The Children's Blue Bird

By
Georgette Leblanc
(Madame Maurice Maeterlinck)

Translated by
Alexander Teixeira De Mattos

Illustrated by
Herbert Paus

New York
Dodd, Mead and Company 1913

BY THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
Published, October, 1913

Contents

THE WOODCUTTER'S COTTAGE
AT THE FAIRY'S
THE LAND OF MEMORY
THE PALACE OF NIGHT
THE KINGDOM OF THE FUTURE
IN THE TEMPLE OF LIGHT
THE GRAVEYARD
THE FOREST
THE LEAVE-TAKING
THE AWAKENING

The hat was no sooner on the little boy's head than a magic change came over everything


Illustrations
The hat was no sooner on the little boy's head than a magic change came over everything
She herself helped Mytyl
They all looked at her with a bewildered air. They understood that it was a solemn moment
Delighted with the importance of his duty, undid the top of his robe, drew his scimitar and cut two slices out of his stomach
Sugar also wanted to impress the company and, breaking off two of his fingers, handed them to the astonished Children
Everything vanished and, instead, there appeared a pretty little peasant's cottage
The grandparents and grandchildren sat down to supper
The road to the Palace of Night was rather long and rather dangerous
Night sat up, all quivering. Her immense wings beat around her; and she questioned Tylette in a trembling voice
Wagging her head and stopping every minute to cough, sneeze and blow her nose
A wonderful garden lay before him, a dream-garden filled with flowers that shone like stars
Light's servants were very odd
Other Blue Children opened great big books
Other Blue Children unfolded maps and plans, or brought enormous flowers
And, in a moment, the Blue Children were crowding round the tall old man
The Cat at once draped her cloak round her, opened the door and ran and bounded out into the forest
A regular waterfall of tears came gushing from her eyes, flooding all around her
Closely pursued by the Dog, who overwhelmed her with bites, blows and kicks
"It's the Blue Bird we were looking for! We have been miles and miles and miles and he was here all the time!"