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BY GURDON 5. WORCESTER Foreword by Nancy Hale Illustrated by Irene Burns
This is the story of Hilli, a little girl of Finnish descent; her father, a hard-working granite quarrier; and his estranged, solitary brother whose flute playing reaches out from the woods to touch and awaken the spirit of happiness and laughter in Hilli. Hilli is called to the woods by the enchantment of his music, but she is torn between her own desire for the happiness it gives her and the will of her father, who has cut off contact with his brother. Gurdon Worcester's prose is as simple and beautiful as the singing of the flute. "... the dew made jewels that washed her bare feet with cold fire." the sound of the flute "fell like a net that caught the silver of the stars and spread shimmering over the woodland." The scenes in which Hilli saves a wild, savage dog from hunters and in which her father and uncle face each other are among the most moving ever written. The spell of the music and the woods is cast over this story—it will bring deep joy to the reader. The expressive drawings by Irene Burns, who was recommended by the Fogg Museum in Boston to illustrate this book, add great beauty to it.
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GURDON S. WORCESTER, the author, has divided his professional life in Boston between the practice of psychotherapy, writing for national magazines, and inventing. He attended Harvard University, class of 1920, and spends his summers by a woodland quarry on his beloved Cape Ann.
IRENE GARLITZ BURNS, the creator of these sensitive illustrations, is a graduate of the Massachusetts School of Art and has been an instructor in painting and drawing. She is also a skillful portrait painter.
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