REWARDS AND FAIRIES
RUDYARD KIPLING
Contents
A Charm
Introduction
Cold Iron
Cold Iron
Gloriana
The Two Cousins
The Looking-Glass
The Wrong Thing
A Truthful Song
King Henry VII and the Shipwrights
Marklake Witches
The Way through the Woods
Brookland Road
The Knife and the Naked Chalk
The Run of the Downs
Song of the Men's Side
Brother Square-Toes
Philadelphia
If 'A Priest in Spite of Himself'
A St Helena Lullaby
'Poor Honest Men'
The Conversion of St Wilfrid
Eddi's Service
Song of the Red War-Boat
A Doctor of Medicine
An Astrologer's Song
'Our Fathers of Old'
Simple Simon
The Thousandth Man
Frankie's Trade
The Tree of Justice
The Ballad of Minepit Shaw
A Carol
A Charm
Take of English earth as much
As either hand may rightly clutch.
In the taking of it breathe
Prayer for all who lie beneath Not the great nor well-bespoke,
But the mere uncounted folk
Of whose life and death is none
Report or lamentation.
Lay that earth upon thy heart,
And thy sickness shall depart!
It shall sweeten and make whole
Fevered breath and festered soul;
It shall mightily restrain
Over-busy hand and brain;
it shall ease thy mortal strife
'Gainst the immortal woe of life,
Till thyself restored shall prove
By what grace the Heavens do move.
Take of English flowers these Spring's full-faced primroses,
Summer's wild wide-hearted rose,
Autumn's wall-flower of the close,
And, thy darkness to illume,
Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom.
Seek and serve them where they bide
From Candlemas to Christmas-tide,
For these simples used aright
Shall restore a failing sight.
These shall cleanse and purify
Webbed and inward-turning eye;
These shall show thee treasure hid,
Thy familiar fields amid,
At thy threshold, on thy hearth,
Or about thy daily path;
And reveal (which is thy need)
Every man a King indeed!
Introduction
Once upon a time, Dan and Una, brother and sister, living in the
English country, had the good fortune to meet with Puck, alias
Robin Goodfellow, alias Nick o' Lincoln, alias Lob-lie-by-theFire, the last survivor in England of those whom mortals call
Fairies. Their proper name, of course, is ''The People of the Hills'.
This Puck, by means of the magic of Oak, Ash, and Thorn, gave
the children power
To see what they should see and hear what they should hear,
Though it should have happened three thousand year.
The result was that from time to time, and in different places on
the farm and in the fields and in the country about, they saw and
talked to some rather interesting people. One of these, for
instance, was a Knight of the Norman Conquest, another a young
Centurion of a Roman Legion stationed in England, another a
builder and decorator of King Henry VII's time; and so on and so
forth; as I have tried to explain in a book called PUCK OF POOK'S HILL.
A year or so later, the children met Puck once more, and
though they were then older and wiser, and wore boots regularly
instead of going barefooted when they got the chance, Puck was
as kind to them as ever, and introduced them to more people of
the old days.
He was careful, of course, to take away their memory of their
walks and conversations afterwards, but otherwise he did not
interfere; and Dan and Una would find the strangest sort of
persons in their gardens or woods.
In the stories that follow I am trying to tell something about
those people.
COLD IRON
When Dan and Una had arranged to go out before breakfast, they
did not remember that it was Midsummer Morning. They only
wanted to see the otter which, old Hobden said, had been fishing
their brook for weeks; and early morning was the time to surprise
him. As they tiptoed out of the house into the wonderful stillness,
the church clock struck five. Dan took a few steps across the
dew-blobbed lawn, and looked at his black footprints.
think we ought to be kind to our poor boots,'he said. 'They'll
get horrid wet.it was their first summer in boots, and they hated them, so they
took them off, and slung them round their necks, and paddled
joyfully over the dripping turf where the shadows lay the wrong
way, like evening in the East.
The sun was well up and warm, but by the brook the last of the
night mist still fumed off the water. They picked up the chain of
otter's footprints on the mud, and followed it from the bank,
between the weeds and the drenched mowing, while the birds
shouted with surprise. Then the track left the brook and became a
smear, as though a log had been dragged along.
They traced it into Three Cows meadow, over the mill-sluice
to the Forge, round Hobden's garden, and then up the slope till it
ran out on the short turf and fern of Pook's Hill, and they heard
the cock-pheasants crowing in the woods behind them.
'No use!said Dan, questing like a puzzled hound. ''The dew's
drying off, and old Hobden says otters'll travel for miles.'I'm sure travelled miles.Una fanned herself with her
hat. ''How still it is! It's going to be a regular roaster.She looked
down the valley, where no chimney yet smoked.
'Hobden's up!Dan pointed to the open door of the Forge
cottage. 'What d'you suppose he has for breakfast?'One of them. He says they eat good all times of the year,Una
jerked her head at some stately pheasants going down to the
brook for a drink.
A few steps farther on a fox broke almost under their bare feet,
yapped, and trotted off.
'Ah, Mus' Reynolds -Mus' Reynolds'-Dan was quoting from
old Hobden, - 'if I knowed all you knowed, I'd know something.See ''The
Winged Hats' in PUCK OF POOK'S HILL.]
I say,Una lowered her voice -'you know that funny feeling of
things having happened before. I felt it when you said "Mus' Reynolds."'So did I,Dan began. 'What is it?They faced each other, stammering with excitement.
'Wait a shake! remember in a minute. Wasn't it something
about a fox - last year? Oh, I nearly had it then!Dan cried.
'Be quiet!said Una, prancing excitedly. 'There was something
happened before we met the fox last year. Hills! Broken Hills the play at the theatre - see what you see -remember now,Dan shouted. 'It's as plain as the nose on
your face - Pook's Hill - Puck's Hill - Puck!remember, too,said Una. 'And Midsummer Day again!''
The young fern on a knoll rustled, and Puck walked out,
chewing a green-topped rush.
'Good Midsummer Morning to you! Here's a happy meeting,said he. They shook hands all round, and asked questions.
'You've wintered well,he said after a while, and looked them
up and down. 'Nothing much wrong with you, seemingly.'They've put us into boots,said Una. 'Look at my feet they're all pale white, and my toes are squidged together awfully.boots make a difference.Puck wriggled his brown,
square, hairy foot, and cropped a dandelion flower between the
big toe and the next.
could do that - last year,Dan said dismally, as he tried and
failed. 'And boots simply ruin climbing.'There must be some advantage to them, I suppose,'said Puck,
or folk wouldn't wear them. Shall we come this way?They sauntered along side by side till they reached the gate at
the far end of the hillside. Here they halted just like cattle, and let
the sun warm their backs while they listened to the flies in the wood.
'Little Lindens is awake,said Una, as she hung with her chin
on the top rail. 'See the chimney smoke?'Today's Thursday, isn't it?Puck turned to look at the old pink
farmhouse across the little valley. 'Mrs Vincey's baking day.
Bread should rise well this weather.He yawned, and that set
them both yawning.
The bracken about rustled and ticked and shook in every direction.
They felt that little crowds were stealing past.
'Doesn't that sound like - er - the People of the Hills?'said Una.
'It's the birds and wild things drawing up to the woods before
people get about,said Puck, as though he were Ridley the keeper.
''Oh, we know that. I only said it sounded like.''As I remember 'em, the People of the Hills used to make more
noise. They'd settle down for the day rather like small birds
settling down for the night. But that was in the days when they
carried the high hand. Oh, me! The deeds that I've had act and
part in, you'd scarcely believe!''I like that!said Dan. 'After all you told us last year, too!'Only, the minute you went away, you made us forget
everything,said Una.
Puck laughed and shook his head. ...
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