The Scarecrow

There once was a scarecrow that lived on the edge of a forest and felt completely useless. His friends stood in a field, and their threatening appearance scared all the birds away. The wind made their clothes whir, and cans hanging from their sleeves made a disturbing clanging sound. He only had a tightly fitted old hat and an old coat. He looked at the distant fields and thought that nothing good would ever happen in his life.

One day he felt a nudge in his pocket.

“Woo, hoo!” he tried to scare the unwelcome visitor.

“Quiet!” piped a mouse from the pocket. “I saw a hawk. I became very frightened. But you’re so great that he won’t have the courage to look for me here.”

“You’re not afraid of me?” asked the disappointed scarecrow.

“You look very nice and friendly,” said the mouse with conviction.

The scarecrow smiled. He thought that it was very nice to be liked. When in the evening, a nightingale came to sit on his hand made of a dry branch and began to sing beautifully, the scarecrow declared that he liked his new life as the defender of small animals.

Tim’s Train

Tim always wanted to become a locomotive engineer just like his grandfather. He loved to wear a railway cap on his head. He also liked the whistle of the locomotive and the steady clatter of its wheels. One day his grandfather fell asleep; as usual he was in such a deep sleep that even the roar of a cannon could not wake him up. Meanwhile, the train was standing at the platform, and the passengers were very impatient. It was an extraordinary train for it was loaded with animals destined for a new zoo. Their keepers walked nervously around the station and looked emphatically at their watches.

Tim put his grandfather’s cap on and climbed into the cab of the locomotive. So many times he had traveled with his grandfather that he knew exactly what to do. The train wheezed, whistled and slowly began to move. Tim was very excited, but suddenly, it dawned on him that he did not know where to go. But it was too late. The train was traveling, Tim’s grandfather slept, and Tim was alone with his problem. Then Tim had an idea. He would simply go to the next station where his grandmother lived. She was always able to solve problems.

His grandmother was very surprised when from the train, instead of his grandfather, Tim jumped out. When she heard what had happened, she immediately went to the kitchen. She grabbed a plate of pancakes and ran to the train car where her husband was snoring happily. She stuck the pancakes under the grandfather’s nose, and when he felt the sweet smell, he took a deep breath and opened one eye. When he opened the second, the grandmother told him everything. The grandfather jumped to his feet and immediately took command of the train. Tim’s grandmother offered the travelers her pancakes. They liked them so much that they did not want to leave the station.

The Great War

In the midst of the summer, a great war broke out between the bees and the ants. The bees regarded the ants as thieves, and the ants insisted that the meadow belonged to them. Soon the two great armies stood face to face. The bees buzzed in the air with their menacing stings cocked at the ants below, which were threateningly armed with sharp spears. Not a day would pass without a battle. One day, after an exhausting skirmish, the armies returned to their homes: The bees to the hive and the ants to their anthill.

“We are hungry!” shouted the soldiers. “We fought all day.”

But neither in the hive nor in the anthill was there anything to eat. Both bees and ants were engaged in battle only, so there was no one to collect nectar and delicious beans. Meanwhile, fall was approaching, and all the flowers were withering. Like it or not, the queen bee and the queen ant had to meet to agree on conditions for reconciliation. They brought with them gifts. The queen ant got some nectar from the most beautiful flower in the meadow, and the queen bee, a sunflower seed. Both had a taste of their gift, and both pulled a face.

“I am very pleased with the sunflower,” kindly said the queen bee, “but we drink nectar.”

“I prefer beans,” replied the queen ant. Both began to laugh.

As it turned out, ants and bees eat different things and therefore, do not interfere with each other.

Since then, peace prevailed between them, and the meadow became a safe home for the ants and for the bees.

Hidden Treasures

“Today we are going on a treasure hunt,” said the kindergarten teacher once the children had eaten their breakfast.

“Excellent!” exclaimed Stan. “Pirates’ treasures!”

“Not quite,” she smiled.

The children dressed up very quickly, and nobody had to help them – they hurried on their quest for treasure.

“Will we sail on a boat?” asked Sophie who was curious to know because she was a little afraid of water.

“Not this time; today we will go on foot.”

“Where is the chest buried? Have you taken a map with you?” Jack inquired.

“No, but I know that there will be more treasures today than we can carry.”

“Hmm…” grumbled Anne doubtfully, who had a big coat with big pockets.

With this they went into the forest.

“Where to, now?” asked Chris inquisitively.

“Everywhere!” the teacher spread her hands open. “Fall has arrived and has brought with it all the year’s treasures.”

The children looked around. Red and orange leaves were falling on their heads, ripe acorns were falling with a quiet crackle by their feet, and brown chestnuts gleamed. The whole forest shimmered with color.

The children scattered about amongst the trees. They found all the treasures hidden by the season, but there were so many that they could not carry them all.

“Never mind,” said Stan in the evening to his mother. “Tomorrow I will go with Daddy, and I’ll bring along a wheelbarrow.”

Mr. Frog

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Ice Cream for Refreshment

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The Snowman and the Hare

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Mr. Nightingale’s Music School

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Night Encounter

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Crawling Renata

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Memories

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The Favorite Tasks of Lou Trumpet

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The Old Oak Tree

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The Concert

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The Journey to the Moon

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Three Rascals and a Frog

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A Journey of Discovery

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The Uncle’s Visit

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The Two Little Bees

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Mister Mini’s Sea Voyage

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Distant Cousins

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The Snowman and the Fish

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The Eyes of the Monster

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Mushroom Soup

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King Frog

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Matt’s Cat

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The Drive

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The Witch’s Jewels

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The Two Chairs

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Miss Honor’s Drink

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Stars from Heaven

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Mr. Piggy is Building a Road

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Night Trip

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Ziggy’s Fame

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Little Pirates’ Trip

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Dorothy’s Expedition

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Little Phil the Snake’s Trophy

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Away with the Postman

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Captain Nelson’s Marine Story

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Matthew’s Party

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Title of original Polish edition

Dobranocki. 40 opowieści do czytania przed snem

Executive Editor

Tamara

Illustrations

Arthur Friday, Jaroslaw Zukowski

Cover

Arthur Friday

English Translation and Adaptation

Stephen Potocki

Matthew Zamoyski

Typesetter

Magdalena Gawronska

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

© Copyright by Tom eMusic

ISBN 978-1-62321-027-4

Tom eMusic

www.tomemusic.com

New York 2012