"Ai! ai! we know not why;Wow! wow! we know not how.
"Thou removedst thyself. Thou raisedst the paw of strength and the hind-feet of swiftness. Because we slept, thou hast gone away, and we are desolate, awaiting the speedily-advancing death.
"Hong! Kong! Punka-wunka-woggle!Hong! Kong! Punka-wunka-wogg!"
While thus the wretched priests lay on the golden floor, bewailing their sin and its dreadful consequences, there fell suddenly on their ears a loud and heavy sound. It was at some distance,—a heavy clang, as of some one striking on metal. "Pong! pong!" what could it be? And now came other sounds,—the opening and shutting of gates, the tread of hasty feet, the sound of hurried voices, and finally a loud knocking at the door of the Temple itself.
"Open, most holy Priests of the Saki-Pan!" cried a voice. "We have strange and fearful news! Open without delay!"
The unhappy priests hurried to the door, and flung it open with trembling hands. Without stood all the guards of all the gates,the white and the steel-clad soldiers clustering about the four black-clad guardians of the outer gate.
"Speak!" said the chief priest in great agitation, "what is your errand?"
"O Priest!" said the black guards, trembling with excitement, "we heard a great knocking at the gate."
"Yes, yes!" cried the priest, "I know it. What more?"
"O Priest!" said the guards, "we were affrighted, so great was the noise; so we opened the gate but a little way, and peeped through; and we saw—we saw—" They paused, and gasped for breath.
"Speak, sons of pigs!" shrieked the priest, "whatdid you see?"
"We saw the Golden Dragon!" said the soldiers, in a fearful whisper. "He is sitting up—on his hind-legs—with his mouth open! and he knocked—he knocked—"
But the priests of the Saki-Pan waited to hear no more. Rushing through the court-yards, they flung wide open the great bronzegates. They caught up the Golden Dragon, they raised it high on their shoulders, and with shouts of rejoicing they bore it back to the Temple, while the guards prostrated themselves before it.
"He went out!" sang the priests. "He walked abroad, for the glory and welfare of his subjects. He cast upon the city the eye of beneficence; he waved over it the plenipotentiary tail!
"Ai! ai! we know not why!Wow! wow! we know not how!
Glory to the Holy Dragon, and happiness and peace to the city and the people!"
But in the house of Ly-Chee all was sunshine and rejoicing. At daybreak a procession had come down the little street,—a troop of soldiers in the imperial uniform, with music sounding before them, and gay banners flaunting in the morning air. In the midst of the troop rode Ly-Chee, on a splendid black horse. He was dressed ina robe of crimson satin embroidered with gold, and round his neck hung strings of jewels most glorious to see. Behind him walked twenty slaves, each carrying a fat bag of golden ducats; and after the troop came more slaves, bearing gilded brooms with ivory handles and scrubbing-shoes of the finest quality. And all the soldiers and all the slaves cried aloud, continually:—
"Honor to Ly-Chee, the Chief-Sweeper of the court-yard! Honor and peace to him and all his house!"
The procession stopped before the little house, and the good sweeper, stupefied still with astonishment at his wonderful good fortune, dismounted and clasped his wife and children in his arms. And they wept together for joy, and the soldiers and the slaves and all the people wept with them.
But the Celestial Emperor, Wah-Song, lay in bed for two weeks, speaking to no man, and eating nothing but water-gruel. And when he arose, at the end of that time, behold! he was as meek as a six-years old child.
THE grandmother's story was received with great approbation, and the different members of the family commented on it, each after his fashion.
"I should like to have been Chop-Chin!" exclaimed Toto. "How exciting it must have been! Only think, Coon, of talking to the Emperor in that way, and scolding him as if he were a little boy."
"Well, I never saw an Emperor," said the raccoon; "but I certainly should not wish to talk to one, if they are all such wretched creatures as Wah-Song.Ishould like to have been the Finishing-Toucher; then if he had pulledmynose—hum! ha! we should see!"
"Dear Madam," said the bear, who had been staring meditatively into the fire, "thereis one thing in the story that I do not understand; that is—well—you spoke of the boy's having a pig-tail."
"Yes, Bruin!" said the grandmother. "A Chinese pig-tail, you know."
"Yes, certainly," said Bruin. "A Chinese pig's tail it would naturally be. Now, I confess I do not seehowa pig's tail could be worn on the head, or how it could be unbraided; that is, if the Chinese pigs have tails like that of our friend in the sty yonder."
Toto laughed aloud at this, and even the grandmother could not help smiling a very little; but she gently told Bruin what a Chinaman's pig-tail was, and how he wore it. Meantime, Miss Mary, the parrot, looked on with an air of dignified amusement.
"My respected father," she said presently, "spent some years in China. It is a fine country, though too far from Africa for my taste."
"Tell us about your father, Miss Mary!" exclaimed the squirrel. "Fine old bird he must have been, eh?"
"He was, indeed!" replied the parrot, with some emotion. "He was a noble bird. His beak, which I am said to have inherited, was the envy of every parrot in Central Africa. He could whistle in nine languages, and his tail—but as the famous poet Gabblio has sweetly sung,—
"'All languages and tongues must fail,In speaking of Polacko's tail.'
"Polacko was my father's name," she explained. "He was universally respected. Ah, me!"
"But how came he to go to China?" asked Toto.
"He was captured, my dear, and taken there when very young. He lived there for twenty years, with one of the chief mandarins of the empire. He led a happy life, with a perch and ring of ebony and silver, the freedom of the house, and chow-chow four times a day. At last, however, the young grandson of the mandarin insisted upon my father's learning to eat with chopsticks.The lofty spirit of Polacko could not brook this outrage, and the door being left open one day he flew away and made his way to Africa, the home of his infancy, where he passed the rest of his life. I drop a tear," added Miss Mary, raising her claw gracefully to her eyes, "to his respected memory."
Nobody saw the tear, but all looked grave and sympathetic, and the good-natured bear said, "Quite right, I'm sure. Very proper, certainly!"
But now the grandmother rose and folded up her knitting.
"Dear friends, and Toto, boy," she said, "it is bed-time, now, for the clock has struck nine. Good-night, and pleasant dreams to you all. My good Bruin, you will cover the fire, and lock up the house?"
"Trust me for that, dear Madam!" said the bear, heartily.
"Come, then, Cracker," said the old lady. "Your basket is all ready for you, and it is high time you were in it." And with thesquirrel perched on her shoulder she went into her own little room, closing the door behind her.
After exchanging mutual "good-nights," the other members of the family sought their respective sleeping-places. The birds flew to their perches, and each, tucking her head and one leg away in some mysterious manner, became suddenly a very queer looking creature indeed.
"Coon," said Toto, "come and sleep on my bed, won't you? My feet were cold, last night, and you do make such a delightful foot-warmer."
"Humph!" said the raccoon, doubtfully. "I don't know, Toto. It won't be as warm formeas my basket, though no doubt it would be nice for you."
"I'll put the big blue dressing-gown over you," said Toto. "You know you like that, because you can put your nose in the pocket, and keep it warm."
"All right," cried the raccoon. "Come along, then!" and off they went.
Bruin now proceeded to rake the ashes over the fire, covering it neatly and carefully. He filled the kettle; he drew the bolts of door and windows; and finally, when all was snug and safe, the good bear laid himself down on the hearth-rug, and soon was fast asleep.
Now all was quiet in the little cottage. Outside, the snow still fell, softly, steadily, silently. In the shed, Bridget, the cow, was sleeping soundly, with a cock and three hens roosting on her back, according to their invariable custom. In the warm, covered sty the pig also slept. He had no name, the pig; he would have scorned one.
"I am a pig," he was wont to say, "and as such every one knows me. There is no danger of my being mistaken for anything else." Which was very true.
But though slumber held fast, apparently, all the dwellers in cottage, shed, and sty, there were in reality two pairs of eyes which were particularly wide-awake at this moment. They were very black eyes, very bright eyes,and they were, if you wish to know, peeping into the kitchen through the crack under the cellar-door, to see what they could see.
"Nobody there!" said little brown Squeak.
"No, nobody there!" said little brown Scrabble.
"Hark! what was that noise?" cried Squeak.
"Only the wind!" said Scrabble.
"Do you think we can get through the crack?" said Squeak.
"Nothing like trying!" said Scrabble.
"Scrabble!" went little brown Squeak.
"Squeak!" went little brown Scrabble.
And the next moment they were in the kitchen.
It was nearly dark, but not quite, for the covered embers still sent out a dusky glow. It was warm; the floor was smooth and flat; there was a smell as if there might be something to eat, somewhere. Altogether, it was a very pleasant place for two little mice to play in; and as they had it all to themselves, why should they not play? Play they did,therefore, with right good-will; scampering hither and thither, rolling over and over each other, poking their little sharp noses into every crack and cranny they could find. Oh, what fun it was! How smooth the floor! how pleasant the dry, warm air, after their damp cellar-home!
But about that smell, now! where did it come from? Playing and romping is hungry work, and the two little brown mouse-stomachs are empty. It seems to come from under that cupboard door. The crack is wide enough to let out the smell, but not quite wide enough to let in Messrs. Scrabble and Squeak. If they could enlarge it a bit, now, with the sharp little tools which they always carry in their mouths! So said, so done! "Nibble! nibble! nibble! Gnaw! gnaw! gnaw!" It is very fatiguing work; but, see! the crack widens. If one made oneselfverysmall, now? It is done, and the two mice find themselves in the immediate neighborhood of a large piece of squash pie. Oh, joy! oh, delight! too great for speech or squeak,but just right for attack. "Nibble! nibble! Gobble! gobble!" and soon the plate shines white and empty, with only the smell of the roses—I mean the pie—clinging round it still. There is nothing else to eat in the cupboard, is there? Yes! what is this paper package which smells so divinely, sending a warm, spicy, pungent fragrance through the air? Ah! pie was good, but this will be better! Nibble through the paper quickly, and then— Alas! alas! the spicy fragrance meansginger, and it is not only warm, buthot. Oh, it burns! oh, it scorches! fire is in our mouths, in our noses, our throats, our little brown stomachs, now only too well filled. Water! water! or we die, and never see our cool, beloved cellar again. Hurry down from the shelf, creep through the crack, rush frantically round the kitchen. Surely there is a smell of water? Yes, yes! there it is, in that tin basin, yonder. Into it we go, splashing, dashing, drinking in the silver coolness, washing this fiery torment from our mouths and throats.
Thoroughly sobered by this adventure, the two little mice sat on the floor beside the basin, dripping and shivering, the water trickling from their long tails, their short ears, their sharp-pointed noses. They blinked sadly at each other with their bright black eyes.
"Shall we go home now, Scrabble?" said Squeak. "It is late, and Mother Mouse will be looking for us."
"I'm so c-c-c-cold!" shivered Scrabble, who a moment before had been devoured by burning heat. "Don't you think we might dry ourselves before that fire before we go down?"
"Yes!" replied Squeak, "we will. But—what is that great black thing in front of the fire?"
"A hill, of course!" said the other. "A black hill, I should say. Shall we climb over it, or go round it?"
"Oh, let us climb over it!" said Squeak. "The exercise will help to warm us; and it is such a queer-looking hill, I want to explore it."
So they began to climb up the vast black mass, which occupied the whole space in front of the fireplace.
"How soft the ground is! and it is warm, too!"
"Because it is near the fire, stupid!"
"And what is this tall black stuff that grows so thick all over it? It isn't a bit like grass, or trees either."
"Itisgrass, of course, stupid! what else could it be? Come on! come on! we are nearly at the top, now."
"Scrabble," said little brown Squeak, stopping short, "you may call me stupid as much as you please, butIdon't like this place. I—I—I think it is moving."
"Moving?" said little brown Scrabble, in a tone of horror.
And then the two little mice clutched each other with their little paws, and wound their little tails round each other, and held on tight, tight, for the black masswasmoving! There was a long, stretching, undulating movement, slow but strong; andthen came a quick, violent, awful shake, which sent the two brothers slipping, sliding, tumbling headlong to the floor. Picking themselves up as well as they could, and casting one glance back at the black hill, they rushed shrieking and squeaking to the cellar-door, and literally flung themselves through the crack. For in that glance they had seen a vast red cavern, a yawning gulf of fire, open suddenly in the black mass, which was now heaving and shuddering all over. And from this fiery cavern came smoke and flame (at least so the mice said when they got home to the maternal hole), and an awful roaring sound, which shook the whole house and made the windows rattle.
"Home to our Mother Mouse! Home to our Mother Mouse! and never, never, will we leave our cellar again!"
But Bruin sat up on his haunches, and scratched himself and stretched himself, and gave another mighty yawn.
"Haw-wa-wow-you-wonk!" said the good bear. "Those must have been very livelyfleas, to wake me out of a sound sleep. I wonder where they have crept to! I don't seem to feel them now. Ha! humph! Yaow! very sleepy! Not morning yet; take another nap."
And stretching his huge length once more along the floor, Bruin slept again.
AT dinner the next day, it was noticed that Coon was very melancholy. He shook his head frequently, and sighed so deeply and sorrowfully that the kind heart of the wood-pigeon was moved to pity.
"Are you not well, my dear Coon?" she asked. "Something has gone amiss with you, evidently. Tell us what it is."
The raccoon shook his head again, and looked unutterably doleful.
"I knew how it would be, Coon," said the bear. "You shouldn't have eaten that third pie for supper. Two pies are enough for anybody, after such a quantity of bread and honey and milk as you had."
Coon sighed again, more deeply than before.
"Ididn'teat it all," he said; "I only wish I had!"
"Why, Coon," queried Toto, "what's the trouble?"
"Well," said Coon, "there was a piece left. I couldn't eat any more, so I put it away in the cupboard, thinking I would have it for lunch to-day. It was a lovely piece. I never saw such a squash pie as that was, anyhow, and that piece—"
He paused, and seemed lost in the thought of the pie.
"Well!" exclaimed Toto. "So youdideat it for your lunch, and now you are unhappy because you didn't keep it for dinner. Is that it?"
"Not at all!" replied the other, "not at all! I trust I am notgreedy, Toto,whatevermy faults may be. I went to get it for my luncheon, for I had been working all the morning like a—"
"Dormouse!"
"Tree-toad!"
"Grasshopper!" murmured the squirrel, the bear, and Toto, simultaneously.
"Like araccoon!" he continued severely."I can say no more than that; and I was desperately hungry. I went to the cupboard to get my piece of pie, and it was—gone!"
"Gone!" exclaimed the grandmother; "why, who can have taken it?"
"That is the point, Madam!" said Coon. "It was some small creature, for it got in through the crack under the cupboard door, gnawing away the wood. I have examined the marks," he added, "and they are the marks of small, very sharp teeth." And he looked significantly at the squirrel.
"What do you mean by looking at me in that way?" demanded little Cracker, whisking his tail fiercely, and bristling all over. "I've a good mind to bite your ears with my sharp teeth. I never touched your old pie. If you say I did, I'll throw this cheese—"
"Cracker! Cracker!" said the grandmother, gently, "you forget yourself! Good manners at table, you know. I am sure," she added, as Cracker hung his head and looked much ashamed, "that none of us think seriously for a moment that you took the pie. Coonloves his joke; but he has a good heart, and he would not really give you pain, I know. Of course he did not mean anything. Am I not right, Coon?"
It is only justice to the raccoon to say that he was rather abashed at this. He rubbed his nose, and gave a deprecatory wink at Bruin, who was looking very serious; then, recovering himself, he beamed expansively on the squirrel, who still looked fierce, though respect for "Madam" kept him silent.
"Mean anything?" he cried. "Dear Madam, do Ievermean anything,—anything unkind, at least?" he added hastily, as Toto looked up with a suppressed chuckle. "I beg your pardon, Cracker, my boy, and I hope you won't bear malice. As for those marks—"
"Those marks," interrupted the bear, who had risen from his seat and was examining the cupboard door, "were made by mice. I am quite sure of it."
"So am I," said Miss Mary, quietly. "I saw them do it."
"What!"
"You!"
"When?"
"How?"
"Tell us!" exclaimed every one, in a breath.
"Two brown mice," said Miss Mary, "came out from under the cellar-door about midnight. They gnawed at the cupboard till they had made the crack wide enough to pass through. Then I heard them say, 'Squash pie!' and heard them nibbling, or rather gobbling. After a while they came rushing out as if the cat were after them, and jumped into the water-basin. Then they tried to climb up Bruin's back, but he yawned like an alligator, and shook them off, and they ran hurry-scurry under the cellar-door again."
A great laugh broke out at this recital of Messrs. Squeak and Scrabble's nocturnal adventure, and under cover of the laughter the raccoon approached the parrot.
"Why didn't you give the alarm," heasked, "or drive off the mice yourself? You knew it was my pie, for you saw me put it there."
Miss Mary cocked her bright yellow eye at him expressively.
"I lost two feathers from my tail, yesterday," she said. "Somebody bit them off while I was asleep. They were fine feathers, and I cannot replace them."
The two exchanged a long, deep look. At length—
"Miss Mary," said the raccoon aloud, "what was the color of your lamented husband? You told us once, but I am ashamed to say I'm not positive that I remember."
"Green!" replied Miss Mary, in some surprise,—"a remarkably fine emerald green. But why do you ask?"
"Ah, I thought so!" said the raccoon, ingenuously. "That explains his choice of a wife.—Walk, Toto, did you say? I am with you, my boy!" and in three bounds he was out of the door, and leaping and frolicking about in the new-fallen snow.
Toto caught up his cap and followed him, and the two together made their way out of the yard, and walked, ran, leaped, jumped, tumbled, scrambled, toward the forest. The sky had cleared, and the sun shone brilliantly on the fresh white world. On every hand lay the snow,—here heaped and piled in fantastic drifts and strange half-human shapes; there spread smooth, like a vast counterpane. The tall trees of the forest bent under white feathery masses, which came tumbling down on Toto and his companion, as they lightly pushed the branches aside and entered the woods.
A winter walk in the woods! It is always a good thing for any one who has eyes in his head, but it is especially good when you see all that Coon and Toto saw; when you know, from every tiny track or footmark, what little creatures have been running or hopping about; when many of these little creatures are your friends, and all of them at least acquaintances. How fresh and crisp the air was! how soft and powdery and generallydelightful the snow! What a pleasant world it was, on the whole!
"Let me see!" said the raccoon, stopping and looking about him. "It is just about here that Chucky's aunt lives. Yes, I remember, now. You see that oak-stump yonder, with the moss on it? Well, her burrow is just under that. Suppose we give her a call, and tell her how her hopeful nephew is."
"Nonsense!" said Toto, "she is as fast asleep as he is, of course. We couldn't wake her if we tried, and why should we try?"
"Might have a game of ball with her," suggested the raccoon. "But I don't know that it's worth while, after all."
"Who lives in that hollow tree, now?" asked Toto. "The wild-cat used to live there, you know. It is a very comfortable tree, if I remember right."
"You found it so once, didn't you, Toto?" said Coon. "Do you remember that day, when a thunder-shower came up, and you crept into that hollow tree for shelter?Ha! ha! ha!doyou remember that day, my boy?"
"I should think I did remember it!" cried Toto. "I am not likely to forget it. It was raining guns and pitchforks, and the lightning was cracking and zigzagging all through the forest, it seemed, and the thunder crashing and bellowing and roaring—"
"Like Bruin, when the bumble-bee stung his nose!" put in the raccoon.
"Exactly!" said Toto. "There I was, curled up well in the hollow, thinking how lucky I was, when suddenly came two green eyes glowering at me, and a great spitting and spluttering and meowling.
"'Get out of my house!' said the creature. 'F-s-s-s-s-yeh-yow-s-s-s-s-s-s! get out of my house, I say!'
"'My dear Madam,' I said, 'it is really more than you can expect. You are already thoroughly wet, and if you come here you will only drip all over the nice dry hole and spoil it. Now,Iam quite dry; and to tell you the truth, I mean to remain so.'
"Oh, how angry that cat was!
"'My name is Klawtobitz!' she cried. 'I have lived in this tree for seven years, and I am not going to be turned out of it by a thing with two legs and no tail. Who are you, I say?'
"'I am a boy!' cried I, getting angry in my turn. 'I wouldn't have a tail if I was paid for it; and I willnotleave this hole!'
"And then the old cat humped her back, and grinned till I saw every tooth in her head, and came flying at me,—claws spread, and tail as big round as my arm. There we fought, tooth and nail, fist and claw, till we were both out of breath. Finally I got her by the throat, and she made her teeth meet in my arm, and there we both were. I had heard no noise save the cat's screeching in my ear; but now, suddenly, a great growly voice, close beside us, cried,—
"'Fair play! fair play! no choking!'
"We both dropped our hold, and looking up, saw—"
"Bruin and me!" interrupted the raccoon,joyously. "We were taking a quiet prowl in the rain, and hearing the scuffle, stopped to see what was going on. Such a pretty fight I had not seen in a long time, and it was really too bad of Bruin to stop it. How old Ma'am Wildcat's tail went down, though, when she saw him!"
"I am very glad he did stop it," said Toto. "I was quite a little chap then, you see,—only seven years old,—and it was going hard with me. I was frightened enough, though, I can tell you, when I saw Bruin standing there. He looked as big as an elephant, and I fully expected to be eaten up the next minute. But he said, in his great hearty voice,—
"'Give us your paw, my little fighting-cock! And you, Mrs. Wildcat, be off! I gave you warning a week ago, when you killed the wood-pigeon's nestlings. Off with you, now, quick, or—'"
"And she went!" cried Coon. "Oh, yes, my dear, she went! And I went after her! I chased that cat for ten miles, to the veryfarthest end of the forest. She had the start of me, and kept it pretty well, but I was just overhauling her when we came to the open; she gave a flying leap from the last tree, and went crash through the window of a farmhouse which stood close at hand! I thought she would probably be attended to there; so I went back, and found Bruin and you as sociable and friendly as if you had been brought up in the same den,—you sitting in the hole, with your funny red legs hanging out (you were the queerest-looking animal I had ever seen, Toto!), and he sitting up on his haunches, talking to you."
"And he invited us both to supper!" cried Toto. "Don't you remember, Coon? That was the first time I had ever seen any of you people, and I was dreadfully afraid that I should be the supper myself. But we went to his den, and had a jolly supper. Bruin ate three large watermelons, I remember. Hesaida man gave them to him."
"I think it very likely that he did," said Coon, "if Bruin asked him."
"And I showed you how to play leap-frog," continued Toto; "and we played it over Bruin's back till it was time for me to go home. And then you both walked with me to the edge of the forest, and there we swore eternal friendship."
"Ah!" said the raccoon, "that we did, my boy; and well have we kept the vow! And so long as Coon's tail has a single hair in it, will he ever cherish— Hello! what's that?" he cried with a sudden start, as a tiny brown creature darted swiftly across the path. "Woodmouse! I say, Woodmouse! stop a minute; you are just the fellow I want to see."
The woodmouse stopped and turned round, and greeted the two friends cordially.
"I haven't seen you for an age!" he said. "Coon, I supposed you had been asleep for a couple of months, at least. How does it happen that you are prowling about at this season?"
Coon briefly explained the state of the case, and then added:—
"I am specially glad to meet you, Woodmouse, for I want to consult you about something. There are some mice in the cellar of the cottage,—brown mice. Very troublesome, thieving creatures they are, and we want to get rid of them. Now, I suppose they are relatives of yours, eh?"
"Ahem! well—yes," the woodmouse admitted reluctantly. "Distant, you know, quite distant; but—a—yes, theyarerelatives. A wretched, disreputable set, I have heard, though I never met any of them."
"You have heard quite correctly!" said the raccoon, warmly. "They are a great annoyance to the Madam, and to all of us. They almost take the food out of our mouths; they destroy things in the cellar, and—and in fact, we want to get rid of them."
The woodmouse stared at him in amazement. "Really, Mr. Coon," he said, laughing, "I should not have supposed, from my past acquaintance with you, that you would have any difficulty in getting rid of them."
Raccoons cannot blush, or our Coon certainly would have done so. He rubbed his nose helplessly, somewhat after the fashion of Bruin, and cast a half-comical, half-rueful glance at Toto. Finally he replied,—
"Well, you see, Woodmouse, things are rather different from usual this winter. The fact is, our Madam has a strong objection to—a—in point of fact, to slaughter; and she made it a condition of our coming to spend the winter with her, that we should not kill other creatures unless it were necessary. So I thought if wecouldget rid of those mice in any other way, it would please her. I suppose there is plenty of room in the forest for another family of mice?"
"Oh! as far as room goes," replied the woodmouse, "they have a range of ten miles in which to choose their home. I cannot promise to call on them, you know; that could not be expected. But if they behave themselves, they may in time overcome the prejudice against them."
"Very well," said Coon, "I shall send them, then. How are you all at home?" he added, "and what is going on in your set?"
Now it was the woodmouse's turn to look confused.
"My son is to be married on the second evening after this," he said. "That is the only thing I know of."
"What?" cried Coon. "Your son Prick-ear? Why, he is one of my best friends! How strange that I should have heard nothing of it!"
"We didn't know—we really thought—we supposed you were asleep!" stammered the woodmouse.
"And so you chose this time for the wedding?" said the raccoon. "Now, I call that unfriendly, Woodmouse, and I shouldn't have thought it of you."
The woodmouse stroked his whiskers, and looked piteously at his formidable acquaintance. "Don't be offended, Coon!" he said. "Perhaps—perhaps you will come to thewedding, after all. Eh? of course we should be delighted."
"Yes, to be sure I will come!" said the raccoon, cheerily. "Idon't bear malice. Oh, yes! I will come, and Toto shall come, too. Where is it to take place?"
"We—we have engaged the cave for the evening," said the woodmouse, with some diffidence. "We have a large family connection, you know, and it is the only place big enough to hold them all."
Coon stared in amazement, and Toto gave a long whistle.
"The cave, eh?" he said. "I should say this was to be something very grand indeed. I should like very much to come, Woodmouse, if you think it would not trouble any of your family. I promise you that Coon shall be on his very best behavior, and—I'll tell you what!" he added, "I will provide the music, as I did last summer, at the Rabbit's Rinktum."
"No, not really! will you, though?" cried the little woodmouse, his slender tail quiveringwith delight. "We shall be infinitely obliged, Mr. Toto, infinitely obliged, sir! We shall count upon you both. Bring Cracker, too, and any other friends who may be staying with you. Would your grandmother, possibly—eh? care to come?"
"Thank you!" said Toto, gravely, "I think not. My grandmother never goes out in the evening."
"We might bring Bruin!" suggested Coon, with a sly wink at Toto.
But here the poor little woodmouse looked so unutterably distressed, that the two friends burst out laughing; and reassuring him by a word, bade him good-day, and proceeded on their walk.
"AND now," said the squirrel, when the tea-things were cleared away that evening, "now for dancing-school. If we are going to a ball, we really must be more sure of our steps than we are now. Coon, oblige me with a whisk of your tail over the hearth. Some coals have fallen from the fire, and we shall be treading on them."
"When the coals are cold," replied the raccoon, "I shall be happy to oblige you. At present they are red-hot. And meantime, as I have no idea of dancing immediately after my supper, I will, if you like, tell you the story of the Useful Coal, which your request brings to my mind. It is short, and will not take much time from the dancing-lesson."
Right willingly the family all seated themselves around the blazing fire, and the raccoon began as follows:—
THE USEFUL COAL.
There was once a king whose name was Sligo. He was noted both for his riches and his kind heart. One evening, as he sat by his fireside, a coal fell out on the hearth. The King took up the tongs, intending to put it back on the fire, but the coal said:—
"If you will spare my life, and do as I tell you, I will save your treasure three times, and tell you the name of the thief who steals it."
These words gave the King great joy, for much treasure had been stolen from him of late, and none of his officers could discover the culprit. So he set the coal on the table, and said:—
"Pretty little black and red bird, tell me, what shall I do?"
"Put me in your waistcoat pocket," said the coal, "and take no more thought for to-night."
Accordingly the King put the coal in his pocket, and then, as he sat before the warm fire, he grew drowsy, and presently fell fast asleep.
When he had been asleep some time, the door opened, very softly, and the High Cellarer peeped cautiously in. This was the one of the King's officers who had been most eager in searching for the thief. He now crept softly, softly, toward the King, and seeing that he was fast asleep, put his hand into his waistcoat-pocket; for in that waistcoat-pocket King Sligo kept the key of his treasure-chamber, and the High Cellarer was the thief. He put his hand into the waistcoat pocket. S-s-s-s-s! the coal burned it so frightfully that he gave a loud shriek, and fell on his knees on the hearth.
"What is the matter?" cried the King, waking with a start.
"Alas! your Majesty," said the High Cellarer, thrusting his burnt fingers into his bosom, that the King might not see them. "You were just on the point of falling forwardinto the fire, and I cried out, partly from fright and partly to waken you."
The King thanked the High Cellarer, and gave him a ruby ring as a reward. But when he was in his chamber, and making ready for bed, the coal said to him:—
"Once already have I saved your treasure, and to-night I shall save it again. Only put me on the table beside your bed, and you may sleep with a quiet heart."
So the King put the coal on the table, and himself into the bed, and was soon sound asleep. At midnight the door of the chamber opened very softly, and the High Cellarer peeped in again. He knew that at night King Sligo kept the key under his pillow, and he was coming to get it. He crept softly, softly, toward the bed, but as he drew near it, the coal cried out:—
"One eye sleeps, but the other eye wakes! one eye sleeps, but the other eye wakes! Who is this comes creeping, while honest men are sleeping?"
The High Cellarer looked about him inaffright, and saw the coal burning fiery red in the darkness, and looking for all the world like a great flaming eye. In an agony of fear he fled from the chamber, crying,—
"Black and red! black and red!The King has a devil to guard his bed."
And he spent the rest of the night shivering in the farthest garret he could find.
The next morning the coal said to the King:—
"Again this night have I saved your treasure, and mayhap your life as well. Yet a third time I shall do it, and this time you shall learn the name of the thief. But if I do this, you must promise me one thing, and that is that you will place me in your royal crown and wear me as a jewel. Will you do this?"
"That will I, right gladly!" replied King Sligo, "for a jewel indeed you are."
"That is well!" said the coal. "It is true that I am dying; but no matter. It is a fine thing to be a jewel in a king's crown, even ifone is dead. Now listen, and follow my directions closely. As soon as I am quite black and dead,—which will be in about ten minutes from now,—you must take me in your hand and rub me all over and around the handle of the door of the treasure-chamber. A good part of me will be rubbed off, but there will be enough left to put in your crown. When you have thoroughly rubbed the door, lay the key of the treasure-chamber on your table, as if you had left it there by mistake. You may then go hunting or riding, but not for more than an hour; and when you return, you must instantly call all your court together, as if on business of the greatest importance. Invent some excuse for asking them to raise their hands, and then arrest the man whose hands are black. Do you understand?"
"I do!" replied King Sligo, fervently, "I do, and my warmest thanks, good Coal, are due to you for this—"
But here he stopped, for already the coal was quite black, and in less than ten minutesit was dead and cold. Then the King took it and rubbed it carefully over the door of the treasure-chamber, and laying the key of the door in plain sight on his dressing-table, he called his huntsmen together, and mounting his horse, rode away to the forest. As soon as he was gone, the High Cellarer, who had pleaded a headache when asked to join the hunt, crept softly to the King's room, and to his surprise found the key on the table. Full of joy, he sought the treasure-chamber at once, and began filling his pockets with gold and jewels, which he carried to his own apartment, returning greedily for more. In this way he opened and closed the door many times. Suddenly, as he was stooping over a silver barrel containing sapphires, he heard the sound of a trumpet, blown once, twice, thrice. The wicked thief started, for it was the signal for the entire court to appear instantly before the King, and the penalty of disobedience was death. Hastily cramming a handful of sapphires into his pocket, he stumbled to the door, which he closed andlocked, putting the key also in his pocket, as there was no time to return it. He flew to the presence-chamber, where the lords of the kingdom were hastily assembling.
The King was seated on his throne, still in his hunting-dress, though he had put on his crown over his hat, which presented a peculiar appearance. It was with a majestic air, however, that he rose and said:—
"Nobles, and gentlemen of my court! I have called you together to pray for the soul of my lamented grandmother, who died, as you may remember, several years ago. In token of respect, I desire you all to raise your hands to Heaven."
The astonished courtiers, one and all, lifted their hands high in air. The King looked, and, behold! the hands of the High Cellarer were as black as soot! The King caused him to be arrested and searched, and the sapphires in his pocket, besides the key of the treasure-chamber, gave amble proof of his guilt. His head was removed at once, and the King had the useful coal, set in sapphires, placed in thevery front of his crown, where it was much admired and praised as aBlack Diamond.
"Andnow, Cracker, my boy," continued the raccoon, rising from his seat by the fire, "as you previously remarked, now for dancing-school!"
With these words he proceeded to sweep the hearth carefully and gracefully with his tail, while Toto and Bruin moved the chairs and tables back against the wall. The grandmother's armchair was moved into the warm chimney-corner, where she would be comfortably out of the way of the dancers; and Pigeon Pretty perched on the old lady's shoulder, "that the two sober-minded members of the family might keep each other in countenance," she said. Toto ran into his room, and returned with a little old fiddle which had belonged to his grandfather, and stationed himself at one end of the kitchen, while the bear, the raccoon, and the squirrel formed in line at the other.
"Now, then," said Master Toto, tappingsmartly on the fiddle. "Stand up straight, all of you! That's the first thing, you know."
Up they all went,—little Cracker sitting up jauntily, his tail cocked over his left ear, Coon pawing the air gracefully, but not quite sure of himself; while Bruin raised his huge form erect, and stood like a shaggy black giant, waiting further orders.
"Bow to partners!" cried Toto.
Coon and Cracker bowed to each other; and Bruin, having no partner, gravely saluted Miss Mary, who stood on one leg and surveyed the proceedings in silent but deep disdain.
"Jump, and change your feet!"
But this order, alas! was followed by dire confusion. Bruin dropped on all-fours, and frantically endeavored to stand on his fore-paws, with his hind-legs in the air, throwing up first one great shaggy leg and then another, and finally losing his balance and falling flat, with a thump that shook the whole house.
"Dear me!" cried the grandmother, starting from her chair. "Dear, dear me! Whois hurt? What has happened? Are any bones broken?"
"Oh, no! Madam," cried the bear, rising with surprising agility for one of his size; "it's nothing! nothing at all, I assure you. I—I was only jumping and changing my feet. But I cannot do it!" he added, in an aggrieved tone, to Toto. "It isn't possible, you know, for a fellow of my build to—a—do that sort of thing. You shouldn't, really—"
"Oh, Bruin! Bruin!" cried Toto, wiping the tears from his eyes, as he leaned against the dresser in a paroxysm of merriment. "I didn'tmeanyou to do that! Look here! this is the way. You jump—so!and change your feet—so!as you come down. There, look at Coon; he has the idea, perfectly!"
The astute Coon, in truth, seeing Bruin's error, had stood quietly in his place till he saw Toto perform the mystic manœuvre of "jump and change feet," and had then begun to practise it with a quiet grace and ease, as if he had done it all his life.