Read Ebook: Carry's Rose; or the Magic of Kindness. A Tale for the Young by Cupples George Mrs

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Ebook has 184 lines and 14100 words, and 4 pages

Caroline having sat a long time, began to think that Herbert really did not mean to come for her; and fearing her mamma would be alarmed if she did not return with Herbert in time for dinner, she turned back along the path they had come, walking as fast as she could. After passing through two fields, and managing to open and shut the gates with some difficulty, she was alarmed by hearing a loud roar, which she guessed must come from Farmer Brown's bull. She nearly fell down with terror, for the bull had a very bad character for goring people, and had only the week before hurt a little boy very seriously. Collecting all her courage, she crept round by the side of the hedge. Fortunately the bull had his head turned in the opposite direction, so that she managed to pass him and get out of the field without being seen by him. At the stepping-stones she stopped, afraid to venture over; but a man came up, who kindly offered to take her across.

Going round by a field-path that led to her home past Farmer Brown's farm, she saw a little girl sitting under a tree, whom she at once guessed must be little Martha, the farmer's only child. She was gazing up at a flight of pigeons that went fluttering over the houses before they lighted down upon the roof of the barn. Caroline had often seen Martha at church, and once or twice nurse had taken her to the farm, when she had gone to see Mrs. Brown; so she stopped to ask the little girl what she was looking at so earnestly.

"I'm looking at the pigeons, miss," said little Martha, rising to drop a courtesy to the young lady from the Hall.

"They seem to be all pure white," said Caroline, sitting down on the roots of the tree, and bidding Martha take her seat again. "They are very pretty."

"Yes, miss, they are pretty," said Martha, looking with pride at her favourites; "but they are not all white; there be two of them blue, and I'm so sorry for it."

"Why, what makes you sorry for the blue ones?" said Caroline, smiling. "Don't you like blue ones?"

"Oh yes, I like them very much," said Martha, "but father doesn't; and he's going to shoot them to-night."

"Oh, how cruel of him," said Caroline; "you must ask him not to do it, Martha. They cannot help being blue, you know."

Martha looked a little distressed at the idea of her kind father being considered cruel by the young lady, but she didn't know very well how to answer her. "Father doesn't mean to be cruel, miss," said Martha; "but he likes all the pigeons to be white; and if a blue one comes he shoots it. I will ask father not to shoot them, and perhaps he won't."

"Oh yes, please do ask him," replied Caroline; "and tell him if he only could catch them, and send them down to me, I would give him my new shilling papa gave me on my birth-day. Tell him to be sure and not to shoot them."

Martha went off at once to look for her father, but as he had gone away to a distant part of the farm, Caroline had to be content to await his return, and leaving the matter in Martha's hands for the present, proceeded on her way homewards.

When she arrived at home, she was very glad to find that her mamma had not returned from town; so that, unless Caroline told her, she could not know of Herbert's bad behaviour; and Caroline was determined to keep it secret.

If Mrs. Ashcroft saw that the children were not such good friends as they had been that morning, she took no notice of it, and during dinner spoke more to their papa than to them. But towards the end she turned to Caroline and said, "Who do you think is coming to pay you a visit of a few days? Well, I shall tell you, as I see you cannot guess. Your two cousins, Lizzie and Charles."

Caroline was very much pleased to hear this, for she loved her cousins very much; but her brother did not, for Charles was a well-behaved boy, one or two years younger than Herbert, and would never join in any of his tricks against the girls. When they arrived next morning, they went off at once to see Caroline's pet hen and chickens; and though Herbert went with them, he stood aside with his hoop dangling on his arm, and with a look of contempt on his face at his cousin Charlie's delight at the sight of the chickens. Living in a town as Charles and Lizzie did, everything belonging to the country was new and delightful; and it was not till all the poultry-sheds, and rabbit-hutches, and the very stables and cow-houses had been visited, that Charles would consent to join Herbert in a game on the lawn.

"I never saw any one like you, Charles," said Herbert, with a sneer; "one would think you never had seen a hen or a cow before. If you were at our school they would call you 'lady;' for you clap your hands just as a girl does over these things. I like horses and dogs, but who cares for a hen and chicks?"

"Well, now," said Charles, "can there be a prettier sight than a hen with her chickens peeping out under her wings?"

Herbert made no reply, and the boys now set about having a game at cricket, the girls good-naturedly agreeing to join in it, though they ran some risk of being hurt; for Herbert often tried to strike the ball in their direction, that he might enjoy the fun of seeing them run out of its way lest it should hurt them. However, nothing of the kind happened; but both Lizzie and Caroline were very glad when their brothers proposed to put away the bat and wickets, and have a game at hide-and-seek down at the great stack-yard. All that day and the next Herbert made himself very agreeable, and a very happy time the four children had. On the third day they paid a visit to old Mary Watkins, who lived in a little cottage on the borders of Mr. Ashcroft's property, and was a great favourite both with the children and their parents. Old Mary had not been very well, and Caroline and Lizzie were to take her some strong soup and some jelly, and they were all to be allowed to stay and drink tea with her, if she was able to have them. This was always considered a great treat, and no one enjoyed it more than Herbert; for old Mary had such lots of stories to tell, especially about her two sons, who were both sailors, but who had not been heard of for some years. When they reached Mary's cottage, they found the old woman quite pleased to see them; and as she was not able to set her best cups out on the tray with the large ship in full sail painted on it, the girls were allowed to do it for her. The boys were very active also in getting water from the spring to fill the kettle, which they lifted up on to the large hook that hung so strangely down the chimney over the fire.

Mrs. Ashcroft had taken care to send a good supply of provisions in another basket, in case Mary should not be prepared for such a large party; and they made a most hearty tea after their long walk. When the cups had been washed and put away, and the tray admired once more before it was placed up against the wall, there was still time to hear a good many of Mary's best stories before the hour fixed for their return home.

The next day the children were obliged to keep within doors, as it was very wet; and, as usual, Herbert came in to breakfast looking as gloomy as the weather, while his cousin Charles evidently intended to make the best of matters, and was quite cheerful.

"Come, girls," he cried, when they had gone up to the empty schoolroom, "let us have a game at playing at school. Don't you remember how we enjoyed it last time?"

Herbert flung himself down on the floor in a pet at the idea of being asked to play such a childish game; but though he tried hard to enjoy his favourite book, and not to listen to their mirth, when Lizzie purposely made such absurd mistakes, he was compelled at last to join in the laughter, and then in the game itself. Afterwards they played a game at bagatelle, but it took all their patience to stand Herbert's whims and tricks. He did not interfere with Lizzie, for she was on his side, but when Caroline and Charles were going to play, he would stagger up against them and cause them to play badly; or, if he saw that the ball was likely to go into a large number, he would slyly lift up the board and make it roll away.

"You said the other day that they would call me 'lady' at your school," said Charles, "but I know what they would call you at ours."

"What's that, pray?" replied Herbert, coming up close to his cousin with a scowl on his face and his hand clenched behind his back.

Charles was not in the least afraid of Herbert's threatening appearance, but answered stoutly,--"They would call you 'cheat;' and of the two names I'd prefer 'lady.'"

Herbert was neither restrained by the fact that his cousin was a guest in the house nor by the difference in their age, a double reason for treating him with forbearance.

Before Caroline had time to prevent him, Herbert had struck Charles a severe blow on the head, which knocked him down; and as he lay for some minutes almost senseless, the girls thought he was going to die, and screamed out for help.

Fortunately, nurse was passing the schoolroom door at the time, and hearing the noise, came in. Charles's face and head having been bathed, he soon recovered; and as Herbert seemed to have got a terrible fright, and to be truly sorry for his conduct, Charles was quite willing to forgive him, and to shake hands in token of friendship. During the remainder of their visit Herbert was very attentive to his cousins; and if any game was proposed by them, whether he thought it babyish or not, he never raised the least objection, but joined quite heartily in it.

Yet he had not given up his bad habits altogether; for he still went on with his teasing ways to his sister Caroline, both before his cousins' face and behind their back, till she began to think that, after all, as nurse had said, she would be glad when his holidays came to an end.

A few mornings after this, the children set out to fish in the river, and while walking round by the common they came upon a donkey standing all alone, without a bridle or even a rope on it. It was close to a large juicy thistle, but it did not seem to be eating it, and every minute or two it shook and trembled.

Lizzie was the first to notice it, and going closer, exclaimed, "I am afraid the poor beast must be ill."

"Tuts, what nonsense!" said Herbert; "donkeys are never ill. Don't you know they live for ever, Cousin Lizzie?"

"Well, I don't know about that," said Charles, going close up to the donkey and looking into its face; "all I can say is, if this poor beast isn't ill it looks very like it."

"It's nothing but a stubborn fit," said Herbert; and before any one could stop him he gave the donkey a lash with a switch he held in his hand, calling out at the same time, "Gee up, Teddy! come, get out of your sulks, sir!"

The donkey's flesh seemed to shiver, and he breathed harder, but his heavy eye never brightened.

"I tell you what it is, Herbert, I'll not see that poor animal ill-used in that manner," said Charles; "he's not sulky, he's ill!"

Herbert felt inclined to quarrel with Charles for his reproof, but Charles had spied a little boy sitting on a gate herding a cow, and he ran over to him to make inquiries who the donkey belonged to.

"Well, sir, the poor beast belongs to some travelling gipsies who are living t'other side of the common, and they left it here this morning because it couldn't go no further, and there it has stood before that 'ere thistle ever since."

Caroline now came up, and hearing that the donkey was ill beyond a doubt, she proposed they should go home and ask their mamma to send the stable lad with a hot drink to the poor animal. "I know when our pony was ill one day he got a hot drink and some medicine, and he very soon was all right again."

"I'm not going back, for one," said Herbert; "the idea of making such a fuss about a donkey; it's quite ridiculous!"

"Nobody is forcing you, my dear cousin," replied Charles cheerily; "you may go on to the river by yourself; but I for one couldn't enjoy myself, unless I had done something to help this poor animal in its distress."

"Well, I don't see why we all should stay because you choose to doctor an old donkey," said Herbert peevishly. "Come along, Lizzie and Carry; if you don't come at once we'll lose the best part of the day, and get no fish."

The girls, however, were quite as anxious about the welfare of the poor donkey, and declared their intention to stay with Charlie. They even did more, for they volunteered to go back to the house to get what was necessary for the animal, while Charlie and the herd-boy watched by him, ready to render any assistance if he should turn worse.

Caroline was fortunate in finding Stephens the gardener, who was considered very skilful in doctoring sick animals; at anyrate, he had set the leg of one of her chickens when it was broken, and managed to bring Neptune through a severe illness, therefore it was to be supposed he could cure the donkey also.

"Well, miss, I'll come and see him," said Stephens; "but if he is as bad as you say, I fear it's little I can do." To their great delight, however, when Stephens had examined him, he gave it as his decided opinion that the animal was suffering from a severe cold and over-work. "If we had him put into a warm house for a night, and gave him something warm to eat, I think he would soon be all right," said Stephens. "I might manage to make him up a bed in the root-house, if your mamma would have no objections."

Caroline and Lizzie ran back to the house again, and after telling the story, Mrs. Ashcroft gave permission that all attention should be paid to the sick animal; and while Charles and the herd-boy went over to the gipsy encampment to tell where their donkey had disappeared to, Caroline and Lizzie helped Stephens to make the donkey comfortable. Even in the short time they were beside him the poor animal seemed to be much relieved; and though at first he could scarcely open his mouth to eat the warm, soft mash Stephens had prepared for him, before they left he was beginning to nibble at a tuft of hay that had been placed for his use.

"Oh, I do wish Herbert had stayed to help us," said Caroline; "I really cannot understand why he doesn't take an interest in dumb animals. I wonder why he is so different from Charles. Your brother is seldom cross with you, not even when you are cross with him."

"No," said Lizzie; "he is really a good kind boy; but I know somebody, not very far off, who is just as good and gentle as my brother Charles,--and that is yourself, you patient little puss."

"Oh, don't say that, Lizzie dear," said Caroline, with flushed cheeks. "I'm often hasty and ill-tempered, and make Herbert worse than he might be if I left him alone."

"Well," replied Lizzie, "all I can say is, if Herbert were my brother, I should be twice as hasty and five times as ill-tempered, for he is about the most provoking boy I know."

Charles returned in due time from the gipsy encampment, quite delighted with all he had seen of the people, and reported they had given up their donkey for lost; and, of course, they had been much gratified to hear it was likely to be restored to health and strength.

"I made them promise to leave the poor animal with us for a week," said Charlie; "and they say that they are quite willing, and mean to go on to the market-town, and return again for him."

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