CHAPTER XIII
THE FAIRY'S STORY CONCLUDED
"The owl replied softly, telling her errand, praising the bravery of thefrog, and evidently pleasing the kingfisher with the news of the deathof his enemy the night-hawk.
"'I will go,' he answered. 'I do not pretend to be chivalric; I shouldprefer to sleep; nevertheless, I will go. Rise, follow-me. I expected tobreakfast at home; now we will get some seafood.'
"'He is always thus,' whispered the owl, as Arthur and she rose high inthe air. 'He is a wonderful naturalist, a student of ichthyology, has avast and profound fund of knowledge, but a great gourmand, alwaysconsidering what he will eat; but he is reliable; we may trust him.'
"They sailed now high, now low, over ravines and gulfs, until thecontinuous murmur which had accompanied them deepened into the steady,solemn roar of the ocean. Great crags, broad sands, and huge wavestossing their white crests now met their eyes.
"The soft faint gray of early dawn lit the heavens. The kingfisherperched himself on the top of a rock, and watched the seething waveswith a steady and keen outlook. The owl fluttered down to the long lineof breakers, and bade Arthur notice the immense quantity of sea-weedfringing the rocks in all directions.
"'Now how to carry it back is the question,' said Arthur, ratherdolorously.
"'My friend, have no fear,' said the owl. 'Go to work bravely, andgather all you can, then we will arrange to transport it. Hasten,however, as much as you can.'
"Arthur hopped about zealously. He was half deafened with the thunder ofthe waves, half blinded with the dashing spray, half drowned with thesalt-water pouring from every cliff and cranny of the rocks. Still hetore and clutched at the sea-weed, dragging it in masses larger than hisown frog body to where the owl waited for him on the beach, in a sort ofgrotto hollowed out by the waves. There they piled it until they bothwere assured they had the proper quantity. Then the owl flew to apromontory and hailed the kingfisher. Arthur, quite worn out, fellasleep. When he awoke, he found him self most strangely placed.
"So soundly had he slept that the owl and kingfisher, having completedtheir arrangements for the removal of the sea-weed, had removed Arthuralso, and he woke to find himself on the back of an enormous sturgeon,with sea-weed under him, over him, and about him. Tightly about thesturgeon was bound an old rope, which the kingfisher had procured fromthe remains of a wreck on the rocks, and in which he had entangledthe sturgeon; this rope the owl and kingfisher took turns in holding,keeping the sturgeon near the surface of the waves by its check upon hismovements, which were very bold and rapid. Thus, by the double force offlying and swimming, Arthur was carried with immense speed into thequiet waters of a bay from which they had emerged on arriving at theocean.
MAKING THE STURGEON USEFUL]
"From the bay they sailed up into the river, and were coursing rapidlyon to its narrower surface, when the sturgeon suddenly gave a greatleap, very nearly throwing Arthur and his precious load off his back.
"The owl screamed, the kingfisher shouted hoarsely, but tightened hishold upon the rope, while the sturgeon dashed madly on.
"Again he made another frantic leap, whereupon the kingfisher gave him athrust with his beak, to which the sturgeon replied,
"'The current is becoming too shallow; I can go no farther. I _must_have air. How can you expect me to go up this trout stream? have you nomercy for such a beast of burden as you have made me?'
"'Forward again!' shouted the kingfisher, tightening the rope oncemore.
"Arthur felt the sturgeon shiver, and was conscious that his movementswere weaker. Another leap, and he burst the rope; but as he jumped hetossed his load of sea-weed high in the air; it fell, and Arthur withit, on a rock.
"The owl gave a long, dismal cry, the kingfisher swept madly away afterthe sturgeon, and Arthur, bruised and sore, lay panting on the rock. Fora long while he could do nothing. The owl went off in search of food,promising to return at nightfall. The day wore on. Arthur, weak withhunger, tried to devour some of the sea-weed. It was too bitter andsalty. Leaning over the edge of the rock, he saw a shoal of tiny fishesplaying hide-and-seek in the eddies of the stream. He clutched at one ofthem and devoured it. Never had he tasted a sweeter morsel. He caughtanother, and another, until his hunger was fully appeased. Evening cameagain; the moon shone early; Arthur was awakened from a long nap by thehooting of the owl, which said,
"'Here I am again, my distressed friend.'
"At the same moment the kingfisher swooped down on them, and stoodtilting and flapping his wings on a corner of the rock. 'Now,' said he,'as I am a bird of my word, and have promised to help you, we willproceed to business. This sea-weed is dry, as you see, and very muchlighter. You, Mrs. Owl, can easily carry it, while I will take youryoung friend Mr. Frog. Let us be off at once, you, madam, directing theflight.'
"The kingfisher and Arthur then heaped the sea-weed upon the owl, andArthur, clambering on the rather oily back of the kingfisher, was onceagain going over the tree-tops.
"Before morning they had reached the desired spot, the flat rock underthe chestnut-tree, placed the sea-weed upon it, and, hardly waiting forthanks, the kingfisher left them.
"Arthur thanked the owl warmly, assuring her of his deep gratitude. Towhich the owl replied, 'You have done me quite as good service, and mythanks are quite as due to you. I return to my empty nest a desolatemother, but never shall I forget your generous sympathy. Possibly I mayfind consolation, but should I ever raise another brood, it could neverequal the beauty of my lost darlings. Alas! we feathered creatures havegreat trials: we toil diligently for our families, build nests at greatcost of time and effort, often to see them swept away by the winds; or,our nests lasting, and unattacked by enemies, many a young bird isthrown to the earth by the violence of storms, and comes to an untimelyend through starvation. Sympathy, therefore, we appreciate; it helps usto bear our sorrows with becoming fortitude. Never shall I forget yourgallantry, my friend; the thought of it will cheer many a solitary hourwhen all the world is asleep. I bid you farewell.' So saying, the owlflapped her wings and was gone.
"Arthur hopped away from the chestnut-tree to the place where he hadlost himself. It was early morning, but he was wearied, and slept inspite of all his anxiety. When he awoke he was no longer a frog, but avery hungry boy. The noonday sun was shining, and at his side hopped alittle brown bird. It twittered gladly, as if congratulating him, butnot one word could he understand. Before this adventure he would haveprobably frightened it away, but now he reached out his hand softly andstroked its feathers, then seeking berries, he placed them where thelittle creature could feast upon them. It peered at him with its brightlittle eyes, and even perched upon his shoulder. Never again did Arthuridly destroy any living creature of the woods--not the humblest weed orflower, bright-winged insect or speckled egg. Nor did he loiter againwhen sent upon errands. The elves thereafter left him in peace."
"Good-bye, dear Phil; I am off now. This is my last story."
"Where am I? Has the music stopped? Was it my wind harp--my poor littlewind harp?"
"Why, Phil, your wind harp is broken. Did you not know that it fell fromyour window last night?" said Lisa, coming into the dining-room.
"No. I wonder if I shall ever see the wind fairy again?"
"Dreaming again, Phil?" said Lisa.
"You always think I dream, Lisa, whenever I speak of fairies."
"Do I, dear? Well, you must get ready now for Graham; he is coming totake you out on the lake. Miss Schuyler will not be home to dinner, andwe three are to have ours on Eagle Island."
Phil went up-stairs and gathered together the broken pieces of his windharp. He folded each piece up carefully in paper, and put them all away."No more fairy stories," he said to himself. "Well, I suppose I amgetting beyond them, and must put up with sober facts; but they are nothalf so nice," he said, with a sigh--"not half so nice." Then he tookout his sketch-book and pencils, and prepared for work.