The Pearl Story Book / A Collection of Tales, Original and Selected

About a young English musician, and how he came to spend the winter at Mount Carmel
About the kind old monk and the musician, and about the turtle-doves who made their nest near his window
How little Karen was adopted by a lady, and how she came by her red shoes
Karen grows vain of her red shoes, and is forced to dance over the fields, across the bridges, and everywhere
How Karen tried to go to church again, how she prayed and was sorry, and how an angel came to comfort her, and how happy she became
How Willy meets the young gleaner in the field—how he pities his misfortunes, and assists to fill his bag with corn
How the young gleaner was much frightened, and how happy he was made—and how delighted Willy was in doing kind things to the poor
About a mill, and the old miller who became tired and sold it to Tony's father, and of the advice given to the new occupant
How the miller behaved to his kind neighbors, and about the rushing torrent which came very near destroying the old mill

One evening—it was winter, and the hills and fields were covered with snow, but the moon shone bright on the frosty windows, and the fire was burning cheerfully in the grate; it was such an evening when one likes to enjoy the pleasures of a song or story. You may imagine yourselves on such an evening seated around the table, something like the knights of old, whose pleasure it was to relate their wonderful deeds of arms, when they returned from the Holy Land, or from some noble deed of knightly prowess; but the stories you shall hear are very different from those, as the picture you see before you indicates. They are chiefly stories for children, and are such as relate more particularly to the affections of the heart. They may be Fairy Tales, or they may be household narratives of facts, such as occur in the every-day life of a child. If the moral be good and pure, and the mind interested and made better, the end is accomplished.