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Title: The Mary Frances Story Book
or Adventures Among the Story People
Author: Jane Eayre Fryer
Illustrator: Edwin John Prittie
Release Date: January 6, 2018 [EBook #56322]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
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THE
MARY FRANCES
STORY BOOK
Cover
Endpaper
For all boys and girls who love stories.
Jane Eayre Fryer
Books by Jane Eayre Fryer
THE MARY FRANCES COOK BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Kitchen People
PRICE
$2.00 NET
THE MARY FRANCES SEWING BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Thimble People
PRICE
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THE MARY FRANCES HOUSEKEEPER
Or, Adventures Among the Doll People
PRICE
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THE MARY FRANCES GARDEN BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Garden People
PRICE
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THE MARY FRANCES KNITTING AND
CROCHETING BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Knitting People
PRICE
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THE MARY FRANCES FIRST AID BOOK
PRICE
$1.25 NET
THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Story People
PRICE
$2.00 NET
THE MARY FRANCES BIBLE STORY BOOK
Or, Adventures Among the Bible People
PRICE
$2.00 NET
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
Publishers
1006–1016
Arch Street, Philadelphia
They Could See that the Pirate’s Ship was Keeping the Distance
the Same as at First Between Them
Title page
THE MARY FRANCES STORY BOOK
OR ADVENTURES AMONG THE STORY PEOPLE
by JANE EAYRE FRYER
ILLUSTRATED BY EDWIN JOHN PRITTIE
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY PHILADELPHIA,
PA.
Copyright, 1921, by
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London
All Rights Reserved
Made in the
U.S.A.
PREFACE
The Mary Frances Story Book is different from the other Mary Frances Books. They are part lessons and part
story; they teach something about cooking and sewing, knitting and crocheting, housekeeping and gardening, and first-
aid—and tell a story, too; but The Mary Frances Story Book is all story.
On a summer afternoon Mary Frances took a holiday and sailed away across the blue water to an island—an
island formed by the top of a coral mountain resting in a sea of blue; oh, so blue—a brighter blue than the water in your
mother’s bluing tub—not the blue that makes you feel sad and blue, but the blue that makes you laugh with happiness.
The island itself and the roofs of the houses were coral white, and the green was the green of the palm and banana and
mahogany tree. The breezes that blew over them were the warm, soft breezes of the southern sun. This island was the
“enchanted island” of the good story-tellers which Mary Frances was allowed to visit. The story people who lived there
believed in truth and beauty, and courage and kindness, and these were the theme of their stories. Like all good islands,
this island had enemies, but they came to a bad end, as, in the long run, all evil persons will; and truth and beauty, and
courage and kindness won the day, as they always must in every land where the searchlight of the sun flashes its beams.
As may be imagined, when Mary Frances came home she had not only one, but many stories to tell; and they are
written in this book.
J. E. F.
MERCHANTVILLE, N. J.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For kind permission to use copyrighted and other material, the author is indebted to the following: Milton Bradley
Company, for “The Closing Door”, from Mother Stories, by Maud Lindsay; Little, Brown & Company, for “Tom
Goes Down the Well”, from Mice at Play, by Neil Forest; Presbyterian Board of Publication, for “Gloomy Gus and
the Christmas Cat”, by Alfred Westfall, and “Ann Catches a Thief”, by Daisy Gilbert; McLoughlin Brothers, for “Patty
and Her Pitcher”; The Beacon Press, for “The Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Jackal”, from First Book of Religion;
Cassel & Company, for “Music Bewitched”, by Hartley Richards; American Baptist Publication Society, for “John and
Margaret Paton Among Savages”, by Grace E. Craig; Bobbs-Merrill Company, for “Your Flag and My Flag”, from
The Trail to Boyland, by Wilbur D. Nesbit, copyright 1904. Acknowledgment is also due to Cassell, Petter, Galpin &
Company, for “The Bubble Story”, “Mischievous Anna and Peter”, and “The Cat and the Carrots”.
6
CONTENTS
THE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND
CHAPTER
PAGE
I.
On the Shore
15
II.
The Good Ferry Puts Out to Sea
18
III.
The Pirate’s Cat
23
IV.
The Story of the Lost Story
26
V.
Land Ahoy
29
VI.
The Old Witch and the Iron-Chain Curtain
35
VII.
Finding the Lost Story
37
VIII.
The Pirate Chases The Good Ferry
42
IX.
The Terrible Punishment of the Pirate and the Old Witch
44
X.
The Bubble Story
Anon.
47
STORIES TOLD THE FIRST DAY
XI.
Mischievous Anna and Peter
Anon.
55
XII.
Diamonds and Toads
Macé’s Fairy Tales
61
XIII.
The Magic Necklace
Macé’s Fairy Tales
67
XIV.
The Cat and the Carrots
Anon.
73
XV.
The Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Jackal
Hindu Folk Tale
79
XVI.
The Red Dragon
Anon.
82
XVII.
Two Poems
84
If I Could Crow
84
The Twins
85
XVIII.
Tiny’s Adventures in Tinytown
87
Tiny Gets Lost
88
Tiny Is Put in the Lock-up
91
Tiny Is Adopted
94
Tiny Discovers a Fire
100
XIX.
Tiny Has More Adventures
102
Tiny Saves a Baby’s Life
104
Tiny Goes Shopping
107
Tiny’s Mother Finds Her
111
STORIES TOLD THE SECOND DAY
XX.
The Magic Mask
Old Tale—Retold 119
XXI.
The Closing Door
Maud Lindsay 126
XXII.
Tom Goes Down the Well
Neil Forest
130
XXIII.
Gloomy Gus and the Christmas Cat
Alfred Westfall 139
XXIV.
Patty and Her Pitcher
Crowquill’s Fairy Tales 146
In the Magic Circle
146
The Wonderful Pitcher
147
The Well-dressed Stranger
154
Patty in Trouble
156
The Pitcher to the Rescue
158
THE STORIES OF THE THIRD DAY
7
8
XXV.
Sir Galahad
Sir Thomas Malory—Adapted 165
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
165
Galahad Receives the Order of Knighthood
167
The Adventure of the Sword in the Stone
168
Sir Galahad Sits in the Perilous Seat
170
Sir Galahad Wins the Sword of Balin le Savage
173
The Knights of the Round Table Set Out in Quest of
the Holy Grail
176
Sir Galahad Finds a White Shield with a Red Cross
178
Sir Launcelot and Sir Percival Attack Sir Galahad
182
The Adventure of the Gentlewoman, the Mysterious
Ship, and the Sword of the Strange Belt
185
The Gentlewoman Risks Her Life for Another
191
Sir Galahad Meets a Knight in White Armor
193
Sir Galahad Achieves His Quest, and Bears the Holy
Grail Across the Sea
195
The Passing of Sir Galahad, the End of Sir Percival,
and the Return of Sir Bors to Camelot
200
XXVI.
How Sir Launfal Achieved the Holy Grail
James Russell Lowell—Retold 203
THE STORIES OF THE FOURTH DAY
XXVII.
Music Bewitched
Hartley Richards 211
Bob’s Three Foes
211
Father Pan’s Revenge
215
XXVIII.
Ann Catches a Thief
Daisy Gilbert
219
XXIX.
John and Margaret Paton Among Savages
Grace E. Craig 226
XXX.
The Strange Guest
Washington Irving—Retold from
The Spectre Bridegroom
233
The Wedding Feast
240
The Midnight Music
244
XXXI.
Robert of Sicily
Henry W. Longfellow—Retold 248
XXXII.
The Man Without a Country
Edward Everett Hale—Retold 254
XXXIII.
Your Flag and My Flag
Wilbur D. Nesbit
264
THE LAST DAY ON STORY ISLAND
The Cricket on the Hearth, A Fairy Tale of Home
Charles Dickens—Adapted 271
XXXIV.
Chirp the First
271
The Peerybingles
271
The Strange Old Gentleman
274
Caleb Plummer
277
Tackleton
279
Dot is Upset
281
XXXV.
Chirp the Second
285
Bertha, the Blind Girl, and Her Father
285
Tackleton Comes In
288
Bertha’s Eyes
291
The Carrier’s Cart
293
The Party at Caleb’s
298
The Shadow on the Hearth
302
XXXVI.
Chirp the Third
306
John Listens to the Cricket
306
John Blames Himself
308
9
10
Caleb Confesses His Deceit
312
The Dead Returns to Life
316
Tackleton Does the Unexpected
321
THE RETURN HOME
XXXVII.
Good-by, Mary Frances. Come Again!
325
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
They Could See that the Pirate’s Ship was Keeping the Distance the Same as at First Between
Them
Frontispiece
PAGE
Mary Frances Leaned Down and Caught Hold of His Fins
21
“Just Some Flying Fish,” Answered the Cat
31
She Fed Him a Little at a Time with a Medicine Dropper
39
On One of the Flowers was Perched a Tiny Fairy
49
They were as High Up in the Air as the Top of a Mountain
57
She Drank Long and Eagerly
63
He Threw the Necklace Around Coralie’s Neck
69
“Have You no Feelings?” said the Carrot
75
“Wow!” shrieked the Dragon
82
Just at Her Feet Lay the Tiniest Little Bit of a Town
89
The Pony Cantered All the Way Down the Street
99
She Ran as Fast as She Could and was Just in Time to Drag the Baby Out of the Way of the
Wagon
105
“Mother!” she Cried. “Oh, Mother!”
113
The Magic Mask was Ready, and Herlo Tried It on the King’s Face
123
But All the United Efforts of Bess and Bob and Archie’s Left Arm could not Raise Tom
135
He Swung Down the Trail with a Speed that Mocked the Wind at His Back
143
She then Touched the Pitcher with Her Wand
150
“Be not Alarmed, Dear Mistress,” said the Pitcher
157
Immediately He Grasped the Sword by the Handle, But could not Stir It
171
Then Sir Galahad Took His Place in the Field
175
A Monk Led Him Behind the Altar where the Shield Hung as White as Snow, but in the Center
was a Red Cross
181
The Damsel Rode as Fast as Her Horse would Gallop that Night and All The Next Day till They
Came in Sight of the Sea
187
Slowly Sleep Came Upon Him and He Dreamed
205
Away Went the Schoolmaster’s Legs, Cutting such Capers as the World Never Looked Upon
Before
217
Before the Door of a Low, Thatched Hut Stood a Fair-haired Young Woman
227
Once He Thought He Saw Them
237
A Tall Figure Stood Among the Shadows of the Trees
243
Toward the Very Last, Robert the Jester Rode on a Piebald Pony
251
He Flung the Book into the Sea
257
Your Flag and My Flag
265
“If You Please, I was to be Left till Called For”
275
There were Houses in It, Furnished and Unfurnished, for Dolls of All Stations in Life
286
They Jogged on for Some Time in Silence
297
11
12
THE TRIP TO STORY ISLAND
ON THE SHORE.—THE GOOD FERRY PUTS OUT TO SEA.—THE PIRATE’S CAT.—THE LOST STORY.
—LAND AHOY.—THE OLD WITCH AND THE IRON-CHAIN CURTAIN.—FINDING THE LOST STORY.
—THE PIRATE CHASES THE GOOD FERRY.—THE TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT OF THE PIRATE AND THE
OLD WITCH.—THE BUBBLE STORY.
13
