by C. S. Guild
Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Print project.)
VIOLET:
A FAIRY STORY.
BOSTON: PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY. 1856.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1855, by PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, AND COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
PUBLISHERS' ADVERTISEMENT.
In the absence of any preface by the author, the publishers desire tocall special attention to this most exquisite little story. It breathessuch a love of Nature in all her forms, inculcates such excellentprinciples, and is so full of beauty and simplicity, that it willdelight not only children, but all readers of unsophisticated tastes.The author seems to teach the gentle creed which Coleridge has imbodiedin those familiar lines,--
"He prayeth well who loveth well Both man, and bird, and beast."
VIOLET: A FAIRY STORY.
CHAPTER I.
VIOLET'S HOME.
Once there was a gardener who lived in an old hut of a house, with onetable inside, and some rough stools, and a large box that served for abed, all of which he had made himself.
There was one window; but when it stormed the rain beat in so that theold lady, his wife, had to pin her shawl against it, and then the wholehouse was dark as night.
Every body thought these people poor except themselves; but they had onetreasure which seemed to them better than a whole mountain of gold andall the splendid houses and gay carriages in the world. This was theirlittle daughter Violet, whose presence in their home made it beautifuland stately, and whose absence, they thought, would have made a palacedull.
Violet was not as beautiful as some children. She was pale and slender,and her soft, light hair did not curl in ringlets, but floated over hershoulders like a golden veil. But O, she had such beautiful eyes! Theywere large, and so bright and clear, and such a deep, deep blue!Sometimes they made you think of a brook in the shady wood when gleamsof sunshine have found their way to it; sometimes they were like nothingso much as the violets that grew beside the doorway of her own father'shut.
The old man had, besides his daughter, a garden, which was dear to him;and well it might be, for in summer it did one's eyes good to look atthe blossoms all tangled together, and sprinkled over with great dropsof pearly dew. Roses there were, and lilies, and fox-gloves, andmignonette, and a great many other flowers that had long names, whichViolet could not remember. Then there were long, neatly-kept beds ofvegetables and sweet herbs, which Reuben--for that was the gardener'sname--carried to market.
Now, while Reuben was digging his vegetables, his wife and Violet wouldgather the prettiest flowers and buds, and tie them into bouquets withso much taste that soon the old gardener became famous for his flowers,and many rich people sought him out, promising to buy all he would bringto their houses.
Flowers only grow in summer time; and all the year round people musteat, and drink, and wear clothes; and then Reuben had to pay rent forhis garden; so, notwithstanding their industry, Violet's friends werepoor.
But they were happier than a great many rich people, and certainly lovedViolet as well as though she had been a queen. They were so kind to herthat sometimes the little girl thought, if there were such beings asfairies, they must look into her heart every day, find out her wishes,and tell them to her good parents.
Between you and me, there _were_ two fairies--one named Love and theother Contentment--that lived all the time in Reuben's hut; and thoughViolet had never seen their faces, and did not even know their names,they were always doing something for her. It was because these excellentfriends had touched her coarse garments that they looked fine and softas velvet to her eyes; it was because they never left the old black hutthat it looked so clean and sunny--cheerful as a palace.
You may wonder, if these fairies were so powerful, why they didn't havea palace of their own; but you must remember directly they enter a placeit becomes a palace; and besides, Violet possessed a charm so powerfulthat even the fairies could not fly away unless she gave them leave; andyet--wasn't it queer?--she did not know this herself.
CHAPTER II.
STRANGE PLAYFELLOWS.
Violet's birthday was very near; but she had forgotten all about it,birthdays came so far apart in her happy life. From morning untilevening seemed long enough for a year to her; she found so much work todo, and such beautiful walks to take, and had so many playfellows, tosay nothing of the two good fairies that always watched over andfollowed her.
Perhaps you wonder how the little girl found friends, living as she didaway out in a lonesome field among the mountains. She could havedescribed her pets to you better than I can, because the fairy Lovedressed them up for her in jewels and rainbows, while to others theywere only toads, and snakes, and flies, and trees, and brooks, andclouds.
Funny playfellows, you will think. There was one good thing aboutthem--they never quarrelled or used bad words; and then it was sport forViolet, after her work was finished, to scamper away with them.
But if she ran ever so fast, the fairy Love always kept up with her; andit is well she did; for if she had staid at home, or fallen into a piton the way, all Violet's dear playfellows would have changed in aninstant--have grown ugly and coarse, and, what is worse, she would havetrodden on them and crushed their wings--by mistake, I hope, for shenever had been so wicked; and Violet herself would have changed into alittle peevish girl, with a sickly face and loose yellow hair, andwearing a dress so coarse and rough you would not give it to a beggarchild.
But Violet kept the charm locked safe in her heart, and therefore,wander wherever she would, the fairies had to follow. They were up withher early in summer mornings, for she loved dearly to watch the sunrise. She would climb a hill, at the foot of which Reuben's hut wasbuilt, and all alone up there, close, she thought, to the soft, rosysky, would wait and watch, and at last clap her little hands for joywhen the great golden sun came in sight above the woods. She would standon tiptoe, and laugh aloud when she saw the shadows fly away, likefrightened birds, before the sunshine, which flooded all the valley now,and which lay upon the beautiful wreaths of mist that went curling up tomeet it from the ponds and brooks, brightening them to dazzlingwhiteness--so like the clouds in heaven that Violet half believed theearth about her was beautiful as that far-off blue sky.
So it would be if every little girl and boy kept two good fairies, likeLove and Contentment, flying about with them.
How the grass glittered with dew! how the slender wild flowers werebowed down with its weight!--pearl and diamond beads strung all alongthe stems, and edging every petal. Children who keep in bed until eighto'clock know very little about the beauty of summer mornings. Perhaps,even if they did arise in time, they would be afraid of wetting theirshoes in the grass; but Violet was very poor, you know, and never wore ashoe in her life, and lived out of doors so much that she was not in theleast delicate.
As soon as the sunshine had crept near their nests among the greenboughs of the wood, all the wild birds began to flutter about and singsuch loud, clear, sweet songs that Violet could not help joining thechorus; and any one else would have known that fairies Love andContentment were singing loudest of all. Violet heard their music, butsupposed it came from the birds. How she wanted to fly away with them,up among the beautiful rosy clouds! but Love whispered in her ear,--
"Won't your mother want you, little girl, at home? Cannot you help herthere?" and just then a bird fluttered
away from a dew-wet bough,dashing a whole shower of drops in Violet's face. Instead of beingangry, she laughed, and shouted,--
"Do it again, bird. If I can't fly away with you, you may wash my facebefore you go. Do it again."
But the bird was soon out of sight among the clouds, and Violet, withthese pearly dewdrops clustering in her golden hair, went dancing downthe hill.
CHAPTER III.
THE MOUNTAIN BROOK.
Close beside the pathway ran a little murmuring brook, foaming andsparkling over its rocky bed, gliding just as merrily through the darkshadows as when its course lay open to the sun. It seemed as if fairyContentment must have bathed in it, or planted some of the flowers alongits brink; never was there a merrier little stream.
"I know what you're singing about," said Violet; "I know, Mr. Brook;you're trying to make me think you can run down the hill faster than anyone else. Let us see;" and away she flew, and away the brook went afterher, and by her side flew the fairies, and over her head the birds--allsinging, "Success to Violet!" while the leaves "clapped their littlehands" in favor of their friend the brook, and the young birds lookedover the edge of their nests to find out what in the world this stircould be about.
Nobody ever knew which won the race. Up in the clouds the birds sang,"Good, good, good; it was Violet, Violet!" while the leaves whispered,"No, no, no, no; it was the brook!" But Violet and the brook were asgood friends as were the birds and trees; so they all laughed together,instead of quarrelling.
When Violet reached home her breakfast was ready, and she sat down onthe doorstep with her tin porringer of bread and milk. She was so hungrythat it tasted better than a great many nicer breakfasts which have beeneaten from silver cups; but, hungry as she was, she did not forget herkitten, who came, saying, plainly as she could purr, "Leave a little forme."
Violet had found out that it makes one quite as happy to be generous asto eat a good breakfast, and kitty had her share. Then she washed herporringer, hung it up in the sun to dry, and ran out in the garden,where her mother was picking flowers, whole baskets full of them, forthe market, and told Violet to look among the thickly-clustering leavesof her namesakes, and gather all the blossoms she could find.
She found a whole apron full, white and blue violets, single and doubleones; these she tied in bunches, with a few bright green leaves aroundeach bouquet. The whole garden was scented with their fragrance, andViolet thought them the prettiest flowers in the world, as well as thesweetest, and wished in her heart that she could, just once, have one ofthese whole bunches for her own.
While she knelt on the ground admiring her lovely flowers, and wishingthey need not all be sent away and sold, the fairy Love flew to hermother's side, and whispered in her ear all that Violet was thinkingabout. Then her mother remembered that to-morrow would be Violet'sbirthday, and on that occasion she never forgot to give her a present.But about this I must tell in another chapter.
CHAPTER IV.
TOADY.
Violet passed such long, long, busy days, talking all the time to hermother, her kitten, her toads, or the birds that alighted now and thenupon a bush, and sang to her while she worked; for Violet's mother,though she gave her plenty of time to play, had taught her little girlto sew and read.
She might have forgotten to do this amid all her own hard work; butfairy Contentment whispered in her ear that, unless Violet became usefuland industrious, _she_ must fly away, never to return; and Love, closeby, sang, "See--I have brought her these books; and I'll make thelearning easy."
I told you that some of Violet's playfellows were toads--the same uglybrown toads you have seen hopping about your own garden walks. You mustnot think they were ugly to her; for, soon as they came in sight, italways happened that the shadow of Love's purple wings would fall uponthem, and then their brown backs changed to crimson and violet, and thepoisonous-looking spots became jewelled studs; and I will not say theywere very graceful pets even then; but Violet loved them, and they lovedher.
This is the way their acquaintance began: It was a hot day--blazing hot;so light too--not a shadow to be seen. Violet had been in the garden atwork, and, as she hastened homeward through the scorching sun, almostfell over a great toad, that had been crossing the path, but was sodusty she had mistaken him for a stone or a ball of earth.
She stooped to see if she had injured him, and patting the toad's back,said,--
"You poor little dirty fellow, don't you know enough to keep out of thesun and dust?"
Toady looked up at her as if he would answer if he did but know how totalk; he only opened and shut, opened and shut, his great wide mouth;but Violet understood very well what he meant by this; for the fairyLove teaches a language that is not set down in books or studied incolleges. I have known of great scholars, who could talk in twenty orthirty different tongues, and who yet knew less about this language ofLove, which is the very best in the whole wide world, than our poorlittle barefooted Violet.
"You're thirsty, are you, toady?" said she; "stand still, and I'll giveyou a drink."
The toad opened his mouth again, and Violet poured over him a few dropsshe had left in her watering pot. She was half afraid he would not bevery well pleased with such a showering; but there he stood, stockstill, blinking his round red eyes, and opening his mouth at her as ifhe would say, "More--more!"
"Well, wait," she said, laughing; "I'll go to the brook and bring youmore water in welcome, just for the sake of seeing your face cleanonce."
Away she ran, and toady not only waited for her, but, when she cameback, there, one on each side of him, were two smaller toads--the threeranged in a row, looking so sober and funny that Violet laughed louderthan ever.
She sprinkled the poor dusty toads all over with cool, bright water fromthe mountain brook; and when they had enough, they began to shake theirheads and hop away, without even saying, "Thank you," and hid themselvesin the grass.
CHAPTER V.
LOVE'S CHARM.
But the next day, (and this is a true story,) when it had grown so warmthat Violet could not work any longer in the garden, and was going homewith her hoe and watering pot, there stood the three toads again in thewalk, just as they were the day before, with Toady, as she called him,between the two smaller ones. All three gave a little hop when Violetcame in sight, and then stood still again.
This was their way of saying, "Good morning; we hope you haven'tforgotten us."
And long afterwards, whenever Violet passed through the garden walk,especially if the day was warm, she was pretty sure of meeting her newacquaintances.
They even grew so tame that they would follow her about the garden; andoften she would walk up and down the same path for half an hour at atime, just for the sake of seeing how soberly her droll little petswould hop along after her, turning whenever she turned, and waiting forher whenever she stopped.
Violet thought them the wisest and most loving toads that ever hopped.She did not know that Love, directly their mistress entered the garden,fastened them to her by a delicate silken cord, just the color of Love'sown purple wings, and they could not very well help following her;though, if Violet had treated them unkindly, in an instant the purplecord would have lost all its strength, and grown slender as theslenderest thread in a spider web.
Now, my dear readers, though I hope with all my heart that you will tryto be as good and loving as Violet, I don't want you to _do_ every thingshe did. All toads are not as fond of a sprinkling as Toady and hisyoung brothers were; so you mustn't drown the poor things in water everytime you meet one.
What you need is, to persuade the fairies Love and Contentment to livein your home, and trust to your keeping a charm like the one they hadplaced in Violet's heart.
Then, every morning of your lives, they will tell something which youcan do, and no one else can do as well, to make others happy--kind deedsthat will lighten misfortune, and loving words that may enter likemusic, and dwell in some lonely, sorrowing heart.
Believe always this on
e thing--that every kind deed you do for otherswill make _you_ happier then and always, and every unkind deed will makeyou feel ashamed and sorry so long as you remember it. No matter to whomthe kindness or unkindness may be done--a king or a butterfly, your owndear mother or a little toad in the garden walk. I have known childrenwho could not bear to see even a lily broken down by rain, its beautifulwhite flowers all lying in the dirt. I have watched them prop it up withsticks, and gently wash the earth away from its delicate petals, andhave said to myself, "Ah, little one, the fairy Love is nestling in yourheart."
And I have seen the fairy Contentment start from her nest among thelilies, and follow the little one as she ran off to play.
CHAPTER VI.
HOW FAIRIES LOOK.
Do you want to know how Contentment looks? Some people think she is themost beautiful among all the fairies; (and there are hosts of them, andsome of the bad ones, even, have handsome faces.) Her cheeks are notquite as rosy as Love's, and her mild eyes do not sparkle and glitter asbrilliantly; but she has a smile even brighter than Love's own; thissheds a peaceful light about Contentment wherever she goes; and whereverit falls, beautiful flowers will blossom, and the air grow clear andfragrant.
She wears a wreath of starbeams, braided into a delicate but brilliantcrown; and there is no place so dark but this will light a path throughit. Her pure white wings look like two lily petals, and though alwaysclean and fresh themselves, I suppose they have dusted away more heapsof care, and though so delicate, have lifted people safely over widerseas of trouble, than all the strong arms in the world--all therailroads and steamships put together.