AQUA; OR, THE WATER BABAY.
{Footnote: The plan of this story was suggested to me many years ago; somany, indeed, that I cannot now remember whether it was my friend's own,or whether he had read something like it in German.--K. D. W.}
"This standing above life, and yet grasping life, and being stirred bylife, is what makes the genuine educator."--Froebel.
It was a clear, sunshiny day, and out on the great, wide, open sea theresparkled thousands and thousands of water-drops. One of these was amerry little fellow who danced on the silver backs of the fishes as theyplunged up and down in the waves, and, no matter how high he sprung,always came down again plump into his mother's lap.
His mother, you know, was the Ocean, and very beautiful she looked thatsummer day in her dark blue dress and white ruffles.
By and by the happy water-drop tired of his play, and looking up to theclear sky above him thought he would like to have a sail on one ofthe white floating clouds; so, giving a jump from the Ocean's arms, hebegged the Sun to catch him up and let him go on a journey to see theearth.
The Sun said "Yes," and took ever so many other drops, too, so that Aquamight not be lonesome on the way. He did not know this, however, forthey all had been changed into fine mist or vapor. Do you know whatvapor is? If you breathe into the air, when it is cold enough, you willsee it coming out of your mouth like steam, and you may also see veryhot steam coming from the nose of a kettle of boiling water. When itis quite near to the earth, where we can see it, we call it "fog." Thewater-drops had been changed into vapor because in their own shape theywere too heavy for sunbeams to carry.
Higher and higher they sailed, so fast that they grew quite dizzy; why,in an hour they had gone over a hundred miles! and how grand it was,to be looking down on the world below, and sailing faster than fish canswim or birds can fly!
But after a while it grew nearly time for the Sun to go to bed; hebecame very red in the face, and began to sink lower and lower, untilsuddenly he went clear out of sight!
Poor little Aqua could not help being frightened, for every minute itgrew darker and colder. At last he thought he would try to get back tothe earth again, so he slipped away, and as he fell lower and lowerhe grew heavier, until he was a little round, bright drop again, andalighted on a rosebush. A lovely velvet bud opened its leaves, and inhe slipped among the crimson cushions, to sleep until morning. Then theleaves opened, and rolling over in his bed he called out, "Please, dearSun, take me with you again." So the sunbeams caught him up a secondtime, and they flew through the air till the noon-time, when it grewwarmer and warmer, and there was no red rose to hide him, not even ablade of grass to shade his tired head; but just as he was crying out,"Please, King Sun, let me go back to the dear mother Ocean," the windtook pity on him, and came with its cool breath and fanned him, with allhis brothers, into a heavy gray cloud, after which he blew them apartand told them to join hands and hurry away to the earth. Helter-skelterdown they went, rolling over each other pell-mell, till with a patterand clatter and spatter they touched the ground, and all the peoplecried, "It rains."
Some of the drops fell on a mountain side, Aqua among them, and downthe rocky cliff he ran, leading the way for his brothers. Soon, togetherthey plunged into a mountain brook, which came foaming and dashingalong, leaping over rocks and rushing down the hillside, till in thevalley below they heard the strangest clattering noise.
On the bank stood a flour-mill, and at the door a man whose hat andclothes were gray with dust.
Inside the mill were two great stones, which kept whizzing round andround, faster than a boy's top could spin, worked by the big wheeloutside; and these stones ground the wheat into flour and the corn intogolden meal.
But what giant do you suppose it was who could turn and swing thattremendous wheel, together with those heavy stones? No giant at all.No one but our tiny little water-drops themselves, who sprang on it byhundreds and thousands, and whirled it over and over.
The brook emptied into a quiet pond where ducks and geese were swimming.Such a still, beautiful place it was, with the fuzzy, brown cat-tailslifting their heads above the water, and the yellow cow lilies, withtheir leaves like green platters, floating on the top. On the edge livedthe fat green bullfrogs, and in the water were spotted trout, silvershiners, cunning minnows, and other fish.
Aqua liked this place so much that he stayed a good while, sailing upand down, taking the ducks' backs for ships and the frogs for horses;but after a time he tired of the dull life, and he and his brothersfloated out over a waterfall and under a bridge for a long, longdistance, until they saw another brook tumbling down a hillside.
"Come, let's join hands!" cried Aqua; and so they all dashed on togethertill they came to a broad river which opened its arms to them.
By the help of Aqua and his brothers the beautiful river was able tofloat heavy ships, though not so long ago it was only a little rill,through which a child could wade or over which he could step. Here avessel loaded with lumber was carried just as easily as if it had beena paper boat; there a steamer, piled with boxes and barrels, and crowdedwith people, passed by, its great wheel crashing through the water andleaving a long trail, as of foamy soapsuds, behind it. On and ever onthe river went, seeking the ocean, and whether it hurried round a corneror glided smoothly on its way to the sea, there was always somethingnew and strange to be seen--busy cities, quiet little towns, buzzingsawmills, stone bridges, and harbors full of all sorts of vessels, largeand small, with flags of all colors floating from the masts and sailorsof all countries working on the decks. But Aqua did not stay long in anyplace, for as the river grew wider and wider, and nearer and nearerits end, he could almost see the mother Ocean into whose arms he wasjoyfully running. She reached out to gather all her children, thewater-drops, into her heart, and closer than all the others nestled ourlittle Aqua.
His travels were over, his pleasures and dangers past; and he was foldedagain to the dear mother heart, the safest, sweetest place in all thewhole wide world. In warm, still summer evenings, if you will take awalk on the sea-beach, you will hear the gentle rippling swash of thewaves; and some very wise people think it must be the gurgling voicesof Aqua and his brother water-drops telling each other about theirwonderful journey round the world.