Clifton Johnson

“ No sooner did she finish the ascent than Fatima called from below, “Anne, Sister Anne, do you see any one coming?”
Anne replied sadly, “I see nothing but the sun shining and the grass growing tall and green.”
Several times Fatima put the same question and each time she received the same answer.
Meanwhile Bluebeard was waiting with a scimitar in one hand and his watch in the other. At length he shouted in a fierce voice: “The ten minutes are almost gone! Make an end to your prayers!”
“Anne, Sister Anne!” Fatima called softly, “look again. Is there no one on the road?” ”

“ The princess looked as if she thought him tiresome as she responded: “Of course. We are roasting young chickens today.”
“Where do you—um?” the youth stammered, and the reporters wrote down, “Where do you—um?”
“It doesn’t matter,” the princess said. “Take him out.”
After a while Blockhead Hans had his turn. He rode his goat right into the room and exclaimed, “Dear me, how awfully hot it is here!” ”

“ The ant guided them to a group of tumble-down houses and showed them a pit which the brothers entered. There they found the money which had been stolen from them, and off they went with it to the seashore. The whale came to speak with them, and was rejoiced to learn what Time had said.
While they were talking with the whale, they saw the robbers coming, armed to the teeth.
“Alas, alas!” they cried, “now we are lost.”
“Fear not,” the whale said. “I can save you. Get on my back and I will carry you to a place of safety.” ”

“ So Tom went into the house, got a pretty shoe with a silver buckle to it that belonged to the servant maid and ran across a field till he got ahead of the butcher. He threw the shoe into the middle of the highway and hid behind a hedge. The butcher came riding along with the calf before him.
“Hey!” he said, “there’s a fine lady’s shoe. If it wasn’t that this calf makes it a great trouble to get off and on I’d alight and pick the shoe up. But after all what is the use of one shoe without its neighbor?” ”

“ This made the poor reapers think he was a very honest, generous, and genteel master.
Tom took them to an inn and gave them a hearty breakfast. “Now,” he said, “there are so many of you together, it’s quite possible that while most are honest men, some may be rogues. You will have to sleep nights together in a barn, and your best plan is to give what money you have to me to keep safe for you. ”

“ Blockhead Hans and the Dead Crow
83
The brothers turned round to learn what in the world he could have found.
“Simpleton!” they said, “that cracked old shoe is absolutely worthless. Are you going to take that to the princess?”
“Of course I shall,” Blockhead Hans replied, and the brothers laughed and rode along.
But the lad on the goat soon brought them to a standstill by hopping off his goat and shouting: “Hurrah! Here’s the best treasure of all!”
“What have you found now?” the brothers asked.
“Oh! something more for the princess,” he said. “How pleased she will be!” ”

“ The mice will never be safe from the cat unless they tie a bell to her neck to warn them when she is coming. The ants will live a hundred years if they will dispense with flying, for when an ant is going to die it puts on wings. The whale should make friends with the sea-mouse, who will serve as a guide so that the monster will never go astray. The doves will resume their former shape when they fly and alight on the column of riches.”
So saying, Time went forth to run his accustomed race. Then Channa bade the old woman farewell and descended the mountain. ”

“ Bluebeard responded.
Poor Fatima hastened to a little turret chamber whither her sister had fled in terror and grief. “Sister Anne!” she cried, “go up to the top of the tower and see if our two brothers are coming. They promised to visit me today. If they should be in sight beckon them to come quickly.” ”

“ But Tom’s father had some suspicions, and he looked closely at the cow’s face and found some of the chalk still remaining. Then he gave Tom a hearty beating and turned him out of the house.
Tom traveled about from place to place, and by hook or by crook contrived to make a living till he reached the size and years 93 of a man. He was always planning ways to get hold of other people’s money, for he did not like to exert himself to earn what he needed.
Once he met a party of reapers seeking work. ”

“ We shall be persecuted by hawks, and hunters will try to shoot us. Ah! why did you pluck that accursed rosemary and bring such a calamity on us? Doves we must remain for the rest of our lives unless you find the Mother of Time. She can tell you how to get us out of our trouble.”
Channa was greatly distressed over what she had done, and said she would start at once searching for the Mother of Time. 65 She urged them to make the ogre’s house their home until she returned. ”

“ Tom made his grandmother believe that 91 some one had stolen the cow. This was a great grief to her. At last she told the lad to buy her another cow at a fair in a neighboring town, and she gave him three pounds with which to make the purchase.
He promised to get one as near like the other as possible and went off with the money. Then he took a piece of chalk, ground it into powder, steeped it in a little water and rubbed it in spots and patches over the head and body of the cow he had hidden. ”

“ Peach-boy said; “and I give you three animals 112 warning that if any quarreling starts among you I will send you all back that very moment. In war a good position is better than good luck, but union is better than either good luck or good position. There can be no squabbling among ourselves if we are to win.” ”

“ Some fell from the roofs of their houses, the walls of the fortress, and the wild cliffs, and some were killed by the irresistible onslaughts of Peach-boy, and of the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant.
When, at last, only the head demon remained alive, he threw away his weapons, 117 and knelt in submission before Peach-boy with the tears streaming down his cheeks. “Great warrior,” he said, “spare my life! From today I shall reform. Spare me!”
Peach-boy laughed scornfully. “You villain!” he cried, “for many years you have persecuted and killed innocent people ”

“ Anne replied, “but they are a great way off.”
“They must be our brothers,” Fatima said. “Heaven be praised! Oh, sign to them to hasten!”
By this time the enraged Bluebeard was howling so loud for his wife to come down that his voice shook the whole mansion. Fatima dared delay no longer, and she descended to 22 the great hall, threw herself at her wicked husband’s feet, and once more begged him to spare her life.
“Silence!” Bluebeard cried. “Your entreaties are wasted! You shall die!” ”

“ Channa responded. “You must say something better than that if you would have me quit my hold.”
“Well then,” the old woman said, “hide behind the door, and when Time comes home I will make him tell me all you wish to know. As soon as he goes out again you can depart.”
Channa let go the weights and hid behind the door. Presently Time came flying in, and his mother repeated to him the maiden’s questions.
Appealing to the Mother of Time
73
In reply he said: “The oak tree will be honored as it was of yore when men find the treasure that is buried among its roots. ”

“ They told her to be more careful in future, and to beware of plucking any grass or other plant that might grow on the spot where the ogre was buried, or they would be changed into doves.
“Heaven keep me from bringing such a misfortune on you!” Channa exclaimed.
They took possession of all the ogre’s goods, made themselves masters of the whole house, and lived very comfortably and merrily there until spring. Then it happened one morning when the brothers had gone 63 off on some errand, that a poor pilgrim came to the ogre’s wood. ”

“ Usually, when I come to the fig tree, all the figs that are any good roll about in the wind. Those figs in the pile lie so still that I doubt if they are fit to eat. I will have to go to some other place to get good figs.” 53
The jackal’s words made the alligator fear that he had failed again, and he thought: “This little jackal is very particular. I will just shake myself and make the figs roll about a trifle. Then he will come near enough for me to grab him.” ”

“ So the father borrowed an ax, and he and the scholar went together to the forest, where the young man helped with the work 26 and was very lively and merry. About noon, when the sun stood right over their heads, the father sat down to rest for a while and eat his dinner.
The scholar, however, took his share of bread and said: “I am not tired. I will go a little deeper into the forest and look for birds’ nests.”
“Oh, you silly fellow!” his father exclaimed, “why do you want to run about? You will get so weary you will not be able to raise your arm. ”

“ Now they all started on the return journey, taking the same road by which Channa had come. When they arrived at the old oak and she informed the tree of what Time had said, the oak begged them to take away the treasure from its roots. So the seven brothers borrowed tools in a neighboring village and dug till they unearthed a great heap of gold money. ”

“ She and Blockhead Hans were married, and presently he became king and wore a crown and sat on the throne. At any rate so the newspaper said, but of course you can’t believe all you see in the papers.
90XIII—CUNNING TOM
Once there was a bad boy named Tom, and the older he grew, the wiser and slyer he thought himself. Many were the tricks he played until no one liked him or trusted him.
One day he asked his grandmother for some money. She had plenty, but she would not give him any. So that evening Tom went to the pasture and caught the old woman’s black cow. ”

“ After he has gone, enter, and you will find an old, old woman, whose face is covered with deep wrinkles, and whose eyebrows are so shaggy she will not be able to see you. She is seated on a clock which is fastened to the wall. ”

“ He had them help prepare a boat, and they set sail with the first favorable wind. The shore behind them was soon lost to sight, and for a while the animals were very unhappy. But they gradually became accustomed to the motion and presently stood on deck eagerly looking ahead to see the island as soon as it came into view. When they wearied of that they began to show their accomplishments. ”

“ Andrew Coffey!”
It’s hard for a man to jump after going through all my grandfather had, but jump he did. When he looked around, where should he find himself but in the very cabin in which he had first met Patrick. ”