The Bobbsey Twins Megapack
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COPYRIGHT INFO
The Bobbsey Twins Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
I grew up reading series books from the Stratemeyer Syndicate—the group behind some of the most successful children’s series of all time. (They created not only the Bobbsey Twins, but the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, the Rover Boys, the Dana Girls, the Happy Hollisters, and many, many more.)
The Syndicat’s rules were simple:
All books would be part of a series.
To establish more quickly if a series was likely to be successful, the first several volumes would be published at once. These first volumes are often referred to as “breeders.”
The books would be written under a pseudonym. This would provide for seeming continuity of authorship, even when an author died, and would disguise the fact that series were written by multiple ghostwriters and plot-outliners.
The books would look as much like contemporary adult books as possible, with similar bindings and type-faces.
The books would be of a predictable length.
Chapters and pages should end mid-situation, to increase the reader’s desire to keep reading.
Each book would begin with a quick recap of all previous books in that series, in order to promote those books.
Books might also end with a preview of the next volume in the series: “Nancy…could not help but wonder when she might encounter as strange a mystery as the recent one. Such a case was to confront her soon, The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes.”
The books would be priced at 50 cents, rather than the more common 75 cents, $1.00, or $1.25.
Characters should not age or marry. (Protagonists of early series such as the Rover Boys, Tom Swift, and Ruth Fielding did grow up and marry, but sales dropped afterwards, prompting the Syndicate to make a rule that characters never marry.)
The earliest series from the Stratemeyer Syndicate were general children’s fiction (though they often had elements of mystery mixed in.) It wasn’t until later that mystery series like the Hardy Boys books (debuting in 1927) and Nancy Drew mysteries (1930) gave focus to their lines. After that point, new series focused heavily on mysteries.
Which brings us back to the Bobbsey Twins. They debuted in 1904 with The Bobbsey Twins; or, Merry Days Indoors and Out, the lead volume in The Bobbsey Twins Megapack. Readers already familiar with the Bobbseys probably won’t much recognize these early books, despite their similarity to titles published after 1950. That’s because in the 1950s the Stratemeyer Syndicate began a massive updating of all their older series, modernizing everything, rewriting (and often obliterating) the original plots. As a child, I remember being quite shocked to discover that my new, shiny blue-spined copy of the Hardy Boys mystery The Twisted Claw (about timber piracy in the Northern woods, if I remember correctly) bore absolutely no resemblance to the brown-spined copy of The Twisted Claw (about a secret organization of Caribbean pirates) my father had read as a boy. The original was a lot better, despite being dated.
So here are the first 15 original Bobbsey Twins books, all published between 1904 and 1922. They are unapologetically part of their era: somewhat formal to a modern reader’s ear, socially innocent, and not racially sensitive, with African American characters speaking in dialect. But they have a naive charm and evoke an innocent, gentler era, when youngsters could aspire to goat-cart ownership and romantic figutes like gypsies travelled the land in horse-drawn wagon caravans telling fortunes. How far have we come!
Note to purists: I have taken the liberty of some slight modernizations of language (e.g. “today” instead of “to-day,” downtown instead of “down-town,” and “strange” or “odd” [as felt most appropriate] instead of “queer”) which I think will convey better the original intent of the author.
Enjoy.
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
MYSTERY
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Bulldog Drummond Megapack*
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The Second Girl Detective Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack
The Victorian Mystery Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
GENERAL INTEREST
The Adventure Megapack
The Baseball Megapack
The Cat Story Megapack
The Second Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second Christmas Megapack
The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.
The Classic Humor Megapack
The Dog Story Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The Horse Story Megapack
The Military Megapack
The Pirate Story Megapack
The Sea-Story Megapack
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS
1. Winston K. Marks
2. Mark Clifton
3. Poul Anderson
4. Clifford D. Simak
5. Lester del Rey
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Dragon Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack
The Jack London Science Fiction Megapack
The Martian Megapack
The A. Merritt Megapack*
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Professor Challenger Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
The First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Science Fiction Megapack
The Third Science Fiction Megapack
The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack
The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack
The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack
The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack
The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Space Opera Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Ghost Story Megapack
The Second Ghost Story Megapack
The Third Ghost Story Megapack
The Haunts & Horrors Megapack
The Horror Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Third Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
WESTERNS
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
The Third Western Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Dare Boys Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The Henri Bergson Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Stephen Crane Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Frederick Douglass Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Dashiell Hammett Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Harold Lamb Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jonas Lie Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Katherine Mansfield Megapack
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The A. Merritt Megapack*
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Virginia Woolf Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Out of print.
OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
THE BOBBSEY TWINS
CHAPTER I
The Bobbsey Twins at Home
The Bobbsey twins were very busy that morning. They were all seated around the dining-room table, making houses and furnishing them. The houses were being made out of pasteboard shoe boxes, and had square holes cut in them for doors, and other long holes for windows, and had pasteboard chairs and tables, and bits of dress goods for carpets and rugs, and bits of tissue paper stuck up to the windows for lace curtains. Three of the houses were long and low, but Bert had placed his box on one end and divided it into five stories, and Flossie said it looked exactly like a “department” house in New York.
There were four of the twins. Now that sounds funny, doesn’t it? But, you see, there were two sets. Bert and Nan, age eight, and Freddie and Flossie, age four.
Nan was a tall and slender girl, with a dark face and red cheeks. Her eyes were a deep brown and so were the curls that clustered around her head.
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Bert was indeed a twin, not only because he was the same age as Nan, but because he looked so very much like her. To be sure, he looked like a boy, while she looked like a girl, but he had the same dark complexion, the same brown eyes and hair, and his voice was very much the same, only stronger.
Freddie and Flossie were just the opposite of their larger brother and sister. Each was short and stout, with a fair, round face, light-blue eyes and fluffy golden hair. Sometimes Papa Bobbsey called Flossie his little Fat Fairy, which always made her laugh. But Freddie didn’t want to be called a fairy, so his papa called him the Fat Fireman, which pleased him very much, and made him rush around the house shouting: “Fire! fire! Clear the track for Number Two! Play away, boys, play away!” in a manner that seemed very lifelike. During the past year Freddie had seen two fires, and the work of the firemen had interested him deeply.
The Bobbsey family lived in the large town of Lakeport, situated at the head of Lake Metoka, a clear and beautiful sheet of water upon which the twins loved to go boating. Mr. Richard Bobbsey was a lumber merchant, with a large yard and docks on the lake shore, and a saw and planing mill close by. The house was a quarter of a mile away, on a fashionable street and had a small but nice garden around it, and a barn in the rear, in which the children loved at times to play.
“I’m going to cut out a fancy table cover for my parlor table,” said Nan. “It’s going to be the finest table cover that ever was.”
“Nice as Aunt Emily’s?” questioned Bert. “She’s got a—a dandy, all worked in roses.”
“This is going to be white, like the lace window curtains,” replied Nan.
While Freddie and Flossie watched her with deep interest, she took a small square of tissue paper and folded it up several times. Then she cut curious-looking holes in the folded piece with a sharp pair of scissors. When the paper was unfolded once more a truly beautiful pattern appeared.
“Oh, how lubby!” screamed Flossie. “Make me one, Nan!”
“And me, too,” put in Freddie. “I want a real red one,” and he brought forth a bit of red pin-wheel paper he had been saving.
“Oh, Freddie, let me have the red paper for my stairs,” cried Bert, who had had his eyes on the sheet for some time.
“No, I want a table cover, like Nanny. You take the white paper.”
“Whoever saw white paper on a stairs—I mean white carpet,” said Flossie.
“I’ll give you a marble for the paper, Freddie,” continued Bert.
But Freddie shook his head. “Want a table cover, nice as Aunt Em’ly,” he answered. “Going to set a flower on the table too!” he added, and ran out of the room. When he came back he had a flowerpot in his hand half the size of his house, with a duster feather stuck in the dirt, for a flower.