FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   >>  
with a smile, "I have heard of that gentleman before." "Yes," said Jonas, "he is pretty well known. He is a great mischief-maker. He lives in an ice castle at the North, and in the fall of the year he comes creeping along in the still nights, and early in the mornings. He builds bridges over the ponds, and brooks, and plants little gardens of hoar frost; and where he sees a stone in the ground, he stamps his foot upon it, and crowds it down a little way. Then it is his great delight to go about pinching boys' toes and noses. He is a sly rogue." "And who are the other Northmen?" said Rollo. "The next is General Boreas," said Jonas. "General Boreas!" repeated Rollo; "and who is he?" "O! he is a terrible fellow," replied Jonas. "He comes roaring and thundering along the tops of the forests at midnight, in snowstorms and hail. He buries up the whole country, he breaks down the trees, and sometimes unroofs the houses. Then, if he finds any poor traveller out, he whistles and roars about his ears, and tries to frighten him; and he throws snow into his face, and heaps it up all about him in order to bury him up if he can. "Then, besides," continued Jonas, "the old stormer has another way of making mischief. After he has got the valleys and streams covered and filled with ice and snow, he brings on a tempest of wind and rain, and fills the land with torrents, which raise the streams, and tear up the ice, and carry it down in vast, broken, and jamming blocks, which break down the bridges, and carry away dams, and spread all over the meadows, frightening a good many families out of their beds at midnight." "Is that the way that General Boreas acts?" said Rollo. "Yes," replied Jonas, "that's the way." "And who is the third Northman?" said Rollo. "His name is Old Zero," replied Jonas. "He is more than threescore years and ten, a great deal; his head is hoary, and his beard is long and gray. He creeps softly along after General Boreas has worked himself out of breath, and gone away. He curtains over all the windows with frost work in the night. He likes the night, when it is calm and still, and the stars are shining bright and cold all over the sky. And he kills more people than Boreas does." "Kills them?" said Rollo. "Yes," replied Jonas. "He makes no blustering, but he stings bitterly, and the poor traveller has his ears, and hands, and feet frozen before he knows what a cruel enemy is around him. Captai
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   >>  



Top keywords:
Boreas
 

General

 

replied

 

traveller

 

midnight

 
streams
 
bridges
 

mischief

 
Northman
 

families


torrents

 

brings

 
tempest
 

spread

 
meadows
 

frightening

 
broken
 
jamming
 

blocks

 

worked


blustering

 

people

 

stings

 

Captai

 

bitterly

 

frozen

 

bright

 

shining

 

creeps

 

softly


filled

 
windows
 

breath

 

curtains

 

threescore

 
whistles
 

ground

 
stamps
 

plants

 
gardens

crowds
 

delight

 
pinching
 
brooks
 

pretty

 

gentleman

 
nights
 

mornings

 
builds
 

creeping