Mr. Rabbit at Home - Joel Chandler Harris (beach books .txt) 📗
- Author: Joel Chandler Harris
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“‘Where do you keep these wonderful creatures?’ one of the merchants asked.
“‘In my stable,’ replied the man,—’in my stable night and day.’
“The greedy merchants were not long in finding out that the man kept a coal-black sheep and a snow-white-goat in his stable sure enough; and, after a good deal of persuading and flattering, they got him to consent to bring his coal-black sheep and his snow-white goat to the tavern, so that they might see for themselves how rare and valuable the animals were.
“Well, one night after his wife and children had gone to bed, the man carried the sheep and the goat to the tavern, and showed them to the merchants. They offered him immense sums of money for the animals, but he refused them all. Then they invited him to remain to a banquet which they had prepared. He wanted to carry his sheep and his goat back home, and then return to the banquet; but the merchants said the table was already spread, and he could tie his wonderful animals in the rear hall, where nobody would bother them.
“Meantime, the merchants had sent out into the country and bought a black sheep and a white goat; and while some of them were pouring wine down the man’s goozle, others were untying the wonderful black sheep and white goat, and putting in their place the animals that had been bought. When the time came for the man to go home, he was so wobbly in the legs and so befuddled in the head that he couldn’t tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. In fact, he had forgotten all about them, until one of the merchants asked him if he wasn’t going to take his rare and valuable animals back home.
“The strange sheep and goat were not used to being led about at night by a man with wobbly legs and a befuddled head, and they cut up such queer capers that it was much as the man could do to keep on his feet at all. But, after so long a time, he managed to get them home, and tied them in the stable.
“So far, so good: but the next morning, when the boy and the girl got up betimes and went out to feed their pets, as they were in the habit of doing, they saw at once that something had happened. Their precious pets had been made way with, and these rough, dirty, and mean-looking animals put in their place. One glance was enough to satisfy the children of this, and they set up such a wail that the whole neighborhood was aroused. Even their father stuck his head out of the window and asked what was the matter. His head was still befuddled by the night’s banquet, but his alarm sobered him instantly when he heard what his children said. He wouldn’t believe it at first; but when he went out into the stable and saw for himself, he was nearly beside himself with grief. He declared that it was all his fault, and told what he had done the night before.
“He was now as poor as he ever was; and his wife said she wasn’t sorry a bit, because he would now have a chance to go to work and an excuse for not hanging around the tavern. But the children begged him to go after their coal-black sheep and their snow-white goat.
“This he promised to do, and he made haste to go to the tavern. The merchants were still there, but they only laughed at him when he asked them for his sheep and his goat. They called on the tavern-keeper to witness that the man had started home with a black sheep and a white goat.
“‘That is true,’ said the man, ‘and I have them there now. But they are not mine. Some of you ruffians stole mine and put these in their place.’
“The merchants pretended to be very angry at this, and made as if they would fall on the man with their fists. But he was a stout fellow, and was armed with a stout hickory, and so they merely threatened. But the man failed to get his coal-black sheep and his snow-white goat, and went home full of grief and remorse.”
THE BUTTING COW AND THE HITTING STICK.
“I hope that isn’t the end of the story,” remarked Buster John.
“Well,” replied Mr. Rabbit, “we can either cut it off here, or we can carry it on for weeks and weeks.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Mrs. Meadows; “or, if you want to, you can tell the rest of the story yourself. No doubt you can tell it a great deal better than I can.”
“Now you’ll have to excuse me,” remarked Mr. Rabbit. “I thought maybe you were getting tired, and wanted to rest. Go on with the tale. I’m getting old and trembly in the limbs, but I can stand it if the rest can.”
“Well,” said Mrs. Meadows, turning to Buster John and Sweetest Susan, “the children were very much worried over the loss of the coal-black sheep and the snow-white goat, and they made up their minds to try and get them back. The boy said he would go and ask Uncle Rain’s advice, and the girl said she would visit Brother Drouth once more. So they started on their journey, one going east and the other going south.
“They met with no adventure by the way, and, having traveled the road once, they were not long in coming to the end of their journey. The boy found Uncle Rain at home, and told him all about the loss of his beautiful black sheep. Uncle Rain grunted at the news, and looked very solemn.
“‘That’s about the way I thought it would be,’ said he. ‘It takes a mighty strong-minded person to stand prosperity. But you needn’t be afraid. Your sheep is not lost. The men who have stolen him can stand great prosperity no better than your father can. They will wrangle among themselves, and they will never take the sheep away from the tavern. But they shall be punished. Come with me.’
“Uncle Rain went out into his barnyard, and the boy followed him. He went to a stall where a black cow was tied. ‘This,’ said he, ‘is the butting cow. You are to take her with you. She will allow no one to come near her but you, and when you give her the word she will run over and knock down whoever and whatever is in sight. She knows the black sheep, too, for they have long been in the barn together. When she begins to low, the black sheep will bleat, and in that way you may know when you have found it. More than that, the cow will give you the most beautiful golden butter that ever was seen.’
“Uncle Rain untied the cow, placed the end of the rope in the boy’s hand, and bade him good-by. The boy went back the way he came, the cow following closely and seeming to be eager to go with him.
“The girl, who had taken the road to Brother Drouth’s house, arrived there safely and told her trouble. Brother Drouth said he was very sorry about it, but as it was not a thing to weep over, he didn’t propose to shed any tears.
“‘What’s done,’ he said, ‘can’t be undone; but I’ll see that it’s not done over again.’ He went to a corner of the room, picked up a walking-stick, and gave it to the little girl. ‘We have here,’ he said, ‘a walking-stick. It is called the hitting stick. Whenever you are in danger, or whenever you want to punish your enemies, you have only to say: “Hit, stick! Stick, hit!” and neither one man nor a hundred can stand up against it. It is not too heavy for you to carry, but if your hands grow tired of carrying it, just say, “Jump, stick!” and the stick will jump along before you or by your side, just as you please.’
“Then Brother Drouth bade the girl good-by; and she went on her way, sometimes carrying the hitting stick, and sometimes making it jump along the road before her.
“Now, then, while all this was going on, the greedy merchants found themselves in a fix. When they first got hold of the coal-black sheep and the snow-white goat, they thought that they had had a good deal of trouble for nothing. But merchants, especially the merchants of those days, when there was not as much trade as there is now, had very sharp eyes, and it was not long before they found the springs under the horns of the sheep and the goat. Having found the treasure, they remembered that the man had spent more money in two days than the horns of the animals would hold, and this led them to discover that the horns were always full of treasure.
“For a little while they were very happy, and congratulated one another many times over. But in the midst of their enjoyment the thought came to them that there must be a division of this treasure. The moment the subject was broached, the wrangle began. There were more than a dozen of the merchants, and the question was how to divide the treasure so that each might have an equal share. Though they took millions from the horns of the black sheep and the white goat, yet whoever had the animals would still have the most.
“It was a mighty serious question. They argued, they reasoned, they disputed, and they wrangled, and once or twice they came near having a pitched battle. But finally, after many days, it was decided that one party of merchants should have the black sheep and that another party should have the white goat. This didn’t satisfy all of them, but it was the best that could be done; and so they departed, the party with the white goat going south, and the party with the black sheep going east.
“Now, a very curious thing happened. If either party had kept on traveling, it would have met the boy or the girl; one with the butting cow, and the other with the hitting stick. But both parties were dissatisfied; and they had gone but a little way before they stopped, and after some talk determined to go back. The merchants with the white goat determined to follow on after the merchants that had the black sheep, and secure the animal by fair means or foul. The merchants with the black sheep determined to follow the merchants with the white goat, and buy the animal or seize him. So each party turned back.
“The merchants with the white goat reached the tavern first. They had hardly refreshed themselves, when the tavern-keeper came running in, to tell them that the other merchants were coming.
“‘Then take our white goat and hide it in your stable,’ they said.
“The landlord did as he was bid; and then meeting the merchants with the black sheep, he told them that their companions of the morning had also returned.
“‘Then take our black sheep and hide it in your stable,’ they said. This the landlord quickly did, and returned to the tavern in time to hear the merchants greet each other.
“‘What are you doing here?’ asked the black sheep merchants.
“‘We have lost our white goat,’ they replied, ‘and have come here to hunt it. Why have you returned?’
“‘We have come on the same errand,’ said the others. ‘We have lost our black sheep, and have returned to find it.’
“Now, the tavern-keeper
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