Part 1

Chapter 11,008 wordsPublic domain

[Cover Illustration]

TALES _from_ SILVER LANDS

_by_ CHARLES J. FINGER

WOODCUTS BY PAUL HONORÉ

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC. 1957

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

TO THE GOLDEN HEARTED CARL SANDBURG AND HIS FRIENDS, MY CHILDREN HELEN AND HERBERT

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE I A TALE OF THREE TAILS..................... 1 II THE MAGIC DOG............................. 14 III THE CALABASH MAN.......................... 23 IV NA-HA THE FIGHTER......................... 35 V THE HUMMING-BIRD AND THE FLOWER........... 43 VI THE MAGIC BALL............................ 48 VII EL ENANO.................................. 59 VIII THE HERO TWINS............................ 69 IX THE FOUR HUNDRED.......................... 79 X THE KILLING OF CABRAKAN................... 92 XI THE TALE OF THE GENTLE FOLK............... 99 XII THE TALE THAT COST A DOLLAR............... 107 XIII THE MAGIC KNOT............................ 122 XIV THE BAD WISHERS........................... 134 XV THE HUNGRY OLD WITCH...................... 143 XVI THE WONDERFUL MIRROR...................... 156 XVII THE TALE OF THE LAZY PEOPLE............... 170 XVIII RAIRU AND THE STAR MAIDEN................. 188 XIX THE CAT AND THE DREAM MAN................. 197

WOODCUTS

One day there came to their house a man in a torn poncho....................... _Frontispiece_

PAGE When the first snow commenced to fall she was always full of glee, standing on a rock, screaming like a wind-gale...................... 48 He took flat pieces of wood and began cutting out figures like little men......................... 176 Soon, to his astonishment he saw, close at hand, a beautiful city.................................. 194

TALES _from_ SILVER LANDS

THE MAGIC DOG

DOWN where the forest is so thick that the sun rarely pierces the leafy roof, where there are mosses and ferns and little plants of the brightest green, where parrots screech and thousands of little monkeys chatter in the trees, there stands a great white temple. Once, long ago, there was joy and gladness there, and flower-crowned people danced and sang, but now vines hang about the doors and window holes and there are tall rank weeds in the courtyard. Still, it is even now very beautiful, though sad to see.

Long years before this temple was built, there lived a king, and his people loved him, and he on his part loved not only his people, but every flower that grew, every grass blade and every leaf on bush and tree. Where he came from, none knew, but there were those who said that he had come from the sea, not in a ship with men, but alone, in a great and beautiful sea-shell. So they called him, in their own tongue, The King Who Came in a Sea-shell. And when he went about among his people he wore a headdress of gold-green feathers, a feather cloak of turquoise blue, and about his middle was a golden belt set with glittering precious stones. On his feet were golden sandals and in his hand he bore a great spear of silver. The spear he carried for a sign only, for there was no fighting in those days, and it was a time when all went very well. Every one had enough to eat and to drink and to wear, so that none had to worry about the day to come. Men loved diamonds and emeralds and rubies for their beauty, and just as they loved the sight of the tiny rainbow in a sparkling dew drop. As for other things, corn grew so large that a single ear was as much as a man could carry and cotton grew not only white, as we see it now, but red and blue and yellow and scarlet and black and orange and violet and green.

It was the daughter of the Sea-shell King who had taught the people how to grow coloured cotton, and she, with her silky cloud of hair, was the most beautiful creature ever seen. When she walked about, the air was sweet with wonderful perfume, birds sang with joy as though their throats would burst, and slim drooping ferns nodded a welcome.

The story of the beauty and goodness of the maiden ran through all the land, and young men who sought her hand came from far and wide. So many were her suitors that a day was set apart each week, when all the people gathered to see the young men display their powers or their gifts or their clevernesses. Some would shoot with the bow and others cast the lasso. Singers sang the songs they had made and musicians played their flutes so well that the slender boughs bent to listen. There were gifts, too, and some brought rare stones cut into the shapes of birds and animals and flowers, but not one man had touched the heart of the princess, though she was gracious to all.

Now before the king came, an evil creature of a witch had ruled the land, and she had come from the Land of the Shaking Mud. Somehow, the Sea-shell King had driven her away and, that she should worry his people no more, he had set a boundary, and guards were on watch day and night to prevent her in her mischief. So she spent the day in her cave, coming out only at night to prowl about the boundary, and then only when there was no moon. Her name was Tlapa.

One day there came to the king a man in rags, who said that his name was Maconahola, and the king was glad to see him, the more so because age was creeping upon the king, and he sought someone wise and brave enough to rule in his place. But no sooner had the princess looked at the stranger than she cast down her eyes, saying that he had the face of the man she had seen in a dream. When the king asked her questions, she said that in her dream she had followed the stranger about, had slept at his feet, had tended his fields and made his clothes. At that her father was greatly astonished, for that his daughter should be the servant of a man who came clad in rags seemed strange indeed.