The Pig Brother, and Other Fables and Stories

Its nightcap, white cap, nightcap on,
For every little wave has its nightcap on,
So very, very early in the morning.

Said the sturgeon to the eel, “Just imagine how I feel,
Thus roused without a syllable of warning.
People ought to let us know when a-sailing they would go,
So very, very early in the morning.”

Chorus

When every little wave has its nightcap on,
Its nightcap, white cap, nightcap on.
When every little wave has its nightcap on,
So very, very early in the morning.

Just then up jumped the sun, and the fishes every one
For their laziness at once fell a-mourning.
But I stayed to hear no more, for my boat had reached the shore,
So very, very early in the morning.

Chorus

And every little wave took its nightcap off,
Its nightcap, white cap, nightcap off.
And every little wave took its nightcap off,
And courtesied to the sun in the morning.

FOR YOU AND ME

“I have come to speak to you about your work,” said the Angel-who-attends-to-things. “It appears to be unsatisfactory.”

“Indeed!” said the man. “I hardly see how that can be. Perhaps you will explain.”

“I will!” said the Angel. “To begin with, the work is slovenly.”

“I was born heedless,” said the man. “It is a family failing which I have always regretted.”

“It is ill put together, too;” said the Angel. “The parts do not fit.”

“I never had any eye for proportion,” said the man; “I admit it is unfortunate.”

“The whole thing is a botch,” said the Angel. “You have put neither brains nor heart into it, and the result is ridiculous failure. What do you propose to do about it?”

“I credited you with more comprehension,” said the man. “My faults, such as they are, were born with me. I am sorry that you do not approve of me, but this is the way I was made; do you see?”

“I see!” said the Angel. He put out a strong white hand, and taking the man by the collar, tumbled him neck and crop into the ditch.

“What is the meaning of this?” cried the man, as he scrambled out breathless and dripping. “I never saw such behavior. Do you see what you have done? you have ruined my clothes, and nearly drowned me beside.”

“Oh yes!” said the Angel: “this is the way I was made.”

THE BURNING HOUSE

Some neighbours were walking together in the cool of the day, watching the fall of the twilight, and talking of this and that; and as they walked, they saw at a little distance a light, as it were a house on fire.

“From the direction, that must be our neighbour William’s house,” said one. “Ought we not to warn him of the danger?”

“I see only a little flame,” said another; “perchance it may go out of itself, and no harm done.”

“I should be loth to carry ill news,” said a third; “it is always a painful thing to do.”

“William is not a man who welcomes interference,” said a fourth. “I should not like to be the one to intrude upon his privacy; probably he knows about the fire, and is managing it in his own way.”

While they were talking, the house burned up.

THE NAUGHTY COMET

The door of the Comet House was open. In the great court-yard stood hundreds of comets, of all sizes and shapes. Some were puffing and blowing, and arranging their tails, all ready to start; others had just come in, and looked shabby and forlorn after their long journeyings, their tails drooping disconsolately; while others still were switched off on side-tracks, where the tinker and the tailor were attending to their wants, and setting them to rights. In the midst of all stood the Comet Master, with his hands behind him, holding a very long stick with a very sharp point. The comets knew just how the point of that stick felt, for they were prodded with it whenever they misbehaved themselves; accordingly, they all remained very quiet, while he gave his orders for the day.

In a distant corner of the court-yard lay an old comet, with his tail comfortably curled up around him. He was too old to go out, so he enjoyed himself at home in a quiet way. Beside him stood a very young comet, with a very short tail. He was quivering with excitement, and occasionally cast sharp impatient glances at the Comet Master.

“Will he never call me?” he exclaimed, but in an undertone, so that only his companion could hear. “He knows I am dying to go out, and for that very reason he pays no attention to me. I dare not leave my place, for you know what he is.”

“Ah!” said the old comet, slowly, “if you had been out as often as I have, you would not be in such a hurry. Hot, tiresome work, I call it. And what does it all amount to?”

“Ay, that’s the point!” exclaimed the young comet. “What does it all amount to? That is what I am determined to find out. I cannot understand your going on, travelling and travelling, and never finding out why you do it. I shall find out, you may be very sure, before I have finished my first journey.”

“Better not! better not!” answered the old comet. “You’ll only get into trouble. Nobody knows except the Comet Master and the Sun. The Master would cut you up into inch pieces if you asked him, and the Sun – ”

“Well, what about the Sun?” asked the young comet, eagerly.

“Short-tailed Comet No. 73!” rang suddenly, clear and sharp, through the court-yard.

The young comet started as if he had been shot, and in three bounds he stood before the Comet Master, who looked fixedly at him.

“You have never been out before,” said the Master.

“No, sir!” replied No. 73; and he knew better than to add another word.

“You will go out now,” said the Comet Master. “You will travel for thirteen weeks and three days, and will then return. You will avoid the neighborhood of the Sun, the Earth, and the planet Bungo. You will turn to the left on meeting other comets, and you are not allowed to speak to meteors. These are your orders. Go!”

At the word, the comet shot out of the gate and off into space, his short tail bobbing as he went.

Ah! here was something worth living for. No longer shut up in that tiresome court-yard, waiting for one’s tail to grow, but out in the free, open, boundless realm of space, with leave to shoot about here and there and everywhere – well, nearly everywhere – for thirteen whole weeks! Ah, what a glorious prospect! How swiftly he moved! How well his tail looked, even though it was still rather short! What a fine fellow he was, altogether!

For two or three weeks our comet was the happiest creature in all space; too happy to think of anything except the joy of frisking about. But by-and-by he began to wonder about things, and that is always dangerous for a comet.

“I wonder, now,” he said, “why I may not go near the planet Bungo. I have always heard that he was the most interesting of all the planets. And the Sun! how I should like to know a little more about the Sun! And, by the way, that reminds me that all this time I have never found out why I am travelling. It shows how I have been enjoying myself, that I have forgotten it so long; but now I must certainly make a point of finding out. Hello! there comes Long-Tail No. 45. I mean to ask him.”