Tale Teller Kids™

Hans Christian Andersen: Fairytales and Short Stories Volume 2 Hans Christian Andersen The Nightingale.
section one of hans christian amnesian fairy tales and short stories volume 2. this is the librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by christine g hans christian omniscient fairy tales and short stories volume 2 1844-1847 by hans kristen anderson translated by hb paul the angel whenever a good child dies an angel of god comes down from heaven takes the dead child in his arms spreads out his great white wings and flies with him over all the places which the child had loved during his life then he gathers a large handful of flowers which he carries up to the almighty that they may bloom more brightly in heaven than they do on earth and the almighty presses the flowers to his heart but he kisses the flower that pleases him best and it receives her voice and is able to join the song of the chorus of bliss these words were spoken by an angel of god as he carried a dead child up to heaven and the child listened as if in a dream then they passed over well-known spots where the little one had often played and through beautiful gardens full of lovely flowers which of these shall we take with us to heaven to be transplanted there ask the angel close by grew a slender beautiful rose bush but some wicked hand had broken the stem and the half-opened rosebuds hung faded and withered on the trailing branches poor rose bush said the child let us take it with us to heaven that it may bloom above in god's garden the angel took up the rose bush then he kissed the child and the little one half opened his eyes the angel gathered also some beautiful flowers as well as a few humble buttercups and hot seas

now we have flowers enough said the child but the angel only nodded he did not fly upward to heaven was night and quite still in the great town here they remained and the angel hovered over a small narrow street in which lay a large heap of straw ashes and sweepings from the houses of the people who had removed they lay fragments of plates pieces of plaster rags old hats and other rubbish not pleasant to see amidst all this confusion the angel pointed to the pieces of a broken flower pot into a lump of earth which had fallen out of it the earth had been kept from falling to pieces by the roots of a withered field flower which had been thrown amongst the rubbish we will take this with us said the angel i will tell you why as we fly along and as they flew the angel related the history down in that narrow lane in a low cellar lived a poor sick boy he had been afflicted from his childhood and even in his best days he could just manage to walk up and down the room on crutches once or twice but no more during some days in summer the sun beams would lie on the floor of the cellar for about half an hour in this spot the poor sick boy would sit warming himself in the sunshine and watching the red blood through his delicate fingers as he held them before his face then he would say he had been out yet he knew nothing of the green forest in its spring verger till our neighbor's son brought him a green board from a beach tree this he would place over his head and fancy that he was in the beach wood while the sun shone and the birds caroled gaily one spring day the neighbour's boy brought him some field flowers and among them was one to which the roots still had heard this sea carefully planted in a flower pot and placed in a window seat near his bed and the flower had been planted by a fortunate hand for it grew put forth fresh shoots and blossomed every air it became a splendid flower garden to the sick boy and his little treasure upon earth he watered it and cherished it and took care it should have the benefit of every sunbeam that found its way into the cellar from the earliest morning ray to the evening sunset the flower entwined itself...

Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales and Short Stories Volume 2 The Angel Free Kids' Audiobooks
section one of hans christian amnesian fairy tales and short stories volume 2. this is the librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by christine g hans christian omniscient fairy tales and short stories volume 2 1844-1847 by hans kristen anderson translated by hb paul the angel whenever a good child dies an angel of god comes down from heaven takes the dead child in his arms spreads out his great white wings and flies with him over all the places which the child had loved during his life then he gathers a large handful of flowers which he carries up to the almighty that they may bloom more brightly in heaven than they do on earth and the almighty presses the flowers to his heart but he kisses the flower that pleases him best and it receives her voice and is able to join the song of the chorus of bliss these words were spoken by an angel of god as he carried a dead child up to heaven and the child listened as if in a dream then they passed over well-known spots where the little one had often played and through beautiful gardens full of lovely flowers which of these shall we take with us to heaven to be transplanted there ask the angel close by grew a slender beautiful rose bush but some wicked hand had broken the stem and the half-opened rosebuds hung faded and withered on the trailing branches poor rose bush said the child let us take it with us to heaven that it may bloom above in god's garden the angel took up the rose bush then he kissed the child and the little one half opened his eyes the angel gathered also some beautiful flowers as well as a few humble buttercups and hot seas

now we have flowers enough said the child but the angel only nodded he did not fly upward to heaven was night and quite still in the great town here they remained and the angel hovered over a small narrow street in which lay a large heap of straw ashes and sweepings from the houses of the people who had removed they lay fragments of plates pieces of plaster rags old hats and other rubbish not pleasant to see amidst all this confusion the angel pointed to the pieces of a broken flower pot into a lump of earth which had fallen out of it the earth had been kept from falling to pieces by the roots of a withered field flower which had been thrown amongst the rubbish we will take this with us said the angel i will tell you why as we fly along and as they flew the angel related the history down in that narrow lane in a low cellar lived a poor sick boy he had been afflicted from his childhood and even in his best days he could just manage to walk up and down the room on crutches once or twice but no more during some days in summer the sun beams would lie on the floor of the cellar for about half an hour in this spot the poor sick boy would sit warming himself in the sunshine and watching the red blood through his delicate fingers as he held them before his face then he would say he had been out yet he knew nothing of the green forest in its spring verger till our neighbor's son brought him a green board from a beach tree this he would place over his head and fancy that he was in the beach wood while the sun shone and the birds caroled gaily one spring day the neighbour's boy brought him some field flowers and among them was one to which the roots still had heard this sea carefully planted in a flower pot and placed in a window seat near his bed and the flower had been planted by a fortunate hand for it grew put forth fresh shoots and blossomed every air it became a splendid flower garden to the sick boy and his little treasure upon earth he watered it and cherished it and took care it should have the benefit of every sunbeam that found its way into the cellar from the earliest morning ray to the evening sunset the flower entwined itself even in...

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Dramatic Reading) 4 by L. Frank Baum Free Kid's Audiobooks.
chapter 4 of the wonderful wizard of oz 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 patrick khan the wonderful wizard of oz by l frank baum chapter four the road through the forest after a few hours the road began to be rough and the walking grew so difficult that the scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks which were here very uneven sometimes indeed they were broken or missing altogether leaving holes that toto jumped across and dorothy walked around as for the scarecrow having no brains he walked straight ahead and so stepped into the holes and fell at full length on the hard bricks it never hurt him however and dorothy would pick him up and set him upon his feet again while he joined her and laughing merrily at his own mishap the farms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were farther back there were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees and the farther they went the more dismal and lonesome the country became at noon they sat down by the roadside near a little brook and dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread she offered a piece to the scarecrow but he refused i am never hungry he said and it is a lucky thing i am not for my mouth is only painted and if i should cut a hole in it so i could eat the straw i'm stuffed with would come out and that would spoil the shape of my head dorothy saw at once this was true so she only nodded and went on eating her bread tell me something about yourself and the country you came from said the scarecrow when she had finished her dinner so she told him all about kansas and how gray everything was there and how the cyclone had carried her to this queer land of oz the scarecrow listened to carefully and said i cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry gray place you call kansas that is because you have no brains answer the girl no matter how dreary and gray our homes are we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country be it ever so beautiful there is no place like home the scarecrow sighed of course i cannot understand it he's in if your heads were stuffed with straw like mine you would probably all live in the beautiful places and then kansas would have no people at all it is fortunate for kansas that you have brains won't you tell me a story while we are resting ask the child the scarecrow looked at her reproachfully and answered my life has been so short that i really know nothing whatever i was only made day before yesterday what happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me luckily when the farmer made my head one of the first things he did was to paint my ears so that i heard what was going on there was another munchkin with him and the first thing i heard the farmers saying how do you like those ears they aren't straight answered the other never mind said the farmer they are ears just the same which was true enough now i'll make the eyes said the farmer so he painted my right eye and as soon as it was finished i found myself looking at him and everything around me with a great deal of curiosity for this was my first glimpse of the world that's a rather pretty eye remark the munchkin who was watching the farmer blue paint is just the color for eyes i think i'll make the other a little bigger said the farmer and when the second i was done i could see much better than before then he made my nose and my mouth but i did not speak because at that time i didn't know what a mouth was for i had the fun of watching them make my body and my arms and legs and when they fastened on my head at last i felt very proud for i thought i was just a good a man as anyone this fellow will scare the crows fast enough said the farmer he looks just like a man why he is a man said the other...

Jātaka Tales by H. T. Francis; E. J. Thomas 11 International Stories for Children Free Audiobook.
section 11 of jataka tales by h.t francis and e.j thomas this librivox recording is in the public domain the stolen jewels once on a time when brahmadata was reigning in benares the bodhisattva having perfected his education became one of the king's ministers one day the king with a large following went into his pleasants and after walking about the woods felt a desire to disport himself in the water so he went down into the royal tank and sent for his harem the women of the harem removing the jewels from their heads and necks and so forth laid them aside with their upper garments in boxes under the charge of female slaves and then went down into the water now as the queen was taking off her jewels and ornaments and laying them with her upper robe on a box she was watched by a female monkey which was hidden in the branches of a tree hard by conceiving a longing to wear the queen's pearl necklace this monkey watched for the slave in charge to be off her guard at first the girl kept looking all about her in order to keep the jewels safe but as time wore on she began to nod as soon as the monkey saw this quick as the wind she jumped down and quick as the wind she was up the tree again with the pearls round her own neck then for fear the other monkeys should see it she hid this string of pearls in a hole in the tree and sat on guard over her spoils as demurely as though nothing had happened by and by the slave awoke and terrified at finding the jewels gone saw nothing else to do but scream out a man has run off with the queen's pearl necklace upran the guards from every side and hearing this story told it to the king catch the thief said his majesty and away went the guards searching high and low for the thief in the pleasants hearing the din a poor superstitious rustic took his heels and alarm there he goes cried the guards catching sight of the runaway and they followed him up till they caught him and with blows demanded what he meant by stealing such precious jewels thought he if i deny the charge i shall die with the beating i shall get from these ruffians i better say i took it so he confessed to the theft and was hauled off a prisoner to the king did you take those precious jewels asked the king yes your majesty where are they now please your majesty i'm a poor man i've never in my life owned anything even a bed or a chair of any value much less a jewel it was the guild master who made me take that valuable necklace and i took it and gave it to him he knows all about it then the king sent for the guild master and asked whether the rustic had passed the necklace on to him yes saya was the answer where is it then i gave it to your majesty's family priest then the priest was sent for and interrogated in the same way and he said he had given it to the chief musician who in his turn said he had given it to a courtesan as a present but she being brought before the king utterly denied ever having received it whilst the five were thus being questioned the sun set it's too late now said the king we will look into this tomorrow so he handed the five over to his ministers and went back into the city here upon the bodhisattva fell of thinking these jewels thought he were lost inside the grounds while the rustic was outside there was a strong guard at the gates and it was impossible for anyone inside to get away with the necklace i do not see how anyone whether inside or out could have managed to secure it the truth is this poor wretched fellow must have said he gave it to the guild master merely in order to save his own skin and the guild master must have said he gave it to the priest in the hope that he would get off if he could mix the priest up in the matter furthermore the priest must have said he gave it to the chief musician because he thought the latter would make the time pass merrily in prison whilst the chief musician's...

Hymns of the Christian Church 13 Free Audiobooks All Ages Spiritual Veni Creator Spiritus.
section 13 of hymns of the christian church read for librivox.org

veni creator spiritus attributed to charlemagne translated by john dryden creator spirit by whose aid the world's foundations first were laid come visit every pious mind come pour thy joys on humankind from sin and sorrow set us free and make thy temples worthy thee o source of uncreated light the father's promised paraclete thrice holy fount thrice holy fire our hearts with heavenly love inspire come and thy sacred unction bring to sanctify us while we sing plenteous of grace descend from high rich in thy sevenfold energy thou strength of his almighty hand whose power doth heaven and earth command proceeding spirit our defense who dust the gift of tongues dispense and crowns thy gift with eloquence refine and purge our earthy parts but oh inflame and fire our hearts our frailties help our vice control submit the senses to the soul and when rebellious they are grown then lay thy hand and hold them down chase from our mind the infernal foe and peace the fruit of love bestow and lest our feet should step astray protect and guide us in the way make us eternal truths receive and practice all that we believe give us thyself that we may see the father and the son by thee immortal honor endless fame attend the almighty father's name the savior son be glorified who for lost man's redemption died and equal adoration be eternal paraclete to thee

end of section 13 this recording is in the public domain

Hymns of the Christian Church 12 Te Deum Laudamus Free Audiobooks All Ages Spiritual
section 12 of hymns of the christian church read for librivox dot org

te attributed to niketa of remission 4th century

we praise thee oh god we acknowledge thee to be the lord all the earth does worship see the father everlasting to see all angels cry aloud the heavens and all the powers there ein to see kurubin and seraphin continually do cry holy holy holy lord god of sabaoth heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory the glorious company of the apostles praise thee the goodly fellowship of the prophet praise thee the noble army of martyrs praised thee the holy church throughout all the world does acknowledge thee the father of an infinite majesty thine honorable true and only son also the holy ghost the comforter thou art the king of glory o christ thou art the everlasting son of the father when thou tookest upon zee to deliver man so let's not abhors a virgin's form when thou hatest overcomes the sharpness of death so this opens the kingdom of heaven to all believers thou sittest at the right hand of god in the glory of the father we believe that thou shalt come to be our judge we therefore praise thee help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with their precious blood makes them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting o lord save thy people and bless signed heritage govern them and lift them up forever day by day we magnify thee and we worship thy name ever world without end or save o lord to keep us this day without sin oh lord have mercy upon us have mercy upon us oh lord let thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee o lord in z have i trusted let me never be confounded

end of section 12 this recording is in the public domain

A Japanese Boy by Shigemi Shiukichi 5 Free Audiobook Biography Tale Teller Book Clubs.
chapter five of a japanese boy by shijimi shiyukichi this librivox recording is in the public domain chapter five baths evenings at home japanese dancing and music when the close of a day called me home from school and my father's work was done a sense of contentment and repose brooded over our household a vigorous scrub and a public bath often gave our tired bodies a renewed muscular tone i accompanied my father to this resort when i was very young my mother carried me thither the bathhouse is a private establishment of its proprietor and public in the sense that townspeople be take themselves to it without restraint the charge is only a few mills for the adult half the amount for the child and nothing for the suckling if a number of checks branded flat pieces of wood be purchased at one time the average charge is still less in imabari there are a dozen or more of these baths they mostly occupy the corners of the street like american drug stores they are open from late in the afternoon till late at night on holidays accommodating baths already at early day break as soon as the bath is in readiness its keeper places a flag at the eaves in the daytime and the square paper lantern after dusk at the entrance is a stand where you deposit your fare and exchange a word on the weather with the keeper if you are neighborly advancing a few steps you leave your clogs on a low platform on the sides of which rise tiers of lockers for clothes you must bring your own towels ladies also take with them little cotton bags of rice bran they closed the bags tightly with strings soaked them in hot water and rubbed their faces and hands with the wet balls the process is said to refine the texture of the skin wonderfully the bath proper is a great cover tank full of hot water with a terrace work of planks sloping down on the four sides where you sit and wash the ceiling is low enough to bump your head unless you are cautious it projects forward and stoops to prevent the steam from escaping unnecessarily therefore even when it is lighted within it is twilight owing to the confined vapor one feels in it as working in a mine or tunnel older men discuss town topics and business and young men come popular heirs as they bathe and intimate friends press each other to rub down their backs the water was kept warm by a huge metallic heater behind which is in communication with the tank but covered with planks so as not to skull the bathers feet in case the water proves too hot the bathers consult each other's comfort courteously and one of them claps his hands it is answered by a sound at the entrance stand and immediately cold water spouts into the tank then the men stir the tank thoroughly on all sides being but a child i took great delight in the excitement i would creep up to the hole and plug it with my wet towel and after a few minutes pulled it out abruptly to see the water spurt forth with redoubled energy the wall has usually a small door pushing it open the firemen peeps in occasionally when there is too much noise the first time i noticed it i was almost scared out of my wits for happening to look around i saw on the dim wall a grim human head staring me in the face between the tank and the floor is a space paved with large flat rectangular stones and cemented with mortar where the people who think it too close in the tank can step out and wash sitting on long narrow benches in some baths this place is overlaid with planks in such a manner that water can trickle down between them here we may use soap but not in the tank several small wooden tubs are near at hand with them we pour the hot water over our body after rubbing and in them we give our towels a final clean water washing when through using them the clear cold water for the latter purpose is constantly bubbling up in a shallow well-like enclosure hard by a couple of dippers float in it and the...

The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling

Publication date 2008-08-12
Usage Public DomainCreative Commons Licensepublicdomain
Topics librivox, audiobook, animals, children
This classic children's book by Rudyard Kipling tells the story of Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves: his escapades and adventures with his dear friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, his capture by the Monkey-People, his attempt at reintegration into human society, and his ultimate triumph over the lame tiger Shere Khan. The account of Mowgli's adventures is followed by several short stories, including the tales of the brave white seal, Kotick, and the tenacious mongoose, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Packed with adventure and Jungle Law wisdom, this book has pervaded popular culture as the basis of many film and stage adaptations, including the popular Disney movie, and through its adoption as a motivational book by the Cub Scouts.

Summary and recording by Meredith Hughes
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 1 Classic Children's Books Free Audiobooks Kids' Library.
the jungle book by rudyard kipling chapter one part one 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 meredith hughes little compton rhode island the jungle book by rudyard kipling chapter one mowgli's brothers

now chill the kite brings home the night that mang the bat sets free the herds are shut in buyer and hut for loose till dawn are we this is the hour of pride and power talon and tush and claw oh hear the call good hunting all that keep the jungle law night song in the jungle

it was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the cne hills when father wolf woke up from his day's rest scratched himself yawned and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips mother wolf lay with her big grey nose dropped across her four tumbling squealing cubs and the moon shone into the mouth of the cave where they all lived harv said father wolf it is time to hunt again he was going to spring downhill when a little shadow with a bushy tail crossed the threshold and whined good luck go with you o chief of the wolves and good luck and strong white teeth go with the noble children that they may never forget the hungry in this world it was the jackal tobacco the dishlicker and the wolves of india despise tabakui because he runs about making mischief and telling tales and eating rags and pieces of leather from the village rubbish heaps but they are afraid of him too because tabakui more than anyone else in the jungle is apt to go mad and then he forgets that he was ever afraid of anyone and runs through the forest biting everything in his way even the tiger runs and hides when little tobacco goes mad for madness is the most disgraceful thing that can overtake a wild creature we call it hydrophobia but they call it dewani the madness and run

enter then and look said father wolf stiffly but there is no food here

for a wolf no said tabaqui but for so mean a person is myself a dry bone is a good feast who are we the gider log the jackal people to pick and choose he scuttled to the back of the cave where he found the bone of a buck with some meat on it and sat cracking the end merrily oh thanks for this good meal he said licking his lips how beautiful are the noble children how large are their eyes and so young too indeed indeed i might have remembered that the children of kings are men from the beginning now tobacco knew as well as anyone else that there is nothing so unlucky as to compliment children to their faces it pleased him to see mother and father wolf look uncomfortable tobacco sat still rejoicing in the mischief that he had made and then he said spitefully sheer khan the big one has shifted his hunting grounds he will hunt among these hills for the next moon so...

The Missing Formula by Mildred A. Wirt Benson 11 Girl Sleuth Young Adult Free Audiobook.

chapter 11 of the missing formula this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by mariscano the secret hiding place my my is jay curtis important madge mocked take it oh leave it i wish he had told him to jump in the lake i fear i'm at his mercy and returned in a disheartened tone what can i do in 24 hours i can't borrow enough money to pay off the mortgage and if i sold the house and ireland at public auction it probably wouldn't bring enough to get me out of debt jake would see to that madge said feelingly he has underhanded ways of managing things but don't take it so hard anne will find some way to best him the formula was my only chance of raising money and we couldn't possibly unearth it in 24 hours that man in washington may wire right back and again he may never answer and added gloomy oh well it does no good to moan let's go back to the car the girls reached the brady lodge in time for a late luncheon learning that mr brownell had gone fishing again and that clyde wendell had not been seen since breakfast match persuaded anne to remain for a few hours they had lunch and then sat on the veranda as usual the conversation turned to the missing formula and to the book which they hope would disclose a secret match brought it from the house and they looked at it again while they were pouring over the pages mrs brady came outside to suggest that madge take the newly purchased magazines to bill's cabin he's laid up with rheumatism again today she explained and i know he'll appreciate something to read rheumatism like fun madge laughed as she arose to do her own spitting i notice his attacks always come on the days when uncle george has planned a hard day's work you're both too easy on him she accepted the magazines and with anne who still had the book in her hand walked a short distance through the woods to bill's cabin from afar they glimpsed the old workmen smoking his pipe on the porch but he quickly vanished inside as he saw them coming when they knocked a muffled voice made them enter they entered the room to see bill stretched on his bunk his face twisted with pain let you me smedge he mumbled making an exaggerated effort to lift himself to a sitting position if mr baby sent you to find out how i'll be you can tell him i know better my back's not killing me i didn't get a wink of sleep last night and this morning seems like me poor old body never mind madge interrupted uncle george didn't send me i brought these magazines for you bill's face brightened he swung his feet to the floor with alacrity then remembering his ailment groaned and told madge to leave the magazines on the table i won't be doing much reading for several days yet he mumbled i'll just lie here quiet like and try to get me strength back the girls soon left but mischievously hid themselves behind a tree only a short ways from the cabin before long old bill's tussled head was thrust cautiously out the door seeing that the coast was clear he took up his seat in the sun and soon was lost in the death of a blood-curdling detective story the girl stole quietly away it's always that way madge declared for every honest day of labor he does bill rests six i guess at that we couldn't get along without him taking a different trail through the woods the girls presently came to a newly constructed two-room log cabin uncle george plans to rent it out later in the summer madge explained it's all finished now is it nice inside lovely i'll open it up and show you madge dashed off through the woods returning a few minutes with the key which after a few unsuccessful turns unlocked the cabin door the rooms had been furnished with rustic furniture that mr brady had made himself the unpainted log walls gave off a pleasant fresh odor madge pointed out the huge stone fireplace bill will be proud of this until his dying day he can tell you the number of stones...

New Chronicles of Rebecca (Dramatic Reading) 3 Free Kids' Audiobooks Full Cast Great Reads.
third chronicle of new chronicles of rebecca this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org new chronicles of rebecca by kate douglas wigan third chronicle rebecca's thought book

the sawyer girl's barn still had its hamo in rebecca's time although the hay was a dozen years old or more and in the opinion of the occasional visiting horse sadly juiceless and wanting in flavor it's still sheltered too old deacon israel sawyer's carry-all and mowing machine with his pong his sleigh and a dozen other survivals of an earlier era when the broad acres of the brick house went to make one of the finest farms in riverborough there were no horses or cows in the stalls nowadays no pig grunting comfortably of future sparabs in the sky no hands to peck the plants in the cherished garden patch the sawyer girls were getting on in years and mindful that care once killed a cat they ordered their lives with a view of escaping that particular doom at least and succeeded fairly well until rebecca's advent made existence a trifle more sensational

once a month for years upon years miss miranda and miss chain had put towels over their heads and made a solemn visit to the barn taking off the enameled cloth coverings occasionally called emmanuel covers in riverborough dusting the ancient implements and sometimes sweeping the heaviest of the cobwebs from the corners or giving a brush to the floor deacon israel's tattering ladder still stood in its accustomed place propped against the hamo and the heavenly stairway leading to eternal glory scarcely looked fairer to jacob of old than this to rebecca by means of its dusty rounds she mounted mounted mounted far away from time and care and maiden ants far away from childish tasks and childish troubles to the barn chamber a place so full of golden dreams happy reveries and vague longings that as her little brown hands clung to the sides of the ladder and her feet trod the rounds cautiously in her ascent her heart almost stopped beating in the sheer joy of anticipation once having gained the heights the next thing was to unlatch the heavy doors and give them a gentle swing outward then oh ever new paradise then oh ever lovely green and growing world for rebecca had that something in her soul that gives to seas and sunset skies the unspent beauty of surprise at the top of guideboard hill she could see alice robinson's barn with its shining weather vane a huge burnished fish that swam with the wind and foretold the day to all riverboro the meadow with its sunny slopes stretching up to the pine woods was sometimes a flowing sheet of shimmering grass sometimes when daisies and buttercups were blooming a vision of white and gold sometimes the shorn stubble would be dotted with the happy hills of hay and a little later the rock maple on the edge of the pines would stand out like a golden ball against the grain its neighbor the sugar maple glowing beside it brave in scarlet it was on one of these autumn days with a wintry nip in the air that adam ladd rebecca's favorite mr aladdin after searching for her in field and garden suddenly noticed the open doors of the barn chamber and called to her at the sound of his voice she dropped her precious diary and flew to the edge of the hamo he never forgot the vision of the startled little poetics book in one mitten hand pencil in the other dark hair all ruffled with the picturesque addition of an additional glade of straw her cheeks crimson her eyes shining a sappho admittance he cried laughingly and at her eager question told her to look up the unknown lady in the school encyclopedia when she was admitted to the female seminary at wareham now all being ready rebecca went to a corner of the jemo and withdrew a thick blank book with muddled covers out of her gingham...