Green Forest Stories by Thornton W. Burgess (best e ink reader for manga txt) ๐
Description
American naturalist and conservationist Thornton W. Burgess was the author of more than one hundred books for children; the best-remembered of these is Old Mother West Wind, which was originally written for his young son. Burgess also wrote dozens of books about the creatures of the northern North American forest, four of which are collected here as the Green Forest Stories.
This Green Forest Stories compilation focuses on Lightfoot the Deer, Blacky the Crow, Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, and twin bear cubs Woof-Woof and Boxer. Readers may have encountered these characters in other of Burgessโs stories about the โlittle peopleโ of the Massachusetts forest. Burgessโs earliest ventures into animal fantasy are roughly contemporary with Rudyard Kiplingโs Just So Stories and Beatrix Potterโs tales of various animals, and represent the most lasting American entry into this genre.
Animal fantasy is a sub-genre of childrenโs literature in which animals are anthropomorphized into human-like characters and use language like humans. It is often criticized by those who want readers to experience more realistic representations of animals and the natural world, but animal fantasies engage a millennia-old tradition, in the Western canon reaching back at least as far as Aesopโs Fables; animal characters feature in teaching stories for children (and adults) in cultures around the world. Burgessโs stories are intended for children in the early elementary grades. The challenges and triumphs of the โlittle peopleโ in his stories will feel identifiable to many young readers, and the snippets of moralizing and authorial commentary interleaved with the actions of the plot reflect a teaching device with a long history.
In the late twentieth century, Burgess fell out of favour with teachers and librarians. This shift occurred in part due to changing tastes in literary style and in part due to a changing society. Burgess is entirely a writer of his time. Most of the animals he depicts are male, and many of the female animals who wander into the stories are more passive and more stereotyped than the kinds of representation preferred for girls today. (Such is not the case, however, of Old Granny Fox, who may be the smartest of the little people Burgess represents and certainly does not lack agency or self-determination.)
The style of Burgessโs storytelling is undeniably old-fashioned but still deserves consideration. Although the writing is often simple and plain, there are rhetorical flourishes that reveal the authorโs attention to craft. In particular, Burgessโs use of formulaic expressions such as โjolly, round, bright Mr. Sunโ and โthe Merry Little Breezesโ links these tales to an orality that stretches back to at least The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer (think of phrases such as โthe wine-dark sea,โ โrosy-fingered Dawn,โ and โbright-eyed Athenaโ). Through his broader use of repetition and through onomatopoeia, Burgess underscores characteristics of his charactersโ real-life forest counterpartsโthe way a chickadee calls, a squirrel scolds, or a rabbit lopes, for example.
In these stories, as in the Green Meadow Stories collection, we observe features that signal Burgessโs experience as a writer for periodicals and as an early radio broadcaster. Each chapter begins with reminders about the previous chapter, and chapters end with either a strong, propulsive conclusion or a traditional cliff-hanger. The chapters are generally quite shortโa comfortable size to read as a bedtime story, and just long enough to hold a new readerโs attention without demanding too much of that readerโs energy. The strong narrative voice sounds distinctly like oral storytelling. One can almost imagine a small group of young people seated in a circle at the storytellerโs feet.
That image captures the essence of these animal tales. They are light, bright peeks into a complex and beautiful world, a world any girl or boy may want to pursue through study or personal explorations. As humanity faces the daily loss of animal species, stories that delight readers and listeners, that encourage them to learn about and respect the creatures of the non-human world, deserve our renewed attention and respect.
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- Author: Thornton W. Burgess
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Blacky dearly loves company, particularly at night, and about the time jolly, round, red Mr. Sun is beginning to think about his bed behind the Purple Hills, you will find Blacky heading for a certain part of the Green Forest where he knows he will have neighbors of his own kind. Peter Rabbit says that it is because Blackyโs conscience troubles him so that he doesnโt dare sleep alone, but Happy Jack Squirrel says that Blacky hasnโt any conscience. You can believe just which you please, though I suspect that neither of them really knows.
As I have said, Blacky is quite a traveler at this time of year, and sometimes his search for food takes him to out-of-the-way places. One day toward the very last of winter, the notion entered his black head that he would have a look in a certain lonesome corner of the Green Forest where once upon a time Redtail the Hawk had lived. Blacky knew well enough that Redtail wasnโt there now; he had gone south in the fall and wouldnโt be back until he was sure that Mistress Spring had arrived on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest.
Like the black imp he is, Blacky flew over the treetops, his sharp eyes watching for something interesting below. Presently he saw ahead of him the old nest of Redtail. He knew all about that nest. He had visited it before when Redtail was away. Still it might be worth another visit. You never can tell what you may find in old houses. Now, of course, Blacky knew perfectly well that Redtail was miles and miles, hundreds of miles away, and so there was nothing to fear from him. But Blacky learned ever so long ago that there is nothing like making sure that there is no danger. So, instead of flying straight to that old nest, he first flew over the tree so that he could look down into it.
Right away he saw something that made him gasp and blink his eyes. It was quite large and white, and it lookedโ โit looked very much indeed like an egg! Do you wonder that Blacky gasped and blinked? Here was snow on the ground, and Rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost had given no hint that they were even thinking of going back to the Far North. The idea of anyone laying an egg at this time of year! Blacky flew over to a tall pine-tree to think it over.
โMust be it was a little lump of snow,โ thought he. โYet if ever I saw an egg, that looked like one. Jumping grasshoppers, how good an egg would taste right now!โ You know Blacky has a weakness for eggs. The more he thought about it, the hungrier he grew. Several times he almost made up his mind to fly straight over there and make sure, but he didnโt quite dare. If it were an egg, it must belong to somebody, and perhaps it would be best to find out who. Suddenly Blacky shook himself. โI must be dreaming,โ said he. โThere couldnโt, there just couldnโt be an egg at this time of year, or in that old tumble-down nest! Iโll just fly away and forget it.โ
So he flew away, but he couldnโt forget it. He kept thinking of it all day, and when he went to sleep that night he made up his mind to have another look at that old nest.
II Blacky Makes SureAs true as ever Iโve cawed a caw
That was a new-laid egg I saw.
โWhat are you talking about?โ demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
โOh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,โ replied Blacky. โI was just talking foolishness to myself.โ
Sammy looked at him sharply. โYou arenโt feeling sick, are you, Cousin Blacky?โ he asked. โMust be something the matter with you when you begin talking about new-laid eggs, when everythingโs covered with snow and ice. Foolishness is no name for it. Whoever heard of such a thing as a new-laid egg this time of year?โ
โNobody, I guess,โ replied Blacky. โI told you I was just talking foolishness. You see, Iโm so hungry that I just got to thinking what Iโd have if I could have anything I wanted. That made me think of eggs, and I tried to think just how I would feel if I should suddenly see a great big egg right in front of me. I guess I must have said something about it.โ
โI guess you must have. It isnโt egg time yet, and it wonโt be for a long time. Take my advice and just forget about impossible things. Iโm going over to Farmer Brownโs corncrib. Corn may not be as good as eggs, but it is very good and very filling. Better come along,โ said Sammy.
โNot this morning, thank you. Some other time, perhaps,โ replied Blacky.
He watched Sammy disappear through the trees. Then he flew to the top of the tallest pine-tree to make sure that no one was about. When he was quite sure that no one was watching him, he spread his wings and headed for the most lonesome corner of the Green Forest.
โIโm foolish. I know Iโm foolish,โ he muttered. โBut Iโve just got to have another look in that old nest of Redtail the Hawk. I just canโt get it out of my head that that was an egg, a great, big, white egg, that I saw there yesterday. It wonโt do any harm to have another look, anyway.โ
Straight toward the tree in which was the great tumble-down nest of Redtail the Hawk he flew, and as he drew near, he flew high, for Blacky is too shrewd and smart to take any chances. Not that he thought that there could be any danger there; but you never can tell, and it
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