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The Blue Mountain from Nine Unlikely Tales. This is a
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LibriVox recording. All libervox recordings are in the public domain.
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For more information and to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Read by Corry Samuel, Nine Unlikely Tales by ENA's Bitt
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The Blue Mountain. Tony was young Tony and Old Tony
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was his grandfather. This story is about young Tony, and
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no human being believes a word of it unless Young
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Tony does. TONI was born in the town of Antioch.
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This is not the same Antioch that you read about
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in history, but quite a different place. It was a
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place where nearly everyone was very dark as to the complexion,
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and rather short as to the temper and figure. People
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who were fair in the face and easy in the
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temper were not much thought of in Antioch. When Tony's
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mother saw that her baby was as fair as a
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daffodil and as good as gold and laughed all day,
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she said, oh, dear, oh dear, I suppose he takes
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after his grandfather. He is not in the least like
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my family. And the matter annoyed her so much that
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she died. Then there was only Old Tony left to
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look after young Tony, because his father had been killed
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in the wars only a few weeks before. The people
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of Antioch were always fighting the neighboring tribes, red faced savages,
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who deserved no better fate than to be killed. Only,
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of course, sometimes a few Antiochians had to be killed too,
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because that is part of the game. And if there
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were no danger, there would be no glory, would there.
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Little Tony's hair remained yellow, and his habit of laughing
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grew with his years, and he learned his lessons, and
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he learned his play. He was excellent company, and if
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it had not been for the yellowness of his hair
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and the gentleness of his nature, he would have been
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quite popular among his schoolmates. His grandfather called him gentle,
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but the people of Antioch called him lazy, for they,
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as I said, were very black and generally angry. They
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scurried up and down in their rocky little city, and
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always they seemed to be driven by most urgent affairs,
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hurrying to keep important appointments. They ran about all day long,
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attending to their business, and hardly stopping even for their
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dinner or their tea. And no one ever saw any
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of them asleep. Why is it, grandfather, young Tony asked
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one day, what is it all about? Why do they
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never sit down quietly like you and me? It is
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the great heart of the nation, my boy, said old Tony.
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It cannot be still. It is in the breed. You know.
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They can't help it. They are all alike too, except
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you and me. Why, bless your heart. Look at the king.
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He is more in a hurry than all the rest,
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and more and more noble and active. Bless him. The
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old man ended his speech in quite a different voice
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from the one he had begun with. This was because
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he suddenly caught the glitter of the king's crown as
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the monarch popped around the corner. The King of Antioch
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was always in a hurry, always running somewhere or other. Consequently,
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he was seldom on his throne, and his loyal subjects
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had to look out very sharply, for he was always
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sure to be where they least expected him. You may
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think that they could have got over this little difficulty
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by always looking for the king where they least expected him.
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But if you try this simple experiment for yourself, with
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your governess or tutor, or even your nurse, I think
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you will find that it is not so easy as
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it looks. Ha, said the King, standing in the doorway
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and laughing cheerfully, talking trees and eh, well, you know
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what the punishment for that is, pinching with black pincers,
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you know, till well, till you don't feel the pinching
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any more. Aha. Your Majesty always has such a pleasant
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way with you, said Old Tony politely, and Young Tony
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decided that when he grew up he would try not
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to have any pleasant ways at all. The King rustled
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quickly round the little house and looked at everything dresser, chairs,
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plates and pots. He was sorry that there was nothing
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that he could find fault with, so he said beware
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of luxury, and hurried off to make his presence felt
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in some other humble home. There was no pride about
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King Antony the twenty third. He just dropped in without
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an invitation and took his subjects as he found them.
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King Antony the twenty third is the noblest of monarchs,
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said Old Tony as he and his grandson sat down
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to their plain supper. It's all right, grandfather, he has
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quite gone. He's not listening for a wonder, said young tony. Meantime,
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the king was hurrying in and out and up and
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down the crowded streets of his city, picking up little
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bits of information and making his subjects feel that his
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kingship was not a mere matter of form, but that
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he was really interested in a most humble life among
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his people. It was a strange town, all up hill
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and downhill, with steep rocks precipices, all mixed up with
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the public streets. The people, for all their busy habits,
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had no trade, or rather, they did not manufacture anything.
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They built houses and brought up their families. They wrapped
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their children up very snugly, and carried them about at
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an earlier age than we consider safe. And they milked
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their cows, which were large and green and had wings,
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and they drank the milk. And they gathered the fruit
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of the trees that gathered on the plain below the town.
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And they got on very well. Indeed, there was only
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one drawback to life in Antioch, and that was its uncertainty.
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At any moment an earthquake might occur. Then down were
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go half the town, and the busy citizens had it
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all to build again. They soon did it, for they
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were nothing if not industrious. A much more awful thing
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was a storm of hot rain that now and then
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fell on the town, a blighting rain that killed all
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it touched. This was more dreaded than even the earthquakes,
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but fortunately it very seldom happened. Old Tony was big
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and sexton and keeper of the town records, and very
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nicely he kept them too. There was not a speck
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of dirt on one of them. He used to spend
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hours and hours polishing the records, and he scoured the
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tombstones till they shone again, and he had most of
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the inscriptions by heart. After an earthquake, he was always
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most careful to put the tombstones back in their proper places.
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And one day, when he was doing this, he came
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on a stone he did not remember to have seen before.
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He called to young Tony, who had had a board
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school education, to see if he could read the bits
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of words that were carved upon it. It seems like a
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foreign language, said he. I can't make it out, said
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young Tony. It is not carved. It is in the
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stone somehow looks as though it were coming through from
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the other side. He turned the stone over, and there
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on the other side was an inscription which both of
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them had read a hundred times. Here lies Henry Burbeck,
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magician to the institute. However humble he seems to you
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his last foretelling is going to come true. P s
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you see if it doesn't, dear me, said old Tony,
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Poor old Henry Burbeck, it seems like yesterday. Yes, he
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was very respectable, but only in a small way of business.
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A magician he was by trade, but no one thought
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much of him except perhaps the king, and he never
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gave him a lift. He used to do things with
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eggs and a hat. He broke the eggs as often
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as not, and the goldfish and handkerchief he hardly ever
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brought off. Old Tony began to lay down the tombstone,
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but young Tony held it up with one hand and
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tried to scrape the back of it with the other.
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There's something here, he said. Let's set it upright instead
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of laying it down, and I will scrub it and
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see what the letters are. Poor old mister Burbeck, I
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wonder what his last foretelling was. Was he good at prophesying? Grandfather?
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Not a bit, said the sexton. And to do him
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just as he almost gave it up. In his later years,
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you see, people laughed at him so because the things
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that he foretold never happened. Towards the end, he grew
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very feeble, hardly prophesied a single prophecy from one year's
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end to another. Sometimes he would say, I should not
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wonder if it rained before Sunday. But then he never
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wondered at anything. He was a calm old man. Was
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poor Henry. It took a good deal to astonish him.
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Young Tony tried to interest his boyfriends in the back
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of poor old Henry Burbeck's tombstone, but nobody cared. They
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were all in too much for a hurried to care
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for an occupation so slow as cleaning tombstones. But Tony
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worked away perseveringly. He cleaned it with soap, and he
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cleaned it with soda, with brick dust, and vinegar with
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rotten stone, and wash leather with patience and elbow grease,
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and the last two, as you know, will clean almost anything.
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So after a time a few letters began to show
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distinctly here and there, and presently he found he could
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read whole words. There was milk and mountain, and a
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word that looked like jilk, and the of course, it
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could not be that, And the last word of all
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was rain, and the second word of all was Tony.
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It must be something to do with me, said young Tony,
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because of my name being in it. It must have
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something to do with the king, said old Tony, because
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it says rain. So you'd better cut off to the
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palace and look sharp about it, or his majesty will
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know the reason why. So Tony looked sharp about it
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and got to the palace in less than five minutes.
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For a wonder, the king was not engaged in dropping
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in on his subjects, but was on his throne amid
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his fussy black courtiers, who were all busy trying to
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make themselves as small as they could. This was because
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the King was very short, though he did not like
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to say so. He always had himself described in the
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census and the Palace reports as a powerful man of
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middle height, though he was nowhere near the middle height,
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and no more powerful than other people. Well, boy, said
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King Antony the twenty third, What have you come here for?
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There is a prophecy, said Tony. There are a good many,
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said King Antony, but they don't mount to much, since
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poor Henry Burbeck died. He was something like a prophet,
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he went on, turning to his courtiers. He foretold when
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I was only a baby, that if I grew up,
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I should perhaps be king. The late king my father
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was very pleased. I remember the courtiers all bowed and
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said it was really wonderful. Tony said, well, then you'd
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better come and have a look at this prophecy, because
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it is the late mister Burbeck's last one, and he
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said it'll come true. Bring it here, can't you, said
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the king. No, I can't, said the boy. It's on
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his tombstone, so there. I can't carry tombstones about. No,
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said the king thoughtfully. Of course you are not. Powerfully,
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you are nowhere near the medium height. Come and look
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at it if you want to, said Tony. I'm in
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no hurry, well, said King Anthony. I don't care if
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I do. I'm tired of sitting still. So off they
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all went. King caught Herald's men at arms, banner bearers
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and spearmen down the narrow, dark, crooked town streets till
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they came to the churchyard, where the tombstones were both
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the upright and the flat kind. Tony ran on ahead,
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and knelt in front of the tombstone. Then he jumped
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up and called out, you hurry up. It's as plain
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now as the nose on your face. You should say,
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the royal nose on your Majesty's royal face, said old
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Tony anxiously. But the King was too interested to care
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about even his subject manners. He came up to the tombstone,
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and on it he read, and Tony read, and all
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the courtiers read, When Tony drinks the Blue Mountain's milk,
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he shall wear a Sunday suit of silk. He shall
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be tallest in all the land, and hold the town
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under his command. He shall have greatness, and we shall
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have grain. Soon may it happen, and long may he reign.
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Hurrah h t. Burbeck. The King read this and said, well,
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I never, and all the courtiers said the same. Tony
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means me, said the king. The courtiers said that, of
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course it did. I am King Tony the twenty third,
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said he, and all the courtiers said, of course he was.
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They all spoke at once, like a chorus. I was
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christened Antony. Of course, his restless majesty went on fidgeting
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with his gold collar. But I know that my subjects
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have always spoken of me behind my back by the
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endearing diminutive. The courtiers assured the King that this was so.
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I suppose there's no one else called Tony. The King
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turned a threatening glance on the crowd, and every one
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hastened to say, no, there wasn't. But old Tony turned
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extremely pale, and hurrying into the vestry, he tampered with
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the register of berths and altered his own name to
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Sidney Cecil Earnest Watchet. But young Tony spoke up. My
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name's Tony, said he. Oh, is it, said his majesty.
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We'll soon see about that. Guards seize him. Now, what
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is your name? Tony said he. Your name is not Tony,
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said the King, your name is. He could not think
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of a name at the moment, so he stopped. Tony said,
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my name is Tony. Take him to the Parliament House,
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said the King, beside himself with rage. Give him a
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00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.919
taste of the mace. And Tony tasted the mace and
240
00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.799
was stamped on by the Great Seal, who was very fierce,
241
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and lived in a cage at the Parliament House until
242
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he was stiff and sore and sorry enough to be
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glad to say that his name was anything the King liked,
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except Tony, which of course it never never could have been.
245
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He admitted at last that his name was William Waterbury Watchet,
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and was discharged with a caution. But my name is Tony,
247
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after all, he said to himself, as he went home,
248
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full of sad memories of the Mace and the Great Seal.
249
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I wonder where the blue mountain is. Young Tony thought
250
00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:25.080
a good deal about poor Henry Burbeck's prophecy. Perhaps the
251
00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.480
Great Seal had stamped it on his memory. Anyway, he
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00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.279
could not forget about it, and all the next day
253
00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:33.600
he was wandering about on the steep edge of the town,
254
00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.279
looking out over the landscape below. It was not an
255
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:41.000
interesting landscape. All round the brown hill where the town
256
00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:45.080
was lay the vast forests of green trees, something like bamboos,
257
00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.440
whose fruit the people ate. And beyond that one could
258
00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:51.120
see the beginnings of a still larger forest, when none
259
00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:53.200
of the people of Antioch had ever dared to go,
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the forest whose leaves were a hundred times as big
261
00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:59.320
as the king himself, and the trunks of the trees
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00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:03.840
as big as whole countries. Above all was the blue sky,
263
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but look as Tony would, he could see no blue mountain.
264
00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:14.320
Then suddenly he saw the largest forest shake and shiver,
265
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its enormous leaves swaying this way. And that it must
266
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.799
be an earthquake, said Tony, trembling, But he did not
267
00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:26.679
run away, and his valor was rewarded as valor deserves
268
00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:31.480
to be. The next moment, the vast branches of the
269
00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:35.600
enormous forest parted and a giant figure came out into
270
00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.039
the forest of bamboo like trees. It was a figure
271
00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:43.480
more gigantic than Tony had ever imagined possible. It had
272
00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:46.799
long yellow hair in its hand. It carried a great
273
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.440
white bowl, big enough to float a navy in. If
274
00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.480
such an expression did not sound rather silly, I should
275
00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:55.759
say that this figure gave Tony the idea of a
276
00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:00.799
little girl. Giant it sat down among the bamboo forest,
277
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.200
crushing millions of trees. As it sat with a spoon
278
00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:08.159
twice the length of the king's banqueting hall, it began
279
00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:11.919
to eat out of the tremendous basin. Tony saw great
280
00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.120
lumps like blocks of soft marble balanced on the vast spoon,
281
00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:18.799
and he knew that the giant little girl was eating
282
00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:22.080
giant bread and milk, and she wore a giant frock,
283
00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:27.720
and the frock was blue. Then Tony understood this was
284
00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.879
the Blue Mountain, and in that big, big sea of
285
00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:36.159
a basin there was milk, the Blue Mountain's milk. Tony
286
00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.360
stood still for a moment, then turned and ran as
287
00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:42.639
hard as he could straight into the royal presence. To
288
00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.840
be more exact, he ran into the royal waistcoat for
289
00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:48.440
the King in a hurry, as usual, was coming out
290
00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.679
of his palace gates with a rush. The King was
291
00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:55.360
extremely annoyed. He refused to listen to a word Tony
292
00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.279
had to say until Parliament had been called together and
293
00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:02.399
had passed a bill strengthening the enactments against Cheek. Then
294
00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:06.039
he allowed Tony to tell his tale. And when the
295
00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.720
tale was told, every one ran to the battlements of
296
00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:12.000
the town to look. There was no blue Mountain to
297
00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:16.759
be seen. Then his Majesty told Tony what he thought
298
00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:20.119
of him, and it was not pleasant hearing. I am
299
00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:23.000
not a liar, said Tony. I'm very sorry I told
300
00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.359
you anything about it. I might jolly well have gone
301
00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:30.400
and got it for myself. My name is William Waterbury.
302
00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:36.640
Watch it, He stopped in confusion. I should think it was,
303
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.960
said the king. If there is any mountain which I
304
00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:42.119
don't for a moment believe, you had better go and
305
00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.240
fetch me some of the milk. Not that I think
306
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.400
there is any out of the mountain's basin which I
307
00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:51.400
cannot believe exists outside of your imagination. If you bring
308
00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:55.559
it to this address, you will be suitably rewarded. All right,
309
00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.359
said Tony. Shall I fetch it in a jug or
310
00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:01.799
will they lend me a can? I will lend you
311
00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:04.839
my mug, said the king, and mind you bring it
312
00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:09.400
back full. So Tony took the mug it had for
313
00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:12.480
a good little king a present from Antwerp on it,
314
00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.440
and he kissed his grandfather and started off on his long,
315
00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:20.799
perilous journey. I suppose he will give me a reward
316
00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.920
if I get it, he thought, And if not, well
317
00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:28.359
it's an adventure anyway. He passed through the crowded streets
318
00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:31.359
where everyone was rushing about in the usual frantic haste,
319
00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:34.039
and out at the town gates and down the road
320
00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:37.559
into the forest. The trunks of the trees towered tall
321
00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:40.480
and straight above, and a subdued green light shone all
322
00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:45.079
about him. The ground was very broken and uneven, and
323
00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.079
often Tony had to go a long way round to
324
00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.519
avoid some great rock or chasm. But he traveled fast,
325
00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.000
for he was a quick walker, and he did not
326
00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:55.400
miss the way once, although of course it was a
327
00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.559
quite strange country to him. There had been evening classes
328
00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.079
at his to teach the boys the art of finding
329
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.079
their way in strange places, and Tony had attended all
330
00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:08.880
a lectures and taken notice as well as notes. And
331
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:11.200
now he was able to practice what he had learned,
332
00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:13.640
and he was glad he had not wasted his time
333
00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:16.559
in drawing pictures of the masters, or playing nibs with
334
00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.000
the boys next to him, and throwing ink pellets at
335
00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:23.559
more studious boys. But the journey was longer than he expected,
336
00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:26.359
and the mug was rather in his way. He was
337
00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.799
very much afraid of breaking that mug. It is an
338
00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.440
awkward thing to break a mug with a present for
339
00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.839
a good king on it. It is so difficult to replace.
340
00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.200
There are very few of those mugs made nowadays, there
341
00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.640
is little or no demand for them. But at last
342
00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:44.079
the green light of the forest began to grow brighter,
343
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:46.519
and Tony saw that he was approaching a sort of
344
00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:49.960
clearing among the trees. So he put his best foot foremost,
345
00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:53.200
without stopping to think which was his worst foot, Always
346
00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:56.720
a mistake when you were tired and footsore. And now
347
00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:59.559
he came out from under the tall branches and saw
348
00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.640
a round open space in the forest where millions of
349
00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:05.799
fallen trees lay on the ground, and he knew that
350
00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:08.319
this was the spot where the mountain had sat down
351
00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:12.279
to eat its unimaginable, enormous breakfast. But there was no
352
00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.079
mountain to be seen, and Tony knew that he could
353
00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.640
do nothing but sit down and wait in the hope
354
00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.039
that the Blue Mountain would come next morning to eat
355
00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:24.000
its breakfast in the same place. So he looked about
356
00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:27.039
for a place to rest safely in, and presently found
357
00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:30.400
just what he wanted, a little cave whose walls and
358
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:33.319
roof were of dried earth, And there he stayed all
359
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.440
that day and night, eating the fruit of the fallen trees.
360
00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.400
And next morning there was a rustling and a swaying
361
00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.799
of the trees, and the Blue Mountain came striding over
362
00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:47.640
the tall tree tops, bending down the forest as she
363
00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:51.839
came on, colossal black legs and massive shoes, with monstrous
364
00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.400
ankle straps. Each shoe was big enough to have crushed
365
00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:58.680
a hundred tonies at one step. So he hid in
366
00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.440
his cave, and presently knew, by the shaking of the
367
00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.720
ground like an earthquake, that the mountain had sat down.
368
00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:09.200
Then he came out. He was too near to see
369
00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:12.079
the mountain properly, but he saw a great blue fold
370
00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:15.279
of giant frock near him, and far above him towered
371
00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.759
the blue heights of the giant little girl's knees. On
372
00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:22.599
the summit of these shone a vast white round the
373
00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.759
great bread and Milk Basin. Tony started to climb the
374
00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:31.519
blue fold. It was stiff, starched with giant starch, I suppose,
375
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.720
and it bore his weight easily. But it was a
376
00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:37.920
long climb, and he drew a deep breath of thankfulness
377
00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:40.559
when he reached the broad tableland of the giant little
378
00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:44.519
Girl's knees. And now the smooth China roundness of the
379
00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:48.279
big basin was before him. He tried its polished surface
380
00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:53.359
again and again, and always fell back baffled. Then he
381
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.880
saw that he might climb up the sleeve of the
382
00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:00.680
gigantic arm whose hand held the basin with his heart
383
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:04.519
in his mouth. He began the ascent, slowly and carefully,
384
00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:08.920
holding the precious mug closely to his breast. His breath
385
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.759
came faster and faster as he went up and up,
386
00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:14.960
and at last stood triumphantly on the edge of the
387
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.359
great blue sleeve. From there to the edge of the
388
00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:21.640
basin it was easy to crawl, And now at last
389
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.440
he stood on the giddy verge of the monstrous basin
390
00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.279
and looked down at the lake of milk, with the
391
00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:31.119
rocks of bread in it many feet below. The great
392
00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:34.279
height made him giddy. He lost his footing, and still
393
00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:37.599
clasping the mug, he fell headlong into the giant bread
394
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:42.880
and milk. The bread rocks were fortunately soft. Tony picked
395
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.640
himself up. He was wet, but no bones were broken,
396
00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.640
and the mug, Oh joy, the mug was safe. Tony
397
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:53.880
looked it over anxiously as he sat on a rock,
398
00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:57.839
a sloppy and uncertain resting place. There was only one
399
00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:00.839
small crack near the handle, and Tony was almost sure
400
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.559
that that had been there before. I don't know, however,
401
00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:08.279
I shall get out again, said Tony. Perhaps I never shall,
402
00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:10.759
but in case I do, I suppose I had better
403
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.279
fill the mug. So he stooped from the rocks and
404
00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:16.480
filled the mug from the leg of milk, which was
405
00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.000
much thicker than the milk of the green cows with wings,
406
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.559
the only milk Tony was used to. He had just
407
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:24.519
filled the mug and tied it down with a piece
408
00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:27.240
of parchment, which he had taken from the town records
409
00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:29.880
and brought with him for the purpose, when a noise
410
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.519
like thunder suddenly broke on his ear, and indeed it
411
00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.920
very nearly broke the ear itself, and so startled Tony
412
00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:39.480
that the precious mug all but slipped from his grasp.
413
00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.880
Then a wave of milk swept up almost over his head.
414
00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:47.880
The whole of the massive basin was moved sideways. Then
415
00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.319
came a shock, like an earthquake. The basin was being
416
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:54.960
set on the ground. Tony felt that the blue Mountain
417
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.240
had seen him and had screamed. What would the giant
418
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:01.440
little girl do? Would she kill him? If so? How
419
00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:07.079
these questions afforded Tony food for some interesting reflections. During
420
00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:10.160
the next few moments, he looked round him for a
421
00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:15.279
way of escape. Everywhere towered the smooth white walls, the
422
00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:17.839
tremendous spoon, which he had seen the Blue Mountain use,
423
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.400
had unfortunately not been left in the basin, or he
424
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.720
could have climbed out by that, he gave himself up
425
00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:29.559
for lost. Then suddenly he saw the trunk of a
426
00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.640
slender tree appear at the edge of the basin. It
427
00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.960
was pushed down towards him. Yes, on the very bread
428
00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:39.400
rock on which he crouched, Would it crush him? No,
429
00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.720
The end of it rested on the rock by his side.
430
00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:47.200
It gently moved towards him. He saw now that the
431
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.240
Blue Mountain was not cruel. She was not bent on
432
00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:54.599
destroying him. She was offering him a way of escape.
433
00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:58.920
He eagerly climbed the tree. When he was half way up, however,
434
00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:01.839
the giant little girl flung the tree aside, and with
435
00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:06.319
Tony still clinging to it, it fell, crashing into the forest.
436
00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:10.039
When he came to himself, he almost shouted for joy
437
00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:14.160
to find the mug still whole. He never knew how
438
00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.519
he got home. When he took the mug to the king,
439
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.000
the monarch looked at it and said, the milk's very thick.
440
00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:25.119
It's giant cow's milk, said Tony, you drink it up
441
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:30.200
and let's see what happens. I don't know, said the King, suspiciously.
442
00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:34.559
Suppose it's poison. I shall have it analyzed. Well, you
443
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:37.839
promise me a reward, said Tony, And you wouldn't grudge
444
00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:39.480
it if you knew what a time I've had of it.
445
00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:44.599
I might have been killed, you know, ruward, said the King,
446
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.799
who had been looking at the mug. Reward when you
447
00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:51.079
have cracked my mug, my own only mug with a
448
00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:54.680
present for a good king on it. Reward. Indeed, a
449
00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:58.240
stamp from the Great Seal would be more. But Tony
450
00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:01.880
was gone. He ran home to tell his grandfather, but
451
00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.799
his grandfather was not there. Only a letter lay on
452
00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:09.960
the kitchen table. Dear grandson, it said, the King has
453
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.119
found out that my name was entered in the register
454
00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:15.799
as Antony Antrobus, and he refuses to believe that the
455
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.960
alteration to Sidney Cecil Earnest Watchet was made at my berth.
456
00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.119
So I am seeking safety at a distance. I have
457
00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:26.119
only one piece of advice to give you. Do so too,
458
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:31.720
your loving grandfather. This seemed such good advice to Tony,
459
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.519
whose name was also in the register, that he was
460
00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:37.519
just going to take it. When the door was flung open,
461
00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:41.839
and in rushed the king and the army. They hustled
462
00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.960
and bustled and rustled round the house, breaking and tearing everything,
463
00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:49.319
and when there was nothing more to spoil, they carried
464
00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.759
Tony off to prison. So this is my reward for
465
00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:56.720
getting the milk for him, said poor Tony to himself,
466
00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:00.000
as he sat in prison, loaded with chains and waited
467
00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.400
for his trial. I wish I had drunk the milk myself.
468
00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:06.680
This is what comes of loyalty, But I don't care.
469
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.000
My name is Tony and his is not. And I
470
00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.680
will say so too if I hang for it. Acting
471
00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:16.079
on this resolution, next day at his trial, Tony said so.
472
00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:19.319
And what is more, he came very near, indeed to
473
00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:23.599
hanging for it for King Anthony the twenty third was furious.
474
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.200
He absolutely danced with rage, and it took six prime
475
00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:30.279
ministers to restrain his emotion. While the trial went on.
476
00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.680
Tony was tried for an attempt to murder the king.
477
00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:37.839
The whole thing, said the public persecutor, was nothing but
478
00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:41.319
a plot, the prophecy of Henry Burbeck, which nobody had
479
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.880
seen till Tony found it, The Blue Mountain, which nobody
480
00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:47.599
but Tony had seen at all. The thick milk so
481
00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:52.920
mysteriously obtained. All pointed to dark treason and villainy. The
482
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.319
crack in the mug was a peculiarly incriminating circumstance. I
483
00:27:57.319 --> 00:28:01.200
cannot help the long words public persecutors will use them.
484
00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.880
It was a vile plot, the persecutor said, But it
485
00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:08.319
had failed. The public analyst gave evidence that the milk
486
00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:11.920
was not milk at all, but some explosive substance too
487
00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.920
dangerous to analyze. Tony looked at the jury, and he
488
00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:19.400
looked round the court, and he saw that the case
489
00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:23.000
did indeed look black against himself. When he was asked
490
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.480
what was his defense, he said, there is no pleasing
491
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:30.839
some people. It is my duty to caution you, said
492
00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:34.119
the persecutor, that everything you say will be used against you.
493
00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:38.920
I'm sure it will, said Tony wearily. But I can't
494
00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:41.680
help that everything I'd do is used against me too.
495
00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:45.279
I needn't have told any one anything about it. I
496
00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.160
might have got the milk myself and been king, but
497
00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:50.200
I got it for him, and I did not crack
498
00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:53.480
the mug at least, I am almost sure not. I
499
00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:58.079
only wish I had drunk the milk. Make him drink it, now,
500
00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:03.680
shouted a thousand voice from the crowded court. Don't, said
501
00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.400
the king hastily. It might not be poison. After all.
502
00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:10.759
You can't have it both ways, your majesty, said the
503
00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:14.200
persecutor bravely. Either it is poison, in which case the
504
00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.039
prisoner deserves to drink it, or it is not poison,
505
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:19.680
in which case the prisoner leaves the court without a
506
00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:25.079
stain upon his character. It is poison, it isn't it is?
507
00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:30.480
It is not. The shouts rose louder and louder. It
508
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.880
is not poison. It is milk, cried Tony, and suddenly,
509
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:36.319
seizing the mug of milk which had been brought into
510
00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.759
the court to give its evidence, he lifted it to
511
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:41.640
his lips, and before the jailer could prevent it, he
512
00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:43.920
drained the milk to the last drop and ran out
513
00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:46.839
of the court, for every one was too astonished to
514
00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:51.200
stop him. The moment he was outside, he felt a
515
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:57.200
sudden and awful change in himself. He was growing, growing, growing.
516
00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.759
He hurried out of the town. He felt that it
517
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:04.079
would soon be too small to hold him. Outside, he
518
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:06.640
got bigger and bigger, till the trees of the nearer
519
00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:09.319
forest were like grass under his feet, and the mug
520
00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:11.119
ran out of his hand like a little grain of
521
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:15.119
rape seed. And there beside him stood the mountain, a
522
00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.279
little girl in a blue dress, and he was taller
523
00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:23.119
than she was. Hullo, said, the blue mountain. Where did
524
00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:27.240
you spring from? From the town down there, said Tony.
525
00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:32.519
There said the mountain, stooping as not a town, silly,
526
00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:36.720
you know, it's only an ant heap. Really, it is
527
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:41.039
my town, said Tony, And its name is Antioch, And
528
00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.000
and then he told her the whole story in the
529
00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:47.359
middle of it. She sat down to listen better, crushing
530
00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:50.599
millions of trees as she sat, and Tony sat down,
531
00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.799
crushing other millions. Only now it seemed to him that
532
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.200
he had sat down on the grass. It makes a
533
00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:59.880
great deal of difference what size you are. And that
534
00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:02.799
is where I used to live, said Tony, pointing to
535
00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:06.599
the town. And my name is Tony. I know, that,
536
00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:10.039
said the Blue Mountain. But you live next door to us,
537
00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.960
you know you do, you always did, And that is
538
00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.880
only an ant heap. And when Tony looked down again,
539
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.200
it seemed to him that perhaps it really was only
540
00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:23.759
an ant heap. All the same. He knew the king
541
00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:26.319
when he saw him hurrying along the ramparts, and he
542
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.559
picked the king up and put him on a cow's ear,
543
00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:31.440
and the cow scratched its ear with its hind foot,
544
00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:36.400
and that was the end of the king. Don't tease
545
00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:40.799
the ants, said the Blue Mountain. People pour boiling water sometimes,
546
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:43.319
or dig up the heaps. But I think it's cruel.
547
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:48.440
Tony remembered the hot rain and the earthquakes. It is
548
00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.720
a nice story, she said. Of course, the grass is
549
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.920
like a forest to the ants, and the big forest
550
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.359
is the hedge. Your Sunday suit is silk velvet, your
551
00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:00.799
aunt told mother. So, yes, it is an story. And
552
00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:03.119
an aunt did drop into my bread and milk yesterday,
553
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:07.559
though I don't know how you knew. You mayn't believe it,
554
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:10.440
said Tony. But I shall give them a corn because
555
00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:13.519
it says so in mister Burbeck's prophecy. Only I won't
556
00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.559
ever give them any milk in case they grow big.
557
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:19.160
They are too bad tempered. Just think if the king
558
00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:23.799
had been our size. I'll come along home, do, said
559
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:27.680
the Blue Mountain a little crossly. I'm tired. It is
560
00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:30.559
dinner time. It's no use pretending about kings and things
561
00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:33.279
you know well enough. You are only Tony next door.
562
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:37.960
And whatever he may have been before, it is quite
563
00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:41.799
certain that since then he has been Tony next door
564
00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:47.319
and nothing else whatever. End of the Blue Mountain,
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The Blue Mountain from Nine Unlikely Tales. This is a
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LibriVox recording. All libervox recordings are in the public domain.
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For more information and to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Read by Corry Samuel, Nine Unlikely Tales by ENA's Bitt
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The Blue Mountain. Tony was young Tony and Old Tony
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was his grandfather. This story is about young Tony, and
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no human being believes a word of it unless Young
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00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:39.200
Tony does. TONI was born in the town of Antioch.
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This is not the same Antioch that you read about
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00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:44.799
in history, but quite a different place. It was a
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place where nearly everyone was very dark as to the complexion,
12
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and rather short as to the temper and figure. People
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00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.079
who were fair in the face and easy in the
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temper were not much thought of in Antioch. When Tony's
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mother saw that her baby was as fair as a
16
00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.280
daffodil and as good as gold and laughed all day,
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00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.040
she said, oh, dear, oh dear, I suppose he takes
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00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.519
after his grandfather. He is not in the least like
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00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:13.359
my family. And the matter annoyed her so much that
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00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:17.359
she died. Then there was only Old Tony left to
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00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.120
look after young Tony, because his father had been killed
22
00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:24.120
in the wars only a few weeks before. The people
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00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:28.400
of Antioch were always fighting the neighboring tribes, red faced savages,
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00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.719
who deserved no better fate than to be killed. Only,
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00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:35.480
of course, sometimes a few Antiochians had to be killed too,
26
00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.680
because that is part of the game. And if there
27
00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:39.879
were no danger, there would be no glory, would there.
28
00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:45.079
Little Tony's hair remained yellow, and his habit of laughing
29
00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:47.920
grew with his years, and he learned his lessons, and
30
00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.799
he learned his play. He was excellent company, and if
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00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:53.719
it had not been for the yellowness of his hair
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00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.239
and the gentleness of his nature, he would have been
33
00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:01.480
quite popular among his schoolmates. His grandfather called him gentle,
34
00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:04.519
but the people of Antioch called him lazy, for they,
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00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.120
as I said, were very black and generally angry. They
36
00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.719
scurried up and down in their rocky little city, and
37
00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:13.560
always they seemed to be driven by most urgent affairs,
38
00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.960
hurrying to keep important appointments. They ran about all day long,
39
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.800
attending to their business, and hardly stopping even for their
40
00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:23.360
dinner or their tea. And no one ever saw any
41
00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:28.240
of them asleep. Why is it, grandfather, young Tony asked
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00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.599
one day, what is it all about? Why do they
43
00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.360
never sit down quietly like you and me? It is
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00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.520
the great heart of the nation, my boy, said old Tony.
45
00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.439
It cannot be still. It is in the breed. You know.
46
00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:45.000
They can't help it. They are all alike too, except
47
00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.639
you and me. Why, bless your heart. Look at the king.
48
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:50.599
He is more in a hurry than all the rest,
49
00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:55.319
and more and more noble and active. Bless him. The
50
00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.159
old man ended his speech in quite a different voice
51
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.840
from the one he had begun with. This was because
52
00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.240
he suddenly caught the glitter of the king's crown as
53
00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:07.280
the monarch popped around the corner. The King of Antioch
54
00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:11.400
was always in a hurry, always running somewhere or other. Consequently,
55
00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:14.039
he was seldom on his throne, and his loyal subjects
56
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.599
had to look out very sharply, for he was always
57
00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.280
sure to be where they least expected him. You may
58
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.560
think that they could have got over this little difficulty
59
00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.479
by always looking for the king where they least expected him.
60
00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.240
But if you try this simple experiment for yourself, with
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00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:31.319
your governess or tutor, or even your nurse, I think
62
00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:33.360
you will find that it is not so easy as
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it looks. Ha, said the King, standing in the doorway
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00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:41.280
and laughing cheerfully, talking trees and eh, well, you know
65
00:03:41.319 --> 00:03:44.400
what the punishment for that is, pinching with black pincers,
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you know, till well, till you don't feel the pinching
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00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:52.639
any more. Aha. Your Majesty always has such a pleasant
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00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:56.240
way with you, said Old Tony politely, and Young Tony
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00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:58.439
decided that when he grew up he would try not
70
00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:02.439
to have any pleasant ways at all. The King rustled
71
00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.280
quickly round the little house and looked at everything dresser, chairs,
72
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:09.199
plates and pots. He was sorry that there was nothing
73
00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.000
that he could find fault with, so he said beware
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00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.080
of luxury, and hurried off to make his presence felt
75
00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.120
in some other humble home. There was no pride about
76
00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.959
King Antony the twenty third. He just dropped in without
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00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.680
an invitation and took his subjects as he found them.
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00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.199
King Antony the twenty third is the noblest of monarchs,
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00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.079
said Old Tony as he and his grandson sat down
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00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:35.800
to their plain supper. It's all right, grandfather, he has
81
00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:41.439
quite gone. He's not listening for a wonder, said young tony. Meantime,
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00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.600
the king was hurrying in and out and up and
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00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.360
down the crowded streets of his city, picking up little
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00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:48.920
bits of information and making his subjects feel that his
85
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.279
kingship was not a mere matter of form, but that
86
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.800
he was really interested in a most humble life among
87
00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:58.160
his people. It was a strange town, all up hill
88
00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.519
and downhill, with steep rocks precipices, all mixed up with
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00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.959
the public streets. The people, for all their busy habits,
90
00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:08.240
had no trade, or rather, they did not manufacture anything.
91
00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.399
They built houses and brought up their families. They wrapped
92
00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:15.040
their children up very snugly, and carried them about at
93
00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.839
an earlier age than we consider safe. And they milked
94
00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.480
their cows, which were large and green and had wings,
95
00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:22.959
and they drank the milk. And they gathered the fruit
96
00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.160
of the trees that gathered on the plain below the town.
97
00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:29.360
And they got on very well. Indeed, there was only
98
00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.759
one drawback to life in Antioch, and that was its uncertainty.
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00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.399
At any moment an earthquake might occur. Then down were
100
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:38.879
go half the town, and the busy citizens had it
101
00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.120
all to build again. They soon did it, for they
102
00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:45.959
were nothing if not industrious. A much more awful thing
103
00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.199
was a storm of hot rain that now and then
104
00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.279
fell on the town, a blighting rain that killed all
105
00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.720
it touched. This was more dreaded than even the earthquakes,
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00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.879
but fortunately it very seldom happened. Old Tony was big
107
00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.199
and sexton and keeper of the town records, and very
108
00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:05.480
nicely he kept them too. There was not a speck
109
00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.199
of dirt on one of them. He used to spend
110
00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.120
hours and hours polishing the records, and he scoured the
111
00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:13.560
tombstones till they shone again, and he had most of
112
00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:17.439
the inscriptions by heart. After an earthquake, he was always
113
00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.399
most careful to put the tombstones back in their proper places.
114
00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:23.720
And one day, when he was doing this, he came
115
00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:26.000
on a stone he did not remember to have seen before.
116
00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.720
He called to young Tony, who had had a board
117
00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:32.279
school education, to see if he could read the bits
118
00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:35.600
of words that were carved upon it. It seems like a
119
00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.680
foreign language, said he. I can't make it out, said
120
00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:42.079
young Tony. It is not carved. It is in the
121
00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:45.240
stone somehow looks as though it were coming through from
122
00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:49.639
the other side. He turned the stone over, and there
123
00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.560
on the other side was an inscription which both of
124
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.879
them had read a hundred times. Here lies Henry Burbeck,
125
00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:01.360
magician to the institute. However humble he seems to you
126
00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:05.800
his last foretelling is going to come true. P s
127
00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:11.079
you see if it doesn't, dear me, said old Tony,
128
00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.959
Poor old Henry Burbeck, it seems like yesterday. Yes, he
129
00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:17.920
was very respectable, but only in a small way of business.
130
00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.079
A magician he was by trade, but no one thought
131
00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.079
much of him except perhaps the king, and he never
132
00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:26.519
gave him a lift. He used to do things with
133
00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:29.360
eggs and a hat. He broke the eggs as often
134
00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.399
as not, and the goldfish and handkerchief he hardly ever
135
00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:37.720
brought off. Old Tony began to lay down the tombstone,
136
00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.199
but young Tony held it up with one hand and
137
00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:41.879
tried to scrape the back of it with the other.
138
00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.120
There's something here, he said. Let's set it upright instead
139
00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:47.959
of laying it down, and I will scrub it and
140
00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.519
see what the letters are. Poor old mister Burbeck, I
141
00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:55.560
wonder what his last foretelling was. Was he good at prophesying? Grandfather?
142
00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:59.800
Not a bit, said the sexton. And to do him
143
00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.120
just as he almost gave it up. In his later years,
144
00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.079
you see, people laughed at him so because the things
145
00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:08.680
that he foretold never happened. Towards the end, he grew
146
00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:12.519
very feeble, hardly prophesied a single prophecy from one year's
147
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end to another. Sometimes he would say, I should not
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wonder if it rained before Sunday. But then he never
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wondered at anything. He was a calm old man. Was
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poor Henry. It took a good deal to astonish him.
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Young Tony tried to interest his boyfriends in the back
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of poor old Henry Burbeck's tombstone, but nobody cared. They
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were all in too much for a hurried to care
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for an occupation so slow as cleaning tombstones. But Tony
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worked away perseveringly. He cleaned it with soap, and he
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cleaned it with soda, with brick dust, and vinegar with
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rotten stone, and wash leather with patience and elbow grease,
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and the last two, as you know, will clean almost anything.
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So after a time a few letters began to show
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distinctly here and there, and presently he found he could
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read whole words. There was milk and mountain, and a
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word that looked like jilk, and the of course, it
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could not be that, And the last word of all
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was rain, and the second word of all was Tony.
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It must be something to do with me, said young Tony,
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because of my name being in it. It must have
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something to do with the king, said old Tony, because
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it says rain. So you'd better cut off to the
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palace and look sharp about it, or his majesty will
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know the reason why. So Tony looked sharp about it
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and got to the palace in less than five minutes.
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For a wonder, the king was not engaged in dropping
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in on his subjects, but was on his throne amid
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his fussy black courtiers, who were all busy trying to
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make themselves as small as they could. This was because
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the King was very short, though he did not like
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to say so. He always had himself described in the
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census and the Palace reports as a powerful man of
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middle height, though he was nowhere near the middle height,
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and no more powerful than other people. Well, boy, said
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King Antony the twenty third, What have you come here for?
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There is a prophecy, said Tony. There are a good many,
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said King Antony, but they don't mount to much, since
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poor Henry Burbeck died. He was something like a prophet,
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he went on, turning to his courtiers. He foretold when
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I was only a baby, that if I grew up,
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I should perhaps be king. The late king my father
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was very pleased. I remember the courtiers all bowed and
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said it was really wonderful. Tony said, well, then you'd
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better come and have a look at this prophecy, because
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it is the late mister Burbeck's last one, and he
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said it'll come true. Bring it here, can't you, said
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the king. No, I can't, said the boy. It's on
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his tombstone, so there. I can't carry tombstones about. No,
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said the king thoughtfully. Of course you are not. Powerfully,
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you are nowhere near the medium height. Come and look
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at it if you want to, said Tony. I'm in
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no hurry, well, said King Anthony. I don't care if
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I do. I'm tired of sitting still. So off they
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all went. King caught Herald's men at arms, banner bearers
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and spearmen down the narrow, dark, crooked town streets till
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they came to the churchyard, where the tombstones were both
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the upright and the flat kind. Tony ran on ahead,
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and knelt in front of the tombstone. Then he jumped
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up and called out, you hurry up. It's as plain
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now as the nose on your face. You should say,
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the royal nose on your Majesty's royal face, said old
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Tony anxiously. But the King was too interested to care
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about even his subject manners. He came up to the tombstone,
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and on it he read, and Tony read, and all
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the courtiers read, When Tony drinks the Blue Mountain's milk,
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he shall wear a Sunday suit of silk. He shall
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be tallest in all the land, and hold the town
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under his command. He shall have greatness, and we shall
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have grain. Soon may it happen, and long may he reign.
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Hurrah h t. Burbeck. The King read this and said, well,
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I never, and all the courtiers said the same. Tony
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means me, said the king. The courtiers said that, of
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course it did. I am King Tony the twenty third,
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said he, and all the courtiers said, of course he was.
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They all spoke at once, like a chorus. I was
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christened Antony. Of course, his restless majesty went on fidgeting
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with his gold collar. But I know that my subjects
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have always spoken of me behind my back by the
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endearing diminutive. The courtiers assured the King that this was so.
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I suppose there's no one else called Tony. The King
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turned a threatening glance on the crowd, and every one
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hastened to say, no, there wasn't. But old Tony turned
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extremely pale, and hurrying into the vestry, he tampered with
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the register of berths and altered his own name to
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Sidney Cecil Earnest Watchet. But young Tony spoke up. My
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name's Tony, said he. Oh, is it, said his majesty.
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We'll soon see about that. Guards seize him. Now, what
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is your name? Tony said he. Your name is not Tony,
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said the King, your name is. He could not think
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of a name at the moment, so he stopped. Tony said,
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my name is Tony. Take him to the Parliament House,
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said the King, beside himself with rage. Give him a
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taste of the mace. And Tony tasted the mace and
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was stamped on by the Great Seal, who was very fierce,
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and lived in a cage at the Parliament House until
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he was stiff and sore and sorry enough to be
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glad to say that his name was anything the King liked,
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except Tony, which of course it never never could have been.
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He admitted at last that his name was William Waterbury Watchet,
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and was discharged with a caution. But my name is Tony,
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after all, he said to himself, as he went home,
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full of sad memories of the Mace and the Great Seal.
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I wonder where the blue mountain is. Young Tony thought
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a good deal about poor Henry Burbeck's prophecy. Perhaps the
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Great Seal had stamped it on his memory. Anyway, he
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could not forget about it, and all the next day
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he was wandering about on the steep edge of the town,
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looking out over the landscape below. It was not an
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interesting landscape. All round the brown hill where the town
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was lay the vast forests of green trees, something like bamboos,
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whose fruit the people ate. And beyond that one could
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see the beginnings of a still larger forest, when none
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of the people of Antioch had ever dared to go,
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the forest whose leaves were a hundred times as big
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as the king himself, and the trunks of the trees
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as big as whole countries. Above all was the blue sky,
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but look as Tony would, he could see no blue mountain.
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Then suddenly he saw the largest forest shake and shiver,
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its enormous leaves swaying this way. And that it must
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be an earthquake, said Tony, trembling, But he did not
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run away, and his valor was rewarded as valor deserves
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to be. The next moment, the vast branches of the
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enormous forest parted and a giant figure came out into
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the forest of bamboo like trees. It was a figure
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more gigantic than Tony had ever imagined possible. It had
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long yellow hair in its hand. It carried a great
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white bowl, big enough to float a navy in. If
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such an expression did not sound rather silly, I should
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say that this figure gave Tony the idea of a
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little girl. Giant it sat down among the bamboo forest,
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crushing millions of trees. As it sat with a spoon
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twice the length of the king's banqueting hall, it began
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to eat out of the tremendous basin. Tony saw great
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lumps like blocks of soft marble balanced on the vast spoon,
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and he knew that the giant little girl was eating
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giant bread and milk, and she wore a giant frock,
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and the frock was blue. Then Tony understood this was
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the Blue Mountain, and in that big, big sea of
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a basin there was milk, the Blue Mountain's milk. Tony
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stood still for a moment, then turned and ran as
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hard as he could straight into the royal presence. To
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be more exact, he ran into the royal waistcoat for
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the King in a hurry, as usual, was coming out
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of his palace gates with a rush. The King was
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extremely annoyed. He refused to listen to a word Tony
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had to say until Parliament had been called together and
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had passed a bill strengthening the enactments against Cheek. Then
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he allowed Tony to tell his tale. And when the
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tale was told, every one ran to the battlements of
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the town to look. There was no blue Mountain to
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be seen. Then his Majesty told Tony what he thought
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of him, and it was not pleasant hearing. I am
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not a liar, said Tony. I'm very sorry I told
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you anything about it. I might jolly well have gone
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and got it for myself. My name is William Waterbury.
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Watch it, He stopped in confusion. I should think it was,
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said the king. If there is any mountain which I
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don't for a moment believe, you had better go and
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fetch me some of the milk. Not that I think
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there is any out of the mountain's basin which I
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cannot believe exists outside of your imagination. If you bring
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it to this address, you will be suitably rewarded. All right,
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said Tony. Shall I fetch it in a jug or
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will they lend me a can? I will lend you
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my mug, said the king, and mind you bring it
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back full. So Tony took the mug it had for
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a good little king a present from Antwerp on it,
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and he kissed his grandfather and started off on his long,
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perilous journey. I suppose he will give me a reward
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if I get it, he thought, And if not, well
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it's an adventure anyway. He passed through the crowded streets
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where everyone was rushing about in the usual frantic haste,
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and out at the town gates and down the road
320
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into the forest. The trunks of the trees towered tall
321
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and straight above, and a subdued green light shone all
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about him. The ground was very broken and uneven, and
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often Tony had to go a long way round to
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avoid some great rock or chasm. But he traveled fast,
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for he was a quick walker, and he did not
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miss the way once, although of course it was a
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quite strange country to him. There had been evening classes
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at his to teach the boys the art of finding
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their way in strange places, and Tony had attended all
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a lectures and taken notice as well as notes. And
331
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now he was able to practice what he had learned,
332
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and he was glad he had not wasted his time
333
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in drawing pictures of the masters, or playing nibs with
334
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the boys next to him, and throwing ink pellets at
335
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more studious boys. But the journey was longer than he expected,
336
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and the mug was rather in his way. He was
337
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very much afraid of breaking that mug. It is an
338
00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.440
awkward thing to break a mug with a present for
339
00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.839
a good king on it. It is so difficult to replace.
340
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There are very few of those mugs made nowadays, there
341
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is little or no demand for them. But at last
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the green light of the forest began to grow brighter,
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and Tony saw that he was approaching a sort of
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clearing among the trees. So he put his best foot foremost,
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without stopping to think which was his worst foot, Always
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a mistake when you were tired and footsore. And now
347
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he came out from under the tall branches and saw
348
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a round open space in the forest where millions of
349
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fallen trees lay on the ground, and he knew that
350
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this was the spot where the mountain had sat down
351
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to eat its unimaginable, enormous breakfast. But there was no
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mountain to be seen, and Tony knew that he could
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do nothing but sit down and wait in the hope
354
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that the Blue Mountain would come next morning to eat
355
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its breakfast in the same place. So he looked about
356
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for a place to rest safely in, and presently found
357
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just what he wanted, a little cave whose walls and
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roof were of dried earth, And there he stayed all
359
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.440
that day and night, eating the fruit of the fallen trees.
360
00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.400
And next morning there was a rustling and a swaying
361
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of the trees, and the Blue Mountain came striding over
362
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the tall tree tops, bending down the forest as she
363
00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:51.839
came on, colossal black legs and massive shoes, with monstrous
364
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ankle straps. Each shoe was big enough to have crushed
365
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a hundred tonies at one step. So he hid in
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his cave, and presently knew, by the shaking of the
367
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ground like an earthquake, that the mountain had sat down.
368
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Then he came out. He was too near to see
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the mountain properly, but he saw a great blue fold
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of giant frock near him, and far above him towered
371
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the blue heights of the giant little girl's knees. On
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the summit of these shone a vast white round the
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great bread and Milk Basin. Tony started to climb the
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blue fold. It was stiff, starched with giant starch, I suppose,
375
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and it bore his weight easily. But it was a
376
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long climb, and he drew a deep breath of thankfulness
377
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when he reached the broad tableland of the giant little
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Girl's knees. And now the smooth China roundness of the
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big basin was before him. He tried its polished surface
380
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again and again, and always fell back baffled. Then he
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saw that he might climb up the sleeve of the
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gigantic arm whose hand held the basin with his heart
383
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in his mouth. He began the ascent, slowly and carefully,
384
00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:08.920
holding the precious mug closely to his breast. His breath
385
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.759
came faster and faster as he went up and up,
386
00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:14.960
and at last stood triumphantly on the edge of the
387
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.359
great blue sleeve. From there to the edge of the
388
00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:21.640
basin it was easy to crawl, And now at last
389
00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.440
he stood on the giddy verge of the monstrous basin
390
00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.279
and looked down at the lake of milk, with the
391
00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:31.119
rocks of bread in it many feet below. The great
392
00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:34.279
height made him giddy. He lost his footing, and still
393
00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:37.599
clasping the mug, he fell headlong into the giant bread
394
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:42.880
and milk. The bread rocks were fortunately soft. Tony picked
395
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.640
himself up. He was wet, but no bones were broken,
396
00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.640
and the mug, Oh joy, the mug was safe. Tony
397
00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:53.880
looked it over anxiously as he sat on a rock,
398
00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:57.839
a sloppy and uncertain resting place. There was only one
399
00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:00.839
small crack near the handle, and Tony was almost sure
400
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.559
that that had been there before. I don't know, however,
401
00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:08.279
I shall get out again, said Tony. Perhaps I never shall,
402
00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:10.759
but in case I do, I suppose I had better
403
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.279
fill the mug. So he stooped from the rocks and
404
00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:16.480
filled the mug from the leg of milk, which was
405
00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.000
much thicker than the milk of the green cows with wings,
406
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.559
the only milk Tony was used to. He had just
407
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:24.519
filled the mug and tied it down with a piece
408
00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:27.240
of parchment, which he had taken from the town records
409
00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:29.880
and brought with him for the purpose, when a noise
410
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.519
like thunder suddenly broke on his ear, and indeed it
411
00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:36.920
very nearly broke the ear itself, and so startled Tony
412
00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:39.480
that the precious mug all but slipped from his grasp.
413
00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.880
Then a wave of milk swept up almost over his head.
414
00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:47.880
The whole of the massive basin was moved sideways. Then
415
00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.319
came a shock, like an earthquake. The basin was being
416
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:54.960
set on the ground. Tony felt that the blue Mountain
417
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.240
had seen him and had screamed. What would the giant
418
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:01.440
little girl do? Would she kill him? If so? How
419
00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:07.079
these questions afforded Tony food for some interesting reflections. During
420
00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:10.160
the next few moments, he looked round him for a
421
00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:15.279
way of escape. Everywhere towered the smooth white walls, the
422
00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:17.839
tremendous spoon, which he had seen the Blue Mountain use,
423
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.400
had unfortunately not been left in the basin, or he
424
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:24.720
could have climbed out by that, he gave himself up
425
00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:29.559
for lost. Then suddenly he saw the trunk of a
426
00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.640
slender tree appear at the edge of the basin. It
427
00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.960
was pushed down towards him. Yes, on the very bread
428
00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:39.400
rock on which he crouched, Would it crush him? No,
429
00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.720
The end of it rested on the rock by his side.
430
00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:47.200
It gently moved towards him. He saw now that the
431
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.240
Blue Mountain was not cruel. She was not bent on
432
00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:54.599
destroying him. She was offering him a way of escape.
433
00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:58.920
He eagerly climbed the tree. When he was half way up, however,
434
00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:01.839
the giant little girl flung the tree aside, and with
435
00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:06.319
Tony still clinging to it, it fell, crashing into the forest.
436
00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:10.039
When he came to himself, he almost shouted for joy
437
00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:14.160
to find the mug still whole. He never knew how
438
00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.519
he got home. When he took the mug to the king,
439
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.000
the monarch looked at it and said, the milk's very thick.
440
00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:25.119
It's giant cow's milk, said Tony, you drink it up
441
00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:30.200
and let's see what happens. I don't know, said the King, suspiciously.
442
00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:34.559
Suppose it's poison. I shall have it analyzed. Well, you
443
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:37.839
promise me a reward, said Tony, And you wouldn't grudge
444
00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:39.480
it if you knew what a time I've had of it.
445
00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:44.599
I might have been killed, you know, ruward, said the King,
446
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.799
who had been looking at the mug. Reward when you
447
00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:51.079
have cracked my mug, my own only mug with a
448
00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:54.680
present for a good king on it. Reward. Indeed, a
449
00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:58.240
stamp from the Great Seal would be more. But Tony
450
00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:01.880
was gone. He ran home to tell his grandfather, but
451
00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.799
his grandfather was not there. Only a letter lay on
452
00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:09.960
the kitchen table. Dear grandson, it said, the King has
453
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.119
found out that my name was entered in the register
454
00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:15.799
as Antony Antrobus, and he refuses to believe that the
455
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.960
alteration to Sidney Cecil Earnest Watchet was made at my berth.
456
00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.119
So I am seeking safety at a distance. I have
457
00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:26.119
only one piece of advice to give you. Do so too,
458
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:31.720
your loving grandfather. This seemed such good advice to Tony,
459
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.519
whose name was also in the register, that he was
460
00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:37.519
just going to take it. When the door was flung open,
461
00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:41.839
and in rushed the king and the army. They hustled
462
00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.960
and bustled and rustled round the house, breaking and tearing everything,
463
00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:49.319
and when there was nothing more to spoil, they carried
464
00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.759
Tony off to prison. So this is my reward for
465
00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:56.720
getting the milk for him, said poor Tony to himself,
466
00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:00.000
as he sat in prison, loaded with chains and waited
467
00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.400
for his trial. I wish I had drunk the milk myself.
468
00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:06.680
This is what comes of loyalty, But I don't care.
469
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.000
My name is Tony and his is not. And I
470
00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.680
will say so too if I hang for it. Acting
471
00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:16.079
on this resolution, next day at his trial, Tony said so.
472
00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:19.319
And what is more, he came very near, indeed to
473
00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:23.599
hanging for it for King Anthony the twenty third was furious.
474
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:27.200
He absolutely danced with rage, and it took six prime
475
00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:30.279
ministers to restrain his emotion. While the trial went on.
476
00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.680
Tony was tried for an attempt to murder the king.
477
00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:37.839
The whole thing, said the public persecutor, was nothing but
478
00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:41.319
a plot, the prophecy of Henry Burbeck, which nobody had
479
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.880
seen till Tony found it, The Blue Mountain, which nobody
480
00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:47.599
but Tony had seen at all. The thick milk so
481
00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:52.920
mysteriously obtained. All pointed to dark treason and villainy. The
482
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.319
crack in the mug was a peculiarly incriminating circumstance. I
483
00:27:57.319 --> 00:28:01.200
cannot help the long words public persecutors will use them.
484
00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.880
It was a vile plot, the persecutor said, But it
485
00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:08.319
had failed. The public analyst gave evidence that the milk
486
00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:11.920
was not milk at all, but some explosive substance too
487
00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.920
dangerous to analyze. Tony looked at the jury, and he
488
00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:19.400
looked round the court, and he saw that the case
489
00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:23.000
did indeed look black against himself. When he was asked
490
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.480
what was his defense, he said, there is no pleasing
491
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:30.839
some people. It is my duty to caution you, said
492
00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:34.119
the persecutor, that everything you say will be used against you.
493
00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:38.920
I'm sure it will, said Tony wearily. But I can't
494
00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:41.680
help that everything I'd do is used against me too.
495
00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:45.279
I needn't have told any one anything about it. I
496
00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.160
might have got the milk myself and been king, but
497
00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:50.200
I got it for him, and I did not crack
498
00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:53.480
the mug at least, I am almost sure not. I
499
00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:58.079
only wish I had drunk the milk. Make him drink it, now,
500
00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:03.680
shouted a thousand voice from the crowded court. Don't, said
501
00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.400
the king hastily. It might not be poison. After all.
502
00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:10.759
You can't have it both ways, your majesty, said the
503
00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:14.200
persecutor bravely. Either it is poison, in which case the
504
00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.039
prisoner deserves to drink it, or it is not poison,
505
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:19.680
in which case the prisoner leaves the court without a
506
00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:25.079
stain upon his character. It is poison, it isn't it is?
507
00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:30.480
It is not. The shouts rose louder and louder. It
508
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.880
is not poison. It is milk, cried Tony, and suddenly,
509
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:36.319
seizing the mug of milk which had been brought into
510
00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.759
the court to give its evidence, he lifted it to
511
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:41.640
his lips, and before the jailer could prevent it, he
512
00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:43.920
drained the milk to the last drop and ran out
513
00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:46.839
of the court, for every one was too astonished to
514
00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:51.200
stop him. The moment he was outside, he felt a
515
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:57.200
sudden and awful change in himself. He was growing, growing, growing.
516
00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.759
He hurried out of the town. He felt that it
517
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:04.079
would soon be too small to hold him. Outside, he
518
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:06.640
got bigger and bigger, till the trees of the nearer
519
00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:09.319
forest were like grass under his feet, and the mug
520
00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:11.119
ran out of his hand like a little grain of
521
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:15.119
rape seed. And there beside him stood the mountain, a
522
00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.279
little girl in a blue dress, and he was taller
523
00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:23.119
than she was. Hullo, said, the blue mountain. Where did
524
00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:27.240
you spring from? From the town down there, said Tony.
525
00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:32.519
There said the mountain, stooping as not a town, silly,
526
00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:36.720
you know, it's only an ant heap. Really, it is
527
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:41.039
my town, said Tony, And its name is Antioch, And
528
00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:44.000
and then he told her the whole story in the
529
00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:47.359
middle of it. She sat down to listen better, crushing
530
00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:50.599
millions of trees as she sat, and Tony sat down,
531
00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.799
crushing other millions. Only now it seemed to him that
532
00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.200
he had sat down on the grass. It makes a
533
00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:59.880
great deal of difference what size you are. And that
534
00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:02.799
is where I used to live, said Tony, pointing to
535
00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:06.599
the town. And my name is Tony. I know, that,
536
00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:10.039
said the Blue Mountain. But you live next door to us,
537
00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.960
you know you do, you always did, And that is
538
00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.880
only an ant heap. And when Tony looked down again,
539
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.200
it seemed to him that perhaps it really was only
540
00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:23.759
an ant heap. All the same. He knew the king
541
00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:26.319
when he saw him hurrying along the ramparts, and he
542
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.559
picked the king up and put him on a cow's ear,
543
00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:31.440
and the cow scratched its ear with its hind foot,
544
00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:36.400
and that was the end of the king. Don't tease
545
00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:40.799
the ants, said the Blue Mountain. People pour boiling water sometimes,
546
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:43.319
or dig up the heaps. But I think it's cruel.
547
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:48.440
Tony remembered the hot rain and the earthquakes. It is
548
00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.720
a nice story, she said. Of course, the grass is
549
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.920
like a forest to the ants, and the big forest
550
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.359
is the hedge. Your Sunday suit is silk velvet, your
551
00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:00.799
aunt told mother. So, yes, it is an story. And
552
00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:03.119
an aunt did drop into my bread and milk yesterday,
553
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:07.559
though I don't know how you knew. You mayn't believe it,
554
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:10.440
said Tony. But I shall give them a corn because
555
00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:13.519
it says so in mister Burbeck's prophecy. Only I won't
556
00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.559
ever give them any milk in case they grow big.
557
00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:19.160
They are too bad tempered. Just think if the king
558
00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:23.799
had been our size. I'll come along home, do, said
559
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:27.680
the Blue Mountain a little crossly. I'm tired. It is
560
00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:30.559
dinner time. It's no use pretending about kings and things
561
00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:33.279
you know well enough. You are only Tony next door.
562
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:37.960
And whatever he may have been before, it is quite
563
00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:41.799
certain that since then he has been Tony next door
564
00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:47.319
and nothing else whatever. End of the Blue Mountain,
