Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building Part 29

"The same as yours," replied c.o.c.k-alu; "I'm going for water, too, for my wife Hen-alie, who has got a bean in her throat."

"Ah, well-a-day!" says the squirrel, "that's a bad thing! But run along with you; for the old sow is coming down with her nine little pigs, and if they trouble the water it will be all too late for poor little Hen-alie!"

And with that the squirrel leaped up into the oak-tree above where c.o.c.k-alu stood, for that was her way home, and left him without further ceremony.

"Humph!" said c.o.c.k-alu; "she might have given me some of the water out of her cherry-leaf for my poor little Hen-alie!" And so saying, he walked on through the Beech-wood, and as he met no more creatures he soon reached the silver-spring.

But it was now noon-day, and there was not a drop of dew in the water, and the bull had been down and drunk, and the bloodhound had lapped, and the old sow and her nine little pigs had wallowed in it, so the water was troubled, and besides that the woodman had felled the tree which now lay across the spring, and the farmer was digging the new watercourse, so the spring was getting lower every minute. c.o.c.k-alu had come quite too late; there was not a drop left for poor little Hen-alie.

When c.o.c.k-alu saw this he was very much disconcerted; he did not know what to do, he stood a little while considering, and then he set off as hard as he could go to the squirrel's house to beg a drop of water from her. But the squirrel lived a long way off in the wood, and thus it was a considerable time before he got there.

When he reached the squirrel's house, however, n.o.body was at home. He knocked and knocked for a long time, and at last he walked in, but they were all gone out; he peeped therefore into the pantry to see if he could find the water; there was plenty of hazel-nuts and beech-nuts, heaps and heaps of them all laid up in store for winter, but no water; at length he saw the curled-up cherry-leaf, like a water-jug, standing at the squirrel's bed-side, but it was empty; there was not a single drop in it.

"This is bad business!" said c.o.c.k-alu to himself, and turned to leave the house. At the squirrel's door he met a woodp.e.c.k.e.r.

"Woodp.e.c.k.e.r," says he, "where is the squirrel gone to? I want to beg a drop of water from the silver-spring for my wife Hen-alie, who has got a bean in her throat!"

"Lack-a-day!" said the woodp.e.c.k.e.r, "the old squirrel drank every drop, and drained the jug into the bargain; he lay sick in bed this morning, but there was such virtue in the water that he got well as soon as he drank it; and now he has taken his wife and the little ones out for an airing; they will not be back till night, I know. But if you will leave any message with me I will be sure and deliver it, for the squirrel and I are very neighborly."

"Oh!" groaned c.o.c.k-alu; "but what would be the use of leaving a message if they have no water to give me!"

With that he came down from the old pine tree where the squirrel lived, set out on his way home again, and came at length out of the Beech-wood, but it was then getting toward evening.

He came to his own yard. There was the perch on which he and Hen-alie had so often sat, and there was the bean-straw, and there lay poor Hen-alie just as he had left her.

"Hen-alie, my little wife," said he, crowing loudly as he came up, that he might put a cheerful face on the matter, "I have been very unlucky; I could not get you any water, but I have got something so nice for you! I have brought you a pair of silver-gauze stockings which the snail has sent you, and a pair of blue velvet garters to wear with them, which the ring-tail dove gave me!"

"Thank you," said poor little Hen-alie, in a very weak voice, "but I wish you could have brought me some water, these things will do me no good!"

"I could not bring you water, for the silver-spring is dry," said c.o.c.k-alu, feeling very unhappy, and yet wishing to excuse himself; "there's not a drop of water left in it!"

"Then it's all over with me!" sighed poor little Hen-alie.

"Don't be down-hearted, my little wife," said c.o.c.k-alu, trying to seem cheerful, "I will give you something better than all, I will give you the green-fire flash from the wild-cat's eye, which he gave me to wear on my tail-feathers. Look up, my poor little Hen-alie, and I'll give it all to you!"

"Alas!" sighed poor little Hen-alie, "what good will they do me! Oh, that somebody only loved me well enough to have brought me one drop of silver-spring water!"

All this while something very nice was happening, which I must tell you.

There was in the poultry-yard a shabby little drab-colored hen, very small and very much despised; c.o.c.k-alu would not look at her, nor Hen-alie either; she had no tail-feathers at all, and long black legs which looked as if she had borrowed them from a hen twice her size; she was, in short, the meanest, most ill-conditioned hen in the yard.

All the time, however, that c.o.c.k-alu was out on his fruitless errand, she had been comforting Hen-alie in the best way she could, and a.s.suring her that c.o.c.k-alu would soon be back again with the water from the silver-spring. But when he came back without a single drop, and only offered the fine silk stockings and blue velvet garters instead, she set off, without saying a word, as fast as her long legs would carry her out of the wood and down to the silver-spring, which she reached in a wonderfully short time.

Fortunately the silver-spring had flowed into its new channel as clearly as ever, and the evening dew had dropped its virtues into it. The owls were shouting "Kla-vit!" from one end of the wood to the other, The dark leathern-winged bats and the dusky white and buff-colored moths were flitting about the broad shadows of the trees, but the little hen took no notice of any of them. On she went, thinking of nothing but that which she had to do; and reaching the silver-spring, she gathered up twelve drops of water, and, hurrying back again, came into the yard just as poor Hen-alie was saying: "Oh, that somebody had loved me well enough to fetch me only one drop of silver-spring water!"

"That I do!" said the shabby little hen, and dropped one drop after another into her beak.

The first drop loosened the bean, the second softened it, and the third sent it down her throat.

Hen-alie was well again; c.o.c.k-alu was ready to clap his wings and crow for joy; and the little hen turned quietly away to her solitary perch.

"Nay," said Hen-alie, "but you shall not go unrewarded; see, here is a pair of silk stockings for you, and here is green fire which will make the most beautiful feathers in the world grow all over your body! Take them all, you good little thing, and to-morrow morning you will come out the handsomest hen in the yard!"

So it was. There must have been magic in those silk stockings and that green fire, for the shabby little thing was now transformed into a regular queen-hen. The farmer's wife thought she must have strayed away from some beautiful foreign country, and gave her a famous breakfast to keep her. c.o.c.k-alu was very attentive to her; and as to Hen-alie, she never ceased singing her praises as long as she lived.

THERE IS THE KEY OF THE KINGDOM

There is the key of the Kingdom.

In that Kingdom there is a city; In that city there is a town; In that town there is a street; In that street there is a lane; In that lane there is a yard; In that yard there is a house; In that house there is a room; In that room there is a bed; On that bed there is a basket; In that basket there are some flowers.

Flowers in the basket, Basket on the bed, Bed in the room, Room in the house, House in the yard, Yard in the lane, Lane in the street, Street in the town, Town in the city, City in the Kingdom, And this is the key of the Kingdom.

#FUN FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK#

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUNNIE: "YOU SEE WHAT IT SAYS ON THIS SIGN? NOW STOP YOUR BARKING AND GO RIGHT AWAY OR I'LL CALL A POLICEMAN!"]

TOMMY AND HIS SISTER AND THEIR NEW PONY-CART

BY DEWITT CLINTON FALLS

Tommy took his sister out in their new pony-cart for a ride.

They met a little friend very soon, and asked her to ride, too.

Then Billie came along and of course they had to invite him.

But they had forgotten how fat Billie was, so their ride ended very suddenly!

THE ADVENTURES OF THREE LITTLE KITTENS

[Ill.u.s.tration: "HURRAH! WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE WORLD!"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "OH DEAR, THIS IS DREADFUL!"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "YES, IT IS SWEET MILK; IT'S YOUR TURN NEXT."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUT THEY MADE SUCH A NOISE THAT--]

[Ill.u.s.tration: JACK CAME OUT AND SO FRIGHTENED THEM THAT--]