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A Child's Book of Stories |
by Penrhyn W. Coussens |
A choice collection of favorite fairy tales, to delight children of all ages. The 86 stories selected for this collection include folk tales from England, Norway, and India, as well as the best fairy tales from Grimm, Andersen, and Perrault. The volume also contains a handful of fables from Aesop and several tales from the Arabian Nights. Ages 5-9 | 589 pages |
$19.95 |
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THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
"Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme
And monkeys chewed tobacco,
And hens took snuff to make them tough
And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!"
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[374]
HERE was an old sow with three little pigs, and as she had
not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek
their fortune. The first went off and went off met a
man with a bundle of straw, and said to him: "Please,
man, give me that straw to build me a house." Which
the man did, and the little pig built a house with it.
Presently along came a wolf, and knocked at the door,
and said: "Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
To which the little pig answered, "No, no, not by the
chair of my chiny chin chin." The wolf then answered
to that: "Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow
your house in." So he huffed, and he puffed, and he
blew his house in, and ate up the little pig.
The second little pig met a man with a bundle of furze
and said: "Please, man, give me that furze to build a
house." Which the man did, and the pig built his
house.
Then along came the wolf, and said: "Little pig,
little pig, let me come in." "No, no, by the chair of
my chiny chin chin." "Then I'll huff and I'll puff,
and I'll blow your house in."
So he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and at last
he blew the house down, and he ate up the little pig.
The third little pig met a man with a load of bricks,
and said: "Please, man, give me those bricks to build
a house with."
[374] So the man gave him the bricks, and he built his house
with them. So the wolf came, as he did to the other
little pigs, and said:
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in." "No, no, by
the chair of my chiny chin chin." "Then I'll huff and
I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and he
puffed, and he puffed, and he huffed; but he could
NOT get the house down. When he found
that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing,
blow the house down, he said:
"Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of
turnips."
"Where?" said the little pig.
"Oh, in Mr. Smith's home-field, and if you will be
ready to-morrow morning I will call for you, and we
will go together, and get some for dinner."
"Very well," said the little pig, "I will be ready.
What time do you mean to go?"
"Oh, at six o'clock."
Well, the little pig got up at five, and got the
turnips before the wolf came (which he did about six),
and said:
"Little pig, are you ready?"
The little pig said: "Ready! I have been and come
back again, and got a nice potful for dinner."
The wolf felt very angry about this, but thought that
he would be up to the little pig somehow or other, so
he said: "Little pig, I know where there is a nice
apple tree."
"Where?" said the little pig.
"Down at Merry-garden," replied the wolf, "and if you
will not deceive me I will come for you at five o'clock
tomorrow and get some apples."
Well, the little pig bustled up at four o'clock and
went off for the apples, hoping to get back before the
wolf came; but he had farther to go, and had to climb
the
[376] tree, so that just as he was coming down from it, he
saw the wolf coming, which, as you may suppose,
frightened him very much. When the wolf came up he
said:
"Little pig, what! are you here before me? Are they
nice apples?"
"Yes, very," said the little pig, I will throw you down
one."
And he threw it so far, that, while the wolf was gone
to pick it up, the little pig jumped down and ran home.
The next day the wolf came again, and said to the
little pig:
"Little pig, there is a fair at Shanklin this
afternoon. Will you go?"
"Oh, yes," said the little pig, "I will go. What time
shall you be ready?"
"At three," said the wolf. So the little pig went off
before the time as usual, and got to the fair, and
bought a butter-churn, which he was going home with,
when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could not tell
what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by
doing so turned it round, and it rolled down the hill
with the pig in it, which frightened the wolf so much,
the he ran home without going to the fair. He went to
the little pig's house, and told him how frightened he
had been by a great round thing which came down the
hill past him. Then the little pig said:
"Hah, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair
and bought a butter-churn, and when I saw you, I got
into it, and rolled down the hill."
Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he
would eat up the little pig, and that he would
get down the chimney after him. When the little pig
saw what he was about, he hung on the pot full of
water, and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the
wolf was coming down, took off the cover, and in fell
the wolf; so the little pig put on the cover again in
an instant, boiled him up, and ate him for supper, and
lived happy ever afterwards.
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