The Blue Bird for Children Page 11
CHAPTER VIII
THE FOREST
As soon as Tyltyl and Mytyl were in bed, Light kissed them and fadedaway at once, so as not to disturb their sleep with the rays thatalways streamed from her beautiful self.
It must have been about midnight, when Tyltyl, who was dreaming of thelittle Blue Children, felt a soft velvet paw pass to and fro over hisface. He was surprised and sat up in bed in a bit of a fright; but hewas soon reassured when he saw his friend Tylette's glowing eyesglittering in the dark.
"Hush!" said the Cat in his ear. "Hush! Don't wake anybody. If we canarrange to slip out without being seen, we shall catch the Blue Birdto-night. I have risked my life, O my dearest master, in preparing aplan which will certainly lead us to victory!"
"But," said the boy, kissing Tylette, "Light would be so glad to helpus ... and besides I should be ashamed to disobey her...."
"If you tell her," said the Cat, sharply, "all is lost, believe me. Doas I say; and the day is ours."
As she spoke these words, she hastened to dress him and also Mytyl,who had heard a noise and was asking to go with them.
"You don't understand," groaned Tyltyl. "You are too small: you don'tknow what a wicked thing we are doing...."
But the treacherous Cat answered all his arguments, saying that thereason why he had not found the Blue Bird so far was just the fault ofLight, who always brought brightness with her. Let the Children onlygo hunting by themselves, in the dark, and they would soon find allthe Blue Birds that make men's happiness. The traitress displayed suchcleverness that, before long, Tyltyl's disobedience became a very finething in his own eyes. Each of Tylette's words provided a good excusefor his action or adorned it with a generous thought. He was too weakto set his will against trickery, allowed himself to be persuaded andwalked out of the temple with a firm and cheerful step. Poor littlefellow: if he could only have foreseen the terrible trap that awaitedhim!
Our three companions set out across the fields in the white light ofthe moon. The Cat seemed greatly excited, did nothing but talk andwent so fast that the children were hardly able to keep up with her:
"This time," she declared, "we shall have the Blue Bird, I am sure ofit! I asked all the Trees in the very oldest forest; they know him,because he hides among them. Then, in order to have everybody there, Isent the Rabbit to beat the assembly and call the principal Animals inthe country."
They reached the edge of the dark forest in an hour's time. Then, at aturn in the road, they saw, in the distance, some one who seemed to behurrying towards them. Tylette arched her back: she felt that it washer old time enemy. She quivered with rage: was he once more going tothwart her plans? Had he guessed her secret? Was he coming, at thelast moment, to save the Children's lives?
She leaned over to Tyltyl and whispered to him, in her most honeyedvoice:
"I am sorry to say it is our worthy friend the Dog. It is a thousandpities, because his presence will make us fail in our object. He is onthe worst of terms with everybody, even the Trees. Do tell him to goback!"
"Go away, you ugly thing!" said Tyltyl, shaking his fist at the Dog.
Dear old faithful Tylo, who had come because he suspected the Cat'splans, was much hurt by these hard words. He was ready to cry, wasstill out of breath from running and could think of nothing to say.
"Go away, I tell you!" said Tyltyl again. "We don't want you here andthere's an end of it.... You're a nuisance, there!..."
The Dog was an obedient animal and, at any other time, he would havegone; but his affection told him what a serious business it was and hestood stock still.
"Do you allow this disobedience?" said the Cat to Tyltyl, in awhisper. "Hit him with your stick."
Tyltyl beat the Dog, as the Cat suggested:
"There, that will teach you to be more obedient!" he said.
The poor Dog howled at receiving the blows; but there was no limit tohis self-sacrifice. He went up to his young master pluckily and,taking him in his arms, cried:
"I must kiss you now you've beaten me!"
Tyltyl, who was a good-hearted little fellow, did not know what to do;and the Cat swore between her teeth like a wild beast. Fortunately,dear little Mytyl interfered on our friend's behalf:
"No, no; I want him to stay," she pleaded. "I'm frightened when Tylo'snot with us."
Time was short and they had to come to a decision.
"I'll find some other way to get rid of the idiot!" thought the Cat.And, turning to the Dog, she said, in her most gracious manner, "Weshall be _so_ pleased if you will join us!"
As they entered the great forest, the Children stuck close together,with the Cat and the Dog on either side of them. They were awed by thesilence and the darkness and they felt much relieved when the Catexclaimed:
"Here we are! Turn the diamond!"
Then the light spread around them and showed them a wonderful sight.They were standing in the middle of a large round space in the heartof the forest, where all the old, old Trees seemed to reach up to thesky. Wide avenues formed a white star amidst the dark green of thewood. Everything was peaceful and still; but suddenly a strange shiverran through the foliage; the branches moved and stretched like humanarms; the roots raised the earth that covered them, came together,took the shapes of legs and feet and stood on the ground; a tremendouscrash rang through the air; the trunks of the Trees burst open andeach of them let out its soul, which made its appearance like a funnyhuman figure.
Some stepped slowly from their trunks; others came out with a jump;and all of them gathered inquisitively round our friends.
The talkative Poplar began to chatter like a magpie:
"Little Men! We shall be able to talk to them! We have done withsilence!... Where do they come from?... Who are they?"
And so he rattled on.
The Lime-tree, who was a jolly, fat fellow, came up calmly, smokinghis pipe; the conceited and dandified Chestnut-tree screwed his glassinto his eye to stare at the Children. He wore a coat of green silkembroidered with pink and white flowers. He thought the little onestoo poor-looking and turned away in derision.
"He thinks he's everybody, since he has taken to living in town! Hedespises us!" sneered the Poplar, who was jealous of him.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" wept the Willow, a wretched little stuntedfellow, who came clattering along in a pair of wooden shoes too bigfor him. "They have come to cut off my head and arms for firewood!"
Tyltyl could not believe his eyes. He never stopped asking the Catquestions:
"Who's this?... Who's that?..."
And Tylette introduced the soul of each Tree to him.
There was the Elm, who was a sort of short-winded, paunchy, crabbygnome; the Beech, an elegant, sprightly person; the Birch, who lookedlike the ghosts in the Palace of Night, with his white flowinggarments and his restless gestures. The tallest figure was theFir-tree: Tyltyl found it very difficult to see his face perched rightat the top of his long, thin body; but he looked gentle and sad,whereas the Cypress, who stood near him, dressed all in black,frightened Tyltyl terribly.
However, so far nothing very dreadful had happened. The Trees,delighted at being able to talk, were all chattering together; and ouryoung friend was simply going to ask them where the Blue Bird washidden, when, all of a sudden, silence reigned. The Trees bowedrespectfully and stood aside to make way for an immensely old Tree,dressed in a long gown embroidered with moss and lichen. He leanedwith one hand on a stick and with the other on a young Oak Sapling whoacted as his guide, for the Old Oak was blind. His long white beardstreamed in the wind.
"It's the King!" said Tyltyl to himself, when he saw his mistletoecrown. "I will ask him the secret of the forest."
And he was just going up to him, when he stopped, seized with surpriseand joy: there sat the Blue Bird before him, perched on the old Oak'sshoulder.
"He has the Blue Bird!" cried the boy, gleefully. "Quick! Quick! Givehim to me!"
"Silence! Hold your tongue!" said the greatly shocked Trees.
The poor Child at once obeyed with a smile; he did not understand thedanger that threatened him and he did not hesitate to answer, "Yes,Sir," when the Oak asked him if he was Tyl the woodcutter's son.
Then the Oak, trembling with rage, began to lay a terrible chargeagainst Daddy Tyl:
"In my family alone," he said, "your father has put to death sixhundred of my sons, four hundred and seventy-five uncles and aunts,twelve hundred cousins of both sexes, three hundred and eightydaughters-in-law and twelve thousand great-grandsons!"
No doubt his anger made him exaggerate a little; but Tyltyl listenedwithout protest and said, very politely:
"I beg your pardon, Sir, for disturbing you.... The Cat said that youwould tell us where the Blue Bird is."
The Oak was too old not to know all there was to know about Men andAnimals. He smiled in his beard when he guessed the trap laid by theCat and he felt very glad at it, for he had long wished to revenge thewhole forest for the slavery to which Man had subjected it.
"It's for the Fairy Berylune's little girl, who is very ill," the boycontinued.
"Enough!" said the Oak, silencing him. "I do not hear the Animals....Where are they?... All this concerns them as much as us.... We, theTrees, must not assume the responsibility alone for the grave measuresthat have become necessary."
"Here they come!" said the Fir-tree, looking over the top of the otherTrees. "They are following the Rabbit.... I can see the souls of theHorse, the Bull, the Ox, the Cow, the Wolf, the Sheep, the Pig, theGoat, and the Bear...."
All the Animals now arrived. They walked on their hind-legs and weredressed like human beings. They solemnly took up their positions in acircle among the Trees, all except the frivolous Goat, who began toskip down the avenues, and the Pig, who hoped to find some glorioustruffles among the roots that had newly left the ground.
"Are all here present?" asked the Oak.
"The Hen could not leave her eggs," said the Rabbit, "the Hare was outfor a run, the Stag has pains in his horns and his corns, the Fox isill--here is the doctor's certificate--the Goose did not understandand the Turkey flew into a passion...."
"Look!" whispered Tyltyl to Mytyl. "Aren't they funny? They are justlike the rich children's fine toys in the windows at Christmas-time."
The Rabbit especially made them laugh, with his cocked hat over hisbig ears, his blue, embroidered coat and his drum slung in front ofhim.
Meanwhile, the Oak was explaining the situation to his brothers theTrees and to the Animals. Treacherous Tylette had been quite right inreckoning on their hatred.
"The child you see before you," said the Oak, "thanks to a talismanstolen from the powers of Earth, is able to take possession of ourBlue Bird and thus to snatch from us the secret which we have keptsince the origin of life.... Now we know enough of Man to entertain nodoubt as to the fate which he reserves for us, once he is inpossession of this secret.... Any hesitation would be both foolish andcriminal.... It is a serious moment; the child must be done away withbefore it is too late...."
"What is he saying?" asked Tyltyl, who could not make out what the oldTree was driving at.
The Dog was prowling round the Oak and now showed his fangs:
"Do you see my teeth, you old cripple?" he growled.
"He is insulting the Oak!" said the Beech indignantly.
"Drive him out!" shouted the Oak, angrily. "He's a traitor!"
"What did I tell you?" whispered the Cat to Tyltyl. "I will arrangethings.... But send him away."
"Will you be off!" said Tyltyl to the Dog.
"Do let me worry the gouty old beggar's moss slippers!" begged Tylo.
Tyltyl tried in vain to prevent him. The rage of Tylo, who understoodthe danger, knew no bounds; and he would have succeeded in saving hismaster, if the Cat had not thought of calling in the Ivy, who tillthen had kept his distance. The Dog pranced about like a madman,abusing everybody. He railed at the Ivy:
"Come on, if you dare, you old ball of twine, you!"
The onlookers growled; the Oak was pale with fury at seeing hisauthority denied; the Trees and the Animals were indignant, but, asthey were cowards, not one of them dared protest; and the Dog wouldhave settled all of them, if he had gone on with his rebellion. ButTyltyl threatened him harshly; and, suddenly yielding to his docileinstincts, Tylo lay down at his master's feet. Thus it is that ourfinest virtues are treated as faults, when we exercise them withoutdiscrimination.
From that moment, the Children were lost. The Ivy gagged and boundthe poor Dog, who was then taken behind the Chestnut-tree and tied tohis biggest root.
"Now," cried the Oak, in a voice of thunder, "we can take counselquietly.... This is the first time that it is given us to judge Man! Ido not think that, after the monstrous injustice which we havesuffered, there can remain the least doubt as to the sentence thatawaits him...."
One cry rang from every throat:
"Death! Death! Death!"
The poor Children did not at first understand their doom, for theTrees and Animals, who were more accustomed to talking their ownspecial language, did not speak very distinctly; and, besides, theinnocent Children could never imagine such cruelty!
"What is the matter with them?" asked the boy. "Are they displeased?"
"Don't be alarmed," said the Cat. "They are a little annoyed becauseSpring is late...."
And she went on talking into Tyltyl's ear, to divert his attentionfrom what was happening.
While the trusting lad was listening to her fibs, the others werediscussing which form of execution would be the most practical and theleast dangerous. The Bull suggested a good butt with the horns; theBeech offered his highest branch to hang the little Children on; andthe Ivy was already preparing a slip-knot! The Fir-tree was willing togive the four planks for the coffin and the Cypress the perpetualgrant of a tomb.
"By far the simplest way," whispered the Willow, "would be to drownthem in one of my rivers."
And the Pig grunted between his teeth:
"In my opinion, the great thing would be to eat the little girl....She ought to be very tender...."
"Silence!" roared the Oak. "What we have to decide is which of usshall have the honour of striking the first blow!"
"That honour falls to you, our King!" said the Fir-tree.
"Alas, I am too old!" replied the Oak. "I am blind and infirm! To you,my evergreen brother, be the glory, in my place, of striking thedecisive blow that shall set us free."
But the Fir-tree declined the honour on the pretext that he wasalready to have the pleasure of burying the two victims and that hewas afraid of rousing jealousy. He suggested the Beech, as owning thebest club.
"It is out of the question," said the Beech. "You know I amworm-eaten! Ask the Elm and the Cypress."
Thereupon the Elm began to moan and groan: a mole had twisted hisgreat toe the night before and he could hardly stand upright; and theCypress excused himself and so did the Poplar, who declared that hewas ill and shivering with fever. Then the Oak's indignation flaredup:
"You are afraid of Man!" he exclaimed. "Even those unprotected andunarmed little Children inspire you with terror!... Well, I shall goforth alone, old and shaky and blind as I am, against the hereditaryenemy!... Where is he?..."
And groping his way with his stick, he moved towards Tyltyl, growlingas he went.
Our poor little friend had been very much afraid during the last fewminutes. The Cat had left him suddenly, saying that she wanted tosmooth down the excitement, and had not come back. Mytyl nestledtrembling against him; and he felt very lonely, very unhappy amongthose dreadful people whose anger he was beginning to notice. When hesaw the Oak marching on him with a threatening air, he drew hispocket-knife and defied him like a man:
"Is it I he's after, that old one, with his big stick?" he cried.
But, at the sight of the knife, Man's irresistible weapon, all theTrees shook with fright and rushed at the Oak to hold him b
ack. Therewas a struggle; and the old King, conquered by the weight of years,threw away his stick:
"Shame on us!" he shouted. "Shame on us! Let the Animals deliverus!..."
The Animals were only waiting for this! All wanted to be revengedtogether. Fortunately, their very eagerness caused a scrimmage whichdelayed the murder of the dear little ones.
Mytyl uttered piercing screams.
"Don't be afraid," said Tyltyl, doing his best to protect her. "I havemy knife."
"The little chap means to die game!" said the Cock.
"That's the one I shall eat first," said the Pig, eyeing Mytylgreedily.
"What have I done to all of you?" asked Tyltyl.
"Nothing at all, my little man," said the Sheep. "Eaten my littlebrother, my two sisters, my three uncles, my aunt, my grandpapa and mygrandmamma.... Wait, wait, when you're down, you shall see that I haveteeth also...."
And so the Sheep and the Horse, who were the greatest cowards, waitedfor the little fellow to be knocked down before they dared take theirshare in the spoil.
While they were talking, the Wolf and the Bear treacherously attackedTyltyl from behind and pushed him over. It was an awful moment. Allthe Animals, seeing him on the ground, tried to get at him. The boyraised himself to one knee and brandished his knife. Mytyl utteredyells of distress; and, to crown all, it suddenly became dark.
Tyltyl called wildly for assistance:
"Help! Help!... Tylo! Tylo!... To the rescue!... Where is Tylette?...Come! Come!..."
The Cat's voice was heard in the distance, where she was craftilykeeping out of sight:
"I can't come!" she whined. "I'm wounded!"
All this time, plucky little Tyltyl was defending himself as best hecould, but he was alone against all of them, felt that he was going tobe killed and, in a faltering voice, cried once more:
"Help!... Tylo! Tylo!... I can't hold out!... There are too many ofthem!... The Bear!... The Pig! The Wolf! The Fir-tree! The Beech!...Tylo! Tylo! Tylo!..."
Then the Dog came leaping along, dragging his broken bonds andelbowing his way through the Trees and Animals and flung himselfbefore his master, whom he defended furiously:
"Here, my little god! Don't be afraid! Have at them! I know how to usemy teeth!"
All the Trees and Animals raised a loud outcry:
"Renegade!... Idiot!... Traitor!... Felon!... Simpleton!... Sneak!...Leave him!... He's a dead man!... Come over to us!..."
The Dog fought on:
"Never! Never!... I alone against all of you!... Never! Never!... Trueto the gods, to the best, to the greatest!... Take care, my littlemaster, here's the Bear!... Look out for the Bull!"
Tyltyl vainly tried to defend himself:
"I'm done for, Tylo! It was a blow from the Elm! My hand's bleeding!"And he dropped to the ground. "No, I can hold out no longer!"
"They are coming!" said the Dog. "I hear somebody!... We are saved! Itis Light!... Saved! Saved!... See, they're afraid, they'reretreating!... Saved, my little king!..."
And, sure enough, Light was coming towards them; and with her the dawnrose over the forest, which became light as day.
"What is it?... What has happened?" she asked, quite alarmed at thesight of the little ones and their dear Tylo covered with wounds andbruises. "Why, my poor boy, didn't you know? Turn the diamondquickly!"
Tyltyl hastened to obey; and immediately the souls of all the Treesrushed back into their trunks, which closed upon them. The souls ofthe Animals also disappeared; and there was nothing to be seen but acow and a sheep browsing peacefully in the distance. The forest becameharmless once more; and Tyltyl looked around him in amazement:
"No matter," he said, "but for the Dog ... and if I hadn't had myknife!..."
Light thought that he had been punished enough and did not scold him.Besides, she was very much upset by the horrible danger which he hadrun.
Tyltyl, Mytyl and the Dog, glad to meet again safe and sound,exchanged wild kisses. They laughingly counted their wounds, whichwere not very serious.
Tylette was the only one to make a fuss:
"The Dog's broken my paw!" she mewed.
Tylo felt as if he could have made a mouthful of her:
"Never mind!" he said. "It'll keep!"
"Leave her alone, will you, you ugly beast?" said Mytyl.
Our friends went back to the Temple of Light to rest after theiradventure. Tyltyl, repenting of his disobedience, dared not evenmention the Blue Bird of which he had caught a glimpse; and Light saidto the Children, gently:
"Let this teach you, dears, that Man is all alone against all in thisworld. Never forget that."
A regular waterfall of tears came gushing from hereyes, flooding all around her]