Tales of the Magic Mirror by Karl H. Bratton

Author:Karl H. Bratton [Bratton, Karl H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Robber

Not many miles from the home of the woodsman, there lived three little brothers. The older brothers were content to work, eat, play, and sleep. But the younger one was different. He liked to eat, play and sleep, the same as his brothers; but he did not like to work. To tell the truth, he wanted to be a bold, bad robber and do daring things. This he never told anyone, not even his father, the village shoemaker.

One night after his family had gone to sleep, the tiniest brother decided that now was a good time to become a daring robber. “I will go clad in my nightshirt; then when I have done dangerous things I can come home, slip into bed, and no one, not even my mother, will ever know I have been gone.”

So out of bed, down the stairs, and away from the house he ran. As he went skipping down the road he merrily sang,

“I am going to be a robber,

A robber I shall be,

A very daring robber,

Yes, dangerous, indeed!”

He had not gone far when he came to a little lane. As he followed it he went dancing and singing along. Heavy foliage grew thick and lovely on both sides while leafy boughs formed a great arch above the pathway. The moonlight shining down upon the leaves made the beautiful lane seem to turn into an entrance to some strange land, and the little path to become a tiny ribbon of silver. The wee boy bobbing along in his white nightshirt looked like a white ball bouncing across the ground.

The farther he traveled the louder he sang. And the louder he sang the braver he grew until he felt that he was indeed the bravest man in all the land. Just as he started to go around a little bend in the lane he stubbed his toe. And what do you suppose happened? The very instant his toe touched the rock a fairy appeared. The fairy was dressed entirely in green. On both sleeves of his fine fitting coat there was a shining star that glittered and gleamed whenever he moved. In one hand he carried a long brush, in the other he held a small bucket.

“Oh! Who are you?” asked the little boy.

“I am the fairy who paints the patterns found upon the rocks and quiet pools on star-lighted nights. I always work in the light of the moon.”

The fairy paused and then said, “Where are you going, little boy? Why are you out so late tonight?”

The little fellow squared his shoulders, puffed out his chest and answered, “I am going to be a bold, bad robber; the most feared in all the land.”

“You must be very brave indeed,” said the fairy, smiling. “I should not want to be a robber! What would you do if you met a great lion some dark night?”

“I would chase it. When I caught it I would grab it by the tail, swing it around over my head, and then throw it clear up to the moon.

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