BRAVE WORK AND THE REWARD
And on the very first morrow came Polly's music teacher!
The big drawing-room, with its shaded light and draped furniture, withits thick soft carpet, on which no foot-fall could be heard, with allits beauty and loveliness on every side was nothing to Polly's eyes,only the room that contained the piano!
That was all she saw! And when the teacher came he was simply the Fairy(an ugly little one, it is true, but still a most powerful being) whowas to unlock its mysteries, and conduct her into Fairyland itself. Hewas a homely little Frenchman, with a long, curved nose, and an enormousblack moustache, magnificently waxed, who bowed elaborately, and calledher "Mademoiselle Pep-paire;" but he had music in his soul, and Pollycouldn't reverence him too much.
And now the big piano gave out new sounds; sounds that told of a strongpurpose and steady patience. Every note was struck for mother and thehome brood. Monsieur Tourtelotte, after watching her keenly out of hislittle black eyes, would nod to himself like a mandarin, and the nodwould be followed by showers of extra politeness, as his appreciation ofher patient energy and attention.
Every chance she could get, Polly would steal away into the drawing-roomfrom Jappy and the three boys and all the attractions they could offer,and laboriously work away over and over at the tedious scales andexercises that were to be stepping-stones to so much that was gloriousbeyond. Never had she sat still for so long a time in her active littlelife; and now, with her arms at just such an angle, with the stiff,chubby fingers kept under training and restraint--well, Polly realized,years after, that only her love of the little brown house could everhave kept her from flying up and spinning around in perfect despair.
"She likes it!" said Percy, in absolute astonishment, one day, whenPolly had refused to go out driving with all the other children in thepark, and had gone resolutely, instead, into the drawing-room and shutthe door. "She likes those hateful old exercises and she don't likeanything else."
"Much you know about it," said Jappy; "she's perfectly aching to go, nowPercy Whitney!"
"Well, why don't she then?" said Percy, opening his eyes to their widestextent.
"Cause," said Jasper, stopping on his way to the door to look him fullin the face, "she's commenced to learn to play, and there won't anythingstop her."
"I'm going to try," said Percy, gleefully. "I know lots of ways I can doto try, anyway."
"See here, now," said Jasper, turning back, "you let her alone! Doyou hear?" he added, and there must have been something in his eye tocommand attention, for Percy instantly signified his intention not totease this young music student in the least.
"Come on then, old fellow," and Jasper swung his cap on his head,"Thomas will be like forty bears if we keep him waiting much longer."
And Polly kept at it steadily day after day; getting through with thelessons in the schoolroom as quickly as possible to rush to her music,until presently the little Frenchman waxed enthusiastic to that degreethat, as day after day progressed and swelled into weeks, and eachlesson came to an end, he would skip away on the tips of his toes, hisnose in the air, and the waxed ends of his moustache, fairly tremblingwith delight, "Ah, such patience as Mademoiselle Pep-paire has! I knowno other such little Americane!"
"I think," said Jasper one evening after dinner, when all the childrenwere assembled as usual in their favorite place on the big rug in frontof the fire in the library, Prince in the middle of the group, his headon his paws, watching everything in infinite satisfaction, "that Polly'sgetting on in music as I never saw anyone do; and that's a fact!"
"I mean to begin," said Van, ambitiously, sitting up straight andstaring at the glowing coals. "I guess I will to-morrow," whichannouncement was received with a perfect shout--Van's taste beinganything rather than of a musical nature.
"If you do," said Jappy, when the merriment had a little subsided, "Ishall go out of the house at every lesson; there won't anyone stay init, Van."
"I can bang all I want to, then," said Van, noways disturbed by thereflection, and pulling one of Prince's long ears, "you think you're sobig, Jappy, just because you're thirteen."
"He's only three ahead of me, Van," bristled Percy, who never couldforgive Jappy for being his uncle, much less the still greater sin ofhaving been born three years earlier than himself.
"Three's just as bad as four," said Van.
"Let's tell stories," began Polly, who never could remember such goingson in the little brown house; "we must each tell one," she added withthe greatest enthusiasm, "and see which will be the biggest and thebest."
"Oh, no," said Van, who perfectly revelled in Polly's stories, and whonow forgot his trials in the prospect of one, "You tell, Polly--you tellalone."
"Yes, do, Polly," said Jasper; "we'd rather."
So Polly launched out into one of her gayest and finest; and soonthey were in such a peal of laughter, and had reached such heights ofenjoyment, that Mr. King popped his head in at the door, and then camein, and took a seat in a big rocking-chair in the corner to hear the fungo on.
"Oh, dear," said Van, leaning back with a long sigh, and wiping hisflushed face as Polly wound up with a triumphant flourish, 'how ever doyou think of such things, Polly Pepper?
"That isn't anything," said Jappy, bringing his handsome face out intothe strong light; "why, it's just nothing to what she has told time andagain in the little brown house in Badgertown;" and then he caughtsight of Polly's face, which turned a little pale in the firelight as hespoke; and the brown eyes had such a pathetic droop in them that it wentto the boy's very heart.
Was Polly homesick? and so soon!
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Page 19