THE STORY of a DONKEY - A Children's Story E-Book

Translated and Retold by CHARLES WELSH

• Herausgeber: Abela Publishing
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

This is the story of Neddy, the donkey, narrated from his point of view. His adventures are interesting and amusing, and as there has been nothing quite like them originally written in English. The book contains 1 color image and 25 pen and ink illustrations.During the story he wants his master to know better what sort of animals donkeys really are, and so he writes the story of his life. He points out that donkeys have been, and still are, often badly treated by human beings. Even so, he claims donkeys more often than not have good temperaments; but confesses that in his youth he sometimes behaved very badly, and was punished for it. This made him unhappy but in the end he repented, and how, in the end, his repentance changed him and gained for him the forgiveness of his friends and masters.He finishes, “So, when you have read my history, you won’t say any more “as stupid as a donkey,” or “as obstinate as a donkey,” but “as sensible as a donkey,” “as clever as a donkey,” or “as gentle as a donkey.” He then leaves a message for all children, “Hee-haw! dear little children, hee-haw! I hope you will never be as I was when I was young.” 

Leseprobe

THESTORY OF A DONKEY

ABRIDGED FROM THE FRENCH OF

MADAME LA COMTESSE DE SÉGUR

[1799 – 1874]

Translated By

CHARLES WELSH

edited by

CHARLES F. DOLE

illustrated by

E. H. SAUNDERS

originally published by

D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers, Boston

[1904]

Resurrected by

Abela Publishing, London

[2017]

The Story of a Donkey

Typographical arrangement of this edition

© Abela Publishing 2017

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

2017

ISBN: 978-X-XXXXXX-XX-X

email:

[email protected]

website:

http://www.AbelaPublishing.com/

Frontis

“I ate up several cabbages.”

Dedication

TO MY PRESENT LITTLE MASTER, HARRY.

My Dear Little Master,

You have been kind to me, but you have spoken contemptuously of donkeys in general. I want you to know better what sort of animals donkeys really are, and so I have written for you this story of my life. You will see, my dear little Master, that we donkeys have been, and still are, often badly treated by human beings. We are often very nice indeed; but I must also confess that in my youth I sometimes behaved very badly, and you will see how I was punished for it, and how unhappy I was, and how at last I repented, and how at last my repentance changed me and gained for me the forgiveness of my friends and masters. So, when you have read my history, you won’t say any more “as stupid as a donkey,” or “as obstinate as a donkey,” but “as sensible as a donkey,” “as clever as a donkey,” or “as gentle as a donkey.”

Hee-haw! my dear little Master, hee-haw! I hope you will never be as I was when I was young.

I remain,

Your obedient servant,

NEDDY.

PREFACE

I do not recollect my childhood; I was probably as unhappy as the rest of the little donkeys are; and no doubt as pretty and as graceful. Certainly I was full of wit and intelligence, for, old as I am now, I have more of both than most donkeys possess.

I have often outwitted some of my poor masters, who, being only men, could not be expected to have the intelligence of a donkey,—and I will begin my Memoirs with the story of a trick I once played in the days of my youth.

INTRODUCTION

The author of this book was the daughter of that Count Rostopchine who was governor of Moscow when it was burned in 1812, and Napoleon was obliged in consequence to make his disastrous retreat from that city. Born in 1799, Sophie de Rostopchine married, in 1821, the Count de Ségur, a son of one of the oldest and proudest families of France. She was a very accomplished and lovable person, and, as her writings attest, she was thoroughly in sympathy with the ways and feelings of children.

She did not begin to publish her stories until she was fifty-seven years of age, but between that date and the time of her death in 1874, she wrote and brought out a great many books for children.

The “Memoirs of a Donkey,” published in 1860, is one of the most popular, wholesome, and entertaining of her books. It is longer in the original than the version here given, as it contains a great number of scenes that could interest only the boys and girls of France; and there are many incidents in which the donkey scarcely figures. We have, therefore, given in this book the story of Neddy, the donkey. His adventures are interesting and amusing enough by themselves, and as there has been nothing quite like them originally written in English, we have included this retelling of the story in our Home and School Classics.