Tales out of school

by Frank R. Stockton

Here the song ended, and the weeping girl begged the great magician to save her brother. This he said was not in his power. She must find a good fairy, and make it her friend. The small creature could get into the castle, see her brother, and, together, they could devise a way of escape. He might, perhaps, be able to help them then. He told her what roads to follow to reach the castle; and, assuring her that such a good girl would surely find a good fairy to assist her in her trouble, he dismissed her with his blessing.

That very day Christern and Sybil set out for the castle. They reached the place after three days’ journey. They told no one what their errand was in that part of the country; and there were so many homeless people in the land that their appearance excited no surprise. Christern soon found employment among the wood-cutters, and fitted up a deserted hut as a temporary dwelling.

But though they could, every day, look upon the walls of the castle in which Maghar was confined, they seemed no nearer to him than before. He was in the hands of the cruel infidels, and where were there any fairies? There were plenty in that part of the country, the wood-cutters said, which, at first, was encouraging. But, on inquiry, it turned out that not one of them had ever seen a fairy, or knew anybody who ever had seen one. Sybil was in despair as the days went by, and she blamed her friend, the magician, that he had given her no help, after all.

She often walked through the woods, near nightfall, to meet Christern. One evening, as the two were returning together to their hut, they saw a large wild boar approaching, followed by several young ones. As this creature is very savage when it has its young to defend, Christern and Sybil thought it wise to step aside among the trees, and leave the path to the boar and its interesting family. After these had passed they continued their way, but had not gone far when they saw a young boar lying in the path. Christern stooped over to examine it.

THE BOAR FAMILY.

“It got in with that litter,” said he, “and did not belong to it, so the old boar has gored it badly. But it is not dead. I’ll take it home, make a sty for it, and, if it lives, I’ll fatten it, and kill it when it is fit for eating.”

The wounded animal lifted an appealing glance to Sybil. Its eyes wore an almost human expression of suffering, and a most beseeching plea for help. The girl’s heart was touched.

“It is not badly hurt,” she said. “Its flesh is torn, but if I wash its wounds, and bind them up, and find a nice place in the woods, where I can make it comfortable, and feed it, it will get well. It is a free, wild creature, and must not be shut up in a close sty. Think of my dear brother shut up when he wants to be free!”

Christern thought Sybil’s plan a foolish one, but this last argument silenced him. He had not a word to say in reply. So the girl washed off the blood from the boar’s wounds with her fine cambric handkerchief, which she then tore into strips to bind them up. She found, in a secluded place, a soft cushion of moss on which she laid him, and partly covered him with leaves to keep him warm. She then brought from the hut some of her own scanty supper, and gave it to the little boar.