The San Francisco Sunday Call:
Harcourt
Williams
ONCE upon a time there wae a
good Fairy. Her name was
Ripple, becaui* she was the
~ gayest and merriest little
person imaginable— gay and merry folk
always ripple with laughter, don't
they?' If you asked where she came
from she -would tell you that she came
rrorn haunts of coot and hern," and be«
foTe you could ask htr again frhat she
meant by that she would bubble array
in the sunshine and vanish down' tho"~
stream like a liquid diamond." . \u25a0 «
On,e slorlous day in the early spring,
viicn the. detr was " thick upon the
rneadov*s and the rooming mlet had,
scarcely risen, Rlrple was skimming
along among the flat leaves, of the
vater lilies, that look Ilk* gre«n pan
cakes, when suddenly eh« etpJed a.
little fish. This fleh wore a small
brown jacket' and " was in a very
sportive mood.
"Good morning!'- said Hippie.
•Good morning!" cried the fish, ex»
ecuiing frcrh gambols In the Joy of his
youth.
'Tell me your nume," said Ripple,
us she dodged the fish's playful tail.
•Tni called Samlet, which means 'a
little salmon. " Then Ripple told h,hn
licr name, and when he knew why she
was co called he was filled with glad
i:ei?s, for here, indeed, was a**sierry
companion.
"And wncre are you coins to. Rip
ple?" Ije ra'd at last, when they were
ouJ. of breath with playing.
"I urn going down to the great sea,**
replied Ripple.
. '"Oh," si-Id Samlet, "that's just whero
I Trant to go. They tell me that ray
mother and father are down there and
tuat one d&y I ehall go too."
"Have you never been before, then?"
replied Ripple. "Why, I've been often."
"Really! " said Samlet, with admira
tion, and had be h&tf them I am sure
ii<? would hare opened his eyelids very
v.-idc. "How I do long to go!"
"Why don't you come with me? .1
could show you all the beauties of the
trajV*
"Oh, but they tc!l me I shall die if I
go as I am," said the fish, disappoint
edly.
Tne water fairy laughed. "You*: so
aii<l put on your silver coat and then
you' T.-ill be a!l right."
"Will you wait for me?" said Samlet.
"Yes, if you're not long."
With one whisk_ of Tub tail Samlet
\ras gone, and in a few moments he re
turned clad in a lovely coat of silvery
b!ue and a touch of etcel srray with
Mack markings.
"How fine you look!" cried Ripple,
gleefully.
•"The old salmon looked very aur
•-prised when I wanted to change my
coat so soon. Tliey eald that I waa
very forward, amd hoped that I should
jiot corce to a bad end."
"Not if I can help it,"' tsaid Ripple.
And they pvrore eternal fricndEfci^. / .
• The river down which Ripple and
Samlet set out in quest of tho sea was
one of the pretticct in all the land-
They traveled at a good pace, mostly at
.night, because garulct preferred it; but
• in the daytime they would often etrey
into some silent pt»ol and dance and
play in the sunbeams. During little
"jaunts by the tray they would often be
joined by troutlets and sometimes
grayling. All the young ftsh were ready
for any sport.
Samlet had never seen euch beauties
as met his eye at every bend of tho
stream, but Ripple was always ready
to give him information, lie had
never seen such fine old trees" ac grew
. Etnong the graves of a church yard
beneath -rrhose walls tho river ran;
. neither had be dreamt of euch quaint
old buildings as formed, the village
round about the church. Then again,
the orchards! Have you ever seen an
orchard in full blossom? Well," imagine
acres and acres of them! They passed
one village which was so full or
- orchards and gardens thatj_ supposing
you had legs, you could walk from one-,
end to the other without touching the
road. Fancy such masses of pink and
white blossoms mingled . with th«j
young grrcen leaves, from which dear
little black and white cottages with
thatched and red roofs peep slyly out
a& you pass along. Ripple's descrip
tion almost made Samlet dlecon tented,
with his river, and yet he knew that
nothing, could'.' really' be more beauti
ful than that. Just below the- village
of the orchard there was a mill. To
make the water turn the great moss,
covered wheel that worked the "mill
the miller had built a large dam across
the river in the shape of a horseshoe. -
Into tho pond formed by- tills dam
Hippie and Samlet turned to play. -Tha
picturesque old mill interested them,
and they watched with pleasure the
great water wheel as it slowly turned.
Close s to the rl flit of them were: the
sluice gates which — aleo a greatcon
trivance of the miller — were let into
the dam so. as -to regulate the Cow of
tho water and keep the pond from
getting too full. On this particular
afternoon these were slightly open, as
the river was swollen from recent
rains.
Samlet and Ripple were close up. to
these sates when a canoe fulL .of
young folk shot dovra the river into
the mill pond.
The Water Fairy
L~ \u25a0 \u25a0 : - ;\u25a0 -\u25a0• -*\u25a0,"?.>. :\u25a0"'\u25a0-
Samlet, was so startled that he gave
.one; twist: with his tall and vanished
through the gates. Ripple- t»as • itr-.'
rifled to see him disappear, so. rapidly,
for she . knew that he would be <aughf
on . the iron grating* across, the sluice'
-boxes./ ;/ rL':o."i^.;..r L ' : o."i^.;.. :;* " /*.f > r /// \u25a0\u25a0 ". "•:.'\u25a0
VHeip; rae! Help m?!' cried Samlet.
' "1 am caught on. this gridiron and am
being battered to death by the water/*
> So Ripple immediately rushed to the
rescue, and, hurling herself through
tlyt gates, fell with 'the torrent on ; th«
grating. .But.:: alas! she .only, pushed'
poor Samlet on to a narrow part, where
there was no chapce of his squeezing
through. So often : do rre hurt those
tve love when we think fee are helping
thcra. y." \u25a0 ; " .' .'.y "". • / \u25a0 . ' ' '• '.\u25a0 /
Ripplo.could not stop, but was com»
pelled to dash Into the river below.
She cried with vexation .when she
found how useless her efforts had been.
£he was roused from her -distreaa,"- how-'
ever, by -the- 6ound of. voices. . Tlie
party who fiag come down in the canoe
were standing on top or the sluice
boses. • ; \
"Harry, don't! You're not. strong
enough," the girl "\v ; as saying.
"Oh, what rot." replied Harry as he
pulled bard aCthe"*!ron" ring' mi tho
lid of the sluice bos. At lasC" after,
much puffing- and more,' grimacing,, the
lid flew open with ; a jerk. -The chil
dren gathered round to watch the wa
ter gushing through the grating. . One
of them pointed out ; some 'young /fish
that were; lying quite still across the
iron bars. They were dead. Probably
they had;. been washed: over 'by' tho
strength of the current and had either
died- from lack of ""water" or "had been
killed by the" torrent. . .- '. *•\u25a0 \u25a0 •'\u25a0- "..
"Poor little things!" said Elsie, tho
Slrl who had first spoken.
"Look! ' Look '" cried Harry "excitedly.
"Do you sec: that young ealmon there?"
"Where?" they all ajiswered.,
"Why," there! don't you see? Under
the twig, with the . leaf : on.' : I } believe
it's alive!"
. ;Tbey were all^ fearfully exciled now
and. craned over to -the edge to \u25a0 seo.
Some could not ccc the fish at all;; and'
those who could ". said that it did l not '
trealhe. But Harry still stuck: to* bis
conviction and was determined "t<j res
cue it- He pulled out a. Ions: branch of
drlffwood, and lying down flat on the
boards tried' to reach the* fish. / But,
ala 3, his young arm" fell short'by j/any.
inches. The children urged him 16 give
it up, but he refused. Patting bis
hands on either side be lowered him
self into the box and ; stood gingerly
on the grating. When he found ' it
would bear hfs -weight he crouched;
down and stretched "out his arm.. With
the aid of the branch he could just
reach the salmon but Tor the moment
could do no more. , ;
The excitement above was intense;
and how. instead of trying to stop him,
they were cheering him on as {f^be,
were a Balaklava hero.
Once more . he stretched his whole
body in the direction 'of the fish; and
succeeded in turning him over. The
next time he was more successful, end
before long be had it within his reach.
His attempts to • get the slippery little
body, into his hanfis brought down upon
bis head much laughter from above.
«*C'last ; hc managed it, and springing
out of thebox he led the way to tho
bottom of the dani.
'Samlet, for it was indeed he. lay per
fectly still in his hand, his little; eyes
glazed and lifeicss. Every one thought
that he" was ', dead.
Harry carefully, placed . him in 'a.litt
le pool, whereon -ho immediately
turned upside down, showing that s part :
of hi 3 body in which, little boys/, put
pudding,' all glistening white. . \u25a0 Sudden
ly they saw /-.his/ gills move slightly/
and all watched with : breathless.; anii
iety. Little did they guess : , "that/ it
THE JUNGLE PUZZLE
- ;'. Wouldn't yoirlike to join in a leopard hunf? : : The -leopard: •
\u25a0is hidden in the jungle/ I tcyou enter the; jungle j at jthej= place^~
marked;-'the' start" an'd^ follow the hunters'- tracks 4
withaieadpencil-vou will find by the time youhave corne.backS
'.to i the v starting : place ; that t you .have - completed ;the^drawing.;;
track : ;or; ryou-wiinb^llbst?in;the^
jungle, lou may trace -the leopardton^thmv ; tracmg -paper*
was- Ripple who 'was waf ting those
gills back ; to life! /\u25a0
\u25a0 After a time" Samlet gave ono or two
: large gasps, 'a : little : flutter with " his
tall,/ and rolled -over on to bis right
side./ / Then, . hey I presto! he was out
of the pool \u25a0 like a streak : of ' lightning'
and as well as ever!/ *
, A perfect; yell rang out and "cheer
after; cheer- startled -the countryside as .
: the [.children - scampered* away : to . their
canoe./ " : . ,' \u25a0 - - ' . / '"-\u25a0'."\u25a0. V'
-The Joy sof ?Ripple and Samlet'i 6n ;
: finding r themselves * united /after such
an : adventure needs ho telling, but th«y
'. took/ ; a> lesson \ and £ for* the ; future ,;kept
more strictly'to 'business./- / \u25a0;-" \u25a0•" v -/. "
.^ They,; traveled" all Mhati night. :; It"wa«
a v very; clear/ nigh t,' such : as -. one . gets '\u25a0
beforea frost.iwhen'.theTmo6n :is brll-'
. Ilan t v and , the j starsialmrfst^strike \ you '.]
when ;you 'como ; out-; of doors. - \u25a0 How. it
gladdened them to dance in -the moon
beams and ;catch_the myriad of stars
that 1 were? mirrored iin^thej depths, of.
the water. viThe; moon was falso. there,
i looking.^? like /a plate, and- into
this they pretended to heap; the. stars."
. The .early dawn still .found them
traveling./ .
->Now ; thayV would- dash. through a bed
of or March marigolds as
they j are r sometimes called, opening
their petals to _ the^ sun. : 'Now. they
would divo; headlong: over the brink of ,
a , cascade, - and :f all-^-f all— fall down
into the white foam/below. "The bank?.
air : deckcd /with; the, ; flowere of early
springy, passed by .thenv as they sped
aloni?. Sometimes r a pale 'primrose
vsould , pepp //from trailing [bramble:
sometimes a snowdrop hung her grace
ful /head/ "guarding a sleeping violet,
or." hedge ~of - blackthorn ; would show -
white with- blossom.
As the water/fairy and the, fish made
their way along a stretch tpfrlver; mot
tled* with ' the "sunbeams and the shad
ow's of a forest'on the bank Ripple sud
denly :grasped"Sam!et in terror.
"Did you see:that7"
'".Yes." said Samlet, equally fright*
; ened.Vr; /"'"/:*"
"Don't stop! Let us; go 'on as If we
hadn't 'seen him." ;.
. "I caughuthe /glint of * his greenlah
gray back in the sun." said Ripple.
;7 "And-I," -Continued Samlet, all of a
tremble, "I .saw -his yellow: spots and
watchful, upturned «?ye.'V
. T "Ho's-hungry ; flnd looking for prey."
said Ripple... Samlet, who already im
agined that: he felt. the teeth ~ot the
strong lower Jaw fixed In hia back, said
nothing./, \u25a0". ',
/What they had. seen- and so feared
\vas a big : pike lylrrr in a pool, as
quiet as a mouse. w>' .. x for a victim
on which to" make a '"'"sal." For the
pike i 3 the most cruel "and greedy fish
in the river. . . •,
./After Samlet and /Ripple ha»3 fled
wilh all. the!r.might a"fl- main for some
time \ they- ventured, to look behind
them; and, flndlnc* that; th«»y. were not
followed, .eased : up. Probably the pike
"had not given chase. -Anyhow, he must
"be taking his time. . "
%"At Jnightfall Samlet. was quite tired
out, and feeling; secure :from. the pike
they turned Into" a small pond that
was "fed by a stream from the , big
river. flflSn^ii A
It Jwas * a very cold night and the
wind .was > in, the .north. ."When Sam
let woke! up after a ; sound sleep .he
felt 'that: something, was wrong. There
was- a" dullness; in the light and -the
.water was 'very cold. He>looked anx
ious about"- for Ripple, and at last per
ceived .her -above, his head, still and
-.motionless.;/ He called! her; by name.
;Sho- made :no v reply. -He rose and
: her : !"she was cold and hard.
Samlet,^ ignorant -of what had really
'happened, ;grew. "angry at Ripple's ln
: difference./;" "You're ,* cold hearted and
; no truo friend," he complained •, reproach
fully, as he shot away. ;
Once out of [the; pond he found that
the; water-. was open to the sky as
usual. \u25a0'\u25a0-.-. It r ; was a- chilly, gray, misty
morning.. '."All .the land and .trees were
;whlte -with f; hoar, frost. Even ; the
orchard blossoms looked dull under
thetbrllliant 'whiteness of the particles
of ice ithat, glistened like Jewels in the
i Bun"aa l it broke", through the fog.
• : Before* Samlet hacrgone far he heard
. tho "swish of a large fish as : it 'came
/down the stream from'afar. For sound
travels * a * long . way In ; the water, ana
a fish's power of hearing is very strong.
. . Samlet c was; seized -with a suspicion
which ;soon~proved. correct, for he saw
a glint 'of green * as ; the. big pike thai
; had \so [frightened j them , the day before
came round :the-bend-'. ; .
' 7ln* : terror ; Samlet j, fled, back to the
pond, beseeching' Ripple to come to his
aid. -, sFortunately - >the ; sun just
at that moment gained ; more strength ,
:as i the fog t lifted ; and poured down on
the "frozen- pond." - Just in ithe'nlck of
time Ripple melted and was ; released
from, her temporary imprisonment.
"Come,", she said, "to tho sea! To tha
sea! There is not a moment to be lost."
:. .'Away they. rushed, helter skelter, and
the »big .pike, perceiving '.'their flight,
/gave chaee. '/ What - a race! /Things
simply vanished past them, so quickly
did they go. Villages and towns dashed
by them, and were left behind, bridges
came and went like straws /and boats
were'left like specks- upon the water.
They neared the sea. Ripple encouraged
Samlet to a final effort— they would
soon be safe. The pike. Infuriated now
at, being put to so much trouble by so
small a fish, lashed the water with hia
tall. .At \u25a0; last Ripple and Samlet felt
the salt in the water. It invigorated
them so much that with an easy spurt
they won their way right into tho
sea. 3sSsßmßo£&&m&%
Once there Ripple bade Bamtat turn
and watch, although it took some per
suasion to make him believe that h«
was out of danger. The big pike had
by this time struck: the salt in the
water at the mouth of the river. For a
moment It pulled him up, for it had a
very different effect on him. Then see
ing, his prey. so near — regardless of all
: consequences— he dashed furiously, on.
The salt seemed to set into his eyes;
bis gilta 1 flapped violently. He gasped
and struggled on again. He had gone
too; far now to turn back even had he
the. wish to do-so. He seemed mad
dened by the sea. At last his struggles
gr«w r less. ' He sunk and rose again.
Then :slov.iy turning over on his baeJc
he. floated near the top with his noail*
up and his tail down. .The big. greedy
pike was dead!
Samlet's delights in the beauties of
the sea knew no bounds. . He gam
bolled with the fretful white horses; he
looked, with awe upon toe rolling
breaker*. "Wonderful!" he murmured
from time to time. But these even were
but tame to the wonders he was to se<*.
"I must present you at court," said
Ripple, as she led the way under some
massive chalk cliffs.
They entered a cave that was nearly
full 'to the top with water. Row upon
row, of broad white steps led up from
the entrance. So far did they stretch
that you could not see the end. As they
ascended. Samlet beheld all the treas
ures of the sea. On either hand a regl
\u25a0 : ment .of lobsters in black uniforms
formed the outer guard, while stately
crabs patrolled \the steps as chamber
lains. Here were a bunch of sprightly
dabs paying courteous compliments to
some pale faced, flimsy soles; there a
knot of sad and solemn bearded oysters
—wise in council— and now- and then a
stately starfish would pass by with a
lofty nod. These were always attended
with royal pomp In the shape of two
sprats as large as pages, on account of
their bring hereditary wearers of tha
Order of the Star. A little higher up
were heapa.of pearl, red ccral and gold
collected from some . Spanish galleon.
At last the splendor of the throne,
perched on the topmost step, burst
upon their 'view. . There «at the queen
of all the" water fairies. was
clothed in robes of Iridescent blue and
green. Her hair, twined about two cor
nelian ears, was made of long trailing*
seaweed, which wa3 of a more delicate
kind than any mortal eye has ever
seen. Her eyes were jet, h«r skin as
white and soft as the surf that breaks
upon the beach. Her feet were shod
with tiny shells and a crown of pearl
was on her head.
Samlet bowed his .head before htr
majesty. and took. her welcome with a
gladdened heart.
"What would you wltli me?" asked
the,que«?n in liquid tones.
"I want my dear friend Ripple to bj
my friend forever."
• "That ; can hardly be." she replied,
. "unless you are wi!' ?to endure great
trial. Eternal love is only given to tho
immortals, and even they suffer."
. "I will do anything f'r Ripple,? said
Samlet fiercely. . v
"So be it," said the queen with a loqsr
drawn sigh that was like tho backwash
of the tide; but then she smjled and
bade him depart. - i ~
As they turned and wended their way
down the sea thundered out salutes
like, cannon and the shingle struck up
a triumphant march in honor ef Sam
let's visit.
When they were once more in the
Brilliant sunshine, which. Indeed,
looked pale after the glories of the.
cave. Samlst tried to thank Ripple for
all her kindness. But just as he was
searching for words, for it Is very diffi
cult to find them when we are really
'' grateful. Ripple suddenly vanished
into the air!
Samlet for some time gazed after her
in wonder, then called her by name, but
no answer came. Poor Samlet waa
stricken down with grief and for days
took no food and. did nothing but be
moan his .loss. Then at length he
braced himself up and set-out to look
for. his lost friend-
First ; he asked the mermaids. They
knew: nothing of her and besought him
to give up his search and stay with
them, but Samlet would not Then be
went i into : the depths, to the very bot
tom of the ocean. Oh, how deep it
was! Imagine yourself at tho foot of
two snow capped mountains, one on
top of the other, and imagine the sea
.'covering them both! But search where
ho would Samlet could" find ro trace of
Ripple," nor did the fearful things he
saw in the dim light at the bottom
make him want to stay. As a l»*c
hope he went to the court of the queen,
but,; alas! he found that the tide was
out and nothing remained <but the tiers
of steps rising empty out of the water.
In despair Samlet, who .by this tins*
was quite a big fish, and might well b«
called a salmon, turned hia weary tall
J toward the ; old river.
/ "i Need I tell you how- sorrowfully . h*
passed the sights he had rejoiced 'over
with "Ripple? Need" I tell you -with
what listless jumps he climbed the
rapids and the salmon ladders?
: \u25a0 Heart broken, heat length reached
the stretch ; where he was born and
sadly greeted bis old acquaintance*,
all of whom had a!3O been down to
the sea, but none of them had seen
-or . heard of ; little Ripple.
} Samlet's Interest in life had gone*
- and one afternoon, seeing a highly col
: ered fly dangling on the water, ,ha
fiung; himself ± upon it in epite of . the
-^warnings- of 'the To Wcr fish. In an in
stant he found himself pulled out of
v the stream on the end of a fisherman's
line. The fisherman was rather dis
appointed with the size of Samlet, and
fiung him down on the bank close to
/the -water. - and turned to gst somo
r more bait."
"Although the sun was shtniag
. brightly there had beep one ,of two
', 'sharp : little showers.'?^ .
/ " Samlet • lay < perfectly '\u25a0 still : where ;h«
had fallen. ", tor: he ..was - too frightened
to mqve, and the ram began to patter
I again. It , was one '\u25a0 of those summer
showers . that , remind one o f a tearful
smile. You look op V and cannot tell "
where the -rain, comes from, the clouds
are so. high and the sun so bright.
Suddcnlv a drop feir on Samlet, and
his startled ears heard the voice of
his T long lost Ripple.
; a big Jump to the left and you
, will ' b« ! all : riMhU'l^goßmj/UK9BMSSi
- ' Samlet - obeyed/ : and /in an fnstant
found himself in ! the ' river. '; \" /;
. The V fisherman '; turned ,wlth : a .cry.
but Samla t was too quick ; far him.' and
. had • dived in to th c depths of it ha pool.
"' 30~ Samlet • and Ripple were ; at last
uaJ ted. and ; lived happily ever after.