THE GEESE AND THE BABY
The Little Girls had gone to play with a new friend who lived down theroad, and the Man was working in the farthest field of the farm. TheBaby had been laid in the crib for his afternoon nap, and his motherwent up-stairs to work at her house-cleaning. She thought that shemight possibly finish two closets if the baby did not awaken and callher too soon. She felt sure that she would know when he awakened,because she left the staircase door ajar, and he usually cried alittle as soon as he got his eyes open.
This time, however, the Baby slept only a few minutes and did not cryat all. He had grown a great deal since he came to live on the farm,and was becoming very strong and independent. When he opened his eyeshe made no sound, but lay there quietly staring at the ceiling untilhe heard one of the Cocks crowing outside. He had always wanted tocatch that tallest Cock and hug him--he looked so soft and warm--andnow was the time to try it. When his mother was around she sometimesheld his dress or one of the shoulder-straps of his little overallsand would not let him catch the Cock. He would crawl out of his cribalone and go out very quietly to try it.
The Baby pulled himself up by the rounds of his crib, and tumbled overits railing onto his mother's bed, which stood beside it. From that heslid to the floor. It took him only two minutes more to get out of theside door and down the steps. It did not take at all long for thesteps, because he fell more than half the distance. If he had not beenrunning away, or if there had been anybody around to pity him, hewould have cried, but to cry now might spoil all his fun, so he pickedhimself up without making a sound and started for the Shanghai Cock.
The Shanghai Cock was on the ground when the Baby began toddlingtoward him. As the Baby came nearer he began to walk off. "I don'twant to be caught," said he. "It is bad enough to have grown peoplecatch me, but it would be worse to have a Baby do so, for he mightchoke me."
"Here, pitty Chickie!" said the Baby. "Baby want oo." Then he tried torun, and fell down instead.
The Barred Plymouth Rock Hen looked at him pityingly. "Just the way myChickens used to act when trying to catch a Grasshopper," said she."It is so hard for children to learn that they cannot have everythingthey want."
When the Baby tumbled, the Shanghai Cock stood still, and even pickedup a couple of mouthfuls of food. When the Baby got up again, theShanghai Cock moved on. At last the Cock decided to put a stop to thissort of game, in which the Baby seemed to be having all the fun, so heflew to the top of the pasture fence and crowed as loudly as hecould. The Baby's mother heard him as she worked busily upstairs. "Howloudly that Cock does crow!" said she. "I am glad that such noises donot wake the Baby. He is having a fine nap to-day." Then she unrolledanother bundle of pieces and paid no more attention to the crowing.
When the Baby saw that he could not reach the Cock, he thought hewould try for some of the other fowls. The Gobbler came in sight justthen and he started after him. Luckily he had no red on, or it mighthave been the Gobbler who did the chasing. "Here, pitty Chickie!" saidthe Baby. "Tum, pitty Chickie! Tum to Baby."
It was the first time the Gobbler had ever been been called a "pittyChickie," but that made no difference. He did not want to be pettedand he did not want to be caught. Baby might open and shut his tinyfat hands as many times as he pleased, beckoning to him. The Gobblerwould not come. "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" said he. "Nobody can catch mein daylight, not even with corn; and surely nobody can catch mewithout it." Then he strutted slowly away.
The Baby followed, but when the Gobbler pretended to lose his temper,stood all his feathers on end, spread his fine tail, dragged his wingson the ground, and puffed, the Baby turned and ran away as fast as hecould. Brown Bess was no longer in the pasture, and the gate stoodopen. It was through this gate that the Baby ran, not stopping untilhe came within sight of the river along the lower edge of the pasture.The water looked so bright and beautiful that he thought he would gofarther still. Perhaps he could even catch some of the Ducks and Geesethat were swimming there. He had seen his sisters wade in the edge ofthe river one day, while his father was mending a fence near by. Hewould wade, too.
You see Baby was only two years old, and did not understand thatrivers are very dangerous places for children to visit alone, andworst of all for Babies who toddle and tumble along. He did not knowthat if he should tumble in that beautiful shining water he mightnever be able to get up again, or that if he should chase one of theDucks too far out, he could not turn around and come back to theshore. These things he was not old enough to know. He did know thatwhen he came into the pasture with his father or mother and wenttoward the river's edge, he was always told, "No-no!" This heremembered, but that made it seem all the more fun to go there whenthere was nobody by to say it.
The Baby stood on a little knoll near the water. "Here, pittyChickie!" he said. "Tum to Baby, pitty Chickie!"
The Ducks paid no attention to him, unless it were to swim fartherfrom shore and keep their heads turned slightly toward him, watchingto see what he was about. With the Geese, however, it was different.
Geese do not like anything strange, and if they cannot understand athing they think that there is certainly something wrong. As there ismuch which they do not understand, the Geese are often greatlyexcited over very simple and harmless things, hissing loudly at thosewho are strangers to them. Now they could not understand why the Babyshould stand on the river-bank and talk to them. "S-s-s-s-s!" said theGander. "There must be something wrong about this. Let us get out ofthe water to see."
He scrambled up onto the bank, with his wife and the other Geesefollowing closely behind him. He was a very stately fellow, and lookedas though he could win in almost any fight. The Geese were statelytoo, but their legs and neck did not look so strong as his, and theylet him go ahead and speak first. The Gander marched toward the Babyand stood between him and the river. "S-s-s-s-s!" said he. "What areyou doing here?"
"Here, pitty Chickie!" said the Baby. "Tum to Baby."
"I cannot understand you," said the Gander, severely. "Children shouldspeak so that they can be understood. I can always understand my ownchildren." He was very proud of the brood of Goslings which he andhis wife had hatched. Perhaps he was even more fond of them because hehad done almost as much for them as she, sitting on the eggs part ofthe time and standing beside her while she was sitting on them.Ganders are excellent fathers.
"Go way, pitty Chickie!" said the Baby. "Baby goin' in de watty."
"S-s-s-s-s!" said the Gander, and this time his wife hissed also. "Goback to the place where you belong. This place is for web-footedpeople. I have seen your feet uncovered, and you have no webs whateverbetween your toes. You do not belong here. Go away!"
The Baby did not go away, for he was having a lovely time. The Ganderdid not come any nearer to him or act as though he meant to peck him,so he just laughed and waved his hands. "Why don't you go?" asked theGeese. "The Gander told you to go away, and you should mind theGander. We always mind him, and so should you."
Still the Gander and the Geese did not come nearer to him, and stillthe Baby was not afraid. "S-s-s-s-s!" repeated the Gander. "We do notwant you to swim in our river. Your body is not the right shape forswimming with Geese and Ducks. Your neck is not long enough forfeeding in the river. You could never get your mouth down to theriver-bottom for food without going way under. Go away! You will getwet if you go into the water. I feel quite sure that you will, for youhave not nicely oiled feathers like ours. You will try to catch ourchildren and will make us much trouble. Go away!"
Just then the Baby's mother called from the door of the house. She hadcome downstairs and found the Baby gone. "Baby!" said she. "Baby!Where are you?"
Baby did not answer, but he turned to look at her. "S-s-s-s-s!" saidthe Gander and the Geese together. "S-s-s-s-s! S-s-s-s-s!" Then theywalked straight for him, and the Baby started home at last. Hismother heard and ran toward him in time to see it all. Sheunderstood, too, that if it had not been for the Gander and the Geese,her Baby would have gone into the riv
er. That was why she looked sogratefully at them when she reached him and picked him up in her armsto hug and kiss.
"S-S-S-S-S!" REPEATED THE GANDER. _Page 166_]
Perhaps it was because she had been so frightened that she had to sitright down on a little hillock and rest. The Gander and the Geesestood around and wondered why she made such a fuss over the Baby. "Heis nothing remarkable," they said to each other. "He certainly couldnot swim if he had a chance, and we saw how often he fell down when hetried to run. Why does she put her mouth up against his in that way?There is simply no understanding the actions of people who live inhouses."
There was one sort of action which they could understand very wellindeed. The Little Girls came home just then and their mother had thembring oats from the barn to scatter on the river. Then the Gander,with his wife and the other Geese, gladly went back to the river tofeed, for there is nothing which pleases Geese better than to eat oatsthat are floating on the water.