Tell Me a Story by Mrs Molesworth
Mrs Molesworth, Walter Crane and Joseph Swain
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The children sat round me in the gloaming. There were several of them; from Madge, dear Madge with her thick fair hair and soft kind grey eyes, down to pretty little SybilâGipsy, we called her for fun,âwhom you would hardly have guessed, from her brown face and bright dark eyes, to be Madgeâs âown cousin.â They were mostly girls, the big ones at least, which is what one would expect, for it is not often that big boys care much about sitting still, and even less about anything so sentimental as sitting still in the twilight doing nothing. There were two or three little boys however, nice round-faced little fellows, who had not yet begun to look down upon âgirls,â and were very much honoured at being admitted to a good game of romps with Madge and her troop.It was one of theseâthe rosiest and nicest of them all, little Tedâwho pulled my dress and whispered, but loud enough for every one to hear, with his coaxingest voiceââTell me a story, aunty.â And then it came all round in a regular buzz, in every voice, repeated again and againââO aunty! do; dear, dear aunty, tell us a story.âI had been knitting, but it had grown too dark even for that. I could not pretend to be âbusy.â What could I say? I held up my hands in despair.âO children! dear children!â I cried, âtruly, truly, I donât know what stories to tell. You are such dreadfully wise people now-a-daysâyou have long ago left behind you what I used to think wonderful storiesââCinderella,â and âBeauty and the Beast,â and all the rest of them; and you have such piles of story-books that you are always reading, and many of them too written for you by the cleverest men and women living! What could I tell you that you would care to hear? Why, it will be the children telling stories to amuse the papas and mammas, and aunties next, like the âglorious revolutionâ in âLiliput LevĂ©e!â No, no, your poor old aunty is not quite in her dotage yet. She knows better than to try to amuse you clever people with her stupid old hum-drum stories.âI did not mean to hurt the poor dear little thingsâI did not, trulyâI spoke a little in earnest, but more in jest, as I shook my head and looked round the circle. But to my surprise they took it all for earnest, and the tears even gathered in two or three pairs of eyes.âAunty, you know we donât think so,â began Madge, gentle Madge always, reproachfully.And âItâs too bad of you, aunty, too bad,â burst out plain-speaking Dolly. And worst of all, Ted clambered manfully up on to my knees, and proceeded to shake me vigorously. âNaughty aunty,â he said, ânaughty, naughty aunty. Ted will shake you, and shake you, to make you good.âWhat could I do but cry for mercy? and promise anything and everything, fifty stories on the spot, if only they would forgive me?âBut, truly children,â I said again, when the hubbub had subsided a little, âI am afraid I do not know any stories you would care for.ââWe should care for anything you tell us,â they replied, âabout when you were a little girl, or anything.âI considered a little. âI might tell you something of that kind,â I said, âand perhaps, by another evening, I might think over about some other peopleâs âlong agosââyour grandmotherâs, for instance. Would that please you?âGreat applause.âAnd another thing,â I continued, âif I try to rub up some old stories for you, donât you think you might help? You, Madge, dear, for instance, you are older than the othersâcouldnât you tell them something of your own childish life even?âCONTENTSChapter One. Introduction.Chapter Two. The Reel Fairies.Chapter Three. Good-Night, Winny.Chapter Four. Con and the Little People.Chapter Five. Mary Ann Jolly.Chapter Six. Too Bad.Chapter Seven. Charlieâs Disappointment.