THE MAGICIAN'S SHOW BOX.


There was once a boy, named Gaspar, whose uncle made voyages to China,
and brought him home chessmen, queer toys, porcelain vases,
embroidered skullcaps, and all kinds of fine things. He gave him such
grand descriptions of foreign countries and costumes, that Gaspar was
not at all satisfied to live in a small village, where the people
dressed in the most commonplace way. At school he was always covering
his slate with pictures of Turks wearing turbans as large as small
mosques, or Chinese with queues several yards long, and shoes that
turned up to their knees. Then he read every story he could find of
all possible and impossible adventures, and longed for nothing so much
as to go forth, like Napoleon or Alexander, and make mincemeat of the
whole world.

One day he could bear it no longer; so, taking with him an oaken
dagger which he had carved with great care, off he started on his
conquering expedition. He walked along the sunny road, kicking up a
great dust, and coming to a milestone, threw a stone at a huge
bullfrog croaking at him from a spring, and made it dive under with a
loud splash. Pleased with his prowess, he took a good drink at the
spring, and filled his flask with the sparkling water. At the second
milestone he threw a pebble at a bird, singing in a tree. Off flew the
bird, and down fell a great red apple. "Ah, how fine!" he exclaimed,
picking it up; "and how the bird flies! I wish I had such wings." On
the third milestone sat a quiet-looking little man, cracking nuts; so
Gaspar stopped to crack nuts, and have a chat with him.