Margery Williams

“ HOW POOR CECCO LOST HIS TAIL
It was a very large stone—larger even than Bulka had thought. It looked as if it had lain there for a very long time; almost as if it had always been there, and the potato patch and the garden and even the house itself had just grown up around it. There might very well be treasure there; it might even be a magic stone, by the look of it.
“The first thing to do,” said Poor Cecco, “is to measure off the ground.” ”

“ But Jensina was not to be comforted so easily; her pride had been hurt, and moreover she could still hear faintly, through the closed door of the molehill, the scraping of fiddles and the shuffling of feet. So she continued to sit there, sulking on the grass, and to judge by her expression it was far wiser to leave her alone.
As for Bulka, he was dropping with sleep, so Poor Cecco propped him up against Jensina, with the bundle beside them, and set off alone to search for a night’s lodging. ”

“ For it had long been Tubby’s habit, especially when she felt herself slighted, to retire into hiding in some spot known only to herself, and from which she would reappear later, telling every one, with a most superior air, that she had just been to Tubbyland—a habit which annoyed the rest of the Toys unutterably, for they none of them really believed her.
“She’ll come back when she gets tired of it,” said Anna wisely. “Stop chattering so much. Little chickens should be seen and not heard!”
“But she hasn’t gone to Tubbyland,” the Easter Chicken insisted. I tell you she’s stolen! ”

“ The rats, with looks of amazement, horror and alarm, turned at once and rushed off through the weeds. In a second there was not one left in sight!
The battle was over, but the friends were in sore plight. Bulka had been bitten twice, Poor Cecco was hoarse from barking, and Jensina had slipped on the ash-heap and rolled from top to bottom, grazing herself severely.
“Horrid mean things!” she cried, rubbing her knees and picking up her bundle, which had come undone in the skirmish. “They think they own everything here, and that no one has any rights but them. ”

“ Tubby danced with Bulka, Jensina with Poor Cecco, Gladys with Harlequin. Anna lumbered, giggling, through a quadrille with the Lion and the Engine—all found partners, and every little while Bulka would break away from the dance and turn somersaults for pure joy.
Every one had a wonderful time. Even the Money-Pig made himself agreeable. He could still only eat soft food; it was whispered that he might have to live on cake for the rest of his days, and he certainly began now with such haste that Bulka had to drag him away, declaring that some must be left for the rest of the guests! ”

“ In the pool under the bridge a number of ducks were swimming about; big ducks and middle-size ducks, and some little furry baby ducks, with flat yellow feet and eyea like drops of ink. They swam about in circles, dabbling under the water with their bills, while a little way off, all by himself, an old drake with green feathers was asleep on the water, with his head tucked under his wing.
At first the ducks took no notice of Bulka, and for a long time he amused himself by poking about on the shore by the water’s edge, getting his feet very muddy, and looking under all the stones. ”

“ Presently Poor Cecco felt some one nudging him. It was Jensina, who had crept softly round from the other side of the tree.
“Listen,” she whispered. “Listen, I have an idea!”
“What is it?” Poor Cecco whispered back.
Jensina, standing there on tiptoe, looked strangely excited. Her eyes shone in the moonlight.
“You know the rats? Do you remember what the Iron Grenadier said? Oh, Poor Cecco, suppose we get the rats to gnaw the tree and let Tubby out?”
“Jensina!” he exclaimed. “It’s wonderful! But they could never gnaw this tree through!”
“Rats can do anything,” Jensina said. ”

“ From every bush, from every patch of shadow, rats appeared. Grey rats, brown rats, old and young, dozens and dozens of them. Bulka gave a squeal of fright, but this time the rats paid no attention to him. Straight down the garden path they poured, scattering the toys in their course, over the parsley bed, right to the old willow, and by the time the toys had pulled themselves together and hurried back, they were already hard at work gnawing a hole in the side of the tree.
“Look!” Jensina cried, clapping her hand. “They’re cutting a doorway! Aren’t they clever? ”

“ Jensina rushed to take hold of the handle, and as she did so the Money-Pig, leaning over to shout, caught sight of the penny—Poor Cecco’s remaining penny—lying with Jensina’s treasures on the toy-cupboard sofa.
“There’s money!” he exclaimed. “I see it! Give it me at once!”
“I shall not,” returned Jensina with spirit. “It belongs to Poor Cecco!”
“He can’t take care of money! I need it! Give it me this instant!” the Money-Pig insisted. “No one can have money but me!”
“Don’t you give it him!” advised the Lion. “You’ll never get it back. He’s awfully greedy!” ”

“ They were so wet that the water ran out through their heels, and to make matters worse the stream itself, swollen with the rain, began to rise; great waves swept down it with a rushing sound, awful things were happening out there in the darkness and at any moment they felt the vessel might be torn from its moorings and carried away on the flood.
“We must jump!” cried Poor Cecco, and seizing Bulka by the paw he leapt ashore. ”

“ A fat elderly woodchuck, with bushy white whiskers, sat smoking in a corner; his wife, with an apron tied round her enormous waist, was preparing supper at the table, and from a bed in the corner three small woodchucks, equally fat, poked their heads out, each with a white nightcap on, to see what had happened. All five stared at Poor Cecco in astonishment and some indignation, for it is certainly not usual for a total stranger to drop in on one suddenly through the kitchen ceiling at supper time, especially when he brings half the ceiling with him, as Poor Cecco had unfortunately done. ”

“ There is a green twilight within it, monkeys swing from branch to branch. There the birds have a thousand voices and the flowers are lovelier than the fairest dream. Fly with me, beautiful Anna, and we will be king and queen of the jungle for ever! ”

“ In fact, if Tubby had found this place for herself, instead of being thrown into it so rudely by Murrum, she would have asked for nothing better. All her life she had wanted a house of her own, and had she been free to choose, this was just such a house as she would have chosen. Certainly there was the fear that Murrum might come back, but there seemed no danger of that for the present. ”

“ Every one crowded round. “What is it?” they cried. “What is it?” Mrs. Chipmunk put her hand to her heart, and Bulka left off turning somersaults and pushed forward to see what had happened.
As for Jensina, when the stone fell at her feet, she stood for a moment perfectly still, as though turned to a statue. Now, at sight of the writing on the paper, she became deathly pale.
“She is fainting!” some one cried. “Bring her water!”
But Jensina controlled herself, and with a despairing look flung her arms round the necks of Poor Cecco and Bulka, who happened to be nearest to her. ”

“ Look at Tubby! Look at Bulka, all over cake crumbs! Really, it almost makes one feel—”
“Yes?” murmured Jensina, gazing shyly up at him. She was thinking of what the policeman rat had said.
“—makes one feel like standing on one’s head!” ”

“ Bulka objected.
“Don’t be silly!” said Poor Cecco. “Can’t you see it’s only a map? The question is, where are we now?”
“That isn’t the question at all,” put in Jensina, rather snappily, for she was getting bored with watching Poor Cecco stick in his twigs and stones. “I know perfectly well where we are now. I’m not an idiot! What I want to know is where we are going.”
“Can’t you have patience?” Poor Cecco exclaimed. “All you can put in a map are the places you've already been. That’s what a map’s for. No one ever heard of a map that showed the places people haven’t been yet. ”

“ The rat, who looked very savage, began to twitch his nose and show his teeth, but Bulka clung to the beads manfully, although he was more than a little frightened. The rat came forward, sniffing the air, his whiskers twinkling, stretching out his body and leaving his hind feet behind him as long as possible, in the way rats do when they feel uncertain. ”

“ But Bulka would not hear of this; he was far too frightened and miserable. So paw in paw the two ventured out together into the unknown darkness.
The earth was sticky and muddy; it clung in lumps to their feet, and there were deep sloshy puddles everywhere. The weeds grew high above their heads, a dense forest. It was impossible to see one’s way. The rain was still falling steadily.
Poor Cecco saw something shining in the darkness and ran towards it. “There’s a light!” he cried. ”

“ The house grew very still and lonely, but Tubby didn’t mind. She sat and wrote; her pencil went scratch-scratch busily on the paper without stopping. She was writing Bulka all the most lovely things she could think of. It is true that her letters were all rather alike, but that didn’t matter; one can’t always be saying something different. She was having a wonderful time. And meanwhile the Easter Chicken ran to and fro, fetching Tubby all the scraps of paper he could find, and as soon as each letter was finished he went over on tiptoe and it in the Money-Pig. ”

“ Presently a man overtook them, driving a wagon piled high with hay.
“Do you want a lift?” he cried. “It’s lucky to meet one wooden leg, so four must be better still! Climb up on my wagon, and I’ll take you into the town.”
Bulka and Poor Cecco climbed up. The countryman cracked his whip, and away they went down the road. This was better than the express-wagon! The hay was as soft and springy as a feather bed. But one must take care not to fall off, and that wasn’t so easy; the wagon pitched and swayed like a ship at sea, and Poor Cecco had to cling tight with all his paws. ”

“ Bulka had hung the blue beads solemnly round Tubby’s neck. He stood now, beaming with happiness, while she carefully measured the little jacket and trousers against him. They were exactly right!
“Oh, Tubby!” he whispered. “Where did you get these lovely clothes?”
“Aren’t they nice?” she returned proudly. “I bought them in Tubbyland!” ”

“ Poor Cecco asked.
“It isn’t so much that,” said Jensina, pausing to brush the dust off her shoes, which, being painted directly on her feet, were extremely comfortable for walking. “It isn’t so much that, as that there’s more life going on along the road. It seems years since I saw a wagon or an automobile, and if we are going to bury ourselves in the wilderness again I might as well have stayed on my ash-heap, where at least there was comfort!”
It was plain that the incident of the rats had upset her more than she would admit. ”