold as Baron +Munchausen, and shot down the rushing cataract like a salmon at +Ballisodare. + +And when he got to the bottom, he swam till he was washed on shore safe +upon the Other-end-of-Nowhere; and he found it, to his surprise, as most +other people do, much more like This-end-of-Somewhere than he had been +in the habit of expecting. + +There Tom saw ploughs drawing horses, nails driving hammers, birds' +nests taking boys, books making authors, bulls keeping china shops, +monkeys shaving cats, dead dogs drilling live lions, and, in short, +every one set to do something which he had not learnt, because in what +he had learnt, or pretended to learn, he had failed. + +On the borders of that island he found Gotham, where the wise men live; +the same who dragged the pond because the moon had fallen into it, and +planted a hedge round the cuckoo, to keep spring all the year. And he +found them bricking up the town gate, because it was so wide that little +folks could not get through. + +So he went on, for it was no business of his; only he could not help +saying that in his country if the kitten could not get in at the same +hole as the cat, she might stay outside and mew. + +Then Tom came to a very famous island, which was called, in the days of +the great traveler Captain Gulliver, the Isle of Laputa. [Footnote: +Swift describes, in Gulliver's Travels, a flying island, called Laputa. +The inhabitants were quacks, so absorbed in their false science that +they had eyes and ears for nothing else, and were therefore followed +about by servants who "flapped" them with a blown-up bladder, when they +were expected to hear or to see or to say anything.] But Mrs. +Bedonebyasyoudid has named it over again, the Isle of Tomtoddies, all +heads and no bodies. + +And when Tom came near it, he heard such a grumbling and grunting and +growling and wailing and weeping and whining that he thought people must +be ringing little pigs, or cropping puppies' ears, or drowning kittens; +but when he came nearer still, he began to hear words among the noise; +which was the Tomtoddies' song which they sing morning and evening, and +all night too, to their great idol Examination-- + +"I CAN'T LEARN MY LESSON; THE EXAMINER'S COMING!" + +And that was the only song which they knew. + +And when Tom got on shore the first thing he saw was a great pillar, on +one side of which was inscribed, "Playthings not allowed here;" at which +he was so shocked that he would not stay to see what was written on the +other side. Then he looked round for the people of the island; but +instead of men, women, and children, he found nothing but turnips and +radishes, beets and mangold wurzel, without a single green leaf among +them, and half of them burst and decayed, with toadstools growing out of +them. Those which were left began crying to Tom, in half a dozen +different languages at once, and all of them badly spoken, "I can't +learn my lesson; do come and help me!" + +"And what good on earth would it do you if I did help you?" quoth Tom. + +Well, they didn't know that; all they knew was the examiner was coming. + +Then Tom stumbled on the hugest and softest nimblecomequick turnip you +ever saw filling a hole in a crop of swedes, and it cried to him, "Can +you tell me anything at all about anything you like?" + +"About what?" says Tom. + +"About anything you like; for as fast as I learn things I forget them +again. So my mamma says that my intellect is not adapted for methodic +science, and says that I must go in for general information." + +Tom told him that he did not know general information, nor any officers +in the army; only he had a friend once that went for a drummer; but he +could tell him a great many strange things which he had seen in his +travels. + +So he told him prettily enough, while the poor turnip listened very +carefully; and the more he listened, the more he forgot, and the more +water ran out of him. + +Tom thought he was crying; but it was only his poor brains running away, +from being worked so hard; and as Tom talked, the unhappy turnip +streamed down all over with juice, and split and shrank till nothing was +left of him but rind and water; whereat Tom ran away in a fright, for he +thought he might be taken up for killing the turnip. + +But, on the contrary, the turnip's parents were highly delighted, and +considered him a saint and a martyr, and put up a long inscription over +his tomb about his wonderful talents, early development, and +unparalleled precocity. Were they not a foolish couple? But there was +still a more foolish couple next to them, who were beating a wretched +little radish, no bigger than my thumb, for sullenness and obstinacy and +wilful stupidity, and never knew that the reason why it couldn't learn +or hardly even speak was, that there was a great worm inside it eating +out all its brains. But even they are no foolisher than some hundred +score of papas and mammas, who fetch the rod when they ought to fetch a +new toy, and send to the dark cupboard instead of to the doctor. + +Tom was so puzzled and frightened with all he saw, that he was longing +to ask the meaning of it; and at last he stumbled over a respectable old +stick lying half covered with earth. But a very stout and worthy stick +it was, for it belonged to good Roger Ascham [Footnote: Roger Ascham was +a famous English scholar and writer of the sixteenth century. He was +teacher of languages to Princess, afterward Queen, Elizabeth, and later, +was Latin secretary to both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.] in old +time. + +"You see," said the stick, "they were as pretty little children once as +you could wish to see, and might have been so still if they had been +only left to grow up like human beings, and then handed over to me; but +their foolish fathers and mothers, instead of letting them pick flowers, +and make dirt-pies, and get birds' nests, and dance round the gooseberry +bush, as little children should, kept them always at lessons, working, +working, working, learning week-day lessons all week-days, and Sunday +lessons all Sunday, and weekly examinations every Saturday, and monthly +examinations every month, and yearly examinations every year, everything +seven times over, as if once was not enough, and enough as good as a +feast--till their brains grew big, and their bodies grew small, and they +were all changed into turnips, with little but water inside; and still +their foolish parents actually pick the leaves off them as fast as they +grow, lest they should have anything green about them." + +"Ah!" said Tom, "if Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby knew of it she would send +them a lot of tops, and balls, and marbles, and nine-pins, and make them +all as jolly as sand-boys." + +"It would be no use," said the stick. "They can't play now, if they +tried. Don't you see how their legs have turned to roots and grown into +the ground, by never taking any exercise, but sapping and moping always +in the same place. + +"But here comes the Examiner-of-all-Examiners. So you had better get +away, I warn you, or he will examine you and your dog into the bargain, +and set him to examine all the other dogs, and you to examine all the +other water babies. There is no escaping out of his hands, for his nose +is nine thousand miles long, and can go down chimneys, and through +keyholes, upstairs, downstairs, in my lady's chamber, examining all +little boys, and the little boys' tutors likewise. But when he is +thrashed--so Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid has promised me--I shall have the +thrashing of him; and if I don't lay it on with a will it's a pity." + +Tom went off, but rather slowly and surlily; for he was somewhat minded +to face this same Examiner-of-all-Examiners, who came striding among the +poor turnips, binding heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and laying +them on little children's shoulders, like the Scribes and Pharisees of +old, and not touching the same with one of his fingers; for he had +plenty of money, and a fine house to live in; which was more than the +poor turnips had. + +And next he came to Oldwisefabledom, where the folks were all heathens, +and worshipped a howling ape. + +And there he found a little boy sitting in the middle of the road, and +crying bitterly. + +"What are you crying for?" said Tom. + +"Because I am not so frightened as I could wish to be." + +"Not frightened? You are a queer little chap; but, if you want to be +frightened, here goes--Boo!" + +"Ah," said the little boy, "that is very kind of you; but I don't feel +that it has made any impression." + +Tom offered to upset him, punch him, stamp on him, fettle him over the +head with a brick, or anything else whatsoever which would give him the +slightest comfort. + +But he only thanked Tom very civilly, in fine long words which he had +heard other folk use, and which, therefore, he thought were fit and +proper to use himself; and cried on till his papa and mamma came. + +Then Tom came to a very quiet place, called Leaveheavenalone. And there +the sun was drawing water out of the sea to make steam-threads, and the +wind was twisting them up to make cloud-patterns, till they had worked +between them the loveliest wedding veil of Chantilly lace, and hung it +up in their own Crystal Palace for any one to buy who could afford it; +while the good old sea never grudged, for she knew they would pay her +back honestly. So the sun span, and the wind wove, and all went well +with the great steam loom; as is likely, considering--and considering-- +and considering--- + +And at last, after innumerable adventures, each more wonderful than the +last, Tom saw before him a huge building. + +He walked towards it, wondering what it was, and having a strange fancy +that he might find Mr. Grimes inside it, till he saw running toward him, +and shouting "Stop!" three or four people, who, when they came nearer, +were nothing else than policemen's truncheons, running along without +legs or arms. + +Tom was not astonished. He was long past that. Neither was he +frightened; for he had been doing no harm. + +So he stopped; and when the foremost truncheon came up and asked his +business, he showed Mother Carey's pass; and the truncheon looked at it +in the oddest fashion; for he had one eye in the middle of his upper +end, so that when he looked at anything, being quite stiff, he had to +slope himself, and poke himself, till it was a wonder why he did not +tumble over; but, being quite full of the spirit of justice (as all +policemen, and their truncheons, ought to be), he was always in a +position of stable equilibrium, whichever way he put himself. + +"All right--pass on," said he at last. And then he added: "I had better +go with you, young man." And Tom had no objection, for such company was +both respectable and safe; so the truncheon coiled its thong neatly +round its handle, to prevent tripping itself up--for the thong had got +loose in running--and marched on by Tom's side. + +"Why have you no policeman to carry you?" asked Tom after a while. + +"Because we are not like those clumsy-made truncheons in the land world, +which cannot go with-out having a whole man to carry them about. We do +our own work for ourselves; and do it very well, though I say it who +should not." + +"Then why have you a thong to your handle?" asked Tom. + +"To hang ourselves up by, of course, when we are off duty." + +Tom had got his answer, and had no more to say, till they came up to the +great iron door of the prison. And there the truncheon knocked twice, +with its own head. + +A wicket in the door opened, and out looked a tremendous old brass +blunderbuss charged up to the muzzle with slugs, who was the porter; and +Tom started back a little at the sight of him. + +"What case is this?" he asked in a deep voice, out of his broad bell +mouth. + +"If you please, sir, it is no case; only a young gentleman from her +ladyship, who wants to see Grimes, the master sweep." + +"Grimes?" said the blunderbuss. And he pulled in his muzzle, perhaps to +look over his prison lists. + +"Grimes is up chimney No. 345," he said from inside. "So the young +gentleman had better go on to the roof." + +Tom looked up at the enormous wall, which seemed at least ninety miles +high, and wondered how he should ever get up; but when he hinted that to +the truncheon, it settled the matter in a moment. For it whisked round, +and gave him such a shove behind as sent him up to the roof in no time, +with his little dog under his arm. + +And there he walked along the leads, till he met another truncheon, and +told him his errand. + +"Very good," it said. "Come along; but it will be of no use. He is the +most unremorseful, hard-hearted, foul-mouthed fellow I have in charge; +and thinks about nothing but beer and pipes, which are not allowed here, +of course." + +So they walked along over the leads, and very sooty they were, and Tom +thought the chimneys must want sweeping very much. But he was surprised +to see that the soot did not stick to his feet, or dirty them in the +least. Neither did the live coals, which were lying about in plenty, +burn him; for he was a water baby. + +And at last they came to chimney No. 345. Out of the top of it, his head +and shoulders just showing, stuck poor Mr. Grimes, so sooty, and +bleared, and ugly, that Tom could hardly bear to look at him. And in his +mouth was a pipe; but it was not alight, though he was pulling at it +with all his might. + +"Attention, Mr. Grimes," said the truncheon; "here is a gentleman come +to see you." + +But Mr. Grimes only said bad words, and kept grumbling, "My pipe won't +draw. My pipe won't draw." + +"Keep a civil tongue, and attend!" said the truncheon; and popped up +just like Punch, hitting Grimes such a crack over the head with itself, +that his brains rattled inside like a dried walnut in its shell. He +tried to get his hands out, and rub the place; but he could not, for +they were stuck fast in the chimney. Now he was forced to attend. + +"Hey!" he said, "why, it's Tom! I suppose you have come here to laugh at +me, you spiteful little atomy?" + +Tom assured him he had not, but only wanted to help him. + +"I don't want anything except beer, and that I can't get; and a light to +this bothering pipe, and that I can't get either." + +"I'll get you one," said Tom; and he took up a live coal (there were +plenty lying about) and put it to Grimes' pipe; but it went out +instantly. + +"It's no use," said the truncheon, leaning itself up against the chimney +and looking on. "I tell you, it is no use. His heart is so cold that it +freezes everything that comes near him, You will see that presently, +plain enough." + +"Oh, of course, it's my fault. Everything's always my fault," said +Grimes. "Now don't go to hit me again" (for the truncheon started +upright, and looked very wicked); "you know, if my arms were only free, +you daren't hit me then." + +The truncheon leant back against the chimney, and took no notice of the +personal insult, like a well-trained policeman as it was, though it was +ready enough to avenge any transgression against morality or order. + +"But can't I help you in any other way? Can't I help you to get out of +this chimney?" said Tom. + +"No," interposed the truncheon; "he has come to the place where +everybody must help himself; and he will find it out, I hope, before he +has done with me." + +"Oh, yes," said Grimes, "of course it's me. Did I ask to be brought here +into the prison? Did I ask to be set to sweep your foul chimneys? Did I +ask to have lighted straw put under me to make me go up? Did I ask to +stick fast in the very first chimney of all, because it was so +shamefully clogged up with soot? Did I ask to stay here--I don't know +how long--a hundred years, I do believe, and never get my pipe, nor my +beer, nor nothing fit for a beast, let alone a man?" + +"No," answered a solemn voice behind. "No more did Tom, when you behaved +to him in the very same way." + +It was Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid. And when the truncheon saw her, it started +bolt upright--Attention!--and made such a low bow, that if it had not +been full of the spirit of justice, it must have tumbled on its end, and +probably hurt its one eye. And Tom made his bow too. + +"Oh, ma'am," he said, "don't think about me; that's all past and gone, +and good times and bad times and all times pass over. But may not I help +poor Mr. Grimes? Mayn't I try and get some of these bricks away, that he +may move his arms?" + +"You may try, of course," she said. + +So Tom pulled and tugged at the bricks, but he could not move one. And +then he tried to wipe Mr. Grimes' face, but the soot would not come off. + +"Oh, dear!" he said. "I have come all this way, through all these +terrible places, to help you, and now I am of no use at all." + +"You had best leave me alone," said Grimes; "you are a good-natured, +forgiving little chap, and that's truth; but you'd best be off. The +hail's coming on soon, and it will beat the eyes out of your little +head." + +"What hail?" + +"Why, hail that falls every evening here; and till it comes close to me, +it's like so much warm rain; but then it comes to hail over my head, and +knocks me about like small shot." + +"That hail will never come any more," said the strange lady. "I have +told you before what it was. It was your mother's tears, those which she +shed when she prayed for you by her bedside; but your cold heart froze +it into hail. But she is gone to heaven now, and will weep no more for +her graceless son." + +Then Grimes was silent awhile; and then he looked very sad. + +"So my old mother's gone, and I never there to speak to her! Ah! a good +woman she was, and might have been a happy one, in her little school +there in Vendale, if it hadn't been for me and my bad ways." + +"Did she keep the school at Vendale?" asked Tom. And then he told Grimes +all the story of his going to her house, and how she could not abide the +sight of a chimney-sweep, and then how kind she was, and how he turned +into a water baby. + +"Ah!" said Grimes, "good reason she had to hate the sight of a chimney- +sweep. I ran away from her and took up with the sweeps, and never let +her know where I was, nor sent her a penny to help her, and now it's too +late--too late!" said Mr. Grimes. + +And he began crying and blubbering like a great baby, till his pipe +dropped out of his mouth, and broke all to bits. + +"Oh, dear, if I was but a little chap in Vendale again, to see the clear +beck, and the apple orchard, and the yew hedge, how different I would go +on! But it's too late now. So you go along, you kind little chap, and +don't stand to look at a man crying, that's old enough to be your +father, and never feared the face of man, nor of worse neither. But I'm +beat now, and beat I must be. I've made my bed, and I must lie on it. +Foul I would be, and foul I am. as an Irishwoman said to me once; and +little I heeded it. It's all my own fault: but it's too late." And he +cried so bitterly that Tom began crying too. + +"Never too late," said the fairy, in such a strange soft, new voice that +Tom looked up at her; and she was so beautiful for the moment, that Tom +half fancied she was her sister. + +No more was it too late. For as poor Grimes cried and blubbered on, his +own tears did what his mother's could not do, and Tom's could not do, +and nobody's on earth could do for him; for they washed the soot off his +face and off his clothes; and then they washed the mortar away from +between the bricks; and the chimney crumbled down; and Grimes began to +get out of it. + +Up jumped the truncheon, and was going to hit him on the crown a +tremendous thump, and drive him down again like a cork into a bottle. +But the strange lady put it aside. + +"Will you obey me if I give you a chance?" + +"As you please, ma'am. You're stronger than me--that I know too well, +and wiser than me, I know too well also. And as for being my own master, +I've fared ill enough with that as yet. So whatever your ladyship +pleases to order me; for I'm beat, and that's the truth." + +"Be it so then--you may come out. But remember, disobey me again, and +into a worse place still you go." + +"I beg pardon, ma'am, but I never disobeyed you that I know of. I never +had the honour of setting eyes upon you till I came to these ugly +quarters." + +"Never saw me? Who said to you, 'Those that will, be foul, foul they +will be'?" + +Grimes looked up; and Tom looked up too; for the voice was that of the +Irishwoman who met them the day that they went out together to +Harthover. "I gave you your warning then, but you gave it yourself a +thousand times before and since. Every bad word that you said--every +cruel and mean thing that you did--every time that you got tipsy--every +day that you went dirty--you were disobeying me, whether you knew it or +not." + +"If I'd only known, ma'am---" + +"You knew well enough that you were disobeying something, though you did +not know it was me. But come out and take your chance. Perhaps it may be +your last." + +So Grimes stepped out of the chimney, and really, if it had not been for +the scars on his face, he looked as clean and respectable as a master +sweep need look. + +"Take him away," she said to the truncheon, "and give him his ticket of +leave." + +"And what is he to do, ma'am?" + +"Get him to sweep out the crater of Etna; he will find some very steady +men working out their time there, who will teach him his business: but +mind, if that crater gets choked again, and there is an earthquake in +consequence, bring them all to me, and I shall investigate the case very +severely." + +So the truncheon marched off Mr. Grimes, looking as meek as a drowned +worm. + +And for aught I know, or do not know, he is sweeping the crater of Etna +to this very day. + +"And now," said the fairy to Tom, "your work here is done. You may as +well go back again." + +"I should he glad enough to go," said Tom, "but how am I to get up that +great hole again, now the steam has stopped blowing?" + +"I will take you up the back stairs, but I must bandage your eyes first; +for I never allow anybody to see those back stairs of mine." + +"I am sure I shall not tell anybody about them, ma'am, if you bid me +not." + +"Aha! So you think, my little man. But you would soon forget your +promise if you got back into the land world. I never put things into +little folks' heads which are but too likely to come there of +themselves. So come--now I must bandage your eyes." + +So she tied the bandage on his eyes with one hand, and with the other +she took it off. + +"Now," she said, "you are safe up the stairs." Tom opened his eyes very +wide, and his mouth, too; for he had not, as he thought, moved a single +step. But, when he looked round him, there could be no doubt that he was +safe up the back stairs, whatsoever they may be, which no man is going +to tell you, for the plain reason that no man knows. + +The first thing which Tom saw was the black cedars, high and sharp +against the rosy dawn; and Saint Brandan's Isle reflected double in the +still, broad, silver sea. The wind sang softly in the cedars, and the +water sang among the caves: the sea birds sang as they streamed out into +the ocean, and the land birds as they built among the boughs; and the +air was so full of song that it stirred Saint Brandan and her hermits, +as they slumbered in the shade; and they moved their good old lips, and +sang their morning hymn amid their dreams. But among all the songs one +came across the water more sweet and clear than all; for it was the song +of a young girl's voice. + +And what was the song which she sang? Ah, my little man, I am too old to +sing that song, and you too young to understand it. But have patience, +and keep your eye single, and your hands clean, and you will learn some +day to sing it yourself, without needing any man to teach you. + +And as Tom neared the island, there sat upon a rock the most graceful +creature that ever was seen, looking down, with her chin upon her hand, +and paddling with her feet in the water. And when they came to her she +looked up, and behold, it was Ellie. + +"Oh, Miss Ellie," said he, "how you are grown!" + +"Oh, Tom," said she, "how you are grown, too!" + +And no wonder; they were both quite grown up--he into a tall man, and +she into a beautiful woman. + +"Perhaps I may be grown," she said. "I have had time enough; for I have +been sitting here waiting for you many a hundred years, till I thought +you were never coming." + +"Many a hundred years?" thought Tom; but he had seen so much in his +travels that he had quite given up being astonished; and, indeed, he +could think of nothing but Ellie. So he stood and looked at Ellie, and +Ellie looked at him; and they liked the employment so much that they +stood and looked for seven years more, and neither spoke nor stirred. + +At last they heard the fairy say, "Attention, children. Are you never +going to look at me again?" + +"We have been looking at you all this while," they said. And so they +thought they had been. + +"Then look at me once more," she said. + +They looked--and both of them cried out at once, "Oh, who are you, after +all?" + +"You are our dear Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby." + +"No, you are good Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid; but you are grown quite +beautiful now!" + +"To you," said the fairy. "But look again." + +"You are Mother Carey," said Tom, in a very low, solemn voice; for he +had found out something which made him very happy, and yet frightened +him more than all that he had ever seen. + +"But you are grown quite young again." + +"To you," said the fairy. "Look again." + +"You are the Irishwoman who met me the day I went to Harthover!" + +And when they looked she was neither of them, and yet all of them at +once. + +"My name is written in my eyes, if you have eyes to see it there." + +And they looked into her great, deep, soft eyes, and they changed again +and again into every hue, as the light changes in a diamond. + +"Now read my name," said she, at last. + +And her eyes flashed, for one moment, clear, white, blazing light; but +the children could not read her name; for they were dazzled, and hid +their faces in their hands. + +"Not yet, young things, not yet," said she, smiling; and then she turned +to Ellie. + +"You may take him home with you now on Sundays, Ellie. He has won his +spurs in the great battle, and become fit to go with you and be a man, +because he has done the thing he did not like." + +So Tom went home with Ellie on Sundays, and sometimes on week-days, too; +and he is now a great man of science, and can plan railroads, and steam +engines, and electric telegraphs, and rifled guns, and so forth; and +knows everything about everything, except why a hen's egg doesn't turn +into a crocodile, and two or three other little things. And all this +from what he learnt when he was a water baby, underneath the sea. + +"And of course Tom married Ellie?" + +My dear child, what a silly notion! Don't you know that no one ever +marries in a fairy tale, under the rank of a prince or a princess? + +"And Tom's dog?" + +Oh, you may see him any clear night in July; for the old dog star was so +worn out by the last three hot summers that there have been no dog days +since; so that they had to take him down and put Tom's dog up in his +place. Therefore, as new brooms sweep clean, we may hope for some warm +weather this year. And that is the end of my story. + + + +MORAL + +And now, my dear little man, what should we learn from this parable? + +We should learn thirty-seven or thirty-nine things, I am not exactly +sure which; but one thing, at least, we may learn, and that is this-- +when we see efts in the pond, never to throw stones at them, or catch +them with crooked pins. For these efts are nothing else but the water +babies who are stupid and dirty, and will not learn their lessons and +keep themselves clean; and therefore, their skulls grow flat, their jaws +grow out, and their brains grow small, and their tails grow long, and +their skins grow dirty and spotted, and they never get into the clear +rivers, much less into the great wide sea, but hang about in dirty +ponds, and live in the mud, and eat worms, as they deserve to do. + +But that is no reason why you should ill-use them; but only why you +should pity them, and be kind to them, and hope that some day they will +wake up, and be ashamed of their nasty, dirty, lazy, stupid life, and +try to amend, and become something better once more. For, perhaps, if +they do so, then after 379,423 years, nine months, thirteen days, two +hours, and twenty-one minutes, if they work very hard and wash very hard +all that time, their brains may grow bigger, and their jaws grow +smaller, and their tails wither off, and they will turn into water +babies again, and perhaps after that into land babies; and after that +perhaps into grown men. + +Meanwhile, do you learn your lessons, and thank God that you have plenty +of cold water to wash in; and wash in it too, like a true Englishman. +And then, if my story is not true, something better is; and if I am not +quite right, still you will be, as long as you stick to hard work and +cold water. + +But remember always, as I told you at first, that this is all a fairy +tale, and only fun and pretence; and, therefore, you are not to believe +a word of it, even if it is true. + + + + +THE MILKMAID + +By Jeffreys Taylor + + +A milkmaid, who poised a full pail on her head, +Thus mused on her prospects in life, it is said: +"Let me see,--I should think that this milk will procure +One hundred good eggs, or fourscore, to be sure. + +"Well then,--stop a bit,--it must not be forgotten, +Some of these may be broken, and some may be rotten; +But if twenty for accident should be detached, +It will leave me just sixty sound eggs to be hatched. + +"Well, sixty sound eggs,--no, sound chickens, I mean: +Of these some may die,--we'll suppose seventeen; +Seventeen! not so many,--say ten at the most, +Which will leave fifty chickens to boil or to roast. + +"But then there's their barley; how much will they need? +Why, they take but one grain at a time when they feed,-- +So that's a mere trifle; now then, let us see, +At a fair market price how much money there'll be. + +"Six shillings a pair--five--four--three-and-six-- +To prevent all mistakes, that low price I will fix; +Now what will that make? fifty chickens, I said,-- +Fifty times three-and-sixpence--I'LL ASK BROTHER NED. + +"Oh, but stop,--three-and-sixpence a PAIR I must sell 'em; +Well, a pair is a couple,--now then let us tell 'em; +A couple in fifty will go (my poor brain!) +Why, just a score times, and five pair will remain. + +"Twenty-five pair of fowls--now how tiresome it is +That I can't reckon up so much money as this! +Well, there's no use in trying, so let's give a guess,-- +I'll say twenty pounds, AND IT CAN'T BE NO LESS. + +"Twenty pounds, I am certain, will buy me a cow, +Thirty geese, and two turkeys,--eight pigs and a sow; +Now if these turn out well, at the end of the year, +I shall fill both my pockets with guineas, 'tis clear." + +Forgetting her burden, when this she had said, +The maid superciliously tossed up her head: +When, alas for her prospects! her milk-pail descended, +And so all her schemes for the future were ended. + +This moral, I think, may be safely attached,-- +"Reckon not on your chickens before they are hatched." + + +This amusing little poem may be made to seem even funnier if we stop to +think what an absurd little milkmaid she really was! Let us ask +ourselves a few questions: + +How many quarts of milk were probably in the pail? How many dozen eggs +in a hundred? What is milk worth a quart? What are eggs worth a dozen? +Was she carrying enough milk to buy a hundred, or even fourscore, good +eggs? + +Does a farmer count on having sixty out of eighty eggs hatch +successfully? If he has sixty chickens hatched, can he count with +certainty on fifty growing big enough to boil or roast? + +Is it true that the cost of the grain to feed them is a mere trifle? + +How much is an English shilling in our money? Is a dollar and a half a +pair too much to expect for good chickens? Is eighty-seven and a half +cents too small a price for a pair? Is twenty pounds too much or too +little for twenty-five pairs of chickens at three shillings and sixpence +per pair? + +If she could get twenty pounds for her chickens, could she buy a cow, +thirty geese, two turkeys and a sow with a litter of eight pigs for the +money? + + + + +HOLGER DANSKE + +By Hans Christian Andersen + + +NOTE.--The first paragraphs of this story contain an old Danish legend +which Hans Christian Andersen uses very skilfully. We can imagine that +the story would mean a great deal more to boys of Denmark than it does +to us, for they would be a great deal more familiar with the people +referred to than we are; but there is so much in the story that is not +confined to Denmark, and it is told in such a fascinating way, that even +the boys of the United States will find it interesting. + +In Denmark there lies a castle named Kronenburgh. It lies close by the +Oer Sound, where the ships pass through by hundreds every day--English, +Russian, and likewise Prussian ships. And they salute the old castle +with cannons--'Boom!' And the castle answers with a 'Boom!' for that's +what the cannons say instead of 'Good day' and 'Thank you!' In winter no +ships sail there, for the whole sea is covered with ice quite across to +the Swedish coast; but it has quite the look of a highroad. There wave +the Danish flag and the Swedish flag, and Danes and Swedes say 'Good +day' and 'Thank you!' to each other, not with cannons, but with a +friendly grasp of the hand; and one gets white bread and biscuits from +the other--for strange fare tastes best. + +"But the most beautiful of all is the old Kronenburgh; and here it is +that Holger Danske sits in the deep, dark cellar, where nobody goes. He +is clad in iron and steel, and leans his head on his strong arm; his +long beard hangs down over the marble table, and has grown into it. He +sleeps and dreams, but in his dreams he sees everything that happens up +there in Denmark. Every Christmas Eve comes an angel, and tells him that +what he has dreamed is right, and that he may go to sleep in quiet, for +that Denmark is not yet in any real danger; but when once such a danger +comes, then old Holger Danske will rouse himself, so that the table +shall burst when he draws out his beard! Then he will come forth and +strike, so that it shall be heard in all the countries in the world." + +An old grandfather sat and told his little grandson all this about +Holger Danske; and the little boy knew that what his grandfather told +him was true. And while the old man sat and told his story, he carved an +image which was to represent Holger Danske, and to be fastened to the +prow of a ship; for the old grandfather was a carver of figureheads, +that is, one who cuts out the figures fastened to the front of ships, +from which every ship is named. And here he had cut out Holger Danske, +who stood there proudly with his long beard, and held the broad battle- +sword in one hand, while with the other he leaned upon the Danish arms. + +And the old grandfather told him so much about distinguished men and +women, that it appeared at last to the little grandson as if he knew as +much as Holger Danske himself, who, after all, could only dream; and +when the little fellow was in his bed, he thought so much of it, that he +actually pressed his chin against the coverlet, and fancied he had a +long beard that had grown fast to it. + +But the old grandfather remained sitting at his work, and carved away at +the last part of it; and this was the Danish coat of arms. When he had +finished, he looked at the whole, and thought of all he had read and +heard, and that he had told this evening to the little boy; and he +nodded, and wiped his spectacles, and put them on again, and said: + +"Yes, in my time Holger Danske will probably not come; but the boy in +the bed yonder may get to see him, and be there when the struggle really +comes." + +And the good old grandfather nodded again; and the more he looked at +Holger Danske, the more plain did it become to him that it was a good +image he had carved. It seemed really to gain color, and the armor +appeared to gleam like iron and steel; the hearts in the Danish arms +became redder and redder, and the lions with the golden crowns on their +heads leaped up. [Footnote: The Danish arms consist of three lions and +nine hearts.] + +"That's the most beautiful coat of arms there is in the world!" said the +old man. "The lions are strength, and the heart is gentleness and love!" + +And he looked at the uppermost lion, and thought of King Canute, who +bound great England to the throne of Denmark; and he looked at the +second lion, and thought of Waldemar, who united Denmark and conquered +the Wendish lands; and he glanced at the third lion, and remembered +Margaret, who united Denmark, Sweden and Norway. But while he looked at +the red hearts, they gleamed more brightly than before; they became +flames, and his heart followed each of them. + +[Illustration: HOLGER DANSKE] + +The first heart led him into a dark, narrow prison; there sat a +prisoner, a beautiful woman, the daughter of King Christian IV, Eleanor +Ulfeld; [Footnote: This princess was the wife of Corfitz Ulfeld, who was +accused of high treason. Her only crime was the most faithful love to +her unhappy consort; but she was compelled to pass twenty-two years in a +horrible dungeon, until her persecutor, Queen Sophia Amelia, was dead.] +and the flame, which was shaped like a rose, attached itself to her +bosom and blossomed, so that it became one with the heart of her, the +noblest and best of all Danish women. + +And his spirit followed the second flame, which led him out upon the +sea, where the cannons thundered and the ships lay shrouded in smoke; +and the flame fastened itself in the shape of a ribbon of honor on the +breast of Hvitfeld, as he blew himself and his ship into the air, that +he might save the fleet.[Footnote: In the naval battle in Kjoge Bay +between the Danes and the Swedes, in 1710, Hvitfeld's ship, the +Danebrog, took fire. To save the town of Kjoge, and the Danish fleet, +which was being driven by the wind toward his vessel, he blew himself +and his whole crew into the air.] + +And the third flame led him to the wretched huts of Greenland, where the +preacher Hans Egede [Footnote: Hans Egede went to Greenland in 1721, and +toiled there during fifteen years among incredible hardships and +privations. Not only did he spread Christianity, but exhibited in +himself a remarkable example of a Christian man.] wrought, with love in +every word and deed; the flame was a star on his breast, another heart +in the Danish arms. + +And the spirit of the old grandfather flew on before the waving flames, +for his spirit knew whither the flames desired to go. In the humble room +of the peasant woman stood Frederick VI., writing his name with chalk on +the beam.[Footnote: On a journey on the west coast of Jutland, the King +visited an old woman. When he had already quitted her house, the woman +ran after him, and begged him, as a remembrance, to write his name upon +a beam; the King turned back, and complied. During his whole lifetime he +felt and worked for the peasant class; therefore the Danish peasants +begged to be allowed to carry his coffin to the royal vault at +Roeskilde, four Danish miles from Copenhagen.] The flame trembled on his +breast, and trembled in his heart; in the peasant's lowly room his +heart, too, became a heart in the Danish arms. And the old grandfather +dried his eyes, for he had known King Frederick with the silvery locks +and honest blue eyes, and had lived for him; he folded his hands, and +looked in silence straight before him. + +Then came the daughter-in-law of the old grandfather, and said it was +late, and he ought now to rest; for the supper table was spread. + +"But it is beautiful, what you have done, grandfather!" said she. +"Holger Danske, and all our old coat of arms! It seems to me just as if +I had seen that face before!" + +"No, that can scarcely be," replied the old grandfather; "but I have +seen it, and I have tried to carve it in wood as I have kept it in my +memory. It was when the English lay in front of the wharf, on the Danish +2d of April [Footnote: On the 2d of April, 1801, occurred the naval +battle between the Danes and the English, under Sir Hyde Parker and +Nelson.] when we showed that we were old Danes. In the Denmark, on board +which I was, in Steen Bille's squadron, I had a man at my side--it +seemed as if the bullets were afraid of him! Merrily he sang old songs, +and shot and fought as if he were something more than a man. I remember +his face yet; but whence he came, and whither he went, I know not-- +nobody knows. I have often thought he might have been old Holger Danske +himself, who had swum down from the Kronenburgh, and aided us in the +hour of danger; that was my idea, and there stands his picture." + +And the statue threw its great shadow up against the wall, and even over +part of the ceiling; it looked as though the real Holger Danske were +standing behind it, for the shadow moved, but this might have been +because the flame of the candle did not burn steadily. + +And the daughter-in-law kissed the old grandfather, and led him to the +great armchair by the table; and she and her husband, who was the son of +the old man, and father of the little boy in bed, sat and ate their +supper; and the grandfather spoke of the Danish lions and of the Danish +hearts, of strength and of gentleness; and quite clearly did he explain +that there was another strength besides the power that lies in the +sword; and he pointed to the shelf on which were the old books, where +stood the plays of Kolberg, which had been read so often, for they were +very amusing; one could almost fancy one recognized the people of bygone +days in them. + +"See, he knew how to strike, too," said the grandfather; "he scourged +the foolishness and prejudice of the people so long as he could." And +the grandfather nodded at the mirror, above which stood the calendar, +with the "Round Tower" [Footnote: The astronomical observatory at +Copenhagen.] on it, and said, "Tycho Brahe was also one who used the +sword, not to cut into flesh and bone, but to build up a plainer way +among all the stars of heaven. And then HE, whose father belonged to my +calling, the son of the figurehead carver, he whom we have ourselves +seen, with his silver hairs and his broad shoulders, he whose name is +spoken of in all lands! Yes, HE was a sculptor; _I_ am only a carver. +Yes, Holger Danske may come in many forms, so that one hears in every +country of Denmark's strength. Shall we now drink the health of Bertel?" +[Footnote: Bertel Thorwaldsen, the great Danish sculptor.] + +[Illustration: THE FIGUREHEAD] + +But the little lad in the bed saw plainly the old Kronenburgh, with the +Oer Sound, and the real Holger Danske, who sat deep below, with his +beard grown through the marble table, dreaming of all that happens up +here. Holger Danske also dreamed of the little, humble room where the +carver sat; he heard all that passed, and nodded in his sleep, and said: + +"Yes, remember me, ye Danish folk; remember me. I shall come in the hour +of need." + +And without, by the Kronenburgh, shone the bright day, and the wind +carried the note of the hunting horn over from the neighboring land; the +ship sailed past, and saluted, "Boom! boom!" and from the Kronenburgh +came the reply, "Boom! boom!" But Holger Danske did not awake, however +loudly they shot, for it was only "Good day" and "Thank you!" + +There must be another kind of shooting before he awakes; but he will +awake, for there is faith in Holger Danske. + +Can you see Holger Danske "clad in iron and steel?" Where have you seen +a picture of such clothing? Is it not curious that his beard is said to +have grown into the marble? He must have been sitting there for many +centuries for such a thing to happen! Do you not understand that the +little boy did not KNOW that Holger Danske was in the deep cellar, but +merely believed it to be true? If so, why does the story say he KNEW it? + +When you read that the Danish Arms consist of "three lions and nine +hearts," what do you see? Has the United States any arms? What are they? + +Do you know a legend about King Canute and the waves of the sea? Can you +find out anything more about Waldemar and Margaret? + +Do you think the man whose face was carved into a figurehead was really +Holger Danske? Do you think it possible that the grandfather could mean +that every brave man who fights for his country is a Holger Danske? Can +you imagine the great figure of Holger Danske throwing its shadow on the +wall and seeming to move about in the candle light? Does the grandfather +believe that such heroes can do other things than fight? + +What do you know about Thorwaldsen? Did you ever see a picture of his +beautiful statue of Christ? Did the little boy see any other Holger +Danske than the one whose beard was grown into the marble table? + +Has a Holger ever come to save this United States from great danger? +Would you call Washington and Longfellow and Hawthorne, Holgers? Why? +Can you name a few men whom the grandfather, had he been an American, +might have said were Holgers? Do you not believe that if the people of +the United States need a great man he will be forthcoming if we have +faith that he will come? + +Do you not think that the little Danish boy, by his dreaming about +Holger Danske, might have come to be the very one to aid his country +most? Is it worth while for each of us to try to be a Holger? + + + + +WHAT THE OLD MAN DOES IS ALWAYS RIGHT + +By Hans Christian Andersen + + +I will tell you the story which was told to me when I was a little boy. +Every time I thought of the story it seemed to me to become more and +more charming; for it is with stories as it is with many people--they +become better as they grow older. + +I take it for granted that you have been in the country, and have seen a +very old farmhouse with a thatched roof, and mosses and small plants +growing wild upon the thatch. There is a stork's nest on the summit of +the gable; for we can't do without the stork. The walls of the house are +sloping, and the windows are low, and only one of the latter is made so +that it will open. The baking-oven sticks out of the wall like a little +fat body. The elder tree hangs over the paling, and beneath its +branches, at the foot of the paling, is a pool of water in which a few +ducks are disporting themselves. There is a yard dog, too, who barks at +all comers. + +Just such a farmhouse stood out in the country; and in this house dwelt +an old couple--a peasant and his wife. Small as was their property, +there was one article among it that they could do without--a horse, that +lived on the grass it found by the side of the highroad. The old peasant +rode into the town on this horse; and often his neighbors borrowed it of +him, and rendered the old couple some service in return for the loan of +it. But they thought it would be best if they sold the horse, or +exchanged it for something that might be more useful to them. But what +might this SOMETHING be? + +"You'll know that best, old man," said the wife. "It is fair day to-day, +so ride into town, and get rid of the horse for money, or make a good +exchange; whichever you do will be right to me. Ride off to the fair." + +And she fastened his neckerchief for him, for she could do that better +than he could; and she tied it in a double bow, for she could do that +very prettily. Then she brushed his hat round and round with the palm of +her hand, and gave him a kiss. So he rode away upon the horse that was +to be sold or to be bartered for something else. Yes, the old man knew +what he was about. + +The sun shone hotly down, and not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. The +road was very dusty, for many people, who were all bound for the fair, +were driving, or riding, or walking upon it. There was no shelter +anywhere from the sunbeams. + +Among the rest, a man was trudging along, driving a cow to the fair. The +cow was as beautiful a creature as any cow can be. + +"She gives good milk, I'm sure," said the peasant. "That would be a very +good exchange--the cow for the horse." + +"Hallo, you there with the cow!" he said; "I tell you what--I fancy a +horse costs more than a cow, but I don't care for that; a cow would be +more useful to me. If you like, we'll exchange." + +"To be sure I will," returned the man; and they exchanged accordingly. + +So that was settled, and the peasant might have turned back, for he had +done the business he came to do; but as he had once made up his mind to +go to the fair, he determined to proceed, merely to have a look at it; +and so he went on to the town with his cow. + +Leading the animal, he strode sturdily on; and after a short time he +overtook a man who was driving a sheep. It was a good fat sheep, with a +fine fleece on its back. + +"I should like to have that fellow," said our peasant to himself. "He +would find plenty of grass by our palings, and in the winter we could +keep him in the room with us. Perhaps it would be more practical to have +a sheep instead of a cow. Shall we exchange?" + +The man with the sheep was quite ready, and the bargain was struck. So +our peasant went on in the highroad with his sheep. + +Soon he overtook another man, who came into the road from a field, +carrying a great goose under his arm. + +"That's a heavy thing you have there. It has plenty of feathers and +plenty of fat, and would look well tied to a string, and paddling in the +water at our place. That would be something for my old woman; she could +make much profit out of it. How often she has said, 'If we only had a +goose!' Now, perhaps, she can have one. Shall we exchange? I'll give you +my sheep for your goose, and thank you into the bargain." + +The other man had not the least objection; and accordingly they +exchanged, and our peasant became the owner of the goose. + +By this time he was very near the town. The crowd on the highroad became +greater and greater; there was quite a crush of men and cattle. They +walked in the road, and close by the paling; and at the barrier they +even walked into the tollman's potato field, where his own fowl was +strutting about with a string to its legs, lest it should take fright at +the crowd, and stray away, and so be lost. This fowl had short tail +feathers, and winked with both its eyes, and looked very cunning. +"Cluck! cluck!" said the fowl. What it thought when it said this I +cannot tell you; but as soon as our good man saw it, he thought, "That's +the finest fowl I've ever seen in my life! Why, it's finer than our +parson's brood hen. On my word, I should like to have that fowl. A fowl +can always find a grain or two, and can almost keep itself. I think it +would be a good exchange if I could get that in exchange for my goose. +Shall we exchange?" he asked the toll taker. + +"Exchange!" repeated the man; "well, that would not be a bad thing." + +And so they exchanged; the toll taker at the barrier kept the goose, and +the peasant carried away the fowl. + +Now, he had done a good deal of business on his way to the fair, and he +was hot and tired. He wanted something to eat and to drink; and soon he +was in front of the inn. He was just about to step in, when the hostler +came out; so they met at the door. The hostler was carrying a sack. + +"What have you in that sack?" asked the peasant. + +"Rotten apples," answered the hostler; "a whole sackful of them--enough +to feed the pigs with." + +"Why, that's terrible waste! I should like to take them to my old woman +at home. Last year the old tree by the turf-hole only bore a single +apple, and we kept it in the cupboard till it was quite rotten and +spoiled, 'It was always property,' my old woman said; but here she could +see a quantity of property--a whole sackful. Yes, I shall be glad to +show them to her." + +"What will you give me for the sackful?" asked the hostler. + +"What will I give? I will give my fowl in exchange." + +And he gave the fowl accordingly, and received the apples, which he +carried into the guest room. He leaned the sack carefully by the stove, +and then went to the table. But the stove was hot; he had not thought of +that. Many guests were present--horse dealers, ox-herds, and two +Englishmen--and the two Englishmen were so rich that their pockets +bulged out with gold coins, and almost burst; and they could wager, too, +as you shall hear. + +Hiss-s-s! hiss-s-s! What was that by the stove? The apples were +beginning to roast. + +"What is that?" + +"Why, do you know---" said our peasant. + +And he told the whole story of the horse that he had exchanged for a +cow, and all the rest of it down to the apples. + +"Well, your old woman will give it you well when you get home," said one +of the Englishmen. "There will be a disturbance." + +"What?--give me what?" said the peasant. + +"She will kiss me, and say, 'What the old man does is always right.'" + +"Shall we wager?" said the Englishman. "We'll wager coined gold by the +ton--a hundred pounds to the hundredweight!" + +"A bushel will be enough," replied the peasant. "I can only set the +bushel of apples against it; and I'll throw myself and my old woman into +the bargain--and I fancy that's piling up the measure." + +"Done--taken!" + +And the bet was made. The host's carriage came up, and the Englishmen +got in, and the peasant got in; away they went, and soon they stopped +before the peasant's hut. + +"Good evening, old woman." + +"Good evening, old man." + +"I've made exchange." + +"Yes, you understand what you're about," said the woman. + +And she embraced him, and paid no attention to the stranger guests, nor +did she notice the sack. + +"I got a cow in exchange for the horse," said he. + +"Heaven be thanked!" said she. "What glorious milk we shall now have, +and butter and cheese upon the table! That was a most capital exchange!" + +"Yes, but I exchanged the cow for a sheep." + +"Ah, that's better still!" cried the wife. "You always think of +everything; we have just pasture enough for a sheep. Ewe's milk and +cheese, and woolen jackets and stockings! The cow cannot give those, and +her hairs will only come off. How you think of everything!" + +"But I changed away the sheep for a goose." + +"Then this year we shall have really roast goose to eat, my dear old +man. You are always thinking of something to give me pleasure. How +charming that is! We can let the goose walk about with a string to her +leg, and she'll grow fatter still before we roast her." + +"But I gave away the goose for a fowl," said the man. + +[Illustration: "MY DEAR GOOD HUSBAND!"] + +"A fowl? That WAS a good exchange!" replied the woman. "The fowl will +lay eggs and hatch them, and we shall soon have chickens; we shall have +a whole poultry yard! Oh, that's just what I was wishing for." + +"Yes, but I exchanged the fowl for a sack of shriveled apples." + +"What!--I must positively kiss you for that," exclaimed the wife, "My +dear, good husband! Now I'll tell you something. Do you know, you had +hardly left me this morning, before I began thinking how I could give +you something very nice this evening. I thought it should be pancakes +with savory herbs. I had eggs, and bacon too; but I wanted herbs. So I +went over to the schoolmaster's--they have herbs there, I know--but the +schoolmistress is a mean woman, though she looks so sweet. I begged her +to lend me a handful of herbs, 'Lend!' she answered me; 'nothing at all +grows in our garden, not even a shriveled apple. I could not even lend +you a shriveled apple, my dear woman.' But now _I_ can lend HER twenty, +or a whole sackful. That I'm very glad of; that makes me laugh!" And +with that she gave him a sounding kiss. + +"I like that!" exclaimed both the Englishmen together. "Always going +downhill, and always merry; that's worth the money." + +So they paid a hundredweight of gold to the peasant, who was not +scolded, but kissed. + +Yes, it always pays, when the wife sees and always asserts that her +husband knows best, and that whatever he does is right. + +You see, that is my story. I heard it when I was a child; and now you +have heard it too, and know that "What the old man does is always +right." + + + + +THE FAIRIES OF THE CALDON-LOW + +By Mary Howitt + + +"And where have you been, my Mary, + And where have you been from me?" +"I've been to the top of the Caldon-Low, + The midsummer night to see!" + +"And what did you see, my Mary, + All up on the Caldon-Low?" +"I saw the blithe sunshine come down, + And I saw the merry winds blow." + +"And what did you hear, my Mary, + All up on the Caldon-Hill?" +"I heard the drops of water made, + And I heard the corn-ears fill." + +"Oh, tell me all, my Mary-- + All, all that ever you know; + For you must have seen the fairies + Last night on the Caldon-Low." + +"Then take me on your knee, mother, + And listen, mother of mine: + A hundred fairies danced last night, + And the harpers they were nine; + +"And merry was the glee of the harp-strings, + And their dancing feet so small; + But, oh! the sound of their talking + Was merrier far than all!" + + [Illustration] + +"And what were the words, my Mary, + That you did hear them say?" +"I'll tell you all, my mother, + But let me have my way. + +"And some they played with the water, + And rolled it down the hill; + 'And this,' they said, 'shall speedily turn + The poor old miller's mill; + +"'For there has been no water + Ever since the first of May; + And a busy man shall the miller be + By the dawning of the day! + +"'Oh, the miller, how he will laugh, + When he sees the milldam rise! + The jolly old miller, how he will laugh, + Till the tears fill both his eyes!' + +"'And some they seized the little winds, + That sounded over the hill, + And each put a horn into his mouth, + And blew so sharp and shrill! + +[Illustration] + +"'And there,' said they, 'the merry winds go + Away from every horn; + And those shall clear the mildew dank + From the blind old widow's corn: + +"'Oh, the poor blind widow-- + Though she has been blind so long, + She'll be merry enough when the mildew's gone, + And the corn stands stiff and strong!' + +"And some they brought the brown linseed, + And flung it down from the Low; + 'And this,' said they, 'by the sunrise, + In the weaver's croft shall grow! + +"'Oh, the poor lame weaver! + How will he laugh outright + When he sees his dwindling flax field + All full of flowers by night!' + +"And then up spoke a brownie, + With a long beard on his chin; + 'I have spun up all the tow,' said he, + 'And I want some more to spin. + +"'I've spun a piece of hempen cloth, + And I want to spin another-- + A little sheet for Mary's bed + And an apron for her mother!' + +"And with that I could not help but laugh, + And I laughed out loud and free; + And then on the top of the Caldon-Low + There was no one left but me. + +"And all on the top of the Caldon-Low + The mists were cold and gray, +And nothing I saw but the mossy stones + That round about me lay. + +"But as I came down from the hilltop, + I heard, afar below, +How busy the jolly miller was, + And how merry the wheel did go. + +"And I peeped into the widow's field, + And, sure enough, was seen + The yellow ears of the mildewed corn + All standing stiff and green! + +"And down by the weaver's croft I stole, + To see if the flax were high; + But I saw the weaver at his gate + With the good news in his eye! + +"Now, this is all that I heard, mother, + And all that I did see; + So, prithee, make my bed, mother, + For I'm tired as I can be!" + + + + +WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? + +By L. Maria Child + + + "To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! + Will you listen to me? + Who stole four eggs I laid, + And the nice nest I made?" + +"Not I," said the cow; "Moo-oo! +Such a thing I'd never do. +I gave you a wisp of hay, +But didn't take your nest away. +Not I," said the cow; "Moo-oo! +Such a thing I'd never do." + + "To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! + Will you listen to me? + Who stole four eggs I laid, + And the nice nest I made?" + + "Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! + Now, what do you think? + Who stole a nest away + From the plum tree, to-day?" + +"Not I," said the dog; "Bow-wow! +I wouldn't be so mean, anyhow! +I gave hairs the nest to make, +But the nest I did not take. +Not I," said the dog; "Bow-wow! +I'm not so mean, anyhow." + +[Illustration] + + "To-whit I to-whit! to-whee! + Will you listen to me? + Who stole four eggs I laid, + And the nice nest I made?" + + "Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! + Now what do you think? + Who stole a nest away + From the plum tree, to-day?" + + "Coo-coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo! + Let me speak a word, too! + Who stole that pretty nest + From little yellow-breast?" + +"Not I," said the sheep; "Oh, no! +I wouldn't treat a poor bird so. +I gave wool the nest to line, +But the nest was none of mine. +Baa! Baa!" said the sheep; "Oh, no. +I wouldn't treat a poor bird so." + + "To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! + Will you listen to me? + Who stole four eggs I laid, + And the nice nest I made?" + +[Illustration] + + "Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! + Now, what do you think? + Who stole a nest away + From the plum tree, to-day?" + + "Coo-coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo! + Let me speak a word, too! + Who stole that pretty nest + From little yellow-breast?" + + "Caw! Caw!" cried the crow; + "I should like to know + What thief took away + A bird's nest to-day?" + +"Cluck! Cluck!" said the hen, +"Don't ask me again. +Why, I haven't a chick +Would do such a trick. +We all gave her a feather, +And she wove them together. +I'd scorn to intrude +On her and her brood. +Cluck! Cluck!" said the hen, +"Don't ask me again." + + "Chirr-a-whirr! Chirr-a-whirr! + All the birds make a stir! + Let us find out his name, + And all cry, 'For shame!'" + + "I would not rob a bird," + Said little Mary Green; + "I think I never heard + Of anything so mean." + + "It is very cruel, too," + Said little Alice Neal; + "I wonder if he knew + How sad the bird would feel?" + +A little boy hung down his head, +And went and hid behind the bed; +For HE stole that pretty nest +From poor little yellow-breast; +And he felt so full of shame, +He didn't like to tell his name. + + +In this little dialogue, what part do the birds take? What part do the +animals take? + + + + +THE FIRST SNOWFALL + +By James Russell Lovell + + +The snow had begun in the gloaming, + And busily all the night +Had been heaping field and highway + With a silence deep and white. + +Every pine and fir and hemlock + Wore ermine too dear for an earl, +And the poorest twig on the elm tree + Was ridged inch deep with pearl. + +From sheds new-roofed with Carrara + Came Chanticleer's muffled crow, +The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down, + And still fluttered down the snow. + +I stood and watched by the window + The noiseless work of the sky, +And the sudden flurries of snowbirds, + Like brown leaves whirling by. + +I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn + Where a little headstone stood; +How the flakes were folding it gently, + As did robins the babes in the wood. + +Up spoke our own little Mabel, + Saying, "Father, who makes it snow?" +And I told of the good All-father + Who cares for us here below. + +[Illustration] + +Again I looked at the snowfall, + And thought of the leaden sky +That arched o'er our first great sorrow, + When that mound was heaped so high. + +I remembered the gradual patience + That fell from that cloud like snow, +Flake by flake, healing and hiding + The scar of our deep-plunged woe. + +And again to the child I whispered, + "The snow that husheth all, +Darling, the merciful Father + Alone can make it fall!" + +Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her; + And she, kissing back, could not know +That MY kiss was given to her sister, + Folded close under deepening snow. +[Footnote: Lowell refers here to a daughter, Blanche, who died shortly +before the birth of his daughter Rosa.] + + + + +THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER + +By John Ruskin + + +I + + +In a secluded and mountainous part of Styria there was, in old time, a +valley of the most surprising and luxuriant fertility. It was surrounded +on all sides by steep and rocky mountains, rising into peaks, which were +always covered with snow, and from which a number of torrents descended +in constant cataracts. One of these fell westward, over the face of a +crag so high that, when the sun had set to everything else, and all +below was darkness, his beams still shone full upon this waterfall, so +that it looked like a shower of gold. It was therefore called by the +people of the neighborhood the Golden River. It was strange that none of +these streams fell into the valley itself. They all descended on the +other side of the mountains, and wound away through broad plains and by +populous cities. But the clouds were drawn so constantly to the snowy +hills, and rested so softly in the circular hollow, that, in time of +drought and heat, when all the country round was burned up, there was +still rain in the little valley; and its crops were so heavy, and its +hay so high, and its apples so red, and its grapes so blue, and its wine +so rich, and its honey so sweet, that it was a marvel to every one who +beheld it, and was commonly called the Treasure Valley. + +The whole of this little valley belonged to three brothers, called +Schwartz, Hans, and Gluck. Schwartz and Hans, the two elder brothers, +were very ugly men, with overhanging eyebrows and small, dull eyes, +which were always half shut, so that you couldn't see into them, and +always fancied they saw very far into you. They lived by farming the +Treasure Valley, and very good farmers they were. They killed everything +that did not pay for its eating. They shot the blackbirds, because they +pecked the fruit; and killed the hedgehogs, lest they should suck the +cows; they poisoned the crickets for eating the crumbs in the kitchen; +and smothered the cicadas, which used to sing all summer in the lime +trees. They worked their servants without any wages, till they would not +work any more, and then quarrelled with them, and turned them out of +doors without paying them. It would have been very odd if, with such a +farm, and such a system of farming, they hadn't got very rich; and very +rich they did get. They generally contrived to keep their corn by them +till it was very dear, and then sell it for twice its value; they had +heaps of gold lying about on their floors, yet it was never known that +they had given so much as a penny or a crust in charity; they never went +to mass; grumbled perpetually at paying tithes; and were, in a word, of +so cruel and grinding a temper, as to receive from all those with whom +they had any dealings, the nickname of the "Black Brothers." + +The youngest brother, Gluck, was as completely opposed, in both +appearance and character, to his seniors as could possibly be imagined +or desired. He was not above twelve years old, fair, blue-eyed. and kind +in temper to every living thing. He did not, of course, agree +particularly well with his brothers, or, rather, they did not agree with +him. He was usually appointed to the honorable office of turnspit, when +there was anything to roast, which was not often; for, to do the +brothers justice, they were hardly less sparing upon themselves than +upon other people. At other times he used to clean the shoes, the +floors, and sometimes the plates, occasionally getting what was left on +them, by way of encouragement, and a wholesome quantity of dry blows, by +way of education. + +Things went on in this manner for a long time. At last came a very wet +summer, and everything went wrong in the country round. The hay had +hardly been got in, when the haystacks were floated bodily down to the +sea by an inundation; the vines were cut to pieces with the hail; the +corn was all killed by a black blight; only in the Treasure Valley, as +usual, all was safe. As it had rain when there was rain nowhere else, so +it had sun when there was sun nowhere else. Everybody came to buy corn +at the farm, and went away pouring maledictions on the Black Brothers. +They asked what they liked, and got it, except from the poor people, who +could only beg, and several of whom were starved at their very door, +without the slightest regard or notice. + +It was drawing toward winter, and very cold weather, when one day the +two elder brothers had gone out, with their usual warning to little +Gluck, who was left to mind the roast, that he was to let nobody in, and +give nothing out. Gluck sat down quite close to the fire, for it was +raining very hard, and the kitchen walls were by no means dry or +comfortable looking. He turned and turned, and the roast got nice and +brown. "What a pity," thought Gluck, "my brothers never ask anybody to +dinner. I'm sure, when they've got such a nice piece of mutton as this, +and nobody else has got so much as a piece of dry bread, it would do +their hearts good to have somebody to eat it with them." + +Just as he spoke, there came a double knock at the house door, yet heavy +and dull, as though the knocker had been tied up--more like a puff than +a knock. + +"It must be the wind," said Gluck; "nobody else would venture to knock +double knocks at our door." + +No; it wasn't the wind; there it came again very hard, and, what was +particularly astounding, the knocker seemed to be in a hurry, and not to +be in the least afraid of the consequences. Gluck went to the window, +opened it, and put his head out to see who it was. + +It was the most extraordinary-looking little gentleman he had ever seen +in his life. He had a very large nose, slightly brass-colored; his +cheeks were very round and very red, and might have warranted a +supposition that he had been blowing a refractory fire for the last +eight-and-forty hours; his eyes twinkled merrily through long silky +eyelashes, his mustaches curled twice round like a corkscrew on each +side of his mouth, and his hair, of a curious mixed pepper-and-salt +color, descended far over his shoulders. He was about four feet six in +height, and wore a conical-pointed cap of nearly the same altitude, +decorated with a black feather some three feet long. His doublet was +prolonged behind into something resembling a violent exaggeration of +what is now termed a "swallow-tail," but was much obscured by the +swelling folds of an enormous black, glossy-looking cloak, which must +have been very much too long in calm weather, as the wind, whistling +round the old house, carried it clear out from the wearer's shoulders to +about four times his own length. + +[Illustration: "HELLO, I'M WET, LET ME IN"] + +Gluck was so perfectly paralyzed by the singular appearance of his +visitor that he remained fixed without uttering a word, until the old +gentleman, having performed another and a more energetic concerto on the +knocker, turned round to look after his fly-away cloak. In so doing he +caught sight of Gluck's little yellow head jammed in the window, with +his mouth and eyes very wide open indeed. + +"Hello!" said the little gentleman, "that's not the way to answer the +door; I'm wet, let me in." + +To do the little gentleman justice, he was wet. His feather hung down +between his legs like a beaten puppy's tail, dripping like an umbrella; +and from the ends of his mustaches the water was running into his waist +coat pockets, and out again like a mill-stream. + +"I beg pardon, sir," said Gluck; "I'm very sorry, but I really can't." + +"Can't what?" said the old gentleman, + +"I can't let you in, sir--I can't indeed; my brothers would beat me to +death, sir, if I thought of such a thing. What do you want, sir?" + +"Want?" said the old gentleman petulantly; "I want fire and shelter; and +there's your great fire there blazing, crackling, and dancing on the +walls, with nobody to feel it. Let me in, I say; I only want to warm +myself." + +Gluck had had his head, by this time, so long out of the window that he +began to feel it was really unpleasantly cold, and when he turned, and +saw the beautiful fire rustling and roaring, and throwing long bright +tongues up the chimney, as if it were licking its chops at the savory +smell of the leg of mutton, his heart melted within him that it should +be burning away for nothing. "He does look very wet," said little Gluck; +"I'll just let him in for a quarter of an hour." Round he went to the +door, and opened it; and as the little gentleman walked in, through the +house came a gust of wind that made the old chimneys totter. + +"That's a good boy," said the little gentleman. "Never mind your +brothers. I'll talk to them." + +"Pray, sir, don't do any such thing," said Gluck. "I can't let you stay +till they come; they'd be the death of me!" + +"Dear me," said the old gentleman, "I'm very sorry to hear that. How +long may I stay?" + +"Only till the mutton's done, sir," replied Gluck, "and it's very +brown." + +Then the old gentleman walked into the kitchen, and sat himself down on +the hob, with the top of his cap accommodated up the chimney, for it was +a great deal too high for the roof. + +"You'll soon dry there, sir," said Gluck, and sat down again to turn the +mutton. But the old gentleman did NOT dry there, but went on drip, drip, +dripping among the cinders, and the fire fizzed and sputtered, and began +to look very black and uncomfortable; never was such a cloak; every fold +in it ran like a gutter. + +"I beg pardon, sir," said Gluck at length, after watching the water +spreading in long quicksilver-like streams over the floor for a quarter +of an hour; "mayn't I take your cloak?" + +"No, thank you," said the old gentleman. + +"Your cap, sir?" + +"I'm all right, thank you," said the old gentleman, rather gruffly. + +"But--sir--I'm very sorry," said Gluck hesitatingly; "but--really, sir-- +you're putting the fire out." + +"It'll take longer to do the mutton then," replied his visitor, dryly. + +Gluck was very much puzzled by the behavior of his guest; it was such a +strange mixture of coolness and humility. He turned away at the string +meditatively for another five minutes. + +"That mutton looks very nice," said the old gentleman, at length. "Can't +you give me a little bit?" + +"Impossible, sir," said Gluck. + +"I'm very hungry," continued the old gentleman; "I've had nothing to eat +yesterday, nor to-day. They surely couldn't miss a bit from the +knuckle!" + +He spoke in so very melancholy a tone that it quite melted Gluck's +heart. "They promised me one slice to-day, sir," said he; "I can give +you that, but not a bit more." + +"That's a good boy," said the old gentleman again. + +Then Gluck warmed a plate and sharpened a knife. "I don't care if I do +get beaten for it," thought he. Just as he had cut a large slice out of +the mutton, there came a tremendous rap at the door. The old gentleman +jumped off the hob, as if it had suddenly become inconveniently warm. +Gluck fitted the slice into the mutton again, with desperate efforts at +exactitude, and ran to open the door. + +"What did you keep us waiting in the rain for?" said Schwartz, as he +walked in, throwing his umbrella in Gluck's face. + +"Ay! what for, indeed, you little vagabond?" said Hans, administering an +educational box on the ear, as he followed his brother into the kitchen. + +"Bless my soul!" said Schwartz, when he opened the door. + +"Amen," said the little gentleman, who had taken his cap off, and was +standing in the middle of the kitchen, bowing with the utmost possible +velocity. + +"Who's that?" said Schwartz, catching up a rolling-pin, and turning to +Gluck with a fierce frown. + +"I don't know, indeed, brother," said Gluck, in great terror. + +"How did he get in?" roared Schwartz. + +"My dear brother," said Gluck deprecatingly, "he was so very wet!" + +The rolling-pin was descending on Gluck's head; but, at the instant, the +old gentleman interposed his conical cap, on which it crashed with a +shock that shook the water out of it all over the room. What was very +odd, the rolling-pin no sooner touched the cap, than it flew out of +Schwartz's hand, spinning like a straw in a high wind, and fell into the +corner at the further end of the room. + +"Who are you, sir?" demanded Schwartz, turning upon him. + +"What's your business?" snarled Hans. + +"I'm a poor old man, sir," the little gentleman began very modestly, +"and I saw your fire through the window, and begged shelter for a +quarter of an hour." + +"Have the goodness to walk out again, then," said Schwartz. "We've quite +water enough in our kitchen, without making it a drying-house." + +"It's a cold day to turn an old man out in, sir; look at my gray hairs." +They hung down to his shoulders, as I told you before. + +"Ay!" said Hans, "there are enough of them to keep you warm. Walk!" + +"I'm very, very hungry, sir; couldn't you spare me a bit of bread before +I go?" + +"Bread, indeed!" said Schwartz; "do you suppose we've nothing to do with +our bread but to give it to such red-nosed fellows as you?" + +"Why don't you sell your feather?" said Hans, sneeringly. "Out with +you." + +"A little bit," said the old gentleman. + +"Be off!" said Schwartz. + +"Pray, gentlemen." + +"Off, and be hanged!" cried Hans, seizing him by the collar. But he had +no sooner touched the old gentleman's collar, than away he went after +the rolling-pin, spinning round and round, till he fell into the corner +on the top of it. Then Schwartz was very angry, and ran at the old +gentleman to turn him out; but he also had hardly touched him, when away +he went after Hans and the rolling-pin, and hit his head against the +wall as he tumbled into the corner. And so there they lay, all three. + +Then the old gentleman spun himself round with velocity in the opposite +direction; continued to spin until his long cloak was all wound neatly +about him; clapped his cap on his head, very much on one side (for it +could not stand upright without going through the ceiling), gave an +additional twist to his corkscrew mustaches, and replied with perfect +coolness: "Gentlemen, I wish you a very good morning. At twelve o'clock +to-night I'll call again; after such a refusal of hospitality as I have +just experienced, you will not be surprised if that visit is the last I +ever pay you." + +"If I ever catch you here again," muttered Schwartz, coming, half +frightened, out of the corner--but before he could finish his sentence, +the old gentleman had shut the house door behind him with a great bang; +and past the window, at the same instant, drove a wreath of ragged +cloud, that whirled and rolled away down the valley in all manner of +shapes; turning over and over in the air: and melting away at last in a +gush of rain. + +"A very pretty business, indeed, Mr. Gluck!" said Schwartz. "Dish the +mutton, sir. If ever I catch you at such a trick again--Bless me, why +the mutton's been cut!" + +"You promised me one slice, brother, you know," said Gluck. + +"Oh! and you were cutting it hot, I suppose, and going to catch all the +gravy. It'll be long before I promise you such a thing again. Leave the +room, sir; and have the kindness to wait in the coal-cellar till I call +you." + +Gluck left the room melancholy enough. The brothers ate as much mutton +as they could, locked the rest in the cupboard, and proceeded to get +very drunk after dinner. + +Such a night as it was! Howling wind and rushing rain without +intermission. The brothers had just sense enough left to put up all the +shutters, and double bar the door, before they went to bed. They usually +slept in the same room. As the clock struck twelve, they were both +awakened by a tremendous crash. Their door burst open with a violence +that shook the house from top to bottom. + +"What's that?" cried Schwartz, starting up in his bed. + +"Only I," said the little gentleman. + +The two brothers sat up on their bolster, and stared into the darkness. +The room was full of water, and by a misty moonbeam, which found its way +through a hole in the shutter, they could see, in the midst of it, an +enormous foam globe, spinning round, and bobbing up and down like a +cork, on which, as on a most luxurious cushion, reclined the little old +gentleman, cap and all. + +There was plenty of room for it now, for the roof was off. + +"Sorry to incommode you," said their visitor ironically. "I'm afraid +your beds are dampish; perhaps you had better go to your brother's room; +I've left the ceiling on there." + +They required no second admonition, but rushed into Gluck's room, wet +through, and in an agony of terror. + +"You'll find my card on the kitchen table," the old gentleman called +after them. "Remember, the LAST visit." + +"Pray Heaven it may be!" said Schwartz, shuddering. And the foam globe +disappeared. + +Dawn came at last, and the two brothers looked out of Gluck's little +window in the morning. The Treasure Valley was one mass of ruin and +desolation. The inundation had swept away trees, crops, and cattle, and +left, in their stead, a waste of red sand and gray mud. + +[Illustration with caption: "SORRY TO INCOMMODE YOU"] + +The two brothers crept, shivering and horror-struck, into the kitchen. +The water had gutted the whole first floor: corn, money, almost every +movable thing had been swept away, and there was left only a small white +card on the kitchen table. + +On it, in large, breezy, long-legged letters, were engraved the words: + + Southwest Wind, Esquire. + + + +II + + +Southwest Wind, Esquire, was as good as his word. After the momentous +visit above related, he entered the Treasure Valley no more; and, what +was worse, he had so much influence with his relations, the West Winds +in general, and used it so effectually, that they all adopted a similar +line of conduct. So no rain fell in the valley from one year's end to +another. Though everything remained green and flourishing in the plains +below, the inheritance of the Three Brothers was a desert. What had once +been the richest soil in the kingdom became a shifting heap of red sand; +and the brothers, unable longer to contend with the adverse skies, +abandoned their valueless patrimony in despair, to seek some means of +gaining a livelihood among the cities and people of the plains. All +their money was gone, and they had nothing left but some curious, old- +fashioned pieces of gold plate, the last remnants of their ill-gotten +wealth. + +"Suppose we turn goldsmiths?" said Schwartz to Hans, as they entered the +large city. "It is a good knave's trade: we can put a great deal of +copper into the gold, without any one's finding it out." + +The thought was agreed to be a very good one; they hired a furnace, and +turned goldsmiths. But two slight circumstances affected their trade: +the first, that people did not approve of the coppered gold, the second, +that the two elder brothers, whenever they had sold anything, used to +leave little Gluck to mind the furnace, and go and drink out the money +in the alehouse next door. So they melted all their gold, without making +money enough to buy more, and were at last reduced to one large +drinking-mug, which an uncle of his had given to little Gluck, and which +he was very fond of, and would not have parted with for the world; +though he never drank anything out of it but milk and water. The mug was +a very odd mug to look at. The handle was formed of two wreaths of +flowing golden hair, so finely spun that it looked more like silk than +like metal, and these wreaths descended into, and mixed with, a beard +and whiskers, of the same exquisite workmanship, which surrounded and +decorated a very fierce little face, of the reddest gold imaginable, +right in the front of the mug, with a pair of eyes in it which seemed to +command its whole circumference. It was impossible to drink out of the +mug without being subjected to an intense gaze out of the side of these +eyes; and Schwartz positively averred that once, after emptying it full +of Rhenish seventeen times, he had seen them wink! When it came to the +mug's turn to be made into spoons, it half broke poor little Gluck's +heart; but the brothers only laughed at him, tossed the mug into the +melting pot, and staggered out to the alehouse; leaving him, as usual, +to pour the gold into bars, when it was all ready. + +When they were gone, Gluck took a farewell look at his old friend in the +melting pot, The flowing hair was all gone; nothing remained but the red +nose, and the sparkling eyes, which looked more malicious than ever. +"And no wonder," thought Gluck, "after being treated in that way." He +sauntered disconsolately to the window, and sat himself down to catch +the fresh evening air, and escape the hot breath of the furnace. Now +this window commanded a direct view of the range of mountains which, as +I told you before, overhung the Treasure Valley, and more especially of +the peak from which fell the Golden River. It was just at the close of +the day, and, when Gluck sat down at the window, he saw the rocks of the +mountain tops all crimson and purple with the sunset; and there were +bright tongues of fiery cloud burning and quivering about them; and the +river, brighter than all, fell, in a waving column of pure gold, from +precipice to precipice, with the double arch of a broad purple rainbow +stretched across it, flushing and fading alternately in the wreaths of +spray. + +"Ah!" said Gluck aloud, after he had looked at it for a little while, +"if that river were really all gold, what a nice thing it would be!" + +"No, it wouldn't, Gluck," said a clear, metallic voice, close at his +ear. + +"Bless me, what's that?" exclaimed Gluck, jumping up. There was nobody +there. He looked round the room, and under the table, and a great many +times behind him, but there was certainly nobody there, and he sat down +again at the window. This time he didn't speak, but he couldn't help +thinking again that it would be very convenient if the river were really +all gold. + +"Not at all, my boy," said the same voice, louder than before. + +"Bless me!" said Gluck again, "what IS that?" He looked again into all +the corners and cupboards, and then began turning round and round, as +fast as he could, in the middle of the room, thinking there was somebody +behind him, when the same voice struck again on his ear. It was singing +now very merrily, "Lala-lira-la"; no words, only a soft running +effervescent melody, something like that of a kettle on the boil. Gluck +looked out of the window. No, it was certainly in the house. Upstairs, +and downstairs. No, it was certainly in that very room, coming in +quicker time and clearer notes every moment, "Lala-lira-la." All at once +it struck Gluck that it sounded louder near the furnace. He ran to the +opening and looked in; yes, he saw right; it seemed to be coming, not +only out of the furnace, but out of the pot. He uncovered it, and ran +back in a great fright, for the pot was certainly singing! He stood in +the furthest corner of the room, with his hands up, and his mouth open, +for a minute or two, when the singing stopped, and the voice became +clear and pronunciative. + +"Hollo!" said the voice. Gluck made no answer. + +"Hollo, Gluck, my boy," said the pot again. + +Gluck summoned all his energies, walked straight up to the crucible, +drew it out of the furnace, and looked in. The gold was all melted, and +its surface as smooth and polished as a river; but instead of its +reflecting little Gluck's head, as he looked in, he saw meeting his +glance, from beneath the gold, the red nose and the sharp eyes of his +old friend of the mug, a thousand times redder and sharper than ever he +had seen them in his life. + +"Come, Gluck, my boy," said the voice out of the pot again, "I'm all +right; pour me out." + +But Gluck was too much astonished to do anything of the kind. + +"Pour me out, I say," said the voice rather gruffly, + +Still Gluck couldn't move. + +"WILL you pour me out?" said the voice passionately, "I'm too hot." + +By a violent effort, Gluck recovered the use of his limbs, took hold of +the crucible, and sloped it so as to pour out the gold. But instead of a +liquid stream, there came out, first, a pair of pretty little yellow +legs, then some coat tails, then a pair of arms stuck akimbo, and, +finally, the well-known head of his friend the mug; all which articles, +uniting as they rolled out, stood up energetically on the floor, in the +shape of a little golden dwarf, about a foot and a half high. + +"That's right;" said the dwarf, stretching out first his legs, and then +his arms, and then shaking his head up and down, and as far round as it +would go, for five minutes, without stopping, apparently with the view +of ascertaining if he were quite correctly put together; while Gluck +stood contemplating him in speechless amazement. He was dressed in a +slashed doublet of spun gold, so fine in its texture that the prismatic +colors gleamed over it, as if on a surface of mother-of-pearl; and over +this brilliant doublet his hair and beard fell full halfway to the +ground, in waving curls, so exquisitely delicate that Gluck could hardly +tell where they ended; they seemed to melt into air. The features of the +face, however, were by no means finished with the same delicacy; they +were rather coarse, slightly inclining to coppery in complexion, and +indicative, in expression, of a very pertinacious and intractable +disposition in their small proprietor. When the dwarf had finished his +self-examination, he turned his small, sharp eyes full on Gluck, and +stared at him deliberately for a minute or two. "No, it wouldn't, Gluck, +my boy," said the little man. + +This was certainly rather an abrupt and unconnected mode of commencing +conversation. It might indeed be supposed to refer to the course of +Gluck's thoughts, which had first produced the dwarf's observations out +of the pot; but whatever it referred to, Gluck had no inclination to +dispute the dictum. + +"Wouldn't it, sir?" said Gluck, very mildly and submissively indeed. + +"No," said the dwarf conclusively. "No, it wouldn't." And with that, the +dwarf pulled his cap hard over his brows, and took two turns of three +feet long, up and down the room, lifting his legs very high, and setting +them down very hard. This pause gave time for Gluck to collect his +thoughts a little, and, seeing no great reason to view his diminutive +visitor with dread, and feeling his curiosity overcome his amazement, he +ventured on a question of peculiar delicacy. + +"Pray, sir," said Gluck, rather hesitatingly, "were you my mug!" + +On which the little man turned sharp round, walked straight up to Gluck, +and drew himself up to his full height. "I," said the little man, "am +the King of the Golden River." Whereupon he turned about again, and took +two more turns, some six feet long, in order to allow time for the +consternation which this announcement produced in his auditor to +evaporate. After which he again walked up to Gluck and stood still, as +if expecting some comment on his communication. + +Gluck determined to say something, at all events. "I hope your majesty +is very well," said Gluck. + +"Listen!" said the little man, deigning no reply to this polite inquiry. +"I am the King of what you mortals call the Golden River. The shape you +saw me in was owing to the malice of a stronger king, from whose +enchantments you have this instant freed me. What I have seen of you, +and your conduct to your wicked brothers, renders me willing to serve +you; therefore attend to what I tell you. Whoever shall climb to the top +of that mountain from which you see the Golden River issue, and shall +cast into the stream at its source three drops of holy water, for him, +and for him only, the river shall turn to gold. But no one failing in +his first can succeed in a second attempt; and if any one shall cast +unholy water into the river, it will overwhelm him, and he will become a +black stone." So saying, the King of the Golden River turned away, and +deliberately walked into the center of the hottest flame of the furnace. +His figure became red, red, white, transparent, dazzling--a blaze of +intense light--rose, trembled, and disappeared. The King of the Golden +River had evaporated. + +"Oh!" cried poor Gluck, running to look up the chimney after him; "oh +dear, dear, dear me! My mug! my mug! my mug!" + + + +III + + +The King of the Golden River had hardly made his extraordinary exit +before Hans and Schwartz came roaring into the house, very savagely +drunk. The discovery of the total loss of their last piece of plate had +the effect of sobering them just enough to enable them to stand over +Gluck, beating him very steadily for a quarter of an hour; at the +expiration of which period they dropped into a couple of chairs, and +requested to know what he had got to say for himself. Gluck told them +his story, of which of course they did not believe a word. They beat him +again, till their arms were tired, and staggered to bed. In the morning, +however, the steadiness with which he adhered to his story obtained him +some degree of credence; the immediate consequence of which was, that +the two brothers, after wrangling a long time on the knotty question +which of them should try his fortune first, drew their swords, and began +fighting. The noise of the fray alarmed the neighbors, who, finding they +could not pacify the combatants, sent for the constable. + +Hans, on hearing this, contrived to escape, and hid himself; but +Schwartz was taken before the magistrate, fined for breaking the peace, +and having drunk out his last penny the evening before, was thrown into +prison till he should pay. + +When Hans heard this, he was much delighted, and determined to set out +immediately for the Golden River. How to get the holy water was the +question. He went to the priest, but the priest could not give any holy +water to so abandoned a character. So Hans went to vespers in the +evening for the first time in his life, and, under pretence of crossing +himself, stole a cupful, and returned home in triumph. + +Next morning he got up before the sun rose, put the holy water into a +strong flask, and two bottles of wine and some meat in a basket, slung +them over his back, took his alpine staff in his hand, and set off for +the mountains. + +On his way out of the town he had to pass the prison, and as he looked +in at the windows, whom should he see but Schwartz himself peeping out +of the bars, and looking very disconsolate. + +"Good morning, brother," said Hans; "have you any message for the King +of the Golden River?" + +Schwartz gnashed his teeth with rage, and shook the bars with all his +strength; but Hans only laughed at him, and advising him to make himself +comfortable till he came back again, shouldered his basket, shook the +bottle of holy water in Schwartz's face till it frothed again, and +marched off in the highest spirits in the world. + +It was, indeed, a morning that might have made any one happy, even with +no Golden River to seek for. Level lines of dewy mist lay stretched +along the valley, out of which rose the massy mountains--their lower +cliffs in pale gray shadow, hardly distinguishable from the floating +vapor, but gradually ascending till they caught the sunlight, which ran +in sharp touches of ruddy color along the angular crags, and pierced, in +long level rays, through their fringes of spear-like pine. Far above +shot up red splintered masses of castellated rock, jagged and shivered +into myriads of fantastic forms, with here and there a streak of sunlit +snow, traced down their chasms like a line of forked lightning; and, far +beyond, and far above all these, fainter than the morning cloud, but +purer and changeless, slept, in the blue sky, the utmost peaks of the +eternal snow. + +The Golden River, which sprang from one of the lower and snowless +elevations, was now nearly in shadow; all but the uppermost jets of +spray, which rose like slow smoke above the undulating line of the +cataract, and floated away in feeble wreaths upon the morning wind. + +On this object, and on this alone, Hans's eyes and thoughts were fixed; +forgetting the distance he had to traverse, he set off at an imprudent +rate of walking, which greatly exhausted him before he had scaled the +first range of the green and low hills. He was, moreover, surprised, on +surmounting them, to find that a large glacier, of whose existence, +notwithstanding his previous knowledge of the mountains, he had been +absolutely ignorant, lay between him and the source of the Golden River. +He entered on it with the boldness of a practiced mountaineer; yet he +thought he had never traversed so strange or so dangerous a glacier in +his life. The ice was excessively slippery; and out of all its chasms +came wild sounds of gushing water: not monotonous or low, but changeful +and loud, rising occasionally into drifting passages of wild melody, +then breaking off into short, melancholy tones, or sudden shrieks, +resembling those of human voices in distress or pain. The ice was broken +into thousands of confused shapes, but none, Hans thought, like the +ordinary forms of splintered ice. There seemed a curious EXPRESSION +about all their outlines--a perpetual resemblance to living features, +distorted and scornful. Myriads of deceitful shadows and lurid lights +played and floated about and through the pale blue pinnacles, dazzling +and confusing the sight of the traveler; while his ears grew dull and +his head giddy with the constant gush and roar of the concealed waters. +These painful circumstances increased upon him as he advanced; the ice +crashed and yawned into fresh chasms at his feet, tottering spires +nodded around him, and fell thundering across his path; and though he +had repeatedly faced these dangers on the most terrific glaciers, and in +the wildest weather, it was with a new and oppressive feeling of panic- +terror that he leaped the last chasm, and flung himself, exhausted and +shuddering on the firm turf of the mountain. + +He had been compelled to abandon his basket of food, which became a +perilous incumbrance on the glacier, and had now no means of refreshing +himself but by breaking off and eating some of the pieces of ice. This, +however, relieved his thirst; an hour's repose recruited his hardy +frame, and, with the indomitable spirit of avarice, he resumed his +laborious journey. + +His way now lay straight up a ridge of bare, red rocks, without a blade +of grass to ease the foot or a projecting angle to afford an inch of +shade from the south sun. It was past noon, and the rays beat intensely +upon the steep path, while the whole atmosphere was motionless, and +penetrated with heat. Intense thirst was soon added to the bodily +fatigue with which Hans was now afflicted; glance after glance he cast +on the flask of water which hung at his belt. "Three drops are enough," +at last thought he; "I may, at least, cool my lips with it." + +He opened the flask, and was raising it to his lips, when his eye fell +on an object lying on the rock beside him; he thought it moved. It was a +small dog, apparently in the last agony of death from thirst. Its tongue +was out, its jaws dry, its limbs extended lifelessly, and a swarm of +black ants were crawling about its lips and throat. Its eye moved to the +bottle which Hans held in his hand. He raised it, drank, spurned the +animal with his foot, and passed on. And he did not know how it was, but +he thought that a strange shadow had suddenly come across the blue sky. + +The path became steeper and more rugged every moment; and the high hill +air, instead of refreshing him, seemed to throw his blood into a fever. +The noise of the hill cataracts sounded like mockery in his ears; they +were all distant, and his thirst increased every moment. Another hour +passed, and he again looked down to the flask at his side; it was half +empty, but there was much more than three drops in it. He stopped to +open it, and again, as he did so, something moved in the path above him. +It was a fair child, stretched nearly lifeless on the rock, its breast +heaving with thirst, its eyes closed, and its lips parched and burning. +Hans eyed it deliberately, drank, and passed on. And a dark gray cloud +came over the sun, and long snake-like shadows crept up along the +mountain sides. Hans struggled on. The sun was sinking, but its descent +seemed to bring no coolness; the leaden weight of the dead air pressed +upon his brow and heart, but the goal was near. He saw the cataract of +the Golden River springing from the hillside, scarcely five hundred feet +above him. He paused for a moment to breathe, and sprang on to complete +his task. + +At this instant a faint cry fell on his ear. He turned, and saw a gray- +haired old man extended on the rocks. His eyes were sunk, his features +deadly pale, and gathered into an expression of despair. "Water!"--he +stretched his arms to Hans, and cried feebly--"Water! I am dying." + +[Illustration: THOU HAST HAD THY SHARE OF LIFE] + +"I have none," replied Hans; "thou hast had thy share of life." He +strode over the prostrate body, and darted on. And a flash of blue +lightning rose out of the east, shaped like a sword; it shook thrice +over the whole heaven, and left it dark with one heavy, impenetrable +shade. The sun was setting; it plunged toward the horizon like a red-hot +ball. + +The roar of the Golden River rose on Hans's ear. He stood at the brink +of the chasm through which it ran. Its waves were filled with the red +glory of the sunset; they shook their crests like tongues of fire, and +flashes of bloody light gleamed along their foam. Their sound came +mightier and mightier on his senses; his brain grew giddy with the +prolonged thunder. Shuddering, he drew the flask from his girdle, and +hurled it into the centre of the torrent. As he did so, an icy chill +shot through his limbs; he staggered, shrieked, and fell. The water +closed over his cry. And the moaning of the river rose wildly into the +night, as it gushed over + + The Black Stone. + + + +IV + + +Poor little Gluck waited very anxiously alone in the house for Hans's +return. Finding he did not come back, he was terribly frightened, and +went and told Schwartz in the prison all that had happened. Then +Schwartz was very much pleased, and said that Hans must certainly have +been turned into a black stone, and he should have all the gold to +himself. But Gluck was very sorry, and cried all night. When he got up +in the morning, there was no bread in the house, nor any money; so Gluck +went and hired himself to another goldsmith, and he worked so hard, and +so neatly, and so long every day, that he soon got money enough together +to pay his brother's fine, and he went and gave it all to Schwartz, and +Schwartz got out of prison. Then Schwartz was quite pleased, and said he +should have some of the gold of the river. But Gluck only begged he +would go and see what had become of Hans. + +Now when Schwartz had heard that Hans had stolen the holy water, he +thought to himself that such a proceeding might not be considered +altogether correct by the King of the Golden River, and determined to +manage matters better. So he took some more of Gluck's money, and went +to a bad priest, who gave him some holy water very readily for it. Then +Schwartz was sure it was all quite right. So Schwartz got up early in +the morning before the sun rose, and took some bread and wine in a +basket, and put his holy water in a flask, and set off for the +mountains. + +Like his brother, he was much surprised at the sight of the glacier, and +had great difficulty in crossing it, even after leaving his basket +behind him. + +The day was cloudless, but not bright; a heavy purple haze was hanging +over the sky, and the hills looked lowering and gloomy. And as Schwartz +climbed the steep rock path, the thirst came upon him, as it had upon +his brother, until he lifted his flask to his lips to drink. Then he saw +the fair child lying near him on the rocks, and it cried to him, and +moaned for water. + +"Water, indeed," said Schwartz; "I haven't half enough for myself," and +passed on. And as he went he thought the sunbeams grew more dim, and he +saw a low bank of black cloud rising out of the west; and when he had +climbed for another hour the thirst overcame him again, and he would +have drunk. Then he saw the old man lying before him on the path, and +heard him cry out for water. + +"Water, indeed," said Schwartz; "I haven't half enough for myself," and +on he went. + +[Illustration: HE CAST THE FLASK INTO THE STREAM] + +Then again the light seemed to fade from before his eyes, and he looked +up, and, behold, a mist, of the color of blood, had come over the sun; +and the bank of black cloud had risen very high, and its edges were +tossing and tumbling like the waves of the angry sea. And they cast long +shadows, which flickered over Schwartz's path. + +Then Schwartz climbed for another hour, and again his thirst returned; +and as he lifted his flask to his lips, he thought he saw his brother +Hans lying exhausted on the path before him, and, as he gazed, the +figure stretched its arms to him, and cried for water. "Ha, ha!" laughed +Schwartz, "are you there? Remember the prison bars, my boy. Water, +indeed! do you suppose I carried it all the way up here for you?" And he +strode over the figure; yet, as he passed, he thought he saw a strange +expression of mockery about its lips. And when he had gone a few yards +farther, he looked back; but the figure was not there. + +And a sudden horror came over Schwartz, he knew not why; but the thirst +for gold prevailed over his fear, and he rushed on. And the bank of +black cloud rose to the zenith, and out of it came bursts of spiry +lightning, and waves of darkness seemed to heave and float between their +flashes, over the whole heavens. And the sky where the sun was setting +was all level, and like a lake of blood; and a strong wind came out of +that sky, tearing its crimson clouds into fragments, and scattering them +far into the darkness. And when Schwartz stood by the brink of the +Golden River, its waves were black like thunder-clouds, but their foam +was like fire; and the roar of the waters below and the thunder above +met, as he cast the flask into the stream. And, as he did so, the +lightning glared in his eyes, and the earth gave way beneath him, and +the waters closed over his cry. And the moaning of the river rose wildly +into the night, as it gushed over + + The Two Black Stones. + + + +V + + +When Gluck found that Schwartz did not come back, he was very sorry, and +did not know what to do. He had no money, and was obliged to go and hire +himself again to the goldsmith, who worked him very hard, and gave him +very little money. So, after a month or two, Gluck grew tired, and made +up his mind to go and try his fortune with the Golden River. "The little +king looked very kind," thought he. "I don't think he will turn me into +a black stone." So he went to the priest, and the priest gave him some +holy water as soon as he asked for it. Then Gluck took some bread in his +basket, and the bottle of water, and set off very early for the +mountains. + +If the glacier had occasioned a great deal of fatigue to his brothers, +it was twenty times worse for him, who was neither so strong nor so +practiced on the mountains. He had several very bad falls, lost his +basket and bread, and was very much frightened at the strange noises +under the ice. He lay a long time to rest on the grass, after he had got +over, and began to climb the hill just in the hottest part of the day. +When he had climbed for an hour, he got dreadfully thirsty, and was +going to drink like his brothers, when he saw an old man coming down the +path above him, looking very feeble, and leaning on a staff. + +"My son," said the old man, "I am faint with thirst; give me some of +that water." + +Then Gluck looked at him, and when he saw that he was pale and weary, he +gave him the water. + +"Only pray don't drink it all," said Gluck. But the old man drank a +great deal, and gave him back the bottle two thirds empty. Then he bade +him good speed, and Gluck went on again merrily. And the path became +easier to his feet, and two or three blades of grass appeared upon it, +and some grasshoppers began singing on the bank beside it; and Gluck +thought he had never heard such merry singing. + +Then he went on for another hour, and the thirst increased on him so +that he thought he should be forced to drink. But, as he raised the +flask, he saw a little child lying panting by the roadside, and it cried +out piteously for water. Then Gluck struggled with himself and +determined to bear the thirst a little longer; and he put the bottle to +the child's lips, and it drank it all but a few drops. Then it smiled on +him and got up, and ran down the hill; and Gluck looked after it, till +it became as small as a little star, and then turned, and began climbing +again. And then there were all kinds of sweet flowers growing on the +rocks, bright green moss, with pale pink starry flowers, and soft-belled +gentians, more blue than the sky at its deepest, and pure white +transparent lilies. And crimson and purple butterflies darted hither and +thither, and the sky sent down such pure light that Gluck had never felt +so happy in his life. + +Yet, when he had climbed for another hour, his thirst became intolerable +again; and, when he looked at his bottle, he saw that there were only +five or six drops left in it, and he could not venture to drink. And as +he was hanging the flask to his belt again, he saw a little dog lying on +the rocks, gasping for breath--just as Hans had seen it on the day of +his ascent. And Gluck stopped and looked at it, and then at the Golden +River, not five hundred yards above him; and he thought of the dwarf's +words, that no one could succeed, except in his first attempt; and he +tried to pass the dog, but it whined piteously, and Gluck stopped again. +"Poor beastie," said Gluck, "it'll be dead when I come down again, if I +don't help it." Then he looked closer and closer at it, and its eye +turned on him so mournfully that he could not stand it. "Confound the +King and his gold too," said Gluck; and he opened the flask, and poured +all the water into the dog's mouth. + +The dog sprang up and stood on its hind legs. Its tail disappeared, its +ears became long, longer, silky, golden; its nose became very red, its +eyes became very twinkling; in three seconds the dog was gone, and +before Gluck stood his old acquaintance, the King of the Golden River. + +"Thank you," said the monarch; "but don't be frightened, it's all +right"; for Gluck showed manifest symptoms of consternation at this +unlooked-for reply to his last observation. "Why didn't you come +before," continued the dwarf, "instead of sending me those rascally +brothers of yours, for me to have the trouble of turning into stones? +Very hard stones they make, too." + +"Oh dear me!" said Gluck; "have you really been so cruel?" + +"Cruel?" said the dwarf; "they poured unholy water into my stream; do +you suppose I'm going to allow that?" + +[Illustration: THE DWARF SHOOK THE DROPS INTO THE FLASK] + +"Why," said Gluck, "I am sure, sir--your Majesty, I mean--they got the +water out of the church font." + +"Very probably," replied the dwarf; "but," and his countenance grew +stern as he spoke, "the water which has been refused to the cry of the +weary and dying is unholy, though it had been blessed by every saint in +heaven; and the water which is found in the vessel of mercy is holy, +though it had been denied with corpses." + +So saying, the dwarf stooped and plucked a lily that grew at his feet. +On its white leaves hung three drops of clear dew, and the dwarf shook +them into the flask which Gluck held in his hand. "Cast these into the +river," he said, "and descend on the other side of the mountains into +the Treasure Valley. And so good speed." + +As he spoke, the figure of the dwarf became indistinct. The playing +colors of his robe formed themselves into a prismatic mist of dewy +light; he stood for an instant veiled with them as with the belt of a +broad rainbow. The colors grew faint, the mist rose into the air; the +monarch had evaporated. + +And Gluck climbed to the brink of the Golden River, and its waves were +as clear as crystal and as brilliant as the sun. + +And when he cast the three drops of dew into the stream, there opened +where they fell a small circular whirlpool, into which the waters +descended with a musical noise. + +Gluck stood watching it for some time, very much disappointed, because +not only the river was not turned into gold, but its waters seemed much +diminished in quantity. Yet he obeyed his friend the dwarf, and +descended the other side of the mountains, toward the Treasure Valley; +and, as he went, he thought he heard the noise of water working its way +under the ground. And when he came in sight of the Treasure Valley, +behold, a river, like the Golden River, was springing from a new cleft +of the rocks above it, and was flowing in innumerable streams among the +dry heaps of red sand. + +And as Gluck gazed, fresh grass sprang beside the new streams, and +creeping plants grew, and climbed among the moistening soil. Young +flowers opened suddenly along the river sides, as stars leap out when +twilight is deepening, and thickets of myrtle and tendrils of vine cast +lengthening shadows over the valley as they grew. And thus the Treasure +Valley became a garden again, and the inheritance which had been lost by +cruelty was regained by love. + +And Gluck went and dwelt in the valley, and the poor were never driven +from his door; so that his barns became full of corn, and his house of +treasure. And, for him, the river had, according to the dwarf's promise, +become a River of Gold. + +And to this day the inhabitants of the valley point out the place where +the three drops of holy dew were cast into the stream, and trace the +course of the Golden River under the ground, until it emerges in the +Treasure Valley. And at the top of the cataract of the Golden River are +still to be seen two black stones, round which the waters howl +mournfully every day at sunset; and these stones are still called, by +the people of the valley, + + The Black Brothers. + + +It would be a rather hard thing to choose the very best fairy story, but +there are a great many persons who would say that, everything +considered, The King of the Golden River is the finest. Many like The +Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Andersen, and it certainly is a +beautiful story. We must remember in comparing the two that The Ugly +Duckling has probably lost something in being translated into the +English, for it is almost impossible to make a translation as perfect as +the original. For the reason just given, perhaps, The King of the Golden +River excels as literature, and almost every boy or girl is glad to +study the story enough to understand what makes it so very fine. + +As soon as we have read it we feel that it is an interesting story, and +that we are really the better for reading it. We cannot follow the +fortunes of little Gluck without feeling our hearts grow warmer at his +kindly acts, or without knowing that the hospitality, self-denial, +sympathy and generosity that he shows are some of the finest traits of +human character. Moreover, we are inspired with the desire to be like +Gluck, and to curb any inclination to become like his two dark brothers. + +What we wish to do, however, in this brief study, is to try to find some +other points less noticeable, perhaps, but equally interesting, in which +this story excels many others. Now, one of these points is the +remarkably brilliant way in which things are described by Mr. Ruskin. + +We remember that he was a famous English writer who had a very high +regard for painting, and who wrote about pictures until he made the +world believe many of the sensible things he said. Naturally, the writer +who had such an appreciation for pictures would be particular in +description. In other words, we should expect him to paint for us +beautiful word pictures. In this we are not disappointed, when we reach, +for instance, the description of the beautiful morning when Hans started +out on his journey to the Golden River. You will find it in an early +part of the third section of the story. + +It is not necessary for Ruskin to describe the view that lay before +Hans, but his love for the beautiful and his passion for colors made him +sketch for us the imaginary beauties that lay before the selfish and +avaricious man. On our part we must try to see the picture as the author +saw it when he wrote. + +Imagine rising before us a valley, surrounded on both sides by massive +mountains. The valley, we may say, runs north and south, and we are at +the south end of it, for on the cliffs at the west side the sun is +shining, its long level rays piercing the fringe of pines and touching +with a ruddy color the tops of the mountains. It would be a difficult +matter to climb the masses of castellated rock shivered into numberless +curious forms, for they extend far into the region of eternal snow, and +from where we stand it seems as though they pierce the blue heavens. The +snow line is not level along the cliffs, for in places the drifts lie +deep in chasms which, from a distance, look like branching rivers of +pure white, or, as Ruskin says, when lighted by the sun, appear like +"lines of forked lightning." At one end of the valley we may see the +Golden River, surging, possibly, from the eastern wall, as it is almost +wholly in the shadow; yet there are dashes of spray which the shining +sun turns to gold. Between the Golden River and ourselves lie some broad +fields of ice. In fact, the picture is not altogether one of beauty, for +there is a suggestion of sublimity and awe mixed with the view which +causes us to shudder in spite of the glowing radiance of the morning. In +the next paragraph Hans is shown proceeding on his journey, and then the +depressing elements in the picture become clearer. + +What did Hans find that surprised him? Did it appear a longer walk to +the Golden River than he had anticipated? What was the nature of the +ice? If a person were crossing a glacier, would sounds of rushing water +tend to frighten him? Was the surface of the glacier smooth? Were there +many fragments of ice that seemed to take human form? Why are the +shadows called deceitful? What are lurid lights? What effect did the +sights and sounds have upon Hans? Had Hans been in similar dangers +before? Were these dangers worse than ever before, or was Hans in the +mood to be disturbed by them? + +When you have answered the questions in the last paragraph, finish for +yourselves the picture of the valley as we first sketched it. Close your +eyes and try to see the valley, mountains, sunlight, great rocks, +yawning chasms, and the enormous fragments of ice that looked like +terrible beings ready to devour any one who came near them. When you +have done this, you will realize the power of Ruskin's descriptions. + +Now compare the valley as Hans saw it with the valley as Schwartz and +Gluck saw it. What changes are there in the picture? + +There are other descriptions in the story besides those of the valley +and the Golden River. It would be interesting to go through and compare +the different pictures which Ruskin gives us of the King of the Golden +River. If we should do this we might gather our information and put it +into a table something like this: + + +THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER + +I. First Appearance. + +1. He is an extraordinary-looking little gentleman. +2. Nose,--large and slightly brass-colored. +3. Cheeks,--round and very red. +4. Eyes,--twinkling under silky lashes. +5. Mustaches,--curled twice around. +6. Hair,--long and of a curious mixed pepper-and-salt color. +7. Height,--four feet six. +8. Clothing: + a. Cap,--conical-pointed, four feet six inches (nearly). + (1) Black feather, three feet long. + b. Doublet. + c. Coat,--exaggerated swallow-tail. + d. Cloak,--enormous, black, glossy-looking, eighteen feet long. + +II. Second Appearance (spinning on the globe of foam). + +1. Cap and all as before. + +III. Third Appearance. + +1. The drinking-mug. +a. The handle of two wreaths of golden hair descending and mixing + with the beard and whiskers. + b. Face,--small, fierce, reddish-gold. + c. Nose,--red. + d. Eyes,--sharp. + +2. The King. + a. Height,--one and a half feet; a golden dwarf. + b. Legs,--little and yellow. + c. Face,--as before. + d. Doublet,--slashed, of spun gold, prismatic colors. + e. Hair,--exquisitely delicate curls. + f. Features,--coppery, fierce and determined in expression. + +IV. Fourth Appearance. + +1. Same as in third appearance. + +V. Different Forms the King Assumes: + +1. To Hans: +a. A small dog, dying of thirst; tongue hanging out, jaws dry; + almost lifeless; ants crawling about its lips and throat. +b. A fair child, nearly lifeless; breast heaving with thirst; eyes + closed; lips parched and burning. + c. An old man; sunken features; deadly pale and expressing despair. + +2. To Schwartz: + a. The fair child as it appeared to Hans. + b. The old man who appeared to Hans. + c. Brother Hans exhausted and begging for water. + +3. To Gluck: + a. An old man leaning on a staff. + b. A little child panting by the roadside. + c. A little dog gasping for breath, which changes into the king. + +There are a great many things besides vivid descriptions that make The +King of the Golden River a fine story. But it is not a good idea to +study any selection in literature too long or too hard, for in so doing +we are likely to lose our interest in the selection or even to take a +dislike to it. You know if we look too long at a beautiful sunset our +eyes grow weary and we seem to lose our power to admire it, but when the +next evening comes, with another glorious sunset, we are just as much +interested in it as ever. So it is with reading. If a thing is really +brilliant, we may look at it so long that our minds become tired; but we +can leave it for a while and come back to it with renewed interest. + +Accordingly, when we have studied the descriptions of The King of the +Golden River we have probably done enough for one day or one time, at +least. Some other time we shall enjoy returning to it and finding new +things. For instance, we might like to see how many beautiful sentences, +or what great thoughts we can find well expressed. + +Of the fine quotations here are two: + +"And there were bright tongues of fiery cloud burning and quivering +about them; and the river, brighter than all, fell, in a waving column +of pure gold." + +"A flash of blue lightning rose out of the east, shaped like a sword; it +shook thrice over the whole heaven, and left it dark with one heavy, +impenetrable shade." + + + + +THE STORY OF ESTHER + + +I + + +Now it came to pass in the third year of the reign of Ahasuerus, when +the king sat on the throne which is in Shushan the palace, he made a +feast unto all his princes and servants, and showed the riches of his +glorious kingdom for many days. + +And when these days were expired, the king made a feast in Shushan the +palace, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. + +The silken hangings were white, green, and blue, fastened with cords of +fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble; and the +couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and +white, and black marble. + +On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry, he commanded +the chamberlains that served in his presence to bring Vashti the queen +before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes +her beauty; for she was fair to look on. + +But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his +chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in +him. + +Then the king said to the wise men, "What shall I do unto Queen Vashti +because she has not performed the commandment of the King?" + +And they answered before the king, "Vashti the queen hath done wrong not +to the king only, but also to the princes and to all the people in all +the provinces of the king's dominions. Therefore, if it please the king, +let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among +the laws of the Persians and the Medes, which may not be altered, +'Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus;' and let the king give +her royal estate unto another that is better than she." + +And the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king did +according to the word of the wise men. + + + +II + + +After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased, the +servants that ministered unto the king said, "Let there be fair young +virgins sought for the king. And let the king appoint officers in all +the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair +young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto +the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, and let the maiden which +pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti." + +And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. + +Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was +Mordecai, who had been carried from Jerusalem into captivity by +Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and who brought up Esther, his +uncle's daughter. She had neither father nor mother, and the maid was +fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai took for his own daughter. So it came +to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when +many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, that Esther +was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hege. + +The maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him, and he +preferred her and her maids unto the best in the house of the women. And +Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know +how Esther did, and what should become of her. + +So Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus, and the king loved Esther above +all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than +all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her +queen instead of Vashti. + +Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, +even Esther's feast. + +And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then +Mordecai sat in the king's gate. + +Esther had not yet told her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had +charged her; for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when +she was brought up by him. + +In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's +chamberlains, who kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on +the king Ahasuerus. + +And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; +and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai's name. + +And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found true; +therefore they were both hanged on a tree. + + + +III + + +After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of +Hammedatha, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes +that were with him. + +And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and +reverenced Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But +Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. + +Then the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, said unto +Mordecai, "Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?" + +Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened +not unto them, that they told Haman, for Mordecai had told them that he +was a Jew. + +And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then +was Haman full of wrath. + +And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; wherefore Haman +sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of +Ahasuerus, even all the people of Mordecai. + +And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered +abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy +kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people, neither keep they +the king's laws; therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer +them. + +"If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed, +and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that +have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's +treasuries." + +[Illustration: MORDECAI IN THE KING'S GATE] + +And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman, the +son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy, and said: + +"The people are given to thee to do with them as it seemeth good to +thee." + +Then were the king's scribes called, and there was written according to +all that Haman had commanded, unto the king's lieutenants, governors and +rulers of every province, and to every people in the kingdom after their +own language. And it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and +sealed with the king's ring. + +And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to +destroy and to kill all Jews, both young and old, little children and +women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, +and to take the spoil of them for a prey. + + + +IV + + +When Mordecai perceived all that was done, he rent his clothes, and put +on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and +cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and came even before the king's +gate, for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. + +And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his +decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and +weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. + +So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told her about Mordecai. +Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe +Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he received it +not. + +Then called Esther for the chamberlain whom the king had appointed to +attend upon her, and sent him to Mordecai to know what it was, and why +it was that he mourned. And the chamberlain went forth to Mordecai unto +the street of the city which was before the King's gate. + +And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him. + +Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at +Shushan to destroy the Jews, to show it unto Esther, and to charge her +that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and +to make request before him for her people. + +The chamberlain came and told Esther the words of Mordecai, and again +Esther sent to Mordecai, saying: + +"All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do +know, that for every one, whether man or woman, that shall come unto the +king into the inner court, when he is not called, there is one law to +put him to death; except those to whom the king shall hold out the +golden sceptre; but I have not been called to come in unto the king +these thirty days." + +And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. + +Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, "Think not with thyself that +thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than the other Jews. + +"For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall +deliverance arise to the Jews from another source; but thou and thy +father's house shall be destroyed. Who knoweth whether thou art not come +to the kingdom for such a purpose as this?" + +[Illustration: HE PUT ON SACKCLOTH WITH ASHES] + +Then Esther bade them return this answer: + +"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast +ye for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day; I +also, and my maidens, will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the +king, although it is not according to the law; and if I perish, I +perish." + +So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had +commanded him. + + + +V + + +Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal +apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house; and the king +sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of +the house. + +And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, +that she obtained favour in his sight; and the king held out to Esther +the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and +touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, "What wilt +thou, Queen Esther? and what is thy request? It shall be given thee even +to the half of my kingdom." + +And Esther answered, "If it seem good unto the king, let the king and +Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." + +Then the king said, "Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther +hath said." + +So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. + +And the king said unto Esther at the banquet, "What is thy petition and +thy request, and it shall be given thee even to the half of my kingdom." + +Then answered Esther, and said, "My petition and my request is: If I +have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to +grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman +come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and on the morrow I +will make my request as the king hath said." + +Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when +Haman saw, in the king's gate, that Mordecai stood not up, nor moved for +him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman +refrained himself; and when he came home, he sent and called for his +friends, and his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, +and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king +had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and +servants of the king. + +Haman said moreover, "Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with +the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to- +morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. + +"Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew +sitting at the king's gate." + +Then said his wife and all his friends, "Let a gallows be made of fifty +cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be +hanged thereon; then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet." +And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made. + + + +VI + + +On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the +book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. + +And it was found written therein that Mordecai had told of the two +keepers of the door who had sought to lay hand on King Ahasuerus. + +And the king said, "What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai +for this?" + +Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, "There is +nothing done for him." + +And the king said, "Who is in the court?" + +Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to ask +the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. + +And the king's servants said unto Ahasuerus, "Behold, Haman standeth in +the court." + +And the king said, "Let him come in." + +So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, "What shall be done unto +the man whom the king delighteth to honour?" + +Now Haman thought in his heart, "To whom would the king delight to do +honour more than to myself?" And Haman answered the king, "For the man +whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought +which the king weareth, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the +crown royal which is set upon his head. And let this apparel and horse +be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that +they may array the man whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him +on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, +'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.'" + +Then the king said to Haman, "Make haste, and take the apparel and the +horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that +sitteth at the king's gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast +spoken." + +Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and +brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed +before him, "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth +to honour." + +And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his +house, mourning, and having his head covered. + +And Haman told his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen +him. + +Then said his wise men and his wife, "If Mordecai be of the seed of the +Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail +against him, but shalt surely fall before him." + +And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, +and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. + + + +VII + + +So the king and Haman came to the banquet with Esther the queen. + +And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of +wine, "What is thy petition, Queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee; +and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of +the kingdom." + +Then Esther the queen answered and said, "If I have found favour in thy +sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my +petition, and my people at my request, for we are sold, I and my people, +to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for +bondmen and bondwomen only, I had held my tongue." + +Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, "Who is +he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?" + +And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Then +Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. + +And one of the chamberlains said before the king, "Behold, the gallows +fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken +good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." + +Then the king said, "Hang him thereon." + +So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. +Then was the king's wrath pacified. + + + +VIII + + +And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto +her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and +gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. + +And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, +and besought him with tears to put away the mischief that Haman had +devised against the Jews. + +Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose +and stood before the king, and said, "If it please the king, and if I +have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the +king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the +letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to +destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces; for how can I +endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I +endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" + +[Illustration: THEN HAMAN WAS AFRAID] + +Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the +Jew, "Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have +hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. + +"Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and +seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the +king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse." + +Then were the king's scribes called, and it was written according to all +that Mordecai commanded, unto the Jews, unto every province and unto +every people according to their writing, and according to their +language. + +And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of +blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of +fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. +The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. + +And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's +commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast +and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the +fear of the Jews fell upon them. + + +The story of Esther as told here is taken from the book of Esther in the +Bible. It has been abridged slightly, and a few words changed. + + + + +THE DARNING-NEEDLE + +By Hans Christian Andersen + + +There was once a Darning-Needle who thought herself so fine, she +imagined she was an embroidering needle. + +"Take care, and mind you hold me tight!" she said to the Fingers which +took her out. "Don't let me fall! If I fall on the ground I shall +certainly never be found again, for I am so fine!" + +"That's as it may be," said the Fingers; and they grasped her round the +body. + +"See, I'm coming with a train!" said the Darning-Needle, and she drew a +long thread after her, but there was no knot in the thread. + +The Fingers pointed the needle just at the cook's slipper, in which the +upper leather had burst, and was to be sewn together. + +"That's vulgar work," said the Darning-Needle. "I shall never get +through. I'm breaking! I'm breaking!" And she really broke. "Did I not +say so?" said the Darning-Needle; "I'm too fine." "Now it's quite +useless," said the Fingers; but they were obliged to hold her fast, all +the same; for the cook dropped some sealing wax upon the needle, and +pinned her kerchief about her neck with it. + +"So now I'm a breastpin!" said the Darning-Needle. "I knew very well +that I should come to honor; when one is something, one comes to +something." + +And she laughed quietly to herself--and one can never see when a +Darning-Needle laughs. There she sat, as proud as if she were in a state +coach, and looked all about her. + +"May I be permitted to ask if you are gold?" she inquired of the Pin, +her neighbor. "You have a very pretty appearance, and a peculiar head, +but it is only little. You must take pains to grow, for it's not every +one that has sealing wax dropped upon him." + +And the Darning-Needle drew herself up so proudly that she fell out of +the handkerchief right into the sink, which the cook was rinsing out. + +"Now we're going on a journey," said the Darning-Needle. "If I only +don't get lost!" + +But she really was lost. + +"I'm too fine for this world," she observed, as she lay in the gutter. +"But I know who I am, and there's always something in that." + +So the Darning-Needle kept her proud behavior, and did not lose her good +humor. And things of many kinds swam over her--chips and straws and +pieces of old newspapers. + +"Only look how they sail!" said the Darning-Needle. "They don't know +what is under them! I'm here; I remain firmly here. See, there goes a +chip thinking of nothing in the world but himself--of a chip! There's a +straw going by now. How he turns? How he twirls about! Don't think only +of yourself; you might easily run up against a stone. There swims a bit +of newspaper. What's written upon it has long been forgotten, and yet it +gives itself airs. I sit quietly and patiently here. I know who I am, +and I shall remain what I am." + +One day something lay close beside her that glittered splendidly; then +the Darning-Needle believed that it was a diamond; but it was a Bit of +broken Bottle; and because it shone, the Darning-Needle spoke to it, +introducing herself as a breastpin. + +"I suppose you are a diamond?" she observed. + +"Why, yes, something of that kind." + +And then each believed the other to be a very valuable thing; and they +began speaking about the world, and how very conceited it was. + +"I have been in a lady's box," said the Darning-Needle, "and this lady +was a cook. She had five fingers on each hand, and I never saw anything +so conceited as those five fingers. And yet they were only there that +they might take me out of the box, and put me back into it." + +"Were they of good birth?" asked the Bit of Bottle. + +"No, indeed," replied the Darning-Needle, "but very haughty. There were +five brothers, all of the Finger family. They kept very proudly +together, though they were of different lengths. The outermost, the +Thumbling, was short and fat; he walked out in front of the ranks, and +had only one joint in his back, and could only make a single bow; but he +said if he were hacked off from a man, that man was useless for service +in war. Dainty-Mouth, the second finger, thrust himself into sweet and +sour, pointed to the sun and moon, and gave the impression when they +wrote. Longman, the third, looked at all the others over his shoulder. +Goldborder, the fourth, went about with a golden belt round his waist; +and little Playman did nothing at all, and was proud of it. There was +nothing but bragging among them, and therefore I went away." + +"And now we sit here and glitter!" said the Bit of Bottle. + +At that moment more water came into the gutter, so that it overflowed, +and the Bit of Bottle was carried away. + +"So, he is disposed of," observed the Darning-Needle. "I remain here; I +am too fine. But that's my pride, and my pride is honorable." And +proudly she sat there, and had many great thoughts. "I could almost +believe I had been born of a sunbeam, I'm so fine. It really appears to +me as if the sunbeams were always seeking for me under the water. Ah! +I'm so fine that my mother cannot find me. If I had my old eye, which +broke off, I think I should cry; but no, I should not do that; it's not +genteel to cry." + +One day a couple of street boys lay grubbing in the gutter, where they +sometimes found old nails, farthings, and similar treasures. It was +dirty work, but they took great delight in it. + +"Oh!" cried one, who had pricked himself with the Darning-Needle. +"There's a fellow for you." + +"I'm not a fellow, I'm a young lady," said the Darning-Needle. + +But nobody listened to her. The sealing wax had come off, and she had +turned black; but black makes one look slender, and she thought herself +finer even than before. + +"Here comes an eggshell sailing along," said the boys; and they stuck +the Darning-Needle fast into the eggshell. + +"White walls, and black myself! that looks well," remarked the Darning- +Needle. "Now one can see me. I only hope I shall not be seasick!" But +she was not seasick at all. "One is proof against seasickness if one has +a steel stomach and does not forget that one is a little more than an +ordinary person! The finer one is, the more one can bear." + +"Crack!" went the eggshell, for a hand-barrow went over her. + +"How it crushes one!" said the Darning-Needle. "I'm getting seasick now +--I'm quite sick." + +But she was not really sick, though the hand-barrow had run over her; +she lay there at full length, and there she may lie. + + + + +THE POTATO + +By Thomas Moore + + + I'm a careless potato, and care not a pin + How into existence I came; + If they planted me drill-wise, or dibbled me in, + To me 'tis exactly the same. + The bean and the pea may more loftily tower, + But I care not a button for them; + Defiance I nod with my beautiful flower + When the earth is hoed up to my stem. + + + + +THE QUEEN OF THE UNDER-WORLD + + +Ceres, goddess of agriculture, had one daughter, named Proserpina, whom +she loved more than anything else in earth or sky. Sometimes Proserpina +accompanied her mother as she journeyed over the earth in her dragon- +car, making the corn grow; sometimes she traveled about the earth by +herself, tending the flowers, which were her special care; but what she +liked best was to stray with her companions, the nymphs, on the slopes +of Mount AEtna, + + "I, a maiden, dwelt + With loved Demeter[FN below] on the sunny plains + Of our own Sicily. There, day by day, + I sported with my playmate goddesses + In virgin freedom. Budding age made gay + Our lightsome feet, and on the flowery slopes + We wandered daily, gathering flowers to weave + In careless garlands for our locks, and passed + The days in innocent gladness." + +[Footnote: The Greeks and Romans, while they believed in many of the +same gods, had different names for them. The Latin names are the ones +most commonly used. Thus the goddess whom the Romans called Ceres, the +Greeks knew as Demeter, while her daughter, Proserpina, was by the +Greeks called Persephone. The poetic quotations used in this story are +from the Epic of Hades, by Lewis Morris.] + +All the year round the maidens enjoyed these pleasures, for never yet +had the change of seasons appeared upon the earth; never had the cold, +sunless days come to make the earth barren. + + "There was then + Summer nor winter, springtide nor the time + Of harvest, but the soft unfailing sun + Shone always, and the sowing time was one + With reaping; fruit and flower together sprung + Upon the trees; and the blade and ripened ear + Together clothed the plains." + +One day while they played and laughed and sang, vying with each other as +to which could make the most beautiful garlands, they were startled by a +strange rumbling sound. Nearer it came, louder it grew; and suddenly to +the frightened eyes of the maidens there appeared a great chariot, drawn +by four wild-looking, foam-flecked black steeds. Not long did the girls +gaze at the horses or the chariot--all eyes were drawn in fascination to +the driver of the car. He was handsome as only a god could be, and yet +so gloomy that all knew instantly he could be none other than Pluto, +king of the underworld. + +Suddenly, while his horses were almost at full speed, he jerked them to +a standstill. Then he sprang to the ground, seized Proserpina in his +arms, mounted his chariot, and was off before the frightened nymphs +could catch their breath to cry out. Poor Prosperina screamed and wept, +but no one was near to help her or even to hear her. On they flew, Pluto +doing his best to console the weeping girl, but refusing, with a stern +shake of the head and a black frown, her plea that she might be allowed +to return to her own home, or at least to bid farewell to her mother. + +[Illustration: PLUTO SEIZED PROSERPINA] + +"Never!" he exclaimed. "I have as much right as the other gods to a +beautiful wife; and since I knew that you, whom I had seen and loved, +would not go with me willingly, I took this way to compel you." + +When they came at last to the bank of a raging river, and were obliged +to halt, Proserpina redoubled her cries, but still no one heard. Pluto, +fuming and fretting and calling down curses on the River Cyane, which +thus opposed his passage, seized his great two-pronged fork and struck +the earth a terrific blow. To Proserpina's horror a great cavern opened +before them, into which they were rapidly whirled. Then, with a crash, +the chasm closed behind them, and they moved on in utter darkness. The +horses seemed to find their way as easily as in the light, however, and +Pluto heaved a sigh of relief as the last of the daylight disappeared. + +"Do not tremble so, my fair Proserpina," he said, in a voice far from +unkind. "When your eyes become accustomed to the gloom, you will find it +much more restful than the glare we have left behind us." + +Proserpina's only reply was "My mother! O, my poor mother!" And truly +Ceres deserved pity. She had hastened at evening back to her home in +Sicily, happy in the thought of seeing her daughter, only to find that +daughter gone. The nymphs had retreated, long before, to their beds of +seaweed in the green ocean, and no one else could give the poor +distracted mother any news. When black night had really settled over the +earth, Ceres closed the door of her home, vowing never to open it until +she returned with Proserpina. Then, lighting a torch, she set forth, +alone and on foot, to seek her daughter. + +From country to country she roamed, all over the earth, neither eating +nor sleeping, but spending day and night in her search. Of every one she +met she demanded, "Have you seen my daughter?" + +No one recognized her; and small wonder, for her grief had changed her +in appearance from a radiant goddess to a haggard, sad-eyed old woman. +"Mad," whispered people as they passed her; for her clothes were ragged +and flapping about her, and always, even in the brightest sunlight, she +bore in her hand the lighted torch. + +One day, weary and hopeless, she sank upon a stone by the roadside, and +sat there with her head in her hands, wondering to what land she could +next turn her footsteps. + +A soft, pitying voice broke in upon her grief, and she raised her head +to see two young girls standing before her. + +"Poor old woman," said one, "why are you so sad?" + +"Ah," cried Ceres, "when I look upon you I am sadder still, for I have +lost my only child." + +Impulsively the older girl held out her hand. "Come with us," she urged. +"We are the daughters of the king of this country, and were but now +seeking through the city for a nurse for our baby brother, Triptolemus. +You, who have lost the child you loved--will you not take charge of our +brother and bestow on him some of your love?" + +Touched by their kindness, Ceres followed them; and indeed, she felt the +first joy she had known since the disappearance of her daughter when the +little prince was put into her arms. But such a weak, puny, wailing +princelet as he was! Ceres smiled down at him, and bent her head and +kissed him; when, to the utter amazement of those gathered about, he +ceased the crying which he had kept up for days, smiled, and clapped his +little hands. + +And, unless their eyes much deceived them, he began to grow round and +rosy and well! + +"Will you give this child entirely into my keeping?" asked Ceres. + +"Gladly, gladly!" exclaimed the mother, Metanira. For who would not have +been glad to engage a nurse whose mere touch worked such wonders? + +But as the child's bedtime drew near, Metanira became worried and +restless. No one but herself had ever tended him before--was it really +safe to trust this stranger? At least, she would watch; and quietly she +stole to the door which separated her own apartment from that which had +been given to Ceres. The stranger sat before the hearth, with the +crowing, happy baby on her knee. Gently she drew off his clothing, +gently she anointed him with some liquid, the delicious perfume of which +reached Metanira. Then, murmuring some sounding, rhythmic words, she +leaned forward and placed him on the glowing coals. + +Shrieking, Metanira rushed into the room and caught up her baby, burning +herself badly in the act; and furiously she turned to the aged nurse. + +"How dare you--" she began; but there she stopped; for before her stood, +not the ragged stranger, but a woman taller than mortal, with flowing +yellow hair, bound with a wreath of wheat ears and red poppies. And from +her face shone a light so bright that Metanira was well-nigh blinded. + +"O queen," she said gravely, "thy curiosity and thy lack of faith have +cost thy son dear. Immortality was the gift I meant to bestow upon him, +but now he shall grow old and die at last as other men." And with these +words the goddess vanished. [Footnote: Although Ceres was unable to do +all she wished for Triptolemus, she did not forget him. When he grew up +she loaned him her dragon-car and sent him about the world teaching +people how to till the soil, and, in particular, to use the plow. It was +Triptolemus who instituted the great festival at Eleusis which was held +in honor of Ceres.] + +Still finding no trace of her daughter, Ceres cursed the earth and +forbade it to bring forth fruit until Proserpina should be found. + + "Then on all lands + She cast the spell of barrenness; the wheat + Was blighted in the ear, the purple grapes + Blushed no more on the vines." + +Great indeed must have been the anguish of this kindest of all goddesses +when she could bring herself to adopt such measures. Even the grief and +want of the people among whom she moved could not waken her pity. + +One day, when her wanderings had brought her back to Italy, Ceres came +to the bank of the Cyane River, and there, glittering at her feet, was +the girdle which she had watched her daughter put on the last day she +saw her. Torn between hope and fear, Ceres snatched it up. Had +Proserpina, then, been drowned in this raging river? At any rate, it was +much, after all these months, to find something which her dear daughter +had touched, and with renewed energy she started on. As she rested, late +in the day, by the side of a cool, sparkling fountain, she fancied she +heard words mingling with the splashing of the water. Holding her +breath, she listened: + +"O Ceres," came the words, scarcely distinguishable, "I made a long +journey underground, to cool my waters ere they burst forth at this +point. As I passed through the lower world, I saw, seated beside Pluto +on his gloomy throne, a queen, crowned with stars and poppies. Strangely +like Proserpina she looked." + +The words died away, and Ceres, knowing well that none but the king of +gods could help her now, hastened to Olympus and cast herself at the +feet of Jupiter. + +"Listen, O father of gods and men," she said. "What is that sound which +you hear rising from the earth?" + +"It sounds to me," replied Jupiter, "like the wailing of men, joined +with the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle. Who is afflicting +my people on earth?" + +"It is I," replied Ceres sternly; "I, of old their best friend. Never +shall spear of grass or blade of corn show above the ground, never shall +blossom or fruit appear on any tree, until my beloved daughter is +brought back to me from the realm of Pluto." + +Then indeed there was consternation on Olympus; for Jupiter did not wish +to anger his brother, and yet, how could he let the earth continue to be +barren? There was much consulting of the Fates, those three dread +sisters whose decrees even Jupiter could not break, and finally Jupiter +called Mercury to him, and said: + +"Hasten to the lower world, and lead thence Proserpina, the daughter of +Ceres. Only, if during her stay there she have allowed food to pass her +lips, she shall not return." + +Meanwhile, Proserpina had been dwelling in gloom. How could one whose +chief care had been the flowers, whose chief joy had been to stray +abroad in the sunshine with gay companions, be happy in a realm where +the sun never shone, where no flowers ever grew save the white, sleep- +bringing poppies, where she had no companions except the gloomy king of +the dead? Pluto was kind to her, he showered jewels upon her, and +gorgeous raiment; but what meant such things to her when she could not +delight with them the eyes of her mother and her friends? The dead over +whom she reigned she could not even make happy, and the only one who +seemed to have profited at all by her coming to Hades was Pluto, who was +of a certainty somewhat less stern and gloomy. + +Of all the food that had been set before Proserpina since she entered +Hades, nothing had tempted her but a pomegranate, and of that she had +eaten but six seeds. This one taste of food, however, she soon had +reason to regret, for ere long Mercury, Jupiter's messenger, stood +before Pluto and cried with a flourish: + +"Hear the decree of mighty Jupiter and of the Fates, powerful over all. +The Lady Proserpina shall return with me, the messenger of mighty +Jupiter, to the upper world. Only, if she have allowed food to pass her +lips, she shall not return, but shall remain queen of the dead forever." + +Proserpina turned pale--paler than her months underground had made her-- +but she said nothing. Then, from the throng of spirits who had crowded +round to see the messenger of the gods, stepped forth one, Ascalaphus. +No pity for the white-faced, sad-eyed queen moved him as he told how he +had seen Proserpina eat of the pomegranate. Poor Proserpina felt that +she would never see her beloved mother again, and was overwhelmed with +grief when the messenger of the gods, the first cheerful personage she +had seen since leaving earth, turned to depart. + +Mercury was a kindly god, and he described to his father and the Fates +most touchingly the grief of Proserpina. Ceres joined her tears with +those of her daughter, and the Fates finally decreed that while +Proserpina must spend underground one month of every year for each +pomegranate seed she had eaten, she might spend the rest of her time on +earth. Back hastened Mercury with the new decree, and Pluto unwillingly +let his wife go. She bade him an almost affectionate farewell, for after +all, he had been good to her, and she might quite have loved him had his +abode been a less gloomy place. Up the dark and dangerous passages to +earth Mercury conducted her, and it was strange to see how, as she +stepped forth into the sunshine, her pallor and her sadness left her, +and she became the bright-eyed, happy Proserpina of old. And not only in +her did the change appear. About her, on all sides, the grass and corn +came shooting through the dry brown earth. Violets, hyacinths, daisies +were everywhere, and Proserpina stooped and caressed them, with a gay +laugh. But what was her joy when she saw at the door of her home Mother +Ceres, with arms outstretched to greet her! Not even the thought of the +separation which must surely come again could sadden their meeting. For +that day they sat together and talked of all that had happened in the +weary months gone by; but the next morning Ceres mounted her dragon-car +for the first time in many, many days, and set forth to the fields to +tend the new grain, while Proserpina ran to the seashore and with a +happy shout called the nymphs, her old companions, from their seaweed +beds. + +Each year thereafter, when Proserpina was led by Mercury to Pluto's +kingdom, Ceres, in grief and anger, shut herself up and would not attend +to her duties, so that the earth was barren and drear. Each year, with +the return of Proserpina, the flash of green ran across the fields and +announced her coming before she appeared in sight. And all the people, +weary and depressed after the hard, bitter months, joyed with Ceres at +her daughter's approach, and cried with her, "She comes! She comes! +Proserpina!" + +This story, like that of Phaethon, is a nature myth; that is, it +accounts for natural phenomena which the Greeks saw about them. As they +conceived of Ceres, the earth goddess, as the kindest of the immortals, +and of her daughter, Proserpina, the goddess of flowers and beautifying +vegetation, as always young and happy, they found it hard to explain the +barrenness of the winter months. Why should Ceres and Proserpina neglect +the earth during a part of the year, so that it would bring forth +nothing, no matter how much care was bestowed upon it? + +We must remember that the people who invented these stories really +believed that the earth produced grain and fruit because some goddess +bestowed upon it her care. They even fancied, sometimes, as they entered +their fields, that they saw Ceres, with her dragon-car and her crown of +wheat ears, vanishing before them. And they did not say, during winter +months, "The ground is hard and frozen, and thus cannot give food to the +plants;" or, "The seed must lie underground for a time before it can +send its roots down and its leaves up, and bring forth fruit." They +said, "Mother Ceres is neglecting the earth." + +What more natural, then, than that they should imagine that the earth +goddess was mourning for the loss of something and refusing to attend to +her duties? And since the flowers, the special care of Ceres's daughter, +disappeared at the same time, it seemed most likely that it was this +daughter who had disappeared, stolen and held captive underground. When, +each year, the time of her captivity was at an end, Ceres went joyfully +back to her work, the flowers and grass once more appeared--in a word, +it was spring. + +Looked at in a slightly different way, Proserpina represented the seed +which is placed underground. For a time it is held there, apparently +gone forever; but at last it appears above the earth in fresher, +brighter guise, just as the daughter of Ceres reappeared. + +It is held by some that this myth is a symbol or allegory of the death +of man and his ultimate resurrection. That, however, does not seem +extremely likely, as the ancients, although they believed in the life of +the soul after death, conceived of that life as something far from +pleasant, even for those who had led good lives. + + +The story of Proserpina has been used as a subject for many paintings. +One of the best-known of these is Rosetti's "Persephone," which shows +her as she stands, sad-eyed, with the bitten fruit in her hand. + + + + +ORIGIN OF THE OPAL + + +A dewdrop came, with a spark of flame + He had caught from the sun's last ray, +To a violet's breast, where he lay at rest + Till the hours brought back the day. + +The rose looked down, with a blush and frown; + But she smiled all at once, to view +Her own bright form, with its coloring warm, + Reflected back by the dew. + +Then the stranger took a stolen look + At the sky, so soft and blue; +And a leaflet green, with its silver sheen, + Was seen by the idler too. + +A cold north wind, as he thus reclined, + Of a sudden raged around; +And a maiden fair, who was walking there, + Next morning, an OPAL found. + + + + +IN TIME'S SWING + +By Lucy Larcom + + +Father Time, your footsteps go +Lightly as the falling snow. +In your swing I'm sitting, see! +Push me softly; one, two, three, +Twelve times only. Like a sheet, +Spread the snow beneath my feet. +Singing merrily, let me swing +Out of winter into spring. + +Swing me out, and swing me in! +Trees are bare, but birds begin +Twittering to the peeping leaves, +On the bough beneath the eaves +Wait,--one lilac bud I saw. +Icy hillsides feel the thaw; +April chased off March to-day; +Now I catch a glimpse of May. + +Oh, the smell of sprouting grass! +In a blur the violets pass. +Whispering from the wildwood come +Mayflower's breath and insect's hum. +Roses carpeting the ground; +Thrushes, orioles, warbling sound: +Swing me low, and swing me high, +To the warm clouds of July. + +Slower now, for at my side +White pond lilies open wide. +Underneath the pine's tall spire +Cardinal blossoms burn like fire. +They are gone; the golden-rod +Flashes from the dark green sod. +Crickets in the grass I hear; +Asters light the fading year. + +[Illustration: Father Time pushes the swing] + +Slower still! October weaves +Rainbows of the forest leaves. +Gentians fringed, like eyes of blue, +Glimmer out of sleety dew. +Meadow-green I sadly miss: +Winds through withered sedges hiss. +Oh, 'tis snowing, swing me fast, +While December shivers past! + +Frosty-bearded Father Time, +Stop your footfall on the rime! +Hard you push, your hand is rough; +You have swung me long enough. +"Nay, no stopping," say you? Well, +Some of your best stories tell, +While you swing me--gently, do!-- +From the Old Year to the New. + + +The title tells you that this poem is not about a real swing, under an +apple tree. Why is Time asked to push "twelve times only"? What month is +it when the swinging begins? How many times does the swing move in the +first stanza? How many times in the second? Do the birds begin to +twitter while the trees are still bare? Should we expect to see lilac +buds in February or March? + +Do you know the "smell of sprouting grass"? Do the violets pass in May? +Does it seem to you that the author has chosen the right flowers and +birds to represent each month? Do the pond lilies, the cardinal +blossoms, the golden-rod, the asters, and the gentians follow each other +in that order? + +If you are familiar with the flowers mentioned, you will know that they +almost all grow in damp, marshy places. Where do sedges grow? Does it +not seem to you that the illustrations are particularly well chosen? + +There is a series of beautiful little pictures in the words, "underneath +the pine's tall spire cardinal blossoms burn like fire"; "the golden-rod +flashes from the dark green sod"; "asters light the fading year"; +"gentians fringed ...glimmer out of sleety dew." + + + + +WHY THE SEA IS SALT + +By Mary Howitt + + +There were, in very ancient times, two brothers, one of whom was rich, +and the other poor. Christmas was approaching, but the poor man had +nothing in the house for a Christmas dinner; so he went to his brother +and asked him for a trifling gift. + +The rich man was ill-natured, and when he heard his brother's request he +looked very surly. But as Christmas is a time when even the worst people +give gifts, he took a fine ham down from the chimney, where it was +hanging to smoke, threw it at his brother, and bade him be gone and +never show his face again. + +The poor man thanked his brother for the ham, put it under his arm, and +went his way. He had to pass through a great forest on his way home, and +when he reached the thickest part of it, he saw an old man, with a long, +white beard, hewing timber. "Good evening," said the poor man. + +"Good evening," returned the old man, raising himself from his work, and +looking at him. "That is a fine ham you are carrying." + +On hearing this, the poor man told him all about the ham and how it was +obtained. + +"It is lucky for you," says the old man, "that you have met with me. If +you will take that ham into the land of the dwarfs, the entrance to +which lies just under the roots of this tree, you can make a capital +bargain with it; for the dwarfs are very fond of ham, and rarely get +any. But mind what I say; you must not sell it for money, but demand for +it the old hand-mill which stands behind the door. When you come back +I'll show you how to use it." + +The poor man thanked his new friend, who showed him the door under a +stone below the roots of the tree, and by this door he entered into the +land of the dwarfs. No sooner had he set foot in it than the dwarfs +swarmed about him, attracted by the smell of the ham. They offered him +queer, old-fashioned money and gold and silver ore for it; but he +refused all their tempting offers, and said that he would sell it only +for the old hand-mill behind the door. At this the dwarfs held up their +little old hands and looked quite perplexed. + +"We cannot make a bargain, it seems," said the poor man, "so I'll bid +you all good day." + +The fragrance of the ham had by this time reached the remote parts of +the land. The dwarfs came flocking around in little troops, leaving +their work of digging out precious ores, eager for the ham. "Let him +have the old mill," said some of the newcomers; "it is quite out of +order, and he does not know how to use it. Let him have it, and we will +have the ham." + +So the bargain was made. The poor man took the old hand-mill, which was +a little thing, not half so large as the ham, and went back to the +woods. Here the old man showed him how to use it. All this had taken up +a great deal of time, and it was midnight before he reached home. + +"Where in the world have you been?" said his wife. "Here I have been +waiting and waiting, and we have no wood to make a fire, nor anything to +put into the porridge-pot for our Christmas supper." + +[Illustration: SO THE BARGAIN WAS MADE] + +The house was dark and cold; but the poor man bade his wife wait and see +what would happen. He placed the little hand-mill on the table, and +began to turn the crank. First, out there came some grand, lighted wax +candles, and a fire on the hearth, and a porridge-pot boiling over it, +because in his mind he said they should come first. Then he ground out a +tablecloth, and dishes, and spoons, and knives and forks, and napkins. + +He was himself astonished at his good luck, as you may believe; and his +wife was almost beside herself with joy and astonishment. Well, they had +a capital supper; and after it was eaten, they ground out of the mill +every possible thing to make their house and themselves warm and +comfortable. So they had a merry Christmas eve and morning, made merrier +by the thought that they need never want again. + +When the people went by the house to church the next day, they could +hardly believe their eyes. There was glass in the windows instead of +wooden shutters, and the poor man and his wife, dressed in new clothes, +were seen devoutly kneeling in the church. + +"There is something very strange in all this," said every one. + +"Something very strange indeed," said the rich man, when three days +afterwards he received an invitation from his once poor brother to a +grand feast. And what a feast it was! The table was covered with a cloth +as white as snow, and the dishes were all of silver or gold. The rich +man could not in his great house, and with all his wealth, set out such +a table, or serve such food. + +"Where did you get all these things?" exclaimed he. His brother told him +all about the bargain he had made with the dwarfs, and putting the mill +on the table, ground out boots and shoes, coats and cloaks, stockings, +gowns, and blankets, and bade his wife give them to the poor people that +had gathered about the house to get a sight of the grand feast the poor +brother had made for the rich one, and to sniff the delightful odors +that came from the kitchen. + +The rich man was very envious of his brother's good fortune, and wanted +to borrow the mill, intending--for he was not an honest man--never to +return it again. His brother would not lend it, for the old man with the +white beard had told him never to sell or lend it to any one, no matter +what inducements might be offered. + +Some years went by, and at last the possessor of the mill built himself +a grand castle on a rock by the sea, facing west. Its windows, +reflecting the golden sunset, could be seen far out from the shore, and +it became a noted landmark for sailors. Strangers from foreign parts +often came to see this castle and the wonderful mill, of which the most +extraordinary tales were told. + +At length a great foreign merchant came, and when he had seen the mill, +inquired whether it would grind salt. Being told that it would, he +wanted to buy it, for he traded in salt, and thought that if he owned +the mill he could supply all his customers without taking long and +dangerous voyages. + +The man would not sell it, of course. He was so rich now that he did not +want to use it for himself; but every Christmas he ground out food and +clothes and coal for the poor, and nice presents for the little +children. So he rejected all the offers of the rich merchant, who, +however, determined to have it. He bribed one of the man's servants to +let him go into the castle at night, and he stole the mill and sailed +away in triumph, feeling certain that his fortune was made. + +He had scarcely got out to sea before he determined to set the mill to +work. "Now, mill, grind salt," said he; "grind salt with all your +might!--Salt, salt, and nothing but salt!" The mill began to grind, and +the sailors to fill the sacks; but these were soon full, and in spite of +all that could be done, it began to fill the ship. + +The dishonest merchant was now very much frightened. What was to be +done? The mill would not stop grinding; and at last the ship was +overloaded, and down it went, making a great whirlpool where it sank. + +The ship went to pieces; but the mill stands on the bottom of the sea, +and keeps grinding out "salt, salt, nothing but salt!" That is the +reason, say the peasants of Denmark and Norway, why the sea is salt. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Journeys Through Bookland V2 +by Charles H. Sylvester + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND V2 *** + +This file should be named 5796.txt or 5796.zip + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +https://gutenberg.org or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03 + +Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/5796.zip b/5796.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5457962 --- /dev/null +++ b/5796.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ffc98a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #5796 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5796) |