Listen To A Tale

R ^1 fl | k\ --.' f^fWk f'i k«l LISTEN TO A TALE Illustrated by Eric Eric Rowe and Gill Embleton ISBN 0 86112 290 9 © Brimax Books Ltd 1986. All rights reserved. Published by Brimax Books, Newmarket, England 1986 The stories and illustrations in this collection have also appeared in the Tell a Tale' series, the 'Read Once Again' series and in Tales of Magic and Make-Believe'. Printed in Hong Kong. Contents Rumpelstiltskin Jodi’s Giant Egg Seeing is Believing Poet, Goblin and Donkey Mr Boffin’s Bubble Big and Little Little Red Riding Hood Jasper’s Travels The Hare and the Tortoise Icy Fingers The Magic Porridge Pot Hidden Magic Pixie Visitors The Gingerbread Man Mother Holle The Piglet and the Gnome The Little Shoemakers French Puck Little Red Hen Spotty Potty The Two Wizards The Firework Party Angry Fairies The Three Billy-Goats Gruff A Pot of Gold The Enormous Turnip The Water Nixie Long Nose Pancake Tommy Gold Page 9 16 24 28 31 38 45 50 58 62 65 70 76 80 84 88 92 99 105 108 109 113 119 126 131 136 140 144 149 156 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/listentotaleOOOOkinc R umpelstiltskin Once there was a miller who had a beautiful daughter. He was always talking about her and saying how clever she was. One day, the miller had to take some flour to the palace. He told the king about his daughter. “Her hair is like spun gold, Your Majesty, and what is more, she is so clever she can spin straw into gold.” This was not true. The miller’s daughter had never even spun cloth but the king did not know this. “Bring your daughter to me!” said the king. The miller almost danced down the steps of the palace. He took his daughter to see the king the very next day. The king led her into a room where there was a pile of straw, a stool and a spinning wheel. “Now,” said the king. “You must spin this straw into gold by dawn tomorrow or you shall die.” He left the room and locked the door. 9 The miller’s daughter could not understand. How could she spin straw into gold? How could she spin anything? She did not even know how to begin. She crept into a corner of the room and burst into tears. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke and a strange little man stood beside her. His face was brown and wrinkled, his nose was long and his white beard almost reached his knobbly knees. t’s the matter?” he are you crying?” tever shall I do?” the said tearfully. “Look at all straw! The king has said I must spin it into gold by early morning or I shall die! I cannot even spin!” “Dry your tears,” said the little man. “What will you give me if I spin it for you?” The girl’s fingers touched the necklace she was wearing. “I will give you my necklace,” she said. The strange little man clapped his hands with delight. He sat down to spin. The spinning wheel whirled round. It made a gentle humming sound. The girl’s eyes closed and she fell asleep. to ’ While she slept, the straw became a pile of gold. She awoke; the strange little man had vanished. In the morning, the king could not believe his eyes. A heap of shining gold! “Come with me,” he said at once. The king led the girl into a much larger room, which was filled with even more straw. He told her she must spin it into gold by the next day. Once again the door was locked and the poor girl began to cry. Once more there was a puff of smoke and there stood the strange little man. “What will you give me this time if I spin the straw?” he asked. “Oh, thank you, thank you,” she said. “I will give you the ring my mother gave me.” She slipped the ring off her finger and held it out to him. Without another word, he took it and started to spin. The next day, although the king was delighted with the go