The Good Wolf Read online

  Produced by Elaine Laizure from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.

  FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

  THE

  GOOD WOLF

  BY

  FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

  AUTHOR OF "LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY,"

  "THE LITTLE PRINCESS," ETC., ETC.

  ILLUSTRATED BY

  HAROLD SICHEL

  CHICAGO: M. A. DONOHUE & Co.

  Copyright, 1907, 1908, by HOLIDAY PUBLISHING CO. NEW YORK

  Entered at Stationers Hall All rights reserved

  Published, September, 1908

  Reprinted, September, 1909

  Reprinted, May, 1912

  Reprinted, July, 1913

  Reprinted, August, 1914

  CHAPTER ONE

  THERE was once a fat little, nice little, round little boy and hisname was Tim. As soon as people looked at him they began to laughand he began to laugh too. He had dimples on his knees and dimpleson his hands and dimples all round his mouth. That was becauseFairies liked him and used to kiss him whenever they flew past him,and they kissed him so much that they made dimples. He had a lot ofcurly hair which made a lovely mop. In fact he was lovesome allover and no one ever denied it. But when he played about and henever stopped playing the wind blew his curly mop into tangles, andwhen he stood on his head on his bed or the grass or the nurseryfloor, that rubbed it into tangles; and when he was asleep andcuddled down into his pillows and dreamed delightful things, thatruffled it into tangles. So after he was dressed in the morning hismamma was obliged to brush them all out and comb out all the knotsand make him look soft and fluffy and lovesome for the rest of theday. Now of course this might have been very horrid for both ofthem. He might have wriggled and cried and she might have pulledhard and scolded. But nothing of the sort happened because theywere both nice people. He was a nice people and she was a nicepeople. So she used to sit down on a chair by a window which lookedright into a big maple tree where birds lived, and Tim used to turnhis back and stand leaning his fat little warm body against herknee and then she would comb and brush, and while she did she toldhim the Hair Curling Stories. This was one of them and it wascalled:

  THE GOOD WOLF.

  Once there was another little boy and his name was BartholomewHerbert Hubert Ellecompane but of course he was not called all thatat once. When people wanted him they only said Barty and he wasquite satisfied, because you see that if every time anyone wantedto make you a present of a beautiful train or a box of caramels, hehad to call out "Bartholomew Herbert Hubert Ellecompane" before hecould give them to you, a great deal of time would be wasted.

  Well, Barty was a nice people. If he had not been you wouldprobably have heard crying and seen wriggling in his nursery everymorning. He lived in the time when boys wore quite long, curly hairand if your hair is short you don't know how much combing andbrushing that takes. But Barty was so cheerful that he did not mindit one bit and even used to laugh and chuckle and sing songs hishair was being brushed. (When the story of the Good Wolf was beingtold to Tim his mother used to feel his fat little body shakeagainst her knee when he heard this part because he always laughedand chuckled at it.)

  Indeed Barty was a great blessing and a privilege. He lived on theedge of a deep forest, and he was very fond of that forest becausethere were such wonderful things in it things that grew and thingsthat built nests and things that burrowed under the earth and madelong passages and little warm caves to live in delightful things.Besides which Barty had heard that there were Fairies there, thoughhe had never seen one.

  He was not a rich little boy, in fact he was quite poor. He had notoys at all because his father and mother had no money. When hewent to bed. He used to lie and think of all the things he wouldlike to have, and when he went to sleep he sometimes dreamed he hadthem, which was very nice, but when he wakened they were not there.

  One morning in the winter he wished very much for a sled becausewhen he looked out of the window all the ground was covered withsparkling snow and all the trees in the forest were loaded with it,and the sun was shining on glittering icicles hanging from theroof.

  "I want a sled," he whispered to himself as he pressed his littlenose against the glass. "I want one I wish I had one."

  If he had not been a blessing and a privilege he would have cried,but he actually didn't. He scrambled down and asked his mother toput on his thick scarlet cap and coat and his rubber boots, and hewent striding out into the snow like a stout little robin redbreast.

  He stamped across the road and stamped across the field to the edgeof his beloved deep forest, because he wanted to see what thingswere doing, the things that build nests and the things that burrowand make little warm caves to live in.

  And when he reached the very edge where the thick trees began--therehe saw sitting up on its haunches and looking straight at himan Immense Wolf.

  He gave a little jump and turned pale and was going to run away asfast as his rubber boots would carry him, when he suddenly stoppedbecause he could not help it. The Wolf was speaking to him.

  "Do not be frightened," he said in a slow deep voice. "And do notrun away. I am a Good Wolf."

  Usually wolves don't talk, but this one did, and there were suchpeculiar things about him that Barty actually forgot to befrightened.

  "How--how good are you?" he asked.

  "I am this good," the Wolf said quite solemnly. "When I see alittle boy who is a blessing and a privilege and never frets andsays he has nothing to play with, and never wriggles when his hairis brushed, I am his Best and most Intimate Friend. But--" and hisnice voice became quite fierce and growly and he showed all hiswhite teeth, "when I meet a boy who is a little pig and a tormentand who makes life a burden when the tangles are taken out--I tearhim from limb to limb!"

  "I am glad I don't make life a burden," Barty said.

  "So am I," answered the Good Wolf. "I prefer to be your IntimateFriend. Look at my ears."

  He need not have said that, because Barty had been looking at themall the time. He had thought them very queer at first because theywere so very big and tall and pointed, and one was pink and one wasblue. But they had been growing queerer and queerer every minutebecause they had been growing bigger and bigger and bigger rightbefore Barty's eyes.

  "Watch them," said the Good Wolf.

  He shook the pink ear. Once he shook it--twice he shook it--threetimes he shook it. And out of it fell a beautiful red sled--exactlythe kind Barty had dreamed about.

  "That is for you," the Good Wolf said. "It is a present from yourIntimate Friend."

  "Oh! Oh! Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" shouted Barty and hedanced and danced about.

  "Look again," the Good Wolf said.

  He shook the blue ear. Once he shook it--twice he shook it--threetimes he shook it. And he shook out a splendid train with ever somany cars, and a key to wind it up and make it go--exactly the kindBarty had dreamed about.

  Barty jumped at it and knelt down in the snow.

  "Oh! Oh! Oh!" he kept saying because he could scarcely believe hewas awake.

  Then the Good Wolf shook the pink ear and pennies flew out--penniesand pennies and pennies--just like a shower of rain; and whileBarty was scrambling about shouting for joy and picking them up,the blue ear was shaken and a purse flew out, so that there was aplace to put the pennies in, and Barty picked up enough to stuff itfull to the brim.

  He just danced up and down.

  "What a Good Wolf you are!" he said. "I did not know any wolf couldbe as good as this."

  "Ah!" said the Good Wolf. "You don't know me!"

  (When Tim's mother came to this part of the story he used to jumpup and down and laugh for joy until his face was full of dimples.)

  The G
ood Wolf was enjoying himself as much as Barty was. He wassmiling and smiling and wagging his tail.

  "Now," he said, "do you want to go into the forest and see thethings that build nests and the things that burrow under the groundand make little warm caves to live in?"

  "Please yes!" Barty shouted. "Please yes!"

  Then the Good Wolf shook the pink ear. Once he shook it--twice heshook it--three times he shook it and there flew out a beautifulset of harness made of red leather studded with gold ornaments andhung with tiny sleigh bells.

  That made Barty stare because he did not know what it was for.

  "It is for me," the Good Wolf said. "You must harness me to yoursled and I will draw you anywhere in the world--just anywhere."

  Barty clapped his hands and jumped up and down more than ever. Hehad always wanted to be a coachman and once he dreamed that he hada cart and horse.

  "But before you harness me,"