A Little Boy Lost

  CHAPTER XIII

  THE GREAT BLUE WATER

  There was not in all that land, nor perhaps in all the wide world, ahappier little boy than Martin, when after waking from his sleep anddream he dressed himself for the first time in that new suit, andwent out from the cave into the morning sunlight. He then felt thecomfort of such clothes, for they were softer than the finest,softest down or silk to his skin, and kept him warm when it was cold,and cool when it was hot, and dry when it rained on him, and theearth could not soil them, nor the thorns tear them; and aboveeverything they were the most beautiful clothes ever seen. Theircolour was a deep moss green, or so it looked at a little distance,or when seen in the shade, but in the sunshine it sparkled as ifsmall, shining, many-coloured beads had been sewn in the cloth; onlythere were no beads; it was only the shining threads that made itsparkle so, like clean sand in the sun. When you looked closely atthe cloth, you could see the lovely pattern woven in it--small leafand flower, the leaves like moss leaves, and the flowers like thepimpernel, but not half so big, and they were yellow and red andblue and violet in colour.

  But there were many, many things besides the lovely clothes to makehim contented and happy. First, the beautiful woman of the hills wholoved and cherished him and made him call her by the sweet name of"mother" so many times every day that he well nigh forgot she wasnot his real mother. Then there was the great stony hill-side onwhich he now lived for a playground, where he could wander all dayamong the rocks, overgrown with creepers and strange sweet-smellingflowers he had never seen on the plain below. The birds andbutterflies he saw there were different from those he had always seen;so were the snakes which he often found sleepily coiled up on therocks, and the little swift lizards. Even the water looked strangeand more beautiful than the water in the plain, for here it gushedout of the living rock, sparkling like crystal in the sun, and wasalways cold when he dipped his hands in it even on the hottest days.Perhaps the most wonderful thing was the immense distance he couldsee, when he looked away from the hillside across the plain and sawthe great dark forest where he had been, and the earth stretching far,far away beyond.

  Then there was his playmate, the great yellow-spotted cat, whofollowed him about and was always ready for a frolic, playing in avery curious way. Whenever Martin would prepare to take a runningleap, or a swift run down a slope, the animal, stealing quietly upbehind, would put out a claw from his big soft foot--a great whiteclaw as big as an owl's beak--and pull him suddenly back. At lastMartin would lose his temper, and picking up a stick would turn onhis playmate; and away the animal would fly, pretending to be afraid,and going over bushes and big stones with tremendous leaps todisappear from sight on the mountain side. But very soon he wouldsteal secretly back by some other way to spring upon Martin unawaresand roll him over and over on the ground, growling as if angry, andmaking believe to worry him with his great white teeth, althoughnever really hurting him in the least. He played with Martin just asa cat plays with its kitten when it pretends to punish it.

  Whenever Martin began to show the least sign of weariness the Ladyof the Hills would call him to her. Then, lying back among the ferns,she would unbind her long silky tresses to let him play with them,for this was always a delight to him. Then she would gather her hairup again and dress it with yellow flowers and glossy dark greenleaves to make herself look more lovely than ever. At other times,taking him on her shoulders, she would bound nimbly as a wild goat upthe steepest places, springing from crag to crag, and dancing gailyalong the narrow ledges of rock, where it made him dizzy to look down.Then when the sun was near setting, when long shadows from rocks andtrees began to creep over the mountain, and he had eaten the fruitsand honey and other wild delicacies she provided, she would make himlie on her bosom. Playing with her loose hair and listening to hersinging as she rocked herself on a stone, he would presently fallasleep.

  In the morning on waking he would always find himself lying stillclasped to her breast in that great dim cavern; and almost alwayswhen he woke he would find her crying. Sometimes on opening his eyeshe would find her asleep, but with traces of tears on her face,showing that she had been awake and crying.

  One afternoon, seeing him tired of play and hard to amuse, she tookhim in her arms and carried him right up the side of the mountain,where it grew so steep that even the big cat could not follow them.Finally she brought him out on the extreme summit, and looking roundhe seemed to see the whole world spread out beneath him. Below,half-way down, there were some wild cattle feeding on the mountainside, and they looked at that distance no bigger than mice. Lookingeastwards he beheld just beyond the plain a vast expanse of bluewater extending leagues and leagues away until it faded into theblue sky. He shouted with joy when he saw it, and could not take hiseyes from this wonderful world of water.

  "Take me there--take me there!" he cried.

  She only shook her head and tried to laugh him out of such a wish;but by-and-by when she attempted to carry him back down the mountainhe refused to move from the spot; nor would he speak to her nor lookup into her pleading face, but kept his eyes fixed on that distantblue ocean which had so enchanted him. For it seemed to Martin themost wonderful thing he had ever beheld.

  At length it began to grow cold on the summit; then with gentlecaressing words she made him turn and look to the opposite side ofthe heavens, where the sun was just setting behind a great mass ofclouds--dark purple and crimson, rising into peaks that were likehills of rose-coloured pearl, and all the heavens beyond them a paleprimrose-coloured flame. Filled with wonder at all this rich andvaried colour he forgot the ocean for a moment, and uttered anexclamation of delight.

  "Do you know, dear Martin," said she, "what we should find there,where it all looks so bright and beautiful, if I had wings and couldfly with you, clinging to my bosom like a little bat clinging to itsmother when she flies abroad in the twilight?"

  "What?" asked Martin.

  "Only dark dark clouds full of rain and cutting hail and thunder andlightning. That is how it is with the sea, Martin: it makes you loveit when you see it at a distance; but oh, it is cruel and treacherous,and when it has once got you in its power then it is more terriblethan the thunder and lightning in the cloud. Do you remember, whenyou first came to me, naked, shivering with cold, with your littlebare feet blistered and bleeding from the sharp stones, how Icomforted you with my love, and you found it warm and pleasant lyingon my breast? The sea will not comfort you in that way; it willclasp you to a cold, cold breast, and kiss you with bitter salt lips,and carry you down where it is always dark, where you will nevernever see the blue sky and sunshine and flowers again."

  Martin shivered and nestled closer to her; and then while theshadows of evening were gathering round them, she sat rockingherself to and fro on a stone, murmuring many tender, sweet words tohim, until the music of her voice and the warmth of her bosom madehim sleep.