Читать книгу Woodmyth & Fable - Ernest Thompson Seton - Страница 4

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VENERABLE old man with a pen behind his ear, and ink on his fingers, went up the main street of Humantown, calling out as he went:

“Lies! Any old lies to-day? Biscuits for lies to-day!”

He had a basket of sweet wafers, or biscuits, on one arm, and they were shaped like a human ear. These he was exchanging for the lies, that were very abundant in this town.

Most of the inhabitants freely gave them to the man; some even pressed them on him: but a few had to be repaid with at least a wafer. Very soon the old man’s bag was full.

It was a new thing to collect lies, and many jokes were bandied at the expense of the old man and his odd occupation. The strange merchant left the main street, and a little child had the curiosity to follow him. The venerable one turned aside through a door into a beautiful garden in the very heart of the town and yet quite unknown. He closed the door, but the child peeped through the keyhole, and saw the old man take the bag of lies and give it a good shake. There was a commotion and rattling inside for a time, and the mass seemed to be smaller.

“Ah, hear them eating each other up!” chuckled the old man.

Another shake was followed by more commotion and another shrinkage. The collector’s face beamed.

A few more shakes, and the bag seemed actually empty; but the old man opened it carefully, and there in the far corner was a pinch of pure gold.

The child reported all these things, and the next time they saw the old man, the people demanded who he was. He answered:

“I am the Historian.”