The National tribune., 1881-12-03
SPIDEREE.
z. D. Underhill, in St. Nicholas.
GRIF.

u. D. Underh in ST. Nicholas
Once upon a time when there were very, very
few men upon the earth, and those few were con-
sdered of little Importance, the world, as all wise
children know, was peopled by fairies. The elves
then had everything their own way, and you
might have heard grown-up fairies in those days
speaking of men and women as tanciful creatures
that no sensible elfn child ought to believe in
There has been a great change since then how
ever, for nowadays plenty of respectable per
SONS actually deny the existence of the fairies
altogether, for the foolish reason that they have
never seen them;-iust as if any fairy would
take the trouble 10 show himself to person who
didn't believe in him.
Fine times the sprites had then! Think of
swinging on cobwebs, and taking ride through
the sunshiny air on a floating bit of thistle
down; of flying about on the backs of butter
flies, and sailing over moonlit lakes on water
lily leaves; of being so small that you could
creep into silky soft morning glory to Sleep and
be Weakened in the fresh dawn by the rosy light
coming through the pink walls of your room /;
OF of taking a nap in the heart of a rose, where
you would be perpetually famed by the sweet
breath of the flower. An easy life the elfn
mothers led in those happy times; for when
their tiny babies fretted and would not rest, as
sometimes happened, they had only to hang them
up in hare-bells and columbnes, and let the wind
rock them to sleep.
Old and young spent their time in merry dane
ing, and in frolicking, for they were a mis-
ehievous race, and loved to play all sorts of queer
tricks On one another and on the animals that
lived with them in the woods and meadows
They would pull the bushy tails of the gray
squirrels and then hide in the ragged bark of a
tree to watch them stare and hunt vainly about
for their tormentors. They would knock the
nut out of chipmunk's paws, just as he was
going to put it in his mouth, and hop about and
gggle with delight to see the angry little fellow
sit up on his launches and scold till his voice
could be heard all over the woods. They used
to peep over the edges of the nests and make
faces at the young birds until the poor feather
less babies screamed harder than ever for their
mothers to come home and protect them from
these naughty elves. They took the bees honey
from the holes ia the hollow trees where it had
been so carefully stored by its busy makers; they
used no end of waspslnests for paper on which
to write notes to one another; and they stole the
spiders webs for ropes.
But in spite of all these freaks, they were
kind-hearted and would not for the world do
any real harm to any living creature. Indeed
when there was no rain, and the delicate plants
were fainting for want Of moisture, troops of
fairies would often work hard for hours, bringing
moss-cups full of water from the brook to re-
fresh the dropping flowers; and more than one
nestful of young birds who had lost their mother
were brought up by the kind elves, who gave up
their play to search for seeds and worms for the
helpless orphans. And the squirrels and snakes,
wasps, bees and spiders, all knew that much as
the fairies might love to tease them there was no
danger of their really hurting them. So in spite of
a few quarrels and seedlings on occasions when
the little people really too troublesome they
were all good friends, and very merry and happy
together.
say that they were very happy, and so they
were; but there was one thing which kept the
fairies from being perfectly contented, and made
them, even in the midst of their widest gayety,
keep an uneasy lookout for the danger which
might be lurking near. At that time there lived
another race of beings, who were no bigger than
mortal children of two three years, but who to
the fairies were terrible giants. These were the
SoplIlS; anu lHstedu oI uylnS aDoub III moon
shine and sunshine, and giving all their thoughts
to merry tricks and little acts of kindness they
were of a cross and gloomy disposition, and
spent their whole time in accommodating great
heaps of gold and silver and precious stones. |
They thought this the only thing worth living |
for, and as fairy fingers were much finer than |
their own, and could do far moro delicate work |
it was the dearest desire of every goblin to catch
a fairy and set him TO polishing the hard bits of
shiny stone which were the pride Of the goblin |
heart. Many and many an unhappy sprite had |
been snatched from his dance on the soft green |
moss carpet and carried off to this hateful slavery
Where the bad race of COLLINS lived, to what |
far-of and horrible caverns their unfortunate |
We're carried, the fays and elves had |
never been able to discover; but that it was |
long and terrible journey and that the end of
1t was weary labor under pitiless masters,-this
at least they had succeeded in finding out
Now, at this time, in one of the greenest and
prettlest dells, decked with ferns, and Swallowed
by tall forest-trees, lived among others, three
young sprites. The Oldest, who was named
Spideree, was very kind to his sister Violet, and
together they took of their little sister Moon