American Fairy Tales.pdf

American Fairy Tales

By L. FRANK BAUM

Author of

FATHER GOOSE; HIS BOOK, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, ETC.

CONTENTS

THE BOX OF ROBBERS

THE GLASS DOG

THE QUEEN OF QUOK

THE GIRL WHO OWNED A BEAR

THE ENCHANTED TYPES

THE LAUGHING HIPPOPOTAMUS

THE MAGIC BON BONS

THE CAPTURE OF FATHER TIME

THE WONDERFUL PUMP

THE DUMMY THAT LIVED

THE KING OF THE POLAR BEARS

THE MANDARIN AND THE BUTTERFLY

THE BOX OF ROBBERS

No one intended to leave Martha alone that afternoon, but it happened that everyone was

called away, for one reason or another. Mrs. McFarland was attending the weekly card

party held by the Women's Anti-Gambling League. Sister Nell's young man had called

quite unexpectedly to take her for a long drive. Papa was at the office, as usual. It was

Mary Ann's day out. As for Emeline, she certainly should have stayed in the house and

looked after the little girl; but Emeline had a restless nature.

"Would you mind, miss, if I just crossed the alley to speak a word to Mrs. Carleton's

girl?" she asked Martha.

"'Course not," replied the child. "You'd better lock the back door, though, and take the

key, for I shall be upstairs."

"Oh, I'll do that, of course, miss," said the delighted maid, and ran away to spend the

afternoon with her friend, leaving Martha quite alone in the big house, and locked in, into

the bargain.

The little girl read a few pages in her new book, sewed a few stitches in her embroidery

and started to "play visiting" with her four favorite dolls. Then she remembered that in

the attic was a doll's playhouse that hadn't been used for months, so she decided she

would dust it and put it in order.

Filled with this idea, the girl climbed the winding stairs to the big room under the roof. It

was well lighted by three dormer windows and was warm and pleasant. Around the walls

were rows of boxes and trunks, piles of old carpeting, pieces of damaged furniture,

bundles of discarded clothing and other odds and ends of more or less value. Every well-

regulated house has an attic of this sort, so I need not describe it.

The doll's house had been moved, but after a search Martha found it away over in a

corner near the big chimney.

She drew it out and noticed that behind it was a black wooden chest which Uncle Walter

had sent over from Italy years and years ago—before Martha was born, in fact. Mamma

had told her about it one day; how there was no key to it, because Uncle Walter wished it

to remain unopened until he returned home; and how this wandering uncle, who was a

mighty hunter, had gone into Africa to hunt elephants and had never been heard from

afterwards.

The little girl looked at the chest curiously, now that it had by accident attracted her

attention.

It was quite big—bigger even than mamma's traveling trunk—and was studded all over

with tarnished brassheaded nails. It was heavy, too, for when Martha tried to lift one end

of it she found she could not stir it a bit. But there was a place in the side of the cover for

a key. She stooped to examine the lock, and saw that it would take a rather big key to

open it.

Then, as you may suspect, the little girl longed to open Uncle Walter's big box and see

what was in it. For we are all curious, and little girls are just as curious as the rest of us.

"I don't b'lieve Uncle Walter'll ever come back," she thought. "Papa said once that some

elephant must have killed him. If I only had a key—" She stopped and clapped her little

hands together gayly as she remembered a big basket of keys on the shelf in the linen

closet. They were of all sorts and sizes; perhaps one of them would unlock the mysterious

chest!

She flew down the stairs, found the basket and returned with it to the attic. Then she sat

down before the brass-studded box and began trying one key after another in the curious

old lock. Some were too large, but most were too small. One would go into the lock but

would not turn; another stuck so fast that she feared for a time that she would never get it

out again. But at last, when the basket was almost empty, an oddly-shaped, ancient brass

key slipped easily into the lock. With a cry of joy Martha turned the key with both hands;

then she heard a sharp "click," and the next moment the heavy lid flew up of its own

accord!

The little girl leaned over the edge of the chest an instant, and the sight that met her eyes

caused her to start back in amazement.

Slowly and carefully a man unpacked himself from the chest, stepped out upon the floor,

stretched his limbs and then took off his hat and bowed politely to the astonished child.

He was tall and thin and his face seemed badly tanned or sunburnt.

Then another man emerged from the chest, yawning and rubbing his eyes like a sleepy

schoolboy. He was of middle size and his skin seemed as badly tanned as that of the first.

While Martha stared open-mouthed at the remarkable sight a third man crawled from the

chest. He had the same complexion as his fellows, but was short and fat.

All three were dressed in a curious manner. They wore short jackets of red velvet braided

with gold, and knee breeches of sky-blue satin with silver buttons. Over their stockings

were laced wide ribbons of red and yellow and blue, while their hats had broad brims

with high, peaked crowns, from which fluttered yards of bright-colored ribbons.

They had big gold rings in their ears and rows of knives and pistols in their belts. Their

eyes were black and glittering and they wore long, fierce mustaches, curling at the ends

like a pig's tail.

"My! but you were heavy," exclaimed the fat one, when he had pulled down his velvet

jacket and brushed the dust from his sky-blue breeches. "And you squeezed me all out of

shape."

"It was unavoidable, Luigi," responded the thin man, lightly; "the lid of the chest pressed

me down upon you. Yet I tender you my regrets."

"As for me," said the middle-sized man, carelessly rolling a cigarette and lighting it, "you

must acknowledge I have been your nearest friend for years; so do not be disagreeable."

"You mustn't smoke in the attic," said Martha, recovering herself at sight of the cigarette.

"You might set the house on fire."

The middle-sized man, who had not noticed her before, at this speech turned to the girl

and bowed.

"Since a lady requests it," said he, "I shall abandon my cigarette," and he threw it on the

floor and extinguished it with his foot.

"Who are you?" asked Martha, who until now had been too astonished to be frightened.

"Permit us to introduce ourselves," said the thin man, flourishing his hat gracefully. "This

is Lugui," the fat man nodded; "and this is Beni," the middle-sized man bowed; "and I am

Victor. We are three bandits—Italian bandits."

"Bandits!" cried Martha, with a look of horror.

"Exactly. Perhaps in all the world there are not three other bandits so terrible and fierce as

ourselves," said Victor, proudly.

"'Tis so," said the fat man, nodding gravely.

"But it's wicked!" exclaimed Martha.

"Yes, indeed," replied Victor. "We are extremely and tremendously wicked. Perhaps in

all the world you could not find three men more wicked than those who now stand before

you."

"'Tis so," said the fat man, approvingly.

"But you shouldn't be so wicked," said the girl; "it's—it's—naughty!"

Victor cast down his eyes and blushed.

"Naughty!" gasped Beni, with a horrified look.

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