Just then a little bird began to sing:
"In the valley, green and neat, I see the print of little feet, And way, way yonder in the glen I see a host of little men.""Dear me!" sighed Mary Louise."I am too tired to walk any further." "Jump on my back!" cried a happy voice, and up trotted a little ponynamed Dapple Gray.
"Oh, how nice," laughed Mary Louise, and climbing up on the saddle, rode off on this pretty little pony, and pretty soon, not so very far, they came to the place where the little men were at work. And what do you suppose they were doing. Why, you'd never guess if I gave you until the 4th of July.
They were making maple sugar out of the sap from the maple trees. First they boiled the sap in great big pots and then put it away to cool in queer little dishes of various shapes, and when the sugar hardened it was in the forms of funny little fish, queer little houses, strange animals, and, goodness knows, what not.
"Oh, we are the Sugar Candy Men, And we work all day in the snow To make the maple sugar cakes To sell in the town below,"sang one little man who wore a red peaked hat and long turned-up pointed shoes.
But when little Mary Louise rode up, they all stopped their work and looked at her, and the little man with the long turned up pointed shoes pulled off his red peaked cap and asked:
"What brings you here, Mary Louise? Are you fond of maple sugar candy?""I know lots of little boys and girls who are," answered Mary Louise with a smile.
"Well, hold open your pockets," said the little man, and he stood up on a stump alongside Dapple Gray and filled her pockets to overflowing. Wasn't that nice of him?
"You're very generous," said Mary Louise."What can I do for you?" "Go to yonder town and tell the dear old lady who keeps the 'GoodySweet Tooth-Shop' that we will bring her candy tomorrow morning just as--"The little red rooster From his home on the hill Sounds his merry cock-a-doo Like a whistle shrill.""All right," answered Mary Louise, and off she went to the little town down in the valley.
Well, by and by, after a while, and many a mile, and a song and a smile, for Mary Louise felt very happy with all those nice candies in her pocket, she came to a bridge over a river, on the other side of which nestled a little town among the trees.
Now there was a toll keeper, a funny little old lady with a crutch under her arm, at the entrance to the bridge.
"Give me a penny, Mary Louise,For that is the toll you must pay, If you would cross over the river to Dover, Dover, just over the way."Sang the little old lady toll keeper.
"Here is the penny," laughed Mary Louise, leaning down from Dapple Gray and dropping it into the old lady's apron, which she help up in both hands.
"Pass on, little girl," she said, opening the gate, and in a few minutes Dapple Gray was clattering over the bridge. And pretty soon he drew up before the Goody Sweet Tooth Shop.
"I bring you good news from the little men of the glen," cried Mary Louise to the little old woman who just then looked out of the door.
"What is the news, dearie?" she asked, shading her eyes with her withered hand.
"Tomorrow morning, just at dawn, When the little red rooster blows on his horn, The maple sugar candy hearts, Cute little cupids and candy darts, In a great big box will be laid at your door to give to the children who come to your store."said little Mary Louise. And how she ever could have spoken in poetry is more than I can tell, but perhaps the fairy maple sugar candy, which she had eaten on her way to town, had lent magic to her tongue.
Then the little old woman made a curtsy, and Mary Louise continued on her way, and by and by, after a while, she came to a great big bear sitting on a stone by the roadside. On the ground by his side was a big bundle tied with a thick leather strap.
Well, as soon as the bear saw Mary Louise, he took off his cap and said,"I wish I had a pony, Either brown or gray, So I could ride whate'er betide For many miles away.""Why, what's the matter?" asked little Mary Louise. "I have a splinter in my foot," answered the bear.
So Mary Louise dismounted and looked at the bear's foot, and when she found the splinter, she said:
"Now don't you cry, and don't you pout, And I will pull the splinter out."And would you believe it, in less than five hundred short seconds, she held the splinter under the bear's nose so he could see it, for the bear was very near sighted and couldn't even see the end of his toes.
"Dear me," sighed little Mary Louise, "I wish I were safe at home with Mother," she set out once more, and by and by she came to Candy Town.
Now I guess many a little boy and girl wonders where all the Christmas candies come from, but they wouldn't if they had once seen Peppermint City, all painted white with red stripes, just like a stick of peppermint candy.
Each house was built of white candy with columns of peppermint sticks supporting the roof. On either side the door stood lovely peppermint statues and striped pillars held up the little porches and big piazzas.
The opera house was guarded by a candy lion, and a fountain in the middle of the town spouted maple syrup. Rock candy crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings in the rich man's house and little peppermint candlesticks made light for the workman's hut. Even the lamp posts on the corners were peppermint sticks and so were the barber poles.
