Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer CountryHarris, Joel Chandler
Science
Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer Country
Harris, Joel Chandler
Animals -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Rabbits -- Juvenile fiction
"'No need for that,' said the boy. 'Her eyes once seen can never be
forgotten.'
"'Oho!' exclaimed the old man. 'Then perhaps you can tell me the color
of the little girl's eyes?'
"'Certainly,' said the boy. 'They are brown when she lifts them to
your face and dark when she looks away from you.'
"The old man nodded his head with a greater display of good humor than
he had yet shown.
"'Ah, you think so,' said the old man, warningly; 'you think you know,
but be not too sure.'
"'Why, I can see her now!' exclaimed the boy.
"'Where?' cried his mother; 'oh, where?'
"The boy fell back in his seat and covered his face with his hands.
"'He was speaking of his memory,' said the old man. 'If he can trust
it, well and good.'
"'You should have brought the child home with you,' said the
matter-of-fact woman.
"'It was not in my power,' replied the old man. 'She had gone too far.
She had already entered the domain of Rimrak, the Conjurer. All that I
could do I did. I warned her not to drink of the waters of the spring.
I warned her not to eat of the seed of the pomegranate. But now that I
am here, let us see what can be done.'
"He went to his wallet, which he had placed on the table, opened it
and took from it three knives. One was a clasp-knife with a long, slim
blade, the next was a common case-knife, and the third was a big
butcher's-knife. The case-knife had once had a horn or wooden handle,
but this had dropped off, and the iron that held the knife in place
had been run into a corncob. The old man took these knives from his
wallet, one by one, and placed them on the table.
"'Now listen to me,' he said to the boy. 'All will go well with you if
you are bold, and if you really remember the color of the little
girl's eyes. Here are your arms. This,' taking up the clasp-knife, 'is
Keen-Point. This,' taking up the case-knife, 'is Cob-Handle. And this
is Butch. Remember their names,--Keen-Point, Cob-Handle, and Butch.
Keen-Point is to show you the way, Cob-Handle is to warn you of
danger, and Butch is to protect you. But they will all fail you--they
will all go wrong--if you do not remember the color of the little
girl's eyes.'
"The boy took Keen-Point, Cob-Handle, and Butch, and stowed them away
in a wallet, in which his mother placed a supply of food. Then he set
out on his journey, with a light heart. He was not afraid, for he knew
that he loved the little girl well enough to remember the color of her
eyes. He went on his way till he came to the open fields where no one
lived. He had been there many a time before, but now it seemed to him
that he had never seen so many paths and by-ways. They led in all
directions and crossed each other almost at every turn.
"He stopped and looked all around, and then he took Keen-Point from
his wallet, and said:--
"'Keen-Point can, Keen-Point may,
Point keen and true, and show me the way.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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