“I smell dinner,” she said, “and it smells like it is on the table. Let’s go in and get rid of it.”
She led the way, and the children followed. The dinner was nothing extra,—just a plain, every-day, country dinner, with plenty of pot-liquor and dumplings; but the children were hungry, and they made short work of all that was placed before them. Drusilla waited on the table, as she did at home, but she didn’t go close to Mr. Rabbit. She held out the dishes at arm’s length when she offered him anything, and once she came very near dropping a plate when he suddenly flapped his big ear on his nose to drive off a fly.
Mrs. Meadows was very kind to the children, but when once the edge was taken off their appetite they began to get uneasy again. There were a thousand questions they might have asked, [Pg 62] but they had been told never to ask questions in company. Mr. Thimblefinger, who had a keen eye for such things, noticed that they were beginning to get glum and dissatisfied, and so he said with a laugh:—
“I’ve often heard in my travels of children who talked too much, but these don’t talk at all.”
“Oh, they’ll soon get over that,” Mrs. Meadows remarked. “Everything is so strange here, they don’t know what to make of it. When I was a little bit of a thing my ma used to take me to quiltings, and I know it took me the longest kind of a time to get used to the strangers and all.”
“This isn’t a quilting,” said Sweetest Susan, with a sigh; “I wish it was.”
“I don’t!” exclaimed Buster John plumply.
“Once when I was listening through a keyhole,” said Mr. Thimblefinger, placing his tiny knife and fork crosswise on his plate, “I heard a story about a Talking-Saddle.”
“Tell it! tell it!” cried Buster John and Sweetest Susan.
“I suppose you have no pie to-day?” said Mr. Rabbit.
DRUSILLA WAITING ON MR. RABBIT
[Pg 63] “Oh, yes,” said Mrs. Meadows, “we’ll have the pie and the story, too.”
Mr. Thimblefinger smacked his lips and winked his eye in such comical fashion that the children laughed heartily, but they didn’t forget the story.
“I don’t know that I can remember the best of it,” said Mr. Thimblefinger. “The wind was blowing and the keyhole was trying to learn how to whistle, and I may have missed some of the story. But it was such a queer one, and I was listening so closely, that I came very near falling off the door-knob when some one started to come out. I think we’d better eat our pie first. I might get one of those huckleberries in my throat while talking, and there’s no doctor close at hand to keep me from choking to death.”
So they ate their huckleberry-pie, and then Mr. Thimblefinger told the story.
“Once upon a time a farmer had five sons. He was not rich and he was not poor. He had some land, and he had a little money. He divided his land equally among his four oldest sons, giving each just as much as he could till. To each, he also gave a piece of money. Then he called his youngest son, and said:—
[Pg 64] “‘You have sharp eyes and a keen wit. You want no land. All you need is a saddle. That I will give you.’
“‘A saddle! What will I do with a saddle?’ asked the youngest son, whose name was Tip-Top.
“‘Make your fortune with it.’
“‘If I had a horse—’
“‘A head is better than a horse,’ the father replied.
“Not long after, the old man died. The land was divided up among the four older sons, and Tip-Top was left with the saddle. He slung it on his back and set out to make his fortune. It was not long before he came to a large town. He rested for a while and then he went into the town. He remembered that his father had said a head was better than a horse, so, instead of carrying the saddle on his back, he put it on his head. At first the people thought he was carrying the saddle because he had sold his horse for a good price, or because the animal had died. But he went through street after street still carrying the saddle on his head, never pausing to look around or to speak to anybody, and at last the people began [Pg 65] to wonder. Some said he was a simpleton, some said he was a saddle-maker advertising his wares, and some said he was a tramp who ought to be arrested and put in the workhouse.
“This talk finally reached the ears of the Mayor of the town, and he sent for Tip-Top to appear before him.”
“What is a Mayor?” asked Sweetest Susan suddenly.
“He de head patter-roller,” said Drusilla, before anybody else could reply.
“That’s about right,” Mr. Thimblefinger declared. “Well, the Mayor sent for Tip-Top. But instead of going to the place where the Mayor held his court, Tip-Top inquired where his house was and went there. Now, when Tip-Top knocked at the Mayor’s door the servant, seeing the man with a saddle on his head, began to scold him.
“‘Do you think the Mayor keeps his harness in the parlor? Go in the side gate and carry the saddle in the cellar where it belongs. Hang it on the first peg you see.’
“Tip-Top tried to say something, but the servant shut the door with a bang. Then Tip-Top [Pg 66] did as he was bid. He went through the side gate, and found the cellar without any trouble, but instead of hanging the saddle on a peg, he placed it on the floor and sat on it.
“After waiting patiently a while, wondering when the Mayor would call him, Tip-Top heard voices on the other side of the wall. He listened closely, and soon found that the housemaid who had driven him away from the Mayor’s door was talking to her brother, who had just returned from a long journey.
“‘The Mayor has gold,’ said the brother. ‘You must tell me where he keeps it. I have a companion in my travels, and to-night we shall come and take the treasure.’
“For a long time the housemaid refused to tell where the Mayor kept his gold, but the brother threatened and coaxed, and finally she told him where the treasure lay.
“‘It is in a closet by the chimney in the first room to the right at the head of the stairs. The gold is in an iron box and it is very heavy.’
“‘My companion has long hair and a strong arm,’ said the brother. ‘He is cross-eyed and knock-kneed. It wouldn’t do for you to meet [Pg 67] him in the hallway. Go to bed early and lock your door, and if you hear any outcry during the night cover your head with a pillow and go to sleep again.’
“Then the housemaid and her brother went away.
“‘Well,’ said Tip-Top, ‘this is no place for me.’
“He waited a while, and then went out of the cellar into the yard with his saddle on his head. The cook, seeing him there, told him to carry the saddle to the stable where the horses were kept. Tip-Top went to the stable, placed his saddle in an empty stall, and sat on it.
“After a while he heard two persons come in from the street. They went into a stall near by and began to talk. One was the coachman and the other was his nephew, who had just returned from a long journey.
“‘The Mayor has fine horses,’ said the nephew. ‘I must have two of them to-night, otherwise I am ruined forever.’
“The coachman refused to listen at first, but after a while he consented. He told his nephew that the stable-boy slept in the manger.
[Pg 68] “‘I have a companion in my travels,’ said his nephew, ‘and to-night we shall come and take the horses away. My companion has short hair and a heavy hand. Close your eyes and cover your head with straw if you hear any outcry.’
“After a while the coachman and his nephew went out into the street again, and then Tip-Top came forth from the stable with the saddle on his head. The Mayor had just come in, and was standing at his window. He saw the man in the yard with the saddle on his head, and sent a servant to call him.
“‘What is your name?’ asked the Mayor.
“‘Tip-Top, your honor.’
“‘I didn’t ask after your health; I asked for your name,’ said the Mayor.
“‘It is Tip-Top, your honor.’
“‘Your name or your health?’
“‘Both, your honor.’
“‘What are you doing here?’
“‘His honor, the Mayor, sent for me, your honor.’
“‘What were you doing just now?’
“‘Waiting to be sent for, your honor.’
“‘Where is your horse?’ asked the Mayor.
TIP-TOP AND THE MAYOR
[Pg 69] “‘I have no horse, your honor.’
“‘Why do you carry your saddle?’
“‘Because no one will carry it for me, your honor.’
“‘Why do you not sell it and be rid of it, ninny?’
“‘Few are rich enough to buy it, your honor.’
“‘How much money is it worth?’
“‘Two thousand pieces of gold, your honor.’
“‘Are you crazy?’ cried the Mayor. ‘Why is it so valuable?’
“‘It is a Talking-Saddle, your honor.’
“‘What does it say?’
“‘Everything, your honor. It warns, it predicts, and it gives advice.’
“‘Let it talk for me,’ said the Mayor, full of curiosity.
“‘Your honor would fail to understand its language,’ replied Tip-Top.
“‘Let it talk and do you tell me what it says.’
“Tip-Top placed his saddle on the carpet and pressed his foot against it until the leather made a creaking noise.
“‘I am waiting,’ said the Mayor. ‘What does the saddle say?’
[Pg 70] “‘It says, your honor, that you must call the housemaid.’
“The Mayor, to humor the joke, did so. The housemaid came, grumbling. She looked at the saddle, at Tip-Top, and then at the Mayor.
“‘Now what does the saddle say?’ asked the Mayor.
“‘It says, your honor, that this woman has a brother, who has just returned from a journey in strange lands. The saddle says, your honor, that this woman’s brother has a companion who has long hair and a strong arm.’
“‘Is that all?’ asked the Mayor.
“‘No, your honor, it is not half.’
“‘It is very strange,’ said the housemaid.
“‘The saddle says, your honor, that if you will sit in the closet by the chimney, in the first room to the right, where there is an iron box that is very heavy, you will receive a visit to-night from this woman’s brother and his companion.’
“The Mayor was very much astonished, but before he could open his lips the woman fell on her knees and confessed all. The Mayor called an officer and sent her away. Then he turned to Tip-Top, and asked:—
[Pg 71] “‘Is that all?’
“‘By no means, your honor. The saddle says send for the coachman.’
“The Mayor did so, and the coachman came, bowing and smiling.
“‘How much is the saddle worth?’ the Mayor asked him.
“‘Master, it is worthless,’ replied the coachman, with a sneer.
“‘Let us see,’ said the Mayor. Then, turning to Tip-Top: ‘What does the saddle say?’
“‘It says, your honor, that this coachman here has a nephew, who has just returned from a long journey. It says that the nephew has a companion who has short hair and a heavy hand.’
“‘What more?’
“‘The saddle says, your honor, that if you will sleep in the manger where your two finest horses feed, you will receive a visit from the coachman’s nephew and his traveling companion.’
“The coachman implored his master’s mercy, and told all. Of course, the Mayor was very much astonished. He turned his unfaithful servants over to an officer, and that night had a [Pg 72] watch set around his house and stable, and caught the thieves and their companions.”
“But the saddle didn’t talk,” said Sweetest Susan. “So the man didn’t tell what was true.” She made this remark with so much dignity that Mrs. Meadows laughed.
But Buster John was quite impatient.
“This isn’t a girl’s story,” he exclaimed.
“Oh, yes,” replied Mrs. Meadows. “It is for girls as well as boys. Sometimes people tell stories just to pass the time away, and if the stories have little fibs in ’em, that don’t do anybody any harm, they just keep them in there. If they didn’t, the story wouldn’t be true.”
“Is that the end of the story of the Talking-Saddle?” asked Buster John.
“No! Oh, no!” Mr. Thimblefinger answered. “I was just going to tell you the rest.”
But before he could go on with it, the noise of laughter was heard at the door, and then there came running in a queer-looking girl and a very queer-looking boy.