“Well, my dear sir,” said Miss Peck, interrupting him, “why cannot you come with me to the Queen? It would be an opportunity of introducing yourself to the very highest society, and I should be delighted with the honour of your company. Indeed, I really feel very lonely, travelling all by myself, and am very much in want of protection, which is just what I am sure, sir, you are always ready to afford to a poor weak young creature, like myself, though whenever one complains of helplessness, it seems to make some people, that I could mention, more spiteful and tyrannical than ever!” 13“Believe me, dear madam,” said Cockielockie,—who was very much pleased at the idea of paying a visit to the Queen,—“believe me, that never could be my case, I will accompany you instantly with the greatest pleasure, and I trust that, if we should meet with any enemies on the road you will find my spurs quite able to defend you from them. Under these circumstances, madam, I shall set off without giving my usual crow, which, hitherto, I have never failed to perform at this hour. It was my dear mother’s first and last lesson to me. She took the greatest pains to teach it me when young, and I remember how vexed she used to be when I forgot my crows, or cut them so short that no one could understand what I said, or did not repeat them exactly at the right time. She told me that if I went on so I should be good for nothing, and might as well be boiled at once; and the last thing she said to me, before she disappeared, and I fear was boiled herself, was, ‘Cockie, mind your crows.’ To tell the truth, however, now, my dear Miss Peck, I am afraid of waking the ladies in the yew-tree. Mrs. Cockielockie would make such a fuss, and then the old woman might be disturbed, for though she is very deaf, I have heard the cat say that she 14always hears when you most wish she should not; for there was a small piece of the tail of a red herring which she promised one evening at supper to give to her,—at least so Mrs. Puss told me,—and then she put it away in the cupboard, and went to bed, and forgot it! So the cat being hungry, could not go to sleep, and was just getting into the cupboard, to eat her own bit of fish, when down came the old woman to know what all that scratching and scrambling was about, and the cat was forced to pretend to be catching a mouse, and never got the herring after all, for the old woman locked it up, and took the key away with her. I think, therefore, madam, although it seems to be neglecting one’s duties, that we had better set off as quietly as possible.”
So saying, Cockielockie shook himself gently, brushed his feathers, scraped his claws, and then came down from the little wicket-gate, on which he had all this time been sitting, and asked Miss Peck if she was now ready to go on.
Miss Peck, having quite recovered from her fright, had been impatient to proceed on her journey all the time that Cockielockie was talking, so on they went, talking pleasantly all the way of their different sufferings, and the hard trials they each of them 15met with from undeserved persecutions at home.
And they went, and they went, and they went down the lane, round the turning, and up the hill to the left, till they saw something white moving slowly on before them which, when they came nearer, seemed to be a duck, but its head hung down so wretchedly, its wings were so drooping, and its whole air so forlorn, that Miss Peck herself doubted, at first, what it could be. But when they came quite close, they saw that they were not mistaken, so Cockielockie, who had always a word for everybody, said in a cheerful manner:
“How do you do, Duckiedaddles? You are up early this dark morning. Where may you be going to, if I may venture to ask the question?”
The duck shook her head sadly, heaved a sigh, and said:
“Oh, Cockielockie, I am a poor wretched creature, who can find no pleasure in life, and have had great misfortunes, and so I am going to consult an old friend, who lives a little way off, about making my will, and then return home, and hang myself in the well rope, behind the carthouse.”
“Oh, pray, my dear madam,” exclaimed Miss Peck, “pray do not say such shocking 16things, or you will quite overcome me, for my feelings are very soon upset, owing to my unfortunate spasms. I am sure that my friend, Cockielockie, will be able to do everything in the world for you, if you will only explain the case to him.”
“Thank you, Hennypenny,” answered the duck, while her tears fell fast: “I will tell you all about it, though I fear that Cockielockie will never be able to do me any good. My sorrow is owing to my having had my family taken away from me, and my own little ones brought up by a stranger, and one of the last persons whom I should ever have chosen to put them under. One evening I was returning home, having been out for a little walk round the shrubbery with my friend Mrs. Gobble, when I found that my nest was taken away, and so the tiresome life that I had been leading, sitting there, day after day, for hours together, was all trouble for nothing. It was the third time that the very same thing had happened to me, and whether it was one of Master Samuel’s mischievous tricks, or, whether Jem, the old carter, who was always meddling with what did not concern him, was at the bottom of it, I could not guess, for I was then far from suspecting the right person; and so was 17Mrs. Gobble, for I went to her directly, and though she was sorry to see me vexed, she said it was a good thing that I should not have to stay at home so much, for she was sure I must have been nearly moped to death, and she would not have led such a dull life, for all the little yellow ducklings that ever were seen. So I got over my disappointment as well as I could, and I remember that a party of us went out walking that evening, and the weather was beautiful, pouring rain every minute, and puddles running here and there, and everything so nice and wet, and I caught eleven large slugs, and felt much more contented. Indeed I had quite forgotten all about it, when, a long time afterwards, as I was coming in from a swimming match with some friends, one morning, what should I see but six or seven handsome little yellow ducklings, running in and out of a new house, which stood not far from the water. I looked very hard at them, for I suspected how it was, and as I passed close to the house, which was open in front, I looked in, and saw Mrs. Topknot sitting there as grand as could be, and spreading herself out as if she did not know how to be proud enough. She was always giving herself airs, I must tell you, and never was so civil to me as she 18ought to have been, but being of a meek disposition myself, I just stopped for a minute, and said, ‘Good morning, Mrs. Topknot. Whose is this lovely young family that you seem to have about you?’ ‘Whose?’ she answered, as shortly as possible. ‘Why your own to be sure, Mrs. Daddles, and I am going to bring them up, for everybody knows that you are such a gossiping, gadabout creature, that you are not fit to have the management of a family. You may think yourself very lucky that your young ones should be placed under the charge of such a wise and well-informed person as I am, instead of being left to shift for themselves, as they would be if they depended upon your care.’
“I was so full of grief and anger at hearing this speech, that I could hardly speak, and, as if to enrage me still more, Mrs. Topknot called out to the ducklings to come to her directly, and I saw that the little dears did not dare to disobey her; so in they ran, and she shuffled them all under her wings, and would not even let me look at them, but one got his head half-out, and peeped at me, as much as to say, that if he could do as he liked, he would not be squeezed up in that way long.
“‘And do you really mean to refuse to 19let me take away my own little ducklings, Mrs. Topknot?’ said I, ‘because, in that case I shall go immediately to Jem, the carter, and get him to wring your neck!’
“Mrs. Topknot only gave a scornful laugh and answered, ‘As if anybody would mind what you said, indeed! You should have stayed at home, and attended to your own affairs instead of always sauntering about with that lazy Mrs. Gobble. Be thankful that your family are sure of a good education. I shall not allow them to get into any of the dirty, dabbling ways, that you, and all your relations, are so fond of, I can tell you!’
“‘Very well, Mrs. Topknot,’ I answered: ‘I see you think yourself wiser than everybody else, as usual; but depend upon it, though you may bring up very good chickens, you will never make good ducklings as long as you live. It is quite a different thing, and so I shall tell Jem, the carter, since he has not the sense to know it already. Pray can you swim, Mrs. Topknot? Can you earn an independent living in a gutter? Can you eat slugs? You know that you, and all your family, are poor, helpless, delicate creatures, afraid of getting your feet wet, and obliged to live on the charity of Jem, the carter. How should 20you be able to bring up young ducklings to do their duty in their own station? You are quite mistaken if you expect ever to make chickens of them. I know by the look of their feet, that they will take to the water in spite of you, and then pray what will you do? Just let them come with me, and I will soon show you what little ducklings are made for. You have no right to keep my children squeezed up in that corner, where they can scarcely breathe. I know you will kill them before you have done.’
“So I went on, begging and praying Mrs. Topknot to restore to me my own family, and even shedding tears to move her pity, but all in vain. She would not mind a word I said, and, in the greatest affliction, I went off to Mrs. Gobble, to ask her opinion about what was to be done. But Mrs. Gobble was just going out walking with a friend, and would hardly find time to listen to my story. She only said, that if I thought Jem, the carter, would understand anything about it, I should only be disappointed, for he was always doing the most foolish things, and making mischief in the yard in almost every family. I felt, therefore, that it was not of the least use to complain to him, for he would have been quite as likely to wring my 21neck, as Mrs. Topknot’s, and being weary of such an unkind world, and Mrs. Gobble not asking me to go with her and her friend I determined to hang myself in the well-rope, as I said; only as I have a small piece of cabbage-leaf behind the pig-sty, and two young snails in a corner of the garden-wall, I think it best to make my will; for, my dear Mr. Cockielockie, and Mrs. Hennypenny, you must now see that my distress is too great to admit of any relief.”
“My name,” said Miss Peck, rather angrily, as soon as Duckiedaddles ceased speaking, “is not Hennypenny, Mrs. Daddles; and I must say, though extremely sorry for your misfortunes, that I think grief must have confused your mind a little, or you would not have made such a mistake about a young person like myself. My name is Miss Peck, and I and my friend Mr. Cockielockie are on our way to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, to tell her that the stars are all falling out of the sky.”
“And I think, Mrs. Daddles,” interrupted Cockielockie, “that you cannot do better than come along with us, and then you will have an opportunity of laying your melancholy case before Her Majesty, who very likely will order Mrs. Topknot and Jem the carter’s heads to be sent to her immediately; 22for I know she is particular about her own family, and would be very angry if any one were to take them away from her, and instead of letting them grow into good little kings and queens, with crowns on their heads, as they ought to do, were to try to make them wear topknots and live upon barley meal.”
Mrs. Daddles was very willing to agree to Cockielockie’s proposal, for, as she said, she could see about making her will when she came back. So they went, and they went, and they went, until, turning a corner of the lane, what should they see walking towards them, in a grave and solemn manner, but a goose.
“Good morning, Duckiedaddles, Cockielockie, Hennypenny,” said she, bowing very politely at the same time.
“My name, madam,” said the unlucky Peck, taking care to answer before the others, “my name is Miss Peck; but you are quite correct as to my two companions, Mr. Cockielockie and Mrs. Duckiedaddles, who have had the kindness to accompany me on a journey of great importance, which it has been my duty to undertake. And I am sure, unused as I am to travelling alone, I do not know what I should do without the support of their society. Will you allow me 23to ask, Mrs. Goosiepoosie, where you are going to so early in the morning?”
“I am going,” answered Mrs. Goosiepoosie, putting on an air of great importance, “to make an early visit to Her Majesty the Queen, on very pressing business.”
“To the Queen!” they all exclaimed at once. “Pray, madam, do us the favour to tell us your errand?”
“Why, to tell the truth,” replied Goosiepoosie, “it is a secret known only at present to my own family, but I have no objection to mentioning it so to such respectable people as yourselves, as I am sure you are quite to be trusted. You are aware that I and all my family have been accustomed from generation to generation, to dress in white, and have hitherto allowed our young ones to wear coats of the same colour as soon as they are old enough to take care of them. But at last we have quite grown tired of this style of dress. It was very well for our grandfathers and grandmothers, but now it looks old-fashioned and dowdy, and, besides requires a great deal of washing, which makes it expensive; and so I am going to beg the Queen to give an order for our having in future bla............