{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56322/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56322","id":"gutenberg_56322","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56322","summary":null,"tags":["Adventure stories","Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales","Mary Frances (Fictitious character) -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"----------------------------------------\n This ebook is dedicated to\n EMMY\n friend, colleague, mentor, role model,\n who fell off the planet far too soon.\n ----------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: _For all boys and girls who love stories.\nJane Eayre Fryer_]\n\n\n\n\n_Books by Jane Eayre Fryer_\n\n THE MARY FRANCES COOK BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Kitchen People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES SEWING BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Thimble People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES HOUSEKEEPER\n _Or, Adventures Among the Doll People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES GARDEN BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Garden People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES KNITTING AND CROCHETING BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Knitting People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES FIRST AID BOOK\n PRICE $1.25 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Story People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE MARY FRANCES BIBLE STORY BOOK\n _Or, Adventures Among the Bible People_\n PRICE $2.00 NET\n\n THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY\n _PUBLISHERS_ 1006-1016 ARCH STREET, PHILADELPHIA\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THEY COULD SEE THAT THE PIRATE\u2019S SHIP WAS KEEPING\nTHE DISTANCE THE SAME AS AT FIRST BETWEEN THEM]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK\n\n OR\n\n ADVENTURES AMONG THE STORY PEOPLE\n\n _by_\n JANE EAYRE FRYER\n\n ILLUSTRATED BY\n EDWIN JOHN PRITTIE\n\n THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY\n PHILADELPHIA, PA.\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY\n THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY\n _Entered at Stationers\u2019 Hall, London_\n\n ALL RIGHTS RESERVED\n\n MADE IN THE\n U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nTHE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK is different from the other Mary Frances\nBooks. They are part lessons and part story; they teach something\nabout cooking and sewing, knitting and crocheting, housekeeping and\ngardening, and first-aid--and tell a story, too; but THE MARY FRANCES\nSTORY BOOK is all story.\n\nOn a summer afternoon Mary Frances took a holiday and sailed away\nacross the blue water to an island--an island formed by the top of a\ncoral mountain resting in a sea of blue; oh, so blue--a brighter blue\nthan the water in your mother\u2019s bluing tub--not the blue that makes you\nfeel sad and blue, but the blue that makes you laugh with happiness.\nThe island itself and the roofs of the houses were coral white, and\nthe green was the green of the palm and banana and mahogany tree. The\nbreezes that blew over them were the warm, soft breezes of the southern\nsun. This island was the \u201cenchanted island\u201d of the good story-tellers\nwhich Mary Frances was allowed to visit. The story people who lived\nthere believed in truth and beauty, and courage and kindness, and these\nwere the theme of their stories. Like all good islands, this island\nhad enemies, but they came to a bad end, as, in the long run, all evil\npersons will; and truth and beauty, and courage and kindness won the\nday, as they always must in every land where the searchlight of the sun\nflashes its beams.\n\nAs may be imagined, when Mary Frances came home she had not only one,\nbut many stories to tell; and they are written in this book.\n\n J. E. F.\n MERCHANTVILLE, N. J.\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\n\nFor kind permission to use copyrighted and other material, the author\nis indebted to the following: Milton Bradley Company, for \u201cThe\nClosing Door\u201d, from _Mother Stories_, by Maud Lindsay; Little, Brown\n& Company, for \u201cTom Goes Down the Well\u201d, from _Mice at Play_, by Neil\nForest; Presbyterian Board of Publication, for \u201cGloomy Gus and the\nChristmas Cat\u201d, by Alfred Westfall, and \u201cAnn Catches a Thief\u201d, by Daisy\nGilbert; McLoughlin Brothers, for \u201cPatty and Her Pitcher\u201d; The Beacon\nPress, for \u201cThe Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Jackal\u201d, from _First Book\nof Religion_; Cassel & Company, for \u201cMusic Bewitched\u201d, by Hartley\nRichards; American Baptist Publication Society, for \u201cJohn and Margaret\nPaton Among Savages\u201d, by Grace E. Craig; Bobbs-Merrill Company, for\n\u201cYour Flag and My Flag\u201d, from _The Trail to Boyland_, by Wilbur D.\nNesbit, copyright 1904. Acknowledgment is also due to Cassell, Petter,\nGalpin & Company, for \u201cThe Bubble Story\u201d, \u201cMischievous Anna and Peter\u201d,\nand \u201cThe Cat and the Carrots\u201d.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nTHE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND\n\n CHAPTER PAGE\n\n I. ON THE SHORE 15\n\n II. THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA 18\n\n III. THE PIRATE\u2019S CAT 23\n\n IV. THE STORY OF THE LOST STORY 26\n\n V. LAND AHOY 29\n\n VI. THE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN CURTAIN 35\n\n VII. FINDING THE LOST STORY 37\n\n VIII. THE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD FERRY 42\n\n IX. THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE\n OLD WITCH 44\n\n X. THE BUBBLE STORY _Anon._ 47\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE FIRST DAY\n\n XI. MISCHIEVOUS ANNA AND PETER _Anon._ 55\n\n XII. DIAMONDS AND TOADS _Mac\u00e9\u2019s Fairy Tales_ 61\n\n XIII. THE MAGIC NECKLACE _Mac\u00e9\u2019s Fairy Tales_ 67\n\n XIV. THE CAT AND THE CARROTS _Anon._ 73\n\n XV. THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND\n THE JACKAL _Hindu Folk Tale_ 79\n\n XVI. THE RED DRAGON _Anon._ 82\n\n XVII. TWO POEMS 84\n\n If I Could Crow 84\n\n The Twins 85\n\n XVIII. TINY\u2019S ADVENTURES IN TINYTOWN 87\n\n Tiny Gets Lost 88\n\n Tiny Is Put in the Lock-up 91\n\n Tiny Is Adopted 94\n\n Tiny Discovers a Fire 100\n\n XIX. TINY HAS MORE ADVENTURES 102\n\n Tiny Saves a Baby\u2019s Life 104\n\n Tiny Goes Shopping 107\n\n Tiny\u2019s Mother Finds Her 111\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE SECOND DAY\n\n XX. THE MAGIC MASK _Old Tale_--Retold 119\n\n XXI. THE CLOSING DOOR _Maud Lindsay_ 126\n\n XXII. TOM GOES DOWN THE WELL _Neil Forest_ 130\n\n XXIII. GLOOMY GUS AND THE CHRISTMAS CAT _Alfred Westfall_ 139\n\n XXIV. PATTY AND HER PITCHER _Crowquill\u2019s Fairy Tales_ 146\n\n In the Magic Circle 146\n\n The Wonderful Pitcher 147\n\n The Well-dressed Stranger 154\n\n Patty in Trouble 156\n\n The Pitcher to the Rescue 158\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE THIRD DAY\n\n XXV. SIR GALAHAD _Sir Thomas Malory_--Adapted 165\n\n King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 165\n\n Galahad Receives the Order of Knighthood 167\n\n The Adventure of the Sword in the Stone 168\n\n Sir Galahad Sits in the Perilous Seat 170\n\n Sir Galahad Wins the Sword of Balin le Savage 173\n\n The Knights of the Round Table Set Out in Quest\n of the Holy Grail 176\n\n Sir Galahad Finds a White Shield with a Red\n Cross 178\n\n Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival Attack Sir\n Galahad 182\n\n The Adventure of the Gentlewoman, the Mysterious\n Ship, and the Sword of the Strange Belt 185\n\n The Gentlewoman Risks Her Life for Another 191\n\n Sir Galahad Meets a Knight in White Armor 193\n\n Sir Galahad Achieves His Quest, and Bears the\n Holy Grail Across the Sea 195\n\n The Passing of Sir Galahad, the End of Sir\n Percival, and the Return of Sir Bors to\n Camelot 200\n\n XXVI. HOW SIR LAUNFAL ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAIL\n _James Russell Lowell_--Retold 203\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE FOURTH DAY\n\n XXVII. MUSIC BEWITCHED _Hartley Richards_ 211\n\n Bob\u2019s Three Foes 211\n\n Father Pan\u2019s Revenge 215\n\n XXVIII. ANN CATCHES A THIEF _Daisy Gilbert_ 219\n\n XXIX. JOHN AND MARGARET PATON AMONG SAVAGES\n _Grace E. Craig_ 226\n\n XXX. THE STRANGE GUEST _Washington Irving_--\n Retold from _The Spectre Bridegroom_ 233\n\n The Wedding Feast 240\n\n The Midnight Music 244\n\n XXXI. ROBERT OF SICILY _Henry W. Longfellow_--Retold 248\n\n XXXII. THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY _Edward Everett Hale_--\n Retold 254\n\n XXXIII. YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG _Wilbur D. Nesbit_ 264\n\n\nTHE LAST DAY ON STORY ISLAND\n\n THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH, A FAIRY TALE\n OF HOME _Charles Dickens_--Adapted 271\n\n XXXIV. CHIRP THE FIRST 271\n\n The Peerybingles 271\n\n The Strange Old Gentleman 274\n\n Caleb Plummer 277\n\n Tackleton 279\n\n Dot is Upset 281\n\n XXXV. CHIRP THE SECOND 285\n\n Bertha, the Blind Girl, and Her Father 285\n\n Tackleton Comes In 288\n\n Bertha\u2019s Eyes 291\n\n The Carrier\u2019s Cart 293\n\n The Party at Caleb\u2019s 298\n\n The Shadow on the Hearth 302\n\n XXXVI. CHIRP THE THIRD 306\n\n John Listens to the Cricket 306\n\n John Blames Himself 308\n\n Caleb Confesses His Deceit 312\n\n The Dead Returns to Life 316\n\n Tackleton Does the Unexpected 321\n\n\nTHE RETURN HOME\n\n XXXVII. GOOD-BY, MARY FRANCES. COME AGAIN! 325\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n THEY COULD SEE THAT THE PIRATE\u2019S SHIP WAS KEEPING THE\n DISTANCE THE SAME AS AT FIRST BETWEEN THEM _Frontispiece_\n\n PAGE\n\n MARY FRANCES LEANED DOWN AND CAUGHT HOLD OF HIS FINS 21\n\n \u201cJUST SOME FLYING FISH,\u201d ANSWERED THE CAT 31\n\n SHE FED HIM A LITTLE AT A TIME WITH A MEDICINE DROPPER 39\n\n ON ONE OF THE FLOWERS WAS PERCHED A TINY FAIRY 49\n\n THEY WERE AS HIGH UP IN THE AIR AS THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN 57\n\n SHE DRANK LONG AND EAGERLY 63\n\n HE THREW THE NECKLACE AROUND CORALIE\u2019S NECK 69\n\n \u201cHAVE YOU NO FEELINGS?\u201d SAID THE CARROT 75\n\n \u201cWOW!\u201d SHRIEKED THE DRAGON 82\n\n JUST AT HER FEET LAY THE TINIEST LITTLE BIT OF A TOWN 89\n\n THE PONY CANTERED ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STREET 99\n\n SHE RAN AS FAST AS SHE COULD AND WAS JUST IN TIME TO DRAG\n THE BABY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE WAGON 105\n\n \u201cMOTHER!\u201d SHE CRIED. \u201cOH, MOTHER!\u201d 113\n\n THE MAGIC MASK WAS READY, AND HERLO TRIED IT ON THE\n KING\u2019S FACE 123\n\n BUT ALL THE UNITED EFFORTS OF BESS AND BOB AND ARCHIE\u2019S\n LEFT ARM COULD NOT RAISE TOM 135\n\n HE SWUNG DOWN THE TRAIL WITH A SPEED THAT MOCKED THE WIND\n AT HIS BACK 143\n\n SHE THEN TOUCHED THE PITCHER WITH HER WAND 150\n\n \u201cBE NOT ALARMED, DEAR MISTRESS,\u201d SAID THE PITCHER 157\n\n IMMEDIATELY HE GRASPED THE SWORD BY THE HANDLE, BUT\n COULD NOT STIR IT 171\n\n THEN SIR GALAHAD TOOK HIS PLACE IN THE FIELD 175\n\n A MONK LED HIM BEHIND THE ALTAR WHERE THE SHIELD HUNG\n AS WHITE AS SNOW, BUT IN THE CENTER WAS A RED CROSS 181\n\n THE DAMSEL RODE AS FAST AS HER HORSE WOULD GALLOP THAT\n NIGHT AND ALL THE NEXT DAY TILL THEY CAME IN SIGHT OF\n THE SEA 187\n\n SLOWLY SLEEP CAME UPON HIM AND HE DREAMED 205\n\n AWAY WENT THE SCHOOLMASTER\u2019S LEGS, CUTTING SUCH CAPERS\n AS THE WORLD NEVER LOOKED UPON BEFORE 217\n\n BEFORE THE DOOR OF A LOW, THATCHED HUT STOOD A FAIR-HAIRED\n YOUNG WOMAN 227\n\n ONCE HE THOUGHT HE SAW THEM 237\n\n A TALL FIGURE STOOD AMONG THE SHADOWS OF THE TREES 243\n\n TOWARD THE VERY LAST, ROBERT THE JESTER RODE ON A PIEBALD\n PONY 251\n\n HE FLUNG THE BOOK INTO THE SEA 257\n\n YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG 265\n\n \u201cIF YOU PLEASE, I WAS TO BE LEFT TILL CALLED FOR\u201d 275\n\n THERE WERE HOUSES IN IT, FURNISHED AND UNFURNISHED, FOR\n DOLLS OF ALL STATIONS IN LIFE 286\n\n THEY JOGGED ON FOR SOME TIME IN SILENCE 297\n\n\n\n\nTHE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND\n\n ON THE SHORE.--THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA.--THE PIRATE\u2019S\n CAT.--THE LOST STORY.--LAND AHOY.--THE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN\n CURTAIN.--FINDING THE LOST STORY.--THE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD\n FERRY.--THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE OLD WITCH.--THE\n BUBBLE STORY.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND\n\nI\n\nON THE SHORE\n\n\n\u201cIF only--\u201d whispered Mary Frances to herself, as she closed the book\nshe had been reading, \u201cif only one could find the \u2018enchanted island,\u2019\nand the \u2018hidden treasure of stories\u2019--I wish--I wish the story told how\nto get there!\u201d\n\nShe was sitting on the branches of a tree, which were so bent that they\nformed a sort of hammocky rocking chair. The tree was close to the\nbank of the river, and away in the distance the whitecaps of the ocean\nrolled up and broke upon the beach.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s quite a journey,\u201d said a small voice, \u201cquite a long journey.\u201d\n\nMary Frances looked all around, but could not find where the voice came\nfrom.\n\n\u201cYou see, it\u2019s out at sea,\u201d continued the voice; \u201cand only one boat and\none passenger a year. What\u2019s more----\u201d\n\nThis last was uttered with a deep sigh.\n\n\u201cWhy, where are you? Who are you?\u201d asked Mary Frances, springing up.\n\n\u201cHere I am, but I won\u2019t be long,\u201d continued the voice. \u201cYou\u2019d better\nlook lively, for I can\u2019t cling to this fence much longer. Besides, I am\nalmost out of element!\u201d\n\nThen the little girl saw a dolphin sitting on the top rail of the\nfence, holding on with one fin.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d she cried, \u201cdo you really know where the \u2018enchanted island\u2019 is?\nWill you tell me how to get there?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will!\u201d said the dolphin. \u201cThat I will, if you\u2019ll get me a\nlittle of my element first.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cWhy, you couldn\u2019t live without yours for one minute! I\u2019ll die if I\ndon\u2019t get some soon!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear, what can it be? Whatever in the world is your element? I\ndon\u2019t want you to die!\u201d\n\n\u201cBe quick!\u201d cried the dolphin, fanning himself with the other fin. \u201cI\nfeel very faint!\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll get some water!\u201d Stooping quickly, Mary Frances filled her hat.\nBefore she could dash it over him, the dolphin ducked his head into the\nhatful of water.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d he said, raising his head. \u201cYou\u2019re not so dull after all.\nWater is my element; air is yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d said Mary Frances; but she wondered why the dolphin didn\u2019t\njump back into the water.\n\n\u201cThe reason is that it takes me so long to climb a fence!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said Mary Frances, although she didn\u2019t see why the dolphin had to\nsit on a fence to talk.\n\n\u201cSo that there\u2019ll be no offense!\u201d said the dolphin, after staring at\nher for a while; \u201cbut to refer to the trip--have you a ticket?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, no, I don\u2019t think I have.\u201d Mary Frances searched in her pockets,\nand pulled out some ribbon, a doll\u2019s wig, a thimble, and a piece of\npaper.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the ticket!\u201d exclaimed the dolphin, pointing with his fin. \u201cAll\nyou need to do is to sign it. Have you a pencil?\u201d\n\nMary Frances searched again in her pockets, while the dolphin looked on\nanxiously, but couldn\u2019t find one.\n\n\u201cWell, never mind; just pull out one of my whiskers,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will\nwrite right well.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I might hurt you!\u201d cried Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cNot if you take that loose one,\u201d he said, pointing with his fin.\n\nVery gently Mary Frances pulled it, and out it came.\n\n\u201cSign your name!\u201d cried the dolphin excitedly. \u201cRight at the end of the\npaper!\u201d\n\n\u201cExcuse me,\u201d said Mary Frances; \u201cmy father says that no one should ever\nsign a paper without reading it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s good reading!\u201d said the dolphin. \u201cRead it!\u201d\n\nAnd Mary Frances read:\n\n +--------------------------------+\n | Good for |\n | One First Class Passage |\n | to |\n | Story Island |\n | |\n | * * * |\n | |\n | I Believe in All Good Fairies. |\n | Signed ------------ |\n | No. 1,234,567. |\n +--------------------------------+\n\n\u201cOf course, I\u2019ll sign that!\u201d said Mary Frances, gravely using the\ndolphin\u2019s whisker.\n\nAt that, the dolphin fell over with a great splash into the water.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d screamed Mary Frances, \u201cyou\u2019ll be drowned!\u201d But, just at that\nmoment, up came the dolphin\u2019s head out of the water.\n\n\u201cMy element!\u201d he said. Then Mary Frances laughed to think how soon she\nhad forgotten.\n\n\u201cHold your ticket and wait right where you are!\u201d the dolphin called\nout, swimming away.\n\nMary Frances watched the splashing tail and shining back flashing in\nthe sun. Two or three times he leaped playfully in the air, turned\nsomersaults in the water, and then disappeared from sight in the little\ncove near the mouth of the river.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nTHE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA\n\n\n\u201cOH, my,\u201d thought Mary Frances; \u201coh, my, I hope he won\u2019t forget!\u201d\n\nAfter a little while, she caught sight of the dolphin swimming around\nthe little high peninsula on one side of the cove. He seemed to be\npiloting something, for every few seconds he would leap up and look\naround as if to make sure that everything was as it should be.\n\nSoon Mary Frances saw a beautiful little sailboat rounding the point.\nSurely it was following the dolphin. As it drew nearer she could read\nthe name in gold letters on the prow, The Good Ferry.\n\nA brisk wind filled the white sails and brought the boat so swiftly\nup the river that the dolphin had to swim with all his might to keep\nahead. As she came to anchor in the shallow water near the bank, the\ndolphin called out, \u201cHave you your ticket?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered Mary Frances, holding it up to view.\n\n\u201cThen step on my back and jump aboard!\u201d said the dolphin.\n\nAs Mary Frances placed her foot on the dolphin as on a bridge, he\nsuddenly arched his back and tossed her aboard.\n\n\u201cTake plenty of time to look the ship over,\u201d he called out; \u201cand don\u2019t\nlose your ticket!\u201d\n\nThen the dolphin, with The Good Ferry following in his wake, swam down\nthe river and put out to sea.\n\nThe Good Ferry was a charming little boat, graceful in every line. It\nwasn\u2019t any longer than a large rowboat, but it seemed to have every\ncomfort provided. There was on deck a comfortable deck chair; upon it\nwas spread a beautiful steamer rug.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll take a nice nap, after I look the boat over,\u201d thought Mary\nFrances.\n\nAs she made her way into the cabin, she uttered a cry of delight--and\nno wonder. Any girl would have loved it. The walls and woodwork were\nivory white. Soft pink and light blue hangings fluttered at the\nwindows. A large bowl, filled with pink roses and turquoise blue\nlarkspurs, stood on the little golden dressing table with its folding\nmirrors.\n\nA little ivory-white princess dresser, with its full-length mirror,\nstood across one corner, and an ivory-white bed across the other\ncorner. On the rocking-chair, and bed, and dresser were painted pink\nand blue flowers, and the covers of the table, bed and dresser were\nembroidered with the same designs.\n\nThere was a wardrobe in a corner, and in it Mary Frances found the\nloveliest dressing gown of pink cr\u00eape de chine, embroidered with sprays\nof light blue forget-me-nots, and white daisies with yellow centers,\nand pink roses; and a pair of light blue bedroom slippers and silk\nstockings, and a boudoir cap and nightgown, and a big steamer coat and\ncap--all just the right size.\n\n\u201cJust like a grown-up young lady,\u201d she thought.\n\nThere were two more doors; one led to a pretty white bathroom, and the\nother to a little dining-room, lined with mirrors.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t get lonesome,\u201d thought Mary Frances, \u201cwith so many \u2018me\u2019s\u2019\nabout me;\u201d and she laughed, and, just as she laughed, food appeared\non the table. There were chicken soup, and celery, and olives, and\ncrackers.\n\n\u201cOh, dear! How hungry I am!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cI guess this is meant for\nme;\u201d and she sat down on the one chair at the table and began to eat\nthe soup.\n\n\u201cI feel lots better!\u201d said she, finishing the last drop. \u201cIt\u2019s not\ngood table manners to tip this plate,\u201d she thought; \u201cbut I guess my\nreflections will excuse me,\u201d and she bowed to the pictures of herself\nin the mirrors, and laughed.\n\nThen suddenly the soup course disappeared from the table, and in its\nplace there were roast turkey and cranberry sauce, and roasted sweet\npotatoes and apple sauce, and the many other things which go to make an\nall-around feast.\n\n\u201cHow wonderful!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, helping herself to turkey.\n\u201cBut how stupid to eat by myself, with only myself for company.\u201d\nJust then she looked out of the porthole window and saw the dolphin,\nswimming ahead of the little ship.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go invite the dolphin to dinner,\u201d she thought; and went on deck.\n\nImagine her surprise to find that there was no land in sight. Neither\nwas there any ship. The only other thing than the dolphin was the\nsea-gulls flying overhead.\n\n\u201cHallo! Hallo!\u201d shouted Mary Frances, making a trumpet of her hands.\n\u201cMr. Dolphin, Mr. Dolphin, one moment, please!\u201d\n\nThe dolphin turned and looked at her. \u201cYes?\u201d he asked, raising one\neyebrow.\n\n\u201cPlease, Mr. Dolphin, do you ever eat? I am lonesome, eating all alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cI eat only fish,\u201d said the dolphin. \u201cThey are in my element, you see.\nI do not find my food out of my element.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, as to that,\u201d replied Mary Frances, \u201cI will fill a bowl with your\nelement, if you will only accept the invitation.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgreed!\u201d said the dolphin, swimming to the rope ladder hanging over\nthe side of the ship. Mary Frances leaned down and caught hold of his\nfins, when within reach, and helped him up.\n\nWhen the dolphin reached the deck, she picked up a fire-pail with a\nrope attached, threw it overside, and brought up a pail of water. Then\nshe hastened to the dining-room and brought a bowl.\n\nAfter that she helped the dolphin to the dining table. The only chair\nwas clamped in place to the floor, just as on any steamer, and she\ncould not move it. So she changed her place to the side of the table.\nAs the chair was a revolving one, like a desk chair, she turned and\nturned it until it reached the right height for the dolphin. She placed\nthe bowl of water, \u201celement\u201d she called it, at the dolphin\u2019s place.\n\n[Illustration: MARY FRANCES LEANED DOWN AND CAUGHT HOLD OF HIS\nFINS]\n\n\u201cIs there anything on the table, Mr. Dolphin,\u201d she asked, \u201cwhich you\nwould like?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d sighed the dolphin, \u201cI would like some more salt in my element\nsoup.\u201d\n\nMary Frances gravely shook the salt-shaker over the bowl for a full\nminute. The dolphin tasted the water. \u201cA little more, please,\u201d he said.\n\nSo Mary Frances emptied almost all the rest of the salt out of\nthe shaker into the bowl. The dolphin dipped in his head. \u201cThat\u2019s\nexcellent,\u201d he said, smacking his lips.\n\n\u201cMercy,\u201d thought Mary Frances, \u201cI do hope he won\u2019t turn into a salt\nmackerel.\u201d\n\n\u201cSalt Smackerel is my pet name,\u201d said the dolphin, smacking his lips\nagain, and wiping them with his fin.\n\n\u201cI hardly dare think,\u201d thought Mary Frances, \u201cyet I can\u2019t help\nthinking, can I? What queer table manners he has! I suppose his mother\nnever taught him not to smack his lips when he eats--just to chew with\nthe lips closed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI chew all I choose!\u201d exclaimed the dolphin. \u201cMy mother never sat at a\ntable, you see.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cdid she stand?\u201d\n\n\u201cThree feet high in her stocking feet,\u201d solemnly declared the dolphin,\nwhich Mary Frances didn\u2019t consider an answer at all; but was too polite\nto say anything that might be annoying to a guest.\n\n\u201cI wonder what I can give him for dessert?\u201d she thought.\n\n\u201cIf you please,\u201d said the dolphin, and Mary Frances noticed that he\nwas very pale, \u201cif you please, I do not care for any. You see, I have\ndeserted my post--that is enough dessert for me, and I shouldn\u2019t wonder\nif I\u2019d be punished enough for it in a minute--Oh! Oh! what is that!\nIt\u2019s the pirate\u2019s cat!\u201d and with a scream, he leaped out of the window\ninto the water.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE PIRATE\u2019S CAT\n\n\n\u201cME-OW! me-ow!\u201d came the cat\u2019s voice from the door.\n\n\u201cOh, Kitty! Kitty!\u201d cried Mary Frances, running toward it. \u201cWhy,\nwherever did you come from? I thought I had looked all over the ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed,\u201d replied the cat, \u201ceven if you had, and you have not, you\nwouldn\u2019t have found me. The pirate\u2019s been watching a year to throw me\non board The Good Ferry.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, \u201cthe pirate--why, I haven\u2019t seen any\npirate!\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course you haven\u2019t,\u201d said the cat; \u201che\u2019s too smart for that. He\u2019s\nbeen watching for a time when the dolphin had deserted his post.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d thought Mary Frances, \u201cit was all my fault;\u201d but out loud\nshe said, \u201cWell, no great harm can come of it, anyway. Won\u2019t you have\nsome dinner?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, thank you,\u201d said the cat, looking longingly at the table.\n\n\u201cTake this chair,\u201d invited Mary Frances, pointing to the dolphin\u2019s\nplace.\n\nThe cat leaped up on the chair, and carefully tucked a napkin into\nthe collar on its neck. Mary Frances filled a plate with turkey and\npotatoes and gravy, and set it before the cat, who politely waited for\nher to take her place and begin to eat.\n\n\u201cDo not wait for me, Kitty,\u201d said his hostess; \u201cI\u2019ve finished this\ncourse, thank you.\u201d\n\nSoon nothing was left on the plate.\n\nJust as Mary Frances was going to suggest that ice cream might make a\nnice dessert, the cat began to tremble. It trembled so that the ship\nshook all over.\n\n\u201cWhy, what is the matter?\u201d asked Mary Frances. \u201cAre you chilly?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear, no,\u201d replied the cat, its teeth chattering. \u201cOh, dear, no;\nbut I forgot! The pirate will hang me! He will! He will!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy will he hang you?\u201d asked Mary Frances, quite bewildered, and a\nlittle frightened.\n\n\u201cSpeak softly,\u201d said the cat. \u201cCome here, and I\u2019ll whisper.\u201d And behind\nhis upraised paw, he told, \u201cThe pirate ordered me to eat the dolphin;\nand to bring his right fin to prove that I\u2019d done it. And now I\u2019m too\nfull of dinner to do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cEat him, indeed!\u201d said Mary Frances, angrily. \u201cI\u2019d like to see you!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, would you?\u201d cried the cat. \u201cIf you only hadn\u2019t given me so much\ndinner, you might have had the pleasure--that is, if the dolphin had\ncome aboard again. You see, I can\u2019t do it now; I can\u2019t catch him in\nthe water. And the pirate said he\u2019d come for me in an hour and nine\nminutes. It\u2019s close to that now,\u201d glancing at the clock. \u201cOh, what\nshall I do?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy does the pirate want the dolphin killed?\u201d\n\n\u201cHush!\u201d exclaimed the cat. \u201cSpeak softly! Come here! I\u2019ll whisper the\nreason to you. It\u2019s on account of the lost story. He thinks you might\nfind it, and if the dolphin is destroyed, he can run down The Good\nFerry. He can\u2019t do the work himself, for he is bound in chains on his\nown ship, but he has prisoners on board whom he orders about, just as\nhe did me. He can\u2019t get within miles of The Good Ferry if the dolphin\nis guiding her. He was so mad that he didn\u2019t notice when the dolphin\nfirst came aboard that the foam from his mouth was strong soapsuds, and\nwashed the black decks of the pirate ship snow white.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cyou forget--if the dolphin guides the ship,\nthe pirate can\u2019t get you!\u201d\n\nAt that the cat began to laugh joyously, and it laughed so hard that\nMary Frances laughed too; and suddenly the meat course disappeared off\nthe table and a huge block of ice cream appeared in its place, and Mary\nFrances and the cat--you know what they did.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nTHE STORY OF THE LOST STORY\n\n\n\u201cLET\u2019S go on deck,\u201d said Mary Frances, when they had finished, \u201cand\nperhaps you can tell me more about the lost story. But first you must\nsolemnly promise that you will not eat the dolphin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI solemnly promise,\u201d said the cat, with upraised paw.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Mary Frances, leading the way to the deck chair, on\nwhich she lay down, while the cat curled himself up on a coil of rope\nnear her head.\n\n\u201cIt happened in this way,\u201d began the cat, in a low tone of voice, as he\nnervously looked around. \u201cYou know the \u2018enchanted island\u2019 is Storyland,\nand the home of the Story People. The Story King and Queen have ruled\nthere forever. Well, one day a wicked fellow, who had always said\nthere were no such things as fairies, somehow got into the \u2018enchanted\nisland\u2019--it has always been a mystery to me how he did it--and stole a\nstory, and carried it away and hid it. The trouble is that no fairy is\nallowed to find it. The boy or girl who takes it back will be the first\nperson allowed to enter the \u2018enchanted island\u2019 since it was lost.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know where it is hidden?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cI have a slight idea,\u201d whispered the cat.\n\n\u201cIs it on board the pirate ship?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cIt cannot be. I have searched\neverywhere--everywhere--everywhere-everywhere--\u201d drowsily replied the\ncat. Mary Frances noticed that his eyes were closing.\n\n\u201cJust one thing more before you go to sleep, Puss; just one thing\nmore,\u201d she said. \u201cDo you know how long it will take to reach the\n\u2018enchanted island\u2019?\u201d\n\n \u201cAnd they sailed away,\n A year and a day,\n To the land where the palm tree grew,\u201d\n\nmurmured the cat; and, shake him as she might, that was the only answer\nMary Frances could get, until, at length, she could get no answer at\nall.\n\nAfter she was certain he was asleep, she went to the bow of the boat\nand called softly to the dolphin.\n\nHe swam up close alongside. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI am, indeed,\u201d replied Mary Frances; \u201cbut I want to tell you what the\ncat told me. First, I want to say that he will not hurt you because he\nis horribly afraid of the pirate, and he knows that he is safe on The\nGood Ferry as long as you protect it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right!\u201d said the dolphin. \u201cAnd now, how about the cat\u2019s tale?\u201d\n\nThen Mary Frances told the dolphin the story the cat had told her.\n\n\u201cWhy can\u2019t we search for it now?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied the dolphin, \u201cI am not exactly sure about the\ncat\u2019s tale myself, and every year I take one person direct to the\nisland--that\u2019s my orders--that\u2019s my orders. None of them have ever\nfound the lost story--so I\u2019ve taken them direct home. That\u2019s been my\norders; that\u2019s been my orders. Better go on, I say; better not take\nanybody else\u2019s word, I say, I say.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cjust as you say; but a year\u2019s a pretty\nlong time.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat depends,\u201d replied the dolphin.\n\n \u201cA year is queer\n If it\u2019s full of fear,\n A year\u2019s a day\n If it\u2019s full of play;\n And I\u2019ve heard say\n A year will leap,\n If you\u2019re sound asleep.\u201d\n\nAnd away it swam.\n\nAnd then Mary Frances noticed that the sky was getting dark, and she\nrealized that she was very sleepy. She made her way to the white cabin\nand undressed and went to bed, wearing the pretty clothing which she\nfound in the wardrobe.\n\n\u201cIf I waken suddenly, and want to go on deck, I\u2019ll have on my\nnegligee,\u201d she thought, as she tied the dressing gown in place and\nslipped on the boudoir cap.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nLAND AHOY!\n\n\nMARY FRANCES awoke with a start, and rubbed her eyes.\n\n\u201cSurely I heard somebody call,\u201d she said.\n\nAgain came the call, \u201cLand ahoy! Land ahoy!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, that is what they called out on Columbus\u2019 ship when they\ndiscovered America!\u201d thought Mary Frances, hurriedly dressing. \u201cI\nwonder if we are discovering anything.\u201d\n\nIt was just getting light as she ran out on deck. At first she did not\nsee any living thing except the dolphin, which was swimming ahead of\nthe boat. She gazed around on the water. It was a deep blue color.\n\n\u201cIt looks like the tub of bluing water when Nora rinses the clothes,\u201d\nshe thought. \u201cI wonder if it will color anything?\u201d She ran to the\nrailing, dipped up a pailful and dropped in her handkerchief. \u201cJust\nclear water,\u201d she said; and hung it up to dry.\n\n\u201cLand ahoy!\u201d came the call once more. Mary Frances looked up at the\nsails. There was the cat. He was sitting on the rope ladder, and\nholding his forepaws like a telescope. As soon as he saw Mary Frances,\nhe pointed ahead and shouted, \u201cLand ahoy!\u201d Then she saw a dim outline\nof coast.\n\nThe cat scrambled down the rigging, and ran up to her. \u201cStory Island!\nSee!\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, \u201cwhy, how long have I been asleep? I\nthought you said something about a year!\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed the cat. \u201cA year and a day, I said, and that it\nnearly is. You have been asleep just three hundred and sixty-five days\nand some hours.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave I really?\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances; then hearing a sudden splash\nin the water, \u201cOh, what was that? Was it the pirate?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat? That wasn\u2019t anything to be afraid of--just some flying fish,\u201d\nanswered the cat.\n\n\u201cDo they really have wings?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cThey certainly do. Come, let us look into the water and see if there\nare any near the boat,\u201d said the cat.\n\n\u201cOh, oh, oh,\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, \u201cwhat a beautiful fish I see!\nIt has a tail of gold and a head of blue--turquoise blue. Isn\u2019t it\nbeautiful! See it, there!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I do,\u201d said the cat; \u201cit is an angel fish.\u201d\n\n\u201cAn angel fish! That\u2019s just the right name for it,\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cYes, I believe somebody who tasted one named it that,\u201d said the cat.\n\n\u201cSurely nobody would eat such a beautiful creature,\u201d Mary Frances said.\n\nThe cat smiled. \u201cIts beauty is more than skin deep,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWell, I wouldn\u2019t eat anything so lovely,\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cThat reminds me of a rhyme a fish taught me,\u201d said the cat.\n\n\u201cThat sounds mighty fishy,\u201d thought Mary Frances, but she did not say\nanything.\n\n\u201cShall I say it for you?\u201d and without waiting to hear, he went on:\n\n \u201cOh, mother, if you lived down in the sea\n And a fish you had to be,\n What kind of fish would be your wish?\n My own would be--an angel fish.\n\n \u201cWith nose of loveliest turquoise blue,\n And tail-wings of yellowest golden hue--\n I\u2019m sure my most angelic wish\n Is to be an angel fish.\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t you suppose when fishes die\n Their dream is never toward the sky;\n But if they\u2019re good, their dearest wish\n Is to be an angel fish?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cJUST SOME FLYING FISH,\u201d ANSWERED THE CAT]\n\n\u201cThat is a pretty angelic wish, I\u2019ll say,\u201d added the cat. \u201cOh, there\nare some of the flying fish,\u201d pointing to a distance from the boat.\n\n\u201cThey are not anything like as pretty as the angel fish,\u201d said Mary\nFrances.\n\n\u201cOh, see the whale spouting!\u201d exclaimed the cat, running to the other\nside of the boat.\n\nAnd Mary Frances saw the long fountain of water shooting up in the air.\n\n\u201cMy,\u201d said the cat, \u201cif I could just catch that whale, I could feed\nevery hungry cat I ever heard of.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, how big is it?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s twenty times as long as half again, and double the quarter wide,\u201d\nsaid the cat.\n\n\u201cHow large is that, if you please?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cIf the length is multiplied by the thickness and then by breadth,\nit will give the correct volume,\u201d said the cat; \u201cat least, that\u2019s\naccording to tickle.\u201d\n\n\u201cTickle?\u201d asked Mary Frances. \u201cWhat is tickle?\u201d\n\n\u201cTickle is short for arithmetickle,\u201d replied the cat.\n\n\u201cOh?\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cwe don\u2019t call it arithmetickle; we called it\narithmetic.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is nothing like so pretty a name,\u201d said the cat, \u201cand you get the\nsame result.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the size of the whale--\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cwhat is it?\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you do a simple little problem like that--when I\u2019ve given you\nthe rule?\u201d asked the cat.\n\nMary Frances did not like to say that she had to give it up.\n\n\u201cLet bygones be bygones,\u201d said the cat, \u201cand look up \u2018whales\u2019 in the\ndictionary when you reach the island.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances. \u201cOh, I can see--I think I can see\nsome houses! Oh, look, Cat, look! They are pure white!\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you know why?\u201d asked the cat.\n\n\u201cI suppose they are painted,\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cPainted, me whiskers!\u201d exclaimed the cat. \u201cThey are not painted. They\nare made of coral.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is coral?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cCome, I will show you,\u201d said the cat, leading the way to the middle of\nthe deck.\n\nHe lifted a wooden cover. Underneath was a deep box. The bottom of the\nbox was made of glass.\n\n\u201cNow, you can see the bottom of the sea,\u201d said the cat. \u201cSee? See? See\nthe bottom of the sea?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, look at those white trees!\u201d cried Mary Frances, gazing down into\nthe clear water through the glass.\n\nThe cat laughed. \u201cThey are not trees,\u201d he said; \u201cthey are coral\nformations;\u201d and he told her about the tiny coral insects which build\ncoral growth by fastening their tiny shell bodies to each other.\n\n\u201cDo they know they are making trees?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cOh, my, no,\u201d said the cat. \u201cThey just grow naturally, like any other\nbabies. Sometimes they make fan-like forms, or sponge-shaped ones.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid they build the white houses over on the island?\u201d asked Mary\nFrances.\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d said the cat; \u201cwhat a curious question. They live only\nin the sea. The houses are up in the air--but they built the island.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot that big island!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cYou have not contradicted me before,\u201d said the cat. \u201cIf you know all\nabout it----\u201d\n\n\u201cI beg your pardon,\u201d said Mary Frances, very humbly. \u201cWill you please\ntell me the rest?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey rest on the bottom of the ocean,\u201d said the cat. \u201cThe houses are\nmade of the coral which is dug out of the cellars,\u201d he went on. \u201cBut,\ncome, let us get ready; we are getting near port,\u201d and he began to wash\nhis face and smooth back his whiskers.\n\nMary Frances took the hint, and went into the cabin.\n\nShe tidied her hair, and put on a fresh ribbon, and when she went on\ndeck, she took her pocket mirror with her.\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nTHE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN CURTAIN\n\n\n\u201cARE my whiskers straight? Is my fur smooth? Is my face clean, please?\u201d\nasked the cat without stopping, as soon as he saw her.\n\n\u201cYou may see for yourself,\u201d said Mary Frances, holding the pocket\nmirror before him.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d he said, giving a sigh of relief. \u201cI look absolutely scrubbed; I\nguess I\u2019ll do!\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d said Mary Frances. \u201cI do wonder how it will seem. Isn\u2019t\nthis a beautiful place? But I wonder why it looks so misty around the\nisland. Can\u2019t we ask the dolphin?\u201d\n\n\u201cI guess we\u2019d better not,\u201d said the cat. \u201cYou see, a pilot doesn\u2019t like\nto be questioned.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a boat coming this way!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances.\n\nThe cat began to shiver. His fur stood up on end. His tail lashed to\nand fro.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the old witch\u2019s boat!\u201d he cried. \u201cShe\u2019s the pirate\u2019s wife. I\u2019m\nnot afraid! I\u2019m not afraid! I\u2019m not afraid, though!\u201d And he kept on\nsaying, \u201cI\u2019m not afraid!\u201d so often that Mary Frances began to laugh.\n\n\u201cSt-stop that laughing!\u201d came the voice of the old witch. \u201cSt-stop that\nlaughing this instant, unless you have the lost st-story!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if we have it, Madam Witch,\u201d called out the cat, \u201cwhat then?\u201d\n\nBy this time the boat was quite near. They could see the old witch\ntremble. She turned almost as white as snow. Her two front teeth\nchattered.\n\n\u201cIf you had it, the curtain would part!\u201d she suddenly exclaimed,\nlaughing. \u201cI forgot for a moment! Don\u2019t try to fool me, Cat! Away with\nyou! Away with you! Find it, if you can! Find it, if you can! Ha, ha!\nHa, ha! Haw, haw, haw!\u201d and she waved an oar at the boat.\n\nThen Mary Frances saw that all around the island was stretched an\niron-chain curtain.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t look at it, S-Sissy,\u201d said the old witch. \u201cIt\u2019s so s-strong that\ns-steel will not s-saw it. It will remain about St-Story Island, and\nwill not open until the lost st-story is found; and until it is found\nnot a boy or girl in the world will hear a new st-story!\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will find it!\u201d shouted Mary Frances. \u201cWe will find it and bring it\nback and open the curtain!\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed the old witch, holding her sides. \u201cHa, ha! it\u2019s well\nhid. It\u2019s well hid. You\u2019ll be old and gray before you find it, I\u2019ll\nwarrant--and as for the cat, he\u2019ll be so old he will sh-shake around in\nhis s-skin, I\u2019ll warrant. Ha, ha! Be off! Be off!\u201d and, quickly turning\nher boat, she rowed away.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nFINDING THE LOST STORY\n\n\nTHE cat looked at Mary Frances.\n\nMary Frances looked at the cat.\n\n\u201cHa, ha, and ha, ha!\u201d said the cat. \u201cWe\u2019ll laugh at her some day!\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will!\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cwe will, Puss! Let us call the dolphin.\u201d\n\nThe dolphin swam up at that moment.\n\n\u201cWhither now?\u201d it asked. \u201cWhere shall we go, Cat?\u201d\n\n\u201c64\u00b0 40\u00b4 W., 32\u00b0 40\u00b4 N.,\u201d said the cat; and the dolphin swam ahead,\nturned the boat, and soon the island was out of sight.\n\n\u201cCome, I am hungry!\u201d said Mary Frances. \u201cLet us go into the\ndining-room.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe dolphin has plenty of element soup,\u201d she thought.\n\nThere was the table spread with a fine feast, and both she and the cat\nenjoyed it.\n\nJust as they were finishing dessert, they heard a pounding noise. They\nrushed out on deck. The noise was made by the dolphin hitting the side\nof the boat with its tail.\n\nIt whispered two words, \u201cPirate Ship,\u201d and swam ahead again.\n\nThe cat made a telescope with his paws, and looked out over the water.\n\u201cSure enough!\u201d he cried, in fear. \u201cOh, my! Oh, my! and I haven\u2019t eaten\nthe dolphin!\u201d\n\n\u201cFor shame!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances. \u201cFor shame! You have forgotten\nthat he can\u2019t come very near while the dolphin is at his post!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes; that is so. Excuse me, please. But what does the pirate mean\nby coming, I wonder?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you suppose he thinks we may be near finding the story?\u201d asked Mary\nFrances.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d exclaimed the cat. \u201cI\u2019ll wager my whiskers that\u2019s his\nidea. So that if we espy it he\u2019ll get it first.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think we\u2019ll find it?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cMy fur feels as though we would,\u201d said the cat. \u201cPlease tell me, is it\nsending out sparks?\u201d\n\nIt was growing quite late in the afternoon, and quite dusky. Mary\nFrances, to her astonishment, saw great showers of electric sparks\ncoming from the cat\u2019s body.\n\n\u201cYou look like a sparkler on the Fourth of July, Cat,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cOh, isn\u2019t that fine!\u201d said the cat. \u201cYou see, it\u2019s this way--the\nnearer we get to the story, the more sparklier my fur gets.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo we must be quite near,\u201d said Mary Frances; \u201cfor I don\u2019t see how you\ncould get much more sparklier.\u201d\n\n\u201cI forgot to tell you,\u201d said the cat, \u201cthat after we find the story,\nthe dolphin\u2019s power to keep the pirate away is gone. We\u2019ll have to race\nlike a rocket to beat his boat.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my, what is the matter!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, as the cat\nsuddenly jumped high in the air, sending out a shower of sparks that\nfell at her feet on the deck. Over the side of the boat he fell, and\nall was dark as a pocket.\n\n\u201cOh, Kitty, Kitty,\u201d cried the frightened girl, running to look into\nthe water, but she saw nothing of the cat. Neither could she see the\ndolphin. She could see the dim light of the pirate\u2019s ship, and it\nseemed quite near.\n\n\u201cWhatever shall I do?\u201d thought Mary Frances. \u201cI really believe I am\ngoing to cry.\u201d\n\nJust at that minute she heard a scratching on the side of The Good\nFerry.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d she whispered.\n\n[Illustration: SHE FED HIM A LITTLE AT A TIME WITH A MEDICINE\nDROPPER]\n\nNo answer came. Just another scratching.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d she asked again.\n\n\u201cMe-ow!\u201d came a faint voice.\n\nMary Frances could see better now, for her eyes were getting accustomed\nto the darkness.\n\n\u201cIs it you, Puss?\u201d she asked, peering down into the water.\n\nWhen she saw it was the cat, she quickly let down the rope ladder, and\nthe cat climbed aboard, and fell in a wet heap at her feet.\n\nShe lifted him carefully and carried him to the steamer chair. She did\nnot notice that something dropped from his mouth as she lifted him.\n\nShe dried his wet fur, and went to the dining-room to get him a drink\nof water. There she saw a bowl of beef tea, which she took to him. She\nfed him a little at a time with a medicine dropper which she had found\nin the bathroom.\n\nAt length he opened his eyes.\n\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cWhere is what?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cThe lost story,\u201d whispered the cat. \u201cI carried it in my mouth. That is\nwhy I couldn\u2019t answer you when you asked who was there.\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t see it,\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cOh, dear, oh dear!\u201d exclaimed the cat. \u201cIt must be on deck! Let us\nlook for it!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not able yet,\u201d said Mary Frances. \u201cLie still! I will look! Was\nit a roll or a book?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was a glass bottle,\u201d said the cat, \u201cand it may have rolled back\ninto the sea--if that is what you mean by \u2018was it a roll?\u2019\u201d\n\nMary Frances went down on her hands and knees.\n\nShe crept all over the deck, feeling for it in the darkness. After a\nwhile the cat helped.\n\nThey worked all night, but could find nothing. In the morning, as it\ngrew light, they both saw a dark green bottle caught in the top of the\nrope ladder which was fastened to the side of the boat. So lightly was\nthe bottle held that it might easily have fallen back into the water\nand been lost again.\n\nMary Frances lifted it carefully. It was labeled--THE LOST\nSTORY.\n\nThe bottle was sealed with a cork, and inside was a roll of paper.\n\n\u201cOh, isn\u2019t it too good to be true!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances. \u201cWhere\nshall we hide it?\u201d\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s label it CATSUP and put it on the side table in the\ndining-room,\u201d said the cat. \u201cPut the new label right over the old one,\u201d\nhe added.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a splendid idea!\u201d cried Mary Frances. \u201cI\u2019ll do it right away!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nTHE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD FERRY\n\n\nWHEN Mary Frances came on deck again, The Good Ferry was plowing the\nwater so fast that a deep furrow of foam followed her. The dolphin was\nswimming so fast that it made deep waves with the motion of its tail.\n\nAlthough going so rapidly, they could see that the pirate\u2019s black ship\nwas keeping the distance the same as at first between them.\n\n\u201cI believe he is gaining,\u201d at length said the cat, who was using his\npaws for a telescope.\n\nMary Frances looked a little pale, but smiled. \u201cI think we will make\nmore time in a minute,\u201d she said. \u201cLet\u2019s drop something overboard, and\nhe may stop to pick it up.\u201d\n\nSo they filled a suitcase with paper, and dropped it over the side.\n\nThey were delighted when they saw the pirate\u2019s ship stop to pick it up.\nThey could hear the loud ravings of the pirate when he found nothing\ninside.\n\nThe rest of the trip was very exciting, for the pirate\u2019s ship at one\ntime was so close that they heard the pirate say to the cook, \u201cBlast\nye! Blast ye! Why don\u2019t ye jump aboard? Ye can make it in two jumps!\u201d\n\n\u201cJump yourself!\u201d replied the cook.\n\nFaster and faster swam the dolphin; faster and faster sailed The Good\nFerry. Try as he would, the pirate could not overtake them. They saw\nhim plainly, half a knot behind, jumping up and down on his deck,\nshaking his angry fists. As they reached the island he turned and gave\nup the chase in defeat.\n\nWhen they came to the wharf, there stood the old witch, drinking ink\nout of a bottle.\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d she honked. \u201cS-so ye think ye\u2019ve got the lost st-story, do\nye? Well, ye haven\u2019t; s-so there!\u201d\n\nThen she began to wave her arms about her head, laughing wildly. As\nMary Frances stepped off the boat the old witch tried to snatch the\nstory bottle out of her hand.\n\n\u201cOh, you can\u2019t scare me,\u201d said Mary Frances. \u201cStep aside, please,\u201d and\nas she pushed past the wild old witch, the great iron-chain curtain\nfell with a crash, and before her was Fairyland, or Storyland, which,\nas you know, are one and the same.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE OLD WITCH\n\n\nMARY FRANCES heard music and singing. She heard the words:\n\n Who\u2019s the bravest in this land?\n She who holds in her right hand\n The long lost precious story;\n She\u2019s the bravest in this land.\n\nThen Mary Frances remembered, and stepped forward with the story.\n\nShe was met by a beautiful young lady, who introduced herself as the\nStory Lady, and a small company of story people, who led her to the\ncastle of the King and Queen of Story Island. They took her into the\ncourt, where the rulers sat in state.\n\n\u201cWelcome!\u201d said the Story King, rising.\n\n\u201cWelcome!\u201d said the Story Queen, rising.\n\nThen the King made a speech.\n\n\u201cYou have done us a great service, young friend,\u201d he said; \u201cand we hope\nto do something for you to show how much we appreciate it.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Mary Frances, handing him the bottle, \u201cif it had not been\nfor the dolphin and the cat, I never could have found the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe dolphin has been rewarded,\u201d said the Story King; \u201che has had his\nhead cut off----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried Mary Frances, \u201cthe poor, dear dolphin!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd has been turned again into a prince!\u201d added the Story Queen. \u201cHe\nwas the prince who kissed the Sleeping Beauty, and was under the spell\nof the old witch outside the chain curtain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the cat has been rewarded,\u201d said the King. \u201cHe has charge of all\nthe cats and kittens in all the stories ever told, or ever-to-be-told.\u201d\n\nThis made Mary Frances happy, for she knew the cat would love that\ncharge.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the Story King, \u201cif you are not too tired, we will get over\nthe business of trying the pirate and the witch!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not tired, thank you,\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cfor I slept three\nhundred and sixty-five days and nights on my way here.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d said the King. \u201cPlease have this seat,\u201d and he led her to a\ndeep blue velvet chair.\n\nThe King then touched a button under the table, and a door opened.\n\nIn came a large man with a large beard. Mary Frances knew him at once.\nHe was Blue Beard. He was trembling terribly.\n\n\u201cFetch in the pirate, Blue Beard,\u201d ordered the King.\n\nBlue Beard bowed and left the room. Soon there came the clanging of\nchains, and Blue Beard led the pirate into the room, all wound up in\na great section of the iron-chain curtain. He was dreadfully pale and\nvery angry. His mouth was frothing and his breath was coming out of his\nnostrils like smoke.\n\nHe glowered at Mary Frances as though he would like to bite her, but\nshe was not afraid.\n\n\u201cBehave!\u201d said the King. \u201cYou cannot frighten a person who has been so\nbrave as to part the iron-chain curtain. If she had been afraid of the\nold witch, the curtain would not have parted, and all the children in\nthe world would have been still waiting for new stories.\u201d\n\nHe turned to the Queen. \u201cHave you a fitting punishment, my dear?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said the Queen, very solemnly. \u201cIt is this: the pirate shall\n_never again hear a story or read a story_!\u201d\n\nOn hearing his fate the pirate screamed, \u201cAnything rather than that!\nPlease have mercy!\u201d And he fell down in a dead faint.\n\nBlue Beard dragged him out. Immediately after, the King ordered the old\nwitch in.\n\n\u201cTell the story of the lost story,\u201d ordered the King.\n\n\u201cOh, S-Sir,\u201d stammered the old witch, \u201cOh, S-Sir, the pirate st-stole\nit, and took it on his sh-ship, and I st-stole it from him and put it\nin a bottle, and was going to bring it back, but I lost it overboard in\na st-storm. I didn\u2019t want the pirate to know I took it, for he would\nhave beaten me to death.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you try to take it from this young lady?\u201d asked the Queen.\n\nThe old witch hung her head. \u201cBecause I wanted to keep it for\nmy-s-self,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cWell, what shall her punishment be, my dear?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cShe shall be punished by never hearing the end of a story,\u201d declared\nthe Queen. \u201c_Only to the middle of a story shall she hear--never to the\nend._\u201d\n\nThen the old witch gave a loud shriek, and ran out of the room as fast\nas she could. The King sent a giant after her, and had him lock both\nthe pirate and the old witch up in big iron baskets, and carry them off\nto the end of Snowwhere.\n\n\u201cAnd now, my dear,\u201d said the King, \u201cwhat is to be our dear little\nfriend\u2019s reward?\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo rewards shall be hers,\u201d replied the Queen. \u201cOne is that she shall\nknow that all the children of the world can have new stories every day;\nand the other is that she can stay with us for a visit and hear all the\nstories she wishes to hear.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery good,\u201d said the King. \u201cLet us now hear the lost story.\u201d And all\nthe Story People sat down to form a double circle.\n\nWith that the Story Lady, dressed like a butterfly, came dancing in.\nThe King opened the green bottle, took out the roll of paper and handed\nit to her. She took her place at the end just where the circle closed,\nand began to read aloud the lost story, which is entitled \u201cThe Bubble\nStory.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nTHE BUBBLE STORY\n\n\nLILLA walked through the garden, saying--\n\n\u201cI should like to be a princess,\u201d for she had been reading a story\nabout a princess who had only to say \u201cCome,\u201d and anything she wished\nfor came at once.\n\nIt was a hot summer day, and she sat down on a mossy bank under an elm\ntree thinking what she should wish for if she had the power of the\nprincess. All at once the garden seemed strange to her, and she heard a\nvoice saying:\n\n \u201cIf you take a rose from me\n You will then a princess be.\u201d\n\nShe looked up and saw an aster growing in a green flower-pot which she\nhad never seen before; and on one of the flowers was perched a tiny\nfairy.\n\n\u201cAnd you can have everything you can wish for except one thing. If you\nwish for that you will lose the rose.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is that?\u201d asked Lilla, taking the rose which the fairy\noffered her.\n\n\u201cYou must never ask for soap bubbles.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, soap bubbles? Of course, I shall not wish for them!\u201d said Lilla.\n\n\u201cWhenever you want anything,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cjust say:\n\n \u201cRose, Rose, bring to me\n Everything I wish to see.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will be a princess as long as you keep the rose. But you must\nnever ask for soap bubbles. Good-by; now I must go back to my home.\u201d\n\nSo the fairy went to Fairyland, and Lilla went home; but no one knew\nher, because she was now a princess with long hair and a golden crown.\n\n\u201cI will go up to the castle on the hill,\u201d thought Lilla; \u201cprincesses go\nthere to stay.\u201d\n\nAt the castle they were expecting a princess, so they thought Lilla\nmust be the one who was coming, and they gave her a grand room, all\nhung with velvet curtains, to sleep in. On the table was a silver box\nwhich Lilla thought just right to keep her rose in.\n\n\u201cNow, I shall try what I can do with my rose,\u201d thought Lilla. So she\nthought of a box of toys, and said:\n\n \u201cRose, Rose, bring to me\n Everything I wish to see.\u201d\n\nScarcely had she spoken when a maid came to say that a box had come for\nher.\n\nWhen the box was opened, Lilla saw so many pretty things that she\nthought she would like a Christmas tree to hang them on, and again she\nsaid:\n\n \u201cRose, Rose, bring to me\n Everything I wish to see.\u201d\n\nAnd in a few minutes a Christmas tree arrived hung all over with gold\nand silver drops, and colored lights, and bonbons, and still more\nbonbons, and gifts of all kinds.\n\nThe people at the castle had never seen such a beautiful Christmas\ntree, and they were delighted with the gifts which Lilla divided among\nthem.\n\nDay after day Lilla asked her rose for something new, and every day\nmore and more beautiful things came, till not only her own room, but\nthe whole castle was full of them.\n\nShe gave them away to every one, for she soon grew tired of them.\n\n[Illustration: ON ONE OF THE FLOWERS WAS PERCHED A TINY FAIRY]\n\nEvery day she was trying to think of something she did not have, but at\nlast there seemed nothing left to wish for.\n\nThat was when she began to long for--soap bubbles, which were the only\nthings she must not have.\n\n\u201cBut how beautiful thousands of soap bubbles would look, floating about\nin the sunshine with rainbow colors upon them,\u201d she thought.\n\nShe could think of nothing else, and grew quite sad because she could\nnot ask for soap bubbles.\n\nSo one day, she went into the garden, taking her rose with her. \u201cShall\nI ask? or shall I not?\u201d she kept thinking, but she could not make up\nher mind.\n\nSo she counted on the buttons of her dress.\n\n \u201cYes; no; yes; no; yes; no;\n My mother told me to say--\n Yes; no.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d sighed Lilla, \u201cI wanted it to come, \u2018yes\u2019--I am going to\nask for them!\u201d\n\nSo she said the magic rhyme:\n\n \u201cRose, Rose, bring to me\n Everything I wish to see.\u201d\n\nBut no soap bubbles came. She looked all around the garden, even up in\nthe branches of the trees, but no bubbles were to be seen.\n\nThen she grew impatient; she took the rose, and said:\n\n \u201cRose, Rose, bring to me\n Everything I wish to see.\u201d\n\nThen suddenly the air was filled with soap bubbles; little ones, big\nones, floated all over the garden.\n\n\u201cOh, aren\u2019t they lovely!\u201d cried Lilla, holding out her arms to catch\nsome; and then a bubble larger than the others opened, and closed\naround the golden rose, and lifted it out of her hand, floated quickly\naway with it, higher, higher, higher, until Lilla could no longer see\nit.\n\nShe watched and watched until only two soap bubbles were to be seen;\nthen she sank on her knees, and stretched out her hands after them.\n\nBut it was too late; her rose was gone, the bubbles were gone, and she\nwas no longer a princess. Her hair was as short as it ever had been,\nand her crown had disappeared.\n\nIt was of no use to return to the castle now, as the people would not\nknow her. Where should she go? What could she do? She was so worried\nthat she cried aloud, and you can imagine how glad she was to hear her\nown mother\u2019s voice saying:\n\n\u201cLilla, dear, you must have fallen asleep. Come, wake up! Tell mother\nabout your dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, mother, it was just like a story,\u201d said Lilla, sitting up and\nrubbing her eyes.\n\nThen she told her mother all about it.\n\n\u201cA very pretty story,\u201d said her mother, \u201cand one that shows you that\npeople who can have almost everything they wish for, are not really\nhappier than others. There is always something just out of their reach,\nand that makes them discontented with what they have.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, even soap bubbles,\u201d said Lilla, laughing.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a good story--too good to be lost,\u201d said the Story King, when\nthe Story Lady finished.\n\n\u201cYes, but we have better, and you shall hear some of them to-morrow,\u201d\nsaid the Story Queen to Mary Frances, smiling graciously.\n\nThen to the people she announced:\n\n\u201cThere will be a reception in the court of honor this evening to our\nvisitor, Mary Frances, the finder of the lost story. As it is now dark,\nlet every one retire and prepare.\u201d\n\nThen all the people applauded, formed in line and marched out, each\nbowing to the King, Queen and Mary Frances, who stood rather timidly in\nher place with the Story Lady beside her.\n\nAfter the others were gone, the Story Lady turned to her and said:\n\n\u201cThe Queen has planned for you to be in my charge during your visit,\nand all you wish to see or hear is at your command.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow kind, and how perfectly lovely!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, clapping\nher hands. \u201cI couldn\u2019t possibly wish for anything I would rather have\nthan to be with you!\u201d\n\nThis pleased the Story Lady greatly, and she led the way to their\napartments.\n\nI wish I had the time and space to tell you more about the wonderful\nand delightful reception--how Mary Frances stood in line with the King\nand Queen, and was introduced to all the people of the island as a\ndistinguished visitor whose deed would never be forgotten as long as\nstories were told.\n\nBut if I were to relate all they said and did this book would not hold\none-quarter of the stories which the Story Lady had planned for Mary\nFrances to hear.\n\nThe revels continued far into the night; and when at last they ended,\nMary Frances retired to her apartment, excited and happy. As the Story\nLady kissed her good-night, she said:\n\n\u201cTo-morrow will be the first day.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE FIRST DAY\n\n MISCHIEVOUS ANNA AND PETER.--DIAMONDS AND TOADS.--THE MAGIC\n NECKLACE.--THE CAT AND THE CARROTS.--THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND\n THE JACKAL.--THE RED DRAGON.--TWO POEMS.--TINY\u2019S ADVENTURES IN\n TINYTOWN.--MORE ADVENTURES.\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE FIRST DAY\n\nXI\n\nMISCHIEVOUS ANNA AND PETER\n\n\nNOW, you must know that the Story People met at a certain hour every\nday to hear and to tell stories, new and old; for, as you may well\nbelieve, it is no small task to provide stories enough to feed the\nstory-hungry children of the world.\n\nAccordingly, when all were assembled, the Story King in his place, and\nMary Frances in the seat of honor beside the Story Queen, the Story\nLady began to tell the story of Mischievous Anna and Peter.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAnna and Peter were always in mischief. One day they climbed to the top\nof a high wall. It was a fairy wall, and it grew higher and higher,\nuntil at last it went so high that they got frightened, for they did\nnot know how they should get down again. So they held tight by each\nother and the wall, and began to cry.\n\nBut no one heard them. For they were far away from home; besides, they\nwere as high up in the air as the top of a mountain.\n\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d sobbed Anna.\n\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d sobbed Peter.\n\nAnd their eyes were red and their faces quite wet and dirty.\n\n\u201cI shall fall,\u201d said Peter.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t hold on much longer,\u201d said Anna. And then they both sobbed\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d again.\n\nThen they heard a voice saying, \u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d after them. Only it was\nnot any one crying, for the \u201coh! oh! oh!\u201d had a very sweet sound.\n\nThey could not look round, for they dared not move their heads, and\nthey dared not look down for fear of getting dizzy. But the voice\nseemed to be coming nearer. And so it was, for a fairy gate, with a\ntree beside it, and a little bit of ground to stand upon, was shooting\nup into the air just as the wall had done. And when it was as high as\nthe wall it stopped, and Peter and Anna saw that a boy was leaning\nagainst the gate. He was playing on a whistle-pipe, and that made the\nsound they had heard.\n\n\u201cI will play you a tune,\u201d said the boy. And he played so softly and\nsweetly that Peter and Anna left off crying.\n\n\u201cHow did you come up?\u201d asked Anna.\n\n\u201cOn the gate,\u201d said the boy.\n\n\u201cHow are you going down?\u201d asked Peter.\n\n\u201cOn the gate, to be sure,\u201d said the boy; \u201cI have only to say--\n\n \u201cGate, gate, let me go\n Far down to the earth below.\u201d\n\nAnd as he said the words, down he went.\n\n\u201cLet us also try,\u201d said Anna.\n\n \u201cWall, wall, let us go\n Far down to the earth below.\u201d\n\nThen down went the wall to the ground, and Peter and Anna slid off, and\nstood staring at the boy, who was still playing on his pipe.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want most?\u201d asked the boy. \u201cMy pipe will bring anything I\nask for.\u201d\n\n\u201cA silk frock with a flounce and a sash, and a bonnet with blue\nribbons,\u201d said Anna, who was fond of fine clothes.\n\n\u201cA new suit and pair of leather reins to play at horses with,\u201d said\nPeter.\n\nThe boy played a lively tune, and before Anna could say \u201cready,\u201d she\nfound herself dressed in a fine new frock; while Peter had the reins\nin his hands, and a new suit of clothes with a great frill and a round\nhat.\n\n[Illustration: THEY WERE AS HIGH UP IN THE AIR AS THE TOP OF A\nMOUNTAIN]\n\nThen the boy said \u201cGood-by,\u201d and Peter and Anna went towards home.\n\n\u201cI will go this way,\u201d said Peter.\n\n\u201cI will go that,\u201d said Anna.\n\nSo they parted.\n\nAnna, as she walked along, heard little feet behind her; and when she\nreached the steps leading to her home she looked round, and what was\nher surprise when she saw a large mouse dressed like a lady, with a\nparasol in its hand.\n\n \u201cI am the Countess Mouse\n Coming to your house;\n With you I\u2019ll stay\n Every day,\u201d\n\nsaid the mouse.\n\nNow Anna was afraid of mice, and she said, \u201cBut I do not want you;\nbesides, we have a large cat that will eat you up.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it will not; I am a fairy mouse, and can eat up the cat if I\nplease.\u201d\n\nAnna was much frightened; this was truly a dreadful mouse.\n\n\u201cGo away! Oh, go away!\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the mouse; \u201cas long as you wear my clothes I shall stay\nwith you and take care of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are not yours,\u201d said Anna; \u201ca boy with a whistle-pipe gave them\nto me.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut he piped to me for them,\u201d said the mouse; \u201cI have wardrobes full\nin my castle. You are quite welcome to them; but I must see that you do\nnot spoil them. I shall sit by you at dinner, and play with you, and\nwalk out with you, and sleep on your pillow at night.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh dear! oh dear!\u201d said Anna; \u201cI wish I had never asked for a silk\nfrock and bonnet.\u201d\n\n\u201cShall I take them back?\u201d\n\n \u201cOh yes! oh yes! please, Countess Mouse,\n Take them all back to your house.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, as you have made a rhyme, I will do so,\u201d said the mouse, and she\nslapped Anna\u2019s arm sharply with her parasol. Then Anna\u2019s new clothes\nfell off, and she found herself in her old cotton dress again. And the\nmouse grew larger and larger, and ran away to her castle with the silk\nfrock and the grand bonnet.\n\nNow while this was happening to Anna a queer-looking man in a peaked\nhat and long overcoat said to Peter, \u201cShall I be your horse?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Peter. And the man took the reins, and they went along\nmerrily enough.\n\nWhen they were close by his home, Peter said, \u201cI am going in here.\u201d\n\nBut the man said--\n\n \u201cNo, no, you are going with me;\n These are my reins, you cannot get free.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey cannot be yours,\u201d said Peter; \u201ca boy with a whistle-pipe gave\nthem to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, but he got them from me! I am a saddler, and have hundreds of\nthem. And I want some little boys to help me to make more.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to go,\u201d said Peter.\n\nBut he could not loose the reins, and the man pulled him along faster\nand faster.\n\n \u201cOh! oh! oh! I should be glad\n If these reins I hadn\u2019t had,\u201d\n\nsaid Peter.\n\n\u201cAs you have made a rhyme,\u201d said the man, \u201cI\u2019ll take them back, and you\nmay go home.\u201d\n\nThen the man hit Peter sharply with one end of the reins, and his new\nsuit fell off, and he found himself in his old pinafore.\n\nThen Peter went home and told Anna what had happened to him; and Anna\ntold Peter all about the mouse, and they both thought that they had had\na lucky escape.\n\nJust then the boy with the pipe came down the street. And the pipe\nplayed these words--\n\n \u201cKeep out of mischief; you never know\n What may come to cause you woe;\n What you may think is very good fun,\n May give you trouble before you\u2019ve done.\u201d\n\nThen the boy turned round the corner of the street, and Anna and Peter\nnever saw him again.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cMy, but the mouse must have looked cunning!\u201d Mary Frances said. \u201cThank\nyou for telling me that story. I--I wish----\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you like to hear another--about Isabella and her cruel\nstepsisters?\u201d asked the Story Lady.\n\n\u201cI should love to hear it!\u201d replied Mary Frances.\n\nThe story people smiled and nodded, and the Story Lady proceeded.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nDIAMONDS AND TOADS\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a dear little girl named Isabella. She lived\nwith her father, and her stepmother, and her two stepsisters.\n\nIsabella was a pretty child and had sweet manners. Her stepsisters were\nnot pretty, and they and their mother were jealous of Isabella.\n\nThey seldom spoke kindly to her; they made her do the hard work of the\nhome, and treated her in a harsh manner, very much as Cinderella\u2019s\nstepmother and stepsisters treated Cinderella.\n\nOne of her hard duties was to fetch the water for the household from\nthe well just outside the village.\n\nIt was quite a long walk to the well, and after Isabella had worked all\nthe morning, cooking, and washing the dishes, and washing and ironing,\nor sweeping, she felt sometimes that she was too tired to go so far and\ncarry home such a heavy load.\n\nOne day after washing and ironing, she said, \u201cI wish one of you girls\nwould go with me to the well to-day, and help me bring back the water.\nI am so tired.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, they shall not!\u201d exclaimed her stepmother angrily. \u201cWhat do\nyou think--that my daughters shall wait on you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not care to get tanned in the sun,\u201d yawned one.\n\n\u201cI do not wish my hands to look as though I work,\u201d said the other\nhaughtily.\n\nSo Isabella set out alone. She sat down to rest several times on her\nway, but after a while she reached the well. It was an old-fashioned\naffair, and had a moss-covered bucket on a long chain which wound on\na roller. It was not hard work to drop the bucket down the well, but\nit was hard work to turn the handle of the roller until the dripping\nbucket reached the top. It was still harder work to empty the bucket\ninto the pail she carried.\n\nThis day, when Isabella came to the well there was an old woman sitting\non the well-curb. She was a wretched-looking old woman. She wore an old\nshawl about her head and shoulders.\n\nWhen she saw Isabella she said, \u201cGood-morrow, little maid.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood morning,\u201d said the little girl. \u201cHow do you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should do very well, thank you,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cif I had a\ndrink of water.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall soon have,\u201d said Isabella, forgetting her own tiredness\nbecause she felt sorry for her.\n\nIsabella soon had the well bucket up, filled her pail, and then held it\nso that the thirsty woman could drink out of the side. She drank long\nand eagerly.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d she said at length. \u201cDear child, you will never be sorry\nfor your kindness;\u201d and she rose and walked away.\n\nIsabella threw away the rest of the water, and after refilling her\npail, set out for home.\n\nWhen she reached the house, her stepmother said, \u201cYou are late! Where\nhave you been?\u201d\n\nIsabella opened her mouth to answer--and what do you think happened?\nOut fell diamonds and roses.\n\nQuickly the stepmother called her daughters and they began to sweep\nthem up.\n\n\u201cWhere have you been?\u201d cried the stepsisters. \u201cWhat has happened to\nyou?\u201d\n\nIsabella tried to think what could have brought such a thing about, for\nshe was as much surprised as any of them, but she could not think of\nanything unusual except the meeting with the old woman.\n\n\u201cSpeak!\u201d demanded her stepmother. \u201cAre you trying to hide something\nfrom us?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: SHE DRANK LONG AND EAGERLY]\n\nIsabella said that she had met a strange old lady at the well, but that\nshe could not remember anything else that had not happened every time\nshe had gone for water.\n\nEvery once in a while as she was speaking diamonds and roses fell from\nher mouth.\n\n\u201cYou need not go for the water the next time,\u201d said her stepmother. \u201cI\nshall send my own girls.\u201d\n\nThe next day the two stepsisters went to fetch the water.\n\nWhen they came to the well, there sat the old ragged woman on the curb.\n\n\u201cGood-morrow, young maidens,\u201d said the old woman.\n\nThe stepsisters just stared at her.\n\n\u201cMy, it is a warm day,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cand I am very thirsty.\nWill you give me a drink of water?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, we will not!\u201d said the older one haughtily.\n\n\u201cThe very idea!\u201d exclaimed the younger one, looking at the old woman\u2019s\nragged clothes. \u201cI should think not!\u201d\n\nThen they drew the water, all the time complaining and groaning about\nthe hard work.\n\nWhen they started to go home, the old woman spoke.\n\n\u201cYou are not kind,\u201d she said, \u201cyou will be sorry.\u201d But they only\nlaughed and hurried away.\n\nTheir mother met them at the door.\n\n\u201cWell, my dears,\u201d she said, \u201chow fared you? Did you meet any good\nfortune?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll we saw was an old woman at the well--such a ragged, wretched old\nthing she was, too!\u201d answered one girl.\n\n\u201cAnd she wanted us to give her a drink of water. The idea!\u201d the other\ngirl said at the same time.\n\nWith the last words, out of their mouths fell several snakes and toads,\nwhich went scudding across the floor.\n\nTheir mother screamed and, gathering her skirts about her, jumped on a\nchair.\n\n\u201cOh, where have you been?\u201d she cried. \u201cWhat has happened to you?\u201d\n\nAnd when the girls told her that they did not know, more snakes and\ntoads fell from their mouths.\n\n\u201cThis is an outrage!\u201d exclaimed their mother. \u201cIsabella has formed some\nterrible plot against you. She is to blame! Go bring her here, and I\nshall punish her. I shall whip her until she tells us the charm she has\nfound.\u201d\n\nThe girls ran out, and soon came back dragging Isabella between them.\n\nJust as they reached their mother a bright light appeared in the room,\nand suddenly a beautiful fairy stood before them.\n\n\u201cDo not touch Isabella!\u201d she said to the stepmother. \u201cShe is not in\nthe least to blame for your children\u2019s misfortune. Their cruel fate is\ntheir own fault. When I met Isabella at the well and asked her for a\ndrink of water, she gave it to me gladly and willingly, but when I met\nyour daughters and asked them for a drink they treated me proudly and\nunkindly.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou!\u201d exclaimed the stepmother, looking upon the radiant creature with\nher shining fairy robes about her. \u201cMet you, and would not give you a\ndrink of water!\u201d\n\nThe fairy smiled. \u201cAh, yes; it was I, but I did not look then as I now\ndo. I was the ragged old woman at the well.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf they had known it was you--\u201d said the stepmother.\n\n\u201cIf they had known it was I,\u201d the fairy said, \u201chow could I have judged\nwhether they were kind of heart, and polite to old people, and helpful\nto people in need?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I met Isabella,\u201d the fairy went on, \u201cI looked just as when I met\nyour daughters, and she was very polite and kind to me, and gave me a\ndrink, holding the pail while I drank, even though she was very tired.\nBecause only polite and kind words came from her mouth, I gave her a\ngood fairy gift, and because only impolite and unkind words came from\nthe mouths of your daughters, I gave them another kind of gift.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, please take back the one you gave them,\u201d pleaded the mother.\n\n\u201cDo you mean Isabella\u2019s gift, too?\u201d asked the fairy.\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d the mother said. \u201cLet her have her gift--but please, please\ntake away the awful gift of my daughters!\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me see,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cwhat Isabella says about that. Shall I\ntake back the gift of your stepsisters, my dear?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, please, please do!\u201d cried Isabella. \u201cI am so sorry that they are\nunhappy.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then,\u201d said the fairy. \u201cFor Isabella\u2019s sake, I shall take\ntheir gifts back, but only on one condition--that they promise to be\nkind and polite from now on.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we promise! We promise!\u201d cried both stepsisters at once.\n\n\u201cUnless you keep your promise,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cthe snakes and toads\nwill come from your mouths again.\u201d And the fairy disappeared as\nsuddenly as she had come.\n\nBut the snakes and toads did not come again, for the stepsisters and\ntheir mother were very kind to every one ever after, and Isabella lived\na happy life from that day.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cThey just had to keep their promise, didn\u2019t they?\u201d commented Mary\nFrances. \u201cI am glad they did, for I do not like people to break\npromises.\u201d\n\n\u201cNeither do I,\u201d agreed the Story Lady; \u201cand that reminds me of one of\nour favorite stories--Coralie and the Magic Necklace.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cbut I like a story with magic in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Story Lady, \u201cI will tell you the story.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nTHE MAGIC NECKLACE\n\n\nONCE there was a girl whose name was Coralie. She was a very pretty\ngirl, and very clever. She was so bright in her lessons at school that\nall she needed to do was to read them over once, and she knew them.\n\nShe lived in a pretty home, and was a great pet. Her parents loved\nher dearly, and although they were not well off, they gave Coralie\neverything she wished for that they could afford. So, you see, she had\nall the comforts of life, if not the luxuries.\n\nYou would think she would have been a very happy child, wouldn\u2019t you?\nWell, she would have been if she had not had one very dreadful fault.\nSometimes she told only half the truth; sometimes she told only quarter\nthe truth; sometimes she stretched the truth so far that she broke it.\n\nHer parents did everything they could to cure her of her dreadful\nfault, but everything failed. Even being in her room for a whole day\nwith only bread and butter and milk did not help her. At last they\nbecame almost desperate.\n\nOne evening, after Coralie had gone to bed, her father said, \u201cThere is\nonly one thing left, I suppose. We must take Coralie to the magician,\nMerlin.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied her mother with a sigh, \u201cit is the only thing I can\nthink of. You need not go, dear husband, for it will mean the loss of\nseveral days\u2019 work. I will take her myself. We can start to-morrow\nmorning.\u201d\n\nSo in the morning, her mother and Coralie set out on their journey.\n\nNow, the enchanter, Merlin, knew untruthful people even a long way\noff. He could tell them by their odor. So as Coralie and her mother\ndrew near his palace, which was built of frosted glass, he threw some\nincense on the fire to keep himself from becoming ill.\n\nAt length, Coralie\u2019s mother rang the door bell, and Merlin himself came\nto the door. \u201cGood afternoon,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cGood afternoon,\u201d replied Coralie\u2019s mother; \u201cwe have come a long\ndistance to see you, sir, because----\u201d\n\nMerlin raised his hand. \u201cI know all about the reason,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\nhave come to see me because you cannot make your daughter tell the\ntruth. She is one of the most untruthful children that ever lived. I\nknow, because her lies often make me ill. When I smelled her coming, I\nhad to burn incense;\u201d and he frowned terribly.\n\nYou can imagine how this frightened Coralie. She hid behind her mother.\nHer mother seemed frightened, too.\n\n\u201cOh, sir,\u201d she begged, \u201cplease deal as gently with her as you can. We\nlove her so dearly. We are so grieved that we cannot cure her our own\nselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not fear,\u201d answered the magician. \u201cI am not going to hurt her. All\nthat I wish to do is to make her a present.\u201d\n\nSo he invited them into the palace, and led the way to his workroom.\nAll the woodwork in the room was light green. The windows were studded\nwith red and blue and green jewels, and they threw rainbow colors on\nthe floor.\n\nMerlin went to a golden table, and, opening a drawer, took out a\nbeautiful amethyst necklace, with a diamond clasp. He threw the\nnecklace around Coralie\u2019s neck.\n\n\u201cThat is all,\u201d he said to her mother. \u201cYou may go. I am going to lend\nmy magic necklace of truth to Coralie. I shall come for it in one\nyear.\u201d Then he turned to Coralie, and said, \u201cDo not take it off. If\nyou do, great harm may come to you. Good-by,\u201d and he clapped his hands\ntwice.\n\n[Illustration: HE THREW THE NECKLACE AROUND CORALIE\u2019S NECK]\n\nTwo slaves appeared, and after bowing before Merlin, showed Coralie and\nher mother to the door.\n\nCoralie, of course, was delighted with the necklace. All her life long\nshe had wished for jewelry, but her parents could not afford to get her\nanything but the pretty seal ring which she wore. As to getting such a\nnecklace as Merlin had given her, it would have taken everything they\nowned in the world to so much as buy the diamond clasp.\n\nWhen she went back to school, the girls all gathered about her and\nbegan to admire the necklace.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it beautiful!\u201d they exclaimed. \u201cWhat a lucky girl! Your people\nmust have fallen heirs to a fortune!\u201d\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it pretty!\u201d said Coralie, lifting the sparkling string for them\nto see better. \u201cYes, my father and mother gave it to me. You see, I\nhave been ill, and they were so glad when I got well that they gave me\nthis for a present.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Oh! Oh!\u201d cried the girls.\n\nAnd no wonder they did, for all the sparkle left the necklace, and it\nlooked dull and old and scratched.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked Coralie. \u201cDon\u2019t you think my parents could\ngive it to me? They bought it, and paid an immense sum for it.\u201d\n\nAt that falsehood, the necklace turned from the light purple amethyst\ncolor to a dull gray agate, and the diamond clasp to a mud-color shade.\nThen Coralie saw what had happened, and she was frightened.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d she said, \u201cthey did not give it to me. We went to the magician,\nMerlin, and he lent it to me.\u201d\n\nAt these truthful words, the necklace became as beautiful as ever. But\nthe children began to laugh.\n\n\u201cWhat are you laughing at?\u201d asked Coralie. \u201cYou needn\u2019t make fun.\nMerlin was very glad to see us. When he saw us in the distance he sent\nhis carriage to meet us. It was drawn by two fawn-colored horses, and\nthe coachman wore livery. There was a great feast spread for us, and\neach of us had a servant in back of our chairs. We had golden plates to\neat from, and----\u201d\n\nSuddenly Coralie stopped speaking, for the children were laughing at\nher harder than ever. She looked down at her necklace. No wonder they\nlaughed. It was dull again in color, and had grown so long it rested\nupon the ground.\n\n\u201cHo, ho, Coralie!\u201d cried one. \u201cCome, now! You are stretching the truth!\nSet us right!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d confessed Coralie, \u201cMerlin didn\u2019t send any one to meet us. We\nwalked, and we were in his palace only a little while.\u201d\n\nAt these words, the necklace shrank to its right size, and resumed its\nown beautiful color.\n\n\u201cBut now, Coralie,\u201d cried the children, \u201cbut now tell us truly where\nyou got the necklace. Did the magician give it to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Coralie, \u201che just handed it to me without saying a word. I\nthink he----\u201d\n\nShe did not finish the sentence, for the necklace had suddenly grown so\ntight that it was choking her, and she was gasping for breath.\n\n\u201cCome, come, Coralie!\u201d cried one of the girls. \u201cYou are keeping back\npart of the truth! Tell the truth! What happened?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe said I was one of the most untruthful persons in the world,\u201d\nadmitted Coralie; and the necklace became itself again.\n\nAnd so things kept on. Every time Coralie tried to say one untruthful\nthing, the necklace behaved in some queer, frightful way. Even the\nchildren became sorry for her, for she began to look worried all the\ntime.\n\n\u201cIf I were you, I\u2019d take the necklace back,\u201d one of the girls told her.\n\u201cIt gives you no happiness at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed it doesn\u2019t,\u201d said Coralie, \u201cI wish I----\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you take it back?\u201d the girl asked.\n\nNow, Coralie did not wish to tell her, and kept still, for she was\nwondering what she could possibly say; but the necklace began to act\nwildly. The stones began to dance up and down so hard that they hurt\nher.\n\n\u201cMerlin told me I must not take it off,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I should do so,\ngreat harm would come to me. He is coming for it when I\u2019ve worn it for\na year.\u201d\n\nAnd the necklace shone just a little more brightly than before, and the\ndiamond clasp sparkled so that it would have dazzled your eyes to look\nat it.\n\nAnd after that Coralie began to lose the worried look, for the telling\nof the truth was beginning to be a habit with her. The necklace very\nseldom had to remind her, for every day it grew easier for her to tell\nthe truth.\n\nAnd when Merlin came for his necklace, he brought her a far more\nbeautiful gift than the necklace, but it was one that she could not\nwear showily. It was a necklace of pearls, pearls of great price which\nshe wore just over her heart. You see, Merlin needed his magic necklace\nfor another child who did not tell the truth.\n\nNobody knows where the magic necklace is to-day; but if I were a child\nin the habit of telling falsehoods, I should not feel quite sure that\nit would not be found again.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cWill it?\u201d asked Mary Frances, as the Story Lady finished the story.\n\n\u201cIt may be,\u201d said the Story King. \u201cI have an idea where it is. Why? Do\nyou know any children who do not speak the truth?\u201d\n\n\u201cI--I am sorry to say that I do,\u201d Mary Frances said. \u201cI do not know\nmany, though. I know two who do not always tell the truth; and I know\none child who isn\u2019t kind to her pet cat. I wish I knew a story to tell\nher when I go home.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, perhaps you would like to hear the story of Linda.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease tell it to me?\u201d she asked.\n\nSo the Story Lady told the story of \u201cThe Cat and the Carrots.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nTHE CAT AND THE CARROTS\n\n\nLINDA was a little girl who rarely thought of any one but herself. She\nwould take the warmest place by the fire and the largest piece of cake\non the dish, or the finest apple or pear; and she would take away the\ntoys from the other children, and did not care for anything as long as\nshe was amused herself.\n\nHer mother was very sorry to see that Linda was selfish, and used to\ntalk very seriously to her about it, and to tell her that no one would\nlove her if she did not mend her ways.\n\nBut Linda did not care, and she did not believe what her mother said.\n\n\u201cYou will always love me, Mother,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cPerhaps so,\u201d said her mother; \u201cbut then you are my own little girl,\nand it is my duty to take care of you. Besides, I shall be very sorry\nfor you, because you will be very unhappy. But no one else will care\nfor you. Every one will dislike you because you are selfish--every one\nin the world.\u201d\n\nLinda did not say anything, but the words \u201cevery one in the world\u201d\ncame into her head many times during the day, and at night they came\ninto her dreams, and she fancied she saw the words written in letters\nof fire, from which the flames shot up in all directions, and she was\nsaying half aloud, \u201cThe bed will be on fire,\u201d when a voice said--\n\n\u201cBut you are not in bed, you are in the farmyard.\u201d\n\nThen she looked round, and saw that she was near the barn, and that\nthere was a ladder not far off, and a great barrel close by. Also\nthere was a heap of carrots, which Linda began to toss about, and to\nsnap in two, and to pull the leaves off; and at last she was throwing\nthem all into the duck-pond, when a voice suddenly said, \u201cStop!\u201d\n\nLinda looked round, but no one was to be seen.\n\n\u201cStop!\u201d said the voice again.\n\nThen Linda looked down, and seated upon a stone she saw a carrot whose\ngreen top-knot of leaves she had broken off. Two little legs and two\nlittle arms had sprouted out, and it had eyes and a mouth, but no nose.\n\n\u201cHave you no feelings?\u201d said the carrot. \u201cIs it not enough to be taken\nfrom my home in the earth, without being knocked about and flung into a\nduck-pond? How would you like it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not a carrot,\u201d said Linda.\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t care for any one but yourself,\u201d replied the carrot, growing\nredder and redder; \u201cno one likes you, not even carrots, and you will\nfind that some day people will pay you back for being so selfish. I am\ngoing to begin at once. Come carrots, carrots, carrots!\u201d he shouted.\n\n \u201cIn and out\n Whirl about;\n Pinch and beat her;\n Let her know\n Selfishness will bring her woe;\n Come at once and greet her.\u201d\n\nThen suddenly all the carrots that were lying about sprang up, and\nthose that were in the duck-pond sprang out of it. They were joined by\nthose in the gardens near, and they came trooping along like an army.\nThey could walk as well in the air as on the ground; and they whirled\naround Linda and pulled her hair and pinched her arms, till she cried\naloud for mercy.\n\n \u201cHo! ho! ho! only see\n What it is our foe to be,\u201d\n\nshouted the carrots, as they twirled up and down and round and round.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHAVE YOU NO FEELINGS?\u201d SAID THE CARROT]\n\nThe air was full of carrots, and the ground was covered by them, and\nLinda made up her mind that if she ever got clear of them she would\nnever meddle with a carrot again as long as she lived. She kept off\ntheir blows as long as she could, but at last she was too tired to do\nso any longer, and she sank down to the ground crying, \u201cOh, please\nleave off! please leave off!\u201d\n\n \u201cWe now have done,\n But we\u2019ve had some fun,\u201d\n\nsaid the carrot who had first spoken to her.\n\n\u201cCarrots, depart,\u201d said he, waving his hand.\n\nThe last carrot had said \u201cGood-by,\u201d but Linda had not spoken.\n\nShe waited till she thought he had gone, and then she looked up. The\ncarrot certainly was not there, but a large cat was sitting beside her.\n\n\u201cTopsy, poor Topsy!\u201d said Linda.\n\nBut Topsy put up her back, and her eyes looked very fierce.\n\n\u201cPoor Topsy, indeed!\u201d said the cat, angrily; \u201cdon\u2019t think to coax me,\nyou never think of me in the house, you pull my whiskers and my tail,\nand you never give me a bit of meat, or anything nice that you are\neating; and this morning, though I sat on the chair beside you, longing\nfor a little new milk, you drank it all up--you did not leave me a\ndrop. You are the most selfish little girl I know, and I don\u2019t like\nyou, so I am going to scratch you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh dear! oh dear!\u201d said Linda, \u201cplease don\u2019t. The carrots have\npunished me till I am quite sore.\u201d\n\n \u201cCats, cats, one and all,\n Tabby, tortoise-shell, come when I call,\n Gray and yellow, black and white\n Cats and kittens, come hither to-night.\u201d\n\ncalled the cat loudly.\n\nAh! all the cats and kittens in the world must have come. So many! And\nthey all thronged round her, and sat upon her shoulders, and clung\nround her arms.\n\n\u201cAll the cats in the world hate you,\u201d said Topsy.\n\n\u201cWe do! we do! we do!\u201d mewed the cats. \u201cShe never cares what becomes of\npoor cats and kittens.\u201d\n\nThen the cats tumbled over each other, and tumbled over Linda, and\ncrowded round her and upon her, until she was sitting under a heap of\ncats, with only her face peeping out, and Topsy was crouching in front,\nlooking fiercely at her.\n\n\u201cNow that you cannot stir,\u201d said Topsy, \u201cI am going to scratch you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d shrieked Linda, and she gave such a start that all the\ncats fell down upon the ground; and at that moment she opened her eyes,\nand found herself in her bed, with her mother standing beside her.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked her mother, for she had heard Linda scream.\n\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d sobbed Linda, \u201cI have had such a horrid dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it was only a dream. You are awake now, and I am with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery one in the world hates me, even the cats and the carrots,\u201d\nsobbed Linda, and bit by bit she told her mother all her dream.\n\n\u201cIt was such a horrid dream, and I was so frightened,\u201d said Linda, \u201cI\ncan\u2019t think why it came.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said her mother; \u201cit came out of your own heart.\nYou had been thinking of the words I said to you, that every one would\ndislike you but myself. I am glad that you have had this dream, for it\nshows me that my words have sunk into my little girl\u2019s heart, and I\nhope now that she will try to improve.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try,\u201d said Linda.\n\nAnd she did try, and whenever she was inclined to do any selfish act\nshe thought of her wonderful dream, and said to herself, \u201cI should not\nwish all the world to be like the cats and the carrots.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a good story,\u201d said Mary Frances to the Queen. \u201cI shall try to\nremember it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a good story,\u201d replied the Queen, smiling; \u201cbut we have still\nbetter, as you shall hear.\u201d\n\nHere a page boy who sat on a stool at the foot of the Story Lady began\nto fidget, as if to ask a question.\n\n\u201cWell, what is it, Roland?\u201d asked the Story Lady.\n\n\u201cIf you please, can\u2019t we have a story about a boy?\u201d answered Roland.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Story Lady; \u201cyou shall have two stories--one about a\ntiger, and the other about a page boy who killed a dragon.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nTHE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND THE JACKAL\n\n\nONCE upon a time a Brahmin, who was walking along the road, came upon\nan iron cage in which some men had shut up a great Tiger.\n\nAs the Brahmin passed by, the Tiger called out:\n\n\u201cO brother Brahmin, brother Brahmin, have pity on me, and let me out\nfor only one minute! I am so thirsty I shall die unless I can have a\ndrink of water.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am afraid,\u201d said the Brahmin, \u201cthat if I let you out you will eat\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, indeed,\u201d said the Tiger. \u201cAs soon as I have had some water, I will\ngo back to my cage.\u201d\n\nThen the Brahmin was sorry for the thirsty beast, and opened the cage\ndoor. Instantly the Tiger jumped out, and cried, \u201cI will eat you first\nand drink the water afterwards.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not be in such a hurry,\u201d said the Brahmin. \u201cLet us ask the opinions\nof six, and, if they all say it is fair for you to kill me, then I am\nwilling to die.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Tiger, \u201cwe will ask the first six living things\nwe meet.\u201d\n\nSo they walked on till they came to a Banyan-tree, and the Brahmin\nsaid, \u201cBanyan-tree, Banyan-tree, hear and judge.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me hear,\u201d said the Banyan-tree.\n\n\u201cThis Tiger,\u201d said the Brahmin, \u201cbegged me to let him out of his cage\nto drink a little water and he promised not to hurt me. Now that he is\nfree, he wishes to eat me. Is it fair that he should do so?\u201d\n\nThen the Banyan-tree said: \u201cMen come to rest in my cool shade. When\nthey have rested, they break my branches and scatter my leaves. They\nare a cruel race. Let the Tiger eat the man.\u201d\n\n\u201cTiger, Tiger,\u201d said the Brahmin, \u201cdo not eat me yet. You said that you\nwould hear the judgment of six.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Tiger, and they went on their way. Soon they met\na Camel.\n\n\u201cCamel, Camel,\u201d cried the Brahmin, \u201chear and judge.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me hear,\u201d said the Camel.\n\nThen the Brahmin told his story.\n\n\u201cWhen I was young and strong and could work, my master took good care\nof me,\u201d said the Camel; \u201cbut now that I am old, he starves me and beats\nme without mercy. Men are a cruel race. Let the Tiger eat the man.\u201d\n\nThe Tiger would have killed the Brahmin then and there, but he said:\n\n\u201cTiger, Tiger, do not eat me yet. You said that you would hear the\njudgment of six.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Tiger, and they went on their way. Soon they saw\nan Ox lying near the road.\n\n\u201cBrother Ox, brother Ox,\u201d cried the Brahmin, \u201chear and judge.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me hear,\u201d said the Ox, and the Brahmin told his story.\n\n\u201cWhen I was young,\u201d said the Ox, \u201cmy master was kind to me. Now that I\nam too old to work he has left me here to die. Men are a cruel race.\nLet the Tiger eat the man.\u201d\n\nThey next saw an Eagle flying through the air, and the Brahmin cried:\n\n\u201cO Eagle, great Eagle, hear and judge.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me hear,\u201d said the Eagle.\n\nThe Brahmin told his story, and the Eagle said:\n\n\u201cWhenever men see me, they try to shoot me; they climb the rocks to my\nnest and steal away my little ones. Men are a cruel race. Let the Tiger\neat the man.\u201d\n\nThen the Tiger began to roar, but the Brahmin said, \u201cWait! we have yet\ntwo to ask.\u201d\n\nSoon they saw an Alligator, and the Brahmin told his story. But the\nAlligator said:\n\n\u201cWhenever I put my nose out of the water, men torment me. They are a\ncruel race. Let the Tiger eat the man.\u201d\n\nThe Brahmin was now in despair, but the Tiger was willing to keep his\nword. And the sixth judge was a Jackal. Now the Jackal is a miserable\nlittle beast whom no one likes, but he listened to the Brahmin\u2019s story.\n\n\u201cYou must show me just where it was and how it happened,\u201d said the\nJackal.\n\nSo they all went back to the cage.\n\n\u201cI was here,\u201d said the Brahmin, standing in the road.\n\n\u201cAnd I was in the cage,\u201d said the Tiger.\n\n\u201cWhich way were you looking?\u201d said the Jackal; \u201cand show me the side of\nthe cage where you stood.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was on this side,\u201d said the Tiger, jumping into the cage.\n\n\u201cOh, yes, I see,\u201d said the Jackal. \u201cAnd was the cage door shut?\u201d\n\n\u201cShut and bolted,\u201d said the Brahmin.\n\n\u201cThen shut and bolt it,\u201d said the Jackal.\n\nWhen the Brahmin had done this, the Jackal said: \u201cO wicked and\nungrateful Tiger, you would have killed the good Brahmin who opened\nyour cage door. Your cruelty shall be punished, for no one will ever\nlet you out again. Go your way, friend Brahmin, and go in peace.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cGood for the jackal!\u201d said Roland, clapping his hands. \u201cNow for the\ndragon!\u201d\n\nSo the Story Lady went right on.\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nTHE RED DRAGON\n\n\nTHERE lived in a marsh near a certain village, a red dragon which\nterrorized all the people round about; so the king of the country\noffered a great reward to any one who would kill the frightful beast.\n\nA great many knights of the king\u2019s army went out one after the other to\nslay it, and each came back with a wonderful tale of how he had fought\nwith the dragon; and, after wounding it, had given up the fight only\nfor fear of being slain by the monster.\n\n\u201cNever mind; you will have better success next time,\u201d the kind king\nwould say to each defeated knight. Then he would give him a valuable\ngift as a reward for his brave effort.\n\nThere was among the king\u2019s pages a little boy who was a great butterfly\nhunter. The king\u2019s librarian paid him a gold piece for every new\nbutterfly he found.\n\nThis page was a great favorite of the king, and often rode with him on\nlong journeys. One day when the king stopped in the neighborhood in\nwhich the dragon lived, the page boy slipped off with his net to hunt\nbutterflies; and, in chasing a rare specimen, lost his way and wandered\ninto the very swamp where the dragon was roaming about.\n\nWhen the fierce old dragon saw the boy, he came rushing and roaring\nat him in a great rage. The frightened boy looked around; there were\nno trees to climb for safety, and he knew that if he ran he could not\nescape, for run as he might, the dragon could run still faster.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWOW,\u201d SHRIEKED THE DRAGON]\n\nHe had nothing with which to fight except his butterfly net. The net\nwas fastened to the end of a long stout stick, and the boy decided to\ndefend himself with this as best he could. When the monster charged\ndown upon him, bellowing fearfully, he raised his stick and thrust it\nwith all his might into the bulging side of the beast.\n\n\u201cWow!\u201d shrieked the dragon; and with a puff it went up in the air and\nburst, just as a balloon does when a hole is slashed in its cover.\n\nThe fierce old dragon was nothing but skin and air!\n\nWhen he was sure it was quite dead, the boy grasped the empty dragon\nskin by its spiked tail, and dragged it back to the castle and showed\nit to the king. He was the maddest king you ever heard of when he saw\nthe dead dragon lying there, and sent off at once for the bold knights\nwho had pretended to fight it so bravely.\n\n\u201cYou old humbugs,\u201d he cried. \u201cThere lies the red dragon you bragged so\nmuch about fighting. It wasn\u2019t a thing but skin and air. If any one of\nyou had so much as touched it with the point of a sword, it would have\ngone to pieces, as it did when my brave page boy struck it with his\nbutterfly net.\u201d\n\nThe cowardly knights had no word to say. So the king ordered them to\ngive the gifts they had received for fighting the dragon to the page\nboy, who was then so rich that he was able to buy a castle of his own.\nWhen he grew up, he was known as one of the bravest knights of that\ncountry.\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nTWO POEMS\n\n\n\u201cTHE page was pretty brave,\u201d said Roland. \u201cWhen I was little I used\nto be scared of the dark, and my mother taught me a poem about being\nbrave.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, say it for us, please!\u201d cried a girl near him.\n\nThe boy shook his head in refusal, but Mary Frances gave him a smile\nand said, encouragingly, \u201cPlease, I want to hear it.\u201d\n\nThen Roland rose, made a bow, and recited his poem:\n\n\nIF I COULD CROW\n\n Sometimes I waken up at night,\n And cannot see a speck of light;\n I snuggle down into my bed,\n And pull the clothes in overhead.\n\n I look and peer into the dark,\n As something seems to whisper, \u201cHark!\u201d\n Then, with an awful sudden jump,\n My heart begins to thump and thump.\n\n Oh, my, I think I\u2019ll be so brave,\n And all my courage try to save;\n Then, as I feel my courage go,\n Our yellow rooster starts to crow.\n\n Then I\u2019m ashamed, and feel so small\n To think that I\u2019m not brave at all;\n To know that in the black, black night,\n Our rooster crows--no soul in sight.\n\n He flaps his wings and crows for fair;\n His voice sounds like he didn\u2019t care--\n Oh, well, what if I\u2019m scared--I know\n I\u2019d be brave, too, if I could crow!\n\nJust at this point the cat came bouncing into their midst.\n\n\u201cI have just time enough,\u201d he said, breathlessly; \u201cif you are quite\nready, I will begin.\u201d\n\nYou should have heard the children shout!\n\n\u201cWe are quite ready! Go on, Puss! Begin, please,\u201d they cried.\n\nSo the cat made a bow, twirled his whiskers, and began:\n\n\nTHE TWINS[A]\n\n There were two little kittens, a black and a gray,\n And grandmother said, with a frown:\n \u201cIt never will do to keep them both,\n The black one we better drown.\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t cry, my dear,\u201d to tiny Bess,\n \u201cOne kitten\u2019s enough to keep;\n Now run to nurse, for \u2019tis growing late,\n And time you were fast asleep.\u201d\n\n The morrow dawned, and rosy and sweet\n Came little Bess from her nap;\n The nurse said, \u201cGo into mother\u2019s room,\n And look in grandmother\u2019s lap.\u201d\n\n \u201cCome here,\u201d said grandmother, with a smile,\n From the rocking-chair where she sat;\n \u201cGod has sent you two little brothers;\n Now what do you think of that?\u201d\n\n Bess looked at the babies a moment,\n With their wee heads, yellow and brown,\n And then to grandmother soberly said,\n \u201cWhich one are you going to drown?\u201d\n\n[A] Author unknown.\n\nAs soon as he had finished, he waltzed around three times, turned a\nsomersault, and bounded out of the circle as quickly as he had appeared.\n\nWhen the Story People had stopped laughing the Story King rose and\nwaved his hand and said:\n\n\u201cThat will do for to-day; we must not tire our guest.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I am not tired,\u201d said Mary Frances; \u201cI could listen to such\nstories forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear child, I believe you love stories as much as we do,\u201d said the\nQueen, smiling at her enthusiasm. \u201cWell, you shall have a delightful\nsurprise to-morrow.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhile the stories were being told, Mary Frances had noticed a little\ndried-up man, sitting at a table near the Story Lady, and writing\nrapidly with an immense quill pen. Before him was a pile of white paper\nand an inkwell. As she told the story he wrote it down, keeping even\npace with her words. Mary Frances had never seen any one write so fast\nand she watched him, fascinated. Almost without an effort his pen flew\nover the paper, and as the last word of the story left the Story Lady\u2019s\nlips his pen stopped. Then he folded his papers neatly and laid them on\nthe table.\n\nAs Mary Frances was passing out with the Story Lady, this little man,\nmuch to her surprise, stepped up and handed her the papers he had been\nwriting.\n\n\u201cThese,\u201d said he, \u201care your copies of the stories you have just heard.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank you, thank you,\u201d she replied, hesitating to take them.\n\n\u201cYes, they are for you,\u201d said the Story Lady. \u201cThis is the Ready\nWriter; he will give you copies of all the stories you hear.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank you,\u201d said Mary Frances again to the Ready Writer. \u201cHow fast\nyou write! You must be the fastest writer in the world!\u201d\n\nThe little man bowed and retired, evidently much pleased with her\npraise of his skill.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nTINY\u2019S ADVENTURES IN TINYTOWN\n\n\n\u201cBEFORE it grows dark, I have something to show you--one of the most\ninteresting sights on Story Island,\u201d said the Story Lady. \u201cBut we must\nhasten, because darkness falls here very suddenly; it drops like a\ncurtain--all at once.\u201d\n\nTogether they walked down the castle steps and through the town. All\nwas so strange to Mary Frances; the houses, the streets--everything was\nso fairy-like or story-like, and yet so familiar, that it seemed as if\nshe had seen them all before.\n\n\u201cYou live in Story Land, indeed,\u201d said Mary Frances, gazing eagerly\nabout her.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d returned the Story Lady, \u201cwe are not a very matter-of-fact\npeople.\u201d\n\nSoon they came to a beautiful park on the outskirts of the town.\n\n\u201cThis is the Queen\u2019s Garden,\u201d said the Story Lady. \u201cHere are many of\nthe trees, flowers and birds you read about in the story books.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Oh!\u201d cried Mary Frances, with delight, as she looked about her.\n\nMany of the wonders were strange, but here and there others were\nfamiliar and she lingered to examine them.\n\n\u201cNot too long,\u201d warned the Story Lady, smiling, \u201cor darkness will\novertake us. Here is a surprise for you.\u201d\n\nThey came to an enclosure, surrounded by a white picket-fence about a\nfoot high.\n\n\u201cWhat a tiny little town!\u201d cried Mary Frances, looking down.\n\n\u201cYes, that is what we call it--Tinytown.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, it\u2019s just like the towns at home,\u201d said Mary Frances, looking\ncloser. \u201cThere\u2019s the school and the flag-staff, the public square and\nthe fountain, the church, the fire-house, the stores and houses--just\nas they are at home! Oh, where did you get it?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe found it in your country,\u201d replied the Story Lady; \u201cand we brought\nit here and set it up just as you see it and named it after Tiny, the\ngirl who discovered it--but it\u2019s a long story.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, won\u2019t you tell me the story?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; this evening.\u201d\n\nMary Frances walked all around the fence and examined the little town\nminutely. \u201cTo think of finding that on Story Island!\u201d she exclaimed. At\nthe same time she felt a little pang of homesickness, but said nothing\nabout it.\n\n\u201cNow we must hasten home,\u201d said the Story Lady.\n\nAs it was broad daylight, Mary Frances thought it rather strange to\nhurry so, but just as they reached the castle, darkness fell and the\ndaylight went just as if some one had pressed a button and shut it out.\n\nThat evening while they were resting comfortably in their apartments,\nthe Story Lady related Tiny\u2019s Adventures in Tinytown just as they are\nset down here.\n\n\n_Tiny Gets Lost_\n\nTiny was out in the woods hunting chestnuts, when a bird flew overhead,\na bright-colored bird.\n\nTiny saw the bird twice before she was certain it was a flicker.\n\nAt first it seemed like a golden streak of yellow as it flew by, but\nwhen it rested on a low bush, she felt sure there wasn\u2019t any yellow\nabout it. Instead, it was bluish-gray and brown. On its head was the\nmost beautiful crescent of red. Its throat was a warm leaf-brown,\nspecked with polka-dots of black.\n\n[Illustration: JUST AT HER FEET LAY THE TINIEST LITTLE BIT OF A\nTOWN]\n\n\u201cStrange!\u201d thought Tiny, tiptoeing nearer and nearer. \u201cOh, no, it\u2019s not\nstrange at all. Why, it\u2019s a flicker--a golden-winged woodpecker. Its\nwings are lined with yellow. Of course it looked like a yellow bird\nwhen flying overhead.\u201d\n\n\u201cWick--wick--wick--wick--follow--me.\u201d The bird flew on a little farther.\n\n\u201cI will catch up soon, birdie!\u201d Tiny called, and hurried to the branch\nwhere the bird was sitting.\n\n\u201cWick--wick!\u201d On and on it flew, Tiny following, when suddenly it\ndisappeared entirely, and there was Tiny miles out in the forest, and\nnot knowing the way back home at all. And not a single thing to eat,\neither.\n\n\u201cMy, now I am scared!--but I won\u2019t cry! I\u2019m nine years old, and I won\u2019t\ncry! I\u2019ll look around and see if there isn\u2019t something I can think to\ndo,\u201d but a big tear blinded her eye.\n\n\u201cWhere\u2019s my handkerchief? Where ever did I put my handkerchief?\u201d She\nlooked in her pocket. \u201cBut if I\u2019m not going to cry, what do I need it\nfor?\u201d she asked herself, and brushed away a big drop with the back of\nher hand.\n\n\u201cOh, oh, look!\u201d Tiny laughed so that the woods echoed, and no wonder\nshe did--for just at her feet lay the tiniest little bit of a town with\nreal houses, no bigger than bird-houses; real people, too, not much\ntaller than pins; real street-lamps no bigger than pencils; real carts\nno bigger than peanuts; real horses no bigger than katydids. In the\ncenter of the town was a lovely little fountain. From the fountain,\nwalks led in four directions.\n\nHouses and public buildings were along these walks; and scattered on\nthe green lawns were pretty flower-beds.\n\n\u201cOh, what a lovely cottage!\u201d cried Tiny, spying a beautiful little\nhouse near the edge of the village.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to pick it up! No, I\u2019ll stoop down and look at it. People\nmay be inside. If I picked it up they might be hurt and frightened.\u201d\n\nShe leaned over and examined it closely, but was careful not to step\ninto the town.\n\nThe walls were covered with vines, and geraniums bloomed at the\nwindows. Charming white curtains hung on the sashes, showing off the\nbrilliant color of the geraniums.\n\nSmoke was coming out of the chimney.\n\n\u201cMy, the people who live in that cottage must be getting supper!\u201d The\nlittle girl spoke softly to herself. \u201cIt seems to me I can smell it\ncooking. What tiny little bits of dishes they must use--smaller than\nthe littlest ones I own. Why, an acorn would be almost large enough for\na bath tub for the house.\u201d\n\nTiny laughed gayly at the idea.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll wait here for a minute or two to see if anybody comes out of the\ndoor,\u201d she said, taking a seat on the twisted roots of a nearby tree;\nbut, although she waited patiently for several minutes, no one appeared.\n\n\u201cHow I wonder who lives in such a dear little home!\u201d she thought. \u201cIt\nmust be fun to live in such a beautiful little house. My, isn\u2019t the\nwhole town too sweet for anything! How I\u2019d like to live there!\u201d\n\nShe put her toe on the gravel walk which led across the tiny little\ntown, and, in a second she was no longer a big girl; she was as little\nas a pin herself, only, of course, not so thin as a pin, but just the\nright size for the house.\n\n\n_Tiny is Put in the Lock-up_\n\nTiny rubbed her tiny little eyes with her tiny little hand, and looked\nabout her in amazement. She was very near the cottage she had so much\nadmired. \u201cI\u2019d love to peep in the windows,\u201d she thought, \u201cbut it would\nbe so rude. I guess I\u2019ll walk over toward the fountain.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, here comes a hand-organ and a little monkey!\u201d Tiny put her hand\nin her pocket to find a penny, but all she found there were three\nchestnuts, each no bigger than a period. \u201cPoor little monkey!\u201d said\nTiny as he came up to her, lifting his hat, \u201cyou must be tired. I\nwonder if you\u2019d like these nuts.\u201d\n\nThe monkey smelled of the nuts, lifted his hat, looked at his master,\nand nodding his thanks, began to eat them.\n\n\u201cHe no tired,\u201d said the Italian organ-grinder. \u201cHe work only two hours\na day.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d said Tiny. \u201cDoes he play the rest of the day?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe play, play, play,\u201d smiled the man, and passed down the street.\n\n\u201cMy,\u201d thought Tiny, as she walked along, \u201cI wish I had taken some money\nwith me this morning. If I had a nickel, I\u2019d buy some bananas from that\nbanana-man\u2019s fruit-stand. I certainly am hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWant banan\u2019s?\u201d inquired the man as she stood looking at his wares.\n\nTiny nodded. \u201cI haven\u2019t any money,\u201d she said, trying to keep from\ncrying.\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d smiled the man, \u201cI had little girl once. She gone. She\ndie. I give banan\u2019s you.\u201d He handed her a half-dozen bananas no bigger\nthan pencil points.\n\n\u201cOh, thank you,\u201d said Tiny. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget how kind you are.\u201d\n\nBut the man was on his way down the street before she finished.\n\nShe felt much better after eating and stood for quite a while watching\nthe little fountain play and splash.\n\nAway in the distance she heard a dog bark, and at the edge of the\nvillage she saw a tiny newsboy and with him a tiny dog, no bigger than\na capital letter. Under his arm he carried tiny newspapers no bigger\nthan postage stamps.\n\n\u201cNot much news in such a tiny paper!\u201d thought Tiny, watching the\nfountain splash. \u201cSome day I\u2019ll buy one to see what it says.\u201d\n\nSuddenly she realized it was getting dark; people passed by her and\nwent into the houses. She felt very lonely and a little frightened.\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d she thought, \u201cI do wonder where I\u2019ll sleep to-night? I\nwonder if it\u2019s against the law to sleep on the park benches?\u201d She went\nover and sat down on one. \u201cI guess I\u2019ll try sleeping here, anyhow.\u201d\n\nShe was just going to stretch out, when she saw a policeman coming\ntoward her just as fast as he could walk.\n\n\u201cCome, come!\u201d he said. \u201cWho are you? I\u2019ve never seen you around here\nbefore! What\u2019s your name? Where do you live?\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease, Mr. Policeman\u201d--Tiny tried to keep her voice from shaking--\u201cmy\nname is Tiny and I\u2019m lost.\u201d\n\n\u201cTiny! Tiny! Tiny what? What\u2019s your other name?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey call me \u2018Tiny girl\u2019,\u201d said Tiny.\n\n\u201cTiny Girl!\u201d grunted the policeman. \u201cGirl! I\u2019ve never heard of a Mr.\nGirl or a Mrs. Girl around here! Oh, I know--I understand now--you\u2019ve\nrun away from home--that\u2019s what you\u2019ve done!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, sir,\u201d began Tiny, but the policeman took her hand, and walked\ntoward the town hall.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll have to sleep over there to-night,\u201d said he, pointing to the\nbuilding, \u201cin care of the police matron; and in the morning we\u2019ll see\nwhat we can find out. Children that run away we always put in the\nlock-up.\u201d\n\nThey were inside the door now, and the policeman rapped three times on\nthe tiny table. Out came the police matron. Tiny thought she looked\nrather severe.\n\n\u201cMatron,\u201d said the policeman, \u201cI found this little girl on one of the\npark benches. She cannot tell me where she lives--she says she\u2019s lost\nand that her last name is Girl--Tiny Girl. You know there is no family\nof the name of Girl in this whole town. Put her to sleep in a bed and\nif anything turns up to-night to show who she is, I\u2019ll let you know. In\nthe morning we\u2019ll investigate. Good night.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood night, Mr. Officer,\u201d said the police matron.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d she said to Tiny, \u201clet me wash you and comb your hair, and\ngive you some bread and milk. I\u2019m certainly sorry such a little girl\nshould be a runaway. Your clothes show you have a careful mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t run away,\u201d sobbed Tiny; \u201cI tell you I didn\u2019t!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you come here, then?\u201d asked the matron, stopping combing her\nhair.\n\n\u201cI was a big, real girl,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cand--and I was walking in the\nwoods, with my mother\u2019s permission, when a bird flew ahead of me and\nhe beckoned me to come on. I wandered and wandered and I came to this\nplace. I stepped on the walk, and--and--and--I--melted into the tiny\nlittle thing I am--so there! How I wish I had my mother----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, what a story! What an awful story!\u201d cried the police matron. \u201cStop\nright away! We don\u2019t allow children to tell lies here!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not a story,\u201d began Tiny, but the police matron dragged her to a\ntiny bedroom, and undressed her and put her to bed.\n\n\u201cYou will have your supper in bed,\u201d said she, \u201cthen I\u2019ll be sure of\nwhere you are!\u201d And she brought a bowl no bigger than a cherry-stone\nfull of bread and milk for Tiny\u2019s supper.\n\nAt first Tiny couldn\u2019t eat a mouthful, but she was really very hungry,\nand finally she ate it all up.\n\n\u201cMother will find me somehow,\u201d she thought, as she slipped out of bed\nand knelt to say her prayers.\n\n\n_Tiny is Adopted_\n\nThe next morning Tiny was awakened by a knock at her door.\n\n\u201cGood morning,\u201d smiled the police matron. \u201cI have a delightful surprise\nfor you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood morning. What can it be?\u201d cried Tiny. \u201cDid my mother----?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve nearly guessed,\u201d nodded the police matron, helping her put on\nher shoes and stockings. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have a mother, for a dear old\nlady--Mrs. Bountiful--wants to adopt you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo adopt me? Why, I thought all adopted children lived in orphanages.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my, no!\u201d exclaimed the police matron. \u201cChildren that run away are\noften----\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t run away!\u201d Tiny stamped her tiny foot. \u201cI tell you I didn\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, come,\u201d said the police matron, \u201cyou don\u2019t want me to tell your\nnew friend that you have a bad temper and tell stories.\u201d\n\nTiny certainly did not, and as she was now washed and dressed she went\ndown-stairs with the police matron.\n\n\u201cHere she is, madam,\u201d said the police matron very politely as she led\nTiny to where the dearest bit of an old lady was sitting.\n\n\u201cOh, you dear child!\u201d exclaimed the tiny lady. \u201cYou\u2019ve had no\nbreakfast, have you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI just got up,\u201d whispered Tiny, not liking to let her think that the\nmatron had been neglectful.\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d smiled the little old lady, \u201cwe\u2019ll soon see to that. I\nhave my automobile outside. Good-by, Mrs. Matron.\u201d And taking Tiny by\nthe hand she went out.\n\n\u201cThis is my son,\u201d said the little old lady, as they walked up to the\ncar. \u201cHe can drive an automobile beautifully. Shake hands with Tiny,\nMartin.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cPleased to meet you,\u201d said Martin, lifting his tiny cap.\n\n\u201cLet us drive right home,\u201d said his mother. \u201cThis dear little girl\nhasn\u2019t had any breakfast.\u201d They climbed in, and away Martin drove, down\nthe street through the village park, past the fountain, over to the\nedge of the village, up to--where do you think?--right up in front of\nthe cottage which Tiny had first seen in the little village.\n\n\u201cOh, isn\u2019t it a beau-ti-ful home!\u201d she cried.\n\n\u201cHow glad we are that you like it,\u201d said the little lady. \u201cWelcome to\nRose Cottage.\u201d\n\n\u201cWalk--right--in--Welcome--to--Rose--Cottage,\u201d cried a new voice as\nthey entered. It was a shrill, nasal voice.\n\nTiny looked around, but saw no one. \u201cLook! I\u2019m--right--here,\u201d cried the\nvoice again.\n\nThe little lady laughed. \u201cAll right, Polly,\u201d she called, and Tiny saw\nin one corner of the room a pretty green-and-red-and-yellow poll-parrot.\n\nShe wanted to go nearer and pet him, but his mistress hurried her to\nthe breakfast table.\n\n\u201cLet--us--take--a drive,\u201d called out Polly presently.\n\n\u201cWhy, yes, let us. Shall we go now, Martin?\u201d asked Mrs. Bountiful.\n\n\u201cYes, Mother,\u201d smiled the big boy.\n\n\u201cTake--us--all,\u201d called Polly,\n\u201cTake--us--all--don\u2019t--forget--the--monk.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d asked Tiny, who had been very quiet, \u201cwhat does he mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe means,\u201d laughed the little lady, \u201cthat we take Martin\u2019s pet monkey\nand Polly for a drive quite often--and they are both very much spoiled.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, how lovely!\u201d cried Tiny. \u201cHave you a monkey, too?\u201d\n\nMartin brought the monkey, and his mother took the parrot, and they all\ngot into the automobile.\n\n\u201cWhere do we go first, Mother?\u201d asked Martin.\n\n\u201cWill you excuse me, dear,\u201d the little lady asked, \u201cif I whisper? I\nwant to surprise you.\u201d\n\nTiny nodded and smiled, as his mother leaned over to reach Martin\u2019s ear.\n\nThey drove along the park and over into the business part of the\nvillage, up to the livery-stables and stopped.\n\n\u201cGood morning, ma\u2019am,\u201d the liveryman said.\n\n\u201cBring him out,\u201d nodded the little lady, and the man disappeared into\nthe stables.\n\nSoon he led out the dearest little brown-and-white Shetland pony--no\nbigger than a cricket.\n\n\u201cOh, oh, oh!\u201d cried Tiny. \u201cI\u2019d like to kiss him!\u201d\n\nThe little old lady laughed delightedly.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s yours,\u201d she cried. \u201cGet out and try to ride him.\u201d\n\nMartin helped her into the wee saddle, the liveryman gave her a tiny\nwhip and the pony cantered all the way down the street and back again.\n\n\u201cOh, I never thought I\u2019d own a real live pony,\u201d sighed Tiny, patting\nthe little thing\u2019s neck. \u201cIt seems too good to be true.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go down to the candy shop,\u201d said Tiny\u2019s fairy godmother.\n\nThe candy shop wasn\u2019t far away and when they drew up outside, Martin\nfastened the pony to the lamp-post. The little old lady took Tiny into\nthe shop.\n\n\u201cHere, dear,\u201d she said, opening her purse, \u201care two dollars. Spend them\nboth. You can have all the candy and ice cream you want.\u201d\n\nSo Tiny ate five plates of ice cream and three boxes of candy.\n\n\u201cIt was splendid,\u201d she said to the little lady when they\u2019d gotten home.\n\u201cI\u2019d like to kiss you for all these lovely times.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m so glad, dear motherless child,\u201d said the little lady with tears\nin her eyes.\n\n\u201cBut I\u2019m not motherless--\u201d began Tiny.\n\n\u201cThere, there, we\u2019ll forget about that,\u201d interrupted her new mother.\n\nThat night she tucked Tiny into bed quite early.\n\nI must tell you about Tiny\u2019s bedroom. All the woodwork and furniture\nwere white. On the floor was a rose-colored carpet, with a border\nof pink and white roses and green leaves. At the windows were white\ncurtains with pink roses along each edge. On the little white bureau\nwas a tiny set of golden brushes and combs and boxes and bottles, and\nin a gold vase on the dressing-table was a very beautiful bouquet of\ntiny real roses.\n\nEverything was so sweet that Tiny used up nearly every word of praise\nshe knew, and she fell asleep before the little lady had finished\ntucking her in bed.\n\nIt must have been near midnight when Tiny was awakened very suddenly by\nan awful pain.\n\nShe cried out loudly for her mother.\n\nThe little lady hastened to her room.\n\n\u201cYou poor dear!\u201d she cried. \u201cMartin shall go immediately for Doctor\nCurum.\u201d\n\nMartin was back with the doctor before Tiny realized he had started.\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d said the doctor, looking Tiny over, \u201cthis young lady has\nbeen having too good a time--eh?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Doctor,\u201d cried the little old lady, \u201cwill she die? It is my fault.\nI gave her too much candy.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d smiled the doctor, quickly opening his case. \u201cThese\nmedicines will cure her.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will stay with you, dear,\u201d said the little lady, after seeing the\ndoctor to the door.\n\nTiny soon fell asleep and did not wake until early daylight.\n\n\u201cMy, I feel all right,\u201d she thought, stretching her little arms over\nher head. \u201cHow glad I am! But what smells so queer? I believe it\u2019s\nsmoke! Oh, it is! Something\u2019s on fire!\u201d\n\nShe sprang out of bed. The little lady had fallen asleep in the tiny\nwhite rocking-chair on the other side of Tiny\u2019s bed. She looked so\nsweet in her rose kimono with a sweet smile on her lips, that Tiny\nhadn\u2019t the heart to waken her.\n\n\u201cHow tired she must be,\u201d thought Tiny. \u201cI\u2019ll find out where the fire is\nfirst.\u201d\n\nShe slipped into her clothes, and was soon out-of-doors. She saw\nimmediately where the fire was--over on the next avenue, where smoke\nand flame were coming out of the roof of a building.\n\n[Illustration: THE PONY CANTERED ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STREET]\n\n\n_Tiny Discovers a Fire_\n\n\u201cOh, oh,\u201d thought Tiny, \u201cwhat shall I do? I know!\u201d as she spied the\npony in the stable where Martin had put him the night before. \u201cI\u2019ll\nride over to the fire-house and tell them, and then I\u2019ll ride to the\nhouse and warn the people.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo your best, Love Trot,\u201d she whispered to the dappled pony.\n\nHe pricked up his ears, and picked up his feet, and in no time to speak\nof Tiny was at the fire-house.\n\nJust as she reached the door, a big dog (at least it seemed big to\nTiny, for it was almost the size of Love Trot) came around the corner\nof the building. He raised up his head and barked as he ran toward her.\n\nTiny was so scared that she quickly jumped on the pony and was going to\nride away, when a window of the fire-house opened and a man called out:\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, little girl, that\u2019s Big Jim, the fire dog. He helps\nwith all the fires. He won\u2019t bite you. Lie down, Jim.\u201d\n\nJim spread himself down at the pony\u2019s side, wagged his tail, and looked\nup at Tiny with big brown eyes which seemed to say he was sorry he\nfrightened her.\n\nShe soon explained her errand and was riding at full speed to the house\nthat was on fire.\n\nDown the street clanged the engine drawn by the beautiful little\nfire horses. Then came the hose-wagon, and then all the firemen with\nthe ladders, and Big Jim, who was riding as though he were the most\nimportant member of the fire company.\n\nMeanwhile, the little lady awoke. She sniffed the air and opened her\neyes.\n\n\u201cTiny,\u201d she said, \u201chow are you, dear? It seems to me I smell smoke.\nDoesn\u2019t it to you?\u201d\n\nShe looked at the bed.\n\n\u201cWhere has the child gone?\u201d she cried. \u201cAll her clothes are gone, too!\u201d\n\n\u201cMartin! Martin!\u201d she called. \u201cMartin, get right up, and go to the\npolice station in the town hall. Tiny has run away--has run away again!\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, Mother,\u201d answered Martin from his room. \u201cI\u2019m already\ndressed, I\u2019ll ride the pony right over there.\u201d But Trot was gone, and\nMartin ran all the way.\n\n\u201cWhy, why didn\u2019t you take your automobile and chase after her?\u201d asked\nthe policeman when Martin told him the story. \u201cThat\u2019s the best thing to\ndo now. I\u2019d go help you--but I\u2019m needed at the fire. You\u2019d better start\nright away, you don\u2019t want to lose any time.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d answered Martin, \u201cI know. I know. I\u2019ll go right home and\ntake out the car--but where do you think I had better chase to first?\u201d\n\n\u201cInquire of the first person you meet,\u201d called out the policeman.\n\nMartin and his mother were soon in the car, but there were few people\non the street, as nearly all had gone to the fire.\n\n\u201cDrive on a way,\u201d said the distracted little lady. \u201cDrive anywhere.\nIt\u2019s better than sitting still.\u201d\n\nThey hadn\u2019t gone very far before they saw Tiny riding Trot toward them.\n\n\u201cWere you worried?\u201d she called, hailing them from a distance. \u201cI went\nto the fire-house to warn them of the fire.\u201d She explained it all to\nthem as she came up to the car; how she wakened, and smelled the smoke,\nand how she didn\u2019t like to waken the little lady, and how she saw Trot\nfastened in the stable, and how she rode him to the fire-house.\n\n\u201cDear, dear girlie,\u201d said the little lady. \u201cHow brave you are! I\u2019m so\nglad you didn\u2019t run away again.\u201d\n\n\u201cI never ran away,\u201d answered Tiny. \u201cI never, never ran away!\u201d\n\n\u201cWe know you did once, dear,\u201d said the little lady; \u201cbut we\u2019re trying\nto forget that.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXIX\n\nTINY HAS MORE ADVENTURES\n\n\n\u201cIT seems to me,\u201d said the little lady, a few days after the fire,\n\u201cthat it would be nice for you to start in school, Tiny dear. I met\nMiss Spectacles yesterday, and she asked me whether I was not going to\nsend you soon. \u2018I don\u2019t want the truant officer to inquire into the\ncase,\u2019 she explained.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, nothing could please me better!\u201d exclaimed Tiny. \u201cI love you\ndearly, but it would just be splendid to know some children.\u201d\n\nMartin and the little lady took Tiny in the automobile to the\nschoolhouse, which was the most delightful school building Tiny could\nimagine. It stood on the center of a green lawn. All kinds of swings\nand games were arranged in the playgrounds. The little lady introduced\nTiny to her teacher.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad to have so brave a child under my care,\u201d smiled Miss\nSpectacles, \u201cfor I\u2019ve heard all about Tiny and the fire.\u201d\n\nTiny blushed and stood on one foot. \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem very brave to me,\u201d\nshe said, \u201cbut I\u2019m glad you think you\u2019ll like me.\u201d\n\nAfter the little lady had gone, the teacher showed Tiny to a desk\nand gave her lesson-books. Tiny studied the lessons well, and when\nrecess-time came was quite ready for play.\n\nThe children stared at her a good deal, for no doubt they too had heard\nabout the fire, and many had seen her on her pony; but she was so\nfriendly in her manner that the girls soon overcame their shyness and\nbegan to talk with her.\n\nThere was one particularly pretty girl who was especially nice to Tiny,\nand gave her half her apple to eat. There was another little girl\nwhose mother combed her hair in one braid at the back of her head.\nJust as she started to talk with Tiny, one of the boys came along, and\npulled the little girl\u2019s hair.\n\n\u201cHello, Piggy,\u201d he said. \u201cHello, Piggy. Piggy-wiggy, Piggy-wiggy.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d said the little girl, \u201cI do wish they wouldn\u2019t call me\nnames.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor shame!\u201d Tiny called to the boy. \u201cIt is dreadfully rude for you to\ncall names. I won\u2019t like you one bit if you call names.\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed the boy. \u201cI don\u2019t care! Piggy-wiggy wears a pig-tail.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, dear,\u201d said Tiny. \u201cI believe I can make him stop.\u201d\n\nThen the bell rang.\n\nAfter school Tiny went to the boy. \u201cListen,\u201d she said, \u201cwhat\u2019ll you\ntake to stop calling names?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019ll I take?\u201d repeated the boy.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cwill you promise to stop if I give you ten cents?\u201d\n\n\u201cNope,\u201d said the boy. \u201cIt\u2019s too much fun.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you take a quarter?\u201d\n\n\u201cNope.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cthat\u2019s all I have. I spent all the rest of my money\nfor ice cream and cake.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay,\u201d said the boy, \u201care you offering for honest?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said Tiny.\n\n\u201cWell, then, I\u2019ll take a ride on your pony to stop. How about that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh--\u201d began Tiny, \u201cI----\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll always call her Piggy if you don\u2019t,\u201d said the boy.\n\n\u201cHow far?\u201d asked Tiny.\n\n\u201cFar\u2019s I want to go,\u201d answered the boy.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll let you know to-morrow,\u201d said Tiny, for that was the last thing\nshe wanted to pay, and she was worried.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid school doesn\u2019t agree with our Tiny,\u201d said the little lady\nto Martin that evening, \u201cshe is so quiet.\u201d\n\nTiny, who was playing the pretty white piano, turned.\n\n\u201cI was thinking, dear lady,\u201d she said, and she told of Piggy-wiggy.\n\n\u201cHumph,\u201d said Martin. \u201cThat\u2019s easy. Let me know who that fellow is and\nI\u2019ll stop him.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you manage better than that, son?\u201d asked his mother. \u201cWhy not\nlet the boy ride Trot when you and Tiny are nearby in the car, and can\nsee that he is treated right?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a splendid idea,\u201d cried Tiny, kissing the little lady. \u201cWill\nyou, Martin? I know the boy is just crazy to ride the pony.\u201d\n\nSo a plan was agreed upon, and the boy did have a ride on Love Trot,\nand he did stop calling the little girl names, and Tiny had the joy of\nknowing she had made two people happy.\n\n\n_Tiny Saves a Baby\u2019s Life_\n\n\u201cTiny,\u201d said the little lady after school the next day, \u201cdon\u2019t you want\nto run over to the grocery shop and get some sugar for the pudding?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed I do,\u201d laughed Tiny; \u201cthere\u2019s nothing I like better than\npudding, you know.\u201d\n\nThe grocerman was very pleasant and Tiny noticed he gave her extra good\nweight.\n\n\u201cShall I send it home for you, Miss?\u201d he asked as his grocery wagon\ndrove up.\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cI\u2019ll carry it,\u201d and the wagon drove on.\n\nAs Tiny reached the corner, she saw a baby toddling across the street.\n\n\u201cI wonder that baby\u2019s mother lets it go out alone,\u201d thought Tiny.\n\n[Illustration: SHE RAN AS FAST AS SHE COULD AND WAS JUST IN TIME TO\nDRAG THE BABY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE WAGON]\n\nJust at that minute the grocer\u2019s horse and wagon dashed around the\ncorner. Tiny saw in a moment what would happen if somebody didn\u2019t run\nto the baby, so dropping her bag of sugar, which burst open and spread\nall over the ground, she ran as fast as she could and was just in the\nnick of time to drag the baby out of the way of the wagon.\n\n\u201cBless me! Bless me!\u201d panted the policeman, running up. \u201cI hurried as\nfast as I could. If it hadn\u2019t been for this little girl,\u201d he continued\nto the baby\u2019s mother, who was now crying, \u201cthat baby would---- Why,\nit\u2019s the little girl that ran away! How do you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t run away,\u201d sobbed Tiny; \u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d said the policeman, \u201cI guess we can begin to forget it by\nthis time. After the fire warning and this----\u201d But Tiny was hurrying\naway to the store to get more sugar.\n\n\u201cI do hope they won\u2019t worry at home,\u201d she thought.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the girl,\u201d said the grocer\u2019s boy as Tiny went into the store.\n\u201cShe was just in time.\u201d\n\nHe had been telling about the near-accident.\n\nThe grocer couldn\u2019t thank Tiny enough for saving the baby\u2019s life, and\nhe asked her to ride in the grocery wagon so that she would get home\nsooner.\n\n\u201cI was so afraid you would worry, dear lady,\u201d she said as she told the\nstory, \u201cand I spilled all the sugar--every bit.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear, I\u2019m so thankful you were not hurt,\u201d said the little lady,\n\u201cthat I would give a hundred bags of sugar--you, dear brave little\nheroine,\u201d as she took her on her lap.\n\n\u201cMy mother,\u201d began Tiny, \u201cwas something like you and----\u201d\n\n\u201cHush, dear,\u201d said the little lady, smoothing her hair.\n\n\u201cYou like to go to school, don\u2019t you?\u201d she asked to change the subject.\n\n\u201cMy, I never enjoyed school so much in all my life,\u201d said Tiny.\n\n\u201cOh, you used to go, of course, didn\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cmy father was--\u201d and her voice began to sound\nfull of tears.\n\n\u201cStrange,\u201d said the little lady to herself. \u201cVery strange why she ran\naway. Maybe we\u2019ll find out some day. I\u2019ll inquire again if the police\nhave found out anything more about her.\u201d\n\n\n_Tiny Goes Shopping_\n\nThe next morning Tiny took her pig-bank from the mantel and began to\ncount her money.\n\n\u201cWasn\u2019t your mother dear to give me all this spending money, Martin?\u201d\nsaid Tiny to Martin as he came into the room. \u201cI do wonder how much\nthere is; won\u2019t you please help me count it?\u201d\n\n\u201cSeven dollars and eighteen cents,\u201d counted Martin, laying down the\nlast coin. \u201cMy! that\u2019s a lot of money, Tiny. What are you going to do\nwith it?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Martin, don\u2019t tell, please. Oh, it must be a secret! I do want it\nto be a surprise!\u201d\n\n\u201cWild horses couldn\u2019t drag it out of me,\u201d said Martin; \u201cbut what\u2019s the\nsecret?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, Saturday is your mother\u2019s birthday, and I\u2019m going to buy her a\npresent.\u201d\n\n\u201cGrand. What will you buy?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI really don\u2019t know,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cbut I\u2019m going shopping this\nafternoon after school. I\u2019ve had permission to get out early, because I\ntold Miss Spectacles about the surprise.\u201d\n\n\u201cWasn\u2019t that kind of her!\u201d said Martin.\n\n\u201cPeople are often kinder than they seem,\u201d said Tiny.\n\nJust as she put the bank in its place on the mantel, Mrs. Bountiful\ncame in. \u201cWhy, dear,\u201d said she, \u201cwhat a saving little girl you are; I\nhaven\u2019t given you any money in a long time; here is a dollar.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank you,\u201d said Tiny, \u201cbut you have been so good to me, I don\u2019t\nlike----\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, dear,\u201d said the little lady. \u201cCome, it\u2019s time to go to\nschool.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be ready in a minute, as soon as I get my books.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is a banana for recess,\u201d said Mrs. Bountiful, following her and\nkissing her good-by.\n\nOn her way out as Tiny passed the mantel, she quickly slipped her bank\ninto her school-bag.\n\n\u201cGood-by, all,\u201d said she.\n\nShe could scarcely wait for the time to come for her to go shopping,\nand it seemed almost a week until Miss Spectacles nodded her head that\nshe might be dismissed.\n\nOn her way to the store, she would put her hand in her school-bag every\nonce in a while to see if the bank was safe.\n\nShe had been to the Globe Department Store with Mrs. Bountiful more\nthan once.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I buy?\u201d she thought.\n\nJust then she noticed a cute little china cat. She picked it up.\n\u201cThat\u2019s certainly cute,\u201d she thought, \u201cbut not very useful,\u201d so she\nput it down and picked up a little stuffed dog. \u201cNeither is that,\u201d she\nconcluded and put it down.\n\n\u201cDo you wish anything?\u201d asked the saleslady politely.\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d replied Tiny.\n\nShe picked up several funny little images, and was so much interested\nthat she did not notice that any one was near until she heard a voice,\na man\u2019s voice, speaking to the saleslady in an undertone: \u201cI\u2019ve been\nwatching that child for some time, Miss Sellum; please keep an eye on\nher.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t think she\u2019d take anything, Mr. Knockem,\u201d replied the girl.\n\nTiny looked around. No one was in sight except the pretty saleslady and\na tall, haughty-looking man.\n\n\u201cI wonder who they mean?\u201d thought Tiny. \u201cOh, they must mean me because\nI touched those things,\u201d and she burst into tears.\n\n\u201cI never stole anything in my life--not a single--thing--ever,\u201d she\nsobbed. \u201cI\u2019m Mrs. Bountiful\u2019s--little--girl----\u201d\n\n\u201cMercy!\u201d exclaimed Miss Sellum.\n\n\u201cPardon me, Miss,\u201d begged the floor-walker--for that was who Mr.\nKnockem was, and right scared he was, too, for Mrs. Bountiful was\none of their best customers. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean any harm. Can I be of\nassistance to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, sir,\u201d said Tiny, drying her eyes, \u201cit\u2019s all right--I shouldn\u2019t\nhave touched anything, I know, but--I\u2019m trying to select a present for\nMrs. Bountiful\u2019s birthday. It comes Saturday, you see----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s it, that\u2019s it, is it?\u201d asked a new voice. It was so kind,\nand full of joy that Tiny knew she\u2019d like its owner before she looked\nup at the kindly, bald-headed gentleman who had joined them.\n\n\u201cLeave the little miss to me, Mr. Knockem,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cOh, certainly, Mr. Storem; certainly, sir,\u201d said the floor-walker.\n\n\u201cWell, my dear,\u201d said the stout gentleman, \u201cI believe I can help you.\nI know Mrs. Bountiful quite well. The other day she was in the store\ninquiring for vanity hand-bags.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe kind all filled with golden powder boxes, and mirrors, and coin\nholders?\u201d asked Tiny eagerly.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d smiled Mr. Storem, \u201cand here they are at this counter. Miss\nPrettyman, will you show those bags to Miss----\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Tiny, sir,\u201d said the little girl, much pleased with the\nlady, who brought several bags for her to see.\n\n\u201cHow much is this?\u201d she asked, selecting a charming violet one, lined\nwith dainty flowered silk.\n\n\u201cFive dollars,\u201d said Miss Prettyman. \u201cI\u2019ve sold bags for years, but I\nnever saw so lovely a one at that price.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll take that, please,\u201d said Tiny, reaching into her school-bag for\nher bank.\n\n\u201cOh, dear,\u201d she cried, \u201chow am I going to get the money out of my pig?\u201d\n\nYou should have heard Mr. Storem laugh. \u201cWell, well,\u201d he said, \u201cI guess\nI\u2019ll have to help you.\u201d\n\nSo he helped Tiny \u201cfish\u201d out the five dollars.\n\nJust then some one called him away.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a few minutes, Miss Tiny,\u201d he said.\n\nWhen the cash girl returned with the parcel, the saleslady handed it\nover to Tiny just as if she were grown up.\n\n\u201cGee,\u201d exclaimed the cash girl, \u201cain\u2019t she swell, Miss Prettyman, with\nthe owner of the store escorting her around!\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he? Does he own this store?\u201d asked Tiny, wide-eyed.\n\n\u201cYes, Miss Tiny,\u201d said Miss Prettyman.\n\nJust at that moment Mr. Storem returned.\n\n\u201cIs there anything else, Miss Tiny?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t like to trouble you, sir,\u201d began Tiny.\n\n\u201cTut! Tut! Don\u2019t mention it, little one,\u201d said he. \u201cThe gentleman\nwho just called me told me you are the little girl who warned the\npeople about the fire, and saved the baby\u2019s life. It is an honor to do\nanything to help you.\u201d\n\nTiny blushed. \u201cThank you. Well, if it isn\u2019t too much trouble, please\nshow me where I can get some beads to make a necklace for Mrs.\nBountiful.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, certainly,\u201d said Mr. Storem. \u201cRight this way.\u201d\n\nTiny selected some beautiful beads, and Mr. Storem helped her again in\ngetting the money from her bank.\n\n\u201cMrs. Bountiful will love the necklace if I make it,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\ntold me it is the kindness and the thought more than the costliness of\na gift that counts. My own mother always----\u201d\n\n\u201cYour own mother!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Storem. \u201cYour own! Isn\u2019t Mrs.\nBountiful your mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, no, sir,\u201d exclaimed Tiny.\n\n\u201cI read it in the Tinytown News. I read about a little girl who ran\naway,\u201d interrupted Mr. Storem.\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d said Tiny. \u201cI didn\u2019t run away, but nobody believes me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do, dear,\u201d smiled the big man. \u201cI do!\u201d and Tiny loved him for it.\n\n\u201cGood-by!\u201d she said, \u201cand thank you! Thank you more than I can tell\nyou.\u201d\n\nIt was rather late when she reached Rose Cottage, but the little lady\nhad been called out to see a sick neighbor, so she was able to hide her\ngifts away. Finally Saturday came. Tiny wrapped her gifts in tissue\npaper and tied them with blue ribbon, and laid them on the breakfast\ntable at Mrs. Bountiful\u2019s place.\n\nThe little lady was delighted. She opened the bag and took out the\npurse and powder box and examined them and looked at herself in the\nmirror.\n\n\u201cOh, you made the necklace yourself? Isn\u2019t it lovely, my dear?\u201d she\nsighed. \u201cYou are just such a darling, loving, thoughtful little girl as\nI always dreamed of for my own daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cPut on your finery, Mother,\u201d said Martin, handing her the bag and\nthrowing the necklace over her head.\n\n\u201cMy present,\u201d exclaimed Martin, \u201cis in my room,\u201d and, excusing himself,\nhe brought a pretty hand-carved tea-table.\n\n\u201cI made it for you myself, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas there ever such a happy old lady as I!\u201d cried Mrs. Bountiful,\nputting her arms around both the children.\n\n\u201cWas there ever one who gave other people so much happiness?\u201d asked\nTiny.\n\n\n_Tiny\u2019s Mother Finds Her_\n\n\u201cI wish I could tell mother about everything,\u201d thought Tiny as she\nwalked along the road to school. \u201cMy, what perfectly lovely times I\nhave had, and how dear the little lady is; but I do miss mother. How\nfrightened she must be!\u201d\n\nA tear dropped from her eye.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t cry, though,\u201d she thought. \u201cMother surely will find me! I know\nshe\u2019s looking everywhere!\u201d\n\nJust then she noticed a tiny little bird in the branches of the tree\noverhead.\n\n\u201cWick--wick!\u201d he sang.\n\n\u201cOh, you pretty little thing,\u201d cried Tiny.\n\nThe bird flew to a low bush, Tiny following. On and on they went, until\nTiny was surprised to find herself at the end of the town.\n\n\u201cWhy, I\u2019m almost lost again,\u201d she thought, \u201cI better turn back.\u201d\n\n\u201cWick--wick!\u201d sang the bird, as he alighted on a tree just outside the\ntown.\n\nTo Tiny\u2019s amazement, he was no longer a little bird, but the same big\ngolden-winged woodpecker that she had followed into the forest when\nshe left home. She was just about to run after him when a shadow fell\nacross the roadway and she looked up.\n\n\u201cMother!\u201d she cried. \u201cOh, Mother!\u201d\n\nFor the shadow was that of her mother who had gone out into the woods\nto look for her.\n\nShe stretched out her tiny little arms, but she was so very small her\nmother didn\u2019t see her.\n\n\u201cOh, Mother, here I am,\u201d she cried, running toward her.\n\nShe stepped off the edge of Tinytown, and in a second she was her own\nself again, as big as ever.\n\nHow she laughed and cried and hugged and kissed her mother. Then she\ntold all about Tinytown--just as I\u2019ve told you, and showed her the\nlovely little Rose Cottage, the town hall, the school house, the\nchurch, the fire-engine house and the shops.\n\n\u201cMother, they were all so perfectly dear to me I hate to leave them,\u201d\nshe said.\n\n\u201cWhy, Tiny, girl,\u201d laughed her mother, \u201cwe can visit Tinytown again,\nnow we know where it is--then you can always keep your friends.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and I can explain to them, Mother dear, how they were mistaken,\nand I didn\u2019t run away.\u201d\n\nBut when Tiny and her mother came to look for it a few days later,\nTinytown was gone. The Story People had taken it for their own.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMOTHER!\u201d SHE CRIED. \u201cOH, MOTHER!\u201d]\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cWhat a sweet story!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances, when the Story Lady\nfinished.\n\n\u201cYes, it is a sweet story,\u201d she returned, \u201cand we were so glad to get\nit, and the town, too. It shows our children how the children of other\ncountries live.\u201d\n\n\u201cAren\u2019t you tired after telling so many stories?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cOh, no, I never grow tired of hearing and telling stories; but I like\nto hear you talk. Won\u2019t you tell me something from your country?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes--let me see. All I can think of is a little poem about a robin and\na buttercup.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo let me hear it.\u201d\n\nSo she recited--\n\nTHE ROBIN AND THE BUTTERCUP[B]\n\n Down in the field, one day in June,\n The flowers all bloomed together,\n Save one, who tried to hide herself,\n And drooped that pleasant weather.\n\n A robin, who had flown too high,\n And felt a little lazy,\n Was resting near a buttercup,\n Who wished she were a daisy.\n\n For daisies grow so trig and tall!\n She always had a passion\n For wearing frills around her neck,\n In just the daisies\u2019 fashion.\n\n And buttercups must always be\n The same old tiresome color;\n While daisies dress in gold and white,\n Although their gold is duller.\n\n \u201cDear Robin,\u201d said the sad young flower,\n \u201cPerhaps you\u2019d not mind trying\n To find a nice white frill for me,\n Some day when you are flying?\u201d\n\n \u201cYou silly thing!\u201d the robin said,\n \u201cI think you must be crazy;\n I\u2019d rather be my honest self\n Than any made-up daisy.\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re nicer in your own bright gown,\n The little children love you;\n Be the best buttercup you can,\n And think no flower above you.\n\n \u201cThough swallows leave me out of sight,\n We\u2019d better keep our places;\n Perhaps the world would go all wrong,\n With one too many daisies.\n\n \u201cLook bravely up into the sky,\n And be content with knowing\n That God wished for a buttercup\n Just here, where you are growing.\u201d\n\n[B] Sarah Orne Jewett.\n\n\u201cOh, thank you,\u201d said the Story Lady, \u201cI like that. You must write it\ndown for me. To-morrow you shall have a lot of stories.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE SECOND DAY\n\n THE MAGIC MASK.--THE CLOSING DOOR.--TOM GOES DOWN THE\n WELL.--GLOOMY GUS AND THE CHRISTMAS CAT.--PATTY AND HER PITCHER.\n\n\n\n\nSTORIES TOLD THE SECOND DAY\n\nXX\n\nTHE MAGIC MASK\n\n\nWHEN all the Story People were assembled, the Story King in his place,\nMary Frances in the seat of honor beside the Story Queen, the Ready\nWriter at his table with pen in hand, the Story Lady began to tell one\nstory after another. Even the clock ticked softly, as if listening, and\nno sound was heard except the sweet music of her voice as it ran from\nstory to story, until five in all were told.\n\n * * * * *\n\nMany years ago, a little prince was born in a rich country across\nthe sea. He had long been wished for, and great was the rejoicing\nthroughout the land when he came.\n\nAs you may suppose, he was given everything he wanted. Indeed, if he\nwere denied anything for a moment, he would set up so great a cry that\nthe servants would run in haste to bring him what he desired; and if he\nwere opposed by any one he would frown and stamp his foot, and throw\nhimself into such a rage that his whole face would become ugly and\ndistorted, and the little children would run in fear from him.\n\nWhen he grew up, he delighted to fight; and nothing pleased him better\nthan to put on his armor and helmet and ride forth at the head of his\narmy.\n\nHe won many, many victories, and his country grew richer and stronger\nthan it had ever been before.\n\nBy and by the time came when his father, the king, died, and the prince\ntook his place. Then he wished for a queen, and began to think of a\nbeautiful princess he had met in one of the cities which he ruled over.\nAnd the more he thought about her, the more anxious he was that she\nshould become his wife. No one else was half so fair and lovely to his\neyes.\n\nSo one day, he made up his mind to go to see the princess. He bade his\nservants deck him out in regal splendor, and put on him his royal robes\nand his jeweled crown.\n\n\u201cHow do I look?\u201d he asked his valet. \u201cDid I ever appear more handsome?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, your majesty,\u201d replied the valet. \u201cIf you will look in the\nlong mirror, you will see that.\u201d\n\nWhen the king looked in the glass, he saw a wonderful reflection.\nHis robe was of velvet and satin in royal purple and green, jeweled,\ntrimmed, and embroidered--nothing was wanting in the costume. Then he\nsaw his own face--all seamed with frowns and hard, cruel lines.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d he thought, \u201csuch a face will frighten the lovely princess! What\nshall I do? She will never be willing to marry me!\u201d\n\nAnd he sent all his servants away, and sat down in a fit of melancholy;\nor, as some people say, \u201cin a fit of the blues.\u201d\n\nFor hours he just sat and glowered. Once a page approached him to say\nthat his luncheon was served, but he told him to be gone before he\nordered his head chopped off. You can imagine how fast the page ran\naway. When the page told the other servants, they said, \u201cWe must not go\nnear him until he rings for us when he comes out of his angry mood.\u201d\n\nAfter a while the bell did ring, and in fear and trembling the valet\nwent to see what the king wished.\n\n\u201cTell the groom to saddle my best steed and have it at the palace steps\nwithin ten minutes, and do you undress me and put me in my riding\nsuit.\u201d\n\nQuickly the change was made, quickly the horse was saddled, quickly the\nking was mounted and riding away.\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d he thundered, when the groom rode up to attend him on his\njourney. \u201cNo one comes with me! I ride alone!\u201d\n\nThrough forest and dale, through valley, stream, and over stubble\nthe king rode, on, and on, and on, until he came to the home of the\nenchanter, Herlo.\n\nThrice he knocked at the door, and a deep voice bade him enter.\n\n\u201cGood-day, Enchanter,\u201d said the king, lifting the latch and entering;\n\u201cI have come on a most important errand.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know your errand,\u201d replied Herlo; \u201cyou wish to gain the princess\nViola for a wife, and you fear she will not love you enough to marry\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can she, when she sees my face?\u201d said the king. \u201cI have come to\nask your help. Is there anything you can do for me?\u201d\n\nThe enchanter stopped to think, then he raised his head and told the\nking, \u201cYes; I have a plan, but it needs your own help. I can change\nyour features if you will do as I tell you.\u201d\n\nThe king was very glad, and he promised to do everything the enchanter\nbade him do.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Herlo. \u201cI will make you a magic mask of thinnest wax.\nIt will be exactly the shape of your face, and no one will know that\nyou are wearing it except yourself. I will paint it with my magic paint\nso that your features will look kind and pleasant, instead of fierce\nand stern. I will fasten it upon your face so that you need never take\nit off.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake it\u201d--said the king, \u201cas handsome and attractive as you possibly\ncan, and I will pay you any price you ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis I can do only with your help,\u201d Herlo explained; \u201conly on this one\ncondition--that you keep your own face in exactly the lines I shall\npaint. One angry frown or one cruel smile will crack the mask apart and\nruin it, and I can never replace it.\u201d\n\nNow the king wanted the princess for his queen more than anything else\nhe had ever wished for, so he said, \u201cYes, I promise. Tell me what I\nshall do to keep the mask from cracking.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must not lose your temper,\u201d the enchanter told him. \u201cYou must\nthink kind thoughts. You must try to make your people happy. You must\nhelp them, not by fighting, but by building libraries and schools and\nhospitals. You must see that there are none of your subjects in want;\nyou must try to relieve all suffering, even of animals. You must follow\nthis rule:\n\n Help the weak if you are strong;\n Love the old if you are young;\n Own a fault if you are wrong;\n When you\u2019re angry, hold your tongue.\n\n\u201cCall here again within ten days, and the mask will be ready. Good-by.\u201d\n\nSo the king rode away with happiness in his heart.\n\nThe ten days passed slowly enough, and he could scarcely wait for the\nlast day to come. Early in the morning, he again rode alone to the home\nof the enchanter.\n\nThe magic mask was ready, and Herlo tried it on the king\u2019s face. It\nfitted exactly, but it transformed his countenance. Gone was the ugly\nscowl; gone, the frown between his eyes; gone, the thin, straight,\nsullen lips. In their stead were pleasant smiles; and kind, tender\neyes; and merciful, unselfish lips.\n\nAnd again the king rode away with happiness in his heart, for Herlo had\nshown him his face in a glass.\n\nThe next day, he rode with his retinue of courtiers to the home of the\nlovely princess, and she thought him all that could be desired, and\npromised to be his wife.\n\nAnd one wonderful day in the springtime they were married. Two years\nsped quickly away in great joy and happiness, for the princess found\nher husband to be even more kind and forbearing than she had thought\nhe would be. The servants never could understand what had happened to\nchange the king. Instead of being frightened by his presence, they were\nonly too glad to serve him, and his royal household was the happiest in\nthe world.\n\n[Illustration: THE MAGIC MASK WAS READY, AND HERLO TRIED IT ON THE\nKING\u2019S FACE]\n\nYou would think that the king would have then been satisfied, wouldn\u2019t\nyou? But he was not quite satisfied, for one thing troubled him.\n\nWhen the queen would smile in approval of his kindness, and his\nself-control, he would think, \u201cI wish I had not deceived my dear wife.\nI wish she knew my own self.\u201d\n\nAt last he could bear it no longer, and so one day he rode for the\nthird time to the home of the enchanter, Herlo. And again Herlo met him\nat the door. The king said:\n\n\u201cO Herlo, I have come to you to ask you to take back your magic mask.\nI cannot wear it any longer, because I cannot bear to deceive my dear\nwife who thinks me so kind and good. Better the truth than to deceive\nso true and kind a person as my queen.\u201d\n\n\u201cI warn you,\u201d replied Herlo, \u201cthat if I once take off the magic mask,\nyou can never have it replaced. Think carefully before I remove it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the king, \u201cI know, and I have weighed the question\ncarefully. It is better to be my own true self than to live behind a\nfalse face. Better that the queen should despise me than to live under\nfalse pretenses and have her love when unworthy.\u201d\n\nSo the enchanter took off the mask, and bade the king good-speed.\n\nYou can imagine how the king felt as he rode home this time; how he\ndreaded looking into his glass, although he knew he must do so before\nhe entered the presence of the queen; and how he feared that what he\nmost prized in this world was about to be lost--his wife\u2019s loving trust\nin him.\n\nBut can you imagine his joy when he looked into the glass and saw his\nown face--for his own face was handsomer than the mask! The ugly frown\nand the wicked, cruel lines were gone, for his face had been molded\ninto the exact likeness of the mask; and when he came into the presence\nof his wife she saw no difference in him. He was the husband she had\nalways so much honored and loved.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cAnd they lived happily ever after,\u201d finished the Story Lady. Then\nafter a slight pause, she went on: \u201cNow we will have a little goblin\nstory.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXI\n\nTHE CLOSING DOOR\n\n\nTHERE was once a little girl, who had a dear little room, all her own,\nwhich was full of treasures, and was as lovely as love could make it.\n\nYou never could imagine, no matter how you tried, a room more beautiful\nthan hers; for it was white and shining from the snowy floor to the\nceiling, which looked as if it might have been made of a fleecy cloud.\nThe curtains at the windows were like the petals of a lily, and the\nlittle bed was like swan\u2019s down.\n\nThere were white pansies, too, that bloomed in the windows, and a dove\nwhose voice was sweet as music; and among her treasures she had a\nstring of pearls which she was to wear about her neck when the king of\nthe country sent for her, as he had promised to do some day.\n\nThis string of pearls grew longer and more beautiful as the little girl\ngrew older, for a new pearl was given her as soon as she waked up each\nmorning; and every one was a gift from this king, who bade her keep\nthem fair.\n\nHer mother helped her to take care of them and of all the other\nbeautiful things in her room. Every morning, after the new pearl was\nslipped on the string, they would set the room in order; and every\nevening they would look over the treasures and enjoy them together,\nwhile they carefully wiped away any specks of dust that had gotten in\nduring the day and made the room less lovely.\n\nThere were several doors and windows, which the little girl could open\nand shut just as she pleased, in this room; but there was one door\nwhich was always open, and that was the one which led into her mother\u2019s\nroom.\n\nNo matter what Little Daughter was doing, she was happier if her mother\nwas near; and, although she sometimes ran away into her own room and\nplayed by herself, she always bounded out at her mother\u2019s first call,\nand sprang into her mother\u2019s arms, gladder than ever to be with her\nbecause she had been away.\n\nNow one day when the little girl was playing alone, she had a visitor\nwho came in without knocking and who seemed, at first, very much out\nof place in the shining white room, for he was a goblin and as black\nas a lump of coal. He had not been there more than a very few minutes,\nhowever, before nearly everything in the room began to look more like\nhim and less like driven snow; and although the little girl thought\nthat he was very strange and ugly when she first saw him, she soon grew\nused to him, and found him an entertaining playfellow.\n\nShe wanted to call her mother to see him; but he said:\n\n\u201cOh! no; we are having such a nice time together, and she\u2019s busy, you\nknow.\u201d\n\nSo the little girl did not call; and the mother, who was making a dress\nof fine lace for her darling, did not dream that a goblin was in the\nlittle white room.\n\nThe goblin did not make any noise, you know, for he tiptoed all the\ntime, as if he were afraid; and if he heard a sound he would jump. But\nhe was a merry goblin, and he amused the little girl so much that she\ndid not notice the change in her dear room.\n\nThe curtains grew dingy, the floor dusty, and the ceiling looked as if\nit might have been made of a rain cloud; but the child played on, and\ngot out all her treasures to show to her visitor.\n\nThe pansies drooped and faded, the white dove hid its head beneath its\nwing and moaned; and the last pearl on the precious string grew dark\nwhen the goblin touched it with his smutty fingers.\n\n\u201cOh, dear me,\u201d said the little girl when she saw this, \u201cI must call my\nmother; for these are the pearls that I must wear to the king\u2019s court\nwhen he sends for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the goblin, \u201cwe can wash it, and if it isn\u2019t just as\nwhite as before, what difference does it make about one pearl?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut mother says that they all must be as fair as the morning,\u201d\ninsisted the little girl, ready to cry. \u201cAnd what will she say when she\nsees this one?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shut the door, then,\u201d said the goblin, pointing to the door that\nhad never been closed, \u201cand I\u2019ll wash the pearl.\u201d\n\nSo the little girl ran to close the door, and the goblin began to rub\nthe pearl; but it only seemed to grow darker. Now the door had been\nopen so long that it was hard to move, and it creaked on its hinges\nas the little girl tried to close it. When the mother heard this she\nlooked up to see what was the matter. She had been thinking about the\ndress which she was making; but when she saw the closing door, her\nheart stood still with fear; for she knew that if it once closed tight\nshe might never be able to open it again.\n\nShe dropped her fine laces and ran towards the door, calling, \u201cLittle\nDaughter! Little Daughter! Where are you?\u201d and she reached out her\nhands to stop the door.\n\nBut as soon as the little girl heard that loving voice she answered:\n\n\u201cMother! Oh, Mother! I need you so! My pearl is turning black and\neverything is wrong!\u201d and, flinging the door wide open, she ran into\nher mother\u2019s arms.\n\nWhen the two went together into the little room, the goblin had gone.\nThe pansies now bloomed again, and the white dove cooed in peace;\nbut there was much work for the mother and daughter, and they rubbed\nand scrubbed and washed and swept and dusted, till the room was\nso beautiful that you would not have known that a goblin had been\nthere--except for the one pearl which was a little blue always, even\nwhen the king was ready for Little Daughter to come to his court,\nalthough that was not until she was a very old woman.\n\nAs for the door, it was never closed again; for Little Daughter and her\nmother put two golden hearts against it and nothing in this world could\nhave shut it then.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAs the story ended, the Story Lady paused while the clock ticked twice,\nand then said, \u201cNext we will have a funny story about a silver teapot.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXII\n\nTOM GOES DOWN THE WELL\n\n\n\u201cI SEE it, I see it!\u201d cried Tom eagerly, balancing himself perilously\nover the well-curb. \u201cIt\u2019s down at the bottom!\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you suppose it would float?\u201d asked Bess, with a touch of scorn in\nher tones.\n\n\u201cLet me see,\u201d cried Bob, pushing forward.\n\n\u201cYou clear out,\u201d said Archie; \u201cyou\u2019re to blame for dropping it in;\nyou\u2019d better go before you tumble in yourself, you little goose.\u201d\n\nArchie\u2019s broken arm felt very stiff to-day, and his temper was slightly\ndamaged, too. All four children gathered around the well, at the bottom\nof which lay the silver teapot, like truth, bright and shining, but\napparently not to be recovered by mortals.\n\nMr. Bradley had gone to the village, and the children were determined\nto get the silver teapot up before his return, for as yet they had not\nthought it necessary to mention its disappearance, and Mr. Bradley was\nnot the man to notice its absence.\n\n\u201cOf course, if it was lost we should have to tell,\u201d Bess had said to\nher brother; \u201cbut as long as we know where it is, and that it\u2019s safe,\nthere\u2019s no need to say anything about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what\u2019s to be done?\u201d asked Archie. \u201cI can\u2019t go after it, with my\nbroken arm.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow I suppose we will hear of nothing but your broken arm for a month,\nand you\u2019ll shirk everything for it. \u2018I can\u2019t study \u2019cause my arm\u2019s\nbroken; I can\u2019t go errands \u2019cause my arm\u2019s broken; I can\u2019t go to church\n\u2019cause my arm\u2019s broken;\u2019 that will be your whine, Archie; but don\u2019t try\nyour dodges on me, for I won\u2019t stand it. If it really hurts you, I\u2019m\nsorry, and I\u2019ll lick any fellow that touches you till you get well\nagain, but none of your humbug. Of course you can\u2019t go down the well;\nyou couldn\u2019t if your arm wasn\u2019t broken.\u201d This was from Tom.\n\nMeanwhile Bess had gone to the house for a long fishing-pole, and soon\nreturned carrying it.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll fasten a hook to the end of it, and fish the teapot up,\u201d said\nshe.\n\n\u201cHo, ho! Do you suppose it will bite like a fish?\u201d laughed Tom.\n\n\u201cNo, I do not, Tom Bradley. But I suppose if I tie a string to the\npole, and fasten an iron hook to one end, with a stone to keep it down,\nthat I can wiggle it round in the water till the hook catches in the\nhandle, and then we can drag it up; that\u2019s what I suppose,\u201d answered\nBess, preparing to carry out her design.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s something in that, Bess; you\u2019re not so stupid as you look.\nGive me the pole and let me try.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, go and get one for yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere will I find the hook?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the smoke-house, where I got mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, get me one, too,\u201d cried Bob.\n\n\u201cAnd me one, too,\u201d cried Archie.\n\nBefore half an hour had passed, the four children, all armed with\nfishing-poles, were intently wiggling in the water, catching their\nhooks in the stones by the side of the well, entangling their lines,\ndigging their elbows into each other\u2019s sides, in their frantic attempts\nto pull their hooks loose; scolding, pushing, and getting generally\nexcited.\n\nEvery few moments Tom would pull Bess back by her sun-bonnet, and save\nher from tumbling over in her eagerness; but so far from being grateful\nto her deliverer, Bess resented the treatment indignantly.\n\n\u201cStop jerking my head so,\u201d she cried.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll be in, in a minute; you\u2019d have been in then if I hadn\u2019t jerked\nyou,\u201d answered Tom.\n\n\u201cWell, what if I had! Let me alone. If I go in, that\u2019s my own lookout.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour own look in, you mean. My gracious, wouldn\u2019t you astonish the\ntoads down there! But you\u2019d get your face clean.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Tom, you let me be; I \u2019most had it that time!\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you\u2019ve said forty times. This is all humbug; I\u2019m going down on the\nrope for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, Tom, please don\u2019t. Indeed, you\u2019ll be drowned; the rope will\nbreak; you\u2019ll kill yourself; you\u2019ll catch cold,\u201d cried Bess, in alarm.\nShe could fight Tom all day long, when in the mood for it; but to see\nhim deliberately rush into danger, or to contemplate the fact that a\nhair of his precious head might be hurt, was more than our intrepid\nBess could bear.\n\n\u201cPooh! girl! coward!\u201d retorted thankless Tom, pointing the finger of\nscorn at his sister. \u201cWho\u2019s afraid of what? Stand back, small boys, I\u2019m\ngoing in,\u201d and Tom began to divest himself of his jacket.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll poison the water,\u201d suggested Archie.\n\n\u201cIt will be so cold,\u201d moaned Bob. But nobody took any notice of Bob; he\nwas treated with great contempt, and much hustled, as the author of the\nmischief. All felt that if Tom came to grief, Bob would be answerable.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll scream for a hundred years without stopping, Tom,\u201d cried Bess\nwildly. \u201cYou shan\u2019t go down, you shan\u2019t; I\u2019ll call some one. Murray!\nPeter! Maggie! O-o-o-o-o-o-o-me! O-o-o-oh, o-o-o-o-o-me!\u201d\n\n\u201cStop screaming, and help,\u201d said Tom, who had his shirt sleeves rolled\nup to the elbow, and his pantaloons to his knee--why, no one but Tom\ncould tell. \u201cNow do you three hold on tight to this bucket; don\u2019t let\ngo for a moment; pull away as hard as you can when I tell you to. Now\nfor it!\u201d\n\nAnd without more ado, Tom clung to the other rope with his hands, and\ntwisted his feet around the bucket handle.\n\n\u201cHold on tight, and let me down easy,\u201d said Tom, and the three\nchildren clung desperately to their rope, and lowered him little by\nlittle. Long experience in rescuing cats from a watery grave in the\nwell had taught the children how to manage the ropes and buckets; but\nthey had not calculated on the fact that Tom would be heavier than a\ncat; and it was with red faces and straining muscles that they dragged\naway on their rope. However, they were able to keep Tom steady, and\nhe, clinging with one hand to his rope, and pushing himself away from\nthe sides of the well with the other, made his dangerous descent as\nsuccessfully as though his coadjutors had been gifted with Samson\u2019s\nstrength. A sudden splash and shiver told them he had reached the\nwater, and a shout of triumph declared that the teapot was rescued.\n\nAs Tom shouted, all three children let go the rope and rushed to the\nside of the well to look at the victorious hero.\n\nIt was a most fortunate circumstance that the water in the well was\nlow, and that Tom, plunged suddenly to the bottom by this unexpected\nmovement, was able, after much scrambling, to stand upright with his\nhead out of water; otherwise the earthly career of Thomas Bradley would\nhave been brought to a sudden and untimely end.\n\nAs it was, he stood in the cold water up to his shoulders, clinging\nstill to the rope, holding the teapot with one hand, and wildly\nvociferating to his admiring audience whose heads hung over the\nwell-curb, and their faces, as seen in this position by Tom, looked\nlike those of grinning fiends.\n\n\u201cWhat made you let go?\u201d roared Tom, and his voice sounded hollow and\nunnatural as it resounded from the depths of his cool and shady retreat.\n\n\u201cOh, Tom, have you got it? Have you really? Ain\u2019t it cold? Are you\nhurt? Were you scared? Is the teapot broken?\u201d were a few of the\nquestions that came faintly to him from above and sounded very unlike\nangel whispers to the diver for teapots, who stood first on one leg,\nthen on the other, to prevent equal cramp in both.\n\n\u201cDraw me up! You silly children! You goose of a Bess! Why don\u2019t you\ndraw me up?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re so tired?\u201d called down Archie. \u201cI helped to lower you with only\none arm, but I can\u2019t drag any more. My arm\u2019s broken.\u201d\n\n\u201cBess! draw me up, I tell you!\u201d screamed Tom from below.\n\n\u201cI will, Tom; I\u2019m going to,\u201d answered Bess, who now reached up and\nrecovered the bucket, that had flown with a jerk to the top of the\nwell-roof when it had been so suddenly abandoned.\n\nBut all the united efforts of Bess and Bob and Archie\u2019s left arm\ncould not raise Tom. After a desperate tug he was raised an inch, and\nsuddenly lowered again. The result was a splash, a scramble below,\nand Tom\u2019s voice sputtering incoherent invectives. Again and again\nthe children tugged, and again and again Tom splashed, scrambled and\nsputtered.\n\nAt last a red, anxious face looked down to him, and Bessie\u2019s voice,\nchoked with tears, called out:\n\n\u201cOh, Tom, do hold on till I call Maggie; we can\u2019t get you up.\u201d\n\nAway ran Bess to call help, followed by Archie; but Bob, whose ideas on\nsome points were as yet but feebly developed, seized one of the long\npoles, and began to poke at his brother with it, under the impression\nthat some good would come of these unaided efforts.\n\n\u201cBob, be done! You\u2019ll put my eye out!\u201d cried poor Tom, desperately, as\nthe swinging iron hook circled around his head.\n\n\u201cCatch hold! Catch hold!\u201d cried Bob, getting excited as he saw how near\nhe came to grappling his brother.\n\n\u201cJust let me get up once, and I\u2019ll catch hold,\u201d muttered Tom,\nwrathfully; then, raising his voice, he yelled as loud as he could for\nhelp. \u201cPete! P-e-e-e-e-ter! P-e-e-e-e-e-e-ter!\u201d\n\nBut Peter was a mile away, and consequently could not hear. Maggie had\nimproved the occasion of her master\u2019s absence to visit her friend and\nneighbor, Miss Flaherty, for half an hour; and Kate, summoned from her\nbaking, came to the rescue, but only assisted by wringing her hands and\nwailing.\n\n[Illustration: BUT ALL THE UNITED EFFORTS OF BESS AND BOB AND\nARCHIE\u2019S LEFT ARM COULD NOT RAISE TOM]\n\n\u201cOch, he\u2019s lost wid the cold! Shure an\u2019 he\u2019ll get his death now! Arrah,\nwhat childer yez arre!\u201d\n\n\u201cTake hold of the rope and pull,\u201d cried Bess.\n\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t rise him; shure an\u2019 I\u2019d only pull him up be snaps, and\ndhrop him again,\u201d said Kate, who showed a lamentable want of confidence\nin her own abilities.\n\n\u201cOh, do something!\u201d cried Bess, now almost beside herself with fear;\n\u201cdo something, Kate. Oh, where is Murray?\u201d\n\n\u201cGarn for a load o\u2019 wood, and won\u2019t be home till night,\u201d answered Kate.\n\n\u201cOh, Tom, can\u2019t you shinny up the rope?\u201d called down Bess.\n\n\u201cNo. I\u2019m too stiff now with cold; besides, I couldn\u2019t do it anyway,\u201d\nmoaned the captive Tom, who looked like a Triton blowing on a\nconch-shell, as he stood with uplifted teapot. He seemed to think the\nteapot should be kept dry at all hazards, and wearied his arm to keep\nit above water.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll run next door and call Mr. Wilson,\u201d said Bess, more hopefully,\nand started on this errand, while Kate, suddenly inspired, rushed\nto the kitchen sink, where stood the iron pump, connected by a pipe\nwith the well, and began to pump vigorously, apparently with the\nanticipation of seeing Tom ooze through the spout, for which purpose,\nand to make the matter surer, she removed the filter.\n\nAs Bess ran she was suddenly stopped at the gate by the sight of a\ncarriage which had just driven up, and out of which now stepped Aunt\nMaria and Aunt Maria\u2019s husband, Uncle Daniel. These were the very\ngrimmest and grandest of all the relations. When they came to see\nmamma, Bess had always to sit perfectly still on a chair, answer very\npolitely, have her very best dress on, her hair parted directly in\nthe middle and be intensely proper. As for the boys, they suffered\nthe torture by soap and water, and endured their new jackets, could\nnot whittle, nor whistle, nor wrestle, and were sustained under these\ntribulations only by the expectation of a very good dinner and a\n\u201cbully\u201d dessert!\n\nThe white-and-gold china always came out on these occasions, the best\ndouble-damask tablecloth and napkins, the heaviest silver forks and\nspoons, the silver salt-cellars, and--oh, agony of agonies!--the silver\nteapot!\n\nFor one awful moment Bess stood stunned. Then her anxiety for Tom\novercame every other consideration, and before Aunt Maria could say,\n\u201cHow do you do, Elizabeth?\u201d she had caught her uncle by his august\ncoat-tail and in a piteous voice besought him to come and pull on the\nrope.\n\n\u201cPull on a rope, Elizabeth!\u201d said Uncle Daniel in mild astonishment.\n\u201cWhy should I pull on a rope, my dear?\u201d and Aunt Maria murmured, \u201cVery\nastonishing thing for a child to say.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, come quick! Hurry faster! Tom\u2019s down in the well!\u201d cried Bess,\nwith freely flowing tears.\n\n\u201cTom down a well! And how did he get there?\u201d\n\nUncle Daniel never hurried, and required a reason, always, for the hope\nthat was in his friends.\n\n\u201cHe went down for the teapot,\u201d sobbed Bess, \u201cthe silver teapot, and we\ncan\u2019t pull him up again; and he\u2019s all cramped with cold. Oh, do hurry!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe silver teapot down the well; my mother\u2019s silver teapot! Daniel,\ndidn\u2019t I always say that Mary Bradley should never have had that\nteapot? This must be looked into.\u201d\n\nAnd with dignified strides Aunt Maria marched to the well.\n\nTom\u2019s teeth by this time were chattering so that he fully expected\nthey would all drop out, and the three fishers were so completely\ndemoralized by their fears as to be speechless.\n\nUncle Daniel was a slow man. He leisurely looked down at Tom, then\nup at the wheel, then at the rope, and calmly remarked, \u201cAll new, I\nsee.\u201d Then he slowly took off his coat, and as slowly carried it into\nthe house, stopped to give an order to his coachman, who had driven\naround to the stable, and came with measured pace to where the three\nfrightened children stood listening to Aunt Maria, who was doing her\nduty by them strictly and fully.\n\nUncle Daniel then took hold of the rope, gave a long, strong, calm\npull, and in an instant, Tom, \u201cdripping with coolness, arose from the\nwell.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nAs soon as they had stopped laughing, the story teller said:\n\n\u201cI will now tell you a Christmas story of the Great Northwest.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXIII\n\nGLOOMY GUS AND THE CHRISTMAS CAT\n\n\nTHE Canadian miner was the first of the men to finish \u201cwashing up,\u201d on\nhis return from the mine.\n\n\u201cWhere\u2019s Barbara?\u201d he asked, tossing his towel at a peg.\n\n\u201cShe has a little cold and I put her to bed,\u201d replied Mrs. St. Clair.\n\nThe anxiety in the mother\u2019s voice kept him from asking any more\nquestions. He followed the other men in to supper.\n\n\u201cIt seems lonesome without Barbara,\u201d said McGill, the mining engineer.\n\nThe rough men had made a pet of the laughing, blue-eyed little girl,\nand they missed her. She had slipped into their lives so quietly that\nthey did not realize how much they looked forward to seeing her at\nthe end of the day. And Barbara returned their love. A mining camp is\nhardly the place for a child, but Barbara\u2019s father was dead, and her\nmother became the cook at the Little Bear Mine.\n\nAfter supper the men sat in a grave, silent circle before the great\nopen fireplace. There seemed to be nothing to talk about. Other\nevenings these big, rough men had had Barbara to romp with, all except\nGloomy Gus.\n\nBut then Gloomy Gus never showed any interest in anything. He was\na big, gruff Swede, whose name appeared on the company\u2019s books as\nGustavus Schwarstun. To the men, however, he was \u201cGloomy Gus.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis will give me a chance to finish her snowshoes,\u201d the Canadian\nfinally said, with an assumed air of gayety. \u201cChristmas is almost here.\u201d\n\nHe went to the bunk room and returned with a pair of small snowshoes he\nwas making.\n\nEvery one of the men was making Barbara a present--every one but Gloomy\nGus. McGill eyed him sharply.\n\nThe big Swede did something which at another time would have met with\na roar of laughter; but not a man smiled when he pulled a ball of red\nyarn and a half-knitted mitten out of his pocket.\n\n\u201cI learned how to do it in the old country,\u201d he said as he busied his\nrough, calloused fingers with the crude pine knitting needles he had\nmade. He had unraveled the sleeve of a new red sweater to get the yarn\nhe needed.\n\nThe men found it hard to work that evening, and trooped off to their\nbunks earlier than usual.\n\nMcGill remained. He went down the hall to Mrs. St. Clair\u2019s room, where\na light was still burning, and tapped gently.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to put a cot in the mess room and sleep in there to-night,\u201d\nhe told her. \u201cYou may need me.\u201d\n\nIt was after midnight when she called him. McGill found the little\npatient\u2019s fever high. He listened to Barbara\u2019s labored breathing and\ncounted her pulse.\n\nWhen he looked up, he found Mrs. St. Clair watching him anxiously. He\nknew from her eyes that she shared his fear--the fear that Barbara\nmight have pneumonia. McGill had helped the doctor fight several cases\nof the disease in those mountains. They had generally been losing\nfights, but he set to work.\n\nThe big, hobnailed boots of the men fell softly on the rough floors as\ntheir wearers slipped in for breakfast. They had prepared it themselves\nand ate it silently. During the meal McGill came in. He looked worried\nand did not eat. After they had finished the men waited for him to\nspeak.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s pneumonia,\u201d he said briefly.\n\nThat was all. Soon the men slipped off quietly to the mine, and McGill\nwent back to Barbara.\n\nBy night Barbara was delirious.\n\n\u201cIt looks bad,\u201d McGill admitted to the men. \u201cShe is fretting over that\ncat.\u201d\n\nWhen Barbara came to the Little Bear Mine, she had brought with her a\nsmall Maltese kitten, her dearest possession. The death of the little\nkitten a week before had been the greatest tragedy in her young life.\n\nAfter supper the men tried to work on their presents, but somehow the\nwork dragged. The hours passed, but the men did not leave the mess\nroom. Toward midnight McGill came out to them. \u201cMrs. St. Clair says you\nhad better come in now if you want to see her. She\u2019s--she\u2019s going!\u201d\n\nThe whole crew, from mucker to foreman, tiptoed down the hall--all\nexcept Gus. He didn\u2019t seem to notice that they went.\n\nInto the sick room they filed and stood in a little embarrassed group\nby the door. Barbara tossed fretfully on the bed, her eyes glowing with\nunnatural brightness.\n\n\u201cI want a kitty, Santa Claus! I want my kitty!\u201d she wailed feebly.\n\nThe Canadian miner, tears rolling down his cheeks, left the room. The\nothers followed.\n\nGus was still in his place by the fire when they returned.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t stand it to see her begging for that kitten,\u201d said the\nCanadian. \u201cI would risk my life to get one for her. I\u2019d try to get to\nTelluride, if I thought I could get back in time to do any good.\u201d\n\nA minute afterwards Gus got up slowly and went out to the bunk room.\n\nBut Gus did not stop there long. He drew on an extra sweater, rubber\ncoat and furs, snatched his skis and pole, and slipped from the house.\n\nIt was after midnight. The thermometer registered way below zero. The\nwind swirled down from the mountain tops with the lash of a gale. But\nGus did not mind the storm; a master of the ski, he swung down the\ntrail with a speed that mocked the wind at his back.\n\nTelluride, the nearest town, was thirteen miles away, the only route\nleading there being over a zigzag pack trail. From the mine this trail\ndescends the crest of a ridge until it strikes the edge of the canyon,\nstaggers back and forth down the steep face of the canyon, then for the\nrest of the way meekly follows the river.\n\nIt is only a pack trail, narrow and dangerous at best. During the\nsummer a line of burros or donkeys winds along it, bringing down ore\nfrom the mine and carrying back provisions. But when winter sets in,\nthe trail becomes very dangerous, and the zigzags have caused the death\nof many prospectors who have stayed too late in the mountains, or taken\nthe trail too early in the spring.\n\nGus had little difficulty down the first part of the trail. In an hour\nhe reached the zigzags. They were covered with hanging masses of snow\nthat threatened with every blast to go grinding down the wall of the\ncanyon.\n\nBy his pole Gus held himself on to the side of the canyon, moving\ncautiously across hanging drifts. He made his way only by grim,\ndesperate effort.\n\nAt the end of thirty minutes of hard struggle he stood half-way down\nthe trail. Then a savage blast tore a pile of clinging snow from the\ntop and drove it at him. Gus saw it start, gathering speed and bulk as\nit came. The whole mountain side began to move. Tons of hard-packed\nsnow were slipping, and he was directly in their path. There was no way\nof dodging the avalanche--he must outrace it.\n\nThere was no time to zigzag back and forth down the side of the canyon;\nhe had to take as direct a route as the avalanche. He threw his pole\nfrom his grasp and shot ahead of the oncoming mass of snow. Death was\nbehind him. Before him rocks jutted out to trip him, and jump-offs\nendangered his course.\n\n[Illustration: HE SWUNG DOWN THE TRAIL WITH A SPEED THAT MOCKED THE\nWIND AT HIS BACK]\n\nBut he rode his skis with reckless abandon, leaping, twisting, dodging\ndown the slope. Behind him crashed the snow. He was veering to the left\nto escape its path.\n\nA leap brought him to the bottom of the canyon. But before he could\nglide to safety, a mass of snow at the side of the slide caught and\nhurled him before it, bruised and half buried.\n\nA desperate struggle freed him. His skis were broken, his muscles were\nbruised and twisted.\n\nIt was half-past three when he reached the outskirts of the town.\nMounting the steps of the first house, he rained heavy blows upon the\ndoor. The owner stuck his head out of a window. \u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cGive me a cat!\u201d Gus ordered in a rough voice.\n\n\u201cAre you crazy?\u201d yelled the enraged man at the window.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve got to have a cat! I\u2019m from the Little Bear! Cook\u2019s little girl\nis sick--pneumonia! She\u2019s goin\u2019 to die if we don\u2019t get her a cat!\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom the Little Bear? Over the zigzags? Impossible!\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me a cat or I\u2019ll break your door in!\u201d\n\nPresently a light glimmered through the night and a hastily clad man\njoined Gus. A search of the neighborhood produced a cat and fresh skis.\nIn half an hour Gus was on the trail back.\n\nAt the mine the men had not gone to their bunks that night. They\nhuddled before the fireplace, awaiting the dreaded news. McGill slipped\nby now and then on some errand.\n\nThe night dragged through, and Christmas dawned.\n\nChristmas! This was the first time they had planned a real Christmas\nsince they left their homes years ago. But now the heart had been taken\nout of the day.\n\nThey sat down to a listless breakfast. McGill came in.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s still fighting. She\u2019s got to win or lose pretty soon,\u201d he said.\n\nThey did not go to the mine that morning. It was the first Christmas\nthe Little Bear Mine had not run.\n\nAt ten o\u2019clock McGill came in to report.\n\n\u201cBoys, I can\u2019t stand it any longer. She\u2019s wearing her strength away\nfretting for that cat. I\u2019m not sure that a cat would really quiet her,\nand I hardly believe any living man can make it to Telluride, but I\u2019m\ngoing to try.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you\u2019re not,\u201d said the Canadian. \u201cShe needs you here. Besides,\nyou\u2019re worn out. I\u2019ll get the cat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll draw for it,\u201d said the men.\n\n\u201cNo use. Gus and I are the only two good enough on skis to have a\nfighting chance.\u201d\n\n\u201cGus! That brute hasn\u2019t got the heart of a mine mule! He wouldn\u2019t go at\nthe point of a gun! Where is he? I haven\u2019t seen him since last night,\u201d\nstormed the foreman.\n\nSilently the men watched the Canadian prepare for the trail. They were\nrough men, who held life cheaply, but not one of them believed a man\nhad a chance to make the trail and return safely.\n\nSuddenly the door opened and Gus staggered in. He tried to cross the\nroom, but his worn-out muscles refused to act, and he sank to the floor.\n\nThe men sprang to him, laid him on a cot, pulled off his furs, and\nunbuttoned his coat. Underneath the coat was an old sack. One of\nthe men gave it a shake. Out on the floor rolled a half-frozen,\nhalf-smothered kitten. It told the story; it told them that Gus was a\nhero.\n\nThe next morning when consciousness returned to Gus, the men carried\nhis cot into Barbara\u2019s room. On the bed he could see a little figure,\nfrail and worn, but sleeping the restful sleep of exhaustion. One\nlittle arm was outside the covers, hugging up closely a fluff of a\nkitten. Beside the bed, he saw the mother, smiling happily through her\ntears, for she knew that Barbara would get well.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV\n\nPATTY AND HER PITCHER\n\n\nAT the end of the story the Story Lady paused a moment, and then said:\n\u201cWe will now leave the cold and snowy world and come back to our warm\nand pleasant Fairyland and to the story of Patty and her Pitcher.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the delightful surprise I spoke of,\u201d said the Story Queen to\nMary Frances. \u201cJust watch the magic circle.\u201d\n\nMary Frances noticed a large circle drawn on the carpet, about which\nall the Story People were grouped.\n\n\u201cYou are going to hear the story and see it acted at the same time. The\nStory Lady will control the action with her voice.\u201d\n\n\n_In the Magic Circle_\n\nMary Frances sat listening entranced to the voice of the Story Lady. It\nflowed on and on like sweet music, now rising, now falling, filling the\near with charming sound, and the imagination with a perfect picture of\nthe story she was telling.\n\nThe story began:\n\n\u201cThe most charming little girl in her native village was Patty--\u201d\n\nAt the words a little girl, Patty, not much bigger than Tiny of\nTinytown sprang up in the circle with her little home and the village\nall about her.\n\n\u201cThe pigeons flew down--to coo around her--\u201d\n\nAnd they flew down and cooed.\n\n\u201cThe chickens fed from her hand--\u201d\n\nAnd the chickens came running.\n\n\u201cThe cat rolled over her feet and purred--\u201d\n\nAnd the cat did it.\n\n\u201cThe steady old dog, Bluff, cut his liveliest capers--\u201d\n\nAnd Bluff did it.\n\nAs the story fell from the Story Lady\u2019s lips there was instant\nobedience in the village of the magic circle. The characters obeyed the\nvoice instantly, just as the feet of children dancing obey the music of\nthe piano. So the story flowed on--the acting kept pace with the voice\nand did everything the words said.\n\nMary Frances sat spellbound, for she had never seen anything so\nbeautiful as the way in which that wonderful voice brought every player\nand every action to her ears and eyes at the same time.\n\nThis is the story. If you keep your eyes on the magic circle you can\nsee it as Mary Frances saw it--through the veil of words.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n_The Wonderful Pitcher_\n\nThe most charming little girl in her native village, was Patty; at\nleast, so all the neighbors said, and what everybody says ought to have\nsome truth in it.\n\nPatty deserved their kind words, for she loved everybody and\neverything, and in return she was loved by all who knew her. The\npigeons flew down from their little house to coo around her; the\nchickens fed from her hand; the cat rolled over her feet and purred\nwith pleasure; and even the steady old dog, Bluff, put himself to the\ntrouble of cutting his liveliest capers to attract her attention.\n\nPatty was always busy, too, about something. When she was no higher\nthan your knee, she used to bustle about and do little things in the\nhandiest manner; and as for sewing, she was the pattern child at the\ndame\u2019s school, where her sampler was hung upon the wall, as a guide to\nthe other children.\n\nShe lived in a little cottage with her parents, who were now old and\nvery poor, and depended upon their little daughter for many things\nwhich they were too feeble to do for themselves. One of her daily\nduties was to go to the spring for water.\n\nShe would dip her pitcher into the clear, bright liquid, and sing her\nsweet little songs, with a voice that made every one who passed that\nway stop to listen with delight.\n\nUpon one of her journeys to the spring, occurred the great event of her\nlife, of which I am now about to tell you.\n\nPatty had filled her pitcher at the spring, and was carrying it home\nwith some little difficulty, for it was quite heavy when filled. When\nalmost in sight of her cottage, she saw a poor, old, travel-worn woman\nsitting by the wayside, as if overcome by the fatigue of a long journey.\n\nShe sat upon the trunk of a fallen tree; her face was as brown as a\nnut, and covered with a complete network of wrinkles, while her dim\neyes looked dull and sunken. At her back was tied a bundle which seemed\nquite large enough for a strong man to carry.\n\nShe watched Patty as she came near, and cast eager eyes upon the water\nin the pitcher, which seemed so cool and tempting; and after looking at\nPatty\u2019s rosy, good-natured face, she asked for some water.\n\n\u201cDear little child,\u201d said she in a feeble voice, \u201cgive me a drink from\nyour pitcher, for I am very old, and faint, and weary.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be sure, mother, and welcome,\u201d said Patty, sweetly, as she raised\nup the pitcher so that the old woman could drink.\n\nLong and eagerly did the poor creature drink of the delicious water; so\nlong, indeed, that Patty was much surprised at her extreme thirst.\n\n\u201cThank you, my darling. Heaven will reward you for your kindness,\u201d said\nthe old woman.\n\n\u201cOh, you are quite welcome, mother,\u201d said Patty again, shouldering her\npitcher, and going cheerfully on her way, singing in the lightness\nof her heart, at the pleasure of having relieved the poor woman\u2019s\ndistress.\n\nBut she had not gone far before she was overtaken by a large dog, who\nseemed to be bound upon a long journey; for he was covered with dust,\nhis eyes were bloodshot, and his parched tongue hung from his mouth to\ncatch the cool air.\n\n\u201cPoor fellow,\u201d said Patty, in a kind voice.\n\nThe dog turned around at the words, and stopped to look at her. She\nheld out her hand, and he came nearer. She then set down her pitcher\nto caress him, but he strove eagerly to reach the pitcher which his\ninstinct told him contained water. Patty understood his wants, and held\nthe pitcher to the poor dog so that he could drink with comfort.\n\nHe lapped and lapped, until she began to think he would never leave\noff. At last, he looked up into her face, and licked her hand in\ngratitude; then, after bounding and gamboling about to show how\nrefreshed he was, trotted on his way.\n\nPatty now looked into her pitcher and found that it was more than half\nempty, so that she must take all her journey over again; for it was of\nno use going home with a pitcher but half full.\n\nAs she rose, she saw some hare-bells by the side of the road which\nappeared to be in a very drooping, dusty state, so she at once poured\nover them all the water that remained in the pitcher.\n\nThen, with her pitcher once more upon her shoulder, she turned her\nsteps again toward the spring, without a single regret at the double\nwork she had to do. She traveled blithely on over the dusty road,\ncheering the way with her sweet songs, and soon arrived once more at\nthe margin of the spring.\n\nResting for a few minutes in the shade, she gazed sleepily at the\nbubbling water, and all kinds of fanciful thoughts passed through her\nmind. She was just dropping off into a little nap, when she thought she\nheard some one call her by name. It was a sweet little voice, and Patty\ncould hardly distinguish it from the tinkling of the spring.\n\nShe rose quickly to her feet, and looked in every direction for the\nowner of the voice, but in vain; till suddenly casting eyes upon the\nspring, she saw, to her amazement, a dear little face looking up at her\nfrom the water; and presently there stood before her one of the most\nbeautiful little creatures Patty had ever seen.\n\nShe balanced lightly upon the surface of the rippling water, where she\nseemed to stand with the same ease as Patty did upon the land, and was\nreally no higher than the pitcher.\n\n\u201cSo, Patty,\u201d said she, \u201cso you have come back again, my dear?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Madam,\u201d replied Patty, who, to say the truth, felt somewhat\nalarmed; \u201cyes, Madam, because I----\u201d\n\n\u201cI know all about it,\u201d said the fairy, for it was a fairy, you know;\n\u201cand it is because I do know, that you see me here, for I am now come\nto make you a useful present.\u201d\n\n\u201cA present!\u201d said Patty, with a pleased surprise.\n\n\u201cYes, and such a one,\u201d replied the fairy, \u201cas will be a lasting reward\nfor your goodness of heart toward others, and your little care for\nyourself. You blush because you do not remember the many kind things\nyou have done, and I am the more pleased to see that you think I am\ngiving you unmerited praise.\n\n\u201cThat you think so little of all the kind actions which are the\nornament of your life, assures me of the purity of your motives; for it\nis our duty to forget the good we do to others, and to remember only\nthe good that others do to us. You have always done so, my dear Patty.\n\n\u201cTo reward you, I will place a spell upon your pitcher, which will\nalways be full of water or milk, as you may desire. It will also be\nable to move and work whenever you wish it, and will always prove your\nfirm friend in any trouble.\n\n\u201cIf it should, by any mishap, be parted from you, it will easily, by\nits magic powers, be able to find you; and in whatever position you\nmay happen to be, you will always find it by your side, as adviser and\nfriend; so put your pitcher on the ground, and look into it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: SHE THEN TOUCHED THE PITCHER WITH HER WAND]\n\nPatty did so, and to her surprise, saw the bright water gradually\nrising until the pitcher was full to the brim. When she saw it was full\nshe tried to lift it, but found it too heavy for her strength.\n\n\u201cYou need not trouble yourself to carry it,\u201d said the fairy, smiling;\n\u201cit will save you all further trouble on that score.\u201d\n\nShe then touched the pitcher with her wand, when to Patty\u2019s greater\nsurprise, two very well-formed legs grew out of the bottom, and a pair\nof neat little arms appeared at the top of the vessel, which, as soon\nas it was firm on its legs, made a very polite bow to Patty as its\nfuture mistress.\n\n\u201cNow, Patty,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cfollow your pitcher, and you cannot\npossibly go wrong;\u201d and as she finished speaking, she gradually faded\naway, and at last broke into a thousand sparkling drops, which mingled\nwith the bubbling stream, and were soon borne away on its bosom.\n\nPatty rubbed her eyes as if to make sure that she was awake; for the\nwhole thing seemed to her like a wonderful dream. She coughed aloud,\nand at last began to pinch herself until she found it painful, when she\nfinally concluded that she must be really awake. But more convincing\nthan all, there stood the saucy brown pitcher firmly upon its sturdy\ngreen legs, with its toes turned out in the politest manner of the day,\nand its little fists planted in its sides in a style that was very\nbusiness-like indeed.\n\n\u201cQuite ready to start, mistress,\u201d said a little voice that made Patty\njump, for the fairy had not told her that the pitcher could speak; but\nscrewing up courage, she said: \u201cCome on, then, Pitcher,\u201d and set the\nexample by starting off into a run.\n\nAnd didn\u2019t the pitcher follow her in good earnest! Indeed, it ran so\nfast that it soon overtook her, and not only that, but it ran beyond\nher, long before she got half-way home.\n\nBut the most surprising thing was that, although it hopped along with\nthe most wonderful strides and jumps over the rough places in its path,\nit did not spill one single drop of water in its progress. This puzzled\nPatty, who, with her utmost care, could never avoid wetting her dress\nwhenever she had tried to run with the pitcher, even half full.\n\n\u201cWhat will people think when we get into the village?\u201d thought Patty,\nas she looked at her strange companion; \u201cI\u2019m sure they will be\nfrightened, and what will father and mother say when they see what I\nhave brought home with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not trouble yourself about that,\u201d said the pitcher, who seemed to\nknow her thoughts; \u201cyour parents will soon get accustomed to me, and be\nmuch pleased when they see how handy I am, for you do not yet know half\nof my good qualities.\u201d\n\nAs he was speaking, they came to a very high stile. \u201cShall I help you\nover?\u201d said Patty, thinking of his short legs.\n\n\u201cOh, dear, no,\u201d said the pitcher; \u201csee how little I need it.\u201d And,\nso saying, he skipped over the stile in the most graceful manner. As\nhe did so, a dog who was passing put his tail between his legs, and\nafter two or three very weak barks, scurried off in evident fright and\nsurprise.\n\nA man was at the same time coming along the road with a slow and\npompous walk--for he was the squire of the village--who, upon seeing\nthe strange pitcher clear the stile, was rendered almost speechless\nwith amazement; but as soon as he saw the little legs speeding toward\nhim, he uttered one loud exclamation of terror, and fled!\n\nHis hat flew one way, his cane another, and his cloak mounted into the\nair like wings. Being very fat, however, he had not gone far before his\nlegs failed him, and he lay kicking in a furze bush, roaring for help.\nPatty could not help laughing at the sight, but the pitcher, trotting\non with the greatest unconcern, soon reached the cottage door to the\nastonishment of Patty\u2019s parents.\n\nThe pitcher walked quietly into the cottage, and sat down in a corner,\ntucking its legs carefully under it, so that no one could see them. The\nneighbors, therefore, who had been alarmed at the squire\u2019s account of\nhis fright and disaster, and came to the cottage in crowds, only saw a\npitcher, such as they all had at home, and put the old squire down as\nbeing a little bit out of his mind.\n\nPatty was awakened next morning by hearing a noise below, as if someone\nwas very busy with the furniture. She heard the chairs pushed about,\nand presently the handle of a pail klink down as plain as could be. So\nshe put on her clothes and crept down stairs. She peeped cautiously\nthrough the red curtains at the bottom, and there, to her wondering\nsurprise, she saw, what do you think?--not any thieves, but the\nastonishing pitcher; and what do you think it was doing? Why, it was\nmopping up the red tiles of the floor as handily as if it had never\ndone anything else all the days of its life; and more wonderful still,\nthe fire was made, and was burning brightly upon the hearth!\n\nWe can imagine a pitcher of water washing the floor, but we cannot\nimagine it doing anything else with a fire except putting it out. But,\nno! the fire was lighted, the kettle was on, and there it was, merrily\nsinging a little song about breakfast being nearly ready.\n\n\u201cGood morning, dear mistress,\u201d said the pitcher, cheerfully; \u201cyou need\nnot trouble yourself to do anything but grow and improve your mind; for\nfrom henceforth you will have but little labor to do, as I am here to\ndo it for you.\u201d\n\nYou may suppose that Patty was well pleased to hear this, for she was\nnow growing to be a tall girl, and felt a great desire to improve\nherself with books, which as yet she had had very little time to do,\nhaving been so much taken up with her household cares.\n\nWhen Patty was left alone in the evening with the pitcher, she told him\nhow much she was obliged to him for all he had done, and how much she\nwished to learn; but did not know what to do for books, as she had read\nthe few she already possessed, many times over.\n\n\u201cOh, I can soon help you there,\u201d said the pitcher, \u201cfor you have only\nto wish, and I will yield you as much milk as you desire. You can\nthen make butter and cheese, and go sell them at the market town; buy\nas many books as you like, and have something left for other purposes\nbesides.\u201d\n\nNo sooner said than done. Patty set out all the pans she had, and all\nshe could borrow from her kind neighbors, and as fast as they came the\npitcher ran about and filled them; so that she soon had plenty of cream\nfor her butter and cheese.\n\nShe had only to ask, and a good neighbor lent her a churn, while the\npitcher furnished a pair of arms to do the churning, and such butter\nwas produced as had not been seen in the village for many a day. You\nmay suppose that Patty was pleased; and as for her dear old parents,\nthey hardly knew what to make of it all.\n\nThe same good neighbor lent her a gentle horse and some baskets; and\nearly one lovely morning, she started for the market-town, to which the\npleased pitcher pointed out the way. He did not go with her, as he said\nthe people of the town were not accustomed to see brown pitchers with\nlegs, so he should stay at home and see about making the cheese.\n\nPatty rode cheerfully on her way, looking as happy and handsome as\nthe best farmer\u2019s daughter of them all--so everybody in the market\nsaid--and she soon sold all her butter at the very best prices of the\nday.\n\nAnd so Patty went on thriving, and doing good to every one in need,\nuntil in course of time, she grew into a beautiful and lovable young\nwoman, living in comfort with her old parents in one of the prettiest\ncottages in the village.\n\nEvery one said that she deserved her good fortune; no one envied her;\nshe was loved by young and old; so, as you may well believe, she was\nhappy as the day is long.\n\n\n_The Well-dressed Stranger_\n\nAnd now, a wonderful thing came to pass, which changed the whole course\nof Patty\u2019s simple and contented life. One evening, she was standing\nin her garden, feeding her pigeons, when a well-dressed stranger\napproached the gate. After looking at her with admiration for a moment,\nhe bowed gracefully, at the same time removing his plumed hat, and, in\nthe politest manner, inquired the way to the next town.\n\nPatty answered him pleasantly, and as she spoke, the music of her voice\nand the charming modesty of her manner seemed to strike the young man\nwith surprise and pleasure.\n\nHe looked at her intently for a moment, which made Patty\u2019s eyes seek\nthe ground in blushing confusion; then bowing again with greater\nrespect than before, he proceeded slowly on his way, often looking back\nfor another glimpse of sweet Patty.\n\nAnd now, as you probably guess, the handsome young stranger came again\nand again, although he knew his way very well indeed between the\nvillage and the neighboring town. At last she found that it was the way\nto her heart he was seeking. He told her parents that he was rich, and\nwished to have a wife of whom every one spoke well. He did not care how\npoor she might be, so that she loved him; since he had wealth enough\nfor both, and could choose to marry when and where he pleased.\n\nYou must not suppose, however, that Patty fell into the arms of the\nyoung stranger at once. He coaxed her a great deal before she consented\nto be his wife; as she wanted to make sure that he was as upright in\ncharacter as he was handsome in appearance.\n\nThe parents smiled as they looked upon the ardent and handsome lover,\nwhom, however, they did not think a bit too good for their darling\nPatty; and so, in as short a time as was possible, they were happily\nmarried.\n\nNow the stranger who had married Patty was a prince in disguise; and\nthe pretty cottage-girl became a great princess, surrounded with all\nthe splendor of her high station!\n\nDid Patty now forget her early home and her old friend, the pitcher?\nNo, she did not, for the pitcher went with her; but her parents wished\nto end their days in the peaceful village where they were born. In the\nsplendid state in which she now lived, the pitcher was as useful to her\nas before, though in a different way. When the poor came to the palace\ngate, he gave them bread and nourishing soup for their families, for\nwhich they daily blessed the kind princess who relieved their wants.\nSo you see the pitcher, although now not called upon to work, still\ncontinued, in the name of his mistress, to do good to all around.\n\n\n_Patty in Trouble_\n\nBut, alas! the best of us cannot escape from envious hearts and wicked\ntongues, and so it befell with Patty. Her dream of happiness was short.\nMany of the wicked courtiers envied her the love of the people, to whom\nPatty was endeared by her gentle kindness; and they whispered slanders\ninto the ears of the prince, her husband, who at last, I am sorry to\nsay, was weak enough to listen to them; for they aroused his fears by\ntelling him that she was trying to bribe the people by her charities to\nrebel against him.\n\nThey also said that she was served by evil spirits, and pointed to the\ngood and innocent pitcher as a proof of their wicked tales. Alas for\nhuman weakness! The prince at last became convinced of her guilt; and\nalthough his heart ached, he had her put into one of the dungeons of\nthe palace; and there poor Patty was left to mourn over the too easy\nbelief of her husband in her guilt.\n\nShe did not, however, mourn long, for as night came on, the prison door\ngently opened, and there, to her great delight, she saw the faithful\npitcher, with a bunch of keys in his hand.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said he, \u201clet us return to your peaceful home, and show your\nhusband that it is his heart and not his riches that you covet. He will\ncome back to reason and repentance when he finds he has lost you.\u201d\n\nPoor Patty followed him in deep grief; but they had not gone far in\ntheir flight, when she perceived with alarm, that they were followed by\na band of soldiers. She screamed with fright.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cBE NOT ALARMED, DEAR MISTRESS,\u201d SAID THE\nPITCHER]\n\n\n_The Pitcher to the Rescue_\n\n\u201cBe not alarmed, dear mistress,\u201d said the pitcher; \u201cI will soon stop\ntheir pursuit.\u201d So saying, he bent over the side of a rock and poured\nout a cataract of water through the valley in which the soldiers were\nmarching.\n\nSoon the water swelled into huge waves, which swept the soldiers from\ntheir path, and compelled them to save their lives by swimming to the\nnearest land, when, wet and dispirited, they soon returned to their\nmaster, the foolish prince.\n\nThat night Patty slept once more beneath the sheltering roof of her\nparents, who, as you may suppose, received their darling with open arms.\n\nShe once more found herself in her beloved garden, and the flowers, as\nyou may believe, were often watered with her tears. It was but natural\nthat her thoughts should wander to the home of her husband, and that\nshe should grieve over his cruelty in return for her pure and ardent\nlove. Hope, however, whispered to her, in the midst of her tears, that\nhe would yet learn how false the stories were that had caused not only\nher unhappiness, but his also. The pitcher, too, was always at her side\nto give her comfort in her silent sorrow.\n\nAnd thus days and weeks rolled on, but no news or messenger reached\nher from her husband. Had he entirely abandoned her? Or did he believe\nher to have been swept by the torrent that had so nearly drowned his\nsoldiers, who were too busy looking out for their own safety to notice\nwhat had become of her?\n\nShe hoped that it was so, as that in a measure would excuse him; and\neven now, he might be mourning her as lost to him forever! For surely,\nshe thought, long ere this the evil tongues must have appeared to him\nin their true light.\n\nOne morning, she rose earlier than usual. She was restless and could\nnot sleep. The pure air was cool and refreshing to her fevered brow.\nLooking sadly around her, she saw the dear old pitcher trimming the\nflowers just like an experienced gardener.\n\n\u201cGood morning, dear mistress,\u201d said he, rubbing his hands cheerfully;\n\u201cyou are up betimes to-day, for the sun has hardly yet peeped into the\nvalley. I am glad you are so early afoot. As you see, I am taking extra\ncare with the garden, for I expect visitors to-day!\u201d\n\n\u201cVisitors?\u201d said Patty with an inquiring look.\n\n\u201cYes, visitors,\u201d said the pitcher, from whose mouth issued a low,\nchuckling laugh; \u201cI can distinctly hear footsteps in the distance, and\nthey are coming this way. Listen! they are now near enough for mortal\nears to hear!\u201d\n\nAnd so they were; nearer and nearer they came. Presently the figure\nof a traveler, with a hood over his face, came in sight. He stopped a\nmoment, threw back his hood, and stood, struck with amazement; for it\nwas the prince, her husband, who believed her to be dead--drowned in\nthe valley, after she had escaped from prison!\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said the pitcher, \u201cis the visitor I expected. Believing you to\nbe dead, he has wandered in many lands to cure his grief; and at last\nventured to this quiet cottage to see once more the spot where he first\nhad the good fortune to meet you. He has bitterly grieved over the sin\nhe has committed in believing you guilty of coveting his riches, when\nhe alone was all your riches and your delight.\n\n\u201cThat you are still alive, is the reward for his sincere repentance.\nHe finds you in your parents\u2019 home where he saw you first, regretting\nnothing of your past life, except the loss of the husband you love so\nwell.\u201d\n\nThe faithful pitcher here ceased speaking. The prince rushed forward\nwith a cry of delight, and knelt at Patty\u2019s feet and begged her\nforgiveness.\n\nThe pitcher, like a discreet friend, placed her hand in his, and went\ninto the cottage.\n\nThe prince now happy in his love, which had increased a hundred fold,\nwished at once to return to his palace; and desired to send forward a\nmessenger, so that he might bring back his recovered wife in triumph.\nThe pitcher, upon this, came out and joined them.\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d said he, \u201cspare yourself this trouble. I am here to render\na last service to my mistress. Since your sincere love now leaves\nnothing for her to desire, the fairy who appointed me to reward her\nfor the greatest of human virtues--self-denial, now recalls me to her\nwater-palace.\u201d\n\nBehold! As he ceased speaking, jets of sparkling water rose high in the\nair from his mouth, until the valley was filled by a lovely lake, upon\nwhich floated a gilded barge, manned by stout rowers in the prince\u2019s\nlivery, and gay with flags of all colors.\n\nPatty then took an affectionate leave of her parents, and she and\nher husband stepped into the barge. Still the water flowed from the\npitcher\u2019s mouth, until the lake grew into a mighty river, down which\nthey floated until they came in sight of their beautiful home, standing\nhigh upon the rocks which bordered the stream.\n\nHundreds of flags floated from the towers, and booming cannon sent\nforth a noisy welcome. Crowds of rejoicing people stood to receive\ntheir beloved mistress, whose kindness had long ago endeared her to\ntheir grateful hearts; and, when at length they landed, the people\nrushed forward--happy if they even succeeded in kissing the hem of her\ngarment.\n\nAfter that Patty lived many years in peace and prosperity; but the\nmagic pitcher was seen no more, for Patty was happy, and its loving\ntask was done.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAs the Story Lady ceased speaking, the actors vanished from the magic\ncircle into thin air.\n\n\u201cOh, I wish I could learn to tell stories like that!\u201d exclaimed Mary\nFrances.\n\n\u201cYou can,\u201d said the Story King, heartily; \u201cfor you have come to the\nhome of good story-tellers.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you can, my dear, because you love stories,\u201d said the Story Queen.\n\n\u201cAnd for that reason you will always be young,\u201d added the Story King;\n\u201cfor good story-tellers never grow old.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems too good to be true; the Story Lady is so wonderful,\u201d\nreturned Mary Frances.\n\nThis outspoken admiration pleased the Story People very much, for they\nwere very proud of their Story Lady.\n\nNow the Ready Writer folded the copies of the five stories; stepped up\nwith a funny little bow and handed them to their guest as before; and\nthat was the end of the Second Day.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE THIRD DAY\n\nSIR GALAHAD\n\n KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE.--GALAHAD RECEIVES\n THE ORDER OF KNIGHTHOOD.--THE ADVENTURE OF THE SWORD IN THE\n STONE.--SIR GALAHAD SITS IN THE PERILOUS SEAT.--SIR GALAHAD WINS\n THE SWORD OF BALIN LE SAVAGE.--THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE\n SET OUT IN QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL.--SIR GALAHAD FINDS A WHITE\n SHIELD WITH A RED CROSS.--SIR LAUNCELOT AND SIR PERCIVAL ATTACK\n SIR GALAHAD.--THE ADVENTURE OF THE GENTLEWOMAN, THE MYSTERIOUS\n SHIP, AND THE SWORD OF THE STRANGE BELT.--THE GENTLEWOMAN RISKS\n HER LIFE FOR ANOTHER.--SIR GALAHAD MEETS A KNIGHT IN WHITE\n ARMOR.--SIR GALAHAD ACHIEVES HIS QUEST, AND BEARS THE HOLY GRAIL\n ACROSS THE SEA.--THE PASSING OF SIR GALAHAD, THE END OF SIR\n PERCIVAL, AND THE RETURN OF SIR BORS TO CAMELOT.--HOW SIR LAUNFAL\n ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAIL.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE THIRD DAY\n\nXXV\n\nSIR GALAHAD\n\n\n_King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table_\n\nWHEN the Story People were assembled on the third day, the Story Lady\nbegan:\n\nIn the early days of Britain there lived a noble king, Arthur, and\nhis brave knights of the Round Table. The king and his knights were\nfamous for their feats of arms, their deeds of valor, and their many\nadventures. Among them none was nobler and braver than King Arthur,\nuntil Galahad came; but Galahad surpassed them all, because he\naccomplished the feat in which so many failed--he conquered himself, as\nyou shall hear.\n\nNow King Arthur held his court three times a year, at Christmas, at\nEaster, and at Pentecost, in the lovely town of Camelot. Here stood\nCamelot Castle, with its high towers and great jousting field in the\nmeadow by the river, where the knights held their tournaments and\nperformed their feats of arms.\n\nAt these times all the brave knights of Christendom flocked to Camelot,\nand the bravest were chosen to sit at the Round Table, where they\nfeasted, told their adventures, and planned new deeds of valor. Here\nKing Arthur would charge them to commit no murder, outrage, or treason;\nalso to be courteous and never to refuse mercy; always to defend women\nand children on pain of death; and never to fight in a wrong quarrel\nfor law or worldly goods; and to this he pledged both old and young\nevery year at the high feast of Pentecost.\n\nIn the center of the great hall of the castle, with its lofty arches\nand high windows, stood the Round Table. \u201cMerlin, the magician,\u201d so\nthe tale goes, \u201cmade the Round Table in token of the roundness of the\nworld; for all the bravest of the world, Christian and heathen, resort\nto the Round Table; and when they are chosen to be of that company,\nthey think themselves more happy and more in honor, than if they had\ngotten half the world.\u201d\n\nWhen Merlin had made this wonderful table he said that, by the knights\nwho sat about it, the truth of the Holy Grail should be well known.\n\nNow, the Holy Grail was the cup which was supposed to have been used by\nour Saviour at the Last Supper, and was said to have been brought into\nBritain by Joseph of Arimathea. After a time, through the sin of those\nwho had charge of it, this holy vessel became lost, and the knights\nof the Round Table sought to recover it; but only a knight who was\nperfectly blameless in thought, word, and act could hope to succeed.\n\nWhen Merlin was asked who was best fitted for this quest, he said that\nthree blameless knights should achieve it; and that one of the three\nshould surpass his father as much as the lion surpasses the leopard,\nboth in strength and boldness.\n\nThose who heard Merlin say this, said, \u201cSince there is to be such a\nknight, you should make by your skill a seat for him to sit in.\u201d\n\nMerlin answered that he would do this; and so he made the Perilous\nSeat, in which no man dare sit on pain of being hurt, except the knight\nfor whom the seat was made. This knight was Sir Galahad, of whom the\npoet Tennyson writes:\n\n \u201cMy good sword carves the casques of men,\n My tough lance thrusteth sure,\n My strength is as the strength of ten,\n Because my heart is pure.\u201d\n\nThe tales themselves are from an old book, \u201cLe Morte d\u2019 Arthur,\u201d\nwritten by Sir Thomas Malory in the fifteenth century.\n\n\n_Galahad Receives the Order of Knighthood_\n\nOne day, at Pentecost, when the tables were set, ready for the\nfeasting to begin, there rode into the great hall of the castle a\nfair gentlewoman on horseback, her horse covered with sweat and foam.\nQuickly alighting, she came to King Arthur, who was surrounded by his\nknights, and saluted him.\n\n\u201cDamsel, God bless you,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said she, \u201cshow me where Sir Launcelot is.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere you may see him,\u201d said the king, pointing to the knight.\n\nShe went to Sir Launcelot and said, \u201cSir Launcelot, I salute you and\nrequire that you come with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your will with me?\u201d asked Sir Launcelot.\n\n\u201cYou shall soon know and understand,\u201d she replied.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cI will gladly go with you.\u201d\n\nSir Launcelot bade his squire saddle his horse and bring his armor.\n\nThe queen then came to Sir Launcelot and asked in surprise, \u201cWill you\nleave us at the high feast?\u201d\n\nThe gentlewoman answered for him: \u201cMadam, he shall be with you again\nto-morrow at mid-day.\u201d\n\nSo Sir Launcelot departed with the gentlewoman and rode into a great\nforest till he came to an abbey. When the squire opened the gates he\nentered and descended from his horse, and there met two of his cousins,\nSir Bors and Sir Lionel, who were very glad to see him.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Bors, \u201cwhat adventure brings you here? We thought to\nsee you at Camelot to-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cA gentlewoman brought me here,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cbut I know not\nthe cause.\u201d\n\nWhile they were talking, twelve nuns came in, bringing with them\nGalahad, a youth so handsome and well-made that scarcely in the world\nmight men find his match; and all the ladies wept.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said one of the ladies, \u201cwe bring here your son, whom we have\nnourished for you; and we pray you now to make him a knight, for he\ncould not receive the order of knighthood from a worthier man\u2019s hand.\u201d\n\nSir Launcelot looked at the young squire and thought that, for his age,\nhe had never seen so fine a man.\n\n\u201cIs this your own desire?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied his son.\n\n\u201cThen you shall receive the high order of knighthood to-morrow,\u201d said\nSir Launcelot.\n\nEarly in the morning at Galahad\u2019s desire he made him a knight, and\nsaid, \u201cGod make him a good man, for he is as handsome as any man that\nlives.\u201d This he did in the presence of his two cousins and the ladies\nof the abbey.\n\n\u201cNow, fair sir,\u201d said he, \u201cwill you come with me to the court of King\nArthur?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cI cannot go with you at this time, but\nshortly I will come.\u201d\n\nSir Launcelot then departed with his cousins and returned to Camelot,\nand the king and queen and all the knights were exceeding glad to see\nthem.\n\n\n_The Adventure of the Sword in the Stone_\n\nWhen the king and his knights entered the great hall for the feast,\nthey were surprised to see on the seats about the Round Table their\nnames in letters of gold, which told where each one ought to sit. When\nthey came to the Perilous Seat, they saw letters newly-written which\nsaid:\n\n \u201cFour hundred and fifty-four winters have now passed since the\n birth of our Lord, and this seat ought to be filled.\u201d\n\nThey all said, \u201cThis is a strange and a marvelous thing.\u201d\n\nSir Launcelot then counted the time and said, \u201cIt seems to me this\nseat ought to be filled to-day; for this is the feast of Pentecost\nafter the four hundred and fifty-fourth year; and, if it please all\nhere, let no one see these words till he arrives who ought to achieve\nthis adventure.\u201d\n\nThen they took a silken cloth and covered the letters in the Perilous\nSeat, and the king ordered the dinner to be served.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Kay, the steward, \u201cif you go now to dinner you will\nbreak an old custom of your court, for you never sit down on this day\nuntil you have seen some adventure.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou speak the truth,\u201d said King Arthur, \u201cbut I was so glad to see Sir\nLauncelot and his cousins that I forgot the custom.\u201d\n\nWhile they were still speaking, a squire came in and said to the king,\n\u201cSir, I bring you marvelous tidings.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are they?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cSir, I saw in the river below a great stone floating on the water, and\nin it a sword sticking.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the king, \u201cI will see that marvel.\u201d\n\nThe knights went with him down to the river and saw there a stone of\nred marble floating, like a great millstone, and in the middle was\nstuck a beautiful sword, in the handle of which were words formed of\nprecious stones set in gold, which said:\n\n \u201cNever shall man draw me out, save the one by whose side I ought\n to hang, and he shall be the best knight of the world.\u201d\n\nWhen the king read the letters, he said to Sir Launcelot, \u201cFair sir,\nthis sword ought to be yours; for I am sure you are the best knight of\nthe world.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d answered Sir Launcelot soberly, \u201cit is not my sword, nor am I\nbold enough to grasp it, for it ought not to hang by my side; also,\nwhoever attempts to draw it and fails, will receive a wound and will\nnot live long after; and I am sure you must know that to-day the\nadventures of the Holy Grail will begin.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, fair nephew,\u201d said the king to Sir Gawain, \u201cattempt it once for\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Gawain, \u201cI will obey your command.\u201d\n\nImmediately he grasped the sword by the handle, but could not stir it.\n\n\u201cI thank you,\u201d said King Arthur.\n\n\u201cSir Gawain,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cthis sword will one day hurt you so\nsorely that you will wish you had never put your hand to it for the\nbest castle of the realm.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Gawain, \u201cI might not resist my uncle\u2019s command.\u201d\n\nWhen King Arthur heard this he was sorry, and then he bade Sir Percival\ntry it, who said that he would gladly, to bear Sir Gawain company.\nThereupon he took hold of the sword and drew it strongly, but he could\nnot even move it. After that there was no one who was bold enough to\nattempt it.\n\n\u201cNow you may go to dinner,\u201d said Sir Kay, \u201cfor you have seen a\nmarvelous adventure.\u201d\n\n\n_Sir Galahad Sits in the Perilous Seat_\n\nThe king and all the knights then returned to the castle and each\nknight sat in his own place at the table, and the young men who were\nnot knights served them. When all were served and all the seats were\nfilled except the Perilous Seat, a strange thing happened; for all the\nwindows and doors of the castle shut by themselves; yet, for all that,\nthe hall was not greatly darkened.\n\nKing Arthur was the first to speak. \u201cFair comrades,\u201d he said, \u201cwe have\nseen marvels to-day; but methinks ere night we shall see still greater\nmarvels.\u201d\n\nEven while he was speaking, an old man came in, clothed all in white;\nand none of the knights knew who he was or where he came from. With him\nwas a young knight in red armor, without sword or shield; but an empty\nscabbard hung by his side.\n\n\u201cPeace be with you, gentlemen,\u201d said the old man; then to King Arthur,\n\u201cSir, I bring you a young knight who is of king\u2019s lineage, and of the\nkindred of Joseph of Arimathea; therefore the marvels of this court,\nand of strange countries, shall be fully accomplished.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: IMMEDIATELY HE GRASPED THE SWORD BY THE HANDLE, BUT\nCOULD NOT STIR IT]\n\nThe king was truly glad to hear this, and said, \u201cSir, you are heartily\nwelcome, and the young knight with you.\u201d\n\nWhen the young knight had taken off his armor he stood in a coat of red\nsilk, and the old man put on his shoulder a mantle, furred with fine\nermine, and said: \u201cSir, follow me.\u201d\n\nThen he led the way to the Perilous Seat, beside which sat Sir\nLauncelot; and then lifted up the cloth and found new letters which\nsaid:\n\n \u201cThis is the seat of Sir Galahad, the good knight.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the old man, \u201cknow well this place is yours.\u201d\n\nSir Galahad sat down safely in the Perilous Seat, and then said to his\nguide, \u201cSir, you may now go your way, for you have done as you were\ncommanded to do; and recommend me to my grandfather, King Pelleas, and\nsay that I shall come to see him as soon as I may.\u201d\n\nWhen the old man departed twenty squires met him, and they took their\nhorses and rode away.\n\nThe knights of the Round Table wondered greatly at Sir Galahad, because\nhe was so youthful, and because he dared to sit in the Perilous Seat;\nand they did not know where he was from, save from God, and they said,\n\u201cThis is he by whom the Holy Grail shall be achieved, for no man ever\nbefore sat there unhurt.\u201d\n\nSir Launcelot looked at his son with great joy, and Sir Bors said to\nhis comrades, \u201cUpon pain of my life, this young knight shall come to\ngreat honor.\u201d\n\nThere was so much noise in the hall that the queen heard it, and she\nhad a great desire to see the knight who dared such an adventure. When\ndinner was done the king rose and went to Sir Galahad\u2019s seat and lifted\nthe cloth and read his name. Then he showed it to Sir Gawain and said,\n\u201cFair nephew, now we have among us the blameless knight who will bring\nhonor to us all; and, upon pain of my life, he shall achieve the Holy\nGrail, as Sir Launcelot has given us to understand.\u201d\n\nKing Arthur then came to Sir Galahad and said, \u201cSir, you are welcome,\nfor you shall move many good knights to seek the Holy Grail, and you\nshall achieve what no other knight has been able to accomplish.\u201d\n\n\n_Sir Galahad Wins the Sword of Balin Le Savage_\n\nThe king then took Sir Galahad by the hand, and went down to the river\nto show him the adventure of the stone, and the queen and many ladies\nwent with them and saw the stone floating in the water.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the king to him, \u201chere is a great marvel as ever I saw, and\nright good knights have attempted it and failed.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d answered Sir Galahad, \u201cthat is no marvel, for the adventure is\nnot theirs, but mine; and because of this sword I brought none with me,\nfor its empty scabbard hangs by my side.\u201d\n\nThen he grasped the sword quickly, and drew it out of the stone, and\nput it into his scabbard, and said, \u201cNow it goes better than it did\nbefore.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the king, \u201ca shield also God shall send you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cI have the sword that once belonged to the\ngood knight, Sir Balin le Savage; with this sword he slew his brother\nBalan, and that was a great pity, for neither knew that he fought his\nbrother until wounded to death.\u201d\n\nWith that they saw a lady on a white horse riding along the river bank\ntoward them. She saluted the king and queen and asked for Sir Launcelot.\n\n\u201cI am here, fair lady,\u201d said Sir Launcelot.\n\nThen she said, weeping, \u201cYour great doings are changed since this\nmorning.\u201d\n\n\u201cDamsel, why do you say so?\u201d demanded Sir Launcelot.\n\n\u201cI say truth,\u201d said she, \u201cfor you were to-day the best knight in the\nworld, but whoever said so now would be proved a liar. There is one\nbetter than you, for you dared not grasp the sword! Therefore, I ask\nyou to remember that you are no longer the best knight in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs to that,\u201d said he, \u201cI know well I was never the best.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the damsel, \u201cyou were, and are yet of any sinful man of\nthe world: and, Sir,\u201d she said to the king, \u201cNacien, the hermit, sends\nword of the greatest honor that ever befell king in Britain, for to-day\nthe Holy Grail shall appear to thee and all thy comrades of the Round\nTable.\u201d\n\nHaving thus spoken, the damsel took her leave and departed the same way\nthat she came.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the king, \u201cI am sure that all of you who sit at the Round\nTable will set out in quest of the Holy Grail, and I shall never see\nyou together again; therefore let us go to the meadow of Camelot and\nhold a tournament, so that after your death men may say that we were\nall together on this day.\u201d\n\nTo this they all agreed, and assembled with their arms in the jousting\nfield. Now the king wished to prove Sir Galahad and to see what he\nwould do. At the king\u2019s request he put on his armor, but would not take\na shield. Then Sir Gawain begged him to take a spear, which he did. And\nthe queen sat in a tower with all her ladies to see the tournament.\n\nThen Sir Galahad took his place in the field and began to break\nmarvelously the spears of those who rode against him, so that men\nwondered. In a short while he overthrew and unhorsed many of the good\nknights of the Round Table, save two, Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival.\n\nThen the king made Sir Galahad alight from his horse and unlace his\nhelmet so that Queen Guinevere might see him closely. When she saw him\nshe said, \u201cTruly, he is the son of Sir Launcelot, for never did two men\nmore resemble each other; it is no wonder that he has great valor.\u201d\n\nA lady who stood by said, \u201cMadam, ought he of right to be so good a\nknight?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THEN SIR GALAHAD TOOK HIS PLACE IN THE FIELD]\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cfor he comes of the best knights in the world, and of\nthe highest lineage.\u201d\n\n\n_The Knights of the Round Table Set Out in Quest of the Holy Grail_\n\nThe king and all his knights then left the jousting field, and rode to\nCamelot Church to evensong; and after that they went home to supper. At\nsupper, as each knight sat in his own place at the Round Table, there\narose a great storm, and the cracking and crying of the thunder was\nso terrible that they thought the roof and walls of the castle were\nbreaking apart.\n\nIn the midst of the blast a sunbeam entered the great window, seven\ntimes whiter than the light of day. Then every knight seemed fairer\nthan his comrades had ever seen him, and no one dared speak for a long\nwhile, but all looked at each other as if they had been dumb.\n\nThen there entered on the sunbeam the Holy Grail, but it was covered\nwith a white silken cloth, so that no one could see it, or who bore it.\nThen the hall was filled with sweet odors, and every knight had such\nmeat and drink as he liked best; and when the Holy Grail had been borne\nthrough the hall, it departed as suddenly as it came and the marvelous\nlight with it, but no one knew where. When they had breath to speak,\nthe king gave thanks.\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said he, \u201cwe ought greatly to thank our Lord for what he\nhas shown us to-day at this high feast of Pentecost.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Sir Gawain, \u201cwe have been served to-day with the food we\nliked best, but are sorry that we did not see the Holy Grail uncovered.\nTherefore, I will here make a vow to set forth on its quest to-morrow\nto be gone a year and a day, or longer if need be, and I shall not\nreturn till I have seen it more openly than to-day. If I do not find\nit, I shall return again, if it be not contrary to the will of our\nLord.\u201d\n\nWhen the knights of the Round Table heard this, the most part of them\narose and made the same vow. But King Arthur was greatly displeased,\nfor he well knew that they might not break their vows.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said he, \u201cyour vows will nearly slay me; they will rob me of\nthe bravest comrades and the truest knights ever seen together in any\nrealm; and I foresee that we shall never meet in fellowship again,\nfor many of you that I have loved as well as my life will die in this\nquest.\u201d\n\nWith that the tears came into his eyes, and he said, \u201cSir Gawain, Sir\nGawain, you have given me great sorrow, for I much doubt that my true\nfellowship shall ever meet here again.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201ccomfort yourself; it will bring us greater\nhonor than if we had died in any other quest, for of death we are sure.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Sir Launcelot,\u201d said the king, \u201cthe great love I have had for\nyou all the days of my life makes me say such sorrowful words; for\nChristian king never had so many worthy men at his table as I have had\nat the Round Table to-day.\u201d\n\nWhen the queen and her gentlewomen heard these things, they were filled\nwith sorrow, for their knights held them in great honor and affection,\nbut the queen was the most sorely grieved of all.\n\n\u201cI marvel,\u201d said she, \u201cthat the king will permit them to leave him.\u201d\n\nThus all the court was troubled that night, and many of the ladies\ndesired to accompany their husbands; but an old knight arose and said\nthis could not be, for in so high and dangerous a service they must go\nforth alone.\n\nAfter a while they all went to rest, and Sir Galahad was put to bed in\nthe king\u2019s own chamber. As soon as it was daylight the king arose, for\nhe had no sleep that night for sorrow. He went at once to Sir Gawain\nand Sir Launcelot and said again, \u201cAh! Sir Gawain! Sir Gawain! You have\nbetrayed me, for my court will never be restored; but you will never be\nas sorry for me as I am for you.\u201d\n\nWith that the tears began to run down his face, and he said, \u201cAh!\nknight, Sir Launcelot! I ask that you counsel me, for I wish this quest\nto be undone, and it can be.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cyou saw yesterday that many worthy knights\nwere sworn to this quest, and they cannot break their vows.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I know well,\u201d said the king, \u201cbut my grief at their going is so\ngreat that no joy will ever heal it.\u201d\n\nAfter the king had gone, the two knights ordered their squires to bring\ntheir arms, and when they were armed they joined their comrades and all\nwent to the church to hear their service.\n\nAfter the service was over the king took count of those who had taken\nthe vow to search for the Holy Grail and found that there were a\nhundred and fifty, all knights of the Round Table.\n\nWhen they had bidden the queen and their ladies farewell, they put on\ntheir helmets and were ready to set forth, and there was weeping and\ngreat sorrow. Then the queen departed to her chamber to hide her grief.\nSo the knights mounted their horses and rode through the streets of\nCamelot, and there was much weeping of both rich and poor; and the king\nturned away, for he could not speak for weeping.\n\nAfter leaving the town, the men at arms rode all day, and toward\nevening arrived at a castle called Vagon. The lord of the castle was\na good old man and he opened his gates and made them welcome and gave\nthem good cheer, and there they passed the night. In the morning they\nall agreed that they should separate; so, bidding each other farewell,\nthey departed, and each knight took the way that pleased him best.\n\n\n_Sir Galahad Finds a White Shield With a Red Cross_\n\nNow Sir Galahad rode four days without adventure, for as yet he had no\nshield. On the fourth day, toward evening, he arrived at a white abbey\nwhere he was received with great honor. There he found two knights of\nthe Round Table, Sir Badgemagus and Sir Uwaine, who were delighted to\nsee him, and they went to supper together.\n\n\u201cSirs,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cwhat adventure brought you here?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d they answered, \u201cwe are told there is a shield in this place, and\nwhoever wears it about his neck will be wounded to death within three\ndays, or else be maimed forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! Sir,\u201d said Sir Badgemagus, \u201cI shall wear it to-morrow and attempt\nthis strange adventure.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my faith!\u201d cried Sir Galahad.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Badgemagus, \u201cif I do not achieve the adventure of the\nshield, you shall try it, for I am sure you shall not fail.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cI agree right well to that, for I have no\nshield.\u201d\n\nThe next day when Sir Badgemagus inquired for the shield a monk led him\nbehind the altar, where the shield hung as white as snow, but in the\ncenter was a red cross.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the monk, \u201cno knight ought to hang this shield about his\nneck, unless he be the worthiest in the world, therefore I counsel you\nto be well-advised.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Sir Badgemagus, \u201cI know I am not the worthiest knight in\nthe world, yet I shall attempt to wear it.\u201d\n\nHe then took the shield and said to Sir Galahad, \u201cIf it please you, I\npray you remain here, till you know how I succeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall await you here,\u201d said he.\n\nAfter riding two miles, Sir Badgemagus and his squire came to a\nhermit\u2019s house, from which a goodly knight rode forth to meet him. This\nknight was in white armor, horse and all, and he came as fast as his\nhorse might run, with his spear in rest. Sir Badgemagus ran against\nhim with such violence that he broke his spear upon the white knight\u2019s\nshield; but the other struck him so hard that he broke his armor,\npierced him through the shoulder and threw him from his horse.\n\nWith that the white knight alighted and took the white shield from\nhim, saying, \u201cKnight, thou hast done a foolish act, for this shield\nought not be borne save by one that shall have no equal.\u201d\n\nThen he said to the wounded knight\u2019s squire, \u201cBear this shield to the\ngood knight, Sir Galahad, and greet him well for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the squire, \u201cwhat is your name?\u201d\n\n\u201cTake no heed of my name,\u201d said the white knight; \u201cit is not for you to\nknow, nor any earthly man.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, fair sir,\u201d said the squire, \u201ctell me why this shield cannot be\nborne without injury to the bearer.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, since you ask me,\u201d said he, \u201cthis shield belongs to no man but\nSir Galahad.\u201d\n\nThen he set the wounded man on his horse and brought him to the\nhermit\u2019s house and laid him gently in a bed, where his wound was\ndressed. There he lay a long time, and hardly escaped with his life.\n\n\u201cSir Galahad,\u201d said the squire on his return, \u201cthe knight who wounded\nSir Badgemagus sends you greeting, and bids you bear this shield, for\nthrough it great adventures shall befall.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow blessed be God and fortune,\u201d said Sir Galahad.\n\nHe then put on his armor, mounted his horse, hung the shield about his\nneck and commended them to God. Sir Uwaine said that if it pleased him\nhe would accompany him.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cthat cannot be, for I must ride alone.\u201d\n\nAfter awhile he came to the hermit\u2019s house, where he met the white\nknight and saluted him courteously.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said he, \u201cthis shield must have seen many marvelous things.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: A MONK LED HIM BEHIND THE ALTAR WHERE THE SHIELD\nHUNG WHITE AS SNOW, BUT IN THE CENTER WAS A RED CROSS]\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the knight, \u201cthe legend says that, thirty years after the\ncrucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, the gentle knight who took down our\nLord from the cross, departed from Jerusalem and his people with him,\nand came to a city called Sarras. Now, Evelake, the king of Sarras,\nhad a war against the Saracens. Joseph told the king that he would be\ndefeated and slain unless he gave up his belief of the old law and\nbelieved in the new.\n\n\u201cHe then showed him the right belief, to which he agreed with all his\nheart, and this white shield was made for Evelake in the name of Him\nwho died on the cross. After he had overcome his enemies with the help\nof this shield, he was baptized and, for the most part, all the people\nof the city.\n\n\u201cSoon after this Joseph departed from Sarras and Evelake with him;\nand, so the tale goes, Joseph carried the holy vessel and Evelake the\nshield, till, by good fortune, they came into the land of Britain.\n\n\u201cIn due time Joseph lay on his death-bed and Evelake was full of sorrow\nand said, \u2018For thy love I left my country; now, since thou art going\nout of the world, leave me some token of remembrance.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I will do that gladly,\u2019 said Joseph; \u2018bring me the shield.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow Joseph made a cross on this shield with his own blood, and said,\n\u2018Now you may know that I love you, for when you see this cross you\nshall think of me, for it shall always be as clear as it is now; and no\nman shall bear this shield without injury, except the good knight, Sir\nGalahad, who shall do many marvelous things.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow know, Sir Galahad, that this is the day set for you to have this\nshield.\u201d When he had thus spoken the white knight vanished from his\nsight.\n\n\n_Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival Attack Sir Galahad_\n\nThus equipped with a shield, Sir Galahad set out on his quest; and,\nafter many adventures, found himself in a vast forest. There he saw Sir\nLauncelot and Sir Percival riding along, but neither knew him, for he\nhad newly disguised himself.\n\nSir Launcelot, his father, at once put his spear in rest and rode at\nhis son, Sir Galahad, who struck so hard in his own defense that he\nthrew both horse and man. Then he drew his sword to defend himself\nagainst Sir Percival who now attacked him. He dealt him such a blow\nthat it broke his cap of steel; and, if the sword had not swerved, Sir\nPercival might have been slain. As it was, he fell out of his saddle.\n\nThese encounters took place near the hermitage of a lady who was a\nrecluse. When she saw Sir Galahad ride she said, \u201cGod be with you, the\nbest knight of the world.\u201d\n\nThen she cried aloud, so that Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival might\nhear, \u201cAh! certainly, if those two knights had known thee as well as I\ndo, they would not have dared the encounter.\u201d\n\nWhen Sir Galahad heard her say this, he was much afraid of being known;\nso he put spurs to his horse and rode away at a great pace. Then both\nknights knew that it was Sir Galahad, and quickly mounted their horses\nand rode after him, but he was soon out of their sight, and they turned\nback with heavy hearts.\n\n\u201cLet us make inquiry of yonder recluse,\u201d said Sir Percival.\n\n\u201cDo as you please,\u201d said Sir Launcelot; and then rode headlong, keeping\nno path, but as wild adventure led him, and was soon lost in the depths\nof the forest.\n\nBut Sir Percival went to the door of the recluse, who asked what he\nwished.\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d he replied, \u201cI am a knight of King Arthur\u2019s court, Sir\nPercival de Galis. Do you know the knight with the white shield?\u201d\n\nWhen the recluse heard his name she was exceeding glad, for she greatly\nloved him, as she had a right to do, for she was an aunt of his whom he\nhad never seen.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said she, \u201cwhy would you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly, madam,\u201d said he, \u201cthat I may fight with him, for I am ashamed\nof my defeat.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! Sir Percival,\u201d said she, \u201cI see that you have a great will to be\nslain as your father was through recklessness.\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d said he, \u201cit seems by your words that you know me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said she, \u201cI ought to know you, for I am your aunt.\u201d\n\nThen Sir Percival wept, when he knew who she was.\n\n\u201cAh! fair nephew,\u201d said she, \u201cwhen have you heard from your mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said he, \u201cnot in a great while, but I often dream of her in my\nsleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cFair nephew,\u201d said she, \u201cyour mother is dead; for after you set out on\nthis quest, she fell into such sorrow that she soon died.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow may God have mercy on her soul,\u201d said he sadly, \u201cfor I was sorely\nafraid of it; but we must all change our life. Now, tell me, fair aunt,\nwas that knight he who bore the red arms at Pentecost?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is he,\u201d said his aunt; \u201che is without equal, for he works by\nmiracle, and cannot be overcome by the hands of any earthly man.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, madam,\u201d said he, \u201csince I know this I will never have to do with\nSir Galahad except by way of kindness. Tell me how I may find him, for\nI would much love his company.\u201d\n\n\u201cFair nephew,\u201d said she, \u201cyou must ride to the castle of Goothe, where\nhis first cousin lives, and there you may lodge for the night. If you\nget no word of him there, ride straight to the castle of Carbonek where\nthe crippled king lives and there you will hear tidings.\u201d\n\nSir Percival left his aunt sorrowing, and rode till evensong when he\nheard a clock strike. Then he came upon a castle closed in with high\nwalls and deep ditches, and knocked at the gate, but could get no word\nof Sir Galahad. There he passed the night, and in the morning departed\nand rode till the hour of noon.\n\nIn a valley he overtook a company of about twenty men at arms who bore\na dead knight upon a hearse. When they saw Sir Percival they asked him\nwho he was.\n\n\u201cA knight of King Arthur\u2019s court,\u201d he answered.\n\nThen they cried all at once, \u201cKill him!\u201d\n\nStraightway Sir Percival struck the first to the ground and his horse\nupon him. Then seven of them at once ran at him and threw him and slew\nhis horse.\n\nNow, had not the good knight, Sir Galahad, happened by adventure in\nthose parts, they would have killed or captured Sir Percival instantly.\nBut when he saw so many knights attacking one man, he cried, \u201cSpare\nthat knight\u2019s life!\u201d\n\nWith that he charged the twenty men at arms as fast as his horse might\ndrive with spear in rest, and hurled the foremost horse and man to the\nground. When his spear was broken he seized his sword and struck out\nright and left, so that it was a marvel to see. At every blow he cut\none down or wounded him, so that the rest became frightened and fled\ninto a thick forest and Sir Galahad followed hard after them.\n\nWhen Sir Percival saw him chase them so, he knew it was Sir Galahad and\nwept with rage, for his horse was dead. He ran after him afoot, crying\nfor him to stop while he thanked him.\n\nBut Sir Galahad rode fast after the knights he was chasing and was soon\nout of sight. And as fast as he could Sir Percival went after him on\nfoot, crying, but could not overtake him.\n\n\n_The Adventure of the Gentlewoman, the Mysterious Ship, and the Sword\nof the Strange Belt_\n\nNow, says the tale, when Sir Galahad had rescued Sir Percival, he\nwent into a vast forest, where he rode many journeys and found many\nadventures.\n\nOne day, after many weary hours on horseback, as night was falling, he\narrived at a lonely hermitage and knocked. The good man was very glad\nto welcome a knight-errant and to hear his tales, and so they talked\ntill late. Soon after they had gone to rest, there was a knocking at\nthe door.\n\nWhen the hermit asked who was there, a voice said, \u201cI am a gentlewoman\nwho would speak with the knight that is with you.\u201d\n\nThen the good man awoke Sir Galahad and bade him arise and speak with\nthe gentlewoman, who, said he, \u201cseems to have great need of you.\u201d So\nSir Galahad arose and asked her wish.\n\n\u201cSir Galahad,\u201d said she, \u201cI wish you to arm yourself, mount your horse\nand follow me, and I will show you within three days the highest\nadventure that any knight ever saw.\u201d\n\nSir Galahad took his arms at once, mounted his horse, commended himself\nto God, and bade the gentlewoman go and he would follow where she\nwished.\n\nThe damsel rode as fast as her horse would gallop that night and all\nthe next day till they came within reach of the sea. Toward night they\nhalted at a castle that was enclosed with running water and high walls.\nHere Sir Galahad had great welcome, for the lady of the castle was the\ndamsel\u2019s lady.\n\nWhen he was unarmed the damsel said to the lady, \u201cMadam, shall we lodge\nhere to-night?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said she, \u201cbut only till he has dined and slept a little.\u201d\n\nSo he ate and slept till the maid called him, and then armed himself\nby torchlight. When the maid and he were both mounted they left the\ncastle and rode till they reached the seaside. There they found in the\ndarkness a ship awaiting them, and two voices cried from on shipboard,\n\u201cWelcome, Sir Galahad; we have long waited for you.\u201d\n\nWhen he heard these words, he asked them who they were.\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the damsel, \u201cLeave your horse here and I shall leave mine.\u201d\n\nWhen they entered the ship he was welcomed with great joy by those\nwhose voices he had heard, who were none other than Sir Bors and Sir\nPercival, and he was exceeding glad of their company. As soon as they\nwere on board the wind arose and drove them through the sea. After a\nwhile morning dawned and Sir Galahad took off his helmet and his sword\nand asked his comrades where the ship was from.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said they, \u201cyou know as well as we, but of God\u2019s grace.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE DAMSEL RODE AS FAST AS HER HORSE WOULD GALLOP\nTHAT NIGHT AND ALL THE NEXT DAY TILL THEY CAME IN SIGHT OF THE\nSEA]\n\nThen they told of their adventures since they last parted and of their\ngreat temptations.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cyou are much indebted to God for escaping\ngreat dangers; and had it not been for this gentlewoman, I should\nnot have come here; for I never thought to find you in this strange\ncountry.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Sir Galahad,\u201d said Sir Bors, \u201cif your father, Sir Launcelot, were\nhere, it seems to me we should lack nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat may not be,\u201d said he, \u201cexcept it please our Lord.\u201d\n\nNow, neither Sir Percival nor Sir Bors knew the gentlewoman, for she\nwas veiled. By this time the ship was far distant from the land of\nBritain, and, by chance, had arrived between two great rocks which were\nexceeding dangerous. Neither could they land, for there was a great\nwhirlpool of the sea. After buffeting about, they escaped the danger\nand came into a calmer sea, and there saw another ship at anchor to\nwhich they might go in safety.\n\n\u201cLet us go there,\u201d said the gentlewoman, \u201cand we shall see adventures,\nif our Lord wills.\u201d\n\nWhen they came alongside, they found a fine ship, but no one appeared\nto be on board. On the stern they read these strange and dreadful words:\n\n \u201cWhoever enters this ship must be steadfast in his belief, for I\n am faith; therefore, beware, for if thou fail, I shall not help\n thee.\u201d\n\nThen the gentlewoman asked, \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said Sir Percival, \u201cI do not know you.\u201d\n\n\u201cKnow well,\u201d said she, \u201cI am your sister, the daughter of King\nPellinore; therefore you are the man in the world I most like. If you\nare not in perfect belief and enter the ship, you will perish, for it\nwill suffer no sin in it.\u201d\n\nNow, when Sir Percival knew she was his sister, he was very glad and\nsaid, \u201cFair sister, I shall enter therein, for if I be worthless, or an\nuntrue knight, there shall I perish.\u201d\n\nWithout further parley Sir Galahad stepped on board the strange ship,\nfollowed by the gentlewoman, Sir Bors, and Sir Percival.\n\nThe fittings were so rich and perfect that they wondered, for they had\nnever seen the like. In the cabin in the midst of the ship there stood\na beautiful bed with a coverlet of fine silk, and on it at the foot lay\na great sword of marvelous beauty, which was drawn out of its scabbard\nhalf a foot and more, as if one had tried to draw it and could not.\n\n\u201cHere is a mystery,\u201d cried Sir Percival, \u201cI shall attempt to handle the\nsword.\u201d So he tried to grasp it; but, try as he might, he could not.\n\n\u201cNow, by my faith,\u201d said he, \u201cI have failed.\u201d\n\nSir Bors also set his hand to the sword and failed. Sir Galahad looked\nat it more closely, and saw on it letters as red as blood which said:\n\n \u201cLet him who would draw me from my scabbard see that he be bolder\n than other men, for whoso draweth me shall not escape injury to\n his body, or wounding unto death.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my faith,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cI would like to draw this sword out\nof its scabbard, but the penalty is so great that I shall not try it.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the gentlewoman, \u201cknow that all men are warned against\ndrawing this sword, save you.\u201d\n\nAs they looked closer they saw that the sword-belt was made of hempen\ncord of such poor account that it did not seem strong enough to bear\nso heavy a weight. The scabbard was of serpent\u2019s skin and on it were\nletters of gold and silver which said:\n\n \u201cWhoever bears me as I ought to be borne should be bolder than\n other men; for the body of him by whose side I ought to hang\n shall not suffer shame while he wears this belt, and no one\n shall dare change this belt except a maid who is a king\u2019s\n daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the gentlewoman to Sir Galahad, \u201cthere was a king called\nPelleas, the maimed king, who, while he was able to ride, strongly\nsupported Christendom and the holy church. Upon a day he hunted in a\nwood, which bordered the sea, and at last he lost his hounds and his\nknights, and found this ship. When he saw the letters he entered, for\nhe was right perfect in his life; here he found this sword and drew\nit out as far as you now see. With that, there entered a spear and\nwounded him in both his thighs. His wounds have never healed and never\nshall until we come to him. Thus,\u201d said she, \u201cwas not Pelleas, your\ngrandfather, maimed for his boldness?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my faith!\u201d said Sir Galahad.\n\nThen, as they stood looking at the bed in wonder, Sir Percival lifted\nthe coverlet and found a writing which told of the ship, by whom it was\nmade and how it came there, but that does not belong to this tale.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cwhere shall we find the maid who shall make a\nbelt strong enough to carry this sword?\u201d\n\n\u201cFair sir,\u201d said Sir Percival\u2019s sister, \u201cdo not fear, for I shall show\nyou a belt fit for such a sword.\u201d\n\nShe then opened a box and took out a belt, wrought with golden threads,\nand set with precious stones, and a rich buckle of gold.\n\n\u201cLo! sirs,\u201d said she, \u201chere is a belt that ought to bear this sword;\nfor the greatest part of it is woven of my own hair, which I loved\nfull well when I was a woman of the world; but as soon as I knew this\nadventure was appointed to me, I clipped off my hair and made this\nbelt.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are truly grateful,\u201d said Sir Bors, \u201cfor without your help, we\nshould have endured much suffering.\u201d\n\nThe gentlewoman then put the new belt on the sword.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the three knights, \u201cwhat is the name of the sword and what\nshall we call it?\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said she, \u201cthe Sword of the Strange Belt.\u201d\n\nThey then said to Sir Galahad, \u201cWe pray you to gird yourself with the\nsword, which hath been so long desired in the land of Britain.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow let me begin,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cto grip this sword to give you\ncourage; but know that it belongs to me no more than it does to you.\u201d\n\nHe then gripped it with his fingers and drew it forth, and Sir\nPercival\u2019s sister girded him with the sword.\n\n\u201cNow I care not if I die,\u201d said she, \u201cfor I have made thee now the\nworthiest knight in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cFair damsel,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cyou have done so much, that I shall\nbe your knight all the days of my life.\u201d\n\n\n_The Gentlewoman Risks Her Life for Another_\n\nWhen they had achieved the adventure of the mysterious sword, they\nreturned to their own ship, and the wind arose and drove them out to\nsea at a great pace. All that day and night they went before the south\nwind, and on the morrow came to the borders of Scotland where they were\nforced to land, for they were without food. Here, after leaving the\nship, they were attacked by wicked knights because they were of King\nArthur\u2019s court, and had many other adventures, which are no part of\nthis tale.\n\nThen on a day all heard a voice which said:\n\n\u201cSir Galahad, thou hast well avenged me on God\u2019s enemies, now hasten to\nthe maimed king that he may receive his health, for which he has waited\nso long.\u201d\n\nOn the way they came to a castle which belonged to a gentlewoman who\nhad lain for many years under a strange malady which no doctor could\ncure. But an old man had said, \u201cIf she were anointed with the blood of\na maid who is a king\u2019s daughter, she would recover her health.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Sir Percival\u2019s sister, when she heard this, \u201cfair knights,\nI foresee that this gentlewoman will die, unless she have part of my\nblood.\u201d\n\nStraightway the knights opposed her and Sir Galahad said, \u201cCertainly,\nif ye bleed so much ye will die.\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said she, \u201cif I die to heal her, I shall have great honor and\nsoul\u2019s health, and I shall do it to-morrow;\u201d and nothing they said\ncould change her.\n\nThe next day, after they had heard service, Sir Percival\u2019s sister bade\nthem bring the sick lady.\n\nThen said she, \u201cWho shall let my blood?\u201d\n\nSo they brought a doctor who did as she desired; but she bled so much\nthat the dish was full, and no one could stop it.\n\nThen she said to the sick lady, \u201cMadam, if I come by my death to make\nyou well, for God\u2019s love pray for me.\u201d\n\nWith that she fell into a swoon. Sir Galahad, Sir Percival, and Sir\nBors quickly lifted her up and tried to staunch her blood; but she had\nbled so much that she could not live.\n\nWhen she awoke out of her swoon she said, \u201cFair brother, Sir Percival,\nI must die for the healing of this lady; so I require that you bury\nme not in this country, but as soon as I am dead take me down to the\nsea, put me in a boat and let me go as adventure will lead me; and as\nsoon as you three come to the city of Sarras, there to achieve the Holy\nGrail, you shall find me arrived under a tower, and there bury me in\nthe spiritual place. For there Sir Galahad shall be buried, and you\nalso, my brother, in the same place.\u201d\n\nWhen Sir Percival heard these words he promised her, weeping, and her\nsoul departed from the body. As they knelt beside her they again heard\na voice which said, \u201cTo-morrow early you three shall separate from each\nother till the adventure bring you to the maimed king.\u201d\n\nThe same day the sick lady was healed, but she sorrowed exceedingly for\nthe death of the maiden.\n\nSir Percival wrote a letter telling how his sister had helped them\nin strange adventures and put it in her right hand. Then the knights\ncarried her to the sea and laid her in a boat and covered her with\nsilk, and the wind arose and drove the boat from the land, and they all\nwatched it till it was lost to their sight.\n\nThen they returned to the castle and forthwith there fell a sudden\ntempest of thunder, lightning and rain that shook the earth, and\nevensong was passed ere the tempest ceased.\n\nOn the morrow the three knights separated and each went his own way.\n\n\n_Sir Galahad Meets a Knight in White Armor_\n\nThe story says that after Sir Launcelot rode into the forest after Sir\nGalahad and was lost, he escaped many perils, but at last came to the\nwater of Morteise as the night was falling. Not knowing what to do, he\nlay down to sleep and await what adventure God would send him.\n\nWhen he was asleep he heard a voice in a dream which said, \u201cLauncelot,\nrise up, take thine armor and enter the first ship thou shalt find.\u201d\n\nWhen he heard these words he rose up and set out toward the sea. By\ngood fortune he found a ship which was without sail and oars, and he\nsaw no one.\n\nAs soon as he was on shipboard he was filled with joy such as he had\nnever felt before, and in this joy he lay down and slept till daylight.\n\nWhen he awoke he was astonished to see there a fair bed in which lay a\ndead gentlewoman. As he looked he saw in her right hand Sir Percival\u2019s\nletter, which told who she was and what she had achieved.\n\nThere Sir Launcelot spent some days, not knowing what to do. One night\nas he was sitting on the shore, he heard a horseman coming that way and\nwaited to see what would happen. The rider, who seemed to be a knight,\nrode to where the ship was, alighted, and went on board.\n\nSir Launcelot went toward him and said, \u201cSir, you are welcome.\u201d\n\nThe other returned his salute and asked his name, \u201cfor,\u201d said he, \u201cmy\nheart goes out to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cmy name is Sir Launcelot of the Lake.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said the other, \u201cthen you are welcome, for you were the\nbeginning of me in this world.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! Are you Sir Galahad?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, in truth.\u201d With that Sir Galahad leaped to the shore, kneeled\ndown and asked Sir Launcelot\u2019s blessing, and then took off his helmet\nand kissed him.\n\nWith great joy they told of the marvels and adventures that had\nhappened to them since they left the court. Sir Galahad told of the\nhigh honor of Sir Percival\u2019s sister, that she was the best maid living,\nand that her death was a great pity. When Sir Launcelot heard how the\nmarvelous sword was gotten, he asked to see it, and kissed the hilt and\nthe scabbard.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said he, \u201cI never heard of such high and strange adventures\nbefore.\u201d\n\nSo Sir Launcelot and Sir Galahad spent many days together in the ship,\nand served God daily and nightly with all their power; and often the\nship carried them to far islands where they met with many strange and\nperilous adventures.\n\nUpon a Monday it happened that they landed at the edge of a forest\nwhich was by the sea. Standing by a cross of stone they saw a knight\non horseback, armed all in white, who held by his right hand a white\nhorse. He came to the ship, saluted the two knights and said, \u201cSir\nGalahad, you have been with your father long enough; leap upon this\nhorse and ride where adventure shall lead in quest of the Holy Grail.\u201d\n\nSir Galahad turned to his father and kissed him full courteously and\nsaid, \u201cFather, I do not know that I shall see you again till I find the\nHoly Grail.\u201d\n\n\u201cI pray you,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cthat you will pray our Father in\nheaven to keep me in his service.\u201d\n\nSir Galahad mounted his horse and then they all heard a voice that\nsaid, \u201cThink to do well, for the one shall never see the other till the\ndreadful day of doom.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, my son, Sir Galahad,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201csince we shall never\nsee each other again, I pray the high Father of heaven to preserve both\nyou and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cno prayer avails so much as yours.\u201d So\nsaying, he rode into the forest and his father saw him no more.\n\nThe knight in white armor then vanished as he came, and Sir Launcelot\nreturned to the ship, and the wind arose and drove him many days across\nthe sea to a distant land. Soon after that he left the ship, which kept\non its lonely journey, until at last it arrived at the city of Sarras\nwith its fair burden.\n\nNow Sir Launcelot began to long for the realm of Britain which he had\nnot seen for a year and more. So, commending himself to God, he rode\nthrough many countries and came at last to Camelot.\n\nHere he found King Arthur and Queen Guinevere; but many of the knights\nof the Round Table were missing, for already more than half of them\nhad been slain. However, Sir Gawain, Sir Ector, and Sir Lionel had\nreturned, and many others who had failed in their quest of the Holy\nGrail.\n\nAll the court was exceedingly glad to see Sir Launcelot, who told of\nhis adventures since he had departed; and also those of Sir Galahad,\nSir Percival, and Sir Bors, which he knew by the letter of the dead\ngentlewoman, and from Sir Galahad himself.\n\n\u201cNow, would God,\u201d said the king, \u201cthat all three were here.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat cannot be,\u201d said Sir Launcelot, \u201cfor two of them you shall never\nsee, but one of them shall come again.\u201d\n\n\n_Sir Galahad Achieves His Quest, and Bears the Holy Grail Across the\nSea_\n\nNow after Sir Galahad bade his father farewell and entered the forest,\nhe rode many journeys in vain. At last he found his way out of the\nforest and rode five days toward the castle of the maimed king; and\never Sir Percival followed after till he overtook him, and they went on\nin company. At a crossroads they met Sir Bors who was riding alone, and\nso to their great joy the three knights were together again.\n\n\u201cIn more than a year and half,\u201d said Sir Bors, \u201cI have not slept ten\ntimes in a bed, only in wild forests and mountains; but God was always\nwith me.\u201d\n\nThus they rode a long time till they came to the castle of Carbonek,\nwhere lived Pelleas, the maimed king, who was the grandfather of Sir\nGalahad.\n\nWhen they entered the castle hall, a bed was brought in whereon lay the\ngood old man they had come so far to see. King Pelleas was very happy,\nfor he knew that the quest of the Holy Grail was about to be achieved.\n\n\u201cSir Galahad,\u201d said he, lifting up his head, \u201cyou are welcome, for I\nhave long prayed for your coming, but now I trust that my suffering\nshall be allayed.\u201d\n\nEliazar, King Pelleas\u2019 son, then brought the broken sword with which\nJoseph was wounded in the thigh after he came to Britain. Sir Bors took\nthe two pieces and tried to force them together again, but he could\nnot. Then Sir Percival tried, but he had no more power than Sir Bors.\n\n\u201cNow it is your turn,\u201d said they to Sir Galahad, \u201cfor if an earthly man\ncan achieve it, you can.\u201d\n\nSir Galahad then took the pieces and set them together, and the sword\nseemed as if it had just been forged and never broken. When they\nrecovered from their astonishment they gave the sword to Sir Bors, for\nhe was a good knight and a worthy man.\n\nA little before evening a strange thing happened; the sword became\nwondrously heated so that no one could handle it, and a voice was heard\nwhich said, \u201cThey that ought not to sit at the table of our Lord arise,\nfor now shall true knights be fed.\u201d\n\nSo all went out save King Pelleas and his son and a maid who was his\nniece, and the three knights; and a table of silver was before them\nwith the holy vessel, covered with a cloth of silk.\n\nWith that they saw nine knights all armed come in at the hall door, who\ntook off their armor and said to Sir Galahad, \u201cSir, we have ridden hard\nto be with you at this table.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are welcome,\u201d said he, \u201cbut whence come you?\u201d\n\nThree of them said they were from Gaul, three from Ireland, and three\nfrom Denmark.\n\nUpon that a voice said, \u201cLet those among you who are not in quest of\nthe Holy Grail depart.\u201d So King Pelleas and his son and niece departed.\n\nAs the knights sat waiting, it seemed to them that there appeared a man\nfrom heaven, before the table on which the Holy Grail was, and they saw\nletters in his forehead which said:\n\n \u201cThis is Joseph, the first bishop of Christendom, whom our Lord\n rescued in the city of Sarras.\u201d\n\nWith him were angels who bore a spear which bled marvelously.\n\nThen the knights wondered, for Joseph had died more than three hundred\nyears before.\n\n\u201cOh, knights,\u201d said he, \u201cwonder not, for at one time I was an earthly\nman. Now shall ye have such food as never knights tasted.\u201d\n\nWhen he had said this, he and the angels vanished, and they sat there\nin great dread. Then they looked and saw, as it were, another man enter\nwho said:\n\n\u201cMy knights and my servants who are come out of this earthly life, ye\nshall now see a part of my secrets and my hidden things.\u201d Then he took\nthe holy vessel and proffered it to Sir Galahad, who kneeled down and\npartook; and so after him all the knights.\n\n\u201cGalahad,\u201d said he, \u201cdost thou know what I hold in my hands?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Sir Galahad, \u201cunless ye tell me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said he, \u201cis the holy vessel in which I ate the Last Supper,\nbut thou hast not seen it openly as thou shalt see it in the city of\nSarras; therefore, thou must go hence, and bear this vessel with thee.\nThis night it shall depart from the realm of Britain to be seen no\nmore, for it is not honored as it ought to be by the people of this\nland, who are turned to evil living. Therefore, go to-morrow down to\nthe sea where you shall find a ship ready; and with you take the sword\nwith the strange belt, and Sir Bors and Sir Percival. Also I will that\nye take the blood of the spear and anoint the maimed king, and he shall\nhave his health.\u201d\n\nThen he gave them his blessing and vanished away. Sir Galahad went at\nonce to the spear which lay on the table and touched the blood with his\nfingers and came to his grandfather, the maimed king, and anointed him.\nImmediately he stood upon his feet a whole man, and gave thanks for his\nhealing.\n\nThat same night, about midnight, they heard a voice that said, \u201cGo ye\nhence as I bade you.\u201d\n\n\u201cLord, we thank thee,\u201d said they; \u201cnow may we prove ourselves worthy.\u201d\n\nIn all haste they took their armor, ready to depart. Now, the three\nknights of Gaul were great gentlemen, and Sir Galahad said to them:\n\u201cIf you come to King Arthur\u2019s court I pray you salute my father, Sir\nLauncelot, and all the company of the Round Table,\u201d and they promised\nto do so.\n\nSir Galahad, Sir Percival, and Sir Bors then departed and rode three\ndays, till they came to the seashore and found their ship. When they\nwent on board they saw the table of silver and the Holy Grail covered\nwith a cloth of red silk, and were exceeding glad to have them in their\nkeeping.\n\nNow, on the voyage Sir Galahad spent a long time in prayer, asking that\nhe might pass out of this world; he prayed so earnestly that at last a\nvoice said to him, \u201cGalahad, thou shalt have thy request.\u201d\n\nSir Percival heard this and asked him why he prayed for such things.\n\n\u201cThat shall I tell you,\u201d said he. \u201cThe other day when we saw part of\nour adventures of the Holy Grail, I was filled with such joy as I\nsupposed no earthly man could feel; therefore, I know well that when my\nbody is dead, my soul shall have the great joy of heaven.\u201d\n\nThen he lay down and slept a great while, and when he awoke he saw\nbefore him the city of Sarras; and as they were about to land they saw\nthe ship in which Sir Percival had put his sister.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said Sir Percival, \u201cwell has my sister kept her word.\u201d\n\nThey first took out of their ship the table of silver and the holy\nvessel, and Sir Percival and Sir Bors went before, and Sir Galahad\nbehind. At the city gate they saw a crooked old man. Then Sir Galahad\ncalled him and bade him help bear the heavy table.\n\n\u201cTruly,\u201d said the old man, \u201cfor ten years I have not been able to walk\nwithout crutches.\u201d\n\n\u201cCare not,\u201d said Sir Galahad. \u201cRise up and show thy good will.\u201d\n\nOn getting up he found himself whole as he ever was; so he ran and took\nhold with Sir Galahad. At once the report spread that a cripple had\nbeen cured by a strange knight that had entered the city.\n\nThe three knights then returned to the water and brought Sir Percival\u2019s\nsister into the spiritual place, and buried her richly as a king\u2019s\ndaughter ought to be.\n\nWhen the king of the city, who was called Estorause, saw the three\ncomrades he asked them who they were and what they brought upon the\ntable of silver, and they told him the truth of the Holy Grail. Now the\nking was a tyrant of heathen birth, and he took them and put them in\nprison in a deep hole.\n\nAt the year\u2019s end King Estorause fell sick and knew that he would die;\nthen he sent for the three knights and asked pardon for what he had\ndone, and they forgave him freely, and so he died.\n\nWhen the king was dead all the city was disheartened and knew not who\nmight be their king. As they were in council there came a voice that\nbade them choose the youngest of the three knights. So they made Sir\nGalahad king with the assent of all the people of the city.\n\nHis first act was to have made a chest of gold and precious stones to\ncover the holy vessel, and every morning the three comrades came to the\npalace where it was kept and said their devotions.\n\n\n_The Passing of Sir Galahad, The End of Sir Percival, and the Return of\nSir Bors to Camelot_\n\nNow, after Sir Galahad had been king a year, the three friends rose\nearly, as was their custom, and came to the palace and saw the holy\nvessel and a man kneeling there, who had about him a great company of\nangels.\n\nHe called Sir Galahad and said, \u201cCome forth, good and faithful servant,\nand thou shalt see what thou hast much desired to see.\u201d\n\nThen Sir Galahad began to tremble greatly, for he knew his time had\ncome.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the good man, \u201cknowest thou who I am?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Sir Galahad.\n\n\u201cI am Joseph of Arimathea, whom our Lord sent here to bear thee\nfellowship; for thou art like me more than any other in two things. One\nis, thou hast seen the Holy Grail; and the other is, thou hast been a\nblameless knight as I am.\u201d\n\nWhen he had said these words, Sir Galahad went to Sir Percival and Sir\nBors and kissed them and commended them to God, and said, \u201cSalute me to\nmy father, Sir Launcelot, as soon as ye see him and bid him remember\nthis unstable world.\u201d\n\nHe then kneeled before the table and prayed, and suddenly his soul\ndeparted and a great company of angels bore his soul up to heaven. And\nhis two friends saw a hand take the holy vessel and bear it up to\nheaven. Since then no man has ever been so bold as to say that he had\nseen the Holy Grail.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhen Sir Percival and Sir Bors saw Sir Galahad dead, they sorrowed as\nmuch as ever did two men, and if they had not been good men they might\neasily have fallen into despair; and the people of the city sorrowed\nwith them.\n\nAs soon as Sir Galahad was buried, Sir Percival retired to a hermitage\noutside the city and Sir Bors was always with him. Thus Sir Percival\nlived a year and two months, and then passed out of this world, and Sir\nBors buried him by his sister and Sir Galahad in the spiritual place.\n\nNow, when Sir Bors saw that he was alone in a far country, as far away\nas Babylon, he took his armor and departed from Sarras and entered a\nship, and so at last came to the realm of Britain and to Camelot where\nKing Arthur was. On his return there was great rejoicing at the court,\nfor they thought that he was dead, he had been so long out of the\ncountry.\n\nThen King Arthur sent for the best clerks to make a chronicle of the\nadventures of the good knights. Sir Bors told of Sir Percival and his\nsister, and of Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail. Sir Launcelot told what\nhe had seen; and all the tales were written in great books and put in\nthe armory at Salisbury.\n\nSir Bors said to Sir Launcelot, \u201cSir Galahad, your son, saluted you\nby me, and after you, King Arthur and all the court, and so did Sir\nPercival; for I buried them with mine own hands in the far city of\nSarras. Also, Sir Launcelot, Sir Galahad bids you remember this\nunstable world, as ye promised when ye were together more than half a\nyear.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said Sir Launcelot; \u201cnow I trust to God his prayer\nshall avail me.\u201d\n\nThen Sir Launcelot put his arms about Sir Bors and said, \u201cGentle\ncousin, you are welcome to me, and all that ever I may do for you and\nyours, you shall find me ready at all times, while I have life, and\nthis I promise you faithfully, and never to fail you: and know well,\ngentle cousin, Sir Bors, that you and I will never separate while our\nlives shall last.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said he, \u201cI will as ye will.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cSir Galahad was not the only knight who found the Holy Grail,\u201d added\nthe Story Lady after a pause.\n\n\u201cBut I thought from the story,\u201d said Mary Frances, \u201cthat Sir Galahad\nand his two comrades were the only ones who were permitted to find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, there were others,\u201d said the Story Lady. \u201cYour own American poet,\nJames Russell Lowell, tells of another, Sir Launfal, who found the\nGrail in a place he had never thought to look.\u201d\n\nThe Story People listened eagerly, for they liked the tale of Sir\nGalahad so much that they were ready for more; so the Story Lady told\nthe tale of a fourth knight who succeeded.\n\n\n\n\nXXVI\n\nHOW SIR LAUNFAL ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAIL\n\n\nONCE upon a time there was a young knight, Sir Launfal, who had read of\nthe success of Sir Galahad, and of the failure of many of the knights\nof the Round Table. This made him very eager to try his fortune; so he\nvowed that some day he too would set out in quest of the Holy Grail.\n\nNow, Sir Launfal lived in a cold gray castle in the North Country,\nwhose gates were never opened save to knights or ladies of high degree,\nwho were as proud and haughty as himself.\n\nOne beautiful June day, Sir Launfal was in the happy mood which often\ncomes to people after the passing of a cold, bleak winter; a day when\nit seems easy for the grass to be green, the sky to be blue, and the\nheart to be brave.\n\nOn this lovely day Sir Launfal remembered his vow and called his\nsquire, and said, \u201cBring me my best armor and my golden spurs and get\nmy horse ready, for to-morrow I shall set out over land and sea in\nquest of the Holy Grail.\u201d\n\nWhen the squire brought his shining armor, the knight put it on, and\nsaid to himself, \u201cI will never sleep in a bed nor lay my head on a soft\npillow till I have performed my vow.\u201d\n\nWith that he lay down in the tall grasses by the brook, his golden\nspurs by his side, to think and plan what he would do. Slowly his\neyelids closed; slowly sleep came upon him and he dreamed, and this was\nhis dream.\n\nIt is summer. The crows flap their wings and fly by twos and threes\noverhead in the deep blue sky. The cattle stand in the shallow brook,\nand the water runs along with a sweet gurgling music. The little\nbirds sing in the branches of the trees as if trying to burst their\nthroats telling of the joy of living. Even the leaves seem to sing on\nthe trees, the earth is so beautiful and gay. But the castle stands\nencircled by its high walls and deep ditch full of water, proud,\nhaughty and forbidding, untouched by the loveliness round about it.\n\nThe drawbridge drops over the water with a surly clang, and through the\ndark arch across the bridge springs a charger, bearing Sir Launfal,\ndressed in his gilded armor which gleams brightly in the sun. He is\nsetting forth wherever adventure may lead him in quest of the Holy\nGrail.\n\nJust as he passes out, he is aware of a beggar who sits crouching\nby the dark gate. The beggar is a leper; he holds out his hands and\nbegs an alms. The sight of so much misery fills the young knight with\nloathing, but he scornfully tosses him a piece of gold and rides on.\n\nStrange to say, the beggar leaves the gold on the ground and says,\n\u201cBetter turn away empty from the rich man\u2019s door, and take the poor\nman\u2019s crust and his blessing, than such a worthless gift as that.\u201d\n\nNow the scene changes; it is winter. There are no leaves on the bushes\nand trees. The bare boughs rattle shudderingly as the winds sweep\nthrough them. The brook is frozen over and the cattle are huddled in\ntheir stalls. A single crow sits high up in a tree-top in the wintry\nsunlight, and the cold snow covers the ground.\n\nAt the castle gate stands a bent old man, worn out and frail. The\nwind rustles through his wiry gray hair, and blows through his ragged\nclothing. He peers eagerly through the window slits at the joyous scene\nwithin, for it is Christmas time, and then turns away.\n\n[Illustration: SLOWLY SLEEP CAME UPON HIM AND HE DREAMED]\n\nThe bent old man is Sir Launfal. After many weary years he has returned\nto his castle disappointed, for he has not found the Holy Grail, and\nanother heir who thinks him long dead rules in his place. He sinks\ndown by the gate and his mind wanders. He sees again the scenes of the\ndesert, the camels as they pass over the hot sands, the vain search of\nthe caravan for water, and then the slender necklace of grass about the\nlittle spring as it leaps and laughs in the shade.\n\nSuddenly he hears a voice. \u201cFor Christ\u2019s sweet sake I beg an alms.\u201d\n\nSir Launfal is startled and looks around him. There at his side he sees\nthe leper cowering, more wretched, more miserable, more loathsome than\nbefore. But he does not look at him in scorn this time. Instead, he\nsays, \u201cI will share with you the little that I have, for in giving to\nyou I shall be giving to Him who has given so much for me.\u201d\n\nSo he divides his crust of coarse bread and gives half to the beggar,\nand he goes to the brook, breaks open the ice, and gives him a drink of\nwater from his wooden bowl.\n\nThen suddenly a light shines round about the place, and the leper no\nlonger crouches at his side, but stands a glorified figure who says:\n\n \u201cLo, it is I, be not afraid!\n In many climes, without avail,\n Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail;\n Behold, it is here--this cup which thou\n Did\u2019st fill at the streamlet for me but now;\n This crust is my body broken for thee,\n This water His blood that died on the tree.\n\n * * * * *\n\n Not what we give, but what we share,\n For the gift without the giver is bare;\n Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,\n Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.\u201d\n\nSir Launfal awoke, sat up and rubbed his eyes, and looked about him.\nHere were the tall grasses, the brook, the cattle, just as he had left\nthem when he went to sleep and dreamed. He was not in rags and tatters,\nbut was a young knight clad in gleaming armor, his spurs at his feet.\nIt was not winter, but a beautiful June day, with birds flying about,\nsinging songs of gladness, and cattle browsing in the meadows.\n\nSir Launfal quickly arose and made his way into the great hall of the\ncastle where every one met him with surprise.\n\n\u201cWhy, sir knight,\u201d said his sister, \u201cwe thought by now you would be far\non your journey in quest of the Holy Grail.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have found it,\u201d cried Sir Launfal, \u201chere at my castle gate!\u201d\n\nThen he laid aside his arms and said to his squire, \u201cHang these idle\nweapons upon the walls and let the spiders weave their webs about them.\nWhoever would find the Holy Grail must wear another sort of armor--the\narmor of unselfish kindness.\u201d\n\nNow, the castle gates stand wide open and those in need are as welcome\nthere as the birds in the elm-tree\u2019s branches. No matter what the\nweather outside, it is summer in the castle the year round, for hearts\nare happy in giving and sharing the great blessings there bestowed; and\nthe happiest of all is the good knight himself.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cSo you see, Sir Launfal found the Holy Grail, and he did something\neven better,\u201d said the Story Lady as she finished the tale; \u201che showed\nothers how to find it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE FOURTH DAY\n\n MUSIC BEWITCHED.--ANN CATCHES A THIEF.--JOHN AND MARGARET PATON\n AMONG SAVAGES.--THE STRANGE GUEST.--ROBERT OF SICILY.--THE MAN\n WITHOUT A COUNTRY.--YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORIES OF THE FOURTH DAY\n\nXXVII\n\nMUSIC BEWITCHED\n\n\nWHEN all the Story People were assembled, the Story King in his place,\nMary Frances in the blue velvet chair beside the Story Queen, the Ready\nWriter with pen upraised, the Story Lady began:\n\n\u201cTo-day we have six short stories. The first is about a school boy\nnamed Bob, and how he conquered his worst enemies.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n_Bob\u2019s Three Foes_\n\nThud! thud! thud! \u201cHit him in the eye!\u201d \u201cKnock the pipe out of his\nmouth!\u201d \u201cHa! ha! there goes his nose! I hit him that time!\u201d\n\nThese dreadful sounds seemed to say that some barbarous piece of\ncruelty was going on; but the victim was only a snow-man, which the\nboys of Strappington School had set up in their playground. Truth to\ntell, the snow-man did not like it much, but boys cannot be expected to\nunderstand the feelings of a snow-man, so he bore it very patiently,\nand when one snowball came in each eye, and a third in his mouth, he\nnever spoke a word or flinched a muscle.\n\nBut how was the schoolmaster to know that it was only a snow-man? And\nwhat was more natural than that he should peep over the playground\nwall to see what was going on? And how was little Ralph Ruddy to know\nthat the schoolmaster was there? And how was he to know that the\nsnowball which was meant for the snow-man\u2019s pipe would land itself on\nthe schoolmaster\u2019s nose? Oh, the horror that seized upon the school at\nthat dire event! and the dead silence that reigned in that playground!\nFor those were the good old times of long ago when anything that went\nwrong was set right with a birch rod. Little Ralph Ruddy knew only too\nwell what was coming when the angry schoolmaster ordered him into the\nschoolroom.\n\nThe snow-man, of course, was left in the playground all alone. He saw\nthe boys troop indoors and heard some angry words and some cries of\npain and saw poor little Ralph thrust into the cold playground, and\nheard the door slam behind him, and stared without once turning his\nhead or blinking his eyes, while the little fellow sat on the snowy\ndoorstep, with a knuckle screwed into each eye; and indeed the good\nsnow-man himself felt half inclined to cry, only the tears froze inside\nbefore they got out of his eyes. So he couldn\u2019t.\n\nWhen the bell rang at four o\u2019clock, the boys came out, and among them\nBob Hardy, the son of a poor farm laborer.\n\n\u201cA cruel shame I call it,\u201d muttered Bob, \u201cto whip a little chap like\nthat, and then shut him out in the cold. I told him Ralph Ruddy never\nmeant to do it, and then he caned me as well. A real brute I call him,\nand I\u2019ll pay him out, too. I declare I\u2019ll break his bedroom windows\nthis very night, and let him try how he likes the winter wind!\u201d\n\nAnd Bob meant to do it, too. He climbed out of the cottage window when\nall were asleep, and made his way down to the schoolhouse by moonlight,\nwith a pocketfull of stones, and climbed the wall of the playground,\nand stood there all ready to open fire, when a voice startled him, a\nsort of shivering whisper.\n\n\u201cBetter not, Bob! Better wait a bit!\u201d said the voice.\n\nBob dropped the stone and looked about, but there was no one near\nexcept the snow-man shining weirdly in the pale moonlight. However, the\nwords, whoever spoke them, set Bob a thinking, and instead of breaking\nthe schoolmaster\u2019s windows, he went home again and got into bed.\n\nThat was in January, and when January was done February came, as\nhappens in most years. February brought good fortune--at least Bob\u2019s\nmother said so, for she got a job as charwoman at the squire\u2019s, for\nwhich she was well paid.\n\nIt did not turn out so very well, though, after all, for the butler\nsaid she stole a silver spoon, and told the squire so; and if the\nbutler could have proved what he said, the squire would have sent her\nto prison; only he could not, so she got off, and Bob\u2019s mother declared\nthat she had no doubt the butler took the spoon himself.\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Bob to himself, \u201cI\u2019ll try the strength of my new\noaken stick across that butler\u2019s back.\u201d\n\nAnd he meant it, too, for that very evening he shouldered his cudgel\nand tramped away to the big house. And when he got there the door stood\nwide open, so in he walked.\n\nNow there hung in the hall the portrait of a queer old lady in a stiff\nfrill and a long waist, and an old-fashioned hoop petticoat; and when\nBob entered the house what should this old lady do but shake her head\nat him! To be sure there was only a flickering lamp in the entry, and\nBob thought at first it must have been the dim light and his own fancy,\nso he went striding through the hall with his cudgel in his hand.\n\n\u201cBetter not, Bob!\u201d said the old lady. \u201cBetter wait a bit!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, they won\u2019t let me do anything!\u201d grumbled Bob; but he went home\nwithout thrashing the butler, all the same.\n\nThat was in February, you know. Well, when February was done, March\ncame, and with it came greater ill-fortune than ever; for Bob\u2019s father\nwas driving his master\u2019s horse and cart to market, when, what should\njump out of the ditch but old Nanny Jones\u2019s donkey, an ugly beast at\nthe best of times, and enough to frighten any horse; but what must the\nbrute do on this occasion but set up a terrific braying, which sent\nFarmer Thornycroft\u2019s new horse nearly out of his wits, so that he\nbacked the cart and all that was in it--including Bob\u2019s father--into\nthe ditch. A pretty sight they looked there, for the horse was sitting\nwhere the driver ought to be, and Bob\u2019s father was seated, much against\nhis wish, in a large basket full of eggs, with his legs sticking out\none side and his head the other.\n\nOf course Farmer Thornycroft did not like to lose his eggs--who\nwould?--for even the most obliging hens cannot be persuaded to lay an\nextra number in order to make up for those that are broken; but for\nall that Farmer Thornycroft had no right to lay all the blame on Bob\u2019s\nfather, and stop two shillings out of his week\u2019s wage. So Bob\u2019s father\nprotested, and that made Farmer Thornycroft angry, and then, since fire\nkindles fire, Bob\u2019s father grew angry too, and called the farmer a\ncruel brute; so the farmer dismissed him, and gave him no wages at all.\n\nWe can hardly be surprised that when Bob heard of all this he felt a\ntrifle out of sorts, but the desire for vengeance which he felt could\nhardly be justified. He went pelting over the fields, and all the way\nhe went he muttered to himself:\n\n\u201cA cruel shame I call it, but I\u2019ll pay him out; I mean to let his sheep\nout of the pen, and then I will just go and tell him that I\u2019ve done it.\u201d\n\nNow, the field just before you come to Farmer Thornycroft\u2019s sheep-pen\nwas sown with spring wheat, and they had put up a scarecrow there\nto frighten the birds away. The scarecrow was very much down in the\nworld--his coat had no buttons and his hat had no brim, and his\ntrousers had only a leg and a half--his well-to-do relations in the\ntailors\u2019 windows would not have cared to meet him in the street at\nall. But even the ragged and unfortunate have their feelings, and the\nscarecrow was truly sorry to see Bob scouring across the field in such\na temper; so just as Bob passed him, he flapped out at him with one\nsleeve, and the boy turned sharply round to see who it was.\n\n\u201cOnly a scarecrow,\u201d said he, \u201cblown about by the wind,\u201d and went on\nhis way. But as he went, strange to say, he heard, or thought he heard,\na voice call after him, \u201cBetter not, Bob! Better wait a bit!\u201d\n\nSo Bob went home again and never let the sheep astray after all, but he\nthought it very hard that he might not punish either the schoolmaster,\nor the butler, or the farmer.\n\n\n_Father Pan\u2019s Revenge_\n\nNow the folk that hide behind the shadows thought well of Bob for his\nself-restraint, and they determined that they would work for him and\nmake all straight again; so when Bob went down to the river side next\nday, and took out his knife to cut some reeds for \u201cwhistle-pipes,\u201d\nFather Pan breathed upon the reeds and enchanted them.\n\n\u201cWhat a breeze!\u201d exclaimed Bob; but he knew nothing at all of what had\nin reality happened.\n\nBob finished his pan-pipes, and trudged along and whistled on them to\nhis heart\u2019s content. When he got to the village he was surprised to\nsee a little girl begin to dance to his tune, and then another little\ngirl, and then another. Bob was so astonished that he left off playing\nand stood looking at them, open-mouthed, with wonder; but so soon as\never he left off playing, the little girls ceased to dance; and as soon\nas they had recovered their breath they began to beg him not to play\nagain, for the whistle-pipes, they were sure, must be bewitched.\n\n\u201cHo! ho!\u201d cried Bob, \u201chere\u2019s a pretty game; I\u2019ll just give the\nschoolmaster a turn. Come, that will not do him any harm, at any rate!\u201d\n\nStrange to say, at that very moment the schoolmaster came along the\nstreet.\n\n\u201cToot! toot! toot! tweedle, tweedle, toot!\u201d went the pan-pipes, and\naway went the schoolmaster\u2019s legs, cutting such capers as the world\nnever looked upon before. Gayly trudged Bob along the street, and gayly\ndanced the schoolmaster. The people looked out of their windows and\nlaughed, and the poor schoolmaster begged Bob to leave off playing.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d answered Bob; \u201cI saw you make poor little Ralph Ruddy dance\nwith pain. It is your turn now.\u201d\n\nJust then the squire\u2019s butler came down the street. Of course he was\nmuch puzzled to see the schoolmaster dancing to the sound of a boy\u2019s\nwhistle, but he was presently more surprised to find himself doing the\nvery same thing. He tried with all his might to retain his stately\ngait; but it was all of no use, his legs flew up in spite of himself,\nand away he went behind the schoolmaster, following Bob all through the\nvillage.\n\nThe best sight was still to come; for the tyrannical Farmer Thornycroft\nwas just then walking home from market in a great heat, with a big\nsample of corn in each of his side-pockets, and turning suddenly round\na corner, went right into the middle of the strange procession and\ncaught the infection in a moment. Up flew his great fat legs, and away\nhe went, pitching and tossing, and jumping and twirling, and jigging up\nand down like an elephant in a fit.\n\nHow the people laughed, to be sure, standing in their doorways and\nviewing this odd trio! It was good for them that they did not come\ntoo near, or they would have been seized with the fit as well. The\nschoolmaster was nearly fainting, the butler was in despair, and the\nperspiration poured down the farmer\u2019s face; but that mattered not to\nBob; he had promised himself to take them for a dance all round the\nvillage, and he did it; and, at length, when he had completed the tour,\nhe stopped for just one minute, and asked the schoolmaster whether he\nwould beg Ralph Ruddy\u2019s pardon, and the schoolmaster said he would if\nonly Bob would leave off playing. Then he asked the farmer if he would\ntake his father back and pay him his wages, and the farmer said he\nwould; and finally he asked the butler if he would give up the spoon\nthat he had stolen, and confess to the squire that Bob\u2019s mother had\nnothing to do with it, but the butler said, \u201cOh, no, indeed!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: AWAY WENT THE SCHOOLMASTER\u2019S LEGS, CUTTING SUCH CAPERS\nAS THE WORLD NEVER LOOKED UPON BEFORE]\n\nSo Bob began to play again, and they all began to dance again, till\nat last the schoolmaster and the farmer both punched the butler until\nhe promised; and then Bob left off playing. The three poor men went\nhome in a terrible plight; and the schoolmaster begged little Ralph\u2019s\npardon, and the butler cleared the stain from Bob\u2019s mother\u2019s character,\nand Bob\u2019s father went back to work, and Farmer Thornycroft soon\nafterwards took Bob on too, and he made the best farm-boy that ever\nlived.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Story Lady rested a minute while the Story People were laughing\nand talking about what they had heard. As she began again, there was\ninstant silence.\n\n\u201cThe next story,\u201d she said, \u201cis that of a brave girl who lived in the\nwork-a-day world.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII\n\nANN CATCHES A THIEF\n\n\nAS a rule the office in which Ann Carstairs was employed did not close\nuntil six o\u2019clock, but at five-thirty on the December afternoon of this\nstory Ann found herself alone.\n\nAt four, the heads of the firm left for the day; and the billing clerk\nand the stenographer, taking advantage of the absence of authority,\nhelped themselves to an extra half hour.\n\n\u201cWe have a little shopping to do,\u201d the billing clerk explained as they\npassed Ann\u2019s desk.\n\nBefore they reached the stair door, the inside salesman closed his desk\nwith a snap, and seized his hat and coat.\n\n\u201cWait a minute, girls,\u201d he called; \u201cI\u2019ll take you down to Broadway in\nmy machine.\u201d As he followed them he said to Ann, \u201cGood night, Miss\nCarstairs, don\u2019t stay late!\u201d\n\nA few minutes after they had gone, Mr. Bradford, the bookkeeper,\nclosed the safe and twirled the nickel knob gayly; \u201cI\u2019m off, too,\u201d he\nannounced. \u201cI\u2019m going to leave the vault for you to close to-night,\nMiss Ann.\u201d\n\nHe shrugged himself into his overcoat and departed stiffly. He had\nworked hard over his books that afternoon, and his legs and arms were\naching in unison with his head. He came back for a moment to turn off\nsome of the big lights.\n\n\u201cNo use wasting electricity,\u201d he explained. \u201cNo one will be in this\nevening, and a little girl like you can\u2019t use all this light.\u201d\n\nA minute later Ann heard the street door at the foot of the stairs\nclose with a bang, and she was left all alone in the big office.\n\nShe was not sorry to be alone. The day had been hard, and her nerves\nhad been near the breaking point all the afternoon. The switchboard was\nAnn\u2019s special charge, but she also took care of the odds and ends of\ncopy work and dictation for her busy associates. Odds and ends have a\ncurious way of accumulating and Ann seldom had a spare moment.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m just dead tired,\u201d she declared aloud, raising her arms above her\nhead in a vain effort to relieve their ache. \u201cI\u2019m always snowed under\nwith work, yet no one seems to think I have anything to do. It\u2019s just:\n\u2018Miss Carstairs, will you copy that for me?\u2019 \u2018I\u2019ll give you a letter\nnow, Miss Carstairs, and you can run it off in your spare time.\u2019 Spare\ntime! Did any one ever see me with a moment to spare? They don\u2019t think\nI amount to a row of pins, anyway. I\u2019d just like to show them; I\u2019d like\nto let Mr. Ross see that I do amount to something.\u201d\n\nMr. Ross was the senior partner of the big manufacturing plant, and\neighteen-year-old Ann admired him immensely. He was so calm, so quiet,\nand yet so forceful; a splendid business man, but one whose family\u2019s\nwants and wishes were cared for before all else. Ann knew he must be an\nideal father, for he possessed all the qualities that Ann\u2019s own father\nhad lacked.\n\nMr. Carstairs had been far from an ideal parent and had ended his\nselfish, careless life just as Ann was preparing to enter college. Ann\nand her mother had bravely gathered together what money remained, and\nAnn started off to a business school instead.\n\nFor three months she worked feverishly night and day, and at the end\nof that time, when their finances were in a precarious condition, she\nleft the school to enter the manufacturing firm of Ross and Hayward.\nShe had been there for nearly two years now, years of worry and careful\nplanning to make the slender salary cover growing needs.\n\n\u201cWe have almost proved that the necessities of life are unnecessary,\nso nearly have we come to getting along on next to nothing,\u201d she had\nlaughingly told her mother only the evening before.\n\nBut though she joked about it, the situation was becoming serious, and\nAnn had reached the place where she felt that she must steel herself to\nthe point of asking for more wages.\n\n\u201cDo people always have to ask for an increase?\u201d she wondered.\n\u201cEverybody here treats me as if I were a child, except when it comes to\ngiving me work. That\u2019s a different matter.\u201d\n\nAnn did not as a rule complain about the amount of work she had to do.\nInstead, she was rather proud of being able to accomplish so much in\na single day. To-night, however, she was tired and all out of sorts.\nShe felt, too, that her looks were all against her. Curly hair and\nfreckles, added to a diminutive figure, gave her a decidedly childlike\nappearance.\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d she declared to herself, \u201cI wish I were tall and had straight\nhair, and wrinkles around my mouth. What chance has anyone to advance\nwhen she is short and freckled? I just must make them sit up and take\nnotice!\u201d\n\nShe glanced around her with a proprietary look as she spoke. Her desk\nand switchboard were in the outer office near the head of the short\nflight of stairs leading from the street door, and commanded a view of\nthe entrance door and the stairway leading to the upper floors. At the\nextreme end of the room was the entrance to the stock room, and beside\nit the great iron door leading to the vault where the business records\nwere kept. In the dark corner by the vault door stood two tall piles of\nsales books. Since the bookkeeper had turned off the extra lights, the\nbig office was lighted only by the globe above Ann\u2019s head. The heavy\npresses and machinery in the factory, running at full speed, shook the\nbuilding, and their roar and clatter sounded unusually loud now that\nthe office was quiet.\n\nThe switchboard was never very busy after half-past five, and Ann\nleaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened\nthem almost immediately with a start, suddenly aware of another\npresence in the big office. The new janitor, a scraggly feather duster\nin his hand, stood by her desk.\n\n\u201cDid you want something?\u201d Ann asked sharply.\n\nShe did not approve of the new janitor; his hair was too long and\nshaggy, his chin too stubbly, and his bushy eyebrows shaded eyelids\nthat drooped. His appearance was in accord with his shiftless way\nof dusting and sweeping, Ann thought with disfavor. Her voice was\ndecidedly sharp as she asked again, \u201cDid you want something?\u201d\n\n\u201cI wanted to see the cashier,\u201d the man answered. His drooping eyelids\ngave a peculiar, leering expression to his face that filled Ann with\nrepulsion. Then she braced herself; no matter how afraid she was, he\nmust not know it.\n\n\u201cHe has gone for the day. Come back in the morning,\u201d she said, turning\nto her typewriter to cut the conversation short. The man hesitated for\na moment, but her preoccupied air chilled him and Ann soon heard him\nwalk away.\n\nAt that moment a tall young woman came hurrying down the stairs from\nthe upper floor.\n\n\u201cI declare!\u201d she cried, looking about the darkened office. \u201cEverybody\nhas gone home! And Mr. Bradford has locked the safe! Now will you tell\nme, Miss Carstairs, what I am going to do with all this money?\u201d\n\nShe waved a green cardboard box in the air as she spoke, her voice\nrising higher and higher in her agitation.\n\n\u201cI have collected eight hundred dollars on those Liberty Bond payments,\nand here Mr. Bradford has locked the safe and gone home. I\u2019m going to\nthe country to-night and I can\u2019t take all this money with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSh! Miss Benson!\u201d Ann warned, glancing quickly at the swing door that\nhad not yet ceased swaying after the departing janitor. \u201cDon\u2019t tell any\none. Can\u2019t you put it in the vault? Mr. Bradford left it for me to lock\nto-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d Miss Benson objected, \u201csomething may happen to it and I am\nresponsible. I can\u2019t take it with me, though. I\u2019ll have to put it in\nthere, I guess.\u201d\n\n\u201cSee, Miss Carstairs,\u201d she called a moment later from the depths of the\nvault, \u201cI\u2019m putting it beside the stamp box.\u201d\n\nWith Miss Benson\u2019s departure the big office suddenly seemed doubly\nlarge, and dim and empty. Ann shivered slightly, appalled by the fact\nthat she was alone with eight hundred dollars in cash in the open\nvault. The factory machinery made such a din that none of the employees\ncould hear if she called for help. What would she do if the janitor had\noverheard Miss Benson and should make up his mind to steal the money?\nShe glanced sharply at the swinging door. It was quiet now.\n\nShe reassured herself. \u201cI\u2019m as nervous as Miss Benson. I\u2019ll just shut\nthat vault now, though, and have it over with. It is almost six o\u2019clock\nanyway.\u201d\n\nAt that moment a call came in on the telephone, the strident whir\nstartling the girl with its suddenness.\n\n\u201cRoss and Hayward,\u201d she answered mechanically into the receiver.\n\n\u201cMiss Carstairs,\u201d--it was Mr. Ross speaking--\u201cI left a couple of\nLiberty Bonds in my desk. Please tell Bradford to put them into the\nsafe.\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Bradford has gone for the day, Mr. Ross,\u201d she answered, \u201cbut he\nhas left the vault for me to close; I\u2019ll put them in.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right. Put them in the stamp box; I guess they\u2019ll be all right\nthere. Good night!\u201d\n\nAnn pulled out the plug and rose from her desk. Her rubber-soled shoes\nmade no noise as she crossed the room. She found the bonds face down on\nMr. Ross\u2019s desk, and as she picked them up she could not fail to notice\nthe denominations. She stared at them.\n\n\u201cTwo thousand dollars!\u201d she whispered awestruck. \u201cIf only they were\nmine!\u201d\n\nAs she started to place them in the stamp box, its shabbiness caught\nher eye. She hesitated, then laid the bonds down.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll get a new box for the stamps,\u201d she decided, snapping off the\nlight as she left the vault.\n\nAnn knew just where to find the particular box that she wanted and did\nnot stop to turn on the light as she entered the stockroom. She was in\nthe act of reaching up for the box, when the door stealthily opened.\nShe shrank back against the shelves as the new janitor came in. He\nstopped for a moment and glanced around, then a minute later Ann heard\nthe snap of the electric button as the light in the vault was turned\non. She gasped in dismay. The bonds and the Liberty Loan money were all\nthere in plain sight! For a brief moment the girl was paralyzed with\nfright. The janitor was after the money! She rushed forward. As she\npaused by the open doorway of the vault she had a momentary glimpse\nof the janitor with the green box in one hand, and heard the familiar\ncrackly paper of the bonds as he hurriedly thrust them into his pocket.\nIn a panic she caught the huge iron door and slammed it shut, hurriedly\nthrowing the big bolt in place.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve got him,\u201d she gasped exultantly; but the words had not left her\nlips before she was knocked from her feet by a sudden blow on her\nshoulder. As she fell, another stunning blow came upon her head.\n\nA minute later, so it seemed to the girl, she opened her eyes to find\nMr. Ross and his daughter, Margaret, bending over her.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s coming to, now,\u201d she could faintly hear Mr. Ross say. \u201cBathe her\nhead some more.\u201d\n\nThen he added jokingly, \u201cWell, now, Miss Ann, you certainly gave us a\nstart. What were you trying to do?\u201d\n\nAnn\u2019s head ached agonizingly. She lifted her hand to her forehead, and\nfelt it gingerly. A lump as large as a walnut was there just above the\ntemple. She became aware, now that the mist was fading from her eyes\nand the ringing from her ears, that the factory was quiet. All the\nnoise of machinery had ceased.\n\n\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d she asked; and then, without waiting for an answer,\n\u201cWhere did you come from?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is after eight. We were driving by on our way to see a friend\non the East Side, and I thought I would drop in and see if you had\nremembered to lock the safe.\u201d Mr. Ross laughed. \u201cFortunate for you that\nI doubted your ability.\u201d\n\nAnn raised her head and looked about her; then she dropped it heavily\nback on the improvised pillow Miss Ross had tucked under her head.\n\n\u201cIt was that old sales book that knocked me down. It must have been on\nthe edge of the pile and tipped over when I slammed the door.\u201d She felt\nthe bump on her head again. \u201cI suppose I hit the wrapping desk when I\nfell.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t take much to knock out a little thing like you,\u201d Mr. Ross\nlaughed.\n\nAnn opened her eyes again, a thought flashed through her mind, and she\nsat bolt upright on the floor.\n\n\u201cMr. Ross,\u201d she said, \u201cif I can prove to you that I was big enough to\nsave you two thousand dollars, would you think me big enough to be\ngiven an increase in salary?\u201d\n\n\u201cI surely would, Miss Carstairs!\u201d Mr. Ross answered, becoming suddenly\ngrave.\n\nAnn\u2019s voice shook with excitement.\n\n\u201cYour bonds are safe in the vault, Mr. Ross, together with eight\nhundred dollars that Miss Benson collected on Liberty Loan\npayments--and the new janitor!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re a brave girl,\u201d said Mr. Ross, helping her to her feet. \u201cThe\nincrease is yours; you have certainly earned it.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cShe was, indeed, a brave girl,\u201d said the Story King, as the Story Lady\npaused; \u201cand deserved all her good fortune.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe next,\u201d went on the Story Lady, smiling, \u201cis the story of a young\nman and a young woman whose only ambition in life was to help others.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXIX\n\nJOHN AND MARGARET PATON AMONG SAVAGES\n\n\nTHE tropical island of Aniwa drowsed in the afternoon sunshine. Long,\nlazy swells rolling in from the Pacific broke on the outlying reefs,\noverflowed into the turquoise bay, and gently lapped the stretch of\nsandy beach. The softest of breezes stirred the palm trees and rustled\nthe banana thickets.\n\nBefore the door of a low, thatched hut, nestling under a clump of\ndate-palms, stood a fair-haired young woman anxiously watching a canoe\nwhich was making a perilous passage through the surf to the shelter of\nthe bay. When at last it slid into smooth water she breathed a sigh of\nrelief and went slowly down the hill toward the shore.\n\nThe craft nosed stealthily up to the beach, where a stalwart,\ngrave-faced white man sprang out; then the boat, propelled by the\nmuscular arms of two kinky-headed blacks, slipped away and vanished\naround a little promontory.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re safe home, John,\u201d the young woman cried, as the big\nman came swiftly toward her. \u201cIs all well?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery far from that, Margaret,\u201d the newcomer answered, as he reached\nher side. \u201cI\u2019ve found a great deal of unrest throughout the island.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause of the drought?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d he replied, and stood looking down upon her thoughtfully.\n\nShe came nearer and slipped her arm through his.\n\n\u201cI can see that you are anxious, John,\u201d she said softly. \u201cDo you fear\nan uprising?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: BEFORE THE DOOR OF A LOW, THATCHED HUT STOOD A\nFAIR-HAIRED YOUNG WOMAN]\n\n\u201cMargaret,\u201d he exclaimed, as they turned and began to climb the hill to\nthe hut, \u201cI should not have brought you here!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d she cried. \u201cMore than anything else I desired the privilege of\nhelping you in your work. Do you mean that I have failed? That I have\nproved a burden rather than a help?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know it is not that,\u201d he replied quickly. \u201cYou have been\nwonderful, dear. But I should not have allowed you to leave old\nScotland for the hardships and perils of these heathen isles.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has not been easy,\u201d she acknowledged; \u201cbut I have never once\nregretted coming.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought I was doing right to bring you,\u201d he went on; \u201cbut now--now--\u201d\n\n\u201cYou feel,\u201d she interposed, \u201cthat we are in real danger?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall be if the natives rise,\u201d he replied. \u201cI think you should know\nthe truth, dear.\u201d\n\nHer blue eyes darkened, but there was no fear in them.\n\n\u201cBut the people have come to feel we are their friends,\u201d she protested.\n\u201cSome of them love us. Surely they will not harm us.\u201d\n\nBy this time they had reached the hut. He put her gently into a\ncamp-chair before the door, and flung himself upon the white sand at\nher feet.\n\n\u201cA trading-ship touched on the other side of the island yesterday,\u201d he\ntold her.\n\n\u201cAnd paid for five hundred pounds\u2019 worth of sandalwood with a barrel of\nrum, I suppose,\u201d she commented.\n\n\u201cThey were a little more generous this time,\u201d he replied grimly. \u201cThey\nleft several barrels.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo wonder then,\u201d she said, \u201cthat the people are mad to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey also left,\u201d he continued, \u201cin the mind of the old chief the\nimpression that we missionaries are responsible for the drought.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, too bad!\u201d she exclaimed softly.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d he agreed. \u201cOld Namakei informed me just now that if another\nmoon passes without rain the island will have no more of our God or of\nus.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you answer?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cI told him,\u201d and he smiled, \u201cthat I would dig in the earth and reveal\na place where God\u2019s rain is buried. He scoffed at first, but finally\nagreed to come with his warriors and help with the digging.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, John,\u201d she queried, \u201cwill you really be able to dig a well on\nthis island?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course, I can\u2019t be certain,\u201d he answered; \u201cbut I\u2019ve been studying\nthe soil, and it seems probable. Anyway, it\u2019s our one chance to appease\nthe old chief\u2019s ire and continue our work.\u201d\n\nJohn Gibson Paton had come out to the New Hebrides some years before,\nand settled on the cannibal island of Tanna.\n\nHe had begun at once to teach the people and had succeeded in greatly\nimproving their condition, when a trading vessel had brought measles to\nthe island. An epidemic followed, and the natives died like flies.\n\nThey were so bitterly angry against those who had brought the plague\nthat they became suspicious of all white men, even the missionary who\nhad always helped them, and he was finally obliged to flee for his life.\n\nWith great difficulty he escaped to a passing ship bound for Australia.\nFrom Australia, he went to his homeland, Scotland.\n\nHe had a wonderfully happy time on this visit among his friends and\nrelatives, for he was married to the pretty Scotch lassie whom he had\nlearned to love.\n\nHe felt that life would be very hard for her on the island of Tanna,\nand he decided to go, instead, to Aniwa, where the natives were less\nfierce and more intelligent. Besides, they had asked that a missionary\nbe sent to them.\n\nThey were very glad when he came bringing his pretty wife, and they\ntried to learn all he told them.\n\nAll went well until the traders who came to the South Seas for\nsandalwood and cocoanuts and the rich tropical fruits, discovered that\nthe natives were becoming more intelligent, and could not be cheated or\nswindled so easily since the missionaries were teaching them.\n\nSo the traders made up their minds to try to turn the blacks against\nDoctor Paton and his wife, and his native helpers.\n\nThey had not been able to do much until the time of the long drought,\ntold about at the beginning of this story. You see, they depended\nalmost entirely upon rain for fresh water to drink.\n\nNever before in the memory of living men had the islands been so long\nwithout rain. The people were terrified and ready for any outbreak.\n\nBut the young missionaries, sitting silently under the palms, realized\nthat the traders might so excite the natives with their talk, and with\nthe rum, that they might become murderers and revert to cannibalism.\n\n\u201cWhere will you dig the well, John?\u201d Margaret asked at length.\n\n\u201cOn the slope over there.\u201d He nodded toward the opposite hill. \u201cI shall\nbegin work to-morrow. Chief Namakei comes an hour after sunrise.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you succeed in reaching fresh water, shall we be safe?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and if not, I hate to think of what may happen.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut anyway,\u201d she declared, \u201cI\u2019m sure you will find God\u2019s rain, John.\u201d\n\nWeary days and nights followed; days when the doctor and his band of\nnative helpers dug from dawn to dark in the sandy soil; nights when the\nyoung white people, too anxious to sleep, sat under their palm trees\nand watched while the moon sank into the sea, and the volcano of Tann,\n\u201cthe lighthouse of the Pacific,\u201d flung its blazing banners high against\nthe heavens.\n\nTwo weeks passed and the diggers found no water. Then one day the\ncontinued drought left the old chief\u2019s favorite water-hole quite dry.\nOn the same day the side of the new well caved in.\n\nThe two troubles coming together turned the interest of Namakei to\nsuspicion. When the digging began again he forbade his men to take part\nin the work, and, though he still watched the other toilers, his beady\neyes had the look of a hawk\u2019s just ready to pounce upon its prey.\n\nThe moon was full before the cave-in was repaired. The next morning the\ntwo remaining helpers did not report for duty, and old Namakei told the\ndoctor that they would not come back.\n\n\u201cThey are my prisoners,\u201d he laughed. \u201cIf Missi Paton wish help in\nfinding the buried rain, let his God give it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHis God will give it,\u201d the missionary replied, calmly.\n\nAnd alone Doctor Paton went on with his undertaking.\n\nTwo days, three days, passed, and still no water. Namakei assumed a\nmore threatening attitude.\n\n\u201cThe moon wanes!\u201d he warned the missionary.\n\nAnd then one morning when the doctor went down into the well he saw\nsomething gleaming at his feet. He bent down, gazing with eager eyes.\nIt was water!\n\n\u201cBut will it be fresh?\u201d he asked himself, with fast-beating heart. On\nso tiny an island the sea water might easily penetrate the soil.\n\nVery slowly he dipped his finger into the now fast-rising water and\nlifted it to his lips. And then suddenly he sank down in the dampness\nand wept like a child. The water was fresh and pure and sweet, God\u2019s\nrain indeed.\n\nBy noonday the well was filled with the life-giving water, and from\nevery part of the island the natives gathered to behold the miracle of\nthe rain which had come up from the earth instead of down from the sky,\nand to do honor to Missi Paton who had given it to them.\n\nAnd when he assured them that it would always be there so long as the\nisland remained in the sea, and that drought would nevermore bring\nsuffering and distress among them, they kissed his hands in gratitude.\n\nNever again did the evil words of the traders against their beloved\nMissi have any weight with the natives of Aniwa, and never again did\nthey turn away from the Christian religion and the Christian God; and,\nif you should visit the island to-day, you would be shown by the proud\npeople the well where John Gibson Paton found by faith and prayer and\nlabor the buried blessing so many years ago.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAgain the Story People clapped their hands as the story ended, for they\nlove to hear of nothing better than a brave and an unselfish deed.\n\n\u201cThat is a good story,\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Story King; \u201cthe stories of those who risk their lives\nfor others are the best of all our stories.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d agreed the Story Queen; \u201cthey are the best of all.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the Story Lady, \u201cwe come to our fourth story.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXX\n\nTHE STRANGE GUEST\n\n\nON the summit of one of the heights of a wild country district along\nthe Rhine, there stood many years ago an old castle. In this castle\nlived a beautiful maiden with her father and two elderly aunts.\n\nHer father was a jolly old nobleman, very fond of his beer, and very\nfond of hearing himself talk, too. He enjoyed his own jokes better than\nanyone else, perhaps.\n\nEven so, his dearest possession was his beautiful daughter, his only\nchild. He loved her as the apple of his eye, and wished to give her all\nhappiness.\n\nShe had little chance of being lonely, for there were always a large\nnumber of poor relatives visiting the nobleman, and indeed they made\nthese visits so long that they sometimes stayed for years.\n\nShe often wondered, however, who might be living in the castle on the\nheights across the valley. She could just see the outlines of the walls\nand towers on clear days from the balcony outside her bedroom window.\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d she said one day, \u201ccould we not ride over to that castle some\ntime? I\u2019m forever dreaming stories about those who live within it.\u201d\n\nA heavy cloud settled over her father\u2019s countenance.\n\n\u201cNever let me hear you make mention of it again, my daughter!\u201d he\nthundered.\n\nAnd of course she said no more, but she spoke about it to one of her\naunts that evening.\n\n\u201cDear aunt, why was my father vexed when I mentioned that castle this\nmorning?\u201d she asked, pointing out of her window.\n\n\u201cHush, my child,\u201d replied her aunt. \u201cThere is a feud between the two\nfamilies.\u201d\n\n\u201cA feud?\u201d questioned the maiden. \u201cA feud? Why, we do not even know\nthem! How can there be a feud?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt dates back to the time of our great-great-grandfathers,\u201d her aunt\ntold her, \u201cand no loyal member of this family would ever have anything\nto do with a member of that family. Never mention the matter again!\u201d\nThen suddenly changing the subject, \u201cDid you finish your embroidery\nstint for to-day? How far have you worked? Let me see.\u201d\n\nThe maiden blushed, arose, and brought a large sheet of unfinished\ntapestry to her aunt, which she unfolded before her.\n\nHer aunt put on her spectacles to examine the work.\n\n\u201cWait!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cI\u2019ll call my sister.\u201d\n\nThe other aunt was in the doorway, however, and joined her in examining\nthe work.\n\n\u201cI see a missed stitch here!\u201d she commented.\n\n\u201cAh, yes, and a loose end there!\u201d added the other. \u201cIt is growing dark.\nNo knowing how many flaws we would find by daylight. To-morrow you will\ndo better, I hope.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try,\u201d promised the niece.\n\nAnd so the maiden grew. By the time she was eighteen, she could not\nonly embroider tapestries, and play a dozen airs on her guitar and\nharp, but could write a short note, with not more than ten misspelled\nwords, and could sign her own full name without missing a letter.\n\nThese accomplishments, in that day, were considered quite a finished\neducation for a young lady.\n\nOn her eighteenth birthday the castle was in bustling excitement\nbecause there was to be an affair of utmost importance. And this affair\nwas none other than a great family gathering to receive the intended\nbridegroom of the maiden.\n\nHer father had promised her in marriage to the son of an old nobleman,\na friend of his who lived in a distant province.\n\nThe parents had arranged all the details, and the young people were\nengaged to be married without even seeing each other. The time was\nappointed for the wedding, which was to take place at the home of the\nmaiden on her eighteenth birthday.\n\nThe bridegroom had already set out on his journey and was expected to\narrive at any moment.\n\nThe castle was in a tumult. The fair bride had been decked out with\nuncommon care. Her aunts had quarreled about every article of her\ndress, and while they were quarreling, she had made up her own mind\nabout each article she would wear. The result was that she looked as\nlovely as a dream. The soft lustre of her eyes, the rose-petal hue of\nher cheeks, the quick rise and fall of her bosom, showed the excitement\nin her heart.\n\nMeanwhile her aunts gave her all kinds of directions as to her behavior.\n\n\u201cWhen you first see him, my dear niece,\u201d advised one aunt, \u201clower your\neyes, as becomes a modest young lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d added the other aunt, \u201cand when you courtesy, catch your skirts,\nso,\u201d and she made a deep old-fashioned bow.\n\nThe old baron was no less busy with preparations than the others.\nHaving, in fact, nothing to do but wait, he worried everybody else\nabout every detail. He wandered from the top to the bottom of the\ncastle, begging everybody to be diligent, and filling everybody with\nanxiety. He was naturally a bustling little man, and he buzzed about in\nevery hall and chamber like a blue-bottle fly on a warm summer\u2019s day.\n\nIn the meantime, things had been gathered together for the making of\na great feast. The forests had rung with the sound of the huntsman\u2019s\nhorn. The kitchen was crowded with good cheer, and the castle was a\nmodel of ancient hospitality.\n\nThe long tables had been spread with the handsomest trenchers and\ndishes within the castle. The last finishing touches had been added to\nthe wedding gown, the bride waited trembling with anxious expectation.\nEverything was ready to receive the distinguished guest--but the guest\ndid not come.\n\nHour after hour rolled by. The sun began to set, and the baron mounted\nfor the eleventh time to the high tower, and strained his eyes in hope\nof catching sight of the count and his attendants.\n\nOnce he thought he saw them, for there were a number of men seen\nadvancing slowly on horseback, but when they had nearly reached the\nfoot of the mountain, they suddenly struck off in a different direction.\n\nThe last rays of the sun departed. The bats began to flit by in the\ntwilight. The road grew dimmer and dimmer to sight, and nothing seemed\nto be stirring in it except, now and then, a peasant lagging homeward\nfrom his day\u2019s labor.\n\nWhile the old castle was in this nervous state, very different things\nwere happening to the bridegroom.\n\nThe young count was riding along on horseback in a jog-trot fashion\ntoward the bride he had never seen.\n\n\u201cThere is no haste necessary,\u201d he said to his attendants; \u201cwe will be\nthere all in good time. Let us enjoy the scenery.\u201d\n\nAt the inn where he stopped for refreshment, he met another young\nnobleman with whom he had been good friends several years before while\nboth were in the army.\n\n\u201cAnd which way do you travel?\u201d asked the count\u2019s friend.\n\n\u201cWe go through the East pass, and upward through the mountain road,\u201d he\nreplied.\n\n\u201cHow fortunate!\u201d exclaimed his friend. \u201cI am going in the same\ndirection.\u201d\n\nSo they agreed to travel together, and soon set off, the count leaving\nword for his servants to follow and overtake him later.\n\n\u201cNow, tell what has happened in your life since we last met,\u201d said the\ncount\u2019s friend as their horses stepped out abreast. \u201cHas your heart\nbeen touched by the beauty of any maiden?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: ONCE HE THOUGHT HE SAW THEM]\n\nThen the count told him about his coming wedding with a young lady he\nhad never seen, but who was said to be very lovely.\n\nIn this way they entered one of the loneliest and most thickly wooded\npasses in the mountains.\n\nAll this happened in the days when bands of robbers lived in woods, and\nwhen ghosts were said to haunt old castles.\n\nAs the count turned to speak to his companion, suddenly from out the\nwoods there sprang a small band of robbers who immediately attacked\nthem.\n\nThey made a brave fight, but were nearly overcome by numbers when the\ncount\u2019s retinue of servants came riding up. The robbers fled at sight\nof them, but not until they had given the count a dreadful wound.\n\nHe was carried back to the nearest town through which he had so\njoyfully ridden such a short while before. A priest, who was also quite\na doctor, was brought to his bedside, but everyone knew that the poor\nyoung count\u2019s moments were few to live in this world.\n\nHe motioned his friend near, and whispered between gasping breaths,\n\u201cI--beg--you--to--go--to--the--castle--of--my--betrothed--and--tell--\nwhy--I--did--not--keep--my--appointment.\u201d\n\nThen gathering strength, he added in a stronger voice, \u201cUnless this is\ndone, I shall not sleep quietly in my grave!\u201d\n\nHe spoke so solemnly that his friend gave his promise without\nhesitating. This seemed to soothe him, and he closed his eyes as if in\nsleep, but he soon began to talk wildly, and call for his horse, saying\nhe must hasten to the home of his bride, and thinking he was leaping\ninto the saddle, he suddenly drew his last breath.\n\nHis friend was deeply grieved. His heart was heavy within him. He\nscarcely knew how to keep his promise, for he was the son of the\nnobleman whose castle the maiden had been forbidden to mention; and,\nbecause of the feud between the two families, he hated all the more to\nbe the bearer of such bad news. Still he thought that he would like\nto see the lovely girl, and he felt that he must try to carry out the\npromise he had made to his dying friend. So he made arrangements for\nthe poor count\u2019s burial in the cathedral near the graves of his noble\nancestors, and set out on his journey.\n\nIt is now high time that we should return to the castle, where\neverybody was hungrily awaiting the guest.\n\nNight closed in, but still no guest arrived. The baron descended from\nthe high tower in despair.\n\n\u201cIt is so dark that I can see nothing now,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no use\nin watching longer.\u201d\n\nThe banquet had been postponed from hour to hour. The cooks in the\nkitchen were desperate. The meats were already overdone, and every one\nwas beginning to look as though it were a time of famine.\n\n\u201cWe cannot delay longer,\u201d the baron finally said. \u201cI fear we must\nproceed with the feast without our guest.\u201d\n\nAll were seated at the table and on the point of commencing, when the\nsound of a horn from outside the gate gave notice that a stranger was\napproaching.\n\nAnother long blast filled the old courts of the castle with its echoes,\nand was answered by the warden from the walls.\n\nThe baron hastened to receive his future son-in-law.\n\nThe drawbridge had been let down, and the stranger was before the gate.\n\nHe was a tall, gallant cavalier, mounted on a beautiful black steed.\nHis face was pale. He had a gleaming eye, and yet wore an air of\nsadness.\n\nThe baron was a little embarrassed to think that he should come in so\nsimple a way without a retinue of friends and servants. He thought\nthat the young count did not show proper appreciation of the honor\nof marrying his daughter, but he comforted himself by thinking, \u201cHe\nhas been so anxious to see his bride that he has hurried off without\nwaiting for attendants.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sorry,\u201d began the stranger, \u201cto break in upon you at such an\nhour----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, pray, do not worry,\u201d interrupted the baron, \u201cit is as nothing,\u201d\nand he continued with a world of compliment and greeting. For, to tell\nthe truth, the baron was very proud of his ability to make pretty\nspeeches.\n\nHe kept on talking so fast that the stranger was unable to put a word\nin edgewise, and by the time he paused, they had reached the inner\ncourt of the castle.\n\nThe stranger was again about to speak when he was once more interrupted\nby a group of the baron\u2019s relatives leading forth the blushing bride.\n\n\n_The Wedding Feast_\n\nThe stranger gazed on her for a moment as one entranced. It seemed as\nif his whole soul beamed forth in the gaze, and rested upon her beauty.\n\nOne of the maiden aunts whispered something in her ear. She made an\neffort to speak. Her moist blue eyes were timidly raised, gave a shy\nglance at the stranger, and were cast again to the ground.\n\nHer words died away, but there was a sweet smile playing about her\nlips, and a soft dimpling of the cheek showed that she was pleased to\nmeet so charming a person.\n\nThe late hour at which the guest had arrived left no time for talk. The\nstranger attempted again to tell his sad news, but the baron would not\nlisten, and immediately led the way to the untasted banquet.\n\nThe feast was served in the great hall of the castle. Around the walls\nhung the portraits of the bride\u2019s ancestors, and the horns and tusks of\nanimals they had killed in the hunt. Armor and spears, and torn banners\nhung next to jaws of wolves and tusks of boars, and spears and battle\naxes. A large pair of antlers hung just over the head of the youthful\nbridegroom.\n\nThe stranger took but little notice of the company or of the\nentertainment. He scarcely tasted the banquet, but seemed absorbed in\nadmiring the bride. He talked with her in a low tone that could not be\noverheard. The bride\u2019s color came and went, and she listened to him\nwith deep attention. Now and then she made some reply, but she was very\nquiet most of the time, and when his glance was turned she looked at\nhim with much pleasure.\n\n\u201cThey have fallen in love at first sight,\u201d whispered one aunt.\n\n\u201cI felt that it would be so,\u201d said the other.\n\nThe feast went on merrily, or at least noisily, for the guests were all\nblessed with large appetites.\n\nThe baron told his longest and best stories. If he told anything\nmarvelous, his hearers were lost in astonishment. If he told anything\nfunny, they laughed just loud and long enough to please him greatly.\n\nAmidst all this frolic, the stranger seemed lost in thought. His only\nconversation was with the bride, and seemed to grow more and more\nearnest and mysterious. Clouds began to steal over her fair face, and\nthe guests noticed that she trembled.\n\nTheir gayety was chilled by such actions. The song and laughter grew\nless and less frequent. There were pauses in the conversation.\n\nDismal stories were told by several people. The baron nearly frightened\nsome of the ladies into hysterics with the history of the ghost\nhorseman that carried away the fair young woman, Lenora.\n\nThe bridegroom listened to this tale with great attention. He kept\nhis eye fixed on the baron, and, as the story drew to a close, began\ngradually to rise from his seat, growing taller and taller, until, to\nthe baron\u2019s eye, he seemed almost to tower into a giant.\n\nThe moment the tale was finished, he heaved a deep sigh, and took a\nsolemn farewell of the company. They were all in amazement. The baron\nwas perfectly thunderstruck.\n\n\u201cWhat! going to leave the castle at midnight? Why, everything is ready\nfor your reception; a room is ready for you if you wish to retire.\u201d\n\nThe stranger shook his head mournfully and said: \u201cI must lay my head in\na different place to-night.\u201d\n\nThen waving his farewell to the company, he stalked slowly out of the\nhall.\n\nThe maiden aunts seemed turned to stone. The bride hung her head, and a\ntear stole down her cheek.\n\nThe baron followed the stranger to the great court of the castle, where\nthe black horse stood pawing the earth and snorting with impatience.\n\nWhen they reached the portal whose deep, high archway was dimly lighted\nby a lantern, the stranger paused and spoke to the baron in a hollow\ntone of voice.\n\n\u201cNow that we are alone,\u201d said he, \u201cI will tell you my reason for\nleaving. I have an engagement in----\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d asked the baron, \u201ccannot you send some one in your place?\u201d\n\n\u201cI must keep this engagement myself--I must go myself----\u201d\n\n\u201cAy,\u201d said the baron, \u201cbut not until to-morrow--to-morrow you shall\ntake your bride there.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo! No!\u201d replied the stranger with greater solemnity. \u201cMy engagement\nis with no bride. The grave awaits me! I must go back where I came\nfrom!\u201d\n\nHe sprang upon his black charger, dashed over the drawbridge, and the\nsound of the clatter of his horse\u2019s hoofs was lost in the whistling of\nthe night\u2019s blast.\n\nThe baron watched him until out of sight, then muttered, \u201cHe must have\nbeen a ghost!\u201d\n\nHe returned to the hall in great bewilderment, and related what had\njust passed. Two ladies fainted; others sickened with the idea of\nhaving banqueted with a spectre.\n\n[Illustration: A TALL FIGURE STOOD AMONG THE SHADOWS OF THE\nTREES]\n\nThe company tried to guess whose ghost it might have been. Some\ntalked of wood-demons and others of mountain sprites, but all was dim\nuncertainty and mystery.\n\nThe next morning, however, put an end to guessing, for word came of the\ndeath of the young count on his way to the castle, and every one felt\nsure that the stranger of the night before was indeed his spectre.\n\nYou can imagine how dreadful the baron felt. He shut himself up in his\nrooms. His guests stayed on, for they could not think of going when he\nwas in such trouble, and then, too, the remnants of the feast were to\nbe eaten and drunk!\n\nBut the poor bride was most to be pitied. To have lost a promised\nhusband before she was acquainted with him! And such a husband!\nEverybody wept for her.\n\n\n_The Midnight Music_\n\nOn the night of the second day after, she retired to her room with one\nof her aunts who insisted upon sleeping with her.\n\nThe aunt was one of the best tellers of ghost stories in all the land,\nand in telling one of her longest, fell asleep in the midst of it.\n\nThe room was in a distant corner of the castle, and overlooked a small\ngarden. The niece lay gazing at the beams of the rising moon as they\nshone on the trembling leaves of an aspen tree before the latticed\nwindow.\n\nThe castle clock had just tolled midnight when a soft strain of music\nstole up from the garden.\n\nShe rose hastily from her bed and stepped lightly to the window.\n\nA tall figure stood among the shadows of the trees. As it raised its\nhead, a beam of moonlight fell on its face. In a moment she knew\nhim--her promised bridegroom!\n\nA loud shriek at that moment burst upon her ear, and her aunt, who had\nbeen awakened by the music and had followed her to the window, fell\ninto her arms.\n\nWhen she looked again, the spectre had disappeared.\n\nOf the two, the aunt required the more soothing. She was beside herself\nwith terror.\n\nAs for the young lady, she did not feel frightened. There was\nsomething, even in the spectre of her lover, very charming.\n\nThe aunt declared she would never sleep in that room again. The niece\nfor once was determined to have her own way, and declared she would\nnot sleep in any other room. The consequence was that she had to sleep\nthere alone.\n\nShe begged her aunt to promise not to tell about this moonlight\nvisitor, for she said it was the only comfort she had in her great\ndisappointment, and the good old lady promised. How long she would\nhave kept her promise is uncertain, for she dearly loved to talk about\nmysterious happenings.\n\nShe did keep it to herself for a whole week; and then, suddenly, she\ndid not need to keep it longer. For word was brought to the breakfast\ntable that the young lady was not to be found.\n\nHer room was empty. Her bed had not been slept in. The window was open!\nThe bird had flown!\n\nNearly every one was struck speechless, when the aunt who had slept\nwith her, suddenly regained her speech, and wringing her hands,\nshrieked out, \u201cThe goblin! the goblin! She\u2019s carried away by the\ngoblin!\u201d\n\nIn a few words, she told of the dreadful scene in the garden; and all\nconcluded that the spectre must have carried off his bride. Two of the\nservants said they had heard the clatter of horse\u2019s hoofs down the\nmountain-side about midnight, and had no doubt it was the black charger\nof the spectre.\n\nThe poor baron was inconsolable. What sorrow to have his only child,\nhis daughter, carried off by a goblin! How terrible to have, perhaps,\ngoblin grandchildren! As usual, he was completely bewildered, and all\nthe castle was in an uproar.\n\nThe men were ordered to take horses, and hunt in every road and path\nand by-way. The baron himself had just drawn on his jack-boots and\ngirded on his sword, when he glanced out the window, and paused because\nof what he saw.\n\nA lady was approaching the castle on horseback. Beside her, mounted on\na black charger, was a cavalier.\n\nShe galloped up to the gate, sprang from the horse, and running into\nthe castle, fell at the baron\u2019s feet.\n\nIt was his lost daughter, and her companion--the spectre bridegroom.\n\nThe baron was astonished. He looked at his daughter, then at the\nspectre, and almost doubted his eyes.\n\nThe spectre was wonderfully improved in appearance. His dress was\nsplendid, and set off his noble figure. He was no longer pale and sad.\nHis face was flushed with the joy of youth.\n\nThe mystery was soon cleared up. The cavalier (for you must have known\nall along he was no goblin) told the whole story--how he had met his\nyoung friend; how they had traveled together; how the young nobleman\nhad met his death. He said that the sight of the beautiful young lady\nhad made him forget everything except the desire to be near her. At\nfirst, when the baron would not listen to his explanation, he thought\nit would do no harm to accept the situation as it was.\n\nIf the baron\u2019s family had not had a feud with his own family, he would\nhave explained everything after the banquet, but he feared that, under\nthe circumstances, he might never see the young lady again. When the\nbaron had told how the fair Lenora had been carried off by the goblin,\nthe idea of being a goblin himself came to him. And he said that he did\nnot feel exactly right about doing this, but his friends had told him\nto remember the old saying that \u201ceverything was fair in love.\u201d\n\nThe baron pardoned the young couple on the spot. The festival at the\ncastle was continued.\n\nOnly the aunt was disappointed. She who had told so many stories about\ntrue ghosts, was embarrassed to find the only ghost which she had\nactually seen should turn out to be a real live person, but she was\nso happy at having her niece back again that her embarrassment was as\nnothing.\n\nBut the niece was perfectly happy in having found him a real living\nperson, and--since they lived happily ever after--here the story ends.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cAnd another begins,\u201d added the Story Lady, after a slight pause.\n\nAt the Story King\u2019s nod of approval, she proceeded.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI\n\nROBERT OF SICILY\n\n\nTHERE is an old legend of a proud king, named Robert of Sicily. This\nlegend tells of the greatest event of Robert\u2019s life; and the poet,\nLongfellow, has written a beautiful poem about it, which every one\nshould read. This is the story:\n\nRobert, King of Sicily, was a very proud monarch and a very selfish\none. He spent most of his time enjoying himself, and gave little heed\nto the wants of his people.\n\nOn St. John\u2019s eve he attended vesper service with a great retinue of\nknights and lords and pages. He was dressed most magnificently, and\nproudly sat while the choir chanted some strange Latin words.\n\nThe king did not understand Latin, and turning to a learned clerk\nnearby, he said, \u201cWhat do those words mean?\u201d\n\nThe clerk answered, \u201cThey mean,\n\n \u2018He has put down the mighty from their seat,\n And has exalted them of low degree!\u2019\u201d\n\nThe king laughed scornfully, and said, \u201cIt is well that such words are\nsung in Latin, for there is no power on earth that can push me from my\nthrone.\u201d\n\nThen he leaned back yawning, and fell asleep.\n\nWhen he awoke it was already night; the church was empty and all in\ndarkness.\n\nThe king was angry at finding himself alone. He groped his way toward\nthe great doors, but found them locked.\n\nThen he thought of the windows, but they were high above his reach.\nThen he became frightened and cried aloud. He listened, but all that he\nheard was the resounding echoes of his cries, as they rang, again and\nagain, through the high, vaulted ceiling of the church.\n\nHe knocked with his fists against the doors, and swore awful oaths\nagainst every one in his court. He became so angry that he tore his\nmagnificent robes into shreds. He had long since lost his hat and cloak.\n\nAt length the sexton of the church heard the noise, and he thought that\nperhaps thieves were breaking into the church, so he lit his lantern\nand went to the door. When he could make himself heard, he asked, \u201cWho\nis there?\u201d\n\nThe king, half choked with rage, answered fiercely, \u201cOpen, \u2019tis I, the\nking. Are you afraid?\u201d\n\nThe frightened sexton muttered to himself: \u201cIt is some drunken beggar,\nor some one crazy;\u201d and, turning the great key, he flung open the doors.\n\nA man in torn garments, without hat or cloak, rushed past him. He\nneither looked at him nor spoke, but, leaping into the darkness,\nvanished almost like a spectre from his sight.\n\nBareheaded, breathless, covered with dust and cobwebs, Robert strode on\nthrough the darkness, and came to the palace gates. He rushed through\nthe courtyard, thrusting aside the guards and pages, and hurried up the\nbroad stairs. From hall to hall he passed in breathless speed, although\nhe heard voices and cries to stop him, until he came to the banquet\nroom, which was blazing with light.\n\nThere he stood motionless, speechless, amazed; for on the throne there\nsat another king, wearing his crown, his robes, and even his signet\nring. He looked at first glance exactly like King Robert. He was of the\nsame height and the same form and features; but there was a gracious\nbeauty about him which Robert lacked.\n\nKing Robert stood there, gazing at him in anger and rage when he\nlooked up. With a glance of surprise and pity, he asked, \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\nRobert answered, \u201cI am the king, and I have come to take my place; you\nare an imposter who pretends to be king.\u201d\n\nAt these words the angry guests sprang up with drawn swords, but the\nman on the throne said, \u201cNo, not the king, but the king\u2019s jester.\nYou shall from now on wear the bells and scalloped cape of the court\njester, and make fun for us all. Your companion shall be an ape.\u201d Then\nhe turned away toward his guests.\n\nSome of the servants came forward to take Robert away, and they were\nquite deaf to his ravings and angry threats. With shouts of laughter\nthey pushed him on before them down the stairs, and mockingly bowed\nbefore him, and pretended to honor him, all the while laughing and\ntittering and making fun of him. They left him in a room in the stable\nwhere at length, exhausted, he fell asleep.\n\nThe next morning, waking with the day\u2019s first light, he thought to\nhimself: \u201cI\u2019ve had an ugly dream.\u201d But the straw rustled when he turned\nhis head, and there were the jester\u2019s cap and bells lying near. He\nheard the horses champing in their stalls, and on looking around the\nroom saw the poor ape. So he remembered. It was no dream. His happy\nlife that he thought could not be changed, had vanished from him.\n\nThe days came and went. Under the rule of the new king the island\nprospered as never before. Robert continued to be the jester, laughed\nat and scorned. His only friend was the ape. His only food, what others\nleft.\n\nSometimes the other king would meet him, and ask, \u201cAre you still the\nking?\u201d and always Robert would throw back his head and fling the answer\nhaughtily, \u201cI am, I am the king!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: TOWARD THE VERY LAST, ROBERT, THE JESTER, RODE ON A\nPIEBALD PONY]\n\nRobert had two brothers; one was Valmond, Emperor of Allemaine, the\nother was Pope Urbane. One day, almost three years after the wild\nnight that Robert had been locked in the church, ambassadors came from\nValmond, Emperor of Allemaine, bringing letters. The letters asked King\nRobert to join his brother Valmond in a visit to their brother at Rome.\nThe ambassadors were received with great pleasure, and were presented\nwith many beautiful gifts of robes and jewels.\n\nThen the king who was not King Robert went with them across the sea to\nItaly. He was accompanied by a great retinue of knights, all dressed\nin uniform, wearing gay plumes in their helmets. They rode horses with\njeweled bridles, and even wore golden spurs. They were followed by\npages and servants; and, toward the very last, Robert, the jester, rode\non a piebald pony, and behind was perched the ape. Through every town\nthey went they made much fun for the people, who followed along after,\nlaughing and poking fun at them. The company were received with great\npomp and ceremony, and the three brothers seemed delighted at being\ntogether again.\n\nSuddenly Robert burst through the crowd, and running up to them cried,\n\u201cI am the king! Do you not know me? Look at me. I am your brother,\nRobert of Sicily. This man is but an imposter! He is not the king!\u201d\n\nThe emperor and the pope looked at the angry worried jester for a long\nmoment; then the emperor laughed, and said, \u201cWhat strange sport to keep\na crazy fellow for a jester!\u201d and the poor baffled jester was hustled\nback into the crowd.\n\nThen came Easter Sunday, and the beauty and the solemnity of the Easter\nservices touched the hearts of all men. Robert was deeply moved. For\nthe first time in his life he saw what kind of man he had been. He saw\nhow selfish and proud and haughty he had been. He wished with all his\nsoul that he had been a better man, and he made up his mind that, no\nmatter what happened, he would never be so selfish and mean again.\n\nNow, the visit ended; the grand visitors left Rome and journeyed\nhomeward. And when they were once more established, the king on the\nthrone sent for Robert. He motioned every one else out of the room and\nbeckoned Robert to draw near.\n\nAnd when they were alone, he asked, \u201cArt thou the king?\u201d\n\nRobert bowed his head, and folding his arms, said, \u201cYou know best. I\nonly know that I have sinned, and have been proud and selfish. Let me\ngo from here and try to make up in some way for the wrong which I have\ndone!\u201d\n\nAnd just as he finished saying this, there rose through the windows\nloud and clear the words of the chant:\n\n \u201cHe has put down the mighty from their seat,\n And has exalted them of low degree!\u201d\n\nThen the man who was with Robert cried joyously. \u201cI am not the king! I\nam an angel! You are the king!\u201d\n\nWhen King Robert raised his eyes--lo! he was alone, but all dressed in\nhis magnificent apparel as of old; and when his courtiers came, they\nfound him kneeling upon the floor in silent prayer.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u201cRobert was fortunate,\u201d said the Story King, \u201cin learning his lesson\nbefore it was too late.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed, he was,\u201d answered the Story Lady. \u201cThe fourth story is of\na young man who repented when it was too late.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXXII\n\nTHE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY\n\n\nONCE there was a man, a young officer in the United States Army, who\ndid a dreadful thing--he cursed his native country!\n\nHe pretended for a while that he did not care, when he was punished,\nbut in the end he was very, very sorry. Because he wore his uniform\nwithout the official buttons, the sailors on the ships on which he was\nimprisoned called him \u201cPlain Buttons.\u201d\n\nHis name was Philip Nolan. Lieutenant Nolan was as fine a young officer\nas there was in the \u201cLegion of the West,\u201d as the Western division of\nthe United States Army was called in those early days, one hundred\nyears ago.\n\nAt that time the Mississippi valley was the Far West to most people,\nand seemed a very distant land indeed. There were a number of forts\nalong the river and Nolan was stationed in one of these. Nolan\u2019s\nidol was the brilliant and dashing Aaron Burr, who visited the fort\nseveral times between 1805 and 1807. He walked and talked with Nolan\nand obtained a very strong influence over him. He got Nolan to take\nhim out in his skiff and show him something of the great river and the\nplans for the new post; and by the time Burr\u2019s visit was over Nolan was\nenlisted body and soul in Burr\u2019s disloyal schemes. From then on, though\nhe did not yet know it, Nolan lived as a man without a country.\n\nBurr soon got into trouble with the government, and some of his friends\nwere tried for treason, Nolan among them. It became very plain during\nthe trial that Nolan would do anything Burr told him; that he would\nobey Burr far quicker than his country in spite of his oath as an\nofficer of the army.\n\nSo when Colonel Morgan, who was president of the court, asked Nolan, at\nthe close of the trial, whether he wished to say anything to show that\nhe had always been faithful to the United States, he cried out, in a\nfit of frenzy: \u201cCurse the United States! I wish I may never hear of the\nUnited States again!\u201d\n\nProbably he did not realize how the words would shock old Colonel\nMorgan and the other members of the court. Half the officers who sat\nwith him had served through the Revolutionary War, and had risked their\nlives, not to say their necks, cheerfully and loyally for the country\nwhich Nolan so lightly cursed in his madness.\n\nIt may be said for Nolan that he had grown up in the West of those\ndays, then an almost unknown country. He had been educated on a\nplantation, where the most welcome guests were Spanish officers and\nFrench merchants from Orleans, who, to say the least, were unfriendly\nto the United States. He had spent half his youth with an older\nbrother, hunting horses in Texas, which was not then a part of the\nUnited States. In a word, the \u201cUnited States\u201d meant almost nothing to\nhim.\n\nYet there was little excuse for Nolan. He had sworn on his faith as a\nChristian to be true to the United States. It was the United States\nwhich gave him the uniform he wore and the sword by his side. Nay, Burr\ncared nothing for poor Nolan, but had picked him out to aid him in his\nwicked plots, only because of the uniform he wore. Of course, Nolan did\nnot know this, and it did not excuse him; but it does partly explain\nwhy he cursed his country and wished that he might never hear her name\nagain.\n\nHe never did hear her name but once again. From that moment, September\n23, 1807, till the day he died, May 11, 1863, he never heard her name\nagain. For that half-century and more he was a man without a country.\n\nColonel Morgan, as you may suppose, was terribly shocked. If Nolan had\ncompared George Washington to Benedict Arnold, or had cried, \u201cGod save\nKing George,\u201d Morgan would not have felt worse. He called the court\ninto his private room, and returned in fifteen minutes, with a face\nwhite as a sheet, to say:\n\n\u201cPrisoner, hear the sentence of the Court! The Court decides, subject\nto the approval of the President, that you never hear the name of the\nUnited States again.\u201d\n\nNolan laughed; but nobody else laughed--the whole room was hushed dead\nas night for a minute. Then Colonel Morgan added, \u201cMr. Marshall, take\nthe prisoner to Orleans in an armed boat and deliver him to the naval\ncommander there. Request him to order that no one shall mention the\nUnited States to the prisoner while he is on board ship.\u201d\n\nColonel Morgan himself went to Washington and President Jefferson\napproved the sentence, so a plan was formed to keep Nolan constantly\nat sea, far from his own country. The ships of our navy took few long\ncruises then, but one ship was directed to carry the prisoner as far\naway as it was going, then transfer him to another vessel before it\nsailed for home. He was to be confined only so far as necessary to\nprevent his escape and to make it certain that he never saw or heard of\nhis country again.\n\nAs soon as a vessel on which Nolan sailed was homeward bound, Nolan was\ntransferred to an outward-bound vessel for another cruise. At first he\nmade light of it--but in time he learned something he had not thought\nof, perhaps--that there was no going home for him, even to a prison.\n\nThere were some twenty such transfers which took him all over the\nworld, but which kept him all his life at least some hundred miles from\nthe country he had hoped he might never hear of again.\n\n[Illustration: HE FLUNG THE BOOK INTO THE SEA]\n\nNolan wore his uniform, but with plain buttons. He always had a sentry\nbefore his door, but the men were as good to him as his sentence\npermitted. No mess wanted to have him with them too steadily because\nthey could never talk about home matters when he was present--more than\nhalf the talk men liked to have at sea. They took turns inviting him to\ndinner, and the captain always asked him on Mondays. He could have any\nbooks or papers not printed in America. Newspapers having any mention\nof America had to be gone over and the allusions cut out. He used to\njoin the men as they were reading on deck and take his turn in reading\naloud.\n\nOnce when they were cruising around the Cape of Good Hope, somebody\ngot hold of Scott\u2019s \u201cLay of the Last Minstrel,\u201d which was then new and\nfamous. Nolan was reading to the others when he came to this passage:\n\n \u201cBreathes there the man with soul so dead\n Who never to himself hath said,\n This is my own, my native land!\n Whose heart hath ne\u2019er within him burned,\n As home his footsteps he hath turned\n From wandering on a foreign strand?\n\n \u201cIf such there breathe, go, mark him well;\n For him no minstrel raptures swell;\n High though his titles, proud his name,\n Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,--\n Despite those titles, power and pelf,\n The wretch, concentred all in self\u201d----\n\nHere the poor fellow choked, and could not go on, but started up and\nflung the book into the sea and fled to his stateroom. It was two\nmonths before he dared join the men again.\n\nThere was a change in Nolan after this. He never read aloud again,\nunless it was the Bible or Shakespeare, or something else he was sure\nof. He was always shy afterwards and very seldom spoke unless spoken\nto, except to a very few friends. He generally had the nervous, tired\nlook of a heart-wounded man. Sometimes he tried to trap people into\nmentioning his country, but he never succeeded; his sentence was too\nwell known among the men who had him in charge.\n\nThere was only one day on which, perhaps, he was really happy, except\nwhen he knew his lonely life was closing. Once, during the war of 1812,\nthe ship on which he was staying had a fight with an English frigate.\nA round shot from the enemy entered one of the ports and killed the\nofficer of the gun himself and many of the gun\u2019s crew. Now you may\nsay what you choose about courage, but that is not a nice thing to\nsee. But, as the men who were not killed picked themselves up, and\nas they and the surgeon\u2019s people were carrying off the bodies, there\nappeared Nolan, in his shirt sleeves, with the rammer in his hand, and,\njust as if he had been the officer, told them off with authority--who\nshould go to the cock-pit with the wounded men, who should stay with\nhim--perfectly cheery, and with that way which makes men feel sure\nall is right and is going to be right. And he finished loading the\ngun with his own hands, aimed it, and bade the men fire. And there he\nstayed, captain of that gun, keeping those fellows in spirits, till\nthe enemy struck--sitting on the carriage while the gun was cooling,\nthough he was exposed all the time,--showing them easier ways to handle\nheavy shot--making the raw hands laugh at their own blunders--and\nwhen the gun cooled again, getting it loaded and fired twice as often\nas any other gun on the ship. The commodore walked forward by way of\nencouraging the men, and Nolan touched his hat and said:\n\n\u201cI am showing them how we do this in the artillery, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you are, and I thank you, sir,\u201d the commodore said; \u201cand I shall\nnever forget this day, sir, and you never shall, sir.\u201d\n\nAnd after the whole thing was over, and he had the Englishman\u2019s sword,\nin the midst of the state and ceremony of the quarter-deck, he said:\n\n\u201cWhere is Mr. Nolan? Ask Mr. Nolan to come here.\u201d And when Nolan came,\nhe said:\n\n\u201cMr. Nolan, we are all very grateful to you; you are one of us to-day;\nyou will be named in the despatches.\u201d\n\nAnd then the commodore took off his own sword of ceremony, and gave it\nto Nolan, and made him put it on. Nolan cried like a baby, and well he\nmight. He had not worn a sword since that infernal day at Fort Adams.\nBut always afterwards on occasions of ceremony, he wore that quaint old\nFrench sword of the commodore\u2019s.\n\nThe commodore did mention him in the despatches, and asked that he\nmight be pardoned. He wrote a special letter to the Secretary of War.\nBut nothing ever came of it.\n\nAt another time Nolan went with a young officer named Vaughan to\noverhaul a dirty little schooner which had slaves on board. Nolan was\nthe only one who could speak Portuguese, the language used by the\nslavers. There were but few of the negroes. Vaughan had their handcuffs\nand ankle-cuffs knocked off and put these on the rascals of the\nschooner\u2019s crew. Then Nolan told the blacks that they were free, and\nthat Vaughan would take them to Cape Palmas.\n\nNow, Cape Palmas was a long way from their native land, and they said,\n\u201cNot Palmas. Take us home, take us to our own country, take us to our\nown pickaninnies and our own women.\u201d One complained that he had not\nheard from home for more than six months. It was terribly hard for\nNolan, but he translated these speeches, and told the negroes Vaughan\u2019s\nanswer in some fashion.\n\n\u201cTell them--yes, yes, yes!\u201d Vaughan said. \u201cTell them they shall go to\nthe Mountains of the Moon, if they will. If I sail the schooner through\nthe Great White Desert, they shall go home!\u201d\n\nAnd then they all fell to kissing Nolan, and wanted to rub his nose\nwith theirs.\n\nAs they were being rowed back to the ship, he lay in the stern sheets\nand said to a young midshipman of whom he was very fond:\n\n\u201cYoungster, let that show you what it is to be without a family,\nwithout a home, and without a country. And if you are ever tempted to\nsay a word or do a thing that shall put a bar between you and your\nfamily, your home, and your country, pray God in His mercy to take you\nthat instant home to His own heaven. Stick by your family, boy; forget\nyou have a self, while you do everything for them. Think of your home,\nboy; write, and send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and nearer to\nyour thought, the farther you have to travel from it; and rush back to\nit when you are free, as that poor black slave is doing now. And for\nyour country, boy,\u201d and the words rattled in his throat, \u201cand for that\nflag,\u201d and he pointed to the ship, \u201cnever dream a dream but of serving\nher as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand\nhells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who\nabuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you\npray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men\nyou have to do with, behind officers, and government, and people even,\nthere is the country herself, your country, and that you belong to her\nas you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand\nby your mother, if those devils there had got hold of her to-day!\u201d\n\nAnd then Nolan added, almost in a whisper, \u201cOh, if anybody had said so\nto me when I was of your age!\u201d\n\nYears passed on, and Nolan\u2019s sentence was unrevoked, though his friends\nhad more than once asked for a pardon.\n\nThe end came when he had been upwards of fifty years at sea, and he\nasked the ship\u2019s doctor for a visit from Captain Danforth, whom he\nliked. Danforth tells us about Nolan\u2019s last hours and calls him \u201cdear\nold Nolan,\u201d so we know his love was returned.\n\nThe officer saw what a little shrine poor Nolan had made of his\nstateroom. Up above were the stars and stripes, and around a portrait\nof Washington he had painted a majestic eagle, with lightnings blazing\nfrom his beak and his foot just clasping the whole globe, which the\nwings overshadowed. Nolan said, with a sad smile, \u201cHere, you see, I\nhave a country!\u201d Over the foot of the bed was a great map of the United\nStates, drawn from memory, which he had there to look upon as he lay\nin his berth. Quaint old names were on it, in large letters: Indiana\nTerritory, Mississippi Territory, and Louisiana Territory.\n\n\u201cDanforth,\u201d he said, \u201cI know I am dying. I cannot get home. Surely you\nwill tell me something now? Stop! Stop! Do not speak till I say what I\nam sure you know, that there is not in this ship, that there is not in\nAmerica--God bless her!--a more loyal man than I. There cannot be a man\nwho loves the old flag or prays for it as I do. There are thirty-four\nstars in it now, Danforth. I thank God for that, though I do not know\nwhat their names are. There has never been one taken away. I thank God\nfor that. But tell me something--tell me everything, Danforth, before I\ndie!\u201d\n\nCaptain Danforth, in writing about it afterwards says: \u201cI felt like\na monster that I had not told him everything before. Though obeying\norders, who was I that I should have been acting the tyrant all this\ntime over this dear, sainted old man, who had expiated, in his whole\nmanhood\u2019s life, the madness of a boy\u2019s treason.\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Nolan,\u201d he said, \u201cI will tell you everything you ask about.\u201d\n\nThen he told him the names of all the new states, and drew them in on\nthe map. He told him of the inventions--the steamboats, the railroads\nand telegraphs; he tried to tell him all that had happened to the great\nand growing country in fifty years. He told him about Abraham Lincoln,\nwho was then President--except that he could not wound his friend by\nmentioning a word about the cruel Civil War which was then raging.\n\nNolan drank it in and enjoyed it more than we can tell. After that he\nseemed to grow weary and said he would go to sleep. He bent Danforth\ndown and kissed him, and then said, \u201cLook in my Bible, Captain, when I\nam gone.\u201d\n\nDanforth went away with no thought that this was the end. But in an\nhour, when the doctor went in gently, he found Nolan had breathed away\nhis life with a smile.\n\nThey looked in his Bible, and there was a slip of paper at the place\nwhere he had marked the text:\n\n \u201cThey desire a country, even a heavenly: wherefore God is not\n ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a\n city.\u201d\n\nOn this slip of paper he had written:\n\n \u201cBury me in the sea; it has been my home, and I love it. But will\n not some one set up a stone for my memory at Fort Adams or at\n Orleans, that my disgrace may not be more than I ought to bear?\n Say on it:\n\n \u2018In Memory of\n PHILIP NOLAN\n Lieutenant in the Army of the United States.\n\n He loved his country as no other man has loved her;\n but no man deserved less at her hands.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII\n\nYOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG\n\n\nWHEN the story was finished the Story People did not applaud; they felt\nsorry for poor Philip who had repented so bitterly.\n\nMary Frances felt sad, and sorry, too; as she did every time she heard\nthe story, for she had often heard it before.\n\n\u201cHow Americans love their country!\u201d said the Story King. \u201cThey must\nlove it as much as we love our island!\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, they do love it,\u201d answered Mary Frances patriotically. \u201cI\nthink it\u2019s the greatest big country in all the world!\u201d\n\nThe Story People smiled and clapped their hands at this speech, for\nthey admire loyalty wherever shown.\n\n\u201cYes, it is,\u201d said the Story Queen, \u201cand we think our island is the\ngreatest little country in all the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo it is! Indeed, it is! I love it next to my own!\u201d cried Mary\nFrances; and the Story People applauded again.\n\n\u201cThere is a little poem about the Stars and Stripes that is very\npopular in America,\u201d said the Story Lady, smiling. \u201cNow that the\nstories are finished for the day, perhaps our guest will recite it for\nus.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG]\n\nMary Frances blushed, and then rose in her place and recited:\n\n Your flag and my flag,\n And how it flies to-day\n In your land and my land\n And half a world away!\n\n Rose-red and blood-red\n The stripes forever gleam;\n Snow-white and soul-white--\n The good forefathers\u2019 dream;\n Sky-blue and true-blue, with stars to gleam aright--\n The gloried guidon of the day; a shelter through the night.\n\n Your flag and my flag!\n And, oh, how much it holds--\n Your land and my land--\n Secure within its folds!\n Your heart and my heart\n Beat quicker at the sight;\n Sun-kissed and wind-tossed--\n Red and blue and white.\n The one flag--the great flag--the flag for me and you--\n Glorified all else beside--the red and white and blue!\n\n Your flag and my flag!\n To every star and stripe\n The drums beat as hearts beat,\n And fifers shrilly pipe!\n Your flag and my flag--\n A blessing in the sky;\n Your hope and my hope--\n It never hid a lie!\n Home land and far land and half the world around,\n Old Glory hears our glad salute and ripples to the sound.[C]\n\n[C] From the \u201cTrail to Boyland,\u201d by Wilbur D. Nesbit, Copyright 1904.\nUsed by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.\n\nAs Mary Frances sat down, the Story People clapped their hands\nenthusiastically; and the Ready Writer handed her her copies of the\nstories for the day. The copy of the poem which he had made, he kept\nfor themselves.\n\nAs Mary Frances and the Story Lady were going out, the Story Queen\nstopped them and said:\n\n\u201cWe shall expect you both to dinner to-night--just a little family\nparty, you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank you, that will be delightful,\u201d both replied.\n\nMary Frances thought ruefully of her best dress hanging uselessly in\nthe closet at home and wished she had it. \u201cBut it\u2019s no use wishing,\u201d\nshe thought. \u201cIt\u2019s all so unexpected.\u201d\n\nHowever, with the help of the Story Lady, she was arrayed for the\noccasion, and when she saw herself in the mirror she said, \u201cThere must\nbe two of us; that doesn\u2019t look like me.\u201d\n\nBut it was she. So when they left their apartments and went downstairs\ninto the dining-hall, she was in very high spirits.\n\nMary Frances had eaten many dinners, but never one like that. Yet,\nstrange to say, she doesn\u2019t remember what she ate. But she does\nremember how kind and friendly the Story King and Queen were, and\nhow they plied her with questions about her own country. She thinks,\nperhaps, she bragged a little too much in telling of its wonders, but\nshe excuses herself to herself, thinking, \u201cWell, my country is worth\nbragging about, I\u2019m sure.\u201d During a lull in the conversation, Mary\nFrances asked the King, \u201cWon\u2019t you tell me where all the stories come\nfrom?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith pleasure,\u201d he replied. \u201cThey come from all countries. The world\nis full of people who are doing brave and noble deeds, and when we hear\nof such deeds, we have them written down and pass them on.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d he added, \u201cthere are other people who are doing cowardly\nand selfish things, but we don\u2019t bother with them, except to punish\nthem as we did the pirate. We see to it that no good story is ever\nlost; that is why we were so concerned about the lost story.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can see,\u201d said the Queen, \u201cthat it keeps us pretty busy.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, it must,\u201d returned Mary Frances. \u201cI think it\u2019s very kind of\nyou to let me visit you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear child,\u201d said the Queen, \u201cwe shall make a story about it--several\nstories----\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, delightful stories,\u201d interrupted the Story Lady, \u201cand I shall\ntell them! Oh, yes, I shall tell them!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAST DAY ON STORY ISLAND\n\n THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH, A FAIRY TALE OF HOME.--CHIRP THE\n FIRST.--CHIRP THE SECOND.--CHIRP THE THIRD.--THE RETURN HOME.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAST DAY ON STORY ISLAND\n\nTHE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH\n\nXXXIV\n\nCHIRP THE FIRST\n\n\nWHEN the Story People were all assembled, the Story Lady began:\n\n\u201cTo-day we have only one story, \u2018The Cricket on the Hearth,\u2019 which was\nfirst told by one of our greatest story-tellers, Charles Dickens, who\nwrote \u2018The Christmas Carol\u2019 and many other stories that children love\nto hear.\u201d\n\n\n_The Peerybingles_\n\n\u201cHeyday! The cricket\u2019s merrier than ever to-night, I think,\u201d said John,\nstopping, in his slow way, to listen to its musical chirp, chirp, chirp!\n\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s sure to bring us good fortune, John! It always has done so.\nTo have a cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing in the world!\u201d\n\nThat is what John Peerybingle\u2019s little wife Dot said one stormy night\nafter John had come in from delivering packages and boxes, and she had\ngiven him his tea and had put the baby to sleep. For John Peerybingle\nwas a local expressman; or, as they say in England, a carrier.\n\n\u201cThe first time I heard its cheerful little note, John,\u201d Dot continued,\n\u201cwas the night you brought me home--when you brought me to my new home\nhere; its little mistress. Nearly a year ago. You recollect, John?\u201d\n\nOh, yes. John remembered. I should think so!\n\n\u201cIts chirp was such a welcome to me. It seemed so full of promise\nand encouragement. It seemed to say you would be kind and gentle with\nme, and would not expect to find an old head on the shoulders of your\nfoolish little wife. I had a fear of that, John, then.\u201d\n\nJohn thoughtfully patted one of the shoulders, and then the head of his\nlittle wife, as though to say, \u201cNo, no; he had no such expectation; he\nhad been quite content to take them as they were.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe cricket spoke the truth, John, for you have been, I am sure, the\nmost considerate, the most affectionate of husbands. This has been a\nhappy home, John; and I love the cricket for its sake.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, so do I, then,\u201d said the carrier, \u201cso do I, Dot.\u201d\n\n\u201cI love it for the many times I have heard it,\u201d Dot went on musing,\n\u201cand the many thoughts its harmless music has given me. Sometimes, in\nthe twilight, when I have felt a little down-hearted, John--before the\nprecious baby came to keep me company and make the house gay--when I\nhave thought how lonely you would be if I should die, or I should be if\nyou should die, its chirp, chirp, chirp, upon the hearth has filled me\nwith new trust and confidence. For you see, John, I was afraid, being\nso much younger than you, that you might not find me at all suitable\nas a wife, and that you might find it hard to learn to love me as you\nwould if I were older and had had more experience. I was thinking just\nbefore you came in to-night, dear, how the cricket has cheered me at\nsuch times; and I love it for their sake.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so do I,\u201d repeated John. \u201cBut, Dot! How you talk! I learn to\nlove you? I had learned that long before I brought you here to be the\ncricket\u2019s little mistress, Dot.\u201d\n\nShe laid her hand, an instant, on his arm, and looked up at him as if\nshe would have told him something. Next moment, she was down upon her\nknees before the basket of packages which John had brought in from his\ncart. Perhaps some of them would be called for; the others he would\ndeliver in the morning.\n\n\u201cThere are not many of them to-night, John. Why, what\u2019s this round box?\nHeart alive, John, it\u2019s a wedding-cake!\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave a woman to find that out,\u201d said John admiringly. \u201cNow, a man\nwould never have thought of it! But it\u2019s my belief that if you packed\na wedding cake in a tea-chest, or in a feather bed, or in salmon-keg,\na woman would be sure to find it out directly. Yes, I called for it at\nthe pastry-cook\u2019s.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd it weighs, I don\u2019t know what--whole hundred weights!\u201d cried Dot,\nmaking a great show of trying to lift it. \u201cWhose is it, John? Where is\nit going?\u201d\n\n\u201cRead the writing on the other side,\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cWhy, John! My goodness, John!\u201d exclaimed Dot.\n\n\u201cAh! Who\u2019d have thought it!\u201d John returned.\n\n\u201cYou never mean to say,\u201d asked Dot, sitting on the floor and shaking\nher head at him, \u201cthat it\u2019s for Gruff and Tackleton, the toy-maker!\u201d\n\nJohn nodded. Mrs. Peerybingle nodded also, fifty times at least--in\ndumb and pitying amazement.\n\nAnd Tilly Slowboy, the nurse-maid, and helper of all work, began to\ntalk in an undertone to the baby, who had awakened, as she walked to\nand fro with him in her arms: \u201cWas it for Gruffs and Tackletons, then,\nand would it call at the pastry-cooks\u2019 for wedding cakes, and did its\nmothers know the boxes when its fathers brought them home;\u201d and so on.\n\n\u201cAnd that marriage is really to come about!\u201d said Dot, after seeing\nthat the baby was all right. \u201cWhy, she and I were girls at school\ntogether, John.\u201d\n\nJohn might have been thinking of how Dot looked then, but he made no\nanswer.\n\n\u201cAnd he\u2019s as old! As unlike May! Why, how many years older than you is\nGruff and Tackleton, John?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many more cups of tea shall I drink at one sitting than Gruff\nand Tackleton ever took in four sittings, I wonder!\u201d replied John\ngood-humoredly.\n\nBut even this brought no smile to the face of his little wife. The\ncricket, too, had stopped. Somehow the room was not so cheerful as it\nhad been. Nothing like it.\n\n\n_The Strange Old Gentleman_\n\n\u201cSo these are all the parcels, are they, John?\u201d she asked, after a\nlittle while; \u201cso these are all the parcels, John?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s all,\u201d said John. \u201cWhy--no--I--I declare--I\u2019ve clean forgotten\nthe old gentleman!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe old gentleman?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the cart,\u201d said John. \u201cHe was asleep, down in the straw, the last\ntime I saw him. I\u2019ve very nearly remembered him twice since I came in;\nbut he went out of my head again.\u201d\n\nJohn hastily rose and lighting a candle went out the door. \u201cHalloa!\nYahip there! Rouse up! That\u2019s my hearty!\u201d he called as he made his way\nto the wagon-shed.\n\nSoon the Stranger stood, bareheaded and motionless in the middle of\nthe room. He had long white hair, good features, singularly bold and\nwell-defined for an old man. His eyes were dark and bright and smiling.\nHe saluted the carrier\u2019s wife by gravely bowing.\n\nHis clothes were very quaint and old-fashioned, a long, long way behind\nthe time. Their color was brown, all over. In his hand he carried a\ngreat brown club or walking-stick. He struck this upon the floor and it\nfell open and became a chair on which he sat down quite composedly.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d said the carrier, turning to his wife. \u201cThat\u2019s the way I found\nhim, sitting by the roadside! Upright as a milestone, and almost as\ndeaf as one!\u201d\n\n\u201cSitting in the open air, John!\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the open air,\u201d replied the carrier, \u201cjust at dusk. \u2018Will you take\nme along?\u2019 he asked, and gave me eighteen pence. Then he got into the\ncart. And here he is.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s going, John, I think!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cIF YOU PLEASE, I WAS TO BE LEFT TILL CALLED FOR\u201d]\n\nNot at all. He was only going to speak.\n\n\u201cIf you please, I was to be left till called for,\u201d said the Stranger,\nmildly. \u201cDon\u2019t mind me.\u201d\n\nWith that he took a pair of spectacles from one of his large pockets,\nand a book from another, and leisurely began to read. Boxer, the\ncarrier\u2019s big dog, came sniffing at his legs, but he took no more\nnotice of Boxer than if he had been a lamb.\n\nThe carrier and his wife glanced at each other in perplexity. The\nStranger raised his head; and looking from Dot toward John, said:\n\n\u201cYour daughter, my good friend?\u201d\n\n\u201cWife,\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cNiece?\u201d asked the Stranger.\n\n\u201cWife,\u201d roared John.\n\n\u201cIndeed?\u201d observed the Stranger. \u201cSurely--very young!\u201d\n\nDot took the baby from the couch where Tilly Slowboy had laid him. The\nStranger quietly resumed his reading; but before he had read two lines,\nhe interrupted his reading to say to John:\n\n\u201cBaby yours?\u201d\n\nJohn gave a gigantic nod, equal to an answer given through a speaking\ntrumpet.\n\n\u201cGirl?\u201d asked the Stranger.\n\n\u201cBo-o-oy!\u201d roared John.\n\n\u201cAlso very young, eh?\u201d\n\nMrs. Peerybingle instantly spoke. \u201cTwo months and three da-ays.\nVaccinated just six weeks ago-o! Took very fine-ly! Considered by the\ndoctors a remarkably beautiful chi-ild! Equal to the general run of\nchildren at five months o-ld! Takes notice of everything. May seem\nimpossible to you, but true.\u201d\n\nHere the breathless little mother, who had been shrieking these short\nsentences into the old man\u2019s ear until her face was crimson, held the\nbaby up before him to prove her words, while Tilly Slowboy sprang\naround in cow-like gambols to amuse the infant, uttering words which\nsounded like \u201cKetcher! Ketcher!\u201d\n\n\u201cHark!\u201d said John. \u201cHe\u2019s called for, sure enough. There\u2019s some one at\nthe door. Open it, Tilly.\u201d\n\n\n_Caleb Plummer_\n\nBefore she could reach it, however, it was opened from the outside, for\nit was a primitive sort of door with a latch that any one could lift if\nhe chose. In came a little, meager, thoughtful, dingy-faced man.\n\nHe seemed to have made himself a great-coat from the burlap covering\nof some old box; for, when he turned to shut the door, and keep the\nweather out, one could read upon the back of the garment the letters\n\u201cG & T\u201d in large black capitals; also the word \u201cGLASS\u201d in smaller\ncapitals.\n\n\u201cGood-evening, John!\u201d said the little man. \u201cGood-evening, mum.\nGood-evening, Tilly! Good-evening, unbeknown! How\u2019s baby, mum? Boxer\u2019s\npretty well, I hope?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll well and thriving, Caleb,\u201d replied Dot. \u201cI am sure you need only\nlook at the dear child, for one, to know that.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure I only need look at you for another,\u201d said Caleb; \u201cor at\nJohn for another; or Tilly, as far as that goes; or certainly at Boxer.\u201d\n\n\u201cBusy just now, Caleb?\u201d asked the carrier.\n\n\u201cWhy, pretty busy, John,\u201d he returned. \u201cPretty much so. There\u2019s a lot\nof demand for Noah\u2019s Arks at present. I\u2019d like to be able to take more\npains in making the families, but I can\u2019t do it at the price. It would\nbe a satisfaction, though, to one\u2019s mind, to make it plain which was\nShems and Hams, and which was wives. Ah, well! Have you got anything in\nthe parcel line for me, John?\u201d\n\nThe carrier put his hand into the pocket of the coat he had taken off,\nand brought out a tiny flower-pot, carefully wrapped in moss and tissue\npaper.\n\n\u201cThere it is!\u201d he said, adjusting it with great care. \u201cNot so much as a\nleaf damaged. Full of buds!\u201d\n\nCaleb\u2019s dull eye brightened as he took it, and thanked him.\n\n\u201cIt was expensive, Caleb,\u201d said the carrier. \u201cVery dear at this season.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that. It would be cheap to me, whatever it cost,\u201d returned\nthe little man. \u201cAnything else, John?\u201d\n\n\u201cA small box,\u201d replied the carrier. \u201cHere you are!\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018For Caleb Plummer,\u2019\u201d read the old man, spelling out the directions.\n\u201c\u2018With Cash!\u2019 With cash, John? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s for me!\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018With Care,\u2019\u201d corrected the carrier, looking over his shoulder. \u201cWhere\ndo you make out \u2018cash\u2019?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! To be sure!\u201d said Caleb. \u201cIt\u2019s all right. \u2018With Care!\u2019 Yes, yes;\nthat\u2019s mine. It might have been \u2018With Cash,\u2019 if my dear boy in South\nAmerica had lived, John. You loved him like a son; didn\u2019t you? You\nneedn\u2019t say you did. I know, of course.\u201d\n\nHe read again, \u201c\u2018Caleb Plummer. With Care.\u2019 Yes, yes; it\u2019s all right.\nIt\u2019s a box of dolls\u2019 eyes for my daughter\u2019s work. I wish it was her own\nsight in a box, John!\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish it was, or could be,\u201d cried the carrier.\n\n\u201cThankee,\u201d said the little man. \u201cYou speak very hearty. To think that\nshe should never see the dolls--and them a staring at her so bold, all\nday long! That\u2019s where it cuts. What\u2019s the cost, John,--what\u2019s the\ndamage?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll damage you,\u201d said John, \u201cif you ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s like you to say that,\u201d observed the little man. \u201cIt\u2019s your\nkind way. Let me see. I think that\u2019s all.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think not,\u201d said the carrier. \u201cTry again.\u201d\n\n\u201cSomething for our governor, eh?\u201d asked Caleb after thinking a little\nwhile. \u201cTo be sure. That\u2019s what I came for; but my head\u2019s so full of\nthem Noah\u2019s Arks and things! He hasn\u2019t been here, has he?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot he,\u201d returned the carrier. \u201cHe\u2019s too busy, courting.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s coming, though,\u201d said Caleb; \u201cfor he told me to keep on the near\nside of the road going home, and it was ten to one he\u2019d take me up. I\u2019d\nbetter go, by-the-way.\u201d\n\nHe turned to Dot. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t have the goodness to let me pinch\nBoxer\u2019s tail, mum, for half a moment, could you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, Caleb! What a question!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, never mind, mum,\u201d said the little man. \u201cHe mightn\u2019t like it,\nperhaps. There\u2019s a small order come in for toys--dogs that will bark;\nand I wish to go as close to nature as possible for a sixpence. That\u2019s\nall. Never mind, mum.\u201d\n\nIt happened that Boxer just at that moment began to bark with zeal.\nBut, as this bark meant the approach of some new visitor, Caleb,\npostponing his study of dogs\u2019 barks, shouldered the big round box\nof wedding cake and said good-by. He might have spared himself the\ntrouble, however, for he met his employer upon the threshold.\n\n\n_Tackleton_\n\n\u201cOh! You are here, are you? Wait a bit. I\u2019ll take you home!\u201d\n\nHe turned to John. \u201cJohn Peerybingle, my service to you. More of my\nservice to your pretty wife. Handsomer every day--and younger!\u201d\n\n\u201cI should be astonished at your paying compliments, Mr. Tackleton,\u201d\nsaid Dot, not altogether pleasantly, \u201cbut for what I have just heard\nabout you--being engaged to be married.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know all about it, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have gotten myself to believe it somehow,\u201d said Dot.\n\n\u201cAfter a hard struggle, I suppose?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery.\u201d\n\nTackleton, the toy merchant, was well known in the neighborhood. Many\npeople called him Gruff and Tackleton, the name of the firm when Gruff\nwas Tackleton\u2019s partner. Although Tackleton had bought out Gruff\u2019s\ninterest years before, the name still remained.\n\nIt was odd that such a man should have been a toy-maker, for he had no\ninterest in toys whatever. He despised them, and wouldn\u2019t have bought\none for the world. The only toys in his shop which he could abide were\nthe ugly ones. Hideous, red-eyed Jacks-in-Boxes, vampire kites, and\nfiery dragons really did give him some pleasure, for he saw that they\nscared little children. A very pleasant person, Tackleton! Not the kind\nof person you would think was going to be married, and to a young wife,\ntoo--a beautiful young wife.\n\nHe didn\u2019t look much like a bridegroom as he stood in the carrier\u2019s\nkitchen, with a twist in his dry face, and a screw in his body, and his\nhat jerked over the bridge of his nose, and his hands tucked down into\nthe bottom of his pockets, and his whole sarcastic, ill-conditioned,\nself--peering out of one little corner of one little eye, like the\nconcentrated essence of any number of ravens. But a bridegroom he was\ndesigned to be.\n\n\u201cIn three days\u2019 time--next Thursday--the last day of the first month of\nthe year--is my wedding day,\u201d said Tackleton.\n\nDid I mention that he had always one eye wide open and one eye nearly\nshut; and the eye nearly shut was always the expressive eye? I don\u2019t\nthink I did.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s my wedding-day!\u201d said Tackleton, rattling his money in his\npocket.\n\n\u201cWhy, that\u2019s the anniversary of our wedding, too!\u201d exclaimed the\ncarrier.\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed Tackleton. \u201cOdd! You\u2019re just such another couple as\nwe will be! Just!\u201d\n\nAt this speech, Dot was most indignant. What next would the man say? As\nthough her John resembled Tackleton in any particular!\n\n\u201cI say! A word with you,\u201d murmured Tackleton, nudging the carrier\nwith his elbow, and taking him off a little way. \u201cYou\u2019ll come to the\nwedding, won\u2019t you? We\u2019re in the same boat, you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow in the same boat?\u201d asked John.\n\n\u201cWhy, you\u2019re not so youthful as your wife, yourself,\u201d said Tackleton,\nwith another nudge. \u201cCome and spend an evening with us beforehand.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d demanded John, astonished at this hospitality.\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d returned the other. \u201cThat\u2019s a new way to receive an invitation.\nWhy--for pleasure--to be sociable, you know, and all that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought you were never sociable,\u201d said John, in his plain way.\n\n\u201cAs you like; what does it matter? Your company will produce a\nfavorable impression on Mrs. Tackleton that-will-be. You\u2019ll say you\u2019ll\ncome?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have arranged to keep our wedding day at home,\u201d said John. \u201cWe\nthink, you see, that home----\u201d\n\n\u201cBah! What\u2019s home?\u201d cried Tackleton. \u201cFour walls and a ceiling! Why\ndon\u2019t you kill that cricket? I would! I always do! I hate their noise!\nYou\u2019ll say you\u2019ll come, to-morrow evening?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou kill the crickets, eh?\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cScrunch \u2019em, sir,\u201d returned the other, setting his heel heavily on\nthe floor. \u201cThen you won\u2019t give us to-morrow evening? Well! Next day\nyou go out visiting, I know. I\u2019ll meet you there, and bring my wife\nthat-is-to-be. It\u2019ll do her good. You\u2019re agreeable? Thankee. What\u2019s\nthat?\u201d\n\n\n_Dot is Upset_\n\nIt was a loud cry from the carrier\u2019s wife; a loud, sharp, sudden\ncry, that made the room ring like a glass bell that was struck. She\nhad risen from her seat and stood like one transfixed by terror and\nsurprise. The Stranger had gone toward the fire to warm himself, but he\nwas quite still.\n\n\u201cDot!\u201d cried the carrier, \u201cDarling Dot! What\u2019s the matter?\u201d\n\nThey were all about her in a moment. Caleb, who had been dozing on the\ncake-box, in the first start, seized Tilly Slowboy by the hair, but\nimmediately apologized.\n\n\u201cMary!\u201d exclaimed the carrier, for Dot\u2019s real name was Mary, Dot being\nonly a pet name of her husband\u2019s. \u201cMary dear, are you ill? What is it?\nTell me, dear.\u201d\n\nBut at first she could not answer. She wept bitterly, and covered her\nface with her apron; then burst into a wild fit of laughter, and then\nstarted crying again. At length she let John lead her to the fire,\nwhere she sat down. The old man was standing there as before.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m better, John,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m quite well. It was only a fancy,\nsomething coming before my eyes. It\u2019s gone, quite gone now.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why did she look at the old gentleman, as if addressing him?\u201d\nthought John. \u201cWas her mind wandering?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad it\u2019s gone,\u201d muttered Tackleton, turning the expressive eye\naround the room. \u201cI wonder where it\u2019s gone, and what it was. Humph,\nCaleb, come here! Who\u2019s that man with the gray hair?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, sir,\u201d Caleb answered in a whisper. \u201cNever saw him before\nin all my life. He\u2019d make a beautiful figure for a nut-cracker; quite a\nnew model.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot ugly enough!\u201d said Tackleton.\n\n\u201cOr a match-safe,\u201d Caleb continued. \u201cWhat a model! Unscrew his head to\nput the matches in. Let them fall down to his neck, and take out.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot half ugly enough,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cNothing in him at all. Come!\nBring that box! All right now, I hope, Mrs. Peerybingle?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, quite right! Quite right!\u201d said the little woman, waving him\nhurriedly away. \u201cGood-night!\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-night,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cGood-night, John Peerybingle! Take care\nhow you carry that box, Caleb. Let it fall and I\u2019ll murder you! Dark as\npitch, and weather worse than ever, eh? Good-night!\u201d\n\nSo, with another sharp look round the room, he went out the door,\nfollowed by Caleb with the wedding cake on his head.\n\nThe carrier had been so much astonished by his little wife, and so\nbusily trying to sooth her that he had scarcely been conscious of the\nStranger\u2019s presence until now, when he looked up and saw him standing\nthere, their only guest!\n\n\u201cHe don\u2019t belong to them, you see,\u201d said John. \u201cI must give him a hint\nto go.\u201d\n\nJust at that moment the old gentleman came toward him, saying, \u201cI\nbeg your pardon, friend, but since my attendant has not come and the\nweather is so bad, can you, in your kindness, let me rent a bed here?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes!\u201d cried Dot. \u201cYes! Certainly!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d exclaimed the carrier, surprised by the quickness of her consent.\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t object; still I\u2019m not quite sure--\u201d\n\n\u201cHush!\u201d she interrupted. \u201cDear John, please.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, he\u2019s stone deaf,\u201d urged John.\n\n\u201cI know, but--\u201d She turned to the Stranger. \u201cYes, sir, certainly. Yes!\nCertainly!\u201d Then to John. \u201cI\u2019ll make him up a bed directly, John.\u201d\n\nAs she hurried off to do it, the fluttering way she did it was so\nstrange that the carrier looked after her, quite dumfounded.\n\n\u201cDid its mothers make up a beds then?\u201d cried Tilly Slowboy to the baby;\n\u201cand did its hair grow brown and curly when its caps was lifted off,\nand frighten it, as precious pets, a-sitting by the fire?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat frightened Dot, I wonder?\u201d thought the carrier, pacing to and\nfro, and half listening to Tilly\u2019s silly chatter.\n\nThe bed was soon made ready, and the Stranger, who would not take\nanything but a cup of tea, retired.\n\nAfter Dot put the baby to bed, she arranged the great comfortable\nfireside chair for the carrier, and filled his pipe for him. Then she\nbrought her little stool and, placing it beside his knee, sat down for\na cozy chat.\n\nBut the carrier fell to dreaming, and Boxer, who was stretched at his\nfeet, I am quite ashamed to say, snored aloud. Just then the cricket\nbegan its song, and Dot, too, fell a-dreaming.\n\n * * * * *\n\nBut what was that young figure of a man which remained there, singly\nand alone? Why did it linger still, so near her with its arm upon the\nchimney-piece, ever repeating in a whisper, \u201cMarried! and not to me!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXXV\n\nCHIRP THE SECOND\n\n\n_Bertha, the Blind Girl, and Her Father_\n\nCALEB PLUMMER, the toy-maker, and his blind daughter lived all alone\nby themselves, as the Story Books say, in a little cracked nutshell of\na wooden house, close to the big establishment of Gruff and Tackleton,\nthe toy merchants.\n\nI have said that Caleb and his poor blind daughter lived here. I should\nhave said that Caleb lived here, and his poor blind daughter lived\nsomewhere else--in a sort of enchanted fairyland, where no shabbiness\nor poverty or trouble ever entered; for Caleb, in the magic of his\ndevoted, deathless love for his daughter, played a little game of\n\u201cPretend\u201d which made the blind girl think their home beautiful, her\nfather rich and handsome, and that nothing was lacking which they\nneeded.\n\nThe blind girl never knew that the ceilings were broken and the walls\nblotched, and bare of plaster here and there, the beams warped and\nbending because of age. The blind girl never knew that the woodwork was\nrotting and the paper peeling off the walls, and the little building\nwithering away.\n\nThe blind girl never knew that the dishes were ugly and cracked, and\nthe carpets threadbare; that sorrow and faint-heartedness were in the\nhouse; that Caleb\u2019s scanty hairs were turning grayer, and more gray,\nbefore her sightless face.\n\nThe blind girl never knew that they had a master, cold, exacting, and\nnot caring how they got along--never knew that Tackleton was Tackleton,\nin fact. For Caleb led her to think his rough words were meant for\njokes; that he was very good to them, and had a peculiarity in that he\ncould not bear to be thanked for any favor he had done.\n\nYou know why he did this. It was because he felt so sorry for poor\nblind Bertha that he deceived her into thinking everything lovely and\nfair in order that she might be happier. He, too, had had a cricket\nsinging on the hearth when his motherless girl was very young, and when\nhe listened to its music, he made up his mind to cheer the little one\u2019s\ndark way by every means he could devise.\n\nCaleb and his daughter were at work together in their usual working\nroom, which served them for their ordinary living room as well; and a\nstrange place it was.\n\nThere were houses in it, furnished and unfurnished, for dolls of all\nstations in life. Nice houses for dolls of moderate means; smaller\nhouses for dolls not so well off; fine town residences for dolls of\nhigh estate. Some of the houses were already furnished with a view to\nthe conveniences of dolls of limited income; others could be furnished\non notice from the shelves nearby which were full of chairs and tables,\nsofas, bedsteads, and other articles of furniture.\n\nThen there were many dolls themselves of all kinds and from all\nstations in life.\n\nThere were various other samples of his handicraft besides dolls and\ndolls\u2019 houses in Caleb Plummer\u2019s room. There were Noah\u2019s Arks in which\nthe birds and beasts were an uncommonly tight fit, I assure you.\nThere were scores of little carts, which, when the wheels went round,\nperformed most doleful music. There were small fiddles and drums, and\nno end of cannon, shields and spears.\n\nThere were little fellows in red breeches who would tumble down head\nfirst along a piece of tape. There were old gentlemen dolls who would\nfly over trapeze bars when pressed in the right place. There were\nbeasts of all sorts; horses, in particular, of every breed, from the\nlittle spotted gray on four legs, to the thoroughbred rocked on his\nhighest mettle.\n\n[Illustration: THERE WERE HOUSES IN IT, FURNISHED AND UNFURNISHED,\nFOR DOLLS OF ALL STATIONS IN LIFE]\n\nThere were dozens and dozens of other little toys, but you already can\nimagine how the room looked.\n\nIn the midst of all these objects, Caleb and his daughter sat at work;\nthe blind girl busy as a doll\u2019s dressmaker; Caleb painting a desirable\ndoll\u2019s family mansion.\n\n\u201cSo you were out in the rain last night, Father, in your beautiful new\ngreat-coat,\u201d said Caleb\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u201cIn my beautiful new great-coat,\u201d answered Caleb, glancing toward a\nclothes-rack in the room on which the burlap garment was carefully hung\nto dry.\n\n\u201cHow glad I am you bought it, Father! And such a stylish tailor!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s too good for me,\u201d said Caleb.\n\nThe blind girl rested from her work and laughed with delight. \u201cToo\ngood, Father! What can be too good for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m half ashamed to wear it, though,\u201d said Caleb, watching the effect\nof what he said on her brightening face, \u201cupon my word! When I hear the\nboys and people say behind me, \u2018Hallo! Here\u2019s a swell!\u2019 I don\u2019t know\nwhich way to look. And when the beggar wouldn\u2019t go away last night;\nand when I said I am a very common man, said, \u2018No, Your Honor! Bless\nYour Honor, don\u2019t say that!\u2019 I was quite ashamed. I really felt as if I\nhadn\u2019t a right to wear it.\u201d\n\nHappy blind girl! How merry she was with the idea!\n\n\u201cI see you, Father,\u201d she said, clasping her hands, \u201cas plainly as if I\nhad the eyes I never want when you are with me. A blue coat----\u201d\n\n\u201cBright blue,\u201d said Caleb.\n\n\u201cYes, yes! Bright blue!\u201d exclaimed the girl, turning up her radiant\nface; \u201cthe color I can just remember in the blessed sky! You told me it\nwas blue before. A bright blue coat----\u201d\n\n\u201cMade loose to the figure,\u201d suggested Caleb.\n\n\u201cYes! loose to the figure!\u201d cried the blind girl, laughing heartily;\n\u201cand in it, you, dear Father, with your merry eye, your smiling face,\nyour free step, and your dark hair--looking so young and handsome!\u201d\n\n\u201cThere! There!\u201d said Caleb, \u201cI shall be vain presently.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think you are already!\u201d cried the blind girl, pointing at him in her\nglee. \u201cI know you, Father! Ha, ha, ha! I\u2019ve found you out, you see!\u201d\n\nHow different the picture in her mind from Caleb as he sat observing\nher. She had spoken of his free step. She was right in that. For years\nand years he had never once crossed their threshold with his own slow\npace, but with a footfall free and sprightly, for her to hear; and\nnever, even when his heart was heaviest, had he forgotten the light\ntread that was to render her own so cheerful and courageous.\n\n\u201cThere we are,\u201d said Caleb, falling back a step or two to better judge\nhis work. \u201cIt\u2019s a pity the whole front of this doll\u2019s house opens at\nonce! If there was only a staircase in it, now, and regular doors to\ngo in at! But that\u2019s the worst of my work, I\u2019m always trying to make\nbelieve!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are speaking quite softly. Are you tired, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cTired?\u201d echoed Caleb with a great burst of enthusiasm. \u201cWhat should\ntire me, Bertha? I was never tired. What does it mean?\u201d\n\nTo give greater force to his words, he checked himself in the middle of\na yawn, and began to hum a song. He sang it with a pretended care-free\nmanner that made his face look a thousand times more meagre and more\nthoughtful than before.\n\n\n_Tackleton Comes In_\n\nJust then Tackleton put his head in at the door. \u201cWhat! You\u2019re singing,\nare you?\u201d he thundered. \u201cGo it! I can\u2019t sing!\u201d\n\nNobody would have suspected that he could. He hadn\u2019t a singing face by\nany means.\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t afford to sing,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cI\u2019m glad you can. I hope\nyou can afford to work, too. Hardly time for both, I should think.\u201d\n\nCaleb turned toward his daughter, and said in a low tone, \u201cIf you could\nonly see him, Bertha, how he\u2019s winking at me. Such a man to joke! You\u2019d\nthink, if you didn\u2019t know him, he was in earnest--wouldn\u2019t you now?\u201d\n\nThe blind girl smiled and nodded.\n\n\u201cThe bird that can sing and won\u2019t sing, must be made to sing,\u201d grumbled\nTackleton. \u201cWhat about the owl that can\u2019t sing, and oughtn\u2019t to sing,\nand will sing. Is there anything that he should be made to do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe way he\u2019s winking at me this moment!\u201d whispered Caleb to his\ndaughter. \u201cOh, my gracious!\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways merry and light-hearted with us!\u201d cried the smiling Bertha.\n\n\u201cOh, you\u2019re there, are you?\u201d answered Tackleton. \u201cPoor idiot!\u201d\n\nHe really did believe she was an idiot; and, strange to say, he thought\nher an idiot because she was fond of him.\n\n\u201cWell! being there, how are you?\u201d said Tackleton, in his grudging way.\n\n\u201cOh, well; quite well. And as happy as even you could wish me to be--as\nhappy as you would make the whole world, if you could.\u201d\n\n\u201cPoor idiot!\u201d muttered Tackleton. \u201cNo gleam of reason! Not a gleam!\u201d\n\nThe blind girl took his hand, and held it a moment in her own two\nhands, and laid her cheek against it tenderly, before releasing it.\nThere was so much affectionate gratitude in the act, that Tackleton\nhimself was moved to say, in a milder growl than usual:\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter now?\u201d\n\n\u201cI stood the little plant beside my pillow when I went to sleep last\nnight, and remembered it in my dreams. When the day came, and the\nglorious red sun--the red sun, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cRed in the mornings and in the evenings, Bertha,\u201d said poor Caleb,\nwith a woeful glance at his employer.\n\n\u201cWhen it rose, and bright light came into the room, I turned the little\ntree towards it, and blessed Heaven for making such precious things,\nand blessed you for sending it to cheer me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhew!\u201d said Tackleton under his breath, \u201cwe\u2019re getting on! The next\nthing will be the padded cell.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile Caleb looked as if he were uncertain whether Tackleton had\ndone anything deserving of praise or not. Yet he knew that with his own\nhands he had brought the little rose tree home for her so carefully,\nand that with his own lips he had made her believe that it was a gift\nfrom Tackleton, in order to keep her from suspecting how much he every\nday denied himself to save the money it cost--that she might be the\nhappier.\n\n\u201cBertha!\u201d said Tackleton, with for once a show of cordiality, \u201cCome\nhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I can come straight to you. You needn\u2019t guide me!\u201d\n\n\u201cShall I tell you a secret, Bertha?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will,\u201d she answered eagerly.\n\nHow bright the darkened face looked! How anxious the listening head!\n\n\u201cThis is the day on which that spoiled child, John Peerybingle\u2019s wife,\npays her regular visit to you--makes what she calls her \u2018picnic\u2019 here,\nain\u2019t it?\u201d said Tackleton, with a look of distaste for the affair.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied Bertha, \u201cthis is the day.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought so,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cI should like to join the party.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you hear that, Father?\u201d cried Bertha in delight.\n\n\u201cYes, yes, I heard it,\u201d murmured Caleb, with the look somewhat of a\nsleepwalker, \u201cbut I don\u2019t believe it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Tackleton, \u201cI--I want to bring the Peerybingles a\nlittle more into the company of May Fielding, for I am going to be\nmarried to May.\u201d\n\n\u201cMarried!\u201d cried the blind girl, starting from him.\n\n\u201cOh! She\u2019s such a confounded idiot,\u201d muttered Tackleton, \u201cthat I was\nafraid she\u2019d never comprehend. Ah, yes, Bertha! Married! Church,\nparson, clerk, bells, satin, veils, and all the rest of the tomfoolery.\nA wedding, you know; a wedding. Don\u2019t you know what a wedding is?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d replied the blind girl gently. \u201cI understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you?\u201d muttered Tackleton. \u201cIt\u2019s more than I expected.\u201d Then\naloud: \u201cWell, on that account I want to join the party, and bring May\nand her mother. I\u2019ll send in a little something or other before the\nafternoon--a cold leg of mutton, or some comfortable trifle of that\nsort. You\u2019ll expect me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she answered, turning away.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think you will,\u201d muttered Tackleton, looking at her; \u201cfor you\nseem to have forgotten all about it already. Caleb!\u201d\n\n\u201cI may venture to say I\u2019m here, I suppose,\u201d thought Caleb. \u201cSir?\u201d\n\n\u201cTake care she don\u2019t forget what I\u2019ve been saying to her.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe never forgets,\u201d returned Caleb; \u201cit\u2019s one of the few things she\nain\u2019t clever in.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018Every man thinks his geese swans\u2019,\u201d observed the toy merchant, with a\nshrug of his shoulders. \u201cPoor idiot!\u201d\n\nHaving delivered this remark with much contempt, old Gruff and\nTackleton went out.\n\n\n_Bertha\u2019s Eyes_\n\nBertha remained where he had left her, lost in thought. The gayety had\nvanished from her face, and it was very sad. Three or four times she\nshook her head as if bewailing some loss.\n\nIt was not until Caleb had been busy for some time in yoking a team\nof wooden horses to the tongue of a little wooden wagon by the simple\nmeans of nails, driven through the vital parts of their bodies, that\nshe drew near his work-bench, and, sitting down beside him, said:\n\u201cFather, I am lonely. I want to borrow your eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere they are,\u201d said Caleb. \u201cAlways ready. They are more yours than\nmine, Bertha, any hour in the four-and-twenty. What shall your eyes do\nfor you, dear?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy patient, willing eyes!\u201d the blind girl said. \u201cWill they look around\nthe room, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, no sooner said than done, Bertha.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s much the same as usual,\u201d said Caleb. \u201cHomely, but snug. The gay\ncolors on the walls; the bright flowers on the plates and other dishes;\nthe shining wood, where there are no panels; the general cheerfulness\nand neatness of the building; all make it very pretty.\u201d\n\nCheerful and neat it was, wherever Bertha\u2019s hands could busy\nthemselves, but nowhere else were cheerfulness and neatness possible\nin the old crazy shed which Caleb\u2019s fancy painted with such pleasant\ndescription.\n\n\u201cYou have your working clothes on, and are not so gallant as when you\nwear the handsome coat?\u201d said Bertha, touching him.\n\n\u201cNot quite so gallant,\u201d answered Caleb. \u201cPretty lively, though.\u201d\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d said the blind girl, drawing close to his side, and putting\none arm around his neck, \u201ctell me something about May. Is she very\npretty?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is indeed,\u201d said Caleb. And she was indeed. It was quite a rare\nthing for Caleb not to draw upon his imagination.\n\n\u201cI can imagine her,\u201d said Bertha. \u201cHer hair is dark, darker than mine.\nHer voice is sweet and musical, I know. I have often loved to hear it.\nHer form----\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s not a doll in all the room can compare with her,\u201d said Caleb.\n\u201cAnd her eyes!\u201d\n\nHe stopped; for Bertha\u2019s arm around his neck had given a sudden\npressure. He coughed a moment; hammered a moment; then began to sing\nthe gay song about the sparkling bowl, a thing he always did when in\nsuch difficulties.\n\n\u201cNow, about your friend, our benefactor, Mr. Tackleton--I am never\ntired, you know, of hearing about him. Now, was I ever?\u201d she said\nhastily.\n\n\u201cOf course not!\u201d answered Caleb. \u201cAnd with reason.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, with much reason!\u201d cried the blind girl so fervently that Caleb\nbegan to doubt if he had been wise in deceiving her.\n\n\u201cTell me about him, dear father,\u201d said Bertha. \u201cMany times again! His\nface is kind and tender, honest and true, I am sure it is! The goodness\nin his heart shines out in his countenance.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd makes it noble,\u201d added Caleb, who was rather desperate by now.\n\n\u201cAnd makes it noble!\u201d cried the blind girl. \u201cHe is older than May,\nFather?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, quite a little older; but that don\u2019t signify,\u201d said Caleb.\n\n\u201cOh, no, Father! Just to think, she can do so much for him when he\ngrows old and infirm, and can nurse him if he gets ill, and help him in\nevery way. Will she do all this, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo doubt of it,\u201d said Caleb.\n\n\u201cI love her for that, Father. I love her with all my heart,\u201d exclaimed\nthe blind girl.\n\n\n_The Carrier\u2019s Cart_\n\nIn the meantime there had been a lively scene at John Peerybingle\u2019s,\nfor little Mrs. Peerybingle naturally couldn\u2019t think of going anywhere\nwithout the baby; and to get the baby ready took time.\n\nNot that there was so much of the baby, but there was so much to do\nabout it, and it all had to be done by easy stages. For instance, when\nthe baby was got, by hook or by crook, to a certain point in dressing,\nand you might have supposed that another touch or two would finish him\noff, and turn him out a tiptop baby, he was unexpectedly extinguished\nin a warm nightgown, and hustled off to bed; where he simmered, so to\nspeak, between sheets and blankets, for the best part of an hour.\n\nFrom this place of inaction, he was recalled, shining very much, and\nroaring violently, to partake of his luncheon. After which, he went to\nsleep again.\n\nThen Mrs. Peerybingle took the opportunity to make herself look as fine\nas possible, and Miss Slowboy put on her best bib-and-tucker.\n\nBy this time, the baby, being all alive again, was dressed by the\nunited efforts of Mrs. Peerybingle and Miss Slowboy, and put into his\ncream-colored coat and flannel cap; and so, in course of time, they all\nthree got to the door, where John\u2019s old horse stood tearing up the road\nwith impatient autographs, and from where Boxer might be seen a little\ndistance down the road, looking back, tempting the horse to come on\nwithout orders.\n\nIf you think that Mrs. Peerybingle needed a chair or anything of that\nkind to help her climb into the cart, you are mistaken, or you don\u2019t\nknow John Peerybingle, for before you could have seen him, he lifted\nher from the ground; and there she was in place, fresh and rosy,\nsaying, \u201cOh, John, how can you!\u201d\n\n\u201cAll ready?\u201d asked John, starting off, after Miss Slowboy and the baby\nwere in place.\n\n\u201cJohn, you\u2019ve got the basket with the veal-and-ham-pie and other\nthings?\u201d asked Dot. \u201cIf you haven\u2019t, you must turn around again this\nvery minute.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re a nice little article,\u201d replied the carrier, \u201cto be talking\nabout turning round after keeping me a full quarter of an hour behind\nmy time.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sorry for it, John,\u201d said Dot, \u201cbut I really could not think of\ngoing to Bertha\u2019s--I would not do it, John, on any account--without the\nveal-and-ham-pie and things. Whoa!\u201d This last word was addressed to the\nhorse, who didn\u2019t mind at all.\n\n\u201cOh, do turn round, John,\u201d begged Mrs. Peerybingle. \u201cPlease!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019ll be time enough to do that,\u201d said John, \u201cwhen I begin to leave\nthings behind me. The basket\u2019s here safe enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a hard-hearted monster you must be, John, not to have said so at\nonce, and saved me such a turn! I declare I wouldn\u2019t go to Bertha\u2019s\nwithout the veal-and-ham-pie and things for any money. Regularly, once\na fortnight, ever since we have been married we have had our little\npicnic. If anything were to go wrong with it, I should almost think we\nwere never to be lucky again.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was a kind thought in the first place,\u201d said the carrier, \u201cand I\nhonor you for it, little woman.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear John,\u201d replied Dot, turning very red, \u201cdon\u2019t talk about\nhonoring me. Good gracious!\u201d\n\n\u201cBy-the-bye--\u201d observed the carrier, \u201cthat old gentleman----\u201d\n\nDot looked embarrassed.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s an odd fish,\u201d said the carrier. \u201cI can\u2019t make him out. I don\u2019t\nbelieve there\u2019s any harm in him, though.\u201d\n\n\u201cNone at all. I\u2019m--I\u2019m sure there\u2019s none at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes?\u201d said the carrier, with his eyes attracted to her face because\nshe had spoken so earnestly. \u201cWell, I am glad you feel so certain about\nit, because it makes me feel surer. It\u2019s curious he should have taken\nit into his head to ask us for lodgings, ain\u2019t it? Things come about so\nstrangely.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo very strangely,\u201d she rejoined in a low voice, scarcely audible.\n\n\u201cHowever, he\u2019s a good-natured old gentleman,\u201d said John, \u201cand pays\nas a gentleman, and I think his word is to be relied upon, like a\ngentleman\u2019s. I had quite a long talk with him this morning. He can\nhear me better already he says, as he gets more used to my voice. He\ntold me a great deal about himself, and I told him a good deal about\nmyself; and a rare lot of questions he asked me. I told him about\nhaving two routes, you know, in my business; one day going to the right\nfrom our house and back again, another day going left from our house\nand back again (for he\u2019s a stranger, and don\u2019t know the names of the\nplaces about here); and he seemed quite pleased. \u2018Why,\u2019 he says, \u2018then\nI shall be returning your way to-night. I thought I\u2019d be coming in\nexactly the opposite direction. That\u2019s capital! I may trouble you for\nanother lift, perhaps, but I\u2019ll promise not to fall asleep again.\u2019 He\nwas sound asleep surely! Dot, what are you thinking of?\u201d\n\n\u201cThinking of, John? I--I was listening to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! that\u2019s all right!\u201d said the carrier. \u201cI was afraid, from the\nlook of your face, that I had gone rambling on so long as to set you\nthinking of something else. I was very near it, I\u2019ll be bound.\u201d\n\nDot making no reply, they jogged on for some time in silence. But it\nwas not very easy to remain silent long in John Peerybingle\u2019s cart, for\neverybody on the road had something to say, though it might only be,\n\u201cHow are you?\u201d and indeed it was very often nothing else. Sometimes\npassengers on foot or on horseback plodded on a little way beside the\ncart just for the pleasure of having a chat.\n\nThen, too, everybody knew Boxer, all along the road--especially the\nfowls and pigs, who, when they saw him coming, running with his body\nall on one side and his ears pricked up inquisitively, would make\ntracks and not wait for any nearer acquaintance. Wherever he went,\nsomebody or other might cry, \u201cHello! Here\u2019s Boxer!\u201d and with that, out\ncame at least two or three other somebodies to bid John Peerybingle and\nhis pretty wife good-day.\n\nThe packages and parcels to be delivered were as numerous as usual, and\nit required many stops to give them out. This was not the worst part\nof the journey by any means. Some people were so full of wonder about\ntheir parcels, and other people so full of directions about the parcels\nthey were sending off by John, and John took so keen an interest in all\nthe parcels, that it was as good as a play, and Dot thoroughly enjoyed\nit, as she looked on from her seat in the cart.\n\n[Illustration: THEY JOGGED ON FOR SOME TIME IN SILENCE]\n\nThe trip was a little foggy, to be sure, in the January weather; and\nwas raw and cold. But who cared for such trifles? Not Dot, decidedly.\nNot Tilly Slowboy, for she deemed sitting in a cart, on any terms, the\nhighest point of human joys. Not the baby, I\u2019ll be bound; for it\u2019s not\nin baby nature to be warmer or more sound asleep than the blessed young\nPeerybingle was, all the way.\n\nYou couldn\u2019t see very far in the fog, of course; but you could see a\ngreat deal! It\u2019s astonishing how much you may see in a thicker fog\nthan that, if you will only take the trouble to look for it. Why, even\nto sit looking for hazy fairy rings, and ghostly figures near the\nhedges and trees was a pleasant occupation, to make no mention of the\nunexpected shapes in which the trees themselves came out of the mists\nand glided in again.\n\nIn one place there was a great mound of weeds burning, and they watched\nthe fire flaring through the fog, with here and there a dash of red in\nit, until, because of getting \u201csmoke up her nose,\u201d as she explained,\nMiss Slowboy choked and woke the baby, who wouldn\u2019t go to sleep again.\nBut Boxer, who was in advance a quarter of a mile or so, had passed the\noutskirts of the town, and gained the corner of the street where Caleb\nand his daughter lived; and long before they reached the door, he and\nthe blind girl were on the pavement waiting to receive them.\n\n\n_The Party at Caleb\u2019s_\n\nMay Fielding was already there; and so was her mother, a little\nquerulous chip of an old lady with a peevish face. Gruff and Tackleton\nwas also there, pretending to be agreeable and perfectly at home, and\nreally quite as much out of his element as a fish out of water.\n\n\u201cMay! My dear old friend!\u201d cried Dot, running up to meet her. \u201cWhat\nhappiness to see you!\u201d\n\nHer old friend was as glad as she, and it really was, if you\u2019ll\nbelieve me, a pleasant sight to see them embrace each other. Tackleton\nhad shown taste, beyond all question. May was very pretty. And so\nwas Dot pretty. They simply set each other\u2019s beauty off and, as\nJohn Peerybingle came near saying, they ought to have been born\nsisters--which was the only improvement you could have suggested.\n\nTackleton had brought his leg of mutton, and, wonderful to relate, a\ntart beside--but he could afford such generosity this time; one doesn\u2019t\nget married every day. And in addition to these dainties, there were\nthe veal-and-ham-pie and \u201cthings,\u201d as Mrs. Peerybingle called them;\nwhich were chiefly nuts and oranges and cakes.\n\nWhen the repast was set forth on the table, together with Caleb\u2019s\ncontribution, a bowl of smoking potatoes, which was all he was allowed\nto provide, Tackleton led his future mother-in-law to the post of\nhonor. Why, she was gotten up for the occasion; even wearing gloves.\nCaleb sat next his daughter. Dot and her old school friend were side by\nside. The carrier took care of the bottom of the table. Miss Slowboy\nwas seated a little distance away, far from every other article of\nfurniture but the chair she sat on, that she might have nothing to\nknock the baby\u2019s head against. She was delighted not only to take care\nof the baby, but to stare around at the toys.\n\n\u201cAh, May,\u201d said Dot. \u201cDear, dear, what changes! To talk of those merry\nschool days makes one young again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, you ain\u2019t particularly old at any time, are you?\u201d said Tackleton.\n\n\u201cLook at my sober, plodding husband there,\u201d returned Dot. \u201cHe adds\ntwenty years to my age at least. Don\u2019t you, John?\u201d\n\n\u201cForty,\u201d John replied.\n\n\u201cHow many _you\u2019ll_ add to May\u2019s I am sure I don\u2019t know,\u201d said Dot,\nlaughing. \u201cBut she can\u2019t be much less than a hundred years of age on\nher next birthday.\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d laughed Tackleton. Hollow as a drum was the laugh, though.\nAnd he looked as if he could have twisted Dot\u2019s neck comfortably.\n\n\u201cDear, dear,\u201d said Dot. \u201cOnly think how we used to talk sometimes\nabout the husbands we would choose. I don\u2019t know how lively and gay\nmine was not to be! And as to May\u2019s--ah, dear! I don\u2019t know whether to\nlaugh or cry when I think what silly girls we were.\u201d\n\nMay seemed to know which to do, for the color flashed into her face and\ntears stood in her eyes.\n\n\u201cWe little thought how things would come about,\u201d said Dot. \u201cI never\nfixed on John, I\u2019m sure; I never so much as thought of him. And if I\nhad told you you were ever to be married to Mr. Tackleton--why, you\u2019d\nhave slapped me, wouldn\u2019t you, May?\u201d\n\nThough May didn\u2019t say yes, she certainly didn\u2019t say no, or express no,\nby any means.\n\nTackleton laughed--quite shouted, he laughed so loud. John Peerybingle\nlaughed too, in his ordinary, good-natured and contented manner; but\nhis was a mere whisper of a laugh compared to Tackleton\u2019s.\n\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t help yourselves for all that,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cYou\ncouldn\u2019t resist us, you see. Here we are! Here we are! Where are your\ngay young bridegrooms now?\u201d\n\n\u201cSome of them are dead,\u201d said Dot; \u201cand some of them forgotten. Some of\nthem, if they could stand among us at this moment, would not believe\nthat we are the same creatures, because they would not believe we\n_could_ forget them so. No! they would not believe one word of it!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, Dot!\u201d exclaimed the carrier. \u201cLittle woman!\u201d And Dot kept quiet,\nwhile Tackleton looked at her through his half-shut eye.\n\nMay uttered no word, good or bad, but sat quite still, with her eyes\ndowncast, and made no sign of interest in what had passed. Her mother,\nhowever, observed that girls were girls, and bygones were bygones, and\nthat so long as young people were young and thoughtless, they would\nprobably conduct themselves like young and thoughtless persons. She\nthen remarked that she thanked heaven that she had always found in May\na dutiful and obedient child, for which she took no credit to herself,\nthough she had every reason to believe it was owing to herself. With\nregard to Mr. Tackleton, she said that he was a son-in-law to be\ndesired, as no one in their senses could doubt.\n\nNow, the meal ended, John Peerybingle rose to go, for he only stopped\nto feed his horse, and to enjoy the social hour before finishing his\nroute. He would call for Dot on his way back. This was always the\nprogram on picnic days.\n\n\u201cGood-by,\u201d he said, pulling on his dreadnought coat. \u201cI shall be back\nat the usual time. Good-by, all.\u201d\n\nThen he called Boxer, and soon the old horse and the cart were making\nlively music down the road.\n\nCaleb and Bertha were talking together at one end of the room.\n\n\u201cSo bring me the precious baby, Tilly,\u201d said Dot, drawing a chair to\nthe fire; \u201cand while I have him in my lap, here\u2019s Mrs. Fielding, Tilly,\nwho will tell me all about the management of babies, and straighten\nme out in twenty points where I\u2019m as wrong as can be. Won\u2019t you, Mrs.\nFielding?\u201d\n\nHere Tackleton walked out, and Mrs. Fielding, sitting bolt upright in\nfront of Dot, gave her such a marvelous collection of receipts and\nrules that would, if Dot had carried them out, have utterly destroyed\nthe young Peerybingle, even if he had been an infant Samson.\n\nNow Dot brought her needlework out of her pocket, and had a whispering\nchat with May while the old lady dozed, and after a while Caleb and\nBertha joined them, and all found it a very short afternoon.\n\nThen as it grew dark, since it was the solemn rule that Bertha should\ndo no household tasks on the days of the picnics, Dot trimmed the fire,\nand swept the hearth, and set the tea-tray out, and drew the curtains,\nand lighted a candle. Then she played an air or two on a rude kind of\nharp which Caleb had made for Bertha, and played them very well; for\nNature had made her delicate little ear as choice a one for music as it\nwould have been for jewels--if she had had them to wear.\n\nBy this time, it was the usual hour for tea, and Tackleton came back\nagain, to share the meal and spend the evening.\n\nWhen it was night, and tea was over, and Dot had nothing more to do\nafter washing the cups and saucers--when the time drew near for the\ncarrier\u2019s return, Dot began to grow nervous. Every time she heard the\nsound of distant wheels, her color came and went, and she was restless.\nNot as good wives are when listening for their husbands. No, no, no. It\nwas a different sort of restlessness from that.\n\nSoon wheels were heard very near--horse\u2019s feet--the barking of a\ndog--and then the scratching of Boxer\u2019s paw.\n\n\u201cWhose step is that?\u201d cried Bertha, starting up.\n\n\u201c\u2018Whose step\u2019?\u201d said the carrier, standing in the door, his brown face\nruddy as a winter berry from the keen night air. \u201cWhy, mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe other step,\u201d Bertha said. \u201cThe man\u2019s tread behind you!\u201d\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s not to be deceived,\u201d observed the carrier, laughing. \u201cCome\nalong, sir. You\u2019ll be welcome, never fear!\u201d\n\n\n_The Shadow on the Hearth_\n\nHe spoke in a loud tone; and as he spoke, the deaf old gentleman\nentered.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s not so much a stranger that you haven\u2019t seen him once, Caleb,\u201d\nsaid the carrier. \u201cYou\u2019ll give him house-room till we go?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, surely, John, and take it as an honor.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s the best company on earth to talk secrets in,\u201d said John. \u201cI have\nreasonably good lungs, but he tried them, I\u2019ll tell you.\u201d Turning to\nthe old gentleman, he spoke in a loud voice again, \u201cSit down, sir. All\nfriends here, and glad to see you.\u201d\n\nThen he added in his natural tone, \u201cA chair in the chimney-corner, and\nleave to sit silent and look pleasantly about him is all he cares for.\nHe\u2019s easily pleased.\u201d\n\nBertha had been listening intently. She called Caleb to her side, and\nwhen he came, asked him, in a low voice, to describe their visitor.\nWhen he had done so, she moved away and showed no further interest in\nhim.\n\nThe carrier was in high spirits, good fellow that he was, and fonder of\nhis little wife than ever.\n\n\u201cSome folks may think it queer,\u201d he said jokingly, putting his rough\narm about her, as she stood apart from the others, \u201cbut I like this\nlittle lady somehow. Look yonder, Dot.\u201d\n\nHe pointed to the old man. She looked down. I think she trembled.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s--ha, ha, ha!--he is so fond of you that he talked of nothing else\nthe whole way here. I like him for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish he had a better subject, John,\u201d she said with an uneasy glance\nabout the room--at Tackleton especially.\n\n\u201cA better subject!\u201d cried the jovial John. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing.\nCome! Off with the great-coat, off with this thick shawl, off with the\nheavy wrappings! And now for a cozy half-hour by the fire. How would\nit please you, Mrs. Fielding, to have a game of cards, you and I? All\nright? Where are the cards, Dot--and will you let us have a cup of tea\nhere if there\u2019s any left, small wife?\u201d\n\nSoon the carrier and the old lady were deep within the game. At first\nthe carrier looked about him sometimes with a smile, or now and then\ncalled Dot to peep over his shoulder to advise him on some knotty\npoint. But soon he became so absorbed that he had neither eyes nor ears\nto spare, and his whole attention was upon the cards, and he thought of\nnothing else, until a hand was laid upon his shoulder.\n\n\u201cI am sorry to disturb you,\u201d said Tackleton in a low voice, \u201cbut I want\na word with you, please.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s my turn to deal,\u201d returned the carrier. \u201cCan you wait?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cCome on, man.\u201d\n\nThere was an expression in his pale face which made John rise\nimmediately, and ask him in a hurry what the matter was.\n\n\u201cHush, John Peerybingle,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cI am sorry for this. I am\nindeed. I have been afraid of it. I have suspected it from the first.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d asked the carrier in alarm.\n\n\u201cHush! I\u2019ll show you if you\u2019ll come with me.\u201d\n\nThe carrier accompanied him without another word. They went across\nthe yard, where the stars were shining, and by a little side door\nthey entered Tackleton\u2019s own counting-house. There, through a window,\nthey could look into a window of the wareroom where the boxes of toys\nwere kept. The counting-house was closed for the night, and there was\nno light, but a dim light was burning in the wareroom, so they could\neasily see within.\n\n\u201cWait a moment!\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cCan you bear to look through that\nwindow, do you think?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d asked the carrier.\n\n\u201cIt will be a shock,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cPromise not to do anything\nviolent.\u201d\n\nAnd then John looked, and what do you think he saw?\n\nHe saw his dear young wife with the old man--old no longer, but\nstraight and handsome, holding in his hands his soft white hair with\nwhich he had made every one think him old and treat him so kindly. He\nsaw her listening to him as he bent his head to whisper in her ear,\nand then let him place his arm about her waist and lead her slowly to\nthe door. He saw her, with her own hands, adjust the wig on his head,\nlaughing as she did so!\n\nJohn felt weak as an infant as Tackleton led him back to the house.\n\nHe was wrapped up to the chin and busy with his horse and parcels when\nshe came into the room, ready for going home.\n\n\u201cNow, John, dear! Good-night, May! Good-night, Bertha,\u201d she said.\n\nHow could she kiss them? How be so blithe and gay in her parting? Why\ndidn\u2019t she blush? Tackleton as well as John wondered.\n\nTilly was hushing the baby and as she walked to and fro, she was\nrepeating drowsily: \u201cDid they thought that it was to be its wives wring\nits heart almost to breaking? and did it weep all nights when nobody\nwas there to see it?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Tilly, give me the baby,\u201d said little Mrs. Peerybingle.\n\u201cGood-night, Mr. Tackleton. Where\u2019s John, for goodness\u2019 sake?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s going to walk beside the horse\u2019s head,\u201d said Tackleton, who\nhelped her into the cart.\n\n\u201cMy dear John! Walk?--to-night?\u201d\n\nThe muffled figure of her husband made a hasty sign; and the Stranger\nand nurse being by this time in their places, the old horse moved off,\nBoxer running on before, running back, running round and round the\ncart, and barking merrily.\n\nWhen Tackleton had gone off likewise, taking May and her mother, poor\nCaleb sat down by the fire beside his daughter. The toys that had been\nwound and set in motion for the baby had run down long ago. In the\nsilence one might have imagined that they had been stricken motionless\nwith wonder at Dot being false, or Tackleton beloved under any set of\ncircumstances.\n\nPresently Bertha spoke.\n\n\u201cAfter Mr. Tackleton is married, we shall not see so much of him, shall\nwe, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, we might--that is to say--\u201d began Caleb.\n\n\u201cHow I should love to be like May, Father, and have my eyes so that I\nmight serve him, might show my love for him, who has been so good, so\nkind, so dear.\u201d\n\nPoor Caleb! How often he said to himself as he looked at her, in\nremorse, \u201cHave I deceived her from her cradle, thinking to make her\nhappier, but to break her heart at last?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXXXVI\n\nCHIRP THE THIRD\n\n\n_John Listens to the Cricket_\n\nTHE Dutch clock in the corner struck ten, when the carrier sat down at\nhis fireside. So troubled was he that he scarcely heard the cuckoo as\nit counted off the strokes.\n\nHe could scarcely believe what his eyes had seen in the wareroom\nof Gruff and Tackleton. If any one had told him, he would not have\nbelieved his Dot could be a party to such dreadful deceit.\n\nYet, in his own heart, he did not blame her, but rather the old young\nman who had been so wickedly unfair, and he was planning to do him\nharm to pay him back. He hoped that Dot would be able to explain; but\nno--there really wasn\u2019t any hope of that.\n\nThere, she was coming.\n\nShe had been upstairs with the baby, putting it to bed.\n\nAs he sat brooding near the hearth, she came close to him, and put her\nlittle stool at his feet. He then felt her hand upon his own, and knew\nshe was looking up in his face.\n\nHe glanced at her. She looked as sweet as ever, until she caught\nthe expression on his face. At first she seemed surprised, then her\nsurprise changed in a wild recognition of his thoughts, and she simply\nbent her head and clasped her hands, but no words were said.\n\nAt length she rose and went away, and he felt glad, for the first time\nsince he had known her, to have her gone.\n\nThere was a gun hanging on the wall. He took it down, and moved toward\nthe Stranger\u2019s room. He put his hand to the door--when suddenly the\nstruggling fire burst into a glow of light, and the cricket on the\nhearth began to chirp.\n\nNo sound he could have heard, no human voice, not even hers, could so\nhave moved and softened him. The very words in which she had told him\nof her love for this same cricket were as if just spoken in her sweet,\npleasant voice, making household music; and they thrilled through and\nthrough his better nature, and awoke it into life and action.\n\nHe moved from the door like a man who had been walking in his sleep\nwhen awakening from a frightful dream. He put the gun aside. Clasping\nhis hands before his face, he sat down again beside the fire.\n\nThe cricket on the hearth came out into the room and stood in fairy\nshape before him.\n\n\u201c\u2018I love it\u2019,\u201d said the fairy voice, \u201c\u2018for the many times I have heard\nit, and the many thoughts its harmless music has given me\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe said so!\u201d cried the carrier. \u201cTrue!\u201d \u201c\u2018This has been a happy home,\nJohn; and I love the cricket for its sake.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s so sweet-tempered, so cheerful, busy, light-hearted. Otherwise I\nnever could have loved her as I did.\u201d\n\nThe voice, correcting him, said, \u201cdo.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou should trust her,\u201d the fairy voice said.\n\nAll night long he listened to the voice. All night long the household\nfairies were busy with him, showing him how sweet and dear she was; how\nhe had never found her untrue, or had reason to doubt her except this\nonce.\n\nHe rose up when it was broad day, and washed and tidied himself.\n\nHe could not go on his usual rounds, for it was Tackleton\u2019s wedding\nday. He had planned to go merrily to the church with Dot. But such\nplans were at an end. Ah! what a different wedding anniversary he had\nexpected!\n\n\n_John Blames Himself_\n\nThe carrier had thought that Tackleton would pay him an early visit,\nand he was right. He had just finished brushing his hair when he saw\nthe merchant in his carriage coming along the road. As the carriage\ndrew near he saw that Tackleton was dressed out sprucely for marriage,\nand that he had decorated his horse\u2019s head with flowers and favors.\n\nThe horse looked much more like a bridegroom than Tackleton, whose\nhalf-closed eye was more disagreeably expressive than ever. But the\ncarrier took little heed of this. His thoughts were elsewhere.\n\n\u201cJohn Peerybingle!\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cMy good fellow, how do you find\nyourself this morning?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have had but a poor night, Mr. Tackleton,\u201d said the carrier, shaking\nhis head, \u201cfor I have been a good deal disturbed in my mind. But it\u2019s\nover now! Can you spare me half an hour or so, for some private talk?\u201d\n\n\u201cI came on purpose,\u201d returned Tackleton lightly. \u201cNever mind the horse.\nHe\u2019ll stand quiet enough if you\u2019ll give him a mouthful of hay.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not to be married before noon, I think?\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered Tackleton. \u201cPlenty of time. Plenty of time.\u201d\n\nWhen they entered the kitchen, Tilly Slowboy was knocking at the\nStranger\u2019s door. One of her very red eyes was at the keyhole, for she\nhad been crying because her mistress cried. She was knocking very loud,\nand seemed frightened.\n\n\u201cIf you please, I can\u2019t make nobody hear,\u201d said Tilly, looking round.\n\u201cI hope nobody ain\u2019t gone and been and died, if you please.\u201d\n\nThis hope Miss Slowboy made more emphatic by kicking on the door, but\nit led to no result.\n\n\u201cShall I help?\u201d asked Tackleton, turning to John.\n\nThe carrier nodded his head.\n\nSo Tackleton went to the door and he, too, kicked and knocked; and he,\ntoo, failed to get any reply. But he thought of trying the handle of\nthe door, and as it opened easily, he peeped in, went in, and soon came\nrunning out again.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s gone!\u201d said Tackleton; \u201cand the window\u2019s open. I don\u2019t see any\nmarks--to be sure--or signs of a fight, but I thought perhaps you might\nhave been so angry----\u201d\n\nHe nearly shut up the expressive eye altogether, he looked at John so\nhard. And he gave his eye, and his face, and his whole body, a sharp\ntwist, as if he would have screwed the truth out of John.\n\n\u201cMake yourself easy,\u201d said the carrier. \u201cHe went into that room last\nnight without harm in word or act from me, and no one has entered it\nsince. He has gone away of his own free will.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Well, I think he has got off pretty easy,\u201d said Tackleton, taking\na chair.\n\nThe sneer was lost upon the carrier, who sat down, too, and shaded his\nface in his hand for some time before speaking.\n\n\u201cYou showed me last night,\u201d he said at length, \u201cmy wife, my dear wife\nthat I love, deceiving me, and meeting a strange man who had deceived\nme. I think there\u2019s no man in the world I wouldn\u2019t rather have had show\nit to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI confess I know that I am not a favorite in your home, John, because\nI never believed wholly in your pretty little wife,\u201d said Tackleton.\n\n\u201cAnd as you did show me, and as you saw her to such disadvantage, it is\nright you should know what my mind is on the subject. For it\u2019s settled,\nand nothing can change it.\u201d\n\nTackleton muttered a few words about its being necessary to decide, but\nhe was overawed by the manner of his companion. Plain and unpolished as\nit was, there was something noble and dignified about it.\n\n\u201cI am a plain, rough man,\u201d continued the carrier, \u201cwith very little to\nrecommend me. I am not a clever man, as you very well know. I am not\na young man. I loved my little Dot because I had seen her grow up from\na child, in her father\u2019s house; because I knew how precious she was;\nbecause she had been in my life for years and years.\u201d\n\nHe paused a moment, then went on.\n\n\u201cI often thought that though I wasn\u2019t good enough for her, I should\nmake her a kind husband, and perhaps appreciate her better than\nanother. And so it came about we were married.\u201d\n\n\u201cHah!\u201d said Tackleton, with a shake of his head.\n\n\u201cI knew how much I loved her, and how happy I should be,\u201d continued the\ncarrier; \u201cbut I had not sufficiently considered her.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cNo; you didn\u2019t stop to think how giddy,\nfrivolous, fickle, vain! Hah!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019d better not interrupt me,\u201d said the carrier, with some sternness,\n\u201ctill you understand me, which you seem far from doing.\u201d\n\nThe toy merchant looked at him in surprise.\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t consider that I took her, at her age, with her beauty, away\nfrom her young companions and their many scenes of pleasure into my\ndull house and my tedious society. I didn\u2019t consider how little suited\nI was to her fun and humor, and how wearisome I must be to one of her\nquick spirit. No! I took advantage of her hopeful nature, and I married\nher. I shouldn\u2019t have done so!\u201d\n\nThe toy merchant gazed at him without winking. Even the half-shut eye\nwas now open.\n\n\u201cHeaven bless her!\u201d said the carrier, \u201cfor the cheerful way she has\ntried not to let me see how it was! Heaven help me, that, in my slow\nmind I have not found it out before. Poor child! Poor Dot! Strange I\ndid not realize when I have seen her eyes fill with tears on hearing of\nsuch a marriage as our own spoken of. How good and kind she has been!\nThe thought will comfort me when I am here alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere alone?\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cThen you do mean to take some notice of\nher deceit?\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean,\u201d answered the carrier, \u201cto do her the greatest kindness in my\npower--to try to make it all up to her. She shall be free to go where\nshe will.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake it up to her!\u201d exclaimed Tackleton, twisting and turning his\ngreat ears with his hands. \u201cI must have heard wrong. You didn\u2019t say\nthat, of course.\u201d\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t I speak plainly?\u201d said the carrier, giving the toy merchant a\nshake.\n\n\u201cVery plainly indeed,\u201d answered Tackleton.\n\n\u201cAs if I meant it?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery much as if you meant it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnger and distrust have left me,\u201d said the carrier; \u201cand nothing but\nmy grief remains. In an unhappy moment some old lover, better suited\nto her years than I, returned. Last night she saw him in the interview\nwe witnessed. It was wrong. But otherwise than this, she is innocent\nif there is truth on earth! I should not have taken her from her home.\nShe shall return to it, and I will trouble her no more. Her father and\nmother will be here to-day, and they shall take her home. This is the\nend of what you showed me. Now, it\u2019s over.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, John, not over. Do not say it\u2019s over yet. Not quite yet. I\nheard your noble words. I could not steal out again, letting you think\nme ignorant of what you said. Do not say it\u2019s over--\u2019till the clock has\nstruck again!\u201d\n\nDot had entered quietly while John and Tackleton were talking, and had\nheard every word.\n\n\u201cNo hand can make the clock which will strike again for me the hours\nthat are gone,\u201d replied the carrier, with a faint smile. \u201cBut let it be\nso, if you will, my dear.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell!\u201d muttered Tackleton. \u201cI must be off, for when it strikes again,\nI must be on my way to church. Good-by, John Peerybingle.\u201d\n\nThe carrier saw him to the door, watched his horse until it disappeared\nin the distance, and then went out himself.\n\nHis little wife, being left alone, sobbed piteously, but often dried\nher tears to say how good and dear he was!--and once or twice she\nlaughed through her tears so heartily and triumphantly that Tilly was\nquite horrified.\n\n\u201cOw, if you please, don\u2019t!\u201d said Tilly. \u201cIt\u2019s enough to dead and bury\nthe baby; so it is, if you please.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you bring him to see me sometimes,\u201d inquired her mistress, \u201cwhen\nI don\u2019t live here, and have gone to my old home?\u201d\n\n\u201cOw, if you please, don\u2019t!\u201d cried Tilly, throwing back her head. She\nlooked a great deal like Boxer when he howled. \u201cOw, if you please,\ndon\u2019t! What has everybody gone and been and done with everybody, making\neverybody so miserable? Ow-w-w!\u201d\n\n\n_Caleb Confesses His Deceit_\n\nAnd she might have kept on, if just at that moment Caleb Plummer had\nnot come in, leading his daughter.\n\n\u201cWhy, Mary\u201d (which was Dot\u2019s other name, you remember). \u201cWhy, Mary!\u201d\nsaid Bertha. \u201cNot at the wedding?\u201d\n\n\u201cI told her you would not be there, mum,\u201d whispered Caleb. \u201cI heard as\nmuch last night. But bless you,\u201d said the little man, \u201cI don\u2019t care\nwhat they say. I don\u2019t believe them. There ain\u2019t much of me, but what\nlittle there is would be torn to pieces sooner than I\u2019d believe a word\nagainst you!\u201d\n\nHe put his arms around her neck and hugged her very much as a child\nmight have hugged one of the dolls he had made.\n\n\u201cBertha wanted to come see you instead of going to the wedding,\u201d said\nCaleb, \u201cso we started in good time. I often wish I had not deceived\nher in regard to Tackleton, and I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that I\u2019d\nbetter tell her the truth. You\u2019ll stay with us while I tell her, won\u2019t\nyou, mum?\u201d he inquired, trembling from head to foot. \u201cI don\u2019t know what\neffect it may have upon her. I don\u2019t know what she\u2019ll think of me; I\ndon\u2019t know that she\u2019ll ever care for her father afterwards. But it\u2019s\nbest she should be undeceived, and I must bear the consequences as I\ndeserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cMary,\u201d said Bertha, \u201cwhere is your hand? I heard them speaking softly\nlast night of some blame against you. They were wrong. I told them so.\nI scorned to hear a word! I know and trust you, Mary, so well that\ncould my sight be restored at this instant, I could choose you from a\ncrowd--my sister!\u201d\n\nHer father went on one side of her, while Dot remained on the other,\nholding her hand.\n\n\u201cBertha, my dear,\u201d said Caleb, \u201cI have something on my mind I want to\ntell you while we three are alone. Listen kindly! I have a confession\nto make to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cA confession, Father?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, my child; I have wandered from the truth,\u201d said Caleb, with a\npitiable expression in his face. \u201cI have wandered from the truth,\nintending to be kind to you; and have been cruel.\u201d\n\nShe turned toward him, and repeated the word, \u201cCruel?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe accuses himself too strongly, Bertha,\u201d said Dot. \u201cYou\u2019ll say so,\npresently. You\u2019ll be the first to tell him so.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe, cruel to me?\u201d cried Bertha, with an unbelieving smile.\n\n\u201cNot meaning to be, my child,\u201d said Caleb, \u201cbut I have been, although\nI never knew it until yesterday. My dear blind daughter, forgive me.\nThe world, dear heart, is not as you imagine it. It is not as I have\nrepresented it. The eyes you have trusted in have been false to you.\u201d\n\nShe turned her wondering face toward him still, but drew back, and\nclung closer to her friend.\n\n\u201cYour road in life was rough, my poor one,\u201d said Caleb, \u201cand I meant to\nsmooth it for you. I have pictured things to you as different from what\nthey are. I have even changed the characters of some people, to make\nyou happier. I have surrounded you with fancies.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut living people are not fancies,\u201d she said, turning very pale. \u201cYou\ncan\u2019t change them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have done so, Bertha,\u201d Caleb told her. \u201cThere is one person you\nknow----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Father, why do you say I know?\u201d she said. \u201cI who am so miserably\nblind.\u201d\n\nShe stretched out her hands as if to feel her way.\n\n\u201cThe marriage that takes place to-day,\u201d Caleb continued, \u201cis with a\nstern, sordid, grinding man. He has been a hard master to you and me,\nmy dear, for many years. Ugly in his looks and in his nature. Cold and\ncallous always. Unlike what I have painted him to you in everything, my\nchild--in everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, why,\u201d cried the blind girl, \u201cwhy did you ever do this? Teach me to\nlove a person who really never existed? It is like death!\u201d\n\nHer poor father hung his head and offered no reply in his penitence and\nsorrow. Suddenly the cricket on the hearth, unheard by all but her,\nbegan to chirp, not merrily, but so mournfully that her tears began to\nflow; and when the fairy spirit which had been near the carrier all\nnight, appeared behind her, pointing toward her father, she turned to\nDot.\n\n\u201cMary,\u201d she said, \u201ctell me what my home is like--what it is truly.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a poor place, Bertha; very poor and bare indeed. The house will\nscarcely keep out the wind and rain another winter. It is as roughly\nshielded from the weather, Bertha,\u201d Dot continued in a low voice, \u201cas\nyour poor father in his sackcloth coat.\u201d\n\nThe blind girl, greatly agitated, rose and led the carrier\u2019s wife a\nlittle aside.\n\n\u201cThose presents that I treasured so much; that came almost at my wish,\u201d\nshe said, trembling; \u201cwhere did they come from? Did you send them?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho, then?\u201d\n\nDot saw she knew already, and was silent. The blind girl spread her\nhands before her face again, but in quite a different manner now.\n\n\u201cDear Mary, a moment, please. Speak softly. Tell me truly. Look across\nthe room to where we were sitting just now--to where my father is--my\nfather, so kind and loving to me--and tell me what you see.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d said Dot, who understood her well, \u201can old man sitting in a\nchair, and leaning over sorrowfully with his head resting in his hands.\nHe looks as if his child should comfort him, Bertha.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes. She will. Go on.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is an old man, worn with care and work. He is a sad, thoughtful,\ngray-haired man, who seems to have lost the object he most loved in the\nworld--his child for whom he lived.\u201d\n\nThe blind girl broke away from her, and dropping on her knees before\nhim, threw her arms around his neck.\n\n\u201cOh, my Father! My dear, dear Father!\u201d she cried. \u201cI have been so\nblind! But now my eyes are open. I never knew you. To think, I might\nhave died and never truly known the father who has been so loving to\nme!\u201d\n\nCaleb managed to say, \u201cMy Bertha!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd in my blindness, I believed him to be so different,\u201d said the\ngirl, still caressing him, \u201cso young and gay!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fresh, smart father in the blue coat--\u201d said poor Caleb, \u201che\u2019s\ngone!\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing is gone,\u201d she answered. \u201cDearest Father, no! Everything is\nhere--in you. But, Father----\u201d She hesitated.\n\n\u201cMary--Mary is just what you told me? There is no change in her? You\nnever told me anything of her that was not true?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should have done so, I\u2019m afraid,\u201d said Caleb, \u201cif I could have made\nher better than she was. But I must have changed her for the worse, if\nI had changed _her_ at all. Nothing could improve her, Bertha.\u201d\n\nThe blind girl was delighted with this reply, even though she had felt\nso sure of what it must be, and her renewed embrace of Dot was charming\nto behold.\n\n\n_The Dead Returns to Life_\n\nDot glanced at the clock, and saw that it was within a few minutes of\nstriking, and immediately became very excited.\n\n\u201cMore changes than you think for may happen, though,\u201d said Dot;\n\u201cchanges for the better, I mean; changes for great joy to some of us.\nYou mustn\u2019t let them startle you too much when they come. But listen!\nYou\u2019ve a quick ear, Bertha. Do you hear wheels upon the road?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes--coming very fast.\u201d\n\n\u201cI--I--I know you have a quick ear,\u201d said Dot, holding her hand to her\nheart and talking as fast as she could, \u201cbecause I have often noticed\nit, and because you were so quick to hear that strange step last night.\nThough why you should have taken such quick notice of it, and said,\n\u2018Whose step is that?\u2019 seems strange. But, as I said just now, there are\ngreat changes in this world; great changes, and we can\u2019t do better than\nprepare ourselves to be surprised at hardly anything.\u201d\n\nCaleb wondered what she meant, for he saw that she was speaking to him\nas much as to his daughter. He saw with astonishment, that she was\nfluttered and distressed, and could scarcely breathe, as she held to a\nchair to save herself from falling.\n\n\u201cThey are wheels indeed!\u201d she panted. \u201cComing nearer! Nearer! Very\nclose! And now you hear them stopping at the garden gate! And now you\nhear a step outside the door--the same step, Bertha--is it not?--and\nnow!----\u201d\n\nShe uttered a cry of delight; and running up to Caleb, put her hands\nover his eyes, as a young man rushed into the room, and flinging his\nhat into the air, came sweeping down upon them.\n\n\u201cIs it over?\u201d cried Dot.\n\n\u201cYes!\u201d\n\n\u201cHappily over?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes!\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know the voice, dear Caleb? Did you ever hear one like it\nbefore?\u201d cried Dot.\n\n\u201cIf my boy who went to South America had not died--if he were alive--\u201d\nsaid Caleb, trembling.\n\n\u201cHe is alive!\u201d shrieked Dot, taking her hands from his eyes, and\nclapping them in ecstasy. \u201cLook at him! See, here he stands before you,\nhealthy and strong! Your own dear son. Your own dear living brother,\nBertha!\u201d\n\nShe turned to meet the sunburned sailor half way, and let him kiss her\nheartily.\n\nJust at this moment, the carrier entered. Upon seeing them thus, he\nstarted back.\n\n\u201cLook, John!\u201d cried Caleb. \u201cLook here! My own son! Him that you fitted\nout, and sent away yourself! Him you were always such a friend to!\u201d\n\nThe carrier advanced to seize him by the hand, but stepped back as he\nnoticed his resemblance to the deaf man in the cart.\n\n\u201cEdward! Was it you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow tell him all!\u201d cried Dot. \u201cTell him all, Edward, and don\u2019t spare\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was the man,\u201d said Edward.\n\n\u201cAnd you stole, disguised, into the home of your old friend!\u201d the\ncarrier said. \u201cI would never have believed it of you! There was a true\nand frank boy once--how many years is it, Caleb, since we heard that he\nwas dead, and had it proved, we thought? He would never have done that!\u201d\n\n\u201cThere was a generous friend of mine, once, a friend, who was more a\nfather than a friend; he never would have judged a man before he heard\nhis case. You were he. So I am certain you will hear me now.\u201d\n\nThe carrier, with a troubled glance at Dot, replied, \u201cWell, that\u2019s but\nfair. I will.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must know, then, that when I left here, a boy, I was in love, and\nmy love was returned, but the girl was very young, and couldn\u2019t quite\nmake up her mind. Still I felt quite certain that she loved me as\ndearly as I loved her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou did!\u201d exclaimed the carrier.\n\n\u201cYes; and now I am sure she did. So all through the hardships and\nperils of my years away, I was constantly thinking of when I should\ncome back to her. When I landed, twenty miles from here, I heard she\nhad bestowed herself upon another and a richer man. I did not wish to\nfind fault with her if she had preferred him. What I wanted to find out\nwas whether she had done this of her own free will. I wanted to judge\nfor myself just how she felt, so I disguised myself--you know how;\nand waited on the road--you know where. You had no suspicion of me;\nneither had she,\u201d pointing to Dot, \u201cuntil I whispered in her ear at the\nfireside, and so startled her that she nearly betrayed me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Dot!\u201d exclaimed the carrier.\n\n\u201cBut when she knew that Edward was alive, and had come back,\u201d sobbed\nDot, now speaking for herself, as she had long wished to do, \u201cand when\nhe told her why he had disguised himself, she advised him to keep his\nsecret close, by all means; for she knew that his old friend, John\nPeerybingle, was too open in his nature to keep such a secret, no\nmatter how he tried. Then she--that\u2019s me, John--told him all, how his\nsweetheart had thought him dead; and how she had, after all the years,\nbeen over-persuaded by her mother, because the silly, dear, old thing\ncalled the marriage advantageous; and when she--that\u2019s me, John--told\nhim they were not yet married (but soon would be) and that it would\nbe nothing but a sacrifice if it went on, for there was no love on\nher side; and when he went nearly wild with joy to hear it; when\nshe--that\u2019s me again, John--said she would help him, and carry messages\nto his sweetheart, as she had so often done as a girl; and she would\nfind out what his sweetheart thought was right----\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cAnd it was right, John,\u201d Dot continued, catching her breath, \u201cfor they\nwere married, John, an hour ago! And here\u2019s the bride! And Gruff and\nTackleton may die a bachelor! And I\u2019m a happy little woman. May God\nbless you!\u201d\n\nAs she drew May forward and lavished all kinds of good wishes and\ncongratulations upon her, the carrier stood confounded. As he flew\ntowards her, Dot stretched out her hand to stop him.\n\n\u201cJohn, dear John, forgive me! It was wrong to have a secret from you.\nI\u2019m very sorry. I didn\u2019t think it any harm until the night when I came\nand sat down by you on the little stool. But when I looked at your\nface, I knew you must have seen me walking in the wareroom with Edward,\nand were suspicious of me. But oh, John, how could--how could you think\nwrong of me?\u201d\n\nJohn Peerybingle would have caught her in his arms; but no, she\nwouldn\u2019t let him.\n\n\u201cWait a minute, please, John dear, until you let me hear you tell me\nthat you believe me, and trust me, and that you know how much I love\nyou--so much that I\u2019ll never have another secret from you; and that\nyou\u2019ll never, never think of sending me from my home, and yours, John,\nand our cricket on the hearth.\u201d\n\nThen you would have been delighted to see Dot run into the carrier\u2019s\narms. You may be sure the carrier was in a state of perfect rapture;\nand you may be sure that everybody, especially Miss Slowboy, wept\nfor joy, and she, wishing to include the baby, handed him around to\neveryone in succession as if he were something to eat or drink.\n\nBut now the sound of wheels was heard again outside the door, and\nsomebody exclaimed that Gruff and Tackleton was coming back in. Soon he\nappeared, looking warm and flustered.\n\n\u201cMy, what in nation\u2019s this, John Peerybingle!\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cThere\u2019s\nsome mistake. I had an appointment with Miss Fielding to meet me at the\nchurch, and--oh, here she is!\u201d seeing her with Edward, to whom he then\nturned, saying:\n\n\u201cI beg your pardon, sir; I haven\u2019t the pleasure of knowing you; but\nif you can do me the favor to spare this young lady--she has a rather\nparticular engagement with me this morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I can\u2019t spare her,\u201d said Edward. \u201cI couldn\u2019t think of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean, you vagabond?\u201d exclaimed Tackleton.\n\n\u201cI mean--and I pardon you for being vexed--I mean that I am as deaf to\nyour harsh words as I was last night.\u201d\n\nSuch a startled look as Tackleton gave him!\n\n\u201cIt is too bad, sir,\u201d said Edward, holding out May\u2019s left hand,\nespecially the third finger, \u201cthat the young lady can\u2019t accompany you\nto the church; but as she has been there once this morning, perhaps\nyou\u2019ll excuse her.\u201d\n\nTackleton looked hard at the third finger, and took a ring out of his\nwaistcoat pocket.\n\n\u201cMiss Slowboy,\u201d said Tackleton, \u201cwill you have the kindness to throw\nthat into the fire? Thank you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was a previous engagement, quite an old engagement, that prevented\nmy wife from keeping her appointment with you, I assure you,\u201d said\nEdward.\n\n\u201cMr. Tackleton will do me the justice to say that I told him about this\nold engagement many times, and that I never could forget it,\u201d said May,\nblushing.\n\n\u201cOh, certainly,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cOh, to be sure! Oh, it\u2019s all right,\nit\u2019s quite correct. You are now Mrs. Edward Plummer, I infer?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the name,\u201d said the bridegroom.\n\n\u201cAh, I shouldn\u2019t have known you,\u201d said Tackleton. \u201cI give you joy, sir.\u201d\n\nWith these words, he hurried away, merely stopping at the gate to take\nthe flowers and favors off the horse\u2019s head, and to kick the horse\nonce, just to relieve his feelings.\n\nOf course, the next thing in order was the wedding feast; and Dot set\nto work with all her might, even calling in some neighborly help, and\neverybody, as if on the point of life or death, ran against each other\nin all the doorways, and round all the corners, tumbling over Tilly\nSlowboy and the baby everywhere.\n\nThen there was an expedition to find Mrs. Fielding, and to apologize to\nher, and to bring her back, happy and forgiving. At first, she would\nnot listen at all, and wouldn\u2019t say anything but, \u201cNow carry me to my\ngrave,\u201d which seemed absurd, on account of her not being dead, or even\nill.\n\nAfter a while she settled down into a dreadful calm, and advantage was\ntaken of this to get her into her coat and gloves, and carry her off to\nJohn Peerybingle\u2019s.\n\nWhen they reached the house, there were Dot\u2019s father and mother; and\nMay\u2019s mother and Dot\u2019s mother began to renew their acquaintance.\n\nAfter a grand confusion of talk and action, they actually were seated\nat the table. To have missed that dinner would have been to have missed\nas good and as jolly a meal as man need eat.\n\nAfter dinner, Caleb sang his song about the sparkling bowl; and, you\nmay not believe it, but he sang it through.\n\nAnd, by-the-bye, a most unexpected thing occurred just as he finished\nthe last verse.\n\n\n_Tackleton Does the Unexpected_\n\nThere was a tap at the door, and a man came staggering in with a big\nround box, which he set on the table in the center of the nuts and\napples. He said:\n\n\u201cMr. Tackleton\u2019s compliments, and as he hasn\u2019t got no use for the cake\nhimself, perhaps you\u2019ll eat it.\u201d\n\nAnd with these words, he walked off.\n\nThere was some surprise among the company, as you may imagine. Mrs.\nFielding suggested that the cake might be poisoned, and told about a\ncake which she had heard of that had turned a seminary of young ladies\nblue. But, notwithstanding the story, the cake was cut by May with much\nceremony and rejoicing.\n\nI don\u2019t think any one had tasted it, when there came another tap at the\ndoor, and the same man appeared again, having under his arm a big brown\npaper parcel.\n\n\u201cMr. Tackleton\u2019s compliments, and he\u2019s sent a few toys for the baby.\nThey ain\u2019t ugly.\u201d\n\nThe whole party would not have been able to find words to express their\nastonishment even if they had had plenty of time. But they had none,\nfor the messenger had scarcely shut the door when there came another\ntap, and Tackleton himself walked in.\n\n\u201cMrs. Peerybingle!\u201d said the toy merchant, hat in hand, \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m\nsour by disposition, but I am going to try to do better. Caleb, I might\nhave had you and your daughter for dear friends. As it is, my house is\nlonely to-night. I have not even a cricket on the hearth. I have scared\nthem all away. Be kind to me, please; let me join this happy party!\u201d\n\nHe was at home in five minutes. You never saw such a fellow. _What_ had\nhe been doing with himself all his life, never to have known before how\nmuch fun he had in him! Or what had the fairies been doing with him to\nchange him so!\n\nThere was but one more living creature wanted to make the party\ncomplete, and in the twinkling of an eye, there he was, very\nthirsty--with hard running, for Boxer had gone all the way with the\ncart on its journey, and being disgusted at finding his master absent,\nand unable to induce the horse to come with him, had turned tail and\ntrotted home.\n\nThere was a dance in the evening; but since the old people didn\u2019t\ndance, and Dot said her dancing days were over because, I believe, she\npreferred to sit near the carrier really, Edward and May were the only\ndancers, and they got up amid great applause, to dance alone, while\nBertha played her liveliest tune.\n\nWell, if you\u2019ll believe me, they had not been dancing five minutes,\nwhen the carrier suddenly jumps up, takes Dot round the waist, dashes\nout into the room, and starts off with her, toe and heel, quite\nwonderfully. Tackleton no sooner sees this than he skims across to Mrs.\nFielding, and follows suit. Then Dot\u2019s father and mother, and Caleb and\nTilly Slowboy join in.\n\n * * * * *\n\nHark! how the cricket joins the music with its chirp! chirp! chirp! and\nhow the kettle hums!\n\n\n\n\nTHE RETURN HOME\n\nGOOD-BY, MARY FRANCES. COME AGAIN!\n\n\n\n\nTHE RETURN HOME\n\nXXXVII\n\nGOOD-BY, MARY FRANCES. COME AGAIN!\n\n\nIN the middle of the story, \u201cThe Cricket on the Hearth,\u201d when everybody\nwas so anxious to hear more, there came the sound of many voices, and\nthen a loud scream. Mary Frances knew it was the voice of the old\nwitch, who had been listening.\n\n\u201cLet me be!\u201d she was crying. \u201cI don\u2019t want to go away! I want to find\nout who the old man was! I want to find out who the old man was! I want\nto see if Tackleton did marry May Fielding! I won\u2019t go! S-so there! Did\nI tramp all the miles to get here just to be taken back again?\u201d\n\nThen came the deep, heavy voice of the giant: \u201cBe quiet!\u201d it said. \u201cBe\nquiet! No, you won\u2019t have to go back. We\u2019ll take you. This time we\u2019ll\nlock you up so tight you\u2019ll stay where you\u2019re put, and you\u2019ll come when\nyou\u2019re bid. That\u2019s what you\u2019ll do!\u201d\n\n\u201cS-somebody tell me quick!\u201d screamed the old witch. \u201cQuick! Did May\nFielding marry Tackleton? Did she? Did she?\u201d and Mary Frances heard her\nscreaming, \u201cDid she? Did she?\u201d until her voice died away.\n\nHow Mary Frances longed to tell her no, but she did not dare!\n\n\u201cShe deserves her punishment,\u201d the Queen whispered, and since she knew\nthat that was true, Mary Frances did not speak.\n\nAfter the story was over, she received her copy from the Ready Writer\nand slipped it into her story satchel with the rest of the stories.\nThen she wandered down by the seashore alone. Near the shore there was\na boy with a feather in his cap sitting on a rock. She knew him in a\nminute.\n\n\u201cWhere did the giant take the old witch, do you think, Peter Pan?\u201d she\nasked.\n\n\u201cTo the Devil\u2019s Den,\u201d said Peter. \u201cI saw them go.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the Devil\u2019s Den!\u201d cried Mary Frances. \u201cHow dreadful!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not such a bad place,\u201d said Peter. \u201cIt is just a deep cave. It is\nlighted from a large opening in the top. Its name is the worst thing\nabout it; but the old witch cannot get out of it if they lock her in.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, she got away from the giant\u2019s basket, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did. She was so crazy to hear a story through that she watched her\nfirst chance to make off when the giant guard was asleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat about the pirate?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cHe is chained to a rock in the Pirate\u2019s Cove, and he spends his time\njumping in and out of the water. He has jumped so much and so hard that\nthe suds are rising all around him just as when you blow bubbles in a\nbowl, holding the pipe down in the water. Poor thing! Some day the suds\nwill rise so high that the bubbles will cover him and smother him.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there no way for him to save himself?\u201d asked Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cCertainly!\u201d said Peter Pan. \u201cAll he has to do is to be good; but he\nwon\u2019t be! He\u2019s just naturally wicked. He\u2019d murder fairies if he could,\nand he\u2019d steal all the stories in the world, and he\u2019d feed children on\ncharcoal and castor oil--he told me so once. It was after I caught him\ntrying to steal my shadow.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe must have a wicked heart!\u201d said Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cOnce I asked him why he was so bad,\u201d Peter told her \u201cand what do you\nthink he said?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019m sure,\u201d she returned.\n\n\u201cHe said it was because his mother never kissed him.\u201d\n\n\u201cHis mother never kissed him!\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances. \u201cWhy, what a\nqueer kind of mother! Now my mother----\u201d\n\nSuddenly she felt very homesick. Tears sprang to her eyes. \u201cWhy,\nPeter!\u201d she cried wistfully. \u201cWhy, Peter! It must be over a year since\nmy mother kissed me! Shall I turn wicked, too? Oh, I wish I could see\nher--my own dear mother!\u201d\n\nAs she finished speaking, a beautiful little sail-boat appeared before\nthem. It was smaller than The Good Ferry.\n\n\u201cStep aboard, then,\u201d said Peter Pan, rising and leading her toward the\nboat. \u201cThis is a fairy boat. You will be home in an hour. Sit in the\nstern. Take the tiller in your hand. Hold it steady, and wish out loud\nwhere you want to go.\u201d\n\nHe helped Mary Frances into the boat.\n\n\u201cOh, but I haven\u2019t thanked the Story People for my wonderful, wonderful\ntime!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cI wish I could thank them!\u201d\n\nEven as she spoke, every door and window of the castle opened and the\nStory People appeared.\n\n\u201cThank you all! Thank you forever--and--ever! Thank you for all the\ngirls and boys in the world!\u201d cried Mary Frances.\n\n\u201cHave you your stories?\u201d called the Story King.\n\n\u201cYes, I have them here!\u201d said Mary Frances, holding up her story\nsatchel.\n\n\u201cWhen you want more, come again, dear child,\u201d called the Story Queen.\n\n\u201cOh, yes, come again!\u201d called all the Story People. \u201cFor we love you!\nThe Story People love all children. Take our love to all you can, and\ngood-by! Good-by! Good-by!\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-by, dear, dear friends!\u201d called Mary Frances, as the little boat\nsailed away. \u201cGood-by, and thank you!\u201d\n\nShe watched until the island was too far away for her to make out the\nforms of the people at the castle windows. Then she wished aloud,\n\u201cHome! Take me to my mother and father and my brother, little fairy\nsail-boat!\u201d\n\nAnd the wind blew and filled the sails and the sun warmed and cheered\nher, and the waves danced about the boat, making little lapping sounds\nwhich were like music--and the next thing she knew she was running up\nthe garden walk into her mother\u2019s open arms.\n\n\u201cThe stories are not yours, dear; they belong to all children,\u201d said\nher mother, when Mary Frances emptied her story satchel, and told of\nher wonderful adventures among the Story People. \u201cLet us make enough\ncopies for them all.\u201d\n\nAnd so they wrote this book.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Note:\n\nPunctuation has been standardized. Variations in hyphenation have been\nretained as published. Changes have been made as follows:\n\n Page 33\n \u201cOh, yes,\u201d exlaimed Mary Frances\n \u201cOh, yes,\u201d exclaimed Mary Frances\n\n Page 130\n balancing himself periously over\n balancing himself perilously over\n\n Page 195\n the court was exceeding glad\n the court was exceedingly glad\n\n Page 304\n though a window\n through a window\n\n Page 305\n love to be like May, father, and\n love to be like May, Father, and\n\n Page 316\n You musn\u2019t let them startle\n You mustn\u2019t let them startle","title":"The Mary Frances Story Book; or, Adventures Among the Story People","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":82829}