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diff --git a/old/66948-0.txt b/old/66948-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6dbdf11..0000000 --- a/old/66948-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5979 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Garnet Story Book, by Ada M. -Skinner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Garnet Story Book - Tales of Cheer Both Old and New - -Editors: Ada M. Skinner - Eleanor L. Skinner - -Release Date: December 15, 2021 [eBook #66948] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GARNET STORY BOOK *** - - - - - - THE - GARNET STORY BOOK - - _Tales of Cheer Both Old and New_ - - COMPILED AND EDITED BY - ADA M. SKINNER - AND - ELEANOR L. SKINNER - - _Editors of “The Emerald Story Book” “The Topaz Story Book” - “The Turquoise Story Book” and “The Pearl Story Book”_ - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - DUFFIELD AND COMPANY - - 1920 - - - - - Copyright, 1920, by - DUFFIELD & COMPANY - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - THE GOOD-NATURED BEAR - (adapted and abridged) _Richard H. Horne_ 3 - - CHRISTMAS WISHES _Louise Chollet_ 73 - - THE MAN OF SNOW (adapted) _Harriet Myrtle_ 93 - - BUTTERWOPS (adapted) _Edward Abbott Parry_ 120 - - FINIKIN AND HIS GOLDEN PIPPINS _Madame De Chatelaine_ 138 - - THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT _Frances Browne_ 173 - - THE SNOW-QUEEN (abridged) _Hans Christian Andersen_ 192 - - THE MERRY TALE OF THE KING AND THE COBBLER - (adapted) _From Gammer Gurton’s Historie_ 253 - - THE STORY OF MERRYMIND _Frances Browne_ 267 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -About the middle of the last century there was printed in England -a children’s story with the attractive title, “The Good Natured -Bear.” This story, written by Robert H. Horne, was reviewed by -William Makepeace Thackeray, who at that time signed his criticisms -M. A. Titmarsh. Mr. Thackeray wrote an article entitled “On Some -Illustrated Children’s Books” for _Fraser’s Magazine_ in which he -made the following comment: “Let a word be said in conclusion about -the admirable story of ‘The Good Natured Bear,’ one of the wittiest, -pleasantest, and kindest of books that I have read for many a long day.” - -A few years ago the editors of this collection of stories found -out-of-print copies of “The Good Natured Bear,” “The Man of Snow,” -and “Finikin and His Golden Pippins”--all old-fashioned tales for -children. Believing that young readers of to-day will enjoy the good -cheer and merry humour of these stories, the editors have included them -in this volume with other happy tales which are perhaps much better -known. - -The excellent humourous stories in the folklore of all nations point -out to us that good cheer and merriment were favourite themes of the -olden-time story-teller. Some of his rarest treasures were nonsense -rhymes, fables, and allegories which enlisted the sympathy of his -audience by inducing them to laugh with him. With a merry twinkle in -his eye we can hear him addressing the tiniest listeners: - - “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, - The cow jumped over the moon; - The little dog laughed to see such sport - And the dish ran away with the spoon.” - -Wide-eyed children pressing close to the enchanter were not the only -persons in that appreciative audience who smiled at the first picture -suggested by the rhyme, laughed with the little dog, and enjoyed with -wholesome abandon the merriment called forth by the incongruous -surprise of the last line. The story-teller knew the refreshing value -of hearty laughter at pure nonsense. - -The stories in this collection were written by authors who had the -precious gift of knowing how to entertain young readers with narratives -of good cheer and happy frolic. Such stories are valuable because they -keep alive and develop a wholesome sense of humour. It is perfectly -natural for a normal child to laugh heartily at the grotesque antics -of a circus clown. But this elemental response to merry fun should be -trained and quickened into a rich and varied sense of humour which -can laugh with Gareth when Lancelot unhorses him; revel with Puck in -Fairyland; and enjoy a merry Christmas with the Cratchits. - - - - -THE GARNET STORY BOOK - - - Oh, for a nook and a story book, - With tales both new and old; - For a jolly good book whereon to look - Is better to me than gold! - - OLD ENGLISH SONG. - - - - -THE GOOD-NATURED BEAR - -RICHARD H. HORNE - - -_The First Evening_ - -One Christmas evening a number of merry children were invited to a -party at Dr. Littlepump’s country residence. The neat white house with -blue shutters stood on the best street of the village. Nancy and her -younger brother, little Valentine, were the children of Dr. Littlepump, -and they had invited several other children to come and spend Christmas -evening with them. Very happy they all were. They danced to the music -of a flute and fiddle; they ran about and sang and squeaked and hopped -upon one leg and crept upon all fours and jumped over small cushions -and stools. Then they sat down in a circle round the stove and laughed -at the fire. - -Besides Dr. and Mrs. Littlepump and the children there were several -others in the room who joined in the merriment. First there was -Margaret who was seated in the middle of the group of children. She -was the pretty governess of Nancy and little Valentine and one of the -nicest girls in the village. Then there were Lydia, the housemaid, -Dorothea, the cook, Wallis, the gardener, and Uncle Abraham, the -younger brother of Dr. Littlepump. - -Uncle Abraham was always doing kind things in his quiet way, and -everybody was very fond of him. He sat in one corner of the room, with -his elbow resting upon a little round table, smoking a large Dutch -pipe, and very busy with his own thoughts. Now and then his eyes gave a -twinkle, as if he was pleased with something in his mind. - -The children now all asked Margaret to sing a pretty song, which she -did at once with her sweet voice; but the words were very odd. This was -the song: - - “There came a rough-faced Stranger - From the leafless winter woods, - And he told of many a danger - From the snow-storms and black floods. - - “On his back he bore the glory - Of his brothers, who were left - In a secret rocky cleft-- - Now guess his name, and story!” - -“But who was the rough-faced Stranger?” asked Nancy. - -“And what was the glory he carried pick-a-back?” cried little Valentine. - -“Who were his brothers?” - -“Where was the rocky cleft?” cried three or four of the children. - -“Oh,” said Margaret, “you must guess!” - -So all the children began guessing at this song-riddle; but they could -make nothing of it. - -“Do tell us the answer to the riddle Margaret,” they coaxed. - -At last Margaret said, “Well, I promise to tell you all about the -rough-faced Stranger in half an hour, if nothing happens to make you -forget to ask me!” - -“Oh! we shall not forget to ask,” said Nancy. - -There was now a silence for a few minutes as if the children were all -thinking. Uncle Abraham, who sometimes went to bed very early, slowly -rose from his chair, lighted his candle, carefully snuffed it (and, as -he did so, his eyes gave a twinkle), and walking round the outside of -all the circle, wished them good-night, and away he went to bed. - -About eight o’clock in the evening, when the snow lay deep upon the -ground, a very stout gentleman in a very rough coat and fur boots got -down from the outside of a carriage which had stopped in front of Dr. -Littlepump’s door. In a trice all the children crowded around the -windows to look at the carriage and the gentleman who had got down. - -Besides his very rough coat and fur boots, the stout gentleman wore a -short cloak, a hunting cap, and a pair of large fur gloves. The cap was -pulled down almost over his eyes, so that his face could not be seen, -and round his throat he had an immense orange-coloured comforter. - -The carriage now drove on, and left the stout gentleman standing in the -middle of the street. He first shook the snow from his cloak. After -this he began to stamp with his feet to warm them. This movement looked -like a clumsy dance in a little circle and all the children laughed. -The next thing he did was to give himself a good rubbing on the breast -and he hit it so awkwardly that it looked like a great clumsy paw on -some creature giving itself a scratch. At this the children laughed -louder than before. They were almost afraid he would hear it through -the windows. The stout gentleman next drew forth an immense pocket -handkerchief and with this he began to dust his face, to knock off -the frost, and also to warm his nose, which seemed to be very large -and long and to require great attention. When the children saw the -gentleman do this they could keep quiet no longer; all burst out into a -loud shout of laughter. - -The stout gentleman instantly stopped, and began to look around him -in all directions, to see where the laughing came from. The children -suddenly became quiet. The stout gentleman turned round and round, -looking up and down at the windows of every house near him. At last his -eyes rested on the three parlour windows of Dr. Littlepump’s house, -which were crowded with faces. No sooner had he done this than he -walked towards the house with a long stride and an angry air. - -In an instant all the children ran away from the windows crying out, -“Here he comes! Here he comes!” - -Presently a scraping was heard upon the steps of the door, then a -loud knock! The children all ran to their seats and sat quite silent, -looking at one another. There was a loud ringing of the bell. - -“I am sorry,” said Mrs. Littlepump, “that the stout gentleman is so -much offended.” - -“I don’t know very well what to say to him,” said Dr. Littlepump. - -Again came the ringing of the bell! - -Not one of them liked to go to open the door. - -Margaret rose to go and little Val cried out, “Oh, don’t you go, -Margaret, dearest; let Wallis go.” But when Margaret promised to run -away as soon as she had opened the door, she was allowed to go. Both -Nancy and Valentine called after her, “Be sure to run back to us as -fast as ever you can.” - -The children sat listening with all their ears. Presently they did hear -something. It was the snap of the lock, the creaking of the door, and a -scrambling noise. Margaret came running back into the room quite out of -breath, crying out, “Oh, such a nose! Such a dirty face! Don’t ask me -anything!” - -There was no time for any questions. A slow, heavy footstep was heard -in the hall, then in the passage, then the parlour door opened wide -and in walked the stout gentleman with the rough coat! He had, indeed, -an immense nose,--both long and broad and as dark as the shadow of a -hill. He stepped only a pace or two into the room and then stood still, -looking at Dr. Littlepump, who was the only other person who ventured -to stand up. - -“I believe I have the honour,” said the stout gentleman, making a low -bow, “I believe I have the honour of addressing Dr. Littlepump.” - -The doctor bowed but said nothing. - -The stout gentleman continued, “If I had not known it was impossible -that anyone so learned as Dr. Littlepump could allow anybody to be -insulted from the windows of his house, I should have felt very angry -on the present occasion. It may have made merriment for our young -friends here; but it is a serious thing to me.” - -“Sir,” said Dr. Littlepump, “it grieves me that your feelings should -have been hurt by the laughter of these children. But, sir, I can -assure you no harm was meant by it. This is holiday time, and, though -you appear to be a foreign gentleman, yet you are no doubt also a -gentleman who has seen much of the world, and of society.” - -“No, sir; no, Mr. Doctor!” exclaimed the stout gentleman, “I have not -seen much of society. It is true, too true, that I am a foreigner, in -some respects, but from society the misfortune of my birth has excluded -me.” - -“Oh, pray, sir, do not concern yourself any further on this matter,” -said Mrs. Littlepump, in a courteous voice. - -“Madam,” said the stout gentleman, “you are too kind. It is such very -amiable persons as yourself, that reconcile me to my species--I mean, -to the human species. What have I said? Not of my species would I -willingly speak. But in truth, madam, it is my own knowledge of what -I am, under my coat, that makes me always fear my secret has been -discovered. I thought the children with their little, quick eyes, -always looking about, had seen who it was that lived under this rough -coat I wear.” - -So saying the stout gentleman put one of his fur gloves to his left eye -and wiped away a large tear. - -“Then, my dear sir,” said Mrs. Littlepump, “do take off your coat, and -permit us to have the pleasure of seeing you take a seat among us round -the stove.” - -“Oh, ye green woods, dark nights, and rocky caves hidden with hanging -weeds, why do I so well remember ye!” exclaimed the stout gentleman, -clasping his fur gloves together. “I will relieve my mind and tell you -all. My rough coat, the companion of my childhood, and which has grown -with my growth, I cannot lay aside. It grows to my skin, madam. My fur -gloves are nature’s gift. They were bought at no shop, Mrs. Littlepump. -My fur boots are as much a part of me as my beard. Lady, I am, indeed, -a foreigner, as to society; I was born in no city, town, or village, -but in a cave full of dry leaves and soft twigs. The truth is, I am not -a man--but a _Bear_!” - -As he finished speaking he took off his comforter, coat, and cap--and -sure enough a Bear he was, and one of the largest that was ever seen! - -In a very soft voice, so as scarcely to be heard by anyone except the -children who had crowded around her, Margaret began to sing: - - “There came a rough-faced Stranger - From the leafless winter woods.” - -The children heard Margaret sing, and ventured to look up at the Bear. -He continued to stand near the door, and as he hadn’t the least sign -of anything savage in his appearance, their fear began to change to -curiosity. Two of the youngest had hidden themselves in the folds of -Mrs. Littlepump’s dress, and little Val had crept under the table. But -when these found that nothing was going to happen, and that the other -children did not cry out or seem terrified, they peeped out at the -Bear,--then they peeped again. At about the seventh peep they all three -left their hiding places and crowded in among the rest--all looking at -the Bear! - -“I trust,” said Dr. Littlepump, “that this discovery--this casting -off all disguise--produces no change in the nature and habits you -have learned in civilized society. I feel sure that I am addressing a -gentleman, that is to say, a most gentlemanly specimen of bear.” - -“Banish all unkind suspicion from your breast, Mr. Doctor,” said the -Bear. “No one ever need fear from me a single rude hug,--such as my -ancestors were too apt to give.” - -“Oh, we feel quite satisfied,” said Mrs. Littlepump, “that your conduct -will be of the very best kind. Pray take a seat near the fire. The -children will all make room for you.” - -The children all made room enough in a trice, and more than enough, as -they crowded back as far as they could and left a large open circle -opposite the stove. - -The Bear laid one paw upon his grateful breast and advanced towards the -fireplace. - -“Permit me to begin with warming my nose,” he said. - -As the door of the stove was now closed, the Bear bent his head down, -and moved his nose backwards and forwards in a sort of a semi-circle, -seeming to enjoy it very much. - -“As my nose is very long,” said he, “the tip of it is the first part -that gets cold because it is so far away from my face. I fear it may -not seem a well-shaped one, but it is a capital smeller. I used to be -able, when at a distance of several miles, to smell--ahem!” - -Here the Bear checked himself suddenly. He was going to say something -about his life at home in the woods that would not be thought very nice -in Dr. Littlepump’s parlour. But he just caught himself up in time. In -doing this, however, his confusion at the moment had made him neglect -to observe that a part of the stove was again red hot. He came a little -too close and all at once burnt the tip of his nose! - -The children would certainly have laughed, but as the Bear started back -he looked quickly round the room. So everybody was afraid to laugh. - -“And you have, no doubt, a very fine ear for music,” said Mrs. -Littlepump, wishing to relieve the Bear from his embarrassment. - -“I have, indeed, madam, a fine pair of ears, though I know too well -that they are rather large as to size,” said the Bear. - -“By no means too large, sir,” answered Mrs. Littlepump. - -“If the whole world were hunted through and through,” said the Bear, -“I’m sure we should never find any other lady so amiable in speaking -graciously to one of the humblest of her servants as Lady Littlepump.” - -“We shall be proud, sir, to place you in the list of our most -particular friends. You are so modest, so polite, so handsome a Bear.” - -As Mrs. Littlepump finished this last speech, the Bear looked at her -for a moment--then made three great steps backwards, and made a deep -bow. His bow was so very low, and he remained so very long with his -nose pointing to the floor that all the children were ready to die with -laughter. Little Val fell upon the floor trying to keep his laugh in, -and there he lay kicking, and Margaret, who had covered her face with -her handkerchief, was heard to give a sort of a little scream; and -Nancy had run to the sofa, and covered her head with one of the pillows. - -At length the Bear raised his head. He looked very pleasant even -through all that rough hair. Turning to Dr. Littlepump, he said, “Mr. -Dr. Littlepump, the extreme kindness of this reception of one who is -a stranger wins me completely. If you permit me, I will tell you the -whole story of my life.” - -At this speech everybody said, “Do let us hear the Bear’s story!” - -It was agreed upon, with many thanks from Dr. and Mrs. Littlepump. They -placed a large chair for the Bear in the middle of the room. The Doctor -took down Uncle Abraham’s Dutch pipe, filled it with the very best -Turkey tobacco and handed it to the Bear. After carefully lighting it -and taking a few whiffs, and stopping a little while to think, the Bear -told the following story: - -“I was born in one of the largest caves in a forest. My father and -mother were regarded not only by all other bears, but by every other -animal, as persons of some consequence. My father was a person of proud -and resentful disposition, though of the greatest courage and honour. -But my mother was one in whom all the qualities of the fairer sex were -united. I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, -and the firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone--I mean -to walk on all fours, of course; the upright manner of my present -walking was learned afterwards. As this infant effort, however, is one -of my very earliest recollections, I will give you a little account of -it.” - -“Oh, do, Mr. Bear,” cried Margaret. And no sooner had she uttered the -words, than all the children cried out at the same time, “Oh, please -do, sir.” - -The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe and thus continued: - -“My mother took me to a retired part of the forest, and told me that -I must now stand alone. She slowly lowered me towards the earth. The -height as I looked down seemed terrible, and I felt my legs kick -in the air with fear of I know not what. Suddenly I felt four hard -things, and no motion. It was the fixed earth beneath my legs. ‘Now -you are standing alone!’ said my mother. But what she said I heard as -in a dream. My back was in the air, my nose was poking out straight, -snuffing the fresh breezes, my ears were pricking and shooting with -all sorts of new sounds, to wonder at, to want to have, to love, or to -tumble down at,--and my eyes were staring before me full of light and -dancing things. Soon the firm voice of my mother came to my assistance, -and I heard her tell me to look upon the earth beneath me, and see -where I was. - -First I looked up among the boughs, then sideways at my shoulder, then -I squinted at the tip of my nose, then I bent my nose in despair, and -saw my fore paws standing. The first thing I saw distinctly was a -little blue flower with a bright jewel in the middle,--a dewdrop. The -next thing I saw upon the ground was a soft-looking little creature, -that crawled alone with a round ball upon the middle of its back. It -was of a beautiful white colour with brown and red curling stripes. -The creature moved very, very slowly, and appeared always to follow -two long horns on its head, that went feeling about on all sides. -Presently, it approached my right fore paw, and I wondered how I should -feel, or smell, or hear it, as it went over my toes. But the instant -one of the horns touched the hair of my paw, both horns shrank into -nothing, and presently came out again, and the creature slowly moved -away in another direction. I wondered at this strange action--for -I never thought of hurting the creature, not knowing how to hurt -anything. While I was wondering what made the horn think I should hurt -it, my attention was suddenly drawn to a tuft of moss on my right near -a hollow tree trunk. Out of this green tuft looked a pair of very -bright, small, round eyes which were staring up at me. I stood looking -at the eyes, and, presently, I saw that the head was yellow, and all -the face and throat yellow, and that it had a large mouth. - -‘What you saw a little while ago,’ said my mother, ‘we call a snail. -And what we see now we call a frog.’ - -The names, however, did not help me at all to understand. Why the first -should have turned from my paw so suddenly, and why this creature -should continue to stare up at me in such a manner puzzled me very -much. I now observed that its body and breast were double somehow, and -that its paws had no hair upon them. I thought this was no doubt caused -by its slow crawling which had probably rubbed it all off. Suddenly, a -beam of bright light broke through the trees and this creature gave a -great hop right under my nose and I, thinking the world was at an end, -instantly fell flat down on one side and lay there waiting!” - -At this all the children laughed; they were so delighted. The Bear -laughed, too, and soon went on with his story. - -“I tell you these things,” he said, “in as clear a manner as I can, -that you may rightly understand them. My dear mother caught me up in -her arms, saying, ‘Oh, thou small bear! thou hast fallen flat down, on -first seeing a frog hop.’ - -The next day my mother gave me my first lesson in walking. She took me -to a nice, smooth, sandy place in the forest, not far from home, and -setting me down carefully, said, ‘Walk.’ But I remained just where I -was. - -If a child with only _two_ legs feels puzzled which leg it should -move first, judge of the many puzzles of a young bear under such -circumstances. Said I to myself, ‘Shall I move my right front paw first -or my left; or my right hind leg or my left? Shall I first move the two -front legs both at the same time, then the two hind legs; or my two -hind legs first, and then my two front legs? Shall I move the right -front leg, and the right hind leg at the same time; or the left front -leg and the right hind leg? Shall I try to move all four at once, and -how, and which way? Or shall I move three legs at once, in order to -push myself on, while one leg remains for me to balance my body upon; -and if so, which three legs should move and which one should be the -leg to balance upon?’ Amidst all these confusing thoughts and feelings, -I was afraid to move in any way. I believe I should have been standing -there to this day, had not my mother, with a slow bowing and bending -motion of the head and backbone, gracefully passed and repassed me -several times, saying, ‘Do _so_, child!--leave off thinking, and walk!’ - -My mother was right. As soon as I left off thinking about it, I found -myself walking. Oh, what a wonderful and clever young gentleman I found -myself! I went plowing along with such a serious face upon the ground! -I soon ran my head against one or two trees, and a bit of rock, each of -which I saw very well before I did so; but I thought they would get out -of my way or slip aside, or that my head would go softly through them. -My mother, therefore, took me up and carried me till we arrived within -a short distance of our cave. In front of it there was a large space of -high, green grass, through which a regular path had been worn by the -feet of my father and mother. At the beginning of this path, my mother -placed me on the ground, and told me I must walk to the cave along the -pathway all by myself. This was a great task for me. I thought I should -never be able to keep in such a straight line. I felt dizzy as I looked -first on one side, and then on the other, expecting every instant to -tumble over into the high, green grass, on the right or left. However, -I managed to get to the cave without any accident.” - -As the Bear finished the last sentence he suddenly rose, and drew out -from beneath a thick tuft of hair on his right side, a very large -watch, with a broad gold face and a tortoise-shell back. - -“I must go,” said he, hurrying on his short cloak, his cap, and -comforter, “for it is nearly ten o’clock, and before I go to bed I -have some work to do. But I will come again to-morrow night and finish -my story. Mrs. Littlepump, I am your respectful and grateful, humble -servant! Mr. Dr. Littlepump, I am also yours. Good-night to you, Miss -Nancy, and to you, little Val, and to you, pretty Miss Margaret, and to -all my young friends, and all the rest. May you all sleep well, and -with happy dreams!” - -“Good-night,” cried all the children in a loud chorus. “Oh, be sure to -come to-morrow evening!” - -“Good-night, Mr. Bear!” cried everybody, while the stout gentleman -bustled, and hustled, and rustled, and scuffled out of the room, and -along the passage, and out of the street-door, and into the street, -where he was soon lost sight of in the snow which was now falling very -fast. - - -_Second Evening_ - -The next evening, about dusk, all the children who had been visiting -Nancy and Valentine came again in a troop, scrambling and crowding at -the door to get in first. They were so anxious to hear the remainder of -the Bear’s story. As they all came into the room, they cried out, “Is -he come?--When will he come?” - -Dr. Littlepump walked up and down the room with an air of serious -anxiety; anyone could see he had something on his mind. Mrs. -Littlepump also said more than once that she hoped no accident would -happen on the road to prevent the coming of Mr. Bear. Margaret now -became very anxious and fidgetty, and looked at Uncle Abraham, as -though she was a little vexed at his indifference about the event -in which everybody else took so much interest. Dorothea, Lydia, and -Wallis, all said they, for their parts, had been unable to sleep all -last night for thinking of the stout gentleman’s story. But nothing of -all this seemed to move Uncle Abraham, who sat smoking his Dutch pipe -and twinkling his eyes. Presently, however, the clock struck five, and -he rose from his chair, saying he must go and make a little visit a few -doors off before he went to bed. They all begged him very hard to stay -and see Mr. Bear, but he shook his head, and said, “Pooh” and walked -away. Margaret looked pleased when he was gone, but the children said -it was very naughty of him not to stay. - -Margaret said, “Let us play a little game until Mr. Bear arrives.” - -“Yes,” said all the children. - -They began to play the game, but they did not attend to it. Their minds -were too much filled with the expectation of Mr. Bear. - -“Oh, I do hope the gentleman Bear will be sure to come,” cried little -Val. - -As he said this they very plainly heard the sound of a horse’s hoofs -coming up the street. They all ran to the window. What was their -surprise and delight to see that it was the Bear on horseback! As the -horse stopped before Dr. Littlepump’s door, the stout gentleman in -the rough coat bent forward, then let himself slowly down, hanging -carefully till his fur boots touched the ground. At this all the -children burst out laughing; but instantly recollecting themselves, -they ran away from the windows, and scrambled into seats round the -stove, coughing a little, to pretend it had been only that. And now a -knock was heard at the door and a loud ring! Margaret ran and opened -the door and in came the Bear. - -Everybody was so glad to see him. Wallis and Margaret helped him to -take off his cloak and comforter. Mrs. Littlepump begged him to take -a seat near the stove. Dorothea presented him with a large cup of nice -coffee, hot, and strong, and very sweet, and Dr. Littlepump handed him -Uncle Abraham’s pipe. - -Everybody being now comfortably settled, the Bear rose from his chair, -and, bowing all round, looked at Dr. Littlepump and said, “Mr. Dr. -Littlepump, let me know what is the wish of our young friends here?” - -“Oh, Mr. Good-Natured Bear!” cried Nancy, “do please continue your -delightful story!” - -The Bear laid one paw upon his heart,--bowed--sat down--and after -looking thoughtfully into the bowl of his pipe for a few minutes, as if -to collect his ideas, thus continued: - -“At the foot of our cave, there was, as I have told you, a plot of -high, green grass with a path through it up to the entrance. At the -back of the rock in which the cave was, there grew several fine old -oak trees, and some young elms, all promising to become very tall and -beautiful. My father was very fond of walking alone among those fine -trees. - -One afternoon he was taking a nap on our bed of leaves in the cave, -when he was aroused by a noise at the back of the rock, among the -trees. The sound was that of a number of hard blows one after another. -My father went to see what it was, and there he saw a woodman with an -axe cutting down the young elms. In perfect rage, my father ran towards -the man, who instantly scampered away as fast as he could, crying out: -‘Oh! Oh! Oh!’ - -The next morning as soon as it was light the same noise was heard -again among the trees. Up jumped my father, but my mother, fearing -some danger, went with him. It was a good thing she did so, as the -forester had brought his two sons with loaded guns to watch for my -father while the woodman was at work. My mother saw the two youths each -hiding behind a large tree and she begged my father, both for her sake -and mine, to come away. At last he did so, though not without much -gruffness and grumbling. - -By the evening the woodman had cut down about a third part of the -young elms. Then he went away, intending to come and carry them off in -the morning. My mother tried to persuade my father not to interfere -because it was too near our home. But my father said they were _his_ -trees and he could not bear to lose them. So at night he collected all -the trees that were cut down, and carried them, one or two at a time, -to a river, at a short distance, where the current was strong, and -threw them in with a great splash. Long before morning the current had -carried them all far away. - -The next day the woodman came with his two sons, a team of horses, and -ropes to drag the trees away. But there was not one to be seen! After -wondering and sitting under an oak for an hour, the woodman again went -to work with his axe and cut down more young elm trees. He sent one son -back with the horses, as they were needed for the plow. - -In the evening the woodman went away as before, leaving the trees, -and thinking no one would steal them a second time. But at night my -father went as before and threw them all into the river. In the morning -the woodman came again with the team. ‘What!’ cried he, ‘All gone -again!--it must be the work of some fairy! Thieves could never carry -away clean out of sight all those heavy young trees,--unless, indeed, -it were the Forty Thieves, for it would need as many.’ - -Again the woodman cut down the trees and now there was not an elm left -standing. He went away in the evening, as before, leaving the trees -upon the ground. My father was sallying out to carry them off in the -same way as before when my mother said, ‘Do _not_ go, Benjamin (we -always spoke in Bear language, you know, and not as I talk to you), do -_not_ go to-night, Benjamin, I beg you!’ - -‘Why, that unfeeling rascal has cut down all my young elms and the next -thing you know he will cut down my oaks. I will _not_ endure it,’ said -my father angrily. - -‘But this is by no means certain,’ reasoned my mother. ‘He seems to -want only the elms. And at the worst we could find another cave with -oaks near it.’ - -‘But not with oaks and a nice river, too!’ said my father. - -‘Then the child (meaning me) and I must go with you and help to do it -as quickly as possible. After it is done we will go and sleep for a -few nights in the forest over the northern hills, for my mind is very -uneasy about matters,’ said my mother. - -My father laughed and said ‘GOOFF-ZUGDT,’ which, in Bear language, -means ‘Nonsense!’ - -So we all went out of the cave and worked away at a great rate. My -father and mother carried the largest of the young trees, and I such -of the smallest as my tender years would allow. By midnight we had -just finished and my father was carrying the last tree, when suddenly -a shout was heard and we saw a flash of torches! The trees had been -seen floating downstream, by some men who were coming to watch for the -thieves, or to see if it was the work of fairies. - -‘Cross the stream, higher up, and run for the northern hills,’ shouted -my mother. At the same time she seized me by one ear in her mouth and -lugged me along till we came to the river bank. Instantly she soused -me into the water. When I came to the surface, I instantly felt my ear -again in my mother’s warm mouth, and we soon landed on the other side. -My father was not with us. We took it for granted that he had run in -some other direction, and would rejoin us shortly. The shouts, however, -followed us and so did the men with torches. My mother never once -looked behind, but ran, lugging me along by one ear, through fields and -woods, up hill and down dale. At last she laid me on some warm leaves -under thick bushes. But my father did not join us. We never saw him -again. He was captured and taken to the village. - -My poor father was now lost to us; therefore, my mother set herself -busily to work at my education. She divided every day into various -portions; and although a large share was given to amusement in which -I played with several young bears of my own age, and had sometimes a -gambol with other young animals, still there was nothing that gave me -more pleasure than the lessons I received from her. For this purpose -she would generally take me into some quiet part of the wood. There, -under a wide-spreading tree, she taught my young ideas ‘how to shoot!’ -One lesson in particular, I remember, as she took great pains to -impress it on my memory. I have followed the idea in all my conduct -through life and I can truly say with the best results to myself. I -will recite for you the verse which tells the lesson she taught - - Oh! thou small Bear, - Learn to bear, and forbear, - And of good luck, or good friends, never despair. - -A few days after I had received this lesson, I found myself placed -in a situation which needed the good advice of the little verse. An -extremely well-behaved young pig, and a very merry little fox, with -whom I was playing, asked me what I had been doing the other day near -a certain hollow tree. I told them I often collected acorns there in -the morning and went in the evening to eat them. They said no more, -and we went on playing round about the trees--and sometimes climbing -up them--that is--the merry little fox and I did this. The young wild -pig could not. But after that day, whenever I collected acorns in the -morning and put them into the hollow tree, and then went at night to -eat them, they were all gone! - -One evening, however, as I was returning home after my disappointment -and wondering who it could be, I heard a laughing in the thickets, and -entering suddenly there I saw the little fox and my friend the wild -pig who were just going to run away when they saw me. They both looked -very foolish as our eyes met. So the thought struck me that they were -the thieves, and I at once accused them. The wild pig became angry -and denied that he had stolen a single acorn. He said he would not be -called a thief by anybody. The little fox said he had never eaten a -single acorn in all his life, nor had his father before him. Also, he -said he would not be called a glutton by anybody. - -On hearing this I understood how it all was. ‘Jemmy,’ said I, fixing my -eyes upon the little fox, ‘Jemmy! you know very well that you stole my -acorns. We have often played together and this is the first bad trick -you have served me. You know I am quite able to punish you severely, -and take your tail away from you. But I forgive you this time.’ - -Then I turned to the young wild pig and said, ‘Hugo, you have _eaten_ -my acorns. You know that I am stronger than you, that I could throw -my arms around your neck and give you _such_ a one! (meaning a hard -hug)--but I forbear for the sake of our old friendship. I feel sure -this will never happen again, and, no doubt, we shall all be better -friends than ever.’ - -At this, the little fox shed a great many tears, and continued to rub -his eyes with his little yellow brush for five minutes afterwards. The -wild young pig stood silently for some time, as if he were trying to -understand all about it. When he did speak it was only ‘_ouff_’--but I -thought he felt what I had said. - -At night, when we were going to bed, I told the whole story to my -mother. She said I had acted rightly, according to what she had taught -me in the verse. ‘For what,’ said she, ‘would have been the use of -beating and squeezing the young thieves? It would not have brought back -the acorns, and would have made them both enemies in the future, ready -to steal anything. But as it is you have got two friends, and lost -nothing.’ - -After thinking a moment, I said, ‘Yes, Mother, but I’ve lost my acorns!’ - -‘They are not more lost than if you had eaten them,’ said my mother. -‘When a thing is eaten, it is lost. All you have to complain of is that -the wild young pig ate them for you. But as you have forgiven him of -course you ought to think no more of the matter. Act thus through life -toward your fellow creatures. Do so for the sake of the verse I taught -you, and trust to nature for good results. Now, child, go to sleep.’ - -In this manner I passed my early youth and was just coming to my full -size and strength when the dreadful thing happened which I spoke of -when I first had the honour of talking to the present company. It was -the terrible thing which made me an orphan in the world. - -We were greeted one evening by a very ragged but wise old ape who had -managed to escape from the menagerie in the big city. He was disguised -as a Chinese tea-merchant, and he begged a night’s lodging, as he -thought himself out of all danger. He told us news about my poor -father. He was put in a menagerie in the village and there he grieved -himself to death. - -My mother never recovered after this sad news. She made no complaint, -nor did she appear to give way to grief, but she gradually sank, and -sank. Her feet failed her and her teeth fell out. One night, in a more -than usually affectionate manner she had her last talk with me. She -told me to act always with honesty, truth, and good feeling towards -everyone; to bear all injuries and misfortunes as firmly as I could. -She begged me in all dealings to keep from feelings of revenge and -hatred. She then gave me an embrace, and told me to sleep well, and -remember her words. In the morning I found her lying dead upon the -moist green grass, with her head gently resting upon one paw.” - -As the Bear uttered these last words, he seemed overcome with many -feelings and thoughts of other years. Then, suddenly rising from his -chair, he hastily put on his hat and cloak, and hurried out of the -room. His friends heard the sound of the street-door closing, and two -of the children ran on tiptoe to the window; but he was out of sight. - - -_Third Evening_ - -The next evening the children all met again, in the hope that the -Good-Natured Bear would come to finish his story. - -“I am so much afraid he will never come again,” said Nancy. “What -_shall_ we do?” - -“What _shall_ we do?” echoed all the children. - -“For my part, I think that he will come,” said Mrs. Littlepump. - -“I am sure I hope so,” said Margaret. “Dear, how my heart beats!” - -“Your heart beats for Mr. Bear?” said Dr. Littlepump, looking hard at -Margaret, who instantly blushed up to her eyes, and her ears were as -red as ripe cherries. - -“Oh, I do so wish----” said little Valentine, and then he stopped. - -“What do you wish, Valentine?” asked Mr. Doctor, looking at his watch. - -“I wish we had Jemmy here!” - -“Jemmy! what Jemmy?” inquired Mr. Doctor with a serious face. - -“Why, Jemmy, the merry little fox with the yellow brush tail!” said Val. - -At this moment the clock struck six, and without any knocking, or -ringing, or any other announcement, the parlour door opened and in -walked Mr. Bear! - -He bowed with his usual politeness; but he had a more than usual air of -gravity and some appearance of anxiety. Margaret placed his chair for -him and this seemed to please him. - -“I thank you, Miss Margaret,” said he, and he soon became cheerful. - -Looking around with a smile, and particularly at Margaret, he asked if -he might go on with his story. - -“Oh, do, Sir!--please do!” cried a dozen voices at once. So he -continued as follows: - -“I must now tell you about my own captivity, and I fear there were -several times when I did not follow my mother’s advice but really lost -my temper for some minutes. I had scarcely reached my full growth when -a party of hunters came to the forest where I lived and surprising me -while I was asleep, caught me fast in a very strong rope net. I made -a great struggle. Three of the hunters stepped a few paces back and -leveled their guns with the intention of shooting me. At this moment -an immense wild pig rushed out of a thicket and crying ‘ouff!’ charged -right upon the three hunters--knocked them all three flat upon their -backs like ninepins--and then dashed into the thicket on the opposite -side! Up jumped the three hunters, very angry, and instantly fired -their guns into the thicket after the wild pig. But he was out of their -reach. Another of the hunters was now about to thrust his spear at me -when suddenly he gave a loud cry, and flung his spear at a tree, close -to the foot of which we saw a large yellow and red brush tail whisk -round. - -‘Oh,’ cried the hunter. ‘Some rascal of a fox has bitten me in the -foot!’ - -I need not tell you who these two forest friends were who had thus -saved my life. You have already guessed.” - -“Jemmy and Hugo,” whispered the children. - -“Jemmy and Hugo, grown up!” nodded Mr. Bear. - -“The hunters now began to talk together about whether I might not be of -more value to them alive in a menagerie than if they killed me. They -spoke of my rich, bright, brown-coloured fur, my large size, my youth. -At length they decided to send me to a menagerie. Some of them said -that a live bear was a great trouble on a long journey. - -I now saw that it was of no use to make any further struggle among so -many armed men, so I became very quiet. The cords that bound me had -become partially loose at the arms. The son of the hunter, who had -been about to kill me with his spear, happened to come close to me. I -slowly freed one paw and instead of seizing the boy roughly, I slowly -raised myself to an upright position behind his back and then patted -him gently upon the top of his head. This surprised, amused, and won -the hearts of all the hunters. They said it was quite impossible to -kill such a _good-natured bear_, and from that day they called me _The -Good-Natured Bear_. - -I remember very well an event of my journey with my captors, which -led to my learning to dance. We were all seated in a pleasant wood at -sunset. One of the men drew forth a clarionet, another a horn and began -to play. For the first time in my life I heard what you call music. I -was filled with joy, and, being quite unable to control myself, I rose -on my hind legs of my own accord, and stepped in time to the music. -At this the hunters loosened the ropes which held me and gave me more -freedom. In this upright position I stepped to the middle of an open -green space and continued to keep time to the merry tune which was -played. The hunters shouted and laughed and laughed and shouted. The -music became faster and louder. Round and round I waltzed, and the -trees all began to dance round me, too. Then the green ground span -round about, carrying all the hunters and the music in a swift, dizzy -circle round me. I feared I was going mad and I determined to save -myself. Therefore, I collected all my willpower and stopped turning. -The instant I stood still, the ground slipped from beneath my feet, and -away I rolled to the bottom of a hill, where I fell asleep. - -From this time, I continually practised walking upright. At first it -was very difficult to walk for any distance on my hind feet. I could -not help bending my nose and looking all down my right side, then all -down my left side, and so from side to side, for I seemed such a height -above the ground. Also, in order to keep my balance, I was obliged to -give my weight first on one leg, then on the other, without lifting -them from the ground. - -My captors took me to a menagerie, where I was more than comfortable. -My food was very good and my water was always clear and fresh. I also -had far more liberty than any other animal. I believe this kindness was -shown me because I showed no anger or hatred towards anyone, also, I -was very careful not to frighten or hurt any of the children, who came -near me. - -In time I became the principal object of attraction in this menagerie. -Crowds came daily and stood in front of my cell and looked, and -pointed, and often spoke to me till at last I came to see that I -was regarded as a surprising example of wisdom, although I did not -understand one word they spoke to me, except when they also made signs. -Sometimes, however, I was able to connect sounds with signs, so that I -actually learned the meaning of many words. Then first came to me the -great desire to learn human speech. I thought since I had learned the -meaning of many words why could I not learn many more? And when I had -learned certain sounds thoroughly why could I not imitate those words, -so as to speak as well as understand? - -I determined to do this if possible and I studied very hard. I listened -very carefully all day to those whom I heard speaking and at night I -practised my voice. At first I could make no sound at all like words, -but only strange noises, so that it woke some of the animals, who made -a great grumbling, and three of the monkeys mocked me for a week after, -chattering, pointing, and making mouths at me. However, I went on -trying, and at the end of four years, I understood nearly all that was -said to me, even without signs, and could pronounce a number of words -very well, though, of course, with rather a foreign accent. I proved -this to myself upon two or three occasions, when it was dark and no -one knew where the voice came from. By the answers I received I always -found that what I had said was understood. Nevertheless, I kept all -this a secret. - -By this time I was made a show of by myself, and separated from all -the other animals in one large corner, which was parted off by a green -curtain in front. An additional price was charged to see me. I did -not know what in the world they might do with me, if they found they -possessed a Bear who could talk! I often longed to be free. I was very -tired indeed of this kind of crowding and staring life, and I longed -for the beautiful quiet of my native woods. But there seemed no hope of -escape. - -In the ninth year of my captivity and, I may add, of my private -studies, I was sent round the country in a caravan with three keepers -who made a great deal of money by me, at the various fairs and markets. -I was called on the placards outside, ‘The Intellectual Bear!’ - -There was also another captive in the caravan,--a large serpent. I -tried to be friendly with him but he never noticed me. He was usually -asleep, rolled up on a heap of blankets, in a box. When he was awake -his eyes were generally shut, and he seemed in a sort of a stupid -trance so that we formed no acquaintance. I longed more than ever for -my liberty. - -One night--it was a hot night in June--after a long journey, while our -keepers were away at supper the serpent broke open his box. Presently -his head went slowly gliding up to one of the windows, and moved all -over the inside shutter. It had not been properly locked, and it opened -a little way. Upon this, the serpent raised himself upwards by his -mouth, opening the shutter gradually as he rose, till he had coiled -about half his body up against the window-frame, and then, with a -slow pressure--he burst it open. The next moment he dropped silently -through the opening--and was gone! - -In an instant the thought of liberty flashed through my mind! I grasped -the wooden bars of my cell, with both arms, and crushed three of them -together. I jumped down upon the floor of the caravan, and scrambled up -to the window. It was too small to let my body through, but I tore away -the framework and out I got, and leaped down upon fresh, cool grass -in the fresh, cool, night air! Oh, what delight after that steaming -hot caravan! I ran off as fast as I could. A few stars were shining. -Luckily there was no moon. Our caravan had fortunately been fixed -outside the town, so that I had no gates to pass through. I scampered -along, dodging between the trees of the avenue just as if I had been -pursued, though not a soul was to be seen at that hour; then I cut -across some fields and reached a vineyard. Scrambling on through garden -and orchard and wood, I came to the highroad which led to a large city. -Again I plunged into some vineyards till suddenly I came to a great -river which I swam quickly across and landed a little above a village. -Again I lost myself in the vineyards, but I did the best I could to -avoid villages and pathways leading to towns, for I feared I might meet -a party of travelers who would make it known where they had seen me. -I knew there would be a wide search for me. So I made my way upward -towards some distant mountains. At last I came to a forest where the -trees were very large. Up one of them I slowly climbed, being careful -not to scrape or leave any marks upon the bark of the tree. Choosing a -snug place where several large boughs crossed each other, I bent some -of the smaller ones round about, so that I was carefully hidden from -all eyes below. - -The next morning, as I was sure would be the case, I heard all sorts -of noises of hunters and dogs all over the country. Several parties -passed directly beneath the tree where I was seated. I heard one of -the dogs give such a sniff. Oh! how closely I hugged the trunk of that -tree, with my nose pointing up the stem, and not once venturing to look -down! I hoped with all my heart not to be seen. This search continued -for several days round about me. I never descended and I had nothing to -eat. Once it rained in the night, and I drank the water off the leaves, -taking whole bunches at a time into my mouth. This quite refreshed me. -Nobody ever found me out, except that one morning an old crow with a -bright, black eye, came and peeped at me, but as soon as he saw who it -was he flew away, crying out, ‘_Lawk! Lawk!_’ - -At length the search after me was continued in other parts of the -country, and one night I came down to stretch my legs, and sniff about -a bit, and see what the world was made of--ahem! I had not walked -far before I came to a spot where the hunters had paused to rest and -refresh themselves. Here I found two things which had been dropped by -some accident--namely, a purse with some money in it and a very large -pork pie! The purse I placed in a thicket under a stone, but I had -immediate need of the pie. I ate half of it that night; I was so very -hungry. The remainder I carried with me up the tree, and made it last -five days. - -Though I never stopped watching or forgot my caution, the fear I at -first had of being discovered and recaptured was very much lessened, -so that my mind was free to follow its own course of self-improvement. -I continued to practice speaking with the greatest care, repeating all -the sentences I knew, and every word I could recollect. I did this so -often in order to master the pronunciation that sometimes when I ceased -I had a pain in my lower jaw, which lasted for half an hour. However, I -continually persevered. I had now practised speaking a human language -for nearly twelve years. I spoke very badly I knew; still, I had -sometimes found what I said in the dark when I was in the menagerie, -had been understood and I was full of hope. How and in what manner to -make my first appearance among mankind, was quite a puzzle to me. One -preparation as to my personal appearance I knew I must make. I grieved -at it. I objected to the narrowness of mind which I knew made it -necessary,--yet I knew also that it must be done. - -In the early morning of the world, everything was new and wonderful -beyond all doubt; but not more new and wonderful than useful and -necessary to carry out the future business of creation. Who can -deny the high origin of tails? The first animal who was active and -well-formed must have had a tail. Of its great importance it would -take too much time at present to speak. But even in these modern times -how much use and ornament it possesses must be seen by everybody when -they think of the lion, the dog, the eagle, the swallow, the monkey, -the squirrel, and the fish. Running, leaping, flying, swimming are all -helped very much indeed by the tail. Of its use as a fan in sultry -weather, as a whisker-away of gnats and flies, I will make no mention. -Then, what a tail the beaver has and who is more skilful than he? I -will stop. You see I have no tail. Since I had made up my mind to live -with mankind it was necessary to accept most of their customs. In -short, I found I must give up my tail. This I did at the sacrifice of -some private feelings, I assure you. - -You must be curious, I think, to hear how I made my first appearance -among the circles of mankind, and I will hasten to tell you. Most -fortunately, I had a little money, the value of which I knew pretty -well. I made my way cautiously across the country into a town one dark -evening of a market-day, and with my money I managed to purchase a -large pair of shoes, a pair of cow-skin gloves, a piece of gingerbread, -and a sheet of white paper. With these materials I made my way to a -large city where a great fair was being held. - -I chose a dark corner on the outskirts of the fair and spread my sheet -of white paper upon the ground. On this white paper I placed a score -of gingerbread pills, and, with beating heart and shaking limbs, I -addressed the human race on the subject of pills, for I had heard -people were very much interested in this subject. I was so alarmed at -speaking to a group of such wise beings that even at the time I did -not well know what I was saying. However, the moment I began to speak, -a number of persons came round me and laughed loudly. I thought I was -found out, and stopped. - -‘Go on, Doctor! Go on!’ cried they. So I went on. A crowd soon -collected, all of whom laughed very much, saying, ‘What a voice! Look -at his nose! Did you ever hear such language! What a figure!’ - -They bought all my gingerbread pills in a very short time, and I was -only able to make my escape by telling them I must go to my lodgings -for some more. - -Oh, how shall I describe the joy and exultation I felt at the great -success of my experiment upon the wise and generous human race! I was -obliged to double the price of my gingerbread pills in order to prevent -them from going so fast. Everything I said produced immense laughter, -even when I myself knew I had said no witty or sensible thing at all, -while any ordinary reply was received with shouts of applause. They -believed that my strange voice, dialect, face, figure, and behaviour -were all a part of my make-up, and that I was acting a part! In fact, -they thought I could speak and appear very differently, if I liked. I -did not feel altogether pleased at this discovery; but I was obliged to -take what came and make the most of it. I, therefore, spoke as well as -I could, and when I made some shocking blunder, I allowed the people to -suppose that I knew better. - -I now took my position in society. I had lodgings in a house, and I -slept in a bed! I shall never forget the first night I slept in a bed. -How I stood looking at the snow-white luxury! and walked round it -softly, holding my breath. I touched it very gently, but at last I did -muster courage and actually got between the sheets! - -I visited other large fairs with increased success, so that in the -course of a year or two I had gained a great sum of money. - -I soon became famous at all the great fairs where, by some, I was -called the Whimsical Doctor, on account of my odd dress, face, and -voice, all of which people regarded as my make-up. Several wealthy -people whom I met at these fairs offered to go into partnership with -me. At last I consented. I took as my partner a clever man named -Tobias, who was a jeweller. He sold all his jewels, or rather, he -turned all his jewels into gingerbread, and we made wagon-loads of -gingerbread pills. In making the large quantities of these, however, -Tobias talked to me in a way which caused me to feel, for the first -time, that this method of dealing with the human race was not -honourable. I began to see that human beings were not so wise as I had -imagined, and that nobody ought to cheat them. The more my partner -talked over our success the more I felt we were rogues. So one morning -I told him that I wished to dissolve our partnership. ‘Ah,’ said he, -‘then, as you leave me, of course you will leave with me all the stock -in trade, and all the money, too.’ ‘No,’ said I, ‘not all the money. -Take all the pills, and welcome; but give me back half the money.’ He -refused. We spoke sharply to each other and suddenly he said to me, -angrily, ‘You shall have nothing. If you say anything more I will tell -what I have found out about you. I know what you are. You are not a -man--but a _bear_!’ - -I was thunderstruck! I fell back into my infant years as if I had -fallen over a cliff. I felt I was a bear! But the next moment I -seized Tobias in my arms, and lifted him up in the air, saying in a -loud voice: ‘Wicked fellow! what shall I do to you?’ At this moment, -however, I recollected my mother’s words. I set him down upon the -ground, where he stood quite breathless with fright. Then I said to -him, ‘Ungrateful man--dishonest partner,--take my money and go thy ways -in peace.’ - -Not knowing what to do, and certainly not knowing what to think, I -wandered about the country. Sometimes I sat under hedges and puzzled -my brains to understand what sort of thing human reason was. I never -could make it out. However, I knew that I was an imposter,--though an -innocent imposter, since I could not help wearing a fur coat and a long -nose. - -One day when I was seated under a tree, eating a turnip, who should -pass by but Tobias, all in rags, and looking very ill. Suddenly, he saw -me, uttered a cry, and fell down in a fit. I went to him and placed -the cool wet leaves of my turnip across his temples. This seemed to -revive him and do him good. When he saw that I had no intention to -hurt him he asked me to carry him to the nearest peasant’s cottage. I -did so and was going away when he called me back and said, ‘I behaved -very badly to you, but I was punished. When you left me nobody would -buy the pills. The people called loudly for the Wonderful Doctor with -the fur coat and the large nose who talked so oddly. As you were not -to be found, they said I was a rascal, and an impostor, and they drove -me out of the town. I was quite ruined. They seized all our pills and -flung them about and the boys pelted each other with pill-boxes in the -streets for at least three hours. The very same wonderful pills the -world had just before been running after.’ - -In a few months after this Tobias had a fortune left him by a relation. -He sent for me, begged my pardon for his previous behaviour, set me up -in business as a merchant, and took great pains to instruct me. In the -winter I dealt in pickles and preserves; and in the summer I carried -on a wholesale trade in silks and velvets. He wanted me to sell furs -also, but I declined that. These occupations I have followed ever -since, with great industry and good success. Meantime, however, at all -leisure hours I have tried to improve my mind by various studies, and, -among others, I even managed to make some progress in mathematics.” - -As Mr. Bear said this, all the children thought directly of Uncle -Abraham, the mathematician, and were so sorry he was not present to -hear about these studies. - -“I should now,” continued the stout gentleman, “consider myself very -happy, but for one circumstance. I confess I do not like to mention it. - - How can this small heart contain - So large a world of joy and pain; - And how can this small tongue declare - All that is felt so deeply there! - Alas, poor Bear!--Alas, poor Bear! - -You will all readily understand that to have raised myself by my own -efforts so much above the rest of my species, I must have had a nature -open to many thoughts and feelings; and that the peculiar tenderness -instilled by my mother had grown with my growth, and made me open to -all the softer emotions.” - -Mr. Bear here paused and gave a deep sigh. Several of the younger -children sighed too. Gretchen fixed her eyes upon the floor. - -“I was not aware for some time,” said the sorrowful gentleman in the -rough coat, “of what kind of feelings had begun to possess me. I felt -I was alone in the world. I had long felt that,--but I had so much -to do, so much to learn and struggle with, and work at, and so much -travelling about and business to attend to, that I did not feel this -being alone as any great grief. Besides, as I had been successful in -the various difficult things I had attempted, and had for a long time -been very fortunate in all my affairs of business, I was in the habit -of regarding myself as a happy person. And I _was_ happy, until I -began to think that others were more so, and then I saw it was because -others, who were happy, could share it with those they loved and also -give happiness to the dear object. But I was alone in the world. I -had nobody to love. Nobody would ever love me,--except another bear. -And you know that the love of another bear was out of the question to -one in my advanced state of refinement. What was I to do? I could have -loved a dear object--a great many, I am sure--I was going to say--I beg -pardon--I do not quite well know _what_ I say at this exciting moment. -But--let me try to tell you, that I felt it impossible to live all my -life without some tender acquaintance with the little god of love, and -as I was by this time long past the season of youth, I was resolved to -let my heart be lost with the first object that should present herself -to my fancy. - -But, strange to relate, no sooner had I made up my mind to fall in love -with the first amiable and lovely person I saw than I ceased to meet -with any such as I often used to see before. So I began to think the -wish had left me, and I determined to study something very difficult -in order to occupy my mind, and perhaps cure myself of these lovely -fancies. I, therefore, decided to take a course of studies under Mr. -Professor Abraham Littlepump, and with that view I first came to this -village. I arrived in the evening as you know, but did not intend to -have made my visit till next morning, had I not been attracted by the -loud merriment of our young friends here. It has always happened that -Mr. Professor Abraham Littlepump has been absent when I paid you a -visit; but this does not concern me in regard to the mathematics. I -have seen one here in this room--who has put all the mathematics clean -out of my head. And now comes the end of my story.” - -As Mr. Bear uttered those words everybody began to look all round the -room and then at each other and then all round the room again. - -“Who can Mr. Good-Natured Bear mean?” said Nancy in a whisper to one of -the older boys. - -“Margaret dear,” said little Valentine, “your ears are as red as my -scarlet-runner.” - -“Silence!” said Dr. Littlepump. - -“Pity an unfortunate creature,” said the stout gentleman. “I have at -length seen the object of my devout wishes. Yes, in this very room in -this house--have I seen just exactly what I have been speaking of. You -understand me?” There was no answer. - -“Oh, that I could have had the honour and happiness of being your -brother Abraham! I would have devoted my mind to far more beautiful -thoughts. Seated in his arm-chair and thinking about mathematical -problems he never dreamed of the charming object that was continually -before him, sometimes singing to the children, sometimes teaching them -to read, and to dance, sometimes working with her delightful needle. -Oh, let me change places with him--the cold, insensible, stick of a -slate pencil! Now I know what I am saying--or rather I do not very well -know what I am saying.” - -Poor Mr. Bear here began to cry, and several of the children cried too. -But he went on with his strange speech all the same. - -“Let Mr. Professor Uncle Abraham stay where he is, with his problems -and dumps, and let me be allowed to remain in his place and sit in -his chair, so that I may enjoy the happy society of the sweet-voiced -Margaret, nursery-governess in the amiable family of Mr. Dr. -Littlepump.” - -As he concluded the last sentence the unhappy gentleman sank back in -his chair, and Gretchen covered her face entirely with both hands. - -“I only dare to speak of my affection for this sweet creature. I know I -am old for her, too ugly, besides being a Bear. I know I have no hope, -but what can I do? How can I help this beating heart? What is to become -of me?” - -By this time all the children had tears in their eyes. Nancy and little -Valentine, however, got close to Gretchen, holding her fast on each -side, for fear that perhaps poor Mr. Bear might want to carry her away. -Everybody was silent. - -At last Nancy ventured to say in a trembling voice, “Perhaps, dear Mr. -Bear, you might find somebody else?” - -“Oh, that I had eloquence!” exclaimed the Bear. “Oh, that the best -words would come of themselves in the best places, while other best -words were getting themselves ready to be poured out! Then I should -be able to touch the human heart. But, as it is, all my hopes are -vanity,--are in fact nothing at all. I must leave this busy scene and -go to some quiet place where I am not known. I will again visit the -haunts of my childhood and stay there. Oh! my native woods! Ye silent -nights, ye small bright stars playing bo-peep through the boughs into -hollow caves! I will go back among you, and in the cool, green grass -will I lay my head. Farewell! Farewell!” - -“But can nothing be done for you, sir?” said Mrs. Littlepump in a soft -voice. - -“My dear Margaret,” said Doctor Littlepump, “you hear what Mrs. -Littlepump asks. It is for you to make some kind of an answer. I wish -my brother Abraham were here!” - -“I can never love the gentleman in the rough coat,” said Margaret, -still holding one hand before her face. “I do not mind his being much -older than myself, nor do I think him so very, very ugly--only, he is a -Bear!” - -“I am a devoted Bear!” declared the stout gentleman with enthusiasm, -“and I will be anything else I can, that the dear object may command.” - -“I have had a dream!” said Margaret timidly looking up and waiting. “I -have had a dream!” - -“So have I,” said Dr. Littlepump sternly. “Come, come, I begin to feel -uncomfortable.” - -“Do not feel so!” exclaimed Mr. Bear, clasping his paws together. - -“Make haste!” continued the Doctor, fixing his eyes upon Margaret. -“Make haste! Let us hear your dream.” - -“I dreamed,” said Margaret, trembling, “that Mr. Bear must go into that -closet, and be locked in. Then, all the children were to form a magic -circle in the middle of the room, and move slowly round, hand in hand, -nine times, saying: - - ‘Oh, Mr. Bear! - Cupid hears your fond prayer! - Remember your mother’s words,--never despair!’ - -After this, a glass of lemonade and a slice of cake were to be placed -ready for each to take the moment the door was opened, and they saw -that the charm was complete. I dreamed this would cause Mr. Bear to be -made happy somehow. And then----” - -“And then?” said Dr. Littlepump, “what then? I repeat I am beginning to -feel very uncomfortable. I smell a plot!” - -“Oh, we shall soon see what the dream will do,” said Mrs. Littlepump. -“Mr. Bear, will you run all risks of what may happen, and go into the -closet?” - -“I will do anything, dear Mrs. Littlepump!” exclaimed Mr. Bear. Saying -this, he ran towards the closet headforemost. The door was open. The -children all peeped in and looked round cautiously to see if anybody -was there, but it was quite empty. A large mirror hung on the wall, at -the further end. Mr. Bear stepped in, and waited for what might happen -to him. - -“All in the dark!” said little Valentine, “and the door locked!” - -The children now formed a circle in the middle of the room, and while -Margaret was pouring out glasses of lemonade, and Lydia and Dorothea -were cutting slices of cake, and Wallis was cleaning his spectacles, -and Dr. and Mrs. Littlepump were standing silently holding each other -by both hands--the children turned in a circle nine times, repeating -the words of the charm: - - “Oh, Mr. Bear! - Cupid hears your fond prayer! - Remember your mother’s words--never despair.” - -When they had finished Mrs. Littlepump unlocked the closet door. -Everybody was so silent. - -“Margaret,” whispered Mrs. Littlepump, “go and tap at the door.” - -Margaret did so, and then the door slowly began to open. It stopped -opening, and a voice inside said, “You must take my hand, or I cannot -come out.” - -And then a well-formed hand was put forth. With a face all scarlet with -blushes Margaret gently took it. And then--who should come out of the -closet but dear Uncle Abraham! - -“Here is dear Uncle Abraham!” shouted all the children, “but where is -the Bear?” - -The children all ran right into the closet, scrambling, squeaking, and -searching all about, but finding nothing! Soon they came crowding, and -began to run round Uncle Abraham. - -“Where is the fascinating rough gentleman?” cried everybody in the room. - -“_Here I am!_” exclaimed a soft hoarse voice, as if from a great -distance. - -They all looked round and round. Nobody like Mr. Bear was to be seen. - -“_I am become a happy Shadow!_” continued the voice, “_and I have left -my dear friend and mathematical tutor in my place!_” - -The voice seemed still as distant as before; and yet, somehow, it -appeared to come from the closet. Into the closet, therefore, all the -children again rushed pell mell. They were no sooner in than they -suddenly gave a great shout;--and then became quite silent as with some -new wonder. - -The rest of the party hastened to the closet. The children were all -looking in the mirror which hung at the other end, and in it were -distinctly seen the reflection in miniature of Mr. Bear, very nicely -shaved round the chin, and dressed as a nobleman in a court dress. -He was dancing a polka on the lawn of a castle made of clouds, with -another Shadow dressed exactly like Margaret, only still prettier, -while the figure of Cupid sat on the tip-top of one of the turrets, -holding his quiver like a violin, and playing delightfully upon it with -his bow. - -Presently the whole vanished. There was nothing to be seen in the -mirror except the wondering faces of those who went close up to it. - -Out came all the children, one by one, with looks of equal pleasure and -bewilderment. - -“I was not altogether prepared for this,” said Dr. Littlepump. - -“Oh,” said Mrs. Littlepump, “the Land of Shadows is full of delights -of all kinds; and as to your brother’s affair of the heart, it is not -the first time that a grave man fell in love with a merry girl. It was, -at least, as natural in him as in Mr. Bear--not to speak unkindly or -disrespectfully of our dear departed friend.” - -“But it certainly is the first time,” said Dr. Littlepump, “that a -Bear, however good-natured, was so lucky as to become a Happy Shadow, -such as you describe, and to be able to bequeath a young bride to his -tutor. In fact, my brain is confused upon several points. And the more -I reflect, the more my head goes round. Brother! I always used to -consider you a strong-minded man--but now----” - -“You will dance at my wedding!” said Abraham Littlepump. - -“I will,” said Dr. Littlepump. “God bless you, brother Abraham. -Good-natured Bear, indeed! Poor gentleman! I do not mean to say -anything at all unkind--but I _do_ say, bless my soul!” - -“My good brother,” said Abraham Littlepump, “as for Mr. Bear, we shall -ever retain the tenderest recollections of him. He was thrown upon an -unfeeling world, and was unhappy. But he is very happy now, somewhere -else. For has he not vanished into the Land of Shadows, there to dance -forever on a green lawn, with the image of his adorations!” - -“I rejoice extremely to hear it!” cried Dr. Littlepump, catching up his -flute; “and I feel persuaded that I am at this moment inspired to play -the very same polka which Cupid has just played to Mr. Bear and his -bride!” - -At this the children all set up a long hearty shout of applause; and -when they were quite done Dr. Littlepump applauded himself--at which -they all began again. Then the children, still laughing, formed a -circle, hand in hand, round Dr. and Mrs. Littlepump, and Abraham -Littlepump and Margaret, and danced round and round them. And they sang -the following rhyme, in which the Bear was lovingly included, just as -if he had been present, because his memory was so dear to them all. The -Doctor accompanied them on his flute. - - “Oh, Doctor! Oh, Bear! - Oh, new-married pair! - Of good luck and good friends - Oh, never despair!” - -Abraham Littlepump now became so overjoyed, that he was unable to -contain himself. He hugged them all round, and finally catching the -Doctor in his arms, made him get up behind him pick-a-back. Then Mrs. -Littlepump and Margaret joined hands with the circle of children, and -they all danced round the two brothers, singing the rhyme again, while -the Doctor flourished his flute in the air, like the conductor of some -great band of music. - - - - -CHRISTMAS WISHES - -LOUISE CHOLLET - - -King Nutcracker prepared for the Christmas feast with uncommon -splendour, for on that day Santa Claus had promised his three -sons--what do you suppose? A pony or a boat apiece? Of what use to -bring such things to Prince Nutcracker and Prince Buttons, who were -men, while for the little Prince Pepin, he had everything that he -wanted since he first learned to cry for it! No, Santa Claus had -promised them each a wish! What would the princes wish? Nobody knew. -For though the Court Journal declared that of course their wishes would -insure the happiness of their subjects, the Court Journal _knew_ no -more of the matter than you or I; and as all this happened before we -were born, that is just nothing. Nevertheless, for weeks beforehand, -the entire court was in a state of preparation. The Duke of the Powder -Closet powdered the comb wigs at such a rate that they were obliged -to station a line of pages from the Powder closet to the pantry, who -passed up refreshments continually to keep his strength up. The Queen -wore her hair in curl-papers for a week, and spent the most of her time -in the kitchen where the pies and plum-pudding were in making; and -his Majesty grumbled that he could not stir without stumbling over a -trumpeter, practising his bit of the Christmas chorus in a corner. For -himself, the king ordered a new blue-velvet coat, and sent his crown -and sceptre to be mended and rubbed up at a goldsmith’s. All the pink -pages had new green slippers. Ten of these pages were to help Santa -Claus out of his sleigh and ten were to hold the reindeer; and all the -time they were to sing a song of welcome, and to step all together. So -they practised five hours a day with the Lord High Fiddlesticks; and -the Lord High Fiddle-stick bawled himself hoarse, while the pages lost -flesh and temper in trying to learn. - -What a pity, after all this pains, that Santa Claus left his reindeer -behind him, and, slipping in just when nobody was looking for him, -stood among them, not with his Christmas face, but looking sad and -surly! “If you were my boys,” said he gruffly, “catch me giving you a -wish. I would shut you up in an iceberg first! However, a promise is a -promise. Let us hear what you have to say.” - -All the courtiers stood on tiptoe, and you might have heard a pin drop, -they were so anxious to know what the princes wished. - -Pepin, though the youngest, being a saucy, spoiled boy, spoke first. -“A prince should always have his own way,” said Pepin. “Now there are -a great many things that vex me. Sometimes, when I am flying my kite, -there is no wind. Now I think that a prince should always be able to -fly his kite: if not, I might as well be any other boy. In the same -way, it rains when I am going to drive, and the sun sets before I am -ready; and my ball will tumble down when I want it to stay up, and -sometimes it is too warm, and sometimes it is too cold; in short, -there is no end to my annoyances, and I want to regulate these things -myself.” - -Santa Claus looked hard at Pepin to see if he was quite in earnest. -Pepin looked back at Santa Claus with a serious face. “Have your wish -while you remain a prince,” said Santa Claus. - -The courtiers stared, but no one had time to make any remarks; for -Prince Nutcracker, in a violent hurry lest Buttons should get ahead of -him, wished for the luck-penny. Now you know whoever has a luck-penny -will make money, more money, much money, and will never lose any. - -“But there is one objection,” remarked Santa Claus. “By continual use, -the luck-penny by and by will look larger to you than anything else.” - -“That is nothing,” said Nutcracker, slipping the luck-penny into his -pocket. - -Prince Buttons, blushing to the tips of his ears, wished “to marry the -shoemaker’s sweet daughter, and that the spirit of Christmas might live -in their house the year round.” - -“Give us your hand!” cried Santa Claus, pulling out the holly-sprig -from his cap, and giving it to Buttons, but the King jumped up, fuming -and spluttering: “You idiot! You ninny! The daughter of the shoemaker -and the Christmas spirit, indeed. Christmas fiddlestick and fol-de-rol! -Out of my sight!” - -His Royal Highness was in such a rage that he actually lifted his -royal foot to kick the prince. The Queen fainted; the courtiers cried, -“Oh!” Prince Buttons ran away in the midst of the hubbub; Santa Claus -disappeared; and, to make matters better, the court suddenly found -itself in darkness. It was high noon, but the sun had popped out -of the sky like a snuffed-out candle. Nobody could find candles or -matches, and if the confusion was great in the palace, it was worse -in the city. People were left standing in darkness at the shops and -ferries and depots. People who were eating dinners, and people who were -getting them, and people who had just come out to see Christmas, were -all served alike. Everybody was in a fright; some screamed one thing -and some another; and all the time there was nothing the matter, only -Prince Pepin, who was in a hurry to see the arch of Chinese lanterns, -had ordered the sun to set. - -“See here, Pepin,” cried the King in a passion, “order the sun up -again, and if I catch you doing such a thing----” - -Pepin, who was afraid of his father, did not wait for the rest of the -sentence; so, just as everybody had lighted candles, or turned on the -gas, there was the sun again. - -“Seems to me,” said Pepin, sulkily, “I am not having my own way -after all,” and he went in a wretched humour to play battle-door and -shuttlecock. He made bad strokes, and the shuttlecock tumbled on the -ground. “Hateful thing, forever coming down!” cried Pepin. - -“It only obeys the law of gravitation, my dear,” said the Queen. - -“I wish there was no law of gravitation,” snapped Pepin. - -Whisk! Pepin was flying through the air as if he had been shot from -a gun. Kicking frantically, he saw the King, the Queen, everything, -coming after him! Something hit him hard on the nose. He was in a -perfect storm of great round apples, flying in all directions! Bang! -bump! on his head, in his mouth, on his shoulders! How he wished they -had stayed in the market! Pepin dodged and squalled; the air was full -of stones and timbers; a horse was kicking just over his head; somebody -had him by the hair, and somebody else by the legs, for, of course, -everybody clutched in all directions to save himself. - -“Oh!” screamed Pepin amidst the general uproar of barking, neighing, -braying, clucking and shouting, “I wish the law of gravitation was back -again.” - -At once Pepin, the King, the Queen, and the people, were on their -feet. Everything was in its accustomed place,--everybody a little -rumpled, but nobody hurt. The King was disposed to be angry, but the -Queen declared that Pepin was only a little thoughtless, the courtiers -murmured, “Quite natural,” and the Court Journal pronounced the affair -the best joke of the season; but the people looked very glum over it. - -That made no difference to Pepin, who continued his jokes very much -at his ease. Often, when he was lazy, the sun did not rise until noon; -and people might twist and turn in bed, or go about their business by -candle-light, as they chose; when, on the contrary, he found his play -amusing, he sometimes kept the sun in the sky till nine o’clock at -night, while all the children in the city were crying for sleepiness. -Three nations declared war on King Nutcracker, because Pepin sometimes -ordered a dead calm for weeks, and sometimes had the winds blowing -from all quarters at once, and navigation was quite impossible. The -doctors were almost worn out, and the people died on all sides from -constant violent changes of weather, for, if my young master got heated -in his play, he made nothing of ordering the thermometer down to sixty -degrees. The farmers were all in despair, for Pepin hardly allowed a -drop of rain to fall; and having a fancy for skating in summer, he -ruined what harvest there was by a week of ice and snow in July. - -Remonstrance was quite useless, for Pepin was no longer afraid of his -father, since he could leave him at any time in total darkness. So -one night there was heard a loud knocking at the palace gate, and, -though the pages and the guards and the watchmen turned over on the -other side, and tried very hard to go to sleep again, the knocking grew -so loud that they were obliged to get up and see what was the matter. -There was a mob at the gates; the people, tired of Pepin’s jokes, had -rebelled. Some ran one way and some another. Prince Nutcracker put his -luck-penny in his pocket and walked out of the back door; no one stayed -to look after the King and Queen, who were running about in nightcap -and slippers, in a terrible fright; and if it had not been for Buttons, -who, on the first alarm, ran to the palace, from which he had been -kicked out six months before, they would have been in a sorry case, I -think. - -On the next day the Court Journal came out with a new heading. It was -called now the People’s Journal, and it said that, on the night before, -old Mr. and Mrs. Nutcracker and their boy Pepin had escaped, nobody -knew how, and nobody cared; and that young Mr. Nutcracker, the former -heir to the throne, had opened a fine new store on Main Street. - -So, you perceive, there was no longer a royal family. - -As Nutcracker had the luck-penny, of course he made money in his new -store. Every day, and all day long, he looked straight at the penny. -At first he used to see other things; but as he took no notice of -them, by and by the penny grew so large that it covered them all, and -then he had no more trouble. He made money all the year round and he -gave none of it away. None to Pepin, because he had brought about -their misfortunes. None to Buttons, because he might have wished for -something better, if he liked, than a holly-bush and the shoemaker’s -daughter. None to anybody, because why should not people work and earn -money, as he had done, if they wanted it? And every day he grew more -and more like his penny,--that is, of less and less use for anything -that was not buying and selling. For Santa Claus, he had not seen him -in ten years, till one Christmas eve, when hearing a sudden jingling -of sleigh-bells, he looked up and saw Santa Claus just coming down on -the hearth-rug. - -“I stopped my sleigh,” said Santa Claus, “to see if you had anything to -send your father and brothers.” - -“Why should I send them anything?” answered Nutcracker, surlily. - -Santa Claus put his hands down deep in his fur pockets, as if he was -trying to hold himself. “What for! Aren’t you rich and they poor? Your -own flesh and blood? Confound it, man! if you have not the instinct of -a son and a brother, you must feel the Christmas spirit at least once -a year in your heart, urging you to love and kindness towards your -fellow-men.” - -“Well, I don’t, then,” snarled Nutcracker. “Men need holidays to rest, -I suppose, though I don’t; but for Christmas being any better, or -having anything more in it than any other day, I say, bosh! Give me -plenty of money, and I can buy all the love and kindness I want! And if -other folks want it, let them work and earn money as I do, and----” - -Nutcracker never finished this speech, because--he could not. A -singular dumb, dry and hard feeling had taken possession of him. His -legs were gone. At least he could see them nowhere; so were his arms. -Something wrapped him around. He had a strange notion that he had -grown round, and that--it sounds ridiculous--but Nutcracker was quite -positive that he was in a table drawer among some coin, and that he -was--a copper penny. - -By and by he heard a shrill voice, “Mr. Nutcracker, Mr. Nutcracker!” -That was his wife. Then he heard his children calling, “Papa, papa!” -Then a running up and down stairs. They were searching for him. Then -somebody declared that he had disappeared, somebody else said that he -must be advertised for, and, taking a handful of money from the drawer, -Nutcracker among the rest, carried him to a newspaper office, and paid -him in at a window for an advertisement about his own disappearance. -Two minutes after, the man at the window gave him in change to a -gentleman, who paid him out to a newsboy, who bought an apple with him -of a grocer, who gave him in change again to a shoemaker, who dropped -him into his soiled and patched pocket, where Nutcracker found nothing -else but a five-dollar gold-piece. - -This shoemaker was Buttons. Was not this a charming way for two -brothers to meet? - -The pocket into which Nutcracker dropped was a very poor -pocket,--soiled and patched, as I said; but Nutcracker had not been in -it five minutes when he felt--how shall I tell you? It is not easy to -describe feelings, but this shoemaker, who walked in the biting wind -with no overcoat and his hands in his pockets, had warmth and sparkle -in his heart that made Nutcracker feel brighter, though he could not -tell why. There were Christmas trees on all corners, and Christmas -wreaths piled on the stands, and at every tree and wreath Buttons -warmed more and more. There were women going home from market, with -a broad grin on their faces, and a drum or a little bedstead on the -top of the cranberries and turkey and Buttons laughed back at them as -he walked, whistling and looking around him; and splendid ladies came -smiling out of the shops, and Buttons smiled at them; till between the -signs of Christmas and the pleasant faces he got in such a glow that -Nutcracker would hardly have said that he needed an overcoat. - -All this time Buttons walked very fast and very straight till he came -to a certain shop with a low door. Outside of this door was a clothes -stand, and on this stand hung an overcoat, marked “Only Five Dollars.” - -Buttons stopped. “Now,” said he to himself, “I need an overcoat. I have -got five dollars in my pocket. Shall I buy this overcoat?” - -Then Buttons imagined himself in the overcoat. His coat-tails would -not fly out, and of course he could not put his hands in his pockets; -and if not, where should he put them? Buttons took another look at the -coat. It was certainly good for five dollars. - -“But,” said Buttons, “if I buy it they will have no Christmas dinner, -and Ma Nutcracker has set her heart on chicken and pudding. My little -wife will never know the difference between Christmas and any other -day. Poor Pepin, in his bed, will never know any difference. I shall -come home in my brutal overcoat and that will be all.” - -Then he began checking off on his fingers like this: “A dressing-gown -for father, a shawl for mother, a new gown for the little wife, goodies -for the children, a box of paints for Pepin, and the dinner.” Then he -gave a little sigh, and, putting his hands again in his pockets, walked -away as fast as he came. Do you suppose that he bought all these things -with the five-dollar gold-piece? Nutcracker could not see, of course, -but he thought not, for how could he? - -Buttons lived upstairs, in a mean little house in a dirty street. His -rooms were small, and they were crowded. There were old Mr. and Mrs. -Nutcracker, who never forgot that they had been king and queen, and -that Buttons’ wife was a shoemaker’s daughter, and never remembered -that Buttons had returned their cruelty with kindness, and I think were -not very nice people to live with. There was Pepin, who had been hurt, -poor boy! in escaping from the palace, and who had never risen since -from his bed. There was Buttons’ pleasant-faced wife; there were three -fat children; there was the holly-bush, which had grown into a great -tree; and there was--Nutcracker did not know what--but something, he -was quite sure, for which he had been searching all his life. - -The three fat children seized upon Buttons; one by each hand and one by -his coat-tails. - -“Ah!” said Buttons, pretending to groan. “I am so tired. Let the best -child look outside of the door and see what he finds.” - -The best child opened the door cautiously, half afraid, and set up -a shout. “Ma, come quick! here’s a chicken, and cranberries, and a -paper,--it’s raisins!” - -“Raisins!” screamed the other children. - -“A chicken!” cried old Mrs. Nutcracker. - -“Christmas wreaths!” exclaimed his wife, peeping out into the little -dark hall. “Why, surely, you never----” - -“Made them? Yes, I did,” said Buttons, his eyes dancing. “In the woods. -The cedars gave me boughs for nothing.” - -“Christmas wreaths!” repeated Pepin from his bed. “Give me one,” and, -seizing it in his thin fingers, “Ah! how nice it smells,--like the -woods!” he said, laying his pale cheek on it. “I wish I could see a -tree once more.” - -Buttons jumped up and ran downstairs very fast, and they heard him -coming back dragging something after him, bump, bump! The something -rustled and cracked and filled the room with a strong, spicy scent of -the woods. Buttons lifted it so that it stood just in front of Pepin’s -bed. It was a spruce-tree. Its thick, strong branches spread out wide. -Its top brushed the ceiling. Birds had built nests in its branches, -mosses had lived about its roots. It knew all the secrets of the woods -and the sky and the rains, and it told you about them, as well as it -could, whenever you stirred its branches. The little wife hung the -wreaths all about the room,--one on every nail, one over each window, -one over Pepin, one each on the backs of grandpa’s and grandma’s -chairs. It was getting dark, and the firelight came out and danced -on the ceiling and on the white cover of the little table. Pepin lay -looking at the tree. The children chattered like little birds; even -Grandpa and Grandma Nutcracker were smiling. The room was like a spicy -cosy little nest. What was it, Nutcracker wondered more and more, here -in these people’s faces for which he had laboured all his life? - -Suddenly Pepin cried out, “O, there is something here hanging on a -branch of the tree!” - -“Is it possible?” answered Buttons. “Then you had better take it down, -Pepin.” - -Pepin took it down. “Why, it is for me,” he said, looking at the name -on the wrapper. - -“Then you had better open it,” answered Buttons in just the same tone -as before. - -Pepin untied the string, but his hands shook. “It is square,” he said, -feeling it. He took off one wrapper. “It is hard,” he said again, -trembling all over. He took off the second wrapper, and it nearly -dropped from his fingers. - -“A box of paints!” screamed the children, dancing around. - -Pepin tried to speak, but he could not get out a word. He kissed the -box, he laughed, but you could see he was near crying. The little -wife’s eyes were full of tears also. - -“Come! come!” said Buttons. “Do people cry over Christmas gifts?” -There were no tears in his eyes. He was ready to dance, though now he -would have no overcoat. As for Nutcracker, he had a curious tingling -sensation all over him, though he was only a copper penny; and, -happening to look towards the hearth, he saw Santa Claus. The old -fellow had tied up his reindeer and slipped down the chimney, and was -winking hard, and wiping his eyes, while pretending to blow his nose. - -“I have it! I have got it, and know what it is!” cried Nutcracker, at -the top of his lungs. “The Christmas spirit lives here all the year -round, and these people love one another, and are happy. That is what I -never had at home--happiness; that is what my money could not buy. That -is why I was every day trying to make more money--always hoping to make -money enough to buy it.” - -Should you not think that Buttons would have been very much frightened -to hear such a voice coming out of his pocket? No doubt he would, -only, in some mysterious way, Nutcracker found himself on his legs -again, and he was walking as fast as he could with a pocketful of -money, to buy a monstrous turkey, and the best overcoat in the city, -and boots and a hat to match, and a new gown, and a dressing-gown, -and a shawl and a set of paints, and a great bouquet, and a basket of -toys, and candies--for whom? Why, for Buttons, and Grandpa and Grandma -Nutcracker, and the pleasant little wife, and Pepin, and the children, -of course! - - - - -THE MAN OF SNOW - -HARRIET MYRTLE - - -When I was a little girl we lived entirely in the country for several -years, and one winter there was a great fall of snow. The snow covered -the roof of the house, the roofs of the stable and cow shed, and the -branches of every tree were so thickly covered with the beautiful white -snow that sometimes in the morning, when I looked out of the window, I -could, at first, have fancied the trees were all apple and pear trees -full of blossoms. You may, therefore, believe that the snow lay very -deep in the fields. - -We had three fields; one was adjoining our kitchen; and there was often -a cow, or horse, or pony allowed to walk in it when the grass was -good. This field sloped down into a second which was parted off by a -gate; and then by a pathway along the side of a high hedge, we came -to a stile, and on the other side of the stile was our largest field. -No cattle were allowed to enter this field, as the grass was kept for -hay-making. Here, then, the deep snow lay all broad and white and -soft, without the marks of a single footstep all over the whole bright -expanse, where all was whiteness and silence. - -Now there lived in a pretty lane very near us an old parish clerk named -Downes. He lived in his cottage with his little granddaughter, and a -blackbird. He was a tall, thin old man with straight white hair. His -name was Godfred, but we always called him Gaffer Downes. - -One morning during this great snow time Mr. Gaffer Downes came to my -father and asked permission to make something curious in his large -field. He explained what it was and had leave given him directly, for -everybody was fond of Gaffer Downes. He had been parish clerk in our -village for nearly forty years. - -Away went Mr. Downes to get assistants for what he wished to do, and he -soon found two who were willing to help him. One was the coachman of -Squire Turner’s family, who were neighbors and friends of ours; and the -other was the parish sexton. Gaffer brought his spade with him; and the -three went off together through the snow. - -They took their way down into our great field, and there they each made -a great snow ball. Following the directions of Gaffer Downes, these -snow balls were rolled along until they collected more and more snow -upon their sides all round, and, of course, began to get very large. -Each man’s snow ball was soon as large as his head. They went rolling -on, and soon each of the snow balls was as large as two heads; then as -large as a cow’s head; then as large as a very great cow’s head; and -then each man was obliged to stop, as he could roll his snow ball along -no more, it was so large and heavy. Mr. Downes then told the coachman -and the sexton to leave their snow balls and come and help him to roll -his. So all three pushed away, and rolled it nearly all round the -great field, by which time it was as large as the head of an elephant. - -They stopped to rest and take breath. Mr. Downes now informed them that -he wished this large ball to be rolled to the middle of the field, and -to remain there while they rolled the others to the same size, and -then brought them to the same spot. They were just beginning their -work again when they heard a loud, merry laugh at the other side of -the hedge, and whom should they see looking over and showing his white -teeth and making a funny face at them but George Poole, the black -footman at Squire Turner’s. - -“Aha!” said George, “Aha, Massa Down, me see you! how you do, Massa -Gaffer Down? and how do you do? Is your pretty granddaughter at -home? and how you do, you blackbird, Massa Down? aha! very fond of -blackybird; he just my colour. How you do, you cold finger, Massa -Gaffer Down--and Massa Sexton, and coachy man, too, with cold fingers, -all so red, like scraped carrots?” - -“George Poole,” said Mr. Downes with a serious look, “George Poole, you -interrupt. Come and assist us, or return home to your fire in a quiet -and proper manner, I beg of you.” - -“Me go home to proper fire,” answered George, “but what you make there -with great snow ball, Massa Down?” - -“I do not intend to let anyone know at present,” answered Mr. Downes. -“Good day, George,” and as he said this he made a sign to the coachman -and sexton, and they continued their work of rolling. - -“Me come and see him when him finished,” said George. “Good day, Massa -Down,” and as he said this the laughing black face of George Poole -disappeared from the top of the hedge. - -This work of rolling continued all the morning, and, as they found they -had nothing else to do, they worked at it all the afternoon, also. By -this time they had made seven balls of snow, each as large as the head -of an elephant, and had rolled them all into the very middle of the -field. But to do this they had been obliged to ask for the help of two -men from our house. This my father readily gave; indeed, I believe he -himself helped at the last rolling of each ball, as they were so very -heavy and moved so slowly. Mr. Downes then took the spade and patted -every ball with the flat part of it, in order to make them even and -hard, and so left them for the night. - -The next morning while we were at breakfast Gaffer Downes passed by -the window, with a spade over his shoulder, followed by the sexton and -coachman each with a spade over his shoulder, and after them came the -beadle, the church bell ringer, and the young man who blew the bellows -for the organ. - -They all followed Mr. Downes into the large field. - -Up we all jumped from the breakfast table and hurried on our things; -papa, mamma and I, and Ellen Turner, who had heard of something that -was to be done in our field, and had come over to breakfast with us to -see. Away we all went, mamma carrying me where the snow was too deep, -and papa carrying Ellen. - -When we came into the large field, there we saw them all busy indeed, -working under the directions of Gaffer Downes, who was not working -himself now, but standing still in the attitude of an artist, giving -orders to his pupils. They soon made a sort of flat bank of snow, about -a foot and a half high, and patted it down very hard with their spades. -The pupils, that is to say, the coachman and sexton and bell ringer -and beadle, and the young man who blew the bellows for the organ, then -rolled three of the great balls of snow up on this bank, close to one -another, so as to form a sort of circle, but leaving a hollow place in -the middle of the form of a triangle, which the beadle remarked was -very much the figure of the coachman’s Sunday hat. Mr. Downes now came -with his spade, and made this three-cornered hollow larger, in fact, -large enough for a man to stand in very easily. He then desired the -coachman and sexton to assist him with their spades in making the tops -of these three balls quite flat. When this was done he directed them to -make three more of the balls flat at top and bottom; this also being -done, he called all his party together and told them to lift these -three balls, one at a time, and carefully place them upon the top of -those three that were already placed, as I have told you. So the pupils -did as they were directed and Mr. Downes made three notches, like -steps, in the side of two of the balls, and up them he slowly walked -with his spade, and again made the three-cornered hole in the middle of -the three top snow balls, as large as he had made it in those at the -bottom. We all thought he was going to get into it, but he did not. He -only looked in. He now came down with a very important look, and went -up to the one large ball of snow, which still lay there in its round -shape. This he trimmed and patted all about into the form he wished, -and then all the pupils were called to carry it and lift it by degrees -and to place at the very top where it was intended to be made the head -of the Man of Snow. It was a great job to get the head safely up, for -it was very heavy. However, after much time and many narrow escapes of -the head, and all the pupils tumbling down together, they did manage to -get it to the top, just over the hole which it covered up and its own -weight kept it there safely. - -It was now time to go to dinner. We all went but we finished as soon as -we could and returned to the large field. Gaffer Downes, the coachman, -and sexton moved round and round with their spades, cutting and shoving -or patting up the snow to make the figure of a man. And as there were -several hollow places where you could look into the inside, they -filled them up with hard lumps of snow; all except one hole, which Mr. -Downes said he wished left open to let the air in, though, on second -thought, he said he would cover it over himself, and so he did, but -very lightly. They made a few trenches and ridges down the middle and -at the sides of the Man, and this they called his legs and arms, at -which we all laughed. Lastly, Mr. Downes went climbing up the sides -with his spade and went to work at the head. What he tried to do was -to make a face to it, but it was very difficult. He cut out the nose -and chin, very large and broad; but some unlucky cut just as he was -finishing made them fall off. He then asked the beadle to bring him -two short sticks from the hedge; this being done, he stuck them into -the face and covered them over with handfuls of snow, which he pressed -and patted into the shape of a nose and chin. But when he had finished -the weight of the snow made the sticks come out and down they fell. -He went on trying again and again, and we all looked on and hoped he -would succeed, though we laughed very much also for the nose fell off -six times and the chin four. At last, however, with a sudden thought, -which could only have occurred to one who had quite a genius for making -a Man of Snow, Mr. Downes stuck the two short sticks in not pointing -downwards or straight out, but pointing rather upwards, so that the -weight of the nose and chin were supported upon the face and they held -fast. And a very strange face it was! - -Two things were still to be done. Mr. Downes drew from his coat pocket -a couple of large round stones of a blue-grey color, and these he fixed -in the face for eyes; and over the head, at each side, he stuck a -number of small hedge twigs and a wreath from a thorny wild rose-tree, -for hair. If more snow should fall he assured us the hair would look -quite beautiful. Down came Mr. Gaffer Downes, looking so seriously and -modestly upon the snow clumps on his shoes, while we all praised his -work and told him how much we liked his Man of Snow. - -It was now evening. We all went back through the fields and when we -arrived at the house my papa sent out a quantity of hot ale, with sugar -and toast in it, for the pupils, and we made Mr. Downes come in to tea -with us though he wanted to go home. He said his little granddaughter -and the blackbird would think he was lost in the snow. - -There did happen to be a slight fall of snow again in the night and we -all went down to the large field next morning after breakfast to see -what change it had made in the appearance of the great Man. And a fine -change, indeed, it had made. He looked much larger and rounder and -whiter and colder and seemed more “at home” in the great white field. -And he had a wonderful head of hair! - -The very same evening as we were all sitting round the fire, about an -hour before supper time, Mr. Downes came to our house and sent in word -that he had something very important to say. Mamma said, “Pray tell Mr. -Downes to come directly.” In came Gaffer Downes, looking rather paler -than usual, and with his face looking longer than usual, and his white -hair looking straighter than usual, and his chin sticking out with some -frost upon it. He remained standing in the middle of the room without -saying a word. - -“What is the matter, Mr. Downes?” asked papa. - -“Sir,” said Mr. Downes, without moving from the place where he stood, -“something has happened!” - -“What has happened?” said papa, rising from his chair. - -“An event!” said Mr. Downes. - -“What event?” said mamma, rising from her chair, “and where has it -happened?” - -“In the large field,” answered Mr. Gaffer Downes. “An event has -happened to the Snow Man.” - -At this we all ran up to Gaffer Downes, exclaiming, “What has happened -to him, tell us at once.” - -“The Snow Man,” said Mr. Downes in a low voice, “The Snow Man talks.” - -“Talks?” cried we all. - -“Yes,” said he, “the Man speaks. He was addressing the field in a long -speech when I passed on the other side of the hedge. It is a fine -moonlight night. You can all come and hear him yourselves.” - -“That we will!” exclaimed my papa. “We will all go directly.” - -So mamma called for bonnets and shawls and handkerchiefs and cloaks and -muffs, and tippets and gloves and fur boots and all sorts of things for -there were several young ladies staying on a visit with us. And outside -the door we found Squire Turner’s coachman with the sexton and the -beadle and bell ringer and the young man who blew the bellows for the -organ; in fact, all Gaffer Downes’ pupils, waiting to go with us into -the large field. - -Off we all set, Mr. Downes leading the way. At the end of the first -field he made us all stop to listen. He asked us if any of us could -hear the Man of Snow speaking. We all listened and at last said, “No!” -He then told us to follow him slowly along the hedge of the second -field listening all the way. We heard nothing, and again Mr. Downes -stopped us at the stile leading into the great field. Very attentively -we listened, but all was as silent as possible. - -Mr. Downes now told us we had better wait a little and let him go -first, and as soon as the Man of Snow spoke he would return and tell us -to come softly. So over the stile got Mr. Downes and we soon lost sight -of him as he went creeping round closely by the hedge. Well, we waited -and waited but Mr. Downes did not return. We listened but we could hear -nothing. Still we waited but at last papa got out of patience and said, -“What can have become of Mr. Downes?” - -“I hope,” said mamma, “nothing has happened to him.” - -“I am determined to go and see after him,” said papa. - -“Let us all go together,” said mamma. “Let us all go together, straight -up towards the Man of Snow, and ask for Mr. Downes.” - -It was agreed upon and we all got over the stile and went crowding -together along the field, nobody liking to go first, but all keeping -close, like sheep when they do not know what to do for the best. - -At last we came near the great Man of Snow. Papa and the young man who -blew the bellows for the organ stood in front, and next to them came -the sexton, and then mamma, with all us girls climbing close around -her, wrapped up in our cloaks, with only our eyes and noses to be seen; -and behind us stood the rest of the pupils--and behind all, at some -distance, stood the beadle. Well, there we all stood in silence, in the -great, silent snow field, looking at the great silent Man of Snow with -the moon shining upon his head! - -The young man who blew the bellows for the organ was the first who -spoke; and he said in a very respectful voice, “I ask your pardon, sir; -but could you be so kind as to tell us what has become of Mr. Downes?” - -No answer was returned. Everything was as silent as before. - -The sexton next spoke; and in a very humble tone he said, “May it -please your Majesty! we have lost the clerk of the parish!” - -Again we all remained in the same suspense and silence. The moon now -went partly behind a cloud so that only a little pale light came across -one side of the head and shoulders of the Man of Snow. At last papa was -obliged to speak, and he said, “Oh, Man of Snow, we came not to disturb -thy tranquillity, but if thy gracious whiteness hath once already -spoken to these fields, permit us also to hear thy silent voice!” - -There was again a pause and then, would you believe it?--you hardly -can--would you believe it, the Man of Snow answered! He did, indeed. In -a very slow and solemn voice he said, “Peace be upon ye all--and the -silent thoughtfulness of these white fields.” - -You may suppose how fearful and astonished and quiet we all stood at -hearing these words. Presently, however, my papa took courage, and -again addressed the Man of Snow. - -“Who art thou--and whence comest thou, oh, most serene Highness of the -frost?” - -“I am a spirit of Winter!” answered the Man of Snow, in the same solemn -tone. “Once in Lapland I was one of the most renowned giants. There my -image is built up with white stone, and because this likeness of me has -been made, therefore, on the wings of the wind hath my spirit crossed -the bleak seas to dwell for a little time in this body of snow. But now -depart! I would be alone!--retire! To-morrow, at moon-rise, ye may come -again.” - -We did not dare to disobey this command to depart, you may be sure; so -we all went homewards, too full of thoughts to speak. - -Just as we had reached the stile one of the young ladies cried out, -“Oh, what’s that under the hedge!” We all looked, and there we saw -the head of a man rising out of the dry ditch by the side of the -hedge! Who do you think it was? It was the poor beadle. He had been so -frightened when the Man of Snow spoke that he had run back, but, being -unable to get over the stile, in his confusion, he got into the dry -ditch and sat there upon the dead leaves and snow, with his chin just -level with the top of the bank. However, the pupils soon lifted him -out and comforted him and took him home. They also went to the cottage -of Gaffer Downes to know if he had returned safely. But he had not -returned. - -Before we went to supper, however, we sent to the cottage, as we were -getting very anxious; and his granddaughter answered from the window -that her dear grandfather had returned and had a basin of warm broth -and was now in bed. - -We could hardly eat our supper, any of us, for talking of the Man of -Snow and what he had said about having been once upon a time a Lapland -giant! For my part I could not sleep for thinking of it, and all the -young ladies said the same thing the next morning at breakfast. - -You may be sure we were all very anxious for the evening to come when -we were again to go and hear what the Man of Snow had to say. He told -us, you recollect, to come again at moon-rise; and the moon, papa -said, would rise about seven o’clock. - -We had a dinner party at our house and nearly all the time we talked -of little else except the Man of Snow or rather what he had done when -he was a giant in Lapland; and we thought that, perhaps, he might tell -us the history of his life. We determined every one of us to go all -together down to the great field when the moon rose. - -As the time approached we became so anxious that we got ready too soon, -and then, as we were all ready, we thought we might just as well go and -wait there till the white giant chose to speak. So off we all set, and -went very merrily, and yet not without some little fears, down toward -the large field. - -But when we had all got over the stile who should come running after -us but Mr. Downes. He was quite out of breath, but as soon as he could -speak he said, “Indeed, you are too soon. It’s too soon by half an -hour. You had much better get over the stile again and go into the -other field a little while.” - -Now this made some of us laugh, for, do you know, we now began to -suspect that it was Mr. Downes himself who had spoken for the Man of -Snow. - -We thought perhaps he had got behind somewhere, or perhaps into the -side of the great figure and thus spoken for him. But now, as we had -come too soon he had no time to get ready. We were sorry for poor -Gaffer Downes, yet still we could not help laughing at the scrape he -was in. He went on assuring us the Man of Snow would not speak at all -as we had come before the time he ordered. But this made us laugh the -more, as we were now almost sure how it had been continued. Meantime, -we had slowly advanced toward the Man of Snow, poor Mr. Downes telling -us all the time that the Man would be sure not to utter a word as we -had disobeyed his directions. - -“But see,” said papa, “the moon is now rising!” - -“Aha! ’tis no matter now,” answered Mr. Downes in a melancholy tone. -“The Man of Snow will not speak a single word.” Mr. Downes had scarcely -said this when a voice from the Man of Snow called out in a loud tone: - -“How you do, Massa Down--how you lilly granddaughter do--and how you do -you black bird, Massa Gaffer Downes?” - -All burst into laughter except Mr. Downes, who walked backwards and -forwards once or twice saying, “Dear me, how very vexatious!” - -Papa and mamma now both went up to Mr. Downes and told him they saw how -vexed he was at the change that had somehow or other taken place in -the voice of the Man of Snow, because the spirit of the Lapland Giant -had certainly flown away and quite a different one had gotten into its -place. However, they begged him not to take it to heart, but to go and -speak to the Man of Snow, and ask him to explain a little. - -Mr. Downes thought for a minute, and then seeming to make up his mind -to it, walked a few paces nearer to the Man of Snow, and this curious -dialogue took place between them. - -Mr. Downes: “Who art thou, oh, rude, familiar voice, who has usurped -the place of the frosty Spirit of last night?” - -Man of Snow: “Me the King of Lapland! speaky more respectful to him -Snow-ball Majesty, Massa Down!” - -Mr. Downes: “No Majesty of Snow hast thou, nor art thou Lapland’s king, -nor ever wert, nor shalt be.” - -Man of Snow: “Why you say so you Massa Gaffer man! Me come from own -country Lapland late last night after supper.” - -Mr. Downes: “What, then, for supper did the king of Lapland eat?” - -Man of Snow: “Berry good supper to be sure--great supper in great big -palace surrounded with orange trees and plantain and banana tree. Me -have curried chicken plenty and hot rice with treacle, and a pineapple, -and watermelon from own garden close by; and then me have chocolate, -berry sweet. What you t’ink now, Massa Downes?” - -Mr. Downes: “I think the King of Lapland dreams.” - -Man of Snow: “What he dream of then?” - -Mr. Downes: “He dreams that he had supper in some West Indian -isle; for in Lapland no oranges, no pinies, no watermelons grow, no -plantains, no banana.” - -Man of Snow: “Me never say they did grow there.” - -When the Man of Snow said this we all of us together cried out, “Oh! -Oh!” meaning what a story he was telling. - -Man of Snow: “Me never mean to say so. Me have great big hothouse, all -glass, where fruit grow; and other t’ing me have brought over in fine -large ship. Me very rich king; hab everything me wish.” - -Mr. Downes: “Rich, dost thou say, in money or in land?” - -Man of Snow: “In money, to be sure. Me have large chest full of -gold--Lapland gold and guineas, too--my friend and brother, the King -of England, send me; and me have plenty land, too. Large fields of -rice--no, not rice; rice not grow in Lapland--me know dat very well. Me -mean to say, large plantation of sugar cane.” - -Mr. Downes: “Nor doth the sugar cane in Lapland grow.” - -Man of Snow: “Me know that very well--me just going to say so. But -me try to make him grow; me try to bring new tings into my country; -me try to get horses and oxen, and sheep, and deer, and dogs, and -many bullfrogs, and rattlesnakes. Me want to change scorpions and -mosquitoes into butterflies and lady-birds. Me want to have all manner -of fine house for fine birds--parrots and macaws, with green wings and -scarlet tails and blue breasts, and topknots; and peacocks and birds -of paradise and a great pond of gold and silver fishes. And me mean to -build great big bamboo house for all these, twice as high as my head.” - -As the Man of Snow said this, we all saw his head shake a little, as if -he was in a great fuss with what he was thinking about doing; and we -even thought we saw the upper part of the figure shake a little, and -some pieces of snow began to crumble and fall. But he went on speaking -again. - -Man of Snow: “And me mean to have elephants and rhinoceroses and -apes with long arms and blue noses. And me mean to build a house for -elephants very large and very strong; so that when we catch wild -elephant, he no can get out. He try, and try--but he can’t.” - -Here we all saw the Man of Snow shake again. - -Man of Snow: “Makey house all sides very strong bamboo. See him -angry-trunk poke through the bars of cage--but all too fast and strong. -He no can get out. Then he make trumpet noise with trunk, and him lilly -cunning eye look so very angry; and then he run him head right against -the front of cage to try and push him down! but it is all too strong, -and he can’t--yet he push! and push!--and trumpet with trunk--and push! -and, oh, Massa Down!” - -As the Man of Snow uttered these words off rolled his head and broke -into twenty pieces!--and the next instant the whole figure cracked, -and opened in the middle and fell to pieces--and out rolled George -Poole upon the snow, crying out: “Oh, Massa Down, why you no build him -stronger?” - -You may suppose how we all laughed. One of the young ladies almost went -into a fit of laughing and most of us laughed till we had a pain at -both sides of the face, and yet we were unable to stop. - -Even Mr. Downes laughed; not at first, though; at first he made a very -long face, then he began, “te! he! he!”--and “he! he! he!” till at last -he went into “ha! ha! ha! Oh, dear me!”--and was obliged to sit down -upon the snow and wipe his forehead to recover himself. - -We all returned to the house very merrily laughing all the way. We -brought the King of Lapland with us, for George had always been a -favourite in the village. So we told the cook to give his Majesty a -large basin of rice, milk, and sugar, and mamma sent him afterwards a -large slice of plum cake, and a tumbler with some sugar and lemons. -Papa requested Mr. Downes to come in to supper with us, but he said -that he really must go home, as his granddaughter and the blackbird -would think something had happened to him. Papa, however, would take no -denial, so we made Mr. Downes come in, and then we sent a man for his -granddaughter with a message that she was to bring the blackbird with -her. - -So, in a few minutes afterwards, in came a pretty little girl of ten -years of age, with blue eyes and flaxen hair, and a complexion like -a rose, bringing in her hand a large milk-white wicker cage with the -blackbird sitting in the middle. He was as black as coal with a yellow -bill, and oh! such a bright, black eye. He sat on his perch with his -head bent on one side a little, then he jumped down to the bottom -of the cage, and, poking his head between the bars, gave a look all -round. He then hopped back into the middle of the cage, bowed very low -and very quickly several times, and then hopped upon his perch with -his tail toward us, but instantly whisked round, as if he was afraid -somebody was going to touch his tail. Then he began to sing. He sang -nearly all supper time, and flapped his black wings while we all stood -up and drank the health of Mr. Gaffer Downes, the artist who had made -the Man of Snow. - - - - -BUTTERWOPS - -EDWARD ABBOTT PARRY - -[Used by permission of the author.] - - -Once upon a time there was a black beetle named Butterwops. He was very -old, very wise, and had seen a great deal of the world. He had lived -in a number of different houses, and was said to know more about the -various qualities of sugar than a blue-bottle, and to understand the -ways of men better than a cricket. Therefore, it is not to be wondered -at that he became the leader of a small army of beetles, who called -him “The General.” He had a thick hoarse laugh, and could tell many -tales, both fierce and merry, of battles he had fought against earwigs, -cockroaches, and caterpillars. But for some time his laugh had not -been heard, and he had been sad and melancholy, for his army were dying -by the thousands, and if things went on in the way they were going, -there would soon be not a single beetle left to listen to the tales of -“The General.” - -The kitchen he lived in had plenty to eat in it, and was warm and -comfortable, with lots of cracks in the walls and ceiling to live -in during the day; but lately the master of the house had taken to -spreading yellow powder over the floor and the young beetles would -eat it, and it disagreed with them and they died. This yellow powder, -so Butterwops told me, smelled deliciously of sugar and cheese and -all the young beetles, being greedy, ate it up wherever they could -find it. What happened to them after they tasted it was this: as soon -as they had three mouthfuls, they felt a bad pain underneath their -shell, turned over on their backs, kicked a little and died, and in -the morning the cook swept them up and threw them into the garden. -No wonder that Butterwops felt sad. He himself never tasted anything -unless he had seen another beetle try it first and had watched him -walk about for quite five minutes. That is how he came to live to be -old and became general; but he told nobody about that, keeping it a -secret. - -Butterwops had a great-grandson called little Jimmy. He was very lively -and adventurous, and was always trotting across the floor in the -daytime to frighten the cook; so it is a wonder he had lived as long as -he had. He did not eat the yellow powder, for he was an obedient little -beetle, and always did what Butterwops told him to do. As he ran about -so much in the daytime he was generally the first to hear the news, and -one day, about this time, he came to Butterwops and told him that the -house on the other side of the street was rented, and he had seen some -people moving into it while he was sitting on the window-sill in the -gloaming on Thursday evening, which was the cook’s night out. - -“Fancy that!” said Butterwops. “Why I used to live in that house when -I was a tiny little beetle just your size. It’s a grand old house. -Not a skirting board within half an inch of the floor, cracks in all -the walls and holes in the plaster. I wonder what sort of people are -living in it.” - -“Newly married people,” said little Jimmy, “whatever that may mean. I -heard the cook say so, and the policeman told her about it.” - -“Ah!” said Butterwops, rubbing his hind legs together thoughtfully; -“newly married people. They will do for us. They will have lots of -sugar and leave it about, and then they will get some children to live -with them, and the children won’t eat fat and will make crumbs all over -the floors; there will be lots to eat. We shall move.” - -That night “The General” called all the beetles round him after the -cook had rolled the rug up and had gone to bed, and, sitting on the -heel of one of the master’s boots which were drying on the fender, -explained to all the beetles that they must move across the road. -“For,” said he, “there is a newly married couple over the way. Now this -kind of human being eats little else than sugar, and knows nothing of -the ways of the world or the habits of the beetle. Their hearts are -full of kindliness, and believing others to be as good as they are, -they leave the best food in the easiest places. So happy are they -together, that they would not interfere with the happiness of others, -even though they are black and wear shells. With them we may live for -many years in health and comfort, whereas, here we die by tens and -twenties every night. Arise, therefore, and follow me carefully and -quickly. But when you are on the pavements in the road listen carefully -for the tread of the policeman. If he comes among us while we are on -the pavements he will kill many of us, for policemen have bigger feet -than any other kind of men; only, luckily, they wear squeaky boots -so that they may be heard coming a long way off. Now follow me and -remember what I have said.” - -So speaking he crawled off the boot, down across the floor, under the -scullery door, along the garden walk, across the pavements, in at the -opposite gateway, round to the back door of the other house; and in -half an hour Butterwops, little Jimmy, and two hundred and forty-nine -of the beetles were safe in their new house, having crossed the road -with the loss of only three beetles. Two tumbled down a drain, and a -third lost his way in trying to make a short cut across a flower bed. - -They all set to work to get comfortable in their new quarters, and -Butterwops, who liked to be near the fire, found a crack in the wall on -top of the oven where they dried the wood. From this place of safety, -he could come out and walk about among the warm wood and enjoy the -heat, and yet run away on the first alarm. - -“This is capital,” he said, as he sat warming himself and watching -twenty-five beetles climbing into the sugar basin at once; “this is -peace and quiet, and here we shall be very happy.” - -As for the master of the old house they had lived in, he was very happy -too, and wrote and told the man from whom he had bought the yellow -powder: “Your powder has killed all the beetles in my house.” And the -man who sold the powder printed that in all the newspapers, and other -people bought it; but it did not kill all their beetles, and that made -them angry. Now if they read this story they will know how it really -happened. - -Although, as I have said, the house itself was very old, and suitable -for beetles in every respect, yet all the things in the house were -new, and perhaps the newest thing of all was the young servant, who -seemed rather jealous of the other new things and often broke them. At -present they had no cat, and as there was no one else to blame, the new -mistress scolded the new servant, and then they both cried; especially -if it happened, as it often did, that what was broken was a wedding -present. However, the mistress was far too happy to be angry for long, -and too proud of all the beautiful pots and pans in the kitchen, which -she loved better than any of the lovely furniture in the drawing-room, -to keep away from them for many hours. Besides, the young servant -did not know much about anything, and the mistress used to help her -to cook, and especially to get the master’s tea ready when he came -home. Indeed, in spite of the breakages, they were all very happy. The -mistress used to go about the house singing brightly and cheerfully; -while the young servant had four lumps of sugar in her tea and a -large slice of cake with it every night, so that she was quite happy, -although singing was out of the question. As for the master, you had -only to see him running up the house steps to see how glad he was to -get home again after his day’s work. - -And dear old Butterwops! Why, it did his kind heart good to see so much -happiness. The food was left about in easy places, and the larder door -was always wide open so that you did not have to scrape your shell -getting underneath it. It was a grand place for beetles, and Butterwops -told them that if they kept quiet during the day and came out only at -night, things would go well with them. Indeed, I have no doubt it would -have been as he said, if they had only obeyed his instructions; but -beetles, like children, sometimes forget to do what they are told. - -Little Jimmy, for instance, was never happy unless he was frightening -womenkind, and one afternoon three or four days after they had arrived, -when the mistress and her servant were getting tea ready, he scuttled -across the room, helter-skelter, right under their eyes. The girl -saw him first and threw the toasting fork on to the best tea-things, -breaking two cups and saucers with it; she bounded on to a chair, -pulled her skirts tight round her legs and screamed out, “Beetles! -Black ones.” - -In a moment the mistress dropped the kettle, which nearly crushed -little Jimmy, and jumped on to the table herself, screaming louder than -the servant. Little Jimmy could hardly get under the skirting board, he -was laughing so, and old Butterwops, looking out cautiously from the -wood pile grunted to himself, “Little Jimmy again,” for he knew who -must have done it as soon as he heard the women screaming. - -How long the two ladies might have stayed there screaming before they -would have dared to step down on to the floor again I do not know, but -the master of the house came in just then, and hearing the cause of the -trouble laughed aloud and said. “If there are beetles, I will get a -beetle trap.” And he did so. - -That night he brought one into the kitchen, and before they went to -bed he and his wife mixed up a dose of treacle and sugar and put it in -the trap and left the trap on the floor. Butterwops was looking on all -the time from out of the wood pile, and he laughed all down the back -of his shell at them. He had seen that kind of beetle trap before. It -was a box of wood, with sloping sides to walk up and a sort of inkstand -in the middle, leading to the sugar and treacle. When you walk up the -sides, you smelled the mixture and if you went to the edge of the glass -inkstand, you stepped in and got drowned. There was no getting out of -it. - -That night Butterwops was very anxious about the other beetles, for he -knew what duffers they were, so he got down right away and sat on the -edge of the trap and told them all about it. As the master of the house -had been foolish enough to leave the sugar and treacle on the table, -no one bothered about the trap. They had a merry feast, only spoilt by -one giddy young beetle tumbling head first into the treacle pot, and -there the master found him when he came down to light the fire. When he -found nothing in the trap, and the dead beetle in the treacle pot on -the table, he seemed very angry and threw both treacle and trap out of -the scullery window, across the garden into the ashpit. - -“To-night,” he said, “we will have a hedge-hog!” - -Butterwops, who had stuck his head out of his crack to see what was -going on, drew it back quickly and shuddered at this, for he knew what -hedge-hogs were. His grandfather had been eaten by one in a garden -close to the house, and he had heard they were terrible fellows for -catching beetles, as indeed they are. - -Sure enough, that night the master brought home a hedge-hog, a little -prickly round ball in a basket. He unrolled himself by the fire and had -a cup of milk. - -“Let us call him Curlywig,” said the mistress, as she poured out the -milk; “he is such a little darling. See him drink.” - -So they called him Curlywig; but he paid no attention to them, and -curled up on the rug and went to sleep. - -That night Butterwops did not come down from the fireplace, but looked -out from the wood pile in great trouble. When all his army of beetles -were creeping and crawling over the floor, picking up food and having -a rare good time, he kept shouting out from the edge of a log: “Do go -home! Do go in! There’s a hedge-hog in the corner.” - -But some of the beetles went close to Curlywig to look at him, and came -back and said to Butterwops: “Nonsense, it’s only a mop-head. You are -growing old and nervous, General. Go to bed and let us eat in peace.” - -Almost as soon as they had spoken, Curlywig unrolled himself, and -darting here and there and everywhere, went round the room cracking up -beetles furiously while poor old Butterwops sat wringing his feelers -and crying out from the wood pile: “I told you so! I told you so!” - -From that time onwards, there was no peace for beetles. If one put his -head up above a crack in the floor, Curlywig was on to him and he was -snapped up. In three days, one hundred and four beetles had been eaten, -and the rest were all starving. Butterwops himself had not tasted bite -or sup all the time, and you could hear little Jimmy crying behind the -skirting board that he had nothing to eat and was very hungry. - -How long this might have gone on no one can say, but at last Butterwops -hit on a bright idea, and the next night as soon as the people of the -house were in bed, he came to the edge of the wood pile and said to the -hedge-hog: “Mr. Curlywig, sir!” - -Curlywig looked up, and seeing a beetle, snapped his jaws at him but -said nothing. - -“Mr. Curlywig, sir, can you explain to me why you are here?” - -“To eat beetles, I suppose. What better job can you have? I’d eat you -if you would come down, though you look rather old and tough, and there -are lots of young ones left yet.” - -“Ah, but I sha’n’t come down, thank you,” said Butterwops, smiling -blandly. “I suppose,” he continued, as if he was merely thinking it -out, “you don’t know what it is like to be eaten, do you?” - -“Not I,” said Curlywig, “How should I?” - -“No, of course not,” said Butterwops. “Poor little fellow, how should -he! It seems a cruel shame to bring him here for that. Poor little -fellow!” - -“Who is a poor little fellow?” asked Curlywig, rather angrily. - -“That’s what the mistress said, while you were asleep,” said -Butterwops, innocently, “as she was making the pie-crust. She said, -‘Poor little fellow, I hope they won’t hurt him skinning him!’” - -Curlywig shivered in every prickle. “Who is to be skinned?” he snapped -out, looking round nervously. - -“The cookery book was open at Hedge-hog Tart,” went on Butterwops, -quite coolly, as though he was talking about the weather, “and the -servant said at the rate you were eating beetles she thought you would -be fat enough by to-morrow.” - -“Dear me! dear me!” said Curlywig; “what wicked things these men are. -I remember now when the master of the house bought me, he said: ‘Lean -little beggar this, but he’ll soon fatten up at our house for we are -full of black beetles,’ What wretches they are! What shall I do?” - -“As far as I can learn,” continued Butterwops, “it is done like this. -You take a young hedge-hog, the fatter the better, first remove the -prickles and skin quickly----” - -“Do be quiet,” groaned Curlywig, rolling himself up into a ball. “What -shall I do? What shall I do?” - -“That is to say,” said Butterwops, “that is how it is done if they -decide on tart. If it’s to be curry you won’t be skinned, only then you -will catch it hotter in the saucepan.” - -“Shut up!” shouted Curlywig, running round the kitchen table in -despair. “Oh my poor prickles! What shall I do?” - -“Well, if I were you,” continued the General, calmly, “I do not think -I should stay on, but do not go on my account. You might squeeze under -the scullery door if you wanted to, or you may stay and be eaten and I -have no doubt you will look as handsome in a tart as you do out of it. -But after all, handsome is as handsome does, and the real question is -what will you taste like. Now you will never know, but I shall hear all -about it. Yes,” chuckled Buttercups, “I shall hear all about it.” - -Curlywig was now galloping round the room mad with terror, shouting -out: “Oh, my poor prickles! Oh, my poor prickles!” - -Butterwops continued slowly as though he was addressing a dear friend. -“I am really very sorry for you, but don’t worry so much. They are -going to put some steak and kidney in the pie, so you will have -company; and I dare say being baked is not bad, though I fear you won’t -like the skinning, especially this chilly weather. But it will soon be -over, and once inside the oven you will be warm again in a jiffy.” - -Curlywig did not hear all this. He had heard enough. The foolish -fellow believed every word Butterwops said to him, and when he came -to the word skinning, Curlywig uttered a wild shriek and away he fled -underneath the scullery door, across the garden, out into the fields -beyond the church, where he hid in a dry ditch for three days, and -dared not move out for fear the people of the house were hunting him. - -Then the beetles had peace and grew up with the children who came to -stay at that house, and cleaned up the floors, and kept out of sight as -much as might be. Even little Jimmy grew wiser and gave up frightening -the mistress. No one ever heard of Curlywig any more. And everyone in -that house, from the master of it down to little Jimmy, lived happily -ever afterwards. - -This much more there is to tell: that if you can make friends with a -black beetle you should get him to tell you stories of Butterwops. And -this any good beetle will do willingly, for there never has been such -a General as he was before or since. But of all the many tales of his -valour and wisdom, there is none they love to tell better than the -story of how he outwitted Curlywig the Hedge-hog. “That,” as little -Jimmy said at a dinner given by all the beetles to their General to -celebrate Curlywig’s flight, “is a story fit to be written in letters -of Treacle on the Skirting Boards of Time.” (Adapted.) - - - - -FINIKIN AND HIS GOLDEN PIPPINS - -MADAME DE CHATELAINE - - -In a quiet little village surrounded by woods, there once lived a poor -couple who owned nothing in the world but their cottage which sheltered -them and a bit of ground where a few vegetables grew. They were blessed -with two pretty little twin boys, much alike in face, though very -different in character. One was a tidy, diligent, active little fellow, -whom, on account of his delicate beauty, his mother used to call -Finikin. The other was an idle, careless child, who always loitered if -sent on an errand, and grumbled when asked to do any kind of work. This -one the mother called Winikin. - -The father earned a little money by going out to work as a day -labourer. As long as he remained hale and hearty, he managed to -provide for the wants of his family. But one summer he fell ill, and -as they were too poor to buy good food and medicine he grew worse and -worse, till at length his recovery seemed almost hopeless. - -One day the patient wife thought of a good old hermit who lived in the -neighboring forest, and who often gave advice to the poor cottagers. He -had cured many a one with medicine made from plants and other homely -remedies. She, therefore, called her boys and bade them go and ask the -hermit what could be done for their sick father. - -“The good man may send you to gather healing plants,” she said, -“such as he often points out to the villagers. Be sure to follow his -directions carefully and above all, do not loiter on the way.” She -divided a rye-cake between them, to eat by the way, and off started the -two boys for the forest. No sooner had they reached it than they saw -from afar an old huntsman smoking his pipe under a tree. - -“Oh!” cried Winikin, forgetting his mother’s caution, “there is old -Roger! Let’s go to him instead of to the hermit. He always tells us -such pleasant stories.” - -“But father is very sick and mother told us not to loiter on the way,” -said Finikin. - -“Surely,” said Winikin, “Roger’s advice will be as good as the -hermit’s. I shall not go any farther.” - -So Finikin trudged on alone to the good old man’s cell where he found -him making medicine from herbs he had gathered in the forest. - -“Good hermit,” said Finikin eagerly, “will you not give me some of your -medicine for my sick father?” - -“I will, indeed,” said the old man. “But my child there is something -more than these herbs needed to cure your father; and it must be -fetched from a long distance.” - -“I will go anywhere for it,” declared Finikin, quickly. - -“Then my son,” replied the hermit, “you must go to a garden five or -six miles off. None but little children like yourself can enter; -therefore, it would be of no use if I or any other grown person -attempted to go with you. This garden is situated on top of a cluster -of high rocks. Should you have the perseverance to reach it, you will -find it full of trees, bearing all kinds of fruit which several little -boys always keep gathering. You must ask them to give you some golden -pippins for your father. If they consent all will be well; but if they -try to keep you to play with them, you must not stay, for the hours -would pass so quickly, that your father might die before you returned.” - -Finikin listened very carefully. “Please tell me the way to this -wonderful garden,” he said. - -The hermit opened the door at the back of his cell, which led to a -small piece of ground where he grew his vegetables. He showed Finikin -a kind of tunnel hollowed out in a grotto through which he could see -a distant view of green meadows and blue mountains, and told him that -way would lead him in the right direction. He then described carefully -all the objects the lad was to pass on the road, and told him above all -things neither to idle as he went along nor listen to anyone who should -offer to show him a shorter way. Finikin promised he would not, and -thanking the hermit, lost no time in starting off to find the wonderful -garden where the golden pippins grew. - -Winikin, meanwhile, after losing at least half an hour talking to the -old huntsman, and playing with his dog, suddenly thought how heartless -he had been, and asked Roger to tell what he had better do to help his -father to get well. - -“Do not stand idling here, youngster, for one thing,” said Roger; “and -next go and ask advice of the hermit, who knows better than anyone else -what can be done to save your father!” - -“Oh! but my brother has gone there, so it is of no use for me to go -too,” said Winikin; “and he is too far for me to catch him, so please -tell me something else I can do instead!” - -The huntsman thought awhile, and at last said: “I have heard of a -wonderful garden some three miles east of the forest, where all kinds -of fruits made of precious stones grow all the year round. The currants -are rubies, the apples are topazes, and the plums are amethysts or -sapphires. If you are able to reach this garden and gather a basketful -of cherries you might enrich yourself and family for life; and then -your father might have the best doctors. He would want for nothing and -might soon get well.” - -Winikin was delighted at the idea of such a garden, and asked Roger to -show him the way to it. - -The old huntsman then took him to a kind of grotto that was so -completely hidden by brushwood that the little boy had never seen it -before though he had often crossed that part of the forest. When the -twigs that choked up the entry had been put aside he saw a hollow -passage and a view of distant meadows and hills. Then Roger carefully -described all the objects the lad was to pass on the road, so that he -could not miss the way. Also, he bade him not to loiter on the way for -fear he should not be back by nightfall. - -Winikin now entered the grotto but kept stopping every minute to admire -its pretty sparkling walls, which glistened like diamonds and rubies as -a sunbeam shone through the narrow opening. At last, however, he came -out into the open meadows, in a part of a country which he had never -seen before. Here he met a beautiful little boy with golden locks and -cheeks as blooming as a ripe peach. He was carrying a couple of hoops -on his arm. - -“Will you come and play with me?” asked the little stranger whose name -was Goldlocks. - -“Why,” said Winikin slowly, thinking of the huntsman’s advice not to -loiter on the way, “I should like that very much, but I’m going to a -beautiful garden beyond the hills and I’m afraid of being too late.” - -“Oh, don’t fear that,” said the little boy, “for we will trundle our -hoops that way. You will get on much faster with a hoop than without -one. Come!” - -The lad offered Winikin one of the hoops which were made of finely -worked silver. Also, there was a small ivory stick to trundle it with. - -Winikin could not resist. He took a beautiful hoop and stick from -Goldlocks who said: - -“Once, twice, thrice, away!” and off they went like the wind. - -Winikin thought to reach the hills in about five minutes, but at a turn -in the road little Goldlocks kept trundling on his hoop faster than -before. - -Winikin suspected they were not taking the shortest road to the hills, -but fearing Goldlocks would win the game he sped after him as fast as -he could. - -At length Winikin stopped and was panting for breath. Goldlocks laughed -and stopped, too, saying, “There’s enough of hoop-trundling!” and he -flung them over a hedge into a neighbouring field. “Now we’ll stop and -rest and play at marbles.” - -Then he drew from his pocket some pearls as large and round as other -children’s marbles and Winikin, who dearly loved this game, could not -resist playing. - -“I have come along so fast,” he said to himself, “that no time will be -lost.” - -It was now high noon and the sun had grown so hot that Winikin felt -tired and thirsty. - -“Let us go into this wood and gather strawberries,” said Goldlocks. - -Winikin thought the idea was excellent, so he said, “Yes, we shall get -on faster after we have eaten some fruit.” - -Accordingly, the little boys went into the wood, and, in about five -minutes, Goldlocks had gathered enough strawberries to fill Winikin’s -hat. They were larger and more delicious than any he had ever tasted -before. - -When Winikin had eaten his fill, he wished to go on. - -“Oh!” said his companion, “it is still too hot to walk fast. If you -wait awhile under the shade of this pretty wood, you will get on all -the better a little later in the afternoon.” - -“All right,” said Winikin, and the lads sat down on the grass. -Goldlocks now drew from his pocket a humming top and set it spinning. -It was made of a single carbuncle and was topped at each end with a -diamond. It was called a humming top but it should have been called a -musical top for the sounds it gave forth were as beautiful as an Eolian -harp, and they formed distinct tunes. Winikin listened in speechless -joy, till at length, tired out with play and amusement, he fell fast -asleep. - -Little Finikin, meanwhile, on getting out into the meadows, carefully -noticed all the objects the hermit had described, so as to be sure to -lose neither time nor way till at last he came to a field where he saw -a little boy sitting on a bank, and crying bitterly. - -Finikin felt so sorry for him that he stopped and said, “What is the -matter?” - -“Oh,” cried he, “I am waiting for someone to play with. My name is -Brownlocks. Who are you?” - -“I am Finikin,” said our little friend, “but I cannot stop to play. I -am trying to find an orchard of wonderful fruit. I shall take some of -it back to my sick father. The fruit will help to cure him.” - -“Play with me awhile,” said Brownlocks. “I can take you to a garden -where you will find better fruit than that which grows in the orchard -you are looking for.” - -But Finikin remembered the hermit’s words and persisted in going on his -way. When he looked to see if the little boy was following him, Finikin -found he had disappeared. - -Finikin hurried on, and at length the scenery began to grow wilder as -he came near the end of his journey. The rocks were higher and more -abrupt and the vegetation more luxuriant, and soon in great joy he -stopped, looked at the top of a great pile of rocks, and cried out, -“There is the wonderful garden! It looks like a giant basket of fruit -and flowers! How shall I ever climb up to it!” - -Finikin went round the base of the rocks and looked carefully to see -if he could find a path leading to the summit. No such thing was to be -found but he saw a cleft between two rocks over which fell a cascade. -The water had shrunk to a mere thread because the season had been very -dry. Either the work of nature or the hand of man had formed rocks -into rough steps, which were almost covered with a sheet of water. -Finikin determined to climb the steps although they were slippery and -dangerous. Slowly and carefully he made his way to the top where a -hedge formed a circle round the garden. He crept through the prickly -bushes and saw before him an earthly paradise. The grass was dotted -over with every variety of rare, richly coloured flowers; the trees -were loaded with fruit that shone like precious stones; the air was -studded with the gayest butterflies; and birds with gold and silver -plumage were hopping from branch to branch and trilling the sweetest -songs. - -Though Finikin was dazzled and charmed by all he saw, he walked on -without stopping until he came to some little boys who were gathering -plums. - -“Who comes here?” said the boys on seeing the little stranger. “And -how did you get into our garden?” - -“I come from the hermit in the forest,” cried Finikin. “He said you -could give me some pippins that would cure my father.” - -“Oh! if you come from the hermit you shall have some pippins,” said one -of the boys who was Brownlocks. “Only you must gather them yourself.” - -Then they led Finikin to another tree with a trunk as smooth and -shining as glass. Golden pippins grew on the great branches at the top -of the tree. - -“Gather as many as you like,” said the little boys. - -Finikin then began to climb the tree. He kept slipping down every -moment and, strange to say, the trunk kept growing higher and higher as -if it would reach the sky. - -Now it happened that Finikin had a lot of chalk in his pocket. By -crumbling it to pieces in his hands he managed to grasp the tree trunk -firmly and after many patient efforts he reached the top of the tree. -He now filled his hat and pockets with pippins that were as clear as -topazes. The fruit was very heavy and when Finikin began to descend the -tree his load of pippins was so heavy that it dragged him down faster -and faster until he reached the ground. It was now twilight. The boys -had picked up all their plums and had gone. - -Finikin looked around in all directions, and finally, he discovered in -the distance a gleam of light. He walked quickly up to it and found it -came from a fruit storehouse of white marble. Here were silver filigree -baskets filled with every kind of fruit and arranged neatly on shelves. -All the fruit in the silver baskets was soft and eatable, while that in -the golden baskets was turned to precious stones! The dark plums were -sapphires and amethysts; the greengages and gooseberries, emeralds; -the cherries, garnets; the white-hearts, rubies, dark on one side and -almost white on the other; the black currants, black pearls. A number -of beautiful empty baskets were hanging on gold and silver hooks. - -Here Finikin found one of the boys, who wished him joy of his success, -and after helping him to empty his pippins into a gold basket, the lad -led Finikin down a flight of greenish marble steps into a beautiful -hall which was lighted up with mother-of-pearl lamps hanging from the -ceiling. Here in the center of the room supper was laid. The table was -of citron-wood, and round the board were set cedar stools. On the walls -countless toys of every description hung on golden hooks. - -Finikin was so hungry after his day’s work that he was glad enough to -sit down and eat his supper. - -When their meal was over Brownlocks said: “Now, Finikin, we will play -some games.” - -But Finikin begged leave to go, as it was already late and he was -afraid he could not reach home till the night was half spent. - -“If you are afraid of being out in the night,” said one of the little -friends, “you may stay and sleep in the empty bed of one of our -comrades who is absent; and to-morrow, at sunrise, we will go with you -a part of the way, and play together as we go along.” - -“I must not stay,” said Finikin. “My father is very ill, dear friends, -and I hope to reach home before it is too late.” - -“You shall do as you like,” said the boys. Then one of them took down -from the wall a stick with a nag’s head. - -“Take this toy with you,” he said. - -It was a very simple toy, but Finikin was delighted with the gift. - -“It will carry you six times as fast as a horse, wherever you wish to -go,” cried the little boys. - -Finikin clapped his hands for joy and said, “May I have a toy for -Winikin, my brother?” - -“No,” they said, “Winikin must come himself for a toy. We cannot send -him one.” - -Finikin thanked the lads and wished them good-night. - -“Good-night, Finikin,” they cried; “you may come to see us every -Midsummer Eve on your nag. _He_ will always find the way although you -couldn’t. Good-night!” - -So Finikin left Magic Toyland. As soon as he was out-of-doors and had -placed his basket of pippins on his arm he mounted his stick with the -nag’s head. - -Away he started! He had scarcely time to wonder how he should manage to -ride down the steep rocks. He seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper -and without knowing how, he found himself in the long narrow passage -leading to the hermit’s garden. - -All this time Winikin lay asleep in the woods. The sun was low in the -western sky when he opened his eyes and saw Goldlocks sitting on the -grass playing with a cup and ball. - -“Lend me that plaything,” said Winikin. - -“No,” said Goldlocks, “I have something which two of us can play with.” - -He pointed to a couple of golden drums covered with finest vellum that -were lying in the grass. The drumsticks were of ebony inlaid with -mother-of-pearl. - -“We’ll play hide-and seek,” he said. “I’ll hide first and then I will -beat my drum and you must try to guess from the sound where I am.” - -“That will be good fun,” said Winikin. - -Goldlocks ran and hid himself. At the beating of the drum Winikin found -him quite easily. Then Winikin hid but he had hardly struck the drum -with his stick until there was Goldlocks! So they played for some time -but at last Goldlocks hid himself so well that, though he kept beating -his drum, Winikin could not find him. He ran to the right and to the -left but it was of no use. The sound seemed to come from all directions -at once. He tapped his own drum, and cried out, “Come back, Goldlocks! -Where are you? Come back!” - -He beat his drum so hard that it snapped! It was growing very dark! The -brambles grew thicker at every step! The sound of Goldlocks’ drum was -growing fainter and fainter until at last Winikin could not hear it at -all. He scratched his hands and tore his clothes at every step, but at -last he found a path which led out of the thick wood. - -He walked along until he came to a small lake; “Oh! what shall I do,” -he cried. “I’ve missed the way old Roger told me to take! Where shall I -stay to-night!” - -In a little while he saw Goldlocks with smiling face coming towards -him. The lad carried a couple of battledores, covered with silver nets. -The handles were of richly carved gold. He had a shuttlecock, too, -which was made from the plumes of a hummingbird. - -“Why, what is the matter?” asked Goldlocks. - -“Oh! I thought you had run away, and left me,” cried Winikin. “And I’ve -lost my way! I don’t know what to do.” - -“Let’s play a game of battledore,” was Goldlocks’ answer. - -Winikin dried his tears and said. “Tell me where you get such pretty -toys.” - -“I’ve plenty more at home, and prettier ones than these,” replied his -companion. - -“I wish you would take me home with you,” said Winikin. “Where do you -live?” - -“There across the lake,” said the little boy, pointing to some distant -hills. - -The lads now played a game of battledore and kept tossing the -shuttlecock higher and higher till at last it fell into the lake at a -great distance, but remained floating on the surface. - -“Let us jump in and see who will catch it first,” said Goldlocks. - -Away he darted into the water, and soon swam out of sight among the -bulrushes that grew on an islet in the middle of the lake. Winikin -believed he could swim, too, so into the water he jumped. In the dusk -a white water-lily looked like the lost shuttlecock. Poor Winikin -snatched at it, lost his balance, and fell down in the water. He tried -to scream out to his companion, but he could not make a sound. After -this he could not remember what took place. - -Luckily the lake was not deep; he quickly rose to the surface and the -gentle waves bore him to the shore where he lay insensible for several -hours. - -It was near daybreak when Winikin came to his senses again. He -stared about wondering whether it was all a dream, or whether he had -really played with Goldlocks the day before. Then he saw one of the -battledores lying besides him and the lost shuttlecock. - -“I had better stop here, or else he won’t find me if he returns,” -thought Winikin. - -He looked up and saw a little boy galloping along as fast as his wooden -horse would carry him! It was Finikin! - -The good little fellow had carried home his basket of fruit and had -seen his father improve after eating one of the golden pippins. Then -he had gone to find Roger, the huntsman, who said he had sent Winikin -to the magical garden. Away went Finikin at full speed, like a small -knight-errant, to seek his brother. - -Of course Winikin was ashamed when he heard what his brother had done. - -“I shall go to the wonderful garden and bring back a basket of -cherries,” he cried. “Perhaps they will give me a hobby-horse! Nothing -shall tempt me again to idle on the way. Will you not lend me your -wooden nag, brother!” - -“Yes, take it and hurry along,” said Finikin. - -“Gee-ho!” cried Winikin striding the stick. But the nag would not stir -a bit faster than other sticks that children play with. - -“Come!” said Finikin. “Get up behind me!” - -Away went the little lads on the wooden horse. In a little while they -came to the foot of the rocks, where Finikin left his brother. Then -Finikin galloped home for the little boys had told him not to come -again until Midsummer Eve. - -When he was gone Winikin sat down and wondered how he should ever reach -the garden. Perhaps the little boys would come out and help him. At -least he would let them know where he was. He began to toss up the -shuttlecock. Away it soared as if it had wings and lighted on a tree -in the garden. At this moment a few red streaks were seen in the sky -and the little boys came out into the garden. One of them saw the -shuttlecock! - -“Who is there?” he cried. - -“My name is Winikin. I am Finikin’s twin brother,” was the answer. - -“What do you want?” asked the boy in the garden. - -“I want to see your pretty toys! and I want a basket of cherries,” said -Winikin. - -The garden lads let down a basket and drew him up. There was Goldlocks -as merry and mischievous looking as ever. - -“You left me in the water, Goldlocks!” said Winikin to his playfellow. - -“Yes, I had lost too much time to stay any longer,” said Goldlocks. -“Come, let us have breakfast.” - -They all sat down on the grass under the trees and feasted on -strawberries and cream served in the finest porcelain bowls. - -After breakfast Winikin said, “Now let us play.” - -“Oh! we must gather fruit first! There is work to be done. You had -better gather your basket of cherries,” said one of the lads. “The -cherry trees are over there. Gather a basketful from the one which -stands in the middle.” The lads then went about their work. - -With his usual idle habits Winikin began plucking flowers and chasing -butterflies. When his little friends came to fetch him to play games, -they found he was not a jot farther than when they left him. - -“We can’t play with you, Winikin, until you have gathered your fruit,” -said Goldlocks. - -And then he laid a golden trap-ball down on the grass, and the five -little boys began to play merrily. - -Winikin saw that he must work before he could join them at play so he -began to climb the tree. What a long time it took him to reach the -top. The fine cherries which were white-hearts were so ripe and juicy -you may be sure he ate a good many of them. But at last he filled his -pockets, descended the tree and lay down on the grass tired out with -his work. - -After a time the lads came to fetch him to dinner. They first led him -through the fruit-chamber where they helped him to empty his pockets -into a silver filigree basket. - -“Put all you have brought into the basket,” said one of the lads; “for -your cherries will harden into rubies in two or three days. Come now -into the hall where dinner is ready.” - -Winikin could scarcely eat for looking at the toys in the magical hall. -When the meal was over he asked leave to play with some of them. - -The boys showed him a great many playthings he had never seen before -but at last one of them said, “It is time to start, Winikin, if you -wish to reach home before night.” - -“Won’t you give me a little wooden nag like my brother’s?” asked -Winikin. - -“We haven’t another in our collection but you may have this toy,” they -answered giving him an agate cup and ball fastened to a delicate gold -chain. - -Winikin was well pleased with this toy and taking up his basket, he -followed the little boys down a long, long flight of steps which -brought them to the bottom of the rocks where he saw a little crack -just large enough for him to creep through. - -“Do you see that large brown butterfly whose wings are tipped with dark -blue?” asked Goldlocks. “Follow him. If you don’t lose sight of him he -will show you the way.” - -So Winikin started. The butterfly kept bobbing up and down, now -lighting on this flower, and now on that. In fact Winikin could very -easily keep up with him. But at a turn in the road a splendid butterfly -rose out of a bush. Away darted Winikin after him although the lad -noticed that the brown butterfly went in the opposite direction. - -“I can soon catch up with old Browncoat again,” thought Winikin. - -Sunwings, the beautiful butterfly, led Winikin a fine dance over bank -and bush, but at last the lad was obliged to give up the chase. He was -a little surprised to find that he had lost some of his cherries in -running after the golden butterfly. - -“I’ll go back and find old Browncoat,” he said to himself. “After all -the loss of a few cherries does not matter much. How thirsty I am. A -few cherries will refresh me.” - -So he sat down and ate several and then took out his cup and ball to -amuse himself. After awhile he got up and again tried to find his way. - -“How hungry and thirsty I am,” he thought, taking one cherry after -another from his basket until it was almost emptied. - -After wandering about until twilight he found himself at the foot of -the rocks on top of which was the magic garden. He tried to find the -crevice through which he had crept out that morning but a foaming -cascade was dashing down over it. - -He shouted at the top of his voice, “I’ve lost my way, boys. Let me eat -supper with you in the hall of toys and sleep here for the night.” - -“We have eaten supper,” answered the boys; “but you shall have some. We -can’t let you stay all night for we have no spare bed.” - -They let down a basket and drew Winikin up as before and after taking -him into the hall they went to bed. After he had eaten a hearty meal -the boys called out to him to put out the lights and leave. - -“But,” said Winikin, “how am I to get out of the garden?” - -Goldlocks peeped out of his snowy bed and said, “There is a bat outside -which will show you the way, and if you follow him better than you did -the butterfly you will reach home in fairly good time.” - -Then Winikin put out the lamps in the sleeping-room, but before he put -out the lights in the large hall he couldn’t resist sauntering around -once more to look at the toys. When he reached the door that led to the -fruit-chamber he thought he might as well fill up his basket again, as -a few cherries could not be missed from such a quantity. This he did. -Then fearing the boys would chide him for his delay he began to put out -the lights. Very foolishly he started with the one nearest the outer -door, so that by the time he reached the end of the long hall and put -out the last lamp, he found himself in the dark. - -Winikin was now so frightened that he didn’t know what to do, for, if -he tried to move in the dark he would be sure to overturn the table or -the stools, so he cowered down in the corner hoping the boys would fall -asleep and forget him, and that next morning he might escape before -they were up. But presently he heard the boys get up very softly and -come into the hall saying, “There’s a thief here!” Winikin held his -breath, and hoped to escape without notice; but they marched up to the -corner where he lay hid just as if it had been broad daylight. Each had -a rod in his hand and Winikin received a sound thrashing. At last he -cried out, “It is only I. Don’t hurt me!” - -Then they stopped and dragged Winikin out of the hall. They emptied the -basket of the cherries he had taken, which were easily distinguished -from the others, as in his hurry he had helped himself out of a golden -basket to some cherries that had hardened into rubies. Then the lads -fetched an ivory ladder of great length and putting it over the hedge -they forced him to leave the garden at once. - -Winikin cried bitterly when he saw the ladder taken up again but at -last he began to think he had better make the best of a bad bargain. -So he set off and, as Goldlocks had promised, a bat flew before him to -show him the way. - -For awhile he followed his leader carefully and made good resolutions -as he went along, but alas! Suddenly a troop of fireflies flitted past -him, and he said to himself, “How much better they would light me -than this tiresome bat which keeps flapping his wings in my eyes! The -fireflies are like so many lanterns and surely they’ll know the way -best.” But they led him into a bog where he spent the night. - -When morning dawned, he looked round for some hut where he could ask -his way, but he recollected to his horror that neither yesterday nor -the day before had he seen even a single being stirring anywhere. -He saw that he was within a charmed circle, and kept turning to no -purpose. After toiling for some time he again recognized familiar -objects, and the well-known garden in the distance. Winikin hardly -dared again apply to the little boys, yet having eaten all the cherries -to appease his hunger, and seeing no chance of freeing himself from his -desperate position, he went to the rocks and clapped hands. Presently -the boys appeared. - -“Who dares to come a third time unbidden?” said they. - -“Alas!” cried the foolish wanderer, “I have again lost my way, and -eaten all the cherries. Please take pity and let me come up.” - -“No,” said they, “you do not deserve to come into our garden any more; -and as you are not to be trusted to go home, and we don’t wish to be -disturbed by you again, we shall now send you back.” - -So saying, they disappeared for a moment, and soon crept out at the -foot of the rocks, bringing with them a go-cart, into which they put -Winikin. - -“All right,” they cried out, and away it darted, at the speed which -would shame an express train. - -The go-cart, which was indeed worthy of its name, ran over hill and -dale, rocks and water till Winikin thought every moment he would be -dashed to pieces. At length it stopped when it reached his native -village, before the door of a fine large farmhouse, and then, as if to -make up for the lost time the moment Winikin had got out, it darted -away again at double speed and went back to the magical garden. - -“How is this?” said Winikin. “I don’t see our cottage anywhere.” And -then he stopped a passer-by, and said to him: “Where do my parents -live? For some reason I can’t find the house!” - -“Straight before your nose, you young idler,” said the man. - -At the same moment his mother appeared at the door of the farm house. - -“Well, Winikin,” she said, putting her arms around him, “you have -been a long time, but I suppose you have brought something worth the -trouble.” - -It must be explained, that what had appeared three days to Winikin was, -in fact, three weeks, for in that enchanted region a single day was -equal in time to a week in the ordinary world. Finikin had escaped from -this law, because he had returned before midnight, and consequently, -had not spent a whole day away from home. - -The mother then led Winikin into the house where he found Finikin and -his father, who had quite recovered since he had eaten one of the -golden pippins. All the rest of them had hardened into topazes, and had -been sold by the parents to a rich jeweler in the nearest town. The -money received had served to buy and stock the farm where they were -living. The old cottage had been pulled down, and a barn was going to -be built on its site. - -“And now,” said the father, “though you are too late, Winny, to do me -any good, let us see what you have brought.” - -Winikin was very much ashamed to have nothing to show but an empty -basket nor did he improve matters by telling his parents that “there -had been some very fine cherries in it.” However, what was done could -not now be mended, and the only thing left for Winikin was to try to -improve. - -For a long time after, whenever he went on a message, the villagers -would say: “Don’t be three weeks on the road, as when you went to fetch -cherries for your sick father.” - -He was still further ashamed when midsummer came round again and his -brother set off for the beautiful garden on his little nag, while -Winikin had only a cup and ball, that gave him a rap on the head every -time he played with it when he ought to have been doing something else! - -After receiving many raps, however, he learned that he must not take -out his toy except at the proper time. - -As long as their childhood lasted Finikin continued to visit the -little boys, but when he began to grow too big to play with them, they -bade him affectionately farewell, and as a parting gift they gave -him branches of their apple-tree and cherry-tree. When these were -grafted on two trees at the farmhouse they produced the finest fruit -ever eaten. The cherries were the first white-hearts and the apples -were ever since called golden pippins, on account of their origin. -(Adapted.) - - - - -THE STORY OF FAIRYFOOT - -FRANCES BROWNE - - -Once upon a time, there stood far away in the west country a town -called Stumpinghame. It contained seven windmills, a royal palace, a -market-place, and a prison, with every other convenience befitting -the capital of a kingdom. It stood in the midst of a great plain, -which for three leagues round its walls was covered with corn, flax, -and orchards. Beyond that lay a great circle of pasture land, and it -was bounded on all sides by a forest so thick and old that no man in -Stumpinghame knew its extent; and the opinion of the learned was, that -it reached to the end of the world. - -There were strong reasons for this opinion. First, that forest was -known to be inhabited time out of mind by the fairies, and no hunter -cared to go beyond its borders--so all the west country believed it -to be solidly full of old trees from end to end. Secondly, the people -of Stumpinghame were no travellers--man, woman, and child had feet so -large and heavy that it was by no means convenient to carry them far. -Great feet had been the fashion there from time immemorial, and the -higher the family the larger were their feet. - -Stumpinghame had a king of its own, and his name was Stiffstep; his -family was very ancient and large-footed. His subjects called him Lord -of the World, and he made a speech to them every year concerning the -grandeur of his mighty empire. His queen, Hammerheel, was the greatest -beauty in Stumpinghame. Her majesty’s shoe was not much less than a -fishing-boat. Their six children promised to be quite as handsome, and -all went well with them till the birth of their seventh son. - -For a long time nobody about the palace could understand what was the -matter--the ladies-in-waiting looked so astonished, and the king so -vexed; but at last it was whispered through the city that the queen’s -seventh child had been born with such miserably small feet that they -resembled nothing ever seen or heard of in Stumpinghame, except the -feet of the fairies. - -All the relations of the king and queen assembled at the palace to -mourn with them over the singular misfortune. The whole court and most -of the citizens helped in this mourning; but when it had lasted seven -days they all found out it was of no use. So the relations went to -their homes, and the people took to their work, and to cheer up the -queen’s spirits, the young prince was sent privately out to the pasture -lands, to be nursed among the shepherds. - -The chief man there was called Fleecefold, and his wife’s name was -Rough Ruddy. They lived in a snug cottage with their son Blackthorn and -their daughter Brownberry, and were thought great people, because they -kept the king’s sheep. Moreover, Fleecefold’s family were known to be -ancient; and Rough Ruddy boasted that she had the largest feet in all -the pastures. The shepherds held them in high respect, and it grew -still higher when the news spread that the king’s seventh son had been -sent to their cottage. - -The king and queen had given him fourteen names, beginning with -Augustus--such being the fashion in the royal family; but the honest -country people could not remember so many, so they called him -Fairyfoot. At court it was not thought polite to speak of him at all. -They did not keep his birthday, and he was never sent for at Christmas, -because the queen and her ladies could not bear the sight. Once a year -the undermost scullion was sent to see how he did, with a bundle of his -next brother’s cast-off clothes; and, as the king grew old and cross, -it was said he had thoughts of disowning him. - -So Fairyfoot grew in Fleecefold’s cottage. Perhaps the country air made -him fair and rosy--for all agreed that he would have been a handsome -boy but for his feet, with which nevertheless, he learned to walk, and -in time to run and to jump, thereby amazing everybody, for such doings -were not known among the children of Stumpinghame. The news of court, -however, travelled to the shepherds, and Fairyfoot was despised among -them. The old people thought him unlucky; the children refused to play -with him. Fleecefold was ashamed to have him in his cottage, but he -durst not disobey the king’s orders. Moreover, Blackthorn wore most of -the clothes brought by the scullion. At last, Rough Ruddy found out -that the sight of such horrid jumping would make her children vulgar; -and, as soon as he was old enough she sent Fairyfoot every day to watch -some sickly sheep that grazed on a wild, weedy pasture, near the forest. - -Poor Fairyfoot was lying in the shadow of a mossy rock one warm -summer’s noon, with the sheep feeding round, when a robin, pursued by a -great hawk, flew into the old velvet cap which lay on the ground beside -him. Fairyfoot covered it up, and the hawk, frightened by his shout, -flew away. - -“Now you may go, poor robin!” he said, opening the cap; but instead -of the bird, out sprang a little man dressed in russet-brown, and -looking as if he were a hundred years old. Fairyfoot could not speak -for astonishment, but the little man said: - -“Thank you for your shelter, and be sure I will do as much for you. -Call on me if you are ever in trouble, my name is Robin Goodfellow;” -and darting off he was out of sight in an instant. - -For days the boy wondered who that little man could be, but he told -nobody, for the little man’s feet were as small as his own, and it -was clear he would be no favorite in Stumpinghame. Fairyfoot kept -the story to himself, and at last midsummer came. That evening was a -feast among the shepherds. There were bonfires on the hills, and fun -in the villages. But Fairyfoot sat alone beside his sheepfold, for the -children of the village had refused to let him dance with them about -the bonfire, and he had never felt so lonely in all his life. But -remembering the little man, he plucked up spirit, and cried: - -“Ho! Robin Goodfellow!” - -“Here I am,” said a shrill voice at his elbow; and there stood the -little man himself. - -“I am very lonely, and no one will play with me, because my feet are -not large enough,” said Fairyfoot. - -“Come, then, and play with us,” said the little man. “We lead the -merriest lives in the world, and care for nobody’s feet; but there are -two things you must mind among us; first, do as you see the rest doing; -and, secondly, never speak of anything you may hear or see.” - -“I will do that, and anything more you like,” said Fairyfoot; and the -little man, taking his hand, led him over the pasture into the forest, -and along a mossy path among old trees wreathed with ivy, till they -heard the sound of music, and came upon a meadow where the moon shone -as bright as day, and all the flowers of the year--snowdrops, violets, -primroses, and cowslips--bloomed together in the thick grass. There -was a crowd of little men and women, some clad in russet colour, but -far more in green, dancing round a little well as clear as crystal. -And under great rose-trees which grew here and there in the meadow, -companies were sitting round low tables covered with cups of milk and -dishes of honey. All the little people about the well cried: - -“Welcome, welcome!” and everyone said: “Come and dance with me!” So -Fairyfoot was as happy as a prince, and drank milk and ate honey till -the moon was low in the sky, and then the little man took him by the -hand, and never stopped nor stayed till he was at his own bed of straw -in the cottage corner. - -Next morning Fairyfoot was not tired for all his dancing. Nobody in the -cottage had missed him, and he went out with the sheep as usual; but -every night all that summer, when the shepherds were safe in bed, the -little man came and took him away to dance in the forest. - -The wonder was that he was never tired nor sleepy, as people are apt -to be who dance all night; but before the summer was ended Fairyfoot -found out the reason. One night, when the moon was full, and the last -of the ripe corn rustling in the fields, Robin Goodfellow came for him -as usual, and away they went to the flowery green. The fun there was -high, but never in all his life did Fairyfoot find such hard work as to -keep pace with the company. Their feet seemed to move like lightning. -Fairyfoot did his best, for he never gave in easily; but at length, his -breath and strength being spent, the boy was glad to steal away and sit -down behind a mossy oak, where his eyes closed for very weariness. When -he awoke the dance was nearly over, but two little ladies clad in green -talked close behind him. - -“What a beautiful boy!” said one of them. “He is worthy to be a king’s -son. Only see what handsome feet he has!” - -“Yes,” said the other, with a laugh that sounded spiteful; “they are -just like the feet Princess Maybloom had before she washed them in the -Growing Well. Her father has sent far and wide throughout the whole -country searching for a doctor to make them small again, but nothing -in this world can do it except the water on the Fair Fountain. And only -the nightingales and I know where it is.” - -“One would not care to let the like be known,” said the first little -lady. “But you will surely send word to the sweet princess--she was so -kind to our birds and butterflies, and danced so like one of ourselves!” - -“Not I, indeed!” said the spiteful fairy. “Her old skinflint of a -father cut down the cedar which I loved best in the whole forest, and -made a chest of it to keep his money in; besides, I never liked the -princess--everybody praised her so. But come, we shall be too late for -the last dance.” - -When they were gone, Fairyfoot could sleep no more with astonishment. -He did not wonder at the fairies admiring his feet, because their own -were much the same; but it amazed him that Princess Maybloom’s father -should be troubled at hers growing large. Moreover, he wished to see -that same princess and her country. - -When Robin Goodfellow came to take him home as usual he durst not -let him know that he had overheard anything; but never was the boy so -unwilling to get up as on that morning, and all day he was so weary -that in the afternoon Fairyfoot fell asleep, with his head on a clump -of rushes. But it so happened that towards evening the old shepherd, -Fleecefold, thought he would see how things went on in the pastures. -The shepherd had a bad temper and a thick staff, and no sooner did he -catch sight of Fairyfoot sleeping, and his flock straying away, than he -shouted all the ill names he could remember, and woke up the boy who -jumped up and ran away. The shepherd ran after him as fast as his great -feet would allow. Fairyfoot, seeing no other shelter from Fleecefold’s -fury, fled into the forest, and never stopped nor stayed till he -reached the banks of a little stream. - -Thinking it might lead him to the fairies’ dancing ground, he followed -that stream for many an hour, but it wound away into the heart of the -forest flowing through dells, falling over mossy rocks, and at last -leading Fairyfoot, when he was tired and the night had fallen, to -a grove of great rose-trees, with the moon shining on it as bright -as day, and thousands of nightingales singing in the branches. In -the midst of that grove was a clear spring, bordered with banks of -lilies, and Fairyfoot sat down by it to rest himself and listen. The -singing was so sweet he could have listened forever, but as he sat the -nightingales left off their songs, and began to talk together in the -silence of the night. - -“What boy is that?” said one on a branch above him. “He cannot have -come from Stumpinghame with such small and handsome feet.” - -“No, I’ll warrant you,” said another, “he has come from the west -country. How in the world did he find the way?” - -“How simple you are!” said a third nightingale. “What had he to do but -follow the ground-ivy, which grows over height and hollow, bank and -bush, from the lowest gate of the king’s kitchen-garden to the root -of this rose-tree. He looks a wise boy, and I hope he will keep the -secret, or we shall have all the west country here, dabbling in our -fountain, and leaving us no rest to either talk or sing.” - -Fairyfoot listened in great astonishment, but when the talk ceased and -the songs began, he thought it might be as well for him to follow the -ground-ivy, and see the Princess Maybloom, not to speak of getting rid -of Rough Ruddy, the sickly sheep, and the crusty old shepherd. It was -a long journey; but he went on, eating wild berries by day, sleeping -in the hollows of old trees by night, and never losing sight of the -ground-ivy, which led him to a great city, and to a low old-fashioned -gate of the king’s kitchen-garden, which was thought too mean for the -scullions, and had not been opened for seven years. - -He climbed over, and walked through the garden, till a white fawn came -frisking by, and he heard a soft voice saying sorrowfully: - -“Come back, come back, my fawn! I cannot run and play with you now, my -feet have grown so heavy”; and, looking round, he saw the loveliest -young princess in the world, dressed in snow-white, and wearing a -wreath of roses on her golden hair; but walking slowly, as the great -people did in Stumpinghame, for her feet were as large as the best of -them. - -After her came six young ladies, dressed in white and walking slowly, -for they could not go before the princess; but Fairyfoot was amazed to -see that their feet were as small as his own. At once he guessed that -this must be the Princess Maybloom, and made her a bow, saying: - -“Royal princess, I have heard of your trouble because your feet have -grown large; in my country that’s all the fashion. For seven years past -I have been wondering to no purpose what would make mine grow. But -I know of a certain fountain that will make yours smaller and finer -than ever they were, if the king, your father, will give you leave to -come with me. You may be accompanied by two of your maids that are -the least given to talking, and the most prudent officer in all the -king’s household; for it would grievously offend the fairies and the -nightingales to make that fountain known.” - -When the princess heard this, she danced for joy in spite of her -large feet, and she and her six maids brought Fairyfoot before the -king and queen, where they sat in their palace hall, with all the -courtiers paying their morning compliments. At first the king would -not believe that there could be any use in this offer, because so many -great physicians had failed to give any relief. The courtiers laughed -Fairyfoot to scorn, and he wished himself safe in the forest again; but -the queen said: - -“I pray your majesty to notice what fine feet this boy has. There -may be some truth in his story. For the sake of our only daughter, -I will choose two maids who talk the least of all our train, and my -chamberlain, who is the most discreet officer in our household. Let -them go with the princess. Who knows but our sorrow may be lessened?” - -After some persuasion the king consented, though all his councillors -advised the contrary. So the two silent maids, the discreet -chamberlain, and her fawn, which would not stay behind, were sent with -the princess Maybloom, and they all set out after dinner. Fairyfoot -had hard work guiding them along the track of the ground-ivy; but at -last they reached the grove of rose-trees and the spring bordered with -lilies. - -The chamberlain washed--and though his hair had been grey and his face -wrinkled, the young courtiers envied his beauty for years after. The -maids washed--and from that day they were esteemed the fairest in all -the palace. Lastly, the princess washed also--it could make her no -fairer, but the moment her feet touched the water they grew less, and -when she had washed and dried them three times, they were as small and -finely shaped as Fairyfoot’s own. There was great joy among them, but -the boy said sorrowfully: - -“Oh! if there had been a well in the world to make my feet large, my -father and mother would not have cast me off, nor sent me to live among -the shepherds.” - -“Cheer up!” said the Princess Maybloom. “If you want large feet, there -is a well in this forest that will do it. Last summer-time I came with -my father and his foresters to see a great cedar cut down, of which -he meant to make a money chest. While they were busy with the cedar, -I saw a bramble branch covered with berries. Some were ripe and some -were green, but it was the longest bramble that ever grew. For the -sake of the berries, I went on and on to its root, which grew near a -muddy-looking well, with banks of dark green moss, in the deepest part -of the forest. The day was warm and dry, and my feet were sore with the -rough ground, so I took off my scarlet shoes, and washed my feet in the -well; but as I washed they grew larger every minute, and nothing could -ever make them less again. I have seen the bramble this day; it is not -far off, and as you have shown me the Fair Fountain, I will show you -the Growing Well.” - -Up rose Fairyfoot and Princess Maybloom, and went together till -they found the bramble, and came to where its root grew, near the -muddy-looking well, with banks of dark moss in the deepest dell of the -forest. Fairyfoot sat down to wash, but at that minute he heard a sound -of music, and knew it was the fairies going to their dancing ground. - -“If my feet grow large,” said the boy to himself, “how shall I dance -with them?” So, rising quickly, he took the Princess Maybloom by the -hand. The fawn followed them; the maids and the chamberlain followed -it, and all followed the music through the forest. At last they came -to the flowery green. Robin Goodfellow welcomed the company for -Fairyfoot’s sake, and they danced from sunset till the grey morning, -and nobody was tired; but before the lark sang, Robin Goodfellow took -them all safe home, as he used to take Fairyfoot. - -There was great joy that day in the palace because Princess Maybloom’s -feet were made small again. The king gave Fairyfoot all manner of fine -clothes and rich jewels; and when they heard his wonderful story, -he and the queen asked him to live with them and be their son. In -process of time Fairyfoot and Princess Maybloom were married, and -still live happily. When they go to visit at Stumpinghame, they always -wash their feet in the Growing Well, lest the royal family might think -them a disgrace, but when they come back, they make haste to the Fair -Fountain; and the fairies and the nightingales are great friends to -them, as well as the maids and the chamberlain, because they have told -nobody about it, and there is peace and quiet yet in the grove of -rose-trees. (Adapted.) - - - - -THE SNOW-QUEEN - -HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN - - -FIRST STORY - -_Which Treats of a Mirror and of the Splinters_ - -Now, then, let us begin. When we are at the end of the story, we shall -know more than we know now; but to begin: - -Once upon a time there was a wicked Sprite, indeed, he was the most -mischievous of all sprites. One day he was in a very good humour, -for he had made a mirror with the power of causing all that was -good and beautiful, when it was reflected therein, to look poor and -mean; but that which was good for nothing and looked ugly, was shown -magnified and increased in ugliness. In this mirror the most beautiful -landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best persons were turned -into frights, or appeared to stand on their heads; their faces were -so distorted that they were not to be recognized; and if anyone had a -mole, you might be sure that it would be magnified and spread over both -nose and mouth. - -“That’s glorious fun!” said the Sprite. - -If a good thought passed through a man’s mind, then a grin was seen in -the mirror, and the Sprite laughed heartily at his clever discovery. - -All the little sprites who went to his school--for he kept a -sprite-school--told one another that a miracle had happened; and that -now only, as they thought, it would be possible to see how the world -really looked. They ran about with the mirror; and at last there -was not a land or a person who was not represented distorted in the -mirror. So then they thought they would fly up to the sky, and have a -joke there. The higher they flew with the mirror, the more terribly -it grinned; they could hardly hold it fast. Higher and higher still -they flew, nearer and nearer to the stars, when suddenly, the mirror -shook so terribly with grinning that it flew out of their hands and -fell to the earth, where it was dashed in a hundred million and more -pieces. And now it worked much more evil than before; for some of these -pieces were hardly so large as a grain of sand, and they flew about in -a wide world, and when they got into people’s eyes, there they stayed; -and then people saw everything perverted, or only had an eye for that -which was evil. This happened because the very smallest bit had the -same power which the whole mirror had possessed. Some persons even got -a splinter in their hearts, and then it made one shudder, for their -hearts became like lumps of ice. Some of the broken pieces were so -large that they were used for window-panes, through which one could not -see one’s friends. Other pieces were put in spectacles; and that was a -sad affair when people put on their glasses to see well and rightly. -Then the wicked Sprite laughed till he almost choked, for all this -tickled his fancy. The fine splinters still flew about in the air: and -now we shall hear what happened next. - - -SECOND STORY - -_A Little Boy and a Little Girl_ - -In a large town, where there are so many houses, and so many people, -that there is no room left for everybody to have a little garden, and -where, on this account, most persons are obliged to content themselves -with flowers in pots, there lived two little children, who had a garden -somewhat larger than a flower-pot. They were not brother and sister; -but they cared for each other as much as if they were. Their parents -lived exactly opposite. They inhabited two garrets; and where the roof -of the one house joined that of the other, and the gutter ran along the -extreme end of it, there was to each house a small window: one needed -only to step over the gutter to get from one window to the other. - -The children’s parents had large wooden boxes there, in which -vegetables for the kitchen were planted, and little rose-trees, -besides; there was a rose in each box, and they grew splendidly. They -now thought of placing the boxes across the gutter, so that they nearly -reached from one window to the other, and looked just like two walls -of flowers. The tendrils of the peas hung down over the boxes, and the -rose-trees shot up long branches, twined around the windows, and then -bent toward each other: it was almost like a triumphal arch of foliage -and flowers. The boxes were very high, and the children knew that they -must not creep over them; so they often obtained permission to get out -of the windows to each other, and to sit on their little stools among -the roses, where they could play delightfully. In winter there was an -end of this pleasure. The windows were often frozen over; but then they -heated copper farthings on the stove, and laid the hot farthings on -the window-pane, and then they had a capital peep-hole, quite nicely -rounded; and out of each peeped a gentle, friendly eye--it was the -little boy and the little girl who were looking out. His name was Kay, -hers was Gerda. In summer, with one jump, they could get to each other; -but in winter they were obliged first to go down the long stairs, and -then up the long stairs again: and out-of-doors there was quite a -snow-storm. - -“It is the white bees that are swarming,” said Kay’s old grandmother. - -“Do the white bees choose a queen?” asked the little boy; for he knew -that the honey-bees always have one. - -“Yes,” said the grandmother, “she flies where the swarm hangs in the -thickest clusters. She is the largest of all; and she can never remain -quietly on the earth, but goes up again into the black clouds. Many a -winter’s night she flies through the streets of the town, and peeps in -at the windows; and they then freeze in so wondrous a manner that they -look like flowers.” - -“Yes, I have seen it,” said both the children; and so they knew that it -was true. - -“Can the Snow-Queen come in?” said the little girl. - -“Only let her come in!” said the little boy; “then I’d put her on the -stove, and she’d melt.” - -And then his grandmother patted his head, and told him other stories. - -In the evening, when little Kay was at home, and half undressed, he -climbed upon the chair by the window, and peeped out of the little -hole. A few snowflakes were falling, and one, the largest of all, -remained lying on the edge of a flower-pot. The flake of snow grew -larger and larger; and, at last, it was like a young lady, dressed in -the finest white gauze, made of a million little flakes, like stars. -She was so beautiful and delicate, but she was of ice, of dazzling, -sparkling ice; yet she lived; her eyes gazed fixedly, like two stars; -but there was neither quiet nor repose in them. She nodded toward the -window, and beckoned with her hand. The little boy was frightened, and -jumped down from the chair; it seemed to him as if, at the same moment, -a large bird flew past the window. - -The next day it was a sharp frost; and then the spring came; the sun -shone, the green leaves appeared, the swallows built their nests, the -windows were opened, and the little children again sat in their pretty -garden, high up on the leads at the top of the house. - -That summer the roses flowered in wondrous beauty. The little girl had -learned a hymn, in which there was something about roses; and then she -thought of her own flowers; and she sang the verse to the little boy, -who then sang it with her: - - “The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet, - The Christ-child is there the children to greet.” - -And the children held each other by the hand, kissed the roses, and -looked up at the clear sunshine. What lovely summer days those were! -How delightful to be out in the air, near the fresh rosebushes, that -seemed as if they would never finish blossoming! - -Kay and Gerda looked at the picture-book full of beasts and of birds; -and it was then--the clock in the church-tower was just striking -five--that Kay said, “Oh, I feel such a sharp pain in my heart; and now -something has flown into my eye!” - -The little girl put her arms round his neck. He winked his eyes: now -there was nothing to be seen. - -“I think it is out now,” said he; but it was not. It was just one of -those pieces of glass from the magic mirror that had flown into his -eye. Another piece had pierced his heart, where it soon became like -ice. It did not hurt any longer, but there it was. - -“What are you crying for?” asked he. “You look so ugly! There’s nothing -the matter with me. Ah!” said he at once, “that rose is cankered! and, -look, this one is quite crooked! after all, these roses are very ugly! -they are just like the box they are planted in!” And then he gave the -box a good kick with his foot, and pulled both the roses up. - -“What are you doing?” cried the little girl; and as he perceived her -fright, he pulled up another rose, got in at the window, and hastened -away from dear little Gerda. - -Afterwards, when she brought her picture-book, he asked, “What horrid -beasts have you there?” And if his grandmother told him stories, he -always interrupted her; besides, if he could manage it, he would get -behind her, put on her spectacles, and imitate her way of speaking: -he copied all her ways, and then everybody laughed at him. He was -soon able to imitate the gait and manner of everyone in the street. -Everything that was peculiar and displeasing in them,--that Kay knew -how to imitate; and at such times all the people said, “The boy is -certainly very clever!” But it was the glass he had in his eye; the -glass that was sticking in his heart, which made him tease even little -Gerda, whose whole soul was devoted to him. - -His games now were quite different to what they had formerly been, they -were so very knowing. One winter’s day, when the flakes of snow were -flying about, he spread the skirts of his blue coat, and caught the -snow as it fell. - -“Look through this glass, Gerda,” said he. And every flake seemed -larger, and appeared like a magnificent flower, or a beautiful star: it -was splendid to look at! - -“Look, how clever!” said Kay. “That’s much more interesting than real -flowers! They are as exact as possible; there is not a fault in them, -if only they did not melt!” - -It was not long after this that Kay came one day with large gloves on, -and his little sledge at his back, and called right into Gerda’s ears, -“I have permission to go out into the square, where the others are -playing”; and off he was in a moment. - -There, in the market-place, some of the boldest of the boys used to -tie their sledges to the carts as they passed by. In this way they -were pulled along, and got a good ride. It was capital sport! Just as -they were in the very height of their amusement, a large sledge passed -by: it was painted white, and there was someone in it wrapped up in a -rough white mantle of fur, with a rough white fur cap on his head. The -sledge drove round the square twice, and Kay tied on his as quickly as -he could, and off he drove with it. On they went quicker and quicker -into the next street; and the person who drove turned round to Kay, and -nodded to him in a friendly manner, just as if they knew each other. -Every time he was going to untie his sledge the person nodded to him, -and then Kay sat quiet; and so on they went till they came outside the -gates of the town. Then the snow began to fall so thickly that the -little boy could not see an arm’s length before him, but still on he -went; then suddenly, he let go the string he held in his hand in order -to get loose from the sledge, but it was of no use; still the little -vehicle rushed on with the quickness of the wind. He then cried as loud -as he could, but no one heard him; the snow drifted and the sledge -flew on, and sometimes it gave a jerk as though they were driving over -hedges and ditches. He was quite frightened, and he tried to repeat the -Lord’s Prayer; but in spite of his efforts he was able only to remember -the multiplication table. - -The snowflakes grew larger and larger, till at last they looked just -like great white fowls. Suddenly they flew on one side; the large -sledge stopped, and the person who drove rose up. It was a lady. Her -cloak and cap were of snow. She was tall, of slender figure, and of a -dazzling whiteness. It was the Snow-Queen. - -“We have travelled fast,” said she; “but it is terribly cold. Come -under my bearskin.” And she put him in the sledge beside her, wrapped -the fur round him, and he felt as though he were sinking in a -snow-wreath. - -“Are you still cold?” asked she; and then she kissed his forehead. Ah! -it was colder than ice; it penetrated to his very heart, which was -already almost a frozen lump; it seemed to him as if he were about to -die,--but a moment more and it was quite congenial to him, and he did -not notice the cold that was around him. - -“My sledge! Do not forget my sledge!” It was the first thing he thought -of. It was there, tied to one of the white chickens, who flew along -with it on his back behind the large sledge. The Snow-Queen kissed Kay -once more, and then he forgot little Gerda, grandmother, and all whom -he had left at his home. - -“Now you shall have no more kisses,” said she, “or else I should kiss -you to death!” - -Kay looked at her. She was very beautiful; a more clever or a more -lovely countenance he could not fancy to himself; and she no longer -appeared of ice as before, when she sat outside the window, and -beckoned to him; in his eyes she was perfect; he did not fear her -at all, and told her that he could calculate in his head, and with -fractions even; that he knew the number of square miles there were in -the different countries, and how many inhabitants they contained; and -she smiled while he spoke. It then seemed to him as if what he knew -was not enough, and he looked upwards in the large, huge, empty space -about him, and on she flew with him; flew high over the black clouds, -while the storm moaned and whistled as though it were singing some old -tune. On they flew over woods and lakes, over seas and many lands; and -beneath them the chilling storm rushed fast, the wolves howled, the -snow crackled; above them flew large screaming crows, but higher up -appeared the moon, quite large and bright; and it was on it that Kay -gazed during the long, long winter’s night, while by day he slept at -the feet of the Snow-Queen. - - -THIRD STORY - -_Of the Flower-garden at the Old Woman’s Who Understood Witchcraft_ - -But what became of little Gerda when Kay did not return? Where could he -be? Nobody knew. The boys said that they had seen him tie his sledge to -another large and splendid one, which drove down the street and out of -the town. But they did not know where he was. Many sad tears were shed, -and little Gerda wept long and bitterly; at last she said he must be -dead; that he had been drowned in the river which flowed close to the -town. Oh, those were very long and dismal winter evenings! - -At last spring came with its warm sunshine. - -“Kay is dead and gone!” said little Gerda. - -“That I don’t believe,” said the Sunshine. - -“Kay is dead and gone!” said she to the Swallows. - -“That we don’t believe,” said they; and at last little Gerda did not -think so any longer either. - -“I’ll put on my red shoes,” said she one morning; “Kay has never seen -them, and then I’ll go down to the river and ask there.” - -It was quite early: she kissed her old grandmother, who was still -asleep, put on her red shoes, and went alone to the river. - -“Is it true that you have taken my little playfellow? I will make you a -present of my red shoes if you will give him back to me.” - -And, as it seemed to her, the blue waves nodded in a strange manner; -then she took off her red shoes, the most precious things she -possessed, and threw them both into the river. But they fell close to -the bank, and the little waves bore them immediately to land; it was -as if the stream would not take what was dearest to her; for in reality -it had not taken little Kay: but Gerda thought that she had not thrown -the shoes out far enough, so she clambered into a boat which lay among -the rushes, went to the farthest end, and threw out the shoes. But the -boat was not fastened, and the motion which she occasioned made it -drift from the shore. She observed this, and hastened to get back; but -before she could do so, the boat was more than a yard from the land, -and was gliding quickly onward. - -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 bank, and sang as if to comfort her, “Here we -are! here we are!” The boat drifted with the stream, little Gerda sat -quite still without shoes, for they were swimming behind the boat, but -could not reach it, because it went much faster than they. - -The banks on both sides were beautiful. There were lovely flowers, -venerable trees, and slopes with sheep and cows, but there was not a -human being to be seen anywhere. - -“Perhaps the river will carry me to little Kay,” said she; and then she -grew less sad. She rose, and looked for many hours at the beautiful -green banks. Presently, she sailed by a large cherry-orchard, where -there was a little cottage with curious red and blue windows; it was -thatched, and before it two wooden soldiers stood sentry, and presented -arms when anyone went past. - -Gerda called to them, for she thought they were alive; but they, of -course, did not answer. She came close to them, for the stream drifted -the boat quite near the land. - -Gerda called still louder and then an old woman leaning upon a crooked -stick came out of the cottage. She had a large, broad-brimmed hat on, -painted with the most splendid flowers. - -“Poor little child!” said the old woman, “how did you get upon the -large, rapid river, to be driven about so in the wide world!” And then -the old woman went into the water, caught hold of the boat with her -crooked stick, drew it to the bank, and lifted little Gerda out. And -Gerda was glad to be on dry land again, but she was rather afraid of -the strange old woman. - -“But come and tell me who you are, and how you came here,” said she. - -And Gerda told her all; and the old woman shook her head and said, -“A-hem! a-hem!” and when Gerda had told her everything, and asked -her if she had not seen little Kay, the woman answered that he had -not passed there, but he no doubt would come; and she told her not -to be cast down, but to taste her cherries, and look at her flowers, -which were finer than any in a picture-book, for each could tell a -whole story. She then took Gerda by the hand, led her into the little -cottage, and locked the door. - -The windows were very high up; the glass was red, blue, and green, and -the sunlight shone through quite wondrously in all sorts of colours. On -the table stood the most exquisite cherries, and Gerda ate as many as -she chose, for she had permission to do so. While she was eating, the -old woman combed her hair with a golden comb, and her hair curled and -shone with a lovely golden colour around that sweet little face, which -was so round and so like a rose. - -“I have often longed for such a dear little girl,” said the old woman. -“Now you shall see how well we agree together;” and while she combed -little Gerda’s hair, the child forgot her foster-brother Kay more and -more, for the old woman understood magic; but she was no evil being, -she only practised witchcraft a little for her own amusement, and she -wished very much to keep little Gerda. She, therefore, went out into -the garden, stretched out her crooked stick towards the rosebushes, -which, beautifully as they were growing, all sank into the earth, and -no one could tell where they had stood. The old woman feared that if -Gerda should see the roses, she would then think of her own, would -remember little Kay, and run away from her. - -She now led Gerda into the flower-garden. Oh, what odour and what -loveliness was there! Every flower that one could think of, and of -every season, stood there in fullest bloom; no picture-book could be -gayer or more beautiful. Gerda jumped for joy, and played till the sun -set behind the tall cherry-tree; she then had a pretty bed, with a red -silken coverlet filled with blue violets. She fell asleep, and had as -pleasant dreams as ever a queen on her wedding-day. - -The next morning she went to play with the flowers in the warm -sunshine, and thus passed away a day. Gerda knew every flower; and, -numerous as they were, it still seemed to Gerda that one was wanting, -though she did not know which. One day, while she was looking at the -old woman’s hat which was painted with flowers, the most beautiful of -them all seemed to her to be a rose. The old woman had forgotten to -take it from her hat when she made the others vanish in the earth. But -so it is when one’s thoughts are not collected. “What!” said Gerda, -“are there no roses here?” and she ran about amongst the flower-beds, -and looked, and looked, but there was not one to be found. She then sat -down and wept. Her hot tears fell just where a rosebush had sunk; and -where her warm tears watered the ground, the rosebush shot up suddenly -as fresh and blooming as when it had been swallowed up. Gerda kissed -the roses, thought of her own dear roses at home, and with them of -little Kay. - -“Oh, how long I have stayed!” said the little girl. “I intended to look -for Kay! Don’t you know where he is?” asked she of the roses. “Do you -think he is dead and gone?” - -“Dead he certainly is not,” said the roses. “We have been in the earth -where all the dead are, but Kay is not there.” - -“Many thanks!” said little Gerda; and she went to the other flowers, -looked into their cups, and asked, “Don’t you know where little Kay -is?” But every flower stood in the sunshine, and dreamed its own -fairy-tale or its own story; and they all told her very many things; -but not one knew anything of Kay. - -Then Gerda questioned the little snowdrop. - -“Between the trees a long board is hanging--it is a swing. Two little -girls are sitting in it, and are swinging themselves backward and -forward: their frocks are as white as snow, and long green silk ribbons -flutter from their bonnets. Their brother, who is older than they -are, stands up in the swing; he twines his arms round the cords to -hold himself fast, for in one hand he has a little cup, and in the -other a clay pipe. He is blowing soap-bubbles. The swing moves. The -little black dog, as light as a soap-bubble, jumps up on his hind legs -to try to get into the swing. It moves, the dog falls down, barks, -and is angry. They tease him; the bubble bursts! A swing--a bursting -bubble--such is my song!” - -“What you relate may be very pretty, but you tell it so sorrowfully, -and you don’t even mention little Kay.” - -Then Gerda went to the buttercups, that looked forth from among the -shining green leaves. - -“You are a little bright sun!” said Gerda. “Tell me if you know where -I can find my playfellow.” - -And the buttercups shone brightly, and looked again at Gerda. What song -could they sing? It was one that said nothing about Kay either. - -“In a small court the bright sun was shining in the first days of -spring. The beams glided down the white walls of a neighbour’s house, -and close by the fresh yellow flowers were growing, shining like gold -in the warm sun-rays. An old grandmother was sitting in the air, with -her granddaughter, the poor and lovely servant just come for a short -visit. She knows her grandmother. There was gold, pure, virgin gold -in that blessed kiss. There, that is our little story,” said the -buttercups. - -“My poor old grandmother!” sighed Gerda. “Yes, she is longing for me, -no doubt; she is sorrowing for me, as she did for little Kay. But I -will soon come home, and then I will bring Kay with me. It is of no use -asking the flowers; they know only their own old rhymes, and can tell -me nothing.” And then off she ran to the further end of the garden. - -The gate was locked, but she shook the rusted bolt till it was -loosened, and the gate opened; and little Gerda ran off barefooted -into the wide world. She looked round her thrice, but no one followed -her. At last she could run no longer; she sat down on a large stone, -and when she looked about her, she saw that the summer had passed; it -was late in the autumn, but that one could not remark in the beautiful -garden, where there was always sunshine, and where there were flowers -the whole year round. - -“Dear me, how long I have stayed!” said Gerda. “Autumn is come. I must -not rest any longer.” And she got up to continue her journey. - -Oh, how tender and weary her little feet were! All around it looked so -cold and raw; the long willow-leaves were quite yellow, and the fog -dripped from them like water; one leaf fell after the other; the sloes -only stood full of fruit which set one’s teeth on edge. Oh, how dark -and comfortless it was in the dreary world! - - -FOURTH STORY - -_The Prince and Princess_ - -Gerda was obliged to rest herself again, when, exactly opposite to -her, a large raven came hopping over the white snow. He had long been -looking at Gerda and shaking his head; and now he said, “Caw! caw! Good -day! good day!” He could not say it better; but he felt a sympathy for -the little girl, and asked her where she was going all alone. The world -“alone” Gerda understood quite well, and felt how much was expressed by -it; so she told the Raven her whole history, and asked if he had not -seen Kay. - -The Raven nodded very gravely, and said, “It may be--it may be!” - -“What! do you really think so?” cried the little girl; and she nearly -squeezed the Raven to death, so much did she kiss him. - -“Gently, gently,” said the Raven. “I think I know; I think that it may -be little Kay. But now he has forgotten you for the Princess.” - -“Does he live with a princess?” asked Gerda. - -“Yes,--listen,” said the Raven; “but it will be difficult for me to -speak your language. If you understand the Raven language, I can tell -you better.” - -“No, I have not learnt it,” said Gerda; “but my grandmother understands -it. I wish I had learnt it.” - -“No matter,” said the Raven; “I will tell you as well as I can; -however, it will be bad enough.” And then he told all he knew. - -“In the kingdom where we now are there lives a princess who is -extraordinarily clever; for she has read all the newspapers in the -whole world, and has forgotten them again,--so clever is she. She -was lately, it is said, sitting on her throne,--which is not so very -amusing, after all,--when she began humming an old tune, and it was -just ‘Oh, why should I not be married?’ ‘That song is not without -its meaning,’ said she, and then she was determined to marry; but she -would have a husband who knew how to give an answer when he was spoken -to,--not one who looked only as if he were a great personage, for -that is so tiresome. She then had all the ladies of the court drummed -together; and when they heard her intention, all were well pleased, -and said, ‘We are quite glad to hear it; it is the very thing we were -thinking of.’ You may believe every word I say,” said the Raven, “for I -have a tame sweetheart that hops about in the palace quite free, and it -was she who told me all this. - -“The newspapers appeared forthwith with a border of hearts and the -initials of the Princess; and therein you might read that every -good-looking young man was at liberty to come to the palace and speak -to the Princess; and he who spoke in such wise as showed he felt -himself at home there, that one the Princess would choose for her -husband. - -“Yes--yes,” said the Raven, “you may believe it; it is as true as I am -sitting here. People came in crowds; there was a crush and a hurry, -but no one was successful either on the first or second day. They could -all talk well enough when they were out in the street; but as soon as -they came inside the palace-gates, and saw the guard richly dressed -in silver, and the lackeys in gold, on the staircase, and the large, -illuminated saloons, then they were abashed; and when they stood before -the throne on which the Princess was sitting, all they could do was to -repeat the last word they had uttered, and to hear it again did not -interest her very much. It was just as if the people within were under -a charm, and had fallen into a trance till they came out again into -the street; for then,--yes, then they could chatter enough. There was -a whole row of them standing from the town-gates to the palace. I was -there myself to look,” said the Raven. “They grew hungry and thirsty: -but from the palace they got nothing whatever, not even a glass of -water. Some of the cleverest, it is true, had taken bread and butter -with them; but none shared it with his neighbour, for each thought, -‘Let him look hungry, and then the Princess won’t have him.’” - -“But Kay--little Kay,” said Gerda, “when did he come? Was he among the -number?” - -“Patience, patience; we are just come to him. It was on the third day, -when a little personage, without horse or equipage, came marching right -boldly up to the palace; his eyes shone like yours, he had beautiful -long hair, but his clothes were very shabby.” - -“That was Kay,” cried Gerda, with a voice of delight. “Oh, now I’ve -found him!” and she clapped her hands for joy. - -“He had a little knapsack at his back,” said the Raven. - -“No, that was certainly his sledge,” said Gerda; “for when he went away -he took his sledge with him.” - -“That may be,” said the Raven; “I did not examine him so minutely: but -I know from my tame sweetheart that when he came into the courtyard -of the palace, and saw the bodyguard in silver, the lackeys on the -staircase, he was not the least abashed; he nodded, and said to them, -‘It must be very tiresome to stand on the stairs; for my part, I shall -go in.’ All the rooms were ablaze with light; privy-councilors and -excellencies were walking about barefoot, and bearing gold vases; it -was enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable. His boots creaked, too, -so loudly; but still he was not at all afraid.” - -“That’s Kay, for certain,” said Gerda. “I know he had on new boots; I -have heard them creaking in grandmamma’s room.” - -“Yes, they creaked,” said the Raven. “And on he went boldly up to the -Princess, who was sitting on a pearl as large as a spinning-wheel. -All the ladies of the court, with their attendants and attendants’ -attendants, and all the cavaliers, with their gentlemen and gentlemen’s -gentlemen, stood round; and the nearer they stood to the door, the -prouder they looked. It was hardly possible to look at the gentlemen’s -gentleman, so very haughtily did he stand in the doorway.” - -“It must have been terrible,” said little Gerda. “And did Kay get the -Princess?” - -“Were I not a Raven, I should have taken the Princess myself, although -I am promised. It is said he spoke as well as I speak when I talk Raven -language; this I learned from my tame sweetheart. He was bold and -nicely behaved; he had not come to woo the Princess, but only to hear -her wisdom. She pleased him, and he pleased her.” - -“Yes, yes; for certain that was Kay,” said Gerda. “He was so clever; -he could reckon fractions in his head. Oh, won’t you take me to the -palace?” - -“That is very easily said,” answered the Raven. “But how are we to -manage it? I’ll speak to my tame sweetheart about it; she must advise -us; for so much I must tell you, such a little girl as you are will -never get permission to enter.” - -“Oh, yes, I shall,” said Gerda; “when Kay hears that I am here, he will -come out directly to fetch me.” - -“Wait for me here on these steps,” said the Raven. He moved his head -backward and forward, and flew away. - -The evening was closing in when the Raven returned. - -“Caw! caw!” said he. “She sends you her compliments; and here is a roll -for you. She took it out of the kitchen, where there is bread enough. -You are hungry, no doubt. It is not possible for you to enter the -palace, for you are barefoot; the guards in silver and the lackeys in -gold would not allow it; but do not cry, you shall come in still. My -sweetheart knows a little back stair that leads to the bedroom, and she -knows where she can find the key.” - -And they went into the garden by the large avenue, where one leaf -after another was falling; and when the lights in the palace had all -gradually disappeared, the Raven led little Gerda to the back door, -which stood half open. Oh, how Gerda’s heart beat with longing! It was -just as if she had been about to do something wrong; and yet she only -wanted to know if little Kay was there. Yes, he must be there. She -called to mind his intelligent eyes and his long hair so vividly, she -could quite see him as he used to laugh when they were sitting under -the roses at home. “He will, no doubt, be glad to see you,--to hear -what a long way you have come for his sake; to know how unhappy all at -home were when he did not come back.” - -Her heart thrilled with fear and joy. - -They were now on the stairs. A single lamp was burning there; and on -the floor stood the tame Raven, turning her head on every side and -looking at Gerda, who bowed as her grandmother had taught her to do. - -“My intended has told me so much good of you, my dear young lady,” said -the tame Raven. “Your tale is very affecting. If you will take the -lamp, I will go before. We will go straight on, for we shall meet no -one.” - -“I think there is somebody just behind us,” said Gerda; and something -rushed past: it was like shadowy figures on the wall; horses with -flowing manes and thin legs, huntsmen, ladies and gentlemen on -horseback. - -“They are only dreams,” said the Raven. “They come to fetch the -thoughts of the high personages to the chase: ’tis well, for now you -can look at them in their beds quite safely.” - -They now entered the first room, which was of rose-coloured satin, -embroidered with flowers. Here the dreams were rushing past, but they -hastened by so quickly that Gerda could not see the high personages. -One hall was more magnificent than the other; and at last they came to -a bedroom. The ceiling of the room was like a large palm-tree, with -leaves of costly glass; and in the middle of the floor two beds shaped -like lilies hung from thick, golden stems. One was white, and in this -lay the Princess: the other was red, and it was there that Gerda was -to look for little Kay. She bent back one of the red leaves, and saw a -brown neck--Oh, that was Kay! She called him quite loud by name, held -the lamp toward him, he awoke, turned his head, and--it was not little -Kay! - -The Prince was only like him about the neck; but he was young and -handsome. And out of the white lily leaves the Princess peeped, too, -and asked what was the matter. Then little Gerda cried and told her her -whole history, and all that the Ravens had done for her. - -“Poor little thing!” said the Prince and the Princess. They praised the -Ravens very much, and told them they were not at all angry with them, -but they were not to do so again. However, they should have a reward. - -“Will you fly about here at liberty,” asked the Princess; “or would you -like to have a fixed appointment as court ravens, with all the broken -bits from the kitchen?” - -And both the Ravens nodded, and begged for a fixed appointment; for -they thought of their old age, and said, “It was a good thing to have a -provision for their old days.” - -And the Prince got up and let Gerda sleep in his bed, and more than -this he could not do. She folded her little hands, and thought, “How -kind all are to me, people and animals as well,” and she then fell -asleep and slept soundly. All the dreams flew in again, and they now -looked like the angels; they drew a little sledge, in which little Kay -sat and nodded his head; but the whole was only a dream, and therefore -it all vanished as soon as she awoke. - -The next day she was dressed from head to foot in silk and velvet. They -offered to let her stay at the palace, and lead a happy life; but she -begged to have a little carriage with a horse in front, and for a small -pair of shoes: then, she said, she would again go forth in the wide -world and look for Kay. - -Shoes and a muff were given her; she was dressed very nicely, too; and -when she was about to set off, a new carriage stopped before the door. -It was of pure gold, and the arms of the Prince and Princess shone -like a star upon it; the coachman, the footman, and the outriders, for -outriders were there, too, all wore golden crowns. The Prince and the -Princess assisted her into the carriage themselves, and wished her -all success. The Raven of the woods, who was now married, accompanied -her for the first three miles. He sat beside Gerda, for he could -not bear riding backward. The other Raven stood in the doorway; and -flapped her wings; she could not accompany Gerda, because she suffered -from headache since she had a fixed appointment and ate so much. The -carriage was lined inside with sugar-plums, and in the seats were -fruits and gingerbread. - -“Farewell! farewell!” cried Prince and Princess; and Gerda wept, and -the Raven wept. Thus passed the first three miles; and then the Raven -bade her farewell, and this was the most painful separation of all. He -perched upon a tree, and flapped his black wings as long as he could -see the coach. - - -FIFTH STORY - -_The Little Robber-Maiden_ - -Now Gerda was driven through a gloomy forest, but the coach shone like -a torch, and it dazzled the eyes of some robbers who were in the woods -so that they could not bear to look at it. - -“’Tis gold! ’Tis gold!” cried they; and they rushed forward, seized -the horses, knocked down the little postilion, the coachman, and the -servants, and pulled little Gerda out of the carriage. - -“How plump, how beautiful she is! She must have been fed on -nut-kernels,” said an old robber-woman, who had a long, scrubby beard, -and bushy eyebrows that hung down over her eyes. “She will taste as -good as a fatted lamb!” And then she drew out a knife, the blade of -which shone so that it was quite dreadful to behold. - -“Let her alone,” called out a little robber-child. “She will give me -her muff, and her pretty frock; she shall sleep in my bed!” - -“I will have a ride in her carriage,” said the little robber-maiden. -She would have her will, for she was very spoiled, and very -headstrong. She and Gerda got in; and then away they drove over the -stumps of felled trees, deeper and deeper into the woods. The little -robber-maiden was as tall as Gerda, but stronger, broader-shouldered, -and of dark complexion; her eyes were quite black. She embraced -little Gerda, and said, “They shall not kill you as long as I am not -displeased with you. You are, doubtless, a princess?” - -“No,” said little Gerda, who then related all that had happened to her, -and how much she cared about little Kay. - -The little robber-maiden looked at her with a serious air, nodded her -head slightly, and said, “They shall not kill you, even if I am angry -with you: then I will do it myself;” and she dried Gerda’s eyes, and -put both her hands in the handsome muff, which was so soft and warm. - -At length the carriage stopped. They were in the midst of the courtyard -of a robber’s castle. It was full of cracks from top to bottom; and out -of the openings magpies and rooks were flying; and the great bulldogs, -each of which looked as if he could swallow a man, jumped up, but they -did not bark, for that was forbidden. - -In the midst of the large, old, smoking hall burnt a great fire on the -stone floor. The smoke disappeared under the stones, and had to seek -its own egress. In an immense cauldron soup was boiling; and rabbits -and hares were being roasted on a spit. - -“You shall sleep with me to-night, with my little animals,” said the -little robber-maiden. They had something to eat and drink; and then -went into a corner, where straw and carpets were lying. Beside them, on -perches, sat nearly a hundred pigeons, all asleep, seemingly, but yet -they moved a little when the robber-maiden came. “They are all mine,” -said she, at the same time seizing one that was next to her by the -legs, and shaking it so that its wings fluttered. - -“Kiss it!” cried the little girl, flapping the pigeon in Gerda’s face. -“There are a lot of them,” continued she, pointing to a hole high up -in the wall. “They would all fly away immediately, if they were not -well fastened in. And here is my dear old Bac.” She laid hold of the -horns of a reindeer, that had a bright copper ring round its neck, and -was tethered to the spot. “We are obliged to lock this fellow in, too, -or he would make his escape. Every evening I tickle his neck with my -sharp knife, which he is very much afraid of!” and the little girl drew -forth a long knife from a crack in the wall, and let it glide gently -across the reindeer’s neck. The poor animal began to kick and the girl -laughed, and pulled Gerda into bed with her. - -“Do you intend to keep your knife while you sleep?” asked Gerda, -looking at it rather fearfully. - -“I always sleep with the knife,” said the little robber-maiden: “there -is no knowing what may happen. But tell me now, once more, all about -little Kay; and why you have started off in the wide world alone.” And -Gerda related all, from the very beginning. The little robber-maiden -wound her arm round Gerda’s neck, held the knife in the other hand, and -snored so loud that everybody could hear her. But Gerda could not close -her eyes, not knowing whether she was to live or die. The robbers sat -round the fire, and the old robber-woman jumped about so, that it was -dreadful for Gerda to see her. - -Then the wood-pigeons said, “Coo! coo! we have seen little Kay! A -white hen carries his sledge; he himself sat in the carriage of the -Snow-Queen, which passed right over the forest as we lay in our nests. -She blew upon us young ones, and all died except we two. Coo! coo!” - -“What is that you say up there?” cried little Gerda. “Where did the -Snow-Queen go to? Do you know anything about it?” - -“She is no doubt gone to Lapland; for there are always snow and ice -there. Only ask the Reindeer, who is tethered here.” - -“Aye, ice and snow indeed! There it is glorious and beautiful!” said -the Reindeer. “One can spring about in the large, shining valleys! The -Snow-Queen has her summer-tent there; but her fixed abode is high up -towards the North Pole, on the island called Spitzbergen.” - -“O Kay! poor little Kay!” sighed Gerda. - -“Do you choose to be quiet?” said the robber-maiden. “If you don’t, I -shall make you.” - -In the morning Gerda told her all that the wood-pigeons had said; and -the little maiden looked very serious, but she nodded her head, and -said, “That’s no matter--that’s no matter. Do you know where Lapland -lies?” asked she of the Reindeer. - -“Who should know better than I?” said the animal; and his eyes rolled -in his head. “I was born and bred there; there I leapt about on the -fields of snow.” - -“Listen,” said the robber-maiden to Gerda. “You see that the men are -gone; but my mother is still here, and will remain. As soon as she -sleeps a little I will do something for you.” She now jumped out -of bed, flew to her mother; and with her arms round her neck said, -“Good-morning, you old stupid! good-morning.” And her mother in return -took hold of her nose, and pinched it till it was red and blue,--and -all this was out of pure love. - -When the mother had taken a sup, and was having a nap, the little -robber-maiden went to the Reindeer, and said, “I should very much like -to give you still many a tickling with a sharp knife, for then you are -so amusing; however, I will untether you, and help you out, so that you -may get back to Lapland. But you must make good use of your legs; and -take this little girl for me to the palace of the Snow-Queen, where her -playfellow is. You have heard, I suppose, all she said; for she spoke -loud enough, and you were listening.” - -The Reindeer gave a bound for joy. The robber-maiden lifted up little -Gerda, and took the precaution to bind her fast on the Reindeer’s back; -she even gave her a small cushion to sit on. “Here are your worsted -leggins, for it will be cold; but the muff I shall keep for myself, for -it is so very pretty. But I do not wish you to be cold. Here is a pair -of lined gloves belonging to my mother; they will just reach up to your -elbow.” - -And Gerda wept for joy. - -“I can’t bear to see you fretting,” said the little robber-maiden. -“This is just the time when you ought to look pleased. Here are two -loaves and a ham for you, so now you won’t starve.” The bread and the -meat were fastened to the Reindeer’s back; the little maiden opened the -door, called in all the dogs, and then with her knife cut the rope that -fastened the animal, and said to him, “Now off with you; but take good -care of the little girl!” - -And Gerda stretched out her hands with the large, wadded gloves toward -the robber-maiden, and said, “Farewell!” and the Reindeer flew on over -bush and bramble, through the great wood, over moor and heath, as fast -as he could go. - - -SIXTH STORY - -_The Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman_ - -Suddenly they stopped before a little house which looked very -miserable: the roof reached to the ground; and the door was so low, -that the family was obliged to creep on all fours when they went in or -out. Nobody was at home except an old Lapland woman, who was dressing -fish by the light of an oil lamp. And the Reindeer told her the whole -of Gerda’s history, but first of all, his own; for that seemed to him -of much greater importance. Gerda was so chilled that she could not -speak. - -“Poor thing,” said the Lapland woman, “you have far to run still. You -have more than a hundred miles to go before you get to Finland; there -the Snow-Queen has her country-house, and burns blue lights every -evening. I will give you a few words from me, which I will write on a -dried fish, for paper I have none. This you can take with you to the -Finland woman, and she will be able to give you more information than I -can.” - -When Gerda had warmed herself, and had eaten and drunk, the Lapland -woman wrote a few words on a dried fish, begged Gerda to take care of -them, put her on the Reindeer, bound her fast, and away sprang the -animal. The most charming blue lights burned the whole night in the -sky, and at last they came to Finland. They knocked at the chimney of -the Finland woman; for as to a door, she had none. - -There was such a heat inside that the Finland woman herself went about -almost naked. She was diminutive and dirty. She immediately loosened -little Gerda’s clothes, pulled off her thick gloves and boots; for -otherwise the heat would have been too great; and after laying a piece -of ice on the Reindeer’s head, read what was written on the fishskin. -She read it three times; she then knew it by heart; so she put the fish -into the cupboard--for it might very well be eaten, and she never threw -anything away. - -Then the Reindeer related his own story first, and afterwards that of -little Gerda; and the Finland woman winked her eyes, but said nothing. - -“You are so clever,” said the Reindeer: “you can, I know, twist all -the winds of the world together in a knot. If the seaman loosens one -knot, then he has a good wind; if a second, then it blows pretty -stiffly; if he undoes the third and fourth, then it rages so that the -forests are upturned. Will you give the little maiden a potion, that -she may possess the strength of twelve men, and be able to conquer the -Snow-Queen?” - -“The strength of twelve men!” said the Finland woman; “much good that -would be!” Then she went to a cupboard, and drew out a large skin -rolled up. When she had unrolled it, strange characters were to be -seen written thereon; and the Finland woman read at such a rate, that -the perspiration trickled down her forehead. But the Reindeer begged -so hard for little Gerda, and Gerda looked so imploringly with tearful -eyes at the Finland woman, that she winked and drew the Reindeer aside -into a corner, where they whispered together, while the animal got some -fresh ice put on his head. - -“’Tis true little Kay is at the Snow-Queen’s and finds everything there -quite to his taste; and he thinks it the very best place in the world: -but the reason of that is, he has a splinter of glass in his eye and in -his heart. These must be gotten out first; otherwise he will never go -back to mankind, and the Snow-Queen will always retain her power over -him.” - -“But you can give little Gerda nothing to take which will endue her -with power over the whole?” - -“I can give her no more power than what she has already. Don’t you -see how great it is? Don’t you see how men and animals are forced to -serve her; how well she gets through the world barefooted? She must not -hear of her power from us: that power lies in her heart, because she -is a sweet and innocent child! If she cannot get to the Snow-Queen by -herself, and rid little Kay of the glass, we cannot help her. Two miles -hence the garden of the Snow-Queen begins; thither you may carry the -little girl. Set her down by the large bush with red berries, standing -in the snow; don’t stay talking, but hasten back as fast as possible.” -And now the Finland woman placed little Gerda on the Reindeer’s back, -and off he ran with all imaginable speed. - -“Oh! I have not got my boots! I have not brought my gloves!” cried -little Gerda. She remarked she was without them from the cutting frost; -but the Reindeer dared not stand still; on he ran till he came to the -great bush with the red berries; and there he set Gerda down, kissed -her mouth, while large, bright tears flowed from the animal’s eyes, -and then back he went as fast as possible. There stood poor Gerda now, -without shoes or gloves, in the very middle of dreadful, icy Finland. - -She ran on as fast as she could. There then came a whole regiment of -snowflakes, but they did not fall from above, and they were quite -bright and shining from the Aurora Borealis. The flakes ran along the -ground, and the nearer they came the larger they grew. Gerda well -remembered how large and strange the snowflakes appeared when she -once saw them through a magnifying-glass; but now they were large and -terrific in another manner--they were all alive. They were the outposts -of the Snow-Queen. They had the most wondrous shapes; some looked like -large, ugly porcupines; others like snakes knotted together, with -their heads sticking out; and others, again, like small, fat bears, -with the hair standing on end: all were of dazzling whiteness--all were -living snowflakes. - -The cold was so intense that little Gerda could see her own breath, -which came like smoke out of her mouth. It grew thicker and thicker, -and took the form of little angels, that grew more and more when they -touched the earth. All had helmets on their heads, and carried lances -and shields in their hands. They increased in numbers; and soon Gerda -was surrounded by a host of them. They pierced the frightful snowflakes -with their spears, so that they flew into a thousand pieces; and little -Gerda walked on bravely and in security. The angels patted her hands -and feet; and then she felt the cold less, and went on quickly towards -the palace of the Snow-Queen. - -But now we shall see how Kay fared. He never thought of Gerda, and -least of all that she was standing before the palace. - - -SEVENTH STORY - -_What Took Place in the Palace of the Snow-Queen, and What Happened -Afterward_ - -The walls of the palace were of driving snow, and the windows and doors -of cutting winds. There were more than a hundred halls there, according -as the snow was driven by the winds. The largest was many miles in -extent; all were lighted up by the powerful Aurora Borealis, and all -were large, empty, icy cold, and resplendent! Mirth never reigned -there; there was never even a little ball for the bears, with the storm -of music, while the polar bears went on their hind-legs and showed off -their steps. Never a little tea-party of white young lady foxes; vast, -cold, and empty were the halls of the Snow-Queen. The northern lights -shone with such precision that one could tell exactly when they were -at their highest or lowest degree of brightness. In the middle of the -empty, endless hall of snow was a frozen lake; it was cracked in a -thousand pieces, but each piece was so like the other, that it seemed -the work of a cunning artificer. In the middle of this lake sat the -Snow-Queen when she was at home. But just now she had gone away in a -far distant land. - -Little Kay was quite blue, yes, nearly black, with cold; but he did not -observe it, for she had kissed away all feeling of cold from his body, -and his heart was a lump of ice. He was dragging along some pointed, -flat pieces of ice, which he laid together in all possible ways, for -he wanted to make something with them; just as we have little flat -pieces of wood to make geometrical figures with, called the Chinese -Puzzle. Kay made all sorts of figures, the most complicated, for it -was an ice-puzzle for the understanding. In his eyes the figures were -extraordinarily beautiful, and of the utmost importance; for the bit of -glass which was in his eye caused this. He found whole figures which -represented a written word; but he never could manage to represent just -the word he wanted--that word was “Eternity”; and the Snow-Queen had -said, “If you can discover that figure, you shall be your own master, -and I will make you a present of the whole world and a pair of new -skates.” But he could not find it out. - -“I am going now to the warm lands,” said the Snow-Queen. “I must have -a look down into the black cauldrons.” It was the volcanoes Vesuvius -and Etna that she meant. “I will just give them a coating of white, for -that is as it ought to be; besides, it is good for the oranges and the -grapes.” And then away she flew, and Kay sat quite alone in the empty -halls of ice that were miles long, and looked at the blocks of ice. -There he sat quite benumbed and motionless; one would have imagined he -was frozen to death. - -Suddenly little Gerda stepped through the great portal into the palace. -The gate was formed of cutting winds; but Gerda repeated her evening -prayer, and the winds were laid as though they slept; and the little -maiden entered the vast, empty, cold halls. There she beheld Kay: she -recognized him, flew to embrace him, and cried out, her arms firmly -holding him the while, “Kay, sweet little Kay! Have I then found you at -last!” - -But he sat quite still, benumbed and cold. Then little Gerda shed -burning tears; and they fell on his bosom, they penetrated to his -heart, they thawed the lumps of ice, and consumed the splinters of the -looking-glass; he looked at her, and she sang the hymn:-- - - “The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet, - The Christ-child is there the children to greet.” - -Hereupon Kay burst into tears; he wept so much that the splinter rolled -out of his eye, and he recognized her, and shouted, “Gerda, sweet -little Gerda! where have you been so long? And where have I been?” He -looked round him, “How cold it is here!” said he: “how empty and cold!” -And he held fast by Gerda, who laughed and wept for joy. It was so -beautiful, that even the blocks of ice danced about for joy; and when -they were tired and laid themselves down, they formed exactly the -letters which the Snow-Queen had told him to find out; so now he was -his own master, and he would have the whole world and a pair of new -skates into the bargain. - -Gerda kissed his cheeks, and they grew quite blooming; she kissed his -eyes, and they shone like her own; she kissed his hands and feet, and -he was again well and merry. The Snow-Queen might come back as soon as -she liked; there stood his discharge written in resplendent masses of -ice. - -They took each other by the hands, and wandered forth out of the large -hall; they talked of their old grandmother, and of the roses upon the -roof; and wherever they went, the winds ceased raging, and the sun -burst forth. And when they reached the bush with the red berries, -they found the Reindeer waiting for them. He had brought another, a -young one, with him, whose udder was filled with milk, which he gave -to the little ones, and kissed their lips. They then carried Kay and -Gerda,--first to the Finland woman, where they warmed themselves in -the warm room, and learned what they were to do on their journey home; -and then they went to the Lapland woman, who made some new clothes for -them and repaired their sledges. - -The Reindeer and the young hind leaped along beside them, and -accompanied them to the boundary of the country. Here the first -vegetation peeped forth; here Kay and Gerda took leave of the Lapland -woman. “Farewell! farewell!” said they all. And the first green buds -appeared, the first little birds began to twitter; and out of the wood -came, riding on a magnificent horse which Gerda knew (it was one of the -leaders in the golden carriage), a young damsel with a bright red cap -on her head, and armed with pistols. It was the little robber-maiden, -who, tired of being at home, had determined to make a journey to the -north; and afterwards in another direction, if that did not please her. -She recognized Gerda immediately, and Gerda knew her, too. It was a -joyful meeting. - -“You are a fine fellow for tramping about,” said she to little Kay; “I -should like to know whether you deserve that one should run from one -end of the world to the other for your sake!” - -But Gerda patted her cheeks, and inquired for the Prince and Princess. - -“They are gone abroad,” said the other. - -“But the Raven?” asked little Gerda. - -“Oh! the Raven is dead,” answered she. “His tame sweetheart is a widow, -and wears a bit of black worsted round her leg; she laments most -piteously, but it’s all mere talk and stuff! Now tell me what you’ve -been doing, and how you managed to catch him.” - -And Gerda and Kay both told her their story. - -And “Snip, snap, snorum!” said the robber-maiden; and she took the -hands of each, and promised that if she should some day pass through -the town where they lived, she would come and visit them; and then away -she rode. Kay and Gerda took each other’s hand: it was lovely spring -weather, with abundance of flowers and of verdure. The church-bells -rang, and the children recognized the high towers, and the large town; -it was that in which they dwelt. They entered, and hastened up to -their grandmother’s room, where everything was standing as formerly. -The clock said, “Tick! tock!” and the finger moved round; but as they -entered, they remarked that they were now grown up. The roses on the -roof hung blooming in at the open window; there stood the little -children’s chairs, and Kay and Gerda sat down on them, holding each -other by the hand; they both had forgotten the cold, empty splendour of -the Snow-Queen, as though it had been a dream. The grandmother sat in -the bright sunshine, and read aloud from the Bible: “Unless ye become -as little children, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” - -And Kay and Gerda looked in each other’s eyes, and all at once they -understood the old hymn:-- - - “The rose in the valley is blooming so sweet, - The Christ-child is there the children to greet.” - -There sat the two grown-up persons; grown up, and yet children; -children at least in heart: and it was summer-time; summer, glorious -summer! - - - - -A MERRY TALE OF THE KING AND THE COBBLER - - -It was the custom of King Henry the Eighth to disguise himself and -walk late in the night into the city of London, to observe how the -constables, and watchmen performed their duty, not only in guarding -the city gates, but also, in diligently watching the inner part of -the city, to observe what went on in the streets. This he did oftimes -returning home to Whitehall early in the morning without its being -discovered who he was. Now, on returning home through the Strand he -often took notice of a certain cobbler who was always up at work, -whistling and singing every morning. So, resolving to see him, the -king knocked off the heel of his shoe, by hitting it against a stone. -Having so done he bounced against the stall. - -“Who is there?” cried the cobbler opening his stall door. The king -asked him if he could fit on his heel. - -“Yes, that I can,” said the cobbler. “So sit thee down and I will do it -for thee straightway.” - -The cobbler laid aside his awls and old shoes to make room for the king -to sit by him. The king was hardly able to keep from laughing at the -cobbler’s manner. He then asked him, “Is there not a house near where I -can get a cup of good ale, and the people up?” - -“Yes,” said the cobbler, “there is an inn over the way, where I think -the folks are up, for carriers go from there very early every morning.” - -With that the king borrowed an old shoe of the cobbler and went with -him over to the inn, desiring him to bring his shoe over there, as soon -as he had mended it. The cobbler promised that he would; so making as -much haste as he could, he carried it over to the king saying, “Honest -blade, here is thy shoe. I’ll warrant thee, the heel will not come off -again in haste.” - -“Well,” said the king, “as thou art an honest, merry fellow, here is -sixpence for thee. Come, sit down by me and I will drink with thee. -Here’s a good health to the king!” - -“With all my heart,” said the cobbler. “I will pledge thee that were it -only in water.” - -So the cobbler sat down by the king and was very merry. He sang some of -his merry songs and catches at which the king laughed heartily, and was -very pleasant with the cobbler, telling him, withal, that his name was -Harry Tudor and that he belonged to the court and that if the cobbler -would come to see him there, he would make him very welcome because he -was such a merry companion. He charged him to come and not forget his -name, and to ask anyone about the court for him. “For,” said the king, -“I am well known there. They will bring you to me.” - -Now the cobbler little dreamed that it was the king that spoke to him, -much less that the king’s name was Harry Tudor. Therefore, with a -great deal of confidence, he stood up, and pulled off his hat and gave -the king many thanks, telling him that he was one of the most honest -fellows he had ever met in all his life, and that, though he had never -been at court, it would not be long before he would make a holiday and -come to see him. Whereupon the king, having discharged the reckoning -for what he had had, would have taken leave, but the cobbler, taking -the king by the hand said, “By my faith! thou shalt not go yet; thou -shalt first go and see my poor habitation, for thou art the most honest -blade I ever met, and I love an honest, merry companion with all my -heart.” - -So the cobbler took the king with him, over the way, where he had a -cellar adjoining his stall; which was handsomely furnished for a man of -his calling. Into the cellar he led the king. - -“There,” said he, “sit thee down, thou art welcome; but I must desire -thee to speak softly for fear of waking my wife, Joan, who is in her -bed nearby, for, if she should wake, she would certainly make our ears -ring.” - -At this speech of the cobbler’s the king laughed, and told him he would -be mindful to follow his directions. - -So the cobbler kindled a fire and fetched a brown loaf, from which -he cut a large slice of bread. This he set before the fire. Then he -brought forth a Cheshire cheese. - -“Come,” said he, “wilt thou eat some cheese? There’s as much good -fellowship in eating, as in drinking.” This made the king admire the -freedom of the cobbler. Having eaten a piece, the cobbler began, -“Here’s a health to all true hearts and merry companions,” at which the -king smilingly said, “I’ll pledge thee, old friend, I’ll pledge thee.” - -In this manner they ate and drank together, until almost break of day. -The cobbler became very free with the king, pleasing the king with -several of his old stories. - -But suddenly, the cobbler’s old wife, Joan, began to show signs of -waking. - -“In faith,” said the cobbler, “you must be gone now, for my wife, -Joan, begins to grumble. She will wake presently and I would not, for -all the shoes in my shop, that she should find thee here.” - -So taking the king upstairs he said, “Farewell, honest blade, it shall -not be long before I make a holiday and come to see thee at court.” - -The king replied, “Thou shalt be kindly welcome.” - -So they parted, the king going on his way to Whitehall, and the cobbler -back to his cellar where he put all things to rights before his wife, -Joan, appeared. He went to work again whistling and singing as merry -as he used to do, much satisfied that he had happened on such a good -companion, and very much delighted at thinking of the merry time he -would have when he went to court. - -As soon as the king reached home, he gave orders to all about the court -that if anyone inquired for him by the name of Harry Tudor, the person -should be brought before him, without further examination. - -To the cobbler every day seemed a month until he had been at court to -see his new acquaintance. But he was much troubled how he should get -leave of his wife, Joan. He could not go without her knowledge for he -had resolved to make himself as fine as ever he could and his wife, -Joan, always kept his holiday clothes. One evening as they sat at -supper, she being in good humour, he began to lay open his mind to her -and tell her the whole story of the acquaintance, repeating over and -over again that Harry Tudor was the most honest man he had ever met. - -“Husband,” said Joan, “because you have been so generous as to tell me -the truth, I shall give you leave to take a holiday. You shall go to -court and I will make you as fine as possible.” - -So it was agreed that he might go the next day. - -Joan arose the next morning to brush her husband’s clothes and to make -him look as snug as could be. She washed and ironed his lace band, and -made his shoes shine, till he could see his face in them. When this -was done she made her husband arise and dressed him carefully in his -best clothes. - -The cobbler being thus equipped in his best strutted through the -streets, like a crow, thinking himself very fine indeed. In this manner -he came to court, staring at this person and that, as he walked up and -down, and not knowing anyone to ask for but Harry Tudor. At last he -spied one as he thought in the dress of a serving man. To him he made -his address, saying, “Dost thou hear, honest fellow, dost thou know one -Harry Tudor who belongs to the court?” - -“Yes,” said the man, “follow me; and I will take you to him.” - -With that he took him presently into the guard-chamber, telling one of -the yeomen of the guard that here was a man who was inquiring for Harry -Tudor. - -The yeoman replied, “I know him very well, and if you please to go -along with me, I will bring you to him immediately.” - -So the cobbler followed the yeoman much admiring the finery of the -rooms through which he passed and thinking within himself that the -yeoman was not very unlike the person he inquired after. “He, whom I -look for,” said he, “is a plain, merry, honest fellow. His name is -Harry Tudor. I suppose he may be some fine lord or other about the -court.” - -“I tell you, friend,” replied the yeoman, “I do not know him very well. -Do but follow me and I will bring you to him straightway.” - -So they went on and soon reached the room where the king sat surrounded -by many of his nobles. As soon as the yeoman had drawn aside the -curtains he called out saying, “May it please your majesty, here is one -that inquires for Harry Tudor.” - -The cobbler hearing this and thinking he had committed no less -than treason took to his heels and ran for his life. But not being -acquainted with the several turnings and rooms through which he had -come, he was soon overtaken and brought before the king, whom the -cobbler little thought to be the person he was inquiring for. He -therefore, fell on his knees saying, “May it please your Grace, I am -a poor cobbler and inquired for one called Harry Tudor, who is a very -honest fellow. I mended the heel of his shoe not long ago, for which -he paid me nobly. I had him afterwards to my own cellar, where we were -very merry, till my wife, Joan, began to wake, which put an end to our -merriment, for that time. But I told him that I surely would come to -court to see him, as soon as I conveniently could.” - -“Well,” said the king, “rise up and be not afraid! Look well about you. -Perhaps you may find the fellow in this company.” - -The cobbler arose and looked wistfully upon the king and his nobles, -but to no purpose; for, although he thought he saw something in the -king’s face which he had seen before, yet, he could not imagine him to -be Harry Tudor, the heel of whose shoe he had mended, and who had been -so merry with him, both at the inn and in his own cellar. - -He therefore told the king he did not expect to find Harry Tudor among -such fine folks as he saw there, but the person that he looked for was -a plain, honest, true-hearted fellow, adding withal, that he was sure -if Harry Tudor did but know that he had come to court he would make him -welcome. - -At this speech of the cobbler, the king had much to do to forbear -laughing; but keeping his countenance as well as he could, he said to -the yeoman of the guard, “Here, take this honest cobbler down into -the cellar and I will give orders that Harry Tudor shall come to him -presently.” - -So away went the cobbler ready to leap out of his skin for joy, not -only that he had gotten off so well in his meeting with the king, but -also that he should soon see his friend, Harry Tudor, again. - -The cobbler had not been long in the cellar before the king came into -him, in the same clothes he had on when the cobbler mended his shoe. -The cobbler knew him immediately and ran to him and kissed him, saying, -“Honest Harry, I have made a holiday on purpose to come and see you, -but I had much to do to get leave of my wife, Joan, who was loathe I -should lose so much time from my work, but I was resolved to see you. -So I made myself as fine as I could. But I’ll tell you, Harry, when I -came to court, I was in a pack of trouble how to find you out. At last -I met a man who told me he knew you very well, and that he would bring -me to you. But instead of doing so he brought me before the king, who -has almost frightened me to death. But in good faith,” continued the -cobbler, “I am resolved to be merry with you, since I have the good -fortune to find you at last.” - -“Ay, so you shall,” replied the king, “we will be as merry as princes.” - -With that they drank together the king’s health. - -“Honest Harry, I will pledge thee with all my heart.” - -Now after the cobbler had made merry, he began to sing some of his old -songs and catches. This pleased the king very much and made him laugh -most heartily. All of a sudden a group of nobles came into the cellar -richly dressed. They stood with heads uncovered bowing before Harry -Tudor. This amazed the cobbler very much but recovering himself he -looked more closely upon Harry Tudor and presently he knew him to be -the king whom he had seen in the Presence Chamber. - -He immediately fell upon his knees, saying, “May it please your -Majesty, I am an honest cobbler and meant no harm.” - -“No, no,” said the king, “nor shall receive any here, I promise you.” - -He commanded the cobbler, therefore, to rise and be as merry as he -was before; and though he knew him to be the king yet he should use -the same freedom with him as he did when he mended his shoe. This -kind speech of the king’s put the cobbler in as good humour as he was -before. He told the king many of his best stories and he sang more of -his jolly songs, very much to the satisfaction of the king and his -nobles. - -Now the king, considering the pleasant humours of the cobbler, how -innocently merry he was, and free from any design, and how he laboured -very hard, and took a great deal of pains for a small livelihood, was -pleased, out of his princely grace and favour to allot him a liberal -annuity of forty marks a year for the better support of his jolly -humours and the maintenance of himself and his wife Joan. The king -ordered that he should be admitted as one of the courtiers. - -This was so much beyond his highest expectations that it pleased him -greatly, much to the satisfaction of the king. - -So after some bows and scrapes, he returned to his wife, Joan, with the -joyful news of his kind reception at court. - - From GAMMER GURTON’S HISTORIE. - - - - -THE STORY OF MERRYMIND - -FRANCES BROWNE - - -Once upon a time there lived in the north country a certain poor man -and his wife, who had two corn-fields, three cows, five sheep, and -thirteen children. Twelve of these children were called by names common -in the north country--Hardhead, Stiffneck, Tightfingers, and the like; -but when the thirteenth came to be named, either the poor man and his -wife could remember no other name, or something in the child’s look -made them think it proper, for they called him Merrymind, which the -neighbours thought a strange name, and very much above their station; -however, as they showed no other signs of pride, the neighbours let -that pass. Their thirteen children grew taller and stronger every year, -and they had hard work to keep them in bread; but when the youngest -was old enough to look after his father’s sheep, there happened the -great fair, to which everybody in the north country went, because it -came only once in seven years. It was held on midsummer-day, not in any -town or village, but on a green plain, lying between a broad river and -a high hill, where it was said the fairies used to dance in old and -merry times. - -Merchants and dealers of all sorts crowded to that fair from far and -near. There was nothing known in the north country that could not be -bought or sold in it, and neither old nor young were willing to go -home without a fairing. The poor man who owned this large family could -afford them little to spend in such ways; but as the fair happened -only once in seven years, he would not show a poor spirit. Therefore, -calling them about him, he opened the leathern bag in which his savings -were stored, and gave every one of the thirteen a silver penny. - -The boys and girls had never before owned so much pocket-money; and, -wondering what they should buy, they dressed themselves in their -holiday clothes, and set out with their father and mother to the fair. -When they came near the ground that midsummer morning, the stalls, -heaped up with all manner of merchandise, from gingerbread upwards, the -tents for fun and feasting, the puppet-shows, the rope-dancers, and the -crowd of neighbours and strangers, all in their best attire, made those -simple people think their north country fair the finest sight in the -world. The day wore away in seeing wonders, and in chatting with old -friends. It was surprising how far silver pennies went in those days; -but before evening twelve of the thirteen had got fairly rid of their -money. One bought a pair of brass buckles, another a crimson riband, -a third green garters; the father bought a tobacco-pipe, the mother -a horn snuffbox--in short, all had provided themselves with fairings -except Merrymind. - -The cause of the silver penny remaining in his pocket was that he had -set his heart upon a fiddle; and fiddles enough there were in the -fair--small and large, plain and painted: he looked at and priced -most of them, but there was not one that came within the compass of a -silver penny. His father and mother warned him to make haste with his -purchase, for they must all go home at sunset because the way was long. - -The sun was getting low and red upon the hill; the fair was growing -thin, for many dealers had packed up their stalls and departed; but -there was a mossy hollow in the great hillside, to which the outskirts -of the fair had reached, and Merrymind thought he would see what -might be there. The first thing was a stall of fiddles, kept by a -young merchant from a far country, who had many customers, his goods -being fine and new; but hard by sat a little gray-haired man, at whom -everybody had laughed that day, because he had nothing on his stall but -one old dingy fiddle, and all its strings were broken. Nevertheless, -the little man sat as stately, and cried, “Fiddles to sell!” as if he -had the best stall in the fair. - -“Buy a fiddle, my young master?” he said, as Merrymind came forward. -“You shall have it cheap: I ask but a silver penny for it; and if the -strings were mended, its like would not be in the north country.” - -Merrymind thought this a great bargain. He was a handy boy, and could -mend the strings while watching his father’s sheep. So down went the -silver penny on the little man’s stall, and up went the fiddle under -Merrymind’s arm. - -“Now, my young master,” said the little man, “you see that we merchants -have a deal to look after, and if you help me to bundle up my stall, I -will tell you a wonderful piece of news about that fiddle.” - -Merrymind was good-natured and fond of news, so he helped him to tie up -the loose boards and sticks that composed his stall with ah old rope, -and when they were hoisted on his back like a fagot, the little man -said: - -“About that fiddle, my young master: it is certain the strings -can never be mended, nor made new, except by threads from the -night-spinners, which, if you get, it will be a good pennyworth,” and -up the hill he ran like a greyhound. - -Merrymind thought that was queer news, but being given to hope the -best, he believed the little man was only jesting, and made haste to -join the rest of the family, who were soon on their way home. When they -got there everyone showed his bargain, and Merrymind showed his fiddle; -but his brothers and sisters laughed at him for buying such a thing -when he had never learned to play. His sisters asked him what music he -could bring out of broken strings; and his father said: - -“Thou hast shown little prudence in laying out thy first penny, from -which token I fear thou wilt never have many to lay out.” - -In short, everybody threw scorn on Merrymind’s bargain except his -mother. She, good woman, said if he laid out one penny ill, he might -lay out the next better; and who knew but his fiddle would be of use -some day? To make her words good, Merrymind fell to repairing the -strings--he spent all his time, both night and day, upon them; but, -true to the little man’s parting words, no mending would stand, and -no string would hold on that fiddle. Merrymind tried everything, and -wearied himself to no purpose. At last he thought of inquiring after -people who spun at night; and this seemed such a good joke to the north -country people that they wanted no other till the next fair. - -In the meantime, Merrymind lost credit at home and abroad. Everybody -believed in his father’s prophecy; his brothers and sisters valued -him no more than a herd-boy; the neighbours thought he must turn out -a scape-grace. Still the boy would not part with his fiddle. It was -his silver pennyworth, and he had a strong hope of mending the strings -for all that had come and gone; but since nobody at home cared for him -except his mother, and as she had twelve other children, he resolved to -leave the scorn behind him, and go to seek his fortune. - -The family were not very sorry to hear of that intention, being in a -manner ashamed of him; besides, they could spare one out of thirteen. -His father gave him a barley cake, and his mother her blessing. All his -brothers and sisters wished him well. Most of the neighbours hoped -that no harm would happen to him; and Merrymind set out one summer -morning with the broken-stringed fiddle under his arm. - -There were no highways then in the north country--people took whatever -path pleased them best; so Merrymind went over the fair ground and up -the hill, hoping to meet the little man, and learn something of the -night-spinners. The hill was covered with heather to the top, and he -went up without meeting anyone. On the other side it was steep and -rocky, and after a hard scramble down, he came to a narrow glen all -overgrown with wild furze and brambles. Merrymind had never met with -briars so sharp, but he was not the boy to turn back readily, and -pressed on in spite of torn clothes and scratched hands, till he came -to the end of the glen, where two paths met: one of them wound through -a pinewood, he knew not how far, but it seemed green and pleasant. The -other was a rough, stony way leading to a wide valley surrounded by -high hills, and overhung by a dull, thick mist, though it was yet early -in the summer evening. - -Merrymind was weary with his long journey, and stood thinking of what -path to choose, when, by the way of the valley, there came an old man -as tall and large as any three men of the north country. His white hair -and beard hung like tangled flax about him! his clothes were made of -sackcloth; and on his back he carried a heavy burden of dust heaped -high in a great pannier. - -“Listen to me, you lazy vagabond!” he said, coming near to Merrymind. -“If you take the way through the wood I know not what will happen to -you; but if you choose this path you must help me with my pannier, and -I can tell you it’s no trifle.” - -“Well, father,” said Merrymind, “you seem tired, and I am younger than -you, though not quite so tall; so, if you please, I will choose this -way, and help you along with the pannier.” - -Scarce had he spoken when the huge man caught hold of him, firmly bound -one side of the pannier to his shoulders with the same strong rope -that fastened it on his own back, and never ceased scolding and calling -him names as they marched over the stony ground together. It was a -rough way and a heavy burden, and Merrymind wished himself a thousand -times out of the old man’s company, but there was no getting off; and -at length, in hopes of beguiling the way, and putting him in better -humour, he began to sing an old rhyme which his mother had taught him. -By this time they had entered the valley, and the night had fallen very -dark and cold. The old man ceased scolding, and by a feeble glimmer of -the moonlight, which now began to shine, Merrymind saw that they were -close by a deserted cottage, for its doors stood open to the night -winds. Here the old man paused, and loosed the rope from his own and -Merrymind’s shoulders. - -“For seven times seven years,” he said, “have I carried this pannier, -and no one ever sang while helping me before. Night releases all men, -so I release you. Where will you sleep--by my kitchen-fire, or in that -cold cottage?” - -Merrymind thought he had got quite enough of the old man’s society, and -therefore answered: - -“The cottage, good father, if you please.” - -“A sound sleep to you, then!” said the old man, and he went off with -his pannier. - -Merrymind stepped into the deserted cottage. The moon was shining -through door and window, for the mist was gone, and the night looked -clear as day; but in all the valley he could hear no sound, nor was -there any trace of inhabitants in the cottage. The hearth looked as -if there had not been a fire there for years. A single article of -furniture was not to be seen; but Merrymind was sore weary, and, laying -himself down in a corner, with his fiddle close by, he fell fast asleep. - -The floor was hard, and his clothes were thin, but all through his -sleep there came a sweet sound of singing voices and spinning-wheels -and Merrymind thought he must have been dreaming when he opened his -eyes next morning on the bare and solitary house. The beautiful night -was gone, and the heavy mist had come back. There was no blue sky, -no bright sun to be seen. The light was cold and grey, like that of -mid-winter; but Merrymind ate the half of his barley cake, drank from a -stream hard by, and went out to see the valley. - -It was full of inhabitants, and they were all busy in houses, in -fields, in mills, and in forges. The men hammered and delved; the -women scrubbed and scoured; the very children were hard at work; but -Merrymind could hear neither talk nor laughter among them. Every face -looked careworn and cheerless, and every word was something about work -or gain. - -Merrymind thought this unreasonable, for everybody there appeared -rich. The women scrubbed in silk, the men delved in scarlet. Crimson -curtains, marble floors, and shelves of silver tankards were to be seen -in every house; but their owners took neither ease nor pleasure in -them, and everyone laboured as it were for life. - -The birds of that valley did not sing--they were too busy pecking -and building. The cats did not lie by the fire--they were all on the -watch for mice. The dogs went out after hares on their own account. The -cattle and sheep grazed as if they were never to get another mouthful; -and the herdsmen were all splitting wood or making baskets. - -In the midst of the valley there stood a stately castle, but instead -of park and gardens, brew-houses and washing-greens lay round it. The -gates stood open, and Merrymind ventured in. The courtyard was full -of coopers. They were churning in the banquet hall. They were making -cheese on the dais, and spinning and weaving in all its principal -chambers. In the highest tower of that busy castle, at a window from -which she could see the whole valley, there sat a noble lady. Her dress -was rich, but of a dingy drab colour. Her hair was iron-grey; her look -was sour and gloomy. Round her sat twelve maidens of the same aspect, -spinning on ancient distaffs, and the lady spun as hard as they, but -all the yarn they made was jet black. - -No one in or out of the castle would reply to Merrymind’s salutations, -nor answer him any questions. The rich men pulled out their purses, -saying, “Come and work for wages!” The poor men said, “We have no time -to talk!” and a child by a cottage-door said it must go to work. All -day Merrymind wandered about with his broken-stringed fiddle, and all -day he saw the great old man marching round and round the valley with -his heavy burden of dust. - -“It is the dreariest valley that ever I beheld!” he said to himself. -“And no place to mend my fiddle in; but one would not like to go away -without knowing what has come over the people, or if they have always -worked so hard and heavily.” - -By this time the night again came on: he knew it by the clearing mist -and the rising moon. The people began to hurry home in all directions. -Silence came over house and field; and near the deserted cottage -Merrymind met the old man. - -“Good father,” he said, “I pray you tell me what sport or pastime have -the people of this valley?” - -“Sport and pastime!” cried the old man, in great wrath. “Where did you -hear of the like? We work by day and sleep by night. There is no sport -in Dame Dreary’s land!” and, with a hearty scolding for his idleness -and levity, he left Merrymind to sleep once more in the cottage. - -That night the boy did not sleep so sound: though too drowsy to open -his eyes, he was sure there had been singing and spinning near him all -night; and, resolving to find out what this meant before he left the -valley, Merrymind ate the other half of his barley cake, drank again -from the stream, and went out to see the country. - -The same heavy mist shut out sun and sky; the same hard work went -forward wherever he turned his eyes; and the great old man with the -dust-pannier strode on his accustomed round. Merrymind could find no -one to answer a single question; rich and poor wanted him to work still -more earnestly than the day before; and fearing that some of them -might press him into service, he wandered away to the furthest end of -the valley. - -There there was no work, for the land lay bare and lonely, and was -bounded by grey crags, as high and steep as any castle-wall. There -was no passage or outlet but through a great iron gate secured with a -heavy padlock: close by it stood a white tent, and in the door a tall -soldier, with one arm, stood smoking a long pipe. He was the first idle -man Merrymind had seen in the valley, and his face looked to him like -that of a friend; so coming up with his best bow, the boy said: - -“Honourable master soldier, please to tell me what country is this, and -why do the people work so hard?” - -“Are you a stranger in this place, that you ask such questions?” -answered the soldier. - -“Yes,” said Merrymind, “I came but the evening before yesterday.” - -“Then I am sorry for you, for here you must remain. My orders are to -let everybody in and nobody out; and the giant with the dust-pannier -guards the other entrance night and day,” said the soldier. - -“That is bad news,” said Merrymind, “but since I am here, please to -tell me why were such laws made, and what is the story of this valley?” - -“Hold my pipe, and I will tell you,” said the soldier, “for nobody else -will take the time. This valley belongs to the lady of yonder castle, -whom, for seven times seven years, men have called Dame Dreary. She -had another name in her youth--they called her Lady Littlecare; and -then the valley was the fairest spot in all the north country. The sun -shone brightest there; the summers lingered longest. Fairies danced -on the hill-tops; singing-birds sat on all the trees. Strongarm, the -last of the giants, kept the pine-forest, and hewed yule logs out of -it, when he was not sleeping in the sun. Two fair maidens, clothed -in white, with silver wheels on their shoulders, came by night and -spun golden threads by the hearth of every cottage. The people wore -homespun, and drank out of horn; but they had merry times. There were -May-games, harvest-homes, and Christmas cheer among them. Shepherds -piped on the hillsides, reapers sang in the fields, and laughter came -with the red firelight out of every house in the evening. All that -was changed, nobody knows how, for the old folks who remembered it -are dead. Some say it was because of a magic ring which fell from the -lady’s finger; some, because of a spring in the castle-court which -went dry. However it was, the lady turned Dame Dreary. Hard work and -hard times overspread the valley. The mist came down; the fairies -departed; the giant Strongarm grew old, and took up a burden of dust; -and the night-spinners were seen no more in any man’s dwelling. They -say it will be so till Dame Dreary lays down her distaff, and dances; -but all the fiddlers of the north country have tried their merriest -tunes to no purpose. The king is a wise prince and a great warrior. He -has filled two treasure-houses, and conquered all his enemies; but he -cannot change the order of Dame Dreary’s land. I cannot tell you what -great rewards he offered to one who could do it; but when no good came -of his offers, the king feared that similar fashions might spread among -his people, and therefore made a law that whomsoever entered should not -leave it. His majesty took me captive in war, and placed me here to -keep the gate, and save his subjects trouble. If I had not brought my -pipe with me, I should have been working as hard as any of them by this -time, with my one arm. Young master, if you take my advice you will -learn to smoke.” - -“If my fiddle were mended it would be better,” said Merrymind; and he -sat talking with the soldier till the mist began to clear and the moon -to rise, and then he went home to sleep in the deserted cottage. - -It was late when he came near it, and the moonlight looked lovely -beside the misty day. Merrymind thought it was a good time for trying -to get out of the valley. There was no foot abroad, and no appearance -of the giant; but as Merrymind drew near to where the two paths -met, there was he fast asleep beside a fire of pinecones, with his -pannier at his head, and a heap of stones close by him. “Is that your -kitchen-fire?” thought the boy to himself, and he tried to steal past; -but Strongarm started up, pursued him with stones, and called him bad -names halfway back to the cottage. - -Merrymind was glad to run the whole way for fear of him. The door was -still open, and the moon was shining in; but by the lifeless hearth -there sat two fair maidens, all in white, spinning on silver wheels, -and singing together a blithe and pleasant tune like the larks on -May-morning. Merrymind could have listened all night, but suddenly he -bethought him that these must be the night-spinners, whose threads -would mend his fiddle; so, stepping with reverence and good courage, he -said: - -“Honourable ladies, I pray you give a poor boy a thread to mend his -fiddle-strings.” - -“For seven times seven years,” said the fair maidens, “have we spun by -night in this deserted cottage, and no mortal has seen or spoken to us. -Go and gather sticks through all the valley to make a fire for us on -this cold hearth, and each of us will give you a thread for your pains.” - -Merrymind took his broken fiddle with him, and went through all the -valley gathering sticks by the moonlight; but so careful were the -people of Dame Dreary’s land, that scarce a stick could be found, and -the moon was gone and the misty day had come before he was able to come -back with a small fagot. The cottage-door was still open; the fair -maidens and their silver wheels were gone; but on the floor where they -sat lay two long threads of gold. - -Merrymind first heaped up his fagot on the hearth, to be ready against -their coming at night, and next took up the golden threads to mend his -fiddle. Then he learned the truth of the little man’s saying at the -fair, for no sooner were the strings fastened with those golden threads -than they became firm. The old dingy fiddle, too, began to shine and -glisten, and at length it was golden also. This sight made Merrymind -so joyful that, unlearned as he was in music, the boy tried to play. -Scarce had his bow touched the strings when they began to play of -themselves the same blithe and pleasant tune which the night-spinners -sang together. - -“Some of the workers will stop for the sake of this tune,” said -Merrymind, and he went out along the valley with his fiddle. The music -filled the air; the busy people heard it; and never was such a day -seen in Dame Dreary’s land. The men paused in their delving, the women -stopped their scrubbing; the little children dropped their work; and -everyone stood still in their places while Merrymind and his fiddle -passed on. When he came to the castle, the coopers cast down their -tools in the court; the churning and cheese-making ceased in the -banquet hall; the looms and spinning-wheels stopped in the principal -chambers; and Dame Dreary’s distaff stood still in her hand. - -Merrymind played through the halls and up the tower-stairs. As he -came near, the dame cast down her distaff, and danced with all her -might. All her maidens did the like; and as they danced she grew young -again--the sourness passed from her looks, and the greyness from her -hair. They brought her the dress of white and cherry colour she used -to wear in her youth, and she was no longer Dame Dreary, but the Lady -Littlecare, with golden hair, and laughing eyes, and cheeks like summer -roses. - -Then a sound of merrymaking came up from the whole valley. The heavy -mist rolled away from the hills; the sun shone out; the blue sky was -seen; a clear spring gushed up in the castle-court; a white falcon came -from the east with a golden ring, and put it on the lady’s finger. -After that Strongarm broke the rope, tossed the pannier of dust from -his shoulder, and lay down to sleep in the sun. That night the fairies -danced on the hill-tops; and the night-spinners, with their silver -wheels, were seen by every hearth, and no more in the deserted cottage. -Everybody praised Merrymind and his fiddle; and when news of his -wonderful playing came to the king’s ears, he commanded the iron gate -to be taken away; he made the captive soldier a freeman; and promoted -Merrymind to be his first fiddler, which under that wise monarch was -the highest post in his kingdom. - -As soon as Merrymind’s family and neighbours heard of the high -preferment his fiddle had gained for him, they thought music must be -a good thing, and man, woman, and child took to fiddling. It is said -that none of them ever learned to play a single tune except Merrymind’s -mother, on whom her son bestowed great presents. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Page number errors in the Table of Contents have been corrected. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GARNET STORY BOOK *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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