
SNYTHERGEN
THE ILLUSTRATIONS
CHAPTER I SLENDER FOODS AND ROUND FOODS
CHAPTER II A TICKLISH TREE
CHAPTER III PLAYED ON A MUSICAL SKIRT
CHAPTER IV A BIRD AND A TREE PLAY AT HIDE AND SEEK
CHAPTER V HOW A PIG LEARNED TO TALK
CHAPTER VI THE HOUSE AT THE END OF A ROPE
CHAPTER VII BEAR ON ICE
CHAPTER VIII A RUNAWAY TREE
A humble old couple discovers a strange infant left on their doorstep—a boy so thin and elongated he looks as if he’s standing on stilts. His bright, mischievous eyes convince the pair that he is meant to be theirs, and they take him in with love and hope. Their modest farm becomes the backdrop for a whimsical tale of nurture and curiosity, illustrated with playful, colorful drawings that capture the story’s quirky charm.
As the child, Snythergen, grows, his parents quickly learn that his diet has a magical effect. Feeding him round, hearty farm foods makes him balloon like a rubber ball, while slender vegetables send him shooting upward like a beanstalk. Their frantic experiments to balance “round” and “slender” meals lead to hilarious mishaps and a house that must be rearranged to accommodate his ever‑changing size. The first act leaves listeners eager to see how this extraordinary boy will navigate school, friendships, and the odd challenges that come with being both too big and oddly shaped.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (118K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
Jan 2, 2020
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

Best known for a small cluster of imaginative children's fantasy books from the 1920s, this little-remembered writer mixed whimsy, oddity, and old-fashioned storytelling charm. He later worked as a journalist around Carmel, California, giving his career an unusual second act beyond books.
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