 Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm. 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 Brian Johnson, a.k.a. Joe Cooning. Email at JoeCooning at gmail.com. Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm. There once was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter, and one day, having to go speak with the king, he said in order to make himself appear of consequence that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. The king was very fond of gold, and thought to himself, that is an art that would please me very well. And so he said to the miller, if your daughter is so clever, bring her to the castle in the morning, and I will put her to the proof. As soon as she arrived, the king led her into a chamber which was full of straw, and giving her a wheel and a reel, he said, now set yourself to work, and if you have not spun this straw into gold by an early hour tomorrow, you must die. With these words he shut the room door, and left the maiden alone. There she sat for a long time, thinking how to save her life, for she understood nothing of the art, whereby straw might be spun into gold. And her perplexity increased more and more, to the last she began to weep. All at once the door opened and instept a little man who said, Good evening, fair maiden, why do you weep so sore? Ah, she replied, I must spin this straw into gold, and I am sure I do not know how. The little man asked, will you give me something if I spin it for you? My necklace, said the maiden. The dwarf took it, placed himself in front of the wheel, and whir, whir, whir three times around, and the bobbin was full. Then he set up another, and whir, whir, whir thrice round again, and the second bobbin was full. And he went all night long, until all the straw was spun, and the bobbins were full of gold. At sunrise the king came, very much astonished to see the gold, the sight of which gladdened him, but he did not make his heart less covetous. He caused the maiden to be led into another room, still larger, full of straw, then he made her spin it into gold during the night if she valued her life. The maiden was again quite at loss what to do. But while she cried the door open suddenly as before in the dwarf appeared and asked her what she would give him in return for his assistance. The ring of my finger, she replied. The little man took the ring and began to spin at once, and by morning all the straw had changed to glistening gold. The king was rejoiced above the measure at the sight of this, but he still was not satisfied. But, leading the maiden into another still larger room, full of straw as the others, he said, This you will spin during the night, but if you accomplish it you shall be my bride. For, thought he to himself, a richer wife thou canst not have in all the world. When the maiden was left alone the dwarf again appeared and asked for the third time, What will you give me to do this for you? I have nothing left that I can give you, replied the maiden, Then promise me your firstborn child if you become queen, said he. The miller's daughter thought, Who can tell if that will ever happen? An ignorant how else to help herself out of her trouble, she promised the dwarf what he desired, and he immediately set about and finished the spinning. The morning came and the king found all he had wished for done. He celebrated his wedding and the miller's daughter became the queen. The gay time she had at the king's court caused her to forget that she had made a very foolish promise. About a year after the marriage when she had ceased to think about the little dwarf she brought a fine child into the world and suddenly, soon after its birth, the very man appeared and demanded what she had promised. The frightened queen offered him all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her her child. But the dwarf answered, No, something human is dearer to me than all the wealth in the world. The queen began to weep and groan so much that the dwarf pitied her and said, I will leave you three days to consider. If you in that time discover my name you shall keep your child. All night long the queen racked her brains for all the names she could think of and sent a message through the country to collect far and wide any new names. The following morning came the dwarf and she began with Casper, Melkor, Balthasar and all the odd names she knew. But at each the little man explained, That is not my name. The second day the queen inquired of all her people for uncommon and curious names and called the dwarf Ribs of beef, Sheepshank, Wellbone, but at each she said, This is not my name. The third day the messenger came back and said, I have not found a single name but as I came to a high mountain near the edge of a forest where foxes and hares say good night to each other I saw there a little house and before the door a fire was burning and round this fire was a very curious little man was dancing on one leg and shouting, Today I stew and then I'll bake tomorrow I shall the queen's chant take. Ah how famous is that nobody knows that my name is Rumpelsteadskin. When the queen heard this she was very glad and now she knew the name and soon after came the dwarf and asked, Now my little queen what is my name? First she said, Are you called Conrad? No. Are you called how? No. Are you called Rumpelsteadskin? A witch has told you a witch has told you. Shrieked the little man and stamped his foot so hard in the ground with rage that he could not draw it out again. Then he took hold of his left leg with both his hands and pulled away so hard that his right came off in the struggle and he hopped about howling terribly and from that day to this there is no more of her troublesome visitor. End of Rumpelsteadskin by the Brothers Grimm Recording by Brian Johnson a.k.a. Joe Cooning email joakooningatgmail.com The Stone Catat This is a Libra Box recording All Libra Box recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibraBox.org The Stone Catat by Laurie Claire Future Once upon a time there lived a Stone Catat who went out every day to a great rock in the side of a big mountain and cut out slabs for gravestones or for houses. He understood very well the kinds of stones wanted for the different purposes and as he was a careful workman he had plenty of customers for a long time he was quite happy and contented and asked for nothing better than what he had Now in the mountain dwelt a spirit which now and then appeared to men and helped them in many ways to become rich and prosperous The Stone Catat however had never seen this spirit and only shook his head with an unbelieving air when anyone spoke of it but a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion One day the Stone Catat carried a gravestone to the house of a rich man and saw there all sorts of beautiful things of which he had never even dreamed Suddenly his daily work seemed to grow harder and heavier and he said to himself oh if only I were a rich man and could sleep in a bed with silken curtains and golden tassels how happy I should be and a voice answered him your wish is heard a rich man you shall be At the sound of the voice the Stone Catat looked round but could see nobody he thought it was all his fancy and picked up his tools and went home for he did not feel inclined to do any more work that day but when he reached the little house where he lived he stood still with amazement for instead of his wooden hut was a stately palace filled with splendid furniture and most splendour of all was the bed in every respect like the one he had envied he was nearly beside himself with joy and in his new life the old one was soon forgotten it was now the beginning of summer and each day the sun blazed more fiercely one morning the heat was so great that the Stone Catat could scarcely breathe and he determined he would stop at home till the evening he was rather dull for he had never learned how to amuse himself and was peeping through the closed blinds to see what was going on in the street when a little carriage passed by drawn by servants dressed in blue and silver in the carriage sat a prince and over his head a golden umbrella was held to protect him from the sun's rays oh, if only a prince said the Stone Catat to himself as the carriage vanished round the corner oh, if I were only a prince and could go in such a carriage and have a golden umbrella held over me how happy I should be and the voice of the mountain spirit answered your wishes heard a prince you shall be and a prince he was before his carriage rode one company of men and another behind it servants dressed in scarlet and gold bore him along the coveted umbrella was held over his head everything heart could desire was his but yet it was not enough he looked round still for something to wish for and when he saw that in spite of the water he poured on his grass the rays of the sun scorched it and that in spite of the umbrella held over his head each day his face grew browner and browner he cried in his anger the sun is mightier than I oh, if I were only the sun and the mountain spirit answered your wishes heard the sun you shall be and the sun he was and felt himself proud in his power he shot his beams above and below on earth and in heaven he burnt up the grass in the fields and scorched the faces of princes as well as of poor a folk but in a short time he began to grow tired of his might for there seemed nothing left for him to do discontent once more filled his soul and when a cloud covered his face and hid the earth from him he cried in his anger does the cloud hold captive my rays? is it mightier than I? oh, that I were a cloud and mightier than any and the mountain spirit answered your wishes heard a cloud you shall be and a cloud he was and lay between the sun and the earth he caught the sun's beams and held them until his joy the earth grew green again and flowers blossomed but that was not enough for him and for days and weeks he poured forth rain till the rivers overflowed their banks and the crops of rice stood in water towns and villages were destroyed by the power of the rain only the great rock on the mountain side remained unmoved the cloud was amazed at the sight and cried in wonder is the rock then mightier than I? oh, if I were only the rock and the mountain spirit answered your wishes heard the rock you shall be and the rock he was and glorified in his power proudly he stood and neither the heat of the sun nor the force of the rain could move him this is better than all he said to himself but one day he heard a strange noise at his feet and he looked down to see what it could be he saw a stone cutter driving tools into his surface even while he looked a trembling feeling ran all through him and a great block broke off and fell upon the ground then he cried in his wrath is a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? oh, if I were only a man and the mountain spirit answered your wishes heard a man once more you shall be and a man he was and in the sweat of his brow he toiled again at his trade of stone cutting his bed was hard and his food scanty but he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else and as he never asked for things he had not got or desired to be greater and mightier than other people he was happy at last and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer End of Chapter 1 Prince Kindhearted is Chapter 2 of Stories to Read or Tell this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Stories to Read or Tell by Laurie Claire Fuchsia Chapter 2, Prince Kindhearted once upon a time there was a king who had but one son and he was called the Kindhearted when the prince was 20 years old he asked the king his father to let him go travelling his father fitted him out for the journey gave him a true servant to guard him and his fatherly blessing the prince took leave of his father mounted a brave steed and went to different countries to see God's world to learn many things and to return home a wiser and a better man once when the prince was slowly riding through a silent field he suddenly perceived an eagle in pursuit of a swan the white swan was almost caught by the eagle's sharp claws when the prince carefully aiming fired his pistol the eagle fell dead and the happy swan came down and said kindhearted I thank you for your help it is not a swan that is thanking you but the enchanted daughter of the night invisible you have not saved me from an eagle's claws but from the terrible magician King Koshche my father will pay you well for your services remember whenever you are in need to say three times night invisible come to my help the swan flew away as soon as it had finished speaking and the prince looked after it then continued his journey he crossed many high mountains traversed deep rivers past foreign countries and at last he came to a great desert where there was nothing to see but sky and sand no man lived there no animals voice was ever heard no vegetable ever grew there the sun was shining so brightly and burning so terribly that all the rivers were dried up their beds were lost in the sand and there was not a drop of water anywhere the young prince anxious to go everywhere and see everything and not noticing how dry things that were kept going farther and farther and deeper and deeper into the desert but after a while he became terribly thirsty in order to find some water he sent his servant in one direction and he himself went in another after a long time he succeeded in finding a well he called to his servant I have found a means of getting some water and they both were happy but their happiness did not last for the well was very deep and they had nothing with which to reach the water the prince said to his servant dismount I will let you down into the well by some long ropes and you shall draw up some water no my prince answered the servant I am much heavier than you are and your majesty's hands will not be able to hold me you take hold of the ropes I will let you down into the well the prince the ropes tied around him went down into the well drank the cold water and taking some of it for the servant pulled the ropes as a sign for the servant to draw him up again but instead of pulling him up the servant said listen you kingly son from your cradle days until now you have lived a happy life surrounded by luxury and love and I have always lived the life of a miserable wretch now you must agree to become my servant and I will be the prince instead of you if you will not exchange say your last prayer for I am going to drown you do not drown me my true servant you will not gain anything by it you will never find such a good master as I am and you know what a murderer may expect in the next world let me suffer in the next world but I will make you suffer in this one answered the servant and he began to loosen the ropes stop cried the prince I will be thy servant and you shall be the prince I will give you my word for it I did not believe your word swear that you will write down what you promised me now for words are lost in the air and writing always remains as a testimony against us I swear the servant lit down into the well a sheet of paper and a pencil following the bearer of this is prince kind hearted travelling with his servant a subject of his father's kingdom the servant glanced over the note pulled the prince out of the well gave him his shabby clothes and put on the prince's rich dress then having changed armour and horses they went on in a week or so they came to the capital of a certain kingdom when they approached the palace the false prince gave his horse to the false servant and told him to go to the stable and he himself went straight into the throne chamber and said to the king I come to you to ask for the hand of your daughter whose beauty and wisdom are known all over the world if you consent you will have our favour if not we will decide it by war you do not speak to me in a nice way at all not as a prince ought to speak but it may be that in your country you are not used to better menors now listen to me my future son-in-law my kingdom is now in the hands of an enemy of mine his troops have captured my best soldiers and now they are approaching my capital if you will clear my kingdom from these troops my daughter's hand will be yours as a reward all right answered the false prince I will drive your enemies away do not worry if they come to the capital tomorrow morning not one enemy will be left in your land in the evening he went out of the palace called his servant and said to him listen my dear go out to the city walls drive away the foreign troops and for this service I will return you your note by which you denied your kingdom and swore to be my servant the honest prince kind-hearted put on his nightly armour mounted his steed went out to the city walls and called in a loud voice night invisible come to my help here I am said night invisible what do you wish me to do for you I am ready to do everything for you because you saved my child from the terrible kosche prince kind-hearted showed in the troops and the night invisible whistled loudly and called oh you my wise horse come to me quickly there was a rustling in the air it thundered the earth trembled and a wonderful horse appeared having a golden mane from his nostrils of fire was burning from his eyes bright sparks were flying and from his ears the clouds of smoke were coming night invisible jumped upon the horse and said to the prince take this magic sword and attack the troops from the left and I upon my golden maned horse will attack them from the right they both attacked the army from the left the soldiers were falling like wood from the right like whole forests in less than an hour the entire army vanished some of them remained upon the spot dead some of them fled prince kind-hearted and the night invisible met upon the battlefield shook hands in a friendly way and in a minute the night invisible and his horse turned into a bright red flame then into thick smoke which disappeared in the darkness the prince returned quietly to the palace the young princess felt very sad that evening she could not sleep and so leaned out of her window when she overheard the conversation between the prince and the servant then she saw what was going on behind the city walls she also saw the night invisible disappear in the darkness and prince kind-hearted returned to the palace she saw the false prince coming out of the palace taking the nightly armor from the servant and prince kind-hearted entering the stable to rest the next morning the old king seeing his land freed from the enemies felt very happy and gave the prince many rich presents but when he announced the engagement of his daughter to him she stood up took the hand of the real prince who helped to serve at the table led him before the old king and said my dearest father and king and all you that are present here this man is my bridegroom sent to me by god for he is your saviour and the real prince and that one who calls himself a prince is a traitor a false and dishonest man then the princess told everything she knew and said let him show some proof that he really is a prince the false prince gave to the king the note which was given to him in the well the king opened it and read aloud the bearer of this note the false and untrue servant the prince kind hearted asked for pardon and expects a just punishment the note was given to him in the well by prince kind hearted is it really so cried the rich and he became pale as death yes read it yourself if you do not believe it answered the king I cannot read said the poor fellow he knelt before his master and begged for mercy but he received what he deserved prince kind hearted and the princess were happily married and I was present at the wedding feast and also felt happy end of chapter 2 prince kind hearted the frog prince by the brother grim this is a liberty rocks recording our liberty rocks recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libyrock.org frog prince by the brother grim one fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet, clocks went out to take a walk by herself in a wood and when she came to a cool spring of water she rose in the midst of it she sat herself down to rest a while now she had a golden ball in her hand which was her favorite plaything and she was always tossing it up into the air and catching it again as it fell after a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell and the ball bounded away and rolled along upon the ground till at last it fell down into the spring the princess looked into the spring after her ball but it was very deep so deep that she could not see the bottom of it then she began to prevail her loss and said I lost if I could only get my ball again I would give all my fine clothes and jewels and everything I have everything I have in the world while she was speaking a frog puts its head out of the water and said princess why do you weep so bitterly at last said she what can you do for me you nasty frog my golden ball has fallen into the spring the frog said I want not your pearls and jewels and fine clothes but if you will love me and let me live with you and eat from of your golden plate and sleep upon your bed I will bring your ball again what nonsense thought the princess this is a city frog is talking he can never even get out of the spring to visit me though he may be able to get my ball for me and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks so she said to the frog well if you will bring me my ball I will do all you ask then the frog put his head down and dived deep under the water and after a little time he came up again with a ball in his mouth and threw it on the edge of the spring as soon as the young princess saw her ball she ran to pick it up and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand and again that she never thought of the frog but ran home with it as fast as she could the frog called after her stay princess and take me with you but she did not stop to hear a word the next day just as the princess had sat down to dinner she heard a strange noise tap tap splash splash as if something was coming up their marble staircase and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door and a little voice cried out and said open the door my princess dear open the door, thy true love here and mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool in the greenwood shed then the princess ran to the door and opened it and there she saw the frog whom she had quite forgotten at this side she was sadly frightened and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat the king, her father seeing that something had frightened her what was the matter there's a nasty frog said she at the door that lifted my ball from me out of the spring this morning I told him that he should live with me here thinking that he could never get out of the spring but there he is at the door and he wants to come in while she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door and said open the door my princess dear open the door to thy true love here and mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool in the greenwood shed then the king said to the young princess as you have given your word you must keep it so go and let him in she did so and the frog hopped into the room and then straight on tap, tap splash, splash from the bottom of the room to the top till he came up close to the table where the princess said pray lift me upon chair said he to the princess and let me sit next to you as soon as she had done this the frog said put your blade nearer to me that I may eat of it this she did and when he had eaten as much as he could he said now I am tired carry me upstairs and put me into your bed and the princess thought very unwillingly took him up in her hand and put him upon the pillow of her own bed where he slept all night long as soon as it was light he jumped up hopped downstairs and went out of the house now then thought the princess at last he is gone and I shall be troubled with him no more but she was mistaken for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door and the frog came once more and said open the door my princess dear open the door to thy true love here and mind the words that thou and I said by the fountain cool in the green butch head and when the princess opened the door the frog came in and slept upon her pillow as before till the morning broke and the third night he did the same but when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see instead of the frog a handsome prince gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and standing at the head of her bed he told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy and changed him into a frog and that he had been fated so to a bite till some princess should take him out of the spring and let him eat from her blade and sleep upon her bed for three nights you said the prince have broken this cruel charm and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom where I will marry you and love you as long as you live the young princess you may be sure was not long in saying yes to all this and as they spoke a gay coach drove up with eight beautiful horses and decked with the plums of feathers and a golden harness and behind the coach wrote the princess servant faithful Heinrich who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear masters during his enchantment so long and so bitterly that his heart had well night birthed they then took leave of the king and got into the coach with eight horses and all set out full of joy and merriment for the princess kingdom which they reached safely and there they live happily a great many years the end a selection of limericks from a book nonsense by Edward Lear this is a liver box recording all liver box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liverbox.org recording by Zoe Shunlin Carly Wiggins and Leif Shunlin there was an old man who supposed that the street door was partly closed but some very large rats ate his coat and his hats while that amiable old gentleman does there was an old man of the isles whose face was pervaded with smiles he sang hi dumb dittle and played on the fiddle that amiable man of the isles there was an old person of tartary who divided his jugular artery but he screeched to his wife for my life your death will be felt by all tartary there was an old person of Prague who was suddenly seized with the pledge but they gave him somebody which caused him to mutter and cured that old person of Prague there was an old man of Peru who watched his wife making a stew but once by mistake in a stove she did bake that unfortunate man of Peru there was an old man of lake horn the smallest that ever was born but quickly snapped up he was once by a puppy who devoured that old man of lake horn there was an old man of Hague whose ideas were excess levy vague he built a balloon to Xenoman the moon that diluted old man of Hague there was a young lady of Turkey who leapt when the weather was murky when the day turned out fine she ceased to repine that capricious young lady of Turkey there was a young lady of Norway who casually sat in a doorway when the door squeezed her flat she exclaimed what of that this courageous young lady of Norway there was a young lady whose nose was so long that it reached to her toes she hired an old lady whose conduct was steady to carry that wonderful nose there was an old man of Quebec a beetle ran over his neck but he cried with a needle I'll slay you old beetle that angry old man of Quebec there was a young lady of Pool who was excessively cool so she put it to boil by the aid of some oil that ingenious young lady of Pool there was a young lady of Parma whose conduct grew calmer when they said are you dumb she said that provoking young lady of Parma there was an old man with a poker who painted his face with red ochre when they said you're a guy he made no reply but knocked them all down with his poker there was an old person of Sparta who had 25 sons and one daughter he fed them all snails and weighed them in scales that wonderful person of Sparta there was an old man on whose nose most birds of the air could repose but they all flew away at the closing of day which relieved that old man and his nose there was an old man of the north who fell into a basin of broth but a laudable cook fished him out with a hook and saved that old man of the north there was an old person of dreams who embellished his nose with a ring he gazed at the moon every evening in June that ecstatic old person of dreams there was an old man of Aosta who possessed the large cow but he lost her but they said don't you see she has run up a tree you invidious old man of Aosta there was an old man from Nile who sharpened his nails with a file till he cut off his thumbs and said calmly this comes of sharpening one's nails with a file there was an old person of Troy whose drink was warm randy and soy which he took with a spoon by the light of the moon inside of the city of Troy there was an old man of Cape Horn who wished he had never been born so he sat on a chair till he died of despair that doorless man of Cape Horn there was a young person of Crete whose toilet was far from complete she dressed in a sack speckled with black that umbiliferous person of Crete there was an old man of Bruzy that couldn't his foot see when they said that's your toe he replied is it so that don't pull a man of the abuser there was an old person of Mold who shrank from sensations of cold so he purchased some muffs some furs and some fluff and wrapped himself well from Nicole there was an old person of Cromer who stood on one leg to read Homer when he found he grew stiff he jumped over the cliff which concluded that person of Cromer there was a young lady of Claire who was madly pursued by a bear when she found she was tired she abruptly expired that unfortunate lady of Claire there was an old man of Calcutta who perpetually ate bread and butter till a great bit of muffin on which he was stuffing choked that horrid old man of Calcutta end of selections from a book of nonsense by Edward Lear by Edward Lear the tale of the pointer tray by Laurie Claire Fuchsia this is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the tale of the pointer tray by Laurie Claire Fuchsia in a voyage which I made to the East Indies I took a favourite pointer with me he was to use a common phrase worth his weight in gold for he never deceived me one day when we were by the best observations we could make at least 300 leagues from land my dog pointed I observed him for nearly an hour with astonishment and mentioned the circumstance to the captain and the honorary officer on board asserting that we must be near land for my dog smelt game this occasioned a general laugh but that did not alter in the least the good opinion I had of my dog after much conversation pro and con I boldly told the captain that I placed more confidence in Trey's nose that I did in the eyes of every semen on board and therefore boldly proposed laying the sum I had agreed to pay for my passage vis 100 guineas that we should find game within half an hour the captain a good hearty fellow laughed again desired Mr Crawford the surgeon who was prepared to call my pulse he did so and reported me in perfect health the following dialogue between them took place I overheard it though spoken low and at some distance captain his brain is turned I cannot with honour except his wager surgeon I am of a different opinion he is quite sane and depends more upon my dog than he will upon the judgment of all the officers on board he will certainly lose and he richly merits it captain such a wager cannot be fair on my side however I'll take him up if I return his many afterwards during the above conversation Trey continued in the same situation and confirmed to me still more in my opinion I proposed the wager a second time it was then accepted done and done were scarcely set on both sides when some sailors who were fishing in the longboat which was made fast to the stern of the ship harpooned an exceedingly large shark which they brought on board and began to cut up for the purpose of barreling the oil when behold they found no less than six brace of live partridges in this animal's stomach they had been so long in that situation that one of the hens was sitting upon four eggs and a fifth was hatching when the shark was opened this young bird was brought up by placing it with a litter of kittens that came into the world a few minutes before the old cat was as fond of it as any of her own for legged progeny and made herself very unhappy when it flew out of her reach till it returned again as to the other partridges there were four hens amongst them one or more were during the voyage constantly sitting and consequently there was plenty of game at the captain's table and in gratitude to poor trey for being the means of winning 100 guineas I ordered him the bones daily and sometimes a whole bird end of the tale of the pointer trey The Pig Tail by Lewis Carroll this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information if you are not a volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jason Mills The Pig Tail by Lewis Carroll there was a pig that sat alone beside a ruined pump by day and night he made his moan it would have stirred a heart of stone to see him ring his hoofs and groan because he could not jump a certain camel heard him shout a camel with a hump oh is it grief or is it gout what is this bellowing about that pig replied with quivering snout because I cannot jump that camel scanned him dreamy eyed me thinks you are too plump I never knew a pig so wide that wobbled so from side to side who could however much he tried to do such a thing as jump with those trees two miles away all clustered in a clump if you could trot there twice a day nor ever pause for rest or play in the far future who can say you may be fit to jump that camel passed and left him there beside the ruined pump oh horrid was that pig's despair his shrieks of anguish filled the air he wrung his hoofs he rent his hair because he could not jump the frog that wandered by a sleek and shining lump inspected him with fishy eye and said oh pig what makes you cry and bitter was that pig's reply because I cannot jump that frog he grinned a grin of glee and hit his chest a thump oh pig he said be ruled by me and you shall see what you shall see this minute for a trifling fee how to jump you may be faint from many a fall and bruised by many a bump but if you persevere through all and practice first on something small concluding with a ten foot wall you'll find that you can jump that pig looked up with joyful start oh frog you are a trump your words have healed my inward smart come name your fee and do your part bring comfort to a broken heart by teaching me to jump my fee shall be a mutton chop my goal this ruined pump observe with what an airy flop I plunked myself upon the top now bend your knees and take a hop for that's the way to jump up rose that pig and rushed full whack against the ruined pump rolled over like an empty sack and settled down upon his back while all his bones at once went crack it was a fertile jump that camel passed as day grew dim around the ruined pump oh broken heart oh broken limb it needs that camel said to him something more fairy like and slim to execute a jump that pig lay still as any storm and could not stir a stump nor ever if the truth went on observed to moan nor ever ring his hoofs and groan because he could not jump that frog made no remark for he was dismal as a dump he knew the consequence must be that he would never get his fee and still he sits in misery upon that ruined pump end of the pigtail the velveteen rabbit 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 Sabrina Sterling The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjorie Williams there was once a velveteen rabbit and in the beginning he was really splendid he was fat and bunchy as a rabbit should be his coats were spotted brown and white he had real thread whiskers and his ears were lined with pink satin on Christmas morning when he sat wedged in the top of the boy's stocking with a sprig of holly between his paws the effect was charming there were other things in the stocking nuts and oranges and a toy engine and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse but the rabbit was quite the best of all for at least two hours the boy loved him and then aunts and uncles came to dinner and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the velveteen rabbit was forgotten for a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor and no one thought very much about him he was naturally shy and being only made of velveteen some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him the mechanical toys were very superior and looked down upon everyone else they were full of modern ideas and pretended they were real the model boat who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms the rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything for he didn't know that real rabbits existed for he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself and he understood that sawdust was quite out of date and should never be mentioned in modern circles even Timothy the jointed wooden lion who was made by the disabled soldiers and should have had broader views put on airs and pretended he was connected with government between them all the poor little rabbit was made to feel very insignificant and common place and the only person who was kind to him at all was the skin horse the skin horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others he was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath and most of the hairs on his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces he was wise for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger and buy and buy break their mainsprings and pass away and he knew that they were only toys and would never turn into anything else for nursery magic is very strange and wonderful and only play things that are old and wise and experience like the skin horse understand all about it what is real asked the rabbit one day when they were laying side by side near the nursery fender before Nana came to tidy the room does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick out handle real isn't how you are made said the skin horse it's a thing that happens to you when a child loves you for a long, long time not just to play with but really loves you then you become real does it hurt asked the rabbit sometimes said the skin horse for he was always truthful when you are real when you are being hurt does it happen all at once like being wound up he asked it doesn't happen all at once said the skin horse you become it takes a long time that's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept generally by the time you are real most of your hair has been cut off and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby but these things don't matter at all because once you are real you can't be ugly except to people who don't understand I suppose you are real said the rabbit and then he wished he had not said it for he thought the skin horse might be sensitive but the skin horse only smiled the boy's uncle made me real he said that was a great many years ago but once you are real you can't become unreal again it lasts for always the rabbit sighed he thought it would be a long time before this magic called real happened to him he longed to become real to know what it felt like the fear of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad he wished he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him there was a person called Nana who ruled the nursery sometimes she took no notice of the play things lying about and sometimes for no reason whatever she went swooping about like a giant wind and hustled them away in cupboards and the play things all hated it especially the tin ones the rabbit didn't mind it so much for wherever he was thrown he came down soft one evening when the boy was going to bed he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him Nana was in a hurry and it was too much trouble to hunt for china dogs at bedtime so she simply looked about her and seeing that the toy cupboard door stood open she made a swoop she said take your old bunny he'll do to sleep with you and she dragged the rabbit out by one ear and put him into the boy's arms that night and for many nights after the velveteen rabbit slept in the boy's bed at first he found it rather uncomfortable for the boy hugged him very tight and sometimes he rolled over on him and sometimes he pushed him so far under the pillow that the rabbit could scarcely breathe and he missed too those long moonlight hours in the nursery when all the house was silent and his talks were the skin horse but very soon he grew to like it for the boy used to talk to him and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows that real rabbits lived in and they had splendid games together in whispers when Nana had gone away to her supper and left the nightlight burning on the mantelpiece and when the boy dropped off to sleep the rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream with the boy's hands clasped close round him all night long and so time went on and the little rabbit was very happy so happy that he never noticed how his beautiful velveteen fur was getting shabbier and shabbier and his tail becoming unsewn and all the pink rubbed off his nose where the boy had kissed him spring came and they had long days in the garden for wherever the boy went the rabbit went too he had rides in the wheelbarrow and picnics on the grass and lovely fairy huts built for him under the raspberry canes behind the flower border and once when the boy was called away suddenly to go to tea the rabbit was left out on the lawn until long after dusk and Nana had come to look for him with the candle because the boy couldn't go to sleep unless he was there he was wet through with the dew and was quite earthy from diving into the burrows the boy had made for him in the flower bed and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron you must have your old bunny she said fancy all that fuss for a toy the boy sat up in bed and stretched out his hands give me my bunny he said you mustn't say that he isn't a toy he's real when the little rabbit heard that he was happy for he knew what the skin horse had said was true at last the nursery magic had happened to him and he was a toy no longer he was real the boy himself had said it that night he was almost too happy to sleep and so much love stirred in his little sawdust heart that it almost burst and into his butt and eyes that had long ago lost their polish there came a look of wisdom and beauty so that even Nana noticed it next morning when she picked him up and said that old bunny hasn't got quite a knowing expression that was a wonderful summer near the house where they lived there was a wood and in the long dune evenings the boy liked to go there after tea to play he took the velveteen rabbit with him and before he wandered off to pick flowers or play at brigands among the trees he always made the rabbit a little nest somewhere among the bracken where he could be quite cosy for he was a kind hearted little boy and he liked bunny to be comfortable one evening while the rabbit was laying there alone watching the ants that run to and fro between his velvet paws in the grass he saw two strange beings creep out of the tall bracken near him they were rabbits like himself but quite furry and brand new they must have been very well made but their seams didn't show at all and they changed shape in a queer way and they moved one minute they were long and thin and the next minute fat and bunchy instead of always staying the same like he did their feet padded softly on the ground and they crept quite close to him twitching their noses while the rabbit stared hard to see which side the clockwork stuck out for he knew that people who jumped generally have something to wind them up but he couldn't see it they were evidently a new kind of rabbit all together they stared at him stared back and all the time their noses twitched why don't you get up and play with us one of them asked I don't feel like it said the rabbit for he didn't want to explain that he had no clockwork who said the furry rabbit it's easy as anything and he gave a big hop sideways and stood on his hind legs I don't believe you can he said I can said the little rabbit wasn't higher than anything he meant when the boy threw him but of course he didn't want to say so can you hop on your hind legs asked the furry rabbit that was a dreadful question for the velveteen rabbit had no hind legs at all the back of him was made all one piece like a pin cushion he sat still in the bracken and hoped that the other rabbits wouldn't notice I don't want to he said again he had sharp eyes and this one stretched out his neck and looked he hasn't got any hind legs he called out fancy a rabbit without any hind legs and he began to laugh I have got hind legs cried the little rabbit I am sitting on them then stretched them out and show me like this said the wild rabbit and he began to whirl around and dance I don't like dancing he said but all the while he was longing to dance for a funny new tickly feeling ran through him and he felt he would give anything in the world to be able to jump about like these rabbits did the strange rabbit stopped dancing and came quite close he came so close this time that his long whiskers brushed the velveteen rabbit's ear and then he wrinkled his nose fortunately and flattened his ears and jumped backwards he doesn't smell right he exclaimed he isn't a rabbit at all he isn't real said the little rabbit I am real the boy said so and he nearly began to cry just then there was a sound of footsteps and the boy ran past near them and with a stamp of feet and a flash of white tails disappeared come back and play with me called the little rabbit I know I'm real but there was no answer only the little ants ran to and fro and the bracken swayed gently where the two strangers had passed the velveteen rabbit was all alone oh dear he thought why did they run away like that why couldn't they stop and talk to me for a long time watching the bracken and hoping that they would come back but they never returned and presently the sun sank lower and the little white moth spluttered out and the boy came and carried him home weeks passed and the little rabbit grew very old and shabby but the boy loved him just as much he loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off and the pink lining to his ears turned grey and as brown spots faded he even began to lose his shape and he scarcely looked like a rabbit anymore except to the boy to him he was always beautiful and that was all that the little rabbit cared about he didn't mind how he looked to other people because the nursery magic had made him real and when you are real shabbiness doesn't matter and then one day the boy was ill his face grew very flushed and he talked in his sleep and his little body was so hot that it burned the rabbit when he held him close strange people came and went in the nursery and a light burned all through the night and through it all the little velveting rabbit lay there hidden from sight under the bed clothes and he never stirred for he was afraid that if they found him someone might take him away and he knew that the boy needed him it was a very long weary time for the boy was too ill to play and the little rabbit found it rather dull with nothing to do all day long but he snuggled down patiently and he looked forward to the time when the boy should be well again and they would go out into the garden amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the raspberry thicket like they used to all sorts of delightful things he planned and when the boy lay half asleep he crept up close to the pillow and whispered them in his ear and presently the fever turned and the boy got better he was able to sit up in bed and look at picture books while the little rabbit cuddled close at his side and one day they let him get up and dress it was a bright sunny morning and the windows stood wide open they had carried the boy out onto the balcony wrapped in a shawl and the little rabbit lay tangled up among the bedclothes thinking the boy was going to the seaside tomorrow everything was arranged and now it only remained to carry out the doctor's orders they talked about it all while the little rabbit lay under the bedclothes with just his head peeping out and listened the room was to be disinfected and all the books and toys that the boy had played with in his bed must be burnt hurrah thought the little rabbit tomorrow we shall go to the seaside for the boy had often talked to the seaside and he wanted very much to see the big waves coming in and the tiny crabs and the sand castles just then Nana caught sight of him how about his old bunny she asked that said the doctor why it's a mass of scarlet fever germs burn it at once what nonsense get him a new one and so the little rabbit was put into a sack with the old picture books and a lot of rubbish and carried out to the end of the garden behind the foul house that was a fine place to make a bonfire only the gardener was too busy just then to attend to it he had the potatoes to dig and the green peas to gather but next morning he promised to come early and burn the whole lot that night the boy slept in a different bedroom with a new bunny to sleep with him it was a very splendid bunny all white plush with real glass eyes but the boy was too excited to care very much about it for tomorrow he was going to the seaside and that in itself was such a wonderful thing he could think of nothing else and while the boy was asleep dreaming of the seaside the little rabbit lay among the old picture books in the corner behind the foul house and he felt very lonely the sack had been left untied and so by wriggling a bit he was able to get his head out through the opening and look out he was shivering a little for he had always been used to sleeping in a proper bed and by this time his coat had worn so thin and so threadbare from hugging that it was no longer any protection to him nearby he could see the thicket of raspberry canes growing tall and close like a tropical jungle in whose shadow he had played with the boy on bygone mornings he thought of those long sunlit hours in the garden how happy they were and a great sadness came over him he seemed to see them all pass before him each more beautiful than the other the fairy huts in the flower bed the quiet evenings in the wood when he lay in the bracken and the little ants ran over his paws the wonderful day when he first knew that he was real he thought of the skin horse so wise and gentle and all that he had told him of what use was it to be loved and lose one's beauty and become real if it all ended like this and a tear a real tear trickled down his shabby velvet nose and fell to the ground and then a strange thing happened for where the tear had fallen out of the ground a mysterious flower not at all like any that grew in the garden it had slender green leaves the colour of emeralds and in the centre of the leaves a blossom like a golden cup it was so beautiful that the little rabbit forgot to cry and just slay there watching it and presently the blossom opened and out of it there stepped a fairy she was quite the best fairy in the whole world her dress was of pearl and dew drops and there were flowers around her neck and in her hair and her face was like the most perfect flower of all and she came close to the little rabbit and gathered him up in her arms and kissed him on his velveting nose that was all damp from crying little rabbit she said don't you know who I am the rabbit looked up at her to him that he had seen her face before but he couldn't think where I am the nursery magic fairy she said I take care of all the play things that the children have loved when they are old and worn out and the children don't need them anymore then I come and take them away with me and turn them into real wasn't I real before asked the little rabbit you weren't real to the boy he said because he loved you now you shall be real to everyone and she held the little rabbit close in her arms and flew with him into the wood it was light now for the moon had risen all of the forest was beautiful and the fronts of the bracken shone like frosted silver in the open glade between the tree trunks the wild rabbits danced with their shadows on the velvet grass but when they saw the fairy they all stopped dancing and stood round in a ring to stare at her I've brought you a new play fellow the fairy said you must be very kind to him and teach him all he needs to know in rabbit land for he's going to live with you forever and ever and she kissed the little rabbit again and put him down on the grass run and play little rabbit she said but the little rabbit sat quite still for a moment and never moved for when he saw all the wild rabbits dancing around him he suddenly remembered about his hind legs and he didn't want them to see that he was all made in one piece he did not know that when the fairy kissed him the last time she had changed him altogether and he might have sat there a long time too shy to move if just then something hadn't tickled his nose and before he thought what he was doing he lifted his hind toe to scratch it and he found he actually had hind legs instead of dingy velveting he had brown fur soft and shiny his ears twitched by themselves and his whiskers were so long that they brushed the grass he gave one leap and the joy of using this hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them jumping sideways and whirling round as the others did and he grew so excited that when at last he did stop to look for the fairy she had gone he was a real rabbit at last at home with the other rabbits autumn passed and winter and in the spring when the days grew warm and sunny the boy went out to play in the wood behind the house and while he was playing two rabbits crept out from the bracken and peeped at him one of them was brown all over the other had strange markings under his fur as though long ago he had been spotted and the spot still showed through and about his little soft nose and his round black eyes there was something familiar so the boy thought to himself why? he looks just like my old bunny that was lost when I had scarlet fever but he never knew it really was his own bunny come back to look at the child the first helped him to be real the end the end of the velveteen rabbit recording by Sabrina Sterling email Sabrina at voicexoxo.com website www.voicexoxo.com The Oak Tree in the Ivy by Eugene Field this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Oak Tree in the Ivy by Eugene Field in the Greenwood stood a mighty oak so majestic was he that all who came that way paused to admire his strength and beauty and all the other trees of the Greenwood acknowledged him to be their monarch now it came to pass that the Ivy loved the Oak Tree and inclining her graceful tendrils where he stood she crept about his feet and twined herself around his sturdy and non-ed trunk and the Oak Tree pitted the Ivy oh ho he cried laughing boisterously but good-naturedly oh ho so you love me do you little vine very well then play about my feet and I will keep the storms from you and I will tell you pretty stories about the clouds the birds and the stars the Ivy marveled greatly at the strange stories the Oak Tree told they were stories the Oak Tree heard from the wind that loitered around his lofty head and whispered to the leaves of his topmost branches sometimes the story was about the great ocean in the east sometimes of the broad prairies in the west sometimes of the ice king who lived in the north and sometimes of the flower queen who dwelt in the south then too the moon told the story to the Oak Tree every night or at least every night that she came to the Greenwood which was very often but the Greenwood is a very charming spot as we all know and the Oak Tree repeated to the Ivy every story the moon told the stars saying Prey what are the winds saying now what song is that I hear the Ivy would ask and then the Oak Tree would repeat the story or the song and the Ivy would listen in great wonderment whenever the storms came the Oak Tree cried to the little Ivy clean close to me and no harm shall befall you see how strong I am the tempest does not so much as stir me I mock its fury then seeing how strong and brave he was the Ivy hugged him closely every harm and she was secure the years went by how quickly they flew spring summer winter and then again spring summer winter our life is short in the Greenwood as elsewhere and now the Ivy was no longer a weak little vine to excite the pity of the passer by her thousand beautiful arms had twined hither and thither about the Oak Tree covering his brown and knotted trunk shooting forth a bright delicious foliage and stretching fire up among his lower branches then the Oak Tree's pity grew into a love for the Ivy and the Ivy was filled with a great joy and the Oak Tree and the Ivy were wed one June night and there was a wonderful celebration in the Greenwood and there was most beautiful music in which the pine trees, the crickets, the katydids, the frogs and the nightingales joined with pleasing harmony the Oak Tree was always good and gentle to the Ivy there's a storm coming over the hill you would say the east wind tells me so the swallows fly low in the air and the sky is dark for me, my beloved, and no harm shall befall you then confidently it was an always growing love the Ivy would cling more closely to the Oak Tree and no harm came to her how good the Oak Tree is to the Ivy said the other trees of the Greenwood the Ivy heard them and she loved the Oak Tree more and more and although the Ivy was now the most umbrageous and luxuriant vine in all the Greenwood the Oak Tree regarded her still as the tender little thing he had laughingly called to his feet that spring day many years before the same little Ivy he had told about the stars the clouds and the birds and just as patiently as in those days he had told her of these things he now repeated other tales the wind whispered to his topmost vows tales of the ocean in the east the prairies in the west the ice king in the north and the flower queen in the south nestling upon his brave breast and in his stout arms the Ivy heard him tell these wondrous things and she never wearied with listening how the Oak Tree loves her not to do but to twine herself about the arrogant Oak Tree and hear him tell his wondrous stories the Ivy heard these envious words and they made her very sad but she said nothing of them to the Oak Tree and that night the Oak Tree rocked her to sleep as he repeated the lullaby as Zephyr was singing to him there's a storm coming over the hills so the Oak Tree one day the east wind tells me so the swallows fly low in the air and the sky is dark clasp me round about with thy dear arms close unto my bosom and no harm shall befall thee I have no fear murmured the Ivy and she clasped her arms most closely about him and nestled unto his bosom the storm came over the hills and swept down upon the greenwood with deafening thunder and vivid lightning the storm king himself rode upon the blast his horses breathed flames and his chariot trailed through the air like a serpent of fire the ash fell before the violence of the storm king's fury and the cedars groaning fell and the hemlocks and the pines but the Oak Tree alone quailed not oh ho! cried the storm king angrily the Oak Tree does not bow to me he does not tremble in my presence well we shall see with that the storm king hurled a mighty thunderbolt at the Oak Tree and the brave strong monarch of the greenwood was riven then with a shout of triumph the storm king rode away dear Oak Tree you are riven by the storm king's thunderbolt cried Ivy in anguish I said the Oak Tree feebly my end has come see I am shattered and helpless but I am on her remonstrated the Ivy and I will bind up your wounds and nurse you back to health and vigor and so it was that although the Oak Tree was ever afterward a riven and broken thing the Ivy concealed the scars upon a shattered form and covered his wounds all over with a soft foliage I had hoped dear one she said to grow up to thy height and to live with thee among the clouds and to hear the solemn voices thou didst hear thou wouldst love me better than the Oak Tree said nay nay my beloved I love thee better as thou art for with thy beauty and thy love thou comfortest mine age then would the Ivy tell quaint stories to the old and broken Oak Tree stories she had learned from the crickets the bees the butterflies and the mice when she was in humble little vine and played at the foot of the majestic Oak Tree towering in the greenwood with no thought of the tiny chute that crept toward him with her love and her spirit of an Oak Tree they were not as heroic as the tales the winds the clouds and the stars told but they were far sweeter but they were tales of contentment a humility of love so the old age of the Oak Tree was grander than his youth and all who went through the greenwood paused to behold and admire the beauty of the Oak Tree then for about his seared and broken trunk the gentle vine had so entwined her graceful tendrils and spread her fair foliage that one saw not the havoc of years nor the ruin of the tempest which was the ivy's love in ministering end of the Oak Tree in the ivy a farmer's wife the story of Ruth by J. H. Willard this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org reading by Bologna Times a farmer's wife the story of Ruth by J. H. Willard in the district called Ifroth belonging to the tribe of Judah stood the city of Bethlehem or House of Bread it was a city with walls and gates and lay between fruitful hills and well-watered valleys there among pleasant cornfields and pasturelands lived a man named which means my god is my king he was descended from one of the princes of Judah and was a man of means and consequence Ella Melach's wife was named Naomi meaning pleasant and they had two sons whose names were Malin and Chelyon this old and noble family lived in this fertile region amid pleasant surroundings and with happy prospects until one of the frequent famines that were brought on by want of rain visited their district leaving the parched and sterile fields around Bethlehem Ella Melach and his family and his flocks left their home and settled in the rich and well-watered lands of the Moabites beyond the Jordan as a wealthy foreigner he probably was well received by the people of Moab and secured good pastureage but much trouble was in store for this family not withstanding its wealth had enabled them to leave their own famine-stricken lands first Ella Melach died and the family was without a head then Malin married a beautiful woman of the country in which he was then living named Ruth and his brother Chelyon married another named Orpa such marriages were against the law of Moses because the Moabites worshipped idols but as the nation was descended from Lot the nephew of Abraham the marriages were not so bad as they would have been with women belonging to other of the different tribes of Canaan after a while both of the sons of Naomi died and she was left a childless widow in a strange land by her gracious ways she had won the affection of both Ruth and Orpa and now sorrow locked their hearts together in sympathy at length Naomi turned her longing eyes to her old home in Bethlehem ten years had come and gone since she left it and now the news had reached her that there was plenty of food there Naomi and her two daughters-in-law started on their way to the land of Judah after a while thinking that they had made her far enough Naomi, Bede, Ruth and Orpa returned to their own mother's homes and spoke very kindly to them she kissed them and would have taken leave of them but they insisted that they would go with her to the home of her own people then Naomi suggested that they would not be welcome at Bethlehem because they were Moabites they would be looked upon with reproach, strangers and a strange land and again she pleaded with them to go home lest their love for her should prove a sorrow to them Orpa was persuaded to return and settle down among her kindred and probably did so from a sense of duty but Ruth would not leave Naomi although her mother-in-law gave her one more opportunity to go back to Moab the chief cause for separation Naomi was not that they belonged to different races but that they did not worship the same god but Ruth in words at once pathetic and sincere, unselfish in spirit and expression declared her resolve intrigued me not to leave thee and to return from following after thee for whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest, I will lodge thy people shall be my people and thy god, my god where thou dyest, will I die and there will I be buried the lord do so to me and more also if ought by death part thee and me Ruth gave up father and mother friends and relatives religion and country and chose poverty and a life among strangers because of her love for Naomi and her trust in Naomi's god they reached Bethlehem about the beginning of the barley harvest and secured some kind of a home the city of Bethlehem was stirred by the return of Naomi she had left them accompanied by husband and sons and in prosperity she returned altered in circumstances changed in appearance and accompanied only by a Moabiteish woman her friends could hardly believe their eyes and exclaimed is this Naomi? to which she would reply call me not Naomi pleasant call me Mara bitter for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me there was much surprise shown at the return of Naomi with Ruth but there is no record that people were helpful or even kind to them and probably the first thing they had to do was to secure food as it was as it was harvest time Ruth volunteered to go into the fields and glean and so one morning she went forth as an alien among strangers to find bread for the two she came to one of the fields of Boaz a man of wealth and position and a kinsman of Alamelak and asked permission to glean among the sheaves in the glory of the early morning a band of reapers were cutting barley with her sickles behind them women bound the grain in sheaves and behind these workers were a group of gleaners made up from the aged and the young Ruth took her place among the gleaners and bending her back like the rest gathered the stray ears left by the binders the overseer watched both laborers and gleaners all were known to him even the beautiful stranger from the land of Moab as the day advanced Boaz entered the field with the salutation to his men the Lord be with you they replied the Lord bless thee then glancing around the field Boaz saw Ruth among the gleaners and asked the overseer who she was the overseer replied that she was the Moabaitish woman who came back with Naomi and that she had asked permission to gather the barley ears with the rest of the gleaners Boaz was interested at once and struck by Ruth's modesty and beauty he went to her and said she was not to glean in any other fields but his all the time of harvest he told her she needn't fear no rudeness from the young men for he had laid his commands upon them not to molest or offend her he also told her that when she was thirsty she was to drink of what had been prepared for the reapers Ruth was deeply touched by the slight kindness bowing to the ground she asked why it was that she a stranger had found grace in his sight Boaz replied that he had learned of her loving treatment of Naomi since the death of her husband and how she had left her father and her mother and the land where she was born and then he invoked the blessing of God upon her and upon her work the sympathy and sincerity of Boaz were very grateful to Ruth she was comforted as well for she knew that he had recognized her goodness to Naomi and knew that she had come to trust in the care of God at mealtime Boaz invited her to eat with the reapers and even handed food to her himself after the simple meal was eaten and Ruth was again among the cleaners Boaz told the reapers to let her glean wherever she chose and to drop some of the grain on purpose for her so that her work might be lightened as the sun began to set all went their homeward way and when Ruth reached her home she beat out all the airs of barley she had gleaned and found there were three packs of barley about ten times as much as a single light's daily portion of manna while wandering in the wilderness her first day's work had secured provision for several days to come when Naomi saw what a quantity of barley Ruth had brought home she asked in whose field she had gleaned then Ruth related all the events of the day and how Boaz had been kind to her it pleased Naomi to hear that Boaz had shown kindness to Ruth because he was a relation of her husband and one whose duty it was to care for a widow and one who had a right to help them by law such a relative was called a gol meaning a redeemer so the days of the harvest passed every day Ruth gleaned in the fields and at night returned to Naomi each day she kept close by the maidens of Boaz through the barley harvest in gathering of the wheat the harvest finished the threshing of the grain began Naomi was anxious that the redeemer should exercise his right according to Israel Lightish law when a man died and left his wife childless his nearest of Ken was to take the widow to be his wife and any son born of this marriage should inherit the name and possessions of the first husband in this way he kept his brother's name and inheritance from being blotted out Naomi saw with thankfulness that divine love had led Ruth to the protection of her rightful guardian so Naomi planned how Ruth should have an opportunity of speaking to Boaz she told her to take off the sign of her mourning and widowhood and go to the threshing floor when the grain was beaten out the threshing floors were either natural spaces of rock or open places covered with large flat stones so that the grain could be readily separated from the husk without waste and the chaff easily blown away the sheaves of grain were spread on these places and a wooden sledge covered with iron teeth was dragged over them by oxen until all the grain had fallen from the dry ears it was a joyful time the oxen were not muscled so they could eat while they worked and the master and his servants feasted when the grain was threshed it was cleaned by the cool winds of morning or evening and by the aid of large fans as this winnowing had to be done when the breezes sprang up master and servant often slept all night at the threshing floors so as to be ready for the first breath of wind and to see that the wind was not stolen Naomi told Ruth to go to the threshing floor of Boas and speak to him during the night Ruth dead as she was told and at the proper time told Boas that he had the right to redeem her Boas was pleased and told her that he would do as she had said but he reminded her that while he was her kensman there was another who was nearer he would see this man in the morning and he would exercise his right as redeemer he would perform the part of a kensman himself he told her to lie quietly down until morning and when it was nearly sunrise he poured into the veil or cloak that she wore six measures of barley and sent her home to Naomi Ruth went on her way in the dusk of dawn bearing the present of grain on her head as was the custom she was returning to her mother-in-law with a story of hope and blessing that had come to her in the promise of Boas when she reached home Naomi's first question was how hast thou fared my daughter then Ruth told her all that Boas had said and done and how he had given her the barley saying as he did so go not empty to thy mother-in-law Naomi was pleased for she understood how Boas and Ruth felt towards each other and so said sit still my daughter until thou know how the matter will fare for the man will not rest until he have finished the thing this day in Palestine nearly every town and many villages were surrounded by walls and the main entrances there were deep gateways which generally had broad and shady spaces in front that were frequently met these gates became the chief places of interest they were often arched over and used as watchtowers they became the guard house business was transacted there and in this way they became markets people met in the city gates to discuss the news of the day and proclamations were made there kings and rulers gave audience there and being a place of general resort the elders sat there to dispense justice in the morning then Boas went to the gateway of the city of Bethlehem ready to fulfill his pledge to Ruth as he sat there the man who was the nearest relative of Alamelak passed by Boas summoned him to a seat by himself using the legal form of expression by which he would understand that there was special business to be transacted then the elders or wise and respected citizens were asked to hear Boas's case and to be at once judges and responsible witnesses and to ratify the proceedings in their presence and in the hearing of the people who gathered near Boas stated the facts saying to the redeemer Naomi that has come again out of the country of Moab seek at the parcel of land which was our brother Alamelakts and I thought to baptize thee saying buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people and then Boas went on and asked the man if he would redeem it and the man said that he would do so he further explained to him the customs and conditions of the law and told him if he took the land he must also take Ruth the Moabitis to be his wife but this was a part of the bargain that the man did not want to perform found his right of redemption over to Boas giving as his reason that he would not mind buying the field if it would become his own personal property but if he should marry Ruth the field he bought would not belong to him and so he would have paid out money for something which would bring him little or no benefit it is not at all unlikely that he refused to marry Ruth because she was a Moabitis fearing that a marriage with an alien might mar his reputation and position in the city when the man had announced his decision it was confirmed by the usual custom in all cases of redeeming and exchanging the one giving up the claim took off his sandal and gave it to the one who received the claim the matter was thus ratified as though a bond had been drawn up and signed in this way the unnamed transmen of Elamelach refused to redeem Ruth and her land and as a proof of it he drew off his sandal and handed it to Boas before the ten elders and all the people thus transferring it to him the legal right to be the redeemer Boas then called all present to witness that he had that day bought all that was Elamelach's and all that was Chileans and all that was Malans also that Ruth the Moabitess was to be his wife and all the elders and all the people who were in the gate said they would be witnesses and because Boas had acted so honorably all present united in asking the blessing of God upon his marriage so with the approval and best wishes of his neighbors and friends and above all with the blessing of God Boas and Ruth were married the story of Ruth is a beautiful one for it shows how the sacrifice and service of love was rewarded Naomi in her old age and declining days was made glad and the alien found a happy home in time a son was born to Boas and Ruth and the name of Obed or the serving one was given to it this boy grew up to be the father of Jesse whose son was the mightiest of Israel's kings when Ruth's baby boy was born the matrons of Bethlehem congratulated Naomi who became the child's nurse the boy grew up to be the joy of his parents and the comfort of his adopted grandmother and in time the ancestor of Mary the mother of Jesus the savior of the world then sprang from the tribe of Judah and from the Gentiles as they were called in the New Testament through Ruth the Moabitess the memory of the faithful loving Ruth has been a sweet and living picture for many years she left her home, her friends her all to be kind and good to her brokenhearted mother-in-law and to serve God and found much more than she gave up she brought consolation to Naomi there came to her love prosperity and peace and through her children's children the end of a farmer's wife the story of Ruth by J. H. Willard