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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LITTLE PETER Little Peter lived in the village of Krumm- hiibel at the foot of the Schneekoppe. His father was a woodchopper in the near-by forest who started for work in the early morning and returned late in the evening. Peter's mother was dead and the household cares were managed by a female relative. She exercised harsh control over the motherless boy, whose never- failing cheerfulness was distasteful to her. She had no patience with the merry lad who was never quiet for a moment. He jumped and sprang around like a grasshopper, and sang cheerily as a lark. The malicious old aunt, for that matter, never had any toleration for children. She could not understand their little joys and sorrows. She scolded, pushed and buffeted little Peter the entire day. There was neither peace nor joy for him athome; but in the open he found loved companions everywhere. Colored butterflies sported about him, the beetles whirred and droned and the larks trilled. The cuckoo played hide and seek with him and cried mockingly, Cuckoo ! Peter would look around but could nowhere see the mischievous bird. Ah! he would cry angrily, I can't see you. I only wish I could not see the cross aunt at home any more. She never cares about me and she is happy only when I am out of her sight. One day the aunt expected a visit from a young relative. In honor of her guest, she bought a fine trout which she put into a tub of water to keep it alive. Poor animal, said Peter, as he saw the fish, you would rather swim in a large pool than find yourself in this narrow place. Come, I will give you your freedom. So saying he took the flopping fish out of the water and brought it to the brook that flowed near the house. The trout, rejoicing in its freedom, splashed about, beat the water with its t...