akorn - Mighty Old Tales Retold

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapter XIII - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapter XIII - Mark Twain
A heavy drowsiness presently fell upon the two comrades.  
The King said—"Remove these rags."—meaning his clothing.Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, "He hath taken my bed again, as before—marry, what shall _I_ do?"  The little King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word.  He said, sleepily—"Thou wilt sleep athwart the door, and guard it."

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapter XII - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapter XII - Mark Twain
As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river.  Their way was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the Prince's—no, the King's—wrist.  The tremendous news was already abroad, and the boy learned it from a thousand voices at once—"The King is dead!"  The tidings struck a chill to the heart of the poor little waif, and sent a shudder through his frame.

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapter XI - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapter XI - Mark Twain
The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed like jewelled lances thrust aloft; as the fleet swept along, it was greeted from the banks with a continuous hoarse roar of cheers and the ceaseless flash and boom of artillery.

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapters IX and X - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapters IX and X - Mark Twain
At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was blazing with light.  The river itself, as far as the eye could reach citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen's boats and with pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers stirred to soft motion by summer winds.  The grand terrace of stone steps leading down to the water, spacious enough to mass the army of a German principality upon, was a picture to see, with its ranks of royal halberdiers in polished armour, and its troops of brilliantly costumed servitors flitting up and down, and to and fro, in the hurry of preparation.

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapters VII and VIII - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapters VII and VIII - Mark Twain
Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal of being dressed for dinner.  He found himself as finely clothed as before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to his stockings.  He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one.  Its furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto.  The room was half-filled with noble servitors.  A chaplain said grace, and Tom was about to fall to, for hunger had long been constitutional with him, but was interrupted by my lord the Earl of Berkeley, who fastened a napkin about his neck;

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapter VI - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapter VI - Mark Twain
Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to sit down—a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly men and men of high degree about him.  He begged them to be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained standing. He would have insisted, but his 'uncle' the Earl of Hertford whispered in his ear—"Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy presence.”

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapters IV and V - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapters IV and V - Mark Twain
After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself.  As long as he had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere. He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality.  He was within the city of London—that was all he knew.  He moved on, aimlessly, and in a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by were infrequent.  He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed then where Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then passed on, and presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it, and a prodigious church.  He recognised this church.

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapter III - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapter III - Mark Twain
Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy with the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here and there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was happening around him.  People jostled him, and some gave him rough speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy.  By-and-by he found himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in that direction.  He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into his imaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London.

The Prince and the Pauper - Chapters I and II - Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper
Chapters I and II - Mark Twain
In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.  On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him too.  England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy.  

The Wizard of Oz - Chapters I and II

The Wizard of Oz
Chapters I and II