"Ah, yes," sobbed the tall girl. "But when you are as old as I am you will know that it is a terrible thing to lose your head, even if it is only wooden."
THE RAINBOW-MAKER.
The children stood under an archway. Behind them was the blue sky; in front of them the clear, still lake that wandered and wound about the garden; above their heads the leaves of a tree whispered and told strange stories to the breeze.
"Poor tree! it is sighing for the blossoms the wind has carried away,"
they said to each other, and they looked back at the garden. "And, poor flowers, too," they said, "all your bright colours are gone, and your petals lie scattered on the ground; to-morrow they will be dead." "Ah, no," the flowers sighed, "the rainbow-maker will gather them up, and once more they will see the sun." Before the children could answer, a tall fair maiden came down the pathway. They could see her plainly in the twilight. Her eyes were dim with gathering tears, but on her lips there was a smile that came and went and flickered round her mouth. All down her back hung her pale golden hair; round her neck was a kerchief of many colours; her dress was soft and white, and her snowy ap.r.o.n was gathered up in one hand. She looked neither to the right nor to the left. She did not utter a single word; and the children could hear no sound of her footstep, no rustling from her dress. She stooped, and picking up the fading petals, looked at them tenderly for a moment, while the tears fell slowly down her cheeks; but the smile hovered round her mouth; for she knew that they would shine again in the sight of their beloved sun. When her ap.r.o.n was quite full, she turned round and left the garden. Hand-in-hand the children followed. She went slowly on by the side of the lake, far, far away across the meadows and up the farthest hill, until at last she found her home behind a cloud just opposite the sun. There she sat all through the summer days making rainbows. When the children had watched her for a long long time, they went softly back to their own home. The rainbow-maker had not even seen them.
"Mother," they said one day, "we know now where the colours go from the flowers. See, they are there," and as they spoke they thought of the maiden sitting silently at work in her cloud-home. They knew that she was weeping at sending forth her most beautiful one, and yet smiling as she watched the soft archway she had made. "See, they are all there, dear mother," the children repeated, looking at the falling rain and the shining sun, and pointing to the rainbow that spanned the river.
OVER THE PORRIDGE.
They sat down to eat their porridge. The naughty little girl turned her back upon her sister, and put a large spoonful into her mouth.
"Oh--oh--oh!" she cried, "I have burnt my tongue."
"Eat it slowly," said the good little sister. _She_ took up her porridge carefully, and after blowing it very gently, and waiting for a minute or two while it cooled, ate it, and found it very nice.
"I shall not eat mine until it is quite cold," said Totsey, getting cross.
"Then it will be nasty," said the good little sister, still going on with her own porridge.
"Oh, dear," said Totsey, "if I eat it too hot it burns me, and if I eat it too cold it"s nasty. What shall I do?"
"Take it as I do mine," said the good little sister. "It is the right way."
"There are two wrong ways and only one right way; it isn"t fair,"
sighed the naughty little girl. "And, oh! my porridge is so nasty."
Then she asked, "Did you ever eat your porridge too hot and burn your tongue?"
"No," answered the good little sister; "I never ate my porridge too hot and burnt my tongue."
"Did you ever eat your porridge when it was quite cold and very nasty?"
"No," answered the good little sister again; "I never ate my porridge when it was quite cold and very nasty."
"Well, I have," said Totsey; "and so I know about two things that you do not know about." And the naughty little sister got up and walked away, and the good little sister sat still and thought about many things.
A-COMING DOWN THE STREET.
I.
The baby she has golden hair, Her cheeks are like a rose, And she sits fastened in her chair, A-counting of her toes.
The mother she stands by the door, And all the place is neat, She says, "When it is half-past four, He"ll come along the street."
And O! in all this happy world There"s not a sight so sweet, As "tis to see the master, dear, A-coming down the street.
A-coming O! a-coming O!
A-coming down the street.
II.
The baby"s sister toddles round, And sings a little song, And every word and every sound Says, "Father won"t be long."
And when he comes we"ll laugh for glee, And then his bonnie face, However dark the day may be, Makes sunshine in the place.
And O! in all this happy world There"s not a sight so sweet, As "tis to see the master, dear, A-coming down the street, A-coming O! a-coming O!
A-coming down the street.
THE PROUD BOY.
There was once a very proud boy. He always walked through the village with his eyes turned down and his hands in his pockets. The boys used to stare at him, and say nothing; and when he was out of sight, they breathed freely. So the proud boy was lonely, and would have had no friends out of doors if it had not been for two stray dogs, the green trees, and a flock of geese upon the common.
One day, just by the weaver"s cottage, he met the tailor"s son. Now the tailor"s son made more noise than any other boy in the village, and when he had done anything wrong he stuck to it, and said he didn"t care; so the neighbours thought that he was very brave, and would do wonders when he came to be a man, and some of them hoped he would be a great traveller, and stay long in distant lands. When the tailor"s son saw the proud boy he danced in front of him, and made faces, and provoked him sorely, until, at last, the proud boy turned round and suddenly boxed the ears of the tailor"s son, and threw his hat into the road. The tailor"s son was surprised, and, without waiting to pick up his hat, ran away, and sitting down in the carpenter"s yard, cried bitterly. After a few minutes, the proud boy came to him and returned him his hat, saying politely--
"There is no dust on it; you deserved to have your ears boxed, but I am sorry I was so rude as to throw your hat on to the road."
"I thought you were proud," said the tailor"s son, astonished; "I didn"t think you"d say that--I wouldn"t."
"Perhaps you are not proud?"
"No, I am not."
"Ah, that makes a difference," said the proud boy, still more politely.
"When you are proud, and have done a foolish thing, you make a point of owning it."
"But it takes a lot of courage," said the tailor"s son.
"Oh, dear, no," answered the proud boy; "it only takes a lot of cowardice not to;" and then turning his eyes down again, he softly walked away.
SEEKING THE VIOLETS.
All the wood had been blue with violets, but now they were nearly gone.