Little Philippe of Belgium Read online

  Tom's sly eyes beamed. He slapped Philippe on the back lightly.

  "That is just what Zelie and I are planning," he said. "Tomorrow weleave. Why could not you and the singing bird go with us?

  "We shall go to every part of Belgium and take along our big organ.Zelie will play the organ, while you and Baby Rose sing."

  Philippe's heart pounded. Yes, why not? He looked at Zelie. He thoughtshe must be delighted. But he was amazed to see a look of fear in herlittle dark face.

  "What luck!" he cried. "Are you not pleased, Zelie?"

  "If you would come it might be jolly," the girl answered.

  "Why not?" again thought Philippe. He said, "I'll ask my mother andfather tonight. I shall tell you in the morning."

  "Good!" Tom smiled. "Zelie and I can wait until the following day tostart our journey. Then we four shall set out together."

  That night Philippe asked his parents if he might go traveling with Tomand Zelie.

  "This is a strange man," said Papa Pomme. "How do you know that he maynot be a wicked man? Besides, a wandering life is a hard one, and BabyRose is too young."

  "But I am old and strong, Papa Pomme," begged Philippe. "I shall makegreat sums of money, too. Do, do let me go."

  "Not yet, little cabbage," said Papa Pomme.

  "NOT YET, LITTLE CABBAGE"]

  Philippe's dream was shattered. He cried himself to sleep that night.

  The next day in the market place Tom met the children with an eagerquestion.

  "Well? Do we start tomorrow?" he asked.

  "My father will not let me go," Philippe said.

  The man scowled.

  "Foolish," he frowned, "foolish! It would bring you money, and you couldmake your parents rich."

  Philippe scowled, too.

  "Yes," he agreed, "I told my father. But still he refuses to allow me togo."

  "It is too bad," the man said. He shrugged his shoulders. "But Zelie andI must leave tomorrow. And maybe some day you will decide to join us."

  Philippe wondered what Tom meant.

  "You know you are a big boy now," Tom continued. "It is a shame for youto waste your time sitting in a market place selling vegetables."

  He winked at Philippe slyly, and then started to whistle. Oh, how luckywas this Tom, thought Philippe; and the little girl, Zelie, too! Butstill Philippe noticed that Zelie's eyes were sad.

  Chapter V

  NEW FRIENDS

  Philippe lay in bed and thought of Tom and of Zelie. Yes, mostly hethought of Zelie. He would never see her again. Tom was taking her awayin the morning. What a pity!

  She was the most interesting little friend the boy had ever had. Now hewould be lonely again. Rose was still so young.

  Of course, he had his books. But he did so long to wander through thecountry. It was summer time, and there was no school. Oh, happy Zelie!

  HE DID SO LONG TO WANDER THROUGH THE COUNTRY]

  "But was she really happy?" Philippe wondered.

  She had once told him that she had to push the big organ about whilethey begged their way.

  It was a heavy thing, that organ, and Philippe had asked, "Doesn't ittire you, Zelie?"

  Zelie had looked quickly at her father and had caught Tom's gleamingeye.

  "No," she had replied, "it is fun."

  Philippe had envied her. If he might go along, he could push the organfor her. He was strong. And he might help Tom, too.

  Philippe did not know what his friend Tom was doing just at this moment.As Philippe lay in his comfortable little bed, he did not know that Tomwas stealing his father's vegetables. Philippe did not know that poorZelie was right under the window with Tom, helping to steal Papa Pomme'svegetables.

  The next morning Emile Spinach ran into the house, very much excited.

  "The vegetable thief has been in the garden, sir!" he cried to PapaPomme.

  Sure enough, their little farm had been robbed.

  When Philippe and Rose arrived at the market place, the booth next totheirs was empty.

  Of course Philippe never dreamed that Tom was the thief. He missed hisneighbors sadly. He pictured them pushing along the organ and playing inmarket places all over Belgium. He thought of them strolling along thepleasant roads.

  He could hear Tom's gay whistle. He could see Zelie's little dark face.He wondered whether Zelie would sing the songs he had taught her. Shehad a pretty voice. She was not so small and cunning as Baby Rose, butshe had a charm of her own.

  Philippe became discontented. He sometimes wandered about the streetsinstead of staying in the market place. Of course, he only did this whenEmile Spinach was there to stay with Rose.

  Philippe was quieter than usual.

  Papa Pomme said one day to Mother Yvelle, "I am worried about the boy.He is different. Something bothers him."

  "SOMETHING BOTHERS HIM"]

  Papa Pomme did worry about Philippe. Papa Pomme worried so much thatonce he put sugar in the soup and salt in the pastry. The manager ofthe restaurant scolded Papa Pomme.

  PUT SALT IN THE PASTRY]

  One day Philippe was walking toward his father's restaurant. As heapproached, a taxicab drove up and stopped a few doors away. Twogentlemen stepped out.

  Philippe smiled as he heard one of the gentlemen ask the taxi driver,"Can you direct us to a restaurant?"

  The gentleman had a very funny French accent. He continued, "We haveheard so much about this delicious Belgian food. We are very hungry."

  The taxi driver must have been hungry, too. He evidently wanted to beoff to his own lunch.

  For he replied sharply, "There are many restaurants. Just walk along anystreet. They can always be smelled!"

  The unobliging taxi driver laughed at his own stupid joke. Then hestarted his motor and was off.

  The two gentlemen stood for a moment looking at each other. Then onesaid something in a language that Philippe did not understand. But hefelt sure that it was English.

  The little boy walked over to the gentlemen.

  "Excuse me, sirs," he began in French. "I heard you asking for a placeto eat. I can take you to the best restaurant in Brussels."

  The gentlemen looked at the little Belgian boy standing before them.Then one of them smiled and said something in English to the other.Philippe did not understand the words, but if you had been there youwould have heard the gentleman say to his friend, "Let us take his wordfor it. He may know something about food. Boys usually do."

  The other one laughed and said in French to Philippe, "Thank you. Weshall be glad to follow you."

  Of course, Philippe led the gentlemen to his father's restaurant. Heheld the door open for them to enter, and started to leave.

  But the gentleman who spoke French said, "Come! Wouldn't you like tolunch with us? You might tell us a bit about the art of Belgian eating.What do you say?"

  "Thank you," said Philippe.

  He could always eat. His dreams did not prevent that.

  So the two foreign gentlemen and the little Belgian boy sat down tolunch. Philippe showed them how a Belgian orders a meal. They wereamused at the child's knowledge of all these fine dishes. They asked himhow he knew so much. Philippe then told them about Papa Pomme.

  "Aha!" exclaimed the gentleman who spoke French. "It is a fine thing fora boy to have a papa who is a chef. Is it not?"

  Philippe laughed and agreed. Then the same gentleman told about himself.He said, "My friend and I are touring through Belgium. My friend is anAmerican. It is his first trip over here. I am from England. We areleaving tomorrow for Antwerp. Today we are going to see the sights ofBrussels."

  Philippe did full justice to the food spread before him. The men watchedthe hungry boy with great amusement.

  The Englishman said, "Well, I must say you do eat well!"

  Philippe stopped long enough to look up into his face and replyroguishly, "Yes, sir. I have been practicing all my life!"

  The two gentlemen laughed. The Englishman had, of course, translated theword
s to his friend. They thought Philippe a very jolly lad. They didnot know how really discontented he was. How little we can tellsometimes by looking at people what is really going on in their hearts!

  "But now tell us," asked the Englishman. "Have you always lived inBrussels?"

  "I have lived here all my life," Philippe answered. He then addedtimidly, "If you would like me to take you around the city after lunch Icould show you many interesting sights. There are few places I do notknow in Brussels."

  "An excellent plan," cried the Englishman.

  PLACE DE BRUGERE, BRUSSELS]

  Then he told his friend, the American, what the Belgian boy had offeredto do.

  "Good!" said the American in English. "And I hope he knows as much aboutcities as he does about food. For then we shall find our minds stuffedas full as our stomachs!"

  Chapter VI

  PHILIPPE ACTS AS GUIDE

  Philippe was a very good guide. He had learned much through his reading.Now he was able to show his new friends many interesting sights inBrussels. Also, he knew stories about all of them.

  Brussels has been called "Paris in Little." This is because it isbeautiful like Paris, with boulevards, similar buildings, and lovelyparks. They passed avenues shaded by fine old lime trees. They admiredstatues and fountains all over the city.

  Philippe led the two gentlemen to the palace of the King. The littleBrussels boy pointed out a long stately building which stands justopposite a fine park.

  "So this is the palace of good King Albert!" remarked the Englishgentleman. "He is considered a great ruler."

  "He is," smiled Philippe, "and we love him."

  Then the boy continued seriously, "But we Belgians and even King Albertdo not like the idea of a kingdom."

  "No?" inquired the Englishman, in a surprised tone.

  "You know Englishmen are very true to their King."

  "Yes, I have read in my books that they are," replied Philippe. "But wehave good reasons for continuing with a monarchy. First, because of ourlove for King Albert, and then because we are afraid that without ourkingdom we should split up. And you know that our motto is 'In unionthere is strength.'"

  "But why do you fear being split up, as you say?" inquired theEnglishman.

  "Because," answered Philippe, "on one side of us is France, a republic;on the other side is Germany, also a republic. We Belgians are veryclose to both these countries because of many things. We are like themin many ways and we trade with them. We fear that without our King tohold us together we might become part of these countries. And we arevery patriotic. We never want to be anything but Belgian!"

  The little fellow stood and saluted the flag, which was flying from thepalace.

  "See! The flag!" said Philippe, pointing to the red, yellow, and blackcolors fluttering in the breeze. "I can tell you about that, also, ifyou would like me to do so."

  "Certainly," replied the Englishman. Then he turned to his friend, theAmerican, and said, "The little chap is just full of stories."

  "That may be," replied the friend, "but I do not understand a word. Itall sounds like Chinese to me!"

  "Wait," laughed the Englishman. "I shall translate them to you later."

  So Philippe told about his flag.

  "The black in the flag is the King's color," said he. "It stands forconstancy, wisdom, and prudence. The yellow stands for law and order.And red is for Belgium's liberty, fought for and obtained by the bloodof her soldiers."

  As they walked along the shady streets the English gentleman explainedto his friend all that Philippe had said. The American nodded his headunderstandingly.

  "That is very interesting," he said. "I do not blame the Belgians forbeing loyal to their King. They have good reasons."

  PALACE OF THE KING, BRUSSELS]

  "I am sure you would like to visit Waterloo," suggested Philippe. "Ineed not tell you the story of Waterloo," he smiled, "for everybody whohas ever studied history knows about that."

  But those who have not yet studied history may want to know that it is afamous battlefield where many wars were fought. The most famous of thebattles was the struggle between the Duke of Wellington, who commandedthe English army, and Napoleon Bonaparte who led the French.

  When Philippe and his new friends had looked about for a while, theAmerican gentleman remarked, "So this is where Napoleon met hisWaterloo!"

  It was here that Napoleon was conquered! That is why we still use theexpression "met his Waterloo" when we mean to say "was defeated."

  BRUSSELS HAS MANY FINE BOULEVARDS]

  Philippe showed them the "Mound of the Lion," that great pyramid-shapedmonument on the battlefield.

  "It was built after the Battle of Waterloo, in memory of the Prince ofOrange," he explained. "It is as large as a city block. The huge lion onthe top is made of metal from captured French cannons. You know that thelion is the emblem of Belgium. The mound was built almost entirely bywomen who carried the dirt in pails."

  Driving back to the city, the Englishman remarked, "It seems to me thattea time is approaching."

  The little boy knew how important tea time is to Englishmen. So hesuggested an excellent cafe where they might sit outside and watch thepeople.

  While they were eating, Philippe explained to the Englishman how heloved to read. He told of his interest in the stories of his land.

  "Then you do not want to be a chef some day like your father?" asked thegentleman.

  Philippe shook his head.

  "I want to do great things," he answered. "To travel, to haveadventures."

  The Englishman smiled.

  "That is very natural," he remarked. He told his friend, the American,what the boy had said. His friend laughed.

  "That sounds like an American boy," he said. "Ask him what he wants todo."

  The Englishman asked Philippe this question.

  The boy answered, "Oh, I should like to go to Antwerp (=ant'-werp=)and Ghent (=gent=) and see the sights of Belgium, because I know somany stories about everything."

  He then told them about his wandering friends, Tom and Zelie.

  MODERN BRUSSELS IS WELL LAID OUT WITH MANY WIDE AVENUES]

  The Englishman remarked, "That is a hard life. It is much better totravel in a motor car." Then he smiled pleasantly and continued, "Thatis the way we travel. We are leaving for Antwerp tomorrow in our car."

  Philippe's eyes shone. Here were more traveling folks. It seemed to theboy that everyone in the world was traveling except himself.

  And while Philippe was thus thinking, the gentlemen were talkingtogether in English.

  Suddenly the Englishman turned to Philippe and asked, "How would youlike to come along with us to Antwerp? You would make an excellentguide, since you know so much about the country."

  Philippe's heart almost stopped beating.

  "Oh, sir," he breathed, "that is very good of you." Then he hesitated."But my father would not let me go."

  "Where is your father?" asked the gentleman.

  "At the restaurant where we lunched, sir. He is in the kitchen," repliedPhilippe.

  "Very well; let us go and see him," suggested the Englishman.

  Philippe led the gentlemen back to the restaurant. They followed himinto the big kitchen.

  There Philippe began to introduce them to Papa Pomme.

  But the Englishman and Papa Pomme stared at one another and then theyboth cried out together, "Well, well, well!"

  "WELL, WELL, WELL"]

  Philippe was surprised to see that Papa Pomme and this Englishgentleman already knew each other. They were very happy to meet again.

  Papa Pomme turned to Philippe and said, "My boy, here you see a war-timefriend of your father's. We were soldiers together in the World War.This gentleman was a great hero!"

  The Englishman interrupted, "Oh, no, no, my friend, not so great a heroas you."

  Then he looked at Papa Pomme's wooden leg and they both grew serious.

  "But come! We have something to ask you,"
the gentleman suddenlyobserved. "My friend and I are going to Antwerp tomorrow. Will you allowyour son to go along? We promise to take good care of him, and I'm surehe'll take splendid care of us. For you know, he has guided us throughBrussels all day."

  Papa Pomme fairly beamed with pride.

  Then he said, "It is very kind of you, and I am delighted to have myPhilippe go along with you. He has wanted so much to travel. Eh, littlePhilippe?"

  And he pulled the boy's hair playfully.

  "Oh, yes, Papa," joyfully agreed Philippe.

  Papa Pomme continued, "And this time, I know that you will be safe, foryou will be with an old friend of mine."

  Philippe felt like dancing. What a wonderful thing had happened! He wasreally going on a trip. Of course, it was only to Antwerp, and then forjust a few days. But even so, adventures might happen. Had Philippeknown what adventure was really coming, he might not have been sohappy.

  Chapter VII

  PHILIPPE RUNS AWAY

  In the morning early a very excited little boy stood at the door of afarmhouse and gazed down the road.

  Philippe was ready to travel to Antwerp with his friends, the twogentlemen. They had promised to stop by for him, and he had arisenearly.

  He was now in a state of great excitement. Mother Yvelle stood by hisside. Her face was sad. She did not like to see her son leaving her.They heard a sound. The big motor car was approaching the tiny farm.