THE WOOING OF ROBIN RED-BREAST.
Long centuries ago before the world was inhabited by very many people, Robin Red-breast lived as a handsome young man by himself in a magnificent mansion on the Klamath River. This skeptical young man always laughed mockingly at the suggestion of matrimony, as he was very rich and kept many servants about. In fact he kept a servant for each room of his splendid mansion.
He would often go by himself on moonlight strolls by the river or walk in the sunrise in early morning through the woods. The young maidens would catch a glimpse of him as he passed their windows, or as they peeked from out the bushes at him, admiring all the charms of his physical manhood. But proud young Red-breast would walk haughtily by them whenever he chanced to meet them and positively refused to accept any of their attentions that they were so eager to bestow upon him. Every maiden that chanced to catch a glimpse of him imagined herself in love with him, and her lonely heart would invariably yearn for his love that he might make her happy.
The laws of olden times were very different from the laws of today. It was the rule then that when a young maid fell in love with a youth, it was her place to go and call on him first at his home, also to propose matrimony, unless the young man preferred to do so himself, then it was proper that he should. This was true in the case of Red-breast, as in the days of yore, when a young man returned a woman’s affections he would accept her love and make her his wife. And if he did not return her affections he would refuse to consider her proposal of marriage.
Many young ladies called each day at Red-breast’s home, seeking the loving devotion that he might bestow upon them. He always kept a door usher to announce the arrival of any young lady that would call to seek his acquaintance, and desire to unite her fortune with his. The later was usually her purpose in view wishing a private interview. Red-breast gave strict orders to the usher not to admit any young lady that might call inside the door of his mansion, and besides he could never show her into his presence without consulting him first. When the usher would announce to Red-breast that a young lady was at the door wishing to interview him, Red-breast would always ask the kind and color of her dress, if the usher replied that she wore a suit of teach-ah-me-tah, he was told to send her away as he did not wish to see her.
One by one the girls came to the mansion in hopes of securing an interview, but to their great disappointment they were all turned away from the door. One can imagine how many poor broken hearts followed each other as they had been dismissed from the door of love to go forth into the lonely world to weep. Some of these girls were foolish enough to shut themselves in dark cells, that they might never be seen by the man who ruined their hopes of a happy wedded life. Other compassionate souls threw themselves into the sea, that their early sorrows and disappointments might be ended forever. Poor deluded girls, if they had only known how little Red-breast cared for their miseries and how he mocked them in his mansion they would never even have considered him as worthy of notice. However, many of the girls were not so foolish as to destroy all their future happiness but forgot the mocking Red-breast and sought other lovers whom they married and were very happy.
It had now come to pass that all the girls in the world had called at the mansion of Red-breast for the purpose of wooing him for a husband, except one. All these girls had agreed among themselves that each take their turn in calling upon Red-breast until he selected one of them for his wife. Now all the girls in the world had called with exception of one, and all the other girls were restless and wondering what her fate would be. She was a sweet young thing with cheeks as red as cherries, eyes that sparkled like dew-drops and hair that hung in ringlets. It was an ideal Autumn morning when this maid called at Red-breast’s mansion, the madrone berries were ripe and hung in crimson clusters from the branches of the tree, filling the atmosphere with a dewy scent of sweetness. Heaven and earth seemed blending together and then fading away into the melancholy shadows of Autumn. Such was the appearance of the surrounding world when this shy sweet maiden came tripping lightly up the long wooded avenues to the door of Red-breast’s mansion with her heart all a flutter. The usher greeted her with a pleasant “good morning,” as her appearance was very stunning, and he bade her wait at the door until he returned with his message from his master. Upon announcing her arrival the haughty Red-breast said, “ah! I don’t care the snap of my fingers for the prettiest and sweetest maiden that ever walked the earth, it is not for her love and companionship that I care, but for what she might wear, her beautiful gown if it is made of the right material is all I want. I say again that they are all foolish young things to seek my love, for I have none to waste upon them, it is all concentrated upon myself and no one else.” Then he asked the usher the same question, as to what kind of a dress she wore. For the first time the usher replied that she did not wear a dress of the teach-ah-me-tah like all the other girls had worn, but she wore a gown of pretty red, bedewed with clustering ornaments of its same gorgeous hues. My! exclaimed Red-breast, you can show her in at once, and he jumped to his feet in delight, his eyes sparkling with false pride. Go tell her quick that she is the only girl that ever had the honor to be admitted into my presence. Now I will woo her with all my heart and flatter her very soul away for the purpose, but not for my wife you know. You know what I am, so mind you don’t put her wise. Poor little girl, poor little foolish girl, it is a shame to treat her so cruel but I cannot help it when she wears such a tempting gown of red, red at last, my favorite color, and that color I am going to have.
A minute later a sweet shy maid of scarce three seasons old was ushered into his halls and the magnificent apartments in which she stood before Red-breast. Her heart had ceased to beat for a few moments as he rose and greeted her in an elegant manner. He was far handsomer than she ever dreamed a man could be, and for the first time in her life she fancied that she was deeply in love. Breathlessly she recollected the stories of the other girls that had been before her, and now she could hardly blame them for their mad actions of self-destruction over such a striking personality. Red-breast received the maiden with a hearty welcome of flattery as he dismissed the usher from the apartment, that they might be alone to plan out the future. Gallantly he knelt at the fair maiden’s feet and poured out to her full measures of his love, in his elegant and commanding language he pictured in her mind how he had turned away so many other girls from his door who had come to seek him as their lover. How he had done because he could never love and knew that some day he would find his only true love which he believed to be her, as he had never felt the emotion of love until he first gazed into her bright eyes. His sweet voice sounded in her ears so soft and the touch of his fingers was as magical as Heaven itself. Her cheeks blushed redder than ever as she listened to his tender words of devotion. She shyly whispered, “yes” as he rose and pressed her against his breast, and they planned together for the marriage vows. They both agreed they would exchange the wedding vows on the following morning, then he held her by the hand and showed her into a nice room where he said she could spend the night in peaceful dreams, and then he took his leave, leaving her alone in her room, and he told her that this room would always be her own private room, where she could retreat and find solace in being alone. Once alone she sat still for a long time, dreaming of the blissful future she would enjoy with a husband that so many had tried to woo but could never win because he loved her only.
Night came with its shadows and she found herself very tired as her poor brain had been kept in a constant whirl since meeting Red-breast. Wearily she took off her beautiful gown and laid it carefully on a chair beside her bed and then hid her face under the silken covers. Soon in slumberland she did not waken until morning and the sun was already high in the sky. The gown she wore was the beautiful spangles of the madrone berries that blushed in their tint of the deepest vermillion red. While the maiden was sleeping Red-breast stole softly into the room and devoured the beautiful gown and all that night he feasted upon the berries and ornaments of the gown. As he gulped down the last berry he crept softly to the side of the sleeping beauty and gazed a farewell look upon her innocent face. He then changed his mansion into a dreary isle of Autumn dampness and flew away as a bird. Henceforth Red-breast never again appeared on earth as a man, but has ever since been on earth as a bird.
Sad was the maiden that woke up that morning to find only a terrible disappointment awaiting her. She found in her heart no solace, but grief, bitter grief that had no compassion upon her bitter soul. Looking about her in her loneliness she saw that Red-breast had deceived her, and that he had selfishly eaten her pretty gown, all that she could find of it was the ugly strips that had held the ornaments in their place, and lo, this maiden so young and fair, and once so beautiful, fled down the damp aisles weeping for the chill of winter was upon her and had left her desolate, without her clothing.
The moral of this story is that young women should have a care in pursuing handsome young men, lest they be deceived and left in desolation.