The Wonderful Bed Read online

  CHAPTER II

  THE ANGRY WARMING-PAN

  It was not surprising that the big bed should be different from anyother bed the children had ever played in, yet it was certainly takingthem a long, long time to crawl to the foot!

  "It must have a foot," thought the brave captain of the band, as heplunged farther and farther into the depths of the white cave. "Allbeds have." Then he stopped suddenly as a loud squeal of mingledsurprise and terror came from just behind him.

  "Oh, Rudolf," Ann cried, "I don't want to play this game anylonger--let's go back!" In the half-darkness Rudolf felt her turnround on Peter, who was close behind her. "Go back, Peter," sheordered.

  "I can't," came a little voice out of the gloom.

  "You must--oh, Peter, hurry!"

  "I can't go back," said Peter calmly, "because there isn't any back.Put your hand behind me and feel."

  It was true. Just how or when it had happened none of them could tell,but the soft drooping bedcovers had suddenly, mysteriously risen andspread into firm white walls behind and on either side, leaving only anarrow passageway open in front. It was nonsense to go on their handsand knees any longer, for even Rudolf, who was tallest, could nottouch the arched white roof when he stood up and stretched his armabove his head. He could not see Ann's face clearly, but he could hearher beginning to sniff.

  "Now, Ann," said he sternly, though in rather a weak voice, "don't youknow what this is? This is an adventure."

  "I don't care," sniffed Ann, "I don't want an adventure. I want to goback--back to Aunt Jane!" And the sniff developed into a flood oftears.

  "Peter is not crying, and he is only six."

  This rebuke told on Ann, for she was almost eight. "But what are wego--going to do?" she asked, her sobs decreasing into sniffs again.

  "We'll just have to go on, I suppose, and see what happens."

  "Well, I think--I think Aunt Jane ought to be ashamed of herself toput us in such a big bed we could get lost in it!"

  "Maybe"--came the voice of Peter cheerfully from behind them--"maybeshe _wanted_ to lose us, like bad people does kittens."

  "Peter, don't be silly," ordered Rudolf sternly. "There isn't reallyanything that can happen to us," he went on, speaking slowly andthoughtfully, "because we all know that we really are in bed. We knowwe didn't get _out_, so of course we must be _in_."

  This was good sense, yet somehow it was not so comforting as it oughtto have been, not even to Rudolf himself who now began to be troubledby a disagreeable kind of lump in his throat. Luckily he remembered,in time to save himself from the disgrace of tears, how his father hadonce told him that whistling was an excellent remedy for boys who didnot feel quite happy in their minds. He began to whistle now, a poor,weak, little whistle at first, but growing stronger as he began tofeel more cheerful. Grasping his sword, he started ahead, calling tothe others to follow him.

  The white passage was so narrow that the children had to walk along itone behind another in Indian file. The floor was no longer soft andyielding but firm and hard under their feet, and by stretching outtheir hands they could almost touch the smooth white walls on eitherside of them. At first the way was perfectly straight ahead, but afterthey had walked what seemed to them a long, long time, the passagecurved sharply and widened a little. The children noticed, much totheir relief, that it was growing lighter around them.

  "I'm getting tired," Ann announced at last. "See, Ruddy, there is anice flat black rock. Let's sit down and rest on it."

  There was room for them all on the large flat rock, and when they weresettled on it, Peter remarked: "I'm hungry!" Now this was a thingPeter was used to saying at all times and on all occasions, so it wasjust like him to bring it out now as cheerfully and confidently as ifBetsy had been at his elbow with a plate of bread and butter.

  "Oh, dear," Ann exclaimed, "what a long, long while it seems since wehad our tea! I suppose it will soon be time to think about starving."And she took her little handkerchief out of the pocket of her nightyand began to wipe her eyes with it.

  "Not yet," said Rudolf hastily. "I put some candy into my pajamaspocket when I went to bed, because the time I like to eat it best isjust before breakfast--if people only wouldn't row so about my doingit. Let me see--it was two chocolate mice I had--I hope they didn'tget squashed when we were playing! No, here they are." The chocolatemice were a little the worse for wear, in fact there were whitestreaks on them where the chocolate had rubbed off on the inside ofRudolf's pocket, but the children didn't mind that. They thought theyhad never seen anything that looked more delicious.

  "I will cut them in three pieces with my sword," said Rudolf. "You mayhave the heads, Ann, and me the middle parts, and Peter the tailsbecause he is the youngest."

  This arrangement did not suit Peter. "I will _not_ eat the tails," hescreamed, kicking his heels angrily against the rock,--"the tails ismade out of nassy old string!" And, I am sorry to say, Peter made asnatch at both chocolate mice and knocked them out of Rudolf's hand.This, of course, made it necessary for Rudolf to box Peter's ears, anda tussle quickly followed, in the middle of which something dreadfulhappened. The large flat rock they were sitting on gave several queershakes and heaves and then suddenly rose right up under the threechildren and threw them head over heels into the air. They were not abit hurt, but they were very, very much surprised when they scrambledto their feet and saw the rock erect on a long kind of tail it had,glaring at them out of one red angry eye.

  Ann was the first to recognize it. "Oh, oh," she cried, "it's not arock at all--it's Betsy's Warming-pan!"

  The Pan, giving a deep throaty kind of growl, began to shuffle towardthem. "I'd like to have the warming of _you_ three," he snarled. "I'llteach you to come sitting on top of me playing your tricks on myrheumatic bones--waking me out of the first good nap I've had inweeks!--I'll fix you--"

  "We're really very sorry," Ann began. "We didn't mean to sit on you,we thought--"

  But the Warming-pan did not want to hear what Ann thought. He turnedround on her fiercely. "_You're_ the young person," he snapped, "whomade the polite remarks about my figure this evening? Eh, didn't you?Can you deny it? Called me old-fashioned and 'country'--said nobodyever used _me_ any more!--I'll teach you to talk about hot-waterbottles when _I'm_ through with you!" As he spoke he came closer andcloser to Ann, snorting and puffing and glaring at her out of his oneterrible eye. Although he was so round and waddled so clumsily,dragging his long tail behind him, his appearance was quite dreadful.He reminded Rudolf of the dragon in Peter's picture-book, and hehastily tried to imagine how Saint George must have felt whendefending his princess. Clutching his sword, he thrust himself infront of Ann and bravely faced the Warming-pan. "Run!" he called tothe others, "Fly!--and I will fight this monster to the death."

  Ann, dragging Peter by the hand, made off as fast as she could go, andthe Pan tried his best to dodge Rudolf and rush after her. Again andagain Rudolf's sword struck him, but it only rattled on hisbrassiness, and making a horrible face, he popped three live coals outof his mouth which rolled on the ground unpleasantly close to Rudolf'sbare toes. Then they had it hot and heavy until at last the knightmanaged to get his blade entangled with the dragon's long tail, andtripped the creature up. Then, without waiting for his enemy to gethimself together again and heartily tired of playing Saint George,Rudolf turned and ran after Ann and Peter. Long before he caught up tothem, however, he heard the Pan behind him, snorting and scolding.Luckily it did not seem able to stop talking, so that it lost whatlittle breath it had and was soon obliged to halt. For some timeRudolf caught snatches of its unpleasant remarks, such as--"Childrennowadays--wish he had 'em--he'd show 'em--bread and water--good thickstick!--" Rudolf was obliged to run with his fingers in his earsbefore that disagreeable voice died away in the distance.

  At last he saw Peter and Ann waiting for him at a turn in the passagejust ahead, and in another moment he flung himself panting on theground beside them. "What a beast he was!" Rudolf exclaimed.


  "Dreadful!" said Ann. "I shall tell Aunt Jane never, never to letBetsy put him in our bed again." And then, after she had thankedRudolf very prettily for saving her life, and that hero had recoveredhis breath and rested a little after the excitement of the battle,they all felt ready to start on their way again.

  No sooner had they turned the corner ahead of them than they foundthemselves in broad daylight. The passage was now so wide that allthree could walk abreast, holding hands; a moment more and they stoodat the mouth of the long white cave or tunnel they had been walkingthrough. There was open country beyond them, and just opposite towhere the children stood was the queerest little house that they hadever seen. It was long and very low, hardly more than one story high,and was painted blue and white in stripes running lengthwise. In themiddle was a little front door with a window on either side of it andthree square blue and white striped steps leading up to it. From thechimney a trail of thick white smoke poured out. As the three childrenstood staring at the house, Peter cried out: "It's snowing!"

  Sure enough the air was full of thick white flakes.

  "Oh, dear, oh, dear!" Ann wailed, "what shall we do now? We can't goback in the cave because the Warming-pan might catch us, and if westay here Peter will catch his death of cold out in the snow in hisnight drawers--and so will we all. Oh, what _would_ mother say!"

  "But we are not out in the snow, Ann," began Rudolf in his arguingvoice. "We are _in_ in the snow."

  "And it is not wet," added Peter who was trying to roll a snowball outof the white flakes that were piling themselves on the ground withamazing quickness.

  "I don't care," said Ann. "I know mother wouldn't like us to be in init or out in it. I'm going to knock at the door of that house thisminute and ask if they won't let us stay there till the storm's over."

  "All right," said Rudolf, "only I hope the people who live there don'thappen to be any relation of the Warming-pan."

  It was a dreadful thought. The three children looked at the house andhesitated. Then Rudolf laughed, drew his precious sword, which he hadfastened into the belt of his pajamas, and mounted the steps, theothers following behind him.

  "You be all ready to run," he whispered, "if you don't like the looksof the person who comes. Now!" And he knocked long and loud upon theblue and white striped door.