CHRISTMAS TALES OF FLANDERS - 23 Illustrated Children's Christmas Stories E-Book

Andre de Ridder

• Herausgeber: Abela Publishing
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Christmas Tales of Flanders is a profusely illustrated volume containing 23 illustrated Fables and legends from Flanders and Brabant. Even today these tales are still loved by children of all ages throughout Belgium.

Many of the tales are found in different guises in the folklore of many nations, but here they are presented with a Flemish twist, taking the place of the more commonly told nursery stories familiar in the UK and in other Western nations.

The first relates the tale of a rich woman who turns a beggar away from her door at Christmas, who is then welcomed by her poor neighbour, who provides food and shelter freely given. She is of course rewarded for her actions, whilst the rich neighbour pays a price for her meanness of spirit, a tale retold with variations in most cultures.

Then the tale of Seppy presents a man who complains that he works hard in the fields while his wife idles her time away at home, so they decide to swap jobs for a day. After his catastrophic day looking after the house and the ensuing chaos, Seppy learns not to complain about others and realises he is not the only one who works hard.

There are tales to make you take care for what you wish for (Tintelentyn and The Wonderful Fish) and others showing how bad acts can rebound and repay with interest. All the tales use humour to demonstrate life's lessons to the young, and young at heart.
The tales themselves are delightfully enhanced by the illustrations by Jean de Bosschere, a Belgian artist and writer (1878-1953) associated with the Golden Age of Illustration. This volume contains 12 lovely colour illustrations and more than 120 monotone and two colour images (ranging in size from full-page to vignettes).

De Bosschere’s work is considered to be in same league as Harry Clarke or Willy Pogany. Whomever his work is compared to, the work of Jean de Bosschere - like that of other great illustrators - is unique, so much so that many of his illustrated books were published as limited editions.

10% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charity.
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KEYWORDS/TAGS: Christmas Tales of Flanders, 23, illustrated, color, black and white, Rich Woman, Poor Woman, children’s Story, Seppy, Enchanted Apple-Tree, Convent, Free, Care, Witches’ Cellar, Boy, Always Said The Wrong Thing, Hop-O-My-Thumb, Hop O My Thumb, Emperor, Parrot, Little Blacksmith Verholen, Balten, Wolf, Mermaid, Little Half-Cock, Dwarf, Percy The Wizard, Nickname, Snail, Simple John, Two Chickens, Two Ears, Wonderful Fish, Frying-Pan, Farmer Broom, Farmer Leaves, Farmer Iron, Little Lodewyk, Annie The Witch, Giant Of The Causeway, Key-Flower, Ogre, Sea-Monsters, Fisherman, Farms, Christmas Eve, Enchanted Apple-tree, Robbers, beaten Devil, Thrice, Procession, Mermaid, Mother, Daughter, Dwarf’s Feast, Simple John, Horse, Cow, Pig, Three Farmers, Houses, Giant, Daughter, Knight, St. Peter, two Women, Beggar, God-speed, Neighbours, disgusted, Scissors, Seppy, Fields, Priest, Glass, slipped, Edge, sloping Roof, drawn up, chimney, Death, Misery, Old Man, Tree, Village Urchins, steal apples, Half a Loaf, Two Monks, Convent, Cows’ Tails, Depth of the Sea, John Twist, Witches, Rubbing, Face and Hands, Drew, Peak, Cap, Eyes, Mill, Tony, Church, Wrong Thing, Captain, Peasant, Parrot, Emperor, Knocking, Tower, Glimpse of Heaven, Milk-and-Honey, Balten, Ladder, broken Paw, empty Barrel, Half-Cock, Two Foxes, Two Robbers, enchantment, Lodgers, fine Material, Wizard, Turkey, Countess, Hotchpotch, Geese, Turkey, Brussels Market, Liver, Kidneys, Sausages, Fisherman, Fish, Sea-King, Susie Grill, Lovely House, Lofty Towers, Bathing-machine, Cobbler, Frying-pan, Dancing Farmers, Lodewyk, Cards, Annie the Witch, Giant, Five Highwaymen, terrible Storm, Tower, Bunch of Keys, Ripe Nuts, Chimney,

Leseprobe

Christmas Tales of Flanders

By

Andre de Ridder

I L L U S T R A T E D   B YJean De Bosschere

Originally Published ByDodd, Mead & Company, New York[MCMXVII]

Resurrected By

Abela Publishing, London

[MMXX]

Christmas Tales of Flanders

Typographical arrangement of this edition

© Abela Publishing

This book may not be reproduced in its current format in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, or mechanical ( including photocopy, file or video recording, internet web sites, blogs, wikis, or any other information storage and retrieval system) except as permitted by law without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Abela Publishing,

London

United Kingdom

ISBN-: 979--X-XXXXXX-XX-X

email:

[email protected]

Website:

http://bit.ly/HekGn

Introduction

HE CHRISTMAS TALES OF FLANDERS presented in this volume are popular fables and legends current in Flanders and Brabant, which have for centuries been told to children throughout Belgium. Their origin is doubtful, as all literature handed down by oral tradition must be. A good many of these stories are found in a different guise in the legends of other nations. “Seppy” is closely akin to the rhyme of “The Old Man who lived in the Wood”; and the prototypes of others will be readily recognized; but all of them have peculiar Flemish traits. They have the picturesqueness characteristic of the country which produced such a glorious school of painting, and the freshness of their presentation is a high tribute to the creative imagination of the Flanders folk. Sometimes they are primitive to a degree, and in such tales as “Simple John” and “The Boy who always said the Wrong Thing,” the storyteller attributes the most elementary and artless mentality to his heroes, so as to explain the extravagant adventures he relates. These tales occupy for the Flemish the place nursery rhymes take in England, and as the nursery rhymes have been collected in England at various times and in different forms and guises, so the Flemish folk-tales have also been collected in various ways and in various parts of Flanders. Messrs. Demont and Decock produced a book entitled “Zoo Vertellen de Vlamingen,” from which collection a good many of these stories are taken. Others came from the “Brabantsch Segenboak,” which J. Teiclinck wrote for the Flemish Academy. They were translated by M. C. O. Morris and are here published for the first time in English.

Contents

THE RICH WOMAN AND THE POOR WOMAN

THE STORY OF SEPPY

THE ENCHANTED APPLE-TREE

THE CONVENT FREE FROM CARE

THE WITCHES’ CELLAR

THE BOY WHO ALWAYS SAID THE WRONG THING

HOP-O-MY-THUMB

THE EMPERORS PARROT

THE LITTLE BLACKSMITH VERHOLEN

BALTEN AND THE WOLF

THE MERMAID

THE STORY OF THE LITTLE HALF-COCK

THE DWARF AND THE BLACKSMITH

PERCY THE WIZARD NICKNAMED SNAIL

SIMPLE JOHN

THE TWO CHICKENS OR THE TWO EARS

THE WONDERFUL FISH

THE FRYING-PAN

FARMER BROOM FARMER LEAVES AND FARMER IRON

LITTLE LODEWYK AND ANNIE THE WITCH

THE GIANT OF THE CAUSEWAY

THE KEY-FLOWER

THE OGRE

List of Illustrations

IN COLOUR

The Sea-Monsters and the Fisherman

The Rich Woman and the Poor Woman: The two Farms at Christmas Eve

The Enchanted Apple-tree

The Witches’ Cellar

Hop-o’-my-Thumb and the Robbers

The Devil beaten Three Times

The Procession

The Mermaid, the Mother, and her Daughter

The Dwarf’s Feast

Simple John, the Horse, the Cow, and the Pig

The Three Farmers and their Houses

The Giant, his Daughter, and the Knight

IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IN TWO COLOURS

St. Peter and the two Women

She sent the Beggar away, wishing him God-speed

The Neighbours came to say Good Day

She was disgusted with herself

Try as she would, she was obliged to go on cutting

The Rich Woman’s Scissors

Seppy working in the Fields

However, the Priest had a Glass

Seppy was very angry with the Pig

She Gradually slipped to the Edge of the sloping Roof

Seppy was drawn up the Chimney

The Death, Misery, the Old Man, and the Tree

The Village Urchins came and stole them off the Tree

“Here is Half a Loaf, take it; it is all I have”

The Death hanging in the Tree

Two Monks of the Convent

How many Cows’ Tails would it take...?

What is the Depth of the Sea

John Twist and the Witches

Rubbing it on his Face and Hands

Drew the Peak of his Cap over his Eyes

The Pig travelled very quickly

The Mill, Tony, and his Mother’s House

“I shall be in a bad Way”

He then came to the Church

The Story of the Boy who always said the Wrong Thing

The Boy running away

Hop-o’-my-Thumb and a Duck

Looking up he espied a little Lady

Hop-o’-my-Thumb threw them some Crumbs

Poor Little Ant

The Story of Hop-o’-my-Thumb

The Captain, the Peasant, the Parrot, and the Emperor

He gave him back the Parrot as Gallantly as he could

He kicked and struggled violently

A Peasant was Fortunate enough to catch it

The Parrot

The Blacksmith Verholen and a Devil

A gentle Knocking at the Door

The Shoe was tried on

He wished

Open the Door, Smith

The little Blacksmith was seated on a low Stool

Rest a While in this Chair

Climbed up the Tree like a Cat

As much Coal as he could wish

Ordered them to burn the Devil’s Feet

“I will make myself as tall as the Tower”

It was not a Messenger from Hell

He was dressed in deep Black

“Let that Good Fellow have a Glimpse of Heaven”

“Ooh! Boo! My poor Head!”

Milk-and-Honey Avenue

Balten, the Barrel, and the Wolf

The Wolf stared at Jack

“Balten, pour! Balten, pour!”

The Ladder became yet Higher

One has a Paw broken

They put him into an empty Barrel

Balten and the Wolf

The Mermaid and the Child

She fell on her Knees

Every Morning the Mermaid looked in at the Window

A Number of little Girls and Boys

The Mermaid, the Mother, and her Daughter

The Half-Cock, the Two Foxes, and the Two Robbers

“I will enchant him”

They immediately mounted two Horses

The Half-Cock

The Water joined the other Lodgers

The Blacksmith, the Dwarf, and his Hat

“This little Fellow cannot harm me”

They wanted to find out how it was done

Another Set of very fine Material

The Dwarf disappeared

The Wizard, the Turkey, and the Countess

The necessary Ingredients for a nice Hotchpotch

“If I could discover the Thief”

One of them whispered to the Others

To offer him Part of their Savings

Threw it to some Geese and Turkeys

The Countess had two Dishes placed before him

The Snail

Simple John

The Brussels Market

“Liver, Kidneys, Sausages”

The Exchanges of Simple John

The two Chickens

The First Thing he did was to take up his Knife

The Cousin and the Knife

Bemoaning her Fate and reproaching the Almighty

The Fisherman, the Fish, the Sea-King, and Susie Grill

Stood up on its Tail

A Lovely House with Lofty Towers

She counted it without ceasing

“I am not dissatisfied with what you have done”

He soon caught the Fish

A mighty Sea-King

In front of the Bathing-machine

The Cobbler and his Wife

The Frying-pan

Neither of them wanted to return the Frying-pan

The Three Farmers

He burst it Open

The Wolf went in and sat down

Farmer Broom and Farmer Leaves came out alive

Dancing Farmers

Lodewyk and his Cards

Lodewyk

Annie the Witch always came to blow them down

The Giant and Five Highwaymen

He never left his Castle except to inflict Punishment

She ventured to take a little Walk

Took her Father’s Hand

He was no more than Three Feet high

Led by two Pages

About Midnight a terrible Storm arose

She ran up to the Tower

He let fall the Bunch of Keys

Ripe Nuts in their Cups

I filled my Pockets

I saw something White

Could I dare to knock?

Behind those two large Tubs

“I smell human Flesh”

I saw his Body

I was perched there on the Top of the Tree

“I have just fallen down the Chimney”

St. Peter and the Two Women

The Rich Woman and the Poor Woman

N a cold winter night, thousands of years ago, St. Peter took one of his occasional walks on earth. Towards nightfall he knocked at a rich peasant’s door. The farmer’s wife was busy making pancakes in her cosy kitchen. Her little chubby baby was watching her as she poured the batter into the frying-pan. She spied the stranger through the window, and said to herself, “This fellow is attracted by the good smell, but I do not waste my pancakes on strangers.” She sent the beggar away, wishing him God-speed.

He went on his way, and presently arrived at a mud cabin, where a poor widow lived with her six children. On hearing the old man begging her to have pity on him for God’s sake, she opened the door and bade him stay the night in her little hut. “Night is falling,” she said; “it is bitterly cold, stay with us, and you shall have my bedroom. I will doze in a chair near the fire.” The stranger gratefully accepted her offer, and after having supped, retired to bed.

Before leaving the next day, he thanked the good woman, and said to her, “Listen, little mother: as you welcomed me in your house, I give you a wish; ask anything you like and you shall have it.” The good woman thought at once of an unfinished roll of cloth which her dead husband was weaving a little before his death. Without further hesitation, she answered, “My good man, as you are so kind and so powerful, grant that the work which I begin the first thing in the morning may continue all day.” “It shall be as you wish,” said the stranger, as he bade her good-bye. Her six children accompanied him to the outskirts of the village, where they bade him God-speed.

She sent the Beggar away, wishing him God-speed

Very early the next day the busy little woman began to measure the piece of cloth, which was about twelve yards long. Marvellous to relate, she measured and measured, and she found that when she had measured a certain length of cloth the pattern, texture, and designs changed. She then cut it off carefully and rolled it up, and thus as the day advanced she had rolls of cloth of every imaginable shade, design, and material. They filled the whole cabin to the rafters; there was scarcely room to move when he said, “Woman, I can give you nothing in return for your kind hospitality, but I grant that the first work you undertake to-morrow will last all day.” Then he went on his way.

The woman was overwhelmed with joy. “To-morrow we shall be very rich,” she said to her husband. “I shall be more cunning than my neighbour; I shall count money all day. I shall not waste a minute; I shall get up at midnight, for before daybreak I must make some bags to pour our fortune into.”

All that night she never closed her eyes; on the stroke of midnight she sprang from her bed, and seizing the scissors she began to cut out the bags. But strange to say, she cut and cut until all the stuff was in fragments. Try as she would, she was obliged to go on cutting; she seized linen, shirts, sheets, tablecloths, napkins, handkerchiefs; even the window curtains did not escape.

THE RICH WOMAN AND THE POOR WOMAN: THE TWO FARMS AT CHRISTMAS EVE

Then it was the turn of the wardrobe. Throwing it open, she took out her husband’s wedding suit. “Look!” she said, as she cut off his coat-tails, “these will make two more bags. Here are strings for the bags,” she added, snipping off her best bonnet-strings. She went on cutting without a pause. By night she had cut up everything except the clothes she was wearing. Her husband looked on at this terrible scene, howling with rage, while his wife sighed and cried with vexation. There was nothing left; her husband only managed to save the shirt he was wearing by running up the stairs as midnight struck.

The news of this disaster spread like wild-fire far and wide, but no one pitied the woman.

The Story of Seppy Who Wished to Manage His Own House

Seppy working in the Fields

EPPY and Bella lived together in a very small house. There was only one room, which served as kitchen, bedroom, and stable for the animals.

All they possessed was a pig, a cow, and some hens. The pig lay on some straw between two stakes in one corner of the room, the cow was tied up to a wooden trough in another corner, the hens roosted on the rafters.

It was not a happy household; quarrels were frequent, and Seppy was always finding fault with Bella. When he came in from his work at midday the potatoes were either too hot or too cold, the soup too thick or too thin, and he reproached Bella bitterly, declaring that she lived a life of idleness, while he worked like a slave in the fields.

These scenes became so frequent that Bella grew tired of this cat-and-dog life.

One day, when he began to grumble as usual, she defied him, insisting that the next morning they should change places: she would go to work like a slave in the fields, while he should stay at home to do the cooking. “He will soon see,” she said, “that when all the work has been done properly, there is no time for twiddling one’s thumbs.”

Very early next morning Bella started off with a sack and a scythe to cut grass for the animals.

Seppy remained at home and took off his coat, saying to himself, “I will show her how clever I am.”

It was a Wednesday, the day for butter-making. Seppy put the churn on the three-legged stool in the middle of the room, poured in the milk, and began to churn gaily. He heard the milk beating against the sides of the churn, and whistled happily as he worked.

Presently he heard the stout village priest tramping up the road. He stopped at Seppy’s cottage, put his head in at the door and asked for a glass of water, being very hot and red in the face from having walked so far.