Huge Harold - Autumn Read Aloud Books for Children - Fall Bedtime Stories - Rabbit Read Alouds
Huge Harold, by Bill Peet, is a wonderfully imaginative and entertaining kid's book read aloud for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school ages (and adults still young at heart), for the Fall/Autumn season.
Parents and teachers, join me here at The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for daily read alouds in the classroom, at bedtime, or anytime!
Follow The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for a classic children's library.
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Parents and teachers, join me here at The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for daily read alouds in the classroom, at bedtime, or anytime!
Follow The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for a classic children's library.
#kidsbooksreadaloud #readaloud #readaloudbooksforchildren
Transcript
00:00Huge Herald, written and illustrated by Bill
00:29Peete.
00:35When Herald the rabbit was tiny and small, his feet started growing and that's about
00:41all.
00:42Oh, gracious, his mother exclaimed in surprise, they're two times too big for a rabbit your
00:48size.
00:49That's a sign, said his father, he'll grow to great height.
00:53And father's prediction turned out to be right.
01:00For Herald began to get bigger each day.
01:03He grew all around in every which way.
01:06Please, cried his mother, stop growing right now.
01:10Please, Herald, you're nearly as big as a cow.
01:14Oh, what a big problem, his poor father cried.
01:18There's no place around here where Herald can hide.
01:22He can't hide in bushes or in hollow logs.
01:25He'll soon be discovered by hunters and dogs.
01:29That's right, his poor mother wailed in despair.
01:33He'll have to go live in a deep wood somewhere.
01:39So, with tears in their eyes, the first thing the next day, they watched as Huge Herald,
01:45their son, hopped away.
01:47He galloped along on his big rabbit feet, off through a meadow of waving gold wheat.
01:53He crossed a green pasture without being seen.
01:56Then he followed a creek bed along a ravine.
02:03He hopped through a cornfield, along a rail fence, and came to a woods that was gloomy
02:09and dense.
02:10I must say, said Herald, it doesn't look cheery.
02:14It looks very spooky and creepy and eerie.
02:19I suppose, he continued, there's nothing to fear, for it doesn't seem likely there's anyone
02:25here.
02:29As he hopped down the path through the twisty old trees, there wasn't a sound but a whisper
02:35of breeze.
02:36Then he heard a faint rustle, a twig snapping sound, and he stopped in his tracks to look
02:42quickly around.
02:44He saw foxes and weasels with eyes black and beady, and a tree full of owls with eyes fierce
02:51and greedy.
02:56Now, said one owl, if we play it just right, we'll all have a big rabbit banquet tonight.
03:03I'm sorry, said Herald, to say I can't stay, and in one frantic leap he was off and away.
03:11He raced through the bushes at such a fast pace that the weasels and foxes soon gave
03:16up the chase.
03:17But Herald kept running, so great was his fright, till the spooky old forest was miles
03:23out of sight.
03:27I'm tired, said Herald, I'm through for the day, and he flopped down to rest on a big
03:34stack of hay.
03:36But his nap was cut short by a bossy old cow, who said, get off our breakfast and get out
03:42right now.
03:43And stay out of my pen and don't eat in my trough, said a grimy old pig, now you better
03:49be off.
03:51Of course, there was nothing that Herald could say, so he left the cow pasture and went on
03:56his way.
03:58As he rambled along, a sweet scent crossed the breeze, the fresh green aroma of lettuce
04:04and peas.
04:06The scarecrow stood by with his arms in the air, as if he might say, help yourself, I
04:11don't care.
04:16But Herald had no more started to feast when he heard someone shouting, now stop it, you
04:22beast.
04:24A farmer came running across a barn lot, took aim with his rifle and fired a shot.
04:30Herald had never been shot at before, and he raced on in panic for five miles or more.
04:40Then he stopped at a creek and sat down on a rock and tried to relax and get over the
04:46shock.
04:47A big rabbit like me isn't safe anywhere, he said with a long, weary sigh of despair.
04:54As he sat staring helplessly down at his toes, a raindrop surprisingly plopped on his nose.
05:04Wind whipped the cattails and stirred up the creek.
05:08Lightning shot through the sky in a long, jagged streak.
05:12It's a storm, said poor Herald, I'd better find shelter, and away to a hilltop he ran
05:18helter-skelter.
05:20He discovered a house, a deserted old place, with dark, ghostly windows like eyes on a
05:26face.
05:27He approached the old mansion with feelings of doubt.
05:30Which would be safer now, inside or out?
05:34His decision was made by a great thunder crash, and Herald was through the front door in a
05:39flash.
05:42He soon scrambled under a stairway to hide, and there he remained while the storm raged
05:48outside.
05:50Thunder shook the old house till its dried timbers creaked.
05:54Lightning flashed in the windows, the wind howled and shrieked.
05:58Through the whole afternoon the storm raged on and on, but finally it ran out of breath
06:04and was gone.
06:06Then Herald crawled out and began to explore.
06:10He crept up the stairs to the very top floor, which was stacked to the rafters with all
06:15sorts of things, including a bed with a mattress and springs.
06:20He tried out the bed, and he found it too small.
06:24But it's better, he reasoned, than no bed at all.
06:27He awoke the next day to the squeak of a door, and the sound of some footsteps below
06:32on the floor.
06:34So he tiptoed downstairs to see what made the noise, and came face to face with two
06:39terrified boys.
06:41It's a ghost!
06:42It's a ghost!
06:43They both screamed as they fled.
06:45But one of them stopped.
06:47It's a rabbit, he said.
06:49Yes, that's the big rabbit that I'm talking about.
06:53It's a rabbit, he said.
06:55Yes, that's the big rabbit that Oliver Hatch shot at and missed in his vegetable patch.
07:01And away they both ran just as fast as they could, to tell everyone in the whole neighborhood.
07:09The farmers stopped plowing and started right out to hunt the big rabbit they'd all heard
07:14about.
07:15When they reached the old mansion, no rabbit was there.
07:19He was racing far off through the country somewhere.
07:22But the hunters kept snooping and picked up the trail, and they started the hunt for the
07:27big cottontail.
07:32Huge Harold was now in a worse spot than ever.
07:36To outwit the hunters, he'd have to be clever.
07:39He ran down ravines and he ran up low ridges.
07:43And he waded down creeks and he hid under bridges.
07:46He ran on for many and many a mile, then finally decided to rest for a while.
07:55So he spotted a hideout, and with a big hop, he came plopping down in a leafy treetop.
08:02This fooled the hunters and also their dogs, who sniffed round the tree trunk and peeked
08:06into logs.
08:08But they never once thought to look up in the tree.
08:11It wasn't a place where a rabbit should be.
08:14So at last they gave up and all went away, and promised to start again early the next day.
08:23The great hunt continued for week after week, like a countryside contest of hide-and-go-seek.
08:30It went on and on through the month of September, and into October, and all through November.
08:36December arrived with the first heavy snow, and the temperature dropped down to 14 below.
08:44Harold shivered and shook from his frost-bitten nose all the way down to his half-frozen toes.
08:52I'm done for, he said.
08:55I'm through altogether if I don't get out of this terrible weather.
08:59Just about then, something red caught his eye.
09:03A big friendly barn on a hilltop nearby.
09:06He headed straight for it, and in one big hop, he leaped through the window way up in the top.
09:11Then he sat as he lay in a big bed of hay.
09:15This is the end. I'm through running away.
09:20Harold was spotted by Orville B. Croft, who heard some loud snoring way up in his loft.
09:27Well now, he said, doggone and dagnabbit.
09:31That's what I call a whopping big rabbit.
09:34Then all at once he heard someone shout, and he opened a window and poked his head out.
09:42What's all the commotion and hullabaloo? I'd just like to know what you think you're up to.
09:49We're hunting a rabbit, the hunters replied, and we'll look through your barn if you'll let us inside.
09:55He's in here, said Orville, and here's where he'll stay, and you're not coming in, so be off on your way.
10:02The hunters all grumbled and kicked up the snow, but at last they gave up and decided to go.
10:12Orville B. Croft was both gentle and kind, but still Harold feared what he might have in mind.
10:19He was given fresh water and always well-fed, along with the horses, both Buster and Ted.
10:26I know, thought Harold, just what he's up to. He'll fatten me up for a big rabbit stew.
10:33But when the winter was over and spring came along, Harold discovered that he had been wrong.
10:40One day he was brushed with the greatest of care to get all the foxtails and burrs from his hair.
10:46He was hitched to a buggy with harness and reins, then went trotting off down the backcountry lanes.
10:53Now this is more like it, huge Harold said. I'm treated as well as a fine thoroughbred.
11:00At the end of the summer he went to the fair and created a lot of excitement while there.
11:07The question came up as to whether or not a rabbit could enter the championship trot.
11:13They looked up the rules, but they couldn't find one that said it's not fair for a rabbit to run.
11:19So he ran in the race and won going away and became a champion trotter that day.
11:25The crowd loved huge Harold and all brought him treats, such as lettuce and celery, spinach and beets.
11:32It was too good to be true, like a wonderful dream. Why, they even brought Harold some carrot ice cream.
11:39But all this success didn't go to his head. He remained very modest and humble instead.
11:46For rabbits, you see, aren't affected by fear. They're just happy.
11:51I hope you enjoyed that story. If you would like to see these books uploaded daily, go ahead and subscribe.
11:57And don't forget to check out all the other stories that are already uploaded.
12:01Thank you so much for watching.