Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

“ Poor little Jessy! she tried hard not to cry, but it was a bitter disappointment; the tears came rolling down her cheeks faster and faster, till at length she sat down by the kettle, and, burying her face in her apron, sobbed as if her heart would break.
Presently, through her sobs, she heard a kind voice saying, “What is the matter, little one? Why do you cry so bitterly?” She looked up and saw an old gentleman with white hair and a bright, cheery face, standing by her. At first, Jessy could say nothing but “Oh! the cupperty-buts! oh! the cupperty-buts!” ”

“ The king has a devil to guard his bed.”
And he spent the rest of the night shivering in the farthest garret he could find.
The next morning the coal said to the king:—
“Again this night have I saved your treasure, and mayhap your life as well. Yet a third time I shall do it, and this time you shall learn the name of the thief. But if I do this, you must promise me one thing, and that is that you will place me in your royal crown and wear me as a jewel. ”

“ All day long the little boy worked hard, in field and barn and shed, for his people were poor farmers, and could not pay a workman; but at sunset there came an hour that was all his own, for his father had given it to him. Then the boy would go up to the top of a hill and look across at another hill that rose some miles away. On this far hill stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamonds. They shone and blazed so that it made the boy wink to look at them: but after a while the people in the house put up shutters, as it seemed, and then it looked like any common farmhouse. ”

“ He knew that at night King Sligo kept the key under his pillow, and he was coming to get it. He crept softly, softly, toward the bed, but as he drew near it, the coal cried out:—
“One eye sleeps, but the other eye wakes! one eye sleeps, but the other eye [87] wakes! Who is this comes creeping, while honest men are sleeping?”
The High Cellarer looked about him in affright, and saw the coal burning fiery red in the darkness, and looking for all the world like a great flaming eye. In an agony of fear he fled from the chamber, crying,—
“Black and red! ”

“ How well his tail looked, even though it was still rather short! What a fine fellow he was, altogether!
For two or three weeks our comet was the happiest creature in all space; too happy to think of anything except the joy of frisking about. But by-and-by he began to wonder about things, and that is always dangerous for a comet.
“I wonder, now,” he said, “why I may not go near the planet Bungo. I have always heard that he was the most [133] interesting of all the planets. And the Sun! how I should like to know a little more about the Sun! ”

“ The child stood under a great hemlock-tree, and looked up toward the clear blue sky, which shone far away beyond the dark tree-tops. She spread her hands abroad and called, “Happy New Year! Happy New Year to everybody in the wood, and all over the world!”
A rustling was heard in the hemlock branches, and a striped squirrel peeped down at her. “What do you mean by that, little Child?” he asked. And then from all around came other squirrels, came little field-mice, and hares swiftly leaping, and all the winter birds, titmouse and snow-bird, and many another ”

“ Now, when the king found that all his best nobles were turning into monks, he was greatly displeased, and said to the princess:—
“My daughter, it is high time that all this nonsense came to an end. The next time a respectable person asks you to marry him, you will say, ‘With all my heart!’ or I will know the reason why.”
But this the princess could not endure, for she had never yet seen a man whom [96] she was willing to marry. Nevertheless, she feared her father’s anger, for she knew that he always kept his word ”

“ Almost immediately the head of a rat popped up through the hole. He was a huge rat, quite as large as a cat; but his size was no help to him, for as soon as he appeared, Hokey Pokey dealt him such a blow with his mallet that he fell down dead without even a squeak. ”

“ He who brings him a new dish, never before tasted by him, shall have a thousand crowns and a new jacket; but he who fails, after three trials, shall have his jacket taken away from him, and his head cut off besides.’
“‘I bring strange food,’ said Hokey Pokey. ‘Let me pass in, that I may serve the mighty Dragon.’
“Then the man on horseback lowered his lance, and let him pass in, and in short space he came before the mighty Dragon. The Dragon sat on a silver throne, with a golden knife in one hand, and a golden fork in the other. ”

“ You will avoid the neighborhood of the [132] Sun, the Earth, and the planet Bungo. You will turn to the left on meeting other comets, and you are not allowed to speak to meteors. These are your orders. Go!”
At the word, the comet shot out of the gate and off into space, his short tail bobbing as he went.
Ah! here was something worth living for. No longer shut up in that tiresome court-yard, waiting for one’s tail to grow, but out in the free, open, boundless realm of space, with leave to shoot about here and there and everywhere—well, nearly everywhere—for thirteen whole weeks! ”

“ One day the boy’s father called him and said: “You have been a good boy, and have earned a holiday. Take this day for your own; but remember that God gave it, and try to learn some good thing.”
The boy thanked his father and kissed his mother; then he put a piece of bread in his pocket, and started off to find the house with the golden windows.
It was pleasant walking. His bare feet made marks in the white dust, and when he looked back, the footprints seemed to be following him, and making company for him. His shadow, too, kept beside him, and would dance or run with him as he pleased ”

“ And without another word he was off, with his preposterously long tail spreading itself like a luminous fan behind him. The little comet looked after him for some time in silence. At last he said:—
“Well, I call that simply disgusting! An ignorant, narrow-minded old—”
“Hello, cousin!” called a clear merry [135] voice just behind him. “How goes it with you? Shall we travel together? Our roads seem to go in the same direction.”
The comet turned and saw a bright and sparkling meteor. “I—I—must not speak to you!” said No. 73, confusedly.
“Not speak to me!” exclaimed the meteor, laughing. ”

“ Some children were set to reap in a wheat-field. The wheat was yellow as gold, the sun shone gloriously, and the butterflies flew hither and thither. Some of the children worked better, and some worse; but there was one who ran here and there after the butterflies that fluttered about his head, and sang as he ran.
By and by evening came, and the Angel of the wheat-field called to the children and said, “Come now to the gate, and bring your sheaves with you.”
So the children came, bringing their sheaves. Some had great piles, laid close and even, so that they might carry more ”

“ Look at it! the frosting is half an inch thick, with candied rose-leaves and angelica laid on in true-lovers’ knots; and inside there are chopped-up almonds, and raisins, and great slices of citron. It is the prettiest cake I ever saw, and the best.”
“So it is I did!” said the third child.
Then the Angel gave the last piece to the child whose nursery it was.
“My dear!” she said. “Just look! Here is an ice-cream rabbit. He is snow-white outside, with eyes of red barley sugar; see his ears, and his little snubby tail! but inside, I think you will find him pink. ”

“ Hastily descending from his throne, he beckoned the princess into a side-chamber, and closing the door, besought her in moving terms not to betray him.
[99]
“Here,” he said, “is a bag of rubies as big as pigeon’s eggs. There are six thousand of them, and I ’umbly beg your ’Ighness to haccept them as a slight token hof my hesteem, if your ’Ighness will kindly consent to spare a respeckable tradesman the disgrace of being hexposed.”
The princess reflected, and came to the conclusion that, after all, a butterman might make as good a king as any one else ”

“ When he came near enough, Hokey Pokey dropped the umbrella, and raising his wooden mallet hit the bull such a blow on the muzzle that he fell down dead, and never bellowed again.
“The people all flung up their hats, and cheered, and ran up and down all the more, to express their gratification. As [114] for the china-shop man, he threw his arms round Hokey Pokey’s neck, called him his cherished preserver, and bade him choose anything that was left in his shop in payment for his services.
“‘Can you match these?’ asked Hokey Pokey, holding up the loaf of bread and the ball of sweetmeats. ”

“ In the midst of all stood the Comet Master, with his hands behind him, holding a very long stick with a very sharp point. The comets knew just how the point of that stick felt, for they were prodded with it [130] whenever they misbehaved themselves; accordingly, they all remained very quiet, while he gave his orders for the day.
In a distant corner of the court-yard lay an old comet, with his tail comfortably curled up around him. He was too old to go out, so he enjoyed himself at home in a quiet way. Beside him stood a very young comet, with a very short tail. ”

“ You will find no tidier person than I in the whole garden. Not a feather is out of place, and my eggs are the wonder of all for smoothness and beauty. Brother, indeed!” He hopped off, ruffling his feathers, and the child waited. ”

“ If this gracious lady will consent to go forward, instead of returning through the wood, we may yet escape with our lives. Noble princess!” and here he and the whole band assumed attitudes of supplication, “consider, I pray you, whether it would really add to your happiness to [102] betray to the advancing army a few poor foresters, who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. Here,” he continued, hastily drawing something from a hole in the oak-tree, “is a bag containing ten thousand sapphires, each as large as a pullet’s egg. ”

“ The wicked thief started, for it was the signal for the entire court to appear instantly before the king, and the penalty of disobedience was death. Hastily cramming a handful of sapphires into his pocket, he stumbled to the door, which [90] he closed and locked, putting the key also in his pocket, as there was no time to return it. He flew to the presence-chamber, where the lords of the kingdom were hastily assembling.
The king was seated on his throne, still in his hunting-dress, though he had put on his crown over his hat, which presented a peculiar appearance. ”

“ The Comet Master spoke sharply and decidedly, as usual, but not unkindly.
“No. 73, Short-Tail,” he said, “has disobeyed orders, and has in consequence been devoured by the Sun.”
Here there was a great sensation among the comets.
“No. 1,” continued the Master, “you will start immediately, and travel until you find a runaway meteor, with a red face and blue hair. You are permitted to make inquiries of respectable bodies, such as planets or satellites. When found, [140] you will arrest him and take him to the planet Bungo. ”