" . . . and implored him to exert himself."

Thanks to my mom, who loves a good yard-sale, we have a book of Andersen Fairy Tales that was published in 1937 but must have been written before 1875, the year that Hans Christian Andersen died. Beginning on page 81 is "Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper." The story concludes with this passage:

And now her two sisters found her to be that fine beautiful lady whom they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet, to beg pardon for all the ill treatment they had made her undergo. Cinderella took them up, and as she embraced them, cried that she forgave them with all her heart, and desired them always to love her.

Prior to this passage, we learn that:

The King's son conducted her to the most honourable seat, and afterwards took her out to dance with him: she danced so very gracefully, that they all more and more admired her. A fine collation was served up, whereof the young Prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he busied in gazing on her. She went and sat down by her sisters, showing them a thousand civilities, giving them part of the oranges and citrons which the Prince had presented her with; which very much surprised them, for they did not know her.

While Cinderella was thus amusing her sisters, she heard the clock strike eleven and three quarters, whereupon she immediately made a curtsey to the company, and hasted away as fast as she could.

Call me old fashioned, but I would a hundred times rather read this version of "Cinderella" to my kids than the newer, watered-down, popular version. It pains me to read some of the books they ask me to read at the library and at Davis Kidd. Sometimes I refuse to read the ones that are truly pathetic (by my standards, of course), and sometimes I go ahead and read some of them and cringe, making a mental note never to read them again.

As Carole Joy Seid says, "Life is too short for mediocre books." I completely agree. In fact, I recently finished the book Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt and feel as though I could have written parts of it myself--especially when the author got excited about this line from Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit"(originally published in 1901):

Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.

I love that line! I have read those perfectly placed, glorious words over and over again. I've read them aloud to my children, to my husband, to myself . . . and have found great joy every single time. Did you know that Ms. Potter's books have been translated into almost every major language and have never been out of print? EXCELLENCE deserves not only to be preserved but also to be read over and over again, generation after generation.

We're currently listening to the third and final CD from the audiobook Tales of Beatrix Potter, checked out from the library last week, read by Nadia May, who has a delightful British accent. In fact, the CD ended just now. Judah spent four uninterrupted hours of listening to stories that were written in the early 1900's while Miriam napped and Mommy got some reading and blogging accomplished. Even on "rest" days, I love knowing that my son's vocabulary is being developed and the themes in these treasured stories are being planted in his heart and mind.