Chapter 9
The home of the water-babies was in St. Brandan’s fairy Isle.
When Tom got there, he found that the Isle stood all on pillars, and that its roots were full of caves. There were pillars of black basalt, like Staffa; and pillars of green and crimson serpentine, like Kynance; and pillars ribboned with red and white and yellow sandstone, like Livermead. There were blue grottoes like Capri, and white grottoes like Adelsberg; all curtained and draped with seaweeds, purple and crimson, green and brown; and strewn with soft white sand, on which the water-babies slept every night. But, to keep the place clean and sweet, the crabs picked up all the scraps off the floor and ate them like so many monkeys. While the rocks were covered with ten thousand sea-anemones, and corals and madrepores, who scavenged the water all day long, and kept it nice and pure. But, to make up to them for having to do such nasty work, they were not left black and dirty, as poor chimney-sweeps and dustmen are. No; the fairies are more considerate and just than that, and have dressed them all in the most beautiful colours and patterns, till they look like vast flower-beds of gay blossoms.
Instead of watchmen and policemen to keep out nasty things at night, there were thousands and thousands of water-snakes, and most wonderful creatures they were. They were all named after the sea-fairies who took care of them. They were dressed in green velvet, and black velvet, and purple velvet; and were all jointed in rings. Some had eyes in their tails; and some had eyes in every joint so that they might keep a very sharp look-out. When they wanted a baby-snake, they just grew one at the end of their own tails. When it was able to take care of itself, it dropped off; so that they might bring up their families very cheaply.
There were the water-babies in thousands, more than Tom, or you either, could count.
Tom had given up all his naughty tricks, and left off tormenting dumb animals. Now he had plenty of playfellows to amuse him. Instead of that, he would meddle with the creatures, all but the water-snakes, for they would stand no nonsense. So he tickled the madrepores to make them shut up; and frightened the crabs, to make them hide in the sand and peep out at him with the tips of their eyes; and put stones into the anemones’ mouths to make them fancy that their dinner was coming.
The other children warned him, and said, “Take care what you are at. Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid is coming.” But Tom never heeded them, being quite riotous with high spirits and good luck, till one Friday morning early, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid came indeed.
A very tremendous lady she was. When the children saw her they all stood in row, very upright indeed, and smoothed down their bathing dresses, and put their hands behind them, just as if they were going to be examined by the inspector.
She had on a black bonnet, and a black shawl; and a pair of large green spectacles, and a great hooked nose, hooked so much that the bridge of it stood quite up above her eyebrows. Under her arm she carried a great birch-rod. Indeed, she was so ugly that Tom was tempted to make facts at her but did not. He did not admire the look of the birchrod under her arm.
She looked at the children one by one, and seemed very much pleased with them, though she never asked them one question about how they were behaving. She then began giving them all sorts of nice sea-things—sea-cakes, sea-apples, sea-oranges, sea-bullseyes, sea-toffee. To the very best of all she gave sea-ices, made out of sea-cows’ cream, which never melt under water.
Now little Tom watched all these sweet things given away, till his mouth watered, and his eyes grew as round as an owl’s. He hoped that his turn would come at last; and so it did. The lady called him up, and held out her fingers with something in them, and popped it into his mouth. Lo and behold, it was a nasty cold hard pebble.
“You are a very cruel woman,” said he, and began to whimper.
“And you are a very cruel boy who puts pebbles into the sea-anemones’ mouths to take them in, and make them fancy that they had caught a good dinner! As you did to them, so I must do to you.”
“Who told you that?” said Tom.
“You did yourself, this very minute.”
Tom had never opened his lips, so he was very much taken aback indeed.
“Yes; everyone tells me exactly what they have done wrong and that without knowing it themselves. So there is no use trying to hide anything from me. Now go, and be a good boy, and I will put no more pebbles in your mouth, if you put none in other creatures’.”
“I did not know there was any harm in it,” said Tom.
“Then you know now. People continually say that to me. But I tell them, if you don’t know that fire burns, that is no reason that it should not burn you. If you don’t know that dirt breeds fever, that is no reason why the fever should not kill you. The lobster did not know that there was any harm in getting into the lobster-pot; but it caught him all the same.”
‘Dear me,’ thought Tom, ‘she knows everything!’ And so she did, indeed.
“And so, if you do not know that things are wrong, that is no reason why you should not be punished for them; though not as much, not as much, my little man” (and the lady looked very kindly, after all), “as if you did know.”
“Well, you are a little hard on a poor lad,” said Tom.
“Not at all; I am the best friend you ever had in all your life. But I will tell you; I cannot help punishing people when they do wrong. I like it no more than they do; I am often very, very sorry for them, poor things. But I cannot help it. If I tried not to do it, I should do it all the same. For I work by machinery, just like an engine; and am full of wheels and springs inside. I am wound up very carefully, so that I may not help going.”
“Was it long ago since they wound you up?” asked Tom. For he thought, the cunning little fellow, “She will run down some day or they may forget to wind her up, as old Grimes used to forget to wind up his watch when he came in from the public-house. Then I shall be safe.”
“I was wound up once and for all, so long ago, that I forget all about it.”
“Dear me,” said Tom, “you must have been made a long time!”
“I never was made, my child; and I shall go for ever and ever.”
And there came over the lady’s face a very curious expression—very solemn, and very sad; and yet very, very sweet. And she looked up and away, as if she were gazing through the sea, and through the sky, at something far, far off. As she did so, there came such a quiet, tender, patient, hopeful smile over her face that Tom thought for the moment that she did not look ugly at all.
Tom smiled in her face; she looked so pleasant for the moment. And the strange fairy smiled too, and said, “Yes. You thought me very ugly just now; did you not?”
Tom hung down his head, and got very red about the ears.
“And I am very ugly. I am the ugliest fairy in the world; and I shall be, till people behave themselves as they ought to do. And then I shall grow as handsome as my sister, who is the loveliest fairy in the world. Her name is Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby. So she begins where I end, and I begin where she ends. Those who will not listen to her must listen to me, as you will see. Now, all of you run away, except Tom. He may stay and see what I am going to do. It will be a very good warning for him to begin with, before he goes to school.
“Now, Tom, every Friday I come down here and call up all who have ill-used little children and serve them as they served the children.”
At that Tom was frightened, and crept under a stone; which made the two crabs who lived there very angry.
“These people,” she said, “did not know that they were doing wrong. They were only stupid and impatient. Therefore, I only punish them till they become patient, and learn to use their common sense like reasonable beings. And now do you be a good boy, and do as you would be done by, which they did not. Then, when my sister, Madame Doasyouwouldbedoneby, comes on Sunday perhaps she will take notice of you, and teach you how to behave. She understands that better than I do.” And so she went.
Tom determined to be a very good boy all Saturday; and he was; for he never frightened one crab, nor tickled any live corals, nor put stones into the sea-anemones’ mouths, to make them fancy they had got a dinner. When Sunday morning came, sure enough, Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby came too. Whereas all the little children began dancing and clapping their hands, Tom danced too with all his might.
