
A sleepy afternoon turns into an adventure when little Jimmieboy, half‑asleep on his nursery couch, hears distant drums marching through the quiet street. His mother, busy preparing a double‑layered birthday cake for his father, brushes it off as imagination, but the persistent rhythm awakens something far more wondrous than a simple parade.
Drawn to a beloved painting of a tranquil country lane—its oak‑arched road disappearing into a sun‑kissed horizon—Jimmieboy’s curiosity is sparked. He wonders what lies beyond the painted scene, and his father, ever the inquisitive explorer, vows to uncover the mystery for his son. As the drumbeats echo louder, the ordinary world begins to blur, hinting at a secret world waiting just beyond the frame, where a tin soldier might hold the key to the adventure that beckons.
The story promises a charming blend of childhood wonder, gentle humor, and the magic that lives in the spaces between imagination and reality, inviting listeners to follow Jimmieboy’s first steps into an unforgettable journey.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (198K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2010-11-28
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1862–1922
A witty American humorist and editor, he turned ghosts, celebrities, and the afterlife into playgrounds for clever satire. His light, imaginative style became so distinctive that an entire kind of fantasy comedy came to be called "Bangsian" fantasy.
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