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More Tuck-Me-In Stories - Enos Benjamin Comstock · Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one of More Tuck Mean Stories. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Read for You by Jen Brooda. More Tuck Me In
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  Speaker 1: Stories by enos Benjamin Comstock. A trip to the Moon.
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  Speaker 1: A young bear and a little squirrel, whose homes happened
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  Speaker 1: to be in the same old forest tree, got to
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  Speaker 1: plain with each other and became very dear friends. The
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  Speaker 1: bear was a fairly good climber, but of course the
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  Speaker 1: squirrel was able to get to a great many places
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  Speaker 1: that the bear could not. He could scamper to the
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  Speaker 1: very tip of the tallest tree, and he was rather
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  Speaker 1: proud to think that, although he was so much smaller
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  Speaker 1: than the bear, he could outdo him in many ways.
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  Speaker 1: And it perhaps did not occur to him that, on
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  Speaker 1: the other hand, the bear was able to do a
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  Speaker 1: few things that a squirrel could not. One day, the
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  Speaker 1: bear climbed way up into the top of a tall sapling.
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  Speaker 1: I wonder if you know what a sapling is. It
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  Speaker 1: is a very young tree, and this particular one was
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  Speaker 1: only a little bigger around than your arm. The tree
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  Speaker 1: did not break. But the weight of the bear was
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  Speaker 1: so great that it bent way over until its top
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  Speaker 1: nearly touched the ground, And by bouncing up and down
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  Speaker 1: a little so as to make it spring, the bear
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  Speaker 1: was able to have a gay ride. Of course, that
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  Speaker 1: looked like great sport to Master Squirrel, so he scampered
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  Speaker 1: up another little tree and tried to bend it over.
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  Speaker 1: But his tiny weight made no impression, and he was
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  Speaker 1: very much provoked. If I could once get it to bend,
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  Speaker 1: he said, I know I could spring just as you do. Perhaps,
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  Speaker 1: said master Bear, I'll tell you what we will do.
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  Speaker 1: I will climb up and bend the tree over for you,
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  Speaker 1: and then I will go back to my own tree.
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  Speaker 1: So he climbed up to the top, and sure enough,
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  Speaker 1: just as they had thought, the tree bent over very nicely,
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  Speaker 1: and Master Squirrel perched himself comfortably where he could bob
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  Speaker 1: up and down. When he was all ready, he told
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  Speaker 1: the little bear to let go and return to his
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  Speaker 1: own tree. But what do you suppose happened? The very
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  Speaker 1: second the bear released his hold. There was a sharp
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  Speaker 1: swishing sound and a rustle of branches, and the top
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  Speaker 1: of the tree shot up into the air, so very
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  Speaker 1: unexpectedly that I fear the young squirrel never will know
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  Speaker 1: just what did happen. Of course, the tree stopped moving
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  Speaker 1: when it got straightened out, but the little squirrel did not.
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  Speaker 1: Up and up he went higher and higher, And when
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  Speaker 1: I wrote this story, he was still going up and
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  Speaker 1: up and up in the direction of the moon. End
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  Speaker 1: of chapter one, Chapter two of More Tuk Me in
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  Speaker 1: Stories by ENA's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. Read for you by Jen Brooda. Little
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  Speaker 1: Joe Gosling. Little Joe Gosling was the baby of a
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  Speaker 1: family of ten young geese, and everyone seemed to agree
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  Speaker 1: that he was very bright for his age. But one
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  Speaker 1: day he made a stupid blunder. And it is hard
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  Speaker 1: to live a thing of that kind down. So now
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  Speaker 1: when folks see him as like as not, they turned
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  Speaker 1: their heads away to hide their smiles, and say, there
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  Speaker 1: goes that silly little Gosling. Boy. Have you heard about
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  Speaker 1: the stupid thing he did the other day? You have
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  Speaker 1: not heard it? I am sure, so I will tell you.
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  Speaker 1: Because he was her youngest son, and because she was
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  Speaker 1: so very proud of him, Missus Gosling seldom allowed him
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  Speaker 1: out of her sight. But one day he stole away
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  Speaker 1: when she wasn't looking, and went for a long walk
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  Speaker 1: across the fields. What a pleasure this is, he said
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  Speaker 1: to himself, not to be watched every minute, or to
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  Speaker 1: be told that I must not go here or there.
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  Speaker 1: What a lovely time I am having. So he walked
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  Speaker 1: on and on. He did not see that the sun
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  Speaker 1: was setting lower, and never once thought of turning back.
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  Speaker 1: At length, he came to a fence. It was made
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  Speaker 1: of woven wire, and the mesh was so fine that
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  Speaker 1: he could not wiggle through it. Very well, if I
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  Speaker 1: can't get through, I will go around, thought he. So
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  Speaker 1: he walked along close to the fence, looking for it
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  Speaker 1: to end. He walked and he walked, but there seemed
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  Speaker 1: to be no end. At length, he came to a gate,
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  Speaker 1: but that was closed and he could not get through.
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  Speaker 1: So he walked and walked some more until he became
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  Speaker 1: very tired. But still he found no end to the
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  Speaker 1: fence and no place large enough to get through. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: he came again to a gate, and on examining it,
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  Speaker 1: he was startled to find that it was the same
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  Speaker 1: gait that he had seen before. Then a terror seized him.
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  Speaker 1: I have been walking around in a circle, said he,
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  Speaker 1: I am fenced in. I must have got into some
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  Speaker 1: sort of a trap. Oh dear, what will become of me?
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  Speaker 1: Then he thought of pictures he had seen of foxes
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  Speaker 1: catching little geese, and he felt sure that he had
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  Speaker 1: fallen into one of their awful traps. So he began
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  Speaker 1: to cry. His poor little webbed feet were very tired,
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  Speaker 1: but he kept on walking and walking. Three more times
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  Speaker 1: he passed the same gate, and then he felt that
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  Speaker 1: there could be no doubt about his being a prisoner.
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  Speaker 1: Night was coming on and he was too tired to
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  Speaker 1: walk any further, so he just sat down and sobbed aloud.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed to him as though he had been there
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  Speaker 1: for hours, and it had grown quite dark, when suddenly
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  Speaker 1: he heard a sound close to him. His heart almost
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  Speaker 1: stopped beating, for he felt sure that it was a
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  Speaker 1: fox come to take him. But what was his joy
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  Speaker 1: A moment later to see his own dear mother. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: my poor child, she cried, I have been looking everywhere
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  Speaker 1: for you, mother, mother, sobbed the poor little gossling. Help
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  Speaker 1: me out of this dreadful prison. I have walked around
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  Speaker 1: and around, oh so many times. And I can find
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  Speaker 1: no way out. Then his mother understood, why you silly
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  Speaker 1: little goose, She said, you have been walking around on
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  Speaker 1: the outside of the garden fence. You are not fenced
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  Speaker 1: in any more than I am. What a very, very
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  Speaker 1: stupid mistake. To be sure, Little Joe Gosling was too
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  Speaker 1: tired to walk another step, so he climbed up onto
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  Speaker 1: his mother's back and nestled down, and in what seemed
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  Speaker 1: to him a very short time, they were back home again,
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  Speaker 1: and just in time too, as the little girl who
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  Speaker 1: took care of the geese was locking up the poultry
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  Speaker 1: house for the night. End of chapter two, Chapter three
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  Speaker 1: of More Tuckman Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox
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  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Read for You by
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  Speaker 1: Jen Broda. The Dog that Tried to go two ways
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  Speaker 1: at once. Two little bunnies were out walking one snowy
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  Speaker 1: winter day when they discovered that they were being pursued
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  Speaker 1: by a dog. As you know, the very worst thing
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  Speaker 1: that can happen to a bunny is to meet with
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  Speaker 1: this misfortune. Because it is so apt to mean that
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  Speaker 1: the dog may catch him, they bounded away as fast
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  Speaker 1: as their little legs could carry them. But try as
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  Speaker 1: they would, they could tell by the barking of the
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  Speaker 1: dog that he was gaining on them at every bound.
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  Speaker 1: If we keep on this way, said one of the bunnies,
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  Speaker 1: we will both get caught. He is sure to overtake us.
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  Speaker 1: I think it would be better to separate, and then
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  Speaker 1: at least one of us will be able to escape.
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  Speaker 1: The little bunnies were very dear friends, and it almost
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  Speaker 1: broke their hearts to leave each other. But there was
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  Speaker 1: no time to waste in sentiment, so they said good
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  Speaker 1: bye and parted. Now it happened that the dog was
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  Speaker 1: a large and a very greedy dog, but he was
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  Speaker 1: not a hunting dog. He bounded swiftly along, perfectly, sure
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  Speaker 1: that he would be able to overtake the rabbits in
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  Speaker 1: a short time. I think, too, that his mind a
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  Speaker 1: good part of the time was centered on the feast
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  Speaker 1: he was to have. Just think what a treat it
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  Speaker 1: will be to have two rabbits for one dinner, he
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  Speaker 1: said to himself, And the thought made him smack his lips. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: and quite unexpectedly, he came to a place where the
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  Speaker 1: bunnies had parted company, and he stopped abruptly. Now what
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  Speaker 1: is to be done? Said he. I cannot go both ways,
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  Speaker 1: and if I follow one rabbit it will give the
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  Speaker 1: other a chance to escape. I want both of them.
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  Speaker 1: He was very miserable. He sat down and thought for
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  Speaker 1: some time. Well, I must decide, he said. Finally, I
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  Speaker 1: am losing time. So he started to follow the tracks
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  Speaker 1: that led off to the right. But he was very undecided.
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  Speaker 1: If I am only to have one, he said, at
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  Speaker 1: least I will have the larger. But how am I
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  Speaker 1: to tell that? I know, I am a very clever dog.
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  Speaker 1: I will go back to the place where they separated
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  Speaker 1: and examine the tracks. Then I can tell which it is.
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  Speaker 1: So he turned around and trotted back and carefully studied
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  Speaker 1: the footprints. It is well that I did this, he said,
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  Speaker 1: for it is plain to see that the rabbit that
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  Speaker 1: went to the left is much the larger. This settled
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  Speaker 1: He started off in that direction. And what do you
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  Speaker 1: suppose the bunnies were doing while the greedy dog was
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  Speaker 1: trying to make up his mind which way to go
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  Speaker 1: and which was the larger of the two? Running? Of course,
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  Speaker 1: they were just as hard as they could run, and
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  Speaker 1: by the time the dog had decided which one he wanted.
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  Speaker 1: They were both so very far away that he never
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  Speaker 1: caught either of them, and you may guess how very
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  Speaker 1: happy they were to find each other, which they did
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  Speaker 1: in good time. End of chapter three, Chapter four of
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  Speaker 1: More Tuckmean Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording
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  Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Read for You by Jen Broda.
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  Speaker 1: The Littlest Crow and the Biggest Heart. There used to
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  Speaker 1: be a crow's nest high up among the branches of
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  Speaker 1: an old oak tree, and there were three baby crows
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  Speaker 1: in the nest. The mother crow was very proud of them,
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  Speaker 1: and she spent most of her time bringing them things
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  Speaker 1: to eat, corns, acorns, bugs, table scraps that had been
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  Speaker 1: thrown out, and in fact, it would be quite impossible
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  Speaker 1: to name all of the things that appeal to the
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  Speaker 1: taste of young crows. The two older children were very greedy,
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  Speaker 1: and whenever their mother came to the nest with some
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  Speaker 1: morsel of food, they would crane their necks and open
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  Speaker 1: their beaks so wide that one or the other of
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  Speaker 1: them was sure to be fake with it. While the
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  Speaker 1: third baby crow got so very little to eat that
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  Speaker 1: the wonder was that he did not starve to death.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, the two greedy ones grew very fast and
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  Speaker 1: were soon large enough to leave the nest. Their mother
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  Speaker 1: looked upon them with favor, and took delight in showing
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  Speaker 1: them to all the neighbor birds and telling what fine
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  Speaker 1: children they were, and how they were sure to be
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  Speaker 1: a credit to her when they flew out into the world.
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  Speaker 1: But I am sorry to say she was a little
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  Speaker 1: inclined to be ashamed of her poor, puny little baby,
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  Speaker 1: and she hardly cared to have it known that he
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  Speaker 1: was one of her children. One day, just before the
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  Speaker 1: young crows were about to leave the nest, the mother
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  Speaker 1: crow said to them, my DearS, you are about to
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  Speaker 1: leave me and go out into the great world. I
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  Speaker 1: wish each of you might bring me some little remembrance
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  Speaker 1: to show your appreciation of all that I have done
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  Speaker 1: for you. The next morning, the three young crows said
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  Speaker 1: good bye to their mother and flew away. About noon,
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  Speaker 1: the largest returned to her nest carrying a clam shell
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  Speaker 1: in his beak. See mother said he, I have brought
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  Speaker 1: you this beautiful shell. It will keep forever, and it
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  Speaker 1: will always be a reminder to you of your finest son.
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  Speaker 1: And what became of the clam that was in sight
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  Speaker 1: of the shell, asked mother Crow. Oh, said the sun,
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  Speaker 1: I ate the clam. Missus Crow made no reply. About
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the afternoon, the second son returned, carrying
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  Speaker 1: some corn silk, which he laid carefully beside his mother.
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  Speaker 1: See mother said he. Isn't it beautiful? And what a
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  Speaker 1: lovely lining it will make for your nest? Now that
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  Speaker 1: my babies have gone, I have no further need of
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  Speaker 1: my nest, said the mother crow. But may I ask
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  Speaker 1: what became of the ear of corn from which you
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  Speaker 1: took the sea milk? Oh? Said the second son. I
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  Speaker 1: ate the corn, And again the mother was silent. It
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  Speaker 1: was late in the afternoon when the third little Sun returned.
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  Speaker 1: He was very tired, and it was with difficulty that
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  Speaker 1: he alighted on the bough close to his mother's nest.
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  Speaker 1: He carried a morsel of meat in his beak and
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  Speaker 1: laid it at her feet. See mother said he. It
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  Speaker 1: was the nicest thing I could find. But my child,
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  Speaker 1: didn't it tempt your own appetite? Said the mother. I
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  Speaker 1: should think you would have liked it yourself. Indeed I would,
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  Speaker 1: said the little crow. I got enough of its flavor
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  Speaker 1: as I carried it home to be sure that it
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  Speaker 1: would be most delicious, And that was the very thing
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  Speaker 1: that made me wish to give it to you. You
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  Speaker 1: have been so unselfish and have brought us so many
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  Speaker 1: good things to eat, and I am sure you would
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  Speaker 1: have enjoyed eat many of them yourself. I was only
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  Speaker 1: too happy to be able to do this one little
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  Speaker 1: thing for you. Tears came to old missus Crow's eyes
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  Speaker 1: as she thought of how she had scorned her feeble
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  Speaker 1: baby because he did not make so fine an appearance
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  Speaker 1: as the other two. She tried to speak, but her
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  Speaker 1: voice was choked. My dear baby, she said, when she
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  Speaker 1: finally recovered her voice, I am very proud of you.
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  Speaker 1: It is my wish that you eat the delicacy you
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  Speaker 1: so generously brought to me. Then she turned to her
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  Speaker 1: two larger children and said, I am greatly disappointed in
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  Speaker 1: both of you. I have done much for you, and
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  Speaker 1: you have shown no appreciation. It meant no sacrifice to
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  Speaker 1: you to bring me an empty clamshell after you had
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  Speaker 1: eaten the clam nor to you to carry the corn
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  Speaker 1: silk homb after having eaten the corn. I am ashamed
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  Speaker 1: of both view, but I am proud to think that
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  Speaker 1: I have one baby who understands the virtue of self sacrifice.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter four, Chapter five of More Tuck Me
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  Speaker 1: In Stories by ENA's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is
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  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Read for You by Jen Broda
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  Speaker 1: true Worth. One day, an old hen was wandering about
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  Speaker 1: the barnyard when she chanced to meet a cow. As
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  Speaker 1: neither of them was very busy, they stopped to visit,
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  Speaker 1: and as they had nothing more important to say, they
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  Speaker 1: began to talk about themselves. The cow told the hen
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  Speaker 1: what a very necessary creature a cow is, and how
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  Speaker 1: difficult it would be for people to get along without her,
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  Speaker 1: and the hen in turn told the cow how valuable
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  Speaker 1: she was and how dependent people were on her. They
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  Speaker 1: talked and talked, and finally began a real argument as
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  Speaker 1: to which of them was more necessary to mankind. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: there were lots of very good arguments on both sides.
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  Speaker 1: We would find it quite hard to get along without milk,
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  Speaker 1: and I think it would be equally difficult to do
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  Speaker 1: without eggs. The argument grew more and more heated, and
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  Speaker 1: some of the remarks were quite personal. The cow told
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  Speaker 1: missus Hen that if there were no chickens, and she
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  Speaker 1: sometimes wished there weren't, people could get along very nicely
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  Speaker 1: with ducks eggs. To this, missus Hen replied that she
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  Speaker 1: could not understand why anybody kept cows at all, that,
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  Speaker 1: to her mind, goats were just as useful and far
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  Speaker 1: more agreeable. At this unpleasant stage of the argument, a
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  Speaker 1: little honeybee happened along his way to the hive. He
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  Speaker 1: noticed that the cow and the hen we're very much excited,
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  Speaker 1: and paused a moment to learn the cause. This is
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  Speaker 1: perfectly silly, said the cow, to think that a creature
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  Speaker 1: the size of that hen should feel that she is
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  Speaker 1: as much needed as I am. I leave it to you,
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  Speaker 1: master b, to settle the argument, well, said the little bee.
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  Speaker 1: I am busy and have very little time to settle arguments.
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  Speaker 1: But since you have invited it, I will spare just
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  Speaker 1: a moment to give you a little advice. You are
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  Speaker 1: arguing a very foolish question, and I would not pretend
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  Speaker 1: to decide it. We are all put here for a purpose,
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  Speaker 1: and it matters not whether we are as large as
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  Speaker 1: a cow or as small as a hen, or and
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  Speaker 1: he looked very serious, as tiny as a honey bee.
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  Speaker 1: We need not argue as to which of us is
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  Speaker 1: most necessary. The thing that should concern us is how
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  Speaker 1: well we performed the duty that we were put here
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  Speaker 1: to fulfill. Give your milk, missus cow, and you, missus hen,
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  Speaker 1: continue to lay eggs, and I myself will be content
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  Speaker 1: to gather honey. End of chapter five, Chapter six of
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: More Tuckmean Stories by ENA's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Read for You by Jen Brooda.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Saved by his wits. One fine spring day, not so
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  Speaker 1: very long ago, a little frog was hopping along in
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  Speaker 1: a field when he had the misfortune to meet a
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  Speaker 1: large snake. It is not a pleasant thing to meet
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  Speaker 1: a snake, especially if one happens to be a frog,
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  Speaker 1: for snakes are very fond of frogs, and surely it
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  Speaker 1: would be a most unhappy experience to be devoured by
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  Speaker 1: a snake. At first, the little frog was so frightened
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  Speaker 1: that he was scarcely able to move, And then the
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  Speaker 1: thought came to him that if he was to save himself,
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  Speaker 1: he would have to think and act quickly. Then he
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  Speaker 1: recalled something that his grandfather had told him when he
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  Speaker 1: was little more than a tadpole. If you should ever
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  Speaker 1: chance to meet a snake, his grandfather had said, take
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  Speaker 1: a long jump in the opposite direction from the way
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  Speaker 1: the snake is facing. This will cause the snake to
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  Speaker 1: turn his head and the upper part of his body
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  Speaker 1: in order to follow you. Then take another hop back
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  Speaker 1: again and somewhat to the left. In turning to follow
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  Speaker 1: you again, the upper part of the snake's body will
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: form a loop. The next move seems like a very
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: reckless thing to do, but you must do it if
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: your little plan is to succeed. Turn about and jump
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: right through the center of this loop. The little frog
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: felt that his only chance of escape depended on his
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: doing just as his grandfather had said, so he kept
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: his wits and jumped in the direction he had been
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: told to, and sure enough, the snake curved his long
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: neck and body to follow master frog. Then, without pausing
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: a moment, the little frog leaped back again and to
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: the left, and again the snake followed him, forming a
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: large loop of the entire forepart of his body. Then,
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: calling on all the courage he could muster, Master Froggy
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: turned about and jumped straight through the center of the loop.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Without thinking what would happen, The ugly snake opened his
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: big jaws to catch the little frog and shot his
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: head through the loop he had made of himself. And
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: I wonder if you know what did happen. I have
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: made some little drawings to make it easier for you
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: to understand, and if you will study them, it will
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: save me the trouble of telling you. I will say, though,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: that by the time the snake succeeded in untying himself,
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: master frog was quite safe in a nearby pond. End
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: of chapter six, Chapter seven of More Tuckman Stories by
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: ENA's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Read for You by Jen Broda, The Coming of Dawn?
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Have you ever been in a camp in the heart
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: of the dense woods. If you have, and if you
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: happen to be awake just at the first peep of dawn,
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: perhaps you have heard the chorus of hundreds of birds,
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: For that is the time they choose for their big
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: concert of the day. This is a story about a
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: young jay and a very silly remark that he made.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: The note of the jay is not really song, but
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: just a single, long cry, and as this little jay
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: was just learning to sing, his note little more than
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: a squawk. One day, he had planned a long trip
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: and wished to rise very early in the morning, so
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: he awoke about an hour before daylight and began his
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: unpleasant cry. He kept it up for a long time
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: and finally succeeded in waking all the birds in that
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: part of the forest. Of course, they did not like
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: the idea of being aroused along before it was time
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: to get up, and some of them were quite angry.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: An old crow, who was naturally a late sleeper and
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: very much out of patience at being awakened, spoke to
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: him and asked what he meant by disturbing them. Why,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: said the foolish little jay, I thought we sang to
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: bring the dawn. The daylight always comes when we begin
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: to sing, and I wanted it to be light so
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: that I would intent to travel in the dark. At
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: this the birds laughed and jeered and began to make
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: all manner of fun of him, and he felt very
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: much embarrassed. But a lovely little thrush, who had a
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: sweet song and a tender heart, flew to him and said, child,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: that was not such a silly mistake to have made.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: The dawn does come about the time we begin our
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: morning songs, but it is not our singing that brings
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: the day. The coming of dawn is part of the
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: greater plan. It is the first peep of daylight that
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: wakens us, and we sing to welcome it and because
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: it makes us happy. But our singing does not bring
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: the day. End of chapter seven, Chapter eight of More
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Tuckman Stories by Enu's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Read for You by Jen Broda
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: The Safer Way. A mother mouth and her son once
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: lived in a hole back of the ice box in
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: a fine old fashioned kitchen. It was a very comfortable
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: place to live, and the young mouse grew up in
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: luxury and idleness. They were quite safe in their hole,
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: and the pantry was well stalked with all sorts of
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: good things to eat. To be sure, there was an
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: old house cat who would gladly have made a meal
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: of either of them, had she known that they were
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: such near neighbors. But she was well fed and spent
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: a great deal of her time asleep on the rug
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: in front of the fire. Like many another mother, Missus mouse,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: did altogether too much for her son. She never allowed
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: him to go more than a few steps beyond the
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: door of their home, for fear some accident might befall him.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: If there was food to be got, she was the
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: one to get it, For how terrible it would be,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: she would say, if anything were to happen to my child.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: The result was that he grew up to be a
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: great big mouse without the least idea how to take
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: care of himself. One day, the mother mouse became quite
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: ill and was unable to go out as usual to
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: get their supper. Her son was very much at a
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: loss to know what to do, but finally he became
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: so hungry that he decided he had better go in
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: search of something to eat. Missus Mouse was very much
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: worried and charged him to be very careful and to
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: make sure that the old cat was fast asleep before
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: venturing into the kitchen. Have no fear for me, said
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: the helpless young mouse. I know how to take care
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: of myself. Now I don't know as he was altogether
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: to blame for the stupid thing he did. For, as
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: I said, his mother had never taught him to take
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: care of himself much less to look after her. But
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: what do you suppose he did? He saw old missus
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: Tabby Cat stretched out on the rug before the fire,
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: but to save his life, he could not make out
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: whether she was asleep or just nodding. I have seen
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: mother spend half an hour or more creeping about and
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: trying to make sure whether Missus Kat was asleep or not,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: and it always seemed to me like a dreadful waste
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: of time. He said, I know a way that is
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: a great deal more certain and will not take nearly
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: so long. So he walked up quite close to missus
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Cat and said, missus Cat, are you asleep? Missus Cat
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: was asleep, but of course she did not stay asleep
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: very long. After that. She awoke with a jump and
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: made one spring at Master Mouse. Now, I will say
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: this much for him. He may have been stupid, but
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: he was very active, and to that fact he owes
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: his life. He darted under the ice box and into
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: the hole so quickly that old Tabby was not certain
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: afterward whether it had really happened or whether it was
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: all a strange dream. When his mother was well enough
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: to stand the shock, he told her of the narrow
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: escape he had had, and ever after he was quite
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: certain that her way was best, even though it did
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: take a little longer. End of chapter eight, Chapter nine
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: of More Tuckmeian Stories by ENA's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Read for You by
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Jen Broda. How the Toad Got his humps. Once upon
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: a time a snail and a toad were walking along
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: a road together. They were not really walking, of course,
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: for they don't either of them do that. The toad
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: hops and the snail creeps. This made it rather difficult
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: for them to keep in step. The toad would take
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: a short hop and wait for the snail to catch
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: up with him, and then he would take another hop.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: You can see that this was not the most pleasing
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: way for folks to travel together, and it irritated the
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: toad greatly, so he began to find fault with the
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: snail's way of traveling. What a miserable way to have
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: to go about, he said, with that great rolled up
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: shell on your back. If I were burdened with that,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I would put it to some use. If I had
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: to carry it up every hill with me, I would
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: at least have the common sense to draw myself into
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: it and roll down instead of creeping both ways. As
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: they talked, they had been climbing a long steep grade
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and had now got to the top. See here, said
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the toad. I am tired of lagging to keep pace
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: with you. Why don't you crawl into your shell and
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: roll down this hill? That isn't a bad idea, said
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: the snail. But I should not like to leave you
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: so far behind. Suppose we both rolled down, But stupid thing,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: said the toad. How am I to roll when I
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: have no shell? Oh that's very simple, said the snail,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: pointing to an old tin can that happened to be
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: lying beside the road. You just hop into that and
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: I will start you fine, said the toad, and it
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: was the first pleasant word he had spoken in half
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: a mile. I wouldn't have given you credit for having
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: such a bright idea, So without another word, the lazy
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: old toad hopped into the can, and the snail gave
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: him a shove. The can started to roll slowly at first,
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: then faster and faster, until it fairly whirled over and
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: over went the poor toad bumpity bump, bumpity bump over
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: stones and humps. Help, help, cried mister Toad. I am
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: being shaken all to pieces, But of course verse there
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: was no help for him. On and on went the
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: can until finally it struck a large stone at the
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: bottom of the hill and came to a stop, limp
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: and bruised. Poor mister Toad dragged himself out of the
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: can and waited for his friend to overtake him. Master
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: Snail did not try to roll down the hill. He
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: snickered to himself as he watched his companion in his
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: wild ride. I think he knows now why I don't
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: roll down the hills, he said, as he crept slowly
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: along to where his poor friend sat waiting. The old
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: fellow was too weak and battered to find any fault.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: He hopped very slowly and painfully, and mister Snail had
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: no difficulty keeping pace with him. After that, mister Toad
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: was a long time getting over his bumps and bruises.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: In fact, I have heard that his bumps never did disappear,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: and that to this day his children and grandchildren still
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: carry them. End of chapter nine, Chapter ten of More
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: Tuckmeian Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Read for you by Jen Broda.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: Little Nero, bow wow Wow. It was a tiny piping
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: bark that could not possibly have frightened anybody, and old Tabby,
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: who happened to be the one that was barked at
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: this particular time, did not even so much as turn
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: her head to show surprise. Instead, she straightened her tail
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: higher and stiffened her walk a little, as much as
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: to say, if that was a dog barking, I did
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: not even so much as hear him. Now, if there
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: is one thing that makes a dog feel worse than another,
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: it is to bark and not be noticed. Nero was
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: a fuzzy little Newfoundland puppy, so soft and shaggy that
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: he looked as much like your teddy bear as anything
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: I can think of. But he did not know what
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: a cute little object he was, and felt very important
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: and grown up. Bow wow wow, he said again, And
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: then when no attention was paid to him, he felt
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: very much put out and walked back to his basket
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: to think, I wonder what the trouble is, said he.
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: I have always heard that dogs are brave and fearless,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: and yet I cannot so much as frighten the old cat.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: Nero was full of life and mischief, and it was
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: his one great wish to have everyone fear and stand
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: in awe of him. I will startle someone, he said
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: to himself, and I will bark at missus cat until
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I frighten her. So every time Tabby came near, he
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: would spring out and bark just as loudly as he could.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Had she been in a different humor, Tabby might have
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: taken time to scratch his foolish little nose. But she didn't.
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: She had had children of her own, and she understood them,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: so she just smiled pleasantly and went about her business.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: As time went by, however, Tabby became tired of being
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: barked at by the foolish little puppy. So one day,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: after he had barked himself hoarse, she said to him, Nero,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: do you want me to tell you why you bark
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: at people? It is because you are very anxious to
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: startle them and impress them with your importance. Now I'm
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: going to give you some advice. Everyone here knows that
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: you are nothing but a silly little puppy. We have
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: seen you and watched you grow ever since you were
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: old enough to toddle. We all like you because you
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: are so cunning, But you cannot expect to startle any
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: of us. If you wish to do that, you must
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: go away where folks know nothing of your puppyhood. With this,
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: old Tabby smiled kindly at him and walked away. Little
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: Nero was very much put out. But I do not
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: want to go away, he said to himself. I am
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: very happy here. Only I do want to make an
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: impression on someone. He spent a good deal of time
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: thinking about it, and the more he thought, the more
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: he became convinced that old Tabby was right. So finally,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: much as he dreaded to leave his pleasant home, he
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: decided that that was the thing he would have to
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: do if he wished to appear to be anything other
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: than a cunning little dog. So he went. Many months passed,
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: and Tabby had begun to wonder if she would ever
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: see Little Nero again. She was sad too, in a way,
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: for she missed his silly little pranks and his important manner.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: One day, she was dozing on her favorite door mat,
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: enjoying the sun, when suddenly she was startled almost out
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: of her wits to find herself facing a huge dog
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: who seemed to have come suddenly from nowhere and stood
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: not more than three feet in front of her. She
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: was almost too frightened to spring for safety. But before
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: she could move, he spoke in the gentlest voice possible.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: Dear Tabby, he said, do not be frightened. Don't you
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: remember me? I am little Nero. Tabby's fright changed to
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: surprise and joy, but she was still a little bit uneasy.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: He looked so very big and fierce. I have traveled
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: far and seen a great deal, said Nero. I have
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: frightened many cats, and I have whipped a great many dogs,
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: and I am very glad to be home again. You
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: scared me almost to death, said poor Tabby. A sad,
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: sad look came into Nero's face. I am sorry I
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: frightened you, he said, But said Tabby, I thought that
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: was the very thing you went away to learn how
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: to do. It was said Nero, shaking his great head.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: But I have seen a great deal of the world,
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: and I am no longer the silly little puppy I
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: once was. It makes me sad to have all my
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: fellow creatures fear me. I want friends who can trust
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: me and who are not afraid of me. And sometimes
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: I wish, oh how I wish I could be a
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: little puppy again, the cute little puppy whom everyone loved
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: and nobody feared. What a queer, queer world this is,
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: said old Tabby. But she added wisely, I shall be
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: very glad to be your friend. End of chapter ten,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: Chapter eleven of More Tuckmean Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: you by Jen Brooda A Trip to Nowhere. One day,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: a little bunny was hopping along through the woods when
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: he came to the edge of a brook. Now what
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: am I to do? Thought he. I cannot hop across
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: this stream. This made him quite unhappy, so he sat
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: down on the bank to think. Well, said he at length,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: I have great patience. Surely the brook cannot flow on forever.
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: I will stay here until it passes by. But the
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: brook did not pass by. Day after day the water came,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: and day after day the bunny waited. At length. He
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: came to realize that the stream would never pass, so
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: he put his wits to work on another plan. I
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: know he said, Finally, this brook must certainly end somewhere.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: I will go to the place where it ends, and
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: there I will be able to get to the opposite side.
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: So he hopped a long way in the direction the
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: stream flowed, and after many days, came to the end
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: of the brook. But the brook flowed into a great river,
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: and there was no possible chance of crossing that. Well, well,
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: said master bunny. This is discouraging, but there is another
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: thing I can do, and I will not be content
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: until I have done it. I will travel to the
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: place where the brook begins. So he started off and
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: hopped and hopped day after day. Day after day. He
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: had traveled many miles and was very weary, so he
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: sat down to rest. While he was sitting there, a
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: tiny chipmunk crept out from his home among the rocks
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: and greeted him. Where are you going? Said he? Oh,
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: said master Bunny, I am very blue and discouraged. I
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: am trying to get across this stream, and I have
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: done everything I can think of, but there seems to
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: be no way. Oh dear, what shall I do? The
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: chipmunk scratched his little forehead with his paw for a
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: moment and then asked, why do you wish to get
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: across the brook? A strange expression flashed across Master Bunny's
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: face as he replied, why. I don't really know. To
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: tell the truth, I hadn't thought of that. I was
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: just hopping along when this brook came flowing by directly
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: across my path, and it seemed to me that in
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: order to continue on my way, I would have to
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: cross the brook. That is quite true, said the little chipmunk.
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: But if I were you and had no better reason
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: than that, I think I would be content to stay
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: on this side. End of chapter eleven, Chapter twelve of
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: More Tuck Me In Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for You
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: by Jen Broda. The Lonely Little Rose, a beautiful wild
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: rose once bloomed on the sunny side of an old
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: stone wall. It was a very lonely spot. There were
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: no little boys or girls to come by that way
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: and find it and say, oh, see the lovely rose,
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: How sweet it is. I am lonely, said the rose.
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: No one will ever know that I have lived here,
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: I have lived, and here I shall fade. What is
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: the use of being fair and sweet when it gives
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: happiness to no one. A rude squirrel scampering along the
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: wall brushed the rose aside and went on his way,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: without so much as pausing to say, oh, I'm sorry,
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: I didn't mean to jostle you. The gentle june breeze
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: came and kissed the rose, took some of its sweetness,
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: and passed on. Tomorrow, I shall fade, said the lovely rose,
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: and my useless life will be ended. As she spoke,
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: she heard a soft purring sound. Nearer and nearer it came.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: It was the buzz of a busy honey bee. Straight
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: to the lonely rose. He flew, May I take some
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: of your sweetness with me, said he. I am gathering
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: honey for little boys and girls to eat. Of course,
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: one tiny bee cannot gather very much, but I do.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: I can, and there are thousands and thousands of bees
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: doing just what I am doing. And together we have
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: gathered all of the honey that was ever made. You
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: are welcome to all of my sweetness, said the rose.
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: So the bee gathered the honey and went his way,
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: and the rose was very happy, for she knew that
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: she had not bloomed in vain end of chapter twelve,
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen of More Tuckmean Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: You by Jen Broda The Flying Lesson. This is a
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: story about a little raccoon who had a very active
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: mind and a rather lazy body. He was not content
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: to run about on the ground and climb trees and
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: bathe in the brooks. He wanted to fly. Walking as
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: tiresome and climbing as real work. It must be very
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: RESTful to go sailing through the air with nothing to
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: do but to move your wings. Occasionally he would lie
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: on his back for hours, looking up at the sky
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: and watching the birds as they flew by. One day
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: he saw a real airplane sailing along high high in
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: the air. How beautiful it was, and what a thrill
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: master raccoon felt as he gazed at it. Then the
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: thought came to him, if men can fly, there is
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: no reason why I should not. He spent a good
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: deal of his time thinking about it, and finally an
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: idea came to him. I know what I will do,
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: said he. The next time we have chicken for dinner,
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: I will ask mother to let me have the wings.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: Not long after this, the Raccoon family did have chicken.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: It was a fine young fowl with a pair of
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: beautiful red wings, and Master Raccoon was so delighted when
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: his mother told him he might have them that he
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: scarcely ate a bite of dinner. He asked to be
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: excused before the meal was finished, and set about fastening
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: the wings on to his back, just below the shoulders.
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: With some pieces of string and a belt, he arranged
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: it so that, by pulling on the ends of the strings,
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: he was able to move the wings up and down
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: like a bird. But when all was ready and he
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: attempted to fly, what was his surprise and disappointment to
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: discover that, try as he would, he could not so
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: much as raise both feet from the ground. While he
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: was pondering over this and wondering what the trouble was,
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: an old crow came along and lighted on a near
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: by tree. Master Raccoon was so deep in thought that
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: he did not see old mister crow turn his head
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: away to hide a smile. Mister crow was none too
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: friendly with the Raccoon family, and it would have been
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: well for the little raccoon had he remembered this, but
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: he did not, and he took all of the old
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: crow's advice in good faith and without the slightest question
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: of doubt. I have been flying a number of years,
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: said mister crow, and I know from my own experience
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: that it is a very difficult thing for even an
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: expert flyer to take to the air from the ground.
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: I almost always alight in the upper branches of some
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: tall tree, and then when I wished to fly, all
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: I have to do is flap my wings and drop
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: down a little just to get a good start, and
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: then away I soar. All of this sounded very reasonable
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: to the young raccoon, and he felt perfectly sure that
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: he would have no further trouble if he did as
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: the crow suggested. So he climbed to the very top
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: of a tall tree. It was hard work, for he
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: was not used to climbing with wings, and they kept
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: getting in his way. But finally all was ready, and
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: he spread the chicken wings out, just as he had
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: seen birds do, and then let go. There was a
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: rustling of feathers and a flapping sound, and then a crash, crash,
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: bumpity bump. His poor Master Raccoon tumbled down, down, down,
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: through the branches of the tree, and finally struck the
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: ground with a hard thump, tangled pieces of string, wings,
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: feather and all. For you know, and I know, and
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: we might have told Master Raccoon that he would surely
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: come to grief. Fortunately he was not badly hurt, but
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: he was very much shaken up, and it was some
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: time before he managed to gather himself together and untie
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: the wings, for he had no more wish to try
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: to fly. As he started off for home, he heard
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: caw caw that sounded very much to him like a laugh,
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: and he looked up, and looking up, he saw the
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: old crow flap his wings and sail away far up
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: into the sky. I think that old crow knew that
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: my wings wouldn't work and was playing a joke on me,
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: said Master Raccoon indignantly. And I think he was right,
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: don't you? End of chapter thirteen Chapter fourteen of More
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: Tuck Me in Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Read for you by
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: Jen Brooda The Lazy Grasshopper. There were hundreds of beautiful
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: hollyhocks along the garden wall red, purple, pink, lavender, white, scarlet, yellow,
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: and all of the shades that go between, and when
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: the sun shone on them, they seemed to be fairly aflame.
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: Of course, the bees found them, and they knew that
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: it was the very best place to come for honey.
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: So they gathered all that they could carry, and then
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: flew back to their hives and told other bees about
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: the wonderful hollyhock blossoms, and the other bees were turned
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: with them to the hollyhock garden for more honey. And
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: so it went on day after day. The busy little
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: bees buzzed here and there among the blossoms, trying first
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: one and then another, just as you do sometimes when
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: you have a whole box of candy all at once.
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: Sometimes a bee going into the heart of a blossom
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: would meet another coming out, and they would almost bump
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: into each other, but then would turn aside just in
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: time and go hurrying on their way. A lazy old
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: grasshopper sat on a tall blade of grass, watching them
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: all through the long hot day. He sat there, deep
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: in thought, and not so much as moving a leg
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: or turning his head. Late in the afternoon, When he
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: was sure that he had given the matter enough thought,
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: he called one of the bees to him. The bee
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: was not at all anxious to stop her work just
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: to listen, for she had planned to make two more
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: trips to her hive before dark. But she did not
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: like to be in polite, so she stopped for just
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: a minute. I've been watching you silly bees all day,
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: said the old grasshopper, and do you know that you
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: waste a great deal of time simply because you have
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: no system. Sometimes as many as twenty of you will
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: go into a single blossom in less than an hour.
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: If you managed rightly, each one of you would be
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: a signed to a separate flower, and you would not
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: waste time going to the same blossom. The little bee
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: listened patiently until the grasshopper had finished, and then she said,
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: each one of us gets some honey from every blossom
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: we visit, and it is the correct way to gather honey.
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: As for the amount of work we accomplish, I have
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: made twenty trips to my hive to day and have
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: taken all the honey I could carry on each trip,
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: and most of my companions have done as well. May
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: I ask how much work you have done. I don't
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: know whether or not the old grasshopper made any reply,
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: but I did see him gather his two long legs
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: up so that they looked like v's turned upside down,
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: and then he gave a great hop, and the little
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: bee went on about her work. End of chapter fourteen.
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen of More Tuck Me in Stories by Enis
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: Read for You by Jen Broda The Better Way. Little
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: Teddy Bear was very fond of blackberries, and every day
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: during the berry season he and his mother would take
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: their baskets and go to the BlackBerry thicket and pick
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: until their baskets were full. Then they would return to
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: their home in a cave under some great rocks, and
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: when dinner time came, they would each have a nice
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: heaping dish of berries. But I am sorry to say
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: little Teddy was very greedy, and the berries did taste
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: so good that he got into the habit of putting
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: them into his mouth instead of the pail. They taste
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: so good, he said to himself. And anyway, mother will
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: pick all that we need for dinner. That was all
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: very well, but of course that sort of thing could
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: not go on for very long without his mother discovering it,
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: and it made her quite sad to think that her
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: little son should be so selfish, so she that she
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: would have to teach him a lesson. One day, they
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: went to the berry patch as usual, and as usual,
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: Teddy ate all the berries he picked. He was so
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: busy doing this that he did not notice what his
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: mother was doing. That night, when they sat down to dinner,
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: Teddy was much surprised to find that there were no
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: berries in his bowl. Can it be that my mother
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: is so selfish as to have kept all of the
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: berries for herself, thought he But when he looked, he
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: discovered that her bowl was empty too, Why, mother, said he.
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: We haven't any berries, No, replied his mother. I did
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: just what you have been doing. All of the berries
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: that I didn't eat, I put into my basket for
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: our dinner. But Mamma, there aren't any in your basket,
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: said Teddy. No, replied his mother. Then suppose we have
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: those that are in your basket. Of course, Teddy made
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: no reply, and he was quite ashamed of himself. I
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: know just how you feel, said his mother. I felt
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: very greedy too, when I ate all of the berries
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: I picked? Don't you think it is the nicer way
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: to save them and then enjoy them together at dinner, Yes,
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: said Teddy. And I am very sorry to think that
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: I have been so selfish. End of chapter fifteen. Chapter
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: sixteen of More Tuck Me In Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock.
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: You by Jen Brooda. Getting out of a Hole. One
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: dark night, mister Frog and his little son went out
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: for a walk, or I suppose it would be more
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: proper to say for a hop. It was such a
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: very dark night that they could not see the length
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: of one good hop ahead of them, and that was
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: why they chanced to meet with an accident. Young master
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: Frog happened to be just half a hop ahead of
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: his father when he dropped right into a deep hole.
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: He was not hurt one bit, but the sides of
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: the hole were very steep, and he found the work
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: of jumping back out very difficult. Every time he tried,
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: he would slip back just half as far as he
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: had hopped. With the aid of several friendly fireflies who
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: were passing, they were able to see that the hole
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: was about six feet deep, and at each leap, master
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: frog would go about one foot and slip back half
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: that distance. Cheer up, said his father. It will take
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: you just eleven jumps to get out of the hole.
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: I don't see how you figure that out, said his son,
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: for he prided himself on being particularly bright at arithmetic.
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: Try it and see, said his father. So the young
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: frog hopped a foot and slipped back half a foot,
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: And he hopped another foot and slipped back another half
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: a foot, and so on. I am gaining just half
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: a foot at each hop, said he. And if the
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: hole is six feet deep, it will take me just
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: twelve jumps to reach the top. But there was one
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: thing he did not think of. I wonder if you
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: know what it was. The eleventh hop took him to
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: the top of the hole, so of course he didn't
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: slip back that time, well, said he, with an embarrassed smile.
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: I didn't think of that anyway. I am glad to
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: have got out of the hole. End of chapter sixteen.
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen of More Took Me in Stories by Enus
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: Read for You by Jen brooda great and small. One
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: day a long time ago, a tiny mouse was sitting
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: near the door of his home in an old stump
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: when he was attacked by a rat. The rat looked
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: very big and ugly, and the poor little mouse was
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: frightened almost to death, but he managed to escape into
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: his hole in the stump. As the rat turned to
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: walk away, he found himself face to face with a mink.
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: The mink had very sharp teeth, and he looked anything
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: but friendly and old. Mister rat was so frightened that
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: he trembled all over, but he did have presence of
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: mind enough to dart under an old stone wall, where
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: the mink could not follow. The mink was very angry,
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: but a moment later his anger turned to fright for
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: just a few steps away he saw a large raccoon.
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: The raccoon was just about to pounce upon him, and
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: it was his great fortune that he happened to be
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: close to the bank of a little stream. He gave
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: two quick bounds and splashed into the water, just in
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: time to escape the sharp claws of mister raccoon. The
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: raccoon turned in disgust, but he had gone only a
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: little way when he met a fox. The fox and
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: the raccoon are bitter enemies, and mister raccoon had no
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: wish to pick a quarrel with Renard. In fact, his
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: only thought was to get away, so he scampered up
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: a tree just as fast as he could go. It
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: is lucky for you that I cannot climb, said the fox.
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: But he had scarcely gotten the words out of his
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: mouth when he heard a sharp snarl behind him, and turning,
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: he was terrified to see that he was being followed
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: by a big timber wolf. Bernard needed no one to
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: tell him that his life was in danger. He darted
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: into the underbrush, and it was fortunate for him that
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: he was swift enough to make his escape. The wolf
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: clawed the earth and growled in rage, for he did
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: not like to think that so large and powerful a
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: creature as he could be outdone by a fox. The
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: breaking of a large bough just ahead of him caused
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: the wolf to look up, and what was his fear
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: in surprise to find himself facing a great grizzly bear.
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: Mister Wolf had no thought then but to get away
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: as quickly as he could, So he turned and fled,
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: and as the old bear was too heavy to run
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: very fast. The wolf managed to save himself. Then the
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: tiny mouse crept out from his hiding place and walked
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: fearlessly up to the great bear, who looked down and
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: smiled at the little creature and said, why is it
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: that you who are afraid of the rat, who is
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: afraid of the mink, who is afraid of the raccoon,
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: who is afraid of the fox, who is afraid of
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: the wolf, who was so afraid of me? Why is
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: it that you are not afraid of me? I don't know,
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: said the little mouse, and he crept very close to
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: the big grizzly. I don't know, but I suppose it
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: is because you are so very great and I am
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: so very small, that it seemed as if you would
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: hardly go to the bother of noticing me, much less
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: doing me any harm. End of Chapter seventeen. Chapter eighteen
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: of More Tuck Me in Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: You by Jen Broda. The Careless Dragonfly. One lazy summer's day,
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 1: a gay dragonfly sailed over the water and alighted on
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: the prow of a boat that was moored to a post.
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: While he was enjoying the sunshine, a fish happened to
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: spy him and thought what a fine dinner he would make.
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: The fish started out of the water and tried to
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: catch him, but the dragonfly was just high enough to
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: be safely out of reach, and mister fish splashed back
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: into the water again without having got his prey. Now,
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: the dragonfly was a little bit like some people I know.
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: He loved to tease, and when he discovered that he
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: was safely out of reach of the fish, he made
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: a practice of going every day to the same place
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: to sun himself and take a little nap, and every
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: day the fish would make the same hopeless effort to
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: catch him. This was great sport for the dragonfly. But
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: one day he sailed over the place where the boat
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: had been to find it gone. Never mind, thought he
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: that need not put an end to my sport. The
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: post is still here. So he alighted on the post,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: taking great care to choose a spot a safe distance
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: above the water. The sun was warm and bright, and
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: mister dragonfly soon fell to dozing. I do not know
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: how long he dozed, but I do know what happened
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: to poor mister dragonfly. The tide came in, and the
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: water rose higher and higher until it was within a
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: few inches of where he was perched. And then along
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 1: came mister fish, and he didn't have to more than
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: half tried to jump out of the water and catch
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: mister dragonfly in his great open mouth. And that was
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: just what he did. It is a very good plan
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: for dragonflies, and for little children too, to be careful
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: what kind of places they select for their naps, isn't it?
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: End of chapter eighteen, Chapter nineteen of More Tuckmean Stories
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 1: by Enis Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in the
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: public domain. Read for You by Jen Broda The Runaway Donkey.
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: In a street just around the corner from some place
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: or other lived a little boy and girl. They had
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: a great many toys, not to mention, a dog and
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: a cat, And one day their grandfather gave them a
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 1: real live donkey and the cutest little cart that you
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: ever saw. Of course, the children were delighted. I don't
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: know just how the donkey felt about it. Being a
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: pet donkey isn't always the most pleasant thing in the world.
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: The children drove him up and down the street, and
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: around the block and back again, until he became very
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: tired of his lot. So one day he set his
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: donkey wits to try to think up some plan to
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: get out of being overworked. At first, he tried loafing,
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: but that did not work out at all to his liking.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: The children would jerk at the reins, and sometimes they
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: would even go so far as to strike him with
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: the whip. So finally he decided to do a very
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: fearful thing. He decided to run away. He had heard
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: of runaways, and he had always understood that they were
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: most alarming things. So when the children earned him to
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: hurry along and struck him, he started off and ran
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: just as fast as he could. At first, he thought
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: it exciting sport. I will run fast enough and far
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: enough to give them a real scare, said he, And
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: he ran a little faster if possible. He ran, and
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: he ran until he was quite out of breath and
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: very tired, and finally he began to think. Then, all
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: at once the thought came to him, can it be
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: that those naughty children have been so unkind as to
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: let me think I was running away? Just to keep
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: me going? And will you believe it? That was exactly
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 1: what those roguish youngsters had been doing. End of chapter nineteen,
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty of More Tuckme in Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock.
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read for
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: you by Jen Brooda. Woodchuck Lodge, a plump old woodchuck
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: once decided to make his home on the sunny sloping
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: side of a clover field. He dug a hole about
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: six inches wide, for that is the kind of home
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: the woodchuck makes. Of course, a great deal of dirt
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 1: had to be dug out to make such a hole,
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: and the woodchuck did not haul the dirt away. He
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: heaped it up in a circular ridge at the very
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: door of his hole. That was the way his father
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 1: and grandfather and all the other good woodchucks he could remember,
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: had made their homes. So surely there must be some
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 1: good reason for doing it that way. In a brush
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 1: heap not very far from mister Woodchuck's home lived two rabbits,
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 1: and like some other people, they had the very unpleasant
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 1: habit of finding fault with their neighbors. They made no
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: end of fun of good old mister Woodchuck He was
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: fat and a little bit awkward, and could not get
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 1: over the ground nearly so fat as they could, And
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: that furnished them a great deal of amusement and gave
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: them much to talk about. And when they tired of this,
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: they began to criticize the manner in which his home
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 1: was built. It was like living in a damp cellar,
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: they said, and must be very unhealthy. Indeed, they much
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: preferred a nice, airy, well ventilated brush pile. And if
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: he did have to dig a hole in the ground
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: to live in, why on earth didn't he haul that
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: unsightly mount of earth away from his door. They were
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 1: the ones who had to look at it, and it
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 1: certainly was not beautiful. So they talked, and many of
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: the remarks were made so loud and in such a
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: way that old mister Woodchuck could not help hearing them,
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: but he pretended not to hear, or laughed it off
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 1: in his cheerful way. The warm, sunny summer passed and
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: October came with chill autumn rains. My how hard it rained.
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: The brush pile was a very poor shelter, and the
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: two saucy rabbits were soon drenched to their skins. This
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: is not so very pleasant, said one of them, after
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 1: they had stood it about as long as they could.
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: Let's go over and pay old mister Woodchuck a little visit,
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 1: said the other. Perhaps it is dry over there, and
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: he will never suspect that we came to get out
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: of the wet That seemed to be a good idea,
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: So the two bunnies hopped across the wet field to
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: mister Woodchuck's home and told him that they had come
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 1: for a little visit. I am very glad to see you,
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: said good old mister Woodchuck, with a sly wink. But
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 1: before you come in, let me explain to you just
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: why I left the dirt heaped about the door of
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: my home. So the wise old fellow kept the two
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 1: wretched rabbits standing out in the rain while he, with
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: just his nose poked out of the cozy hole, explained
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: how the bank of Earth kept the water they came
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 1: rushing down the hillside from running into his hole and
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: him out. It was all very clear to them at
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: a glance, but they had to wait just the same
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 1: until he had finished telling them about it. Then he
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 1: welcomed them into his cozy little house where they had
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 1: a chance to dry their fur, and they talked about
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 1: a great many things. Do you think they ever again
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: made fun of the way in which he had built
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 1: his house? It is not always wise to ridicule the
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 1: way a thing is done simply because you don't understand it.
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: End of chapter twenty Chapter twenty one of More Tuckmean
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 1: the public domain. Read for You by jen Broda Wisdom.
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: One sunny day, to old geese went for a walk.
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: It was a beautiful day, and they went on and
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 1: on until they had got far beyond the familiar places
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: they knew so well about the poultry yard. Finally they
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: came to a cross road, and they were at a
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: loss to know which way to go to get back home. Now,
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: these two foolish old geese were very well satisfied with themselves,
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 1: but they really knew less than nothing. There was a
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 1: sign board with a hand that pointed down one way
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: and the words that told where the road led to.
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 1: And there was another hand that pointed the other way
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: and told where that road went. But as neither of
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: these old geese could read a word. The hands did
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: not help them one bit. How perfectly silly it is
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 1: to have the hands point in different directions, said one,
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 1: If instead of having two hands, they had just one
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: and pointed it in the direction of our home, then
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: there could be no chance for doubt and we would
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: have no trouble. Stupid, stupid. While they were pondering over
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: the difficulty, an old turtle came waddling along the road.
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: Mister turtle, said one of the geese, with an air
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: of much greater wisdom than he really possessed. We haven't
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: our glasses and can't read the sign at this distance.
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: Can you tell us which road to take to get
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 1: back home? Now? The turtle was able to read the sign,
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: for he had some education, but he knew only his
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 1: own language, so he just smiled and tipped his hat
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: politely and told them that he couldn't understand them and
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: passed on. What a very stupid creature, exclaimed the geese, indignantly.
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: He can't understand us, and he can't talk so that
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: we can understand him. Then the two old geese went
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: on their way, quite satisfied with their own wisdom and
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 1: wondering how anyone else could know so little. End of
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: chapter twenty one Chapter twenty two of More Tuckmean Stories
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: by Eni's Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is in the
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 1: public domain. Read for You by Jen Broda. One Colonel
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: of Corn, three little rats were playing in an old
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 1: bushel basket back of the barn one fine spring day
• 1:11:18
  Speaker 1: when they happened to spy a kernel of corn wedged
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: in between the wickers at the bottom of the basket.
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: It was not a difficult matter to get it out.
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: But the real trouble arose after this had been done,
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 1: which of them was to have the prize. They had
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: all seen it at about the same moment, but they
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 1: had each had a hand in releasing it from the wickers.
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 1: The idea of dividing it into three parts seemed altogether
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: too foolish for words, as there is little enough to
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: a kernel of corn, let alone dividing it. None of
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: the three would think of giving up his claim to
• 1:11:53
  Speaker 1: the whole Colonel, and the argument was becoming quite serious
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: when missus Ratt, who happened to be under a box
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: a short distance away, heard the wrangle and came out
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: to settle it. See here, my children, she said, When
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 1: she had learned the cause of the trouble. There is
• 1:12:11
  Speaker 1: not enough to a single colonel for one of you
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: to worry about, let alone three. What I am about
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: to do may seem very foolish to you now, but
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 1: perhaps later on you will see the wisdom of it.
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 1: So saying, she dug a little hole about an inch
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: deep in the ground close to the old stone wall,
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: placed the colonel in the hole, and covered it up
• 1:12:33
  Speaker 1: very carefully. The children were not at all well pleased
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: when they saw her do this, and they thought it
• 1:12:40
  Speaker 1: very unreasonable. A week passed and the colonel had been
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: quite forgotten. Then one day little soft Paw, the youngest son,
• 1:12:49
  Speaker 1: came running quite out of breath to where his mother
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: and the other two brothers were busy gnawing at the
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: roots of an old tree. Mother mother said, he, there
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: is a tall green plant growing out of the very
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: spot where you buried the kernel of corn. Missus Rat smiled,
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: but did not seem so surprised as her son. Do
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: not disturb it, she said, we will watch it grow
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: from day to day, and perhaps something wonderful will come
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: of it. So every day they went to look at
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: the strange tall plant that had appeared so mysteriously, and
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 1: each day the plant was noticeably taller, until at the
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: end of the month it looked to the little rats
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: like a great green tree with wide, waving branches that
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: hung down like giant spears of grass. And then one day,
• 1:13:38
  Speaker 1: when it had got so very tall that the poor
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 1: little rats almost had to break their necks to look
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 1: up at the top, they discovered it had branched out
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: into a beautiful tassel. How very lovely, they exclaimed. Yes,
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: said their mother, it is lovely, But I see something
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 1: that is even more remarkable. Then she pointed out to
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: them a large green swelling that had grown out close
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 1: to the stalk of the plant, just above one of
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 1: the leaves. Let us look for more of them, said
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: her oldest son. That was a good idea, and in
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: a very short time they had discovered that there were four,
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: and that there was a very queer bunch of something
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 1: that looked like hair sticking out of the end of each.
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: Those swellings, said the good mother, are called ears. We
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: will wait a few days and see if they get
• 1:14:31
  Speaker 1: any larger. So they watched the ears from day to day,
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: and sure enough, they did grow longer and fuller, until
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: finally each one was as large as one of the rats.
• 1:14:44
  Speaker 1: How fortunate that there are four of them, one for
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 1: each of us, said the good mother. They are all
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: done up in beautiful green wrappings, and we will not
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 1: undo them until just before Thanksgiving. The three little rats
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: found it very difficult to wait, but there was nothing
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: else to do, so they made the best of it. Then,
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: one day in the autumn, when the long green leaves
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: were beginning to change to a beautiful tan color, Missus
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: Rat said, tomorrow, if it is a nice day, we
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: will undo our packages. You may imagine how difficult it
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 1: was to wait another whole day, but they did, and
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: the next morning the sun rose bright and clear. Missus
• 1:15:28
  Speaker 1: Rat gnawed at the great stock just above the ground
• 1:15:31
  Speaker 1: until it began to sway back and forth in the breeze,
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: and finally fell with a rustle and crash. Then each
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: of the rats ran up and began to tear the
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 1: wrappers off his bundle. And what do you suppose they
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: found inside of them? Well, they each found a beautiful
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: long ear of corn, with rows and rows of the
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: loveliest golden kernels you ever saw. How very wonderful, said
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: the children, yes, replied Missus Ratt, looking very wise indeed,
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 1: and only think that it all came from one little
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: colonel we buried here last spring. I am going to
• 1:16:11
  Speaker 1: save two of my colonels to plant next year, said
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: little sharp Claw, And so am I said both of
• 1:16:17
  Speaker 1: his brothers, And then they all sat down to a feast.
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: End of chapter twenty two Chapter twenty three of More
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 1: Tuckmeian Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox recording is
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Read for you by Jen Broda
• 1:16:44
  Speaker 1: The Longest Way. There was one cecily old gander who
• 1:16:48
  Speaker 1: had a way of tipping his head and blinking one
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: eye that gave him a great look of wisdom. But
• 1:16:55
  Speaker 1: in truth he was quite simple, And in this I
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 1: am sure you will agree with me when you have
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: finished reading this story. One day, while he was foraging
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 1: about the fields, he happened upon a large grasshopper. Here
• 1:17:09
  Speaker 1: is a prize, to be sure, thought the old gander.
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 1: But the grasshopper did not care to be made part
• 1:17:16
  Speaker 1: of mister Gander's dinner, and he led a merry chase
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: far across the fields, hopping this way and that, until
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 1: he finally made his escape under a large stone. By
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 1: this time, poor old mister Gander had become so confused
• 1:17:30
  Speaker 1: in his directions that he could not tell north from south,
• 1:17:34
  Speaker 1: and he had not the slightest idea which way to
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: turn his steps to return to the poultry yard. So
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 1: he started off in the direction he supposed to be right,
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: and walked and walked. Finally he met an old crow
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: perched on a stump, sunning himself. Pardon me, said the
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: old gander, but I have lost my way. Can you
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: tell me how far I have to walk to get
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: to the poultry yard. If you keep right on the
• 1:18:01
  Speaker 1: direction you are going, said the crow, you will have
• 1:18:04
  Speaker 1: to travel about twenty five thousand miles. Dear, dear, said
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: the stupid old gander, who would have dreamed I had
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: wandered so very far away? But I had better hurry,
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: or it will be dark before I get half way back.
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 1: So he blinked his eye and cocked his head and
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: started off. He walked and walked what seemed to him
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 1: a very long way, until he met an owl. Mister
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: owl said he I am trying to get to the
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: poultry yard. Can you tell me how much farther I
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 1: have to go? If you keep in the direction you
• 1:18:40
  Speaker 1: are going, said the wise old owl. You will have
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: to travel about twenty five thousand miles. But he added,
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: if you will turn and go in the opposite direction,
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: a short walk of a half mile will bring you there. Dear, dear,
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: said the silly old gander, as he turned about and
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: started off. How strange that this did not occur to
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 1: me before end of chapter twenty three Chapter twenty four
• 1:19:16
  Speaker 1: of More Tuckmean Stories by Enus Benjamin Comstock. This LibriVox
• 1:19:21
  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Read for you by
• 1:19:25
  Speaker 1: Jen Broda. The absent Minded Little Pig. This is a
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: story about a very little pig, but it might just
• 1:19:34
  Speaker 1: as well have been a little boy or girl. This
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: little pig lived with his mother in a tiny hut
• 1:19:40
  Speaker 1: way down at one end of the barnyard. One day
• 1:19:44
  Speaker 1: he asked his mother if he might go over and
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 1: visit another little pig who lives some distance away in
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: another corner of the farm. You may go, said his mother,
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 1: but I think you had better take your raincoat and rubbers.
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 1: It looks to me very much such as though it
• 1:20:00
  Speaker 1: might rain. And she cast a knowing eye up at
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 1: a big black cloud directly overhead. All right, mother, said
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: the little pig, and he ran and got them and
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 1: started off. Sure enough, it did rain, and it kept
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: on raining all afternoon. How thankful I am that I
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 1: had him take his raincoat and rubbers, said the good mother,
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: as she stood looking at the big drops beating against
• 1:20:25
  Speaker 1: the window. Late in the afternoon, just when there was
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: a particularly heavy downpour, the door opened and in walked
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 1: master Piggy. But what was his mother's great surprise and
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 1: dismayed to discover that he was carrying his raincoat on
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 1: his arm and his little rubbers in his hand, and
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 1: he was drenched to the skin. Why, my dear child,
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 1: said the poor mother, as soon as she had recovered
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: from the shock, didn't I tell you to take your
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: raincoat and your rubbers for this very reason? I did
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 1: it take them, sobbed the poor little pig. But mother,
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 1: I never thought to put them on. End of chapter
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 1: twenty four. End of More Tuckme In Stories by enos
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 1: Benjamin Comstock.