The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-06-21
Young Folks.


WIN OutSCretCllCu arms, ana the houses
ike elephants, with chimneys for tusks.
Benny looked dut Of the window, and
this abous Tho trees aud houses
and then he wandered here and there,
trying to amusc himself. First, he built
block houses; then he wound up his tin
steam-engine, and watched IT run round
and round the room; he pored through
oil his books, and painted the pictures
in his new geography with his new
box Of paints. But ho got so tired Of
all these things that he finally put them
away, and leaned his arms on the win
dow. sill to look out again.
"It's so dreadful dull,n he said to
himself. "I wish it wasn't so rainy.
I wish / had somebody to amuse me.'
His mother was writing letters in the
library, his sister was practicing her
music lesson, and the servants were
busy down stairs. There was no one to
play with him, or read to him. Sud
denly, bright idea entered Bcnny's
curly head.
an go and blow soap.bubbles," he
cried, jumping up.
lie went into his room, ard, looking
all over his box of playthings, he could
find nothing but the bowl of a pipe,
without particle of stem.
go dear, that will never do" said
Benny. 81 remember now, broke my
pipe the last time blew bubbles. /
shall have to give it up"
Then he picked up his playthings
and put them back into the box, and
wandered off into the next room, which
was the one where his papa and NAM
ma slept. Lying on the bureau was
something very pretty. 1t was meer-
schaum pipe, which somebody had sent
as q present to his papa. 1t lay all
nicely fitted into black morocco case
lined with crimson satin.
Benny took it ieut of the case very
carefully and held it in his hand. 1t
had nice stem, tipped with beautiful
yellow amber, and such funny bowl.
1t wasn't a plain round bowl, like a
common clay pipe. o, no! The bowl
of this wonderful pipe was made in the
shape of little coach, with tiny win
dows and door on each side. Two
mites of horses looked as if they were
galJoping up the stem, and the tiniest
of coachmen sat on the box, with a
rosette in his hat about as big as the
head of a pin.
Benny turned it over and over in the
palm of his little fat hand. He was
dreadfully afraid his papa might not
like it, and yet he wanted so much to
blow a very few bubbles with that grand
pipe. His father had never told him
he must not touch it, and so he thought
he might venture.
He got some soap and water ready
in the washbowl, after good deal of
splashing; then he spread down blan.
ket from off his own little bed, over the
carpet, to roll the bubbles on. And he
took all the towels on the towel-rack,
and wiped up the water he had splashed
on the carpet.
Then he began to blow bubbles. What
lovely bubbles they werel Benny new
er had so little trouble in making them
roll on the blanket. They lasted long
time, too, and were so big. Full of
colors, too, like rainbow; red, green,
blue, and orange, chased each other
round and round the transparent globes,
like clouds in the sky.
snow I'll blow one as big as my
head" said Benny.
So he put the stem to his mouth, and
blew and blew, till his cheeks ached.
The bubble got bigger and bigger, till
it looked like great balloon, and the
top of it touched the ceiling. He took
the pipe away from his lips in wonder.
How astonished he was when he saw
that the little meerschaum coach had
grown too, and hung at the bottom of
the bubble as the car hangs to the bot
tom of a real balloon. The coach had
grown as big as Tom Thumbs carriage,
and looked as if it were made of gold.
While he stood staring at it, one of the
doors opened, and tinkling little voice
said:
sect in, please, Benny"
Benny saw that it was dear little
girl, with ringlets and blue dress, and
in he jumped. Then the balloon. bub-
BILE hoated out through the wall, some
how or other-Benny couldn't see how
it was done-and they began to go up.
AT first it was damp and rainy, sailing
through the clouds, and Benny and the
little girl quite shivered. Her dress
was of thin gauze, and Benny had no
hat or overcoat; so it was no wonder
they were cold.
Pretty soon they rose above the clouds
and got where the sun shone. Then
they went up very fast. They looked
down out of the windows of their little
low them, looking as if it were wrapped
in gray mantle. When they We're
sailing fairly and prosperously in the
sunshine above the clouds, Benny asked
his little companion who she was.
81 am fairy" she answered. "I am
one of the FAIRIES of the air, and / usual
ly live in soap-bubble."
"Oh," said Benny. "Then perhaps
you can tell me where soap bubbles 60
to when they break"
The fairy said she didn't know any,
thing about that.
"Were you never in one when it
burst ?" asked Benny.
81 think not" replied the fairy, look
ing at him in puzzled way, as if she
didn't quite understand what he was
talking about.
"Verylikely," said Benny to himself,
"she has lived in a stronger kind of
soap.bubbles than mine, because she
would certainly get hurt when they
burst into pieces"
So he stopped thinking about it.
Now the great red and green bubble
had carried them up very high, as high
as the moon. The moon was not made
OF green cheese after all. They were
near enough to see that. 1t had noun
tains on it, and trees, and deep valleys.
1t looked very cold and bleak there,
and they neither of them wished to stop
on that planet.
About this time the sun went down,
and the stars were twinkling all around
them. They saw Saturn, with his four
shining rings, and Jupiter, with his
four round moons, and they sailed quite
near the Big Dipper. Once they saw
comet whisk by, with long fiery tail
and this frightened Benny so that he