Diamond told him all about her--how she was sick, and how dark it was
where she lived and with bad smells. Now, Mr. Raymond was one of the
kindest men in London and was well known at the children's hospital. He
hurried there now, and some one went from there at once to find Nanny.
Before night, they sent a litter for her and soon the little girl was
lying in a nice clean bed, though she was too sick to know anything
about it.
Diamond overheard a doctor say to Mr. Raymond, "How do you suppose the
little chap knew what to do about Nanny?"
"He doesn't know that I have been at the back of the north wind," he
said to himself. "If you have once been there, it just comes to you how
to do a little to help."
After Nanny had been well seen to, Mr. Raymond took the boy home with
him and they soon settled the matter of the six-pence between them.
"And now, what will you do with it?" the gentleman asked him.
"Take it home to my mother," answered Diamond. "She has a tea-pot with a
broken spout and she keeps all her money in it. It isn't much but she
saves it up to buy shoes for me. And there's the baby--he'll want shoes
soon. And every six-pence is something, isn't it?"
"To be sure, my little man. And here is the book for you, full of
pictures and stories."
There were poems in it too, and Diamond at once began to puzzle out one
of them which ran like this:
I have only one foot, but thousands of toes;
My one foot stands but never goes.
I have many arms and they are mighty, all;
And hundreds of fingers large and small.
From the ends of my fingers my beauty grows,
I breathe with my hair and I drink with my toes.
In the summer, with song I shake and quiver,
But in winter, I fast and groan and shiver.
When Diamond ran home with his new book in his hand, he found his father
at home already. He was sitting by the fire and looking rather miserable
for his head ached and he looked sick. The next day, he had to stay in
bed while his wife nursed him, and Diamond took care of the baby. By the
next day, he was very ill indeed. And it was not long before their money
was all gone.
Diamond's mother could not help crying over it but she came into
Diamond's room so that the poor sick father should not hear it. Diamond
was frightened when he heard her sobbing and said, "Is father worse?"
"No, no," said his mother, "he is better. But the money is all gone and
what are we to do?"
"Don't cry," said Diamond. "We'll get along some how. Let me read to you
out of North Wind's book."
So he read a little story about the early bird that caught the nice fat
worm.
"I wish you were like that little bird, dear," said his mother, "and
could catch something to eat!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account