Part 12

“To this the girl agreed; and early the next morning, after eating a piece of corn bread, which was all they had for breakfast, they started on their journey, the boy going to the east and the girl to the south. The boy traveled a long way, and for many days. Sometimes he thought he would never come to the end of his journey; but finally he came to Cousin Mist’s house, and there he inquired his way.

“‘What do you want with Uncle Rain?’ asked Cousin Mist. ‘He is holding court now, and he is very busy. Besides, you are not dressed properly. When people go to court, they have to wear a certain kind of dress. In your case, you ought to have a big umbrella and an oilcloth overcoat.’

“‘Well,’ replied the boy, ‘I haven’t got ’em, and that’s the end of that part of it. If you’ll show me the way to Uncle Rain’s house, I’ll go on and be much obliged to boot.’

“Cousin Mist looked at the boy and laughed. ‘You are a bold lad,’ he said, ‘and since you are so bold, I’ll lend you an umbrella and an oilcloth overcoat, and go a part of the way with you.’

“So the boy put on the overcoat and hoisted the umbrella, and trudged along the muddy road toward the house of Uncle Rain. When they came in sight of it, Cousin Mist pointed it out, told the boy good-by, and then went drizzling back home. The boy went forward boldly, and knocked at the door of Uncle Rain’s house.

“‘Who is there?’ inquired Uncle Rain in a hoarse and wheezy voice. He seemed to have the asthma, the choking quinsy, and the croup, all at the same time.

“‘It’s only me,’ said the boy. ‘Please, Uncle Rain, open the door.’

“With that, Uncle Rain opened the door and invited the little fellow in. He did more than that: he went to the closet and got out a dry spot, and told the boy to make himself as comfortable as he could.”

“Got out a—what?” asked Buster John, trying hard to keep from laughing.

“A dry spot,” replied Mrs. Meadows solemnly. “Uncle Rain went to the closet and got out a dry spot. Of course,” she continued, “Uncle Rain had to keep a supply of dry spots on hand, so as to make his visitors comfortable. It’s a great thing to be polite. Well, the boy sat on the dry spot, and, after some remarks about the weather, Uncle Rain asked him why he had come so far over the rough roads. Then the boy told Uncle Rain the whole story about how poor his father was, and how he had been made poorer year after year, first by Brother Drouth and then by Uncle Rain. And then he told how he and his little sister had to go without shoes and wear thin clothes in cold weather, all because the crops were ruined year after year, either by Brother Drouth or Uncle Rain.

“He told his story so simply and with so much feeling that Uncle Rain was compelled to wipe his eyes on a corner of the fog that hung on the towel rack behind the door. He asked the boy a great many questions about his father and his mother.

“‘I reckon,’ said Uncle Rain finally, ‘that I have done all of you a great deal of damage without knowing it, but I think I can pay it back. Bring the dry spot with you, and come with me.’ He went into the barnyard, and the boy followed. They went into the barn, and there the boy saw, tied by a silver cord, a little black sheep. It was very small, but seemed to be full grown, because it had long horns that curled round and round on the sides of its head. And, although the horns were long and hard, the little sheep was very friendly. It rubbed its head softly against the boy’s hand, and seemed to be fond of him at first sight.

“Uncle Rain untied the silver cord, and placed the loose end in the boy’s hand. ‘Here is a sheep,’ he said, ‘that is worth more than all the flocks in the world. When you want gold, all you have to do is to press the golden spring under the left horn. The horn will then come off, and you will find it full of gold. When you want silver, press the silver spring under the right horn. The horn will come off, and you will find it full of silver. When the horns have been emptied, place them back where they belong. This may be done once, twice, or fifty times a day.’

“The boy didn’t know how to thank Uncle Rain enough for this wonderful gift. He was so anxious to get home that he would have started off at once.

“‘Wait a minute,’ said Uncle Rain. ‘You may tell your father about this, but he must tell no one else. The moment the secret of the sheep is told outside your family, it will no longer be valuable to you.’

“The boy thanked Uncle Rain again, and started home, leading his wonderful sheep, which trotted along after him, as if it were glad to go along. The boy went home much faster than he had gone away, and it was not long before he reached there.”

“But what became of the little girl?” asked Sweetest Susan, as Mrs. Meadows paused a moment.

“I am coming to her now,” said Mrs. Meadows. “The girl, according to the bargain that had been made between her and her brother, was to visit Brother Drouth, and lay her complaints before him. So she started on her way. As she went along, the roads began to get drier and drier, and the grass on the ground and the leaves on the trees began to look as if they had been sprinkled with yellow powder. By these signs, the girl knew that she was not far from the house of Cousin Dust, and presently she saw it in the distance. She went to the door, which was open, and inquired the way to Brother Drouth’s. Cousin Dust was much surprised to see a little girl at his door; but, after a long fit of coughing, he recovered himself, and told her that she was now in Brother Drouth’s country.

“‘If you’ll show me the way,’ said the girl, ‘I’ll be more than obliged to you.’

“‘I’ll go a part of the way with you,’ said Cousin Dust, ‘and lend you a fan besides.’

“So they went along until they came in sight of Brother Drouth’s house, and then Cousin Dust went eddying back home in the shape of a small whirlwind. The girl went to Brother Drouth’s door and knocked. Brother Drouth came at once and opened the door, and invited her in.

“‘I’ll not deny that I’m surprised,’ said he, ‘for I never expected to find a little girl knocking at my door at this time of day. But you are welcome. I’m glad to see you. You must have come a long journey, for you look hot.’

“With that he went to the cupboard and got her a cool place to sit on, and this she found very comfortable. But still Brother Drouth wasn’t satisfied. As his visitor was a little girl, he wanted to be extra polite, and so he went to his private closet and brought her a fresh breeze with a handle to it; and, as the cool place had a cushioned back and the fresh breeze a handle that the girl could manage, she felt better in Brother Drouth’s house than she had at any time during her long journey. She sat there on the cool place and fanned with the fresh breeze, and Brother Drouth sat in his big armchair and smiled at her. The little girl noticed this after awhile, and so she said:—

“‘Oh, you can laugh, but it’s no laughing matter. If you could see the trouble you’ve caused at our house, you’d laugh on the other side of your mouth.’

“When he heard this, Brother Drouth at once became very serious, and apologized. He said he wasn’t laughing, but just smiling because he thought she was enjoying herself.

“‘I may be enjoying myself now,’ said the little girl, ‘and I’m much obliged to you; but if I was at home, I shouldn’t be enjoying myself.’

“Then she went on to tell Brother Drouth how her father’s crops had been ruined year after year, either by Uncle Rain or by Brother Drouth, and how the family got poorer and poorer all the time on that account, so that the little children couldn’t have warm shoes and thick clothes in cold weather, but had to go barefooted and wear rags. Brother Drouth listened with all his ears; and when the little girl had told her story, he shook his head, and said that he was to blame as well as Uncle Rain. He explained that, for many years, there had been a trial of strength going on between him and Uncle Rain, and they had become so much interested in overcoming each other that they had paid no attention to poor people’s crops. He said he was very sorry that he had taken part in any such affair. Then he told the little girl that he thought he could pay her back for a part of the damage he had done, and that he would be more than glad to do so.

“Says he, ‘Bring your cool place and your fresh breeze with you, and come with me.’

“She followed Brother Drouth out into the barnyard, and into the barn; and there, tied by a golden cord, she saw a snow-white goat.

“‘This goat,’ said Brother Drouth, ‘is worth more than all the goats in the world, tame or wild.’ With that he untied the golden cord, and placed the loose end in the girl’s hand. The goat was small, but seemed to be old; for its horns, which were of the color of ivory, curved upward and over its back. They were so long that, by turning its head a bit, the snow-white goat could scratch itself on its ham. And though it seemed to be old, it was very gentle; for it rubbed its nose and face against the little girl’s frock, and appeared to be very glad to see her.

“‘Now then,’ said Brother Drouth, ‘this goat is yours. Take it, and take care of it. On the under side of each horn, you will find a small spring. Touch it, and the horn will come off; and each horn, no matter how many times you touch the spring, you will always find full of gold and silver. But this is not all. At each change of the moon, you will find the right horn full of diamonds, and the left horn full of pearls. Now listen to me. You may tell your father about this treasure; but as soon as the secret is told out of the family, your goat will be worth no more to you than any other goat.’

“The little girl thanked Brother Drouth until he would allow her to thank him no more. She would have left the cool place and the fresh breeze, but Brother Drouth said she was welcome to both of them. ‘When the weather is cold,’ said he, ‘you can put them away; but when it is warm, you will find that the cool place and the fresh breeze will come in right handy.’

“Thanking Brother Drouth again and again, the girl started on her journey home, leading her wonderful goat, and carrying with her the cool place and the fresh breeze. In this way, she made the long journey with ease and comfort, and came to her father’s house without any trouble. She reached the gate, too, just as her brother did. They were very glad to see each other, and the sheep and the goat appeared to be old friends; for they rubbed their noses together in friendly fashion.

“‘I’ll make our father and mother rich,’ said the boy proudly.

“‘And I’ll make them richer,’ said the girl still more proudly.

“So they took their wonderful goat and sheep into the stable, gave them some hay to eat, and then went into the house.”

XXII.

THE SNOW-WHITE GOAT AND THE COAL-BLACK SHEEP.

“Please don’t say that is the end of the story,” said Sweetest Susan, as Mrs. Meadows made a longer pause than usual.

“Well, it ought to be the end,” replied Mrs. Meadows. “The two children had come home with treasure and riches enough to suit anybody. That ought to be the end of the story. You ought to be able to say that they all lived happily together forever after. That’s the way they put it down in the books; but this is not a book story, and so we’ll have to stick to the facts.

“Now, then, when the boy and the girl returned home, one with the wonderful sheep and the other with the wonderful goat, they found their father and mother in a great state of mind. The whole country round about had been searched for the children. The mother was sure they had been stolen and carried off. The father, who had his own miseries always in mind, was sure that they had grown tired of the poverty that surrounded them, and had run away to see if they couldn’t do better among strangers.

“So, when the children had returned home, as happy as larks, their mother fell to weeping, and cried out: ‘I am so glad you have escaped, my pretty dears.’ The father grinned and said: ‘Why do you come back? Is it because the fare elsewhere is no better than it is here?’

“Now, of course, the children didn’t know what to make of all this. They stood with their fingers in their mouths, and wondered what the trouble was. Then they were compelled to answer a shower of questions; and by the time the inquiries had come to an end, they were not feeling very comfortable at all. Finally the boy said:—

“‘My sister and myself were tired of wearing ragged clothes and having little to eat, and so we concluded to seek our fortunes. We knew that Uncle Rain and Brother Drouth had caused all the trouble, and so we thought the best way to do would be to hunt them up and tell them the trouble they were causing to one poor family. I went to see Uncle Rain, and my sister went to see Brother Drouth. We found them at home, and both were in good humor. Uncle Rain gave me a coal-black sheep, and Brother Drouth gave my sister a snow-white goat, and told us that with these we could make our fortunes.’

“‘A likely story—a very likely story indeed!’ exclaimed the father. ‘If you have brought the sheep and the goat home, you would do well to take them back where you got them, else we shall all be put in jail for stealing and for harboring stolen property.’

“‘Now don’t talk that way to your own children,’ said the tender-hearted mother. ‘For my part, I believe every word they say;’ then she kissed them, and hugged them, and cried over them a little, while the father sat by, looking sour and glum. The children, when they placed the goat and the sheep in the stable, had each taken a handful of gold and silver coins from the horns of the wonderful animals. So now the boy went forward and placed upon the table near his father a handful of gold and silver. The girl did the same.

“The father heard the rattle and jingle of coin, and, looking around, saw there at his elbow more money than he had ever seen before in all his life. He was both astonished and alarmed.

“‘Worse and worse!’ he cried, throwing up his hands. ‘Worse and worse! We are ruined! Tell me where you got that treasure, that I may take it back to its owner. Make haste! If there’s any delay about it, we shall all be thrown into prison.’

“‘Come with us,’ said the boy, ‘and we will show you where we found the treasure.’

“So they went out of the house and into the stable, and there the children showed their father where the treasure came from.

“‘Wonderful! most wonderful!’ exclaimed the father. ‘Wonderful! most wonderful!’ cried the mother. Then they hugged and kissed their children again and again, and all were very happy. It made no difference now whether crops were good or bad.”

“The man was mighty honest,” remarked Mr. Rabbit.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Meadows. “But a man can be honest and thick-headed at the same time, and that was the way with this man. He was too honest to keep other people’s money, and too thick-headed to know how to keep his own.”

“Excuse me!” exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, with a bow that made his ears flop; “excuse me! I thought the story had come to an end. You said they were all very happy; so I says to myself, ‘Now is the time to make a slight remark.’”

“No; the end of the story is yet to come,” replied Mrs. Meadows. “But if these children are getting tired, I’m ready to quit. Goodness knows, I don’t want to worry them, and I don’t want to make them think that I want to do all the talking.”

“Please go on,” said Sweetest Susan.

“Well, when the father found where the money and treasure came from, he was willing to believe that his children had visited Uncle Rain and Brother Drouth; for he knew perfectly well that the wonderful black sheep and the wonderful snow-white goat were not bred on any farm in that country. So his mind was easy; and, as I said, the father, the mother, and the two children were all happy together.

“The mother and the children were so happy that they stayed at home and enjoyed one another’s company, and the father was so happy that it made him restless in the mind. He got in the habit of going to the tavern every day, and sometimes more than once a day; and he got to drinking more ale and wine than was good for him. And on these occasions his legs would wobble under him, as if one leg wanted to go home, and the other wanted to go back to the tavern.

“Sometimes, at the tavern, he would get to gaming; and when he lost his money, as he always did, he’d ask his companions to wait until he could go home and get more. He would soon come back with his pockets full. This happened so often that people began to talk about it, and to wonder how a man who had been so very poor could suddenly become so wealthy that he had money to throw away at the gaming-table. His neighbors were very curious about it, but they asked him no questions, and he went on drinking and gambling for many long days.

“But finally there came to that village a company of five men, who let it be understood that they were peddlers. They came into the village on foot, carrying packs on their backs, and put up at the tavern. They were not peddlers, but robbers, who had been attracted to the village by rumors about the poor man who was rich enough to throw away money night after night at the gaming-table.

“Shortly after nightfall, three of the five men arranged themselves around a table; and when the man came in, they invited him to join them. Two of the five sat by the fire, and appeared to be watching the game. The man didn’t wait for two invitations, but seated himself at the table, and called for wine. Then the gaming began. Aided by their two companions, the three robbers at the table had no difficulty in swindling the man. Though he came with all his pockets filled with gold and silver, they were soon emptied. The robbers plied him with wine, and he played wildly.

“When his money was all gone, he excused himself and said he would go and get more, and then continue the game. He went out; and, at a sign from the leader, the two robbers who had been sitting by the fire, rose and followed him. They had no trouble in doing this, for the man’s legs were already getting wobbly. One leg wanted to go home and go to bed, and the other wanted to go back and be stretched out under the table.

“But, though the man’s legs were wobbly, his head was pretty clear. He knew his way home, and he knew his way into the stable, where the coal-black sheep and the snow-white goat were housed. The two robbers followed him as closely as they dared, but it was too dark for them to see what he was doing. They knew that he went into the stable, and presently they heard the jingle and clinking of gold and silver, and then he came out with his pockets full.

“They waited until he had gone on toward the tavern and was out of sight. Then they slipped into the yard, and crept into the stable. It was very dark in the stable, but not too dark to see dimly. The two men felt their way along, and soon saw that there were but two stalls in the stable. Each went into a stall, and began to feel around. They expected to find bags of gold and silver stacked around, but they were mistaken. Finally they stooped to feel along the ground; and, as they did so, there was a loud thump in each stall and a yell of pain from both robbers. When they stooped to feel along the ground, the coal-black sheep and the snow-white goat rushed at them, and gave each one a thump that nearly jarred the senses out of him. The robbers rolled over with a howl, and the goat and the sheep thumped them again, and kept on thumping them.

“But at last the robbers managed to escape, though they made a pretty looking sight. Their hats were lost, their clothes were torn and muddy, their heads were bleeding, their eyes were knocked black and blue, and they felt as if there was not a whole bone in their body. They were too frightened to talk, but finally their voices came to them.

“‘What was it hit you?’ says one.

“‘I’m blessed if I know,’ says the other. ‘What hit you?’

“‘Something hard,’ says one.

“‘What did it look like?’

“‘Satan dressed in white, and he had his maul and wedge with him. What did yours look like?’

“‘Satan dressed in black, and he had all his horns and hoofs with him; and I think he must have struck me one or two licks with his forked tail.’

“They went off to the nearest branch, and bathed themselves the best they could, but even then they made a sorry spectacle. Their heads and faces were still swollen, their eyes were nearly closed, and their clothes were split and ripped from heel to collar. They didn’t know where to go. They knew that it wouldn’t do to go back to the tavern and present themselves among the guests, for that would cast suspicion on their companions. Finally, they went outside the village, and hid themselves under a haystack, where they soon fell asleep, and would have slept soundly if their dreams had not been disturbed by visions of a black Satan and a white Satan, both armed with long, hard horns and sharp hoofs.

“All this time, the father of the children, wobbly as he was, sat at the gaming-table with the three robbers. The robbers were waiting for the return of their companions, and at last they became so uneasy that they played loosely, and the man began to win his gold and silver back again. At last the robbers concluded to go in search of their companions; and the man went home, carrying with him more gold and silver than he had ever before brought away from the tavern. The robbers failed to find their companions until the next day, and the story they told was so alarming that the band concluded to leave that part of the country, at least for awhile.

“But reports and rumors of the great wealth of the poor farmer continued to travel about, and finally they came to the ears of a company of merchants, who were more cunning in their line of business than the robbers were in theirs. So these merchants journeyed to the village, and put up at the tavern. There they soon made the acquaintance of the fortunate farmer who owned the wonderful coal-black sheep and the wonderful snow-white goat.

“They talked business with him from the word go. They wanted him to put his money in all sorts of schemes that were warranted to double it in a few months. But the man said he didn’t want his money doubled. He already had as much as he wanted. He told them that if he were to sit on the street and throw away a million dollars a minute for ten years he’d be just as rich at the end of that time as he was before he threw away the first million.

“Of course, the merchants didn’t understand this. Some said the man was crazy, but the shrewder ones concluded that there must be some secret behind it all. So they set to work to find it out. They flattered him in every way. They made him rich presents for himself, his wife, and children. For the first time he began to wear fine clothes and put on airs. The shrewd merchants asked his advice about their own business, and went about telling everybody what a wise man he was. They pretended to tell him all their own business secrets.

“This, of course, pleased the man very much; and, at last, one day, when he had more wine in his head than wit, he told his merchant friends that he made all his gold and silver by shearing a black sheep and milking a white goat.

“‘Where do you keep these wonderful creatures?’ one of the merchants asked.

“‘In my stable,’ replied the man,—’in my stable night and day.’