The Water-Babies

h well who

and bird

best who

both grea

ar God who

and love

ERI

ns? You had better, then, ask the nearest Government pupil-

. An animal supposed by our ignorant ancestors to be compounded of a fish and a beast;

mfortable it was to have nothing on him but himself. But he only enjoyed it: he did not know it, or think about it; just as you

Since that sweet sleep, he had forgotten all about his master, and Harthover Place, and the little white girl, and in a word, all that had happened to him whe

this world, and became a land-baby, you remembered n

you live

ing which happened where we lived before; and as we remember nothing, we k

man, who wrote a poem about the feelings which some childr

but a sleep an

ises with us, o

here had i

eth fro

tire forg

n utter n

clouds of glo

who is o

me, can only do you good, and never do you harm; and instead of fancying with some people, that your body makes your soul, as if a steam-engine could make its own coke; or, with s

ox, in

al, de

hical, s

l, pro

gable,

stic, co

lis

accounts-to

rest, it is enough for us to be sure that whether or not we lived before, we shall live again; though not, I hope, as po

ng but holidays in the water-world for a long, long time to come. He had nothing to do now but enjoy himself, and look at all the

water-milk; too many land-babies do so likewise. But we do not know what one-

some pebbles; then she would stick on a piece of green wood; then she found a shell, and stuck it on too; and the poor shell was alive, and did not like at all being taken to build houses with: but the caddis did not let him have any voice in the matter, being rude and selfish, as vain people are apt to be; then she stuck on a piece of rotten wood, then a very smart pink stone, and so on, till she was patched all over like an Irishman's coat. Then she found a long straw, five times as long as herself, and said, "Hurrah! my sister has a tail, and I'll have o

le weeds: but Tom, you must remember, was so little that everything looked a hundred times as big to him as it does to yo

anches. There were water-flowers there too, in thousands; and Tom tried to pick them: but as soon as he touched them, they drew themselves in and turned into knots of jelly; and then Tom saw that they were all alive-

see what he was going to make with his machinery. And what do you think he was doing? Brick-making. With his two big wheels he swept together all the mud which floated in the water: all that was nice in it he put into his stomach and ate; and all the mud he put in

to him the brick-maker was much too busy

ay, he was too like some other little boys, very fond of hunting and tormenting creatures for mere sport. Some people say that boys cannot help it; that it is nature, and only a proof that we are all originally descended from beasts of prey. But whether it is nature or not, little boys can help it, and must help it. For

gs about sadly, till they were all afraid of him, and got out of his wa

play and romp with him too: but they had been forbidden to do that. Tom had to learn his lesson for himself by sound and sharp experience, as many another fo

oor, which was the prettiest little grating of silk, stuck all over with shining bits of crystal; and when he looked in, the caddis poked out her head, and it had turned into just the shape of a bird's. But when Tom spoke to her she could not answer; for her mouth and face were tight tied up in a new night-cap of neat pink skin. However, if she didn't answer, all the other caddises did; for they held up their hands and

mself, and felt all the naughtier; as little boy

out of water in their fright. But as Tom chased them, he came close to a great dark hover under an alder root, and out floushed a huge old brown trout te

gly dirty creature sitting, about half as big as himself; which had six legs, and a big

and he began making faces at him; and put his nose cl

out popped a long arm with a pair of pincers at the end of it, and caugh

, let me go!

e creature. "I want to be

let him alone,

want to spli

into beautiful creatures with wings; and I want to split too

fed, and stretched himself out stiff, and at last-crack, puff, ba

ittle child who has been ill a long time in a dark room. It moved its legs very feebly; and looked about it half ashamed, like a

stared with all his eyes. And he went up to the top of

colours began to show on its body, blue and yellow and black, spots and bars and rings; out of its back rose four great wi

re!" said Tom; and he put

hung poised on its wings a moment, and th

l dance in the sunshine, and hawk over the river, and catch gnats, and have a beautiful wife like

ture. I have no one to play with, and I am so lonely here.

y dinner, and looked a little about this pretty place, I will come back, and have a little chat

water-crowfoot, and such like; so it did look very big to him. Besides, he was very short-sighted, as all dragon-flies a

en a poor dirty ugly creature all his life before; so there were great excuses for him. He was very fond of talking about all the wonderful things he

nd then the caddises grew quite tame, and used to tell him strange stories about the way they built their houses, and changed

, to see them rising at the flies, as they sailed round and round under the shadow of the great oak, where the beetles fell flop into the water, and the green caterpillars let themselves down from the boughs by silk ropes for no reason at all; and then changed their foolish minds for no reason at all either; and hauled themselves

nd the cock-tailed duns and spinners, yellow, and brown, and claret, and gray, and gave them to his friends th

intance with one by accident and found him a very merry little fe

ost of himself, as people ought to do. He cocked up his head, and he cocked up his wings, and he cocked up his tail, and he cocked up the two whisks at his tail-end, and, in short, he looked the cockiest little man of a

ou, indeed; but I

om, quite taken aba

what a troublesome business a family is!" (though the idle little rogue did nothing at all, but left his poor wife to lay all the eg

re so, when, in five minutes he came back, and said-"Ah, yo

Tom's knee, and began chatti

bby and dirty. But I didn't choose that that should last. So I turned respectable, and came u

d quiet indee

ired of it, that's the truth. I've done quite enough business, I consider, in the last week, to last me my life. So I shall put on

ll become of

h; and thinks about nothing but eggs. If she chooses to come,

turned quite pale,

" said Tom. But h

king at him as he stood on h

s head. "This is me up here, in my ball-dress; and that'

n the world. For the little rogue had jumped clean out of his own skin, and left i

d down, never stopping an instant, just as if he h

l the colours of a peacock's tail. And what was the oddest of all, the whis

't cost me much, for I have no mouth, you see, and no inside

hard and empty as a quill, as such silly

quite proud of it, as a good many fine gentlemen are, a

l dance, and

ly pass

for quite th

dull ca

he tumbled into the water, and floated down. But what became of him Tom never knew, a

dull care

care, why nobody

ite still and sleepy, for it was very hot and bright. The gnats (who did not care the least for their poor brothers' death) danced a foot over his head quite happily, and a large black fly settled wi

ing, and squeaking, as if you had put into a bag two stock-doves, nine mice, three gu

eam, seeming one moment of soft brown fur, and the next of shining glass: and yet it was not a ball; for sometimes it bro

, many times larger than Tom, who were swimming about, and rolling, and diving, and twisting, and wrestling, and cuddling, and kissing and biting, and scratching, in the most charming fashion that ever was seen. And if you don't believe me, you may go to the Zoological Gardens (for I am afraid that you won't se

indeed!" and came at poor Tom, showing such a wicked pair of eyes, and such a set of sharp teeth in a grinning mouth, that Tom, who had thought her very handso

cked old otter, "or it

le faces all the while, just as he used to grin through the railings at the old women, when he lived

not worth eating, after all. It is only a nasty eft, whi

t!" said Tom; "

positively; "I see your two hands qui

and he turned his pretty little self quite round

rog: but, like a great many other people, when she had once s

t you (she knew the salmon would not, but she wanted to frighten poor Tom). Ha! ha! they will eat you, and we will eat them;" and the otter

salmon?"

d bully the little trout, and the minnows, till they see us coming, and then they are so meek all at once, and we catch them, but we disdain to eat them all; we just bite out their soft throats and suck their sweet juice-Oh, so good!"-(and she

d over heels twice, and then stood upright half

d Tom, who kept himself very close,

w, and we come up to watch for them; and when they go down again we go down and follow them. And there we fish for the bass and the pollock, and have jolly days al

m; but somehow he seemed

hooks and lines, which get into our feet sometimes, and set pots along the rocks to catch lobsters. They speared my poor dear husband as he went out to find something for me to eat. I was laid up among the crags then, and we were very low in

ly away down the burn, and Tom saw her no more for that time. And lucky it was for her that she did so; for no sooner was she gone, than down the bank came seven little rough terrier doors, snuffi

ee them. He could not tell why; but the more he thought, the more he grew discontented with the narrow little stream in which he lived, and

allows he could not keep under water, for there was no water left to keep under. So the sun burned

ening of a very hot

gh there were thousands on the water, but lay dozing at the bottom under the shade of the stones; and Tom

the crags right and left. He felt not quite frightened, but very still; for everything was still. There was not a whisper of wind, nor a chirp of a bir

from cloud to cloud, and cliff to cliff, till the very rocks in the stream seemed to shake: and

t into foam; and soon the stream rose, and rushed down, higher and higher, and fouler and fouler, full of beetles, and sticks; and straws, and wor

om among the stones, and began gobbling the beetles and leeches in the most greedy and quarrelsome way, and swi

eeks past in the cracks of the rocks, and in burrows in the mud; and Tom had hardly ever seen them, except now and then at night: but now they were all out, and went hurrying past him so fiercel

she spied Tom as she came by, and said "Now is your time, eft, if you want to see the world. Come along, chi

were gone again-but he had seen them, he was certain of it-Three beautiful little white girls, with their arm

ld hear their voices clear and sweet through the roar of thunder

o. Good-bye, trout." But the trout were so busy gobbling worms that they never

d to eat, and turned back sulkily, for the fairies sent them home again with a tremendous scolding, for daring to meddle with a water-baby; on through narrow strids and roaring cataracts, where Tom was deafened and blinded for a moment by the rushing waters; along deep reaches, where the

ame, Tom found himself

flit to and fro, crying "Tullie-wheep, mind your sheep;" and Dennis tells you strange stories of the Peishtamore, the great bogy-snake which lies in the black peat pools, among

mon here, do yo

oads it is of thim, thin, an' ridgmens, shouldthering

pool all over, and

, if you'll but think, if one had come up last

t all like a book. Why, ye spake as if ye'd known the wather a thousa

they were shouldering e

me, sly, soft, sleepy, good-natured, untrustable, I

ink your honour would l

ing; and then he will burst out laughing too, and slave for you, and trot about after you, and show you good sport if he can-for he is an affectionate fellow, and as fond of sport as you are-and if he can't, tell you fi

ightened peasantry, to prevent the Cythrawl Sassenach (which means you, my little dear, your kith and kin, and signifies much the same as the Chinese Fan Quei) from co

made to eat salmon more than three days a week; and fresh-run fish shall be as plentiful under Salisbury spire as they are in Holly-hole at Christchurch; in the good time coming, when folks shall see that, of all Heaven's gifts of food, th

tream, such as Arthur Clo

r a ledge

n the amber torrent

the colour derived f

all, where beads

hite with the delicate h

sides, with rowan and pen

k cloud in the clear amber pool, sleeping away their time till the rain creeps back again off the sea. You will not care much, if you have eyes and brains; for you will lay down your rod contentedly, and drink in at your eyes the beauty of that glorious place; and listen to the water-ouzel piping on the stones, and watch the yellow roes come down to drink and look up at you with their great soft trustful eyes, as much as to say, "You could not have the heart to shoot at us?" And then, if you have sens

oad pool, over great fields of shingle, under oak and ash coverts, past low cliffs of sandstone, past green meadows, and fair parks, and a great house of gray stone, and brown moors above, and here and there against the sky the smoking chimney of a colli

to say, and very sensibly he pu

say of him, 'Il sait son Rabelais.' But if I want to describe one in Englan

the river was like. All his fancy w

ut into broad still shallow reaches, so wide that little Tom,

place it is! If I go on into it I shall surely lose my way, or some strange thing will bite me. I

river opened out into the wide shallows, and watched for some one to tell him h

tream was clearing to a beautiful amber hue, though it was still very high. And after a while he saw a si

and a hundred times as big as Tom, sculling up the

e and grand curling lip, and a grand bright eye, looking round him as proudly as a king, and surveying t

ue gentlemen, and, like true gentlemen, they look noble and proud enough, and yet, like true gentlemen, the

s came another, and then four or five, and so on; and all passed Tom, rushing and plunging up the cataract with strong strokes of their silver tails, now and then lea

, and seemed very anxious and busy. And Tom saw that he was helping another salmon, an especially

tired, and you must not over-exert yourself at first. Do rest yourself behind

d love her, and are true to her, and take care of her and work for her, and fight for her, as every true gentleman

him very fiercely one moment,

t here?" he said

Tom. "I only want to look a

wo creatures like you before, and found them very agreeable and well-behaved. Indeed, one of them showed me a great kindness lately, whi

-bred old s

things like me b

d warned me and my wife of some new stake-nets which had got into the stream, I cannot tell h

nd clapped his little hands. "Then I shall hav

s up this stream?" a

hey were gone in an instant, down to the sea. So I went too; for I

he lady, "what

pany, he has certainly not learnt t

-flies, too! why they are not even good to eat; for I tried them once, and they are all hard and empty; and, as for trout, every one knows what th

like the trout

lazy, and cowardly, and greedy, that instead of going down to the sea every year to see the world and grow strong and fat, they chose to stay and poke about in the little streams and eat worms

" said the lady. "Why, I have actually known one of them pro

ider it my duty to put them both to death upon the spot." So the old salmon said, like an old blue-blooded hidalgo of Spain; and what is more, he would have done it too. For you must know, no enemies a