THE WISE MAMMA GOOSE

By CHARLOTTE B. HERR

Designs FRANCES BEEM

1913

THIS LITTLE STORY IS TOLD AND THE LITTLE PICTURES WERE DRAWN FOR A GOODLITTLE CHILD NAMED: _______________

THE WISE MAMMA GOOSE

Mamma Goose was trying to think. She had left the barnyard because itwas so noisy there that she could not collect her wits, and had hiddenherself between the rows of tall red hollyhocks which border one side ofthe garden. Here, at least, it was quiet. 

Thinking had always been hard work for Mamma Goose. And besides, herfamily kept her so busy that she had no time for it anyway. There wasalways something to be done for the babies. 

For Mamma Goose had a whole dozen of the dearest little goslings, andshe was very proud of them. They were soft, and round, and fluffy, likelittle yellow balls, and besides being prettier than any other babies inthe barnyard, they were so bright, too, and knew as much as any goslingcould be expected to know, --far more than little Red Hen's chicks, eventhough she did make such a fuss about them!

The goslings could hunt for their breakfasts almost as well as theirmother, while little Red Hen had to scratch up every thing her childrenate. And as for the water--well, the chicks were simply not in it there!They did not like to be in the water at all, but the goslings lovedtheir morning bath in the brook better than anything else in the wholeday. 

Yes, her goslings were by far the finer babies! Mamma Goose swelled withpride when she thought of it, and carefully smoothed her feathers. Shecould have been perfectly happy except for just one thing. She wasafraid that before long something dreadful might happen to the goslings, and once more she settled herself to think. 

There was something wrong in the barnyard. What could it be that cameeach night when every one was sound asleep? And what was it that carriedone of the chickens away each time so that, when the next morning came, there was always one less than there had been the day before? Whateverit was, it made no noise. Only, always the next morning some one wasmissing, and usually it was a little baby chick that was gone. The worstof it was that no one else knew any more about it than she did. To besure, little Bantam Rooster had said it was the hawk. But then Bantamalways thought he knew everything, and was almost always wrong, so thatnobody ever believed anything he said. 

Besides, if it had been, the big white cock would have known it, for thebig white cock knew everything. He was the king of the barnyard, andtook care of them all. He had a bright red comb and beautiful, long, green tail-feathers, and Mamma Goose thought him the most wonderfulbeing in the whole world. 

But something seemed to be wrong with him, too. He did not crow half sooften as he used to, and his beautiful red comb did not stand stiff andstraight any more. It drooped to one side and he looked very tired andvery unhappy, as if he, too, had been trying to think. But if he did notknow what it was that came night after night, then nobody knew. 

Everything had been very different when old Fido lived in his littlehouse by the barnyard gate. Nothing had ever happened to trouble themthen. But old Fido was gone now, and nobody knew about that either. Onemorning after breakfast he had trotted off behind the wagon, and nobodyhad seen him since. Every one liked old Fido, and they all missed him, but he had never come back and his little house stood empty all nightlong. 

Some thought that he had gone to take care of the sheep who lived in thebig field on the other side of the hill. But it was only little BantamRooster who said so. Nobody knew. Things had been better, though, beforeFido went away, for he had always stayed awake all night and watched tosee that no harm came to any of them. 

Then suddenly Mamma Goose had a thought, and a very bright idea it was, too. She would stay awake all night herself, and watch and see with herown eyes what it was that carried away the little chicks. As soon as shehad made this plan she stopped thinking, for it was such hard work andthe sun was getting very hot on her poor head. Besides, the goslings hadbeen in the water long enough. They never did know when to come out!

So she waddled down to the brook to get them. Then they all went for awalk in the meadow where the red clover-tops nod in the wind, and MammaGoose did no more thinking that day. 

But when night came, she did not forget her plan. As soon as the sun hadgone down behind the hill, the chickens all perched themselves along theroost with the big white cock at the end of the row, and soon they wereall fast asleep. Little Red Hen gathered her chicks under her wing tokeep them cosy and warm, and then she, too, went to sleep. 

Mamma Goose tucked her babies in also, and spread her wings wide overthem all, but she did not go to sleep. 

Instead, she kept both eyes wide open and stared straight at the bigwhite cock, that she might not go to sleep without knowing it. It wasvery hard to sit so long in the dark and keep awake. First one eye andthen the other would close tight, but Mamma Goose would stretch themwide open again, and stare harder than ever at the big cock, and thenshe saw that the cock was watching, too, and that made it much easier. 

Then it happened after a long time, when the moon had climbed high abovethe trees, and everything was very quiet, that a long, slim fox stolesoftly beneath the fence and came creeping--creeping across the barnyard. Mamma Goose was so frightened that she almost said "Quack! quack!"out loud, but still she kept her eyes on the big white cock, and thatwas a great help. 

The fox was creeping softly toward the roost where the chickens slept ina row, --but not straight toward it. He was keeping as far away from oldFido's house as he possibly could. Although she was so frightened, MammaGoose wondered why. She had always heard that the fox was afraid of oldFido, but didn't he know that Fido was far away? Didn't he know that hislittle house was empty? It did not take the fox long, however, to creepsoftly past it, and in the morning another little chick was gone!

But a new thought had come to Mamma Goose. If the fox would not go nearold Fido's house, then he could not find the goslings if they hidinside. It seemed to Mamma Goose the only thing to do, and a verysensible plan indeed. She would ask all the chickens to come in, too, and then they would all be safe!

But when she went the next day to her best friends and told them abouther plan, most of them only made fun of her, and all of them turnedtheir backs on her. No one would listen!

But Mamma Goose was not to be talked out of it. If the others wished tosit still and let the fox carry them away one at a time, that was onething, but for her to do nothing to keep her little goslings safe, --thatwas quite another. 

So that very evening, when the sun had gone down behind the hill, andthe chickens had perched themselves on the roost with the big cock atthe end, Mamma Goose led all the little goslings into Fido's house. Every one laughed when she went in, but Mamma Goose had made up hermind, and she kept straight on as if she had not heard them! But the bigwhite cock--he did not laugh at her!

So every night Mamma Goose led her babies into Fido's house, and everymorning brought them out again safe and whole. But always a little chickwas missing!

Then one night when the sun was sinking low, the big white cock flew upto the top of the fence and crowed. All the chickens listened then, while he told them that they were every one to go into old Fido's housethat night with Mamma Goose; for that was the only way to keep the foxfrom carrying them all away. 

Now when the big cock said that they were to do anything, it was alwaysdone, and no words about it! So that night all the chickens went intoFido's house. It was all they could do to get in, for the house was notlarge; and some of them were not polite and pushed against the others tomake more room. But the big cock did all he could to keep them in order, and at last all the little chicks went to sleep. 

But the next morning when the farmer's boy came to scatter the corn forbreakfast, he looked at the empty roost and did not know what to think!

By and by, however, he found them and at first he only laughed, butafter he had seen that no little chick was missing, he looked as if hewere thinking, too. And that evening, when the sun had gone down behindthe hill, the farmer's boy came back, and who do you think was withhim?--old Fido, wagging his tail, and looking as if he were very glad toget back!

The big white cock and all the chickens were just as glad as he was, fornow they knew that the fox would never come any more. Mamma Goose, too, was just as glad as the rest, for now she knew that she would never needto bother herself to think about the goslings again. 

But she didn't dream that anything more could happen, and she was toomuch surprised to think about anything at all, when old Fido cametrotting straight up to her, and wagged his tail just for her alone, andtold her how glad he was that she had been wise enough to use his house, and had taken such good care of the chickens while he was gone, and whata sensible little goose he thought she was! You might almost haveknocked Mamma Goose over with one of her own feathers! She couldn'timagine who had told him. 

But perhaps it was the big white cock.