Latest / Classic Adventure Books Collection / 12 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner

Transcript

12 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner · Classic Adventure Books Collection

• 0:00
  Chapter twelve Jinseng. What doctor mc allister ever did before Henry began to work
• 0:07
  for him would be hard to guess. There were certainly as many duties always
• 0:12
  waiting for him as he had time to do, and it made no difference
• 0:15
  to the industrious boy what the job was. Nothing was too hard or too
• 0:20
  dirty for him to attempt. One day, the doctor set him at the
• 0:24
  task of clearing out his little laboratory. The boy washed bottles, pasted labels,
• 0:31
  and cleaned instruments for one whole morning, and more than one broken flask
• 0:35
  on its way to the rubbish heap, was carefully carried up the hill to
• 0:39
  the hidden family. While Henry was busy carefully lettering a sticky label, he
• 0:45
  noticed a young man in the outer office who was talking with a doctor.
• 0:50
  Can you tell me if this is real? Jinsing. Henry heard him say,
• 0:54
  it certainly is, returned, doctor mc allister. They will give you
• 0:57
  two dollars a pound for the route at any of the drug stores. Henry
• 1:02
  ventured to steal a peep and found he could readily see the plant the man
• 1:06
  was holding. It was about a foot high with branching leaves and a fine
• 1:11
  feathery white flower. Henry knew it was exactly the same white puffball that he
• 1:18
  had noticed in Violet's vase that very morning, when the young man had gone,
• 1:23
  Henry said, I know where I can find a whole lot of that
• 1:26
  plant? Is that? So, replied the doctor kindly. It's only the
• 1:30
  root, you know, that is valuable, But anyone who wants the bother
• 1:34
  of digging it up can sell any quantity of that. When Henry went home
• 1:38
  at noon, he related enough of this incident to set his sisters to work
• 1:44
  in good earnest. They started out with both knives and two strong iron spoons
• 1:49
  and the kettle, and with Benny to run about finding every white flower he
• 1:53
  could. The girl succeeded with a great deal of hard digging in finding enormous
• 1:59
  quantity of jinseng root. In fact, that first afternoon's work resulted in a
• 2:05
  kettleful, not counting a single leaf or stem. Henry was delighted when he
• 2:10
  saw the result of their work, and took it next day to the largest
• 2:15
  drug store, where he received three dollars for the roots. Without any hesitation.
• 2:21
  Henry paid a visit to the dry goods store and came home with a
• 2:23
  pair of new brown stockings for Benny. That was a great day in the
• 2:29
  woods. Benny gave them no piece at all until they had admired his wonderful
• 2:32
  new stockings and felt of each rib. There had been one other thing that
• 2:38
  Benny had given them no peace about. On the night when the children had
• 2:42
  crept so quietly away from the baker's wife, Jess had forgotten to take Benny's
• 2:46
  baar. This bear was a poor looking creature which had once been an expensive,
• 2:53
  bright eyed teddy bear made of brown plush. But Benny had taken it
• 2:57
  to bed every single night for three years, and had loved it by day,
• 3:00
  so that it was not attractive to any one but himself. Both eyes
• 3:06
  were gone, and its body was very limp. But Benny had certainly suffered
• 3:09
  a great deal trying to sleep in a strange bed without his beloved bear.
• 3:15
  Jess therefore had plans on foot the moment she saw Benny's new stockings, she
• 3:21
  washed the old brown stockings with their many neat darns and hung them up to
• 3:25
  dry, and early in the afternoon she and Violet sat with a work bag
• 3:30
  between them, each with a stocking with Benny sitting by to watch proceedings,
• 3:37
  Jess mapped out a remarkable teddy bear. One stocking carefully trimmed, made the
• 3:43
  head and body, while the other furnished material for two arms, two legs,
• 3:47
  and the stuffing. Jess worked hard over the head, pushing the padding
• 3:53
  well into the blunt nose. Violet embroidered two beautiful eyes in black and white,
• 3:59
  and a jet black nose tip. You must make a tail, too,
• 4:02
  Jessy, said Benny, watching her snip the brown rags. Bears don't
• 4:08
  have tails, Benny argued Jess, although she wasn't exactly sure, she was
• 4:12
  right. Your old bear didn't have any tail, you know. But this
• 4:16
  bear has a tail, though, returned Benny, knowing that Jess would put
• 4:20
  on two tails if he insisted. And it was true, his bear finally
• 4:26
  did have a tail. What kind of tail, asked Jess helplessly. At
• 4:31
  last, bushy long and slim or cotton tail long and slim, decided Benny
• 4:40
  with great satisfaction. So I can pull it, Penny, cried Jess,
• 4:45
  laughing in spite of herself. But she made a tail long and slim,
• 4:50
  exactly as Benny ordered, and sewed it on very tightly, so that it
• 4:55
  might be pulled if desired. She fastened on the legs and arms with flat
• 5:00
  hinges so the bear might sit down easily, and added at last a pair
• 5:04
  of cunning flappy ears and a gay collar of braided red string from a bundle.
• 5:11
  What's his name, Jesse, inquired Benny, when the wonderful bear was
• 5:15
  finally handed over to him. His name, repeated Jess. Well you know
• 5:19
  he's a new bear. He isn't your old one, so I wouldn't call
• 5:24
  him Teddy. Oh no, said Benny, shocked. This is not Teddy.
• 5:30
  This has a pretty tail, of course, agreed Jess, trying not
• 5:34
  to laugh. Well, you know we sold that Jin Sang to pay for
• 5:39
  your new stockings, and if you hadn't had your new ones, we couldn't
• 5:43
  have made this bear out of your old ones. You want his name to
• 5:46
  be Stockings, asked Benny politely. Stockings, no, answered Jess. I
• 5:51
  was thinking of Jin Sing Jin Sing, echoed Benny, sinking deeply. That's
• 5:59
  an nice name, all right. I think Jensen will be a good bear
• 6:03
  if what she doesn't bark at him. And from that moment the bear's name
• 6:09
  was Jinseng as long as he lived, and he lived to be a very
• 6:14
  old bear. Indeed, end of Chapter twelve,