The Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot, The Shoe King's Son, Catherine Besterman [ebooks children's books free txt] 📗

that Uncle Lucas is "very, very thrifty." I certainly don't like it at all. And I don't like it that the way to my uncle's house is by forest and field, field and hill, by something else and then a bear jumps on you and still worse things may happen.

He took a rest on the green meadow. After a while he started walking again on a wonderful road. The forest smelled of pine, the sunshine dripped like transparent silver and gold through the red needles of the trees, the moss was as soft as a thick, deep rug and squirrels danced on the branches, twinkling their beady eyes. The meadows were beautiful, embroidered with daisies and poppies. In the fields stalks of grain bowed their heavy heads toward the earth. Johnny breathed the fresh country air with delight and filled his nostrils with the sweet fragrance of many wild flowers.

It's so beautiful here, he thought. It's even worth having trouble with dogs and bears, and even getting some stones on my head. He recalled the innkeeper's directions: "By forest and field, forest and field, field and hill, field and hill, and then the dogs will bark...."

And, indeed, as soon as he was over the hill three enormous, dark, shaggy dogs with blazing eyes stood in his path.

"We shall eat you up, eat you up," they barked defiantly.

"Gentlemen dogs," said Johnny, "don't be angry with me. I am Johnny Longfoot, son of the Shoe King."

For a moment the dogs stood still. They liked the polite way the little man in the long coat talked to them. Curly said to Brownie: "Let him alone. Just think! He is a prince. Certainly he brings our master, Lucas Longfoot, a big treasure from his kingdom."

All three dogs crouched low before Johnny and Spotty asked, "What does Your Highness bring our master and his faithful servants?"

Johnny thought for a moment and answered proudly, "Myself! And that is a very beautiful gift."

The dogs looked at one another, and Curly said, "That's our master's business. We are only dogs, after all, and we can't decide about such clever matters. The prince can proceed and we will show him the way, so no ill can befall him."

They all walked together alongside a high wall. Every few steps Curly barked, "Take care! Traps! Watch where you step!"

And Johnny walked carefully to avoid the heavy springs hidden in the long grass.

Farther on Curly barked orders to the squirrels, who were sitting in a row on top of the high wall with big rocks in their paws, with the obvious intention of throwing them down on Johnny's head.

"My beloved though unknown Uncle Lucas is very well guarded, indeed," said Johnny to Curly.

"Besides us and the squirrels and the traps, there is the bear that hugs every stranger to death," said Curly. "And each one of us is trained by our master for offensive and defensive fighting."

They went on in silence, which was finally broken by Curly. He said in a low voice, "Well, now it starts...."

"What starts?" asked Johnny uneasily.

"Our master's land," said Curly. "Do you see that little wicket gate in the wall? That is the main entrance to the grounds. Behind that wicket gate sits Fuzzy the Hugger.

"Fuzzy! Oh, Fuzzy -- open the gate. Open it quick. We bring a prince who has a great treasure for our master. He is a very noble and unusual prince, attired in a coat reaching far below his knees."

From behind the wall sounded a mighty growl. "And what does the prince bring for me, Fuzzy the Hugger? Yes, how about me? Arrh, Arrh!"

A nice household! thought Johnny. My Uncle Lucas is very thrifty, his bear is very greedy and the dogs are very noisy. If I were to tell them now that the only gift I brought Fuzzy the Hugger was myself, he would swallow me like a peanut. And while I might not taste very good to him, my father would certainly be very sorry to lose me.

"Arrh, Arrh," roared the bear. "What did you bring for me?"

"Quick, answer him," ordered Curly. "He is hungry and in a very bad temper."

Standing before the gate, Johnny said, "I brought you a load of honey and nuts. But there was so much honey and so many nuts that I was unable to carry it all myself. At this very moment ten noble knights are pulling these wonderful delicacies through mountains, forests and deserts. While we wait, Fuzzy dear, I am going to teach you to dance."

In two months I will be far from Shoestring Manor, thought Johnny. I'll be back home with my dear father and I'll be rid of these dogs, bears, squirrels, and also of my thrifty, famous, but still unknown to me, Uncle Lucas. Now I can only play for time.

Evidently Fuzzy liked the idea, because a soft growl came from behind the wall. "All right. Fine. I will wait for the honey and the nuts. And I've been waiting to learn to dance for a long time, as I am very musical and very graceful."

There was a crash behind the wall, then the rattle of loosened chains. At last the gate was flung open. Johnny entered his uncle's estate. He shook hands with Fuzzy, who turned out to be remarkably thin.

The dogs barked triumphantly, "The prince, the prince! The prince has arrived and has brought gifts! A handsome prince in a long coat has come to see our master, Lucas!"

On the threshold of the house appeared a tall, thin man. His lips were tight and his eyelids were red. His long nose almost touched his mouth. He was dressed in a sack with holes for his head and arms. His arms and legs were like dry bean poles.

"This is our master, Mr. Lucas Longfoot," announced Curly softly.

Very skinny, indeed, my Uncle Lucas, thought Johnny. When the host is that thin, there is not much food near by.

And suddenly Johnny felt very hungry.

Uncle Lucas approached slowly. He stared in surprise at the little boy in the uncommonly long coat, with a red leather box under his arm. He looked him over from head to toe and then asked severely, "Who are you? And why did the dogs and the bear let you come in here? And why didn't the squirrels smash your head? I can't understand it."

"I am Johnny, son of Peter the Shoemaker, known as the Shoe King. Good morning, dear Uncle. I came here to spend my vacation with you. My father said you would be very happy to see me."

Uncle Lucas opened wide his eyes and exclaimed loudly, "Happy? Happy that a relative comes to eat up everything, to ruin me, to destroy me! Do you think I can afford it? Even if I fed you nothing but dry bread, the expense would be too much for me. My doctor doesn't allow me to spend any money, because it makes me so nervous I could become ill. And I certainly doubt that you could swallow that bread, if you knew how sick each bite would make me."

Here Uncle Lucas started to cry bitterly. Heavy tears rolled down his hollow cheeks, dropping to the ground. He bent over, picked them up, put them in a little oystershell and explained, "Waste not, want not. Never waste anything. Tears are very useful as a substitute for salt."

Oh, this uncle of mine is dreadful, thought Johnny. He gets nervous at the thought that I may eat his dry bread, and he uses tears instead of salt.

"I don't want any favor from you," he said. "My father told me not to cause you any extra trouble. He suggested that for breakfast every day I eat only ten slices of bacon, three quarts of milk, twelve eggs, ten pounds of cherries, and..."

Johnny stopped, because Uncle Lucas was getting very pale.

"Terrible, terrible," he whispered. "This little boy could eat up all the food of the whole world. This is not a boy, it's a crocodile! I'm afraid of him and I shall send him away as soon as possible. He has already cost me a lot of money just by breathing my air and putting his foot on my ground."

He asked Johnny in a strained voice, "Tell me, relative mine, do you always eat that much at home?"

"Indeed I do," said Johnny proudly. "Everything I was talking about my canary eats for breakfast. But now I am on a diet and therefore I eat like a bird."

"All right," exclaimed the exasperated Uncle Lucas, "all right, you monstrous crocodile-boy, but to be able to eat that much you must have plenty of money."

"My father, as you know, is the Shoe King. He doesn't even count his gold any more."

Johnny's father, of course, had no gold. But Uncle Lucas misunderstood what Johnny had meant.

"Oh," he breathed heavily, "if your father has so much gold he doesn't even count it, you must be a rich relative. Of course, that changes everything."

Little Johnny was a very clever boy. He immediately noticed the difference in Uncle Lucas.

If the idea that my father has plenty of money makes my dear uncle so happy, thought Johnny, I will make up another story about it just to please him.

So Johnny said quickly, "Father sent me here principally to find out whether you needed any help from us. I have to spend my whole vacation here just to find out. And I have promised to teach the bear dancing. Big loads of honey and nuts for him are on the way."

"You must be very rich," said Uncle Lucas enviously, forgetting that he had a barrel full of gold in his basement.

"I have a little buried money of my own," stated Johnny modestly.

He was telling the truth, because some time ago he had buried a penny under a tree.

"I should have known that you were a rich boy by your handsome coat and boots," said Uncle Lucas thoughtfully. "But, Johnny, look at the difference between us. I, your uncle, go barefoot and wear a sack. I've already spent many a sleepless night worrying about what I will do when they wear out."

"I'll make you some beautiful shoes," said Johnny, "and a leather jacket. Then you'll look very elegant."

"Dear child," exclaimed Uncle Lucas, "you are like a bright ray of sunshine in this poor house. But where can you find leather for the shoes and for the jacket? Besides, you will need thread and a needle. I don't have anything of that kind. I am the poorest man in the world. I don't own a thing."

"But how about this house and these grounds, the fields and the forests?" asked Johnny.

Uncle Lucas answered in confusion: "Oh, those! It's strange I didn't notice them. I have a headache very often and no memory at all. I am sure that such a rich boy as you can find some leather for his uncle. But we will talk about that later. In the meantime, cry over my unhappy fate, my nephew. Cry, my child...."

And he handed Johnny the oystershell to gather the tears because he wanted to store up more salt.

Johnny noticed, however, that there was a gap in Uncle Lucas' plan. Gathering tears, sewing the jacket, making shoes, were all very well. But how about the meals? Uncle Lucas seemed to have forgotten them.

"Your doctor, Uncle Lucas, does not permit you to get excited, but my doctor does not permit me to go around hungry. Either I get plenty of bacon, cherries, butter, milk, eggs, cream -- and all of it the best quality -- or there will be no shoes, no jacket, and I will leave. In which case I'll be unable to find out whether you should get my buried money," added Johnny, thinking about his penny molding away between tree roots.

Uncle Lucas groaned heavily. Johnny opened his red leather box and showed him his fine steel tools.

It certainly would be very bad to let this rich relative leave, thought Uncle Lucas. His greediness struggled with