Chapter XIX. The Wonderful Transformation

by Horatio Alger

　　"My story," commenced Mr. Morton, "is rather a remarkable one insome respects; and I cannot vouch for its being true. I shallcall it 'The Wonderful Transformation.'"Thomas Tubbs was a prosperous little tailor, and for forty yearshad been a resident of the town of Webbington, where he had beenborn and brought up. I have called him little, and you will agreewith me when I say that, even in high-heeled boots, which healways wore, he measured only four feet and a half in height."In spite, however, of his undersize, Thomas had succeeded inwinning the hand of a woman fifteen inches taller than himself.If this extra height had been divided equally between them,possibly they might have attracted less observation. As it was,when they walked to church, the top of the little tailor's beaverjust about reached the shoulders of Mrs. Tubbs. Nevertheless,they managed to live very happily together, for the most part,though now and then, when Thomas was a little refractory, hisbetter half would snatch him up bodily, and, carrying him to thecellar, lock him up there. Such little incidents only served tospice their domestic life, and were usually followed by a warmreconciliation."The happy pair had six children, all of whom took after theirmother, and promised to be tall; the oldest boy, twelve years ofage, being already taller than his father, or, rather, he wouldhave been but for the tall hat and high-heeled boots."Mr. Tubbs was a tailor, as I have said. One day there came intohis shop a man attired with extreme shabbiness. Thomas eyed himaskance." 'Mr. Tubbs,' said the stranger, 'as you perceive, I am out atthe elbows. I would like to get you to make me up a suit ofclothes.'" 'Ahem!' coughed Thomas, and glanced upward at a notice affixedto the door, 'Terms, Cash.'"The stranger's eye followed the direction of Mr. Tubbs'. Hesmiled." 'I frankly confess,' he said, 'that I shall not be able to payimmediately, but, if I live, I will pay you within six months.'" 'How am I to feel sure of that?' asked the tailor, hesitating." 'I pledge my word,' was the reply. 'You see, Mr. Tubbs, I havebeen sick for some time past, and that, of course, has used up mymoney. Now, thank Providence, I am well again, and ready to go towork. But I need clothes, as you see, before I have the abilityto pay for them.'" 'What's your name?' asked Thomas." 'Oswald Rudenheimer,' was the reply." 'A foreigner?'" 'As you may suppose. Now, Mr. Tubbs, what do you say? Do youthink you can trust me?'"Thomas examined the face of his visitor. He looked honest, andthe little tailor had a good deal of confidence in the excellenceof human nature." 'I may be foolish,' he said at last, 'but I'll do it.'" 'A thousand thanks!' said the stranger. 'You sha'n't repent ofit.'"The cloth was selected, and Thomas set to work. In three daysthe suit was finished, and Thomas sat in his shop waiting for hiscustomer. At last he came, but what a change! He was splendidlydressed. The little tailor hardly recognized him." 'Mr. Tubbs,' said he, 'you're an honest man and a good fellow.You trusted me when I appeared penniless, but I deceived you. Iam really one of the genii, of whom, perhaps, you have read, andlineally descended from those who guarded Solomon's seal. Insteadof making you wait for your pay, I will recompense you on thespot, either in money or----'" 'Or what? asked the astonished tailor." 'Or I will grant the first wish that may be formed in yourmind. Now choose.'"Thomas did not take long to choose. His charge would amount tobut a few dollars, while he might wish for a million. Hesignified his decision." 'Perhaps you have chosen wisely,' said his visitor. 'But mindthat you are careful about your wish. You may wish for somethingyou don't want.'" 'No fear of that,' said the tailor cheerfully." 'At any rate, I will come this way six months hence, and shouldyou then wish to be released from the consequences of your wish,and to receive instead the money stipulated as the price of thesuit, I will give you the chance.'"Of course, Thomas did not object, though he considered it rathera foolish proposition."His visitor disappeared, and the tailor was left alone. He laidaside his work. How could a man be expected to work who had onlyto wish, and he could come into possession of more than he couldearn in a hundred or even a thousand years?" 'I might as well enjoy myself a little,' thought Mr. Tubbs.'Let me see. I think there is a show in the village to-day. I'llgo to it.'"He accordingly slipped on his hat and went out, somewhat to thesurprise of his wife, who concluded that her husband must begoing out on business."Thomas Tubbs wended his way to the marketplace. He pressed inamong the people, a crowd of whom had already assembled towitness the show. I cannot tell you what the show was. I am onlyconcerned in telling you what Thomas Tubbs saw and did; and, totell the plain truth, he didn't see anything at all. He waswedged in among people a foot or two taller than himself. Now, itis not pleasant to hear all about you laughing heartily and noteven catch a glimpse of what amuses them so much. Thomas Tubbswas human, and as curious as most people. just as a six-footersqueezed in front of him he could not help framing, in hisvexation, this wish:" 'Oh, dear! I wish I were ten feet high!'"Luckless Thomas Tubbs! Never had he framed a more unfortunatewish. On the instant he shot up from an altitude of four feet sixto ten feet. Fortunately his clothes expanded proportionally. So,instead of being below the medium height, he was raised more thanfour feet above it."Of course, his immediate neighbors became aware of the giganticpresence, though they did not at all recognize its identity withthe little tailor, Thomas Tubbs."At once there was a shout of terror. The crowd scattered in alldirections, forgetting the spectacle at which, the moment before,they had been laughing heartily, and the little tailor, no longerlittle, was left alone in the market-place." 'Good heavens!' he exclaimed in bewilderment, stretching outhis brawny arm, nearly five feet in length, and staring at it inludicrous astonishment, 'who'd have thought that I should ever beso tall?'"To tell the truth, the little man--I mean Mr. Tubbs--at firstrather enjoyed his new magnitude. He had experiencedmortification so long on account of his diminutive stature, thathe felt a little exhilarated at the idea of being able to lookdown on those to whom he had hitherto felt compelled to look up.It was rather awkward to have people afraid of him. As he turnedto leave the square, for the exhibitor of the show had run off inthe general panic, he could see people looking at him fromthird-story windows, and pointing at him with outstretchedfingers and mouths agape." 'Really,' thought Thomas Tubbs, 'I never expected to be such anobject of interest. I think I'll go home.'"His house was a mile off, but so large were his strides thatfive minutes carried him to it."Now Mrs. Tubbs was busy putting the dinner on the table, andwondering why her husband did not make his appearance. She wasfully determined to give him a scolding in case his delay was sogreat as to cause the dinner to cool. All at once she heard abustle at the door. Looking into the entry, she saw a huge manendeavoring to make his entrance into the house. As the portalwas only seven feet in height, it was not accomplished without agreat deal of twisting and squirming. "Mrs. Tubbs turned pale." 'What are you trying to do, you monster?' she faltered." 'I have come home to dinner, Mary,' was the meek reply." 'Come home to dinner!' exclaimed Mrs. Tubbs, aghast. 'Who inthe name of wonder are you, you overgrown brute?'" 'Who am I? asked the giant, smiling feebly, for he began tofeel a little queer at this reception from the wife with whom hehad lived for fifteen years. 'Ha! ha! don't you know your ownhusband--your Tommy?'" 'My husband!' exclaimed Mrs. Tubbs, astonished at the fellow'simpudence. 'You, don't mean to say that you are my husband?'" 'Of course I am,' said Thomas." 'Then,' said Mrs. Tubbs, 'I would have you know that my husbandis a respectable little man, not half your size.'" 'Oh, dear!' thought Thomas. 'Well, here's a kettle of fish; myown wife won't own me!'" 'So I was,' he said aloud. 'I was only four feet six; butI've--I've grown.'" 'Grown!' Mrs. Tubbs laughed hysterically. 'That's a likelystory, when it's only an hour since my husband went into thestreet as short as ever. I only wish he'd come in, I do, toexpose your imposition.'" 'But I have grown, Mary,' said Tubbs piteously. 'I was out inthe crowd, and I couldn't see what was going on, and so I wishedI was ten feet high; and, before I knew it, I was as tall as I amnow.'" 'No doubt,' said Mrs. Tubbs incredulously, 'As to that, allI've got to say is, that you'd better wish yourself back again,as I sha'n't own you as my husband till you do!'" 'Really,' thought Mr. Tubbs, 'this is dreadful! What can I do!'"Just then one of his children ran into the room." 'Johnny, come to me,' said his father imploringly. 'Come toyour father.'" 'My father!' said Johnny, shying out of the room. 'You ain't myfather. My father isn't as tall as a tree.'" 'You see how absurd your claim is,' said Mrs. Tubbs. 'You'lloblige me by leaving the house directly.'" 'Leave the house--my house!' said Tubbs." 'If you don't, I'll call in the neighbors,' said the courageouswoman." 'I don't believe they'd dare to come,' said Tubbs, smilingqueerly at the recollection of what a sensation his appearancehad made." 'Won't you go?'" 'At least you'll let me have some dinner. I am 'most famished.'" 'Dinner!" said Mrs. Tubbs, hesitating. 'I don't think there'senough in the house. However, you can sit down to the table.'"Tubbs attempted to sit down on a chair, but his weight was sogreat that it was crushed beneath him. Finally, he was compelledto sit on the floor, and even then his stature was such that hishead rose to the height of six feet."What an enormous appetite he had, too! The viands on the tableseemed nothing. He at first supplied his plate with the usualquantity; but as the extent of his appetite became revealed tohim, he was forced to make away with everything on the table.Even then he was hungry." 'Well, I declare,' thought Mrs. Tubbs, in amazement, 'it doestake an immense quantity to keep him alive!'"Tubbs rose from the table, and, in doing so, hit his head asmart whack against the ceiling. Before leaving the house heturned to make a last appeal to his wife, who, he could not helpseeing, was anxious to have him go." 'Won't you own me, Mary?' he asked. 'It isn't my fault that Iam so big.'" 'Own you!' exclaimed his wife. 'I wouldn't own you for a mintof money. You'd eat me out of house and home in less than aweek.'" 'I don't know but I should,' said Mr. Tubbs mournfully. 'Idon't see what gives me such an appetite. I'm hungry now.'" 'Hungry, after you've eaten enough for six!' exclaimed hiswife, aghast. 'Well, I never!'" 'Then you won't let me stay, Mary?'" 'No, no.'"With slow and sad strides Thomas Tubbs left the house. The worldseemed dark enough to the poor fellow. Not only was he disownedby his wife and children, but he could not tell how he shouldever earn enough to keep him alive, with the frightful appetitewhich he now possessed. 'I don't know,' he thought, 'but the bestway is to drown myself at once.' So he walked to the river, butfound it was not deep enough to drown him."As he emerged from the river uncomfortably wet, he saw a mantimidly approaching him. It proved to be the manager of the show." 'Hello!' said he hesitatingly." 'Hello!' returned Tubbs disconsolately." 'Would you like to enter into a business engagement with me?'" 'Of what sort?' asked Tubbs, brightening up." 'To be exhibited,' was the reply. 'You're the largest manliving in the world. We could make a pretty penny together.'"Tubbs was glad enough to accept this proposition, which came tohim like a plank to a drowning man. Accordingly an agreement wasmade that, after deducting expenses, he should share profits withthe manager."It proved to be a great success. From all quarters peopleflocked to see the great prodigy, the wonder of the world, as hewas described in huge posters. Scientific men wrote learnedpapers in which they strove to explain his extraordinary height,and, as might be expected, no two assigned the same cause."At the end of six months Tubbs had five thousand dollars as hisshare of the profits. But after all he was far from happy. Hemissed the society of his wife and children, and shed many tearsover his separation from them."At the end of six months his singular customer again made hisappearance." 'It seems to me you've altered some since I last saw you,' hesaid, with a smile." 'Yes,' said Tubbs dolefully." 'You don't like the change, I judge?'" 'No,' said Tubbs. 'It separates me from my wife and children,and that makes me unhappy.'" 'Would you like to be changed back again!'" 'Gladly,' was the reply."Presto! the wonderful giant was changed back into the littletailor. No sooner was this effected than he returned post-hasteto Webbington. His wife received him with open arms." 'Oh, Thomas,' she exclaimed, 'how could you leave us so? On theday of your disappearance a huge brute of a man came here andpretended to be you, but I soon sent him away.'"Thomas wisely said nothing, but displayed his five thousanddollars. There was great joy in the little dwelling. Thomas Tubbsat once took a larger shop, and grew every year in wealth andpublic esteem. The only way in which he did not grow was instature; but his six months' experience as a giant had cured himof any wish of that sort. The last I heard of him was hiselection to the legislature.""That's a bully story," said Charlie, using a word which he hadheard from older boys. "I wish I was a great tall giant.""What would you do if you were, Charlie?""I'd go and fight the rebels," said Charlie manfully.