Violet: A Fairy Story Part 3

Having taken care of her pet, the little girl looked to see if the carriage had gone; and though she was almost as blind as Toady, her eyes were so full of tears, she knew plainly enough by the sound that it was waiting still; for Alfred had thrown his book aside, and he and Narcissa were talking angrily.

"You're an ugly, envious thing," said Alfred. "That poor little girl had nothing on earth but those few flowers and a miserable toad; and you, who have every thing you want, could not rest till you had stolen these.

If I were king, I'd send you to state's prison."

"And if you were a queen, what would _you_ do to the girl in the carriage?" asked Narcissa's father of Violet; for the gentleman had returned from his walk, and coming quietly behind, had been watching her as she wept and watched over Toady, who seemed to be fast asleep.

"O, I would send her away to the end of the world, so I might never see her again. _Do_ take her away," she pleaded.

"But she _has_ done wrong; she had no more right to hurt your toad than you have to hurt my horses in the carriage there. Shall I not punish her?"

"It wouldn't do me any good," said Violet, mournfully. "Tell her she may have the flowers in welcome _now_. I don't care about them or any thing else if Toady must die."

"And why do you care about Toady?"

"About _him_?" asked Violet, shaking away the golden hair as she looked up wonderingly with her beautiful blue eyes,--"care about _him_? Why, did you ever see such a handsome toad? And then I have known him so long, and he hops about after me and lets me feed him; and now, now, when I come here in the morning, how lonesome I shall be, for he can't come hopping out from the gra.s.s any more, all wet with dew, and winking his round eyes, as if he'd say, 'Good morning.'"

The gentleman laughed, and then looked very sober, as he said,--

"I can't see much beauty in your pet; but I like you, little girl, for loving him so well; and here is money to pay for the harm my daughter has done."

"Why," said Violet, who had never seen any coin before, "I thought money was made to buy flour and meal with."

"So it is," replied the gentleman, "and to buy cake, and fine clothes, and artificial flowers like those in Narcissa's bonnet."

"I shouldn't want to look like _her_. I am not a queen," said Violet, "and I can find a great deal prettier flowers on the mountain than she wears, and prettier-looking stones than these;" and she looked at the silver carelessly; then, brightening up all at once, she asked,--

"Will they cure Toady's leg? O, if they will, I'll give you my flowers and the new cup both for them."

The gentleman shook his head.

"Then take them away. I don't want any thing."

CHAPTER XI.

THE DOCTOR DOCTORED.

If Narcissa's father had looked then, he would have seen the fairy Love bending over Violet till the sunny crown she wore brightened up her face, and made it look beautiful as an angel's, and Contentment, too, pouring perfume out of her lily urn.

But the gentleman had a great deal of Pride's gold dust in his eyes, and therefore he could not see very clearly.

He _did_ see the beautiful love Violet had for her ugly little pet, and felt how much better it was to be contented, like Violet, with so little, than to have almost every thing, like Narcissa, and be always wishing for more.

And what do you think the fairies did? They looked out of Violet's eyes, right through them, into his; and whenever she spoke they flew into his heart with the words, till the proud man, who had not wept since Narcissa's mother died, long and long ago, felt great tears gathering in his eyes; and as these fell into the gra.s.s, Contentment took care to wash away all the pride dust with her own white wings.

"The money will not cure your toad," said he; "but _I_ can mend his leg, for I am a physician, and know all about broken bones."

So he made the servant bring a case from the carriage, and taking a sharp little knife from it, he cut away the eye, which was too much crushed to be of any use, and then bound up the leg.

But Toady kicked, and struggled, and made such a time about it, and seemed in such pain, that Violet begged him to unfasten the bandage.

"Well, you are right," he said; "the limb cannot be cured, and if I cut it off it will be out of his way, at least."

He had no sooner done _this_ than Toady hopped right out of his gra.s.sy nest, and looking at Violet, winked so drolly with his one eye that she laughed and cried at once, and thanked the doctor over and over again.

"You needn't thank _me_," he said; "for it seems you knew better what would suit him than I did, little girl. I wonder who taught you."

Then Love and Contentment looked at each other and smiled; _they_ knew very well who had taught Violet, and they knew besides that Violet was teaching the proud, rich, learned man a lesson better than he could find in all his books or buy with all his money; for the sweet smile of Contentment and the beautiful words of Love, which had come to him through the lips of the little berry girl, Violet, would be remembered for long years, and prompt him to perform kind deeds, and thus to forget his pride and his cares, and be sometimes light-hearted as a little child.

CHAPTER XII.

WHO ARE HAPPIEST.

Do you know, dear children, that as soon as people have grown up they begin to wish they were young again, and had not troublesome servants to manage, and great houses to take care of, and purses full of money to spend or to save, and, worst of all, whole troops of wicked fairies?

_They_ call them habits; but fairies they are, for all that.

These spirits lead into so much mischief that there are very few men and women who don't sometimes fold their hands and say, "O, dear! if I could go back and be a little child once more!"

Ask your mother if she wouldn't give all her jewels away in exchange for as pure a heart as children have. Ask your father whether he wouldn't give all his bonds and railroad stocks if that would make him as merry and free from care as you are when you climb upon his knee to ask the question.

And if they say "No," ask them which fairy they would rather _you_ took for a friend--Pride or Truth.

Now, here you are, children still; and if I were you, I'd enjoy being young while it lasts. I'd make friends with as many good fairies, and scare away as many bad ones, as I could find. Scare them away! I wouldn't wait to look at them or hear them talk; for some have pretty faces and sweet words, but they are dreadful cheats.

I would find out ever so many things,--and there's no end to the number there _are_,--ever so many things which are right, and good, and beautiful. I wouldn't look for any thing else, but would be so happy among these that other people would notice it, and look after them too; and then I would give them as many as they wanted of my treasures, and teach them where to find more; for fairy Love takes care that the more we give the more we shall have; and even if we didn't, who wants to be a miser?

Think how much G.o.d has given us!--this whole great world, all the sky over your head, and the air, and sunshine, and woods, and gardens full of flowers, and fathers and mothers to love and take care of us, and a million other things.

And what do we give G.o.d? Every thing that we give away at all we give to him just as much as if we laid it in his hand.

Don't you know that Christ called the poor and ignorant G.o.d's little children, and declared he loved them all _better_ than your mother and father love you?

And not only this, G.o.d cares when even a bird falls to the ground with his wing broken, and is watching to see how much you are willing to do for his creature.

CHAPTER XIII.

VIOLET BERRYING.