Little Men

by Louisa May Alcott

  CHAPTER XVII. COMPOSITION DAY

  "Hurry up, boys, it's three o'clock, and Uncle Fritz likes us to bepunctual, you know," said Franz one Wednesday afternoon as a bell rang,and a stream of literary-looking young gentlemen with books and paper intheir hands were seen going toward the museum.

  Tommy was in the school-room, bending over his desk, much bedaubed withink, flushed with the ardor of inspiration, and in a great hurry asusual, for easy-going Bangs never was ready till the very last minute.As Franz passed the door looking up laggards, Tommy gave one last blotand flourish, and departed out the window, waving his paper to dry ashe went. Nan followed, looking very important, with a large roll in herhand, and Demi escorted Daisy, both evidently brimful of some delightfulsecret.

  The museum was all in order, and the sunshine among the hop-vines madepretty shadows on the floor as it peeped through the great window. Onone side sat Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer, on the other was a little tableon which the compositions were laid as soon as read, and in a largesemicircle sat the children on camp-stools which occasionally shut upand let the sitter down, thus preventing any stiffness in the assembly.As it took too much time to have all read, they took turns, and on thisWednesday the younger pupils were the chief performers, while the elderones listened with condescension and criticised freely.

  "Ladies first; so Nan may begin," said Mr. Bhaer, when the settling ofstools and rustling of papers had subsided.

  Nan took her place beside the little table, and, with a preliminarygiggle, read the following interesting essay on,

  "THE SPONGE

  "The sponge, my friends, is a most useful and interesting plant. Itgrows on rocks under the water, and is a kind of sea-weed, I believe.People go and pick it and dry it and wash it, because little fish andinsects live in the holes of the sponge; I found shells in my new one,and sand. Some are very fine and soft; babies are washed with them. Thesponge has many uses. I will relate some of them, and I hope my friendswill remember what I say. One use is to wash the face; I don't like itmyself, but I do it because I wish to be clean. Some people don't, andthey are dirty." Here the eye of the reader rested sternly upon Dick andDolly, who quailed under it, and instantly resolved to scrub themselvesvirtuously on all occasions. "Another use is to wake people up; I alludeto boys par-tic-u-lar-ly." Another pause after the long word to enjoythe smothered laugh that went round the room. "Some boys do not getup when called, and Mary Ann squeezes the water out of a wet spongeon their faces, and it makes them so mad they wake up." Here the laughbroke out, and Emil said, as if he had been hit,

  "Seems to me you are wandering from the subject."

  "No, I ain't; we are to write about vegetables or animals, and I'm doingboth: for boys are animals, aren't they?" cried Nan; and, undaunted bythe indignant "No!" shouted at her, she calmly proceeded,

  "One more interesting thing is done with sponges, and this is whendoctors put ether on it, and hold it to people's noses when they haveteeth out. I shall do this when I am bigger, and give ether to the sick,so they will go to sleep and not feel me cut off their legs and arms."

  "I know somebody who killed cats with it," called out Demi, but waspromptly crushed by Dan, who upset his camp-stool and put a hat over hisface.

  "I will not be interruckted," said Nan, frowning upon the unseemlyscrimmagers. Order was instantly restored, and the young lady closed herremarks as follows:

  "My composition has three morals, my friends." Somebody groaned, but nonotice was taken of the insult. "First, is keep your faces clean second,get up early third, when the ether sponge is put over your nose, breathehard and don't kick, and your teeth will come out easy. I have no moreto say." And Miss Nan sat down amid tumultuous applause.

  "That is a very remarkable composition; its tone is high, and there isa good deal of humor in it. Very well done, Nan. Now, Daisy," and Mr.Bhaer smiled at one young lady as he beckoned the other.

  Daisy colored prettily as she took her place, and said, in her modestlittle voice,

  "I'm afraid you won't like mine; it isn't nice and funny like Nan's. ButI couldn't do any better."

  "We always like yours, Posy," said Uncle Fritz, and a gentle murmur fromthe boys seemed to confirm the remark. Thus encouraged, Daisy read herlittle paper, which was listened to with respectful attention.

  "THE CAT

  "The cat is a sweet animal. I love them very much. They are clean andpretty, and catch rats and mice, and let you pet them, and are fondof you if you are kind. They are very wise, and can find their wayanywhere. Little cats are called kittens, and are dear things. I havetwo, named Huz and Buz, and their mother is Topaz, because she hasyellow eyes. Uncle told me a pretty story about a man named Ma-ho-met.He had a nice cat, and when she was asleep on his sleeve, and he wantedto go away, he cut off the sleeve so as not to wake her up. I think hewas a kind man. Some cats catch fish."

  "So do I!" cried Teddy, jumping up eager to tell about his trout.

  "Hush!" said his mother, setting him down again as quickly as possible,for orderly Daisy hated to be "interruckted," as Nan expressed it.

  "I read about one who used to do it very slyly. I tried to make Topaz,but she did not like the water, and scratched me. She does like tea, andwhen I play in my kitchen she pats the teapot with her paw, till I giveher some. She is a fine cat, she eats apple-pudding and molasses. Mostcats do not."

  "That's a first-rater," called out Nat, and Daisy retired, pleased withthe praise of her friend.

  "Demi looks so impatient we must have him up at once or he won't holdout," said Uncle Fritz, and Demi skipped up with alacrity.

  "Mine is a poem!" he announced in a tone of triumph, and read his firsteffort in a loud and solemn voice:

  "I write about the butterfly, It is a pretty thing; And flies about like the birds, But it does not sing. "First it is a little grub, And then it is a nice yellow cocoon, And then the butterfly Eats its way out soon. "They live on dew and honey, They do not have any hive, They do not sting like wasps, and bees, and hornets, And to be as good as they are we should strive. "I should like to be a beautiful butterfly, All yellow, and blue, and green, and red; But I should not like To have Dan put camphor on my poor little head."

  This unusual burst of genius brought down the house, and Demi wasobliged to read it again, a somewhat difficult task, as there was nopunctuation whatever, and the little poet's breath gave out before hegot to the end of some of the long lines.

  "He will be a Shakespeare yet," said Aunt Jo, laughing as if she woulddie, for this poetic gem reminded her of one of her own, written at theage of ten, and beginning gloomily,

  "I wish I had a quiet tomb, Beside a little rill; Where birds, and bees, and butterflies, Would sing upon the hill."

  "Come on, Tommy. If there is as much ink inside your paper as there isoutside, it will be a long composition," said Mr. Bhaer, when Demi hadbeen induced to tear himself from his poem and sit down.

  "It isn't a composition, it's a letter. You see, I forgot all about itsbeing my turn till after school, and then I didn't know what to have,and there wasn't time to read up; so I thought you wouldn't mind mytaking a letter that I wrote to my Grandma. It's got something aboutbirds in it, so I thought it would do."

  With this long excuse, Tommy plunged into a sea of ink and flounderedthrough, pausing now and then to decipher one of his own flourishes.

  "MY DEAR GRANDMA, I hope you are well. Uncle James sent me a pocketrifle. It is a beautiful little instrument of killing, shaped likethis [Here Tommy displayed a remarkable sketch of what looked likean intricate pump, or the inside of a small steam-engine] 44 are thesights; 6 is a false stock that fits in at A; 3 is the trigger, and 2is the cock. It loads at the breech, and fires with great force andstraightness. I am going out shooting squirrels soon. I shot severalfine birds for the museum. They had speckled breasts, and Dan likedthem very much. He stuffed them tip-top, and they sit on the tree quitenatural, o
nly one looks a little tipsy. We had a Frenchman working herethe other day, and Asia called his name so funnily that I will tellyou about it. His name was Germain: first she called him Jerry, but welaughed at her, and she changed it to Jeremiah; but ridicule wasthe result, so it became Mr. Germany; but ridicule having been againresumed, it became Garrymon, which it has remained ever since. I do notwrite often, I am so busy; but I think of you often, and sympathize withyou, and sincerely hope you get on as well as can be expected withoutme. Your affectionate grandson,

  "THOMAS BUCKMINSTER BANGS.

  "P.S.? If you come across any postage-stamps, remember me.

  "N.B. Love to all, and a great deal to Aunt Almira. Does she make anynice plum-cakes now?

  "P.S.? Mrs. Bhaer sends her respects.

  "P.S.? And so would Mr. B, if he knew I was in act to write.

  "N.B. Father is going to give me a watch on my birthday. I am glad as atpresent I have no means of telling time, and am often late at school.

  "P.S.? I hope to see you soon. Don't you wish to send for me?

  "T. B. B."

  As each postscript was received with a fresh laugh from the boys, by thetime he came to the sixth and last, Tommy was so exhausted that he wasglad to sit down and wipe his ruddy face.

  "I hope the dear old lady will live through it," said Mr. Bhaer, undercover of the noise.

  "We won't take any notice of the broad hint given in that last P.S.The letter will be quite as much as she can bear without a visit fromTommy," answered Mrs. Jo, remembering that the old lady usually took toher bed after a visitation from her irrepressible grandson.

  "Now, me," said Teddy, who had learned a bit of poetry, and was so eagerto say it that he had been bobbing up and down during the reading, andcould no longer be restrained.

  "I'm afraid he will forget it if he waits; and I have had a deal oftrouble teaching him," said his mother.

  Teddy trotted to the rostrum, dropped a curtsey and nodded his head atthe same time, as if anxious to suit every one; then, in his baby voice,and putting the emphasis on the wrong words, he said his verse all inone breath:

  "Little drops of water, Little drains of sand, Mate a might okum (ocean), And a peasant land. "Little words of kindness, Pokin evvy day, Make a home a hebbin, And hep us on a way."

  Clapping his hands at the end, he made another double salutation, andthen ran to hide his head in his mother's lap, quite overcome by thesuccess of his "piece," for the applause was tremendous.

  Dick and Dolly did not write, but were encouraged to observe the habitsof animals and insects, and report what they saw. Dick liked this, andalways had a great deal to say; so, when his name was called, he marchedup, and, looking at the audience with his bright confiding eyes, toldhis little story so earnestly that no one smiled at his crooked body,because the "straight soul" shone through it beautifully.

  "I've been watching dragonflies, and I read about them in Dan's book,and I'll try and tell you what I remember. There's lots of them flyinground on the pond, all blue, with big eyes, and sort of lace wings,very pretty. I caught one, and looked at him, and I think he was thehandsomest insect I ever saw. They catch littler creatures than theyare to eat, and have a queer kind of hook thing that folds up when theyain't hunting. It likes the sunshine, and dances round all day. Let mesee! what else was there to tell about? Oh, I know! The eggs are laid inthe water, and go down to the bottom, and are hatched in the mud. Littleugly things come out of 'em; I can't say the name, but they are brown,and keep having new skins, and getting bigger and bigger. Only think! ittakes them two years to be a dragonfly! Now this is the curiousest partof it, so you listen tight, for I don't believe you know it. When it isready it knows somehow, and the ugly, grubby thing climbs up out of thewater on a flag or a bulrush, and bursts open its back."

  "Come, I don't believe that," said Tommy, who was not an observant boy,and really thought Dick was "making up."

  "It does burst open its back, don't it?" and Dick appealed to Mr. Bhaer,who nodded a very decided affirmative, to the little speaker's greatsatisfaction.

  "Well, out comes the dragonfly, all whole, and he sits in the sun sortof coming alive, you know; and he gets strong, and then he spreads hispretty wings, and flies away up in the air, and never is a grub anymore. That's all I know; but I shall watch and try to see him do it, forI think it's splendid to turn into a beautiful dragonfly, don't you?"

  Dick had told his story well, and, when he described the flight of thenew-born insect, had waved his hands, and looked up as if he saw, andwanted to follow it. Something in his face suggested to the minds ofthe elder listeners the thought that some day little Dick would have hiswish, and after years of helplessness and pain would climb up into thesun some happy day, and, leaving his poor little body behind him, finda new lovely shape in a fairer world than this. Mrs. Jo drew him to herside, and said, with a kiss on his thin cheek,

  "That is a sweet little story, dear, and you remembered it wonderfullywell. I shall write and tell your mother all about it;" and Dick saton her knee, contentedly smiling at the praise, and resolving to watchwell, and catch the dragonfly in the act of leaving its old body forthe new, and see how he did it. Dolly had a few remarks to make uponthe "Duck," and made them in a sing-song tone, for he had learned it byheart, and thought it a great plague to do it at all.

  "Wild ducks are hard to kill; men hide and shoot at them, and have tameducks to quack and make the wild ones come where the men can fire atthem. They have wooden ducks made too, and they sail round, and thewild ones come to see them; they are stupid, I think. Our ducks are verytame. They eat a great deal, and go poking round in the mud and water.They don't take good care of their eggs, but them spoil, and--"

  "Mine don't!" cried Tommy.

  "Well, some people's do; Silas said so. Hens take good care of littleducks, only they don't like to have them go in the water, and make agreat fuss. But the little ones don't care a bit. I like to eat duckswith stuffing in them and lots of apple-sauce."

  "I have something to say about owls," began Nat, who had carefullyprepared a paper upon this subject with some help from Dan.

  "Owls have big heads, round eyes, hooked bills, and strong claws. Someare gray, some white, some black and yellowish. Their feathers are verysoft, and stick out a great deal. They fly very quietly, and hunt bats,mice, little birds, and such things. They build nests in barns, hollowtrees, and some take the nests of other birds. The great horned owl hastwo eggs bigger than a hen's and reddish brown. The tawny owl hasfive eggs, white and smooth; and this is the kind that hoots at night.Another kind sounds like a child crying. They eat mice and bats whole,and the parts that they cannot digest they make into little balls andspit out."

  "My gracious! how funny!" Nan was heard to observe.

  "They cannot see by day; and if they get out into the light, they goflapping round half blind, and the other birds chase and peck at them,as if they were making fun. The horned owl is very big, 'most as big asthe eagle. It eats rabbits, rats, snakes, and birds; and lives in rocksand old tumble-down houses. They have a good many cries, and scream likea person being choked, and say, 'Waugh O! waugh O!' and it scares peopleat night in the woods. The white owl lives by the sea, and in coldplaces, and looks something like a hawk. There is a kind of owl thatmakes holes to live in like moles. It is called the burrowing owl, andis very small. The barn-owl is the commonest kind; and I have watchedone sitting in a hole in a tree, looking like a little gray cat, withone eye shut and the other open. He comes out at dusk, and sits roundwaiting for the bats. I caught one, and here he is."

  With that Nat suddenly produced from inside his jacket a little downybird, who blinked and ruffled his feathers, looking very plump andsleepy and scared.

  "Don't touch him! He is going to show off," said Nat, displaying his newpet with great pride. First he put a cocked hat on the bird's head,and the boys laughed at the funny effect; then he added a pair of paperspectacles, and that gave the owl such
a wise look that they shoutedwith merriment. The performance closed with making the bird angry, andseeing him cling to a handkerchief upside down, pecking and "clucking,"as Rob called it. He was allowed to fly after that, and settled himselfon the bunch of pine-cones over the door, where he sat staring down atthe company with an air of sleepy dignity that amused them very much.

  "Have you anything for us, George?" asked Mr. Bhaer, when the room wasstill again.

  "Well, I read and learned ever so much about moles, but I declare I'veforgotten every bit of it, except that they dig holes to live in, thatyou catch them by pouring water down, and that they can't possibly livewithout eating very often;" and Stuffy sat down, wishing he had not beentoo lazy to write out his valuable observations, for a general smilewent round when he mentioned the last of the three facts which lingeredin his memory.

  "Then we are done for to-day," began Mr. Bhaer, but Tommy called out ina great hurry,

  "No we ain't. Don't you know? We must give the thing;" and he winkedviolently as he made an eye-glass of his fingers.

  "Bless my heart, I forgot! Now is your time, Tom;" and Mr. Bhaer droppedinto his seat again, while all the boys but Dan looked mightily tickledat something.

  Nat, Tommy, and Demi left the room, and speedily returned with a littlered morocco box set forth in state on Mrs. Jo's best silver salver.Tommy bore it, and, still escorted by Nat and Demi, marched up tounsuspecting Dan, who stared at them as if he thought they were going tomake fun of him. Tommy had prepared an elegant and impressive speech forthe occasion, but when the minute came, it all went out of his head, andhe just said, straight from his kindly boyish heart,

  "Here, old fellow, we all wanted to give you something to kind of payfor what happened awhile ago, and to show how much we liked you forbeing such a trump. Please take it, and have a jolly good time with it."

  Dan was so surprised he could only get as red as the little box, andmutter, "Thanky, boys!" as he fumbled to open it. But when he sawwhat was inside, his face lighted up, and he seized the long desiredtreasure, saying so enthusiastically that every one was satisfied,though is language was anything but polished,

  "What a stunner! I say, you fellows are regular bricks to give me this;it's just what I wanted. Give us your paw, Tommy."

  Many paws were given, and heartily shaken, for the boys were charmedwith Dan's pleasure, and crowded round him to shake hands and expatiateon the beauties of their gift. In the midst of this pleasant chatter,Dan's eye went to Mrs. Jo, who stood outside the group enjoying thescene with all her heart.

  "No, I had nothing to do with it. The boys got it up all themselves,"she said, answering the grateful look that seemed to thank her forthat happy moment. Dan smiled, and said, in a tone that only she couldunderstand,

  "It's you all the same;" and making his way through the boys, he heldout his hand first to her and then to the good Professor, who wasbeaming benevolently on his flock.

  He thanked them both with the silent, hearty squeeze he gave the kindhands that had held him up, and led him into the safe refuge of a happyhome. Not a word was spoken, but they felt all he would say, and littleTeddy expressed his pleasure for them as he leaned from his father's armto hug the boy, and say, in his baby way,

  "My dood Danny! everybody loves him now."

  "Come here, show off your spy-glass, Dan, and let us see some of yourmagnified pollywogs and annymalcumisms as you call 'em," said Jack, whofelt so uncomfortable during this scene that he would have slipped awayif Emil had not kept him.

  "So I will, take a squint at that and see what you think of it," saidDan, glad to show off his precious microscope.

  He held it over a beetle that happened to be lying on the table, andJack bent down to take his squint, but looked up with an amazed face,saying,

  "My eye! what nippers the old thing has got! I see now why it hurts soconfoundedly when you grab a dorbug and he grabs back again."

  "He winked at me," cried Nan, who had poked her head under Jack's elbowand got the second peep.

  Every one took a look, and then Dan showed them the lovely plumage on amoth's wing, the four feathery corners to a hair, the veins on a leaf,hardly visible to the naked eye, but like a thick net through thewonderful little glass; the skin on their own fingers, looking likequeer hills and valleys; a cobweb like a bit of coarse sewing silk, andthe sting of a bee.

  "It's like the fairy spectacles in my story-book, only more curious,"said Demi, enchanted with the wonders he saw.

  "Dan is a magician now, and he can show you many miracles going on allround you; for he has two things needful patience and a love of nature.We live in a beautiful and wonderful world, Demi, and the more you knowabout it the wiser and the better you will be. This little glass willgive you a new set of teachers, and you may learn fine lessons from themif you will," said Mr. Bhaer, glad to see how interested the boys werein the matter.

  "Could I see anybody's soul with this microscope if I looked hard?"asked Demi, who was much impressed with the power of the bit of glass.

  "No, dear; it's not powerful enough for that, and never can be made so.You must wait a long while before your eyes are clear enough to see themost invisible of God's wonders. But looking at the lovely things youcan see will help you to understand the lovelier things you can notsee," answered Uncle Fritz, with his hand on the boy's head.

  "Well, Daisy and I both think that if there are any angels, their wingslook like that butterfly's as we see it through the glass, only moresoft and gold."

  "Believe it if you like, and keep your own little wings as bright andbeautiful, only don't fly away for a long time yet."

  "No, I won't," and Demi kept his word.

  "Good-by, my boys; I must go now, but I leave you with our new Professorof Natural History;" and Mrs. Jo went away well pleased with thatcomposition day.