I didn’t say anything, so Edwin began:
“Far back in the earliest times there dwelt in a little village a man and his wife. They had only one child living, a son whom they loved to adoration. He was so handsome a youth that whenever he walked through the village all eyes were turned upon him with admiration. One day he asked his mother to make him a separate tent. When it was done he went into it, and there spent four days and nights in solitude, neither eating nor drinking. Then he came out and spoke to his father and mother and said, ‘I am going away to be gone a long time, perhaps never to return. I go to meet the White-swan, the magician who sent my brothers to the abode of shadows, and, in conflict, with magic opposing his magic, I will destroy him or die as my brothers have died.’ The father and mother, remembering the fate of their other children, wept and pleaded with their son not to leave them, but he was determined to go.
“The young man travelled many days, when one morning he beheld a maiden sitting on the brow of a hill. He went to her and asked why she sat there all alone. Without lifting her eyes, modesty forbidding her to return his gaze, the maiden replied, ‘I go to marry Hin-hpeʻ-ah-gre.’ The youth was seized with fear lest the young woman might be the White-swan transformed to beguile him; but being struck by her maidenly bearing, and becoming enamoured of her beauty, he turned aside from suspicion and permitted himself to be persuaded that the fair creature before him was in reality one of his own kind. And so he spoke and said, ‘I am he, Hin-hpeʻ-ah-gre, the man whom you seek to follow.’ In reply the maiden said, ‘It makes my heart throb with delight to meet and to see with my own eyes the man I am to marry. Sit down and rest your head in my lap, and when the weariness of travel has left you, I shall follow you wherever you may lead.’ Joy filling the heart of the youth, and no longer troubled with misgivings, he laid his head upon the lap of the maiden and soon fell fast asleep.
“ ‘Tha! Tha!’ exclaimed the woman, using a word of magic, and four times, in quick succession, she pulled the ears of the young man. He awoke with a start and attempted to rise, but a transformation had taken place, instead of a man standing upright, he found himself to be a four-footed beast. His body had changed, but his reason was still that of a man. He turned to see his companion, and lo! he beheld, not the beautiful maiden in whose lap he had fallen asleep, but one who looked down upon him with contempt, and whom he knew to be the White-swan. The thought that he had been outwitted came to the young man like a flash, and as swiftly his magic word returned to his mind. He tried to utter it, but he only yelped and gave a dismal howl like that of a dog. A cringing, mangy, lop-eared dog, he now followed the White-swan and—Are you asleep?”
I was almost asleep, so I did not answer him, then he became silent. When I awoke Edwin was gone; I called him but he did not answer. Brush and I went downstairs and called softly in the schoolroom, but the boy was not there, then we went to the large door of the hall and found it unbolted. We returned to the dormitory and went to bed, and I soon fell asleep again.
Toward morning I was awakened by strange sounds on the stairs leading up to our dormitory. I recognized the footsteps of a human being, but there were other footsteps that were like those of a four-footed beast. They approached my bed; they came near, and a voice said in Indian in a loud whisper, “Lie down, lie down!”
“Is it you, Oo-maʻ-a-be?” I asked.
“Yes, I’ve been after my dog,” he answered, getting into bed with his clothes on.
“Get up and undress; you can’t sleep with your clothes on! What did you go after the dog for?”
“I wanted you to see him, and I thought we’d keep him here. He is a fine dog; he can swim too!”
“But were you not afraid? It was dark.”
“I forgot all about being afraid, and I went right by that big grave too—the one they say a ghost comes out of and chases people. I ran, though, all the way to my house. The dog was lying near the door; he was so glad to see me he almost knocked me down.”
It was nearly morning, and we went right off to sleep. Suddenly we were aroused by a furious barking. Brush, Edwin, and I sprang out of bed, and rushed for the dog that with legs spread was defending the top of the stairs.
“Boys, what have you up there?” called Graybeard from the foot.
“Edwin went after his dog last night,” answered Brush. “He wants to keep it here.”
“He does, eh! Will it bite?”
“No, it won’t bite; you can come up.”
IV
Little Bob
The afternoon session was over; Graybeard tapped his bell; we put away our books, folded our arms, and when there was silence the teacher spoke: “Frank will remain here until he finishes correctly the sum he is working on. He has neglected his arithmetic lesson during school hours, so he will have to do the work after school.”
Such punishment had not happened to me before. It had frequently come to other scholars, and I had felt sorry for them; but now the disgrace had fallen on me, and I felt it keenly.
Graybeard led the song about “The Little Brown Church in the Wild Wood,” and the whole school sang; but just then I did not care
