Swiss Twins , livre ebook

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31 pages

English

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pubOne.info present you this new edition. High on the kitchen wall of an old farm-house on a mountain-side in Switzerland there hangs a tiny wooden clock. In the tiny wooden clock there lives a tiny wooden cuckoo, and every hour he hops out of his tiny wooden door, takes a look about to see what is going on in the world, shouts out the time of day, and pops back again into his little dark house, there to wait and tick away the minutes until it is time once more to tell the hour.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	06 novembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819948803
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0050€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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I. THE RESPONSIBLE CUCKOO
High on the kitchen wall of an old farm-house on amountain-side in Switzerland there hangs a tiny wooden clock. Inthe tiny wooden clock there lives a tiny wooden cuckoo, and everyhour he hops out of his tiny wooden door, takes a look about to seewhat is going on in the world, shouts out the time of day, and popsback again into his little dark house, there to wait and tick awaythe minutes until it is time once more to tell the hour.
Late one spring afternoon, just as the sun wassinking out of sight, lighting up the snow-capped mountains withbeautiful colors and sending long shafts of golden light across thevalleys, the cuckoo woke with a start.
“Bless me! ” he said to himself, “Here it is sixo'clock and not a sound in the kitchen! It's high time for MotherAdolf to be getting supper. What in the world this family would dowithout me I really cannot think! They'd never know it was suppertime if I didn't tell them, and would starve to death as likely asnot. It is lucky for them I am such a responsible bird. ” The tinywooden door flew open and he stuck out his tiny wooden head. Therewas not a sound in the kitchen but the loud ticking of theclock.
“Just as I thought, ” said the cuckoo. “Not a soulhere. ”
There stood the table against the kitchen wall, witha little gray mouse on it nibbling a crumb of cheese. Along fingerof sunlight streamed through the western window and touched thegreat stone stove, as if trying to waken the fire within. A beamfell upon a pan of water standing on the floor and sent gaysparkles of light dancing over the shining tins in the cupboard.The cuckoo saw it all at a glance. “This will never do, ” he tickedindignantly. There was a queer rumbling sound in his insides as ifhis feelings were getting quite too much for him, and then suddenlyhe sent a loud “cuckoo” ringing through the silent room. Instantlythe little gray mouse leaped down from the table and scampered awayto his hole in the wall, the golden sunbeam flickered and was gone,and shadows began to creep into the corners. “Cuckoo, cuckoo, ” heshouted at the top of his voice, “cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, ”— sixtimes in all, — and then, his duty done, he popped back again intohis little dark house, and the door clicked behind him.
Out in the garden Mother Adolf heard him and,raising her head from the onion-bed, where she was pulling weeds,she counted on her fingers, “One, two, three, four, five, six!Bless my soul, six o'clock and the sun already out of sight behindold Pilatus, ” she said, and, rising from her knees a littlestiffly, she stood for a moment looking down the green slopestoward the valley.
Far, far below, the blue waters of Lake Lucernemirrored the glowing colors of the mountain-peaks beyond itsfarther shore, and nearer, among the foothills of old Pilatusitself, a little village nestled among green trees, its roofsclustered about a white church-spire. Now the bells in the steeplebegan to ring, and the sound floated out across the green fieldsspangled with yellow daffodils, and reached Mother Adolf where shestood. Bells from more distant villages soon joined in the clamor,until all the air was filled with music and a hundred echoes wokein the mountains.
The tiny wooden cuckoo heard them and ticked loudlywith satisfaction. “Everybody follows me, ” he said to himselfproudly. “I wake all the bells in the world. ”
“Where can the children be? ” said Mother Adolfaloud to herself, looking about the garden. “I haven't heard asound from either the baby or the Twins for over an hour, ” and,making a hollow between her lands, she added her own bit of musicto the chorus of the hills.
(line of music notation)
she sang, and immediately from behind the willowswhich fringed the brook at the end of the garden two childishvoices gave back an answering strain.
(line of music notation)
A moment later two sunburned, towheaded, blue-eyedchildren, a boy and girl of ten, appeared, dragging after them abox mounted on rough wooden wheels in which there sat a round,pink, blue-eyed cherub of a baby. Shouting with laughter, they cametearing up the garden path to their mother's side.
“Hush, my children, ” said Mother Adolf, laying herfinger on her lips. “It is the Angelus. ”
The shouts were instantly silenced, and the twochildren stood beside the mother with clasped hands and bowed headsuntil the echoes of the bells died away in the distance.
Far down on the long path to the village a man,bending under the weight of a huge basket, also stood still for amoment in silent prayer, then toiled again up the steep slope.
“See, ” cried Mother Adolf as she lifted her head,“there comes Father from the village with bread for our supper inhis basket. Run, Seppi, and help him bring the bundles home. OurFritz will soon be coming with the goats, too, and he and Fatherwill both be as hungry as wolves and in a hurry for their supper.Hark! ” she paused to listen.
Far away from out the blue shadows of the mountaincame the sound of a horn playing a merry little tune.
“There's Fritz now, ” cried Mother Adolf. “Hurry,Seppi, and you, Leneli, come with me to the kitchen. You can givelittle Roseli her supper, while I spread the table and set the soupto boil before the goats get here to be milked. ” She lifted thebaby in her arms as she spoke, and set off at a smart pace towardthe house, followed by Leneli dragging the cart and playingpeek-a-boo with the baby over her mother's shoulder.
When they reached the door, Leneli sat down on thestep, and Mother Adolf put the baby in her arms and went at onceinto the quiet house. Then there was a sound of quick steps aboutthe kitchen, a rattling of the stove, and a clatter of tins whichmust have pleased the cuckoo, and soon she reappeared in the doorwith a bowl and spoon in her hands.
The bowl she gave to Leneli, and little Roseli,crowing with delight, seized the spoon and stuck it first into aneye, and then into her tiny pink button of a nose, in a franticeffort to find her mouth. It was astonishing to Baby Roseli howthat rosebud mouth of hers managed to hide itself, even though shewas careful to keep it wide open while she searched for it. Whenshe had explored her whole face with the spoon in vain, Leneli tookthe tiny hand in hers and guided each mouthful down the little redlane.
Over their heads the robin in the cherry tree by thedoor sat high up on a twig and chirped a good-night song to hisnestlings. “Cherries are ripe, cherries are ripe, cherries are ripein June, ” sang the robin. At least that is what Leneli told thebaby he said, and surely she ought to know.
Before Baby Roseli had finished the last mouthful ofher supper, Father and Seppi appeared with the bundles, and thenthere was the clatter of many little hoofs on the hard earth of thedoor-yard, and round the corner of the old gray farm-house came bigbrother Fritz with the goats. With Fritz came Bello, his faithfuldog, barking and wagging his tail for joy at getting home again.Bello ran at once to Leneli and licked her hand, nearly upsettingthe bowl of milk in his noisy greeting, and the baby crowed withdelight and seized him by his long, silky ears.
“Down, Bello, down, ” cried Leneli, holding the bowlhigh out of reach; “you'll spill the baby's supper! ” And Bello,thinking she meant that he should beg for it, sat up on his hindlegs with his front paws crossed and barked three times, as Fritzhad taught him to do.
“He must have a bite or he'll forget his manners, ”laughed Fritz, and Leneli broke off a crumb of bread and tossed itto him. Bello caught it before it fell, swallowed it at one gulp,and begged for more.
“No, no, ” said Leneli, “good old Bello, go now withFritz and help him drive the goats to the milking-shed, and by andby you shall have your supper. ”
Fritz whistled, and instantly Bello was off like ashot after Nanni, the brown goat, who was already on her way to thegarden to eat the young green carrot-tops she saw peeping out ofthe ground.
“It's time that child was in bed, ” said the cuckooto himself, and out he came from his little house and called“cuckoo” seven times so reproachfully that Leneli hastened upstairswith the baby and put her down in her crib at once.
Baby Roseli did not agree with the cuckoo. Shewanted to stay up and play with Bello, and hear the robin sing, butLeneli sat down beside the crib, and while Mother Adolf milked thegoats she sang over and over again an old song.
"Sleep, baby, sleep!
Thy father watches the sheep,
Thy mother is shaking the dreamland tree
And down falls a little dream on thee.
Sleep, baby, sleep! "
"Sleep, baby, sleep!
The large stars are the sheep,
The little stars are the lambs, I guess,
And the silver moon is the shepherdess.
Sleep, baby, sleep! "
Over and over she sang it, until at last the heavylids closed over the blue eyes. Then she crept quietly down thecreaking stairs in the dark, and ate her bread and cheese and drankher soup by candle-light with her father and mother, Seppi andFritz, all seated about the kitchen table.
By nine o'clock the room was once more silent anddeserted, the little mouse was creeping quietly from his hole inthe wall, and Bello lay by the door asleep with his nose on hispaws. High over Mt. Pilatus the moon sailed through the star-litsky, bathing the old gray farm-house in silver light and playinghide and seek with shadows on the snow-capped peaks.
“Cuckoo, ” called the tiny wooden cuckoo nine times,and at once the bells in the village steeple answered him. “That'sas it should be, ” ticked the cuckoo. “That church-bell is reallyvery intelligent. Let me see; to-morrow morning I must wake theroosters at three, and the sun at four, and the family must be upby five. I'll just turn in and get a wink of sleep myself while Ican, ” and he popped into the clock ones more and shut thedoor.
II. THE TWINS LEARN A NEW TRADE
At five o'clock the next morning Father and MotherAdolf were already up, and the cuckoo