“Johnny threw the blue ribbon over the woman’s shoulder and around her neck, and waved his lantern, and instantly the woman disappeared, and in her place stood a cow. Before the people could recover their surprise, the lady that Johnny had seen at the Whispering Poplar came into the room and bowed to the company.
“‘This is the most malicious cow in all my herd,’ said she, ‘and this brave boy has caught her. Here is a purse of gold for his reward. As for you, sir,’ turning to Johnny’s father, ‘you may thank your son for saving you from this witch.’ Then she bowed again, and went away, leading the cow, and neither of them was ever seen in that country again.
“But to this day, when people see a light bobbing up and down in the fields at night, they say, ‘Yonder’s Jack of the Lantern!’”
X.
A LUCKY CONJURER.
“Now, I think that was a pretty good story,” said Mr. Rabbit. “It had something about cows in it, and there was nothing about kings and princes. I wouldn’t give that”—Mr. Rabbit blew a whiff of smoke from his mouth—“or all your princes and kings. Of course that’s on account of my ignorance. I don’t know anything about them. I reckon they are just as good neighbors as anybody, when you come to know them right well.”
Buster John laughed at this, but Sweetest Susan only smiled.
“Oh, I am not joking,” remarked Mr. Rabbit solemnly. “There’s no reason why kings and queens and princes shouldn’t be just as neighborly as other people. If a king and queen were keeping house anywhere near me, and were to send over after a mess of salad, or to borrow a cup of sugar or a spoonful of lard, I’d be as ready to accommodate them as I would any other neighbors, and I reckon they’d do the same by me.”
“They’d be mighty foolish if they didn’t,” said Mrs. Meadows.
“I hear tell dat folks hafter be monstus umble-come-tumble when dey go foolin’ ’roun’ whar dey er kingin’ an’ a queenin’ at,” remarked Drusilla. “Ef dey sont me fer ter borry any sugar er lard fum de house whar dey does de kingin’ an’ queenin’, I boun’ you I’d stan’ at the back gate an’ holler ’fo’ I went in dar whar dey wuz a-havin’ der gwines on. Dey wouldn’t git me in dar ’fo’ I know’d how de lan’ lay.”