Told in the twilight (stories to tell to children) with illustrations by Blanche McManus

There are ten stories for children altogether in the book, each of them accompanied with a line illustration by Blanche Mcmanus.

We'll present the stories with very short summaries and pictures by Blanche McManus.

Undine, the water maid, who wedded a mortal

Undine is a story about a water spirit who must marry a human to get an immortal soul. While human - a knight - falls in love with her at first, another girl comes into the picture. Undine discovers his infidelity and decided to punish him.

Undine inspired numerous artists for centuries. Here is a full site dedicated to the legend of Undine:

https://undine.webs.com

Rip van Winkle and his long nap

Rip would be a perfectly happy man if only his wife would not be so annoying. He had long walked with his dog to enjoy at least some piece as often as possible until he met a group of strange looking men. They gave him a drink after which he slept for more than twenty years. When he woke up, he was old, his dog was old and everything in his environment changed. But at least his wife was already dead...

The swineherd

It's a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. There is a king, who is not very rich, but thoughtful and a princess who is beautiful but senseless. She loves toys and can't appreciate natural beauty. The king finds a way to her heart only to find out he doesn't want a wife with such a cold heart.

Dick Whittington and his cat

This story is grounded on real people and events, namely on Richard Whittington (1354-1423) who was a Lord Mayor of London (for four times!) and one of the people who made not only an important impact on the development of the city but the progress of society as well. The story is representing him as a poor boy who becomes powerful and affluent with a help of his cat and hard work, somehow resembling more know fairy tale Puss in Boots.

Presentation of the picture book with engravings by legendary George Cruikshank and additional info on the story can be seen here:

http://vintagebooks.joomla.com/8-fairy-tales/4-dick-whittington-his-cat

The dragon of Wantley

The poem about the dragon of Wantley is almost forgotten today. Yet it was very popular a few hundred years ago. It's a classic story about a horrible dragon and a knight but with a satirical approach, more comic than terrifying. It was adapted for theater and opera stages and published in a form of a novel too. This version is adapted to the youngest audience.

A voyage to fairyland

Dora is a girl who likes stories about fairies. Of course, she doesn't believe in magical beings. She is too grown up for this. Until one evening a goblin invites her on the voyage to Fairyland...

The ugly duckling

Another fairy tale by Andersen. A duck who is despised by his own family and just about everybody in his environment is so unhappy he even wants to die in one moment. Then he realized he is not really a duck but something much more magnificent. This story bears many similarities with the author's own life.

Robin Hood and his merry men

In a shortened version of Robin Hood we meet only some of the major characters and see a few examples of Robin's business - he invites travelers to dinner and accepts their 'voluntary' participation in money and other goods. In case, somebody can't afford the payment, he even lent money to such guests thus expanding his circle of friends and supporters.

His fame was so great the king arranged a meeting and, enthusiastic by Robin and his men, invited all of them to serve in court. They accepted but after a while, they all realized their true calling lies in the forest where they lived for the rest of their lives.

The discontented pendulum

There was an old clock, working steadily for years when it suddenly stops. The pendulum complained about his tiredness - he calculated how many ticks he had already done in many years of working and is decided to take some rest. Other parts of the clock encouraged him to get back to work and then he really started swinging again, one swing at a time - even faster than before.

The pied piper of Hamelin

In the town of Hamelin, there were so many rats people started believing they'll never get of rid them. Then a piper offered himself to take care of rats. When he led them out of the town with a help of his magic pipe, people of the Hamelin forgot what they promised. They didn't want to pay him anymore. So the piper took his pipe again and led the children out of town.

A detailed presentation and analysis of Pied piper can be read here:

https://hubpages.com/education/pied-piper

With this story the book Told in the twilight (stories to tell to children), illustrated by Blanche McManus (1869-1935) and published by E. R. Herrick & Company approximately in 1898, ends.

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