Louis Dodge - Everychild

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EVERYCHILD

A Story Which The Old May Interpret to the Young
and Which the Young May Interpret to the Old

by

LOUIS DODGE

Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Laite

[Frontispiece: "Poor Cinderella."]

New York
Charles Scribner's Sons
1921
Copyright, 1921, by
Charles Scribner's Sons

TO FREDERICA BRITTON

CONTENTS

PART I

ARGUMENT:--_Everychild encounters the giant Fear and sets forth on a
strange journey_.

CHAPTER

I. THE TWO STRANGERS
II. EVERYCHILD'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE GIANT
III. EVERYCHILD ENCOUNTERS ALADDIN OF THE WONDERFUL LAMP
IV. EVERYCHILD IS JOINED BY HANSEL AND GRETTEL
V. A DASHING YOUTH IN THE FOREST
VI. A FIGHT WHICH WAS STRANGELY ENDED
VII. THE ADVENTURE OF WILL O'DREAMS

PART II

ARGUMENT:--_Everychild pities the sorrow of Cinderella and rejoices in
her release from bondage; he encounters a dog that looks upon him with
favor_.

VIII. A PURSUIT IN THE DARK
IX. CINDERELLA AT HOME
X. CINDERELLA'S DECISION
XI. SOME ONE PASSES WITH A SONG ON THE ROAD OF TROUBLED CHILDREN
XII. EVERYCHILD BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH A POOR DOG
XIII. A TERRIBLE LADY AT HOME
XIV. MR. LITERAL'S WARNING

PART III

ARGUMENT:--_Every child views with amazement a famous dwelling-place,
and is grieved by the plight of an unfortunate prince_.

XV. A STRANGE HOUSE IN THE FOREST
XVI. AN ELABORATION OF ONE OF HISTORY'S MOST SUCCINCT CHAPTERS
XVII. EVERYCHILD, WITH ADDITIONAL COMPANIONS,
FINDS REFUGE IN AN OLD HOUSE
XVIII. HOW THE HAND OF A CHAMBERLAIN TREMBLED
XIX. HOW AN UNFORTUNATE PRINCE ESCAPED

PART IV

ARGUMENT:--_Everychild's feet are drawn to the spot where the sleeping
beauty in the wood lies. Time passes_.

XX. A SONG IN A GARDEN
XXI. AN ENCOUNTER IN THE ATTIC
XXII. THE END OF A HUNDRED YEARS
XXIII. THE AWAKENING
XXIV. TIME PASSES

PART V

ARGUMENT:--_On his wanderings Everychild bethinks him of his parents,
and discovers that though he has seemed to lose them, he has not really
done so_.

XXV. WILL O'DREAMS REPORTS A DISCOVERY
XXVI. THE HIDDEN TEMPLE
XXVII. HOW EVIL DAYS CAME UPON THE CASTLE
XXVIII. THE MOUNTAIN OF REALITY
XXIX. THE MASKED LADY'S SECRET
XXX. WILL O'DREAMS MAKES A DISCOVERY
XXXI. HOW ALADDIN MADE A WISH
XXXII. THE HALL OF PARENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

"Poor Cinderella" . . . . . . _Frontispiece_

"You are Hansel and Grettel"

"Masterpieces indeed!--in a forest! _There_ are masterpieces"

She sniffed as if there were a fire somewhere

"As for living in a shoe--there's plenty of females that live in two"

They began a game which consisted of singing and dancing

PART I

ARGUMENT:--EVERYCHILD ENCOUNTERS THE GIANT FEAR AND SETS FORTH ON A
STRANGE JOURNEY.

CHAPTER I

THE TWO STRANGERS

It did not seem a very pleasant room. To be sure, there were a great
many nice things in it. There was rose-colored paper on the wall, and
the woodwork was of ivory, with gilt lines. There were pictures of
ships on the ocean and of high trees and of the sun going down behind a
hill, and there was one of an old mill with nobody at all in sight.
And there was one picture with dogs in it.

There was a soft rug, also of rose-color, and a fine clock, shaped like
a state capitol, on the mantel. There was a silver gong in the clock
which made beautiful music. There was a nice reading table with books
on it, and a lamp. The lamp had a shade made up of queerly-shaped bits
of material like onyx, and a fringe of rose-colored beads. Yet for all
this, it did not seem a pleasant room. You could feel that something
was wrong. You know, there are always so many things in a room which
you cannot see.

A lady and a gentleman sat at the reading-table, one on either side.
It seemed they hadn't a word to say to each other. They did not even
look at each other. The lady turned the pages of a magazine without
seeing a single thing. The gentleman sat staring straight before him,
and after a long time he stretched himself and said: "Ho--hum!" And
then he began to frown and to stare at an oak chair over against the
wall.

You might have supposed he had a grudge against the chair; and it
seemed that the chair might be crying out to him in its own language:
"I am not merely a chair. Look at me! I was a limb on a mighty oak.
I was a child of the sun and the rain and the earth. I used to sing
and dance. Oh, do not look at me like that!" But the gentleman knew
nothing of all this.

Both the lady and the gentleman were thinking of nothing but themselves
and they continued to do this even when a door opened and their son
entered the room.

Their son's name was Everychild; and because he is to be the most
important person in this story I should like to tell you as much about
him as I can. But really, there is very little I can tell. His mother
often said that he was a peculiar child. It was almost impossible to
tell what his thoughts were, or his dreams, or how much he loved this
person or that, or what he desired most.

It was difficult for him to get into the room. He was carrying
something which he could not manage very well. But no one offered to
help him. Presently he had got quite into the room, leaving the door
open.

The thing he carried was a kite, and he was holding it high to keep it
free of the ground. The tail had got caught in the string and there
was a rent in the blue paper.

The clock struck just as he entered and he stopped to count the
strokes. Seven. The last stroke died away with a quivering sound.
Then with faltering feet he approached his father.

His father was frowning. He stopped and pondered. He had seen that
frown on his father's face many times before, and it had always puzzled
him. Sometimes it would come while you watched, and you couldn't think
what made it come. Or it would go away in the strangest manner,
without anything having happened at all. It was a great mystery.

The frown did not go away this time; and presently Everychild
approached his father timidly. It was rather difficult for him to
speak; but he managed to say:

"Daddy, do you think you could fix it for me?" He brought the torn
kite further forward and held it higher.

His father did not look at him at all!

Everychild's heart pounded loudly. How could one go on speaking to a
person who would not even look? Yet he persisted. "Could you?" he
repeated.

His father moved a little, but still he did not look at Everychild. He
said rather impatiently: "Never mind now, son."

Then his mother spoke. She had glanced up from her magazine. "You've
left the door open, Everychild," she said.

Everychild put his kite down with care. He returned to the door. It
was a stubborn door. He pulled at it once and again. It closed with a
bang.

"Everychild!" exclaimed his mother. The noise had made her jump a
little.

"It always bangs when you close it," said Everychild.

"It wouldn't bang if you didn't open it," said his mother.

He returned and stood beside his father.

"You know you used to fix things for me," he said. He reflected and
brightened a little. "And play with me," he added. "Don't you
remember?"

But just then it seemed that his father and mother thought of something
to say to each other. Their manner was quite unpleasant. They talked
without waiting for each other to get through, and Everychild could not
understand a thing they were saying. He withdrew a little and waited.

But when his parents had talked a little while, rather loudly, his
father got up and went out. He put his hat on, pulling it down over
his eyes. And _he_ banged the door. But it was the outside door this
time, which never banged at all if you were careful.

And then his mother got up and went to her own room--which meant that
she mustn't be disturbed.

Everychild stood for a moment, puzzled; and then he thought of the
broken kite in his hands. He plucked at it slowly. You would have
supposed that he did not care greatly, now, whether the kite got mended
or not. But little by little he became interested in the kite. He sat
down on the floor and began to untangle the tail.

He scarcely knew when the inner door opened and the cook entered the
room.

She was a large, plain person. Her face was redder than Everychild's
mother's face, but not so pretty. Her eyes often seemed tired, but
never too tired to beam a little.

"Are you all alone, Everychild?" she asked. She did not wait for a
reply, but asked another question: "Is something wrong with your kite?"
And again without waiting for a reply she added: "Maybe I could fix it
for you!"

And she got down on the rug on her knees and took the kite from his
hands.

Everychild, standing beside her, looked into her rather sad, kind eyes,
which were closer to him than he remembered their ever having been
before. There were little moist lines about them, and they were faded.
Her hands were not at all like his mother's hands. Not nearly so nice:
and yet how clever they were! She was really untangling the tail of
the kite, moving it here and there with large gestures.

And then Everychild forgot all about the kite. Certain amazing things
had begun to happen near by.

It had been getting dark in the room; and now it suddenly became quite
bright, though no one had turned the lights on. And there was a sound
of music--a short bit of a march, which ended all of a sudden. And
then Everychild realized that by some strange process two persons had
entered the room.

CHAPTER II

EVERYCHILD'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE GIANT

He was almost afraid to look at the two strange persons, because their
being there seemed very mysterious, and he had the thought that if he
looked at them steadily they might vanish. He knew at once that they
were not to be treated just as if they were ordinary persons. It was
not only that they had come into the room without making any noise, or
that there had been that burst of music, or that the light had
brightened.

It was rather because the cook went on untangling the kite, just as if
nothing had happened.

He said to himself, "She does not know they are here. She does not
know I have seen anything."

Then it occurred to him that the two strangers were not paying any
attention to him at all, and that he might look at them as much as he
pleased.

Suddenly he recognized one of them. He had seen his picture. It was
Father Time. And he could have laughed to himself because Father Time
was a much more pleasing person than he had been in his picture. It is
true that he carried a scythe, just as he had been pictured as doing.
There was a sand-glass too. It was in two parts, connected by a narrow
stem through which the sand was running from one part to the other.

But he did not have a long white beard, and a dark robe, and a stern
face. Not at all. His eyes were all ready to twinkle. They were the
kindest eyes Everychild had ever seen. You could tell by looking at
them that if you were to hurt yourself Father Time would pity you and
comfort you. He had a rather jolly figure. You could imagine he might
be very playful. And he wore the costume of a jester--though you did
not feel like laughing at him, because his eyes were so friendly and
kind. He stood as if he were waiting to begin some sort of play.

Then Everychild looked at the other stranger. She was a lady, and very
distinguished looking. He did not recognize her, though he felt at
once that she was a very important person. She was dressed all in
shimmering white. She was very fair and her hair was dressed
beautifully. She wore a band about her hair and there was a jewel in
it, like a star. She wore a little mask over her eyes so that you
could not be sure at once whether she was a kind person or not. She
sat at a spinning wheel, and the wheel went round and round without
making any noise. She was spinning something. She looked very
tranquil.

Everychild was becoming greatly excited. He touched the cook on the
hand. "Didn't it seem to you to get much lighter?" he asked.

"Lighter? No. It's getting darker," she replied.

"And--and didn't you hear any music, either?"

"I heard nothing."

It made him feel almost forlorn to have the cook say she had not
noticed anything. He drew closer to her. "Never mind the kite now,"
he said. "I want you . . . Oh, don't you see anything at all? Please
look!" He stood with one finger on his lip, staring at Father Time and
the Masked Lady.

She regarded him almost with alarm. "Lord bless the child, what's
coming over him?" she exclaimed. "There's nothing there!" She
followed the direction of his eyes, and then she looked at him with an
indulgent smile. "There, put your kite away," she said. "It's all
right now except for that rent in it. I'll mend that to-morrow. And
try to be a good boy. You mustn't be fanciful, you know!"

She patted him on the back and then she left the room.

He stood quite forlorn, watching her depart. Then with nervous haste
he made as if to follow her. But at the door, which she had closed, he
stopped. You could tell that he was making up his mind to do
something. Then he turned slowly so that he faced Father Time and the
Masked Lady. Presently he took a step in their direction. And at
length, with a very great effort, he spoke.

"Please--tell me who you are!" he said.

It was Father Time who replied. He replied in a voice which was quite
thrilling, though not at all terrifying:

"We are the true friends of Everychild!"

Everychild brought his hands together in perplexity. "Friends?" he
said. "I--I think I never saw you before. I may have seen your
picture. Yours, I mean. Not the--the lady's. And I'm not sure I know
your right name. If you'd tell me, and if--if the lady would take her
mask off----"

But Father Time interrupted him. In a solemn voice he said,
"Everychild, I have come to bid you leave all that has been closest to
you and set forth upon a strange journey."

At this Everychild was deeply awed. Perhaps he was a little
frightened. "All that has been closest?" he repeated. "My mother and
father--it is they who have always been closest."

"Everychild must bid farewell to father and mother," declared Father
Time.

And now Everychild was indeed dismayed. "Bid farewell to them?" he
echoed. "Oh, please . . . and shall I never see them again?" He
wished very much to approach Father Time and plead with him; but Father
Time held up an arresting hand and spoke again, almost as if he were a
minister in church.

"It is not given to Everychild to know what the future holds," he said.
And then he again made a polite gesture toward the Masked Lady. "Only
she can tell what the end of the journey shall be," he said.

It was now that Everychild looked earnestly at the Masked Lady. If she
would only take her mask off! With a great effort he asked--"And
she--will she befriend me when I have gone from my father and mother?"

With the deepest assurance Father Time replied, "Give her your
affection and she will befriend you in every hour of loss and pain,
clear to the end of your journey--and beyond."

"But," said Everychild, "she--she doesn't look very--she looks
rather--rather fearful, doesn't she?"

"She is beautiful only to those who love her," said Father Time.

This seemed reassuring; and now Everychild ventured to address the
Masked Lady directly. "And--and will you go with me?" he asked timidly.

She replied with great earnestness: "Everychild, go where you will, you
have only to desire me greatly and I shall be with you."

Then it seemed to Everychild that it would not be a very terrible thing
to go away, after all.

It was plain that Father Time and the Masked Lady were waiting for him
to go; and so without any more ado he boldly approached the door which
opened out upon the street. But his heart failed him again. He drew
back from the door and cried out--"No, no! I cannot. I cannot go out
that way. Is there no other way for me to go?"

It seemed to him that his heart must cease to beat when Father Time
exclaimed in a loud voice--

"Go, Everychild!"

Still he hung back. "But not that way!" he repeated. "The wide world
lies that way, and I should be afraid."

"I know," said Father Time, "that the Giant Fear lives outside that
door. But him you shall slay, and then the way will be clear."

"_I_ shall slay him?" exclaimed Everychild wonderingly. "How shall I
slay him?"

"Do not doubt, and a way shall be found."

It was just at this moment that something very terrifying occurred.
There was a stealthy step outside the door--the sort of step you hear
when it is dark and you are alone. And Everychild could not help
shrinking back as he stood with his fascinated eyes held on the door.
He was staring at the door, yet he knew that the Masked Lady and Father
Time were listening to that stealthy step too. The Masked Lady had put
aside her spinning wheel, and Father Time had become very grave.

There was a brief interval of suspense and then the door began to open,
inch by inch, very slowly. Two terrible eyes became visible.

Everychild knew immediately that it was the Giant Fear, though for a
moment he could see nothing but the peeping eyes which leered horribly.
And when the Giant Fear perceived that Everychild was terrified, he
thrust the door open wide and stood on the threshold.

He was, I may tell you at once, the most hideous creature in the world.
His cruel grin was too evil a thing to be described. He carried a
great bludgeon. From his lower jaw a yellow tusk arose at either
corner of his mouth and projected beyond his upper lip. His ears
covered the whole sides of his head. His jaws were as large around as
a bushel basket.

At first, after he had entered the room, he did not perceive either
Father Time or the Masked Lady. He dropped one end of his bludgeon to
the floor with a thump, and there he stood leering at Everychild with a
sinister and triumphant expression.

Only a moment he stood, and then he advanced a step toward Everychild.
But just at that instant Father Time moved slightly and the intruder
became aware of his presence. The wicked smile on his terrible face
began to freeze slowly. The great creature shrank away from Father
Time; and as he did so he became aware of the presence of the Masked
Lady on his other side. For an instant he trembled from head to foot!
And then more hurriedly he took another step toward Everychild.

Everychild was trying very hard to hold his ground; but in truth he
could feel his knees giving way beneath him and it seemed that he must
fall if the giant advanced another inch. Nor did the giant fail to
note that Everychild was in distress, and at this he regained something
of his boldness. In a loud, terrible voice he spoke to Everychild:

"Ah--ha! And so you were getting ready to defy me--hey?"

Everychild's teeth chattered as he replied: "Please go away!"

The giant nodded exultantly. In the same great voice he said, "You
know me, I suppose?--the Giant Fear who always makes Everychild
tremble?"

A calm voice interposed--the voice of Father Time: "The Giant Fear,
whom Everychild may conquer!"

The voice was so reassuring, and the eyes of Father Time were so calm
and friendly, that Everychild ceased to despair. With trembling limbs
he ran to Father Time. "If you would lend me your scythe----" he
gasped. He laid a hand on the scythe of Father Time.

But Father Time withheld the scythe. He said gently, "The scythe of
Father Time is a wonderful weapon; but a better one is at Everychild's
command. Behold!"

As he spoke he pointed majestically to the Masked Lady.

She had arisen, and Everychild saw that she held aloft a slim, shining
sword!

A hush fell within the room; but presently Everychild, addressing
Father Time, whispered: "A sword! And may I take it?"

With a very firm voice Father Time replied: "You may, and with it you
shall prevail!"

Oddly enough, Everychild forgot for the moment that he was in peril.
He drew near to the Masked Lady, and he could see that she was smiling.
She placed the sword in his hand.

At first he held it awkwardly, yet he looked at it with shining eyes.
Then he turned about, holding the sword forward, as the Masked Lady had
held it. He could feel that the hilt of the sword was beginning to fit
snugly into his hand.

Gradually a strange transformation occurred. His body straightened,
his eyes shone more than ever. He took a step forward, and he knew
that his knees were no longer trembling. In a clear voice he cried out
to the Giant Fear:

"Defend yourself!"

But the giant reeled and trembled. He tried to hold his bludgeon
aloft, but his hands shook so that it nearly fell. He became as pale
as death, and it was quite impossible for him to meet Everychild's eye.
He retreated with stumbling steps. It seemed that he would fall. His
power had deserted him.

He made a last, terrible effort to lift his bludgeon; but Everychild
darted forward with the speed of lightning, holding his sword before
him. It was a very sharp sword, and it pierced the giant's body as
easily as if the great creature had been made of paper.

The Giant Fear tottered. His bludgeon slipped from his grasp and his
eyes became dim. He fell with a crash. He was dead!

At that very moment a sound of distant music could be heard. It was
all very wonderful. The music drew nearer; it sounded more loudly.

Everychild turned and restored the slim sword to the Masked Lady.

"Do you not wish to keep it?" she asked.

But it seemed to Everychild that he had no need of the sword, now that
the Giant Fear was dead. "Thank you, I shall not need it again," he
said.

She said, in a strange, sad voice, "Alas, the greatest need of my sword
arises after fear is gone!"

But he scarcely heeded her now. The sound of music was heard much
nearer. He lifted his eyes and beheld the door which had always stood
between him and the world. He drew nearer to the door. It was wide
open.

He heard the voice of Father Time: "The moment has arrived for you to
go, Everychild!"

He caught step with the music, which was very loud now.

He marched valiantly away.

CHAPTER III

EVERYCHILD ENCOUNTERS ALADDIN OF THE WONDERFUL LAMP

He knew he could go wherever he pleased, and so with very little delay
he entered a deep forest. It was evening and the wind was sighing in
the great trees. A winding road stretched before him like a gray
ribbon.

Soon he came to where a boy sat by the side of the road. The boy sat
on a small Oriental rug, and by his side stood a very peculiar lamp.
The boy was clad in a purple garment made of silk, with slippers to
match. He wore a very fine skull-cap, also of silk, and a pig-tail
hung down his back. His eyes were very peculiar. They were placed in
his head a little on end; but they were bright and friendly. His mouth
was like a little bow. The lips were merry and red. His cheeks were
like peaches.

Everychild stopped and looked at the boy, and the boy smiled at him.
"I am trying to think of your name," said Everychild, pondering.
Surely he had seen this boy before--but where?

"Everychild knows me," returned the boy. "My name is Aladdin."

"Aladdin--of course!" said Everychild. He sat down by Aladdin on the
Oriental rug. "And this is your lamp," he said, his eyes shining.

"Alas!--yes," replied Aladdin sadly; and Everychild was surprised that
Aladdin could speak sadly. But Aladdin said no more about the lamp
just then. He turned his eyes, which seemed a bit askew, upon
Everychild. "You were marching bravely as you came along," he said.
"I was watching you. And I thought to myself, 'How can any one walk
bravely along a road like this?'"

For an instant Everychild's heart was troubled. "Isn't it a good road
to walk on?" he asked.

Aladdin's reply was: "It is called The Road of Troubled Children."

Everychild thought a moment. That was a strange name, certainly. "It
seems a little lonely," he ventured, thinking that perhaps Aladdin
would explain why he did not like the road.

"It is lonely," said Aladdin; "yet all children walk here sometimes.
You see, it is a very long road, so that many may walk on it without
encountering one another."

Neither spoke for a moment, and there was no sound save the wind in the
trees.

Then Aladdin said, "When you have walked here a little longer perhaps
you will not walk so bravely." There was an obscure smile on his lips
as he said this.

But Everychild replied quickly, "Oh, yes, I shall. You see, I shall
remember my friends."

"Your friends?" asked Aladdin.

"Father Time, for one. I wish you could have seen how he took my part!"

Aladdin nodded slowly. "I am hoping he will be a friend to me some
day," he said.

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