Speaker 1: Venture of a kite. One evening, when Mary, her mamma,
Speaker 1: and Willie had all taken their seats near the window
Speaker 1: and the story was about to begin, Mary reminded her
Speaker 1: mamma of a merry adventure that she had mentioned as
Speaker 1: having happened when she and her brother and Master White
Speaker 1: went out fly their new kite. Do Mamma plus about that,
Speaker 1: said Mary. Her mamma said she would, and after thinking
Speaker 1: for a few minutes to reflect all about it, she began.
Speaker 1: One fine breezy morning in October, Master White came suddenly
Speaker 1: to our house with his eyes looking so bright, and
Speaker 1: his cheeks so red from running in the fresh air,
Speaker 1: and quite out of breath. Besides, what is the matter, James,
Speaker 1: You'll cried out? What a wrecked face you've got? Have?
Speaker 1: I said he? My nose is so cold. I ran
Speaker 1: here as fast as I could. There's such a beautiful
Speaker 1: breeze for a kite. Come both of you and as
Speaker 1: fly the kite high up in the blue sky. Come
Speaker 1: as many of you as can, and this day you
Speaker 1: shall see what a kite can do. Up We all jumped,
Speaker 1: the kite was brought down, and away we all started
Speaker 1: into the meadows running nearly all the way, and James
Speaker 1: White never ceasing to talk of the wonderful things intended
Speaker 1: the kite should this day perform. We arrived at a large
Speaker 1: grassy meadow sloping down to a low hedge. Beyond the
Speaker 1: heads was a very large field, and beyond that field
Speaker 1: another large field, which had some high trees. At the
Speaker 1: farthest end in the tops of these trees was a rookery.
Speaker 1: We knew these trees very well because we often used
Speaker 1: to walk that way, hardly because it was a nice walk.
Speaker 1: Hartly because an old woman whom we were all very
Speaker 1: fond of, kept an apple and gingerbread nutstill under the
Speaker 1: largest tree. However, as I said before, these trees were
Speaker 1: a long way off, two whole fields, off more two
Speaker 1: whole fields, and all the meadow. At the top of
Speaker 1: the meadow, near where we stood, there was also a
Speaker 1: high tree, and at the foot of this we laid
Speaker 1: down the kite. Oh, James, said, my brother, do you
Speaker 1: think we should be able to make the kite fly
Speaker 1: as high as the tree we are under? As high,
Speaker 1: said James Wright, six times as high at the very least.
Speaker 1: He now carefully unfolded the tail from the body of
Speaker 1: the kite, being very particular to undo all the tangles
Speaker 1: near the tassel, which made quite a bunch, but he
Speaker 1: got it out perfectly. One end of the ball of
Speaker 1: twine was now attached to the body of the kite.
Speaker 1: He then raised it up with the right hand, holding
Speaker 1: out the towel in three great for stoons with the left,
Speaker 1: and in this way walked to and fro very up,
Speaker 1: brightly and with a stately air, and turning his head
Speaker 1: in various quarters to observe the direction of the wind.
Speaker 1: Suddenly he dropped the towel upon the ground, and lifting
Speaker 1: up the kite with his right hand in the air
Speaker 1: as high as he possibly could off he ran down
Speaker 1: the meadow slape as fast as his legs could carry him,
Speaker 1: shouting all the way. Up, Up, Rise, Rise, Rise, Fly
Speaker 1: kite in. He finished by throwing the kite up, continuing
Speaker 1: to run with the stringer's hand, allowing it to slip
Speaker 1: through his fingers. As the kite rose, the breeze caught
Speaker 1: the kite, and up it went in fine style. He
Speaker 1: continued to rise rapidly, and we ran to and fro underneath,
Speaker 1: shouting all the time, Oh well done, James, White, and
Speaker 1: well done kite. By the excellent management of James the
Speaker 1: kite rose and rose till we all said, oh, how high,
Speaker 1: how wonderful. And then James White said he was satisfied.
Speaker 1: Now you are all to recollecting that the kite was
Speaker 1: very large. In the story I told you in Summer,
Speaker 1: where the making of the kite was described, you remembered
Speaker 1: there was said to be as tall as James White himself,
Speaker 1: and of course very much broader. The consequence was that
Speaker 1: this kite was extremely strung. So we all sat down
Speaker 1: on the grass to hold the string, which James White
Speaker 1: said was necessary. As the kite struggled and pulled so hard,
Speaker 1: was now up quite as high high the string would
Speaker 1: allow it to go. But the wind seemed to be increasing,
Speaker 1: and James White said he began to be rather afraid
Speaker 1: that he must draw the kite downwards, for fear it
Speaker 1: should have a quarreled with the wind up in the clouds,
Speaker 1: and then some accident might happen. We accordingly began to
Speaker 1: draw down the kite, slowly, winding the string upon the
Speaker 1: stick as it gradually descended. But notwithstanding all this care,
Speaker 1: an accident did happen. After all before the kite was
Speaker 1: half way down, a strong wind suddenly caught its sideways,
Speaker 1: and the kite made a long sweep downwards like a swallow,
Speaker 1: rising up again at some distance, swinging its tail about
Speaker 1: in a most alarming manner. Bless my heart, said James White.
Speaker 1: I'll be all jumped from the grass. Help me to
Speaker 1: hold her, cried James White. How she struggles again. Came
Speaker 1: the wind again. The kite made her sweep down and
Speaker 1: rose up again as if indignant, then shook her towl
Speaker 1: and wings as if threatening to do some mischief, then
Speaker 1: made a quick motion to the right and a danced
Speaker 1: to the le left, then made a very graceful courtesy
Speaker 1: deep down, as though she was very politely saluting the wind,
Speaker 1: but suddenly rose up with a sharp jerk, as though
Speaker 1: she spitefully altered her mind, and the next moment made
Speaker 1: a dart first to the right and then to the left,
Speaker 1: and continued to do this till James White said he
Speaker 1: was sure something must happen. We all held the string
Speaker 1: as fast as we could and tried to pull down
Speaker 1: the kite, but it was impossible, for instead of bringing
Speaker 1: her down, we were all three dragged along down the
Speaker 1: meadow slope, crying out, somebody come and help us, somebody
Speaker 1: come and help us, But nobody else was near. In
Speaker 1: this manner, the car was pulling us along the string,
Speaker 1: cutting our hands and running through our fingers like fire,
Speaker 1: till at last I was obliged to let go, and,
Speaker 1: being unable to get out of the way, was knocked down, and,
Speaker 1: being also unable to roamse out of the way, my
Speaker 1: brother fell over me. James White was thus left alone
Speaker 1: with the kite, and was dragged, struggling and hallooing down
Speaker 1: the meadow slope. He had determined, however, not to let go.
Speaker 1: Nothing could make him lose the string. He was determined
Speaker 1: not to be conquered. But before he had got to
Speaker 1: the bottom of the slope, the string of the kite
Speaker 1: broke about halfway down, and up sprang the kite again
Speaker 1: towards the sky, taking its course over the meadow towards
Speaker 1: the great field beyond. We all three followed, of course,
Speaker 1: as fas as we could, staring up and hunting and
Speaker 1: not knowing what to do. The kite continued to fly
Speaker 1: in a rather irregular manner over the first great field.
Speaker 1: He then made a pitch downwards and several tosses upwards,
Speaker 1: and flew straight over the second great field in the
Speaker 1: direction of the high trees. Oh, those trees, cried James Wright.
Speaker 1: It is flying towards the trees. He was right. The
Speaker 1: kite did fly directly towards the trees, as James White
Speaker 1: said it would. Just as it arrived nearly over those trees,
Speaker 1: it made a great pitch downwards, right into the top
Speaker 1: of the largest tree, and completely not over one of
Speaker 1: the rook's nests that was built there. We came running
Speaker 1: as soon as we could, and then we saw that
Speaker 1: it was the very tree at the foot of which
Speaker 1: was a stool of our dear old woman who sold
Speaker 1: apples and gingerbread nuts. Make haste, cried she. The card
Speaker 1: is safe among the boughs. I could see its long
Speaker 1: tail hung down. But do look here. The card has
Speaker 1: made us a present of five young rooks. Two are
Speaker 1: fluttering among the golden pippins, and three are harping and
Speaker 1: gaping among the gingerbread nuts. James White scarcely looked at
Speaker 1: the rooks. He said he had more important business to
Speaker 1: attend to. He took off his jacket and immediately began
Speaker 1: to climb up the tree. Less than twenty minutes he
Speaker 1: succeeded in bringing down the kite. Were only two small
Speaker 1: rents in its left shoulder and the loss of one wing,
Speaker 1: all of which he said he could easily repair. We
Speaker 1: took the five young rooks home with us and had
Speaker 1: great amusement in rearing and feeding them, And as soon
Speaker 1: as they were old enough, we took them out into
Speaker 1: their native fields and let them fly directly under the
Speaker 1: tree where they were born. The End of Adventure of
Speaker 1: a Kite by Missus Harriet Myrtle, read by Adam Wybray