{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_15661/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_15661","id":"gutenberg_15661","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15661","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's Picture Books","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Suzanne Shell, Melissa Er-Raqabi and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.\n\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's Note: Numerous references to illustrations have been\nremoved from the text version of the book. Look for a fully-illustrated\nhtml version on this site.]\n\n\nTHE\nGOLDEN GOOSE BOOK\n\nBEING THE STORIES OF\n\nTHE GOLDEN GOOSE\nTHE THREE BEARS\nTHE 3 LITTLE PIGS\nTOM THUMB\n\n_With numerous Drawings in\nColour and Black-and-White_\n\n_by_\n\nL. LESLIE BROOKE\n\nLONDON\n\nFREDERICK WARNE AND CO., LTD.\n\nAND NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\n_Copyright in all countries\nsignatory to the Berne Convention_\nFREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD.\nLONDON, ENGLAND\n\n\nFIRST PRINTED 1905\n\nPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN\n\nPRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHERS BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LTD.,\nLONDON AND BRECCLES\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN GOOSE\n\n\nThere was once a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called\nthe Simpleton. He was laughed at and despised and neglected on all\noccasions. Now it happened one day that the eldest son wanted to go into\nthe forest, to hew wood, and his Mother gave him a beautiful cake and a\nbottle of wine to take with him, so that he might not suffer from hunger\nor thirst. When he came to the wood he met a little old grey man, who,\nbidding him good-day, said: \"Give me a small piece of the cake in your\nwallet, and let me drink a mouthful of your wine; I am so hungry and\nthirsty.\" But the clever son answered: \"If I were to give you my cake\nand wine, I should have none for myself, so be off with you,\" and he left\nthe little man standing there, and walked away. Hardly had he begun to hew\ndown a tree, when his axe slipped and cut his arm, so that he had to go\nhome at once and have the wound bound up. This was the work of the little\ngrey man.\n\nThereupon the second son went into the wood, and the Mother gave him, as\nshe had given to the eldest, a sweet cake and a bottle of wine. The little\nold man met him also, and begged for a small slice of cake and a drink of\nwine. But the second son spoke out quite plainly. \"What I give to you I\nlose myself--be off with you,\" and he left the little man standing there,\nand walked on. Punishment was not long in coming to him, for he had\ngiven but two strokes at a tree when he cut his leg so badly that he had\nto be carried home.\n\nThen said the Simpleton: \"Father, let me go into the forest and hew wood.\"\nBut his Father answered him: \"Your brothers have done themselves much\nharm, so as you understand nothing about wood-cutting you had better not\ntry.\" But the Simpleton begged for so long that at last the Father said:\n\"Well, go if you like; experience will soon make you wiser.\" To him the\nMother gave a cake, but it was made with water and had been baked in the\nashes, and with it she gave him a bottle of sour beer. When he came to the\nwood the little grey man met him also, and greeted him, and said: \"Give me\na slice of your cake and a drink from your bottle; I am so hungry and\nthirsty.\" The Simpleton replied: \"I have only a cake that has been baked\nin the ashes, and some sour beer, but if that will satisfy you, let us sit\ndown and eat together.\" So they sat themselves down, and as the Simpleton\nheld out his food it became a rich cake, and the sour beer became good\nwine. So they ate and drank together, and when the meal was finished, the\nlittle man said: \"As you have a good heart and give so willingly a share\nof your own, I will grant you good luck. Yonder stands an old tree; hew it\ndown, and in its roots you will find something.\" Saying this the old man\ntook his departure, and off went the Simpleton and cut down the tree.\nWhen it fell, there among its roots sat a goose, with feathers of pure\ngold. He lifted her out, and carried her with him to an inn where he\nintended to stay the night.\n\nNow the innkeeper had three daughters, who on seeing the goose were\ncurious to know what wonderful kind of a bird it could be, and longed to\nhave one of its golden feathers. The eldest daughter thought to herself,\n\"Surely a chance will come for me to pull out one of those feathers\";\nand so when the Simpleton had gone out, she caught the goose by the wing.\nBut there her hand stuck fast! Shortly afterwards the second daughter\ncame, as she too was longing for a golden feather. She had hardly touched\nher sister, however, when she also stuck fast. And lastly came the third\ndaughter with the same object. At this the others cried out, \"Keep off,\nfor goodness' sake, keep off!\" But she, not understanding why they told\nher to keep away, thought to herself, \"If they go to the goose, why\nshould not I?\" She sprang forward, but as she touched her sister she too\nstuck fast, and pull as she might she could not get away; and thus they\nhad all to pass the night beside the goose.\n\nThe next morning the Simpleton took the goose under his arm and went on\nhis way, without troubling himself at all about the three girls who were\nhanging to the bird. There they went, always running behind him, now to\nthe right, now to the left, whichever way he chose to go. In the middle\nof the fields they met the parson, and when he saw the procession he\ncalled out, \"Shame on you, you naughty girls, why do you run after a young\nfellow in this way? Come, leave go!\" With this he caught the youngest by\nthe hand, and tried to pull her back, but when he touched her he found he\ncould not get away, and he too must needs run behind. Then the sexton came\nalong, and saw the parson following on the heels of the three girls. This\nso astonished him that he called out, \"Hi! Sir Parson, whither away so\nfast? Do you forget that today we have a christening?\" and ran after him,\nand caught him by the coat, but he too remained sticking fast.\n\nAs the five now ran on, one behind the other, two labourers who were\nreturning from the field with their tools, came along. The parson called\nout to them and begged that they would set him and the sexton free. No\nsooner had they touched the sexton, than they too had to hang on, and now\nthere were seven running after the Simpleton and the goose.\n\nIn this way they came to a city where a King reigned who had an only\ndaughter, who was so serious that no one could make her laugh. Therefore\nhe had announced that whoever should make her laugh should have her for\nhis wife. When the Simpleton heard this he went with his goose and his\ntrain before the Princess, and when she saw the seven people all running\nbehind each other, she began to laugh, and she laughed and laughed till it\nseemed as though she could never stop. Thereupon the Simpleton demanded\nher for his wife, but the King was not pleased at the thought of such a\nson-in-law, and he made all kinds of objections. He told the Simpleton\nthat he must first bring him a man who could drink off a whole cellarful\nof wine. At once the Simpleton thought of the little grey man, who would\nbe sure to help him, so off he went into the wood, and in the place where\nhe had cut down the tree he saw a man sitting who looked most miserable.\nThe Simpleton asked him what was the cause of his trouble.\n\n\"I have such a thirst,\" the man answered, \"and I cannot quench it. I\ncannot bear cold water. I have indeed emptied a cask of wine, but what is\na drop like that to a thirsty man?\"\n\n\"In that case I can help you,\" said the Simpleton. \"Just come with me and\nyou shall be satisfied.\"\n\nHe led him to the King's cellar, and the man at once sat down in front of\nthe great cask, and drank and drank till before a day was over he had\ndrunk the whole cellarful of wine. Then the Simpleton demanded his bride\nagain, but the King was angry that a mean fellow everyone called a\nSimpleton should win his daughter, and he made new conditions. Before\ngiving him his daughter to wife he said that the Simpleton must find a man\nwho would eat a whole mountain of bread. The Simpleton did not stop long\nto consider, but went off straight to the wood. There in the same place\nas before sat a man who was buckling a strap tightly around him, and\nlooking very depressed. He said:\n\n\"I have eaten a whole ovenful of loaves, but what help is that when a man\nis as hungry as I am? I feel quite empty, and I must strap myself together\nif I am not to die of hunger.\"\n\nThe Simpleton was delighted on hearing this, and said: \"Get up at once and\ncome with me. I will give you enough to eat to satisfy your hunger.\"\n\nHe led him to the King, who meanwhile had ordered all the meal in the\nKingdom to be brought together, and an immense mountain of bread baked\nfrom it. The man from the wood set to work on it, and in one day the\nwhole mountain had disappeared.\n\nFor the third time the Simpleton demanded his bride, but yet again the\nKing tried to put him off, and said that he must bring him a ship that\nwould go both on land and water.\n\n\"If you are really able to sail such a ship,\" said he, \"you shall at once\nhave my daughter for your wife.\"\n\nThe Simpleton went into the wood, and there sat the little old grey man to\nwhom he had given his cake.\n\n\"I have drunk for you, and I have eaten for you,\" said the little man,\n\"and I will also give you the ship; all this I do for you because you were\nkind to me.\"\n\nThen he gave the Simpleton a ship that went both on land and water, and\nwhen the King saw it he knew he could no longer keep back his daughter.\nThe wedding was celebrated, and after the King's death, the Simpleton\ninherited the Kingdom, and lived very happily ever after with his wife.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE THREE BEARS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house of\ntheir own, in a wood. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and one\nwas a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They had\neach a pot for their porridge; a little pot for the Little, Small, Wee\nBear; and a middle-sized pot for the Middle Bear, and a great pot for the\nGreat, Huge Bear. And they had each a chair to sit in; a little chair\nfor the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized chair for the Middle\nBear, and a great chair for the Great, Huge Bear. And they had each a bed\nto sleep in; a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a\nmiddle-sized bed for the Middle Bear, and a great bed for the Great, Huge\nBear.\n\nOne day, after they had made the porridge for their breakfast, and poured\nit into their porridge-pots, they walked out into the wood while the\nporridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths by beginning\ntoo soon to eat it. And while they were walking, a little Girl called\nGoldenlocks came to the house. First she looked in at the window, and then\nshe peeped in at the keyhole; and seeing nobody in the house, she turned\nthe handle of the door. The door was not fastened, because the Bears were\ngood Bears, who did nobody any harm, and never suspected that anybody\nwould harm them. So Goldenlocks opened the door, and went in; and well\npleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table. If she had been a\nthoughtful little Girl, she would have waited till the Bears came home,\nand then, perhaps, they would have asked her to breakfast; for they were\ngood Bears--a little rough or so, as the manner of Bears is, but for all\nthat very good-natured and hospitable. But the porridge looked tempting,\nand she set about helping herself.\n\nSo first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too\nhot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that\nwas too cold for her. And then she went to the porridge of the Little,\nSmall, Wee Bear, and tasted that; and that was neither too hot nor too\ncold, but just right, and she liked it so well that she ate it all up.\n\nThen Goldenlocks sat down in the chair of the Great, Huge Bear, and that\nwas too hard for her. And then she sat down in the chair of the Middle\nBear, and that was too soft for her. And then she sat down in the chair of\nthe Little, Small, Wee Bear, and that was neither too hard nor too soft,\nbut just right. So she seated herself in it, and there she sat till the\nbottom of the chair came out, and down she came plump upon the ground.\n\nThen Goldenlocks went upstairs into the bedchamber in which the three\nBears slept. And first she lay down upon the bed of the Great, Huge Bear,\nbut that was too high at the head for her. And next she lay down upon the\nbed of the Middle Bear, and that was too high at the foot for her. And\nthen she lay down upon the bed of the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and that\nwas neither too high at the head nor at the foot, but just right. So she\ncovered herself up comfortably, and lay there till she fell fast asleep.\n\nBy this time the Three Bears thought their porridge would be cool enough;\nso they came home to breakfast. Now Goldenlocks had left the spoon of the\nGreat, Huge Bear standing in his porridge.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!\" said the Great, Huge Bear, in his\ngreat, rough, gruff voice. And when the Middle Bear looked at hers, she\nsaw that the spoon was standing in it too.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!\" said the Middle Bear, in her middle\nvoice. Then the Little, Small, Wee Bear looked at his, and there was the\nspoon in the porridge-pot, but the porridge was all gone.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE, AND HAS EATEN IT ALL UP!\" said the\nLittle, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.\n\nUpon this the Three Bears, seeing that someone had entered their house,\nand eaten up the Little, Small, Wee Bear's breakfast, began to look about\nthem. Now Goldenlocks had not put the hard cushion straight when she rose\nfrom the chair of the Great, Huge Bear.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!\" said the Great, Huge Bear, in his\ngreat, rough, gruff voice.\n\nAnd Goldenlocks had squatted down the soft cushion of the Middle Bear.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!\" said the Middle Bear, in her\nmiddle voice.\n\nAnd you know what Goldenlocks had done to the third chair.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR, AND HAS SAT THE BOTTOM OUT OF IT!\"\nsaid the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.\n\nThen the Three Bears thought it necessary that they should make farther\nsearch; so they went upstairs into their bedchamber. Now Goldenlocks had\npulled the pillow of the Great, Huge Bear out of its place.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!\" said the Great, Huge Bear, in his\ngreat, rough, gruff voice.\n\nAnd Goldenlocks had pulled the bolster of the Middle Bear out of its\nplace.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!\" said the Middle Bear, in her middle\nvoice.\n\nAnd when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was\nthe bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster;\nand upon the pillow was the head of Goldenlocks--which was not in its\nplace, for she had no business there.\n\n\"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED--AND HERE SHE IS!\" said the Little,\nSmall, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.\n\nGoldenlocks had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff voice of the\nGreat, Huge Bear, and the middle voice of the Middle Bear, but it was only\nas if she had heard someone speaking in a dream. But when she heard the\nlittle, small, wee voice of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, it was so sharp,\nand so shrill, that it awakened her at once. Up she started; and when she\nsaw the Three Bears on one side of the bed she tumbled herself out at the\nother, and ran to the window. Now the window was open, because the Bears,\nlike good, tidy Bears, as they were, always opened their bedchamber window\nwhen they got up in the morning. Out Goldenlocks jumped, and ran away as\nfast as she could run--never looking behind her; and what happened to her\nafterwards I cannot tell. But the Three Bears never saw anything more of\nher.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE LITTLE PIGS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old Sow with three little Pigs, and as she\nhad not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their fortune.\n\nThe first that went off met a Man with a bundle of straw, and said to him,\n\"Please, Man, give me that straw to build me a house\"; which the Man did,\nand the little Pig built a house with it. Presently came along a Wolf, and\nknocked at the door, and said, \"Little Pig, little Pig, let me come in.\"\n\nTo which the Pig answered, \"No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin.\"\n\n\"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!\" said the\nWolf. So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and ate up\nthe little Pig.\n\nThe second Pig met a Man with a bundle of furze, and said, \"Please, Man,\ngive me that furze to build a house\"; which the Man did, and the Pig built\nhis house. Then along came the Wolf and said, \"Little Pig, little Pig, let\nme come in.\"\n\n\"No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin.\"\n\n\"Then I'll puff and I'll huff, and I'll blow your house in!\" So he huffed\nand he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed, and at last he blew the house\ndown, and ate up the second little Pig.\n\nThe third little Pig met a Man with a load of bricks, and said, \"Please,\nMan, give me those bricks to build a house with\"; so the Man gave him the\nbricks, and he built his house with them. So the Wolf came, as he did to\nthe other little Pigs, and said, \"Little Pig, little Pig, let me come in.\"\n\n\"No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin.\" \"Then I'll huff and I'll\npuff, and I'll blow your house in.\" Well, he huffed and he puffed, and he\nhuffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed; but he could _not_\nget the house down. When he found that he could not, with all his huffing\nand puffing, blow the house down, he said, \"Little Pig, I know where there\nis a nice field of turnips.\"\n\n\"Where?\" said the little Pig.\n\n\"Oh, in Mr. Smith's home-field; and if you will be ready to-morrow\nmorning, I will call for you, and we will go together and get some for\ndinner.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said the little Pig, \"I will be ready. What time do you mean\nto go?\"\n\n\"Oh, at six o'clock.\"\n\nWell, the little Pig got up at five, and got the turnips and was home\nagain before six. When the Wolf came he said, \"Little Pig, are you ready?\"\n\n\"Ready!\" said the little Pig, \"I have been and come back again, and got a\nnice pot-full for dinner.\"\n\nThe Wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be _up_ to\nthe little Pig somehow or other; so he said, \"Little Pig, I know where\nthere is a nice apple-tree.\" \"Where?\" said the Pig.\n\n\"Down at Merry-garden,\" replied the Wolf; \"and if you will not deceive me\nI will come for you, at five o'clock to-morrow, and we will go together\nand get some apples.\"\n\nWell, the little Pig woke at four the next morning, and bustled up, and\nwent off for the apples, hoping to get back before the Wolf came; but he\nhad farther to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as he was\ncoming down from it, he saw the Wolf coming, which, as you may suppose,\nfrightened him very much. When the Wolf came up he said, \"Little Pig,\nwhat! are you here before me? Are they nice apples?\"\n\n\"Yes, very,\" said the little Pig; \"I will throw you down one.\" And he\nthrew it so far that, while the Wolf was gone to pick it up, the little\nPig jumped down and ran home.\n\nThe next day the Wolf came again, and said to the little Pig, \"Little Pig,\nthere is a Fair in the Town this afternoon: will you go?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes,\" said the Pig, I will go; what time shall you be ready?\"\n\n\"At three,\" said the Wolf.\n\nSo the little Pig went off before the time, as usual, and got to the Fair,\nand bought a butter churn, and was on his way home with it when he saw the\nWolf coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So he got into the churn\nto hide, and in doing so turned it round, and it began to roll, and rolled\ndown the hill with the Pig inside it, which frightened the Wolf so much\nthat he ran home without going to the Fair.\n\nHe went to the little Pig's house, and told him how frightened he had\nbeen by a great round thing which came down the hill past him.\n\nThen the little Pig said, \"Hah! I frightened you, did I? I had been to the\nFair and bought a butter churn, and when I saw you I got into it, and\nrolled down the hill.\"\n\nThen the Wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat up the\nlittle Pig, and that he would get down the chimney after him.\n\nWhen the little Pig saw what he was about, he hung on the pot full of\nwater, and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the Wolf was coming down,\ntook off the cover of the pot, and in fell the Wolf. And the little Pig\nput on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and ate him for\nsupper, and lived happy ever after.\n\n\n\n\nTOM THUMB\n\n\nLong ago, in the merry days of good King Arthur, there lived a ploughman\nand his wife. They were very poor, but would have been contented and happy\nif only they could have had a little child. One day, having heard of the\ngreat fame of the magician Merlin, who was living at the Court of King\nArthur, the wife persuaded her husband to go and tell him of their\ntrouble. Having arrived at the Court, the man besought Merlin with tears\nin his eyes to give them a child, saying that they would be quite content\neven though it should be no bigger than his thumb. Merlin determined to\ngrant the request, and what was the countryman's astonishment to find when\nhe reached home that his wife had a son, who, wonderful to relate, was no\nbigger than his father's thumb!\n\nThe parents were now very happy, and the christening of the little fellow\ntook place with great ceremony. The Fairy Queen, attended by all her\ncompany of elves, was present at the feast. She kissed the little child,\nand, giving it the name of Tom Thumb, told her fairies to fetch the\ntailors of her Court, who dressed her little godson according to her\norders. His hat was made of a beautiful oak leaf, his shirt of a fine\nspider's web, and his hose and doublet were of thistledown, his stockings\nwere made with the rind of a delicate green apple, and the garters were\ntwo of the finest little hairs imaginable, plucked from his mother's\neyebrows, while his shoes were made of the skin of a little mouse. When he\nwas thus dressed, the Fairy Queen kissed him once more, and, wishing him\nall good luck, flew off with the fairies to her Court.\n\nAs Tom grew older, he became very amusing and full of tricks, so that his\nmother was afraid to let him out of her sight. One day, while she was\nmaking a batter pudding, Tom stood on the edge of the bowl, with a lighted\ncandle in his hand, so that she might see that the pudding was made\nproperly. Unfortunately, however, when her back was turned, Tom fell into\nthe bowl, and his mother, not missing him, stirred him up in the pudding,\ntied it in a cloth, and put it into the pot. The batter filled Tom's\nmouth, and prevented him from calling out, but he had no sooner felt the\nhot water, than he kicked and struggled so much that the pudding jumped\nabout in the pot, and his mother, thinking the pudding was bewitched, was\nnearly frightened out of her wits. Pulling it out of the pot, she ran with\nit to her door, and gave it to a tinker who was passing. He was very\nthankful for it, and looked forward to having a better dinner than he had\nenjoyed for many a long day. But his pleasure did not last long, for, as\nhe was getting over a stile, he happened to sneeze very hard, and Tom,\nwho had been quite quiet inside the pudding for some time, called out at\nthe top of his little voice, \"Hallo, Pickens!\" This so terrified the\ntinker that he flung away the pudding, and ran off as fast as he could.\nThe pudding was all broken to pieces by the fall, and Tom crept out,\ncovered with batter, and ran home to his mother, who had been looking\neverywhere for him, and was delighted to see him again. She gave him a\nbath in a cup, which soon washed off all the pudding, and he was none the\nworse for his adventure.\n\nA few days after this, Tom accompanied his mother when she went into the\nfields to milk the cows, and, fearing he might be blown away by the wind,\nshe tied him to a sow-thistle with a little piece of thread. While she was\nmilking, a cow came by, bit off the thistle, and swallowed up Tom. Poor\nTom did not like her big teeth, and called out loudly, \"Mother, mother!\"\n\"But where are you, Tommy, my dear Tommy?\" cried out his mother,\nwringing her hands. \"Here, mother,\" he shouted, \"inside the red cow's\nmouth!\" And, saying that, he began to kick and scratch till the poor cow\nwas nearly mad, and at length tumbled him out of her mouth. On seeing\nthis, his mother rushed to him, caught him in her arms, and carried him\nsafely home.\n\nSome days after this, his father took him to the fields a-ploughing, and\ngave him a whip, made of a barley straw, with which to drive the oxen; but\nlittle Tom was soon lost in a furrow. An eagle seeing him, picked him up\nand flew with him to the top of a hill where stood a giant's castle. The\ngiant put him at once into his mouth, intending to swallow him up, but Tom\nmade such a great disturbance when he got inside that the monster was soon\nglad to get rid of him, and threw him far away into the sea. But he was\nnot drowned, for he had scarcely touched the water before he was swallowed\nby a large fish, which was shortly afterwards captured and brought to King\nArthur, as a present, by the fisherman. When the fish was opened, everyone\nwas astonished at finding Tom inside. He was at once carried to the King,\nwho made him his Court dwarf.\n\n    Long time he lived in jollity,\n      Beloved of the Court,\n    And none like Tom was so esteemed\n      Amongst the better sort.\n\nThe Queen was delighted with the little boy, and made him dance a gaillard\non her left hand. He danced so well that King Arthur gave him a ring,\nwhich he wore round his waist like a girdle.\n\nTom soon began to long to see his parents again, and begged the King to\nallow him to go home for a short time. This was readily permitted, and the\nKing told him he might take with him as much money as he could carry.\n\n    And so away goes lusty Tom,\n      With three pence at his back--\n    A heavy burthen which did make\n      His very bones to crack.\n\nHe had to rest more than a hundred times by the way, but, after two days\nand two nights, he reached his father's house in safety. His mother saw\nhim coming, and ran out to meet him, and there was great rejoicing at his\narrival. He spent three happy days at home, and then set out for the Court\nonce more.\n\nShortly after his return, he one day displeased the King, so, fearing the\nroyal anger, he crept into an empty flower-pot, where he lay for a long\ntime. At last he ventured to peep out, and, seeing a fine large butterfly\non the ground close by, he stole out of his hiding-place, jumped on its\nback, and was carried up into the air. The King and nobles all strove to\ncatch him, but at last poor Tom fell from his seat into a watering-pot, in\nwhich he was almost drowned, only luckily the gardener's child saw him,\nand pulled him out. The King was so pleased to have him safe once more\nthat he forgot to scold him, and made much of him instead.\n\nTom afterwards lived many years at Court, one of the best beloved of King\nArthur's knights.\n\n    Thus he at tilt and tournament\n      Was entertained so,\n    That all the rest of Arthur's knights\n      Did him much pleasure show.\n    With good Sir Launcelot du Lake,\n      Sir Tristram and Sir Guy,\n    Yet none compared to brave Tom Thumb\n      In acts of chivalry.\n\n\n\n\nPRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHERS BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LTD.,\nLONDON AND BECCLES\n\n\nLESLIE BROOKE'S\nCHILDREN'S BOOKS\n\n\nOTHER BOOKS\nWITH DRAWINGS\nBY\nLESLIE BROOKE\n\nJOHNNY CROW'S GARDEN\nJOHNNY CROW'S PARTY\n\nA ROUNDABOUT TURN\nVerses by\nROBERT H. CHARLES\n\nLESLIE BROOKE'S\nLITTLE BOOKS\nsize 7 in. by 5-1/2 in.\n4 BOOKS\nNURSERY STORIES\n4 BOOKS\nNURSERY RHYMES\n\nTHE NURSERY RHYME\nBOOK\nEdited by ANDREW LANG\n\nPUBLISHED BY\nFREDERICK WARNE & Co. Ltd.","title":"The Golden Goose Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":5305}