Chapter VIPrince Nimble
"GOOD gracious!" said the little girl, looking around her; "I'm as goodas lost in this strange place, and I don't know in what direction to goto get home again."
So she sat down on the grass and tried to think which way she had come,and which way she ought to return in order to get across the gulch tothe farm-house.
"If the Rolling Stone was here, he might tell me," she said aloud. "ButI'm all alone."
"Oh, no, you're not," piped a small, sweet voice. "I'm here, and I knowmuch more than the Rolling Stone does."
Twinkle looked this way and then that, very carefully, in order to seewho had spoken, and at last she discovered a pretty grasshopper perchedupon a long blade of grass nearby.
"Did I hear you speak?" she inquired.
"Yes," replied the grasshopper. "I'm Prince Nimble, the hoppiest hopperin Hoptown."
"Where is that?" asked the child.
"Why, Hoptown is near the bottom of the gulch, in that thick patch ofgrass you see yonder. It's on your way home, so I'd be pleased to haveyou visit it."
"Won't I step on some of you?" she asked.
"Not if you are careful," replied Prince Nimble. "Grasshoppers don'toften get stepped on. We're pretty active, you know."
"All right," said Twinkle. "I'd like to see a grasshopper village."
"Then follow me, and I'll guide you," said Nimble, and at once he leapedfrom the blade of grass and landed at least six feet away.
Twinkle got up and followed, keeping her eye on the pretty Prince, wholeaped so fast that she had to trot to keep up with him. Nimble wouldwait on some clump of grass or bit of rock until the girl came up, andthen away he'd go again.
"How far is it?" Twinkle once asked him.
"About a mile and a half," was the answer; "we'll soon be there, for youare as good as a mile, and I'm good for the half-mile."
"How do you figure that out?" asked Twinkle.
"Why, I've always heard that a miss is as good as a mile, and you're amiss, are you not?"
"Not yet," she answered; "I'm only a little girl. But papa will be sureto miss me if I don't get home to supper."
Chapter VIIThe Grasshoppers' Hop
TWINKLE now began to fear she wouldn't get home to supper, for the sunstarted to sink into the big prairie, and in the golden glow it leftbehind, the girl beheld most beautiful palaces and castles suspended inthe air just above the hollow in which she stood. Splendid bannersfloated from the peaks and spires of these magnificent buildings, andall the windows seemed of silver and all the roofs of gold.
"What city is that?" she asked, standing still, in amazement.
"That isn't any city," replied the grasshopper. "They are only Castlesin the Air--very pretty to look at, but out of everybody's reach. Comealong, my little friend; we're almost at Hoptown."
So Twinkle walked on, and before long Prince Nimble paused on the stemof a hollyhock and said:
"Now, sit down carefully, right where you are, and you will be able towatch my people. It is the night of our regular hop--if you listen youcan hear the orchestra tuning up."
She sat down, as he bade her, and tried to listen, but only heard a lowwhirr and rattle like the noise of a beetle's wings.
"That's the drummer," said Prince Nimble. "He is very clever, indeed."
"Good gracious! It's night," said Twinkle, with a start. "I ought to beat home and in bed this very minute!"
"Never mind," said the grasshopper; "you can sleep any time, but this isour annual ball, and it's a great privilege to witness it."
Suddenly the grass all around them became brilliantly lighted, as iffrom a thousand tiny electric lamps. Twinkle looked closely, and sawthat a vast number of fireflies had formed a circle around them, andwere illuminating the scene of the ball.
In the center of the circle were assembled hundreds of grasshoppers, ofall sizes. The small ones were of a delicate green color, and themiddle-sized ones of a deeper green, while the biggest ones were ayellowish brown.
But the members of the orchestra interested Twinkle more than anythingelse. They were seated upon the broad top of a big toadstool atone side, and the musicians were all beetles and big-bugs. A fatwater-beetle played a bass fiddle as big and fat as himself, and twopretty ladybugs played the violins. A scarab, brightly colored withscarlet and black, tooted upon a long horn, and a sand-beetle made thesound of a drum with its wings. Then there was a coleopto, makingshrill sounds like a flute--only of course Twinkle didn't know thenames of these beetles, and thought they were all just "bugs."
When the orchestra began to play, the music was more pleasing than youmight suppose; anyway, the grasshoppers liked it, for they commenced atonce to dance.
The antics of the grasshoppers made Twinkle laugh more than once, forthe way they danced was to hop around in a circle, and jump over eachother, and then a lady grasshopper and a gentleman grasshopper wouldtake hold of hands and stand on their long rear legs and swing partnersuntil it made the girl dizzy just to watch them.
Sometimes two of them would leap at once, and knock against each otherin the air, and then go tumbling to the ground, where the other dancerstripped over them. She saw Prince Nimble dancing away with the others,and his partner was a lovely green grasshopper with sparkling black eyesand wings that were like velvet. They didn't bump into as many of theothers as some did, and Twinkle thought they danced very gracefullyindeed.
And now, while the merriment was at its height, and waiter-grasshopperswere passing around refreshments that looked like grass seeds coveredwith thick molasses, a big cat suddenly jumped into the circle.
At once all the lights went out, for the fire-flies fled in everydirection; but in the darkness Twinkle thought she could still hear thedrone of the big bass fiddle and the flute-like trill of the ladybugs.
The next thing Twinkle knew, some one was shaking her shoulder.
* * *
"Wake up, dear," said her mother's voice. "It's nearly supper-time, andpapa's waiting for you. And I see you haven't picked a singleblueberry."
"Why, I picked 'em, all right," replied Twinkle, sitting up and firstrubbing her eyes and then looking gravely at her empty tin pail. "Theywere all in the pail a few minutes ago. I wonder whatever became ofthem!"
THE END
SUGAR-LOAF MOUNTAIN
SUGAR-LOAF MOUNTAIN
List of ChaptersI The Golden Key........................325II Through the Tunnel....................333III Sugar-Loaf City.......................340IV To the King's Palace..................348V Princess Sakareen.....................357VI The Royal Chariot.....................365VII Twinkle Gets Thirsty..................372VIII After the Runaway.....................381
Chapter IThe Golden Key
TWINKLE had come to visit her old friend Chubbins, whose mother was nowteaching school in a little town at the foot of the Ozark Mountains, inArkansas. Twinkle's own home was in Dakota, so the mountains that nowtowered around her made her open her eyes in wonder.
Near by--so near, in fact, that she thought she might almost reach outher arm and touch it--was Sugar-Loaf Mountain, round and high and big.And a little to the south was Backbone Mountain, and still farther alonga peak called Crystal Mountain.
The very next day after her arrival Twinkle asked Chubbins to take herto see the mountain; and so the boy, who was about her own age, got hismother to fill for them a basket of good things to eat, and away theystarted, hand in hand, to explore the mountain-side.
It was farther to Sugar-Loaf Mountain than Twinkle had thought, and bythe time they reached the foot of the great mound, the rocky sides ofwhich were covered with bushes and small trees, they were both rathertired by the walk.
"Let's eat something," suggested Chubbins.
"I'm willing," said Twinkle.
So they climbed up a little way, to where some big rocks lay flat uponthe mountain, and sat themselves down upon a slab of rock while theyrested and ate some of
the sandwiches and cake.
"Why do they call it 'Sugar-Loaf'?" asked the girl, looking far up tothe top of the mountain.
"I don't know," replied Chubbins.
"It's a queer name," said Twinkle, thoughtfully.
"That's so," agreed the boy. "They might as well have called it'gingerbread' or 'rock-salt,' or 'tea-biscuit.' They call mountainsfunny names, don't they?"
"Seems as if they do," said Twinkle.
They had been sitting upon the edge of one big flat rock, with theirfeet resting against another that was almost as large. These rocksappeared to have been there for ages,--as if some big giants in oldendays had tossed them carelessly down and then gone away and left them.Yet as the children pushed their feet against this one, the heavy masssuddenly began to tremble and then slide downward.
"Look out!" cried the girl, frightened to see the slab of rock move."We'll fall and get hurt!"
But they clung to the rock upon which they sat and met with no harmwhatever. Nor did the big slab of stone below them move very far fromits original position.
It merely slid downward a few feet, and when they looked at the placewhere it had been they discovered what seemed to be a small iron door,built into the solid stone underneath, and now shown to their view bythe moving of the upper rock.
"Why, it's a door!" exclaimed Twinkle.
Chubbins got down upon his knees and examined the door carefully. Therewas a ring in it that seemed to be a handle, and he caught hold of itand pulled as hard as he could. But it wouldn't move.
"It's locked, Twink," he said.
"What do you'spose is under it?" she asked.
"Maybe it's a treasure!" answered Chubbins, his eyes big with interest.
"Well, Chub, we can't get it, anyway," said the practical Twinkle; "solet's climb the mountain."
She got down from her seat and approached the door, and as she did soshe struck a small bit of rock with her foot and sent it tumbling downthe hill. Then she stopped short with a cry of wonder, for under thestone she had kicked away was a little hole in the rock, and within thisthey saw a small golden key.
"Perhaps," she said, eagerly, as she stooped to pick up the key, "thiswill unlock the iron door."
"Let's try it!" cried the boy.
Chapter IIThrough the Tunnel
THEY examined the door carefully, and at last found near the center ofit a small hole. Twinkle put the golden key into this and found that itfitted exactly. But it took all of Chubbins's strength to turn the keyin the rusty lock. Yet finally it did turn, and they heard the noise ofbolts shooting back, so they both took hold of the ring, and pullinghard together, managed to raise the iron door on its hinges.
All they saw was a dark tunnel, with stone steps leading down into themountain.
"No treasure here," said the little girl.
"P'raps it's farther in," replied Chubbins. "Shall we go down?"
"Won't it be dangerous?" she asked.
"Don't know," said Chubbins, honestly. "It's been years and years sincethis door was opened. You can see for yourself. That rock must havecovered it up a long time."
"There must be _something_ inside," she declared, "or there wouldn't beany door, or any steps."
"That's so," answered Chubbins. "I'll go down and see. You wait."
"No; I'll go too," said Twinkle. "I'd be just as scared waiting outsideas I would be in. And I 'in bigger than you are, Chub."
"You're taller, but you're only a month older, Twink; so don't you puton airs. And I'm the strongest."
"We'll both go," she decided; "and then if we find the treasure we'lldivide."
"All right; come on!"
Forgetting their basket, which they left upon the rocks, they creptthrough the little doorway and down the steps. There were only sevensteps in all, and then came a narrow but level tunnel that led straightinto the mountain-side. It was dark a few feet from the door, but thechildren resolved to go on. Taking hold of hands, so as not to getseparated, and feeling the sides of the passage to guide them, theywalked a long way into the black tunnel.
Twinkle was just about to say they'd better go back, when the passagesuddenly turned, and far ahead of them shone a faint light. Thisencouraged them, and they went on faster, hoping they would soon come tothe treasure.
"Keep it up, Twink," said the boy. "It's no use going home yet."
"We must be almost in the middle of Sugar-Loaf Mountain," she answered.
"Oh, no; it's an awful big mountain," said he. "But we've come quite away, haven't we?"
"I guess mama'd scold, if she knew where we are."
"Mamas," said Chubbins, "shouldn't know everything, 'cause they'd onlyworry. And if we don't get hurt I can't see as there's any harm done."
"But we mustn't be naughty, Chub."
"The only thing that's naughty," he replied, "is doing what you're toldnot to do. And no one told us not to go into the middle of Sugar-LoafMountain."
Just then they came to another curve in their path, and saw a brightlight ahead. It looked to the children just like daylight; so they ranalong and soon passed through a low arch and came out into--
Well! the scene before them was so strange that it nearly took awaytheir breath, and they stood perfectly still and stared as hard as theirbig eyes could possibly stare.
Chapter IIISugaf-Loaf City
SUGAR-LOAF Mountain was hollow inside, for the children stood facing agreat dome that rose so far above their heads that it seemed almost ashigh as the sky. And underneath this dome lay spread out the loveliestcity imaginable. There were streets of houses, and buildings with rounddomes, and slender, delicate spires reaching far up into the air, andturrets beautifully ornamented with carvings. And all these were whiteas the driven snow and sparkling in every part like millions ofdiamonds--for all were built of pure loaf-sugar! The pavements of thestreets were also loaf-sugar, and the trees and bushes and flowers werelikewise sugar; but these last were not all white, because all sugar isnot white, and they showed many bright colors of red sugar and bluesugar and yellow, purple and green sugar, all contrasting most prettilywith the sparkling white buildings and the great white dome overhead.
This alone might well astonish the eyes of children from the outsideworld, but it was by no means all that Twinkle and Chubbins beheld inthat first curious look at Sugar-Loaf City. For the city was inhabitedby many people--men, women and children--who walked along the streetsjust as briskly as we do; only all were made of sugar. There wereseveral different kinds of these sugar people. Some, who struttedproudly along, were evidently of pure loaf-sugar, and these were of amost respectable appearance. Others seemed to be made of a light brownsugar, and were more humble in their manners and seemed to hurry alongas if they had business to attend to. Then there were some of sugar sodark in color that Twinkle suspected it was maple-sugar, and these folksseemed of less account than any of the others, being servants, driversof carriages, and beggars and idlers.
Carts and carriages moved along the streets, and were mostly made ofbrown sugar. The horses that drew them were either pressed sugar ormaple-sugar. In fact, everything that existed in this wonderful city wasmade of some kind of sugar.
Where the light, which made all this place so bright and beautiful, camefrom, Twinkle could not imagine. There was no sun, nor were there anyelectric lights that could be seen; but it was fully as bright as dayand everything showed with great plainness.
While the children, who stood just inside the archway through which theyhad entered, were looking at the wonders of Sugar-Loaf City, a file ofsugar soldiers suddenly came around a corner at a swift trot.
"Halt!" cried the Captain. He wore a red sugar jacket and a red sugarcap, and the soldiers were dressed in the same manner as their Captain,but without the officer's yellow sugar shoulder-straps. At the command,the sugar soldiers came to a stop, and all pointed their sugar musketsat Twinkle and Chubbins.
"Surrender!" said the Captain to them. "Surrender, or I'll--I'll--"
He hesitated. r />
"What will you do?" said Twinkle.
"I don't know what, but something very dreadful," replied the Captain."But of course you'll surrender."
"I suppose we'll have to," answered the girl.
"That's right. I'll just take you to the king, and let him decide whatto do," he added pleasantly.
So the soldiers surrounded the two children, shouldered arms, andmarched away down the street, Twinkle and Chubbins walking slowly, sothe candy folks would not have to run; for the tallest soldiers wereonly as high as their shoulders.
"This is a great event," remarked the Captain, as he walked beside themwith as much dignity as he could muster. "It was really good of you tocome and be arrested, for I haven't had any excitement in a long time.The people here are such good sugar that they seldom do anything wrong."
Chapter IVTo the King's Palace
"WHAT, allow me to ask, is your grade of sugar?" inquired the Captain,with much politeness. "You do not seem to be the best loaf, but Isuppose that of course you are solid."
"Solid what?" asked Chubbins.
"Solid sugar," replied the Captain.
"We're not sugar at all," explained Twinkle. "We're just meat."
"Meat! And what is that?"
"Haven't you any meat in your city?"
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Well, I can't explain exactly whatmeat is," she said; "but it isn't sugar, anyway."