The Blue Bird for Children Page 12

  CHAPTER IX

  THE LEAVE-TAKING

  Weeks and months had passed since the children's departure on theirjourney; and the hour of separation was at hand. Light had been verysad lately; she had counted the days in sorrow, without a word to theAnimals and Things, who had no idea of the misfortune that threatenedthem.

  On the day when we see them for the last time, they were all out inthe gardens of the temple. Light stood watching them from a marbleterrace, with Tyltyl and Mytyl sleeping by her side. Much had happenedin the past twelve months; but the life of the Animals and Things,which had no intelligence to guide it, had made no progress, on thecontrary. Bread had eaten so much that he was now not able to walk:Milk, devoted as ever, dragged him along in a Bath chair. Fire's nastytemper had made him quarrel with everybody and he had become verylonely and unhappy in consequence. Water, who had no will of her own,had ended by yielding to Sugar's sweet entreaties: they were nowmarried; and Sugar presented a most piteous sight. The poor fellowwas reduced to a shadow of his former self, shrank visibly day by dayand was sillier than ever, while Water, in marrying, had lost herprincipal charm, her simplicity. The Cat had remained the liar thatshe always was; and our dear friend Tylo had never been able toovercome his hatred for her.

  "Poor things!" thought Light, with a sigh. "They have not gained muchby receiving the benefit of life! They have travelled and seen nothingof all the wonders that surrounded them in my peaceful temple; theywere either quarrelling with one another or over-eating themselvesuntil they fell ill. They were too foolish to enjoy their happinessand they will recognize it for the first time presently, when they areabout to lose it...."

  At that moment, a pretty dove, with silver wings, alighted on herknees. It wore an emerald collar round its neck, with a note fastenedto the clasp. The dove was the Fairy Berylune's messenger. Lightopened the letter and read these few words:

  "Remember that the year is over."

  Then Light stood up, waved her wand and everything disappeared fromsight.

  A few seconds later, the whole company were gathered together outsidea high wall with a small door in it. The first rays of the dawn weregilding the tree-tops. Tyltyl and Mytyl, whom Light was fondlysupporting with her arms, woke up, rubbed their eyes and looked aroundthem in astonishment.

  "What?" said Light to Tyltyl. "Don't you know that wall and thatlittle door?"

  The sleepy boy shook his head: he remembered nothing. Then Lightassisted his memory:

  "The wall," she said, "surrounds a house which we left one eveningjust a year ago to-day...."

  "Just a year ago?... Why, then...." And, clapping his hands with glee,Tyltyl ran to the door. "We must be near Mummy!... I want to kiss herat once, at once, at once!"

  But Light stopped him. It was too early, she said: Mummy and Daddywere still asleep and he must not wake them with a start.

  "Besides," she added, "the door will not open till the hour strikes."

  "What hour?" asked the boy.

  "The hour of separation," Light answered, sadly.

  "What!" said Tyltyl, in great distress. "Are you leaving us?"

  "I must," said Light. "The year is past. The Fairy will come back andask you for the Blue Bird."

  "But I haven't got the Blue Bird!" cried Tyltyl. "The one of the Landof Memory turned quite black, the one of the Future flew away, theNight's are dead, those in the Graveyard were not blue and I could notcatch the one in the Forest!... Will the Fairy be angry?... What willshe say?..."

  "Never mind, dear," said Light. "You did your best. And, though youdid not find the Blue Bird, you deserved to do so, for the good-will,pluck and courage which you showed."

  Light's face beamed with happiness as she spoke these words, for sheknew that to deserve to find the Blue Bird was very much the samething as finding it; but she was not allowed to say this, for it was abeautiful mystery, which Tyltyl had to solve for himself. She turnedto the Animals and Things, who stood weeping in a corner, and toldthem to come and kiss the Children.

  Bread at once put down the cage at Tyltyl's feet and began to make aspeech:

  "In the name of all, I crave permission...."

  "You sha'n't have mine!" cried Fire.

  "Order!" cried Water.

  "We still have tongues of our own!" roared Fire.

  "Yes! Yes!" screamed Sugar, who, knowing that his end was at hand,kept kissing Water and melting before the others' eyes.

  Poor Bread in vain tried to make his voice heard above the din. Lighthad to interfere and command silence. Then Bread spoke his last words:

  "I am leaving you," he said, between his sobs. "I am leaving you, mydear Children, and you will no longer see me in my living form....Your eyes are about to close to the invisible life of Things; but Ishall be always there, in the bread-pan, on the shelf, on the table,beside the soup, I who am, if I may say so, the most faithfulcompanion, the oldest friend of Man...."

  "Well, and what about me?" shouted Fire, angrily.

  "Silence!" said Light. "The hour is passing.... Be quick and saygood-bye to the Children...."

  Fire rushed forward, took hold of the Children, one after the other,and kissed them so violently that they screamed with pain:

  "Oh! Oh!... He's burning me!..."

  "Oh! Oh!... He's scorched my nose!..."

  "Let me kiss the place and make it well," said Water, going up to thechildren gently.

  This gave Fire his chance:

  "Take care," he said, "you'll get wet."

  "I am loving and gentle," said Water. "I am kind to human beings...."

  "What about those you drown?" asked Fire.

  But Water pretended not to hear:

  "Love the wells, listen to the brooks," she said. "I shall always bethere. When you sit down in the evening, beside the springs, try tounderstand what they are trying to say...."

  Then she had to break off, for a regular waterfall of tears camegushing from her eyes, flooding all around her. However, she resumed:

  "Think of me when you see the water-bottle.... You will find me alsoin the ewer, the watering-can, the cistern and the tap...."

  Then Sugar came up, with a limping walk, for he could hardly stand onhis feet. He uttered a few words of sorrow, in an affected voice andthen stopped, for tears, he said, were not in harmony with histemperament.

  "Humbug!" cried Bread.

  "Sugar-plum! Lollipop! Caramel!" yelped Fire.

  Closely pursued by the Dog, who overwhelmed her withbites, blows and kicks]

  And all began to laugh, except the two children, who were very sad:

  "Where are Tylette and Tylo gone to?" asked our hero.

  At that moment, the Cat came running up, in a terrible state: her hairwas on end and dishevelled, her clothes were torn and she was holdinga handkerchief to her cheek, as though she had the tooth-ache. Sheuttered terrible groans and was closely pursued by the Dog, whooverwhelmed her with bites, blows and kicks. The others rushed inbetween them to separate them, but the two enemies continued to insultand glare at each other. The Cat accused the Dog of pulling her tailand putting tin tacks in her food and beating her. The Dog simplygrowled and denied none of his actions:

  "You've had some," he kept saying, "you've had some and you're goingto have some more!"

  But, suddenly, he stopped and, as he was panting with excitement, itcould be seen that his tongue turned quite white: Light had told himto kiss the Children for the last time.

  "For the last time?" stammered poor Tylo. "Are we to part from thesepoor Children?"

  His grief was such that he was incapable of understanding anything.

  "Yes," said Light. "The hour which you know of is at hand.... We aregoing to return to silence...."

  Thereupon the Dog, suddenly realizing his misfortune, began to utterreal howls of despair and fling himself upon the Children, whom heloaded with mad and violent caresses:

  "No! No!" he cried. "I refuse!... I refuse!... I shall always talk!...And I shall be very good.... You will keep
me with you and I shalllearn to read and write and play dominoes!... And I shall always bevery clean.... And I shall never steal anything in the kitchenagain...."

  He went on his knees before the two Children, sobbing and entreating,and, when Tyltyl, with his eyes full of tears, remained silent, dearTylo had a last magnificent idea: running up to the Cat, he offered,with smiles that looked like grins, to kiss her. Tylette, who did notpossess his spirit of self-sacrifice, leaped back and took refuge byMytyl's side. Then Mytyl said, innocently:

  "You, Tylette, are the only one that hasn't kissed us yet."

  The Cat put on a mincing tone:

  "Children," said she, "I love you both as much as you deserve."

  There was a pause.

  "And now," said Light, "let me, in my turn, give you a last kiss...."

  As she spoke, she spread her veil round them as if she would havewrapped them for the last time in her luminous might. Then she gavethem each a long and loving kiss. Tyltyl and Mytyl hung on to herbeseechingly:

  "No, no, no, Light!" they cried. "Stay here with us!... Daddy won'tmind.... We will tell Mummy how kind you have been.... Where will yougo all alone?"...

  "Not very far, my Children," said Light. "Over there to the Land ofthe Silence of Things."

  "No, no," said Tyltyl. "I won't have you go...."

  But Light quieted them with a motherly gesture and said words to themwhich they never forgot. Long after, when they were a grandfather andgrandmother in their turn, Tyltyl and Mytyl still remembered them andused to repeat them to their grandchildren.

  Here are Light's touching words:

  "Listen, Tyltyl. Do not forget, child, that everything that you see inthis world has neither beginning nor end. If you keep this thought inyour heart and let it grow up with you, you will always, in allcircumstances, know what to say, what to do and what to hope for."

  And, when our two friends began to sob, she added, lovingly:

  "Do not cry, my dear little ones.... I have not a voice like Water; Ihave only my brightness, which Man does not understand.... But I watchover him to the end of his days.... Never forget that I am speaking toyou in every spreading moonbeam, in every twinkling star, in everydawn that rises, in every lamp that is lit, in every good and brightthought of your soul...."

  At that moment, the grandfather's clock in the cottage struck eighto'clock. Light stopped for a moment and then, in a voice that grewsuddenly fainter, whispered:

  "Good-bye!... Good-bye!... The hour is striking!... Good-bye!"

  Her veil faded away, her smile became paler, her eyes closed, her formvanished and, through their tears, the children saw nothing but a thinray of light dying away at their feet. Then they turned to the others... but these had disappeared....