Andiron Tales

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2010

Écrit par
John Kendrick Bangs

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117

pages

English

Documents

2010

Lire

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres

Publié par

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Publié le

08 décembre 2010

Nombre de lectures

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English

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Andiron Tales, by John Kendrick BangsThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: Andiron TalesAuthor: John Kendrick BangsRelease Date: January 2, 2008 [EBook #24130]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDIRON TALES ***Produced by Irma Spehar, Jason Isbell, Christine D. andthe Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.net"Get him a mirror." "Get him a mirror."ANDIRONTALESBYJOHN KENDRICK BANGSILLUSTRATED BYCLARE VICTOR DWIGGINSTHE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.PUBLISHERSPHILADELPHIACOPYRIGHT, 1906,BYTHE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.CONTENTSCHAPTER I.Tom and the Andirons 9CHAPTER II.The Story of Ebenezer 17CHAPTER III.Off in the Clouds 25CHAPTER IV.The Poker Tells His Story 38CHAPTER V.The Poker Concludes His Story 45CHAPTER VI.The Literary Bellows 52CHAPTER VII.They Reach the Crescent Moon 61CHAPTER VIII.On the Trolley Cloud 70CHAPTER IX.On the Oscycle—A Narrow Escape 80CHAPTER X.Home Again 91ILLUSTRATIONSBY CLARE VICTOR DWIGGINS"Get him a mirror," said the Lefthandiron.FrontispieceIn colors"I'm not a Dormouse" 12"A little tale which I will wag for you" 15"And then die without paying for it" 20"Just what I wanted for my lunch" 22"Tried to bite my head off" 23"A mouse ...

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Publié par

ostou

Publié le

08 décembre 2010

Nombre de lectures

Langue

English

"Get him a mirror." "Get him a mirror."ANDIRONTALESBYJOHN KENDRICK BANGSILLUSTRATED BYCLARE VICTOR DWIGGINSTHE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.PUBLISHERSPHILADELPHIACOPYRIGHT, 1906,BYTHE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.CONTENTSCHAPTER I.

917253845Tom and the AndironsCHAPTER II.The Story of EbenezerCHAPTER III.Off in the CloudsCHAPTER IV.The Poker Tells His StoryCHAPTER V.The Poker Concludes His StoryCHAPTER VI.The Literary BellowsCHAPTER VII.They Reach the Crescent MoonCHAPTER VIII.On the Trolley CloudCHAPTER IX.On the Oscycle—A Narrow Escape80CHAPTER X.Home AgainILLUSTRATIONS52617091BY CLARE VICTOR DWIGGINS"Get him a mirror," said the Lefthandiron.Frontis

In colors"I'm not a Dormouse""A little tale which I will wag for you""And then die without paying for it""Just what I wanted for my lunch""Tried to bite my head off""A mouse with a door to him""There's no better place than this cloud," saidthe Poker.In colors"In one ear and out of the other""A poker who could only poke""No," she said, "I'm not your mother, I am a Fairy."In colors"Doesn't have to live in a bathtub""Eagles never have umbrellas""One day the woodcutters came""So I really live home""What's the use of fighting?""I blow a story of two, now and then," said the Bellows.In ColorsHe Gave a Tremendous Wheeze"Columbus was a great man""You see, it's this shape""Why, it's really a trolley!" he cried.piece1215202223313334394041464951535458636668

In colors"It keeps me jumping all the time""I haven't the money"On the Oscycle.In colors"My own private iceberg"The Man from Saturn JumpedTom Jumped, and in a Moment was Sitting Astride the Great Bird's Neck.In colors"Upon the Anvil in his Sanctum"Devouring His Favorite AuthorTom is Awakened by the Avalanche.In colorsTail Piece102939810083868972788068CHAPTER I.Andiron TalesBy John Kendrick BangsBeing the Remarkable Adventures of a Boywith a Lively Imagination

Tom and the AndironsIt was perfectly natural in one respect, anyhow. Therewas really no reason in the world why Tom should notlie upon the great bear-skin rug in front of the libraryfire those cold winter nights if he wanted to, nor needanyone be surprised that he should want to. It wasindeed a most delightful place to lie in. The bear-skinwas soft and in every way comfortable and comforting.The fireplace itself was one of those huge hospitableaffairs that might pass in some apartment houses inour narrow cooped-up city streets for a butler's pantryor small reception room—in fact in the summer timeTom used to sit in the fireplace and pretend he was inhis office transacting business with such of his sister'sdolls as could be induced to visit him there; givingorders to imaginary clerks and bookkeepers andkeeping an equally fanciful office boy continually onthe run. And then apart from the rug and the fireplaceit was a beautiful room in which they were. Tom'sfather was very fond of books, and, although he was agreat many years older than Tom, he had notforgotten how to enjoy the very same kind of booksthat Tom liked. He was not ashamed to have one littleniche of his library filled with the stories which haddelighted him in his boyhood days, and which stillcontinued to please him, and, of course, this lent anadditional charm to the library in Tom's eyes. It heldhis heroes, and on some of those drowsy nights whenthe only sounds to break the stillness of the roomwere the scratching of his father's pen, the softhumming of some little tune by his mother sitting andsewing by the evening lamp, and the fierce cracklingof the burning logs, Tom could almost see these

heroes stepping down from the shelves and like somany phantoms flitting in and about the room. In fact,upon one occasion, Tom is convinced he did seethese very people having a dance upon the great tiledhearth—but of that you shall hear later.There were many other things in the library beside hisheroes that interested Tom. There was a littleJapanese ivory god that used to sit up on the mantelshelf and gaze wisely at him, as much as to say,"Dear me, boy, what a lot I could tell you if I onlywould!" Then, too, there was a very handsome vaseon top of one of the book-cases that had tworemarkable dragons climbing up its sides, the tail ofone of them so fixed that if anyone chose to use thevase for a pitcher the tail would make a veryconvenient handle, at which the other dragon alwaysappeared to be laughing heartily, which he had noreason to do, because his own tail was not arrangedany too gracefully. But the things that, next to Jack theGiant Killer, and Beauty and the Beast, and TomThumb and his other heroes and heroines, Tom likedthe most, were two great brazen Andirons that stoodin the fireplace. To Tom these Andirons, though up tothe night when our story begins he had never seenthem move, seemed almost to live. They had big,round, good-natured faces, that shone like so muchgold. Their necks were slight and graceful, but as theydeveloped downward toward their handsome feet theAndirons grew more portly, until finally they came tolook very much like a pair of amiable sea serpentswithout much length. Tom's uncle said they looked likecats, with sunflowers for heads, swan necks forbodies, and very little of the cat about them save the

claws. This description made Tom laugh, but the morehe thought about it the more truthful did it seem to himto be.For so long a time as Tom could remember, summerand winter, those Andirons had sat staring stolidlyahead in their accustomed place, and not until thatDecember night had they even so much as winked athim—but on that occasion they more than made upfor all their previous silence and seeming unsociability.Tom was lying on the rug, as usual, and I am afraidwas almost asleep. The logs were burning fiercely andat first Tom thought that the words he heard spokenwere nothing but their crackling and hissing, but in aminute he changed his mind about that for the verygood reason that the "Lefthandiron"—as Tom's uncleonce called it—winked his eye at Tom and said:"Hullo, Sleepyhead."Tom only returned the wink. He was too muchsurprised to say anything.""His name isn't Sleepyhead, said the Righthandiron,with a grin. "It's Thomas D. Pate.""What's the D for?" asked the other."Dozy—Thomas Dozy Pate," exclaimed theRighthandiron. "His ancestors were Sleepyheads onhis mother's side, and Dozy Pates on his father's.side""'Tisn't so at all!" cried Tom, indignantly. "My mamawasn't a Sleepyhead, and my name isn't Dozy Pate."

"He's such a Sleepyhead he doesn't know his ownname," said the Lefthandiron."I'M NOT A DORMOUSE." "I'M NOT A DORMOUSE.""That's a curious thing about the Sleepyheads and theDozy Pates. They very seldom know their own names—and even when they do they always deny that theyare what they are. Why I really believe if I told Tomhere that he was a Dormouse he'd deny it and say hewas a boy.""I am a boy," said Tom, stoutly, "and I'm not aDormouse."Both of the Andirons laughed heartily at this, and theRighthandiron, dancing a little jig, sang over and overagain this couplet:"He can't be very smart, I wis,If he can't see that's what he is.""Get him a mirror," said the Lefthandiron. "We can'tblame him for thinking he is a boy, because everybodyhas told him he is a boy except ourselves, and being aSleepyhead he believes as a rule what he is told if it ispleasant to believe.""Well, I can't see why he objects to being aDormouse," said the Righthandiron. "I think Dormiceare very handsome and just too sweet and amiable tolive. They are much pleasanter mice than Windowmiceand Stairmice—don't you think so?"

"Indeed I do," returned the Lefthandiron, "and Tom isabout the finest Dormouse I ever saw, and I wish he'dlet us get acquainted with him.""So do I," said the other, "but if he doesn't it's his ownloss. You and I can go off to Santa Clausville byourselves and have quite as good a time, if not better,than if he were along with us. I've noticed one thing,my dear Lefty, two's best anyhow."Two people in an omnibusWhere there's but one settee,Can both be seated with less fussThan if the twain were three."If there is candy for but four,This maxim still holds true,Each one will get so much the moreIf there are only two."Two boys upon a teeter boardCan have just twice the funThat any seesaw can affordIf there's another one."So I say, what if he doesn't come? You and I willenjoy ourselves just as much. There'll be more candyfor us, we won't have to divide the good time we haveup into more than two parts, and, what is more,neither of us will have to carry the Dormouse."Here the two Andirons gave a sidelong glance at Tom,and saw that he was smiling."What are you laughing at?" asked the Righthandiron."Eh, Dormouse?"

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