Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one of David in the Phoenix. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recorded by Greg Weeks. David in the Phoenix by Edward
(00:21):
Ormandroyd Chapter one, in which David goes mountain climbing and
a mysterious voice is overheard all the way there. David
had saved this moment for himself, struggling not to peek
until the proper time came. When the car finally stopped,
the rest of them got out stiffly and went into
the new house, But David walked slowly into the back
(00:43):
yard with his eyes fixed on the ground. For a
whole minute, he stood there, not daring to look up.
Then he took a deep breath, clenched his hands tightly,
and lifted his head. There it was as Dad had
described it, but infinitely more grand. It swept upward from
the valley floor, beautifully shaped and soaring, so tall that
(01:08):
its misty blue peak could surely talk face to face
with the stars. To David, who had never seen a
mountain before, the sight was almost too much to bear.
He felt so tight and shivery inside that he didn't
know whether he wanted to laugh or cry or both.
And the really wonderful thing about the mountain was the
(01:29):
way it looked at him. He was certain that it
was smiling at him, like an old friend who had
been waiting for years to see him again. And when
he closed his eyes, he seemed to hear a voice
which whispered, come along then, and climb. It would be
so easy to go. The back yard was hedged in,
with part of the hedge growing right across the toes
(01:51):
of the mountain, but there was a hole in the
privet large enough to crawl through, and just beyond the hedge,
the mountain side awaited him, going up and up in
one smooth sweep, until the green and tawny faded into
hazy heights of rock. It was waiting for him. Come
and climb, it whispered, come and climb. But there was
(02:12):
a great deal to do first. They were going to
move into the new house. The moving van was standing
out in front. The car must be unloaded. David would
be needed to carry things. Regretfully, he waved his hand
at the peak and whispered, it shouldn't take long. I'll
be back as soon as I can. Then he went
(02:33):
around to the front door to see what could be
done about speeding things up. Inside, everything was in confusion.
Dad was pushing chairs and tables around in an aimless way.
Mother was saying, they'll all have to go out again.
We forgot to put down the rug first. Aunt Amy
(02:55):
was making short dashes between the kitchen and the dining room,
muttering to herself, and Becky was roaring in her crib
because it was time for her bottle. David asked, can
I do anything, hoping that the answer would be no,
Come here, Aunt Amy said, grabbing him by the arm,
help me look for that ironing board. When the ironing
(03:15):
board was finally located, Mother had something for him to do,
and when he was finished with that, Dad called for
his help. So the afternoon wore on without let up,
and also without any signs of progress in their moving.
When David finally got a chance to sneak out for
a breathing spell, he felt his heart sink. Somehow, in
(03:35):
all the rush and confusion, the afternoon had disappeared already.
The evening sun was throwing shadows across the side of
the mountain, and touching its peak with a rudy blaze.
It was too late now he would have to wait
until morning before he could climb. As he gazed up
miserably at the glowing summit, he thought he saw a
tiny speck soar out from it in a brief circle.
(03:58):
Was it a bird of some sort or just one
of those dots that swim before your eyes when you
stare too long at the sky. It almost seemed like
the mountain waving its hand, as if to say that
it was quite all right for him to wait until morning.
He felt better then, and returned more cheerfully to the
moving It was long after dark before the moving van
(04:19):
drove away. Becky crooned happily over her bottle, and the
rest of them gathered in the kitchen for a late
supper of sandwiches and canned soup. But David could not
eat until he had found the courage to ask one question,
May I climb the mountain tomorrow? Aunt Amy muttered something
about landslides, which were firmly fixed in her mind as
(04:40):
the fate of people who climbed mountains. But Dad said,
I don't see why not do you? And look to
mother for agreement. Mother said, well, be very careful, in
a doubtful tone, and that was that you never know
what you will find when you climb a mountain, even
if you have climbed them before, which of course David
never had. Looking up from the foot of the mountain,
(05:01):
he had thought that it was a smooth slope from
bottom to top. But he was discovering as he climbed
that it was not smooth at all, but very much
broken up. There were terraces, ledges, knolls, ravines, and embankments,
one after another. The exciting part of it was that
each feature concealed the ones above it. At the top
(05:22):
of a rise would be an outcropping of strangely colored rock,
invisible from below. Beyond the outcropping, a small stand of
aspens would quiver in the breeze, their quicksilver leaves, hiding
a tiny meadow on the slope behind, And when the
meadow had been discovered, there would be a something else beyond.
He was a real explorer now. When he got to
(05:43):
the top, he thought he would build a little tower
of stones, the way explorers always do. But at the
end of two hours steady climbing, he was ready to
admit that he would never reach the peak that day.
It still rose above his head, seeming as far distant
as ever, but he did not care. Now it had
been a glorious climb, and the distance he had already
covered was a considerable one. He looked back. The town
(06:06):
looked like a model of a town, with little toy
houses and different colored roofs among the trees that made
a darker patch on the pattern of the valley floor.
The mountains on the other side of the valley seemed
like blue clouds stretching out over the edge of the world.
Even the peak could not give him a better view
than this. David gazed up with the face of a
scarp which rose like a cliff above him, a smooth,
(06:29):
bare wall of rock that had halted his climb. Half
Way up the scarp was a dark, horizontal line of bushes,
something like a hedge. Apparently there was a ledge or
shelf there, and he decided to climb up to it
before he returned home. To scale the rock face itself
was impossible, however, there were no hand or footholds, so
(06:49):
he turned and made his way through the grass until
he reached the end of the bare stone. Then he
started upward again. It was hard work. Vines clutched at
his feet in the close set bushes seemed unwilling to
let him pass. He had one nasty slip, which might
have been his last if he had not grabbed a
tough clump of weeds at the crucial instant. But oh,
(07:11):
it was worth it. He felt like shouting when at
last he reached the ledge. Truly it was an enchanted place.
It was a long, level strip of ground several yards wide,
carpeted with short grass and dandelions. Bushes grew along most
of the outer edge. The inner edge was bounded by
a second scarp, a wall of red stone with sparkling
(07:32):
points of light embedded in its smooth surface. David threw
himself on the grass and rolled in it. It was
warm and soft and sweet smelling. It soothed away the
hurt of his aching muscles and the sting of his scratches.
He rolled over on his back and cushioned his head
in his hands. The sky seemed to be slipping along
(07:53):
overhead like a broad blue river. The breeze ruffled his
hair and whispered. The bushes murmured and gossiped to each other,
even The sunlight seemed to hum to him as it
laid warm hands on his face. But there was another
sound which now and then rose above these murmurs. Then
it would fade and be drowned out by the breeze.
(08:15):
Hard to say why, but it just did not seem
to fit there. David propped himself up on his elbows
and listened more intently. The sound faded. He had been
imagining it. No, he had not been imagining it. There
it was again. He sat up. Now he noticed that
the ledge was divided by a thicket which grew from
the inner side to the outer. The noise, whatever it was,
(08:39):
came from the other side of the thicket. David's curiosity
was aroused, but it occurred to him that it might
be wise to be cautious. The noise did not sound dangerous,
but well, he had never been up a mountain before,
and there was no telling what he might find. He
dropped into a crouch and crept silently up to the
tangle of bushes. His heart began to pound, and he
(09:01):
swallowed to relieve the dryness in his throat. The noise
was much more distinct now, and it sounded like like yes,
not only sounded like but was someone talking to himself?
Who could it possibly be? Well? There was only one
way to find out. He dropped down on his stomach
and carefully began to worm his way under the thicket.
(09:23):
The branches grew very low, and the ground was full
of lumps and knobs, which dug into him with every movement.
There were vines, too, and some prickly things like thistles,
which had to be pushed out of the way without
allowing their leaves to rustle. He progressed by inches, pushing
with his toes, pulling with his finger tips, wriggling with
(09:43):
the rest of his body. At last he could see
light breaking through the foliage in front of him. He
was nearing the other side. A bunch of leaves hung
before his face. He hesitated, then pushed them aside gently slowly,
and peered out. He thought his heart would stop. End
of Chapter one
Chapter one of David in the Phoenix. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recorded by Greg Weeks. David in the Phoenix by Edward
(00:21):
Ormandroyd Chapter one, in which David goes mountain climbing and
a mysterious voice is overheard all the way there. David
had saved this moment for himself, struggling not to peek
until the proper time came. When the car finally stopped,
the rest of them got out stiffly and went into
the new house, But David walked slowly into the back
(00:43):
yard with his eyes fixed on the ground. For a
whole minute, he stood there, not daring to look up.
Then he took a deep breath, clenched his hands tightly,
and lifted his head. There it was as Dad had
described it, but infinitely more grand. It swept upward from
the valley floor, beautifully shaped and soaring, so tall that
(01:08):
its misty blue peak could surely talk face to face
with the stars. To David, who had never seen a
mountain before, the sight was almost too much to bear.
He felt so tight and shivery inside that he didn't
know whether he wanted to laugh or cry or both.
And the really wonderful thing about the mountain was the
(01:29):
way it looked at him. He was certain that it
was smiling at him, like an old friend who had
been waiting for years to see him again. And when
he closed his eyes, he seemed to hear a voice
which whispered, come along then, and climb. It would be
so easy to go. The back yard was hedged in,
with part of the hedge growing right across the toes
(01:51):
of the mountain, but there was a hole in the
privet large enough to crawl through, and just beyond the hedge,
the mountain side awaited him, going up and up in
one smooth sweep, until the green and tawny faded into
hazy heights of rock. It was waiting for him. Come
and climb, it whispered, come and climb. But there was
(02:12):
a great deal to do first. They were going to
move into the new house. The moving van was standing
out in front. The car must be unloaded. David would
be needed to carry things. Regretfully, he waved his hand
at the peak and whispered, it shouldn't take long. I'll
be back as soon as I can. Then he went
(02:33):
around to the front door to see what could be
done about speeding things up. Inside, everything was in confusion.
Dad was pushing chairs and tables around in an aimless way.
Mother was saying, they'll all have to go out again.
We forgot to put down the rug first. Aunt Amy
(02:55):
was making short dashes between the kitchen and the dining room,
muttering to herself, and Becky was roaring in her crib
because it was time for her bottle. David asked, can
I do anything, hoping that the answer would be no,
Come here, Aunt Amy said, grabbing him by the arm,
help me look for that ironing board. When the ironing
(03:15):
board was finally located, Mother had something for him to do,
and when he was finished with that, Dad called for
his help. So the afternoon wore on without let up,
and also without any signs of progress in their moving.
When David finally got a chance to sneak out for
a breathing spell, he felt his heart sink. Somehow, in
(03:35):
all the rush and confusion, the afternoon had disappeared already.
The evening sun was throwing shadows across the side of
the mountain, and touching its peak with a rudy blaze.
It was too late now he would have to wait
until morning before he could climb. As he gazed up
miserably at the glowing summit, he thought he saw a
tiny speck soar out from it in a brief circle.
(03:58):
Was it a bird of some sort or just one
of those dots that swim before your eyes when you
stare too long at the sky. It almost seemed like
the mountain waving its hand, as if to say that
it was quite all right for him to wait until morning.
He felt better then, and returned more cheerfully to the
moving It was long after dark before the moving van
(04:19):
drove away. Becky crooned happily over her bottle, and the
rest of them gathered in the kitchen for a late
supper of sandwiches and canned soup. But David could not
eat until he had found the courage to ask one question,
May I climb the mountain tomorrow? Aunt Amy muttered something
about landslides, which were firmly fixed in her mind as
(04:40):
the fate of people who climbed mountains. But Dad said,
I don't see why not do you? And look to
mother for agreement. Mother said, well, be very careful, in
a doubtful tone, and that was that you never know
what you will find when you climb a mountain, even
if you have climbed them before, which of course David
never had. Looking up from the foot of the mountain,
(05:01):
he had thought that it was a smooth slope from
bottom to top. But he was discovering as he climbed
that it was not smooth at all, but very much
broken up. There were terraces, ledges, knolls, ravines, and embankments,
one after another. The exciting part of it was that
each feature concealed the ones above it. At the top
(05:22):
of a rise would be an outcropping of strangely colored rock,
invisible from below. Beyond the outcropping, a small stand of
aspens would quiver in the breeze, their quicksilver leaves, hiding
a tiny meadow on the slope behind, And when the
meadow had been discovered, there would be a something else beyond.
He was a real explorer now. When he got to
(05:43):
the top, he thought he would build a little tower
of stones, the way explorers always do. But at the
end of two hours steady climbing, he was ready to
admit that he would never reach the peak that day.
It still rose above his head, seeming as far distant
as ever, but he did not care. Now it had
been a glorious climb, and the distance he had already
covered was a considerable one. He looked back. The town
(06:06):
looked like a model of a town, with little toy
houses and different colored roofs among the trees that made
a darker patch on the pattern of the valley floor.
The mountains on the other side of the valley seemed
like blue clouds stretching out over the edge of the world.
Even the peak could not give him a better view
than this. David gazed up with the face of a
scarp which rose like a cliff above him, a smooth,
(06:29):
bare wall of rock that had halted his climb. Half
Way up the scarp was a dark, horizontal line of bushes,
something like a hedge. Apparently there was a ledge or
shelf there, and he decided to climb up to it
before he returned home. To scale the rock face itself
was impossible, however, there were no hand or footholds, so
(06:49):
he turned and made his way through the grass until
he reached the end of the bare stone. Then he
started upward again. It was hard work. Vines clutched at
his feet in the close set bushes seemed unwilling to
let him pass. He had one nasty slip, which might
have been his last if he had not grabbed a
tough clump of weeds at the crucial instant. But oh,
(07:11):
it was worth it. He felt like shouting when at
last he reached the ledge. Truly it was an enchanted place.
It was a long, level strip of ground several yards wide,
carpeted with short grass and dandelions. Bushes grew along most
of the outer edge. The inner edge was bounded by
a second scarp, a wall of red stone with sparkling
(07:32):
points of light embedded in its smooth surface. David threw
himself on the grass and rolled in it. It was
warm and soft and sweet smelling. It soothed away the
hurt of his aching muscles and the sting of his scratches.
He rolled over on his back and cushioned his head
in his hands. The sky seemed to be slipping along
(07:53):
overhead like a broad blue river. The breeze ruffled his
hair and whispered. The bushes murmured and gossiped to each other,
even The sunlight seemed to hum to him as it
laid warm hands on his face. But there was another
sound which now and then rose above these murmurs. Then
it would fade and be drowned out by the breeze.
(08:15):
Hard to say why, but it just did not seem
to fit there. David propped himself up on his elbows
and listened more intently. The sound faded. He had been
imagining it. No, he had not been imagining it. There
it was again. He sat up. Now he noticed that
the ledge was divided by a thicket which grew from
the inner side to the outer. The noise, whatever it was,
(08:39):
came from the other side of the thicket. David's curiosity
was aroused, but it occurred to him that it might
be wise to be cautious. The noise did not sound dangerous,
but well, he had never been up a mountain before,
and there was no telling what he might find. He
dropped into a crouch and crept silently up to the
tangle of bushes. His heart began to pound, and he
(09:01):
swallowed to relieve the dryness in his throat. The noise
was much more distinct now, and it sounded like like yes,
not only sounded like but was someone talking to himself?
Who could it possibly be? Well? There was only one
way to find out. He dropped down on his stomach
and carefully began to worm his way under the thicket.
(09:23):
The branches grew very low, and the ground was full
of lumps and knobs, which dug into him with every movement.
There were vines, too, and some prickly things like thistles,
which had to be pushed out of the way without
allowing their leaves to rustle. He progressed by inches, pushing
with his toes, pulling with his finger tips, wriggling with
(09:43):
the rest of his body. At last he could see
light breaking through the foliage in front of him. He
was nearing the other side. A bunch of leaves hung
before his face. He hesitated, then pushed them aside gently slowly,
and peered out. He thought his heart would stop. End
of Chapter one
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