Life and Adventures of Santa Claus , livre ebook

Pub One Info - Lyman-Frank Baum

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

69 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Have you heard of the great Forest of Burzee? Nurse used to sing of it when I was a child. She sang of the big tree-trunks, standing close together, with their roots intertwining below the earth and their branches intertwining above it; of their rough coating of bark and queer, gnarled limbs; of the bushy foliage that roofed the entire forest, save where the sunbeams found a path through which to touch the ground in little spots and to cast weird and curious shadows over the mosses, the lichens and the drifts of dried leaves.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Informations

Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	27 septembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819927457
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
by
L. Frank Baum
YOUTH
1. Burzee
2. The Child of the Forest
3. The Adoption
4. Claus
5. The Master Woodsman
6. Claus Discovers Humanity
7. Claus Leaves the Forest
MANHOOD
1. The Laughing Valley
2. How Claus Made the First Toy
3. How the Ryls Colored the Toys
4. How Little Mayrie Became Frightened
5. How Bessie Blithesome Came to the LaughingValley
6. The Wickedness of the Awgwas
7. The Great Battle Between Good and Evil
8. The First Journey with the Reindeer
9. “Santa Claus! ”
10. Christmas Eve
11. How the First Stockings Were Hung by theChimneys
12. The First Christmas Tree
OLD AGE
1. The Mantle of Immortality
2. When the World Grew Old
3. The Deputies of Santa Claus
YOUTH
1. Burzee
Have you heard of the great Forest of Burzee? Nurseused to sing of it when I was a child. She sang of the bigtree-trunks, standing close together, with their roots intertwiningbelow the earth and their branches intertwining above it; of theirrough coating of bark and queer, gnarled limbs; of the bushyfoliage that roofed the entire forest, save where the sunbeamsfound a path through which to touch the ground in little spots andto cast weird and curious shadows over the mosses, the lichens andthe drifts of dried leaves.
The Forest of Burzee is mighty and grand and awesometo those who steal beneath its shade. Coming from the sunlitmeadows into its mazes it seems at first gloomy, then pleasant, andafterward filled with never-ending delights.
For hundreds of years it has flourished in all itsmagnificence, the silence of its inclosure unbroken save by thechirp of busy chipmunks, the growl of wild beasts and the songs ofbirds.
Yet Burzee has its inhabitants— for all this. Naturepeopled it in the beginning with Fairies, Knooks, Ryls and Nymphs.As long as the Forest stands it will be a home, a refuge and aplayground to these sweet immortals, who revel undisturbed in itsdepths.
Civilization has never yet reached Burzee. Will itever, I wonder?
2. The Child of the Forest
Once, so long ago our great-grandfathers couldscarcely have heard it mentioned, there lived within the greatForest of Burzee a wood-nymph named Necile. She was closely relatedto the mighty Queen Zurline, and her home was beneath the shade ofa widespreading oak. Once every year, on Budding Day, when thetrees put forth their new buds, Necile held the Golden Chalice ofAk to the lips of the Queen, who drank therefrom to the prosperityof the Forest. So you see she was a nymph of some importance, and,moreover, it is said she was highly regarded because of her beautyand grace.
When she was created she could not have told; QueenZurline could not have told; the great Ak himself could not havetold. It was long ago when the world was new and nymphs were neededto guard the forests and to minister to the wants of the youngtrees. Then, on some day not remembered, Necile sprang into being;radiant, lovely, straight and slim as the sapling she was createdto guard.
Her hair was the color that lines a chestnut-bur;her eyes were blue in the sunlight and purple in the shade; hercheeks bloomed with the faint pink that edges the clouds at sunset;her lips were full red, pouting and sweet. For costume she adoptedoak-leaf green; all the wood-nymphs dress in that color and know noother so desirable. Her dainty feet were sandal-clad, while herhead remained bare of covering other than her silken tresses.
Necile's duties were few and simple. She kepthurtful weeds from growing beneath her trees and sapping theearth-food required by her charges. She frightened away theGadgols, who took evil delight in flying against the tree-trunksand wounding them so that they drooped and died from the poisonouscontact. In dry seasons she carried water from the brooks and poolsand moistened the roots of her thirsty dependents.
That was in the beginning. The weeds had now learnedto avoid the forests where wood-nymphs dwelt; the loathsome Gadgolsno longer dared come nigh; the trees had become old and sturdy andcould bear the drought better than when fresh-sprouted. So Necile'sduties were lessened, and time grew laggard, while succeeding yearsbecame more tiresome and uneventful than the nymph's joyous spiritloved.
Truly the forest-dwellers did not lack amusement.Each full moon they danced in the Royal Circle of the Queen. Therewere also the Feast of Nuts, the Jubilee of Autumn Tintings, thesolemn ceremony of Leaf Shedding and the revelry of Budding Day.But these periods of enjoyment were far apart, and left many wearyhours between.
That a wood-nymph should grow discontented was notthought of by Necile's sisters. It came upon her only after manyyears of brooding. But when once she had settled in her mind thatlife was irksome she had no patience with her condition, and longedto do something of real interest and to pass her days in wayshitherto undreamed of by forest nymphs. The Law of the Forest alonerestrained her from going forth in search of adventure.
While this mood lay heavy upon pretty Necile itchanced that the great Ak visited the Forest of Burzee and allowedthe wood-nymphs as was their wont— to lie at his feet and listen tothe words of wisdom that fell from his lips. Ak is the MasterWoodsman of the world; he sees everything, and knows more than thesons of men.
That night he held the Queen's hand, for he lovedthe nymphs as a father loves his children; and Necile lay at hisfeet with many of her sisters and earnestly harkened as hespoke.
“We live so happily, my fair ones, in our forestglades, ” said Ak, stroking his grizzled beard thoughtfully, “thatwe know nothing of the sorrow and misery that fall to the lot ofthose poor mortals who inhabit the open spaces of the earth. Theyare not of our race, it is true, yet compassion well befits beingsso fairly favored as ourselves. Often as I pass by the dwelling ofsome suffering mortal I am tempted to stop and banish the poorthing's misery. Yet suffering, in moderation, is the natural lot ofmortals, and it is not our place to interfere with the laws ofNature. ”
“Nevertheless, ” said the fair Queen, nodding hergolden head at the Master Woodsman, “it would not be a vain guessthat Ak has often assisted these hapless mortals. ”
Ak smiled.
“Sometimes, ” he replied, “when they are very young—'children, ' the mortals call them— I have stopped to rescue themfrom misery. The men and women I dare not interfere with; they mustbear the burdens Nature has imposed upon them. But the helplessinfants, the innocent children of men, have a right to be happyuntil they become full-grown and able to bear the trials ofhumanity. So I feel I am justified in assisting them. Not long ago—a year, maybe— I found four poor children huddled in a wooden hut,slowly freezing to death. Their parents had gone to a neighboringvillage for food, and had left a fire to warm their little oneswhile they were absent. But a storm arose and drifted the snow intheir path, so they were long on the road. Meantime the fire wentout and the frost crept into the bones of the waiting children.”
“Poor things! ” murmured the Queen softly. “What didyou do? ”
“I called Nelko, bidding him fetch wood from myforests and breathe upon it until the fire blazed again and warmedthe little room where the children lay. Then they ceased shiveringand fell asleep until their parents came. ”
“I am glad you did thus, ” said the good Queen,beaming upon the Master; and Necile, who had eagerly listened toevery word, echoed in a whisper: “I, too, am glad! ”
“And this very night, ” continued Ak, “as I came tothe edge of Burzee I heard a feeble cry, which I judged came from ahuman infant. I looked about me and found, close to the forest, ahelpless babe, lying quite naked upon the grasses and wailingpiteously. Not far away, screened by the forest, crouched Shiegra,the lioness, intent upon devouring the infant for her evening meal.”
“And what did you do, Ak? ” asked the Queen,breathlessly.
“Not much, being in a hurry to greet my nymphs. ButI commanded Shiegra to lie close to the babe, and to give it hermilk to quiet its hunger. And I told her to send word throughoutthe forest, to all beasts and reptiles, that the child should notbe harmed. ”
“I am glad you did thus, ” said the good Queenagain, in a tone of relief; but this time Necile did not echo herwords, for the nymph, filled with a strange resolve, had suddenlystolen away from the group.
Swiftly her lithe form darted through the forestpaths until she reached the edge of mighty Burzee, when she pausedto gaze curiously about her. Never until now had she ventured sofar, for the Law of the Forest had placed the nymphs in its inmostdepths.
Necile knew she was breaking the Law, but thethought did not give pause to her dainty feet. She had decided tosee with her own eyes this infant Ak had told of, for she had neveryet beheld a child of man. All the immortals are full-grown; thereare no children among them. Peering through the trees Necile sawthe child lying on the grass. But now it was sweetly sleeping,having been comforted by the milk drawn from Shiegra. It was notold enough to know what peril means; if it did not feel hunger itwas content.
Softly the nymph stole to the side of the babe andknelt upon the sward, her long robe of rose leaf color spreadingabout her like a gossamer cloud. Her lovely countenance expressedcuriosity and surprise, but, most of all, a tender, womanly pity.The babe was newborn, chubby and pink. It was entirely helpless.While the nymph gazed the infant opened its eyes, smiled upon her,and stretched out two dimpled arms. In another instant Necile hadcaught it to her breast and was hurrying with it through the forestpaths.
3. The Adoption
The Master Woodsman suddenly rose, with knittedbrows. “There is a strange presence in the Forest, ” he declared.Then the Queen and her nymphs turned and saw standing before themNecile, with the sleeping infant clasped tightly in her