Opening, part 17 Opening, part 17 of «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang: the whole text, 144 sentences and 2669 words. Every sentence has its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself; 1 of them are in the tales treebank and were checked by a teacher model.
1 'I will fetch it myself,' answered Pinkel. 2 This time it was easier for Pinkel to approach the island unseen, as there was no golden lantern to thrown its beams over the water. 3 But, on the other hand, the goat slept inside the hut, and would therefore have to be taken from under the very eyes of the old woman. 4 How was he to do it? 5 All the way across the lake he thought and thought, till at length a plan came into his head which seemed as if it might do, though he knew it would be very difficult to carry out. 6 The first thing he did when he reached the shore was to look about for a piece of wood, and when he had found it he hid himself close to the hut, till it grew quite dark and near the hour when the witch and her daughter went to bed. 7 Then he crept up and fixed the wood under the door, which opened outwards, in such a manner that the more you tried to shut it the more firmly it stuck. 8 And this was what happened when the girl went as usual to bolt the door and make all fast for the night. 9 'What are you doing?' asked the witch, as her daughter kept tugging at the handle. 10 'There is something the matter with the door; it won't shut,' answered she. 11 'Well, leave it alone; there is nobody to hurt us,' said the witch, who was very sleepy; and the girl did as she was bid, and went to bed. 12 Very soon they both might have been heard snoring, and Pinkel knew that his time was come. 13 Slipping off his shoes he stole into the hut on tiptoe, and taking from his pocket some food of which the goat was particularly fond, he laid it under his nose. 14 Then, while the animal was eating it, he stuffed each golden bell with wool which he had also brought with him, stopping every minute to listen, lest the witch should awaken, and he should find himself changed into some dreadful bird or beast. 15 But the snoring still continued, and he went on with his work as quickly as he could. 16 When the last bell was done he drew another handful of food out of his pocket, and held it out to the goat, which instantly rose to its feet and followed Pinkel, who backed slowly to the door, and directly he got outside he seized the goat in his arms and ran down to the place where he had moored his boat. 17 As soon as he had reached the middle of the lake, Pinkel took the wool out of the bells, which began to tinkle loudly. 18 Their sound awoke the witch, who cried out as before: 19 'Is that you, Pinkel?' 20 'Yes, dear mother, it is I,' said Pinkel. 21 'Have you stolen my golden goat?' asked she. 22 'Yes, dear mother, I have,' answered Pinkel. 23 'Are you not a knave, Pinkel?' 24 'Yes, dear mother, I am,' he replied. 25 And the old witch shouted in a rage: 26 'Ah! beware how you come hither again, for next time you shall not escape me!' 27 But Pinkel laughed and rowed on. 28 The king was so delighted with the goat that he always kept it by his side, night and day; and, as he had promised, Pinkel was made ruler over the third part of the kingdom. 29 As may be supposed, the brothers were more furious than ever, and grew quite thin with rage. 30 'How can we get rid of him?' said one to the other. 31 And at length they remembered the golden cloak. 32 'He will need to be clever if he is to steal that!' they cried, with a chuckle. 33 And when next the king came to see his horses they began to speak of Pinkel and his marvellous cunning, and how he had contrived to steal the lantern and the goat, which nobody else would have been able to do. 34 'But as he was there, it is a pity he could not have brought away the golden cloak,' added they. 35 'The golden cloak! what is that?' asked the king. 36 And the young men described its beauties in such glowing words that the king declared he should never know a day's happiness till he had wrapped the cloak round his own shoulders. 37 'And,' added he, 'the man who brings it to me shall wed my daughter, and shall inherit my throne.' 38 'None can get it save Pinkel,' said they; for they did not imagine that the witch, after two warnings, could allow their brother to escape a third time. 39 So Pinkel was sent for, and with a glad heart he set out. 40 He passed many hours inventing first one plan and then another, till he had a scheme ready which he thought might prove successful. 41 Thrusting a large bag inside his coat, he pushed off from the shore, taking care this time to reach the island in daylight. 42 Having made his boat fast to a tree, he walked up to the hut, hanging his head, and putting on a face that was both sorrowful and ashamed. 43 'Is that you, Pinkel?' asked the witch when she saw him, her eyes gleaming savagely. 44 'Yes, dear mother, it is I,' answered Pinkel. 45 'So you have dared, after all you have done, to put yourself in my power!' cried she. ' 46 Well, you sha'n't escape me THIS time!' 47 And she took down a large knife and began to sharpen it.' 48 'Oh! dear mother, spare me!' shrieked Pinkel, falling on his knees, and looking wildly about him. 49 'Spare you, indeed, you thief! 50 Where are my lantern and my goat? 51 No! not! there is only one fate for robbers!' 52 And she brandished the knife in the air so that it glittered in the firelight. 53 'Then, if I must die,' said Pinkel, who, by this time, was getting really rather frightened, 'let me at least choose the manner of my death. 54 I am very hungry, for I have had nothing to eat all day. 55 Put some poison, if you like, into the porridge, but at least let me have a good meal before I die.' 56 'That is not a bad idea,' answered the woman; 'as long as you do die, it is all one to me.' 57 And ladling out a large bowl of porridge, she stirred some poisonous herbs into it, and set about work that had to be done. 58 Then Pinkel hastily poured all the contents of the bowl into his bag, and make a great noise with his spoon, as if he was scraping up the last morsel. 59 'Poisoned or not, the porridge is excellent. 60 I have eaten it, every scrap; do give me some more,' said Pinkel, turning towards her. 61 'Well, you have a fine appetite, young man,' answered the witch; 'however, it is the last time you will ever eat it, so I will give you another bowlful.' 62 And rubbing in the poisonous herbs, she poured him out half of what remained, and then went to the window to call her cat. 63 In an instant Pinkel again emptied the porridge into the bag, and the next minute he rolled on the floor, twisting himself about as if in agony, uttering loud groans the while. 64 Suddenly he grew silent and lay still. 65 'Ah! 66 I thought a second dose of that poison would be too much for you,' said the witch looking at him. ' 67 I warned you what would happen if you came back. 68 I wish that all thieves were as dead as you! 69 But why does not my lazy girl bring the wood I sent her for, it will soon be too dark for her to find her way? checked by a teacher 70 I suppose I must go and search for her. 71 What a trouble girls are!' 72 And she went to the door to watch if there were any signs of her daughter. 73 But nothing could be seen of her, and heavy rain was falling. 74 'It is no night for my cloak,' she muttered; 'it would be covered with mud by the time I got back.' 75 So she took it off her shoulders and hung it carefully up in a cupboard in the room. 76 After that she put on her clogs and started to seek her daughter. 77 Directly the last sound of the clogs had ceased, Pinkel jumped up and took down the cloak, and rowed off as fast as he could. 78 He had not gone far when a puff of wind unfolded the cloak, and its brightness shed gleams across the water. 79 The witch, who was just entering the forest, turned round at that moment and saw the golden rays. 80 She forgot all about her daughter, and ran down to the shore, screaming with rage at being outwitted a third time. 81 'Is that you, Pinkel?' cried she. 82 'Yes, dear mother, it is I.' 83 'Have you taken my gold cloak?' 84 'Yes, dear mother, I have.' 85 'Are you not a great knave?' 86 'Yes, truly dear mother, I am.' 87 And so indeed he was! 88 But, all the same, he carried the cloak to the king's palace, and in return he received the hand of the king's daughter in marriage. 89 People said that it was the bride who ought to have worn the cloak at her wedding feast; but the king was so pleased with it that he would not part from it; and to the end of his life was never seen without it. 90 After his death, Pinkel became king; and let up hope that he gave up his bad and thievish ways, and ruled his subjects well. 91 As for his brothers, he did not punish them, but left them in the stables, where they grumbled all day long. 92 [Thorpe's Yule-Tide Stories.] 93 The Adventures of a Jackal 94 In a country which is full of wild beasts of all sorts there once lived a jackal and a hedgehog, and, unlike though they were, the two animals made great friends, and were often seen in each other's company. 95 One afternoon they were walking along a road together, when the jackal, who was the taller of the two, exclaimed: 96 'Oh! there is a barn full of corn; let us go and eat some.' 97 'Yes, do let us!' answered the hedgehog. 98 So they went to the barn, and ate till they could eat no more. 99 Then the jackal put on his shoes, which he had taken off so as to make no noise, and they returned to the high road. 100 After they had gone some way they met a panther, who stopped, and bowing politely, said: ← previous Opening, part 16next → Opening, part 18↑ back to The Orange Fairy Book This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/17/