Pixys Holiday Journey

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Pixy's Holiday Journey, by George Lang,

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Title: Pixy's Holiday Journey
Author: George Lang
Release Date: March 21, 2005 [eBook #15426]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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E-text prepared by Curtis Weyant, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

PIXY'S HOLIDAY JOURNEY
Translated from the German of GEORGE LANG
by MARY E. IRELAND
1906

TO THE TWO DEAR BOYS, HUGH D. SHEPARD AND GEORGE H. IRELAND, BOTH OF WHOM TOOK KEEN PLEASURE IN LISTENING TO THE READING OF THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE HOLIDAY JOURNEY OF THREE BOYS AND PIXY, THE STORY, NOW IN BOOK FORM, IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED BY
THE TRANSLATOR.
Washington, D.C.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
THE GRECIANS AND THE TROJANS
II. THEY MEET A KIND FRIEND
III. AT THE SWAN INN
IV. A KIND WELCOME
V. FRITZ IN TROUBLE
VI. A WHOLE DAY OF SIGHT-SEEING
VII. THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
VIII. PIXY IN TROUBLE
IX. THEY VISIT THE CLOTHING MOUSE
X. PIXY'S EARNINGS
XI. IN THE DESERTED CABIN
XII. A WELL-SPRING OF PLEASURE

PIXY'S HOLIDAY JOURNEY
CHAPTER I
THE GRECIANS AND THE TROJANS
There were three boys in the same class in the polytechnic school in the mountainous Odenwald country, in Hesse Darmstadt, who were such great friends and inseparable companions that the other pupils named them "the three-leaved clover." They were near of an age--about eleven--and near of a size; and their names were Fritz, Paul and Franz.
Fritz was an active, energetic boy, had coal black hair and bright, black eyes which looked out upon the world with the alert glance of a squirrel in a cage.
Paul had brown hair, brown eyes and brown complexion, was of reflective manner, and willing to follow where Fritz led.
Franz was a robust boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, and cheeks like cherries which had ripened in the sun.
They had been firm friends ever since the day that Fritz had had a combat with a larger boy, and Franz and Paul ran to his assistance. But the big boy was victor, leaving Fritz on the field of battle with a bleeding nose, Franz with a bruise upon his forehead, and Paul with a fiery-red cheek, caused by slaps from the hand of the foe. From that hour the three united for life or death in an alliance for defense against an enemy and resolved to provide themselves with weapons, also a place to keep them when not in active service; said place to be called the armory.
It was a subject of much thought and discussion to secure a suitable place, but at length Franz brought the welcome news that his father had sold the calf that day, and the nice shed it had occupied was vacant. This was delightful news and when school was out they hurried there, drove nails in the board walls, and hung up their spears which were made of pine wood, and, like the shields hanging beside them, were glistening with gold and silver paper. On the opposite wall were the sombre bows and arrows, brightened, however, by the nearness of three brilliant helmets with waving plumes made of black yarn.
The array of weapons seemed so warlike that it called to memory the battle between the Grecians and the Trojans as recorded in Homer's Iliad, which their class was reading in school; and they then and there decided to take the names of their favorite Greek heroes.
"I will be Odysseus," said Fritz.
"I will be Achilles," responded Franz.
"And I," said Paul after due reflection, "will be Patroclus."
"And let us call that fellow that fought us a Trojan," suggested Franz.
"Agreed," cried Fritz. "Let us call all of our enemies Trojans."
This proposition was received with warmth and they solemnly shook hands to clinch the compact.
It was a shadow to their enjoyment that while there was an outside bolt to their armory, there was no lock and key, and there were plenty of Trojans in school who would wish no better amusement than to break in and carry off the weapons. To prevent such a catastrophe, it was decided that the moment school was out, one of them must run to the armory and remain on guard until all the boys had gone to their homes. They were to take turns in this duty, and Franz was appointed as sentinel for that evening.
When he reached the shed he heard the sound of movement inside the armory, yet the bolt was not withdrawn. He stood a moment in mute wonder for he could not understand how a Trojan could get in when there was no window, and but one door, and it bolted on the outside.