{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60098/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60098","id":"gutenberg_60098","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60098","summary":null,"tags":["Adventure stories","Animals -- Juvenile fiction","Category: American Literature","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction","Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction","Fantasy fiction","Imagination -- Juvenile fiction","Kings and rulers -- Juvenile fiction","Magic -- Juvenile fiction","Rabbits -- Juvenile fiction","Shoemakers -- Juvenile fiction","Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Books by Joel Chandler Harris.\n\n --------------\n\nNIGHTS WITH UNCLE REMUS. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50; paper, 50 cents.\n\nMINGO, AND OTHER SKETCHES IN BLACK AND WHITE. 16mo, $1.25; paper, 50\n cents.\n\nBALAAM AND HIS MASTER, AND OTHER SKETCHES. 16mo, $1.25.\n\nUNCLE REMUS AND HIS FRIENDS. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.\n\nLITTLE MR. THIMBLEFINGER AND HIS QUEER COUNTRY. Illustrated. Crown 8vo,\n $2.00.\n\n HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.\n BOSTON AND NEW YORK.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n BROTHER LION WATCHED ME. PAGE 158\n]\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n MR. RABBIT AT HOME\n\n A SEQUEL TO\n\n Little Mr. Thimblefinger and his Queer Country\n\n BY\n\n JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS\n\n AUTHOR OF \u201cUNCLE REMUS,\u201d ETC.\n\n\n ILLUSTRATED BY OLIVER HERFORD\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n BOSTON AND NEW YORK\n HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY\n\n The Riverside Press, Cambridge\n\n 1895\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, 1894 and 1895,\n By JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS.\n\n Copyright, 1895,\n BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.\n\n All rights reserved.\n\n\n The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.\n Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n --------------\n\n\n PAGE\n\n I. BUSTER JOHN ALARMS MR. RABBIT 5\n\n II. WHERE THE THUNDER LIVES 15\n\n III. THE JUMPING-OFF PLACE 28\n\n IV. THE BLUE HEN\u2019S CHICKEN 36\n\n V. HOW A KING WAS FOUND 46\n\n VI. THE MAGIC RING 57\n\n VII. THE COW WITH THE GOLDEN HORNS 69\n\n VIII. BROTHER WOLF\u2019S TWO BIG DINNERS 82\n\n IX. THE LITTLE BOY OF THE LANTERN 91\n\n X. A LUCKY CONJURER 106\n\n XI. THE KING OF THE CLINKERS 119\n\n XII. THE TERRIBLE HORSE 132\n\n XIII. HOW BROTHER LION LOST HIS WOOL 144\n\n XIV. BROTHER LION HAS A SPELL OF 154\n SICKNESS\n\n XV. A MOUNTAIN OF GOLD 164\n\n XVI. AN OLD-FASHIONED FUSS 178\n\n XVII. THE RABBIT AND THE MOON 191\n\n XVIII. WHY THE BEAR IS A WRESTLER 197\n\n XIX. THE SHOEMAKER WHO MADE BUT ONE 209\n SHOE\n\n XX. THE WOOG AND THE WEEZE 240\n\n XXI. UNCLE RAIN AND BROTHER DROUTH 252\n\n XXII. THE SNOW-WHITE GOAT AND THE 266\n COAL-BLACK SHEEP\n\n XXIII. THE BUTTING COW AND THE 282\n HITTING STICK\n\n XXIV. THE FATE OF THE DIDDYPAWN 294\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n BROTHER LION WATCHED ME. Frontispiece\n\n \u201cHOW DID YOU GET HERE?\u201d 12\n\n SHE WAITED A LITTLE WHILE 22\n\n PRESENTLY THEY CAME TO A 32\n PRECIPICE\n\n ONE OF THEM WAS ENTIRELY 42\n DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE REST\n\n THEY SAW THE HANDSOME BOY 52\n SLEEPING\n\n HER STEPMOTHER CREPT INTO THE 66\n ROOM\n\n SHE WOULD HAVE KNELT, BUT HE 80\n LIFTED HER UP\n\n HE WENT A LITTLE WAY DOWN ONE 86\n ROAD\n\n A LADY, RICHLY DRESSED, CAME 96\n OUT OF THE WOODS\n\n AS HE DID SO, A CROW HOPPED 114\n OUT\n\n HE SAW AN OLD MAN, NO BIGGER 124\n THAN A BROOMSTICK\n\n THE WOODEN HORSE HAD STAMPEDED 142\n THE ENEMY\u2019S ARMY\n\n YOU NEVER HEARD SUCH HOWLING 150\n SINCE YOU WERE BORN\n\n HE WAS SO WEAK THAT HE 174\n COULDN\u2019T GET UP\n\n THE MONKEYS WOULD MAKE FACES 180\n AND SQUEAL AT THE DOGS\n\n \u201cWHAT IS THE TROUBLE?\u201d SAYS 184\n THE OLDEST RABBIT\n\n HE RUBBED THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD 204\n\n A QUEER-LOOKING LITTLE MAN 216\n CAME JOGGING ALONG THE ROAD\n\n \u201cHAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING OF A 232\n STRAY SHOE?\u201d\n\n A HORRIBLE MONSTER GLARED AT 244\n THEM\n\n THE BOY TOLD UNCLE RAIN THE 258\n WHOLE STORY\n\n AT LAST THE ROBBERS MANAGED TO 274\n ESCAPE\n\n \u201cHIT, STICK! STICK, HIT!\u201d SHE 292\n CRIED\n\n IT MADE HIM GRIN FROM EAR TO 298\n EAR\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n MR. RABBIT AT HOME.\n\n --------------\n\n\n\n\n I.\n\n BUSTER JOHN ALARMS MR. RABBIT.\n\n\nWhen Buster John and Sweetest Susan and Drusilla returned home after\ntheir first visit to Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s queer country, a curious thing\nhappened. The children had made a bargain to say nothing about what they\nhad seen and heard, but one day, when there was nobody else to hear what\nshe had to say, Sweetest Susan concluded to tell her mother something\nabout the visit she had made next door to the world. So she began and\ntold about the Grandmother of the Dolls, and about Little Mr.\nThimblefinger, and all about her journey under the spring. Her mother\npaid no attention at first, but after awhile she became interested, and\nlistened intently to everything her little daughter said. Sometimes she\nlooked serious, sometimes she smiled, and sometimes she laughed.\nSweetest Susan couldn\u2019t remember everything, but she told enough to\nastonish her mother.\n\n\u201cDarling, when did you dream such nonsense as that?\u201d the lady asked.\n\n\u201cOh, it wasn\u2019t a dream, mamma,\u201d cried Sweetest Susan. \u201cI thought it was\na dream at first, but it turned out to be no dream at all. Now, please\ndon\u2019t ask brother about it, and please don\u2019t ask Drusilla, for we\npromised one another to say nothing about it. I didn\u2019t intend to tell\nyou, but I forgot and began to tell you before I thought.\u201d\n\nA little while afterward Sweetest Susan\u2019s mother was telling her husband\nabout the wonderful imagination of their little daughter, and then the\nneighbors got hold of it, and some of the old ladies put their heads\ntogether over their teacups and said it was a sign that Sweetest Susan\nwas too smart to stay in this world very long.\n\nOne day, while Drusilla was helping about the house, Sweetest Susan\u2019s\nmother took occasion to ask her where she and the children went the day\nthey failed to come to dinner.\n\n\u201cWe wuz off gettin\u2019 plums, I speck,\u201d replied Drusilla.\n\n\u201cWhy, there were no plums to get,\u201d said the lady.\n\n\u201cWell, \u2019m, ef \u2019t wa\u2019n\u2019t plums, hit must \u2019a\u2019 been hick\u2019y nuts,\u201d explained\nDrusilla.\n\n\u201cHickory nuts were not ripe, stupid.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe dey wa\u2019n\u2019t,\u201d said Drusilla stolidly; \u201cbut dat don\u2019t hinder we\nchilluns from huntin\u2019 \u2019em.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know you didn\u2019t go after hickory nuts, Drusilla,\u201d the lady\ninsisted. \u201cNow I want you to tell me where you and the children went.\nI\u2019ll not be angry if you tell me, but if you don\u2019t\u201d\u2014\n\nDrusilla could infer a good deal from the tone of the lady\u2019s voice, but\nshe shook her head.\n\n\u201cWell, \u2019m,\u201d she said, \u201cwe went down dar by de spring, an\u2019 down dar by de\nspring branch, an\u2019 all roun\u2019 down dar. Ef we warn\u2019t huntin\u2019 plums ner\nhick\u2019y nuts, I done fergot what we wuz huntin\u2019.\u201d\n\nDrusilla seemed so much in earnest that the lady didn\u2019t push the\ninquiry, but when she went into another room for a moment, the negro\ngirl looked after her and remarked to herself:\u2014\n\n\u201cI done crossed my heart dat I wouldn\u2019t tell, an\u2019 I ain\u2019t gwine ter. Ef\nI wuz ter tell, she wouldn\u2019t b\u2019lieve me, an\u2019 so dar \u2019t is!\u201d\n\nSweetest Susan was careful to say nothing to Buster John and Drusilla\nabout the slip of the tongue that caused her to tell her mother about\ntheir adventures in Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s queer country; but she didn\u2019t\nfeel very comfortable when Drusilla told how she had been questioned by\nher mistress.\n\n\u201cEf somebody ain\u2019t done gone an\u2019 tol\u2019 \u2019er,\u201d said Drusilla, \u201cshe got some\nmighty quare notions in \u2019er head.\u201d\n\nBuster John, who had ideas of his own, ignored all this, and said he was\ngoing to put an apple in the spring the next day and watch for Mr.\nThimblefinger.\n\n\u201cWell, ef you gwine down dar any mo\u2019,\u201d remarked Drusilla, \u201cyou kin des\ncount me out, kaze I ain\u2019t gwine \u2019long wid you. I\u2019m one er deze yer kind\ner quare folks what know pine blank when dey done got nuff. I been shaky\never since we went down in dat ar place what wa\u2019n\u2019t no place.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will go,\u201d said Buster John.\n\n\u201cHuh! Don\u2019t you fool yo\u2019self, honey! You can\u2019t put no \u2019pen\u2019ence in a\nskeer\u2019d nigger.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t go, you\u2019ll wish you had,\u201d said Buster John.\n\n\u201cHow come?\u201d asked Drusilla.\n\n\u201cWait and see,\u201d replied Buster John.\n\nThe next morning, bright and early, Buster John put an apple in the\nspring. He watched it float around for awhile, and then his attention\nwas attracted to something else, and he ran away to see about it.\nWhatever it was, it interested him so much that he forgot all about the\napple in the spring, and everything else likely to remind him of Mr.\nThimblefinger\u2019s queer country.\n\nBuster John went away from the spring and left the apple floating there.\nNo sooner had he gone than one of the house servants chanced to come\nalong, and the apple was seized and appropriated. The result was that\nneither Mr. Thimblefinger nor Mrs. Meadows saw the signal.\n\nBuster John, thinking the apple had remained in the spring for some\nhours, waited patiently for two or three days for Mr. Thimblefinger, but\nno Mr. Thimblefinger came. Finally the boy grew impatient, as youngsters\nsometimes do. He remembered that the bottom of the spring, with the\ndaylight shining through, was the sky of Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s queer\ncountry, and he concluded to give Mrs. Meadows and the rest a signal\nthat they couldn\u2019t fail to see. So, one morning, after water had been\ncarried to the house for the cook, and the washerwoman\u2019s tubs had been\nfilled, Buster John got him some short planks, carrying them to the\nspring one by one. These he placed across the top of the gum, or curb,\nclose together, so as to shut out the light. Then he perched himself on\na stump not far away, and watched to see what the effect would be. He\nknew he had the sky of Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s queer country securely roofed\nin, and he laughed to himself as he thought of the predicament Mr.\nRabbit would be in, dropping his pipe and hunting for it in the dark.\n\nBuster John sat there a long time. Mandy, the washerwoman, got through\nwith her task and went toward the house, balancing a big basket of wet\nclothes on her head and singing as she went. Sweetest Susan and Drusilla\nhad grown tired of playing with the dolls, and were hunting all over the\nplace for Buster John. They saw him presently, and came running toward\nhim, talking and laughing. He shook his head and motioned toward the\nspring. They became quiet at once, and began to walk on their tiptoes.\nThey seated themselves on the stump by Buster John\u2019s side, and waited\nfor him to explain himself.\n\nPresently Sweetest Susan saw the boards over the spring. \u201cOh, what have\nyou done?\u201d she cried. \u201cWhy, you have shut out the light! They can\u2019t see\na wink. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s right; do you, Drusilla?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t ax me, honey,\u201d replied Drusilla. \u201cI ain\u2019t gwine ter git in no\n\u2019spute. Somebody done gone an\u2019 put planks on de spring. Dar dey is, an\u2019\ndar dey may stay, fer what I keer. I hope dey er nailed down.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease take the boards off,\u201d pleaded Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Buster John. \u201cI put an apple in the spring the other day, and\nthey paid no attention to it. Maybe they\u2019ll pay some attention now.\u201d\n\nSuddenly, before anybody else could say anything, Drusilla screamed and\nrolled off the stump. Buster John and Sweetest Susan thought a bee had\nstung her. But it was not a bee. She had no sooner rolled from the stump\nthan she sprang to her feet and cried out, \u201cDar he is! Look at \u2019im!\u201d\n\nBuster John and Sweetest Susan turned to look, and there, upon the stump\nbeside them, stood Mr. Thimblefinger with his hat in hand, bowing and\nsmiling as politely as you please.\n\n\u201cI hope you are well,\u201d he said. Then he began to laugh, as he turned to\nBuster John. \u201cYou may think it is a great joke to come to the spring,\nbut it\u2019s no joke to me. I have had a very hard time getting here, but I\njust had to come. Mrs. Meadows thinks there is a total eclipse going on,\nand Mr. Rabbit has gone to bed and covered up his head.\u201d\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n \u201cHOW DID YOU GET HERE?\u201d\n]\n\n\n\u201cHow did you get here?\u201d asked Buster John.\n\n\u201cThrough the big poplar yonder,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cIt is hollow\nfrom top to bottom, but it was so dark I could hardly find my way. The\njay birds used to go down through the poplar every Friday until I put up\nthe bars and shut them out. I had almost forgotten the road.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Buster John, \u201cI covered the spring so that you might know\nwe hadn\u2019t forgotten you. I dropped an apple in the other day, but you\npaid no attention to it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw the apple,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cbut it didn\u2019t stay in\nthe spring long. It disappeared in a few minutes.\u201d\n\n\u201cAha! I know!\u201d exclaimed Drusilla. \u201cDat ar Minervy nigger got it. I seed\nher comin\u2019 long eatin\u2019 a apple, and I boun\u2019 you she de ve\u2019y nigger what\ngot it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well!\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cIt makes no difference now, and\nif you\u2019ll get ready we\u2019ll go now pretty soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, I thought you couldn\u2019t go down through the spring until nine\nminutes and nine seconds after twelve,\u201d suggested Buster John.\n\n\u201cThe water gets wet or goes dry with the tide,\u201d Mr. Thimblefinger\nexplained. \u201cTo-day we shall have to go at nineteen minutes and nineteen\nseconds after nine. It was nine minutes and nine seconds after twelve\nbefore, and now it is nineteen minutes and nineteen seconds after nine.\nMultiply nineteen by nineteen, add the answer together, and you get\nnothing but nines. You see we have to go by a system.\u201d Mr. Thimblefinger\nwas very solemn as he said this. \u201cNow, then, come on. We haven\u2019t any\ntime to waste. When the nines get after us, we must be going. There are\nfour of us now, but if we were to be multiplied by nine there would be\nnine of us, and nine is an odd number.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow would we be nine?\u201d asked Buster John.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very simple,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cNine times four are\nthirty-six. Three and six stand for thirty-six, and six and three are\nnine.\u201d\n\nBuster John laughed as he ran to remove the boards from the spring. In a\nfew moments they were all ready in spite of Drusilla\u2019s protests, and at\nnineteen minutes and nineteen seconds after nine they walked through the\nspring gate into Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s queer country.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n II.\n\n WHERE THE THUNDER LIVES.\n\n\nMrs. Meadows, Mr. Rabbit, Chickamy Crany Crow, and Tickle-My-Toes were\nvery glad to see the children, especially Mrs. Meadows, who did\neverything she could to make the youngsters feel that they had conferred\na great obligation on her by coming back again.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be bound you forgot to bring me the apple I told you about,\u201d said\nshe.\n\nBut Sweetest Susan had not forgotten. She had one in her pocket. It was\nnot very large, but the sun had painted it red and yellow, and the south\nwinds that kissed it had left it fragrant with the perfume of summer.\n\n\u201cNow, I declare!\u201d exclaimed Mrs. Meadows. \u201cTo think you should remember\nan old woman! You are just as good and as nice as you can be!\u201d She\nthanked Sweetest Susan so heartily that Buster John began to look and\nfeel uncomfortable,\u2014seeing which, Mrs. Meadows placed her hand gently on\nhis shoulder. \u201cNever mind,\u201d said she, \u201cboys are not expected to be as\nthoughtful as girls. The next time you come, you may bring me a hatful,\nif you can manage to think about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe might start wid \u2019em,\u201d remarked Drusilla, \u201cbut \u2019fo\u2019 he got here he\u2019d\nset down an\u2019 eat \u2019em all up, ter keep from stumpin\u2019 his toe an\u2019 spillin\u2019\n\u2019em.\u201d\n\nBuster John had a reply ready, but he did not make any, for just at that\nmoment a low, rumbling sound was heard. It seemed to come nearer and\ngrow louder, and then it died away in the distance.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked Mrs. Meadows, in an impressive whisper.\n\n\u201cThunder,\u201d answered Mr. Rabbit, who had listened intently. \u201cThunder, as\nsure as you\u2019re born.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cI saw a cloud coming up next door, just\nbefore we came through the spring gate.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must be getting nervous in my old age,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows. \u201cI had\nan idea that it was too late in the season for thunder-storms.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat may be so,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cbut it\u2019s never too late\nfor old man Thunder to rush out on his front porch and begin to cut up\nhis capers. But there\u2019s no harm in him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Lightning kills people sometimes,\u201d said Buster John.\n\n\u201cThe Lightning? Oh, yes, but I was talking about old man Thunder,\u201d\nreplied Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cWhen I was a boy, I once heard of a little\ngirl\u201d\u2014Mr. Thimblefinger suddenly put his hand over his mouth and hung\nhis head, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.\n\n\u201cWhy, what in the world is the matter?\u201d asked Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cOh, nothing,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cI simply forgot my manners.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see how,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, frowning.\n\n\u201cWhy, I was about to tell a story before I had been asked.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you won\u2019t disturb me by telling a story, I\u2019m sure,\u201d said Mr.\nRabbit. \u201cI can nod just as well when some one is talking as when\neverything is still. You won\u2019t pester me at all. Just go ahead.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe it isn\u2019t story-telling time,\u201d suggested Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t say that,\u201d cried Sweetest Susan. \u201cIf it is a story, please\ntell it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is nothing but a plain, every-day story. After you hear it\nyou\u2019ll lean back in your chair and wonder why somebody didn\u2019t take hold\nof it and twist it into a real old-fashioned tale. It\u2019s old fashioned\nenough, the way I heard it, but I always thought that the person who\nheard it first must have forgotten parts of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe won\u2019t mind that,\u201d said Sweetest Susan.\n\nMr. Thimblefinger settled himself comfortably and began:\u2014\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time\u2014I don\u2019t know how long ago, but not very long, for the\ntale was new to me when I first heard it\u2014once upon a time there was a\nlittle girl about your age and size who was curious to know something\nabout everything that happened. She wanted to know how a bird could fly,\nand why the clouds floated, and she was all the time trying to get at\nthe bottom of things.\n\n\u201cWell, one day when the sky was covered with clouds, the Thunder came\nrolling along, knocking at everybody\u2019s door and running a race with the\nnoise it made; the little girl listened and wondered what the Thunder\nwas and where it went to. It wasn\u2019t long before the Thunder came\nrumbling along again, making a noise like a four-horse wagon running\naway on a covered bridge.\n\n\u201cWhile the little girl was standing there, wondering and listening, an\nold man with a bundle on his back and a stout staff in his hand came\nalong the road. He bowed and smiled when he saw the little girl, but as\nshe didn\u2019t return the bow or the smile, being too much interested in\nlistening for the Thunder, he paused and asked her what the trouble was.\n\n\u201c\u2018I hope you are not lost?\u2019 he said.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, no, sir,\u2019 she replied; \u2018I was listening for the Thunder and\nwondering where it goes.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, as you seem to be a very good little girl,\u2019 the old man said, \u2018I\ndon\u2019t mind telling you. The Thunder lives on top of yonder mountain. It\nis not so far away.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, I should like ever so much to go there!\u2019 exclaimed the little\ngirl.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why not?\u2019 said the old man. \u2018The mountain is on my road, and, if you\nsay the word, we\u2019ll go together.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl took the old man\u2019s hand and they journeyed toward the\nmountain where the Thunder had his home. The way was long, but somehow\nthey seemed to go very fast. The old man took long strides forward, and\nhe was strong enough to lift the little girl at every step, so that when\nthey reached the foot of the mountain she was not very tired.\n\n\u201cBut, as the mountain was very steep and high, the two travelers stopped\nto rest themselves before they began to climb it. Its sides seemed to be\nrough and dark, but far up on the topmost peak the clouds had gathered,\nand from these the Lightning flashed incessantly. The little girl saw\nthe flashes and asked what they meant.\n\n\u201c\u2018Wherever the Thunder lives,\u2019 replied the old man, \u2018there the Lightning\nbuilds its nest. No doubt the wind has blown the clouds about and torn\nthem apart and scattered them. The Lightning is piling them together\nagain, and fixing a warm, soft place to sleep to-night.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen they had rested awhile, the old man said it was time to be going,\nand then he made the little girl climb on his back. At first she didn\u2019t\nwant the old man to carry her; but he declared that she would do him a\ngreat favor by climbing on his back and holding his bundle in place. So\nshe sat upon the bundle, and in this way they went up the high mountain,\ngoing almost as rapidly as the little girl could run on level ground.\nShe enjoyed it very much, for, although the old man went swiftly, he\nwent smoothly, and the little girl felt as safe and as comfortable as if\nshe had been sitting in a rocking-chair.\n\n\u201cWhen they had come nearly to the top of the mountain, the old man\nstopped and lifted the little girl from his back. \u2018I can go no farther,\u2019\nhe said. \u2018The rest of the way you will have to go alone. There is\nnothing to fear. Up the mountain yonder you can see the gable of the\nThunder\u2019s house. Go to the door, knock, and do not be alarmed at any\nnoise you hear. When the time comes for you to go, you will find me\nawaiting you here.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl hesitated, but she had come so far to see where the\nThunder lived that she would not turn back now. So she went forward, and\nsoon came to the door of Mr. Thunder\u2019s house. It was a very big door to\na very big house. The knocker was so heavy that the little girl could\nhardly lift it, and when she let it fall against the panel, the noise it\nmade jarred the building and sent a loud echo rolling and tumbling down\nthe mountain. The little girl thought, \u2018What have I done? If the Thunder\nis taking a nap before dinner, he\u2019ll be very angry.\u2019\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n SHE WAITED A LITTLE WHILE\n]\n\n\n\u201cShe waited a little while, not feeling very comfortable. Presently she\nheard heavy footsteps coming down the wide hall to the door.\n\n\u201c\u2018I thought I heard some one knocking,\u2019 said a hoarse, gruff voice. Then\nthe big door flew open, and there, standing before her, the little girl\nsaw a huge figure that towered almost to the top of the high door. It\nwore heavy boots, a big overcoat, and under its long, thick beard there\nwas a muffler a yard wide. The little girl was very much frightened at\nfirst, but she soon remembered that there was nothing for such a little\nbit of a girl to be afraid of.\n\n\u201cThe figure, that seemed to be so terrible at first glance, had nothing\nthreatening about it. \u2018Who knocked at the door?\u2019 it cried.\n\n\u201cIts voice sounded so loud that the little girl put her fingers in her\nears.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t talk so loud, please,\u2019 she said. \u2018I\u2019m not deaf.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh!\u2019 cried the giant at the door. \u2018You are there, are you? You are so\nsmall I didn\u2019t see you at first. Come in!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl started to go in, and then paused. \u2018Are you the\nThunder?\u2019 she asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, of course,\u2019 was the reply; \u2018who else did you think it was?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I didn\u2019t know,\u2019 said the little girl. \u2018I wanted to be certain about\nit.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Come in,\u2019 said the Thunder. \u2018It isn\u2019t often I have company from the\npeople below, and I\u2019m glad you found me at home.\u2019\n\nThe Thunder led the way down the hall and into a wide sitting-room,\nwhere a fire was burning brightly in the biggest fireplace the little\ngirl had ever seen. A two-horse wagon could turn around in it without\ntouching the andirons. A pair of tongs as tall as a man stood in one\ncorner, and in the other corner was a shovel to match. A long pipe lay\non the mantel.\n\n\u201c\u2018There\u2019s no place for you to sit except on the floor,\u2019 said the\nThunder.\n\n\u201c\u2018I can sit on the bed,\u2019 suggested the little girl.\n\n\u201cThe Thunder laughed so loudly that the little girl had to close her\nears again. \u2018Why, that is no bed,\u2019 the Thunder said when it could catch\nits breath; \u2018that\u2019s my footstool.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 said the little girl, \u2018it\u2019s big enough for a bed. It\u2019s very\nsoft and nice.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I find it very comfortable,\u2019 said the Thunder, \u2018especially when I get\nhome after piloting a tornado through the country. It is tough work, as\nsure as you are born.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Thunder took the long pipe from the mantel and lit it with a pine\nsplinter, the flame of which flashed through the windows with dazzling\nbrightness.\n\n\u201c\u2018Folks will say that is heat lightning,\u2019 remarked the little girl.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 replied the Thunder; \u2018farmers to the north of us will say there\nis going to be a drought, because of lightning in the south. Farmers to\nthe south of us will say there\u2019s going to be rain, because of lightning\nin the north. None of them knows that I am smoking my pipe.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut somehow, in turning around, the Thunder knocked the big tongs over,\nand they fell upon the floor with a tremendous crash. The floor appeared\nto give forth a sound like a drum, only a thousand times louder, and,\nalthough the little girl had her fingers in her ears, she could hear the\nechoes roused under the house by the falling tongs go rattling down the\nmountain side and out into the valley beyond.\n\n\u201cThe Thunder sat in the big armchair smoking, and listening with legs\ncrossed. The little girl appeared to be sorry that she had come.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, that is too bad,\u2019 said the Thunder. \u2018The Whirlwind in the south\nwill hear that and come flying; the West Wind will hear it and come\nrushing, and they will drag the clouds after them, thinking that I am\nready to take my ride. But it\u2019s all my fault. Instead of turning the\nwinds in the pasture, I ought to have put them in the stable. Here they\ncome now!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl listened, and, sure enough, the whirlwinds from the\nsouth and the west came rushing around the house of the Thunder. The\nwest wind screamed around the windows, and the whirlwinds from the south\nwhistled through the cracks and keyholes.\n\n\u201c\u2018I guess I\u2019ll have to go with them,\u2019 said the Thunder, rising from the\nchair and walking around the room. \u2018It\u2019s the only way to quiet them.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Do you always wear your overcoat?\u2019 the little girl asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018Always,\u2019 replied the Thunder. \u2018There\u2019s no telling what moment I\u2019ll be\ncalled. Sometimes I go just for a frolic, and sometimes I am obliged to\ngo. Will you stay until I return?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, no,\u2019 the little girl replied; \u2018the house is too large. I should be\nafraid to stay here alone.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I am sorry,\u2019 said the Thunder. \u2018Come and see me get in my carriage.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey went to the door. The whirlwinds from the south and the winds from\nthe west had drawn the clouds to the steps, and into these the Thunder\nclimbed.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good-by,\u2019 he cried to the little girl. \u2018Stay where you are until we\nare out of sight.\u2019\n\n\u201cThere was a flash of light, a snapping sound, a rattling crash, and the\nThunder, with the clouds for his carriage and the winds for his horses,\nwent roaming and rumbling through the sky, over the hills and valleys.\u201d\n\nMr. Thimblefinger paused and looked at the children. They, expecting him\nto go on, said nothing.\n\n\u201cHow did you like my story?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cIs it a story?\u201d inquired Buster John.\n\n\u201cWell, call it a tale,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cHit\u2019s too high up in de elements for ter suit me,\u201d said Drusilla,\ncandidly.\n\n\u201cWhat became of the little girl?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cWhen the Thunder rolled away,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cshe went back\nto where the old man was awaiting her, and he, having nothing to do,\ncarried her to the Jumping-Off Place.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n III.\n\n THE JUMPING-OFF PLACE.\n\n\nThe children looked at Mr. Thimblefinger to see whether he was joking\nabout the Jumping-Off Place, but he seemed to be very serious.\n\n\u201cI have heard of the Jumping-Off Place,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows, \u201cbut I\nhad an idea it was just a saying.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cwhere you see a good deal of smoke,\nthere must be some fire. When you hear a great many different people\ntalking about anything, there must be something in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did the little girl see when she got to the Jumping-Off Place?\u201d\ninquired Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cIt was this way,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger: \u201cWhen the whirlwinds from the\nsouth and the winds from the west, working in double harness, carried\nthe thick clouds away, and the Thunder with them, the little girl went\nback to the place where she had left the old man who had carried her up\nthe mountain.\n\n\u201cShe found him waiting. He was sitting at the foot of a tree, sleeping\npeacefully, but he awoke at once.\n\n\u201c\u2018You see I am waiting for you,\u2019 he said. \u2018How did you enjoy your\nvisit?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I didn\u2019t enjoy it much,\u2019 replied the little girl. \u2018Everything was so\nlarge, and the Thunder made so much fuss.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I hope you didn\u2019t mind that,\u2019 said the old man. \u2018The Thunder is a\ngreat growler and grumbler, but when that\u2019s said, all\u2019s said. I am\nsorry, though, you didn\u2019t have a good time. I suppose you think it is my\nfault, but it isn\u2019t. If you say so, I\u2019ll go to the Jumping-Off Place.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where is that?\u2019 asked the little girl.\n\n\u201c\u2018Just beyond the Well at the End of the World.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018If it isn\u2019t too far, let\u2019s go there,\u2019 said the little girl.\n\n\u201cSo the old man lifted her on his back, and they went on their way. They\nmust have gone very swiftly, for it wasn\u2019t long before they came to the\nWell at the End of the World. An old woman was sitting near the Well,\ncombing her hair. She paid no attention to the travelers, nor they to\nher. When they had gone beyond the Well a little distance, the little\ngirl noticed that the sky appeared to be very close at hand. It was no\nlonger blue, but dark, and seemed to hang down like a blanket or a\ncurtain.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut that couldn\u2019t be, you know,\u201d said Buster John, \u201cfor the sky is no\nsky at all. It is nothing but space.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow comes it dey call it sky, ef \u2019t ain\u2019t no sky?\u201d asked Drusilla,\nindignantly. \u201cAn\u2019 how come\u2019t ain\u2019t no sky, when it\u2019s right up dar, plain\nez de han\u2019 fo\u2019 yo\u2019 face? Dat what I\u2019d like ter know.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, the moon is thousands of miles away,\u201d said Buster John, \u201cand some\nof the stars are millions and millions of miles farther than the moon.\u201d\n\n\u201cDat what dey say,\u201d replied Drusilla, \u201cbut how dey know? Whar de string\nwhat dey medjud \u2019em wid? Tell me dat!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat about our sky?\u201d asked Mrs. Meadows, smiling. \u201cYou would never\nthink it was only the bottom of the spring if you didn\u2019t know it; now\nwould you?\u201d\n\nBuster John had nothing to say in reply to this. Whereupon Sweetest\nSusan begged Mr. Thimblefinger to please go on with his story.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cif I am to go on with it, I\u2019ll have to tell it just as\nI heard it. I\u2019ll have to put the sky just where I was told it was. When\nthe little girl and the old man came close to the Jumping-Off Place,\nthey saw that the sky was hanging close at hand. It may have been far,\nit may have been near, but to the little girl it seemed to be close\nenough to touch, and she wished very much for a long pole, so that she\ncould see whether it was made of muslin or ginghams.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n PRESENTLY THEY CAME TO A PRECIPICE\n]\n\n\n\u201cPresently they came to a precipice. There was nothing beyond it and\nnothing below it. \u2018This,\u2019 said the old man to the little girl, \u2018is the\nJumping-Off Place.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Does any one jump off here?\u2019 said the little girl.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not that I know of,\u2019 replied the old man, \u2018but if they should take a\nnotion to, the place is all ready for them.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where would I fall to, if I jumped off?\u2019 the little girl asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018To Nowhere,\u2019 answered the old man.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is very funny,\u2019 said the little girl.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 remarked the old man, \u2018you can get to the End of the World, but\nyou would have to travel many a long year before you get to Nowhere.\nSome say it is a big city, some say it is a high mountain, and some say\nit is a wide plain.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl went to the Jumping-Off Place and looked over, the old\nman holding her hand.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, I see the moon shining down there,\u2019 she said. She was glad to see\nso familiar a face.\n\n\u201cThe old man laughed. \u2018Yes,\u2019 he said, \u2018the moon is very fond of shining\ndown there, and it runs away from the sun every chance it gets, and\nhunts up the darkest places, so that it may shine there undisturbed.\nTo-day it is shining down there where the sun can\u2019t see it, but to-night\nit will creep up here, when the sun goes away, and shine the whole night\nthrough.\u2019\n\n\u201cTurning back, the old man and the little girl came again to the Well at\nthe End of the World. The old woman was sitting there, combing her long\nwhite hair. This time she looked hard at the little girl and smiled,\nsinging:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018When the heart is young the well is dry\u2014\n Oh, it\u2019s good-by, dearie! good-by!\u2019\n\n\u201cBut the old man shook his head. \u2018We have not come here for nothing,\nSister Jane,\u2019 he said. With that he took a small vial, tied a long\nstring to it, and let it down the well. He fished about until the vial\nwas full of water, drew it to the top, and corked it tightly. The water\nsparkled in the sun as if it were full of small diamonds. Then he placed\nit carefully in his pocket, bowed politely to the old woman, who was\nstill combing her long, white hair, and, smiling, lifted the little girl\nto his back, and returned along the road they had come, past the\nThunder\u2019s house and down the mountain side, until they reached the\nlittle girl\u2019s home. Then he took the vial of sparkling water from his\npocket. \u2018Take it,\u2019 he said, \u2018and wherever you go keep it with you. Touch\na drop of it to your forehead when Friday is the thirteenth day of a\nmonth, and you will grow up to be both wise and beautiful. When you are\nin trouble, turn the vial upside down\u2014so\u2014and hold it in that position\nwhile you count twenty-six, and some of your friends will come to your\naid.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl thanked the old man as politely as she knew how.\n\n\u201c\u2018Do you know why I have carried you to the Thunder\u2019s house and to the\nJumping-Off Place, and why I have given you a vial of this rare water?\u2019\nThe little girl shook her head. \u2018Well, one day, not long ago, you were\nsitting by the roadside with some of your companions. You were all\neating cake. A beggar came along and asked for a piece. You alone gave\nhim any, and you gave him all you had.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Were you the beggar?\u2019 asked the little girl, smiling and blushing.\n\n\u201c\u2018That I leave you to guess,\u2019 replied the old man. He kissed the little\ngirl\u2019s hand, and was soon hid from sight by a turn in the road.\u201d\n\nMr. Thimblefinger stopped short here, and waited to see what the\nchildren would say. They had listened attentively, but they manifested\nno very great interest.\n\n\u201cI reckon they think there is more talk than tale in what you have\ntold,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, leaning back in his chair. \u201cThat\u2019s the way\nit appeared to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll not say that I have come to the end of my story,\u201d remarked\nMr. Thimblefinger, with some show of dignity, \u201cbut I have come to the\npart where we can rest awhile, so as to give Mr. Rabbit a chance to see\nif he can do any better. We\u2019ll allow the little girl to grow some, just\nas she does in the story.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n IV.\n\n THE BLUE HEN\u2019S CHICKEN.\n\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not much of a story-teller,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, \u201cand I never set up\nfor one, but I will say that I like the rough-and-tumble tales a great\ndeal better than I do the kind where some great somebody is always\ncoming in with conjurings and other carryings-on. It\u2019s on account of my\nraising, I reckon.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, stories can\u2019t be all alike,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows. \u201cYou might as\nwell expect a fiddle to play one tune.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell us the kind of story you like best,\u201d said Buster John to Mr.\nRabbit.\n\n\u201cNo, not now,\u201d responded Mr. Rabbit. \u201cI\u2019ll do that some other time. I\nhappened to think just now of a little circumstance that I used to hear\nmentioned when I was younger.\n\n\u201cIn the country next door there used to be a great many chickens. Some\nwere of the barnyard breed, some were of the kind they call game, some\nwere black, some were white, some were brown, some were speckled, and\nsome had their feathers curled the wrong way. Among all these there was\none whose name, as well as I can remember, was Mrs. Blue Hen.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas she really blue?\u201d Sweetest Susan inquired.\n\n\u201cWell, not an indigo blue,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, after reflecting a\nmoment, \u201cnor yet a sky blue. She was just a plain, dull, every-day blue.\nBut, such as she was, she was very fine. She belonged to one of the\nfirst families and moved in the very best circles. She was trim-looking,\nso I\u2019ve heard said, and, as she grew older, came to have a very bad\ntemper, so much so that she used to fly at a hawk if he came near her\npremises. Some of her neighbors used to whisper it around that she tried\nto crow like a rooster, but this was after she had grown old and\nhard-headed.\n\n\u201cWhen Mrs. Blue Hen was growing up, she was very nice and particular.\nShe couldn\u2019t bear to get water on her feet, and she was always shaking\nthe dust from her clothes. Some said she was finicky, and some said she\nwas nervous. Once, when she fanned out little Billy Bantam, who called\non her one day, a great many of her acquaintances said she would never\nsettle down and make a good housekeeper.\n\n\u201cBut after awhile Mrs. Blue Hen concluded that it was about time for her\nto have a family of her own, so she went away off from the other\nchickens and made her a nest in the middle of a thick briar patch. She\nmade her a nest there and laid an egg. It was new and white, and Mrs.\nBlue Hen was very proud of it. She was so proud, in fact, that, although\nshe had made up her mind to make no fuss over it, she went running and\ncackling toward the house, just as any common hen would do. She made so\nmuch fuss that away down in the branch Mr. Willy Weasel winked at Miss\nMimy Mink.\n\n\u201c\u2018Do you hear that?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018I never heard anything plainer in my life,\u2019 says she.\n\n\u201cMrs. Blue Hen was so proud of her new, white egg that she went back\nafter awhile to look at it. There it was, shining white in the grass.\nShe covered it up and hid it as well as she could, and then she went\nabout getting dinner ready.\n\n\u201cThe next morning she went to the nest and laid another egg just like\nthe first one. This happened for three mornings; but on the fourth\nmorning, when Mrs. Blue Hen went back, she found four eggs in the nest,\nand all four appeared to be dingy and muddy looking. She was very much\nastonished and alarmed, as well she might be, for here right before her\neyes she saw four eggs, when she knew in reason that there should be but\nthree; and not only that, they were all dingy and dirty.\n\n\u201cMrs. Blue Hen was so excited that she took off her bonnet and began to\nfan herself. Then she wondered whether she had not made a miscount;\nwhether she had not really laid four instead of three eggs. The more she\nthought about it, the more confused she became. She hung her bonnet on a\nblackberry bush and tried to count off the days on her toes. She began\nto count,\u2014\u2019One, two, three,\u2019\u2014and she would have stopped there, but she\ncouldn\u2019t. She had four toes on her foot, and she was compelled to count\nthem all. There was a toe on the foot for every egg in the nest.\n\n\u201cThis caused Mrs. Blue Hen to feel somewhat more comfortable in mind and\nbody, but she was left in such a hysterical state that she went off\ncackling nervously, and postponed laying an egg until late in the\nafternoon. After that there were five in the nest, and she kept on\nlaying until there were ten altogether. Then Mrs. Blue Hen rumpled up\nher feathers and got mad with herself, and went to setting. I reckon\nthat\u2019s what you call it. I\u2019ve heard some call it \u2018setting\u2019 and others\n\u2018sitting.\u2019 Once, when I was courting, I spoke of a sitting hen, but the\nyoung lady said I was too prissy for anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is prissy?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\nMr. Rabbit shut his eyes and scratched his ear. Then he shook his head\nslowly.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s nothing but a girl\u2019s word,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows by way of\nexplanation. \u201cIt means that somebody\u2019s trying hard to show off.\u201d\n\n\u201cI reckon that\u2019s so,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, opening his eyes. He appeared to\nbe much relieved. \u201cWell, Mrs. Blue Hen got mad and went to setting. She\nwas in a snug place and nobody bothered her. It was such a quiet place\nthat she could hear Mr. Willy Weasel and Miss Mimy Mink gossiping in the\ncalamus bushes, and she could hear Mrs. Puddle Duck wading in the\nbranch. One day Mrs. Puddle Duck made so bold as to push her way through\nthe briars and look in upon Mrs. Blue Hen. But her visit was not\nrelished. Mrs. Blue Hen rumpled her feathers up and spread out her tail\nto such a degree and squalled out such a harsh protest that Mrs. Puddle\nDuck was glad to waddle off with whole bones. But when she got back to\nthe branch she spluttered about a good deal, crying out:\n\n\u201c\u2018Aha! aha! quack, quack! Aha! You are there, are you? Aha! you\u2019ll have\ntrouble before you get away. Aha!\u2019\n\n\u201cNow the fact was that Mrs. Puddle Duck was the very one that had caused\nMrs. Blue Hen all the trouble,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, nodding his head\nsolemnly. \u201cWhile wading in the branch, Mrs. Puddle Duck had seen Mrs.\nBlue Hen going to her nest for three days, slipping and creeping through\nthe weeds and bushes, and she wanted to know what all the slipping and\ncreeping was about. So, on the third day Mrs. Puddle Duck did some\nslipping and creeping on her own account. She crept up close enough to\nsee Mrs. Blue Hen on her nest, and she was near enough to see Mrs. Blue\nHen when she ran away cackling.\n\n\u201cThen Mrs. Puddle Duck waddled up and peeped in the nest. There she saw\nthree eggs as white and as smooth as ivory, and the sight filled her\nwith jealousy. She began to talk to herself:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018I knew she must be mighty proud, the stuck-up thing! I can see that by\nthe way she steps around here. Quack, quack! and I\u2019ll just show her a\nthing or two.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen and there Mrs. Puddle Duck, all muddy as she was, got in Mrs. Blue\nHen\u2019s nest and sat on her beautiful white eggs and soiled them. And even\nthat was not all. Out of pure spite Mrs. Puddle Duck laid one of her own\ndingy-looking eggs in Mrs. Blue Hen\u2019s nest, and that was the cause of\nall the trouble. That was the reason Mrs. Blue Hen found four dingy eggs\nin her nest when there ought to have been three clean white ones.\n\n\u201cWell, Mrs. Blue Hen went to setting, and after so long a time nine\nlittle chickens were hatched. She was very proud of them. She taught\nthem how to talk, and then she wanted to get off her nest and teach them\nhow to scratch about and earn their own living. But there was still one\negg to hatch, and so Mrs. Blue Hen continued to set on it. One day she\nmade up her mind to take her chicks off and leave the egg that wouldn\u2019t\nhatch. The old Speckled Hen happened to be passing and Mrs. Blue Hen\nasked her advice. But the old Speckled Hen was very much shocked when\nshe heard the particulars.\n\n\u201c\u2018What! with nine chickens!\u2019 she cried. \u2018Why, nine is an odd number. It\nwould never do in the world. Hatch out the other egg.\u2019\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n ONE OF THEM WAS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE REST\n]\n\n\n\u201cBut young people are very impatient, and Mrs. Blue Hen was young. She\nfretted and worried a good deal, but in a few days the tenth egg\nhatched. Mrs. Blue Hen felt very much better after this. In fact, she\nfelt so comfortable that she didn\u2019t take the trouble to look at the\nchicken that hatched from the tenth egg. But when she brought her\nchildren off the nest she was very much astonished to find that one of\nthem was entirely different from all the rest. She was not only\nsurprised, but shocked. Nine of her children were as neat-looking as she\ncould wish them to be, but the tenth one was a sight to see. It had weak\neyes, a bill as broad as a case-knife, and big, flat feet. Its feet were\nso big that it waddled when it walked, and all the toes of each foot\nwere joined together.\n\n\u201cMrs. Blue Hen had very high notions. She wanted everybody to think that\nshe belonged to the quality, but this wabbly chicken with a broad bill\nand a foot that had no instep to it took her pride down a peg. She kept\nher children hid as long as she could, but she had to come out in public\nafter a while, and when she did\u2014well, I\u2019ll let you know there was an\nuproar in the barnyard. The old Speckled Hen was the first to begin it.\nShe cried out:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Look\u2014look\u2014look! Look at the Blue Hen\u2019s chickens!\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the Guinea hens began to laugh, and the old Turkey Gobbler was so\ntickled he came near swallowing his snout. Mrs. Blue Hen hung her head\nwith shame, and carried her children away off in the woods.\n\n\u201cBut her flat-footed chicken gave rise to a byword in all that country.\nWhen any stranger came along looking rough and ragged, it was the common\nsaying that he was the Blue Hen\u2019s chicken.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve heard it many a time,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cThere was no story in that,\u201d Buster John suggested.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit. \u201cJust some every-day facts picked up and\nstrung together.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeaking of stories,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, \u201cI have one in my mind that is\na sure enough story\u2014one of the old-fashioned kind.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, please, ma\u2019am, tell it,\u201d said Buster John, so seriously that they\nall laughed except Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n V.\n\n HOW A KING WAS FOUND.\n\n\n\u201cWhat about the little girl who had the vial of sparkling water?\u201d said\nSweetest Susan, turning to Mr. Thimblefinger, just as Mrs. Meadows was\nabout to begin her story.\n\n\u201cOh, she is growing,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\nBuster John frowned at his sister, as boys will do when they are\nimpatient, and Sweetest Susan said no more.\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time,\u201d Mrs. Meadows began, rubbing her chin thoughtfully,\n\u201cthere was a country that suddenly found itself without a king. This was\na long time ago, before people in some parts of the world began to think\nit was unfashionable to have kings. I don\u2019t know what the trouble was\nexactly, whether the king died, or whether he was carried off, or\nwhether he did something to cause the people to take away his crown and\nput him in the calaboose.\n\n\u201cAnyhow, they suddenly found themselves without a king, and it made them\nfeel very uncomfortable. They were so restless and uneasy that they\ncouldn\u2019t sleep well at night. They were in the habit of having a king to\ngovern them, and they felt very nervous without one.\n\n\u201cNow in that country there were eleven wise men whose trade it was to\ngive advice. Instead of falling out and wrangling with one another and\nruining their business, these eleven wise men had formed a copartnership\nand set up a sort of store, where anybody and everybody could get advice\nby the wholesale or retail. I don\u2019t know whether they charged anything,\nbecause there never has been a time since the world had more than two\npeople in it that advice wasn\u2019t as cheap as dirt.\n\n\u201cThe eleven wise men were there, ready to give advice, and so the people\nwent to them and asked them how to select a king. The eleven wise men\nput their heads together, and after a while they told the people that\nthey must select nine of their best men and send them out on the roads\nleading to the capital city, and when these nine men found a man\nsleeping in the shade of a tree, they were to watch him for four hours,\nand if the shadow of the tree stood still so as to keep the sun from\nshining on him, he was the one to select for their king. Then the eleven\nwise men, looking very solemn, bowed the people out, and the people went\noff and selected nine of their best men to find them a king.\n\n\u201cNow it happened that in a part of the country not far from the capital\ncity there lived a boy with his mother and stepfather. They were not\npoor and they were not rich, but everybody said the boy was the\nhandsomest and brightest that had ever been seen in that section. He was\nabout sixteen years old, and was very strong and tall.\n\n\u201cOne day, when the stepfather was in the village near which they lived,\na stranger passed through on his way to the capital city. He had neither\nwallet nor staff, but he drew a great crowd of idle people around him.\nHe was carrying a red rooster, and although the fowl\u2019s feet were tied\ntogether and his head hanging down, he crowed lustily every few minutes.\nIt was this that drew the crowd of idle people. One with more curiosity\nthan the rest asked the stranger why the rooster crowed and continued to\ncrow.\n\n\u201c\u2018He is a royal bird,\u2019 the stranger replied. \u2018There is no king in this\ncountry, and whoever eats this bird\u2019s head will reign as king.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018He must be worth a pretty sum,\u2019 said one.\n\n\u201c\u2018By no means,\u2019 answered the stranger. \u2018He is worth no more than a\nsilver piece.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut the people only laughed. They thought the stranger was making fun\nof them. He went on his way, and had soon passed beyond the village. Now\nit chanced that the stepfather of the bright and handsome boy was in the\ncrowd that gathered around the stranger. He thought it was very queer\nthat a rooster should be crowing so bravely when his legs were tied\ntogether and while his head was hanging down. So he said to himself that\nthere might be some truth in what the stranger said. He ran after the\nman and soon overtook him.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is a fine fowl,\u2019 said the boy\u2019s stepfather.\n\n\u201c\u2018It is a royal bird,\u2019 the stranger replied.\n\n\u201c\u2018What is he worth?\u2019 asked the boy\u2019s stepfather.\n\n\u201c\u2018I shall be glad to get rid of him,\u2019 said the stranger. \u2018Give me a\npiece of silver and take him.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis was soon done, and the stepfather took the rooster under his arm.\n\n\u201c\u2018Remember this,\u2019 remarked the stranger; \u2018if you eat the head of that\nbird you will reign in this country as king.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, ho!\u2019 laughed the boy\u2019s stepfather, \u2018you are a fine joker.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith the fowl under his arm he went toward his home. He had gone but a\nlittle way when he turned to look at the stranger, but the man had\ndisappeared. The country was level for a long distance in all\ndirections, but the stranger could not be seen.\n\n\u201cThe boy\u2019s stepfather carried the fowl home and said to his wife:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Cook this bird for supper. Cook the head also.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man was afraid to tell his wife why he wanted the head cooked. He\nknew she was very fond of her son, and he reasoned to himself that if\nshe knew what the stranger had said she would give the head to the boy.\nSo he only told her to be careful to cook the fowl\u2019s head and save it\nfor him.\n\n\u201cThe wife did as she was bid. She cooked the fowl and the fowl\u2019s head,\nand placed them away in the cupboard until her husband and her son came\nhome. It happened that something kept the husband in the village a\nlittle later than usual, and while the woman was waiting for him her son\ncame in and said he was very hungry.\n\n\u201c\u2018You will find something in the cupboard,\u2019 his mother said. \u2018Eat a\nlittle now, and when your stepfather returns we will have supper.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe boy went to the cupboard. The fowl was on a big dish ready to be\ncarved, and the head was in the saucer by itself. To save time and\ntrouble the boy took the head and ate it, and then felt as if he could\nwait for supper very comfortably. The husband came, and the woman\nproceeded to set the table. When she came to look for the fowl\u2019s head it\nwas gone.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, I ate it,\u2019 said her son, when he heard her exclamation of\nsurprise. \u2018I found it in the saucer, and I ate it rather than cut the\nfowl.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe stepfather was angry enough to tear his hair, but he said nothing.\nThe next day the boy went hunting. He was ready to return about noon,\nbut, being tired, he stretched himself in the shade of a tree and was\nsoon sound asleep.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THEY SAW THE HANDSOME BOY SLEEPING\n]\n\n\n\u201cWhile he was sleeping his soundest, the nine men who had been appointed\nby the people to find them a king chanced to pass that way. They saw the\nhandsome boy sleeping in the shade of the tree, and they stationed\nthemselves around and watched him. For four long hours they watched the\nboy, but still the shadow of the tree kept the sun from his face. The\nnine men consulted among themselves, and they came to the conclusion\nthat the shadow of the tree hadn\u2019t moved, and that the boy was a\nwell-favored lad who would look very well when he was dressed up and put\non a throne with a crown on his head.\n\n\u201cSo they shook the boy and aroused him from his sleep.\n\n\u201c\u2018What\u2019s your name?\u2019 asked the spokesman.\n\n\u201c\u2018Telambus,\u2019 replied the boy.\n\n\u201c\u2018Where do you live?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Not far from here.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How would you like to be king?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have never tried it. Is it an easy trade to learn?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe nine men looked at each other shrewdly and smiled. They each had\nthe same thought.\n\n\u201cThey went with the boy to his home and saw his mother, and inquired\nabout his age and his education, and asked a hundred other questions\nbesides. They cautioned the woman as they were leaving to say nothing of\ntheir visit except this, that they were going about hunting for a king\nand had called to make some inquiries.\n\n\u201cWhen her husband came home he had already heard of the visit of the\ndistinguished company, and so he asked his wife a thousand questions.\nAll the answer he got was that the visitors were hunting for a king.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m sure it was for me they were hunting,\u2019 said the man. \u2018How\nunfortunate that I was away.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, don\u2019t worry,\u2019 replied his wife. \u2018If they ever intended to make\nyou king, they\u2019ll come back after you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018You don\u2019t seem to think much about it,\u2019 remarked the man, \u2018but some of\nthese days you\u2019ll find out that you narrowly escaped being the king\u2019s\nwife.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe nine citizens were so certain that they had found the right person\nto rule over their country as king, that they made haste to return to\nthe capital city and tell the news to the eleven wise men who had sent\nthem out. They made their report, and the eleven wise men put their\nheads together once more. When they had consulted together a long time,\nthey said to the people:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018There is one test by which you may know whether a king has been found.\nSend a messenger and ask this young man to send us a rope made of sand a\nhundred feet long.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe messenger straightway went to the house of Telambus and told him\nwhat the eleven wise men had said. His mother straightway fell to\ncrying. But Telambus laughed at her fears.\n\n\u201c\u2018Tell the eleven wise men,\u2019 he said to the messenger, \u2018that there are\nvarious patterns of sand ropes. Let them send me a sample of the kind\nthey want\u2014a piece only a foot long\u2014and I will make them one a hundred\nfeet long.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe messenger returned to the eleven wise men and told them what\nTelambus had said. They put their heads together again and then told the\npeople that the young man was wise enough to be their king. There was\ngreat rejoicing then, and the nine wise men who had found him went to\nfetch him.\n\n\u201cBut Telambus shook his head. \u2018Kings are not carried about in this way.\nWhere are your banners and your chariots? Where are your drums and your\ncymbals?\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the nine men returned to the eleven wise men and told them what\nTelambus had said.\n\n\u201c\u2018He is right,\u2019 said the eleven wise men. \u2018He is a king already. Get\nyour horses, your chariots, your banners, and your music, and bring our\nking in as he deserves to be brought.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo Telambus was made the king of that country.\u201d\n\nAt this point Mrs. Meadows began to hunt for a knitting-needle she had\ndropped, and the children knew that the story was ended.\n\n\u201cThat was a pretty good story,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cIt was short\nand sweet, as the king-bird said to the honey-bee.\u201d\n\n\u201cDey wuz too much kingin\u2019 in it ter suit me. Ef folks got ter have\nkings, how come we ain\u2019t got none?\u201d asked Drusilla.\n\n\u201cPlease tell me about the little girl with the vial of sparkling water\nfrom the Well at the End of the World,\u201d said Sweetest Susan to Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cI expect she is nearly grown by this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cshe has now grown to be quite a\nyoung lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cHuh!\u201d grunted Drusilla, \u201cef folks grow up dat quick, I dunner what\nhinder me from bein\u2019 a ol\u2019 gray-head \u2019oman by sundown.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n VI.\n\n THE MAGIC RING.\n\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you see,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, with apparent seriousness,\n\u201cthat if we hadn\u2019t left off the story of the little girl who went to the\nWell at the End of the World just where we did, she would have had no\ntime to grow?\u201d\n\nBuster John smiled faintly, but Sweetest Susan took the statement\nseriously, though she said nothing. Drusilla boldly indorsed it.\n\n\u201cI speck dat\u2019s so,\u201d she said, \u201ckaze when de lil\u2019 gal got back home wid\ndat vial she wa\u2019n\u2019t in no fix fer ter cut up dem kind er capers what de\ntales tell about.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly not,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cbut now she has had time\nto grow up to be a young lady, almost. Names go for so little down here\nthat I haven\u2019t told you hers. She was named Eolen. Some said it was a\nbeautiful name, but her stepmother and her stepmother\u2019s daughter said it\nwas very ugly. Anyhow, that was her name, and whether it was ugly or\nwhether it was beautiful, she had to make the best of it.\n\n\u201cWell, Eolen went home when the old man gave her the vial of water from\nthe Well at the End of the World. She hid the vial beneath her apron\nuntil she reached her own room, and then she placed it at the very\nbottom of her little trunk,\u2014a trunk that had belonged to her mother, who\nwas dead.\n\n\u201cNothing happened for a long time. Whenever Friday fell on the\nthirteenth of a month, Eolen would rub a drop of the sparkling water on\nher forehead, and she grew to be the loveliest young lady that ever was\nseen. Her stepsister was not bad-looking, but, compared with Eolen, she\nwas ugly. The contrast between them was so great that people could not\nhelp noticing it and making remarks about it. Some of these remarks came\nto the ears of her stepmother.\n\n\u201cNow a stepmother can be just as nice and as good as anybody, but this\nparticular stepmother cared for nothing except her own child, and she\nsoon came to hate Eolen for being so beautiful. She had never treated\nthe child kindly, but now she began to treat her cruelly. Eolen never\ntold her father, but somehow he seemed to know what was going on, and he\ntreated her more affectionately each day, as her stepmother grew more\ncruel.\n\n\u201cThis lasted for some time, but finally Eolen\u2019s father fell ill and\ndied, and then, although she had many admirers, she was left without a\nfriend she could confide in or rely on. To make matters worse, her\nstepmother produced a will in which her husband had left everything to\nher and nothing to Eolen. The poor girl didn\u2019t know what to do. She knew\nthat her father had made no such will, but how could she prove it? She\nhappened to think of the vial of sparkling waters. She found it and\nturned it upside down.\n\n\u201cOn the instant there was a loud knock at the street door. Eolen would\nhave gone to open it, but her stepmother was there before her. She\npeeped from behind the curtains in the hallway, and saw a tall,\nrichly-dressed stranger standing on the steps.\n\n\u201c\u2018I wish to see a young lady who lives here. She is the daughter of an\nold friend,\u2019 said the stranger.\n\n\u201cThe stepmother smiled very sweetly. \u2018Come in. I will call her.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut instead of calling Eolen she called her own daughter. The girl\nwent, but not with a good grace. She had been petted and spoiled, and\nwas very saucy and impolite. The stranger smiled when he saw her.\n\n\u201c\u2018What was my mother doing when you saw her sitting by the Well at the\nEnd of the World?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018Do you take me for a crazy person?\u2019 replied the girl.\n\n\u201c\u2018By no means,\u2019 said the stranger. \u2018You are not the young lady I came to\nsee.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe stepmother then called Eolen and stood in the room frowning to see\nwhat was going to happen. Eolen came as soon as she was called, and the\nstranger seemed to be much struck by her beauty and modesty. He took her\nby the hand and led her to a chair.\n\n\u201c\u2018What was my mother doing when you saw her sitting by the Well at the\nEnd of the World?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018She was combing her hair,\u2019 replied Eolen.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is true,\u2019 remarked the stranger. \u2018Yes, she was combing her hair.\u2019\nThen he turned to the stepmother and said: \u2018May I see this young lady\nalone for a little while? I have a message for her from an old friend.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Certainly!\u2019 the stepmother answered. \u2018I hope her friend is well-to-do,\nfor her father has died without leaving her so much as a farthing.\u2019\nHaving said this, the stepmother flounced from the room.\n\n\u201c\u2018I came at your summons,\u2019 said the stranger; \u2018you turned the vial of\nsparkling water upside down, and now I am here to do your bidding.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen Eolen told him of the death of her father, and how he had left all\nof his property to her stepmother. The stranger listened attentively,\nand while he listened played with a heavy gold ring that he wore on his\nthird finger. When Eolen was through with her story he took this ring\nfrom his finger and handed it to her.\n\n\u201c\u2018Look through that,\u2019 he said, \u2018and tell me what you see.\u2019\n\n\u201cEolen held the ring to one of her eyes, and peeped through the golden\ncircle. She was so surprised that she came near dropping the ring. She\nhad held it up toward the stranger, but instead of seeing him through\nthe ring she seemed to be looking into a room in which some person was\nmoving about. As she continued to look, the scene appeared to be a\nfamiliar one. The room was the one her stepmother occupied\u2014the room in\nwhich her father had died. She saw her stepmother take from her father\u2019s\nprivate drawer a folded paper and hide it behind the mantel. Then the\nscene vanished, and through the ring she saw the stranger smiling at\nher.\n\n\u201c\u2018What you have seen happened some time ago.\u2019 He took the ring and\nreplaced it on his finger. \u2018Your stepmother is now coming this way. She\nhas been trying to hear what we are saying. When she comes in, do you\nget your father\u2019s real will from behind the mantel and bring it to me.\u2019\n\n\u201cSure enough the stepmother came into the room silently and suddenly.\nShe pretended to be much surprised to find any one there.\n\n\u201c\u2018You must excuse me,\u2019 she said to the stranger. \u2018I imagined I heard you\ntake your leave some time ago.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018You are excusable,\u2019 replied the stranger. \u2018I have been reflecting\nrather than talking. I have been thinking what could be done for your\nstepdaughter, who must be quite a burden to you.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe stepmother took this for an invitation to tell what she knew about\nEolen, and you may be sure she didn\u2019t waste any praise on the young\nlady. But right in the midst of it all Eolen, who had gone out, returned\nand handed the stranger the folded paper that had been hid behind the\nmantel. The stepmother recognized it and turned pale.\n\n\u201c\u2018This,\u2019 said the stranger, opening the paper and reading it at a\nglance, \u2018is your father\u2019s will. I see he has left you half the\nproperty.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That is the will my husband forgot to destroy,\u2019 cried the stepmother.\n\u2018I have the real will.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018May I see it?\u2019 asked the stranger.\n\n\u201cThe stepmother ran to fetch it, but when the stranger had opened it,\nnot a line nor a word of writing could be found on it.\n\n\u201c\u2018I see you are fond of a joke,\u2019 said the stranger, but the stepmother\nhad fallen into a chair and sat with her face hid in her hands. \u2018I am\nfond of a joke myself,\u2019 continued the stranger, \u2018and I think I can match\nyours.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that the stranger took the real will, tore it in small pieces and\nthrew it into the fireplace.\n\n\u201c\u2018What have you done?\u2019 cried Eolen.\n\n\u201c\u2018The most difficult thing in the world,\u2019 replied the stranger; \u2018I have\nmade this lady happy.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd sure enough the stepmother was smiling and thanking him.\n\n\u201c\u2018I thought you were my enemy,\u2019 she said, \u2018but now I see you are my\nfriend indeed. How can I repay you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018By treating this young lady here as your daughter,\u2019 he replied. \u2018Have\nno fear,\u2019 he said, turning to Eolen. \u2018No harm can befall you. What I\nhave done is for the best.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut before he went away he gave Eolen the gold ring, and told her to\nwear it for the sake of his mother, who sat by the Well at the End of\nthe World. She thanked him for his kindness and promised she would keep\nthe ring and treasure it as long as she lived.\n\n\u201cBut there was one trouble with this magic ring. It was too large for\nany of Eolen\u2019s fingers. She had the whitest and most beautiful hands\never seen, but the ring would fit none of her fingers. Around her neck\nshe wore a necklace of coral beads, and on this necklace she hung the\nring.\n\n\u201cFor many day\u2019s Eolen\u2019s stepmother was kind to her, almost too kind. But\nthe woman was afraid her stepdaughter would inform the judges of her\neffort to steal and hide her husband\u2019s will. The judges were very severe\nin those days and in that country, and if the woman had been brought\nbefore them and such a crime proven on her, she would have been sent to\nthe rack.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is a rack?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cHit\u2019s de place whar dey scrunch folks\u2019s ve\u2019y vitals out\u2019n \u2019em,\u201d said\nDrusilla solemnly.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s about right, I reckon,\u201d assented Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cWell, the\nstepmother was as kind to Eolen as she knew how to be, but the kindness\ndidn\u2019t last long. She hated her stepdaughter worse than ever. She was\nafraid of her, but she didn\u2019t hate her any the less on that account.\n\n\u201cEolen had a habit of taking off her coral necklace and placing it under\nher pillow at night. One night, when she was fast asleep, her stepmother\ncrept into the room and slipped the ring from the necklace. She had no\nidea it was a magic ring. She said to herself that it would look better\non her daughter\u2019s finger than it did on Eolen\u2019s coral necklace, so she\ntook the ring and slipped it on the finger of her sleeping daughter, and\nthen stepped back a little to admire the big golden circle on the\ncoarse, red hand.\n\n\u201cAlmost immediately the daughter began to toss and tumble in her sleep.\nShe flung her arms wildly about and tried to talk. The mother, becoming\nalarmed, tried to wake her, but it was some time before the girl could\nbe roused from her troubled sleep.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh!\u2019 she cried, when she awoke, \u2018what is the matter with me? I dreamed\nsome one was cutting my finger off. What was it? Oh! it hurts me still!\u2019\n\n\u201cShe held up the finger on which her mother had placed the ring and\ntried to tear off the golden band. \u2018It burns\u2014it burns!\u2019 she cried. \u2018Take\nit off.\u2019\n\n\u201cHer mother tried to take the ring off, but it was some time before she\nsucceeded. Her daughter struggled and cried so that it was a hard matter\nto remove the ring, which seemed to be as hot as fire. A red blister was\nleft on the girl\u2019s finger, and she was in great pain.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HER STEPMOTHER CREPT INTO THE ROOM\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018What have I done?\u2019 the mother cried, seeing her daughter\u2019s condition.\nThe two made so much noise that Eolen awoke and went to the door to find\nout what the trouble was.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go away, you hussy!\u2019 screamed the stepmother when she saw Eolen at the\ndoor. \u2018Go away! You are a witch!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, what have I done?\u2019 Eolen asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018You are the cause of all this trouble. For amusement I placed your\ngold ring on my dear daughter\u2019s finger, and now see her condition!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, then, did you take my ring? If you had left it where I placed it,\nyou would have had none of this trouble.\u2019 Eolen spoke with so much\ndignity that her stepmother was surprised into silence, though she could\ntalk faster and louder than a flutter-mill. But finally she found her\nvoice.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go away! You are a witch!\u2019 she said to Eolen.\n\n\u201cBut Eolen went boldly into the room. \u2018Give me my ring!\u2019 she exclaimed.\n\u2018You shall wrong me no further. Give me my ring! I will have it!\u2019\n\n\u201cThis roused the stepmother\u2019s temper. She searched on the floor till she\nfound the ring. Then she opened a window and flung it as far as she\ncould send it.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now let\u2019s see you get it!\u2019 she cried. With that she seized Eolen by\nthe arm and pushed her from the room, saying, \u2018Go away, you witch!\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, then,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, after pausing to take breath, \u201cwhat\nwas the poor girl to do?\u201d He looked at Sweetest Susan as if expecting\nher to answer the question.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know,\u201d replied Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cShake up de bottle,\u201d exclaimed Drusilla.\n\n\u201cExactly so,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n VII.\n\n THE COW WITH THE GOLDEN HORNS.\n\n\n\u201cI hope that isn\u2019t all of the story,\u2014if you call it a story,\u201d said\nBuster John.\n\n\u201cWhich?\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, with an air of having forgotten the\nwhole business.\n\n\u201cWhy, that about throwing the gold ring from the window,\u201d replied Buster\nJohn.\n\n\u201cWell, no,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, in an absent-minded way. \u201cIn a book,\nyou know, you can read right on if you want to, or you can put the book\ndown and rest yourself when you get tired. But when I\u2019m telling a story,\nyou must give me time to rest. I\u2019m so little, you know, that it doesn\u2019t\ntake much to tire me. Of course, if you don\u2019t like the story, I can stop\nany time. It\u2019s no trouble at all to stop. Just wink your eye at me\ntwice, and I\u2019m mum.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we don\u2019t want you to stop,\u201d said Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cNo, don\u2019t stop,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, drowsily, \u201cbecause then everybody\ngets to talking, and I can\u2019t doze comfortably. Your stories are as\ncomforting to me as a feather-bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll add a bolster to the bed,\u201d exclaimed Mr. Thimblefinger. He\nhesitated a moment, and then went on with the story:\u2014\n\n\u201cOf course, Eolen didn\u2019t know what to do when her stepmother threw the\ngold ring from the window and pushed her from the room. She went back to\nher bed and lay down, but she couldn\u2019t sleep. After a while daylight\ncame, and then she dressed herself and went down into the garden to hunt\nfor the ring. She searched everywhere, but the ring was not to be found.\n\n\u201cNow the ring could have been found very easily if it had been where it\nfell when Eolen\u2019s stepmother threw it from the window. But that night a\ntame crow, belonging to the Prince of that country, was roosting in one\nof the trees in the garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, was it a sure enough Prince?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cWhy, certainly,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger, with great solemnity. \u201cA\nmake-believe Prince could never have reigned in that country. The people\nwould have found him out, and he would have been put in the calaboose.\nWell, this tame crow that belonged to the Prince had wandered off over\nthe fields, and had gone so far away from the palace that it was unable\nto get back before dark, and so it went to bed in one of the trees\ngrowing in the garden behind the house where Eolen lived.\n\n\u201cOf course, as soon as morning came, the crow was wide awake and ready\nfor any mischief that might turn up. It flew to the ground, hoping to\nfind something for breakfast, and hopped about, searching in the leaves\nand grass. Suddenly the crow saw the ring shining on the ground and\npicked it up and turned it over. What could it be? The crow\u2019s curiosity\nwas such that it forgot all about breakfast. It seized the ring in its\nbeak and went flopping to the palace. It was so early in the morning\nthat the palace was closed, but the crow flew straight to the Prince\u2019s\nwindow and beat his wings against it until some of the attendants came\nand opened it, when the crow walked in with great dignity.\n\n\u201cThe Prince had been awakened by the noise, but when he saw the bird\nstalking into the room as stiff as a major-general of militia, he fell\nback on his bed laughing. The crow hopped to the foot-board of the bed\nand stood there holding the gold ring in his beak, as much as to say,\n\u2018Don\u2019t you wish you were as rich as I am?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Prince rose from his bed and took the ring from the crow, but it\nwas so hot that he made haste to drop it in a basin of cold water. Then\na curious thing happened. The ring seemed to expand in the basin until\nit was as large as the bottom, and within the circle it made the picture\nof a beautiful girl standing by a milk-white cow. There were two\npeculiarities about the milk-white cow. Her ears were as black as jet,\nand her horns shone and glittered as if they were made of gold.\n\n\u201cThe Prince was entranced. He gazed at the beautiful picture long and\nlovingly, and the crow sat on the rim of the basin and chuckled as\nproudly as if it had painted the picture. The girl was the loveliest the\nPrince had ever seen, and the cow was surely the most beautiful of her\nkind. The Prince\u2019s attendants uttered exclamations of delight when they\nsaw the picture, and his ministers, when they were sent for, were struck\ndumb with astonishment.\n\n\u201c\u2018If this bird could only speak!\u2019 cried the Prince.\n\n\u201cBut the crow went chuckling about the room saying to itself, \u2018What a\nfool a Prince must be who cannot understand my simple language!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Prince gazed at the picture framed by the gold ring for a long\ntime. At last he concluded to take it from the water. As he did so it\nshrunk to its natural size, and the picture of the beautiful girl and\nthe Cow with the Golden Horns disappeared, and the ring no longer burnt\nhis fingers. He dropped it in the basin once more, but it remained a\nsimple gold ring and the picture failed to appear again.\n\n\u201cThe Prince was disconsolate. He remained in the palace and refused to\ngo out. He moped and pined, until the family doctor was called in. The\ndoctor fussed about and felt of the Prince\u2019s pulse and looked at his\ntongue, and said that a change of air was necessary; but the Prince said\nhe didn\u2019t want any change of air and wouldn\u2019t have it. In fact, he said\nhe didn\u2019t want any air at all, and he wouldn\u2019t take any pills or\npowders, and he wouldn\u2019t drink any sage tea, and he wouldn\u2019t have any\nmustard plaster put on him. He was in love, and he knew that the more\nmedicine he took, the worse off he would be.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, a little sage tea ain\u2019t bad when you are in love,\u201d remarked Mrs.\nMeadows. \u201cIt\u2019s mighty soothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d continued Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cbut the Prince didn\u2019t want it,\nand wouldn\u2019t have it. He wanted the beautiful girl he had seen in the\npicture. He was in love with her, and he wanted to marry her. So his\nministers consulted together and finally they sent around a bailiff\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d cried Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cTut\u2014tut!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201che sent a crier around\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cA herald, you mean,\u201d suggested Buster John, who had read a good many\nstory books.\n\n\u201cA bailiff could do the work just as well, but you can have it your way.\nWell,\u201d continued Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cthe Prince\u2019s ministers sent a\nherald around to inquire at all the people\u2019s houses if any of them had a\nCow with Golden Horns, but nobody had such a cow, and everybody wondered\nwhat the herald meant. A Cow with Golden Horns! People went about asking\none another if they had ever heard of such a thing before. Some said the\nthrone was tottering. Others said the politicians were trying to work a\nscheme to increase taxation. Still others talked about the peril of the\nnation. Everybody had some explanation, but nobody had the right one.\nThe poor young Prince was nearly crazy to find the young girl whose\npicture he had seen in the basin of water.\n\n\u201cFor a few days the people heard no more of the matter, but at the end\nof a week the herald went round the city again declaring that the Prince\nwould marry any young lady who would bring as her marriage portion a Cow\nwith Golden Horns. She need not have riches of any kind; all that was\nnecessary was a Cow with Golden Horns. This word went around among the\npeople and from city to city. Rich men with daughters tried everywhere\nto buy a Cow with Golden Horns, but all to no purpose.\n\n\u201cThe Prince waited and waited and pined and grew thinner. But just as\nmatters were getting to be very serious indeed, an old man appeared in\nthe palace park leading a beautiful white cow with jet black ears and\ngolden horns. The servants set up such a shout when they saw the\nbeautiful cow that everybody in the palace was aroused and all came out\nto see what caused the noise. Then the servants and attendants ran over\none another in their efforts to reach the Prince, who was moping in his\nroom. As they ran they cried:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018The Cow with the Golden Horns has come! The Cow with the Golden Horns\nhas come!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Prince forgot his dignity and hurried out to see the Cow with the\nGolden Horns. The old man came leading her, and she was, indeed, a\nbeautiful creature. Her head and limbs were almost as delicate as those\nof a deer, and her eyes were large and soft. Her body was as white as\nsnow, her ears glistened like black silk, and her golden horns shone in\nthe sun. The old man bowed low as he led the beautiful cow forward.\n\n\u201c\u2018I wouldn\u2019t make much of a bride myself, your Majesty,\u2019 he said. \u2018I\nhave brought you the Cow with the Golden Horns. She might find you the\nbride that I failed to bring you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I fear I shall have no such good fortune,\u2019 replied the Prince. \u2018But I\nthink you have proved to me that I am not dreaming. How shall I reward\nyou?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I ask no reward, your Majesty. I only ask the privilege of taking away\nmy Cow with the Golden Horns when you have found your bride.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen the Prince had given his promise, the old man said, \u2018You have a\nring, your Majesty, that came to you in a curious way. Let this ring be\nplaced on the left horn of the cow. The girl or woman that is able to\nremove this ring will be the bride you are wishing for. Every morning\nthe Cow with the Golden Horns will appear here in the lawn and remain\nuntil night falls. Let it be announced, your Majesty, that whoever takes\nthe ring from her shall be the Princess of the Realm.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cHuh!\u201d exclaimed Drusilla suddenly. \u201cHe talk like he been ter college.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you hush?\u201d cried Buster John. But Mr. Thimblefinger paid no\nattention to the interruption.\n\n\u201c\u2018But how do you know,\u2019 asked the Prince, \u2018that the right one will come\nto get the ring?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How do I know that your Majesty has the ring?\u2019 the old man answered.\n\n\u201cThis seemed to satisfy the Prince, who caused it to be announced all\nthrough his kingdom that he would choose for his bride the girl or woman\nwho would take the ring from the golden horn of the Cow.\n\n\u201cOf course there was a great commotion among the ladies when this\nannouncement was made, and nearly all of them tried to take the ring\nfrom the golden horn of the Cow. Some said they tried it just for fun,\nand some said they tried it just out of curiosity; but all of them\nfailed. Even Eolen\u2019s stepmother tried, and then she made her daughter\ntry, but when the daughter touched the ring it burnt her so that she\nscreamed. And then some of those who had tried and failed turned up\ntheir noses and said it was a trick.\n\n\u201cEolen had never thought of trying. She had seen the Prince and admired\nhim, yet she had no idea of going up before all these people. But as\nsoon as her stepmother started for the palace with her daughter, there\ncame a knock at the door. Eolen opened it, and there, standing before\nher, was the old man who had carried her to the Thunder\u2019s house, and to\nthe Jumping-Off Place. She was very glad to see him, and told him so,\nand he was just as glad to see her.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why don\u2019t you go and get your ring?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018It is lost,\u2019 she answered.\n\n\u201c\u2018It is found,\u2019 he said. \u2018I have placed it on the golden horn of the Cow\nthat stands near the palace door. You must go and get it.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have nothing to wear,\u2019 she replied.\n\n\u201cThen the old man tapped on the wall and called:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Sister Jane! Sister Jane! Where are you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I am where I ought to be,\u2019 was the reply. The wall opened and out\nstepped the old, old woman that Eolen had seen combing her hair by the\nWell at the End of the World.\n\n\u201c\u2018Clothe this child in silk and satin and comb her hair out fine, Sister\nJane.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe old woman grumbled a little, but gave Eolen a touch here and there,\nand in a moment she was dressed as fine as the finest lady in the land.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now she is ready, brother,\u2019 said the old, old woman, and then she\ndisappeared in the wall, combing her long gray hair and smiling.\n\n\u201c\u2018Must I walk?\u2019 asked Eolen, looking at her satin slippers.\n\n\u201c\u2018Nonsense!\u2019 exclaimed the old man. Then he tapped in another part of\nthe wall. \u2018Nephew! Nephew! Where are you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Wherever you wish me to be,\u2019 a voice replied, and then the wall\nopened, and out stepped the handsome stranger who had given Eolen the\ngold ring. \u2018What do you want?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018A carriage and horses,\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u201c\u2018They are at the door,\u2019 was the reply, \u2018and I\u2019ll drive them myself.\u2019\n\n\u201cSure enough, there stood at the door a coach and four, and Eolen was\ncarried to the palace in grand style. Liveried servants appeared and\nspread a strip of carpet before her, and the Cow with the Golden Horns\ncame running to meet her, and in a moment she had the ring. Then the\npeople set up a loud shout, crying:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018The Princess! the Princess!\u2019\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n SHE WOULD HAVE KNELT, BUT HE LIFTED HER UP\n]\n\n\n\u201cAnd then the Prince came out and went to her. She would have knelt, but\nhe lifted her up and knelt himself before her, and kissed her hand, and\nsmiled on her, for she was the lovely girl he had seen in the picture.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the moral of that?\u201d inquired Mr. Rabbit, waking from his nap.\n\n\u201cWhy, you didn\u2019t even hear the story,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cThat is the reason I want to hear the moral of it,\u201d remarked Mr.\nRabbit.\n\n\u201cThere is no moral at all,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cThen I\u2019m mighty glad I was asleep,\u201d grumbled Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n VIII.\n\n BROTHER WOLF\u2019S TWO BIG DINNERS.\n\n\nThe children said they were very much pleased with the story about the\nCow with the Golden Horns. Buster John even went so far as to say that\nit was as good as some of the stories in the books. But Mr.\nThimblefinger shook his head. He said he was very glad they were pleased\nwith it, but he knew Mr. Rabbit was right. The story couldn\u2019t be a very\ngood story, because it had no moral.\n\n\u201cBut I think it had a very good moral,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cWhat was it?\u201d inquired Mr. Rabbit with great solemnity.\n\n\u201cWhy, if the little girl had been too stingy to give the old beggar a\npiece of her cake, she would never have come to be Princess,\u201d replied\nMrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cDid she give the beggar a piece of cake?\u201d asked Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cWhy, certainly she did,\u201d Mr. Thimblefinger answered.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, setting himself back in his chair, \u201cI must\nhave been fast asleep when she did it. But the place for a moral, as\nI\u2019ve been told, is right at the end of a story, and not at the\nbeginning.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you tell us a story with a moral?\u201d suggested Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cI can,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit. \u201cI can for a fact, and the piece of cake\nyou mentioned puts me in mind of it.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit closed his eyes and rubbed his nose, and then began:\u2014\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time, when Brother Fox and myself were living on pretty\ngood terms with each other, we received an invitation to attend a\nbarbecue that Brother Wolf was going to give on the following Saturday.\nThe next day we received an invitation to a barbecue that Brother Bear\nwas going to give on the same Saturday.\n\n\u201cI made up my mind at once to go to Brother Bear\u2019s barbecue, because I\nknew he would have fresh roasting ears, and if there\u2019s anything I like\nbetter than another, it is fresh roasting ears. I asked Brother Fox\nwhether he was going to Brother Bear\u2019s barbecue or to Brother Wolf\u2019s,\nbut he shook his head. He said he hadn\u2019t made up his mind. I just asked\nhim out of idle curiosity, for I didn\u2019t care whether he went or whether\nhe stayed.\n\n\u201cI went about my work as usual. Cold weather was coming on, and I wanted\nto get my crops in before the big freeze came. But I noticed that\nBrother Fox was mighty restless in his mind. He didn\u2019t do a stroke of\nwork. He\u2019d sit down and then he\u2019d get up; he\u2019d stand still and look up\nin the tops of the trees, and then he\u2019d walk back and forth with his\nhands behind him and look down at the ground.\n\n\u201cI says to him, says I, \u2018I hope you are not sick, Brother Fox.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018Oh, no, Brother Rabbit; I never felt better in my life.\u2019\n\n\u201cI says to him, says I, \u2018I hope money matters are not troubling you.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018Oh, no, Brother Rabbit, money was never easier with me than\nit is this season.\u2019\n\n\u201cI says to him, says I, \u2018I hope I\u2019ll have the pleasure of your company\nto the barbecue to-morrow.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018I can\u2019t tell, Brother Rabbit; I can\u2019t tell. I haven\u2019t made up\nmy mind. I may go to the one, or I may go to the other; but which it\nwill be, I can\u2019t tell you to save my life.\u2019\n\n\u201cAs the next day was Saturday, I was up bright and early. I dug my\ngoobers and spread \u2019em out to dry in the sun, and then, ten o\u2019clock, as\nnear as I could judge, I started out to the barbecue. Brother Wolf lived\nnear the river, and Brother Bear lived right on the river, a mile or two\nbelow Brother Wolf\u2019s. The big road, that passed near where Brother Fox\nand I lived, led in the direction of the river for about three miles,\nand then it forked, one prong going to Brother Wolf\u2019s house, and the\nother prong going to Brother Bear\u2019s house.\n\n\u201cWell, when I came to the forks of the road, who should I see there but\nold Brother Fox. I stopped before he saw me, and watched him. He went a\nlittle way down one road, and licked his chops; then he came back and\nwent a little way down the other road, and licked his chops.\n\n\u201cNot choosing to be late, I showed myself and passed the time of day\nwith Brother Fox. I said, says I, that if he was going to Brother Bear\u2019s\nbarbecue, I\u2019d be glad to have his company. But he said, says he, that he\nwouldn\u2019t keep me waiting. He had just come down to the forks of the road\nto see if that would help him to make up his mind. I told him I was\nmighty sorry to miss his company and his conversation, and then I tipped\nmy hat and took my cane from under my arm and went down the road that\nled to Brother Bear\u2019s house.\u201d\n\nHere Mr. Rabbit paused, straightened himself up a little, and looked at\nthe children. Then he continued:\u2014\n\n\u201cI reckon you all never stood on the top of a hill three quarters of a\nmile from the smoking pits and got a whiff or two of the barbecue?\u201d\n\n\u201cI is! I is!\u201d exclaimed Drusilla. \u201cDon\u2019t talk! Hit make me dribble at de\nmouf. I wish I had some right now.\u201d\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HE WENT A LITTLE WAY DOWN ONE ROAD\n]\n\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, \u201cI got a whiff of it and I was truly glad I had\ncome\u2014truly glad. It was a fine barbecue, too. There was lamb, and kid,\nand shote, all cooked to a turn and well seasoned, and then there was\nthe hash made out of the giblets. I\u2019ll not tell you any more about the\ndinner, except that I\u2019d like to have one like it every Saturday in the\nyear. If I happened to be too sick to eat it, I could sit up and look at\nit. Anyhow, we all had enough and to spare.\n\n\u201cAfter we had finished with the barbecue and were sitting in Brother\nBear\u2019s front porch smoking our pipes and talking politics, I happened to\nmention to Brother Bear something about Brother Wolf\u2019s barbecue. I said,\nsays I, that I thought I\u2019d go by Brother Wolf\u2019s house as I went on home,\nthough it was a right smart step out of the way, just to see how the\nland lay.\n\n\u201cSays Brother Bear, says he: \u2018If you\u2019ll wait till my company take their\nleave, I don\u2019t mind trotting over to Brother Wolf\u2019s with you. The walk\nwill help to settle my dinner.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo, about two hours by sun, we started out and went to Brother Wolf\u2019s\nhouse. Brother Bear knew a short cut through the big canebrake, and it\ndidn\u2019t take us more than half an hour to get there. Brother Wolf was\njust telling his company good-by; and when they had all gone he would\nhave us go in and taste his mutton stew, and then he declared he\u2019d think\nright hard of us if we didn\u2019t drink a mug or two of his persimmon beer.\n\n\u201cI said, says I, \u2018Brother Wolf, have you seen Brother Fox to-day?\u2019\n\n\u201cBrother Wolf said, says he, \u2018I declare, I haven\u2019t seen hair nor hide of\nBrother Fox. I don\u2019t see why he didn\u2019t come. He\u2019s always keen to go\nwhere there\u2019s fresh meat a-frying.\u2019\n\n\u201cI said, says I, \u2018The reason I asked was because I left Brother Fox at\nthe forks of the road trying to make up his mind whether he\u2019d eat at\nyour house or at Brother Bear\u2019s.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, I\u2019m mighty sorry,\u2019 says Brother Wolf, says he; \u2018Brother Fox\nnever missed a finer chance to pick a bone than he\u2019s had to-day. Please\ntell him so for me.\u2019\n\n\u201cI said I would, and then I told Brother Wolf and Brother Bear good-by\nand set out for home. Brother Wolf\u2019s persimmon beer had a little age on\nit, and it made me light-headed and nimble-footed. I went in a gallop,\nas you may say, and came to the forks of the road before the sun went\ndown.\n\n\u201cYou may not believe it, but when I got there Brother Fox was there\ngoing through the same motions that made me laugh in the morning\u2014running\ndown one road and licking his chops, and then running down the other and\nlicking his chops.\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018I hope you had a good dinner at Brother Wolf\u2019s to-day, Brother\nFox.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018I\u2019ve had no dinner.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018That\u2019s mighty funny. Brother Bear had a famous barbecue, and I\nthought Brother Wolf was going to have one, too.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Fox, \u2018Is dinner over? Is it too late to go?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018Why, Brother Fox, the sun\u2019s nearly down. By the time you get\nto Brother Bear\u2019s house, he\u2019ll be gone to bed; and by the time you go\nacross the swamp to Brother Wolf\u2019s house, the chickens will be crowing\nfor day.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, well, well!\u2019 says Brother Fox, \u2018I\u2019ve been all day trying to make\nup my mind which road I\u2019d take, and now it\u2019s too late.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd that was the fact,\u201d continued Mr. Rabbit. \u201cThe poor creature had\nbeen all day trying to make up his mind which road he\u2019d take. Now, then,\nwhat is the moral?\u201d\n\nSweetest Susan looked at Mrs. Meadows, but Mrs. Meadows merely smiled.\nBuster John rattled the marbles in his pocket.\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d said Drusilla.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d inquired Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cGo down one road an\u2019 git one dinner, den cut \u2019cross an\u2019 git some mo\u2019\ndinner, an\u2019 den go back home down de yuther road.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit shook his head.\n\n\u201cTar-Baby, you are wrong,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cIf you want anything, go and get it,\u201d suggested Buster John.\n\nMr. Rabbit shook his head and looked at Sweetest Susan, whereupon she\nsaid:\u2014\n\n\u201cIf you can\u2019t make up your mind, you\u2019ll have to go hungry.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit shook his head.\n\n\u201cEat a good breakfast,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, \u201cand you won\u2019t be worried\nabout your dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll wrong!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, with a chuckle. \u201cThe moral is this:\nHe who wants too much is more than likely to get nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows dubiously, \u201cif you have to work out a\nmoral as if it was a sum in arithmetic, I\u2019ll thank you not to trouble me\nwith any more morals.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe motion is seconded and carried,\u201d exclaimed Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n IX.\n\n THE LITTLE BOY OF THE LANTERN.\n\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201call of you can tell better stories\nthan I can, because you are larger. Being taller, you can see farther\nand talk louder; but I sometimes think that if I was to climb a tree,\nI\u2019d see as far as any of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I hope your feelings are not hurt,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit\nsympathetically. \u201cIt\u2019s not the fault of your stories that I fall asleep\nwhen you are telling them. It\u2019s my habit to sit and nod at certain hours\nof the day, and if you\u2019ll watch me right close, you\u2019ll see that I\nsometimes drop off when I\u2019m telling a story myself. I\u2019ll try and keep\nawake the next time you tell one.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll have to prop Mr. Rabbit\u2019s eyelids open with straws,\u201d\nsaid Mrs. Meadows, laughing.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll just try you with a little one,\u201d Mr. Thimblefinger declared. \u201cI\u2019ll\ntell you one I heard when I was younger. I want to see whether Mr.\nRabbit will keep awake, and I want to see whether there\u2019s a moral in the\ntale.\u201d\n\nSo he took off his little hat, which was shaped like a thimble, and run\nhis hand over the feather ornament to straighten it out. Then he began:\u2014\n\n\u201cA long time ago, when there was a great deal more room in the country\nnext door than there is now, there lived a man who had a wife, one son,\na horse, a cow, and a calf. He was a hard-working man, so much so that\nhe had little or no time to devote to his family. He worked hard in the\nfield all day, and when night came he was too tired to trouble much\nabout his son. His wife, too, having no servant, was always busy about\nthe house, sewing, washing, cooking, cleaning, patching, milking, and\nsweeping. Day in and day out it was always the same. The man was always\nworking, and the woman was always working. They had no rest except on\nSunday, and then they were too tired to pay much attention to their son.\n\n\u201cThe consequence was, that while the boy was a very bright lad, he was\nfull of mischief, up to all sorts of tricks and pranks that some people\ncall meanness. By hook or by crook\u2014or maybe by book\u2014he had learned how\nto spell and read. But the only book he had to read was one with big\npictures of men dressed in red clothes, and armed with yellow cutlasses.\nThe book was called \u2018The Pirooters of Peruvia.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe the name was \u2018The Pirates of Peru,\u2019\u201d suggested Buster John.\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose any such country\nas Peru had been found on the map when that book was written. But never\nmind about that. The boy read only that book, and he became rather wild\nin his mind. He wanted to be a pirooter, whatever that was, and so he\narmed himself with old hoe helves and called them pikes, and he tied a\nshingle to his side and called it a cutlass, and he got him a\nbroom-handle and called it a horse.\n\n\u201cThis boy\u2019s name was Johnny, but sometimes they called him Jack for\nshort. Some people said he was mean as he could be; but I don\u2019t say\nthat. He was fonder of scampering over the country than he was of\nhelping his mother. Maybe he didn\u2019t know any better because he wasn\u2019t\ntaught any better. But one morning his mother was so tired that she\ncouldn\u2019t get out of bed. She had worn herself out with work. The next\nmorning she couldn\u2019t get up, nor the next; and then the neighbors, who\nhad come in to see what the matter was, said that she would never get up\nany more. So one day Johnny found everything very still in the house,\nand the neighbors who were there were kinder to him than they ever had\nbeen, and then he knew that his mother would never get tired any more.\n\n\u201cHe felt so bad that he wandered off into the woods, crying as he went.\nHis eyes were so full of tears that he couldn\u2019t see where he was going,\nand he didn\u2019t care. He went on and on, until, finally, when he took\nheart to look around, he found himself in a part of the country that was\nnew to him. This caused him to dry his eyes, for he was perfectly sure\nthat he had traveled neither fast nor far enough to be beyond the limits\nof the numberless journeys he had made in all directions from his\nfather\u2019s house; and yet, here he was, suddenly and without knowing how\nhe got there, in a country that was altogether new to him.\n\n\u201cIt was just like when you came down through our spring gate,\u201d said Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cThe grass was different and the trees were different,\nand even the sand and the gravel were of a color that Johnny had never\nseen before. Suddenly, while he was wondering how he could have missed\nseeing all these strange things when he had journeyed this way before, a\nlady, richly dressed, came out of the woods and stood before him. She\nneither smiled nor looked severe, but pity seemed to shine in her face.\n\n\u201c\u2018What now?\u2019 she said, raising her hand to her head. \u2018You have come fast\nand come far. You are in trouble. Go back. When you want me, go to the\nWhispering Poplar that stands on the hill and call my name.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Who are you?\u2019 asked Johnny, forgetting to be polite, if he ever knew\nhow.\n\n\u201c\u2018The Keeper of the Cows that roam in the night,\u2019 replied the lady.\n\u2018When you go to the Whispering Poplar that stands on the hill, whisper\nthis:\u2014\n\n O Keeper of Cows that roam in the night,\n Come over the hill and lend me your light.\u2019\n\n\u201cJohnny would have thanked the woman, but in the twinkling of an eye she\nwas gone without making a sound, and not a blade of grass shook to show\nthat she had been there. Johnny turned in his tracks and started home\nthe way he came. Before he had gone far he stopped to look back, but the\nstrange country was nowhere to be seen\u2014only the old familiar hills and\ntrees that he had always known.\n\n\u201cWhen he got home there was a strange woman cooking and fixing his\nfather\u2019s supper. The table was set, and everything was almost as neat\nand as tidy as it used to be when his mother was alive. Even his own\nlittle plate was in its place, and his mug, with the picture of a blue\ncastle painted on it, was by the plate. But Johnny had no appetite. He\nwent to the door and looked in, and then went to the stable. Once there,\nhe suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to drive the cow in from\nthe pasture. He went running to get her, but found her coming along of\nher own accord, something she was not in the habit of doing.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n A LADY, RICHLY DRESSED, CAME OUT OF THE WOODS\n]\n\n\n\u201cJohnny wondered a little at this, but it soon passed out of his mind,\nand he got behind the cow and made her go faster. He drove the cow into\nthe lot, and waited awhile for the woman to come and milk. But she\ndelayed so long that he went to the house and found his father eating\nsupper. Instead of going to the table, he went and sat by the fire.\n\n\u201c\u2018Have something to eat?\u2019 said the woman.\n\n\u201c\u2018I am not hungry,\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u201c\u2018Have a glass of fresh milk, then?\u2019 she said.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not to-night,\u2019 he answered. \u2018I have just driven the cow in from the\npasture.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I brought her from the pasture myself,\u2019 said the woman, \u2018milked her,\nand turned her out again.\u2019\n\n\u201cJohnny said nothing to this, but he knew the cow had not been milked,\nand he wondered where the woman got the milk that his father was\ndrinking. He thought it over, and forgot all about his grief. He noticed\nthat as soon as his father drank the milk he began to smile at the\nwoman. He smiled at the woman, but was cross to Johnny.\n\n\u201cAfter supper the woman went out, and after a while Johnny went out,\ntoo, leaving his father sitting by the fire smoking his pipe. Johnny\nwent to the lot, thinking the woman had gone there. He wanted to see\nwhether she would milk the cow. He crept along the side of the fence,\nand soon he was near enough to peep through a crack without being seen.\nHe saw the woman rubbing the cow on the back while the calf was getting\nall the milk.\n\n\u201c\u2018You see how good I am to you, sister,\u2019 said she. \u2018Now I want you to be\ngood to me. When that boy Jack goes after you to the pasture, I want you\nto lead him a chase. I saw him beating your calf to-day. But see how\ngood I am to your calf, sister. I give it all the milk.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe cow shook her horn and switched her tail, and Johnny, sitting in\nthe fence corner, wondered what it all meant.\n\n\u201c\u2018I see,\u2019 said the cow, after a while. \u2018You want to marry the boy\u2019s\nfather, and the boy is in the way. But suppose they find you out. What\nthen?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Trust me for that, sister,\u2019 said the woman; \u2018trust me for that.\u2019\n\n\u201cJohnny waited to hear no more, but crept away and went to bed. He was\ndressed and out by sun-up next morning, but the woman was up before him,\nand had breakfast nearly ready. Johnny asked her if she had milked the\ncow, and she replied that she had milked and forgotten about it. Johnny\nsaw the milk-pail setting on the shelf, and when he looked at it he knew\nthe cow had not been milked, else the sides of the pail would have been\nspattered.\n\n\u201cBut the cow had been turned out, and the calf was sleeping contentedly\nin the fence corner, instead of nibbling the grass. Johnny drank no milk\nat breakfast, but his father did, and smiled at the woman more than\never. During the day Johnny forgot all about the cow, but when night\ncame he knew she must be brought up, so he went to the pasture after\nher. She was not to be found. He hunted over the hills and fields, and\nthen, not finding her, began to cry.\n\n\u201cSuddenly the lady he had seen the day before stepped out of the wood\nand spoke to him. She held in her hand a tiny lantern.\n\n\u201c\u2018Take this,\u2019 she said, holding out the lantern. \u2018You wouldn\u2019t call me,\nand so I came to you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I forgot,\u2019 whispered Johnny.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t forget any more,\u2019 said the lady. \u2018Take this lantern and run to\nthe Whispering Poplar that stands on the hill. You\u2019ll find your cow tied\nthere. Drive her home, and don\u2019t spare her.\u2019\n\n\u201cJohnny found the cow tied to the poplar sure enough, and he made her\ngallop home as fast as she could. He blew out his tiny lantern before he\ngot in sight of the house, but it dropped from his hand and he could\nfind it no more. He ceased to hunt for it after a while, and drove the\ncow to the lot, where the woman was waiting.\n\n\u201c\u2018Go get your supper,\u2019 she said to Johnny.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes \u2019m,\u2019 replied Johnny, but he went off only to creep back to see\nwhat the woman would do.\n\n\u201cShe abused the cow terribly. He could see that she was angry. \u2018You are\na nice sister,\u2019 she exclaimed, \u2018to let that boy bring you home so\nearly.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t \u201csister\u201d me,\u2019 moaned the cow. \u2018I\u2019m nearly famished, and that boy\nhas nearly run me off my legs. Somebody that I couldn\u2019t see caught me\nand tied me to a tree this morning, and there I\u2019ve been all day. We\u2019d\nbetter go away from here. That boy will find you out yet.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen Johnny crept away, ate his supper, and went to bed. He slept late\nthe next morning, but when he awoke he found that his father, instead of\nbeing at work, as was his habit, was smoking his pipe and talking to the\nwoman, and both were smiling at each other very sweetly. That afternoon,\nJohnny went to bring the cow home before sundown, but he couldn\u2019t find\nher. He hunted and hunted for her until long after dark, and then he\nwent to the Whispering Poplar that stands on the hill, and said:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018O Keeper of Cows that roam in the night,\n Come over the hills and lend me your light!\u2019\n\n\u201cInstantly Johnny heard a cow lowing in the valley, and saw a light\nglimmering faintly in the distance. In a little while he heard a\ntremendous clatter of hoofs up the hill, and the rushing of some large\nanimal through the bushes. It seemed to have one eye only and that eye\nshone as fiercely as a flame of fire as its head swayed from side to\nside. It came rushing to the poplar-tree where Johnny stood, and stopped\nthere. Johnny peeped from behind the tree and saw that the frightful\nanimal was nothing more than his cow, with a tiny lantern hanging on her\nhorn. She stood there panting and trembling. Johnny waited to see if the\nKeeper of Cows that roam in the night would make her appearance, but he\nwaited in vain. Then he drove the cow home, turned her into the lot, and\nwent in the house to get his supper. His father and the woman were\nsitting very close together.\n\n\u201c\u2018Have you brought the cow?\u2019 the woman asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018She\u2019s in the lot,\u2019 replied Johnny.\n\n\u201c\u2018You are a smart boy,\u2019 said the woman.\n\n\u201c\u2018Thanky, ma\u2019am,\u2019 exclaimed Johnny.\n\n\u201cSo it went on day after day. The woman would make the cow wander\nfarther and farther away from home, and Johnny would go to the\nWhispering Poplar that stands on the hill and call for the beautiful\nlady, the Keeper of the Cows that roam in the night, and soon the cow\nwould come running and lowing. Then Johnny would drive her home by the\nlight of his little lantern. This happened so often that the neighbors,\nand indeed the people in all that country, when they saw a light bobbing\naround at night, would shake their heads and say, \u2018There goes Jack with\nhis lantern,\u2019 and then after a while they called him \u2018Jack of the\nLantern.\u2019\n\n\u201cOne day he heard two of the neighbors talking about him, saying it was\na pity that so bright a boy should have such a stepmother as the woman\nhis father was about to marry. Then Johnny (or Jack, as he was sometimes\ncalled) knew that his father was preparing to marry the woman who was\nkeeping house for him, and it made the boy feel very wretched to think\nthat this woman was to take the place of his mother.\n\n\u201cThat very day he went to the Whispering Poplar that stands on the hill\nand called for the Keeper of the Cows that roam in the night. The lady\nmade her appearance, and then Johnny told her his troubles. The lady\nsmiled for the first time. Then she told Johnny that if he would follow\nher directions his troubles would disappear. She gave him a roll of blue\nribbon, and told him what to say when he presented it to the woman just\nbefore the marriage took place. She told him also what to do with his\nlittle lantern. Johnny went home feeling very much better, and that\nnight his father told him he was to have a new mother the next day. He\nsaid nothing in reply, but smiled as if the news pleased him.\n\n\u201cJohnny lay awake that night a long time, and once he thought the woman\ncame and leaned over his bed as if to listen, but just then a cow not\nfar away lowed once, twice, thrice. Then the woman went away muttering\nsomething.\n\n\u201cThe next day the invited guests began to assemble early, and after a\nwhile the preacher came. The women neighbors would have the bride to\nstand up in the middle of the floor to admire her just before the\nceremony, and when she stood up Johnny began to march around her, waving\nhis lantern and his blue ribbon and singing:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018I have for the bride ten yards of blue ribbon\u2014\n Ten yards of blue ribbon, ten yards of blue ribbon\u2014\n I have for the bride ten yards of blue ribbon,\n So rich and so soft and so rare;\n Five yards to pin on her snowy white bosom\u2014\n Her snowy white bosom, her snowy white bosom\u2014\n Five yards to pin on her snowy white bosom,\n And five to tie in her hair.\n\n \u201c\u2018I have a lantern to light her along with\u2014\n To light her along with, to light her along with\u2014\n I have a lantern to light her along with,\n When forth she fares in the night;\n Out in the dark, the ribbon will rustle\u2014\n The ribbon will rustle, the ribbon will rustle\u2014\n Out in the dark the ribbon will rustle,\n And the lantern will lend her its light!\u2019\n\n\u201cJohnny threw the blue ribbon over the woman\u2019s shoulder and around her\nneck, and waved his lantern, and instantly the woman disappeared, and in\nher place stood a cow. Before the people could recover their surprise,\nthe lady that Johnny had seen at the Whispering Poplar came into the\nroom and bowed to the company.\n\n\u201c\u2018This is the most malicious cow in all my herd,\u2019 said she, \u2018and this\nbrave boy has caught her. Here is a purse of gold for his reward. As for\nyou, sir,\u2019 turning to Johnny\u2019s father, \u2018you may thank your son for\nsaving you from this witch.\u2019 Then she bowed again, and went away,\nleading the cow, and neither of them was ever seen in that country\nagain.\n\n\u201cBut to this day, when people see a light bobbing up and down in the\nfields at night, they say, \u2018Yonder\u2019s Jack of the Lantern!\u2019\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n X.\n\n A LUCKY CONJURER.\n\n\n\u201cNow, I think that was a pretty good story,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit. \u201cIt had\nsomething about cows in it, and there was nothing about kings and\nprinces. I wouldn\u2019t give _that_\u201d\u2014Mr. Rabbit blew a whiff of smoke from\nhis mouth\u2014\u201cor all your princes and kings. Of course that\u2019s on account of\nmy ignorance. I don\u2019t know anything about them. I reckon they are just\nas good neighbors as anybody, when you come to know them right well.\u201d\n\nBuster John laughed at this, but Sweetest Susan only smiled.\n\n\u201cOh, I am not joking,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit solemnly. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason\nwhy kings and queens and princes shouldn\u2019t be just as neighborly as\nother people. If a king and queen were keeping house anywhere near me,\nand were to send over after a mess of salad, or to borrow a cup of sugar\nor a spoonful of lard, I\u2019d be as ready to accommodate them as I would\nany other neighbors, and I reckon they\u2019d do the same by me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey\u2019d be mighty foolish if they didn\u2019t,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cI hear tell dat folks hafter be monstus umble-come-tumble when dey go\nfoolin\u2019 \u2019roun\u2019 whar dey er kingin\u2019 an\u2019 a queenin\u2019 at,\u201d remarked\nDrusilla. \u201cEf dey sont me fer ter borry any sugar er lard fum de house\nwhar dey does de kingin\u2019 an\u2019 queenin\u2019, I boun\u2019 you I\u2019d stan\u2019 at the back\ngate an\u2019 holler \u2019fo\u2019 I went in dar whar dey wuz a-havin\u2019 der gwines on.\nDey wouldn\u2019t git me in dar \u2019fo\u2019 I know\u2019d how de lan\u2019 lay.\u201d\n\n\u201cI expect you are right, Tar-Baby,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m glad you didn\u2019t go to sleep over the story of the little boy\nand the lantern. But it didn\u2019t have any moral,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cWhy, I reckon that\u2019s the reason I didn\u2019t do any nodding,\u201d explained Mr.\nRabbit. \u201cI knew there was something the matter.\u201d\n\nThere was a pause, during which Mr. Rabbit betrayed a tendency to fall\nto nodding again. Presently Mrs. Meadows remarked:\u2014\n\n\u201cI mind me of a story that I heard once\u2014I reckon the talk about kings\nand queens made me remember it. Anyway, it popped into my head all of a\nsudden, though I hadn\u2019t thought about it in years.\u201d\n\n\u201cFire away!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, opening his eyes and slowly closing\nthem again.\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time there lived in the land of Moraria a man who was very\npoor. He worked whenever and wherever he could find work, yet he had so\nmany children that even if he had found work every day he could have\nmade hardly enough for all to eat and wear. As it was, times were so\nhard and work was so scarce that he frequently had to go hungry and half\nclothed. His wife did the best she could, which was very little. She\nworked about the palace where the king had lived, but as she was only\none among a hundred, she got small wages, and had few opportunities to\ncarry any scraps of victuals to her children.\n\n\u201cFinally the man came to the conclusion that he must make a desperate\neffort to better his condition, so he said to his wife:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018What are my five senses for? I see other people living by their wits,\nand dressing fine and enjoying the best in the land. Why shouldn\u2019t I do\nthe same? What is to prevent me but my stupidity?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Stupidity is a high fence to climb over,\u2019 replied the man\u2019s wife. \u2018But\nif you are willing to try how far your wits will carry you, you will\nhave a good opportunity in a few days. The king\u2019s daughter, the Princess\nMyla, is to be married next week, and even now the guests are assembling\nat the palace\u2014most of them belonging to the bridegroom\u2019s retinue.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man leaned his head on his hand and thought a while, and then he\nrose and put on the best clothes he had, which were poor enough, and\ntied a rope girdle around his waist.\n\n\u201c\u2018I shall go to court as a pilgrim,\u2019 he said to his wife. \u2018When you see\nme, do you go around among the other servants and tell them that a great\nconjurer has arrived from the East. In this way it will come quickly to\nthe King\u2019s ears. Nothing will come of that, but the next morning\nsomething valuable will be missing from the palace. When you hear of it,\ndo you tell the rest that you know a man who can find whatever is\nmissing.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But how will you do this?\u2019 asked the woman.\n\n\u201c\u2018Leave that to me,\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u201cThe man carried out his plan, and his wife followed his directions. She\npointed him out to her fellow-servants as a great conjurer from the\nEast. Ragged as he was, the man stalked majestically about the\npalace-yard, and after a while sat on the ground with his face to the\nwall, and shook his head from side to side, and made many queer motions\nwith his hands.\n\n\u201cNow, while the man sat there going through his queer motions, he heard\nvoices on the other side of the wall. He judged that two men were\nresting in the shade on that side, and he knew by the way they talked\nthat they had come with the young Prince who was to marry the Princess\nMyla.\n\n\u201c\u2018You have left the blanket on the horse, I hope,\u2019 said one.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes, everything is attended to,\u2019 replied the other.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is well,\u2019 remarked the first. \u2018The Prince, our master, desires\nthe Princess Myla to be the first to look on this beautiful horse, which\nhas just come out of Arabia. I will go myself to see that the animal is\nproperly cared for.\u2019\n\n\u201cPresently two strangers came through the gate, laughing and talking,\nand the man who was playing the conjurer knew they were the keepers of\nthe horse. He rose when they went by, and watched them until he saw what\npart of the palace stables they entered. Then he slowly made his way out\nof the palace grounds.\n\n\u201cThat night he went back and removed the horse, placing it where no one\nwould be likely to find it. Then he told his wife what he had done.\n\n\u201c\u2018There will be a great outcry,\u2019 said he, \u2018when the horse is missed. In\nthe midst of it make your voice heard, and remind the young Prince\u2019s\nattendants that there is a famous conjurer within reach who can no doubt\nfind the horse.\u2019\n\n\u201cAs the man said, so it turned out. There was a great noise made when it\nwas found that the beautiful Arabian horse had been stolen. The young\nPrince was ready to tear his hair, so great was his disappointment. He\noffered a large sum of money to any one who would recover the horse.\nWhen the excitement was at its highest, the woman mentioned to some of\nthe attendants that a famous conjurer had come to the palace. She then\npointed her husband out to the men. At once the news was carried to the\nPrince, who was with the King.\n\n\u201cThe King was not a believer in conjurers, and he quickly told the\nattendants to go send the vagabond about his business. But the young\nPrince was so keen to recover the beautiful horse which he had intended\nas a wedding gift for the Princess Myla that he insisted on consulting\nthe conjurer. So the man was sent for. He came, followed by a number of\npeople who were anxious to see what he would do. He had a very wise look\nas he bowed to the King and to the Prince.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who are you?\u2019 the King asked with a frown.\n\n\u201c\u2018A poor pilgrim, your Majesty. Nothing more.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What is your business?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I am a student, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where are your books?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018In men\u2019s faces, your Majesty.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man\u2019s replies were so apt that the King\u2019s ill-humor partly passed\naway.\n\n\u201c\u2018A horse has been stolen from the royal stables,\u2019 said the King. \u2018I am\ntold you are a conjurer. If you are, find the horse.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man seated himself on the carpet, drew a crystal stone from his\npocket, and asked the young Prince to warm it in the palm of his hand.\nThen the man took it and looked at it a few moments, rubbing his hand\nover it as if something blurred his sight. Then he said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018The horse has on a blanket woven on a Russian loom. I see! A\ndapple-gray with milk-white mane and tail.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That is the horse!\u2019 cried the Prince. \u2018Where is he?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018He is tied in a thicket a half league from here, near a road that\nleads to the river. He paws the ground and whinnies for his master. He\nis hungry.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt once messengers were sent and the horse found. The Prince was about\nto give the man a purse of gold, but the King stayed his hand, saying:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll test this fellow. I believe he is an imposter.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man was very much frightened at this, but there was no escape for\nhim. The King went to his private apartment, and shortly came back with\na covered basket in his hand.\n\n\u201c\u2018There is a bird in this nest,\u2019 said the King. \u2018If you are a conjurer,\ntell me the name of it.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Alas, your Majesty,\u2019 cried the man, preparing to fall on his knees and\nbeg for mercy, \u2018a nest that wouldn\u2019t fit a sparrow might chance to fit a\ncrow.\u2019\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n AS HE DID SO, A CROW HOPPED OUT\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018You certainly have gifts,\u2019 remarked the King as he lifted the cover\nfrom the basket. As he did so a crow hopped out and went stalking about\nthe room. The man was more astonished than the King. In his fright he\nhad hit on an old saying that he had often heard, and it saved his life.\n\n\u201cThe Prince gave the man a purse of gold and he was about to retire,\nwhen suddenly an attendant came running into the chamber crying that\nsome one had stolen the beautiful diamond ring belonging to the Princess\nMyla.\n\n\u201c\u2018Tell the Princess to trouble herself no further. We have here a man\nwho will be able to find it,\u2019 said the King.\n\n\u201c\u2018Allow me a little time, your Majesty,\u2019 cried the man, who was now\nfrightened nearly out of his wits. \u2018Let me go into a vacant room in a\nquiet part of the palace, where I may have an opportunity to look into\nthis matter.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe was soon placed in a room near the servants\u2019 quarters, the\nattendants telling him that he would be summoned by the King in an hour.\nHe went into the room, shut the door, and flung himself on the floor,\nbewailing his unhappy condition.\n\n\u201cNow the ring had been stolen by one of the women in attendance on the\nPrincess. She was so pale and sad-looking that her companions had\nnicknamed her Misery, and sometimes the Princess herself, in a spirit of\nfun, called her by that name. She had heard how the conjurer had\ndiscovered the stolen horse, and she had seen him name the crow in the\ncovered basket. Consequently she was very much frightened when she heard\nthe King command him to find the stolen ring. She saw the conjurer go\ninto the room, and after a while she crept to the door to listen, so\ngreat was her fear.\n\n\u201cThe man in the room was not thinking of the stolen ring at all. He was\nmerely bewailing his unhappy lot.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, misery, misery!\u2019 he cried; \u2018I have heard of you, but now I know\nyou!\u2019\n\n\u201cHe had no sooner said this than there came a knock on the door and a\nvoice said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t talk so loud! Open the door!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe man opened the door and saw a woman standing there trembling and\nweeping.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t expose me,\u2019 she said, \u2018but spare my life. I have the ring here.\nI did wrong to steal it.\u2019\n\n\u201cFor a moment the man was so overcome with astonishment that he was\nunable to speak. He took the ring in his hand and looked at it while the\nwoman continued to plead with him. He handed her the ring again.\n\n\u201c\u2018Take it,\u2019 he said, \u2018and place it beneath the corner of one of the rugs\nin the bedroom of the Princess. Be quick about it, for I am going to the\nKing.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe woman ran and did as she had been told, and then the man came from\nthe room and sent an attendant to inform the King that the ring had been\nfound. The King sent for him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Where is the ring?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Under a corner of a rug in the bedroom of the Princess, your Majesty,\u2019\nreplied the man, bowing low and smiling.\n\n\u201cSearch was at once made, and sure enough the beautiful ring was found\nunder a corner of a rug in the Princess\u2019s bedroom. The Princess herself\ncame to thank the conjurer, and if he had not been a very sensible man\nhis head would have been turned by the attention he received. Even the\nKing no longer doubted the conjurer\u2019s powers.\n\n\u201c\u2018There is something in this man,\u2019 said the King, and he straightway\noffered him a high position among his councilors.\n\n\u201cThe man thanked the King most heartily, but declared that his business\nwould not allow him to remain another day at court. So the King gave him\na purse of gold, the young Prince gave him another, and the beautiful\nPrincess Myla gave him a string of pearls of great value. Then he went\nhome, bought him some land, built him a comfortable house, and went into\nbusiness for himself.\n\n\u201cIt sometimes happened that his wife complained because he did not\naccept the King\u2019s offer and remain at court, so that she might have\nflourished as a fine lady, but he always replied by saying that the man\nis a fool who will tempt Providence more than three times in a lifetime.\nThough he went into the palace poor and came out of it rich, he had\nescaped only by the skin of his teeth. He was always grateful for his\ngood fortune, and by his example taught his children to lead virtuous\nlives and always to help the poor and needy.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XI.\n\n THE KING OF THE CLINKERS.\n\n\nChickamy Crany Crow and Tickle-My-Toes had stopped frolicking, and were\nnow listening to the stories. While Mrs. Meadows was telling about the\nlucky conjurer, Tickle-My-Toes became very uneasy. He moved about\nrestlessly, pulled off his big straw hat, put it on again, and seemed to\nbe waiting impatiently for the time to come when he might say something.\n\nSo, when Mrs. Meadows had finished, she looked at Tickle-My-Toes to see\nwhat he wanted. The rest did the same. But Tickle-My-Toes blushed very\nred, and looked at his feet.\n\n\u201cYou acted as if you wanted to say something,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, \u201cand\nif you do, now\u2019s your chance. What\u2019s the matter? Have you run a splinter\nin your foot? You look as if you wanted to cry.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did want to say something,\u201d replied Tickle-My-Toes.\n\n\u201cWhat was it?\u201d Mrs. Meadows inquired.\n\n\u201cNothing much,\u201d answered Tickle-My-Toes, putting his finger in his\nmouth.\n\n\u201cI declare, I\u2019m ashamed of you,\u201d exclaimed Mrs. Meadows. \u201cHere you are\nmighty near as old as I am, and yet trying to play boo-hoo baby.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think you ought to talk that way,\u201d said Tickle-My-Toes. \u201cI\nthread your needles for you every day, and I do everything you ask me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know what\u2019s the matter with you,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows. \u201cYou want me\nto take you in my lap and rock you to sleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I don\u2019t!\u201d cried Tickle-My-Toes, blushing again. \u201cI wanted to tell a\nstory I heard, but I\u2019ll go off somewhere and tell it to myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere wouldn\u2019t be any fun in that,\u201d suggested Buster John.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cTell the story right here, so we can enjoy it\nwith you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll laugh,\u201d protested Tickle-My-Toes.\n\n\u201cNot unless there\u2019s something in the story to laugh at.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is no laughing story. It\u2019s just as solemn as it can be,\u201d explained\nTickle-My-Toes.\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit. \u201cIf there\u2019s anything I like, it is one of\nthose solemn stories that make you feel like you want to go off behind\nthe house and shake hands with yourself, and cry boo-hoo to the\nell-and-yard and seven stars.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit\u2019s enthusiastic remark was very encouraging to Tickle-My-Toes,\nwho, after scratching his head a little, and looking around to see if he\ncould find a place to hide when the time came, began his story in this\nwise:\u2014\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time, and in a big town away off yonder somewhere, there\nlived a little boy who had no father nor mother. He was so small that\nnobody seemed to care anything about him. But one day a woman, the wife\nof a baker, heard him crying in the streets, and carried him into the\nhouse, and gave him something to eat, and warmed him by the fire, and\nafter that he felt better.\n\n\u201cThe baker himself grumbled a great deal when he came home and found\nwhat his wife had done. He said he wouldn\u2019t be surprised to come home\nsome day and find his house full of other people\u2019s children. But his\nwife replied that it would be well enough to complain when he found the\nhouse full. As for this little brat, she said, he wouldn\u2019t fill a milk\njar if he was put in it, much less a great big house.\n\n\u201cThe baker growled and grumbled, but his wife paid no attention to him.\nShe sat in her chair and rocked and sang, and was just as good-natured\nas she could be. After a while the baker himself got over his grumbling,\nand began to laugh. He told his wife that he had sold all his bread that\nday, and had orders for as much the next day.\n\n\u201c\u2018Of course,\u2019 said she; \u2018but if I had left that child crying in the\nstreets your business would have been ruined before the year is out.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Maybe so,\u2019 replied the baker.\n\n\u201cWell, the little boy grew very fast, and was as lively as a cricket.\nThe baker\u2019s wife thought as much of him as if he had been her own son,\nand the baker himself soon came to be very fond of him. He was very\nsmart, too. He learned to watch the fire under the big oven, and to make\nhimself useful in many ways. He played about the oven so much, and was\nso fond of watching the bread bake and the fire burn, that the baker\u2019s\nwife called him Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201cFor many years the country where the baker and his wife and Sparkle\nSpry lived had been at peace with all the other countries. But one day a\nman from a neighboring country had his nose pulled by somebody in the\nbaker\u2019s country, and then war was declared by the kings and queens, and\nthe people fell to fighting.\n\n\u201cNow, when people fight they must be fed, and the cheapest thing to feed\nthem on is bread. A part of the army camped near the town where the\nbaker lived, and there was a great demand for bread. The baker\u2019s oven\nwas not a large one, and by running it day and night he could only bake\nthree hundred loaves.\n\n\u201cHe and his wife baked until they were tired out. They told Sparkle Spry\nto watch the oven so that the bread wouldn\u2019t burn, and to wake them when\nit was brown. They were so tired that Sparkle Spry was sorry for them,\nand he wondered why he wasn\u2019t big enough to take their places, if only\nfor one day and night. While he was thinking and wishing, he saw\nsomething moving. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and then he saw\nan old man, no bigger than a broomstick, and no taller than a teacup,\npeeping from behind the oven.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HE SAW AN OLD MAN, NO BIGGER THAN A BROOMSTICK\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Are they all gone?\u2019 he whispered, coming forward a little way.\n\n\u201c\u2018All who?\u2019 asked Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018The old ones\u2014the big man and the fat woman.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018They have gone to bed,\u2019 said Sparkle Spry. \u2018I can call them!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No, no,\u2019 cried the old man. \u2018They are such fools! They don\u2019t know what\nis good for them. I have been waiting for years to get a chance to show\nthem how to bake bread. Once I showed myself to the man, and he thought\nI was a snake; once to the woman, and she thought I was a rat. What\nfools they are!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Who are you?\u2019 inquired Sparkle Spry. He didn\u2019t like to hear his\nfriends abused.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who\u2014me? I\u2019m the King of the Clinkers\u2014twice plunged in the water and\ntwice burned in the fire.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, to-night you can bake all the bread you want to,\u2019 said Sparkle\nSpry. \u2018The baker and his wife have been trying to supply the army that\nis camped here, but their oven is too small. They have worked until they\ncan work no longer, and now they have gone to bed to rest.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Good!\u2019 cried the King of the Clinkers. \u2018Shut the door, so they can\u2019t\nhear us! I\u2019ll show them a thing or two about baking bread.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen he walked close to the hot oven, tapped on it with a little poker\nthat he carried in his belt, and called out: \u2018Wake up! Get out! Come on!\nHurry up! We\u2019ve no time to lose! Show yourselves! Stir about! Be\nlively!\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that, hundreds of little men swarmed out of the ash heap behind\nthe oven, some of them sneezing and some rubbing their eyes, but all\njumping about with motions as quick as those of a flea when he jumps.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, please don\u2019t talk about fleas,\u201d pleaded Mr. Rabbit, shuddering and\nscratching himself behind the ear. \u201cIt makes the cold chills run up my\nback. I never hear \u2019em named but I think I can feel \u2019em crawling on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnyhow, that\u2019s the way the little men jumped about,\u201d said\nTickle-My-Toes, resuming his story. \u201cThey swarmed in and out of the\noven, hot as it was; they swarmed in and out of the flour barrels; they\nswarmed in and out of the trough where the dough was kneaded; and they\nswarmed in and out of the woodshed.\n\n\u201cThe King of the Clinkers stood sometimes on the edge of the oven,\nsometimes on the edge of the flour barrels, sometimes on the edge of the\ntrough, sometimes on the woodpile, and sometimes at the door of the\nfurnace. And wherever he stood he waved his tiny poker and told the\nothers what to do.\n\n\u201cSome of the little men carried wood to the furnace, some carried flour\nand water to the trough, some carried dough to the oven, and some\nbrought out the hot and smoking bread. Sparkle Spry watched all this\nwith so much surprise that he didn\u2019t know what to say or do. He saw the\nloaves of bread rise up in rows as high as the ceiling, and he sat and\nwatched it as dumb as an oyster. He had seen bread baked, but he had\nnever seen such baking as this.\n\n\u201cFinally the eye of the King of the Clinkers fell on Sparkle Spry.\n\u2018Don\u2019t sit there doing nothing,\u2019 he cried. \u2018Go fetch wood and pile it\nhere by the furnace door. You can do that!\u2019\n\n\u201cSparkle Spry did as he was bid, but though he brought the wood as fast\nas he could, he found that he couldn\u2019t bring it fast enough. Pretty soon\nthe King of the Clinkers called out to him:\n\n\u201c\u2018You can rest now. The flour is all gone, and we have hardly begun.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018There\u2019s plenty in the storehouse,\u2019 said Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018How many barrels?\u2019 asked the King of the Clinkers.\n\n\u201c\u2018Two hundred,\u2019 Sparkle Spry answered.\n\n\u201cThe King of the Clinkers wrung his hands in despair. \u2018Hardly a\nmouthful\u2014hardly a mouthful! It will all be gone before the chickens crow\nfor day. But run fetch the key. Two hundred barrels will keep us busy\nwhile they last.\u2019\n\n\u201cSparkle Spry brought the key of the storehouse door, and the little men\nswarmed in and rolled the barrels out in a jiffy. Only one accident\nhappened. In taking the flour out of one of the barrels, after they had\nrolled it near the dough trough, one of the little men fell in and would\nhave been drowned but for Sparkle Spry, who felt around in the loose\nflour and lifted him out.\u201d\n\n\u201cDrowned!\u201d cried Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cOf course,\u201d answered Tickle-My-Toes. \u201cWhy not? I ought to have said\n\u2018smothered,\u2019 but now that I\u2019ve said \u2018drowned\u2019 I\u2019ll stick to it.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter stick to the story,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit solemnly,\u2014\u201cBetter stick\nto the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, I think he\u2019s doing very well,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows in an encouraging\ntone.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Tickle-My-Toes, \u201cthe little men worked away until they had\nbaked the two hundred barrels of flour into nice brown loaves of bread.\nThis made five hundred barrels they had used, and that was all the baker\nhad on hand. The fifteen hundred pounds of flour made twenty hundred and\nodd fat loaves, and these the King of the Clinkers had carried into the\nstorehouse.\n\n\u201cWhen all this was done, and nicely done, the King of the Clinkers went\nto the door of the room where the baker and his wife were sleeping. They\nwere snoring as peacefully as two good people ever did. Then he went to\nthe street door and listened.\n\n\u201c\u2018Get home\u2014get home!\u2019 he cried to the little men. \u2018I hear wagons\nrumbling on the pavement; they will be here presently for bread.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little men scampered this way and that, behind the oven and into\nthe ash heap, and, in a few seconds, all had disappeared.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 said the King of the Clinkers, \u2018I want to tell you that I\u2019ve had\na splendid time, and I\u2019m very much obliged to you for it. I have enjoyed\nmyself, and I want to make some returns for it. Pretty soon the bread\nwagons will be at the door clamoring for bread. You will wake the baker\nand his wife. When they find all their flour made into nice bread they\nwill be very much surprised. They will ask you who did it. You must tell\nthem the truth. They will not believe it, but they\u2019ll be very proud of\nyou. They will be willing to give you anything you want. Tell them you\nwant a wooden horse. They will have it built for you. It must have a\nwindow on each side and good strong hinges in the legs. Good-by! I hear\nthe wagons at the door.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe King of the Clinkers waved his hand and disappeared behind the\noven. The wagons rattled near the door, the teamsters cracking their\nwhips and calling for bread for the hungry army. Sparkle Spry ran to the\nbaker and shook him, and ran to the baker\u2019s wife and shook her. They\nwere soon awake, but when the baker learned that the wagons had come for\nbread, he threw up both hands in despair.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m ruined!\u2019 he cried. \u2018I ought to have been baking and here I\u2019ve been\nsleeping! And the army marches away to-day, leaving me with all my stock\nof flour on hand. Oh, why didn\u2019t the boy wake me?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Come,\u2019 said his wife; \u2018we\u2019ll sell what we\u2019ve got, and not cry over the\nrest.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey went into the storehouse, and there they saw a sight such as they\nhad never seen before. The room was so full of steaming bread that they\ncould hardly squeeze in at the door. From floor to ceiling it was\nstacked and packed. They sold and sold until every loaf was gone, and\nthen, instead of the bread, the baker and his wife had a sack full of\nsilver money.\n\n\u201cThe baker went in to count it, but his wife took it away from him. \u2018Not\nnow,\u2019 she said; \u2018not until we have thanked this boy.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018You are right!\u2019 cried the baker. \u2018It\u2019s the most wonderful thing I ever\nheard of. How did you manage it?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Some little men helped me,\u2019 answered Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201cThe woman seized his hands and kissed his fingers. \u2018These are the\nlittle men,\u2019 she exclaimed.\n\n\u201c\u2018There\u2019s one thing I\u2019m sorry for,\u2019 said Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018What is that?\u2019 asked the baker.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, we had to burn so much wood.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t mention it\u2014don\u2019t mention it,\u2019 protested the baker.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 said the baker\u2019s wife, embracing Sparkle Spry again, \u2018you\ndeserve something for making us rich. What shall it be?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe baker frowned a little at this, but his brow cleared when Sparkle\nSpry replied that he wanted a wooden horse built.\n\n\u201c\u2018You shall have it,\u2019 said the baker\u2019s wife.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes, indeed,\u2019 assented the baker. \u2018As fine a one as you want.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XII.\n\n THE TERRIBLE HORSE.\n\n\nWhen Tickle-My-Toes had told about how pleased the baker and his wife\nwere with Sparkle Spry, he paused and looked at Chickamy Crany Crow, as\nif he expected that she would beckon him away. But, instead of that, she\nsaid:\u2014\n\n\u201cWhy, that isn\u2019t all.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s enough, I hope,\u201d replied Tickle-My-Toes.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, \u201cit\u2019s not enough, if there\u2019s any more. Why, so\nfar it\u2019s the best of all the stories. It\u2019s new to me. I had an idea that\nI had heard all the stories, but this one is a pole over my persimmon,\nas we used to say in the country next door.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t like to tell stories,\u201d protested Tickle-My-Toes, puckering his\nface in a comical way. \u201cIt\u2019s too confining.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit. \u201cIt\u2019s time you were settling down.\nWhat will you look like a year or two from now, if you keep on cutting\nup your capers?\u201d\n\nTickle-My-Toes caught hold of the corner of Chickamy Crany Crow\u2019s apron,\nand, thus fortified, resumed his story:\u2014\n\n\u201cWell, the baker and his wife promised Sparkle Spry they would have him\na big wooden horse made, and they were as good as their word. They sent\nright off that very day for a carpenter and joiner, and when he came,\nSparkle Spry showed the man what he wanted. He said the horse must be as\nmuch like a real horse as could be made out of wood, and three times as\nbig.\n\n\u201cThe man asked the baker\u2019s wife what the brat wanted with such a machine\nas that, and this made the good woman mad.\n\n\u201c\u2018He\u2019s no brat, I can tell you that!\u2019 she exclaimed, \u2018and if he wants a\nplay horse as big as a whale and the same shape, he shall have it. Now\nif you want to make his play horse, get to work and make it. If not,\nI\u2019ll get somebody else to make it.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut the man declared he meant no harm, and said he was glad to get the\nwork. So he got the lumber, and in a few days, being a very clever\nworkman, he had finished the wooden horse. He made it just as Sparkle\nSpry wanted him to. He put big hinges at the joints of the legs, cut a\nwindow in each side of the body, made the ears and the nostrils hollow,\nand fixed pieces of glass for the eyes.\n\n\u201cThe carpenter seemed to enjoy his work, too, for every time he went off\na little distance to see how his work looked, he laughed as hard as he\ncould. When he was nearly done he asked Sparkle Spry if he wanted the\nroof shingled.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, no,\u2019 replied the boy. \u2018There\u2019s no roof there. Besides, horses\ndon\u2019t have shingles on them.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe\u2019ll look pretty rough,\u201d remarked the man.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Sparkle Spry, \u2018but after you get through with him he is to\nbe polished off.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s so,\u2019 the carpenter assented, \u2018but this horse has a good many\nthings about him that other horses haven\u2019t got.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo, when the carpenter was through with the horse, a leather finisher\nwas sent for, and he covered the horse with hides of cows tanned with\nthe hair on, and fixed a cow\u2019s tail where the horse\u2019s tail should have\nbeen.\n\n\u201cThe baker grumbled a little at this extra expense, and said he was\nafraid Sparkle Spry had strained his head the night he baked so much\nbread. But the baker\u2019s wife said she would like to have a whole house\nfull of crazy children, if Sparkle Spry was crazy.\n\n\u201cWhen the wooden horse was finished, Sparkle Spry waited until the baker\nand his wife had gone to bed, and then he tapped on the oven and\nwhistled. Presently the King of the Clinkers peeped out to see what the\nmatter was. He came from behind the oven cautiously, until he found that\nSparkle Spry was alone, and then he came forth boldly.\n\n\u201c\u2018The horse is ready,\u2019 said Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ready!\u2019 exclaimed the King of the Clinkers. \u2018Well, I think it is high\ntime. My workmen could have built it in a night; and here I have been\nwaiting and waiting for I don\u2019t know how long.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I hope you\u2019ll like it,\u2019 Sparkle Spry suggested.\n\n\u201c\u2018Like it!\u2019 cried the King of the Clinkers. \u2018Why, of course I\u2019ll like\nit. I haven\u2019t enjoyed a ride in so long that I\u2019m not likely to quarrel\nwith the horse that carries me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But this is a wooden horse,\u2019 remarked Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018I should hope so; yes, indeed!\u2019 grunted the King of the Clinkers. \u2018I\nhave been riding wooden horses as long as I can remember. They may be a\nlittle clumsy, but they suit me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But this horse has no rockers,\u2019 persisted Sparkle Spry. \u2018It is as\nsolid as a house.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Much you know about wooden horses,\u2019 said the King of the Clinkers.\n\u2018Wait; I\u2019ll call my torchbearers.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe tapped on the oven with his tiny poker, and immediately a company of\nlittle men filed out from behind it. As they passed the furnace door\nthey lit their torches at a live coal, and marched out to the wooden\nhorse, followed by the King of the Clinkers and Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201cThe latter had reason to be very much astonished at what he saw then\nand afterwards. The torchbearers led the way to the left foreleg of the\nwooden horse, opened a door, and filed up a spiral stairway, the King of\nthe Clinkers following after. Sparkle Spry climbed up by means of a\nstepladder that the carpenter had used. When he crawled through the\nwindow in the side of the wooden horse, he saw that a great\ntransformation had taken place, and the sight of it almost took his\nbreath away.\n\n\u201cA furnace with a small bake oven had been fitted up, and there was also\na supply of flour, coal, and wood. The flue from the furnace ran in the\ninside of the horse\u2019s neck, finding a vent for the smoke at the ears. On\nall sides were to be seen the tools and furniture of a bakery, and there\nwere places where the little men might stow themselves away when they\nwere not on duty, and there was a special apartment for the King of the\nClinkers.\n\n\u201cIn a little while the whole interior of the horse swarmed with the\nfollowers of the King of the Clinkers, who stood counting them as they\ncame in.\n\n\u201c\u2018All here,\u2019 he said, waving his little poker. \u2018Now get to bed and rest\nyourselves.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey complied so promptly that they seemed to disappear as if by magic.\nThe torchbearers had thrown their torches in the furnace, and as wood\nhad already been placed there, a fire was soon kindled.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 said the King of the Clinkers, closing the draught, \u2018we\u2019ll let\nit warm up a little and see if the carpenter has done his work well.\u2019\n\n\u201cThereupon he pulled a cord that seemed to be tied to a bell, and, in a\nlittle while, Sparkle Spry felt that the horse was in motion. He hardly\nknew what to make of it. He went to the window and peeped out, and the\nlights in the houses seemed to be all going to the rear. Occasionally a\ncreaking sound was heard, and sometimes he could feel a jar or jolt in\nthe horse\u2019s frame.\n\n\u201c\u2018Are we flying?\u2019 he asked, turning to the King of the Clinkers.\n\n\u201c\u2018Flying! Nothing of the sort. Don\u2019t you feel a jolt when the horse\nlifts up a foot and puts it down again? I\u2019m mighty glad it is a pacing\nhorse. If it was a trotting horse it would shake us all to pieces.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Where are we going?\u2019 inquired Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201c\u2018Following the army\u2014following the army,\u2019 replied the King of the\nClinkers. \u2018There\u2019s going to be a big battle not far from here, and we\nmay take a hand in it. The king of the country is a fat old rascal, and\nisn\u2019t very well thought of by the rest of the kings, who are his\ncousins; but I live here, and he has never bothered me. Consequently, I\ndon\u2019t mind helping him out in a pinch.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How far do you have to go?\u2019 asked Sparkle Spry, who had no great\nrelish for war if it was as hard as he had heard it was.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, a good many miles,\u2019 replied the King of the Clinkers, \u2018and we are\nnot getting on at all. There\u2019s not enough mutton suet on the knee hinges\nto suit me.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo saying, he struck the bell twice, and instantly Sparkle Spry could\nfeel that the wooden horse was going faster.\n\n\u201c\u2018Does the horse go by the road or through the fields?\u2019 asked Sparkle\nSpry.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, we take short cuts when necessary,\u2019 answered the King of the\nClinkers. \u2018We have no time to go round by the road. I hope you are not\nscared.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No, not scared,\u2019 replied Sparkle Spry somewhat doubtfully; \u2018but it\nmakes me feel queer to be traveling through the country in a wooden\nhorse.\u2019\n\n\u201cNothing more was said for some time, and Sparkle Spry must have dropped\noff to sleep, for suddenly he was aroused by the voice of the King of\nthe Clinkers, who called out:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Here we are! Get up! Stir about!\u2019\n\n\u201cSparkle Spry jumped to his feet and looked from the window. Day was\njust dawning, and on the plain before him he saw hundreds of twinkling\nlights, as if a shower of small stars had fallen to the ground during\nthe night. Being somewhat dazed by his experiences, he asked what they\nwere.\n\n\u201c\u2018Camp-fires,\u2019 replied the King of the Clinkers. \u2018The army that we are\ngoing to attack is camped further away, but if you will lift your eyes a\nlittle, you will see their camp-fires.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Do we attack them by ourselves?\u2019 Sparkle Spry asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018Of course!\u2019 the King of the Clinkers answered. \u2018I never did like too\nmuch company; besides, I want you to get the credit of it.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, I\u2019d rather be certain of a whole skin than to have any credit,\u2019\nprotested Sparkle Spry.\n\n\u201cBut the King of the Clinkers paid no attention to his protests. He gave\nhis orders to his little men, and strutted about with an air of\nimportance that Sparkle Spry would have thought comical if he had not\nbeen thinking of the battle.\n\n\u201cDaylight came on and drowned out the camp-fires, leaving only thin\ncolumns of blue smoke to mark them. The wooden horse moved nearer and\nnearer to the army directly in front of them, and finally came close to\nthe headquarters of the commanding general, who sent out a soldier to\ninquire the meaning of the apparition. Finally the general came himself,\naccompanied by his staff, and to him Sparkle Spry repeated what the King\nof the Clinkers had told him to say. The general pulled his mustache and\nknitted his brows mightily, and finally he said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m obliged to you for coming. You\u2019ll have to do the best you can. I\nnever have commanded a wooden horse, and if I were to tell you what to\ndo, I might get you into trouble. I\u2019ll just send word along the line\nthat the wooden horse is on our side, and you\u2019ll have to do the best you\ncan.\u2019\n\n\u201cAs he said, so he did. The army soon knew that a big wooden horse had\ncome to help it, and when the queer-looking machine moved to the front,\nthe soldiers got out of the way as fast as they could, and some of them\nforgot to carry their arms with them. But order was soon restored, and\npresently it was seen that the opposing army was marching forward to\nbegin the battle.\n\n\u201cThe King of the Clinkers waited until the line was formed, and then he\nsounded the little bell. The horse started off. The bell rang twice, and\nthe horse went faster. Sparkle Spry, looking from the window, could see\nthat he was going at a tremendous rate. The horse went close to the\nopposing army, and then turned and went down the line to the left.\nTurning, it came up the line, this time very close. Turning again, it\ncame back, and the soldiers in the front line were compelled to scamper\nout of the way. While this was going on, the other army came up, but by\nthe time it arrived on the battle-ground there was nothing to fight.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE WOODEN HORSE HAD STAMPEDED THE ENEMY\u2019S ARMY\n]\n\n\n\u201cThe wooden horse had stampeded the enemy\u2019s army, and the soldiers had\nall run away, leaving their arms, their tents, and their bread wagons to\nbe captured.\n\n\u201cThe commanding general of the victorious army thanked Sparkle Spry very\nheartily. \u2018I\u2019ll mention your name in my report to the king,\u2019 he said.\n\u2018But I hardly know what to say about the affair. You wouldn\u2019t call this\na battle, would you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No,\u2019 replied Sparkle Spry, \u2018I saw no signs of a battle where I went\nalong.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It is very curious,\u2019 said the general. \u2018I don\u2019t know what we are\ncoming to. A great victory, but nobody killed and no prisoners taken.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen he went off to write his report, and some time afterward the king\nsent for Sparkle Spry, and gave him lands and houses and money, and made\nhim change his every-day name for a high-sounding one. And the baker and\nhis wife came to live near him, and the King of the Clinkers used to\ncome at night with all his little men, and they had a very good time\nafter all, in spite of the high-sounding name.\u201d\n\nWith this, Tickle-My-Toes turned and ran away as hard as he could,\nwhereupon Mr. Rabbit opened his eyes and asked in the most solemn way:\u2014\n\n\u201cIs there a wooden horse after him? I wish you\u2019d look.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XIII.\n\n HOW BROTHER LION LOST HIS WOOL.\n\n\nMr. Rabbit shaded his eyes with his hand, and pretended to believe that\nthere might be a wooden horse trying to catch Tickle-My-Toes after all.\nBut Mrs. Meadows said that there was no danger of anything like that.\nShe explained that Tickle-My-Toes was running away because he didn\u2019t\nwant to hear what was said about his story.\n\n\u201cI think he\u2019s right,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit. \u201cIt was the queerest tale I\never heard in all my life. You might sit and listen to tales from now\nuntil\u2014well\u2014until the first Tuesday before the last Saturday in the year\nseven hundred thousand, seven hundred and seventy-seven, and you\u2019d never\nhear another tale like it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see why,\u201d suggested Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, chewing his tobacco very slowly, \u201cthere are\nmore reasons than I have hairs in my head, but I\u2019ll only give you three.\nIn the first place, this Sparkle Spry doesn\u2019t marry the king\u2019s daughter.\nIn the second place, he doesn\u2019t live happily forever after; and in the\nthird place\u201d\u2014Mr. Rabbit paused and scratched his head\u2014\u201cI declare, I\u2019ve\nforgotten the third reason.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it\u2019s no better than the other two, it doesn\u2019t amount to much,\u201d said\nMrs. Meadows. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason why he shouldn\u2019t have married the\nking\u2019s daughter, if the king had a daughter, and if he didn\u2019t live\nhappily it was his own fault. Stories are not expected to tell\neverything.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, I\u2019m glad of that,\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, \u201ctruly glad. I\u2019ve had a\nstory on my mind for many years, and I\u2019ve kept it to myself because I\nhad an idea that in telling a story you had to tell everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you were very much mistaken,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows with emphasis.\n\n\u201cSo it seems\u2014so it seems,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cWhat was the story?\u201d asked Buster John.\n\n\u201cI called it a story,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, \u201cbut that is too big a name\nfor it. I reckon you have heard of the time when Brother Lion had hair\nall over him as long and as thick as the mane he now has?\u201d\n\nBut the children shook their heads. They had never heard of that, and\neven Mrs. Meadows said it was news to her.\n\n\u201cNow, that is very queer,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, filling his pipe slowly\nand deliberately. \u201cVery queer, indeed. Time and again I\u2019ve had it on the\ntip of my tongue to mention this matter, but I always came to the\nconclusion that everybody knew all about it. Of course it doesn\u2019t seem\nreasonable that Brother Lion went about covered from head to foot, and\nto the tip of his tail, with long, woolly hair; but, on the other hand,\nwhen he was first seen without his long, woolly hair, he was the\nlaughing-stock of the whole district. I know mighty well he was the most\nmiserable looking creature I ever saw.\n\n\u201cIt was curious, too, how it happened,\u201d Mr. Rabbit continued. \u201cWe were\nall living in a much colder climate than that in the country next door.\nSix months in the year there was ice in the river and snow on the\nground, and them that didn\u2019t lay up something to eat when the weather\nwas open had a pretty tough time of it the rest of the year. Brother\nLion\u2019s long woolly hair belonged to the climate. But for that, he would\nhave frozen to death, for he was a great hunter, and he had to be out in\nall sorts of weather.\n\n\u201cOne season we had a tremendous spell of cold weather, the coldest I had\never felt. I happened to be out one day, browsing around, when I saw\nblue smoke rising a little distance off, so I says to myself, says I,\nI\u2019ll go within smelling distance of the fire and thaw myself out. I went\ntowards the smoke, and I soon saw that Mr. Man, who lived not far off,\nhad been killing hogs.\n\n\u201cNow, the funny thing about that hog-killing business,\u201d continued Mr.\nRabbit, leaning back in his chair and smacking his lips together, as old\npeople will do sometimes, \u201cwas that, after the hogs were killed, Mr. Man\nhad to get their hair off. I don\u2019t know how people do now, but that was\nwhat Mr. Man did then. He had to get the hair off\u2014but how? Well, he\npiled up wood, and in between the logs he placed rocks and stones. Then\nhe dug a hole in the ground and half buried a hogshead, the open end\ntilted up a little higher than the other end. This hogshead he filled\nwith as much water as it would hold in that position. Then he set fire\nto the pile of wood. As it burned, of course the rocks would become\nheated. These Mr. Man would take in a shovel and throw in the hogshead\nof water. The hot rocks would heat the water, and in this way the hogs\nwere scalded so the hair on their hides could be scraped off.\n\n\u201cWell, the day I\u2019m telling you about, Mr. Man had been killing hogs and\nscalding the hair off. When I got there the pile of wood had burned\naway, and Mr. Man had just taken his hogs home in his wagon. The weather\nwas very cold, and as I stood there warming myself I heard Brother Lion\nroaring a little way off. He had scented the fresh meat, and I knew he\nwould head right for the place where the hogs had been killed.\n\n\u201cNow, Brother Lion had been worrying me a good deal. He had hired\nBrother Wolf to capture me, and Brother Wolf had failed. Then he hired\nBrother Bear, and Brother Bear got into deep trouble. Finally he hired\nBrother Fox, and I knew the day wasn\u2019t far off when Mrs. Fox would have\nto hang crape on her door and go in mourning. All this had happened some\ntime before, and I bore Brother Lion no good will.\n\n\u201cSo, when I heard him in the woods singing out that he smelled fresh\nblood, I grabbed the shovel the man had left, and threw a dozen or so\nhot rocks in the hogshead, and then threw some fresh dirt on the fire.\nPresently Brother Lion came trotting up, sniffing the air, purring like\na spinning wheel a-running, and dribbling at the mouth.\n\n\u201cI passed the time of day with him as he came up, but kept further away\nfrom him than he could jump. He seemed very much surprised to see me,\nand said it was pretty bad weather for such little chaps to be out; but\nI told him I had on pretty thick underwear, and besides that I had just\ntaken a hot bath in the hogshead.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m both cold and dirty,\u2019 says he, smelling around the hogshead, \u2018and\nI need a bath. I\u2019ve been asleep in the woods yonder, and I\u2019m right stiff\nwith cold. But that water is bubbling around in there mightily.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ve just flung some rocks in,\u2019 says I.\n\n\u201c\u2018How do you get in?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018Back in,\u2019 says I.\n\n\u201cBrother Lion walked around the hogshead once or twice, as if to satisfy\nhimself that there was no trap, and then he squatted and began to crawl\ninto the hogshead backwards. By the time his hind leg touched the water,\nhe pulled it out with a howl, and tried to jump away, but, somehow, his\nfoot slipped off the rim of the hogshead, and he soused into the\nwater\u2014kerchug!\u2014up to his shoulders.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit paused, shut his eyes, and chuckled to himself.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n YOU NEVER HEARD SUCH HOWLING SINCE YOU WERE BORN\n]\n\n\n\u201cWell, you never heard such howling since you were born. Brother Lion\nscrambled out quicker than a cat can wink her left eye, and rolled on\nthe ground, and scratched around, and tore up the earth considerably. I\nthought at first he was putting on and pretending; but the water must\nhave been mighty hot, for while Brother Lion was scuffling around, all\nthe wool on his body came off up to his shoulders, and if you were to\nsee him to-day you\u2019d find him just that way.\n\n\u201cAnd more than that\u2014before he soused himself in that hogshead of hot\nwater, Brother Lion used to strut around considerably. Being the king of\nall the animals, he felt very proud, and he used to go with his tail\ncurled over his back. But since that time, he sneaks around as if he was\nafraid somebody would see him.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s another thing. His hide hurt him so bad for a week that every\ntime a fly lit on him he\u2019d wiggle his tail. Some of the other animals,\nseeing him do this, thought it was a new fashion, and so they began to\nwiggle their tails. Watch your old house cat when you go home, and you\nwill see her wiggle her tail forty times a day without any reason or\nprovocation. Why? Simply because the other animals, when they saw\nBrother Lion wiggling his tail, thought it was the fashion; and so they\nall began it, and now it has become a habit with the most of them. It is\ncurious how such things go.\n\n\u201cBut the queerest thing of all,\u201d continued Mr. Rabbit, leaning back in\nhis chair, and looking at Mrs. Meadows and the children through\nhalf-closed eyes, \u201cwas this\u2014that the only wool left on Brother Lion\u2019s\nbody, with the exception of his mane, was a little tuft right on the end\nof his tail.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow was that?\u201d inquired Mrs. Meadows.\n\nMr. Rabbit laughed heartily, but made no reply.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see anything to laugh at,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows with some\nemphasis. \u201cA civil question deserves a civil answer, I\u2019ve always heard.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you know what you said a while ago,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know as I remember,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cWhy, you said pointedly that it was not necessary to tell everything in\na story.\u201d Mr. Rabbit made this remark with great dignity. \u201cAnd I judged\nby the way you said it that it was bad taste to tell everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I remember now,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, laughing. \u201cIt was only one of\nmy jokes.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut this is no joke,\u201d protested Mr. Rabbit, winking at the children,\nbut keeping the serious side of his face toward Mrs. Meadows. \u201cI took\nyou at your solemn word. Now there is a tuft of wool on Brother Lion\u2019s\ntail, and you ask me how it happened to be there. I answer you as you\nanswered me\u2014\u2019You don\u2019t have to tell everything in a story.\u2019 Am I right,\nor am I wrong?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll not dispute with you,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows, taking up her\nknitting.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t mind telling you,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, turning to the children\nwith a confidential air. \u201cIt was as simple as falling off a log. When\nBrother Lion fell into the hogshead of hot water, the end of his tail\nslipped through the bunghole.\u201d\n\nThis explanation was such an unexpected one that the children laughed,\nand so did Mrs. Meadows. But Mr. Thimblefinger, who had put in an\nappearance, shook his head and remarked that he was afraid that Mr.\nRabbit got worse as he grew older, instead of better.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XIV.\n\n BROTHER LION HAS A SPELL OF SICKNESS.\n\n\n\u201cThe fact is,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, \u201cI was just telling the story\u2014if you\ncan call it a story\u2014to please company. If you think the end of Brother\nLion\u2019s tale is the end of the story, well and good; but it didn\u2019t stop\nthere when I told it in my young days. And it didn\u2019t stop there when it\nhappened. But maybe I\u2019ve talked too long and said too much. You know how\nwe gabble when we get old.\u201d\n\n\u201cI like to hear you talk,\u201d said Sweetest Susan, edging a little closer\nto Mr. Rabbit and smiling cutely.\n\nMr. Rabbit took off his glasses and wiped them on his big red\nhandkerchief.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s some comfort in that,\u201d he declared. \u201cIf you really like to hear\nme talk, I\u2019ll go right ahead and tell the rest of the story. It\u2019s a\nlittle rough in spots, but you\u2019ll know how to make allowances for that.\nThe creatures had claws and tushes, and where these grow thick and long,\nthere\u2019s bound to be more or less scratching and biting.\n\n\u201cOf course, when Brother Lion had the wool scalded off his hide, he was\nin a pretty bad condition. He managed to get home, but it was a long\ntime before he could come out and go roaming around the country. As he\nwas the king of the animals, of course all the rest of the creatures\ncalled on him to see how he was getting on. I didn\u2019t go myself, because\nI didn\u2019t know how he felt towards me. I was afraid he had heard me laugh\nwhen he backed into the hogshead of hot water, though I made believe I\nwas sneezing. Consequently, I didn\u2019t go and ask him how he was getting\non.\n\n\u201cBut I went close enough to know that Brother Fox had told Brother Lion\na great rigamarole about me. That was Brother Fox\u2019s way. In front of\nyour face, he was sweeter than sauce and softer than pudding, but behind\nyour back\u2014well, he didn\u2019t have any claws, but what tushes he had he\nshowed them.\n\n\u201cI never did hear what Brother Fox said about me in any one place and at\nany one time, but I heard a little here and a little there, and when it\nwas all patched up and put together it made a great mess. I had done\nthis, and I had done that; I had laughed at Brother Lion behind his\nback, and I had snickered at him before his face; I had talked about him\nand made fun of him; and, besides all that, I had never had the\npoliteness to call on him.\n\n\u201cAll the other animals found Brother Lion so willing to listen that they\nlearned Brother Fox\u2019s lies by heart, and went and recited them here and\nthere about the country; and in that way I got hold of the worst of\nthem. The trouble with Brother Fox was that he had an old grudge against\nme. He had been trying to outdo me for many a long year, but somehow or\nother he always got caught in his own trap. He had a willing mind and a\nthick head, and when these get together there\u2019s always trouble. The\nwilling mind pushes and the thick head goes with its eyes shut.\n\n\u201cIn old times, people used to say that Brother Fox was cunning, but I\nbelieve they\u2019ve quit that since the facts have come to light. My\nexperience with him is that he is blessed with about as much sense as a\nhalf-grown guinea pig. He\u2019s a pretty swift runner, but he doesn\u2019t even\nknow when the time comes to run.\n\n\u201cOf course, when Brother Fox found out that for some reason or other I\nwasn\u2019t visiting Brother Lion, he seized the chance to talk about me, and\nit wasn\u2019t such a great while before he managed to make Brother Lion\nbelieve that I was the worst enemy he had and the cause of all his\ntrouble.\n\n\u201cI knew pretty well that something of the sort was going on, for every\ntime I\u2019d meet any of the other animals, they\u2019d ask me why I didn\u2019t call\nand see Brother Lion. Brother Fox, especially, was anxious to know why I\nhadn\u2019t gone to ask after Brother Lion\u2019s health.\n\n\u201cI put them all off for some time, until finally one day I heard that\nBrother Lion had given Brother Fox orders to catch me and bring me\nbefore him. This didn\u2019t worry me at all, because I knew that Brother Fox\nwas just as able to catch me as I was to catch a wild duck in the middle\nof a mill-pond. But I concluded I\u2019d go and see Brother Lion and find out\nall about his health.\n\n\u201cSo I went, taking good care to go galloping by Brother Fox\u2019s house. He\nwas sitting on his front porch, and I could see he was astonished, but I\nneither said howdy nor turned my head. I knew he would follow along\nafter.\n\n\u201cWhen I got to Brother Lion\u2019s house everything was very quiet, but I\nknew Brother Lion was awake, for I heard him groan every time he tried\nto turn over. So I rapped at the door and then walked in. Brother Lion\nwatched me from under his tousled mane for some time before he said\nanything. Then he says, says he:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018What\u2019s this I hear?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018Not having your ears, I can\u2019t say.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018My ears are as good as anybody\u2019s ears,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018But I can\u2019t hear through them,\u2019 says I.\n\n\u201cHe grunted and grumbled a little over this, because he didn\u2019t know what\nreply to make.\n\n\u201c\u2018You haven\u2019t been to see me until now,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018No,\u2019 says I; \u2018I knew you were pretty bad off, and so I had no need to\ncome and ask you how you were. I knew I was partly to blame in the\nmatter, and so I went off to see if I couldn\u2019t find a cure for you.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018Don\u2019t talk about cures. Everybody that has come to see me has\na cure. I\u2019ve tried \u2019em all, and now I\u2019m worse off than I was at first.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018I could have come as often as Brother Fox did, and my coming\nwould have done you just as much good.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t know about that,\u2019 says he. \u2018Brother Fox has been mighty\nneighborly. He has lost sleep on my account, and he has told me a great\nmany things that I didn\u2019t know before.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Likely enough,\u2019 says I. \u2018I\u2019ve known him to tell people a great many\nthings that he didn\u2019t know himself. But Brother Fox,\u2019 says I, \u2018was the\nleast of all things in my mind when I found out that you had been\nscalded by water that was not more than milk-warm. I didn\u2019t need to be\ntold that when milk-warm water scalds the hair off of anybody, something\nelse is the matter beside the scalding.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt this Brother Lion seemed to quiet down a little. He didn\u2019t talk so\nloud, and he began to show the whites of his eyes.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 says I, \u2018Brother Fox is famous for talking behind the door, but\nI\u2019ve noticed that he never says anything nice about anybody. You know\nwhat he\u2019s said about me, but do you know what he\u2019s said about you? Of\ncourse you don\u2019t, and I\u2019m not going to tell you, because I don\u2019t want\nyou to be worried.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But I\u2019d like to know,\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018It wouldn\u2019t do you any good,\u2019 says I. \u2018I could have come here and\njowered and made a good deal of trouble, but instead of that I knew of\nan old friend of mine who knows how to cure hot burns and cold burns,\nand so I\u2019ve been off on a long trip to see the witch doctor, old\nMammy-Bammy Big Money.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018And did you see her?\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018I most certainly did,\u2019 says I, \u2018and furthermore I laid the whole case\nbefore her. I had to travel far and wide to find her, but when I did\nfind her I asked her to tell me what was good for a person who had been\nscalded by milk-warm water. She asked me three times the name of the\nperson, and three times I told her. Then she lit a pine splinter, blew\nit out, and watched the smoke scatter. There was something wrong, for\nshe shook her head three times.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What did Mammy-Bammy Big Money say?\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he. His\nvoice sounded very weak.\n\n\u201c\u2018She said nothing,\u2019 says I. \u2018She watched the smoke scatter, and then\nshe put her hands before her face and rocked from side to side. After\nthat she walked back and forth, and when she sat down again she took off\nher left slipper, shook out the gravel, and counted it as it fell. Once\nmore she asked me the name of the person who had been scalded in\nmilk-warm water, and once more I told her.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Wait!\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he. \u2018Do you mean to tell me the water I\nfell in was only milk-warm?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018It seemed so to me. I had just washed my face and hands in\nit.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, well, well!\u2019 says Brother Lion. \u2018What else did she say?\u2019 says\nhe.\n\n\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t like to tell you,\u2019 says I; and just about that time Brother\nFox walked in.\n\n\u201c\u2018But you must tell me,\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says I, \u2018if I must I will, but I don\u2019t like to. When\nMammy-Bammy Big Money had counted the white pebbles that fell from her\nslipper, and asked me the name of the person who was scalded in\nmilk-warm water, she told me that he could be cured by poulticing the\nburns with the fresh hide of his best friend. I asked her the name of\nthis friend, but she shook her head and said she would call no names.\nThen she said that your best friend had short ears, a sharp nose, keen\neyes, slim legs, and a bushy tail.\u2019\n\n\u201cBrother Lion shut his eyes and pretended to be thinking. I looked at\nBrother Fox as solemnly as I knew how, and shook my head slowly. Brother\nFox got mighty restless. He got up and walked around.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, well, well!\u2019 says Brother Lion, says he. \u2018That might mean\nBrother Wolf, or it might mean Brother Fox.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I expect it means Brother Wolf,\u2019 says Brother Fox.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, you don\u2019t mean to stand up here and say right before Brother\nLion\u2019s face and eyes that Brother Wolf is a better friend to him than\nyou are!\u2019 says I.\n\n\u201cBrother Fox\u2019s mouth fell open and his tongue hung out, and just about\nthat time I made my best bow, and put out for home.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut did Brother Lion try the remedy?\u201d Buster John inquired, as Mr.\nRabbit paused and began to light his pipe.\n\n\u201cI think Brother Lion caught him and skinned him. It\u2019s a great pity if\nhe didn\u2019t. But I\u2019ll not be certain. So many things have happened since\nthen that I disremember about the hide business. But you may be sure\nBrother Lion was very superstitious. My best opinion is that he tried\nthe cure.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XV.\n\n A MOUNTAIN OF GOLD.\n\n\n\u201cThat is a funny name for a witch,\u201d said Buster John, as Rabbit paused\nand began to nod.\n\n\u201cWhich name was that?\u201d inquired Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cWhy, Mammy-Bammy Big Money,\u201d replied Buster John, elevating his voice a\nlittle.\n\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s very simple,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201c\u2018Mammy-Bammy\u2019 was\nto catch the ear of the animals, and \u2018Big Money\u2019 was to attract the\nattention of the people.\u201d\n\n\u201cDat\u2019s so,\u201d said Drusilla. \u201cKaze time you say \u2018money\u2019 folks\u2019ll stop der\nwork an\u2019 lissen at you; an\u2019 ef you say \u2018Big Money\u2019 dey\u2019ll ax you ter say\nit agin\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very curious about money,\u201d continued Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cI don\u2019t\nknow whether you ever thought about it much\u2014and I hope you haven\u2019t\u2014but\nit has pestered me a good deal, this thing you call money.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s mighty bothersome,\u201d assented Mrs. Meadows, \u201cwhen you are where\npeople use it, and when you have none except what you can beg or borrow.\nThank goodness! I\u2019m free from all bother now.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cI don\u2019t see that people have much the\nadvantage of the animals when it comes to using money. I\u2019ve seen grown\npeople work night and day for a few pieces of metal.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, of course!\u201d cried Buster John. \u201cThey can take the pieces of metal\nand buy bread and meat to eat and clothes to wear.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo much the more wonderful!\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cWhat do the\npeople who have more bread and meat and clothes than they can use want\nwith the pieces of metal?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo they may buy something else that they haven\u2019t got,\u201d said Buster\nJohn.\n\nBut Mr. Thimblefinger shook his head. He was not satisfied.\n\n\u201cIt puts me in mind of a tale I heard once about a poor man who was the\nrichest person in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut that couldn\u2019t be, you know,\u201d protested Buster John.\n\n\u201cAnyhow, that\u2019s the way it seemed to me in the story,\u201d replied Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cBut the story is so old-fashioned it would hardly pass\nmuster now. Besides, they tell me that, as there\u2019s not enough metal to\ngo round, people have begun to make up their minds that pieces of paper\nwith pictures on them are just as good as the metal, and perhaps better.\nIt\u2019s mighty funny to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was the story?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan. \u201cPlease tell us about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, yes,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, \u201ctell us about it. If calamus root\npasses current with some of my acquaintances and catnip with others, I\nsee no reason why people shouldn\u2019t play make-believe among themselves,\nand say that pieces of metal and pieces of paper are worth something. In\nthis business people have a great advantage over us. They can put\nfigures on their pieces of metal and paper and make them worth anything,\nbut with us a joint of calamus root is worth just so much. It has been\nworth that since the year one, and it will be worth that right on to the\nend of things. Just so with a twist of catnip. But tell us the\nstory\u2014tell us the story. I may drop off to sleep, but if I do, that will\nbe no sign that the tale isn\u2019t interesting.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201conce upon a time there was a country in\nwhich money became very scarce. The people had a great deal, but they\nhid it in their stockings and in the chinks of the chimneys and in their\nteapots. The reason of this was that other countries close at hand made\ntheir money out of the same kind of metal, and they\u2019d bring their goods\nin and sell them and carry the money off home with them.\n\n\u201cOf course this helped to make money scarce, and the scarcer it was the\nmore the people clung to it, and this made it still scarcer. Naturally\neverybody kept an eye out in the hope of finding a supply of this\nmetal.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat sort of metal was it?\u201d asked Buster John.\n\n\u201cGold,\u201d replied Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d exclaimed Buster John, in a disappointed tone.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d continued Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cnothing in the world but gold.\nThose who had money held on to it as long as they could, because they\ndidn\u2019t know how much scarcer it would be, and those who didn\u2019t have any\nwere willing to sell whatever they had for any price in order to get\nsome.\n\n\u201cIt was lots worse than playing dolls\u2014lots worse. When children play\nmake-believe with dolls, they soon forget about it; but when grown\npeople begin to play make-believe with money, they never get over it.\nThe wisest men get their heads turned when they begin to think and talk\nabout money. They have forgotten that it was all a make-believe in the\nbeginning.\u201d\n\nHere Mr. Rabbit yawned and said: \u201cYou\u2019ll have to excuse me if I nod a\nlittle here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows, \u201cI feel a little sleepy myself, but I\u2019ll\ntry to keep awake for the sake of appearances.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t mind me,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, with mock politeness. \u201cGo to\nsleep if you want to, you two. I won\u2019t have to talk so loud.\n\n\u201cWell, in this country I was telling you about, there was a young man\nwho had saved some money by working hard, but he didn\u2019t save it fast\nenough to suit himself. He thought so much about it that he would stop\nin the middle of his work, and sit and study about it an hour at a time.\n\n\u201cHe thought about it so much that he began to dream about it, and one\nnight he dreamed that he got in a boat and went to an island on which\nthere was a mountain of gold that shone and glistened in the sun. He was\nvery unhappy when he woke in the morning and found it was nothing but a\ndream.\n\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t go to work that day, but wandered about doing nothing. That\nnight he had the same dream. He had the same dream the next night; and\nthe morning after, the first person he saw was an old man who had\nstopped to rest on the doorsteps. This old man would have been like\nother old men but for one thing. His beard was so long that he had to\npart it in the middle of his chin, pass it under each arm, cross the\nwisps on his back, and bring them around in front again, where the two\nends were tied together with a bow of red ribbon.\n\n\u201c\u2018How are you, my young friend, and how goes it?\u2019 said the old man,\nsmiling pleasantly. \u2018You look as if you had been having wonderful\ndreams.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018So I have, gran\u2019sir,\u2019 replied the young man.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, a dream isn\u2019t worth a snap of your finger unless it comes true,\nand a dream never comes true until you have dreamed it three times.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have dreamed mine three times, gran\u2019sir, and yet it is impossible\nthat it should come true.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Nonsense! Nothing is impossible. Tell me your dream.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the young man told the old man his dream.\n\n\u201c\u2018The Island of the Mountain of Gold!\u2019 exclaimed the old man. \u2018Why, that\nis right in my line of travel. I can land you there without any trouble.\nIt is a little out of my way, but not much.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How shall we get there?\u2019 the young man asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018On the other side of the town, I have a boat,\u2019 replied the old man.\n\u2018You are welcome to go with me. It is so seldom that dreams come true\nthat I shall be glad to help this one along as well as I can. Besides, I\nhave long wanted an excuse to visit the Island of the Mountain of Gold.\nI have passed within sight of it hundreds of times, but have always been\ntoo busy to land there.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe young man looked at the old man with astonishment. If he had spoken\nhis thoughts he would have declared the old man to be crazy, but he said\nnothing. He simply followed after him. The old man led the way across\nthe town to a wharf, where his boat was tied. It was a light little\nskiff that could be sailed by one man. In this the two embarked.\n\n\u201cThe old man managed the sail with one hand and the rudder with the\nother, and he had hardly made things ready and taken his seat before a\nlight breeze sprang up and filled the sail. The skiff glided along the\nwater so easily that the shore seemed to be receding while the boat\nstood still. But the breeze grew stronger and stronger, and the sail\nbore so heavily on the nose of the boat that the foam and spray flew\nhigh in the air.\n\n\u201cThe sun was bright and the sky was blue, and the dark green water\nseemed to boil beneath them, so swiftly the light boat sped along. The\nyoung man clapped his hands as joyously as a boy, and the old man\nsmiled. Presently he leaned over the side of the boat and pointed to\nsomething shining and sparkling in the distance. The young man saw it,\ntoo, and turned an inquiring eye upon his companion.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is your mountain of gold,\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u201c\u2018It seems to be very small,\u2019 said the other. He ceased to smile, and a\nfrown clouded his face.\n\n\u201cThe old man noticed the frown, and shook his head and frowned a little\nhimself, coughing in the muffler that was tied around his neck. But he\nsaid:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018The mountain of gold is more than twenty miles away.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How far have we come?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Some hundred and odd miles.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe young man seemed to be very much surprised, but he said nothing. He\nleaned so far over the side of the boat to watch the mountain of gold\nthat he was in danger of falling out. The old man kept an eye on him,\nbut did not lift a finger to warn him.\n\n\u201cIn due time they came to the island, if it could be called an island.\nIt seemed to be a barren rock that had lifted itself out of the sea to\nshow the mountain of gold. The mountain was only a hill, but it was a\npretty high one, considering it was of solid gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cSure enough gold?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cPure gold,\u201d answered Mr. Thimblefinger. \u201cThe old man landed his skiff\nat a convenient place, and the two got out and went to the mountain, or\nhill, of gold that rose shining in the middle of the small island. The\nactions of the young man showed that he considered himself the\nproprietor of both island and mountain. He broke off a chunk of gold as\nbig as your fist, weighed it in his hand, and would have given it to the\nold man, but the latter shook his head.\n\n\u201c\u2018You refuse it?\u2019 cried the other. \u2018If it is not enough I\u2019ll give you as\nmuch more.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No,\u2019 replied the old man. \u2018Keep it for yourself. You owe me nothing. I\ncould have carried away tons of the stuff long before I saw you, but I\nhad no use for it. You are welcome to as much as you can take away with\nyou.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018As much as I can take away!\u2019 exclaimed the other. \u2018I shall take it\nall.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But how?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It is mine! I am rich. I will buy me a ship.\u2019 He walked back and\nforth, rubbing his hands together.\n\n\u201c\u2018Then you have no further need of me?\u2019 said the old man.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not now\u2014not now,\u2019 replied the other with a grand air. \u2018You won\u2019t\naccept pay for your services, and I can do no more than thank you.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe old man bowed politely, got in his skiff, and sailed away. The\nother continued to walk about the island and rub his hands together, and\nmake his plans. He was now the richest man in the world. He could buy\nkings and princes and empires. He had enough gold to buy all the ships\non the sea and to control all the trade on the land. He was great. He\nwas powerful.\n\n\u201cAll these thoughts passed through his mind and he was very happy. The\nsun looked at the young man a long time, and then went to bed in the\nsea. Two little gray lizards looked at him until the sun went down, and\nthen they crawled back in their holes. A big black bird sailed round and\nround and watched him until nearly dark, and then sailed away.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HE WAS SO WEAK THAT HE COULDN\u2019T GET UP\n]\n\n\n\u201cWhen night came the young man found the air damp and chilly, but he\nknew he was rich, and so he laughed at the cold. He crept close under\nhis mountain of gold, and, after a long time, went to sleep. In the\nmorning he awoke and found that nobody had taken away his precious\nmountain of gold during the night. The sun rose to keep him company, the\ntwo gray lizards crept out of their holes and looked at him, and the big\nblack bird sailed round and round overhead.\n\n\u201cThe day passed, and then another and another. The young man was hungry\nand thirsty, but he was rich. The night winds chilled him, but he was\nrich. The midday sun scorched him, but he was the richest man in the\nworld. Every night, no matter how hungry or weak he was, he crept upon\nthe side of the mountain, and stretched himself out, and tried to hug it\nto his bosom. He knew that if he was hungry, it wasn\u2019t because he was\npoor, and if he died, he knew he would die rich. So there he was.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat then?\u201d asked Buster John, as Mr. Thimblefinger paused to look at\nhis watch.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll tell you,\u201d continued Mr. Thimblefinger, holding the watch to\nhis ear. \u201cOne fine morning this rich young man was so weak that he\ncouldn\u2019t get up. He tried to, but his foot slipped, and he rolled to the\nfoot of the mountain of gold and lay there. He lay there so long and so\nquietly that the two gray lizards crept close to him to see what was the\nmatter. He moved one of his fingers, and they darted back to their\nholes.\n\n\u201cThe rich young man lay so still that the big black bird, sailing\noverhead, came nearer and nearer, and finally alighted at a respectful\ndistance from the rich young man. The two gray lizards came out again,\nand crawled cautiously toward the rich young man. The big black bird\ncraned his neck and looked, and then went a little closer. A sudden gust\nof wind caused the rich young man\u2019s coat to flap. The gray lizards\nscrambled towards their holes, and the big black bird jumped up in the\nair and flew off a little way.\n\n\u201cBut presently they all came back, bird and lizards, and this time they\nwent still closer to the rich young man. The big black bird went so\nclose that there is no telling what he would have done next, but just\nthen the old man came running towards them. He had untied the two ends\nof his beard, and was waving them in the air as if they were flags. The\nbig black bird flew away very angry, and the gray lizards ran over each\nother trying to get to their holes.\n\n\u201cThe old man, tied up his beard again, took up the rich young man on his\nshoulder, and carried him to the boat. Once there he gave the rich young\nman some wine. This revived him, and in a little while he was able to\neat. But he had no opportunity to talk. The wind whirled the boat\nthrough the water, and in a few hours it had arrived at the young man\u2019s\ntown.\n\n\u201cHe went home, and soon recovered in more ways than one. He found his\nstrength again, and lost his appetite for riches. But he worked hard,\nsaved all he could, and was soon prosperous; but he never remembered\nwithout a shiver the time that he was the richest man in the world.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XVI.\n\n AN OLD-FASHIONED FUSS.\n\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t blame \u2019im fer shiverin\u2019,\u201d said Drusilla; \u201cbut, I let you know,\nhere\u2019s what wouldn\u2019t shiver none ef she had dat ar big pile er gol\u2019 what\nde man had. I\u2019d \u2019a\u2019 cotch me some fish; I\u2019d \u2019a\u2019 gobbled up dem lizards,\nyit!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, \u201cI expect money is a pretty big thing. I\u2019ve\nheard a heap of talk about it, and I\u2019ve known some big fusses to grow\nout of it. And yet money doesn\u2019t cause all the fusses\u2014oh, no! not by a\nlong jump. I once heard of a fuss that happened long before there was\nany money, and the curious part about it was that nobody knew what the\nfuss grew out of.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat fuss was that?\u201d asked Buster John, who thought that perhaps there\nmight be a story in it.\n\n\u201cWhy, it was the quarrel between the Monkeys and the Dogs. My\ngreat-grandfather knew all about the facts, and I\u2019ve heard him talk it\nover many a time when he was sitting in the kitchen corner chewing his\nquid. I\u2019ve often heard him wonder, between naps, what caused the\ndispute.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems to me I\u2019ve heard something about it,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows in\nan encouraging tone.\n\n\u201cOh, yes!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit. \u201cIt was notorious in our young days. I\nreckon it has been settled long before this; anyhow, I hope so.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did your great-grandfather say about it?\u201d inquired Buster John.\n\n\u201cIf I were to tell you all he said,\u201d responded Mr. Rabbit, shaking his\nhead slowly, \u201cyou\u2019d have to sit here with me for a fortnight, and of\ncourse you wouldn\u2019t like to do that. So I\u2019ll just up and tell you about\nit in my own way. I may not get it exactly right, but I\u2019ll be bound I\nwon\u2019t get it far wrong, for I have nothing else in the round world to do\nbut to sit here and think about old times.\n\n\u201cAs well as I can remember, the way of it was about this: Away back\nyonder, in the times before everybody had got to be so busy trying to\nget the best of each other, a coolness sprang up between the Monkeys and\nthe Dogs. Nobody knew the right of it, because nobody paid any attention\nto it along at first. But after awhile it got so that every time a Dog\nwould meet a Monkey in the road, the Monkey would get up in a tree and\nlaugh at him, and then the Dog would stop and scratch up the dirt with\nall four of his feet and growl.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I\u2019ve seen them do that way,\u201d said Sweetest Susan, laughing.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE MONKEYS WOULD MAKE FACES AND SQUEAL AT THE DOGS\n]\n\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, with a more solemn air than ever. \u201cThey have\nnever got out of the habit of that kind of caper from that day to this.\nWell, the coolness grew into a dispute, and the dispute into a quarrel,\nand so there it was. The Monkeys would make faces and squeal at the\nDogs, and the Dogs would show their teeth and growl at the Monkeys. It\nwent from bad to worse, and after awhile, the Dogs would chase the\nMonkeys wherever they saw them, and the Monkeys would swing down from\nthe hanging limbs and give the tails of the Dogs some terrible twists.\n\n\u201cBefore that time the Monkeys had been living on the ground just like\neverybody else lived, but the Dogs had such sharp teeth and such nimble\nfeet that the Monkeys had to take to the trees and saplings. At first\nthey couldn\u2019t get about in the trees as they do now. Sometimes they\u2019d\nmiss their footing, or lose their grip, and down they\u2019d come right into\nthe red jaws of the Dogs.\n\n\u201cNow this wasn\u2019t pleasant at all. Even when the Monkeys didn\u2019t fall, the\nants and crawling bugs would get on them, and the dead limbs of the\ntrees would fall and hurt them, and the wind would blow them about, and\nthe heavy rains would fall and wet them.\n\n\u201cAbout that time the Monkeys were the most miserable creatures in the\nworld. They were so miserable that, finally, the Head Monkey made up his\nmind to go and see the Wise Man who used to settle all disputes as far\nas he could. So the Head Monkey set out on his journey, and traveled\ntill he came to the Wise Man\u2019s house.\n\n\u201cHe got on the gatepost, and looked all around, to see if there was a\nDog anywhere in sight. Seeing none, he went to the front door and\nknocked. The Wise Man came out. He was very old. He had a beard as long\nas Brother Billy Goat\u2019s, and as gray, but he was very nice and kind. The\nHead Monkey told his story all the way through, and the Wise Man sat and\nlistened to every word. When he had heard it all, he shut his eyes and\nstudied the matter over, and then he said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Only fools get up fusses that they can\u2019t settle. I\u2019ll give you a\nfool\u2019s remedy to settle a fool\u2019s fuss. Go back to your own country and\nfetch me a bunch of the hair of a Brindle Dog. Then I\u2019ll show you a\ncheap and an easy way to get rid of the whole tribe of Dogs. But be sure\nthat you make no mistake. I must have the hair of a Brindle Dog\u2014just\nthat and nothing else. Then I can show you how to get rid of all the\nDogs. But if you make any mistake, you will ruin the whole tribe of\nMonkeys.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Head Monkey scratched himself on the side, quick like. Says he,\n\u2018Oh, I\u2019ll make no mistake. Don\u2019t worry about me. The first time the Dogs\nhave a burying I\u2019ll get on a swinging limb, and when a Brindle Dog comes\nalong I\u2019ll reach down and pull a bunch of hair out of his hide, and by\nthe time he gets through howling I\u2019ll be on my journey back.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Wise Man ran his fingers through his beard, and laughed to himself.\nSays he, \u2018Very well, my young friend, but you had best be careful. A Dog\nof any kind will bear watching, but especially a Brindle Dog.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Head Monkey made no answer. He simply grinned, and started back\nhome. Now, it happened that after his journey was over, the Dogs had no\nburying for a long time. They seemed to be in better health than ever.\nSome traveling doctor had come along and told them that whenever they\nfelt out of sorts they must go out in the fields and hunt for a\nparticular kind of grass. When they found it they were to eat\ntwenty-seven blades of it, and then go on about their business. You may\nnot believe this,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, pausing in the midst of his story,\n\u201cbut if you will watch the Dogs right close, you will find that to this\nday they\u2019ll go out and eat grass whenever they are ailing. They don\u2019t\nchew it. They just bite off a great long sprig of it, and wallop it\naround their tongues and swallow it whole. I don\u2019t know how they do it,\nbut I\u2019m telling you the plain facts.\n\n\u201cWell, as I was saying, it was a long time after the Head Monkey got\nhome before the Dogs had a burying, and when they did have one it\nhappened that there was no Brindle Dog in the procession. The rest of\nthe Monkeys were all waiting to see what the Head Monkey was going to\ndo, and so they forgot to bother the Dogs. When the Dogs saw that the\nMonkeys were quiet, they kept quiet themselves, and there was no trouble\nbetween them for a long time. Seeing that the Dogs were no longer\nsnapping and snarling at them, some of the older Monkeys began to travel\non the ground again, but the younger ones stayed in the trees where they\nwere born.\n\n\u201cThe Head Monkey was mighty restless. Sometimes he\u2019d stay in the trees,\nand then again he\u2019d travel on the ground, but wherever he was he always\nkept his eye out for a Brindle Dog. Finally, one day, when he was\ntraveling on the ground, he heard a noise up the road, and when he\nturned around he saw a big Brindle Dog coming towards him. He thought to\nhimself that now was his time or never; so he got behind a bush and\nwaited for the Brindle Dog to come up.\n\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t have long to wait, for the Brindle Dog was going in a\nswinging trot. When he came by the bush, the Head Monkey rushed out and\ntried to pull a bunch of hair from the Brindle Dog\u2019s hide. But he rushed\ntoo far. The Brindle Dog shied, as old Mr. Horse used to do when he saw\na bunch of shucks in the road. He shied so quick, and he shied so far,\nthat the Head Monkey fell short with his arm, and was carried too far by\nhis legs. As the Brindle Dog shied, he turned and saw what it was, and\nthen he made a rush for the Head Monkey. There was no tree near, and no\nway for the Head Monkey to escape. The Brindle Dog grabbed him and made\nshort work of him. There was considerable of a fight, for the Head\nMonkey was strong in his arms and quick on his feet. But the Brindle Dog\nhad a long jaw and a strong one. He grabbed the Head Monkey between\nshoulder and ham, and shook him up as you have seen people shake a\nsifter. He just held on and shook, and when he turned loose he\u2019d shut\nhis teeth down in a new place, so that when the rippit was over, it\nseemed as if there wasn\u2019t a whole bone in the Head Monkey\u2019s hide. But\nquick done is quick over: and after the Brindle Dog had done all the\nshaking that the case called for, he dropped the Head Monkey and went on\nabout his business; but he had some bites and scratches on his hide, and\nas he trotted off he shook his ears, for one of them had been split\nmighty nigh in two by the Head Monkey.\n\n\u201cWell, after the Brindle Dog had trotted off, the Head Monkey rose from\nthe ground and began to feel of himself. He was afraid that he had been\ntorn in two and scattered all over the road, but when he found that he\nhad his legs and his arms and his head and his body, he began to be more\ncheerful. He found he could walk. And then he found he could use his\nhands, and then he strutted around, and said to himself that he had\nwhipped the fight. He was badly bruised and pretty sore, but he was not\ntoo sore to strut, and so he walked up and down the road and made his\nbrags that he had compelled the Brindle Dog to take to his heels.\n\n\u201cThen he happened to think what he had come for, and he hunted all about\nin the road to see if he could find a bunch of the Brindle Dog\u2019s hair.\nThere was a good deal of hair scattered around, and in a little while\nthe Head Monkey had gathered up a handful. He picked it over and sorted\nit out, and wrapped it up in a poplar leaf. Then he went home to his\nfamily and rested a day or two, for he was pretty badly bruised. And he\ntold a big tale of how he had met the great Brindle Dog in the road, and\nhad fanned him out in a fair fight. His children listened with all their\nears, and then they jumped from limb to limb and told all the neighbors\u2019\nchildren that their pa was the biggest and the best of all the Monkeys.\n\n\u201cThis went on for some time, and finally the Head Monkey felt well\nenough to visit the Wise Man. So he started on the journey, and after\nawhile he got there. He climbed the gatepost again, and looked all\naround to see if there was a Brindle Dog in sight. Seeing none, he went\nto the door and knocked, and the Wise Man came out.\n\n\u201c\u2018Good-morning,\u2019 says the Wise Man. \u2018I hope you are well.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Tolerably well, I thank you,\u2019 says the Head Monkey. \u2018And I\u2019ve come\nagreeable to promise to bring you a bunch of the hair of a Brindle Dog.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that he unrolled the poplar leaf, and showed the Wise Man the hair\nhe had picked up in the road. The Wise Man took the bunch of hair and\nturned it over in his hand, and looked at it. Then he looked at the Head\nMonkey.\n\n\u201c\u2018What is this?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018A bunch of hair from a Brindle Dog,\u2019 says the Head Monkey.\n\n\u201cThe Wise Man shook his head. Says he, \u2018It may be, but it doesn\u2019t look\nlike the samples I have seen. Are you sure about it?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018As sure as I am standing here,\u2019 says the Head Monkey.\n\n\u201cSays the Wise Man, \u2018It\u2019s none of my business. I just wanted to be\ncertain about it, because if there\u2019s any Monkey hair in it, everything\nwill go wrong. The whole tribe of Monkeys will be ruined. They will have\nto leave this country and the Dogs will stay here. Did you have any\ntrouble in getting this hair?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, \u2018there was a dispute, nothing serious.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How long did the dispute last?\u2019 says the Wise Man.\n\n\u201c\u2018No longer than I could reach out and get the hair,\u2019 says the Head\nMonkey.\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s funny,\u2019 says the Wise Man. \u2018When the Brindle Dog gets into a\ndispute, he usually shows his teeth.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, he showed his teeth, and he had more than I thought,\u2019 says the\nHead Monkey.\n\n\u201c\u2018But are you sure this hair came out of the hide of a Brindle Dog?\u2019\nsays the Wise Man.\n\n\u201cSays the Head Monkey, \u2018As sure as I\u2019m standing here. I pulled it out\nwith my own hands.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays the Wise Man, \u2018It looks to me as if there were some other kind of\nhair in this bunch. Did you have any trouble in getting it?\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, \u2018we had a little dispute.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays the Wise Man, \u2018Was that all?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, scratching himself, \u2018we passed a few\nlicks.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How was that?\u2019 says the Wise Man.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, \u2018he growled and I squealed, and then he\nbit and I scratched.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I see,\u2019 says the Wise Man. \u2018What else?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, to tell you the truth,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, \u2018there was right\nsmart of a scuffle.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Aha!\u2019 says the Wise Man. \u2018A scuffle!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 says the Head Monkey, \u2018and worse than that. There was a regular\nknock-down-and-drag-out fight,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201c\u2018I see,\u2019 says the Wise Man. \u2018You have brought me some of your own hair\ninstead of the Brindle Dog\u2019s hair, and now you and your whole tribe will\nhave to leave this country and cross the ocean; and when you get into\nthe new country, you will have to live in the trees to keep the\nfour-footed animals from destroying you.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd so it happened,\u201d continued Mr. Rabbit. \u201cSince that time, there have\nbeen no Monkeys in this country. They had to cross the big water, and\nwhen they got over there they had to live in the trees; and I expect\nthey are living that way yet\u2014at least, they were at last accounts.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XVII.\n\n THE RABBIT AND THE MOON.\n\n\n\u201cI reckon that\u2019s so about the Monkeys,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows. \u201cThey\nused to be in the country next door, and now they are no longer there.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit; \u201cit\u2019s just like I tell you: they were there\nonce, but now they are not there any more. But in the world next door\neverybody has his ups and downs, especially his downs. I\u2019ve heard my\ngreat-grandfather tell many a time how our family used to live close to\nthe Moon. So I don\u2019t make any brags about the way the Monkeys had to\ntake to the bushes. I remember about my own family, and then I feel like\nhanging my head down and saying nothing. It is a very funny feeling,\ntoo. When I think we used to live close to the Moon, and that we now\nlive on the ground and have to crawl there like snails, I sometimes feel\nlike crying; and I tell you right now if I was to begin to boo-hoo,\nyou\u2019d be astonished.\u201d\n\nBuster John and Sweetest Susan looked very serious, but Drusilla showed\na desire to laugh.\n\n\u201cYou say you used to live close to the Moon?\u201d asked Buster John, with\nmore curiosity than usual.\n\n\u201cWhy, certainly,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit. \u201cI don\u2019t say that I did, but I\u2019m\ncertain that my family did. I\u2019ve heard my great-grandfather tell about\nit a hundred times. I\u2019ve heard that it was a better country up there\nthan it is where you live, even better than it is down here,\u2014a good deal\nmore fun and fiddling, and not half so much looking around for something\nto eat. That is the great trouble. If we didn\u2019t have to scuffle around\nand get something to eat, we\u2019d be lots better off.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s mighty funny. If you let well enough alone, you are all right; but\nthe minute you try to better it, everything goes wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cDat wuz de way wid ol\u2019 man Adam,\u201d remarked Drusilla.\n\n\u201cWhy, of course,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, \u201cand it was the way with all the\nRabbits and everybody and everything else.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how did they live up there by the Moon?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan. \u201cHow\ndid they keep from falling off?\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit scratched his head a little before replying. \u201cWell,\u201d said he,\nafter awhile, \u201cthey got along just as we do down here,\u2014heads up and feet\ndown. But one time, as I\u2019ve heard my great-grandfather say, the Moon got\ninto a sort of fidget, and was mighty restless for quite a while. At\nlast, one of our family, the oldest of all, made bold to look over the\nfence and ask the Moon what the trouble was. He noticed, too, that the\nMoon had shrunk considerably, and seemed to be in a very bad way. It\ncould hardly hold up its head.\n\n\u201cBut the Moon managed to look up when it heard the fuss at the fence,\nand, in a very shaky voice, told the oldest of all the Rabbits howdy.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n \u201cWHAT IS THE TROUBLE?\u201d SAYS THE OLDEST RABBIT\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018What is the trouble?\u2019 says the oldest Rabbit. Says he, \u2018Can I do\nanything to help you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m afraid not,\u2019 says the Moon. \u2018You are not nimble enough.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Maybe I\u2019m nimbler than you think,\u2019 says the oldest Rabbit.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the Moon, \u2018I\u2019ll tell you what the trouble is. I want to\nget a message to Mr. Man, who lives in the world down yonder. I\u2019ve been\nshining on him at night, and I\u2019ve caught a bad cold by being out after\ndark. My health is breaking down, and if I don\u2019t put out my lights for a\nwhile and take a rest, I\u2019ll have to go out altogether. Now, it\u2019s like\nthis: I\u2019ve been shining for Mr. Man so long that if I don\u2019t send him\nsome word he\u2019ll think something serious has happened. I must take a\nrest, but I want to send him a message, telling him that I won\u2019t be gone\nlong.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the oldest Rabbit, \u2018I don\u2019t mind going, if you\u2019ll show me\nthe way and tell me what to say.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the Moon pointed out the way, and showed him how to put his fingers\nin his ears and hold his breath when he took the long jump. Then it gave\nhim this message:\u2014\n\n _\u2018I am growing weak to gather strength:\n I go into the shadows to gather light.\u2019_\n\n\u201cThe oldest Rabbit said this message over to himself many times, and\nthen he got ready for the journey. Everything went well until he came to\nthe long jump. But he braced himself, and shut his eyes, and put his\nfingers in his ears, and held his breath. Now, the jump was a long one,\nsure enough. It was so long that the oldest Rabbit opened one eye, and\nthen he got the notion that he was falling instead of jumping, and he\nopened both eyes so wide that they have been that way ever since. This\nscared him terribly, and by the time he landed on the world he had\nforgotten what he came for. He wasn\u2019t hurt a bit, but he was badly\nscared.\n\n\u201cHe sat on the ground and tried to remember, and then he got up and\nwalked about. Finally, he looked up and saw the Moon winking one eye at\nhim. Then he thought about the message, and he ran off to Mr. Man\u2019s\nhouse, and knocked at the door. Mr. Man had gone to bed, but he got up\nand opened the door, and asked what was wanted.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says the oldest Rabbit, \u2018I\u2019ve just come from the Moon with a\nmessage for you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What is it?\u2019 says Mr. Man.\n\n\u201c\u2018The Moon told me to tell you this:\u2014\n\n \u2018_I\u2019m growing weak and have no strength:\n I\u2019m going off where the shadows are dark._\u2019\n\n\u201cMr. Man scratched his head. He couldn\u2019t make the message out. Then he\nsaid, \u2018Take this message back:\u2014\n\n \u2018_Seldom seen and soon forgot:\n When a Moon dies her feet get cold._\u2019\n\n\u201cThe oldest Rabbit bowed politely and started back home. He came to the\nJumping-Off Place, and then he took the long jump. He was soon at home,\nand went at once to the Moon\u2019s house, and gave the message that Mr. Man\nhad sent. This made the Moon very mad. It declared that the oldest\nRabbit had carried the wrong message. Then it grabbed the shovel and\nstruck him in the face. This made the oldest Rabbit very mad, and he\njumped at the Moon and used his claws. The fight was a hard one, and you\ncan see the marks of it to this day. All the Rabbits have their upper\nlips split, and the Moon still has the marks on its face where the\noldest Rabbit clawed it.\n\n\u201cThe way of it was this,\u201d continued Mr. Rabbit, seeing that the children\nhad hardly caught the drift of the story: \u201cthe Moon had been shining\nconstantly for many years, and was growing weak. It wanted to take a\nrest, and it was afraid Mr. Man would get scared when he failed to see\nit at night. Since that time the Moon has been taking a rest about every\ntwo weeks. At least it used to be that way. I never bother about it\nnow.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XVIII.\n\n WHY THE BEAR IS A WRESTLER.\n\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, after a pause, \u201cwhat about the story? Was there\nany moral to it?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone at all,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows. \u201cIt was just an old-time tale.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, I\u2019m truly glad to hear you say so,\u201d cried Mr. Rabbit, appearing to\nbe very much pleased. \u201cIt\u2019s as good as taking a nap.\u201d He winked gravely\nat Buster John, and then proceeded to refill his pipe.\n\n\u201cI thought it was a pretty good story,\u201d said Buster John. \u201cIt turned out\nto be a story so quick that it was all over with before I knew it was a\nstory.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, \u201cI had to tell it mighty quick. Suppose I\nhad stopped to light my pipe and left my own kin dangling between the\nMoon and the World! I knew in reason it would never do, and so I rattled\naway almost as fast as the oldest Rabbit jumped. It was a long story\nquickly told of a long journey quickly made.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit seemed to be in better humor than ever. He leaned back, and\npatted the ground softly with one foot.\n\n\u201cSpeaking of journeys,\u201d he said, after awhile, \u201cmakes me think about how\nBrother Bear started out in the world. But what am I doing?\u201d he cried.\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to do all the talking. I don\u2019t have any chance to sleep\nunless somebody else is telling a story.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, please tell us the story,\u201d pleaded Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll have to,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, \u201csince I\u2019ve got it started. Well,\none time when Brother Bear was young, the time came for him to scratch\naround and scuffle for himself. He had already learned how to grabble\nfor sweet potatoes, how to tote an armful of roasting ears, and how to\nshut his eyes and rob a bee-tree, and so his daddy thought it was about\ntime for him to go off and earn his own living. Brother Bear said he was\nmore than willing, and when he came to tell his folks good-by, his daddy\ngave him seven pieces of honey-in-the-comb, saying:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018This is all I have to give you, but it\u2019s enough. Whoever eats this\nhoney with you will have to wrestle with you seven years or give you\neverything he owns.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo Brother Bear put his seven pieces of honey-in-the-comb in a bag,\nslung the bag over his back, and went shuffling down the big road. He\ntraveled all that day, and camped out in the woods at night. The next\nmorning, just as he was about to eat breakfast, he heard a rustling in\nthe bushes, and presently Brother Tiger came slipping and sliding along,\nhunting for his breakfast. Brother Bear howdied, and Brother Tiger said\nhe was only tolerable\u2014not as peart as he might be, and yet pearter than\nhe had been. Then Brother Tiger sat and watched Brother Bear take put a\npiece of his honey-in-the-comb, and the sight made his mouth water.\nBrother Bear noticed this, and he says, says he:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018I wish you mighty well, Brother Tiger, and I\u2019d like to ask you to have\nsome of my breakfast, for I have more than a plenty for two. But the\ntrouble is, that whoever eats any of this honey-in-the-comb will have to\nwrestle with me seven years or give me all his belongings.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t let that bother you,\u2019 says Brother Tiger, says he. \u2018I\u2019m a pretty\ngood wrestler myself, and I don\u2019t mind trying my hand with you after\nI\u2019ve tasted your honey-in-the-comb.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut Brother Bear hemmed and hawed, and acted so that Brother Tiger\nthought he was either afraid to wrestle or mighty stingy with his\nhoney-in-the-comb. He thought so, and he said so, and this put Brother\nBear on his mettle. So he says, says he:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Well, Brother Tiger, come and get a piece of my honey-in-the-comb. I\u2019m\nmore than glad to give it to you, and sorry, too, because, as sure as\nyou eat it, you\u2019ll be put under a spell, and you\u2019ll be obliged to\nwrestle with me seven long years or give me all your belongings.\u2019\n\n\u201cBrother Tiger grinned from ear to ear. Says he, \u2018If I don\u2019t have to\nwrestle before I get the honey-in-the-comb, it will be all right. Just\nlet me get my fill of that, and I\u2019ll wrestle with you seven times seven\nyears. I\u2019ll promise to make you tired of wrestling.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018So be it,\u2019 says Brother Bear. \u2018Come and get the honey-in-the-comb, and\ntake all you want, for I won\u2019t need any after I\u2019ve wrestled with you a\ntime or two,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u201cBrother Tiger went up and tasted the honey-in-the-comb, and it was so\ngood that he smacked his lips and asked for more. Brother Bear gave him\nsome. After both had eat as much as they wanted, Brother Tiger took a\nnotion to go home, but something held him back. The spell was working.\nBut finally he pulled himself together, and said he believed he\u2019d go\nhome and see his old woman.\n\n\u201cBut Brother Bear chuckled to himself. Says he, \u2018Now that you\u2019ve gobbled\nup my honey-in-the-comb, you don\u2019t want to wrestle. You can\u2019t help\nyourself. When I say wrestle, you\u2019ll have to wrestle. You can go home\nnow, but to-morrow, bright and early, I\u2019ll knock at your door, and\nyou\u2019ll have to come out and wrestle.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Tiger, says he, \u2018I\u2019ll be more than glad to accommodate\nyou. Just knock at the door any hour after daybreak, and you\u2019ll find me\non hand.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Bear, \u2018I\u2019ll do so, I\u2019ll do so. Just remember your spoken\nword, Brother Tiger!\u2019\n\n\u201cBrother Tiger started home, but before he had gone very far he began to\nfeel mighty queer. He had a buzzing noise in his head and a creepy,\ncrawly feeling on his hide. He began to get scared. Once he thought the\nhoney had poisoned him, but he wasn\u2019t sick. He never felt better in his\nlife. He wanted to jump and run, and I believe the tale does say that he\ncapered around a time or two. But every time he\u2019d start home he\u2019d have\nthat buzzing sound in his head and that creepy, crawly feeling in his\nhide.\n\n\u201cSo, by and by, he thought he would turn back and see what Brother Bear\nthought about it. No sooner said than done. He went back at a hand\ngallop, and found Brother Bear curled up at the foot of a tree fast\nasleep. The honey had made him feel so good that he concluded to enjoy\nhimself by taking another nap. But he got up brisk enough when he heard\nBrother Tiger calling him, and by the time he had rubbed his eyes once\nor twice, and gaped and stretched himself, he was as wide awake as ever.\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018I knew you\u2019d come back, Brother Tiger, and so I just waited\nfor you; and while I was waiting I ups and drops off to sleep. But\nanyhow and anyway, here you are, and there\u2019s no harm done.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Tiger, says he, \u2018I just came back to ask you about the\nqueer feeling I have.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Bear, \u2018That\u2019s easy enough. You just wanted to wrestle, and\nso you had to come back. I have the feeling most all the time when I\u2019m\nnot sleeping or eating. It\u2019s a sort of zooning sound in the ears, and a\nsort of ticklish feeling on the hide. Well, there isn\u2019t anything the\nmatter at all. You just want to wrestle, and as the feeling is new to\nyou, you didn\u2019t know what it was.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Brother Tiger, \u2018I believe you are right, Brother Bear; I believe\nthat\u2019s the whole trouble.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says Brother Bear, \u2018I\u2019ll try you one round, just to loosen up\nmy hide and put me in traveling trim. I\u2019ll not wrestle with you very\nhard, because you are not used to it, and it\u2019s too soon to get down to\nbusiness with you. I told you about it when you wanted to eat the honey,\nbut you would eat it, and now you\u2019ll have to wrestle with me, off and\non, first and last, for seven long years; and if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll have\nto give me your house and all your belongings.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo they took off their coats and made ready to wrestle. \u2018As you are not\nused to these capers,\u2019 says Brother Bear, \u2018I\u2019ll give you all-under holt,\nand promise not to use the in-turn, the ham-twist, or the knee-lock.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, Brother Tiger didn\u2019t know whether Brother Bear was talking Latin\nor Chinese, but he said nothing: he just stood up and grabbed Brother\nBear around the waist, or where the waist ought to be.\n\n\u201c\u2018When you are ready,\u2019 says Brother Bear, \u2018just give the word.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says Brother Tiger, \u2018I reckon I\u2019m as ready now as I ever will\nbe.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that Brother Bear hugged Brother Tiger pretty tight, whirled\naround with him a time or two, fell on him, and then cuffed him, first\non one ear and then on the other. It was all done so quick that Brother\nTiger didn\u2019t have time to say don\u2019t. He got up and felt of his ribs to\nsee if they were still whole, and then he rubbed the side of his head\nwhere Brother Bear had cuffed him. It had already begun to swell. His\nbreeches were badly ripped, and he was sore all over.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HE RUBBED THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD\n]\n\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018And so this is what you call wrestling\u2014this is what I was\nitching for, is it?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, no!\u2019 says Brother Bear. \u2018It wouldn\u2019t do to call that wrestling.\nThat was only playing. I was just showing you the first few capers: you\ncan\u2019t wrestle until you learn how. I\u2019ll drop by your house to-morrow\nmorning, bright and early, and give you another whirl.\u2019\n\n\u201cBrother Tiger looked mighty solemn, but he didn\u2019t say anything. He\nambled off home as well as he could in his condition, and got his old\nwoman to mend his breeches. She wanted to know who he had been fighting\nwith, but he told her he had just been playing with Brother Bear. She\nlaughed, and said that when he had played that way a few more times\nthere wouldn\u2019t be enough of him left, neither breeches, body, nor bones,\nto sew up in a bag.\n\n\u201cWell, the next morning, bright and early, Brother Bear rapped at\nBrother Tiger\u2019s door, and told him to come out and take some exercise\nbefore breakfast. Brother Tiger didn\u2019t like this invitation at all. He\nsaid he wanted to sleep a little longer; but Brother Bear sent in word\nthat the night was made for sleeping, while the day was made for work\nand play. Now, it so happened that the honey which Brother Tiger had ate\nhad put a spell on him, and when Brother Bear asked him out to wrestle\nhe had to come. He pulled on his clothes with no good heart, for he was\nstill very sore, and came limping out, trying to put a good face on the\naffair. Brother Bear laughed, and told Brother Tiger howdy, but Brother\nTiger didn\u2019t make much of a reply.\n\n\u201cSo Brother Bear says, says he, \u2018I hope you are not begrudging your\nbargain, Brother Tiger, but you made it yourself, and at no invitation\nof mine. I had the seven pieces of honey-in-the-comb, and you had the\nbad taste in the mouth. I told you how it would be, but you would have\nthe honey, and now you\u2019ll have to stand to your bargain: you can\u2019t help\nyourself now. I told you the plain truth about it, but you wouldn\u2019t\nbelieve it. You\u2019ll find out the truth before you get the taste of that\nhoney out of your mouth.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen they made a few passes at each other; but Brother Bear finally\ngrabbed Brother Tiger around his striped waist, squeezed the breath out\nof him, dashed him on the ground, cuffed his ears, and then stood there\non his hind legs, waiting to see what Brother Tiger was going to do. But\nBrother Tiger didn\u2019t want any more wrestling for that day. He went into\nthe house and washed his face and hands, and sat down and licked his\nbruises the best he could.\n\n\u201cBut the next morning he had to come out and wrestle again, and this\nhappened until he was so weak he could hardly walk. His hide was split,\nhis ears were swollen, and every stripe on his long body was crossed by\na scar. Wrestling was fine fun for Brother Bear, who was used to it, but\nit was no fun for Brother Tiger, who didn\u2019t know how. Every time he\nwrestled he got new bruises, and his head swelled until he could hardly\nget in the door of his house without backing his ears.\n\n\u201cFinally, one day he told Brother Bear candidly that he would rather\ngive up his house and lot than to be tossed around and cuffed at that\nrate. Brother Bear said that he would rather wrestle and have a jolly\ntime than to take Brother Tiger\u2019s house; but Brother Tiger wouldn\u2019t hear\nto that. He said he couldn\u2019t stay in that part of the country and hear\nthe talk of the neighbors. They would pester him mighty near to death on\nthe week days, and fairly kill him out on Sunday, when they had nothing\nto do but sit around and gossip.\n\n\u201cSo Brother Tiger moved out, and Brother Bear moved in; and it has come\nto pass that Brother Tiger won\u2019t stay in the same country with Brother\nBear for fear that he will have to do some more wrestling.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XIX.\n\n THE SHOEMAKER WHO MADE BUT ONE SHOE.\n\n\n\u201cNow, I\u2019ll tell you honestly,\u201d said Little Mr. Thimblefinger, popping\nout from under Mr. Rabbit\u2019s big armchair, \u201cI don\u2019t like such stories.\nThey give me the all-overs. I expect maybe it\u2019s because they are true.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo doubt that\u2019s the trouble with them,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit in a tone\nunusually solemn. \u201cYou don\u2019t think that at my time of life my tongue is\nnimble enough for me to sit here and make up stories to suit the hour\nand the company? By the bye,\u201d he continued, turning around so as to\ncatch Little Mr. Thimblefinger\u2019s eye, \u201cwhat stories were you talking\nabout?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, to tell you the truth, I was fast asleep, for the most part, but\nI distinctly remember something about Moons and Monkeys. When I heard\nthat, I just went off to sleep in spite of myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s no accounting for tastes,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit. \u201cThere are some\ntales that put me to sleep, and I have no complaint to make when anybody\nbegins to doze over them that I tell.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you tell \u2019em well enough,\u201d Little Mr. Thimblefinger declared. \u201cIf\nanything, you make them better than they ought to be. You lift your ears\nat the right place, and pat your foot when the time comes. I don\u2019t know\nwhat more could be asked in telling a story.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo far so good,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows, who had thus far said nothing.\n\u201cSuppose you whirl in and tell us the kind of tale that you really\nadmire.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s easier said than done,\u201d replied Little Mr. Thimblefinger,\nfidgeting about a little. \u201cYou have to take the tales as they come.\nSometimes one will pop into your head in spite of yourself. You remember\nit just because you didn\u2019t like it when you first heard it.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell us one, anyway, just to pass away the time,\u201d said Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cIf I tell you one,\u201d Little Mr. Thimblefinger replied, \u201cI\u2019ll not promise\nit will be one that I like. That would be promising too much. But the\ntalk about the Moon, that I heard before I dozed off just now, reminded\nme of a tale I heard when I was a good deal smaller than I am now.\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time there was a man who had two sons. They were twins, but\nthey were just as different from each other as they could possibly be.\nOne was dark, and the other was light complected. One was slim, and the\nother was fat. One was good, and the other was what people call bad. He\nwas lazy, and full of fun and mischief. They grew up that way until they\nwere nineteen or twenty years old. The good boy would work hard every\nday, or pretend to work hard, and then he\u2019d go back home and tell his\nmother and father that his brother hadn\u2019t done a stroke of work. Of\ncourse, this made the old people feel very queer. The mother felt\nsorrowful, and the father felt angry. This went on, until finally, one\nday, the father became so angry that he concluded to take his bad son\ninto some foreign country, and bind him out to some person who could\nmake him work and cure him of his mischievousness. In those days people\nsometimes bound out their children to learn trades and good manners and\nthings of that sort.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish dey\u2019d do it now,\u201d exclaimed Drusilla. \u201cKaze den I wouldn\u2019t\nhafter be playin\u2019 nuss, an\u2019 be gwine in all kind er quare places whar\nyou dunner when ner whar you kin git out.\u201d\n\n\u201cStuff!\u201d cried Buster John. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you be quiet and listen to the\nstory?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt go long too slow fer ter suit me,\u201d said Drusilla in a grumbling\ntone.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, turning to Buster John, \u201cyou\u2019ve come\nmighty close to telling a part of the tale I had in my mind.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see how,\u201d replied Buster John with some surprise.\n\n\u201cYou said \u2018stuff!\u2019\u201d responded Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cand that\u2019s a part of\nmy story. If you listen, you\u2019ll soon find out. As I was saying, people\nin old times bound out their sons to some good man, who taught them a\ngood trade or something of that kind. Well, this man that I was telling\nyou about took his bad son off to a foreign country, and tried to find\nsome one to bind him out to. They traveled many days and nights. They\nwent over mountains and passed through valleys. They crossed plains, and\nthey went through the wild woods.\n\n\u201cNow, the man who was taking his son into a foreign country was getting\nold, and the farther they walked, the more tired he grew. At last, one\nday, when they were going through the big woods, he sat down to rest\nnear a tall poplar-tree, and, turning to his son, said angrily:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Stuff! you are not worth all this trouble. But for you I\u2019d be at home\nnow, enjoying myself and smoking my pipe.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe son, who was used to these outbreaks, made no reply, but stretched\nhimself out on the dead leaves that littered the ground. He had hardly\ndone so when there was a tremendous noise in the woods, and then both\nfather and son saw rushing toward them an old man with a long beard,\nfollowed by a small army of fierce-looking dwarfs armed with clubs and\nknives and pikes. They rushed up and surrounded the father and son.\n\n\u201c\u2018Which of you called my name and abused me?\u2019 cried the old man with the\nlong beard.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not I,\u2019 said the bad son.\n\n\u201c\u2018Not I,\u2019 said the father. \u2018I am sure I never saw you or heard of you\nbefore.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis made the old man more furious than ever. He fairly trembled with\nrage. \u2018Didn\u2019t I hear one of you say, \u201cStuff! but for you I\u2019d be at home\nnow enjoying myself, and smoking my pipe?\u201d\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I did say something like that,\u2019 replied the father in great\nastonishment.\n\n\u201c\u2018How dare you?\u2019 cried the old man, beside himself with rage. \u2018How did I\never harm you? Seize him!\u2019 he said to his army of dwarfs. \u2018Seize him,\nand bind him hard and fast! I\u2019ll show him whether he can come into my\nkingdom and abuse me!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe father was speechless with astonishment, and made no attempt to\nprevent the dwarfs from seizing and binding him. They had him tied hard\nand fast before he could say a word, even if he had had a word to say.\nBut by this time the son had risen to his feet.\n\n\u201c\u2018Wait!\u2019 he cried, \u2018let\u2019s see what the trouble is! Who are you?\u2019 he\ninquired, turning to the old man with the long beard.\n\n\u201c\u2018My name is Stuff,\u2019 he replied, \u2018and I am king of this country which\nyou are passing through. I\u2019m not going to allow any one to abuse me in\nmy own kingdom. You may go free, but mind you go straight back the way\nyou came.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe son thought the matter over a little while, and then turned on his\nheel and went back the way he had come, and, as he walked, he whistled\nall the lively tunes he could think of. For a time he was glad that his\nfather was no longer with him to quarrel and complain; but finally he\ngrew lonely, and then he began to think how his father had raised him up\nfrom a little child. The more he thought about this, the sorrier he was\nthat he had given his father any trouble. He sat down on a log by the\nside of the road and thought it all over, and presently he began to cry.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n A QUEER-LOOKING LITTLE MAN CAME JOGGING ALONG THE ROAD\n]\n\n\n\u201cWhile he was sitting there with his head between his hands, crying over\nthe fate of his father, a queer-looking little man came jogging along\nthe road. He had bushy hair and a beard that grew all over his face,\nexcept right around his eyes and lips and the tip-end of his nose. His\nbeard was not long, but it was very thick, and it stood out around his\nface like the spokes in a buggy-wheel. He seemed to be in a big hurry,\nbut when he saw the young man sitting on the log crying, he stopped, and\nstared at him.\n\n\u201c\u2018Tut, tut!\u2019 he cried. \u2018What\u2019s all this? Who has hurt your feelings?\u2019\n\n\u201cIf the young man had not been so sorrowful, he would have been\nsurprised to see the queer-looking little man standing by him. But, as\nit was, he didn\u2019t seem to be surprised at all. He just looked at the\nstranger with red eyes.\n\n\u201c\u2018My name is Mum,\u2019 said the stranger, \u2018and I\u2019m the Man in the Moon. Tell\nme your troubles. Maybe I can help you. I\u2019m in a great hurry, because\nthe Moon must change day after to-morrow, and I must be there to lend a\nhand; but I\u2019ll not allow my hurry to prevent me from hearing your\ntroubles and helping you if I can.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo then and there the young man told his story, and the Man in the Moon\nsighed heavily when he heard it.\n\n\u201c\u2018I see how it is,\u2019 he said. \u2018You are young and thoughtless, and your\nfather is old and crabbed. You never thought of what you owed him, and\nhe never made any allowances for your youth. He\u2019s in no danger. I know\nold Stuff well. I\u2019ve watched him many a night when he thought nobody had\nan eye on him, and he\u2019s a pretty tough and cunning customer. You must\nhave help if you get your father out of trouble.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What am I to do?\u2019 asked the young man.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 replied the Man in the Moon, \u2018in the first place you will have\nto go home. Say nothing about the trouble your father is in. Just tell\nyour mother that he has lost the sole of his shoe, and has sent you for\nthe awl that is in the big red cupboard, a piece of leather, a handful\nof pegs, and a piece of wax.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What then?\u2019 the young man inquired.\n\n\u201c\u2018Bring them here,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon. \u2018By the time you get back,\nI will have another holiday. We\u2019ll put our heads together and see what\ncan be done.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe young man made no delay. He was so anxious about his father that he\nstarted for home at once. It was a long journey, but he lost no time on\nthe way. He was in rags and tatters when he reached home, but that made\nno difference to him. He took no time to eat, or to sleep, or to rest,\nbut went to his mother at once, and told her that his father had lost\nthe sole of his shoe, and had sent for the awl that lay in the big red\ncupboard, a strong piece of leather, a handful of shoe-pegs, and a cake\nof shoemaker\u2019s wax.\n\n\u201cHis mother asked him a great many questions, as women will, but all the\nanswer the son would make was that his father had lost the sole of his\nshoe, and had sent for the awl that lay in the big red cupboard, a\nstrong piece of leather, a handful of shoe-pegs, and a cake of\nshoemaker\u2019s wax. Of course, the mother was very much worried. She\nfinally came to the conclusion that some great calamity had befallen her\nhusband, and she went about crying and wringing her hands, and declaring\nthat they were all ruined; that her husband was dead; and that more than\nlikely he had been murdered by this bad, bad son of hers, who had no\nother story to tell except to ask for the awl that lay in the big red\ncupboard, a strong piece of leather, a handful of shoe-pegs, and a cake\nof shoemaker\u2019s wax.\n\n\u201cNow, the good son heard all this, but he said nothing. He just folded\nhis hands and fetched a sigh or two, and seemed to be sorry for\neverything in general. But while the mother was going about wringing her\nhands and weeping, and the good son was heaving and fetching his sighs,\nthe other son went to the big red cupboard. There on a shelf he saw the\nawl sticking in a cake of shoemaker\u2019s wax. Near it was a strong piece of\nleather, and close by was a handful of shoe-pegs. He took these, changed\nhis ragged coat, and started back on his journey.\n\n\u201cNow, although the good son did nothing but sigh and look sorry, he had\ndeep ideas of his own. The reason he was called the good son was because\nhe was so cunning. He thought to himself that now would be a good time\nto do a fine stroke of business. He knew that his brother had something\nmore on his mind than the awl, the leather, the pegs, and the\nshoemaker\u2019s wax, and he wanted to find out about it. So he ran after his\nbrother to ask him what the real trouble was. He caught up with him a\nlittle way beyond the limits of the village, but no satisfaction could\nhe get. Then he began to abuse his brother and to accuse him of all\nsorts of things.\n\n\u201cBut the son, who was trying to get his father out of trouble, paid no\nattention to this. He went forward on his journey, turning his head\nneither to the right nor to the left. The good brother (as he was\ncalled) followed along after the best he could, being determined to see\nthe end of the business. But somehow it happened that, on the second\nday, the brother who was going to meet the Man in the Moon was so tired\nand worn out that he was compelled to crawl under a haystack and go to\nsleep. In this way the good brother passed him on the road and went\nforward on his journey, never doubting that the other was just ahead of\nhim. Finally, one day, the good brother grew tired and sat down on a log\nto rest. He sat there so long that the brother he thought he was\nfollowing came up. He was very much surprised to see his nice and good\nbrother sitting on a log and nodding in that country. So he woke him up\nand asked him what the trouble was.\n\n\u201c\u2018Stuff!\u2019 cried the other, \u2018you know you have made way with our father!\u2019\n\n\u201cAt once there was a roaring noise in the woods and a rustling sound in\nthe underbrush, and out came an old man with a long beard, followed by\nan army of dwarfs.\n\n\u201c\u2018How dare you abuse me in my own kingdom?\u2019 he cried to the good\nbrother. \u2018How did I ever harm you?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe brother, who had seen this game played before, tried to explain,\nbut King Stuff would listen to no explanation. He commanded his armed\ndwarfs to seize and bind the good brother, and they soon carried him out\nof sight in spite of his cries.\n\n\u201cNow, the young man who had gone home for the awl and the axe and the\nshoemaker\u2019s wax was very much puzzled. He had more business on his hands\nthan he knew what to do with. He saw that he must now rescue his brother\nas well as his father, and he didn\u2019t know how to go about it. He had the\nawl and the axe and the shoemaker\u2019s wax. He also had the shoe-pegs and\nleather that he found together. But what was he to do with them? He sat\non the log and thought about it a long time.\n\n\u201cWhile he was sitting there, and just as he was about to go forward on\nhis journey, he heard some one coming briskly down the road singing. He\nheard enough of the song to be very much interested in it. It ran thus:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018With the awl and the axe\n And the shoemaker\u2019s wax,\n And the pegs and the leather\n That were found close together\n Where the old man had fling\u2019d \u2019em,\n We\u2019ll bore through and roar through;\n We\u2019ll cut down, we\u2019ll put down,\n This king and his kingdom.\u2019\n\n\u201cOf course, it was the Man in the Moon who was coming along the road\nsinging the song, and he seemed to be in high good humor. He caught\nsight of the solemn face of the young man and began to laugh.\n\n\u201c\u2018There you are!\u2019 cried Mum, the Man in the Moon, \u2018and I\u2019m glad to see\nyou; but I\u2019d feel a great deal better if you didn\u2019t look so lonesome. I\ndon\u2019t know what to do about it. Your face is as long as a hind quarter\nof beef.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I can\u2019t help it,\u2019 replied the young man. \u2018I am in deeper trouble than\never. My brother has been carried off by the same people that captured\nmy father.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018What of it?\u2019 exclaimed the Man in the Moon. \u2018If you knew as much about\nthat brother of yours as I do, you\u2019d go on about your business, and let\nhim stay where he is.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No,\u2019 said the young man. \u2018I couldn\u2019t do that. I know he is my brother,\nand that is enough. And then there\u2019s my father.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Man in the Moon looked at the young man a long time, and finally\nsaid:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Since we are to have a sort of holiday together, maybe you won\u2019t mind\ntelling me your name.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, of course not,\u2019 replied the young man. \u2018My name is Smat.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Man in the Moon scratched his head and then laughed. \u2018It is a queer\nname,\u2019 he said; \u2018but I see no objection to it. I suppose it just\nhappened so.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, I can\u2019t tell you anything about that,\u2019 replied Smat. \u2018I was too\nyoung when the name was given to take any part in the performance. They\nseized me, and named me at a time when I had to take any name that they\nchose to give me. They named me Smat, and that was the end of it so far\nas I was concerned. They never asked me how I liked it, but just slapped\nthe name in my face, as you may say, and left it there.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon, \u2018they\u2019ll put another letter in the\nname when you get back home. Instead of calling you Smat, they\u2019ll say\nyou are Smart, and there\u2019s some consolation in that.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Not much as I can see,\u2019 remarked Smat. \u2018It\u2019s all in your mouth, and\nwhat is in your mouth is pretty much all wind and water, if you try to\nspit it out. What I want now is to get my father and my brother out of\nthe trouble that my mischief has plunged them in. Please help me. They\nought to be at home right now. There\u2019s the corn to grind, and the cows\nare waiting to be milked, and the grain is to be gathered. Times are\npretty hard at our house when everybody is away.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Very well,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon. He had hanging by his side the\nhorn of the new Moon, and on this he blew a loud blast. Immediately\nthere was a roaring noise in the woods, and very soon there swarmed\nabout them a company of little men, all bearing the tiniest and the\nprettiest lanterns that were ever seen. It was not night, but their\nlanterns were blazing, and as they marched around the Man in the Moon in\nregular order, it seemed as though the light of their lanterns had\nquenched that of the sun, so that Smat saw the woods in a different\nlight altogether. He had not moved, but he seemed to be in another\ncountry entirely. The trees had changed, and the ground itself. He was\nno longer sitting on a log by the side of the big road, but was now\nstanding on his feet in a strange country, as it seemed to him.\n\n\u201cHe had risen from his seat on the log when the little men with their\nlanterns began marching around, but otherwise he had not moved. And yet\nhere he was in a country that was new to him. He rubbed his eyes in a\ndazed way, and when he opened them again, another change had taken\nplace. Neither he nor the Man in the Moon had made any movement away\nfrom the big road and the log that was lying by the side of it, but now\nthey were down in a wide valley, that stretched as far as the eye could\nsee, between two high mountain ranges.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, then,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon, \u2018you must be set up in business.\nOn the side of the mountain yonder is the palace of King Stuff, and\nsomewhere not far away you will find your father and your brother, and\nperhaps some one else.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe then called to the leaders of the little men with the lanterns, and\ngave each one a task to do. Their names were Drift and Sift, Glimmer and\nGleam, and Shimmer and Sheen. These six leaders waved their lanterns\nabout, called their followers about them, and at once began to build a\nhouse.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd they so little, too,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows sympathetically.\n\n\u201cWhy, it was no trouble in the world to them,\u201d said Little Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cIt didn\u2019t seem as if they were building a house. Did you\never see a flower open? You look at it one minute, turn your head away\nand forget about it, and the next time you look, there it is open wide.\nThat was the way with this house the little men built. It just seemed to\ngrow out of the ground. As it grew, the little men climbed on it, waved\ntheir lanterns about, and the house continued to grow higher and higher,\nand larger and larger, until it was finished. Not a nail had been\ndriven, not a board had been rived, not a plank had been planed, not a\nsill had been hewn, not a brick had been burned. And yet there was the\nhouse all new and fine, with a big chimney-stack in the middle.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon, when everything was done, \u2018here is\nyour house, and you may move in with bag and baggage.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That is quickly done,\u2019 replied Smat. \u2018What then?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, you must set up as a shoemaker,\u2019 said the Man in the Moon.\n\n\u201c\u2018But I never made a shoe in my life,\u2019 the young man declared.\n\n\u201c\u2018So much the more reason why you should make \u2019em before you die,\u2019 the\nMan in the Moon remarked. \u2018The sooner you begin to make shoes, the\nsooner you\u2019ll learn how.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s so true,\u2019 said Smat, \u2018that I have no reply to make. \u2018I\u2019ll do as\nyou say, if I can.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s better,\u2019 cried the Man in the Moon. \u2018If you do that, you\u2019ll\nhave small trouble. If you don\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t like to tell you what will\nhappen. Now listen! There is in this kingdom a person (I\u2019ll not say who)\nthat goes about with only one shoe. When you see that person, no matter\nwhen or where,\u2014no matter whether it\u2019s man, woman, or child,\u2014you must let\nit be known that you are ready to make a shoe.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the Man in the Moon called to the leaders of his army of lantern\nbearers, and waved his hands. They, in turn, waved their tiny lanterns,\nand in a moment all were out of sight, and Smat was left alone. For some\ntime afterwards he felt both lonely and uneasy, but this feeling passed\naway as soon as he went into his house. He was so astonished by what he\nsaw in there that he forgot to feel uneasy. He saw that, although the\nhouse was newly built,\u2014if it had been built,\u2014it was in fact old enough\ninside to seem like home. Every room was finely furnished and carpeted,\nand in one part of the house, in a sort of shed-room, he found that a\nshoemaker\u2019s shop had been fixed up. There he saw the awl and the axe,\nand the shoemaker\u2019s wax, with the pegs and the leather that were found\nclose together.\n\n\u201cHe thought to himself that all that was very nice, but he knew, too,\nthat he was not much of a shoemaker, and this bothered him not a little.\nAnyhow, he made himself comfortable and waited to see what was going to\nhappen.\n\n\u201cOne day a head officer of the kingdom chanced to pass that way. He saw\nthe house and rubbed his eyes. He was so astonished that he went and\ntold another officer, and this officer told another, and finally all the\nofficers in the kingdom knew about it. Now, if you\u2019ve ever noticed,\nthose who hold government offices have less to do and more time to do it\nin than any other day laborers. So they went about and caucussed among\nthemselves, and examined into the books, and found that no taxes had\never been gathered from the owner of such a house. There was great\ncommotion among them. One of them, more meddlesome than the rest, took a\nbig book under his arm and went to Smat\u2019s house to make inquiries. The\nfirst question he asked was the last.\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018How long have you been living in this precinct?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays Smat, \u2018Ever since the house was built and a little while before.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe officer looked at the house and saw that it was a very old one, and\nthen he tucked his big book under his arm and went off home. At last the\nking\u2014the same King Stuff whose name you\u2019ve heard me mention\u2014heard about\nthe new house that was old, and of the shoemaker who didn\u2019t know how to\nmake shoes. So he concluded to look into the matter. He summoned his\nhigh and mighty men, and when they had gathered together they went into\na back room of the palace and shut the door, and had a long talk\ntogether. All this took time; and while the king and his high and mighty\nmen were confabbing together, other things were happening, as you shall\npresently see.\n\n\u201cIt seems that in that kingdom there was a beautiful girl who went\nwandering about the country. If she had any kinsfolk, nobody knew\nanything about it, and, indeed, nobody cared. She had lost one of her\nshoes, and she went about from place to place hunting for it. Some\npitied her, and some laughed at her, which is the way of the world, as\nyou\u2019ll find out; but nobody tried to help her. Some said that one shoe\nwas better than no shoe, and others said that a new shoe would do just\nas well as an old shoe.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s where they made a big mistake,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cI\u2019ve tried\nit, and I ought to know. A new shoe is bound to hurt you a little at\nfirst, I don\u2019t care how well it fits.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019m only telling you what they said,\u201d replied little Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cFrom all I can hear, new shoes hurt the ladies a great\ndeal worse than they do the men. But that\u2019s natural, for their toes and\ntheir heels are a good deal tenderer than those of the men folks.\nAnyhow, this beautiful girl had lost one of her shoes, and, rather than\nbuy another one or a new pair, she went hunting it everywhere. One day\nshe came by Smat\u2019s house. He, sitting by one of the windows, and wishing\nthat he could see his father and brother, paid no attention to the\npassers-by. But this beautiful girl saw him at the window and spoke to\nhim.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n \u201cHAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING OF A STRAY SHOE?\u201d\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Kind sir,\u2019 she said, \u2018have you seen anything of a stray shoe? I have\nlost one of mine, and I\u2019m in great trouble about it.\u2019\n\n\u201cSmat looked at the girl, and she was so beautiful that he couldn\u2019t help\nbut blush. Seeing this, the girl began to blush. And so there they were,\ntwo young things a-blushing at one another, and wondering what was the\nmatter.\n\n\u201c\u2018I have seen no stray shoe,\u2019 said Smat; \u2018but if you\u2019ll come in and show\nme the one you have on, I think I\u2019ll know its fellow when I see it.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe girl went into the house and sat on a chair, and showed Smat the\nshoe that she hadn\u2019t lost. She had the smallest and the neatest foot he\nhad ever seen.\n\n\u201c\u2018I hope you are no kin to Cinderella,\u2019 said Smat, \u2018for then you\ncouldn\u2019t get a shoe to fit your other foot until some kind fairy made\nit.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I never heard of Cinderella,\u2019 the girl replied. \u2018I only know that I\nhave lost my shoe, and I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll never get another just like it.\u2019\n\n\u201cSmat scratched his head, and then he thought about the awl and the axe\nand the shoemaker\u2019s wax, and the pegs and the leather that were found\nclose together. So he said to the beautiful girl:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Just sit here a little while, and I\u2019ll see if I can\u2019t get you a shoe\nto fit your foot. But I must have the other shoe as a pattern to work\nby.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt first the girl didn\u2019t want to trust him with the shoe, but she saw\nthat he was in earnest, and so she pulled off the only shoe she had and\nplaced it in Smat\u2019s hands. He saw at once that the leather he had was a\nmatch for that in the shoe, and he set to work with a light heart,\u2014with\na light heart, but his hand was heavy. And yet, somehow or other, he\nfound that he knew all about making shoes, although he had never learned\nhow. The leather fitted itself to the last, and everything went\nsmoothly. But the beautiful girl, instead of feeling happy that she\nwould soon have a mate to her shoe, began to grow sad. She sat in a\ncorner with her head between her hands and her hair hanging down to her\nfeet, and sighed every time Smat bored a hole in the leather with his\nawl or drove in a peg. Finally, when he handed her the shoe entirely\nfinished, she looked at it, sighed, and let it fall from her hands.\n\n\u201c\u2018Of course,\u2019 said Smat, \u2018I don\u2019t feel bad over a little thing like\nthat. But you don\u2019t have to pay anything for the shoe, and you don\u2019t\nhave to wear it unless you want to.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, it is not that,\u2019 cried the beautiful girl. \u2018The shoe will do very\nwell, but the moment I put it on, your troubles will begin.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 replied Smat, \u2018we must have troubles of some sort anyhow, and\nthe sooner they begin, the sooner they\u2019ll be ended. So put on your\nshoe.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, it happened that just as the girl put on the shoe, which fitted\nher foot exactly, King Stuff and his councilors came driving up to the\ndoor. King Stuff was not a large man, but he was very fierce-looking. He\ncalled out from his carriage of state and asked what sort of a person\nlived in that house that he couldn\u2019t come out and salute when the king\nand his councilors went riding by. Smat went to the door and bowed as\npolitely as he could, and said that he would have been glad to bow and\nsalute, if he had known his royal highness and their excellent\nexcellencies intended to honor his poor house even so much as to pass by\nit. The king and his councilors looked at one another and shook their\nheads.\n\n\u201c\u2018This man is none of us,\u2019 said the oldest and wisest of the councilors.\n\u2018We must be careful.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How long have you lived here?\u2019 asked the king.\n\n\u201c\u2018Longer than I wanted to,\u2019 replied Smat. \u2018My house is so far from the\npalace that I have not been able to call and pay my respects to your\nmajesty.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I see you are a maker of shoes,\u2019 remarked the king, seeing the awl in\nSmat\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201c\u2018No, your majesty, not a maker of shoes, but simply a shoemaker. Thus\nfar I have succeeded in making only one shoe.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt this the king and his councilors began to shake and tremble. \u2018What\nwas the prophecy?\u2019 cried the king to the oldest and wisest. \u2018Repeat it!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe oldest and the wisest closed his eyes, allowed his head to drop to\none side, and said in solemn tones:\u2014\n\n \u2018Wherever you go, and whatever you do,\n Beware of the man that makes but one shoe;\n Beware of the man with the awl and the axe,\n With the pegs and the leather and the shoemaker\u2019s wax.\n If you\u2019re out of your palace when you meet this man,\n You\u2019d better get back as fast as you can.\u2019\n\n\u201cSmat felt very much like laughing at the solemn way in which the oldest\nand wisest councilor repeated this prophecy, or whatever it might be\ncalled. \u2018Your majesty needn\u2019t be worried about that prophecy,\u2019 said he.\n\u2018It\u2019s the easiest thing in the world to break the force of it.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018How?\u2019 asked the king.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why, having made one shoe, I\u2019ll go to work and make another,\u2019 replied\nSmat.\n\n\u201cThe oldest and wisest of the councilors said that was a pretty good\nplan,\u2014anyhow, it was worth trying. Smat promised to make another shoe,\nand have it ready in two days. But this was easier said than done. In\nthe first place, he had used nearly all his leather in making a shoe for\nthe beautiful girl. In the second place, the awl point wouldn\u2019t stay in\nthe handle. In the third place, the pegs split and broke every time he\ntried to drive them, and the shoemaker\u2019s wax wouldn\u2019t stick. Everything\nwent wrong at first and grew worse at last, so that when the king sent\nhis officers for the shoe it was no nearer done than it had been before\nSmat began.\n\n\u201cThe beautiful girl had not gone very far away, and she came every day\nto see how Smat prospered in making the second shoe. She was watching\nhim when the king\u2019s officers came for the shoe, and when she saw them\nshe began to weep. But Smat looked as cheerful as ever, and even began\nto whistle when the officers knocked at the door.\n\n\u201c\u2018We are in a fix,\u2019 said he, \u2018but we\u2019ll get out of it. Lend me the shoe\nI made for you. I\u2019ll send that to the king and then get it back again.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe girl tried to take the shoe from her foot, but nothing would move\nit. \u2018That is a sign,\u2019 said Smat, \u2018that it ought not to come off. I\u2019ll\njust go to the king myself and tell him the facts in the case. That is\nthe best way.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo he gathered the awl and the axe and the shoemaker\u2019s wax, and the\nscraps of leather, and bundled them together. Then he told the officers\nthat he would go with them and carry the shoe himself, so as to be sure\nthat it came safely into the king\u2019s hands. They went toward the palace,\nand Smat noticed, as they went along, that it grew darker and darker as\nthey came nearer to the palace. The officers seemed to notice it too. By\nthe time they reached the palace, it was so dark that Smat had great\ntrouble in keeping up with the officers.\n\n\u201cThere was great commotion in the palace. Nobody had ever seen it so\ndark before except just at the stroke of midnight, when the shadows grow\nthick and heavy and run together and over everything.\n\n\u201cNow, old King Stuff was a sort of magician himself (as, indeed, he had\nto be in those times, in order to manage a kingdom properly), and as\nsoon as he saw the great darkness coming on at the wrong time of day, he\nthought at once of the prophecy in regard to the man who made but one\nshoe. So he hustled and bustled around the palace, calling for the\nofficers he had sent after the shoe. But nobody had seen them return\nbefore the dark began to fall, and after that it was impossible to see\nthem.\n\n\u201cIn the midst of it all, the officers, followed by Smat, stumbled into\nthe palace and went groping about from room to room hunting for old King\nStuff and his ministers. At last, they heard him grumbling and growling,\nand felt their way toward him.\n\n\u201c\u2018The shoe! the shoe!\u2019 cried King Stuff, when the officers had made\nthemselves known.\n\n\u201c\u2018I have something that will answer just as well,\u2019 said Smat.\n\n\u201c\u2018The shoe! give me the shoe!\u2019 cried the king.\n\n\u201c\u2018Take this, your majesty,\u2019 said Smat, handing him the bundle.\n\n\u201cNo sooner had the king\u2019s hands touched the bundle than there was a\nrumbling noise in the air, the building began to shake and totter and\ncrumble away. In the midst of it all some one cried out in a loud\nvoice:\u2014\n\n \u2018Wherever you go, and whatever you do,\n Beware of the man that makes but one shoe!\u2019\n\n\u201cIn the twinkling of an eye, King Stuff and his army and his palace had\ndisappeared from sight. At the same time the darkness had cleared away,\nand Smat saw his father and his brother standing near, dazed and\nfrightened, and not far away was the beautiful girl. The father and the\nbrother were very much astonished when they found that Smat had been the\nmeans of their rescue. They talked about it until night fell, and then\nthe Man in the Moon, with his tiny lantern-bearers, came and escorted\nthem to their own country.\n\n\u201cNow it happened that the beautiful girl was a princess, the daughter of\nthe king. It fell to the lot of Smat to take the princess home. Not long\nafter that the king gave a great festival, to celebrate the return of\nhis daughter. Smat\u2019s father and brother got close enough to the palace\nto see him standing in a large room, where there was a large crowd of\npeople and music and flowers. They saw, too, that he was holding the\nprincess by the hand.\n\n\u201cAnd so,\u201d said little Mr. Thimblefinger, wiping the perspiration from\nhis forehead, \u201cthe story ended.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XX.\n\n THE WOOG AND THE WEEZE.\n\n\n\u201cPhew!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, when he was sure that little Mr.\nThimblefinger had finished. \u201cThat beats anything I ever heard.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you like it,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger.\n\n\u201cOh, hold on there!\u201d protested Mr. Rabbit, \u201cyou are going too fast. I\nnever said I liked it. I said it beat any story I ever heard, and so it\ndoes,\u2014for length. I didn\u2019t know that such a little chap could be so\nlong-winded. It was such a long story that I\u2019ve forgotten what the moral\nought to be.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, I thought you said you didn\u2019t believe much in stories that had\nmorals tacked to them,\u201d remarked Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cNo doubt I did,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit,\u2014\u201cNo doubt I did. But this story\nwas long enough to have a dozen morals cropping out in different places,\nlike dog fennel in a cow pasture.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cthere was a moral or two in the story,\nbut I didn\u2019t call attention to them in the telling, and I\u2019ll not dwell\non them now.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought it was a tolerably fair story,\u201d said Buster John, yet with a\ntone of doubt.\n\n\u201cOh, I thought it was splendid all the way through,\u201d said Sweetest\nSusan.\n\n\u201cThere are some stories that are hard to tell,\u201d suggested Mrs. Meadows.\n\u201cThey go in such a rambledy-wambledy way that it\u2019s not easy to keep the\ntrack of them. I remember I once heard Chickamy Crany Crow trying to\nrepeat a story that she heard the Looking-glass Children tell. I never\nfound head nor tail to it, but I sat and listened almost without\nshutting my eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was the story?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\nIn reply, Mrs. Meadows said she would call Chickamy Crany Crow, and ask\nher to tell it. As usual, Chickamy Crany Crow was off at play with\nTickle-My-Toes. They both came when Mrs. Meadows called them, and\nChickamy Crany Crow, after some persuasion, began to tell the story.\n\n\u201cOne day,\u201d she said, brushing her hair behind her ears with her fingers,\n\u201cI wanted to see the Looking-glass Children. Tickle-My-Toes was off\nplaying by himself, and I was lonesome; so I went to the Looking-glass,\nwhirled it around in its frame, and waited for the children to come out.\nBut they didn\u2019t come. I called them, but they made no answer. I went\nclose to the Glass, and looked in. At first, I couldn\u2019t see anything;\nbut after a while I saw, away off in the Glass, one of the children,\u2014the\none they all say looks like me. I called her; but she was so far off in\nthe Glass that she couldn\u2019t hear me, and, as she had her face turned the\nother way, she couldn\u2019t see me.\n\n\u201cAfter so long a time, she came up to the frame of the Glass, and then\nstepped out and sat down on the ground. I saw she had been crying.\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018Honey, what in the world is the matter?\u2019 I always call her\nHoney when we are by ourselves.\n\n\u201cSays she, \u2018There\u2019s enough the matter. I\u2019m e\u2019en about scared to death,\nand I expect that all the other children in this Looking-glass are\neither captured, or killed, or scared to death.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you holler for help?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays she, \u2018What good would that have done? You all could help us very\nwell on dry land, out here, but how could you have helped us in the\nLooking-glass, when you can\u2019t even get in at the door? I\u2019ve seen you try\nto follow us, but you\u2019ve always failed. You stop at the Glass, and you\ncan\u2019t get any farther.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018You are right about that; but if we outside folks can\u2019t get in\nthe Glass to play with you and keep you company, how can anybody or\nanything get in there to scare you and hurt you?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays she, \u2018The thing that scared us has been in there all the time. It\nwas born in there, I reckon, but I\u2019ve never seen it before; and I tell\nyou right now I never want to see it again.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018What sort of a thing is it?\u2019\n\n\u201cSays she in a whisper, \u2018_It\u2019s the Woog!_\u2018\n\n\u201c\u2018The what?\u2019 says I.\n\n\u201c\u2018_The Woog!_\u2018 says she.\n\n\u201cSays I, \u2018It\u2019s new to me. I never heard of it before.\u2019\n\n\u201cSays she, \u2018To hear of it is as close as you want to get to it.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhy, I heard of the Woog in my younger days,\u201d remarked Mr.\nThimblefinger. \u201cI thought the thing had gone out of fashion.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you believe a word of it,\u201d said Chickamy Crany Crow. \u201cIt\u2019s just\nas much in fashion now as ever it was, especially at certain seasons of\nthe year. The little girl in the Looking-glass\u2014I say little girl, though\nshe\u2019s about my size and shape\u2014told me all about it; and as she lives in\nthe same country with the Woog, she ought to know.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did she say about it?\u201d asked Buster John, who had a vague idea\nthat he might some day be able to organize an expedition to go in search\nof the Woog.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n A HORRIBLE MONSTER GLARED AT THEM\n]\n\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied Chickamy Crany Crow, \u201cshe said this,\u2014she said that she\nand the other children were sitting under the shade of a bazzle-bush in\nthe Looking-glass, telling fairy stories. It had come her turn to tell a\nstory, and she was trying to remember the one about the little girl who\nhad a silk dress made out of a muscadine skin, when all of a sudden\nthere was a roaring noise in the bushes near by. While they were shaking\nwith fright, a most horrible monster came rushing out, and glared at\nthem, growling all the while. It wore great green goggles. Its hair\nstood out from its head on all sides, except in the bald place on top,\nand its ears stuck out as big as the wings of a buzzard.\n\n\u201c\u2018Do you know who I am?\u2019 it growled. \u2018No, you don\u2019t; but I\u2019ll show you.\nI am the Woog. Do you hear that? The Woog! Don\u2019t forget that. What did I\nhear you talking about just now? You were talking about fairies. Don\u2019t\nsay you weren\u2019t, for I heard you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 says one of the Looking-glass Children, \u2018what harm is there in\nthat?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Harm!\u2019 screamed the Woog. \u2018Do you want to defy me? I have caught and\nkilled and crushed and smoked out all the fairies that ever lived on the\nearth, except a few that have hid themselves in this Looking-glass\ncountry. What harm, indeed!\u2014a pretty question to ask me, when I\u2019ve spent\nyears and years trying to run down and smother out the whole fairy\ntribe.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Looking-glass Children,\u201d Chickamy Crany Crow continued, \u201ctold the\nWoog that they didn\u2019t know there was any harm in the fairies themselves,\nor in talking about them. The Woog paid no attention to their apologies.\nHe just stood and glared at them through his green goggles, gnashing his\nteeth and clenching his hands.\n\n\u201cSays the monster after awhile, \u2018How dare any of you wish that you could\nsee a fairy, or that you had a fairy godmother? What shall I do with\nyou? I crushed a whole population of fairies between the lids of this\nbook\u2019 (he held up a big book, opened it, and clapped it together again\nso hard that it sounded like some one had fired off a gun), \u2018and I\u2019ve a\ngreat mind to smash every one of you good-for-nothing children the same\nway.\u2019\n\n\u201cYou may be sure that by this time the poor little Looking-glass\nChildren were very much frightened, especially when they saw that the\nWoog was fixing to make an attack on them. He dropped his big book, and\nwhen the children saw him do this they broke and run: some went one way\nand some another. The last they saw of him, he was rushing through the\nbushes like a blind horse, threshing his arms about, and doing more\ndamage to himself than to anybody else. But the children had a terrible\nscare, and if he hasn\u2019t made way with some of them it\u2019s not because he\nis too good to do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe poor dears!\u201d exclaimed Mrs. Meadows sympathetically.\n\n\u201cDat ar creetur can\u2019t come out\u2019n dat Lookin\u2019-glass like de yuthers, kin\nhe?\u201d inquired Drusilla, moving about uneasily: \u201ckaze ef he kin, I\u2019m\ngwine \u2019way fum here. I dun seed so many quare doin\u2019s an\u2019 gwine\u2019s on dat\nI\u2019ll jump an\u2019 holler ef anybody pints der finger at me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Tar-Baby,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit with some dignity, \u201che hasn\u2019t never\ncome out yet. That\u2019s all that can be said in that line. He may come out,\nbut if he does you\u2019ll be in no danger at all. The Woog would never\nmistake you for a fairy, no matter whether he had his green goggles on\nor whether he had them off.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter \u2019bout dat,\u201d remarked Drusilla. \u201cI mayn\u2019t look like no fairy,\nbut I don\u2019t want no Woog fer ter be cuttin\u2019 up no capers \u2019roun\u2019 me. I\ntell you dat, an\u2019 I don\u2019t charge nothin\u2019 fer tellin\u2019 it. Black folks\ndon\u2019t stan\u2019 much chance wid dem what knows \u2019em, let \u2019lone dem ar Woog\nan\u2019 things what don\u2019t know \u2019em. Ef you all hear \u2019im comin\u2019, des give de\nword, and I boun\u2019 you\u2019ll say ter yo\u2019se\u2019f dat Drusilla got wings. Now you\nmin\u2019 dat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does the Woog want to kill the fairies for?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan.\n\u201cHe must be very mean and cruel.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s all of that, and more,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows. \u201cThe fairies please\nthe children, and give them something beautiful to think about in the\nday and to dream about at night, and the Woog doesn\u2019t like that. He\nhates the fairies because it pleases the children to hear about them,\nand he hates the children because they like to hear about the fairies.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I never want to see him until I am big enough to tote a gun,\u201d\nsaid Buster John. \u201cAfter that, I don\u2019t care how soon I meet him.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit, turning to Mrs. Meadows with a solemn air,\n\u201cdidn\u2019t you say that all this about the Woog was a tale, or something of\nthat sort.\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe I did,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows. \u201cWhat about it?\u201d\n\n\u201cJust this,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit,\u2014\u201ca tale\u2019s a tale, and it never stops until\nall is told.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that\u2019s the case, I\u2019ve heard some here that overshot the mark,\u201d\nremarked Mrs. Meadows.\n\n\u201cNo doubt, no doubt,\u201d responded Mr. Rabbit. \u201cBut what became of the\nWoog?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know! I know!\u201d cried Tickle-My-Toes, who had been listening to all\nthat was said about the Woog.\n\n\u201cVery well; let\u2019s hear about it,\u201d suggested Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201c\u2019Taint much,\u201d said Tickle-My-Toes modestly. \u201cThe chap in the\nLooking-glass that looks like me, he was the one that fell into the\nhands or the claws of the Woog. He could have got away with the rest,\nbut a piece of straw was caught between his toes, and it tickled him so\nthat he laughed until he couldn\u2019t run. He just fell on the ground and\nrolled over and over, laughing all the time. In this way the Woog caught\nup with him and grabbed him, and carried him away off in the woods in\nthe Looking-glass country. They were away off in that part of the\ncountry where there was no green grass on the ground. There were no\ngreen leaves on the trees, no flowers blooming, and no birds singing.\n\n\u201cThe Woog carried the little chap that looks like me to that dark place,\nand nearly scared him to death.\n\n\u201c\u2018You pretend to be something or somebody, do you?\u2014you, a shadow in a\nglass,\u2019 growled the Woog.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m what I am,\u2019 said the little chap.\n\n\u201c\u2018You are not,\u2019 cried the Woog. \u2018You are nothing. Why do you pretend to\nbe somebody or something?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little chap didn\u2019t say anything in reply, because there was nothing\nto say. There\u2019s no use in disputing when you can\u2019t help yourself. So the\nWoog took him and tied him to a dead tree, leaving his big book lying\nnear. There is no telling what would have happened to the little chap;\nbut just as soon as the Woog got out of sight, a strong, tall man, with\ngray hair combed straight back over his head, suddenly made his\nappearance, and untied the cords, and set the little chap free.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t be frightened,\u2019 said the tall man; \u2018I am the Weeze. I have been\nhunting the Woog for many a long day, and now I think I\u2019ll put an end to\nhim.\u2019\n\n\u201cPresently the Woog came back growling and grumbling. When he looked up\nand saw the Weeze, it was too late for him to escape. But he turned and\ntried to run. Just then the Weeze seized the big book and threw it at\nthe Woog. As it hit him, there was a big explosion, and the Woog and his\nbig book both disappeared.\n\n\u201cThe little chap that looks like me,\u201d said Tickle-My-Toes, \u201cwas telling\nme about it to-day; and he said that it wasn\u2019t long after the explosion\nbefore the flowers began to bloom in that place, and the birds to sing,\nand the leaves began to grow on the trees. And after awhile the fairies\nbegan to peep out from their hiding-places; and when the little chap\ncame away he could see them playing Ring-Around-Rosy on the green grass.\n\n\u201cIt was mighty funny, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d asked Tickle-My-Toes, in conclusion.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XXI.\n\n UNCLE RAIN AND BROTHER DROUTH.\n\n\n\u201cNow I\u2019m not so mighty certain that that is a real tale after all,\u201d said\nMr. Rabbit, \u201calthough it took two to tell it. There\u2019s something the\nmatter with it somewhere. The running-gear is out of order. I\u2019m not\ncomplaining, because what might suit me might not suit other people.\nIt\u2019s all a matter of taste, as Mrs. Meadows\u2019s grandmother said when she\nwiped her mouth with her apron and kissed the cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201cthere\u2019s no telling what happens in\na Looking-glass when nobody is watching. I\u2019ve often wanted to know. The\nlittle that I\u2019ve heard about the Woog and the Weeze will do me until I\ncan hear more.\u201d\n\n\u201cI remember a story that I thought was a very good one when I first\nheard it,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cBut sometimes a great deal more depends\non the time, place, and company than on the stories that are told. I\u2019m\nsuch a poor hand at telling tales that I\u2019m almost afraid to tell any\nthat I know. I\u2019ve heard a great many in my day and time, but the trouble\nis to pick out them that don\u2019t depend on a wink of the eye and a wave of\nthe hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive us a taste of it, anyhow,\u201d suggested Mr. Rabbit. \u201cI\u2019ll do the\nwinking, the Tar-Baby can do the blinking, and Mr. Thimblefinger can\nwave his hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, \u201conce upon a time there lived in a country\nnot very far from here a man who had a wife and two children,\u2014a boy and\na girl. This was not a large family, but the man was very poor, and he\nfound it a hard matter to get along. He was a farmer, and farming, no\nmatter what they say, depends almost entirely on the weather. Now, this\nfarmer never could get the weather he wanted. One year the Rain would\ncome and drown out his crops, and the next year the Drouth would come\nand burn them up.\n\n\u201cMatters went from bad to worse, and the farmer and his wife talked of\nnothing else but the Rain and the Drouth. One year they said they would\nhave made a living but for the Drouth, and the next they said they would\nhave been very well off but for the Rain. So it went on from year to\nyear until the two children,\u2014the boy and the girl,\u2014grew up large enough\nto understand what their father and mother were talking about. One year\nthey\u2019d hear they could have no Sunday clothes and shoes because of the\nDrouth. The next year they\u2019d hear they could have no shoes and Sunday\nclothes because of the Rain.\n\n\u201cAll this set them to thinking. The boy was about ten years old and the\ngirl was about nine. One day at their play they began to talk as they\nhad heard their father and mother talk. It was early in the spring, and\ntheir father was even then ploughing and preparing his fields for\nplanting another crop.\n\n\u201c\u2018We will have warm shoes and good clothes next winter if the Rain\ndoesn\u2019t come and stay too long,\u2019 said the boy.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes,\u2019 replied the girl, \u2018and we\u2019ll have good clothes and warm shoes if\nthe Drouth doesn\u2019t come and stay too long.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I wonder why they\u2019ve got such a spite against us,\u2019 remarked the boy.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know,\u2019 replied the girl. \u2018If we go and see them, and\ntell them who we are, and beg them not to make us so cold and hungry\nwhen the ice grows in the ponds and on the trees, maybe they\u2019ll take\npity on us.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis plan pleased the boy, and the two children continued to talk it\nover, until finally they agreed to go in search of the Rain and the\nDrouth. \u2018Do you,\u2019 said the boy, \u2018go in search of Brother Drouth, and I\nwill go in search of Uncle Rain. When we have found them, we must ask\nthem to visit our father\u2019s house and farm, and see the trouble and ruin\nthey have caused.\u2019\n\n\u201cTo this the girl agreed; and early the next morning, after eating a\npiece of corn bread, which was all they had for breakfast, they started\non their journey, the boy going to the east and the girl to the south.\nThe boy traveled a long way, and for many days. Sometimes he thought he\nwould never come to the end of his journey; but finally he came to\nCousin Mist\u2019s house, and there he inquired his way.\n\n\u201c\u2018What do you want with Uncle Rain?\u2019 asked Cousin Mist. \u2018He is holding\ncourt now, and he is very busy. Besides, you are not dressed properly.\nWhen people go to court, they have to wear a certain kind of dress. In\nyour case, you ought to have a big umbrella and an oilcloth overcoat.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 replied the boy, \u2018I haven\u2019t got \u2019em, and that\u2019s the end of that\npart of it. If you\u2019ll show me the way to Uncle Rain\u2019s house, I\u2019ll go on\nand be much obliged to boot.\u2019\n\n\u201cCousin Mist looked at the boy and laughed. \u2018You are a bold lad,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018and since you are so bold, I\u2019ll lend you an umbrella and an\noilcloth overcoat, and go a part of the way with you.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the boy put on the overcoat and hoisted the umbrella, and trudged\nalong the muddy road toward the house of Uncle Rain. When they came in\nsight of it, Cousin Mist pointed it out, told the boy good-by, and then\nwent drizzling back home. The boy went forward boldly, and knocked at\nthe door of Uncle Rain\u2019s house.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who is there?\u2019 inquired Uncle Rain in a hoarse and wheezy voice. He\nseemed to have the asthma, the choking quinsy, and the croup, all at the\nsame time.\n\n\u201c\u2018It\u2019s only me,\u2019 said the boy. \u2018Please, Uncle Rain, open the door.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that, Uncle Rain opened the door and invited the little fellow in.\nHe did more than that: he went to the closet and got out a dry spot, and\ntold the boy to make himself as comfortable as he could.\u201d\n\n\u201cGot out a\u2014what?\u201d asked Buster John, trying hard to keep from laughing.\n\n\u201cA dry spot,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows solemnly. \u201cUncle Rain went to the\ncloset and got out a dry spot. Of course,\u201d she continued, \u201cUncle Rain\nhad to keep a supply of dry spots on hand, so as to make his visitors\ncomfortable. It\u2019s a great thing to be polite. Well, the boy sat on the\ndry spot, and, after some remarks about the weather, Uncle Rain asked\nhim why he had come so far over the rough roads. Then the boy told Uncle\nRain the whole story about how poor his father was, and how he had been\nmade poorer year after year, first by Brother Drouth and then by Uncle\nRain. And then he told how he and his little sister had to go without\nshoes and wear thin clothes in cold weather, all because the crops were\nruined year after year, either by Brother Drouth or Uncle Rain.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n THE BOY TOLD UNCLE RAIN THE WHOLE STORY\n]\n\n\n\u201cHe told his story so simply and with so much feeling that Uncle Rain\nwas compelled to wipe his eyes on a corner of the fog that hung on the\ntowel rack behind the door. He asked the boy a great many questions\nabout his father and his mother.\n\n\u201c\u2018I reckon,\u2019 said Uncle Rain finally, \u2018that I have done all of you a\ngreat deal of damage without knowing it, but I think I can pay it back.\nBring the dry spot with you, and come with me.\u2019 He went into the\nbarnyard, and the boy followed. They went into the barn, and there the\nboy saw, tied by a silver cord, a little black sheep. It was very small,\nbut seemed to be full grown, because it had long horns that curled round\nand round on the sides of its head. And, although the horns were long\nand hard, the little sheep was very friendly. It rubbed its head softly\nagainst the boy\u2019s hand, and seemed to be fond of him at first sight.\n\n\u201cUncle Rain untied the silver cord, and placed the loose end in the\nboy\u2019s hand. \u2018Here is a sheep,\u2019 he said, \u2018that is worth more than all the\nflocks in the world. When you want gold, all you have to do is to press\nthe golden spring under the left horn. The horn will then come off, and\nyou will find it full of gold. When you want silver, press the silver\nspring under the right horn. The horn will come off, and you will find\nit full of silver. When the horns have been emptied, place them back\nwhere they belong. This may be done once, twice, or fifty times a day.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe boy didn\u2019t know how to thank Uncle Rain enough for this wonderful\ngift. He was so anxious to get home that he would have started off at\nonce.\n\n\u201c\u2018Wait a minute,\u2019 said Uncle Rain. \u2018You may tell your father about this,\nbut he must tell no one else. The moment the secret of the sheep is told\noutside your family, it will no longer be valuable to you.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe boy thanked Uncle Rain again, and started home, leading his\nwonderful sheep, which trotted along after him, as if it were glad to go\nalong. The boy went home much faster than he had gone away, and it was\nnot long before he reached there.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what became of the little girl?\u201d asked Sweetest Susan, as Mrs.\nMeadows paused a moment.\n\n\u201cI am coming to her now,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cThe girl, according to the\nbargain that had been made between her and her brother, was to visit\nBrother Drouth, and lay her complaints before him. So she started on her\nway. As she went along, the roads began to get drier and drier, and the\ngrass on the ground and the leaves on the trees began to look as if they\nhad been sprinkled with yellow powder. By these signs, the girl knew\nthat she was not far from the house of Cousin Dust, and presently she\nsaw it in the distance. She went to the door, which was open, and\ninquired the way to Brother Drouth\u2019s. Cousin Dust was much surprised to\nsee a little girl at his door; but, after a long fit of coughing, he\nrecovered himself, and told her that she was now in Brother Drouth\u2019s\ncountry.\n\n\u201c\u2018If you\u2019ll show me the way,\u2019 said the girl, \u2018I\u2019ll be more than obliged\nto you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll go a part of the way with you,\u2019 said Cousin Dust, \u2018and lend you a\nfan besides.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo they went along until they came in sight of Brother Drouth\u2019s house,\nand then Cousin Dust went eddying back home in the shape of a small\nwhirlwind. The girl went to Brother Drouth\u2019s door and knocked. Brother\nDrouth came at once and opened the door, and invited her in.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll not deny that I\u2019m surprised,\u2019 said he, \u2018for I never expected to\nfind a little girl knocking at my door at this time of day. But you are\nwelcome. I\u2019m glad to see you. You must have come a long journey, for you\nlook hot.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that he went to the cupboard and got her a cool place to sit on,\nand this she found very comfortable. But still Brother Drouth wasn\u2019t\nsatisfied. As his visitor was a little girl, he wanted to be extra\npolite, and so he went to his private closet and brought her a fresh\nbreeze with a handle to it; and, as the cool place had a cushioned back\nand the fresh breeze a handle that the girl could manage, she felt\nbetter in Brother Drouth\u2019s house than she had at any time during her\nlong journey. She sat there on the cool place and fanned with the fresh\nbreeze, and Brother Drouth sat in his big armchair and smiled at her.\nThe little girl noticed this after awhile, and so she said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, you can laugh, but it\u2019s no laughing matter. If you could see the\ntrouble you\u2019ve caused at our house, you\u2019d laugh on the other side of\nyour mouth.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen he heard this, Brother Drouth at once became very serious, and\napologized. He said he wasn\u2019t laughing, but just smiling because he\nthought she was enjoying herself.\n\n\u201c\u2018I may be enjoying myself now,\u2019 said the little girl, \u2018and I\u2019m much\nobliged to you; but if I was at home, I shouldn\u2019t be enjoying myself.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen she went on to tell Brother Drouth how her father\u2019s crops had been\nruined year after year, either by Uncle Rain or by Brother Drouth, and\nhow the family got poorer and poorer all the time on that account, so\nthat the little children couldn\u2019t have warm shoes and thick clothes in\ncold weather, but had to go barefooted and wear rags. Brother Drouth\nlistened with all his ears; and when the little girl had told her story,\nhe shook his head, and said that he was to blame as well as Uncle Rain.\nHe explained that, for many years, there had been a trial of strength\ngoing on between him and Uncle Rain, and they had become so much\ninterested in overcoming each other that they had paid no attention to\npoor people\u2019s crops. He said he was very sorry that he had taken part in\nany such affair. Then he told the little girl that he thought he could\npay her back for a part of the damage he had done, and that he would be\nmore than glad to do so.\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018Bring your cool place and your fresh breeze with you, and\ncome with me.\u2019\n\n\u201cShe followed Brother Drouth out into the barnyard, and into the barn;\nand there, tied by a golden cord, she saw a snow-white goat.\n\n\u201c\u2018This goat,\u2019 said Brother Drouth, \u2018is worth more than all the goats in\nthe world, tame or wild.\u2019 With that he untied the golden cord, and\nplaced the loose end in the girl\u2019s hand. The goat was small, but seemed\nto be old; for its horns, which were of the color of ivory, curved\nupward and over its back. They were so long that, by turning its head a\nbit, the snow-white goat could scratch itself on its ham. And though it\nseemed to be old, it was very gentle; for it rubbed its nose and face\nagainst the little girl\u2019s frock, and appeared to be very glad to see\nher.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now then,\u2019 said Brother Drouth, \u2018this goat is yours. Take it, and take\ncare of it. On the under side of each horn, you will find a small\nspring. Touch it, and the horn will come off; and each horn, no matter\nhow many times you touch the spring, you will always find full of gold\nand silver. But this is not all. At each change of the moon, you will\nfind the right horn full of diamonds, and the left horn full of pearls.\nNow listen to me. You may tell your father about this treasure; but as\nsoon as the secret is told out of the family, your goat will be worth no\nmore to you than any other goat.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe little girl thanked Brother Drouth until he would allow her to\nthank him no more. She would have left the cool place and the fresh\nbreeze, but Brother Drouth said she was welcome to both of them. \u2018When\nthe weather is cold,\u2019 said he, \u2018you can put them away; but when it is\nwarm, you will find that the cool place and the fresh breeze will come\nin right handy.\u2019\n\n\u201cThanking Brother Drouth again and again, the girl started on her\njourney home, leading her wonderful goat, and carrying with her the cool\nplace and the fresh breeze. In this way, she made the long journey with\nease and comfort, and came to her father\u2019s house without any trouble.\nShe reached the gate, too, just as her brother did. They were very glad\nto see each other, and the sheep and the goat appeared to be old\nfriends; for they rubbed their noses together in friendly fashion.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019ll make our father and mother rich,\u2019 said the boy proudly.\n\n\u201c\u2018And I\u2019ll make them richer,\u2019 said the girl still more proudly.\n\n\u201cSo they took their wonderful goat and sheep into the stable, gave them\nsome hay to eat, and then went into the house.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XXII.\n\n THE SNOW-WHITE GOAT AND THE COAL-BLACK SHEEP.\n\n\n\u201cPlease don\u2019t say that is the end of the story,\u201d said Sweetest Susan, as\nMrs. Meadows made a longer pause than usual.\n\n\u201cWell, it ought to be the end,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows. \u201cThe two children\nhad come home with treasure and riches enough to suit anybody. That\nought to be the end of the story. You ought to be able to say that they\nall lived happily together forever after. That\u2019s the way they put it\ndown in the books; but this is not a book story, and so we\u2019ll have to\nstick to the facts.\n\n\u201cNow, then, when the boy and the girl returned home, one with the\nwonderful sheep and the other with the wonderful goat, they found their\nfather and mother in a great state of mind. The whole country round\nabout had been searched for the children. The mother was sure they had\nbeen stolen and carried off. The father, who had his own miseries always\nin mind, was sure that they had grown tired of the poverty that\nsurrounded them, and had run away to see if they couldn\u2019t do better\namong strangers.\n\n\u201cSo, when the children had returned home, as happy as larks, their\nmother fell to weeping, and cried out: \u2018I am so glad you have escaped,\nmy pretty dears.\u2019 The father grinned and said: \u2018Why do you come back? Is\nit because the fare elsewhere is no better than it is here?\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, of course, the children didn\u2019t know what to make of all this. They\nstood with their fingers in their mouths, and wondered what the trouble\nwas. Then they were compelled to answer a shower of questions; and by\nthe time the inquiries had come to an end, they were not feeling very\ncomfortable at all. Finally the boy said:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018My sister and myself were tired of wearing ragged clothes and having\nlittle to eat, and so we concluded to seek our fortunes. We knew that\nUncle Rain and Brother Drouth had caused all the trouble, and so we\nthought the best way to do would be to hunt them up and tell them the\ntrouble they were causing to one poor family. I went to see Uncle Rain,\nand my sister went to see Brother Drouth. We found them at home, and\nboth were in good humor. Uncle Rain gave me a coal-black sheep, and\nBrother Drouth gave my sister a snow-white goat, and told us that with\nthese we could make our fortunes.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018A likely story\u2014a very likely story indeed!\u2019 exclaimed the father. \u2018If\nyou have brought the sheep and the goat home, you would do well to take\nthem back where you got them, else we shall all be put in jail for\nstealing and for harboring stolen property.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Now don\u2019t talk that way to your own children,\u2019 said the tender-hearted\nmother. \u2018For my part, I believe every word they say;\u2019 then she kissed\nthem, and hugged them, and cried over them a little, while the father\nsat by, looking sour and glum. The children, when they placed the goat\nand the sheep in the stable, had each taken a handful of gold and silver\ncoins from the horns of the wonderful animals. So now the boy went\nforward and placed upon the table near his father a handful of gold and\nsilver. The girl did the same.\n\n\u201cThe father heard the rattle and jingle of coin, and, looking around,\nsaw there at his elbow more money than he had ever seen before in all\nhis life. He was both astonished and alarmed.\n\n\u201c\u2018Worse and worse!\u2019 he cried, throwing up his hands. \u2018Worse and worse!\nWe are ruined! Tell me where you got that treasure, that I may take it\nback to its owner. Make haste! If there\u2019s any delay about it, we shall\nall be thrown into prison.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Come with us,\u2019 said the boy, \u2018and we will show you where we found the\ntreasure.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo they went out of the house and into the stable, and there the\nchildren showed their father where the treasure came from.\n\n\u201c\u2018Wonderful! most wonderful!\u2019 exclaimed the father. \u2018Wonderful! most\nwonderful!\u2019 cried the mother. Then they hugged and kissed their children\nagain and again, and all were very happy. It made no difference now\nwhether crops were good or bad.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe man was mighty honest,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cBut a man can be honest and thick-headed at\nthe same time, and that was the way with this man. He was too honest to\nkeep other people\u2019s money, and too thick-headed to know how to keep his\nown.\u201d\n\n\u201cExcuse me!\u201d exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, with a bow that made his ears flop;\n\u201cexcuse me! I thought the story had come to an end. You said they were\nall very happy; so I says to myself, \u2018Now is the time to make a slight\nremark.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; the end of the story is yet to come,\u201d replied Mrs. Meadows. \u201cBut if\nthese children are getting tired, I\u2019m ready to quit. Goodness knows, I\ndon\u2019t want to worry them, and I don\u2019t want to make them think that I\nwant to do all the talking.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease go on,\u201d said Sweetest Susan.\n\n\u201cWell, when the father found where the money and treasure came from, he\nwas willing to believe that his children had visited Uncle Rain and\nBrother Drouth; for he knew perfectly well that the wonderful black\nsheep and the wonderful snow-white goat were not bred on any farm in\nthat country. So his mind was easy; and, as I said, the father, the\nmother, and the two children were all happy together.\n\n\u201cThe mother and the children were so happy that they stayed at home and\nenjoyed one another\u2019s company, and the father was so happy that it made\nhim restless in the mind. He got in the habit of going to the tavern\nevery day, and sometimes more than once a day; and he got to drinking\nmore ale and wine than was good for him. And on these occasions his legs\nwould wobble under him, as if one leg wanted to go home, and the other\nwanted to go back to the tavern.\n\n\u201cSometimes, at the tavern, he would get to gaming; and when he lost his\nmoney, as he always did, he\u2019d ask his companions to wait until he could\ngo home and get more. He would soon come back with his pockets full.\nThis happened so often that people began to talk about it, and to wonder\nhow a man who had been so very poor could suddenly become so wealthy\nthat he had money to throw away at the gaming-table. His neighbors were\nvery curious about it, but they asked him no questions, and he went on\ndrinking and gambling for many long days.\n\n\u201cBut finally there came to that village a company of five men, who let\nit be understood that they were peddlers. They came into the village on\nfoot, carrying packs on their backs, and put up at the tavern. They were\nnot peddlers, but robbers, who had been attracted to the village by\nrumors about the poor man who was rich enough to throw away money night\nafter night at the gaming-table.\n\n\u201cShortly after nightfall, three of the five men arranged themselves\naround a table; and when the man came in, they invited him to join them.\nTwo of the five sat by the fire, and appeared to be watching the game.\nThe man didn\u2019t wait for two invitations, but seated himself at the\ntable, and called for wine. Then the gaming began. Aided by their two\ncompanions, the three robbers at the table had no difficulty in\nswindling the man. Though he came with all his pockets filled with gold\nand silver, they were soon emptied. The robbers plied him with wine, and\nhe played wildly.\n\n\u201cWhen his money was all gone, he excused himself and said he would go\nand get more, and then continue the game. He went out; and, at a sign\nfrom the leader, the two robbers who had been sitting by the fire, rose\nand followed him. They had no trouble in doing this, for the man\u2019s legs\nwere already getting wobbly. One leg wanted to go home and go to bed,\nand the other wanted to go back and be stretched out under the table.\n\n\u201cBut, though the man\u2019s legs were wobbly, his head was pretty clear. He\nknew his way home, and he knew his way into the stable, where the\ncoal-black sheep and the snow-white goat were housed. The two robbers\nfollowed him as closely as they dared, but it was too dark for them to\nsee what he was doing. They knew that he went into the stable, and\npresently they heard the jingle and clinking of gold and silver, and\nthen he came out with his pockets full.\n\n\u201cThey waited until he had gone on toward the tavern and was out of\nsight. Then they slipped into the yard, and crept into the stable. It\nwas very dark in the stable, but not too dark to see dimly. The two men\nfelt their way along, and soon saw that there were but two stalls in the\nstable. Each went into a stall, and began to feel around. They expected\nto find bags of gold and silver stacked around, but they were mistaken.\nFinally they stooped to feel along the ground; and, as they did so,\nthere was a loud thump in each stall and a yell of pain from both\nrobbers. When they stooped to feel along the ground, the coal-black\nsheep and the snow-white goat rushed at them, and gave each one a thump\nthat nearly jarred the senses out of him. The robbers rolled over with a\nhowl, and the goat and the sheep thumped them again, and kept on\nthumping them.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n AT LAST THE ROBBERS MANAGED TO ESCAPE\n]\n\n\n\u201cBut at last the robbers managed to escape, though they made a pretty\nlooking sight. Their hats were lost, their clothes were torn and muddy,\ntheir heads were bleeding, their eyes were knocked black and blue, and\nthey felt as if there was not a whole bone in their body. They were too\nfrightened to talk, but finally their voices came to them.\n\n\u201c\u2018What was it hit you?\u2019 says one.\n\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m blessed if I know,\u2019 says the other. \u2018What hit you?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Something hard,\u2019 says one.\n\n\u201c\u2018What did it look like?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Satan dressed in white, and he had his maul and wedge with him. What\ndid yours look like?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Satan dressed in black, and he had all his horns and hoofs with him;\nand I think he must have struck me one or two licks with his forked\ntail.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey went off to the nearest branch, and bathed themselves the best\nthey could, but even then they made a sorry spectacle. Their heads and\nfaces were still swollen, their eyes were nearly closed, and their\nclothes were split and ripped from heel to collar. They didn\u2019t know\nwhere to go. They knew that it wouldn\u2019t do to go back to the tavern and\npresent themselves among the guests, for that would cast suspicion on\ntheir companions. Finally, they went outside the village, and hid\nthemselves under a haystack, where they soon fell asleep, and would have\nslept soundly if their dreams had not been disturbed by visions of a\nblack Satan and a white Satan, both armed with long, hard horns and\nsharp hoofs.\n\n\u201cAll this time, the father of the children, wobbly as he was, sat at the\ngaming-table with the three robbers. The robbers were waiting for the\nreturn of their companions, and at last they became so uneasy that they\nplayed loosely, and the man began to win his gold and silver back again.\nAt last the robbers concluded to go in search of their companions; and\nthe man went home, carrying with him more gold and silver than he had\never before brought away from the tavern. The robbers failed to find\ntheir companions until the next day, and the story they told was so\nalarming that the band concluded to leave that part of the country, at\nleast for awhile.\n\n\u201cBut reports and rumors of the great wealth of the poor farmer continued\nto travel about, and finally they came to the ears of a company of\nmerchants, who were more cunning in their line of business than the\nrobbers were in theirs. So these merchants journeyed to the village, and\nput up at the tavern. There they soon made the acquaintance of the\nfortunate farmer who owned the wonderful coal-black sheep and the\nwonderful snow-white goat.\n\n\u201cThey talked business with him from the word go. They wanted him to put\nhis money in all sorts of schemes that were warranted to double it in a\nfew months. But the man said he didn\u2019t want his money doubled. He\nalready had as much as he wanted. He told them that if he were to sit on\nthe street and throw away a million dollars a minute for ten years he\u2019d\nbe just as rich at the end of that time as he was before he threw away\nthe first million.\n\n\u201cOf course, the merchants didn\u2019t understand this. Some said the man was\ncrazy, but the shrewder ones concluded that there must be some secret\nbehind it all. So they set to work to find it out. They flattered him in\nevery way. They made him rich presents for himself, his wife, and\nchildren. For the first time he began to wear fine clothes and put on\nairs. The shrewd merchants asked his advice about their own business,\nand went about telling everybody what a wise man he was. They pretended\nto tell him all their own business secrets.\n\n\u201cThis, of course, pleased the man very much; and, at last, one day, when\nhe had more wine in his head than wit, he told his merchant friends that\nhe made all his gold and silver by shearing a black sheep and milking a\nwhite goat.\n\n\u201c\u2018Where do you keep these wonderful creatures?\u2019 one of the merchants\nasked.\n\n\u201c\u2018In my stable,\u2019 replied the man,\u2014\u2019in my stable night and day.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe greedy merchants were not long in finding out that the man kept a\ncoal-black sheep and a snow-white-goat in his stable sure enough; and,\nafter a good deal of persuading and flattering, they got him to consent\nto bring his coal-black sheep and his snow-white goat to the tavern, so\nthat they might see for themselves how rare and valuable the animals\nwere.\n\n\u201cWell, one night after his wife and children had gone to bed, the man\ncarried the sheep and the goat to the tavern, and showed them to the\nmerchants. They offered him immense sums of money for the animals, but\nhe refused them all. Then they invited him to remain to a banquet which\nthey had prepared. He wanted to carry his sheep and his goat back home,\nand then return to the banquet; but the merchants said the table was\nalready spread, and he could tie his wonderful animals in the rear hall,\nwhere nobody would bother them.\n\n\u201cMeantime, the merchants had sent out into the country and bought a\nblack sheep and a white goat; and while some of them were pouring wine\ndown the man\u2019s goozle, others were untying the wonderful black sheep and\nwhite goat, and putting in their place the animals that had been bought.\nWhen the time came for the man to go home, he was so wobbly in the legs\nand so befuddled in the head that he couldn\u2019t tell the difference\nbetween a sheep and a goat. In fact, he had forgotten all about them,\nuntil one of the merchants asked him if he wasn\u2019t going to take his rare\nand valuable animals back home.\n\n\u201cThe strange sheep and goat were not used to being led about at night by\na man with wobbly legs and a befuddled head, and they cut up such queer\ncapers that it was much as the man could do to keep on his feet at all.\nBut, after so long a time, he managed to get them home, and tied them in\nthe stable.\n\n\u201cSo far, so good: but the next morning, when the boy and the girl got up\nbetimes and went out to feed their pets, as they were in the habit of\ndoing, they saw at once that something had happened. Their precious pets\nhad been made way with, and these rough, dirty, and mean-looking animals\nput in their place. One glance was enough to satisfy the children of\nthis, and they set up such a wail that the whole neighborhood was\naroused. Even their father stuck his head out of the window and asked\nwhat was the matter. His head was still befuddled by the night\u2019s\nbanquet, but his alarm sobered him instantly when he heard what his\nchildren said. He wouldn\u2019t believe it at first; but when he went out\ninto the stable and saw for himself, he was nearly beside himself with\ngrief. He declared that it was all his fault, and told what he had done\nthe night before.\n\n\u201cHe was now as poor as he ever was; and his wife said she wasn\u2019t sorry a\nbit, because he would now have a chance to go to work and an excuse for\nnot hanging around the tavern. But the children begged him to go after\ntheir coal-black sheep and their snow-white goat.\n\n\u201cThis he promised to do, and he made haste to go to the tavern. The\nmerchants were still there, but they only laughed at him when he asked\nthem for his sheep and his goat. They called on the tavern-keeper to\nwitness that the man had started home with a black sheep and a white\ngoat.\n\n\u201c\u2018That is true,\u2019 said the man, \u2018and I have them there now. But they are\nnot mine. Some of you ruffians stole mine and put these in their place.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe merchants pretended to be very angry at this, and made as if they\nwould fall on the man with their fists. But he was a stout fellow, and\nwas armed with a stout hickory, and so they merely threatened. But the\nman failed to get his coal-black sheep and his snow-white goat, and went\nhome full of grief and remorse.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XXIII.\n\n THE BUTTING COW AND THE HITTING STICK.\n\n\n\u201cI hope that isn\u2019t the end of the story,\u201d remarked Buster John.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit, \u201cwe can either cut it off here, or we can\ncarry it on for weeks and weeks.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeak for yourself,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows; \u201cor, if you want to, you can\ntell the rest of the story yourself. No doubt you can tell it a great\ndeal better than I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow you\u2019ll have to excuse me,\u201d remarked Mr. Rabbit. \u201cI thought maybe\nyou were getting tired, and wanted to rest. Go on with the tale. I\u2019m\ngetting old and trembly in the limbs, but I can stand it if the rest\ncan.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows, turning to Buster John and Sweetest Susan,\n\u201cthe children were very much worried over the loss of the coal-black\nsheep and the snow-white goat, and they made up their minds to try and\nget them back. The boy said he would go and ask Uncle Rain\u2019s advice, and\nthe girl said she would visit Brother Drouth once more. So they started\non their journey, one going east and the other going south.\n\n\u201cThey met with no adventure by the way, and, having traveled the road\nonce, they were not long in coming to the end of their journey. The boy\nfound Uncle Rain at home, and told him all about the loss of his\nbeautiful black sheep. Uncle Rain grunted at the news, and looked very\nsolemn.\n\n\u201c\u2018That\u2019s about the way I thought it would be,\u2019 said he. \u2018It takes a\nmighty strong-minded person to stand prosperity. But you needn\u2019t be\nafraid. Your sheep is not lost. The men who have stolen him can stand\ngreat prosperity no better than your father can. They will wrangle among\nthemselves, and they will never take the sheep away from the tavern. But\nthey shall be punished. Come with me.\u2019\n\n\u201cUncle Rain went out into his barnyard, and the boy followed him. He\nwent to a stall where a black cow was tied. \u2018This,\u2019 said he, \u2018is the\nbutting cow. You are to take her with you. She will allow no one to come\nnear her but you, and when you give her the word she will run over and\nknock down whoever and whatever is in sight. She knows the black sheep,\ntoo, for they have long been in the barn together. When she begins to\nlow, the black sheep will bleat, and in that way you may know when you\nhave found it. More than that, the cow will give you the most beautiful\ngolden butter that ever was seen.\u2019\n\n\u201cUncle Rain untied the cow, placed the end of the rope in the boy\u2019s\nhand, and bade him good-by. The boy went back the way he came, the cow\nfollowing closely and seeming to be eager to go with him.\n\n\u201cThe girl, who had taken the road to Brother Drouth\u2019s house, arrived\nthere safely and told her trouble. Brother Drouth said he was very sorry\nabout it, but as it was not a thing to weep over, he didn\u2019t propose to\nshed any tears.\n\n\u201c\u2018What\u2019s done,\u2019 he said, \u2018can\u2019t be undone; but I\u2019ll see that it\u2019s not\ndone over again.\u2019 He went to a corner of the room, picked up a\nwalking-stick, and gave it to the little girl. \u2018We have here,\u2019 he said,\n\u2018a walking-stick. It is called the hitting stick. Whenever you are in\ndanger, or whenever you want to punish your enemies, you have only to\nsay: \u201cHit, stick! Stick, hit!\u201d and neither one man nor a hundred can\nstand up against it. It is not too heavy for you to carry, but if your\nhands grow tired of carrying it, just say, \u201cJump, stick!\u201d and the stick\nwill jump along before you or by your side, just as you please.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen Brother Drouth bade the girl good-by; and she went on her way,\nsometimes carrying the hitting stick, and sometimes making it jump along\nthe road before her.\n\n\u201cNow, then, while all this was going on, the greedy merchants found\nthemselves in a fix. When they first got hold of the coal-black sheep\nand the snow-white goat, they thought that they had had a good deal of\ntrouble for nothing. But merchants, especially the merchants of those\ndays, when there was not as much trade as there is now, had very sharp\neyes, and it was not long before they found the springs under the horns\nof the sheep and the goat. Having found the treasure, they remembered\nthat the man had spent more money in two days than the horns of the\nanimals would hold, and this led them to discover that the horns were\nalways full of treasure.\n\n\u201cFor a little while they were very happy, and congratulated one another\nmany times over. But in the midst of their enjoyment the thought came to\nthem that there must be a division of this treasure. The moment the\nsubject was broached, the wrangle began. There were more than a dozen of\nthe merchants, and the question was how to divide the treasure so that\neach might have an equal share. Though they took millions from the horns\nof the black sheep and the white goat, yet whoever had the animals would\nstill have the most.\n\n\u201cIt was a mighty serious question. They argued, they reasoned, they\ndisputed, and they wrangled, and once or twice they came near having a\npitched battle. But finally, after many days, it was decided that one\nparty of merchants should have the black sheep and that another party\nshould have the white goat. This didn\u2019t satisfy all of them, but it was\nthe best that could be done; and so they departed, the party with the\nwhite goat going south, and the party with the black sheep going east.\n\n\u201cNow, a very curious thing happened. If either party had kept on\ntraveling, it would have met the boy or the girl; one with the butting\ncow, and the other with the hitting stick. But both parties were\ndissatisfied; and they had gone but a little way before they stopped,\nand after some talk determined to go back. The merchants with the white\ngoat determined to follow on after the merchants that had the black\nsheep, and secure the animal by fair means or foul. The merchants with\nthe black sheep determined to follow the merchants with the white goat,\nand buy the animal or seize him. So each party turned back.\n\n\u201cThe merchants with the white goat reached the tavern first. They had\nhardly refreshed themselves, when the tavern-keeper came running in, to\ntell them that the other merchants were coming.\n\n\u201c\u2018Then take our white goat and hide it in your stable,\u2019 they said.\n\n\u201cThe landlord did as he was bid; and then meeting the merchants with the\nblack sheep, he told them that their companions of the morning had also\nreturned.\n\n\u201c\u2018Then take our black sheep and hide it in your stable,\u2019 they said. This\nthe landlord quickly did, and returned to the tavern in time to hear the\nmerchants greet each other.\n\n\u201c\u2018What are you doing here?\u2019 asked the black sheep merchants.\n\n\u201c\u2018We have lost our white goat,\u2019 they replied, \u2018and have come here to\nhunt it. Why have you returned?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018We have come on the same errand,\u2019 said the others. \u2018We have lost our\nblack sheep, and have returned to find it.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow, the tavern-keeper was not a very smart man, but he had no lack of\nshrewdness and cunning. He had heard the merchants wrangling and\nquarreling over the black sheep and the white goat, and now he saw them\ncoming back pretending to be hunting for both the animals, though\nneither one was lost. He had sense enough to see that there must be\nsomething very valuable about the black sheep and the white goat; and\nso, while the merchants were taking their refreshments, each party\neyeing the other with suspicion, the tavern-keeper slipped out into his\nstable, and carried the black sheep and the white goat to an outhouse\nout of sight and hearing of the guests.\n\n\u201cAs for the merchants, they were in a pickle. Neither party wanted to go\naway and leave the other at the tavern; so they waited and waited,\u2014the\nblack sheep party waiting for the white goat party to go, and the white\ngoat party waiting for the black sheep party to go.\n\n\u201c\u2018When do you leave?\u2019 says one.\n\n\u201c\u2018As soon as we find our sheep. When do you leave?\u2019 says the other.\n\n\u201c\u2018Quite as soon.\u2019\n\n\u201cThere was not much satisfaction in this for either side. Finally, one\nof the merchants called the tavern-keeper aside, and asked him where he\nhad put the black sheep.\n\n\u201c\u2018In my stable, your honor,\u2019 replied the man.\n\n\u201cThen another merchant called the tavern-keeper aside, and asked him\nwhere he had put the white goat.\n\n\u201c\u2018In my stable, your honor,\u2019 he replied.\n\n\u201cNow as each of these merchants went out to see that his precious animal\nwas safe, it was perfectly natural that they should see each other\nslipping about in the yard, and that they should meet face to face in\nthe stable. Both made the excuse that they thought they might find their\nlost animals at that point, and both were terribly worked up when they\nsaw that the stable was empty. Each went back and told his companions,\nand pretty soon there was the biggest uproar in that house that the\ntavern-keeper had ever heard.\n\n\u201cBoth parties went running to the stable, falling over each other on the\nway; but the black sheep and the white goat were gone. Then the\nmerchants went running back into the tavern, and all began yelling at\nthe tavern-keeper. Instead of making any answer, that cunning chap put\nhis fingers in his ears, and politely asked the merchants if they wanted\nto jar the roof off of the house. They danced around him, yelling and\nshaking their fists at him, but he kept his fingers in his ears.\n\n\u201cFinally, they caught hold of the man, and began to pull and haul him\naround at a great rate. In this way they compelled him to take his\nfingers out of his ears; but he could hear little better, for the whole\ncrowd was dancing around and squalling like a lot of crazy people at a\npicnic. All the tavern-keeper could hear was:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Where\u2019s our\u2019\u2014\u2018You\u2019ve got our\u2019\u2014\u2018Sheep!\u2019 \u2018Goat!\u2019\n\n\u201cThere was more noise than sense to this rippit. There was so much noise\nthat it roused the whole neighborhood, and the people of the village\ncame running in to see what the trouble was. Among them was the mayor;\nand he succeeded in quieting the rumpus, not because he was mayor, but\nbecause he had a louder voice than any of them.\n\n\u201cWhen everything was quiet, the mayor asked the merchants why they were\nacting like crazy people.\n\n\u201c\u2018Because this man has robbed us,\u2019 they cried, pointing to the\ntavern-keeper.\n\n\u201c\u2018Of what has he robbed you?\u2019 asked the mayor.\n\n\u201c\u2018Of a black sheep and a white goat,\u2019 they replied.\n\n\u201c\u2018Your honor,\u2019 said the tavern-keeper, when the mayor had turned to him,\n\u2018you have known me all my life, and have never heard that I was a thief.\nI want to ask these men a few questions.\u2019 By this time the two parties\nof merchants had ranged themselves on different sides of the room. The\ntavern-keeper turned to the black sheep party. \u2018Didn\u2019t the men over\nthere come into this house and tell you that they had lost their white\ngoat?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018They certainly did,\u2019 was the reply.\n\n\u201cThen he turned to the white goat party. \u2018Didn\u2019t the men over there tell\nyou that they had lost their black sheep and had come back to hunt it?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018They certainly did,\u2019 came the answer.\n\n\u201cBoth parties tried to explain that they had placed their animals in\ncharge of the tavern-keeper, but while they were hemming and hawing a\nqueer thing happened. The boy had come up with his butting cow; and\nseeing the merchants still in the tavern, he led her to the door, and\ntold her to do her whole duty, and nothing but her duty.\n\n\u201cWhile the merchants were trying to explain, the cow rushed into the\nroom with a bellow, her tail curled over her back, and went at the men\nwith head down and horn points up. Tables and chairs were nothing to the\nbutting cow. She ran over them and through them; and in a little while\nthe room was cleared of the merchants, and some of them were hurt so\nbadly that they could scarcely crawl away.\n\n\u201cThe mayor had jumped through a window, and the village people had\nscattered in all directions. By this time the tavern-keeper, who had\nremained unhurt, was laughing to himself at the fix the merchants found\nthemselves in, for the butting cow was still pursuing them. But he\nlaughed too soon. The little girl came to the door with her hitting\nstick.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n \u201cHIT STICK! STICK HIT!\u201d SHE CRIED\n]\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Hit, stick! Stick, hit!\u2019 she cried; and in an instant the stick was\nmauling the tavern-keeper over the head and shoulders and all about the\nbody.\n\n\u201c\u2018Help! help!\u2019 shouted the tavern-keeper. \u2018Somebody run here! Help! I\u2019ll\ntell you where they are! I\u2019ll show you where they are!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Stop, stick!\u2019 said the girl. \u2018Now show me where my snow-white goat\nis.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Yes!\u2019 exclaimed the boy. \u2018Show me where my coal-black sheep is!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Come,\u2019 said the tavern-keeper; and he went as fast as he could to the\nouthouse where he had hid the animals. They were in there, safe and\nsound, and the children made haste to carry them home.\n\n\u201cSo the farmer was once more rich and prosperous. He shunned the tavern\nand kept at work, and in this way prosperity brought happiness and\ncontent to all the family. And by giving freely to the poor they made\nothers happy too.\u201d\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n XXIV.\n\n THE FATE OF THE DIDDYPAWN.\n\n\n\u201cIt has always been mighty curious to me,\u201d said Mr. Rabbit, \u201cwhy\neverything and everybody is not contented with what they\u2019ve got. There\u2019d\nbe lots less trouble in the country next door if everybody was\nsatisfied.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d remarked Mr. Thimblefinger, \u201csome people have nothing at all. I\nhope you don\u2019t want a man who has nothing to be satisfied. An empty\npocket makes an empty stomach, and an empty stomach has a way of talking\nso it can be heard.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d replied Mr. Rabbit; \u201cbut there is a living in the world\nfor every creature, if he will only get out of bed and walk about and\nlook for it. But a good many folks and a heap of the animals think that\nif there is a living in the world for everybody, it ought to be handed\nround in a silver dish. Then there are some folks and a great many\ncreatures that are not satisfied with what they are, but want to be\nsomebody or something else. That sort of talk puts me in mind of the\nDiddypawn.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the Diddypawn?\u201d asked Buster John.\n\n\u201cWell, it would be hard to tell you at this time of day,\u201d replied Mr.\nRabbit, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. \u201cThere are no Diddypawns now, and\nI don\u2019t know that I ever saw but one. He is the chap I\u2019m going to tell\nyou about. He was a great big strong creature, with a long head and\nshort ears, and eyes that could see in the dark. He had legs that could\ncarry him many a mile in a day, and teeth strong enough to crunch an\nelephant\u2019s hind leg. The Diddypawn would have weeded a wide row if he\nhad been a mind to; but, instead of doing that, he just lay in the mud\non the river bank, and let the sun shine and the rain fall. He had but\nto reach down in the water to pick up a fish, or up in the bushes to\ncatch a bird.\n\n\u201cBut all this didn\u2019t make his mind easy. He wasn\u2019t contented. The\nthought came to him that a fine large creature such as he was ought to\nbe able to swim as fast as a fish, and fly as high as a bird. So he\nworried and worried and worried about it, until there was no peace in\nthat neighborhood. All the creatures that crawled, or walked, or swam,\nor flew, heard of the Diddypawn\u2019s troubles. At first they paid no\nattention to him, but he groaned so long and he groaned so loud that\nthey couldn\u2019t help but pay attention. They couldn\u2019t sleep at night, and\nthey couldn\u2019t have any peace in the daytime.\n\n\u201cFor I don\u2019t know how long the Diddypawn rolled and tumbled in the mud,\nand moaned and groaned because he didn\u2019t have as many fins as the fishes\nand as many feathers as the birds. He moaned and mumbled in the daytime,\nand groaned and grumbled at night. The other creatures paid no attention\nto him at first; but matters went from bad to worse, and they soon found\nthat they had to do something or leave the country.\n\n\u201cSo, after awhile the fishes held a convention, and the porpoise and the\ncatfish made speeches, saying that the Diddypawn was in a peck of\ntrouble, and asking what could be done for him. Finally, after a good\ndeal of talk about one thing and another, the convention of fishes\nconcluded to call on the Diddypawn in a body, and ask him what in the\nname of goodness he wanted.\n\n\u201cThis they did; and the reply that the Diddypawn made was that he wanted\nto know how to swim as well as any fish. There wasn\u2019t anything\nunreasonable in this; and so the convention, after a good deal more\ntalk, said that the best way to do would be for every fish to lend the\nDiddypawn a fin.\n\n\u201cThe convention told the Diddypawn about this, and it made him grin from\none ear to the other to think that he would be able to swim as fast as\nthe fishes. He rolled from the bank into the shallow water, and the\nfishes, as good as their word, loaned him each a fin. With these the\nDiddypawn found he was able to get about in the water right nimbly. He\nswam around and around, far and near, and finally reached an island\nwhere there were some trees.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t go too near the land,\u2019 says the catfish. \u2018Don\u2019t go too near the\nland,\u2019 says the perch.\n\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t bother about me,\u2019 says the Diddypawn. \u201cI can walk on the land as\nwell as I can swim in the water.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But our fins!\u2019 says the catfish and the perch. \u2018If you go on land and\nlet them dry in the sun, they\u2019ll be no good to either us or you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No matter,\u2019 says the Diddypawn, \u2018on the land I\u2019ll go, and I\u2019ll be\nbound the fins will be just as limber after they get dry as they were\nwhen they were wet.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut the fishes set up such a cry and made such a fuss that the\nDiddypawn concluded to give them back their fins, while he went on dry\nland and rested himself. He went on the island, and stretched himself\nout in the tall grass at the foot of the big trees, and soon fell\nasleep. When he awoke, the sun was nearly down. He crawled to the\nwaterside, and soon saw that the fishes had all gone away. He had no way\nof calling them up or of sending them a message, and so there he was.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n IT MADE HIM GRIN FROM EAR TO EAR\n]\n\n\n\u201cWhile the Diddypawn was lying there wondering how he was going to get\nback home, he heard a roaring and rustling noise in the air. Looking up,\nhe saw that the sky was nearly black with birds. They came in swarms, in\ndroves, and in flocks. There were big birds and little birds, and all\nsorts and sizes of birds. The trees on the island were their\nroosting-place, but they were coming home earlier than usual, because\nthey wanted to get rid of the moanings and groanings of the Diddypawn.\n\n\u201cThe birds came and settled in the trees, and were about to say\ngood-night to one another, when the Diddypawn rolled over, and began to\nmoan and groan and growl and grumble. At once the birds ceased their\nchattering, and began to listen. Then they knew they would have no sound\nsleep that night if something wasn\u2019t done; and so the King-Bird flew\ndown, lit close to the Diddypawn\u2019s ear, and asked him what in the name\nof goodness gracious he was doing there, how he got there, and what the\ntrouble was anyway.\n\n\u201cAll the answer the Diddypawn made was to roll over on his other side,\nand moan and mumble. Once more the King-Bird fluttered in the air, and\nlit near the Diddypawn\u2019s ear, and asked him what in the name of goodness\ngracious he was doing there, how he got there, and what the trouble was\nanyway. For answer, the Diddypawn turned on the other side, and groaned\nand grumbled.\n\n\u201cHow long this was kept up I\u2019ll never tell you, but after a while, the\nDiddypawn said the trouble with him was that he wanted to fly. He said\nhe would fly well enough if he only had feathers; but, as it was, he\ndidn\u2019t have a feather to his name, or to his hide either.\n\n\u201cWell, the birds held a convention over this situation, and after a good\ndeal of loud talk, it was decided that each bird should lend the\nDiddypawn a feather. This was done in the midst of a good deal of\nfluttering and chattering. When the Diddypawn was decked out in his\nfeathers, he strutted around and shook his wings at a great rate.\n\n\u201c\u2018Where shall I fly to?\u2019 he asked.\n\n\u201cNow, there was another island not far away, on which everything was\ndead,\u2014the trees, the bushes, the grass, and even the honeysuckle vines.\nBut some of the trees were still standing. With their lack of leaf and\ntwig they looked like a group of tall, black lighthouses. When the\nDiddypawn asked where he should fly, Brother Turkey Buzzard made this\nremark:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018If you want to fly fast and not fly far,\n Fly to the place where the dead trees are!\u2019\n\n\u201cTo this the Diddypawn made reply,\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018I want to fly fast and not too far,\n So I\u2019ll fly to the place where the dead trees are!\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the Diddypawn fluttered his feathers and hopped about, and, after\na while, took a running start and began to fly. He didn\u2019t fly very well\nat first, being a new hand at the business. He wobbled from side to\nside, and sometimes it seemed that he was going to fall in the water,\nbut he always caught himself just in time. After a while he reached the\nisland where everything was dead, and landed with a tremendous splash\nand splutter in the wet marsh grass.\n\n\u201cAs dark had not set in, the most of the birds flew along with the\nDiddypawn, to see how he was going to come out. The Diddypawn had hardly\nlit, before Brother Turkey Buzzard ups and says:\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018I don\u2019t want my feather to get wet, and so I\u2019ll just take it back\nagain.\u2019 This was the sign for all the birds. None wanted his feather to\nget wet, so they just swooped down on the Diddypawn and took their\nfeathers one by one. When the fluttering was over, the Diddypawn had no\nmore feathers than fins. But he made no complaint. He had it in his mind\nthat he\u2019d rest easy during the night and begin his complaints the next\nmorning.\n\n\u201cSays he, \u2018I\u2019ve got the birds and the fishes so trained that when I want\nto fly, all I\u2019ve got to do is to turn over on my left side and grunt,\nand when I want to swim, all I\u2019ve got to do is to turn over on my right\nside and groan.\u2019 Then the Diddypawn smiled, until there were wrinkles in\nhis countenance as deep and as wide as a horse-trough.\n\n\u201cBut the birds went back to their roosting-place that night, and there\nwas nothing to disturb them; and the fishes swam around the next day,\nand there was nothing to bother them.\n\n\u201cMatters went on in this way for several days, and at last some of the\nbirds began to ask about the Diddypawn. \u2018Had anybody seen him?\u2019 or \u2018Did\nanybody know how he was getting on?\u2019\n\n\u201cThis was passed around among the birds, until at last it came to the\nears of Brother Turkey Buzzard. He stretched out his wings and gaped,\nand said that he had been thinking about taking his family and calling\non the Diddypawn. So that very day, Brother Turkey Buzzard, his wife and\nhis children and some of his blood kin, went down to the dead island, to\ncall on the Diddypawn. They went and stayed several days. The rest of\nthe birds, when they came home to roost, could see the Turkey Buzzard\nfamily sitting in the dead trees; and after so long a time they came\nback, and went to roost with the rest of the birds. Some of them asked\nhow the Diddypawn was getting on, and Brother Turkey Buzzard made this\nreply:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018The Diddypawn needs neither feather nor fin,\n He\u2019s been falling off, till he\u2019s grown quite thin,\n He has lost all his meat and all of his skin,\n And he needs now a bag to put his bones in.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis made Brother Owl hoot a little, but it wasn\u2019t long before all the\nbirds were fast asleep.\u201d\n\nMr. Rabbit never knew how the children liked the story of the Diddypawn.\nBuster John was about to say something, but he saw little Mr.\nThimblefinger pull out his watch and look up at the bottom of the\nspring.\n\n\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d asked Mrs. Meadows, seeing that Mr. Thimblefinger\nstill held his watch in his hand.\n\n\u201cA quarter to twelve.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried Sweetest Susan, \u201cwe promised mamma to be back by dinner\ntime.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of time for that,\u201d said Mrs. Meadows. \u201cI do hope you\u2019ll\ncome again. It rests me to see you.\u201d\n\nThe children shook hands all around when Mr. Thimblefinger said he was\nready to go, and Mr. Rabbit remarked to Buster John:\u2014\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t forget what I told you about Aaron.\u201d\n\nThere was no danger of that, Buster John said; and then the children\nfollowed Mr. Thimblefinger, who led them safely through the spring, and\nthey were soon at home again.\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n \u25cb Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.\n \u25cb Typographical errors were silently corrected.\n \u25cb Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only\n when a predominant form was found in this book.\n \u25cb Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).","title":"Mr. Rabbit at Home: A sequel to Little Mr. Thimblefinger and his Queer Country","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":58665}