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The Watermelon

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ONE day Chit, Chat and Chut Elve got permission from their mother to go for a long walk into the country. They got up very early and had a hasty breakfast and set out, determined to make the day as long as they could. The sun was only just getting up as they left home. At first they walked briskly, but soon their pace slackened, and they were walking very slowly indeed, not because they were tired, but because there were so many perfectly thrilling things to look at, and to hear.

They had decided to go to The Gap, which they had not yet visited, a beautiful valley in the western ranges near Brisbane. They had no sooner got amongst the gum trees than things began to happen. As it was only a short time since the brothers had left Elfland they had not forgotten the language of birds and beasts, so they knew that the magpies in a tree by the creek were saying,

“Good-morning, lads, isn’t it splendid to be alive on such a glorious morning?”

Even when a family of kookaburras, high up on a gum bough, burst suddenly into such uproarious laughter that they, taken by surprise, got quite a fright, they soon got over it, for they knew that the “kookies” were only saying the same thing. So when Father ‘Jack’ called down to know if they had seen the Early Worm anywhere about, they were able to answer, most politely, that they had not seen him yet; but now that they knew he was to be expected they would keep a good look out for him. Father Jack was so pleased with them that he said he would tell them something he would not tell to everyone. If they kept right on along the road for about a mile, and then turned to the right and crossed a creek, they would find a field of watermelons, the finest melons he had ever seen, and just in perfect condition to meet the taste of small lads like themselves. They thanked him and hurried on. They knew all about watermelons, their father had brought some home only the week before, and they thought they had never tasted anything more delicious, even in their old home.

Presently turning a corner they found themselves face to face with a huge four-footed beast with a red and white coat and very long horns. Chut, who was the first to see it, gave a terrified cry and fell into a big rut in the road, where he lay shaking with fright, while his brothers ran under the fence at the side of the road. The grandmotherly old cow, for that is what it was, stood quite still, looking very surprised indeed. Then she opened her mouth and laughed. At least that is what she meant to do, and what she thought she was doing, but what she really did was to make an exceedingly frightening noise to the ears of little fellows who did not know cows. They thought it was the noise an ogre makes before he eats little boys up.

Seeing their fright, Mrs. Cow, who really was the kindest-hearted old thing in the world, left off laughing, and called out, in the gentlest tone she could manage, not to be frightened, she never ate little boys, they were far too indigestible, and at her age she had to be exceedingly careful what she ate. Just then a pert Willy Wagtail flew across the road and perched on her back.

“It’s quite true,” he said, as he began nimbly to dance the bambalina, “she’s the kindest old thing. I’ve known her ever since I left the nest, and she’s never done me any harm.”

So Chit and Chat came back and pulled Chut out of his hole, and after telling Mrs. Cow they were sorry they had mistaken her for an Ogre, they hurried on again to search for the watermelon field. They soon found it, and right on the edge, nearly hidden by the vine, was a perfectly scrumptious melon. It was so big that Chit, who was the tallest, could not see over the top of it. It was so beautifully hard, and round, and green, and shiny that they knew it must be most deliciously pink and white inside. But how to open it? They had no knife. Chat, who was the brainy one of the family, solved the problem. Running back to the road he found a stone with a sharp edge, and with that they chipped off pieces of rind until they were able to get their sharp little teeth into the flesh. They were such little fellows, and so unused to the ways of Manland, that they did not know that they were doing wrong. They did not know that the melons belonged to a man who had to work very hard to clear the ground and plough it, and sow the seed that turned into melons, and that no one else had any right to take the fruit when it came.

By this time it was nearly noon, and as Chit, Chat and Chut had forgotten to bring any lunch with them, they were very hungry. When they had scooped a hole through the white flesh, which they knew they must not eat, and had come to the pink they ate, and ate, and ate, getting deeper and deeper into the melon until, when at last they felt they could not eat another bite, they were very near the centre. It was deliciously cool and soft in there, and they were now feeling drowsy, so they decided to have a nap before they left it.

By and bye a man came into the field with a dray, and began to collect ripe melons to take to market. It was almost dusk when he came to the melon which contained the sleeping elves. Without noticing the small hole in it he picked up the big melon and threw it on top of the loaded dray. This rather rough treatment woke the sleepers, and for a while they could not make out where they were. When they remembered, they were very frightened indeed, especially as the dray was now moving, and the melons were jostling one another uncomfortably as it bumped over rough ground. It seemed a very long time to them before the horrible rocking motion stopped, and there was a rattling of harness and stamping of hooves, which meant that the horse was being taken out of the dray, which had been backed into a big shed. The brothers were now very wide awake, and very miserable. This made them quarrelsome.

“It’s all your fault,” Chit told Chut, most unfairly, “it was you who got us into this mess, and now we’ll be punished when we get home —if we ever do get home,” he added, dismally.

This was too much for Chut, who began to cry, and Chat, who was about to say something angrily to Chit, forgot it in trying to comfort the little fellow, who was such a tiny wee thing that he just had to be looked after and petted by the other two.

As it was pitch dark in the shed, and they had heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock of the door, they knew it was no good trying to escape then they would have to wait until daylight and see what happened. It worried them dreadfully to know that their parents would be very anxious about them, and they would willingly have taken any punishment to have been safe in their own little beds at that moment, but as there was nothing else they could do they ate some more of their prison and then curled themselves up and went to sleep.

At daybreak they were awakened once more by the jolting of the dray on its way to market. The prisoners did not know where they were going, of course, and they could not even get a chance to see, for there was no sign of the hole by which they had entered the melon, so they had still to wait as patiently as they could for something to happen to release them. After what seemed a long time the dray stopped, and men began to take out the melons, putting them down on the floor in a big shed. The one with the elves in it was amongst the first to be lifted out.

“Hullo,” said a voice, “the rats have been having a go at this one. It’ll have to go to the pigs,” and there was a thump and a bump as the melon flew through the air and landed in a large tin. It was well for Chit and his brothers that it was still fairly well lined. As it was they were terribly frightened, and thought that if ever they got safely home again they would never, never leave it. They did not know what pigs were, but they felt sure they must be something very nasty, and they had no wish to make their acquaintance. But they were really game little fellows, and when they had recovered a bit from this new shock they began to look about for means of escape. Still there was no sign of the hole in their melon. It must be underneath, they thought.

“There’s only one thing to do,” said Chit, “we must make another hole.”

“Oh, look,” said Chat, who had been poking around, “I’m sure there’s a crack in the rind. Let’s all push hard just here.”

They set to work with a will and pushed so hard that presently there was a sharp snap, and the rind parted enough for them to squeeze through. How pleased they were to be outside again. But, alas! their troubles were not ended yet. All round them was a high wall of tin, perfectly smooth. At first sight it seemed impossible to climb it, but Chit put one foot on the broken edge of the melon and drew himself up until he could take hold of the stalk on the top, and by its aid pull himself up till he stood on the outside. Then he leaned carefully over and helped Chat up, and when they had both rested a while, he bent his back, Chat stepped up on it, and caught hold of the top of the tin. Chit gave him a push, and soon he was seated on it. All he had to do then was to drop to the ground on the other side. Fortunately, although it was a big drop for anyone his size, the ground was soft and he was not hurt. Picking himself up he hunted about until he found a piece of strong string. Then he gathered some pieces of wood and put them against the tin, and climbing up on them he let one end of the string down to Chit, who by this time had pulled Chut up beside him. Chit now tied the string about the little chap’s waist, and, with Chat pulling and himself pushing, Chut was safely landed beside Chat, who now tied a piece of wood on to the string and let it down to Chit. By standing on this he was able to reach the top himself, and soon he was over, and all three were hurrying homeward as fast as their legs would go.