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Read Ebook: Old Court Life in Spain vol. 2/2 by Elliot Frances Minto Dickinson
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Ebook has 149 lines and 5394 words, and 3 pages
The Hare lived all by himself, but he was very comfortable. Nobody could bother him, and he would have been quite content only for the men and the dogs.
Every day he practised with his gun till he got to be very skilful.
"Just let them come along And they shall all soon see, That they're all in the wrong To plague and bother me.
Although I'm but a hare, I think I'm very smart, And can--let them beware-- Right well take my own part."
So he sang, as he sat one day polishing up his gun.
As he was busily at work, he heard a noise, and cocked his ear. Tramp, tramp, tramp, came along some one--a man. It was a poacher, who said to himself he was going to catch a fine fat Hare. The man cast an eye round, but the Hare hid, and watched.
Then the man stole nearer, and peeped round a tree.
"Aha!" said the Hare. "You want to catch me, and eat me, don't you? But I am going to catch you, and boil you for my supper."
The man only laughed, for it was preposterous the idea of a Hare catching a man, instead of a man catching a hare.
And the Hare just cocked his gun, put it to his shoulder, and fired. Then he did kill the poacher, and took him home, and stewed him with mushrooms for supper.
THE STRONG MAN AND THE INVALID
"WHERE'S the good of going on grumble, grumble, grumble, all the day long?" said the strong Man to the Invalid. "Why, you get petted and have extra nice things to eat, beautiful bunches of grapes, and boiled chickens, and I don't know what."
The Strong Man laughed, as if he didn't believe the Invalid.
"I have to work hard all day, and nobody seems to care a bit whether I'm tired or not," said he. "But if you only have a finger ache, everybody is running about trying to find something to do you good. And they come and read to you, and bring you flowers, and--and--"
"You just take my place for a day or two, and see how you'd like it," said the Invalid.
"Um--well, I shouldn't like to be ill, you know," said the Strong Man. "I shouldn't like to lie in bed, nor have the doctor coming to see me, because he'd give me nasty stuff to take."
"I'll be your doctor," said the Invalid. "But you must lie in bed. Come, take my place."
The Strong Man was ashamed to refuse.
"Well, now you are comfortable, I suppose," said the Invalid, tucking him in. "You must try to doze a little."
"But I'm not sleepy," said the Strong Man.
"You'll soon be tired, and go to sleep," said the Invalid. "I'm going away, but shall be back in an hour or two."
When he went away, the place seemed dreadfully dull. Not a sound was to be heard except the barking of a dog in a farm-yard near, and the cluck cluck of some hens.
"Dear, dear," said the Strong Man, "this is very tiresome."
Presently an old lady looked in.
"Poor dear, poor dear," said she, "I will read a nice book to you."
So she sat down and read out of a book. But the Strong Man didn't care about the book, and he thought the old lady stupid.
Then she went away, and by-and-by, a kind old gentleman came in with some chicken, and a glass of wine, and some beautiful white bread.
"Here," said he, "Take this, it will do you good."
But the Strong Man didn't feel hungry, and he was tired and cross by this time, so he wouldn't have any of it. Then some more people came in, and talked to him, and told him the Invalid had gone to see the reapers, and tried to be kind to him. Then at last everybody stole away on tiptoe, and left him alone.
Then the Invalid came back. But by that time the Strong Man had had quite enough of being shut up in a sick room, so he jumped up, and ran to the door.
"I see you are not much to be envied," said he to the Invalid. "I don't think I shall ever envy anybody again so long as I have health and strength."
THE KITE'S LITTLE GAME
THE Kite laughed and chuckled to himself until his paper fairly crackled.
"We shall have such a game," said he to his paper Tails.
"We mostly do," squeaked the Tails.
There were eighteen of them, and they were all very frisky.
The Kite first winked one eye, then the other, then winked both together.
I'm afraid he was rather a vulgar sort of a Kite, but he was very jolly. His eyes were inclined to be goggly, yellow round the outside, with red in the middle. He was not a particularly good-looking Kite--in fact, he was really ugly--but he was very funny, and loved a joke.
The string suddenly wakened up out of a nap, hearing talk going on, "Eh, what's that?" said he.
"Don't know," said the Tails.
The Kite laughed again, and shook his round ears, and showed all his teeth in one wide grin. "We'll have a game this afternoon," said he, once more.
"Oh," said the String. "We mostly do."
"Eh?" said the String.
The String was rather sleepy-headed, and didn't take in new ideas very quickly. He was so astonished now that he unrolled himself several yards, and wriggled about round the Kite, to look at him, as if he must be out of his mind.
"Eh?" said all the Tails, after a flutter of surprise. But they thought it was a joke, and that the Kite only meant to be funny. The Kite straightened himself, and looked very important. "When I say a thing, I mean it," said he, in a dignified manner.
"Well, but--" said one Tail, timidly.
At that minute up came Walter. He took hold of the Kite, and was winding up the String, when the Kite said--
Walter stared and laughed.
"You couldn't," said he. "You're only made of paper."
"Let us try," said the Kite.
"I mustn't go far, then," said Walter, "because my mother would wonder where I was."
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