Yesterday''s Stories in Rhyme for Today''s Children

Larry Burgdorf

Description

One of the wonderful things about being a child is enjoying a lively imagination. One can be transported into a different time-frame or to interesting, exciting places--real or imaginary. Especially appealing to those in this category are the classic tales of old, which have withstood the test of time and which overlap many generations.Fortunate also are those no-longer-children who still have a sense of wonder and excitement generated by the same things that stirred their imagination and delighted them when they were young. These emotions vary greatly in their complexity and understanding, but the same delightful effect remains.So, to all children everywhere--regardless of age--I dedicate these verses in the hope that a poetic version of the old familiar tales will encourage or renew a sense of discovery and deep satisfaction.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
• Date de parution: 31 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645367055
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Yesterday’s Stories in Rhyme for Today’s Children
Larry Burgdorf
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-07-31
Yesterday’s Stories in Rhyme for Today’s Children About the Author About the Book Dedication Copyright Information Section One Androcles and the Lion The Hare and the Tortoise The Boy Who Cried “Wolf” Why Bears Have Stumpy Tails The Lion and the Mouse The Crow and the Cheese The Ant and the Grasshopper Jack and the Beanstalk The Crow and the Pitcher Cinderella The Fox and the Grapes Donkey The Emperor’s New Clothes The Lion’s Share Belling the Cat The Princess and the Pea The Three Little Pigs The Goose with the Golden Eggs The Sky Is Falling! Hansel and Gretel The City Mouse and the Country Mouse The Three Billy Goats Gruff The Little Milkmaid The Gingerbread Man Peter Rabbit Goldilocks and the Three Bears Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf The Little Red Hen Chanticleer and the Fox The Dog and the Bone Stone Soup Section Two The Golden Touch The Ugly Duckling The Pied Piper of Hamelin Ulysses and the Cyclops Riddle of the Sphinx Daedalus and Icarus Theseus and the Minotaur Pegasus, the Flying Horse The Legend of William Tell Pandora’s Box Romulus and Remus The Trojan Horse Ulysses and the Sirens The Lotus Eaters Rumpelstiltskin Rapunzel King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone Sisyphus and the Rolling Stone
About the Author
Larry Burgdorf served in the ministry for 35 years, after which he directed a major charitable foundation, traveling extensively, especially in areas affected by the fall of the Soviet Union. He retired from this activity after 27 years and now is able to spend more time with his family including many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He has authored a dozen children’s books.
About the Book
One of the wonderful things about being a child is enjoying a lively imagination. One can be transported into a different time-frame or to interesting, exciting places—real or imaginary. Especially appealing to those in this category are the classic tales of old, which have withstood the test of time and which overlap many generations.
Fortunate also are those no-longer-children who still have a sense of wonder and excitement generated by the same things that stirred their imagination and delighted them when they were young. These emotions vary greatly in their complexity and understanding, but the same delightful effect remains. So, to all children everywhere—regardless of age—I dedicate these verses in the hope that a poetic version of the old familiar tales will encourage or renew a sense of discovery and deep satisfaction.
Dedication
To my great-grandchildren, whose enthusiasm for the poetic stories in this book greatly contributed to a decision to publish them.
Copyright Information
Copyright © Larry Burgdorf (2019)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Burgdorf, Larry
Yesterday’s Stories in Rhyme for Today’s Children
ISBN 9781643781280 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781643781297 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645367055 (ePub e-book)
The main category of the book — JUVENILE FICTION/ Nursery Rhymes
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019907969
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005USA
[e-mail]
[phone]
Section One
Androcles and the Lion
There was a slave named Androcles
Who used all his abilities
To flee his master and to take
A chance he saw for an escape.
It was a dang’rous thing to do;
If he were caught, his life was through.
His master probably would see
That he would pay the penalty.
Most slaves who ran and then were caught
Would quickly wish that they were not.
They might be whipped or even killed
If that is what their masters willed.
The penalty he’d likely pay
Would take his very life away.
His master wasn’t of the kind
To have a tender-hearted mind.
For now, brave Androcles was free
And thought where he would want to be.
A forest was not far away—
He thought, “That’s a safe place to stay.”
It seemed to be a well-thought plan,
So off into the woods he ran.
The brush and trees were thick, and so
His progress there was very slow.
Here he felt safe and that was good,
So he went farther in the wood.
As he went on, he heard a sound
That came from somewhere close around.
He thought it sounded like a groan,
Then came a pitiful, loud moan.
He saw there was a lion there
With a sore paw up in the air.
He almost ran but then he saw
The bad infection in the paw.
He noticed a great big, sharp thorn.
That’s why the paw was pierced and torn.
He carefully went up to him,
Pulled out the thorn and wrapped the limb.
That lion was one grateful cat—
One day he’d show Androcles that.
For some time Androcles had thrived,
But then a fateful day arrived.
A band of soldiers captured him
Which made his future outlook dim.
His master sentenced him to die.
He had a special plan whereby;
He’d gain the favor of the king,
Who dearly loved to see one thing.
He liked to see wild, fearsome beasts
Catch human beings for their feasts.
So in the coliseum’s cage,
Some wild, fierce beasts would roar and rage.
He gathered a huge audience
To see the special day’s events.
The emperor (who was the king)
Sat down to watch this special thing.
Poor Androcles was forced to be
In center stage where all could see.
Then they’d release a roaring beast
Who’d come and kill him for his feast!
They’d starve the beast for many a day
So he’d be hungry for his prey.
And when they opened the trapdoor,
A lion charged out with a roar!
The crowd all stood and sent a cheer—
They cheered the lion, it was clear—
But then the lion stopped dead still!
He didn’t jump in for the kill!
Androcles saw it was his friend,
The one whose pain he’d helped to end.
The lion licked Androcles’ hand
To show that he did understand.
To show his love would never end,
Androcles tightly hugged his friend.
The crowd that started out so mild…
By now was simply going wild.
This time they cheered for Androcles…
They’d never seen such things as these.
The king then had Androcles come
To tell him how these things were done.
Androcles told him ev’rything,
And this immensely pleased the king.
He freed brave Androcles, and then
They turned the lion free again.
The Hare and the Tortoise
One day a hare told everyone
How very swiftly he could run.
He bragged and bragged and said real loud,
“I can beat anyone in the crowd.”
He seemed to have a special need
To talk about his blazing speed.
He laughed at a poor tortoise there,
Who was much slower than the hare.
The tortoise said, "I challenge you
To have a race—just me and you."
The hare then laughed both loud and long,
“How could the tortoise be so wrong!?”
“OK,” he said, "We’ll have a race;
I’ll really put you in your place."
They both agreed how far they’d run,
And where they’d be when it was done.
And so they started off that day;
The hare was laughing all the way.
He quickly was so far ahead.
He stopped to play a while instead.
Then he was tired after play,
And stopped to rest upon some hay.
I am ahead about a mile,
He thought, I’ll sleep a little while.
He woke and looked both left and right—
The tortoise still was not in sight.
He thought, I’ll finish up this race
And get the prize for that first place.
He ran like lightning to the goal,
But right there at the finish pole,
Something amazed that cocky hare—
The tortoise was already there!
The Boy Who Cried “Wolf”
A shepherd boy was tending sheep
In pastures where the grass was deep.
It was an easy kind of life,
With little work and little strife.
A shepherd’s work was not so hard;
He simply had the sheep to guard.
Sometimes when one would go astray,
He’d guide it back to the right way.
There was not much for him to do—
Sometimes it got quite boring too.
He was alone so very much;
He missed his home and friends and such.
One day, he had a brilliant thought
To get the company he sought:
"If people think the wolf is near
And I am trembling in fear—
"They will come running to my aid
To help me, thinking I’m afraid.
So they will come to rescue me
And I will have some company!"
He thought about it quite a bit,
And then he thought he would do it.
So he called out, as if in fear:
“Come help me! Quick! THE WOLF IS NEAR!”
When townsmen heard the cry he made,
Some of them hurried to his aid.
They grabbed their pitchforks on the way
To scare that scary wolf away.
But when they came to where he was
There was no danger there because…
There wasn’t any wolf around—
Only the sheep and pasture ground.
Some of them stayed to talk awhile;
That caused the shepherd boy to smile.
And when they finally went away,
He thought, “This has been fun today!”
That day the hours just seemed to fly,
But then a couple days went by.
He thought, "I’m lonely as can be,
I sure would like some company."
So once again, he sent the cry:
“Help! Help! There is a wolf nearby!”
Well, some folks came at his appeal;
Some of them thought, “This time it’s real.”
But when they came, no wolf was near.
They saw there was no need to fear.
But still some stayed and talked a while—
That ma