The Magicians Show Box and Other Stories | Page 5

wild hunter, from land
to land, coping single handed with crocodiles and cameleopards, riding
upon elephants, mastering tigers and young hyenas, visiting mosques
and mausoleums. In every land he made collections of its greatest
curiosities in art, literature, science, natural history, and politics. A
sphinx, an obelisk, a winged bull from Nineveh, stuffed porcupines,
live monkeys, fossil remains, a pinchbeck president of the United
States, and many rare specimens even more curious, did he collect, and
after years of wandering, by land and by sea, carry with him to his
native village. There he converted an old barn into a museum, and gave
out to the villagers that he was prepared to instruct them in all that the
world contains. They flocked to the museum, and he was occupied
every hour of the day going from one object to another, making a little
set speech about each to entertain his bewildered visitors. Great
admiration was expressed, and perhaps great knowledge was acquired.
Gaspar felt that he was the benefactor of his race, and bought a pair of
very tight boots to walk around in, and a neat little silver-tipped stick
with which to point out the curiosities.
But, alas! even now, when the cup of happiness seemed full, was he not
to be satisfied. Had he not attained all that the most eager hopes of his
boyhood had promised? Had not the highest honors and the most
yellow of garments been lavished upon him in that long-desired
Chinese empire? Had he not conquered innumerable wild
animals--African, Asiatic, and above all, American? Was he not the
focus of life and intelligence in his native village? And yet, how weary

had he become of describing to his gaping audience, for the three
hundred and sixtieth time, the daily habits of the laughing hyena, and
the exact manner in which kangaroos jump! What sad indifference to
the nature of whigs and walruses, to the tendencies of sea otters and
free institutions, was creeping over him!
"Ah, if a lion would but walk in again, and if I could but have another
good fight!" he exclaimed one day. At that moment the door suddenly
opened. Hope whispered, "The lion!" and a fair young girl entered. She
glanced around the room, cast her eyes on the president, the bones of a
mastodon, a parrot in the corner, and a mummy or two.
"Old bones and stuffed animals!" she whispered to her companions,
and they all began to laugh.
"I suppose she will call me a stuffed animal too," thought Gaspar; "but
I must show them the specimens." So he stepped forward, and began to
point out the various objects, and go over his usual descriptions. He did
it in his neatest manner; but the girl kept smiling, as if it were all a
great joke, and yet she looked at him with some interest. Gaspar went
into another room to put on his mandarin's dress and peaked shoes,
which he thought would produce a great effect; but if she had only
smiled before, now she fairly laughed. Then he caught down his dagger
which hung on the wall as one of the curiosities, and felt for a moment
as if she were the lion, and he would plunge it into her; but the next
moment he saw her beautiful face bending over it. "Ah, this dagger I
like! How sharp the point is! It looks as if you might have done
something with it. Tell me all about it, will you not?" said the girl.
"If you will come here a week from to-day, I will tell you its history,"
answered Gaspar; and she promised that she would surely come.
At the appointed time she appeared--alone, now, Gaspar was glad to
see, for he did not like to have her whispering and laughing with the
other girls. However, he hoped she would not laugh now. He led her
through the museum into another room, where he had been painting a
picture of his fight with the lion.
"That is excellent!" said the girl; "that is just the thing. There goes the
dagger into the throat of the lion. How much better than a petrified
peacock, or a labelled dromedary! And you killed the lion and painted
the picture too?"
"Yes," answered Gaspar, quite gently.

"And the dagger--where did you find that?"
Gaspar told her how he had carved it of heart of oak when he was a boy,
and had changed it to steel in fighting with the magician.
"I must see that magician; let us go and find him," said the girl. So
away they went. As they walked along Gaspar told her about the ivory
show box, and regretted that he had lost his flask of water, and
exchanged his apple for the cantering horse,