Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building Part 44

15 But Barney, naughty Barney, Had mischief in him still For when the laughing Coachman tried To lead him up the hill

16 His donkeyship determined That he would yet have fun So braced himself and stood stock still As if he weighed a ton!

17 But mighty was the Coachman And pulled with such a will That Barney soon was being dragged Full roughly up the hill.

18 "Well, well!" at last thought Barney "The Coachman is so strong I might as well be good just now,"

And so he walked along.

19 And when he reached the stable And stood within the stall, You'd scarce believe so meek a beast Could run away, at all!

20 Now all the meditations Of this same Barney Gray Are only of some future chance When he may run away.

THE THREE BEARS[M]

Once upon a time there were three bears who lived in a castle in a great wood. One of them was a great big bear, and one was a middling bear, and one was a little bear. And in the same wood there was a fox who lived all alone; his name was Sc.r.a.pefoot. Sc.r.a.pefoot was very much afraid of the bears, but for all that he wanted very much to know all about them.

And one day as he went through the wood he found himself near the Bears'

Castle, and he wondered whether he could get into the castle. He looked all about him everywhere, and he could not see any one. So he came up very quietly, till at last he came up to the door of the castle, and he tried whether he could open it. Yes! the door was not locked, and he opened it just a little way, and put his nose in and looked, and he could not see any one. So then he opened it a little way farther, and put one paw in, and then another paw, and another and another, and then he was all in the Bears' Castle. He found he was in a great hall with three chairs in it--one big, one middling, and one little chair; and he thought he would like to sit down and rest and look about him; so he sat down on the big chair. But he found it so hard and uncomfortable that it made his bones ache, and he jumped down at once and got into the middling chair, and he turned round and round in it, but he couldn't make himself comfortable. So then he went to the little chair and sat down in it, and it was so soft and warm and comfortable that Sc.r.a.pefoot was quite happy; but all at once it broke to pieces under him and he couldn't put it together again! So he got up and began to look about him again, and on one table he saw three saucers, of which one was very big, one was middling, one was quite a little saucer. Sc.r.a.pefoot was very thirsty, and he began to drink out of the big saucer. But he only just tasted the milk in the big saucer, which was so sour and so nasty that he would not taste another drop of it. Then he tried the middling saucer, and he drank a little of that. He tried two or three mouthfuls, but it was not nice, and then he left it and went to the little saucer, and the milk in the little saucer was so sweet and so nice that he went on drinking it till it was all gone.

Then Sc.r.a.pefoot thought he would like to go upstairs; and he listened and he could not hear any one. So upstairs he went, and he found a great room with three beds in it; one was a big bed, and one was a middling bed, and one was a little white bed; and he climbed up into the big bed, but it was so hard and lumpy and uncomfortable that he jumped down again at once, and tried the middling bed. That was rather better, but he could not get comfortable in it, so after turning about a little while he got up and went to the little bed; and that was so soft and so warm and so nice that he fell fast asleep at once.

And after a time the Bears came home, and when they got into the hall the big Bear went to his chair and said, "Who's been sitting in my chair?" and the middling Bear said, "Who's been sitting in my chair?"

and the little Bear said, "Who's been sitting in my chair and has broken it all to pieces?" And then they went to have their milk, and the big bear said, "Who's been drinking my milk?" and the middling Bear said, "Who's been drinking my milk?" And the little Bear said, "Who's been drinking my milk and has drunk it all up?" Then they went upstairs and into the bedroom, and the big Bear said, "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" and the middling Bear said, "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" and the little Bear said, "Who's been sleeping in my bed?--and see here he is!" So then the Bears came and wondered what they should do with him; and the big Bear said, "Let's hang him!" and then the middling Bear said, "Let's drown him!" and then the little Bear said, "Let's throw him out of the window." And then the Bears took him to the window, and the big Bear took two legs on one side and the middling Bear took two legs on the other side, and they swung him backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, and out of the window. Poor Sc.r.a.pefoot was so frightened, and he thought every bone in his body must be broken. But he got up and first shook one leg--no, that was not broken; and then another, and that was not broken; and another and another, and then he wagged his tail and found there were no bones broken. So then he galloped off home as fast as he could go, and never went near the Bears' Castle again.

[M] From "More English Fairy Tales," edited by Joseph Jacobs. Used by permission of the publishers, G. P. Putnam's Sons.

THE LITTLE BEAR'S STORY

BY C. F. HOLDER

"Yes," the little bear cub would say, "that is my picture. I am a native of the State of California. I don't remember distinctly where I was born, but it was up in the Sierras, where the snow lies in great banks, and the giant trees stand like sentinels, and where you might travel for days and weeks and meet no one but bears.

"The first thing I recollect was finding myself in a big burrow covered with snow, then my mother broke the way out and led us (I had a brother) down the mountain. We soon left the snow; and I remember one day, at sunset, we stood on an overhanging rock, and my mother showed us the green valleys and nice dark forests where we could hide, and far off was the gleaming sea. Mother did not care very much for the water, I think.

"My mother was hungry, after the long winter fast, and every day took us lower and lower, until one night she led us into a sheep ranch. Then our troubles began, for she left us to catch a lamb, and never came back. We heard all about it afterward. Some ranchers had seen her, and rode out on horseback to enjoy the cruel sport of 'roping a bear'. As they rode around her, one threw his lariat about her neck; another caught her forefoot as she stood up, another her hind leg; and then they dragged her away to the ranch-house--and so we became orphans.

"It was not long before the dogs found us, and a man carried me home in a basket to his wife, who treated me very kindly. I did not like it, but pretended I did, and ate all I could, always watching and hoping for a chance to run away to my mountain home. My mistress, however, soon thought I was too knowing, and put a chain about my neck. Finally, when I was about four months old, they sent me to a friend in San Francisco.

I shall never forget how people looked at me and laughed when I stood on my hind legs, as if there was anything laughable in that! But they gave me sugar and other good things, and I fared well.

"My new master was a butcher, and most of the time I stayed in his shop.

But some days, when I was very homesick, and longed for my mother, and the little cub who had been carried off, I did not know where, the butcher's wife would take me into her room back of the shop, and then I would go to sleep, cuddled up close upon a rug, with my paws on her hand, and dream that I was back in my mountain home.

"One day I heard my master say I was to be pho-to-graphed, and I thought my time had come. You see, I had never heard the word before. There was no escape, as I was kept tied, and the next morning my master took me under his big coat in the cable-cars. I could just peep through one of the b.u.t.ton-holes, and all at once I uttered a loud whine. You should have seen how the pa.s.sengers stared at my master, who I know looked embarra.s.sed, as he gave me a tremendous squeeze. We soon got out, and I was carried up a flight of stairs, and placed on a table in a room, the walls of which were covered with pictures of people's faces, all of which seemed to keep their eyes fixed on me.

"My master petted me and gave me some sugar, and I began to think that being photographed was possibly not so bad, after all. Presently a man came in. He looked very much astonished, and said, 'Why, I thought you engaged a sitting for "a descendant of one of the early settlers"?'

"'So I did,' replied my master; 'there it is,' pointing to where I stood up, blinking with all my might.

"'Why, it's a cub bear!' exclaimed the man.

"'Well, it is a relative of some early settlers, all the same,' my master answered.

"At this the man smiled good-humoredly, then he went into another room, while my master petted me and gave me so much sugar that I had the toothache from it. After a while the man came back and said he was ready, and I was taken into a room where there was a big thing like a gun on three legs, with a cloth over it. My master sat down in a chair and held me in his lap while the man pointed the gun at us.

"I thought I was to be shot, and tried to get away, and this made the man so cross that he came out from under the cloth and said he couldn't do it. Then my master put me up in a child's chair and propped something tight against my head, at which they both laughed so loud you could have heard them in the street, and I jumped down.

"Finally, the man tapped his forehead and said, 'I have it.' He put a screen before the gun and my master set me on top of it, holding my chain while the man crept under the cloth. I did not dare move, as I was astride of the screen, my hind feet hanging in the air. I prepared for the worst. Then the man came out again, looked at me sharply, and turned my head a little, telling me to smile, at which my master laughed. The man next shook a tambourine at me, and as I turned to see what the noise meant, I heard a _click!_ and just then my master took me down and carried me home, much to my relief.

"I wondered what it was all about until one day my master took me on his knee, and, holding up a card, said, 'Well, here you are!'--and what do you suppose it was? Nothing more or less than my picture; just as I was perched astride the screen the day when I thought I was going to be killed. Here it is":

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG

BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM

This tale, my young readers, will seem to you to be quite false; but still it must be true, for my Grandfather, who used to tell it to me, would wind up by saying, "All this is true, my son, else it would never have been told to me." The tale runs thus:--

It was a fine summer's morning, just before harvest-time; the buckwheat was in flower, and the sun was shining brightly in the heaven above, a breeze was blowing over the fields, where the larks were singing; and along the paths the people were going to church dressed in their best.

Every creature seemed contented, even the Hedgehog, who stood before his door singing as he best could a joyful song in praise of the fine morning. Indoors, meanwhile, his Wife was washing and drying the kitchen, before going into the fields for a walk to see how the crops were getting on. She was such a long while, however, about her work that Mr. Hedgehog would wait no longer, and trotted off by himself. He had not walked any very long distance before he came to a small thicket, near a field of cabbages, and there he espied a Hare, who he guessed had come on a similar errand to himself; namely, to devour a few fine heads.

As soon as Mr. Hedgehog saw the Hare, he wished him a good morning; but the latter, who was in his way a high-minded creature, turned a fierce and haughty look upon the Hedgehog, and made no reply to his greeting.

He asked, instead, in a very majestic tone, how he came to be walking abroad at such an early hour. "I am taking a walk," replied the Hedgehog.

"A walk!" repeated the Hare, in an ironical tone, "methinks you might employ your legs about something better!"

This answer vexed the Hedgehog most dreadfully, for he could have borne anything better than to be quizzed about his legs, because they were naturally short, and from no fault of his own. However, he said to the Hare, "Well, you need not be so proud, pray, what can you do with those legs of yours?" "That is my affair," replied the Hare. "I expect, if you would venture a trial, that I should beat you in a race," said the Hedgehog.

"You are laughing! you, with your short legs!" said the Hare contemptuously. "But still, since you have such a particular wish, I have no objection to try. What shall the wager be?"

"A louis d'or," replied the Hedgehog.

"Done!" said the Hare, "and it may as well come off at once."

"No! not in such great haste, if you please," said the Hedgehog; "I am not quite ready yet; I must first go home and freshen up a bit. Within half-an-hour I will return to this place."

Thereupon the Hedgehog hurried off, leaving the Hare very merry. On his way home the former thought to himself, "Mr. Hare is very haughty and high-minded, but withal he is very stupid, and although he thinks to beat me with his long legs, I will find a way to defeat him." So, as soon as the Hedgehog reached home, he told his Wife to dress herself at once to go into the field with him.

"What is the matter?" asked his Wife.

"I have made a wager with the Hare, for a louis d'or, to run a race with him, and you must be witness."

"My goodness, man! are you in your senses!" said the Wife, "do you know what you are about? How can you expect to run so fast as the Hare?"

"Hold your tongue, Wife; that is my affair. Don't you reason about men's business. March, and get ready to come with me."

As soon, then, as the Hedgehog's Wife was ready they set out together; and on the way he said, "Now attend to what I say. On the long field yonder we shall decide our bet. The Hare is to run on the one side of the hedge and I on the other, and so all you have to do is to stop at one end of the hedge, and then when the Hare arrives on the other side at the same point, you must call out, 'I am here already.'"