The Wild Little House

The Wild Little House

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Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2011

http://www.archive.org/details/wildlittlehouseOOdill

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A CRITERION

BOOK

FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

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24

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1008833

from

all

street

and looked into the

over the country to see

"Just an ordinary

little

it.

They stood

little field at it,

house on

legs.

in

and they

the said:

There's nothing

to see!

The house did not like that. "I'll show them if I'm an ordinary and

it

began to walk around the

"It's a

wild

little

house,

all

25

little

house,"

it said,

field.

right," said all the people.

The Wild Twice it

the house

went back

to the

walked around

everyone

tell

House

it

Uttle field,

its

middle and stood

The people clapped and "We'll

Little

and then

there.

cheered.

can really walk," they said before

they went home.

So the Summer passed away, and crowds of people came every day to see the house that

coming

a while they got tired of

was no one

left

who had

not seen

could walk. But so

far,

after

and then there

it.

John loved being by the sea. He spent all day in on the shore, and he soon knew all the

boats and captains

who

called there in their ships.

when he saw

not so pleased

work many

to do;

But even he was

that his father

was getting no

and though he asked the wild

times to go home,

In September the

it

first

would

the sea-

Uttle

house

not.

storm came. The wind howled

and the rain poured down. Thunder roared and lightning flickered across the sky

and any boats that had been

left in

the water banged against each other and were smashed to pieces.

Mountainous waves crashed spray rose high in the to

all

the houses.

much. The spray was drying a

When

little.

air.

The wild

Then little

bitter,

That was not

the storm

in it

on

the beach and the

was blown inshore on

house didn't

and

it

could

like that so

feel

its

paint

pleasant.

was over the sun shone 26

ac^ain,

and one

The Wild golden

long

And

day followed another.

and November.

came,

House

Little

October

then

Other storms came, more often

now. In between the storms the sun only shone for an hour or two, and soon the house of the

free

and began to peel off in looked little

little flakes.

at itself in horror. It

caked with

salt,

and

all

"If

I

it

little

house

houses.

Its

to look

roof was

timbers had begun to shrink. little

house to

itself

thought:

stay here

much

"So one night of rain

no

The wild

little

"This won't do," said the wild

And

shrivelled,

was beginning

It

the other

its

was never

was no longer the only spruce

shiny house in the town.

drab and grey, like

it

and

that

felt

bitter salt spray. Its paint dried

longer,

it

may even fall asunder!" and wind, when it could stand it

longer

I

began the long journey up the

hill

again.

woke up, and John windows and watched

This time the shoemaker and his wife too,

how

and they

all

leaned out of their

the house toiled along

"We're going home

on

to the

its

tall

wooden stiff

legs.

people

who wear

out their shoes quickly," said the shoemaker to his wife,

and they were very pleased.

But although John knew it was a good thing home, he was sorry to be leaving

to be going

for

them

the boats

and the sea-captains behind. Just before the people got up, in the the

hill,

the wild Httle house reached

27

its

town on top of

own

garden.

It

was

tired out,

but glad to be

safe

from the withering

salty

spray.

When

the townspeople got

find that the

everyone

brought

little

knew

it

their shoes to

they hoped still

house had come back.

that

workshop, just so it

was

able

to

By

this

to

time

walk, and they

all

be mended instead of going to the

as that

they could see the house. Perhaps

would dance

and didn't move

up they were amazed

at

for them; but

all.

28

it

stayed quite

The Wild

House

Little

Winter passed away and Spring came. house began to

little

"But

I

would Hke want

it,

if

the wild

feel restless again.

don't think the I

Now

went

good shoemaker and

travelling,"

it

wife

his

thought, "and

I

don't

to injure them."

One

evening

when John and

his father

and mother were

kitchen they began to talk about the whole

sitting in the

adventure.

was a lovely summer, by the

"It

"though "Yes,

sea," said his

mother,

we were so anxious to come home." I wish we could go again," said John, "when we

have summer hohdays." "I could take

for a

month. But what's the use of

maker sea,

some work with me and we could

sadly.

and

I

"We

talking," said the shoe-

couldn't afford to rent a house

think our wild httle house has

Httle house,

and

it

will

become

go walking no more."

29

stay

by a

the

tame

But

it

did.

When

and the winds blew

fme night reached

the days began to get

up the

softly

hill

warm

and long,

from the

sea,

one

the wild httle house started downhill again.

its

own

little

field

stayed for a whole month.

and

settled

down

John swam and

there,

sailed,

and

It

and his

and mother took him out fishing nearly every day. Then one morning they woke up to find themselves at

father

home

again.

30

The Wild Every year the wild Its

legs got a little

ones for

it,

Little

little

House

house took them to the

sea.

worn, and the shoemaker made new

for as well as being a

shoemaker he was

a

good

carpenter.

After that the

little

house was quite

one excursion every year, and

satisfied

with

its

of the time

for the rest

it

stayed solidly at home.

When John it

to

grew up and became

home altogether. It come home between voyages,

stayed at

stories

he had to

tell

a sea-captain himself,

waited patiently for him so that

of strange and

it

could hear the

terrible adventures

he

had had, and of queer places he had been. For in

its

heart

it

always remained a wild

31

little

house.