The Junior Classics, Volume 6: Old-Fashioned Tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 6: Old-Fashioned Tales
Children's literature
Thereupon another quarrel ensued, and the woodman, being by this time
quite tipsy, beat his wife again. The next day they went and got
numbers of workmen to build them a new house in their garden. It was
quite astonishing even to Kitty, who did not know much about building,
to see how quick these workmen were; in one week the house was ready.
But in the meantime the woodman, who had very often been tipsy, felt
so unwell that he could not look after them; therefore it is not
surprising that they stole a great many of his fine things while he
lay smoking on the green damask sofa which stood on the carrot bed.
Those articles which the workmen did not steal the rain and dust
spoilt; but that they thought did not much matter, for still more than
half the gold was left; so they soon furnished the new house. And now
Kitty had a servant, and used to sit every morning on a couch dressed
in silks and jewels till dinner-time, when the most delicious hot
beefsteaks and sausage pudding or roast goose were served up, with
more sweet pies, fritters, tarts, and cheese-cakes than they could
possibly eat. As for the baby, he had three elegant cots, in which he
was put to sleep by turns; he was allowed to tear his picture-books as
often as he pleased, and to eat so many sugar-plums and macaroons that
they often made him quite ill.
The woodman looked very pale and miserable, though he often said what
a fine thing it was to be rich. He never thought of going to his work,
and used generally to sit in the kitchen till dinner was ready,
watching the spit. Kitty wished she could see him looking as well and
cheerful as in old days, though she felt naturally proud that her
husband should always be dressed like a gentleman, namely, in a blue
coat, red waistcoat, and top-boots.
He and Kitty could never agree as to what should be done with the rest
of the money; in fact, no one would have known them for the same
people; they quarrelled almost every day, and lost nearly all their
love for one another. Kitty often cried herself to sleep--a thing she
had never done when they were poor; she thought it was very strange
that she should be a lady, and yet not be happy. Every morning when
the woodman was sober they invented new plans for making themselves
happy, yet, strange to say, none of them succeeded, and matters grew
worse and worse. At last Kitty thought she should be happy if she had
a coach; so she went to the place where the knapsack was buried, and
began to dig; but the garden was so trodden down that she could not
dig deep enough, and soon got tired of trying. At last she called the
servant, and told her the secret as to where the money was, promising
her a gold piece if she could dig it up. The servant dug with all her
strength, and with a great deal of trouble they got the knapsack up,
and Kitty found that not many gold pieces were left.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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