Septimus Septimusson

If you're familiar with fairy tales, you might recognize the old story of the boy who is kind to animals and gets rewarded by them when he's in need. Enjoy Edith Nesbit's quirky take on this classic tale, which includes talking mussels, a fierce but friendly wind, and kings who are fed up with reigning.

Music: Northern Ballad by Ukrainian musician William King.

Transcript

Hello there,

It's Mandy here.

Thanks for joining me this evening.

Tonight's reading is a story from E.

Nesbitt,

The author of The Railway Children,

And it's called Septimus Septimuson.

But before I begin,

Please go right ahead and make yourself really comfortable.

That's great.

Septimus Septimuson.

The wind was screaming over the marsh.

It shook the shutters and rattled the windows,

And the little boy lay awake in the bare attic.

His mother came softly up the ladder stairs,

Shading the flame of the tallow candle with her hand.

I'm not asleep,

Mother,

Said he,

And she heard the tears in his voice.

Why,

Lad,

She said,

Sitting down on the straw bed beside him and putting the candle on the floor.

What are you crying for?

The wind keeps calling me,

Mother,

He said.

It won't let me alone.

It never has since I put up the little weathercock for it to play with.

It keeps saying,

Wake up,

Septimus Septimuson,

Wake up.

You're the seventh son of the seventh sun.

You can see the fairies and hear the beasts speak,

And you must go out and seek your fortune.

And I'm afraid and I don't want to go.

I should think not indeed,

Said his mother.

The wind doesn't talk.

You just go to sleep like a good boy,

And I'll get father to bring you a gingerbread pig from the fair tomorrow.

Next evening,

Father brought home the loveliest gingerbread pig with current eyes.

Sept ate it,

And it made him less keen than ever to go out into a world where perhaps no one would give him gingerbread pigs anymore.

Before he went to bed,

He ran down to the shore where a great new harbour was being made.

The workmen had been blasting the big rocks,

And on one of the rocks a lot of mussels were sticking.

He stood looking at them,

And then suddenly he heard a lot of little voices crying.

Oh,

Sept,

We're so frightened,

We can't breathe.

The voices were thin and sharp as the edges of mussel shells.

They were indeed the voices of the mussels themselves.

Oh dear,

Said Sept,

I'm so sorry,

But I can't move the rock back into the sea.

No,

Said the mussels,

But if you speak to the wind,

You know his language,

And he's very fond of you since you made that toy for him.

He'll blow the sea up till the waves wash us back into deep water.

But I'm afraid of the wind,

Said Sept,

It says things that frighten me.

Death won't wait,

Said the little voices.

I can't speak to the wind,

Said Sept,

And almost at the same moment,

He heard himself call out,

Oh wind,

Please come and blow up the waves to save the poor mussels.

The wind answered with a boisterous shout,

All right,

My boy,

I'm coming,

And come it did,

And when it had attended to the mussels,

It came and whispered to Sept in his attic,

And to his great surprise,

Instead of covering his head with the bedclothes as usual,

And trying not to listen,

He found himself sitting up in bed and talking to the wind.

Why,

He said,

I'm not afraid of you anymore.

Of course not,

We're friends now,

Said the wind,

That's because we joined together to do a kindness to someone.

There's nothing like that for making people friends,

And now old chap,

When will you go out and seek your fortune?

Remember how poor your father is,

And the fortune,

If you find it,

Won't be just for you,

But for your father and mother,

And all the others.

Oh,

Said Sept,

I didn't really think of that.

Yes,

Said the wind,

Really,

My dear fellow,

I do hate to bother you,

But it's better to fix the time.

When shall we start?

We,

Said Sept,

Are you going with me?

Well,

See you a bit of the way,

Said the wind.

What do you say now?

Shall we start tonight?

There's no time like the present.

I do hate going,

Said Sept.

Of course you do,

Said the wind.

Come along,

Get into your things,

And we'll make a beginning.

So Sept dressed,

And he wrote on his slate,

In very big letters,

Gong to Seek Our Fortune,

And he put it on the table,

So that his mother should see it when she came down in the morning,

And he went out of the cottage,

And the wind kindly shut the door after him.

The wind gently pushed him down to the shore,

And there he got into his father's boat,

Which was called the Septimus and Susie,

After his father and mother,

And the wind carried him across to another country,

And there he landed.

Now,

Said the wind,

Clapping him on the back,

Off you go,

Off you go,

And good luck to you,

And it turned round and took the boat home again.

When Sept's mother found the writing on the slate,

And his father found the boat gone,

They feared Sept was drowned,

And when the wind brought the boat back the wrong way up,

They were quite sure,

And they both cried for days.

The wind tried to tell them that Sept was all right,

But they couldn't understand wind talk,

And they only said,

Drat the wind,

And fastened the shutters up tight,

And put wedges in the windows.

Meanwhile,

Sept walked along the straight white road,

That led across the new country.

He had no more idea how to look for his fortune than you would have,

If you suddenly left off reading this,

And went out of your front door to seek yours.

However,

He had made a start,

And that is always something.

When he had gone exactly seven miles on that straight foreign road,

Between strange trees,

And bordered with flowers he didn't know the names of,

He heard a groaning in the wood,

And someone sighing,

And saying,

Oh how hard it is to have to die,

And never see my wife and the little cubs again.

The voice was rough as a lion's mane,

And strong as a lion's claws,

And Sept was frightened,

But he said,

I'm not afraid,

And then oddly enough he found he wasn't.

He broke through the bushes and found a lion,

A javelin had pierced its shoulder,

And fastened it to a great tree.

Hold still a minute sir,

Cried Sept.

He got out his knife,

And cut at the shaft of the javelin,

Till he was able to break it off.

Then the lion drew back,

And the broken shaft passed through the wound,

And the broken javelin was left sticking in the tree.

I'm really extremely obliged my dear fellow,

Said the lion warmly,

Pray command me if there's any little thing I can do for you at any time.

They parted,

As Sept scrambled through the bushes back to the road,

He found an axe lying on the ground.

Hello,

He said,

Some poor woodman has dropped this,

And not been able to find it.

I'll take it along,

Perhaps I may meet him.

But he was getting tired and hungry,

And presently he sat down to rest under a chestnut tree.

He heard two little voices talking in the branches,

Voices soft as a squirrel's fur,

And bright as a squirrel's eyes.

They were indeed the voices of two squirrels.

Hush,

Said one,

There's someone below.

Oh,

Said the other,

It's a horrid boy,

Let's scurry away.

I am not a horrid boy,

Said Sept,

I am the seventh son of a seventh son.

Oh,

Said Mrs Squirrel,

Of course that makes all the difference,

Would you like some nuts?

Yes please,

Said Sept.

So the squirrels brought nuts down to him,

And when he had eaten as many as he wanted,

They filled his pockets,

And then in return he chopped all the lower boughs off the chestnut tree,

So that boys who were not seventh sons could not climb up and interfere with the squirrel's housekeeping arrangements.

Then they parted,

Best of friends,

And Sept went on.

I haven't found my fortune yet,

He thought,

But I've made a friend or two.

He turned a corner of the road and met an old gentleman in a fur-lined coat,

Riding a fine big grey horse.

Hello,

Said the gentleman,

Who are you and where are you off to so bright and early?

I'm Septimus Septimuson,

Said Sept,

And I'm going to seek my fortune.

And you've taken an axe to help you carve your way to glory?

No,

Said Sept,

I found it and I suppose someone lost it,

So I'm bringing it along in case I meet him.

Heavy isn't it,

Said the old gentleman.

Yes,

Said Sept,

Then I'll carry it for you,

Said the old gentleman,

For it's one that my head forester lost yesterday,

And now come along with me,

For you're the boy I've been looking for for seven years,

An honest boy and the seventh son of a seventh son.

The gentleman turned out to be a great lord in that country,

And Sept lived in his castle for years,

And was taught everything that a gentleman ought to know.

And in return,

He told the lord all about the ways of birds and beasts,

For as he understood their talk,

He knew more about them than anyone else in that country.

And the lord wrote it all down in a book,

And half the people said it was wonderfully clever,

And the other half said it was nonsense,

And how could he know?

This was fame,

And the lord was very pleased.

But although he was so famous,

He wouldn't leave his castle,

For he had a hump that an enchanter had fastened onto him,

And he couldn't bear to be seen with it.

But you'll get rid of it for me someday,

My boy,

He used to say.

No one but the seventh son of a seventh son and an honest boy can do that,

So all the doctors say.

So Sept grew up,

And when he was 21,

Straight as a lance and handsome as a picture,

The old lord said to him,

My boy,

You've been like a son to me,

But now it's time you got married and had sons of your own.

Is there any girl you'd like to marry?

No,

Said Sept.

The old lord laughed.

Then you must set out again and seek your fortune,

He said,

Because no man has really found his fortune till he's found the lady who is his heart's lady.

Choose the best horse in the stable,

And off you go,

Lad,

And my blessing go with you.

So Sept chose a good red horse and set out,

And he rode straight to the great city that shone golden across the plain.

When he got there,

He found everyone crying.

Whatever is the matter?

Asked Sept,

Reining in the red horse in front of a smithy,

Where the apprentices were crying onto the fires,

And the smith was dropping tears on the anvil.

The blacksmith blew his nose.

A nasty wicked magician had a spite against the king,

And he got at the princess when she was playing ball in the garden,

And now she's blind and deaf and dumb and won't eat.

Sept sat still on the red horse thinking.

Has anything been done?

He asked.

Oh yes,

Said the blacksmith.

All the doctors have seen her,

But they can't do anything,

And the king has advertised in the usual way that anyone who can cure her may marry her,

But it's no good.

King's sons aren't what they used to be.

A silly lot they are nowadays,

All taken up with football and cricket and golf.

Hmm,

Said Sept.

Thank you.

Which is the way to the palace?

The blacksmith pointed,

And then burst into tears again.

Sept rode on.

When he got to the palace,

He asked to see the king.

Everyone there was crying too,

From the footman who opened the door to the king himself,

Who was sitting on his golden throne and looking at his fine collection of butterflies through floods of tears.

Oh dear me,

Yes,

Young man,

Said the king.

You may see her and welcome,

But it's no good.

We can but try,

Said Sept.

He was taken to the room where the princess sat,

Huddled up on her silver throne among the white velvet cushions with her crown all on one side,

Crying,

So the tears ran down over her green gown with the red roses on it,

And directly he saw her.

He knew that she was his heart's lady.

He went up to her and kneeled at her side and took her hand and kissed it.

The princess jumped.

She couldn't see or hear him,

But at the touch of his hand and his lips,

She knew that he was her heart's lord,

And she threw her arms around his neck and cried more than ever.

He held her in his arms and stroked her hair till she stopped crying,

And then he called for bread and milk.

This was brought in a silver basin and he fed her with it as you feed a little child.

The news ran through the city.

The princess has eaten,

And all the bells were set ringing.

Sept said good night to his princess and went to bed in the best bedroom of the palace.

Early in the grey morning,

He got up and leaned out of the opened window and called to his old friend the wind,

And the wind came bustling in and clapped him on the back,

Crying,

Well my boy,

And what can I do for you,

Eh?

Sept told him all about the princess.

Well,

Said the wind,

You've not done so badly.

At any rate,

You've got her love.

You've got that all by yourself.

Now,

Of course,

The thing to do is find the wicked magician.

I travel a good deal.

I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I hear anything.

Sept spent the day holding the princess's hand and feeding her at mealtimes,

And that night the wind rattled his window and said,

Let me in.

It came in very noisily and said,

Well,

I've found your magician.

He's in the forest pretending to be a mole.

How can I find him?

Said Sept.

Haven't you friends in the forest?

Asked the wind,

And Sept remembered his friends,

The squirrels,

And he mounted his horse and rode away to the chestnut tree where they lived.

They were charmed to see him,

Grown so tall and strong and handsome,

And when he told them his story,

They called to all their little brothers and cousins and uncles and nephews to search the forest for a mole that wasn't really a mole,

And quite soon they found him and hustled and shoved him along till he was face to face with Sept in a green glade.

Well,

The glade was green,

But all the bushes and trees around were red-brown with squirrel fur and shining bright with squirrel eyes.

Then Sept said,

Give the princess back her eyes and her hearing and her voice,

But the mole would not.

Give the princess back her eyes and her hearing and her voice,

Said Sept again,

But the mole only gnashed his wicked teeth and snarled,

And in a minute the squirrels fell on the mole and killed it,

And Sept thanked them and rode back to the palace,

For of course he knew that when a magician is killed,

All his magic unworks itself instantly.

But when he got to his princess,

She was still as deaf and dumb as ever,

And she was still crying bitterly till the tears ran down her grass-green gown with the red roses on it.

Cheer up,

My sweetheart,

He said,

Though he knew she couldn't hear him,

And as he spoke the wind came in at the open window and spoke very softly because it was in the presence of the princess.

All right,

It whispered,

That old villain gave us the slip that journey,

Got out of the moleskin in the very nick of time,

He's a wild boar now.

Come,

Said Sept,

Fingering his sword hilt,

I'll kill that myself.

And he went and fought it,

But it was a most uncommon boar,

As big as a horse,

With tusks half a yard long,

And although Sept wounded it,

It jerked the sword out of his hand with its tusk,

And was just going to trample him,

When a great roar sounded through the forest.

Ah,

Would ye,

Said the lion,

And fastened teeth and claws in the great boar's back.

They fought until the boar lay quiet.

Is he dead?

Asked Sept.

Oh yeah,

He's dead right enough,

Said the lion.

But the wind came up,

Puffing and blowing,

And said,

It's no good,

He's got away again,

And now he's a fish.

I was just a minute too late to see what fish.

An old oyster told me about it,

Only he hadn't the wit to notice what particular fish the scoundrel changed into.

So then Sept went back to the palace,

And he said to the king,

Let me marry the dear princess,

And we'll go out and seek our fortune.

I've got to kill that magician,

And I'll do it too,

Or my name's not Septimus Septimuson.

But it may take years and years,

And I just can't be away from the princess all that time,

Because she won't eat unless I feed her.

You see the difficulty,

Sire?

The king saw it,

And that very day Sept was married to the princess,

In her green gown with the red roses on it,

And they set out together.

The wind went with them,

And the wind seemed to say to Sept,

Go home,

Take your wife home to your mother.

So he did.

He crossed the land,

And he crossed the sea,

And he went up the red brick path to his father's cottage,

And he peeped in at the door and said,

Father,

Mother,

Here's my wife.

They were so pleased to see him,

For they had thought him dead,

That they didn't notice the princess at first,

And when they did notice her,

They wondered at her beautiful face,

And her beautiful gown.

But it wasn't till they'd settled down to supper,

It was boiled rabbit,

And they noticed Sept feeding his wife as one feeds a baby,

That they saw that she was blind,

And then all the story had to be told.

Well,

Well,

Said the fisherman,

You and your wife bide here with us.

I dare say I'll catch that old sinner in my nets one of these days.

But he never did,

And Sept and his wife lived with the old people,

And they were happy after a fashion.

But of an evening,

Sept used to wander by the seashore,

Wondering whether he'd ever have the luck to catch that fish.

And one evening as he wandered,

He heard a little sharp thin voice say,

I've got it.

What?

Asked Sept.

I've got it,

Repeated a big muscle on a rock close by him,

The magic stone that the magician does his enchantments with.

He dropped it out of his mouth,

And I shut my shells on it,

And now he's sweeping up and down the sea like a mad fish,

Looking for it,

For he knows he can never change into anything else,

Until he gets it back.

Here,

Take the nasty thing,

It's making me feel quite ill.

It opened its shells wide,

And Sept saw a pearl.

He reached out with his hand and took it.

Ah,

That's better,

Said the muscle,

Washing its shells out with salt water.

Can I do magic with it?

Sept eagerly asked.

No,

Said the muscle sadly.

It's of no use to anyone but the owner.

Now,

If I were you,

I'd get into a boat,

And if your friend the wind will help us,

I believe we can sort it out.

I'm at your service,

Of course,

Said the wind,

Getting up instantly.

The muscle whispered to the wind,

Who rushed off at once,

And Sept launched his boat.

Now,

Said the muscle,

You get into the very middle of the sea,

Or as near as you can guess it,

The wind will warn all the other fishes.

As he spoke,

He disappeared in the dark waters.

Sept got the boat into the middle of the sea,

As near as he could guess it,

And waited.

After a long time,

He saw something swirling about in a sort of whirlpool,

About 100 yards from his boat,

But when he tried to move the boat towards it,

Her bows ran onto something hard.

Keep still,

Keep still,

Keep still,

Cried thousands and thousands of sharp,

Thin little voices.

He looked over the boat's side and saw that the hard something was thousands and thousands of muscles,

All jammed close together,

And through the clear water,

More and more were coming,

And piling themselves together.

Almost at once,

His boat was slowly lifted.

The top of the muscle heap showed through the water,

And there he was,

High and dry,

On a muscle reef,

And in all that part of the sea,

The water was disappearing,

And as far as the eye could reach,

Stretched a great plain of purple and grey,

The shells of countless muscles.

Only at one spot there was still a splashing.

Then a muscle opened its shell and spoke.

We've got him,

It said,

We've piled ourselves up,

Till we've filled this part of the sea.

The wind warned all the good fishes,

And we've got the old traitor in a little pool over there.

Get out and walk over our backs.

We'll all lie sideways so as not to hurt you.

You must catch the fish,

But whatever you do,

Don't kill it,

Till we give the word.

Sap promised,

And he got out and walked over the muscles to the pool,

And when he saw the wicked soul of the magician looking out through the round eyes of a big finny fish,

He remembered all that his princess had suffered,

And he longed to draw his sword and kill it there and then,

But he remembered his promise.

He threw a net about it and dragged it back to the boat.

The muscles dispersed and let the boat down again into the water,

And he rode home towing the evil fish in the net by a line.

He beached the boat and looked along the shore.

The shore looked a very odd colour,

And well it might,

For every bit of the sand was covered with purple-grey muscles.

They had all come up out of the sea,

Leaving just one little bit of real yellow sand for him to beach the boat on.

Now,

Said millions of sharp,

Thin little voices,

Kill him now.

Sap drew his sword and waded into the shallow surf,

And killed the evil fish with one strong stroke,

And then such a shout went up all along the shore,

As that shore had never heard,

And all along the shore where the muscles had been,

Stood men in armour,

And men in smock-frocks,

And men in leather aprons and huntsman's coats,

And women and children,

A whole nation of people,

Close by the boat stood a king and queen with crowns on their heads.

Thank you,

Sap,

Said the king,

You've saved us all.

I am the king muscle,

Doomed to be a muscle so long as that wretch lived.

You have set us all free,

And look,

Down the path from the shore came running his very own princess,

Who hung round his neck,

Crying his name,

And looking at him with the most beautiful eyes in the world.

Come,

Said the muscle king,

We have no son,

You shall be our son,

And reign after us.

Thank you,

Said Sap,

But this is my father,

And he presented the old fisherman to his majesty.

Then let him come with us,

Said the king royally,

He can help me reign,

Or fish in the palace lake,

Whichever he prefers.

Thank you,

Said Sap's father,

I'll come and fish.

Your mother too,

Said the muscle queen,

Kissing Sap's mother,

So they all went back by way of the foreign country,

Where Sap had found his princess,

And they called on the old lord.

He had lost his hump,

And they easily persuaded him to come with them.

You can help me reign if you like,

Or we have a nice book or two in the palace library,

Said the muscle king.

Thank you,

Said the old lord,

I'll come and be your librarian if I may,

Reigning isn't at all in my line.

Then they went on to Sap's father-in-law,

And when he saw how happy they all were together,

He said,

Bless my beard,

But I've half a mind to come with you.

Come along,

Said the muscle king,

You shall help me reign.

Oh no,

Thank you,

Said the other king,

Very quickly,

I've had enough of reigning.

My kingdom can buy a president and be a republic if it likes,

I'm going to study butterflies.

And so he does,

Most happily,

Up to this very minute,

And Sap and his dear princess are as happy as anything.

Reviews

Wonderful and so fun! I’m 69 but enjoyed this tale with childlike delight! Thank you.

Just perfect music and story choice and of course you for telling the story so well.

What a gorgeous tale of love and care… love E. Nesbit! And love your reading and music, just exquisite, thank you!🙏🏽❤️

A strange story I’ll have to listen to again, since I slept through most of it. Seventh child of the seventh child or family? But thank you anyway for the reading, Mandy. (& I liked the music!)