Our poor little friend had been very much afraid during the last few minutes. The Cat had left him suddenly, saying that she wanted to smooth down the excitement, and had not come back. Mytyl nestled trembling against him; and he felt very lonely, very unhappy among those dreadful people whose anger he was beginning to notice. When he saw the Oak marching on him with a threatening air, he drew his pocket-knife and defied him like a man:
"Is it I he"s after, that old one, with his big stick?" he cried.
But, at the sight of the knife, Man"s irresistible weapon, all the Trees shook with fright and rushed at the Oak to hold him back. There was a struggle; and the old King, conquered by the weight of years, threw away his stick:
"Shame on us!" he shouted. "Shame on us! Let the Animals deliver us!..."
The Animals were only waiting for this! All wanted to be revenged together. Fortunately, their very eagerness caused a scrimmage which delayed the murder of the dear little ones.
Mytyl uttered piercing screams.
"Don"t be afraid," said Tyltyl, doing his best to protect her. "I have my knife."
"The little chap means to die game!" said the c.o.c.k.
"That"s the one I shall eat first," said the Pig, eyeing Mytyl greedily.
"What have I done to all of you?" asked Tyltyl.
"Nothing at all, my little man," said the Sheep. "Eaten my little brother, my two sisters, my three uncles, my aunt, my grandpapa and my grandmamma.... Wait, wait, when you"re down, you shall see that I have teeth also...."
And so the Sheep and the Horse, who were the greatest cowards, waited for the little fellow to be knocked down before they dared take their share in the spoil.
While they were talking, the Wolf and the Bear treacherously attacked Tyltyl from behind and pushed him over. It was an awful moment. All the Animals, seeing him on the ground, tried to get at him. The boy raised himself to one knee and brandished his knife. Mytyl uttered yells of distress; and, to crown all, it suddenly became dark.
Tyltyl called wildly for a.s.sistance:
"Help! Help!... Tylo! Tylo!... To the rescue!... Where is Tylette?...
Come! Come!..."
The Cat"s voice was heard in the distance, where she was craftily keeping out of sight:
"I can"t come!" she whined. "I"m wounded!"
All this time, plucky little Tyltyl was defending himself as best he could, but he was alone against all of them, felt that he was going to be killed and, in a faltering voice, cried once more:
"Help!... Tylo! Tylo!... I can"t hold out!... There are too many of them!... The Bear!... The Pig! The Wolf! The Fir-tree! The Beech!...
Tylo! Tylo! Tylo!..."
Then the Dog came leaping along, dragging his broken bonds and elbowing his way through the Trees and Animals and flung himself before his master, whom he defended furiously:
"Here, my little G.o.d! Don"t be afraid! Have at them! I know how to use my teeth!"
All the Trees and Animals raised a loud outcry:
"Renegade!... Idiot!... Traitor!... Felon!... Simpleton!... Sneak!...
Leave him!... He"s a dead man!... Come over to us!..."
The Dog fought on:
"Never! Never!... I alone against all of you!... Never! Never!... True to the G.o.ds, to the best, to the greatest!... Take care, my little master, here"s the Bear!... Look out for the Bull!"
Tyltyl vainly tried to defend himself:
"I"m done for, Tylo! It was a blow from the Elm! My hand"s bleeding!"
And he dropped to the ground. "No, I can hold out no longer!"
"They are coming!" said the Dog. "I hear somebody!... We are saved! It is Light!... Saved! Saved!... See, they"re afraid, they"re retreating!... Saved, my little king!..."
And, sure enough, Light was coming towards them; and with her the dawn rose over the forest, which became light as day.
"What is it?... What has happened?" she asked, quite alarmed at the sight of the little ones and their dear Tylo covered with wounds and bruises. "Why, my poor boy, didn"t you know? Turn the diamond quickly!"
Tyltyl hastened to obey; and immediately the souls of all the Trees rushed back into their trunks, which closed upon them. The souls of the Animals also disappeared; and there was nothing to be seen but a cow and a sheep browsing peacefully in the distance. The forest became harmless once more; and Tyltyl looked around him in amazement:
"No matter," he said, "but for the Dog ... and if I hadn"t had my knife!..."
Light thought that he had been punished enough and did not scold him.
Besides, she was very much upset by the horrible danger which he had run.
Tyltyl, Mytyl and the Dog, glad to meet again safe and sound, exchanged wild kisses. They laughingly counted their wounds, which were not very serious.
Tylette was the only one to make a fuss:
"The Dog"s broken my paw!" she mewed.
Tylo felt as if he could have made a mouthful of her:
"Never mind!" he said. "It"ll keep!"
"Leave her alone, will you, you ugly beast?" said Mytyl.
Our friends went back to the Temple of Light to rest after their adventure. Tyltyl, repenting of his disobedience, dared not even mention the Blue Bird of which he had caught a glimpse; and Light said to the Children, gently:
"Let this teach you, dears, that Man is all alone against all in this world. Never forget that."
[Ill.u.s.tration: A regular waterfall of tears came gushing from her eyes, flooding all around her]
CHAPTER IX
THE LEAVE-TAKING
Weeks and months had pa.s.sed since the children"s departure on their journey; and the hour of separation was at hand. Light had been very sad lately; she had counted the days in sorrow, without a word to the Animals and Things, who had no idea of the misfortune that threatened them.