TIMOTHY TUTTLE AND THE LITTLE IMPS
Timothy Tuttle, Esquire,was reclining on his soft, comfortable sofa. The gas-light flashed brilliantly over the rich rug and rosewood furniture, and fell softly on the velvet-seated chairs and heavy curtains. It was a mild evening in June, and the cool air came refreshingly in, while the bright light flashed gaily out the windows.
Timothy Tuttle, Esquire, one of the richest merchants in the city, was reposing after the fatigues of the day. He was thinking how very good and respectable he was, and of his success in life, of his great wealth, and especially of his ships now in the China seas, which were bringing him even more wealth. Then he thought of his plans for a fine new mansion, and how he would now be able to purchase many costly things for his home. Very soon he grew weary, and fell asleep.
Suddenly he awoke and heard something moving over the rug, and turning his head to see what it was, beheld a dozen or more of the strangest little creatures capering about. They were like little Imps in human form, but winged and not higher than Timothy’s knee. They were coal-blackfrom head to foot, and were moving around with grace and agility.
Timothy Tuttle was a brave man, but he was very much startled to see this unexpected sight. For as soon as the little Imps perceived that he was awake, they began to bow to him in quick succession, more and more rapidly, and all the time grinning and showing their white teeth from ear to ear.
Then Timothy Tuttle heard something squeak close to his head, and saw one of the little creatures sitting on the arm of the sofa and mowing at him.
“Don’t be afraid, Timothy, it’s only I!” it squeaked.
“Who on earth are you,” asked Timothy, “and what do you want?”
This question seemed to amuse all the little fellows hugely, for they began to bow again, grinning and capering in fine style, and crying out:—
“How do you do, Timothy?”
“We are very glad to see you, Timothy!”
“Don’t be afraid, Timothy, we’re all here!”
“I am glad of that!” exclaimed Timothy; “I’m glad that there are no more of you!”
“Plenty more! Plenty more, Timothy!” they cried, laughing and holding their sides. “But we’ll do, Timothy! We’ll do! Oh, yes, we’ll do! We’ll do!”
Timothy Tuttle was no coward, but he could not help feeling somewhat frightened as he looked at their antics; and he gazed around to see where they could have come in. The door was locked, and only the window was open.
“What do you want? Go away! Go away!” he cried, in a husky voice.
The little Imps grinned all the more.
“Dee-lighted to see you, Timothy!”
“Flattering reception, Timothy!”
“We’ll be happy to stay, Timothy!”
And with that they began to bow again with great politeness.
Timothy looked about for some weapon of defence, but saw nothing within reach.
“What do you want?” he demanded again.
“Want you, Timothy!”
“Must come with us, Timothy!”
“Where to?” he demanded.
At that all the little Imps pointed over their shoulders with their thumbs, to the open window.
Timothy reflected that, as he was in the second story of the house, any attempt to go out by the window, without wings, would be preposterous. He drew his hand across his eyes to make sure that he was not asleep; then he looked again, and there were all the little Imps bowing more politely than ever. He seized a pillow, and was about to throw it at them, when they flew athim, dragged the pillow out of his hands, overpowered him, and picking him up by the arms and legs, flew out of the window, carrying him off bodily.
How far he was carried Timothy Tuttle never knew, but it seemed to him a very long distance. When he found himself again at liberty, he was lying on the bare ground in the cold moonlight. He sprang up, and saw all the little Imps standing in a circle around him, bowing and nodding with great good-humour.
He looked about. He found himself on an open plain, surrounded by forests. Nothing was in sight except a very large Gothic building in the centre of the plain. It was old, but a larger and more magnificent building Timothy had never seen. Its pointed roof rose to the skies, and stained-glass windows adorned its gray stone walls. The turrets and towers were beautifully carved, and the walls were hung here and there with green ivy. But the building was falling into decay. Some of the windows were broken, and some of the stones crumbling to ruin. A few of the arches were fallen, and the roof threatened to cave in.
Timothy Tuttle turned from surveying this building, to look at his grinning companions.
“You’re wanted, Timothy!” cried one.
“Where?” he asked hoarsely.
They all pointed over their shoulders with their thumbs at the great door of the building.
“But what if I will not go?” he asked, in as cool and determined a voice as he could assume.
At this all the little Imps began to caper about in great glee, singing:—
“Mortals rashWho disobey,Little ImpsWill bear away!If they stillRefuse to go,If they dareTo answer, ‘No!’Take a pin,And stick it in!”
“Mortals rashWho disobey,Little ImpsWill bear away!If they stillRefuse to go,If they dareTo answer, ‘No!’Take a pin,And stick it in!”
“Mortals rash
Who disobey,
Little Imps
Will bear away!
If they still
Refuse to go,
If they dare
To answer, ‘No!’
Take a pin,
And stick it in!”
At that instant Timothy Tuttle felt a sharp pain in one of his legs, and he could not help crying out. He knew that there was nothing to do but to obey, so he turned and walked toward the building, while the quick patter of tiny feet and the flutter of wings told him that the little Imps were close behind.
Only once did he turn his head, and his ears were greeted with:—
“Oh, yes, Timothy! We’re all here!”
When Timothy had entered the door, he found that the interior of the building was one great room. Around its sides were galleries rising tier above tier, and under the galleries were recesses and alcoves; still, it was all one room.
From the centre of the arched ceiling hung a splendid chandelier, with a thousand lamps. But most of the lights were extinguished, and the few that were burning, flickered and smoked so badly that the building was dimly lighted.
When Timothy first entered, his ears were filled with a hissing and fluttering sound, and after he had been there long enough to become used to the dim light, he saw that the whole building was full of just such little Imps as had brought him hither. They were flying up and down, and flitting to and fro, and seemed very busy. Looking up, he saw four or five large windows through which some appeared to fly away, while others would dart through into the building with great swiftness, just as bees come and go from the hive. But the most astonishing part of it all was their extraordinary politeness to Timothy, and the grinning that showed on all sides as he entered.
Now, as we have said before, Timothy Tuttle was no coward, and, stepping up to one of the little Imps who had just flown in, he said:—
“You seem to know me.”
“Oh, yes, Timothy!” replied the little fellow, nodding violently. “Yes! I know you! I know you!”
“Well, where do you all go to out those windows? And where do you come from?”
“Oh, I’ve just been to China!”
Timothy looked as if he did not believe him.
“Yes, I’ve just been to the China seas, on board your ships, and I have been counting your wealth.” And the little wretch winked fast and knowingly.
Timothy was dumb. He remembered what he had been thinking when he fell asleep.
His grinning companion left him, and he wandered about the great edifice, where he saw a large number of little Imps busily at work. Some were painting the wall with small brushes. It was amazing to see how rapidly they could sketch a picture.
Timothy watched them for a moment, and fairly held his breath when he saw one by one past scenes of his own life start out upon the wall. Many of the scenes he had thought that no one knew of but himself. But here one or another of his deeds, good and bad, was drawn to the very life upon the wall! And as they worked, the little fellows grinned and sang, but Timothy could not understand what they said.
Timothy turned away from these grinning little creatures, and moved to where another group were sketching other pictures. He was almost afraid to look at the pictures, but when he did so, he saw that the painters were making designs too ugly and horrid to look at. But Timothy was perplexed, for of all the pictures therewas none that he did not think he had seensomewherebefore. And these little Imps were singing the same song that the others were singing, and Timothy thought that he caught the refrain:—
“Bad little,Sad little,Mad littleThoughts!”
“Bad little,Sad little,Mad littleThoughts!”
“Bad little,
Sad little,
Mad little
Thoughts!”
Here he turned to look into the recesses and alcoves under the galleries. Not all the inhabitants of the edifice were like the little creatures who had brought him hither. Oh, no! In the shadows of the great pillars there lurked and crawled great slimy things that made one shudder to see. Enormous spiders, larger than any Timothy had ever dreamed of, ran swiftly across the floor. Centipedes and lizards clung to the mouldy walls, and cold, slippery serpents glided noiselessly along. Occasionally he came upon huge shapeless creatures who lay curled upon the floor, staring at him with watery eyes.
Timothy hastily picked his way out into the light again. Here he found other groups of painters. One group was using brighter colours and blending them beautifully. But he could scarcely believe his own eyes when he saw the picture of the fine mansion he was planning, and the images of a thousand other things he had wished and hoped for.
But the painters in the next group were acting very strangely. They touched their brushes to the wall hastily and tremblingly, glancing over their shoulders as if in terror. And though their pictures did not assume any definite form, Timothy felt most uneasy. There he saw the dim outline of another world of which he had heard, but had forgotten to think of for many years.
Meanwhile Timothy had reached the upper end of the room, and found himself close to a great curtain tightly drawn. On either side of it he beheld a marble basin. One of the basins had evidently contained a fountain, but it was now half choked with mud, and only a little water oozed out of it. On looking into the other, he was astonished to find it full of liquid fire.
Just then he heard behind the curtain the sound as of a mighty rushing wind, and at the same moment the two fountains boiled up and cast out their dirt, and this they continued to do until each basin was brimming full, one of pure water and the other of pure fire.
The little Imps, too, heard the sound. At first they were awed and hushed; then they began to fly about in confusion until Timothy was bewildered by the noise and movement.
Suddenly the curtain was parted, and Timothy saw a stately Lady seated upon a throne in a noble arched recess. Her head was thrownback, her eyes flashed, and in her hand she held a scourge every thong of which seemed to writhe and twist and end in little snappers of fire.
At the sight of this scourge and the frown on the Lady’s face, all the little Imps began to howl dismally. The Lady arose, and came down from her throne into the centre of the room, and the little Imps fled before her. But they could not escape. Seizing the first one she met, she plunged him several times into the basin of water. Then taking him out, she carried him kicking and quivering to the other basin, and plunged him into the fire. Timothy stood horror-stricken. He leaned against a pillar to support himself, but what was his astonishment to see the Lady take the little fellow out of the basin, and release him; and he ran away unharmed. But a strange thing had happened. The little Imp was no longer so black, and instead of grinning maliciously, he was now smiling as pleasantly as possible.
The Lady seized every little Imp in the room, in the same manner, and plunged him into both basins. Then she collected troops of the Imps, and drove them before her with the fiery scourge. She made them begin to scrape the dirt off the floor, and down from the walls, to repair the broken places in the roof, and to polish the rusty and musty spots. And all the rubbish she madethem throw into the basin full of pure fire. Sometimes two or three little Imps would carry one of the great slimy reptiles, and drop him in, and all those thus dropped into the fire never came out again.
And as the little Imps worked, they broke into a song:—
“All the rubbishThither take!Little whipWill make us ache!Tug! Tug!The big bug,Spider foul,And slimy thing,In the fire,Lightly fling!“Rub! Rub!Off the rust!Sweep! Sweep!Away the dust!Sparkle! Sparkle!Precious stone,Pearly roof,And ivory throne!“Oh, dear! dear! dear!Hear the fiery lashes crack!On each little lazy back!Hear the glowing basin boil!Little Imps must burn or toil!”
“All the rubbishThither take!Little whipWill make us ache!Tug! Tug!The big bug,Spider foul,And slimy thing,In the fire,Lightly fling!“Rub! Rub!Off the rust!Sweep! Sweep!Away the dust!Sparkle! Sparkle!Precious stone,Pearly roof,And ivory throne!“Oh, dear! dear! dear!Hear the fiery lashes crack!On each little lazy back!Hear the glowing basin boil!Little Imps must burn or toil!”
“All the rubbishThither take!Little whipWill make us ache!Tug! Tug!The big bug,Spider foul,And slimy thing,In the fire,Lightly fling!
“All the rubbish
Thither take!
Little whip
Will make us ache!
Tug! Tug!
The big bug,
Spider foul,
And slimy thing,
In the fire,
Lightly fling!
“Rub! Rub!Off the rust!Sweep! Sweep!Away the dust!Sparkle! Sparkle!Precious stone,Pearly roof,And ivory throne!
“Rub! Rub!
Off the rust!
Sweep! Sweep!
Away the dust!
Sparkle! Sparkle!
Precious stone,
Pearly roof,
And ivory throne!
“Oh, dear! dear! dear!Hear the fiery lashes crack!On each little lazy back!Hear the glowing basin boil!Little Imps must burn or toil!”
“Oh, dear! dear! dear!
Hear the fiery lashes crack!
On each little lazy back!
Hear the glowing basin boil!
Little Imps must burn or toil!”
Timothy watched and listened until he became very weary; then he stretched himself out on the floor and fell asleep.
When he awoke, he found himself lying in a dazzling light. How long he had been asleep he did not know. He sprang to his feet with an agility and ease that he had never felt before. He looked about him. There was still the same great room, the same chandelier with its thousand lamps, the same pattering of little feet and rustling of wings! But, oh, how changed! How changed!
The arched roof was composed of transparent pearl, delicately carved, and fretted with lines of brilliant rose-diamonds. Pendants hung from the arches, formed of great diamonds and pearls cut into exquisite shapes. The walls were of ruby and topaz, and sparkled with mosaics of precious gems, representing scenes more beautiful than any ever seen on earth. The huge pillars were of jasper and around them was twined the graceful immortal amaranth. The floor was of coloured marble, inlaid with onyx and amethyst.
In the noble recess at the end of the room, sat the Lady on a throne carved from ivory and studded with diamonds. Her scourge and frown had disappeared, and from her smiling countenance shone a divine beauty.
The chandelier, every lamp of which was now pouring out a silver light, sent a glowing radiance into the farthest corners and recesses under the galleries, and revealed no signs of stain or shadow. The basins threw high their spray ofsparkling water and pure fire, looking like fountains of liquid light, which fell back again with the softest music.
But the greatest change of all was in the little Imps. They were each and all of a purer transparency of white than anything Timothy had ever conceived. And there was not one upon whose face did not play a smile of joy. Some of them were working harder than ever, while others were bathing in the fountains, darting and fluttering in and out of the spray. They looked as light and brilliant as soap-bubbles in the sun, and flashing from their wings were all the colours of the rainbow. Indeed, the little Imps shone so brightly that Timothy could scarcely look at them.
But while he was examining all these wonderful changes with admiration, he heard a silver trumpet ring through the edifice. And as its sweet notes died away among the pearl arches, the little Imps with myriad voices, as sweet and clear as the trumpet-call, sang:—
“Lightly we riseIn the azure shies!Lightly we dart away!Lightly we roamThrough the boundless dome!Or in pathless depths we stray!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!“When we would tryHow high we can fly,When we would gazeOn His brightest rays,When through glory we range,In colours strange,Lightly we turn to God!There hide!There abide!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!”
“Lightly we riseIn the azure shies!Lightly we dart away!Lightly we roamThrough the boundless dome!Or in pathless depths we stray!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!“When we would tryHow high we can fly,When we would gazeOn His brightest rays,When through glory we range,In colours strange,Lightly we turn to God!There hide!There abide!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!”
“Lightly we riseIn the azure shies!Lightly we dart away!Lightly we roamThrough the boundless dome!Or in pathless depths we stray!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!
“Lightly we rise
In the azure shies!
Lightly we dart away!
Lightly we roam
Through the boundless dome!
Or in pathless depths we stray!
Bright little,
White little,
Light little
Thoughts!
“When we would tryHow high we can fly,When we would gazeOn His brightest rays,When through glory we range,In colours strange,Lightly we turn to God!There hide!There abide!Bright little,White little,Light littleThoughts!”
“When we would try
How high we can fly,
When we would gaze
On His brightest rays,
When through glory we range,
In colours strange,
Lightly we turn to God!
There hide!
There abide!
Bright little,
White little,
Light little
Thoughts!”
Then the most amazing thing of all happened. Timothy Tuttle, Esquire, suddenly found himself lying once more on the soft, comfortable sofa in his own home. The gas-light was flashing over the rich rug and rosewood furniture, just as it had done when he had last seen the room. He raised himself on his elbow and looked around, but not one of the little Imps was there. Indeed, he could find no traces of them except the marks of their tiny black feet on the rug.
But from that day forward Timothy was a changed man. His face was no longer hard and selfish, but it beamed with good and kind thoughts. He no longer preferred wealth to everything else in the world. He gave up the plan for his fine new mansion—indeed, he no longer wished for one—and he spent the remainder of his days making his family and friends happy, and relieving the poor and needy.
Dr. John Todd(Adapted)