Frederick Richardson: Illustrations for Little Peachling

Frederick Richardson (1862 –1937) was an American illustrator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, perhaps best remembered for his illustrations of works by L.Frank Baum.
Richardson was educated at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and the Academie Julian in Paris. He taught at the Chicago Art Institute for seven years. He has been described as a slight-built, gray-eyed man whose work was heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. From 1892 on, if not earlier, Richardson made his living as a newspaper illustrator, working for the Chicago Daily News; he produced many pictures of the famous Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition. His employers valued his work highly enough the send him back to Paris to cover another world's fair there in 1900. A collection of his work for the Daily News was published in 1899.
In 1903 Richardson moved to New York City to pursue book illustration. His first project was Zixi of Ix, which was published serially in St. Nicolas Magazine in 1904 and 1905 and in book form in the latter year. Richardson followed that initial work with more book-illustration jobs, including the works of Hans Christian Anderson, Aesop's Fables, Mother Goose, Pinocchio, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon, among many others. After his death in 1937, Richardson was memorialized with a posthumous volume that matched traditional tales, like "Three Billy Goats Gruff" and "The Bremen Town Musicians," with brightly-colored illustrations by the artist. (from The Wonderful Wiki of OZ)

''Ken-en! Ken-en! Thank you! thank you!" said the pheasant, flying away with the dumpling, which she fed to her hungry family.
Soon she came flying back and hovering over them she called, "Where are you going, honorable soldier?" "I am going to the Island of the Ogres to punish them for their wickedness and to force them to give back the treasures they have stolen from the poor people."
"Let me go with you," said the pheasant. "I may be of some service to you upon this journey."

Momotaro and his friends soon won the victory, and the Ogres were put to flight, while the King of the Ogres was taken prisoner. Then the King of the Ogres was forced to give up the keys to the castle prison, and Momotaro let out all the poor prisoners.

Then a marvelous thing happened. The tea-kettle began to move about. A hairy head, with a sharp little nose, appeared from its spout. Two funny beady little eyes peered all about. A long bushy tail came from" the opposite side. Four little feet pushed from under a soft furry coat, that seemed to cover the surface of the kettle. The queerest little badger jumped down and went capering all around the room! It jumped up and down upon the floor. It climbed on the table and danced about.

 

The wife gazed and gazed into the mirror, smiling at the picture of herself, for she liked to see her red lips, and her black hair, and laughing eyes, and she knew that her husband was right—that she was, indeed, very beautiful.

At last, the Prince of the Reed Plains came near the royal palace, bearing his brothers' burdens. He looked like a servant but the beautiful princess knew, from the hare, just who he was; so she went outside the gate to meet him. When she looked into his eyes, she knew that he had a kind heart, and she loved him at once.

As he came out upon the burned and blackened moor, the field mouse ran to him, carrying the arrow in his mouth. The tiny children of the mouse came after, each bringing a feather from the shaft of the arrow.

That night the warrior hid himself behind a tall screen in their sleeping room, watching through a crack to see what would happen. He waited and watched until two o'clock, "the hour of the Ox," when suddenly up through the mats, came the tiny little soldiers, dressed just as he was dressed. They marched about waving their tiny swords, and began to dance and to sing in mocking tones:
Chin-Chin Kobakama -
Yomo Juke sorol
Oshizumare, Hime-Gimi!
Ya ton ton!
As they danced and whirled about, making up faces, they looked so funny that the young warrior wanted to laugh. Then by the light of the night lantern, he saw the drawn white face of his poor little wife, who was watching the men in wild-eyed horror.

So the children took some of their bright blossoms andbound this flower sash around the slender tree....
Just then the happy children came running through the forest, and when they saw the wood-men, they said, "Oh, honorable wood-cutters, this is our own little Lady Silver-Mist. We love this little tree better than any in the forest. It is our playmate, please do not cut it down!"
Then one of the woodcutters said, "We are sorry, children,but we are ordered to chop down all the trees on the hillside, so that a beautiful palace may be built here, but if you wish to save your little tree, you may dig it up and carry it away."

Just at midnight, when the full moon was high in the heavens, shedding a silvery light over the mountainside, the fearful troop of phantom cats came out, led by thegreat giant cat.
"Miaow — Miaow — Miaow — Miaow-Oww — Miaoww-Oww-Owwf they shrieked, as they danced wildy about and then, through their terrified groans and moans, the young man heard them chant the same song:
Tell it not to Schippeitaro,
That the phantom cats are here!
Tell it not to Schippeitaro,
Lest he soon appear!"
Scarcely had the song ended when the monster cat caught sight of the cage and, with wild yells of triumph, he sprang upon it. With one blow from his strong paw, he broke open the door of the cage, ready to devour the dainty maiden. But, to his surprise, out jumped the powerful dog, Schippeitaro.

The sparrow, hearing this, brought out two wicker baskets, saying, "Honorable Friends, we would like to give you a parting present. Which of these baskets do you desire—will you take the heavy one, or the light one?" The old people replied, "We are old and our backs are bent so, if it please you, give us the light basket for it will be easier for us to carry."
"Certainly," said the sparrow, "it shall be as you desire. You may have the light basket, for you have a long journey before you. We trust that you may reach your home in safety. We are so very grateful to you, dear master and mistress, for your honorable visit."

The water sparkled upon the stones and the wood-cutter feeling very thirsty bent down, using his hand for a cup, and drank. To his surprise he found that it was not water he was drinking, but was sweet sake. Never had he tasted such good sake. He filled his gourd and hurried home to share it with his father and mother.

There was a rushing noise like the noise of a great wind, and then all was still, and a solemn voice was heard saying: ''Hafiz, listen unto me! Thy wish now is granted thee, Be thou the rich man!''
Now Hafiz had heard of strange tales of a mountain spirit who could do wonderful things, but he had never believed in this spirit, and so when he heard the sound, he looked all around, but as he could see no one, he thought that he had been dreaming. "There is no such a thing as the spirit of the mountain," he said.