FAIKY TALES FOE LITTLE FOLKS. 193 



and besought like the others, but in time he had 

 come to passive endurance, although there was a pe 

 culiar fire in his eye, that, if Marrott had noticed, 

 would have quickened even his dull sense. He had 

 been a noble-looking bird the lord of the flock 

 but age and ill usage had worn him away to a huge 

 gaunt skeleton. His body was in many places bare, 

 the feathers had been plucked so often; his proud 

 step had fallen away to an awkward shuffle, and, but 

 for the gleam of his eye, no one would have dreamed 

 he had once been a king of birds, so sorry was his 

 plight. The plucking season had almost come round 

 again, and already the geese for long experience 

 had accustomed them to the time began to tremble 

 in their feathers ; already they had serious thoughts 

 of rebellion or flight, and their loud cackling when 

 ever their master appeared very clearly evinced their 

 terror. 



One night Mother Marrott had gone to the market 

 with a number of eggs to sell, and had left the old 

 man alone. She was not to be back till next day 

 for it was a long journey to the city in those times, 

 before railroads were invented, and when the travel 

 er had no horse and, as her husband sat in the even 

 ing by the faint, flickering light of the tallow candle, 

 the most painful apprehensions took possession of 



I 



