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Show THE WEE LITTLE FAIRY FROM BUG-A-BOO LAND. (Helen Wells, in Club Woman.) Long, long ago, when the little fairies lived in the lily's cup or dwelt in the scarlet blossoms of the trumpet-cTeepcr, there was a little boy named Laddie, who ought to have been very happy, indeed, for his home was with the dearest Grandma that ever existed! But the little imp of Discontent had stolen into his heart and it made him very unhappy and disagreeable. dis-agreeable. It made no difference what he had, he always wished it was something eke; or where he went, he would always rather bo in some other place. It was impossible to please him. Grandma saw this fault and it worried her greatly. One day as she sat on the piazza, leaning her head against the back of the rocking chair, she : suddenly saw one of the scarlet blossoms of the trumpet-creeper bend down and down until it was very close to her face, and to her surprise out stopped the smallest lady she had ever seen. She was dressed all in scarlet from the tip of her pointed point-ed cap to the bottom of her high-heeled slippers. As she looked up laughingly into Grandma's kind eyes, she exclaimed: "I am little Tree-lo from Bug-a-boo Land When you're in trouble I'm always at hand." "Thank you." said Grandma. "What is your errand "The Fairy Queen has sent I For the imp of Discontent That is lurking in the spirit of your child. And where e'er ibat imp may be, Much trouble shall they see, That he causes with his na uglily ways so wild," answered liille Tree-lo. Grandma sighed and said: "If you'll lake that imp away I will ldess vow every day." Tree-lo smiled, saying: ' i "I will work my magic spell; What may happen, who can lell r" , Just then a beautiful, broad-winged butterflv I came sailing slowly along and paused while the little fairy hopped nimbly up n its back. Then j again spreading its wings, it flew gracefully away. Around and around went the fairy and the butterflv but-terflv until ibey found Laddie who was sitting on the shore of the lake with his fish-pole in his hand and all the time ihey were flying over bis bead the fairy was waving her wand and chanting: "May the magic spell work deep; May the mystic charm hold fast; May flic Fairies vigil keep, Till this evil le outcast." The voice of ihe fairy sounded Jike music and Laddie looked around 1o sen from whence it came, and when he beheld the little fairy in scarlet upon her butterfly lmrse, he laughed outright. "Oh. wliat a dear little doll-lady you arc!" ho cried. "What is your name " "I am little Trec-lo from Bug-a-boo land; When you are wishing, I'm always at hand," she answered. "Arc you a really, truly fairy:' asked Laddie, while his" eyes opened widely. . "Yes," she answered, "and to prove it, I will give you anything you may ask for until three days aro 1aS"JIow jolly!'' exclaimed Laddie. ' "But," said the fairy, "whatever happens in answer to vour wish, it must so remain until the hour-glass has twice run its golden sands; so bo careful what you ask for." , - f; :. "Ho! I guess I can take care of myself, replied Laddie contemptuously, as be began to fan himself him-self with his broad-brimmed hat. "Whew! how hot it is. I don't see what 1 am fishing for, anyway. any-way. I hate fishing! Howinice and cool it looka down in the water. 1 wish I was a fish so I could be in the water." The words were scarcely out of his mouth before he changed into a little fish and was swimming around in the water. At first he hardly knew which way to go, but it was fine and cool and the little waves were dancing on the surface of the water, and down in the lake-bottom were beautiful little stones and queer things growing. Flowers and strange grasses; lilies, whose roots were planted firmly in the earth-bottom, and whose beautiful, sweel -scented white flower-faces were floating on the top of the water, he'd there by Ihe long, slender, slen-der, rope-like stems; blue flowers whose calla-lily-like leaves gavj a tropical look to the plant; tall weeds that bent and swayed in the breeze. In and out among the grasses and waler-pianls L,addie ftwam gaily. "llow fine it is to be a fi-h," he ihought. "So nice and cool and wilh so many prelly things to sec." Two very large fishes just then came swimming swim-ming near him and Laddie could not but notice bow closely they eyed him, -and he also noticed what very large mouths they had. As ihey swam slowly around him he heard one of them say: "Yes, a nice, fat lillle iish. 1 will keep my eye on him, and when 1 get hungry I will cut him." "Horrible!'' thought Laddie. "They surely mean me!" And he swam away as fast as he could but the big fish swam faster! Around and around went Laddie, hunting for some nook among the weeds and rocks where he might hide; and around and around went the liig Iish. always keeping his goggly eyes upon Laddie. Hide where he would, (hose great round eyes found him mil. Laddie wondered if the big iish had begun to get hungry yet, and how long it would be before he would swim up to him and pen that huge mouth and ugh! Boor Laddie began to think lhat, the life of a fish was not one of perfect happiness. He was beginning to get hungry, too, and there seemed to be nothing 1o eat unless he himself hunted for it. He remembered how, when he was hungry, Grandma always had something' waiting for him to eat; but there was nothing here waiting for nim ;!iir1 lir must limit it lie would (nt Watching his opportunity, .he slipped out from behind the rock and swam cautiously away, looking right and left to see if the goggle-eyed fish was watching him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he got away from those eyes, and darted rapidly after some" little flies and bugs that were skimming the surface of the water. To his surprise he found them quicker than himself, and they did not stay to be caught. "I never supposed fishes had to work for their food," thought Laddie. He was growing very hungry hun-gry now. llow good one of Grandma's cookies would taste! 'Just then he saw a little worm that was keeping keep-ing quite still, all curled in a heap. Quick as a flash he darted at it and seized it in his mouth, when oh! what an awful prick it gave him! And he was jerked into the air and swung on the end of a long line, which a man was drawing into a boat. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! How it hurts! Ho beard the other fishes say: "Foolish little thing, not to know that a dead worm was bait." As he was thrown into the bottom of the boat he heard the voice of a bird in the wood beyond singing loud and clear. "Oh, it is awful to be a fish," moaned Laddie. "I wish I was a bird." And before be knew what had happened he was flying through the air! He sang gleefully as he saw the man in the boat hunting for the missing fish. "Hunt away." he sang, "you'll never get me to be a fish again." And he spread his wings' and flew away and -avay to the deep, dark woods. How fine it was to float through the air; s much better than swimming. "Oh, there's nothing like the life of a bird," said Laddie, "away up here, where I can look down on the people moving so slowly while I skim through the clouds in this delightful manner." ' Then he settled himself on the branch of a tree to rest. "Such nice little bugs, all handy by, for me to cat." He ate his lunch of flies and bugs and was preening bis feathers and arranging them in order, or-der, so he would look very pretty indeed, when he suddenly espied a man with a gun creeping cautiously cau-tiously past the trunk of a tree. "He can't want to shoot me," thought Laddie. "I am not good to eat and I never hurt him any." Tlic man raised his gun to his shoulder and bang! A sharp pain darted through one of Laddie's Lad-die's legs and a sudden dimness came before his eyes, and be fell down and down, and with a sickening sick-ening thud he landed amid the tall grass upon the hard ground. The man did not even look for him. but strode ; away, while Laddie fluttered to the cover of some j shrubs and lav gasping with pain. He soon became i thirsty, but was not able to fly, for his broken leg hurt him terribly if be but move?. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Would help never conic 'i There was nothing to do but lie there and die by inches from pain and thirst and starvation, as many anolher bird has done that has been shot "just for fun" by some boy. He heard ibe tinkle-tinkle of a cow bell coming nearer and nearer, and ihought of little Tree-lo from Bug-a-boo land. "F wish 1 was a cow." be thought ; "no one ever shoots a cow." Xo sooner had he o tiered the words than he changed into a j great, soft-eyed cow, nibbling grass along the highway. high-way. "This may be a trifle slow, but at least it is safe," thought Laddie, as he leisurely ate along lownrds the little town, lasting of the yellow dandelions dan-delions and sweet pink clovers, and stopping to drink at the lit l ie spring. ' As be came down the street, a great dog rushed out at him and began to bark and to bile at his legs and tail. Boor Laddie tried to dodge him, and turned and ran through an open gate into a garden of vegel aides and flowers. The dog darted after him. and I wo more dogs, hearing the racket, joined in the chase. . Laddie tried to hook the'fii, but his horns had been cut ofli, so all he could do to protect himself was to kick and run. Up and down the neat garden beds they ran, treading the tender vegetables and young plants into a mas's of ruin, and finally a woman, with a broomstick, joined the chase and poor Laddie was hi. ton and pounded until he did not know which way to go or where to turn. Meanwhile Ibe family cat sal undisturbed on the piazza, watching it all. "1 wish I was a cat," said tired Laddie, and immediately he was purring on ihe slop beside the family cat. Not long, however, for with an angry "Me-ow, spiz-z-z!" the family cat pounced upon Laddie and clawed and scratched him vigorously. Laddie screamed and rrn as fast as he could, and after he found that the family cat was not. chasing him he paused to look around him at his surroundings. He was in an old barn, and as he crept into the hay he thought: "I wonder what, time the family will call me to supper. Grandma always fed our cat at six." ' Six o'clock came and seven and eight but no voice called "Kitty! Kitty!" He wr.s very hungry and not a mouse in sight. Oh, for a nice drink of milk! He watched for a mouse a long, long time, but no mouse came. ' "Oh, .dear!" -he sighed. "I don't , -believe anything any-thing has as good a time as just plaiu boys!" Just then he heard a rusliing in the hay, and little Tree-lo appeared. "I wish I was a boy again." L;uldie said. "That you cannot be without my tionsent," said the small lady. "You have been a boy some years and you have never been satisfied." "Oh, but I will he if only I can go back to dear old Grandma and be just little Laddie again." pleaded he. Little Tree-lo came very close to him and said: "Each change you have made-and the lesson you learned has made the little imp of Discontent grow smaller and smaller and weaker and weaker, and I am not certain but he is gone. Still. I must be quite sine. Is there nothing else you wish?" "No. no," sol. lied Laddie; "just let me be a little bov again and I'll never, never ask for anything else." j Little Tree-lo gn.ed long and earnestly into j baldi " eyes and murmured: "I verily believe the little imp of Discontent has llon away out of your heart. Now. in bis place I will quickly put the spirit of Content that will bless you and all with whom you come in contact." con-tact." Then little Tree lo waved her magic wand over j Laddie's head, and sure enough he was his own lillle self ;i-.rain, silling upon the sofa and rubbing hi.-, eyes, while Grandma sat in her old rocking chair on lh- piaz.r. enjoying a quiet little doze in the sunshine, while the scarlet blossoms of the tnuifpet-crcf per waved gracefully over her head. |
