BY JULIANA HORATIA EWING
I
"Children are a burden," said the tailor, as he sat on his bench st.i.tching away.
"Children are a blessing," said the kind lady in the window.
It was the tailor"s mother who spoke. She was a very old woman and nearly helpless. All day she sat in a large armchair knitting rugs.
"What have my two lads ever done to help me?" continued the tailor, sadly. "They do nothing but play. If I send Tommy on an errand, he loiters. If I ask him to work, he does it so unwillingly that I would rather do it myself. Since their mother died I have indeed had a hard time."
At this moment the two boys came in, their arms full of moss which they dropped on the floor.
"Is there any supper, grandmother?" asked Tommy.
"No, my child, only some bread for breakfast to-morrow."
"Oh, grandmother, we are so hungry!" and the boy"s eyes filled with tears.
"What can I do for you, my poor children?" said the good woman.
"Tell us a story, please, so that we can forget we are hungry. Tell us about the brownie that used to live in your grandfather"s house. What was he like?"
"Like a little man, they say."
"What did he do?"
"He came early in the morning before any one in the house was awake, and lighted the fire and swept the room and set out the breakfast. He never would be seen and was off before they could catch him. But they often heard him laughing and playing about the house."
"Did they give him any wages, grandmother?"
"No, my dear, he did the work for love. They always set a pan of clear water for him, and now and then a bowl of bread and milk."
"Oh, grandmother, where did he go?"
"The Old Owl in the woods knows; I do not. When I was young many people used to go to see the Old Owl at moon-rise, and ask her what they wanted to know."
"How I wish a brownie would come and live with us!" cried Tommy.
"So do I," said Johnny.
"Will you let us set out a pan of water for the brownie, father?"
asked Tommy.
"You may set out what you like, my lad, but you must go to bed now."
The boys brought out a pan of water. Then they climbed the ladder to the loft over the kitchen.
Johnny was soon in the land of dreams, but Tommy lay awake thinking how he could find a brownie and get him to live in the house. "There is an owl that lives in the grove," he thought. "It may be the Old Owl herself. When the moon rises, I"ll go and find her."
II
The moon rose like gold and went up in the heavens like silver. Tommy opened his eyes and ran to the window. "The moon has risen," said he, "and it is time for me to go." Downstairs he crept softly and out into the still night.
"Hoot! hoot!" cried a voice from the grove near the house.
"That"s the Old Owl," thought Tommy. He ran to a big tree and looked up. There he saw the Old Owl, sitting on a branch and staring at him with yellow eyes.
"Oh, dear!" said Tommy, for he did not like the Owl very well.
"Come up here! Come up here!" she cried.
Tommy climbed the tree and sat face to face with her on the big branch.
"Now, what do you want?" said the Owl.
"Please," said Tommy, "I want to know where to find the brownies, and how to get one to come and live with us."
"Oo-hoo! oo-hoo!" said the Owl. "That"s it, is it? I know of three brownies."
"Hurrah!" said Tommy. "Where do they live?"
"In your house," said the Owl.
"In our house! Whereabouts? Why don"t they work?" cried Tommy.
"One of them is too little," said the Owl.
"But why don"t the other two do something?" said Tommy. "n.o.body does any work at our house except father."
"They are idle, they are idle," said the Old Owl.
"Then we don"t want them," said Tommy. "What is the use of having brownies in the house if they do nothing to help us?"
"Perhaps they don"t know what to do."
"I wish you would tell me where to find them," said Tommy. "I could tell them what to do."
"Could you, could you? Oo-hoo! oo-hoo!" and Tommy could not tell whether the Owl was hooting or laughing.
"Of course I could. They might get up early in the morning and sweep the house, and light the fire, and spread the table before my father comes downstairs."
"So they might!" said the Owl. "Well, I can tell you where to find one of the brownies, and he can tell you where to find his brother. Go to the north side of the pond, where the moon is shining on the water, turn yourself around three times, while you say this charm:
"_Twist me and turn me and show me the elf_-- I looked in the water and saw_--"