The King of the Hummingbirds Read Online Free

churches,” the witch said.
    â€œHmm,” said the toad and winced, barely hiding his disgust.
    â€œAnd we mix up babies in their cradles, so they grow up in the wrong families, and the rich ones feel foolishly good about themselves, and the poor ones that were supposed to be rich grow up feeling inferior.”
    â€œHmm,” said the toad once again, this time smiling to himself.
    â€œAnd we change the signs on city busses and trains so that people get on and ride and ride for hours. And we put salt in people’s sugar bowls and sugar in people’s salt cellars. And we buy things on people’s credit cards, and drop pencils down into people’s pianos, and make holes in people’s change pockets and—”
    â€œReally?” said the toad excitedly. “Really? Really? What else?”
    â€œWell, let me see,” said the witch. “Sometimes we put sand in people’s gas tanks. And sometimes, on Halloween, we put cherry bombs in people’s fireplaces.”
    â€œGood heavens!” cried the toad. “Isn’t that rather likely to damage the flue?”
    â€œWe only do it on Halloween,” said the witch. “But you can see why I want to get into some other line.”
    â€œHmm,” said the toad, looking up at the sky and smiling from ear to ear, scratching his elbow. “Hmmmmm.”
    â€œYes, I’ve definitely decided,” said the witch, and she stepped to the edge of the wishing pool. “I wish,” she said, shutting her eyes and folding her hands tightly, “I wish I were a sweet old lady selling flowers in the city and giving away my money to the poor!”
    That very instant the witch vanished. She reappeared standing on a corner in the city selling yellow paper flowers and giving away all her money to the poor. Snow fell dismally all around her and the cold made her fingers blue; she shivered and coughed and hugged herself in her shawl and she cried out, “Paper flowers” in a feeble little voice. Nevertheless, she was serenely happy, for doing good nearly always makes people happy.
    Meanwhile, back at the wishing pool, the toad sat looking up at the sky thoughtfully and scratching his chin. He scratched and thought, and thought and scratched, for a long, long time. At last, in a loud, clear voice he said to the pool, “ I WISH I WERE A WITCH !”
    Instantly, with a great, glorious smile, the toad vanished. And ever after that day, the toad was the happiest witch in all the kingdom.

The Pear Tree

    T he most beautiful pear tree in the world,” said the king of the elves.
    â€œThe most beautiful, yes,” said the queen. Her eyes shone.
    â€œAh!” said all the elves.
    Then they turned it into a dewdrop and hid it in a rose and laughed with glee, and they sat down to watch.
    Along came a knight all in armor of yellow gold, and drew up his horse where he knew by experience the pear tree stood, and tied up his horse and got down. He looked where he knew the pear tree was, but the pear tree was gone. He scowled and tipped up his helmet and reconsidered and looked to the left, but still it was not there, nor was it to the right. It was nowhere. “Ruined,” said the knight, looking up toward heaven. Then he noticed the rose and went over to it and said to himself, “Since I can’t take the princess the perfect pear, maybe I should take her this rose, and maybe she’ll be so touched she’ll ask her father the king of the people to stop and reconsider.”
    He reached out toward the rose, his forehead thoughtful, and the elves waited tensely, for it seemed unnatural that a knight should pass their test; but then, sure enough, the knight drew back his hand. “Ha,” he said. “She’d laugh in my face.” He went back to his horse and rode away, and the elves laughed till their faces were wet with tears.
    â€œHush!” said the king of the