FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   >>  
es. The father and Margery heard it, and rushed out to see what had happened: there was a great flame and smoke rising up from the place, and when that was gone, there stood the little brother all alive again--as if he had never died. He took his father and Margery by the hand, and they were all three quite happy, and went into the house to dinner. CLEVER ALICE. Once upon a time there was a man who had a daughter, who was called "Clever Alice;" and when she was grown up, her father said, "We must see about her marrying." "Yes," replied her mother, "whenever a young man shall appear who is worthy of her." At last a certain youth, by name Hans, came from a distance to make a proposal of marriage but he required one condition, that the Clever Alice should be very prudent. "Oh," said her father, "no fear of that! she has got a head full of brains;" and the mother added, "Ah, she can see the wind blow up the street, and hear the flies cough!" "Very well," replied Hans; "but remember, if she is not very prudent, I will not take her." Soon afterwards they sat down to dinner, and her mother said, "Alice, go down into the cellar and draw some beer." So Clever Alice took the jug down from the wall, and went into the cellar, jerking the lid up and down on her way, to pass away the time. As soon as she got downstairs, she drew a stool and placed it before the cask, in order that she might not have to stoop, for she thought stooping might in some way injure her back, and give it an undesirable bend. Then she placed the can before her and turned the tap, and while the beer was running, as she did not wish her eyes to be idle, she looked about upon the wall above and below. Presently she perceived, after much peeping into this corner and that corner, a hatchet, which the bricklayers had left behind, sticking out of the ceiling right above her head. At the sight of this Clever Alice began to cry, saying, "Oh! if I marry Hans, and we have a child, and he grows up, and we send him into the cellar to draw beer, the hatchet will fall upon his head and kill him;" and so she sat there weeping with all her might over the impending misfortune. Meanwhile the good folks upstairs were waiting for the beer, but as Clever Alice did not come, her mother told the maid to go and see what she was stopping for. The maid went down into the cellar, and found Alice sitting before the cask crying heartily, and she asked, "Alice,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   >>  



Top keywords:
Clever
 

cellar

 

mother

 

father

 

corner

 

hatchet

 

replied

 

prudent

 

dinner

 
Margery

injure

 

stooping

 

misfortune

 

turned

 

thought

 

undesirable

 

heartily

 
stopping
 
sitting
 
crying

Meanwhile

 

upstairs

 

waiting

 

bricklayers

 

sticking

 

ceiling

 

downstairs

 

weeping

 
running
 

impending


looked
 
peeping
 

perceived

 
Presently
 
daughter
 
called
 

CLEVER

 

worthy

 
marrying
 
rising

happened
 

rushed

 

brother

 
remember
 
street
 

jerking

 

proposal

 

marriage

 

required

 

distance