Helene came running in one morning in the early spring of 1606, to find
old Jacqueline on the steps of the root-cellar with a heap of sprouting
potatoes beside her. Lescarbot was packing away in a panier such as she
gave him, while under the whitening pear-tree a donkey stood, sleepily
shaking his ears as he waited for orders.
"Oh, what are you doing, Uncle Marc?" she cried.
"Making ready to go to the land beyond the sunset, Mademoiselle la
Princesse du Jardin de Paradis," he said smiling. "Sit down while the
good mother gets the packets of seeds she promised me, and I will tell
you a story."
All curiosity and wonder, the little maid settled herself on the ancient
worm-eaten bench, and Lescarbot began.
"It happened one day that men came and told the King that a great realm
lay beyond the seas, where only wild men and animals lived, and that
this realm was all his. Now the wild men were not good for anything, for
they had never been taught anything, but since the winters in that
country were very cold the animals wore fur coats. The King called to
him a Chief Huntsman and told him that he might go and collect tribute
from the fur coats of the animals, and that after he had given the King
his share, the fur coats of all the animals belonged to him.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310