--- title: "The Light That Failed by Rudyard Kipling — Classic Ebook | Publica No…" description: "Read a free sample of The Light That Failed by Rudyard Kipling at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online." canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/the-light-that-failed" --- Literary # The Light That Failed by Rudyard Kipling [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $1.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcreators%2Fvito%2Fworks%2Fthe-light-that-failed) Share Link copied Format epub Published May 02, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![The Light That Failed](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqn2dyscg7xp8z41zsbjs8ne/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20260902%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260902T132932Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=696fb9f9c80dd77d466b13e80d516d5e3522a32bfc431f26bfa2bde0f02bd34c) ## About this work The Light That Failed by Rudyard Kipling — a public-domain edition published by publica.now. Sample ## Take a look inside The Light that Failed by Rudyard Kipling Contents DEDICATION PREFACE CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV DEDICATION If I were hanged on the highest hill, Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! I know whose love would follow me still, Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! If I were drowned in the deepest sea, Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! I know whose tears would come down to me, Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! If I were damned of body and soul, I know whose prayers would make me whole, Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine! CHAPTER I So we settled it all when the storm was done As comf’y as comf’y could be; And I was to wait in the barn, my dears, Because I was only three; And Teddy would run to the rainbow’s foot, Because he was five and a man; And that’s how it all began, my dears, And that’s how it all began. —Big Barn Stories. “What do you think she’d do if she caught us? We oughtn’t to have it, you know,” said Maisie. “Beat me, and lock you up in your bedroom,” Dick answered, without hesitation. “Have you got the cartridges?” “Yes; they’re in my pocket, but they are joggling horribly. Do pin-fire cartridges go off of their own accord?” “Don’t know. Take the revolver, if you are afraid, and let me carry them.” “I’m not afraid.” Maisie strode forward swiftly, a hand in her pocket and her chin in the air. Dick followed with a small pin-fire revolver. The children had discovered that their lives would be unendurable without pistol-practice. 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