OVER the great door of an old, old church which stood m a quiet
town of a faraway land there was carved in stone the figure of a
large griffin. The old-time sculptor had done his work with great
care, but the image he had made was not a pleasant one to look at.
It had a large head, with enormous open mouth and savage teeth;
from its back arose great wings, armed with sharp hooks and prongs;
it had stout legs m front, with projecting claws, but there were no
legs behind--the body running out into a long and powerful tail,
finished off at the end with a barbed point. This tail was coiled
up under him, the end sticking up just back of his wings.
The sculptor, or the people who had ordered this stone figure, had
evidently been very much pleased with it, for little copies of it,
also on stone, had been placed here and there along the sides of
the church, not very far from the ground so that people could
easily look at them, and ponder on their curious forms. There were
a great many other sculptures on the outside of this
church--saints, martyrs, grotesque heads of men, beasts, and birds,
as well as those of other creatures which cannot be named, because
nobody knows exactly what they were; but none were so curious and
interesting as the great griffin over the door, and the little
griffins on the sides of the church.
A long, long distance from the town, in the midst of dreadful wilds
scarcely known to man, there dwelt the Griffin whose image had been
put up over the church door. In some way or other, the old-time
sculptor had seen him and afterward, to the best of his memory, had
copied his figure in stone.
The Griffin had never known this, until, hundreds of years
afterward, he heard from a bird, from a wild animal, or in some
manner which it is not now easy to find out, that there was a
likeness of him on the old church in the distant town.
Now, this Griffin had no idea how he looked. He had never seen a
mirror, and the streams where he lived were so turbulent and
violent that a quiet piece of water, which would reflect the image
of anything looking into it, could not be found. Being, as far as
could be ascertained, the very last of his race, he had never seen
another griffin. Therefore it was that, when he heard of this stone
image of himself, he became very anxious to know what he looked
like, and at last he determined to go to the old church, and see
for himself what manner of being he was.
So he started off from the dreadful wilds, and flew on and on until
he came to the countries inhabited by men, where his appearance in
the air created great consternation; but he alighted nowhere,
keeping up a steady flight until he reached the suburbs of the town
which had his image on its church. Here, late in the afternoon, he
lighted in a green meadow by the side of a brook, and stretched
himself on the grass to rest. His great wings were tired, for he
had not made such a long flight in a century, or more.
The news of his coming spread quickly over the town, and the
people, frightened nearly out of their wits by the arrival of so
strange a visitor, fled into their houses, and shut themselves up.
The Griffin called loudly for someone to come to him but the more
he called, the more afraid the people were to show themselves. At
length he saw two laborers hurrying to their homes through the
fields, and in a terrible voice he commanded them to stop. Not
daring to disobey, the men stood, trembling.
"What is the matter with you all?" cried the Griffin. "Is there not
a man in your town who is brave enough to speak to me?"
"I think," said one of the laborers, his voice shaking so that his
words could hardly be understood, "that-perhaps--the Minor
Canon--would come."
"Go, call him, them" said the Griffin; "I want to see him."
The Minor Canon, who was an assistant in the old church, had just
finished the afternoon services, and was coming out of a side door,
with three aged women who had formed the weekday congregation. He
was a young man of a kind disposition, and very anxious to do good
to the people of the town. Apart from his duties in the church,
where he conducted services every weekday, he visited the sick and
the poor, counseled and assisted persons who were in trouble, and
taught a school composed entirely of the bad children in the town
with whom nobody else would have anything to do. Whenever the
people wanted something difficult done for them, they always went
to the Minor Canon. Thus it was that the laborer thought of the
young priest when he found that someone must come and speak to the
Griffin.
The Minor Canon had not heard of the strange event, which was known
to the whole town except himself and the three old women and when
he was informed of it, and was told that the Griffin had asked to
see him, he was greatly amazed and frightened.
"Me!" he exclaimed. "He has never heard of me! What should he want
with me?"
"Oh! you must go instantly!" cried the two men. "He is very angry
now because he has been kept waiting so long; and nobody knows what
may happen if you don't hurry to him."
The poor Minor Canon would rather have had his hand cut off than go
out to meet an angry Griffin but he felt that it was his duty to go
for it would be a woeful thing if injury should come to the people
of the town because he was not brave enough to obey the summons of
the Griffin. So, pale and frightened, he started off.
'Well," said the Griffin, as soon as the young man came near, "I am
glad to see that there is someone who has the courage to come to
me."
The Minor Canon did not feel very brave, but he bowed his head.
'Is this the town," said the Griffin, "where there is a church with
a likeness of myself over one of the doors?"
The Minor Canon looked at the frightful creature before him and saw
that it was, without doubt, exactly like the stone image on the
church. "Yes," he said, "you are right."
"Well, then," said the Griffin, "will you take me to it? I wish
very much to see it."
The Minor Canon instantly thought that if the Griffin entered the
town without the people's knowing what he came for, some of them
would probably be frightened to death, and so he sought to gain
time to prepare their minds.
'It is growing dark, now," he said, very much afraid, as he spoke,
that his words might enrage the Griffin, "and objects on the front
of the church cannot be seen clearly. It will be better to wait
until morning, if you wish to get a good view of the stone image of
yourself."
"That will suit me very well," said the Griffin. "I see you are a
man of good sense. I am tired, and I will take a nap here on this
soft grass, while I cool my tail in the little stream that runs
near me. The end of my tail gets red-hot when I am angry or
excited, and it is quite warm now. So you may go; but be sure and
come early tomorrow morning, and show me the way to the church."
The Minor Canon was glad enough to take his leave, and hurried into
the town. In front of the church he found a great many people
assembled to hear his report of his interview with the Griffin.
When
they found that he had not come to spread rum, but simply to see
his stony likeness on the church, they showed neither relief nor
gratification, but began to upbraid the Minor Canon for consenting
to conduct the creature into the town.
'What could I do?" cried the young man. "If I should not bring him
he would come himself, and, perhaps, end by setting fire to the
town with his red-hot tail."
Still the people were not satisfied, and a great many plans were
proposed to prevent the Griffin from coming into the town. Some
elderly persons urged that the young men should go out and kill
him; but the young men scoffed at such a ridiculous idea.
Then someone said that it would be a good thing to destroy the
stone image, so that the Griffin would have no excuse for entering
the town; and this plan was received with such favor that many of
the people ran for hammers, chisels, and crowbars, with which to
tear down and break up the stone griffin. But the Minor Canon
resisted this plan with all the strength of his mind and body. He
assured the people that this action would enrage the Griffin beyond
measure, for it would be impossible to conceal from him that his
image had been destroyed during the night. But the people were so
determined to break up the stone griffin that the Minor Canon saw
that there was nothing for him to do but to stay there and protect
it. All night he walked up and down in front of the church door,
keeping away the men who brought ladders, by which they might mount
to the great stone griffin, and knock it to pieces with their
hammers and crowbars. After many hours the people were obliged to
give up their attempts, and went home to sleep; but the Minor Canon
remained at his post till early morning, and then he hurried away
to the field where he had left the Griffin.
The monster had just awakened, and rising to his forelegs and
shaking himself he said that he was ready to go into the town. The
Minor Canon, therefore, walked back, the Griffin flying slowly
through the air, at a short distance above the head of his guide.
Not a person was to be seen in the streets, and they went directly
to the front of the church, where the Minor Canon pointed out the
stone griffin.
The real Griffin settled down in the little square before the
church and gazed earnestly at his sculptured likeness. For a long
time he looked at it. First he put his head on one side, and then
he put it on the other; then he shut his right eye and gazed with
his left, after which he shut his left eye and gazed with his
right. Then he moved a little to one side and looked at the image,
then he moved the other way. After a while he said to the Minor
Canon, who had been standing by all this time:
"It is, it must be, an excellent likeness! That breadth between the
eyes, that expansive forehead, those massive jaws! I feel that it
must resemble me. If there is any fault to find with it, it is that
the neck seems a little stiff. But that is nothing. It is an
admirable likeness--admirable!"
The Griffin sat looking at his image all the morning and all the
afternoon. The Minor Canon had been afraid to go away and leave
him, and had hoped all through the day that he would soon be
satisfied with his inspection and fly away home. But by evening the
poor young man was very tired, and felt that he must eat and sleep.
He frankly said this to the Griffin, and asked him if he would not
like something to eat. He said this because he felt obliged in
politeness to do so, but as soon as he had spoken the words, he was
seized with dread lest the monster should demand half a dozen
babies, or some tempting repast of that kind.
"Oh, no," said the Griffin; 'I never eat between the equinoxes. At
the vernal and at the autumnal equinox I take a good meal, and that
lasts me for ha]f a year. I am extremely regular in my habits, and
do not think it healthful to eat at odd times. But if you need
food, go and get it, and I will return to the soft grass where I
slept last night and take another nap."
The next day the Griffin came again to the little square before the
church, and remained there until evening, steadfastly regarding the
stone griffin over the door. The Minor Canon came out once or twice
to look at him, and the Griffin seemed very glad to see him; but
the young clergyman could not stay as he had done before, for he
had many duties to perform. Nobody went to the church, but the
people came to the Minor Canon's house, and anxiously asked him how
long the Griffin was going to stay.
"I do not know," he answered, "but I think he will soon be
satisfied with regarding his stone likeness, and then he will go
away."
But the Griffin did not go away. Morning after morning he came to
the church; but after a time he did not stay there all day. He
seemed to have taken a great fancy to the Minor Canon, and followed
him about as he worked. He would wait for him at the side door of
the church, for the Minor Canon held services every day, morning
and evening, though nobody came now. "If anyone should come," he
said to himself, "I must be found at my post." When the young man
came out, the Griffin would accompany him in his visits to the sick
and the poor, and would often look into the windows of the
schoolhouse where the Minor Canon was teaching his unruly scholars.
All the other schools were closed, but the parents of the Minor
Canon's scholars forced them to go to school, because they were so
bad they could not endure them all day at home--Griffin or no
Griffin. But it must be said they generally behaved very well when
that great monster sat up on his tail and looked in at the
schoolroom window.
When it was found that the Griffin showed no sign of going away,
all the people who were able to do so left the town. The canons and
the higher officers of the church had fled away during the first
day of the Griffin's visit, leaving behind only the Minor Canon and
some of the men who opened the doors and swept the church. All the
citizens who could afford it shut up their houses and traveled to
distant parts, and only the working people and the poor were left
behind. After some days these ventured to go about and attend to
their business, for if they did not work they would starve. They
were getting a little used to seeing the Griffin; and having been
told that he did not eat between equinoxes, they did not feel so
much afraid of him as before.
Day by day the Griffin became more and more attached to the Minor
Canon. He kept near him a great part of the time, and often spent
the night in front of the little house where the young clergyman
lived alone. This strange companionship was often burdensome to the
Minor Canon, but, on the other hand, he could not deny that he
derived a great deal of benefit and instruction from it. The
Griffin had lived for hundreds of years, and had seen much, and he
told the Minor Canon many wonderful things.
"It is like reading an old book," said the young clergyman to
himself; "but how many books I would have had to read before I
would have found out what the Griffin has told me about the earth,
the air, the water, about minerals, and metals, and growing things,
and all the wonders of the world!"
Thus the summer went on, and drew toward its close. And now the
people of the town began to be very much troubled again.
"It will not be long," they said, "before the autumnal equinox is
here, and then that monster will want to eat. He will be dreadfully
hungry, for he has taken so much exercise since his last meal. He
will devour our children. Without doubt, he will eat them all. What
is to be done?"
To this question no one could give an answer, but all agreed that
the Griffin must not be allowed to remain until the approaching
equinox. After talking over the matter a great deal, a crowd of the
people went to the Minor Canon at a time when the Griffin was not
with him.
'It is all your fault," they said, "that that monster is among us.
You brought him here, and you ought to see that he goes away. It is
only on your account that he stays here at all; for, although he
visits his image every day, he is with you the greater part of the
time. If you were not here, he would not stay. It is your duty to
go away, and then he will follow you, and we shall be free from the
dreadful danger which hangs over us."
"Go away!" cried the Minor Canon, greatly grieved at being spoken
to in such a way. "Where shall I go? If I go to some other town,
shall I not take this trouble there? Have I a right to do that?"
"No," said the people, "you must not go to any other town. There is
no town far enough away. You must go to the dreadful wilds where
the Griffin lives, and then he will follow you and stay there."
They did not say whether or not they expected the Minor Canon to
stay there also, and he did not ask them anything about it. He
bowed his head, and went into his house to think. The more he
thought, the more clear it became to his mind that it was his duty
to go away, and thus free the town from the presence of the
Griffin.
That evening he packed a leathern bag full of bread and meat, and
early the next morning he set out or his journey to the dreadful
wilds. It was a long, weary, and doleful journey, especially after
he had gone beyond the habitations of men; but the Minor Canon kept
on bravely, and never faltered.
The way was longer than he had expected, and his provisions soon
grew so scanty that he was obliged to eat but a little every day;
but he kept up his courage, and pressed on, and, after many days of
toilsome travel, he reached the dreadful wilds.
When the Griffin found that the Minor Canon had left the town he
seemed sorry, but showed no desire to go and look for him. After a
few days had passed he became much annoyed, and asked some of the
people where the Minor Canon had gone. But, although the citizens
had been so anxious that the young clergyman should go to the
dreadful wilds, thinking that the Griffin would immediately follow
him, they were now afraid to mention the Minor Canon's destination,
for the monster seemed angry already, and if he should suspect
their trick he would, doubtless, become very much enraged. So
everyone said he did not know, and the Griffin wandered about
disconsolate. One morning he looked into the Minor Canon's
schoolhouse, which was always empty now, and thought that it was a
shame that everything should suffer on account of the young man's
absence.
"It does not matter so much about the church," he said, "for nobody
went there; but it is a pity about the school. I think I will teach
it myself until he returns."
It was the hour for opening the school, and the Griffin went inside
and pulled the rope which rang the school bell. Some of the
children who heard the bell ran in to see what was the matter,
supposing it to be a joke of one of their companions; but when they
saw the Griffin they stood astonished and scared.
"Go tell the other scholars," said the monster, "that school is
about to open, and that if they are not all here in ten minutes I
shall come after them."
In seven minutes every scholar was in place.
Never was seen such an orderly school. Not a boy or girl moved or
uttered a whisper. The Griffin climbed into the master's seat, his
wide wings spread on each side of him, because he could not lean
back in his chair while they stuck out behind, and his great tail
coiled around, m front of the desk, the barbed end sticking up,
ready to tap any boy or girl who might misbehave.
The Griffin now addressed the scholars, telling them that he
intended to teach them while their master was away. In speaking he
tried to imitate, as far as possible, the mild and gentle tones of
the Minor Canon; but it must be admitted that in this he was not
very successful. He had paid a good deal of attention to the
studies of the school, and he determined not to try to teach them
anything new, but to review them in what they had been studying; so
he called up the various classes, and questioned them upon their
previous lessons. The children racked their brains to remember what
they had learned. They were so afraid of the Griffin's displeasure
that they recited as they had never recited before. One of the
boys, far down in his class, answered so well that the Griffin was
astonished.
'I should think you would be at the head," said he. "I am sure you
have never been in the habit of reciting so well. Why is this?"
"Because I did not choose to take the trouble," said the boy,
trembling in his boots. He felt obliged to speak the truth, for all
the children thought that the great eyes of the Griffin could see
right through them, and that he would know when they told a
falsehood.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said the Griffin. "Go down
to the very tail of the class; and if you are not at the head m two
days, I shall know the reason why."
The next afternoon this boy was Number One.
It was astonishing how much these children now learned of what they
had been studying. It was as if they had been educated over again.
The Griffin used no severity toward them, but there was a look
about him which made them unwilling to go to bed until they were
sure they knew their lessons for the next day.
The Griffin now thought that he ought to visit the sick and the
poor; and he began to go about the town for this purpose. The
effect upon the sick was miraculous. All, except those who were
very ill indeed, jumped from their beds when they heard he was
coming, and declared themselves quite well. To those who could not
get up he gave herbs and roots, which none of them had ever before
thought of as medicines, but which the Griffin had seen used in
various parts of the world; and most of them recovered. But, for
all that, they afterward said that, no matter what happened to
them, they hoped that they should never again have such a doctor
coming to their bedsides, feeling their pulses and looking at their
tongues.
As for the poor, they seemed to have utterly disappeared. All those
who had depended upon charity for their daily bread were now at
work in some way or other; many of them offering to do odd jobs for
their neighbors just for the sake of their meals--a thing which
before had been seldom heard of in the town. The Griffin could find
no one who needed his assistance.
The summer had now passed, and the autumnal equinox was rapidly
approaching. The citizens were in a state of great alarm and
anxiety. The Griffin showed no signs of going away, but seemed to
have settled himself permanently among them. In a short time the
day for his semiannual meal would arrive, and then what would
happen? The monster would certainly be very hungry, and would
devour all their children.
Now they greatly regretted and lamented that they had sent away the
Minor Canon; he was the only one on whom they could have depended
in this trouble, for he could talk freely with the Griffin, and so
find out what could be done. But it would not do to be inactive.
Some step must be taken immediately. A meeting of the citizens was
called, and two old men were appointed to go and talk to the
Griffin. They were instructed to offer to prepare a splendid dinner
for him on equinox day-one which would entirely satisfy his hunger.
They would offer him the fattest mutton, the most tender beef fish,
and game of various sorts, and anything of the kind that he might
fancy. If none of these suited, they were to mention that there was
an orphan asylum in the next town.
"Anything would be better," said the citizens, "than to have our
dear children devoured."
The old men went to the Griffin; but their propositions were not
received with favor.
"From what I have seen of the people of this town," said the
monster, "I do not think I could relish anything which was prepared
by them. They appear to be all cowards and, therefore, mean and
selfish. As for eating one of them, old or young, I could not think
of it for a moment. In fact, there was only one creature in the
whole place for whom I could have had any appetite, and that is the
Minor Canon, who has gone away. He was brave, and good, and honest,
and I think I should have relished him."
"Ah!" said one of the old men very politely, "in that case I wish
we had not sent him to the dreadful wilds!"
"What!" cried the Griffin. "What do you mean? Explain instantly
what you are talking about!"
The old man, terribly frightened at what he had said, was obliged
to tell how the Minor Canon had been sent away by the people, in
the hope that the Griffin might be induced to follow him.
When the monster heard this he became furiously angry. He dashed
away from the old men, and, spreading his wings, flew backward and
forward over the town. He was so much excited that his tail became
red-hot, and glowed lace a meteor against the evening sky. When at
last he settled down in the little field where he usually rested,
and thrust his tail into the brook, the steam arose like a cloud,
and the water of the stream ran hot through the town. The citizens
were greatly frightened, and bitterly blamed the old man for
telling about the Minor Canon.
"It is plain," they said, "that the Griffin intended at last to go
and look for him, and we should have been saved. Now who can tell
what misery you have brought upon us."
The Griffin did not remain long in the little field. As soon as his
tail was cool he flew to the town hall and rang the bell. The
citizens knew that they were expected to come there; and although
they were afraid to go, they were still more afraid to stay away;
and they crowded into the hall. The Griffin was on the platform at
one end, flapping his wings and walking up and down, and the end of
his tail was still so warm that it slightly scorched the boards as
he dragged it after him.
When everybody who was able to come was there, the Griffin stood
still and addressed the meeting.
'I have had a very low opinion of you," he said, "ever since I
discovered what cowards you are, but I had no idea that you were so
ungrateful, selfish, and cruel as I now find you to be. Here was
your Minor Canon, who labored day and night for your good, and
thought of nothing else but how he might benefit you and make you
happy; and as soon as you imagine yourselves threatened with a
danger--for well I know you are dreadfully afraid of me--you send
him off, caring not whether he returns or perishes, hoping thereby
to save yourselves. Now, I had conceived a great liking for that
young man, and had intended, in a day or two, to go and look him
up. But I have changed my mind about him. I shall go and find- him,
but I shall send him back here to live among you, and I intend that
he shall enjoy the reward of his labor and his sacrifices.
"Go, some of you, to the officers of the church, who so cowardly
ran away when I first came here, and tell them never to return to
this town under penalty of death. And if, when your Minor Canon
comes back to you, you do not bow yourselves before him, put him in
the highest place among you, and serve and honor him all his life,
beware of my terrible vengeance! There were only two good things in
this town: the Minor Canon and the stone image of myself over your
church door. One of these you have sent away, and the other 1 shall
carry away myself."
With these words he dismissed the meeting, and it was time, for the
end of his tail had become so hot that there was danger of it
setting fire to the building.
The next morning the Griffin came to the church, and tearing the
stone image of himself from its
fastenings over the great door he grasped it with his powerful
forelegs and flew up into the air. Then, after hovering over the
town for a moment, he gave his tail an angry shake and took up his
flight to the dreadful wilds. When he reached this desolate region,
he set the stone griffin upon a ledge of a rock which rose in front
of the dismal cave he called his home. There the image occupied a
position somewhat similar to that it had had over the church door;
and the Griffin, panting with the exertion of carrying such an
enormous load to so great a distance, lay down upon the ground and
regarded it with much satisfaction. When he felt somewhat rested he
went to look for the Minor Canon. He found the young man, weak and
half starved, lying under the shadow of a rock. After picking him
up and carrying him to his cave, the Griffin flew away to a distant
marsh, where he procured some roots and herbs which he well knew
were strengthening and beneficial to man, though he had never
tasted them himself. After eating these the Minor Canon was greatly
revived, and sat up and listened while the Griffin told him what
had happened m the town.
"Do you know," said the monster, when he had finished, "that I have
had, and still have, a great liking for you?"
"I am very glad to hear it," said the Minor Canon, with his usual
politeness.
"I am not at all sure that you would be," said the Griffin, "if you
thoroughly understood the state of the case; but we will not
consider that now. If some things were different, other things
would be otherwise. I have been so enraged by discovering the
manner in which you have been treated that I have determined that
you shall at last enjoy the rewards and honors to which you are
entitled. Lie down and have a good sleep, and then I will take you
back to the town."
As he heard these words, a look of trouble came over the young
man's face.
"You need not give yourself any anxiety," said the Griffin, "about
my return to the town. I shall not remain there. Now that I have
that admirable likeness of myself in front of my cave, where I can
sit at my leisure, and gaze upon its noble features and magnificent
proportions, I have no wish to see that abode of cowardly and
selfish people."
The Minor Canon, relieved from his fears, lay back, and dropped
into a doze; and when he was sound asleep the Griffin took him up,
and carried him back to the town. He arrived just before daybreak,
and putting the young man gently on the grass in the little field
where he himself used to rest, the monster, without having been
seen by any of the people, flew back to his home.
When the Minor Canon made his appearance in the morning among the
citizens, the enthusiasm and cordiality with which he was received
were truly wonderful. He was taken to a house which had been
occupied by one of the banished high officers of the place, and
everyone was anxious to do all that could be done for his health
and comfort. The people crowded into the church when he held
services, so that the three old women who used to be his weekday
congregation could not get to the best seats, which they had always
been in the habit of taking; and the parents of the bad children
determined to reform them at home, in order that he might be spared
the trouble of keeping up his former school. The Minor Canon was
appointed to the highest office of the old church, and before he
died, he became a bishop.
During the first years after his return from the dreadful wilds,
the people of the town looked up to him as a man to whom they were
bound to do honor and reverence; but they often, a]so, looked up to
the sky to see if there were any signs of the Griffin coming back.
However, in the course of time, they learned to honor and reverence
their former Minor Canon without the fear of being punished if they
did not do so.
But they need never have been afraid of the Griffin. The autumnal
equinox day came round, and the monster ate nothing. If he could
not have the Minor Canon, he did not care for anything. So, lying
down, with his eyes fixed upon the great stone griffin, he
gradually declined, and died. It was a good thing for some of the
people of the town that they did not know this.
If you should ever visit the old town, you would still see the
little griffins on the sides of the church; but the great stone
griffin that was over the door is gone.
B&L Associates, Renton, Washington, U.S.A.