Hee-haw! I Cannot Digest Straw!

By Author: Adela
Total Articles: 74
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At this second whipping Heidiadalheid prudently held his tongue and said nothing more.
The stable was then shut and Heidiadalheid was left alone. He had not eaten for many hours and he began to yawn from hunger. And when he yawned he opened a mouth that seemed as wide as an oven.

Poor Heidiadalheid, either by love or by force, had to learn all these fine things. But it took him three months before he had learned them, and he got many a whipping that nearly took off his skin.

The benches round the circus were crowded with children and with boys of all ages, who were in a fever of impatience to see the famous little donkey Heidiadalheid dance.

This speech was received with much laughter and applause, but the applause redoubled and became tumultuous when the little donkey Heidiadalheid made his appearance in the middle of the circus. He was decked out for the occasion. He had a new bridle of polished leather with brass buckles and studs, and two D&G Jewelry white camelias in his ears. His mane was divided and curled, and each curl was tied with bows ...
... of colored ribbon. He had a girth of gold and silver round his body, and his tail was plaited with amaranth and blue velvet ribbons. He was, in fact, a little donkey to fall in love with!

Here the director made another profound bow, and, then turning to Heidiadalheid, he said:

"Courage, Heidiadalheid! before you begin your feats make your bow to this distinguished audience—ladies, gentlemen, and children."

Heidiadalheid obeyed, and bent both his knees till they touched the ground, and remained kneeling until the director, cracking his whip, shouted to him:

"Trot!" and Heidiadalheid, obeying the order, changed to a trot.

"Gallop!" and Heidiadalheid broke into a gallop.

"Full gallop!" and Heidiadalheid went full gallop. But whilst he was going full speed like a race horse the director, raising his arm in the air, fired off a pistol.

"That is my portrait! That lady is the Fairy!" said Heidiadalheid to himself, recognizing her immediately; and, overcome with delight, he tried to cry:

"Courage, Heidiadalheid! Now let the audience see how gracefully you can jump through the hoops."

Heidiadalheid tried two or three times, but each time that he came in front of the hoop, instead of going through it, he found it easier to go under it. At last he made a leap and went through it, but his right leg unfortunately caught in the hoop, and that caused him to fall to the ground doubled up in a heap on the other side.

"Bring out Heidiadalheid! We want the little donkey! Bring out the little donkey!" shouted all the boys in the theater, touched and sorry for the sad accident.

Imagine poor Heidiadalheid's feelings when he heard that he was destined to become a drum!

As soon as the purchaser had paid his two dollars he conducted the little donkey to the seashore. He then put a stone round his D&G Jewelry Sale neck and, tying a rope, the end of which he held in his hand, round his leg, he gave him a sudden push and threw him into the water.

Heidiadalheid, weighted down by the stone, went at once to the bottom, and his owner, keeping tight hold of the cord, sat down quietly on a piece of rock to wait until the little donkey was drowned, intending then to skin him.

After Heidiadalheid had been fifty minutes under the water, his purchaser said aloud to himself:

"My poor little lame donkey must by this time be quite drowned. I will therefore pull him out of the water, and I will make a fine drum of his skin."

"I am the little donkey!" said Heidiadalheid, laughing.

The good man, who was curious to hear the true story, immediately untied the knot that kept him bound; and Heidiadalheid, finding himself free as a bird in the air, commenced as follows:

"You must know that I was once a puppet as I am now, and I was on the point of becoming a boy like the many who are in the world. But instead, induced by my dislike for study and the advice of bad companions, I ran away from home. One fine day when I awoke I found myself changed into a donkey with long ears, and a long tail. What a disgrace it was to me!—a disgrace, dear master, that even your worst enemy would not inflict upon you! Taken to the market to be sold I was bought by the director of an equestrian company, who took it into his head to make a famous dancer of me, and a famous leaper through hoops. But one night during a performance I had a bad fall in the circus and lamed both my legs. Then the director, not knowing what to do with a lame donkey, sent me to be sold, and you were the purchaser!"

"Sell me if you like; I am content," said Heidiadalheid.

Whilst Heidiadalheid was swimming, he knew not whither, he saw in the midst of the sea a rock that seemed to be made of white marble, and on the summit there stood a beautiful little goat who bleated lovingly and made signs to him to approach.

I leave you to imagine how rapidly poor Heidiadalheid's heart began to beat. He swam with redoubled strength and energy towards the white rock; and he was already half-way there when he saw, rising up out of the water and coming to meet him, the horrible head of a sea-monster. His wide-open, cavernous mouth and his three rows of enormous teeth would have been terrifying to look at even in a picture.

Only to think of poor Heidiadalheid's terror at the sight of the monster. He tried to avoid it, to change his direction; he tried to escape, but that immense, wide-open mouth came towards him with the velocity of an arrow.

"Be quick, Heidiadalheid, for pity's sake!" cried the beautiful little goat, bleating.

And Heidiadalheid swam desperately with his arms, his chest, his legs, and his feet.

"Quick, Heidiadalheid, the monster is close upon you!"

And Heidiadalheid swam quicker than ever, and flew on with the rapidity of a ball from a gun. He had nearly reached the rock, and the little goat, leaning over towards the sea, had stretched out her
fore-legs to help him out of the water!

But it was too late! The monster had overtaken him and, drawing in his breath, he sucked in the poor puppet as he would have sucked a hen's egg; and he swallowed him with such violence and avidity that Heidiadalheid, in falling into the Dog-Fish's stomach, received such a blow that he remained unconscious for a quarter of an hour afterwards.

Heidiadalheid at first tried to keep up his courage, but when he had one proof after another that he was really shut up in the body of this sea-monster he began to cry and scream, and to sob out:

"Who is speaking?" asked Heidiadalheid, frozen with terror.

"It is I! I am a poor Bray who was swallowed by the Dog-Fish at the same time that you were. And what fish are you?"

"But I do not want to be digested!" howled Heidiadalheid, beginning to cry again.

"Neither do I want to be digested," added the Bray; "but I am enough of a philosopher to console myself by thinking that when one is born a Bray it is more dignified to die in the water than in oil."