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Tale of Daddy Longlegs Version 2 - Arthur Scott Bailey · Daddy-Long-Legs

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by
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  Speaker 1: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
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  Speaker 1: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
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  Speaker 1: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot o r G read
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  Speaker 1: by Brad Wilson. The Tale of Daddy long Legs by
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  Speaker 1: Arthur Scott Bailey. The Strange Tracks. There was a great
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  Speaker 1: excitement in the neighborhood of Farmer Green's house. Rusty Wren
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  Speaker 1: had found some strange tracks, and nobody knew whose they were. Now.
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  Speaker 1: When they were puzzled like that, the field and forest
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  Speaker 1: folk usually went straight to mister Crow for advice. But
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  Speaker 1: this time it happened that the old gentleman had gone
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  Speaker 1: on an excursion to the further side of Blue Mountain,
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  Speaker 1: where Brownie Beaver lived, and there seemed to be no
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  Speaker 1: one else at hand who was likely to be able
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  Speaker 1: to explain the mystery. Being quite old, mister Crow was
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  Speaker 1: very wise and people often sought his opinion, though later
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  Speaker 1: they fell into the habit of consulting Daddy long Legs
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  Speaker 1: upon matters they did not understand. But this was before
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  Speaker 1: Daddy was known in Pleasant Valley. Upon hearing Rusty Wren's news,
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  Speaker 1: a good many of his neighbors hurried to the place
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  Speaker 1: where Rusty had noticed the strange tracks. They were there
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  Speaker 1: in the dust of the road. Rusty Wren explained to
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  Speaker 1: his friends. I could see them plainly, I assure you,
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  Speaker 1: And there's no doubt that a large company crossed the
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  Speaker 1: road right here. Why can't we see the tracks now?
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  Speaker 1: Several people wanted to know a horse and wagon passed
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  Speaker 1: this way and spoiled the footprints. Rusty said they couldn't
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  Speaker 1: have been very big. Somebody remarked, well, no, Rusty Wren admitted,
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  Speaker 1: I shouldn't call them big, but they certainly weren't as
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  Speaker 1: small as the footprints of an aunt. When they heard that,
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  Speaker 1: some of Rusty's friends looked relieved. We don't need to
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  Speaker 1: worry anyhow, a number of them said to one another.
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  Speaker 1: But there was one that was disappointed. That was Reddy Woodpecker.
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  Speaker 1: Why the strangers, whoever they are, are too small for
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  Speaker 1: me to fight, he cried, And here I've wasted all
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  Speaker 1: this time for nothing at all. He looked so angrily
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  Speaker 1: at Rusty Wren that Rusty felt very uneasy. He certainly
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  Speaker 1: didn't want Reddy Woodpecker to fight him. Luckily, Reddy did
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  Speaker 1: not attack Rusty, but he went away grumbling, and Rusty
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  Speaker 1: Wren couldn't help feeling a bit worried. Never mind what
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  Speaker 1: Rowdy says, little mister Chippy advised Rusty Wren. After the
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  Speaker 1: quarrelsome ready Woodpecker had gone away. I'm glad you told
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  Speaker 1: me about those strange tracks. I lived near by in
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  Speaker 1: the wild grapevine on the stone wall, and I shall
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  Speaker 1: watch for more tracks and those that make them too.
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  Speaker 1: Let me know when you learn anything new, said Rusty Wren,
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  Speaker 1: and mister Chippy said that nothing would please him more
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  Speaker 1: than to do just that. Well, the very next day,
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  Speaker 1: mister Chippy's son, Chippy Junior, knocked at Rusty Wren's door,
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  Speaker 1: which was right beneath Farmer Green's chamber window, and told
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  Speaker 1: Rusty that he was wanted by the roadside. At once,
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  Speaker 1: Sir Rusty flew straight to the stone wall, where he
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  Speaker 1: found little mister Chippy. All a flutter, Mister Chippy dropped
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  Speaker 1: quickly into the road, pointing to some tiny marks in
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  Speaker 1: the dust. Are those like the tracks you saw? He asked? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: the very same, cried Rusty Wren. And now you can
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  Speaker 1: see for yourself that there must have been a crowd.
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  Speaker 1: To his surprise, mister Chippy shook his head. There was
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  Speaker 1: only one person, he said, one person with eight legs.
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  Speaker 1: Why do you think that, Rusty Wren asked him doubtfully.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think it, I know it, mister Chippy replied,
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  Speaker 1: I've seen the person six times today with my own eyes.
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  Speaker 1: What does he look like, Rusty Wren inquired, Like nobody
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  Speaker 1: else I ever saw, mister Chippy exclaimed. His legs are
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  Speaker 1: long and thin, and his body is very small, and
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  Speaker 1: though his mouth makes me think of a pair of pincers,
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  Speaker 1: he seems quite friendly and harmless. What's his name, asked
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  Speaker 1: Rusty Wren. I don't know, said mister Chippy, but there's
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  Speaker 1: only one name that fits him. I've already called him
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  Speaker 1: by it, and he seemed to like it too. What's that,
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  Speaker 1: Rusty persisted. Daddy Longlegs, said little mister Chippy.
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  Speaker 2: End of Chapter one, section two of the Tale of
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  Speaker 2: Daddy Lung Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a
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  Speaker 2: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 2: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot
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  Speaker 2: Org recording by Alan Lawley. The Tale of Daddy lung
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  Speaker 2: Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. The new neighbor or the
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  Speaker 2: neighbors began to call him Daddy long Legs, and any
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  Speaker 2: one might naturally think that he had lived in Pleasant
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  Speaker 2: Valley a great many years. But it was not so
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  Speaker 2: late in the summer Daddy long Legs had appeared from
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  Speaker 2: nobody knew where. Although people often inquired where his old
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  Speaker 2: home was, he always pretended that he didn't hear them
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  Speaker 2: and began to talk about the weather and as But
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  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs knew home in Pleasant Valley, nobody knew
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  Speaker 2: much about that either. No matter how curious any one
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  Speaker 2: might be, it did him no good at all to us,
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  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs where he lived. When prying persons put
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  Speaker 2: that question to him, Daddy long Legs always waved his
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  Speaker 2: eight legs in every direction and answered over there. Of course,
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  Speaker 2: such a reply told nothing to anyone, and it led
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  Speaker 2: to a good many disputes among Daddy long legs neighbors.
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  Speaker 2: No two could ever agree as to which of Daddy's
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  Speaker 2: legs really pointed toward the place where he dwelt. Anyhow,
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  Speaker 2: the wily gentleman was frequently seen scrambling about the stone
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  Speaker 2: wall by the roadside near Farmer Green's house, and little
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  Speaker 2: mister Chippy, who made his home in the wild grapevine
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  Speaker 2: that grew on the wall, always claimed that Daddy long
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  Speaker 2: Legs was a neighbor of his. He's a good neighbor too,
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  Speaker 2: mister Chippy told his friends. He's very quiet, and he
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  Speaker 2: never quarrels, and he's always pleas't and ready for a chat.
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  Speaker 2: It's too bad that he's deaf. I've asked him at
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  Speaker 2: least a dozen times how old he is, but he
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  Speaker 2: never seems to hear me.
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  Speaker 3: Oh.
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  Speaker 2: Mister Crow, who liked nothing better than prying into other
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  Speaker 2: people's affairs, slowly shook his head at that, and, coughing slightly,
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  Speaker 2: he remarked in a hoarse voice that there must be
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  Speaker 2: reasons why Daddy long Legs wouldn't tell where he came from,
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  Speaker 2: nor where he was living, nor how old he was.
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  Speaker 2: But mister Crow wouldn't say what he thought might be
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  Speaker 2: the reasons. Although he was a wise bird, there were
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  Speaker 2: some things he didn't know. Now, in a way, mister
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  Speaker 2: Crow was right. Daddy long Legs had the best of
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  Speaker 2: reasons for keeping some facts to himself. In the first place,
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  Speaker 2: he had never lived anywhere except in Pleasant Valley. In
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  Speaker 2: the second place, he was scarcely more than two months
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  Speaker 2: old when people began to notice him in the neighborhood
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  Speaker 2: of the Stone Wall, And in the third place, since
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  Speaker 2: he was somewhat timid, he thought it just as well
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  Speaker 2: if people didn't know where he made his home. He was,
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  Speaker 2: as his friends often said, an odd person. For instance,
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  Speaker 2: he had always looked old from the very first, and
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  Speaker 2: when everyone began to call him Daddy, it was only
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  Speaker 2: to be expected that he would not care to let
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  Speaker 2: people know that he was not even a year old
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  Speaker 2: instead of ninety or a hundred, as they supposed. Besides,
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  Speaker 2: probably nobody would have believed the truth, so he never
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  Speaker 2: told his age. Indeed, there were some who claimed that
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  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs must be much more than only a
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  Speaker 2: hundred years old. They thought that his queer tottering walk
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  Speaker 2: alone was enough to show his great age. But it
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  Speaker 2: is not strange that his walk seemed a bit uncertain.
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  Speaker 2: When a person has eight feet, it is to be
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  Speaker 2: expected that he will have a little trouble managing them.
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  Speaker 2: It is to be expected that he will sometimes find
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  Speaker 2: himself trying to walk off in several different directions at
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  Speaker 2: the same time. And of section two.
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  Speaker 4: Chapter three of The Tale of Daddy long Legs by
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  Speaker 4: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
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  Speaker 4: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Cavender Lane,
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  Speaker 4: Mister Crow is displeased. Daddy Longlegs had such pleasant manners
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  Speaker 4: that it was no time at all before his neighbors
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  Speaker 4: agreed that he was a good old soul, and everybody
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  Speaker 4: was glad to claim him as friend, at least everybody
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  Speaker 4: but mister Crow. Mister Crow soon found that people were
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  Speaker 4: asking Daddy's advice on all sorts of questions because they
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  Speaker 4: thought he was very old and therefore very wise, And
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  Speaker 4: mister Crow at once became so jealous that he didn't
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  Speaker 4: know what to do. He began making unkind remarks about
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  Speaker 4: his new rival, saying that no matter how old a
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  Speaker 4: person might be, if he had a small head and
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  Speaker 4: eight long legs, it was not reasonable to believe that
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  Speaker 4: he could have much of a brain. Whenever anybody mentioned
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  Speaker 4: Daddy's name, mister Crow would haw hawl loudly and mutter
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  Speaker 4: something about old spindly legs. Mister Crow had spent many
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  Speaker 4: summers in Pleasant Valley, and during that time he had
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  Speaker 4: advised thousands of his neighbors. Indeed, he often boasted that
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  Speaker 4: if he had a kernel of corn for every bit
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  Speaker 4: of advice he had given away, he never would have
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  Speaker 4: to wonder where he was going to get his next meal.
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  Speaker 4: When some friend of mister Crow's repeated that speech to
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  Speaker 4: Daddy long Legs, he observed that mister Crow must be
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  Speaker 4: very wise. No doubt, he added, in his thin, quavering voice,
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  Speaker 4: No doubt mister Crow's help would be worth a carnel
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  Speaker 4: of corn to anybody who was in trouble. If his
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  Speaker 4: advice was good, no one could object to paying for it,
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  Speaker 4: and if it proved to be bad, no one would
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  Speaker 4: miss a carnel of corn. It happened that Daddy long
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  Speaker 4: Legs's comment soon reached the ears of old mister Crow,
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  Speaker 4: and it made that gentleman furious. This is the first
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  Speaker 4: time anybody has suggested that my advice is not always
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  Speaker 4: first class, he croaked. Here's this long legged upstart interfering
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  Speaker 4: in my affairs. I must teach him a lesson. Mister
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  Speaker 4: Crow declared, well, that very afternoon he challenged Daddy long
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  Speaker 4: Legs to a contest. I intend to prove, said mister Crow,
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  Speaker 4: that my advice is always good and that yours is
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  Speaker 4: always bad. Very well, Daddy long Legs answered, but I
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  Speaker 4: advise you to go home at once. Mister Crow, you're
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  Speaker 4: very hoarse, and I'm sure you ought to be in
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  Speaker 4: bed now. The old gentleman was always hoarse, and since
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  Speaker 4: he disliked to have anyone mention his infirmity, his eyes
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  Speaker 4: snapped angrily. I advise you, he roared, I advise you
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  Speaker 4: to keep your advice to yourself. Of course, that was
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  Speaker 4: a rude speech, but Daddy long Legs did not take
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  Speaker 4: offense at all. He straightway told mister Crow that he
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  Speaker 4: ought to wear rubbers, and mister Crow was so enraged
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  Speaker 4: that he couldn't speak for as much as half an hour.
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  Speaker 4: It was understood that the contest between Daddy and mister
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  Speaker 4: Crow would take place the following morning, and when that
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  Speaker 4: time came, a big crowd had gathered upon the stone
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  Speaker 4: wall to see the fun.
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  Speaker 5: End of chapter three Chapter four of the Tale of
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  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 5: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 14:03
  Speaker 5: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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  Speaker 5: by Vic Treviz, Aennot, Vancouver, Washington. The Tale of Daddy
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  Speaker 5: Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. The contest. My cousin Jasper
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  Speaker 5: Jay has kindly consented to ask us some questions, mister
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  Speaker 5: Crow informed Daddy Longlegs, and he will decide which of
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  Speaker 5: us makes the wiser answers. Buster Bumblebee, who was watching
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  Speaker 5: and listening, said that's hardly fair, it seems to me.
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  Speaker 5: But old mister Crow quickly told him that he was
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  Speaker 5: a stupid fellow and that he'd better keep still. And
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  Speaker 5: since a good many other people had frequently said the
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  Speaker 5: same thing to that young gentleman, Buster began to think
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  Speaker 5: there might be some truth in it, so said nothing more. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs beamed upon all the company, and mister Crow
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  Speaker 5: looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
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  Speaker 5: Then he said to Daddy, I suppose you've no objection
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  Speaker 5: to this plan. It suits me very well. Daddy replied,
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  Speaker 5: I thought it would, said old mister Crow with a smirk,
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  Speaker 5: and turning to his cousin Jasper Jay, he remarked in
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  Speaker 5: a low voice that Daddy Longlegs was even duller than
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  Speaker 5: he had imagined. Then Jasper Jay announced that he would
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  Speaker 5: put the first question, and after he had heard mister
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  Speaker 5: Crow's opinion, he would listen to Daddy Longlegs. When is
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  Speaker 5: the best time to plant corn? Jasper then asked mister Crow.
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  Speaker 5: While the whole company craned their necks and strained their ears,
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  Speaker 5: for of course, they didn't want to miss anything. Mister
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  Speaker 5: Crow made no answer. For a few moments he appeared
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  Speaker 5: to be thinking deeply, but at last he looked up
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  Speaker 5: and said, said the best time to plant corn is
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  Speaker 5: as early as possible. A good many of those present
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  Speaker 5: exclaimed at once that that was a good answer, and
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  Speaker 5: a few clapped their hands. What's your opinion, Jasper Jay
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  Speaker 5: then asked, turning to Daddy long Legs. Daddy long Legs
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  Speaker 5: took off his hat, mopped his narrow forehead with his
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  Speaker 5: red bandanna, and then slowly nodded his head three times.
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  Speaker 5: My answer is exactly the same as mister Crow's, he
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  Speaker 5: piped in his queer, thin high voice. At that, a
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  Speaker 5: look of displeasure passed quickly over the faces of the
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  Speaker 5: two cousins, and when little mister Chippy called on Jasper
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  Speaker 5: Jay to decide which was the better answer, Jasper looked
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  Speaker 5: really worried. Misa Tie this time he said somewhat sourly,
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  Speaker 5: and while everybody was shouting, he and mister Crow withdrew
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  Speaker 5: to one side and whispered, which some can considered to
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  Speaker 5: be rather bad manners. Soon Jasper and mister Crow returned
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  Speaker 5: to the eager throng, and Jasper now looked as brazen
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  Speaker 5: as ever. I'll put the next question, he announced, and
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  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs may answer first. How many kernels of corn
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  Speaker 5: make a meal? There wasn't a sound except for buster
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  Speaker 5: Bumblebee's buzzing as Daddy Longlegs moved forward a few steps
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  Speaker 5: and held his hand behind his ear. Speak louder, somebody
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  Speaker 5: said to Jasper you know he's hard of hearing. So
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  Speaker 5: Jasper Jay repeated the question, but Daddy Longlegs only looked
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  Speaker 5: at him blankly. It was quite clear that he couldn't
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  Speaker 5: understand a single word that Jasper said. End of Chapter four,
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  Speaker 5: Chapter five of the Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
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  Speaker 5: Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Vic Trevizennitt, Vancouver, Washington.
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  Speaker 5: The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. Too
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  Speaker 5: many questions. This is strange, old mister Crow exclaimed, looking
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  Speaker 5: very hard at Daddy Longlegs. You heard the first question
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  Speaker 5: easily enough, but now you seem deaf as a post.
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  Speaker 5: And all the time Daddy Longlegs merely smiled at mister Crow.
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  Speaker 5: He made no comment at all. Don't you know what
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  Speaker 5: I'm saying? Mister Crow bawled in his loudest tones. It
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  Speaker 5: is a play, said Daddy long Legs. But I'm afraid
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  Speaker 5: there's going to be a heavy gale tomorrow. This is
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  Speaker 5: certainly peculiar, mister Crow grumbled, And then little mister Chippy
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  Speaker 5: hastened to explain that Daddy long Legs was often like that.
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  Speaker 5: He would appear to hear you perfectly one moment, and
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  Speaker 5: then if you happen to ask him his age or
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  Speaker 5: where he came from, you might find him unable to
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  Speaker 5: understand a single word that you said. It's most unfortunate,
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  Speaker 5: said old mister Crow. I see nothing to do, but
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  Speaker 5: replied to the question myself, and then my cousin, Jasper Jay,
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  Speaker 5: will decide which has given the better answer, Daddy long
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  Speaker 5: Legs or I. Oh, but you can't do that, cried
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  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs. Suddenly, Jasper Jay said, you were not to
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  Speaker 5: answer this question until after I had, and you know
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  Speaker 5: you mustn't break the rules of the contest. Old mister
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  Speaker 5: Crowe's mouth fell open. He was so astonished. Why he
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  Speaker 5: can hear again, he exclaimed, and after staring at Daddy
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  Speaker 5: long Legs for a while, he beckoned to Jasper Jay
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  Speaker 5: and again The two cousins moved a little distance away
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  Speaker 5: and began whispering. When they returned, both were smiling broadly
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  Speaker 5: and mounting the stone wall once more. Jasper said that
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  Speaker 5: he would put another question to Daddy and mister Crow,
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  Speaker 5: and that they must both answer it at the same time.
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  Speaker 5: Then he cautioned Daddy long Legs to speak up good
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  Speaker 5: and loud, because mister Crow had a strong voice. I'd suggest,
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  Speaker 5: said Daddy Longlegs. I'd suggest that mister Crow speak as
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  Speaker 5: softly as possible, because my voice is weak. That's only fair.
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  Speaker 5: All the company agreed, nodding their heads to one another.
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  Speaker 5: But mister Crow appeared peevish. Everybody's against me, he grumbled.
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  Speaker 5: I almost believe, he said, turning to his cousin, I
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  Speaker 5: almost believe they're all in league with Farmer Green. If
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  Speaker 5: you're not sure, why don't you ask Farmer Green himself?
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  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs inquired. I will, cried mister Crow in a
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  Speaker 5: loud voice. I'll ask him the next time I see him.
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  Speaker 5: Then you can ask him, now, said Daddy long Legs.
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  Speaker 5: For here he comes with a gun on his shoulder.
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  Speaker 5: The words were hardly out of Daddy's mouth when old
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  Speaker 5: mister Crow began to beat the air furiously with his
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  Speaker 5: broad wings. He rose quickly, but not too high, and
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  Speaker 5: made for the woods as fast as he could fly.
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  Speaker 5: Now that's strange, Daddy Longlegs quavered. I don't see how
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  Speaker 5: he's going to talk with Farmer Green when he is
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  Speaker 5: half a mile away from him, And everybody else said
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  Speaker 5: the same thing. He's gone off and left the contest unfinished,
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  Speaker 5: little mister Chippy observed, So there's nothing Jasper Jay can
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  Speaker 5: do except to declare that Daddy long Legs is the
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  Speaker 5: winner and the wisest person in Pleasant Valley. I couldn't
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  Speaker 5: very well do that, Jasper objected, You're forgetting Solomon Owl. Well,
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  Speaker 5: Daddy's wiser than old mister Crow. Anyhow, mister Chippy retorted,
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  Speaker 5: And since almost everybody said that was true, Jasper Jay
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  Speaker 5: didn't quite dare object, but it was plain that he
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  Speaker 5: didn't agree with the company, and he stamped his feet
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  Speaker 5: and clashed his bill together and shook his head as
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: if he were much displeased. He too began to believe,
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: with his cousin mister Crow, that Daddy lung Legs and
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: all the others were on Farmer Green's side. End of
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: chapter five.
• 23:02
  Speaker 6: Chapter six of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 23:04
  Speaker 6: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 23:09
  Speaker 6: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 23:12
  Speaker 6: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Melissa Griffin,
• 23:17
  Speaker 6: The Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey.
• 23:19
  Speaker 6: Missus Ladybug's plan, Daddy Longlegs's neighbors took an even greater
• 23:24
  Speaker 6: interest in him after his contest with mister Crow, and
• 23:28
  Speaker 6: much to Daddy's distress, they tried harder than before to
• 23:30
  Speaker 6: pry into his private affairs. But those curious, busybodies learned
• 23:34
  Speaker 6: very little. In fact, there's only one of them who
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: really found out anything about Daddy that was worth knowing.
• 23:40
  Speaker 6: Little missus Ladybug, who was somewhat of a gossip discovered
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: in some way that Daddy long Legs was a harvest man,
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: and she lost no time in spreading the news far
• 23:49
  Speaker 6: and wide. She even traveled as far as the Big
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: Poplar to tell Whiteface the carpenter b what she had heard.
• 23:56
  Speaker 6: A harvest man, Ah, said the carpenter, thrusting his hands
• 23:59
  Speaker 6: in the pockets of his apron. If that's so, why
• 24:02
  Speaker 6: doesn't he go to work? And without waiting for an answer,
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: he dodged quickly inside his house. He was building an
• 24:08
  Speaker 6: addition to his home, and naturally he was quite busy.
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: He knew too, that Missus Ladybug was a terrible talker.
• 24:15
  Speaker 6: I declare, I hadn't thought of that, missus Ladybug exclaimed,
• 24:19
  Speaker 6: and then she hastened to the stone wall to find
• 24:21
  Speaker 6: Daddy long Legs and learn the answer the carpenter's question.
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: Missus Ladybug soon spied Daddy come in from the orchard nearby,
• 24:28
  Speaker 6: and she saw him before he saw her, had no
• 24:31
  Speaker 6: chance to hide. He was sorry for he just knew
• 24:34
  Speaker 6: from the look in her eye that she was going
• 24:36
  Speaker 6: to ask him a question, and sure enough she did.
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: You're a harvest man, She began, quite out of breath
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: from hurrying, Why don't you go to work? What can
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: I do? Daddy inquired with a blank look. Do she exclaimed,
• 24:49
  Speaker 6: I should think Farmer Green would be glad to have
• 24:51
  Speaker 6: your help in harvesting his crops. He's mowing his oats now,
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: and there's no one to help him except the hired man,
• 24:58
  Speaker 6: unless you count Johnny. He spends most of his time
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: at the swimming hole. Daddy Longlegs thank missus Ladybug politely
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: for her suggestion, but he said that he was not
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: acquainted with Farmer Green, and he disliked working for strangers,
• 25:12
  Speaker 6: and he thought he would spend the rest of the
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: summer making friends with his neighbors. Next year, he told her,
• 25:17
  Speaker 6: I may make some arrangement with Farmer Green to work
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: for him regularly, But that answer did not satisfy a little,
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: missus Ladybug. In the least, you'd be far better off
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: with something steady to do, she insisted, And she said
• 25:28
  Speaker 6: so much that, just to get rid of her, Daddy
• 25:30
  Speaker 6: Longleggs promised to see Farmer Green at once and offer
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: his services. He was sorry as soon as she had
• 25:36
  Speaker 6: gone that he had agreed to do that, But being
• 25:39
  Speaker 6: a person of his word, he never once thought of
• 25:41
  Speaker 6: not keeping his promise. Though he wished he had simply
• 25:44
  Speaker 6: put his hand behind his ear and not answered Missus
• 25:47
  Speaker 6: Ladybug's question at all, but it was too late than
• 25:50
  Speaker 6: to do that. Into chapter six.
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: Chapter seven of The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 26:09
  Speaker 5: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 26:13
  Speaker 5: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Vic Trevis Ennitt, Vancouver, Washington.
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. Trying
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: to help. It was true that Farmer Green had almost
• 26:33
  Speaker 5: more work than he could do just then, even with
• 26:36
  Speaker 5: the aid of the hired man and Johnny, and he
• 26:39
  Speaker 5: often wished that he might find somebody else to help him.
• 26:44
  Speaker 5: I'd hire anybody I could find that had two legs,
• 26:47
  Speaker 5: he remarked to his wife as he started away from
• 26:49
  Speaker 5: the house after finishing his dinner. I want to get
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: the oats harvested before there's a rain, and I don't
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: like the looks of the sky today. Now, Daddy long
• 27:00
  Speaker 5: Legs reached the farm house just in time to hear
• 27:02
  Speaker 5: what Farmer Green said, and he spoke up at once
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: as loudly as he could. I'd be willing to work
• 27:10
  Speaker 5: for you, he said. I'm a harvestman, and you ought
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: to be glad to hire me, for I have eight
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: legs instead of only two. Perhaps Daddy's voice was too
• 27:21
  Speaker 5: thin and high for Farmer Green to hear. Anyhow, he
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: paid not the slightest heed to Daddy's offer, but strode
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: off across the farmyard while his collar cried stop, please
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: stop at the top of his lungs. Then Daddy heard
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: a noise which he was sure was thunder, though it
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: was only Farmer Green calling to the hired man to hurry. Well,
• 27:45
  Speaker 5: I've tried to go to work anyhow, Daddy long Legs
• 27:48
  Speaker 5: assured himself, And if the oats get wet, Farmer Green
• 27:51
  Speaker 5: can't blame me. He went back to the stone wall then,
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: and seeing mister Chippy perched on the wild grape vine,
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: Daddy told him what had happened. Farmer Green must be
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: deaf at times, the same as you are. Little mister
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: Chippy observed. If I were you, I'd write him a letter.
• 28:11
  Speaker 5: Daddy Longlegs pretended not to hear mister Chippy's suggestion. The
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: truth was, being only a few months old, Daddy did
• 28:19
  Speaker 5: not know how to write, but of course he did
• 28:23
  Speaker 5: not care to have mister Chippy know that well. While
• 28:27
  Speaker 5: he pondered upon the situation, Daddy Longlegs changed his mind
• 28:31
  Speaker 5: about working for Farmer Green. In the beginning, he had
• 28:35
  Speaker 5: not wanted to help with the harvesting. He had taken
• 28:38
  Speaker 5: up Missus Ladybug's suggestion only to keep her quiet. But
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: now having found that going to work for Farmer Green
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: was no easy matter to arrange, Daddy Longlegs began to
• 28:50
  Speaker 5: long to do the very thing he had wished to avoid.
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: At last, he decided that he would go over to
• 28:56
  Speaker 5: the oat field at once and do what he could
• 29:00
  Speaker 5: help with the harvesting, without saying anything more to anybody.
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: Farmer Green can't help but be pleased, he thought, as
• 29:08
  Speaker 5: he started off across the farmyard in the same direction
• 29:11
  Speaker 5: in which Johnny Green's father had gone when he called
• 29:14
  Speaker 5: to the hired man to hurry. Daddy had not gone
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: far before he met Buster Bumblebee. How far is it
• 29:21
  Speaker 5: to the oat field, Daddy asked him, Oh, it's not
• 29:25
  Speaker 5: ten minutes, journey, said Buster. I've just come from the
• 29:28
  Speaker 5: clover patch myself, and that's twice as far. Daddy Longlegs
• 29:33
  Speaker 5: thanked him, and then he turned and tottered on again.
• 29:37
  Speaker 5: For a long time, he walked as fast as he could.
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: It seemed to him that he must have been traveling
• 29:43
  Speaker 5: at least half an hour, but he saw not the
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: slightest side of the oat field, though he climbed a
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: fence and peered across the rolling meadow. Then he happened
• 29:53
  Speaker 5: to catch sight of Chirpy Cricket hopping through the grass,
• 29:57
  Speaker 5: and Daddy called to him and asked him how far
• 29:59
  Speaker 5: it was to the oat field. It's a good half
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: day's journey from here, said Chirpy Cricket cheerfully. But Daddy
• 30:06
  Speaker 5: long Legs did not feel the least bit cheerful when
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: he heard that for the land's sake, he exclaimed, Are
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: you sure you're not mistaken? Buster Bumblebee told me a
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: long time ago that it was only a ten minute trip. Ah,
• 30:22
  Speaker 5: so it is for him, said Chirpy Cricket. He must
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: remember that he flies very fast, but I have to
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: hop along much more slowly. And as for you, at
• 30:34
  Speaker 5: the pace you were traveling before you stopped to speak
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: to me, you wouldn't reach the oat field before tomorrow morning. No,
• 30:42
  Speaker 5: not even if you walked all night. End of chapter seven.
• 30:54
  Speaker 6: The Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey,
• 30:58
  Speaker 6: read by Melissa Griffin. This is a LibriVox recording. All
• 31:02
  Speaker 6: LibriVox recordings are on the public domain. For more information
• 31:06
  Speaker 6: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Chapter eight,
• 31:11
  Speaker 6: in Need of new Shoes, Daddy Longlegs couldn't help feeling
• 31:15
  Speaker 6: discouraged when Chirpy Cricket told him that he wouldn't be
• 31:18
  Speaker 6: able to reach the oatfield before the next morning. I declare,
• 31:22
  Speaker 6: he said, if I had known it was such a
• 31:24
  Speaker 6: long journey, I wouldn't have tried to go there to
• 31:26
  Speaker 6: help Farmer Green with his harvesting. I've already walked so
• 31:30
  Speaker 6: far that my shoes are all worn out, and I
• 31:32
  Speaker 6: can neither go on nor go back until I get
• 31:35
  Speaker 6: some new ones. He looked very doleful, for he didn't
• 31:38
  Speaker 6: know what to do. But Chirpy Cricket laughed merrily, as
• 31:42
  Speaker 6: was his custom. Cheer up, he cried, you're in luck.
• 31:46
  Speaker 6: Jimmy Rabbit has a shoe shop in this very meadow.
• 31:49
  Speaker 6: Just follow me and i'll show you where it is.
• 31:52
  Speaker 6: So off they went, and soon they arrived at the
• 31:54
  Speaker 6: shoe shop, in front of which they found Jimmy Rabbit,
• 31:57
  Speaker 6: all smiles and bows. Here's a friend of mine who
• 32:00
  Speaker 6: needs some new shoes, Chirpy Cricket announced, Come right in,
• 32:04
  Speaker 6: cried Jimmy Rabbit. Any friend of Chirpy Cricket's is a
• 32:07
  Speaker 6: friend of mine too, And if I can't fit your
• 32:10
  Speaker 6: feet with shoes, it won't be my fault. Only yesterday
• 32:13
  Speaker 6: I sold a pair of shoes to old mister Crow,
• 32:16
  Speaker 6: and his feet are enormous, as everyone knows well, I
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: want more than just one pair, Daddy long Legs piped up.
• 32:23
  Speaker 6: I went four making eight shoes at all, and I
• 32:26
  Speaker 6: flatter myself that my feet are very small. He added,
• 32:30
  Speaker 6: Jimmy Rabbit looked a bit surprised at that remark. He
• 32:32
  Speaker 6: was not accustomed to seeing eight legged people in his shop,
• 32:36
  Speaker 6: but he made no comment, though he couldn't help staring
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: at his new customer. Meanwhile, Chirpy Cricket had hopped away
• 32:42
  Speaker 6: after telling Daddy that he was leaving him in good hands.
• 32:46
  Speaker 6: And then Jimmy Rabbit went to work briskly. He began
• 32:49
  Speaker 6: setting shoes of all sorts and sizes before Daddy long Legs,
• 32:53
  Speaker 6: and soon he was not only placing them in front
• 32:55
  Speaker 6: of Daddy, but on both sides of him and behind
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: him as Wellimmy Rabbit was so spry and most of
• 33:02
  Speaker 6: the shoes were so big, that in no time at all,
• 33:04
  Speaker 6: Daddy long Legs was completely surrounded by a wall of
• 33:07
  Speaker 6: shoes which rapidly grew higher and higher. Stop Stop, cried
• 33:12
  Speaker 6: Daddy long Legs. But Jimmy Rabbit was so busy that
• 33:15
  Speaker 6: he didn't hear him, and he kept piling more and
• 33:18
  Speaker 6: more shoes around his tiny visitor until Daddy long Legs
• 33:22
  Speaker 6: was lost in a small mountain of big, little, and
• 33:25
  Speaker 6: medium sized shoes of many different colors. Not till then
• 33:29
  Speaker 6: did Jimmy Rabbit pause for breath, and when he saw
• 33:32
  Speaker 6: that his customer had disappeared, he was more than surprised.
• 33:36
  Speaker 6: Where could he have gone, Jimmy exclaimed, I didn't see
• 33:38
  Speaker 6: him go. He was sitting right here a moment ago,
• 33:42
  Speaker 6: and now he's certainly not in my shop. Even at
• 33:45
  Speaker 6: that very moment, Daddy long Legs was frantically crying help, help,
• 33:50
  Speaker 6: but his thin, weak voice was quite muffled by the
• 33:52
  Speaker 6: great heap of shoes that buried him. After waiting for
• 33:56
  Speaker 6: a few minutes, Jimmy Rabbit closed and locked his door
• 33:59
  Speaker 6: and went skipping off the farmer Green's garden where the
• 34:02
  Speaker 6: cabbage crew.
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: End of chapter eight, section nine of The Tale of
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: by Alan Lawley. The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: Scott Bailey. Locked in, poor Daddy Lunglegs buried as he
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: was under dozens of shoes, all of them many times
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: bigger than he was. He couldn't help being alarmed when
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: he heard Jimmy Rabbit walk out of the shoe shop
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: and lock the door behind him. Daddy wished that he
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: had told missus Ladybug in the beginning that he wouldn't
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: help Farmer Green with his harvesting. Then he would never
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: have started on his long journey to the oat field
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: and worn out his shoes. And if he hadn't worn
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: out his shoes, of course, he would never have visited
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: Jimmy Rabbit's shoe shop and got himself into such terrible trouble.
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: He soon saw that he might go for help until
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: his voice was cracked worse than ever without its doing
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: him the least bit of good. So he stopped shouting
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: and began to climb out of the pile of shoes
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: that surrounded him. And he was very glad then that
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: he had eight long legs to help him. But when
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: he found himself free of the shoes, he seemed but
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: little better off than before. There he was a prisoner
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: in the shoe shop, and the daylight was fast fading.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: If Daddy long Legs had been half as wise as
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: his neighbors believed him, he wouldn't have stayed in his
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: prison two minutes. But after trying the door and the
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: two windows, and finding that he couldn't open them, he
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: made up his mind that there was nothing for him
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: to do except to wait until Jimmy Rabbit came back
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: the following day. And there was the chimney all the time.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs could have crawled up it just as
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: easily as Santa Claus could have crept down it. But
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: because he had never left anybody's house or shop by
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: way of the chimney, Daddy long Legs never once thought
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: of doing such a thing, and his thinking that Jimmy
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: Rabbit wouldn't come back until the next morning shows that
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: Daddy knew very little about the ways of his neighbors.
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: Almost anybody else would have been sure that Jimmy Rabbit
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: would keep his shoe shop open at night, because he
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: was always wider awake after dark, and many others in
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: the field people were exactly like him in that respect.
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs had been sleeping soundly for some time
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: inside the toe of a shoe when the sound of
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: voices awakened him. At first, he kept very still, Being
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: naturally a timid person, he did not want to show
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: himself until he was sure he was safe from harm.
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: And then before he realized what was happening, he felt
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: himself picked up, shoe and all, and he heard Jimmy
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: Rabbits say, try on this shoe, Peter Mink. Since there
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: was no doubt the next instant that Peter Mink was
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: thrusting his foot into Daddy's hiding place, there was only
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: one thing for Daddy to do. Knowing that he was
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: in great danger of being crushed, he withdrew into the
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: very tip of the shoe, and lucky for him, Peter
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: Mink's toes did not quite reach him. After that, Daddy
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: long Legs could hear nothing more, nor did he know
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: what was happening. But to make a long story short,
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: Jimmy Rabbit gave Peter Mink another shoe for Peter's other
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: foot and bowed his customer politely out of his shop.
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: After that, Jimmy Rabbit promptly locked the door again, but
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: this time he locked himself in instead of out. You see,
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: he never felt safe in Peter Mink's company. Naturally, Jimmy
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: locked Daddy long Legs out of the shop too, though
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: he didn't know it, And there Peter Mink stood in
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: the moonlit meadow with his new shoes on his feet,
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: and with Daddy Longlegs hidden in the toe of his
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: right shoe. But no matter if it was the right shoe,
• 39:32
  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs thought it was all wrong. End of
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: section nine.
• 39:46
  Speaker 7: Chapter ten of The Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 39:50
  Speaker 7: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 39:55
  Speaker 7: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 39:59
  Speaker 7: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Elizabeth Cocknall.
• 40:05
  Speaker 7: The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey A
• 40:09
  Speaker 7: ride by moonlight. It was not exactly a pleasant ride
• 40:13
  Speaker 7: that Daddy Longlegs had in the toe of Petermink's shoe.
• 40:17
  Speaker 7: Not only was it dark pocket inside the shoe, but
• 40:19
  Speaker 7: it was so cramped that Daddy was most uncomfortable. And
• 40:23
  Speaker 7: what was still worse, he hadn't even the faintest idea
• 40:26
  Speaker 7: where he was going. Sometimes Daddy was almost sure that
• 40:30
  Speaker 7: Petermink was carrying him around Blue Mountain, and at other
• 40:33
  Speaker 7: times he thought that Peter must be following Swift River
• 40:36
  Speaker 7: to see where it went. Perhaps. Anyhow, Daddy suffered such
• 40:40
  Speaker 7: a pitching and tossing and tumbling and chancing as he
• 40:43
  Speaker 7: had never known in all his life. Then, at last,
• 40:47
  Speaker 7: to Daddy's great relief, Petermink kept quite still for a
• 40:50
  Speaker 7: long time. That was when Peter burrowed into a haystack
• 40:53
  Speaker 7: to take a nap, And since it was then many
• 40:56
  Speaker 7: hours past Daddy long Leg's regular bedtime, he went to
• 40:59
  Speaker 7: sleep too. But he awoke with a great start when
• 41:02
  Speaker 7: Peter Mink crawled out of his shelter about dawn. And
• 41:06
  Speaker 7: at first Daddy couldn't imagine what was happening, But after
• 41:09
  Speaker 7: he had been bounced about a bit, he remembered the
• 41:11
  Speaker 7: terrible accident that had happened to him in Jimmy Rabbit's
• 41:14
  Speaker 7: shoe shop in the meadow. Suddenly, Peter Mink stopped, and,
• 41:18
  Speaker 7: to Daddy long Legg's great delight, Peter began to take
• 41:22
  Speaker 7: off his shoes. Yes, Peter Mink removed his shoes, and
• 41:27
  Speaker 7: then he removed himself, that is to say, he dropped
• 41:31
  Speaker 7: his shoes carelessly upon the ground, for that was his way,
• 41:35
  Speaker 7: and took himself off. Daddy Longlegs waited until Peter Mink
• 41:39
  Speaker 7: had stolen away, and then he dashed out of the
• 41:41
  Speaker 7: shoe much faster than he had entered it the evening before, Yes,
• 41:46
  Speaker 7: the evening before. For now it was the following morning
• 41:50
  Speaker 7: and broad daylight. Daddy Longlegs stretched his eight legs, first
• 41:55
  Speaker 7: one after another, and then all together. He was so
• 41:59
  Speaker 7: glad to escape from his cramped quarters that he had
• 42:02
  Speaker 7: little thought for anything except the joy of being free
• 42:05
  Speaker 7: once more. Then he remembered all at once that he
• 42:08
  Speaker 7: was lost, and that was enough to start his eight
• 42:11
  Speaker 7: legs to shake him beneath him in a very unpleasant fashion.
• 42:15
  Speaker 7: Daddy Longlegs was frightened. Anybody could have seen that. After
• 42:19
  Speaker 7: a few moments, he looked about him, wondering which way
• 42:22
  Speaker 7: he had better go, And as he gazed at his surroundings,
• 42:25
  Speaker 7: he saw not far off a familiar looking object. At first,
• 42:30
  Speaker 7: Daddy could scarcely believe his eyes, and he looked steadily
• 42:33
  Speaker 7: at what he saw, as if he half expected it
• 42:36
  Speaker 7: would fly away and vanish. But the object did nothing
• 42:39
  Speaker 7: of the kind, and how could it anyhow, because it
• 42:42
  Speaker 7: was Farmer Green's house that had caught Daddy longlegs eye.
• 42:45
  Speaker 7: And there stood the great barn, too, a little way off,
• 42:49
  Speaker 7: and there was the bridge across the Swift River without
• 42:53
  Speaker 7: knowing what he was doing. Peter Mink had brought Daddy
• 42:55
  Speaker 7: long Legs almost home, and then he had taken off
• 42:59
  Speaker 7: his shoes because he wanted to go for a swim
• 43:01
  Speaker 7: in the duck pond in the hope of catching an
• 43:03
  Speaker 7: eel for his breakfast. Well, Daddy Longlegs lost no time
• 43:07
  Speaker 7: in making his way back to the stone wall by
• 43:09
  Speaker 7: the roadside, and the first person he met there was
• 43:12
  Speaker 7: no other than little Missus Ladybug, who seemed delighted to
• 43:15
  Speaker 7: see him and asked him how he liked working for
• 43:18
  Speaker 7: Farmer Green. Yes, it's a fine day, said Daddy Longlegs.
• 43:22
  Speaker 7: The rain is holding off, and it looks as if
• 43:25
  Speaker 7: Farmer Green was going to get his oats harvested without
• 43:27
  Speaker 7: their being wet after all. I see you're deaf to day,
• 43:31
  Speaker 7: Missus Ladybug observed in a pitying tone. It's a shame,
• 43:35
  Speaker 7: and Farmer Green ought to be very grateful to you
• 43:38
  Speaker 7: for your help. He hasn't said a word to me,
• 43:41
  Speaker 7: Daddy Longlegs told her, and Missus Ladybug declared she couldn't
• 43:45
  Speaker 7: understand it, but there were many other things too that
• 43:48
  Speaker 7: she didn't understand. She had heard that Daddy was a harvestman,
• 43:52
  Speaker 7: but she didn't know that some people called him by
• 43:54
  Speaker 7: that name merely because he was seen in Pleasant Valley
• 43:57
  Speaker 7: about the time Farmer Green harvested his as for working
• 44:01
  Speaker 7: in the fields, Daddy Longlegs knew no more about that
• 44:05
  Speaker 7: than did that fat drone bust a bumblebee, and Farmer
• 44:08
  Speaker 7: Green would have laughed heartily at the idea of either
• 44:12
  Speaker 7: of them helping him. End of chapter ten.
• 44:23
  Speaker 8: Section eleven of the Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 44:27
  Speaker 8: Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 44:32
  Speaker 8: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 44:36
  Speaker 8: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Mari Rubin. The
• 44:40
  Speaker 8: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. The big
• 44:45
  Speaker 8: wind for several days after his unlucky journey across the meadow,
• 44:49
  Speaker 8: when he tried to reach the field where Farmer Green
• 44:52
  Speaker 8: was harvesting his oats, Daddy Longlegs did not wander far
• 44:56
  Speaker 8: from the stone wall. But one day Rusty Wren told
• 44:59
  Speaker 8: him that his cousin long Bill Wren was going to
• 45:02
  Speaker 8: give a party at his house in the reeds on
• 45:04
  Speaker 8: the bank of black Creek, and although he had not
• 45:08
  Speaker 8: been invited to the party, Daddy long Legs thought it
• 45:11
  Speaker 8: would be pleasant to go to it. Accordingly, he started
• 45:14
  Speaker 8: off at once, though the party was not to take
• 45:17
  Speaker 8: place until the afternoon of the following day. But Daddy
• 45:21
  Speaker 8: Longlegs knew that he was a slow walker and Black
• 45:24
  Speaker 8: Creek was a long distance away.
• 45:27
  Speaker 9: Now.
• 45:27
  Speaker 8: It was a fine, beautiful morning when Daddy set forth
• 45:30
  Speaker 8: on his journey, and he traveled steadily all day long,
• 45:34
  Speaker 8: without meeting with an adventure of any sort. When night came,
• 45:38
  Speaker 8: he crept inside an old fallen tree trunk, and he
• 45:41
  Speaker 8: went to sleep, feeling very happy because he was thinking
• 45:44
  Speaker 8: what a good time he was going to have at
• 45:46
  Speaker 8: the party the next afternoon. But when morning came and
• 45:49
  Speaker 8: Daddy Longlegs crawled out of the hollow tree to continue
• 45:52
  Speaker 8: his journey, he had a great disappointment. The moment he
• 45:56
  Speaker 8: thrust his head out of his hiding place, he knew
• 45:58
  Speaker 8: that he was in trouble, and he saw at once
• 46:01
  Speaker 8: that he would have to miss Rusty Wren's cousin's party,
• 46:04
  Speaker 8: because he certainly couldn't go on with the weather as
• 46:06
  Speaker 8: it was. Yet, the sun was shining brightly and there
• 46:09
  Speaker 8: was scarcely a cloud to be seen in the sky.
• 46:12
  Speaker 8: A person might naturally wonder then, what Daddy long Legs
• 46:15
  Speaker 8: could have found to worry him. It wasn't raining, and
• 46:18
  Speaker 8: it certainly wasn't snowing, because it was not much later
• 46:22
  Speaker 8: than midsummer. Nevertheless, Daddy long Legs looked upon the fields
• 46:26
  Speaker 8: with a most mournful face. I can't travel in this
• 46:30
  Speaker 8: terrible wind, he muttered. If I had known there was
• 46:33
  Speaker 8: going to be such a blow, I would never have
• 46:36
  Speaker 8: left home. And now you know what Daddy's trouble was.
• 46:40
  Speaker 8: With his small body raised so high in the air
• 46:43
  Speaker 8: by his long, thin legs, he always found it hard
• 46:46
  Speaker 8: to walk when the wind was blowing a gale. The
• 46:49
  Speaker 8: strong gusts buffeted him about, so that he pitched and
• 46:52
  Speaker 8: tossed like a chip on the mill pond when its
• 46:55
  Speaker 8: surface was ruffled. And Daddy had learned quite early in
• 46:58
  Speaker 8: his life to seek some sheltered spot on windy days,
• 47:02
  Speaker 8: venturing forth only when the air was calmer. Of course,
• 47:05
  Speaker 8: it was never any too pleasant to be obliged to
• 47:09
  Speaker 8: lie low like that, when there were a hundred things
• 47:11
  Speaker 8: he wanted to do. But it was much worse to
• 47:14
  Speaker 8: be caught far away from home in a terrible gale.
• 47:17
  Speaker 8: Not only was there no knowing how long he would
• 47:20
  Speaker 8: have to stay hidden in the fallen tree before he
• 47:22
  Speaker 8: dared begin his long homeward journey, but he had no
• 47:26
  Speaker 8: one with whom he could talk. And it had always
• 47:29
  Speaker 8: been Daddy's custom to spend gusty days as agreeably as
• 47:33
  Speaker 8: possible by gossiping with his neighbors. Besides, there was a
• 47:37
  Speaker 8: party on the bank of Black Creek. Daddy Longlegs knew
• 47:40
  Speaker 8: right away that it was useless for him to try
• 47:43
  Speaker 8: to attend it, and so it was no wonder that
• 47:46
  Speaker 8: he felt unhappy. End of section eleven.
• 47:56
  Speaker 3: Chapter twelve of The Tale of Daddy Lone Legs by
• 47:59
  Speaker 3: Arthur's Bailey. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 48:04
  Speaker 3: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 48:09
  Speaker 3: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Densley Knutson. The
• 48:15
  Speaker 3: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey good news
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: on a bad day for a long time. Daddy lung
• 48:23
  Speaker 3: Legs lay inside the hollow fallen tree and looked out
• 48:26
  Speaker 3: upon the wind swept fields. If the stone wall hadn't
• 48:29
  Speaker 3: been so far away, he would certainly have tried to
• 48:32
  Speaker 3: return home, but the weather was altogether too dangerous. He
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: knew it would be risky to attempt so long a journey.
• 48:39
  Speaker 3: As he sat looking out the chink in the old
• 48:41
  Speaker 3: tree through which he had crept inside it, Daddy suddenly
• 48:45
  Speaker 3: saw a reddish brownish flash flicker past the opening. Goodness,
• 48:51
  Speaker 3: he exclaimed, I wonder what that was, And in another
• 48:56
  Speaker 3: moment the same bright patch of color again whisked across
• 48:59
  Speaker 3: the hole. Then Daddy long Legs heard a sound as
• 49:02
  Speaker 3: of some one scratching upon the tree trunk, and being
• 49:05
  Speaker 3: of a very curious nature, he crawled half through the
• 49:08
  Speaker 3: hole and peered out to see what was happening. Daddy
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: long Legs was all ready for a fright. He was
• 49:14
  Speaker 3: so upset on account of being caught away from home
• 49:17
  Speaker 3: on a windy day that he was unusually jumpy and fidgety.
• 49:21
  Speaker 3: But as it often happens at such times, he met
• 49:25
  Speaker 3: with a pleasant surprise, for there sat Sandy Chipmunk, with
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: his long tail curled over his back and something very
• 49:33
  Speaker 3: like a smile on his bright face. Knowing that Sandy
• 49:37
  Speaker 3: Chipmunk never harmed anybody that minded his own affairs. Daddy
• 49:41
  Speaker 3: long Legs spoke to him at once. It's a bad day,
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: isn't it? He called, hearing that tiny voice which seemed
• 49:49
  Speaker 3: to come from inside the fallen tree, Sandy Chipmunk was
• 49:53
  Speaker 3: so startled that he leaped high into the air, and
• 49:56
  Speaker 3: when he came down again upon all fours, he found
• 49:58
  Speaker 3: himself staring straight into Daddy long legs beady eyes. Oh
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: HiT's you, eh, cried Sandy Chipmunk, And he looked decidedly foolish,
• 50:08
  Speaker 3: because he knew that he had no reason to fear
• 50:10
  Speaker 3: anybody as mild as Daddy long Legs. It's a bad day,
• 50:15
  Speaker 3: isn't it, said Daddy long Legs once more. I'm sorry
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: I can't agree with you, Sandy replied, I think it's
• 50:23
  Speaker 3: the finest weather that ever was. You don't mean to
• 50:27
  Speaker 3: say you like this wind. Daddy Longlegs cried, Why. I
• 50:32
  Speaker 3: don't see how you dare to be out in it. Oh,
• 50:36
  Speaker 3: it's nothing when you're used to it, Sandy Chipmunk answered lightly,
• 50:41
  Speaker 3: I shall never get used to the wind, I'm afraid,
• 50:44
  Speaker 3: Daddy told him sadly. It blows me about so terribly,
• 50:49
  Speaker 3: and he went on to explain how he had started
• 50:51
  Speaker 3: on a long journey the day before, and how he
• 50:54
  Speaker 3: didn't dare go on nor turn around and go home either. Well, well,
• 51:00
  Speaker 3: Sandy Chipmunk exclaimed, you seem to be in a fix,
• 51:04
  Speaker 3: but why don't you ride home? Rad Daddy Longlegs shrieled
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: on what I should like to know on Farmer Green's wagon,
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: Sandy told him promptly, I happen to know that Johnny
• 51:18
  Speaker 3: Green and his grandmother drove to the Miller's this morning
• 51:21
  Speaker 3: to have a sack of wheat grounded a flower, and
• 51:23
  Speaker 3: they'll be coming back home this afternoon. End of chapter twelve.
• 51:33
  Speaker 10: Chapter thirteen of The Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 51:38
  Speaker 10: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 51:45
  Speaker 10: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 51:49
  Speaker 10: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Natasha
• 51:56
  Speaker 10: m The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey
• 52:02
  Speaker 10: A dangerous business. Sandy Chipmunk did not tell Daddy long
• 52:08
  Speaker 10: Legs how he had been tied up in the sack
• 52:10
  Speaker 10: of wheat and had had a ride in the wagon himself.
• 52:15
  Speaker 10: He did not like riding in wagons, and he had
• 52:18
  Speaker 10: been so glad to escape from the sack and jump
• 52:21
  Speaker 10: into the bushes by the roadside that he had stopped
• 52:24
  Speaker 10: to dance on Daddy's tree before scampering back home. His
• 52:29
  Speaker 10: suggestion took Daddy long Legs by surprise. At first, he
• 52:35
  Speaker 10: felt a bit timid about riding in a wagon, but
• 52:38
  Speaker 10: Sandy Chipmunk assured him it was not half as bad
• 52:42
  Speaker 10: as it was said to be. Is it far to
• 52:45
  Speaker 10: the road, Daddy asked him, not if you hurry, Sandy
• 52:49
  Speaker 10: told him. If you start now, you surely ought to
• 52:53
  Speaker 10: be able to reach the road by the time Old
• 52:56
  Speaker 10: Ebenezer passes this field. Ebenezer, who's he, Daddy inquired. Oh,
• 53:04
  Speaker 10: he's the horse that draws the wagon you're going to
• 53:07
  Speaker 10: ride in, Sandy Chipmunk explained. Daddy long Legs thought deeply
• 53:12
  Speaker 10: for a few minutes, or as deeply as any one
• 53:16
  Speaker 10: could who had so small a head as he, and
• 53:20
  Speaker 10: then he said, I'll try your plan, for I want
• 53:23
  Speaker 10: to go home, but it's very dangerous for me to
• 53:27
  Speaker 10: do so much walking on such a windy day as this.
• 53:31
  Speaker 10: Come on, cried Sandy. I'll show you the way to
• 53:34
  Speaker 10: the road, and having started Daddy in the right direction,
• 53:38
  Speaker 10: he hastened off to the road himself to wait for
• 53:41
  Speaker 10: the wagon. Sandy waited by the roadside for a long
• 53:46
  Speaker 10: long time, and while he was lingering there, Daddy long
• 53:51
  Speaker 10: Legs was battling with the wind and having hard work
• 53:54
  Speaker 10: to keep his feet. But by hurrying along fences and
• 53:59
  Speaker 10: dodge behind boulders and bushes and every other sort of
• 54:03
  Speaker 10: shelter that he could find, Daddy managed to reach the
• 54:06
  Speaker 10: roadside at last, where he arrived quite out of breath. Hurrah,
• 54:13
  Speaker 10: Sandy Chipmunk shouted, as soon as Daddy joined him. Here
• 54:17
  Speaker 10: you are, and you're just in time for there's the
• 54:21
  Speaker 10: wagon rattling down the next hill, and Old Ebenezer, that's
• 54:26
  Speaker 10: the horse. Please remember, he'll climb up this rise as
• 54:29
  Speaker 10: fast as he can because he's in a hurry to
• 54:32
  Speaker 10: get home. He can't be half as anxious to reach
• 54:37
  Speaker 10: home as I am, Daddy long Legs remarked. And if
• 54:41
  Speaker 10: he doesn't go his fastest after I'm aboard the wagon,
• 54:45
  Speaker 10: I hope Johnny Green will whip him hard. Johnny can't
• 54:50
  Speaker 10: do that, said Sandy Chipmunk. His father won't let him
• 54:54
  Speaker 10: have a whip well, he could cut a switch, I
• 54:57
  Speaker 10: should think, Daddy long Legs exclaimed, But Sandy shook his head.
• 55:03
  Speaker 10: Johnny's grandmother wouldn't let him do that, he replied. But
• 55:08
  Speaker 10: you don't need to worry. You'll get home soon enough. Soon,
• 55:13
  Speaker 10: the two watchers saw the old horse Ebenezer come jogging
• 55:17
  Speaker 10: up the road, and then Sandy Chipmunk said something that
• 55:21
  Speaker 10: sent Daddy long Legs into a flutter of excitement. Here
• 55:26
  Speaker 10: they come, cried Sandy, you'd better stand right in the
• 55:30
  Speaker 10: middle of the road so you'll be sure to stop them.
• 55:35
  Speaker 10: And the mere thought of doing such a dangerous thing
• 55:38
  Speaker 10: as that made Daddy long Legs turn quite pale. End
• 55:44
  Speaker 10: of chapter thirteen.
• 55:52
  Speaker 11: Section fourteen of The Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 55:55
  Speaker 11: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. Bbrivox recordings
• 56:01
  Speaker 11: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 56:04
  Speaker 11: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Pipper Moss, The
• 56:09
  Speaker 11: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey, One Way
• 56:15
  Speaker 11: to Stop a Horse. Every one of Daddy Longlegs eight
• 56:20
  Speaker 11: knees began to shake when Sandy Chipmunk told him to
• 56:25
  Speaker 11: stand in the middle of the road in order to
• 56:27
  Speaker 11: stop the old horse Ebenezer, who was pulling the wagon
• 56:30
  Speaker 11: in which Johnny Green and his grandmother were riding. I
• 56:34
  Speaker 11: can't do that, Daddy shrieked, shrinking away from the dusty road.
• 56:39
  Speaker 11: I'm so small that they wouldn't see me, and the
• 56:42
  Speaker 11: first thing I'd know, I'd be run over. You'll have
• 56:45
  Speaker 11: to stop the wagon for me. You're so much bigger
• 56:48
  Speaker 11: than I am. But Sandy Chipmunk said he didn't like
• 56:51
  Speaker 11: to speak to Johnny Green on account of a little
• 56:53
  Speaker 11: trouble he had had with Johnny's father over a letter.
• 56:58
  Speaker 11: Can't you wave your tail at him, Daddy Longlegs besought him.
• 57:02
  Speaker 11: That wouldn't be speaking to him. You know, wave your
• 57:05
  Speaker 11: tail at Johnny Green until he stops the horse, and
• 57:08
  Speaker 11: then you can run away if you want to. And
• 57:10
  Speaker 11: while the horse is standing still, I'll scramble into the
• 57:13
  Speaker 11: wagon without anybody seeing me. Now, Sandy Chipmunk was a
• 57:18
  Speaker 11: good natured person, and he saw that unless the wagon
• 57:22
  Speaker 11: was stopped, Daddy Longlegs was going to be terribly disappointed.
• 57:26
  Speaker 11: So he told Daddy that he would do what he
• 57:28
  Speaker 11: could to help him. Then Sandy leapt nimbly to the
• 57:32
  Speaker 11: edge of the watering trough at one side of the road,
• 57:35
  Speaker 11: and began waving his tail backwards and forwards like a flag.
• 57:39
  Speaker 11: That's right, Daddy Longlegs shouted approvingly. But I wish you'd
• 57:43
  Speaker 11: wave a little harder. I'm afraid they won't see you.
• 57:47
  Speaker 11: So Sandy Chipmunk redoubled his efforts, and he wagged his
• 57:51
  Speaker 11: tail so hard that before he knew what was happening,
• 57:54
  Speaker 11: he'd lost his footing, slipped off the edge of the trough,
• 57:57
  Speaker 11: and found himself floundering in the water. Daddy Longlegs was
• 58:02
  Speaker 11: watching the wagon so anxiously that he never noticed what
• 58:05
  Speaker 11: was happening to his friend, but he observed that Johnny
• 58:08
  Speaker 11: Green began to laugh, and pointing toward the watering trough,
• 58:12
  Speaker 11: Johnny cried, Oh look, Grandma, look the old horse. Ebenezer,
• 58:17
  Speaker 11: too seemed interested in what was going on. Anyhow, He
• 58:22
  Speaker 11: swerved to the right and walked up to the trough,
• 58:24
  Speaker 11: and the wagon came to a halt. That was Daddy
• 58:28
  Speaker 11: Longlegs's chance. He hurried to one of the rear wheels,
• 58:31
  Speaker 11: and in spite of the wind, he clambered quickly up
• 58:34
  Speaker 11: and hid himself in a corner of the wagon box. Meanwhile,
• 58:38
  Speaker 11: Sandy Chipmunk, spluttering and choking, managed to pull himself out
• 58:43
  Speaker 11: of his unexpected bath and frisked out of sight among
• 58:47
  Speaker 11: the sumacs that fringed the road. Well, I stopped the
• 58:51
  Speaker 11: wagon anyway, he said to himself, as he scampered away,
• 58:55
  Speaker 11: And that was just where he was mistaken. The old
• 58:58
  Speaker 11: horse Ebenezer wanted a drink, that was why he had
• 59:01
  Speaker 11: paused at the trough. He thrust his muzzle deep into
• 59:04
  Speaker 11: the cool spring water and drank so long that Johnny
• 59:08
  Speaker 11: Green began to be worried for fear he would burst.
• 59:11
  Speaker 11: But Old Ebenezer wouldn't budge until he had drunk his
• 59:15
  Speaker 11: fill when he was ready, and not before The wagon
• 59:19
  Speaker 11: went rumbling up the road again, taking Johnny Green and
• 59:22
  Speaker 11: his grandmother home to the farmhouse, and likewise bearing Daddy
• 59:27
  Speaker 11: long Legs back to the stone wall where little mister
• 59:30
  Speaker 11: Chippy lived in the world Grapevine. End of section fourteen.
• 59:41
  Speaker 2: Section fifteen of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 59:46
  Speaker 2: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a libivox recording. All LibriVox
• 59:51
  Speaker 2: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 59:55
  Speaker 2: to volunteer. Please visit libivox dot org. Recording by Alan Lawley.
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 2: The Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 2: a call on a neighbor, Daddy long Legs was delighted
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 2: to be at home again, and mister Chippy, as well
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 2: as other neighbors, remarked that they had never seen him
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 2: so happy and cheerful. Perhaps one reason for Daddy's good
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 2: spirits was the fact that the wind no longer blew
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 2: and he could venture abroad without being buffeted about. He
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 2: was so relieved by the change in the weather that
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 2: it seemed to him there could be no danger anywhere.
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: Little did Daddy long Legs dream that a great army
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 2: was even then making plans to capture him, And still
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 2: less did he imagine that he was going to meet
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 2: with a real adventure. Before the day was done. Daddy
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 2: long Legs had so many pleasant ideas in his head
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 2: that there was no room in it for any thought
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 2: of danger. He had found that his neighbors considered him
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 2: a hero because he had ridden in Farmer Green's wagon.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: A good many of Daddy's friends rushed at once to
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 2: the stone wall to talk with him, as soon as
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 2: they heard the news, and naturally he began to feel
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 2: quite important. Weren't you brightened? People asked him, weren't you
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 2: afraid that the horse would run away? Oh? No, I
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 2: wasn't the least bit scared, though I admit it was
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 2: a dangerous feet, Daddy long Legs told them. Then he
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: was strut and swagger about, trying to appear as if
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 2: there wasn't a braver person than he in all pleasant valley,
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 2: and he talked about his world ride to every buddy
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: that would listen to him. At first, Daddy's friends enjoyed
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 2: hearing about his adventure, but he boasted so much about
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 2: his bravery that his listeners soon grew tired of hearing
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 2: him talk, and instead of his having many callers, he
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 2: was not long before Daddy longe Legs found that nobody
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 2: came near him, even to say howdy do. He endured
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 2: his loneliness as long as he could, though he found
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 2: it hard not to talk when he had so much
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 2: to say, and feeling at last that he was in
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 2: danger of choking over the babble that searched up from
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 2: within him, Daddy Longelegs decided that he would go and
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 2: call on Rusty Wren, who lived in the cherry tree
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 2: near Farmer Green's bedroom window. Rusty would be glad to
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 2: know of my ride in the wagon, Daddy thought, And besides,
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 2: I'd like to hear about his cousin's party, which I
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 2: missed on account of the big wind. So off Daddy
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 2: long leg started. The moment the idea popped into his head,
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 2: he was the least bit uneasy, perhaps for fear Rusty
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 2: Wren might not be at home, in which case he
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 2: would have nobody to talk to except Rusty's wife, and
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 2: everybody knew that she was a person of uncertain temper.
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 2: But Daddy found Rusty perched on the tin roof of
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 2: his house. His house was made of a maple syrup can,
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 2: and the first thing that Daddy lonely said to him
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 2: was this is your wife at home? That may seem
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 2: a strange question, but Rusty Wren appeared to know what
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: his caller meant. Anyhow, Rusty said no in such a
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 2: cheerful tone that Daddy Longlegs knew they could have a
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 2: good chat without being disturbed. And of section fifteen Section
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 2: sixteen of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 2: Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 2: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 2: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Alan Lawley. The
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 2: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey boast for talk.
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 2: I suppose you've heard of my great adventure, Daddy long
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 2: Legs began as soon as he learned that Rusty Wren
• 1:05:02
  Speaker 2: was alone, that is, alone except for his six growing
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 2: children inside the house. No doubt you know all about
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 2: my daring deed. Why no, Rusty Wren replied, looking at
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 2: his caller with no little wonder, for he had always
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 2: believed Daddy long Legs to be one of the hardest
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 2: and most timid of all the field people. What have
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 2: you been doing, Rusty asked, something that you've never done?
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 2: Daddy Longlegs told him proudly. I took a ride in
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 2: Farmer Green's wagon yesterday after the old horse ever kneezer, Yes, yes,
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 2: go on, Rusty urged him. What happened to you? What
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 2: happened to me? Cried Daddy longe Legs. I should think
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 2: that riding in a wagon was adventure enough for any
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 2: one without any other sort of danger added to it.
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 2: But Rusty Wren didn't agree with them. Riding in a
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 2: wagon is nothing, he declared. Farmer Green rides in one
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 2: almost every day, and as for its being dangerous, there's
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 2: only the danger that you'll be late arriving at the
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 2: place where you are going, especially if you have to
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 2: depend on old Ebenezer to take you. He's several thousand
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 2: times my size. Yet I can fly further in a
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 2: day than he can trot in two weeks. Well, Rusty's
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 2: scoffing remarks made Daddy long Legs quite peevish. He had
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 2: come to rust his house in order to boast, and
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 2: of course he was disappointed when he found that Rusty
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 2: Wren did not think him a hero at all. We'll
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 2: say no more about the man, Daddy observed stiffly. I
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 2: can see that you are jealous, and I always make
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 2: it a rule not to dispute with jealous people. Rusty
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 2: ran put help, Feeling somewhat ashamed, He realized that perhaps
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 2: he had not been very polite to his caller. I
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 2: meant no harm, he ventured, and if you want to
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 2: change the subject, I've no objection. Very well, Daddy Longlegs replied,
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 2: let's talk about your cousin's party at Black Creek. I
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 2: was sorry not to be present at it, but the
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 2: high wind prevented me from traveling that day. Then it
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 2: was Rusty Wren's turn to look disappointed. There wasn't any party,
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 2: he said, Oh, mister Crow was mistaken. My cousin's party
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 2: took place exactly year earlier, so mister Crow was twelve
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 2: months late with his news. When he heard that, Daddy
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 2: long Legs couldn't help laughing right in Rusty Wren's face.
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 2: I don't see any joke, Rusty snapped. I can't tell
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 2: you that it's a good deal of a disappointment to
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 2: have your mind all made up for a party and
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: then find that there is none. Perhaps you're right, said
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs. Anyhow, I'm glad now that there was
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 2: a wind that day, because the wind prevented my walking
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 2: all the way to Black Creek for nothing. Well, there's
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 2: no wind now to keep you from walking anywhere you
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 2: want to go, said Rusty wren slyly. He hoped that
• 1:08:51
  Speaker 2: Daddy long Legs would take the hint and leave, for
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 2: he did not care to talk with him any longer. Besides,
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 2: it was time for Rusty to feed his six growing children.
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 2: Soon to rest his relief, Daddy long Legs began to
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 2: creep down the trunk of the cherry tree. If he
• 1:09:12
  Speaker 2: had known what was in store for him, he might
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 2: not have left just then and of Section sixteen.
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 12: Chapter seventeen of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 12: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 12: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 12: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The Tale of
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 12: Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. Daddy he is attacked.
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 12: When Daddy Longlegs went to call on Rusty Wren. He
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 12: did not know that a whole army had planned to
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 12: capture him, but it was true, nevertheless, that a plot
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 12: had been hatched against him. Now right beneath the big
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 12: old cherry tree, where Rusty had his home, there lived
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 12: a colony of ants, and it was Rusty's habit and
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 12: his wife's as well, to enjoy an occasional meal or
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 12: a light luncheon by capturing and eating such ants as
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 12: were not spry enough to keep out of harm's way.
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 12: Such actions only served to make the Wren family heartily
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 12: disliked by every member of the Ant colony. But there
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 12: was nothing the Ants could do except to try to
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 12: be careful. And they were so angry that since they
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 12: were powerless to harm the Wrens, they were quite ready
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 12: and eager to vent their spite on Rusty smaller friends.
• 1:11:23
  Speaker 12: That was the reason why they had determined to attack
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 12: Daddy long Legs at the very first opportunity. Yes, the
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 12: members of the Ant colony had made up their minds
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 12: to capture Daddy the next time he should visit Rusty Wren,
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 12: and the Ant army of fierce fighters was all prepared
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 12: for a terrible battle. Each day, sentinels took their posts
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 12: and stayed on watch, ready to give the alarm the
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 12: moment Daddy long Legs came hobbling through the grass near
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 12: the foot of the cherry tree. And when at last
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 12: Daddy fell into the trap on the day that he
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 12: visited Rusty to boast about his wagon ride, the news
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 12: of his arrival spread like wildfire. The Ants had not
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 12: said a word to Daddy as he passed their home
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 12: and climbed up the cherry tree. They allowed him to
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 12: go unharmed, but while he was high up in the
• 1:12:47
  Speaker 12: tree chatting with Rusty ran ants hurried back to their
• 1:12:53
  Speaker 12: stronghold from every direction, and in a surprisingly show time,
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 12: the whole army was ready and waiting, waiting for Daddy
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 12: long Legs to descend to the ground. When he had
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 12: finished his call, Daddy long Legs left the cherry tree
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 12: and started homeward, but he had not gone more than
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 12: a few inches when the Ant army sprang out of
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 12: the ground as if by magic. The soldiers were all
• 1:13:35
  Speaker 12: around Daddy before he realized what was happening, and then
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 12: he saw that it was too late for him to
• 1:13:45
  Speaker 12: turn back and try to escape by climbing the tree again.
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 12: Being a limid person, he took fright at once, and
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 12: looking up towards Rusty Wren's house, he cried help, help
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 12: in a terror stricken voice, but Daddy's shrieks brought no answer.
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 12: Rusty Wren had flown away to find food for his
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 12: hungry children. The Ant sentinels had seen him leave, and
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 12: they knew that they had nothing to fear from that quarter.
• 1:14:32
  Speaker 12: As the army closed in around him, Daddy long Legs
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 12: thought that he had never been in such danger in
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 12: all his life before. The army was so near him
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 12: that he could have seen the whites of the soldier's eyes,
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 12: if they had had any whites and of Chapter seventeen.
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 12: Chapter eighteen of the Tale of Daddy long Legs by
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 12: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a liprivox recording. All LibriVox
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 12: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 12: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The Tale of
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 12: Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. The Ant army,
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 12: urged on by their leaders, the Ant soldiers dashed upon
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 12: meek frightened Daddy long Legs. On all sides. They crowded
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 12: about him, And as he looked down at his swarming
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 12: and and saw how fiercely they rushed at him, his
• 1:16:05
  Speaker 12: knees began to tremble, just as they did when a
• 1:16:10
  Speaker 12: strong wind was blowing. Poor Daddy stood helplessly, waiting for
• 1:16:18
  Speaker 12: the worst to happen. He expected any moment to feel
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 12: himself pulled down and thrown upon the ground. But strange
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 12: to say, in spite of the uproar and the mad
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 12: charge of Daddy's enemies, nothing of the kind occurred. Soon
• 1:16:43
  Speaker 12: it became clear that the ant army was in some
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 12: sort of trouble. Although the leaders drove the soldiers at
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 12: daddy long legs with frantic cries, the army merely searched
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 12: backwards send forwards around him, and Daddy had not received
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 12: as much as a slap on the wrist from a
• 1:17:11
  Speaker 12: single one of the attacking party. Seeing that his forces
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 12: were making no headway against the enemy, General Antenna, who
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 12: commanded the entire army, called to one of the captains,
• 1:17:31
  Speaker 12: what's the trouble, Captain Kidd, The general demanded, Our soldiers
• 1:17:38
  Speaker 12: don't seem to be doing any damage. Of course, you
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 12: must click your heels together when a general speaks to you.
• 1:17:49
  Speaker 12: And naturally that took Captain Kidd some time to do,
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 12: because it is no easy matter to click your heel
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 12: together when you have six feet. Perhaps it was only
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 12: to be expected that General Antenna should quickly become impatient.
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 12: Why don't you answer, The general shouted, we'll lose the
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 12: battle if we're not careful. Then Captain Kidd had to
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 12: stop and salute the general, and that took time too,
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 12: for how could anyone touch his cap when he had
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 12: lost it? Somewhere. Luckily, General Antenna soon saw what was
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 12: the matter and said, here, take my cap, and the
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 12: General promptly clapped a gold braided cap upon the captain's head.
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 12: Then Captain Kidd was able to salute, and after that,
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 12: and not before, the brave officer was ready to answer
• 1:19:06
  Speaker 12: the General's inquiry. Yes, Captain Kidd was all ready to reply,
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 12: but by that time the captain had quite forgotten what
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 12: the question was. Fortunately, General Antenna remembered and repeated it.
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 12: What's the trouble? Oh, yes, said the captain. The trouble
• 1:19:35
  Speaker 12: is this, our soldiers can't reach the enemy. Daddy long
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 12: legs is so tall that they can't touch anything except
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 12: his feet. Taking a careful look at the battlefield, the
• 1:19:51
  Speaker 12: General saw that it was so, But still the commander
• 1:19:56
  Speaker 12: of the army was not dismayed. Can't you tip him over?
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 12: We've tried to already, replied Captain Kidd, but he has
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 12: too many legs for us. Can't your soldier stand on
• 1:20:13
  Speaker 12: one another's shoulders? It's no use, the captain answered, We've
• 1:20:21
  Speaker 12: tried that too. General Antenna began to look somewhat worried,
• 1:20:28
  Speaker 12: knowing that if the army couldn't win the battle before
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 12: Rusty Wren came home, all would be lost, for no
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 12: army of ants could stand and fight such a monster
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 12: as he. I have it, The General cried, at last,
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 12: I've thought of the very thing. Bring some step ladders
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 12: and of chapter eighteen Chapter nineteen of the Tale of
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 12: Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 12: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 12: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 1:21:31
  Speaker 12: The Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey.
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 12: Daddy escapes. That was a fine idea of General Antennis,
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 12: that plan of bringing step ladders so that the ant
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 12: army might climb up on them and reach Daddy long Legs,
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 12: whom they were attacking. And capt Kidd told the General
• 1:22:02
  Speaker 12: on the spot that it was a most happy thought.
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 12: Then do as I tell you at once, the General ordered, pompously.
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 12: I can't, said Captain Kidd, who was terribly frightened because
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 12: the General was sure to be angry. Can't, cried General
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 12: Antenna fiercely.
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 5: Can't.
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 12: What do you mean, madam? Perhaps you did not know
• 1:22:33
  Speaker 12: that Captain Kidd was a lady, as were also the
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 12: General and the whole army too. Captain Kidd's voice broke
• 1:22:45
  Speaker 12: as she stammered an answered to General Antenna's rude demand.
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 12: I know of only one step latter in pleasant Valley,
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 12: she explained. It belongs to farmer, and it's so heavy
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 12: that the whole army wouldn't move it at that a
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 12: shudder passed over General Antenna's fat body. Then we're as
• 1:23:13
  Speaker 12: good as lost, she shrieked. Daddy longlegs will defeat us,
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 12: and I'll never hear the last of it. And right
• 1:23:25
  Speaker 12: there on the edge of the battlefield, General Antenna shed
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 12: so many bitter tears that Captain Kidd had to move
• 1:23:35
  Speaker 12: aside slightly to keep her feet from getting wet. Don't weep,
• 1:23:42
  Speaker 12: cried the captain in a husky voice. It's not your fault, really,
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 12: Whose is it? Then asked the General brokenly, Why former
• 1:23:55
  Speaker 12: Green is the blame? Of course, Captain k It replied,
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 12: if he hadn't made his step ladder so big, we
• 1:24:06
  Speaker 12: might have used it and won the battle just as
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 12: easily as not. That's so, the General agreed, drying her
• 1:24:16
  Speaker 12: tears on a lace handkerchief, and from this time forth,
• 1:24:22
  Speaker 12: Farmer Green and I are deadly enemies. Meanwhile, the battle
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 12: still raged furiously, but Daddy long Legs had not received
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 12: a single wound, and, perceiving at last that he was
• 1:24:42
  Speaker 12: quite unharmed, he took heart again. Finally it occurred to
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 12: him that the ant army was totally unable to reach him.
• 1:24:56
  Speaker 12: Born high in the air as he was by his
• 1:24:59
  Speaker 12: law long Legs, and as his fear left him, he
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 12: could think of no reason why he should stay where
• 1:25:09
  Speaker 12: he was any longer. Accordingly, he pulled himself together and
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 12: began to walk away. He moved right through the ant army,
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 12: and the soldiers were powerless to stop him. Just then,
• 1:25:30
  Speaker 12: General Antenna happened to glance over the battlefield, and her
• 1:25:36
  Speaker 12: sad look at once gave way to one of great joy.
• 1:25:42
  Speaker 12: She even gave Captain Kid a hearty slap on the back,
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 12: much to that lady's distress because it knocked her cap awry. Look.
• 1:25:55
  Speaker 12: Cried the General. We've won the battle after all, for
• 1:26:00
  Speaker 12: the enemy is retreating, Daddy long Legs is running away,
• 1:26:07
  Speaker 12: hurrying off. Then General Antenna joined her army and told
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 12: her soldiers that they had shown themselves to be very brave,
• 1:26:19
  Speaker 12: and that is a reward. They might each have an
• 1:26:23
  Speaker 12: extra drink of milk that night with their supper. There
• 1:26:28
  Speaker 12: was great rejoicing in the ant colony that evening, and
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 12: general antenna caused the news of the victory to be
• 1:26:39
  Speaker 12: carried throughout Pleasant Valley. But when he heard it after
• 1:26:46
  Speaker 12: he reached home, Daddy long Legs laughed merrily. Why they
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 12: never touched me, he exclaimed. And of chapter nineteen.
• 1:27:07
  Speaker 13: Chapter twenty of the Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 1:27:12
  Speaker 13: Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 1:27:17
  Speaker 13: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 13: please visit LibriVox dot org. The Tale of Daddy Longlegs
• 1:27:27
  Speaker 13: by Arthur Scott Bailey lost a jackknife. Johnny Green couldn't
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 13: find his new jackknife anywhere, since it was a third
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 13: knife Johnny had lost that summer. Anyone might think that
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 13: he wouldn't have cared much, being so used to losing jackknives,
• 1:27:45
  Speaker 13: but Johnny had been particularly proud of that knife. It
• 1:27:49
  Speaker 13: had two blades, a small saw, a corkscrew, a gimlet,
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 13: a leather punch, and a hook. For pulling a stone
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 13: out of the hoof of the old horse Ebenezer. Johnny
• 1:28:01
  Speaker 13: had worked in the hay field on many hot days
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 13: to earn enough to buy that knife, so it was
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 13: no wonder that he wanted to find it. He hunted
• 1:28:11
  Speaker 13: for it carefully in the wood shed where he had
• 1:28:14
  Speaker 13: gone for an armful of wood, in the barn where
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 13: he had helped milk the cows that morning, and under
• 1:28:20
  Speaker 13: the big oak in the dooryard into which he had
• 1:28:23
  Speaker 13: chased the cat. And not finding his knife in any
• 1:28:27
  Speaker 13: of those places, he went into the pantry, for he
• 1:28:31
  Speaker 13: remembered getting some jam and cookies there between breakfast and
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 13: dinner time. The jackknife was not in the pantry. Johnny
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 13: even looked for it inside the cookie jar, and failing
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 13: to find the knife there, he consoled himself by taking
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 13: three more cookies. Then he slipped out of the house
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 13: and sat down behind the stone wall to enjoy his lunch.
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 13: All the time he was munching his cookies, Johnny Green
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 13: was true trying to recall exactly what he had done
• 1:29:03
  Speaker 13: and where he had been since he jumped out of
• 1:29:05
  Speaker 13: bed that morning. If there was any place he had forgotten,
• 1:29:10
  Speaker 13: he intended to go there at once and look for
• 1:29:12
  Speaker 13: his lost jackknife. Having swallowed the last crumb of his goodies,
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 13: Johnny leaned back against the stone wall and closed his
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 13: eyes in thought. He wondered if there wasn't some out
• 1:29:26
  Speaker 13: of the way nook he had visited that day. As
• 1:29:29
  Speaker 13: he sat there, something tickled his ear. Then it tickled
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 13: his cheek, and finally his nose. Johnny Green couldn't help
• 1:29:40
  Speaker 13: sneezing and opening his eyes. Whom should he see but
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 13: Daddy long Legs standing on the tip of his nose.
• 1:29:48
  Speaker 13: My goodness, Daddy exclaimed when Johnny Green sneezed. I didn't
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 13: think the wind was going to blow to day, but
• 1:29:56
  Speaker 13: there's an awful blast. I'd better hurry home at once.
• 1:30:00
  Speaker 13: He had scarcely turned to go back where he came
• 1:30:02
  Speaker 13: from when Johnny sat up and seizing his visitor. Quickly
• 1:30:07
  Speaker 13: but carefully, Johnny removed him from his perch and held
• 1:30:10
  Speaker 13: him a captive in his hands. When he stepped from
• 1:30:14
  Speaker 13: a stone to Johnny's head, Daddy Longlegs had no idea
• 1:30:18
  Speaker 13: that he was not walking on another stone. Who would
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 13: have expected to find the head of a boy lying
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 13: motionless against a wall as soon as he recovered from
• 1:30:29
  Speaker 13: his surprise. Daddy Longlegs struggled to escape, but his captor
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 13: guarded him with great pains. You don't think I'm going
• 1:30:37
  Speaker 13: to let you get away, do you, Johnny Green asked him.
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 13: End of Chapter twenty Read by Caroline Sypharth July two thousand,
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 13: twenty three. Chapter twenty one of the Tale of Daddy
• 1:30:58
  Speaker 13: Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 13: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 13: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The
• 1:31:14
  Speaker 13: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey.
• 1:31:18
  Speaker 2: Just a notion.
• 1:31:21
  Speaker 13: In common with all the other youngsters that went to
• 1:31:24
  Speaker 13: school in the Little Red Schoolhouse. Johnny Green thought that
• 1:31:27
  Speaker 13: Daddy Longlegs and every one of his relations had a
• 1:31:31
  Speaker 13: strange power. Yes, Johnny believed that if you happened to
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 13: be lost in the woods, you would need only to
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 13: find Daddy Longlegs or one of his cousins, and he
• 1:31:42
  Speaker 13: would point out the way home for you if you
• 1:31:45
  Speaker 13: asked him, Or if you wanted to recover something you
• 1:31:48
  Speaker 13: had lost, you could surely find it with the help
• 1:31:51
  Speaker 13: of any one of Daddy Longlegg's family. So that was
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 13: the reason why Johnny Green was glad to see Daddy
• 1:31:58
  Speaker 13: just at that time. Having lost his new jack knife,
• 1:32:01
  Speaker 13: Johnny was determined that Daddy would tell him where to
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 13: find it. Now you listen to me, Johnny commanded, frowning
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 13: severely at Daddy. I've dropped my knife somewhere, and you
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 13: must point toward it. If you want me to let
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 13: you go, I'll tell you what it's like, he continued,
• 1:32:21
  Speaker 13: so you won't make any mistake. It has two blades,
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 13: and a saw, and a corkscrew, and a gimlet, and
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 13: a leather punch and a hook to use on a
• 1:32:31
  Speaker 13: horse's hoof. It's the best knife I've ever owned, and
• 1:32:35
  Speaker 13: I'd be pretty angry if you sent me off the
• 1:32:38
  Speaker 13: wrong way to find a jackknife that wasn't nearly so good. Now,
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 13: Daddy long Legs was angry himself. He thought that Johnny
• 1:32:46
  Speaker 13: Green had no business to make him a prisoner, and
• 1:32:49
  Speaker 13: as for knowing where the lost knife was, he hadn't
• 1:32:52
  Speaker 13: the faintest idea where it could be. I can't tell
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 13: you anything about your old jack knife, Daddy cried. It
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 13: was really a new knife, as Johnny had explained to him.
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 13: But you must remember that Daddy Longlegs was in a
• 1:33:06
  Speaker 13: terrible temper. Unfortunately, Daddy's voice was entirely too tiny for
• 1:33:12
  Speaker 13: Johnny Green to hear. And meanwhile, Daddy continued to tug
• 1:33:16
  Speaker 13: and twist, trying to free himself from Johnny Green's grasp.
• 1:33:20
  Speaker 13: His eight legs kept reaching out in all directions for
• 1:33:24
  Speaker 13: firmer footholes. Silly, Johnny Green thought that he was trying
• 1:33:28
  Speaker 13: to point the way to the missing knife. Stop, Johnny cried,
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 13: take your time, and don't get excited. If you keep
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 13: motioning with all your legs at once, you can't expect
• 1:33:39
  Speaker 13: me to understand what you mean. Soon after that, Daddy
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 13: became quieter, though it was only because he grew tired
• 1:33:47
  Speaker 13: from his efforts to escape. But he was so angry
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 13: and so worried that one of his legs kept twitching,
• 1:33:54
  Speaker 13: and it felt so queer that Daddy Longlegs had to
• 1:33:57
  Speaker 13: stretch it again and again. Ah, that's better, Johnny Green exclaimed.
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 13: Then now you're pointing plainly enough. I know now that
• 1:34:08
  Speaker 13: you're trying to tell me to walk right toward the
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 13: sweet apple tree if I want to find my knife,
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 13: and I'm obliged to you, mister Daddy Longlegs, Thank you
• 1:34:16
  Speaker 13: very much. Then Johnny let go his prisoner, who crept
• 1:34:21
  Speaker 13: quickly into a crevice of the stone wall, where he
• 1:34:23
  Speaker 13: stayed for a long time. As for Johnny Green, he
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 13: scrambled sprightly over the wall and began to move in
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 13: a bee line toward the sweet apple tree. He walked
• 1:34:35
  Speaker 13: slowly and searched the ground with great care, but he
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 13: saw no sign of his precious knife beneath the sweet
• 1:34:42
  Speaker 13: apple tree. Johnny paused mournfully. He was only fooling me,
• 1:34:48
  Speaker 13: He exclaimed, that Old Daddy long Legs played a chick
• 1:34:53
  Speaker 13: on me. Johnny couldn't help feeling disappointed, and he just
• 1:34:57
  Speaker 13: couldn't help feeling hungry as well. Luckily, there were apples
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 13: on the old tree, so he began to shin up
• 1:35:04
  Speaker 13: into the branches, and then all at once he saw
• 1:35:09
  Speaker 13: his beautiful knife sticking into the tree trunk right before
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 13: his eyes. Johnny remembered then that he had visited the
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 13: sweet Apple tree soon after breakfast that very day, when
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 13: he had happened to feel hungry, and he had stuck
• 1:35:23
  Speaker 13: the knife there himself and gone off and forgotten it.
• 1:35:27
  Speaker 13: With a shout of joy, he gripped his horn handle
• 1:35:30
  Speaker 13: and pulled it out. Old Daddy Longlegs knew what he
• 1:35:34
  Speaker 13: was about, after all, he shouted, and Johnny Green never
• 1:35:39
  Speaker 13: guessed that his finding his jack knife was nothing but
• 1:35:42
  Speaker 13: an accident. Daddy had never even seen it, and if
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 13: he had, he wouldn't have known.
• 1:35:47
  Speaker 9: What it was.
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  Speaker 13: But after that, Johnny was more convinced than ever that
• 1:35:52
  Speaker 13: Daddy Longlegs had a strange power. End of chapter twenty one.
• 1:35:59
  Speaker 13: Read by Caroline Scyfarth July two thousand, twenty three.
• 1:36:09
  Speaker 9: Chapter twenty two of the Tale of Daddy Longlegs by
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 9: Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 1:36:16
  Speaker 9: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 1:36:19
  Speaker 9: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The Tale of
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 9: Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey. Why Daddy was changed.
• 1:36:28
  Speaker 9: It was after his adventure with Johnny Green that Daddy
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 9: Longlegs's neighbors first noticed something queer about him. They knew
• 1:36:34
  Speaker 9: that he was not the same, but strangely enough, no
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 9: two of them could agree as to what had changed him.
• 1:36:40
  Speaker 9: Chirpy Cricket said that he thought that Daddy was wearing
• 1:36:42
  Speaker 9: a new coat, for his coat tail seemed to flat
• 1:36:45
  Speaker 9: differently when he walked. Buster Bumblebee claimed that Daddy had
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 9: bought himself a new hat which tipped at an unusual angle,
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 9: and little Miss Ladybug insisted that Daddy's odd look was
• 1:36:55
  Speaker 9: newe to nothing more or less than some new checked
• 1:36:57
  Speaker 9: trousers she remembered. She said that he had always worn
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 9: striped ones before. Those were the opinions of only three
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 9: of Daddy's friends. It seemed as if everybody in Pleasant
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 9: Valley had his own idea about the reason why Daddy
• 1:37:10
  Speaker 9: was changed. Naturally, many disputes arose because everyone declared that
• 1:37:14
  Speaker 9: his own notion was the right one, And at last,
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 9: several excited persons went to old mister Crow and asked
• 1:37:20
  Speaker 9: him to settle the trouble. When mister Crow would have
• 1:37:23
  Speaker 9: nothing to do with the affair. He did not like
• 1:37:26
  Speaker 9: Daddy long Legs, and he said he preferred not to
• 1:37:28
  Speaker 9: think about him at all, And that was something of
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 9: a setback for the company until someone said, let's go
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 9: and ask Solomon Owl. There's no one in Pleasant Valley
• 1:37:37
  Speaker 9: that looks so wise as he, so they hurried off
• 1:37:40
  Speaker 9: to the Hemlock Woods where Solomon Owl lived. He was
• 1:37:43
  Speaker 9: at home, and he listened carefully to each of his collars.
• 1:37:46
  Speaker 9: Although they all talked at once, at last he shouted
• 1:37:50
  Speaker 9: loudly for silence, though it was some time before he
• 1:37:52
  Speaker 9: had it. Hush hush, So the quieter one said, we
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 9: want to hear what wise mister Solomon Owl says. And
• 1:37:59
  Speaker 9: then Solomon Owl spoke, if you want to know what's
• 1:38:02
  Speaker 9: the matter with Daddy lung Legs, why don't you go
• 1:38:04
  Speaker 9: ask him? Everybody exclaimed at once that that was a
• 1:38:08
  Speaker 9: splendid plan, and thanking mister Owl for his excellent advice,
• 1:38:11
  Speaker 9: the party hurried away. When they reached the stone wall later,
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 9: they found Daddy long Legs sunning himself. He seemed glad
• 1:38:19
  Speaker 9: to see his collars, and when they asked him what
• 1:38:21
  Speaker 9: it was that made him appear different, he threw back
• 1:38:24
  Speaker 9: his head as far as he could and laughed heartily.
• 1:38:27
  Speaker 9: Why don't you know, he said, can't you see? I've
• 1:38:30
  Speaker 9: lost a leg. Daddy's news made everyone gasp, and for
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 9: a few moments not a soul could speak, but the
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 9: callers all stared at Daddy, and then each one of
• 1:38:40
  Speaker 9: them began to count aloud one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 9: They were counting Daddy's legs, and after they had counted seven,
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 9: they all saw that his eighth leg was missing. That
• 1:38:54
  Speaker 9: is all, but Buster Bumblebee, being a blundering sort of person,
• 1:38:58
  Speaker 9: he made a mistake and counted one leg twice, but
• 1:39:01
  Speaker 9: the other collar soon set him right. It's no wonder
• 1:39:04
  Speaker 9: you look different. Daddy's friends began telling him, how did
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 9: you meet with such an awful accident? I lost my
• 1:39:10
  Speaker 9: leg trying to escape from Johnny Green. Daddy explained, either
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 9: he pulled the leg off my body or I pulled
• 1:39:16
  Speaker 9: my body off the leg. I haven't been able to
• 1:39:18
  Speaker 9: decide which way it happened. You must miss your leg terribly,
• 1:39:22
  Speaker 9: several of the company cried, not at all, replied Daddy
• 1:39:26
  Speaker 9: longlegs cheerfully, to the great surprise of all those present.
• 1:39:29
  Speaker 9: I have seven legs left, and that ought to be
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 9: enough for anybody, I should think. But little miss Ladybug
• 1:39:35
  Speaker 9: couldn't help shuddering. I think it's just too dreadful, she cried.
• 1:39:39
  Speaker 9: Johnny Green is a very careless boy. Oh he didn't
• 1:39:43
  Speaker 9: meet any harm I know, Daddy Lunglegs assured her. He
• 1:39:47
  Speaker 9: tried not to injure me, but I'll admit there's one
• 1:39:50
  Speaker 9: thing that has caused me a good deal of annoyance.
• 1:39:52
  Speaker 9: What's that, everyone asked, I had to get a new
• 1:39:55
  Speaker 9: pair of seven legged trousers, Daddy Lunglegs explained, And if
• 1:39:59
  Speaker 9: any if you have ever tried to find such a
• 1:40:01
  Speaker 9: garment at such short notice, he will understand that I've
• 1:40:05
  Speaker 9: been in a great trouble. Then Daddy Longlegs wished his
• 1:40:08
  Speaker 9: collars a pleasant afternoon and begged to be excused on
• 1:40:12
  Speaker 9: account of important business. And as they watched him walk
• 1:40:15
  Speaker 9: briskly away, his neighbors all agreed that for a person
• 1:40:18
  Speaker 9: who had just lost a leg, he seemed wonderfully spry.
• 1:40:24
  Speaker 9: End of chapter twenty two, read by Tessera in Madison,
• 1:40:28
  Speaker 9: September third, twenty twenty three. Chapter twenty three of the
• 1:40:38
  Speaker 9: Tale of Daddy long Legs by Arthur Scott Bailey. This
• 1:40:42
  Speaker 9: is a librifox recording. All librifox recordings are in the
• 1:40:45
  Speaker 9: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
• 1:40:49
  Speaker 9: liberyvox dot org. The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 1:40:52
  Speaker 9: Scott Bailey a new name for Daddy. Daddy Longlegs's neighbor,
• 1:40:57
  Speaker 9: Little mister Chippy had an idea, and since he thought
• 1:41:00
  Speaker 9: it a good one, he at once arranged a meeting
• 1:41:03
  Speaker 9: of a number of his friends who lived near him.
• 1:41:05
  Speaker 9: Among those present were Buster Bumbleby, Betsy Butterfly, Rusty Wren,
• 1:41:10
  Speaker 9: and several others. They met in Farmer Green's apple orchard,
• 1:41:14
  Speaker 9: and they all arrived there early because everybody was eager
• 1:41:17
  Speaker 9: to know what mister Chippy had to say. My idea,
• 1:41:20
  Speaker 9: mister Chippy began. My idea is this, Since Daddy long
• 1:41:24
  Speaker 9: Legs is so changed after losing one of his legs,
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 9: we really ought to call him by a different name
• 1:41:29
  Speaker 9: now that he has only seven legs instead of eight.
• 1:41:32
  Speaker 9: It doesn't seem polite to say anything about legs in
• 1:41:34
  Speaker 9: his hearing. As mister Chippy paused and looked about him,
• 1:41:38
  Speaker 9: the whole company agreed that his idea was an excellent one.
• 1:41:41
  Speaker 9: But I don't know where we're going to find a
• 1:41:43
  Speaker 9: new name for him, said Buster Bumbleby, who had never
• 1:41:45
  Speaker 9: had many ideas of his own. That's easy, mister Chippy
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 9: told him, I've thought of a splendid name and I'm
• 1:41:53
  Speaker 9: perfectly willing to let you use it. It's grandfather gray Beard.
• 1:41:58
  Speaker 9: Most of the company clapped their hands when mister Chippy
• 1:42:00
  Speaker 9: said that, but Buster Bumblebee spoke up and said he
• 1:42:03
  Speaker 9: didn't think much of that name because Daddy Lunglegs had
• 1:42:06
  Speaker 9: no beard. Well, for all you know, he may decide
• 1:42:09
  Speaker 9: to wear one any day, mister Chippy replied, and then
• 1:42:13
  Speaker 9: all the company applauded again except Buster Bumblebee. How do
• 1:42:17
  Speaker 9: you know Daddy Longlegs is a grandfather, he asked mister Chippy.
• 1:42:21
  Speaker 9: How do you know he isn't, Mister Chippy asked him,
• 1:42:24
  Speaker 9: And then everybody but Buster cried out that grandfather Graybeard
• 1:42:28
  Speaker 9: was a fine name for Daddy lung Legs, and many
• 1:42:31
  Speaker 9: remarked that Daddy would be greatly pleased when he heard
• 1:42:33
  Speaker 9: the news.
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 6: Thank you, said mister Chippy, making a low bow with
• 1:42:37
  Speaker 6: his hand on his heart.
• 1:42:38
  Speaker 9: And now, if it is the pleasure of the meeting,
• 1:42:40
  Speaker 9: I will go back to the stone wall at once
• 1:42:42
  Speaker 9: and tell Daddy Longlegs what we have decided to do.
• 1:42:45
  Speaker 9: To mister Chippy's surprise, a murmur of dissent greeted his proposal.
• 1:42:49
  Speaker 9: What's the matter, asked Chippy. I thought you liked my idea,
• 1:42:53
  Speaker 9: so we do. Rusty Wren replied, but we think it
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 9: would be better if we all called on Daddy and
• 1:42:58
  Speaker 9: explained to him about the change. Very well, little mister
• 1:43:01
  Speaker 9: Chippy answered, the more the merrier. I'll be the spokesman,
• 1:43:05
  Speaker 9: and I will suggest that we start for the stone
• 1:43:07
  Speaker 9: wall right now. But there's no time like the present,
• 1:43:09
  Speaker 9: you know. Even Buster bumble Bee approved of mister Chippy's retort.
• 1:43:13
  Speaker 9: I'm at that everybody started pell mell for the stone Wall.
• 1:43:20
  Speaker 9: End of chapter twenty three. Read by Tesserah Madison, September third,
• 1:43:25
  Speaker 9: twenty twenty.
• 1:43:26
  Speaker 14: Three, Section twenty four of The Tale of Daddy Longlegs
• 1:43:36
  Speaker 14: by Arthur Scott Bailey. This is a LibriVox recording. All
• 1:43:41
  Speaker 14: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
• 1:43:46
  Speaker 14: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by
• 1:43:51
  Speaker 14: Doc Dale Martin The Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur
• 1:43:56
  Speaker 14: Scott Bailey. A bridegroom, Daddy Longlegs was taken entirely by surprise.
• 1:44:04
  Speaker 14: It was rather early in the morning, and he had
• 1:44:07
  Speaker 14: not expected collars, at least not so many, as suddenly
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 14: appeared at the stone Wall, where he was usually to
• 1:44:14
  Speaker 14: be found. Luckily, he was arrayed in his very best clothes. Indeed,
• 1:44:20
  Speaker 14: he was quite smartly dressed for him. A bright yellow
• 1:44:24
  Speaker 14: scarf tied in a big bow beneath his chin made
• 1:44:28
  Speaker 14: him look almost dandified, and he was wearing a bottled
• 1:44:32
  Speaker 14: green coat lined with pink goodness, said Wester Bumblebee. He
• 1:44:38
  Speaker 14: looks like a bridegroom. But his companions all told him
• 1:44:42
  Speaker 14: to hush and not to be disrespectful to his elders.
• 1:44:46
  Speaker 14: Good morning, said mister Chippy to Daddy Longlegs. We've come
• 1:44:51
  Speaker 14: to tell you some good news. We're going to call
• 1:44:54
  Speaker 14: you by a different name, and we hope you'll like it.
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 14: I hope so, Daddy long echoed.
• 1:45:01
  Speaker 11: What is it?
• 1:45:01
  Speaker 14: Please? It's Grandfather Graveyard, little mister Chippy informed him with
• 1:45:07
  Speaker 14: an air of pride. Why that's a beautiful name, Daddy
• 1:45:11
  Speaker 14: Lunglings cried, as a look of pleasure crossed his face.
• 1:45:15
  Speaker 14: I'm glad you think so, said mister Chippy. It's only
• 1:45:19
  Speaker 14: fair to tell you that I thought of it myself.
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 14: And then he called for three cheers for Grandfather Graveyard.
• 1:45:27
  Speaker 14: They gave them with a right good will. After the
• 1:45:31
  Speaker 14: sound had died away, mister Chippy said something in a
• 1:45:34
  Speaker 14: whisper to Daddy.
• 1:45:36
  Speaker 3: What is it?
• 1:45:37
  Speaker 14: Rusty Wren demanded, what's he talking about? He thinks we
• 1:45:41
  Speaker 14: ought to give three cheers for him, Daddy Lungleggs explained.
• 1:45:46
  Speaker 14: But before they had time to do that, a large
• 1:45:49
  Speaker 14: lady bustled out from the stone wall and walked straight
• 1:45:52
  Speaker 14: up to Daddy Lungleggs. She was one of his own
• 1:45:56
  Speaker 14: kind too. The whole company agreed to that afterward, because
• 1:46:00
  Speaker 14: they had all counted her feet and she had eight.
• 1:46:04
  Speaker 5: What's this?
• 1:46:05
  Speaker 14: The newcomer demanded, what's going on here? I should like
• 1:46:09
  Speaker 14: to know? And Daddy Longliggs looked a bit uncomfortable as
• 1:46:13
  Speaker 14: he explained that he had a new name and told
• 1:46:16
  Speaker 14: her what it was. You haven't given your consent, I hope,
• 1:46:21
  Speaker 14: she said, I'm afraid I have, Daddy replied meekly, then
• 1:46:26
  Speaker 14: withdraw it at once. She commanded, sharply, I don't like
• 1:46:30
  Speaker 14: this new name at all. Poor Daddy Longliggs looked as
• 1:46:34
  Speaker 14: if he wished he might sink into the ground and vanish,
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 14: but since he couldn't do that, he stammered that he
• 1:46:40
  Speaker 14: was much obliged to his friends for their kindness, but
• 1:46:44
  Speaker 14: he really would have to insist that they call him
• 1:46:47
  Speaker 14: by his old name, and he hoped they would understand.
• 1:46:51
  Speaker 14: But they didn't understand even then, and the whole company
• 1:46:54
  Speaker 14: stood silent with their mouths open, and watched Daddy Longliggs
• 1:46:59
  Speaker 14: follow this strange lady away. She had beckoned to him,
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 14: and he had started after her without a word of protest.
• 1:47:08
  Speaker 14: His friends noticed that she was considerably bigger than he was. Well,
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 14: they might have been standing there yet if little missus
• 1:47:17
  Speaker 14: Ladybug hadn't arrived just then, quite out of breath from hurrying.
• 1:47:21
  Speaker 14: And of course she wanted to know what had happened.
• 1:47:25
  Speaker 14: For pity's sake, she cried, after she had listened to
• 1:47:28
  Speaker 14: the strange story. Do you mean to say you haven't
• 1:47:32
  Speaker 14: heard the news? Didn't you know that Daddy Longlegs had
• 1:47:36
  Speaker 14: a new wife. Naturally a bride wouldn't care to have
• 1:47:40
  Speaker 14: her young husband known as grandfather Graybeard. Ah, but he's
• 1:47:46
  Speaker 14: very old, said little mister Chippy. How do you know,
• 1:47:50
  Speaker 14: missus Ladybug inquired. Mister Chippy had to admit that he
• 1:47:55
  Speaker 14: had no means of knowing, and then missus Ladybug looked
• 1:47:59
  Speaker 14: very wise. I have reason to believe she said that
• 1:48:03
  Speaker 14: Daddy Longlegs is a much younger person than we have
• 1:48:08
  Speaker 14: always supposed. End of section twenty four. End of the
• 1:48:16
  Speaker 14: Tale of Daddy Longlegs by Arthur Scott Bailey