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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1904)
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL- PORTLAND. SATURD EVENING," JANUARY 30, 190 L GOOD STORIES FOR GH ILDREN -By Walt. McDougall Remarkable Experiences of a : Small Boy Who "Was Really Very Bright, and Thought ; He Knew Everything Queer Beings Surrounded Him, .Took Him to , Unheard-oK Lands and Talked About : Unknovm Things O SCAR COOPER was the smartest boy in the Tillage of Sprops. He was the lest speller and pronouncer and stood at the head of all the others in classes at school He was neve? known to make an error, and ever the teachers sometimes gated at him with a sort of awe, as if they suspected that he was more than human, for teachers can make mistakes as well as other people. But they never caught Oscar, making: one. ' ;".-'".' Well, when he at last won the great prize for ; spelling and pronouncing, which was given by the Honorable Charley Fortner, the richest man in Sprops, he was so elated that he walked home with the prize as if oii air. The prize was a grand one; nothing less than a gigantio dictionary a foot thick, containing about a million words and a half mil lion pictures, and it was all the boy could carry, too. He was so proud of his triumph that he scarcely saw the other boysi who, of course, loved him dear ly, because he was so clever. He had spelled down" the whole school, and it swelled his little head until "he thought he was a wonder;. When he reached home and displayed the prize to his parents they simply held their breath as they looked at him and jut; ov - ' v "I wish they had given me a telescope or an , clectrio battery, for I hardly think this prize is exactly suited to me. Borne other boy may need it , far more than I, for, really I think a dictionary is not a necessity to a boy that knows as much as I. I guess I already" know every word in the book, al though it is so ponderous. I apprehend that 111 have but scant use for it. .'. ' te0K, there may be a few old-fashioned words In It that you don't know," said his proudf ather, "but hot many." - '-' . "I hardly' presume so," replied Oscar, conceit edly. "I guess Tve got them all in my cranium. My vocabulary ia truly Cyclopean."; ''It certainly is," exclaimed Mamma Cooper. "I never saw anything like it in my life." , Oscar ate his dinner with the air of a college . professor at Commencement time, and afterward he remained at home to 6 how all comers the great prize, at which all gazed with awe and astonish ment, for, it certainly, was an immense dictionary ; and cost all of fifteen dollars ; y.: , . .Then, when he went to bed he carried Ms treas- tire upstairs and laid it on a table in his bedroom. One would suppose that during all this time ho would have' opened and examined the great book, but he Vaa too busy telling everybody how ha had spelled down all competitors at school to even peep within its covers, and he got into bed with his head still inflated with his own marvelous cleverness and Boon went to sleep. ' After a time a slight noise in the room awoke him with a start. The moon was pouring into the room a blaze of bright winter light that showed plainly every object about him, and as he looked around to see what had awakened him he saw that the dictionary was partly open and something wat emerging from between the thick leather covers. What it was he could not see. ' . Then his astonished eye caught light of many tiny figures moving briskly about on the floor, and in another instant be recognized them as letters1. . The whole alphabet was scurrying aboujt on the fcarpet like ants. The letters were about as tall aa one of his fingers, and he saw them plainly. They seemed to be playing some sort of game, but he " eoon' saw: that they wereTTapidly f orming-words,-eome short, some of immense length, like boys play ing "snap the whip;" words that stretched across the rug beside his bed, and were partly lost in the shadows, -He spelled "parallelopipedon, "elee mosynary" and "enchyridion" quite easily," as they formed before him like a regiment of soldiers. . He forgot about the shapeless thing between the 'dictionary covers until he raised his eyea and saw p number of shadowy forms standing about his bed- feide, m ;;. ' These were most astonishing; there were some (tvho seemed to be men, but their nerves, arteries' und other organs were quite visible, and, besides that, they were covered from head to foot with tiny numbers. One man's head was marked off like a map in colors, with a name in each space. One was all veins and nothing else, and suddenly he saw a ekeleton with every bone numbered, but in the air about it were the names of all the bones corespond Ing to these numbers. Another skeleton appeared beside him, but this bne showed a, rear view. Then Oscar saw a great ox with all the parts, as butchers cut up their meat, marked off on his hide and labeled, after which a bird appeared similarly inscribed, and then a horse decorated in the same manner. But all these people and animals seemed like mere phantoms, as unreal as shadows themselves, which was but natural, of course, as, in fact, they ' do not exist, but are merely pictures in tho die ' tionary, made to instruct us in the different parts , of animals, men and birds. But this Oecar did not know then, and as they gathered about him he be gan to tremble, lie was about to cover his head with the bedclothes when he saw another figure. This one was real and actual, standing out against the background of shadow forms like a living man. - Oscar felt a sort of relief when he saw him. Ho was tall and bearded, his black' eyes flashed under heavy brows, and he wore a long silken robe beneath which Oscar detected an occasional gleam of a suit of shining,' golden-inlaid armor. He strode to the bedside, brushing aside the letters and disturbing their manoeuvres very much, and after looking at Oscar very fiercely for a space, he said in a deep, bell-like voice: ' "You are the smartest and most accomplished boy, I understand, in all Sprops. Do you recognize . WO 4 i W-v7 s: How, as this waa certainly the very -first time Oscar had ever seen a man who wore armor it is not surprising that he should reply at once : "No, sir. ; I have never had the pleasure of see ing you before." V ' rf' ;. "Ah, perhaps not,. On reflection, I hould not expect you to know me at sight, but I will help you , out I am a Tetrarch. Now, of course, you know all about mel'- ..:, --J, ;..v r:.w, A.;:, r..U- Ji '.C... ; -"""Ji ' ' ' - ' OSCAR FACES "I am sorry," replied Oscar, "but I am as much in the dark as ever." "Certainly you're in the dark; 1 didn't bring a toroh, but I am in the light of the moon and per fectly easy to see. Do you mean to say that you ' do noi even know what a Tetrarch. is I" - "I never heard of one before," said Oscar, sharp ly. "Is that a foreign word?" , "Certainly not. . If you are so smart you should know that," said the Tetrarch testily. "I am afraid you are really an ignoramus." "You are the first that ever saidl that," answered xOscar. "Go and ask my teacher! Huhi" "I will test you," said the tall man, gTavely,, "be fore I decide." He-then held out a small circuHr piece of shining shell that was suspended from his neck by a leathern band, and asked : "What is itt Tell me its name." - Oscar looked blankly at the shell ornament, and then looked again. To save his life he couldn't tell what it was. It was not a locket nor a medal, and fianlly he stammered: "I I .think perhaps it's a . Bort of charm or talisman?" . - ."Perhaps it's a fiddlestick," shouted the Tetrarch. "Perhaps it's a tiddledewink. Tell me its name, oh boy that doesn't need a dictionary. That's all I require of ,you." Oscar was obliged to confess that he had never seen such an object, and could not give its name. The Tetrarch snorted: "Baht Just as I expected! And you call your- self bright and clever! I'll tell you its name! It's a" RunteerthatVwhat it isrand I got it front an Indian chief. Bah!" "How should I know that!" grumbled Oscnr. "It's in the dictionary!" shouted Tetrarch, an grily. "That's why!" ; V,.-V . r. All the shadowy forms in the rear seemed to grin and poke each other in the place where their ribs would have been had they been illustrated complete ly, and the animals hopped around in glee at Oscar's discomfiture. ; v; "Have you ever seen a 'seismograph or a , Suniak' or a 'natatorium' or a 'joug or a 'chryso T prase I" added the Tetrarch, frowning terribly. "Of course not," replied Oscar, after a long pause. "AND THEY, TOO, ARE IN THE DICTION ARY!" roared the angry old man, standing over the bed in a most threatening manner. "Why don't you know them!" "Gee !" exclaimed Oscar, falling into the school boy's slang without thinking, "I haven't looked into it yet!" "Hal And yet you presumed that you would have but scant use for it ! But I am not yet through with you. If you, with all the learning of which you have boasted,-can answer a few questions, just a few fairly easy ones that I will propound, I will let you go; but fail and you are doomed!" "What business have you to ask me any ques tions!" cried Oscar, trying to brave it out "You ain't my teacher 1" "I am a Tetrarch, the mighty ruler of millions, and who dares dispute my right to ask anything, even riddles and conundrums, if I wish! Not you, I am sure, for I am here to punish and not take impudence from you !" Oscar trembled, for the Tetrarch's eyes were ter rible to see as he glared down at the frightened lad. Then he added, slowly: "Now, I will give you a chance to redeem your self. Toll me, and tell(me in plain, simple words', how to use the ealtrops." j Oscar looked at him blankly. ' "Caltrops! I I don't think I ever heard of it What is it!" The Tetrarch frowned. Then he said: "Never mind. I see that you are utterly ignorant' regarding caltrops." ' "Oh, I suppose it's some kind of drug. Of course, as I am no druggist, I don't know it," replied Oscar, pertly. . "Caltrops are instruments of war, ignoramus 1" shouted the Tetrarph "Now tell me how to catch a mantis 1" ... Oscar had no answer ready. "Can you do it with a calash or with an aneu rism!" demanded the angry man. "I suppose so," replied the boy in a low tone. "I don't know." . i , "A calash, idiot, is a tort of carriage and a man tis is a bug," retorted the Tetrarch, sneering. "Oh, my! but you are a scholar! Hero's another for you, THE THREE STRANGE THINGS an easy one, too! What is a Saint Rupert's Drop!" Oscar shook his head in silence. He did not, know. He was beginning to perceive what a fool he had been, but he was not quite ready to admit it The Tetrarch asked: "Is it possible that they have never shown you those little glass drops that turn into dust at a touch! How odd!" , "That's in the upper classes, I guess," mumbled Oscar. "Or maybo in college." "Pooh! Every boy should know about Saint Rupert's Drops! But tell me this: What's a Bun der!" V "A blunder? That's what I made, I suppose" began Oscar. r "A BUNDER t" roared the Tetrarch. "B-U-N-D-E-R BUNDER!" Oscar shook with fear. "What's a caique, then!" asked his tormentor. Oscar was speechless as he tried to think whether he had ever heard either of these words, an! the Tetrarch, burning toward the dictionary, shouted: "Hi, there. Bring me the bunder directly. Yes, and also the caique. I-will give him his choice of either, and we will sail with him to the farthermost Limbo. I don't suppose you even know what a Limbo is, ch!" he added, returning to the bedside. Before Oscar could reply, lol two boats, bolh of strange and outlandish shapes, sailed up to the bed. One was long, narrow, pointed, with ten oars ; the other shorter, with a house or cabin and a great tri angular sail. "This," said the Tetrarch, pointing to the sailing-craft, "is a Bunder, a Bombay Bunder, and this is a Caique from the Boaphorus, and both, as you no doubt perceive, from out of the dictionary. Now we will prove to you that you have use for it, ad we will take a sail in one of these boats. You can take your choice!" Oscar cried: "I won't go with you! Mammal Papa! Help! Help I" The Tetrarch smiled calmly. Then he said : "Come. I am waiting. Choose 1" ; Neither of his parents answering to his call for help, Oscar's heart sank, but he tried to gain time by pretending to examine both boats carefully. Af ter a few moments the-Tetrarch said: "I will wait no longer! In with youl" - ' He seized the boy and dragged him out of bed. Oscar tried to struggle, but the mail-clad warrior, of course, was far too strong for him, and he was deposited in the boat with a bump. The Bunder was the craft selected by the Tetrarch, and as soon as the ancient ruler took his seat a gentle wind sprang up from the direction of the washstand and the vessel moved slowly across the carpet All the figures in the room ranged themselves in line and stood gazing at them as the boat nfoved away, leav ing them behind as if on a shore, and finally, as the Bunder seemed to penetrate the wall of the bed room, they all faded away and vanished in the dis tance. ... ' The Tetrarch seized the long, tiller and steered forth into the night calmly, but poor Oscar's heart beat like a trip hammer as he .looked out of the side of the cabin over the moonlit water, the wuves of which already rocked the craft, and saw! his home fade. away. Then came a cloud over tlie moon, and all was completely dark; nothing was seen nor heard but the constant' lap, lap, lap of the waves against the bow of the Bunder, but the sail waa bellied out by a strong breeze and she rushed along rapidlv, bearing Osear-where! . ' .V;-. " . -; Out came the moon again, and he felt a little easier. Once in a while some great fish would rise to the surface and peer up at them with eyes like gig-lamps, and the Tetrarch would make a remark like this : ' ':' "vy ";i " ' iV! "Ah, there's an Arapaima! Never saw such a large one 1" or Hello I Look at the Blanquillol, Isn't , he a beauty? And there's a Gizzard-shad 1 Strange to see them here! I see, too,' a hippocampus floating along, . and just beneath him a John-dory I See them? "You know all these fish, do you not?" he asked, turning to Oscar, who was staring hard at the queer fish. The boy made no reply, for he had no time, as tho Tetrarch talked along just as if he were alone. As some birds appeared flying by he exclaimed : "See! ' Yonder comes a quetzal! My! my! and there's a roller, also ! And bless my souL I see a pair ' of hoopoos and drongo! This is wonderful! Did you' ever see a bramblingl There'a one overhead. Also a Chacalacal And upon, zoy word there is i f -. Lory, otherwise called a Turacou! What a splendid exhibition of birds, and probably all for your bene fit, because you must know them all so well! Per haps you can tell me the name of this brilliant ore that's approaching us so fast! Ah, still obstinately silent! Well, that's an Ortolan, and a fine one, too'" Thus ho went on, and it seemed 4o Oscar that every bird that hejaad never heard of was coming along to torture and shame him. : . v - He wondered now how he could have imagined that he knew anything, as he began to discover so many things of which he was totally ignorant.' The Tetrarch asked him to state the difference" between cirrus clouds and cumulus ones; he re quired him to tell whether he noticed the phos phorescence of the water, and demanded him to say, why salt water was heavier than fresh, Poor Oscar's head was swimming, when suddenly his tormentor shouted: - V "Land ahead, and it surely Is, the coast of Coro mandel! You know that coast well, I suppose, my learned geographer, the cleverest boy in Sftrops!" Oscar Lad heard of it, but I do not blame him for forgetting it under such trying circumstances. He wondered how the "Tetrarch always managed to light oh names and places with which he was un familiar; light on them unfailingly' and never by any chance give him an opportunity, of showing that he knew something, at least This was the most uncanny thing of all the annoying circumstances, and ho gazed at the coast, with a frown, although ho would otherwise have been glad to see any foreign land. ' ;: ' 1 " "' -! - "Where is the Coromandel Coast?" asked the Tetrarch, with the air of a school teacher. "Don't know !" snapped Osoar. "Hoighty toighty ! Dear Dear ! How perplexing t I did hope you knew that much. You are truly the most densely ignorant lad I have ever met Here are other interesting places. Observe them." " ; " The Bunder shot along so fast that the shores rushed past like a fast moving panorama. Strange trees, tall pagodas and obelisks were silhouetted against the dark blue sky, their edges shining in the ' moonlight as if they had been tut out of paper card board and stood up there to confuse him, and he could not tell the name of a single thing he saw. Here was a mosque at the water's edge, its gilded dome rising like a huge orange above tho dark green palms, but he could not tell it from an ice-houe. Yonder a slender minaret reared its straight abaft upward above rounded housetops, but he did not re-' call its name.-Suddenly the Tetrarch said : "Hello ! We are already in the Caramnassa, ard I never noticed that we had even got into the Ganges. Know anything about this river ?" Of course, Oscar didn't; who on earth would re member that name except a school teacher who has to know everything! The boat sped on.- "We are in Kalahandi now," said the steersman. "Here's where ,the deadly hamadryad rears its. aw'ul head to strike some unwary traveler through the jungle.'! . ' " ' "I suppose that's a snake," guessed Oscar, doubtfully. - - "Right for once; but can you spell it?" Oscar "couldn't, and didn't even try. The Tetrarch sniffed disdainfully. Then he continued: , "Now we are in Bah-dur-garh. Where arc wo" , . x' "Oh, what's the use!" moaned Oscar, dejectedly. "Don't you know we've been in India all thin time! Well, as I see you know litUe about the Ori ent we will g6 elsewhere." ' . . The Bunder kept right along, shooting through the water like an arrow, and in a few minutes Oscer , saw tall marble columns and great buildings rearing up above - solemn, ' waving cypress trees, and the shore all covered with myrtle. -High mountains, snow-topped, showed in the background, and all these, too, lopked like things cut from paper. Men in white garments, such as he had aert in pictures, were roaming about beneath the trees and tcitinjt poems to one another, men crowned with ivy and violets and bearded strangely. "Ah, dear old Hellas!", cried the Tetrarch! "I ..have not seen it in a thousand years. You know Now, if he had i aid "dear old Greece," Oscar would have, recognized it at once, but fHelW' was a new one to hinv He made not reply, and the Tetrarch added ; 1 i "There's a fine statue of Hjraklea, Isn't it J", . V 'Looka like HerculesA" said Oscar, examining it "I have seen a picture like that. , , - "It's; all the same Herakles is Greek."- . -- "Everything you say is Greek to me I" sighed the boy. . . " ; . - i "YonSef walks old Aesculapius, and behind him strides "the great Hilo who, carried an ox on hia shoulders. JFine gentleman is Milo. Of tourse you are familiar with the tale V ' Oscar was, getting so mad that he was quite- , ready ; to jump overboard,, when the boat's prow touched the shore and the Tetrarch sprang out. "Come," said he, "and we will soon settle jour '. fate." . ' He led Oscar -toward, a group of men under a tree," and when he reached them he said: , ; ' "Oh, philosophers, and seers of mighty Greece, I bring to you a strange and wonderful being, a boy who boasts tha he knows It all and yet has never looked into the dictionary." -" ' They glared at hiiq in silence. - . "What think 'you; great Pericles, and you, oh, , Socrates , of. such a wonder V "I do , not understand you," replied Socrates , while Pericles stared in proud amazement. "If you will kindly explain what you are talking about I , will answer you, although I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance." . " v , - . "Why, just as I say. This boy never saw tie in-' ' . 6ide of a dictionary!" "Well, neither have I," answered Socrates. "What on earth, is a dictionary!" "Great Eblisl" exclaimed the Tetrarch. "I for-' got. They were not invented in your' time. Excuse me." He hurried away with ; Oscar, who was de lighted at. his discomfiture,and.who had a feeling of kindness for Socrates that he would have liked to express. ; ' -V'' Up through the cypress groves they went until at last they came to an immense circular depression" between the hills. - Around its level bottom, where a few scraggly cedar trees were growing, were ranged row after row of stone benches, and its resemblanco to a circus struck Oscar instantly. It was very old, as he saw at once, for many ancient trees grew be tween the stone seats, which were crumbled and shattered in many places. The Tetrarch stopped and said: . ... . ' ' "This is the stadium. What is a stadium!" , "A circus," replied Oscar, at a guess. : "Right, -and now-you will see a circus that "will ; surprise you ! In yonder amphitheatre you will face three animals from the dictionary you despise, three noble beasts, who, if you' do not at once recoirnise them and name, them properly, will tear you limb,, . from limb!" ' . -:. .-...:: Oscar shuddered and began- to cry. The Tetrarch " added: -., : ! ; . -.',,. ': ." - ' "I will help you out just a little bit I will tell you the names of the three, but will not reveal which is which1. That you must discover for yourself, if you do not know them. They are the Epyornis, the Hanuman and the Koodoo." ' " lie conducted the boy into the centre of the amphitheatre and said: "Here I leave you to yovr own resources. If you can't name the three animals you are a goner, sure. Be careful, and look slurp! Also, farewell!" ' . ' "But who are all these?" cried Oscar, seeing for the first time that suddenly all the seats Were filled with every sort of creature. Not only were all man- -ner of men in every sort of costume sitting hero, as : well as an immense number of unknown animals. but queer instruments, machines, vehicles, boats and plants were there, thousands of them! , 1 : . " "These are the things in the dictionary that you don't know!" replied the Tetrarch, grinning ma liciously. "They are here to see your finish! Here come the awful three, and I must leave." He skipped nimbly away, but when Oscar tried to follow he found a stone wall several feet high he fore him, -and it went all around the circus, too. lie saw that there was no exit and as he looked - there sprang into, the arena three monstrous forms, 6ne that of an immense bird, the Epyornis, the next that of a bearded monkey, Jhe Hanuman, and then the horned Koodoo, a great, deer-like creature with glittering eyes. They all advanced slowly toward him, while the spectators leaned forward eagerly. Then the Hanuman shouted: "Who are we! Who are we! We are the dreadf uj unknown Three! . Wheel Wheel Whoop! Whoopee!" " Pacar knew them not: he had never even heard of one of them, and they saw it at once. All threu crouched for a spring, each eye gleaming with hun gry malice. Oscar shrank back against, the stone wall and shivered in dread, while an icy perspiration . broke out upon his white forehead. ; Then, as the giant bird's long neck and Lead were raised, and the great monkey dashed forward, he leaped aside to avoid their rush." A mighty leap it was, and when he struck the hard stone of the arena the shock seemed to shatter every bono in his body, but instantly the fearful assailants vanished like so much femoke. . He rubbed his eyes. . AH the vast audience had ' also vanished and the sun was shining. -Then ho Baw that he was lying on the floor of his bedroom, and there stood his father at the open dictionary with a most astonished look on his face. "What's the matter!" he asked. "Is that the way you get out of bed every morning, like a bird falling out of a neat!" .-, ,. .', - Oscar looked around confused, and then he real ized that it had been a dream. He stood up and his -father said: "I've been looking in the dictionary to find out .how to spell "separate." Can't remember whether it's an 'a' or an 'e' in the middle. Which is it!" ; To this day Mr. Cooper will never get over tha amazement which ; overcame him when Oscar re plied: I' uSt::'t;--"V :' , "I can't remember. Let's both look for itt" After that he was the humblest boy in the school, and, strange to say, that day he really began ' . to learn things and to know what studying really means, and when he told me the story he said ho . was awfully glad that the Tetrarch. had captured him, for, after all, ha half believes it reallv hap pened. ' . JVALT'McDOUGALL.