مغامرات بريكلي بوركي

The Bedtime Story Books

by Thornton W. Burgess, زينب عاطف (Translator)

لُغْزٌ كَبِيرٌ يُحَيِّرُ حَيَوَانَاتِ الْغَابَةِ الْخَضْرَاءِ، سَبَبُهُ وُجُودُ كَائِنٍ صَغِيرٍ غَرِيبٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ رَأْسٌ أَوْ أَرْجُلٌ أَوْ ذَيْلٌ، يَتَدَحْرَجُ مِنْ أَعْلَى التَّلِّ وَيُصِيبُ الْأَرْنَبَ بيتر وَغَيْرَهُ مِنَ الْحَيَوَانَاتِ بِفَزَعٍ شَدِيدٍ لَمْ يَشْعُرُوا بِمِثْلِهِ يَوْمًا. مَاذَا يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَكُونَ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءُ؟

سَيُحِبُّ الْقُرَّاءُ الصِّغَارُ اسْتِكْشَافَ هَذَا السِّرِّ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الْأَحْدَاثِ الْمُشَوِّقَةِ الَّتِي تَدُورُ فِي الْغَابَةِ، وَهُمْ يَرَوْنَ كَيْفَ اسْتَطَاعَ بريكلي بوركي الْبَدِينُ اكْتِسَابَ صَدَاقَاتٍ جَدِيدَةٍ، وَمَا الَّذِي جَعَلَ الْجَدَّةَ ثعلبة الْعَجُوزَ تَفْقِدُ هَيْبَتَهَا، وَلِمَاذَا فَقَدَ الْقَيُّوطُ الْعَجُوزُ شَهِيَّتَهُ، وَغَيْرَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْأَحْدَاثِ.
https://www.hindawi.org/books/85203509/

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Childrens, Animals, Fantasy, Chapter Books, Animal Fiction

71 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Thornton W. (Waldo) Burgess (1874-1965), American author, naturalist and conservationist, wrote popular children's stories including the Old Mother West Wind (1910) series. He would go on to write more than 100 books and thousands of short-stories during his lifetime.

Thornton Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.

Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or paying rent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobs included tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.

Graduating from Sandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college in Boston from 1892 to 1893, living in Somerville, Massachusetts, at that time. But he disliked studying business and wanted to write. He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he took a job as an editorial assistant at the Phelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written under the pen name W. B. Thornton.

Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home in Hampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his birthplace and spiritual home.

In 1960, Burgess published his last book, "Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist," depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th story. He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91 in Hampden, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a short childrens’ book is just the ticket just before turning in for the day. The Adventures of Prickly Porky is one such tale.

Prickly Porky is a porcupine who innocently causes a little commotion with Peter Rabbit and the crew. Peter was warned: Don’t poke the Porky.

But as usual, Peter was in too much of a hurry to heed what was said to him. Lipperty-lipperty-lip, lipperty-lipperty-lip, went Peter Rabbit through the woods, as fast as his long legs would take him.

I enjoyed the lilting language Thornton W. Burgess employed in this tale:

The Merry Little Breezes soon spread the news over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest that a stranger had come from the North. At once all the little meadow people and forest folk made some excuse to go over to the big poplar tree where the stranger was so busy eating.

The writing is easy and straight forward for a relaxing evening read.

Sweet dreams . . .

🟣Kindle version.


2012 Review : Cute short stories for children, and it fit into my down time at the office. This book was a great fill-in, in that respect, when there was nothing else to do.
🐷 Recommended.

[Christopher Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the animals should have figured out earlier that it was Prickly Porky rolling down the hill.

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old read this aloud to me. We've yet to discover a Burgess book we haven't fallen in love with.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is a humorous, quick read. I enjoyed reading about Granny & Reddy Fox & Old Man Coyote being fooled, and I loved how brave little Mrs. Peter Rabbit was! 

A Favourite Quote: “He was very busy, was Redeye, telling all who would listen how happy he was and what a beautiful world this is. Redeye seems to think that this is his special mission in life, that he was put in the Green Forest for this one special purpose,—to sing all day long, even in the hottest weather when other birds forget to sing, his little song of gladness and happiness. It never seems to enter his head that he is making other people happy just by being happy himself and saying so.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘But somehow time slipped away faster than I thought for, or else Mr. Sun got up earlier than usual,’ continued Peter. Then he stopped. That last idea was a new one, and it struck Peter as a good one. ‘I do believe that that is just what happened—Mr. Sun must have made a mistake and crawled out of bed earlier than usual,’ he cried. 
“Mrs. Peter looked as if she very much doubted it[.]”

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming book. Thornton Burgess brings back fond memories. I grew up one town over from Hampden, MA. I lived there in my 20's. This is where the actual great woods and green meadow are located. There is a preserve called Laughing Brook. The elementary school is named Green Meadows and the middle school is Thornton W. Burgess. He is a local treasure and holds a special place for me.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was our favorite Burgess so far! So funny! My daughter was busting a gut!

[NuNu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Childhood memories

Loved these stories when I was a child. A special memory which I like to revisit from time to time.

[Amber Kirkpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

First introduction to Burgess (I should say, first book of his I've read in full). Charming stories of woodland animals and their interactions. I liked it especially because it actually contained a little mystery to puzzle out. We took our time going through this one, a chapter here and there. Towards the end, the kids really became in vested in discovering the truth behind the mystery. Burgess is used in our future homeschool curriculum quite a bit so it was a great introduction to an author that is little known to children today.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I think porcupines are cool, this story is so dull and practically drags the twist around to every character it has, including a few it probably made up just to make the book longer (I wouldn't know, since I'm surprised I even found another in the series). Even if I didn't know from sentence one of the "thing" what the thing was, it's sort of obvious by the title that it's something to do with Prickly Porky, who otherwise does nothing but exist.

Summary:
1. Prickly Porky shows up in the Green Forest (though it all feels like one big Outdoors to me)
2. some folks meet Porky after finding his quills (though the way they're described make them seem like thumbtacks)
3. a Thing scares the pants off of Peter Rabbit (who I'm not sure if it's supposed to be THAT Peter Rabbit or whether it's supposed to be THAT Brer Rabbit/Brer Skunk/etc.)
4. the grapevine finds out about the Thing that scared Peter
5. Some Animal decides to find out once and for all whether the Thing is real
6. Some Animal has the pants scared off by the Thing
7. Some Animal is let in on the secret and is invited to see the next animal get scared.
8. Go to 5.

Really not a lot to the story, especially after figuring it out pretty much instantly. Even the "reveal" isn't that fun, like, "Yep. Okay, fun's over now." I don't know. I don't HATE the book (other than the eye dialect, but I don't know if I could as such recommend it to anyone, at least not anyone I know personally.

Granny Fox got a good one in, though, as much as we're traditionally not supposed to root for the carnivores(/omnivores who hunt the hero herbivores).

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thornton Burgess series in general is quite an endearing series of children's books, which do a fine job of being readable by young readers and having interesting plots and introducing young people to a variety of animals in a semi-anthropomorphized way. This particular entry, "The Adventures of Prickly Porky" is a fine entry in the series; I dock it a star only because the title character is seen so little in the book. He is basically a background character, with the book focusing almost exclusively on the actions and thoughts of OTHER characters to what Prickly Porky does while "offstage", so to speak. Still, it's fun, and it's a delightful read for a youngster, or for an older person who is willing to be a child again for the hour or so that it would take to read it.

[Ann Amadori · Rating 4 out of 5]

My father purchased a dozen or so of these books by Thornton W Burgess when I was 4-5 years old. My brother and I loved hearing our parents read them to us and by the time I was in second grade I loved reading them to myself. I still have these books and have been thinking of giving them away. I read this one this afternoon and think I can finally part with them. My childrenand grandchildren were never interested in hearing or reading the stories so they've been unread for many years. Although they may seem a little old fashioned, the stories are wholesome and contain tidbits of wisdom that I must have absorbed at a young age.

[Jon E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked when Unc' Billy Possom was pulling a piece of bark out of Prickly Porkey's mouth when he was choking and Granny Fox and Reddy Fox and Old Man Coyote were tricked by him and they thought he was like a monster without a tail or a head and just a big chestnut burr going after them.

[Marshall A. Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive and drawn out longer than it need, but overall the story is a good one and is full of wholesome ideas. I especially enjoyed the first half of the story and the way Burgess describes the way the animals interpret the world around them.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think its to dated for children of this age group.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into the year of 2023 with the objective to finish the Bedtime Storybook Collection of books that I own, and it looks like that actually might become a possibility. The Adventures of Prickly Porky by Thornton W. Burgess is book number 13 which leaves 6 more to go. The original art drawn by Harrison Cady is reprinted here to continue the aura of these books.

I have waxed nostalgic as to what these books mean to me, although my father doesn't remember reading these books to my brother and I. It doesn't matter that the memory means more to me than it does to him.

As for the plot, Prickly Porky is a porcupine, new denizen of the Green Meadow, when all of the celebrated characters greet the new neighbor. As the day turns to night, and some of the nocturnal neighbors pass by Porky's home to hunt for food, they witness a rolling ball that if observed to closely causes physical pain. Even Granny Fox loses some of her composure when seeing the dangerous ball. It's humorous and a little scary, but also incredibly whimsical. A classic story, with some significant educational value.

[Michelle Lizenby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book at an antique store - the copy is about 100 yrs old. I thought it would be fun to read to grandchildren. It is a cute story, I liked the pictures in the old edition i have.

[Jonathan Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Burgess Books

This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.

I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.

These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.

For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)

The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.

Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.

All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.

(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Adventure of Prickly Porky is about the animals who live in Green Forest. It introduces readers to Prickly Porky who is new to the forest. The story is about how Prickly Porky makes friends and plays tricks on the other animals. The book was originally written in the early 1900s and there are words and expressions used that don't have the same meaning today as they did over 90 years ago. I still think children would enjoy this story as long as they had some of the outdated words explained to them.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mildly amusing story about talking animals and their reaction to a situation. I really enjoyed this book. Fun for all ages.

[WSL Library]

x2

[Caterpickles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this adorable collection of animal stories, Prickly Porky makes a friend, Granny Fox loses her dignity, and Old Man Coyote loses his appetite.