XXXIIITHE GLORIOUS ENDING
“SO, now,” said the King, “you shall have your true reward.” And to make it the more impressive, he nudged our Peterkin in the ribs with the end of his golden scepter and winked his royal eye at the Princess Clem, who stood nearby in blushing joy.
Straightway the courtiers gathered about their new hero, lifted him high upon their shoulders and bore him away, out of the throne room, out of the pillared halls, into the center of that very same market square which flanked the sunny palace. And there they cheered him, long and loud:
“All hail to Peterkin, Prince of the Realm! All hail toPeterkin, beloved of a Princess Royal! All hail to Peterkin, hero of heroes and King-to-be!”
“Where was it bound? Haven’t you guessed?”
“Where was it bound? Haven’t you guessed?”
“Where was it bound? Haven’t you guessed?”
It was only then that modest Peterkin could guess how great were the honors and rewards which had befallen him. For a golden coronet they placed upon his head—and a purple robe upon his shoulders. And a golden sword upon a jeweled belt went ’round his waist to mark, from this time forth, that he was chief commander of all the King’s guards.
And, the very next day, at the hour of ruddy sunset, when all the windows of the palace burned with a bright reflection, and the moon was sailing high up, white and wan, into the clouds, there began the celebration of the most magnificent marriage that e’er was held or will be held in all the Four Kingdoms. And you know well enough who were the bride and bridegroom!
The banquet which followed was so splendid an affair that for three days thereafter the court doctor and all his chemists were kept busy at compounding cures for indigestion. For there were twenty different soups to taste—and each one thicker than the other. There were fish from the sea, the river and the brook; roast peacocks, with their tails still spread in blue and shimmering beauty; stuffed pigs with brown and crackling skin; all sorts of jellies, jams and ices; bonbons heaped in silver dishes, and—ah, yes, a weddingcake which towered so high that it touched the gilded ceiling. Think what a time the princess must have had cutting it to pieces—as all thoughtful brides do—with Peterkin’s sharp sword!
Of course, you are curious to learn how beautiful the bride appeared. But that’s beyond my power to describe. I can only tell you that she was more lovely than ever she had been before; and that her golden hair was twined with precious rubies, with a rivulet of diamonds on her forehead. Her gown was of silver white brocade; but on it were embroidered,in fine gold, a complete set of pictures of the marvelous history of her heroic husband. The Pumperkin, the adventure with the whale, the meeting with the old villain, the flight from the dungeon, the rescue of each of the four joyless valleys, ... all were depicted there. Everyone wondered, to be sure, how such a handsome work of art could have been made so hastily—but ah, they did not know that, in her long hours of lonely waiting, the little Princess Clem had nearly ruined her dainty fingers with the needle and threads of the loom. For happiness is always born of toiling; and love grows greater for a little patient hardship.
The villainous cousin, now very peaceful, was very proud of a set of false teeth; and munched and munched in hungry bliss upon a plate of his favorite beefsteak. The King, at his end of the table, smiled down upon his feasting friends in joy and perfect bliss. Here was his whole domain reborn into happiness and hard at work and play again. Here was his only daughter wed to the nation’s hero. And—this is what made him smile the broadest—here was a chance to climb down from his royal throne, within a year or two, and place his heavy crown on Peterkin’s own forehead. For, if the truth must be told, the King was growing a little tired of playing King and wearingvelvet robes the whole day long; he longed, as old men always do, for the comfort of his big clay pipe, his shirt sleeves and his slippers. And here were a new King and a Queen, all ready made, to rule his land with virtue and with wisdom.
Then, while the banquet was at its jolliest, the bride and bridegroom stole away in a coach that was drawn by six white steeds, and clattered down the festooned streets to the steps of the royal wharf. And there, in the moonlit harbor, the Pumperkin lay waiting. But oh! what a different Pumperkin! For plates of gold were on it now, and a hundred gay flags, and a sail of blue satin. There were sailors to tend it, too, and a great fleet of skiffs to bear it company across the sea.
There was music on the waters and the soft and tender strains played by the royal harpists were caught up by the breezes and carried straight to the Pumperkin. It seemed to sway gently up and down, up and down, as if the waves kept time with the music.
Inside his snug and comfortable boat-house, Peterkin was telling his dear little bride the many wonderful adventures that befell him from the time they had parted in the dungeon to the happy hour of his return. And while they were thus in sweet converse, the Pumperkin was gliding on....
Where was it bound? Haven’t you guessed? Why, for brave Peterkin’s old home, the Pumpkin Patch! That’s where the honeymoon would be—and then.... Then back to the Four Kingdoms, to reign for years in peace and power and glory.
And some day, when you, too, have grown up and have wed a Princess Clem, and have come into a kingdom of your own, you will live—as they lived—happily ever after.
THE END.
THE END.
THE END.
Tom Tit TalesBy GILLY BEAR
Bed-time Stories for Children
Contains 156 Pages, 12 Color Plates and numerous Black and White Illustrations
Bound in Cloth Gold and Color Stamping
Price $1.25
“If you are favored and can still stand under the barred Gate of the Years to the twelfth notch or so, you will not yet have mislaid the key to your Imagination, and you will see—as probably your elders will not be able to do clearly—that this book has the familiar look in its pages of the places you know so well when you are asleep or just dozing before the fire. Some people write stories for children which remind one of the man on the city roof-top looking through the skylight at what the people are doing in the room below. But Gilly Bear, when he wrote these stories, sat at the desk within the room and possessed himself of an intimate knowledge of all that happened there. The entire book deals with Bobby and a funny old elf, evidently numberless hundreds of years old, who lures the former to Slumberland every night. The old elf is vividly portrayed by Helen E. Ohrenschall, to whom the author is indebted for the delightful pictorial features of the book.”—The New York Evening Sun.
“Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company have recently published three attractively bound children’s books for the holiday season, written by Gilly Bear. ‘Tom Tit Tales’ tells of a most convenient fairy, who comes to comfort children at Tired-time—Bobby is delightfully entertained by Tom Tit and is taken on most fascinating excursions into Candy Land, to the Clock in the Sky, to the Rainbow and other equally interesting places, if he has been good all day. The illustrations in color are by Helen E. Ohrenschall.”—News Press, St. Joseph.
“The Gilly Bear books, which have been published on the eve of the holiday season, have come out at an opportune moment, inasmuch as the book-buying habit becomes intense at this particular time. ‘Tom Tit Tales,’ ‘The Green Tulip’ and ‘Fun in the Forest’ are ideal stories for children. They contain an immense amount of wholesome sentiment and clean humor, and there are no keener humorists than the little people.”—The Times Star, Cincinnati.
“‘Tom Tit Tales,’ ‘Fun in the Forest’ and ‘The Green Tulip’ by Gilly Bear are all attractive children’s books. Gilly Bear has made himself known to a large section of the child world by the creation of Tom Tit, whom Bobby met and who introduced the little boy to a host of marvelous people, with some surprising adventures.
“‘Fun in the Forest’ describes, in a way to please any normal child, the adventures of a score of animals and fowl.
“Two little Dutch children, Katrina and Jan, in search of a fairy tulip, are the figures in ‘The Green Tulip,’ and the experiences they go through are attractively described and pictured.”—The Standard Union, Brooklyn.
Fun in the ForestBy Gilly BearContains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.Bound in Cloth, withColored Insert on CoverPrice 75 Cents
Fun in the ForestBy Gilly BearContains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.Bound in Cloth, withColored Insert on CoverPrice 75 Cents
Fun in the Forest
By Gilly Bear
Contains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.
Bound in Cloth, with
Colored Insert on Cover
Price 75 Cents
“‘Fun in the Forest’ is a story that cannot fail to hold the attention of children, instruct them, too, and develop sympathy and affection for the small animals.”—The Evening Star, Newark.
“‘Fun in the Forest’ by Gilly Bear contains little stories of animals and their family and social life in a ‘wood at the top of the big green hill.’ It is seen that the Squirrel Family are generous entertainers and that all the wood folk are glad to come to their party. There is no hint of either fable or moral in the tales, but just the play of a pleasant imagination in the telling of animal stories.”—The Post, Hartford, Conn.
“‘Fun in the Forest’ by Gilly Bear is an instructive and amusing tale of animals, which should delight children from six to ten years. It is profusely illustrated.”—The Bulletin, San Francisco.
“Parents or aunts or uncles, looking for picture books for the little ones, with some element of cleverness in them, will be glad to pick up any of a group of handsomely got up books published by Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company. They are the Gilly Bear books and the contents were originally published in the New YorkEvening Sun‘Bedtime Stories’ and were immensely popular. They stimulate the child’s imagination and delight him by their whimsical humor.
“‘Tom Tit Tales’—Entrancing stories of adventure, inspiring, entertaining and amusing and full of life, action and interest ‘just before the Sandman comes.’
“‘The Green Tulip’—A splendid fairy tale, describing the exciting adventures of two little Dutch children in search of a fairy tulip.
“‘Fun in the Forest’—A charming story of absorbing interest, which tells an amusing tale of animals and their doings in field and forest.
“The illustrations and general make-up of the books are very attractive.”—Herald-Telegraph, Montreal.
“‘The Green Tulip’ and ‘Fun in the Forest,’ from the press of Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company, New York, are two delightful children’s books illustrated by Frances Brundage. The illustrations are in black and white and in color, the color pages being beautifully done. The stories are printed in large type and are nicely bound.”—The Journal, Milwaukee.
The Green TulipBy Gilly BearContains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.Bound in Cloth, with Colored Insert on CoverPrice 75 Cents
The Green TulipBy Gilly BearContains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.Bound in Cloth, with Colored Insert on CoverPrice 75 Cents
The Green Tulip
By Gilly Bear
Contains 64 Pages, Profusely Illustrated in Color and Black and White.
Bound in Cloth, with Colored Insert on Cover
Price 75 Cents
“Katrina and Jan are two quaint Dutch children living in Holland, described in ‘The Green Tulip’ as ‘the loveliest, strangest, pleasantest land on earth.’ They first meet a green fairy who is crying for a green tulip. So Katrina and Jan start out to find the green tulip for the grieving fairy. In their search, the pair have some funny adventures. The illustrations are as delightfully Dutch as a windmill or one of Franz Hals’s pictures.”—Post Express, Rochester, N.Y.
“‘The Green Tulip’—A fairy tale of Holland by Gilly Bear and published by Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company. Another clever and attractive bit of reading for the quite young juvenile. The illustrations done by Frances Brundage are in themselves ample commendation for this charming book for the Christmas list. The world of fairyland is put under tribute to furnish the theme. Holland is made the setting and the talented co-workers in author and artist offer one of the most pleasing numbers in the Gilly Bear series, as a result of their deft workmanship. There is a world of diversion in following the fortunes of Katrina and Jan in sailing down ‘the Laziest Canal’ and in stopping, ‘but not too long,’ in the village of None-May-Care, in which ‘nobody thinks very hard.’”—The Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio.
“The vogue of bed-time stories is continually broadening and the demand for new books of this character naturally increases as the holiday season approaches. To meet it, Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company have just issued three attractive new works calculated to fire the imagination of ‘Youngest America.’ The first of this series, ‘Tom Tit Tales,’ contains a series of entertaining stories to be told ‘just before the Sandman comes.’ The second, ‘The Green Tulip,’ is a fairy tale built around the adventures of two little Dutch children in search of a fairy tulip. The third, entitled ‘Fun in the Forest,’ tells in a charming way the life and adventure of animals in the field and forest. All three books are embellished with attractive colored plates.”—The Examiner, Chicago.
“Three attractive books for the little children, which will interest the early Christmas shopper, are ‘Tom Tit Tales,’ ‘The Green Tulip’ and ‘Fun in the Forest.’ The stories are by Gilly Bear and originally appeared in a New York newspaper. The books are freely illustrated and the tales are just what children enjoy.”—The Call, San Francisco.
“‘The Green Tulip’ and ‘Fun in the Forest’ are two very good stories and very long, as stories for the little people go, with excellent pictures running through the text. They are both by Gilly Bear, illustrated by Frances Brundage and published by Saml. Gabriel Sons & Company, New York.”—The Times, New York.
Transcriber’s Notes:Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.Typographical errors were silently corrected.Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book.