Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sylvester and the

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Digitized by the Internet Archive in

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http://www.archive.org/details/sylvestermagicpeOOstei

Sylvester and the

Magic Pebble

by

WILLIAM STEIG

PAPERBACKS WINDMILL BOOKS /WANDERER NEW YORK

To Maggie, Lucy, and Jemmy

Copyright ©1969 by William Steig All rights reserved

including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Published by WINDMILL BOOKS, Inc. and Simon & Schuster, A Division of Gulf & Western Corporation,

Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020. WINDMILL BOOKS and colophon are trademarks registered in the U.S. Patent and TVademark Office. Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging

in

of

Windmill Books,

Publication Data

Steig. William, 1907-

Sylvester and the magic pebble.

SUMMARY:

In a

moment

of fright, Sylvester the

magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then can not hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again.

donkey asks [1.

his

Donkeys— Fiction]

[PZ7.S8177Sy

ISBN

1980]

I.

Title.

[Fie]

0-671-96022-9 (pbk.)

80-12314

Inc.,

Sylvester

Acorn Road

Duncan

lived with his

in Oatsdale.

One

mother and father

of his hobbies

pebbles of unusual shape and color.

was

at

collecting

4>C?

On

a rainy Saturday during vacation he found a quite

extraordinary one.

It

was flaming

red, shiny,

and perfectly

round, Hke a marble. As he was studying this remarkable pebble, he began to shiver, probably from excitement, and the rain

he

said.

felt

cold on his back. "I wish

it

would stop

raining,"

To

his great surprise the rain

gradually as rains usually do. ished on the

was

dry,

way down,

It

stopped.

It

CEASED. The

didn't stop

drops van-

the clouds disappeared, everything

and the sun was shining

as

if

rain

had never

existed.

In

all his

young

had

Sylvester

life

never

had a wish

gratified so

quickly.

struck

It

magic must be

that

at

and he guessed

work,

magic must be

that the in

him

the remarkable-look-

ing red pebble. (Where

indeed a

was.)

it

To make

he put the pebble

test,

on the ground and

said,

would

rain

"I

wish

again."

pened.

it

Nothing But

the

said

holding

hap-

when

same thing

the

pebble

there

in

turned

his hoof, the sky

black,

he

was

light-

ning and a clap of thunder,

and the

rain

shooting down.

came

hJX^

X—

«CH^,

"What a lucky day this is!" ter.

thought Sylves-

"From now on

have anything

My

father

I

I

can

want.

and mother

can have anything they want.

My

friends, all

relatives,

and anybody

wished the sun-

shine back

the sky,

in

and he wished a wart on

his left

hind fetlock

would disappear, and

and he started

did,

home, his

it

eager

father

amaze

to

and mother

with his magic pebble.

He see

could hardly wait to their

Maybe

faces.

they wouldn't even be-

heve him at

first.

at

can have everything

anybody wants!"

He

my

.

MV As he was crossing Strawberry the many,

many

see a mean,

some

tall

lion looking right at

He was

frightened.

frightened, he could have

made

could have wished himself safe at mother.

thinking of

things he could wish for, he

hungry

grass.

Hill,

If

was

some

of

startled to

him from behind

he hadn't been so

the lion disappear, or he

home with

his father

and

He fly

could have wished the Hon would turn into a butter-

or a daisy or a gnat.

He

could have wished

many

things,

but he panicked and couldn't think carefully. "I

wish

The

I

lion

were a rock," he

came bounding

said,

and he became a

rock.

over, snifiFed the rock a hun-

dred times, walked around and around

it,

and went away

confused, perplexed, puzzled, and bewildered. "I saw that

donkey

little

muttered.

\

'•

as clear as day.

Maybe

I'm going crazy," he

And

there

was

a rock on Strawberry Hill,

Sylvester,

with the magic pebble lying right beside him on the ground,

and he was unable

to pick

it

up. "Oh,

how

I

wish

myself again," he thought, but nothing happened. to

be touching the pebble

to

make

was nothing he could do about

helpless,

he

were

He had

the magic work, but there

it.

He was scared hopeless. He imagined

His thoughts began to race hke mad.

and worried. Being

I

felt

vN,^ f

.f

all

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•

the possibilities, and eventually he realized that his only

chance of becoming himself again was for someone to find the red pebble and to wish that the rock next to

it

would

be a donkey. Someone would surely find the red pebble

was

so bright

them wish

and shiny

that a rock

— but

—

it

what on earth would make

were a donkey? The chance was one

in a billion at best.

Sylvester

with

many

fell asleep.

stars.

What

else

could he do? Night came

Meanwhile, back the

floor, frantic

later all

at

home, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan paced

with worry. Sylvester had never come

than dinner time.

Where could he be? They

home

stayed up

night wondering what had happened, expecting that Syl-

vester

would

course. Mrs.

Duncan

to soothe her. "I will

surely turn

up by morning. But he

cried a lot

Both longed

to

didn't, of

and Mr. Duncan did

have

his best

their dear son with them.

never scold Sylvester again as long as

Mrs. Duncan, "no matter what he does."

I live,"

said

tftLVXWC"

At dawn, they went about inquiring of

all

the neighbors.

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They talked

to all the children

tens, the colts, the piglets.

the day before yesterday.

- the

No one had

puppies, the

kit-

seen Sylvester since

They went child.

to the poHce.

The poHce could not

find their

All the dogs in Oatsdale sniffed

went searching

for him.

behind every rock and tree and blade of

They

grass, into

every nook and gully of the neighborhood and beyond, but

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found not a scent of him. They sniffed the rock on Strawberry Hill, but it smelled Hke a rock. It didn't smell like

Sylvester.

After a

month

of searching the

same places over and

over again, and inquiring of the same animals over and over again, Mr.

and Mrs. Duncan no longer knew what

They concluded pened and again.

that

that they

(Though

all

to do.

something dreadful must have hap-

would probably never

the time he

was

less

see their son

than a mile away.)

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They

tried their best to

be happy,

to

go about

their

usual ways. But their usual ways included Sylvester and they

were always reminded

had no meaning

for

of him.

They were

them any more.

miserable. Life

i

Night followed day and day followed night over and over again. Sylvester on the

When

hill

woke up

less

and

less often.

he was awake, he was only hopeless and unhappy.

r^

He to

felt it.

Fall fell

he would be a rock forever and he tried to get used

He went came with

into

an endless

sleep.

The days grew

the leaves changing color.

and the grass bent

to the ground.

Then

colder.

the leaves

iMffJun/iii

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Then It

it

was winter. The winds blew,

this

way and

that.

snowed. Mostly, the animals stayed indoors, living on the

food they had stored up.

One day

a wolf sat on the rock that was Sylvester and

howled and howled because he was hungry.

Then the snows melted. The spring sun and things budded.

earth

warmed up

in the

:?m

o >v

•

.

^

'/"''

-'^'^

At Alt'

showed Leaves were on the trees again. Flowers

young

faces.

their

One day

in

May, Mr. Duncan

insisted that his wife

with him on a picnic. "Let's cheer up," he live

said.

"Let us try to

again and be happy even though Sylvester, our angel,

no longer with

us."

They went

to

Strawberry

go

Hill.

is

Mrs.

Duncan

sat

own mother

sitting

winter sleep.

How

down on

the rock.

The warmth

on him woke Sylvester up from

voice.

He was

deep

he wanted to shout, "Mother! Father!

me, Sylvester, I'm right here!" But he couldn't

no

his

of his

stone-dumb.

talk.

It's

He had

^^<mm

.

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Mr. Duncan walked aimlessly about while Mrs. Duncan set

out the picnic food on the rock

— alfalfa

sandwiches,

pickled oats, sassafras salad, timothy compote. Suddenly Mr.

Duncan saw

the red pebble.

"What a

exclaimed. "Sylvester would have loved

He

put the pebble on the rock.

fantastic pebble!" it

he

for his collection."

They as a felt

sat

down

to eat. Sylvester

was now

as

wide awake

donkey that was a rock could possibly be. Mrs. Duncan some mysterious excitement. "You know, Father," she

said suddenly, "I have the strangest feeling that our dear

Sylvester

still

alive

and not

far

away."

am!" Sylvester wanted to shout, but he couldn't. back only he had realized that the pebble resting on his "I

If

is

am,

I

was the magic pebble!

"Oh, day,

"

how

I

said Mrs.

wish he were here with us on

if

May

Duncan. Mr. Duncan looked sadly

at the

He

looked

ground. "Don't you wish at her as

this lovely

to say,

"How

it

too,

Father?" she

said.

can you ask such a question?"

Mr. and Mrs. Duncan looked at each other with great sorrow. "I

wish

I

were myself again,

I

wish

again!" thought Sylvester.

And

in less

than an instant, he was!

I

were

my

real self

f

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You can imagine braces, looks,

the kisses,

the

the scene that followed questions,

and the fond exclamations!

the answers,

— the the

emloving

when

they had eventually calmed

gotten home, Mr. safe.

Duncan put

Some day they might want

what more could they wish

down

a bit,

and had

the magic pebble in an iron to use

for?

They

wanted.

The End

it,

but

all

really, for

had

all

now,

that they

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