L. Frank Baum (10 page)

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much for saving me!"

Half frightened at hearing a beetle speak in her own language, the
woman started back and exclaimed:

"La sakes! Surely you can't talk like humans!" Then, recovering from
her alarm, she again bent over the beetle, who answered her:

"Why shouldn't I talk, if I have anything to say?

"'Cause you're a bug," replied the woman.

"That is true; and you saved my life—saved me from my enemies, the
sparrows. And this is the second time you have come to my
assistance, so I owe you a debt of gratitude. Bugs value their lives
as much as human beings, and I am a more important creature than
you, in your ignorance, may suppose. But, tell me, why do you come
each day to the brook?"

"For water," she answered, staring stupidly down at the talking
beetle.

"Isn't it hard work?" the creature inquired.

"Yes; but there's no water on the hill," said she.

"Then dig a well and put a pump in it," replied the beetle.

She shook her head.

"My man tried it once; but there was no water," she said, sadly.

"Try it again," commanded the beetle; "and in return for your
kindness to me I will make this promise: if you do not get water
from the well you will get that which is more precious to you. I
must go now. Do not forget. Dig a well."

And then, without pausing to say good-by, it ran swiftly away and
was lost among the stones.

The woman returned to the house much perplexed by what the beetle
had said, and when her husband came in from his work she told him
the whole story.

The poor man thought deeply for a time, and then declared:

"Wife, there may be truth in what the bug told you. There must be
magic in the world yet, if a beetle can speak; and if there is such
a thing as magic we may get water from the well. The pump I bought
to use in the well which proved to be dry is now lying in the barn,
and the only expense in following the talking bug's advice will be
the labor of digging the hole. Labor I am used to; so I will dig the
well."

Next day he set about it, and dug so far down in the ground that he
could hardly reach the top to climb out again; but not a drop of
water was found.

"Perhaps you did not dig deep enough," his wife said, when he told
her of his failure.

So the following day he made a long ladder, which he put into the
hole; and then he dug, and dug, and dug, until the top of the ladder
barely reached the top of the hole. But still there was no water.

When the woman next went to the brook with her pail she saw the
beetle sitting upon a stone beside her path. So she stopped and
said:

"My husband has dug the well; but there is no water."

"Did he put the pump in the well?" asked the beetle.

"No," she answered.

"Then do as I commanded; put in the pump, and if you do not get
water I promise you something still more precious."

Saying which, the beetle swiftly slid from the stone and
disappeared. The woman went back to the house and told her husband
what the bug had said.

"Well," replied the simple fellow, "there can be no harm in trying."

So he got the pump from the barn and placed it in the well, and then
he took hold of the handle and began to pump, while his wife stood
by to watch what would happen.

No water came, but after a few moments a gold piece dropped from the
spout of the pump, and then another, and another, until several
handfuls of gold lay in a little heap upon the ground.

The man stopped pumping then and ran to help his wife gather the
gold pieces into her apron; but their hands trembled so greatly
through excitement and joy that they could scarcely pick up the
sparkling coins.

At last she gathered them close to her bosom and together they ran
to the house, where they emptied the precious gold upon the table
and counted the pieces.

All were stamped with the design of the United States mint and were
worth five dollars each. Some were worn and somewhat discolored from
use, while others seemed bright and new, as if they had not been
much handled. When the value of the pieces was added together they
were found to be worth three hundred dollars.

Suddenly the woman spoke.

"Husband, the beetle said truly when he declared we should get
something more precious than water from the well. But run at once
and take away the handle from the pump, lest anyone should pass this
way and discover our secret."

So the man ran to the pump and removed the handle, which he carried
to the house and hid underneath the bed.

They hardly slept a wink that night, lying awake to think of their
good fortune and what they should do with their store of yellow
gold. In all their former lives they had never possessed more than a
few dollars at a time, and now the cracked teapot was nearly full of
gold coins.

The following day was Sunday, and they arose early and ran to see if
their treasure was safe. There it lay, heaped snugly within the
teapot, and they were so willing to feast their eyes upon it that it
was long before the man could leave it to build the fire or the
woman to cook the breakfast.

While they ate their simple meal the woman said:

"We will go to church to-day and return thanks for the riches that
have come to us so suddenly. And I will give the pastor one of the
gold pieces."

"It is well enough to go to church," replied her husband, "and also
to return thanks. But in the night I decided how we will spend all
our money; so there will be none left for the pastor."

"We can pump more," said the woman.

"Perhaps; and perhaps not," he answered, cautiously. "What we have
we can depend upon, but whether or not there be more in the well I
cannot say."

"Then go and find out," she returned, "for I am anxious to give
something to the pastor, who is a poor man and deserving."

So the man got the pump handle from beneath the bed, and, going to
the pump, fitted it in place. Then he set a large wooden bucket
under the spout and began to pump. To their joy the gold pieces soon
began flowing into the pail, and, seeing it about to run over the
brim, the woman brought another pail. But now the stream suddenly
stopped, and the man said, cheerfully:

"That is enough for to-day, good wife! We have added greatly to our
treasure, and the parson shall have his gold piece. Indeed, I think
I shall also put a coin into the contribution box."

Then, because the teapot would hold no more gold, the farmer emptied
the pail into the wood-box, covering the money with dried leaves and
twigs, that no one might suspect what lay underneath.

Afterward they dressed themselves in their best clothing and started
for the church, each taking a bright gold piece from the teapot as a
gift to the pastor.

Over the hill and down into the valley beyond they walked, feeling
so gay and light-hearted that they did not mind the distance at all.
At last they came to the little country church and entered just as
the services began.

Being proud of their wealth and of the gifts they had brought for
the pastor, they could scarcely wait for the moment when the deacon
passed the contribution box. But at last the time came, and the
farmer held his hand high over the box and dropped the gold piece so
that all the congregation could see what he had given. The woman did
likewise, feeling important and happy at being able to give the good
parson so much.

The parson, watching from the pulpit, saw the gold drop into the
box, and could hardly believe that his eyes did not deceive him.
However, when the box was laid upon his desk there were the two gold
pieces, and he was so surprised that he nearly forgot his sermon.

When the people were leaving the church at the close of the services
the good man stopped the farmer and his wife and asked:

"Where did you get so much gold?"

The woman gladly told him how she had rescued the beetle, and how,
in return, they had been rewarded with the wonderful pump. The
pastor listened to it all gravely, and when the story was finished
he said:

"According to tradition strange things happened in this world ages
ago, and now I find that strange things may also happen to-day. For
by your tale you have found a beetle that can speak and also has
power to bestow upon you great wealth." Then he looked carefully at
the gold pieces and continued: "Either this money is fairy gold or
it is genuine metal, stamped at the mint of the United States
government. If it is fairy gold it will disappear within 24 hours,
and will therefore do no one any good. If it is real money, then
your beetle must have robbed some one of the gold and placed it in
your well. For all money belongs to some one, and if you have not
earned it honestly, but have come by it in the mysterious way you
mention, it was surely taken from the persons who owned it, without
their consent. Where else could real money come from?"

The farmer and his wife were confused by this statement and looked
guiltily at each other, for they were honest people and wished to
wrong no one.

"Then you think the beetle stole the money?" asked the woman.

"By his magic powers he probably took it from its rightful owners.
Even bugs which can speak have no consciences and cannot tell the
difference between right and wrong. With a desire to reward you for
your kindness the beetle took from its lawful possessors the money
you pumped from the well."

"Perhaps it really is fairy gold," suggested the man. "If so, we
must go to the town and spend the money before it disappears."

"That would be wrong," answered the pastor; "for then the merchants
would have neither money nor goods. To give them fairy gold would be
to rob them."

"What, then, shall we do?" asked the poor woman, wringing her hands
with grief and disappointment.

"Go home and wait until to-morrow. If the gold is then in your
possession it is real money and not fairy gold. But if it is real
money you must try to restore it to its rightful owners. Take, also,
these pieces which you have given me, for I cannot accept gold that
is not honestly come by."

Sadly the poor people returned to their home, being greatly
disturbed by what they had heard. Another sleepless night was
passed, and on Monday morning they arose at daylight and ran to see
if the gold was still visible.

"It is real money, after all!" cried the man; "for not a single
piece has disappeared."

When the woman went to the brook that day she looked for the beetle,
and, sure enough, there he sat upon the flat stone.

"Are you happy now?" asked the beetle, as the woman paused before
him.

"We are very unhappy," she answered; "for, although you have given
us much gold, our good parson says it surely belongs to some one
else, and was stolen by you to reward us."

"Your parson may be a good man," returned the beetle, with some
indignation, "but he certainly is not overwise. Nevertheless, if you
do not want the gold I can take it from you as easily as I gave it."

"But we do want it!" cried the woman, fearfully. "That is," she
added, "if it is honestly come by."

"It is not stolen," replied the beetle, sulkily, "and now belongs to
no one but yourselves. When you saved my life I thought how I might
reward you; and, knowing you to be poor, I decided gold would make
you happier than anything else.

"You must know," he continued, "that although I appear so small and
insignificant, I am really king of all the insects, and my people
obey my slightest wish. Living, as they do, close to the ground, the
insects often come across gold and other pieces of money which have
been lost by men and have fallen into cracks or crevasses or become
covered with earth or hidden by grass or weeds. Whenever my people
find money in this way they report the fact to me; but I have always
let it lie, because it could be of no possible use to an insect.

"However, when I decided to give you gold I knew just where to
obtain it without robbing any of your fellow creatures. Thousands of
insects were at once sent by me in every direction to bring the
pieces of lost gold to his hill. It cost my people several days of
hard labor, as you may suppose; but by the time your husband had
finished the well the gold began to arrive from all parts of the
country, and during the night my subjects dumped it all into the
well. So you may use it with a clear conscience, knowing that you
wrong no one."

This explanation delighted the woman, and when she returned to the
house and reported to her husband what the beetle had said he also
was overjoyed.

So they at once took a number of the gold pieces and went to the
town to purchase provisions and clothing and many things of which
they had long stood in need; but so proud were they of their newly
acquired wealth that they took no pains to conceal it. They wanted
everyone to know they had money, and so it was no wonder that when
some of the wicked men in the village saw the gold they longed to
possess it themselves.

"If they spend this money so freely," whispered one to another,
"there must be a great store of gold at their home."

"That is true," was the answer. "Let us hasten there before they
return and ransack the house."

So they left the village and hurried away to the farm on the hill,
where they broke down the door and turned everything topsy turvy
until they had discovered the gold in the wood-box and the teapot.
It did not take them long to make this into bundles, which they
slung upon their backs and carried off, and it was probably because
they were in a great hurry that they did not stop to put the house
in order again.

Presently the good woman and her husband came up the hill from the
village with their arms full of bundles and followed by a crowd of
small boys who had been hired to help carry the purchases. Then
followed others, youngsters and country louts, attracted by the
wealth and prodigality of the pair, who, from simple curiosity,
trailed along behind like the tail of a comet and helped swell the
concourse into a triumphal procession. Last of all came Guggins, the
shopkeeper, carrying with much tenderness a new silk dress which was
to be paid for when they reached the house, all the money they had
taken to the village having been lavishly expended.