Aurore At Play
: The Strange Story BookWhen Aurore Dupin went to Paris she found herself in the Rue Thiroux,
where Madame Dupin had taken a suite of rooms, or, as the French say, an
'appartement.' For this 'appartement' the old lady paid a high
rent--more than she could afford, indeed; but she clung to the ancient
custom of a flat with a large drawing-room, where the friends of the
host and hostess could meet once or twice a year. During the rest of the
tim
their bedrooms. As Madame Dupin never gave parties at all, she might
have done without the salon and housed herself for half the price, but
that she would have thought beneath her dignity, and would have starved
first.
Though Ursule was left behind at Nohant, Aurore had other playfellows,
with one of whom, Pauline de Pontcarre, she did lessons. Pauline was a
very pretty little girl, much less heedless than Aurore, and less in the
habit of losing her gloves and dropping her handkerchief. Madame Dupin
was always praising her for being so well brought up, and wishing that
Aurore had such nice manners; but instead of this making Pauline hated
by her new friend, Aurore admired her beauty and was quite fond of her.
Three times a week they had lessons together at Madame Dupin's in music,
writing, and dancing. The dancing-master came direct from the opera, and
was one of the best in Paris; the writing-master was also a person of
high reputation, but unluckily he was of opinion that a graceful
attitude at a desk was of more importance than a clear hand, and Aurore
soon became very impatient with his teaching.
On the other three days Madame de Pontcarre (who, unlike Madame Dupin,
loved walking) came to fetch Aurore to her own house, where Pauline was
awaiting them.
It was Madame de Pontcarre herself who taught them geography and history
by a method invented by the Abbe Gaultier that was much in fashion at
that period. It sounds as if it must have been like those used in the
kindergartens to-day, for everything was a sort of game, and played with
balls and counters. But best of all the hours spent at Madame de
Pontcarre's were those when Aurore sat and listened to her friend
singing and playing, or learned from her some of the principles of
musical composition. This was even a greater joy than the romps with
Pauline's cousins in a big garden in the Rue de la Victoire belonging to
Madame de Pontcarre's mother, where there was plenty of room for
blindman's buff, or for the game known in Scotland as 'tig.' In this
game--barres was the French name--the children were formed into two
camps, the object being to take as many prisoners as possible. Sometimes
they all dined together and afterwards the dining-room was cleared out,
and they played games in which their mothers or even the servants
joined. How horrified old Madame Dupin would have been at the noise they
made! She would not have thought them at all 'well brought up.'
Aurore gives a very funny account of the way in which Hippolyte danced,
for he lived at home and only went to school for certain classes. It was
all very well for him and Aurore to laugh secretly when M. Gogault, the
dancing-master, entered the room 'like a zephyr cutting a caper'; but it
was M. Gogault's turn to smile when Hippolyte, who was more heavy and
awkward than it was possible to imagine, nearly brought down the house
when he did his steps, and shook the walls in his attempts to chasser.
If he was told to hold his head up and not to poke, he took his chin in
his hand, and kept it there all the time he was dancing. And all this he
did with the utmost seriousness, and with no idea of being troublesome.
But at school he only got into mischief, and when the whole Dupin family
returned to Nohant in the spring, it was thought best for Hippolyte to
go with them.
It was there during the next few months that, in the intervals of play
and laughter, Aurore first paid attention to the conversation of her
elders as to the result of the Russian campaign and the future of
France. Nowadays it seems to us almost impossible to believe that for a
whole fortnight no news was received of the French Army of 300,000 men,
and still more that Napoleon, 'the man who filled the universe with his
name and Europe with his presence,' should have disappeared like a
pilgrim lost in the snow. At Nohant no one spoke of anything else, till
one night this child of eight, who had silently brooded over the words
of her elders, had a curious dream, so clear that it was almost a
vision. She felt herself hovering in the air above endless white plains,
with the wandering columns of the vanished army straggling they knew not
where, and guided them towards France. When she awoke she was as tired
and hungry as if she had taken a long flight, and her eyes were still
dazzled by the snow.
* * * * *
In the summer of 1813--the year of the victories of Lutzen, Bautzen, and
Dresden--prisoners of war were sent to all parts of the country, many of
them not even under a guard. The first prisoner that the children
noticed was an officer sitting on the steps of a little pavilion at the
end of their garden. His shoes were dropping to pieces though his coat
and shirt were of the finest material, and in his hand he held the
miniature of a woman suspended from his neck by a black ribbon, which he
was examining sadly. They both felt awed--they did not know why--and
were afraid to speak to him. But in a moment his servant came up, and
the two went away silently together. After that, such numbers passed by
that the peasants paid no attention to them, and even Aurore and
Hippolyte speedily grew accustomed to the sight. One morning, in spite
of the stifling heat, they were again playing near the pavilion, when
one of these poor wretches passed and flung himself wearily on the
steps. He was a German with a simple good-natured face, and the children
went up and spoke to him, but he only shook his head and answered in
French, 'me not understand.' Then Aurore made signs to ask if he was
thirsty, and in reply the man pointed to some stagnant water in the
ditch. They contrived to convey to him by violent head-shakings that it
was not good to drink, and, further, that he must wait a minute and they
would get him something. As fast as they could, they ran to the house
and brought back a bottle of wine and some bread, which he swallowed.
When he had finished, and felt better, he held out his hand repeatedly
and they thought he wanted money. Not having any themselves, Aurore was
going to ask her grandmother for some, but the German, guessing her
intention, stopped her, and made signs that he only desired to shake
hands. His eyes were full of tears, and he was evidently trying hard to
say something. At last he got it out: 'Children very good.'
Filled with pity they ran back to tell Madame Dupin, who, remembering
how her own son had been taken prisoner by the Croats, gave orders that
every day a certain number of bottles of wine and loaves of bread should
be placed in the pavilion for the use of these unfortunate Germans.
Every instant of freedom that Hippolyte and Aurore could get was spent
in that pavilion, handing slices of bread and cups of wine to the weary
creatures sitting on the steps, who were so gentle and grateful for the
unexpected help. Sometimes, when three or four arrived together, they
would sing to their little hosts some of their national songs before
they left. Their talent for singing and dancing gained them friends all
through the country, and now and then gained them wives also.
* * * * *
The troubled years from 1814 to 1817 passed away and Aurore remained at
Nohant with her grandmother, who was constantly growing more and more
helpless from a stroke of paralysis. Aurore was left very much to
herself, but studied music under the organist of the neighbouring
village, learnt history and geography, and read Homer and Tasso in
translations. But her real life was the one she created for herself,
presided over by a mystic personage to whom she gave the name of
Corambe. In her mind, he represented all that was kind and pitiful, and
in the thickness of a wood in the corner of the garden she made him a
temple. That is to say, she decorated the trees which stood about a
round green space, with coloured pebbles, fresh moss, or anything else
she could find. A sort of altar was next put together at the foot of
a large maple from whose boughs hung wreaths of pink and white shells,
while trails of ivy reaching from one tree to another formed an arcade.
Empty birds' nests, chaplets of flowers and moss were soon added, and
when the temple was done it seemed so lovely to the child that often she
could hardly sleep at night for thinking of it.
CORAMBE.]
It is needless to say all would have been spoilt for Aurore had the
'grown-ups' guessed at the existence of her precious temple or of
Corambe. She took the greatest care to pick up her shells and the fallen
birds' nests as if she really hardly knew what she was doing, and was
thinking of something else all the time. Never did she enter the wood
except when alone, and then from a direction different from that which
she had taken before.
When the temple was ready, it was necessary to know what the sacrifice
was to be. Nothing dead should be offered to Corambe. Of that she was
certain. Then if no dead sacrifice was to be laid before him, why should
he not become the champion and deliverer of living objects in danger of
death? So Liset, a boy older than herself and her faithful follower, was
ordered to catch birds and butterflies and even insects in the fields,
and carry them to her, unhurt. What she was going to do with them, he
neither knew nor cared, for Aurore had kept her secret well. Great would
have been his surprise had he known that daily these captive swallows,
redbreasts, chaffinches, or dragon-flies were borne tenderly to the
altar of Corambe, and there set free. If one happened to perch for an
instant on a branch above her head before disappearing into the blue, a
thrill of ecstasy ran through the priestess.
But one day Liset, who had been sent to look for her, caught sight of
her white frock as she was entering the wood. And with his words:
'Oh, ma'mselle, what a pretty little altar!' the spell of her story was
broken, and it is a spell that can never be cast twice.
* * * * *
Aurore, however, did not always have dryads and cherubs and
wonder-working spirits for company; Hippolyte would not have allowed
anything of the sort, for he liked Aurore to be with him, whatever he
was doing. They had many friends too, both boys and girls, with whom
they climbed trees, played games, and even kept sheep, which means that
they did not keep them at all, but let them trample down the young wheat
in the fields or eat it, if they preferred, while they themselves were
dancing. If they were thirsty, they milked the cows and the goats; if
they were hungry they ate wild apples or made a fire and cooked
potatoes. Aurore's particular favourites were two girls called Marie and
Solange, daughters of a small farmer, and whenever she could get away
she ran up to the farm, and helped them seek for eggs, pick fruit, or
nurse the sickly little lambs. And apart from the pleasure the others
took in all this, Aurore found one of her own, for the orchard became
transformed by her fancy into a fairy wood, with little creatures having
sharp ears and merry eyes peeping from behind the trees. Then her dreams
would be roughly dispersed by Hippolyte's voice, summoning her to the
most delightful of all the games they ever played, which was to jump
from some high place into the mountain of sheaves piled up in the barn.
'I should like to do it now, if I dared,' says Aurore thirty years
after.
* * * * *
At length it occurred to Madame Dupin that Aurore was thirteen, and
needed better teaching than M. Deschartres could give her, and, still
worse, that the child was running wild, that her complexion was getting
ruined, and that if she was ever to wear the thin elegant slippers worn
by other young ladies, she must grow accustomed to them before the
sabots, or wooden shoes worn by the peasants, had spoilt her for
everything else. She wanted, in fact, proper training, so her
grandmother was going to take her to Paris at once, and to place her in
a convent.
'And shall I see my mother?' cried Aurore.
'Yes; certainly you will see her,' replied Madame Dupin; 'and after that
you will see neither of us, but will give all your time to your
education.'
Aurore did not mind. She had not the slightest idea of the life she
would lead in the convent, but it would at any rate be something new.
So, 'without fear, or regret, or repugnance,' as she herself tells us,
she entered the 'Couvent des Anglaises,' where both Madame Dupin and her
own mother had been imprisoned during the Revolution. This, of course,
gave the convent a special interest for Aurore.
The Couvent des Anglaises was the only remaining one of three or four
British religious houses which had been founded in Paris during the time
of Cromwell, and as a school, ranked with the convents of the
Sacre-Coeur and of l'Abbaye-aux-Bois. Queen Henrietta Maria used often
to come and pray in the chapel, and this fact rendered the Couvent des
Anglaises peculiarly dear to English royalists. All the nuns were either
English, Scotch, or Irish, and nearly all the girls--at least, when
Aurore went there--were subjects of King George also. As it was strictly
forbidden during certain hours of the day to speak a word of French,
Aurore had every possible chance of learning English. She learnt, too,
something about English habits, for the nuns drank tea three times a
day, and invited the best behaved of the girls to share it with them.
All was as English as it could be made. In the chapel were the tombs
bearing English texts and epitaphs, of holy exiles who had died abroad.
On the walls of the Superior's private rooms hung the portraits of
English princes and bishops long dead, among whom Mary Queen of
Scots--counted as a saint by the nuns--held the central place. In fact,
the moment the threshold was crossed, you seemed to have crossed the
Channel also. The Mother Superior at the date of Aurore's entrance was a
certain Madame Canning, a clever woman with a large experience of the
world.
Like many children brought up at home, Aurore had read a great deal in
her own way, but was very ignorant of other subjects familiar to girls
younger than herself, who had been educated at school. This she was well
aware of, so it was no surprise to her, though a disappointment to her
grandmother, when she was confided by the Superior to the pupils of the
second class, whose ages varied from six to thirteen or fourteen.
Aurore was never shy and did not in the least mind being stared at by
thirty or forty pairs of eyes, and at once set out to explore the garden
and examine everything in company with one of the older girls, in whose
charge she had been put. When they had visited every corner, they were
called to play at 'bars,' and as Aurore could run like a hare, she soon
gained the respect of her schoolfellows.
The three years passed by Aurore in the Couvent des Anglaises were, she
tells us, happy ones for her, though almost without exception her
schoolfellows were pining, or thought they were, for their homes and
their mothers. But after the free life and country air of Nohant the
confinement and lack of change tried her, and for a while she grew weak
and languid. Twice in every month the girls were allowed to spend the
day with their friends, and on New Year's Day they might sleep at home.
Of course, in the summer there were regular holidays, but Madame Dupin
decided that Aurore had better stay at school and learn all she could,
so by that means she might finish the regular course earlier than usual,
and save money. It was then the custom of all schools both in England
and France to keep the girls under strict watch, and never permit them
to be one moment alone. The garden was very large, and Aurore at least
would have been perfectly content to remain in it, had not such
elaborate precautions been taken to prevent the girls even seeing
through the door when it was opened, into the dull street outside. These
precautions enraged the others, and only made them eager for glimpses of
a passing cab or a horse and cart, though on their days of freedom they
would walk through the most brilliant parts of Paris with their parents,
and never trouble to turn their heads. But Aurore was only amused at
what irritated them, and felt, for her part, that
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage.
It was foolish, she thought, to make so much fuss about nothing; but
after all, what did it matter?
Now both the big and little classes had divided themselves into three
camps: the 'good' girls, who would probably one day become nuns; the
'demons,' or rebels, who were always inventing some new kind of
mischief; and the 'idiots,' who were afraid to take sides. These
profoundly despised by the rest, would shake with laughter over the
pranks of the 'demons,' but put on a solemn face at the appearance of
one of the mistresses, and hastened to cry at the approach of danger:
'It was not I!' 'It was not I!' unless they went further and exclaimed,
'It was Dupin,' or 'it was G.' 'Dupin' was Aurore, and 'G.' a wild Irish
girl of eleven, tall and strong and truthful and clever, but utterly
unruly, and the terror of the 'idiots' of the younger class.
As soon as Mary G. discovered that Aurore did not mind being teased or
being thumped on the shoulder by a hand which might have felled an ox,
she felt that she had found a friend who would join in her maddest
tricks. Aurore's education in this respect was not long in beginning.
The very next day as the mistress was handing round books and slates to
the class, Mary quietly walked out, followed in two or three minutes by
Aurore. Both girls went to the empty cloister, and began to talk:
'I am glad you came,' said Mary. 'The others are always making excuses
for getting away, and declaring their noses are bleeding or they want to
practise, or some stupid old story like that. I never tell lies; it is
so cowardly. If they ask me where I have been, I don't answer. If they
punish me--well, let them! I just do as I like.'
'That would just suit me.'
'You are a demon then!'
'I should like to be.'
'As much as I am?'
'Neither more nor less.'
'Accepted,' answered Mary, giving Aurore a shake of the hand. 'Now we
will go back and behave quite properly to Mother Alippe. She is a good
old thing. We will reserve ourselves for Mother D. Ah, you don't know
her yet! Every evening outside the class-room. Do you understand?'
'No. What do you mean by "outside the class-room"?'
'Well, the games after supper under the superintendence of Mother D. are
dreadfully dull. So when we come out of the dining-room we will slip
away, and not come back till it is time for prayers. Sometimes Mother D.
does not miss us, but generally she is enchanted that we should run
away, because then she can have the pleasure of punishing us when we
come in. The punishment is to wear your nightcap all the next day, even
in chapel. In this kind of weather it is very pleasant and good for the
health, and though the nuns you meet cry 'Shame! shame!' that hurts
nobody. If in the course of a fortnight you have worn many nightcaps,
the Superior threatens not to allow you to go out on the next holiday,
but she either forgets or forgives you at the request of your parents.
When you have worn the nightcap so long that it seems to have grown on
your head, you are locked up for a day. But after all, it is better to
give up amusing yourself for a single day than to bore yourself
perpetually of your own freewill.'
Aurore quite agreed with Mary's reasoning, and found the time very long
till supper. The whole school had meals together, and then came the hour
of play before prayers and bed. The older ones went to their large and
beautiful study, but the rest had only quite a little room where there
was no space to play, so that they were thankful when the evening was
over. In leaving the refectory there was always a certain confusion, and
it was easy for both big and little demons to slip away down the
ill-lighted passages to the dark side of the cloisters.
Here Aurore, with Irish Mary for her guide, found a number of girls
assembled, each with something in her hand. One held a stick, another a
pair of tongs, a third a poker. What could they be going to do? 'Dupin'
asked herself. Something exciting, of course; but she never guessed that
it would be her favourite game of 'pretending.' For all these strange
weapons were intended for the deliverance of a prisoner who was hidden
in a dungeon somewhere under the convent.
Certainly it would have been impossible to have invented a better place
in which to hide any number of prisoners than the immense cellars and
vaults and dark holes of all sorts, that ran underneath. The building
itself was more like a village than a house, and, since its foundation,
had been constantly added to and altered, so that it was full of
irregularities and steps up and down and roofs at different heights, and
passages which once led to something but were now blocked up. On one
side of the garden, whose magnificent chestnut trees were the pride of
the nuns, stood small houses in which lived noble ladies retired from
the world, but free from vows. There was besides a very large vegetable
garden for the use of the convent, which at this time contained about a
hundred and thirty people. It was possible, if you stood on tiptoe, to
snatch a glimpse through the grating of melons or grapes or feathery
pinks, but the door was not easy to climb, and only two or three of the
bolder girls had ever managed to penetrate into the enclosure and taste
these forbidden joys.
* * * * *
The legend of the concealed prisoner had been handed on from generation
to generation of school girls, as well as the terrors which were half a
joy, that thrilled through them as they crept along the narrow passages,
ending no one knew where--perhaps in the Catacombs, perhaps in the baths
of Julian, perhaps outside Paris itself! Who could tell? Could life have
any feeling more exciting in store than the sensation that at any moment
your feet might meet the empty air, and that you might fall into one of
those terrible pits common in castles of the Middle Ages, known by the
evil name of oubliettes or holes of forgetfulness? And many of these
dangers were not at all imaginary, whatever the 'prisoner' might be.
It was the knowledge of the heavy punishments that would fall on their
heads in case of discovery that made it a point of honour with the
demons to risk everything in order to explore this underground world.
Very few, however, gained an entrance to these vaults during their
school lives, and only then after years of patience and perseverance.
The memory of these heroines was kept green, and their names whispered
reverently 'to encourage the rest.'
In Aurore's day the question had come up again--the burning question of
how to get into the underground world. Not by the main door which led to
it, that was clear; for close by were the kitchens, where nuns passed
continually! But if the main door was barred, there must be a hundred
other doors or walled-up staircases, by which you could get there; and
if these failed, there was always the roof.
Now, the very last thought that would occur to most people, if they want
to penetrate into an underground passage, is to go first on to the roof;
but then they are not school girls, and have forgotten all about these
things, if, indeed, they ever knew them. To Aurore and her friends it
was a matter of everyday knowledge that 'the longest way round is the
shortest way home.' Had not Aurore sat breathless for days together over
Mrs. Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, and her companions lain awake
trembling at the recollections of Scotch or Irish ancestral ghosts?
Why, even in the convent, where the great dormitories were filled with
girls and the terrors of loneliness were unknown, did they not shudder
sometimes in the dark in the certainty that they caught the echo of the
sighs, the groans, the clanking of chains of the victim?
As to whether it was always the same victim who had to be rescued, or
whether in every generation a fresh victim was somehow mysteriously
supplied, nobody inquired and nobody minded.
* * * * *
On the never-to-be-forgotten evening of Aurore's initiation into the
company of the demons, she was conducted by the rest of the band into
the oldest and most irregular part of the convent. At length they found
themselves standing on a gangway with a wooden railing, ending in a
little room, from which there was no outlet. By the light of their
single taper they beheld a staircase below them, also with a wooden
railing, and protected at the top by a strong oaken door. In order to
get on to the staircase it was necessary to drop from one balustrade to
the other--and the more experienced of the explorers strongly suspected
that both of them were worm-eaten--while the staircase hung over black
depths which no eye could penetrate.
It was an adventure which required a good deal of courage, but not one
of the girls flinched. Isabelle, one of the oldest of the demons,
claimed her right to go first, and accomplished her dangerous feat with
the resolution of a heroine. Mary followed with the calm of a gymnastic
professor, the remainder as best they could, but somehow or other they
all managed to arrive safely on the staircase. At the foot was another
little hall or room, without door or window or issue of any kind; but
this, for some strange reason, caused the girls more joy than regret.
'Certainly,' they said, 'nobody would make a staircase which went
nowhere! There must be some way out and we have got to find it.'
So the little taper was divided into several parts and each girl began a
careful examination of the walls, pressing the plaster, which they hoped
might conceal a ring or a button that, if touched, would reveal an
opening. What would have happened if a sudden blast had blown out their
candles, they never thought, for they had no means of lighting them
again; and, of course, none of the Sisters had the slightest idea where
they might be. Happily this did not occur, and though the surface of the
walls was perfectly smooth, Isabelle declared that when she tapped the
part under the staircase it sounded hollow.
This discovery threw the whole party into a state of wild excitement.
'We have found it at last!' they cried; 'this staircase leads down to
the cell where living victims have been buried.' They jostled each other
so as to place their ears against the wall, but strange to say, in spite
of their fervent wish, they were compelled to confess that they heard
nothing. All, that is except Isabelle, who persisted in declaring that
they must every one of them be deaf, as the sounds of groans and
clanking chains were quite plain.
'Then we must break down the wall,' said Mary, 'and the sooner we begin
the better.'
In an instant the wall was attacked by the collection of arms the girls
had brought with them. Tongs, pokers, shovels were all brought into
play, but luckily without making any impression on the stones, which
otherwise might have come rattling about their heads. Besides, the
demons dared not make too much noise, for they were afraid of being
heard, as they did not know exactly in which part of the convent they
might happen to be.
Only a few pieces of plaster had fallen when the warning bell for
prayers clanged through the building. How they contrived the upward
climb from one balustrade to another, they never knew, and that they
were able to do it at all was almost a miracle. Down they dashed along
the passages, brushing the plaster from their dresses as they ran, and
arrived breathless as the two classes were forming to enter the chapel.
During the whole winter they worked at the wall, but, persevering though
they were, the obstacles encountered were so many that at length they
decided it was sheer folly to waste more time on it, and they had better
try to force an entrance by some other way.
* * * * *
There was a little room--one of many under the roof--which contained one
of the thirty pianos of the convent, and there Aurore was accustomed to
practise for an hour daily. From its window could be seen a whole world
of roofs, penthouses, sheds, and buildings of all sorts, covered with
mossy tiles, and most tempting to the adventurous. It seemed quite
reasonable that somewhere amongst the buildings should exist a staircase
leading to the underground passages, and one fine, starlight night the
demons met in the little music-room, and in a few minutes they had all
scrambled from the window on to the roof six feet below them. From there
they climbed over gables, jumped from one incline to another, and
behaved in fact as if they were cats, taking care to hide behind a
chimney or crouch in a gutter whenever they caught sight of a nun in
the garden or courtyard beneath them.
They had managed to get a long way downwards when prayer-time drew near,
and they knew they must begin their return journey. As the Latin proverb
tells you, it is easy enough to go down, but what about getting back
again? And to make matters worse, the demons had not the slightest idea
where they were. Still, they contrived to retrace some of their
footsteps and at last recognised to their joy the window of Sidonie
Macdonald, daughter of the general. But to reach this window it was
necessary to spring upwards a considerable distance, and the chances of
hitting exactly the right spot were very few. Aurore, at any rate,
almost lost her life in the attempt. She jumped in too great a hurry,
and very nearly fell thirty feet through a skylight into a gallery where
the little class were playing. As it was, her heel struck against the
glass, and several panes went crashing in their midst. Clinging to the
window-sill, with her knees scratched and bleeding, Aurore heard the
voice of Sister Therese below accusing Whisky, Mother Alippe's big black
cat, of fighting with his neighbours on the roof and breaking all the
windows in the convent. Mother Alippe warmly denied that her cat ever
quarrelled with anyone, and in spite of her wounds and her danger,
Aurore burst into fits of laughter at the hot dispute, in which she was
joined by Fanelly stretched in the gutter, and Mary lying in a
'spread-eagle' on the tiles, feeling about for her comb. They heard the
nuns mounting the stairs, and discovery seemed inevitable.
* * * * *
Nothing of the sort, however, occurred. The overhanging gables preserved
them from being seen, and as soon as they felt they were safe, the young
demons began to mew loudly, so that Sister Therese proved triumphantly
that she was right, and that the mischief had been caused by Whisky
and his friends!
This being happily settled, the girls climbed at their leisure into the
window where Sidonie was quietly practising her scales, undisturbed by
the noise in the cat-world. She was a gentle, nervous child, who had no
sympathy with a passion for roofs, and when a procession of demons
entered her room she hid her face in her hands and screamed loudly. But
before the nuns could hurry to the spot, the girls had dispersed in all
directions, and, up to the end, the blame of the broken window was laid
upon Whisky.
More
-
Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves
In a town in Persia there dwelt two brothers, one named Cassim, the other Ali Baba. Cassim was married to a rich wife and lived in plenty, while Ali Baba had to maintain his wife and children by cutting wood in a neighboring forest and selling it ... All Change
There was once a man who was the laziest man in all the world. He wouldn't take off his clothes when he went to bed because he didn't want to have to put them on again. He wouldn't raise his cup to his lips but went down and sucked up his tea with... All-souls' Day
"November 2nd is All Souls, a day instituted by the Church of Rome in commemoration of all the faithful departed this life, that by the prayers and suffrages of the living they may be discharged of their purging pain, and at last obtain life everlas... Allerleirauh Or The Many-furred Creature
There was once upon a time a King who had a wife with golden hair, and she was so beautiful that you couldn't find anyone like her in the world. It happened that she fell ill, and when she felt that she must soon die, she sent for the King, and ... Alphabet Rhymes
Amongst the various devices to establish a royal road to infantine learning, none are more ancient or useful than the rhymes which serve to impress the letters of the alphabet upon the attention and memory of children. As early as the fifteenth ce... Alphege Or The Green Monkey
Many years ago there lived a King, who was twice married. His first wife, a good and beautiful woman, died at the birth of her little son, and the King her husband was so overwhelmed with grief at her loss that his only comfort was in the sight of ... An English Alphabet
Ale, A is for Apple, Artichoke, and Ann; Brown Bear, B is for Black Bear, and Bran; Chestnut, C is for Clay, Coke, and Coal, Dear,... An Impossible Enchantment
There once lived a king who was much loved by his people, and he, too, loved them warmly. He led a very happy life, but he had the greatest dislike to the idea of marrying, nor had he ever felt the slightest wish to fall in love. His subjects be... An Indian Story Of The Mole
An Indian once saw a squirrel sunning himself in a tree top. The squirrel saw the hunter and leaped upon a passing cloud. He had escaped into Cloudland before an arrow could reach him. The Indian set a trap for him hoping that he would soon ... An Indian Story Of The Robin
When an Indian boy was eleven years old, he was sent into a forest far away from his home. He had to stay there all alone and fast for seven days and nights. The Indians thought that at this time a spirit came into the youth which helped him ... An Interrupted Nap
Nimble, the fawn, stole away into the woods while his mother was sleeping. And when he went he took great pains not to disturb her. He was careful not to step on a single twig. For young as he was, he knew that the sound of a breaking twig was eno... An Invitation
"What do you say?" said the Work to be Done. "Shall we start bravely together, Up with the morning sun, Sing, whatever the weather?" Come, little busy folks, what do you say? Let's ... An Old Norse Finger Play
Thicken man, build the barn, Thinner man, spool the yarn, Longen man, stir the brew, Gowden man, make a shoe, Littlen man, all for you! ... An Old Song There's No Place Like Home!
When people ask me where I live, I hate to have to go and give A name like Smithville, plain. I'd rather say:--"Sir, if you please, My home is in the Hebrides," Or, "High up in the Pyrenees," Or, "At Gib... An Old-world Ghost
Children are often inclined to think that the nations who ruled the world long, long ago, were quite unlike ourselves, and always busy with very serious things, such as the passing of laws or fighting. It is quite a surprise sometimes to learn tha... An Unexpected Party
Nimble's mother's plans went all awry. She had expected to give her son a treat by taking him quietly to Farmer Green's carrot patch, so that he might have his first taste of carrots. So it wasn't strange that it upset her a bit when she found tha... An Untold Secret
All the field and forest people soon knew that at last Jimmy Rabbit had invited Nimble Deer to his party. And everybody was pleased--that is, everybody except Grumpy Weasel and old Timothy Turtle, who were left out in the cold, so to speak. Grumpy... An Up-to-date Pussy-cat
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I've been to London in my new machine. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there? The auto broke down and was hard to repair. Adeline Knapp. ... Andras Baive
Once upon a time there lived in Lapland a man who was so very strong and swift of foot that nobody in his native town of Vadso could come near him if they were running races in the summer evenings. The people of Vadso were very proud of thei... Andrew Coffey
My grandfather, Andrew Coffey, was known to the whole barony as a quiet, decent man. And if the whole barony knew him, he knew the whole barony, every inch, hill and dale, bog and pasture, field and covert. Fancy his surprise one evening, when he ... Androcles
A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he came upon a Lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned... Androcles And The Lion
It happened in the old days at Rome that a slave named Androcles escaped from his master and fled into the forest, and he wandered there for a long time till he was weary and well nigh spent with hunger and despair. Just then he heard a lion near ... Annette Or The Magic Coffee-mill
A poor woman and her daughter, who were on the verge of starvation, saw a little green bud of a plant growing through their cottage floor. They watered it, and in a day or two it sent forth long shoots, and became a vine, fine and delicate to look... Antlers
Although Nimble had lost his horns he managed to go through the winter without missing them as much as he had expected. And in time he had almost forgotten the pair of spikes that he had worn on his head the summer before. Then, one day, he made a... Apples
Children in the North of England, when they eat apples, or similar fruit, delight in throwing away the pippin, exclaiming-- Pippin, pippin, fly away, Get me one another day! ... April-fool-day
The custom of making fools on the 1st of April is one of the few old English merriments still in general vogue. We used to say on the occasion of having entrapped any one-- Fool, fool, April fool, You learn nought by going to school! ... Arachne
BY JOSEPHINE PRESTON PEABODY There was a certain maiden of Lydia, Arachne by name, renowned throughout the country for her skill as a weaver. She was as nimble with her fingers as Calypso, that Nymph who kept Odysseus for seven years in her encha... Arachne
Arachne was a beautiful maiden and the most wonderful weaver that ever lived. Her father was famed throughout the land for his great skill in coloring. He dyed Arachne's wools in all the colors of the rainbow. People came from miles around to s... Argentine Republic
The Civil Code of the Argentine Republic shows strong evidences of the Spanish origin of its precepts. As in the old motherland marriage is considered as indissoluble except by the death of one of the contracting parties. However, the Republic doe... Ashputtel
The wife of a rich man fell sick; and when she felt that her end drew nigh, she called her only daughter to her bed-side, and said, 'Always be a good girl, and I will look down from heaven and watch over you.' Soon afterwards she shut her eyes and d... Asmund And Signy
Long, long ago, in the days when fairies, witches, giants and ogres still visited the earth, there lived a king who reigned over a great and beautiful country. He was married to a wife whom he dearly loved, and had two most promising children--a... Assipattle And The Mester Stoorworm
In far bygone days, in the North, there lived a well-to-do farmer, who had seven sons and one daughter. And the youngest of these seven sons bore a very curious name; for men called him Assipattle, which means, "He who grovels among the ashes." ... At Dinner
No matter where we children are We run in answer to the bell, And dinner comes in piping hot; It makes us hungry just to smell. Poor Father sharpens up his knife, And carves with all his might and main; ... At The Carrot Patch
During his first summer Nimble never reached Farmer Green's carrot patch once. His mother had planned to take him there. But on account of an unexpected party she had postponed their visit. And somehow the right night for a trip after carrots neve... Aunt Jan
BY NORMAN GALE When Aunt Jan's coming there's such romping in the house, She's sweeter than a daffodil and softer than a mouse! She sings about the passages, and never wants to rest, And father says it's all because a bird is ... Aurora And Tithonus
The beautiful youth, Tithonus, loved Aurora, the queen of the dawn. He was the first one to greet her each day as she drew back the purple curtains of the east. He made his bed on the green grass in the meadow that he might not miss her coming.... Aurore At Play
When Aurore Dupin went to Paris she found herself in the Rue Thiroux, where Madame Dupin had taken a suite of rooms, or, as the French say, an 'appartement.' For this 'appartement' the old lady paid a high rent--more than she could afford, indeed;... Austria-hungary
The Austria-Hungary Empire comprises five countries, each bearing the name of kingdom--viz., Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria and Dalmatia; one archduchy, Austria; one principality, Transylvania; one duchy, Styria; one margraviate, Moravia, and ... Babes In The Woods
BY JOHN BURROUGHS One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition to the Shattega, a still, dark, deep stream that loiters silently through the woods not far from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were on the alert for any bit of wild life of ... Baby's Paradise
BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS Over the hills and far away, There's a beautiful, wonderful place, Where happy babies in gardens play, With mothers dressed all in lace,-- Dressed all in lace and in silken gown, With ... Baby's Play Days
How many days has my baby to play? Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. ... Baby's Ten Little Live Playthings By J K Barry
These ten little live playthings can be held in every baby's hand, five in one and five in the other and be the baby ever so poor yet he always has these ten playthings because, you know, he brings them with him. But all babies do not know how to ... Baby's Toes
Dear little bare feet, Dimpled and white, In your long nightgown Wrapped for the night. Come, let me count all Your queer little toes, Pink as the heart Of a shell or a rose. One is a lad... Baby's Toes
BY EDITH A. BENTLEY Five little piggie wiggies Standing in a row, We always have to toddle Where the baby wants to go; Up-stairs and down-stairs, Indoors and out, We're always close together And... Balder
The people in the North once believed that high above the clouds was the beautiful plain of Asgard. Odin, ruler of Asgard, mighty Thor, and many other heroes lived on the plain. Their homes were great castles, splendid with silver and gold. ... Ball-carrier And The Bad One
Far, far in the forest there were two little huts, and in each of them lived a man who was a famous hunter, his wife, and three or four children. Now the children were forbidden to play more than a short distance from the door, as it was known tha... Ball-divination
Cook a ball, cherry-tree; Good ball, tell me How many years I shall be Before my true love I do see? One and two, and that makes three; Thank'ee, good ball for telling of me. Cook is to toss, or throw, a prov... Bamboo And The Turtle
A party of visitors had been seeing the sights at Hsi Ling. They had just passed down the Holy Way between the huge stone animals when Bamboo, a little boy of twelve, son of a keeper, rushed out from his father's house to see the mandarins go b... Barbers' Forfeits
---- laws for all faults, But faults so countenanc'd, that the strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, As much in mock as mark. Steevens and Henley, in their notes on Shakespeare, be... Barley-bridge
A string of boys and girls, each holding by his predecessor's skirts, approaches two others, who, with joined and elevated hands, form a double arch. After the dialogue is concluded, the line passes through the arch, and the last is caught, if possi... Baucis And Philemon
ADAPTED FROM H. P. MASKEL'S RENDERING OF THE GREEK MYTH On the slopes of the Phrygian hills, there once dwelt a pious old couple named Baucis and Philemon. They had lived all their lives in a tiny cottage of wattles, thatched with straw, cheerful ... Beans And Butter
So the game of hide-and-seek is called in some parts of Oxfordshire. Children hide from each other, and when it is time to commence the search, the cry is, Hot boil'd beans and very good butter, If you please to come to supper! ... Beautiful Grandmamma
Grandmamma sits in her quaint arm-chair-- Never was lady more sweet and fair! Her gray locks ripple like silver shells, And her brow its own calm story tells Of a gentle life and a peaceful even, A trust in God and a ... Beauty And The Beast
There was once a very rich merchant, who had six children, three boys and three girls. As he was himself a man of great sense, he spared no expense for their education. The three daughters were all handsome, but particularly the youngest; indeed, ... Beauty And The Beast
There was once a Merchant who had three daughters, the youngest of whom was so beautiful that everybody called her Beauty. This made the two eldest very jealous; and, as they were spiteful and bad-tempered by nature, instead of loving their you... Beauty And The Beast
<style type="text/css"> <!-- .caption {font-weight: bold;} .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center; margin-top: 3em;} --> </style> <p>There was once a merchant who had been very rich at one time, but who, having had heavy losses, was comp... Beauty And The Beast
There was once a merchant that had three daughters, and he loved them better than himself. Now it happened that he had to go a long journey to buy some goods, and when he was just starting he said to them, "What shall I bring you back, my dears?" ... Beauty And The Beast
Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had, however, six sons and six daughters, he found that his money was not too much to let the... Beauty And The Beast
There was once a merchant who was extremely rich. He had six children--three boys and three girls; and as he was a very sensible man, he spared nothing on their education, but gave them all kinds of masters. His daughters were beautiful, but the y... Beauty And The Beast
There was once a very rich merchant who had six children--three boys and three girls. As he was himself a man of great sense, he spared no expense for their education. The three daughters were all handsome, but particularly the youngest; indeed, s... Beauty And The Horns
There was once a rich man who when he was dying called his son to his bedside and said: Danilo, my son, I am leaving you my riches. The only thing I ask of you is this: close your ears to all reports of an enchanted maiden who is known as Peerl... Becuma Of The White Skin
CHAPTER I There are more worlds than one, and in many ways they are unlike each other. But joy and sorrow, or, in other words, good and evil, are not absent in their degree from any of the worlds, for wherever there is life there is action, a... Beggars Are Come To Town
Hark! Hark! The dogs do bark! The beggars are come to town; Some in rags, Some in jags, And some in velvet gowns. * * * Bow-Wow-Wow! Whose Dog art thou? L... Belgium
REQUIREMENTS FOR MARRIAGE.--A man who has not completed his eighteenth year and a woman who has not completed her fifteenth year cannot contract marriage. Nevertheless, it is within the power of the sovereign to grant a dispensation setting asi... Bellasis
[Communicated by Mr. Longstaffe.] Johnny tuth' Bellas daft was thy poll, When thou changed Bellas for Henknoll. This saying, as given by Surtees, is still remembered near Bellasis, and is preferable to Hutchinson's version of it fro... Belling The Cat
The mice who lived in the old house met one day to discuss the means to be used to get rid of a large, fierce black cat that had taken up her abode there, and made her living by hunting and eating them up one by one, so that their numbers were gre... Beth Gellert
Prince Llewelyn had a favourite greyhound named Gellert that had been given to him by his father-in-law, King John. He was as gentle as a lamb at home but a lion in the chase. One day Llewelyn went to the chase and blew his horn in front of his ca... Betsy Ross And The Flag
BY HARRY PRINGLE FORD (ADAPTED) On the 14th day of June, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the following resolution: "RESOLVED, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white; that the Union be thirtee... Bill Brown's Test
BY CLEVELAND MOFFETT All firemen have courage, but it cannot be known until the test how many have this particular kind,--Bill Brown's kind. What happened was this: Engine 29, pumping and pounding her prettiest, stood at the northwest corner of... Billy Boy
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Oh, where have you been, charming Billy? "I have been to seek a wife, She's the joy of my life, She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother." What work can she ... Billy My Son
The following lines are very common in the English nursery, and resemble the popular German ditty of Grandmother Addercook, inserted in the of Northern Antiquities. The ballad of the Crowden Doo, Chambers, p. 205, bears, however, a far greater simi... Bird-boxes
<div> <img src="/images/i207.png" alt="Bird-boxes" title="Bird-boxes" height="400" width="253" /> Bird-boxes </div> <p>You can win honours in Woodcraft if you make a successful bird-box. That is one made by yourself, and used by some bird to raise its...