three men in cupThree Wise Men of Gotham
Three Wise Men of Gotham
"Cannot the priest tell?" asked the wise man.
"No one can tell," answered the woman; "neither the priest nor their father nor myself, for they are just alike. And they are yet too young to remember their own names. Therefore your great wisdom is our only resource."
"Bring them to me," commanded Sophocles.
And when they were brought he looked at them attentively and said,
"This is Ophelia and this Amelia. Now tie a red ribbon about Ophelia's wrist and put a blue ribbon on Amelia, and so long as they wear them you will not be troubled to tell them apart."
Everyone marvelled greatly that Sophocles should know the children better than their own mother, but he said to himself,
"Since no one can prove that I am wrong I am sure to be right;" and thus he maintained his reputation for wisdom.
In a little side street near the center of Gotham lived an old woman named Deborah Smith. Her home was a wretched little hut, for she was poor, and supported herself and her husband by begging in the streets. Her husband was a lazy, short, fat old man, who lay upon a ragged blanket in the hut all day and refused to work.
"One beggar in the family is enough," he used to grumble, when his wife upbraided him, "and I amreally too tired to work. So let me alone, my Deborah, as I am about to take another nap."
Nothing she could say would arouse him to action, and she finally allowed him to do as he pleased.
But one day she met Socrates walking in the street, and after watching him for a time made up her mind he was nothing more than a fool. Other people certainly thought him wise, but she was a shrewd old woman, and could see well enough that he merely looked wise. The next day she went to the south of the city to beg, and there she heard of Sophocles. When the people repeated his wise sayings she thought,
"Here is another fool, for any one could tell as much as this man does."
Still, she went to see Sophocles, and, dropping a penny upon his plate, she asked,
"Tell me, O wise man, how shall I drive my husband to work?"
"By starving him," answered Sophocles; "if you refuse to feed him he must find a way to feed himself."
"That is true," she thought, as she went away; "but any fool could have told me that. This wise man is a fraud; even my husband is as wise as he."
Then she stopped short and slapped her hand against her forehead.
"Why," she cried, "I will make a Wise Man of Perry, my husband, and then he can earn money without working!"
So she went to her husband and said,
"Get up, Perry Smith, and wash yourself; for I am going to make a Wise Man of you."
"I won't," he replied.
"You will," she declared, "for it is the easiest way to earn money I have ever discovered."
Then she took a stick and beat him so fiercely that at last he got up, and agreed to do as she said.
She washed his long beard until it was as white as snow, and she shaved his head to make him look bald and venerable. Then she brought him a flowing black robe with a girdle at the middle; and when he was dressed, lo! he looked fully as wise as either Socrates or Sophocles.
"You must have a new name," she said, "for no one will ever believe that Perry Smith is a Wise Man. So I shall hereafter call you Pericles, the Wisest Man of Gotham!"
She then led him into the streets, and to all they met she declared,
"This is Pericles, the wisest man in the world."
"What does he know?" they asked.
"Everything, and much else," she replied.
Then came a carter, and putting a piece of money in the hand of Pericles, he enquired,
"Pray tell me of your wisdom what is wrong with my mare?"
"How should I know?" asked Pericles.
"I thought you knew everything," returned the carter, in surprise.
"I do," declared Pericles; "but you have not told me what her symptoms are."
"She refuses to eat anything," said the carter.
"Then she is not hungry," returned Pericles; "for neither man nor beast will refuse to eat when hungry."
And the people who heard him whispered together and said,
"Surely this is a wise man, for he has told the carter what is wrong with his mare."
After a few days the fame of Pericles' sayings came to the ears of both Socrates and Sophocles, and they resolved to see him, for each feared he would prove more wise than they were, knowing themselves to be arrant humbugs. So one morning the three wise men met together outside the hut of Pericles, and they sat themselves down upon stools, facing each other, while a great crowd of people gathered around to hear the words of wisdom that dropped from their lips.
But for a time all three were silent, and regarded one another anxiously, for each feared he might betray himself.
Finally Sophocles winked his one eye at the others and said, in a grave voice,
"The earth is flat; for, were it round, as some fools say, all the people would slide off the surface."
Then the people, who had listened eagerly, clapped their hands together and murmured,
"Sophocles is wisest of all. What he says is truth."
This provoked Socrates greatly, for he felt his reputation was in danger; so he said with a frown,
"The world is shallow, like a dish; were it flat the water would all run over the edges, and we should have no oceans."
Then the people applauded more loudly than before, and cried,
"Socrates is right! he is wisest of all."
Pericles, at this, shifted uneasily upon his stool, for he knew he must dispute the matter boldly or his fame would depart from him. Therefore he said, with grave deliberation,
"You are wrong, my friends. The world is hollow, like the shell of a cocoanut, and we are all inside the shell. The sky above us is the roof, and if you go out upon the ocean you will come to a place, no matter in which direction you go, where the sky and the water meet. I know this is true, for I have been to sea."
The people cheered loudly at this, and said,
"Long live Pericles, the wisest of the wise men!"
"I shall hold I am right," protested Sophocles, "until Pericles and Socrates prove that I am wrong."
"That is fair enough," said the people.
"And I also shall hold myself to be right until they prove me wrong," declared Socrates, firmly.
"I know I am right," said Pericles, "for you cannot prove me wrong."
"We can take a boat and sail over the sea," remarked Socrates, "and when we come to the edge we will know the truth. Will you go?"
"Yes," answered Sophocles; and Pericles, because he did not dare refuse, said "Yes" also.
Then they went to the shore of the sea, and the people followed them. There was no boat to be found anywhere, for the fishers were all away upon the water; but there was a big wooden bowl lying upon the shore, which the fishermen used to carry their fish to market in.
"This will do," said Pericles, who, because he weighed the most, was the greatest fool of the three.
So the wise men all sat within the bowl, with their feet together, and the people pushed them out into the water.
The tide caught the bowl and floated it out to sea, and before long the wise men were beyond sight of land.
They were all greatly frightened, for the bowl was old and cracked, and the water leaked slowly through until their feet were covered. They clung to the edge with their hands and looked at one another with white faces. Said Pericles,
"I was a fool to come to sea in this bowl."
"Ah," remarked Socrates, "if you are a fool, as you confess, then you cannot be a wise man."
"No," answered Pericles, "but I'll soon be a dead man."
"I also was a fool," said Sophocles, who was weeping from his one eye and trembling all over, "for if I had stayed upon land I would not have been drowned."
"Since you both acknowledge it," sighed Socrates, "I will confess that I also am a fool, and have always been one; but I looked so wise the people insisted I must know everything!"
"Yes, yes," Sophocles groaned, "the people have murdered us!"
"My only regret," said Pericles, "is that my wife is not with me. If only she were here"—
He did not finish what he was saying, for just then the bowl broke in two. And the people are still waiting for the three wise men to come back to them.
Little Bun Rabbit
"Oh, Little Bun Rabbit, so soft and so shy,Say, what do you see with your big, round eye?""On Christmas we rabbits," says Bunny so shy,"Keep watch to see Santa go galloping by."
LITTLE DOROTHY had passed all the few years of her life in the country, and being the only child upon the farm she was allowed to roam about the meadows and woods as she pleased. On the bright summer mornings Dorothy's mother would tie a sun-bonnet under the girl's chin, and then she romped away to the fields to amuse herself in her own way.
She came to know every flower that grew, and to call them by name, and she always stepped very carefully to avoid treading on them, for Dorothy was a kind-hearted child and did not like to crush the pretty flowers that bloomed in her path. And she was also very fond of all the animals, and learned to know them well, and even to understand their language, which very few people can do. And the animals loved Dorothy in turn, for the word passed around amongst them that she could be trusted to do them no harm. For the horse, whose soft noseDorothy often gently stroked, told the cow of her kindness, and the cow told the dog, and the dog told the cat, and the cat told her black kitten, and the black kitten told the rabbit when one day they met in the turnip patch.
Therefore when the rabbit, which is the most timid of all animals and the most difficult to get acquainted with, looked out of a small bush at the edge of the wood one day and saw Dorothy standing a little way off, he did not scamper away, as is his custom, but sat very still and met the gaze of her sweet eyes boldly, although perhaps his heart beat a little faster than usual.
Dorothy herself was afraid she might frighten him away, so she kept very quiet for a time, leaning silently against a tree and smiling encouragement at her timorous companion until the rabbit became reassured and blinked his big eyes at her thoughtfully. For he was as much interested in the little girl as she in him, since it was the first time he had dared to meet a person face to face.
Finally Dorothy ventured to speak, so she asked, very softly and slowly,
"Oh, Little Bun Rabbit, so soft and so shy,Say, what do you see with your big, round eye?"
"Many things," answered the rabbit, who was pleased to hear the girl speak in his own language; "in summer-time I see the clover-leaves that I loveto feed upon and the cabbages at the end of the farmer's garden. I see the cool bushes where I can hide from my enemies, and I see the dogs and the men long before they can see me, or know that I am near, and therefore I am able to keep out of their way."
"Is that the reason your eyes are so big?" asked Dorothy.
"I suppose so," returned the rabbit; "you see we have only our eyes and our ears and our legs to defend ourselves with. We cannot fight, but we can always run away, and that is a much better way to save our lives than by fighting."
"Where is your home, bunny?" enquired the girl.
"I live in the ground, far down in a cool, pleasant hole I have dug in the midst of the forest. At the bottom of the hole is the nicest little room you can imagine, and there I have made a soft bed to rest in at night. When I meet an enemy I run to my hole and jump in, and there I stay until all danger is over."
"You have told me what you see in summer," continued Dorothy, who was greatly interested in the rabbit's account of himself, "but what do you see in the winter?"
"In winter we rabbits," said Bunny so shy,"Keep watch to see Santa go galloping by."
"And do you ever see him?" asked the girl, eagerly.
"Oh, yes; every winter. I am not afraid of him, nor of his reindeer. And it is such fun to see him come dashing along, cracking his whip and calling out cheerily to his reindeer, who are able to run even swifter than we rabbits. And Santa Claus, when he sees me, always gives me a nod and a smile, and then I look after him and his big load of toys which he is carrying to the children, until he has galloped away out of sight. I like to see the toys, for they are so bright and pretty, and every year there is something new amongst them. Once I visited Santa, and saw him make the toys."
"Oh, tell me about it!" pleaded Dorothy.
"It was one morning after Christmas," said the rabbit, who seemed to enjoy talking, now that he had overcome his fear of Dorothy, "and I was sitting by the road-side when Santa Claus came riding back in his empty sleigh. He does not come home quite so fast as he goes, and when he saw me he stopped for a word.
"'You look very pretty this morning, Bun Rabbit,' he said, in his jolly way; 'I think the babies would love to have you to play with.'
"'I don't doubt it, your honor,' I answered; 'but they'd soon kill me with handling, even if they did not scare me to death; for babies are very rough with their playthings.'
"'That is true,' replied Santa Claus; 'and yet you are so soft and pretty it is a pity the babies can'thave you. Still, as they would abuse a live rabbit I think I shall make them some toy rabbits, which they cannot hurt; so if you will jump into my sleigh with me and ride home to my castle for a few days, I'll see if I can't make some toy rabbits just like you.'
"Of course I consented, for we all like to please old Santa, and a minute later I had jumped into the sleigh beside him and we were dashing away at full speed toward his castle. I enjoyed the ride very much, but I enjoyed the castle far more; for it was one of the loveliest places you could imagine. It stood on the top of a high mountain and is built of gold and silver bricks, and the windows are pure diamond crystals. The rooms are big and high, and there is a soft carpet upon every floor and many strange things scattered around to amuse one. Santa Claus lives there all alone, except for old Mother Hubbard, who cooks the meals for him; and her cupboard is never bare now, I can promise you! At the top of the castle there is one big room, and that is Santa's work-shop, where he makes the toys. On one side is his work-bench, with plenty of saws and hammers and jack-knives; and on another side is the paint-bench, with paints of every color and brushes of every size and shape. And in other places are great shelves, where the toys are put to dry and keep new and bright until Christmas comes and it is time to load them all into his sleigh.
"After Mother Hubbard had given me a gooddinner, and I had eaten some of the most delicious clover I have ever tasted, Santa took me up into his work-room and sat me upon the table.
"'If I can only make rabbits half as nice as you are,' he said, 'the little ones will be delighted.' Then he lit a big pipe and began to smoke, and soon he took a roll of soft fur from a shelf in a corner and commenced to cut it out in the shape of a rabbit. He smoked and whistled all the time he was working, and he talked to me in such a jolly way that I sat perfectly still and allowed him to measure my ears and my legs so that he could cut the fur into the proper form.
"'Why, I've got your nose too long, Bunny,' he said once; and so he snipped a little off the fur he was cutting, so that the toy rabbit's nose should be like mine. And again he said, 'Good gracious! the ears are too short entirely!' So he had to get a needle and thread and sew on more fur to the ears, so that they might be the right size. But after a time it was all finished, and then he stuffed the fur full of sawdust and sewed it up neatly; after which he put in some glass eyes that made the toy rabbit look wonderfully life-like. When it was all done he put it on the table beside me, and at first I didn't know whether I was the live rabbit or the toy rabbit, we were so much alike.
"'It's a very good job,' said Santa, nodding his head at us pleasantly; 'and I shall have to make alot of these rabbits, for the little children are sure to be greatly pleased with them.'
"So he immediately began to make another, and this time he cut the fur just the right size, so that it was even better than the first rabbit.
"'I must put a squeak in it,' said Santa.
"So he took a box of squeaks from a shelf and put one into the rabbit before he sewed it up. When it was all finished he pressed the toy rabbit with his thumb, and it squeaked so naturally that I jumped off the table, fearing at first the new rabbit was alive. Old Santa laughed merrily at this, and I soon recovered from my fright and was pleased to think the babies were to have such pretty playthings.
"'After this,' said Santa Claus, 'I can make rabbits without having you for a pattern; but if you like you may stay a few days longer in my castle and amuse yourself.'
"I thanked him and decided to stay. So for several days I watched him making all kinds of toys, and I wondered to see how quickly he made them, and how many new things he invented.
"'I almost wish I was a child,' I said to him one day, 'for then I too could have playthings.'
"'Ah, you can run about all day, in summer and in winter, and enjoy yourself in your own way,' said Santa; 'but the poor little children are obliged to stay in the house in the winter and on rainy days inthe summer, and then they must have toys to amuse them and keep them contented.'
"I knew this was true, so I only said, admiringly,
"'You must be the quickest and the best workman in all the world, Santa.'
"'I suppose I am,' he answered; 'but then, you see, I have been making toys for hundreds of years, and I make so many it is no wonder I am skillful. And now, if you are ready to go home, I'll hitch up the reindeer and take you back again.'
"'Oh, no,' said I, 'I prefer to run by myself, for I can easily find the way and I want to see the country.'
"'If that is the case,' replied Santa, 'I must give you a magic collar to wear, so that you will come to no harm.'
"So, after Mother Hubbard had given me a good meal of turnips and sliced cabbage, Santa Claus put the magic collar around my neck and I started for home. I took my time on the journey, for I knew nothing could harm me, and I saw a good many strange sights before I got back to this place again."
"But what became of the magic collar?" asked Dorothy, who had listened with breathless interest to the rabbit's story.
"After I got home," replied the rabbit, "the collar disappeared from around my neck, and I knew Santa had called it back to himself again. He did not give it to me, you see; he merely let me take iton my journey to protect me. The next Christmas, when I watched by the road-side to see Santa, I was pleased to notice a great many of the toy rabbits sticking out of the loaded sleigh. The babies must have liked them, too, for every year since I have seen them amongst the toys.
"Santa never forgets me, and every time he passes he calls out, in his jolly voice,
"'A merry Christmas to you, Bun Rabbit! The babies still love you dearly.'"
The Rabbit paused, and Dorothy was just about to ask another question when Bunny raised his head and seemed to hear something coming.
"What is it?" enquired the girl.
"It's the farmer's big shepherd dog," answered the Rabbit, "and I must be going before he sees me, or I shall have to run for my life. So good bye, Dorothy; I hope we shall meet again, and then I will gladly tell you more of my adventures."
The next instant he had sprung into the wood, and all that Dorothy could see of him was a gray streak darting in and out amongst the trees.