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THEGOLDEN GOOSE BOOK

BEING THE STORIES OF

THE GOLDEN GOOSETHE THREE BEARSTHE 3 LITTLE PIGSTOM THUMB

_With numerous Drawings inColour and Black-and-White_

_by_

L. LESLIE BROOKE

LONDON

FREDERICK WARNE AND CO. , LTD. 

AND NEW YORK

_Copyright in all countriessignatory to the Berne Convention_FREDERICK WARNE & CO. LTD. LONDON, ENGLAND

FIRST PRINTED 1905

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

PRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHERS BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LTD. , LONDON AND BRECCLES

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

There was once a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was calledthe Simpleton. He was laughed at and despised and neglected on alloccasions. Now it happened one day that the eldest son wanted to go intothe forest, to hew wood, and his Mother gave him a beautiful cake and abottle of wine to take with him, so that he might not suffer from hungeror thirst. When he came to the wood he met a little old grey man, who, bidding him good-day, said: "Give me a small piece of the cake in yourwallet, and let me drink a mouthful of your wine; I am so hungry andthirsty. " But the clever son answered: "If I were to give you my cakeand wine, I should have none for myself, so be off with you, " and he leftthe little man standing there, and walked away. Hardly had he begun to hewdown a tree, when his axe slipped and cut his arm, so that he had to gohome at once and have the wound bound up. This was the work of the littlegrey man. 

Thereupon the second son went into the wood, and the Mother gave him, asshe had given to the eldest, a sweet cake and a bottle of wine. The littleold man met him also, and begged for a small slice of cake and a drink ofwine. But the second son spoke out quite plainly. "What I give to you Ilose myself--be off with you, " and he left the little man standing there, and walked on. Punishment was not long in coming to him, for he hadgiven but two strokes at a tree when he cut his leg so badly that he hadto be carried home. 

Then said the Simpleton: "Father, let me go into the forest and hew wood. "But his Father answered him: "Your brothers have done themselves muchharm, so as you understand nothing about wood-cutting you had better nottry. " But the Simpleton begged for so long that at last the Father said:"Well, go if you like; experience will soon make you wiser. " To him theMother gave a cake, but it was made with water and had been baked in theashes, and with it she gave him a bottle of sour beer. When he came to thewood the little grey man met him also, and greeted him, and said: "Give mea slice of your cake and a drink from your bottle; I am so hungry andthirsty. " The Simpleton replied: "I have only a cake that has been bakedin the ashes, and some sour beer, but if that will satisfy you, let us sitdown and eat together. " So they sat themselves down, and as the Simpletonheld out his food it became a rich cake, and the sour beer became goodwine. So they ate and drank together, and when the meal was finished, thelittle man said: "As you have a good heart and give so willingly a shareof your own, I will grant you good luck. Yonder stands an old tree; hew itdown, and in its roots you will find something. " Saying this the old mantook his departure, and off went the Simpleton and cut down the tree. When it fell, there among its roots sat a goose, with feathers of puregold. He lifted her out, and carried her with him to an inn where heintended to stay the night. 

Now the innkeeper had three daughters, who on seeing the goose werecurious to know what wonderful kind of a bird it could be, and longed tohave one of its golden feathers. The eldest daughter thought to herself, "Surely a chance will come for me to pull out one of those feathers";and so when the Simpleton had gone out, she caught the goose by the wing. But there her hand stuck fast! Shortly afterwards the second daughtercame, as she too was longing for a golden feather. She had hardly touchedher sister, however, when she also stuck fast. And lastly came the thirddaughter with the same object. At this the others cried out, "Keep off, for goodness' sake, keep off!" But she, not understanding why they toldher to keep away, thought to herself, "If they go to the goose, whyshould not I?" She sprang forward, but as she touched her sister she toostuck fast, and pull as she might she could not get away; and thus theyhad all to pass the night beside the goose. 

The next morning the Simpleton took the goose under his arm and went onhis way, without troubling himself at all about the three girls who werehanging to the bird. There they went, always running behind him, now tothe right, now to the left, whichever way he chose to go. In the middleof the fields they met the parson, and when he saw the procession hecalled out, "Shame on you, you naughty girls, why do you run after a youngfellow in this way? Come, leave go!" With this he caught the youngest bythe hand, and tried to pull her back, but when he touched her he found hecould not get away, and he too must needs run behind. Then the sexton camealong, and saw the parson following on the heels of the three girls. Thisso astonished him that he called out, "Hi! Sir Parson, whither away sofast? Do you forget that today we have a christening?" and ran after him, and caught him by the coat, but he too remained sticking fast. 

As the five now ran on, one behind the other, two labourers who werereturning from the field with their tools, came along. The parson calledout to them and begged that they would set him and the sexton free. Nosooner had they touched the sexton, than they too had to hang on, and nowthere were seven running after the Simpleton and the goose. 

In this way they came to a city where a King reigned who had an onlydaughter, who was so serious that no one could make her laugh. Thereforehe had announced that whoever should make her laugh should have her forhis wife. When the Simpleton heard this he went with his goose and histrain before the Princess, and when she saw the seven people all runningbehind each other, she began to laugh, and she laughed and laughed till itseemed as though she could never stop. Thereupon the Simpleton demandedher for his wife, but the King was not pleased at the thought of such ason-in-law, and he made all kinds of objections. He told the Simpletonthat he must first bring him a man who could drink off a whole cellarfulof wine. At once the Simpleton thought of the little grey man, who wouldbe sure to help him, so off he went into the wood, and in the place wherehe had cut down the tree he saw a man sitting who looked most miserable. The Simpleton asked him what was the cause of his trouble. 

"I have such a thirst, " the man answered, "and I cannot quench it. Icannot bear cold water. I have indeed emptied a cask of wine, but what isa drop like that to a thirsty man?"

"In that case I can help you, " said the Simpleton. "Just come with me andyou shall be satisfied. "

He led him to the King's cellar, and the man at once sat down in front ofthe great cask, and drank and drank till before a day was over he haddrunk the whole cellarful of wine. Then the Simpleton demanded his brideagain, but the King was angry that a mean fellow everyone called aSimpleton should win his daughter, and he made new conditions. Beforegiving him his daughter to wife he said that the Simpleton must find a manwho would eat a whole mountain of bread. The Simpleton did not stop longto consider, but went off straight to the wood. There in the same placeas before sat a man who was buckling a strap tightly around him, andlooking very depressed. He said:

"I have eaten a whole ovenful of loaves, but what help is that when a manis as hungry as I am? I feel quite empty, and I must strap myself togetherif I am not to die of hunger. "

The Simpleton was delighted on hearing this, and said: "Get up at once andcome with me. I will give you enough to eat to satisfy your hunger. "

He led him to the King, who meanwhile had ordered all the meal in theKingdom to be brought together, and an immense mountain of bread bakedfrom it. The man from the wood set to work on it, and in one day thewhole mountain had disappeared. 

For the third time the Simpleton demanded his bride, but yet again theKing tried to put him off, and said that he must bring him a ship thatwould go both on land and water. 

"If you are really able to sail such a ship, " said he, "you shall at oncehave my daughter for your wife. "

The Simpleton went into the wood, and there sat the little old grey man towhom he had given his cake. 

"I have drunk for you, and I have eaten for you, " said the little man, "and I will also give you the ship; all this I do for you because you werekind to me. "

Then he gave the Simpleton a ship that went both on land and water, andwhen the King saw it he knew he could no longer keep back his daughter. The wedding was celebrated, and after the King's death, the Simpletoninherited the Kingdom, and lived very happily ever after with his wife. 

THE STORY OF THE THREE BEARS

Once upon a time there were Three Bears, who lived together in a house oftheir own, in a wood. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear; and onewas a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great, Huge Bear. They hadeach a pot for their porridge; a little pot for the Little, Small, WeeBear; and a middle-sized pot for the Middle Bear, and a great pot for theGreat, Huge Bear. And they had each a chair to sit in; a little chairfor the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and a middle-sized chair for the MiddleBear, and a great chair for the Great, Huge Bear. And they had each a bedto sleep in; a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and amiddle-sized bed for the Middle Bear, and a great bed for the Great, HugeBear. 

One day, after they had made the porridge for their breakfast, and pouredit into their porridge-pots, they walked out into the wood while theporridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths by beginningtoo soon to eat it. And while they were walking, a little Girl calledGoldenlocks came to the house. First she looked in at the window, and thenshe peeped in at the keyhole; and seeing nobody in the house, she turnedthe handle of the door. The door was not fastened, because the Bears weregood Bears, who did nobody any harm, and never suspected that anybodywould harm them. So Goldenlocks opened the door, and went in; and wellpleased she was when she saw the porridge on the table. If she had been athoughtful little Girl, she would have waited till the Bears came home, and then, perhaps, they would have asked her to breakfast; for they weregood Bears--a little rough or so, as the manner of Bears is, but for allthat very good-natured and hospitable. But the porridge looked tempting, and she set about helping herself. 

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was toohot for her. And then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and thatwas too cold for her. And then she went to the porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that; and that was neither too hot nor toocold, but just right, and she liked it so well that she ate it all up. 

Then Goldenlocks sat down in the chair of the Great, Huge Bear, and thatwas too hard for her. And then she sat down in the chair of the MiddleBear, and that was too soft for her. And then she sat down in the chair ofthe Little, Small, Wee Bear, and that was neither too hard nor too soft, but just right. So she seated herself in it, and there she sat till thebottom of the chair came out, and down she came plump upon the ground. 

Then Goldenlocks went upstairs into the bedchamber in which the threeBears slept. And first she lay down upon the bed of the Great, Huge Bear, but that was too high at the head for her. And next she lay down upon thebed of the Middle Bear, and that was too high at the foot for her. Andthen she lay down upon the bed of the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and thatwas neither too high at the head nor at the foot, but just right. So shecovered herself up comfortably, and lay there till she fell fast asleep. 

By this time the Three Bears thought their porridge would be cool enough;so they came home to breakfast. Now Goldenlocks had left the spoon of theGreat, Huge Bear standing in his porridge. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!" said the Great, Huge Bear, in hisgreat, rough, gruff voice. And when the Middle Bear looked at hers, shesaw that the spoon was standing in it too. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!" said the Middle Bear, in her middlevoice. Then the Little, Small, Wee Bear looked at his, and there was thespoon in the porridge-pot, but the porridge was all gone. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE, AND HAS EATEN IT ALL UP!" said theLittle, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice. 

Upon this the Three Bears, seeing that someone had entered their house, and eaten up the Little, Small, Wee Bear's breakfast, began to look aboutthem. Now Goldenlocks had not put the hard cushion straight when she rosefrom the chair of the Great, Huge Bear. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!" said the Great, Huge Bear, in hisgreat, rough, gruff voice. 

And Goldenlocks had squatted down the soft cushion of the Middle Bear. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!" said the Middle Bear, in hermiddle voice. 

And you know what Goldenlocks had done to the third chair. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR, AND HAS SAT THE BOTTOM OUT OF IT!"said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice. 

Then the Three Bears thought it necessary that they should make farthersearch; so they went upstairs into their bedchamber. Now Goldenlocks hadpulled the pillow of the Great, Huge Bear out of its place. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!" said the Great, Huge Bear, in hisgreat, rough, gruff voice. 

And Goldenlocks had pulled the bolster of the Middle Bear out of itsplace. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!" said the Middle Bear, in her middlevoice. 

And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there wasthe bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster;and upon the pillow was the head of Goldenlocks--which was not in itsplace, for she had no business there. 

"SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED--AND HERE SHE IS!" said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice. 

Goldenlocks had heard in her sleep the great, rough, gruff voice of theGreat, Huge Bear, and the middle voice of the Middle Bear, but it was onlyas if she had heard someone speaking in a dream. But when she heard thelittle, small, wee voice of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, it was so sharp, and so shrill, that it awakened her at once. Up she started; and when shesaw the Three Bears on one side of the bed she tumbled herself out at theother, and ran to the window. Now the window was open, because the Bears, like good, tidy Bears, as they were, always opened their bedchamber windowwhen they got up in the morning. Out Goldenlocks jumped, and ran away asfast as she could run--never looking behind her; and what happened to herafterwards I cannot tell. But the Three Bears never saw anything more ofher. 

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Once upon a time there was an old Sow with three little Pigs, and as shehad not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their fortune. 

The first that went off met a Man with a bundle of straw, and said to him, "Please, Man, give me that straw to build me a house"; which the Man did, and the little Pig built a house with it. Presently came along a Wolf, andknocked at the door, and said, "Little Pig, little Pig, let me come in. "

To which the Pig answered, "No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin. "

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" said theWolf. So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and ate upthe little Pig. 

The second Pig met a Man with a bundle of furze, and said, "Please, Man, give me that furze to build a house"; which the Man did, and the Pig builthis house. Then along came the Wolf and said, "Little Pig, little Pig, letme come in. "

"No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin. "

"Then I'll puff and I'll huff, and I'll blow your house in!" So he huffedand he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed, and at last he blew the housedown, and ate up the second little Pig. 

The third little Pig met a Man with a load of bricks, and said, "Please, Man, give me those bricks to build a house with"; so the Man gave him thebricks, and he built his house with them. So the Wolf came, as he did tothe other little Pigs, and said, "Little Pig, little Pig, let me come in. "

"No, no, by the hair of my chinny chin chin. " "Then I'll huff and I'llpuff, and I'll blow your house in. " Well, he huffed and he puffed, and hehuffed and he puffed, and he puffed and he huffed; but he could _not_get the house down. When he found that he could not, with all his huffingand puffing, blow the house down, he said, "Little Pig, I know where thereis a nice field of turnips. "

"Where?" said the little Pig. 

"Oh, in Mr. Smith's home-field; and if you will be ready to-morrowmorning, I will call for you, and we will go together and get some fordinner. "

"Very well, " said the little Pig, "I will be ready. What time do you meanto go?"

"Oh, at six o'clock. "

Well, the little Pig got up at five, and got the turnips and was homeagain before six. When the Wolf came he said, "Little Pig, are you ready?"

"Ready!" said the little Pig, "I have been and come back again, and got anice pot-full for dinner. "

The Wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be _up_ tothe little Pig somehow or other; so he said, "Little Pig, I know wherethere is a nice apple-tree. " "Where?" said the Pig. 

"Down at Merry-garden, " replied the Wolf; "and if you will not deceive meI will come for you, at five o'clock to-morrow, and we will go togetherand get some apples. "

Well, the little Pig woke at four the next morning, and bustled up, andwent off for the apples, hoping to get back before the Wolf came; but hehad farther to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as he wascoming down from it, he saw the Wolf coming, which, as you may suppose, frightened him very much. When the Wolf came up he said, "Little Pig, what! are you here before me? Are they nice apples?"

"Yes, very, " said the little Pig; "I will throw you down one. " And hethrew it so far that, while the Wolf was gone to pick it up, the littlePig jumped down and ran home. 

The next day the Wolf came again, and said to the little Pig, "Little Pig, there is a Fair in the Town this afternoon: will you go?"

"Oh, yes, " said the Pig, I will go; what time shall you be ready?"

"At three, " said the Wolf. 

So the little Pig went off before the time, as usual, and got to the Fair, and bought a butter churn, and was on his way home with it when he saw theWolf coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So he got into the churnto hide, and in doing so turned it round, and it began to roll, and rolleddown the hill with the Pig inside it, which frightened the Wolf so muchthat he ran home without going to the Fair. 

He went to the little Pig's house, and told him how frightened he hadbeen by a great round thing which came down the hill past him. 

Then the little Pig said, "Hah! I frightened you, did I? I had been to theFair and bought a butter churn, and when I saw you I got into it, androlled down the hill. "

Then the Wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat up thelittle Pig, and that he would get down the chimney after him. 

When the little Pig saw what he was about, he hung on the pot full ofwater, and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the Wolf was coming down, took off the cover of the pot, and in fell the Wolf. And the little Pigput on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and ate him forsupper, and lived happy ever after. 

TOM THUMB

Long ago, in the merry days of good King Arthur, there lived a ploughmanand his wife. They were very poor, but would have been contented and happyif only they could have had a little child. One day, having heard of thegreat fame of the magician Merlin, who was living at the Court of KingArthur, the wife persuaded her husband to go and tell him of theirtrouble. Having arrived at the Court, the man besought Merlin with tearsin his eyes to give them a child, saying that they would be quite contenteven though it should be no bigger than his thumb. Merlin determined togrant the request, and what was the countryman's astonishment to find whenhe reached home that his wife had a son, who, wonderful to relate, was nobigger than his father's thumb!

The parents were now very happy, and the christening of the little fellowtook place with great ceremony. The Fairy Queen, attended by all hercompany of elves, was present at the feast. She kissed the little child, and, giving it the name of Tom Thumb, told her fairies to fetch thetailors of her Court, who dressed her little godson according to herorders. His hat was made of a beautiful oak leaf, his shirt of a finespider's web, and his hose and doublet were of thistledown, his stockingswere made with the rind of a delicate green apple, and the garters weretwo of the finest little hairs imaginable, plucked from his mother'seyebrows, while his shoes were made of the skin of a little mouse. When hewas thus dressed, the Fairy Queen kissed him once more, and, wishing himall good luck, flew off with the fairies to her Court. 

As Tom grew older, he became very amusing and full of tricks, so that hismother was afraid to let him out of her sight. One day, while she wasmaking a batter pudding, Tom stood on the edge of the bowl, with a lightedcandle in his hand, so that she might see that the pudding was madeproperly. Unfortunately, however, when her back was turned, Tom fell intothe bowl, and his mother, not missing him, stirred him up in the pudding, tied it in a cloth, and put it into the pot. The batter filled Tom'smouth, and prevented him from calling out, but he had no sooner felt thehot water, than he kicked and struggled so much that the pudding jumpedabout in the pot, and his mother, thinking the pudding was bewitched, wasnearly frightened out of her wits. Pulling it out of the pot, she ran withit to her door, and gave it to a tinker who was passing. He was verythankful for it, and looked forward to having a better dinner than he hadenjoyed for many a long day. But his pleasure did not last long, for, ashe was getting over a stile, he happened to sneeze very hard, and Tom, who had been quite quiet inside the pudding for some time, called out atthe top of his little voice, "Hallo, Pickens!" This so terrified thetinker that he flung away the pudding, and ran off as fast as he could. The pudding was all broken to pieces by the fall, and Tom crept out, covered with batter, and ran home to his mother, who had been lookingeverywhere for him, and was delighted to see him again. She gave him abath in a cup, which soon washed off all the pudding, and he was none theworse for his adventure. 

A few days after this, Tom accompanied his mother when she went into thefields to milk the cows, and, fearing he might be blown away by the wind, she tied him to a sow-thistle with a little piece of thread. While she wasmilking, a cow came by, bit off the thistle, and swallowed up Tom. PoorTom did not like her big teeth, and called out loudly, "Mother, mother!""But where are you, Tommy, my dear Tommy?" cried out his mother, wringing her hands. "Here, mother, " he shouted, "inside the red cow'smouth!" And, saying that, he began to kick and scratch till the poor cowwas nearly mad, and at length tumbled him out of her mouth. On seeingthis, his mother rushed to him, caught him in her arms, and carried himsafely home. 

Some days after this, his father took him to the fields a-ploughing, andgave him a whip, made of a barley straw, with which to drive the oxen; butlittle Tom was soon lost in a furrow. An eagle seeing him, picked him upand flew with him to the top of a hill where stood a giant's castle. Thegiant put him at once into his mouth, intending to swallow him up, but Tommade such a great disturbance when he got inside that the monster was soonglad to get rid of him, and threw him far away into the sea. But he wasnot drowned, for he had scarcely touched the water before he was swallowedby a large fish, which was shortly afterwards captured and brought to KingArthur, as a present, by the fisherman. When the fish was opened, everyonewas astonished at finding Tom inside. He was at once carried to the King, who made him his Court dwarf. 

 Long time he lived in jollity, Beloved of the Court, And none like Tom was so esteemed Amongst the better sort. 

The Queen was delighted with the little boy, and made him dance a gaillardon her left hand. He danced so well that King Arthur gave him a ring, which he wore round his waist like a girdle. 

Tom soon began to long to see his parents again, and begged the King toallow him to go home for a short time. This was readily permitted, and theKing told him he might take with him as much money as he could carry. 

 And so away goes lusty Tom, With three pence at his back-- A heavy burthen which did make His very bones to crack. 

He had to rest more than a hundred times by the way, but, after two daysand two nights, he reached his father's house in safety. His mother sawhim coming, and ran out to meet him, and there was great rejoicing at hisarrival. He spent three happy days at home, and then set out for the Courtonce more. 

Shortly after his return, he one day displeased the King, so, fearing theroyal anger, he crept into an empty flower-pot, where he lay for a longtime. At last he ventured to peep out, and, seeing a fine large butterflyon the ground close by, he stole out of his hiding-place, jumped on itsback, and was carried up into the air. The King and nobles all strove tocatch him, but at last poor Tom fell from his seat into a watering-pot, inwhich he was almost drowned, only luckily the gardener's child saw him, and pulled him out. The King was so pleased to have him safe once morethat he forgot to scold him, and made much of him instead. 

Tom afterwards lived many years at Court, one of the best beloved of KingArthur's knights. 

 Thus he at tilt and tournament Was entertained so, That all the rest of Arthur's knights Did him much pleasure show. With good Sir Launcelot du Lake, Sir Tristram and Sir Guy, Yet none compared to brave Tom Thumb In acts of chivalry. 

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