The Mary Frances Story Book; or, Adventures Among the Story People
Part 1
This ebook is dedicated to EMMY friend, colleague, mentor, role model, who fell off the planet far too soon. ----------------------------------------
_Books by Jane Eayre Fryer_
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THE MARY FRANCES BIBLE STORY BOOK _Or, Adventures Among the Bible People_ PRICE $2.00 NET
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY _PUBLISHERS_ 1006-1016 ARCH STREET, PHILADELPHIA
THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK
OR
ADVENTURES AMONG THE STORY PEOPLE
_by_ JANE EAYRE FRYER
ILLUSTRATED BY EDWIN JOHN PRITTIE
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY PHILADELPHIA, PA.
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY _Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London_
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
PREFACE
THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK is different from the other Mary Frances Books. They are part lessons and part story; they teach something about cooking and sewing, knitting and crocheting, housekeeping and gardening, and first-aid--and tell a story, too; but THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK is all story.
On a summer afternoon Mary Frances took a holiday and sailed away across the blue water to an island--an island formed by the top of a coral mountain resting in a sea of blue; oh, so blue--a brighter blue than the water in your mother’s bluing tub--not the blue that makes you feel sad and blue, but the blue that makes you laugh with happiness. The island itself and the roofs of the houses were coral white, and the green was the green of the palm and banana and mahogany tree. The breezes that blew over them were the warm, soft breezes of the southern sun. This island was the “enchanted island” of the good story-tellers which Mary Frances was allowed to visit. The story people who lived there believed in truth and beauty, and courage and kindness, and these were the theme of their stories. Like all good islands, this island had enemies, but they came to a bad end, as, in the long run, all evil persons will; and truth and beauty, and courage and kindness won the day, as they always must in every land where the searchlight of the sun flashes its beams.
As may be imagined, when Mary Frances came home she had not only one, but many stories to tell; and they are written in this book.
J. E. F. MERCHANTVILLE, N. J.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For kind permission to use copyrighted and other material, the author is indebted to the following: Milton Bradley Company, for “The Closing Door”, from _Mother Stories_, by Maud Lindsay; Little, Brown & Company, for “Tom Goes Down the Well”, from _Mice at Play_, by Neil Forest; Presbyterian Board of Publication, for “Gloomy Gus and the Christmas Cat”, by Alfred Westfall, and “Ann Catches a Thief”, by Daisy Gilbert; McLoughlin Brothers, for “Patty and Her Pitcher”; The Beacon Press, for “The Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Jackal”, from _First Book of Religion_; Cassel & Company, for “Music Bewitched”, by Hartley Richards; American Baptist Publication Society, for “John and Margaret Paton Among Savages”, by Grace E. Craig; Bobbs-Merrill Company, for “Your Flag and My Flag”, from _The Trail to Boyland_, by Wilbur D. Nesbit, copyright 1904. Acknowledgment is also due to Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Company, for “The Bubble Story”, “Mischievous Anna and Peter”, and “The Cat and the Carrots”.
CONTENTS
THE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND
CHAPTER PAGE
I. ON THE SHORE 15
II. THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA 18
III. THE PIRATE’S CAT 23
IV. THE STORY OF THE LOST STORY 26
V. LAND AHOY 29
VI. THE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN CURTAIN 35
VII. FINDING THE LOST STORY 37
VIII. THE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD FERRY 42
IX. THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE OLD WITCH 44
X. THE BUBBLE STORY _Anon._ 47
STORIES TOLD THE FIRST DAY
XI. MISCHIEVOUS ANNA AND PETER _Anon._ 55
XII. DIAMONDS AND TOADS _Macé’s Fairy Tales_ 61
XIII. THE MAGIC NECKLACE _Macé’s Fairy Tales_ 67
XIV. THE CAT AND THE CARROTS _Anon._ 73
XV. THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND THE JACKAL _Hindu Folk Tale_ 79
XVI. THE RED DRAGON _Anon._ 82
XVII. TWO POEMS 84
If I Could Crow 84
The Twins 85
XVIII. TINY’S ADVENTURES IN TINYTOWN 87
Tiny Gets Lost 88
Tiny Is Put in the Lock-up 91
Tiny Is Adopted 94
Tiny Discovers a Fire 100
XIX. TINY HAS MORE ADVENTURES 102
Tiny Saves a Baby’s Life 104
Tiny Goes Shopping 107
Tiny’s Mother Finds Her 111
STORIES TOLD THE SECOND DAY
XX. THE MAGIC MASK _Old Tale_--Retold 119
XXI. THE CLOSING DOOR _Maud Lindsay_ 126
XXII. TOM GOES DOWN THE WELL _Neil Forest_ 130
XXIII. GLOOMY GUS AND THE CHRISTMAS CAT _Alfred Westfall_ 139
XXIV. PATTY AND HER PITCHER _Crowquill’s Fairy Tales_ 146
In the Magic Circle 146
The Wonderful Pitcher 147
The Well-dressed Stranger 154
Patty in Trouble 156
The Pitcher to the Rescue 158
THE STORIES OF THE THIRD DAY
XXV. SIR GALAHAD _Sir Thomas Malory_--Adapted 165
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table 165
Galahad Receives the Order of Knighthood 167
The Adventure of the Sword in the Stone 168
Sir Galahad Sits in the Perilous Seat 170
Sir Galahad Wins the Sword of Balin le Savage 173
The Knights of the Round Table Set Out in Quest of the Holy Grail 176
Sir Galahad Finds a White Shield with a Red Cross 178
Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival Attack Sir Galahad 182
The Adventure of the Gentlewoman, the Mysterious Ship, and the Sword of the Strange Belt 185
The Gentlewoman Risks Her Life for Another 191
Sir Galahad Meets a Knight in White Armor 193
Sir Galahad Achieves His Quest, and Bears the Holy Grail Across the Sea 195
The Passing of Sir Galahad, the End of Sir Percival, and the Return of Sir Bors to Camelot 200
XXVI. HOW SIR LAUNFAL ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAIL _James Russell Lowell_--Retold 203
THE STORIES OF THE FOURTH DAY
XXVII. MUSIC BEWITCHED _Hartley Richards_ 211
Bob’s Three Foes 211
Father Pan’s Revenge 215
XXVIII. ANN CATCHES A THIEF _Daisy Gilbert_ 219
XXIX. JOHN AND MARGARET PATON AMONG SAVAGES _Grace E. Craig_ 226
XXX. THE STRANGE GUEST _Washington Irving_-- Retold from _The Spectre Bridegroom_ 233
The Wedding Feast 240
The Midnight Music 244
XXXI. ROBERT OF SICILY _Henry W. Longfellow_--Retold 248
XXXII. THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY _Edward Everett Hale_-- Retold 254
XXXIII. YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG _Wilbur D. Nesbit_ 264
THE LAST DAY ON STORY ISLAND
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH, A FAIRY TALE OF HOME _Charles Dickens_--Adapted 271
XXXIV. CHIRP THE FIRST 271
The Peerybingles 271
The Strange Old Gentleman 274
Caleb Plummer 277
Tackleton 279
Dot is Upset 281
XXXV. CHIRP THE SECOND 285
Bertha, the Blind Girl, and Her Father 285
Tackleton Comes In 288
Bertha’s Eyes 291
The Carrier’s Cart 293
The Party at Caleb’s 298
The Shadow on the Hearth 302
XXXVI. CHIRP THE THIRD 306
John Listens to the Cricket 306
John Blames Himself 308
Caleb Confesses His Deceit 312
The Dead Returns to Life 316
Tackleton Does the Unexpected 321
THE RETURN HOME
XXXVII. GOOD-BY, MARY FRANCES. COME AGAIN! 325
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THEY COULD SEE THAT THE PIRATE’S SHIP WAS KEEPING THE DISTANCE THE SAME AS AT FIRST BETWEEN THEM _Frontispiece_
PAGE
MARY FRANCES LEANED DOWN AND CAUGHT HOLD OF HIS FINS 21
“JUST SOME FLYING FISH,” ANSWERED THE CAT 31
SHE FED HIM A LITTLE AT A TIME WITH A MEDICINE DROPPER 39
ON ONE OF THE FLOWERS WAS PERCHED A TINY FAIRY 49
THEY WERE AS HIGH UP IN THE AIR AS THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN 57
SHE DRANK LONG AND EAGERLY 63
HE THREW THE NECKLACE AROUND CORALIE’S NECK 69
“HAVE YOU NO FEELINGS?” SAID THE CARROT 75
“WOW!” SHRIEKED THE DRAGON 82
JUST AT HER FEET LAY THE TINIEST LITTLE BIT OF A TOWN 89
THE PONY CANTERED ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STREET 99
SHE RAN AS FAST AS SHE COULD AND WAS JUST IN TIME TO DRAG THE BABY OUT OF THE WAY OF THE WAGON 105
“MOTHER!” SHE CRIED. “OH, MOTHER!” 113
THE MAGIC MASK WAS READY, AND HERLO TRIED IT ON THE KING’S FACE 123
BUT ALL THE UNITED EFFORTS OF BESS AND BOB AND ARCHIE’S LEFT ARM COULD NOT RAISE TOM 135
HE SWUNG DOWN THE TRAIL WITH A SPEED THAT MOCKED THE WIND AT HIS BACK 143
SHE THEN TOUCHED THE PITCHER WITH HER WAND 150
“BE NOT ALARMED, DEAR MISTRESS,” SAID THE PITCHER 157
IMMEDIATELY HE GRASPED THE SWORD BY THE HANDLE, BUT COULD NOT STIR IT 171
THEN SIR GALAHAD TOOK HIS PLACE IN THE FIELD 175
A MONK LED HIM BEHIND THE ALTAR WHERE THE SHIELD HUNG AS WHITE AS SNOW, BUT IN THE CENTER WAS A RED CROSS 181
THE DAMSEL RODE AS FAST AS HER HORSE WOULD GALLOP THAT NIGHT AND ALL THE NEXT DAY TILL THEY CAME IN SIGHT OF THE SEA 187
SLOWLY SLEEP CAME UPON HIM AND HE DREAMED 205
AWAY WENT THE SCHOOLMASTER’S LEGS, CUTTING SUCH CAPERS AS THE WORLD NEVER LOOKED UPON BEFORE 217
BEFORE THE DOOR OF A LOW, THATCHED HUT STOOD A FAIR-HAIRED YOUNG WOMAN 227
ONCE HE THOUGHT HE SAW THEM 237
A TALL FIGURE STOOD AMONG THE SHADOWS OF THE TREES 243
TOWARD THE VERY LAST, ROBERT THE JESTER RODE ON A PIEBALD PONY 251
HE FLUNG THE BOOK INTO THE SEA 257
YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG 265
“IF YOU PLEASE, I WAS TO BE LEFT TILL CALLED FOR” 275
THERE WERE HOUSES IN IT, FURNISHED AND UNFURNISHED, FOR DOLLS OF ALL STATIONS IN LIFE 286
THEY JOGGED ON FOR SOME TIME IN SILENCE 297
THE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND
ON THE SHORE.--THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA.--THE PIRATE’S CAT.--THE LOST STORY.--LAND AHOY.--THE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN CURTAIN.--FINDING THE LOST STORY.--THE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD FERRY.--THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE OLD WITCH.--THE BUBBLE STORY.
THE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND
I
ON THE SHORE
“IF only--” whispered Mary Frances to herself, as she closed the book she had been reading, “if only one could find the ‘enchanted island,’ and the ‘hidden treasure of stories’--I wish--I wish the story told how to get there!”
She was sitting on the branches of a tree, which were so bent that they formed a sort of hammocky rocking chair. The tree was close to the bank of the river, and away in the distance the whitecaps of the ocean rolled up and broke upon the beach.
“It’s quite a journey,” said a small voice, “quite a long journey.”
Mary Frances looked all around, but could not find where the voice came from.
“You see, it’s out at sea,” continued the voice; “and only one boat and one passenger a year. What’s more----”
This last was uttered with a deep sigh.
“Why, where are you? Who are you?” asked Mary Frances, springing up.
“Here I am, but I won’t be long,” continued the voice. “You’d better look lively, for I can’t cling to this fence much longer. Besides, I am almost out of element!”
Then the little girl saw a dolphin sitting on the top rail of the fence, holding on with one fin.
“Oh!” she cried, “do you really know where the ‘enchanted island’ is? Will you tell me how to get there?”
“That I will!” said the dolphin. “That I will, if you’ll get me a little of my element first.”
“What is that?” asked Mary Frances.
“Why, you couldn’t live without yours for one minute! I’ll die if I don’t get some soon!”
“Oh, dear, what can it be? Whatever in the world is your element? I don’t want you to die!”
“Be quick!” cried the dolphin, fanning himself with the other fin. “I feel very faint!”
“I’ll get some water!” Stooping quickly, Mary Frances filled her hat. Before she could dash it over him, the dolphin ducked his head into the hatful of water.
“Thank you,” he said, raising his head. “You’re not so dull after all. Water is my element; air is yours.”
“Of course,” said Mary Frances; but she wondered why the dolphin didn’t jump back into the water.
“The reason is that it takes me so long to climb a fence!”
“Oh!” said Mary Frances, although she didn’t see why the dolphin had to sit on a fence to talk.
“So that there’ll be no offense!” said the dolphin, after staring at her for a while; “but to refer to the trip--have you a ticket?”
“Why, no, I don’t think I have.” Mary Frances searched in her pockets, and pulled out some ribbon, a doll’s wig, a thimble, and a piece of paper.
“That’s the ticket!” exclaimed the dolphin, pointing with his fin. “All you need to do is to sign it. Have you a pencil?”
Mary Frances searched again in her pockets, while the dolphin looked on anxiously, but couldn’t find one.
“Well, never mind; just pull out one of my whiskers,” he said. “It will write right well.”
“But I might hurt you!” cried Mary Frances.
“Not if you take that loose one,” he said, pointing with his fin.
Very gently Mary Frances pulled it, and out it came.
“Sign your name!” cried the dolphin excitedly. “Right at the end of the paper!”
“Excuse me,” said Mary Frances; “my father says that no one should ever sign a paper without reading it.”
“That’s good reading!” said the dolphin. “Read it!”
And Mary Frances read:
+--------------------------------+ | Good for | | One First Class Passage | | to | | Story Island | | | | * * * | | | | I Believe in All Good Fairies. | | Signed ------------ | | No. 1,234,567. | +--------------------------------+
“Of course, I’ll sign that!” said Mary Frances, gravely using the dolphin’s whisker.
At that, the dolphin fell over with a great splash into the water.
“Oh!” screamed Mary Frances, “you’ll be drowned!” But, just at that moment, up came the dolphin’s head out of the water.
“My element!” he said. Then Mary Frances laughed to think how soon she had forgotten.
“Hold your ticket and wait right where you are!” the dolphin called out, swimming away.
Mary Frances watched the splashing tail and shining back flashing in the sun. Two or three times he leaped playfully in the air, turned somersaults in the water, and then disappeared from sight in the little cove near the mouth of the river.
II
THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA
“OH, my,” thought Mary Frances; “oh, my, I hope he won’t forget!”
After a little while, she caught sight of the dolphin swimming around the little high peninsula on one side of the cove. He seemed to be piloting something, for every few seconds he would leap up and look around as if to make sure that everything was as it should be.
Soon Mary Frances saw a beautiful little sailboat rounding the point. Surely it was following the dolphin. As it drew nearer she could read the name in gold letters on the prow, The Good Ferry.
A brisk wind filled the white sails and brought the boat so swiftly up the river that the dolphin had to swim with all his might to keep ahead. As she came to anchor in the shallow water near the bank, the dolphin called out, “Have you your ticket?”
“Yes,” answered Mary Frances, holding it up to view.
“Then step on my back and jump aboard!” said the dolphin.
As Mary Frances placed her foot on the dolphin as on a bridge, he suddenly arched his back and tossed her aboard.
“Take plenty of time to look the ship over,” he called out; “and don’t lose your ticket!”
Then the dolphin, with The Good Ferry following in his wake, swam down the river and put out to sea.
The Good Ferry was a charming little boat, graceful in every line. It wasn’t any longer than a large rowboat, but it seemed to have every comfort provided. There was on deck a comfortable deck chair; upon it was spread a beautiful steamer rug.
“I’ll take a nice nap, after I look the boat over,” thought Mary Frances.
As she made her way into the cabin, she uttered a cry of delight--and no wonder. Any girl would have loved it. The walls and woodwork were ivory white. Soft pink and light blue hangings fluttered at the windows. A large bowl, filled with pink roses and turquoise blue larkspurs, stood on the little golden dressing table with its folding mirrors.
A little ivory-white princess dresser, with its full-length mirror, stood across one corner, and an ivory-white bed across the other corner. On the rocking-chair, and bed, and dresser were painted pink and blue flowers, and the covers of the table, bed and dresser were embroidered with the same designs.
There was a wardrobe in a corner, and in it Mary Frances found the loveliest dressing gown of pink crêpe de chine, embroidered with sprays of light blue forget-me-nots, and white daisies with yellow centers, and pink roses; and a pair of light blue bedroom slippers and silk stockings, and a boudoir cap and nightgown, and a big steamer coat and cap--all just the right size.
“Just like a grown-up young lady,” she thought.
There were two more doors; one led to a pretty white bathroom, and the other to a little dining-room, lined with mirrors.
“I can’t get lonesome,” thought Mary Frances, “with so many ‘me’s’ about me;” and she laughed, and, just as she laughed, food appeared on the table. There were chicken soup, and celery, and olives, and crackers.
“Oh, dear! How hungry I am!” she exclaimed. “I guess this is meant for me;” and she sat down on the one chair at the table and began to eat the soup.
“I feel lots better!” said she, finishing the last drop. “It’s not good table manners to tip this plate,” she thought; “but I guess my reflections will excuse me,” and she bowed to the pictures of herself in the mirrors, and laughed.
Then suddenly the soup course disappeared from the table, and in its place there were roast turkey and cranberry sauce, and roasted sweet potatoes and apple sauce, and the many other things which go to make an all-around feast.
“How wonderful!” exclaimed Mary Frances, helping herself to turkey. “But how stupid to eat by myself, with only myself for company.” Just then she looked out of the porthole window and saw the dolphin, swimming ahead of the little ship.
“I’ll go invite the dolphin to dinner,” she thought; and went on deck.
Imagine her surprise to find that there was no land in sight. Neither was there any ship. The only other thing than the dolphin was the sea-gulls flying overhead.
“Hallo! Hallo!” shouted Mary Frances, making a trumpet of her hands. “Mr. Dolphin, Mr. Dolphin, one moment, please!”
The dolphin turned and looked at her. “Yes?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Please, Mr. Dolphin, do you ever eat? I am lonesome, eating all alone.”
“I eat only fish,” said the dolphin. “They are in my element, you see. I do not find my food out of my element.”
“Oh, as to that,” replied Mary Frances, “I will fill a bowl with your element, if you will only accept the invitation.”
“Agreed!” said the dolphin, swimming to the rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship. Mary Frances leaned down and caught hold of his fins, when within reach, and helped him up.
When the dolphin reached the deck, she picked up a fire-pail with a rope attached, threw it overside, and brought up a pail of water. Then she hastened to the dining-room and brought a bowl.
After that she helped the dolphin to the dining table. The only chair was clamped in place to the floor, just as on any steamer, and she could not move it. So she changed her place to the side of the table. As the chair was a revolving one, like a desk chair, she turned and turned it until it reached the right height for the dolphin. She placed the bowl of water, “element” she called it, at the dolphin’s place.
“Is there anything on the table, Mr. Dolphin,” she asked, “which you would like?”
“Yes,” sighed the dolphin, “I would like some more salt in my element soup.”
Mary Frances gravely shook the salt-shaker over the bowl for a full minute. The dolphin tasted the water. “A little more, please,” he said.
So Mary Frances emptied almost all the rest of the salt out of the shaker into the bowl. The dolphin dipped in his head. “That’s excellent,” he said, smacking his lips.
“Mercy,” thought Mary Frances, “I do hope he won’t turn into a salt mackerel.”
“Salt Smackerel is my pet name,” said the dolphin, smacking his lips again, and wiping them with his fin.