Once upon a time there was an Earthquake. He rumbled, mumbled and grumbled a lot. Suddenly, he bumped into something and everything tumbled, bumpyty-thump, thumpyty-bump! Houses and palaces fell down in a lump!
The Earthquake was sad and cried, “Oh, what a crash! Oh, what a smash! How could I ever be so rash?” He felt mortified and ran away, groaning as he fled. “This comes of not looking before I tread,” he said.
After a while, he was tired and stopped to rest in a field of grain. In that field, there was a clump of wheat, and inside the wheat, there was a Dormouse nest. The Dormouse was fast asleep, dreaming peacefully when suddenly his nest began to shake and tremble.
The Dormouse woke up and peeked out of his nest, angry and confused. “Who is it dares disturb my rest?” he squeaked in a husky voice.
The Earthquake was too weak to speak properly and apologized feebly. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it’s me. Please don’t be angry. I’ll try to be–“
But he never finished his sentence. The Earthquake melted away, leaving the Dormouse alone and grumbling. “Oh, bother!” he muttered before going back to sleep.
Credits
Oliver Herford was an American humorist, illustrator, and poet active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, celebrated for his wit and whimsy in both words and pictures. He was often compared to Oscar Wilde for his sharp, playful aphorisms. "The Bashful Earthquake" showcases his gentle absurdist humour, casting geological catastrophe as a timid, remorseful creature brought low by a dormouse's irritation.
