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Title: Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes
Author: Laura Rountree Smith
Release Date: November 29, 2003 [EBook #10329]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SNUBBY NOSE AND TIPPY TOES ***
Produced by Ted Garvin, Carol David and PG Distributed Proofreaders
[Illustration: "BRING THE CAMPHOR! BRING THE SMELLING SALTS!"]
SNUBBY NOSE
AND
TIPPY TOES
BY
LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH
1917, 1922
CONTENTS
SNUBBY NOSE AND TIPPY TOES
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
MORE COTTON TAIL STORIES
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
ILLUSTRATIONS
"'BRING THE CAMPHOR! BRING THE SMELLING SALTS!'"
"GRANDPA GRUMBLES HAD NOT SEEN DR. COTTONTAIL FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS"
"TIPPY TOES WASHED THE DISHES"
"'MY NAME IS NOT SNUBBY NOSE'"
"HE WAS SWEEPING THE CHIMNEY WITH HIS LONG, BEAUTIFUL TAIL"
"THEY WERE SAILING AWAY WITH GRANDPA GRUMBLES"
"BUSHY-TAIL WENT SPLASH, DASH, INTO THE LAKE"
"'I WILL TUCK THEM IN MY SLEIGH'"
"SOON THE CIRCUS COTTON-TAILS CAME IN VIEW"
"BUNNY AND SUSAN WERE SITTING BY THE FIRE"
SNUBBY NOSE AND TIPPY TOES
CHAPTER I
Bunny and Susan Cotton-Tail sat by the fire one winter evening warming
their paws.
"What's that?" asked Bunny.
"What's that?" asked Susan.
They went to the window and saw a very little Bunny stuck fast in a
snowdrift.
"Help, help," cried Bunny, "I will get the snow-shovel."
"Help, help," cried Susan, "I will get the wheelbarrow."
Bunny and Susan went out to shovel the little Bunny out of the
snowdrift. Bunny said, "You dear little fellow, how did you get stuck
fast in the snowdrift?"
Susan looked hard over her spectacles and said, "Why, it is our own
dear grandchild, Snubby Nose."
Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! Bunny Cotton-Tail
shoveled as fast as he could, and in sixteen minutes he had Snubby Nose
out of the snowdrift. Susan put him in the wheelbarrow and wheeled him
to the house. All the time Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he
howled!
Susan said, "Go and get the big tub and we will give Snubby Nose a hot
bath."
Bunny got the tub and some warm water and he and Susan gave Snubby Nose
a hot bath. They rubbed him dry with a soft towel, and all the time
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Just at this very minute Grandpa Grumbles came in shaking the snow off
his fur and whiskers. He shook his green cotton umbrella. He came in
grumbling,
"It's noisy here, I do declare,
I just came out to take the air."
Snubby Nose stopped his noise and stared at Grandpa Grumbles. Bunny and
Susan said, "Sit down by the fire, Grandpa, and warm your paws."
Grandpa Grumbles sat down.
Snubby Nose cried, "Grandpa Grumbles, tell us a story, please tell us a
story."
Bunny Cotton-Tail said, in a whisper, "Please don't mention
_noses_."
Susan Cotton-Tail said, "Please don't mention _snowdrifts_."
Grandpa Grumbles was wet and cold, so he grumbled right out loud, "I
will tell about as many _noses_ and _snowdrifts_ as I please
in this story!" Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Susan took him up in her arms. She carried him to bed and sang him a
nonsense song. By and by Snubby Nose fell asleep. Susan went back
downstairs and found Grandpa Grumbles asleep by the fire.
Bunny said, "I wonder what makes him grumble so much?"
Susan said, "T wonder what happened to Snubby Nose. He has such a funny
little nose!"
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
As they sat talking, "thump, bump" was heard, and Snubby Nose fell down
stairs! He fell right on his ugly little nose and broke it!
"Get the camphor! Get the smelling salts! Help, help!" cried Bunny and
Susan.
Grandpa Grumbles woke, up and cried,
"Someone has a sad mishap,
Just when I try to take a nap."
I do not know what in the world they would have done if Doctor
Cotton-Tail had not come in that very minute. He came in to dry his fur and
whiskers!
He set Snubby Nose's little ugly nose and said, "It will not look very
pretty, but perhaps it did not look pretty before. You must wear a pink
wrapper, and drink tea out of a pink cup, and eat pink wintergreen
candy!"
Snubby Nose liked the idea of wintergreen candy. He hugged Doctor
Cotton-Tail and stopped crying at once.
Susan got a pink wrapper and got a pink china cup for his tea. Grandpa
Grumbles felt in his overcoat pocket and took out sixteen pieces of
Wintergreen candy. It was pink wintergreen candy of course!
Susan said to Doctor Cotton-Tail, "How did you happen to come out in
this big snowstorm?"
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I had a call to make, I was going to visit--"
Just then Susan began to sneeze. She sneezed so hard she nearly sneezed
her head off!
Doctor Cotton-Tail said,
"Susan that is quite absurd,
Such sneezing I have never heard."
Susan said by and by, "I beg your pardon, what were you saying when I
started to sneeze?"
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I had a call, I was going to visit--"
At this very minute Snubby Nose set up a shout, for dear Bunny
Cotton-Tail leaned too near the candle and burned one of his whiskers!
Then Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and
said,
"Such a noise I never heard,
I cannot hear a single word."
[Illustration: "GRANDPA GRUMBLES HAD NOT SEEN DR. COTTON-TAIL FOR TWO
HUNDRED AND SIX YEARS"]
Grandpa Grumbles had been sitting very still in a corner and Doctor
Cotton-Tail had not seen him up to this minute. He got up and shook
hands with him and said, "How do you do, sir, How do you do, sir!"
Grandpa Grumbles was pleased as pleased could be. He had not seen
Doctor Cotton-Tail for two hundred and six years! He cried out, "How do
you do, sir! How do you do, sir!"
All this time Snubby Nose sat up in his pink wrapper drinking tea out
of a pink cup and eating pink wintergreen candy. By and by Susan said,
"Doctor Cotton-Tail you were going to tell us where you were going to
call when you came here!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I was on my way to call on little Tippy
Toes!"
"My fur and whiskers," said Bunny, "I never had a grandchild named
Tippy Toes!"
"Bless my buttons," said Susan, "What a cute little name."
Then Grandpa Grumbles got up waving his green cotton umbrella and
shouted,
"Though the stormy north wind blows,
I'll go with you to Tippy Toes."
Then he and Doctor Cotton-Tail made a low bow and went out into the
snowstorm.
Doctor Cotton-Tail called back, "Don't forget to eat wintergreen
candy."
By this time Bunny and Susan and Snubby Nose were tired and sleepy, and
they all went to bed. Bunny began to snore and Susan began to snore,
but Snubby Nose was still wide awake.
What do you suppose Snubby Nose did? You can give three guesses and you
will not guess what he did!
He got out of bed and lit a candle. He said, "I believe I am the
ugliest little Bunny with the ugliest little nose of any Bunny alive."
He began to dance before the mirror. He danced this way and that way
before the mirror. He danced very prettily on the tips of his toes.
Then he made a low bow and said,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Tippy Toes."
Then Snubby Nose went back to bed. He said, "To-morrow I will go and
find Tippy Toes."
CHAPTER II
Where do you suppose Tippy Toes was, and what do you suppose he was
doing? He woke up in his warm little bed at home and said, "Oh, Ma! Oh,
Pa! I want to go and visit Bunny and Susan Cotton-Tail."
Mother Cotton-Tail laughed and said, "You have read about Bunny
Cotton-Tail burning his paw by candle-light."
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "You have read about Susan's cookies!"
Tippy Toes said, "Please, may I go and visit Bunny and Susan?"
Tippy Toes was a homely little Bunny. He had a very ugly little nose,
but he was polite. He always said, "Thank you," and, "If you please."
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "You may go and pay a visit to Bunny and
Susan. Go and pack your traveling bag at once."
Tippy Toes was so pleased he hugged Mother Cotton-Tail and said, "Thank
you, Mother Cotton-Tail, I will go and pack my traveling bag."
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "I will go with you to the turn of the road."
Soon they started merrily down the road and Mother Cotton-Tail called,
"Good-bye, good-bye."
They had only gone a few steps when Mother Cotton-Tail called, "Come
back, come back, you have forgotten your umbrella. What if it should
rain?"
Tippy Toes went dancing merrily back and Papa Cotton-Tail waited for
him. They started on again and this time Mother Cotton-Tail called,
"Come back, come back, you have forgotten your overshoes. What if there
should be a thunder storm?"
So Tippy Toes went dancing merrily back and Papa Cotton-Tail waited for
him again. When they started the third time Tippy Toes said, "We have
nothing to go back for this time," but the wind whistled in his ears.
Mother Cotton-Tail called again, "Come back, come back, Tippy Toes, you
have forgotten your red silk pocket handkerchief."
This time Papa Cotton-Tail went back with Tippy Toes and he said, "Dear
Mother Cotton-Tail, do put on your thinking-cap and see if we have
forgotten anything else, or we shall never get off."
Then they looked high and low, but they could not find Mother
Cotton-Tail's thinking-cap!
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "Never mind, I will put on _my_ thinking-cap
instead." So he put on his red silk thinking-cap and said, "Oh, I
know what we have forgotten; we have forgotten to send Bunny and Susan
a present!"
"To be sure," said Mother Cotton-Tail, "Now what shall the present be?"
Little Tippy Toes did not get started on his journey that day, for it
took four days and fourteen hours for them to decide what to send Bunny
and Susan. All this time Tippy Toes was as merry as you please. He
danced about on the tips of his toes and sang,
"A present, a present, if all things go well,
What shall be the present? No one can tell."
Suddenly, at breakfast next morning Mother Cotton-Tail said, "I will go
to town and buy Bunny and Susan a big parlor lamp."
"A lamp with a pink shade," said Tippy Toes.
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "A lamp with a tall chimney."
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "I will buy a lamp with a pink shade and a
tall chimney for Bunny, because he burns his paw in the candle."
Then Tippy Toes danced this way, and he danced that way, and said, "Oh,
Ma, may I go with you to town to help buy the lamp?"
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "Papa Cotton-Tail has to go to work. If I go
to town and you go, too, who will tend the fire? Who will wash the
dishes?"
Tippy Toes wanted to go to town, but he was a good little Bunny, so he
said,
"Who will tend the fire? Whom do you suppose?
Who will wash the dishes? Little Tippy Toes."
So Mother Cotton-Tail put on her best sunbonnet and took her purse and
shopping basket with her, and went off with Papa Cotton-Tail calling,
"Good-bye, I will be home to supper at five o'clock sharp."
Then Tippy Toes danced a little fairylike dance before the mirror and
sang,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Snubby Nose."
Tippy Toes said, "I have danced that dance before, and I sing that song
very often, but the mirror always gives me the same answer. Who is
Snubby Nose? I wonder if he has a real ugly little nose like I have?"
Then Tippy Toes made up the fire and washed the dishes and began to get
things ready to cook for supper. He said, "I do wish I could go and
find Snubby Nose; I wonder if Bunny and Susan can tell me about him."
[Illustration: "TIPPY TOES WASHED THE DISHES"]
Tippy Toes sat down in front of the clock and began to count the hours
until Mother Cotton-Tail would come home. He fell asleep and dreamed
that he saw a little Bunny exactly like himself stuck fast in a
snowdrift. When he woke up it was five o'clock and Papa Cotton-Tail had
just come home.
They got supper and waited, and waited, for Mother Cotton-Tail. At
exactly six o'clock she came in. She was an hour late.
She came on the stroke of the clock. She said, "I have been shopping
all day."
Mother Cotton-Tail took a wonderful lamp from her basket. It had a pink
shade and a tall chimney.
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "If you send the lamp to Bunny I must send
something to Susan. I will go to town to-morrow and get Susan a pair of
spectacles."
Tippy Toes said, "Oh Pa, may I go with you to town to-morrow?"
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "Who will roll out the cookies for Mother
Cotton-Tail? Who will run her little errands all day?"
Then Tippy Toes danced this way, and he danced that way, and sang,
"Who will do errands? Whom do you suppose?
Who will roll cookies? Little Tippy Toes."
So, they had a merry time at supper that evening and lighted the new
lamp, and Papa Cotton-Tail read fairy tales.
Tippy Toes did not tell what the mirror had answered him. He kept that
as a secret. He said to himself, "I do wonder _who_ Snubby Nose
is!"
CHAPTER III
Next day Tippy Toes woke up early and cried out, "Oh, Mother
Cotton-Tail, it is time to wake up! Oh, Papa Cotton-Tail, it is time to
wake up!"
Sure enough it was time for Bunnies to wake up because it was sunrise.
Tippy Toes helped to get breakfast. He went to the well to draw water.
He began to sing a little fairy song,
"Ding, dong bell,
Pussy's in the well."
"Poor Pussy, I wonder if she is still in the well," he said. He peeped
down to look into the well.
Papa Cotton-Tail called, "Hurry, hurry, it is time for breakfast."
Then Tippy Toes drew a bucket full of water and said, "Is poor Pussy
still in the well?"
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "If you ever read your Mother Goose you would
know she is not in the well."
"Who pulled her out?" asked Tippy Toes.
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "Hush, be still, you ask too many questions!"
Tippy Toes wondered all day who pulled poor Pussy out. He danced this
way, and he danced that way, and he set the table for breakfast.
He said, "If you are home by dinner time Papa Cotton-Tail, may I go and
visit Bunny and Susan?"
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "If I get home in time with Susan's spectacles
you may go to-day."
Papa Cotton-Tail put on his big fur coat and went merrily down the
road. Mother Cotton-Tail began to make cookies and Tippy Toes rolled
them out for her. Now, will you believe it? before they had a single
pan of cookies baked, Papa Cotton-Tail was back home again.
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "Why are you back so soon?"
Tippy Toes said, "Did you get the spectacles already?"
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "I met a peddler and he had a pair of black
spectacles in his pack."
Papa Cotton-Tail put on the black spectacles and he looked so funny
that Mother Cotton-Tail said, "Let me try them on," and Tippy Toes
cried, "Please let me try them on!"
Mother Cotton-Tail said, "I will pack Bunny's lamp and Susan's
spectacles and you may start on your long journey at once."
Tippy Toes put on his best coat and cap and kissed his mother good-bye.
Papa Cotton-Tail went with him again to the bend of the road. Suddenly
Tippy Toes stopped still. He stopped stock-still in the road. He said,
"Oh, Pa, I must go back, I forgot something!"
What do you suppose Tippy Toes forgot?
He always danced up and down before the mirror before he went out. So,
he went back home, hoppity, skippity, hop; and Papa Cotton-Tail waited
for him at the bend of the road.
Tippy Toes stood before the mirror and he danced this way and he danced
that way and said,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Snubby Nose."
Then Tippy Toes laughed and laughed.
"I will go and find Snubby Nose," he said, "for he must be as ugly as I
am with my little turned-up nose."
He went running down the road and was soon off and away. The wind
whistled in his ears.
At that very minute he heard Papa Cotton-Tail crying, "Hello, hello!
Come back to the bend in the road, Tippy Toes."
Tippy Toes said to himself, "What can Papa Cotton-Tail want? Shall I
never get started?"
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "How will you know the house when you come to
it?"
Tippy Toes said, "I will ask any one I meet."
Papa Cotton-Tail said, "That is right, and be sure to bow when you meet
Grandpa Grumbles."
Then they said "Good-bye" again, and Tippy Toes went merrily along. He met
Bushy-Tail, the sly old Fox. Bushy-Tail asked, "Where are you going in
such a hurry, Snubby Nose?"
Then Tippy Toes danced this way and he danced that way, and he said,
"That is a matter I do not disclose,
But, sir, my name is not Snubby Nose."
[Illustration: "'MY NAME IS NOT SNUBBY NOSE'"]
Bushy-Tail was surprised you may be sure. He said, "Well, you and
Snubby Nose are as much alike as two peas."
Tippy Toes bowed and said, "Will you please tell me how I may know when
I have passed by the house Bunny and Susan Cotton-Tail live in?"
Tippy Toes did not say he was going to stop and see Bunny and Susan.
Bushy-Tail looked cross-eyed. He said, "If you will tell me your name
little fellow, I will take you straight to Bunny Cotton-Tail's house
in the woods."
I do not know what would have happened next if Grandpa Grumbles and
Doctor Cotton-Tail had not come along.
Grandpa Grumbles thought it was Snubby Nose, of course, and he shouted,
"You're a careless Bunny, it is not funny,
The Doctor costs us a lot of money."
Then whisk! Before Tippy Toes or Doctor Cotton-Tail could say a word,
Grandpa Grumbles opened his green cotton umbrella and set Tippy Toes
inside and carried him through the woods. The wind whistled in their
ears as they went. Grandpa Grumbles kept saying over and over to
himself,
"You were ill, and it is not funny,
To call the Doctor and pay out money."
Tippy Toes shouted at last so loud he could be heard,
"Grandpa, I have a funny nose,
But my real name is Tippy Toes."
Grandpa Grumbles answered him,
"Snubby Nose, you can't fool me,
Though I'm foolish as can be."
Then Tippy Toes stuffed his furry little paw into his mouth to keep
from laughing out loud.
"I wonder if Bunny and Susan will think I am Snubby Nose, too," he
said. "What fun that will be. I will visit them until Snubby Nose comes
home."
By and by they came to Bunny Cotton-Tail's house. Grandpa Grumbles set
Tippy Toes down on the doorstep and shouted,
"The house is dark, as you can see,
You'll have to come and visit me."
So, they went on through the woods to Grandpa Grumble's house; for,
sure enough, Bunny and Susan had gone to bed and turned out all the
lights.
When they got to Grandpa Grumble's house a fire was burning merrily on
the hearth, and they went up and warmed their paws. Tippy Toes danced
up and down before the mirror and cried,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Snubby Nose."
Grandpa Grumbles looked at Tippy Toes over his spectacles and said, "I
have not heard you cry or scream or howl for thirty minutes."
Tippy Toes did not know what this meant, for he had never cried or
screamed or howled in all his life.
He went up to Grandpa Grumbles and made a low bow and said, "Dear
Grandpa Grumbles, I want to thank you for the ride in your green cotton
umbrella."
Grandpa Grumbles could hardly believe his ears. He grumbled,
"You might be fooling me I suppose,
Except for your ugly little nose."
CHAPTER IV
What do you suppose Snubby Nose was doing all this time? He woke early
one morning and danced before the mirror and asked,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Tippy Toes."
Snubby Nose cried, "That settles it, broken nose, or no broken nose, I
will go out and find Tippy Toes to-day. Perhaps he will be a fine
playmate for me."
Snubby Nose crept down stairs. He ran down the road and was soon out of
sight.
Bunny and Susan woke up and they looked in Snubby Nose's little bed,
but he was not there. They expected to hear him cry and scream and howl
any minute. They looked in the big chair. There was the pink flannel
wrapper but Snubby Nose was gone.
Bunny cried, "My fur and whiskers, he has gone out with his broken
nose."
Susan cried, "Bless my buttons, I expect to see him back any minute."
At that very minute Tippy Toes came tripping along, swinging his basket
to and fro and singing a nonsense song.
"My fur and whiskers, here he comes," cried Bunny, "and he is not
crying, but he is singing a song."
"Bless my buttons," said Susan, "he is not crying this time."
Tippy Toes came in and said, "Good morning Bunny and Susan, I have
brought you a present this fine winter morning."
Bunny and Susan could scarcely believe their ears, but Tippy Toes
opened his basket and took out the lamp and spectacles, and Bunny and
Susan were pleased, you may be sure.
Bunny lighted the lamp, saying, "How can I ever thank you, Snubby Nose?
Now I shall not burn my paw, as I read by candle-light."
Tippy Toes tried not to laugh when he was called "Snubby Nose." He
said, "Please tell me how you burned your paw, I am never tired hearing
about it."
Bunny Cotton-Tail began, "Once when I was young--"
"Rap-a-tap" was heard on the door, and Tippy Toes was so polite he went
to the door and brought the milk in.
Tippy Toes curled up then at Bunny Cotton-Tail's feet and begged, "Do
tell me now why you liked to read by candlelight."
Bunny Cotton-Tail began again, "Once when I was young--"
"Rap-a-tap" sounded on the door.
Tippy Toes went and let in the Grocer boy. He curled up again at Bunny
Cotton-Tail's feet and said, "Now Bunny, please tell me the story."
Bunny Cotton-Tail began again, "Once, when I was young--"
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Soot began to pour down the chimney. It flew all over the room. It
covered the carpet and furniture and pictures.
Bunny shouted, "My fur and whiskers, what can be the matter?"
Susan said, "Bless my buttons, there is soot all over the room." Tippy
Toes danced on this foot, and danced on that foot, and said,
"Let me go up the chimney because,
I think it may be Santa Claus."
Then Bunny and Susan laughed, but soon Bunny Cotton-Tail coughed, and
Susan sneezed, so Tippy Toes knew something must be done at once. He
ran outdoors and looked up at the chimney.
There was Bushy-Tail, the sly old Fox acting as a chimney-sweep. He was
sweeping the chimney with his long, beautiful tail.
[Illustration: "HE WAS SWEEPING THE CHIMNEY WITH HIS LONG, BEAUTIFUL
TAIL"]
Tippy Toes cried, "Please come down and I will show you how to dance."
Bushy-Tail was surprised you may be sure. He thought it was Snubby
Nose, and Snubby Nose never said, "Please."
He jumped off the roof with a bound and howled, "Oh, ho! So you will
show me how to dance, will you?"
Then Bushy-Tail chased Tippy Toes away and away and away in the woods.
Tippy Toes said to himself,
"I'm in a corner without a doubt,
But if I keep cheerful I will get out."
At that very minute they met old Grandpa Grumbles. He said,
"It is getting cold I've heard it said,
Bushy-Tail where are your mittens, red?"
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Bushy-Tail gave a howl and ran away as fast as his legs could carry
him.
"What does it all mean?" asked Tippy Toes.
Grandpa Grumbles replied, "Why, Snubby Nose, you have a poor memory if
you have forgotten about the red mittens. Don't you remember that Santa
Claus gave Bushy-Tail a pair of magic mittens?"
Tippy Toes said, politely, "Please tell me about it."
Grandpa Grumbles said, "Bushy-Tail put on the red magic mittens and
they pinched his paws."
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Tippy Toes, "How long did he have to wear those
mittens?" Grandpa Grumbles answered,
"Really, now, I cannot say,
But I guess it was a year and a day."
Then Tippy Toes laughed so hard that he doubled right up in a little
ball and rolled over and over.
"Come, come," said Grandpa Grumbles, "You had better go back to see
Bunny and Susan, they may think Bushy-Tail has eaten you up."
So they traveled back together to see Bunny and Susan. When they came
to the house there was soot on everything. There was soot on the carpet
and furniture and pictures. There was soot on the new lamp, and on
Susan's spectacles.
Grandpa Grumbles shouted,
"You are careless folks, I do declare,
To let the soot blow everywhere."
Bunny Cotton-Tail coughed, and Susan sneezed, and Grandpa Grumbles
said,
"Into the kitchen, one, seven, three,
You are as careless as can be."
He made Bunny and Susan go into the kitchen; then he said to Tippy
Toes,
"Come, get a broom and an apron or two,
We'll clean this room, that's what we'll do."
Soon Grandpa Grumbles and Tippy Toes had everything out of the room. It
did not take long to make it as clean as a pin.
Grandpa Grumbles looked hard at Tippy Toes.
"How does your nose feel?" he asked. "Come, sir, why don't you cry any
more?"
Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and sang to the big
mirror that hung on the wall,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Snubby Nose."
CHAPTER V
"My fur and whiskers, the room is all clean!" Bunny Cotton-Tail cried.
Susan Cotton-Tail cried, "Bless my buttons, everything is in order."
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"There is a mystery in the air,
There is something strange, I do declare."
Tippy Toes cried, "Good night Bunny and Susan, good night dear Grandpa
Grumbles," and he danced this way, and danced that way, and he danced
himself right up to bed.
"How polite he is," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. Susan said, "He does not
seem to mind when we speak of noses!"
Grandpa Grumbles said, "He does not cry any more."
They all sat by the fire warming their paws. Grandpa Grumbles was
thinking. At last he said to Bunny and Susan, "One day I heard Snubby
Nose talking as he stood before a mirror, and he said,"
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Tippy Toes."
Now this Little Cotton-Tail dances before the mirror, and he says,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answers, "Snubby Nose."
"Snubby Nose, Tippy Toes," repeated Bunny and Susan over and over as
they warmed their paws by the fire.
By and by Grandpa Grumbles said, talking very fast, "Suppose there were
two little Cotton-Tails, one named Snubby Nose, and one named Tippy
Toes, suppose--just suppose they looked as much alike as two peas."
Bunny Cotton-Tail said, "My fur and whiskers, it seems like a fairy
tale, but Snubby Nose always cried, and this little Cotton-Tail is so
polite."
Susan cried, "Hark! I hear a rap-a-tap, who can be coming at this hour
of the night?"
The door opened; in fell Snubby Nose in a heap, and he cried and he
screamed and he howled!
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles cried, "Hush, be still, stop
crying, and tell us what is the matter."
Grandpa Grumbles asked, "Did you hurt your ugly little nose?"
Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled louder than ever.
Bunny asked, "Did you get stuck fast in another snowdrift?"
Snubby Nose cried so loudly that they did not hear the "patter, patter,
patter" of little feet. They did not know that Tippy Toes was coming
down the staircase. Tippy Toes came dancing into the room, singing at
the top of his lungs,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answers, "Snubby Nose?"
Then for one single minute Snubby Nose was still. He looked at Tippy
Toes. He looked him up and down.
Tippy Toes kissed him on both cheeks and nearly hugged the life out of
him.
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles said, "They are as much alike as
two peas. They both have ugly noses!"
When Snubby Nose heard them speak of _noses_ he cried and he
screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes said, "Don't care about your nose. People know you wherever
you go."
Snubby Nose pricked up his ears and asked, "Don't you mind about your
ugly nose at all."
Tippy Toes danced this way and he danced that way and answered,
"I don't mind noses, for you see,
I am polite as I can be."
Then Snubby Nose stopped crying and hugged Tippy Toes and said, "I am
so glad to find you, Tippy Toes. How do you make up those funny little
rhymes. They tickle my eardrums."
All this time Grandpa Grumbles was thumping on the floor with his
umbrella. He made such a noise that Bunny said, "Hush, listen, Grandpa
Grumbles has something to say."
Susan said, "Hush, be still, Grandpa Grumbles wants to speak."
At last Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes stopped talking and dancing, and
they all listened to Grandpa Grumbles. He said,
"I want you both to come and stay,
With Grandpa Grumbles a year and a day."
Tippy Toes answered, "Thank you, Grandpa Grumbles, I will come and
visit you for a year and a day," but Snubby Nose cried and he screamed
and he howled.
I don't know what would have happened next, but Grandpa Grumbles went
outside, and opened wide his green cotton umbrella, and invited Snubby
Nose and Tippy Toes to step inside.
They did so, and in less time than it takes to tell it they were
sailing away with Grandpa Grumbles in his green cotton umbrella!
[Illustration: "THEY WERE SAILING AWAY WITH GRANDPA GRUMBLES"]
Bunny and Susan said, "How will he ever get along with Snubby Nose for
a year and a day? We wish Tippy Toes was back. He was such a good
little fellow."
Susan picked up the pink wrapper and Bunny picked up the pink cup and
saucer. Bunny Cotton-Tail said, "We will have a long quiet evening
alone."
"Don't be too sure of that," sang the wind as it whistled down the
chimney.
Susan said, "I will put on my new spectacles and we will read by the
new lamp."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The Seventeen Little Bears came tumbling in the doors and windows!
They came in laughing and shouting,
"The Circus Cotton-Tails you see
Are just as funny as can be."
They got out their seventeen little stools and sat by the fire.
Bunny and Susan said, "What do you know about the Circus Cotton-Tails?"
The Seventeen Little Bears said,
"You only see them now at Fairs,
But we've become the Circus Bears."
"Have you got a Circus tent? Have you got a merry-go-round?" asked
Bunny and Susan. "Do tell us how long you have been Circus Bears."
The Seventeen Little Bears got on top of their seventeen little stools
and shouted, "We have just become Circus Bears today, that is the
reason we came tumbling in the door and windows."
CHAPTER VI
The Seventeen Little Bears woke up early next morning. They all
whispered together so they would not wake Bunny and Susan.
The Seventeen Little Bears tiptoed very softly out of bed, and
"pitter-patter, pitter-patter" went their little feet down the stairs.
"We can stew, we can bake,
If we make no mistake."
They made the fire and began to stew and bake. They made coffee and
fried sausages and cakes. By and by Bunny and Susan woke up.
"My fur and whiskers, I smell something cooking," said Bunny.
Susan said, "Bless my buttons, I smell something cooking, too."
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "Ha, ha, ha! Bunny is talking about
his fur and whiskers. Ha, ha, ha! Susan is talking about her buttons.
We will give old Bunny and Susan something new to talk about!"
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted at the top of their lungs,
"We are Circus Bears, as all can see,
The merry-go-round waits you and me."
Susan called, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Bunny do get dressed! Let us see
what the Seventeen Little Bears mean. How I do love to ride in a
merry-go-round!"
When Bunny and Susan got downstairs they were surprised to see a fine
breakfast ready for them all on the table. They all sat down and had a
very merry time.
After breakfast the Seventeen Little Bears began to practice their
tricks. They slid on the banister and came downstairs head first.
Soon they were all crying, "Oh," and "Ah, how I hurt my head;" and
"Oh," and "Ah, how I hurt my toes!"
Bunny cried, "Bring the camphor! Bring the smelling salts, while they
are practicing their tricks!"
Susan Cotton-Tail sat down in the corner. She wiped her eyes.
Bunny said, "Have you lost your spectacles?"
Susan Cotton-Tail said, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"
The Seventeen Little Bears all came crowding around Susan to see what
was the matter.
Susan still rocked to and fro and said, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"
Bunny said, "Will you never tell us what is the matter?" Susan said
finally,
"I have some pride, but thought to ride,
In the merry-go-round, above the ground."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears all turned somersaults at once, and
Susan cried, "Stop them, stop them, or they will break their little
bones."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The Seventeen Little Bears made a low bow and said,
"In the merry-go-round we'll go,
Laughing gayly, ha, ha, ho, ho!"
They ran out the back door and Bunny and Susan went after them. There
stood a neat little merry-go-round, as fine as you please.
"Where?" and "How?" and "Why?" and "Please tell us about it," said
Bunny and Susan.
The Seventeen Little Bears replied,
"Get inside, and have a ride,
Bunny and Susan, side by side."
They all jumped into the merry-go-round and rode in seats side by
side. Round and round and round they went.
Bunny waved his hat and Susan waved her red sunbonnet! The Seventeen
Little Bears shouted, "Hurrah, hurrah!"
They went faster and faster. Bunny said, "I am afraid the wind will
blow off my fur and whiskers."
Susan said, "The wind will blow off my spectacles."
Faster, faster, faster they went! Would they never stop?
The Seventeen Little Bears said,
"This is a very funny business,
It gives us all a little dizziness."
Faster, faster, faster they went! It began to rain. First the rain fell
with a few drops, then it came down in sheets. My! how wet they were!
Faster, faster, faster went the merry-go-round.
Suddenly Bushy-Tail ran and jumped right into the merry-go-round and
said, "What will you give me if I stop the merry-go-round?"
Bunny said, "I will give you a warm seat by the fire, sir."
Susan said, "I will give you a basket of cookies."
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "We will give you seventeen pieces of
peppermint candy."
"Help, help, help!" they all cried, "Do stop the merry-go-round!"
Bushy-Tail looked as saucy as you please.
"I can ride faster than this," he said, "I was brought up in a
merry-go-round. I want Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes to come and pay me
a visit."
Bushy-Tail said no more, and Bunny saw there was no use to mince
matters, and the rain was coming down harder and harder.
Bunny said, "If Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes want to pay you a visit I
have no objection."
Then the merry-go-round went slower and slower, and slower, and finally
stopped.
Bushy-Tail said, "Go get Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes for me or _I will
eat you all up!_"
They all went into the house. They pretended to look for Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes, though they knew they had gone away. They looked in
every nook and corner, but knew well enough that Snubby Nose and Tippy
Toes had gone sailing away with Grandpa Grumbles.
Bushy-Tail was angry. He went down the road calling, "Woo, woo, woo!"
He would not even stop for his basket of cookies.
Bushy-Tail called back,
"Where they have gone to nobody knows,
I'll find Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes."
Bunny and Susan said, "We are glad to get out of the merry-go-round,
but we must send word to Grandpa Grumbles not to let Snubby Nose and
Tippy Toes out. Who will carry the message?"
The First Little Bear said, "It is so far to go."
The Second Little Bear said, "I am all out of breath."
The Third Little Bear said, "Oh wait 'till to-morrow."
Now, will you believe it? The Seventeen Little Bears sat on their
seventeen little stools as though, nothing had happened!
Bunny and Susan got ready to go out in the rain. They took their
raincoats and caps and umbrellas. They went to Grandpa Grumbles' house.
The Seventeen Little Bears said in a sing-song way,
"We really are not quite polite,
We're selfish as can be,
We sit on stools around the fire,
Just singing merrily!"
CHAPTER VII
When Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes rode home with Grandpa Grumbles in his
green cotton umbrella they sang a merry song,
"Oh, ho! It is fun to go riding along,
Singing and whistling a right merry song."
The umbrella came to the chimney of Grandpa Grumbles' house. It began
to close up a little.
"Help, help!" cried Snubby Nose, "we shall be squeezed to death!"
Tippy Toes sat very still. He made himself as small as possible.
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Down my chimney every one goes,
How we shall travel the umbrella knows!"
Then whisk! Before they could wink an eyelash they were safely down the
chimney.
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes danced this way, and he danced that way, and said, "Oh,
Grandpa Grumbles, how I enjoyed the ride!"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Off to bed when the merry winds blow,
So back up the chimney old Grandpa can go."
Snubby Nose said, "You are not going to leave us alone in this house
are you?" Then he cried and he screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and before they could
say another word, whisk! up the chimney old Grandpa Grumbles was off
and away. He went off to ride in his green cotton umbrella.
Tippy Toes kissed Snubby Nose and led him before the mirror, singing,
"Who will visit us to-day?"
The mirror answered,
"Bushy-Tail is on his way."
Snubby Nose said, "What fun it is to have the mirror talk. Come, let us
bolt the doors and windows. We will not let Bushy-Tail in."
They danced again before the mirror and sang,
"We're locked in safely, that we know,"
The mirror said,
"Down the chimney he can go."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes said, "Oh" and "Ah," and "Oh" and "Ah." "We
never thought of the chimney! What shall we do with the chimney?"
They built a roaring fire, and none too soon, for they could hear the
"patter, patter, patter" of feet upon the roof.
Bushy-Tail climbed down from the roof. He looked in at the window and
said, "Please let me in, please let me in."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes sat as still as they could in their little
chairs by the fire and never winked an eyelash.
Bushy-Tail said, "Let me in or I will come down the chimney, fire or no
fire."
Then Snubby Nose coughed and Tippy Toes sneezed.
Bushy-Tail climbed the roof once more. Out came the smoke in great
puffs. He gave it up and then went away down the path growling every
step of the way.
All this time Bunny and Susan were coming nearer every minute. They
said, "What if we should meet Bushy-Tail?"
In less time than it takes to tell it, Bushy-Tail came down the bend of
the road scolding and waving his beautiful tail to and fro.
He howled, "Bring out Snubby Nose, bring out Tippy Toes or _I will
eat you up_."
I do not know what in the world would have happened if Grandpa Grumbles
had not come sailing along just then. He came sailing down in his green
cotton umbrella and said, looking hard at Bushy-Tail,
"Jump inside and have a ride,
There's room for you and me beside."
Bushy-Tail jumped into the umbrella. He was pleased you may be sure.
They rode away, and away, and away, over houses, over tree-tops, and
over a big blue lake. Then they began to sail slowly down, down, down.
Bushy-Tail said, "Oh, Grandpa Grumbles, don't land us in the lake! Oh,
Grandpa Grumbles, look out what you are doing!"
Grandpa Grumbles then said loudly,
"Speak into my better ear,
I am so deaf I cannot hear."
Bushy-Tail cried out as loud as he could, "Oh, Grandpa Grumbles, we are
going down into the lake! Look out, look out! We shall be drowned!"
Grandpa Grumbles shouted,
"Speak a little louder, please,
Shall we sail above the trees?"
Bushy-Tail got so excited he did not know what he was doing. He got
right out of the umbrella and went splash, dash, into the lake.
[Illustration: "BUSHY-TAIL WENT SPLASH, DASH, INTO THE LAKE"]
Grandpa Grumbles, as he sailed homeward, said,
"Sink or swim, just as you please,
For I have no desire to tease."
He left poor Bushy-Tail to swim to shore.
When Grandpa Grumbles got home he saw smoke coming out of his chimney.
He grumbled,
"It seems to me quite like a bore,
To have to enter by the door."
He was so used to sailing down the chimney!
The door opened for him and there stood Bunny and Susan. Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes danced up to him and told him how Bushy-Tail had tried
to get in.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green umbrella fiercely and said,
"He will not come this way again,
Either in sunshine or in rain."
Then Bunny and Susan and Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes begged Grandpa
Grumbles to tell what had become of Bushy-Tail, but Grandpa Grumbles
would only say,
"I am so deaf 'tis hard to hear,
Come, speak a little louder, dear."
Then Bunny spoke into his right ear, and Susan spoke into his left ear,
and asked him to tell where he had left Bushy-Tail.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his head and said,
"Bunny and Susan, what do you say?
I am so old and deaf to-day."
Then Snubby Nose cried into his right ear, and Tippy Toes cried into
his left ear, but Grandpa Grumbles only said,
"I can't hear, my deafness grows;
Ask the umbrella, for it knows."
Then the Cotton-Tails asked the umbrella what had become of Bushy-Tail
and the umbrella said,
"Bushy-Tail went swimming away,
But he'll come back in a year and a day."
"Oh" and "Ah" and "Oh" and "Ah," cried all the little Cotton-Tails,
"Bushy-Tail is swimming away is he?"
They all went merrily to bed.
CHAPTER VIII
The next morning Grandpa Grumbles called out,
"The Cotton-Tails are all in bed,
Every one is a sleepy-head."
"My fur and whiskers, we have overslept," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. "It
is nine o'clock by my little silver watch."
"Bless my buttons," cried Susan, "I meant to get up and get breakfast."
Tippy Toes was the first down stairs after Grandpa Grumbles. He danced
this way and he danced that way, and set the table for breakfast.
Grandpa Grumbles had a fine breakfast ready. They all sat down except
Snubby Nose. Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Where is Snubby Nose? 'tis plain,
He must have gone to sleep again."
Now, what do you suppose happened next? Grandpa Grumbles went upstairs
and took Snubby Nose by the feet and dragged him out of bed. He made
him dress in a hurry and come down to breakfast! All the time Snubby
Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles soon finished their breakfast.
They went for a walk but Tippy Toes sat at the table and said, "Oh,
Snubby Nose, why do you cry so much? I have just as ugly a nose as you
have."
Then Snubby Nose stopped crying. He stared at Tippy Toes. Sure enough,
Tippy Toes had a very ugly nose.
Snubby Nose shouted, "Pass me the cream! Pass me the butter! Pass me
the bread! Can't you see I am starving?"
The mirror spoke up suddenly,
"Snubby Nose it's no use to tease,
You might say, 'Thank you,' and 'if you please.'"
Tippy Toes slipped down from his chair and ran out after Bunny and
Susan.
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! He reached for the
sugar bowl and it sailed away in the air! He reached for the bread and
butter but they went farther out of his reach. He was very hungry and
he cried and he screamed and he howled, but there was no one to answer
him. By and by he danced before the mirror and said,
"Mirror, mirror, I'll be good,
And speak politely as I should."
The mirror said,
"If you say, 'Thank you' I suppose,
You'll be loved like Tippy Toes."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Snubby Nose said, "Thank you for a bowl of milk." The milk stood at his
plate. Then he said, "Thank you for cookies and sugar and pie." The
cookies and sugar and pie stood by his plate. He had never had so much
fun before in all his life. He kept on ordering things and they came
before him.
By and by Snubby Nose cleared off the table and washed the dishes,
saying over and over,
"I must forget to try to tease,
I will say, 'Thank you' and 'If you Please.'"
At this very minute in came the Seventeen Little Bears. They cried,
"Hurrah, hurrah, old Snubby Nose!
What has happened, do you suppose?"
Snubby Nose made a low bow and said, "If you please I should like to
know what has happened."
The Seventeen Little Bears stared at Snubby Nose. They had never seen
him so polite before.
They said, "We met Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles and they said
we could go up in the garret and get skates and go skating."
No sooner said than done. Up to the garret danced the Seventeen Little
Bears. They found seventeen pairs of skates and danced out again.
Snubby Nose was left alone in the house. He forgot to be polite. He
cried and he screamed and he howled!
The mirror said,
"If you're polite, as you should be,
Perhaps a pair of skates you'll see."
Snubby Nose looked about the house. He looked high and low, but he
could not find any skates. He rubbed his eyes and he rubbed his little
red nose. He put on his cap and mittens and went to the pond. Tippy
Toes came to meet him. He had two pairs of skates and cried,
"Where were you so long, goodness knows,
Here are your skates. Come Snubby Nose."
He kissed Snubby Nose on both cheeks.
The Seventeen Little Bears sat on the bank trying to fasten their
skates. Their little paws got colder and colder every minute. Snubby
Nose helped them fasten their skates and Tippy Toes helped them too.
Then they put on their own skates and went skating away, and away, and
away.
By and by Bunny and Susan said,
"'Tis rather sad now to relate,
We are too old and stiff to skate.'"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Chilly business this sport I think,
Let's go roller-skating in a rink."
Bunny and Susan said they must really go home and Grandpa Grumbles said
he, too, would go to his own home.
He shouted to the Seventeen Little Bears,
"Don't skate where the ice is thin,
You'll make a hole and tumble in."
The Seventeen Little Bears skated on and on, the wind whistling in
their ears.
Snubby Nose said to Tippy Toes, "What if the Seventeen Little Bears
should fall into the water, what would we do?"
Tippy Toes said, "The wind blows so hard they cannot hear. I hope they
know where the ice is thin."
The Seventeen Little Bears formed a circle and skated round. Suddenly
the ice gave way. Splash, dash, they all fell into the water!
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and they danced that way,
and shouted, "Help, help, help! The Seventeen Little Bears have fallen
into the water!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail was riding by in his sleigh. He said, "Come, we will
pull them out of the water." So they all helped pull the Seventeen
Little Bears out of the water.
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I will tuck them in my sleigh and take them
to Bunny and Susan. They will tuck them up warm in bed."
[Illustration: "I WILL TUCK THEM IN MY SLEIGH"]
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes hung on to the back of the sleigh and they
went whizzing merrily homeward, the wind whistling in their ears. The
Seventeen Little Bears sneezed all the way.
Did Bunny and Susan tuck them up warm in bed? Well, I guess they did,
and Doctor Cotton-Tail gave them hoarhound candy.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes smacked their lips and said, "If we had
fallen in the water we could have had candy too."
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "You cunning little things, you look as much
alike as two peas. You shall each have a stick of lemon candy."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and
said,
"Lemon candy is good to eat,
We always think it quite a treat."
Susan said, "Hush; be still. Don't wake the Seventeen Little Bears;
they are all asleep."
CHAPTER IX
The Seventeen Little Bears took cold when they fell through the ice
into the water, so they had to stay in bed all day. They cried, "Tell
us a story, please tell us a story."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and that way, before the
mirror and cried out together,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered,
"Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes."
The Seventeen Little Bears clapped their little paws and cried, "Tell
it again, tell it again!"
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and that way, before
the mirror and asked,
"Who took cold when they fell through the ice?"
The mirror would not answer this time.
The Seventeen Little Bears wept and wailed. Bunny and Susan came
upstairs to see what was the matter.
Bunny said, "Never mind, I will tell you a story about my reading by
candle-light."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears cried, "Oh, Bunny, tell us a new story,
please."
Now, Bunny could not think of a new story to tell to save his life, so
Susan said, "I will tell you about the Circus cookies that came alive."
Then, the Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "We know that story by heart,
we know every word of it."
They took out their seventeen little red pocket handkerchiefs and cried
and cried.
All this time Grandpa Grumbles was sitting in an easy chair by the
fire. He grumbled,
"'Tis silly to make such a dreadful noise,
You are worse than seventeen girls and boys."
Then he took his green cotton umbrella and went upstairs.
As soon as the Seventeen Little Bears caught sight of Grandpa Grumbles
they set up a shout, "A story, a story, do tell us a story."
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and shouted,
"Every one must keep as still as a mouse,
So you can hear a pin drop in the house."
Then, will you believe it? The Seventeen Little Bears were so still you
could hear a pin drop.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes were so still they did not wink an eyelash.
They sat on two little stools in the corner.
Grandpa Grumbles said, "You can guess all day and you can guess all
night, but you cannot one of you guess what kind of a shop I am going
to open."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears begged for Bunny Cotton-Tail's
thinking-cap. They put it on in turn and guessed and guessed what kind
of a shop Grandpa Grumbles would open.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes said, "Will it be a candy-shop?"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and
grumbled, "I told you, you could not guess. I am going to open a Toy
Shop!"
"A Toy Shop!" shouted the Seventeen Little Bears at the top of their
lungs. "A Toy Shop!"
"Who is telling this story?" asked Grandpa Grumbles. He began to tell
the story in real earnest. He said, "I am going to open a Toy Shop in
the woods."
"Not a real Toy Shop," said Snubby Nose. "You don't mean a real Toy
Shop," said Tippy Toes.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella and grumbled, "Now, I
shall have to start all over again."
So he began once more, "I am going to open a Toy Shop in the woods."
"Will you make a rocking-horse?" asked the First Little Bear.
"Will you make drums?" asked the Second Little Bear.
"Will you make horns? Toot, toot, toot!" said the Third Little Bear.
Now, will you believe it? All the Seventeen Little Bears put their paws
to their mouths as though they had horns and cried, "Toot, toot, toot!"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his umbrella fiercely and shouted,
"I will not tell the story to-day,
I will take my umbrella and go away."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Grandpa Grumbles held fast to the handle of the umbrella and sailed out
through the open window!
"Oh," and "Ah," said Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes, "that was rather
sudden!"
"Oh," and "Ah," said the Seventeen Little Bears, "how fast he went!"
Then they were as merry as you please. Whenever any one would cough or
sneeze the other ones would say, "Let us talk about Grandpa Grumbles'
Toy Shop! Can you hear him hammer away? Can you hear him saw?"
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes put on their hats and coats and danced this
way, and that way, and said, "We will go and, visit Grandpa Grumbles'
Toy Shop."
At this very minute, to the surprise of all, Grandpa Grumbles came
sailing in through the window. He said,
"If I were little and young and gay,
I'd sail away for a year and a day."
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "Please tell us about the Toy
Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his umbrella. Out fell a little rocking horse.
He shook it again. Out fell a horn. He shook it again. Out fell a drum.
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "Hurrah, hurrah! It is really true,
Grandpa Grumbles, you are going to open a Toy Shop."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes and the Seventeen Little Bears did not know
whether Grandpa Grumbles was teasing or not. They did not know if he
meant to open a real Toy Shop.
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "Will you tell us the whole story
to-morrow?"
CHAPTER X
The Seventeen Little Bears still had to stay in bed next day. Snubby
Nose and Tippy Toes danced about the room and cried, "Grandpa Grumbles,
do tell us the story of the Toy Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles came upstairs leaning on his green cotton umbrella. He
coughed six times and then he sat down in the rocking-chair by the
Window. He said, "The story of the Toy Shop begins with a question."
The Seventeen Little Bears clapped their paws and shouted, "Hear, hear,
the story is going to begin!"
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and
cried, "Hear, hear, the story is going to begin!"
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Grandpa Grumbles pointed his green cotton umbrella at Snubby Nose and
asked, "Which of your toys did you break first at Christmas?"
Snubby Nose could not remember, so he cried and he screamed and he
howled!
Grandpa Grumbles said, "I cannot begin this story until I have nineteen
questions answered."
Tippy Toes said, "Grandpa Grumbles, I can tell you which toy I broke
first, I broke my little rocking-horse."
Then Snubby Nose shouted, "I broke my rocking-horse too."
Grandpa Grumbles pointed to the First Little Bear and said, "Which toy
did you break first?"
The First Little Bear said, "I broke my little red drum."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears all held up their paws and said, "Let
me tell, let me tell next which toy I broke at Christmas!"
Now, will you believe it? They all made such a noise that Grandpa
Grumbles could not sit still another minute. He went downstairs shaking
his green cotton umbrella, fiercely, and grumbling to himself as he
went.
The Seventeen Little Bears cried, "Oh, come back and tell the story! We
will be good."
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced downstairs and said. "We will,
be good, indeed we will be good."
Grandpa Grumbles still looked very cross. He grumbled,
"Speak into my other ear,
'Tis very hard indeed to hear."
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes shouted into his other ear, "Please
come back upstairs and tell us about the Toy Shop. We will be good,
indeed we will."
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Speak a little louder, please,
If you do not want to tease."
Bunny and Susan saw that something must be done to make Grandpa
Grumbles happy again, so Susan made a bowl of fine soup for him, and
Grandpa Grumbles drew up to the table. He said,
"In cooking you can never fail,
Thank you, dear Susan Cotton-Tail."
Then Bunny went upstairs and said to the Seventeen Little Bears, "You
may get up and put on your little red wrappers and sit by the fire
downstairs."
So the Seventeen Little Bears got up and put on their little red
wrappers and crept downstairs. They crept down so softly that Grandpa
Grumbles never heard a sound.
By and by when Grandpa Grumbles went back into the sitting-room there
sat the Seventeen Little Bears on their seventeen little stools by the
fire. Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes sat on the arm of Grandpa Grumbles'
chair. He was surprised you may be sure.
He began to tell his story quite as if nothing had happened. He said,
"Last Christmas I went about and picked up all the broken toys I could
find and I said I would open a Toy Shop and mend them so you could not
tell them from new toys!"
"Hear, hear!" cried the Seventeen Little Bears softly.
"Hush, hush!" said Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes, "Grandpa Grumbles is
talking."
Grandpa Grumbles went on, "On long winter evenings I sat and mended and
glued and pasted the toys and soon they looked as good as new."
"Rap-a-tap," sounded on the door, "Rap-a-tap."
Bunny took the candle and went to the door. There stood Doctor
Cotton-Tail.
He said, "Good evening, how are the Seventeen Little Bears? I heard
they fell in the water!"
The Seventeen Little Bears stuffed their little paws into their mouths
to keep from laughing, for they felt as well as ever, sitting before
the fire in their little red wrappers.
Doctor Cotton-Tail took a seat by the fire and began to warm his paws,
first one paw and then the other.
"Chilly spring weather, but most time to make garden," he said.
"Chilly weather," said Bunny Cotton-Tail.
"Chilly weather," said Susan.
_Then the most surprising thing happened_!
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella and out came flower
seeds falling everywhere. The Seventeen Little Bears scrambled to pick
them up.
"Who will make your garden?" asked Doctor Cotton-Tail, looking at Bunny
and Susan.
Bunny and Susan said, "We do not know, we are too old and stiff to make
a garden."
"You will miss the turnips and cabbages," said Doctor Cotton-Tail.
Then he added,
"I came in a wagon, and as the Seventeen Little Bears are quite well,
I can take them home."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears began to weep loud and long. They wept
into their seventeen little pocket handkerchiefs.
Bunny and Susan said, "Never mind, dears, you can come to visit us
again."
Soon the Seventeen Little Bears were tucked safely into the wagon and
Doctor Cotton-Tail took them home.
"Bless my buttons," said Susan, "you did not finish your story Grandpa
Grumbles."
"My fur and whiskers," said Bunny, "I should like to visit your Toy
Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"At night I always shake my head,
'Tis time for all to go to bed."
The Cotton-Tail family knew that it was no use to tease, so they went
merrily to bed.
Snubby Nose set his little alarm clock. He set it at four o'clock in
the morning. He said, kissing Tippy Toes good night, "We must get up
early in the morning and make a garden for Bunny and Susan."
CHAPTER XI
"Tinkle, tinkle" went the alarm clock next morning. Snubby Nose put his
paw on it so it would not ring too loudly. He whispered to Tippy Toes,
"Get up, it is time to make the garden."
They took the seeds Grandpa Grumbles had thrown from his umbrella. They
planted the seeds in even rows. They worked so fast, they had the
garden planted and were back in bed by eight o'clock.
Grandpa Grumbles woke up next. He went downstairs and out of doors. He
saw a little garden all planted in even rows. He shook his green cotton
umbrella and said,
"Radishes it is time to grow,
For spring has come again you know."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The radishes began to peep up and show their little green heads.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella again and said,
"Young cabbage heads, all in a row,
Wake up, wake up, it's time to grow."
The cabbages came up as big and round as you please. Then Grandpa
Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella again and said,
"Turnips come, wake up, 'tis clear
Merry, merry spring is here."
The turnips came up nodding in the sunshine, and Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Open green umbrella and sail away,
They were magic seeds, good day, good day."
He opened the green cotton umbrella and sailed away, and away, and
away.
Bunny Cotton-Tail woke up and looked out of the window. "My fur and
whiskers, look at the garden," he shouted.
Susan woke and looked out the window and said, "Bless my buttons there
is a real little garden."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes woke up again and said, "Hurrah, hurrah, how
fast the seeds grow! We must ask Grandpa Grumbles if they were magic
seeds that he gave us."
But Grandpa Grumbles had sailed away, and away, and away!
At that very minute the Postman brought two letters. The letters were
for Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes. They were from their Mothers asking
them to come home.
When Snubby Nose read his letter he cried and he screamed and he
howled!
When Tippy Toes read his letter he said, "Never mind, Snubby Nose, we
can go together to the bend of the road."
Before they had breakfast, Susan got out her rolling-pin and flour and
sugar and said, "I will make you some cookies to take with you."
Bunny said, "My fur and whiskers, I have two neat little baskets. I
will pack them with your lunch."
So Susan made cookies and Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes packed their
little traveling bags and Bunny packed their lunches in the little
baskets.
Bunny said, "I will take you in my wheelbarrow to the bend in the road,
then Snubby Nose goes east and Tippy Toes goes west."
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! He did not want to go
home. Tippy Toes did not want to go home either, but he said, "Thank
you Bunny for the ride."
Soon Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes were ready to go. They stood before the
mirror and danced this way and that way and sang,
"Tell us, good mirror, whom shall we meet?"
The mirror answered,
"Circus Cotton-Tails in the street."
Then Snubby Nose held his breath and Tippy Toes held his breath.
Snubby Nose said, "I was one of the Circus Cotton-Tails once myself."
They went downstairs and kissed Susan good-bye.
Then they jumped into the wheelbarrow and Bunny wheeled them to the
turn in the road. He kissed them good-bye and Snubby Nose cried and he
screamed and he howled! Tippy Toes said, "Never mind, we shall meet
again some day and my nose is as ugly as yours is!"
Snubby Nose said, "_I beg you not to talk about noses_," and he
cried and he screamed and he howled, louder than ever.
Tippy Toes saw something must be done, so he said, "Oh, never mind, I
will go home with you. It will be a long walk around then to my house."
They both went east.
Snubby Nose said, "Listen, what is that? It sounds like a band!"
Tippy Toes said, "What is that? It sounds like the roar of a Lion."
They did not know whether to go east any longer or not. They hid behind
some bushes by the roadside, and all the while the sound of the band
came nearer and nearer. All the while the lion roared louder and
louder. They peeped through the branches. Soon the Circus Cotton-Tails
came in view.
[Illustration: "SOON THE CIRCUS COTTON-TAILS CAME IN VIEW"]
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced out of their hiding places and cried,
"Hurrah for the Circus Cotton-Tails! They have formed a real little
Circus!"
There was the band wagon. There were the elephants and camels. There
were the animals in cages.
The Circus Cotton-Tails cried, "Hurrah, hurrah! Here are Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes. Come and join the Big Parade."
Bunny Bright Eyes said, "Can you walk a tight rope?"
Tippy Toes said he did not know, but Snubby Nose said he had walked a
tight rope off and on all his life!
Tippy Toes drew a little mirror out of his pocket and said,
"Who will walk the tight rope? Whom do you suppose?"
The mirror answered,
"Two cunning little Bunnies, Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes!"
CHAPTER XII
Bunny and Susan sat quietly by the cheerful fire warming their paws.
Bunny said, "My fur and whiskers, I hope Snubby Nose got home safely."
Susan said, "Bless my buttons, I was thinking of Tippy Toes this very
minute. Those two cunning little Bunnies are as much alike as two peas!
We could not tell them apart if Snubby Nose did not cry so much."
Bunny said, "I suppose we shall have no visitors for some time now."
"Don't be too sure of that," said a gruff old voice, "Here I am
standing now." There stood Grandpa Grumbles in the doorway. He had
never looked so happy in all his life. He struck the floor fiercely
with his green cotton umbrella and said,
"The Circus Cotton-Tails will come,
A-rat-a-tat, just hear the drum."
Bunny and Susan listened. Sure enough, they heard the "rat-a-tat," of a
drum. Soon they heard the Lion roar in his cage. They all went out as
fast as they could.
_There came the Circus Cotton-Tails on parade!_
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced in front beating a drum.
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles cried, "Hurrah, hurrah, for the
Big Parade!"
Grandpa Grumbles waved his green cotton umbrella and shouted, "Have you
a merry-go-round?"
The Circus Cotton-Tails stood still. They cried "Hurrah, Bunny! Hurrah,
Susan! Of course we have a merry-go-round."
Then the real little Circus Parade stopped. The Circus Cotton-Tails
cried, "Hurry, hurry! Help us unpack."
They went to one of the wagons and began to unpack the merry-go-round.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes helped and Bunny and Susan helped too.
Grandpa Grumbles cried,
"One for the money, ten for the show,
Put up the tent, and away we go."
He forgot to grumble. He had never been so happy before in all big
life.
It took the Circus Cotton-Tails and Bunny and Susan just exactly one
hour and sixteen minutes to put up the merry-go-round, and Grandpa
Grumbles bossed the job.
"Will it go?" asked Bunny and Susan under their breath.
Grandpa Grumbles was the first to get in. He cried,
"I'm the first to get inside,
Come one and all and have a ride."
Susan said, "Oh, dear! I have lost my spectacles."
It took the Circus Cotton-Tails one hour and sixteen minutes to find
Susan's spectacles. There they were safe and sound upon her forehead
all the time! Then Bunny went in-doors and burned his paw again by
candle-light and it took one hour and sixteen minutes to get his paw
well.
Grandpa Grumbles did not grumble a bit. He only sat patiently in the
merry-go-round and said to Susan,
"Now, the spectacles are found,
All jump in the merry-go-round."
Then he called good-naturedly to Bunny,
"If you'll use a lamp dear Bunny,
It will save you time and money."
Bunny and Susan got into the merry-go-round, and the Circus
Cotton-Tails got in too.
They were all ready for a ride when Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Some are absent, whom do you suppose?"
The Circus Cotton-Tails shouted in one breath,
"_Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes!_"
Snubby Nose was so little he could not climb up into the merry-go-round
without help. He cried and he screamed and he howled! Tippy Toes was so
little he could not climb in either but he waited patiently below.
Grandpa Grumbles saw what was the matter. He lowered his green cotton
umbrella and helped Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes up into the merry-go-round.
Now they were ready to start. They all cried,
"Give three cheers, away we go,
The Circus Cotton-Tails, ho, ho!"
The merry-go-round would not start. They all got out to see what was
the matter.
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Doctor Cotton-Tail jumped out from under the merry-go-round and said,
"A-riding, too, I'd like to go,
Though I may take a nap or so."
Grandpa Grumbles said cheerfully,
"You'll take no nap when with us you go,
We may ride too fast, but never slow!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail took a seat in the merry-go-round.
The music began to play and they went round, and round, and round,
faster and faster. Bunny began to talk about his fur and whiskers.
Susan began to talk about her buttons. Grandpa Grumbles shouted,
"I'm just as happy as I can be,
The Circus life is the life for me."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes jumped down from the merry-go-round and
danced this way and danced that way, and for all I know they are
dancing yet!
More Cotton Tail Stories
CHAPTER I
Bunny Cotton-Tail and Susan were sitting by the fire, warming their
paws.
[Illustration: "BUNNY AND SUSAN WERE SITTING BY THE FIRE"]
"The evenings are growing cold," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. "It feels like
snow to-night."
"Oh, joy!" cried Bunny Boy, "how I do love snow!" Then he began to jump
around the room so fast that Susan was afraid he would upset the table.
"I am going to play that the sofa is a hill, and slide down!" he cried.
Then Susan said if Bunny Boy did not sit down in his little red rocking
chair and be good, she would put him in a bag!
So Bunny Boy sat down, but he began to cry. There is no telling what
would have happened just then if a soft "tap, tap," had not been heard
on the window.
Susan looked out. There stood Bushy Tail with his traveling bag in his
hand!
Susan was a little afraid to let him in, but there was nothing else to
do, so she opened the door, and whisk! bound! Bushy Tail was in,
hugging Bunny Cotton-Tail!
"Who is the youngster!" asked Bushy Tail, pointing to Bunny Boy.
Then Bunny Boy made himself as small as possible. He did not care for
Bushy Tail.
Bushy Tail said he must tell about his trip. Besides, he had something
for Bunny and Susan in his bag.
It had begun to snow, and Bushy Tail was very wet. He stood by the fire
and warmed his paws. Susan whispered to Bunny that she had never seen
so handsome a fox in her life.
All the time Bushy Tail had a cunning look in his eyes. After his fur
was dry, and he had had a bowl of soup, he opened his bag, and my! what
fine things he took out!
There was dried fruit for Susan. There was fresh cabbage for Bunny. And
there were oranges, and peaches, and pears! They had a fine feast, but
the greatest fun of all was just before they went to bed, when Bushy
Tail took from his bag a little telephone. He hung it on the wall and
fooled the rabbits with it for nearly an hour.
It had a little bell and a receiver, and one could call "hello" into
it.
Perhaps Bunny and Susan would never have known the joke about the
telephone if it had not been for Bunny Boy. Bunny Boy crept out from
under the sofa, where he had been hiding, and climbed up in a chair and
pulled the receiver hard. Then, bang! the top of the telephone came
off, and showed that it was only a candy box!
Bushy Tail did not like this, but Bunny Cotton-Tail said he would
rather have it a candy-box, after all, as he was a little afraid of
telephones!
Then they shook one another's paws, and went to bed.
Bushy Tail slept on a sofa in the parlor. About eleven o'clock he got
up and began, to stir around. There was the same cunning look in his
eyes.
First he went and looked at Susan Cotton-Tail, and thought, "I have
half a mind to eat you up." Then he went and looked at Bunny Cotton-Tail
and thought, "I have half a mind to eat you up." Then he saw Bunny
Boy out in the kitchen, wide awake, eating mince pie! Bushy said, "I
have you, and I will eat you up!"
But Bunny Boy was too quick for him. He ran down the stairs, into the
cellar, and had hopped through the cellar window in less than no time.
Then Bushy Tail took a mince pie and put it in his right-hand coat
pocket. He took a currant pie and put it in his left-hand coat pocket.
He hid an apple pie in his hat, and he went slyly out of the door with
a piece of blueberry pie in his mouth!
Next morning, when Bunny and Susan awoke, they saw that their pies were
gone, and they saw that Bushy Tail and Bunny Boy were gone too!
Susan Cotton-Tail cried, and Bunny Cotton-Tail whistled.
CHAPTER II
Why do you suppose Susan Cotton-Tail had made so many pies? There was
going to be a fair, and Susan had been asked to make pies for it. All
the animals were going to the fair.
"We cannot go when we have no pies to sell," said Susan.
"All the animals will come to find out why we are not there," said
Bunny.
Now Bunny Cotton-Tail was a very clever rabbit, even though he was
getting old. He put on his overcoat and took a card and a hammer, and
went out.
He was out a long time, tacking something up on the front door.
When he had finished, he asked Susan to come out and get a breath of
air.
They walked up and down in front of the house. Then Susan began to
laugh, and then she began to sneeze, and then she laughed and sneezed
together, and what do you suppose was the matter?
Bunny Cotton-Tail had put up this sign on the house,
SCARLET FEVER HERE
"Well," said Bunny, "if you don't want to go anywhere or have any one
come to see you, just put up a sign like that, and see how well it will
work!"
Bunny and Susan went back into the house and peeped out their front
window to see how the animals would act when they saw the sign.
First came Bushy Tail, big as life, trotting along. When he saw the
sign he waved his beautiful tail in the air and ran down the road as
fast as his legs could carry him!
Next came Mr. Owl. He read the sign aloud, and flew away.
So all day long, animals came to ask why Bunny and Susan did not come
to the fair, and all were frightened and ran away.
Early in the evening old Grizzly came. He had followed Bushy Tail from
California.
"What a beautiful bear!" said Susan.
"He looks kind," said Bunny.
Old Grizzly read the sign. He did not pass by as the other animals had
done. He went straight up to the front door and knocked.
"Perhaps he can't read," said Bunny, so he shouted, "Scarlet Fever
here!"
Old Grizzly nodded his head. He said he had had scarlet fever three
times, and he was not afraid to have it again.
So they opened the door and let old Grizzly in. Then they all had a
jolly time, and Bunny told why he put up the sign on the house.
"You may have a new kind of scarlet fever," said Old Grizzly, "maybe I
shall catch it!" and they all laughed.
Old Grizzly had been in a circus, and had traveled in the East and in
the West. He could tell lovely stories, so he stayed a long time and
told stories, and Susan Cotton-Tail went out in the kitchen and came
back with a mince pie in each hand. (These pies had been hidden away in
a tin.)
They all enjoyed the pies, and then Bunny asked old Grizzly to spend
the night with them. Old Grizzly said, "No, thank you." The house next
door was vacant and he was going to live there.
Susan held the candle at the door and old Grizzly went to his new home.
"I like him, but I am glad he went out for the night," said Bunny.
"Just think!" Susan said, "he has promised to come in every night and
tell us a story!"
CHAPTER III
When old Grizzly came next evening he had a book tucked under his arm.
"What have you there?" asked Bunny and Susan together.
It was some time before old Grizzly would tell. Then he coughed and
said he had one story that every one liked so well that he had written
it down, and drawn pictures for it.
The two rabbits begged so hard to see the pictures that old Grizzly
opened the book and showed them all the pictures before he began to
read. And this is the story he read:
Once there was a gentleman who wrote stories. He had a fine large cat
called Whiskers.
One day Whiskers thought he would see the man write his story, so he
sat up on the desk beside him.
The man started to write a story about an elephant. It was to be a long
story with big words in it.
Whiskers wanted to be petted just then, and as the man did not notice
him, he gave the pen a little slap, and it made a funny mark down the
page.
"Never mind," said the man, "that will do for the path along which the
elephant walked."
The man's pen was a lovely thing to play with, but Whiskers had a nicer
plaything himself. He began to go round and round after his own tail.
Round and round he went, until he upset the ink. Then he was so scared
that he ran and hid.
The man only laughed, and said he would draw funny little figures where
the blots of ink were.
He called Whiskers back and went on with his story. He was just
wondering how he would draw the seats inside the circus tent, when
Whiskers put his paw down on the wet page, and the man said:
"Why, Whiskers, you certainly are an artist."
Then he began to wonder how he could show what a big space the elephant
covered when he walked, and just then the cat walked over the paper, to
show him!
The man was so pleased then, that he laid down his pen and gave
Whiskers a big hug.
"Pooh!" said Whiskers, "that was nothing. I could write a better story
than you can, any day!"
You see, Whiskers was not a polite cat.
"Did Whiskers write the story?" asked Bunny.
Susan winked at Bunny and said:
"Old Grizzly, that is the best story of all, and I believe you made it
up yourself!"
Then old Grizzly blushed under the fur on his cheeks, and Bunny ran and
got a big bouquet and stuck it in his paw!
Old Grizzly went home feeling very happy indeed.
CHAPTER IV
The next evening Susan begged old Grizzly to tell her another story
about Whiskers. Grizzly said he knew one, but he kept it in the back of
his head and he could not find it. So he told them the story of Carlo,
instead.
Carlo was a fine dog. He had but one fault. He liked to suck eggs.
Day after day the cook went out into the hen-house to get eggs, and day
after day there were no eggs to be found.
At first she thought it must be a rat that stole her eggs, and she set
a trap. A clever old rat came and ate the cheese, but he never got
caught.
One day the cook saw Carlo sucking an egg. Whisk! she was after him
with a broom, and gave him a sound beating! But this did not cure Carlo
of his bad habit. He went into the hen-house and stole eggs whenever he
pleased.
The cook said she was not going to allow this, so one day she called
the dog to her in a most friendly way, and held out half an egg in her
hand.
Carlo thought that the cook had made up her mind to let him eat all the
eggs he wanted, so he took the egg in his mouth, and swallowed it
quickly.
Then he began to behave very strangely. He yelped with pain, and ran
out into the yard and rolled over and over in the snow.
"Good! Now you will steal no more eggs," said the cook.
What do you suppose was the matter with Carlo? The egg the cook had
given him was full of red pepper, and his mouth burned as though on
fire. There is no telling what the poor dog would have done if a little
girl had not come along just then.
The little girl had found out what the cook had done. She crept out of
the house and said:
"Poor Carlo, poor doggie, come to me!" and then she took snow and
washed out Carlo's mouth and patted him on the head until he felt all
right again.
Carlo never forgot the little girl's kindness, and he never stole eggs
any more.
Just as old Grizzly stopped speaking, "Tap, tap," was heard on the
window. They looked up and saw Bushy Tail outside.
"Let him in. I'll see that he does no harm," said old Grizzly. They
opened-the door, and Bushy Tail jumped in.
Now, Bushy Tail would not have come if he had not had something to say,
for he felt a little ashamed about the pies.
What do you suppose Bushy Tail had come to say? He had heard of a big
gold mine in the West, and he wanted Grizzly Bear and the Cotton-Tail
family to go west with him to buy the gold mine.
Old Grizzly was delighted with the idea, but Bunny and Susan said they
would rather stay at home. As they were talking, "Tap, tap," was heard
on the window again, and there stood Bunny Boy. He had come home from
his travels!
Bunny Boy's head was tied up and he looked as though he had had a hard
time. Susan asked if he would like to go west and look for gold, but
Bunny Boy only shook his head.
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