The Velveteen Rabbit & Other Stories (3 page)

L
ate one night, Peter Pan and the fairy Tinker Bell flew across the London sky. They stopped at the window outside the nursery of the Darling house and crept inside. Peter was looking for his shadow. He had left it behind the last time he visited the nursery, when he secretly listened to Wendy Darling tell bedtime stories about his home, Neverland, to her brothers, Michael and John.

Finally, Peter found his shadow. After he
caught it, he tried to sew it back on, but that didn't work. Peter started to cry, which woke up Wendy. She could not believe her eyes. A boy and a fairy were flying around her room!

“Don't be frightened,” Peter said. “Will you come to Neverland with me and tell your stories to my friends? I'll teach you to fly!”

Wendy agreed only after he included John and Michael in the fantastic adventure. The fairy Tinker Bell sprinkled her fairy dust over the children, and soon they were all soaring through the sky and over the sea.

“Second to the right, and straight on till morning!” Peter shouted. When they reached Neverland, they found a beautiful island with golden rainbows, blue waterfalls, the Mermaids' Lagoon, and a pirate
ship where the evil Captain Hook lived.

Peter Pan took the children to meet his friends, the lost boys. At the Mermaids' Lagoon, Peter saw that Captain Hook had captured the beautiful Princess Tiger Lily. Peter followed Captain Hook to Marooners' Rock, where they had a duel. Peter made Captain Hook fall into the sea, where he was chased away by a crocodile. Tiger Lily was saved!

That wasn't the end of Captain Hook. He kidnapped Tinker Bell and tricked her into telling him the location of Peter's home. He led his band of pirates to capture the lost boys and the Darling children.

Tinker Bell was imprisoned in the pirate ship, but escaped just in time to alert Peter.
She knew that Hook had put poison in Peter's cup, but Peter would not believe her. As he was about to drink it, Tinker Bell quickly flew and drank it all herself. Suddenly, she dropped to the ground, with her light fading rapidly.

“Oh, Tink, did you drink it to save me?” Peter cried. “How can I help you?”

Tinker Bell said weakly, “I can get well again if children believed in fairies.”

Peter wasted no time. He thought of the many children who were dreaming of Neverland at that moment, and asked of them all, “Do you believe?” Tinker Bell heard the children murmur “Yes!” in their sleep and felt much better. She was saved!

Peter and the fairy flew to Captain
Hook's pirate ship, where the Darlings and the lost boys were walking the plank. Wendy had just stepped off and was falling into the ocean! Peter swooped in just in time and rescued her, and then began a fierce duel with Captain Hook. Once again, the evil Hook fell into the water and was chased away by the crocodile—this time forever.

Tinker Bell sprinkled her fairy dust on the ship, and suddenly it was flying through the skies of Neverland, on its way to London. Back in the nursery, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell said good-bye to the children and sailed off into the night. Wendy watched as the beautiful ship sailed past the moon on its journey home to Neverland, the most wonderful land of her dreams.

O
nce upon a time, an evil king invaded another kingdom and captured the queen and her infant daughter. He shut them both into the highest room of the tallest tower in the castle. The room was small and empty, with only one table and a very hard bed on the floor. The wicked king sent for a fairy, who was so moved by the prisoners' misery that she whispered to the queen, “Courage, Madam! I think I see a way to help you.”

“Silence!” the king cried. He turned to the fairy. “Tell me, is this baby girl destined to grow up to be a worthy bride for my son?”

The fairy answered that the princess would be kind and beautiful. Satisfied, the king declared that the queen would raise the baby in the tower until the girl was old enough to marry his son. Then he took the fairy with him and left the poor queen in tears.

As the days went on, the queen and her baby grew thinner and thinner, for every day they were given only three peas and a crust of black bread to eat. One evening, as the queen sat at her spinning wheel—for she was made to work day and night—she saw a pretty little mouse creep out of a hole. She said to the
mouse, “Alas, little creature! Why did you come here? I have only three peas to eat each day, so unless you wish to starve, I'm afraid you must go elsewhere for your food.”

But the mouse danced and twirled so prettily that the queen clapped and laughed and gave the mouse her last pea, which she was keeping for her supper.

Suddenly, a delicious meal appeared on the table. The queen was amazed! Quickly she fed her baby and herself and gave the mouse its own share.

The next day, and every day after that, the queen gave the mouse all of the peas, and instantly the empty dish was filled with all sorts of wonderful things to eat. But the queen still worried about the fate of her
daughter. The queen despaired and said, “If only I could think of some way of saving her from marrying the horrible prince!”

As she spoke, she noticed the little mouse playing in a corner with some long straws. The queen began to braid the straws, thinking,
If I had enough straws, I could make a basket to lower my baby down from the window. A kind passerby might take care of her and raise her in freedom.

As she sat braiding, the little mouse dragged in more and more straw, until the queen had plenty to weave her basket. At last, the basket was finished. The queen went to the window to see how long a cord she must make and noticed an old woman far below, looking up at her. The old woman
called to the queen, “I know your trouble, Madam. If you like, I will help you.”

The queen was overjoyed and told the old woman that she would be rewarded for her kindness.

“I don't care about any reward,” the old woman replied. ‘“But there is one thing I should like. I am very particular about what I eat, and I fancy above all else a plump, tender little mouse. If there happens to be any mouse in your garret, just throw it down to me. That's all I ask.”

The queen began to cry. “There is only one mouse in this garret,” said the queen, “but I cannot bear to think of its being killed.”

“What!” cried the old woman, in a rage. “You care more for a miserable mouse than
for your very own baby? Good-bye, Madam! I leave you and your poor daughter to enjoy its company!”

That night, the queen sadly placed the baby in the basket and prepared to lower it into the street. Just then, in sprang the little mouse.

“Oh, little mouse!” said the queen. “It cost me dear to save your life.”

Suddenly, the mouse answered, “Believe me, Madam, you will never regret your kindness.”

The queen was astonished when the mouse began to speak, and still more so when the mouse suddenly grew into a tall, fair lady. The queen recognized the fairy who had come up to her tower room
with the wicked king.

The fairy smiled at her astonished look and said, “I wanted to see if you were faithful and capable of real friendship before I helped you. You see, we fairies are rich in everything but friends, and those are hard to find. I was the little mouse whom you fed when there was nothing to be gained by it. I was the old woman whom you talked to from the window. You are indeed capable of true friendship.” Turning to the princess, she said, “Dear little one, I promise you and your mother will be safe under my care. Let us live happily together in my castle, far from here.”

The fairy then cast a spell, and all three vanished from the prison room, never to see the wicked king again.

I
n ancient China, there lived an emperor with three sons. The emperor was old but did not want to give up his throne, although his sons were old enough to rule. He decided to keep them too busy to think of succeeding him.

The king called his three sons together and told them that he would give up his crown to the son who found him the smallest dog. He gave each of his sons plenty of gold and told them to return in one year.
The eldest prince was disappointed, since the crown would traditionally be passed down to him without competition from his brothers, but he was too polite to argue with his father. The next day, the three princes set out in different directions.

The youngest son was handsome, smart, and very brave. One evening, as he was riding through a forest, a storm suddenly broke. The prince saw a bright light ahead and followed it until he came upon a magnificent palace with walls of crystal and an enormous door encrusted with jewels. When he knocked, the door swung open, and the prince was pulled inside by dozens of invisible hands.

Though uneasy, the prince looked about
and found rich clothes set out for him. Then the hands led him to a dinner table set for two. A beautiful snow white cat entered and introduced herself as Princess Cat. She offered the prince a lavish feast and plenty to drink.

The prince was impressed by Princess Cat's generosity and her marvelous castle. He spent the night, and the next day the prince and Princess Cat played games, hunted in the woods, and picnicked by a waterfall. The prince had so much fun that he stayed the next night, and the next, and the next—until the entire year was almost up.

Luckily, Princess Cat remembered the emperor's contest. She gave the prince a tiny acorn and told him to take it to his
father. The prince sadly rode away from Princess Cat's land, already missing her wonderful company.

At the emperor's palace, the two older brothers showed their small dogs. Then it was the young prince's turn. The prince opened the acorn and out jumped a perfect, tiny dog that was no bigger than a snowflake. The dog barked and danced in the palm of the emperor's hand.

The emperor was amazed at his son's gift, but still did not want to give up his throne. He offered his sons the last challenge. After one year, whoever brought back the most beautiful princess in all the land would be emperor.

The prince immediately returned to
Princess Cat. She welcomed him back with a feast and a dance. The pair spent many months fishing, reading aloud, and playing in the woods. As quickly as before, the prince's year was almost up, and he had not yet found a beautiful princess. Resting in front of a fireplace, he asked Princess Cat for advice.

“This is what you must do,” Princess Cat said. “Cut my tail off and throw it into the fire.”

The prince refused to do as Princess Cat requested. He loved her and did not want to harm her. Princess Cat promised the prince that she would not be hurt and that it would please her. Finally, the prince agreed and shut his eyes as he cut off Princess Cat's tail
and threw it into the fire.

Lo and behold! Out of the fireplace stepped a beautiful princess with silken hair and sparkling robes. At that instant, an elegant winged lady flew into the room and embraced the princess. Seeing the prince's confusion, the princess explained that she had been turned into a cat after she refused to wed an ugly magician. The winged lady was Princess Cat's friend, a kind fairy who had ensured that the spell would one day be broken by a prince who loved her dearly.

The prince did love Princess Cat with all his heart, and the pair made plans to marry. The fairy brought the prince and Princess Cat in her flying palanquin back to his father's palace. The emperor was amazed at
Princess Cat's incredible beauty and declared his youngest son the winner of the challenge.

But then Princess Cat interrupted the emperor. “I am the ruler of six kingdoms,” she said, “and I would love nothing more than to share those kingdoms with you and your sons.” Two kingdoms were given to each prince, and the emperor was overjoyed that he could continue to rule his own. The three brothers wed their princesses, and everyone in the land celebrated their happy marriages for many years to come.

O
nce upon a time, there was a piece of wood. The old woodcarver, Geppetto, decided to make it into a puppet named Pinocchio. As he carved the eyes, they seemed to look back at him. When he made the mouth, it opened and laughed at him. And when Geppetto carved two legs, the wooden puppet jumped up and ran away!

On his journey, Pinocchio came to a house that was empty but for a Talking Cricket. The cricket warned the puppet, “Woe to those
boys who rebel against their parents and run away from home. They will never come to any good in the world.” Because of his hunger more than his conscience, Pinocchio returned to Geppetto and promised to behave and go to school. The kindly old man made school clothes for Pinocchio and even sold his only coat to buy the puppet a schoolbook.

The next morning, Pinocchio was on his way to school when he heard the laughter of a crowd and the beating of drums. He turned from the path to school and followed the noise to a puppet theater. Pinocchio wanted to see the show, but admission was ten cents! And although he promised Geppetto that he would be a good boy, Pinocchio traded his schoolbook for ten cents and went
inside! The showman of the theater heard Pinocchio's story about Geppetto's sacrifice and said, “Here are five gold pieces. Go at once and take them to him with my compliments.” Pinocchio was overjoyed and thanked the showman a thousand times. On his way back home, the puppet made the mistake of mentioning his newfound riches to Fox and Cat, an unscrupulous pair he met along the path. They chased Pinocchio through the woods, intent on robbing him, until he came to a house where a lovely Fairy with blue hair lived. There he rested in safety, and presently the Fairy came to visit with him. Pinocchio told her his story.

“Where are the gold pieces now?” she asked.

“I lost them!” the puppet lied. Suddenly, his nose grew two inches longer!

The Fairy asked, “Where did you lose them?”

“In the woods,” he answered. At this second lie, his nose grew even more.

“Then we shall find them,” the Fairy said. Pinocchio became afraid and stammered, “I mean that I swallowed them!” And his nose grew so long that the Fairy laughed at the sight. Pinocchio was so ashamed that he began to cry. After a while, the Fairy clapped her hands and one thousand woodpeckers came through the window and landed on his nose. They pecked at it until his nose was reduced to a normal size. Pinocchio was overjoyed! He thanked the
Fairy and once more started on the path back to Geppetto's house. Again, he was interrupted on his journey, but this time a kind pigeon told him that Geppetto had gone to the seashore to sail to distant lands and find Pinocchio.

Hearing this, Pinocchio felt saddened and guilty. He resolved again to behave and set out for the seashore. However, his lazy and idle nature got him into trouble yet again. He met a boy named Candlewick, who told him of a wonderful land just for boys. “There are no schools, no books, and the week consists of six Saturdays and one Sunday. The boys play from morning to night. That is the country for me! Why don't you come, too?”

Pinocchio said no again and again, but when the coach arrived to take Candlewick to the wonderful land, he could not resist jumping on. Once there, he forgot about Geppetto and the Fairy and spent months playing and making mischief. One day, he woke up and looked in the mirror to find that he had grown donkey ears! He had caught donkey fever because he had been so idle, and soon he would become a whole donkey. The coachman who brought the boys to the land waited for each one to become a donkey, and then he sold them off to be used for work. He lured new boys with the promise of idleness and fun and now was rich from his evil scheme.

Within hours, Pinocchio was a full
donkey and could only bray his sadness. He was quickly sold to a man who brought him to his home close to the seashore. Once there, Pinocchio ran away into the ocean and found that the water transformed him back into a puppet! Delighted, he swam away from his angry owner, farther into the sea.

Suddenly, he was swallowed by a giant fish! Pinocchio was not hurt, but it was dark and frightening inside the fish. Far away, he spied a light. He went toward it and was surprised to find Geppetto, sitting at a candlelit table, eating a small fish! He, too, had been swallowed by the giant fish but could not escape because he didn't know how to swim. They reunited with laughter and tears, and soon tiptoed out of the fish's
mouth. Geppetto hung on to Pinocchio's back as the wooden puppet swam to shore.

Once back at home, Pinocchio behaved as well as any real boy could. He went to school, took a job to earn money, and obeyed Geppetto without protest. One night, the Fairy appeared to him in a dream and praised his good deeds. “Well done, Pinocchio!” she said. “You will be rewarded for your good heart.” When he awoke the next morning, Pinocchio found that he was a real boy! The rickety old house had also been changed to a warm and comfortable home, and even Geppetto seemed younger and livelier. “This is because of your good behavior,” declared Geppetto. They danced with joy, and together they lived happily ever after.