 Chapter 1 of A Primary Reader, Old Time Stories, Fairy Tales, and Myths, Retold by Children 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 Little Peanut. A primary reader, Old Time Stories, Fairy Tales, and Myths, Retold by Children By E. Louise Smythe Chapter 1, The Ugly Duckling A duck made her nest under some leaves. She sat on the eggs to keep them warm. At last the eggs broke. One after the other, little ducks came out. Only one egg was left. It was a very large one. At last it broke, and out came a big ugly duckling. What a big duckling, said the old duck. He does not look like us. Can he be a turkey? We will see. If he does not like the water, he is not a duck. The next day, the mother duck took her ducklings to the pond. Splash, splash! The mother duck was in the water. Then she called the ducklings to come in. They all jumped in and began to swim. The big ugly duckling swam too. The mother duck said he is not a turkey. He is my own little duck. He will not be so ugly when he is big. Then she said to the ducklings, come with me. I want you to see other ducks. Stay by me and look out for the cat. They all went into the duck yard. What a noise the ducks made. While the mother duck was eating a big bug, an old duck bit the ugly duckling. Let him alone, said the mother duck. He did not hurt you. I know that, said the duck. But he is so ugly, I bit him. The next duck they met, said, you have lovely ducklings. They are all pretty but one. He is very ugly. The mother duck said, I know he is not pretty but he is very good. Then she said to the ducklings, now my dears have a good time. But the poor, big, ugly duckling did not have a good time. The hens all bit him. The big ducks walked on him. The poor duckling was very sad. He did not want to be so ugly, but he could not help it. He ran to hide under some bushes. The little birds in the bushes were afraid and flew away. It is all because I am so ugly, said the duckling. So he ran away. At night he came to an old house. The house looked as if it would fall down. It was so old. But the wind blew so hard the duckling went inside the house. An old woman lived there with her cat and her hen. The old woman said, I will keep a duck. I will have some eggs. The next day the cat saw the duckling and began to growl. The hen said, Can you like eggs? The duckling said, No. Then keep still said the hen. The cat said, Can you growl? No said the duckling. Then keep still said the cat. The duckling hid in a corner. The next day he went for a walk. He saw a big pond. He said, I will have a good swim. But all of the animals made fun of him. He was so ugly. The summer went by. Then the leaves fell and it was very cold. The poor duckling had a hard time. It is too sad to tell what he did all winter. At last it was spring. The birds sang the ugly duckling was big now. One day he flew far away. Soon he saw three white swans on the lake. He said, I am going to see those birds. I am afraid they will kill me. For I am so ugly. He put his head down to the water. What did he see? He saw himself in the water. But he was not an ugly duck. He was a white swan. The other swans came to see him. The children said, Oh, see the lovely swans. The one that came last is the best. And they gave him bread and cake. It was a happy time for the ugly duckling. A little pine tree was in the woods. It had no leaves. It had needles. The little tree said, I do not like needles. All the other trees in the woods have pretty leaves. I want leaves too. But I will have better leaves. I want gold. Night came and the little tree went to sleep. A fairy came by and gave it gold leaves. When the little tree woke, it had leaves of gold. It said, Oh, I am so pretty. No other tree has gold leaves. Night came. A man came by with a bag. He saw the gold leaves. He took them all and put them in his bag. The poor little tree cried, I do not want gold leaves again. I will have glass leaves. So the little tree went to sleep. The fairy came by and put glass leaves on it. The little tree woke and saw the glass leaves. How pretty they looked in the sunshine. No other tree was so bright. Then a wind came up. It blew and blew. The glass leaves all fell from the tree and were broken. Again, the little tree had no leaves. It was very sad and said, I will not have gold leaves. And I will not have glass leaves. I want green leaves. I want to be like the other trees. And the little tree went to sleep. When it woke, it was like other trees. It had green leaves. A goat came by. He saw the green leaves on the little tree. The goat was hungry. He ate all the leaves. Then the little tree said, I do not want any leaves. I will not have green leaves nor glass leaves nor gold leaves. I like my needles best. And the little tree went to sleep. The fairy gave it what it wanted. When it woke, it had its needles again. Then the little pine tree was happy. End of chapter two. Chapter three of a primary reader, Old Time Stories, Fairy Tales, and Myths, Retold by Children, by E. Louise Smyth. This Libra Rocks recording is in the public domain. Recording by Little Peanut, the little match girl. It was very cold. The snow fell and it was almost dark. It was the last day of the year. A little match girl was running in the street. Her name was Gretchen. She had no hat on. Her feet were bare. When she left home, she had on some big slippers of her mamas. But they were so large that she lost them when she ran across the street. Gretchen had a lot of matches in her old apron. She had a little bunch in her hand, but she could not sell her matches. No one would buy them. Poor little Gretchen. She was cold and hungry. The snow fell on her curly hair, but she did not think about that. She saw lights in the houses. She smelled good things cooking, she said to herself. This is the last night of the year. Gretchen got colder and colder. She was afraid to go home. She knew her papa would whip her if she did not take some money to him. He was as cold at home as in the street. They were too poor to have a fire. They had to put rags in the windows to keep out the wind. Gretchen did not even have a bed. She had to sleep on a pile of rags. She sat down on a doorstep. Her little hands were almost frozen. She took a match and lighted it to arm her hands. The match looked like a little candle. Gretchen thought she was sitting by a big stove. It was so bright. She put the match near her feet to arm them. Then the light went out. She did not think she was by the stove anymore. Gretchen lighted another match. Now she thought she could look into a room. In this room was a table. A white cloth and pretty dishes were on the table. There was a roast, turkey too. It was cooked and ready to eat. The knife and fork were in his back. The turkey jumped from the dish and ran to the little girl. The light went out and she was in the cold and dark again. Gretchen lighted another match. Then she thought she was sitting by a Christmas tree. Very many candles were on the tree. It was full of pretty things. Gretchen put up her little hands. The light went out. The lights on the Christmas tree went up up until she saw they were the stars. Then she saw a star fall. Someone is dying, said little Gretchen. Her grandma had been very good to the little girl, but she was dead. The grandma had said, when a star falls, someone is going to God. The little girl lighted another match. It made a big light. Gretchen thought she saw her grandma. She never looked so pretty before. She looked so sweet and happy. Oh, grandma's the little girl. Take me. When the light goes out, you will go away. The stove and the turkey and the Christmas tree all went away. Then Gretchen lighted a bunch of matches. She wanted to keep her grandma with her. The matches made it very light. The grandma took the little girl in her arms. They went up up where they would never be cold nor hungry. They were with God. The next day came some men round a little girl in the street. She was dead. In her hand were the burned matches. They said, poor little thing, she froze to death. They did not know how happy she was in heaven. End of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 of a Primary Reader, Old Times Stories, Fair Tales, and Mist, Retold by Children by E. Louise Smyth. This Lieber Vox recording is in the public domain, recording by Little Peanut, Little Red Riding Hood. When May was six years old, her grandma made her a red coat with a hood. She looked so pretty in it that the children all called her Red Riding Hood. One day her mama said, I want you to take this cake and some butter to grandma. Red Riding Hood was very glad to go. She always had a good time at Grandma's. She put the things into her little basket and ran off. When Red Riding Hood came to the wood, she met a big wolf. Where are you going? said the wolf. Red Riding Hood said, I am going to see my grandma. Mama has made her a cake and some butter. Does she live far? said the wolf. Yes, and Little Red Riding Hood, in the White House by the mill. I will go too, and we shall see who will get there first, said the wolf. The wolf ran off and took a short way, but Red Riding Hood stopped to pick some flowers. When the wolf got to the house, he tapped on the door. The grandma said, who is there? The wolf made his voice as soft as he could. He said, it is Little Red Riding Hood, grandma. Then the old lady said, pull the string and the door will open. The wolf pulled the string and the door opened. He ran in and ate the poor old lady. Then he jumped into her bed and put on her cap. When Red Riding Hood tapped on the door, the wolf called out, who is there? Red Riding Hood said, it is your Little Red Riding Hood, grandma. Then the wolf said, pull the string and the door will open. When she went in, she said, look, grandma, see the cake and butter mama has sent you. Thank you, dear. Put them on the table and come here. When Red Riding Hood went near the bed, she said, oh, grandma, how big your arms are. The better to hug you, my dear. How big your ears are, grandma. The better to hear you, my dear. How big your eyes are, grandma. The better to see you, my dear. How big your teeth are, grandma. The better to eat you. Then the cruel wolf jumped up and ate poor Little Red Riding Hood. Just then a hunter came by. He heard Red Riding Hood scream. The hunter ran into the house and killed the old wolf. When he cut the wolf open, out jumped Little Red Riding Hood and her grandma. End of chapter four. Chapter five is a primary reader. Old time stories, fair tales, and myths were told by children. By E. Louise Smythe. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Little Peanut. The Apples of Aidan. Once upon a time, three of the gods went on a journey. One was Thor and one was Loki. Loki was ugly and mean. The gods like to walk over the hills and rocks. They could go very fast, for they were so big. The gods walked on and on. At last they got very hungry. Then they came to a field with cattle. Thor killed a big ox and put the pieces into a pot. They made a big fire, but the meat would not cook. They made the fire bigger and bigger, but the meat would not cook. Then the gods got very cross. Someone said, give me my share and I will make the meat cook. The gods looked to see who was talking. There in the oak tree was a big eagle. The gods were so hungry that they said, Well, we will. The supper was ready in a minute. Then the eagle flew down to get his share. He took the four legs and there was not much left, but the ribs. This made Loki cross, for he was very hungry. He took a long pole to hit the eagle, but the pole stuck to the eagle's claws. The other end stuck to Loki. Then the eagle flew away. He did not fly high. He flew just high enough for Loki to hit against the stones. Loki said, Please let me go. Oh, please let me go. But the eagle said, No, you tried to kill me. I will not let you go. And the eagle hit him against the stones. Loki said again, Please let me go. But the eagle said, No, I have you now. Then Loki knew the eagle was a giant, not a bird. This giant had a suit of eagle feathers. He was flying in his eagle suit when he saw Loki. Now the gods lived in a city named Asgard. In this city, Aiden kept the beautiful golden apples. When the gods felt they were growing old, they ate the apples and were young again. The giant wanted to be like the gods. So he said to Loki, I will let you go if you will get me the apples of Aiden. But Loki said, I can't do that. So the eagle bumped him on the stones again. Then Loki said, I can't stand this. I will get the apples for you. Loki and the eagle went to the city. The eagle stayed by the gate, but Loki went into the city. He went up to Aiden. She was putting the apples into a beautiful golden box. Loki said, Good morning, Aiden. Those are beautiful apples. And Aiden said, Yes, they are beautiful. I saw some just like them the other day. So Loki, Aiden knew there were no other apples like these. And she said, That is strange. I'd like to see them. Loki said, Come with me and I will show them to you. It is only a little way. Bring your apples with you. As soon as Aiden was out of the gates, the eagle flew down. He picked her up in his claws. Then he flew away with her to his home. Day after day passed and Aiden did not come back. The gods did not have the golden apples to eat. So they began to get old. At last they said, Who let the apples go? Then Loki looked pale. And the gods said, Loki, you did it. And Loki said, Yes, I did. He did not tell the story that time. Then Loki said, I will get Aiden and the apples back. If I may have the falcon suit. The gods said, You may have it. If you will bring the apples back. Loki put on the falcon suit and flew away. He looked like a big bird flying. When Loki came to the giant's home, he was glad the giant was not there. He changed Aiden into a nut. Then he flew away with the nut. When the giant came home, Aiden was gone. The golden apples were gone too. The giant put on his eagle suit and flew after Loki. Loki heard the eagle coming. Loki flew faster. Poor Loki was all out of breath. The eagle flew faster and faster. Then the gods got on the walls to look for Loki. They saw him coming the eagle after him. So they made fires on the walls. At last Loki flew over the walls. Then the gods lighted the fires. The fires blazed up. The eagle flew into the fire and was burned. As soon as Loki put the nut down, it changed to Aiden. The gods ate the beautiful golden apples and were young. End of chapter 5. Chapter 6 of a primary reader. Old time stories, fairy tales, and lists were told by children. By E. Louise Smyth. This Libra Vox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Little Peanut. How Thor got the hammer. Sif was Thor's wife. Sif had long golden hair. Thor was very proud of Sif's golden hair. Thor was always going on long journeys. One day he went off and left Sif alone. She went out on the porch and fell asleep. Loki came along. He was always playing tricks. He saw Sif lying asleep. He said, I am going to cut off her hair. So Loki went up on the porch and cut off Sif's golden hair. When Sif woke up and saw that her hair was gone, she cried and cried. Then she ran to hide. She did not want Thor to see her. When Thor came home, he could not find Sif. Sif, Sif! He called. Where are you? But Sif did not answer. Thor looked all around the house. At last he found her crying. Oh Thor, look! Oh my hair is gone! Somebody has cut it off. It was a man. He ran away with it. Then Thor was very angry. He said, I know it was Loki. He is always getting into mischief. Just wait until I get him. And Thor went out to find Loki. Pretty soon he found him. Thor said, did you cut off Sif's hair? Loki said, yes I did. Then you must pay for cutting off my wife's hair. Said Thor. All right, said Loki. I'll get you something better than the hair. Loki went down, down into the ground. To the home of the dwarfs. It was very dark down there. The only light came from the dwarfs' fires. The dwarfs were ugly little black men. They were not any bigger than your thumb. They had crooked backs and crooked legs. Their eyes look like black beads. Loki said, can you make me a gold crown that will grow like real hair? The dwarfs said, yes we can. So the busy little dwarfs worked all night. When morning came, the dwarfs gave Loki his crown of golden hair. They gave him a spear and a ship too. Loki took the things up to Asgard where the gods all lived. Then the gods all came up to him. He showed them the things. The gods said they are very wonderful and Loki said, oh nobody else can make such things as my little dwarfs. A little dwarf named Brock was standing nearby. He heard Loki say that. Then he stepped up and said, my brother can make just as good things as these. Loki laughed and said, you can get three things as wonderful as these. I will give you my head. Brock went down into the ground where his little dwarfs were working. Brock's brother was named Syndra. He said to his brother, Loki says that you can't make such nice things as his dwarfs can. He said that he would give me his head. If I could get him such wonderful things as his. This made the dwarfs angry. Their eyes grew big. They said he will see what we can do. Syndra wanted to know what wonderful things were. Brock said Loki has a golden crown that will grow like real hair. A ship that can go anywhere, a spear that never misses the mark. We will show him said the dwarfs. The dwarfs soon had the fires burning. Then Syndra put a pig skin into the fire. He gave the bellows to Brock and said, now blow as hard as you can. Then Syndra went out. Brock blew and blew. A little fly came in and bit him on the hand. The fly bit him so hard that Brock thought he would have to stop blowing. But he did not. Then Syndra came back. He took out a golden pig from the fire. Next he put a lump of gold into the fire. He said to Brock blow and blow and blow and do not stop. Then Syndra went out again. So Brock blew as hard as he could. Then the same fly came in and bit him again. Brock thought that he could not stand it, but he kept on. When Syndra came back, he took a gold ring from the fire. Then Syndra put a lump of iron into the fire. He said to Brock, now blow as hard as you can. And Syndra went out. Brock blew and blew. The same mean fly came again and bit him on the forehead. It bit so hard that the blood ran into his eyes. Brock put up his hand to brush away the fly. Just then Syndra came back. He took the hammer out of the fire. There he said you have almost spoiled it. The handle is too short, but it cannot be helped now. Brock hurried up to Asgard with his things. All the gods came around to see. Then Loki came up to show his things. He put the crown of gold on Sif's head. It began to grow like real hair. He gave the spear to Odin and said, this spear will never miss its mark. Then he took out the ship. He said this is a wonderful ship. It will sail on any sea. And yet you can fold it up and put it in your pocket. Loki felt very proud for he thought his things were the best. All the gods felt very sorry for little Brock. They thought Loki's things were fine. They were afraid Brock's would not be so nice. They said now Brock, show your thanks. Brock took out the gold ring. He said each night this ring will throw off a ring just like it. He gave the ring to Odin. Then Brock took out the golden pig. He said this pig can go anywhere on the ground or in the air. It can go faster than any horse. If the night is dark, the shining pig will make it light. Then Brock showed the hammer. He said this is not a very pretty hammer. When I was making it, Loki turned himself into a fly and made me spoil it. The fly bit me so hard that I had to stop blowing so the handle is a little short. But it is a wonderful hammer. If you throw it at anything, it will hit the mark and come back to you. The gods picked up the hammer and passed it around. They said it will be just the things with which to keep the frost giants out of Asgard. The gods said Brock's things are the best. Brock gave the hammer to Thor. That is the way Thor got his wonderful hammer. Then Brock said to Loki, you said I could have your head if my things were the best. Loki was angry and said, yes I told you that you could have my head but you can't touch my neck. Of course Brock could not get his head without touching his neck so Brock did not get Loki's head. End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of a primary reader. Old time stories fairy tales and myths retold by children by E. Louise Smyth. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Little Peanut. The hammer lost and found. The frost giants did not like the sunshine. They did not like to see the flowers. They did not like to hear the birds sing. They wanted to spoil everything. The frost giants wanted to get into Asgard but they did not know how. They were afraid of Thor and his hammer. They said if we can only get the hammer we can get into Asgard. They talked and planned all night. At last one of the frost giants said I know how we can get the hammer. I will dress in a bird suit. Then I will fly up to Thor's house and get the hammer. The next night the frost giant flew into the house while Thor was asleep. He took the hammer and flew away with it. When Thor woke he put out his hand to get the hammer. It was gone. He said Loki the hammer is gone. The frost giants have taken it. We must get it back. Loki said I can get it back if Freya will let me have her falcon suit. So he went to Freya and said will you let me have your falcon suit? I can get the hammer back if you will. Freya said yes of course I will. If I had a gold suit you could have it. Anything to get the hammer back. Loki took the falcon suit and put it on. He flew over the city. All the people saw him flying. They said what a strange bird. They did not know that it was Loki going for the hammer. When Loki came to the city of the frost giants he took off the falcon suit. He walked and walked until he came to Thrim's house. Thrim was the giant who took the hammer. Thrim was sitting on the porch making gold collars for his dogs. When he saw Loki he said what do you want? Loki said I have come for the hammer. The old giant laughed and said you will never get that hammer. It is buried eight miles deep in the ground. But there is one way you can get it. I will give you the hammer if you get Freya for my wife. So Loki went back to Asgard. Thor said well did you get the hammer? No but we can get it if Freya will be Thrim's wife. Then they went to Freya's house. They said put on your very best clothes and come with us. You must be Thrim's wife. Freya said do you think I will be a frost giants wife? I won't be his wife. Thor said we can get the hammer back if you will. But Freya said no I will not be his wife. Loki said you will have to if we get the hammer back. Still Freya said I will not go and she was very angry. She shook so hard that she broke her necklaces and it fell to the floor. Then the gods said Thor you must dress like Freya you will have to play that you are the bride. Thor said I won't do it. You will laugh at me I won't dress up like a girl. They said well that is the only way we can get the hammer back. Freya said I do not like to dress like a girl but I will do it. Then they dressed Thor up like Freya. They put on Freya's dress necklace and veil and braided his hair. Loki said I will dress up too and be your servant. They got into Thor's goat wagon and went to the giants home. When the frost giants saw them coming they said get ready here comes the bride we will sit down to the table as soon as they come. The dinner was ready on time the table was full of good things all sat down. The bride ate a whole ox and ate salmon before the others had a bite. She must be very hungry. The frost giants said yes and Loki she was so glad to come she hasn't eaten anything for 8 days. Then they brought in the mead the bride drank 3 barrels of mead how thirsty she is said the frost giants Loki said yes she is very thirsty she was so glad to come she did not drink anything for 8 days. Old Thrim said I had everything I wanted now I have Freya and Thrim went to kiss the bride he lifted the veil but her eyes shone like fire. Thrim stepped back he said what makes Freya's eyes shine so Loki said oh she was so glad to come she did not sleep for 8 nights then Loki said it is time for the hammer go get it and put it in the bride's lap as soon as the hammer was in his lap Thor tore off the veil he took the hammer and whirled it around fire flew from it the fire burned the house and the frost giants ran away so Thor got his hammer back End of Chapter 7 Chapter 8 of a primary reader old time stories fairytales retold by children by E. Louise Smythe this labor box recording is in the public domain recording by little peanut the story of the sheep long long ago there lived a king in Greece he had two little children a boy and a girl they were good children and loved each other very much one day they were playing together in the garden oh hello look said the boy there on the grass was a fine large sheep the sheep had a fleece of gold and his horns were gold too the children wanted to pat the sheep but they could not catch him when they went near he ran away on the clouds every day they played in the garden every day the sheep came too by and by he grew tame the children pat his golden fleece one day the boy said hellae let us take a ride first he helped his sister onto the sheep's back then he got on and held to the horns hold tight to me hellae he said the sheep went up up into the sky and ran a long way on the clouds the boy got dizzy and fell down into the sea the boy felt very bad to lose his sister but he went right on then he came to the land of caulkis he killed the sheep and gave the golden fleece to the king the king was glad to have it and nailed it to an oak tree by the tree was a dragon the dragon never went to sleep he did not let anyone but the king come to the tree so no one could get the golden fleece end of chapter 8 chapter 9 of a primary reader old time stories fairy tales and myths retold by children by E. Louis Smythe this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by little peanut the good ship Argo Jason was a brave young man he lived a little way from the king's city one day the king gave a big party and invited Jason it was a very dark night and it rained hard Jason had to go across a creek but there was no bridge the creek was full of water and Jason had to wade one of his shoe strings came untied and he lost his shoe in the water when he came to the king's house he had but one shoe the king did not like this for a fairy had said the man who shall come to your house with one shoe will be king so he knew Jason was to be king then he said to Jason you may be king when you bring me the golden fleece Jason was glad to go and asked many brave men to go with him to get the golden fleece they would have to fight wild men and animals they made a big ship which they named Argo the men who went on the Argo were called Argonauts end of chapter 9 chapter 10 of a primary reader old time stories fairy tales and mystery told by children by E. Louise Smythe the ship box recording is in the public domain recording by little peanut Jason and the harpies the ship Argo sailed a long way there were two strong men on the ship they had wings and could fly one day the Argo came to land where the blind king lived this poor king had a hard time when he sat down to the table to eat some ugly birds called harpies came too the harpies had skin like brass and nobody could hurt them they had claws of iron and scratched people when the king's dinner was ready the harpies came and took it away when Jason and his men came the king told them all about it Jason said they would help him they all sat down to the table when the food was put on the table the harpies came flying in Jason and his men took their swords they cut out the harpies but could not hurt them then the two men with wings flew up into the air the harpies were afraid and flew away the men flew after them at last the harpies grew very tired and fell into the sea and were drowned then the men with wings came back now the blind king could eat all he wanted it was now time for Jason and his friends to go away the king thanked them over and over again for helping him when they said goodbye he told them how to get to the land where they would find the golden fleece on the sea where Jason and his men had to sail were two big rocks sailed on water like icebergs they were as high as a big hill they would come close to each other then they would go far apart when fishes swam in the water the rocks would come together and kill the fishes if birds flew in the air the rocks would come together and kill the birds if a boat sailed on the water the rocks would come together and break the boat the rocks had been put in the sea so no one could get to the land where the golden fleece was when the ship Argo came to the rocks Jason sent a dove out the rocks came together when the dove was almost past then they went far apart Jason made his men row as hard as they could the rocks began to come together row hard my men said Jason just as they got past the rocks hit but Jason and his men were all right so they came to Colchis End of Chapter 10 Chapter 11 of a primary reader old time stories fair tales in this were told by children by E. Louise Smythe this labor fox recording is in the public domain recording by Little Peanut the brass bowls when Jason came to Colchis he went to the king and he said will you give me the golden fleece the king wanted to keep the fleece so he said to Jason you may have it but you must do something for me first you must plow with the brass bowls and plant the dragon's teeth the brass bowls looked like real bowls but they were larger and stronger and blew out fire and smoke from their noses and mouths the bowls had a stall made of iron and stone they had to be tied with strong iron chains when the dragon's teeth were planted iron men grew up they always killed the one who planted them the king wanted the bowls to kill Jason he said if the bowls do not kill him the iron men will the king had a daughter named Medea he saw Jason was a brave young man and did not want him killed she knew how to help him she stepped into her carriage which was pulled by flying snakes then Medea flew through the air she went to hills and creeks and picked all kinds of flowers she took the flowers home and cooked them then Medea went to Jason when the king did not know it he saw your face and hands and legs with his juice when he did this he was as strong as a giant nothing could hurt him fire could not burn him swords could not cut him the next day Jason had to plow with the brass bowls and plant the dragon's teeth early in the morning the king and princess went out to the place they had good seats to see Jason plow the little boys climbed the trees so that they could see better then Jason came to the place the stall where the brass bowls were tied was not far off the door was opened and Jason went in he untied the bowls and took hold of their horns then he made the bowls come out of their stall the bowls were very angry they could not smoke from their mouths this made the cruel king glad but the people who saw it were afraid they did not want Jason killed they did not know that the princess had helped him Jason pushed the bowls heads down to the ground then they kicked at him with their feet but could not hurt him he held their heads down on the ground until the plow was ready Jason walked the chains in one hand took the handle of the plow in the other the bowls jumped and wanted to run away but Jason held so hard they had to go very slowly when it was noon the ground was all cloud then Jason let the bowls go they were so angry that I ran away into the woods now Jason went to the king and said give me the dragon's teeth the king gave him his hat full then Jason planted the dragon's teeth just as a man plants wheat by this time he was very tired so he went to lie down in the evening he came back the Iron men were growing up some of the men had only their feet in the ground some of them were in the ground up to their knees some of them only had their heads out they all tried to get out but they could kill Jason then Jason did what Medea told him he should do he took a giant's marble and threw it near the men all the Iron men wanted to get the marble so they began to fight each other as soon as one had his feet out of the ground he cut at the man next to him so they killed each other then Jason took his sword and cut off all the heads that were out of the ground so all the Iron men were killed and the king was very angry but Medea and the people were glad End of Chapter 11 Chapter 12 of a primary reader old times stories fairy tales and myths retold by children by E. Louise Smythe the sleeper vox recording is in the public domain recording by little peanut Jason and the dragon the next day Jason went to the king and said now give me the golden fleece the king did not give it to him but said come again then Medea said if you want the golden fleece you must help yourself my father will not give it to you a dragon is by the tree where the golden fleece is never sleeps he is always hungry and eats people if they go near him I cannot kill him but I can make him sleep he is very fond of cake I will make some cake and put in something to make the dragon sleep so Medea made the cakes and Jason took them and threw them to the dragon the dragon ate them all and went to sleep then Jason climbed over the dragon and took the nail out of the tree he put the golden fleece under his coat and ran to the ship Argo Medea went with him and became his wife oh how angry the king was he had lost the golden fleece and the brass bowls and the dragon's teeth and now his daughter was gone he sent his men in ships to take Jason but they could not get him at last Medea and Jason and the other Argonauts came to Greece Jason's father was there he was a very old man Jason wanted his father to be king so he asked Medea to make the old man young then Medea took her carriage and flew through the air she did not come back for nine days she put flowers from the hills she found all sorts of stones too when she went home she put all these things into a pot and cooked them then she put a stick into the pot and leaves grew on it some of the juice fell on the ground and the grass grew up so Medea knew the juice would make things grow Jason's father went to sleep and Medea put some of the juice into his mouth his white hair turned black his teeth grew in his mouth when he woke up he looked and felt like a young man he lived for many years and when he died Jason was king