{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64310/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64310","id":"gutenberg_64310","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64310","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales -- Australia","Tales -- Australia"],"text":"FAIRY TALES TOLD IN THE BUSH\n\n[Illustration: \u201cEACH WALL WAS COVERED WITH SHELVES, AND EACH SHELF WAS\nFULL OF BOOKS.\u201d]\n\n\n\n\n                               FAIRY TALES\n                            TOLD IN THE BUSH\n\n                                   By\n                              SISTER AGNES\n\n                             [Illustration]\n\n                          LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK\n                        62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\n_Of these Fairy Tales told to children in the Australian bush_, \u201cThe\nMagic Gun\u201d and \u201cThe Underground River,\u201d are original, but the others have\nbeen brought from the old country, not in book form, but in the memory of\na lover of fairies and children.\n\n\u201cThe Origin of the Yarra Yarra\u201d was told to the writer by old King Barak,\nthe last King of the Yarra tribe, a few days before his death.\n\nThese tales, as told here, charmed the writer in the \u201cSixties\u201d when\nMelbourne was a place of bush and swamp. They now charm little slum\nchildren in the so-called \u201cslum parts\u201d of the city of Melbourne, \u201cThe\nPalace of Truth\u201d and \u201cThe Magic Gun\u201d being always asked for when stories\nare to be told.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                      PAGE\n\n    THE LITTLE MAN IN BROWN, OR THE BOY WHO LIED                         3\n\n    THE MAGIC GUN                                                       21\n\n    THE UNDERGROUND RIVER                                               31\n\n    THE ORIGIN OF THE YARRA YARRA (EVER-FLOWING)                        51\n\n    FORGET-ME-NOT                                                       61\n\n    THE PALACE OF TRUTH                                                 75\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                                      PAGE\n\n    Each wall was covered with shelves, and each shelf was\n       full of books                                         _Frontispiece_\n\n    The boy grew bold and began to read                                  2\n\n    The sale of the bull                                                11\n\n    Barak telling the story of the Magic Gun                            20\n\n    Eating the berries                                                  30\n\n    The fish gave a flap, a jump, and reached the water                 45\n\n    Barak snatched the honeycomb away, and put it in his mouth          50\n\n    Finding the footprint of the \u201cShining One\u201d                          56\n\n    The Man in the Moon                                                 60\n\n    Marie finding the man                                               67\n\n    Marie going to the Moon                                             69\n\n    They came in sight of an enormous tree, upon which grew golden\n       apples                                                           74\n\n    The toys running away                                               82\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE MAN IN BROWN, OR THE BOY WHO LIED.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE BOY GREW BOLD AND BEGAN TO READ.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE MAN IN BROWN, OR THE BOY WHO LIED.]\n\n\nLong, long ago in the days when there were no schools, there lived a man\nand his wife and their only child. He was a bright, clever boy, and his\nparents were very ambitious for their dear boy, and wished him to become\na great and renowned man. They saw that the children who could not read\nor write, but who just played all day long, had to go to work while still\nvery young, and were generally so stupid that they could never earn\nmuch money; so they determined to let their boy have an education, and\nbe able, later on, to have an easier life than they themselves had ever\nenjoyed. They worked early and late and saved every penny, even when\ntheir boy was still a baby, and by the time he was old enough to learn,\nthey had saved enough money to pay a learned man who lived in the town to\nteach the boy. Boy he was always called, and I am very glad there is no\nother name for him, because of his bad ending.\n\nWhen Boy was fourteen years old, he knew so much about books that there\nwas not a single book in the learned man\u2019s library that he had not read.\nOh, he was very clever and knowing, and he told his mother and father\nthat he now knew enough to go and earn a good living. \u201cIn the morning,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cI shall set out to make a fortune.\u201d\n\nLong before daybreak, the boy set out on his journey, carrying a bundle\ndone up in a big red handkerchief. It contained a clean shirt, a pair of\nsocks, a loaf of new bread, and a bottle of milk. His parents were very\nsad when he went away, but they knew he would never have any chance to\nbecome great and famous in the town where every one knew him as \u201cthe boy.\u201d\n\nAway trudged the boy, up hill and down dale, until at last, just before\nsunrise, he came to a hill where, as he imagined, cock had never crowed\nand man had never walked before. Tired and hungry, he sat down to eat his\nloaf and drink his milk, and, just as he had finished, a little old man\ndressed all in brown suddenly appeared before him. The boy rubbed his\neyes to make sure he was not dreaming, for a minute before he had been\nalone; now, here was this funny little man looking at him. The little\nman wore knee-breeches and silk stockings, a cut-away coat, and a cocked\nhat, all of brown, and the funny thing was that the colour of his clothes\nmatched the colour of his eyes and hair.\n\n\u201cWell, my boy,\u201d said the old man, \u201cyou look surprised to see me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, I am; I thought no one lived here.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t people be in a place without living there? You yourself are here\nat present, but I suppose you don\u2019t live here.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir; I am going out into the world to make my fortune.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust the boy I want. I am looking for a boy who will promise to do a\nlittle work for me for six months, and for that little work he is to get\n\u00a350. Will you come and do it?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will,\u201d cried the boy, jumping up gladly.\n\n\u201cStay, though, there is one question I must ask first,\u201d said the little\nold man. \u201cCan you read or write?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the boy proudly, \u201cI can read anything in my tutor\u2019s\nlibrary.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! then you won\u2019t do for me, and I must go on my way in search of a boy\ncapable of doing what I want, but unable to read or write.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you want\u2014\u2014\u201d began the boy; but he was speaking to space, the\nlittle old man in brown had disappeared. Suddenly the boy formed a\nresolution. He would go home again, make himself look quite different,\nand come to-morrow morning to this same place, and then, if the little\nold man came\u2014\u2014 Well, the boy had been taught to read and write, but he\nhad not been taught to be truthful or honest. His parents thought _that_\ndid not help people to get rich or famous.\n\nBack he went to his home, and when he told his mother what he intended to\ndo, she was quite pleased. \u201cSee,\u201d she said to her husband, \u201chow clever\nthe boy is; this is what book-learning has done. No one else would think\nof such a clever trick.\u201d\n\nNext morning, at sunrise, there was a boy again sitting on the top of\nthat distant hill, where the boy had breakfasted the day before. Indeed\nit was \u201c_the_ Boy,\u201d although he looked quite different. He had dyed his\nfair hair and his eyebrows, making them look almost black, and he had\nrubbed the juice of a certain bark on his skin to make him seem dark.\nThere he sat, a dark foreign-looking boy, eating his breakfast and\nimpatiently waiting for the little old man to come again. He had not\nlong to wait. How he came the boy never knew, but he suddenly knew he was\nnot alone, and looking up saw the old man looking at him.\n\n\u201cAh, a fair boy yesterday, and a dark one to-day. I hope there is more\nluck for me with the dark than there was with the fair. What are you\ndoing here, boy?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m looking for work, sir,\u201d answered the boy, trying not to show how\ndelighted he felt.\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand I\u2019m looking for a boy who wants work.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you engage me, sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cSoftly, softly, there are one or two things to speak about first. Can\nyou read and write?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir,\u201d answered the boy, not even turning a shade paler under his\ndye, for you see he had never been taught to be truthful or honourable.\n\n\u201cGood again; then if \u00a350 a year will suit you, you can come at once.\u201d\n\nOf course the boy said \u201cYes\u201d to that, and the old man led him to a house\njust over the next hill, a pretty house standing in a big natural garden.\n\n\u201cCome in,\u201d said the old man, unlocking the door, \u201ccome in and I\u2019ll show\nyou what you must do to earn your money.\u201d\n\nThe boy was astonished to find that the house was really only one big\nroom; each wall was covered with shelves from the ceiling to the floor,\nand each shelf was full of books. The boy was then told that he would be\nquite alone in the house, as his master meant to travel for six months.\nUsually he lived there by himself, but he had studied so much that his\nbrain was tired, and he knew that if he wished to get really well and\nstrong again, he must travel away, and not look at a book for six months.\nSo he had hired the boy just to dust his beloved books in his lonely\nhouse, and, as it was so far away from people, he had to give a big sum\nof money, as wages, to get any one to stay there alone.\n\nThe boy stood looking around in astonishment. \u201cWhere am I to sleep?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cWhy, on that couch, of course,\u201d said the old man; \u201cyou\u2019ll find plenty of\nblankets under it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what am I to eat?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! ah! ah!\u201d laughed the old man, \u201ctrust a boy to make provision\nfor _that_. There is, my boy, a wonderful secret connected with\nthis house. When a certain magic word is pronounced, a table\nis lowered by invisible hands, and on the table you will find\neverything you wish to eat and drink. Now say it after me,\n\u2018Corremurreplatyemurrepleuemurretimemurrejcherymurrepljeskuskiski.\u2019\u201d\n\nSlowly the boy repeated the strange word after the old man, and, as he\nfinished, there descended a table even as he had been told. On the table\nwas a baked fowl, a duck, vegetables, puddings, tarts, cakes, sweets, and\ntwo or three kinds of drinks. Oh, these things were good! The boy soon\nknew that, and when he had eaten and drunk as much as he could, the man\nsaid he must get away as soon as possible, as he felt his brain could not\nstand the strain of even the backs of the books much longer.\n\n\u201cI know you can\u2019t read and write, boy,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand yet I want\nyou to promise me you won\u2019t read a single word in these books, nor even\nopen them.\u201d\n\nThe boy promised readily enough, and then the old man went off. At first\nthe boy worked at the dusting, never daring to open one of the books in\ncase the old man should suddenly appear as he had done on the hill-top;\nbut, as day after day passed, and there was no sign of him, he grew bold\nand began to read. What he read was very, very strange, stranger than\nanything he had ever heard of. Soon indeed he knew that his master must\nbe the cleverest man in the world, for he learned from his books how to\nturn himself into any animal, and then to change back again into himself.\nHow he longed to try it, but he dare not, because one condition was,\nthat a person turning into an animal found a leather halter round his\nneck, and only a human being could undo it, so that he might turn back\nagain to what he had been before.\n\nLong before the six months were over, the boy was longing to go and try\nthis wonderful unheard-of thing, but he dared not go until the old man\ncame back, or he not only would have had to go penniless, but the old man\nmight suspect him, and watch him and his actions.\n\nAt last, however, the little old man returned. \u201cHave you kept your\npromise?\u201d were his first words. \u201cYou have not read the books?\u201d and the\nboy vowed and protested that he had not even opened the books. The old\nman examined his precious volumes, and, finding them in good order, paid\nthe \u00a350, and the boy then set out for his home. His father and mother\ncould hardly believe he had earned so much money in such a short time.\n\n\u201cEasy come, easy go,\u201d is a homely saying, and certainly \u201cBoy\u2019s\u201d \u00a350 went\nvery easily indeed, and soon it was all spent. \u201cYou must go and earn some\nmore money,\u201d said his mother.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE SALE OF THE BULL.\u201d]\n\n\u201cAh! ah!\u201d laughed Boy, \u201cnot I; I\u2019ve learned how to get money without\nworking, no more working for me. I\u2019ve learned how to turn myself into any\nanimal I like. The worst of it is, though, if I change into an animal\nused by man, like the horse, cows and dogs, a halter will be around my\nneck, and I can\u2019t change back again until the halter is taken off. Now,\nto-morrow is market day, and all the farmers will be in the town, so I\u2019ll\nchange myself into a bull, and you can take me to market and sell me, but\nremember to take the halter off my neck.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever fear,\u201d said his father, \u201cI\u2019ll remember.\u201d\n\nEarly next morning, when Boy\u2019s father went into the yard, there stood\na beautiful black bull which he at once led off to the market. Quite a\ncommotion was made by the fine bull.\n\n\u201cCome here,\u201d cried the farmer who first saw it, \u201ccome here, and look at\nthis prize bull.\u201d\n\nA crowd gathered around, and soon the farmers had made up their minds to\nbuy it between them, as no one was rich enough to buy such a costly bull\nfor himself alone. \u00a31,000, and well worth it, they all declared. So five\nof them clubbed together and bought it. One farmer, who had a big strong\nstable, was to take care of the fine beast. Together they took the bull\nto the stable, saw it safely locked up, and the key put in the farmer\u2019s\npocket.\n\nNext day the five owners brought some friends to see their prize, but,\nlo, the bull had disappeared. They looked at the fastenings of the\ndoor\u2014nothing wrong\u2014and there was no other way by which the bull could\nhave escaped, so they all declared that the farmer had hidden the bull\nand meant to sell it secretly. Poor man, he was at once hurried off to\nprison. Where was the bull? Why, no sooner had the farmers locked the\ndoor, than the bull changed himself into a fly, and flew through the\nkeyhole. When the boy\u2019s father reached home, there was his son sitting\nby the side of the fire enjoying a meal, while his mother rocked herself\nfrom side to side, laughing at the trick he had played the farmer.\n\n\u201cA thousand pounds! now, if we had another thousand, we would never need\nto work again. Change yourself into another animal next market day, and\nI\u2019ll sell you again.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the son, \u201cwe must wait awhile, there will be a great noise\nabout the bull that has disappeared.\u201d\n\nAnd indeed there was a noise about it. Everybody\u2019s tongue clattered\nso loudly that even the little old man in brown heard a whisper about\nit. \u201cAh,\u201d thought he, \u201cthat boy has played me false. A bull could not\ndisappear unless some one knew my magic secret. I must keep a watch on\nthat town, and see if any other valuable animal comes to the market.\u201d\n\nAfter some time people forgot all about the strange disappearance of the\nbull, and, as the boy\u2019s father continuously worried him to work the magic\ntrick again, he at last consented.\n\nThis time it was a beautiful prancing horse that was seen and admired by\nthe market people. \u00a31,000 was asked for it. The little old man, disguised\nin a great cloak and turned-down hat, began to bargain for it, and soon\nthe father had sold it, and had begun to take the halter off its neck.\n\n\u201cStop,\u201d cried the little man, \u201cI bought that horse as he stood, the\nhalter included.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, only the horse,\u201d said Boy\u2019s father.\n\n\u201cHow could I lead the horse away without a halter? but to stop all\ndispute you shall have another \u00a3100.\u201d The little old man threw down the\nmoney, jumped on the horse and galloped away.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve caught you at last,\u201d said he to the horse, \u201cnow I mean to kill you;\nliar and thief that you are, for such sins you must die.\u201d The little\nold man in brown galloped the horse up hills, and down dales and across\nrivers, but the horse never seemed even to tire. \u201cWell, as you won\u2019t die\nin one way you must in another. I shall have a goad made in such a way\nthat every time I strike you with it blood will flow.\u201d\n\nAt the first blacksmith\u2019s to which he came, he stopped and called aloud\nfor the smith to come out. Out came the smith, holding a heavy hammer in\nhis hand, and the little old man in brown gave his directions for the\ngoad; but the smith was not clever, so the old man had to get down, and\ngo into the smithy to draw a plan of what he wanted made. The horse was\nleft in charge of a boy. \u201cTake the halter off my neck.\u201d The boy in charge\nwas so surprised to hear a horse speak that he obeyed, and the horse at\nonce scampered off.\n\n\u201cHey, mister, mister, your horse is running away.\u201d These words brought\nthe little old man out very quickly; sure enough there was the horse\nsome distance off, galloping as fast as he could go. The old man changed\nhimself into a horse and galloped after him. Of course there was no one\nto place a halter on him, so there was no halter to take off, and he\ncould change again as soon as he wished to. The fresh horse soon gained\nupon the tired one.\n\n\u201cDear, dear, this will never do, I must dodge him. I\u2019ll change into a\nhare and sneak off into the bushes,\u201d thought the boy; but no sooner had\nthe boy become a hare than the old man became a greyhound, and began to\nget very close to him indeed. \u201cOh, dear! he is gaining on me, I shall\nchange into a bird, and fly into the trees;\u201d but no sooner had the boy\nbecome a little bird than the old man became a hawk and got closer still.\n\n\u201cLook!\u201d cried a lady who sat at the window in her room, \u201clook at the hawk\nchasing that poor little bird.\u201d Quickly she opened the window, and the\nlittle bird flew in. To her astonishment it changed at once into a ring,\nand, lo, there it was on her finger!\n\nA knock was heard at the door. \u201cCome in,\u201d said the lady. In came a little\nold man dressed in brown.\n\n\u201cMadam, I have lost a little bird; it was being chased by a hawk; it flew\nin here.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the lady; \u201ca strange thing happened; no sooner had it\nflown in here than it became a ring on my finger.\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam, I claim my property,\u201d said the little old man, stretching out his\nhand for the ring.\n\nShe took off the ring sadly, but it slipped from her fingers and rolled\ninto the passage.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do?\u201d thought the boy. \u201cI know, I\u2019ll turn into a great\nbundle of straw, and crowd him out of the place.\u201d You see, he was such a\nselfish boy he never even thought about the lady who had allowed him to\nfly into the room.\n\nThe lady was horrified to see the door filled up with straw; but, lo!\nthe little old man at once turned himself into a donkey, and began to eat\nthe straw. At every mouthful he of course ate what was really a piece of\nthe boy, and the boy knew he must soon die at that rate. Hurriedly the\nboy changed himself into a mouse, but, alas! there was no mouse-hole for\nhim to run and hide in, and before he could reach the door, the cat that\nbelonged to the lady saw him, pounced upon him, and ate him up.\n\nSo that was the end of the boy who tried to get rich by stealing and\nlying. You might think that the \u00a31,100 the old man had given the father\nmade him a rich man for life. Not so, the neighbours and he soon spent it\nin gambling and drink, and in a short time he was as poor as he had been\nbefore his son began practising his magic tricks.\n\n[Illustration: FINIS]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAGIC GUN\n\n[Illustration: \u201cBARAK TELLING THE STORY OF THE MAGIC GUN.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: THE MAGIC GUN.]\n\n\nIt was September, the wattle blossom month, and many people were in and\naround beautiful Healesville, where the wattle is to be seen at its best.\nOld King Barak, the last King of the Yarra tribe, sat outside his hut at\nCoranderrk, surrounded by white people.\n\n\u201cYou all too greedy,\u201d he grumbled, \u201cyou come to see black man, black\nman make native fire, black man throw boomerang, black man throw spear;\nwhite man give him black brother pennies, pah, white man greedy, no give\nblack man baccy, only pennies.\u201d A few of the white people gave the dirty\nold chief a silver coin, then they went off to another hut to buy native\nbaskets, and to see the funny black babies. One small boy stayed behind.\n\n\u201cI am not greedy, Barak; see, I have brought you a shilling.\u201d\n\nBarak greedily snatched the shilling.\n\n\u201cLast time,\u201d said the boy, \u201cyou told me the story of the Yarra Yarra, and\nyou promised to tell me the story of the Magic Gun to-day if I brought\nyou another shilling. Do be quick and tell me, because the others will\nwant to go back to the township as soon as they have bought some baskets\nand things.\u201d\n\nCharmed by the gift of the shilling, the old man told the small white\nboy the story of the Magic Gun in quavering voice, sometimes scarcely\nto be heard, for he was very frail; indeed, though little Tom Jones did\nnot know it, this was the last time he, or any one else, was to hear the\nstory of the Magic Gun from poor old King Barak of Coranderrk Station.\n\nTom drew a deep breath as the old man finished his story.\n\n\u201cLet me look at the gun, Barak,\u201d he pleaded.\n\nThe old black took him into his hut, and proudly showed him an\nold-fashioned gun.\n\n\u201cAnd that is the gun that Buckly, the white man who was lost and lived\namong the blacks, really used?\u201d\n\n\u201cCourse it is, didn\u2019t I tell you,\u201d said King Barak.\n\n\u201cAnd he really used nails instead of bullets?\u201d\n\n\u201cCourse he did with this gun, it\u2019s a Magic Gun,\u201d answered the old man.\n\n\u201cAnd he put his knife into its\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cTom, Tom, we are going, come along,\u201d called the voice of authority, so\nTom could not finish his questioning, but had to drive away with the\nothers.\n\nThat night, when the others were fast asleep in bed, Tom dressed himself\nvery quietly\u2014there was no need to get a candle, for there was a bright\nmoon by whose light he could see quite well. He hurried, for he meant to\ngo to Coranderrk Station, two miles away, sneak Barak\u2019s Magic Gun, and\njust see for himself what its powers were like.\n\nFortune favoured Tom. Barak had somehow or other got some beer, although\nno one was allowed to sell beer to black men. Barak was in a drunken\nsleep and had not locked his door. Tom tiptoed in, took the Magic Gun\nfrom its place on the wall, and went out on his search for game. Tom\nwalked steadily on until he was some miles from home. By this time the\nsun was rising, the whole country was bathed in a golden and purple\nlight, but Tom had no thoughts for beauty or scenery. The Magic Gun\nfilled his thoughts. He walked until, from very weariness, he sat down to\nrest against a log; not a thing had he seen upon which to try the Magic\nGun, which had to be primed with nails instead of powder.\n\nHe enjoyed the bread and butter he had brought with him, and after he\nhad finished it he felt rather sleepy\u2014indeed, he closed his eyes for a\nmoment\u2014only for a moment, however, for just as he was pinching himself to\nkeep awake, he saw a big old man kangaroo standing erect, looking at him,\nnot many feet away. Stealthily Tom took his Magic Gun from the ground,\nraised himself and prepared to fire. With a bound the kangaroo was off,\nTom following at a hot pace.\n\n\u201cSure luck with the Magic Gun,\u201d said Tom to himself, for though the\nkangaroo went like the wind, Tom kept up with it. On and on they went,\nfor miles and miles it seemed to Tom, until at last the kangaroo seemed\nto be winded, for he suddenly stopped and backed up against a tree facing\nTom. With a shaky hand Tom put in six nails, raised the gun to his\nshoulder and fired.\n\nBang went the gun; the air was so full of smoke that for some minutes\nnothing could be seen for it, but as it cleared away Tom shouted for joy,\nfor the old man kangaroo was nailed to the tree as securely as if he had\nbeen held by several pairs of hands, while the nails were driven in.\n\n\u201cGour-gour-gah-gah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!\u201d\n\nA shout of laughter came from the tree-top. Tom, looking up, saw an old\nkookooburra (or laughing jackass) with head bent back, laughing and\nchuckling; soon he was joined by two young birds. The old one flew down,\nlooked first at the dead kangaroo, then at Tom, after which he flew back\nto the branch on which he had been sitting and indulged in another burst\nof laughter; in this he was joined by the two young birds.\n\nIt seemed to Tom to be a personal insult. They must be laughing at him,\nbecause he knew no better than to shoot a kangaroo. He remembered now,\nthe kangaroo was always hunted with dogs, never shot.\n\n\u201cCheeky things,\u201d said Tom, \u201cI\u2019ll teach them a lesson. They know I dare\nnot shoot a kookooburra, so they think they can laugh at me as much as\nthey like. I know what I\u2019ll do, with this Magic Gun I can split the\nbranch on which they are standing, then they won\u2019t laugh so loud and\nlong. One nail will be enough to do it.\u201d\n\nNo sooner thought of than it was done. Bang went the gun once more, and\nbefore those rude kookooburras could fly away, the branch had opened, in\nslipped their little toes, and there they were caught nicely in a trap.\n\n\u201cGour-gour-gah-gah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!\u201d laughed the three trapped birds,\nbut this time they were laughing at their own silliness in being caught\nso easily.\n\n\u201cThey shall just stay there until I have been down the river and back\nagain; but to go down the river I must have something to sail or row in.\nKing Barak said that a knife was the thing to use instead of powder for\nthat work. Now for making a canoe with the Magic Gun,\u201d said Tom, at the\nsame time placing an open penknife in the gun. Once more he raised it\nto his shoulder, but this time he fired at a great gum tree. The knife\nshot forth, struck the tree, and, as if guided by an invisible hand,\ncut the bark to the exact size and shape of a canoe. Tom gave a strong\ntug and pulled the bark clean away from the tree. There it lay, a very\nstrong canoe, and in a short time Tom had dragged it across to the river,\nlaunched it, sprang in, and using the gun as a paddle, sailed gaily down\nthe river.\n\nIt was so jolly! Of course it would have been better fun if some one had\nbeen with him, but then, none of the others really believed in the power\nof the Magic Gun, and King Barak said that if an unbeliever were present\nwhen he tried to use it, nothing could come of it.\n\nDown the river went the canoe, nearing the dreadful place where the\nundercurrents met, the undercurrents which no one would face, not even\nthe blacks, except in a magic canoe. Tom could now see the bridge which\nwas just the other side of the dreaded part, where anything that was\nthrown in got sucked down. As he looked his blood froze in his veins, and\nhis heart seemed to stop beating with fear of what he saw. From under\nthe bridge came an awful shapeless mass, the only distinct part about it\nbeing a head with glaring eyes and big horns.\n\n\u201cThe Bunyip,\u201d wailed Tom, trying now to paddle to the shore and so escape\nthe horrid thing coming towards him. Suddenly, a happy thought struck\nhim. Why, of course, the Magic Gun could kill even a \u201cBunyip.\u201d\n\nWith trembling hands he placed his knife in the muzzle of the gun, fired,\nand saw the knife describe a circle over the Bunyip\u2019s head and fall into\nthe water. Hurriedly he took some nails from his pocket and charged the\ngun with them, fired, and was horrified to see that when the nails struck\nthe Bunyip, fire and smoke came from every hole made by them. Nearer and\nnearer came the horrid flame-belching creature until it touched the boat,\nand at the same instant Tom sprang overboard, swam to the shore, and\nfled, followed by the awful Bunyip.\n\nFaster and faster went Tom, until at last he dropped to the ground\nbecause his legs refused to carry him any further. Then he felt the\ncreature catch hold of him, and he sprang up wildly to fight it. But\ninstead of the awful Bunyip, he saw his father, who gazed at his small\nson in surprise, and wanted to know why he had gone off alone so early in\nthe morning, why he had borrowed Barak\u2019s silly old gun, and what he meant\nby sleeping in the sun at that time of day.\n\nTom denied that he had been asleep. He looked at the Magic Gun. It was\ncertainly rusty, as if it had been in the water, and he determined to get\nhis father to go with him up the banks of the Yarra until they should\ncome to the tree where he knew they would find the kangaroo skin nailed\nwith the nails from the Magic Gun, and the three kookooburras caught in\nthe split branch of the same tree; then he would be compelled to believe\nin its power.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE UNDERGROUND LAKE\n\n[Illustration: \u201cEATING THE BERRIES.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: THE UNDERGROUND LAKE.]\n\n\nTom Jones went to stay with his uncle at Mount Gambier during the\nChristmas holidays, and, as he said when he wrote to his father, \u201che was\nenjoying every minute of his visit to the land of lakes.\u201d\n\nThe people who lived in and around the Mount were arguing about the Blue\nLake. Was it really part of a great underground river, or was it just\nthe crater of a worn-out volcano that had got filled up with water? They\nhad argued about this for years, and Tom liked to listen to both sides,\nalthough he knew that all the arguing that would ever be done could never\nmake him believe anything but the underground river belief.\n\nThere was the beautiful blue water, shut in by high banks which made it\nlook like a big basin, half full of blue water. The water was always\nfresh and sweet, no bottom could be found in the middle of the Lake,\nthere was always a strong current too, oh, of course it was one of the\nwonderful underground rivers!\n\nOne day Tom went down to see the man in charge of the pumping station,\nwith whom he was a great chum. They had been friends ever since Tom, soon\nafter he came to the Mount, had helped to clean the boat that was wanted\nin a hurry to take a visitor across the Lake. There was only one boat\nkept, and it had to be as clean as man could make it before it could go\non the Blue Lake, as the people of the town used the water for drinking.\n\nTom went very often to the Blue Lake. He meant to be an explorer when\nhe grew up, and he was trying to fit himself for that work because\nhe believed that whatever you meant to be as a man you should train\nyourself for while still a boy. On this special day (a day Tom never\nforgot because of what happened later through something he heard then at\nthe pumping station) he had been exploring the country as usual, and on\nhis way home called in to see his friend, the man-in-charge. There were\nseveral men talking to his friend, and just as Tom drew near them he\nheard an old man say\u2014\n\n\u201cWell, I tell you what I _know_, not what I\u2019ve heard; the Blue Lake is an\nunderground river, and when you hear my reason for saying that, you\u2019ll\nagree with me. Let me see, it was about twenty years ago, when, instead\nof being a grey-headed old fellow as I am now, I was a black-headed young\nfellow, and I had the best pair of grey horses in this district. I didn\u2019t\nbelieve in the underground river theory then, because I didn\u2019t know then\nwhat I did a little while after. One day I was driving my pair of greys\nalong the edge of the Blue Lake, when one of them slipped down the bank,\nfell into the water and sank. I soon got some men to help me drag the\nLake, but no horse could we find; so I sadly set off for home with my one\ngrey horse. I hadn\u2019t got very far along the road towards McDonald\u2019s Bay\nwhen a friend of mine met me, leading my lost grey horse. \u2018This is yours,\nis it not?\u2019 said my friend. It was mine, I knew it by the brand on him.\nNow, where do you think my friend found him? Why, in the water, on the\nother side of the hill that separates the Blue Lake from McDonald Bay.\nSo I knew that if my horse got underground in that way from Blue Lake to\nMcDonald Bay, there must be a river flowing under there.\u201d\n\nWhen the old man finished telling his story, he went away chuckling to\nhimself, and every one laughed at his joke, every one, that is, but Tom,\nwho went towards his uncle\u2019s house slowly, thinking, thinking, thinking\nabout the underground river.\n\nWhen Tom reached home tea had long been over, and to explain why he was\nso late he told them the story of the grey horse as it had been told by\nthe old grey-headed man. Tom\u2019s uncle said he also thought the Blue Lake\nwas part of an underground river, and Tom then determined to explore and\nfind the hidden openings where the river entered and went out of the big\nbasin.\n\nNext morning Tom set to work at once to explore the Blue Lake. First he\nmade a map of that part of the country. Then he drew a straight line from\nMcDonald Bay to the Lake, then marked it straight across to the opposite\nend of the Lake. This done, he made a sounding line of a long rope with\nheavy lead tied at the end, and leaning over the edge of the bank he\ntried banging his line against the place where he hoped the opening might\nbe. Many times he struck with his leaded line, but each time it hit\nagainst the bank. Tom sighed sadly, thinking that if only he lived in\nEngland instead of in Australia, there would come a little fairy, most\nlikely the Queen of the Fairies herself, and she would take him down\ninto the water and show him the hidden openings and other wonders. But\nAustralia was a new country, and very few people here believed there\nwere fairies anywhere.\n\nJust as Tom had sadly given up all hope of fairy aid, he felt the line\npulled gently, oh so gently at first, then harder and harder, until at\nlast he could scarcely hold it in his hands.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t give up,\u201d thought Tom, \u201cthe worst that can happen if I fall in\nis a wetting. I can easily swim out.\u201d\n\nHe held on and was gradually drawn down beneath the water; deeper and\ndeeper he went, until at last he was jerked on one side, and found\nhimself on the bank of a fiercely rushing torrent.\n\nTom\u2019s first thought was one of triumph. \u201cI knew it was an underground\nriver,\u201d he cried aloud. He jumped around as if a pistol shot had been\nfired, when a voice near by said, \u201cThe least you might do is to thank me\nfor bringing you here.\u201d There stood a tiny gnome dressed all in green.\n\u201cI pulled the leaded line that you threw down into the water, and I must\nsay that for a boy who has the sense to try and find the opening of the\nriver, you know very little about your country. Australia a new country\nindeed? It was thousands of years old before Britain was in existence.\nOh, I know what I\u2019m talking about, for I have lived underground for a\ngood many hundred years.\u201d\n\nTom was so thoroughly surprised that he stood quite still, and stared at\nthe little gnome, who continued: \u201cNo fairies either? Oh indeed, I could\ntell a different story. No one to help the poor little Australians? The\nhelpers are here right enough, but most little Australians not only don\u2019t\nwant the help of the gnomes and fairies, but don\u2019t believe there are such\nbeings anywhere. Why, even the one I have just helped has not a word of\nthanks for what I have done for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I do thank you, how much I can\u2019t say; I wanted to prove that the\nBlue Lake is a river, yes, I wanted to prove that more than anything else\nin the world, and I am so glad you have let me come to see it. Please may\nI explore some more of the river?\u201d\n\nNot only did the kind gnome allow Tom to see the wonders underground,\nbut he offered to act as guide. As soon as Tom had eaten a bunch of wild\ncherries that the gnome gave him, he was not only dry and comfortable,\nbut had become as small as the gnome, and could understand the talk of\nbird, beast and fish.\n\nTom was surprised at the great change, and told the gnome he had often\nenough eaten wild cherries before, and nothing strange had taken place;\nbut the gnome explained that only cherries picked by a gnome, and by him\ngiven to a human being, had the power to so change the one who ate them.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the gnome, \u201cyou shall see the source of this underground\nriver. It would take rather long to get there by walking, so we shall go\non my airship.\u201d\n\nHe gave a strange cry, and at once was answered by a bird which was\nsomething like an albatross. It flew down by the gnome.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the little fellow, at the same time jumping on the back of\nthe big bird. Tom took his place next to his guide, and at the gnome\u2019s\nbidding the bird rose and flew upstream. It was a delightful sensation of\nrushing, swooping, then rising again, making Tom just a little frightened\nat first; but the bird had such a broad back, with such a comfortable\nhollow place for Tom to nestle into, that he soon enjoyed his sail\nthrough the air.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t bother to look at the places we pass, just get used to this way\nof travel, and on our return journey I shall point out the things of\ninterest.\u201d\n\nTom obeyed, for he did not care to look down from his lofty perch; and by\nthe time they reached the source of the river he had become quite used\nto the rapid rush and could look about fearlessly. Now the river came\nbubbling out of the hills far away in the north of a South Australian\nspring which flowed along for a few miles and then seemed to trickle back\ninto the earth; but instead of doing that it trickled down into a cave, a\nbig wonderful cave, lighted up by thousands of strange white glistening\nthings, some hanging from the roof, others standing upright on the floor.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried Tom, clapping his hands joyously, \u201cit\u2019s the fairies\u2019 palace,\nI know.\u201d The gnome told him it was only one of many, for Australia was\njust honeycombed with them. A few had been found by the human beings, for\ninstance, the Narracoorte Caves and the Buchan Caves, both of which were\nreally far too near the surface of the earth for safety, that is, for the\nsafety of the fairies.\n\n\u201cThere are no human beings living near this cave for miles and miles,\u201d\nsaid Tom\u2019s guide; \u201cindeed, we feel sure some of our caves will never be\nfound, and this is one of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are no fairies here now?\u201d began Tom; but his question ended in a\nshriek, for first he felt some invisible hands pull his hair on one side,\nthen on the other, while some one else tickled his sides and tweaked his\nears and nose. All done so gently, that, after the first shriek, Tom felt\nashamed of his fear, especially as he saw the gnome grinning at him in\na friendly way. Tom entered into the joke too. \u201cI know who you are, you\nneed not hide; please, oh please let me see you.\u201d\n\n\u201cShut your eyes,\u201d said a sweet voice.\n\nTom obeyed. He felt something pass swiftly near his face, but he remained\nquite still with eyes closed. \u201cOpen,\u201d cried the same voice. He had not\nto be told twice, and the sight that met his eyes kept him as still and\nsilent as when he had been surprised at seeing the gnome. The place\nseemed to be just full of fairies, all dressed in green and gold, some\nsitting on the beautiful standing crystal, others floating in the air,\nothers peeping from behind the hanging crystals, while in front of Tom\nstood the Queen surrounded by her fairies in waiting. He knew she was the\nQueen by the crown on her head, and the sceptre in her hand.\n\n\u201cDo homage,\u201d whispered the gnome; so down on one knee went Tom and kissed\nthe tiny hand held out by Her Majesty.\n\n\u201cOh, you are beautiful, beautiful,\u201d said Tom. \u201cYou are as beautiful as\nthe golden wattle blossom on the green trees.\u201d What a laugh rang through\nthe crystal cave! A laugh like the tinkling of hundreds of tiny golden\nbells.\n\n\u201cLittle boy, if you had the magic sight with which to look at the wattle\ntrees, you would see that often when people think they are looking at\nwattle blossom they are really looking at the Fairies of the Sunny South.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy does the wattle blossom die so soon?\u201d said the Queen.\n\n\u201cIndeed,\u201d said Tom, \u201cI have often wondered why it lasts so short a time\nwhen once it is picked.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the fairies, who play amongst it, fly away from every branch the\nhumans break off from the trees.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shan\u2019t pick any more,\u201d said Tom; \u201cbut, oh, I do hope I shall have the\nmagic sight and be able to see you among the blossom next wattle time.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnless we give you the power, you will not be able to see us. We were\nhere when you came into the cave, and we meant to let you see us because\nwe know about the Magic Gun. We know too that you believe in and love\nfairies.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow you shall join in a game with my subjects. After that we must say\ngood-bye, for I and my fairies have much work to do.\u201d\n\nTom enjoyed the fairy game very much. The fairy by a wave of her sceptre,\ngave him the power to float through the air, and the game was one of\nhide and seek among the crystals. All too soon for Tom, the fairies, in\nobedience to a word from Her Majesty, ceased their play, and stood before\nher. She gave her commands, they said good-bye to Tom, and, in a moment\nhe and the gnome were alone once more.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t look so sad,\u201d said the gnome, \u201cfor I have good news for you. Just\nlisten to this. The fairy Queen was so pleased with you to-day, that\nshe has consented to a plan of mine for you to see just where the water\nenters and leaves the place known as the Blue Lake. When we get down to\nthe place where I pulled you into the water, I have permission to turn\nyou into a fish. You may stay in the Blue Lake for a whole day, and, as\nsoon as you swim through the place where the river flows into the sea,\nyou will turn into a boy again, and just swim to land.\u201d\n\nTom thanked the gnome, you may be sure, and was eager to be off at once.\nSo getting on to the big bird\u2019s back again, they flew quickly away on\nthe return journey. This time Tom had no fear. He looked down at the\nwater below, and at the banks of the river without the least tremble; but\nhe could not properly enjoy the wonderful things he saw because he was\nthinking all the time of the treat in store for him.\n\nArrived at the entrance to the lake, Tom was given to eat nothing\nmore than a blade of grass picked from the bank of the river. He felt\na shudder pass through him, and it seemed as if the water called and\nbeckoned to him\u2014he could not keep back.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, kind little gnome, I must jump into the water. Thank you!\nThank you! Thank you!\u201d\n\nHe found himself floating through the water murmuring \u201cThank you, thank\nyou,\u201d but already he was some distance across the Lake. What fun it was\nfloating about without the least effort! He swam across to the landing\nstage where the caretaker keeps the very boat Tom helped, one day, to\nclean. He poked his nose out to look at things.\n\n\u201cA fish! a fish! I\u2019m positive I saw a fish,\u201d exclaimed a man who was\nstanding on the steps talking to the caretaker.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m positive you did not see a fish, sir,\u201d answered the other. \u201cI have\nlived here long enough, and at first I fished often enough, but I never\nsaw a fish or felt a bite; nothing lives in this water.\u201d\n\nTom poked up his nose again, this time to see who was talking to the\nman-in-charge, for the voice of the man seemed familiar to him. The man\nwas his uncle. It was such a surprise to see his uncle there, that Tom\ngave a jump in the water. Both men were looking at the spot, and this\ntime it was the man-in-charge who cried, \u201cA fish! a fish! I\u2019m positive\nI saw a fish.\u201d Then he darted away to a place from which he drew forth\na rod, baited it, jumped into his boat, and with Tom\u2019s uncle rowed to a\nspot where Tom had been just a few minutes before.\n\n\u201cNow for some fun,\u201d thought Tom. \u201cI\u2019ll nibble the line some distance\nabove the hook, and they will get wild after a time.\u201d And they did get\nwild when time after time the line was dragged down, and yet the bait was\nnever touched. Tom at last grew quite careless, he nibbled nearer and\nnearer the hook, and at last was caught. How it happened he did not know,\nbut he was firmly hooked; it hurt his lip when he tried to back away, so\nhe at last allowed the man to pull him up into the boat. \u201cIf there is one\nfish there must be more,\u201d cried his uncle; \u201cunhook him and bait again.\u201d\n\nIt hurt Tom worse still when the hook was dragged out of his lip, but\nwhat his uncle said hurt the worst: it was, \u201cI\u2019ll put the poor thing out\nof its misery, give me your pocket knife.\u201d He held Tom, the fish, in his\nleft hand, took the knife, and was just going to stab when Tom cried out\nin agony, \u201cUncle, uncle, don\u2019t you know me.\u201d\n\nBoth men stopped what they were doing to look at the fish! \u201cIt spoke,\u201d\nsaid Tom\u2019s uncle. In his surprise he did not hold the poor fish so\ntightly. Tom gave a flap, a jump, and as he reached the water, he cried\naloud, \u201cHurrah! hurrah!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo more fishing here for me,\u201d said Tom\u2019s uncle. \u201cNor for me,\u201d said the\nman-in-charge, and they rowed quickly to land.\n\nTom lost no time in getting away, right away, from the place where he had\nso nearly met his death.\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t be inquisitive again as long as I\u2019m a fish,\u201d he said, and swam\nstraight for the place he had marked as the part where the river ran out\nfrom the Lake to join the sea. Ugh! as he floated through the big opening\ninto the underground river, he seemed to be able to feel the darkness,\nbecause it was so black, but after a little while his eyes got used to\nit, and presently he saw on either side of the river many beautiful\ncrystals which glowed softly. He knew he was now passing through another\ncave, and he wondered if any fairies were watching him. Then the river\nwound round again, and, lo! there was still another cave shining brightly\non all sides, for its wall roof and floor were almost covered with fungi.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE FISH GAVE A FLAP, A JUMP, AND REACHED THE WATER.\u201d]\n\n\u201cSome of us are here,\u201d cried a sweet voice, \u201cand you shall have just a\nglimpse of us at our work.\u201d At the same instant he saw fairies in all\ndirections, all hard at work, making the fungi grow brighter and brighter.\n\n\u201cTell me what you are doing,\u201d said Tom. \u201cHow do you make it all glow like\nthat?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fairies\u2019 secret, little man. Good-bye! Good-bye.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye,\u201d answered Tom. \u201cThank you for the glimpse.\u201d\n\nHe had scarcely finished speaking when he felt himself being borne along\nat an awful pace; the water was rushing to meet the sea. They met, and\nTom felt himself hurled down ever so far below the surface of the water,\nthen tossed up again. He had gone down as a fish, but he came up as a\nboy, and his wet clothes kept him from swimming very easily. Just as he\nthought he would not have strength to swim much further, he heard a voice\nsay\u2014\u201cThere is a boy sinking, pull over and take him in the boat.\u201d\n\nIn a few minutes he was safe among a boatload of picnickers who had\ndriven from the Mount to Dingley Dell, the beautiful place where Adam\nLindsay Gordon lived for many years.\n\n\u201cWhy, it is young Tom Jones,\u201d cried one of the rowers. \u201cDid you walk all\nthe way here from your uncle\u2019s place in the Mount? It is a good nineteen\nmiles.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered truthful Tom. \u201cI swam from the Blue Lake.\u201d\n\nBut no one would listen to his tale of adventures. They hurried him to\n\u201cAdam Lindsay Gordon\u2019s\u201d Cottage, wrapped him in shawls, and soon drove\naway with him to a doctor, because, they said, he was raving. In vain\nTom pointed to a nasty jagged cut in his lip, and told them he had been\na fish for a time. They would not listen, and even to this day, if he\nbegins to tell his wondrous adventures, they smile so broadly that Tom\ngives up the attempt to make them know the truth about the river theory.\n\nTom knows what he knows, however, and he is certain he has not seen the\nlast of the fairies, but that in the wattle blossom season they will\nallow him to see them among the golden blossoms on the river banks.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF THE YARRA YARRA\n\n(Ever-flowing)\n\n[Illustration: \u201cBARAK SNATCHED THE HONEYCOMB AWAY, AND PUT IT IN HIS\nMOUTH.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: The Origin of the Yarra Yarra (Ever-flowing)]\n\n\nLong years ago, before the white men came to the Sunny South, there lived\na little black boy with his mother and father near the happy hunting\ngrounds among the Baw Baw Mountains. Barak was the little boy\u2019s name.\n\nBarak was all _very much_ of everything about him. He was _very_ fat\nand shiny, his eyes were _very_ black, his hair _very_ frizzy, his nose\n_very_ flat, and his lips _very_ thick, his laugh _very_ jolly, and his\nheart _very_ kind.\n\nOne day his mother said to him, \u201cBarak, your mother is sad; honey is the\nonly medicine that will make her happy. Go, find the wild honey and bring\nsome in the honeycomb.\u201d\n\nBarak being very kind, went to look for honey for his mother. A long,\nlong way he went before he found a honey tree, and when he found one he\nsat down under it and cried, for a big, big bear was licking his paws\nafter having eaten all the honey.\n\n\u201cBoo hoo! Boo hoo!\u201d cried Barak. \u201cMother is sad because she has no honey,\nand you have eaten it all up.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood little fat boy,\u201d said the bear, \u201cthere is another honey tree behind\nthis one. I am very thirsty, and the water is a long way from here; bring\nme some water, and I will climb the tree and give you honey.\u201d\n\nBarak dried his tears and smiled.\n\n\u201cGood, big bear, bring me the honey first, then I will get the water for\nyou.\u201d\n\nNow the bear was very thirsty indeed after having eaten so much sweet\nhoney, and the sun was shining so fiercely that he really felt too hot\nand tired to walk to the water, while he could easily climb the honey\ntree. Barak stood under the tree, watching the bear, who quickly brought\ndown a small piece of honeycomb.\n\n\u201cGive it to me to take to my mother,\u201d said Barak.\n\n\u201cWhen I have drunk the water, you may have the honeycomb,\u201d said the bear,\nwatching the golden honey drop slowly from the comb. But even while he\nwas speaking, Barak snatched the honeycomb away, and when the bear tried\nto get it back again, the little boy put it in his mouth, and the honey\ndropped down his throat.\n\n\u201cWhere is the water you promised me?\u201d growled the bear.\n\n\u201cI promised to get you some water if you gave me some honey, but you\nwould not give me the honey.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have eaten the honey,\u201d cried the big bear.\n\n\u201cBut you did not give it me, big bear; I took it.\u201d\n\nThen the big bear took up stones to kill the fat little black boy, who\nran quickly behind a tree, and there was such a chasing around and around\nthat tree that at last Barak got so tired he thought he must fall to the\nground, but he kept on running, and he cried aloud to the Great Spirit to\nhelp him.\n\nNow the Great Spirit knew that Barak had wanted the honey for his mother,\nand that he had only eaten it so that the big bear should not get it\nagain. So when he heard the little boy cry to him for help when the big\nbear\u2019s breath was hot on him as he ran, the kind Great Spirit was sorry\nfor the little boy who had only been foolish.\n\n\u201cI will send a Shining One to help him,\u201d he said.\n\nHow glad Barak was when a Shining One suddenly caught him up in his arms\nand ran away with him. It was a hot, hot day; but Barak could hear,\nfirst, the gurgle of a stream, then the sound of deep running water, and\nas he peeped over the shoulder of the Shining One to see if the bear were\nvery near, he saw a strange sight, for as the Shining One ran, he dragged\nhis right foot along the ground, and the earth opened and water flowed in\nthe opening.\n\nIn and out among the trees, often doubling back, then on again, ran the\nShining One, with the bear following fast. All day long they went, until\nthe sun went down like a ball of fire and the moon rose looking very much\nlike the fiery sun, showing that the next day would be another scorcher.\n\nIn the moonlight the big bear looked very terrible.\n\n\u201cHe is coming nearer!\u201d cried Barak. \u201cOh, don\u2019t let him catch me!\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid,\u201d said the Shining One, in a quiet voice that made Barak\nfeel happy even in his fear. \u201cTell me what you can see following the\nbear?\u201d\n\n\u201cYarra Yarra it is,\u201d said the boy joyfully; \u201ca deep swift river flows in\nthe track you make with your foot as you pass along.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd look in front of you now, what do you see there?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe sea, the beautiful sea,\u201d said Barak.\n\n\u201cWe will go on the sea to the Great Spirit who sent me when you called to\nHim for help; but the bear, who only thinks of revenge, will be caught\nbetween the river and the deep blue sea.\u201d\n\nAnd so it happened.\n\nBarak was taken in the Shining One\u2019s arms right up to the Great Spirit\nwho had heard and answered his cry for help, and the bear, who only\nwanted revenge, was drowned.\n\nBarak\u2019s mother waited long for the honey. When she found no dear little\nblack son coming back to her, she followed his tracks until she came to\nthe tree from which the chase had begun. There she found marks of her\ndear boy\u2019s feet, and knew he had been chased by a big, big bear. There,\ntoo, she found, where all had been dry and hard, a hole in the earth, as\nif some one had thrust in their foot with great force, and from this hole\nflowed water.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cFINDING THE FOOTPRINT OF THE \u2018SHINING ONE.\u2019\u201d]\n\nBarak\u2019s mother followed the flowing water for many days, for she could\nnot go fast like the Shining One. At last she came to the place where the\nwater flowed into the sea, and there, on the seashore, was the big bear\nquite dead and harmless. Far away over the seas was a bright, beautiful\nlight, and even as the lonely mother stood looking at it, the bright\nclouds parted, there came forth the Shining One, and as he left the\ngolden glory Barak\u2019s face shone out. He beckoned with his hand, and his\nmother heard him say, \u201cCome with the Shining One, mother; I am waiting\nfor you here.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nFORGET-ME-NOT\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE MAN IN THE MOON.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: For-get-me-not.]\n\n\n\u201cMarie, Marie, go and make those boys cease their quarrelling.\u201d It was\nthe old housekeeper who ruled over \u201cSunny Farm\u201d whose voice could be\nheard calling to Marie, her daughter, and the boys who were quarrelling\nwere the seven sons of King Olaf, who, wishing them to be strong sturdy\nfellows, had sent them to live at a farm in the country, for they had\nall been ill, and the sweet fresh air and pure milk and the outdoor life\nwould do more to make them strong and healthy than all the medicine in\nthe world. So said the Court physician (who perhaps was tired of having\nto doctor such troublesome patients).\n\nAt first they enjoyed the free country life, but after a short time they\ntired of it, and longed for the excitement of town and the palace. At\nleast, six out of the seven princes were tired of it, but the seventh,\nPrince Charlie, wished he might stay there always. His days were always\nfull and happy, for, unless his brothers insisted upon his joining in\ntheir rough games, he followed the farmer at the animals\u2019 feeding time,\nwatched the chaff-cutting, and the hundred and one interesting things\nat the farm, and when he was tired would go indoors and sit in the big\ncool kitchen, where he was sure to find Marie, gentle, blue-eyed Marie,\nbusily sewing, or, perchance, reading a book. Marie always greeted his\nentrance with a smile, and willingly read to him, or told him a story\nwhile she plied her needle. To-day, however, the princes had insisted\nthat Charlie must join in their game, which consisted of each throwing up\na golden ball at the same time to see which could throw his the highest.\nThey all threw their balls at the same time, so, of course, it was quite\nimpossible to say whose went highest, and a great noise and squabbling\nensued. Such a noise that it disturbed the farmer\u2019s wife in the kitchen,\nso she sent her little daughter Marie to make peace amongst them.\n\nOut ran Marie to do her mother\u2019s bidding, but at the door she saw an old\nbent man with a bundle of sticks on his back, and a wallet at his side.\nHe was listening to the great hubbub coming from the field where the\nprinces were quarrelling.\n\n\u201cHey day! where away so fast?\u201d he asked, as Marie was running past him\nafter having made him a deep curtsey.\n\n\u201cMother sent me to stop that dreadful noise, but I know it will be hard\nwork. They are growing more and more disagreeable every day.\u201d\n\nShe ran on, and, when she reached the princes, they were actually\nfighting with their fists. The only one who would listen to her pleading\nwas Prince Charlie, who readily left his brothers and went with her back\nto the house.\n\nWhen they entered the kitchen, the old bent man was enjoying a cup of\ntea. He looked up and asked how Marie had managed the quarrel, as the\nnoise seemed as great as ever.\n\n\u201cThey would not stop, at least, I mean that six of them would not. Of\ncourse Prince Charlie came away. He does not care for fights.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, I\u2019ll remember that,\u201d said the Old Man, and that night, when the\nprinces were in bed and asleep, the Old Man (who was no less a personage\nthan the Old Man in the Moon, who had come to the earth for various\nreasons) went to the bedroom where lay the seven brothers, opened the\ngolden ball of each (with the exception of Prince Charlie\u2019s), then,\nholding each of the six in turn by the hair with his magic tweezers, he\nkept them suspended in the air until their size had become so small that\nthey could easily be put in their golden balls, popped them in, closed\nthe balls, and placed the six of them in his wallet.\n\nAll this had been done without a word being said to the farmer or his\nwife. The Old Man came back to the room, and sat down again by the fire,\nremarking that he would go to bed now, as the moon would be level with\nthe earth at four o\u2019clock, and he must be there punctually to step in\nand do his work. They had all risen to go to their rooms, when great\nthundering knocks resounded on the door, and a voice cried\u2014\n\n\u201cOpen in the King\u2019s name!\u201d\n\nThe farmer hastily unlocked the door, and there entered Prince Claude,\nthe cousin of the seven princes. He was followed by several soldiers.\n\n\u201cWhere is the King?\u201d he demanded.\n\n\u201cIn the palace, I suppose,\u201d answered the farmer.\n\n\u201cThe King is here,\u201d said the Prince; \u201cdo you not know that the late King,\nthe father of the seven princes, died yesterday, and I have come to take\nhis eldest son back to the palace to be King in his father\u2019s place?\u201d\n\nThe farmer started to go to the room where the seven princes had slept,\nbut he was stopped by the Old Man of the Moon.\n\n\u201cYou need not go,\u201d said the Old Man, \u201cit is too late. This evening, after\nthey had gone to bed, I did what your wife has so often asked me to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was that?\u201d they cried out together.\n\n\u201cWhy, I took means to stop their quarrelling.\u201d\n\nThen he told them how he had done it, showed them the tweezers with which\nhe had worked the magic, showed them also the six golden balls containing\nthe six princes.\n\n\u201cThere are only six,\u201d said the farmer\u2019s wife.\n\n\u201cAh, yes, Prince Charlie ceased quarrelling when told to do so, therefore\nhe is still sleeping in bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe, then, must be King in his father\u2019s place,\u201d said Prince Claude, but\nhe did not mean what he said, for he had quickly formed the wicked plan\nof doing to Prince Charlie what the Old Man had done to the other princes.\n\nWhen every one was in bed, and the house quite still and silent, Prince\nClaude went to the room where the Old Man slept, quietly took the magic\ntweezers and the wallet, and in a very few minutes had secured poor\nPrince Charlie in his own golden ball, and placed it with the other six\nin the wallet which he then placed by the Old Man\u2019s side again.\n\nAt six o\u2019clock, when the farmer roused the household, it was discovered\nthat not only had the Old Man gone, but Prince Charlie had disappeared.\nPrince Claude pretended he knew nothing about it, and soon gladly set\noff for the palace, for he was the one who must now be King. Poor little\nMarie went about her work very sadly, taking long walks when she had time\nto do so, and asking every one she met if they had seen any one answering\nto the description of Prince Charlie.\n\nAlmost a year had gone by, when, one day, as she wandered about further\nfrom home than usual, she heard some one moaning, and going towards the\nspot from whence the sound came, she saw a man tied to a tree, his face\nall swollen and looking full of agony.\n\n\u201cWater, water, for the love of heaven, a few drops of water!\u201d\n\n\u201cPoor man,\u201d said tender-hearted Marie, and she soon brought him some\nwater in her hat from the stream near by.\n\n\u201cYou do not know me,\u201d moaned the man, \u201cbut I know you, you are Marie of\n\u2018Sunny Farm.\u2019\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMARIE FINDING THE MAN.\u201d]\n\nOf course Marie asked her usual question, and this time she got an\nanswer. The man told her that he was Prince Claude. This she could not\nbelieve at first, for he was dressed in rags. He told her what he had\ndone to Prince Charlie, how he had also gone to the palace, and had been\ncrowned King, but that his conscience had troubled him so much that he\nhad done many wicked and foolish things to try and forget his sin. He\ntold her, too, how his subjects had rebelled against him, and had driven\nhim away from the palace, and that robbers had set upon him, robbed and\nbeaten him, taken away his good clothes, and put those rags upon him, and\nhad then tied him to a tree, where, all through the hot day, he had been\nin sight of the water, and could not get a drop.\n\n\u201cYou have been very wicked,\u201d said Marie, \u201cbut at least you have told me\nwhere to look for dear Prince Charlie. I cannot cut the leather which\nbinds you to the tree, so, before I set out to find Prince Charlie, I\nshall run back to the farm, and get my father to come and set you free.\u201d\n\nThe farmer came, but long before he arrived Prince Claude was dead, and\nall that could be done for the wretched man was to bury him.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMARIE GOING TO THE MOON.\u201d]\n\nNot another instant did Marie lose. At once she set off on her long\njourney to the point where the moon touches the earth. For days and days\nshe walked, begging food at houses by the way, and at last she reached\nthe desired point; but, alas! when she saw the Old Man and asked him to\ngive her back Prince Charlie\u2019s ball, he told her that the balls were not\nin his keeping, and the only one to help her was the boatman who ferried\na boat across daily from the moon to the stars, for the seven balls had\nbeen placed in the sky as seven stars. They waited until the queer boat\ncame alongside the moon, and the Old Man helped Marie into the boat.\n\nWhen the boatman heard Marie\u2019s story and her request, he at once steered\ntowards a point where shone seven stars in this fashion.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe one in the centre shone brightly, but those around it were dim and\ngave but little light. \u201cThat is Prince Charlie\u2019s, I am sure,\u201d said Marie,\n\u201cthe one in the middle;\u201d and when she looked closely at it, she found a\nlittle mark that Prince Charlie had made upon it one day. How she thanked\nthe boatman! But the boatman smiled at her sadly, for he knew that any\none once touched by the magic tweezers and enclosed in the golden ball,\ncould never be brought to life again.\n\nThe boatman rowed her back to the moon, and the Old Man helped her out\ngently and lovingly. \u201cKind little girl,\u201d he said, \u201cyou can never see\nbonnie Prince Charlie again in this world, but take the ball to the\nearth, bury it in your garden, weep tears of loving sorrow over the tiny\ngrave, and you will be rewarded.\u201d\n\nMarie clasped the ball lovingly. When she reached the earth again, she\nset off at once for home, hardly stopping to rest or eat by the way, for\nshe wished to see what would happen when she buried the golden ball.\n\n\u201cOh, my dear! my dear!\u201d cried her mother, when Marie returned, \u201chow I\nhave missed you!\u201d\n\n\u201cLittle one, you must never go away again; we cannot spare you,\u201d said her\nfather.\n\n\u201cI shall never leave you again, dear mother and father; for all I love is\nhere now.\u201d\n\nShe buried the golden ball in her garden just under her bedroom window,\nand indeed she _did_ water the little grave with the tears of love, as\nthe Old Man had told her to do, and the next time he came to visit the\nfarm, she led him to the little grave, and, lo, it was covered with a\npretty blue flower which had a tiny golden centre.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the Old Man, \u201cdid I not tell you you would be rewarded?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe blue eyes and the golden hair of Prince Charlie will never be\nforgotten now; they seem to say to me, \u2018Forget-me-not, forget-me-not,\u2019\u201d\nanswered Marie.\n\nAnd ever since that time the tiny flower has been called \u201cForget-me-not.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PALACE OF TRUTH\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHEY CAME IN SIGHT OF AN ENORMOUS TREE, UPON WHICH GREW\nGOLDEN APPLES.\u201d]\n\n[Illustration: THE PALACE OF TRUTH.]\n\n\nThere was once a King who had three sons, three such haughty sons, indeed\nthey were as bad as it was possible for princes to be. Their mother had\ndied when the youngest was a baby, and every one had petted and spoilt\nthem until they had become unbearable. At last the Queen of the Fairies\ndecided that if they were to do any good in the world as Princes, she had\nbetter have a hand in their education. Tutors they had had until at last\nthere was not to be found any one in the Kingdom who would undertake to\nteach them. The present one had given notice that he meant to leave, but\nthe Fairy Queen stopped that.\n\nTheir last day (for some time) amongst mortals had come. Oh, it had been\na terrible day for every one in the Palace! It seemed as if the Princes\nhad gone mad, and they had ended up by breaking every piece of crockery\nin every bedroom, little dreaming what hard work it would mean for them\nin Fairyland.\n\nNight came, the three Princes were in bed and fast asleep. Suddenly they\nawoke, hearing their names distinctly called. Each Prince sat up in bed,\ngazing, in something like fear, at a lovely little vision, the Queen of\nthe Fairies herself. They were only conscious of a beautiful face, above\na shimmer of gold, looking sadly at them. \u201cPrinces you are called, but,\nunless the Fairies themselves help you, you will never be worthy of the\ntitle. You must come with me to the \u2018Palace of Truth,\u2019\u201d said the Queen.\n\n\u201cOnly give us one more chance,\u201d they all said together.\n\n\u201cYou have had too many chances already; get up and put on your clothes.\u201d\n\nThey obeyed in silence.\n\n\u201cTurn out your pockets.\u201d They obediently pulled out string, knives, and\nother things.\n\n\u201cStand up in front of me and look at me.\u201d The three Princes fixed their\neyes upon the Fairy\u2019s face. She waved her golden wand gently to and fro,\nand, as she waved it over them, they gradually grew smaller and smaller,\nuntil at last they were as tiny as it is possible for human beings to\nbecome.\n\n\u201cNow I shall call my carriage, and you may drive with me.\u201d She called,\nher voice sounding like the tinkle of a silver bell, and in answer\nto her call, there came through the open window a carriage made of\nmother-of-pearl and drawn by butterflies. The drive really was\ndelightful, and when they found themselves rapidly going over the Black\nForest, they looked at each other joyfully.\n\n\u201cWe have never been allowed to go near the Black Forest,\u201d said Prince\nThomas.\n\n\u201cNo, that was the one thing we could not persuade any one to let us do,\nbecause it is haunted by hobgoblins and devils,\u201d said Prince Richard.\n\n\u201cYou are going there, now,\u201d replied the Fairy, and to their astonishment\nthe butterflies flew down to the ground in the very heart of the Forest.\nThe three Princes got out of the carriage at a sign from the Fairy Queen.\nShe then told them that their education in Fairyland had begun, and they\nmust walk through the Forest until they arrived at the Palace of Truth.\n\nShe gave them each a present. Prince Thomas received a tiny\nwalking-stick. Prince Richard two small round stones. Prince Henry a\nsmall box. The Princes thought these were stupid presents, but were\nafraid to say so; only they determined to throw them away as soon as they\nwere alone.\n\nAll too soon the Fairy Queen drove away in her carriage, and the boys\nin fear took hold of hands, and tried to feel brave, but oh dear! how\nfrightened they were! As long as they kept to a narrow path, which\nseemed to go on and on for miles, nothing happened, but if they wandered\never such a little way from the path, they heard growls and horrid\nnoises, and saw creatures glaring at them. So they kept to the path and\nwalked forward until they felt so weary that they really had to rest; so\nthey sat down on the edge of the path, in the shade of a tree, and as\nthey sat there they heard a curious grind, grind, grinding noise as of\ntwo stones grinding something between them.\n\nTheir curiosity at last made them go to try and discover what the noise\nreally was, but, when they attempted to go near the bush from behind\nwhich the noise came, they were driven back by the silly little Stick\nthat the Fairy had given Prince Thomas. It looked such a funny little\nthing as it went hoppity, hoppity, hop on its one leg that they could\ndo nothing but roll on the ground and laugh, and then the silly Stick\nstood bolt upright with its crook turned towards them, and somehow it\nlooked exactly like their last teacher. You see, it really was their last\nteacher turned into a stick by the Fairy, and given this work to do.\nWhen the Princes discovered the likeness in the Stick to the tutor, they\nlaughed more than ever\u2014indeed they laughed until they could laugh no more.\n\nAs they lay very still on the ground, tired with laughing, they heard\nthe grinding sound cease. Prince Thomas jumped up quickly, and ran to\nlook behind the bush. This time the Stick did not attempt to stop him.\nThere he found three plates of bread and milk, three cups of coffee, and\nthree slices of bread and butter. How the Princes enjoyed that meal,\nprepared by the Two Stones who, of course, were the two cooks from the\nPalace transformed by the Fairy. After breakfast, they went on their\njourney again, not because they wished to go, for indeed they wanted to\nlie still under the trees and be lazy, but the Stick drove them along,\nand, if one of them dared to go away from the right path, the Stick just\nwhacked him until he went back to the path.\n\nAll day they went along that narrow path, only stopping for meals, and,\nwhen evening came, they were really tired and gladly followed the Stick\nto the shelter of a bush, where, to their surprise, they found three nice\nsoft blankets. It did not take them long to roll themselves up snugly,\nand they were soon fast asleep. I know you have guessed that the blankets\ncame out of the wee box given by the Fairy to Prince Henry.\n\nFor days and days they marched through the Forest, never seeming to get\nany nearer the end of it. Each day was just like that first one\u2014The Stick\ncompelled them to keep to the road, their meals were prepared by the Two\nStones, and their blankets spread from the mysterious box.\n\nAt last one day they came in sight of an enormous tree, upon which grew\ngolden apples, and, for the first time during their journey in the\nForest, they saw people. But were they people? they looked like it,\nexcept for their noses, which were dreadfully long. Noses of all lengths\nthey saw. There was one man whose nose wound round his legs and tripped\nhim up when he tried to walk. \u201cKeep away, keep away,\u201d shouted this man,\n\u201ctake warning by me; if you eat of the fruit of this tree, if you even\ntake a bite, you cannot leave off.\u201d Even while he spoke, he kept on\ngrabbing and eating. Fortunately for the Princes the Stick kept strict\nwatch, and would not even let them go on the side near the tree, and when\nthey were safely past, he hopped behind, to protect any of them running\nback to the fascinating fruit trees.\n\nBut soon they forgot all about the tree at the sight which met their\neyes. Straight in front of them was a beautiful Palace, built of pure\nglass, and the narrow path along which they had journeyed for so many\ndays led up to the very steps of the Palace. Hoppity, hoppity, hop went\nthe Stick, leading the way. Open flew the door to admit them, but it\nclosed with a bang when they were inside. Hoppity, hoppity, hop went the\nStick down the big hall to a room at the far end, and when the Princes\nwent into the room, the Stick hung itself upon a nail by the door, its\nwork for the day being finished.\n\nThe room, which was to be their dining-room, play-room, and bedroom\ncombined, for many days to come, was clean, but very plainly furnished\nwith three beds, three chairs, a table, and an enormous cupboard on the\ntop of which stood a big Noah\u2019s Ark. The Princes tried to open the big\ncupboard, but could not; then they thought they would get the Noah\u2019s Ark\ndown and play with that, but it was so far out of their reach that even\na chair held on top of another chair standing on the table was not high\nenough to get it down. The Princes gazed sadly at the coveted toy.\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d said Prince Thomas, after some time, \u201cI wish it would _come_\ndown.\u201d No sooner had he uttered the wish than the little men and animals\nall came rushing pell-mell from their Ark, and were soon on the table.\n\u201cWhat fun,\u201d cried the Prince, \u201cto play with things that can come to you\nof their own accord.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE TOYS RUNNING AWAY.\u201d]\n\nFor some time the strange new toy charmed the three Princes, but it\nwas impossible for such spoiled boys to play together for long without\na quarrel, and a big quarrel began between Henry and Richard for the\npossession of the camels. They quarrelled so badly that fists began to be\nused, and only stopped when Thomas called to them to look at the funny\nplaythings, for they were all running away. Off the table scampered\nanimals, as well as Noah and the other men, and before the Princes could\nstop them, they had climbed up the cupboard, gone into their Ark and shut\nthe door. No amount of coaxing could bring them down this time, and as\nthe top of the cupboard was quite out of reach, the Princes decided to go\nto bed.\n\nA real bed was very comfortable after having lain on the ground in the\nForest for so many nights. They were so excited with the strange Palace\nand the wonderful Noah\u2019s Ark that they could not sleep, so they talked\nfor a long time\u2014at least, Thomas and Henry talked, but Prince Richard\nshut his eyes and tried to sleep. His brothers\u2019 voices kept him awake,\nand by degrees the bed which had seemed so comfortable grew harder and\nharder; really he was growing more and more grumbly, although he did not\nknow it. He turned from side to side impatiently, then, alas! a grumble\nslipped out: \u201cBother this bed, it is so hard that I\u2014\u2014\u201d The sentence was\nnever finished, for the bed shot up on its end and sent Richard sprawling\nto the floor in the midst of the blankets. The worst of it was that the\nbed refused to allow him to sleep in it that night. There it stood up on\nend, and the united efforts of the three Princes could not bring it into\nits usual position. The other Princes invited Richard into their beds,\nbut as soon as he attempted to get in, the bed began to rise upon end,\nand he was tumbled out.\n\n\u201cNo use,\u201d said Richard, \u201cI know it is my own fault; I grumbled, so I must\nsleep on the floor to-night. The Fairies mean to punish me.\u201d\n\nAfter breakfast next morning the Princes intended to play with the\nanimals of the Noah\u2019s Ark again, but no amount of wishing would bring\nthem down from their resting-place, for morning is the time for lessons,\nnot for toys.\n\nWhile they were still standing in front of the cupboard, looking up at\nthe Ark and wishing their hardest, the Stick came in and drove them out\nof the room, down the big hall, and into a small room. There he left\nthem, and, as the door banged behind him, they looked round the room in\ncuriosity. It seemed to be full of dead flies, butterflies, and other\ninsects, and while they were wondering why they should be brought into\nwhat seemed to be a burying-place for dead insects, the Queen of the\nFairies appeared before them.\n\n\u201cPrinces,\u201d she said scornfully, \u201cthese poor dumb things which could not\nprotect themselves were tormented and killed by Princes, who are not\nworthy even of the term boy, which stands for bravery\u2014and Princes should\nbe the leaders of boys, the bravest of the brave.\u201d She looked terrible in\nher anger. The poor Princes dared not utter a word.\n\nShe went on, \u201cYou had your \u2018fun,\u2019 as you called it, now you have got to\npay for it, and this is the price. Every day from morning till night, you\nmust stay in this room, and work at these poor little insects. Every leg\nand every wing must be put on its owner\u2019s body in the right place. When\nall are ready, I shall appear.\u201d\n\nThe Fairy vanished, and the Princes, who had learned to obey during their\njourney through the Forest, set to work. Weary work it was too, and the\nworst of it was, that, if one of the Princes grumbled ever so little, the\ninsect upon which he was working fell to pieces, and the parts had to be\npatiently searched for, and put together again.\n\nAt last, however, every insect was complete, and just as the Princes gave\na sigh of relief as they looked at their finished task, there stood the\nQueen of the Fairies before them. No anger was in her face now, but a\nsweet loving smile. She gently waved her wand over the dead insects, and,\nlo, a buzzing and humming immediately began as they stirred, flew round\nthe room, and out of the window into the fresh air.\n\nThe Queen looked sadly at the Princes. \u201cIf you had been cruel only, your\nwork would now be done, your education finished, but, alas! there are two\nmore rooms through which you must go. The work will be hard, but if you\nwill remember that grumbling undoes the work you grumble about, your task\nwill be much easier than this sad one has been to you.\u201d\n\nShe vanished as suddenly as she had appeared, and the faithful old Stick\ncame hoppity, hoppity, hop into the room, and, following it, they were\nled into a big room full of broken crockery. They gave a start of dismay\nas they saw how much there was. Could it be possible they had destroyed\nso many things? \u201cLook,\u201d said Prince Thomas, pointing to six big tables,\n\u201cthere are the bedroom sets we smashed up the day the Fairies took us\naway. I do wish we had been wiser, then we would not have had to work so\nhard now.\u201d His brothers agreed, and although this was rather a selfish\nmotive for wishing to be good, still it was a big step in the right\ndirection, and the first real step they had taken towards going back to\ntheir father\u2019s Palace.\n\nThey set to work with a will, patiently putting the big pieces in order,\nand then searching for the small bits to fit in. A long, long time it\ntook, and knowing that the least grumble might mean the whole of the\ncrockery falling to pieces, and the pieces all having to be put together\nagain, they tried so hard to be patient that not a single grumble escaped\none of them.\n\nWhat joy when the whole of the things were mended! This time the Fairy\ndid not appear, but they were led by the Stick into another room full of\nqueer rolls of paper. What could they be? Looking closely at them, they\nsoon discovered. Alas! all the bad or disobedient or rude words they had\never spoken were plainly to be seen. \u201cOh dear!\u201d said Prince Richard, \u201ccan\nit be possible that we were such bad, disobedient, rude boys? we should\nhave had more niceness than that.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d replied his brothers.\n\nAh, if they had but known it, that speech showed they were a good\ndistance on the road to \u201chome.\u201d As they spoke the Fairy appeared and told\nthem they must rub out the awful words, and then bury the rolls in the\ngarden. It was not very difficult work, only tedious, and the more they\nrubbed, the sorrier they became for having said such words. When three\nrolls were cleaned, they each shouldered one, and bore them through the\nopen French window, and down a long winding path, which led to a flower\ngarden quite out of sight of the room in which they had worked at the\nrubbing. There were many mounds in this garden, and on each grew pretty\nflowers.\n\nThe Princes set to work to dig a hole for each bundle. This was quite a\nfresh kind of labour for them, and at first they thought it great fun\nto use a pick and shovel, but, before long, each Prince felt his back\naching rather badly. The pain grew greater and greater until at last the\ngrumbling began. It did not go on very long, however, for the sight of\nthe three rolls, tumbling along the garden path, making straight for the\nhouse, made them remember the Fairy\u2019s caution about grumbling. At once\nthey ran after the rolls meaning to bring them back, but no matter how\nfast they ran, the rolls kept some distance in front of them, and reached\nthe house first.\n\n\u201cPositively no more grumbling for me,\u201d remarked Prince Richard.\n\n\u201cNor for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor for me,\u201d echoed his brothers.\n\nWhen they had carried the rolls back once more, and had dug until their\nbacks ached, they wisely lay down on the ground and rested, then set to\nwork again, and soon finished the digging and buried the rolls.\n\nWhen they brought the second lot of rolls to be buried, they were\ndelighted to see pretty roses growing out of the mounds where they had\nburied their first burdens.\n\nAt last, after many weeks of patient work, the room was cleared of rolls,\nand the Princes waited for the Fairy to appear, or for the Stick to come\nand lead them to another room. Neither of these things happening, and\nseeing the door of the room open (it had been closed while they worked at\nthe rubbing) they went out into the great hall. Every door on either side\nof the hall was open, and boys of all sizes were hurrying along, either\ncoming out of the rooms, running along the hall, or going out of the big\ndoor at the end, while an old man, bent nearly double, rang a big bell\nand called loudly:\n\n\u201cExamination day is here, hurry to the Examination room, the Fairies are\nwaiting there.\u201d\n\nHe kept on repeating this, as he walked up and down, and the Princes\nquite meant to go to the Examination, but their attention was attracted\nby a queer-looking boy whose arms flapped about as if he thought they\nwere wings, whose head was rather like a big bluebottlefly\u2019s, and who\nseemed to be trying to climb up the wall, at the same time making a\nbuzzing noise with his mouth.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d asked one of the Princes.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m (buzz) going to the (buzz, buzz) examination (buzz, buzz, buzz).\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why are you doing that sort of thing; do you think you are a fly?\u201d\n\n\u201c(Buzz) I\u2019m only (buzz, buzz, buzz) going to the door (buzz, buzz).\u201d\nHe looked at his questioners in a surprised way. Prince Thomas began\nto answer, but he never finished that answer, for the door closed with\na resounding bang. They ran to it and tried to open it, but it was too\nfirmly closed against them. It had opened for those ready for examination\nto go through, and they had missed their chance. However, the old man\nwho had been calling every one to go to the Examination, did not mean to\nmiss his chance. It was the rule that those unfit for examination, who\nremained in the hall after the big door closed, should be taken by the\nold man, and given to the gnomes for slaves.\n\nImagine the Princes\u2019 surprise when they found themselves picked up and\nthrust into a great leather bag in company with the buzzing boy, and a\nfew other queer looking creatures who bore some resemblance to boys. The\nold man carried them to the foot of a great mountain, rolled away a stone\nwhich concealed a hole in the mountain, and calling out, \u201cOnly eight\nthis time, here they come,\u201d emptied the bag into the opening. Down fell\nthe victims, and when they reached the bottom, the gnomes danced around\nthem in glee. The new-comers were quickly set to work, and kept at it\ntoo, and it was a good thing the Princes had learned patience in the\nPalace of Truth, or they would have grumbled and received the horrible\npunishments they saw inflicted on the buzzing boy and the others who had\nfailed to learn patience during their trial time in Fairyland.\n\nOf course the gnomes knew there must be some mistake as soon as they saw\nthe Princes. _They_ were not failures, but they kept them as slaves,\nput chains on them, and made them work as hard as the others had to,\nmaking gold for the earth. How much time the Princes spent in gnomeland\nthey never knew, but they always kept a sharp look out for any chance to\nescape, and at last it came.\n\nThe gnomes were holding a great festival, as they always do once every\nthousand years, and the right time for it came while the Princes were\nwith them. The slaves were set to work alone, but most of them went to\nsleep when there were no gnomes\u2019 goads to make them keep awake.\n\nFirst the gnomes had great jumping trials, when they jumped over the\ngreat fires, seeing, not who could jump highest, but who could bear to\njump nearest the fire. Then they drank quantities of a very fiery liquid\nthat made them first fight with each other, and then fall into a heavy\nsleep. The Princes knew this sleep would last for many hours, so now was\nthe chance they had longed for, and must at once use. Quickly they filed\nthrough the heavy chains which bound them, and ran off in what they hoped\nwas the right direction. On and on they ran, although soon tired with\ntheir unaccustomed exercise; but success meant freedom from slavery, so,\nthough very tired, they persevered in their running.\n\nAt length they saw a point of light, and when they reached it, lo! it led\nthem out into a beautiful meadow filled with green grass and flowers.\nThey threw themselves at full length on the sweet smelling grass, so\ndelightful to touch and see and smell after their long imprisonment in\nthe gold-mine.\n\nPresently Prince Thomas said, \u201cThere is a great thing like an umbrella\nhere, if you will help me, I shall climb to the top, see what there is\nto be seen, and tell you, for we must soon decide in which direction to\njourney on.\u201d\n\nThe great thing was a big toadstool.\n\nWith his brothers\u2019 help the Prince climbed to the top, but almost at\nonce he took a flying leap to the ground again, crying, \u201cHide, get under\nthis shelter, for there is a great monster coming this way.\u201d\n\nThey crept under the toadstool, but to their horror, the monster stopped\nquite close to them, and began to think aloud.\n\n\u201cEnemies encompass me on every side, my nephew has secretly been working\nagainst me, telling lies, and stirring the people to rebellion.\u201d Here he\nsighed deeply. \u201cIf only my three sons were with me! but alas, the fairies\ntook them away many years ago, and they have never been heard of since.\u201d\n\nThe Princes who had listened to all the old man (who seemed a monster\nto them because of their tiny size) said, began to understand. This was\ntheir father, the King. They peeped out at him. Yes, their dear father,\nthough now an old, old man with white hair. So their cousin, Prince\nClaude, was a traitor.\n\nA great longing filled the breast of each Prince. Oh, to be big enough\nto fight for and take care of their dear father. No thought of self now.\nAh, that was just what their lessons in Fairyland had taught them. This\nunselfish desire to help another was the one thing needed to restore\nthem to their proper size, and to their astonishment each saw, not only\nhimself, but the other two, grow and grow and grow until they were quite\nas big as their father.\n\nThe King had flung himself on the ground, and lay still with his eyes\nclosed. Hearing a noise, he looked up and saw three strong-looking young\nmen standing before him.\n\n\u201cTreachery,\u201d he cried, springing to his feet and drawing his sword,\n\u201cPrince Claude has sent you to follow and kill me.\u201d\n\nHe would have struck at them, but they stood quite still, and, as they\nuttered the one word \u201cFather\u201d his sword dropped from his hand.\n\nIt did not take long for them to tell him what had happened since their\ndisappearance with the Fairies, neither did it take long for him to\ntell of the sad state of affairs in his Kingdom, brought about by their\ncousin, who was trying to make the people rebel against their lawful King.\n\nGreat was the rejoicing in the City that night. A great supper was made,\nbonfires were lighted, the bells were rung, and the King presented his\nsons to the chief Ministers of State. Prince Thomas being the eldest\nhad, of course, to remain at home, and help the King to govern the\nland. Prince Richard led the Army, and quickly put down all rebellion\nin the Kingdom. Prince Henry took command of the Navy, and gained great\nvictories at sea.\n\nThe Kingdom, governed and guarded so wisely by the Fairy-taught Princes,\nwas known throughout the whole world as the Happy Kingdom.\n\n[Illustration: Finis]","title":"Fairy Tales Told in the Bush","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":16454}