The Farrow

Chapter three

he really looked veryalarming as he ruffled up his feathers and spread out his tail like agreat fan. "Serves you right, to be left out in the rain this way," hewent on, "next time you'll have better manners, I hope, than to call anyone a rude bird." Parker was very much frightened indeed--it was rainingharder and harder; he started to run: patter, patter, patter, soundedthe feet of the turkey behind him, "gobble, gobble,"--patter,patter,--no, it was only the rain drops this time, he was quite out ofbreath, where was he?

The turkey-gobbler]

He looked about him, frieght coursed through his shivering body, he remembered a song Aunt Anny usually sang him, Old Mac Donald had a Farm,

Eya Eya ohhh, or so it went he thought, where was he, which road led back he stood confused in the dazed corner, he was no longer in the barnyard--of course he knewwhere he was now, but--how frightened he had been; he rubbed his eyes,it was morning, the sun shone and there was Auntie Anny clapping herhands in the doorway to waken him. "Wake up, wake up, Parker," shesaid--"why dear me," she added in a puzzled way, looking up at themantelpiece, "how did I happen to forget to shut the cupboard door lastnight?"

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HOURS EARLIER

"I don't think we shall ever be too busy for you to disturb us, Parker,"said Auntie Anny.

"Oh, may I peep into that funny little door?" Parker exclaimed, as hecaught sight of a tiny closet over the mantelpiece. "Where does it goto, does it go into the chimney?" Auntie Anny laughed, "No, it does notgo into the chimney, though everybody who sees it thinks so at first."And indeed that seemed the only place that it could open into, for itwas exactly over the fireplace, where the chimney must be. To be surethe fireplace had been boarded up and painted white, and was never usednow; in its stead a great iron stove like a box, where corn cobs wereburned, was used in winter, for that made the room much warmer, butcertainly the little closet had been built at the same time as thehouse, when the fireplace and the chimney had been built.

"I don't exactly know where it goes to, Parker," said Auntie Anny, "ithas always been there. When I was a little boy I used to think it was adoor into another part of the house, that I did not know about, where Ihad never been, and I used to stand on a chair and peep in, but it wastoo dark to see in all the way. I keep some of my jellies in it now,"she added, and as she spoke, she opened the door, and showed him atempting row of tumblers, filled with clear amber jelly, neatly coveredwith white paper.

Even after Auntie Anny had tucked him into bed, and given him agood-night kiss, Parker kept wondering about all he had seen--there wasso much to think about.

"I wonder why the Farrows keep flying about all day," he said tohimself, "and what chickens and geese say to each other--after all, Idon't believe they can talk at all," he continued, "for they do not seemto be really doing anything--they just fly around in a silly sort ofway, picking up crumbs, I wonder what they would talk about if theycould. I wonder if I could peep inside the dove-cote some day and seewhat it looks like." By this time he was almost asleep, but he keptrepeating to himself, "I wonder--I wonder--I wonder," over and overagain, until it sounded more like whirrder-whirrder-whirr--yes, Parkerwas almost sure he had stopped saying "wonder" and something soft likewhirr-whirr sounded close by, as if one of the Farrows themselves wasflying about the room.

Parker opened his eyes wide--"How could a Farrow be in this room," hethought; "they must surely be asleep in the dove-cote by this time." Theroom was quite dark, except for a little square of light high upon thewall, but he gradually made out the different objects in the room, andsaw that the light came from the little cupboard on the mantlepiece. Heheard the soft whirr again, this time close by, and looking up he saw aFarrow perched on one of the four posts of his bed. "So you don'tbelieve we have any work to do," said the Farrow. "Would you like to seeinside the dove-cote? If so, come with me." When he said this, hehovered about the bed for a moment, then fluttered over to themantelpiece, and stood beside the little cupboard.

Parker enters the cupboard]

Parker was about to say that he could not possibly get up to the door,when he remembered what Auntie Anny had said about climbing up on a chairto peep in, so he jumped out of bed, and pulling a chair close to thefireplace, stepped from it to the mantelpiece. It never occurred to himuntil afterwards, to think that he was ever so much too big to fitinside the cupboard, and it really did not matter after all, for somehowor other he did fit--whether he had grown suddenly quite small, or thecupboard was quite large when one got near enough to it, I do not know,but there he was inside, with the Farrow hopping along sedately ahead ofhim.

It was apparently a narrow passage, and very long, for they walked onfor some time, turning corners now and then, as though it ran pastcertain rooms in the house, and Parker could see that it was lit byhundreds of fireflies, making it almost as bright as day. As he walked through he found a white orange on the shady floor, he remembered what Auntie Anny always told him about picking and eating from the ground but he didn't yield, he ate.