Robert Bloomer Hare Bell

“ But Mendacia, whose eyes were fastened upon the boy, suddenly thought of a new way to vary her life of plotting and murder. How amusing it would be to drag the children aboard and play with them a little before taking their lives! It would be such fun to hear them crying and begging for the mercy that would never be granted. So she guided the Leviathan by gently tapping him with her heel till the children's boat touched his side, and then, quicker than can be told, she and Brutus dragged the surprised youngsters aboard. ”

“ The wolves all the while were prowling about, and sniffing in the air, to make sure I was there. Not a bit of sleep did I get that night, and when the morning came, I was thankful, for one by one the wolves slunk off and I was left alone. When all was still again and things looked safe, my thoughts turned to the monk's threat, so I got down off my perch, and crept upon my knees, searching for traces of the blood and feathers of the crow. ”

“ Polly threw her arms around the good mother and hugged her. From that hour, they became friends. And sitting down on the grass the good woman explained the working of the tower.
"That spire," she said, "reaches to heaven and has millions and millions of disks on its sides. These instruments are the sound-receivers of the whole world. Every sound is magnified and made sweeter by the condensers. Every prayer, every song, and every musical note is caught here and made clearer and stronger. Every good deed done is praised and every kind word reechoed." ”

“ Her eyes blazed fire and her voice sounded like the rumbling of thunder.
The cook's tune of mirth was instantly changed to wails for mercy. His hair stood on end, his jaws relaxed, and his eyes almost swelled out.
"Yes!" said the bear. "I'll straighten you, miserable [27] cook!" She lifted her huge paw and brought it down with terrible force upon the hump.
"Ouch! Ouch!" yelled the dancer, as his hump pushed through and thrust out before him. He was hump-chested now!
"There!" said the bear. "Henceforth, you'll follow your hump. You won't have to carry it on your back any more!" ”

“ As soon as they had all landed safely, the monster began to roar like fifty bulls. He must have been disappointed at losing his supper.
But the children turned their backs on Mortuus and ran about a level held, gathering black roses [68] and gazing upon the strange scenery that lay before them.
They had never seen such peculiar flowers. All natural things were of a somber hue because there was so little sunlight. But the girls were pleased with the new sights and the boys took off their shoes and waded in the brooks, chasing little fish. ”

“ Some of the stupid fellows thought that the pig must be mad; others said he must be a devil clothed in pig's flesh. They all kept a safe distance from him, hiding wherever they could, till at last Egkartes cautiously approached the monster, intending to lead him to his pen, as the youth had done on like occasions. But when as usual, he took the pig by the ear, the beast turned upon him with a thundering roar, seized his arm, and shook him as a terrier shakes a rat. ”

“ Egkartes sprang at the monster, who seemed to recognize him, but without showing any fear, turned and coolly walked out of the house. It wounded the pride of the young champion to see the enemy treat him so indifferently. He returned to his men feeling disheartened. He could see no way of killing the monster. What could he do?
After many weeks of failure, Egkartes wandered to the king's garden and sat down near the entrance, where he found many other Greek youths who, like himself, aspired to the hand of the princess. ”

“ To Uncle Rupert it was no wonder that the people would not believe what Pietas said about the better land, seeing that they had to face the monster alligator in their journey to the United States.
"Pietas," said Uncle Rupert, "I do not believe we shall be able to convince your people, for the only entrance to the upper country is so horrible. If we could only kill or disable the monster, we might succeed in bringing your people out of this place." ”

“ The men accompanied the poor weeping woman to her miserable hut, and as they stepped within and beheld Methuson and sniffed the odor of the place, they knew that the Hus was the beast that had done the deed.
Egkartes stooped and listened over the unconscious man's heart for some sign of life. In a few moments he rose to his feet, and turning to the wife, exclaimed: "Your husband is not dead!" ”

“ Polly stopped and beckoned to the old thing. Immediately the mother with her group of children came to her. She said that her goslings were the finest children in all the land. "Why," she said, "they walked as soon as they were born! Not like humans, who have to be nursed and cradled for years before they know anything. My children began to do for themselves when they were an hour old. Now humans are stupid till they are taught a trade with which to earn a living. There are no idle children among my youngsters."
"I have always heard people say 'as foolish as a goose,'" replied Polly. ”

“ Suddenly as they strode along at a brisk pace, the earth slid from beneath them, and they fell feet first, down, down—they did not know where. Filled with terror, they could only think of what might happen when they struck something. ”

“ Polly looked in astonishment. The hag had changed from an old withered thing to a very beautiful young woman.
"You thought that I was ugly, little girl. Now that you are feeling better and happier I appear to you as wonderful as your own thoughts. People always have the things they desire—that is, if they truly desire them. We are what we make ourselves. No matter how crippled or distorted we may be, still we may be happy and beautiful if we so desire. Happiness is within and is not to be chased like a butterfly and bagged."
Now Polly was not so sure that she liked the witch after all ”

“ Two weeks after this Egkartes was taken to the palace, with a great flourish of trumpets, and was proclaimed the hero of the country. He knew that he had not killed the pig as they had told the king; but neither king nor people paid any attention to his explanations. All insisted that he had killed the monster and had a right to the great reward.
The princess of course was delighted, and said to Egkartes: "I do not care whether you have killed the monster or not. I shall have you and we shall live very happily together." ”

“ The black fellow soon awakened the curiosity of the neighborhood. No pig like him anywhere to be seen. He grew twice as fast as his little brothers, and daily became more savage. When eighteen months old, he weighed fifteen hundred pounds, and had to be kept in a separate pen and watched day and night for fear he would [80] devour his brothers. People came from far and near to see the monster, and went away thanking their stars that he was not allowed to run at large.
One beautiful autumn day the nobleman gave a thanksgiving dinner for his freemen. ”

“ At break of day the quack came to his side and said: "Young man, I have made up my mind to teach you my art—on one condition. My work on earth is to make all men as miserable as possible. When I see a man at the height of his ambition, I step in and compel him to make a fool of himself, and down and out he goes. Ha! If I cannot ruin him that way, I tell something nasty about him to some deluded soul, who spreads the news to the mob, and presto! my man is done for. Again, I like to throw a microbe into the stomach of a healthy person and watch him squirm. ”

“ Now comes a youth who thrice has repelled the Hus, and because he has the courage to tell you the truth, you order him hanged without mercy or any thought of me. Henceforth I shall do my own choosing when it comes to mating! ”

“ When he saw his foe, he shouted with joy and rushed at the monster with drawn sword.
The beast recognized his adversary, and, opening his great jaws, charged upon him. When the combatants met, the boy's sword entered the pig's mouth. As he withdrew his weapon, Egkartes fell, and the pig, leaping over him, disappeared. Regaining his feet, the youth gave pursuit, brandishing his bloody sword.
The princess saw the whole encounter, and as she ran to the palace, her thoughts were divided between the peril from which she had escaped and [88] the wonderful valor of her young preserver. ”

“ Polly was thinking of her own naughty thoughts.
"Yes, my dear," answered the woman, "everything is heard here. But the strange thing about the bells is that a wicked thing is a thousand times reduced. These disks repeat everything good that is said and throw it back to the poor old world to brighten the speaker and the world itself. Good thoughts, too, are reflected and sent to earth again [52] to gladden human beings. Wicked things are detected and examined, but only good things are sent to earth again."
Then the woman led the children a short distance from the tower and asked them to listen. ”

“ They were near his own kingdom, he said, and a walk of about a hundred yards would bring them to the alligator's tail.
"Do not be afraid of the animal, my dear people," he said, "for he cannot harm you. We shall find the monster lying in the path. We shall walk on the beast for a number of yards, but he cannot harm us nor shake us off. There will be a little danger when we get to the head, but if we jump from his nose without falling, no harm can come to us. The name of the creature is Mortuus, and he is dangerous only to those who try to leave our kingdom. ”

“ Strange to say the monster seldom attacked women.
A year passed, and the Hus had grown to a more enormous size. Some said that he was as big as an elephant.
For a long time the nobleman and his family had to remain in hiding because of the fury of the multitude, who blamed him for raising the pig. The king seized his property, and the nobleman became a poor man and for some years he and his family were outcasts.
At last Egkartes determined to redeem his father's good name and, if possible, win the fair princess. ”

“ The old goose was very much annoyed at the haughty ways of the frog king, and she muttered something about people making too much of themselves. "I would like to teach that fat fellow that he is better able to draw those little frogs than they are to draw him!" ”

“ Toward evening of the next day, as they neared the City, they heard more news of the monster, who had been doing terrible damage to the people of the suburbs. Late that evening seven weary [85] men crawled into beds in a very humble lodging-house.
As Egkartes felt himself slipping into a comfortable sleep, he was startled by the cry of a woman. He ran out to the house across the street, whence came the cry, and entered without knocking.
He found a mother holding her baby high up, while the awful Hus kept snapping at the child. A dozen men were in the room, sleeping off a debauch. ”

“ To tell the complete story of the Black Hus would take as many years as civilized man has been on earth. The largest state in the Union is scarcely big enough to contain the books that could be written about the terrible monster.
Even today there is a Hus in every country, but this particular Hus lived in Greece many hundred years ago. ”

“ One man, trying to escape by jumping over the pig, landed at full length on the creature's back, where he clung for dear life. The black pig did his best to shake the man off, but he held on with might and main. Round and round spun the pig squealing and grunting furiously. ”

“ The king sat down and the guards seized the boy by the back of the neck and dragged him away, amid the laughter and jeers of the company.
[93]
The boisterous merriment continued until the princess stood up and motioned for silence. Then she said:
"Most noble father, I now speak in behalf of all the women of Greece. The men of Greece have for years treated women as slaves, creatures of their wills. You, my father, without my consent offered my hand to any who should prove victor over the Hus. You have already seen what has happened. An imposter came first and frightened me nearly to death! ”

“ They did so and Mousan recovered immediately. The poor boy could scarcely believe that [33] he was well again and that his dear Chonwa was with him.
Then Mouwou gathered the children in her furry embrace.
"I am glad to have both of you alive with me this day, and that I can speak to you now knowing that you will understand. Obedience is the law of all creation, and he that disobeys will come to a very bad end. All the pain that you have witnessed, and some that you have endured, has come from disobedience to the law of kindness. But we shall forget the past and only think of the future. ”