Three Children's Stories: The Bird and the Worm, Pudgy Bunny and Bully Billy Bullfrog
By Clay Ardeeser and Cap’n Johnnye
4/5
()
About this ebook
This is my first attempt at children?s stories. Although I have no children of my own, I believe I am still a child at heart and find it easy to get out of my adult role and enjoy simple thinking. I also wanted to give my nephew a chance to try out his drawing hobby.
So, I hope you enjoy this simple, short, and, maybe, entertaining change of pace from my first two novels.
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Reviews for Three Children's Stories
3,771 ratings87 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I almost put it down in the beginning, despite the better translation, when the only thing that happens is d'Artagnan getting into duels with every single person he meets. The story did become interesting after a while, but the characters really weren't (with the exception of Milady).
And can you use the term "fridging" for a book that takes place prior to the invention of the refrigerator? - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The plot was more intrigue, perhaps like a political spy novel of a sort, than swashbuckling, but very entertaining, nevertheless.Dumas starts a bit less than the first quarter of the book introducing his characters in humorous fashion. Then, it becomes steadily more serious with each passing page, and from the humorous to the grave and dark, while the characters seem to grow, especially D'Artagnan, from irresponsible seeming like children to men handling the affairs and maintaining their character as men, proud, yet honest men. A character study each person would be quite interesting.The ending was a bit gruesome.Dumas' writing is genius and conveys much of the sense of that is most of all challenged in the story is a man's honor. It inspires one to accept honor as something of value to die for; and, it's anonymous translation, whenever the book is put down, inspires one to speak in proper English.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5D'Artagnan, Gascon on his unlikely yellow nag gets into a spot of bother with a stranger in Meung. The latter flees with a beautiful lady. D'Artagnan goes to Paris and obtains an audience with M. De Treville, the captain of the King's musketeers who need to be differentiated from the Cardinal's (Richelieu) musketeers.He bumps into three musketeers - literally - Athos, Porthos and Aramis and after petty incidents is challenged to duel with each of them, The duels do not take place as the four team up against some of the Cardinal's men and wreak havoc. I'm out of breath already!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this because I wanted to read Man in the Iron Mask, but wanted to know how the stories were tied together first. It was much drier than I expected. Still, interesting for the historical perspective.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Brilliant read...Alexandre Dumas literally plays for the screen... you can imagine the entire story coming alive... with all the twists and turns in the story
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As swashbuckling as I remember, even though it's been several decades since I'd read this classic. Did find myself skimming through the chapters with Milady's verbal seduction of her jailer; brilliantly done, but it went on for too long, IMO. The ending's perfect. One star down for the skimming.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I tried reading this when I was younger. I suspect my failure was partly due to lack of interest, and partly due to a bad translator. I've found the Penguin "Read Red" series, so far as I've read them, to be pretty well translated and easy to read. Including this one.
The Three Musketeers is an unrepentant adventure story, with some politics and romance thrown in. It's exciting to read -- it only took me so long because I got distracted: shame on me -- and fun. It isn't that heavy on characterisation, I suppose. For the most part we don't learn much about the musketeers, only what they are doing at the immediate time. Possibly Milady gets the most character building, since she's so evil and we see so much of her during the last part of the book.
Not all of it is happy fun adventure, I suppose: there are some bits that drag. Possibly if you found a good abridgement, that'd be worthwhile. But I liked the way it all came together. I'm a little sad that I don't actually own it, and it's going back to the library, but that's easily remedied. Once I'm allowed to buy books again, anyway... - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Michael York films of the 70's capture the spirit of this book, but there are surprises in store for some of the characters!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Justly loved as one of the most enjoyable adventure novels ever written
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favorite book of all time! D'artagnan is just bad. The pain of Athos, the conflict of Aramis, and the rowdiness of Porthos, these characters just leap off the stage. Courage, duty, romance, and honor. What more can you want from litearture?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Athos: Well, D'Artagnan, if he doesn't come, it will be because of some delay. He may have tumbled off his horse or fallen on some slippery deck or ridden so fast against the wind that he is ill with a fever. Let us allow for the unforseen, gentlemen, since all is a gamble and life is a chaplet of minor miseries which, bead by bead, your philosopher tells with a smile. Be philosophers as I am, friends; sit down here and let us drink. (p. 451)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderfully compelling and thoroughly entertaining. Read it for the thrilling adventure or the romantic interest or even for the insights into the politics of the time. A book that makes me feel warm inside.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What fun! This books just jumps right out and keeps moving along (except for a couple of slow spots -- but needed to develop the character's past, etc.) The cameraderie between the Musketeers is awesome and they are incredibly wonderful scamps. D'artagnon was adorable, as were Athos, Aramis and Porthos. The evil Milady was truly EVIL and WICKED. The dialogue was awesome, it just crackled right along. I think we all know the basic story and how it ended, but reading the book was much more enjoyable than the movie, as they always are. It did bring back many memories of that wonderful version from the 70's, with Michael York and Raquel Welch. I will have to revisit that, and am looking forward to reading the sequels. Dumas is truly a brilliant author
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Accessible, witty translation of a classic, and a quick, enjoyable read for all its bulk! Milady de Winter is now one of my favourite literary heroines: smart, beautiful, glamorous and active, she is always scheming, ever alluring, and the most vivid character in the book. Painted as a serpent and a devil, it seems her only 'crime' is to have been smarter than the many men in her life, most of whom, used up and spat out, come seeking vengeance. I am firmly in Milady's corner, however, as she is as much wronged as wrong-doer, and at least has the strength to move on and enjoy her life. An evocative tale of seventeenth century France, with a smattering of history amidst the camaraderie, desire, honour and fighting.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5After re-reading it (read it back when I was in grade 4 for a book report), I decided to give it 2 stars. I did not like any of the characters maybe except for Lady De Winter (who is smart, beautiful and evil villaneiss). The musketeers are arrogant, rowdy and unprofessional for my taste.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The adventures of d'Artagnan after he leaves home to join the Musketeers of the Guard where he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age and gets involved in the many intrigues of the state. This is a favorite of mine since childhood, but this was my first read of the full version (having only read abridged versions for children previously) and it is quite long (and has numerous footnotes), but just as fun and exciting as I was hoping it would be. I absolutely love the exaggerated characters who are so ludicrously gung-ho about their causes, whether they are heroes or villains; Milady deserves a special mention since she is so uncommonly wicked that you can't help but laugh at all her schemes. My copy is a Pevear translation, which is faithful, but perhaps not as elegant as other translations.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Immensely enjoyable, and surprisingly readable. I had expected that this might be rather turgid - not in the least. I was surprised, however, at some of the musketeers' activities. Not for them the rigid confines of the preux chevalier code. They are perfectly happy to bilk innkeepers and landlords, and are not above plain theft. However, one never doubts their adherence to the path of general righteousness. There are great moments of high comedy, too, and I am eagerly looking forward to the sequels. One point that amazed me was that this novel was published in the same year as his "Count of Monte Cristo". Both of them are huge novels and u am intrigued to know more if the basic mechanics of how two such large works were written and published in the nineteenth century. I would heartily recommend this entertaining novel.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm sure most people are familiar with the story line of The Three Musketeers from hollywood movies, but what you don't get in the movies is Dumas' wonderful dry wit. This book is an excellent read, and if you are willing to push through some of the dry parts you will be amply rewarded with an exciting tale.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heroes and villians, suspense and adventure, action that gallops from the first to the last page at full speed all make this an enormously fun read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I know it's a classic, but I didn't expect this to be such a rollicking good read. The story flies along, and kept me up until 3am this morning finishing the last few chapters. It's also laugh-out-loud funny at regular intervals, up until the plot gets really tense and tragic and takes over.Every now and then the narrator intrudes to remind us that the morality and conventions of the time were different, and that the characters were acting, by their lights, entirely reasonably. Much more interesting, though, are the episodes which he does not consider to require such a reminder, which make clear the misogyny and class oppression the author himself took for granted. (The authorial treatment of Kitty, doubly unlucky as a woman and a servant, has dated particularly badly.)If you can get past that though, or see it as a historical quirk, what remains is a story heroic, tragic and funny, all by turns and occasionally all at once.And no, I haven't seen the film (any of 'em), and yes, I suppose now I'll have to.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An endless adventure breathlessly moving from one scene to the next: sword-fighting duels, court espionage, sex scandals, poisonings, assassinations, undying love. "Les Trois Mousquetaires" was translated into three English versions by 1846. One of these, by William Barrow, is still in print and fairly faithful to the original, available in the Oxford World's Classics 1999 edition. However all of the explicit and many of the implicit references to sexuality had been removed to conform to 19th century English standards, thus making the scenes between d'Aragnan and Milady, for example, confusing and strange. The most recent and new standard English translation is by award-winning translator Richard Pevear (2006). Pevear says in his translation notes that most of the modern translations available today are "textbook examples of bad translation practices" which "give their readers an extremely distorted notion of Dumas's writing."
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book I already had on my shelf. I had bought and thoroughly enjoyed it years ago. I forget why I first bought it. Maybe it was because I had recently seen and enjoyed the film version directed by Richard Lester. Or maybe I was just in the mood to buy a "classic" on the day I happened to be in the bookstore. (That happens sometimes, y'know) Either way, I came to enjoy the book on it's own considerable merits. In case you don't know, The Three Musketeers tells the tale of Monsieur D'Artagnan, a young man who comes to Paris in 1627 to seek his fortune. In short order he meets and is befriended by three of the Musketeers--the elite army regiment assigned to protect King Louis XIII. The four men have a variety of adventures, thwarting the schemes of the King's rival, Cardinal Richelieu. The four are true swashbucklers, full of testosterone, bluster and honor. (Well, their own code of honor, a bit different from what might be respected in 21st Century America.) All in all, it's an exciting tale with engaging events and characters.--J.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I found a really wonderful translation of Dumas's work hiding in a bookstore in Helsinki, and two days later I was finished. It was so brisk and lively, full of wit and bravado and the kind of coarseness that really illustrates the France of those times. D'Artagnan's adventure is as movingly romantic now as it ever was again, and closing the book afterwards felt like saying goodbye to friends far too soon.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The classic swashbuckler; I would have to give this edition a mere four stars, however, because there were elements of the translation that I found rather clumsy and which jarred. Only elements, though; most of the book is an unmitigated delight.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a classic tale of honor, duty and loyalty. The heroes aren't otherworldly characters, but instead are written to be normal individuals with common problems with only their integrity to set them apart. Even if you know the story, this book is very captivating to the end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Even if you know the story of the musketeers, you must read Richard Pevear's translation. If only he would translate the rest of the saga of D'Artagnan. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was one of those classics I elected to listen to on audio and I'm so happy I did. I loved sitting back and being told this story about the one-for-all-and-all-for-one guys. Funny, smart -- one of the better classics I've experienced. Political intrigue, romance, humor, history -- I really enjoyed reading the story. I also rented the movie with Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch, Oliver Reed, Charleton Heston and Faye Dunaway having vague but fond memories of it. It didn't match up to my memories, but it was still fun to see it again after having read the book.If a classic is on your need-to-read list, pick this one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a well-known story so I won't bore you with rehashing the tale. I have been trying in the last few years to read Classics that I have on my shelf and never cracked open. This was one that I chose for this year and several other readers joined me in a group read. I have to admit that I thought I knew the story because I had seen the movies (both versions) and I thought they probably didn't range too far from the book but I was wrong. I found as I was reading this over two months that it took me to places that I hadn't seen in either movie and character depths that were unexplored came to life. I'm not someone that normally enjoys the Classics, but this was an exception.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great adventure story! Though I didn't like it as much as The Count of Monte Cristo.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Built on the ridiculous, the humorous, the exciting, and deeply in the characters, this work creates a world of romance (in that oh-so-classic sense) and adventure which conscripts the reader and delivers him to the front lines. I am alway amazed by this book's ability to invoke lust, pity, wonder, respect, scorn, and hatred, all while driving along a plot filled with new events and characters.Should there be any future for Fantasy, it lies not in the hands of Tolkien-copying machines, nor even in Moorecock's 'un-fantasy', but in whatever writer can capture Beowulf, The Aeneid, The Three Musketeers, or The White Company and make a world which is exciting not because everything is magical and strange, but because everything is entirely recognizable, but much stranger. Of course, one may want to avoid going Mervyn Peake's route with this, and take a lesson from the driving plot and carefree frivolity that Dumas Pere and his innumerable ghostwriters adhered to.It is amusing here to note that Dumas has accredited to his name far more books than he is likely to have ever written. As he was paid for each book with his name on it, he made a sort of 'writing shop' where he would dictate plots, characters, or sometimes just titles to a series of hired writers and let them fill in the details.So, praises be to Dumas or whichever of his unrecognized hirees wrote such a work.
Book preview
Three Children's Stories - Clay Ardeeser
Three Children’s Stories
The Bird and the Worm, Pudgy Bunny and Bully Billy Bullfrog
by Cap’n Johnnye
Illustrated by Clay Ardeeser
3.jpg© 2005 Cap’n Johnnye. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
First published by AuthorHouse 12/14/05
ISBN: 1-4208-8168-X (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4678-4714-8 (ebk)
Printed in the United States of America
Bloomington, Indiana
Contents
Intro
The Bird And The Worm
Pudgy Bunny
Bully Billy Bullfrog
Two Penguins
About The Author
About The Illustrator
INTRO
This is my first attempt at children’s stories. Although I have no children of my own, I believe I am still a child at heart and find it easy to get out of my adult role and enjoy simple thinking. I also wanted to give my nephew a chance to try out his drawing hobby.
So, I hope you enjoy this simple, short, and, maybe, entertaining change of pace from my first two novels.
The bird and the worm
bnwtitle.jpgRobin bird was doing what all birds do that early morning just as the sun was coming up. She was hopping about the dew-covered, freshly mown lawn, stopping occasionally and listening. She was listening for her favorite breakfast; in fact, it was her only breakfast food, a big, fat, juicy worm. Hop, hop, hop, stop, listen. Hop, hop, hop, stop, listen. She did this several times before she heard the unmistakable rustling of a worm under the grass, just below the surface of the ground.
Quickly, like the blink of an eye, she thrust her head down, poked beneath the grass, and opened and closed her beak. She came up with her prize, a worm. So she