 section 162 of childhoods favorites and fairy stories 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 Chilly from Valhiem childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors section 162 the Hordy Princess adapted by Patrick Kennedy there was once a very worthy king whose daughter was the greatest beauty that could be seen far or near but she was as proud as Lucifer and no king or prince would she agree to marry her father was tired out at last and invited every king and prince and you can tell that he knew or didn't know to come to his court and give her one trial more they all came and next day after breakfast they stood in a row in the lawn and the princess walked along in the front of them to make her choice one was fat and says she I won't have you bear barrel one was tall and thin and to him she said I want to have you ramrod to a white-faced man she said I won't have you pale death and to a red-cheeked man she said I won't have you cuckscum she stopped a little before the last of all for he was a fine man in phase and form she wanted to find some defect in him but he had nothing remarkable but a ring of brown curling hair under his chin she admired him a little and then carried it off with I won't have you whiskers so all went away and the king was so faxed he said to her now to punish your impudence I'll give you to the first bag a man or singing strong show that calls and the sure as a half money a fellow all over racks with hair that came to his shoulders and a bushy red beard all over his face came next morning and began to sing before the power window when the song was over the hall door was opened the singer asked in the breeze brought and the princess married to beardy she ruled and she bald but her father didn't mind her there says he to the bridegroom is five Guinness for you take your wife out of my side and never let me lay eyes on you or her again off you let her and dismal enough she was the only thing that gave her relief was a tones of her husband's voice and his genteel manners whose wood is of this said she as they were going through one it belongs to the king you called whiskers yesterday he gave her the same answer about meadows and cornfields and at last a fine city what a fool I was said she to herself he was a fine man and I might have him for a husband at last they were coming up to poor cabin why are you bringing me here says a poor lady this was my house city and now it's yours she began to cry but yours tired and hungry and she went in with him over there was neither a day delayed out nor a fire burning and she was obliged to help her husband to light it and boil their dinner and clean up the place after and next day he made her put on a stuffed gown and a cotton tanker chief when she had her house readied up and no business to keep her employed he brought home Sally's willows peeled them and showed her how to make baskets the heart weeks bruised to delicate fingers and she began to cry well then he asked her to mend their clothes but a needle drew blood from her fingers and you cried again he couldn't bear to see her tears so he bought a creel of earthenware and sent her to the market to sell them this was a hardest trial of all but she looked so handsome and sorrowful I had such a nice air about her said all her pans and jugs and plates and dishes were gone before noon and the only mark of her old pride she showed was a slap she gave a bikini across the face when he asked her an impudent question well her husband was so glad he sent her with another creel the next day but faith her luck was after deserting her a drunken huntsman came up riding and his bees got in among him where I made rich of every mother's son of him she went home crying and her husband wasn't at all pleased I see said he you're not fit for business come along I'll get your kitchen maids plays in the palace I know to cook so the poor thing was obliged to stifle her bride once more she was kept very busy and the footman and the butler would be very impudent about looking for a kiss but she led a screech out of her the first attempt was made the cook gave the fellow such a lambasting with the basm that he made no second offer she went home to her husband every night and she carried broken victuals wrapped in papers in the side pockets a week after she got service there was great bustle in the kitchen the king was going to be married but no one knew who the bride was to be well in the evening the cook built the princess's pockets with cold meat and patterns and says she before you go let us have a look at the great doings in the big parlor so they came near the door to get a peep and who would come out but a king himself as handsome as you please and no other but King whiskers himself your handsome helper must pay for a peeping said he to the cook and answer Jake with me because as she would know he held a hand and brought her into the parlor the fiddlers struck up and away went him with her but they hadn't danced two steps when the meat and the puddin's flew out of her pockets everyone roared out and she flew to the door crying pitchersly but she was soon caught by the king and taken into the back parlor don't you know me my darling said he I'm both King whiskers your husband the ballad singer and the drunken huntsman your father knew me well enough when he gave you to me and all was to drive your proud out of you well she didn't know how she was with fright and shame and joy love was a promotes anyhow was she laid her head on the husband's breast and cried like a child the maid of honor soon had her away and dresser as fine as hands and pins could do it and there were her mother and father too while the company were wondering what would be the end of the handsome girl and the king he and his queen who they didn't know in her fine clothes came in and such rejoicings and fine doings as it was none of us will ever see anyway end of section 162 section 163 of childhood favorites and fairy stories this is a Libra box recording all Libra box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Libra box.org recording by Ralph Snelson childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors section 163 Jack and his master a poor woman had three sons the eldest and second eldest were cunning clever fellows but they called the youngest Jack the fool because they thought he was no better than a simpleton the eldest got tired of staying at home and said he'd go look for service he stayed away a whole year and then came back one day dragging one foot after the other and a poor wise and face on him and he was as cross as two sticks when he was rested and got something to eat he told them how he had taken service with the gray churl of the townland of miss chance and that the agreement was whoever would first say he was sorry for his bargain should get an inch wide of the skin of his back from shoulder to hips taken off if it was the master he should also pay double wages if it was the servant he should get no wages at all but the thief says he gave me so little to eat and kept me so hard at work that flesh and blood couldn't stand it and when he asked me once when I was in a passion if I was sorry for my bargain I was mad enough to say I was and here I am disabled for life vexed enough for the poor mother and brothers and the second eldest said on the spot he'd go and take service with the gray churl and punish him by all the annoyance he'd give him till he'd make him say he was sorry for his agreement oh won't I be glad to see the skin coming off the old villain's back said he all they could say had no effect he started off for the townland of miss chance and in a 12 month he was back just as miserable and helpless as his brother all the poor mother could say didn't prevent Jack the fool from starting to see if he was able to regulate the gray churl he agreed with him for a year for 20 pounds and the terms were the same now Jack said the gray churl if you refuse to do anything you are able to do you must lose a month's wages I'm satisfied said Jack and if you stop me from doing a thing after telling me to do it you are to give me an additional month's wages I am satisfied said the master or if you blame me for obeying your orders you must give me the same I am satisfied said the master again the first day that Jack served he was fed very poorly and was worked to the saddle skirts next day he came into the parlor just before the dinner was served up they were taking the goose off the spit but well becomes Jack he whipped a knife off the dresser and cut off one side of the breast one leg and thigh and one wing and fell to in came the master and began to abuse him for his assurance oh you know master you're to feed me and wherever the goose goes won't have to be filled again until supper are you sorry for our agreement the master was going to cry out that he was but he thought himself in time oh no no not at all said he that's well said Jack next day Jack was to go clamp turf on the bog they weren't sorry to have him away from the kitchen at dinner time he didn't find his breakfast very heavy on your stomach so he said to the mistress I think ma'am it will be better for me to get my dinner now and not lose time coming home from the bog that's true Jack said she so she brought out a good cake and a print of butter and a bottle of milk thinking he'd take them away to the bog but Jack kept his seat and never drew rain till bread butter and milk had gone down the red lane now mistress said he I'll be earlier at my work tomorrow if I sleep comfortably on the shelfry side of a pile of dry peed on dry grass and not becoming here and going back so you may as well give me my supper and be done with the day's trouble she gave him that thinking he'd take it to the bog but he fell to on the spot and did not leave a scrap to tell tales on him and the mistress was a little astonished he called to speak to the master in the haggard and said he what are servants asked to do in this country after eating their supper nothing at all but to go to bed oh very well sir he went up on the stable loft stripped and lay down and someone that saw him told the master he came up Jack you anointed scoundrel what do you mean to go to sleep master the mistress God bless her is after giving me my breakfast dinner and supper and yourself told me that bed was the next thing do you blame me sir yes you rascal I do hand me out one pound thirteen and four pence if you please sir one devil and thirteen inch you tinker what for oh I see you forgot your bargain are you sorry for it oh yeah no I mean I'll give you the money after your nap next morning early Jack asked how he'd be employed that day you're to be holding the plow in that fall outside the paddock the master went over about nine o'clock to see what kind of a plowman was Jack and what did he see but the little boy driving the beasties and the sock and colter of the plow skimming along the sod and Jack pulling ding dong again the horses what are you doing you contrary thief said the master and a nice driving to hold this devil of a plow as you told me but that outcrawling of a boy keeps whipping on the beasties in spite of all I say would you speak to him no but I'll speak to you didn't you know you bastoon that when I said holding the plow I meant reddening plowing up the ground faith and if you did I wish you had said so you blame me for what I've done the master caught himself in time but he was so stomached he said nothing go on and redden the ground now you knave as other plowmen do and are you sorry for our agreement oh no not at all not at all Jack plowed away like a good workman all the rest of the day in a day or two the master bait him go and mine the cows in a field that had half of it under young corn be sure particularly said he to keep brownie from the wheat while she's out of mischief there's no fear of the rest about noon he went to see how Jack was doing his duty and what did he find but Jack asleep with his face to the sod brownie grazing near a thorn tree one end of a long rope round her horns and the other end round the tree and the rest of the beast all trampling and eating the green wheat down came the switch on Jack Jack you vagabond do you see what the cows are at and do you blame me master to be sure you lazy slugger died do and me out one pound thirteen and four pence master you said if I only kept brownie out of mischief the rest would do no harm there she is as harmless as a lamb are you sorry for hiring me master to be that is not at all I'll give you your money when you go to dinner no understand me don't let a cow go out of the field or into the wheat the rest of the day never fear master and neither did he but the churl would rather than a great deal he had not hired him the next day three heifers were missing and the master bait Jack go and search of them where shall I look for them said Jack oh every place likely and unlikely for them all to be in the churl was getting very exact in his words when he was coming into the yard at dinnertime what work did he find Jack at but pulling armfuls of the thatch off the roof and peeping into the holes he was making what are you doing there you rascal sure I'm looking for the heifers poor things what would bring them there I don't think anything could bring them in it but I look first into the likely places that is the cowhouses and the pastures and the fields next to them and now I'm looking in the unlikeliest place I can think of maybe it's not pleasing to you it is and to be sure it isn't pleasing to me you aggravating goose cap please sir hand me one pound thirteen fourpence before you sit down to your dinner I'm afraid it's sorrow that's on you for hiring me at all may the diva oh no no I'm not sorry will you begin if you please and put in the thatch again just as if you were doing it for your mother's cabin all faith I will sir with a heart and a half and by the time the farmer came out from his dinner Jack had the roof better than it was before for he made the boy give him new straw says the master when he came out go Jack and look for the heifers and bring them home and where shall I look for them go and search for them as if they were your own the heifers were all in the paddock before sunset next morning says the master Jack the path across the bog to the pasture is very bad the sheep does be sinking in at every step go and make the sheep's feet a good path about an hour after he came to the edge of the bog and what did he find Jack at but sharpening a carving knife and the sheep standing or grazing around is this the way you're mending the path Jack said he everything must have a beginning master said Jack and a thing well begun is half done I'm sharpening the knife and I'll have the feet off every sheep in the flock while you'd be blessing yourself feed up my sheep you anointed rogue and what would you be taking their feet off for and sure to mend the path as you told me says you Jack make a path with the foot of the sheep oh you fool I meant make good the path for the sheep's feet it's a pity you didn't say so master hand me out one pound thirteen and four pence if you don't like me to finish my job. Divo did you good with your one pound thirteen and four pence it's better pray than curse master maybe you're sorry for your bargain and to be sure I am not yet anyway. The next night the master was going to a wedding and says he to Jack before he set out I'll leave at midnight and I wish you to come and be with me home for fear I might be overtaken with the drink if you're there before you may throw a sheep's eye at me and I'll be sure to see that they'll give you something for yourself. About eleven o'clock while the master was in great spirits he felt something clammy hit him on the cheek it fell beside his tumbler and when he looked at it what was it but the eye of a sheep well he couldn't imagine who threw it at him or why it was thrown at him after a little he got a blow on the other cheek and still it was by another sheep's eye well he was much bext but he thought better to say nothing in two minutes more when he was opening his mouth to take us up another sheep's eye was slapped into it he sputtered it out and cried man of the house isn't it a great shame for you to have anyone in the room that would do such a nasty thing master said Jack don't blame the honest man sure it's only myself that was throwing them sheep's eyes at you to remind you I was here and then I wanted to drink the bride and bridegroom's health you know yourself bait me I know that you're a great rascal and where did you get the eyes and where would I get them but in the heads of your own sheep would you have me metal with the beasties of any neighbor who might put me in the stone jug for it sorrow on me that I ever had the bad luck to meet with you you're all witness said Jack that my master says he is sorry for having met with me my time is up master hand me over double wages and come into the next room and lay yourself out like a man that has some decency in him till I take a strip of skin an inch broad from your shoulder to your hip everyone shouted out against that but says Jack you didn't hinder him when he took the same strips from the backs of my two brothers and sent them home in that state and penniless to their poor mother when the company heard the rights of the business they were only too eager to see the job done the master bald and roared but there was no help at hand he was stripped to his hips and laid on the floor in the next room and Jack had the carving knife in his hand ready to begin now you cruel old villain said he giving the knife a couple of scrapes along the floor I'll make you an offer give me along with my double wages two hundred guineas to support my poor brothers and I'll do without the strip no said he I'd let you skin me from head to foot first here goes then said Jack with a grin but the first little scurry gave Cheryl roared out stop your hand I'll give you the money now neighbor said Jack you mustn't think worse of me than I deserve I wouldn't have the heart to take an eye out of a rat itself I got half a dozen of them from the butcher and only used three of them so all came again into the other room and Jack was made to sit down and everybody drank his health and he drank everybody's health at one offer and six stout fellows saw himself and the master home and waited in the parlor while he went up and brought down the 200 guineas and double wages for Jack himself when he got home he brought the summer along with him to the poor mother and the disabled brothers and he was no more Jack the fool in the people's mouths but skin Cheryl Jack end of Jack and his master section 164 of childhood favorites and fairy stories 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 Ralph Snelson childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors section 164 Hutton and Dutton and Donald or neary there was once upon a time two farmers and their names were Hutton and Dutton they had poultry in their yards sheep on the uplands and scores of cattle in the meadowland alongside the river but for all that they weren't happy for just between their two farms there lived a poor man by the name of Donald or neary he had a hovel over his head and a strip of grass that was barely enough to keep his one cow Daisy from starving and though she did her best it was but seldom that Donald got a drink of milk or a roll of butter from Daisy you would think there was little here to make Hutton and Dutton jealous but so it is the more one has the more one wants and Donald's neighbors lay awake of night scheming how they might get hold of his little strip of grass land one day Hutton met Dutton and they were soon grumbling as usual and all to the tune of if only we could get that bag of bond Donald or neary out of the country that's killed Daisy said Hutton at last if that doesn't make him clear out nothing well no sooner said than agreed and it wasn't dark before Hutton and Dutton crept up to the little shed where lay poor Daisy trying her best to chew the cud though she hadn't had as much grass in the day as would cover your hand and when Donald came to see if Daisy was all snug for the night the poor beast had only time to lick his hand once before she died well Donald was a screwed fellow and downhearted though he was began to think if he could get any good out of Daisy's death he thought and he thought and the next day you might have seen him trudging off early to the fair Daisy's hide over his shoulder every penny he had jingling in his pockets just before he got to the fair he made several slits in the hide put a penny in each slit walked into the best end of the town as bold as if it belonged to him and hanging the hide up to a nail in the wall sat down some of your best whiskey says he to the landlord but the landlord didn't like his looks is it fairing I won't pay you you are says Donald why I have a high dear that gives me all the money I want and with that he hit at a whack with a stick and out hopped a penny the landlord opened his eyes as you may fancy well you take for that hide it's not for sale my good man will you take a gold piece it's not for sale I tell you hasn't it kept me in mind for years and with that Donald hit the hide another whack and out jumped a second penny well the long and the short of it was that Donald let the hide go and that very evening who but he should walk up to hudden's door good evening hudden will you lend me your best pair of scales hudden stared and hudden scratched his head but he lent the scales when Donald was safe at home he pulled out his pocket full of bright gold and began to weigh each piece in the scales but hudden had put a lump of butter at the bottom and so the last piece of gold stuck fast to the scales when he took them back to hudden if hudden had stared before he stared 10 times more now and no sooner was Donald's back turned than he was off as hard as he could pelt at dudden's good evening dudden that vagabond bad luck to him you mean Donald don't neary and who else should I mean he's back here weighing out sackfuls of gold how do you know that here are my scales that he borrowed and here's a gold piece still sticking to them off they went together and they came to Donald's door Donald had finished making the last pile of 10 gold pieces and he couldn't finish because a piece had stuck to the scales and they walked without an if you please or buy your leave well I never that was all they could say good evening hudden good evening dudden ah you thought you had played me a fine trick but you never did me a better turn in all your lives when I found poor Daisy dad I thought to myself well her hide may fit something and it did hides are worth their weight in gold in the market just now I'm not just done and done winked at hudden good evening Donald or neary good evening kind friends the next day there wasn't a cow or a calf that belonged to hudden or dudden but her hide was going to the fair in hudden's biggest cart drawn by dudden's strongest pair of horses when they came to the fair each one took a hide over his arm and there they were walking through the fair bawling out at the top of their voices hides to sell hides to sell out came the Tanner how much for your hides my good man their weight in gold it's early in the day to come out of the tavern that was all the Tanner said and back he went to his yard hides to sell fine fresh hides to sell out came the cobbler how much for your hides my man their weight in gold is it making game of me you are take that for your pains and the cobbler dealt hudden a blow that made him stagger up the people came running from one end of the fair to the other what's the matter what's the matter cried day here are a couple of vagabonds selling hides that their weight in gold said the cobbler hold them fast hold them fast Baldian Keeper who was the last to come up he was so fat I'll wager it's one of the roads who tricked me out of 30 gold pieces yesterday for a wretched hide it was more kicks than half pants that hudden and dudden got before they were well on their way home again and they didn't run the slower because all the dogs of the town were their heels well as you may fancy if they love Donald little before they loved him less now what's the matter friends said he as he saw them tearing along their hats knocked in and their coats torn off and their faces black and blue is it fighting you Ben or may have you met the police ill luck to them we'll police you you vagabond it's mighty smart you thought yourself deluding us with your lying tails who deluded you didn't you see the gold with your own two eyes but it was no use talking pay for it he must and should there was a meal sack handy and into it hudden and dudden popped Donald O'Neary tied him up tight ran a pole through the knot and off they started for the brown lake of the bog each with a pole end on his shoulder and Donald O'Neary between but the brown lake was far the road was dusty hudden and dudden were sore and weary and parched with thirst there was an end by the roadside let's go in said hudden I'm dead beat it's heavy he is for the little he had to eat if hudden was willing so was done as for Donald you may be sure his leave wasn't asked but he was dumped down at the end door for all the world as if he had been a sack of potatoes sit still you vagabond said done if we don't mind waiting you needn't Donald held his peace but after a while he heard the glasses clink and hudden singing away at the top of his voice I won't have her I tell you I won't have her said Donald but nobody heeded what he said I won't have her I tell you I won't have her said Donald and this time he said it louder but nobody heeded what he said I won't have her I tell you I won't have her said Donald and this time he said it as loud as he could and who won't you have may I be so bold as to ask said a farmer who had just come up with a drove of cattle and was turning in for a glass it's the king's daughter they are bothering the life out of me to marry her you're the lucky fellow I give something to be in your shoes do you see that now wouldn't it be a fine thing for a farmer to be marrying a princess all dressed in gold and jewels jewels you say oh now couldn't you take me with you well you're an honest fellow and as I don't care for the king's daughter though she's as beautiful as the day and is covered with jewels from top to toe you shall have her just undo the cord and let me out they tied me up tight as they knew I'd run away from her out crawled Donald in crept the farmer now lie still don't mind the shaking it's only rumbling over the palace steps you'll be and maybe they'll abuse you for a vagabond who won't have the king's daughter but you needn't mind that ah it's a deal I'm giving up for you sure as it is that I don't care for the princess take my cattle in exchange said the farmer and you may guess it wasn't long before Donald was at their tails driving them homeward out came HUDDEN and DUDDEN and the one took one end of the pole and the other the other I'm thinking he's heavier said the HUDDEN ah never mind said DUDDEN it's only a step now to the brown lake I'll have her now I'll have her now all the farmer from inside the sack by my faith and you shall though said HUDDEN any lady stick across the sack I'll have her I'll have her all the farmer louder than ever well here you are said DUDDEN for they were now come to the brown lake and unslinging the sack they pitched it plump into the lake you'll not be playing your tricks on us any longer said HUDDEN true for you said DUDDEN odd Donald my boy it was an ill day when you borrowed my scales off they went with a light step and an easy heart but when they were near home whom should they see but Donald O'Neary and all around him the cows were grazing and the calves were kicking up their heels and butting their heads together is it you Donald said DUDDEN faith you've been quicker than we have true for you DUDDEN and let me thank you kindly the turn was good if the will was ill you'll have heard like me that the brown lake leads to the land of promise I always put it down as lies but it is just as true as my word look at the cattle HUDDEN stared and DUDDEN gaped but they couldn't get over the cattle fine fat cattle they were too it's only the worst I could bring up with me said Donald O'Neary the others were so fat there was no driving them faith to its little wonder they didn't care leave with grass as far as you could see and as sweet and juicy as fresh butter oh now Donald we haven't always been friends said DUDDEN but as I was just saying you were ever a decent lad and you'll show us the way won't you I don't see that I'm called upon to do that there is a power more cattle down there why shouldn't I have them all to myself faith they may well say the richer you get the harder the heart you always were a neighborly lad Donald you wouldn't wish to keep the luck all to yourself true for you HUDDEN though it's a bad example you set me but I'll not be thinking old times there is plenty for all there so come along with me off they trudged with a light heart and an eager step when they came to the brown lake the sky was full of little white clouds and if the sky was full the lake was as full oh now look there they are cried Donald as he pointed to the clouds in the lake where where cried and don't be greedy right done as he jumped his hardest to be up first with the fat cattle but if he jumped first HUDDEN wasn't long behind they never came back maybe they got too fat like cattle as for Donald O'Neary he had cattle and sheep all his days to his heart's content and of HUDDEN and DUDDEN and Donald O'Neary section 165 of childhoods favorites and fairy stories this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors 165 Conler of the Golden Hair and the Fairy Maiden adapted by Patrick Weston Joyce Conler of the Golden Hair was the son of Con the Hundred Fighter one day as he stood with his father on the Royal Hill of Uzna he saw a lady a little way off very beautiful and dressed in strange attire she approached a spot where he stood and when she was near he spoke to her and asked her who she was and from what place she had come the lady replied I have come from the land of the living a land where there is neither death nor old age nor any breach of law the inhabitants of earth call us A's she for we have our dwellings within large pleasant green hills we pass our time very pleasantly in feasting and harmless amusements never growing old and we have no quarrels or contentions the king and his company marveled very much for though they heard this conversation no one saw the lady except Conler alone who is this though aren't talking to my son said the king and anon she answered for the youth Conler is speaking with a lovely noble born young lady who will never die and who will never grow old I love Conler of the golden hair and I have come to bring him with me to Moine Mel the plane of never ending pleasure on the day that he comes with me he shall be made king and he shall reign forever in fairyland without weeping and without sorrow come with me O gent a Conler of the ready cheek the fair frickled neck and the golden hair come with me beloved Conler and those shout retain the comeliness and dignity of thy form free from the wrinkles of old age till the awful day of judgment thy flowing golden hair thy comely face thy all majestic form of peerless race that show thee sprung from con's exalted race king con the hundred fighter being much troubled called in on his druid coran to put forth his power against the witchery of the banshee O coran of the mystic arts and of the mighty incantations here is a contest such as I've never been engaged in since I was made king at Tara a contest with an invisible lady who is beguiling my son to fairyland by her baleful charms her cunning is beyond my skill and I am not able to withstand her power and of thou coran help not my son will be taken away from me by the wiles and witchery of a woman from the fairy hills Coran the druid then came forward and began to chant against the voice of the lady and his power was greater than hers for that time so that she was forced to retire as she was going away she threw an apple to Conler who straight away lost sight of her and the king and his people no longer heard her voice the king and the prince returned with their company to the palace and Conler remained for a whole month without tasting food or drink except the apple and though he ate of it each day it was never lessened but was as whole and perfect in the end as at the beginning moreover when they offered him ought else to eat or drink he refused it for while he had his apple he did not deem any other food worthy to be tasted and he began to be very moody and sorrowful thinking of the lovely lady maiden at the end of the month as Conler stood by his father's side among the nobles on the plain of Arco men he saw the lady approaching him from the west and when she had come near she addressed him in this manner a glorious seat indeed has Conler among Richard short-lived mortals awaiting the dreadful stroke of death but now the ever youthful people of Moimel who never feel age and who fear not death seeing the day by day among their friends in the assemblies of thy fatherland love thee with a strange love and they will make the king over them as thou wilt come with me when the king heard the words of the lady he commanded his people to call the druid again to him saying bring my druid Corrin to me for I see that the fairy lady has this day regained the power of her voice and this lady said valiant con fighter of a hundred the faith of the druids has come to little honor among the upright mighty numberless people of this land when the righteous law shall be restored it will seal up the lips of the false black demon and his druids shall no longer have power to work their garful spells now the king observed and marveled greatly that whenever the lady was present his son never spoke one word to anyone even though they addressed him many times and when the lady had ceased to speak the king said conler my son has their mind been moved by the words of the lady conler spoke then and replied father I am very unhappy for though I love my people beyond all I am filled with sadness on account of this lady when conler had said this the maiden again addressed him and chanted these words in a very sweet voice a land of youth a land of rest a land from sorrow free it lies far off in the golden west on the verge of the azure sea a swift canoe of crystal bright that never met mortal view we shall reach the land airfall of night and that strong and swift canoe we shall reach the strand of that sunny land from druids and demons free the land of rest in the golden west on the verge of the azure sea a pleasant land of winding veils bright streams and verdious plains where summer all the live long year and change the splendor rains a peaceful land of calm delight of everlasting bloom old age and death we never know no sickness care or gloom the land of youth of love and truth from pain and sorrow free in the land of rest in the golden west on the verge of the azure sea there are strange delights for mortal men in that island off the west the sun comes down in evening in its lovely veils to rest and though far and dim on the ocean's rim it seems to mortal view we shall reach its holes air the evening falls in my strong and swift canoe and evermore that verdant shore our happy home shall be the land of rest in the golden west on the verge of the azure sea it will guard the gentle connor of the flowing golden hair it will guard thee from the druids from the demons of the air my crystal boat will guard thee till we reach that western shore when thou and i enjoy and love shall live forevermore from the druids incantation from his black and deadly snare from the withering implication of the demon of the air it will guard thee gentle connor of the flowing golden hair my crystal boat shall guard thee till we reach that silver strand where thou shalt reign in endless joy the king of the fairyland when the maiden had ended her chunt connor suddenly walked away from his father's side and sprang into the kura the gleaming straight gliding strong crystal canoe the king and his people saw them afar off and dimly moving away over the bright sea towards the sunset they gave sadly after them till they lost sight of the canoe over the utmost verge and no one can tell whether they went for connor was never again seen in his native land. End of 165 recording by Ross Clement section 166 of childhoods favorites and fairy stories 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 Alma Molina childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors section 166 Pinocchio's Adventures in Wonderland by Carlo Lorenzini part one master cherry finds a queer piece of wood there was once upon a time a king my little readers will instantly exclaim no children you are wrong there was once upon a time a piece of wood this wood was not valuable it was only a common log like those that are burnt in winter in the stoves and fireplaces to make a cheerful blaze and warm the rooms i cannot say how it came about but the fact is that one fine day this piece of wood was lying in the shop of an old carpenter of the name of master Antonio he was however called by everybody master cherry on account of the end of his nose which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry no sooner had master cherry set his eyes on a piece of wood than his face beamed with delight and rubbing his hands together with satisfaction he said softly to himself this wood has come at the right moment it will just do to make the leg of a little table having said this he immediately took a sharp axe with which to remove the bark and the rough surface just however as he was going to give the first stroke he remained with his arms suspended in the air for he heard a very small boy seeing imploringly do not strike me so hard picture to yourselves the astonishment of good old master cherry he turned his terrified eyes all around the room to try and discover where the little boys could possibly have come from but he saw nobody he looked under the bench nobody he looked into a cupboard that was always shut nobody he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust nobody he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street and still nobody who then could it be i see how it is he said laughing and scratching his wig evidently that little voice was all my imagination let us set to work again and taking up the axe he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood oh oh you have hurt me cried the same little voice dolefully this time master cherry was petrified his eyes started out of his head with fright his mouth remained open and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin like a mask on a fountain as soon as he had recovered the use of his speech he began to say stuttering and trembling with fear but where on earth can that little voice have come from that said oh oh here there are certainly not a living soul is it possible that this piece of wood can have learned to cry and to lament like a child i cannot believe it this piece of wood here it is a log for fuel like all others and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans how then can anyone be hidden inside it if anyone is hidden inside so much the worse for him i will settle him at once so saying he sees the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of a room then he stopped to listen if you could hear any little voice lamenting he waited two minutes nothing five minutes nothing ten minutes still nothing i see how it is he then said forcing himself to laugh and pushing up his wig evidently the little voice that said oh oh was all my imagination let us to work again but all the same he was in a great fright he tried to sing to give himself a little courage putting the axe aside he took his plate and to plane and polish the bit of wood but whilst he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say laughing have done you are tickling me all over this time poor master cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning when he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor his face was quite changed even the end of his nose instead of being crimson as it was nearly always had become blue from fright part two jepetto plans a wonderful puppet at that moment someone knocked at the door come in said the carpenter without having the strength to rise to his feet a lively little old man immediately walked into the shop his name was jepetto but when the boys in the neighborhood wished to put him in a passion they called him by the nickname of poindina because his yellow wig greatly resembled a pudding made of indian corn jepetto was very fiery woe to him who called him poindina he became furious and there was no holding him good day master antonio said jepetto what are you doing there on the floor i am teaching the alphabet to the ants much good may that do you what has brought you to me neighbor jepetto my legs but to say the truth master antonio i am come to ask a favor of you here i am ready to serve you reply the carpenter getting on his knees this morning an idea came into my head let us hear it i thought i would make a beautiful wooden puppet that should know how to dance to fence and to leap like an acrobat with this puppet i would travel about the world to earn a piece of bread and a glass of wine what do you think of it bravo poindina exclaimed the same little voice and it was impossible to say where it came from hearing himself called poindina jepetto became as red as a turkey cop from rage and turning to the carpenter he said in a fury why do you insult me who insults you you called me poindina it was not i would you have it then that it was i it was you i say no yes no yes and becoming more and more angry from words they came to blows and flying at each other they bit and fought and scratched manfully when the fight was over master antonio was in possession of jepetto's yellow wig and jepetto discovered that the gray wig belonging to the carpenter had remained between his teeth give me back my wig screamed master antonio and you return me mine and let us make friends the two old men having each recovered his own wig shook hands and swore that they would remain friends to the end of their lives well then neighbor jepetto said the carpenter to prove that peace was made what is the favor that you wish of me i want a little wood to make my puppet will you give me some master antonio was delighted and he immediately went to the bench and fetched the piece of wood that had caused him so much fear just as he was going to give it to his friend the piece of wood gave a shake and wriggling violently out of his hands struck with all its force against the dried up shins of poor jepetto ah is that the courteous way in which you make your presence master antonio you have almost blamed me i swear to you that it was not i then you would have that it was i the wood is entirely to blame i know that it was the wood but it was you that hit my legs with it i did not hit you with it liar jepetto don't insult me or i will call you polandina ass polandina donkey polandina baboon polandina on hearing himself called polandina for the third time jepetto blind with rage fell upon the carpenter and they fought desperately when the battle was over master antonio had two more scratches on his nose and his adversary had two buttons less on his waistcoat their accounts being thus squared they shook hands and swore to remain good friends for the rest of their lives jepetto carried off his fine piece of wood and thinking master antonio returned limping to his house part three the puppet is named pinocchio jepetto lived in a small ground floor room that was only lighted from the staircase the furniture could not have been simpler a bad chair a poor bed and a broken down table at the end of the room there was a fire place with a lighted fire but the fire was painted and by the fire was painted a saucepan that was boiling cheerfully and sending out a cloud of smoke that looked exactly like real smoke as soon as he reached home jepetto took his tools and set to work to cut out and model his puppet what name shall i give him he said to himself i think i will call him pinocchio it is a name that will bring him luck i once knew a whole family so-called there was pinocchio the father pinocchio the mother and pinocchio the children and all of them did well the richest of them was a beggar having found a name for his puppet he began to work in good earnest and he first made his hair then his forehead and then his eyes the eyes being finished imagine his astonishment when he perceived that they moved and looked fixedly at him jepetto seeing himself stared at by those two wooden eyes took it almost in bad part and said in an angry voice wicked wooden eyes why do you look at me no one answered then he proceeded to carve the nose but no sooner had he made it then it began to grow and it grew and grew and grew until in a few minutes it had become an immense nose that seemed as if it would never end poor jepetto tired himself out with cutting it off but the more he cut and shortened it the longer did that impertinent nose become the mouth was not even completed when it began to laugh and deride him stop laughing said jepetto provoked but he might as well have spoken to the wall stop laughing i say he roared in a threatening tone the mouth then ceased laughing but put out its tongue as far as it would go jepetto not to spoil his handiwork pretended not to see and continued his labours after the mouth he fashioned the chin then the throat and then the shoulders the stomach the arms and the hands the hands were scarcely finished when jepetto felt his wigs snatched from his head he turned around and what did he see he saw his yellow wig in the puppet's hand pinocchio give me back my wig instantly but pinocchio instead of returning it put it on his own head and was in consequence nearly smothered jepetto at this insolent and derisive behaviour felt sadder and more melancholy than he had ever been in his life before and turning to pinocchio he said to him you young rascal you are not yet completed and you are already beginning to show want of respect to your father that is bad my boy very bad and he dried a tear the legs and feet remained to be done when jepetto had finished the feet he received a kick on the point of the nose i deserve it he said to himself i should have thought of it sooner now it is too late he then took the puppet under the arms and placed him on the floor to teach him to walk pinocchio's legs were stiff and he could not move but jepetto led him by the hand and showed him how to put one foot before the other when his legs became flexible pinocchio began to walk by himself and to run about the room until having gone out of the house door he jumped into the street and escaped poor jepetto rushed after him but was not able to overtake him for that rascal pinocchio leapt in front of him like a hater and knocking his wooden feet together against the pavement made as much clatter as 20 pairs of peasants clogs stop him stop him shout a jepetto but the people in the street seeing a wooden puppet running like a racehorse stood still in astonishment to look at it and laughed and laughed and laughed until it beats description part four the fire eater frightens pinocchio when pinocchio came into the little puppet theater an incident occurred that almost produced a revolution i must tell you that the curtain was drawn up and the play had already begun on the stage harlequin and punchinello were as usual quarreling with each other and threatening every moment to come to blows the audience all attention laughed till they were ill as they listened to the bakerings of these two puppets who just stipulated and abused each other so naturally that they might have been two reasonable beings and two persons of the world all at once harlequin stopped short and turning to the public he pointed with his hand to someone far down in the pit and exclaimed in a dramatic tone gods of the firmament do i dream or am i awake but surely that is pinocchio it is indeed pinocchio cried punchinello it is indeed himself screamed miss rose peeping from behind the scenes it is pinocchio it is pinocchio shouted all the puppets and chorus leaping from all sides onto the stage it is pinocchio it is our brother pinocchio long live pinocchio pinocchio come up here to me cried harlequin and throw yourself into the arms of your wooden brothers at this affectionate invitation pinocchio made a leap from the end of the pit into the reserved seats another leap landed him on the head of the leader of the orchestra and then he sprang upon the stage the embraces the hugs the friendly pinches and the demonstrations of warm brotherly affection that pinocchio received from the excited crowd of actors and actresses of the puppet dramatic company beat description the site was doubtless a moving one but the public in the pit finding that the play was stopped became impatient and began to shout we will have the play go on with the play it was all breath thrown away the puppets instead of continuing the recital redoubled their noise and outcries and putting pinocchio on their shoulders they carried him in triumph before the footlights at that moment out came the showman he was very big and so ugly that the sight of him was enough to frighten anyone his beard was as black as ink and so long that it reached from his chin to the ground i need only say that he trod upon it when he walked his mouth was as big as an oven and his eyes were like two lanterns of red glass with lights burning inside of them he carried a whip made of snakes and fox's tails twisted together which he cracked constantly at his unexpected appearance there was a profound silence no one dared to breathe a fly might have been heard in the stillness the poor puppets of both sexes trembled like so many leaves why have you come to raise a disturbance in my theater asked the showman of pinocchio in the gruff voice of a hobgoblin suffering from a severe cold in the head believe me honored sir that it was not my fault that is enough tonight we will settle our accounts as soon as the play was over the showman went into the kitchen where a fine sheep preparing for his supper was turning slowly on the spit in front of the fire as there was not enough wood to finish roasting and browning it he called harlequin and punchinello and said to them bring that puppet here you will find him hanging on a nail it seems to me that he is made of very dry wood and i am sure that if he was thrown on the fire he would make a beautiful blaze for the roast at first harlequin and punchinello hesitated but appalled by a severe glance from their master they obeyed in a short time they returned to the kitchen carrying poor pinocchio who was wriggling like an eel taken out of water and screaming desperately papa papa save me i will not die i will not die part five fire eater sneezes and pardons pinocchio the showman fire eater for that was his name looked i must say a terrible man especially with his black beard that covered his chest and legs like an apron on the whole however he had not a bad heart in proof of this when he saw pinocchio brought before him struggling and screaming i will not die i will not die he was quite moved and felt sorry for him he tried to hold out but after a little he could stand at no longer and he sneezed violently when he heard the sneeze harlequin who up to that moment had been in the deepest affliction and bowed down like a weeping willow became quite cheerful and leaning towards pinocchio he whispered to him softly good news brother the showman has sneezed and that is a sign that he pities you and consequently you are saved for you must know that whilst most men when they feel compassion for somebody either weep or at least pretend to dry their eyes fire eater on the contrary had the habit of sneezing after he had sneezed the showman still acting the ruffian shouted to pinocchio have done crying your lamentations had given me a pain in my stomach i feel a spasm that almost and he sneezed again twice bless you said pinocchio thank you and your papa and your mama are they still alive asked fire eater papa yes my mama i have never known who can say what a sorrow would be to your poor old father if i was to have you thrown amongst those burning coals poor old man i compassionate you and he sneezed three times bless you said pinocchio thank you all the same some compassion is due to me for you see i have no more wood with which to finish roasting my mutton and to tell you the truth under the circumstances you would have been of great use to me however i have had pity on you so i must have patience instead of you i will burn under the spit one of the puppets belonging to my company oh there gendarmes at this call two wooden gendarmes immediately appeared they were very long and very thin and had on cock tats and held unsheathed swords in their hands the showman said to them in a horse voice take harlequin bind him securely and then throw him on the fire to burn i am determined that my mutton shall be well roasted only imagine that poor harlequin his terror was so great that his legs bent under him and he fell with his face on the ground at this agonizing sight pinocchio weeping bitterly threw himself at the showman's feet and bathing his long beard with his tears he began to say in a supplicating voice have pity sir fire eater here there are no sirs the showman answered severely have pity sir night here there are no knights have pity commander here there are no commanders have pity excellence upon hearing himself called excellence the showman began to smile and became at once kinder and more tractable turning to pinocchio he asked well what do you want from me i implore you to pardon poor harlequin for him there can be no pardon as i have spared you he must be put on the fire for i am determined that my mutton shall be well roasted in that case cried pinocchio proudly rising and throwing away his cap of breadcrumb in that case i know my duty come on gendarmes bind me and throw me amongst the flames no it is not just that poor harlequin my true friend should die for me these words pronounced in a loud heroic voice made all the puppets who are present cry even the gendarmes although they were made of wood wept like two newly born lambs fire eater at first remained as hard and unmoved as ice but little by little he began to melt and to sneeze and having sneezed four or five times he opened his arms affectionately and said to pinocchio you are a good brave boy come here and give me a kiss pinocchio ran at once and climbing like a squirrel up the showman's beard he deposited a hearty kiss on the point of his nose then the pardon is granted asked poor harlequin in a faint voice that was scarcely audible the pardon is granted answered fire eater he then added sighing and shaking his head i must have patience tonight i shall have to resign myself to eat the mutton half raw but another time whoa to him who chances at the news of the pardon all the puppets ran to the stage and having lighted the lamps and chandeliers as if for a full dress performance they began to leap and to dance merrily at dawn they were still dancing part six the showman becomes generous the following day fire eater called pinocchio to one side and asked him what is your father's name gippetto and what trade does he follow he is a beggar does he gain much gain much why he has never a penny in his pocket only think to buy a spelling book for me to go to school he was obliged to sell the only coat he had to wear a coat that between patches and darns was not fit to be seen poor devil i feel almost sorry for him here are five gold pieces go at once and take them to him with my compliments you can easily understand that pinocchio thanked the showman a thousand times he embraced all the puppets of the company one by one even to the gendarmes and beside himself with delight set out to return home but he had not gone far when he met on the road a fox lame in one foot and a cat blind in both eyes who were going along helping each other like good companions in misfortune the fox who was lame walked leaning on the cat and the cat who was blind was guided by the fox good day pinocchio said the fox accosting him politely how do you come to know my name asked the puppet i know your father well where did you see him i saw him yesterday at the door of his house and what was he doing he was in his shirt sleeves and shivering with cold poor papa but that is over for the future he shall shiver no more why because i and become a gentleman a gentleman you said the fox and he began to laugh rudely and scornfully the cat also began to laugh but to conceal it she combed her whiskers with her forepaws there is little to laugh at cry pinocchio angrily i am really sorry to make your mouths water but if you know anything about it you can see that here are five gold pieces and he pulled out the money that fire eater had made him a present of at the sympathetic ring of the money the fox with an involuntary movement stretched out the paw that had seemed crippled and the cat opened wide two eyes that looked like two green lanterns it is true that she shut them again and so quickly that pinocchio observed nothing and now ask the fox what are you going to do with all that money first of all answer the puppet i intend to buy a new coat for my papa made of gold and silver and with diamond buttons and then i will buy a spelling book for myself for yourself yes indeed for i wish to go to school to study in earnest look at me said the fox through my foolish passion for study i have lost a leg look at me said the cat through my foolish passion for study i have lost the sight of both my eyes at that moment a white blackbird that was perched on the hedge by the road began his usual song and said pinocchio don't listen to the advice of bad companions if you do you will repent it poor blackbird if only he had not spoken the cat with a great leap sprang upon him and without even giving him time to say oh ate him in a mouthful feathers and all having eaten him and cleaned her mouth she shut her eyes again and feigned blindness as before poor blackbird said pinocchio to the cat why did you treat him so badly i did it to give him a lesson he will learn another time not to meddle in other people's conversation they had gone almost halfway when the fox halting suddenly said to the puppet would you like to double your money in what way would you like to make out of your five miserable gold pieces a hundred a thousand two thousand i should think so but in what way the way is easy enough instead of returning home you must go with us and where do you wish to take me to the land of the owls pinocchio reflected a moment and then he said resolutely no i will not go i am already close to the house and i will return home to my papa who is waiting for me who can tell how often the poor old man must have sighed yesterday when i did not come back i have been a bad son indeed and the talking cricket was right when he said disobedient boys never come to any good in the world i have found it to my cost for many misfortunes have happened to me even yesterday in fire eaters house i ran the risk oh it makes me shudder only to think of it well then said the fox you are quite decided to go home go then and so much the worst for you so much the worst for you repeated the cat think well of it pinocchio for you are giving a kick to fortune to fortune repeated the cat between today and tomorrow your five gold pieces would have become two thousand two thousand repeated the cat but how is it possible that they could have become so many asked pinocchio remaining with his mouth open from astonishment i will explain it to you at once said the fox you must know that in the land of the owls there's a sacred field called by everybody the field of miracles in this field you must dig a little hole and you put into it we will say one gold piece then you cover up the hole with a little earth you water it with two pails of water from the fountain then sprinkle it with two pinches of salt and when night comes you can go quietly to bed in the meanwhile during the night the gold piece will grow and flower and in the morning when you return to the field what do you find you find a beautiful tree laden with as many gold pieces as an ear of corn has grains in the month of june so that said pinocchio more and more bewildered supposing i buried my five gold pieces in that field how many should i find there the following morning that is exceedingly easy calculation replied the fox a calculation that you can make on the ends of your fingers suppose that every gold piece gives you an increase of five hundred multiply five hundred by five and the following morning will find you with two thousand five hundred shining gold pieces in your pocket oh how delightful cried pinocchio dancing for joy as soon as ever i have obtained those gold pieces i will keep two thousand for myself and the other five hundred i will make a present up to you too a present to us cried the fox with indignation and appearing much offended what are you dreaming of what are you dreaming of repeated the cat we do not work said the fox for dirty interest we work solely to enrich others others repeated the cat what good people thought pinocchio to himself and forgetting there and then his papa the new coat the spelling book and all his good resolutions he said to the fox on the cat let us be off at once i will go with you part seven the inn of the red crawfish they walked and walked and walked until at last towards evening they arrived dead tired at the inn of the red crawfish let us stop here a little said the fox that we may have something to eat and rest ourselves for an hour or two we will start again at midnight so as to arrive at the field of miracles by dawn tomorrow morning having gone into the inn they all three sat down to table but none of them had any appetite the cat who was suffering from indigestion and feeling seriously indisposed could only eat 35 mullet with tomato sauce and four portions of tripe with parmesan cheese and because she thought the tripe was not seasoned enough she asked three times for the butter and grated cheese the fox would also willingly have picked a little but as his doctor had ordered him a strict diet he was forced to content himself simply with a hair dressed with a sweet and sour sauce and garnished lightly with fat chickens and early pellets after the hair he sent for a made dish of partridges rabbits frogs lizards and other delicacies he could not touch anything else he had such a disgust for food he said that he could put nothing to his lips the one who ate the least was Pinocchio he asked for some walnuts and a hunch of bread and left everything on his plate the poor boy whose thoughts were continually fixed on the field of miracles had got in anticipation an indigestion of gold pieces when they had supped the fox said to the host give us two good rooms one for mr pinocchio and the other for me and my companion we will snatch a little sleep before we leave remember however that at midnight we wish to be called to continue our journey yes gentlemen answered the host and he went to the fox and the cat as much as to say i know what you are up to we understand one another no sooner had pinocchio got into bed then he fell asleep at once and began to dream and he dreamt that he was in the middle of a field and the field was filled with shrubs covered with clusters of gold pieces and as they swung in the wind they went zin zin zin almost as if they would say let who will come and take us but when pinocchio was at the most interesting moment that is just as he was stretching out his hand to pick handfuls of those beautiful gold pieces and put them in his pockets he was suddenly awakened by three violent blows on the door of his room it was the host who had come to tell him that midnight had struck are my companions ready asked the puppet ready why they left two hours ago why were they in such a hurry because the cat had received a message to say that her eldest kitten was ill with child lanes on his feet and was in danger of death did they pay for supper what are you thinking of they are too highly educated to dream of offering such an insult to a gentleman like you what a pity it is an insult that would have given me so much pleasure said pinocchio scratching his head he then asked and where did my good friends say they would wait for me at the field of miracles tomorrow morning at daybreak pinocchio paid a gold piece for his supper and that of his companions and then he left outside the inn it was so pitch dark that he had almost to grope his way for it was impossible to see a hands breath in front of him in the adjacent country not a leaf moved only some night birds flying across the road from one hedge to the other brushed pinocchio's nose with their wings as they passed which caused him so much terror that springing back he shouted who goes there and the echo in the surrounding hills repeated in the distance who goes there who goes there who goes there part eight the puppet falls among assassins he turned to look and saw in the gloom two evil looking black figures completely enveloped in charcoal sacks they were running after him on tiptoe and making great leaps like two phantoms here they are in reality he said to himself and not knowing where to hide his gold pieces he put them in his mouth precisely under his tongue then he tried to escape but he had not gone a step when he felt himself seized by the arm and heard two sepulchral voices saying to him your money or your life pinocchio not being able to answer in words owing to the money in his mouth made a thousand low bows and a thousand pantomimes he tried thus to make the two muffled figures whose eyes were only visible through the holes in their sacks understand that he was a poor puppet and that he had not as much as a false penny in his pocket come now less nonsense and out with the money cried the two brigands threateningly and the puppet made a gesture with his hands to signify i have got none deliver up your money or you are dead said the tallest of the brigands dead repeated the other and after we have killed you we will also kill your father also your father no no no not my poor papa cried pinocchio in a despairing tone and as he said it the gold pieces clinked in his mouth ah you rascal then you have hidden your money under your tongue spit it out at once but pinocchio was obdurate and one of them seized the puppet by the end of his nose and the other took him by the chin and began to pull them brutally the one up and the other down to constrain him to open his mouth but it was all to no purpose pinocchio's mouth seemed to be nailed and riveted together then the shortest assassin drew out an ugly knife and tried to force it between his lips like a lever or chisel but pinocchio as quick as lightning caught his hand with his teeth and with one bite bid it clean off and spat it out imagine his astonishment when instead of a hand he perceived that he had spat a cat's paw onto the ground encouraged by his first victory he used his nails to such purpose that he succeeded in liberating himself from his assailants and jumping the hedge by the roadside he began to fly across the country the assassins ran after him like two dogs chasing a hair and the one who had lost the paw ran on one leg and no one ever knew how he managed it after a race of some miles pinocchio could do no more giving himself up for lost he climbed the stem of a very high pine tree and seated himself in the top most branches the assassins attempted to climb after him but when they had reached halfway up the stem they slid down again and arrived on the ground with the skin grazed from their hands and knees but they were not to be beaten by so little collecting a quantity of dry wood they piled it beneath the pine and set fire to it in less time than it takes to tell the pine began to burn and flame like a candle blown by the wind pinocchio seeing that the flames were mounting higher every instant and not wishing to end his life like a roasted pigeon made a stupendous leap from the top of the tree and started afresh across the fields and vineyards the assassins followed him and kept behind him without once giving in the day began to break and they were still pursuing him suddenly pinocchio found his way barred by a wide deep ditch full of dirty water the color of coffee what was he to do one two three cried the puppet and making a rush he sprang to the other side the assassins also jumped but not having measured the distance properly splash splash they fell into the very middle of the ditch pinocchio who heard the plunge and the splashing of water shouted out laughing and without stopping a fine bath to you gentlemen assassins he felt convinced that they were drowned when turning to look he perceived that on the contrary they were both running after him still enveloped in their sacks with the water dripping from them as if they had been two hollow baskets part nine the fox and the cat pinocchio set out and as soon as he was in the wood he began to run like a kid but when he had reached a certain spot almost in front of the big oak he stopped because he thought that he heard people amongst the bushes in fact two persons came out on the road can you guess who they were his two traveling companions the fox and the cat with whom he had sucked at the inn of the red crawfish why here is our dear pinocchio cried the fox kissing and embracing him how come you to be here how come you to be here repeated the cat it is a long story answered the puppet which i will tell you when i have time but do you know that the other night when you left me alone at the inn i met with assassins on the road assassins oh poor pinocchio and what did they want they wanted to rob me of my gold pieces villains said the fox infamous villains repeated the cat but i ran away from them continued the puppet and they followed me and at last they overtook me and hung me to a branch of that oak tree and pinocchio pointed to the big oak which was two steps from them is it possible to hear of anything more dreadful said the fox in what a world we are condemned to live where can respectable people like us find a safe refuge whilst they were thus talking pinocchio observed that the cat was lame of her front right leg for in fact she had lost her paw with all its claws he therefore asked her what have you done with your paw the cat tried to answer but became confused therefore the fox said immediately my friend is too modest and that is why she doesn't speak i will answer for her i must tell you that an hour ago we met an old wolf on the road almost fainting from want of food who asked alms of us not having so much as a fishbone to give to him what did my friend who has really the heart of a Caesar do she bit off one of her forepaws and threw it to that poor beast that he might appease his hunger and the fox and relating this dried a tear pinocchio was also touched and approaching the cat he whispered into her ear if all cats resemble you how fortunate the mice would be and now what are you doing here asked the fox of the puppet i am waiting for my papa whom i expect to arrive every moment and your gold pieces i have got them in my pocket all but one that i spent at the inn of the red crawfish and to think that instead of four pieces by tomorrow they might become one or two thousand why do you not listen to my advice why will you not go and bury them in the field of miracles today it is impossible i will go another day another day it will be too late said the fox why because the field has been bought by a gentleman and after tomorrow no one will be allowed to bury money there how far off is the field of miracles not two miles will you come with us in half an hour you will be there you can bury your money at once and in a few minutes you will collect two thousand and this evening you will return with your pockets full will you come with us pinocchio thought of the good fairy old jepetto and the warning of the talking cricket and he hesitated a little before answering he ended however by doing as all boys do who have not a grain of sense and who have no heart he ended by giving his head a little shake and saying to the fox and cat let us go i will come with you and they went after having walked half the day they reached a town that was called trap for blockheads as soon as pinocchio entered this town he saw that the streets were crowded with dogs who had lost their coats and who were yawning from hunger shorn sheep trembling with cold cocks without combs or crests who are begging for a grain of indian corn large butterflies who could no longer fly because they had sold their beautiful colored wings peacocks who had no tails and were ashamed to be seen and pheasants who went scratching about in a subdued fashion mourning for their brilliant gold and silver feathers gone forever in the midst of this crowd of beggars and shame-faced creatures some lordly carriage passed from time to time containing a fox or a thieving magpie or some other ravenous bird of prey and where is the field of miracles asked pinocchio it is here not two steps from us they crossed the town and having gone beyond the walls they came to a solitary field which to look at resembled all other fields we are arrived said the fox to the puppet now stoop down and dig with your hands a little hole in the ground and put your gold pieces into it pinocchio obeyed he dug a hole put into it the four gold pieces that he had left and then filled up the hole with a little earth now then said the fox go to that canal close to us fetch a can of water and water the ground where you have sewed them pinocchio went to the canal and as he had no can he took off one of his old shoes and filling it with water he watered the ground over the hole he then asked is there anything else to be done nothing else answered the fox we can now go away you can return in about 20 minutes and you will find a shrub already pushing through the ground with its branches quite loaded with money the poor puppet beside himself with joy thanked the fox and the cat a thousand times and promised them a beautiful present we wish for no presents answered the two rascals it is enough for us to have taught you the way to enrich yourself without undergoing hard work and we are as happy as folk out for a holiday thus saying they took leave of pinocchio and wishing him a good harvest went about their business part 10 pinocchio is robbed the puppet returned to the town and began to count the minutes one by one and when he thought it must be time he took the road leading to the field of miracles and as he walked along with hurried steps his heart beat fast tick tick like a drawing room clock when it is really going well meanwhile he was thinking to himself and if instead of a thousand gold pieces i was to find on the branches of a tree two thousand and instead of two thousand supposing i found five thousand and instead of five thousand that i found a hundred thousand oh what a fine gentleman i should then become i would have a beautiful palace a thousand little wooden horses and a thousand stables to amuse myself with a cellar full of current wine and sweet syrups and a library quite full of candies tarts plum cakes macaroons and biscuits with cream whilst he was building these castles in the air he had arrived in the neighborhood of the field and he stopped to look if by chance he could perceive a tree with its branches laid in with money but he saw nothing he advanced another hundred steps nothing he entered the field he went right up to the little hole where he had buried his gold pieces and nothing he then became very thoughtful and forgetting the rules of society and good manners he took his hands out of his pockets and gave his head a long scratch at that moment he heard an explosion of laughter close to him and looking up he saw a large parrot perched on a tree who was preening the few feathers he had left why are you laughing asked pinocchio in an angry voice i am laughing because in preening my feathers i tickled myself under my wings the puppet did not answer but went to the canal and filling the same old shoe full of water he proceeded to water the earth afresh that covered his gold pieces whilst he was thus occupied another laugh and still more impertinent than the first rang out in the silence of that solitary place once for all shouted pinocchio in a rage may i know you ill educated parrot what are you laughing at i am laughing at those simpletons who believe in all the foolish things that are told them and who allow themselves to be entrapped by those who are more cunning than they are are you perhaps speaking of me yes i am speaking of you poor pinocchio of you who are simple enough to believe that money can be sown and gathered in fields in the same way as beans and gourds i also believed it once and today i am suffering for it today but it is too late i have at last learned that to put a few pennies honestly together it is necessary to know how to earn them either by the work of our own hands or by the cleverness of our own brains i don't understand you said the puppet who was already trembling with fear have patience i will explain myself better rejoined the parrot you must know then that whilst you were in the town the fox and the cat returned to the field they took the buried money and then fled like the wind and now he that catches them will be clever pinocchio remained with his mouth open and not choosing to believe the parrot's words he began with his hands and nails to dig up the earth that he had watered and he dug and dug and dug and made such a deep hole that a rick of straw might have stood up in it but the money was no longer there he rushed back to the town in a state of desperation and went at once to the courts of justice to denounce the two naves who had robbed him to the judge the judge was a big ape of the gorilla tribe an old ape respectable for his age his white beard but especially for his gold spectacles without glasses that he always was obliged to wear on account of an inflammation of the eyes that had tormented him for many years pinocchio related in the presence of the judge all the particulars of the infamous fraud of which he had been the victim he gave the names the surnames and other details of the two rascals and ended by demanding justice the judge listened with great benignity took a lively interest in the story and was much touched and moved and when the puppet had nothing further to say he stretched out his hand and rang a bell at this summons two mastiffs immediately appeared dressed as gendarmes the judge then pointing to pinocchio said to them that poor devil has been robbed of four gold pieces take him up and put him immediately into prison the puppet was petrified on hearing this unexpected sentence and tried to protest but the gendarmes to avoid losing time stopped his mouth and carried him off to the lock-up and there he remained for four months for long months and he would have remained longer still if a fortunate chance had not released him for i must tell you that the young emperor who reigned over the town of trap for blockheads having won a splendid victory over his enemies ordered great public rejoicings there were illuminations fireworks horse races and a philosophy races and as a further sign of triumph he commanded that the prisons should be opened and all prisoners liberated if the others are to be let out of prison i will go also said pinocchio to the jailer no not you said the jailer because you do not belong to the fortunate class i beg your pardon replied pinocchio i am also a criminal in that case you are perfectly right said the jailer and taking off his hat and bowing to him respectfully he opened the prison door and let him escape end of recording end of section 166 recording by almanolino section 167 of childhoods favorites and fairy stories 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 mcy childhoods favorites and fairy stories by various authors section 167 the story of the man who did not wish to die adapted by jay theodora Ozaki long long ago that lived a man called sentaro his surname meant millionaire but although he was not so rich as all that he was still very far removed from being poor he had inherited his small fortune from his father and lived on this spending his time carelessly without any serious thoughts of work till he was about 32 years of age one day without any reason whatsoever the thought of death and sickness came to him the idea of falling ill or dying made him very wretched i should like to live he said to himself till i am five or six hundred years old at least free from all sickness the ordinary span of a man's life is very short you wonder whether it were possible by living simply and frugally henceforth to prolong his life as long as he wished he knew there were many stories in ancient history of emperors who had lived a thousand years and there was a princess of Yamato who it was said lived to the age of 500 this was the latest story of a very long life on record sentaro had often heard the tale of the chinese king named shino shiko he was one of the most able and powerful rulers in chinese history he built all the large palaces and also the famous great wall of china he had everything in the world he could wish for but in spite of all his happiness and the luxury of in splendor of his court the wisdom in his counselors and the glory of his reign he was miserable because he knew that one day he must die and live it all when shino shiko went to bed at night when he rose in the morning as he went through his day the thought of death was always with him he could not get away from it and if only he could find the elixir of life he would be happy the emperor at last called a meeting of his courtiers and asked them all if they could not find for him the elixir of life of which he had so often read and heard one old courtier jofuku by name said that far away across the seas there was a country called horizon and that certain hermits lived there who possessed the secret of the elixir of life whoever drank of this wonderful draft lived forever the emperor ordered jofuku to set out for the land of horizon to find the hermits and to bring him back file of the magic elixir he gave jofuku one of his best junks fitted it out for him and loaded it with the great quantities of treasures and precious stones for jofuku to take as presents to the hermits jofuku sailed for the land of horizon but he never returned to the waiting emperor but ever since that time mount fuji has been said to be the fabled horizon and the home of hermits who had the secret of the elixir and jofuku has been worshipped as their patron god now sent out a determined to set out to find the hermits and if he could to become one so that he might obtain the water of perpetual life he remembered that as a child he had been told that not only did this hermit live on mount fuji but that they were said to inhabit all the very high peaks so he left his old home to the care of his relatives and he started out on his quest he traveled through all the mountainous regions of the land climbing to the tops of the highest peaks but never a hermit did he find at last after wandering in an unknown region for many days he met a hunter can you tell me asks sentado where the hermits live who have the elixir of life no said the hunter i can't tell you where such hermits live but there is a notorious robber living in these parts it is said that he's chief of a band of 200 followers this odd answer irritated sentado very much and he thought now how foolish it was to waste more time in looking for the hermits in this way so he decided to go at once to the shrine of jofoku who is worshipped as the patron god of the hermits in the south of japan sentado reached the shrine and prayed for seven days in treating jofoku to show him the way to a hermit who could give him what he wanted so much to find a midnight of the seventh day as sentado knelt in the temple the door of the innermost shrine flew open and jofoku appeared in a luminous cloud and calling to sentado to come nearer spoke thus your desire is a very selfish one and cannot be easily granted you think that you would like to become a hermit so as to find the elixir of life do you know how hard a hermit's life is a hermit is only allowed to eat fruit and berries and the bark of pine trees a hermit must cut himself off from the world so that his heart may become as pure as gold and free from every earthly desire gradually after following these strict rules the hermit seizes to feel hunger or cold or heat and his body becomes so light that he can ride on a crane or a cup and can walk on water without getting his feet wet you sentado are fond of good living and of every comfort you are not even like an ordinary man for you are exceptionally idle and more sensitive to hater cold than most people you would never be able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin garment in the wintertime do you think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a hermit's life in answer to your prayer however i will help you in another way i will send you to the country of perpetual life where death never comes where the people live forever saying this jofo could put into sentado's hand a little crane made of paper telling him to sit on his back and it would carry him there sentado obeyed wanderingly the crane grew large enough for him to ride on it with comfort he then spread its wings rose high in the air and flew away over the mountains right out the sea sentado was at first quite frightened but by degrees he grew accustomed to the swift flight through the air on and on they went for thousands of miles the bird never stopped for rest or food but as it was a paper bird it doubtless did not require any nourishment and strange to say neither did sentado after several days they reached an island the crane flew some distance inland and then alighted as soon as sentado got down from the bird's back the crane folded up of its own accord and flew into his pocket now sentado began to look about him wanderingly curious to see what the country of perpetual life was like he walked first round about the country and then through the town everything was of course quite strange and different from his own land but both the land and the people seemed prosperous so he decided that it would be good for him to stay there and took up lodgings at one of the hotels the proprietor was a kind man and when sentado told him that he was a stranger and had come to live there he promised to arrange everything that was necessary for the governor of the city concerning sentado's adjourn there he even found a house for his guest and in this way sentado obtained his great wish and became a resident in the country of perpetual life within the memory of all the islanders no man had ever died there and sickness was a thing unknown priests had come over from india in china and told them of a beautiful country called paradise where happiness and bliss and contentment fill all man's hearts but its gates could only be reached by dying this tradition was handed down for ages from generation to generation but none knew exactly what death was except that it led to paradise quite unlike sentado and other ordinary people instead of having a great dread of death they all both rich and poor longed for it as something good and desirable they were all tired of their long long lives and longed to go to the happy land of contentment called paradise of which the priests had told them centuries ago all these sentados soon found out by talking to the islanders he found himself according to his ideas in the land of tofty turvidome everything was upside down he had wished to escape from dying he had come to the land of perpetual life with great relief and joy only to find that the inhabitants themselves doomed never to die would consider it bliss to find death what he had either to consider poison these people ate as good food and all the things to which he had been accustomed as food they rejected whenever any merchants from other countries arrived the rich people rushed to them eager to buy poisons these they swallowed eagerly hoping for death to come so that they might go to paradise but what were deadly poisons in other lands were without affecting this strange place and people who swallowed them with the hope of dying only found that in a short time they felt better in health instead of worse vainly they tried to imagine what death could be like the wealthy would have given all their money and all their goods they could but shorten their lives to two or three hundred years even without any change to live on forever seemed to these people weirdisome and sad in the drug shops there was a drug which was in constant demand because after using it for a hundred years it was supposed to turn the hair slightly gray and to bring about disorders of the stomach sentaro was astonished to find that the poisonous globefish was served up in restaurants as a delectable dish and hawkers in the streets went about selling sauces made of spanish flies he never saw anyone ill after eating these horrible things nor did he ever see anyone with as much as a code sentaro was delighted he said to himself that he would never grow tired of living and that he considered it profane to wish for death he was the only happy man on the island for his part he wished to live thousands of years and to enjoy life he set himself off in business and for the present never even dreamed of going back to his native land as years went by however things do not go as smoothly as at first he had heavy losses in business and several times some affairs went wrong with his neighbors this caused him great annoyance time passed like the flight of an arrow for him for he was busy from morning till night three hundred years went by in this monotonous way and then at last he began to grow tired of life in this country and he longed to see his own land his old home however long he lived here life would always be the same so was it not foolish and weird some to stay on here forever sentaro in his wish to escape from the country of perpetual life recollected a jofoku who had helped him before when he was wishing to escape from death and he prayed to the saint to bring him back to his own land again no sooner did he pray then the paper crane popped out of his pocket sentaro was amazed to see that he had remained undamaged after all these years once more the bird grew and grew to it was light enough for him to mount it as he did so the bird spread its wings and flew swiftly out across the sea in the direction of japan such was the wilfulness of the man's nature that he looked back and regretted all he had left behind he tried to stop the bird in vain the crane held on its way for thousands of miles across the ocean then a storm came on and the wonderful paper crane got damp crumpled up and fell into the sea sentaro fell with it very much frightened at the thought of being drowned he cried out loudly for jofoku to save him he looked round but there was no ship in sight he swallowed a quantity of seawater which only increases miserable flight while he was thus struggling to keep himself afloat he saw a monster shark swimming towards him as it came nearer it opened its huge mouth ready to devour him sentaro was all but paralyzed with fear now that he felt his end was so near and screamed out as loudly as ever he could to jofuku to come and rescue him lo and behold sentaro was awakened by his own screams to find that during his long prayer he had fallen asleep before the shrine and that all his extraordinary frightful adventures had been only a wild dream he was in a cold perspiration with fright and utterly bewildered suddenly a bright light came towards him and in the lights to the messenger the messenger held a book in his hand and spoke to sentaro i am sent to you by jofuku who in answer to your prayer has permitted you in a dream to see the land of perpetual life but you grew weary of living there and back to be allowed to return to your native land so that you might die jofuku so that he might try you allowed you to drop into the sea and then sent a shark to swallow you up your desire for death was not real for even at that moment you cried out loudly and shouted for help it is also vain for you to wish to become a hermit or to find a lexer of life these things are not for such as you your life is not austere enough it is best for you to go back to your paternal home and to live a good and industrious life never neglect to keep the anniversaries of your ancestors and make it your duty to provide for your children's future this will you live to a good old age and be happy but give up the vain desire to escape death for no man can do that and by this time you have surely found out that even when selfish desires are granted they do not bring happiness in this book i give you there are many precepts good for you to know if you study them you will be guided in a way i have pointed out to you the angel disappeared as soon as they have finished speaking and sentado took the lesson to heart with the book in his hand he returned to his old home and given up all his old vain wishes tried to live a good and useful life and to observe the lessons taught him in the book and he and his house prospered henceforth end of section 100