More Mittens with The Doll's Wedding and Other Stories Part 9

"Then the little dog got into a pet and turned very red--only the hair prevented one's seeing it--and spoke loud, as people in pets do, and said: 'Pooh! pshaw! what stupid nonsense you talk! just as if a great griffin would miss a little bone; perfect stuff!' and, nestling his little black nose under Beppo, he tried to bring up one of the bones."

"What a look the good Beppo gave him! it ought to have almost cut him in two: _he_ grew angry now, and seized the little dog by the nape of the neck, and threw him about ten feet off, though without hurting him. And now what do you think happened?"

"W-h-a-t," said Willie, snapping his eyes, and clapping his hands, for he was deeply interested. "W-h-a-t--did--happen?"

"Why suddenly, like a flash, the little dog changed into a monstrous serpent, bigger than the griffin--his skin was all the colors of the rainbow, and, as he stuck out his long forked tongue, he hissed like a whole army of geese. Beppo was desperately frightened, and, though his heart beat like the thumping of the waves on a sh.o.r.e, he barked with all his might--great deep-mouthed barks, which woke the griffin immediately.

He rose up in a great hurry, and the serpent immediately reared his crest and sprang upon him like lightning. Oh! what a horrible battle began! how the griffin and the serpent coiled and twisted themselves into double bow-knots, and bit, and darted their fiery tongues at each other! All at once, the serpent got uppermost, and was about to plunge his sharp and poisoned fangs into that part of the griffin's body which is unprotected by scales, when Beppo rushed to him, and, seizing him by the tail, gave him such a tremendous bite, that he could not help turning round to kill his new a.s.sailant, and then the griffin, taking advantage of the opportunity, caught the serpent by the throat, with both claws, and fairly strangled him.

"As soon as he had recovered his breath and composure, he heaped all manner of caresses on Beppo for saving his life. Beppo told him the whole story, and the griffin then explained that the dead serpent was the king of all the serpents, and had the power to change himself into any shape he pleased. 'If he had tempted you,' said he, 'to leave the treasure for a single moment, or to have given him any part of it, even the little bone he begged for, he would have crushed you in an instant, and stung me to death while I slept; but I see, Beppo, none have power to hurt the _honest_.'

"'That has always been my belief,' answered Beppo. 'Honesty is the best policy, all the world over, and now, sir, you had better go to sleep again, and I will watch as before.'

"'Thank you, my good fellow,' said the griffin, 'I have no longer any need of a servant, for now that the king of the serpents is dead, the rest will never molest me. It was only by his orders, and to get at my treasure, that they dared to brave the den of a griffin.'

"Upon hearing this, the dog was in a perfect ecstasy of delight, and standing on his hind legs and clasping his fore paws together, he made a most eloquent speech, enough to bring real tears into the eyes of a crocodile, and entreated the griffin to let him return to the world, to visit his cousin the cat, and worry his rival the fox.

"'Well, I am not ungrateful,' answered the griffin, 'you shall return, and I will teach you all the cunning tricks of our race, which is much more cunning than the race of that numskull the fox, so that you will be able to cheat him to your heart's content.'

"'Ah! excuse me,' said Beppo, hastily, 'I am just as much obliged to you, but I fancy honesty is a match for cunning any day; I would rather be a _dog of honor_, than to know and practise all the tricks in the world.'

"'Well,' said the griffin, making a wry face--for he was put out at Beppo's bluntness--'well, do as you please; it is all the same to me.

Good-bye. Shake a paw. I wish you all possible success.'

"The griffin now opened a secret door in the side of the cavern, and the dog saw a broad path, that led at once into the woods. Before he went, he thanked the griffin with his paw on his heart, and wished him a long life and a merry one, and then ran off wagging his tail. It was a beautiful moonlight evening; and the sweet breath of the wild flowers, as the gentle wind went floating by, filled the dog's senses with delight; he was happy, because he was honest, and he said to himself as he trotted along, 'Ah! Mr. Fox, there's no trap for an honest dog, that has not two doors to it, smart as you think yourself.'"

"Oh! I am so glad he is out," cried Willie, clapping his hands; "go on, mamma, please."

"Why, my dear little boy," answered his mother, "do you know what time it is? the sun is setting," and she took out her watch. "Why, only see!

after 7 o'clock! we must stop now. I had no idea we had been reading some and making up some of this story so long; come, little boy, time for your bread and milk; as the good dog is safe, we will bid him good-bye to-night, and I will read you the rest to-morrow."

"Dear Beppo, I love him," said Willie, skipping about the room; "I hope I shall always be an honest dog--an honest boy I mean," he continued, laughing. "How splendid to have every body trust you, and leave all kinds of treasure for you to take care of! Mamma, would you like me to take care of grandma's portrait? I know that is a great treasure: I would put it under my bed and stare at it all day."

"But what would you do at night?" said his mother, laughing.

"Oh!" said Willie, "to be sure! why, we must have a dog like Beppo, you know. I am the griffin, see how fierce I look!" and Willie looked so fierce, that his mother pretended to be terribly frightened, and ran away, Willie tearing after her, his blue eyes dancing with fun, and they were both having a fine scamper, when Willie's father stood laughing at the door.

And now tea was ready; Willie's tea was bread and milk. He never had rich cake, or sweetmeats, or strong tea, or hot bread, which are all very fine while you are eating them, but which create quite a riot in the stomach of a delicate child, and often lay the foundation of life-long indigestion. He had a mother who was really kind, and did her utmost to save him from bodily pain, and took unwearied pains in storing his mind with n.o.ble thoughts, a love of truth, and a contempt for every thing mean. Her almost hourly prayer was, that her only son and child might grow up to be a Christian--"to love G.o.d with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself"--and, so far, the dear little fellow had richly rewarded her care.

The next day Willie studied his lessons, and knew them perfectly, and played on the lawn before the house. Although more than once his eyes sparkled with impatience to hear the rest of the delightful story, he did not annoy his mother, as some children do, with such expressions as these: "Come, now--right away. I want to hear the rest of that story.

Oh! dear me! how long you are! I--wish--you--would--COME." Oh, no; Willie knew that his dear mother had many things to do, and he did not say one word about Beppo till about the same time the next afternoon, as his mother took her seat by the large and pleasant window which looked out upon the lawn; then he went up to her, and put his arms round her neck, and kissed her as before, and said: "Mamma, Mr. Fowler, the Phrenologist, says you can tell all about a boy, by the b.u.mps on his head. I think I must have a prodigious b.u.mp of liking to have stories read or told to me. I have thought all day about Beppo and the hateful old griffin; but I have not said any thing or teased you--have I, mamma?

I have been as quiet as a drum with a hole in it--haven't I, mamma?"

"It hardly needs a tongue to understand you, my dear boy, your eyes talk so fast; and as to the b.u.mps, there is one very large one of loving me, I am certain; for you are a good, thoughtful child, but rather a small one for wanting to scamper and frolic in the open air. Come, I will make the same bargain as yesterday; half an hour's exercise, and then the story."

"Certainly," said Willie, with a pleasant laugh; "if you asked me to stand on my head, I would do it, mamma--or try, any way. I wish your ladyship good afternoon for half an hour," and Willie put his feet together, turning out his toes, and made such a very low and polite bow to his mother, that he nearly tumbled on his nose, and then ran out on the lawn.

As his mother watched him, she smiled, and sighed, and said to herself, "If my little Willie were only stronger, every desire of my heart would be fulfilled;" and then she repeated to herself those pleasant words of Willis:--

"There's something in a n.o.ble boy-- A brave, free-hearted, careless one, With his unchecked, unbidden joy-- His dread of books, and love of fun-- And in his clear and ready smile, Unshaded by a thought of guile, And unrepressed by sadness-- Which brings me to my childhood back, As if I trod its very track, And felt its very gladness."

When the half hour was over she called Willie, and he came bounding in--his cheeks flushed and his eyes sparkling; and it did not take long, let me tell you, to arrange his bench and sit close beside his mother, ready for the fine treat she had promised him.

"Where did I leave off, Willie?"

"Where the dog bade good-bye to the griffin, and came out in the moonlight," said Willie, whose memory was excellent.

"Yes. Well, Beppo now curled his tail, in the very last fashion, over his leg, and trotted off in fine style to the cat's house. When he was within sight of it, he stopped to take a drink and a bath in a pond near by; and who should be there, to be sure, but the old magpie!

"'And what do _you_ want, friend?' said she, turning up her nose--for Beppo looked rather shabby after his confinement in the cave and his long journey.

"'I am going to see my cousin the cat,' answered he.

"'_Your_ cousin--pretty well, indeed!' said the magpie; 'don't you know she is going to be married to Reynard the fox? This is not the time for her to receive the visits of a clumsy fellow like you.'

"These uncivil words put the dog in such a pa.s.sion that he very nearly bit the magpie. Such bad news, too! It was too bad. But, keeping his temper--as dogs and every body else should always try to do--and _without answering_ a word, he went, at once, to his cousin's residence.

"The cat had a beautiful house, full of comfortable arm-chairs, and sofas covered with pink satin. She kept a French cook, who prepared the most delicious dishes of mice and small birds, smoking hot, from morning till night; and you would think it rained cream, she had such a quant.i.ty always on hand. There was no water to be seen, for a cat hates water--though, strange to say, she is particularly fond of fish; and our cat would have had a broiled whale for breakfast, no doubt, if smaller fry were wanting--for she denied herself nothing.

"When Beppo arrived, the cat was sitting at the window trying to catch a fly. Her motions were so graceful, and she looked so beautiful, that Beppo lost his heart immediately. Never had he seen so charming a cat before. So he came up, wagging his tail at a great rate, and with his most amiable air; when the cat, getting up, shut the window in his face, and, lo! Reynard the fox appeared instead.

"'Come out here, you rascal!' growled Beppo, showing his teeth--'come out, I say, you mean fellow, and get what you richly deserve. I have not forgiven you your trick, and you see I am no longer shut up in a cave, or unable to punish your wickedness.'

"'Oh, go home, you silly fellow!' sneered the fox, 'you have no business here; and, as for fighting you--pshaw!' Then the fox left the window, and disappeared. But Beppo was dreadfully enraged, and began to kick and scratch at the door, and made such a racket that presently the cat herself came to the window.

"'How now?' she said, angrily, 'what do you mean by such rudeness? Who are you, and what do you want at my house?'

"'Oh, my dear cousin!' said Beppo, 'do not speak so severely; I have come here on purpose to pay you a visit, and to entreat you not to listen to that villain Reynard. You have no idea what a bad fellow he is.'

"'What!' said the cat, blushing, 'do you dare to abuse your betters in this fashion? I see very well you have a design on me. Go, this instant, or--'

"'Enough, madam!' said the dog, proudly,--for he was very much wounded--'you need not speak twice to me. I wish you good morning.'

"And he turned slowly away, and went under a tree, where he took up his lodgings for the night. But the very next morning there was a great excitement in the neighborhood. A stranger, of a very different style of travelling from that of the dog, had arrived in the middle of the night, and fixed his abode in a large cavern, hollowed out of a steep rock.

The noise he made, in flying through the air, was so great that he had awakened every bird and beast in the parish; and such a twittering, and crowing, and barking, and mewing, and growling, and roaring were never heard in the night before, when honest folks are supposed to be sleeping. Reynard, whose bad conscience never let him sleep very soundly, put his head out of the window and perceived, to his great alarm, that the stranger was nothing less than a monstrous griffin.

"You must know that the griffins are the richest beasts in the whole world. They perfectly roll in diamonds--not to speak of any quant.i.ty of marrow-bones; and that is the reason why, like misers, they keep so close at home. Whenever it does happen that they go to the expense of travelling, all the world is sure to know it, and talk about it.

"The old magpie was in the most delightful state of agitation. What could the griffin want? she would give her ears if any body could get at him to know, and, being determined to find out, she hopped up the rock, and pretended to be picking up sticks for her nest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Hollo! you are the very Lady I want to see."]

"'Hollo, ma'am!' cried a very rough voice, and she saw the griffin putting his head out of the cavern. 'Hollo! you are the very lady I want to see; you know all the people about here, don't you?'

"'All the _best_ company, your lordship, I certainly do,' answered the magpie, putting her head on one side, and dropping a very low courtesy.

"Then the griffin marched out, with great dignity, to smoke his pipe in the open air; and, blowing the smoke in the magpie's face, in order to set her quite at her ease, continued--

"'My dear madam, are there any respectable beasts of good family in this neighborhood?'