Benjy in BeasTlanD

Benjy

punish

whether

course

taught

prick

elephant

leader

willow

prairie

pocket

grief

Ⅰ

1. Benjy was a naughty boy who was cruel to animals. He likedto hurt them and to see them in pain. It is hard to believe that this could be true of any one, yet it was true of Benjy.

2. Benjy had no brothers, but he had two little sisters younger than he. They were dear, merry little things. Many boys would have found it pleasant to play with them, but Benjy did not.

One of his sisters said: “Benjy does not care for us because we are only girls. So we have taken Nox for our playmate.”

3. Nox was a big, black dog. He liked to play with the little girls, but he liked best of all to swim about in the river near their home.

4. It was his delight to go into the water and bring out everything which he thought ought not to be there. He put all these things under an old willow tree by the side of the river.

5. I must tell you that Benjy did not like Nox. This bad boy had tied stones around the necks of cats and dogs, and dropped them into the river. Nox had brought them out and put them under the willow tree, and so Benjy had been found out and punished.

Ⅱ

6 There was another dog at Benjy’s home. This was a little brown dog named Mr. Rough. He was used to blows. His eyes had been almost scratched out by cats, and his bark sounded as if he had a bad cold.

7. If Benjy liked any dog, it was Mr. Rough. Yet he treated him worse than he did Nox. Mr. Rough was small, and Nox was too big to be ill-used.

8. But one day Benjy did play a trick on Nox. The big dog wasasleep. Benjy crept near, so as to prick his lip with a fine needle.This hurt poor Nox sadly, and he jumped up with a start. Benjy laughed and ran away.

9. Then Benjy went out and began to throw stones at a little dog. At last one of the stones killed the dog, and the bad boy threw it into the river.

10. That night Benjy could not sleep. He thought about the little dog, and wished he had not thrown it into the river. That was not because he was sorry he had killed it, but he felt sure that Nox would bring it out. Then he would be punished.

11. Nox would be sure to be out early in the morning to get things from the river. Benjy did not always wake up early, so he thought it would be best to go out that night, and get the dog out of the water and hide it. So he got up and went down to the river.

12. He looked up through the branches of the willow tree. Themoon was shining down at him. It seemed very large and very near. Benjy thought if he were in the top of the tree he could touch it with his hand.

13. Then he thought of a story book in which he had read that all animals went to the moon when they died.

“I wonder if the dog I killed is up there,” said Benjy.

14. The Man in the Moon looked down, and, much to Benjy’s surprise, said: “This is Beastland. Won’t you come up and see it? But perhaps you can’t climb.”

“Yes, I can,” said Benjy, and he climbed into the tree. 15. He went from one branch to another. The moon grew larger and larger as he climbed, but when he was on the topmost branch, he could see nothing but a white light all around him.

16. “Walk in,” said the Man in the Moon. “Put out your feet and don’t be frightened.”

So Benjy put his feet down and dropped. He thought he was falling into the river. But all at once he found himself in Beastland.

Ⅲ

17. It was a very queer place. There were many animals there, and they were all kind and polite to Benjy.

18. A great elephant took Benjy on his back for a ride. The wasp showed him her nest. The ants took him to see their great earth cities. The prairie-dogs showed him the houses they had made for themselves. A spider wanted to teach him to make a web.

19. “When you are ready to begin,” the spider said, “find aplace where you can tie your first line. Of course you have a ballof thread inside you.”

20. “I can’t say that I have,” said Benjy, “but I have some string in my pocket.”

“That’s all right,” said the spider. “I call it thread; you call it string. Whether it’s in your pocket or body is all the same.”

21. As this lesson was going on, a little bird flew in and told allthe animals who and what Benjy was.

22. Dear me! What a change that made. The beasts wereno longer friendly and kind to him. They called him “boy.” In Beastland “boy” is as bad a name as “beast” is with us.

iv

23. The animals took Benjy to the lion, the king of beasts, and asked what should be done with him.

The lion said: “First let us hear what Benjy has to say for himself.”

So the beasts placed themselves in a circle around Benjy. 24. “What has this boy done?” asked the lion.

“He stones dogs! He hunts and kills cats!” cried all the animals.

25. “No; Mr. Rough kills the cats,” said Benjy, who was beginning to be frightened.

“Send for Mr. Rough,” said the lion. Soon Mr. Rough trotted into the circle, with his short tail standing straight up.

26. “Mr. Rough,” the lion said, “Benjy says it is you and not he who kills the cats.”

“Bow-wow-wow!” cried Mr. Rough. “Am I to blame? Bow-wow! Who taught me to do it? That bad boy there. Bow-wow!”

27. Benjy was not only cruel, but he had taught the poor little dog to be cruel. The beasts were angry when they heard this, and they made up their minds to punish Benjy.

28. “Gentle beasts, birds, and fishes,” said the lion, “you know how this boy has treated us. He must be punished. Do not let us be unkind to him as he has been to us. But he is not good enough to stay with us. Let us tie a tin can to him and chase him from Beastland. Mr. Rough shall be our leader.”

Ⅴ

29. This was done at once. The lion gave a great roar as a sign for the chase to begin. Benjy was chased out of Beastland with the tin can fastened to him, and with the dog at his heels. When he got to the edge of the moon, he jumped off, and Mr. Rough jumped after him.

30. Down, down they went till they fell into the river. Mr. Rough swam ashore, but Benjy could not swim.

31. As he sank in the water, he thought of the many unkind things he had done. He thought of the dogs and cats he had drowned, and of how cruel he had been to Nox. Then he came to the top of the water, and saw the big dog standing on the bank above him.

32. He thought: “Now Nox has come to hurt me because I hurt him.”

As he sank again, a black nose came close to his face. The soft mouth he had hurt took hold of Benjy. Then the good dog carried him to the shore, and laid him under the willow tree by the side of two dead dogs, a kitten, and an old hat.

33. Benjy’s father found him there and took him home. He was sick a long time. When he grew better, he told about his visit to Beastland. His friends did not believe him. They said he had fallen into the river while asleep, and had dreamed about Beastland.

34. His little sisters were very kind while he was in bed. Benjy learned to like to play with them. He learned to love their pets, and he grew much kinder and gentler.

35. But a s ad thing happened which at last made his heart quite soft. While he was sick, Mr. Rough was kept out of the room. This made the little dog sad, for he loved his master, though Benjy had often been unkind to him.

36. One day, when Benjy was getting better, he asked to see Mr. Rough. The door opened, and the little dog dashed in. When Benjy heard him coming, he sat up and held out his arms. Mr. Rough jumped into them, and then fell dead at his feet. Yes, he died of joy at seeing his master.

37. Benjy was very sorry, and his grief almost made him ill again. But in his grief for his faithful little friend, he felt that he could never again be cruel to any animal.

(JULIANA HORATIA EWING) O89nYS1V1mv+NR4KTMZQDi/ATXHjmNGogwk6nCFY29KxfHqQyz7cJWoEsmwV7exe