SAPPHIRA AND THE FLYING PIG
Sapphira's mamma and papa owned a flying pig. Of course people who have not had a flying pig in the family do not know how uninteresting they are. Sapphira knew, and the Flying Pig was a great trial to her. In the first place, he was locked up in a large wire cage so that he couldn't possibly fly, then he was watched all the time by two little page boys, so that nothing could ever disturb or annoy him, and he was never taken out except when the family were giving a party, and he was called on to entertain the guests. Sapphira often longed to play with him, he seemed as if he would be quite a decent playfellow, but he was asleep most of the time, so that she had grown accustomed to expect nothing much of him. Of course she went every day, on her way down to the beach, and said "Good morning, Flying Pig," respectfully, because after all you had to be respectful to a pig that could fly if it wanted to, and he always responded, "Good morning, Sapphira," but he never budged, and he never said more than that, so Sapphira would leave him, and go on with her pail and shovel to dig in the sand.
At the beach Sapphira had some real friends, and they were the Walruses. To be sure they couldn't be frightfully intimate because they were unable to come in shore for fear of running aground in the shallow water, so they stayed just outside the breakers and bobbed up and down over the waves, their great tusks gleaming in the sunlight, and as their voices were very loud they could talk to Sapphira easily as she sat on the beach. They were always very anxious for her to come out and see them, and they had promised her the loveliest time if she could only spend the day, but there was always the difficulty of her getting out through the breakers to them, as she couldn't swim, so they had been obliged to give it up.
One morning, just as Sapphira had finished a most beautiful fort with a trench all around it into which the water would flow when the tide came in, the oldest Walrus shouted to her,
"Sapphira, hasn't your father a Flying Pig?"
"Yes," said Sapphira.
"Well, why couldn't he bring you out to us?"
"He's locked up," said Sapphira, "the door of the cage has a padlock, of which father carries the key, and he's watched all the time by two boys. He couldn't ever get out.
"Poor thing," said the Walrus, "it must be awful to be locked up."
"He doesn't care," said Sapphira, "he's a terribly stupid thing, he sleeps all the time."
Just then a large, brightly colored bird was seen flying towards them. He had a beautiful topknot of green and yellow feathers that shone in the sun, and made him look very grand. He alighted on the sand alongside of Sapphira, and began to smooth out his feathers as if he were very proud of them.
"The Squawking Cockatoo," said the Walrus.
Then they all shouted together, "Good morning, Cockatoo."
The Cockatoo nodded his head very gravely in return, and said,
"What are you all talking about?"
"About Sapphira's coming to pay us a visit and spend the day," said the Walrus, "she can't get out to us, and we can't get in to her, and we were just discussing asking the Flying Pig what he could do to help us, but she says he is locked up."
"You can't get the key?" said the Cockatoo to Sapphira. Sapphira shook head.
"And he can't get out unless you do?"
"No," said Sapphira.
"What are the bars of the cage made of?" asked the Cockatoo, thoughtfully.
"Something shiny that looks like gold, but I don't think it is real gold," answered Sapphira.
"You couldn't possibly bite them through with your beak," said the Walrus, "of course they would be too hard for that."
The Cockatoo gave a little strut of pride. "They would have to be much harder than anything I've seen yet," he said.
Sapphira had become very interested now, and she left the fort, and came over to the side of the Cockatoo.
"Oh, Mr. Cockatoo," she said, "if you could only invent a way to get the Flying Pig out of his cage so that I could go and spend the day with the Walruses it would be so splendid. Do you think you could?"
The Cockatoo gave a queer, squeaky sound,—Sapphira was not sure whether it was meant to be a laugh or not, it certainly did not sound much like one,—and said,
"You be at the cage at nine to-morrow morning, and we'll see," then spreading his large parti-colored wings he flew away.
Sapphira was so excited that she entirely forgot to notice that the water had gone into the trench around the fort, or that the sand she was standing on was very wet, and that she herself would be very wet the next wave that came up. The excitement of spending the day with the Walruses was too much for her, and they were excited too, and bobbed up and down on the waves more wildly than ever. They all shouted to her at once of the pleasures in store for her, but a large wave that curled lovingly around Sapphira's feet, quite wetting her shoes and stockings, brought her to herself reminded her rather unpleasantly that she would probably be scolded when she got home.
She started at once, however, thinking it was better to have it over, and the joy of to-morrow could not be spoiled by a scolding about wet feet. As she went by the Flying Pig's cage, she stopped a minute and asked him if he would like to get out. He looked at her with one eye, the other being closed, and said sleepily,
"I never have been out. Silly girl! you know the cage is locked."
"But would you like to?" persisted Sapphira.
The Pig moved restlessly in the straw. "Don't talk about it, please," he said, "it makes me feel wakeful."
Sapphira laughed and ran off to the house, thinking gleefully how pleased he would be to-morrow.
To-morrow was a beautiful day, and Sapphira was up early, and by nine o'clock was out by the cage, and here a new difficulty appeared for the first time. How was she to distract the attention of the two page boys, while the Squawking Cockatoo bit through the bars? While she was thinking, she suddenly remembered a beautiful pale blue and pink ball that had been given her by her Fairy Godmother on her last birthday. She couldn't tell why she had thought of it, but it seemed almost as though someone had said to her, "Go and get your fairy ball." She brought it out, and invited the boys to a game. The ball, being a fairy one, and knowing perfectly well what was expected of it, led the boys farther and farther away from the cage until they were quite out of sight, and Sapphira, running to the bars, called
"Flying Pig! Flying Pig! wake up. The Squawking Cockatoo is coming, he's going to bite through the bars of your cage, and you are to take me on your back to the Walruses, so that I may spend the day with them. Do you hear, Flying Pig?"
Of course he heard, and he was quite as excited as Sapphira. "And after I've taken you to the Walruses," he said, "may I fly around myself?"
"Yes indeed, you may," said Sapphira, "only you must bring me back by five, so that I won't be missed."
"But I shall be missed," said the Flying Pig, very sadly, "No use, Sapphira. When they come out to give me my dinner, they'll find the cage empty, and the magic weathervane would show where I was. I tell you it's no use," and he sank down, and large tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Why couldn't one of the common pigs come in, in your place? I'm sure they would love to spend the day in your cage, and they would never say a word."
The Flying Pig brightened considerably. "That would do," he said. "Could you get one of them up here?"
"Oh, yes," said Sapphira, "I'm sure the fattest one would follow me, he knows me quite well, and oh, here is the Squawking Cockatoo."
"SAPPHIRA SEATED ON THE BACK OF THE FLYING PIG"
Sure enough, the beautiful bird swooped down like a glittering rainbow on the top of the gilded cage.
"Is everything all ready?" he asked.
Sapphira explained about her having to get the common pig, and the Cockatoo agreed, only saying she must do it at once, as there was not a minute to be lost.
The Fattest Pig was very glad to see Sapphira, and perfectly willing to do as he was told, in fact spending the day in the Flying Pig's cage was the one ambition of his lazy soul. When they got back to the cage, they found the Cockatoo had been as good as his word, and four bars had been bitten through. In less time than it takes to tell, the Flying Pig was out, and the Fattest Pig was in, the bars were replaced, and Sapphira, seated on the back of the Flying Pig, and accompanied by the Squawking Cockatoo, was on her way to the ocean.
They found the Walruses all drawn up in line, just outside the breakers. They had with them a dear little boat, for they pointed out to Sapphira she couldn't sit on their backs without getting very wet, as they swam so low in the water. It was decided that the Flying Pig should be back in that same spot at half-past four, and having planted Sapphira safely in the bottom of the little boat, he flew away with squeals of joy.
The Walruses started immediately, drawing the little boat after them, and they seemed to swim quite a long, long way, till they came to an island that was just covered with walruses of all sizes and shapes. They were perfectly delighted to see Sapphira, and hastened to the water's edge, with shouts of welcome. The wife of the biggest Walrus, who was Sapphira's greatest friend, took charge of the entertainment, and it was she who directed the landing of the boat, and made the little speech of welcome to Sapphira.
Then followed a day of such wild gayety that Sapphira thinks she will never forget it, if she lives to be a hundred. The Walruses showed her caves of the most beautiful colors where the mermaids lived. They taught her how to dive off of the rocks, so that she could go straight to the bottom and bring up some of the lovely flowers that grew down there, and Sapphira wondered why she had never been able to do it before, for she had always bathed, but somehow this seemed quite different. Then some of the little Walruses were so funny, the way they tumbled off the rocks, and crawled up again.
In the middle of the day they had dinner, served out on the rocks, and everything was delicious, though Sapphira couldn't tell what one of the dishes was. After dinner the biggest Walrus suggested that they should go and visit the Old Man of the Sea, so Sapphira got into the boat, and the Walruses pulling it, they went quite a long way till they came to a funny little pointed rock that rose right out of the sea, and had a little gold bell hanging on its top. This bell one of the Walruses rang, and then they all waited. Pretty soon there was a sort of a bubbling on the surface of the water near the rock, and a most beautiful mermaid appeared.
When she saw Sapphira she seemed quite pleased, and asked if she were coming down to see the Old Man of the Sea. Sapphira said "yes" and the mermaid took hold of the edge of the boat and said, "shut your eyes," which Sapphira did. She felt the queerest rushing sensation, and the water surged all around her ears, and for a minute she was awfully frightened, but the next minute she heard the voice of the mermaid saying, "open your eyes, Sapphira," and she was standing in a gorgeous hall, all mother of pearl in the most lovely colors. They went through this into a large room, and seated on a pink coral throne was the Old Man of the Sea. He was very old, with long gray hair and curling beard, but he had kind eyes, and he was very glad to see Sapphira. He gave her a lovely string of pearls to remember him by, and just as they had begun to be very friendly, and Sapphira was telling him about the Flying Pig and the Squawking Cockatoo, the mermaid came hurrying in.
"The Walruses say you must go, Sapphira," she said. "It is after half-past four, and the Flying Pig has been missed."
Sapphira said "good-bye" hurriedly, took her seat in the boat, and was rushed up again to the surface of the ocean. There were the Walruses in great excitement. The Squawking Cockatoo had come to tell them that the Flying Pig had been missed, and that there was the greatest hullabaloo.
"It appears that the Fattest Pig was fool enough to grunt several times with pleasure over his dinner," said the Cockatoo, severely. "Of course everyone knows that the Flying Pig does not grunt and the page boys gave the alarm at once."
Sapphira was hustled ashore on the back of the Flying Pig, accompanied by the Cockatoo, who wanted to see the end of the fight.
When they reached the cage they found the entire family gathered around, all talking at once, and Sapphira's mother was wringing her hands, in despair, for the little girl had also been missed. The Flying Pig, with Sapphira on his back, floated down quietly and remained stationary a little above the top of the cage. One of the page boys looked up and saw him.
"There he is! There he is!" he cried.
"Oh, Flying Pig," said Sapphira's father, "where have you been? and Sapphira, too!"
"We've been out," said the Flying Pig, quietly, "and what is more, I'm not coming back unless you promise me that the doors of the cage shall be left unlocked between the hours of two and five every day, so that I may go out. I'm tired to death of being locked up, and I won't have it."
"It shall be as you wish, Flying Pig, only come back," said Sapphira's father.
"The door of the cage shall be left open?" asked the Pig, still a little suspicious.
"Absolutely open," was the answer.
"And Sapphira may go with me whenever I want to take her?" asked the Pig, coming a little nearer.
"Whenever you want to take her."
"Very well," said the Pig, alighting on the ground, "then we'll come back."
Everyone was so glad to see them that they quite forgot to scold, and from that time the Flying Pig goes out every day, and he almost always takes Sapphira with him, and usually the Squawking Cockatoo goes too.