Little Sky-High

Little Sky-High

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Little Sky-High, by Hezekiah Butterworth
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Title: Little Sky-High The Surprising Doings of Washee-Washee-Wang
Author: Hezekiah Butterworth

Release Date: January 28, 2006 [eBook #17616]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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LITTLE SKY-HIGH
Or The Surprising Doings of Washee-Washee-Wang
by
HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH
Author of "In the Days of Jefferson," "The Bordentown Story-Tellers," "Little Arthur's History of Rome," "The Schoolhouse on the Columbia"

[Illustration]

* * * * *

The "Nine to Twelve" Series ===========================
LITTLE DICK'S SON. Kate Gannett Wells.
MARCIA AND THE MAJOR. J. L. Harbour.
THE CHILDREN OF THE VALLEY. Harriet Prescott Spofford.
HOW DEXTER PAID HIS WAY. Kate Upson Clark.
THE FLATIRON AND THE RED CLOAK. Abby Morton Diaz.
IN THE POVERTY YEAR. Marian Douglas.
LITTLE SKY-HIGH. Hezekiah Butterworth.
THE LITTLE CAVE-DWELLERS. Ella Farman Pratt.
=========================== Thomas D. Crowell & Co. New York.

* * * * *

[Illustration: "IT OPENED A GREAT MOUTH, AND SMOKE SEEMED TO ISSUE FROM IT." Page 41.]

New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Publishers Copyright, 1901 By T. Y. Crowell & Co. Typography by C. J. Peters & Son. Boston, U. S. A.

NOTE.
The story of Sky-High is partly founded on a true incident of a young Chinese nobleman's education, and is written to illustrate the happy relations that might exist between the children of different countries, if each child treated all other good children like "wangs."
28 Worcester Street, Boston. March 22, 1901.

CONTENTS. PAGE I. Below Stairs 7
II. Before the Mandarin 13
III. Lucy's Cup of Tea 20
IV. How Sky-High Called the Governor 26
V. Sky-High's Wonder-Tale 31
VI. The Mandarin Plate 35
VII. Sky-High's Kite 39
VIII. A Wan 44
IX. Lucy's Jataka Story 48
X. Sky-High's Easter Sunday 51
XI. Sky-High's Fireworks 55
XII. A Chinese Santa Claus 62
XIII. A Legend of Tea 68
XIV. Mrs. Van Buren's Christmas Tale 70
XV. In the House-Boy's Care 76
XVI. In the Little Wang's Land 82

LITTLE SKY-HIGH.

I.
BELOW STAIRS.
The children came home from school--Charles and Lucy.
"I have a surprise for you in the kitchen," said their mother, Mrs. Van Buren. "No, take off your things first, then you may go down and see. Now don't laugh--a laugh that hurts anyone's feelings is so unkind--tip-toe too! No, Charlie, one at a time; let Lucy go first."
Lucy tip-toed with eyes full of wonder to the dark banister-stairs that led down to the quarters below. Her light feet were as still as a little mouse's in a cheese closet. Presently she came back with dancing eyes.
"Oh, mother! where did you get him? His eyes are like two almonds, and his braided hair dangles away down almost to the floor, and there are black silk tassels on the end of it, and kitty is playing with them; and when Norah caught my eye she bent over double to laugh, but he kept right on shelling peas. Charlie, come and see; let me go with Charlie, mother?"
Charlie followed Lucy, tip-toeing to the foot of the banister, where a platform-stair commanded a view of the kitchen.
It was a very nice kitchen, with gas, hot water and cold, ranges and gas-stoves, and two great cupboards with glass doors through which all sorts of beautiful serving-dishes shone. Green ivies filled the window-cases, and geraniums lined the window-sills. A fine old parrot from the Andes inhabited a large cage with an open door, hanging over the main window, where the wire netting let in the air from the apple boughs.
On reaching the platform-stair, Charlie was as astonished as Lucy could wish.
There sat a little Chinese boy, as it seemed, although at second glance he looked rather old for a boy. He wore blue clothes and was shelling peas. His glossy black "pigtail" reached down to the floor, and the kitten was trying to raise the end of it in her pretty white paws. As Lucy had said, heavy black silk cords were braided in with the hair, with handsome tassels.
The parrot had come out of her cage, and was eying the boy and the kitten, plainly hoping for mischief. Suddenly she caught Charlie's eye, and with a flap of her wings she cried out to him.
"He's a quare one! Now, isn't he?"
The bird had heard Irish Nora say this a number of times during the day and had learned the words. Charlie could not help laughing out in response. With this