Charles E. Carryl

“ CHAPTER VI. THE GIANT BADORFUL.
"Goblin," said Davy, very seriously, as the little man jumped down from off his back, "if you are going to play such tricks as that upon me I should like to go home at once."
"Where's the harm?" said the Goblin, sitting down on the grass with his back against a wall and smiling contentedly.
"The harm is that I thought it was Gobobbles," said Davy, indignantly.
"Oh, you needn't be afraid of Gobobbles!" said the Goblin. "He's got all that he can attend to, taking care of himself. ”

“ Davy peered through a clump of bushes, and discovered a large red animal, with white spots on its sides, clumsily rummaging about in the tall grass and weeds. Its appearance was so formidable that he was just about whispering to the Goblin, "Let's run!" when the monster raised its head, and, after gazing about for an instant, gave a loud, triumphant whistle.
"Why, it's Ribsy!" cried Davy, running forward. "It's Ribsy, only he's grown enormously fat." ”

“ The floor was of tin, and greased to such a slippery degree that Davy could hardly keep his feet, and against the walls on all sides were ranged long rows of little tin chairs glistening like silver in the dazzling light.
The only person in the room was a little man, something like the Hole-keeper in appearance, but denser and darker in the way of complexion, and dressed in a brown paper tunic and cocked hat. ”

“ Davy pushed his way eagerly through the crowd, expecting to see Gobobbles; but the white object proved to be the Cockalorum hemmed in by a ring of pitchforks sticking in the ground, and with his feathers more rumpled than ever.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Davy, perfectly amazed, "I thought we were chasing Gobobbles!"
"Of course you did," said the Goblin, complacently; "but in this part of the world things very often turn out to be different from what they would have been if they hadn't been otherwise than as you expected they were going to be." ”

“ The wind was blowing fiercely, and a cloud of spray was dashed in his face as he turned toward it, and presently the air was filled with lobsters, eels, and wriggling fishes that were being carried inshore by the gale. Suddenly, to Davy's astonishment, a dog came sailing along. He was being helplessly blown about among the lobsters, uneasily jerking his tail from side to side to keep it out of reach of their great claws, and giving short, nervous barks from time to time, as though he were firing signal-guns of distress. ”

“ HE SOFTLY MURMURED. Then a great creature, with rumpled feathers, perched upon the brim of the hat where the Goblin had been sitting, and, after solemnly gazing at him for a few moments, softly murmured, "I'm a Cockalorum," and flew heavily away. All this was very sad and distressing, and Davy was mournfully wondering what would happen to him next, when it suddenly struck him that his legs were feeling very cold, and, looking down at them, he discovered, to his great alarm, that the crown of the Goblin's hat had entirely disappeared, leaving nothing but the brim, upon which he was sitting. ”

“ Ribsy snapped at it, and swallowed it, and the next instant disappeared with a tremendous explosion in a great cloud of smoke.
"What was that?" said Davy, in a terrified whisper.
"A Hum Bug," said the Goblin, calmly. "When a cab-horse on a vacation talks about eating you, a Hum Bug is a pretty good thing to take the conceit out of him. They're loaded, you see, and they go booming along as innocently as you please; but if you touch 'em—why, 'There you aren't!' as the Hole-keeper says."
"The Hole-keeper isn't himself any more," said Davy, mournfully. ”

“ The scuffling sound continued, mingled with little sneezes and squeaking sobs, as if some very small kittens had bad colds and were crying about it.
"I think I'll take a peep," said Davy, looking cautiously about him. There was no one in sight, and he carefully raised the cover a little way and tried to look in. The scuffling sound and the sobs ceased, and the next instant the cover flew off the basket, and out poured a swarm of little brown creatures, like snuff-boxes with legs. ”

“ As Gobobbles caught sight of him he discontinued his thumping, and, after staring at him for a moment, said sulkily:—
"I can't abide boys!"
"Why not?" said Davy.
"Oh, they're so hungry!" said Gobobbles, passionately. "They're so everlastingly hungry. Now don't deny that you're fond of turkey."
"Well, I do like turkey," said Davy, seeing no way out of the difficulty.
"Of course you do!" said Gobobbles, tossing his head. "Now you might as well know," he continued, resuming his thumping with increased energy, "that I'm as hollow as a drum and as tough as a hat-box. ”

“ Before he had gone a dozen steps, however, he heard a thumping sound behind him, and, looking back, he saw, to his dismay, that Gobobbles had in some way got loose from his high chair, and was coming after him, thumping himself in a perfect frenzy. In fact, his appearance was so formidable that Davy did not pause for a second look, but started off at the top of his speed. ”

“ The Hole-keeper began fumbling at the leaves of his book in great agitation, when the king, pointing at him with his wand, roared furiously: "Boil him, at all events!"
"Tut! Tut! your majesty," began the Hole-keeper, confusedly, with his stiff little tunic fairly rustling with fright; but before he could utter another word he was rushed upon and dragged away, screaming with terror.
[Pg 36] "Don't you go with them!" shouted Davy, made really desperate by the Hole-keeper's danger. "They're nothing but a lot of molasses candy!" ”

“ Bells were pealing and tolling in all directions, and the air was filled with the sound of distant shouts and cries.
"What were they?" asked Davy, breathlessly.
"Butterscotchmen," said the Goblin. "You see, they always butter their chairs so that they won't stick fast when they sit down."
"And what makes you that color?" said Davy, suddenly noticing that the Goblin had changed his color to a beautiful blue.
"Trouble and worry," said the Goblin. "I always get blue when the Butterscotchmen are after me."
"Are they coming after us now?" inquired Davy, in great alarm. ”

“ The beach was covered in every direction with little [Pg 112] hills of sand, like haycocks, with scraggy bunches of sea-weed sticking out of the tops of them; and Davy was wondering how they came to be there, when he caught sight of a man walking along the edge of the water, and now and then stopping and gazing earnestly out to sea. As the man drew nearer, Davy saw that he was dressed in a suit of brown leather, and wore a high-peaked hat, and that a little procession, consisting of a dog, a cat, and a goat, was following patiently at his heels, while a parrot was perched upon his shoulder. ”

“ He was a Maltese cat, and his name was Flipmegilder."
"Did you toss him?" inquired Davy.
"Certainly not," said the Cow, indignantly. "Who ever heard of a cow tossing a cat? The fact is, I've never had a fair chance to toss anything. As for the dog, Mother Hubbard never permitted any liberties to be taken with him."
"I'd dearly love to see Mother Hubbard," said Davy, eagerly.
"Well, you can," said the Cow, indifferently. "She isn't much to see. If you'll look in at the kitchen window you'll probably find her performing on the piano and singing a song. She's always at it." ”

“ He was precisely like the rest of the creatures, except that he was a little larger, and wore a blue paper coat and a sparkling tin crown, and held in his hand a long white wand, with red lines running screw-wise around it, like a barber's pole. He stared at Davy and the Hole-keeper for a moment, and then called out, "Are the chairs buttered?"
"They are!" shouted the crowd, like one man. ”

“ Now the truth was that Davy, having never met any giants when he was out walking, nor seen any fairies peeping out of the bushes in the garden, nor found any goblins sitting on the bedposts about the house, had come to believe that all these kinds of people were purely imaginary beings, so that now he could do nothing but stare at the little man in a shamefaced sort of way and wonder what was coming next. ”

“ It seemed rather strange to be spoken to by a cab-horse, but Davy answered that he was feeling quite well.
"So am I," said Ribsy. "The fact is, that when it comes to beating a horse about the head with a three-legged stool, if that horse is going to leave at all, it's time he was off."
"I should think it was," said Davy, earnestly.
"You'll observe, of course, that I've kept on my shoes and my collar," said Ribsy. "It isn't genteel to go barefoot, and nothing makes a fellow look so untidy as going about without a collar. ”

“ At this moment a farmer, with bright red hair, thrust his head in at the grating, and calling out, "Here comes Gobobbles!" disappeared again; and Davy and the Goblin rushed out, and were just in time to see Gobobbles go by like a flash, with a crowd of people armed with pitchforks in hot pursuit. ”

“ The sea is always tidy;" and here the Wave broke with a little, murmuring laugh, and rolled back again, all in a foam.
Davy was so astonished that it almost took away his breath. A talking Wave was certainly the most marvellous thing he had met with, and in an instant he was lying flat on his face, trembling with eagerness, and waiting for the next Wave to roll up on the shore.
It came in a moment, and gently whispered, "If we didn't wet the sand once in a while there wouldn't be any nuts on the beach-trees,—no nuts on the trees, and no shells on the shore;" ”

“ DAVY ASSISTS THE OLD SEA-DOG.
"I don't know," said Davy, who would have laughed if he had not been a little afraid of the Dog.
"A dog-watch keeps a watching on a bark," said the old Sea-Dog; "and a watch-dog keeps a barking on a watch." ”

“ To make the matter worse, the Cockalorum came back and flew slowly around the branches, laughing softly to himself with a sort of a chuckling sound, until Davy, almost crying with disappointment and mortification, scrambled down from the tree to the ground.
He found himself in a large garden planted with plum-trees, like the one he had fallen into, and with walks winding about among them in every direction. These walks [Pg 30] were beautifully paved with sugar-almonds and bordered by long rows of many-colored motto-papers neatly planted in the ground. ”

“ Davy ran to the spot where the Cockalorum had fallen, and found him sitting helplessly in the grass, looking dreadfully rumpled, and staring about confusedly, as if wondering what had happened to him. As Davy came running up he murmured, in a reproachful way, "Oh! it's you, is it? ”

“ Meanwhile the Cockalorum is gorging himself with information.
"I saw him just now," said Davy, laughing, "and he didn't act as if he had learned anything very lately. I don't think he'll find much in your book;" and here he went off into another fit of laughter.
"Ah! but just think of the lots and lots of things he won't find," exclaimed the Hole-keeper. "Everything he doesn't find in it is something worth knowing. By the way, your friend seems to be having some sort of a fit. Give him some dubbygrums;" and with this the Hole-keeper stalked pompously away. ”

“ CHAPTER V. JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK'S FARM.
It was quite an ordinary-looking farm-yard and quite an ordinary-looking Cow, but she stared so earnestly up at Davy that he felt positively certain she had something to say to him. "Every creature I meet does have something to say," he thought, as he felt about for the window-fastening, "and I should really like to hear a Cow"—and just at this moment the window suddenly flew open, and he pitched head-foremost out upon a pile of hay in the farm-yard, and rolled from it off upon the ground. ”

“ And with this the Cow walked gravely away, just as Mother Hubbard made her appearance at the window.
"Boy," said Mother Hubbard, beaming mildly upon Davy through her spectacles, "you shouldn't throw gravel."
"I haven't thrown any," said Davy.
"Fie!" said Mother Hubbard, shaking her head; "always speak the truth."
[Pg 50] "I am speaking the truth," said Davy, indignantly. "It was Gobobbles."
"So I supposed," said Mother Hubbard, gently shaking her head again. "It would have been far better if he had been cooked last Christmas instead of being left over. ”

“ The little man had evidently been having a hard time since Davy had seen him. His complexion had quite lost its beautiful transparency, and his jaunty little paper tunic was sadly rumpled, and, moreover, he had lost his cocked hat. ”

“ I suppose you know they've caught Gobobbles?"
"I'm glad of it!" said Davy, heartily. "He's worse than the Cockalorum, ten times over. What did they do with him?"
"Cooked him," said the Hole-keeper,—"roasted him, fried him, pickled him, and boiled him."
"Gracious!" exclaimed Davy; "I shouldn't think he'd be good for much after all that."
"He isn't," replied the Hole-keeper, calmly. "They're going to keep him to rub out pencil-marks with." ”

“ At last Sindbad's turban fell off, and as he sat up on the grass, and began stirring in it again with his wooden spoon, Davy saw that it was full of broken chessmen.
[Pg 94] "It's a great improvement, isn't it?" said Sindbad.
"What is?" said Davy, very much puzzled.
"HE GAVE ONE HAND TO DAVY AND THE OTHER TO THE GOBLIN."
"Why, this way of playing the game," said Sindbad, looking up at him complacently. "You see, you make all the moves at once."
"It must be a very easy way," said Davy.
"It's nothing of the sort," said Sindbad, sharply. ”