 THE LITTLE MATCH CELLOR by Hans Christian Andersen. It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large indeed that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Playing with cold and hunger she crept along. Poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not. Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New Year's Eve. Yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold, and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her. Besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah, perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out. Scratch! How it sputtered as it burnt. It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was a really wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned, and seemed so beautifully warm, that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when low the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand. She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white tablecloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her. She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchants. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures like those she had seen in the show windows looked down upon it all. The little ones stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out. The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. Someone is dying, thought the little girl. For her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls a soul was going up to God. She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her. In the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. Grandmother! cried the little one. Oh, take me with you! I know you will go away when the match burns out. You will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas tree. And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And then the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noonday, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God. In the dawn of mourning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall. She had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year, and the New Year's sun rose and shone upon a little corpse. The child still sat in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. She tried to warm herself, said some. No one imagined what beautiful thing she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother on New Year's Day. End of The Little Match Cellar by Hans Christian Andersen This recording is in the public domain. The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Rolly-Poly Pudding by Beatrix Potter This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Once upon a time there was an old cat called Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, who was an anxious parent. She used to lose her kittens continually, and whenever they were lost they were always in mischief. On baking day she determined to shut them up in a cupboard. She caught moppet and mittens, but she could not find Tom. Mrs. Tabitha went up and down all over the house, mewing for Tom Kitten. She looked in the pantry under the staircase, and she searched the best spare bedroom that was all covered up with dust sheets. She went right upstairs and looked into the attics, but she could not find him anywhere. It was an old house full of cupboards and passages. Some of the walls were four feet thick, and there used to be queer noises inside them, as if there might be a little secret staircase. Certainly there were odd little jagged doorways in the Wainscott, and things disappeared at night, especially cheese and bacon. Mrs. Tabitha became more and more distracted. She mewed dreadfully. While their mother was searching the house, moppet and mittens had gotten to mischief. The cupboard door was not locked, so they pushed it open and came out. They went straight to the door, which was set to rise in a pan before the fire. They patted it with their soft little paws. Shall we make dear little muffins, said mittens, to moppet? But just at that moment somebody knocked on the front door, and moppet jumped into the flower-barrel in a fright. Mittens ran away to the dairy and hid in an empty jar on the stone shelf where the milk-pan stand. The visitor was a neighbor, Mrs. Ribby. She had called to borrow some yeast. Mrs. Tabitha came downstairs, mewing dreadfully. Come in, cousin Ribby, come in, and sit she down. I'm in sad trouble, cousin Ribby, said Tabitha, shedding tears. I've lost my dear son, Thomas. I'm afraid the rats have got him. She wiped her eyes with her apron. He's a bad kitten, cousin Tabitha. He made a cat's cradle of my best bonnet the last I might came to tea. Where have you looked for him? All over the house. The rats are too many for me. What a thing it is to have an unruly family, said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit. I'm not afraid of rats. I will help you find him, and whip him, too. What is all that soot in the fender? The chimney went sweeping. Oh, dear me, cousin Ribby. Now moppet and mittens are gone. They have both got out of the cupboard. Ribby and Tabitha set to work to search the house thoroughly again. They poked under the beds with Ribby's umbrella, and they rummaged in the cupboards. They even fetched a candle and looked inside a clothes chest in one of the attics. They could not find anything. But once they heard a door bang, and someone scuttered downstairs. Yes, it is infested with rats, said Tabitha tearfully. I caught seven young ones out of one hole in the back kitchen, and we had them for dinner last Saturday. And once I saw the old father rat, an enormous old rat, cousin Ribby. I was just going to jump on him when he showed his yellow teeth at me, and whisked down the hole. The rats get upon my nerves, cousin Ribby, said Tabitha. Ribby and Tabitha searched and searched. They both heard a curious, roly-poly noise under the attic floor. But there was nothing to be seen. They returned to the kitchen. Here's one of your kittens at last, said Ribby, dragging Moppet out of the flower barrel. They shook the flower off her and set her down on the kitchen floor. She seemed to be in a terrible fright. Oh, mother, mother, said Moppet. There's an old woman rat in the kitchen, and she's stolen some of the dough! The two cats ran to look at the dough-pan. Sure enough there were marks of little scratching fingers, and a lump of dough was gone. Which way did she go, Moppet? But Moppet had been much too frightened to peep out of the barrel again. Ribby and Tabitha took her with them to keep her safely in sight, while they went on with their search. They went into the dairy. The first thing they found was Mittens hiding in an empty jar. They tipped up the jar, and she scrambled out. Oh, mother, mother, said Mittens. Oh, mother, mother, there has been an old man rat in the dairy. A dreadful, normous big rat mother, and he's stolen a pat of butter and the rolling pin. Ribby and Tabitha looked at one another. A rolling pin and butter? Oh, my poor son Thomas exclaimed Tabitha, ringing her paws. A rolling pin, said Ribby. Did we not hear a rolly-poly noise in the attic when we were looking into that chest? Ribby and Tabitha rushed upstairs again. Sure enough, the rolly-poly noise was still going on quite distinctly under the attic floor. This is serious, cousin Tabitha, said Ribby. We must send for John Joyner at once, with a saw. Now this is what had been happening to Tom Kitten, and it shows how very unwise it is to go up a chimney in a very old house. Where a person does not know his way, and where there are enormous rats. Tom Kitten did not want to be shut up in a cupboard. When he saw that his mother was going to bake, he determined to hide. He looked about for a nice, convenient place, and he fixed upon the chimney. The fire had only just been lighted, and it was not hot, but there was a white, choky smoke from the green sticks. Tom Kitten got upon the fender and looked up. It was a big, old-fashioned fireplace. The chimney itself was wide enough inside for a man to stand up and walk about, so there was plenty of room for a little Tomcat. He jumped right up into the fireplace, balancing himself upon the iron bar where the kettle hangs. Tom Kitten took another big jump off the bar, and landed on a ledge high up inside the chimney, knocking down some soot into the fender. Tom Kitten coughed and choked with the smoke, and he could hear the sticks beginning to crackle and burn in the fireplace down below. He made up his mind to climb right to the top, and get out on the slates and try to catch sparrows. I cannot go back! If I slipped, I might fall in the fire and singe my beautiful tail and my little blue jacket. The chimney was a very big, old-fashioned one. It was built in the days when people burnt logs of wood upon the hearth. The chimney stack stood up above the roof like a little stone tower, and the daylight shone down from the top under the slanting slates that kept out the rain. Tom Kitten was getting very frightened. He climbed up, and up, and up. Then he waited sideways through inches of soot. He was like a little sweep himself. It was most confusing in the dark. One flew seemed to lead into another. There was less smoke, but Tom Kitten felt quite lost. He scrambled up and up. But before he reached the chimney-top he came to a place where somebody had loosened a stone in the wall. There were some mutton-bones lying about. This seems funny, said Tom Kitten. Who has been gnawing bones up here in the chimney? I wish I had never come. And what a funny smell! It is something like mouse, only dreadfully strong. Well, it makes me sneeze, said Tom Kitten. He squeezed through the hole in the wall and dragged himself along a most uncomfortably tight passage where there was scarcely any light. He groped his way carefully for several yards. He was at the back of the skirting-board in the attic. All at once he fell head over heels in the dark, down a hole, and landed on a heap of very dirty rags. When Tom Kitten picked himself up and looked about him, he found himself in a place that he had never seen before, although he had lived all his life in the house. It was a very small, stuffy, fusty room with boards and drafters and cobwebs and lathen plaster. Opposite to him, as far away as he could sit, was an enormous rat. What do you mean by tumbling into my bed, all covered with smuts, said the rat, chattering his teeth? Please, sir, the chimney once sweeping, said poor Tom Kitten. Anna Maria! Anna Maria! squeaked the rat. There was a pattering noise, and an old woman rat poked her head round a rafter. All in a minute she rushed upon Tom Kitten, and before he knew what was happening his coat was pulled off and he was rolled up in a bundle and tied with string in very hard knots. Anna Maria did the tying. The old rat watched her and took snuff. When she had finished, they both sat staring at him with their mouths open. Anna Maria! said the old man rat, whose name was Samuel Whiskers. Anna Maria! Make me a kitten-dumpling, roly-poly pudding for my dinner. It requires dough and a pad of butter and a rolling pin, said Anna Maria, considering Tom Kitten with her head on one side. No, said Samuel Whiskers. Make it properly, Anna Maria, with breadcrumbs. Nonsense! Butter and dough, replied Anna Maria. The two rats consulted together for a few minutes, and then went away. Samuel Whiskers got through a hole in the Wainscot and went boldly down the front staircase to the dairy to get the butter. He did not meet anybody. He made a second journey for the rolling pin. He pushed it in front of him with his paws, like a brewer's man trundling a barrel. He could hear Ribby and Tabitha talking, but they were busy lighting the candle to look into the chest. They did not see him. Anna Maria went down by way of the skirting board and a window shutter to the kitchen to steal the dough. She borrowed a small saucer and scooped up the dough with her paws. She did not observe Muppet. While Tom Kitten was left alone under the floor of the attic, he wriggled about and tried to mew for help. But his mouth was full of soot and cobwebs, and he was tied up in such very tight knots, and he could not make anyone hear him, except a spider, which came out of a crack in the ceiling and examined the knots critically from a safe distance. It was a judge of knots because it had a habit of tying up unfortunate blue bottles. It did not offer to assist him. Tom Kitten wriggled and squirmed until he was quite exhausted. Presently, the rats came back and set to work to make him into a dumpling. First they smeared him with butter, and then they rolled him in the dough. Will not the string be very indigestible, Anna Maria? inquired Samuel Whiskers. Anna Maria said she thought it was of no consequence, but she wished that Tom Kitten would hold his head still as it disarranged the pastry. She laid hold of his ears. Tom Kitten bit and spat and mewed and wriggled, and the rolling pin went rolly-poly-rolly, rolly-poly-rolly. The rats each held an end. His tail is sticking out. You did not fetch enough dough, Anna Maria. I fetched as much as I could carry, replied Anna Maria. I do not think, said Samuel Whiskers, pausing to take a look at Tom Kitten. I do not think it will be a good pudding. It smells sooty. Anna Maria was about to argue the point, when all at once there began to be other sounds up above, the rasping noise of a saw, and the noise of a little dog scratching and yelping. The rats dropped the rolling pin and listened attentively. We are discovered and interrupted, Anna Maria. Let us collect our property, and other peoples, and depart at once. I fear that we shall be obliged to leave this pudding. But I am persuaded that the rats would have proved indigestible. Whatever you may have urged, to the contrary. Come away at once and help me tie up some mutton-bones in a counter-pane, said Anna Maria. I have got half a smoked ham hidden in the chimney. So it happened that by the time John Joyner had got to the plank up, there was nobody under the floor except the rolling pin and Tom Kitten in a very dirty dumpling. But there was a strong smell of rats, and John Joyner spent the rest of the morning sniffing and whining and wagging his tail and going round and round with his head in the hole like a gimlet. Then he nailed the plank down again and put his tools in his bag and came downstairs. The cat family had quite recovered. They invited him to stay to dinner. The dumpling had been peeled off Tom Kitten and made separately into a bag pudding, with currents in it to hide the smut. They had been obliged to put Tom Kitten into a hot bath to get the butter off. John Joyner smelt the pudding, but he regretted that he had not time to stay to dinner, because he had just finished making a wheelbarrow for Miss Potter, and she had ordered two hencoops. And when I was going to the post late in the afternoon, I looked up the lane from the corner, and I saw Mr. Samuel Whiskers and his wife on the run, with big bundles on a little wheelbarrow, which looked very like mine. They were just turning in at the gate to the barn of farmer potatoes. Samuel Whiskers was puffing and out of breath. Anna Maria was still arguing in shrill tones. She seemed to know her way, and she seemed to have a quantity of luggage. I am sure I never gave her leave to borrow my wheelbarrow. They went into the barn and hauled their parcels with a bit of string to the top of the haymow. After that there were no more rats for a long time at Tabitha Twitchits. As for farmer potatoes, he has been driven nearly distracted. There are rats and rats and rats in his barn. They eat up the chicken food and steal the oats and bran, and make holes in the meal bags. And they are all descended from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whiskers, children and grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren. There is no end to them. Moppet and Mittens have grown up into very good rat catchers. They go out rat-catching in the village, and they find plenty of employment. They charge so much a dozen and earn their living very comfortably. They hang up the rat's tails in a row on the barn door to show how many they have caught, dozens and dozens of them. But Tom Kitten has always been afraid of a rat. He never durst face anything that is bigger than a mouse. End of The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, or The Rolly-Poly Pudding, by Beatrix Potter. Read by Charlie Newsom. The Good Sea Monster 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. On an island of rocks out in the ocean lived a sea monster. His head was large, and when he opened his mouth it looked like a cave. It had been said that he was so huge that he could swallow a ship and that on stormy nights he sat on the rocks and the flashing of his eyes could be seen for miles around. The sailors spoke of him with fear and trembling, but as you can see the sea monster had really been a friend to them, showing them the rock in the storm by flashing his eyes. But because he looked so hideous, all who beheld him thought he must be a cruel monster. One night there was a terrible storm, and the monster went out into the ocean to see if any ship was wrecked in the night, and, if possible, help anyone that was floating about. He found one little boy floating about on a plank. His name was Coco, and when he saw the monster he was afraid, but when Coco saw that the monster did not attempt to harm him, he climbed on the monster's back and he took him to the rocky island. Then the monster went back into the sea and Coco wondered if he were to be left alone, but after a while the monster returned and opened his mouth very wide. Coco ran when he saw the huge mouth, for he thought the monster intended to swallow him, but as he did not follow him Coco went back. The monster opened his mouth again and Coco asked, do you want me to go inside? And the monster nodded his head. It must be for my own good, said Coco, for he could easily swallow me if he wished without waiting for me to walk in. So Coco walked into the big mouth and down a dark passage, but what the monster wanted him to do he could not think. He could see very faintly now, and after a while he saw a stove, a chair, and a table. I will take these out, said Coco, for I am sure I can use them. He took them to a cave on the island and when he returned the monster was gone, but he soon returned and again he opened his mouth. Coco walked in this time without waiting and he found boxes and barrels of food which he stored away in the cave. When Coco had removed everything, the monster lay down and went to sleep. Coco cooked his dinner and then he awoke the monster and said, dinner is ready. But the monster shook his head and plunged into the ocean. He soon returned with his mouth full of fish. Then Coco knew that the monster had brought all the things from a sunken ship for him and he began to wish that the monster could talk, for he no longer feared him. I wish you could talk, he said. I can, the monster replied. No one ever wished it before. An old witch changed me into a monster and put me on this island where no one could reach me and the only way I can be restored to my original form is for someone to wish it. I wish it, said Coco. You have had your wish, said the monster, and I can talk, but for me to become a man someone else must wish it. The monster and Coco lived for a long time on the island. He took Coco for long rides on his back and when the waves were too high and Coco was afraid the monster would open his mouth and Coco would crawl inside and be brought back safe to the island. One night after a storm, Coco saw something floating on the water and he jumped on the monster's back and they swam out to it. It proved to be a little girl about Coco's age who had been on one of the wrecked vessels and they brought her to the island. At first she was afraid of the monster, but when she learned that he had saved Coco as well as her and brought them all their food she became as fond of him as Coco was. I wish he were a man, as she said one day as she sat on his back with Coco ready for a sail. Splash went both children into the water and there in the place of the monster was an old man. He caught the children in his arms and brought them to the shore. But what will we do for food now that you are a man? asked Coco. We shall want for nothing now replied the old man. I am a sea god and can do many things. Now that I have my own form again we will change this island into a beautiful garden and when the little girl and you are grown up and married you shall have a castle and all the sea gods and nymphs will care for you. You will never want for anything again. I will take you out on the ocean on the backs of my dolphins. Coco and the little girl lived on the enchanted island and all the things that the old sea god promised came true. End of The Good Sea Monster by Abby Phillips Walker read by Brianna Chiles. The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter This is a Libber Vox recording all Libber Vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibberVox.org read by Chad Horner. This is a tale about a tale a tale that belonged to a little red squirrel and his name was Nutkin. He had a brother called Twinkleberry and a great many cousins. They lived in a wood at the edge of a lake. In the middle of the lake there was an island covered with trees and nut bushes and among those trees stands a hollow oak tree which is the house of an oil who is called old brine. One autumn when the nuts were ripe and the leaves on the hazel bushes were golden and green. Nutkin and Twinkleberry and all the other little squirrels came out of the wood and down on the edge of the lake. They made little rafts out of twigs and they paddled away over the water to oil island to gather nuts. Each squirrel had a little sack and a large ore and spread out his tail for a seal. They also took with them an offering of three fat mice as a present for old brine and put them down upon his doorstep. Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow and said politely, old Mr. Brine will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon your island. But Nutkins was excessively impertinent in his manners. He bobbed up and down like a little red cherry singing, riddle me riddle me rot tot tot a little wee man in a red red coat, a staff in his right hand and a stone in his throat. If you'll tell me his riddle I'll give you a groot. Now this riddle is as old as the hills. Mr. Brine paid no attention whatever to Nutkin. He shut his eyes obstinately and went to sleep. The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts and sealed away home in the evening. But next morning they all came back again to oil island and Twinkleberry and the others brought a fine fat mole and laid it on the stone in front of old Brine's doorway and said Mr. Brine will you favour us with your gracious permission to gather some more nuts. But Nutkin, who had no respect, began to dance up and down, tinkling old Mr. Brine with a nettle and singing, old Mr. B riddle me ree, hitty-pitty within the wall, hitty-pitty without the ball. If you touch hitty-pitty, hitty-pitty will bite you. Mr. Brine woke up suddenly and carried the mole into his house. He shot the door in Nutkin's face. Presently a little thread of blue smoke from a wood fire came up from the top of the tree and Nutkin peeped through the keyhole and sang, A house full, a hole full, and you can not gather a bowl full. The squirrels searched for nuts all over the island and filled their little sacks. But Nutkin gathered oak apples, yellow and scarlet, and sat upon a beach stump, playing marbles, and watching the door of old Mr. Brine. On the third day the squirrels got up very early and went fishing. They caught seven fat minnows as a present for old Brine. They paddled over the lake and landed under a crooked chestnut tree on Oil Island. Twinkleberry and six other little squirrels each carried a fat minnow. But Nutkin, who had no nice manners, brought no present at all. He ran in front singing. The man in the wilderness said to me how many strawberries grow in the sea. I answered him as I thought good, as many red herrings as grow in the wood. But old Mr. Brine took no interest in riddles, not even when the answer was provided for him. On the fourth day the squirrels brought a present of six fat beetles, which were as good as plums in plum pudding for old Brine. Each beetle was wrapped up carefully in a dock leaf, fastened with a pine needle pin. But Nutkin sang as rudely as ever, old Mr. B. Greadle me re, flower of England, fruit of Spain, meet together in a shower of rain. Put in a bag tied round with a string. If you'll tell me that riddle I'll give you a ring. Which was ridiculous of Nutkin, because he had not got any ring to give to old Brine. The other squirrels hunted up and down the nutbushes. But Nutkin gathered robins, pin cushions off a briar bush and stuck them full of pine needle pins. On the fifth day the squirrels brought a present of wild honey. It was so sweet and sticky that they licked their fingers as they put it down upon stone. They had stolen it out of a bumble-beast nest on the tippity top of the hill. But Nutkin skipped up and down, singing hum-a-bum, buzz-buzz, hum-a-bum, buzz. As I went over Tybaltine I met a flock of Bonnie swine, some yellow-naked and some yellow-backed. They were the very Bonnie-est swine that error went over Tybaltine. Old Mr. Brine turned up his eyes and discussed at the impertinence of Nutkin. But he ate up the honey. The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts, but Nutkin sat upon a big flat rock, and played nine pins with a crab-apple and green. On the sixth day, which was Saturday, the squirrels came again for the last time. They brought a new-laid egg in a little brushed basket, as a last parting present for Old Brine. But Nutkin ran in front, laughing and shouting, Humpty Dumpty lies in the back, with a wide counterpane round his neck. Forty doctors and forty rites could not put Humpty Dumpty to rites. Now, Old Mr. Brine took an interest in eggs. He opened one eye and shut it again, but still did not speak. Nutkin became more and more impertinent. Old Mr. B., Old Mr. B., Hickamore Hickamore on the king's kitchen door. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't drive Hickamore Hickamore off the king's kitchen door. Nutkin danced up and down like a sunbeam, but still Old Brine said nothing at all. Nutkin began again. Arthur, a buyer, has broken his band. He comes roaring up the land. The king of Scots, with all his power, cannot turn Arthur off the buyer. Nutkin made a worried noise to sound like the wind, and he took a running jump right onto the head of Old Brine. Then all at once there was a flutterment and a scufflement and a loud squeak. The other squirrels scotted away into the bushes. When they came back very cautiously peeping round the tree, there was Old Brine sitting on his doorstep, quite still, with his eyes closed, as if nothing had happened. But Nutkin was in his waistcoat pocket. This looks like the end of the story, but it isn't. Old Brine carried Nutkin into his house and held him up by the tail, intending to skin him, but Nutkin pulled so very hard that his tail broke in two, and he dashed up the staircase and escaped out of the attic window. And to this day, if you meet Nutkin up, a tree and ask him a riddle, he will through sticks at you and stamp his feet and scold and shout, Coo-coo-coo-coo-ra-coo-key-key. End of the tail of squirrel, Nutkin by Beatrix Potter. The Wise Old Gander 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. Once there lived a farmer who was not a good caretaker. He did not have a house for the hens and chickens and geese and ducks. An old fox, who lived in a hole over the hill, never had any trouble in getting a nice goose or a fat hen for a supper or breakfast. Something must be done at once, said Madame Goose. There will be no one left in the whole yard if this keeps on. Why only last night Madame Grey Hen was carried off, and she has left all those little chicks. It is really too awful to think of. But what can we do? asked Grey Goose. The rooster does not know, for I heard one of his family ask him, and he only said the master should take better care of us. So he should, replied Madame Goose. But he doesn't, so we must care for ourselves, unless we wish to be carried off too. Let us go to Gander. He may be able to help us. Come with us, they called to the rooster and black hen who were walking together. We are going to see the Gander and ask him to help us to be rid of old fox over the hill. The Gander stretched out his neck and blinked his eyes as he listened to their tale of woe. You are right, something must be done, he said, and you are quite right in coming to me also. I will think over the matter and give you my advice later. Later, screamed Madame Goose, there will be no need for advice, there will be no one to give it or to advise. What we need is advice at once, and something that will rid us of old fox under the hill. He is eating the whole yard, one by one. Well, well, answered the Gander, standing on one foot and then on the other. I will think over the matter for a short time and then tell you my decision. You know, my dear Madame, that great minds must have quiet to think out important matters. Leave me, I beg of you all, for a little while. As soon as the Gander was alone, he waddled over to the pig-pin. Mr. Pig, he said, I am going to ask your advice. Old fox over the hill is carrying off all the fowls, and something must be done. Uh-uh, grunted the pig. I can tell you what will frighten him away. I will stay awake tonight and grunt at him. He will know better than to linger where I am. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Pig, said the Gander, backing away from the pig-pin. I will tell my friends that I am sure they will feel safe tonight. Conceited fellow, said the Gander, I guess it will take more than his grunts to scare that foxy fellow. He then went to the donkey. Isn't very wise, thought the Gander, but sometimes those who have the least wisdom speak wisdom without knowing it. Mr. Donkey, I have come to ask your advice. Old fox is carrying off our hins and geese. Something must be done to stop him, or soon there will be none left. Quite so, quite so. I see, I see, Mr. Gander, said the donkey. You have come to the right place for advice. Now go back to your friends and tell them to have no fear. I will take the matter in hand. But what are you going to do? asked the Gander. Why, my dear sir, I am going to bray at Old Fox when he comes. I am going to bray at him, and you will see he will not stay long when he hears my commanding voice. Oh, how can I ever thank you? said the Gander, walking away. I will tell my friends at once that you will take care of them tonight. Foolish old donkey, the Gander said to himself, I guess Old Fox has heard donkey bray before this. I'll try the cow next. Madam cow, Old Fox is carrying off all the fouls one by one, and if something is not done at once to stop him, there will be none of us left. What would you advise? Oh, don't ask me, Mr. Gander, said the cow. All I can do is moo, and Old Fox would no more mind that than the wind blowing. I wish I were wise enough to advise you, but I am not. But if I can help you in any way, let me know. Thank you, Madam cow, said the Gander, waddling away. You may hear from me. We never can tell when we shall need the help of our friends. The next one the Gander visited was the cat. Can you help me, Madam Puss? began the Gander. We fouls are all in trouble. Old Fox carries off one or more of our numbers every night, and something must be done to stop it at once. The cat opened her mouth at very wide and yawned, and the Gander wondered if he had been wise after all in asking her advice in this matter. But Puss closed her mouth with a snap and set up. Of course I can help you, she said. Did you ever see my claws? The Gander backed away as Puss held them up to his view. The Gander confessed that he had not, and Puss went on. Well, leave it to me to protect the barnyard. That dog Rover never seems to think about anything but eating and sleeping. I will yowl and spit at Old Fox when he comes to-night, and I can tell you and your friends he will not come again. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Puss, said the Gander, running away. My, but that was a narrow escape for me, said the Gander. She positively looks awful when she opens her mouth. I seem to be getting advice, but not the kind that will save my friends. They all feel sure they can scare Old Fox, but not one of them will be able to. I don't know that all of them together would. The Gander stopped still and held up his head. I have it, he said. I have the very plan. I will get them all together, and each shall do his part. I believe we can scare Old Fox away for good and all time. The Gander went to the dog, and he promised to bark. Of course, there is no need to have the others around if I do that, said the dog, but bring them all along if you like. Every little helps. That night the donkey, the dog, the cat, the cow, and the pig were gathered in the barnyard. Each one protested that the others were not needed. All but the cow, she was modest and said she would help. Then the rooster came and offered to crow, and the geese were to quack. Now you all must hide, said the Gander, and don't move until Old Fox gets right in the middle of the yard. Then jump up and do your worst. Old Fox waited until it was very late, and then crept over the hill and up to the farm. He listened, and hearing no sound, he crept into the barnyard. He was just about to reach a fat goose when all the animals began. The dog barked, the pig squealed, the donkey braided, the cow mooed, the geese quacked, the rooster crowed, and Puss, true to her word, yelled and sprang at Old Fox, who was so frightened at the terrible noise he forgot to run until Puss struck him with her sharp claws. Then he took to a swiftest speed and away he went over the hill and far away, and was never seen again near that farm. He told some of his friends that a most horrible animal lived there, and must have eaten all the hens and geese, and was big enough to eat them, for he saw at least twenty feet and claws and heads of all sizes. End of The Wise Old Gander, by Abby Phillips Walker. Read by Breanna Chiles. Now, when Jack with the bear's ear was beginning to attain his full growth, he used to walk in the street and endeavor to play with the children, and the child whom he seized by the hand, off he was sure to tear his hand, and whom he seized by the head, off he would tear his head. The other peasants, not being able to put up with such outrageous, told Jack's father that he must either cause his son to mend his manners, or not permit him to go out into the street to play with the children. The father for a long time struggled to reform Jack, but perceiving that his son did not improve, he resolved to turn him out of doors, and said to him, depart from me, and go wheresoever you please. I will keep you no longer in my house, for I am much afraid, lest some misfortune should happen to me on your account. So Jack with the bear's ear, having taken leave of his father and mother, departed on his way. He journeyed for a long time until he arrived at a forest, where he beheld a man cutting oak and billets. He went up to him, and said, Good fellow, what may be your name? Corsillo, replied the other, whereupon they became sworn brothers, and proceeded further. Arriving at a rocky mountain, they perceived a man hewing the rock, to whom they said, God help you on a slad, and what may your name be? My name is Montano, replied he. Whereupon they called him their brother, and proposed to him that he should leave off digging the mountain, and should consent to go with them forthwith. He agreed to their proposal, and all three forthwith proceeded on their way, and journeyed for some time. Arriving at the bank of a river, they saw a man sitting who had a pair of enormous mustaches, with which he angled for fish for his subsistence. They all three said to him, God help you, brother, in your fish-catching. Thank you, brothers, he replied. What may your name be? they inquired. Mustachio, he answered. Whereupon they called him also their brother, and invited him to join their company, which he did not refuse. And so these four journeyed on, and whether they journeyed long or short, far or near, my tale will soon be told, though the deed was a long time in doing. At last they arrived at a forest, where they saw a cabin standing on crow's feet, which kept turning here and there. They went up to it and said, cabin, cabin, stand with your rear to the wood and your front to us. The cabin instantly obeyed them, and they, having entered it, began to consult how they should contrive to live there. After that, they all went into the forest, killed some game, and prepared food for themselves. On the second day, they left Quercillo at home to cook the dinner, whilst they themselves went into the forest to hunt. Quercillo, having got ready the dinner, took his seat by the window, and awaited the return of his brethren. At that moment came Baba Yaga, riding on an iron mortar, which she urged on with the pestle. Whilst her tongue lolling out of her mouth, she drew a mark on the earth as she went. And entering into the cabin, she said, till now near a Russian white I've heard with ear or seen with sight, now full clear I see and hear. Then, turning to Quercillo, she inquired, wherefore did you come hither, Quercillo? Thereupon she began to beat him, and continued beating him until he was half dead, after which she devoured all the food which had been got ready, and then rode off. Upon the return of Quercillo's comrades from the chase, they asked him for their dinner, and he, not informing them that Baba Yaga had been there, said that he had fallen into a swoon, and it got nothing ready. In the very same manner did Baba Yaga treat Montano and Mustascio. At last, it coming to the turn of Jack with the bear's ear to sit at home, he remained whilst his comrades went forth in quest of game. Jack cooked and roasted everything, and having found in Baba Yaga's cabin a pot of honey, he placed a post by the perch, and having split it at the top, he thrust in a wedge and emptied the honey upon the post. He himself sat on the perch, concealing behind him the post while he prepared three iron rods. After the lapse of a little time, arrived Baba Yaga and screamed forth, till now narrow Russian true, I've heard with ear or seen with view, now I do both hear and view. Wherefore have you come hither, Jack with the bear's ear, and why dost thou thus waste my property? Whereupon she began to lick with her tongue about the post, and no sooner did her tongue arrive at the fissure. Then Jack snatched the wedge from out of the post, and having entrapped her tongue, he leaped up from the perch and scourged her with the iron rods, till she begged that he would let her go, promising that he should be in peace from her and that she would never more come to him. Jack consented to her prayer, and having set her tongue at liberty, he placed Baba Yaga in a corner, whilst he himself sat by the window, awaiting his companions, who soon returned, and imagined that Baba Yaga had acted with him in the same manner as with themselves. But perceiving that he had the food already prepared, they were much astonished there at. After dinner, he related how he had dealt with Baba Yaga, and laughed at them that they were unable to manage her. At last, wishing to show them the drummed and beaten Baba Yaga, he led them to the corner. But there she was no longer, so they resolved to go in pursuit of her. And having arrived at a stone, they lifted it up and perceived a deep abyss, down which they thought of descending. But as none of his companions had courage enough to do this, Jack with the bear's ear consented to go. So they began to construct a cable, and having made a canoe for him to sit in, they let him down into the gulf. Meanwhile, Jack commanded them to wait for him a whole week, and provided during this time, they received no intelligence of him to await no longer. If I be alive and pull the rope, draw up the canoe, provided it be light. But if it be heavy, cut the rope in order that you may not draw up Baba Yaga instead of me. Then, having bid them farewell, he descended into the deep subterranean abyss. He remained there for a long time. At length, he arrived at a cabin, which having entered, he beheld three beautiful damsels sitting at their needle and embroidering with gold, and these were the daughters of Baba Yaga. As soon as they perceived Jack with the bear's ear, they said, Good youth, what has brought you hither? Here lives Baba Yaga, our mother, and as soon as she arrives, you are a dead man, for she will slay you to a certainty. But if you will deliver us from this place, we will give you information how you may save your life. He promised to conduct them out of that abyss, and they said to him, As soon as our mother shall arrive, she will cast herself upon you, and begin to fight with you. But after that, she will desist, and will run into the cellar, where she is two pictures standing filled with water. In the blue picture is the water of strength, and in the white that of weakness. Scarcely had the daughters of Baba Yaga concluded their discourse when they heard their mother coming in on the iron mortar driving with the pestle, lost her tongue lolling out of her mouth, she drew a mark as she went, whereupon they acquainted Jack. Baba Yaga, having arrived, screamed out, Till now near a rust-have-eye, heard with ear or seen with eye, Now do I both hear and spy. For what are you come hither, Jack, with the bear's ear? Do you imagine to disturb me here also? Then, casting herself suddenly upon him, she began to fight. Both combated for a considerable time, and at length they fell upon the earth. Baba Yaga jumped up and ran into the cellar, withered Jack, likewise rushed after her. And she, without examining, seized the white picture, and jacked the blue one, and both drank. After that, they went out of the cellar and recommenced their combat. Jack, having overpowered her, seized her by the hair, and beat Baba Yaga with her own pestle. She began to entreat Jack to take pity upon her, promised to live at peace with him, and that very moment to depart from the place. Jack, with the bear's ear, consented there too, and seized beating Baba Yaga. As soon as she was departed, he went to her daughters, thanked them for their information, and told them to prepare to leave the place. Whilst they were packing up their things, he went to the rope, and having pulled at it, his companions instantly let down the canoe, in which he placed the eldest sister, and by her sent word to them to draw them all up. Jack's comrades, having drawn up the damsel, were much astonished at the sight of her, but having learned from her the whole affair, they hoisted up her other sisters. At last they let down the canoe for Jack, but he, having this time, stowed into the canoe many clothes and a great deal of money, and having likewise seated himself therein. His comrades, feeling the weight, imagined that it was Baba Yaga who sat there, and cutting the rope, left poor Jack into the abyss. Thereupon they agreed to marry the damsels, and lost no time in so doing. In the meantime, Jack, with the bear's ear, walked for a long time about this abyss, seeking for an outlet. At last, by good fortune, he found in the gloomy place an iron door. Which having broke open, he proceeded for a long time in the same darkness. He then beheld alighted a distance, and directing his course straight towards it, he emerged from the cavern. After this, he determined to seek his comrades, whom he soon found, and the whole three were already married. Upon seeing them, he began to ask them why they had left him in the hole. His comrades, in great terror, told Jack that it was Mustasho who cut the rope, and him, Jack immediately, slew, and took his wife to be his own. Then they all lived together, and acquired great riches. End of THE STORY OF IVASHKA WITH THE BEAR'S EAR by Anonymous, translated from the Russian by George Barrow. Read by Colleen McMahon