 The Greatest Cheat of Seven by A. Campbell. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Chad Horner from Balli Clare in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland. The Greatest Cheat of Seven. A great cheat married the cheating sister of Seven Cheats. One day his father-in-law and seven brothers-in-law came on a visit to his, the fish we are now eating is the one I in your presence ordered to proceed from the river to my house this forenoon. They were greatly astonished at the wonderful properties possessed by the fishing rod and expressed a desire to purchase it and offer to pay five rupees for it. He escaped their offer and they carried the wonderful fishing rod home with them. Next day they arranged to go fishing. They cast a line into a pool as they had seen the cheat do and said, My fish, if you do not repair at once to your home, we shall not be able to speak well of you. Having bathed, they returned home and asked to see the fish. Their wife said, What fish? You gave us no fish. We have seen no fish. Where do you throw it down? They now knew that their sister's husband was a cheat. So they decided to go and charge him with having deceived them. The cheat had noticed of their coming and quickly taking his dog with them went to hunt. He caught a hare and bringing it home, gave it to his wife and said, When we reach the end of the street on our way home from hunting, you make the dog stand near the house with the dead hare in his mouth. He invited his visitors to accompany him for an hour's hunting, saying, Come, let us go and kill a hare for dinner. So they went to the jungle and presently started a hare. The cheat threw a stone at his dog and frightened it so that it ran home. He called after it. If you do not catch and take that hare home, it will not be well for you. He then said to his friends, Come, let us return. We will find the dog there with the hare before us. They replied, We doubt it much. There is no mistake about it, he said. We are certain to find both dog and hare. On reaching home they found the dog standing, waiting for them with the hare in his mouth. His brothers in law were astonished beyond measure at the sagacity of the dog. And they said, Sell this dog to us. We will pay a good price for it. He demanded ten rupees, which they gladly paid. So they returned home and said nothing to him about his having cheated them in the matter of the fishing rod. One day taking the dog with them they went to hunt. It caught five hares and its masters were greatly delighted with its performance. After this the cheats house was accidentally burnt. And he, gathering the ashes together, set out for the bazaar there to sell them. On the way he fell in with a party of merchants who had a large bag full of silver with them. They inquired what his bag contained, to which he replied, Gold. They agreed to pass the night in the same encampment so having partaken of their evening meal they laid down to sleep. At midnight the merchants rose and exchanged the bags and then lay down again. The cheats saw them and chuckled within himself. In the morning the merchants made haste to leave as they feared the cheat might find out the thief of his bag. The cheat asked them before they left to help him to lift his bag onto his bullock's bag saying it was to receive assistance from you the dying camp here last night. So having helped him to load his bullock they hurried away lest they should be caught. The cheat carried his treasure home. But being unable to count so much money borrowed a measure from his father-in-law and found that he had four mons of silver. On returning the treasure he sent along with it five sears of silver saying, For the ashes of my house I received four mons of silver. If you reduce your houses to ashes and sell them you will obtain very much more. So they foolishly burnt their houses and collecting the ashes went to the bazaar to dispose of them. The merchants to whom they offered them directed them to go to the washermen saying they will possibly buy. But they also refused and they were compelled to return home without having affected a sale. They vowed vengeance on the cheat and set out to find him. When they reached his house the cheat was on the point of starting on a journey. After mutual salutations he said, I have just killed my second wife. I go to receive eight mons of silver for her corpse. Dead bodies bring high prices. They said to him, How about the ashes? We could not sell them. He replied, You did not go far enough from home. Had you gone to a distance you would have made a good bargain. The cheat's youngest wife, having died, he washed the body and anointed it with oil. He then put it in a large bag and loaded it on the back of a bullock and set out. On the way he came to a field of wheat into which he drove the animal and then hid himself nearby. The owner of the field, finding the bullock, eating his wheat, beat it unmercifully with a cudgel. The cheat then came from his hiding place and said, Have you not done wrong in beating my bullock? If you have killed my wife, where will you flee to? I fell behind and for that reason my ox got into your field. My wife, whom I have newly married, is weak and unable to go on foot. So I put her into a bag to carry her home on my bullock. Having opened the bag, the wife was found dead, and her assailant stood self-convicted of her murder. He gave her husband six moans of rippies as hush money, so the cheat burnt the corpse and returned home laden with spoil. The cheat next sent for his brothers-in-law, and showing them the money, said, Kill my second wife, and got all this money by selling the corpse. They inquired, Who are the people who buy dead bodies? He replied, They reside in the Rackus country. Then the seven brothers killed each, his youngest wife, and carried the bodies to a distant country to dispose of them. When the people of that country knew the object for which they had come, they said to them, What sort of men are you, hawking corpses about the towns and villages? You must be the worst or else most stupid of men. Hearing this, the brothers were dismayed, and began to take in the situation. They perceived that the cheat had again deceived them, and they retraced their steps homewards, bitterly lamenting their folly. On reaching their village, they cremated the remains of their wives, and from that day had no more dealings with the cheat. End of The Greatest Cheat of Seven by A. Campbell The House of Judgment by Oscar Wilde This is a LibriVox recording, all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Rob Marland The House of Judgment And there was silence in the House of Judgment, and the man came naked before God. And God opened the Book of the Life of the Man. And God said to the man, Thy life hath been evil, and thou hast shown cruelty to those who were in need of succour. And to those who lacked help, thou hast been bitter and hard of heart. The poor called to thee, and thou didst not hearken, and thine ears were closed to the cry of the afflicted. The inheritance of the fatherless, thou didst take unto thyself, and thou didst send the foxes into the vineyard of thy neighbour's field. Thou didst take the bread of the children, and give it to the dogs to eat. And the lepers who lived in the marshes, and were at peace and praised me, Thou didst drive forth unto the highways, and on mine earth, out of which I made thee, thou didst spill innocent blood. And the man made answer, and said, Even so did I. And again God opened the Book of the Life of the Man. And God said to the man, Thy life hath been evil, and thou didst seek for the seven sins. The walls of thy chamber were painted with images, and from the bed of thine abominations thou didst rise up to the sound of flutes. Thou didst build seven altars to the sins I have suffered, and didst eat of the thing that may not be eaten. And the purple of thy raiment was broided with the three signs of shame. Thine idols were neither of gold nor of silver, which endure, but of flesh, that dyeth. Thou didst stain their hair with colours, and set pomegranates in their hands. Thou didst stain their feet with perfumes, and spread carpets before them. With antimony thou didst stain their eyelids, and their bodies thou didst smear with myrrh. Thou didst bow thyself to the ground before them, and the thrones of the idols were set in the sun. Thou didst show to the sun thy shame, and to the moon thy madness. And the man made answer, and said, Even so did I. And a third time God opened the Book of the Life of the Man. And God said to the man, Evil hath been thy life, and with evil didst thou requite good, and with wrongdoing kindness. The hands that fed thee thou didst wound, and the breasts that gave thee suck, thou didst despise. He who came to thee with water went away thirsting, and the outlawed men who hid thee in their tents at night, Thou didst betray before dawn. Thine enemy who spared thee thou didst snare in an ambush, and the friend who walked with thee, Thou didst sell for a price, and to those who brought thee love, Thou didst ever give lust in thy turn. And the man made answer, and said, Even so did I. And God closed the Book of the Life of the Man, and said, Surely I shall send thee to Hell. Even unto Hell shall I send thee. And the man cried out, Thou canst not. And God said to the man, Wherefore can I not send thee to Hell, and for what reason? And the man made answer, and said, Because in Hell have I always lived. And there was silence in the house of judgment. And after a space, God spake, and said to the man, Seeing that I may not send thee to Hell, Surely I shall send thee to Heaven. Even unto Heaven shall I send thee. And the man cried out, Thou canst not. And God said to the man, Wherefore can I not send thee to Heaven, and for what reason? And the man made answer, and said, Because never and in no place have I been able to imagine Heaven. And there was silence in the house of judgment. Homecoming by Miguel Hidalgo What lasts forever? Does love? Does death? Nothing lasts forever. Not even forever. The large horse plodded slowly over the shifting sand. The rider was a medium size, with huge, strong hands and seemingly hollow eyes, strange eyes, alive and aflame. They had no place in the dusk cake-tired body, yet here they were, seeking, always seeking, searching the clear horizon and never seeming to find what they sought. The horse moved faster now, they were nearing a river. The water would be welcome on tired bodies and dry throats. He spurred his horse, and when they reached the water's edge he dismounted and unsaddled the horse. Then both man and horse plunged headlong into the waiting torrent deep into the cool embrace of the clear liquid. They soaked it into their pores and drank deeply of it, feeling life going once more through their veins. Satisfied, they lifted themselves from the water and the man lay down on the yellow sand of the riverbank to sleep. When he awoke, the sun was almost setting. The bright shaft of red light spilled across the sky, making the mountain silent scarlet shadows on the face of the rippling water. Quickly he gathered driftwood and built a small fire. From his pack he removed some of the coffee he had found in one of the ruined cities. He brought water from the river in the battered coffee pot he had salvaged. And while he waited for it to boil, he went to his horse, conqueror stroking his mane and whispering in his ear. Then he led him silently to a grassy slope where he hobbled him and left him for the night. In the fading light, he ate the hard beef jerky and drank the scolding coffee. Refreshed and momentarily content, he sat staring into the dying fire, seeing the bright glowing coals as living fingers clutching at the wood in a consuming embrace, taking all and returning nothing but ashes. Slowly his eyelids yielded. His body sagged and blood seemed to fill his brain, bathing it in a gentle warm flood. He slept. His brain slept. But the portion of his brain called memory stirred. It was all alone. All else was at rest. Images began to appear, drawn from inexhaustible files wherein are kept all thoughts, past, present and future. It was the night before he was to go overseas. World War III had been declared and he had enlisted receiving his old rank of captain. He was with his wife in the living room of their home. They had put the children to bed, their sons, and now sat on the couch watching the blazing fire. It was then that he had showed it to her. I've got something to tell you and something to show you. He had removed the box from his pocket and opened it and heard her cry of surprise joy. Oh, a ring! It's a diamond too! She cried in her rich happy voice, which always seemed to send a thrill through his body. It's for you. So long as you wear it, I'll come back. Even from the dead, if need be. Read the inscription. She held the ring up to the light and read aloud, It is forever. Then she slipped the ring onto her finger and her arms around him. He held her very close, feeling the warmth from her body flowing into his and making him oblivious to everything, except that she was there in his arms and that he was sinking deep, deep into a familiar sea where he had been many times before but each time found something new and unexplored, some vastly different emotion he could never quite explain. Wait, she cried. I've got something for you too. She took off the locket she wore about her neck and held it up to the shimmering light, letting it spin at the end of its chain. It caught the shadows of the fire and reflected them greatly magnified over the room. It was in the shape of a star, encrusted with emeralds, with one large ruby in the centre. When he opened it, he found a picture of her on one side, and in the other, a picture of the children. He took her in his arms again and loosened her long black hair, burying his face in it for a moment. Then he kissed her and instantly was drawn down into the abyss which seemed to have no beginning or any end. The next morning had been bleak and grey. The mist clung to the wet, sodden ground and the air was heavy in his lungs. He had driven off in the jeep the army had sent for him, watching her there on the porch until the mist swelled around her feet and she ran back into the house and slammed the door. His cold fingers found the locket, making a little bulge under his uniform and the touch of it seemed to warm the blood in his veins. Three days later they landed in Spain, merged with another division, then crossed the Pyrenees into France and finally to Paris where the fighting had begun. Already the city was a silent graveyard, littered with the rubble of towers and cathedrals which had once been great. Three years later they were on the road to Moscow. Over a thousand miles lay behind, a dead man on every foot of those miles, yet victory was near. The Russians had not yet used the H-Bomb, the threat of annihilation by the retaliation forces had been too great. He had done well in the war and had been decorated many times for bravery and action. Now he felt the victory that seemed to be in the air and he had wished it could come quickly so that he might return to her home. The very feel of the word was everything a battle weary soldier needed to make him fight harder and live longer. Suddenly he had become aware of a droning whooshing sound above him. It grew louder and louder until he knew what it was. Heavy bombers! The alarm had sounded and the men had headed for their foxholes but the planes had passed over, the sun glinting on their bellies, and blinding lights. They were bound for bigger, more important targets. When the all-clear had sounded the men clambered from their shelters and icy winds swept over the field bringing with it clouds that covered the sun. A strange fear had gripped him then. Across the Atlantic, over the pole, via Alaska, the great bombers flew. In the cities great and small the air raid siren sounded, high screaming noises which had jarred deep in time to die. The defending planes roared into the sky to intercept the onrushing bombers. The horrendous battle split the universe. Many bombers fell victims of fanatical suicide planes or missiles that streaked across the sky which none could escape. But too many bombers got through dropping their deadly cargo upon the helpless cities and not all the prayers or entreaties to any god had stopped their carnage. There had been the red flashes that melted buildings into molten streams and then the great triple mushroom cloud filled with the poisonous gases that the winds swept away to other cities where men had not died quickly and mercifully, but had rotted away leaving the shreds of putrid flesh behind to mark the places where they had crawled. The retaliatory forces had roared away to bomb the Russian cities few if any had returned. Too much blood and life were on their hands. Those who had remained alive had found a resting place on the crown of some distant mountain. Others had preferred the silent peaceful sea where flesh stayed not long on bones and only the darting fishes and merciful beams of filtered light found their aluminium coffins. The war had ended. To no avail, neither side had won. Most of the cities and the majority of the population of both countries had been destroyed. Even their governments had vanished from nothingness. The armies that remained were without leaders without sources of supplies save for what they could forage and beg from an unfriendly people. They were alone now, a group of tired battered men for whom life held nothing. Their families had long since died their bodies turned to dust their spirits fled on the winds to a new world. Yet these remnants of an army must return or at least try. Somehow he had managed to hold together the few men left from his force he had always nourished the hope that she might still be alive and now that the war was over he had to return, he had to know whether she was still waiting for him. They had started the long trek throughout Europe anarchy reigned he and his men were alone all they could do now was fight finally they reached the seaport city of Calais with what few men he had left he had commandeered a small yacht and they had taken to the sea after months of storms and bad luck they had been shipwrecked somewhere off the coast of Mexico he had managed to swim ashore and had been found by a fisherman's family many months he had spent swimming and fishing recovering his strength inquiring about the United States the Mexicans had spoken with fear of the land across the Rio Grande all its great cities had been destroyed and those that had only been partially destroyed were devoid of people the land across the Rio Grande had become a land of shadows the winds were poisoned and the few people who might have survived were crazed and maimed by the blasts few men had dared cross the Rio Grande into El Mundo de Gris, Noviembra the November world those who had had never returned in time he had travelled north until he reached the Rio Grande then he had waded into the muddy waters and somehow landed on the American side in the November world it was rightly called the deserts were long all the plant life had died leaving to those once great fertile stretches nothing but the sad temporal beauty that comes with death no people had he seen only the ruins of what had once been their cities he had walked through them and all that he had seen were the small mutant rodents and all that he had heard the gentle swish of the wind as it whisked along what might have been dead leaves but wasn't he had been on the trail for a long time his food was nearly exhausted the mountains were just beginning and he hoped to find food there he had not found food but his luck had been with him he had found a horse not a normal horse but a mutation it was almost twice as large as a regular horse its skin seemed to shimmer and was like glassy steel to the touch his forehead grew a horn straight out as the horn of a unicorn but most startling of all were the animals eyes which seemed to speak a silent mental speech which he could understand the horse had looked up as he approached it and seemed to say follow me and he had followed over a mountain until they came to a pass and finally to a narrow path which led to an old cabin he had found it empty but there were cans of food and many shells he had remained there a long time how long he could not tell for he could only measure time by the cycles of the sun and the moon finally he had taken the horse the rifle and what food was left and once again started the long journey home the farther north he went the more life seemed to have survived he had seen great herds of horses like his own stampeding across the plains and strange birds which he could not identify yet he had seen human beings but he knew he was closer now closer to home he recognised the land how he did not know for it was much changed a sensing perhaps of what it once been he could not be more than two days ride away once he was through the desert he would find her he would be with her once again all would be well and his long journey would be over the images faded the flow of warm blood the body and mind slept into the shadows of the dawn he awoke and stretched the cramped muscles of his body at the edge of the water he removed his clothes and stared himself in the rippling mirror his muscles were lean and hard evenly placed throughout the length of his frame a deep ridge ran down the length of his torso separating the muscles making the chest broad well satisfied with his body he plunged into the cold water until he thought his lungs would burst then swiftly returned to the clean air tingling in every paw he dried himself and dressed conqueror was eating the long grass near the stream quickly he saddled him no time for breakfast he would ride all day and the next night and he would be home still northward from the hours crawled slower than a dying man the sun was a torch that pierced his skin seeming to melt his bones into a burning stream within his body but the day at last gave way to night and the sun to the moon the torch became a white pockmark goddess with streaming hair called stars in the moonlight he had not seen the crater until he was at its very edge even then he might not have seen it had not the horse stopped suddenly the wind swirled through its vast emptiness slapping his face with dusty hands for a moment he thought he heard voices mournful murmuring voices echoing up from the misty depths he turned quickly away and did not look back night paled in today day burned in tonight there were clouds in the sky now and a gentle wind caressed the sweat from his tired body he stopped there it was there it was barely discernable through the moonlight he saw it home quickly he dismounted and ran he can now see a small light in the window they were there his breath came in hard ragged gobs at the window he peered in and as his eyes became accustomed to the inner gloom he saw how bare the room was no matter now that he was home he would build new furniture and the house would be even better than it had been before then he saw her she was sitting motionless in a straight wooden chair beside the fireplace the feeble light cast by the embers veiling her in mauve shadows he waited wondering if she were presently she stirred like a restless child in sleep then moved from the chair to the pile of wood near the hearth and replenished the fire the wood caught quickly sending up long tongues of flame and forming a bright pool of light around her his blood froze the creature illuminated by the firelight was a monster large greasy scales covered its face and arms and there was no hair on its head its gums with toothless cavities sunken mumbling mouth the eyes turned momentarily towards the window were empty of life no, no he cried soundlessly this was not his house in his delirium he had only imagined he had found it he had been searching so long he would go on searching he turned wearily away from the window when the movement of the creature beside the fire held his attention it had taken a ring from one skeleton like finger and stood turning the ring slowly as if trying to decipher some inscription inside it then he knew he had come home slowly he moved towards the door a great weakness was upon him his feet were stones reluctant to leave the earth his body was a weed shriveled by thirst he grasped the doorknob and clung to it looking up at the night sky and trying to draw strength from the wind that passed over him it was no use there was no strength only fear a kind of fear he had never known he fumbled at his throat his fingers crawling like cold worms around his neck until he found the locket and the clasp which had held it safely through endless nightmare days and nights he slipped the clasp and the locket fell into his waiting hand as one in a dream he opened it and stared at the pictures now in the dim moonlight no longer faces of those he loved but grey ghosts from the past even the ruby had lost its glow what had once been living fire was now a dull glob of darkness nothing is forever he thought as he shouted the words but only a thin sound the sound of leaves ruffled by the wind came back to him he closed the locket and fastened the clasp and hung it on the doorknob it moved slowly in the wind back and forth like a pendulum forever death is forever he could have sworn he heard the words he ran away from the house to the large horse with a horn in the centre of its forehead like a unicorn once in the saddle the spurt of strength left him his shoulders slumped his head dropped into his chest conqueror trotted away the sound of his hooves echoing hollily in the vast emptiness end of homecoming by Miguel Hidalgo recording by Andrew Gibson Sujo jellypie.co.uk forward slash audio books it snows by Enrico Castellanovo this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Nislihan Stamboli it snows the thermometer marks barely one degree above freezing the sky is covered with ominous white clouds the air is harsh and piercing what can induce Signor Oduardo at nine o'clock on such a morning to stand in his study window it is true that Signor Oduardo is a vigorous man in the prime of life but it is never wise to tempt providence by needlessly risking one's health but stay, I begin to think that I have found a clue to his conduct opposite Signor Oduardo's window is the window of the Signora Evelina and Signora Evelina has the same taste as Signor Oduardo she too is taking the air leaning against the window sill in her dressing gown upon her forehead and tossed back every now and then by a pretty movement of her head the street is so narrow that it is easy to talk across from one side to the other but in such weather as this the only two windows that stand open are those of Signora Evelina and Signor Oduardo there is no denying the fact Signora Evelina who within the last few weeks has taken up her abode across the way in a fascinating little window her hair is of spun gold her skin of milk and roses her little turned up nose though assuredly not Grecian is much more attractive than if it were she has the most dazzling teeth and the most kissable mouth her eyes are transparent as a cloudless sky and well she knows how to use them nor is this the sum total of her charms look at the soft graceful curves of her agile well proportioned figure look at her little hands and feet after all one hardly wonders that Signora Oduardo runs the risk of catching his death of cold instead of closing the window and warming himself at the stove which roars so cheerfully within it is rather that Signora Evelina that I wonder for though Signor Oduardo looking man he is close upon 40 while she is but 24 so young and already a widow poor Signora Evelina it is true that she has great strength of character with six months of elapse since her husband's death and she has resigned to it already though the deceased left her barely enough to keep body and soul together happily Signora Evelina is nothing combered with her family she is alone and independent and with those eyes, that hair that little upturned nose she ought to have no difficulty in finding a second husband in fact there is no harm in admitting that Signora Evelina has contemplated the possibility of a second marriage and that if the would be bridegroom is not in his first youth why she is prepared to make the best of it in this connection it is perhaps not uninstructive to note that Signora Eduardo is in comfortable circumstances and is himself a widower what a coincidence well then, why don't they marry? that being the customary dynamo in such cases why don't they marry? well, Signora Eduardo is still undecided if there had been any hope of a love affair I fear that his indecision would have vanished long ago herare umanumest but Signora Evelina is a woman of serious views she is insert to her husband not of a flirtation Signora Evelina is a person of great determination she knows how to turn other people's heads without letting her own be moved a jot Signora Evelina is deep deep enough, surely to gain her point if Signora Eduardo flutters about her much longer he will singe his wings things cannot go on in this way Signora Eduardo's visits are too frequent and now in addition there are the conversations from the window it is time for a decisive step to be taken and Signora Eduardo is afraid that he may find himself taking the step before he is prepared to this very day perhaps when he goes to call on the widow the door of Signora Eduardo's studies directly opposite the window in which he is standing and the opening of this door is therefore made known to him by a violent draft as he turns a sweet voice says goodbye, papatier I'm going to school goodbye, Doretta he answers stooping to kiss a pretty little maid of eight or nine and at the same instant Signora Evelina calls out from over the way good morning, Doretta Doretta who had made a little grimace on discovering her papa in conversation with his pretty neighbour makes another as she hears herself greeted and mutters reluctantly good morning then with her little basket on her arm she turns away slowly to join the maid servant was waiting for her in the hall I'm so fond of that child Signora Evelina with the sweetest inflection in her voice but she doesn't like me at all what an absurd idea Doretta is a very self-willed child Thus Signora Eduardo but in his heart of hearts he too is convinced that his little daughter has no fondness for Signora Evelina meanwhile the cold is growing more intense and every now and then a flake of snow spins around upon the wind short or wishing to be frozen stiff there is nothing for it but to shut the window it snows says Signora Evelina glancing outward it was sure to come well I must go and look after my household Au revoir, shall I see later I hope to have the pleasure Au revoir then Signora Evelina closes the window and smiles once more through the pain and disappears Signora Eduardo turns back to his study and perceiving how cold it has grown throws some wood on the fire and kneeling before the door of the stove tries to blow the embers into a blaze the flames deep up with a merry noise sending bright flashes along the walls of the room outside the flakes continue to descend at intervals perhaps after all it is not going to be a snowstorm Signora Eduardo paces up and down the room with bent head and hands thrust in his pockets he is disturbed profoundly disturbed he feels that he has reached a crisis in his life that in a few days perhaps in a few hours his future will be decided is he seriously in love with Signora Evelina how long has he known her will she be sweet and good like the other will she know how to be a mother to Doretta there is a sound of steps in the hall Signora Eduardo pauses in the middle of the room the door reopens and Doretta rushes up to her father her cheeks flushed her hood falling over her forehead her warm coat buttoned up to her chin her hands thrust into her muff it's snowing and the teacher is sent us home she tosses off her hood and coat and goes up to the stove there is a good fire but the room is cold she exclaims as a matter of fact the window having stood open for half an hour the thermometer indicates but 50 degrees Papa Doretta goes on I want to stay with you all day long today and suppose your poor daddy has affairs of his own to attend to no no no you must give them up for today and Doretta without waiting for an answer runs to fetch her books her doll and her work the books are spread out on the desk the doll is comfortably seated on the sofa and the work is laid out upon a low stool oh she cries with an air of importance what a mercy that there is no school today I should have time to go for my lesson oh look how it snows it snows indeed first the white powder fine but thick and whirled in circles by the wind beats with a dry metallic sound against the window panes then the wind drops and the flakes growing larger descend silently monotonously incessantly the snow covers the streets like a downy carpet spreads itself like a sheet over the roofs fills up the cracks in the walls eeps itself upon the windowsills envelopes the iron window bars and hangs into the stones from the gutters and eaves out of doors it must be as cold as ever but the room is growing rapidly warmer and Doretta climbing on a chair has the satisfaction of announcing that the mercury has risen 11 degrees yes dear her father replies and the clock is striking 11 too run and tell them to get breakfast ready Doretta rounds off immediately but reappears in a moment daddy daddy what do you suppose has happened the dining room still won't grow and the room is all full of smoke then let us breakfast here child this excellent suggestion is joy to the soul of Doretta who hastens to carry the news to the kitchen and then in a series of journeys back and forth from the dining room to the study transports with her own hands the knives, forks, plates, tablecloths and napkins and with the men's servants aid lays them out upon one of her papa's tables how merry she is how completely the cloud has vanished that darkened her brow a few hours earlier and how well she equates herself of her household duties Signor Eduardo watching her with a sense of satisfaction cannot resist exclaiming Bravo Doretta Doretta is undeniably the very image of her mother she too was just such an excellent housekeeper a model of order, of neatness of propriety and she was pretty like Doretta even though she did not possess the fair hair and captivating eyes of Signora Evelina the man's servant who brings in the breakfast is accompanied by a newcomer the cat Melania who is always present at Doretta's meals the cat Melania is old he has known Doretta ever since she was born and he honors her with his protection every morning he mews at her door as though to inquire if she has slept well every evening he keeps her company until at this time for her to go to bed whenever she goes out he speeds her with a gentle purr whenever he hears her come in he hurries to meet her and rubs himself against her legs in the morning and at the midday meal when she takes it at home he sits beside her chair and silently waits for the scraps from her plate Melania however is not in the habit of visiting Signora Eduardo's study and shows a certain surprise at finding himself there Signora Eduardo for his part receives his new guest with some diffidence but Doretta intervening in Melania's favor undertakes to answer for his good conduct it is long since Doretta has eaten with so much appetite when she has finished her breakfast she clears the table as deftly and promptly as she had laid him and in a few moments Signora Eduardo's study has resumed its wanted appearance only the cat Melania remains comfortably established by the stove on the understanding that he is to be left there as long as he is not troublesome the continual coming and going has made the room grow colder the mercury has dropped perceptively and Doretta to make it rise again empties nearly the whole wood basket into the stove how it snows how it snows no longer in detached flakes but is though an open work white cloth were continuously unrolled before one's eyes Signora Eduardo begins to think that it will be impossible for him to call on Signora Evelina true it is only a step but he would sink into the snow up to his knees after all it's only 12 o'clock it may stop snowing later Doretta is struck by a luminous thought what if I were to answer grandma's letter in another moment Doretta is seated at her father's desk in his armchair two cushions raising her to the requisite height her legs dangling into space in her hand and her eyes fixed upon a sheet of ruled paper containing thus far but two words Dear Grandma Signora Eduardo leaning against the stove watches his daughter with a smile it appears that at last Doretta has discovered a way of beginning her letter for she replunges the pen into the ink stand lowers her hand to the sheet of paper wrinkles her forehead and sticks out her tongue after several minutes of assiduous toil she raises her head and asks what shall I say to grandma Mar about her invitation to go and spend a few weeks with her tell her that she can't go now but that she may expect you in the spring with you papa with me yes Signora Eduardo answers mechanically yet if in the meantime he engages himself to Signora Evelina visitors mother-in-law will become rather an awkward business there I finished Doretta cries with an air of triumph but the cry is succeeded by another half of anguish half of rage what's the matter now at lot let me see you little goose what have you done you've ruined the letter now Doretta having endeavored to remove the ink spot by licking it has torn the paper oh dear I shall have to copy it out now she says in a mortified tone you can copy it this evening bring it here and let me look at it not bad not bad at all a few letters to be added and a few to be taken out but on the whole for a shit of your size it's fairly creditable good girl Doretta rests upon her lorans playing with her doll Nini in her best gown and takes her to call on the cat Milania the cat Milania who is dozing with half open eyes is somewhat bored by these attentions raising himself on his four pose he arches his flexible body and then rolls himself up into a ball turning his back upon his visitor dear me Milania is not very polite today says Doretta escorting the doll back to the sofa but you mustn't be offended he is very seldom impolite I think it must be the weather doesn't the weather make you sleepy too Nini? come let's take a nap goodbye baby goodbye Nini sleeps her head rests upon a cushion her little rag and horse hair body is wrapped in a woolen coverlet her lids are closed for Nini raises or lores her lids according to the position of her body Signor Odoardo looks at the clock and then glances out of the window it's two o'clock and the snow is still falling Doretta is struck by another idea Daddy if I know my La Fonte fable Le Corbeau et le Renard very well let's hear it Signor Odoardo essence taking the open book from the little girl's hands Doretta begins Maître Corbeau Maître Corbeau sur l'albe perche tenu en son bec un fromage Maître Maître Maître Maître Maître Renard oh yes now I remember Maître Renard par l'odeur et l'èche lui tient à peu près ce langage hey bonjour at one point Doretta seeing that her father is not listening to her breaks off her recitation Signor Odoardo has in fact closed the book upon his forefinger and is looking elsewhere well Doretta he absently inquires why don't you go on I'm not going to say any more of it she answers suddenly why you cross-perche what's the matter the little girl who had been seated on a low stool has risen to her feet and now sees why her papa has not been attending to her the snow is falling less thickly and the fair head of Signora Evelina has appeared behind the windowpains over the way brave little woman she has actually opened the window and is clearing the snare of the sill with a fire shovel her eyes meet Signor Odoardo she smiles and shakes her head as Doretta say what hateful weather he would be an ill-mannered boar who should not feel compelled to say a word to the don't of Signora Evelina Signor Odoardo who is not an ill-mannered boar yields to the temptation of opening the window for a moment bravo Signora Evelina I see you're not afraid of the snow ah Signor Odoardo what fear in the sweater but if I'm not mistaken there is Doretta with you how do you do Doretta Doretta come here and say how do you do to the lady no no no let her be let her be children catch cold so easily you'd better shut the window I suppose there is no hope of seeing you today look at the condition of the streets oh you man you man the stronger sex but no matter au revoir two windows are closed simultaneously but this time Signora Evelina does not disappear she's sitting there close to the window and it snows so lightly now that her wonderful profile is outlined as clearly as possible against the pain good heavens how beautiful she is Signor Odoardo walks up and down the room in the worst of humours he feels that it is wrong not to go and see the fascinating window and that to go and see her would be still more wrong the cloud has settled again upon Doretta's forehead the same cloud that darkened it in the morning not a word is said of La Fontaine's fable instead Signor Odoardo grumbles irritably this blessed room is as cold as ever why shouldn't it be Doretta retorts with a touch of asparity when you open the window every few minutes aha Signor Odoardo says to himself it's time to have this matter out and going up to Doretta he takes her by the hand leads her to the sofa and lifts her on his knee now then Doretta why is it that you're so disagreeable to Signora Evelina the little girl not knowing what to answer grows red and embarrassed what has Signora Evelina done to you her father continues she hasn't done anything to me and yet you don't like her profound silence and she likes you so much I don't care if she does you naughty child and what if one of these days you had to live with Signora Evelina I won't live with her I won't live with her the child bursts out now you're talking foolishly Signor Odoardo admonishes her in a severe tone sitting her down from his knee she bursts into passionate weeping come Doretta come is this the way you keep your daddy company enough of this Doretta but say what he pleases Doretta must have her cry her brown eyes are swimming in tears her little breast heaths her voice is broken by psalms what ridiculous weather is this what ridiculous whims Signor Odoardo exclaims throwing his head back against the sofa cushions Signor Odoardo is unjust and what is worse he does not believe what he's saying he knows that this is no whim of Doretta's he knows it better than the child herself who would probably find it difficult to explain what she's undergoing it is at once the presentiment of a new danger and the renewal of a bygone sorrow Doretta was barely six years old when her mother died and yet her remembrance is indebtably impressed upon the child's mind and now it seems as though her mother were dying again when you have finished crying Doretta you may come here Signor Odoardo says Doretta crouching in a corner of the room cries less vehemently but is not yet finished crying just like the weather outside it snows less heavily but it still snows Signor Odoardo covers his eyes with his hand how many thoughts are thronging through his head how many affections are contending in his heart if he could but banish the vision of Signora Evelina but he tries in vain he's haunted by those blue eyes by that persuasive smile that graceful and harmonious presence he has what to say the word and he knows that she will be his to brighten his solitary home and fill it with life and love her presence would take ten years from his age he would feel as he did when he was betrayed for the first time and yet no it would not be quite like the first time he's not the same man that he was then and she the other how different she was from the Signora Evelina how modest and shy she was how girlishly reserved even in the expression of her love how beautiful were her sudden blushes how sweet the droop of her long shyly lowered lashes he had known her first in the intimacy of her own home simple, shy a good daughter and a good sister as she was destined to be a good wife and mother for a while he had loved her in silence and she had returned his love one day walking beside her in the garden he had seized her hand with sudden impetuosity and raising it to his lips had said I care for you so much and she pale and trembling had run to her mother's arms crying out oh how happy I am ah those dear days those dear days he was a part then with the accent of sincerest passion he whispered in his love's ear I love thee more than all the world beside my only faith and hope thou art my God, my country and my bride soul love of this unchanging heart very bad portrait but deliciously thrilling to his young betrothed oh the dear dear days oh the long hours that pass like a flash and delightful talk the secrets that the soul first reveals to itself in revealing them to the beloved the caresses longed for and yet half veered the lovers quarrels the tears that are kissed away the shynesses, the simplicity the abandonment of a pure and passionate love who may hope to know you twice in a lifetime no, Signora Velina can never restore what he has lost to Signora Duardo no, the self-possessed widow who after six months of mourning has already started on the hunt for a second husband cannot inspire him with the fate that he felt in the other ah first loved women why is it that you must die for the dead give no kisses no caresses and the living long to be caressed and kissed who talks of kisses here is one that has a lit all soft and warm on Signora Duardo's lips rousing him with a start ah is it you Doretta it is Doretta who says nothing but who is longing to make it up with her daddy as her cheek against his he presses her little head close lest she should escape from him he too is silent what can he say to her it is growing dark and the eyes of the cat Melania begin to glitter in the corner by the stain the mansor but knocks and asks if he is to bring the lamp make up the fire first Signora Duardo says the wood crackles and snaps and sends up showers and sparks then it bursts into flame blazing away with a regular monotonous sound like the breath of a sleeping giant in the dusk the firelight flashes upon the walls brings out the pattern of the wallpaper and travels far enough to eliminate a corner of the desk the shadows lengthen and then shorten again thicken and then shrink everything in the room seems to be continually changing its size and shape Signora Duardo giving free reign to his thoughts evokes the vision of his married life sees the baby's cradle recalls her first cries and smiles feels again his dying wife's last kiss and hears the last word upon her lips doretta now it is impossible that he should ever do anything to make his doretta unhappy and yet he is not sure of resisting Signora Evelina's wiles he is almost afraid that when he sees his enchantress on the morrow all his strong resolve may take flight there is but one way out of it doretta says Signora Duardo tada are you going to copy out your letter to your grandmama this evening yes father wouldn't you rather go and see by yourself with whom? the child falters anxiously her little heart beating a frantic tattoo as she awaits his answer with me doretta with you daddy she exclaims hardly daring to believe her ears yes with me with your daddy oh daddy daddy she cries her little arms about his neck her kisses covering his face my dear daddy where shall we start tomorrow morning if you're not afraid of the snow why not now? gently gently good lord doesn't the child want her dinner first and Signora Duardo gently detaching himself from his daughters embrace rises and rings for the lamb then instinctively he glances once more towards the window in the opposite house dark and Signora Evelina's profile is no longer outlined against the pain the weather is still threatening and now and then a snowflake falls the servant closes the shutters and draws the curtains so that no profane gaze may penetrate into the domestic sanctuary we had better dine in here Signora Duardo says the dining room must be as cold as Greenland doretta meanwhile is convulsing the kitchen with the noisy announcement of the impending journey at first she's thought to be joking but when she establishes the fact that she's speaking seriously it is respectfully pointed out to her that the master of the house must be crazy to start on a journey in the depth of winter and in such weather if at least they were to wait for a fine day but what does Doretta care for the comments of the kitchen when she talks to herself with joy she sings, she dances about the room and breaks of every moment or two to give her father a kiss then she pours out the fullness of her emotion upon the cat Milania and the doll Nini promising the latter to bring her back a new frog from Milan at dinner she eats little and talks incessantly of the journey asking again and again what time it is and at what time they are to start are you afraid of missing the train Senior Odoardo asks with a smile and yet though he dissembles his impatience it is as great as hers he longs to go away far away perhaps he may not return until spring he orders his luggage packed for an absence of two months Doretta goes to bed early but all night long she tosses about under the bedclothes waking her nurse twenty times to ask is it time to get up Senior Odoardo too is awake when the man-servant comes to call him the next morning at six o'clock what sort of a day is it very bad sir just such another as yesterday in fact if I might make the suggestion sir if it's not necessary for you to start today it is Angelo absolutely necessary at this station there are only a few sleepy depressed looking travellers wrapped in furs thinking about the weather about the cold about the earlyness of the hour and declaring that nothing but the most urgent business would have got them out of bed at that time of day there is but one person in the station who is all liveliness and smiles Doretta the first class compartment in which Senior Odoardo and his daughter find themselves is bitterly cold in spite of foot warmers but Doretta finds the temperature delicious and if she did would open the windows for the pleasure of looking out are you happy Doretta so happy ten years earlier on a pleasant day but also in winter Senior Odoardo had started on his wedding journey opposite him had set a young girl who looked as much like Doretta as a woman can look like a child a pretty sedate young girl so sweetly in love with Senior Odoardo and as the train started he had asked her the same question are you happy Maria and she had answered oh so happy just like Doretta the train races and flies farewell farewell forever Senior Avelina and did Senior Avelina die of despair oh no Senior Avelina has a perfect disposition and a delightful home the perfect disposition enables her not to take things too seriously the delightful home affords her a thousand distractions its windows do not all look towards Senior Odoardo's residence one of them for example commands a little garden belonging to a worthy bachelor who smokes his pipe there on pleasant days Senior Avelina finds the worthy bachelor to her taste and the worthy bachelor who is an average adjuster by profession admires Senior Avelina's eyes and considers her handsomely and solidly enough put together to rank A number one on Lloyd's registers the result is that the bachelor now and then looks up at the window and the Senior Avelina now and then looks down at the garden the weather is getting propitious to out of door conversation Senior Avelina at length invites her neighbour to come and pay her a visit her neighbour hesitates and she renews the invitation how can one resist such a charming woman and what does one visit signify nothing at all the excellent average adjuster has every reason to be pleased with his reception the more so as Senior Avelina actually gives him leave to bring his pipe the next time he comes she adores the smell of a pipe Senior Avelina is an ideal woman just a wife for a businessman who had not positively made up his mind to remain single and after that uses the average adjuster have I ever positively made up my mind to remain single and if I have who is to prevent my changing it and so it comes to pass that when after an absence of three months Senior Oduardo returns home with Doretta he receives notice of the approaching marriage of Senior Avelina Cioci widow Ramboldi with Senior Archimede Fajolo Fajolo shouts Doretta Fajolo the name seems to excite her unbounded hilarity but I'm under the impression that the real cause of her measurement is not so much Senior Avelina's husband as Senior Avelina's marriage and of it's snows by Enrico Castelnovo recording by Neslihan Stamboli Little China Doll by Abby Phillips Walker this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Chad Horner from Liverpool Little China Doll in a shop window sat a little China Doll she had been in the store so long she could not remember ever living in any other place long, long ago there were other China Dolls but one by one some little girl had carried them away and she was left alone China Doll had black painted hair big staring eyes and her lips and cheeks were very red her body was filled with sawdust and her hands and arms to the elbow were China as were her feet and legs to your knees by and by wax dolls came to the store they had real hair all curls and eyes that would open and close and per China Doll was set back in the window and after a while she was put in a box on the shelf and taken out only once a year at Christmas time when she was dusted and put in the window again she felt very lonely with so many stylish wax dolls and as she had given up hope of ever being chosen by any little girl she was glad when the little old lady who kept the store put her back in the box on the shelf at last there came a time when the children no longer came to the store but went to the big city for their toys and China Doll and the little old storekeeper grew old together China Doll sat in the window all the time now with tape and thread and other useful things but was the only thing little folk could want one day in summer a tally hoe stopped in front of the store and a party of young people came in they bought a number of things and filled the old store with their laughter suddenly the prettiest girl reached into the window and took out China Doll oh you dear quaint little doll my grandmother has won just like this girls and I have asked her many times to give it to me to make a French pink cushion but she will not let me have it oh how China Doll's heart beat could it be true that she was going at last? yes the pretty girl bought her and took her away on the tally hoe the next day she dressed China Doll in the prettiest silk dress such a one as she had dreamed of years ago with an over-skirt um, pearled sleeves then she made her the dearest puke trimmed with little roses she also made her a pair of kid boots when China Doll was all dressed the pretty girl put a ribbon over her arm and on each end was a little band box then she stood China Doll on her dressing table and used the little boxes for pink cushions and there China Doll lived a very happy life which teaches that all things come to those who wait end of Little China Doll by Abby Phillips Walker the milk maid and her bucket from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Beers this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Dale Grossman the milk maid and her bucket by Ambrose Beers a senator fell to musing as follows with the money which I shall get for my vote in favor of the bill to subsidize cat wrenches I can buy a kit of burglar's tools and open a bank the profit of that enterprise will enable me to obtain a long, low, black schooner raise a death's head flag and engage in commerce on the high seas from my gains in that business I can pay for the presidency which at 50,000 a year will give me in four years but he took him so long to make the calculation that the bill for subsidizing cat wrenches passed without his vote and he was compelled to return to his constituents an honest man tormented with a clean conscience the end of the milk maid and her bucket by Ambrose Beers The Poppies by Abbey Phillips Walker this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Liam Cox a long distance from here in a far eastern country there once lived a very rich king all kings are not rich you know, but this one was and his jewel was the most beautiful ever seen but this king dearly loved all the good things of this world and gave feasts and dances that lasted for days without anyone sleeping of course he could not lead such a life as that and have good health and at last there came a time when the king could not sleep at last he offered a reward to anyone who could put him to sleep to how it was accomplished he said to the one who could do this he would give half his kingdom the poor king was the subject of many experiments and when he had almost given up hope of ever sleeping again there came a strange looking man to the gate of the castle he wore a turban and a long flowing robe of white and wore around his neck many chains and strings of queer looking beads I can make the king sleep he said but I must be allowed to have the grounds of the castle to myself and the king must obey me in every way the king was ready to do anything and so the strange looking man began his work but before he would do anything for the king he insisted upon having half the kingdom given into his hands and when this was done he set to work no one was allowed to be near him and the king was left alone in the castle with him one morning not long after the king saw what looked to be a sea of green all around the castle but it really was a bed of green leaves and soon there appeared white flowers among the leaves and then the strange man told the king to walk among them soon the king felt a drowsy feeling stealing over him and he sat down in the midst of the sea of green and in a few minutes he was sound asleep then the strange man began to repeat something in a sing song tone and wave his hands over the sleeping king he walked among the leaves and flowers repeating his queer rhyme and the leaves and flowers grew taller and taller until the king could not be seen and the man moved away still chanting poppy, poppy flower of sleep your drowsy spell around him keep for I can all his kingdom take if you do not let him wake the poppies grew until they reached the top of the castle and everyone who went near to look for the king fell under the spell of their strange power until the people gave it up and the strange man became king he built a new castle and the old one was forgotten all went well with the new king until a young man called at his castle and asked him about the old king and the servants told him how the strange flowers had grown around the castle and no one could go near and that everyone thought that the old king was dead the new king when he heard that the stranger was asking the old king had him driven from the castle tell your master said the stranger to the servants that he will hear from me again the stranger went into the woods where they lived an old witch and at midnight they came out and went to the castle among the strange flowers the witch held her hands high over her head and waved them up and down saying all the time poppy, poppy, sleepy flower now I have you in my power I would have you sure to grow until the sleep in one you show down came the tall flowers and bushes until the young man cried out here he is and then the flowers ceased to grow small the witch knelt beside the sleeping king and whispered in his ear awake good king it is break of day and drive the false king far away the king opened his eyes and looked at the witch and the young man beside her what has happened he asked I will leave you to tell him said the witch the sun is up and I must go when you offered to give half your kingdom to the one who could make you sleep said the young man I set out for your castle with a box which contained a strange flower which had the power to make people sleep but it had to be used with the greatest care and I alone knew the secret of using it for it was given to my grandmother by an old witch doctor before I could reach you I was overtaken by a band of robbers and the box stolen they made me tell what I intended doing with the flower on pain of death but I did not tell the whole secret then they put me in a cave and rolled a stone in front of it too heavy for me to move and left I was almost dead from starvation when I was found by some peasants who nursed me until I was well enough to travel when I hurried here only to find that one of the band of robbers had taken your whole kingdom after putting you to sleep with the charmed flower he drove me from the castle when he heard that I was asking for you and if it had not been for the witch who lives in the wood I should not have been able to awaken you she knew the secret flower to my grandmother when the king heard the strange story he hurried with the young man to the castle where the robber king lived he was asleep when they arrived and the servants who did not like their new master ran out to meet the old king and when they heard what had happened they went back to the castle and bound the robber while he slept and when he woke he was so frightened that he promised to tell where the rest of his band could be found if they would spare his life this they promised to do and the country was rid of these bad men for they were put on a ship and made to work the rest of their lives the king was so grateful to the young man who rescued him that he made him his heir and when the king died he left him his kingdom end of The Poppies by Abbey Phillips Walker recording by Liam Cox 9 Unlikely Tales by E. Nesbitt this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lola Janie the prince two mice and some kitchen maids when the prince was born the queen said to the king my dear very very careful about the invitations you know what fairies are they always come to the christening whether you invite them or not and if you forget to invite one of them she always makes herself so terribly unpleasant my love said the king I will invite them all and he took out his diamond-pointed pen and wrote out the cards on the spot but just then a howl came in to bring news of war so the king had to go off in a hurry the invitations were sent out but the christening had to be put off for a year at the end of this time the king had subdued all his enemies so he was very pleased with himself the prince was a year old and he also was pleased with himself as all good babies are and found the little royal fingers and toes a fresh and ever delightful mystery and the queen was pleased with herself as all good mothers should be so everything went merrily the palace was hung with cloth of silver and strewn with fresh daisies in honor of the great day and after all had eaten and drunk to their hearts content the fairies came near with the gifts they had brought to their godson the prince he shall have beauty said the first and wit said the second and a pretty sweetheart said the third who loves him said the fourth and so they went on foretelling for him all sorts of happy and desirable things and as each fairy gave her gift she stooped and kissed the baby prince and then spreading her fine gossamer gauze wings fluttered away across the rosy garden the crowd of fairies grew less and less only three left when the queen pulled the king's sleeve and whispered my dear where's malibola I sent her a card said the king casting an anxious look round him then it must have been lost on the way said the queen or she'd have been here she is here said a low voice in the queen's ear suddenly the room grew dark grey clouds hid the sun and all the daisies on the floor shut up quite close the poor queen gave a start and a scream and the king brave as he was turned pale for malibola was a terrible fairy and the dress she wore was not at all the things for a christening it was made of spider's webs matted together dark and dank with the damp of the tomb and the dust of dungeons were the wings of a great bat spiders and newts called around her neck a serpent coiled about her waist and little snakes twisted and writhed in her straight black hair she looked at the queen so terribly that the poor mother majesty cried out without meaning to oh don't she cried and flung both arms around the cradle the prince was quite happy playing with his new coral and bells and looking at the palace cat who sat at the foot of the cradle washing herself now listen said malibola still speaking in the low even voice that was so terrible you did not invite me to the christening I've read my fairy tales and I know was expected of a fairy who is left out on occasion like this I intend to curse your son then all the kings and queens who had come to the christening wish they had stayed away and they and all the courts fell on their knees and begged malibola for mercy as for the three good fairies who were left they hid behind the window curtains and the court ladies peeping between their fingers said fancy deserting their godson like this how unfair like but the queen the king only wept and the prince played with his little rattle and looked at the cat then malibola said mockingly great king and mighty sovereign malibola was not good enough to be asked to your tea party but your family shall come down in the world your son shall marry a kitchen maid and marry a lady with four feet and no hands the giver of horror ran through the room and malibola vanished then suddenly the son came out and people lifted up their heads and dared again to look at each other and the daisies too opened their eyes again then the good fairies came out from behind the window curtains and the poor queen fell on her knees before them can't you do anything she asked do what she says and make it untrue not even a fairy can make a true thing untrue said the good fairies sadly malibola's words will come true but the prince has already many gifts and our gifts are yet to give and these you shall choose whatever you wish shall be his then the king recovering a little from the terror into which the fairy malibola had thrown him and remembering how well he and his royal line had always born them in battle said at once let the boy be brave he is brave said one of the good fairies he fears nothing and at this the prince ceased to feel any fear of the palace cat he put out his hand and pulled her tail so merrily that pussy turned and clawed the little arm all dear cried his mother he is fearless as you say I wish he were afraid of cats poor darling he is said the second fairy you have your wish and indeed the prince screamed and hid his face and shrank from the palace cat with such horror that the king pulled out his pencil and notebook and wrote an edict then and there vanishing all cats from his dominions but all the same he was very angry your majesty has wasted one wish he said very politely to the queen let us now leave the last gift in the hands of the last fairy the last fairy came and kissed the prince who was now sobbing sleepily he shall be happy he shall have his heart's desire then she too vanished and the kings and queens took their leave when their gold coaches came for them and presently the king and queen were left alone with the silver hangings and the strewn daisies and baby oh dear oh dear said the queen this is dreadful a kitchen maid and a lady with four feet and no hands at least we are not likely to have a kitchen maid with less than two hands said the king we might arrange only to have two old kitchen maids said the queen timidly the very thing the king answered that would make the love affair all that one could wish but there's still the marriage of course he'll marry the lady he loves it's not the way of the world said the king at any rate let's hope he'll love the lady he marries otherwise otherwise what said the queen we know nothing about otherwise doing my queen catching her round the ways and in his love for his wife and his son the king felt almost happy again for here they were all three together and when your son is in his cradle his marriage seems very far off indeed but the queen was anxious and frightened and while the prince was still a child she sent messages to the court of all the neighboring kings and queens to tell them what had been foretold which indeed most of them knew already having been at the christening and she begged such of them as had daughters to send them as kitchen maids that so the prince might at least fall in love with a real princess and as the prince grew up he was so handsome and so brave fearing nothing but cats which of course he never saw though he dreamed of them often and woke up screaming and also so brilliant and good that his father's kingdom being beyond compare the finest in all the world the young daughters of kings vied with each other as to who should find favor in the eyes of the queen mother and so get leave to serve in the kitchen each nursing the hope that someday the prince would see her and love her and perhaps even marry her and he was very good with all the noble kitchen maids none of them till one day he saw at a window of the tower where the kitchen was a bright face and bright hair tied round with a scarlet kerchief and as he looked at the face it was withdrawn but the prince had lost his heart he kept his secrets safe in the place where his heart had been and schemed and plotted to see this fair lady again for when he went among the royal kitchen maids he was not there with them and he looked morning, noon and evening but he never could see her so then he said I must watch on nights perhaps she's kept in prison in the tower above the kitchen and at night those who watch her may sleep and so I shall be able to talk to her so he dressed in dark clothes and hid in the shadow of the palace courtyard and watched all one night and he saw nothing but in the early morning when the setting moon and the rising sun were mixing their lights in the sky he heard a heavy bolt shot back and the door of the kitchen tower opened slowly the prince crouched behind the butters and watched and he saw the fair maid with the bright hair under the red kerchief she swept the doorstep and she drew water from the well in the middle of the courtyard she went back to the kitchen window and saw her light the fire and wash the dishes and make all neat and clean within and the prince's eyes followed her in all she did and the more he looked at her the more he loved her and at last he heard sounds as of folks stirring above so he crept away keeping close to the wall and so back to his own rooms and this he did again and on the next and on the third morning as he stood looking through the window at the girl with the bright hair and the bright kerchief the gold chains he wore clinked against the stone of the window sill the maid started and the bowl she held dropped on the brick floor of the kitchen and broke in twenty pieces and then in there she sat down on the floor beside it and began to cry bitterly the prince ran in and knelt beside her don't cry dear he said I'll get you another bowl it isn't that she sobbed but now they'll send me away who will? the noble kitchen maids they keep me to do the work because being king's daughters they don't know how to do anything but the queen doesn't know there's a real kitchen maid here and now you have found out they will send me away and she went on crying then you are a real kitchen maid the noble at all said the prince she stopped crying for a minute to say no never mind said the prince you are twice as pretty as all the king's daughters put together and twenty times as dear at that she stopped crying for good and all and looked up at him from the floor where she sat yes you are he said and I love you with all my heart and with that he caught her and the real kitchen maid laid her face against his and her heart beat wildly for she knew what the prince did not and what indeed all the folks knew except the prince that this had been foretold at his christening but she knew also that though he loved her he was not to marry her since it was dreadful destiny to marry someone with four feet and no hands I wish I had no hands and four feet to myself I wouldn't mind a bit since it's me he loves what are you saying asked the prince I'm saying that you must go she said if their kitchen highnesses find you here with me they'll tear me into little pieces for they all love you to a highness and you he whispered how much do you love me oh she answered I love you better than my right hand and my left and the prince thought that a very strange answer he went through that day in a happy dream but he did not tell his dream to anyone lest some harm should come to the real kitchen maid for he meant to marry her and he had a feeling that his parents would not approve of the match now that night when the whole palace was asleep the real kitchen maid got up and crept out past the sleepy sentinel and went home to her father the farmer and got one of his great white cart horses and rode away through the woods to the cavern where the great white rat sits sleeplessly guarding the magic cat's eye and everyone wondered why he guarded it so carefully for it seemed to have no great value but the great white rat watched it constantly without ever closing one of those round bright rat eyes of his and when folks sought to lay hands on it he said be careful as a power to change you into a mouse on which folks dropped it hastily and went their ways leaving him still on guard to him now went the little kitchen maid and asked for help for he was thousands of years old and had more wisdom between his nose and ears than all the books in the world she told him all that had happened now what shall I do she said and the great white rat never leaving his eyes from the magic cat's eye answered keep your own counsel and be contented the prince loves you but said the real kitchen maid he's not to marry me but a horrible creature with four feet and no hands keep your secret and be content the great white rat repeated and if ever you see him in danger from a lady with four feet and no hands come straight to me the kitchen maid went back to the palace and set to work to clean pots and pans for now it was bright and dewy daylight and the night had gone and before the rest were awake again her prince came to her and vowed he loved her more than life so she kept her secret and was content at the time of the prince's christening the king had banished all cats from the kingdom because he could not bear to see his son show fear of anything but now and then strangers not knowing of the edict brought cats to that country and if the prince saw one of these cats he was taken with a trembling and a paleness standing like stone a while and presently with shrieks of terror fleeing the spot and it was now a long time since he had seen a cat now soon after the prince had found out how he loved the real kitchen maid his father and mother died suddenly as they were sitting hand in hand for they loved each other so much that it was not possible for either to stay here without the other so then the prince wept bitterly and would not be comforted and the court stood about him with a long face wearing its new morning and as he sat there with his face hidden something came through the palace gate and up the marble stairs and into the great hall where the prince sat on the steps of his father's throne weeping for the quarter years to draw a breath or decide whether it was court etiquette for them to do anything while the prince was crying except to stand still and look sad the creature came up to the prince and began to rub itself against his arm and he still hiding his face reached out his hand and stroked it then all the court drew a deep breath for they saw that the thing that had come in was a great black cat and the prince raised his eyes and they looked to see him shrink and shrink but instead he passed his hand over the black fur and said poor pussy then and at these words the whole court fled by window and door the courtiers took course those who had carriages went away in them and those who had none went on foot and in less than a minute the prince and the cat were left alone together for the court was learned in witch law and knowing the prince's horror of cat saw it at once that a cat he was not afraid of was no cat at all but a witch in that shape therefore the courtiers and the whole royal household fled trembling and hid themselves all but the little real kitchen maid she saw with terror that the cat or rather the witch in cat shape had done what else could do roused the prince from his dull dream of grief and then she remembered the fate which Malavola had foretold for him that he should marry a lady with four feet and no hands a lack of day she cried this witch has four feet and no hands but she can have hands whenever she chooses and be a woman by her magic arts as easily as she can be a cat and then he will love her and what will become of me or worse she may marry him only to torment him she may shut him up in some enchanted dungeon far from the light of day such things have happened before now so she stood hidden by the blue auras and wrung her hands and the tears ran down her cheeks and all the time the black cat purred to the prince and the prince stroked the black cat and anyone could have seen that he was every moment becoming more deeply bewitched and still the real kitchen made crouched behind the auras and her heart ached that it knew no way to save him then suddenly she remembered the words of the great white rat if you ever see him in danger from a lady with four feet and no hands come straight to me now surely was the time for the prince she knew in desperate danger the real kitchen made crack silently down the marble stairs but once she was out of the palace she ran like the wind to the stable no men were about there all had followed the example of the court and had run away when they heard of the strange coming of the witch cat and all of the many horses that had stood in the stable only one remained for each man in his fright a horse that came to hand and ridden off on it and the one that still stayed there was the prince's own black charger he had had no mind to be saddled in haste by a stranger and had turned and bitten the stranger who had attempted it so he was there alone now the little kitchen made lifted the prince's gold broiled saddle from his perch and the weight of it was such that she could not have carried it out of her love to the prince in his danger and that made all else seem light she put the saddle on the charger and the jeweled bridle and he knade with pleasure for he understood being a horse who could see as far into a stone wall as most people and when he was saddled he knelt for her to mount and then up and away like the wind and she had no need to guide him with the reins for he found the way he kept it he galloped steadily on and the sun went down and the night grew dark and he went on and on and on without stumble or pause till at moonrise he halted before the house of the great white rat then as the real kitchen made sprang down the great white rat came out from his house and spoke you've come for it then he guarded it some thousands of years I knew there would be a use for it at last he may be saved yet if someone should love him well enough to die for him I'll do that said the little kitchen made and took the cat's eye in her hand swallow it said the white rat and you'll turn into a mouse the little maid swallowed it at once and behold she was a little mouse what am I to do she asked I'll tell you said the great white rat but love will tell you so the little kitchen made in the form of the mouse ran up one of the horse's legs and held tight onto the saddle with all her little claws as the great horse galloped back towards the palace in the moonlight she thought and thought and at last she said to herself the witch is in cat's shape and she must have cat nature so she will run after a mouse she will run after me and if I can lead her to a running stream she will leap across it and then she will have to take her own shape again that must be what the great white rat meant me to do and if the cat cactus me well at least if I can't save my prince I can die for him and the thought warmed her heart as the great horse thundered on through the dawn light when at last creeping softly on little noiseless feet the kitchen made re-entered the great hall she saw that she was only just in time for the black cat was purring and looking back at the prince as she walked waving her black tail towards the further door of the hall and the prince more be which than ever was slowly following her then the real kitchen made mouse uttered a squeak and rushed across the porphyry floor and the black cat true to its cat nature left purring at the prince and sprang after the mouse and the mouse at its best speed made for the garden where ran the stream that fed the marble basins where the royal goldfish lived the prince understood nothing save that the enchanting black furry creature was leaving him and in an instant he was alone he followed to the door and saw the cat springing along the passage down the stairs followed fast then along another passage that passed the foot of the back stairs and he saw that the back stairs were like a waterfall water was running down in a torrent and meandering away down the brick passage and out into the faint new sunshine when the mouse saw this stream she thought I'm saved she never thought of wondering how a stream came to be running down the back stairs of the palace when she came to think of it afterwards she always believed that the great white rat had managed it somehow she never knew that it was really a great flood from the royal bathroom where the royal housemaid in her eagerness to run away from the witch had left all the royal bath taps full on the mouse bounded across the stream the cat saw the danger but she could not stop herself she too crossed the stream and as she crossed it she turned into the wicked fairy malevola cobwebs, snakes, and newts and bat wings and all the prince put his hand to his head like one awakening from sleep and the horrible fairy vanished suddenly and forever then the mouse ran trembling to the prince and in its thin little mouse's voice told him all my love and my lady he said holding the mouse against his cheek I will marry you now that will carry out the wicked fairy's prophecy then we will go back to the great white rat and you shall be changed into a princess so the prince rang the church bells till all the people came out of their holes where they had been hiding to see the strange spectacle of a prince married to a mouse and directly they were married they set off on the black charger and when they reached the great white rat they told their tale and now, said the prince joyously, if you will change her into a lady again we will go home at once and begin living happily ever after the great white rat looked at them gravely it's impossible he said I am sorry but the effects of the magic cat's eyes are permanent once a mouse always a mouse if you get mouse by the magic cat's eye the prince and the mouse look sadly at each other this was the last thing they had expected the great white rat looked at them earnestly then he said if it would be of any use to you I've got another magic cat's eye he held it out the prince took it gladly kingdom and the life of a king were nothing to him compare with the love and happiness of a real kitchen maid as a mouse he put the stone to his lips you know what will happen if you do said the great white rat I'll change into a mouse and live happily ever after said the prince gaily perhaps said the great white rat nothing is impossible if people love each other enough you mustn't cry the mouse trying to get between his lips and the cat's eye my dear little real kitchen maid said the prince tenderly you have saved my life and you are my life I would rather be a mouse with you than a king without you and with that he swallowed the cat's eye and two small mice stood side by side before the great white rat very kindly he looked at them then he pulled a hair from his left whisker and laid it across their little brown bags and on the instant there stood up a prince and the princess and at their feet laid the little empty mouse skins so the prince and his bride returned to the palace and lived happily ever after they were as happy as if they had been mice which in a country where there are no cats is saying a good deal of course the prince is still afraid of cats but the curious thing is that now his wife is afraid of them too perhaps she'd learned that lesson when she was a mouse for his sake when he was a mouse for hers learned this lesson which is also the moral of this story nothing is impossible if people only love each other enough end of the prince two mice and some kitchen maids recorded by Lola