Children's Literature Part 130

An aspiring genius was D. Green; The son of a farmer,--age fourteen; His body was long and lank and lean,-- Just right for flying, as will be seen; He had two eyes as bright as a bean, And a freckled nose that grew between, A little awry;--for I must mention That he had riveted his attention Upon his wonderful invention, Twisting his tongue as he twisted the strings, And working his face as he worked the wings, And with every turn of gimlet and screw Turning and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g his mouth round too, Till his nose seemed bent to catch the scent, Around some corner, of new-baked pies, And his wrinkled cheek and his squinting eyes Grew puckered into a queer grimace, That made him look very droll in the face, And also very wise.

And wise he must have been, to do more Than ever a genius did before, Excepting Daedalus of yore And his son Icarus, who wore Upon their backs those wings of wax He had read of in the old almanacs.

Darius was clearly of the opinion, That the air was also man's dominion, And that with paddle or fin or pinion, We soon or late should navigate The azure as now we sail the sea.

The thing looks simple enough to me; And, if you doubt it, Hear how Darius reasoned about it: "The birds can fly, an' why can't I?

Must we give in," says he with a grin, "'T the bluebird an' phoebe are smarter'n we be?

Jest fold our hands, an' see the swaller An' blackbird an' catbird beat us holler?

Does the leetle chatterin', sa.s.sy wren, No bigger'n my thumb, know more than men?

Jest show me that! er prove 't bat Hez got more brains than's in my hat, An' I'll back down, an' not till then!"

He argued further: "Ner I can't see What's the use o' wings to a b.u.mble-bee, Fer to git a livin' with, more'n to me;-- Ain't my business importanter'n his'n is?

That Icarus was a silly cuss,-- Him an' his daddy Daedalus; They might 'a' knowed wings made o' wax Wouldn't stan' sun-heat an' hard whacks: I'll make mine o' luther, er suthin' er other."

And he said to himself, as he tinkered and planned: "But I ain't goin' to show my hand To nummies that never can understand The fust idee that's big an' grand.

They'd 'a' laft an' made fun O' Creation itself afore it was done!"

So he kept his secret from all the rest, Safely b.u.t.toned within his vest; And in the loft above the shed Himself he locks, with thimble and thread And wax and hammer and buckles and screws, And all such things as geniuses use;-- Two bats for patterns, curious fellows!

A charcoal-pot and a pair of bellows; An old hoop-skirt or two, as well as Some wire, and several old umbrellas; A carriage-cover, for tail and wings; A piece of harness; and straps and strings; And a big strong box, in which he locks These and a hundred other things.

His grinning brothers, Reuben and Burke And Nathan and Jotham and Solomon, lurk Around the corner to see him work,-- Sitting cross-legged, like a Turk, Drawing the waxed-end through with a jerk, And boring the holes with a comical quirk Of his wise old head, and a knowing smirk.

But vainly they mounted each other's backs, And poked through knot-holes and pried through cracks; With wood from the pile and straw from the stacks He plugged the knot-holes and calked the cracks; And a bucket of water, which one would think He had brought up into the loft to drink When he chanced to be dry, Stood always nigh, for Darius was sly!

And, whenever at work he happened to spy, At c.h.i.n.k or crevice a blinking eye, He let a dipper of water fly: "Take that! an', ef ever ye git a peep, Guess ye'll ketch a weasel asleep!"

And he sings as he locks his big strong box; "The weasel's head is small an' trim, An' he is leetle an' long an' slim, An' quick of motion an' nimble of limb, An', ef yeou'll be advised by me, Keep wide awake when ye're ketching him!"

So day after day He st.i.tched and tinkered and hammered away, Till at last 'twas done,-- The greatest invention under the sun.

"An' now," says Darius, "hooray fer some fun!"

'Twas the Fourth of July, and the weather was dry, And not a cloud was on all the sky, Save a few light fleeces, which here and there, Half mist, half air, Like foam on the ocean went floating by, Just as lovely a morning as ever was seen For a nice little trip in a flying-machine.

Thought cunning Darius, "Now I shan't go Along 'ith the fellers to see the show: I'll say I've got sich a terrible cough!

An' then, when the folks have all gone off, I'll hev full swing fer to try the thing, An' practyse a little on the wing."

"Ain't goin' to see the celebration?"

Says brother Nate. "No; botheration!

I've got sich a cold--a toothache--I-- My gracious! feel's though I should fly!"

Said Jotham, "Sho! guess ye better go."

But Darius said, "No!

Shouldn't wonder 'f yeou might see me, though, 'Long 'bout noon, ef I git red O' this jumpin', thumpin' pain in my head."

For all the while to himself he said,-- "I tell ye what!

I'll fly a few times around the lot, To see how 't seems; then soon's I've got The hang o' the thing, ez likely's not, I'll astonish the nation, an' all creation, By flying over the celebration!

Over their heads I'll sail like an eagle; I'll balance myself on my wings like a sea-gull; I'll dance on the chimbleys; I'll stan' on the steeple; I'll flop up to winders an' scare the people!

I'll light on the libbe'ty-pole, an' crow; An' I'll say to the gawpin' fools below, 'What world's this here that I've come near?'

Fer I'll make 'em b'lieve I'm a chap f'm the moon; An' I'll try a race 'ith their ol' balloon!"

He crept from his bed; And, seeing the others were gone, he said, "I'm a-gittin' over the cold 'n my head."

And away he sped, To open the wonderful box in the shed.

His brothers had walked but a little way, When Jotham to Nathan chanced to say, "What on airth is he up to, hey?"

"Don'o',--the's suthin' er other to pay, Er he wouldn't 'a' stayed to hum to-day."

Says Burke, "His toothache's all'n his eye!

He never'd miss a Fo'th-o'-July, Ef he hadn't got some machine to try."

Then Sol, the little one, spoke: "By darn!

Le's hurry back, an' hide'n the barn, An' pay him fer tellin' us that yarn!"

"Agreed!" Through the orchard they creep back, Along by the fences, behind the stack, And one by one, through a hole in the wall, In under the dusty barn they crawl, Dressed in their Sunday garments all; And a very astonis.h.i.+ng sight was that, When each in his cobwebbed coat and hat Came up through the floor like an ancient rat.

And there they hid; and Reuben slid The fastenings back, and the door undid.

"Keep dark," said he, "While I squint an' see what the' is to see."

As knights of old put on their mail,-- From head to foot in an iron suit, Iron jacket and iron boot, Iron breeches, and on the head No hat, but an iron pot instead, And under the chin the bail,-- (I believe they call the thing a helm,--) And, thus accoutred, they took the field, Sallying forth to overwhelm The dragons and pagans that plagued the realm; So this modern knight prepared for flight, Put on his wings and strapped them tight-- Jointed and jaunty, strong and light,-- Buckled them fast to shoulder and hip,-- Ten feet they measured from tip to tip!

And a helm he had, but that he wore, Not on his head, like those of yore, But more like the helm of a s.h.i.+p.

"Hus.h.!.+" Reuben said, "he's up in the shed!

He's opened the winder,--I see his head!

He stretches it out, an' pokes it about Lookin' to see 'f the coast is clear, An' n.o.body near;-- Guess he don'o' who's hid in here!

He's riggin' a spring-board over the sill!

Stop laffin', Solomon! Burke, keep still!

He's climbin' out now--Of all the things!

What's he got on? I vum, it's wings!

An' that t'other thing? I vum, it's a tail!

And there he sets like a hawk on a rail!

Steppin' careful, he travels the length Of his spring-board, and teeters to try its strength, Now he stretches his wings, like a monstrous bat; Peeks over his shoulder, this way an' that, Fer to see 'f the's anyone pa.s.sin' by; But the's o'ny a ca'f an' a goslin' nigh.

They turn up at him a wonderin' eye, To see--The dragon! he's goin' to fly!

Away he goes! Jimminy! what a jump!

Flop--flop--an' plump to the ground with a thump!

Flutt'rin' an' flound'rin', all'n a lump!"

As a demon is hurled by an angel's spear, Heels over head, to his proper sphere,-- Heels over head, and head over heels, Dizzily down the abyss he wheels,-- So fell Darius. Upon his crown, In the midst of the barnyard, he came down, In a wonderful whirl of tangled strings, Broken braces and broken springs, Broken tail and broken wings, Shooting stars, and various things,-- Barnyard litter of straw and chaff, And much that wasn't so sweet by half.

Away with a bellow flew the calf, And what was that? Did the gosling laugh?

'Tis a merry roar from the old barn-door, And he hears the voice of Jotham crying; "Say, D'rius! how de yeou like flyin'?"

Slowly, ruefully, where he lay, Darius just turned and looked that way, As he stanched his sorrowful nose with his cuff, "Wal, I like flyin' well enough,"

He said, "but the' ain't sich a thunderin' sight O' fun in't when ye come to light."

I just have room for the MORAL here: And this is the moral,--Stick to your sphere; Or, if you insist, as you have the right, On spreading your wings for a loftier flight, The moral is,--Take care how you light.

376

The poem of "Beth Gelert" (Grave of Gelert) is really a verse version of an old folk story that has localized itself in many places over the world. In Wales they can show you where Gelert is buried, which ill.u.s.trates how such a favorite story takes hold of the popular mind.

The poem by William Robert Spencer (1769-1834) has so much of the spirit of the old ballads which it imitates that it was believed at first to be a genuine example of one.

BETH GeLERT

WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER

The spearmen heard the bugle sound, And cheerly smiled the morn; And many a brach, and many a hound, Obeyed Llewellyn's horn.

And still he blew a louder blast, And gave a l.u.s.tier cheer, "Come, Gelert, come, wert never last Llewellyn's horn to hear.