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About this book
Keawe is a poor Hawaiian man, but he’s also a wise and good-hearted one. One day, he purchases a strange bottle inhabited by a devil who grants wishes. The problem is that if someone dies while owning the bottle, their soul goes to hell. Worse, the owner must sell it for less money than they paid for it. Even if Kaewe got rid of the bottle after a while, misfortune forces him to find it again. Accompanied by his wife, Kokua, a woman who’s kind and selfless, he embarks on an thrilling adventure that could change his life for better… or for worse. Robert Louis Stevenson is famous for writing Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was inspired by the bottled genie from One Thousand and One Nights to create his own wish-granting creature. If you’re looking for a tale about love, ambition, and sacrifice that is both captivating and spooky, meet the Bottle Imp!
Author
Robert Louis Stevenson
Read by
Digital Voice
Story
The Bottle Imp
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Note.—Any student of that very unliterary product, the English drama of the early part of the century, will here recognise the name and the root idea of a piece once rendered popular by the redoubtable O. Smith. The root idea is there and identical, and yet I hope I have made it a new thing. And the fact that the tale has been designed and written for a Polynesian audience may lend it some extraneous interest nearer home.—R. L. S.
There was a man of the Island of Hawaii, whom I shall call Keawe; for the truth is, he still lives, and his name must be kept secret; but the place of his birth was not far from Honaunau, where the bones of Keawe the Great lie hidden in a cave. This man was poor, brave, and active; he could read and write like a schoolmaster; he was a first-rate mariner besides, sailed for some time in the island steamers, and steered a whaleboat on the Hamakua coast. At length it came in Keawe’s mind to have a sight of the great world and foreign cities, and he shipped on a vessel bound to San Francisco.
This is a fine town, with a fine harbour, and rich people uncountable; and, in particular, there is one hill which is covered with palaces. Upon this hill Keawe was one day taking a walk with his pocket full of money, viewing the great houses upon either hand with pleasure, “What fine houses these are!” he was thinking, “and how happy must those people be who dwell in them, and take no care for the morrow!” The thought was in his mind when he came abreast of a house that was smaller than some others, but all finished and beautified like a toy; the steps of that house shone like silver, and the borders of the garden bloomed like garlands, and the windows were bright like diamond; and Keawe stopped and wondered at the excellence of all he saw. So stopping, he was aware of a man that looked forth upon him through a window so clear that Keawe could see him as you see a fish in a pool upon the reef. The man wa...
🎧
Audiobook Available
Listen to The Bottle Imp in the app. It's free and ad-free.
About this book
Keawe is a poor Hawaiian man, but he’s also a wise and good-hearted one. One day, he purchases a strange bottle inhabited by a devil who grants wishes. The problem is that if someone dies while owning the bottle, their soul goes to hell. Worse, the owner must sell it for less money than they paid for it. Even if Kaewe got rid of the bottle after a while, misfortune forces him to find it again. Accompanied by his wife, Kokua, a woman who’s kind and selfless, he embarks on an thrilling adventure that could change his life for better… or for worse. Robert Louis Stevenson is famous for writing Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was inspired by the bottled genie from One Thousand and One Nights to create his own wish-granting creature. If you’re looking for a tale about love, ambition, and sacrifice that is both captivating and spooky, meet the Bottle Imp!
Author
Robert Louis Stevenson
Read by
Digital Voice
Story
The Bottle Imp
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Note.—Any student of that very unliterary product, the English drama of the early part of the century, will here recognise the name and the root idea of a piece once rendered popular by the redoubtable O. Smith. The root idea is there and identical, and yet I hope I have made it a new thing. And the fact that the tale has been designed and written for a Polynesian audience may lend it some extraneous interest nearer home.—R. L. S.
There was a man of the Island of Hawaii, whom I shall call Keawe; for the truth is, he still lives, and his name must be kept secret; but the place of his birth was not far from Honaunau, where the bones of Keawe the Great lie hidden in a cave. This man was poor, brave, and active; he could read and write like a schoolmaster; he was a first-rate mariner besides, sailed for some time in the island steamers, and steered a whaleboat on the Hamakua coast. At length it came in Keawe’s mind to have a sight of the great world and foreign cities, and he shipped on a vessel bound to San Francisco.
This is a fine town, with a fine harbour, and rich people uncountable; and, in particular, there is one hill which is covered with palaces. Upon this hill Keawe was one day taking a walk with his pocket full of money, viewing the great houses upon either hand with pleasure, “What fine houses these are!” he was thinking, “and how happy must those people be who dwell in them, and take no care for the morrow!” The thought was in his mind when he came abreast of a house that was smaller than some others, but all finished and beautified like a toy; the steps of that house shone like silver, and the borders of the garden bloomed like garlands, and the windows were bright like diamond; and Keawe stopped and wondered at the excellence of all he saw. So stopping, he was aware of a man that looked forth upon him through a window so clear that Keawe could see him as you see a fish in a pool upon the reef. The man wa...
