Everychild — Text and Context

I. THE TWO STRANGERS II. EVERYCHILD'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE GIANT III. EVERYCHILD ENCOUNTERS ALADDIN OF THE WONDERFUL LAMP IV. EVERYCHILD IS JOINED BY HANSEL AND GRETTEL V. A DASHING YOUTH IN THE FOREST VI. A FIGHT WHICH WAS STRANGELY ENDED VII. THE ADVENTURE OF WILL O'DREAMS

ARGUMENT:--_Everychild pities the sorrow of Cinderella and rejoices in her release from bondage; he encounters a dog that looks upon him with favor_.

VIII. A PURSUIT IN THE DARK IX. CINDERELLA AT HOME X. CINDERELLA'S DECISION XI. SOME ONE PASSES WITH A SONG ON THE ROAD OF TROUBLED CHILDREN XII. EVERYCHILD BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH A POOR DOG XIII. A TERRIBLE LADY AT HOME XIV. MR. LITERAL'S WARNING

ARGUMENT:--_Every child views with amazement a famous dwelling-place, and is grieved by the plight of an unfortunate prince_.

XV. A STRANGE HOUSE IN THE FOREST XVI. AN ELABORATION OF ONE OF HISTORY'S MOST SUCCINCT CHAPTERS XVII. EVERYCHILD, WITH ADDITIONAL COMPANIONS, FINDS REFUGE IN AN OLD HOUSE XVIII. HOW THE HAND OF A CHAMBERLAIN TREMBLED XIX. HOW AN UNFORTUNATE PRINCE ESCAPED

ARGUMENT:--_Everychild's feet are drawn to the spot where the sleeping beauty in the wood lies. Time passes_.

XX. A SONG IN A GARDEN XXI. AN ENCOUNTER IN THE ATTIC XXII. THE END OF A HUNDRED YEARS XXIII. THE AWAKENING XXIV. TIME PASSES

ARGUMENT:--_On his wanderings Everychild bethinks him of his parents, and discovers that though he has seemed to lose them, he has not really done so_.

XXV. WILL O'DREAMS REPORTS A DISCOVERY XXVI. THE HIDDEN TEMPLE XXVII. HOW EVIL DAYS CAME UPON THE CASTLE XXVIII. THE MOUNTAIN OF REALITY XXIX. THE MASKED LADY'S SECRET XXX. WILL O'DREAMS MAKES A DISCOVERY XXXI. HOW ALADDIN MADE A WISH XXXII. THE HALL OF PARENTS

"Poor Cinderella" . . . . . . _Frontispiece_

"You are Hansel and Grettel"

"Masterpieces indeed!--in a forest! _There_ are masterpieces"

She sniffed as if there were a fire somewhere

"As for living in a shoe--there's plenty of females that live in two"

They began a game which consisted of singing and dancing

ARGUMENT:--EVERYCHILD ENCOUNTERS THE GIANT FEAR AND SETS FORTH ON A STRANGE JOURNEY.

It did not seem a very pleasant room. To be sure, there were a great many nice things in it. There was rose-colored paper on the wall, and the woodwork was of ivory, with gilt lines. There were pictures of ships on the ocean and of high trees and of the sun going down behind a hill, and there was one of an old mill with nobody at all in sight. And there was one picture with dogs in it.

There was a soft rug, also of rose-color, and a fine clock, shaped like a state capitol, on the mantel. There was a silver gong in the clock which made beautiful music. There was a nice reading table with books on it, and a lamp. The lamp had a shade made up of queerly-shaped bits of material like onyx, and a fringe of rose-colored beads. Yet for all this, it did not seem a pleasant room. You could feel that something was wrong. You know, there are always so many things in a room which you cannot see.

A lady and a gentleman sat at the reading-table, one on either side. It seemed they hadn't a word to say to each other. They did not even look at each other. The lady turned the pages of a magazine without seeing a single thing. The gentleman sat staring straight before him, and after a long time he stretched himself and said: "Ho--hum!" And then he began to frown and to stare at an oak chair over against the wall.

You might have supposed he had a grudge against the chair; and it seemed that the chair might be crying out to him in its own language: "I am not merely a chair. Look at me! I was a limb on a mighty oak. I was a child of the sun and the rain and the earth. I used to sing and dance. Oh, do not look at me like that!" But the gentleman knew nothing of all this.

Both the lady and the gentleman were thinking of nothing but themselves and they continued to do this even when a door opened and their son entered the room.

Their son's name was Everychild; and because he is to be the most important person in this story I should like to tell you as much about him as I can. But really, there is very little I can tell. His mother often said that he was a peculiar child. It was almost impossible to tell what his thoughts were, or his dreams, or how much he loved this person or that, or what he desired most.