The Blue Bird for Children Read online

  CHAPTER III

  THE LAND OF MEMORY

  The Fairy Berylune had told the Children that the Land of Memory wasnot far off; but to reach it you had to go through a forest that wasso dense and so old that your eyes could not see the tops of thetrees. It was always shrouded in a heavy mist; and the Children wouldcertainly have lost their way, if the Fairy had not said to thembeforehand:

  "It is straight ahead; and there is only one road."

  The ground was carpeted with flowers which were all alike: they weresnow-white pansies and very pretty; but, as they never saw the sun,they had no scent.

  Those little flowers comforted the Children, who felt extremelylonely. A great mysterious silence surrounded them; and they trembleda little with a very pleasant sense of fear which they had never feltbefore.

  "Let's take Granny a bunch of flowers," said Mytyl.

  "That's a good idea! She will be pleased!" cried Tyltyl.

  And, as they walked along, the Children gathered a beautiful whitenosegay. The dear little things did not know that every pansy (whichmeans "a thought") that they picked brought them nearer to theirgrandparents; and they soon saw before them a large oak with anotice-board nailed to it.

  "Here we are!" cried the boy in triumph, as, climbing up on a root, heread:

  "_The Land of Memory._"

  They had arrived; but they turned to every side without seeing athing:

  "I can see nothing at all!" whimpered Mytyl. "I'm cold!... I'mtired!... I don't want to travel any more!"

  Tyltyl, who was wholly wrapped up in his errand, lost his temper:

  "Come, don't keep on crying just like Water!... You ought to beashamed of yourself!" he said. "There! Look! Look! The fog islifting!"

  And, sure enough, the mist parted before their eyes, like veils tornby an invisible hand; the big trees faded away, everything vanishedand, instead, there appeared a pretty little peasant's cottage,covered with creepers and standing in a little garden filled withflowers and with trees all over fruit.

  Everything vanished and, instead, there appeared apretty little peasant's cottage]

  The Children at once knew the dear cow in the orchard, the watch-dogat the door, the blackbird in his wicker cage; and everything wassteeped in a pale light and a warm and balmy air.

  Tyltyl and Mytyl stood amazed. So that was the Land of Memory! Whatlovely weather it was! And how nice it felt to be there! They at oncemade up their minds to come back often, now that they knew the way.But how great was their happiness when the last veil disappeared andthey saw, at a few steps from them, Grandad and Granny sitting on abench, sound asleep. They clapped their hands and called outgleefully:

  "It's Grandad! It's Granny!... There they are! There they are!"

  But they were a little scared by this great piece of magic and darednot move from behind the tree; and they stood looking at the dear oldcouple, who woke up gently and slowly under their eyes. Then theyheard Granny Tyl's trembling voice say:

  "I have a notion that our grandchildren who are still alive are comingto see us to-day."

  And Gaffer Tyl answered:

  "They are certainly thinking of us, for I feel queer and I have pinsand needles in my legs."

  "I think they must be quite near," said Granny, "for I see tears ofjoy dancing before my eyes and...."

  Granny had not time to finish her sentence. The Children were in herarms!... What joy! What wild kisses and huggings! What a wonderfulsurprise! The happiness was too great for words. They laughed andtried to speak and kept on looking at one another with delighted eyes:it was so glorious and so unexpected to meet again like this. When thefirst excitement was over, they all began to talk at once:

  "How tall and strong you've grown, Tyltyl!" said Granny.

  And Grandad cried:

  "And Mytyl! Just look at her! What pretty hair, what pretty eyes!"

  And the Children danced and clapped their hands and flung themselvesby turns into the arms of one or the other.

  At last, they quieted down a little; and, with Mytyl nestling againstGrandad's chest and Tyltyl comfortably perched on Granny's knees, theybegan to talk of family affairs:

  "How are Daddy and Mummy Tyl?" asked Granny.

  "Quite well, Granny," said Tyltyl. "They were asleep when we wentout."

  Granny gave them fresh kisses and said:

  "My word, how pretty they are and how nice and clean!... Why don't youcome to see us oftener? It is months and months now that you haveforgotten us and that we have seen nobody...."

  "We couldn't, Granny," said Tyltyl, "and to-day it's only because ofthe Fairy...."

  "We are always here," said Granny Tyl, "waiting for a visit from thosewho are alive. The last time you were here was on All-hallows...."

  "All-hallows? We didn't go out that day, for we both had colds!"

  "But you thought of us! And, every time you think of us, we wake upand see you again."

  Tyltyl remembered that the Fairy had told him this. He had not thoughtit possible then; but now, with his head on the heart of the dearGranny whom he had missed so much, he began to understand things andhe felt that his grandparents had not left him altogether. He asked:

  "So you are not really dead?..."

  The old couple burst out laughing. When they exchanged their life onearth for another and a much nicer and more beautiful life, they hadforgotten the word "dead."

  "What does that word 'dead' mean?" asked Gaffer Tyl.

  "Why, it means that one's no longer alive!" said Tyltyl.

  Grandad and Granny only shrugged their shoulders:

  "How stupid the Living are, when they speak of the Others!" was allthey said.

  And they went over their memories again, rejoicing in being able tochat.

  All old people love discussing old times. The future is finished, asfar as they are concerned; and so they delight in the present and thepast. But we are growing impatient, like Tyltyl; and, instead oflistening to them, we will follow our little friend's movements.

  He had jumped off Granny's knees and was poking about in every corner,delighted at finding all sorts of things which he knew and remembered:

  "Nothing is changed, everything is in its old place!" he cried. And,as he had not been to the old people's home for so long, everythingstruck him as much nicer; and he added, in the voice of one who knows,"Only everything is prettier!... Hullo, there's the clock with the bighand which I broke the point off and the hole which I made in thedoor, the day I found Grandad's gimlet...."

  "Yes, you've done some damage in your time!" said Grandad. "Andthere's the plum-tree which you were so fond of climbing, when Iwasn't looking...."

  Meantime, Tyltyl was not forgetting his errand:

  "You haven't the Blue Bird here by chance, I suppose?"

  At the same moment, Mytyl, lifting her head, saw a cage:

  "Hullo, there's the old blackbird!... Does he still sing?"

  As she spoke, the blackbird woke up and began to sing at the top ofhis voice.

  "You see," said Granny, "as soon as one thinks of him...."

  Tyltyl was simply amazed at what he saw:

  "But he's blue!" he shouted. "Why, that's the bird, the Blue Bird!...He's blue, blue, blue as a blue glass marble!... Will you give him tome?"

  The grandparents gladly consented; and, full of triumph, Tyltyl wentand fetched the cage which he had left by the tree. He took hold ofthe precious bird with the greatest of care; and it began to hop aboutin its new home.

  "How pleased the Fairy will be!" said the boy, rejoicing at hisconquest. "And Light too!"

  "Come along," said the grandparents. "Come and look at the cow and thebees."

  As the old couple were beginning to toddle across the garden, thechildren suddenly asked if their little dead brothers and sisters werethere too. At the same moment, seven little children, who, up to then,had been sleeping in the house, came tearing like mad into the garden.Tyltyl and Mytyl ran up to them. They all hustled and hugged oneanother an
d danced and whirled about and uttered screams of joy.

  "Here they are, here they are!" said Granny. "As soon as you speak ofthem, they are there, the imps!"

  Tyltyl caught a little one by the hair:

  "Hullo, Pierrot! So we're going to fight again, as in the old days!...And Robert!... I say, Jean, what's become of your top?... Madeleineand Pierrette and Pauline!... And here's Riquette!..."

  Mytyl laughed:

  "Riquette's still crawling on all fours!"

  Tyltyl noticed a little dog yapping around them:

  "There's Kiki, whose tail I cut off with Pauline's scissors.... Hehasn't changed either...."

  "No," said Gaffer Tyl, in a voice of great importance, "nothingchanges here!"

  But, suddenly, amid the general rejoicings, the old people stoppedspell-bound: they had heard the small voice of the clock indoorsstrike eight!

  The grandparents and grandchildren sat down to supper]

  "How's this?" they asked. "It never strikes nowadays...."

  "That's because we no longer think of the time," said Granny. "Was anyone thinking of the time?"

  "Yes, I was," said Tyltyl. "So it's eight o'clock?... Then I'm off,for I promised Light to be back before nine...."

  He was going for the cage, but the others were too happy to let himrun away so soon: it would be horrid to say good-bye like that! Grannyhad a good idea: she knew what a little glutton Tyltyl was. It wasjust supper-time and, as luck would have it, there was some capitalcabbage-soup and a beautiful plum-tart.

  "Well," said our hero, "as I've got the Blue Bird!... And cabbage-soupis a thing you don't have every day!..."

  They all hurried and carried the table outside and laid it with a nicewhite table-cloth and put a plate for each; and, lastly, Grannybrought out the steaming soup-tureen in state. The lamp was lit andthe grandparents and grandchildren sat down to supper, jostling andelbowing one another and laughing and shouting with pleasure. Then,for a time, nothing was heard but the sound of the wooden spoonsnoisily clattering against the soup-plates.

  "How good it is! Oh, how good it is!" shouted Tyltyl, who was eatinggreedily. "I want some more! More! More! More!"

  "Come, come, a little more quiet," said Grandad. "You're just asill-behaved as ever; and you'll break your plate...."

  Tyltyl took no notice of the remark, stood up on his stool, caughthold of the tureen and dragged it towards him and upset it; and thehot soup trickled all over the table and down upon everybody's lap.The children yelled and screamed with pain. Granny was quite scared;and Grandad was furious. He dealt our friend Tyltyl a tremendous boxon the ear.

  Tyltyl was staggered for a moment; and then he put his hand to hischeek with a look of rapture and exclaimed:

  "Grandad, how good, how jolly! It was just like the slaps you used togive me when you were alive!... I must give you a kiss for it!..."

  Everybody laughed.

  "There's more where that came from, if you like them!" said Grandad,grumpily.

  But he was touched, all the same, and turned to wipe a tear from hiseyes.

  "Goodness!" cried Tyltyl, starting up. "There's half-past eightstriking!... Mytyl, we've only just got time!..."

  Granny in vain implored them to stay a few minutes longer.

  "No, we can't possibly," said Tyltyl firmly; "I promised Light!"

  And he hurried to take up the precious cage.

  "Good-bye, Grandad.... Good-bye, Granny.... Good-bye, brothers andsisters, Pierrot, Robert, Pauline, Madeleine, Riquette and you, too,Kiki.... We can't stay.... Don't cry, Granny; we will come backoften!"

  Poor old Grandad was very much upset and complained lustily:

  "Gracious me, how tiresome the Living are, with all their fuss andexcitement!"

  Tyltyl tried to console him and again promised to come back veryoften.

  "Come back every day!" said Granny. "It is our only pleasure; and it'ssuch a treat for us when your thoughts pay us a visit!"

  "Good-bye! Good-bye!" cried the brothers and sisters in chorus. "Comeback very soon! Bring us some barley sugar!"

  There were more kisses; all waved their handkerchiefs; all shouted alast good-bye. But the figures began to fade away; the little voicescould no longer be heard; the two Children were once more wrapped inmist; and the old forest covered them with its great dark mantle.

  "I'm so frightened!" whimpered Mytyl. "Give me your hand, littlebrother! I'm so frightened!"

  Tyltyl was shaking too, but it was his duty to try and comfort andconsole his sister:

  "Hush!" he said. "Remember that we are bringing back the Blue Bird!"

  As he spoke, a thin ray of light pierced the gloom; and the little boyhurried towards it. He was holding his cage tight in his arms; and thefirst thing he did was to look at his bird.... Alas and alack, what adisappointment awaited him! The beautiful Blue Bird of the Land ofMemory had turned quite black! Stare at it as hard as Tyltyl might,the bird was black! Oh, how well he knew the old blackbird that usedto sing in its wicker prison, in the old days, at the door of thehouse! What had happened? How painful it was! And how cruel lifeseemed to him just then!

  He had started on his journey with such zest and delight that he hadnot thought for a moment of the difficulties and dangers. Full ofconfidence, pluck and kindness, he had marched off, certain offinding the beautiful Blue Bird which would bring happiness to theFairy's little girl. And now all his hopes were shattered! For thefirst time, our poor friend understood the trials, the vexations andthe obstacles that awaited him! Alas, was he attempting an impossiblething? Was the Fairy making fun of him? Would he ever find the BlueBird? All his courage seemed to be leaving him....

  To add to his misfortunes, he could not find the straight road bywhich he had come. There was not a single white pansy on the ground;and he began to cry.

  Luckily, our little friends were not to remain in trouble long. TheFairy had promised that Light would watch over them. The first trialwas over; and, just as outside the old people's house a little whileago, the mist now suddenly lifted. But, instead of disclosing apeaceful picture, a gentle, homely scene, it revealed a marvelloustemple, with a blinding glare streaming from it.

  On the threshold stood Light, fair and beautiful in herdiamond-coloured dress. She smiled when Tyltyl told her of his firstfailure. She knew what the little ones were seeking; she kneweverything. For Light surrounds all mortals with her love, though noneof them is fond enough of her ever to receive her thoroughly and thusto learn all the secrets of Truth. Now, for the first time, thanks tothe diamond which the Fairy had given to the boy, she was going to tryand conquer a human soul:

  "Do not be sad," she said to the Children. "Are you not pleased tohave seen your grandparents? Is that not enough happiness for one day?Are you not glad to have restored the old blackbird to life? Listen tohim singing!"

  For the old blackbird was singing with might and main; and his littleyellow eyes sparkled with pleasure as he hopped about his big cage.

  "As you look for the Blue Bird, dear Children, accustom yourselves tolove the grey birds which you find on your way."

  She nodded her fair head gravely; and it was quite clear that she knewwhere the Blue Bird was. But life is often full of beautifulmysteries, which we must respect, lest we should destroy them; and, ifLight had told the Children where the Blue Bird was, well, they wouldnever have found him! I will tell you why at the end of this story.

  And now let us leave our little friends to sleep on beautiful whiteclouds under Light's watchful care.