The Boys' And Girls' Library Part 9

"Oh, more; and more than forty times heavier?"

"Well, well, I will go down and help you up."

"I should like to know how you expect to help me," said Lizzy.

"We shall see;" and the woodp.e.c.k.e.r flew down;--but where is he? Lizzy looked about, and she could not see him anywhere.

"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed a voice close by her ear; and Lizzy turned, and saw a pretty little fairy figure standing close beside her. "I was only acting the woodp.e.c.k.e.r for my amus.e.m.e.nt. We fairies are very fond of masquerading."

"Then I cannot see the woodp.e.c.k.e.r's nest," said Lizzy. "It is too bad to disappoint me so, when I did so want to see his pretty eggs."

"Oh, if you wish to see some pretty eggs. I can show you some as pretty as the woodp.e.c.k.e.r's. I have hundreds of them stowed away in a woodp.e.c.k.e.r's hole, up in this very tree. I had come here this morning to deposit some, and this is what made me think of acting the woodp.e.c.k.e.r just now."

"Where did you get so many eggs? Do you rob birds' nests?"

"Oh, no, indeed! they are not birds' eggs; they come down in the rain, and we use the large flower-cups to catch them in."

"And what will hatch from them?"

"Ah, that is more than I can tell as yet. I will give you some of them, and they will hatch just such kind of creatures as you tell them to."

"That is a very likely story,--but give me some, do; and I will tell them to hatch most beautiful birds and b.u.t.terflies."

"Stay; let me explain a little, before you count your unhatched birds and b.u.t.terflies. I will tell you how to hatch them. Put them in your bosom, and they will be hatched by its warmth; but what is hatched from them must depend entirely upon what kind of feeling shall warm your bosom, and upon what deeds you do. If you have a wicked feeling, an ugly creature will begin to form within one of the eggs; and if you let that feeling cause you to do anything wrong, then the egg will hatch. Are you willing to take the risk of having spiders and scorpions in your bosom, for the sake of the hope that they may be pretty birds and b.u.t.terflies?"

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"Oh, yes!" said Lizzy; "I do not think I ever have such bad feelings as spiders and scorpions are made of."

"Come, then," cried the fairy; and she led Lizzy round to the other side of the tree, where she saw, high up in the trunk, a woodp.e.c.k.e.r's hole.

"Run up," cried the fairy.

"How can I? There is nothing but an ivy-vine to cling to."

"You mistake," said the fairy; and she touched the ivy-vine with her wand, and there was a nice rope-ladder leading up to the woodp.e.c.k.e.r's hole. It was almost full of small, pearly white eggs.--"Take out three or four," said the fairy, "and put them in your bosom, and before you reach home, they will very likely all be hatched."

"Oh, what pretty little things!" cried Lizzy, as she took them out; "they shall certainly hatch something pretty."

She was going to put them all in her bosom at once; but the fairy told her she had better put only one in at a time, and the others in one of the pockets of her ap.r.o.n; for it would be rather worse if there should be several spiders running about in her bosom, than only one.

"Oh, there will not be any," said Lizzy; "there will be a pretty bird hopping about there--but I will do as you advise." She ran down the ladder, and the fairy tripped along after her, and when Lizzy turned to bid her good morning, she saw the ivy-vine clasping the tree, and the woodp.e.c.k.e.r tapping away at the bark.

Lizzy ran along through the wood, hoping that something would happen to arouse in her breast a good affection of some sort,--for there was nothing there now but a mingled feeling of pleasure and dread,--for a sweet-brier bush, for what purpose is not known, caught hold of her dress, and thus occasioned a frightful rent; and sweet-brier bushes, if they do bear sweet roses, do also love to play off their jokes upon people, in quite as unbenevolent a way as the blackberry and thorn.

But Lizzy thought it no joke at all. What barbarous cruelty to tear her dress so, and then to hold upon it so relentlessly! and whilst she was trying to force the thorns to let go their hold, she became so angry that she cried out, "Oh! I wish there was not a sweet-brier bush in the world, I do! and I wish this was dead and burnt up." But before she had released herself from the bush, she felt something moving in her bosom. Putting her hand in, she pulled out an empty egg-sh.e.l.l, while the wasp, which had just been hatched, flew around her face. She brushed it away with her handkerchief. She looked at the sweet-brier roses,--those little rosy cups all arranged so garland-like on the bending boughs,--and said, "I wonder it was not a scorpion. Poor little roses! I do not wish you to wither; I want you to flourish, and breathe out your sweet breath;" and she bent her head over them, and while they breathed forth their sweet breath, they looked so much like little infants, that the tears came into Lizzy's eyes, while she said, "May the Lord that made you, forgive me!"--When she lifted up her head, she saw a wasp fall to the ground, and then a pretty bird came, and picked it up and swallowed it. Lizzy then took another egg from her pocket, placed it in her bosom, and walked on, taking care to keep at a safe distance from sweet-briers and brambles.

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She had not gone far when she saw a little sparrow fly from a low shrub, making a sound as if he had a nest there. When he had gone so far away that she thought he would not see her, she peeped in amongst the leaves, and there she espied the little home, with its three inmates; not three little birds as yet--but, what she knew were quite as dear to the parents, two speckled eggs. "Ah!" thought Lizzy, "how I should like to see if I could not hatch a sparrow's egg. I should be sure that a wasp would not come out of a sparrow's egg." And she put her hand very slily into the nest, and stole away one of the sparrow's speckled treasures, and laid it in her bosom by the side of the fairy egg. As she left the bush, she turned to see if the sparrow went to look at it; and while she stood watching him, she felt a strange nestling and fumbling in her bosom, that she thought both eggs must have hatched. Looking in, she saw a small snake writhing about most energetically. "I will put the sparrow's egg back," thought she, for she was struck with horror.

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Throwing the snake upon the ground, in an agony of disgust, she felt for the sparrow's egg; but, alas! the empty sh.e.l.l was alone there,--the snake had sucked the egg. "How I wish I had not stolen away the sparrow's egg! The snake has eaten what would have been a pretty bird. I would give the sparrow one of my fairy eggs, if I thought he would like it, but perhaps he would not. Vile snake!" she cried, stepping back as she saw the snake writhing on the ground close by her feet. Her words seemed to give him a death-stroke; he lay still, as though lifeless; she touched him with her foot, but he did not move. There was a little frog-pond near by, and to make sure that he should not come to life again, Lizzy took the snake on a stick, and threw it into the pond and then put another egg into her bosom. As she stood by the pond, lashing the water with the stick, she began to fear she was not quite so delightful a child as she had imagined herself to be, and to wonder what she should do to make the egg hatch a pretty creature. "Let me think," said she, "what have I to do before dinner? I have some sewing to do, and two lessons to study. Now, if I go directly home, and do these things well, instead of staying here to play, perhaps I shall find, after I have finished my tasks, some bright bird, or shining insect, in my bosom. To be sure, that ought not to be my only reason for doing well, and it is not my only reason." This was quite true; for Lizzy began to feel so penitent for the unpleasant things she had done, that she felt a desire to make amends of some sort. "I believe I will,"

said she, "go directly home, and see how much I can do before dinner.

Oh! see the tadpoles! how they run and wag their tails, queer creatures!

but I must not stay." A frog then leaped into the water, from amongst the gra.s.s at the other side of the pond. "Ah! father long-legs! what a water-nymph you are! I must just go round and see if there are not some more frogs there; I do love so to see them leap into the water with such a plash." And she walked round the water, frightening the frogs from the gra.s.s; and when they had all leaped into the water, she thought she must sit down quite still for a few moments, just to see if one would not jump out again. She waited a few moments,--and then a few more,--and then a few more. "Oh, dear!" she cried, "I will wait till one--just one--comes, if I wait till night, I am determined." But it seemed as if the frogs were determined to be revenged upon Lizzy for frightening them in, for not one lifted his head above the water, for more than a quarter of an hour; and Lizzy began to feel a little frightened, and to wish she had made no promise. At length one, more courageous or less obstinate than the rest, leaped upon the bank. "Oh; and there is another!" Now Lizzy must just go and drive them in again, because it is still better to see them leap in: for you then have the pleasure of seeing them swim.

As she stood watching them swim, she thought the egg in her bosom felt cold; this reminded her of her good resolution, and she walked straight homewards.

It was dinner time when she reached home.--Ah! where were the lessons and the sewing? and why had not the egg hatched? It was a great while since she put it into her bosom. She did not believe it was going to hatch at all, for it still felt cold, and she thought she would break the sh.e.l.l, and see if there was anything in it. Yes, there was something, and something very pretty, too. A small, shining, green bee; but it was dead. Oh! those amusing frogs!

"Well, this one," said Lizzy, as she put the last egg into her bosom, "shall hatch a beautiful bee; for, as soon as dinner is over, I will sit down and be as industrious as a bee on a summer's morning."

"Lizzy," said her mother, while they were sitting at table, "what was that you put into your bosom, just now?"

"What, mother? when?" asked Lizzy; for she did not feel as if the story she had to tell about the eggs would be one much to her credit, and she was too proud to be willing to tell it.

"As you were sitting down, I observed you put something into your bosom; what was it?"

"Oh, I--just happened to put my hand into my bosom."

"Lizzy, you had something in your hand; I saw it."

"Why, mother, you are mistaken. I--I--"

"Tell me what it was, my child."

"Why, mother, it was only my--my thimble."

As the falsehood came out of Lizzy's mouth, a black bat crept out of her bosom, and, spreading out his filmy wings, fluttered about her head.--Every one started up from the table; Lizzy screamed, and tried to brush the impish-looking creature away, but he persisted in fluttering around her head. She ran from the room; but before she could shut the door behind her, the bat was out also, and sailed round and round her head. Her mother followed her out, and tried to drive the bat away, while she reproved Lizzy for putting such ugly things in her bosom, and expressed very great grief that her daughter should have told a falsehood; and she told her that the falsehood would haunt and trouble her mind till she confessed the truth, and begged forgiveness, just as the black bat now troubled her by flying around her head.

"I will confess all," said Lizzy; and she burst into tears, and throwing herself into her mother's arms, told her morning's adventures, without sparing herself at all.

The bat dropped down dead upon the floor.

"Ah!" said Lizzy's mother, "now, how good it is to confess and beg forgiveness, and how pleasant it is to forgive. See! he is dead, and I trust you will never more put any such 'thimbles' into your bosom."

"Oh, mother," said Lizzy, smiling, as she dried her tears, "I have no doubt it was beginning to be a pretty little bee when I put it in; but I will be one myself now;" and she took her sewing work, and sat down; and happening to look up from her work to the spot where the bat had fallen, she was delighted to see, instead of the bat, a bee creeping along on the floor. Presently he flew up, and crawled on her arm, while she worked.

"Well," said Lizzy, the next morning, "I really did not know I was so bad a girl. Only think of my causing the existence of such disagreeable creatures, when I thought I should bring out such delightful ones. But I will do better, certainly.--I wish I had some more of these eggs." And she resolved to go again into the wood, and seek out the fairy. She had been strolling about for some time, looking for the tree on which she had seen the woodp.e.c.k.e.r, when she saw, on the ground before her, a brown beetle, or May-bug, lying upon his back. She took him up, and turned him over.

"That is a kind girl, Lizzy," said a small voice.

"Ah! the fairy!"

"How are you, this morning? I have not seen you since last evening, when I was bobbing about in your room, striking my head against the ceiling, and then falling bounce upon the floor. I was lying here on my back, just to see if you would have the kindness to pick me up. And now, tell me, what was the fate of the eggs? Have you got some pretty bird, bright b.u.t.terflies, and shining beetles, to show me?"

"Ah! I am ashamed of myself," said Lizzy; "all your pretty eggs were wasted, but one."