As the Goose Flies
Copyright© 2025 by Katharine Pyle
Chapter 8: Bluebeard’s House
“Mistress, do you see that gray mist before us?” said the gander. “I think we have reached the border of the Fairy Tale Country, and beyond that mist lies the country of the Queerbodies.”
Ellen drew rein, and the gander allowed himself to sink slowly to the ground. There he folded and settled his wings, and he and his mistress stood looking at the wall of mist before them. It was like the mist that hangs over streams in the early morning. They could not tell at all how high it was. Sometimes it looked quite low, and sometimes it seemed to reach up to the sky itself so that they could not tell where one ended and the other began.
“Look,” cried Ellen in a whisper. “Do you suppose that is one of the Queerbodies?”
A gigantic shadow had appeared upon the wall of mist. It moved with such tremendous strides that it was out of sight in a moment. And now they saw other shadows. Some seemed to be bending over and taking up handfuls of earth and examining them as if in search of something. Others seemed to reach up as if after invisible fruit. Some were talking and nodding together, and every now and then one would turn and hurry away, as if suddenly remembering some business.
They were not all as big as the first shadow, though some of them stretched up so high that their heads and shoulders were lost in the grayness of the sky.
“They must be the Queerbodies,” said the gander in a low tone, “for I’m sure they’re not fairy tales.”
“But they look so big, —like giants. Do you think they’ll hurt us? Just suppose they were wicked giants who ate children like so many radishes.” Ellen had read some place in a fairy story of giants who did that.
“Maybe we’d better stop and ask some place,” suggested the gander. “If they ate children I’m sure they’d eat ganders too, for some people who don’t eat children at all eat ganders.”
Then Ellen looked about and saw that not far away stood a very large, fine house. It was not by any means as magnificent as Aladdin’s, but still it was very handsome.
“Let us ask at that house,” said Ellen. “They live so close to the mist that I’m sure they must know what goes on beyond, even if they have never been there.”
The gander was more than willing for this; so he took Ellen up and flew with her to the house. There she alighted and mounted the steps, but the door was so very grand and tall that she could not reach the knocker, and had to knock with her knuckles.
There was a moment’s silence, and then a voice within called, “Sister Anne, Sister Anne, did you hear anything?”
Another voice answered, “I heard the brushing of the vine leaves against the lattice, but I heard nothing else.”
“Your knuckles are too soft, Mistress,” said the gander; “let me knock,” and with his bill he struck against the door.
Again the same voice within called, “Sister Anne, Sister Anne, do you hear nothing now?” And the second voice answered, “I hear a woodpecker tapping upon a branch outside, but that is all.”
“Mistress, it is no use,” said the gander, “you will have to climb upon my back so as to reach the knocker, or they will never hear us.”
So Ellen climbed upon the gander’s back and then she found she could just reach the knocker. Rap, rap, rap! she struck upon the door.
“Sister Anne, Sister Anne, do you still hear nothing?” cried the first voice.
“Yes, now I hear some one knocking upon the door.”
In a moment the door opened and a lady stood in the doorway gazing with wonder at the child and the gander.
“What is it, Sister? Who is there?” called the first voice impatiently.
“It’s a child,” answered the lady in the doorway. “A real child it looks like.”
Almost instantly another lady came hurrying down the hall and joined the one at the door. She was more beautiful than the first, but her face had a scared look as though she had once had such a fright that she had never gotten over it.
“Why, yes, it is a real child,” she cried. “You are a real child, aren’t you? Where did you come from, and where are you going? Is that your gander? What are you going to do with it?”
There were so many questions that Ellen hardly knew which to answer first, but she began, “I came through the nursery wall, and I’m trying to find the Queerbodies’ house, and this is Mother Goose’s gander. She just lent it to me for awhile.”
“Going to the Queerbodies’ house!” The beautiful lady glanced at her sister. Then she took Ellen by the hand and drew her gently in. “Come in and tell me all about it.”
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