The DearLittleSunnyRay The starlings criss-cross the sky, in The storkshaveflownall day, They'reon the way to Africa, And

it'sa long,longway! Septembe4 thoughyou chase away, The birdsin alltheirstress, Please shinedownon the apples, And givethem a new reddress! Now sunnyray hasa shorter stay, And deepin cloudshe hidesaway.

\ey

h ffi

Journey to the Sea

Whe n f a t h e r ca me a n d smi l i n gly a n n o u n c e d ,"T omo rro w w e 're g o i n g to t he se a s i d e , "\ Meth o u g h t h e w a s j o ki ng, b u t h e r e a l l y me a ri t i t! H o w e xci ti n g it wa s , e s p e c i a l l y h i l e w e w e re p a cki ng. w

But ther e still wasn' t r oom to ta k e everything we wanted to. "You don't need that!" said dad, "Ther e' sso m any things to do at the seaside that you won't need all your old toys!" Since dad had alr eadybeento the seaside, thoughti t we must be tr ue.That night noneof us coul d sleep, and it wasn' t until we we r e standing on the tr ain platfor m that we calm ed down, for now we wer e on o ur way. Dad had chosenwindowseatsin the tr ain, and it was wonder ful to see th e m eadows, dar k for ests and fields flashingpast.Because was tr avelling it at an incr ediblespeed, we soon r eached our destination. e wer e glad to get o ut W r eally.because jour ney had made u s the ver y tir ed,and aftera supersuppe1 a l l we fell exhaustedinto bed. The next day we wer e to take the steamerto the lsland, which was our final destination. who ca n descr ibeour joy when we saw the wid e sea with its ships stretchingbefore us? Ther ewe sat in our boat,and afterhalfan hour we cam e to the lovelywhite san ds and sand dunes. Then we discover ed har bourwith al l the its proud ships. Everythingwas so new for us that we were quite overpowered. W e came to the fine beachhotel,and we had only one wish - to stay her eas long as possible!lt was so good playingin th e sand,that not for a minutedid we thinko f our toys in the hotel r oom . W e bui l t m ountains,holes, castles with m oats;we gather ed m ussels, went fishing, bui l t shipsto our hear ts' content. cour sewe Of went swim m ing ever y day. In the eveningswe walked along the pr om o r r ode in the m otor boat.Unfor tunately the holidaywas over only too quickly. w e But knew we' d be coming backsoon.
t c/

3rd September
How Little Thomas LearnedHow to Get Up

sight.The bakerdr oppedhis r ollsand t he milkman spilt his milk. The clothes r eached the school, and r an insi de. Thom as looked desper ately thr ou gh in the window, and his fr iend Henr ycall ed, "W hat ar e you doing her e in your pyjamas?"Thom aswas so ashamed and began to cry and these tears woke him up, for he was only sleeping, thank goodness! Ther e stand his clothes , waiting for him . Now mother has no tr ouble getting him up in the m or ni ng, and as soon as the cuckoocalls,Thom as is completelyr eadyfor school!

Thomas is a very nice little boy, but he jus t c a n ' t g e t u p i n th e mo rn i n g sl T h es un lo o k s i n a n d t i c kl e sh i m o n h i s n o se ,the c uck o oc h i r p sou t th e ti me fro m h i s cl ock, but th e b o y t a ke sn o n o ti cea n d j u st p ulls t he c o v e r su p aro u n dh i m. T h e no n e d ay, o n e o f T h o m a s'ssh o e ssa i d ," l 'm ti re dof being late for school every day! I say we s h o u l d g o w i t h ou t h i m!" T h e so ckscried " Hu r r a y l " a n d so o n a l l h i s cl o th e sb e gan t o g a t h e r i h i s t r o u se rs,h i s sh i rt a n d his c a p , a n d t h e y c ri e d, " L e t'sg o !" T his c ry w o k e T h o ma s,a n d w h e n h e sa w his c lo t h e s d i s a p pe a ri n g u t o f th e d o o n he o jurn p e d o u t o f be d a s th o u g h so me thing h a d b i t t e n h i m l B u t th e y d i d n 't w a i t for h im , a n d h e h a d to ch a se th e m all through the streets.All the other boys and g i r l s g i g g l e d a t h i m, a n d p e o ple ope n e dt h e i r w i n d o w sa n d l a u g h e d tthe a 158

On the Sheep's Meadow ln the m iddle of the m eadow liesthe o l d sheepsta W h ite- bloom elderbushes ll. ing look cur iouslyover its r oof, and nothi ng

in t h e w h o l e l a n d b l o o ms a s b e a u ti fu l ly as h e r e . T h e s h e e p h o p h e re a n d th e re o v e rt h e m e a d o w,a n d ch o o se l e a fh e re, a a f lowe r t h e r e ,f o r o n th i s me a d o w th e y can afford to be choosey."Bah, Bah,,,go th e t wo l i t t l el a m b sB i mme l a n dB a mme l, a s t he y g a m b l e al l a ro u n d ma ki n g th e i r li t t le b e l l s r i n g . B i mme l h a s a re d ri b b o n a ro u n d h e r n e c k ,f o r sh e 'sa l a d y. B u t B a m m e l p r o u d l y w e a rs a b l u e r ib b o n , f o r h e ' s g o i n g to b e a ra m. T h e bell is p a r t i c u l a r l ymp o rta n tfo rB a mme l , i for he can use it to chaseaway the crows and s p a r r o w s t h at w a n t to b a th e i n h i s

Sth September
The World UpsideDown
In the evenings when I get up, After m or ningsin my bed, The hens they crow and the cock it cackles, And the wor ld standson its head. The maid putsthe oven in the fir e, The wife putsthe soup in peas, The servantsweepsthe broom with the r oom , W hile the booksthe childr enr eadl It hurts to put my boots in my feet, And on my hat my head, And it's not so comfy when I sleep, At the bottom of my bed!

:"R*
A Farmhouse says"Goodnight',

rc

wat er-t r o u g h .Al s o, w h e n e ve r a sh e e p w a n d e rs f r o m t h e me a d o w , th e b e l l alw ay s l e a d st h e f arme r to w h e re h e i s. Bu t t o d a y b y t h e s h ee p -sta lB a mme lh a s l, ma d e a n e w d i s c o ve ry-h o w ca nth e reb e an ani" n a ls m a l l e rt h a n a l a mb , b u t w i th ea rs b ig g e rt h a n a sh e e p ? ri sscro ss e C th l ittle ra b o l t i s a l s o a ru n a w a y. e w a s so H bo re o n h i s h u t c ht h a t h e g n a w e da h o l e in t he s C e a n d r a n a w a y. Wh o kn o w s wh e re C ' i s s c r o s s i l l g o n e xt? w

Behind the stove in the far m house, the cat stretchesfrom his sleep,for work is just beginning for him. As he licks himself, he wonders how he can catch the mouse family who have just moved into the granary.So he impatientlywaits for little Fr ankto tet him go as he hugs him before he goes to bed. Then the farmer's wife takes him and lays him in h is soft bed where shetells h im aboutthe
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the little sand-men.From the veranda, geraniums wave goodnight to their flower-sistersin the garden.They all and don't even whisper backgoodnight, forget the cabbages,who were very grumpy today and didn't join in the at conversation all. When the evening through the garden,they wind waved so only noddedtheir headsin greeting, not to wake the midgets and as who were alreadydreaming butterflies, peeps A their leaves. hedgehog among out of his hole and waits until quietbeforehe goesfor his everything's who has walk.A toad snapsup a beetle, been to a meadow pafi and who had lingered too long. The water in the fountain now settles down, and the moon points its silvery finger at the farmer and his wife who are sitting outside on a bench.They're happy to relax for a while after the day's hard work. When at last they go in and closethe door,Roverthe dog barkshis goodnight greeting,and startsoff on his first tour. He staysawaketo makesurethat noneof the sleepers disturbed. are

7th September
Heidiin theAlps (1) On a bright sunny morningin June,a young woman was walkingup a narrow mountainpathholdinga littlegirl by the hand.When they were halfwayup they his met Peterwith herdof goats,whowas Heidi, the as alsogoingup the mountain. likedthe goatsvery little girl was called, much, and so she climbedup behind
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them. Her heavy clothesand the heat so madethis very difficult, shesat down and all and took off her shoesand socks was only her other clothes until she Thenshe laid wearingher underclothes. up andclimbed on all herclothes a stone besidePeterand the goatsas nimblyas in can be.WhenherauntsawHeidithere she her underclothes, criedout, "Heidi! have you put all your new Where downthe Heidicalmlypointed clothes?" mountain. "You are naughty!" she called,"How arewe goingto fetchthem back? Come on, Peter! Go and fetch them!" So Peterran likethe wind down the mountain and broughtthe clothes back. Heidihad run on and had Meanwhile, already reached the top. There sat grandadon a benchsmokinghis pipe. Heidiwent up to him, put out her hand grandfather!" Then and said,"Goodday, with Peter."Good day!" Aunty arrived youthechildfrom shesaid,"l've brought

your son Tobias. l've beenlookingafter her sinceTobias and his wife died.Now it's up to you to do your share!" "And what am I supposed do?" saidthe old to man. "That'syour problem," saidAunty, "l've got a job in Frankfurt lcan'ttake and the childwith me!" Grandfather looked at her angrily,and Aunty ran down the mountain feeling very guilty, the old for man was known in all the villageas a disobliging bad-tempered and man.

Heidiin theAlps (21 Heidi loved it at her grandfather's, especially because the food which of tasted so nice up here in the fresh air. "Where shall I sleep,grandad?" asked Heidi."Whereyou want!" was the reply.

That was fine by Heidi,and she ran all overthe house untilsheclimbed ladder a and found herselfin the hay loft. "l'll sleephere!"shecalled down,"lt's lovely up here!" And with grandad's helpshe had soon madea comfy bed out of hay and a few sheets. "l wish it was alreadynight-time and I couldgo to bedl" saidHeidi. it wasn't But time for bedyet,so Heidwentbehind the houseto the big old fir trees.Therethe wind was so strongthat it whistled eerily all around. Then there came a shrill whistle, and goat after goat sprangup beside her, followed by Peter in the middle.Theyall stoodstillat the house, and Heidi strokedtwo fine goats that came towards her,"Go and get a bowl and some breEd," said grandad. Grandadmilkedargoat,gavethe bowl andthe bread Heidi said, to "Noweat and that andgo to bed,"thenhedisappeared into the stable. Heidi asshewastold, did then she climbedinto her new bed and slept happilyand deeplyall night.Next morning Heidl was woken by another loud whistle, and shesprang of bed out got dressed. and Out in the yard was Peterwith his herd."Do you want to go with him onto the pasture?" asked grandad. Heidi, of course, jumped a r o u n d in d e lig h t ." B u t g o a n d g e t washed first!" Meanwhile grandad packed lots of foodfor themandwarned Peterto take good careof Heidi.lt was wonderful out there on the mountain
16 1

with Petenbut what was most beautiful of all was the Alpine sunset in the Heidisatquitestillandcouldn't evening. at stop looking it. went with From then on, HeidialwaYs Peter, until Autumn came and the "Now you'll haveto weathergot colder. "A stay at home,Heidi,"said grandad, youwouldbeblownoverthe littlegirl like didn't cliffwhenthewind hitsyou!" Peter Heidiit would likethat at all,for without be so boring.

it come anymore.Eventually stopped, wasableto go outandclear and grandad awaya littlebit.Soontherewas the snow a knockat the door and in came Peter, coveredin snow.Hestoodin frontof the fire to thaw himselfout, and meanwhile grandad prepareda fine supper.After Peterhad eatenas muchas he could,he got readyto go, but beforehe went, he and said 'll'm comingagainon Sunday, you must come with me to visit mY gran." That was something completely different for Heidi, to go and visit someone,and she wouldn't give her grandad any peaceuntil he agreedto her take her. So one day he covered up warmly and took her with a sledgeto Peter's cottage.There she met Peter's blindgr'andmother. why Heidi's She couldn't understand handswereso warmwhenshehadbeen out in the cold. "Oh, I wasn't cold at all!" said Heidi, wrappedme up in a very,very "Grandad thickblanket." and Peter'smother was very surprised

Heidiin theAlps (31 But one night the snow came,and bY morning the whole mountain was of covered,Because this, Petercouldn't
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said, "The child probablydoesn'tknow that her grandad hasn't beenout among peoplefor yearsandyears." But then they heardloud bangingfrom outside."That'sgrandad!"cried Heidi, "H e b r o u g h thi s hammer w and nai l s it h your house. him to clearthe snow off Peterhadtold him how badit was." grandad, changed. had Yes,Olaf,Heidi's again, Now his life had some meaning him loved now he hadHeidiwho because life so much,andwho thought in theAlps was the bestlife in the world.

back, thatwas and to intended takeHeidi why she had come.Heidinow had the to chancein a thousand, live with the of very rich relations her boss,who had the of an onlychildwho hadto spend rest of Because this her life in a wheelchair. she was often aloneand would dearly Her motherhad asked love a playmate. child, and unspoiled for a completely

Heidi Leaves(1) for He i d i h a d n o w l i ve dw i th h e r g ra n d a d a lo n g t i m e , a n d sh ew a s so h a p p yth er e. S h e w a s n o w e i g h t ye a rs o l d , a n d she h a d l e a r n e ds o ma n y th i n g s fro m Olaf. She was very good with the goats, and h t wo i n p a r t i c u la rfo l l o w e d e ra ro u n dlike f ait h f u l d o g s , a n d b o u n d e dto w a rd s her wh e n e v e rt h e y h e a rdh e r vo i ce .On e day ju s t a f t e r l u n ch , a vi si to r ca me . l t was dressed, Aunty Deta.She was beautifully and had on a lovely hat with a featherin Deta had thought of Heidi. "Have you Olaf,"Heidi and I finished?" inter r upted don't want to know!" "lf that's how you s feel then l' ll put itto you differ ently!" ai d "This child is now eightyear sold . l f Deta, you refuseto let her go to school and to the law. Do y ou Chur chyou ar e br eaking want to go to cour t?" "Shut up !" thundered Olaf, "Take her and spoil her then, and don't ever let me set eyes on you again!" Then Olaf stormedout of the room. "You've made grandad ?figry," said Heidi. "He'll get over it," answered Deta,"Com e on !" "l' m not coming!" sai d Heidi. "Don' t be silly!" snapped De ta, "You've no idea how lovely it is in Frankfurt, and if you don't like it, then you
toJ

it . O l a f l o o k e d h e r u p a n d d o w n , but d id n ' t s a y a w ord . But Detawas determinedto befriendlyto O la f ,f o r s h ew an te dto ta keH e i d i w i thher . t o F r a n k f u r tSh eto l d h i m sh e h a da l w ays

can come back. By then grandad will feel better." I n t h e e n d , H e i d il e t h e rse l f e p e rsu a d ed, b and she went off down the mountainwith her Aunt. On the way she met Peter. "Where are you going?" he asked astonished. "l've got to go to Frankfurt wit h Au n t y , " H ei d i sa i d , b u t D e ta p u l l ed h e r o n , s o s h e co u l d n 't sa y a n y mo re. Peter rushed into the cottageand told his g ra n d m o t h e r t ha t H e i d i w a s g o i n g to Fra n k f u r t . H i s gra n stu mb l e d to the windo w , t o r e o p e n th e w i n d o w a n d cri ed o u t , " D e t a ! D o n't ta ke th e ch i l d a w ay f rom u s ! " H e i d iwa n te d to tu rn b a cka nd run to them, but Deta stopped her and said, "You can come back straight away a n d b r i n g b a c ks ome th i n gn i cefo r g ra n!" T h is w a s s u c h a l o ve l yth o u g h t th a t she bega n t o r u s h on a h e a d ,e ve n th ro u gh t h e v i l l a g e ,s o t h a t e ve ryo n e o u g h tshe th couldn't wait to get away from Olaf.Poor old Olaf became as bad-tempered he as had been before.

1lth September
Heidi Leaves(2) Meanwhile, Detaand Heidihad reached Frankfurt, theywerestanding front in and of the house where Heidi was to stay. Deta askedthe carriagedriver if it waS alright to see Miss Rottenmyer now. "That'snot my concern," saidthe driver, "You'll haveto ringthe bell." Deta rang the bell and the butlercame. "That's not my concern," saidthe butler, "Ring MissTinnet." And hedisappeared. Miss Tinnetwas sentfor, and when she cameshe said,"You areexpected." They were taken into the study where Miss Rottenmyerwas waiting. "What's your name?"sheaskedHeidi."Heidi," said "Heidi!That's Christian Heidiclearlv. no
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name! And how old is the child?She doesn'tlooktwelveto me!" "She'llsoon "l'm eight, be ten," said Detahopefully. grandad said," explainedHeidi. Miss Rottenmyer "And what was not pleased. have you studied?" "Nothing," answeredHeiditruthfully."Miss Deta," said Miss Rottenmyer, "this is completely of order!How couldyou out have brought me this child?" But Deta was not to be put off, and she defended herself "And l've untilin the endshesaid, got to go now in any case,my boss is waitingfor me."And aftercurtseying she went out of the door and downstairs. Heidiwas left alone.Clara wavedat her from her wheelchair, and the children had already made friends.Clara liked Heidiverymuch.

Heidi Leaves(31 Miss Rottenmyer was quite agitated because Clara's playmatewas not at all as she had expected.In the dining room she discovered Sebastian, the butler. Miss Rottenmyercalled Miss Tinnet and told her to make sure the new arrival's room was ready. When Sebastianhad cast a proud eye over his table to make sure eveMhing was there, he went into the study to fetch Clarain herwheelchair' Heidi sat down near to where Sebastian was serving and said, "You look like Peter!" Miss Rottenmyer clapped her h a n d s i n h o r r o r. " l s i t p o ssi b l e ! N ow The s he ' s h o b n o b bi n gw i th th e se rva n ts! c hil d h a s n o u p b ri n g i n g !" H e i d i w a s as quiet as a mouse at the table after that, she didn't move. The resemblanceshe had found between Sebastianand Peter

must have made her tr ust him, and when he came to servethe meat,she pointedto the br ead on her plate and said, "Ca n I have that?" She wanted to take it to gran. Sebastiannodded,so she took it and put it in her pocket.Then when he came and stood before her with a silver plate, he lookedat her silentlyfor a while."Am l to help m yself? asked Heidi in the end. Sebastian nodded, t'nr he was not

& f

allowed to speakat the dinnertable.But when Heidi tried to help herself, Sebastianwanted to laugh,and he nearly dropped the plate. "You can leave the plate on the table and come back later," said Miss Rottenmyersternly.Sebastian "W disappear ed. ell, Heidi," she said, " l can see I shall have to teach you how to serve yourself at table!" And then she explained clearly what Heidi had to do. "And then l' ll have to make sure that you don't speak to
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Sebastianat the table," and so she went on, a n d o n , w i t h a l l so rts o f ru l e s a nd regul a t i o n su n t il H e i d isi mp l yfe l la sl e e p, , for she had been up since five. and had had a very long journey.When in the end Miss Rottenmyersaid,"Now Heidi,think abou t i t ! " C l a r a h a d to l a u g h . " H e i d i ' s been a s l e e pa l o n g ti me !" S u p p e rh a d n' t been s o a m u s i n gfo r a l o n gti me !

and try to take the child away.You chase m e, and they' llthinkyou savedthe child! That way they'lI keepyou forever!" The dog thought this was a good idea , and they car r ied it out as they ha d planned. The wolf snatchedthe child , Sultan chasedhim , and car r iedthe child back to its parents. They were so overjoyed that they gave the dog everything, and he's never had it so good. Then the wolf visited the dog and said, "l'm sure now you won't object if I take one of your m aster ' ssheep!" But Sultan remained faithful to his master, and told him what the wolf had in mind.

Old Sultan A farmer once had a very faithful dog who was very old. The farmer said to his wif e, "l t h i n k I sh o u l d sh o o t S u l ta n, because he's no use to us anymore." " B u t h e ' s s e r v e du s fo r so l o n g!" sa i dh is wife. But the farmer stood by his d e c is i o n . N o w th e d o g h a d h e a r d everything, and he was heartbroken. That evening he went to his friend the wolf and told him. "Don't worry" said t h e 'w o l f , ' l ' l l te l l yo u w h a t to d o. To m o r r o w m o r ni n g th e fa rme r a n d h is wife will go to the hay harvest.They'll t a k e t h e i r c h i l dwi th th e m a n d p u t h i m b y t h e h e d g e .Y o u l ay b e si d eh i m a s th o u g h y o u 'r e l o o k i n g a fte r h i m. T h e n l 'l l co me
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The far mer lay in wait, and when the wolf came he thrashed him mercilessly. Fur ious,the wolf demandeda duel with the dog. The wolf was first on the spot, and accompanyinghim was a wild boar; but all the dog had was a lame cat. But when the wolf and the boar saw Sultan and the cat lim ping along,they though t the cat was picking up stones as he stooped down, and because they were afraid,they made peace!

The Horsewith no Rear-end Once during a waL we drovethe Turks

handfulof the corn-ears cleaned the and dresswith them.WhenGodsawthis,he was angryandsaid,"Fromnow on,there will be no moreearsof corn.Mankind is no longer worthy of Heavenlygifts." Thosestanding fellontheirknees around in feanand begged Godto leave ears. the The innocent henswho didn'tdeserve it, would starvewithoutthe ears.The Lord relented,but gave corn the small ears that they havenow.

t'r

into their town and then straight out again.With my fiery steed,I was at the front. SuddenlyI was standing alonein place,and while my horse the market was drinkingout of the fountain, looked I aroundme. Butwhatwasthat! My horsewas missingits rear-end, and the water that it was drinking came splashing behindhim ontothe street. out just as I A servantexplained the puzzle: was stormingthroughthe town gate, the gate came crashingdown from above and choppedoff the horse'srear-end! Our blacksmith fused the two parts together and before long the miraclehorsewas backto normalagain.

Ring-a-ring o'Roses Ring-a-ring o'roses, A pocketfull of posies, Atishoo!Atishoo! We allfalldown.

1sth September
The Corn-ears A long time ago,when God Himself still walkedthe Earth, fertilityof the land the was much greaterthan now. The cornears were just as long as the stem.But Mankindneverlooksafterthethingsthat God gives them, and they alwaystake them for granted. One day,awomanwas walking past a cornfieldwith her little child,and the childfell intoa puddle and dirtiedher clothes. mothertore off a Her

lTthseptember
BilltheClown(11

Bill the Clownwas a rascal from the day hewas born.Oncehismothertook to him the fain and Bill drankuntil he was dizzy. Then,towardsevening, got tired and he crawled into an empty bee-hive sleep to for a while.Now,in thenight, came along two thieveswho wanted to steal some honey, andthey picked eachbasket up in turn to see which was the heaviest. Bill woke up and heardthe thievestalking abouttheir theft.Because was so dark it and impossibleto Billputhisarmout see, of the hive and pulledone of the thief's hair.The man got angryand shouted at the otherthief,because thoughtit was he him. "How could I have pulled your "lcan hardly hair?"the second cried, one carry the basket with my hands."Then Bill pulledthe otherthief'shair so hard that he screached. "Firstyou sayI pulled your hair,and now you'repullingmine! Just wait till I get my hands you!" And on a greatbattlebegan. They droppedthe bee-hive the floor on and punchedeach other all down the street until they disappeared. Then Bill simply climbed out of the basketand went home!

Billthe Clown (21 When Bill was older, he told everyone that he was going to walk a tight-rope across the street, so he attached a rope from his house to the house opposite, and a crowd of spectators gathered below to watch him break his neck! But before he started he demanded that every spectatorshould give him their left shoe, and everyone was only too
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19th September
Bill the Glown (3) OnceBill became servant the house in a of a priest, but the priestdidn't know what a rascal hadjust employed. he The priestsaidto him, "You'llbe very happy here,I think.You shalleat and drinkjust as well as my cookand me,andyou can takeyour time overevefihing you have to do." That soundedalright!Now the Priesthad a cookwho only hadone eye. She had prepared two chickens had and put them on the spit,and shetold Billto turn it. This he did, and when the chickens were done,he saidto himself, "The Priestsaid I shouldeat as well as him and the cook,so l'll makesure he keepshis word!" and he tookone of the chickens and ate it! When it was nearly suppertime,the one-eyedcook came backandshecouldonly seeonechicken. "Where's the other one?" she asked. "Openup your othereyeandyouwill see it," answered Bill cheekily.The cook angrily ran to the Priestand told him everything. The Priestwent to Bill and said, 'tVhere is the other chicken?" "There'sthe other chicken the spit," on replied Bill. "And so whereis the The Priest laughed, first one?" "l've eaten the first one," you repliedBill, "becaLr.se said I was to eat as well as you and the cook,and if you'd eaten both chickens that would have made you a liar,and I wantedto avoid that!" The Priestlaughedagain, and saidthat from now on he was to do the as he wastold bythecook. Nowwhen gave him work to do, he only did cook half of it. Whenthe cook complained the Priest, said to Bill the cook could only see half of everything, and so he only did half the work. That madethe Priest laughagain. But the Cooksaidthat if Bill stayed, she would go, so the Priest was forced, against will,to letBillgo. his
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pleased, theywondered for what he was goingto do with them.Heattached them to a pieceof stringand climbedup all onto the rope with them. Everyone waited expectantly.Then Bill cried, "Ladiesand gentlemen! Lookfor your shoes!"Thenhe cut off the knotfromthe stringand the shoes went hurtling down into the street. The crowd rushed madly at the shoestryingto find whichonewas theirs. One cried "That's my shoe!" While the other cried, "You liar, it's mine!" So they began to tear each other'shair out and fight likedogs;even the old people wereslapping eachother. justsaton hisropeand ButBilltheClown laughed. Whenhe got fed up,he justgot down and left the others fighting for shoes. Afterthis,Billcouldn't out onto go the street fourweeks. hadto stayin for He the housepatching shoes.

Bill the Clown (41 w A ric h b u s i n e s s -ma n a s g o i n g i n to h is gard e n w h e n h e sa w B i l l l yi n g o n a meadow. The man asked him what he th wa s d o i n g ,a n d Bi l la n sw e re d a t h e w as a cook who was out of work. "l'll giveyou a job and pay you well for it," said the b u s i n e s sm a n . "My w i fe w i l l th a n k me, bec a u s e s h e h a te s co o ki n g !" B ill prom i s e dt o w o rkw e l l . The next day, Bill was supposedto do a roast. The business man said to him, "Cook the roast slowly and baste it well so that it doesn't burn, then try to keep it c o o l . " So B i l l pu t th e me a t o n a sPit between two barrelsof wine in the cellar, which was the coolest place he could find, and of course the barrels caught ma f ire! W h e n t h e bu si n e ss n a ske dh i m , what h a d "h a p pe n e dh e h a d to l a u g h at bu B ill's s t u p i d i t y , t h i s w i fe d i d n 't l a u gh! ma Ne x t t h e b u s i n ess n to o k B i l l w i th h i m journey to pacify his wife. Before on a they drove into town, the businessman said to Bill, "Now be carefulof the path you take,and don't lookaround."As they

the were goingalonga verystoneypath, back of the cart came off, but of course Bill didn't look aroundand carriedon man driving on his own. The business so calledafter him, but Bill didn'thear, the man had to walk the restof the way, his and,bythe time he got there, tongue was hanging nearly out downto hisneck! After they had finishedtheir business, man they drove home,but the business didn't want to keepBill anymore, and he said to him, "Tonightyou can stay,but tomorrowyoucanclearoutof house, the you'renothingbut a rogue!" because So the nextmorning, whenthe man had left,Bill beganto clearthe houseout! He dragged he everypiece furniture could of carry out onto the street,while all the neighbours wondered whaton earth was happening. went and told the Someone business, man and he rushed backin a great state of agitation!"What are you doing, you wretch!" shouted the man. "l'm clearing the house, you told out as me to," explainedBill. And then he walkedaway,leaving the poor business man to drag everything backin. He was furious, but the neighbourslaughed aboutit for a longtimeto come!
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Billt h e C l o w n ( 5 )

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But Bill answer ed, "l haven' t done anythingthat you can hang m e fo[ Yo ur Majesty!" "W hat do you m ean by that?" askedthe Duke."l' m sittingon my own land that I have bought and paid for ," r epliedB i l l . Now ther e was nothing the Duke coul d do, so he rode off angrily.

Billthe Clown ( 6) One day a bar berem ployedBill.He sai d to h im, "Do you seethat houseoverthe r e with the big windows? Go in and l' ll be along in a m inute." So Bill went to the house and clim bed in thr ough the b i g

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B ill p la ye dh i s tri c k sal l ov er the l an d , unti lth e p e o p le ompl ai ned c hi about mt o t he Du ke ,a n d the D uk ebani s hed m , hi But Bill took no noticeand carriedon riding th r o u g h .H e had j us t boughta horse and cart filledwith earthfrom a farmer he had workedfor a while.One day the Dukerodetowards him,and Bill sprangdownfrom hishorse andjumped into the cartfilledwith earth. The Duke rodeup to him and said,"Getout of my land,don't you know l've banished you you,you're be hung?" andthat if I find to

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17 1

win d o w s ! t h e ba rb e r'sw i fe w a s si tti ng in t h e r o o m a n d scre a me d n te rro r," Ar e i y o u fr o m t h e d e vi l ? "B i l l re p l i e d " l f th at' s , wha t y o u r h u s b a n d 's l l e d , s! l 'm the ye ca n e w e m p l o y e e." Me a n w h i l eth e b a rber c ame b a c k a n d sa i d , " Wh y co u l d n 'tyou y o u g o i n t h r o u g h th e d o o r? " " D ear y mas t e r , o u t o l d me to co me i n w h e rethe big w i n d o w s we re ," re p l i e d B i l l . T he barb e r h a d t o b i te h i s to n g u e , fo r he need e d Bi l l a n d h o p e d to g e t a tax redu c t i o n t h r o ug h p a yi n g h i s w a g es. After a few days of working at the barb e r ' s ,Bi l l h ad to sh a rp e nth e sci ss or b lad e s ,b u t h e d i d i t i n su cha w a y th a tthe b a c k o f t h e s c i sso rs e re a s sh a rpa s the w b lad e . T h e b a r b e r w a s fu ri o u s, a n d he s a id t o B i l l , "S to p sh a rp e n i n ga n d go b a c k t o w h e r e y o u ca me !" S o B i l l w ent b a c k t o t h e b i g w i n d o w s a n d sp ra n gout t h e s a m e w a v h e h a d co me i n !

23rd September
BilltheClown(7) WhenBillcameto Oxford, puta notice he on the doorof the bigfamous University. The Professors heardall abouthim, had and didn't want to be tricked like everyone else.The noticesaidthat Bill couldteachanyone read to andwritein a very shorttime,so the Professors to said him, "You say you canteachanyone to read and write, Do you think you can teach this donkey?"Bill said,"Yes,of course! you'llhave giveme plenty But to of time, becausehe's a very stupid creature." So they gave him twenty years.So Billtook the donkey an inn, to and got a stable teachhim in. Hetook to an old book and laid it on the cart. Between every page he put an ear ol corn.The donkeyturnedthe pages with
172

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his mouthandatethecorn, andwhenthe corn ranout, he said"EA,EA!"Whenhe had got the donkey do that,hewentto to the Deanand saidto him,"Whendo you want to seehow far the donkey got?" has The Deansaid,"lf your pupilhaslearned anythingat all, l'd liketo see it straight awayl" The donkey hadn't eaten anything day,andwhenBillcame, all he put a new book beforehim with corn in between leaves, the donkey rned the so tu the leaves and ate the corn,As soonas the corn ran out, he went,"EA, EA." Bill said,"You see,Dean, canalready he say the two vowelsI andA. l'm surehewillbe very clever."

Bill the Clown (8)

When Bi l l g o t o l d a n d i l l h e ma d e h i sw i l l, a n d h e d i v i d e dh is g o o d si n toth re ep a rts. The first part went to his friends, the a s ec on dt o t h e C o u n se l l o r, n d th e th i rd to the Priest.But he stressed that he was to be g i v e n a C h ri sti a n b u ri a l , a n d h i s t re a s u r e t r u n k w a s o n l y to b e o p e n e d four weeks after his death.Then he gave each of his benefactors key,sg that they a could o p e n t h e c he stto g e th e n n d sh a re a what e v e r t h e y fo u n d th e re . S o o n a f t e rw a r d s , Bi l l d i e d . T h e n th e C oun s e l l o nt h e Pri e sta n d B i l l 's fri e n ds came together to open the chest, but wh e n t h e y o p e n edi t, th e y fo u n d n o th i n g but stones.Eachone suspected other the of s te a l i n g t h e tre a su re . T h e P ri e s t t houg h t i t w a s th e C o u n se l l o r;th e Co u n s e l l o rt h o u g h t i t w a s B i l l 'sfri e n d s, but t h e f r i e n d s th o u g h t th e P ri e st h a d taken it after Bill had beento Confession. W ell,t h e y a r g u e da n d a ccu se du n ti l th e y , all we n t a w a y c u rsi n g ,a n d th i s w a s th e las t t r i c k t h a t Bi l l th e C l o w n e ve r p l a ye d! He h a d t h o u g h t a b o u t i t l o n g b e fo reh e die d . He ha d i m a g i n ed w h a t w o u l d h a p p e n, and a s y o u c a n s e e ,h e d e fi n i te l y a d th e h las t l a u g h ! B u t th i s w a sn 't th e o n l y s t ran g e t h i n g t h a t h a p p e n e d a fte r h i s death! When everyone was gathered aroun d h i s c o f f in i n th e g ra ve ya rd , e th coffin-bearerslaid the coffin on the two ropes above the grave to lower it in. S u d d e n l y t h e r o p e s sn a p p e d a n d th e coffin shot down so that Bill was left s t and i n g u p r i g h t! T h e p e o p l e sta n d i ng aroun d w e r e a l l o f th e sa me o p i n i o n: " We s h o u l d l e t hi m re ma i nsta n d i n g for , h e wa s a n e x t r a o rd i n a ry n w h e n h e ma liv e d , a n d h e w o u l d p ro b a b l y w a n t to re m a i n e x t r a o r di n a ryi n h i s d e a th !" S o

wasput therehe stayed, on the grave and with the words:HERE a stoneengraved IN BURIED STANDSBILLTHECLOWN, THEYEAR 1350.
1 73

I
sleeps as deeply as the wolf with the seven goats in his belly beforehe fell into the stream. Then the farmer discovers the em pty jug, and r ealises that Felixhas got dr unk on cider ! He is laughedat by the whole far myar d,especially other the goat Fer dinand, goes and tells hi s who gir lfr iendthe whole stor yaboutFelixand the cider !

Felix and the Apple-juice

Do You Know How Many Stars There Are? Do you know how many stars Twinkle in the sky? Do you know how many clouds Blow thr ough the wor ld and why? God the Lor d countsall, And he helpsif one shouldfall, Fr om His big wide flock, Fr om His big wide flock.
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WhenFelixthe goatmoves around under the appletree,he looksas thoughbutter wouldn't melt in his mouth, he's so sweet! And the snow-white goose princess, Felicityis surelyan enchanted for shewalksso daintily and herfeathers shinelikesilk.But it justso happens that Felixand Felicity soryretimes tired ol get just looking pretty,and so they go out walking. Felicitysnatches the farmer's wife best stockingsfrom the line and chewsthem.Now they'reruinedandthe yi{" i.-very angry.Fetixdiscovers jug a fu.llof freshapplejuice,and he gulpsih6 whole lot down. Suddenly goatgets the dizzyand can hardlystandup. Euuryone is horrifiedand thinkshe must be really ill. With glassyeyeshe staggers around, and in the end he justcollapses. Thenhe
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27th September
Jock the Cock and Mush the Mouse Jock the Cock r ulesthe r oost in the hen stall,and his wor d goeson the far m.He ,s the only one who calls "Coc k a doodledoo!" in the m or ning, and th e

he ns hu d d l e t o g e th e r o n th e p e rch to sle epwh e n h e t e l l sth e m to . Only t he c h i c k e ni s a l l o w e dto si t o n h e r sh sof t n e s t ,b e c a u s e e 'sta ki n gca reo f si x g o l d e n c hi c ks u n d e rn e a th h e r li t t le w in g s . W h e n t h e f arme r'sw i fe co me si n and s c a t t e r sc o r n o ve r th e fl o o r, a l l th e he n s s c r a b b l ea r o un do n th e fl o o r to g e t as muc h a s t h e y c an .B u t w h a t a tre a ti t i s when t h e y s o m e t i me sma n a g eto fi n d a worm o r a b e e t l e !Y o u sh o u l d h e a r th e chic k e n sc h e e pt h e n! B u t th e y'ren o t th e on ly an i m a l sw h o l ivei n th e sta l l ;so d o e s M u s h th e m o u s e . H e d o e sn 't g e t su ch nic e f oo d a s h i s c ou si nMa x w h o l i ve si n b t h e k it c h e n , u t t h en h e h a smo re ri sksto t a k e ,f o r t h e c a t n e ve rco me si n toth e h e n stall s in c et h e c o c k p e cke dh i m w h e n h e wa s t ry i n g t o g e t a cl o se rl o o ka t th e n e w ch ic k s !Ev e nM u s h i s a fra i do f Jo ckw h e n T he c om e s s t r u t t i n gp a stso p ro u d l y. h e n he'd ra t h e rh i d e ,f or yo u n e ve rkn o ww i th hi m! Bu t w h e n he g o e s o u t i n to th e garden 6 n d c r o w s d o w n fro m h i s h i g h th rone , M u s h r u s he so u t to o a n d n i b b l e s at a ju ic y t u r n i p o r a fre sh ra d i sh .

( King Thr ushbear d 1)

daughter He . A King once had a beautiful wanted her to get m ar r ied,but she was so obstinateand pr oud that she m ocked ever y suitorthat cameto her . a So the King pr epar ed big Ballto which he invited ever y eligible m an in his Kingdom . He stood them all in a line accor ding to their r ank. Fir st cam e the the Kings, then the Dukes,the Pr inces, Then Bar ons and finally the noblemen. was led down the line, but the Pr incess she had a wor d of m ocker yfor them all' She especially mocked a cer tain ver y good King who had an unfor tunate cr ooked chin. The Pr incess giggled, "He' s got a chin like a thr ush' s beak!" This made her fatherver y angr y,and he swor e that she should mar r y the fir st man who came to the door . One daY a minstr el came and sang under her window, so the King told him to come in and he made his daughter m ar r Y him ' , Then he said to his daughter "You can' t stay in the Castle now, go with Your took husband!" So the beggar - minstr el his wife and soon they cam e to a big r W ood. The Pr incess asked who it belonged to, and the minstr el said it
175

fo b e lon g e dt o Ki n gT h ru sh b e a rd , r th i s is what h e h a d c o me to b e ca l l e d . T he Prin c e s ss a i d , "Oh , w o e i s me ! l f o n l y I h a d ma r r : i e dK i n g T h ru sh b e a rd !"T h en t hey w e n t t h r ou g h a me a d o w a n d a lov el y t o w n t h a t a l so b e l o n g e dto K i ng a T h ru s h b e a r dI.n th e e n dth e y sto p p e d t a t iny li t t l eh o u s e . T h e P r i n c e s sa ske d w h o th i s w re tch ed to lit t le h o u s eb e l o n g e d , a n d th e mi n str el re p lie d ,"T h i s b e l o n g sto yo u a n d me !" she Th e n s h e h a d t o co o ka n d a fte rw a rd s f e lls a d l y i n t o b ed .

and King Thrushbeard, he saidto hsr,"l and the drunken was the beggar-man Knight,and I did all this to teachyou a lesson, which I know 'iou've learned.

(2) KingThrushbeard had Everymorningthe Princess to get up very early and work, until one day her husband said, "Wife, we can't go on you'llhave earningno moneyanymore, so to startweavingbaskets," hewent out when she beganto and cut reeds.But the cut weave, hardreeds intoherfingers them bleed, her husband so and made told her she had better start spinning instead, but the thread soon cut her tender hands to ribbons."You're no goodfor anywork,"saidthe manbitterly, "l'll haveto startmakingsaucepans and to and you can go to market sellthem." At first everything went well, and throngedaroundthis beautiful everyone gave Somepeople ladyto buy herwares. the money without even taking the saucepans!But one day a drunken Knight rode right through her stall and Now she to smashedeverything pieces. was afraid to go home, and when she finally did, her husbandhad left her.So she.lived alonein nearpovertyuntilone day she was invitedto a weddingat the herabowland a Castle, shetookwith and littlebag.As shewasfillingthe bowlwith soup and the bag with bread to take home with her,a man took her by the ! arm, and shefelt so ashamedBut it was
176

Now we can really be married!" And so they were married, and at the fine father smiled at wedding, the Princess's last!

Good day,Mr. Monday Goodday,Mr.Monday! 1 How's Mr.Tuesday? ls Mr.Wednesday home? at Tell Mr.Thursday, That Mrs.Friday On Saturday comingto seeMother' is Sunday.