A FAIRY PARABLE FOR THE CHILDREN.
By Myra Hamilton.
"Caleb! Where are you?"
"Here, mother," he cried, suddenly rising from one of the hay-cocks upon which he had been resting. He took the little bundle from her hand without one word of thanks, and then he slowly untied the red cotton handkerchief and began to eat his dinner.
"What is the matter with you, my lad?" his mother asked him. "You seem very cross to-day."
Caleb nodded his head moodily.
"I feel cross," he assented. Then he looked searchingly at his mother.
"Don't you want to be rich?" he demanded.
The old woman was horrified at the thought of it.
"Rich? Heaven forbid! I am quite content to live in our little cottage by the stream. I do not dread the cold winter approaching, for you are such a good son to me that I know I shall lack naught."
Caleb moved uneasily. This simple statement did not correspond with his preconceived notion of prosperity, so he tried to explain his views more fully to his mother.
"I want gold," he said firmly. "Bushels and bushels of it! Enough to buy me fine clothes, horses, carriages and food—heaps of different kinds of food that I might eat continuously. That is what I call being rich!"
The old woman packed the empty plate up in the handkerchief before she spoke.
"You will never be happy with those thoughts in your head," she said, sadly. "Money is not the only thing to live for in the world, dearie." Then she walked to his side and laid a wrinkled hand upon his arm. "Don't you bother about the hay any more to-day," she said kindly. "You go and have some fishing. I will give it a toss over."
So this discontented young man walked off to amuse himself, and left his mother to labour under the burning sun to finish his work, and as he sat on the bank patiently waiting for a fish to bite, a shrill voice suddenly addressed him.
"A penny for your thoughts," the voice said.
Caleb looked about him in amazement. The only living thing he could see was a frog, and, of course, he was aware that frogs had not the gift of conversing with human beings; so he went on with his meditation and paid no attention to the mysterious question.
The frog hopped angrily about, and then it repeated its remark.
"I did not know that a frog could speak," said Caleb, feeling very astonished; "I have never heard one do so before."
"Oh, really!" said the frog patronisingly. "You do not know everything yet. You are far too young. A friend of mine, who is a most cultivated sparrow, tells me you were grizzling for money this afternoon. Money indeed! What good could it do you, do you think?"
"Money buys everything worth having," replied Caleb promptly.
"No, it doesn't," snapped the frog, looking very important. "For it does not buy ME! When you are older and wiser, you will find there are many things in the world that gold cannot purchase. Wealth has many advantages certainly," he went on reflectively. "It was through money that I lost my first wife."
"Indeed," said Caleb, politely. "How was that?"
"The frog I selected to wed," explained his companion, "was a very well-bred frog, though unfortunately rather greedy. She was always delighted to discover fresh food at the bottom of the stream, and one day she thought she had found quite a new kind of dainty. As she did not wish to give me a share of it, she swallowed it hurriedly, and it stuck in her throat and choked her. Just before she died, she confessed to me what she had done, and I, from her description of it, knew it was a penny-piece she had attempted to eat. Now, what would you say," the frog went on calmly, "if I gave you the power to be as rich as you liked, to possess more gold than you knew how to spend, to gratify every wish your heart contains?"
"Can you really do this?" gasped Caleb, incredulously. "I have not met you before. I cannot understand why you are so good to me."
The frog puffed himself out with pride. "I am accustomed to judge character by faces," he replied. "I can see that you will never settle down here or be content without money. I, as the head of our family, am allowed to offer our wonderful purse to any mortal I may choose to confer such an honour upon. If you like to accept it, you are welcome to do so."
Caleb was quite bewildered at this stroke of good luck. "For how long may I keep it?" he asked.
"Until you realise there are certain things in the world that cannot be bought by gold; until you weary of the sight of riches, until you loathe the purse," said the frog solemnly.
"Then I shall keep it for ever!" declared Caleb.
But the old frog shook his head. "No you won't," he replied gravely. "You will want to get rid of it very soon, I think."
"Where shall I find this extraordinary gift?" asked Caleb cautiously.
"When you get home, look under the pillow of your bed and you will discover a shabby green purse lying there," said the frog. "As long as you desire money, you will be able to take out of it as much as you require, but when you have learnt your lesson thoroughly the purse will cease to supply you. Then it must be returned to me, and I will guard it until I meet another mortal as discontented as yourself. Farewell! I wish you a short period of wealth, for you will never enjoy it."
Caleb hastened back to the cottage, and ran up to his room, where he easily found the wee purse. It was so small that the young man felt dubious when he opened it, and he was greatly relieved to see that there was one gold piece inside. He drew it out and peered in again. There was another coin waiting in precisely the same place. This he also removed, but still there came another. When he found the supply of gold did not fail him, he rushed downstairs to tell his mother of his good fortune. But she, poor soul, did not appreciate the change in his position.
"There is trouble to come, lad," she prophesied, as she heard of his wealth. "I suppose you will leave your old mother now, and go out into the world. You won't want to waste your riches here."
"I was thinking," Caleb admitted nervously, "that it would be fine to go about a little, but you must come too."
His mother shook her head decidedly. "No, I shall stay here," she replied, "for I am too old to wander amid strange scenes. Let me hear of you, dearie, from time to time, for I shan't live much longer, I know. I shall have Volta the orphan to live with me, and then we shall be able to manage the work."
"No, mother, no," interrupted Caleb. "You forget I am rich now. I will engage servants to labour for you. You must never do anything again."
But his mother declared she wished to live as she had done hitherto. Servants and fine clothes would worry her, she told him, and she could not bear to be idle all day long. Her way of participating in her son's good fortune would be to hear of his grand doings occasionally, and to look forward to the time when he would return to sit by her side and describe the wonderful things he had seen.
Caleb bought a suit of clothes from the village tailor and a horse from the landlord of the inn, and then he set off. As he rode down the lane the birds sang to one another, "Here comes silly Caleb!" but he was too full of his own importance to realise they were mocking him, and when the tall branches of the trees bent forward and whispered to him, "Go back! Go back!" he set spurs to his horse and galloped on. His mother watched him out of sight. She hoped he would wave his hand to her from the top of the hill, but he was so occupied with his own thoughts that he only remembered he had promised to do so when it was too late.
Caleb rode for many hours, until he reached a beautiful town, where he arranged to purchase a castle. He installed himself in one that stood deep in the shadow of the wood, and he supplied himself with servants, horses, and carriages. He had decided not to travel, for he did not want to learn anything about foreign lands—he only desired to live grandly, to eclipse his neighbours and make them envious of his wealth.
He had almost forgotten his mother. He never sent her news of himself, although, at first, he occasionally ordered one of his servants to ride to the cottage and carry her some gold. He was so ashamed of her humble origin that he would not admit he was her son, and when the man returned from his errand Caleb used to avoid him, for fear he had discovered the secret of his birth.
At last the young fellow grew very discontented, for he had no interests in his life; so he determined to marry. He was sure that no high-born lady would wed him, for, in spite of his riches, he was only the son of a peasant woman, so he made up his mind to select a poor girl who would be properly impressed with his position.
As he had no acquaintances, he decided to walk slowly over the land and ask the first damsel he met to be his wife. So he called his dogs together, and away they went upon this extraordinary search for a bride, but for a long time they saw nobody.
On the way home, however, Caleb encountered a young maiden, who was tripping merrily along with a bundle of sticks balanced upon her head. As she stood aside to allow this grand gentleman to pass her, her face seemed so familiar that Caleb thought he had seen her before. He looked at her critically; she was certainly very pretty, young, and graceful, so he promptly raised his plumed cap and addressed her.
"I fear those sticks are too heavy for you," he remarked. "Will you allow me to carry them for you?"
But she shook her head. "I am used to them," she explained. "Besides, I could not trouble you so much. You are a great lord, and I am only a poor country girl."
Caleb was not very quick with his tongue, and as he wondered what to say she gave him a little nod and hastened away.
The next day he met her again, and the day following also; for he was really in love with this peasant girl.
One day he brought her a handsome silver casket full of rare jewels, but she just glanced at them and then laid them aside.
"What are they?" she asked innocently. "Bits of glass?"
"Bits of glass?" he exclaimed in astonishment at her ignorance. "No; they are precious stones, and worth a fortune. I hope you will accept them," he added.
But she shook her head. "They are useless to me," she declared candidly. "If they are so valuable, why do you wish to part with them? I should not know what to do with such jewels if they were mine."
Caleb could not understand his companion at all. For the first time since he possessed the wonderful purse he had encountered somebody who did not appreciate his wealth.
She looked so fascinating as she sat in the sunshine, with the contents of the jewel-case glittering in her lap, that Caleb fell on his knees before her and entreated her to marry him. He talked of his estate and his money, but his words made no impression.
"I do not care for you, my lord," she said. "Neither do you really love me. It is my beauty that attracts you."
"But I am rich," he objected; "I have——"
"Yes, I know," she interrupted impatiently; "you have gold, land, and jewels—in fact, everything that money can purchase. But you cannot buy affection. If we loved each other, I would marry you, even though you were the poorest beggar in the land. Although I am honoured by your proposal, it cannot be. Besides, I should not be a fit wife for one so great."
"I do not care for you, my lord."
So Caleb went back to his lonely castle and she to her cottage in the wood, but he did not despair. He could not believe that he was to take her refusal seriously, so the next day he sent her many valuable presents, but when she returned them all he knew she was in earnest.
That evening, as he sat by his solitary fireside brooding over his disappointment, he recalled the girl's words, and then he realised that he was pining for something that money was powerless to give him. He looked at the presents she had rejected, and, at last, he understood the limit of wealth.
In his loneliness and sorrow his thoughts recurred to his aged mother. He felt he had neglected her, and determined to pay her an unexpected visit. So early the next morning he called for his horse and rode quickly away.
Sitting by his mother's bedside.
But when he reached the little cottage he thought it was deserted. The garden was overgrown, the gate flapped uneasily on its broken hinges, and the hens scratched among the flowers. He drove them out, and then he opened the door and peeped inside. His mother lay upon her bed; her face was very thin, and her breath came in quick, short gasps, and she seemed very ill.
"Mother, what has happened?" Caleb asked, as he sat by her bedside and gently stroked her hand. "Did you never receive the money I sent to you and Volta?" he added, as he looked in vain for the pretty little orphan.
"The gold your servant brought us stands untouched on the mantelpiece," explained the old woman proudly. "It was useless to me. I only needed news of you, my dear boy. I sent Volta to watch over you, for I hoped she would be able to influence you, but now that you have returned I am sure she will hasten back. Did you not see her?"
Then Caleb realised who the beautiful maiden had been. It was his little playfellow, but his wealth had made him forget his past life so completely that he had not recognised her. He understood everything now. His gold could not buy health for his mother, nor could he use it to win Volta's love. He longed to begin his old life over again, so he rose to his feet and walked to the door.
"Mother, dear," he said, "I am tired of my wealth. I am going to the stream to throw back my purse. It has been a curse to me."
When he drew near the water, he pulled the shabby little case out of his pocket and opened it curiously. All had happened as the frog prophesied. The purse was empty now, for he had learnt his lesson thoroughly. As he threw it into the stream he saw a little frog dive hurriedly down after it, and, while he watched, all his fine clothes slipped away from him and he was once more clad in his peasant's rags.
He wanted to see his beautiful maiden again, and, as he opened the cottage door, he was delighted to find her sitting by his mother's bedside.
"Volta," he said as he approached her, "I am poor now. Will you be my wife, although I have neither a fine castle nor jewels to offer you?"
She smiled sweetly at him as she replied shyly, "Your wealth was nothing to me, Caleb. When I refused to marry you, it was because I felt you did not care for me. I was afraid, too, of your grandeur. I know I should not have been a suitable bride for you, but now all is changed."
Very soon they were married, and the young couple settled down to live in the cottage with Caleb's mother. The old woman was completely contented with the love her son and daughter-in-law bestowed upon her. And later on, in the winter evenings, everybody would gather round the fire, and Caleb would take his children upon his knees as he related the strange things he used to do while he was the possessor of the wonderful purse.
Illustrated from Photographs.]
