Classic Storybook Fables Read online

FABLES

  Quickly and quietly, the figure switched the goats,

  taking the boy’s and leaving the other in its place.

  The boy was awake with the sun and wasted no

  time making the long trip home.

  “Mother,” cried the boy as he reached their cottage.

  “Look what the North Wind has given us! A

  magic goat!”

  “Hmmm,” his mother said doubtfully.

  “It looks like a regular goat to me.”

  “Just watch this!” the boy

  said. “Goat, Goat, make me

  some gold!”

  But nothing happened. The goat only shook its head and

  started to eat the tablecloth.

  “Oh well,” the mother said. “What’s another hungry mouth

  to feed?”

  “Tricked again!” the boy cried. “ This goat is supposed to make

  golden coins. That’s it. The North Wind has to make this right!”

  The next day found the boy making the all-too-familiar journey

  north, which was just as long and as hard as the other two had been.

  “You? AGAIN?!” the North Wind roared, nearly blowing the

  boy over.

  “Sorry, sir,” the boy shouted as he struggled

  to hold on to his flapping cloak. “But the goat

  stopped making gold. Now . . . ah . . . about

  that meal?”

  “THAT MEAL IS GONE!” bellowed

  the North Wind. “And I have given you my

  very best gifts. All I have left is this stick!”

  Suddenly, a large stick came spinning

  out of the sky and smacked the boy on the

  shoulder. Quickly, he grabbed hold of it before

  it could follow his long-lost meal into the wind.

  “Say to this stick, ‘Stick, Stick, do your

  work!’” said the North Wind, “and it will do what

  it does best. Then when you wish it to stop, say,

  ‘Stick, Stick, stop!’ and it will. NOW,” the

  North Wind roared, “GOOD-BYE!”

  Grasping the final gift,

  the boy thanked the North

  Wind and scurried back the

  way he had come. By nightfall,

  he was once again at the inn.

  “What? No luggage or

  livestock this evening?” the

  Inn keeper asked.

  The boy handed him one of the

  few coins that were left from when he

  and the magic goat had stayed at the inn.

  “Just me and my stick,” the boy replied.

  “Follow me,” the Innkeeper said, looking

  at his wife with raised eyebrows as they passed.

  She merely shrugged.

  Later that night, when the inn was dark and quiet,

  the thieving figure once more stole into the boy’s room, this

  time carrying a big stick, exactly like the boy’s. The figure didn’t

  know what magic a walking stick might hold, but if this boy had it, the

  thief thought it must be worth stealing.

  By this time, the boy had grown suspicious of the Innkeeper. So instead of

  going to sleep, he shut his eyes and pretended to snore loudly. As the figure reached

  for the stick leaning in the corner near the bed, the boy suddenly stopped and cried,

  “Stick, Stick, do your work!”

  Immediately, the stick swung into action, swatting the mysterious figure, which

  ran about the room crying, “Ouch! Ouch! STOP!”

  The boy sat up in bed and saw the Innkeeper being

  chased around and around by the magic stick.

  “OW! OW!” he whined. “Make

  it stop, and I’ll give you back your

  tablecloth and goat!”

  At sunrise the next

  morning, the boy was on the

  road heading home. He had

  the magic tablecloth under his

  arm, the lead for the magic goat

  in one hand, and the magic stick

  in the other.

  His mother was amazed and

  delighted by the gifts he had brought.

  And for the rest of his days, when the boy

  felt the North Wind whistle past him, he

  touched the brim of his hat as a way of

  saying thank you for a table that was

  always full and a meal bin that was

  never empty.

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  THE BOY WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND

  All of the stories and fables in this book were originally told or written by others. I simply

  read many versions of each and then retold them in my own words. Listed below are the

  original authors or the countries in which the stories are believed to have originated.

  “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes” were written by Hans

  Christian Andersen.

  “Beauty and the Beast” was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

  “The Crow and the Pitcher,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and “The Mice in

  Council” are all attributed to Aesop.

  “The Little Red Hen” is a folktale believed to have come from Russia.

  “The Boy Who Went to the North Wind” is an old Scandinavian tale.

  I would like to acknowledge and thank some of the people who helped to make this

  book possible.

  First, my editor, Bridget Monroe Itkin, for her straightforward suggestions and

  insightful contributions, as well as her ability to work with this illustrator’s ungainly

  schedule. And the rest of the Artisan team, including Sibylle Kazeroid, Hanh Le, Nancy

  Murray, Lia Ronnen, and Allison McGeehon.

  My models, Hilary Barta, Karl Gustafson, Patricia Gustafson, Rachael Jenison,

  Cameron Klein, Rachael Mannix, and Theo Streit-Hurh, all of whom helped to bring the

  characters in these stories to life.

  Also, Karl Gustafson for his digital expertise in adapting some of the finished images.

  And last but not least, my wife, Patty: special appreciation goes to her for her design

  sense, technical know-how, and good counsel, not to mention her unfailing love and

  support. This book was truly a team effort. Thank you.

  A Note from the Artist

  n

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Contents

  The Ugly Duckling

  Beauty and the Beast

  The Crow and the Pitcher

  The Emperor’s New Clothes

  The Boy Who Cried Wolf

  The Little Red Hen

  The Mice in Council

  The Boy Who Went to the North Wind

  A Note from the Artist

  Back Cover