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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7802-h.zip b/7802-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae8ffe1 --- /dev/null +++ b/7802-h.zip diff --git a/7802-h/7802-h.htm b/7802-h/7802-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..defc7ef --- /dev/null +++ b/7802-h/7802-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8229 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> + +<head> + +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Seven O'Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson +</title> + +<style type="text/css"> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 4% } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.contents {text-indent: -3%; + margin-left: 5% } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 4em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.intro {font-size: 90% ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Seven O'Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Seven O'Clock Stories + +Author: Robert Gordon Anderson + +Posting Date: March 27, 2014 [EBook #7802] +Release Date: April, 2005 +First Posted: May 18, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version +by Al Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> +<br /><br /><br /> + SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES<br /> +</h1> + +<p class="t3b"> + BY<br /> +</p> + +<p class="t2"> + ROBERT GORDON ANDERSON<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3"> + TO JEAN AND MALCOLM<br /> +<br /> + TO WHOM THESE STORIES WERE FIRST TOLD<br /> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +CONTENTS +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +FIRST NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap01"> +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +SECOND NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap02"> +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +THIRD NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap03"> +NOISY FOLKS +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +FOURTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap04"> +JUST BEFORE SUPPER +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +FIFTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap05"> +THE TOYMAN +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +SIXTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap06"> +THE WILLOW WHISTLE +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +SEVENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap07"> +MR. SCARECROW +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +EIGHTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap08"> +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +NINTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap09"> +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +TENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap10"> +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +ELEVENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap11"> +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +TWELFTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap12"> +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +THIRTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap13"> +THE TALL ENEMY +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +FOURTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap14"> +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +FIFTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap15"> +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +SIXTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap16"> +SLOSHIN' +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap17"> +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap18"> +THE JOLLY CLOWN +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +NINETEENTH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap19"> +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE +</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +TWENTIETH NIGHT<br /> +<a href="#chap20"> +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND +</a> +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"AND THERE ON THE HILL SAT A JOLLY OLD MAN, ROUND AND FAT, +WITH A PIPE IN HIS MOUTH AND A SACK ON HIS BACK" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN LIVE IN THE COUNTRY" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"WIENERWURST CAUGHT A PRETTY PIGEON BY ITS TAIL AND BIT IT" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE DUCKS, THE SWANS, AND THE GEESE ARE VERY FOND OF THE +POND, BUT THEIR COUSINS THINK IT A DREADFUL PLACE" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"PRIMROSE, DAISY, BUTTERCUP, AND OLD BLACK-EYED SUSAN WALKED +INTO THE BIG BARN" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"ON THE LINE SOMETHING WRIGGLED. IT WAS ROUND AND SHINY +AND GOLD" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE TOYMAN WORKED WITH HIS KNIFE VERY CAREFULLY" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"'THERE, OLD WOODEN TOP,' THE TOYMAN SPOKE TO MR. +SCARECROW STERNLY" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN SET TO WORK WITH THE THREE +SHINY RAKES" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE ORIOLES WERE VERY HAPPY BIRDS" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"FATHER AND MOTHER ORIOLE TAUGHT THEM TO FLY" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE EVIL EYE OF ROBBER HAWK LOOKED DOWN AT THE +FRIGHTENED WHITE WYANDOTTES" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE WIND FILLED THE SAILS OF THE LITTLE SHIP AND OFF SHE +WENT" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"ON THROUGH THE SNOW THE TALL ENEMY MARCHED" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"HITCHED TO THE SLEIGH WERE TWO TINY BROWN REINDEER WITH +YELLOW HORNS" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"HE HAD ONE FRIEND LEFT, LITTLE WIENERWURST" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE TIGER LOOKED AT ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WINDOWS +AND DOORS" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"THE TOYMAN SAW MARMADUKE WAY UP ON THE BACK OF THE BIG +ELEPHANT" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"QUICK AS A FLASH THE BIG DOG JUMPED AT LITTLE WIENERWURST" +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"HE WASN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING WHEN HE WAS SAFE IN THE +TOYMAN'S ARMS" +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap01"></a> +FIRST NIGHT +<br /> +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Not once upon a time but just now, in a white house by the side of a road, +live three happy children. +</p> + +<p> +Their mother and father gave them very odd names, for two old uncles and +one aunt, which pleased the old people very much. Their names are all +written in the big family Bible,—Jehosophat Green, Marmaduke Green, and +Hepzebiah Green. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat is just seven years old. His birthday comes on Thanksgiving Day +this year. It does not come on Thanksgiving Day every year, of course. See +if you can guess why. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke is five, "going on six," he always says. Little Hepzebiah, who +toddles after her brothers, tells everyone who comes to visit that she is +"half-past three." She heard her brother say this once and she imitates all +he does and says. Perhaps that is why her father calls her a "little +monkey." +</p> + +<p> +These happy children all live in the country. They do not know much about +elevated trains and subways and automobiles and moving pictures but they +do know a great deal about flowers and birds and chestnuts and picnics and +lots of things which you would like too, if you lived in the country. +</p> + +<p> +Each place you see has its advantages. All good is not found in the +country, nor all in the city. If we keep both eyes open we will see lots of +enjoyable and beautiful things wherever we are. +</p> + +<p> +The house in which Jehosophat and Marmaduke and Hepzebiah live is large. It +has many rooms to sleep in and eat in and play in. It is painted white and +has wide windows with green blinds. +</p> + +<p> +Around the house are large trees. The branches seem to pat the house +lovingly and to protect the children when the sun is too hot or the rain +comes down too fast. +</p> + +<p> +They are fine for swings and bird-houses, these trees, and some throw down +acorns and others cones and soft pine needles for the children to play +with. +</p> + +<p> +Behind the house and gardens are red barns, chicken yards—and oh lots of +animals,—the three dogs, Rover, Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst and +all the rest. You will come to know them later. Each has his funny ways and +queer tricks just like people. Around the house are fields with growing +plants and oh—we almost forgot the pond where Jehosophat and his brother +sail boats. +</p> + +<p> +Mother, that is Mrs. Green, is not too thin nor yet too plump. She is just +what a mother ought to be, with kind, shining eyes, and soft cheeks. She +is always cooking things or doing things for Jehosophat and Marmaduke and +little Hepzebiah. +</p> + +<p> +Father—the neighbours call him Neighbour Green—is very strong. He can +lift big weights and manage bad horses. He can do lots of work and yet +somehow he finds time to do things for the children too. +</p> + +<p> +His eyes are blue, while mother's are brown. When he laughs, Marmaduke +thinks it sounds like the church-bells on Sunday. Once he had a +moustache but that went when mother said he would look younger without +it. Now sometimes, when he works hard, he does not have time to shave +every day. On Sunday mornings Hepzebiah loves to watch him take the +brush and cup. The cup has flowers painted on it. When he turns the +brush in the cup it makes something like whipped cream, or the top of +mother's lemon pies. +</p> + +<p> +And after he takes it off with the razor his face is red and shiny and +smooth. Hepzebiah always likes to kiss her father, but she likes to kiss +him best on Sunday mornings. +</p> + +<p> +Tonight you have met all the family so we must stop for the clock says +"after seven." Tomorrow we will meet all the animals and they are really +part of the family too. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap02"></a> +SECOND NIGHT +<br /> +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +The three happy children have many playmates, who live in the barnyard. +Some have four feet and some only two, but <i>these</i> have two wings +besides to make up for the missing feet. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah like the dogs best. And just as +there are three children so there are three dogs. Let's shake hands with +them, one by one. +</p> + +<p> +The great big dog is named Rover, the middle-sized one Brownie, and the +little yellow curly one Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +A wise fellow is Rover. From a cold country called Newfoundland his great +grandfather came. And he seems to think life is a very serious matter. His +coat is black with snow-white patches. His hair curls a little. It feels +very soft when you lay your head against it. +</p> + +<p> +He doesn't play as much as the other two doggies. But once when Hepzebiah +fell in the pond after her doll, Rover swam in and caught her dress in his +mouth and brought her to shore. Not long after that Mr. Green gave him a +new shiny collar. +</p> + +<p> +Brownie is a terrier and is coloured like his name. He is a frisky dog and +often chases the horses and buggies that go up and down the road in front +of the house. Sometimes the drivers lash at him with their long whips but +he is too quick for them and scampers out of their reach. +</p> + +<p> +The funniest doggie in all the world is little yellow Wienerwurst. He is +even more full of mischief than Brownie and loves to run after all the +other animals in the barnyard. +</p> + +<p> +When the pigeons fly down from their little house on the top of the barn to +take an afternoon walk and perhaps pick up a few extra grains of corn, this +little yellow doggie spoils all their fun. He soon sends them flying back +to their house on the roof, where they chatter and coo in great excitement. +But they do not lose their tempers like "Mr. Stuckup," the turkey, or old +"Miss Crosspatch," the guinea-hen with the ugly voice. +</p> + +<p> +Once little Wienerwurst caught a pretty pigeon by its tail and bit it. Then +Mr. Green took him over his knee, just as he did Jehosophat when he threw a +stone at the window, and spanked little Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +Each dog has a house. One is big, one middle-sized, and one small, and +each has a door to fit the doggie who lives there. Their houses are called +kennels, and they are something like the pigeon's home way up on the roof. +</p> + +<p> +The pigeons are very pretty, grey and white and pink coloured. When the sun +shines brightly their necks shine too, like the rainbow silk dress which +Mrs. Green wears whenever there is a wedding. +</p> + +<p> +One pair of the pigeons sit a great deal of the time on the ridge-pole of +the barn and swell out their chests like proud, fat policemen. Farmer Green +calls them pouter pigeons. +</p> + +<p> +They do not have harsh voices like the guinea-hen or the old black crows +which steal the corn from the field when Mr. Scarecrow gets tired and goes +to sleep. (We will introduce you to Mr. Scarecrow some evening very soon.) +But the voices of the pigeons are soft and low like mother's, especially +when Hepzebiah is sick and she sings her to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +They will not have much to do with the chickens, these pigeons. Perhaps +they are like the people who live on the top floor of tall city houses and +do not go down often to talk with the people in the streets. +</p> + +<p> +What a lot of chickens Farmer Green has! Almost two hundred, if they would +ever stay still long enough for Jehosophat to count them. They are called +White Wyandottes and they are very white and plump, with combs as red as +geraniums. +</p> + +<p> +You know there are many kinds of chickens just as there are many kinds +of people, English, French, and Americans. Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth +Rocks, Cochins, and Leghorns are some of the chicken family names, but +Jehosophat's father does not believe in mixing families, he says, so only +the White Wyandottes live on the Green farm. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat and Marmaduke love the big rooster best. The red comb on the +top of his head has teeth like a carpenter's saw, and is so large it +will not stand up straight. His white tail curves beautifully like the +plumes on the hats of the circus ladies. When he throws back his head, +puffs out his throat, and calls to the Sun, he is indeed a wonderful +creature. +</p> + +<p> +The little chicks are the ones Hepzebiah loves best. She can hold them in +her two hands like little soft yellow balls or the powder puffs which Nurse +uses on new little babies. The little chicks have such tiny voices, crying +"cheep, cheep, cheep," almost the way the crickets do all through the +night. +</p> + +<p> +The chickens have cousins who—but there goes the clock—so that is +tomorrow night's story. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap03"></a> +THIRD NIGHT +<br /> +NOISY FOLKS +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Do you remember what we were telling about last night when that little +tongue told us to stop? The little tongue in the Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +on the mantel? +</p> + +<p> +Oh yes, the first cousins of the chickens who lived in the yard of the +three happy children. +</p> + +<p> +Their first cousins are called ducks. Most of them are white but a few +are black. Their coats are very smooth, and the skin under them sends out +little drops of oil like drops of perspiration. This keeps the water and +the rain from wetting the ducks through and through. You have heard people +say sometimes: "The way water runs off a duck's back." Well, now you know +the reason why. +</p> + +<p> +In rainy weather Hepzebiah wears a blue waterproof with a little hood but +the ducks do not need anything like that. Their everyday coats of white +and black are just as good. If the White Wyandottes cannot get under the +chicken coop or the barn quick enough when it rains, their feathers are all +mussed up but the ducks seem always dressed in their best. +</p> + +<p> +Their bills are different from their relatives'. They are not short and +pointed like the chicken's but broad and long. +</p> + +<p> +And they have what are called web feet. Between the toes are pieces of +skin, thick and tough like canvas. These web feet are like small oars or +paddles. With them they can push against the water of the pond and swim +quite fast. +</p> + +<p> +The ducks are very fond of the pond but their cousins think it a dreadful +place. +</p> + +<p> +"Cluck, cluck," say the White Wyandottes, "what a foolish way of spending +your time, sailing on the water when there are fat, brown worms to dig for +in the nice earth!" +</p> + +<p> +You see animals, like people, like different things. The world wouldn't be +half so interesting if we all liked the <i>same</i> things, would it? +</p> + +<p> +The other night Jehosophat felt very foolish when he came in to supper. His +mother looked behind his ears and said: "Why you are just as afraid of the +water as the chickens." +</p> + +<p> +Did you ever hear of such a thing! +</p> + +<p> +Now the chickens have <i>second</i> cousins too. Their second cousins are +the white geese. +</p> + +<p> +They live on the other side of the tall fence that looks as if it were made +of crocheted wire. Sometimes Jehosophat's father opens the gate in the +fence and lets the geese wander down to the pond. A silly way they have +of stretching out their long white necks and crying, "Hiss, hiss!" This +frightens Hepzebiah who always runs away. Then the geese waddle along in +single file, that is one by one, like fat old ladies crossing a muddy +street on their way to sewing society. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat says that the chickens have third cousins too,—the swans. There +they are, way out on the pond, sailing along like white ships. Their necks +are very long and snowy white and they bend in such a pretty way. And their +soft white wings look something like the wings of the angels on the +Christmas cards. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah do not like one barnyard neighbour +very much. It is the guinea-hen. She has a grey body, plump as a sack of +meal, with little white speckles, a funny neck and such a small head with a +tuft on top. She screeches horribly and Marmaduke calls her "Miss +Crosspatch." +</p> + +<p> +But the turkey with his proud walk is just funny. And yet Farmer Green says +he hasn't any sense of humour. Ask <i>your</i> father how that can be if he +is funny. +</p> + +<p> +"Mr. Stuckup" the children call the turkey. He walks along slowly, swinging +from side to side. His feathers are brownish-black or bronze, and his tail +often spreads out like a fan. He has the funniest nose. It is red and soft +and long and flops over his bill on his chest. +</p> + +<p> +He calls "gobble, gobble, gobble," all the time, yet he does not gobble as +much as the busy White Wyandottes all around him who are forever looking +for kernels of corn or worms or bugs. +</p> + +<p> +But who is this magnificent creature coming along over the lawn under the +cherry-tree? Uncle Roger, who sails around the world in a great ship with +white sails, gave him to the children. He brought him from a land very far +across the seas. +</p> + +<p> +He is the peacock and is all green and gold and blue. On his head is a +little crown of feathers. His tail, too, can spread out like a fan the way +"Mr. Stuckup's," the turkey's, does. But it is ever so much more beautiful. +It is green and has hundreds of blue eyes in it. The three children call +him the "Party Bird" for he is always so dressed up, but their father says +he is "a bit of a snob." He means that he is vain and will not have much to +do with his plainer neighbours of the barnyard— +</p> + +<p> +"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." There goes the clock again. +</p> + +<p> +Tomorrow night, if you are good all day, we will tell you about the rest +of the barnyard friends of the three happy children. Then the next night, +about the exciting things that happened to them. +</p> + +<p> +Good-night! Sweet Dreams! +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap04"></a> +FOURTH NIGHT +<br /> +JUST BEFORE SUPPER +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +In the afternoon the sun grows tired of his hot walk across the sky. Beyond +the Green farm are the blue hills behind which he sleeps each night. +</p> + +<p> +When he is almost there the three happy children go down to the barn to +watch their four-footed friends come home. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes Frank, the hired man who helps Farmer Green, is late and does +not go for the cows. All day long they have been in pasture. Sometimes +they eat the grass and pink clover. Sometimes they wade in the little +brook which flows there. But when it grows late, even if Frank does not +come, they know it is supper time and leave the pasture. +</p> + +<p> +When they reach the barnyard fence they stand outside calling to be let in. +Then Frank comes and lets down the bars. They walk into the yard and +through the doors into the big red barn. +</p> + +<p> +There are ten cows but Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love four of +them better than the rest. Their names are "Primrose," "Daisy," +"Buttercup," and "Black-eyed Susan." +</p> + +<p> +Now just as there are different kinds of chickens so there are several +kinds of cows—Guernseys, Jerseys, Alderneys, and Holsteins. +</p> + +<p> +"Primrose," "Daisy," and "Buttercup" are Jerseys and are a pretty brown. +"Black-eyed Susan" belongs to the Holsteins and is black and white. +"Black-eyed Susan" gives more milk than her companions but their milk has +richer cream. +</p> + +<p> +Each cow has a stall to sleep in. In front of each is a box or manger. +Frank climbs up the tall ladder to the loft, which is the second story of +the barn, and throws down the hay. Then he takes his sharp pitchfork and +tosses a lot of hay in each manger. You would never think cows could eat +so much. One box of shredded-wheat would do for all the Green family and +visitors too, but "Primrose" and "Daisy" and all the rest each eat enough +hay to fill many shredded-wheat boxes. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love to stand in the doorway of the +barn and smell the hay as the cows chew it. It is very sweet smelling. +</p> + +<p> +They do not go too near the stalls, for while the cows are eating their +supper, they switch their tails to keep off the flies. Once "Black-eyed +Susan" switched her tail across Marmaduke's face. It felt like a whip and +he ran away crying. But "Susan" didn't mean it for she is a very gentle +cow. +</p> + +<p> +And once Jehosophat came too near old "Crumplety Horn," the white cow with +the twisted horn. She kicked at Jehosophat and over went the pail of milk +which his father had almost full. +</p> + +<p> +The children like to see their father and Frank sit on their three-legged +stools in the stalls and milk the cows. The milk spurts into the pails and +it sounds very pleasant. +</p> + +<p> +The milk is very warm when it comes from the cows so Farmer Green puts +it in great cans as tall as Jehosophat. Then he carries the cans to the +spring-house where it is cool, and leaves them overnight by the well. The +children will drink some of it in the morning. Tonight they will drink +<i>this morning's</i> milk, which is cool now. +</p> + +<p> +About the time the cows come home the horses come back too. +</p> + +<p> +First comes "Hal" the red roan. A red roan is a horse that is red-coloured, +sprinkled with little grey hairs. Then there is "Chestnut" who is called +that because he is coloured like chestnuts when they are ripe in the fall, +and "Teddy," the buckskin horse. He is tan-coloured and has a black stripe +on his backbone. Farmer Green got him from the West. There is a little mark +called a brand on his flank which tells that. +</p> + +<p> +"Old Methuselah" and "White Boots" do not do much work now. "Old +Methuselah" is all white. He was pretty old when Farmer Green bought him so +he was nicknamed for the oldest man in the Bible. "White Boots" is a bay +mare. That means a red-brown mother horse. She has four white feet. By her +side runs a little black colt with funny legs. Jehosophat gave him +<i>his</i> name, "Black Prince." +</p> + +<p> +"Hal" and "Teddy" and "Chestnut" are very tired for they have been pulling +the plough, the wagon, or doing some farm work all day. +</p> + +<p> +Very glad they are to get their heavy leather collars and harness off and +rest in the cool barn. They have hay to eat but they have been working hard +so they have oats besides. Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah eat oats +too but theirs are flattened out and cooked. We call it oatmeal. The oats +for the horses are not flat but round like little seeds, and are not cooked +on any stove. Farmer Green cuts the stalks in the oat field. Then he takes +them to the threshing-machine, which knocks the little oats off the stalks. +Then they are put in bags to keep for the horses. +</p> + +<p> +But the little black colt with the funny long legs does not eat them. +<i>He</i> gets milk from his mother. He is just a baby horse, you see, but +when he gets bigger he will have oats and hay too. +</p> + +<p> +Now all the animals are busy eating, the pigs with their curly tails, the +sheep, the lambs, the cows, the little calves, the horses, and the colt +with the funny legs. It is time for the three happy children to have their +supper so they run back to the house. Soon, very soon, they will be fast +asleep in Slumberland, which is where the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +says you should be now. Good-night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap05"></a> +FIFTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE TOYMAN +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Farmer Green has a man who helps him plough, feed the cows and horses, +and with all the work on the farm. His name is Frank, but Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah call him "the Toyman." +</p> + +<p> +Winter nights around the fire he makes wonderful toys for them. +</p> + +<p> +His knife is like a fairy's wand. With it he whittles boats for Jehosophat, +kites for Marmaduke, and dolls for Hepzebiah. He paints them pretty colours +too. So I think they gave him the right sort of nickname when they called +him "the Toyman." +</p> + +<p> +He hasn't many clothes and no house of his own and no relatives of any +sort. He isn't exactly a handsome man. But the three happy children love +the Toyman very much. +</p> + +<p> +Yesterday he sat by the edge of the pond. On one side sat Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and big Rover. On the other side sat Hepzebiah, Brownie, and +little yellow Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +They were all looking down at the water of the pond. It was very clear. +</p> + +<p> +"Keep still, Wienerwurst," said the Toyman, "or you will scare the fishes." +</p> + +<p> +They were swimming through the waters. Near the banks were little baby +fishes, hundreds of them, called minnows. They had a nickname too, +"minnies." Out farther, once in a while, the children saw a fish shining +like gold. It was a sunfish or "sunny" as they sometimes called it. And the +Toyman told them all about these fishes and the perch, too, and the long +pickerel and the wicked carp, who hunts the other fish and kills them. +</p> + +<p> +Then all at once the Toyman put his hands in his pockets. Mother Green says +his pockets are like ten-cent stores. They are so full of all sorts of +things. +</p> + +<p> +The three children watched him closely. First came a piece of wood with a +fishline wound around it. +</p> + +<p> +Then with his knife he cut three poles and near the top of each a little +notch. The fishlines were tied around the poles. At the other end he put +little curved fish-hooks, and about two feet above them little pieces of +lead, called "sinkers." The sinkers were to keep the hooks near the bottom +of the pond where the fish stay most of the time. +</p> + +<p> +Then from his pockets the Toyman took three pretty things which he had made +the night before. They were whittled of wood and shaped like lemons with +sharper points. The red and blue one was tied on Jehosophat's line, the red +and yellow one on Marmaduke's, and the blue and yellow on little +Hepzebiah's. +</p> + +<p> +"What are those pretty things?" asked Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Floaters," the Toyman answered. "Watch and you will see what we do with +them." +</p> + +<p> +"Now you keep still, you Wienerwurst, or we will put you back in the +kennel," called the Toyman to the little yellow dog, who felt very frisky +and wanted to bark all the time. +</p> + +<p> +By the feet of the Toyman was a tin can. He put in his hand and pulled out +a worm. This was put on Jehosophat's hook, another on Marmaduke's, and +another on Hepzebiah's. +</p> + +<p> +Then the Toyman threw the three hooks in the water. The two boys held their +poles tight but the Toyman had to help little Hepzebiah hold her pole, for +her hands were too small. +</p> + +<p> +"Now quiet, everybody!" said the Toyman once more and they all sat watching +the red and blue, the yellow and blue, and the red and yellow floaters out +on the water. +</p> + +<p> +"When the floater goes under, you will know that a fish is biting at the +worm on the hook." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman had no sooner said this than he called out loud: +</p> + +<p> +"Watch 'er!" +</p> + +<p> +The red and yellow floater was pulled way under the water. The string on +Marmaduke's pole tightened and the pole bent. +</p> + +<p> +Three times the floater went under the water. +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke threw his pole back quickly and the hook came out of the +water. On it something wriggled. The thing fell plop into Hepzebiah's +lap. She screamed while it flopped there. It was a little bigger than the +Toyman's hand and round and flat and shiny red and gold. No, it was not a +goldfish. It was a sunfish. +</p> + +<p> +After the Toyman had taken the sunfish from the hook and put another worm +on it, he threw the line back into the water. +</p> + +<p> +Then all the three children and the two dogs sat watching the little rings +in the water around the floaters. Sometimes farther out they saw larger +rings, and a fish feeling pretty happy, because of the cool September +weather, would jump out of the water and turn a somersault through the air. +</p> + +<p> +Then all of a sudden the blue and yellow floater went under and little +Hepzebiah caught a sunfish, too. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat felt disappointed because he was the oldest and hadn't caught +any fish at all. But the afternoon was not gone when he felt a big tug at +his line. It took him a long time to pull that fish in. When the hook came +out of the water a long wriggly thing was on it. +</p> + +<p> +"Oo, oo, it's a snake," screamed little Hepzebiah. +</p> + +<p> +"No, it's only an eel," said the Toyman, "he won't hurt you." +</p> + +<p> +But he had to take it off Jehosophat's hook himself, the eel was so +slippery and wriggled so. Before the sun went down, the children had each +caught two fish. There were three sunfish, two perch, and the wriggly eel. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman cleaned them all. And Mother fried them with butter and flour +in a pan. It was a good supper they had that night, for they had caught it +themselves. When supper was over three little heads were nodding and soon +the three happy children were taking a little sail way on into Dreamland. +That is a beautiful place where you would like to go too. So you had better +follow them quickly. Perhaps you can catch up with them. Good-night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap06"></a> +SIXTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE WILLOW WHISTLE +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +The Toyman sat by the pond under the "Crying Tree." That is what Marmaduke +calls it, though the Toyman says it is a weeping willow. It's leaves are +a very pretty green, much lighter than the leaves of the other trees. And +the branches bend over till they reach the water. They really do look like +showers of tears. Sometimes little leaves fall into the water and float +away like silver-green boats, rowed by tiny fairies. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah came up to the "Crying Tree." +</p> + +<p> +"What are you doing, Toyman," asked Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Watch and you will see." +</p> + +<p> +They were always asking him that question and he was always telling them to +watch and see. +</p> + +<p> +So they did. +</p> + +<p> +In his hand he had his knife, which could make as many things as a fairy's +wand. It had four blades and a corkscrew. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman cut some thin branches from the tree. From these he cut three +pieces, each about as long as his first finger and about as thick as his +little finger. +</p> + +<p> +One end of each piece of wood he cut like the stern of a boat, then he cut +a notch near the end. +</p> + +<p> +Then he worked with his knife very carefully. Soon the green bark came off +each little piece of wood. The bark came off whole, like a little roll of +green paper. +</p> + +<p> +"See," said the Toyman, "the bark is the skin of the tree and in spring the +sap which is the blood of the tree flows fast. It isn't coloured red, it +is just like light juice, but it makes the bark slip off this wood very +easily." +</p> + +<p> +On the grass he laid the round pieces of green bark. Then he took the white +bits of wood which had been under the bark and he whittled away at the +ends. Soon he was through. +</p> + +<p> +Then he slipped the pieces of bark, which looked so much like little +rolled-up green papers, back on the white pieces of wood. +</p> + +<p> +They fitted perfectly. +</p> + +<p> +One he gave to Jehosophat, one to Marmaduke, and one to Hepzebiah. +</p> + +<p> +"What are they?" asked Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"I know," said his brother Jehosophat, "they are whistles." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," said the Toyman. "They are willow whistles. Now put them in your +mouths and blow." +</p> + +<p> +Each put the end of his whistle in his mouth and blew. +</p> + +<p> +It sounded very pretty, the three whistles—and then—what do you think? +</p> + +<p> +Not far from the weeping willow or the "Crying Tree," was an elm tree. It +was taller than the willow and darker green. +</p> + +<p> +In it something shone very bright—like an orange, only it moved. +</p> + +<p> +"It's an oriole," said the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +They looked hard and, sure enough, there among the leaves was the prettiest +bird they had ever seen. He had an orange-coloured body and black wings. +</p> + +<p> +His nest was on the end of a branch. It was grey-coloured and hung low like +a little bag, made of knitted grey wool. Father and Mother Oriole had made +it themselves. Mother Oriole is there sitting in it on little eggs. +</p> + +<p> +But Father Oriole heard the three willow whistles and he turned and began +to whistle back—oh such a pretty song. It was really prettier than the +sound of the three willow whistles for it had different notes and a tune +like the songs Mother plays on the piano. +</p> + +<p> +"We must watch that nest," said the Toyman. "Some day soon we will see the +baby orioles." +</p> + +<p> +But there—the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face is scolding again. So the +story must stop for tonight. +</p> + +<p> +When you're asleep if you listen very hard, maybe you can hear the three +happy children blowing the willow whistles, and maybe the beautiful oriole +will answer back. +</p> + +<p> +Good-night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap07"></a> +SEVENTH NIGHT +<br /> +MR. SCARECROW +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Under the big oak by the brook sat the three happy children with Rover, +Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst. They were watching the Toyman cut +the ripe corn. +</p> + +<p> +"Isn't that funny?" said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"What's funny?" asked Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Wot's funny?" repeated Hepzebiah. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! I was just thinking," said Jehosophat, "how he seems just Frank when +he's ploughing or harrowing or cutting the corn. But when he's through work +and tells us stories or makes us things, why then he is the Toyman." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," his brother agreed. "He looks as if some fairy godmother changed him +nights and Sundays." +</p> + +<p> +But they were rudely interrupted. +</p> + +<p> +"Caw, caw!" said a voice. +</p> + +<p> +It was a rascal's voice. +</p> + +<p> +"Caw, caw!" said another. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman jumped. He shook his fist. +</p> + +<p> +"You old thief!" he called. +</p> + +<p> +"Rogue, rogue, rogue!" growled Rover in his deep voice. +</p> + +<p> +"Run, run, run!" barked Brownie. +</p> + +<p> +"Rough, rough—rough, rough!" said little Wienerwurst in his funny voice. +</p> + +<p> +"There he is," said the Toyman, "Mr. Jim Crow and all his wicked chums. See +there!" +</p> + +<p> +All the children looked in the direction in which his finger pointed. Over +in the far corner of the field a flock of crows flew up from the waving +corn. A white horse, drawing a buggy, was trotting along the road by the +side of the cornfield. The driver had scared Mr. Jim Crow and all his +chums. They flapped their big black wings as they flew. And they flew very +straight, not like the pretty barn-swallows with their dark-blue wings. The +swallow is a happy bird and skims and dances in the air like a fancy skater +on the ice. But Mr. Jim Crow flies like an arrow. That is because he is +always up to some mischief and forever running away when someone finds +him out. +</p> + +<p> +"Caw, caw!" he called. +</p> + +<p> +"Caw, caw!" called all his black mates. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman ran to the fence and picked up a shotgun. It had two barrels +that shone in the sun. +</p> + +<p> +"Bang, bang!" went the gun. +</p> + +<p> +One black spot dropped to the earth like a stone. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman ran out in the cornfield. He bent over until his straw hat was +hidden by the waving corn. +</p> + +<p> +Soon he came back. From his hand Mr. Jim Crow hung head downward. He +was very still. +</p> + +<p> +"Oo, oo! You've hurted him!" +</p> + +<p> +Little Hepzebiah began to cry. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't cry," said the Toyman, patting her head. "Mr. Jim Crow was a bad +fellow. You couldn't teach him any lessons." +</p> + +<p> +"What did he do?" Marmaduke asked. +</p> + +<p> +"He stole all the corn and you wouldn't have any nice muffins if he had had +his way. I never shoot the orioles or the robins or the swallows or any of +the birds with consciences." +</p> + +<p> +"What is a conscience?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh a little clock inside you, like the +Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel. It tells you when it is time to +stop," explained their friend. +</p> + +<p> +And Jehosophat and Marmaduke looked as if they knew just what he meant. +But Hepzebiah was too little yet to understand. +</p> + +<p> +"See, Mr. Jim Crow is long and black. He has a bad eye." +</p> + +<p> +So he buried Mr. Jim Crow under the oak tree while the children watched. +</p> + +<p> +After that the Toyman said: +</p> + +<p> +"I reckon Mr. Scarecrow has fainted." +</p> + +<p> +"Who's Mr. Scarecrow?" asked the three happy children. "Is he Mr. Jim +Crow's cousin?" +</p> + +<p> +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Toyman. "That is a good one. No, Mr. Scarecrow is +the policeman of the cornfield. Let's go over and set him on his pins +again." +</p> + +<p> +So again he walked through the rows between the cornstalks and they came to +a little clear place in the middle of the field. +</p> + +<p> +There, flat on his back, lay Mr. Scarecrow. +</p> + +<p> +He too looked as if he were dead. But he was not. +</p> + +<p> +For his body was only two sticks of wood nailed together like a cross. He +was dressed in Father Green's old blue trousers and the Toyman's old black +coat. His arms were outstretched. But he had lost his hat. His wooden head +stuck out. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman picked him up and stood him straight on his one wooden leg. Then +he put the old felt hat on his hard head. +</p> + +<p> +"There, old wooden top," the Toyman spoke to him sternly. "Don't leave your +beat." +</p> + +<p> +But Marmaduke was puzzled. +</p> + +<p> +"How could he scare Mr. Jim Crow away like a policeman? He can't run with +that wooden leg." +</p> + +<p> +"Silly," said Jehosophat, for he was older than Marmaduke and knew Mr. +Scarecrow very well. +</p> + +<p> +"Ha, ha, ha, that's another good one," said the Toyman. "Of course he can't +run. But when all the Crows see him standing up in the cornfield they think +he is a real man. They are afraid Mr. Scarecrow will shoot. For they know +that things that wear coats and hats often have guns. And guns have killed +their chums. So they do not come very near when Mr. Scarecrow is around." +</p> + +<p> +"Caw, caw!" sounded the old rascals again. But the crows were far away. The +three happy children could see them way up in the old chestnut tree over on +the edge of their neighbour's wood. +</p> + +<p> +In the fork of two high branches was a great round nest—oh ever so much +bigger than the thrush's and the oriole's. It was a crow's nest. Sailors +often call the little turret built around the mast, where they stand and +look out over the sea, a "crow's nest." It looks something like that. +</p> + +<p> +But Mr. Jim Crow's chums didn't come near the cornfield that day. +</p> + +<p> +At night, when they were ready for bed, Jehosophat said to Marmaduke: +</p> + +<p> +"I wonder if old Mr. Scarecrow is out there now." +</p> + +<p> +"Course he is," his brother assured him. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's see!" +</p> + +<p> +So they jumped out of bed and, in their white nightgowns, tiptoed over the +floor to the window. The Old-Man-in-the-Moon was up. He looked as round +and fat as a pumpkin in the sky. +</p> + +<p> +He winked at them. +</p> + +<p> +The Old-Man-in-the-Moon made it very bright so that they could see. +</p> + +<p> +Sure enough, way out in the cornfield stood Mr. Scarecrow. +</p> + +<p> +His hat and coat were on and he was standing up like a man, very straight +and still. His arms were outstretched to tell Mr. Jim Crow's chums that he +was ready for them. +</p> + +<p> +But though they are thieves, the Black Crows are not night burglars and +they were fast asleep in the nests in the wood. +</p> + +<p> +The Man-in-the-Moon winked at them three times, once with his right eye, +once with his left eye, then again with the right. +</p> + +<p> +And the three happy children thought they heard him say three times: +</p> + +<p> +"Back to bed, back to bed, back to bed!" +</p> + +<p> +Then they heard the sound of bells. Seven times they sounded. It was from +the church over in the town,—the big white church with the long finger +pointing at the sky. And the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel, +answered back. +</p> + +<p> +So they obeyed the old yellow Man-in-the-Moon and scampered like little +white mice back to bed. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap08"></a> +EIGHTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +"Tell me a story—a fairy story," said Jehosophat to his Mother. +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children loved really true stories and fairy stories too. +Sometimes they wanted one, sometimes the other. Sometimes the Toyman +mixed his stories up so it was hard to tell which they were. +</p> + +<p> +This morning it was spring. The sun was warm and Jehosophat felt very lazy. +</p> + +<p> +"No," said Mother. "I have too much work to do. But if you will help me dry +the dishes I won't tell you but I'll <i>show you</i> one of the prettiest +fairy stories in the world." +</p> + +<p> +"It is true too," she added. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother, how can that be," said Marmaduke. "A fairy story that is a true +story?" +</p> + +<p> +"Just be patient," she replied, "and you will see." +</p> + +<p> +So the boys took the dish towels and helped dry the dishes, without any +accidents. But little Hepzebiah was too small, so she sat on the floor with +her finger in her mouth and watched them. +</p> + +<p> +"Come," said Mother Green when they were through. +</p> + +<p> +Out in the vegetable garden, back of the raspberries they went. +</p> + +<p> +"See there," said Mother. +</p> + +<p> +Three square little garden plots with nice brown earth were waiting for +seeds. +</p> + +<p> +"Father dug them for you—one for Jehosophat, one for Marmaduke, and one +for Hepzebiah." +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children couldn't help but think that was fine. +</p> + +<p> +Just then along came Father. +</p> + +<p> +His arms were full. +</p> + +<p> +He had three little rakes, three little hoes, and three little spades. +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children did not need to ask whom they were for. +</p> + +<p> +"But where's the fairy story, Mother?" +</p> + +<p> +"That you will make," she said. "The jolly old Sun, the gentle Rain, and +brown Mother Earth will help you." +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat laughed. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh! I see now. But we can't finish that fairy story all in one day." +</p> + +<p> +"No, it takes time and it takes work. But it's a prettier story than any in +books. And you can make it come true yourselves." +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke piped up: +</p> + +<p> +"What do we do first?" +</p> + +<p> +"Well," his Mother explained, "your Father has dug the ground for you. You +must rake it first, make it smooth and even. Mind, no hard lumps now!" +</p> + +<p> +So the three happy children set to work with their three shiny rakes. +Father had to help Hepzebiah, of course. +</p> + +<p> +Then when the earth was smooth and fine, like brown powder, they made +little furrows or lines in the earth. In other parts of the little gardens +they scooped out tiny holes with their hoes. +</p> + +<p> +Out of his pockets Father took some square envelopes. On them were printed +pretty flowers and ripe vegetables. +</p> + +<p> +"There," said Mother, "are the pictures of the <i>end</i> of the fairy +story. But you'll never know the end unless you try hard." +</p> + +<p> +Father tore open the envelopes and sowed the seeds in Hepzebiah's garden, +some in the little holes, some in the furrows. Then he let the two boys sow +their own gardens. +</p> + +<p> +After the envelopes were all empty and the seeds all scattered they covered +them over with the fine brown soil. +</p> + +<p> +"The little seeds must sleep for a while," said their Mother, "like babies +in a big brown bed." +</p> + +<p> +So every day the three children watched. And the Sun shone and sometimes +the gentle Rain came. They did not feel sad when she was weeping, for +Mother told them she was a fairy too, not so jolly as the Sun but gentle +and kind. Jolly Sun, gentle Rain, and Mother Earth—they were all fairies +whom God had sent to help make the story come true. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes it was hard to finish breakfast, they were so anxious to see what +had happened in the little gardens during the night. Sometimes they even +forgot to ask Mother to "please excuse" them and they had to be called back +to the table, for that was very impolite. +</p> + +<p> +At last one wonderful morning, as they stood around the flower beds, +Jehosophat said: +</p> + +<p> +"There's Chapter Two!" +</p> + +<p> +"What's that?" asked Marmaduke who didn't quite understand. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, just another step in the fairy tale." +</p> + +<p> +"Where?" +</p> + +<p> +He pointed to one of the gardens. +</p> + +<p> +From the brown earth a little green head poked out. +</p> + +<p> +Little Hepzebiah danced for it was in her garden, and toddled off to tell +Mother. +</p> + +<p> +Next day there were five more little heads, some in each of the gardens. +They were light in colour and seemed weak but somehow the jolly old Sun and +brown Mother Earth took care of them as parents take care of babies. And +sometimes the gentle Rain came to water them with her tears. So they grew +strong and soon the gardens were covered with an army of sturdy little +green spears. +</p> + +<p> +"It looks like a brown pincushion with green needles and pins," said +Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +And the weeks passed and still the three good fairies worked hard over +them to help them live and grow up to be real vegetables and flowers. They +worked away very quietly, these three good fairies, as all good people +work, without any noise, without any fuss. +</p> + +<p> +One day Farmer Green came back from a visit to the town. +</p> + +<p> +With him he brought three green watering-pots. +</p> + +<p> +"You must do some more work, yourselves," he told them as he handed each +one of the shiny green cans. "You must water them when the Rain fairy is +tired, pull up the bad weeds that steal the food Mother Earth keeps for the +flowers, and you must keep the soil loose around the roots, so that the +drops can sink way down deep. The more work you do the better you will like +your flowers when they do come. And the taller and prettier they will be." +</p> + +<p> +So the little green stalks grew tall and strong. Then the little buds came. +</p> + +<p> +And one by one the buds opened into flowers. And the flowers had on their +petals all the colours of the rainbow in the sky. +</p> + +<p> +And the children took turns filling the vase on the supper table. They were +very proud of their flowers when their father leaned over and smelled them. +</p> + +<p> +"My, how sweet they smell!" he would say every time. "I don't think I +<i>ever</i> saw such flowers." +</p> + +<p> +And when their vegetables came to the table—round plump red radishes, +crisp curling lettuce leaves, juicy tomatoes, and rows of peas in the pod, +like the little toes of the neighbour's baby, Father Green would say: +</p> + +<p> +"I never did eat such vegetables!" +</p> + +<p> +Then he would smile over at Mother. +</p> + +<p> +And Marmaduke, after his turn one night, whispered to his mother— +</p> + +<p> +"It <i>was</i> a pretty fairy story, Mother. And we made it come true +ourselves." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, with the help of God and His fairies—the jolly Sun, the gentle Rain, +and brown Mother Earth. But the best part of it all is that <i>your own</i> +hands helped." +</p> + +<p> +But the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle thought that the +children understood now. So he stopped this advice with his silver tongue. +</p> + +<p> +And Mother, too, agreed that it was late. So she kissed them good-night and +tucked them under the coverlids as they had covered the tiny seeds in their +brown beds. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap09"></a> +NINTH NIGHT +<br /> +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah were very happy as they watched the +fairy story of the flowers. They were happier still because they helped it +grow. But of course that did not take all of their time. So one morning +when Marmaduke had eaten up all of his oatmeal and the cream, which +Buttercup had given him, he laid his spoon down and said: +</p> + +<p> +"Won't you show us another story, 'cause we can't watch our gardens all day +long?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," said Mother, "let me think what it will be." +</p> + +<p> +So Mother thought awhile. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll get Mother Nature to show you another story. But you can't help with +this one. You'll just have to watch. It's made by the birds themselves." +</p> + +<p> +Then she looked at the calendar. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, it's the fourteenth of May. He ought to be here pretty soon." +</p> + +<p> +"Who ought to be here soon?" asked Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, the Oriole, the Baltimore Oriole, on his way back from the South, +where he lives all winter." +</p> + +<p> +"How do you know he'll come soon?" the three children asked, all in the +same breath. +</p> + +<p> +"He always comes back about the middle of May. City folks call May first +'Moving Day,' but the fifteenth is the Oriole's Moving Day." +</p> + +<p> +So Mother led them out of the front door. +</p> + +<p> +"Just sit in that swing or play with the pine needles and watch that elm. +Don't make too much noise now! Maybe he'll come today." +</p> + +<p> +And the children played in the front of the house all the morning and +looked up at the dark green leaves of the elm every once in a while. But no +bright little bird messenger came. +</p> + +<p> +They were very much disappointed but Mother said: +</p> + +<p> +"Never mind, tomorrow is his Moving Day and I think he'll come then. He is +usually pretty prompt." +</p> + +<p> +That night Uncle Roger came to the house with Aunt Mehitable. As a special +treat the children were allowed to stay up late and hear Uncle Roger's +stories of the great sea. +</p> + +<p> +They stayed up very late, although the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle spoke several times. So +next morning they were very tired. The sun was warm and while Jehosophat, +Marmaduke and Hepzebiah sat on the porch they fell asleep. Jehosophat's +head nodded against one post, Marmaduke's against another post, while +little Hepzebiah fell asleep between them on the floor of the porch. +</p> + +<p> +"Wow, wow, wow," growled Rover, "let's go out in the barnyard and chase the +White Wyandottes. It's no fun playing with sleepy children." +</p> + +<p> +"Wow, wow, wow!" answered Brownie and little Wienerwurst together, and this +in dog's language means "Yes." +</p> + +<p> +So they romped away to the barnyard to chase the frightened White +Wyandottes. +</p> + +<p> +That was not a good thing for the chickens but it was a good thing for the +children. For if the dogs had not run away they might have missed something +very wonderful. +</p> + +<p> +What do you think it was? +</p> + +<p> +First they heard pretty strains of music. It was something like a song and +something like a whistle. +</p> + +<p> +They looked up in the elm tree. +</p> + +<p> +There, shining among the dark green leaves, was a pretty thing with orange +and black feathers. He whistled away as if he did not have a care in the +world. +</p> + +<p> +And they did not have to be told—they knew who it was. It was their old +friend, the Oriole. +</p> + +<p> +He didn't stay still very long ever, for he was a busy fellow. But once he +swung on a twig for a little while. They saw that he was almost as big as a +robin, with head and shoulders of black, the wings black too, and most of +his tail. But the rest of his body was like the prettiest orange-coloured +velvet they had ever seen. He was singing something like this: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "What a fine day, what a fine day.<br /> + I can sing and build, for work is play."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +And every once in a while he would fly over to the apple tree and hop from +branch to branch between the pink and white blossoms, looking for food. +He was very fond of those caterpillars in the tree, you see. In between +mouthfuls he would whistle just part of his song, +</p> + +<p> +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" +</p> + +<p> +Then he would take another bite, hop to another branch and whistle again: +</p> + +<p> +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" +</p> + +<p> +He certainly seemed to be happy over the beautiful weather. +</p> + +<p> +Then he would whistle again as if he were talking to someone. +</p> + +<p> +The three sleepy children listened. +</p> + +<p> +"Now that nest, dear, now that nest, dear. We must build that nest, before +we rest." +</p> + +<p> +To whom could he be talking? +</p> + +<p> +They looked around. And there, hopping about on a spray of beautiful apple +blossoms, was another bird. It was Mother Oriole. She was almost like +Father Oriole, only her coat was not as bright as his. It is funny the +way birds are dressed, isn't it? What would you think if some Sunday +<i>your</i> Father went to church in a black coat with a yellow vest, while +Mother wore some very dull colour? You would laugh. But that is the way +with birds. The father bird always wears brighter colours than the mother. +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children were glad that the mother bird had come with the +father bird up from the sunny South. They heard him whistle again: +</p> + +<p> + "In the Winter we go South, dear,<br /> + But in the Spring to the North we wing."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +Then together they flew back to the elm. They were house-hunting. Back on +the roof of the barn there was a little house of wood with doors for the +pretty pigeons, but there were no houses of any kind on the old elm. Still +the Orioles did not worry about that. They were not lazy, oh no! +</p> + +<p> +They were just looking for a place to build. They must have found it, for +the Oriole sang again (he was always changing his song): +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "My dear, my dear,<br /> + Sunny—quiet—lovely—here."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +He had chosen a branch about thirty feet from the ground. Mother Oriole +quietly answered back that it suited her perfectly. They both flew down +to the ground, then back to the tree. And every time they travelled they +had little pieces of grass or bark in their bills. But Mother Oriole did +most of this work, which was quite proper, for mothers always do most of +the work about the house, don't they? Father Oriole, you see, was more +interested in getting fat beetles and caterpillars for food. And that was +quite right too. But once he sang out louder than ever, for he had found a +bit of string from Jehosophat's broken kite. +</p> + +<p> +"The very thing, the very thing," he said to her. +</p> + +<p> +And once Mother Oriole found, caught in the shutter, little threads of +Hepzebiah's hair. +</p> + +<p> +Then the three happy children woke up. They rubbed their eyes. They had +been dreaming in the warm sun. +</p> + +<p> +But their dream was true and the fairy story was true. +</p> + +<p> +For there were the two birds, very pretty and very much alive. They were +busily flying to the earth again and back to the elm branch. And they were +carrying the materials for their new home in their beaks. +</p> + +<p> +They perched on the branch and crocheted with their beaks. Yes, crocheted +the little bits of bark and string and grass and hair into a tiny nest. +Hanging down from the branch, it looked like the pretty soft grey bags +which ladies carry, only it was very small. +</p> + +<p> +And between whiles Father Oriole would whistle in delight and Mother Oriole +would answer back quietly. +</p> + +<p> +They were very happy birds and were quite content with the warm sun and +the cool elm leaves and the pretty apple blossoms and their breakfast and +dinner and supper. And they were very grateful to the good God who had +given these things to them, grateful and happy as all little children +should be. +</p> + +<p> +But that is not the end of the fairy story. No, that is—but the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel won't let us tell any more. +His silver voice says: +</p> + +<p> +"Ting—ting—ting—ting—ting—ting—ting," which means: +</p> + +<p> +"Tell—that—tale—a—noth—er—time." +</p> + +<p> +So good-night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap10"></a> +TENTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +All stories should have an ending. It's fine, isn't it, when they end +happily? +</p> + +<p> +And this story of the Orioles did end happily—oh, so happily! +</p> + +<p> +It was this way, you see. +</p> + +<p> +The little grey house on the elm was finished. +</p> + +<p> +It hung down from the end of the green branch, under the leaves. It looked +both like a fairy house and a little crocheted bag. +</p> + +<p> +Now for some days Mother Oriole didn't go out very much. She stayed in her +little house. +</p> + +<p> +But Father Oriole kept about his work, hunting for the little brown +crawling things and the green crawling things that made their food. +</p> + +<p> +He would whistle every once in a while to tell Mother Oriole that he was +near. Sometimes it was just a few notes to say: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "I'm still here—my dear,<br /> + Still here, still here, still here."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "All right, my love!"<br /> +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes just: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "All's well!"<br /> +</p> + +<p> +But if a strange man came too near the tree his song was sharp and angry. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Look out, look out, look out!<br /> + He's a rogue, an awful rogue, look out, I say!"<br /> +</p> + +<p> +But somehow he didn't seem to mind the children. +</p> + +<p> +"Why does Mother Oriole sit so quietly on her nest?" Marmaduke asked his +own mother. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I could lift you up so that you could see. But the nest is too high +up. It's out of harm's way. Dicky Means, who has a cruel heart and robs +birds' nests, can't reach it way up there!" +</p> + +<p> +"What's in it, Muvver?" asked little Hepzebiah. You see her little tongue +didn't work just right. She never could say words with "th" in them. +</p> + +<p> +"Little eggs, dear. They are white, with little dark spots and funny dark +scrawls on them as if somebody had tried to write with a bad pen." +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke asked: +</p> + +<p> +"And is she keeping them warm?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, so that they will hatch out. They will, very soon now." +</p> + +<p> +So for a number of days in the warm weather, and in the rainy weather too, +Mother Oriole sat faithfully on her nest. Bird mothers and the mothers of +little children are always very patient. Then came one fine morning when +the sun was particularly jolly and bright, and the blossoms smelt very +sweet and were beginning to fall from the trees. The three happy children +stood under the elm and looked up at the tiny hanging nest. +</p> + +<p> +They heard new noises, strange noises. +</p> + +<p> +It sounded like babies. +</p> + +<p> +Yes, the little Oriole babies had broken their shells and had been born at +last. +</p> + +<p> +They didn't have many clothes on. But some day their feathers will be as +pretty as their father's. +</p> + +<p> +How they did cry for food! Somehow baby Orioles cry more than other bird +babies. They seem to want to eat all the time. +</p> + +<p> +And how Father Oriole did work to keep them fed, whistling every once in a +while to make things pleasant for his family! I wonder if they appreciated +all the things he and Mother Oriole did for them. And the days passed and +the little birds grew fatter on the bugs and the beetles which their father +brought, just as fat as the little boys or girls on their oatmeal and bread +and milk, which their fathers work hard to earn for them. +</p> + +<p> +The little Orioles were certainly noisy little birds, and when they cried +sometimes the children saw funny little heads and beaks poking out of the +nest. +</p> + +<p> +Then more days passed and Father and Mother Oriole taught them to fly, just +as Father and Mother Green had taught little Hepzebiah to walk. Marmaduke +remembered how his Mother had held Hepzebiah and Father stood a little way +off. Then Hepzebiah had started. She was a little frightened at first but +she made the journey. It was only a few steps and her father caught her +before she fell. She tried this often and soon she could take a great many +steps. +</p> + +<p> +And that was something like the way Father and Mother Oriole taught their +children to fly. The parent birds would fly to a branch a little way off. +Then they would call the little birds. And one by one they would fly to the +branch. Their wings were weak at first like Hepzebiah's little feet. But +soon they grew strong and before many weeks had gone they could fly as fast +as the old birds. And before the summer was over they were as big as their +parents. You see birds have shorter lives than real people. They do not +live so many years. So they have to grow up quickly or they wouldn't have +much time for work and play, would they? +</p> + +<p> +So the children decided that the story of the Orioles was a very pretty +fairy story, indeed, and they liked it better because it was true. +</p> + +<p> +And they found others—oh, so many stories like it. +</p> + +<p> +For sometimes Mother and sometimes Father and sometimes the Toyman +showed them other little bird homes. +</p> + +<p> +They climbed a ladder and found the barn-swallow's nest plastered under the +eaves of the barn. They liked the barn swallow who flew through the air, +almost as if he were so happy that he danced as he flew. And his dress was +so pretty, for he was dark blue on top, brown on the throat, and his little +stomach was white. His tail was forked too, cut like the coat of the man in +the circus who cracked the whip and made the horses perform tricks. +</p> + +<p> +The barn swallow's nest was so cunningly made. It was plastered of mud and +grass, and had a soft grass lining. The little eggs in it were white and +had tiny brown spots. +</p> + +<p> +Right near the bay window, in the thick lilac tree, Marmaduke spied Red +Robin's nest. He was a great friend of theirs. They always liked the cheery +way he hopped over the lawn, and his cheery red vest, and his song which +always said: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Che-eer up—che-eer up!"<br /> +</p> + +<p> +His eggs were the prettiest of all, a greenish blue, a robin's-egg blue, +the dressmakers call it. Mother Green's summer dress was coloured just like +it. +</p> + +<p> +And in a bush by the roadside, Hepzebiah spied the brown thrush's nest. His +eggs were blue and spotted with brown. +</p> + +<p> +And in the elderberry tree they found the grey cat-bird's nest. He was a +funny bird, always crying like a lost pussy. And his eggs were green-blue. +</p> + +<p> +So in the fields and the woods Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah saw +all kinds of birds and all kinds of nests and all kinds of eggs. They +saw them because their eyes were bright and sharp as yours must be too +when you go into the beautiful country. +</p> + +<p> +And from the eggs funny little birds were born and grew up and flew and +sang. +</p> + +<p> +And so the three happy children decided that the really true fairy stories +of Mother Nature were the prettiest of all. +</p> + +<p> +And oh—we almost forgot! Perhaps we can tell the rest before that +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel tells us to stop. +</p> + +<p> +Over near Neighbour Brown's fence they were peeping through the green +leaves at the song-sparrow's nest. Mother was with them and they saw +someone come out of their neighbour's house. +</p> + +<p> +"Wouldn't you like to see her?" the strange lady whispered to Mother. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh yes," Mother whispered back, "but they mustn't wake her up." +</p> + +<p> +Who could they be talking about? Then they went through the gate. +</p> + +<p> +"Be very quiet," said Mother as they entered the door, "and you'll see the +end of another true fairy story." +</p> + +<p> +So they tiptoed in. +</p> + +<p> +There in a bed lay Mrs. Brown, looking very happy. +</p> + +<p> +And curled up in her arm she had—well, what do you think she had? +</p> + +<p> +A little sleeping baby! +</p> + +<p> +Like the little Orioles Baby had been born just a few days ago. +</p> + +<p> +"That," said Mother, "is the prettiest fairy story of all." +</p> + +<p> +And the children thought so too. +</p> + +<p> +There—we've finished just in time. We hear the Little Clock. There goes +his silver tongue now. +</p> + +<p> +Good-night! Sweet Dreams. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap11"></a> +ELEVENTH NIGHT +<br /> +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Jehosophat and Marmaduke were whispering together. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's try it," said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"An' see what happens," added Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +So they tiptoed into the House of the White Wyandottes and placed the big +duck's eggs in with the smaller eggs under the setting hen. +</p> + +<p> +Mother Hen did not like that, oh no! +</p> + +<p> +She stirred in her nest. All her feathers puffed up and she looked very +much hurt. +</p> + +<p> +"Duck, duck, duck!" sniffed she scornfully. And to herself she added: "What +a mean way to treat a decent, respectable hen!" For White Wyandottes are +very particular and very exclusive. +</p> + +<p> +But after the two little imps had tiptoed out of her house, she made the +best of a bad matter. She couldn't kick the big duck's eggs out of the nest +in the box. The sides of the box were too high. So she settled down on her +eggs again. +</p> + +<p> +"I must keep my very own warm, anyway," she decided. +</p> + +<p> +About three weeks later there was much excitement in the House of the White +Wyandottes. From the nest in the box came little noises. +</p> + +<p> +"Chip, chip, chip," sounded faintly from inside the eggs. And before the +sun climbed over the Big Gold Rooster, who swung on the weather-vane on the +barn, all the new little chickens had broken their eggs. +</p> + +<p> +"How nice it is to be born!" they cheeped together in a merry chorus, as +they arrived in the wonderful world. +</p> + +<p> +Very proud of her family was Mother Wyandotte when the little yellow balls +began to run about. A few days later she was prouder still when they +scampered this way and that, pecking at little bugs and ants. They worked +hard for their breakfasts and dinners and suppers. +</p> + +<p> +Even Father Wyandotte, the great white rooster with the magnificent red +comb and curling white plumes on his tail, forgot that other rooster of +whom he was so jealous. For the rooster who was always perched on the +weather-vane on the barn was up so high and he shone like gold. +</p> + +<p> +But now Father Wyandotte was not jealous. He walked around in his lordly +way, cocking his eye at his little yellow sons and daughters as they chased +the fat little bugs. +</p> + +<p> +At first he would not say just how proud of them he was. He did not like to +tell all his feelings at once. Sometimes he thought fighting and crowing +better than being a family man. But all of a sudden he flew up on the +tallest fence-post he could find, and flapped his wings. He threw back his +head, opened his yellow beak, and crowed up at that gold rooster: +</p> + +<p> +"Sure, sure, sure! You couldn't do it, you couldn't do it—couldn't do it, +do." +</p> + +<p> +No, the Gold Rooster on the weather-vane on the top of the barn, though he +shone like the sun, could neither crow nor raise a family. +</p> + +<p> +But Mother Wyandotte didn't bother about anything so high in the sky as the +sun and the rooster. She was busy playing nurse-maid to her little yellow +children and helping them find food. +</p> + +<p> +But in the afternoon she did look up at the sky. That was when something +like a dark shadow sailed in the air far above the home of the White +Wyandottes. +</p> + +<p> +It was a great bird with wide-stretched wings, much bigger than Jim Crow. +He sailed in circles, while his evil eye looked down at the frightened, +scampering White Wyandottes. +</p> + +<p> +"Um!" How he would like a nice chicken for lunch! +</p> + +<p> +"Robber Hawk!" called all of Mother Hen's uncles and aunts in the barnyard. +</p> + +<p> +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her great-uncles and great-aunts too. +</p> + +<p> +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her cousins, first, second, and third. +</p> + +<p> +Loud and long barked Rover and Brownie. And little Wienerwurst stopped +chasing the pretty pink pigeons. +</p> + +<p> +And even Mr. Stuckup, the turkey, had to join in the hubbub. +</p> + +<p> +"Horrible robber, horrible robber," he gobbled. +</p> + +<p> +But Mother Wyandotte had called to her children. She opened her wings and +under them quickly in fright they ran, all huddling together. Her wings +hardly seemed large enough to cover them all, but she took them all in, +every one of her children. +</p> + +<p> +She was a nervous old thing, but she was a good mother, and good mother +hens, good animal mothers, and our own mothers too, never seem to think of +themselves when there is danger around. They just look out for their little +ones. +</p> + +<p> +"Robber Hawk, robber! Shan't touch 'em—robber!" she said. +</p> + +<p> +Then—quick as a wink—there was another loud noise, just like that day +when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield. +</p> + +<p> +"Bang, bang!" +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped. +</p> + +<p> +They looked around. +</p> + +<p> +There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder. +</p> + +<p> +Little puffs of smoke like white feathers floated away from the muzzles of +the gun. +</p> + +<p> +"Winged him, anyway!" cried the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +They looked up. +</p> + +<p> +Robber Hawk wasn't sailing in the sky any longer. +</p> + +<p> +He was falling, falling, like a stone—just like Jim Crow. +</p> + +<p> +"The Toyman's a good shot," exclaimed Jehosophat. "My, how I wish I could +shoot like that!" +</p> + +<p> +Mother Green came to the back door. +</p> + +<p> +She called to the Toyman: +</p> + +<p> +"He's fallen on the barn, Frank." +</p> + +<p> +"Roof, roof, roof!" barked little Wienerwurst to explain it more clearly. +</p> + +<p> +Sure enough, Robber Hawk dropped on the roof of the barn, right by the Gold +Rooster who swung on the weather-vane. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman scratched his head. +</p> + +<p> +"Quite a climb for these stiff legs," said he. +</p> + +<p> +But he fetched a tall ladder and placed it against the side of the barn. +</p> + +<p> +The three children watched him, their heads bent back so far that they +almost snapped off. +</p> + +<p> +Mother held the ladder at the foot, for nobody wanted anything ever to +happen to the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"Careful!" she warned him. +</p> + +<p> +"All right, Mis' Green," he said. "I haven't been up in the maintop for +nothing." +</p> + +<p> +You see, once upon a time, he had been a sailor. There was nothing that the +Toyman hadn't done. +</p> + +<p> +He reached the top of the ladder, then swung out on the roof. At last he +reached the ridge. +</p> + +<p> +There stood the Gold Rooster, never crowing or saying anything at all. And +under him lay Robber Hawk, and he didn't say anything either. +</p> + +<p> +Carefully the Toyman climbed down from the ridge of the barn, holding the +rascal in his hands. Then one by one down the rungs of the ladder he came. +</p> + +<p> +When he reached the ground Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah +gathered round. +</p> + +<p> +Robber Hawk hung limp from the Toyman's hand. +</p> + +<p> +His dark brown feathers never stirred. His white breast with its dark bars +and patches never moved. +</p> + +<p> +"Robber Hawk," spoke the Toyman, "your old curved beak will never feed on +any more good chicken." +</p> + +<p> +Then he turned to the children. +</p> + +<p> +"We must bury him by Jim Crow." +</p> + +<p> +So Jehosophat, Marmaduke, Hepzebiah, Rover, Brownie, Wienerwurst and +the Toyman marched with Robber Hawk on towards the cornfield. +</p> + +<p> +There by the side of Jim Crow they buried him. +</p> + +<p> +And the Toyman took two pieces of wood. On these he cut with his knife: +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + JIM CROW<br /> + KILLED 1918<br /> + THIEF<br /> +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ROBBER HAWK<br /> + KILLED 1918<br /> + THIEF AND MURDERER<br /> +</p> + +<p> +At their heads he placed the two boards side by side. +</p> + +<p> +"There we will leave them," the Toyman spoke sternly, "as a warning to all +evil-doers." +</p> + +<p> +So they walked back slowly to the House of the White Wyandottes where +Mother Hen clucked contentedly once more and all the yellow chickens ran +around, chasing the little bugs in their game of hide-and-seek. A fine game +it was too, only it was more interesting for the chickens than the bugs, +you see. +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children noticed that one of the little yellow fellows was +larger than the others. He— +</p> + +<p> +"Ting—ting—ting—ting—ting—ting—ting!" +</p> + +<p> +"End—that—tale—to—mor—row—night." +</p> + +<p> +So says the Little Clock. He must be obeyed. So good-bye for a little +while. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap12"></a> +TWELFTH NIGHT +<br /> +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +In the door of the workshop stood the three happy children, watching the +Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +It was one of the very nicest places on the whole farm. Tools of all sorts, +bright and sharp, lay on the table. Lumber of every kind lay piled against +the walls. The shelves were filled with cans of paint. All the colours of +the rainbow were in those cans. The children could tell that by the pretty +splashes of the paint dripping down their sides. +</p> + +<p> +Back and forth, back and forth swung the arms of the Toyman. He was very +busy over something—something very important it must be, for he never +talked, only worked and whistled away. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh dear! I wish I knew what it was," sighed Marmaduke. Anyway he knew it +was something for <i>them</i>. Father Green had given the Toyman a holiday, +all for himself, to do as he liked. And <i>of course</i> he'd make +something for <i>them</i>. +</p> + +<p> +On the edge of the table was a vise, a big tool with iron jaws. In the +iron jaws was a block of wood. The Toyman screwed the vise—very tight—so +tight the wood couldn't budge. Then he shaved this side of the block, then +the other side, with a plane, a tool with a very sharp edge. Clean white +shavings fell on the floor, some of them twisting like Hepzebiah's curls. +</p> + +<p> +"I wonder what it's going to be," Marmaduke repeated. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat was pretty sure he knew. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll bet it's a boat," he said. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman chuckled. +</p> + +<p> +"Right you are, Son. It's the Good Ship—well, let's see. All boats have a +name, you know. What do you think would be a good name for a fine ship?" +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat had one, right on the tip of his tongue. +</p> + +<p> +"The Arrow." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman thought this over. +</p> + +<p> +"That isn't bad," said he. +</p> + +<p> +Then he turned to Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"What's your idea for a name, little chap?" +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke thought and thought. He looked out through the door and saw +the Party Bird, the vain Peacock, parading up and down, showing off its +beautiful tail, and "Peacock" was the only name he could think of. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat laughed out loud. +</p> + +<p> +"That's no name for a boat." +</p> + +<p> +And Marmaduke had to shout back—as little boys will, losing his temper: +</p> + +<p> +"<i>'Tis too!</i>" +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman stopped the quarrel, just as he always did, with something +pleasant or funny he said. Then he leaned over and picked up three chips of +wood. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll write the names on these little chips," he explained, "and we'll +choose." +</p> + +<p> +Putting his hand on Hepzebiah's sunny curls, he asked that little girl: +</p> + +<p> +"What name do <i>you</i> think would be nice for the boat?" +</p> + +<p> +Now Hepzebiah really didn't know just what it all was about. But she had +heard Marmaduke say "Peacock," so she took her finger out of her mouth just +long enough to point at the Guinea-hen, who was screeching horribly out in +the barnyard. +</p> + +<p> +"The Guinea-hen! Ha, ha! That's a good one!" The Toyman was forever saying +that and laughing at the funny things the children said. +</p> + +<p> +Hepzebiah, thinking that this was a nice sort of a game, took her finger +out of her mouth and pointed again—this time out at the pond where the +swans were sailing, like pretty white ships themselves. +</p> + +<p> +"The very thing," exclaimed the Toyman. "White Swan's a <i>fine</i> name +for a boat!" +</p> + +<p> +And he wrote "White Swan" on one chip, "Peacock" on another, and "Arrow" +on the last. Then he held them towards the children. +</p> + +<p> +"The smallest must choose first," he said, and Hepzebiah took one of the +little white pieces of wood from the Toyman's hand. He turned it over and +read: +</p> + +<p> +"White Swan." +</p> + +<p> +"We'd go a good ways before we'd get a better name," he decided. "When +the boat's all finished and all sails set, she'll sail away just like a +swan; you see if she doesn't." +</p> + +<p> +The hull of the boat was finished now, and on the bow, at the very front, +he nailed a thin little stick, with tiny nails. This was the bowsprit. +</p> + +<p> +On the keel at the very bottom, he fastened a piece of lead so she wouldn't +"turn turtle"—turn over, he meant, when her sails were set and the wind +blew too hard. +</p> + +<p> +Then choosing some sticks—very carefully, for they must be straight—he +tucked the boat under his arm and, with the three children close at his +heels, walked over to the pond and sat down under the Crying Tree, where +the sun shone bright and warm. +</p> + +<p> +Out came the magic knife and he whittled away at the little sticks; +whittled and whistled and smiled all the time. +</p> + +<p> +Sliver after sliver of the wood fell on the ground. Sometimes one would +drop into the water and float away like a fairy canoe, with the green +willow leaves that fell from the Crying Tree. +</p> + +<p> +So under the magic knife the little ship grew and grew, till the masts were +fitted too, and set fast and tight in the clean smooth deck. +</p> + +<p> +"But where are the sails?" asked Jehosophat impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +A funny answer the Toyman made. +</p> + +<p> +He just said: +</p> + +<p> +"Hold your horses, Sonny." +</p> + +<p> +The teacher in the Red Schoolhouse up the road would have reproved him +for this, but the children thought whatever the Toyman said was all right. +</p> + +<p> +Of course he meant not to be too impatient and—but just then the dinner +horn sounded, way out over the pond and over the fields, and the children +ran into the house, just as you would have done too. +</p> + +<p> +It didn't take long to finish dinner that day. For desert they had +blackberry pie, very juicy and nice, and they didn't even wait to wash the +red marks of that pie from their faces but just ran for the Crying Tree. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman felt in all of his six big pockets. And out came needles and +thread, and pieces of clean muslin besides. +</p> + +<p> +Stitch, stitch, stitch went his fingers, for a thousand stitches or more. +And bye and bye the sails were all cut and sewed and fitted on the three +little masts. +</p> + +<p> +Then the Toyman stopped. +</p> + +<p> +"We haven't christened her yet," he said. "We should have done that long +ago." +</p> + +<p> +In his pockets he rummaged again, those pockets which always held just the +right thing. It was a small bottle this time, all filled with tiny pink +pills. Much nicer these were, the children thought, than that yellow stuff +in the big bottle they hated so. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman poured the little pills out. +</p> + +<p> +"What's the use of medicine on a nice day like this," said he. +</p> + +<p> +And he filled the bottle with water and put back the stopper. +</p> + +<p> +"When ships are launched," he explained, "folks break a bottle over the bow +when they name her." +</p> + +<p> +"All right, I'll do that," said Jehosophat, but the Toyman stopped him. +</p> + +<p> +"Hold on there, Sonny, that's the <i>ladies'</i> job." +</p> + +<p> +Then he called Hepzebiah and gave her the bottle. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, little girl, you stand here and say: 'I christen thee White Swan.'" +</p> + +<p> +But, "I ckwithen Wite Thwan" was the best she could do. +</p> + +<p> +"Now drop the bottle!" +</p> + +<p> +She opened her fingers and, sure enough, the little bottle fell right on +the deck and broke all in little pieces, and the glistening drops splashed +over the bow, and so the good ship "White Swan" got her name. +</p> + +<p> +Into the water the Toyman pushed the little ship. The wind filled her sails +and off she went, racing away before the wind to join the beautiful birds +for whom she had been named. +</p> + +<p> +Around the pond and over the bridge went the Toyman, to the other side. +When the ship reached the opposite shore he swung it around and sent it +back on the return voyage. The "White Swan" had reached port safely, when +the Toyman said: +</p> + +<p> +"It's funny what different opinions folks have. Some like the water and +some don't. Now the swans and the ducks, and that little ship, and the +fish, and the froggies, and Uncle Roger, and you and I, we think it's fine. +But Mr. Stuck-up, and Miss Crosspatch, and Old Mother Wyandotte, and Mis' +Fizzeltree, why they won't go near it at all." +</p> + +<p> +"That <i>is</i> funny," said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +Then the Toyman added: +</p> + +<p> +"Just listen to that." +</p> + +<p> +Old Mother Wyandotte was right near them, clucking in fright. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't—don't—don't you do it!" she was calling to one of her children who +was looking longingly at the cool pond. +</p> + +<p> +Around her were all her children, fast growing up now. They were all soft +and white but one. Like good little chickens they were looking for bugs, +all but one. +</p> + +<p> +<i>He</i> was the little fellow they had noticed before, the funny little +fellow with a longer bill than the rest, and the odd-looking feet. His soft +downy back was turning black. And he was starting for that pretty water +shining in the pond. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat looked him all over. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, he looks like a duck." +</p> + +<p> +"What did you expect?" laughed the Toyman. "He is a duck. Old Mother +Wyandotte thinks he's her child, but he's only a step-child. Ha! Ha! +Somebody must have put another egg in her nest." +</p> + +<p> +Over in the garden were pretty flowers called Bleeding Hearts. They +were very pink, and Jehosophat's face turned the very same colour. Well +<i>he</i> knew who had stolen into the House of the White Wyandottes and +put that big duck's egg under Old Mother Hen. And now it had turned out +a real little duckling, that black little fellow Mother Wyandotte was +scolding so. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't—don't—don't—don't you do it," she was shouting still. +</p> + +<p> +But little black Duckie had made up his mind. He was headed straight for +that shining water. +</p> + +<p> +Around Mother Wyandotte gathered all her relatives to talk over the matter. +They were disgusted. That one of their family should disgrace them so! +</p> + +<p> +"Respectable chickens spend their time on the ground," said Granny +Wyandotte with a toss of her comb, "and never, never get wet, if they can +help it, not even their feet." +</p> + +<p> +"True—true—quite true," all the Wyandotte Aunties agreed. +</p> + +<p> +But their second cousins and the third cousins too, the ducks and the geese +and the swans, said they were wrong. +</p> + +<p> +"Little Duckie's a sensible chap. What better place can there be to play in +than that nice cool pond?" +</p> + +<p> +And all the fishes swimming around, from the big pickerel down to the +littlest "minnie," waggled their fins and tails to show they agreed too, +while the froggies on the lily-pad croaked: +</p> + +<p> +"Gomme on—gomme on!" +</p> + +<p> +They were giving little Duckie a warm invitation to play in the water, you +see. +</p> + +<p> +Duckie was right at the edge now and Mother Hen, who was really his +step-mother, made one last appeal, but the ducks one and all called: +</p> + +<p> +"Back, back, back!" +</p> + +<p> +They weren't talking to Duckie. They meant the White Wyandottes. They were +taking his part, you see, though not for one minute did they guess he was +<i>their</i> child, <i>their very own</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Duckie appreciated that too. Perhaps Old Father Drake, the head of all the +Duck family, wouldn't let Step-father Wyandotte punish him that night if he +did try the water. +</p> + +<p> +I don't believe Step-father Wyandotte really cared very much. At first he +was a little mad but, after scolding a little, he shouted: +</p> + +<p> +"Through, through, through—I'm through with yooooooouuu." +</p> + +<p> +He wouldn't have anything more to do with little Duckie. I guess he +suspected he was just a step-child after all. So he just grumbled to +himself as he speared a fat tumble-bug with his beak: +</p> + +<p> +"Ur, ur—I don't care!" +</p> + +<p> +He had enough children anyway. But the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn +looked down, laughing at him. He couldn't really laugh, you know, or flap +his wings, but he swung from west to southwest and back again, as if to +say: +</p> + +<p> +"I knew it. I knew it. They fooled you!" +</p> + +<p> +Old Father Drake, the head of the duck family, started for the water. +Mother Duck and all the little ducks went in too. They were going to show +Duckie the way. +</p> + +<p> +He just couldn't stand it any longer. So—<i>plopp</i> in he went and +paddled around after the others, and ducked his head under the water to +catch his dinner, just as a real duckling should. +</p> + +<p> +"Better than grubbing for bugs in the dirty earth, this nice clean cool +water," quacked he, and he was as happy as happy could be. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman was looking at him with a smile on his face. +</p> + +<p> +"He's just like me," he said at last, and the children, surprised at that, +asked all together: +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Who's</i> like you?" +</p> + +<p> +"That little duck there." +</p> + +<p> +"Like you!" Jehosophat shouted. "Why he doesn't look like you at all!" +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman puffed away on his corncob pipe before he answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Oh <i>inside</i> he's the same. I was just like him when I was a kid. I +had a step-mother, too, and she and all the step-uncles and aunts scolded +and scolded, and whipped me besides, because <i>I</i> wanted to go to sea +on a great big ship." +</p> + +<p> +"What did you do?" +</p> + +<p> +They didn't really need to ask that question, for hadn't the Toyman been +most everywhere, and hadn't he told them many a story about the great sea +and the ships? +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, they all said I would drown or become a wicked bad man." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke thought he would like to do something to those step-uncles and +aunts who treated the Toyman so badly. +</p> + +<p> +"They don't know what they're talking about," he shouted. "You're good as +anybody in the world." +</p> + +<p> +"Thank you, little feller," replied the Toyman, patting his head. "But they +said I would, just the same. They talked just like those old Wyandottes +there. +</p> + +<p> +"But I fooled them all," he went on. "And one night, when it was dark, just +a few stars out, I climbed out of bed and jumped out of the window and ran +away. +</p> + +<p> +"I walked and I walked, miles and miles, till I came to a big town by the +sea. There were lots of big ships at the docks, and I asked a man, with a +great big beard, to take me too. So he took me on board, and I was a little +cabin boy. But bye and bye I got to be a real sailor, and I sailed all +over the world in the ship, and saw lots of people, yellow, and black, and +brown, and funny places and queer houses and—" +</p> + +<p> +"Be careful, Frank!" +</p> + +<p> +They all turned at once. There was Mother, standing right near them. All +the time she had been listening, near the Crying Tree. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, Frank," she repeated, "be careful or you'll put <i>notions</i> in +those children's heads, and some day they'll be running away from +<i>me</i>." +</p> + +<p> +Still she didn't look cross, and she smiled at the Toyman, especially when +he answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Not from a mother like you, Mis' Green. How about it, kiddies?" +</p> + +<p> +And Marmaduke and Jehosophat were very sure they never could run away—not +even to sea in a beautiful ship. So they kissed her and hugged her too. +</p> + +<p> +Now the froggies were singing their evening song. The sun was getting close +to his home in the west. Little Duckie and his real mother and father came +out of the water and waddled off towards the barn. The Swans folded their +wings and came to the shore. So the Toyman brought the ship to the harbour +and anchored her for the night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap13"></a> +THIRTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE TALL ENEMY +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +It was the first snowfall. The grey sky was filled with little white +feathers dancing down—down—down. +</p> + +<p> +"Look at the snowflakes," exclaimed the three happy children, all in one +breath. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," said their Mother, "the snow has come. In the spring and summer +Mother Earth works very hard. It takes so much of her strength, feeding the +millions of plants from her brown breast. By fall she is very tired and in +winter she takes things quite easy. +</p> + +<p> +"Then the gentle Rain Fairy feels sorry for Mother Earth. She turns her own +tears to snow-flakes, and scatters them over her. They weave a soft white +comforter to keep her warm. And it keeps the seed babies, sleeping in +Mother Earth's brown breast, all snug and warm too." +</p> + +<p> +All that day and all night the snow fell. And all the next day and the next +night—and the third day and the third night too. +</p> + +<p> +Then all of a sudden it stopped, and the three happy children woke in the +morning, and looked out of the window. +</p> + +<p> +"Why the snow's most as high as Wienerwurst's house!" cried Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +Then they all trooped in to breakfast. +</p> + +<p> +"We will make forts," said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"Hooray!" exclaimed Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"The very thing!" added Mother. +</p> + +<p> +And Wienerwurst, curled up by the rosy kitchen stove, barked, "Woof, woof, +woof." +</p> + +<p> +Now this means a lot of things. But this time it meant, "Good, good, good." +</p> + +<p> +So the three happy children hurried through their oatmeal. They hurried so +fast that they had three little pains. Jehosophat had one right under his +belt, Marmaduke one in the centre of his blouse, Hepzebiah one under her +little red waist. +</p> + +<p> +Mother came in from the kitchen. She looked at the empty bowls. +</p> + +<p> +"What! All gone already! Look out or you'll each have to take a big +table-spoonful of the yellow stuff in that bottle." +</p> + +<p> +There it stood, on the kitchen mantel. She pointed right at it. They hated +it worse than most anything in the world. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm all right," said Jehosophat; and +</p> + +<p> +"I'm not sick," protested Marmaduke; and +</p> + +<p> +"Pain's all gone," cried Hepzebiah. +</p> + +<p> +It was funny how the sight of that bottle frightened the three little pains +away. +</p> + +<p> +Mother smiled. It was a funny smile. Then she said: +</p> + +<p> +"Now, on with your things!" +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat sat on the floor and pulled on his new rubber boots, which +reached almost to his waist. On the stool sat Marmaduke, putting on his, +and Mother helped little Hepzebiah with her wee little ones. +</p> + +<p> +Over Jehosophat's head went a red sweater, over Marmaduke's a green, and +over Hepzebiah's curls one of blue. Then wristlets and mittens and coats +and caps, and out into the deep white snow they tramped. +</p> + +<p> +"Forward march!" said a voice. +</p> + +<p> +They looked. It was the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"The enemy is about to attack," he explained sternly. +</p> + +<p> +"Where's the enemy?" +</p> + +<p> +"You can't see them. But they're advancing fast. Up with the fort. Double +quick!" +</p> + +<p> +So at double quick they marched to the barnyard, and began work with their +shovels. +</p> + +<p> +My! how they dug! Fast flew the snow. And the Toyman packed it down hard, +and shaped it into the walls of a big strong fort. +</p> + +<p> +It was odd, too, how the Toyman could find time to help. For he had lots of +work to do. But then the enemy was coming! +</p> + +<p> +Rover and Brownie and Wienerwurst scampered around in the snow. They were +not of much help. All they did was to bark—bark—bark. +</p> + +<p> +"Hush!" commanded the Toyman. "We must keep quiet so the enemy won't know +where we are." +</p> + +<p> +So they dug and they dug and packed the snow hard. Soon the walls were as +high as Jehosophat's shoulders, and the fort was all ready. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman stopped and said: +</p> + +<p> +"Now for the ammunition." +</p> + +<p> +"What's ammunition?' +</p> + +<p> +"Watch." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman took a handful of snow and crushed it hard between both hands. +When he had finished he opened his fingers. In his palm was a round white +ball. Then another he made and another. And the three little soldiers, +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah, made lots too. They piled them in the +corner of the fort, until they had a heap like the iron balls around the +cannon in the town park. +</p> + +<p> +"Now," commanded the Toyman. "March to the barracks and get warm" (he +pointed at the house). "I'll watch and call when the enemy comes." +</p> + +<p> +Into the house they went, and dried their mittens and warmed their hands. +And each had a cup of nice warm milk. +</p> + +<p> +After a while there was a loud knock at the door, and the sound of a horn. +</p> + +<p> +Mother opened the door a little way. +</p> + +<p> +The horn sounded again. Then the voice spoke loudly: +</p> + +<p> +"Fall in," it said. "<i>The enemy comes</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +Quickly the three little soldiers put on their mittens and caps, and +buttoned their coats, and hurried to the fort. +</p> + +<p> +They looked around. They could not see anybody with a horn. And the Toyman +was gone. +</p> + +<p> +Over the walls of the fort they peeked. +</p> + +<p> +There stood six soldiers staring at them. The six soldiers stood very +still. They were all white, but their eyes were black like pieces of coal, +and they stared hard at the three little soldiers within the fort. Over +their shoulders were six long round things. +</p> + +<p> +"Guns," said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +They looked around for the Toyman. He did not come. Their hearts beat fast. +</p> + +<p> +"We're not afraid," shouted Jehosophat at the white soldiers. "Come on, you +enemy!" +</p> + +<p> +With that they heard a sound far off. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.</i> +</p> + +<p> +"What's that?" cried the smallest little soldier. And Captain Jehosophat +answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Drums, drums, +</p> + +<p> +"The enemy comes!" +</p> + +<p> +Then he laughed. He had made a rhyme without thinking anything about it. +</p> + +<p> +But he stopped laughing. It was no time for play. There was hard work +ahead. Those six white soldiers in front of the fort were ready to attack. +And there were more coming. +</p> + +<p> +"Load!" he commanded. +</p> + +<p> +Each little soldier took up a snowball. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The drums sounded nearer now. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Around the house came the sound of the drum. +</p> + +<p> +Over the walls of the fort they peeked—very carefully. +</p> + +<p> +There was a man marching. He looked something like the Toyman. But could +it be? No, for he was so changed. The man had a horn around his neck, and +a feather in his hat, and his face was stern. He was whistling "Yankee +Doodle." It sounded like a fife, and all the time he was beating the drum +with all his might. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. +</p> + +<p> +On through the snow the Tall Enemy marched. He reached the six white +soldiers who stood so still, with their guns over their shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +He stopped and called out to the three little soldiers in the fort in a +loud voice: +</p> + +<p> +"SURRENDER OR WE ATTACK!" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Never</i>!" was the brave answer of Captain Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Fire</i>!" he commanded. +</p> + +<p> +Then he let a snowball fly. +</p> + +<p> +He hit the Tall Enemy right in the face. +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke let another snowball fly. +</p> + +<p> +That hit one of the white soldiers and knocked his black eye out. +</p> + +<p> +And Hepzebiah threw her snowball. She tried very hard. But it didn't go +very far and didn't do any damage. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat looked worried at that. He couldn't depend on Hepzebiah at all. +That left but two of them—against so many—and on came the Tall Enemy with +the feather in his cap, still beating his drum. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. <i>Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. <i>Rat-a-tat-tat</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The little soldiers must fight bravely now. +</p> + +<p> +Fast flew the snowballs. +</p> + +<p> +He was very near. +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke picked up the last snowball. He took good aim for it was the +last of their ammunition. Then he let it fly. It hit the Tall Enemy Man +right over his heart. +</p> + +<p> +He fell in the snow. +</p> + +<p> +"You've done for me!" he called in a weak voice. +</p> + +<p> +Then the three little soldiers shouted and ran out of the fort. +</p> + +<p> +There in the snow lay the dying enemy. +</p> + +<p> +"You've won," he said in a sad voice. "I surrender." +</p> + +<p> +"Hurrah, we've won!" they shouted. Then they stopped. They felt very sorry +for the enemy, for after all he had been very brave. +</p> + +<p> +They bent over him. +</p> + +<p> +Then something happened. All of a sudden the enemy seized the three little +soldiers in his arms. +</p> + +<p> +And he laughed! Yes, laughed. +</p> + +<p> +And hugged them all at once. +</p> + +<p> +And the three little soldiers laughed happily too. For the Tall Enemy had +been the Toyman all the time and the six silent soldiers were only made of +snow. +</p> + +<p> +Behind his heels they trudged into the house. But the Toyman had to carry +the littlest soldier in his arms. She was very cold and very tired. +</p> + +<p> +But the three happy children ate a very good dinner and a very good supper +too, that day, for they were very hungry. And they had earned it after the +brave fight in the fort. +</p> + +<p> +"Ting-ting." He's always on time, that Little Clock. So Good-night! +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap14"></a> +FOURTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Marmaduke had played too long in the snow. +</p> + +<p> +He was very wet. +</p> + +<p> +He was very cold. +</p> + +<p> +And he felt very funny and hot all over. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother, my throat's got a rubber ball stuck in it," he said. +</p> + +<p> +Mother looked at it. +</p> + +<p> +"No, dear, there's no rubber ball there, but your throat's all swollen and +there are little spots in it. You mustn't get up today." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke lay very still for a while. Soon he heard sleigh-bells tinkling +past the window, then far down the road. Father had hitched Teddy, the +buckskin horse, to the big sleigh and was going for the Doctor. +</p> + +<p> +Away ticked the clock. After a while-a long time it seemed—Marmaduke heard +the sleigh-bells again, at first far off, then coming nearer and nearer, +until they jingled before the porch—then stopped. He heard voices and the +sound of feet upon the porch, shaking off the snow. +</p> + +<p> +The door opened and into the bedroom came the Doctor. He had a face all +rosy from the cold. His eyes were black and so sharp that they looked right +through Marmaduke. But they were kind eyes and his voice had a pleasant +chuckle in it. +</p> + +<p> +The Doctor came and sat on the edge of the bed. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, well! How's my little soldier? Wounded in the battle or just playing +possum?" +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke opened his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +After the Doctor had talked a while about lots of different things, before +Marmaduke knew it, there was something like a spoon or a shoe-horn in his +throat and the Doctor was telling him to say "Ah!" +</p> + +<p> +"This isn't school," thought Marmaduke, "why does he make me say that?" +</p> + +<p> +But he forgot to be frightened, for the Doctor was saying so many funny +things all the time. +</p> + +<p> +Then he opened his black bag. It was full of little bottles, packed neatly +in rows. Marmaduke wished he would forget and leave it behind. It would be +fine to play with. +</p> + +<p> +Mother brought two glasses and the Doctor poured some drops from one +bottle into a glass, then from another bottle into another glass. And he +said something to Mother in a low voice—Marmaduke could not hear what it +was—then he patted the little soldier on the head and said good-bye. +</p> + +<p> +Again the sleigh-bells sounded and away he drove. +</p> + +<p> +But the sleigh-bells never stopped. They kept sounding all the night, long +after Teddy was back in his stall and the big sleigh was in the shed. You +see Marmaduke was very sick and "out of his head." +</p> + +<p> +Seven days passed and seven nights. He began to feel better, but he was +very lonely, for Jehosophat and Hepzebiah had gone to Uncle Roger's to stay +while he was sick. +</p> + +<p> +Very small he felt in the big bed in the front room, and very, very lonely. +He looked out of the window at the big elms. They were covered with white +snow like fur. There were many trees standing in rows. The path between +them looked like a white road leading up over the hill to the sky. +</p> + +<p> +He wished he had someone to talk to. +</p> + +<p> +Just then he heard a noise at the door. +</p> + +<p> +"Tap, tap, tap" +</p> + +<p> +It opened just a little. +</p> + +<p> +"Who's there?" said Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +The door opened wider. And he saw the Toyman's kind face. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, little soldier." +</p> + +<p> +"'Llo, Toyman," replied the little boy, and his voice sounded very small +and very weak. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman sat by the bed a while. Then he got up and stirred the fire. +Showers of pretty gold and red sparks scampered up the chimney. After that +he spread a paper on the floor, not far from the fire-place. +</p> + +<p> +Then his pockets he searched, those big pockets which Mother said were +always like five and ten cent stores, they were so full of things. +</p> + +<p> +Out came some pieces of wood. Out came his knife—that magic knife with the +five blades. Marmaduke was always glad when he saw that knife for then +something nice was sure to happen. +</p> + +<p> +Up came the big blade and snapped back. And the Toyman began to whittle, +whittle away. Sometimes he used the big blade, sometimes the small one. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke watched him, all eyes. +</p> + +<p> +And as the Toyman whittled sometimes he whistled, and sometimes he sang a +funny song in a funny voice. You see he could make rhymes as well as toys. +</p> + +<p> +And this is what he sang: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + THE TOYMAN'S SONG<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 1<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "When a little boy's sick<br /> + And stays in bed,<br /> + And things feel queer<br /> + Inside his head.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 2<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "He cannot work,<br /> + He cannot play;<br /> + It's hard to pass<br /> + The time away.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 3<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Don't make much fuss<br /> + An' talk a lot;<br /> + No questions ask<br /> + 'Bout what he's got.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 4<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "They'll ask him that<br /> + When Doctor comes,<br /> + So just sit still<br /> + Like good, ole chums.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 5<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "An' take your knife<br /> + An' make him toys—<br /> + This knife knows what<br /> + Will please small boys.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 6<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Horses and lions,<br /> + An' tops and rings,<br /> + An' kites and ships,<br /> + An' pretty things.<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 7<br /> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "We'll paint 'em red<br /> + An' yeller an' blue.<br /> + Work away, ole knife,<br /> + He's watchin' you!"<br /> +</p> + +<p> +That's a new song and a very nice one, thought Marmaduke, as he watched the +Toyman whittling away by the red fire. +</p> + +<p> +The little white slivers and shavings covered the paper now. He couldn't +see just what that knife was making. But that was nice, too, for then it +would be a surprise. And there's nothing finer in the world than a real, +beautiful surprise. +</p> + +<p> +Then his head grew very tired, and his eyes began to droop till they were +tight shut and he fell asleep. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman looked at him and smiled. +</p> + +<p> +"Poor little feller!" he said. Then he closed his knife, and picked up the +paper and the shavings and the surprise, and out of the room he tiptoed. +</p> + +<p> +Out to the workshop he went, and opened the door. +</p> + +<p> +On the shelves were brushes of different sizes and cans of paint of all +colours. +</p> + +<p> +He took down three of the cans, humming to himself: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "We'll paint 'em red<br /> + An' yeller an' blue."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +"A little brown would go well too," he added as he took down another can. +</p> + +<p> +He worked away with his paint brushes until the surprise was finished. Then +he placed it on the work-table to dry. +</p> + +<p> +The next afternoon there was another tap at the bedroom door. +</p> + +<p> +But Marmaduke didn't answer. He was taking his afternoon nap. So the Toyman +slipped in and put the surprise at the foot of the bed. After that he sat +by the fire, watching the little sick soldier. He sat very still, stirring +the embers just once in a while to keep the room warm. +</p> + +<p> +At last Marmaduke opened his eyes, a little at first, then wider. +</p> + +<p> +The very first thing that he saw at the bottom of the bed was a tiny +sleigh. The body was bright blue and the runners were red. And what do you +think—in front, hitched to it, were two tiny brown reindeer with yellow +horns! They looked so much alive that Marmaduke thought any minute they +would start running away—away over the comforter, out of the window, and +up the snow-covered hill. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman came over to the bed. Marmaduke curled his little fingers around +his friend's hand. The hand was brown and hard, but it was a nice hand, +Marmaduke thought. +</p> + +<p> +"We're good ole chums, aren't we?" he said to the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"You bet we are," the Toyman answered. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap15"></a> +FIFTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Once, twice, thrice nodded Marmaduke's head. +</p> + +<p> +The red flames of the fire kept dancing, dancing all the time. Very bright +looked the little sleigh at the foot of the bed, very brave the tiny +reindeer. +</p> + +<p> +But look! Something moved—just a little. +</p> + +<p> +The "nigh" little reindeer was stamping his foot and tossing his antlers. +</p> + +<p> +And the other little reindeer tossed his horns and stamped his foot too. +</p> + +<p> +On their backs the sleigh-bells jingled, merrily like fairy bells. +</p> + +<p> +The red and blue sleigh moved a little—just a little. +</p> + +<p> +It began to slide slowly, over the comforter. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke was worried. He didn't want the pretty sleigh and the reindeer to +run away. He might never see them again. +</p> + +<p> +"Wait!" he shouted. +</p> + +<p> +"Whoa—you villains!" It was a strange little voice that ordered the +reindeer. +</p> + +<p> +The red and blue sleigh stopped short. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke rubbed his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +The strange little voice spoke again. +</p> + +<p> +"Jump in," it said. +</p> + +<p> +And there in the front seat of the toy sleigh sat a funny little chap, +about as big as the Toyman's thumb—no bigger. He wore a pointed cap that +shone like tinsel on a Christmas tree. He wore a white coat that sparkled +too. +</p> + +<p> +"Who are you?" asked the little sick boy. "That's <i>my</i> sleigh. You +shan't run off with it." +</p> + +<p> +And the funny voice under the white cap answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Jump in, then, and take a ride." +</p> + +<p> +"Tell me who you are, first," Marmaduke insisted. +</p> + +<p> +"My name's Jack." +</p> + +<p> +"Jack what?" +</p> + +<p> +"Jack Frost—you ought to know <i>that</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +Tinkle, tinkle went the bells The reindeer lifted their hoofs higher and +pawed at the comforter. They shook their antlers impatiently. The little +driver jumped up and down in the seat as if he were sitting on pins and +needles. +</p> + +<p> +More worried than ever was Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"How can I get in that sleigh?" he asked the imp of a stranger. "I'm too +big." +</p> + +<p> +The little chap only chuckled. It was a very mischievous chuckle. Then he +said: +</p> + +<p> +"Take a good look at yourself." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke did. +</p> + +<p> +My, how he had shrunk! He was no bigger than a brownie, no bigger himself +than the Toyman's thumb. +</p> + +<p> +"How did that happen?" he said, +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, the dream fairy did that," said Jack. "She likes to play tricks on +people. It's lots of fun. But shake a leg, shake a leg!" +</p> + +<p> +With that he shook the reins himself, and the bells jingled again, and the +reindeer grew more eager every second, snorting impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +Once more Marmaduke looked down at himself. No, his eyes had made no +mistake. He was small enough now to sit on that little red seat with the +tiny driver. +</p> + +<p> +So he popped out from the covers. The folds of the blanket looked as big as +mountains, the lumps of the comforter as high as the hills. Over them he +scrambled and he sprawled till he reached the little red and blue sleigh. +</p> + +<p> +Then he jumped in. +</p> + +<p> +The driver could be very impudent, but he took good care of Marmaduke just +the same, for the boy had been very sick and might catch cold. So Jack +pulled the white robe over his passenger's knees, and tucked him in all +snug and warm. +</p> + +<p> +"Gee-up, gee-up!" he called to the tiny reindeer. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke was frightened. What a horrible crash there would be when they +slid from the high bed to the floor. +</p> + +<p> +But nothing like that happened at all. Away off the bed, over the bright +rag carpet, and past the red fire, safely and swiftly they trotted. Below +the window they paused. Pretty silver ferns and trees covered the panes and +sparkled in the firelight. The window was closed, but that did not matter +at all. +</p> + +<p> +"Up with you!" yelled Jack Frost. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly, as if by magic, up went the window sash! Over the sill galloped the +reindeer. And after them ran the toy sleigh with Jack Frost and Marmaduke +on the red seat. +</p> + +<p> +Over the porch, too, they went. +</p> + +<p> +Then something did happen. +</p> + +<p> +"Now look at yourself," said Jack Frost, cracking his whip. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke did not hear him at first. He was admiring that whip. It was only +a long icicle, and all Jack had to do was to touch the reindeer with its +point to make them run faster and faster. +</p> + +<p> +"Look at yourself," he repeated. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke obeyed. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, I'm as big as I used to be!" +</p> + +<p> +Jack laughed and replied: +</p> + +<p> +"The dream fairy does love to play tricks on folks!" +</p> + +<p> +Yes, the sleigh had grown as large as his father's sleigh; the reindeer as +big as Teddy, the buckskin horse. The tossing horns were as high as the +reindeer's in the Zoo, and Jack Frost was as big as Jehosophat now. +</p> + +<p> +"I'm sorry that Jehosophat and Hepzebiah are not along," said Marmaduke to +himself, "they're going to miss some fun." +</p> + +<p> +He looked ahead through the trees Up over the hill the snow path +stretched—up to the dark blue sky and the stars. Millions of them there +were and they were all twinkle-winking at him. And the Old Man-in-the-Moon, +just over the hill, kept winking at him too. +</p> + +<p> +Jack Frost turned to Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Where would you like to go <i>most</i>?" +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke didn't need to think, he had his answer all ready. +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like to visit the Old Man-in-the Moon." +</p> + +<p> +"It's a bit of a drive," replied Jack, "but Old Yellow Horns and Prancing +Hoof are fast goers. Gee-up! Gee-up!" he shouted at them, touching their +flanks with the icicle whip. So fast they went they scarcely seemed +to touch the snow, and on up the hill they rode towards the laughing +Man-in-the-Moon. +</p> + +<p> +Then suddenly there came such a barking, a yelping, a neighing, a mooing, a +clucking, a gobbling, a squealing, a squawling, as you never heard before. +</p> + +<p> +Around jerked Marmaduke's head. +</p> + +<p> +There, behind the sleigh, running and leaping and paddling and waddling and +frisking and scampering came a strange procession. There were Rover and +Brownie and little Wienerwurst, Teddy and Methusaleh and all the horses, +Primrose, Daisy, Buttercup, Black-Eyed Susan and all the cows. He could see +<i>their</i> tongues hanging out—it was so hard to keep up with the dogs +and the horses. +</p> + +<p> +"Moo—moo, slow—slow!" called the poor cows. +</p> + +<p> +And behind them ambled the sheep and the curley-tailed pigs; waddled the +ducks and the geese; Miss Crosspatch, the Guinea Hen, and Mr. Stuckup, the +turkey; and, at the very end, all of the White Wyandottes, the fathers and +the mothers, and the little yellow children, and their grandfathers and +grandmothers, and all their uncles and aunts, and their cousins, first, +second, and third—every last one of them. +</p> + +<p> +My—what a fuss and a clatter they made! +</p> + +<p> +There was a long long line of them, stretching down the hill and down the +white road over the snow. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke laughed and exclaimed to Jack Frost: +</p> + +<p> +"Why, they look just like the procession of the animals when they came out +of the Ark." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I remember them," replied Jack. "And Old Noah too. I used to pinch +their ears and pull their tails o' nights." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke looked surprised. +</p> + +<p> +"You! Why, that was <i>hundreds</i> of years ago! You can't be as old as +all that." +</p> + +<p> +But Jack only smiled a superior smile +</p> + +<p> +"Sure I am. Why I'm as old as the world!" +</p> + +<p> +"Old as that Man-in-the-Moon?" continued Marmaduke, and the odd little +fellow replied: +</p> + +<p> +"Just as old." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke looked up at the moon sailing far above them. And the old man, +sitting there on the moon-mountain, nodded as much as to say that Jack was +quite right. +</p> + +<p> +Now the sleigh reached the top of the hill just where it touches the sky. +</p> + +<p> +Surely there they would stop. +</p> + +<p> +But no— +</p> + +<p> +"This sleigh can run on air just as well as on snow," the odd little driver +explained. +</p> + +<p> +Another touch of the icicle whip, a jingle of bells, a snort from the +reindeer, and they were off—off through the air towards the sailing moon. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke was so interested in looking up that he didn't see little +Wienerwurst run ahead of all the animals. That doggie beat them all to the +top of the hill. And when he came to the top he just jumped out in the air +and landed safe on the runner of the sleigh, and curled up there and hid +and didn't make any noise. +</p> + +<p> +It was very clear high up in the air, and Marmaduke looked down. +</p> + +<p> +The houses had shrivelled all up. As small as Wienerwurst's own little +house they seemed. And the trees were as small as plants in the garden. +</p> + +<p> +He looked down again. The earth was far below them. +</p> + +<p> +By the white steeple of the church they flew. In the steeple was a little +window. The bell-rope hung out. Jack jerked it as they went past. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "<i>Ding, dong—<br /> + Something's wrong</i>."<br /> +</p> + +<p> +So spoke the deep voice of the old bell. He was a hundred years old, and +such strange things had never happened in his life before. +</p> + +<p> +And the minister threw up his window and stuck his head out. And the +minister's wife stuck her head, in her nightcap, out of the window, too. +And the sexton ran out in the snow, in his shirt-tail, to see what was the +matter. +</p> + +<p> +And all the other people, in the farmhouses and in the town houses, threw +up their windows or ran out of doors to see where the fire was. +</p> + +<p> +Then, after looking all around the houses and barns and the haystacks, they +looked up at the sky and saw Marmaduke in the sleigh, racing towards the +moon. +</p> + +<p> +They were very funny, like little toy people, all looking up and pointing +at the sky and all shouting at once. +</p> + +<p> +But Marmaduke didn't care—he was having the time of his life! +</p> + +<p> +Then a still stranger and funnier sight he saw,—all the animals on the +top of the hill—the horses, the dogs, the cows, the sheep, the pigs, +the ducks, the geese, the turkeys, and the White Wyandottes, all sitting +on their haunches and barking or neighing or howling or squawking at +Marmaduke, as on—up and up—he went, a-sailing through the sky. +</p> + +<p> +But he missed his little pet doggie. Where <i>could</i> he be? +</p> + +<p> +He was worried about that until all of a sudden he heard a little bark and +looked behind, and there on the red runner, hanging on for dear life, was +little Wienerwurst. Marmaduke reached down, and picked him up by the scruff +of his neck, and set him on his lap, under the robe, so that he wouldn't +catch cold. +</p> + +<p> +So Wienerwurst too had the time of his life, and his little pink tongue +hung out in delight as they raced toward the moon. +</p> + +<p> +They hadn't gone more than a hundred miles or so, when something strange +floated past them—a cloud all puffy and soft and white, like the floating +islands in the puddings Mother makes. +</p> + +<p> +The reindeer nearly ran into it. That would have been too bad, for the +sleigh would have torn it in two. And as they passed, Marmaduke saw little +baby angels lying there, curled up in the cloud, fast asleep, with their +wings folded. +</p> + +<p> +A whole fleet of the clouds passed by and there was only clear air ahead of +them, they thought, but no! +</p> + +<p> +"Bang." They had bunked into something high up in the sky. +</p> + +<p> +"Very careless," said Jack Frost, as he pulled on the reins. +</p> + +<p> +It was very bright, and Marmaduke blinked hard. +</p> + +<p> +Ahead of them lay another island, but this one was round and flat and shiny +like a gold shield, with a little hill in the centre. And there upon the +hill sat a jolly old man, round and fat, with a pipe in his mouth and a +sack on his back. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, old Top!" said Jack Frost. +</p> + +<p> +"Good evening, you mischief-maker," replied the Man-in-the-Moon. "What are +you up to now?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I've brought one of the little earth children to see you. This is +Marmaduke Green. He's been sick, so I thought I'd give him a ride." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, ho! That's it. You <i>do</i> do someone a good turn now and then, +after all." +</p> + +<p> +Then the old man turned to Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Howdy," he said, "I hope you'll get better very soon." +</p> + +<p> +"Thank you," replied Marmaduke politely. He was so well brought up that he +didn't forget his manners, even up high in the sky. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, here's something to play with when you get back to earth," said the +Old Man-in-the-Moon. And he reached his hand inside the sack on his back, +and pulled out a fistful of bright gold pennies—oh, such a lot of them! +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke reached for them. But alas! he was in too much of a hurry, and +they spilled out of his hand and rolled right over the edge of the moon. +Down, down, down, through the sky they dropped, past the stars and the +clouds, down, down, down to the earth. +</p> + +<p> +There were all the animals still, on the top of the hill, looking up at the +moon. And one of the bright pennies landed on Black-eyed Susan's nose. She +was a timid old cow and she was startled. And she was still more frightened +at the howling, the barking, the squawking, which the animals set up, one +and all. +</p> + +<p> +So frightened was she that she jumped. So hard did she jump that she leaped +way over the hill and over the clouds and the stars. +</p> + +<p> +"There's that critter again," complained the Man-in-the-Moon. +</p> + +<p> +On, with her tail spread out behind her, and her legs sprawling in the sky, +came old Black-eyed Susan, straight towards them. Jack Frost and Marmaduke +jumped back; the Old Man-in-the-Moon moved a little too. They were afraid +she would land on their toes. +</p> + +<p> +But she didn't. +</p> + +<p> +"She's still pretty chipper," observed the old man. "That's a great jump. +Most beats the record." +</p> + +<p> +So it did, for she sailed right over them, coming down on the other side of +the moon, hitting one poor little star on the way with her hoof, and +putting out its light entirely. +</p> + +<p> +And down, down old Susan fell till she hit the earth and lay there, panting +and mooing so loud that the people on earth thought it was thunder, and +shut their windows tight for fear of the rain. +</p> + +<p> +"Well!" said the Old Man-in-the-Moon, blowing clouds of smoke from his +pipe, "that's over. Now here's some more pennies. Be careful this time," he +warned him. +</p> + +<p> +And from his sack he drew forth another great handful of gold pennies. How +they did shine! But as Marmaduke reached for them, Jack Frost jiggled his +elbow with his icicle whip—and again they rolled over the edge of the +moon. +</p> + +<p> +And again Marmaduke was too eager. He ran after them, and Wienerwurst ran +too, and when they reached the edge they couldn't stop themselves at all. +</p> + +<p> +They were falling, down, down through the sky. A hundred somersaults they +turned. Marmaduke tried to hold on to a cloud, but his hands went right +through it. He tried to hold on to the stars, but he missed every one. +</p> + +<p> +Then suddenly—bang went his head against the church steeple - - - and all +the stars danced - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +</p> + +<p> +Then he woke. +</p> + +<p> +He looked around. Why-he was sitting up in the bed, his very own bed, by +the red fire! +</p> + +<p> +It was just a trick of the dream fairy's, after all. +</p> + +<p> +But it was all right, for at the foot of the bed rested the little red and +blue sleigh and the tiny reindeer, just as still as still could be. +</p> + +<p> +And at the side of the bed stood Father and Mother—and the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +They seemed very happy. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap16"></a> +SIXTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +SLOSHIN' +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Of course Marmaduke grew well again, and back from Uncle Roger's came +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah. They came back in the old creaking buckboard with +Methuselah the old, old white horse, and the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had they jumped to the ground than Marmaduke asked, very proudly: +</p> + +<p> +"Where do you think <i>I've</i> been?" +</p> + +<p> +"You've been sick." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +"That's not what I mean," he said. "I've been to see the Old +Man-in-the-Moon." +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Now</i> you're telling <i>stories</i>" jeered Jehosophat. "You've just +been in <i>bed</i> all the time." +</p> + +<p> +"I'm <i>not</i> telling any stories," said his brother stoutly. "I tell +you, I <i>have</i> been to visit the Old Man-in-the-Moon." +</p> + +<p> +But Jehosophat wouldn't believe him. +</p> + +<p> +"That's a <i>whopper</i>," said he. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke turned to his friend, the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"I <i>have</i> been there, haven't I?" +</p> + +<p> +"Where?" said the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"To see the Old Man-in-the-Moon." +</p> + +<p> +"Of course you have," his good old chum replied, "and a heap of wonderful +things you saw." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman never laughed at the wonderful things they had done, nor at +the marvellous things they had seen—no never, for he understood little +children. +</p> + +<p> +Now Jehosophat <i>had</i> to believe him. He asked lots of questions, while +Hepzebiah listened, her eyes growing as round as big peppermint drops. +</p> + +<p> +So Marmaduke showed them the little red and blue sleigh, and told them +all about the little driver, Jack Frost. And he didn't forget about old +Black-eyed Susan's great jump, nor the gold pennies, either. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat felt just a little jealous. Perhaps that is why he was naughty +that day. +</p> + +<p> +And this is how it all happened: +</p> + +<p> +It was in the afternoon. Jehosophat was coming home from the schoolhouse, +which was up the road about a mile, a long way from the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds where the three happy children lived. +</p> + +<p> +With him walked four of his friends—Sophy Soapstone and Sammy Soapstone, +who lived on the farm by the Old Canal; Lizzie Fizzletree, who lived on the +turnpike; and Fatty Hamm, who lived by the river road. +</p> + +<p> +Sammy Soapstone had blue eyes and tow hair which stood up straight on his +head. It was as stiff as the curry comb with which the Toyman brushed the +horses. Sophy Soapstone had blue eyes, too, and two neat little pigtails +down her back. +</p> + +<p> +But Lizzie Fizzletree had black eyes and hair that stuck out in all +directions. She had more safety-pins on her dress than a neat little girl +should ever have. And her stockings were forever coming down. +</p> + +<p> +Fatty Hamm was so round and so plump that he looked as if he had pillows +under his clothes. And though he was only twelve he had two chins. Every +once in a while he would eat so much that a button would pop off. +</p> + +<p> +He was eating apples now. +</p> + +<p> +One, two, three, four, five, he ate. He did not offer one to his friends, +<i>not even the core</i>! +</p> + +<p> +Another apple he took. That made six! +</p> + +<p> +Pop went a button and—splash—it landed in a puddle of brown water. +</p> + +<p> +For three days it had rained, washing the white snow away. The ruts in the +road were full of these puddles, nice and brown and inviting. +</p> + +<p> +Sammy's eyes and Jehosophat's eyes followed the button as it landed in the +water, making little rings which grew larger all the time. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's slosh," said Sammy. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's!" cried Lizzie Fizzletree, "it's lots of fun, sloshin'." +</p> + +<p> +Into a big puddle marched Sammy Soapstone, and after him marched Lizzie and +Sophy, and at the end of the procession waddled Fatty. +</p> + +<p> +"Slop, slosh, slop, slosh," they went through puddle after puddle. +</p> + +<p> +Glorious fun it was. Showers of spray flew all over the road. +</p> + +<p> +But Jehosophat walked on ahead in the middle of the road. Hadn't his mother +told him, particularly, <i>not</i> to get his feet wet? +</p> + +<p> +"Come on in, it's fine!" they all shouted at Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"Aw, come on!" Sammy Soapstone repeated, and Fatty called: +</p> + +<p> +"'Fraidcat!" +</p> + +<p> +At that Jehosophat turned around. He just couldn't stand being called +"'fraidcat." +</p> + +<p> +So <i>slosh, slosh</i>, into the biggest brown puddle he could find he +went. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Slosh, slop, slop, slosh</i>! +</p> + +<p> +Over his rubber tops went the water. Fine and cool it felt. +</p> + +<p> +Splash went the water over the road. And he kicked it over Fatty till the +round fat legs were drenched too. +</p> + +<p> +Then all the boys bent over the puddle, and scooped up great handfuls of +water, and threw them over each other. +</p> + +<p> +It was a great battle. And when it was finished and they were soaked to the +skin, they splashed up the road, shouting and singing. +</p> + +<p> +I guess they went into every last puddle between the schoolhouse and the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. +</p> + +<p> +They had reached it now. +</p> + +<p> +All-of-a-sudden Jehosophat felt very funny near the pit of his stomach. +Something was sure to happen now. +</p> + +<p> +In front of the house marched Mr. Stuckup, the Turkey. His chest was stuck +out and his tail feathers were spread out too, like a great big fan. He was +having a lovely parade all by himself. +</p> + +<p> +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," he gobbled. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat looked down at his feet. He felt guilty—but he thought it was +very mean of Mr. Stuckup to call attention to his wet rubbers that way. +</p> + +<p> +"Keep quiet," Jehosophat shouted. "You don't need to <i>tell</i> on me!" +</p> + +<p> +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," gobbled Mr. Stuckup just the same. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat kicked at him with his wet feet, and tried to grab the fat red +nose that hung down over the turkey's beak. +</p> + +<p> +At that old Mr. Stuckup's feathers ruffled in anger, and he hurried off, +still gobbling "rubber, rubber, rubber," as loud as he could. +</p> + +<p> +Around the house sneaked Jehosophat, trying hard not to be seen. +</p> + +<p> +Half-way to the back door, who should he meet but a procession of the +Foolish White Geese. +</p> + +<p> +By this time Jehosophat was not only wet clear through, he was angry clear +through too, so he kicked at them. +</p> + +<p> +They stretched out their long white necks and called: +</p> + +<p> +"Hiss! Hiss! Hissssssss!!" +</p> + +<p> +They might be very foolish, these White Geese, but they were sensible +enough to know that Jehosophat ought to have been ashamed of himself that +afternoon. +</p> + +<p> +To make matters worse, the sun was shining now. He sparkled so brightly on +the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn, that Father Wyandotte flapped his +wings and cried to all the world: +</p> + +<p> +"Look, look, look, look! You're going to get it—hurroo!" +</p> + +<p> +And all the White Wyandottes took up the cry: +</p> + +<p> +"Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut—you'll get it." +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat wished he were as small as Hop-o'-my-Thumb, so that he could +creep through the keyhole and never be seen at all. +</p> + +<p> +But he had one friend left—little Wienerwurst, who frisked up to him just +then, wagging his tail. He didn't scold Jehosophat at all, partly because +he was so often up to mischief himself. And then little Wienerwurst always +stuck by his friends anyway. +</p> + +<p> +For a while nothing more happened, and Jehosophat tiptoed in at the back +door. Mother was nowhere to be seen, so over the floor he sneaked. +</p> + +<p> +At every step the water oozed out and <i>slop, splosh, slop, splosh</i>, +still went his shoes. +</p> + +<p> +But he reached his room safely, then quickly he rummaged in the drawers of +the bureau. +</p> + +<p> +Quiet as a mouse he took off his wet clothes, and put them in the darkest +corner of the big closet. Quiet as a mouse he drew on the clean dry ones. +</p> + +<p> +But someone was calling: +</p> + +<p> +"Jehosophat—<i>Je-hos'-o-phat</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +No answer made he. +</p> + +<p> +"Jehosophat—<i>Je-hos'-o-phat</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +No longer could he hide. So, making his face look as bold and as innocent +as possible, he walked into the dining-room. +</p> + +<p> +But somehow, though he tried to look innocent, I guess he really looked +guilty. +</p> + +<p> +"Jehosophat Green, what <i>have</i> you been doing?" asked Mother. Her eyes +were almost always kind but they were a little stern just then. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat tried another look on his face, for you can try different looks +on your face just as you try different hats on your head. This time he +tried the one that folks call "unconcern," a look as if he had no troubles +at all, as if he had nothing to hide. +</p> + +<p> +"Aw, just playin'," he answered his mother. +</p> + +<p> +Then his mother asked a very strange question: +</p> + +<p> +"Where's the party?" +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat <i>was</i> surprised. "Party" sounded fine. +</p> + +<p> +"What party, Mother?" he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know," his mother replied. "I just thought you were dressed up for +one." +</p> + +<p> +And he looked down at his clean suit and his Sunday best shoes. And from +out the corner of his eye he saw wet places on the floor and muddy tracks, +about as big as his feet. +</p> + +<p> +No answer now had Jehosophat. He guessed he would go into the parlour. So +he sat down at the marble-topped table, and looked at the picture book +which Uncle Roger had given him. It was full of great white ships sailing +the blue sea. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment he almost forgot all his troubles, so interested was he in +looking at those great ships and their sails and all the wonderful fish. +</p> + +<p> +Then suddenly he remembered. +</p> + +<p> +He looked out through the door into the dining-room. +</p> + +<p> +Mother wasn't saying anything. She was just busy. That was all. +</p> + +<p> +But had she forgotten? +</p> + +<p> +Somehow Jehosophat did not like the sad look on her face. +</p> + +<p> +He went and shut the door. He thought he would feel more comfortable if he +couldn't see Mother's eyes. Then he sat down to look at the picture book +again. But he felt more miserable than ever. +</p> + +<p> +Bang! he shut the book too. It was very strange. The things that usually +made him so happy weren't any fun at all just then. +</p> + +<p> +Then he looked up at the mantel. +</p> + +<p> +Above it hung a great picture. There was a man in a cocked hat. He had on a +fine uniform and he rode a tall white horse. Jehosophat knew very well who +that was. It would be <i>his</i> birthday tomorrow—George Washington's +birthday. The teacher had told them all about it that very afternoon. +</p> + +<p> +She had told them a story, too, about a hatchet and a cherry tree—and—a +lie! +</p> + +<p> +The man on the horse looked down from the picture. The eyes were very +stern. +</p> + +<p> +A lie! +</p> + +<p> +Yes, that was just what he had told to Mother. He had told a lie, and acted +a lie. +</p> + +<p> +Though there was no one else in the room but the great man in the big +picture, Jehosophat's cheeks grew very red. A lump came into his throat. +</p> + +<p> +Now he never could be president nor have a sword—and ride a big white +horse—and call "Forward March" to the whole army. No—never! +</p> + +<p> +To the window he went, and pressed his nose against the pane. The clouds +were grey. It all seemed very dark and not at all cheerful as the world +ought to be. +</p> + +<p> +Once more he looked up at the picture. +</p> + +<p> +And as he looked at the eyes of the man in the picture, they told him to do +something. +</p> + +<p> +He decided to do it. And as soon as he decided he felt better—not +<i>all</i> better—but better. +</p> + +<p> +And out into the dining-room he marched. He had to close his fists tight, +for it is very hard sometimes to tell people you've done wrong to them, +especially if they are people you love. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother," he said—not very loud. +</p> + +<p> +She looked up. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes?" +</p> + +<p> +"Mother—I——" +</p> + +<p> +He stopped. Mother looked up. She saw his lip tremble a little and wanted +to take him in her arms. But she didn't just then. He must tell what he had +to tell, first. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother—I told a lie—I got my feet wet—sloshin'—and I said I was +playin' when I changed my clothes—an' I'm sorry an'—an'—I'll never do +it again." +</p> + +<p> +Then Mother did take him in her arms and she kissed him and hugged him too. +</p> + +<p> +"Well—I love my little boy all the more for this. It was very wrong to +disobey, worse still to tell a lie. But it was hard to tell me your own +self about it and you were brave." +</p> + +<p> +So she kissed him. And her eyes weren't sad any more. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap17"></a> +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Mother Green and Father Green were fast asleep in the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds. The Toyman was fast asleep too. Rover +and Brownie and Wienerwurst lay curled up in their kennels, with their eyes +tight shut. On their poles in <i>their</i> house all the White Wyandottes +perched like feathery balls, their heads sunk low on their breasts. On +the roof cuddled the pretty pigeons, all pink and grey and white. In the +barn Teddy, and Hal, and Methuselah, and Black-eyed Susan, and all the +four-footed friends of the three happy children, rested from the cares of +the day. Hepzebiah never stirred in her crib, and Jehosophat lay dreaming +of something very pleasant. +</p> + +<p> +But the crickets, and the katydids, the scampering mice, and the big-eyed +owls, and the little stars, snapping their tiny fingers of light up in the +sky, and Marmaduke—<i>they</i> were awake. +</p> + +<p> +He had played very hard that day and he had leg-ache. Mother had rubbed it +till it felt better and he fell asleep, but now it began to hurt again and +he woke up. The Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel struck, not +seven times but four. It was long past midnight—<i>it was four o 'clock in +the morning</i>! +</p> + +<p> +But Marmaduke didn't call his mother. He thought that it would be too +bad to wake her up from that nice sleep. So he just tried to rub his leg +himself. +</p> + +<p> +It was then that he heard that far-off noise like a rumble of thunder. But +it wasn't thunder. It was something rolling over the bridge down the road. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke sat up in bed and looked out of the window into the dark shadows +of the trees. +</p> + +<p> +There was another rumble, and another and another. There must be, oh, so +many wagons rolling by in the night. Then he heard the sound of horses' +hoofs on the road, the clank of rings and iron trace chains. +</p> + +<p> +He rubbed his eyes this time and looked hard out into the darkness. +</p> + +<p> +Yes, he could see the tops of the big wagons, moving slowly past, under the +trees and over the road. +</p> + +<p> +It was a strange procession and he just had to jump out of bed, forgetting +all about his leg-ache. He ran to the window, pressing his little turned-up +nose against the panes. +</p> + +<p> +Though it was dark still it must have been near morning. The moon was just +going down behind the Church-with-the-Long-White-Finger, that finger which +always kept pointing at the sky. The Old Man-in-the-Moon looked very tired +and peaked after sitting up so late. +</p> + +<p> +There were so many of the wagons and so many horses. They must stretch +way back to the school-house, and miles and miles beyond that, Marmaduke +thought. +</p> + +<p> +The horses seemed very tired, for they plodded along slowly in the dark, +and the drivers almost fell asleep, nodding on their seats. They looked +just like black shadows. +</p> + +<p> +Under the axles of the wagons were lanterns, swinging a little and throwing +circles of light on the road. +</p> + +<p> +Now and then one of the drivers spoke roughly to the horses. And sometimes +Marmaduke heard strange noises like the sleepy growls of wild animals. +Perhaps they were in those wagons! +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke laughed. He knew what it was. They were circus wagons! The +circus was coming to town! The Toyman had told him all about it, that very +day. +</p> + +<p> +Once, one of the animals roared and the others answered back. Their noise +was louder than the rumble of the wagon-wheels on the bridge. Marmaduke was +frightened. But the roaring stopped, and all he could hear was the noise of +all those wheels on their way up the road by the river. +</p> + +<p> +Then the last wagon passed and Marmaduke went back to bed and fell asleep. +</p> + +<p> +But the long procession rolled on and on till it reached the church. There +was a large field nearby. Into it the wagons turned and all the horses were +unhitched. +</p> + +<p> +Then the cooks started fires in the stoves on the cook-wagons, and all the +strange men and women had coffee. And then, just as the Sun was coming up +and the night was all gone, they went to work. +</p> + +<p> +Up in the centre of the field they raised three tall poles. They were +almost as high as the Long White Finger of the Church. They drove many +stakes into the ground. And around the tall poles they stretched almost +as many ropes as there are on a ship. +</p> + +<p> +Then they unrolled the white canvas and, when the Sun was just a little way +up in the sky and the morning was all nice and shiny and bright, the great +white tents were ready for the circus. +</p> + +<p> +Back in the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds, Marmaduke was eating his +oatmeal. He asked a question that he very often asked: +</p> + +<p> +"What do you think <i>I</i> saw?" +</p> + +<p> +"Another dream?" said Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +"No, it was <i>real</i>," replied Marmaduke. "I saw a lot of wagons, +hundreds 'n thousands, in a big line miles long. And there were wild +animals in the wagons." +</p> + +<p> +"I'll bet that was a <i>dream</i>," his big brother insisted, but the +Toyman said: +</p> + +<p> +"No, it wasn't a dream, it was the circus coming to town." +</p> + +<p> +Then Father spoke up: +</p> + +<p> +"That's so, I most forgot." +</p> + +<p> +He looked at the Toyman: +</p> + +<p> +"Frank," he said, "I've got to go over to the Miller farm to buy some +yearling steers. You'll have to take the youngsters to that circus." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman didn't seem worried about that. He looked just "tickled," "like +a boy himself," Mother said. +</p> + +<p> +So, after dinner, old Methuselah was hitched up, and away they drove,—the +Toyman, Jehosophat, Hepzebiah, and Marmaduke, with little Wienerwurst, as +usual, in back. He was very happy, barking at all the carriages hurrying up +the road to the circus. +</p> + +<p> +They came to the field with the big white tents and were just going to turn +in, when they heard music way off in the streets of the town. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, I most forgot," said the Toyman to Jehosophat. "There's the circus +parade over on Main Street. In the big city they have the parade and the +circus all in one big building, but in the country towns they have the +parade first in the street, and the performance after, in the tents." +</p> + +<p> +"Tluck, tluck!" he called to Methuselah, and jog, jog, jog, the old horse +trotted into town. In Uncle Roger's barn the Toyman unhitched him, and +gave him some hay and some oats too, for it was a grand holiday. Then +hand-in-hand the Toyman and the three happy children hurried over to Main +Street. +</p> + +<p> +So many people were crowded on the sidewalk that the children could hardly +see. But Jehosophat ducked under the stomachs of two big fat men and sat on +the curb-stone. And the Toyman held Marmaduke on one shoulder and Hepzebiah +on the other. He was very strong. From their high perch they could look +right over the heads of all the people at that great circus parade. +</p> + +<p> +Hark! They were coming! +</p> + +<p> +First the band. They were dressed in gay uniforms of red and blue, with +gold tassels too, and bright brass buttons. +</p> + +<p> +Ahead of them marched the leader of the band—the tall Drum Major. He had +on a high fur cap, twice as big as his head. In his hand he swung a long +black cane, called a "baton." It had a gold knob on it, bigger than a +duck's egg. +</p> + +<p> +He raised the cane and the music began! +</p> + +<p> +<i>Trrat——trrat——trrat—trrat—trrat</i>! went the little drums. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Boom——boom—-boom—boom—boom</i>! went the big bass drum. +</p> + +<p> +<i>hum</i>— +</p> + +<p> +<i>hum</i>— +</p> + +<p> +<i>hum</i>— +</p> + +<p> +<i>Hum</i>— +</p> + +<p> +<i>hum—hum</i>! +</p> + +<p> +sounded the shiny horns. +</p> + +<p> +<i>ter-loo</i> +</p> + +<p> +<i>ter-loo</i> +</p> + +<p> +<i>ter-loo</i> +</p> + +<p> +<i>Loo-loo-loo</i> +</p> + +<p> +<i>ter-loo-loo</i>! +</p> + +<p> +gaily whistled the little fifes. +</p> + +<p> +Then they all sounded together in a grand crash of music that made all the +people happy and excited, and they almost danced on the sidewalk. +</p> + +<p> +And all the time the tall Drum-Major kept twirling that baton with the gold +knob on it till Jehosophat's eyes most popped out of his head. +</p> + +<p> +My! how he could twirl it! +</p> + +<p> +But other wonderful things were coming now, marching by very +swiftly,—ladies on horses that pranced and danced; cowboys on horses that +were livelier still; a giant as tall as the big barber's pole; and a dwarf +no higher than that tall giant's knee. +</p> + +<p> +And great grey elephants, all tied together by their trunks and their +tails; and zebras like little horses painted with stripes; and cages on +wagons, full of funny monkeys, making faces at all the people; and lions +and tigers, walking up and down and showing their sharp teeth. +</p> + +<p> +Then something happened! +</p> + +<p> +One of the circus men must have been sleepy that morning, for he hadn't +fixed the lock on that cage just tight. And the big tiger felt very mean +that day. He snarled and he snarled, and he jumped at the bars of his cage. +</p> + +<p> +Open came the door. Out leaped that wicked tiger right on the street, and +the people ran pell mell in all directions. +</p> + +<p> +The two fat men were so frightened that they fell flat on their stomachs. +The barber shinnied up his pole, and hung on for dear life to the top. +The baker-man tumbled into the watering-trough, and all the rest rushed +higgledy-piggledy into the houses and stores. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman picked up Hepzebiah, Marmaduke, and Jehosophat, hurried them +into the candy-store, and shut the door tight. +</p> + +<p> +It was full of beautiful candies,—chocolate creams and peppermint drops, +snowy white cocoanut cakes, black and white licorice sticks, and cherry-red +lollypops. But the three children never noticed those lovely candies at +all. They just looked out of the glass door at that tiger, walking up and +down the street, a-showing his teeth and a-swishing his tail. +</p> + +<p> +The tiger looked at all the people behind the windows and doors. They were +all shivering in their boots, and he didn't know which one to choose. Then +he looked up at the man on the barber-pole, and he was shivering too. +</p> + +<p> +Then all of a sudden the tiger stopped. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +He saw the butcher shop. +</p> + +<p> +The door was open. Some nice red pieces of beef hung on the hooks. +</p> + +<p> +He licked his chops and ran into the shop and jumped up at the first piece +of beef and ate it all up. He never saw the stout butcher, who was hiding +under the chopping block. The butcher's face was usually as red as the +beef, but now it was as white as his apron, and his feet were shaking as +fast as leaves in the wind. +</p> + +<p> +But just as the tiger was gobbling the last morsel up, down the street +galloped a cowboy on a swift horse. He stopped right in front of the +butcher shop. +</p> + +<p> +Out went his hand. +</p> + +<p> +In it was a rope all coiled up. +</p> + +<p> +Around his head he twirled it, in great flying loops. Then he let it fly. +</p> + +<p> +And it fell around that wicked tiger's head and neck, just as he was +finishing his dinner. +</p> + +<p> +Then the circus men came with big steel forks, and they ran at that tiger, +and they tied him all up in that rope very tight, and put him back in the +cage on the wagon, while he growled and growled and growled. +</p> + +<p> +So the parade started again and all of the people came out of their +hiding-places, all but the fat men who hurried off home, as soon as they +found their breath, and the old ladies who said they guessed they'd go to +missionary meeting after all. A circus parade was too heathenish. +</p> + +<p> +Soon it was all over, and the rest of the people hurried off to the field +with the big white tents. +</p> + +<p> +And what they saw there we will tell you tomorrow night. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap18"></a> +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +THE JOLLY CLOWN +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Marmaduke was lost. There was such a crowd around those tents! He wriggled +between lots of pairs of legs, but nowhere could he find the Toyman's. +</p> + +<p> +Near the door of the tent stood a man with a big black moustache, and a +silk hat on his head. He was selling tickets. The Toyman went up to him. +</p> + +<p> +"Howdy," said the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"Howdy, pardner," replied he. +</p> + +<p> +"I'd like four tickets. Here is the money. One whole ticket and three half +tickets too." +</p> + +<p> +The man counted the money and gave him the tickets. Then the Toyman asked: +</p> + +<p> +"Did you see a little boy 'bout this high, with a little yeller dog?" +</p> + +<p> +The man with the big black moustache and the tall silk hat shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +"Sorry I can't oblige you, pardner. I've seen lots of kiddies but nary a +one with a yeller dog." +</p> + +<p> +"Well then," said the Toyman, "will you kindly show these youngsters to +their seats while I look for that little lost boy and his dog?" +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly, be most pleased," was the answer, for all circus men are very +polite on Circus Day. +</p> + +<p> +So the man with the black moustache and the tall silk hat called a man in a +red cap. Jehosophat took Hepzebiah by the hand, and the man in the red cap +led them into the big tent. He showed them their seats, and they sat down +in the very front row. +</p> + +<p> +Outside, the Toyman kept looking, looking everywhere. There was no sign of +Marmaduke's tow head nor of little yellow Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +<i>They</i> were on the other side of the tent, outside too, mixed up with +men and women they didn't know, and hundreds of boys and girls. They could +see other men too, with striped shirts and loud voices, standing in small +houses. And the small houses looked just like little stores, and on the +counters were good things to eat,—popcorn, peanuts, cracker jack, and +something cool in glasses, like lemonade but coloured like strawberries. +Loud did the men shout, trying to sell those good things to everybody who +came near. +</p> + +<p> +But Marmaduke couldn't buy even <i>one</i> peanut. He didn't have any +money. How was he ever going to get into that circus! +</p> + +<p> +Oh, where was the Toyman? +</p> + +<p> +But he didn't cry. You know he didn't. He just shut his teeth hard, and +winked and winked. +</p> + +<p> +At last Wienerwurst gave a little bark. He saw a little hole, and +Wienerwurst always liked little holes. It was under the tent and just his +size. Right into it he crawled. All Marmaduke could see of his doggie now +was his little tail like a sausage. The rest of him was under the tent. +Thump-thump-thump went the tail. And Marmaduke knew it must be pretty nice +inside. +</p> + +<p> +Then the tail, too, disappeared. So down on his stomach went the little boy +and crawled right in after his doggie. +</p> + +<p> +The tent had several big rooms and he was in one of them. On every side +were big cages with iron bars. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh</i>!" went something in one of the cages. +</p> + +<p> +That wicked runaway tiger! +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke ran past all the cages very fast until he came to another room. +In it were lots of queer funny people. +</p> + +<p> +He heard another voice, not like the runaway tiger's, but one just happy +and pleasant, though very deep. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, look who's here!" it said. +</p> + +<p> +That was a funny thing to say, Marmaduke thought, and he looked up. +</p> + +<p> +He had to look up ever so high. There was the tall giant, sitting on a +great big chair. Big were his feet and his legs and his hands, and big were +his chin and his nose and his hat. Still he didn't look cross like the +giants in the story-books, just nice and kind. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke stared up at him and he smiled down at Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +It was very hot and the big giant took off his hat to wipe his forehead. +He set his hat down. He didn't look where he put it and it went over +Marmaduke's head and nearly covered him up. He couldn't see any sunlight. +It was all dark inside that hat. +</p> + +<p> +"Let me out," he shouted. And he heard someone say: +</p> + +<p> +"What's in your hat?" +</p> + +<p> +"There <i>was</i> a little boy around here," the giant replied. "Maybe I've +covered him up." +</p> + +<p> +The giant leaned down and picked up his hat, and took it off the little +boy. Very glad was Marmaduke to see the light once more. +</p> + +<p> +The giant bowed low to apologize and the great chair creaked. +</p> + +<p> +"Very careless of me," he said. "A thousand pardons, Sir!" +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke felt very happy. It was fine to be called "Sir" by a great big +giant like that. +</p> + +<p> +Then he felt himself being lifted up, and there he sat on the giant's knee. +The giant told him a story and gave him a big ring from his finger. It was +so large that Marmaduke could put his whole arm through it. +</p> + +<p> +Then another voice spoke. It was a little tiny voice this time—no bigger +than a mouse's squeak or a cricket's "Good-night." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke looked down from the giant's knee. +</p> + +<p> +"Hello, little fellow," squeaked the funny little voice. +</p> + +<p> +No, it was not Jack Frost. It was a dwarf, all dressed in a crimson velvet +gown, with a gold crown on her head. The top of the crown wasn't even as +high as the giant's knee. My, but she <i>was</i> little! +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke was just going to say, "Little, <i>huh</i>! I'm as big as +<i>you</i> are!" But he didn't. That wouldn't have been quite right when +all these circus people were so very polite to him. +</p> + +<p> +So all he said was: +</p> + +<p> +"Good-afternoon!" +</p> + +<p> +And the little tiny lady in the crimson gown gave him something too,—a +silver button from her dress. Then the giant handed him over to a lady who +sat next. A very funny lady was she, for she had a woman's voice and a +woman's dress and a woman's hair, too, but on her chin was a long, long +beard, just like a man's. +</p> + +<p> +The bearded lady kissed Marmaduke. He didn't like that, she tickled so. +</p> + +<p> +He didn't go very near the one who sat next. Yet <i>she</i> was a very +pretty lady with blue eyes and golden hair, but around her arms and neck +instead of necklaces were curled up snakes! +</p> + +<p> +"They won't bite, little boy," she said smiling. "Look out for the +<i>snakes in the grass</i>, but don't mind these. They can't hurt you at +all." +</p> + +<p> +With that she handed him some candy. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke's hands were so full now, with the candy and the big ring and the +silver button, that he didn't know what to do. +</p> + +<p> +Just ahead of him was little Wienerwurst's tail. The very thing! So he put +that big ring over that little tail. That felt so funny that Wienerwurst +tried to reach his tail and that round shiny thing on it. +</p> + +<p> +Around and around he went in a circle, trying to bite it off. He looked +as if his head and tail were tied together. Like a little yellow +merry-go-round, whirling so swiftly after itself, was he. All the strange +circus people laughed and cheered and the giant clapped his huge hands till +they sounded like thunder. +</p> + +<p> +All of a sudden the ring rolled off Wienerwurst's tail, and Marmaduke went +scrambling after it. It rolled right near the lady—and all those snakes! +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke didn't like <i>that</i>. He was glad when he heard another voice +call out, very cheerily. +</p> + +<p> +"Here it is, Sonny!" +</p> + +<p> +This was a very jolly voice, jollier than any he had ever heard in the +world except the Toyman's. +</p> + +<p> +The man who owned that voice stood before him, such a funny man, in a baggy +white suit, with red spots like big red tiddledy winks all over it. He had +a pointed cap all red and white too. And his face was all painted white, +with long black eyebrows and a wide, wide, red mouth. +</p> + +<p> +This was the way Marmaduke met Tody the Clown. +</p> + +<p> +They had a long talk together and he seemed to understand little boys, just +like the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +"It must be fine to always live in a circus," said Marmaduke. "Wish I did." +</p> + +<p> +"Well, Sonny, when you grow up, maybe you can," replied Tody the Clown. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke looked at the wide mouth with its funny smile. +</p> + +<p> +"You're always happy, aren't you?" +</p> + +<p> +Tody nodded and answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Sure—anyway <i>almost</i> always." +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you ever feel cross or have any troubles?" +</p> + +<p> +Tody threw back his head at that and laughed way out loud. +</p> + +<p> +"Sure I do," said he. "A heap of troubles, but I just think of all the +little girls and boys like you that I've got to make happy. Then I try hard +to make 'em laugh and—" +</p> + +<p> +"An' what?" +</p> + +<p> +"Why all my troubles fly away, quick as a wink," laughed Tody. "Yes, +just as quick as I do this." And <i>quicker</i> than a wink he turned a +somersault. He turned a whole lot of somersaults and then he took Marmaduke +on his shoulder and galloped around the tent and they had a glorious time. +</p> + +<p> +But the music was sounding out in the big tent just next them—drums and +horns and bugles and fifes. The circus would start in a minute now and all +the fun would be over. +</p> + +<p> +"Where's your ticket, Sonny?" asked Tody. +</p> + +<p> +"I haven't any," Marmaduke explained. "I've lost the Toyman—and he's got +my ticket an'—an'—I can't go in." +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you worry about that. You'll have the <i>best seat in the whole +circus</i>." And Tody turned another somersault just to make him laugh. +Then he looked down at little Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +"But they won't let any doggies in there. We'll just tie him to this pole." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke shook his head and tried hard to keep the tears back. Just one +little one rolled down his right cheek But that was on the other side of +Tody. Maybe Tody saw it anyway, for when Marmaduke said to him,—"Then I +can't go in either, my little pet doggie would feel so badly," the jolly +Clown answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Well, we'll just have to fix it up some way. Can y' keep him quiet?" +</p> + +<p> +"Quiet as a mouse," answered Marmaduke, "quiet as Mother Robin when she +sits on her nest." +</p> + +<p> +And Wienerwurst barked out loud just to show how quiet he could be. +</p> + +<p> +Tody spoke to another man. This one had on a bright red vest, red as Father +Robin's. He looked at the boy and the dog. His voice wasn't as pleasant as +Tody's nor the giant's, but what he said was all right. +</p> + +<p> +It was just "Sure!" and Marmaduke and Wienerwurst slipped inside the big +tent, right near the front, where they could see all the wonderful things +that went on. +</p> + +<p> +Wienerwurst sat pretty quiet on his lap and together they watched the +elephants stand on their heads, and the men way up in the air turn +somersaults on little swings, and the ladies in bright spangles gallop +round and round the ring, and the monkeys and the clowns do tricks—and +everything. +</p> + +<p> +Tody was the funniest and happiest of all, and he made all the children +laugh and shout and clap their hands. Even Johnny Cricket, the lame boy, +who had come a long way to see the circus, smiled. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke and Wienerwurst were so excited that they forgot all about +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah and the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +After a while Tody turned a somersault, a cartwheel, and a flipflop, and +landed right near their seat. +</p> + +<p> +"How would you like to ride on an elephant?" he whispered in Marmaduke's +ear. +</p> + +<p> +Of course Marmaduke answered: +</p> + +<p> +"Better 'n anything I <i>ever</i> did." +</p> + +<p> +So Tody took him by the hand and led him into the little tent and put +a little pointed cap on his head, just like Tody's own. Then he lifted +Marmaduke into a big seat on top of Jumbo, the big elephant. And out they +marched under the tent and round and round the ring. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke could look down on all the rows of people. He was up quite high +and their faces looked small, but he could tell Jehosophat, and Hepzebiah, +and Sammy Soapstone, and Sophy, Lizzie Fizzletree, and Fatty Hamm, too. And +<i>there</i> was the Toyman walking around, looking everywhere for him. +</p> + +<p> +"'Llo, Toyman," he shouted, and the Toyman looked up and saw Marmaduke in +his little pointed cap, way up on the back of the big elephant. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman waved his hand and smiled. I guess he was very glad to find that +Marmaduke wasn't lost after all. +</p> + +<p> +But Jehosophat was wishing that <i>he</i> had been lost, so that he could +have had that fine chance to be part of the circus. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly there was a chorus of barks. Marmaduke had forgotten all about +Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +He turned around to look for him and leaned back so far that he almost +fell flop off the elephant's back. Tody caught him just in time or there +<i>would</i> have been trouble. +</p> + +<p> +The trick dogs were coming into the circus now. Some of them were walking +on their hind legs. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke listened. +</p> + +<p> +There were so many different barks! Just as many as there were dogs,—deep +or squeaky, smooth or creaky, rough or happy, gruff or snappy, and one that +Marmaduke knew the very minute he heard it. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Run—run—run—run—runrunrun</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +Yes, he knew that little voice. He could tell little Wienerwurst's bark +anywhere. Somehow it was different from any doggie's in the world. There he +was, frisking and scampering and biting at the other dogs' tails, just in +fun. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Run—run run—run—runrunrun</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +And that is just what they did, right into the circus ring where the man in +the red cap held out big hoops of paper above the dogs' heads. +</p> + +<p> +The first dog jumped through one hoop, and the second dog jumped through +another. Then the man in the red cap held up a third hoop bigger than all +the rest. +</p> + +<p> +Another dog, a long tall greyhound, got ready to take his turn, but I guess +Wienerwurst decided all-of-a-sudden that <i>he</i> wasn't going to be left +out. He just gave the tail of that big dog a little nip, and when the +big dog turned around to see what was the matter, why Wienerwurst jumped +through the hoop all by himself. +</p> + +<p> +So pleased was he that he ran round the ring, looking up at the people in +their seats, with his little pink tongue hanging out in delight. +</p> + +<p> +A great doggie was Wienerwurst. +</p> + +<p> +But soon it was all over and the people left their seats, and walked out of +the tent to their homes and their suppers. +</p> + +<p> +Tody the Clown just wouldn't let Marmaduke and little Wienerwurst go. He +invited them and his brother and sister and the Toyman, too, to have supper +in the tent. +</p> + +<p> +At a long table they sat, with Tody, and the big giant, and the little +teeny dwarf, and the Lady-with-the-Long-Long-Beard, and the +Lady-with-the-Necklace-of-Snakes. But she put the snakes away and Marmaduke +wasn't afraid at all. +</p> + +<p> +Tody the Clown sat by his side and kept his plate full and his cup full +too. He didn't forget little Wienerwurst either. <i>He</i> had a nice big +bone all for himself. +</p> + +<p> +But the time came to say "Good-bye," which they did, to one and all of the +kind circus people. +</p> + +<p> +Tody the Clown didn't kiss Marmaduke. He just shook hands. Marmaduke was +glad of that. He felt like a real man now. For hadn't he been part of a +circus and ridden on an elephant! I guess so! +</p> + +<p> +All Tody said to him was: +</p> + +<p> +"Good-bye, pardner, you just keep smiling and make people happy, and you'll +be a circus man too, one of these days." +</p> + +<p> +So the Toyman hitched up "old Methuselah," and the three happy children +rode home together, falling asleep in the buggy before ever they reached +the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. +</p> + +<p> +When you visit that place ask Marmaduke to show you the silver button and +the big giant's ring. He keeps them still in his little bureau. But the +candy was gone, oh, long ago. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap19"></a> +NINETEENTH NIGHT +<br /> +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +Mr. Sun must have known that it was Jehosophat's birthday, he made it so +bright, not too sunny nor yet too cool. +</p> + +<p> +The three children, Mother, Father, and the Toyman, were all crowding +about something which stood in front of the barn. The three tails of three +doggies wagged as if they thought it was fine. Mr. Stuckup came to take a +look. So did Miss Crosspatch and the Wyandottes; and the pigeons flew down +from their house on the roof and perched on its seat. +</p> + +<p> +It was something for Jehosophat, of course. It was his birthday, and he had +tried hard to be good ever since he had had that talk with the tall man on +the white horse in the picture. +</p> + +<p> +It was something he had always wanted,—a little cart with a real live pony +in the shafts. And the pony was all dressed in new harness, spick and span +and shiny. +</p> + +<p> +Not very tall was the little pony. His ears twitched just on a level with +Jehosophat's head. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat put his arm around his neck and patted his black coat, which was +almost as shiny as the harness itself. He looked at the tail. It was nearly +a yard long and very thick. That pony was certainly handsome. And Father +had given him—cart, harness, and all—to Jehosophat for his birthday, for +his very own, to keep just as long as the pony lived. And that was the +finest present any boy could have—ever. +</p> + +<p> +The name was a very important matter. The boys each had a dozen they could +think of, but Mother and Father and the Toyman couldn't think of any. At +least they wouldn't give any suggestions. They thought it was Jehosophat's +right to name his own pony. +</p> + +<p> +It was settled at last,—"Little Geeup." Where-ever Jehosophat got that +name nobody knew. I really believe he read a story once about a horse +called that. Or perhaps he remembered one of the circus ponies with the +same name. Anyway, that was the one he chose. So it can't be changed now, +any more than Jehosophat's own, or Marmaduke's, or Hepzebiah's. +</p> + +<p> +A moment more they looked Little Geeup all over, from the black mane on his +neck down his sleek back to his fine full tail. A moment more they looked +at the little cart, its bright red body with the blue lines around it, +the wheels and spokes, which were bright yellow, and the shafts and the +whiffletrees, which were yellow too. +</p> + +<p> +Then they got in. Little Hepzebiah sat on the seat with Jehosophat. He +proudly held the reins. Marmaduke sat behind, his legs hanging over the +tail-board, with Wienerwurst wriggling on his lap. +</p> + +<p> +"Tluck, tluck," called Jehosophat. Little Geeup obeyed. The yellow wheels +turned, and down the driveway they went, Father and the Toyman hurrying +alongside, Rover and Brownie barking behind. +</p> + +<p> +There were lots of fine carriages out that day, but never so fine a turnout +as that little red cart with the yellow wheels and the black pony in the +shafts. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat didn't have to learn how to drive Little Geeup. Father had often +let him drive Old Methuselah when they went to town, and the little black +pony was quite safe. +</p> + +<p> +At last Father and the Toyman stopped and waved good-bye. So off the +children drove, up the road by the river. +</p> + +<p> +"Where shall we go?" asked Jehosophat. +</p> + +<p> +Now Marmaduke was thinking over something Tody the Clown had told +him—about making other folks happy. +</p> + +<p> +"Let's take Johnny Cricket for a ride," he suggested. +</p> + +<p> +The driver agreed, so they turned from the road by the river and drove up a +lane. At the end was a house. It was a very small house and a poor one too. +Here lived Johnny Cricket, the lame little fellow, who never could run or +play like the three happy children. +</p> + +<p> +There wasn't much furniture in his home, or much money either, hardly +enough to buy him new crutches, to say nothing of toys that little boys +like. +</p> + +<p> +"Whoa!" called Jehosophat, in front of the gate. +</p> + +<p> +Then he got out and knocked at the door. +</p> + +<p> +It opened. Johnny's Mother was there. +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat took off his hat. +</p> + +<p> +"Good-morning, Mrs. Cricket, can we take Johnny for a ride in my new cart?" +</p> + +<p> +"Of course," replied she. "My! Won't Johnny be glad to go for a ride in +that pretty cart! He's been very lonesome." +</p> + +<p> +So out hobbled Johnny, all smiles. Crunch, crunch, crunch went his crutch +down the gravel walk. +</p> + +<p> +"Hepzebiah, you'll have to sit in the back with Marmaduke," commanded the +owner of the little cart. +</p> + +<p> +So the little girl climbed over the back of the seat and sat with Marmaduke +and Wienerwurst. And they helped Johnny in carefully, and off they drove up +the lane, enjoying the woods and the nice warm sun. Johnny enjoyed it ever +so much, but not more than they. I guess the three children were quite as +happy, for to make others happy brings the best sort of happiness. +</p> + +<p> +At last they turned round and drove back. +</p> + +<p> +They were just trotting past the Miller Farm when they heard a great growl. +</p> + +<p> +Over the fields, with great leaps, a big dog was running. Now Jake Miller's +dog, Prowler, was the worst dog in the neighbourhood. Often the three +children had heard Father say "He ought to be shot." +</p> + +<p> +And there he was—running straight towards them, and little Wienerwurst had +jumped over the tailboard and out of the wagon, and was trotting alongside. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Urrururur</i>," growled Prowler. He had almost reached the gate. He +was long and big, and really looked more like a savage animal than a dog. +Pieces of chain hung from his neck and dragged alongside in the earth as he +ran. He must have broken away from his kennel. +</p> + +<p> +Through the gate he bounded, then stopped still and growled in suspicion. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Out—out—out</i>!" he seemed to be saying. He thought they had no +right in front of his home, not even when they were driving on the road, +which was free to all. +</p> + +<p> +The three happy children and Little Geeup didn't like the looks of things +very much. +</p> + +<p> +"Here, Wienerwurst—come here," called Marmaduke. He wanted his little dog +to jump back in the wagon and be safe. +</p> + +<p> +But Wienerwurst was no coward. Besides, he was a friendly little fellow, +and liked to be polite to everybody, dogs and people too, even if sometimes +he did chase the pretty pink pigeons and the White Wyandottes. But that was +just in fun, of course. +</p> + +<p> +So he just stood still and looked at the big bad dog and wagged his tail in +a friendly way, and smiled. +</p> + +<p> +But that big bad dog Prowler didn't appreciate that at all. He opened his +big jaws and showed his teeth and gave a deep growl. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Out—out—out</i>!" he repeated. +</p> + +<p> +And then Wienerwurst gave his tail a wag, and advanced a step or two. +</p> + +<p> +Quick as lightning Prowler jumped at him. +</p> + +<p> +Wienerwurst didn't run. Yet he was so little and the other dog was so big. +And his ear hurt too, where the other dog bit him. +</p> + +<p> +The big dog was jumping at him again and again and biting him too, but I +guess Wienerwurst must have heard Father and the Toyman tell the boys once +never to start a fight, but always to stand up for one's rights, and never +to be a coward, or run away. +</p> + +<p> +That Prowler had no right at all to tell him to get off the road nor to +bite him! +</p> + +<p> +And so, though he was only a yellow dog and small and weak, Wienerwurst +barked bravely and tried his best to fight off the big dog. +</p> + +<p> +It wasn't a very happy chorus of growls and barks and squeals. It sounded +something like this: +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Gurrrrr—gurrr-uh—ow—ow—gurr—gurr—ow—wuf—ar—gurr—ow—wow—uh- +wuf—xxx—x</i>!!!" +</p> + +<p> +Jehosophat pulled on the reins. +</p> + +<p> +"We must stop that," said he. "Hepzebiah you sit here." +</p> + +<p> +Out he jumped, but his brother was ahead of him, for Marmaduke loved +Wienerwurst even more than they did. +</p> + +<p> +At the big dog's collar they pulled, and they grabbed tight hold of his +chain, trying to drag him away so that he wouldn't hurt little Wienerwurst. +But he was very strong, that wicked bad dog. They couldn't budge him at +all. +</p> + +<p> +But just then they heard the sound of wheels. They were glad. +</p> + +<p> +Help was coming at last! +</p> + +<p> +A wagon drove up. It was the country postman, who delivered the mail to the +farms, in a wagon. +</p> + +<p> +"Whoa!" the postman shouted and out he jumped with his whip! +</p> + +<p> +He ran straight for the big dog, and out of the gate ran Jake Miller too. +I guess he felt ashamed of himself for keeping such a dog as Prowler. The +two men grabbed the chain and whipped the big bad dog till he let go of +Wienerwurst and ran back to his kennel. +</p> + +<p> +Tenderly the two boys lifted their little friend into the cart, and drove +home as fast as they could. +</p> + +<p> +They forgot all about the pony and the fine new cart, just thinking of +their poor hurt doggie. +</p> + +<p> +Mother and the Toyman brought water in a basin, and the Toyman poured +something from a bottle, which coloured the water all dark. With a little +clean rag he washed out the cuts on Wienerwurst's face and the back of his +neck. +</p> + +<p> +Then out to the workshop he went and brought back a little can. He +unscrewed the top and took out some of the salve inside. It was coloured +just like peanut-butter and was soft and healing. On each cut he put a +little of the salve, then wound the little doggie all up in nice soft +bandages too. And Wienerwurst licked the Toyman's hand to show how thankful +he was. +</p> + +<p> +They made him a little bed, but he didn't stay in that long. The Toyman was +such a good doctor that Wienerwurst felt better already. Still he didn't +play very much that day. +</p> + +<p> +Mother sent the Toyman over to the Cricket farm to ask Johnny's mother to +let her boy stay for the night. +</p> + +<p> +He did—for <i>three whole days</i>—and great fun they had with Little +Geeup, and the red dogcart, and the little lame boy, giving Wienerwurst +rides to make him all well. +</p> + +<p> +And Father and the Toyman made Jake Miller chain up the wicked dog—very +tight this time—with a chain that would never break. +</p> + +<p> +And soon that bad dog died, which was a good thing too. Nobody wasted many +tears on him. +</p> + +<p> +But little Wienerwurst got well and strong, and chased the pretty pink +pigeons—in fun of course—just as fast as ever he did. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h3> +<a id="chap20"></a> +TWENTIETH NIGHT +<br /> +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND +</h3> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p> +By the fire sat the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +He must have been seeing things in the flames, for he kept looking, looking +all the time. +</p> + +<p> +He was all alone, for Father and Mother Green had gone to town to see a +fine wedding. It was not often that they stayed out so late, but this was +a grand event. And they knew the three happy children would be safe in the +Toyman's care. +</p> + +<p> +They were all in the next room. Jehosophat and Hepzebiah were sound +asleep—but not Marmaduke. He was sitting up, a little bit of a fellow in a +big bed. +</p> + +<p> +Outside, old Giant Northwind roared and roared. Now he seemed to be running +around and around the house, faster than any train. Now he stopped to knock +at the door and bang at the window panes. Now he trampled on the roof, +knocking off pieces of slate and a brick from the chimney, which fell, +<i>crash</i>, through the glass cover of the little greenhouse. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke did not like the sounds cruel Giant Northwind made. And it +was very dark in the room. To tell the truth he was just a little bit +frightened. But he didn't say anything at all. For the Toyman had told him +always to be "game." That was a funny word, but Marmaduke knew what it +meant. A brave little boy must not cry even if he <i>is</i> afraid. +</p> + +<p> +Still the Giant Northwind kept running round and round the house with great +leaps. And the windows creaked, and the trees thumped the house with their +branches. +</p> + +<p> +Suppose the Giant should break in and carry him 'way, 'way off! +</p> + +<p> +The door of the next room was open. Through it he could see the bright +fire. Higher and higher leaped the flames, as if they wanted to jump up the +chimney and join the Northwind in his mad race. +</p> + +<p> +Very comfy and bright looked the fire. Very funny were the shadows on +the wall, dancing and bowing to each other and jumping up and down like +Jacks-in-the-Box. +</p> + +<p> +One shadow was like a man's, as tall as the ceiling. +</p> + +<p> +Had Giant Northwind gotten in the house at last! +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke shivered and crept out of bed—and hurried into the next room. +He kept as far away from that giant shadow as he could. But he never cried +out. He was very brave. +</p> + +<p> +On and on against the wall he tiptoed towards the chair by the fire, where +the Toyman sat, thinking his strange thoughts. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked around. There stood +Marmaduke, pointing at the shadow. +</p> + +<p> +That shadow was so big and Marmaduke was so small. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't let him get me!" the little boy cried. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman reached down and in a second Marmaduke was safe in his arms. +</p> + +<p> +"There's nobody here but me," said the Toyman. +</p> + +<p> +Loud the Giant Northwind howled and roared, while the flames leaped up the +chimney. +</p> + +<p> +"Look there!" cried Marmaduke. "There he is!!" +</p> + +<p> +And again he pointed to the shadow on the wall. +</p> + +<p> +"The Giant Northwind has got in our house!" +</p> + +<p> +But the Toyman only laughed, hugging him tighter. +</p> + +<p> +"That's not old Northwind, that's only my shadow," he explained. +</p> + +<p> +Then Marmaduke laughed too. +</p> + +<p> +"Tell me a story, Toyman," he asked, "'bout that ole Giant Northwind." +</p> + +<p> +"It might scare you," the Toyman answered. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke only shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +"Nothing makes me scared when I'm <i>here</i>," he said. He wasn't afraid +of giants, or ogres, or wild animals, or anything, when he was safe in the +Toyman's arms. +</p> + +<p> +For a while he looked up into his face. The Toyman's hair stood up, all +funny and rough. He was always running his fingers through it. His face +had wrinkles like hard seams, and it was as brown as saddle leather from +working outdoors. But Marmaduke thought that nowhere in the world was there +so kind a face, except his Mother's. +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman put down his corncob pipe and began: +</p> + +<p> +"Once upon a time, long time ago, before your mother was born, or your +grandmother, or your great-grandmother either, there was a King. He was +King of all the Winds. And he lived in a great big cave up in a high +mountain." +</p> + +<p> +"Was the mountain as high as the church steeple?" asked Marmaduke. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, higher than that—as high as a lot of church steeples, stuck one on +top of another," the Toyman explained. +</p> + +<p> +"Sometimes the King of the Winds took a little snooze in his cave, and then +everything was quiet. But when he woke up he would go out of his cave, +raisin' ructions all over the world. +</p> + +<p> +"There was a lot of work for him to do, east and west, south and north. He +tossed the branches of the trees and made 'em crack, and he made the waves +in the ocean turn somersaults, and blew the wooden ships across the sea, +and chased the cloud-ships across the sky. +</p> + +<p> +"And he had a lot of little chores too, like drying the clothes on Mondays, +and waving the flags on Fourth of July, and sailing little boy's kites high +in the air. +</p> + +<p> +"When the King of the Winds was a young fellow, it was all great fun. But +after a while the trees grew bigger and bigger, and the ships taller and +taller, and there were so many clouds that he got very tired. He was +getting pretty old and he ached in all of his bones. +</p> + +<p> +"So he said to himself, said he: +</p> + +<p> +"'I'll let the kiddies do the work, and rest for a spell in my cave on the +mountains.' +</p> + +<p> +"There were four of 'em—two boys and two girls—and each had a name, of +course. Southwind and Westwind were the girls, Eastwind and Northwind the +boys, two strapping big fellows. +</p> + +<p> +"So he called his children together and sat in the door of his cave. +</p> + +<p> +"First he took a big pinch o' snuff. That was a very bad habit folks had in +those days. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Kerchoo</i>! he sneezed, and blew two big clouds out of the sky. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Kerchoo</i>!!! he sneezed again, and turned upside down a whole fleet +of ships in the ocean. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Kerchoooooo</i>!!!! he sneezed a third time, and blew off the roofs +from all the houses in the city, a hundred miles away. +</p> + +<p> +"When he was all through his sneezing he said to his children: +</p> + +<p> +"'Get ye out to the four corners of the earth and take up my business.' +</p> + +<p> +"Now for a cane the old King used a tree with the branches pulled off. He +picked it up and pointed to the south. +</p> + +<p> +"'Southwind, you go there.' +</p> + +<p> +"She was a pretty little thing, with blue eyes and roses in her hair. And +she answered him sweet as you please, 'All right, Daddy,' and out she +danced. +</p> + +<p> +"Then with the big tree cane, the old King pointed to the west. +</p> + +<p> +"'Westwind, there is your place,' he said. +</p> + +<p> +"A very pretty girl too was Westwind, with kind eyes and a soft smile. Her +voice was soft and low, and she answered in a whisper: +</p> + +<p> +"'Good-bye, Daddy dear.' +</p> + +<p> +"She kissed him on the forehead, and floated away to her new home in the +west. +</p> + +<p> +"Then the two boys came before the old King. The big tree cane pointed +east. +</p> + +<p> +"'Get to work over there, Eastwind,' commanded the old King. +</p> + +<p> +"Now Eastwind was a strong fellow, but he was surly and cross and he didn't +obey very quickly. So his father the King picked up his tree cane in a rage +and whacked him across the shins, and out Eastwind ran, crying and yelling +till the trees of the forests sobbed too. And he cried so hard that rivers +of tears ran from his eyes and over the earth. +</p> + +<p> +"Once more the old King picked up his big tree cane, and said to the eldest +of his sons: +</p> + +<p> +"'Northwind, your home is right here in the North.' +</p> + +<p> +"Bigger even than his brother was Northwind. Strong were his muscles, and +his whiskers and hair were covered with icicles. When he breathed, millions +of snowflakes danced from his mouth. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Brrrrrrr</i>!! how one shivered when he was around. +</p> + +<p> +"Then the old King's hand trembled and the big cane dropped to the floor. +He laid him down in the cavern and breathed his last. He had been a great +King but he was deader than a doornail now. +</p> + +<p> +"So his four children took up his work. +</p> + +<p> +"Up and down the south country wandered Southwind, with her rosebud mouth +and golden hair. And wherever she went she scattered posies and violets +upon the earth. +</p> + +<p> +"Back and forth over her country floated Westwind with her soft smile and +gentle voice. She whispered lullabies to little children, and laid cool +hands on sick people's foreheads. She blew little boy's kites up ever so +high above the church steeple, and tried never to break them. And she blew +the white ships gently across the ocean. Folks liked to travel the waters +whenever she was about. +</p> + +<p> +"But they didn't like Eastwind very much. Sometimes he was all right, +but usually he was bent on mischief, making trouble for every man Jack. +The seas he would tumble about, turn over the ships, and drown the poor +sailors. He would call his grey clouds together and they would weep till +the rivers were full. Then he would blow the rivers over the banks, and +spoil the gardens, and break the bridges, and drown the poor sheep, and all +the rest of the animals too. +</p> + +<p> +"But the most cruel of all was Giant Northwind. Where his heart ought to +be was a chunk of ice. Sometimes he was pleasant enough, but most often he +was hard and unkind. He would breathe on people, and freeze their noses and +toeses, and leave many a poor fellow stiff on the snow. +</p> + +<p> +"Northwind grew and grew till he was the biggest giant on earth. Most as +tall as a mountain himself was he, and when he raised his arm he could +nearly touch the sky. He kept walking up and down the earth, roaring and +hollering fit to blow his lungs out. And how he could travel! He could go +clear around the world in about a week. +</p> + +<p> +"One fine day he went out for a walk and he saw Mr. Sun riding up high +in the sky. Mr. Sun was a strange sort of a chap, all dressed up in gold +armour. The gold armour shone so bright you could never see his eyes or his +nose or his mouth, when he walked in the sky. +</p> + +<p> +"Giant Northwind grew very jealous of Mr. Sun. He wanted that fine suit of +gold armour, for all he had himself was his long whiskers and his fur coat +of snow. +</p> + +<p> +"At Mr. Sun he shook his fist. +</p> + +<p> +"Mr. Sun only laughed at him. +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho!' he said, 'Ho, ho!' and again 'Ho, ho!' +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho! you say,' mimicked Northwind, very angry, 'soon you will laugh on +the other side of your mouth. I will blow you out and people can't see your +fine suit of gold armour any more.' +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho!' Mr. Sun laughed back. 'Just try it and see. Might as well save +your breath.' +</p> + +<p> +"That made Northwind very mad. So he took a deep breath until his chest +puffed way out like a big balloon. +</p> + +<p> +"Then he let go. All the hills in the north country shook at that roar. +</p> + +<p> +"And the clouds came hurrying out of the mountains and covered the sky so +you couldn't see the Sun and his fine suit at all. +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho!' laughed the Northwind.' Now you will laugh on the other side of +your mouth, Mr. Sun.' +</p> + +<p> +"Then he sat him down in his cave to enjoy himself. +</p> + +<p> +"But what was that! +</p> + +<p> +"There was a little hole in the clouds. Through the chink he saw gold +shining. Then more and more gold. In a few moments Mr. Sun was riding up in +the sky, as big as life. +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho!' said Mr. Sun, 'who laughs last, laughs best.' +</p> + +<p> +"Then old Giant Northwind grew madder and madder, madder than a hornet, +yes, just as mad as Mother Wyandotte when Wienerwurst chased her into the +brook. +</p> + +<p> +"He took a deep breath, did Giant Northwind, so deep that he almost burst +his lungs. He blew and he puffed and he puffed and he blew till the whole +sky was filled with grey clouds. And you couldn't see Mr. Sun and his fine +suit of gold armour at all. +</p> + +<p> +"Then down he would sit in his cave to enjoy himself for a spell, but by +and by, sure as shooting, Mr. Sun would come back again. +</p> + +<p> +"So, for a hundred years, Northwind tried to blow out the Sun. But at last +he gave it up as a bad job. +</p> + +<p> +"When he was still a middling young fellow, only about a thousand years old +or so, he went walking up and down the earth one night, just after dark. +</p> + +<p> +"He came to a great forest. In it he saw something bright, like a little +piece of the Sun. Now he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest, so +he got down on his knees to peek between the trunks and see better. People +were sitting around the bright little piece of the Sun, and warming their +hands, and cooking their supper. Of course it was only a merry fire, but +Giant Northwind was sure it was a piece of the Sun that had fallen on the +Earth. He had been so busy trying to blow him out of the sky that he hadn't +noticed these little fires much before. +</p> + +<p> +"But he had grown very cross as he knelt there, looking through the trees, +and he said to himself, said he: +</p> + +<p> +"'Ho, ho! That's one of the Sun's children. I'll blow that out anyway.' +</p> + +<p> +"And he took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Whurrrooooo</i>! he breathed on that little piece of the Sun. +</p> + +<p> +"But the little fire just laughed and leaped higher and higher. +</p> + +<p> +"So he took a real deep breath this time, till he filled all his chest, and +it stuck way out like the strong man's in the circus. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Whurrrrrrooooooooooooooo</i>!!!! he roared, but the little flames just +danced in the air, as bright and as merry as could be. +</p> + +<p> +"The more he blew the bigger grew the fire, and the sooner the people had +their suppers. +</p> + +<p> +"Then for years and years the old Giant stamped up and down the Earth, +trying to put out those little pieces of the Sun. And he couldn't do it at +all. Like their father, the Sun, the little fires just laughed at him. +</p> + +<p> +"At last Northwind said to himself, said he: "'I know what I'll do, I'll +get me some big grey wolves to put out those fires.' +</p> + +<p> +"So a-hunting he went, up into the biggest forests of the world, so dark +that people called them 'the Forests of Night.' And they were full of +fierce grey wolves. +</p> + +<p> +"With his strong hands he caught a hundred wolves and drove them back to +his cave. +</p> + +<p> +"Then one dark night when the people were sitting around their fires, so +cozy and nice, he untied the wolves and roared out: +</p> + +<p> +"'Wolves, put out those fires!' +</p> + +<p> +"And the fierce grey wolves ran out of the cavern, and snapped and snarled +at the little fires. But they couldn't put them out. So back they came to +the cave, with their tongues hanging out and their tails between their +legs. +</p> + +<p> +"'Good-for-nothings,' roared Northwind, 'I'll get me some tigers.' +</p> + +<p> +"Again he went stalking over the Earth till he reached the great deserts, +which the people called 'the Deserts Without End.' Here he caught a +thousand fierce tigers and drove them back to his cave. +</p> + +<p> +"The next night, while the people were talking and singing around the +little fires, he let the tigers loose. +</p> + +<p> +"'Tigers,' roared he, 'put out those fires.' +</p> + +<p> +"They ran out of the cave, making a terrible noise, and they raced up and +down the earth, with their sharp teeth gleaming, and their tails lashing. +At the fires they snarled, and growled, and roared, and tried to beat out +the flames with their paws. But they were only burned for their trouble. +And so the tigers too slunk back to the cave, with their heads hanging down +and their tails between their legs. +</p> + +<p> +"Once more the Northwind stalked forth and hunted through the highest +mountains he could find, so high that people called them 'the Roof of the +World.' Ten thousand lions he caught, the fiercest in all the Earth. He +tied them together by their tails, ten at a time, and drove them back to +his cave. +</p> + +<p> +"And he sent them out too. +</p> + +<p> +"'Lions, put out those fires!' +</p> + +<p> +"Such a terrible roar those lions roared that the whole Earth shook. +Through the forests they raced, leaping through the wild tree tops, lashing +their tails, and shaking their shaggy manes. And they leaped at the fires, +but they couldn't do any better. Those big lions just couldn't put the +little fires out. +</p> + +<p> +"Beside himself with rage was old Northwind now. So he sent them all out, +wolves and tigers and lions wild, and he rushed on at their head. +</p> + +<p> +"But never, never can they put the little fires out, so you needn't worry +at all." +</p> + +<p> +The Toyman stopped and Marmaduke listened. +</p> + +<p> +"Hark!" +</p> + +<p> +Yes, there were the grey wolves now, howling down the chimney. There were +the wild tigers, snarling at the window panes and leaping at the door. +</p> + +<p> +Hark! How the knobs rattled! +</p> + +<p> +And there were the wild lions, rushing and roaring through the tree-tops. +</p> + +<p> +And round and round and round the house raced old Giant Northwind himself. +</p> + +<p> +But all the while, in the fireplace the little red flames danced merrily, +never afraid at all. +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke jumped. Something was whining and scratching at the door. +</p> + +<p> +Was it a wolf? +</p> + +<p> +The voice he heard was too small and weak. +</p> + +<p> +He knew who <i>that</i> was. +</p> + +<p> +"Toyman," he shouted, "that's my little pet doggie, out in the cold. Those +bad wolves an' tigers an' lions 'll eat him up." +</p> + +<p> +So they ran to the door, the Toyman and little Marmaduke. And he wasn't +afraid at all. And they let little Wienerwurst in, and saved him from the +grey wolves and the wild tigers and the fierce lions of the Northwind. +</p> + +<p> +Little Wienerwurst barked happily and curled himself up by their feet, in +front of the warm fire. +</p> + +<p> +After that Marmaduke spoke only once before he fell asleep. +</p> + +<p> +"You never had any little boys, did you, Toyman?" +</p> + +<p> +On the Toyman's face was a funny look as he answered: +</p> + +<p> +"No, little feller, I never had any little boys." +</p> + +<p> +Marmaduke reached up his hand and patted the Toyman's rough, kind face. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't worry, Toyman," he said, "<i>I'll</i> be your little boy." +</p> + +<p> +Little Wienerwurst was sound asleep, so Marmaduke just had to fall asleep +too, happy and safe in the Toyman's arms, by the little red fire that the +wind could never put out. +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<p class="finis"> +THE END +</p> + +<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Seven O'Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 7802-h.htm or 7802-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/8/0/7802/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Seven O'Clock Stories + +Author: Robert Gordon Anderson + +Posting Date: March 27, 2014 [EBook #7802] +Release Date: April, 2005 +First Posted: May 18, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version +by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + + + SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES + + BY + + ROBERT GORDON ANDERSON + + + + + TO JEAN AND MALCOLM + + TO WHOM THESE STORIES WERE FIRST TOLD + + + + +CONTENTS + +FIRST NIGHT +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + +SECOND NIGHT +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + +THIRD NIGHT +NOISY FOLKS + +FOURTH NIGHT +JUST BEFORE SUPPER + +FIFTH NIGHT +THE TOYMAN + +SIXTH NIGHT +THE WILLOW WHISTLE + +SEVENTH NIGHT +MR. SCARECROW + +EIGHTH NIGHT +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD + +NINTH NIGHT +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY + +TENTH NIGHT +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY + +ELEVENTH NIGHT +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK + +TWELFTH NIGHT +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP + +THIRTEENTH NIGHT +THE TALL ENEMY + +FOURTEENTH NIGHT +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER + +FIFTEENTH NIGHT +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON + +SIXTEENTH NIGHT +SLOSHIN' + +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT +THE JOLLY CLOWN + +NINETEENTH NIGHT +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE + +TWENTIETH NIGHT +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +"AND THERE ON THE HILL SAT A JOLLY OLD MAN, ROUND AND FAT, +WITH A PIPE IN HIS MOUTH AND A SACK ON HIS BACK" + +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN LIVE IN THE COUNTRY" + +"WIENERWURST CAUGHT A PRETTY PIGEON BY ITS TAIL AND BIT IT" + +"THE DUCKS, THE SWANS, AND THE GEESE ARE VERY FOND OF THE +POND, BUT THEIR COUSINS THINK IT A DREADFUL PLACE" + +"PRIMROSE, DAISY, BUTTERCUP, AND OLD BLACK-EYED SUSAN WALKED +INTO THE BIG BARN" + +"ON THE LINE SOMETHING WRIGGLED. IT WAS ROUND AND SHINY +AND GOLD" + +"THE TOYMAN WORKED WITH HIS KNIFE VERY CAREFULLY" + +"'THERE, OLD WOODEN TOP,' THE TOYMAN SPOKE TO MR. +SCARECROW STERNLY" + +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN SET TO WORK WITH THE THREE +SHINY RAKES" + +"THE ORIOLES WERE VERY HAPPY BIRDS" + +"FATHER AND MOTHER ORIOLE TAUGHT THEM TO FLY" + +"THE EVIL EYE OF ROBBER HAWK LOOKED DOWN AT THE +FRIGHTENED WHITE WYANDOTTES" + +"THE WIND FILLED THE SAILS OF THE LITTLE SHIP AND OFF SHE +WENT" + +"ON THROUGH THE SNOW THE TALL ENEMY MARCHED" + +"HITCHED TO THE SLEIGH WERE TWO TINY BROWN REINDEER WITH +YELLOW HORNS" + +"HE HAD ONE FRIEND LEFT, LITTLE WIENERWURST" + +"THE TIGER LOOKED AT ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WINDOWS +AND DOORS" + +"THE TOYMAN SAW MARMADUKE WAY UP ON THE BACK OF THE BIG +ELEPHANT" + +"QUICK AS A FLASH THE BIG DOG JUMPED AT LITTLE WIENERWURST" + +"HE WASN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING WHEN HE WAS SAFE IN THE +TOYMAN'S ARMS" + + + + +FIRST NIGHT + +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + + +Not once upon a time but just now, in a white house by the side of a road, +live three happy children. + +Their mother and father gave them very odd names, for two old uncles and +one aunt, which pleased the old people very much. Their names are all +written in the big family Bible,--Jehosophat Green, Marmaduke Green, and +Hepzebiah Green. + +Jehosophat is just seven years old. His birthday comes on Thanksgiving Day +this year. It does not come on Thanksgiving Day every year, of course. See +if you can guess why. + +Marmaduke is five, "going on six," he always says. Little Hepzebiah, who +toddles after her brothers, tells everyone who comes to visit that she is +"half-past three." She heard her brother say this once and she imitates all +he does and says. Perhaps that is why her father calls her a "little +monkey." + +These happy children all live in the country. They do not know much about +elevated trains and subways and automobiles and moving pictures but they +do know a great deal about flowers and birds and chestnuts and picnics and +lots of things which you would like too, if you lived in the country. + +Each place you see has its advantages. All good is not found in the +country, nor all in the city. If we keep both eyes open we will see lots of +enjoyable and beautiful things wherever we are. + +The house in which Jehosophat and Marmaduke and Hepzebiah live is large. It +has many rooms to sleep in and eat in and play in. It is painted white and +has wide windows with green blinds. + +Around the house are large trees. The branches seem to pat the house +lovingly and to protect the children when the sun is too hot or the rain +comes down too fast. + +They are fine for swings and bird-houses, these trees, and some throw down +acorns and others cones and soft pine needles for the children to play +with. + +Behind the house and gardens are red barns, chicken yards--and oh lots of +animals,--the three dogs, Rover, Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst and +all the rest. You will come to know them later. Each has his funny ways and +queer tricks just like people. Around the house are fields with growing +plants and oh--we almost forgot the pond where Jehosophat and his brother +sail boats. + +Mother, that is Mrs. Green, is not too thin nor yet too plump. She is just +what a mother ought to be, with kind, shining eyes, and soft cheeks. She +is always cooking things or doing things for Jehosophat and Marmaduke and +little Hepzebiah. + +Father--the neighbours call him Neighbour Green--is very strong. He can +lift big weights and manage bad horses. He can do lots of work and yet +somehow he finds time to do things for the children too. + +His eyes are blue, while mother's are brown. When he laughs, Marmaduke +thinks it sounds like the church-bells on Sunday. Once he had a +moustache but that went when mother said he would look younger without +it. Now sometimes, when he works hard, he does not have time to shave +every day. On Sunday mornings Hepzebiah loves to watch him take the +brush and cup. The cup has flowers painted on it. When he turns the +brush in the cup it makes something like whipped cream, or the top of +mother's lemon pies. + +And after he takes it off with the razor his face is red and shiny and +smooth. Hepzebiah always likes to kiss her father, but she likes to kiss +him best on Sunday mornings. + +Tonight you have met all the family so we must stop for the clock says +"after seven." Tomorrow we will meet all the animals and they are really +part of the family too. + + + + +SECOND NIGHT + +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + + +The three happy children have many playmates, who live in the barnyard. +Some have four feet and some only two, but _these_ have two wings +besides to make up for the missing feet. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah like the dogs best. And just as +there are three children so there are three dogs. Let's shake hands with +them, one by one. + +The great big dog is named Rover, the middle-sized one Brownie, and the +little yellow curly one Wienerwurst. + +A wise fellow is Rover. From a cold country called Newfoundland his great +grandfather came. And he seems to think life is a very serious matter. His +coat is black with snow-white patches. His hair curls a little. It feels +very soft when you lay your head against it. + +He doesn't play as much as the other two doggies. But once when Hepzebiah +fell in the pond after her doll, Rover swam in and caught her dress in his +mouth and brought her to shore. Not long after that Mr. Green gave him a +new shiny collar. + +Brownie is a terrier and is coloured like his name. He is a frisky dog and +often chases the horses and buggies that go up and down the road in front +of the house. Sometimes the drivers lash at him with their long whips but +he is too quick for them and scampers out of their reach. + +The funniest doggie in all the world is little yellow Wienerwurst. He is +even more full of mischief than Brownie and loves to run after all the +other animals in the barnyard. + +When the pigeons fly down from their little house on the top of the barn to +take an afternoon walk and perhaps pick up a few extra grains of corn, this +little yellow doggie spoils all their fun. He soon sends them flying back +to their house on the roof, where they chatter and coo in great excitement. +But they do not lose their tempers like "Mr. Stuckup," the turkey, or old +"Miss Crosspatch," the guinea-hen with the ugly voice. + +Once little Wienerwurst caught a pretty pigeon by its tail and bit it. Then +Mr. Green took him over his knee, just as he did Jehosophat when he threw a +stone at the window, and spanked little Wienerwurst. + +Each dog has a house. One is big, one middle-sized, and one small, and +each has a door to fit the doggie who lives there. Their houses are called +kennels, and they are something like the pigeon's home way up on the roof. + +The pigeons are very pretty, grey and white and pink coloured. When the sun +shines brightly their necks shine too, like the rainbow silk dress which +Mrs. Green wears whenever there is a wedding. + +One pair of the pigeons sit a great deal of the time on the ridge-pole of +the barn and swell out their chests like proud, fat policemen. Farmer Green +calls them pouter pigeons. + +They do not have harsh voices like the guinea-hen or the old black crows +which steal the corn from the field when Mr. Scarecrow gets tired and goes +to sleep. (We will introduce you to Mr. Scarecrow some evening very soon.) +But the voices of the pigeons are soft and low like mother's, especially +when Hepzebiah is sick and she sings her to sleep. + +They will not have much to do with the chickens, these pigeons. Perhaps +they are like the people who live on the top floor of tall city houses and +do not go down often to talk with the people in the streets. + +What a lot of chickens Farmer Green has! Almost two hundred, if they would +ever stay still long enough for Jehosophat to count them. They are called +White Wyandottes and they are very white and plump, with combs as red as +geraniums. + +You know there are many kinds of chickens just as there are many kinds +of people, English, French, and Americans. Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth +Rocks, Cochins, and Leghorns are some of the chicken family names, but +Jehosophat's father does not believe in mixing families, he says, so only +the White Wyandottes live on the Green farm. + +Jehosophat and Marmaduke love the big rooster best. The red comb on the +top of his head has teeth like a carpenter's saw, and is so large it +will not stand up straight. His white tail curves beautifully like the +plumes on the hats of the circus ladies. When he throws back his head, +puffs out his throat, and calls to the Sun, he is indeed a wonderful +creature. + +The little chicks are the ones Hepzebiah loves best. She can hold them in +her two hands like little soft yellow balls or the powder puffs which Nurse +uses on new little babies. The little chicks have such tiny voices, crying +"cheep, cheep, cheep," almost the way the crickets do all through the +night. + +The chickens have cousins who--but there goes the clock--so that is +tomorrow night's story. + + + + +THIRD NIGHT + +NOISY FOLKS + + +Do you remember what we were telling about last night when that little +tongue told us to stop? The little tongue in the Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +on the mantel? + +Oh yes, the first cousins of the chickens who lived in the yard of the +three happy children. + +Their first cousins are called ducks. Most of them are white but a few +are black. Their coats are very smooth, and the skin under them sends out +little drops of oil like drops of perspiration. This keeps the water and +the rain from wetting the ducks through and through. You have heard people +say sometimes: "The way water runs off a duck's back." Well, now you know +the reason why. + +In rainy weather Hepzebiah wears a blue waterproof with a little hood but +the ducks do not need anything like that. Their everyday coats of white +and black are just as good. If the White Wyandottes cannot get under the +chicken coop or the barn quick enough when it rains, their feathers are all +mussed up but the ducks seem always dressed in their best. + +Their bills are different from their relatives'. They are not short and +pointed like the chicken's but broad and long. + +And they have what are called web feet. Between the toes are pieces of +skin, thick and tough like canvas. These web feet are like small oars or +paddles. With them they can push against the water of the pond and swim +quite fast. + +The ducks are very fond of the pond but their cousins think it a dreadful +place. + +"Cluck, cluck," say the White Wyandottes, "what a foolish way of spending +your time, sailing on the water when there are fat, brown worms to dig for +in the nice earth!" + +You see animals, like people, like different things. The world wouldn't be +half so interesting if we all liked the _same_ things, would it? + +The other night Jehosophat felt very foolish when he came in to supper. His +mother looked behind his ears and said: "Why you are just as afraid of the +water as the chickens." + +Did you ever hear of such a thing! + +Now the chickens have _second_ cousins too. Their second cousins are +the white geese. + +They live on the other side of the tall fence that looks as if it were made +of crocheted wire. Sometimes Jehosophat's father opens the gate in the +fence and lets the geese wander down to the pond. A silly way they have +of stretching out their long white necks and crying, "Hiss, hiss!" This +frightens Hepzebiah who always runs away. Then the geese waddle along in +single file, that is one by one, like fat old ladies crossing a muddy +street on their way to sewing society. + +Jehosophat says that the chickens have third cousins too,--the swans. There +they are, way out on the pond, sailing along like white ships. Their necks +are very long and snowy white and they bend in such a pretty way. And their +soft white wings look something like the wings of the angels on the +Christmas cards. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah do not like one barnyard neighbour +very much. It is the guinea-hen. She has a grey body, plump as a sack of +meal, with little white speckles, a funny neck and such a small head with a +tuft on top. She screeches horribly and Marmaduke calls her "Miss +Crosspatch." + +But the turkey with his proud walk is just funny. And yet Farmer Green says +he hasn't any sense of humour. Ask _your_ father how that can be if he +is funny. + +"Mr. Stuckup" the children call the turkey. He walks along slowly, swinging +from side to side. His feathers are brownish-black or bronze, and his tail +often spreads out like a fan. He has the funniest nose. It is red and soft +and long and flops over his bill on his chest. + +He calls "gobble, gobble, gobble," all the time, yet he does not gobble as +much as the busy White Wyandottes all around him who are forever looking +for kernels of corn or worms or bugs. + +But who is this magnificent creature coming along over the lawn under the +cherry-tree? Uncle Roger, who sails around the world in a great ship with +white sails, gave him to the children. He brought him from a land very far +across the seas. + +He is the peacock and is all green and gold and blue. On his head is a +little crown of feathers. His tail, too, can spread out like a fan the way +"Mr. Stuckup's," the turkey's, does. But it is ever so much more beautiful. +It is green and has hundreds of blue eyes in it. The three children call +him the "Party Bird" for he is always so dressed up, but their father says +he is "a bit of a snob." He means that he is vain and will not have much to +do with his plainer neighbours of the barnyard-- + +"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." There goes the clock again. + +Tomorrow night, if you are good all day, we will tell you about the rest +of the barnyard friends of the three happy children. Then the next night, +about the exciting things that happened to them. + +Good-night! Sweet Dreams! + + + + +FOURTH NIGHT + +JUST BEFORE SUPPER + + +In the afternoon the sun grows tired of his hot walk across the sky. Beyond +the Green farm are the blue hills behind which he sleeps each night. + +When he is almost there the three happy children go down to the barn to +watch their four-footed friends come home. + +Sometimes Frank, the hired man who helps Farmer Green, is late and does +not go for the cows. All day long they have been in pasture. Sometimes +they eat the grass and pink clover. Sometimes they wade in the little +brook which flows there. But when it grows late, even if Frank does not +come, they know it is supper time and leave the pasture. + +When they reach the barnyard fence they stand outside calling to be let in. +Then Frank comes and lets down the bars. They walk into the yard and +through the doors into the big red barn. + +There are ten cows but Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love four of +them better than the rest. Their names are "Primrose," "Daisy," +"Buttercup," and "Black-eyed Susan." + +Now just as there are different kinds of chickens so there are several +kinds of cows--Guernseys, Jerseys, Alderneys, and Holsteins. + +"Primrose," "Daisy," and "Buttercup" are Jerseys and are a pretty brown. +"Black-eyed Susan" belongs to the Holsteins and is black and white. +"Black-eyed Susan" gives more milk than her companions but their milk has +richer cream. + +Each cow has a stall to sleep in. In front of each is a box or manger. +Frank climbs up the tall ladder to the loft, which is the second story of +the barn, and throws down the hay. Then he takes his sharp pitchfork and +tosses a lot of hay in each manger. You would never think cows could eat +so much. One box of shredded-wheat would do for all the Green family and +visitors too, but "Primrose" and "Daisy" and all the rest each eat enough +hay to fill many shredded-wheat boxes. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love to stand in the doorway of the +barn and smell the hay as the cows chew it. It is very sweet smelling. + +They do not go too near the stalls, for while the cows are eating their +supper, they switch their tails to keep off the flies. Once "Black-eyed +Susan" switched her tail across Marmaduke's face. It felt like a whip and +he ran away crying. But "Susan" didn't mean it for she is a very gentle +cow. + +And once Jehosophat came too near old "Crumplety Horn," the white cow with +the twisted horn. She kicked at Jehosophat and over went the pail of milk +which his father had almost full. + +The children like to see their father and Frank sit on their three-legged +stools in the stalls and milk the cows. The milk spurts into the pails and +it sounds very pleasant. + +The milk is very warm when it comes from the cows so Farmer Green puts +it in great cans as tall as Jehosophat. Then he carries the cans to the +spring-house where it is cool, and leaves them overnight by the well. The +children will drink some of it in the morning. Tonight they will drink +_this morning's_ milk, which is cool now. + +About the time the cows come home the horses come back too. + +First comes "Hal" the red roan. A red roan is a horse that is red-coloured, +sprinkled with little grey hairs. Then there is "Chestnut" who is called +that because he is coloured like chestnuts when they are ripe in the fall, +and "Teddy," the buckskin horse. He is tan-coloured and has a black stripe +on his backbone. Farmer Green got him from the West. There is a little mark +called a brand on his flank which tells that. + +"Old Methuselah" and "White Boots" do not do much work now. "Old +Methuselah" is all white. He was pretty old when Farmer Green bought him so +he was nicknamed for the oldest man in the Bible. "White Boots" is a bay +mare. That means a red-brown mother horse. She has four white feet. By her +side runs a little black colt with funny legs. Jehosophat gave him +_his_ name, "Black Prince." + +"Hal" and "Teddy" and "Chestnut" are very tired for they have been pulling +the plough, the wagon, or doing some farm work all day. + +Very glad they are to get their heavy leather collars and harness off and +rest in the cool barn. They have hay to eat but they have been working hard +so they have oats besides. Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah eat oats +too but theirs are flattened out and cooked. We call it oatmeal. The oats +for the horses are not flat but round like little seeds, and are not cooked +on any stove. Farmer Green cuts the stalks in the oat field. Then he takes +them to the threshing-machine, which knocks the little oats off the stalks. +Then they are put in bags to keep for the horses. + +But the little black colt with the funny long legs does not eat them. +_He_ gets milk from his mother. He is just a baby horse, you see, but +when he gets bigger he will have oats and hay too. + +Now all the animals are busy eating, the pigs with their curly tails, the +sheep, the lambs, the cows, the little calves, the horses, and the colt +with the funny legs. It is time for the three happy children to have their +supper so they run back to the house. Soon, very soon, they will be fast +asleep in Slumberland, which is where the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +says you should be now. Good-night. + + + + +FIFTH NIGHT + +THE TOYMAN + + +Farmer Green has a man who helps him plough, feed the cows and horses, +and with all the work on the farm. His name is Frank, but Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah call him "the Toyman." + +Winter nights around the fire he makes wonderful toys for them. + +His knife is like a fairy's wand. With it he whittles boats for Jehosophat, +kites for Marmaduke, and dolls for Hepzebiah. He paints them pretty colours +too. So I think they gave him the right sort of nickname when they called +him "the Toyman." + +He hasn't many clothes and no house of his own and no relatives of any +sort. He isn't exactly a handsome man. But the three happy children love +the Toyman very much. + +Yesterday he sat by the edge of the pond. On one side sat Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and big Rover. On the other side sat Hepzebiah, Brownie, and +little yellow Wienerwurst. + +They were all looking down at the water of the pond. It was very clear. + +"Keep still, Wienerwurst," said the Toyman, "or you will scare the fishes." + +They were swimming through the waters. Near the banks were little baby +fishes, hundreds of them, called minnows. They had a nickname too, +"minnies." Out farther, once in a while, the children saw a fish shining +like gold. It was a sunfish or "sunny" as they sometimes called it. And the +Toyman told them all about these fishes and the perch, too, and the long +pickerel and the wicked carp, who hunts the other fish and kills them. + +Then all at once the Toyman put his hands in his pockets. Mother Green says +his pockets are like ten-cent stores. They are so full of all sorts of +things. + +The three children watched him closely. First came a piece of wood with a +fishline wound around it. + +Then with his knife he cut three poles and near the top of each a little +notch. The fishlines were tied around the poles. At the other end he put +little curved fish-hooks, and about two feet above them little pieces of +lead, called "sinkers." The sinkers were to keep the hooks near the bottom +of the pond where the fish stay most of the time. + +Then from his pockets the Toyman took three pretty things which he had made +the night before. They were whittled of wood and shaped like lemons with +sharper points. The red and blue one was tied on Jehosophat's line, the red +and yellow one on Marmaduke's, and the blue and yellow on little +Hepzebiah's. + +"What are those pretty things?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Floaters," the Toyman answered. "Watch and you will see what we do with +them." + +"Now you keep still, you Wienerwurst, or we will put you back in the +kennel," called the Toyman to the little yellow dog, who felt very frisky +and wanted to bark all the time. + +By the feet of the Toyman was a tin can. He put in his hand and pulled out +a worm. This was put on Jehosophat's hook, another on Marmaduke's, and +another on Hepzebiah's. + +Then the Toyman threw the three hooks in the water. The two boys held their +poles tight but the Toyman had to help little Hepzebiah hold her pole, for +her hands were too small. + +"Now quiet, everybody!" said the Toyman once more and they all sat watching +the red and blue, the yellow and blue, and the red and yellow floaters out +on the water. + +"When the floater goes under, you will know that a fish is biting at the +worm on the hook." + +The Toyman had no sooner said this than he called out loud: + +"Watch 'er!" + +The red and yellow floater was pulled way under the water. The string on +Marmaduke's pole tightened and the pole bent. + +Three times the floater went under the water. + +Then Marmaduke threw his pole back quickly and the hook came out of the +water. On it something wriggled. The thing fell plop into Hepzebiah's +lap. She screamed while it flopped there. It was a little bigger than the +Toyman's hand and round and flat and shiny red and gold. No, it was not a +goldfish. It was a sunfish. + +After the Toyman had taken the sunfish from the hook and put another worm +on it, he threw the line back into the water. + +Then all the three children and the two dogs sat watching the little rings +in the water around the floaters. Sometimes farther out they saw larger +rings, and a fish feeling pretty happy, because of the cool September +weather, would jump out of the water and turn a somersault through the air. + +Then all of a sudden the blue and yellow floater went under and little +Hepzebiah caught a sunfish, too. + +Jehosophat felt disappointed because he was the oldest and hadn't caught +any fish at all. But the afternoon was not gone when he felt a big tug at +his line. It took him a long time to pull that fish in. When the hook came +out of the water a long wriggly thing was on it. + +"Oo, oo, it's a snake," screamed little Hepzebiah. + +"No, it's only an eel," said the Toyman, "he won't hurt you." + +But he had to take it off Jehosophat's hook himself, the eel was so +slippery and wriggled so. Before the sun went down, the children had each +caught two fish. There were three sunfish, two perch, and the wriggly eel. + +The Toyman cleaned them all. And Mother fried them with butter and flour +in a pan. It was a good supper they had that night, for they had caught it +themselves. When supper was over three little heads were nodding and soon +the three happy children were taking a little sail way on into Dreamland. +That is a beautiful place where you would like to go too. So you had better +follow them quickly. Perhaps you can catch up with them. Good-night. + + + + +SIXTH NIGHT + +THE WILLOW WHISTLE + + +The Toyman sat by the pond under the "Crying Tree." That is what Marmaduke +calls it, though the Toyman says it is a weeping willow. It's leaves are +a very pretty green, much lighter than the leaves of the other trees. And +the branches bend over till they reach the water. They really do look like +showers of tears. Sometimes little leaves fall into the water and float +away like silver-green boats, rowed by tiny fairies. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah came up to the "Crying Tree." + +"What are you doing, Toyman," asked Marmaduke. + +"Watch and you will see." + +They were always asking him that question and he was always telling them to +watch and see. + +So they did. + +In his hand he had his knife, which could make as many things as a fairy's +wand. It had four blades and a corkscrew. + +The Toyman cut some thin branches from the tree. From these he cut three +pieces, each about as long as his first finger and about as thick as his +little finger. + +One end of each piece of wood he cut like the stern of a boat, then he cut +a notch near the end. + +Then he worked with his knife very carefully. Soon the green bark came off +each little piece of wood. The bark came off whole, like a little roll of +green paper. + +"See," said the Toyman, "the bark is the skin of the tree and in spring the +sap which is the blood of the tree flows fast. It isn't coloured red, it +is just like light juice, but it makes the bark slip off this wood very +easily." + +On the grass he laid the round pieces of green bark. Then he took the white +bits of wood which had been under the bark and he whittled away at the +ends. Soon he was through. + +Then he slipped the pieces of bark, which looked so much like little +rolled-up green papers, back on the white pieces of wood. + +They fitted perfectly. + +One he gave to Jehosophat, one to Marmaduke, and one to Hepzebiah. + +"What are they?" asked Marmaduke. + +"I know," said his brother Jehosophat, "they are whistles." + +"Yes," said the Toyman. "They are willow whistles. Now put them in your +mouths and blow." + +Each put the end of his whistle in his mouth and blew. + +It sounded very pretty, the three whistles--and then--what do you think? + +Not far from the weeping willow or the "Crying Tree," was an elm tree. It +was taller than the willow and darker green. + +In it something shone very bright--like an orange, only it moved. + +"It's an oriole," said the Toyman. + +They looked hard and, sure enough, there among the leaves was the prettiest +bird they had ever seen. He had an orange-coloured body and black wings. + +His nest was on the end of a branch. It was grey-coloured and hung low like +a little bag, made of knitted grey wool. Father and Mother Oriole had made +it themselves. Mother Oriole is there sitting in it on little eggs. + +But Father Oriole heard the three willow whistles and he turned and began +to whistle back--oh such a pretty song. It was really prettier than the +sound of the three willow whistles for it had different notes and a tune +like the songs Mother plays on the piano. + +"We must watch that nest," said the Toyman. "Some day soon we will see the +baby orioles." + +But there--the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face is scolding again. So the +story must stop for tonight. + +When you're asleep if you listen very hard, maybe you can hear the three +happy children blowing the willow whistles, and maybe the beautiful oriole +will answer back. + +Good-night. + + + + +SEVENTH NIGHT + +MR. SCARECROW + + +Under the big oak by the brook sat the three happy children with Rover, +Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst. They were watching the Toyman cut +the ripe corn. + +"Isn't that funny?" said Jehosophat. + +"What's funny?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Wot's funny?" repeated Hepzebiah. + +"Oh! I was just thinking," said Jehosophat, "how he seems just Frank when +he's ploughing or harrowing or cutting the corn. But when he's through work +and tells us stories or makes us things, why then he is the Toyman." + +"Yes," his brother agreed. "He looks as if some fairy godmother changed him +nights and Sundays." + +But they were rudely interrupted. + +"Caw, caw!" said a voice. + +It was a rascal's voice. + +"Caw, caw!" said another. + +The Toyman jumped. He shook his fist. + +"You old thief!" he called. + +"Rogue, rogue, rogue!" growled Rover in his deep voice. + +"Run, run, run!" barked Brownie. + +"Rough, rough--rough, rough!" said little Wienerwurst in his funny voice. + +"There he is," said the Toyman, "Mr. Jim Crow and all his wicked chums. See +there!" + +All the children looked in the direction in which his finger pointed. Over +in the far corner of the field a flock of crows flew up from the waving +corn. A white horse, drawing a buggy, was trotting along the road by the +side of the cornfield. The driver had scared Mr. Jim Crow and all his +chums. They flapped their big black wings as they flew. And they flew very +straight, not like the pretty barn-swallows with their dark-blue wings. The +swallow is a happy bird and skims and dances in the air like a fancy skater +on the ice. But Mr. Jim Crow flies like an arrow. That is because he is +always up to some mischief and forever running away when someone finds +him out. + +"Caw, caw!" he called. + +"Caw, caw!" called all his black mates. + +The Toyman ran to the fence and picked up a shotgun. It had two barrels +that shone in the sun. + +"Bang, bang!" went the gun. + +One black spot dropped to the earth like a stone. + +The Toyman ran out in the cornfield. He bent over until his straw hat was +hidden by the waving corn. + +Soon he came back. From his hand Mr. Jim Crow hung head downward. He +was very still. + +"Oo, oo! You've hurted him!" + +Little Hepzebiah began to cry. + +"Don't cry," said the Toyman, patting her head. "Mr. Jim Crow was a bad +fellow. You couldn't teach him any lessons." + +"What did he do?" Marmaduke asked. + +"He stole all the corn and you wouldn't have any nice muffins if he had had +his way. I never shoot the orioles or the robins or the swallows or any of +the birds with consciences." + +"What is a conscience?" + +"Oh a little clock inside you, like the +Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel. It tells you when it is time to +stop," explained their friend. + +And Jehosophat and Marmaduke looked as if they knew just what he meant. +But Hepzebiah was too little yet to understand. + +"See, Mr. Jim Crow is long and black. He has a bad eye." + +So he buried Mr. Jim Crow under the oak tree while the children watched. + +After that the Toyman said: + +"I reckon Mr. Scarecrow has fainted." + +"Who's Mr. Scarecrow?" asked the three happy children. "Is he Mr. Jim +Crow's cousin?" + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Toyman. "That is a good one. No, Mr. Scarecrow is +the policeman of the cornfield. Let's go over and set him on his pins +again." + +So again he walked through the rows between the cornstalks and they came to +a little clear place in the middle of the field. + +There, flat on his back, lay Mr. Scarecrow. + +He too looked as if he were dead. But he was not. + +For his body was only two sticks of wood nailed together like a cross. He +was dressed in Father Green's old blue trousers and the Toyman's old black +coat. His arms were outstretched. But he had lost his hat. His wooden head +stuck out. + +The Toyman picked him up and stood him straight on his one wooden leg. Then +he put the old felt hat on his hard head. + +"There, old wooden top," the Toyman spoke to him sternly. "Don't leave your +beat." + +But Marmaduke was puzzled. + +"How could he scare Mr. Jim Crow away like a policeman? He can't run with +that wooden leg." + +"Silly," said Jehosophat, for he was older than Marmaduke and knew Mr. +Scarecrow very well. + +"Ha, ha, ha, that's another good one," said the Toyman. "Of course he can't +run. But when all the Crows see him standing up in the cornfield they think +he is a real man. They are afraid Mr. Scarecrow will shoot. For they know +that things that wear coats and hats often have guns. And guns have killed +their chums. So they do not come very near when Mr. Scarecrow is around." + +"Caw, caw!" sounded the old rascals again. But the crows were far away. The +three happy children could see them way up in the old chestnut tree over on +the edge of their neighbour's wood. + +In the fork of two high branches was a great round nest--oh ever so much +bigger than the thrush's and the oriole's. It was a crow's nest. Sailors +often call the little turret built around the mast, where they stand and +look out over the sea, a "crow's nest." It looks something like that. + +But Mr. Jim Crow's chums didn't come near the cornfield that day. + +At night, when they were ready for bed, Jehosophat said to Marmaduke: + +"I wonder if old Mr. Scarecrow is out there now." + +"Course he is," his brother assured him. + +"Let's see!" + +So they jumped out of bed and, in their white nightgowns, tiptoed over the +floor to the window. The Old-Man-in-the-Moon was up. He looked as round +and fat as a pumpkin in the sky. + +He winked at them. + +The Old-Man-in-the-Moon made it very bright so that they could see. + +Sure enough, way out in the cornfield stood Mr. Scarecrow. + +His hat and coat were on and he was standing up like a man, very straight +and still. His arms were outstretched to tell Mr. Jim Crow's chums that he +was ready for them. + +But though they are thieves, the Black Crows are not night burglars and +they were fast asleep in the nests in the wood. + +The Man-in-the-Moon winked at them three times, once with his right eye, +once with his left eye, then again with the right. + +And the three happy children thought they heard him say three times: + +"Back to bed, back to bed, back to bed!" + +Then they heard the sound of bells. Seven times they sounded. It was from +the church over in the town,--the big white church with the long finger +pointing at the sky. And the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel, +answered back. + +So they obeyed the old yellow Man-in-the-Moon and scampered like little +white mice back to bed. + + + + +EIGHTH NIGHT + +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD + + +"Tell me a story--a fairy story," said Jehosophat to his Mother. + +The three happy children loved really true stories and fairy stories too. +Sometimes they wanted one, sometimes the other. Sometimes the Toyman +mixed his stories up so it was hard to tell which they were. + +This morning it was spring. The sun was warm and Jehosophat felt very lazy. + +"No," said Mother. "I have too much work to do. But if you will help me dry +the dishes I won't tell you but I'll _show you_ one of the prettiest +fairy stories in the world." + +"It is true too," she added. + +"Mother, how can that be," said Marmaduke. "A fairy story that is a true +story?" + +"Just be patient," she replied, "and you will see." + +So the boys took the dish towels and helped dry the dishes, without any +accidents. But little Hepzebiah was too small, so she sat on the floor with +her finger in her mouth and watched them. + +"Come," said Mother Green when they were through. + +Out in the vegetable garden, back of the raspberries they went. + +"See there," said Mother. + +Three square little garden plots with nice brown earth were waiting for +seeds. + +"Father dug them for you--one for Jehosophat, one for Marmaduke, and one +for Hepzebiah." + +The three happy children couldn't help but think that was fine. + +Just then along came Father. + +His arms were full. + +He had three little rakes, three little hoes, and three little spades. + +The three happy children did not need to ask whom they were for. + +"But where's the fairy story, Mother?" + +"That you will make," she said. "The jolly old Sun, the gentle Rain, and +brown Mother Earth will help you." + +Jehosophat laughed. + +"Oh! I see now. But we can't finish that fairy story all in one day." + +"No, it takes time and it takes work. But it's a prettier story than any in +books. And you can make it come true yourselves." + +Then Marmaduke piped up: + +"What do we do first?" + +"Well," his Mother explained, "your Father has dug the ground for you. You +must rake it first, make it smooth and even. Mind, no hard lumps now!" + +So the three happy children set to work with their three shiny rakes. +Father had to help Hepzebiah, of course. + +Then when the earth was smooth and fine, like brown powder, they made +little furrows or lines in the earth. In other parts of the little gardens +they scooped out tiny holes with their hoes. + +Out of his pockets Father took some square envelopes. On them were printed +pretty flowers and ripe vegetables. + +"There," said Mother, "are the pictures of the _end_ of the fairy +story. But you'll never know the end unless you try hard." + +Father tore open the envelopes and sowed the seeds in Hepzebiah's garden, +some in the little holes, some in the furrows. Then he let the two boys sow +their own gardens. + +After the envelopes were all empty and the seeds all scattered they covered +them over with the fine brown soil. + +"The little seeds must sleep for a while," said their Mother, "like babies +in a big brown bed." + +So every day the three children watched. And the Sun shone and sometimes +the gentle Rain came. They did not feel sad when she was weeping, for +Mother told them she was a fairy too, not so jolly as the Sun but gentle +and kind. Jolly Sun, gentle Rain, and Mother Earth--they were all fairies +whom God had sent to help make the story come true. + +Sometimes it was hard to finish breakfast, they were so anxious to see what +had happened in the little gardens during the night. Sometimes they even +forgot to ask Mother to "please excuse" them and they had to be called back +to the table, for that was very impolite. + +At last one wonderful morning, as they stood around the flower beds, +Jehosophat said: + +"There's Chapter Two!" + +"What's that?" asked Marmaduke who didn't quite understand. + +"Oh, just another step in the fairy tale." + +"Where?" + +He pointed to one of the gardens. + +From the brown earth a little green head poked out. + +Little Hepzebiah danced for it was in her garden, and toddled off to tell +Mother. + +Next day there were five more little heads, some in each of the gardens. +They were light in colour and seemed weak but somehow the jolly old Sun and +brown Mother Earth took care of them as parents take care of babies. And +sometimes the gentle Rain came to water them with her tears. So they grew +strong and soon the gardens were covered with an army of sturdy little +green spears. + +"It looks like a brown pincushion with green needles and pins," said +Jehosophat. + +And the weeks passed and still the three good fairies worked hard over +them to help them live and grow up to be real vegetables and flowers. They +worked away very quietly, these three good fairies, as all good people +work, without any noise, without any fuss. + +One day Farmer Green came back from a visit to the town. + +With him he brought three green watering-pots. + +"You must do some more work, yourselves," he told them as he handed each +one of the shiny green cans. "You must water them when the Rain fairy is +tired, pull up the bad weeds that steal the food Mother Earth keeps for the +flowers, and you must keep the soil loose around the roots, so that the +drops can sink way down deep. The more work you do the better you will like +your flowers when they do come. And the taller and prettier they will be." + +So the little green stalks grew tall and strong. Then the little buds came. + +And one by one the buds opened into flowers. And the flowers had on their +petals all the colours of the rainbow in the sky. + +And the children took turns filling the vase on the supper table. They were +very proud of their flowers when their father leaned over and smelled them. + +"My, how sweet they smell!" he would say every time. "I don't think I +_ever_ saw such flowers." + +And when their vegetables came to the table--round plump red radishes, +crisp curling lettuce leaves, juicy tomatoes, and rows of peas in the pod, +like the little toes of the neighbour's baby, Father Green would say: + +"I never did eat such vegetables!" + +Then he would smile over at Mother. + +And Marmaduke, after his turn one night, whispered to his mother-- + +"It _was_ a pretty fairy story, Mother. And we made it come true +ourselves." + +"Yes, with the help of God and His fairies--the jolly Sun, the gentle Rain, +and brown Mother Earth. But the best part of it all is that _your own_ +hands helped." + +But the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle thought that the +children understood now. So he stopped this advice with his silver tongue. + +And Mother, too, agreed that it was late. So she kissed them good-night and +tucked them under the coverlids as they had covered the tiny seeds in their +brown beds. + + + + +NINTH NIGHT + +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY + + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah were very happy as they watched the +fairy story of the flowers. They were happier still because they helped it +grow. But of course that did not take all of their time. So one morning +when Marmaduke had eaten up all of his oatmeal and the cream, which +Buttercup had given him, he laid his spoon down and said: + +"Won't you show us another story, 'cause we can't watch our gardens all day +long?" + +"Yes," said Mother, "let me think what it will be." + +So Mother thought awhile. + +"I'll get Mother Nature to show you another story. But you can't help with +this one. You'll just have to watch. It's made by the birds themselves." + +Then she looked at the calendar. + +"Why, it's the fourteenth of May. He ought to be here pretty soon." + +"Who ought to be here soon?" asked Jehosophat. + +"Why, the Oriole, the Baltimore Oriole, on his way back from the South, +where he lives all winter." + +"How do you know he'll come soon?" the three children asked, all in the +same breath. + +"He always comes back about the middle of May. City folks call May first +'Moving Day,' but the fifteenth is the Oriole's Moving Day." + +So Mother led them out of the front door. + +"Just sit in that swing or play with the pine needles and watch that elm. +Don't make too much noise now! Maybe he'll come today." + +And the children played in the front of the house all the morning and +looked up at the dark green leaves of the elm every once in a while. But no +bright little bird messenger came. + +They were very much disappointed but Mother said: + +"Never mind, tomorrow is his Moving Day and I think he'll come then. He is +usually pretty prompt." + +That night Uncle Roger came to the house with Aunt Mehitable. As a special +treat the children were allowed to stay up late and hear Uncle Roger's +stories of the great sea. + +They stayed up very late, although the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle spoke several times. So +next morning they were very tired. The sun was warm and while Jehosophat, +Marmaduke and Hepzebiah sat on the porch they fell asleep. Jehosophat's +head nodded against one post, Marmaduke's against another post, while +little Hepzebiah fell asleep between them on the floor of the porch. + +"Wow, wow, wow," growled Rover, "let's go out in the barnyard and chase the +White Wyandottes. It's no fun playing with sleepy children." + +"Wow, wow, wow!" answered Brownie and little Wienerwurst together, and this +in dog's language means "Yes." + +So they romped away to the barnyard to chase the frightened White +Wyandottes. + +That was not a good thing for the chickens but it was a good thing for the +children. For if the dogs had not run away they might have missed something +very wonderful. + +What do you think it was? + +First they heard pretty strains of music. It was something like a song and +something like a whistle. + +They looked up in the elm tree. + +There, shining among the dark green leaves, was a pretty thing with orange +and black feathers. He whistled away as if he did not have a care in the +world. + +And they did not have to be told--they knew who it was. It was their old +friend, the Oriole. + +He didn't stay still very long ever, for he was a busy fellow. But once he +swung on a twig for a little while. They saw that he was almost as big as a +robin, with head and shoulders of black, the wings black too, and most of +his tail. But the rest of his body was like the prettiest orange-coloured +velvet they had ever seen. He was singing something like this: + + "What a fine day, what a fine day. + I can sing and build, for work is play." + +And every once in a while he would fly over to the apple tree and hop from +branch to branch between the pink and white blossoms, looking for food. +He was very fond of those caterpillars in the tree, you see. In between +mouthfuls he would whistle just part of his song, + +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" + +Then he would take another bite, hop to another branch and whistle again: + +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" + +He certainly seemed to be happy over the beautiful weather. + +Then he would whistle again as if he were talking to someone. + +The three sleepy children listened. + +"Now that nest, dear, now that nest, dear. We must build that nest, before +we rest." + +To whom could he be talking? + +They looked around. And there, hopping about on a spray of beautiful apple +blossoms, was another bird. It was Mother Oriole. She was almost like +Father Oriole, only her coat was not as bright as his. It is funny the +way birds are dressed, isn't it? What would you think if some Sunday +_your_ Father went to church in a black coat with a yellow vest, while +Mother wore some very dull colour? You would laugh. But that is the way +with birds. The father bird always wears brighter colours than the mother. + +The three happy children were glad that the mother bird had come with the +father bird up from the sunny South. They heard him whistle again: + + "In the Winter we go South, dear, + But in the Spring to the North we wing." + +Then together they flew back to the elm. They were house-hunting. Back on +the roof of the barn there was a little house of wood with doors for the +pretty pigeons, but there were no houses of any kind on the old elm. Still +the Orioles did not worry about that. They were not lazy, oh no! + +They were just looking for a place to build. They must have found it, for +the Oriole sang again (he was always changing his song): + + "My dear, my dear, + Sunny--quiet--lovely--here." + +He had chosen a branch about thirty feet from the ground. Mother Oriole +quietly answered back that it suited her perfectly. They both flew down +to the ground, then back to the tree. And every time they travelled they +had little pieces of grass or bark in their bills. But Mother Oriole did +most of this work, which was quite proper, for mothers always do most of +the work about the house, don't they? Father Oriole, you see, was more +interested in getting fat beetles and caterpillars for food. And that was +quite right too. But once he sang out louder than ever, for he had found a +bit of string from Jehosophat's broken kite. + +"The very thing, the very thing," he said to her. + +And once Mother Oriole found, caught in the shutter, little threads of +Hepzebiah's hair. + +Then the three happy children woke up. They rubbed their eyes. They had +been dreaming in the warm sun. + +But their dream was true and the fairy story was true. + +For there were the two birds, very pretty and very much alive. They were +busily flying to the earth again and back to the elm branch. And they were +carrying the materials for their new home in their beaks. + +They perched on the branch and crocheted with their beaks. Yes, crocheted +the little bits of bark and string and grass and hair into a tiny nest. +Hanging down from the branch, it looked like the pretty soft grey bags +which ladies carry, only it was very small. + +And between whiles Father Oriole would whistle in delight and Mother Oriole +would answer back quietly. + +They were very happy birds and were quite content with the warm sun and +the cool elm leaves and the pretty apple blossoms and their breakfast and +dinner and supper. And they were very grateful to the good God who had +given these things to them, grateful and happy as all little children +should be. + +But that is not the end of the fairy story. No, that is--but the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel won't let us tell any more. +His silver voice says: + +"Ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting," which means: + +"Tell--that--tale--a--noth--er--time." + +So good-night. + + + + +TENTH NIGHT + +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY + + +All stories should have an ending. It's fine, isn't it, when they end +happily? + +And this story of the Orioles did end happily--oh, so happily! + +It was this way, you see. + +The little grey house on the elm was finished. + +It hung down from the end of the green branch, under the leaves. It looked +both like a fairy house and a little crocheted bag. + +Now for some days Mother Oriole didn't go out very much. She stayed in her +little house. + +But Father Oriole kept about his work, hunting for the little brown +crawling things and the green crawling things that made their food. + +He would whistle every once in a while to tell Mother Oriole that he was +near. Sometimes it was just a few notes to say: + + "I'm still here--my dear, + Still here, still here, still here." + +Sometimes: + + "All right, my love!" + +Sometimes just: + + "All's well!" + +But if a strange man came too near the tree his song was sharp and angry. + + "Look out, look out, look out! + He's a rogue, an awful rogue, look out, I say!" + +But somehow he didn't seem to mind the children. + +"Why does Mother Oriole sit so quietly on her nest?" Marmaduke asked his +own mother. + +"I wish I could lift you up so that you could see. But the nest is too high +up. It's out of harm's way. Dicky Means, who has a cruel heart and robs +birds' nests, can't reach it way up there!" + +"What's in it, Muvver?" asked little Hepzebiah. You see her little tongue +didn't work just right. She never could say words with "th" in them. + +"Little eggs, dear. They are white, with little dark spots and funny dark +scrawls on them as if somebody had tried to write with a bad pen." + +Then Marmaduke asked: + +"And is she keeping them warm?" + +"Yes, so that they will hatch out. They will, very soon now." + +So for a number of days in the warm weather, and in the rainy weather too, +Mother Oriole sat faithfully on her nest. Bird mothers and the mothers of +little children are always very patient. Then came one fine morning when +the sun was particularly jolly and bright, and the blossoms smelt very +sweet and were beginning to fall from the trees. The three happy children +stood under the elm and looked up at the tiny hanging nest. + +They heard new noises, strange noises. + +It sounded like babies. + +Yes, the little Oriole babies had broken their shells and had been born at +last. + +They didn't have many clothes on. But some day their feathers will be as +pretty as their father's. + +How they did cry for food! Somehow baby Orioles cry more than other bird +babies. They seem to want to eat all the time. + +And how Father Oriole did work to keep them fed, whistling every once in a +while to make things pleasant for his family! I wonder if they appreciated +all the things he and Mother Oriole did for them. And the days passed and +the little birds grew fatter on the bugs and the beetles which their father +brought, just as fat as the little boys or girls on their oatmeal and bread +and milk, which their fathers work hard to earn for them. + +The little Orioles were certainly noisy little birds, and when they cried +sometimes the children saw funny little heads and beaks poking out of the +nest. + +Then more days passed and Father and Mother Oriole taught them to fly, just +as Father and Mother Green had taught little Hepzebiah to walk. Marmaduke +remembered how his Mother had held Hepzebiah and Father stood a little way +off. Then Hepzebiah had started. She was a little frightened at first but +she made the journey. It was only a few steps and her father caught her +before she fell. She tried this often and soon she could take a great many +steps. + +And that was something like the way Father and Mother Oriole taught their +children to fly. The parent birds would fly to a branch a little way off. +Then they would call the little birds. And one by one they would fly to the +branch. Their wings were weak at first like Hepzebiah's little feet. But +soon they grew strong and before many weeks had gone they could fly as fast +as the old birds. And before the summer was over they were as big as their +parents. You see birds have shorter lives than real people. They do not +live so many years. So they have to grow up quickly or they wouldn't have +much time for work and play, would they? + +So the children decided that the story of the Orioles was a very pretty +fairy story, indeed, and they liked it better because it was true. + +And they found others--oh, so many stories like it. + +For sometimes Mother and sometimes Father and sometimes the Toyman +showed them other little bird homes. + +They climbed a ladder and found the barn-swallow's nest plastered under the +eaves of the barn. They liked the barn swallow who flew through the air, +almost as if he were so happy that he danced as he flew. And his dress was +so pretty, for he was dark blue on top, brown on the throat, and his little +stomach was white. His tail was forked too, cut like the coat of the man in +the circus who cracked the whip and made the horses perform tricks. + +The barn swallow's nest was so cunningly made. It was plastered of mud and +grass, and had a soft grass lining. The little eggs in it were white and +had tiny brown spots. + +Right near the bay window, in the thick lilac tree, Marmaduke spied Red +Robin's nest. He was a great friend of theirs. They always liked the cheery +way he hopped over the lawn, and his cheery red vest, and his song which +always said: + + "Che-eer up--che-eer up!" + +His eggs were the prettiest of all, a greenish blue, a robin's-egg blue, +the dressmakers call it. Mother Green's summer dress was coloured just like +it. + +And in a bush by the roadside, Hepzebiah spied the brown thrush's nest. His +eggs were blue and spotted with brown. + +And in the elderberry tree they found the grey cat-bird's nest. He was a +funny bird, always crying like a lost pussy. And his eggs were green-blue. + +So in the fields and the woods Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah saw +all kinds of birds and all kinds of nests and all kinds of eggs. They +saw them because their eyes were bright and sharp as yours must be too +when you go into the beautiful country. + +And from the eggs funny little birds were born and grew up and flew and +sang. + +And so the three happy children decided that the really true fairy stories +of Mother Nature were the prettiest of all. + +And oh--we almost forgot! Perhaps we can tell the rest before that +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel tells us to stop. + +Over near Neighbour Brown's fence they were peeping through the green +leaves at the song-sparrow's nest. Mother was with them and they saw +someone come out of their neighbour's house. + +"Wouldn't you like to see her?" the strange lady whispered to Mother. + +"Oh yes," Mother whispered back, "but they mustn't wake her up." + +Who could they be talking about? Then they went through the gate. + +"Be very quiet," said Mother as they entered the door, "and you'll see the +end of another true fairy story." + +So they tiptoed in. + +There in a bed lay Mrs. Brown, looking very happy. + +And curled up in her arm she had--well, what do you think she had? + +A little sleeping baby! + +Like the little Orioles Baby had been born just a few days ago. + +"That," said Mother, "is the prettiest fairy story of all." + +And the children thought so too. + +There--we've finished just in time. We hear the Little Clock. There goes +his silver tongue now. + +Good-night! Sweet Dreams. + + + + +ELEVENTH NIGHT + +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK + + +Jehosophat and Marmaduke were whispering together. + +"Let's try it," said Jehosophat. + +"An' see what happens," added Marmaduke. + +So they tiptoed into the House of the White Wyandottes and placed the big +duck's eggs in with the smaller eggs under the setting hen. + +Mother Hen did not like that, oh no! + +She stirred in her nest. All her feathers puffed up and she looked very +much hurt. + +"Duck, duck, duck!" sniffed she scornfully. And to herself she added: "What +a mean way to treat a decent, respectable hen!" For White Wyandottes are +very particular and very exclusive. + +But after the two little imps had tiptoed out of her house, she made the +best of a bad matter. She couldn't kick the big duck's eggs out of the nest +in the box. The sides of the box were too high. So she settled down on her +eggs again. + +"I must keep my very own warm, anyway," she decided. + +About three weeks later there was much excitement in the House of the White +Wyandottes. From the nest in the box came little noises. + +"Chip, chip, chip," sounded faintly from inside the eggs. And before the +sun climbed over the Big Gold Rooster, who swung on the weather-vane on the +barn, all the new little chickens had broken their eggs. + +"How nice it is to be born!" they cheeped together in a merry chorus, as +they arrived in the wonderful world. + +Very proud of her family was Mother Wyandotte when the little yellow balls +began to run about. A few days later she was prouder still when they +scampered this way and that, pecking at little bugs and ants. They worked +hard for their breakfasts and dinners and suppers. + +Even Father Wyandotte, the great white rooster with the magnificent red +comb and curling white plumes on his tail, forgot that other rooster of +whom he was so jealous. For the rooster who was always perched on the +weather-vane on the barn was up so high and he shone like gold. + +But now Father Wyandotte was not jealous. He walked around in his lordly +way, cocking his eye at his little yellow sons and daughters as they chased +the fat little bugs. + +At first he would not say just how proud of them he was. He did not like to +tell all his feelings at once. Sometimes he thought fighting and crowing +better than being a family man. But all of a sudden he flew up on the +tallest fence-post he could find, and flapped his wings. He threw back his +head, opened his yellow beak, and crowed up at that gold rooster: + +"Sure, sure, sure! You couldn't do it, you couldn't do it--couldn't do it, +do." + +No, the Gold Rooster on the weather-vane on the top of the barn, though he +shone like the sun, could neither crow nor raise a family. + +But Mother Wyandotte didn't bother about anything so high in the sky as the +sun and the rooster. She was busy playing nurse-maid to her little yellow +children and helping them find food. + +But in the afternoon she did look up at the sky. That was when something +like a dark shadow sailed in the air far above the home of the White +Wyandottes. + +It was a great bird with wide-stretched wings, much bigger than Jim Crow. +He sailed in circles, while his evil eye looked down at the frightened, +scampering White Wyandottes. + +"Um!" How he would like a nice chicken for lunch! + +"Robber Hawk!" called all of Mother Hen's uncles and aunts in the barnyard. + +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her great-uncles and great-aunts too. + +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her cousins, first, second, and third. + +Loud and long barked Rover and Brownie. And little Wienerwurst stopped +chasing the pretty pink pigeons. + +And even Mr. Stuckup, the turkey, had to join in the hubbub. + +"Horrible robber, horrible robber," he gobbled. + +But Mother Wyandotte had called to her children. She opened her wings and +under them quickly in fright they ran, all huddling together. Her wings +hardly seemed large enough to cover them all, but she took them all in, +every one of her children. + +She was a nervous old thing, but she was a good mother, and good mother +hens, good animal mothers, and our own mothers too, never seem to think of +themselves when there is danger around. They just look out for their little +ones. + +"Robber Hawk, robber! Shan't touch 'em--robber!" she said. + +Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day +when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield. + +"Bang, bang!" + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped. + +They looked around. + +There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder. + +Little puffs of smoke like white feathers floated away from the muzzles of +the gun. + +"Winged him, anyway!" cried the Toyman. + +They looked up. + +Robber Hawk wasn't sailing in the sky any longer. + +He was falling, falling, like a stone--just like Jim Crow. + +"The Toyman's a good shot," exclaimed Jehosophat. "My, how I wish I could +shoot like that!" + +Mother Green came to the back door. + +She called to the Toyman: + +"He's fallen on the barn, Frank." + +"Roof, roof, roof!" barked little Wienerwurst to explain it more clearly. + +Sure enough, Robber Hawk dropped on the roof of the barn, right by the Gold +Rooster who swung on the weather-vane. + +The Toyman scratched his head. + +"Quite a climb for these stiff legs," said he. + +But he fetched a tall ladder and placed it against the side of the barn. + +The three children watched him, their heads bent back so far that they +almost snapped off. + +Mother held the ladder at the foot, for nobody wanted anything ever to +happen to the Toyman. + +"Careful!" she warned him. + +"All right, Mis' Green," he said. "I haven't been up in the maintop for +nothing." + +You see, once upon a time, he had been a sailor. There was nothing that the +Toyman hadn't done. + +He reached the top of the ladder, then swung out on the roof. At last he +reached the ridge. + +There stood the Gold Rooster, never crowing or saying anything at all. And +under him lay Robber Hawk, and he didn't say anything either. + +Carefully the Toyman climbed down from the ridge of the barn, holding the +rascal in his hands. Then one by one down the rungs of the ladder he came. + +When he reached the ground Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah +gathered round. + +Robber Hawk hung limp from the Toyman's hand. + +His dark brown feathers never stirred. His white breast with its dark bars +and patches never moved. + +"Robber Hawk," spoke the Toyman, "your old curved beak will never feed on +any more good chicken." + +Then he turned to the children. + +"We must bury him by Jim Crow." + +So Jehosophat, Marmaduke, Hepzebiah, Rover, Brownie, Wienerwurst and +the Toyman marched with Robber Hawk on towards the cornfield. + +There by the side of Jim Crow they buried him. + +And the Toyman took two pieces of wood. On these he cut with his knife: + + JIM CROW + KILLED 1918 + THIEF + + ROBBER HAWK + KILLED 1918 + THIEF AND MURDERER + +At their heads he placed the two boards side by side. + +"There we will leave them," the Toyman spoke sternly, "as a warning to all +evil-doers." + +So they walked back slowly to the House of the White Wyandottes where +Mother Hen clucked contentedly once more and all the yellow chickens ran +around, chasing the little bugs in their game of hide-and-seek. A fine game +it was too, only it was more interesting for the chickens than the bugs, +you see. + +The three happy children noticed that one of the little yellow fellows was +larger than the others. He-- + +"Ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting!" + +"End--that--tale--to--mor--row--night." + +So says the Little Clock. He must be obeyed. So good-bye for a little +while. + + + + +TWELFTH NIGHT + +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP + + +In the door of the workshop stood the three happy children, watching the +Toyman. + +It was one of the very nicest places on the whole farm. Tools of all sorts, +bright and sharp, lay on the table. Lumber of every kind lay piled against +the walls. The shelves were filled with cans of paint. All the colours of +the rainbow were in those cans. The children could tell that by the pretty +splashes of the paint dripping down their sides. + +Back and forth, back and forth swung the arms of the Toyman. He was very +busy over something--something very important it must be, for he never +talked, only worked and whistled away. + +"Oh dear! I wish I knew what it was," sighed Marmaduke. Anyway he knew it +was something for _them_. Father Green had given the Toyman a holiday, +all for himself, to do as he liked. And _of course_ he'd make +something for _them_. + +On the edge of the table was a vise, a big tool with iron jaws. In the +iron jaws was a block of wood. The Toyman screwed the vise--very tight--so +tight the wood couldn't budge. Then he shaved this side of the block, then +the other side, with a plane, a tool with a very sharp edge. Clean white +shavings fell on the floor, some of them twisting like Hepzebiah's curls. + +"I wonder what it's going to be," Marmaduke repeated. + +Jehosophat was pretty sure he knew. + +"I'll bet it's a boat," he said. + +The Toyman chuckled. + +"Right you are, Son. It's the Good Ship--well, let's see. All boats have a +name, you know. What do you think would be a good name for a fine ship?" + +Jehosophat had one, right on the tip of his tongue. + +"The Arrow." + +The Toyman thought this over. + +"That isn't bad," said he. + +Then he turned to Marmaduke. + +"What's your idea for a name, little chap?" + +Marmaduke thought and thought. He looked out through the door and saw +the Party Bird, the vain Peacock, parading up and down, showing off its +beautiful tail, and "Peacock" was the only name he could think of. + +Jehosophat laughed out loud. + +"That's no name for a boat." + +And Marmaduke had to shout back--as little boys will, losing his temper: + +"_'Tis too!_" + +The Toyman stopped the quarrel, just as he always did, with something +pleasant or funny he said. Then he leaned over and picked up three chips of +wood. + +"I'll write the names on these little chips," he explained, "and we'll +choose." + +Putting his hand on Hepzebiah's sunny curls, he asked that little girl: + +"What name do _you_ think would be nice for the boat?" + +Now Hepzebiah really didn't know just what it all was about. But she had +heard Marmaduke say "Peacock," so she took her finger out of her mouth just +long enough to point at the Guinea-hen, who was screeching horribly out in +the barnyard. + +"The Guinea-hen! Ha, ha! That's a good one!" The Toyman was forever saying +that and laughing at the funny things the children said. + +Hepzebiah, thinking that this was a nice sort of a game, took her finger +out of her mouth and pointed again--this time out at the pond where the +swans were sailing, like pretty white ships themselves. + +"The very thing," exclaimed the Toyman. "White Swan's a _fine_ name +for a boat!" + +And he wrote "White Swan" on one chip, "Peacock" on another, and "Arrow" +on the last. Then he held them towards the children. + +"The smallest must choose first," he said, and Hepzebiah took one of the +little white pieces of wood from the Toyman's hand. He turned it over and +read: + +"White Swan." + +"We'd go a good ways before we'd get a better name," he decided. "When +the boat's all finished and all sails set, she'll sail away just like a +swan; you see if she doesn't." + +The hull of the boat was finished now, and on the bow, at the very front, +he nailed a thin little stick, with tiny nails. This was the bowsprit. + +On the keel at the very bottom, he fastened a piece of lead so she wouldn't +"turn turtle"--turn over, he meant, when her sails were set and the wind +blew too hard. + +Then choosing some sticks--very carefully, for they must be straight--he +tucked the boat under his arm and, with the three children close at his +heels, walked over to the pond and sat down under the Crying Tree, where +the sun shone bright and warm. + +Out came the magic knife and he whittled away at the little sticks; +whittled and whistled and smiled all the time. + +Sliver after sliver of the wood fell on the ground. Sometimes one would +drop into the water and float away like a fairy canoe, with the green +willow leaves that fell from the Crying Tree. + +So under the magic knife the little ship grew and grew, till the masts were +fitted too, and set fast and tight in the clean smooth deck. + +"But where are the sails?" asked Jehosophat impatiently. + +A funny answer the Toyman made. + +He just said: + +"Hold your horses, Sonny." + +The teacher in the Red Schoolhouse up the road would have reproved him +for this, but the children thought whatever the Toyman said was all right. + +Of course he meant not to be too impatient and--but just then the dinner +horn sounded, way out over the pond and over the fields, and the children +ran into the house, just as you would have done too. + +It didn't take long to finish dinner that day. For desert they had +blackberry pie, very juicy and nice, and they didn't even wait to wash the +red marks of that pie from their faces but just ran for the Crying Tree. + +The Toyman felt in all of his six big pockets. And out came needles and +thread, and pieces of clean muslin besides. + +Stitch, stitch, stitch went his fingers, for a thousand stitches or more. +And bye and bye the sails were all cut and sewed and fitted on the three +little masts. + +Then the Toyman stopped. + +"We haven't christened her yet," he said. "We should have done that long +ago." + +In his pockets he rummaged again, those pockets which always held just the +right thing. It was a small bottle this time, all filled with tiny pink +pills. Much nicer these were, the children thought, than that yellow stuff +in the big bottle they hated so. + +The Toyman poured the little pills out. + +"What's the use of medicine on a nice day like this," said he. + +And he filled the bottle with water and put back the stopper. + +"When ships are launched," he explained, "folks break a bottle over the bow +when they name her." + +"All right, I'll do that," said Jehosophat, but the Toyman stopped him. + +"Hold on there, Sonny, that's the _ladies'_ job." + +Then he called Hepzebiah and gave her the bottle. + +"Now, little girl, you stand here and say: 'I christen thee White Swan.'" + +But, "I ckwithen Wite Thwan" was the best she could do. + +"Now drop the bottle!" + +She opened her fingers and, sure enough, the little bottle fell right on +the deck and broke all in little pieces, and the glistening drops splashed +over the bow, and so the good ship "White Swan" got her name. + +Into the water the Toyman pushed the little ship. The wind filled her sails +and off she went, racing away before the wind to join the beautiful birds +for whom she had been named. + +Around the pond and over the bridge went the Toyman, to the other side. +When the ship reached the opposite shore he swung it around and sent it +back on the return voyage. The "White Swan" had reached port safely, when +the Toyman said: + +"It's funny what different opinions folks have. Some like the water and +some don't. Now the swans and the ducks, and that little ship, and the +fish, and the froggies, and Uncle Roger, and you and I, we think it's fine. +But Mr. Stuck-up, and Miss Crosspatch, and Old Mother Wyandotte, and Mis' +Fizzeltree, why they won't go near it at all." + +"That _is_ funny," said Jehosophat. + +Then the Toyman added: + +"Just listen to that." + +Old Mother Wyandotte was right near them, clucking in fright. + +"Don't--don't--don't you do it!" she was calling to one of her children who +was looking longingly at the cool pond. + +Around her were all her children, fast growing up now. They were all soft +and white but one. Like good little chickens they were looking for bugs, +all but one. + +_He_ was the little fellow they had noticed before, the funny little +fellow with a longer bill than the rest, and the odd-looking feet. His soft +downy back was turning black. And he was starting for that pretty water +shining in the pond. + +Jehosophat looked him all over. + +"Why, he looks like a duck." + +"What did you expect?" laughed the Toyman. "He is a duck. Old Mother +Wyandotte thinks he's her child, but he's only a step-child. Ha! Ha! +Somebody must have put another egg in her nest." + +Over in the garden were pretty flowers called Bleeding Hearts. They +were very pink, and Jehosophat's face turned the very same colour. Well +_he_ knew who had stolen into the House of the White Wyandottes and +put that big duck's egg under Old Mother Hen. And now it had turned out +a real little duckling, that black little fellow Mother Wyandotte was +scolding so. + +"Don't--don't--don't--don't you do it," she was shouting still. + +But little black Duckie had made up his mind. He was headed straight for +that shining water. + +Around Mother Wyandotte gathered all her relatives to talk over the matter. +They were disgusted. That one of their family should disgrace them so! + +"Respectable chickens spend their time on the ground," said Granny +Wyandotte with a toss of her comb, "and never, never get wet, if they can +help it, not even their feet." + +"True--true--quite true," all the Wyandotte Aunties agreed. + +But their second cousins and the third cousins too, the ducks and the geese +and the swans, said they were wrong. + +"Little Duckie's a sensible chap. What better place can there be to play in +than that nice cool pond?" + +And all the fishes swimming around, from the big pickerel down to the +littlest "minnie," waggled their fins and tails to show they agreed too, +while the froggies on the lily-pad croaked: + +"Gomme on--gomme on!" + +They were giving little Duckie a warm invitation to play in the water, you +see. + +Duckie was right at the edge now and Mother Hen, who was really his +step-mother, made one last appeal, but the ducks one and all called: + +"Back, back, back!" + +They weren't talking to Duckie. They meant the White Wyandottes. They were +taking his part, you see, though not for one minute did they guess he was +_their_ child, _their very own_. + +Duckie appreciated that too. Perhaps Old Father Drake, the head of all the +Duck family, wouldn't let Step-father Wyandotte punish him that night if he +did try the water. + +I don't believe Step-father Wyandotte really cared very much. At first he +was a little mad but, after scolding a little, he shouted: + +"Through, through, through--I'm through with yooooooouuu." + +He wouldn't have anything more to do with little Duckie. I guess he +suspected he was just a step-child after all. So he just grumbled to +himself as he speared a fat tumble-bug with his beak: + +"Ur, ur--I don't care!" + +He had enough children anyway. But the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn +looked down, laughing at him. He couldn't really laugh, you know, or flap +his wings, but he swung from west to southwest and back again, as if to +say: + +"I knew it. I knew it. They fooled you!" + +Old Father Drake, the head of the duck family, started for the water. +Mother Duck and all the little ducks went in too. They were going to show +Duckie the way. + +He just couldn't stand it any longer. So--_plopp_ in he went and +paddled around after the others, and ducked his head under the water to +catch his dinner, just as a real duckling should. + +"Better than grubbing for bugs in the dirty earth, this nice clean cool +water," quacked he, and he was as happy as happy could be. + +The Toyman was looking at him with a smile on his face. + +"He's just like me," he said at last, and the children, surprised at that, +asked all together: + +"_Who's_ like you?" + +"That little duck there." + +"Like you!" Jehosophat shouted. "Why he doesn't look like you at all!" + +The Toyman puffed away on his corncob pipe before he answered: + +"Oh _inside_ he's the same. I was just like him when I was a kid. I +had a step-mother, too, and she and all the step-uncles and aunts scolded +and scolded, and whipped me besides, because _I_ wanted to go to sea +on a great big ship." + +"What did you do?" + +They didn't really need to ask that question, for hadn't the Toyman been +most everywhere, and hadn't he told them many a story about the great sea +and the ships? + +"Yes, they all said I would drown or become a wicked bad man." + +Marmaduke thought he would like to do something to those step-uncles and +aunts who treated the Toyman so badly. + +"They don't know what they're talking about," he shouted. "You're good as +anybody in the world." + +"Thank you, little feller," replied the Toyman, patting his head. "But they +said I would, just the same. They talked just like those old Wyandottes +there. + +"But I fooled them all," he went on. "And one night, when it was dark, just +a few stars out, I climbed out of bed and jumped out of the window and ran +away. + +"I walked and I walked, miles and miles, till I came to a big town by the +sea. There were lots of big ships at the docks, and I asked a man, with a +great big beard, to take me too. So he took me on board, and I was a little +cabin boy. But bye and bye I got to be a real sailor, and I sailed all +over the world in the ship, and saw lots of people, yellow, and black, and +brown, and funny places and queer houses and--" + +"Be careful, Frank!" + +They all turned at once. There was Mother, standing right near them. All +the time she had been listening, near the Crying Tree. + +"Now, Frank," she repeated, "be careful or you'll put _notions_ in +those children's heads, and some day they'll be running away from +_me_." + +Still she didn't look cross, and she smiled at the Toyman, especially when +he answered: + +"Not from a mother like you, Mis' Green. How about it, kiddies?" + +And Marmaduke and Jehosophat were very sure they never could run away--not +even to sea in a beautiful ship. So they kissed her and hugged her too. + +Now the froggies were singing their evening song. The sun was getting close +to his home in the west. Little Duckie and his real mother and father came +out of the water and waddled off towards the barn. The Swans folded their +wings and came to the shore. So the Toyman brought the ship to the harbour +and anchored her for the night. + + + + +THIRTEENTH NIGHT + +THE TALL ENEMY + + +It was the first snowfall. The grey sky was filled with little white +feathers dancing down--down--down. + +"Look at the snowflakes," exclaimed the three happy children, all in one +breath. + +"Yes," said their Mother, "the snow has come. In the spring and summer +Mother Earth works very hard. It takes so much of her strength, feeding the +millions of plants from her brown breast. By fall she is very tired and in +winter she takes things quite easy. + +"Then the gentle Rain Fairy feels sorry for Mother Earth. She turns her own +tears to snow-flakes, and scatters them over her. They weave a soft white +comforter to keep her warm. And it keeps the seed babies, sleeping in +Mother Earth's brown breast, all snug and warm too." + +All that day and all night the snow fell. And all the next day and the next +night--and the third day and the third night too. + +Then all of a sudden it stopped, and the three happy children woke in the +morning, and looked out of the window. + +"Why the snow's most as high as Wienerwurst's house!" cried Jehosophat. + +Then they all trooped in to breakfast. + +"We will make forts," said Jehosophat. + +"Hooray!" exclaimed Marmaduke. + +"The very thing!" added Mother. + +And Wienerwurst, curled up by the rosy kitchen stove, barked, "Woof, woof, +woof." + +Now this means a lot of things. But this time it meant, "Good, good, good." + +So the three happy children hurried through their oatmeal. They hurried so +fast that they had three little pains. Jehosophat had one right under his +belt, Marmaduke one in the centre of his blouse, Hepzebiah one under her +little red waist. + +Mother came in from the kitchen. She looked at the empty bowls. + +"What! All gone already! Look out or you'll each have to take a big +table-spoonful of the yellow stuff in that bottle." + +There it stood, on the kitchen mantel. She pointed right at it. They hated +it worse than most anything in the world. + +"I'm all right," said Jehosophat; and + +"I'm not sick," protested Marmaduke; and + +"Pain's all gone," cried Hepzebiah. + +It was funny how the sight of that bottle frightened the three little pains +away. + +Mother smiled. It was a funny smile. Then she said: + +"Now, on with your things!" + +Jehosophat sat on the floor and pulled on his new rubber boots, which +reached almost to his waist. On the stool sat Marmaduke, putting on his, +and Mother helped little Hepzebiah with her wee little ones. + +Over Jehosophat's head went a red sweater, over Marmaduke's a green, and +over Hepzebiah's curls one of blue. Then wristlets and mittens and coats +and caps, and out into the deep white snow they tramped. + +"Forward march!" said a voice. + +They looked. It was the Toyman. + +"The enemy is about to attack," he explained sternly. + +"Where's the enemy?" + +"You can't see them. But they're advancing fast. Up with the fort. Double +quick!" + +So at double quick they marched to the barnyard, and began work with their +shovels. + +My! how they dug! Fast flew the snow. And the Toyman packed it down hard, +and shaped it into the walls of a big strong fort. + +It was odd, too, how the Toyman could find time to help. For he had lots of +work to do. But then the enemy was coming! + +Rover and Brownie and Wienerwurst scampered around in the snow. They were +not of much help. All they did was to bark--bark--bark. + +"Hush!" commanded the Toyman. "We must keep quiet so the enemy won't know +where we are." + +So they dug and they dug and packed the snow hard. Soon the walls were as +high as Jehosophat's shoulders, and the fort was all ready. + +The Toyman stopped and said: + +"Now for the ammunition." + +"What's ammunition?' + +"Watch." + +The Toyman took a handful of snow and crushed it hard between both hands. +When he had finished he opened his fingers. In his palm was a round white +ball. Then another he made and another. And the three little soldiers, +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah, made lots too. They piled them in the +corner of the fort, until they had a heap like the iron balls around the +cannon in the town park. + +"Now," commanded the Toyman. "March to the barracks and get warm" (he +pointed at the house). "I'll watch and call when the enemy comes." + +Into the house they went, and dried their mittens and warmed their hands. +And each had a cup of nice warm milk. + +After a while there was a loud knock at the door, and the sound of a horn. + +Mother opened the door a little way. + +The horn sounded again. Then the voice spoke loudly: + +"Fall in," it said. "_The enemy comes_!" + +Quickly the three little soldiers put on their mittens and caps, and +buttoned their coats, and hurried to the fort. + +They looked around. They could not see anybody with a horn. And the Toyman +was gone. + +Over the walls of the fort they peeked. + +There stood six soldiers staring at them. The six soldiers stood very +still. They were all white, but their eyes were black like pieces of coal, +and they stared hard at the three little soldiers within the fort. Over +their shoulders were six long round things. + +"Guns," said Jehosophat. + +They looked around for the Toyman. He did not come. Their hearts beat fast. + +"We're not afraid," shouted Jehosophat at the white soldiers. "Come on, you +enemy!" + +With that they heard a sound far off. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat._ + +"What's that?" cried the smallest little soldier. And Captain Jehosophat +answered: + +"Drums, drums, + +"The enemy comes!" + +Then he laughed. He had made a rhyme without thinking anything about it. + +But he stopped laughing. It was no time for play. There was hard work +ahead. Those six white soldiers in front of the fort were ready to attack. +And there were more coming. + +"Load!" he commanded. + +Each little soldier took up a snowball. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +The drums sounded nearer now. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +Around the house came the sound of the drum. + +Over the walls of the fort they peeked--very carefully. + +There was a man marching. He looked something like the Toyman. But could +it be? No, for he was so changed. The man had a horn around his neck, and +a feather in his hat, and his face was stern. He was whistling "Yankee +Doodle." It sounded like a fife, and all the time he was beating the drum +with all his might. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +On through the snow the Tall Enemy marched. He reached the six white +soldiers who stood so still, with their guns over their shoulders. + +He stopped and called out to the three little soldiers in the fort in a +loud voice: + +"SURRENDER OR WE ATTACK!" + +"_Never_!" was the brave answer of Captain Jehosophat. + +"_Fire_!" he commanded. + +Then he let a snowball fly. + +He hit the Tall Enemy right in the face. + +Then Marmaduke let another snowball fly. + +That hit one of the white soldiers and knocked his black eye out. + +And Hepzebiah threw her snowball. She tried very hard. But it didn't go +very far and didn't do any damage. + +Jehosophat looked worried at that. He couldn't depend on Hepzebiah at all. +That left but two of them--against so many--and on came the Tall Enemy with +the feather in his cap, still beating his drum. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat_. _Rat-a-tat-tat_. _Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +The little soldiers must fight bravely now. + +Fast flew the snowballs. + +He was very near. + +Then Marmaduke picked up the last snowball. He took good aim for it was the +last of their ammunition. Then he let it fly. It hit the Tall Enemy Man +right over his heart. + +He fell in the snow. + +"You've done for me!" he called in a weak voice. + +Then the three little soldiers shouted and ran out of the fort. + +There in the snow lay the dying enemy. + +"You've won," he said in a sad voice. "I surrender." + +"Hurrah, we've won!" they shouted. Then they stopped. They felt very sorry +for the enemy, for after all he had been very brave. + +They bent over him. + +Then something happened. All of a sudden the enemy seized the three little +soldiers in his arms. + +And he laughed! Yes, laughed. + +And hugged them all at once. + +And the three little soldiers laughed happily too. For the Tall Enemy had +been the Toyman all the time and the six silent soldiers were only made of +snow. + +Behind his heels they trudged into the house. But the Toyman had to carry +the littlest soldier in his arms. She was very cold and very tired. + +But the three happy children ate a very good dinner and a very good supper +too, that day, for they were very hungry. And they had earned it after the +brave fight in the fort. + +"Ting-ting." He's always on time, that Little Clock. So Good-night! + + + + +FOURTEENTH NIGHT + +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER + + +Marmaduke had played too long in the snow. + +He was very wet. + +He was very cold. + +And he felt very funny and hot all over. + +"Mother, my throat's got a rubber ball stuck in it," he said. + +Mother looked at it. + +"No, dear, there's no rubber ball there, but your throat's all swollen and +there are little spots in it. You mustn't get up today." + +Marmaduke lay very still for a while. Soon he heard sleigh-bells tinkling +past the window, then far down the road. Father had hitched Teddy, the +buckskin horse, to the big sleigh and was going for the Doctor. + +Away ticked the clock. After a while-a long time it seemed--Marmaduke heard +the sleigh-bells again, at first far off, then coming nearer and nearer, +until they jingled before the porch--then stopped. He heard voices and the +sound of feet upon the porch, shaking off the snow. + +The door opened and into the bedroom came the Doctor. He had a face all +rosy from the cold. His eyes were black and so sharp that they looked right +through Marmaduke. But they were kind eyes and his voice had a pleasant +chuckle in it. + +The Doctor came and sat on the edge of the bed. + +"Well, well! How's my little soldier? Wounded in the battle or just playing +possum?" + +Then Marmaduke opened his eyes. + +After the Doctor had talked a while about lots of different things, before +Marmaduke knew it, there was something like a spoon or a shoe-horn in his +throat and the Doctor was telling him to say "Ah!" + +"This isn't school," thought Marmaduke, "why does he make me say that?" + +But he forgot to be frightened, for the Doctor was saying so many funny +things all the time. + +Then he opened his black bag. It was full of little bottles, packed neatly +in rows. Marmaduke wished he would forget and leave it behind. It would be +fine to play with. + +Mother brought two glasses and the Doctor poured some drops from one +bottle into a glass, then from another bottle into another glass. And he +said something to Mother in a low voice--Marmaduke could not hear what it +was--then he patted the little soldier on the head and said good-bye. + +Again the sleigh-bells sounded and away he drove. + +But the sleigh-bells never stopped. They kept sounding all the night, long +after Teddy was back in his stall and the big sleigh was in the shed. You +see Marmaduke was very sick and "out of his head." + +Seven days passed and seven nights. He began to feel better, but he was +very lonely, for Jehosophat and Hepzebiah had gone to Uncle Roger's to stay +while he was sick. + +Very small he felt in the big bed in the front room, and very, very lonely. +He looked out of the window at the big elms. They were covered with white +snow like fur. There were many trees standing in rows. The path between +them looked like a white road leading up over the hill to the sky. + +He wished he had someone to talk to. + +Just then he heard a noise at the door. + +"Tap, tap, tap" + +It opened just a little. + +"Who's there?" said Marmaduke. + +The door opened wider. And he saw the Toyman's kind face. + +"Hello, little soldier." + +"'Llo, Toyman," replied the little boy, and his voice sounded very small +and very weak. + +The Toyman sat by the bed a while. Then he got up and stirred the fire. +Showers of pretty gold and red sparks scampered up the chimney. After that +he spread a paper on the floor, not far from the fire-place. + +Then his pockets he searched, those big pockets which Mother said were +always like five and ten cent stores, they were so full of things. + +Out came some pieces of wood. Out came his knife--that magic knife with the +five blades. Marmaduke was always glad when he saw that knife for then +something nice was sure to happen. + +Up came the big blade and snapped back. And the Toyman began to whittle, +whittle away. Sometimes he used the big blade, sometimes the small one. + +Marmaduke watched him, all eyes. + +And as the Toyman whittled sometimes he whistled, and sometimes he sang a +funny song in a funny voice. You see he could make rhymes as well as toys. + +And this is what he sang: + + THE TOYMAN'S SONG + + 1 + + "When a little boy's sick + And stays in bed, + And things feel queer + Inside his head. + + 2 + + "He cannot work, + He cannot play; + It's hard to pass + The time away. + + 3 + + "Don't make much fuss + An' talk a lot; + No questions ask + 'Bout what he's got. + + 4 + + "They'll ask him that + When Doctor comes, + So just sit still + Like good, ole chums. + + 5 + + "An' take your knife + An' make him toys-- + This knife knows what + Will please small boys. + + 6 + + "Horses and lions, + An' tops and rings, + An' kites and ships, + An' pretty things. + + 7 + + "We'll paint 'em red + An' yeller an' blue. + Work away, ole knife, + He's watchin' you!" + +That's a new song and a very nice one, thought Marmaduke, as he watched the +Toyman whittling away by the red fire. + +The little white slivers and shavings covered the paper now. He couldn't +see just what that knife was making. But that was nice, too, for then it +would be a surprise. And there's nothing finer in the world than a real, +beautiful surprise. + +Then his head grew very tired, and his eyes began to droop till they were +tight shut and he fell asleep. + +The Toyman looked at him and smiled. + +"Poor little feller!" he said. Then he closed his knife, and picked up the +paper and the shavings and the surprise, and out of the room he tiptoed. + +Out to the workshop he went, and opened the door. + +On the shelves were brushes of different sizes and cans of paint of all +colours. + +He took down three of the cans, humming to himself: + + "We'll paint 'em red + An' yeller an' blue." + +"A little brown would go well too," he added as he took down another can. + +He worked away with his paint brushes until the surprise was finished. Then +he placed it on the work-table to dry. + +The next afternoon there was another tap at the bedroom door. + +But Marmaduke didn't answer. He was taking his afternoon nap. So the Toyman +slipped in and put the surprise at the foot of the bed. After that he sat +by the fire, watching the little sick soldier. He sat very still, stirring +the embers just once in a while to keep the room warm. + +At last Marmaduke opened his eyes, a little at first, then wider. + +The very first thing that he saw at the bottom of the bed was a tiny +sleigh. The body was bright blue and the runners were red. And what do you +think--in front, hitched to it, were two tiny brown reindeer with yellow +horns! They looked so much alive that Marmaduke thought any minute they +would start running away--away over the comforter, out of the window, and +up the snow-covered hill. + +The Toyman came over to the bed. Marmaduke curled his little fingers around +his friend's hand. The hand was brown and hard, but it was a nice hand, +Marmaduke thought. + +"We're good ole chums, aren't we?" he said to the Toyman. + +"You bet we are," the Toyman answered. + + + + +FIFTEENTH NIGHT + +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON + + +Once, twice, thrice nodded Marmaduke's head. + +The red flames of the fire kept dancing, dancing all the time. Very bright +looked the little sleigh at the foot of the bed, very brave the tiny +reindeer. + +But look! Something moved--just a little. + +The "nigh" little reindeer was stamping his foot and tossing his antlers. + +And the other little reindeer tossed his horns and stamped his foot too. + +On their backs the sleigh-bells jingled, merrily like fairy bells. + +The red and blue sleigh moved a little--just a little. + +It began to slide slowly, over the comforter. + +Marmaduke was worried. He didn't want the pretty sleigh and the reindeer to +run away. He might never see them again. + +"Wait!" he shouted. + +"Whoa--you villains!" It was a strange little voice that ordered the +reindeer. + +The red and blue sleigh stopped short. + +Marmaduke rubbed his eyes. + +The strange little voice spoke again. + +"Jump in," it said. + +And there in the front seat of the toy sleigh sat a funny little chap, +about as big as the Toyman's thumb--no bigger. He wore a pointed cap that +shone like tinsel on a Christmas tree. He wore a white coat that sparkled +too. + +"Who are you?" asked the little sick boy. "That's _my_ sleigh. You +shan't run off with it." + +And the funny voice under the white cap answered. + +"Jump in, then, and take a ride." + +"Tell me who you are, first," Marmaduke insisted. + +"My name's Jack." + +"Jack what?" + +"Jack Frost--you ought to know _that_!" + +Tinkle, tinkle went the bells The reindeer lifted their hoofs higher and +pawed at the comforter. They shook their antlers impatiently. The little +driver jumped up and down in the seat as if he were sitting on pins and +needles. + +More worried than ever was Marmaduke. + +"How can I get in that sleigh?" he asked the imp of a stranger. "I'm too +big." + +The little chap only chuckled. It was a very mischievous chuckle. Then he +said: + +"Take a good look at yourself." + +Marmaduke did. + +My, how he had shrunk! He was no bigger than a brownie, no bigger himself +than the Toyman's thumb. + +"How did that happen?" he said, + +"Oh, the dream fairy did that," said Jack. "She likes to play tricks on +people. It's lots of fun. But shake a leg, shake a leg!" + +With that he shook the reins himself, and the bells jingled again, and the +reindeer grew more eager every second, snorting impatiently. + +Once more Marmaduke looked down at himself. No, his eyes had made no +mistake. He was small enough now to sit on that little red seat with the +tiny driver. + +So he popped out from the covers. The folds of the blanket looked as big as +mountains, the lumps of the comforter as high as the hills. Over them he +scrambled and he sprawled till he reached the little red and blue sleigh. + +Then he jumped in. + +The driver could be very impudent, but he took good care of Marmaduke just +the same, for the boy had been very sick and might catch cold. So Jack +pulled the white robe over his passenger's knees, and tucked him in all +snug and warm. + +"Gee-up, gee-up!" he called to the tiny reindeer. + +Marmaduke was frightened. What a horrible crash there would be when they +slid from the high bed to the floor. + +But nothing like that happened at all. Away off the bed, over the bright +rag carpet, and past the red fire, safely and swiftly they trotted. Below +the window they paused. Pretty silver ferns and trees covered the panes and +sparkled in the firelight. The window was closed, but that did not matter +at all. + +"Up with you!" yelled Jack Frost. + +Slowly, as if by magic, up went the window sash! Over the sill galloped the +reindeer. And after them ran the toy sleigh with Jack Frost and Marmaduke +on the red seat. + +Over the porch, too, they went. + +Then something did happen. + +"Now look at yourself," said Jack Frost, cracking his whip. + +Marmaduke did not hear him at first. He was admiring that whip. It was only +a long icicle, and all Jack had to do was to touch the reindeer with its +point to make them run faster and faster. + +"Look at yourself," he repeated. + +Marmaduke obeyed. + +"Why, I'm as big as I used to be!" + +Jack laughed and replied: + +"The dream fairy does love to play tricks on folks!" + +Yes, the sleigh had grown as large as his father's sleigh; the reindeer as +big as Teddy, the buckskin horse. The tossing horns were as high as the +reindeer's in the Zoo, and Jack Frost was as big as Jehosophat now. + +"I'm sorry that Jehosophat and Hepzebiah are not along," said Marmaduke to +himself, "they're going to miss some fun." + +He looked ahead through the trees Up over the hill the snow path +stretched--up to the dark blue sky and the stars. Millions of them there +were and they were all twinkle-winking at him. And the Old Man-in-the-Moon, +just over the hill, kept winking at him too. + +Jack Frost turned to Marmaduke. + +"Where would you like to go _most_?" + +Marmaduke didn't need to think, he had his answer all ready. + +"I'd like to visit the Old Man-in-the Moon." + +"It's a bit of a drive," replied Jack, "but Old Yellow Horns and Prancing +Hoof are fast goers. Gee-up! Gee-up!" he shouted at them, touching their +flanks with the icicle whip. So fast they went they scarcely seemed +to touch the snow, and on up the hill they rode towards the laughing +Man-in-the-Moon. + +Then suddenly there came such a barking, a yelping, a neighing, a mooing, a +clucking, a gobbling, a squealing, a squawling, as you never heard before. + +Around jerked Marmaduke's head. + +There, behind the sleigh, running and leaping and paddling and waddling and +frisking and scampering came a strange procession. There were Rover and +Brownie and little Wienerwurst, Teddy and Methusaleh and all the horses, +Primrose, Daisy, Buttercup, Black-Eyed Susan and all the cows. He could see +_their_ tongues hanging out--it was so hard to keep up with the dogs +and the horses. + +"Moo--moo, slow--slow!" called the poor cows. + +And behind them ambled the sheep and the curley-tailed pigs; waddled the +ducks and the geese; Miss Crosspatch, the Guinea Hen, and Mr. Stuckup, the +turkey; and, at the very end, all of the White Wyandottes, the fathers and +the mothers, and the little yellow children, and their grandfathers and +grandmothers, and all their uncles and aunts, and their cousins, first, +second, and third--every last one of them. + +My--what a fuss and a clatter they made! + +There was a long long line of them, stretching down the hill and down the +white road over the snow. + +Marmaduke laughed and exclaimed to Jack Frost: + +"Why, they look just like the procession of the animals when they came out +of the Ark." + +"Yes, I remember them," replied Jack. "And Old Noah too. I used to pinch +their ears and pull their tails o' nights." + +Marmaduke looked surprised. + +"You! Why, that was _hundreds_ of years ago! You can't be as old as +all that." + +But Jack only smiled a superior smile + +"Sure I am. Why I'm as old as the world!" + +"Old as that Man-in-the-Moon?" continued Marmaduke, and the odd little +fellow replied: + +"Just as old." + +Marmaduke looked up at the moon sailing far above them. And the old man, +sitting there on the moon-mountain, nodded as much as to say that Jack was +quite right. + +Now the sleigh reached the top of the hill just where it touches the sky. + +Surely there they would stop. + +But no-- + +"This sleigh can run on air just as well as on snow," the odd little driver +explained. + +Another touch of the icicle whip, a jingle of bells, a snort from the +reindeer, and they were off--off through the air towards the sailing moon. + +Marmaduke was so interested in looking up that he didn't see little +Wienerwurst run ahead of all the animals. That doggie beat them all to the +top of the hill. And when he came to the top he just jumped out in the air +and landed safe on the runner of the sleigh, and curled up there and hid +and didn't make any noise. + +It was very clear high up in the air, and Marmaduke looked down. + +The houses had shrivelled all up. As small as Wienerwurst's own little +house they seemed. And the trees were as small as plants in the garden. + +He looked down again. The earth was far below them. + +By the white steeple of the church they flew. In the steeple was a little +window. The bell-rope hung out. Jack jerked it as they went past. + + "_Ding, dong-- + Something's wrong_." + +So spoke the deep voice of the old bell. He was a hundred years old, and +such strange things had never happened in his life before. + +And the minister threw up his window and stuck his head out. And the +minister's wife stuck her head, in her nightcap, out of the window, too. +And the sexton ran out in the snow, in his shirt-tail, to see what was the +matter. + +And all the other people, in the farmhouses and in the town houses, threw +up their windows or ran out of doors to see where the fire was. + +Then, after looking all around the houses and barns and the haystacks, they +looked up at the sky and saw Marmaduke in the sleigh, racing towards the +moon. + +They were very funny, like little toy people, all looking up and pointing +at the sky and all shouting at once. + +But Marmaduke didn't care--he was having the time of his life! + +Then a still stranger and funnier sight he saw,--all the animals on the +top of the hill--the horses, the dogs, the cows, the sheep, the pigs, +the ducks, the geese, the turkeys, and the White Wyandottes, all sitting +on their haunches and barking or neighing or howling or squawking at +Marmaduke, as on--up and up--he went, a-sailing through the sky. + +But he missed his little pet doggie. Where _could_ he be? + +He was worried about that until all of a sudden he heard a little bark and +looked behind, and there on the red runner, hanging on for dear life, was +little Wienerwurst. Marmaduke reached down, and picked him up by the scruff +of his neck, and set him on his lap, under the robe, so that he wouldn't +catch cold. + +So Wienerwurst too had the time of his life, and his little pink tongue +hung out in delight as they raced toward the moon. + +They hadn't gone more than a hundred miles or so, when something strange +floated past them--a cloud all puffy and soft and white, like the floating +islands in the puddings Mother makes. + +The reindeer nearly ran into it. That would have been too bad, for the +sleigh would have torn it in two. And as they passed, Marmaduke saw little +baby angels lying there, curled up in the cloud, fast asleep, with their +wings folded. + +A whole fleet of the clouds passed by and there was only clear air ahead of +them, they thought, but no! + +"Bang." They had bunked into something high up in the sky. + +"Very careless," said Jack Frost, as he pulled on the reins. + +It was very bright, and Marmaduke blinked hard. + +Ahead of them lay another island, but this one was round and flat and shiny +like a gold shield, with a little hill in the centre. And there upon the +hill sat a jolly old man, round and fat, with a pipe in his mouth and a +sack on his back. + +"Hello, old Top!" said Jack Frost. + +"Good evening, you mischief-maker," replied the Man-in-the-Moon. "What are +you up to now?" + +"Oh, I've brought one of the little earth children to see you. This is +Marmaduke Green. He's been sick, so I thought I'd give him a ride." + +"Oh, ho! That's it. You _do_ do someone a good turn now and then, +after all." + +Then the old man turned to Marmaduke. + +"Howdy," he said, "I hope you'll get better very soon." + +"Thank you," replied Marmaduke politely. He was so well brought up that he +didn't forget his manners, even up high in the sky. + +"Well, here's something to play with when you get back to earth," said the +Old Man-in-the-Moon. And he reached his hand inside the sack on his back, +and pulled out a fistful of bright gold pennies--oh, such a lot of them! + +Marmaduke reached for them. But alas! he was in too much of a hurry, and +they spilled out of his hand and rolled right over the edge of the moon. +Down, down, down, through the sky they dropped, past the stars and the +clouds, down, down, down to the earth. + +There were all the animals still, on the top of the hill, looking up at the +moon. And one of the bright pennies landed on Black-eyed Susan's nose. She +was a timid old cow and she was startled. And she was still more frightened +at the howling, the barking, the squawking, which the animals set up, one +and all. + +So frightened was she that she jumped. So hard did she jump that she leaped +way over the hill and over the clouds and the stars. + +"There's that critter again," complained the Man-in-the-Moon. + +On, with her tail spread out behind her, and her legs sprawling in the sky, +came old Black-eyed Susan, straight towards them. Jack Frost and Marmaduke +jumped back; the Old Man-in-the-Moon moved a little too. They were afraid +she would land on their toes. + +But she didn't. + +"She's still pretty chipper," observed the old man. "That's a great jump. +Most beats the record." + +So it did, for she sailed right over them, coming down on the other side of +the moon, hitting one poor little star on the way with her hoof, and +putting out its light entirely. + +And down, down old Susan fell till she hit the earth and lay there, panting +and mooing so loud that the people on earth thought it was thunder, and +shut their windows tight for fear of the rain. + +"Well!" said the Old Man-in-the-Moon, blowing clouds of smoke from his +pipe, "that's over. Now here's some more pennies. Be careful this time," he +warned him. + +And from his sack he drew forth another great handful of gold pennies. How +they did shine! But as Marmaduke reached for them, Jack Frost jiggled his +elbow with his icicle whip--and again they rolled over the edge of the +moon. + +And again Marmaduke was too eager. He ran after them, and Wienerwurst ran +too, and when they reached the edge they couldn't stop themselves at all. + +They were falling, down, down through the sky. A hundred somersaults they +turned. Marmaduke tried to hold on to a cloud, but his hands went right +through it. He tried to hold on to the stars, but he missed every one. + +Then suddenly--bang went his head against the church steeple - - - and all +the stars danced - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + +Then he woke. + +He looked around. Why-he was sitting up in the bed, his very own bed, by +the red fire! + +It was just a trick of the dream fairy's, after all. + +But it was all right, for at the foot of the bed rested the little red and +blue sleigh and the tiny reindeer, just as still as still could be. + +And at the side of the bed stood Father and Mother--and the Toyman. + +They seemed very happy. + + + + +SIXTEENTH NIGHT + +SLOSHIN' + + +Of course Marmaduke grew well again, and back from Uncle Roger's came +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah. They came back in the old creaking buckboard with +Methuselah the old, old white horse, and the Toyman. + +No sooner had they jumped to the ground than Marmaduke asked, very proudly: + +"Where do you think _I've_ been?" + +"You've been sick." + +Marmaduke shook his head. + +"That's not what I mean," he said. "I've been to see the Old +Man-in-the-Moon." + +"_Now_ you're telling _stories_" jeered Jehosophat. "You've just +been in _bed_ all the time." + +"I'm _not_ telling any stories," said his brother stoutly. "I tell +you, I _have_ been to visit the Old Man-in-the-Moon." + +But Jehosophat wouldn't believe him. + +"That's a _whopper_," said he. + +Marmaduke turned to his friend, the Toyman. + +"I _have_ been there, haven't I?" + +"Where?" said the Toyman. + +"To see the Old Man-in-the-Moon." + +"Of course you have," his good old chum replied, "and a heap of wonderful +things you saw." + +The Toyman never laughed at the wonderful things they had done, nor at +the marvellous things they had seen--no never, for he understood little +children. + +Now Jehosophat _had_ to believe him. He asked lots of questions, while +Hepzebiah listened, her eyes growing as round as big peppermint drops. + +So Marmaduke showed them the little red and blue sleigh, and told them +all about the little driver, Jack Frost. And he didn't forget about old +Black-eyed Susan's great jump, nor the gold pennies, either. + +Jehosophat felt just a little jealous. Perhaps that is why he was naughty +that day. + +And this is how it all happened: + +It was in the afternoon. Jehosophat was coming home from the schoolhouse, +which was up the road about a mile, a long way from the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds where the three happy children lived. + +With him walked four of his friends--Sophy Soapstone and Sammy Soapstone, +who lived on the farm by the Old Canal; Lizzie Fizzletree, who lived on the +turnpike; and Fatty Hamm, who lived by the river road. + +Sammy Soapstone had blue eyes and tow hair which stood up straight on his +head. It was as stiff as the curry comb with which the Toyman brushed the +horses. Sophy Soapstone had blue eyes, too, and two neat little pigtails +down her back. + +But Lizzie Fizzletree had black eyes and hair that stuck out in all +directions. She had more safety-pins on her dress than a neat little girl +should ever have. And her stockings were forever coming down. + +Fatty Hamm was so round and so plump that he looked as if he had pillows +under his clothes. And though he was only twelve he had two chins. Every +once in a while he would eat so much that a button would pop off. + +He was eating apples now. + +One, two, three, four, five, he ate. He did not offer one to his friends, +_not even the core_! + +Another apple he took. That made six! + +Pop went a button and--splash--it landed in a puddle of brown water. + +For three days it had rained, washing the white snow away. The ruts in the +road were full of these puddles, nice and brown and inviting. + +Sammy's eyes and Jehosophat's eyes followed the button as it landed in the +water, making little rings which grew larger all the time. + +"Let's slosh," said Sammy. + +"Let's!" cried Lizzie Fizzletree, "it's lots of fun, sloshin'." + +Into a big puddle marched Sammy Soapstone, and after him marched Lizzie and +Sophy, and at the end of the procession waddled Fatty. + +"Slop, slosh, slop, slosh," they went through puddle after puddle. + +Glorious fun it was. Showers of spray flew all over the road. + +But Jehosophat walked on ahead in the middle of the road. Hadn't his mother +told him, particularly, _not_ to get his feet wet? + +"Come on in, it's fine!" they all shouted at Jehosophat. + +"Aw, come on!" Sammy Soapstone repeated, and Fatty called: + +"'Fraidcat!" + +At that Jehosophat turned around. He just couldn't stand being called +"'fraidcat." + +So _slosh, slosh_, into the biggest brown puddle he could find he +went. + +_Slosh, slop, slop, slosh_! + +Over his rubber tops went the water. Fine and cool it felt. + +Splash went the water over the road. And he kicked it over Fatty till the +round fat legs were drenched too. + +Then all the boys bent over the puddle, and scooped up great handfuls of +water, and threw them over each other. + +It was a great battle. And when it was finished and they were soaked to the +skin, they splashed up the road, shouting and singing. + +I guess they went into every last puddle between the schoolhouse and the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. + +They had reached it now. + +All-of-a-sudden Jehosophat felt very funny near the pit of his stomach. +Something was sure to happen now. + +In front of the house marched Mr. Stuckup, the Turkey. His chest was stuck +out and his tail feathers were spread out too, like a great big fan. He was +having a lovely parade all by himself. + +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," he gobbled. + +Jehosophat looked down at his feet. He felt guilty--but he thought it was +very mean of Mr. Stuckup to call attention to his wet rubbers that way. + +"Keep quiet," Jehosophat shouted. "You don't need to _tell_ on me!" + +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," gobbled Mr. Stuckup just the same. + +Jehosophat kicked at him with his wet feet, and tried to grab the fat red +nose that hung down over the turkey's beak. + +At that old Mr. Stuckup's feathers ruffled in anger, and he hurried off, +still gobbling "rubber, rubber, rubber," as loud as he could. + +Around the house sneaked Jehosophat, trying hard not to be seen. + +Half-way to the back door, who should he meet but a procession of the +Foolish White Geese. + +By this time Jehosophat was not only wet clear through, he was angry clear +through too, so he kicked at them. + +They stretched out their long white necks and called: + +"Hiss! Hiss! Hissssssss!!" + +They might be very foolish, these White Geese, but they were sensible +enough to know that Jehosophat ought to have been ashamed of himself that +afternoon. + +To make matters worse, the sun was shining now. He sparkled so brightly on +the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn, that Father Wyandotte flapped his +wings and cried to all the world: + +"Look, look, look, look! You're going to get it--hurroo!" + +And all the White Wyandottes took up the cry: + +"Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut--you'll get it." + +Jehosophat wished he were as small as Hop-o'-my-Thumb, so that he could +creep through the keyhole and never be seen at all. + +But he had one friend left--little Wienerwurst, who frisked up to him just +then, wagging his tail. He didn't scold Jehosophat at all, partly because +he was so often up to mischief himself. And then little Wienerwurst always +stuck by his friends anyway. + +For a while nothing more happened, and Jehosophat tiptoed in at the back +door. Mother was nowhere to be seen, so over the floor he sneaked. + +At every step the water oozed out and _slop, splosh, slop, splosh_, +still went his shoes. + +But he reached his room safely, then quickly he rummaged in the drawers of +the bureau. + +Quiet as a mouse he took off his wet clothes, and put them in the darkest +corner of the big closet. Quiet as a mouse he drew on the clean dry ones. + +But someone was calling: + +"Jehosophat--_Je-hos'-o-phat_!" + +No answer made he. + +"Jehosophat--_Je-hos'-o-phat_!" + +No longer could he hide. So, making his face look as bold and as innocent +as possible, he walked into the dining-room. + +But somehow, though he tried to look innocent, I guess he really looked +guilty. + +"Jehosophat Green, what _have_ you been doing?" asked Mother. Her eyes +were almost always kind but they were a little stern just then. + +Jehosophat tried another look on his face, for you can try different looks +on your face just as you try different hats on your head. This time he +tried the one that folks call "unconcern," a look as if he had no troubles +at all, as if he had nothing to hide. + +"Aw, just playin'," he answered his mother. + +Then his mother asked a very strange question: + +"Where's the party?" + +Jehosophat _was_ surprised. "Party" sounded fine. + +"What party, Mother?" he asked. + +"I don't know," his mother replied. "I just thought you were dressed up for +one." + +And he looked down at his clean suit and his Sunday best shoes. And from +out the corner of his eye he saw wet places on the floor and muddy tracks, +about as big as his feet. + +No answer now had Jehosophat. He guessed he would go into the parlour. So +he sat down at the marble-topped table, and looked at the picture book +which Uncle Roger had given him. It was full of great white ships sailing +the blue sea. + +For a moment he almost forgot all his troubles, so interested was he in +looking at those great ships and their sails and all the wonderful fish. + +Then suddenly he remembered. + +He looked out through the door into the dining-room. + +Mother wasn't saying anything. She was just busy. That was all. + +But had she forgotten? + +Somehow Jehosophat did not like the sad look on her face. + +He went and shut the door. He thought he would feel more comfortable if he +couldn't see Mother's eyes. Then he sat down to look at the picture book +again. But he felt more miserable than ever. + +Bang! he shut the book too. It was very strange. The things that usually +made him so happy weren't any fun at all just then. + +Then he looked up at the mantel. + +Above it hung a great picture. There was a man in a cocked hat. He had on a +fine uniform and he rode a tall white horse. Jehosophat knew very well who +that was. It would be _his_ birthday tomorrow--George Washington's +birthday. The teacher had told them all about it that very afternoon. + +She had told them a story, too, about a hatchet and a cherry tree--and--a +lie! + +The man on the horse looked down from the picture. The eyes were very +stern. + +A lie! + +Yes, that was just what he had told to Mother. He had told a lie, and acted +a lie. + +Though there was no one else in the room but the great man in the big +picture, Jehosophat's cheeks grew very red. A lump came into his throat. + +Now he never could be president nor have a sword--and ride a big white +horse--and call "Forward March" to the whole army. No--never! + +To the window he went, and pressed his nose against the pane. The clouds +were grey. It all seemed very dark and not at all cheerful as the world +ought to be. + +Once more he looked up at the picture. + +And as he looked at the eyes of the man in the picture, they told him to do +something. + +He decided to do it. And as soon as he decided he felt better--not +_all_ better--but better. + +And out into the dining-room he marched. He had to close his fists tight, +for it is very hard sometimes to tell people you've done wrong to them, +especially if they are people you love. + +"Mother," he said--not very loud. + +She looked up. + +"Yes?" + +"Mother--I----" + +He stopped. Mother looked up. She saw his lip tremble a little and wanted +to take him in her arms. But she didn't just then. He must tell what he had +to tell, first. + +"Mother--I told a lie--I got my feet wet--sloshin'--and I said I was +playin' when I changed my clothes--an' I'm sorry an'--an'--I'll never do +it again." + +Then Mother did take him in her arms and she kissed him and hugged him too. + +"Well--I love my little boy all the more for this. It was very wrong to +disobey, worse still to tell a lie. But it was hard to tell me your own +self about it and you were brave." + +So she kissed him. And her eyes weren't sad any more. + + + + +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT + +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + + +Mother Green and Father Green were fast asleep in the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds. The Toyman was fast asleep too. Rover +and Brownie and Wienerwurst lay curled up in their kennels, with their eyes +tight shut. On their poles in _their_ house all the White Wyandottes +perched like feathery balls, their heads sunk low on their breasts. On +the roof cuddled the pretty pigeons, all pink and grey and white. In the +barn Teddy, and Hal, and Methuselah, and Black-eyed Susan, and all the +four-footed friends of the three happy children, rested from the cares of +the day. Hepzebiah never stirred in her crib, and Jehosophat lay dreaming +of something very pleasant. + +But the crickets, and the katydids, the scampering mice, and the big-eyed +owls, and the little stars, snapping their tiny fingers of light up in the +sky, and Marmaduke--_they_ were awake. + +He had played very hard that day and he had leg-ache. Mother had rubbed it +till it felt better and he fell asleep, but now it began to hurt again and +he woke up. The Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel struck, not +seven times but four. It was long past midnight--_it was four o 'clock in +the morning_! + +But Marmaduke didn't call his mother. He thought that it would be too +bad to wake her up from that nice sleep. So he just tried to rub his leg +himself. + +It was then that he heard that far-off noise like a rumble of thunder. But +it wasn't thunder. It was something rolling over the bridge down the road. + +Marmaduke sat up in bed and looked out of the window into the dark shadows +of the trees. + +There was another rumble, and another and another. There must be, oh, so +many wagons rolling by in the night. Then he heard the sound of horses' +hoofs on the road, the clank of rings and iron trace chains. + +He rubbed his eyes this time and looked hard out into the darkness. + +Yes, he could see the tops of the big wagons, moving slowly past, under the +trees and over the road. + +It was a strange procession and he just had to jump out of bed, forgetting +all about his leg-ache. He ran to the window, pressing his little turned-up +nose against the panes. + +Though it was dark still it must have been near morning. The moon was just +going down behind the Church-with-the-Long-White-Finger, that finger which +always kept pointing at the sky. The Old Man-in-the-Moon looked very tired +and peaked after sitting up so late. + +There were so many of the wagons and so many horses. They must stretch +way back to the school-house, and miles and miles beyond that, Marmaduke +thought. + +The horses seemed very tired, for they plodded along slowly in the dark, +and the drivers almost fell asleep, nodding on their seats. They looked +just like black shadows. + +Under the axles of the wagons were lanterns, swinging a little and throwing +circles of light on the road. + +Now and then one of the drivers spoke roughly to the horses. And sometimes +Marmaduke heard strange noises like the sleepy growls of wild animals. +Perhaps they were in those wagons! + +Then Marmaduke laughed. He knew what it was. They were circus wagons! The +circus was coming to town! The Toyman had told him all about it, that very +day. + +Once, one of the animals roared and the others answered back. Their noise +was louder than the rumble of the wagon-wheels on the bridge. Marmaduke was +frightened. But the roaring stopped, and all he could hear was the noise of +all those wheels on their way up the road by the river. + +Then the last wagon passed and Marmaduke went back to bed and fell asleep. + +But the long procession rolled on and on till it reached the church. There +was a large field nearby. Into it the wagons turned and all the horses were +unhitched. + +Then the cooks started fires in the stoves on the cook-wagons, and all the +strange men and women had coffee. And then, just as the Sun was coming up +and the night was all gone, they went to work. + +Up in the centre of the field they raised three tall poles. They were +almost as high as the Long White Finger of the Church. They drove many +stakes into the ground. And around the tall poles they stretched almost +as many ropes as there are on a ship. + +Then they unrolled the white canvas and, when the Sun was just a little way +up in the sky and the morning was all nice and shiny and bright, the great +white tents were ready for the circus. + +Back in the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds, Marmaduke was eating his +oatmeal. He asked a question that he very often asked: + +"What do you think _I_ saw?" + +"Another dream?" said Jehosophat. + +"No, it was _real_," replied Marmaduke. "I saw a lot of wagons, +hundreds 'n thousands, in a big line miles long. And there were wild +animals in the wagons." + +"I'll bet that was a _dream_," his big brother insisted, but the +Toyman said: + +"No, it wasn't a dream, it was the circus coming to town." + +Then Father spoke up: + +"That's so, I most forgot." + +He looked at the Toyman: + +"Frank," he said, "I've got to go over to the Miller farm to buy some +yearling steers. You'll have to take the youngsters to that circus." + +The Toyman didn't seem worried about that. He looked just "tickled," "like +a boy himself," Mother said. + +So, after dinner, old Methuselah was hitched up, and away they drove,--the +Toyman, Jehosophat, Hepzebiah, and Marmaduke, with little Wienerwurst, as +usual, in back. He was very happy, barking at all the carriages hurrying up +the road to the circus. + +They came to the field with the big white tents and were just going to turn +in, when they heard music way off in the streets of the town. + +"Why, I most forgot," said the Toyman to Jehosophat. "There's the circus +parade over on Main Street. In the big city they have the parade and the +circus all in one big building, but in the country towns they have the +parade first in the street, and the performance after, in the tents." + +"Tluck, tluck!" he called to Methuselah, and jog, jog, jog, the old horse +trotted into town. In Uncle Roger's barn the Toyman unhitched him, and +gave him some hay and some oats too, for it was a grand holiday. Then +hand-in-hand the Toyman and the three happy children hurried over to Main +Street. + +So many people were crowded on the sidewalk that the children could hardly +see. But Jehosophat ducked under the stomachs of two big fat men and sat on +the curb-stone. And the Toyman held Marmaduke on one shoulder and Hepzebiah +on the other. He was very strong. From their high perch they could look +right over the heads of all the people at that great circus parade. + +Hark! They were coming! + +First the band. They were dressed in gay uniforms of red and blue, with +gold tassels too, and bright brass buttons. + +Ahead of them marched the leader of the band--the tall Drum Major. He had +on a high fur cap, twice as big as his head. In his hand he swung a long +black cane, called a "baton." It had a gold knob on it, bigger than a +duck's egg. + +He raised the cane and the music began! + +_Trrat----trrat----trrat--trrat--trrat_! went the little drums. + +_Boom----boom---boom--boom--boom_! went the big bass drum. + +_hum_-- + +_hum_-- + +_hum_-- + +_Hum_-- + +_hum--hum_! + +sounded the shiny horns. + +_ter-loo_ + +_ter-loo_ + +_ter-loo_ + +_Loo-loo-loo_ + +_ter-loo-loo_! + +gaily whistled the little fifes. + +Then they all sounded together in a grand crash of music that made all the +people happy and excited, and they almost danced on the sidewalk. + +And all the time the tall Drum-Major kept twirling that baton with the gold +knob on it till Jehosophat's eyes most popped out of his head. + +My! how he could twirl it! + +But other wonderful things were coming now, marching by very +swiftly,--ladies on horses that pranced and danced; cowboys on horses that +were livelier still; a giant as tall as the big barber's pole; and a dwarf +no higher than that tall giant's knee. + +And great grey elephants, all tied together by their trunks and their +tails; and zebras like little horses painted with stripes; and cages on +wagons, full of funny monkeys, making faces at all the people; and lions +and tigers, walking up and down and showing their sharp teeth. + +Then something happened! + +One of the circus men must have been sleepy that morning, for he hadn't +fixed the lock on that cage just tight. And the big tiger felt very mean +that day. He snarled and he snarled, and he jumped at the bars of his cage. + +Open came the door. Out leaped that wicked tiger right on the street, and +the people ran pell mell in all directions. + +The two fat men were so frightened that they fell flat on their stomachs. +The barber shinnied up his pole, and hung on for dear life to the top. +The baker-man tumbled into the watering-trough, and all the rest rushed +higgledy-piggledy into the houses and stores. + +The Toyman picked up Hepzebiah, Marmaduke, and Jehosophat, hurried them +into the candy-store, and shut the door tight. + +It was full of beautiful candies,--chocolate creams and peppermint drops, +snowy white cocoanut cakes, black and white licorice sticks, and cherry-red +lollypops. But the three children never noticed those lovely candies at +all. They just looked out of the glass door at that tiger, walking up and +down the street, a-showing his teeth and a-swishing his tail. + +The tiger looked at all the people behind the windows and doors. They were +all shivering in their boots, and he didn't know which one to choose. Then +he looked up at the man on the barber-pole, and he was shivering too. + +Then all of a sudden the tiger stopped. + +"_Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh_!" + +He saw the butcher shop. + +The door was open. Some nice red pieces of beef hung on the hooks. + +He licked his chops and ran into the shop and jumped up at the first piece +of beef and ate it all up. He never saw the stout butcher, who was hiding +under the chopping block. The butcher's face was usually as red as the +beef, but now it was as white as his apron, and his feet were shaking as +fast as leaves in the wind. + +But just as the tiger was gobbling the last morsel up, down the street +galloped a cowboy on a swift horse. He stopped right in front of the +butcher shop. + +Out went his hand. + +In it was a rope all coiled up. + +Around his head he twirled it, in great flying loops. Then he let it fly. + +And it fell around that wicked tiger's head and neck, just as he was +finishing his dinner. + +Then the circus men came with big steel forks, and they ran at that tiger, +and they tied him all up in that rope very tight, and put him back in the +cage on the wagon, while he growled and growled and growled. + +So the parade started again and all of the people came out of their +hiding-places, all but the fat men who hurried off home, as soon as they +found their breath, and the old ladies who said they guessed they'd go to +missionary meeting after all. A circus parade was too heathenish. + +Soon it was all over, and the rest of the people hurried off to the field +with the big white tents. + +And what they saw there we will tell you tomorrow night. + + + + +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT + +THE JOLLY CLOWN + + +Marmaduke was lost. There was such a crowd around those tents! He wriggled +between lots of pairs of legs, but nowhere could he find the Toyman's. + +Near the door of the tent stood a man with a big black moustache, and a +silk hat on his head. He was selling tickets. The Toyman went up to him. + +"Howdy," said the Toyman. + +"Howdy, pardner," replied he. + +"I'd like four tickets. Here is the money. One whole ticket and three half +tickets too." + +The man counted the money and gave him the tickets. Then the Toyman asked: + +"Did you see a little boy 'bout this high, with a little yeller dog?" + +The man with the big black moustache and the tall silk hat shook his head. + +"Sorry I can't oblige you, pardner. I've seen lots of kiddies but nary a +one with a yeller dog." + +"Well then," said the Toyman, "will you kindly show these youngsters to +their seats while I look for that little lost boy and his dog?" + +"Certainly, be most pleased," was the answer, for all circus men are very +polite on Circus Day. + +So the man with the black moustache and the tall silk hat called a man in a +red cap. Jehosophat took Hepzebiah by the hand, and the man in the red cap +led them into the big tent. He showed them their seats, and they sat down +in the very front row. + +Outside, the Toyman kept looking, looking everywhere. There was no sign of +Marmaduke's tow head nor of little yellow Wienerwurst. + +_They_ were on the other side of the tent, outside too, mixed up with +men and women they didn't know, and hundreds of boys and girls. They could +see other men too, with striped shirts and loud voices, standing in small +houses. And the small houses looked just like little stores, and on the +counters were good things to eat,--popcorn, peanuts, cracker jack, and +something cool in glasses, like lemonade but coloured like strawberries. +Loud did the men shout, trying to sell those good things to everybody who +came near. + +But Marmaduke couldn't buy even _one_ peanut. He didn't have any +money. How was he ever going to get into that circus! + +Oh, where was the Toyman? + +But he didn't cry. You know he didn't. He just shut his teeth hard, and +winked and winked. + +At last Wienerwurst gave a little bark. He saw a little hole, and +Wienerwurst always liked little holes. It was under the tent and just his +size. Right into it he crawled. All Marmaduke could see of his doggie now +was his little tail like a sausage. The rest of him was under the tent. +Thump-thump-thump went the tail. And Marmaduke knew it must be pretty nice +inside. + +Then the tail, too, disappeared. So down on his stomach went the little boy +and crawled right in after his doggie. + +The tent had several big rooms and he was in one of them. On every side +were big cages with iron bars. + +"_Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh_!" went something in one of the cages. + +That wicked runaway tiger! + +Marmaduke ran past all the cages very fast until he came to another room. +In it were lots of queer funny people. + +He heard another voice, not like the runaway tiger's, but one just happy +and pleasant, though very deep. + +"Well, look who's here!" it said. + +That was a funny thing to say, Marmaduke thought, and he looked up. + +He had to look up ever so high. There was the tall giant, sitting on a +great big chair. Big were his feet and his legs and his hands, and big were +his chin and his nose and his hat. Still he didn't look cross like the +giants in the story-books, just nice and kind. + +Marmaduke stared up at him and he smiled down at Marmaduke. + +It was very hot and the big giant took off his hat to wipe his forehead. +He set his hat down. He didn't look where he put it and it went over +Marmaduke's head and nearly covered him up. He couldn't see any sunlight. +It was all dark inside that hat. + +"Let me out," he shouted. And he heard someone say: + +"What's in your hat?" + +"There _was_ a little boy around here," the giant replied. "Maybe I've +covered him up." + +The giant leaned down and picked up his hat, and took it off the little +boy. Very glad was Marmaduke to see the light once more. + +The giant bowed low to apologize and the great chair creaked. + +"Very careless of me," he said. "A thousand pardons, Sir!" + +Marmaduke felt very happy. It was fine to be called "Sir" by a great big +giant like that. + +Then he felt himself being lifted up, and there he sat on the giant's knee. +The giant told him a story and gave him a big ring from his finger. It was +so large that Marmaduke could put his whole arm through it. + +Then another voice spoke. It was a little tiny voice this time--no bigger +than a mouse's squeak or a cricket's "Good-night." + +Marmaduke looked down from the giant's knee. + +"Hello, little fellow," squeaked the funny little voice. + +No, it was not Jack Frost. It was a dwarf, all dressed in a crimson velvet +gown, with a gold crown on her head. The top of the crown wasn't even as +high as the giant's knee. My, but she _was_ little! + +Marmaduke was just going to say, "Little, _huh_! I'm as big as +_you_ are!" But he didn't. That wouldn't have been quite right when +all these circus people were so very polite to him. + +So all he said was: + +"Good-afternoon!" + +And the little tiny lady in the crimson gown gave him something too,--a +silver button from her dress. Then the giant handed him over to a lady who +sat next. A very funny lady was she, for she had a woman's voice and a +woman's dress and a woman's hair, too, but on her chin was a long, long +beard, just like a man's. + +The bearded lady kissed Marmaduke. He didn't like that, she tickled so. + +He didn't go very near the one who sat next. Yet _she_ was a very +pretty lady with blue eyes and golden hair, but around her arms and neck +instead of necklaces were curled up snakes! + +"They won't bite, little boy," she said smiling. "Look out for the +_snakes in the grass_, but don't mind these. They can't hurt you at +all." + +With that she handed him some candy. + +Marmaduke's hands were so full now, with the candy and the big ring and the +silver button, that he didn't know what to do. + +Just ahead of him was little Wienerwurst's tail. The very thing! So he put +that big ring over that little tail. That felt so funny that Wienerwurst +tried to reach his tail and that round shiny thing on it. + +Around and around he went in a circle, trying to bite it off. He looked +as if his head and tail were tied together. Like a little yellow +merry-go-round, whirling so swiftly after itself, was he. All the strange +circus people laughed and cheered and the giant clapped his huge hands till +they sounded like thunder. + +All of a sudden the ring rolled off Wienerwurst's tail, and Marmaduke went +scrambling after it. It rolled right near the lady--and all those snakes! + +Marmaduke didn't like _that_. He was glad when he heard another voice +call out, very cheerily. + +"Here it is, Sonny!" + +This was a very jolly voice, jollier than any he had ever heard in the +world except the Toyman's. + +The man who owned that voice stood before him, such a funny man, in a baggy +white suit, with red spots like big red tiddledy winks all over it. He had +a pointed cap all red and white too. And his face was all painted white, +with long black eyebrows and a wide, wide, red mouth. + +This was the way Marmaduke met Tody the Clown. + +They had a long talk together and he seemed to understand little boys, just +like the Toyman. + +"It must be fine to always live in a circus," said Marmaduke. "Wish I did." + +"Well, Sonny, when you grow up, maybe you can," replied Tody the Clown. + +Marmaduke looked at the wide mouth with its funny smile. + +"You're always happy, aren't you?" + +Tody nodded and answered: + +"Sure--anyway _almost_ always." + +"Don't you ever feel cross or have any troubles?" + +Tody threw back his head at that and laughed way out loud. + +"Sure I do," said he. "A heap of troubles, but I just think of all the +little girls and boys like you that I've got to make happy. Then I try hard +to make 'em laugh and--" + +"An' what?" + +"Why all my troubles fly away, quick as a wink," laughed Tody. "Yes, +just as quick as I do this." And _quicker_ than a wink he turned a +somersault. He turned a whole lot of somersaults and then he took Marmaduke +on his shoulder and galloped around the tent and they had a glorious time. + +But the music was sounding out in the big tent just next them--drums and +horns and bugles and fifes. The circus would start in a minute now and all +the fun would be over. + +"Where's your ticket, Sonny?" asked Tody. + +"I haven't any," Marmaduke explained. "I've lost the Toyman--and he's got +my ticket an'--an'--I can't go in." + +"Don't you worry about that. You'll have the _best seat in the whole +circus_." And Tody turned another somersault just to make him laugh. +Then he looked down at little Wienerwurst. + +"But they won't let any doggies in there. We'll just tie him to this pole." + +Marmaduke shook his head and tried hard to keep the tears back. Just one +little one rolled down his right cheek But that was on the other side of +Tody. Maybe Tody saw it anyway, for when Marmaduke said to him,--"Then I +can't go in either, my little pet doggie would feel so badly," the jolly +Clown answered: + +"Well, we'll just have to fix it up some way. Can y' keep him quiet?" + +"Quiet as a mouse," answered Marmaduke, "quiet as Mother Robin when she +sits on her nest." + +And Wienerwurst barked out loud just to show how quiet he could be. + +Tody spoke to another man. This one had on a bright red vest, red as Father +Robin's. He looked at the boy and the dog. His voice wasn't as pleasant as +Tody's nor the giant's, but what he said was all right. + +It was just "Sure!" and Marmaduke and Wienerwurst slipped inside the big +tent, right near the front, where they could see all the wonderful things +that went on. + +Wienerwurst sat pretty quiet on his lap and together they watched the +elephants stand on their heads, and the men way up in the air turn +somersaults on little swings, and the ladies in bright spangles gallop +round and round the ring, and the monkeys and the clowns do tricks--and +everything. + +Tody was the funniest and happiest of all, and he made all the children +laugh and shout and clap their hands. Even Johnny Cricket, the lame boy, +who had come a long way to see the circus, smiled. + +Marmaduke and Wienerwurst were so excited that they forgot all about +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah and the Toyman. + +After a while Tody turned a somersault, a cartwheel, and a flipflop, and +landed right near their seat. + +"How would you like to ride on an elephant?" he whispered in Marmaduke's +ear. + +Of course Marmaduke answered: + +"Better 'n anything I _ever_ did." + +So Tody took him by the hand and led him into the little tent and put +a little pointed cap on his head, just like Tody's own. Then he lifted +Marmaduke into a big seat on top of Jumbo, the big elephant. And out they +marched under the tent and round and round the ring. + +Marmaduke could look down on all the rows of people. He was up quite high +and their faces looked small, but he could tell Jehosophat, and Hepzebiah, +and Sammy Soapstone, and Sophy, Lizzie Fizzletree, and Fatty Hamm, too. And +_there_ was the Toyman walking around, looking everywhere for him. + +"'Llo, Toyman," he shouted, and the Toyman looked up and saw Marmaduke in +his little pointed cap, way up on the back of the big elephant. + +The Toyman waved his hand and smiled. I guess he was very glad to find that +Marmaduke wasn't lost after all. + +But Jehosophat was wishing that _he_ had been lost, so that he could +have had that fine chance to be part of the circus. + +Suddenly there was a chorus of barks. Marmaduke had forgotten all about +Wienerwurst. + +He turned around to look for him and leaned back so far that he almost +fell flop off the elephant's back. Tody caught him just in time or there +_would_ have been trouble. + +The trick dogs were coming into the circus now. Some of them were walking +on their hind legs. + +Marmaduke listened. + +There were so many different barks! Just as many as there were dogs,--deep +or squeaky, smooth or creaky, rough or happy, gruff or snappy, and one that +Marmaduke knew the very minute he heard it. + +"_Run--run--run--run--runrunrun_!" + +Yes, he knew that little voice. He could tell little Wienerwurst's bark +anywhere. Somehow it was different from any doggie's in the world. There he +was, frisking and scampering and biting at the other dogs' tails, just in +fun. + +"_Run--run run--run--runrunrun_!" + +And that is just what they did, right into the circus ring where the man in +the red cap held out big hoops of paper above the dogs' heads. + +The first dog jumped through one hoop, and the second dog jumped through +another. Then the man in the red cap held up a third hoop bigger than all +the rest. + +Another dog, a long tall greyhound, got ready to take his turn, but I guess +Wienerwurst decided all-of-a-sudden that _he_ wasn't going to be left +out. He just gave the tail of that big dog a little nip, and when the +big dog turned around to see what was the matter, why Wienerwurst jumped +through the hoop all by himself. + +So pleased was he that he ran round the ring, looking up at the people in +their seats, with his little pink tongue hanging out in delight. + +A great doggie was Wienerwurst. + +But soon it was all over and the people left their seats, and walked out of +the tent to their homes and their suppers. + +Tody the Clown just wouldn't let Marmaduke and little Wienerwurst go. He +invited them and his brother and sister and the Toyman, too, to have supper +in the tent. + +At a long table they sat, with Tody, and the big giant, and the little +teeny dwarf, and the Lady-with-the-Long-Long-Beard, and the +Lady-with-the-Necklace-of-Snakes. But she put the snakes away and Marmaduke +wasn't afraid at all. + +Tody the Clown sat by his side and kept his plate full and his cup full +too. He didn't forget little Wienerwurst either. _He_ had a nice big +bone all for himself. + +But the time came to say "Good-bye," which they did, to one and all of the +kind circus people. + +Tody the Clown didn't kiss Marmaduke. He just shook hands. Marmaduke was +glad of that. He felt like a real man now. For hadn't he been part of a +circus and ridden on an elephant! I guess so! + +All Tody said to him was: + +"Good-bye, pardner, you just keep smiling and make people happy, and you'll +be a circus man too, one of these days." + +So the Toyman hitched up "old Methuselah," and the three happy children +rode home together, falling asleep in the buggy before ever they reached +the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. + +When you visit that place ask Marmaduke to show you the silver button and +the big giant's ring. He keeps them still in his little bureau. But the +candy was gone, oh, long ago. + + + + +NINETEENTH NIGHT + +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE + + +Mr. Sun must have known that it was Jehosophat's birthday, he made it so +bright, not too sunny nor yet too cool. + +The three children, Mother, Father, and the Toyman, were all crowding +about something which stood in front of the barn. The three tails of three +doggies wagged as if they thought it was fine. Mr. Stuckup came to take a +look. So did Miss Crosspatch and the Wyandottes; and the pigeons flew down +from their house on the roof and perched on its seat. + +It was something for Jehosophat, of course. It was his birthday, and he had +tried hard to be good ever since he had had that talk with the tall man on +the white horse in the picture. + +It was something he had always wanted,--a little cart with a real live pony +in the shafts. And the pony was all dressed in new harness, spick and span +and shiny. + +Not very tall was the little pony. His ears twitched just on a level with +Jehosophat's head. + +Jehosophat put his arm around his neck and patted his black coat, which was +almost as shiny as the harness itself. He looked at the tail. It was nearly +a yard long and very thick. That pony was certainly handsome. And Father +had given him--cart, harness, and all--to Jehosophat for his birthday, for +his very own, to keep just as long as the pony lived. And that was the +finest present any boy could have--ever. + +The name was a very important matter. The boys each had a dozen they could +think of, but Mother and Father and the Toyman couldn't think of any. At +least they wouldn't give any suggestions. They thought it was Jehosophat's +right to name his own pony. + +It was settled at last,--"Little Geeup." Where-ever Jehosophat got that +name nobody knew. I really believe he read a story once about a horse +called that. Or perhaps he remembered one of the circus ponies with the +same name. Anyway, that was the one he chose. So it can't be changed now, +any more than Jehosophat's own, or Marmaduke's, or Hepzebiah's. + +A moment more they looked Little Geeup all over, from the black mane on his +neck down his sleek back to his fine full tail. A moment more they looked +at the little cart, its bright red body with the blue lines around it, +the wheels and spokes, which were bright yellow, and the shafts and the +whiffletrees, which were yellow too. + +Then they got in. Little Hepzebiah sat on the seat with Jehosophat. He +proudly held the reins. Marmaduke sat behind, his legs hanging over the +tail-board, with Wienerwurst wriggling on his lap. + +"Tluck, tluck," called Jehosophat. Little Geeup obeyed. The yellow wheels +turned, and down the driveway they went, Father and the Toyman hurrying +alongside, Rover and Brownie barking behind. + +There were lots of fine carriages out that day, but never so fine a turnout +as that little red cart with the yellow wheels and the black pony in the +shafts. + +Jehosophat didn't have to learn how to drive Little Geeup. Father had often +let him drive Old Methuselah when they went to town, and the little black +pony was quite safe. + +At last Father and the Toyman stopped and waved good-bye. So off the +children drove, up the road by the river. + +"Where shall we go?" asked Jehosophat. + +Now Marmaduke was thinking over something Tody the Clown had told +him--about making other folks happy. + +"Let's take Johnny Cricket for a ride," he suggested. + +The driver agreed, so they turned from the road by the river and drove up a +lane. At the end was a house. It was a very small house and a poor one too. +Here lived Johnny Cricket, the lame little fellow, who never could run or +play like the three happy children. + +There wasn't much furniture in his home, or much money either, hardly +enough to buy him new crutches, to say nothing of toys that little boys +like. + +"Whoa!" called Jehosophat, in front of the gate. + +Then he got out and knocked at the door. + +It opened. Johnny's Mother was there. + +Jehosophat took off his hat. + +"Good-morning, Mrs. Cricket, can we take Johnny for a ride in my new cart?" + +"Of course," replied she. "My! Won't Johnny be glad to go for a ride in +that pretty cart! He's been very lonesome." + +So out hobbled Johnny, all smiles. Crunch, crunch, crunch went his crutch +down the gravel walk. + +"Hepzebiah, you'll have to sit in the back with Marmaduke," commanded the +owner of the little cart. + +So the little girl climbed over the back of the seat and sat with Marmaduke +and Wienerwurst. And they helped Johnny in carefully, and off they drove up +the lane, enjoying the woods and the nice warm sun. Johnny enjoyed it ever +so much, but not more than they. I guess the three children were quite as +happy, for to make others happy brings the best sort of happiness. + +At last they turned round and drove back. + +They were just trotting past the Miller Farm when they heard a great growl. + +Over the fields, with great leaps, a big dog was running. Now Jake Miller's +dog, Prowler, was the worst dog in the neighbourhood. Often the three +children had heard Father say "He ought to be shot." + +And there he was--running straight towards them, and little Wienerwurst had +jumped over the tailboard and out of the wagon, and was trotting alongside. + +"_Urrururur_," growled Prowler. He had almost reached the gate. He +was long and big, and really looked more like a savage animal than a dog. +Pieces of chain hung from his neck and dragged alongside in the earth as he +ran. He must have broken away from his kennel. + +Through the gate he bounded, then stopped still and growled in suspicion. + +"_Out--out--out_!" he seemed to be saying. He thought they had no +right in front of his home, not even when they were driving on the road, +which was free to all. + +The three happy children and Little Geeup didn't like the looks of things +very much. + +"Here, Wienerwurst--come here," called Marmaduke. He wanted his little dog +to jump back in the wagon and be safe. + +But Wienerwurst was no coward. Besides, he was a friendly little fellow, +and liked to be polite to everybody, dogs and people too, even if sometimes +he did chase the pretty pink pigeons and the White Wyandottes. But that was +just in fun, of course. + +So he just stood still and looked at the big bad dog and wagged his tail in +a friendly way, and smiled. + +But that big bad dog Prowler didn't appreciate that at all. He opened his +big jaws and showed his teeth and gave a deep growl. + +"_Out--out--out_!" he repeated. + +And then Wienerwurst gave his tail a wag, and advanced a step or two. + +Quick as lightning Prowler jumped at him. + +Wienerwurst didn't run. Yet he was so little and the other dog was so big. +And his ear hurt too, where the other dog bit him. + +The big dog was jumping at him again and again and biting him too, but I +guess Wienerwurst must have heard Father and the Toyman tell the boys once +never to start a fight, but always to stand up for one's rights, and never +to be a coward, or run away. + +That Prowler had no right at all to tell him to get off the road nor to +bite him! + +And so, though he was only a yellow dog and small and weak, Wienerwurst +barked bravely and tried his best to fight off the big dog. + +It wasn't a very happy chorus of growls and barks and squeals. It sounded +something like this: + +"_Gurrrrr--gurrr-uh--ow--ow--gurr--gurr--ow--wuf--ar--gurr--ow--wow--uh- +wuf--xxx--x_!!!" + +Jehosophat pulled on the reins. + +"We must stop that," said he. "Hepzebiah you sit here." + +Out he jumped, but his brother was ahead of him, for Marmaduke loved +Wienerwurst even more than they did. + +At the big dog's collar they pulled, and they grabbed tight hold of his +chain, trying to drag him away so that he wouldn't hurt little Wienerwurst. +But he was very strong, that wicked bad dog. They couldn't budge him at +all. + +But just then they heard the sound of wheels. They were glad. + +Help was coming at last! + +A wagon drove up. It was the country postman, who delivered the mail to the +farms, in a wagon. + +"Whoa!" the postman shouted and out he jumped with his whip! + +He ran straight for the big dog, and out of the gate ran Jake Miller too. +I guess he felt ashamed of himself for keeping such a dog as Prowler. The +two men grabbed the chain and whipped the big bad dog till he let go of +Wienerwurst and ran back to his kennel. + +Tenderly the two boys lifted their little friend into the cart, and drove +home as fast as they could. + +They forgot all about the pony and the fine new cart, just thinking of +their poor hurt doggie. + +Mother and the Toyman brought water in a basin, and the Toyman poured +something from a bottle, which coloured the water all dark. With a little +clean rag he washed out the cuts on Wienerwurst's face and the back of his +neck. + +Then out to the workshop he went and brought back a little can. He +unscrewed the top and took out some of the salve inside. It was coloured +just like peanut-butter and was soft and healing. On each cut he put a +little of the salve, then wound the little doggie all up in nice soft +bandages too. And Wienerwurst licked the Toyman's hand to show how thankful +he was. + +They made him a little bed, but he didn't stay in that long. The Toyman was +such a good doctor that Wienerwurst felt better already. Still he didn't +play very much that day. + +Mother sent the Toyman over to the Cricket farm to ask Johnny's mother to +let her boy stay for the night. + +He did--for _three whole days_--and great fun they had with Little +Geeup, and the red dogcart, and the little lame boy, giving Wienerwurst +rides to make him all well. + +And Father and the Toyman made Jake Miller chain up the wicked dog--very +tight this time--with a chain that would never break. + +And soon that bad dog died, which was a good thing too. Nobody wasted many +tears on him. + +But little Wienerwurst got well and strong, and chased the pretty pink +pigeons--in fun of course--just as fast as ever he did. + + + + +TWENTIETH NIGHT + +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND + + +By the fire sat the Toyman. + +He must have been seeing things in the flames, for he kept looking, looking +all the time. + +He was all alone, for Father and Mother Green had gone to town to see a +fine wedding. It was not often that they stayed out so late, but this was +a grand event. And they knew the three happy children would be safe in the +Toyman's care. + +They were all in the next room. Jehosophat and Hepzebiah were sound +asleep--but not Marmaduke. He was sitting up, a little bit of a fellow in a +big bed. + +Outside, old Giant Northwind roared and roared. Now he seemed to be running +around and around the house, faster than any train. Now he stopped to knock +at the door and bang at the window panes. Now he trampled on the roof, +knocking off pieces of slate and a brick from the chimney, which fell, +_crash_, through the glass cover of the little greenhouse. + +Marmaduke did not like the sounds cruel Giant Northwind made. And it +was very dark in the room. To tell the truth he was just a little bit +frightened. But he didn't say anything at all. For the Toyman had told him +always to be "game." That was a funny word, but Marmaduke knew what it +meant. A brave little boy must not cry even if he _is_ afraid. + +Still the Giant Northwind kept running round and round the house with great +leaps. And the windows creaked, and the trees thumped the house with their +branches. + +Suppose the Giant should break in and carry him 'way, 'way off! + +The door of the next room was open. Through it he could see the bright +fire. Higher and higher leaped the flames, as if they wanted to jump up the +chimney and join the Northwind in his mad race. + +Very comfy and bright looked the fire. Very funny were the shadows on +the wall, dancing and bowing to each other and jumping up and down like +Jacks-in-the-Box. + +One shadow was like a man's, as tall as the ceiling. + +Had Giant Northwind gotten in the house at last! + +Marmaduke shivered and crept out of bed--and hurried into the next room. +He kept as far away from that giant shadow as he could. But he never cried +out. He was very brave. + +On and on against the wall he tiptoed towards the chair by the fire, where +the Toyman sat, thinking his strange thoughts. + +The Toyman felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked around. There stood +Marmaduke, pointing at the shadow. + +That shadow was so big and Marmaduke was so small. + +"Don't let him get me!" the little boy cried. + +The Toyman reached down and in a second Marmaduke was safe in his arms. + +"There's nobody here but me," said the Toyman. + +Loud the Giant Northwind howled and roared, while the flames leaped up the +chimney. + +"Look there!" cried Marmaduke. "There he is!!" + +And again he pointed to the shadow on the wall. + +"The Giant Northwind has got in our house!" + +But the Toyman only laughed, hugging him tighter. + +"That's not old Northwind, that's only my shadow," he explained. + +Then Marmaduke laughed too. + +"Tell me a story, Toyman," he asked, "'bout that ole Giant Northwind." + +"It might scare you," the Toyman answered. + +Marmaduke only shook his head. + +"Nothing makes me scared when I'm _here_," he said. He wasn't afraid +of giants, or ogres, or wild animals, or anything, when he was safe in the +Toyman's arms. + +For a while he looked up into his face. The Toyman's hair stood up, all +funny and rough. He was always running his fingers through it. His face +had wrinkles like hard seams, and it was as brown as saddle leather from +working outdoors. But Marmaduke thought that nowhere in the world was there +so kind a face, except his Mother's. + +The Toyman put down his corncob pipe and began: + +"Once upon a time, long time ago, before your mother was born, or your +grandmother, or your great-grandmother either, there was a King. He was +King of all the Winds. And he lived in a great big cave up in a high +mountain." + +"Was the mountain as high as the church steeple?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Oh, higher than that--as high as a lot of church steeples, stuck one on +top of another," the Toyman explained. + +"Sometimes the King of the Winds took a little snooze in his cave, and then +everything was quiet. But when he woke up he would go out of his cave, +raisin' ructions all over the world. + +"There was a lot of work for him to do, east and west, south and north. He +tossed the branches of the trees and made 'em crack, and he made the waves +in the ocean turn somersaults, and blew the wooden ships across the sea, +and chased the cloud-ships across the sky. + +"And he had a lot of little chores too, like drying the clothes on Mondays, +and waving the flags on Fourth of July, and sailing little boy's kites high +in the air. + +"When the King of the Winds was a young fellow, it was all great fun. But +after a while the trees grew bigger and bigger, and the ships taller and +taller, and there were so many clouds that he got very tired. He was +getting pretty old and he ached in all of his bones. + +"So he said to himself, said he: + +"'I'll let the kiddies do the work, and rest for a spell in my cave on the +mountains.' + +"There were four of 'em--two boys and two girls--and each had a name, of +course. Southwind and Westwind were the girls, Eastwind and Northwind the +boys, two strapping big fellows. + +"So he called his children together and sat in the door of his cave. + +"First he took a big pinch o' snuff. That was a very bad habit folks had in +those days. + +"_Kerchoo_! he sneezed, and blew two big clouds out of the sky. + +"_Kerchoo_!!! he sneezed again, and turned upside down a whole fleet +of ships in the ocean. + +"_Kerchoooooo_!!!! he sneezed a third time, and blew off the roofs +from all the houses in the city, a hundred miles away. + +"When he was all through his sneezing he said to his children: + +"'Get ye out to the four corners of the earth and take up my business.' + +"Now for a cane the old King used a tree with the branches pulled off. He +picked it up and pointed to the south. + +"'Southwind, you go there.' + +"She was a pretty little thing, with blue eyes and roses in her hair. And +she answered him sweet as you please, 'All right, Daddy,' and out she +danced. + +"Then with the big tree cane, the old King pointed to the west. + +"'Westwind, there is your place,' he said. + +"A very pretty girl too was Westwind, with kind eyes and a soft smile. Her +voice was soft and low, and she answered in a whisper: + +"'Good-bye, Daddy dear.' + +"She kissed him on the forehead, and floated away to her new home in the +west. + +"Then the two boys came before the old King. The big tree cane pointed +east. + +"'Get to work over there, Eastwind,' commanded the old King. + +"Now Eastwind was a strong fellow, but he was surly and cross and he didn't +obey very quickly. So his father the King picked up his tree cane in a rage +and whacked him across the shins, and out Eastwind ran, crying and yelling +till the trees of the forests sobbed too. And he cried so hard that rivers +of tears ran from his eyes and over the earth. + +"Once more the old King picked up his big tree cane, and said to the eldest +of his sons: + +"'Northwind, your home is right here in the North.' + +"Bigger even than his brother was Northwind. Strong were his muscles, and +his whiskers and hair were covered with icicles. When he breathed, millions +of snowflakes danced from his mouth. + +"_Brrrrrrr_!! how one shivered when he was around. + +"Then the old King's hand trembled and the big cane dropped to the floor. +He laid him down in the cavern and breathed his last. He had been a great +King but he was deader than a doornail now. + +"So his four children took up his work. + +"Up and down the south country wandered Southwind, with her rosebud mouth +and golden hair. And wherever she went she scattered posies and violets +upon the earth. + +"Back and forth over her country floated Westwind with her soft smile and +gentle voice. She whispered lullabies to little children, and laid cool +hands on sick people's foreheads. She blew little boy's kites up ever so +high above the church steeple, and tried never to break them. And she blew +the white ships gently across the ocean. Folks liked to travel the waters +whenever she was about. + +"But they didn't like Eastwind very much. Sometimes he was all right, +but usually he was bent on mischief, making trouble for every man Jack. +The seas he would tumble about, turn over the ships, and drown the poor +sailors. He would call his grey clouds together and they would weep till +the rivers were full. Then he would blow the rivers over the banks, and +spoil the gardens, and break the bridges, and drown the poor sheep, and all +the rest of the animals too. + +"But the most cruel of all was Giant Northwind. Where his heart ought to +be was a chunk of ice. Sometimes he was pleasant enough, but most often he +was hard and unkind. He would breathe on people, and freeze their noses and +toeses, and leave many a poor fellow stiff on the snow. + +"Northwind grew and grew till he was the biggest giant on earth. Most as +tall as a mountain himself was he, and when he raised his arm he could +nearly touch the sky. He kept walking up and down the earth, roaring and +hollering fit to blow his lungs out. And how he could travel! He could go +clear around the world in about a week. + +"One fine day he went out for a walk and he saw Mr. Sun riding up high +in the sky. Mr. Sun was a strange sort of a chap, all dressed up in gold +armour. The gold armour shone so bright you could never see his eyes or his +nose or his mouth, when he walked in the sky. + +"Giant Northwind grew very jealous of Mr. Sun. He wanted that fine suit of +gold armour, for all he had himself was his long whiskers and his fur coat +of snow. + +"At Mr. Sun he shook his fist. + +"Mr. Sun only laughed at him. + +"'Ho, ho!' he said, 'Ho, ho!' and again 'Ho, ho!' + +"'Ho, ho! you say,' mimicked Northwind, very angry, 'soon you will laugh on +the other side of your mouth. I will blow you out and people can't see your +fine suit of gold armour any more.' + +"'Ho, ho!' Mr. Sun laughed back. 'Just try it and see. Might as well save +your breath.' + +"That made Northwind very mad. So he took a deep breath until his chest +puffed way out like a big balloon. + +"Then he let go. All the hills in the north country shook at that roar. + +"And the clouds came hurrying out of the mountains and covered the sky so +you couldn't see the Sun and his fine suit at all. + +"'Ho, ho!' laughed the Northwind.' Now you will laugh on the other side of +your mouth, Mr. Sun.' + +"Then he sat him down in his cave to enjoy himself. + +"But what was that! + +"There was a little hole in the clouds. Through the chink he saw gold +shining. Then more and more gold. In a few moments Mr. Sun was riding up in +the sky, as big as life. + +"'Ho, ho!' said Mr. Sun, 'who laughs last, laughs best.' + +"Then old Giant Northwind grew madder and madder, madder than a hornet, +yes, just as mad as Mother Wyandotte when Wienerwurst chased her into the +brook. + +"He took a deep breath, did Giant Northwind, so deep that he almost burst +his lungs. He blew and he puffed and he puffed and he blew till the whole +sky was filled with grey clouds. And you couldn't see Mr. Sun and his fine +suit of gold armour at all. + +"Then down he would sit in his cave to enjoy himself for a spell, but by +and by, sure as shooting, Mr. Sun would come back again. + +"So, for a hundred years, Northwind tried to blow out the Sun. But at last +he gave it up as a bad job. + +"When he was still a middling young fellow, only about a thousand years old +or so, he went walking up and down the earth one night, just after dark. + +"He came to a great forest. In it he saw something bright, like a little +piece of the Sun. Now he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest, so +he got down on his knees to peek between the trunks and see better. People +were sitting around the bright little piece of the Sun, and warming their +hands, and cooking their supper. Of course it was only a merry fire, but +Giant Northwind was sure it was a piece of the Sun that had fallen on the +Earth. He had been so busy trying to blow him out of the sky that he hadn't +noticed these little fires much before. + +"But he had grown very cross as he knelt there, looking through the trees, +and he said to himself, said he: + +"'Ho, ho! That's one of the Sun's children. I'll blow that out anyway.' + +"And he took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out. + +"_Whurrrooooo_! he breathed on that little piece of the Sun. + +"But the little fire just laughed and leaped higher and higher. + +"So he took a real deep breath this time, till he filled all his chest, and +it stuck way out like the strong man's in the circus. + +"_Whurrrrrrooooooooooooooo_!!!! he roared, but the little flames just +danced in the air, as bright and as merry as could be. + +"The more he blew the bigger grew the fire, and the sooner the people had +their suppers. + +"Then for years and years the old Giant stamped up and down the Earth, +trying to put out those little pieces of the Sun. And he couldn't do it at +all. Like their father, the Sun, the little fires just laughed at him. + +"At last Northwind said to himself, said he: "'I know what I'll do, I'll +get me some big grey wolves to put out those fires.' + +"So a-hunting he went, up into the biggest forests of the world, so dark +that people called them 'the Forests of Night.' And they were full of +fierce grey wolves. + +"With his strong hands he caught a hundred wolves and drove them back to +his cave. + +"Then one dark night when the people were sitting around their fires, so +cozy and nice, he untied the wolves and roared out: + +"'Wolves, put out those fires!' + +"And the fierce grey wolves ran out of the cavern, and snapped and snarled +at the little fires. But they couldn't put them out. So back they came to +the cave, with their tongues hanging out and their tails between their +legs. + +"'Good-for-nothings,' roared Northwind, 'I'll get me some tigers.' + +"Again he went stalking over the Earth till he reached the great deserts, +which the people called 'the Deserts Without End.' Here he caught a +thousand fierce tigers and drove them back to his cave. + +"The next night, while the people were talking and singing around the +little fires, he let the tigers loose. + +"'Tigers,' roared he, 'put out those fires.' + +"They ran out of the cave, making a terrible noise, and they raced up and +down the earth, with their sharp teeth gleaming, and their tails lashing. +At the fires they snarled, and growled, and roared, and tried to beat out +the flames with their paws. But they were only burned for their trouble. +And so the tigers too slunk back to the cave, with their heads hanging down +and their tails between their legs. + +"Once more the Northwind stalked forth and hunted through the highest +mountains he could find, so high that people called them 'the Roof of the +World.' Ten thousand lions he caught, the fiercest in all the Earth. He +tied them together by their tails, ten at a time, and drove them back to +his cave. + +"And he sent them out too. + +"'Lions, put out those fires!' + +"Such a terrible roar those lions roared that the whole Earth shook. +Through the forests they raced, leaping through the wild tree tops, lashing +their tails, and shaking their shaggy manes. And they leaped at the fires, +but they couldn't do any better. Those big lions just couldn't put the +little fires out. + +"Beside himself with rage was old Northwind now. So he sent them all out, +wolves and tigers and lions wild, and he rushed on at their head. + +"But never, never can they put the little fires out, so you needn't worry +at all." + +The Toyman stopped and Marmaduke listened. + +"Hark!" + +Yes, there were the grey wolves now, howling down the chimney. There were +the wild tigers, snarling at the window panes and leaping at the door. + +Hark! How the knobs rattled! + +And there were the wild lions, rushing and roaring through the tree-tops. + +And round and round and round the house raced old Giant Northwind himself. + +But all the while, in the fireplace the little red flames danced merrily, +never afraid at all. + +Marmaduke jumped. Something was whining and scratching at the door. + +Was it a wolf? + +The voice he heard was too small and weak. + +He knew who _that_ was. + +"Toyman," he shouted, "that's my little pet doggie, out in the cold. Those +bad wolves an' tigers an' lions 'll eat him up." + +So they ran to the door, the Toyman and little Marmaduke. And he wasn't +afraid at all. And they let little Wienerwurst in, and saved him from the +grey wolves and the wild tigers and the fierce lions of the Northwind. + +Little Wienerwurst barked happily and curled himself up by their feet, in +front of the warm fire. + +After that Marmaduke spoke only once before he fell asleep. + +"You never had any little boys, did you, Toyman?" + +On the Toyman's face was a funny look as he answered: + +"No, little feller, I never had any little boys." + +Marmaduke reached up his hand and patted the Toyman's rough, kind face. + +"Don't worry, Toyman," he said, "_I'll_ be your little boy." + +Little Wienerwurst was sound asleep, so Marmaduke just had to fall asleep +too, happy and safe in the Toyman's arms, by the little red fire that the +wind could never put out. + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Seven O'Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 7802.txt or 7802.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/8/0/7802/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Seven O'Clock Stories + +Author: Robert Gordon Anderson + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7802] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on May 18, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES + + BY + + ROBERT GORDON ANDERSON + + + + + TO JEAN AND MALCOLM + + TO WHOM THESE STORIES WERE FIRST TOLD + + + + +CONTENTS + +FIRST NIGHT +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + +SECOND NIGHT +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + +THIRD NIGHT +NOISY FOLKS + +FOURTH NIGHT +JUST BEFORE SUPPER + +FIFTH NIGHT +THE TOYMAN + +SIXTH NIGHT +THE WILLOW WHISTLE + +SEVENTH NIGHT +MR. SCARECROW + +EIGHTH NIGHT +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD + +NINTH NIGHT +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY + +TENTH NIGHT +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY + +ELEVENTH NIGHT +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK + +TWELFTH NIGHT +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP + +THIRTEENTH NIGHT +THE TALL ENEMY + +FOURTEENTH NIGHT +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER + +FIFTEENTH NIGHT +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON + +SIXTEENTH NIGHT +SLOSHIN' + +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT +THE JOLLY CLOWN + +NINETEENTH NIGHT +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE + +TWENTIETH NIGHT +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +"AND THERE ON THE HILL SAT A JOLLY OLD MAN, ROUND AND FAT, +WITH A PIPE IN HIS MOUTH AND A SACK ON HIS BACK" + +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN LIVE IN THE COUNTRY" + +"WIENERWURST CAUGHT A PRETTY PIGEON BY ITS TAIL AND BIT IT" + +"THE DUCKS, THE SWANS, AND THE GEESE ARE VERY FOND OF THE +POND, BUT THEIR COUSINS THINK IT A DREADFUL PLACE" + +"PRIMROSE, DAISY, BUTTERCUP, AND OLD BLACK-EYED SUSAN WALKED +INTO THE BIG BARN" + +"ON THE LINE SOMETHING WRIGGLED. IT WAS ROUND AND SHINY +AND GOLD" + +"THE TOYMAN WORKED WITH HIS KNIFE VERY CAREFULLY" + +"'THERE, OLD WOODEN TOP,' THE TOYMAN SPOKE TO MR. +SCARECROW STERNLY" + +"THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN SET TO WORK WITH THE THREE +SHINY RAKES" + +"THE ORIOLES WERE VERY HAPPY BIRDS" + +"FATHER AND MOTHER ORIOLE TAUGHT THEM TO FLY" + +"THE EVIL EYE OF ROBBER HAWK LOOKED DOWN AT THE +FRIGHTENED WHITE WYANDOTTES" + +"THE WIND FILLED THE SAILS OF THE LITTLE SHIP AND OFF SHE +WENT" + +"ON THROUGH THE SNOW THE TALL ENEMY MARCHED" + +"HITCHED TO THE SLEIGH WERE TWO TINY BROWN REINDEER WITH +YELLOW HORNS" + +"HE HAD ONE FRIEND LEFT, LITTLE WIENERWURST" + +"THE TIGER LOOKED AT ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WINDOWS +AND DOORS" + +"THE TOYMAN SAW MARMADUKE WAY UP ON THE BACK OF THE BIG +ELEPHANT" + +"QUICK AS A FLASH THE BIG DOG JUMPED AT LITTLE WIENERWURST" + +"HE WASN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING WHEN HE WAS SAFE IN THE +TOYMAN'S ARMS" + + + + +FIRST NIGHT + +THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + + +Not once upon a time but just now, in a white house by the side of a road, +live three happy children. + +Their mother and father gave them very odd names, for two old uncles and +one aunt, which pleased the old people very much. Their names are all +written in the big family Bible,--Jehosophat Green, Marmaduke Green, and +Hepzebiah Green. + +Jehosophat is just seven years old. His birthday comes on Thanksgiving Day +this year. It does not come on Thanksgiving Day every year, of course. See +if you can guess why. + +Marmaduke is five, "going on six," he always says. Little Hepzebiah, who +toddles after her brothers, tells everyone who comes to visit that she is +"half-past three." She heard her brother say this once and she imitates all +he does and says. Perhaps that is why her father calls her a "little +monkey." + +These happy children all live in the country. They do not know much about +elevated trains and subways and automobiles and moving pictures but they +do know a great deal about flowers and birds and chestnuts and picnics and +lots of things which you would like too, if you lived in the country. + +Each place you see has its advantages. All good is not found in the +country, nor all in the city. If we keep both eyes open we will see lots of +enjoyable and beautiful things wherever we are. + +The house in which Jehosophat and Marmaduke and Hepzebiah live is large. It +has many rooms to sleep in and eat in and play in. It is painted white and +has wide windows with green blinds. + +Around the house are large trees. The branches seem to pat the house +lovingly and to protect the children when the sun is too hot or the rain +comes down too fast. + +They are fine for swings and bird-houses, these trees, and some throw down +acorns and others cones and soft pine needles for the children to play +with. + +Behind the house and gardens are red barns, chicken yards--and oh lots of +animals,--the three dogs, Rover, Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst and +all the rest. You will come to know them later. Each has his funny ways and +queer tricks just like people. Around the house are fields with growing +plants and oh--we almost forgot the pond where Jehosophat and his brother +sail boats. + +Mother, that is Mrs. Green, is not too thin nor yet too plump. She is just +what a mother ought to be, with kind, shining eyes, and soft cheeks. She +is always cooking things or doing things for Jehosophat and Marmaduke and +little Hepzebiah. + +Father--the neighbours call him Neighbour Green--is very strong. He can +lift big weights and manage bad horses. He can do lots of work and yet +somehow he finds time to do things for the children too. + +His eyes are blue, while mother's are brown. When he laughs, Marmaduke +thinks it sounds like the church-bells on Sunday. Once he had a +moustache but that went when mother said he would look younger without +it. Now sometimes, when he works hard, he does not have time to shave +every day. On Sunday mornings Hepzebiah loves to watch him take the +brush and cup. The cup has flowers painted on it. When he turns the +brush in the cup it makes something like whipped cream, or the top of +mother's lemon pies. + +And after he takes it off with the razor his face is red and shiny and +smooth. Hepzebiah always likes to kiss her father, but she likes to kiss +him best on Sunday mornings. + +Tonight you have met all the family so we must stop for the clock says +"after seven." Tomorrow we will meet all the animals and they are really +part of the family too. + + + + +SECOND NIGHT + +THE PLAYMATES OF THE THREE HAPPY CHILDREN + + +The three happy children have many playmates, who live in the barnyard. +Some have four feet and some only two, but _these_ have two wings +besides to make up for the missing feet. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah like the dogs best. And just as +there are three children so there are three dogs. Let's shake hands with +them, one by one. + +The great big dog is named Rover, the middle-sized one Brownie, and the +little yellow curly one Wienerwurst. + +A wise fellow is Rover. From a cold country called Newfoundland his great +grandfather came. And he seems to think life is a very serious matter. His +coat is black with snow-white patches. His hair curls a little. It feels +very soft when you lay your head against it. + +He doesn't play as much as the other two doggies. But once when Hepzebiah +fell in the pond after her doll, Rover swam in and caught her dress in his +mouth and brought her to shore. Not long after that Mr. Green gave him a +new shiny collar. + +Brownie is a terrier and is coloured like his name. He is a frisky dog and +often chases the horses and buggies that go up and down the road in front +of the house. Sometimes the drivers lash at him with their long whips but +he is too quick for them and scampers out of their reach. + +The funniest doggie in all the world is little yellow Wienerwurst. He is +even more full of mischief than Brownie and loves to run after all the +other animals in the barnyard. + +When the pigeons fly down from their little house on the top of the barn to +take an afternoon walk and perhaps pick up a few extra grains of corn, this +little yellow doggie spoils all their fun. He soon sends them flying back +to their house on the roof, where they chatter and coo in great excitement. +But they do not lose their tempers like "Mr. Stuckup," the turkey, or old +"Miss Crosspatch," the guinea-hen with the ugly voice. + +Once little Wienerwurst caught a pretty pigeon by its tail and bit it. Then +Mr. Green took him over his knee, just as he did Jehosophat when he threw a +stone at the window, and spanked little Wienerwurst. + +Each dog has a house. One is big, one middle-sized, and one small, and +each has a door to fit the doggie who lives there. Their houses are called +kennels, and they are something like the pigeon's home way up on the roof. + +The pigeons are very pretty, grey and white and pink coloured. When the sun +shines brightly their necks shine too, like the rainbow silk dress which +Mrs. Green wears whenever there is a wedding. + +One pair of the pigeons sit a great deal of the time on the ridge-pole of +the barn and swell out their chests like proud, fat policemen. Farmer Green +calls them pouter pigeons. + +They do not have harsh voices like the guinea-hen or the old black crows +which steal the corn from the field when Mr. Scarecrow gets tired and goes +to sleep. (We will introduce you to Mr. Scarecrow some evening very soon.) +But the voices of the pigeons are soft and low like mother's, especially +when Hepzebiah is sick and she sings her to sleep. + +They will not have much to do with the chickens, these pigeons. Perhaps +they are like the people who live on the top floor of tall city houses and +do not go down often to talk with the people in the streets. + +What a lot of chickens Farmer Green has! Almost two hundred, if they would +ever stay still long enough for Jehosophat to count them. They are called +White Wyandottes and they are very white and plump, with combs as red as +geraniums. + +You know there are many kinds of chickens just as there are many kinds +of people, English, French, and Americans. Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth +Rocks, Cochins, and Leghorns are some of the chicken family names, but +Jehosophat's father does not believe in mixing families, he says, so only +the White Wyandottes live on the Green farm. + +Jehosophat and Marmaduke love the big rooster best. The red comb on the +top of his head has teeth like a carpenter's saw, and is so large it +will not stand up straight. His white tail curves beautifully like the +plumes on the hats of the circus ladies. When he throws back his head, +puffs out his throat, and calls to the Sun, he is indeed a wonderful +creature. + +The little chicks are the ones Hepzebiah loves best. She can hold them in +her two hands like little soft yellow balls or the powder puffs which Nurse +uses on new little babies. The little chicks have such tiny voices, crying +"cheep, cheep, cheep," almost the way the crickets do all through the +night. + +The chickens have cousins who--but there goes the clock--so that is +tomorrow night's story. + + + + +THIRD NIGHT + +NOISY FOLKS + + +Do you remember what we were telling about last night when that little +tongue told us to stop? The little tongue in the Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +on the mantel? + +Oh yes, the first cousins of the chickens who lived in the yard of the +three happy children. + +Their first cousins are called ducks. Most of them are white but a few +are black. Their coats are very smooth, and the skin under them sends out +little drops of oil like drops of perspiration. This keeps the water and +the rain from wetting the ducks through and through. You have heard people +say sometimes: "The way water runs off a duck's back." Well, now you know +the reason why. + +In rainy weather Hepzebiah wears a blue waterproof with a little hood but +the ducks do not need anything like that. Their everyday coats of white +and black are just as good. If the White Wyandottes cannot get under the +chicken coop or the barn quick enough when it rains, their feathers are all +mussed up but the ducks seem always dressed in their best. + +Their bills are different from their relatives'. They are not short and +pointed like the chicken's but broad and long. + +And they have what are called web feet. Between the toes are pieces of +skin, thick and tough like canvas. These web feet are like small oars or +paddles. With them they can push against the water of the pond and swim +quite fast. + +The ducks are very fond of the pond but their cousins think it a dreadful +place. + +"Cluck, cluck," say the White Wyandottes, "what a foolish way of spending +your time, sailing on the water when there are fat, brown worms to dig for +in the nice earth!" + +You see animals, like people, like different things. The world wouldn't be +half so interesting if we all liked the _same_ things, would it? + +The other night Jehosophat felt very foolish when he came in to supper. His +mother looked behind his ears and said: "Why you are just as afraid of the +water as the chickens." + +Did you ever hear of such a thing! + +Now the chickens have _second_ cousins too. Their second cousins are +the white geese. + +They live on the other side of the tall fence that looks as if it were made +of crocheted wire. Sometimes Jehosophat's father opens the gate in the +fence and lets the geese wander down to the pond. A silly way they have +of stretching out their long white necks and crying, "Hiss, hiss!" This +frightens Hepzebiah who always runs away. Then the geese waddle along in +single file, that is one by one, like fat old ladies crossing a muddy +street on their way to sewing society. + +Jehosophat says that the chickens have third cousins too,--the swans. There +they are, way out on the pond, sailing along like white ships. Their necks +are very long and snowy white and they bend in such a pretty way. And their +soft white wings look something like the wings of the angels on the +Christmas cards. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah do not like one barnyard neighbour +very much. It is the guinea-hen. She has a grey body, plump as a sack of +meal, with little white speckles, a funny neck and such a small head with a +tuft on top. She screeches horribly and Marmaduke calls her "Miss +Crosspatch." + +But the turkey with his proud walk is just funny. And yet Farmer Green says +he hasn't any sense of humour. Ask _your_ father how that can be if he +is funny. + +"Mr. Stuckup" the children call the turkey. He walks along slowly, swinging +from side to side. His feathers are brownish-black or bronze, and his tail +often spreads out like a fan. He has the funniest nose. It is red and soft +and long and flops over his bill on his chest. + +He calls "gobble, gobble, gobble," all the time, yet he does not gobble as +much as the busy White Wyandottes all around him who are forever looking +for kernels of corn or worms or bugs. + +But who is this magnificent creature coming along over the lawn under the +cherry-tree? Uncle Roger, who sails around the world in a great ship with +white sails, gave him to the children. He brought him from a land very far +across the seas. + +He is the peacock and is all green and gold and blue. On his head is a +little crown of feathers. His tail, too, can spread out like a fan the way +"Mr. Stuckup's," the turkey's, does. But it is ever so much more beautiful. +It is green and has hundreds of blue eyes in it. The three children call +him the "Party Bird" for he is always so dressed up, but their father says +he is "a bit of a snob." He means that he is vain and will not have much to +do with his plainer neighbours of the barnyard-- + +"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." There goes the clock again. + +Tomorrow night, if you are good all day, we will tell you about the rest +of the barnyard friends of the three happy children. Then the next night, +about the exciting things that happened to them. + +Good-night! Sweet Dreams! + + + + +FOURTH NIGHT + +JUST BEFORE SUPPER + + +In the afternoon the sun grows tired of his hot walk across the sky. Beyond +the Green farm are the blue hills behind which he sleeps each night. + +When he is almost there the three happy children go down to the barn to +watch their four-footed friends come home. + +Sometimes Frank, the hired man who helps Farmer Green, is late and does +not go for the cows. All day long they have been in pasture. Sometimes +they eat the grass and pink clover. Sometimes they wade in the little +brook which flows there. But when it grows late, even if Frank does not +come, they know it is supper time and leave the pasture. + +When they reach the barnyard fence they stand outside calling to be let in. +Then Frank comes and lets down the bars. They walk into the yard and +through the doors into the big red barn. + +There are ten cows but Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love four of +them better than the rest. Their names are "Primrose," "Daisy," +"Buttercup," and "Black-eyed Susan." + +Now just as there are different kinds of chickens so there are several +kinds of cows--Guernseys, Jerseys, Alderneys, and Holsteins. + +"Primrose," "Daisy," and "Buttercup" are Jerseys and are a pretty brown. +"Black-eyed Susan" belongs to the Holsteins and is black and white. +"Black-eyed Susan" gives more milk than her companions but their milk has +richer cream. + +Each cow has a stall to sleep in. In front of each is a box or manger. +Frank climbs up the tall ladder to the loft, which is the second story of +the barn, and throws down the hay. Then he takes his sharp pitchfork and +tosses a lot of hay in each manger. You would never think cows could eat +so much. One box of shredded-wheat would do for all the Green family and +visitors too, but "Primrose" and "Daisy" and all the rest each eat enough +hay to fill many shredded-wheat boxes. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah love to stand in the doorway of the +barn and smell the hay as the cows chew it. It is very sweet smelling. + +They do not go too near the stalls, for while the cows are eating their +supper, they switch their tails to keep off the flies. Once "Black-eyed +Susan" switched her tail across Marmaduke's face. It felt like a whip and +he ran away crying. But "Susan" didn't mean it for she is a very gentle +cow. + +And once Jehosophat came too near old "Crumplety Horn," the white cow with +the twisted horn. She kicked at Jehosophat and over went the pail of milk +which his father had almost full. + +The children like to see their father and Frank sit on their three-legged +stools in the stalls and milk the cows. The milk spurts into the pails and +it sounds very pleasant. + +The milk is very warm when it comes from the cows so Farmer Green puts +it in great cans as tall as Jehosophat. Then he carries the cans to the +spring-house where it is cool, and leaves them overnight by the well. The +children will drink some of it in the morning. Tonight they will drink +_this morning's_ milk, which is cool now. + +About the time the cows come home the horses come back too. + +First comes "Hal" the red roan. A red roan is a horse that is red-coloured, +sprinkled with little grey hairs. Then there is "Chestnut" who is called +that because he is coloured like chestnuts when they are ripe in the fall, +and "Teddy," the buckskin horse. He is tan-coloured and has a black stripe +on his backbone. Farmer Green got him from the West. There is a little mark +called a brand on his flank which tells that. + +"Old Methuselah" and "White Boots" do not do much work now. "Old +Methuselah" is all white. He was pretty old when Farmer Green bought him so +he was nicknamed for the oldest man in the Bible. "White Boots" is a bay +mare. That means a red-brown mother horse. She has four white feet. By her +side runs a little black colt with funny legs. Jehosophat gave him +_his_ name, "Black Prince." + +"Hal" and "Teddy" and "Chestnut" are very tired for they have been pulling +the plough, the wagon, or doing some farm work all day. + +Very glad they are to get their heavy leather collars and harness off and +rest in the cool barn. They have hay to eat but they have been working hard +so they have oats besides. Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah eat oats +too but theirs are flattened out and cooked. We call it oatmeal. The oats +for the horses are not flat but round like little seeds, and are not cooked +on any stove. Farmer Green cuts the stalks in the oat field. Then he takes +them to the threshing-machine, which knocks the little oats off the stalks. +Then they are put in bags to keep for the horses. + +But the little black colt with the funny long legs does not eat them. +_He_ gets milk from his mother. He is just a baby horse, you see, but +when he gets bigger he will have oats and hay too. + +Now all the animals are busy eating, the pigs with their curly tails, the +sheep, the lambs, the cows, the little calves, the horses, and the colt +with the funny legs. It is time for the three happy children to have their +supper so they run back to the house. Soon, very soon, they will be fast +asleep in Slumberland, which is where the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face +says you should be now. Good-night. + + + + +FIFTH NIGHT + +THE TOYMAN + + +Farmer Green has a man who helps him plough, feed the cows and horses, +and with all the work on the farm. His name is Frank, but Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah call him "the Toyman." + +Winter nights around the fire he makes wonderful toys for them. + +His knife is like a fairy's wand. With it he whittles boats for Jehosophat, +kites for Marmaduke, and dolls for Hepzebiah. He paints them pretty colours +too. So I think they gave him the right sort of nickname when they called +him "the Toyman." + +He hasn't many clothes and no house of his own and no relatives of any +sort. He isn't exactly a handsome man. But the three happy children love +the Toyman very much. + +Yesterday he sat by the edge of the pond. On one side sat Jehosophat, +Marmaduke, and big Rover. On the other side sat Hepzebiah, Brownie, and +little yellow Wienerwurst. + +They were all looking down at the water of the pond. It was very clear. + +"Keep still, Wienerwurst," said the Toyman, "or you will scare the fishes." + +They were swimming through the waters. Near the banks were little baby +fishes, hundreds of them, called minnows. They had a nickname too, +"minnies." Out farther, once in a while, the children saw a fish shining +like gold. It was a sunfish or "sunny" as they sometimes called it. And the +Toyman told them all about these fishes and the perch, too, and the long +pickerel and the wicked carp, who hunts the other fish and kills them. + +Then all at once the Toyman put his hands in his pockets. Mother Green says +his pockets are like ten-cent stores. They are so full of all sorts of +things. + +The three children watched him closely. First came a piece of wood with a +fishline wound around it. + +Then with his knife he cut three poles and near the top of each a little +notch. The fishlines were tied around the poles. At the other end he put +little curved fish-hooks, and about two feet above them little pieces of +lead, called "sinkers." The sinkers were to keep the hooks near the bottom +of the pond where the fish stay most of the time. + +Then from his pockets the Toyman took three pretty things which he had made +the night before. They were whittled of wood and shaped like lemons with +sharper points. The red and blue one was tied on Jehosophat's line, the red +and yellow one on Marmaduke's, and the blue and yellow on little +Hepzebiah's. + +"What are those pretty things?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Floaters," the Toyman answered. "Watch and you will see what we do with +them." + +"Now you keep still, you Wienerwurst, or we will put you back in the +kennel," called the Toyman to the little yellow dog, who felt very frisky +and wanted to bark all the time. + +By the feet of the Toyman was a tin can. He put in his hand and pulled out +a worm. This was put on Jehosophat's hook, another on Marmaduke's, and +another on Hepzebiah's. + +Then the Toyman threw the three hooks in the water. The two boys held their +poles tight but the Toyman had to help little Hepzebiah hold her pole, for +her hands were too small. + +"Now quiet, everybody!" said the Toyman once more and they all sat watching +the red and blue, the yellow and blue, and the red and yellow floaters out +on the water. + +"When the floater goes under, you will know that a fish is biting at the +worm on the hook." + +The Toyman had no sooner said this than he called out loud: + +"Watch 'er!" + +The red and yellow floater was pulled way under the water. The string on +Marmaduke's pole tightened and the pole bent. + +Three times the floater went under the water. + +Then Marmaduke threw his pole back quickly and the hook came out of the +water. On it something wriggled. The thing fell plop into Hepzebiah's +lap. She screamed while it flopped there. It was a little bigger than the +Toyman's hand and round and flat and shiny red and gold. No, it was not a +goldfish. It was a sunfish. + +After the Toyman had taken the sunfish from the hook and put another worm +on it, he threw the line back into the water. + +Then all the three children and the two dogs sat watching the little rings +in the water around the floaters. Sometimes farther out they saw larger +rings, and a fish feeling pretty happy, because of the cool September +weather, would jump out of the water and turn a somersault through the air. + +Then all of a sudden the blue and yellow floater went under and little +Hepzebiah caught a sunfish, too. + +Jehosophat felt disappointed because he was the oldest and hadn't caught +any fish at all. But the afternoon was not gone when he felt a big tug at +his line. It took him a long time to pull that fish in. When the hook came +out of the water a long wriggly thing was on it. + +"Oo, oo, it's a snake," screamed little Hepzebiah. + +"No, it's only an eel," said the Toyman, "he won't hurt you." + +But he had to take it off Jehosophat's hook himself, the eel was so +slippery and wriggled so. Before the sun went down, the children had each +caught two fish. There were three sunfish, two perch, and the wriggly eel. + +The Toyman cleaned them all. And Mother fried them with butter and flour +in a pan. It was a good supper they had that night, for they had caught it +themselves. When supper was over three little heads were nodding and soon +the three happy children were taking a little sail way on into Dreamland. +That is a beautiful place where you would like to go too. So you had better +follow them quickly. Perhaps you can catch up with them. Good-night. + + + + +SIXTH NIGHT + +THE WILLOW WHISTLE + + +The Toyman sat by the pond under the "Crying Tree." That is what Marmaduke +calls it, though the Toyman says it is a weeping willow. It's leaves are +a very pretty green, much lighter than the leaves of the other trees. And +the branches bend over till they reach the water. They really do look like +showers of tears. Sometimes little leaves fall into the water and float +away like silver-green boats, rowed by tiny fairies. + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah came up to the "Crying Tree." + +"What are you doing, Toyman," asked Marmaduke. + +"Watch and you will see." + +They were always asking him that question and he was always telling them to +watch and see. + +So they did. + +In his hand he had his knife, which could make as many things as a fairy's +wand. It had four blades and a corkscrew. + +The Toyman cut some thin branches from the tree. From these he cut three +pieces, each about as long as his first finger and about as thick as his +little finger. + +One end of each piece of wood he cut like the stern of a boat, then he cut +a notch near the end. + +Then he worked with his knife very carefully. Soon the green bark came off +each little piece of wood. The bark came off whole, like a little roll of +green paper. + +"See," said the Toyman, "the bark is the skin of the tree and in spring the +sap which is the blood of the tree flows fast. It isn't coloured red, it +is just like light juice, but it makes the bark slip off this wood very +easily." + +On the grass he laid the round pieces of green bark. Then he took the white +bits of wood which had been under the bark and he whittled away at the +ends. Soon he was through. + +Then he slipped the pieces of bark, which looked so much like little +rolled-up green papers, back on the white pieces of wood. + +They fitted perfectly. + +One he gave to Jehosophat, one to Marmaduke, and one to Hepzebiah. + +"What are they?" asked Marmaduke. + +"I know," said his brother Jehosophat, "they are whistles." + +"Yes," said the Toyman. "They are willow whistles. Now put them in your +mouths and blow." + +Each put the end of his whistle in his mouth and blew. + +It sounded very pretty, the three whistles--and then--what do you think? + +Not far from the weeping willow or the "Crying Tree," was an elm tree. It +was taller than the willow and darker green. + +In it something shone very bright--like an orange, only it moved. + +"It's an oriole," said the Toyman. + +They looked hard and, sure enough, there among the leaves was the prettiest +bird they had ever seen. He had an orange-coloured body and black wings. + +His nest was on the end of a branch. It was grey-coloured and hung low like +a little bag, made of knitted grey wool. Father and Mother Oriole had made +it themselves. Mother Oriole is there sitting in it on little eggs. + +But Father Oriole heard the three willow whistles and he turned and began +to whistle back--oh such a pretty song. It was really prettier than the +sound of the three willow whistles for it had different notes and a tune +like the songs Mother plays on the piano. + +"We must watch that nest," said the Toyman. "Some day soon we will see the +baby orioles." + +But there--the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face is scolding again. So the +story must stop for tonight. + +When you're asleep if you listen very hard, maybe you can hear the three +happy children blowing the willow whistles, and maybe the beautiful oriole +will answer back. + +Good-night. + + + + +SEVENTH NIGHT + +MR. SCARECROW + + +Under the big oak by the brook sat the three happy children with Rover, +Brownie, and little yellow Wienerwurst. They were watching the Toyman cut +the ripe corn. + +"Isn't that funny?" said Jehosophat. + +"What's funny?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Wot's funny?" repeated Hepzebiah. + +"Oh! I was just thinking," said Jehosophat, "how he seems just Frank when +he's ploughing or harrowing or cutting the corn. But when he's through work +and tells us stories or makes us things, why then he is the Toyman." + +"Yes," his brother agreed. "He looks as if some fairy godmother changed him +nights and Sundays." + +But they were rudely interrupted. + +"Caw, caw!" said a voice. + +It was a rascal's voice. + +"Caw, caw!" said another. + +The Toyman jumped. He shook his fist. + +"You old thief!" he called. + +"Rogue, rogue, rogue!" growled Rover in his deep voice. + +"Run, run, run!" barked Brownie. + +"Rough, rough--rough, rough!" said little Wienerwurst in his funny voice. + +"There he is," said the Toyman, "Mr. Jim Crow and all his wicked chums. See +there!" + +All the children looked in the direction in which his finger pointed. Over +in the far corner of the field a flock of crows flew up from the waving +corn. A white horse, drawing a buggy, was trotting along the road by the +side of the cornfield. The driver had scared Mr. Jim Crow and all his +chums. They flapped their big black wings as they flew. And they flew very +straight, not like the pretty barn-swallows with their dark-blue wings. The +swallow is a happy bird and skims and dances in the air like a fancy skater +on the ice. But Mr. Jim Crow flies like an arrow. That is because he is +always up to some mischief and forever running away when someone finds +him out. + +"Caw, caw!" he called. + +"Caw, caw!" called all his black mates. + +The Toyman ran to the fence and picked up a shotgun. It had two barrels +that shone in the sun. + +"Bang, bang!" went the gun. + +One black spot dropped to the earth like a stone. + +The Toyman ran out in the cornfield. He bent over until his straw hat was +hidden by the waving corn. + +Soon he came back. From his hand Mr. Jim Crow hung head downward. He +was very still. + +"Oo, oo! You've hurted him!" + +Little Hepzebiah began to cry. + +"Don't cry," said the Toyman, patting her head. "Mr. Jim Crow was a bad +fellow. You couldn't teach him any lessons." + +"What did he do?" Marmaduke asked. + +"He stole all the corn and you wouldn't have any nice muffins if he had had +his way. I never shoot the orioles or the robins or the swallows or any of +the birds with consciences." + +"What is a conscience?" + +"Oh a little clock inside you, like the +Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel. It tells you when it is time to +stop," explained their friend. + +And Jehosophat and Marmaduke looked as if they knew just what he meant. +But Hepzebiah was too little yet to understand. + +"See, Mr. Jim Crow is long and black. He has a bad eye." + +So he buried Mr. Jim Crow under the oak tree while the children watched. + +After that the Toyman said: + +"I reckon Mr. Scarecrow has fainted." + +"Who's Mr. Scarecrow?" asked the three happy children. "Is he Mr. Jim +Crow's cousin?" + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Toyman. "That is a good one. No, Mr. Scarecrow is +the policeman of the cornfield. Let's go over and set him on his pins +again." + +So again he walked through the rows between the cornstalks and they came to +a little clear place in the middle of the field. + +There, flat on his back, lay Mr. Scarecrow. + +He too looked as if he were dead. But he was not. + +For his body was only two sticks of wood nailed together like a cross. He +was dressed in Father Green's old blue trousers and the Toyman's old black +coat. His arms were outstretched. But he had lost his hat. His wooden head +stuck out. + +The Toyman picked him up and stood him straight on his one wooden leg. Then +he put the old felt hat on his hard head. + +"There, old wooden top," the Toyman spoke to him sternly. "Don't leave your +beat." + +But Marmaduke was puzzled. + +"How could he scare Mr. Jim Crow away like a policeman? He can't run with +that wooden leg." + +"Silly," said Jehosophat, for he was older than Marmaduke and knew Mr. +Scarecrow very well. + +"Ha, ha, ha, that's another good one," said the Toyman. "Of course he can't +run. But when all the Crows see him standing up in the cornfield they think +he is a real man. They are afraid Mr. Scarecrow will shoot. For they know +that things that wear coats and hats often have guns. And guns have killed +their chums. So they do not come very near when Mr. Scarecrow is around." + +"Caw, caw!" sounded the old rascals again. But the crows were far away. The +three happy children could see them way up in the old chestnut tree over on +the edge of their neighbour's wood. + +In the fork of two high branches was a great round nest--oh ever so much +bigger than the thrush's and the oriole's. It was a crow's nest. Sailors +often call the little turret built around the mast, where they stand and +look out over the sea, a "crow's nest." It looks something like that. + +But Mr. Jim Crow's chums didn't come near the cornfield that day. + +At night, when they were ready for bed, Jehosophat said to Marmaduke: + +"I wonder if old Mr. Scarecrow is out there now." + +"Course he is," his brother assured him. + +"Let's see!" + +So they jumped out of bed and, in their white nightgowns, tiptoed over the +floor to the window. The Old-Man-in-the-Moon was up. He looked as round +and fat as a pumpkin in the sky. + +He winked at them. + +The Old-Man-in-the-Moon made it very bright so that they could see. + +Sure enough, way out in the cornfield stood Mr. Scarecrow. + +His hat and coat were on and he was standing up like a man, very straight +and still. His arms were outstretched to tell Mr. Jim Crow's chums that he +was ready for them. + +But though they are thieves, the Black Crows are not night burglars and +they were fast asleep in the nests in the wood. + +The Man-in-the-Moon winked at them three times, once with his right eye, +once with his left eye, then again with the right. + +And the three happy children thought they heard him say three times: + +"Back to bed, back to bed, back to bed!" + +Then they heard the sound of bells. Seven times they sounded. It was from +the church over in the town,--the big white church with the long finger +pointing at the sky. And the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel, +answered back. + +So they obeyed the old yellow Man-in-the-Moon and scampered like little +white mice back to bed. + + + + +EIGHTH NIGHT + +THE PRETTIEST FAIRY STORY IN THE WORLD + + +"Tell me a story--a fairy story," said Jehosophat to his Mother. + +The three happy children loved really true stories and fairy stories too. +Sometimes they wanted one, sometimes the other. Sometimes the Toyman +mixed his stories up so it was hard to tell which they were. + +This morning it was spring. The sun was warm and Jehosophat felt very lazy. + +"No," said Mother. "I have too much work to do. But if you will help me dry +the dishes I won't tell you but I'll _show you_ one of the prettiest +fairy stories in the world." + +"It is true too," she added. + +"Mother, how can that be," said Marmaduke. "A fairy story that is a true +story?" + +"Just be patient," she replied, "and you will see." + +So the boys took the dish towels and helped dry the dishes, without any +accidents. But little Hepzebiah was too small, so she sat on the floor with +her finger in her mouth and watched them. + +"Come," said Mother Green when they were through. + +Out in the vegetable garden, back of the raspberries they went. + +"See there," said Mother. + +Three square little garden plots with nice brown earth were waiting for +seeds. + +"Father dug them for you--one for Jehosophat, one for Marmaduke, and one +for Hepzebiah." + +The three happy children couldn't help but think that was fine. + +Just then along came Father. + +His arms were full. + +He had three little rakes, three little hoes, and three little spades. + +The three happy children did not need to ask whom they were for. + +"But where's the fairy story, Mother?" + +"That you will make," she said. "The jolly old Sun, the gentle Rain, and +brown Mother Earth will help you." + +Jehosophat laughed. + +"Oh! I see now. But we can't finish that fairy story all in one day." + +"No, it takes time and it takes work. But it's a prettier story than any in +books. And you can make it come true yourselves." + +Then Marmaduke piped up: + +"What do we do first?" + +"Well," his Mother explained, "your Father has dug the ground for you. You +must rake it first, make it smooth and even. Mind, no hard lumps now!" + +So the three happy children set to work with their three shiny rakes. +Father had to help Hepzebiah, of course. + +Then when the earth was smooth and fine, like brown powder, they made +little furrows or lines in the earth. In other parts of the little gardens +they scooped out tiny holes with their hoes. + +Out of his pockets Father took some square envelopes. On them were printed +pretty flowers and ripe vegetables. + +"There," said Mother, "are the pictures of the _end_ of the fairy +story. But you'll never know the end unless you try hard." + +Father tore open the envelopes and sowed the seeds in Hepzebiah's garden, +some in the little holes, some in the furrows. Then he let the two boys sow +their own gardens. + +After the envelopes were all empty and the seeds all scattered they covered +them over with the fine brown soil. + +"The little seeds must sleep for a while," said their Mother, "like babies +in a big brown bed." + +So every day the three children watched. And the Sun shone and sometimes +the gentle Rain came. They did not feel sad when she was weeping, for +Mother told them she was a fairy too, not so jolly as the Sun but gentle +and kind. Jolly Sun, gentle Rain, and Mother Earth--they were all fairies +whom God had sent to help make the story come true. + +Sometimes it was hard to finish breakfast, they were so anxious to see what +had happened in the little gardens during the night. Sometimes they even +forgot to ask Mother to "please excuse" them and they had to be called back +to the table, for that was very impolite. + +At last one wonderful morning, as they stood around the flower beds, +Jehosophat said: + +"There's Chapter Two!" + +"What's that?" asked Marmaduke who didn't quite understand. + +"Oh, just another step in the fairy tale." + +"Where?" + +He pointed to one of the gardens. + +From the brown earth a little green head poked out. + +Little Hepzebiah danced for it was in her garden, and toddled off to tell +Mother. + +Next day there were five more little heads, some in each of the gardens. +They were light in colour and seemed weak but somehow the jolly old Sun and +brown Mother Earth took care of them as parents take care of babies. And +sometimes the gentle Rain came to water them with her tears. So they grew +strong and soon the gardens were covered with an army of sturdy little +green spears. + +"It looks like a brown pincushion with green needles and pins," said +Jehosophat. + +And the weeks passed and still the three good fairies worked hard over +them to help them live and grow up to be real vegetables and flowers. They +worked away very quietly, these three good fairies, as all good people +work, without any noise, without any fuss. + +One day Farmer Green came back from a visit to the town. + +With him he brought three green watering-pots. + +"You must do some more work, yourselves," he told them as he handed each +one of the shiny green cans. "You must water them when the Rain fairy is +tired, pull up the bad weeds that steal the food Mother Earth keeps for the +flowers, and you must keep the soil loose around the roots, so that the +drops can sink way down deep. The more work you do the better you will like +your flowers when they do come. And the taller and prettier they will be." + +So the little green stalks grew tall and strong. Then the little buds came. + +And one by one the buds opened into flowers. And the flowers had on their +petals all the colours of the rainbow in the sky. + +And the children took turns filling the vase on the supper table. They were +very proud of their flowers when their father leaned over and smelled them. + +"My, how sweet they smell!" he would say every time. "I don't think I +_ever_ saw such flowers." + +And when their vegetables came to the table--round plump red radishes, +crisp curling lettuce leaves, juicy tomatoes, and rows of peas in the pod, +like the little toes of the neighbour's baby, Father Green would say: + +"I never did eat such vegetables!" + +Then he would smile over at Mother. + +And Marmaduke, after his turn one night, whispered to his mother-- + +"It _was_ a pretty fairy story, Mother. And we made it come true +ourselves." + +"Yes, with the help of God and His fairies--the jolly Sun, the gentle Rain, +and brown Mother Earth. But the best part of it all is that _your own_ +hands helped." + +But the Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle thought that the +children understood now. So he stopped this advice with his silver tongue. + +And Mother, too, agreed that it was late. So she kissed them good-night and +tucked them under the coverlids as they had covered the tiny seeds in their +brown beds. + + + + +NINTH NIGHT + +ANOTHER TRUE FAIRY STORY + + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah were very happy as they watched the +fairy story of the flowers. They were happier still because they helped it +grow. But of course that did not take all of their time. So one morning +when Marmaduke had eaten up all of his oatmeal and the cream, which +Buttercup had given him, he laid his spoon down and said: + +"Won't you show us another story, 'cause we can't watch our gardens all day +long?" + +"Yes," said Mother, "let me think what it will be." + +So Mother thought awhile. + +"I'll get Mother Nature to show you another story. But you can't help with +this one. You'll just have to watch. It's made by the birds themselves." + +Then she looked at the calendar. + +"Why, it's the fourteenth of May. He ought to be here pretty soon." + +"Who ought to be here soon?" asked Jehosophat. + +"Why, the Oriole, the Baltimore Oriole, on his way back from the South, +where he lives all winter." + +"How do you know he'll come soon?" the three children asked, all in the +same breath. + +"He always comes back about the middle of May. City folks call May first +'Moving Day,' but the fifteenth is the Oriole's Moving Day." + +So Mother led them out of the front door. + +"Just sit in that swing or play with the pine needles and watch that elm. +Don't make too much noise now! Maybe he'll come today." + +And the children played in the front of the house all the morning and +looked up at the dark green leaves of the elm every once in a while. But no +bright little bird messenger came. + +They were very much disappointed but Mother said: + +"Never mind, tomorrow is his Moving Day and I think he'll come then. He is +usually pretty prompt." + +That night Uncle Roger came to the house with Aunt Mehitable. As a special +treat the children were allowed to stay up late and hear Uncle Roger's +stories of the great sea. + +They stayed up very late, although the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantle spoke several times. So +next morning they were very tired. The sun was warm and while Jehosophat, +Marmaduke and Hepzebiah sat on the porch they fell asleep. Jehosophat's +head nodded against one post, Marmaduke's against another post, while +little Hepzebiah fell asleep between them on the floor of the porch. + +"Wow, wow, wow," growled Rover, "let's go out in the barnyard and chase the +White Wyandottes. It's no fun playing with sleepy children." + +"Wow, wow, wow!" answered Brownie and little Wienerwurst together, and this +in dog's language means "Yes." + +So they romped away to the barnyard to chase the frightened White +Wyandottes. + +That was not a good thing for the chickens but it was a good thing for the +children. For if the dogs had not run away they might have missed something +very wonderful. + +What do you think it was? + +First they heard pretty strains of music. It was something like a song and +something like a whistle. + +They looked up in the elm tree. + +There, shining among the dark green leaves, was a pretty thing with orange +and black feathers. He whistled away as if he did not have a care in the +world. + +And they did not have to be told--they knew who it was. It was their old +friend, the Oriole. + +He didn't stay still very long ever, for he was a busy fellow. But once he +swung on a twig for a little while. They saw that he was almost as big as a +robin, with head and shoulders of black, the wings black too, and most of +his tail. But the rest of his body was like the prettiest orange-coloured +velvet they had ever seen. He was singing something like this: + + "What a fine day, what a fine day. + I can sing and build, for work is play." + +And every once in a while he would fly over to the apple tree and hop from +branch to branch between the pink and white blossoms, looking for food. +He was very fond of those caterpillars in the tree, you see. In between +mouthfuls he would whistle just part of his song, + +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" + +Then he would take another bite, hop to another branch and whistle again: + +"A-ver-y-fine-day!" + +He certainly seemed to be happy over the beautiful weather. + +Then he would whistle again as if he were talking to someone. + +The three sleepy children listened. + +"Now that nest, dear, now that nest, dear. We must build that nest, before +we rest." + +To whom could he be talking? + +They looked around. And there, hopping about on a spray of beautiful apple +blossoms, was another bird. It was Mother Oriole. She was almost like +Father Oriole, only her coat was not as bright as his. It is funny the +way birds are dressed, isn't it? What would you think if some Sunday +_your_ Father went to church in a black coat with a yellow vest, while +Mother wore some very dull colour? You would laugh. But that is the way +with birds. The father bird always wears brighter colours than the mother. + +The three happy children were glad that the mother bird had come with the +father bird up from the sunny South. They heard him whistle again: + + "In the Winter we go South, dear, + But in the Spring to the North we wing." + +Then together they flew back to the elm. They were house-hunting. Back on +the roof of the barn there was a little house of wood with doors for the +pretty pigeons, but there were no houses of any kind on the old elm. Still +the Orioles did not worry about that. They were not lazy, oh no! + +They were just looking for a place to build. They must have found it, for +the Oriole sang again (he was always changing his song): + + "My dear, my dear, + Sunny--quiet--lovely--here." + +He had chosen a branch about thirty feet from the ground. Mother Oriole +quietly answered back that it suited her perfectly. They both flew down +to the ground, then back to the tree. And every time they travelled they +had little pieces of grass or bark in their bills. But Mother Oriole did +most of this work, which was quite proper, for mothers always do most of +the work about the house, don't they? Father Oriole, you see, was more +interested in getting fat beetles and caterpillars for food. And that was +quite right too. But once he sang out louder than ever, for he had found a +bit of string from Jehosophat's broken kite. + +"The very thing, the very thing," he said to her. + +And once Mother Oriole found, caught in the shutter, little threads of +Hepzebiah's hair. + +Then the three happy children woke up. They rubbed their eyes. They had +been dreaming in the warm sun. + +But their dream was true and the fairy story was true. + +For there were the two birds, very pretty and very much alive. They were +busily flying to the earth again and back to the elm branch. And they were +carrying the materials for their new home in their beaks. + +They perched on the branch and crocheted with their beaks. Yes, crocheted +the little bits of bark and string and grass and hair into a tiny nest. +Hanging down from the branch, it looked like the pretty soft grey bags +which ladies carry, only it was very small. + +And between whiles Father Oriole would whistle in delight and Mother Oriole +would answer back quietly. + +They were very happy birds and were quite content with the warm sun and +the cool elm leaves and the pretty apple blossoms and their breakfast and +dinner and supper. And they were very grateful to the good God who had +given these things to them, grateful and happy as all little children +should be. + +But that is not the end of the fairy story. No, that is--but the +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel won't let us tell any more. +His silver voice says: + +"Ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting," which means: + +"Tell--that--tale--a--noth--er--time." + +So good-night. + + + + +TENTH NIGHT + +THE HAPPY ENDING OF THE ORIOLE'S STORY + + +All stories should have an ending. It's fine, isn't it, when they end +happily? + +And this story of the Orioles did end happily--oh, so happily! + +It was this way, you see. + +The little grey house on the elm was finished. + +It hung down from the end of the green branch, under the leaves. It looked +both like a fairy house and a little crocheted bag. + +Now for some days Mother Oriole didn't go out very much. She stayed in her +little house. + +But Father Oriole kept about his work, hunting for the little brown +crawling things and the green crawling things that made their food. + +He would whistle every once in a while to tell Mother Oriole that he was +near. Sometimes it was just a few notes to say: + + "I'm still here--my dear, + Still here, still here, still here." + +Sometimes: + + "All right, my love!" + +Sometimes just: + + "All's well!" + +But if a strange man came too near the tree his song was sharp and angry. + + "Look out, look out, look out! + He's a rogue, an awful rogue, look out, I say!" + +But somehow he didn't seem to mind the children. + +"Why does Mother Oriole sit so quietly on her nest?" Marmaduke asked his +own mother. + +"I wish I could lift you up so that you could see. But the nest is too high +up. It's out of harm's way. Dicky Means, who has a cruel heart and robs +birds' nests, can't reach it way up there!" + +"What's in it, Muvver?" asked little Hepzebiah. You see her little tongue +didn't work just right. She never could say words with "th" in them. + +"Little eggs, dear. They are white, with little dark spots and funny dark +scrawls on them as if somebody had tried to write with a bad pen." + +Then Marmaduke asked: + +"And is she keeping them warm?" + +"Yes, so that they will hatch out. They will, very soon now." + +So for a number of days in the warm weather, and in the rainy weather too, +Mother Oriole sat faithfully on her nest. Bird mothers and the mothers of +little children are always very patient. Then came one fine morning when +the sun was particularly jolly and bright, and the blossoms smelt very +sweet and were beginning to fall from the trees. The three happy children +stood under the elm and looked up at the tiny hanging nest. + +They heard new noises, strange noises. + +It sounded like babies. + +Yes, the little Oriole babies had broken their shells and had been born at +last. + +They didn't have many clothes on. But some day their feathers will be as +pretty as their father's. + +How they did cry for food! Somehow baby Orioles cry more than other bird +babies. They seem to want to eat all the time. + +And how Father Oriole did work to keep them fed, whistling every once in a +while to make things pleasant for his family! I wonder if they appreciated +all the things he and Mother Oriole did for them. And the days passed and +the little birds grew fatter on the bugs and the beetles which their father +brought, just as fat as the little boys or girls on their oatmeal and bread +and milk, which their fathers work hard to earn for them. + +The little Orioles were certainly noisy little birds, and when they cried +sometimes the children saw funny little heads and beaks poking out of the +nest. + +Then more days passed and Father and Mother Oriole taught them to fly, just +as Father and Mother Green had taught little Hepzebiah to walk. Marmaduke +remembered how his Mother had held Hepzebiah and Father stood a little way +off. Then Hepzebiah had started. She was a little frightened at first but +she made the journey. It was only a few steps and her father caught her +before she fell. She tried this often and soon she could take a great many +steps. + +And that was something like the way Father and Mother Oriole taught their +children to fly. The parent birds would fly to a branch a little way off. +Then they would call the little birds. And one by one they would fly to the +branch. Their wings were weak at first like Hepzebiah's little feet. But +soon they grew strong and before many weeks had gone they could fly as fast +as the old birds. And before the summer was over they were as big as their +parents. You see birds have shorter lives than real people. They do not +live so many years. So they have to grow up quickly or they wouldn't have +much time for work and play, would they? + +So the children decided that the story of the Orioles was a very pretty +fairy story, indeed, and they liked it better because it was true. + +And they found others--oh, so many stories like it. + +For sometimes Mother and sometimes Father and sometimes the Toyman +showed them other little bird homes. + +They climbed a ladder and found the barn-swallow's nest plastered under the +eaves of the barn. They liked the barn swallow who flew through the air, +almost as if he were so happy that he danced as he flew. And his dress was +so pretty, for he was dark blue on top, brown on the throat, and his little +stomach was white. His tail was forked too, cut like the coat of the man in +the circus who cracked the whip and made the horses perform tricks. + +The barn swallow's nest was so cunningly made. It was plastered of mud and +grass, and had a soft grass lining. The little eggs in it were white and +had tiny brown spots. + +Right near the bay window, in the thick lilac tree, Marmaduke spied Red +Robin's nest. He was a great friend of theirs. They always liked the cheery +way he hopped over the lawn, and his cheery red vest, and his song which +always said: + + "Che-eer up--che-eer up!" + +His eggs were the prettiest of all, a greenish blue, a robin's-egg blue, +the dressmakers call it. Mother Green's summer dress was coloured just like +it. + +And in a bush by the roadside, Hepzebiah spied the brown thrush's nest. His +eggs were blue and spotted with brown. + +And in the elderberry tree they found the grey cat-bird's nest. He was a +funny bird, always crying like a lost pussy. And his eggs were green-blue. + +So in the fields and the woods Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah saw +all kinds of birds and all kinds of nests and all kinds of eggs. They +saw them because their eyes were bright and sharp as yours must be too +when you go into the beautiful country. + +And from the eggs funny little birds were born and grew up and flew and +sang. + +And so the three happy children decided that the really true fairy stories +of Mother Nature were the prettiest of all. + +And oh--we almost forgot! Perhaps we can tell the rest before that +Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel tells us to stop. + +Over near Neighbour Brown's fence they were peeping through the green +leaves at the song-sparrow's nest. Mother was with them and they saw +someone come out of their neighbour's house. + +"Wouldn't you like to see her?" the strange lady whispered to Mother. + +"Oh yes," Mother whispered back, "but they mustn't wake her up." + +Who could they be talking about? Then they went through the gate. + +"Be very quiet," said Mother as they entered the door, "and you'll see the +end of another true fairy story." + +So they tiptoed in. + +There in a bed lay Mrs. Brown, looking very happy. + +And curled up in her arm she had--well, what do you think she had? + +A little sleeping baby! + +Like the little Orioles Baby had been born just a few days ago. + +"That," said Mother, "is the prettiest fairy story of all." + +And the children thought so too. + +There--we've finished just in time. We hear the Little Clock. There goes +his silver tongue now. + +Good-night! Sweet Dreams. + + + + +ELEVENTH NIGHT + +MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK + + +Jehosophat and Marmaduke were whispering together. + +"Let's try it," said Jehosophat. + +"An' see what happens," added Marmaduke. + +So they tiptoed into the House of the White Wyandottes and placed the big +duck's eggs in with the smaller eggs under the setting hen. + +Mother Hen did not like that, oh no! + +She stirred in her nest. All her feathers puffed up and she looked very +much hurt. + +"Duck, duck, duck!" sniffed she scornfully. And to herself she added: "What +a mean way to treat a decent, respectable hen!" For White Wyandottes are +very particular and very exclusive. + +But after the two little imps had tiptoed out of her house, she made the +best of a bad matter. She couldn't kick the big duck's eggs out of the nest +in the box. The sides of the box were too high. So she settled down on her +eggs again. + +"I must keep my very own warm, anyway," she decided. + +About three weeks later there was much excitement in the House of the White +Wyandottes. From the nest in the box came little noises. + +"Chip, chip, chip," sounded faintly from inside the eggs. And before the +sun climbed over the Big Gold Rooster, who swung on the weather-vane on the +barn, all the new little chickens had broken their eggs. + +"How nice it is to be born!" they cheeped together in a merry chorus, as +they arrived in the wonderful world. + +Very proud of her family was Mother Wyandotte when the little yellow balls +began to run about. A few days later she was prouder still when they +scampered this way and that, pecking at little bugs and ants. They worked +hard for their breakfasts and dinners and suppers. + +Even Father Wyandotte, the great white rooster with the magnificent red +comb and curling white plumes on his tail, forgot that other rooster of +whom he was so jealous. For the rooster who was always perched on the +weather-vane on the barn was up so high and he shone like gold. + +But now Father Wyandotte was not jealous. He walked around in his lordly +way, cocking his eye at his little yellow sons and daughters as they chased +the fat little bugs. + +At first he would not say just how proud of them he was. He did not like to +tell all his feelings at once. Sometimes he thought fighting and crowing +better than being a family man. But all of a sudden he flew up on the +tallest fence-post he could find, and flapped his wings. He threw back his +head, opened his yellow beak, and crowed up at that gold rooster: + +"Sure, sure, sure! You couldn't do it, you couldn't do it--couldn't do it, +do." + +No, the Gold Rooster on the weather-vane on the top of the barn, though he +shone like the sun, could neither crow nor raise a family. + +But Mother Wyandotte didn't bother about anything so high in the sky as the +sun and the rooster. She was busy playing nurse-maid to her little yellow +children and helping them find food. + +But in the afternoon she did look up at the sky. That was when something +like a dark shadow sailed in the air far above the home of the White +Wyandottes. + +It was a great bird with wide-stretched wings, much bigger than Jim Crow. +He sailed in circles, while his evil eye looked down at the frightened, +scampering White Wyandottes. + +"Um!" How he would like a nice chicken for lunch! + +"Robber Hawk!" called all of Mother Hen's uncles and aunts in the barnyard. + +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her great-uncles and great-aunts too. + +"Robber Hawk!" screamed all of her cousins, first, second, and third. + +Loud and long barked Rover and Brownie. And little Wienerwurst stopped +chasing the pretty pink pigeons. + +And even Mr. Stuckup, the turkey, had to join in the hubbub. + +"Horrible robber, horrible robber," he gobbled. + +But Mother Wyandotte had called to her children. She opened her wings and +under them quickly in fright they ran, all huddling together. Her wings +hardly seemed large enough to cover them all, but she took them all in, +every one of her children. + +She was a nervous old thing, but she was a good mother, and good mother +hens, good animal mothers, and our own mothers too, never seem to think of +themselves when there is danger around. They just look out for their little +ones. + +"Robber Hawk, robber! Shan't touch 'em--robber!" she said. + +Then--quick as a wink--there was another loud noise, just like that day +when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield. + +"Bang, bang!" + +Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah jumped. + +They looked around. + +There stood the Toyman with the gun at his shoulder. + +Little puffs of smoke like white feathers floated away from the muzzles of +the gun. + +"Winged him, anyway!" cried the Toyman. + +They looked up. + +Robber Hawk wasn't sailing in the sky any longer. + +He was falling, falling, like a stone--just like Jim Crow. + +"The Toyman's a good shot," exclaimed Jehosophat. "My, how I wish I could +shoot like that!" + +Mother Green came to the back door. + +She called to the Toyman: + +"He's fallen on the barn, Frank." + +"Roof, roof, roof!" barked little Wienerwurst to explain it more clearly. + +Sure enough, Robber Hawk dropped on the roof of the barn, right by the Gold +Rooster who swung on the weather-vane. + +The Toyman scratched his head. + +"Quite a climb for these stiff legs," said he. + +But he fetched a tall ladder and placed it against the side of the barn. + +The three children watched him, their heads bent back so far that they +almost snapped off. + +Mother held the ladder at the foot, for nobody wanted anything ever to +happen to the Toyman. + +"Careful!" she warned him. + +"All right, Mis' Green," he said. "I haven't been up in the maintop for +nothing." + +You see, once upon a time, he had been a sailor. There was nothing that the +Toyman hadn't done. + +He reached the top of the ladder, then swung out on the roof. At last he +reached the ridge. + +There stood the Gold Rooster, never crowing or saying anything at all. And +under him lay Robber Hawk, and he didn't say anything either. + +Carefully the Toyman climbed down from the ridge of the barn, holding the +rascal in his hands. Then one by one down the rungs of the ladder he came. + +When he reached the ground Jehosophat, Marmaduke and Hepzebiah +gathered round. + +Robber Hawk hung limp from the Toyman's hand. + +His dark brown feathers never stirred. His white breast with its dark bars +and patches never moved. + +"Robber Hawk," spoke the Toyman, "your old curved beak will never feed on +any more good chicken." + +Then he turned to the children. + +"We must bury him by Jim Crow." + +So Jehosophat, Marmaduke, Hepzebiah, Rover, Brownie, Wienerwurst and +the Toyman marched with Robber Hawk on towards the cornfield. + +There by the side of Jim Crow they buried him. + +And the Toyman took two pieces of wood. On these he cut with his knife: + + JIM CROW + KILLED 1918 + THIEF + + ROBBER HAWK + KILLED 1918 + THIEF AND MURDERER + +At their heads he placed the two boards side by side. + +"There we will leave them," the Toyman spoke sternly, "as a warning to all +evil-doers." + +So they walked back slowly to the House of the White Wyandottes where +Mother Hen clucked contentedly once more and all the yellow chickens ran +around, chasing the little bugs in their game of hide-and-seek. A fine game +it was too, only it was more interesting for the chickens than the bugs, +you see. + +The three happy children noticed that one of the little yellow fellows was +larger than the others. He-- + +"Ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting--ting!" + +"End--that--tale--to--mor--row--night." + +So says the Little Clock. He must be obeyed. So good-bye for a little +while. + + + + +TWELFTH NIGHT + +ABOUT DUCKIE THE STEPCHILD AND THE LITTLE SHIP + + +In the door of the workshop stood the three happy children, watching the +Toyman. + +It was one of the very nicest places on the whole farm. Tools of all sorts, +bright and sharp, lay on the table. Lumber of every kind lay piled against +the walls. The shelves were filled with cans of paint. All the colours of +the rainbow were in those cans. The children could tell that by the pretty +splashes of the paint dripping down their sides. + +Back and forth, back and forth swung the arms of the Toyman. He was very +busy over something--something very important it must be, for he never +talked, only worked and whistled away. + +"Oh dear! I wish I knew what it was," sighed Marmaduke. Anyway he knew it +was something for _them_. Father Green had given the Toyman a holiday, +all for himself, to do as he liked. And _of course_ he'd make +something for _them_. + +On the edge of the table was a vise, a big tool with iron jaws. In the +iron jaws was a block of wood. The Toyman screwed the vise--very tight--so +tight the wood couldn't budge. Then he shaved this side of the block, then +the other side, with a plane, a tool with a very sharp edge. Clean white +shavings fell on the floor, some of them twisting like Hepzebiah's curls. + +"I wonder what it's going to be," Marmaduke repeated. + +Jehosophat was pretty sure he knew. + +"I'll bet it's a boat," he said. + +The Toyman chuckled. + +"Right you are, Son. It's the Good Ship--well, let's see. All boats have a +name, you know. What do you think would be a good name for a fine ship?" + +Jehosophat had one, right on the tip of his tongue. + +"The Arrow." + +The Toyman thought this over. + +"That isn't bad," said he. + +Then he turned to Marmaduke. + +"What's your idea for a name, little chap?" + +Marmaduke thought and thought. He looked out through the door and saw +the Party Bird, the vain Peacock, parading up and down, showing off its +beautiful tail, and "Peacock" was the only name he could think of. + +Jehosophat laughed out loud. + +"That's no name for a boat." + +And Marmaduke had to shout back--as little boys will, losing his temper: + +"_'Tis too!_" + +The Toyman stopped the quarrel, just as he always did, with something +pleasant or funny he said. Then he leaned over and picked up three chips of +wood. + +"I'll write the names on these little chips," he explained, "and we'll +choose." + +Putting his hand on Hepzebiah's sunny curls, he asked that little girl: + +"What name do _you_ think would be nice for the boat?" + +Now Hepzebiah really didn't know just what it all was about. But she had +heard Marmaduke say "Peacock," so she took her finger out of her mouth just +long enough to point at the Guinea-hen, who was screeching horribly out in +the barnyard. + +"The Guinea-hen! Ha, ha! That's a good one!" The Toyman was forever saying +that and laughing at the funny things the children said. + +Hepzebiah, thinking that this was a nice sort of a game, took her finger +out of her mouth and pointed again--this time out at the pond where the +swans were sailing, like pretty white ships themselves. + +"The very thing," exclaimed the Toyman. "White Swan's a _fine_ name +for a boat!" + +And he wrote "White Swan" on one chip, "Peacock" on another, and "Arrow" +on the last. Then he held them towards the children. + +"The smallest must choose first," he said, and Hepzebiah took one of the +little white pieces of wood from the Toyman's hand. He turned it over and +read: + +"White Swan." + +"We'd go a good ways before we'd get a better name," he decided. "When +the boat's all finished and all sails set, she'll sail away just like a +swan; you see if she doesn't." + +The hull of the boat was finished now, and on the bow, at the very front, +he nailed a thin little stick, with tiny nails. This was the bowsprit. + +On the keel at the very bottom, he fastened a piece of lead so she wouldn't +"turn turtle"--turn over, he meant, when her sails were set and the wind +blew too hard. + +Then choosing some sticks--very carefully, for they must be straight--he +tucked the boat under his arm and, with the three children close at his +heels, walked over to the pond and sat down under the Crying Tree, where +the sun shone bright and warm. + +Out came the magic knife and he whittled away at the little sticks; +whittled and whistled and smiled all the time. + +Sliver after sliver of the wood fell on the ground. Sometimes one would +drop into the water and float away like a fairy canoe, with the green +willow leaves that fell from the Crying Tree. + +So under the magic knife the little ship grew and grew, till the masts were +fitted too, and set fast and tight in the clean smooth deck. + +"But where are the sails?" asked Jehosophat impatiently. + +A funny answer the Toyman made. + +He just said: + +"Hold your horses, Sonny." + +The teacher in the Red Schoolhouse up the road would have reproved him +for this, but the children thought whatever the Toyman said was all right. + +Of course he meant not to be too impatient and--but just then the dinner +horn sounded, way out over the pond and over the fields, and the children +ran into the house, just as you would have done too. + +It didn't take long to finish dinner that day. For desert they had +blackberry pie, very juicy and nice, and they didn't even wait to wash the +red marks of that pie from their faces but just ran for the Crying Tree. + +The Toyman felt in all of his six big pockets. And out came needles and +thread, and pieces of clean muslin besides. + +Stitch, stitch, stitch went his fingers, for a thousand stitches or more. +And bye and bye the sails were all cut and sewed and fitted on the three +little masts. + +Then the Toyman stopped. + +"We haven't christened her yet," he said. "We should have done that long +ago." + +In his pockets he rummaged again, those pockets which always held just the +right thing. It was a small bottle this time, all filled with tiny pink +pills. Much nicer these were, the children thought, than that yellow stuff +in the big bottle they hated so. + +The Toyman poured the little pills out. + +"What's the use of medicine on a nice day like this," said he. + +And he filled the bottle with water and put back the stopper. + +"When ships are launched," he explained, "folks break a bottle over the bow +when they name her." + +"All right, I'll do that," said Jehosophat, but the Toyman stopped him. + +"Hold on there, Sonny, that's the _ladies'_ job." + +Then he called Hepzebiah and gave her the bottle. + +"Now, little girl, you stand here and say: 'I christen thee White Swan.'" + +But, "I ckwithen Wite Thwan" was the best she could do. + +"Now drop the bottle!" + +She opened her fingers and, sure enough, the little bottle fell right on +the deck and broke all in little pieces, and the glistening drops splashed +over the bow, and so the good ship "White Swan" got her name. + +Into the water the Toyman pushed the little ship. The wind filled her sails +and off she went, racing away before the wind to join the beautiful birds +for whom she had been named. + +Around the pond and over the bridge went the Toyman, to the other side. +When the ship reached the opposite shore he swung it around and sent it +back on the return voyage. The "White Swan" had reached port safely, when +the Toyman said: + +"It's funny what different opinions folks have. Some like the water and +some don't. Now the swans and the ducks, and that little ship, and the +fish, and the froggies, and Uncle Roger, and you and I, we think it's fine. +But Mr. Stuck-up, and Miss Crosspatch, and Old Mother Wyandotte, and Mis' +Fizzeltree, why they won't go near it at all." + +"That _is_ funny," said Jehosophat. + +Then the Toyman added: + +"Just listen to that." + +Old Mother Wyandotte was right near them, clucking in fright. + +"Don't--don't--don't you do it!" she was calling to one of her children who +was looking longingly at the cool pond. + +Around her were all her children, fast growing up now. They were all soft +and white but one. Like good little chickens they were looking for bugs, +all but one. + +_He_ was the little fellow they had noticed before, the funny little +fellow with a longer bill than the rest, and the odd-looking feet. His soft +downy back was turning black. And he was starting for that pretty water +shining in the pond. + +Jehosophat looked him all over. + +"Why, he looks like a duck." + +"What did you expect?" laughed the Toyman. "He is a duck. Old Mother +Wyandotte thinks he's her child, but he's only a step-child. Ha! Ha! +Somebody must have put another egg in her nest." + +Over in the garden were pretty flowers called Bleeding Hearts. They +were very pink, and Jehosophat's face turned the very same colour. Well +_he_ knew who had stolen into the House of the White Wyandottes and +put that big duck's egg under Old Mother Hen. And now it had turned out +a real little duckling, that black little fellow Mother Wyandotte was +scolding so. + +"Don't--don't--don't--don't you do it," she was shouting still. + +But little black Duckie had made up his mind. He was headed straight for +that shining water. + +Around Mother Wyandotte gathered all her relatives to talk over the matter. +They were disgusted. That one of their family should disgrace them so! + +"Respectable chickens spend their time on the ground," said Granny +Wyandotte with a toss of her comb, "and never, never get wet, if they can +help it, not even their feet." + +"True--true--quite true," all the Wyandotte Aunties agreed. + +But their second cousins and the third cousins too, the ducks and the geese +and the swans, said they were wrong. + +"Little Duckie's a sensible chap. What better place can there be to play in +than that nice cool pond?" + +And all the fishes swimming around, from the big pickerel down to the +littlest "minnie," waggled their fins and tails to show they agreed too, +while the froggies on the lily-pad croaked: + +"Gomme on--gomme on!" + +They were giving little Duckie a warm invitation to play in the water, you +see. + +Duckie was right at the edge now and Mother Hen, who was really his +step-mother, made one last appeal, but the ducks one and all called: + +"Back, back, back!" + +They weren't talking to Duckie. They meant the White Wyandottes. They were +taking his part, you see, though not for one minute did they guess he was +_their_ child, _their very own_. + +Duckie appreciated that too. Perhaps Old Father Drake, the head of all the +Duck family, wouldn't let Step-father Wyandotte punish him that night if he +did try the water. + +I don't believe Step-father Wyandotte really cared very much. At first he +was a little mad but, after scolding a little, he shouted: + +"Through, through, through--I'm through with yooooooouuu." + +He wouldn't have anything more to do with little Duckie. I guess he +suspected he was just a step-child after all. So he just grumbled to +himself as he speared a fat tumble-bug with his beak: + +"Ur, ur--I don't care!" + +He had enough children anyway. But the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn +looked down, laughing at him. He couldn't really laugh, you know, or flap +his wings, but he swung from west to southwest and back again, as if to +say: + +"I knew it. I knew it. They fooled you!" + +Old Father Drake, the head of the duck family, started for the water. +Mother Duck and all the little ducks went in too. They were going to show +Duckie the way. + +He just couldn't stand it any longer. So--_plopp_ in he went and +paddled around after the others, and ducked his head under the water to +catch his dinner, just as a real duckling should. + +"Better than grubbing for bugs in the dirty earth, this nice clean cool +water," quacked he, and he was as happy as happy could be. + +The Toyman was looking at him with a smile on his face. + +"He's just like me," he said at last, and the children, surprised at that, +asked all together: + +"_Who's_ like you?" + +"That little duck there." + +"Like you!" Jehosophat shouted. "Why he doesn't look like you at all!" + +The Toyman puffed away on his corncob pipe before he answered: + +"Oh _inside_ he's the same. I was just like him when I was a kid. I +had a step-mother, too, and she and all the step-uncles and aunts scolded +and scolded, and whipped me besides, because _I_ wanted to go to sea +on a great big ship." + +"What did you do?" + +They didn't really need to ask that question, for hadn't the Toyman been +most everywhere, and hadn't he told them many a story about the great sea +and the ships? + +"Yes, they all said I would drown or become a wicked bad man." + +Marmaduke thought he would like to do something to those step-uncles and +aunts who treated the Toyman so badly. + +"They don't know what they're talking about," he shouted. "You're good as +anybody in the world." + +"Thank you, little feller," replied the Toyman, patting his head. "But they +said I would, just the same. They talked just like those old Wyandottes +there. + +"But I fooled them all," he went on. "And one night, when it was dark, just +a few stars out, I climbed out of bed and jumped out of the window and ran +away. + +"I walked and I walked, miles and miles, till I came to a big town by the +sea. There were lots of big ships at the docks, and I asked a man, with a +great big beard, to take me too. So he took me on board, and I was a little +cabin boy. But bye and bye I got to be a real sailor, and I sailed all +over the world in the ship, and saw lots of people, yellow, and black, and +brown, and funny places and queer houses and--" + +"Be careful, Frank!" + +They all turned at once. There was Mother, standing right near them. All +the time she had been listening, near the Crying Tree. + +"Now, Frank," she repeated, "be careful or you'll put _notions_ in +those children's heads, and some day they'll be running away from +_me_." + +Still she didn't look cross, and she smiled at the Toyman, especially when +he answered: + +"Not from a mother like you, Mis' Green. How about it, kiddies?" + +And Marmaduke and Jehosophat were very sure they never could run away--not +even to sea in a beautiful ship. So they kissed her and hugged her too. + +Now the froggies were singing their evening song. The sun was getting close +to his home in the west. Little Duckie and his real mother and father came +out of the water and waddled off towards the barn. The Swans folded their +wings and came to the shore. So the Toyman brought the ship to the harbour +and anchored her for the night. + + + + +THIRTEENTH NIGHT + +THE TALL ENEMY + + +It was the first snowfall. The grey sky was filled with little white +feathers dancing down--down--down. + +"Look at the snowflakes," exclaimed the three happy children, all in one +breath. + +"Yes," said their Mother, "the snow has come. In the spring and summer +Mother Earth works very hard. It takes so much of her strength, feeding the +millions of plants from her brown breast. By fall she is very tired and in +winter she takes things quite easy. + +"Then the gentle Rain Fairy feels sorry for Mother Earth. She turns her own +tears to snow-flakes, and scatters them over her. They weave a soft white +comforter to keep her warm. And it keeps the seed babies, sleeping in +Mother Earth's brown breast, all snug and warm too." + +All that day and all night the snow fell. And all the next day and the next +night--and the third day and the third night too. + +Then all of a sudden it stopped, and the three happy children woke in the +morning, and looked out of the window. + +"Why the snow's most as high as Wienerwurst's house!" cried Jehosophat. + +Then they all trooped in to breakfast. + +"We will make forts," said Jehosophat. + +"Hooray!" exclaimed Marmaduke. + +"The very thing!" added Mother. + +And Wienerwurst, curled up by the rosy kitchen stove, barked, "Woof, woof, +woof." + +Now this means a lot of things. But this time it meant, "Good, good, good." + +So the three happy children hurried through their oatmeal. They hurried so +fast that they had three little pains. Jehosophat had one right under his +belt, Marmaduke one in the centre of his blouse, Hepzebiah one under her +little red waist. + +Mother came in from the kitchen. She looked at the empty bowls. + +"What! All gone already! Look out or you'll each have to take a big +table-spoonful of the yellow stuff in that bottle." + +There it stood, on the kitchen mantel. She pointed right at it. They hated +it worse than most anything in the world. + +"I'm all right," said Jehosophat; and + +"I'm not sick," protested Marmaduke; and + +"Pain's all gone," cried Hepzebiah. + +It was funny how the sight of that bottle frightened the three little pains +away. + +Mother smiled. It was a funny smile. Then she said: + +"Now, on with your things!" + +Jehosophat sat on the floor and pulled on his new rubber boots, which +reached almost to his waist. On the stool sat Marmaduke, putting on his, +and Mother helped little Hepzebiah with her wee little ones. + +Over Jehosophat's head went a red sweater, over Marmaduke's a green, and +over Hepzebiah's curls one of blue. Then wristlets and mittens and coats +and caps, and out into the deep white snow they tramped. + +"Forward march!" said a voice. + +They looked. It was the Toyman. + +"The enemy is about to attack," he explained sternly. + +"Where's the enemy?" + +"You can't see them. But they're advancing fast. Up with the fort. Double +quick!" + +So at double quick they marched to the barnyard, and began work with their +shovels. + +My! how they dug! Fast flew the snow. And the Toyman packed it down hard, +and shaped it into the walls of a big strong fort. + +It was odd, too, how the Toyman could find time to help. For he had lots of +work to do. But then the enemy was coming! + +Rover and Brownie and Wienerwurst scampered around in the snow. They were +not of much help. All they did was to bark--bark--bark. + +"Hush!" commanded the Toyman. "We must keep quiet so the enemy won't know +where we are." + +So they dug and they dug and packed the snow hard. Soon the walls were as +high as Jehosophat's shoulders, and the fort was all ready. + +The Toyman stopped and said: + +"Now for the ammunition." + +"What's ammunition?' + +"Watch." + +The Toyman took a handful of snow and crushed it hard between both hands. +When he had finished he opened his fingers. In his palm was a round white +ball. Then another he made and another. And the three little soldiers, +Jehosophat, Marmaduke, and Hepzebiah, made lots too. They piled them in the +corner of the fort, until they had a heap like the iron balls around the +cannon in the town park. + +"Now," commanded the Toyman. "March to the barracks and get warm" (he +pointed at the house). "I'll watch and call when the enemy comes." + +Into the house they went, and dried their mittens and warmed their hands. +And each had a cup of nice warm milk. + +After a while there was a loud knock at the door, and the sound of a horn. + +Mother opened the door a little way. + +The horn sounded again. Then the voice spoke loudly: + +"Fall in," it said. "_The enemy comes_!" + +Quickly the three little soldiers put on their mittens and caps, and +buttoned their coats, and hurried to the fort. + +They looked around. They could not see anybody with a horn. And the Toyman +was gone. + +Over the walls of the fort they peeked. + +There stood six soldiers staring at them. The six soldiers stood very +still. They were all white, but their eyes were black like pieces of coal, +and they stared hard at the three little soldiers within the fort. Over +their shoulders were six long round things. + +"Guns," said Jehosophat. + +They looked around for the Toyman. He did not come. Their hearts beat fast. + +"We're not afraid," shouted Jehosophat at the white soldiers. "Come on, you +enemy!" + +With that they heard a sound far off. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat._ + +"What's that?" cried the smallest little soldier. And Captain Jehosophat +answered: + +"Drums, drums, + +"The enemy comes!" + +Then he laughed. He had made a rhyme without thinking anything about it. + +But he stopped laughing. It was no time for play. There was hard work +ahead. Those six white soldiers in front of the fort were ready to attack. +And there were more coming. + +"Load!" he commanded. + +Each little soldier took up a snowball. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +The drums sounded nearer now. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +Around the house came the sound of the drum. + +Over the walls of the fort they peeked--very carefully. + +There was a man marching. He looked something like the Toyman. But could +it be? No, for he was so changed. The man had a horn around his neck, and +a feather in his hat, and his face was stern. He was whistling "Yankee +Doodle." It sounded like a fife, and all the time he was beating the drum +with all his might. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +On through the snow the Tall Enemy marched. He reached the six white +soldiers who stood so still, with their guns over their shoulders. + +He stopped and called out to the three little soldiers in the fort in a +loud voice: + +"SURRENDER OR WE ATTACK!" + +"_Never_!" was the brave answer of Captain Jehosophat. + +"_Fire_!" he commanded. + +Then he let a snowball fly. + +He hit the Tall Enemy right in the face. + +Then Marmaduke let another snowball fly. + +That hit one of the white soldiers and knocked his black eye out. + +And Hepzebiah threw her snowball. She tried very hard. But it didn't go +very far and didn't do any damage. + +Jehosophat looked worried at that. He couldn't depend on Hepzebiah at all. +That left but two of them--against so many--and on came the Tall Enemy with +the feather in his cap, still beating his drum. + +_Rat-a-tat-tat_. _Rat-a-tat-tat_. _Rat-a-tat-tat_. + +The little soldiers must fight bravely now. + +Fast flew the snowballs. + +He was very near. + +Then Marmaduke picked up the last snowball. He took good aim for it was the +last of their ammunition. Then he let it fly. It hit the Tall Enemy Man +right over his heart. + +He fell in the snow. + +"You've done for me!" he called in a weak voice. + +Then the three little soldiers shouted and ran out of the fort. + +There in the snow lay the dying enemy. + +"You've won," he said in a sad voice. "I surrender." + +"Hurrah, we've won!" they shouted. Then they stopped. They felt very sorry +for the enemy, for after all he had been very brave. + +They bent over him. + +Then something happened. All of a sudden the enemy seized the three little +soldiers in his arms. + +And he laughed! Yes, laughed. + +And hugged them all at once. + +And the three little soldiers laughed happily too. For the Tall Enemy had +been the Toyman all the time and the six silent soldiers were only made of +snow. + +Behind his heels they trudged into the house. But the Toyman had to carry +the littlest soldier in his arms. She was very cold and very tired. + +But the three happy children ate a very good dinner and a very good supper +too, that day, for they were very hungry. And they had earned it after the +brave fight in the fort. + +"Ting-ting." He's always on time, that Little Clock. So Good-night! + + + + +FOURTEENTH NIGHT + +THE SLEIGH AND THE TINY REINDEER + + +Marmaduke had played too long in the snow. + +He was very wet. + +He was very cold. + +And he felt very funny and hot all over. + +"Mother, my throat's got a rubber ball stuck in it," he said. + +Mother looked at it. + +"No, dear, there's no rubber ball there, but your throat's all swollen and +there are little spots in it. You mustn't get up today." + +Marmaduke lay very still for a while. Soon he heard sleigh-bells tinkling +past the window, then far down the road. Father had hitched Teddy, the +buckskin horse, to the big sleigh and was going for the Doctor. + +Away ticked the clock. After a while-a long time it seemed--Marmaduke heard +the sleigh-bells again, at first far off, then coming nearer and nearer, +until they jingled before the porch--then stopped. He heard voices and the +sound of feet upon the porch, shaking off the snow. + +The door opened and into the bedroom came the Doctor. He had a face all +rosy from the cold. His eyes were black and so sharp that they looked right +through Marmaduke. But they were kind eyes and his voice had a pleasant +chuckle in it. + +The Doctor came and sat on the edge of the bed. + +"Well, well! How's my little soldier? Wounded in the battle or just playing +possum?" + +Then Marmaduke opened his eyes. + +After the Doctor had talked a while about lots of different things, before +Marmaduke knew it, there was something like a spoon or a shoe-horn in his +throat and the Doctor was telling him to say "Ah!" + +"This isn't school," thought Marmaduke, "why does he make me say that?" + +But he forgot to be frightened, for the Doctor was saying so many funny +things all the time. + +Then he opened his black bag. It was full of little bottles, packed neatly +in rows. Marmaduke wished he would forget and leave it behind. It would be +fine to play with. + +Mother brought two glasses and the Doctor poured some drops from one +bottle into a glass, then from another bottle into another glass. And he +said something to Mother in a low voice--Marmaduke could not hear what it +was--then he patted the little soldier on the head and said good-bye. + +Again the sleigh-bells sounded and away he drove. + +But the sleigh-bells never stopped. They kept sounding all the night, long +after Teddy was back in his stall and the big sleigh was in the shed. You +see Marmaduke was very sick and "out of his head." + +Seven days passed and seven nights. He began to feel better, but he was +very lonely, for Jehosophat and Hepzebiah had gone to Uncle Roger's to stay +while he was sick. + +Very small he felt in the big bed in the front room, and very, very lonely. +He looked out of the window at the big elms. They were covered with white +snow like fur. There were many trees standing in rows. The path between +them looked like a white road leading up over the hill to the sky. + +He wished he had someone to talk to. + +Just then he heard a noise at the door. + +"Tap, tap, tap" + +It opened just a little. + +"Who's there?" said Marmaduke. + +The door opened wider. And he saw the Toyman's kind face. + +"Hello, little soldier." + +"'Llo, Toyman," replied the little boy, and his voice sounded very small +and very weak. + +The Toyman sat by the bed a while. Then he got up and stirred the fire. +Showers of pretty gold and red sparks scampered up the chimney. After that +he spread a paper on the floor, not far from the fire-place. + +Then his pockets he searched, those big pockets which Mother said were +always like five and ten cent stores, they were so full of things. + +Out came some pieces of wood. Out came his knife--that magic knife with the +five blades. Marmaduke was always glad when he saw that knife for then +something nice was sure to happen. + +Up came the big blade and snapped back. And the Toyman began to whittle, +whittle away. Sometimes he used the big blade, sometimes the small one. + +Marmaduke watched him, all eyes. + +And as the Toyman whittled sometimes he whistled, and sometimes he sang a +funny song in a funny voice. You see he could make rhymes as well as toys. + +And this is what he sang: + + THE TOYMAN'S SONG + + 1 + + "When a little boy's sick + And stays in bed, + And things feel queer + Inside his head. + + 2 + + "He cannot work, + He cannot play; + It's hard to pass + The time away. + + 3 + + "Don't make much fuss + An' talk a lot; + No questions ask + 'Bout what he's got. + + 4 + + "They'll ask him that + When Doctor comes, + So just sit still + Like good, ole chums. + + 5 + + "An' take your knife + An' make him toys-- + This knife knows what + Will please small boys. + + 6 + + "Horses and lions, + An' tops and rings, + An' kites and ships, + An' pretty things. + + 7 + + "We'll paint 'em red + An' yeller an' blue. + Work away, ole knife, + He's watchin' you!" + +That's a new song and a very nice one, thought Marmaduke, as he watched the +Toyman whittling away by the red fire. + +The little white slivers and shavings covered the paper now. He couldn't +see just what that knife was making. But that was nice, too, for then it +would be a surprise. And there's nothing finer in the world than a real, +beautiful surprise. + +Then his head grew very tired, and his eyes began to droop till they were +tight shut and he fell asleep. + +The Toyman looked at him and smiled. + +"Poor little feller!" he said. Then he closed his knife, and picked up the +paper and the shavings and the surprise, and out of the room he tiptoed. + +Out to the workshop he went, and opened the door. + +On the shelves were brushes of different sizes and cans of paint of all +colours. + +He took down three of the cans, humming to himself: + + "We'll paint 'em red + An' yeller an' blue." + +"A little brown would go well too," he added as he took down another can. + +He worked away with his paint brushes until the surprise was finished. Then +he placed it on the work-table to dry. + +The next afternoon there was another tap at the bedroom door. + +But Marmaduke didn't answer. He was taking his afternoon nap. So the Toyman +slipped in and put the surprise at the foot of the bed. After that he sat +by the fire, watching the little sick soldier. He sat very still, stirring +the embers just once in a while to keep the room warm. + +At last Marmaduke opened his eyes, a little at first, then wider. + +The very first thing that he saw at the bottom of the bed was a tiny +sleigh. The body was bright blue and the runners were red. And what do you +think--in front, hitched to it, were two tiny brown reindeer with yellow +horns! They looked so much alive that Marmaduke thought any minute they +would start running away--away over the comforter, out of the window, and +up the snow-covered hill. + +The Toyman came over to the bed. Marmaduke curled his little fingers around +his friend's hand. The hand was brown and hard, but it was a nice hand, +Marmaduke thought. + +"We're good ole chums, aren't we?" he said to the Toyman. + +"You bet we are," the Toyman answered. + + + + +FIFTEENTH NIGHT + +JACK FROST AND THE MAN-IN-THE-MOON + + +Once, twice, thrice nodded Marmaduke's head. + +The red flames of the fire kept dancing, dancing all the time. Very bright +looked the little sleigh at the foot of the bed, very brave the tiny +reindeer. + +But look! Something moved--just a little. + +The "nigh" little reindeer was stamping his foot and tossing his antlers. + +And the other little reindeer tossed his horns and stamped his foot too. + +On their backs the sleigh-bells jingled, merrily like fairy bells. + +The red and blue sleigh moved a little--just a little. + +It began to slide slowly, over the comforter. + +Marmaduke was worried. He didn't want the pretty sleigh and the reindeer to +run away. He might never see them again. + +"Wait!" he shouted. + +"Whoa--you villains!" It was a strange little voice that ordered the +reindeer. + +The red and blue sleigh stopped short. + +Marmaduke rubbed his eyes. + +The strange little voice spoke again. + +"Jump in," it said. + +And there in the front seat of the toy sleigh sat a funny little chap, +about as big as the Toyman's thumb--no bigger. He wore a pointed cap that +shone like tinsel on a Christmas tree. He wore a white coat that sparkled +too. + +"Who are you?" asked the little sick boy. "That's _my_ sleigh. You +shan't run off with it." + +And the funny voice under the white cap answered. + +"Jump in, then, and take a ride." + +"Tell me who you are, first," Marmaduke insisted. + +"My name's Jack." + +"Jack what?" + +"Jack Frost--you ought to know _that_!" + +Tinkle, tinkle went the bells The reindeer lifted their hoofs higher and +pawed at the comforter. They shook their antlers impatiently. The little +driver jumped up and down in the seat as if he were sitting on pins and +needles. + +More worried than ever was Marmaduke. + +"How can I get in that sleigh?" he asked the imp of a stranger. "I'm too +big." + +The little chap only chuckled. It was a very mischievous chuckle. Then he +said: + +"Take a good look at yourself." + +Marmaduke did. + +My, how he had shrunk! He was no bigger than a brownie, no bigger himself +than the Toyman's thumb. + +"How did that happen?" he said, + +"Oh, the dream fairy did that," said Jack. "She likes to play tricks on +people. It's lots of fun. But shake a leg, shake a leg!" + +With that he shook the reins himself, and the bells jingled again, and the +reindeer grew more eager every second, snorting impatiently. + +Once more Marmaduke looked down at himself. No, his eyes had made no +mistake. He was small enough now to sit on that little red seat with the +tiny driver. + +So he popped out from the covers. The folds of the blanket looked as big as +mountains, the lumps of the comforter as high as the hills. Over them he +scrambled and he sprawled till he reached the little red and blue sleigh. + +Then he jumped in. + +The driver could be very impudent, but he took good care of Marmaduke just +the same, for the boy had been very sick and might catch cold. So Jack +pulled the white robe over his passenger's knees, and tucked him in all +snug and warm. + +"Gee-up, gee-up!" he called to the tiny reindeer. + +Marmaduke was frightened. What a horrible crash there would be when they +slid from the high bed to the floor. + +But nothing like that happened at all. Away off the bed, over the bright +rag carpet, and past the red fire, safely and swiftly they trotted. Below +the window they paused. Pretty silver ferns and trees covered the panes and +sparkled in the firelight. The window was closed, but that did not matter +at all. + +"Up with you!" yelled Jack Frost. + +Slowly, as if by magic, up went the window sash! Over the sill galloped the +reindeer. And after them ran the toy sleigh with Jack Frost and Marmaduke +on the red seat. + +Over the porch, too, they went. + +Then something did happen. + +"Now look at yourself," said Jack Frost, cracking his whip. + +Marmaduke did not hear him at first. He was admiring that whip. It was only +a long icicle, and all Jack had to do was to touch the reindeer with its +point to make them run faster and faster. + +"Look at yourself," he repeated. + +Marmaduke obeyed. + +"Why, I'm as big as I used to be!" + +Jack laughed and replied: + +"The dream fairy does love to play tricks on folks!" + +Yes, the sleigh had grown as large as his father's sleigh; the reindeer as +big as Teddy, the buckskin horse. The tossing horns were as high as the +reindeer's in the Zoo, and Jack Frost was as big as Jehosophat now. + +"I'm sorry that Jehosophat and Hepzebiah are not along," said Marmaduke to +himself, "they're going to miss some fun" + +He looked ahead through the trees Up over the hill the snow path +stretched--up to the dark blue sky and the stars. Millions of them there +were and they were all twinkle-winking at him. And the Old Man-in-the-Moon, +just over the hill, kept winking at him too. + +Jack Frost turned to Marmaduke. + +"Where would you like to go _most_?" + +Marmaduke didn't need to think, he had his answer all ready. + +"I'd like to visit the Old Man-in-the Moon." + +"It's a bit of a drive," replied Jack, "but Old Yellow Horns and Prancing +Hoof are fast goers. Gee-up! Gee-up!" he shouted at them, touching their +flanks with the icicle whip. So fast they went they scarcely seemed +to touch the snow, and on up the hill they rode towards the laughing +Man-in-the-Moon. + +Then suddenly there came such a barking, a yelping, a neighing, a mooing, a +clucking, a gobbling, a squealing, a squawling, as you never heard before. + +Around jerked Marmaduke's head. + +There, behind the sleigh, running and leaping and paddling and waddling and +frisking and scampering came a strange procession. There were Rover and +Brownie and little Wienerwurst, Teddy and Methusaleh and all the horses, +Primrose, Daisy, Buttercup, Black-Eyed Susan and all the cows. He could see +_their_ tongues hanging out--it was so hard to keep up with the dogs +and the horses. + +"Moo--moo, slow--slow!" called the poor cows. + +And behind them ambled the sheep and the curley-tailed pigs; waddled the +ducks and the geese; Miss Crosspatch, the Guinea Hen, and Mr. Stuckup, the +turkey; and, at the very end, all of the White Wyandottes, the fathers and +the mothers, and the little yellow children, and their grandfathers and +grandmothers, and all their uncles and aunts, and their cousins, first, +second, and third--every last one of them. + +My--what a fuss and a clatter they made! + +There was a long long line of them, stretching down the hill and down the +white road over the snow. + +Marmaduke laughed and exclaimed to Jack Frost: + +"Why, they look just like the procession of the animals when they came out +of the Ark." + +"Yes, I remember them," replied Jack. "And Old Noah too. I used to pinch +their ears and pull their tails o' nights." + +Marmaduke looked surprised. + +"You! Why, that was _hundreds_ of years ago! You can't be as old as +all that." + +But Jack only smiled a superior smile + +"Sure I am. Why I'm as old as the world!" + +"Old as that Man-in-the-Moon?" continued Marmaduke, and the odd little +fellow replied: + +"Just as old." + +Marmaduke looked up at the moon sailing far above them. And the old man, +sitting there on the moon-mountain, nodded as much as to say that Jack was +quite right. + +Now the sleigh reached the top of the hill just where it touches the sky. + +Surely there they would stop. + +But no-- + +"This sleigh can run on air just as well as on snow," the odd little driver +explained. + +Another touch of the icicle whip, a jingle of bells, a snort from the +reindeer, and they were off--off through the air towards the sailing moon. + +Marmaduke was so interested in looking up that he didn't see little +Wienerwurst run ahead of all the animals. That doggie beat them all to the +top of the hill. And when he came to the top he just jumped out in the air +and landed safe on the runner of the sleigh, and curled up there and hid +and didn't make any noise. + +It was very clear high up in the air, and Marmaduke looked down. + +The houses had shrivelled all up. As small as Wienerwurst's own little +house they seemed. And the trees were as small as plants in the garden. + +He looked down again. The earth was far below them. + +By the white steeple of the church they flew. In the steeple was a little +window. The bell-rope hung out. Jack jerked it as they went past. + + "_Ding, dong-- + Something's wrong_." + +So spoke the deep voice of the old bell. He was a hundred years old, and +such strange things had never happened in his life before. + +And the minister threw up his window and stuck his head out. And the +minister's wife stuck her head, in her nightcap, out of the window, too. +And the sexton ran out in the snow, in his shirt-tail, to see what was the +matter. + +And all the other people, in the farmhouses and in the town houses, threw +up their windows or ran out of doors to see where the fire was. + +Then, after looking all around the houses and barns and the haystacks, they +looked up at the sky and saw Marmaduke in the sleigh, racing towards the +moon + +They were very funny, like little toy people, all looking up and pointing +at the sky and all shouting at once. + +But Marmaduke didn't care--he was having the time of his life! + +Then a still stranger and funnier sight he saw,--all the animals on the +top of the hill--the horses, the dogs, the cows, the sheep, the pigs, +the ducks, the geese, the turkeys, and the White Wyandottes, all sitting +on their haunches and barking or neighing or howling or squawking at +Marmaduke, as on--up and up--he went, a-sailing through the sky. + +But he missed his little pet doggie. Where _could_ he be? + +He was worried about that until all of a sudden he heard a little bark and +looked behind, and there on the red runner, hanging on for dear life, was +little Wienerwurst. Marmaduke reached down, and picked him up by the scruff +of his neck, and set him on his lap, under the robe, so that he wouldn't +catch cold. + +So Wienerwurst too had the time of his life, and his little pink tongue +hung out in delight as they raced toward the moon. + +They hadn't gone more than a hundred miles or so, when something strange +floated past them--a cloud all puffy and soft and white, like the floating +islands in the puddings Mother makes. + +The reindeer nearly ran into it. That would have been too bad, for the +sleigh would have torn it in two. And as they passed, Marmaduke saw little +baby angels lying there, curled up in the cloud, fast asleep, with their +wings folded. + +A whole fleet of the clouds passed by and there was only clear air ahead of +them, they thought, but no! + +"Bang." They had bunked into something high up in the sky. + +"Very careless," said Jack Frost, as he pulled on the reins. + +It was very bright, and Marmaduke blinked hard. + +Ahead of them lay another island, but this one was round and flat and shiny +like a gold shield, with a little hill in the centre. And there upon the +hill sat a jolly old man, round and fat, with a pipe in his mouth and a +sack on his back. + +"Hello, old Top!" said Jack Frost. + +"Good evening, you mischief-maker," replied the Man-in-the-Moon. "What are +you up to now?" + +"Oh, I've brought one of the little earth children to see you. This is +Marmaduke Green. He's been sick, so I thought I'd give him a ride." + +"Oh, ho! That's it. You _do_ do someone a good turn now and then, +after all." + +Then the old man turned to Marmaduke. + +"Howdy," he said, "I hope you'll get better very soon." + +"Thank you," replied Marmaduke politely. He was so well brought up that he +didn't forget his manners, even up high in the sky. + +"Well, here's something to play with when you get back to earth," said the +Old Man-in-the-Moon. And he reached his hand inside the sack on his back, +and pulled out a fistful of bright gold pennies--oh, such a lot of them! + +Marmaduke reached for them. But alas! he was in too much of a hurry, and +they spilled out of his hand and rolled right over the edge of the moon. +Down, down, down, through the sky they dropped, past the stars and the +clouds, down, down, down to the earth. + +There were all the animals still, on the top of the hill, looking up at the +moon. And one of the bright pennies landed on Black-eyed Susan's nose. She +was a timid old cow and she was startled. And she was still more frightened +at the howling, the barking, the squawking, which the animals set up, one +and all. + +So frightened was she that she jumped. So hard did she jump that she leaped +way over the hill and over the clouds and the stars. + +"There's that critter again," complained the Man-in-the-Moon. + +On, with her tail spread out behind her, and her legs sprawling in the sky, +came old Black-eyed Susan, straight towards them. Jack Frost and Marmaduke +jumped back; the Old Man-in-the-Moon moved a little too. They were afraid +she would land on their toes. + +But she didn't. + +"She's still pretty chipper," observed the old man. "That's a great jump. +Most beats the record" + +So it did, for she sailed right over them, coming down on the other side of +the moon, hitting one poor little star on the way with her hoof, and +putting out its light entirely. + +And down, down old Susan fell till she hit the earth and lay there, panting +and mooing so loud that the people on earth thought it was thunder, and +shut their windows tight for fear of the rain. + +"Well!" said the Old Man-in-the-Moon, blowing clouds of smoke from his +pipe, "that's over. Now here's some more pennies. Be careful this time," he +warned him. + +And from his sack he drew forth another great handful of gold pennies. How +they did shine! But as Marmaduke reached for them, Jack Frost jiggled his +elbow with his icicle whip--and again they rolled over the edge of the +moon. + +And again Marmaduke was too eager. He ran after them, and Wienerwurst ran +too, and when they reached the edge they couldn't stop themselves at all. + +They were falling, down, down through the sky. A hundred somersaults they +turned. Marmaduke tried to hold on to a cloud, but his hands went right +through it. He tried to hold on to the stars, but he missed every one. + +Then suddenly--bang went his head against the church steeple - - - and all +the stars danced - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + +Then he woke. + +He looked around. Why-he was sitting up in the bed, his very own bed, by +the red fire! + +It was just a trick of the dream fairy's, after all. + +But it was all right, for at the foot of the bed rested the little red and +blue sleigh and the tiny reindeer, just as still as still could be. + +And at the side of the bed stood Father and Mother--and the Toyman. + +They seemed very happy. + + + + +SIXTEENTH NIGHT + +SLOSHIN' + + +Of course Marmaduke grew well again, and back from Uncle Roger's came +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah. They came back in the old creaking buckboard with +Methuselah the old, old white horse, and the Toyman. + +No sooner had they jumped to the ground than Marmaduke asked, very proudly: + +"Where do you think _I've_ been?" + +"You've been sick." + +Marmaduke shook his head. + +"That's not what I mean," he said. "I've been to see the Old +Man-in-the-Moon." + +"_Now_ you're telling _stories_" jeered Jehosophat. "You've just +been in _bed_ all the time." + +"I'm _not_ telling any stories," said his brother stoutly. "I tell +you, I _have_ been to visit the Old Man-in-the-Moon." + +But Jehosophat wouldn't believe him. + +"That's a _whopper_," said he. + +Marmaduke turned to his friend, the Toyman. + +"I _have_ been there, haven't I?" + +"Where?" said the Toyman. + +"To see the Old Man-in-the-Moon." + +"Of course you have," his good old chum replied, "and a heap of wonderful +things you saw." + +The Toyman never laughed at the wonderful things they had done, nor at +the marvellous things they had seen--no never, for he understood little +children. + +Now Jehosophat _had_ to believe him. He asked lots of questions, while +Hepzebiah listened, her eyes growing as round as big peppermint drops. + +So Marmaduke showed them the little red and blue sleigh, and told them +all about the little driver, Jack Frost. And he didn't forget about old +Black-eyed Susan's great jump, nor the gold pennies, either. + +Jehosophat felt just a little jealous. Perhaps that is why he was naughty +that day. + +And this is how it all happened: + +It was in the afternoon. Jehosophat was coming home from the schoolhouse, +which was up the road about a mile, a long way from the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds where the three happy children lived. + +With him walked four of his friends--Sophy Soapstone and Sammy Soapstone, +who lived on the farm by the Old Canal; Lizzie Fizzletree, who lived on the +turnpike; and Fatty Hamm, who lived by the river road. + +Sammy Soapstone had blue eyes and tow hair which stood up straight on his +head. It was as stiff as the curry comb with which the Toyman brushed the +horses. Sophy Soapstone had blue eyes, too, and two neat little pigtails +down her back. + +But Lizzie Fizzletree had black eyes and hair that stuck out in all +directions. She had more safety-pins on her dress than a neat little girl +should ever have. And her stockings were forever coming down. + +Fatty Hamm was so round and so plump that he looked as if he had pillows +under his clothes. And though he was only twelve he had two chins. Every +once in a while he would eat so much that a button would pop off. + +He was eating apples now. + +One, two, three, four, five, he ate. He did not offer one to his friends, +_not even the core_! + +Another apple he took. That made six! + +Pop went a button and--splash--it landed in a puddle of brown water. + +For three days it had rained, washing the white snow away. The ruts in the +road were full of these puddles, nice and brown and inviting. + +Sammy's eyes and Jehosophat's eyes followed the button as it landed in the +water, making little rings which grew larger all the time. + +"Let's slosh," said Sammy. + +"Let's!" cried Lizzie Fizzletree, "it's lots of fun, sloshin'." + +Into a big puddle marched Sammy Soapstone, and after him marched Lizzie and +Sophy, and at the end of the procession waddled Fatty. + +"Slop, slosh, slop, slosh," they went through puddle after puddle. + +Glorious fun it was. Showers of spray flew all over the road. + +But Jehosophat walked on ahead in the middle of the road. Hadn't his mother +told him, particularly, _not_ to get his feet wet? + +"Come on in, it's fine!" they all shouted at Jehosophat. + +"Aw, come on!" Sammy Soapstone repeated, and Fatty called: + +"'Fraidcat!" + +At that Jehosophat turned around. He just couldn't stand being called +"'fraidcat." + +So _slosh, slosh_, into the biggest brown puddle he could find he +went. + +_Slosh, slop, slop, slosh_! + +Over his rubber tops went the water. Fine and cool it felt. + +Splash went the water over the road. And he kicked it over Fatty till the +round fat legs were drenched too. + +Then all the boys bent over the puddle, and scooped up great handfuls of +water, and threw them over each other. + +It was a great battle. And when it was finished and they were soaked to the +skin, they splashed up the road, shouting and singing. + +I guess they went into every last puddle between the schoolhouse and the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. + +They had reached it now. + +All-of-a-sudden Jehosophat felt very funny near the pit of his stomach. +Something was sure to happen now. + +In front of the house marched Mr. Stuckup, the Turkey. His chest was stuck +out and his tail feathers were spread out too, like a great big fan. He was +having a lovely parade all by himself. + +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," he gobbled. + +Jehosophat looked down at his feet. He felt guilty--but he thought it was +very mean of Mr. Stuckup to call attention to his wet rubbers that way. + +"Keep quiet," Jehosophat shouted. "You don't need to _tell_ on me!" + +"Rubber, rubber, rubber," gobbled Mr. Stuckup just the same. + +Jehosophat kicked at him with his wet feet, and tried to grab the fat red +nose that hung down over the turkey's beak. + +At that old Mr. Stuckup's feathers ruffled in anger, and he hurried off, +still gobbling "rubber, rubber, rubber," as loud as he could. + +Around the house sneaked Jehosophat, trying hard not to be seen. + +Half-way to the back door, who should he meet but a procession of the +Foolish White Geese. + +By this time Jehosophat was not only wet clear through, he was angry clear +through too, so he kicked at them. + +They stretched out their long white necks and called: + +"Hiss! Hiss! Hissssssss!!" + +They might be very foolish, these White Geese, but they were sensible +enough to know that Jehosophat ought to have been ashamed of himself that +afternoon. + +To make matters worse, the sun was shining now. He sparkled so brightly on +the Gold Rooster on the top of the barn, that Father Wyandotte flapped his +wings and cried to all the world: + +"Look, look, look, look! You're going to get it--hurroo!" + +And all the White Wyandottes took up the cry: + +"Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut--you'll get it." + +Jehosophat wished he were as small as Hop-o'-my-Thumb, so that he could +creep through the keyhole and never be seen at all. + +But he had one friend left--little Wienerwurst, who frisked up to him just +then, wagging his tail. He didn't scold Jehosophat at all, partly because +he was so often up to mischief himself. And then little Wienerwurst always +stuck by his friends anyway. + +For a while nothing more happened, and Jehosophat tiptoed in at the back +door. Mother was nowhere to be seen, so over the floor he sneaked. + +At every step the water oozed out and _slop, splosh, slop, splosh_, +still went his shoes. + +But he reached his room safely, then quickly he rummaged in the drawers of +the bureau. + +Quiet as a mouse he took off his wet clothes, and put them in the darkest +corner of the big closet. Quiet as a mouse he drew on the clean dry ones. + +But someone was calling: + +"Jehosophat--_Je-hos'-o-phat_!" + +No answer made he. + +"Jehosophat--_Je-hos'-o-phat_!" + +No longer could he hide. So, making his face look as bold and as innocent +as possible, he walked into the dining-room. + +But somehow, though he tried to look innocent, I guess he really looked +guilty. + +"Jehosophat Green, what _have_ you been doing?" asked Mother. Her eyes +were almost always kind but they were a little stern just then. + +Jehosophat tried another look on his face, for you can try different looks +on your face just as you try different hats on your head. This time he +tried the one that folks call "unconcern," a look as if he had no troubles +at all, as if he had nothing to hide. + +"Aw, just playin'," he answered his mother. + +Then his mother asked a very strange question: + +"Where's the party?" + +Jehosophat _was_ surprised. "Party" sounded fine. + +"What party, Mother?" he asked. + +"I don't know," his mother replied. "I just thought you were dressed up for +one." + +And he looked down at his clean suit and his Sunday best shoes. And from +out the corner of his eye he saw wet places on the floor and muddy tracks, +about as big as his feet. + +No answer now had Jehosophat. He guessed he would go into the parlour. So +he sat down at the marble-topped table, and looked at the picture book +which Uncle Roger had given him. It was full of great white ships sailing +the blue sea. + +For a moment he almost forgot all his troubles, so interested was he in +looking at those great ships and their sails and all the wonderful fish. + +Then suddenly he remembered. + +He looked out through the door into the dining-room. + +Mother wasn't saying anything. She was just busy. That was all. + +But had she forgotten? + +Somehow Jehosophat did not like the sad look on her face. + +He went and shut the door. He thought he would feel more comfortable if he +couldn't see Mother's eyes. Then he sat down to look at the picture book +again. But he felt more miserable than ever. + +Bang! he shut the book too. It was very strange. The things that usually +made him so happy weren't any fun at all just then. + +Then he looked up at the mantel. + +Above it hung a great picture. There was a man in a cocked hat. He had on a +fine uniform and he rode a tall white horse. Jehosophat knew very well who +that was. It would be _his_ birthday tomorrow--George Washington's +birthday. The teacher had told them all about it that very afternoon. + +She had told them a story, too, about a hatchet and a cherry tree--and--a +lie! + +The man on the horse looked down from the picture. The eyes were very +stern. + +A lie! + +Yes, that was just what he had told to Mother. He had told a lie, and acted +a lie. + +Though there was no one else in the room but the great man in the big +picture, Jehosophat's cheeks grew very red. A lump came into his throat. + +Now he never could be president nor have a sword--and ride a big white +horse--and call "Forward March" to the whole army. No--never! + +To the window he went, and pressed his nose against the pane. The clouds +were grey. It all seemed very dark and not at all cheerful as the world +ought to be. + +Once more he looked up at the picture. + +And as he looked at the eyes of the man in the picture, they told him to do +something. + +He decided to do it. And as soon as he decided he felt better--not +_all_ better--but better. + +And out into the dining-room he marched. He had to close his fists tight, +for it is very hard sometimes to tell people you've done wrong to them, +especially if they are people you love. + +"Mother," he said--not very loud. + +She looked up. + +"Yes?" + +"Mother--I----" + +He stopped. Mother looked up. She saw his lip tremble a little and wanted +to take him in her arms. But she didn't just then. He must tell what he had +to tell, first. + +"Mother--I told a lie--I got my feet wet--sloshin'--and I said I was +playin' when I changed my clothes--an' I'm sorry an'--an'--I'll never do +it again." + +Then Mother did take him in her arms and she kissed him and hugged him too. + +"Well--I love my little boy all the more for this. It was very wrong to +disobey, worse still to tell a lie. But it was hard to tell me your own +self about it and you were brave." + +So she kissed him. And her eyes weren't sad any more. + + + + +SEVENTEENTH NIGHT + +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + + +Mother Green and Father Green were fast asleep in the +White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds. The Toyman was fast asleep too. Rover +and Brownie and Wienerwurst lay curled up in their kennels, with their eyes +tight shut. On their poles in _their_ house all the White Wyandottes +perched like feathery balls, their heads sunk low on their breasts. On +the roof cuddled the pretty pigeons, all pink and grey and white. In the +barn Teddy, and Hal, and Methuselah, and Black-eyed Susan, and all the +four-footed friends of the three happy children, rested from the cares of +the day. Hepzebiah never stirred in her crib, and Jehosophat lay dreaming +of something very pleasant. + +But the crickets, and the katydids, the scampering mice, and the big-eyed +owls, and the little stars, snapping their tiny fingers of light up in the +sky, and Marmaduke--_they_ were awake. + +He had played very hard that day and he had leg-ache. Mother had rubbed it +till it felt better and he fell asleep, but now it began to hurt again and +he woke up. The Little-Clock-with-the-Wise-Face-on-the-Mantel struck, not +seven times but four. It was long past midnight--_it was four o 'clock in +the morning_! + +But Marmaduke didn't call his mother. He thought that it would be too +bad to wake her up from that nice sleep. So he just tried to rub his leg +himself. + +It was then that he heard that far-off noise like a rumble of thunder. But +it wasn't thunder. It was something rolling over the bridge down the road. + +Marmaduke sat up in bed and looked out of the window into the dark shadows +of the trees. + +There was another rumble, and another and another. There must be, oh, so +many wagons rolling by in the night. Then he heard the sound of horses' +hoofs on the road, the clank of rings and iron trace chains. + +He rubbed his eyes this time and looked hard out into the darkness. + +Yes, he could see the tops of the big wagons, moving slowly past, under the +trees and over the road. + +It was a strange procession and he just had to jump out of bed, forgetting +all about his leg-ache. He ran to the window, pressing his little turned-up +nose against the panes. + +Though it was dark still it must have been near morning. The moon was just +going down behind the Church-with-the-Long-White-Finger, that finger which +always kept pointing at the sky. The Old Man-in-the-Moon looked very tired +and peaked after sitting up so late. + +There were so many of the wagons and so many horses. They must stretch +way back to the school-house, and miles and miles beyond that, Marmaduke +thought. + +The horses seemed very tired, for they plodded along slowly in the dark, +and the drivers almost fell asleep, nodding on their seats. They looked +just like black shadows. + +Under the axles of the wagons were lanterns, swinging a little and throwing +circles of light on the road. + +Now and then one of the drivers spoke roughly to the horses. And sometimes +Marmaduke heard strange noises like the sleepy growls of wild animals. +Perhaps they were in those wagons! + +Then Marmaduke laughed. He knew what it was. They were circus wagons! The +circus was coming to town! The Toyman had told him all about it, that very +day. + +Once, one of the animals roared and the others answered back. Their noise +was louder than the rumble of the wagon-wheels on the bridge. Marmaduke was +frightened. But the roaring stopped, and all he could hear was the noise of +all those wheels on their way up the road by the river. + +Then the last wagon passed and Marmaduke went back to bed and fell asleep. + +But the long procession rolled on and on till it reached the church. There +was a large field nearby. Into it the wagons turned and all the horses were +unhitched. + +Then the cooks started fires in the stoves on the cook-wagons, and all the +strange men and women had coffee. And then, just as the Sun was coming up +and the night was all gone, they went to work. + +Up in the centre of the field they raised three tall poles. They were +almost as high as the Long White Finger of the Church. They drove many +stakes into the ground. And around the tall poles they stretched almost +as many ropes as there are on a ship. + +Then they unrolled the white canvas and, when the Sun was just a little way +up in the sky and the morning was all nice and shiny and bright, the great +white tents were ready for the circus. + +Back in the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds, Marmaduke was eating his +oatmeal. He asked a question that he very often asked: + +"What do you think _I_ saw?" + +"Another dream?" said Jehosophat. + +"No, it was _real_," replied Marmaduke. "I saw a lot of wagons, +hundreds 'n thousands, in a big line miles long. And there were wild +animals in the wagons." + +"I'll bet that was a _dream_," his big brother insisted, but the +Toyman said: + +"No, it wasn't a dream, it was the circus coming to town." + +Then Father spoke up: + +"That's so, I most forgot." + +He looked at the Toyman: + +"Frank," he said, "I've got to go over to the Miller farm to buy some +yearling steers. You'll have to take the youngsters to that circus." + +The Toyman didn't seem worried about that. He looked just "tickled," "like +a boy himself," Mother said. + +So, after dinner, old Methuselah was hitched up, and away they drove,--the +Toyman, Jehosophat, Hepzebiah, and Marmaduke, with little Wienerwurst, as +usual, in back. He was very happy, barking at all the carriages hurrying up +the road to the circus. + +They came to the field with the big white tents and were just going to turn +in, when they heard music way off in the streets of the town. + +"Why, I most forgot," said the Toyman to Jehosophat. "There's the circus +parade over on Main Street. In the big city they have the parade and the +circus all in one big building, but in the country towns they have the +parade first in the street, and the performance after, in the tents." + +"Tluck, tluck!" he called to Methuselah, and jog, jog, jog, the old horse +trotted into town. In Uncle Roger's barn the Toyman unhitched him, and +gave him some hay and some oats too, for it was a grand holiday. Then +hand-in-hand the Toyman and the three happy children hurried over to Main +Street. + +So many people were crowded on the sidewalk that the children could hardly +see. But Jehosophat ducked under the stomachs of two big fat men and sat on +the curb-stone. And the Toyman held Marmaduke on one shoulder and Hepzebiah +on the other. He was very strong. From their high perch they could look +right over the heads of all the people at that great circus parade. + +Hark! They were coming! + +First the band. They were dressed in gay uniforms of red and blue, with +gold tassels too, and bright brass buttons. + +Ahead of them marched the leader of the band--the tall Drum Major. He had +on a high fur cap, twice as big as his head. In his hand he swung a long +black cane, called a "baton." It had a gold knob on it, bigger than a +duck's egg. + +He raised the cane and the music began! + +_Trrat----trrat----trrat--trrat--trrat_! went the little drums. + +_Boom----boom---boom--boom--boom_! went the big bass drum. + +_hum_-- + +_hum_-- + +_hum_-- + +_Hum_-- + +_hum--hum_! + +sounded the shiny horns. + +_ter-loo_ + +_ter-loo_ + +_ter-loo_ + +_Loo-loo-loo_ + +_ter-loo-loo_! + +gaily whistled the little fifes. + +Then they all sounded together in a grand crash of music that made all the +people happy and excited, and they almost danced on the sidewalk. + +And all the time the tall Drum-Major kept twirling that baton with the gold +knob on it till Jehosophat's eyes most popped out of his head. + +My! how he could twirl it! + +But other wonderful things were coming now, marching by very +swiftly,--ladies on horses that pranced and danced; cowboys on horses that +were livelier still; a giant as tall as the big barber's pole; and a dwarf +no higher than that tall giant's knee. + +And great grey elephants, all tied together by their trunks and their +tails; and zebras like little horses painted with stripes; and cages on +wagons, full of funny monkeys, making faces at all the people; and lions +and tigers, walking up and down and showing their sharp teeth. + +Then something happened! + +One of the circus men must have been sleepy that morning, for he hadn't +fixed the lock on that cage just tight. And the big tiger felt very mean +that day. He snarled and he snarled, and he jumped at the bars of his cage. + +Open came the door. Out leaped that wicked tiger right on the street, and +the people ran pell mell in all directions. + +The two fat men were so frightened that they fell flat on their stomachs. +The barber shinnied up his pole, and hung on for dear life to the top. +The baker-man tumbled into the watering-trough, and all the rest rushed +higgledy-piggledy into the houses and stores. + +The Toyman picked up Hepzebiah, Marmaduke, and Jehosophat, hurried them +into the candy-store, and shut the door tight. + +It was full of beautiful candies,--chocolate creams and peppermint drops, +snowy white cocoanut cakes, black and white licorice sticks, and cherry-red +lollypops. But the three children never noticed those lovely candies at +all. They just looked out of the glass door at that tiger, walking up and +down the street, a-showing his teeth and a-swishing his tail. + +The tiger looked at all the people behind the windows and doors. They were +all shivering in their boots, and he didn't know which one to choose. Then +he looked up at the man on the barber-pole, and he was shivering too. + +Then all of a sudden the tiger stopped. + +"_Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh_!" + +He saw the butcher shop. + +The door was open. Some nice red pieces of beef hung on the hooks. + +He licked his chops and ran into the shop and jumped up at the first piece +of beef and ate it all up. He never saw the stout butcher, who was hiding +under the chopping block. The butcher's face was usually as red as the +beef, but now it was as white as his apron, and his feet were shaking as +fast as leaves in the wind. + +But just as the tiger was gobbling the last morsel up, down the street +galloped a cowboy on a swift horse. He stopped right in front of the +butcher shop. + +Out went his hand. + +In it was a rope all coiled up. + +Around his head he twirled it, in great flying loops. Then he let it fly. + +And it fell around that wicked tiger's head and neck, just as he was +finishing his dinner. + +Then the circus men came with big steel forks, and they ran at that tiger, +and they tied him all up in that rope very tight, and put him back in the +cage on the wagon, while he growled and growled and growled. + +So the parade started again and all of the people came out of their +hiding-places, all but the fat men who hurried off home, as soon as they +found their breath, and the old ladies who said they guessed they'd go to +missionary meeting after all. A circus parade was too heathenish. + +Soon it was all over, and the rest of the people hurried off to the field +with the big white tents. + +And what they saw there we will tell you tomorrow night. + + + + +EIGHTEENTH NIGHT + +THE JOLLY CLOWN + + +Marmaduke was lost. There was such a crowd around those tents! He wriggled +between lots of pairs of legs, but nowhere could he find the Toyman's. + +Near the door of the tent stood a man with a big black moustache, and a +silk hat on his head. He was selling tickets. The Toyman went up to him. + +"Howdy," said the Toyman. + +"Howdy, pardner," replied he. + +"I'd like four tickets. Here is the money. One whole ticket and three half +tickets too." + +The man counted the money and gave him the tickets. Then the Toyman asked: + +"Did you see a little boy 'bout this high, with a little yeller dog?" + +The man with the big black moustache and the tall silk hat shook his head. + +"Sorry I can't oblige you, pardner. I've seen lots of kiddies but nary a +one with a yeller dog." + +"Well then," said the Toyman, "will you kindly show these youngsters to +their seats while I look for that little lost boy and his dog?" + +"Certainly, be most pleased," was the answer, for all circus men are very +polite on Circus Day. + +So the man with the black moustache and the tall silk hat called a man in a +red cap. Jehosophat took Hepzebiah by the hand, and the man in the red cap +led them into the big tent. He showed them their seats, and they sat down +in the very front row. + +Outside, the Toyman kept looking, looking everywhere. There was no sign of +Marmaduke's tow head nor of little yellow Wienerwurst. + +_They_ were on the other side of the tent, outside too, mixed up with +men and women they didn't know, and hundreds of boys and girls. They could +see other men too, with striped shirts and loud voices, standing in small +houses. And the small houses looked just like little stores, and on the +counters were good things to eat,--popcorn, peanuts, cracker jack, and +something cool in glasses, like lemonade but coloured like strawberries. +Loud did the men shout, trying to sell those good things to everybody who +came near. + +But Marmaduke couldn't buy even _one_ peanut. He didn't have any +money. How was he ever going to get into that circus! + +Oh, where was the Toyman? + +But he didn't cry. You know he didn't. He just shut his teeth hard, and +winked and winked. + +At last Wienerwurst gave a little bark. He saw a little hole, and +Wienerwurst always liked little holes. It was under the tent and just his +size. Right into it he crawled. All Marmaduke could see of his doggie now +was his little tail like a sausage. The rest of him was under the tent. +Thump-thump-thump went the tail. And Marmaduke knew it must be pretty nice +inside. + +Then the tail, too, disappeared. So down on his stomach went the little boy +and crawled right in after his doggie. + +The tent had several big rooms and he was in one of them. On every side +were big cages with iron bars. + +"_Girrrrrrrrrrrhhh_!" went something in one of the cages. + +That wicked runaway tiger! + +Marmaduke ran past all the cages very fast until he came to another room. +In it were lots of queer funny people. + +He heard another voice, not like the runaway tiger's, but one just happy +and pleasant, though very deep. + +"Well, look who's here!" it said. + +That was a funny thing to say, Marmaduke thought, and he looked up. + +He had to look up ever so high. There was the tall giant, sitting on a +great big chair. Big were his feet and his legs and his hands, and big were +his chin and his nose and his hat. Still he didn't look cross like the +giants in the story-books, just nice and kind. + +Marmaduke stared up at him and he smiled down at Marmaduke. + +It was very hot and the big giant took off his hat to wipe his forehead. +He set his hat down. He didn't look where he put it and it went over +Marmaduke's head and nearly covered him up. He couldn't see any sunlight. +It was all dark inside that hat. + +"Let me out," he shouted. And he heard someone say: + +"What's in your hat?" + +"There _was_ a little boy around here," the giant replied. "Maybe I've +covered him up." + +The giant leaned down and picked up his hat, and took it off the little +boy. Very glad was Marmaduke to see the light once more. + +The giant bowed low to apologize and the great chair creaked. + +"Very careless of me," he said. "A thousand pardons, Sir!" + +Marmaduke felt very happy. It was fine to be called "Sir" by a great big +giant like that. + +Then he felt himself being lifted up, and there he sat on the giant's knee. +The giant told him a story and gave him a big ring from his finger. It was +so large that Marmaduke could put his whole arm through it. + +Then another voice spoke. It was a little tiny voice this time--no bigger +than a mouse's squeak or a cricket's "Good-night." + +Marmaduke looked down from the giant's knee. + +"Hello, little fellow," squeaked the funny little voice. + +No, it was not Jack Frost. It was a dwarf, all dressed in a crimson velvet +gown, with a gold crown on her head. The top of the crown wasn't even as +high as the giant's knee. My, but she _was_ little! + +Marmaduke was just going to say, "Little, _huh_! I'm as big as +_you_ are!" But he didn't. That wouldn't have been quite right when +all these circus people were so very polite to him. + +So all he said was: + +"Good-afternoon!" + +And the little tiny lady in the crimson gown gave him something too,--a +silver button from her dress. Then the giant handed him over to a lady who +sat next. A very funny lady was she, for she had a woman's voice and a +woman's dress and a woman's hair, too, but on her chin was a long, long +beard, just like a man's. + +The bearded lady kissed Marmaduke. He didn't like that, she tickled so. + +He didn't go very near the one who sat next. Yet _she_ was a very +pretty lady with blue eyes and golden hair, but around her arms and neck +instead of necklaces were curled up snakes! + +"They won't bite, little boy," she said smiling. "Look out for the +_snakes in the grass_, but don't mind these. They can't hurt you at +all." + +With that she handed him some candy. + +Marmaduke's hands were so full now, with the candy and the big ring and the +silver button, that he didn't know what to do. + +Just ahead of him was little Wienerwurst's tail. The very thing! So he put +that big ring over that little tail. That felt so funny that Wienerwurst +tried to reach his tail and that round shiny thing on it. + +Around and around he went in a circle, trying to bite it off. He looked +as if his head and tail were tied together. Like a little yellow +merry-go-round, whirling so swiftly after itself, was he. All the strange +circus people laughed and cheered and the giant clapped his huge hands till +they sounded like thunder. + +All of a sudden the ring rolled off Wienerwurst's tail, and Marmaduke went +scrambling after it. It rolled right near the lady--and all those snakes! + +Marmaduke didn't like _that_. He was glad when he heard another voice +call out, very cheerily. + +"Here it is, Sonny!" + +This was a very jolly voice, jollier than any he had ever heard in the +world except the Toyman's. + +The man who owned that voice stood before him, such a funny man, in a baggy +white suit, with red spots like big red tiddledy winks all over it. He had +a pointed cap all red and white too. And his face was all painted white, +with long black eyebrows and a wide, wide, red mouth. + +This was the way Marmaduke met Tody the Clown. + +They had a long talk together and he seemed to understand little boys, just +like the Toyman. + +"It must be fine to always live in a circus," said Marmaduke. "Wish I did." + +"Well, Sonny, when you grow up, maybe you can," replied Tody the Clown. + +Marmaduke looked at the wide mouth with its funny smile. + +"You're always happy, aren't you?" + +Tody nodded and answered: + +"Sure--anyway _almost_ always." + +"Don't you ever feel cross or have any troubles?" + +Tody threw back his head at that and laughed way out loud. + +"Sure I do," said he. "A heap of troubles, but I just think of all the +little girls and boys like you that I've got to make happy. Then I try hard +to make 'em laugh and--" + +"An' what?" + +"Why all my troubles fly away, quick as a wink," laughed Tody. "Yes, +just as quick as I do this." And _quicker_ than a wink he turned a +somersault. He turned a whole lot of somersaults and then he took Marmaduke +on his shoulder and galloped around the tent and they had a glorious time. + +But the music was sounding out in the big tent just next them--drums and +horns and bugles and fifes. The circus would start in a minute now and all +the fun would be over. + +"Where's your ticket, Sonny?" asked Tody. + +"I haven't any," Marmaduke explained. "I've lost the Toyman--and he's got +my ticket an'--an'--I can't go in." + +"Don't you worry about that. You'll have the _best seat in the whole +circus_." And Tody turned another somersault just to make him laugh. +Then he looked down at little Wienerwurst. + +"But they won't let any doggies in there. We'll just tie him to this pole." + +Marmaduke shook his head and tried hard to keep the tears back. Just one +little one rolled down his right cheek But that was on the other side of +Tody. Maybe Tody saw it anyway, for when Marmaduke said to him,--"Then I +can't go in either, my little pet doggie would feel so badly," the jolly +Clown answered: + +"Well, we'll just have to fix it up some way. Can y' keep him quiet?" + +"Quiet as a mouse," answered Marmaduke, "quiet as Mother Robin when she +sits on her nest." + +And Wienerwurst barked out loud just to show how quiet he could be. + +Tody spoke to another man. This one had on a bright red vest, red as Father +Robin's. He looked at the boy and the dog. His voice wasn't as pleasant as +Tody's nor the giant's, but what he said was all right. + +It was just "Sure!" and Marmaduke and Wienerwurst slipped inside the big +tent, right near the front, where they could see all the wonderful things +that went on. + +Wienerwurst sat pretty quiet on his lap and together they watched the +elephants stand on their heads, and the men way up in the air turn +somersaults on little swings, and the ladies in bright spangles gallop +round and round the ring, and the monkeys and the clowns do tricks--and +everything. + +Tody was the funniest and happiest of all, and he made all the children +laugh and shout and clap their hands. Even Johnny Cricket, the lame boy, +who had come a long way to see the circus, smiled. + +Marmaduke and Wienerwurst were so excited that they forgot all about +Jehosophat and Hepzebiah and the Toyman. + +After a while Tody turned a somersault, a cartwheel, and a flipflop, and +landed right near their seat. + +"How would you like to ride on an elephant?" he whispered in Marmaduke's +ear. + +Of course Marmaduke answered: + +"Better 'n anything I _ever_ did." + +So Tody took him by the hand and led him into the little tent and put +a little pointed cap on his head, just like Tody's own. Then he lifted +Marmaduke into a big seat on top of Jumbo, the big elephant. And out they +marched under the tent and round and round the ring. + +Marmaduke could look down on all the rows of people. He was up quite high +and their faces looked small, but he could tell Jehosophat, and Hepzebiah, +and Sammy Soapstone, and Sophy, Lizzie Fizzletree, and Fatty Hamm, too. And +_there_ was the Toyman walking around, looking everywhere for him. + +"'Llo, Toyman," he shouted, and the Toyman looked up and saw Marmaduke in +his little pointed cap, way up on the back of the big elephant. + +The Toyman waved his hand and smiled. I guess he was very glad to find that +Marmaduke wasn't lost after all. + +But Jehosophat was wishing that _he_ had been lost, so that he could +have had that fine chance to be part of the circus. + +Suddenly there was a chorus of barks. Marmaduke had forgotten all about +Wienerwurst. + +He turned around to look for him and leaned back so far that he almost +fell flop off the elephant's back. Tody caught him just in time or there +_would_ have been trouble. + +The trick dogs were coming into the circus now. Some of them were walking +on their hind legs. + +Marmaduke listened. + +There were so many different barks! Just as many as there were dogs,--deep +or squeaky, smooth or creaky, rough or happy, gruff or snappy, and one that +Marmaduke knew the very minute he heard it. + +"_Run--run--run--run--runrunrun_!" + +Yes, he knew that little voice. He could tell little Wienerwurst's bark +anywhere. Somehow it was different from any doggie's in the world. There he +was, frisking and scampering and biting at the other dogs' tails, just in +fun. + +"_Run--run run--run--runrunrun_!" + +And that is just what they did, right into the circus ring where the man in +the red cap held out big hoops of paper above the dogs' heads. + +The first dog jumped through one hoop, and the second dog jumped through +another. Then the man in the red cap held up a third hoop bigger than all +the rest. + +Another dog, a long tall greyhound, got ready to take his turn, but I guess +Wienerwurst decided all-of-a-sudden that _he_ wasn't going to be left +out. He just gave the tail of that big dog a little nip, and when the +big dog turned around to see what was the matter, why Wienerwurst jumped +through the hoop all by himself. + +So pleased was he that he ran round the ring, looking up at the people in +their seats, with his little pink tongue hanging out in delight. + +A great doggie was Wienerwurst. + +But soon it was all over and the people left their seats, and walked out of +the tent to their homes and their suppers. + +Tody the Clown just wouldn't let Marmaduke and little Wienerwurst go. He +invited them and his brother and sister and the Toyman, too, to have supper +in the tent. + +At a long table they sat, with Tody, and the big giant, and the little +teeny dwarf, and the Lady-with-the-Long-Long-Beard, and the +Lady-with-the-Necklace-of-Snakes. But she put the snakes away and Marmaduke +wasn't afraid at all. + +Tody the Clown sat by his side and kept his plate full and his cup full +too. He didn't forget little Wienerwurst either. _He_ had a nice big +bone all for himself. + +But the time came to say "Good-bye," which they did, to one and all of the +kind circus people. + +Tody the Clown didn't kiss Marmaduke. He just shook hands. Marmaduke was +glad of that. He felt like a real man now. For hadn't he been part of a +circus and ridden on an elephant! I guess so! + +All Tody said to him was: + +"Good-bye, pardner, you just keep smiling and make people happy, and you'll +be a circus man too, one of these days." + +So the Toyman hitched up "old Methuselah," and the three happy children +rode home together, falling asleep in the buggy before ever they reached +the White-House-with-the-Green-Blinds by the side of the road. + +When you visit that place ask Marmaduke to show you the silver button and +the big giant's ring. He keeps them still in his little bureau. But the +candy was gone, oh, long ago. + + + + +NINETEENTH NIGHT + +WIENERWURST'S BRAVE BATTLE + + +Mr. Sun must have known that it was Jehosophat's birthday, he made it so +bright, not too sunny nor yet too cool. + +The three children, Mother, Father, and the Toyman, were all crowding +about something which stood in front of the barn. The three tails of three +doggies wagged as if they thought it was fine. Mr. Stuckup came to take a +look. So did Miss Crosspatch and the Wyandottes; and the pigeons flew down +from their house on the roof and perched on its seat. + +It was something for Jehosophat, of course. It was his birthday, and he had +tried hard to be good ever since he had had that talk with the tall man on +the white horse in the picture. + +It was something he had always wanted,--a little cart with a real live pony +in the shafts. And the pony was all dressed in new harness, spick and span +and shiny. + +Not very tall was the little pony. His ears twitched just on a level with +Jehosophat's head. + +Jehosophat put his arm around his neck and patted his black coat, which was +almost as shiny as the harness itself. He looked at the tail. It was nearly +a yard long and very thick. That pony was certainly handsome. And Father +had given him--cart, harness, and all--to Jehosophat for his birthday, for +his very own, to keep just as long as the pony lived. And that was the +finest present any boy could have--ever. + +The name was a very important matter. The boys each had a dozen they could +think of, but Mother and Father and the Toyman couldn't think of any. At +least they wouldn't give any suggestions. They thought it was Jehosophat's +right to name his own pony. + +It was settled at last,--"Little Geeup." Where-ever Jehosophat got that +name nobody knew. I really believe he read a story once about a horse +called that. Or perhaps he remembered one of the circus ponies with the +same name. Anyway, that was the one he chose. So it can't be changed now, +any more than Jehosophat's own, or Marmaduke's, or Hepzebiah's. + +A moment more they looked Little Geeup all over, from the black mane on his +neck down his sleek back to his fine full tail. A moment more they looked +at the little cart, its bright red body with the blue lines around it, +the wheels and spokes, which were bright yellow, and the shafts and the +whiffletrees, which were yellow too. + +Then they got in. Little Hepzebiah sat on the seat with Jehosophat. He +proudly held the reins. Marmaduke sat behind, his legs hanging over the +tail-board, with Wienerwurst wriggling on his lap. + +"Tluck, tluck," called Jehosophat. Little Geeup obeyed. The yellow wheels +turned, and down the driveway they went, Father and the Toyman hurrying +alongside, Rover and Brownie barking behind. + +There were lots of fine carriages out that day, but never so fine a turnout +as that little red cart with the yellow wheels and the black pony in the +shafts. + +Jehosophat didn't have to learn how to drive Little Geeup. Father had often +let him drive Old Methuselah when they went to town, and the little black +pony was quite safe. + +At last Father and the Toyman stopped and waved good-bye. So off the +children drove, up the road by the river. + +"Where shall we go?" asked Jehosophat. + +Now Marmaduke was thinking over something Tody the Clown had told +him--about making other folks happy. + +"Let's take Johnny Cricket for a ride," he suggested. + +The driver agreed, so they turned from the road by the river and drove up a +lane. At the end was a house. It was a very small house and a poor one too. +Here lived Johnny Cricket, the lame little fellow, who never could run or +play like the three happy children. + +There wasn't much furniture in his home, or much money either, hardly +enough to buy him new crutches, to say nothing of toys that little boys +like. + +"Whoa!" called Jehosophat, in front of the gate. + +Then he got out and knocked at the door. + +It opened. Johnny's Mother was there. + +Jehosophat took off his hat. + +"Good-morning, Mrs. Cricket, can we take Johnny for a ride in my new cart?" + +"Of course," replied she. "My! Won't Johnny be glad to go for a ride in +that pretty cart! He's been very lonesome." + +So out hobbled Johnny, all smiles. Crunch, crunch, crunch went his crutch +down the gravel walk. + +"Hepzebiah, you'll have to sit in the back with Marmaduke," commanded the +owner of the little cart. + +So the little girl climbed over the back of the seat and sat with Marmaduke +and Wienerwurst. And they helped Johnny in carefully, and off they drove up +the lane, enjoying the woods and the nice warm sun. Johnny enjoyed it ever +so much, but not more than they. I guess the three children were quite as +happy, for to make others happy brings the best sort of happiness. + +At last they turned round and drove back. + +They were just trotting past the Miller Farm when they heard a great growl. + +Over the fields, with great leaps, a big dog was running. Now Jake Miller's +dog, Prowler, was the worst dog in the neighbourhood. Often the three +children had heard Father say "He ought to be shot." + +And there he was--running straight towards them, and little Wienerwurst had +jumped over the tailboard and out of the wagon, and was trotting alongside. + +"_Urrururur_," growled Prowler. He had almost reached the gate. He +was long and big, and really looked more like a savage animal than a dog. +Pieces of chain hung from his neck and dragged alongside in the earth as he +ran. He must have broken away from his kennel. + +Through the gate he bounded, then stopped still and growled in suspicion. + +"_Out--out--out_!" he seemed to be saying. He thought they had no +right in front of his home, not even when they were driving on the road, +which was free to all. + +The three happy children and Little Geeup didn't like the looks of things +very much. + +"Here, Wienerwurst--come here," called Marmaduke. He wanted his little dog +to jump back in the wagon and be safe. + +But Wienerwurst was no coward. Besides, he was a friendly little fellow, +and liked to be polite to everybody, dogs and people too, even if sometimes +he did chase the pretty pink pigeons and the White Wyandottes. But that was +just in fun, of course. + +So he just stood still and looked at the big bad dog and wagged his tail in +a friendly way, and smiled. + +But that big bad dog Prowler didn't appreciate that at all. He opened his +big jaws and showed his teeth and gave a deep growl. + +"_Out--out--out_!" he repeated. + +And then Wienerwurst gave his tail a wag, and advanced a step or two. + +Quick as lightning Prowler jumped at him. + +Wienerwurst didn't run. Yet he was so little and the other dog was so big. +And his ear hurt too, where the other dog bit him. + +The big dog was jumping at him again and again and biting him too, but I +guess Wienerwurst must have heard Father and the Toyman tell the boys once +never to start a fight, but always to stand up for one's rights, and never +to be a coward, or run away. + +That Prowler had no right at all to tell him to get off the road nor to +bite him! + +And so, though he was only a yellow dog and small and weak, Wienerwurst +barked bravely and tried his best to fight off the big dog. + +It wasn't a very happy chorus of growls and barks and squeals. It sounded +something like this: + +"_Gurrrrr--gurrr-uh--ow--ow--gurr--gurr--ow--wuf--ar--gurr--ow--wow--uh- +wuf--xxx--x_!!!" + +Jehosophat pulled on the reins. + +"We must stop that," said he. "Hepzebiah you sit here." + +Out he jumped, but his brother was ahead of him, for Marmaduke loved +Wienerwurst even more than they did. + +At the big dog's collar they pulled, and they grabbed tight hold of his +chain, trying to drag him away so that he wouldn't hurt little Wienerwurst. +But he was very strong, that wicked bad dog. They couldn't budge him at +all. + +But just then they heard the sound of wheels. They were glad. + +Help was coming at last! + +A wagon drove up. It was the country postman, who delivered the mail to the +farms, in a wagon. + +"Whoa!" the postman shouted and out he jumped with his whip! + +He ran straight for the big dog, and out of the gate ran Jake Miller too. +I guess he felt ashamed of himself for keeping such a dog as Prowler. The +two men grabbed the chain and whipped the big bad dog till he let go of +Wienerwurst and ran back to his kennel. + +Tenderly the two boys lifted their little friend into the cart, and drove +home as fast as they could. + +They forgot all about the pony and the fine new cart, just thinking of +their poor hurt doggie. + +Mother and the Toyman brought water in a basin, and the Toyman poured +something from a bottle, which coloured the water all dark. With a little +clean rag he washed out the cuts on Wienerwurst's face and the back of his +neck. + +Then out to the workshop he went and brought back a little can. He +unscrewed the top and took out some of the salve inside. It was coloured +just like peanut-butter and was soft and healing. On each cut he put a +little of the salve, then wound the little doggie all up in nice soft +bandages too. And Wienerwurst licked the Toyman's hand to show how thankful +he was. + +They made him a little bed, but he didn't stay in that long. The Toyman was +such a good doctor that Wienerwurst felt better already. Still he didn't +play very much that day. + +Mother sent the Toyman over to the Cricket farm to ask Johnny's mother to +let her boy stay for the night. + +He did--for _three whole days_--and great fun they had with Little +Geeup, and the red dogcart, and the little lame boy, giving Wienerwurst +rides to make him all well. + +And Father and the Toyman made Jake Miller chain up the wicked dog--very +tight this time--with a chain that would never break. + +And soon that bad dog died, which was a good thing too. Nobody wasted many +tears on him. + +But little Wienerwurst got well and strong, and chased the pretty pink +pigeons--in fun of course--just as fast as ever he did. + + + + +TWENTIETH NIGHT + +THE LIONS OF THE NORTH WIND + + +By the fire sat the Toyman. + +He must have been seeing things in the flames, for he kept looking, looking +all the time. + +He was all alone, for Father and Mother Green had gone to town to see a +fine wedding. It was not often that they stayed out so late, but this was +a grand event. And they knew the three happy children would be safe in the +Toyman's care. + +They were all in the next room. Jehosophat and Hepzebiah were sound +asleep--but not Marmaduke. He was sitting up, a little bit of a fellow in a +big bed. + +Outside, old Giant Northwind roared and roared. Now he seemed to be running +around and around the house, faster than any train. Now he stopped to knock +at the door and bang at the window panes. Now he trampled on the roof, +knocking off pieces of slate and a brick from the chimney, which fell, +_crash_, through the glass cover of the little greenhouse. + +Marmaduke did not like the sounds cruel Giant Northwind made. And it +was very dark in the room. To tell the truth he was just a little bit +frightened. But he didn't say anything at all. For the Toyman had told him +always to be "game." That was a funny word, but Marmaduke knew what it +meant. A brave little boy must not cry even if he _is_ afraid. + +Still the Giant Northwind kept running round and round the house with great +leaps. And the windows creaked, and the trees thumped the house with their +branches. + +Suppose the Giant should break in and carry him 'way, 'way off! + +The door of the next room was open. Through it he could see the bright +fire. Higher and higher leaped the flames, as if they wanted to jump up the +chimney and join the Northwind in his mad race. + +Very comfy and bright looked the fire. Very funny were the shadows on +the wall, dancing and bowing to each other and jumping up and down like +Jacks-in-the-Box. + +One shadow was like a man's, as tall as the ceiling. + +Had Giant Northwind gotten in the house at last! + +Marmaduke shivered and crept out of bed--and hurried into the next room. +He kept as far away from that giant shadow as he could. But he never cried +out. He was very brave. + +On and on against the wall he tiptoed towards the chair by the fire, where +the Toyman sat, thinking his strange thoughts. + +The Toyman felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked around. There stood +Marmaduke, pointing at the shadow. + +That shadow was so big and Marmaduke was so small. + +"Don't let him get me!" the little boy cried. + +The Toyman reached down and in a second Marmaduke was safe in his arms. + +"There's nobody here but me," said the Toyman. + +Loud the Giant Northwind howled and roared, while the flames leaped up the +chimney. + +"Look there!" cried Marmaduke. "There he is!!" + +And again he pointed to the shadow on the wall. + +"The Giant Northwind has got in our house!" + +But the Toyman only laughed, hugging him tighter. + +"That's not old Northwind, that's only my shadow," he explained. + +Then Marmaduke laughed too. + +"Tell me a story, Toyman," he asked, "'bout that ole Giant Northwind." + +"It might scare you," the Toyman answered. + +Marmaduke only shook his head. + +"Nothing makes me scared when I'm _here_," he said. He wasn't afraid +of giants, or ogres, or wild animals, or anything, when he was safe in the +Toyman's arms. + +For a while he looked up into his face. The Toyman's hair stood up, all +funny and rough. He was always running his fingers through it. His face +had wrinkles like hard seams, and it was as brown as saddle leather from +working outdoors. But Marmaduke thought that nowhere in the world was there +so kind a face, except his Mother's. + +The Toyman put down his corncob pipe and began: + +"Once upon a time, long time ago, before your mother was born, or your +grandmother, or your great-grandmother either, there was a King. He was +King of all the Winds. And he lived in a great big cave up in a high +mountain." + +"Was the mountain as high as the church steeple?" asked Marmaduke. + +"Oh, higher than that--as high as a lot of church steeples, stuck one on +top of another," the Toyman explained. + +"Sometimes the King of the Winds took a little snooze in his cave, and then +everything was quiet. But when he woke up he would go out of his cave, +raisin' ructions all over the world. + +"There was a lot of work for him to do, east and west, south and north. He +tossed the branches of the trees and made 'em crack, and he made the waves +in the ocean turn somersaults, and blew the wooden ships across the sea, +and chased the cloud-ships across the sky. + +"And he had a lot of little chores too, like drying the clothes on Mondays, +and waving the flags on Fourth of July, and sailing little boy's kites high +in the air. + +"When the King of the Winds was a young fellow, it was all great fun. But +after a while the trees grew bigger and bigger, and the ships taller and +taller, and there were so many clouds that he got very tired. He was +getting pretty old and he ached in all of his bones. + +"So he said to himself, said he: + +"'I'll let the kiddies do the work, and rest for a spell in my cave on the +mountains.' + +"There were four of 'em--two boys and two girls--and each had a name, of +course. Southwind and Westwind were the girls, Eastwind and Northwind the +boys, two strapping big fellows. + +"So he called his children together and sat in the door of his cave. + +"First he took a big pinch o' snuff. That was a very bad habit folks had in +those days. + +"_Kerchoo_! he sneezed, and blew two big clouds out of the sky. + +"_Kerchoo_!!! he sneezed again, and turned upside down a whole fleet +of ships in the ocean. + +"_Kerchoooooo_!!!! he sneezed a third time, and blew off the roofs +from all the houses in the city, a hundred miles away. + +"When he was all through his sneezing he said to his children: + +"'Get ye out to the four corners of the earth and take up my business.' + +"Now for a cane the old King used a tree with the branches pulled off. He +picked it up and pointed to the south. + +"'Southwind, you go there.' + +"She was a pretty little thing, with blue eyes and roses in her hair. And +she answered him sweet as you please, 'All right, Daddy,' and out she +danced. + +"Then with the big tree cane, the old King pointed to the west. + +"'Westwind, there is your place,' he said. + +"A very pretty girl too was Westwind, with kind eyes and a soft smile. Her +voice was soft and low, and she answered in a whisper: + +"'Good-bye, Daddy dear.' + +"She kissed him on the forehead, and floated away to her new home in the +west. + +"Then the two boys came before the old King. The big tree cane pointed +east. + +"'Get to work over there, Eastwind,' commanded the old King. + +"Now Eastwind was a strong fellow, but he was surly and cross and he didn't +obey very quickly. So his father the King picked up his tree cane in a rage +and whacked him across the shins, and out Eastwind ran, crying and yelling +till the trees of the forests sobbed too. And he cried so hard that rivers +of tears ran from his eyes and over the earth. + +"Once more the old King picked up his big tree cane, and said to the eldest +of his sons: + +"'Northwind, your home is right here in the North.' + +"Bigger even than his brother was Northwind. Strong were his muscles, and +his whiskers and hair were covered with icicles. When he breathed, millions +of snowflakes danced from his mouth. + +"_Brrrrrrr_!! how one shivered when he was around. + +"Then the old King's hand trembled and the big cane dropped to the floor. +He laid him down in the cavern and breathed his last. He had been a great +King but he was deader than a doornail now. + +"So his four children took up his work. + +"Up and down the south country wandered Southwind, with her rosebud mouth +and golden hair. And wherever she went she scattered posies and violets +upon the earth. + +"Back and forth over her country floated Westwind with her soft smile and +gentle voice. She whispered lullabies to little children, and laid cool +hands on sick people's foreheads. She blew little boy's kites up ever so +high above the church steeple, and tried never to break them. And she blew +the white ships gently across the ocean. Folks liked to travel the waters +whenever she was about. + +"But they didn't like Eastwind very much. Sometimes he was all right, +but usually he was bent on mischief, making trouble for every man Jack. +The seas he would tumble about, turn over the ships, and drown the poor +sailors. He would call his grey clouds together and they would weep till +the rivers were full. Then he would blow the rivers over the banks, and +spoil the gardens, and break the bridges, and drown the poor sheep, and all +the rest of the animals too. + +"But the most cruel of all was Giant Northwind. Where his heart ought to +be was a chunk of ice. Sometimes he was pleasant enough, but most often he +was hard and unkind. He would breathe on people, and freeze their noses and +toeses, and leave many a poor fellow stiff on the snow. + +"Northwind grew and grew till he was the biggest giant on earth. Most as +tall as a mountain himself was he, and when he raised his arm he could +nearly touch the sky. He kept walking up and down the earth, roaring and +hollering fit to blow his lungs out. And how he could travel! He could go +clear around the world in about a week. + +"One fine day he went out for a walk and he saw Mr. Sun riding up high +in the sky. Mr. Sun was a strange sort of a chap, all dressed up in gold +armour. The gold armour shone so bright you could never see his eyes or his +nose or his mouth, when he walked in the sky. + +"Giant Northwind grew very jealous of Mr. Sun. He wanted that fine suit of +gold armour, for all he had himself was his long whiskers and his fur coat +of snow. + +"At Mr. Sun he shook his fist. + +"Mr. Sun only laughed at him. + +"'Ho, ho!' he said, 'Ho, ho!' and again 'Ho, ho!' + +"'Ho, ho! you say,' mimicked Northwind, very angry, 'soon you will laugh on +the other side of your mouth. I will blow you out and people can't see your +fine suit of gold armour any more.' + +"'Ho, ho!' Mr. Sun laughed back. 'Just try it and see. Might as well save +your breath.' + +"That made Northwind very mad. So he took a deep breath until his chest +puffed way out like a big balloon. + +"Then he let go. All the hills in the north country shook at that roar. + +"And the clouds came hurrying out of the mountains and covered the sky so +you couldn't see the Sun and his fine suit at all. + +"'Ho, ho!' laughed the Northwind.' Now you will laugh on the other side of +your mouth, Mr. Sun.' + +"Then he sat him down in his cave to enjoy himself. + +"But what was that! + +"There was a little hole in the clouds. Through the chink he saw gold +shining. Then more and more gold. In a few moments Mr. Sun was riding up in +the sky, as big as life. + +"'Ho, ho!' said Mr. Sun, 'who laughs last, laughs best.' + +"Then old Giant Northwind grew madder and madder, madder than a hornet, +yes, just as mad as Mother Wyandotte when Wienerwurst chased her into the +brook. + +"He took a deep breath, did Giant Northwind, so deep that he almost burst +his lungs. He blew and he puffed and he puffed and he blew till the whole +sky was filled with grey clouds. And you couldn't see Mr. Sun and his fine +suit of gold armour at all. + +"Then down he would sit in his cave to enjoy himself for a spell, but by +and by, sure as shooting, Mr. Sun would come back again. + +"So, for a hundred years, Northwind tried to blow out the Sun. But at last +he gave it up as a bad job. + +"When he was still a middling young fellow, only about a thousand years old +or so, he went walking up and down the earth one night, just after dark. + +"He came to a great forest. In it he saw something bright, like a little +piece of the Sun. Now he was taller than the tallest tree in the forest, so +he got down on his knees to peek between the trunks and see better. People +were sitting around the bright little piece of the Sun, and warming their +hands, and cooking their supper. Of course it was only a merry fire, but +Giant Northwind was sure it was a piece of the Sun that had fallen on the +Earth. He had been so busy trying to blow him out of the sky that he hadn't +noticed these little fires much before. + +"But he had grown very cross as he knelt there, looking through the trees, +and he said to himself, said he: + +"'Ho, ho! That's one of the Sun's children. I'll blow that out anyway.' + +"And he took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out. + +"_Whurrrooooo_! he breathed on that little piece of the Sun. + +"But the little fire just laughed and leaped higher and higher. + +"So he took a real deep breath this time, till he filled all his chest, and +it stuck way out like the strong man's in the circus. + +"_Whurrrrrrooooooooooooooo_!!!! he roared, but the little flames just +danced in the air, as bright and as merry as could be. + +"The more he blew the bigger grew the fire, and the sooner the people had +their suppers. + +"Then for years and years the old Giant stamped up and down the Earth, +trying to put out those little pieces of the Sun. And he couldn't do it at +all. Like their father, the Sun, the little fires just laughed at him. + +"At last Northwind said to himself, said he: "'I know what I'll do, I'll +get me some big grey wolves to put out those fires.' + +"So a-hunting he went, up into the biggest forests of the world, so dark +that people called them 'the Forests of Night.' And they were full of +fierce grey wolves. + +"With his strong hands he caught a hundred wolves and drove them back to +his cave. + +"Then one dark night when the people were sitting around their fires, so +cozy and nice, he untied the wolves and roared out: + +"'Wolves, put out those fires!' + +"And the fierce grey wolves ran out of the cavern, and snapped and snarled +at the little fires. But they couldn't put them out. So back they came to +the cave, with their tongues hanging out and their tails between their +legs. + +"'Good-for-nothings,' roared Northwind, 'I'll get me some tigers.' + +"Again he went stalking over the Earth till he reached the great deserts, +which the people called 'the Deserts Without End.' Here he caught a +thousand fierce tigers and drove them back to his cave. + +"The next night, while the people were talking and singing around the +little fires, he let the tigers loose. + +"'Tigers,' roared he, 'put out those fires.' + +"They ran out of the cave, making a terrible noise, and they raced up and +down the earth, with their sharp teeth gleaming, and their tails lashing. +At the fires they snarled, and growled, and roared, and tried to beat out +the flames with their paws. But they were only burned for their trouble. +And so the tigers too slunk back to the cave, with their heads hanging down +and their tails between their legs. + +"Once more the Northwind stalked forth and hunted through the highest +mountains he could find, so high that people called them 'the Roof of the +World.' Ten thousand lions he caught, the fiercest in all the Earth. He +tied them together by their tails, ten at a time, and drove them back to +his cave. + +"And he sent them out too. + +"'Lions, put out those fires!' + +"Such a terrible roar those lions roared that the whole Earth shook. +Through the forests they raced, leaping through the wild tree tops, lashing +their tails, and shaking their shaggy manes. And they leaped at the fires, +but they couldn't do any better. Those big lions just couldn't put the +little fires out. + +"Beside himself with rage was old Northwind now. So he sent them all out, +wolves and tigers and lions wild, and he rushed on at their head. + +"But never, never can they put the little fires out, so you needn't worry +at all." + +The Toyman stopped and Marmaduke listened. + +"Hark!" + +Yes, there were the grey wolves now, howling down the chimney. There were +the wild tigers, snarling at the window panes and leaping at the door. + +Hark! How the knobs rattled! + +And there were the wild lions, rushing and roaring through the tree-tops. + +And round and round and round the house raced old Giant Northwind himself. + +But all the while, in the fireplace the little red flames danced merrily, +never afraid at all. + +Marmaduke jumped. Something was whining and scratching at the door. + +Was it a wolf? + +The voice he heard was too small and weak. + +He knew who _that_ was. + +"Toyman," he shouted, "that's my little pet doggie, out in the cold. Those +bad wolves an' tigers an' lions 'll eat him up." + +So they ran to the door, the Toyman and little Marmaduke. And he wasn't +afraid at all. And they let little Wienerwurst in, and saved him from the +grey wolves and the wild tigers and the fierce lions of the Northwind. + +Little Wienerwurst barked happily and curled himself up by their feet, in +front of the warm fire. + +After that Marmaduke spoke only once before he fell asleep. + +"You never had any little boys, did you, Toyman?" + +On the Toyman's face was a funny look as he answered: + +"No, little feller, I never had any little boys." + +Marmaduke reached up his hand and patted the Toyman's rough, kind face. + +"Don't worry, Toyman," he said, "_I'll_ be your little boy." + +Little Wienerwurst was sound asleep, so Marmaduke just had to fall asleep +too, happy and safe in the Toyman's arms, by the little red fire that the +wind could never put out. + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Seven O'Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN O'CLOCK STORIES *** + +This file should be named sevoc10.txt or sevoc10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, sevoc11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, sevoc10a.txt + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, William Flis, Ted Garvin +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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