The Bobbsey Twins Keeping House by Laura Lee Hope : Bert Falls Off

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seventeen of The Bobbsey Twins Keeping House. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
The Bopsey Twins Keeping House by laur Lee Hope Bert
falls Off. Bert Bopsy did not know what had caused

(00:22):
that crashing sound any more than did Nan. For a
few moments, he was frightened, as was his sister. Certainly
that crash was enough to scare any one coming as
it did in the midst of the storm. And when
you take four children, none of them very old, and
put them in a house all alone, except Aunt Sally

(00:43):
prye Ill in bed, there is some reason for them
to be afraid. Oh what was it? Cried Nan. Again,
there goes some more. She went on as the banging,
crashing sound, repeated himself. What is it? Bert? I don't know,
he answered, but I'll soon find out. By this time,

(01:03):
Flossi and Freddy had been awakened. They too heard the
terrifying noise and the banging which jarred the house. Maybe
that Santa Claus coming down the chimney, suggested Flossie. It's
too early for Santa Claus, called Freddy as he quickly
began to dress. But maybe it's an air ship, Bert,
and it banged into our chimney. It sounds like a chimney,

(01:25):
doesn't it. It sounds like almost anything, Bert answered, as
he made his haste in putting on his clothes. In
her room, Aunt Sally had caught the word chimney spoken
by Flossie and Freddy, but she had not heard what else.
The small twin said. She did hear the banging sound, however,
and she called, oh, Nan, what is it? Is the

(01:48):
chimney on fire? If it is, throw a lot of
salt in the stove. Salt will put out chimney fires,
which was true enough, only the chimney was not blazing
at least Burton Anne hoped it was not, Nan, answered
the old lady, saying, we don't know what it is.
Aunt Sallie, I don't believe the chimney is on fire.

(02:09):
Bert is going to look. Oh Bert dropped a book, Bitty,
exclaimed missus Pride. Well, that's all right. You can't help
dropping things once in a while, and you can't break
a book by dropping it. But it must have been
a very large book to make so much noise. Oh ho, silently,
laughed Freddy, as he was dressing with his brother. She thought,

(02:31):
Nan set a book, but she said, you were going
to look. Don't laugh, whispered Bert. Aunt Sally can't help
being deaf. And as they did not want to agitate
the old lady, neither Nan nor Bert told her that
something worse had happened than the mere dropping of a book,
that some danger was at hand. Nan and Bert were

(02:52):
very sure. The crashing, banging sound kept up, and at
times the whole house shivered and shook, and it was
not the wind which was doing this either. Bert. I
am afraid, whispered Nan, as she and her brother met
in the hall outside their rooms. Flossy and Freddy had
followed them. You needn't be afraid, Bert answered, Bert answered,

(03:14):
quite bravely for a boy of his eyes, I'll soon
see what it is. Maybe somebody rolled a big snowball
on our stoop, suggested Freddy. Or else a big eyeicycle fell,
added Flossie. Is it snowing yet, Nan, Yes, it's snowing
hard and the wind is blowing. But Bert, she added,

(03:35):
I believe Flossy and Freddy are right. The noise is outside.
It isn't in the house. It does sound outside. Bert said,
let's listen a minute. They stood quietly in the hall.
Missus Prye, believing it was a book that had fallen
which made the noise, was waiting patiently in bed until
Nan should bring her a cup of coffee. And as

(03:57):
the twins listened, there came to the ear that banging
sound again, and this time it clearly came from the
front of the house and not far from where they stood.
Missus Prige heard the noise too, and she must have
felt the house tremble. Is Bert dropping more books? She called,
I'll bring your coffee right away, Nan answered, thinking this

(04:18):
was the best thing to say, rather than to speak
of their fears. Yes, my dear, I'll feel better after
some coffee, said the old lady. The noise comes from there,
and Nan pointed as she whispered to the big front
spare or guest room of the house. I'll go in
and see what it is, offered Bert, you shut Aunt

(04:40):
Sally's door so she won't get nervous. It was well
Nan did this, for as soon as Bert opened the
door of the guest bedroom, out blew a blast of
cold air, followed by a cloud of snow. In a glance,
nan Bert and the smaller twins saw what had happened.
A big branch from a tree in front of them
the house had broken off and had crashed through the

(05:02):
front window of the bedroom, breaking out all the glass
Through this opening, the cold wind was blowing the snow
until there was a pile of the white flakes on
the floor. The limb was not broken entirely off the tree,
but hung by a few shreds of wood. It was
as though it was on a hinge like a door,
and each time the wind blew, the branch swayed to

(05:24):
and fro, banging against the side of the house and
on the porch roof which extended across the front of
the house and beneath the guest room windows. That's what
made the noise, cried Freddie, pointing and look at the
snow on the floor, exclaimed Flossie, I'm going to make
a snowball. No you weren't, cried nan catching her little

(05:46):
sister by the arm as she was about to dash
into the room. Oh Bert, what are we going to do?
Nan asked? The window is all smashed, and maybe that
branch will poke a hole in the side of the house,
added fred As the wind swaying the limb banged it
up against the window frame, there was no more glass

(06:06):
left to break. I'll soon fix this, cried Bert. I'll
get a hatchet and chop the branch loose. Then it
won't bang any more. But you can't put in a
new window, said Nan. We can tack it and that
will keep out the snow and wind. Decided Bert, I'll
get a hatchet. It seemed to be the only thing

(06:27):
to do, for as Freddy had said, the branch, if
left his sway to and fro would keep hitting against
the side of the house and might in time break
the clapboards and smash a hole through the plaster. Can
you chop that branch, off, asked Nan anxiously, Sure, declared
her brother. I'll just get out on the poor troof,

(06:50):
and I'll soon cut through that limb. It only hangs
by a few shreds. It'll be easy. Nan saw what
Bert meant to do. They went a little way into
the guest room, but it was so cold now that
the window was smashed, and the wind blew the snow
about with such swirling gusts that Nan thought the small
twins might catch cold. Come out and we'll shut the door,

(07:12):
she called, pulling Flossie and Freddy toward her. That will
keep the rest of the house from getting freezing cold
until we can tack a blanket over the window. I'm
going to help, can't i, Bert asked Freddy. I'll see,
was Albert with promise. You go ahead and make the coffee, France, Sally, Nan,

(07:33):
while I get the hatchet and I want my breakfast,
cried FLOSSI so do, I chimed in Freddy. Now just
go easy, advised Nan. I can't do everything at once.
Oh dear, she sighed, so many things are happening. I
do wish Mother and Daddy would come back. Oh we'll
get along all right, replied Bert. This isn't anything. Tisn't

(07:57):
half as bad as if the chimney had fallen down,
for then we couldn't have any fire. No, I suppose not,
agreed Nan. But I'll be glad when you get that
limb chopped off. Listen to it bang. As she spoke,
the wind suddenly whistled around the house and it burst
a freezing air, howling and moaning, while the swaying tree

(08:18):
branch banged louder than ever Nan. Bert, I'm sure that
was a chimney blowing down, cried Aunt Sallie, for Nan
had opened her door when they came out of the
coal guest chamber. No, it's only a tree branch near
the house, banging against the side, Nan answered, what's that
you say you're going to take the children for a ride? Oh,

(08:41):
I wouldn't do that so early in the morning. Nan,
It must be very cold, said Aunt Sallie. No, no,
I said that noise was a tree branch banging against
the side of the house, repeated Nan in louder tones. Oh,
a tree branch, murmured the old lady. I thought it
was some one knocking at the door. Is my coffee ready, Dearie,

(09:03):
I'll have it for you right away, was the answer.
So Nan made Aunt Sallie a hot drink while Bert
went down in the cellar to get a sharp hatchet
with which to cut loose the dangling tree branch. Nan
managed to keep Fossy and Freddy quiet by letting them
set the table for breakfast. When she took up Aunt
Sallie's coffee and toast, Bert followed up the stairs, having

(09:25):
put on his rubber boots, mittens, and a warm jacket,
for he would have to climb out on the snowy
roof to cut the tree limb. As soon as he
opened the door, I'll rushed more cold wind and snow,
but he quickly closed it again, and Nan waited until
he was in sight before she opened Aunt Sallie's door,
which she had gone up to close just before Bert

(09:47):
was ready to begin on the carpet. Beneath the broken
window was a pile of glass and snow. Nearly all
the glass was broken out of the window, only a
few jagged pieces remaining, and these Bert knocked out with
his hatchet so they would not cut him as he
crawled through. The dangling branch was half way across the window,

(10:07):
but there was room enough for Bert to dodge through
without getting hit by the swaying limb. Once sat on
the sloping porch roof, covered as it was by a
blanket of snow, the bopsey lad looked up to see
the best place to start cutting. As he had said,
the branch was attached to the part that was not
broken off by only a few shreds of wood. Shopping

(10:29):
through these would cause the branch to fall, and it
could then be pushed off the roof. But the place
where he must do the cutting was above Bert's head.
I've got to get something to stand on, he decided.
He looked around inside the room and saw a small
box in it. Missus Bobbsey had packed away the lace
curtains for the guest room, and when the curtains had

(10:49):
been hung, the box had not been taken out. I'll
stand on that, Bert decided. He pulled the lace curtains
of the window to one side. The curtains were wet
with snow, but Bert thought he and Nan could take
them down and drive them later in the day. Bert
first put the box out on the porch roof in
the snow. Then he crawled out himself. As he did so,

(11:12):
the wind swayed the branch and had nearly hit him,
but he managed to scramble out of the way. Then,
standing on the box, he began to chop at the
shreds of the swaying branch. It was hard work, but
the boy kept at it. The sharp hatchet shaved through
the thin wood. One more shot and down shall come,
exclaimed Bert. He aimed a hard blow at what was

(11:35):
left of the shreds. The hatchet cut through them, and
the branch fell to the porch roof. No longer would
it bang against the house. But in making his last stroke,
Bert reached over too far. He felt himself slipping. The
box on which he stood slipped on the snow of
the roof. The next moment Bert toppled over, fell on

(11:56):
his side, and went rolling toward the edge of the
slanting roof. Here I go, he cried, trying to hold
himself back, but there was nothing which he could grasp,
and an instant later he slid over the edge of
the roof. End of Chapter seventeen, read by Nancy Cochrane
Gergen Gilbert, Arizona, August twenty one, two thousand, twenty three.