English

THE TAILOR OF GLOUCESTER In the time of swords and periwigs and full-skirted coats with flowered lappets—when gentlemen wore ruffles, and gold-laced waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta—there lived a tailor in Gloucester. He sat in the window of a little shop in Westgate Street, cross-legged on a table, from morning till dark. All day long while the light lasted he sewed and snippeted, piecing out his satin and pompadour, and lutestring; stuffs had strange names, and were very expensive in the days of the Tailor of Gloucester. But although he sewed fine silk for his neighbours, he himself

CHRISTMAS IN THE BARN Only two more days and Christmas would be here! It had been snowing hard, and Johnny was standing at the window, looking at the soft, white snow which covered the ground half a foot deep. Presently he heard the noise of wheels coming up the road, and a wagon turned in at the gate and came past the window. Johnny was very curious to know what the wagon could be bringing. He pressed his little nose close to the cold window pane, and to his great surprise, saw two large Christmas-trees.

JOHNNY-CAKE Once upon a time there was an old man, and an old woman, and a little boy. One morning the old woman made a Johnny-cake, and put it in the oven to bake. “You watch the Johnny-cake while your father and I go out to work in the garden.” So the old man and the old woman went out and began to hoe potatoes, and left the little boy to tend the oven. But he didn't watch it all the time, and all of a sudden he heard a noise, and he looked up and the oven door popped open, and out of the oven jumped Johnny-cake, and went rolling along end over end, towards the open door of the house.

THE TALE OF MR. JEREMY FISHER BY BEATRIX POTTER Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr. Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond. The water was all slippy-sloppy in the larder and in the back passage. But Mr. Jeremy liked getting his feet wet; nobody ever scolded him, and he never caught a cold! He was quite pleased when he looked out and saw large drops of rain, splashing in the pond— "I will get some worms and go fishing and catch a dish of minnows for my dinner," said Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

THE TALE OF MRS. TITTLEMOUSE By BEATRIX POTTER ONCE upon a time there was a wood-mouse, and her name was Mrs. Tittlemouse. She lived in a bank under a hedge. SUCH a funny house! There were yards and yards of sandy passages, leading to storerooms and nut-cellars and seed-cellars, all amongst the roots of the hedge. THERE was a kitchen, a parlour, a pantry, and a larder. Also, there was Mrs. Tittlemouse's bedroom, where she slept in a little box bed! MRS.

This story is called Little Pumpkin’s Thanksgiving by Madge A. Bingham. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. It was the night before Thanksgiving. Big Pumpkin, Medium Pumpkin, and Little Pumpkin were waiting on their vines in Peter Piper’s pumpkin patch. They were fully ripe, so they knew their time in the garden must come to an end soon. “I’m worried,” Little Pumpkin said to his friends. “I overheard Peter say he’s planning to pick us tomorrow.” “There’s no need to be afraid,” said Big Pumpkin. “We will make delicious pies for someone’s Thanksgiving dinner.