The Wild Little House
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Illustrated hy F. iD587w
DILLON H. Drummond
US1008853
JD..37W
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The Wild Little House
#M*
^.7:>l^^[^'
^y
ElLIS
Illustrated hy F. iD587w
DILLON H. Drummond
US1008853
JD..37W
Dillon Wild little house
y UJ
go fee Zen
^5 PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN COUNTY,
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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
v^?^t_^
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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.