图书图片
PDF
ePub
[graphic]

THE COW IN 1 B01
WITH DOG AND A GOAT

ALL MAKING THEIRS TO SPAY

Ernest Gre

THE LONELY BIRD.

HE snow fell lightly, the wind was low, And whistled softly and merrily; The crocus blossoms were all aglow, And the snowdrops nodded cheerily. The birds were hopping from spray to spray,

Their hearts were light and their song was gay.

For they knew that winter was passing

away,

And they sang out merrily, merrily.

All save one songster upon a tree,
He ruffled his plumes and nodded his head,

"I wish I had some one to talk to me; It is weary sitting alone," he said, "To-morrow is good St. Valentine's Day, And the birds will be out in their best array ; To choose their mates and to build away,

Their nests where the green boughs spread. The snow next day had melted away,

And pleasant beamed out the sun,
And two birds sat on the budding spray
Where before there had been but one,
And they sang a song so sweet and clear
That every one listened far and near;
The violet crept from her leaves to hear,
And was kissed by the golden sun.

[blocks in formation]

NLY there was no bean-stalk, and Kerim was not going to market to sell a cow; neither had he a hat to put the beans in. The country, too, was not at all like the country where Jack lived, for the houses had flat roofs, and mulberry-trees grew in such quantities, and had such abundance of leaves, that the silkworms had much soft flossy

"HE SEIZED THE PIECE OF WORK."

plenty of food, and yielded silk, with which the Persians made the most beautiful brocades and silken stuffs.

But for all this, Kerim and his mother were very poor, though the mother worked hard at embroidery, and tapestry, and shawls, and carpets.

Kerim was an idle boy, though good-natured and fond of his mother. Still, he did not help her much, and when she scolded him he would put his arm round her neck, and say

"Poor little mother! When I am rich you shall not work."

"Ah, Kerim!" she would answer, "I know not when that will be, since you will not do any work." Then Kerim laughed, and said

"My Uncle Hussum does not work, neither does

BEAN-STALK.

[graphic]

my Uncle Suleeman, and yet they are sitting in high places. Some time I shall do the same. They sit all day long among their cushions, smoking their long pipes and drinking of the wine of Schiraz ; and every one pays court to them. life; I hope to do the same."

It is an easy

[blocks in formation]

"If I could only trust you to take my work to the silk merchant," she said meditatively, "it would save me a journey, for I am so tired, I can scarcely crawl about the house."

"Let me take it to him, mother. I will run all the way, and not stop once to play on the road, but will bring the money straight back to you."

"If I only dared to trust you," said his mother. "You need have no fear," said Kerim, suddenly; and he seized the piece of work, and away he darted.

II.

THE sun was hot, and Kerim ran very fast and got quite out of breath; so he thought he would stop and rest under the shade of a rock that jutted out.

Some one else was resting also a tall man in flowing robes, with a most beautiful beard, which quite glittered in the sunshine; and Kerim

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

stood open-mouthed admiring it and the various ornaments on the man's dress. He was so engrossed in watching him that he did not perceive that he had dropped his mother's work on the ground.

The stranger, however, saw it, and said

"Whose handiwork is that? and where are you taking it?"

Then Kerim, in some confusion, picked up the piece of embroidery, and answered

"It is my mother's; and I am going to take it to the silk merchant, who will pay well for it."

"I will buy it," said the stranger. "It matches a robe that I have torn, and I will give more than the silk merchant will give you for it."

"The merchant will give many pieces of silver." The stranger laughed.

"Ridiculous!" said he; "ridiculous to give all that work for so paltry a sum! I will give you something in exchange that will make your fortune;" and he drew from beneath the folds of his garment a carrot, with a bushy green top.

Kerim clutched the piece of tapestry very tightly. "Oh no, no!" Kerim said, and he was about to run away when the stranger stopped him.

"This carrot," he said, "is worth more than all the silver and gold the merchant has in his chests. You are born for fortune, my boy, or you would not have met with me to-day. You need not be afraid to take it, for it will make your fortune. All you have to do is to set it in a great flower-pot inside the house, and it will grow down into the earth, and when it has grown to its full length it will blossom

in a remarkable manner, and then, if you are wise you will make your fortune and your mother's also."

"But is it sure to bring a fortune?" said Kerim. "Certain."

Then Kerim put his mother's embroidery into the stranger's hand, and took the carrot, and before he had time to repent of the bargain the stranger had vanished, and he was left under the shady rock. He went home very slowly.

"Well, Kerim?" said his mother.

"Well, mother?" said Kerim.

"Put down that dirty carrot, child, and give me the money."

"Dirty carrot!" exclaimed Kerim; "it's going to make our fortune, mother. I've sold the work for it, and it's the best bargain you ever had."

"Sold my beautiful work for that dirty vegetable!" shrieked the mother, at the same time seizing Kerim by the shoulder and giving him such a shaking that the carrot dropped from his hand. The mother would have flung it out of doors, but as she stooped to pick it up it suddenly gave a bound, and rooted itself so firmly in a corner of the paved floor where a patch of earth was visible, that tug as she would she could not remove it, and at the same time a strange noise was heard as of a screw being driven into a piece of wood.

[graphic][ocr errors][subsumed][merged small]

Kerim stood looking on. "It's an uncommon carrot," said he, "and if you'll only wait a little, mother, you may see wonderful things."

So they waited; and night and morning Kerim watered his carrot. But in the meantime Kerim and his mother were poorer than ever.

ONE morning when Kerim went to look at his carrot, he found, to his surprise, that no carrot-top was to be seen, but instead there was something that looked like a trap-door studded with silver nails. Kerim called his mother.

around, and were wreathed around a crystal goblet in which sparkled the wine of Schiraz, such as his uncle drank of. The player played and sang, until, overcome with fatigue, he sank amidst the soft pillows, and soon afterwards fell asleep.

Then a chorus of rare birds took up the
song, and sang so sweet a lullaby that
Kerim felt drowsy himself; but a voice now
seemed to whisper in his ear-

"Take of the treasures of the
cave and make thy way to the
upper world again. Haste
thee, haste! for Hafiz seldom

[graphic]

"It was not here last night," said he. "I expect slumbers long, and will awake." it comes from the carrot."

And Kerim lifted up the trap-door cautiously; for it was a trap-door opening on a staircase, that had hundreds and hundreds of steps leading down, Kerim could not tell where, for there were so many steps down, down, that Kerim felt quite dizzy. "I'll go and see where it leads to, mother."

"Oh, dear, no! Don't go, Kerim, don't go ; it may be some trap to catch you. Who knows but--" But Kerim was down a dozen steps already, then down another dozen; it was no trouble to descend, the steps were so easy.

He continued his descent, and at last came to a great cavern with crystal pillars and lamps, with naptha burning in them, hanging from the archways.

"I must be far down

under the earth," said he to himself,

"and the carrot must have grown into a staircase so as to bring me here in order that I may make my fortune. I must see what can be done."

He advanced towards a corridor that struck out to the left from the cavern, and saw a light in the distance, and also heard the most beautiful music, and a voice chanting snatches of poetry that made him think of his Uncle Suleeman, who, besides being an astrologer, was also a poet.

Kerim crept cautiously along, and beheld through an opening in a silken curtain a most splendid apartment, where the most precious productions of Persia were heaped together. On a pile of embroidered cushions reclined a figure clad in magnificent garments, holding a lute in his hands. He was crowned with roses, and roses were scattered

He gained the crystal-pillared cavern, and the lamps were still burning, and lighted him to the winding staircase. He mounted it, and sprang up the steps with such agility that he seemed to be at the top in one bound.

Open, mother, open!" he shouted. And even as he spoke the trap-door flew up, and he was once more at home.

IV.

KERIM and his mother said nothing about the golden-bound volume; but every night Kerim learned one of the poems it contained, and every morning he repeated it in the market-place or at the gates of the city, or wherever people were

[graphic]

"A HAMMER WAS FORTUNATELY CLOSE BY."

gathered together. Such verses as he recited were far beyond any that his uncle Suleeman could compose, and crowds gathered to hear him, and to reward the young poet. Even the king sent for him to the palace, and gave him a large sum of money for his verses. So altogether Kerim collected a small fortune, and might have lived comfortably enough upon it. Only he was not content; he wanted more.

"I must go down again, and see if I cannot get the lute. Then one would not have the trouble of learning verses. With such music they would come of themselves." So he opened the trap-door, and went down a second time. When, however, he reached the last step he found, to his surprise, that he was in darkness.

He groped his way along a narrow passage, that went on and on, until he thought it would have no ending. All at once he heard sounds as of sharp hammers chipping off pieces of rock, and suddenly a dim light shone out from a lamp swinging above him, which, gradually gaining strength, lighted up the part where he was standing, which was, he supposed, part of a mine, full on every side of rocks of blue turquoise.

"Ha!" thought Kerim, "I must be under the mountains of Khorassan, and my carrot has struck a wonderful vein. Now I shall make my fortune."

A hammer was fortunately close by; so he chipped and chipped away at the rocks until he had got a great heap of turquoise together, whose value he could not estimate. He took off his outer robe, and packed the precious stones into a great bundle. This

he took in his arnis, and began

to make his way back.

But this time he was not to get

off so easily. He hadn't gone far before he heard heavy footsteps behind him, and a loud voice cried

Stop thief! stop thief! Robber of the king's treasure, lay down thy booty, I command thee ! Close rocks, close rocks, and hold him till I come!"

And as these words echoed through the rocks it sounded to Kerim as if a thousand voices were speaking. But still he struggled on with his burden, though he felt that the rocks were gradually coming nearer and nearer, and he knew that if he could not reach the staircase in time he would be crushed between them. Still, on he ran, shouting as loudly as he could

"Open, trap, To save mishap!"

Fortunately his mother heard him, and as he put his foot on the first step she lifted the trap-door, and such a flood of light rushed in that it blinded the giant of the turquoise mine for a moment. He started back, believing that the sun was falling into the depths of the earth; and in that moment Kerim sprang upon the floor of his mother's house, and as he did so he heard the rocks close with a noise as of thunder, making a thick wall between himself and his pursuer.

So Kerim escaped; and when he showed his mother the load of treasure he had brought she was quite frightened.

"We must hide it," said Kerim, " and only bring out a little at a time."

So they buried it underneath the stone flags inside the house, and every night Kerim dreamed of what a rich man he was, and how he had horses and chariots, and servants, and a grand palace; but when he awoke he said to himself

"I might have all these, but I have only a heap of blue stones that I dare not use."

Then Kerim grew restless. He wandered about, feeling too rich to recite verses for money, and so he kept out of the crowded streets, for fear that people should come and beg a song from him. He had

« 上一页继续 »