A Double Story Page 9

  IX.

  The shepherdess carried Rosamond home, gave her a warm bath in the tubin which she washed her linen, made her some bread-and-milk, and aftershe had eaten it, put her to bed in Agnes's crib, where she slept allthe rest of that day and all the following night.

  When at last she opened her eyes, it was to see around her a far poorercottage than the one she had left--very bare and uncomfortable indeed,she might well have thought; but she had come through such troubles oflate, in the way of hunger and weariness and cold and fear, that shewas not altogether in her ordinary mood of fault-finding, and so wasable to lie enjoying the thought that at length she was safe, and goingto be fed and kept warm. The idea of doing any thing in return forshelter and food and clothes, did not, however, even cross her mind.

  But the shepherdess was one of that plentiful number who can be wiserconcerning other women's children than concerning their own. Such willoften give you very tolerable hints as to how you ought to manage yourchildren, and will find fault neatly enough with the system you aretrying to carry out; but all their wisdom goes off in talking, andthere is none left for doing what they have themselves said. There isone road talk never finds, and that is the way into the talker's ownhands and feet. And such never seem to know themselves--not even whenthey are reading about themselves in print. Still, not being speciallyblinded in any direction but their own, they can sometimes even actwith a little sense towards children who are not theirs. They areaffected with a sort of blindness like that which renders some peopleincapable of seeing, except sideways.

  She came up to the bed, looked at the princess, and saw that she wasbetter. But she did not like her much. There was no mark of a princessabout her, and never had been since she began to run alone. True,hunger had brought down her fat cheeks, but it had not turned down herimpudent nose, or driven the sullenness and greed from her mouth.Nothing but the wise woman could do that--and not even she, without theaid of the princess herself. So the shepherdess thought what a poorsubstitute she had got for her own lovely Agnes--who was in factequally repulsive, only in a way to which she had got used; for theselfishness in her love had blinded her to the thin pinched nose andthe mean self-satisfied mouth. It was well for the princess, though,sad as it is to say, that the shepherdess did not take to her, for thenshe would most likely have only done her harm instead of good.

  "Now, my girl," she said, "you must get up, and do something. We can'tkeep idle folk here."

  "I'm not a folk," said Rosamond; "I'm a princess."

  "A pretty princess--with a nose like that! And all in rags too! If youtell such stories, I shall soon let you know what I think of you."

  Rosamond then understood that the mere calling herself a princess,without having any thing to show for it, was of no use. She obeyed androse, for she was hungry; but she had to sweep the floor ere she hadany thing to eat.

  The shepherd came in to breakfast, and was kinder than his wife. Hetook her up in his arms and would have kissed her; but she took it asan insult from a man whose hands smelt of tar, and kicked and screamedwith rage. The poor man, finding he had made a mistake, set her down atonce. But to look at the two, one might well have judged itcondescension rather than rudeness in such a man to kiss such a child.He was tall, and almost stately, with a thoughtful forehead, brighteyes, eagle nose, and gentle mouth; while the princess was such as Ihave described her.

  Not content with being set down and let alone, she continued to stormand scold at the shepherd, crying she was a princess, and would like toknow what right he had to touch her! But he only looked down upon herfrom the height of his tall person with a benignant smile, regardingher as a spoiled little ape whose mother had flattered her by callingher a princess.

  "Turn her out of doors, the ungrateful hussy!" cried his wife. "Withyour bread and your milk inside her ugly body, this is what she givesyou for it! Troth, I'm paid for carrying home such an ill-bred tramp inmy arms! My own poor angel Agnes! As if that ill-tempered toad were onehair like her!"

  These words drove the princess beside herself; for those who are mostgiven to abuse can least endure it. With fists and feet and teeth, aswas her wont, she rushed at the shepherdess, whose hand was alreadyraised to deal her a sound box on the ear, when a better appointedminister of vengeance suddenly showed himself. Bounding in at thecottage-door came one of the sheep-dogs, who was called Prince, andwhom I shall not refer to with a WHICH, because he was a very superioranimal indeed, even for a sheep-dog, which is the most intelligent ofdogs: he flew at the princess, knocked her down, and commenced shakingher so violently as to tear her miserable clothes to pieces. Used,however, to mouthing little lambs, he took care not to hurt her much,though for her good he left her a blue nip or two by way of letting herimagine what biting might be. His master, knowing he would not injureher, thought it better not to call him off, and in half a minute heleft her of his own accord, and, casting a glance of indignant rebukebehind him as he went, walked slowly to the hearth, where he laidhimself down with his tail toward her. She rose, terrified almost todeath, and would have crept again into Agnes's crib for refuge; but theshepherdess cried--

  "Come, come, princess! I'll have no skulking to bed in the gooddaylight. Go and clean your master's Sunday boots there."

  "I will not!" screamed the princess, and ran from the house.

  "Prince!" cried the shepherdess, and up jumped the dog, and looked inher face, wagging his bushy tail.

  "Fetch her back," she said, pointing to the door.

  With two or three bounds Prince caught the princess, again threw herdown, and taking her by her clothes dragged her back into the cottage,and dropped her at his mistress' feet, where she lay like a bundle ofrags.

  "Get up," said the shepherdess.

  Rosamond got up as pale as death.

  "Go and clean the boots."

  "I don't know how."

  "Go and try. There are the brushes, and yonder is the blacking-pot."

  Instructing her how to black boots, it came into the thought of theshepherdess what a fine thing it would be if she could teach thismiserable little wretch, so forsaken and ill-bred, to be a good,well-behaved, respectable child. She was hardly the woman to do it, butevery thing well meant is a help, and she had the wisdom to beg herhusband to place Prince under her orders for a while, and not take himto the hill as usual, that he might help her in getting the princessinto order.

  When the husband was gone, and his boots, with the aid of her ownfinishing touches, at last quite respectably brushed, the shepherdesstold the princess that she might go and play for a while, only she mustnot go out of sight of the cottage-door.

  The princess went right gladly, with the firm intention, however, ofgetting out of sight by slow degrees, and then at once taking to herheels. But no sooner was she over the threshold than the shepherdesssaid to the dog, "Watch her;" and out shot Prince.

  The moment she saw him, Rosamond threw herself on her face, tremblingfrom head to foot. But the dog had no quarrel with her, and of theviolence against which he always felt bound to protest in dog fashion,there was no sign in the prostrate shape before him; so he poked hisnose under her, turned her over, and began licking her face and hands.When she saw that he meant to be friendly, her love for animals, whichhad had no indulgence for a long time now, came wide awake, and in alittle while they were romping and rushing about, the best friends inthe world.

  Having thus seen one enemy, as she thought, changed to a friend, shebegan to resume her former plan, and crept cunningly farther andfarther. At length she came to a little hollow, and instantly rolleddown into it. Finding then that she was out of sight of the cottage,she ran off at full speed.

  But she had not gone more than a dozen paces, when she heard a growlingrush behind her, and the next instant was on the ground, with the dogstanding over her, showing his teeth, and flaming at her with his eyes.She threw her arms round his neck, and immediately he licked her face,and let her get up. But the moment she would have moved a step fartherfrom the c
ottage, there he was it front of her, growling, and showinghis teeth. She saw it was of no use, and went back with him.

  Thus was the princess provided with a dog for a private tutor--just theright sort for her.

  Presently the shepherdess appeared at the door and called her. Shewould have disregarded the summons, but Prince did his best to let herknow that, until she could obey herself, she must obey him. So she wentinto the cottage, and there the shepherdess ordered her to peel thepotatoes for dinner. She sulked and refused. Here Prince could donothing to help his mistress, but she had not to go far to find anotherally.

  "Very well, Miss Princess!" she said; "we shall soon see how you liketo go without when dinner-time comes."

  Now the princess had very little foresight, and the idea of futurehunger would have moved her little; but happily, from her game of rompswith Prince, she had begun to be hungry already, and so the threat hadforce. She took the knife and began to peel the potatoes.

  By slow degrees the princess improved a little. A few more outbreaks ofpassion, and a few more savage attacks from Prince, and she had learnedto try to restrain herself when she felt the passion coming on; while afew dinnerless afternoons entirely opened her eyes to the necessity ofworking in order to eat. Prince was her first, and Hunger her seconddog-counsellor.

  But a still better thing was that she soon grew very fond of Prince.Towards the gaining of her affections, he had three advantages: first,his nature was inferior to hers; next, he was a beast; and last, shewas afraid of him; for so spoiled was she that she could more easilylove what was below than what was above her, and a beast, than one ofher own kind, and indeed could hardly have ever come to love any thingmuch that she had not first learned to fear, and the white teeth andflaming eyes of the angry Prince were more terrible to her than anything had yet been, except those of the wolf, which she had nowforgotten. Then again, he was such a delightful playfellow, that solong as she neither lost her temper, nor went against orders, she mightdo almost any thing she pleased with him. In fact, such was hisinfluence upon her, that she who had scoffed at the wisest woman in thewhole world, and derided the wishes of her own father and mother, cameat length to regard this dog as a superior being, and to look up to himas well as love him. And this was best of all.

  The improvement upon her, in the course of a month, was plain. She hadquite ceased to go into passions, and had actually begun to take alittle interest in her work and try to do it well.

  Still, the change was mostly an outside one. I do not mean that she waspretending. Indeed she had never been given to pretence of any sort.But the change was not in HER, only in her mood. A second change ofcircumstances would have soon brought a second change of behavior; and,so long as that was possible, she continued the same sort of person shehad always been. But if she had not gained much, a trifle had beengained for her: a little quietness and order of mind, and hence asomewhat greater possibility of the first idea of right arising in it,whereupon she would begin to see what a wretched creature she was, andmust continue until she herself was right.

  Meantime the wise woman had been watching her when she least fanciedit, and taking note of the change that was passing upon her. Out of thelarge eyes of a gentle sheep she had been watching her--a sheep thatpuzzled the shepherd; for every now and then she would appear in hisflock, and he would catch sight of her two or three times in a day,sometimes for days together, yet he never saw her when he looked forher, and never when he counted the flock into the fold at night. Heknew she was not one of his; but where could she come from, and wherecould she go to? For there was no other flock within many miles, and henever could get near enough to her to see whether or not she wasmarked. Nor was Prince of the least use to him for the unravelling ofthe mystery; for although, as often as he told him to fetch the strangesheep, he went bounding to her at once, it was only to lie down at herfeet.

  At length, however, the wise woman had made up her mind, and after thatthe strange sheep no longer troubled the shepherd.

  As Rosamond improved, the shepherdess grew kinder. She gave her allAgnes's clothes, and began to treat her much more like a daughter.Hence she had a great deal of liberty after the little work required ofher was over, and would often spend hours at a time with the shepherd,watching the sheep and the dogs, and learning a little from seeing howPrince, and the others as well, managed their charge--how they nevertouched the sheep that did as they were told and turned when they werebid, but jumped on a disobedient flock, and ran along their backs,biting, and barking, and half choking themselves with mouthfuls oftheir wool.

  Then also she would play with the brooks, and learn their songs, andbuild bridges over them. And sometimes she would be seized with suchdelight of heart that she would spread out her arms to the wind, and gorushing up the hill till her breath left her, when she would tumbledown in the heather, and lie there till it came back again.

  A noticeable change had by this time passed also on her countenance.Her coarse shapeless mouth had begun to show a glimmer of lines andcurves about it, and the fat had not returned with the roses to hercheeks, so that her eyes looked larger than before; while, morenoteworthy still, the bridge of her nose had grown higher, so that itwas less of the impudent, insignificant thing inherited from a certaingreat-great-great-grandmother, who had little else to leave her. For along time, it had fitted her very well, for it was just like her; butnow there was ground for alteration, and already the granny who gave ither would not have recognized it. It was growing a little likerPrince's; and Prince's was a long, perceptive, sagacious nose,--onethat was seldom mistaken.

  One day about noon, while the sheep were mostly lying down, and theshepherd, having left them to the care of the dogs, was himselfstretched under the shade of a rock a little way apart, and theprincess sat knitting, with Prince at her feet, lying in wait for asnap at a great fly, for even he had his follies--Rosamond saw a poorwoman come toiling up the hill, but took little notice of her until shewas passing, a few yards off, when she heard her utter the dog's namein a low voice.

  Immediately on the summons, Prince started up and followed her--withhanging head, but gently-wagging tail. At first the princess thought hewas merely taking observations, and consulting with his nose whethershe was respectable or not, but she soon saw that he was following herin meek submission. Then she sprung to her feet and cried, "Prince,Prince!" But Prince only turned his head and gave her an odd look, asif he were trying to smile, and could not. Then the princess grewangry, and ran after him, shouting, "Prince, come here directly." AgainPrince turned his head, but this time to growl and show his teeth.

  The princess flew into one of her forgotten rages, and picking up astone, flung it at the woman. Prince turned and darted at her, withfury in his eyes, and his white teeth gleaming. At the awful sight theprincess turned also, and would have fled, but he was upon her in amoment, and threw her to the ground, and there she lay.

  It was evening when she came to herself. A cool twilight wind, thatsomehow seemed to come all the way from the stars, was blowing uponher. The poor woman and Prince, the shepherd and his sheep, were allgone, and she was left alone with the wind upon the heather.

  She felt sad, weak, and, perhaps, for the first time in her life, alittle ashamed. The violence of which she had been guilty had vanishedfrom her spirit, and now lay in her memory with the calm morning behindit, while in front the quiet dusky night was now closing in the loudshame betwixt a double peace. Between the two her passion looked ugly.It pained her to remember. She felt it was hateful, and HERS.

  But, alas, Prince was gone! That horrid woman had taken him away! Thefury rose again in her heart, and raged--until it came to her mind howher dear Prince would have flown at her throat if he had seen her insuch a passion. The memory calmed her, and she rose and went home.There, perhaps, she would find Prince, for surely he could never havebeen such a silly dog as go away altogether with a strange woman!

  She opened the door and went in. Dogs were asleep all about thecottage, it se
emed to her, but nowhere was Prince. She crept away toher little bed, and cried herself asleep.

  In the morning the shepherd and shepherdess were indeed glad to findshe had come home, for they thought she had run away.

  "Where is Prince?" she cried, the moment she waked.

  "His mistress has taken him," answered the shepherd.

  "Was that woman his mistress?"

  "I fancy so. He followed her as if he had known her all his life. I amvery sorry to lose him, though."

  The poor woman had gone close past the rock where the shepherd lay. Hesaw her coming, and thought of the strange sheep which had been feedingbeside him when he lay down. "Who can she be?" he said to himself; butwhen he noted how Prince followed her, without even looking up at himas he passed, he remembered how Prince had come to him. And this washow: as he lay in bed one fierce winter morning, just about to rise, heheard the voice of a woman call to him through the storm, "Shepherd, Ihave brought you a dog. Be good to him. I will come again and fetch himaway." He dressed as quickly as he could, and went to the door. It washalf snowed up, but on the top of the white mound before it stoodPrince. And now he had gone as mysteriously as he had come, and he feltsad.

  Rosamond was very sorry too, and hence when she saw the looks of theshepherd and shepherdess, she was able to understand them. And shetried for a while to behave better to them because of their sorrow. Sothe loss of the dog brought them all nearer to each other.