CHAPTER VII
TREE MOTHER AND THE DROWSY BOAT
"Let's play hide-and-go-seek," cried the Forest Children, for that isalways their favorite game.
Up jumped Wild Star, down fluttered the Bird Fairies, in crowded theForest Children, and the Tree Man counted out for them. He pointed hisfinger at each in turn while he said this verse, which he made up on thespot:
"Sticks are racing in the flood-- Trees are racing in the wood-- In the tree-tops winds are racing-- In the sky-tops clouds are chasing. In the tree-heart snug and warm, We hear nothing of the storm.
When we play at hide-and-seek, It is _you_ must count the sheep."
At "you" the finger pointed at Eric, and it meant that he was to be"It."
"Put your head here on my knee. Shut your eyes and count one hundredsheep jumping over a stone wall, not too fast," explained the Tree Man."While you're counting the others hide. Anywhere in this room, andanywhere on the stairs. Out-doors is no fair."
"But _where_ are the sheep?" asked Eric, "and how can I count them withmy eyes shut?"
Every one suddenly looked puzzled. The Forest Children's eyes grew widewith wondering. The Bird Fairies fluttered uneasily. The Tree Girlseemed dazed. Wild Star said, "Why, we never thought of that,--where_are_ they?"
But Ivra laughed and ran to Eric. She took his hand and said, "The sheepare inside your own head. Just shut your eyes and try to see them. It isvery easy. The wall is low, and there's a place where the stones arebeginning to roll down. The sheep go over there, one by one."
Eric shut his eyes and put his head down on the Tree Man's knee. And itbegan to happen just as Ivra had said. There was a green hill-pasture, alittle gray stone wall slanting across it, and sheep, one by one,jumping where the wall was broken down, following their leader. Hecounted one hundred of them and then stopped although a dear little lambwas trotting down the hill, trailing the procession. He wanted to see ifthe lamb would be able to jump the wall too. But the Tree Man had saidone hundred, so he stopped and opened his eyes.
Things were strange. The Tree Man was nothing but an old stump. The roomfelt very cold and it was bare. The fire in the boulder had gone out.But he heard a soft fluttering somewhere and took heart. The BirdFairies! They might be hiding high, having wings. He went all around theroom, looking up into the dusk. At last, there they were in row on abeam, their wings spread over their eyes.
"Bird Fairies, I spy!" cried Eric, and ran towards the stump. But wingsare swifter than feet, and the Bird Fairies reached the goal first.
He found Ivra at the top of the second flight of stairs, curled up in ashadow.
"I spy!" and he ran just as fast as he could down the stairs. He wasahead of her to the door, and thought he would surely win. But shepassed him in the room and touched the stump first.
The Tree Girl, of all places, was kneeling behind the stump. Of courseshe touched it the minute Eric spied her, and so she was safe.
The Forest Children were hiding, some in the hall behind the door, someon the stairs, one under the table. And everyone of them beat him to thegoal and touched it first.
"Now there's only Wild Star," Ivra cried. "You must catch him, Eric, orelse you'll have to be 'It' again!"
Wild Star was outside, up in the top of the tree in the starlight. Ericdiscovered him by seeing one of the tips of his purple wings which wascaught in a crack of the sky door. "I spy!" he called, and pulled thewing-tip to let Wild Star know he was found.
But of course Wild Star passed him like a flash, his strong wingsbeating down.
Tears of vexation welled in Eric's eyes. One thing he had gained though.Because he had found them all, even though he could not run so fast asthey, the Tree Man had come back, and sat there in the place of thestump, and all was warm and bright again. The Tree Man had only wantedto prove for himself that Eric could see Wild Star, the Bird Fairies,and the others without Ivra to point them out to him. But he feltsatisfied now that Eric's eyes were really clear, and that he wouldnever hurt any of them by looking through them or pretending that theydid not exist.
"Wild Star is It now," he said. "For he didn't play fair, going outsidelike that."
"Oh, I forgot outside was no fair," cried Wild Star, laughing.
So this time Eric hid with the others, while Wild Star counted sheep.
He ran wildly all round the room trying to find a hiding-place. Buteverywhere there was someone ahead of him. At last he came back to theTree Man himself with Wild Star counting sheep at his knee.
"Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven," counted Wild Star. "Oh dear! Ohdear!" Eric whispered to himself in despair.
Ivra was hiding behind the Tree Man, and so she jumped out and pulledEric back to hide with her.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!"
Wild Star started up, and never thinking to look behind the Tree Manwent circling the room in swift flight. He saw Ivra and Eric as he flewover their heads, of course, and they laughed and touched the Tree Manfirst.
But he caught most of the others, even the Forest Children who are soswift and clever.
After that, almost everyone had to take his turn at being It.
When the merry game came to an end at last, they gathered around theboulder fireplace. The twigs were glowing embers now and looked likemyriads of golden flower-buds. Then the Forest Children began clamoringfor a World Story. So Ivra climbed up on the Tree Man's knee and tippingher head back against his chest, looked into the fire and told one ofHelma's World Stories. It was the story of a glacier. That may not soundlike a very interesting story to you, but if you could hear Ivra tell itin all its wonder just as Helma had told it to her, you would never askfor a better story. No, you would ask for that one over and over again,as the Forest Children did the minute she was through.
But instead of telling that one over, Ivra told another, a little storyabout some eggs and a brood of chickens. And they wanted _that_ over.But there must be an end to everything, and so the Tree Girl brought outa bowl of beechnuts, and they forgot the stories, and ate as much asthey wanted. There were apples, too, big and red and cold cheeked.Everyone was hungry.
When all were satisfied, there was sudden whispering among the guests.The Bird Fairies fluttered and hummed with excitement. The ForestChildren's eyes began to shine expectantly. Ivra, who still sat on theTree Man's knee, spoke what they were all thinking. "The surprise," shesaid to the Tree Man. "You know you promised us a surprise to-night. Isit time for it yet?"
"Yes," said the Tree Man. "It is. _High_ time! Come, put on your cloaks.It's a cold night."
"But the surprise!" they all cried at once. "We don't want to go homeuntil we have had the surprise!"
"Oh, the surprise is up in the branches. My mother is there with herair-boat, waiting to take you all home."
The Forest Children clapped their hands and jumped up and down untiltheir sandal-laces that were not already loose and flapping came undoneand flapped too. Wild Star sprang towards the stairs, his face alight,Ivra slipped down from the Tree Man's knee and ran to Eric.
"The Tree Mother! The dear, beautiful Tree Mother! We are to see her andride with her!" she cried.
Then she dashed away for her cloak. The Forest Children, with the TreeGirl's help, were tumbling into theirs, wrong-end-to mostly, ripping offbuckles in their hurry.
"The Tree Mother! The dear Tree Mother!" their little teeth chattered inecstasy.
When all were ready they crowded up the straight starlit stairs. At thetop they crawled out through the sky door, one by one, into thebranches. Eric followed Ivra, and saw a great black moth-like thingpoised in air by the tree's top. But it was hollowed like a boat and ashadowy woman was standing upright in it. A dark cloak covered her, butthe hood had fallen back, and her face in the starlight was verybeautiful and very young, younger even than Helma's, whose face Eric hadthought all that day too young and glad to be a mother's. How could thisbe the Tree Man's mother, he wondered,--the Tree Girl's grandmother!Then he
saw that her hair was white, whiter than all the snow that layin the forest.
It was very cold kneeling there and clinging in the tip of the greatbeech-tree. The forest below was still and dark. But the air and thewintry star-filled sky were bright with a blue, cold light. After thewarmth at the heart of the tree, the cold was almost unbearable. Ericlonged to wave his arms about, and jump up and down to get warm, but hehad to cling, still and motionless, to the branches to keep fromfalling.
At last Ivra whispered "It's our turn now," and taking Eric's hand, shemade him jump with her right out into cold space. For one awful instanthe thought they were both falling down, down to the ground. But they hadonly dropped into the air-boat. The Tree Mother leaned forward andpulled a blanket over them. Her eyes as she did it, looked straight intoEric's. They were dark, and deep as the forest shadows. He began tospeak to tell her who he was, for her look was questioning. But she puther finger to her lips. Then he noticed for the first time that everyone was silent. Even the Tree Man and his daughter who stood in the treetop waving good-by spoke no words, only nodded and waved. The last BirdFairy fluttered noiselessly in. Eric lay back under the warm blanket,snuggled against Ivra. A Bird Fairy nestled into the palm of each of hishands. All was still and warm. The air-boat slipped away high and higherover the tree-tops and on and on.
On a cold, starlit night, nestled in feathery warmth, to sail over thedark tree-tops, high and higher and on and on--that is a wonderfulthing. And when the Tree Mother stands above you, wrapped in her darkcloak with her face shining under her cloudy white hair, now and thenbending to tuck the blanket more snugly about you--what could be moreblissful?
Very soon Eric became drowsy against his will. His eyelids dropped likecurtains shutting out the stars. But he roused when the boat stopped,hovered, and sank down like a bird until it rested on the crusted snowin the middle of a tiny village of tiny moss houses; only now, ofcourse, the houses were covered with snow, and looked like baby Eskimohuts. The Forest Children crept sleepily out of the boat, kissing theTree Mother good-by as though in a dream. Not a word was spoken. Therewas the creak of their little feet on the cold snow,--that was all. Eachchild went alone into his little house. They were lighted and lookedwarm through the doors, and Tree Mother nodded as though that were well.But before the air-boat had risen out of sight, the lights were all out,and the Forest Children sound asleep, snuggled into their moss beds.
From then on stops were frequent, and Eric woke at each one. At everyBird Fairy nest at which they stopped, the Tree Mother leaned from theboat and scooped the crusted snow out of the nest. Then when the BirdFairy was settled down, she powdered the snow with her fingers until itwas soft, and heaped it over the little creature, who was alreadyasleep.
Wild Star was left in the tip of the tallest tree in the forest. Therehe lay without covering, his face up to the cold sky, his arms flungback above his head, his wings folded tight. He half opened hisslumbrous eyes on the Tree Mother as the boat floated away, but beforethe smile in them faded he was asleep.
There was straight, sure, even flying then to Helma's little house, setin its snowy garden,--and down they sank to the door stone. The TreeMother carried Ivra, who was fast asleep, in in her arms. The fire leaptwhen they entered, until the walls and floor danced with light. The TreeMother undressed Ivra, who never once opened her eyes, and tucked herinto bed. Then she helped Eric, who was fumbling and missing buttons ina sleepy way. But he was awake enough to kiss her good-night. And thatwas the end of everything until morning.