LITTLE 
 
 ROBERT 
 
 AND 
 
 THE OWIL 
 
 d 
 
 By Mrs. Sherwood, 
 
 Author of^* Liitle Henry and his Bearer ^''^ ^t. i'(-. 
 
 ••>-<C:?-4^^>-<* 
 
 A NEW EDITION, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HOULSTON AND SON, 
 05 J Paternoster-Row ; 
 
 AND AT WELLINGTON, SALOP. 
 
 Price Two-peijce. 
 
 [Entered at Stationers' Ha)i,l 
 
FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 See Pai^e 25, 
 
 J 
 
'^ 
 
 LITTLE 
 
 R 
 
 AND 
 
 ^m^ (SiwiL 
 
 '^ 
 
 BY 
 
 RS. SHERWOOD, 
 Author of " Little Henrij aiid his Bearer ^'^ 
 
 fflBTTnTWETglirmT^^'?'^^'^*^*'"^***^^-"'^ 
 
 ELEVENTH EDITION. 
 
 A 
 
 
 >^/> 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HOULSTON AND SON, 
 
 65, Paternoster-Row; 
 AND AT WELLINGTON, SALOP. 
 
 1834. 
 
 [Entered at Stationers' Hall J 
 
\ 
 
LITTLE 
 
 ftOBEMT 
 AND THE OWL. 
 
 JLlTTLE Robert's father lived in a 
 village; but his grandmother dwelt in 
 ' a lone house on the top of a hill about 
 a mile and a half from this village. 
 
 One afternoon in the month of Ja- 
 nuary, Robert overheard his father 
 saying to his mother, " Wife, I have 
 been to see our old mother on the 
 / hill-top, and she has a bad tooth-ache ; 
 / I wish she had some of the stuff in the 
 bottle, which did me so much good 
 when my face was so bad." 
 
 " Indeed," said Robert's mother, " I 
 ! heartilv wish she had; but I know 
 
 mJ 
 
6 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 not who can be sent with it, as the 
 boy is not come in from market, nor 
 has Hannah yet milked the cows." 
 
 ^^ But what should hinder me, mo- 
 ther, from running over with it?'' said 
 little Robert. *^ Late as it is, if I 
 make haste, I may be there before it is 
 dark ; and then, mother, I can stay all 
 night, you know, at grandmother's.'' 
 
 <<Very well, Robert!" said his fa- 
 ther, ** you have a mind of some of 
 your grandmother's mince-pies for sup- 
 per, I perceive ! '' 
 
 ** No, father,'' said Robert gravely, 
 ^^ I was not thinking of the mince- 
 pies, but of poor grandmother's tooth- 
 ache; and it would give me great 
 pleasure to take her any thing that 
 might ease her pain." 
 
 *^ There's my brave boy," said the 
 father; ^^ that is speaking without self- 
 ishness, and you shall have your de- 
 sire. Look for the bottle and set out : 
 for there is no time to be lost." 
 
AND THE OWL. 
 
 Little Robert's mother then looking 
 out of the window, said, '* Robert, 
 you must put on your great coat and 
 thick shoes, for you will certainly find 
 the snow lying deep on the hill-side; 
 and the air is very keen." She then 
 put on Robert's great coat, and tied 
 his hat on with a handkerchief, be- 
 cause the wind blew strongly: and 
 putting the bottle in his hand, ahe 
 kissed him and said, ** Good night, 
 Robert! We shall look for you in the 
 morning by nine o'clock at furthest; 
 
8 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 SO speed away, my boy, and give our 
 love to our good mother/' 
 
 As little Robert went out of his fa- 
 ther's yard, he felt the wind blow very 
 keen and cold in his face. He looked 
 toward the north, and the sky was dark 
 and lowering: '* I must make haste," 
 said he, ^' or I shall be caught in the 
 snow." 
 
 Robert's way lay for the space of 
 a quarter of a mile along a turnpike- 
 road, where the snow that had fallen 
 a few days before, was so well beaten 
 as to form a smooth path, while it still 
 lay very thick upon the banks and 
 under the hedges all along the road's 
 side. 
 
 Little Robert hastened forward, and 
 soon came to the place w here he must 
 leave tht road and cross a stile into a 
 meadow, which was as much as half a 
 mile from one end to the other. This 
 meadow was totally covered with 
 snow: there was, however, a narrow 
 
AND THE OWL, 
 
 9 
 
 path across it, where the snow was 
 somewhat trodden by a few foot pas- 
 sengers. Robert got nimbly over the 
 stile, and entered upon the little foot- 
 path. 
 
 The wind blew very cold and cut- 
 ting over this meadow. Upon which 
 little Robert stopped, and putting the 
 phial which contained the medicine 
 for his grandmother in his waistcoat 
 pocket, he buttoned his great coat 
 closer about him, before he proceeded 
 any further. From this place he had 
 
10 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 not gone far alons; the meadow, before 
 it began to snow fast, while the wind 
 beat it violently in his face. Robert 
 quickened his pace: but the snow fell 
 thicker and thicker, till in a short time, 
 it was with great difficulty that he could 
 distinguish the path-way from other 
 parts of the meadow. 
 
 In the meantime Robert found him- 
 self much hindered by the snow beat- 
 ing in his face; the air also growing 
 so dark, that he began to fear being 
 overtaken by the night, long before he 
 could reach his grandmother's house. 
 However he took heart, and said to 
 himself, *^ Never mind if I am in the 
 night, grandmother will be so glad to 
 see me! and then, I hope this stuff will 
 do her tooth good." 
 
 By this time Robert had reached the 
 other end of the long meadow: but 
 a greater difficulty was now before 
 him. He had a very steep hill to 
 ascend, and the hill was by this time 
 
AND THE OWL. 11 
 
 covered with snow, which made it very 
 hard indeed for any one to keep his 
 footing upon it. Little Robert there- 
 fore stood still at the bottom of the 
 hill, and began to consider his situa- 
 tion. '^ I shall get many a tumble 
 down the side of this hill/' said he, 
 *' before I reach the top ; and if I 
 should break the bottle, what a pity 
 it would be! What shall I do r' After 
 considering a little while longer, he 
 took the bottle out of his pocket, and 
 finding it was very safely corked, he 
 wrapped it up well in his pocket- 
 handkerchief, and put it into the 
 crown of his hat. Then tying his hat 
 on again fast under his chin, as his 
 mother had done before, ''There," said 
 he, '' the bottle is secure, and there it 
 will remain safe enough, unless I come 
 down the hill head foremost, or take a 
 dance upon my head ; which,'' continu- 
 ed he, '' is not ahogelher impossible, 
 in such circumstances as these/' 
 
12 
 
 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 Little Robert theu set himself, in 
 high spirits, to climb the hill; and 
 many a sore tumble he got in accom- 
 plishing his purpose. For every step 
 he took forward, he slid nearly as far 
 back again; thus gaining little or no 
 ground on his journey, while he wea- 
 ried and exerted himself to the utmost 
 of his power. 
 
 In the meantime night came on 
 apace, the sleet beating upon him, 
 sometimes in his face, sometimes on 
 his back, as the wind shifted from 
 
AND THE OWL. 13 
 
 one quarter to another, and drifting 
 the snow in some places high enough 
 to bury such a httle man as Robert. 
 The poor boy had not much time for 
 thought, you may be sure, while he 
 was fighting and struggling with the 
 snow and the wind on the side of the 
 hill ; but the few thoughts he had were 
 not half so dismal as one might imaginee 
 
 Robert's parents were pious persons, 
 and they had brought up their son 
 v»ath such a firm trust in the care of 
 Providence, that the little boy was well 
 persuaded he had no cause to fear any 
 thing which might happen to him, 
 while engaged in doing what his pa- 
 rents thought right for him to do. 
 
 Had little Robert been engaged in 
 doing any wicked thing, when he was 
 overtaken bv the snow and the tem- 
 pest and the darkness, he would in- 
 deed have had reason for alarm. But. 
 as I before said, this little boy had 
 been taught to read and study his 
 
14 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 Bible : and, \ ouns; as he was, he could 
 remeriiber many beautiful verses Irom 
 the Scripture, which were very suit- 
 able to his present case, and extremely 
 comfortable to him. And though he 
 had not much time to think of these 
 verses as he was clim^bing up the hill; 
 yet several of them presented them- 
 selves in such a wav to his mind, as 
 to ^^fford him sweet encouragement. 
 
 At the top of this hill was a wood, 
 which w^as about half a mile long; 
 at the other end of which stood tiie 
 house of P^obert's grandmother. In 
 summer there could not be a more 
 delightful path than that wliich lay 
 through this wood to the old lady's 
 neat dwelling. It was as straight as 
 the course of an arrow, and was co- 
 vered with a green turf, soft and fine 
 as velvet ; over which tiie boughs of 
 the trees spread themselves in such a 
 manner, as to yield the traveller a 
 most delightful shade from the burn- 
 
AND THE OWL, 15 
 
 ing rays of the summer sun. In that 
 pleasant season also, were many birds 
 lodged in the trees, who filled the air 
 w^ith their delightful music; and there 
 also were many of those flowers which 
 love shady places, such as vetches, and 
 blue-bells, and the wood-anemone. 
 
 Nearly at the entrance of this path, 
 which in the summer months abound- 
 ed with so many delights, was a large 
 hollow tree, which Robert always took 
 notice of in his way to his grandmo- 
 ther's: and indeed he had often trou- 
 bled the old lady to tell him how 
 that tree looked when she was a little 
 girl and used to play in the wood, as 
 she sometimes informed him she had 
 been accustomed to do. But this 
 wood, which in the spring and sum- 
 mer was so pleasant, was now without 
 leaves, dark, and cold; and, by the 
 time that little Robert had reached 
 the top of the hill, and entered the 
 wood, the path through it was so 
 
1(> LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 deeply covered with snow, tirat every 
 step he took plunged him ahiiost up 
 to his knees. He crossed the stile 
 however and entered the wood; but 
 as the snow still continued to fall in 
 hirge flakes, he found his difficulties 
 increase every minute. 
 
 In this distress he stood still, and 
 began to consider, instead of trying to 
 get on to his grandmother's, which he 
 now thought nearly impossible, whe- 
 ther it would not be best for him to 
 look for some place of shelter near at 
 hand, where he might remain either 
 till the snow should cease, or till the 
 morning light should appear. 
 
 It was so dark by this time, that 
 Robert could not discern any object 
 before him. The trees also, for the 
 most part, were so covered with snow 
 as hardly to be distinguishable from 
 the ground itself. 
 
 At this moment Robert remembered 
 the hollow tree, and tried to recollect 
 
AND THE OWL. 17 
 
 the exact spot where it stood. After 
 considering for an instant, he remem- 
 bered that it was at the right hand of 
 any one coming in from the hill, and 
 a Utile off the path-way; so groping 
 carefully about, he at length felt his 
 way to this tree. 
 I Little Robert was almost as glad 
 
 \ when he found the hollow tree, as if 
 ' he had put his hand on the door of his 
 grandmother's house. '' This tree,'* he 
 j said, *'will afford me a comfortable 
 j dry bed till the morning f and so 
 saying, he pushed himself into it. 
 The hollow part of the tree was filled 
 at the bottom with dry leaves, afford^ 
 ing scarcely room sufficient for Robert 
 f to sit down, w ith his knees up to his 
 
 chin. 
 
 People who have always had a com- 
 fortable bed to sleep in, do not know 
 how glad a poor creature, lost in a 
 wood, in a winter's night, would be of 
 such a place of rest as this. The open 
 
^'P 
 
 18 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 part of the hollow tree was happily 
 turned from the wind and snow ; and 
 little Robert had scarcely fixed him- 
 self in it, before he began to feel quite 
 iii a glow. He tucked his feet under 
 his great coat, pulled his cuffs over 
 his hands, and was surprised to find 
 how warm and comfortable he was 
 after all his fatigues. *^ And now,'' 
 said he, ^' blow away, wind, as much 
 as you please ; for though you whistle 
 and howl all the night long, you will 
 not disturb me much in this comfort- 
 able hole. And if my grandmother 
 had but the bottle which is in the 
 crown of my hat, all would be just 
 as it should be.'' 
 
 As little Robert said these words, he 
 was surprised by a loud hooting noise, 
 as he thought, near to his lodging. 
 He started, and listened again. The 
 noise was repeated still nearer. 
 *' That is not a man's voice," said 
 Robert; ^' neither can it be a wolf or 
 
AND THE OWL. 19 
 
 a jackall — there are no such crea- 
 tures in England. What can it be? 
 I will not be frightened- — I know I 
 shall be taken care cf/' 
 
 The little boy then looked out of 
 his tree. It would have be€n quite 
 dark, but for the reflection of the 
 snow, which was now ceasing to fall. 
 Robert however could distinguish no- 
 thing moving on the ground near him. 
 He then looked up to the branches of 
 the nearest trees, among which he es- 
 pied two small twinkling eyes, that 
 seemed to be staring at him. He was 
 at first so frightened, that he could 
 not prevent himself from crying out: 
 whereupon the two eyes disappeared, 
 while he heard a fluttering sound like 
 that of wings. Moreover, the branches 
 of the opposite tree were shaken, which 
 caused the snow to fall from them in 
 large flakes. A minute afterwards, 
 Robert heard the same hooting which 
 liad startled him before; but at a 
 
20 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 greater distance. Little Robert con- 
 sidered for a moment, and then said, 
 ^^ Surely it is an owl which has fright- 
 ened me so; and perhaps I have got 
 his bed in this hollow tree. No won- 
 der therefore that he stares at me with 
 his liltle twinkling eyes, and fills the 
 wood with his hooting. But, by your 
 leave, Mr. Owl, I shall keep possession 
 of your bed-chamber this one night, 
 whether you are pleased or not.'' So 
 saying, little Robert began to laugh. 
 
 The wind now whistled and blus- 
 tered more violently than ever, while 
 little Robert heard the branches of the 
 trees rustling and the flakes of snow 
 falling from them all around him: 
 but he felt quite safe and comfortable 
 in his hollow tree. Then wrapping 
 his great coat closer round him, and 
 resting his head upon his knees, he 
 began to repeat some little hymns, and 
 verses from the Bible. And while he 
 was thinking of one passage in parti- 
 
AND THE OWL. 21 
 
 cular, which he remembered from the 
 Prophet Ezekiel, he fell into a deep 
 sleep. The verse which little Robert 
 remembered was the twenty-fifth of 
 the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel; 
 referring to that happy time when all 
 the kingdoms of the earth shall be- 
 come the kingdoms of our Lord and 
 his Christ. 
 
 I shall repeat this pretty verse for 
 the benefit of such children as may 
 read the story of little Robert — And I 
 will make with them a covenant of peace^ 
 and will cause the evil beasts to cease out 
 of the land: and they shall dwell safely 
 in the wilderness y and sleep in the woods. 
 
 How pleasant it is for a little boy, 
 or any other person, when left alone 
 and in the daric, to be able to bring to 
 mind such sweet verses as these! Lit- 
 tle Robert had always been accustom- 
 ed to repeat hymns and \erses in his 
 bed, and to think upon them after- 
 wards: and what comfort did he now 
 
90 
 
 LITTLE ROBEHT 
 
 find in this pious and pleasant custom ! 
 So, as I said, he fell into a deep sleep ; 
 in which we will leave him, in order 
 to speak of his father and mother. 
 
 Little Robert's parents were render- 
 ed exceedingly uneasy by the tempes- 
 tuous appearance of the night: and 
 before sun-rise in the morning", Ro- 
 bert's father set out for his mother's 
 house to enquire after the boy* 
 
 As he went on horseback, he did 
 not take his way across the meadow, 
 
AND THE OWL, 23 
 
 and up the hill, and through the 
 wood ; but round about bv the hi^h- 
 road. And he knocked at his mo- 
 ther's door, just as Thomas, the man- 
 servant, was opening the kitchen win- 
 dow-shutters. 
 
 '' Thomas,'' said Robert's father, 
 without getting off his horse, '' what 
 time did Robert arrive last-nightT' 
 
 '' Master,'' said Thomas, '' I don't 
 know, by reason of my returning very 
 late from market. '"^ 
 
 '* Did not you hear your mistress 
 say any thing about it?" 
 
 '' No, master,'' said Thomas, '' I 
 heard never a w^ord about it.*' 
 
 Robert's father began now to be 
 more alarmed. *' Do, Thomas, go in," 
 he said, ** and ask Betty and your mis- 
 tress, what time he arrived, and if he 
 was very wet.'' 
 
 Thomas accordingly ran in, and 
 calHng from the bottom of the stairs 
 to Betty, who was just getting up. 
 
24 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 asked what time Master Robert had 
 come the night before. 
 
 *^ What time, Thomas?'' answered 
 Betty, '' why no time: he never came 
 
 at ail.'' 
 
 Robert's father had now dismount- 
 ed, and w^as stepping across the kitchen, 
 so that he could distinctly hear what 
 was passing between Betty and Tho- 
 mas: the okl lady too, who was an old 
 fashioned person, and always got up 
 at sun-rise, was also listening from her 
 chamber-door. And now you may 
 suppose what a fright they were all in, 
 when they found that the little boy 
 had left his father's house the night 
 before, and was not yet arrived at his 
 grandmother's. Upon understanding 
 therefore how matters were, they be- 
 gan to confer with each other. 
 
 **0h! my poor child! my dear 
 boyT' said the grandmother, 'Mie 
 must surely have lost his way ! and 
 by this time he is most probably fro- 
 
AND THE OWL. 25 
 
 zen to death! Oh! my unfortunate 
 child!'' 
 
 ** And the snow vso deep!'' said 
 Betty. 
 
 ^^ And the wind so strong as it was 
 last night ! '^ said Thomas. 
 
 And thus they went on, till Robert's 
 father, calling Thomas and Betty after 
 him, ran out into the wood; and the 
 old dog Faithful followed after them. 
 
 Now it happened that no one had 
 passed through the wood since the 
 falling of the snow; and consequently 
 the track of a single foot was not to 
 be seen. But the wind had ceased, 
 the morning was fine, and the rising 
 sun, just peeping above the distant ho- 
 rizon, now and then appeared through 
 the openings in the trees. ** Mind ! 
 Thomas," said Robert's father, '* there 
 is not a foot-mark on the snow,all along.'' 
 
 *' Aye, master," said Thomas, *rhow 
 should there be, when it has snowed 
 all pijrht!'' 
 
26 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 ** No, Thomas," said Robert's father, 
 ** you are mistaken there: for I looked 
 out of the window many times last 
 night, and there was no snow fell after 
 nine o'clock. But look now, I pray 
 you, whether any the slightest traces 
 of feet are to be found, O my poor 
 lad ! I am dreadfully alarmed on his 
 account." 
 
 Robert's father, and Thomas, and 
 Betty, hurried on through the wood, 
 calling the child as loud as they could, 
 but receiving no answer. They looked 
 also to the path, but saw no foot- 
 mark. And Faithful, who seemed to 
 guess what they were about, ran snuff- 
 ing from side to side: but nothing of 
 little Robert could be found. 
 
 At length, on coming near the stile, 
 which opened towards the hill, they 
 distinguished the track of the child's 
 foot, slightly covered with snow. The 
 father cried out, when he saw these, 
 partly in terror, and partly in joy, 
 
AND THE OWL. 27 
 
 saying, '' Follow these ! follow these ! '' 
 Faithful, loo, pricked up his ears, and 
 ran before, very accurately picking 
 out the foot-marks. 
 
 Little Robert, it seems, had gone 
 somewhat out of the way in looking 
 for the hollow tree: but the anxious 
 father followed the track, calling his 
 son, and dreading every moment to 
 find his poor boy frozen to death. The 
 foot-marks led them round several 
 trees, while they continued calling 
 louder and louder, without receiving 
 any answer. At length they perceived 
 Faithful to make a stand before the 
 hollow tree, pricking up his ears, and 
 wagging his tail. At this they hast* 
 ened on; when the poor father, who 
 was foremost, rushing forward, fearing 
 to see some dreadful sights beheld liis 
 little boy, wrapped round in his great 
 coat, and still sleeping soundly with 
 his head resting upon his knees. 
 
 Robert's father, with Thomas and 
 
28 
 
 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 Betty, who were now come up, stood 
 before the hollow tree looking on in 
 amazement, while they listened to the 
 gentle breathing of the little boy, which 
 marked him to be in a deep sleep. 
 
 At length, Thomas, partly from joy, 
 and partly from wonder, broke out 
 into a loud laugh, in which he was 
 joined by Betty; while Robert's fa- 
 ther, who was a very pious man, 
 overcome with feelings of a very dif- 
 ferent kind, burst into an involuntary 
 flood of tears; a thing, he said, that 
 
AND THE OWL. 29 
 
 had not happened to him, since the 
 day of Robertjs birtli. 
 
 '' Well, now/' said Betty, *^ I would 
 give forty shiHings, if mistress could 
 but see this: I am sure she would 
 never forget it, if she were to live to 
 be an hundred vears old." 
 
 By this time Faithful had awakened 
 Robert with jumping upon him ; when 
 the little boy, looking up, shewed a 
 face as warm and fresh, as if he had 
 been sleeping all night on the best 
 bed in his grandmother's house. 
 
 ''Why Robert, my boy!*' said hi^ 
 father, '' you have chosen a comic-^' 
 kind of bed-chamber ! '' 
 
 '' Father,'^ said Robert * *\^^^ "^t 
 many rooms to ^^-^^^ <^"t of: but 
 in/.Wvd J yvas never better satisfied than 
 vhen 1 found this: only the worst 
 uf it was, that my company was not 
 very agreeable to the master of the 
 house.'' 
 
 *' Well, but, my boy," said the fa- 
 
30 
 
 LITTLE ROBERT 
 
 tlier, *' how were you able to sleep, 
 cramped up m that wayj'' 
 
 ** 1 never slept better in all my life, 
 {'dthev,'' said Robert ; '' and I know not 
 when 1 should have waked, if you had 
 not come to call me. But now, Tho- 
 mas and Betty, you must, if you 
 please, help me to get up; for I have 
 sat here till I doubt whether I can 
 move a foot/' 
 
 Thomas and Betty very cheerfully 
 lent their assistance to help little Ro- 
 bert out of his bed-chamber, where the 
 
AND THE OWL. ^ 31 
 
 only inconvenience he had suffered, 
 was, that of having his kn^^es and an- 
 cles greatly cramped, ^rom being so 
 long kept in so strange a posture. 
 However, when he had stretched him- 
 self a little, he 'was able to walk to 
 his grandm .iier's; where a good 
 breakfast by the old lady's fire-side 
 ^oo»^ r^xk all things to rights. 
 
 ..ttle Robert always afterwards 
 called the hollow tree his b^d-cham- 
 ber: and when he grew up and be- 
 came a father, he used to tell his chil- 
 dren this story with much delight; 
 explaining to them, at the same time, 
 what it was that made him so con- 
 tented in his hollow tree. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Iloulstons, Printers. 
 
 
T3 
 
 BY HE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 ^tfjtiuaftg iKgt.fsaem 
 
 SUSAN GR.r A new and improved 
 
 Edition. P. ". 6d. 
 LUCY CLARE. . " Is. Qd. 
 SERGEANT D ALE. "els. 
 
 The AYAH and LADY. -els. 
 
 An INTRODUCTION to A: ^NOMY. 
 
 Price 6d. 
 A DRIVE throHgh LONDON. Prict, 
 
 Tlie ORPHAN BOY. Price Qd. 
 
 The INFIRMARY. Price id. 
 The ERRx\ND-EOY. Price 4d. 
 The TWO SISTERS. Price Ad. 
 Tiie MAY-BEE. Price 4<i. 
 GEORGE and his PENNY. Price 2d. 
 EMILY and her BROTHERS. Price 2^/. 
 The ROSE. Price 2d. 
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 The LITTLE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 CHILD'S REWARD. Price id. 
 
 LITTLE ARTHUR. Price Id.