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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1230c7c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69075 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69075) diff --git a/old/69075-0.txt b/old/69075-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f2a831f..0000000 --- a/old/69075-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3652 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The fairy babies, by Laura Rountree -Smith - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The fairy babies - -Author: Laura Rountree Smith - -Illustrator: Dorothy Dulin - -Release Date: September 30, 2022 [eBook #69075] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY BABIES *** - - - - - - -THE FAIRY BABIES - - - - -Books by - -LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH - - - Bunny and Bear Book, The - Bunny Boy and Grizzly Bear - Bunny Bright-Eyes - Bunny Cotton-Tail Junior - Candy-Shop Cotton-Tails, The - Children’s Favorite Stories - Circus Book, The - Circus Cotton-Tails, The - Cotton-Tail First Reader, The - Cotton-Tail Primer, The - Cotton-Tails in Toyland, The - Drills and Plays for Patriotic Days - Fairy Babies, The - Games and Plays - Hawk-Eye and Hiawatha - Language Lessons from Every Land - Little Bear - Little Eskimo - Merry Little Cotton-Tails, The - Mother Goose Stories - Primary Song Book - Roly-Poly Book, The - Runaway Bunny, The - Seventeen Little Bears - Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes - Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail, The - Three Little Cotton-Tails - - Published by - A. FLANAGAN COMPANY - CHICAGO - - - - - THE FAIRY BABIES - - By - Laura Rountree Smith - - Illustrated by - Dorothy Dulin - - 1924 - A. FLANAGAN COMPANY - Chicago - - _COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY_ - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -CONTENTS - - - Page - - Chapter I - - The Magic Pitcher 7 - - Chapter II - - The Fortune Teller 16 - - Chapter III - - Thanksgiving Dinner 29 - - Chapter IV - - The Little Dwarf’s Christmas 39 - - Chapter V - - A Wonderful Dream 50 - - Chapter VI - - The Magic Spoon 64 - - Chapter VII - - The Magic Kites 77 - - Chapter VIII - - The Magic Rocking-Chair 91 - - Chapter IX - - May-Day 103 - - Chapter X - - Vacation Time 114 - - - - -[Illustration: “_And they put the key in the lock_” (PAGE 89)] - - - - -THE FAIRY BABIES - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE MAGIC PITCHER - - Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What do you think? - We all came out of a bottle of ink! - We are very little to mind each rule, - But still we are going to start to school; - And if we remember, it starts in September! - This old-fashioned thing called school!” - Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What fun! - See, school has already begun!” - - -The Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies sat in a row. They looked as though they -would roll off the top of the desks at any minute. - -“You are almost as bad about rolling over as the Roly-Poly children,” -said the teacher. - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried one of the Ink-Bottle Babies. “I am rolling over!” - -Sure enough, thump! bump! thump! she went. She fell off the desk to the -floor, leaving the marks of her little black feet behind her. - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies together, “somebody pick -her up! Somebody pick her up!” - -The teacher was so scared that she went out of the room. - -Pretty soon all the children went home. What do you suppose happened next? - -The Fairy Ink-Bottle Mamma came down from the window sill and picked up -her baby! - -[Illustration: “_Picked up her baby_”] - -She said, “You are too little to go to school; you had better come with -me.” - -Then the other Ink-Bottle Babies set up a cry, “May we come, too, Ma? May -we come, too?” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Creep down quietly from the desks and you may -all come.” - -Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies crept down and followed their Mamma out of -the door. They walked a little way until they came to their home in the -woods. - -“I am so sleepy,” said the first Ink-Bottle Baby. - -“I am so sleepy,” said the second Ink-Bottle Baby. - -Then all but one of the twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies said, “I am so -sleepy!” - -One Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I am not sleepy at all. I rolled off the desk -and I feel wide-awake!” - -This little Baby’s name was Molly. The Ink-Bottle Mamma put all of her -babies to bed except Molly, and Molly said, - - “I am wide-awake as if it were day, - I’ll sit on the parlor rug and play.” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma was so sleepy herself that she did not know what to -do. Pretty soon she said, “Listen, Molly, and I will tell you a fairy -tale.” - -Then Molly cried, “I must wake Polly up to hear the fairy tale.” Polly -was Molly’s twin sister. - -Will you believe it? Before the Ink-Bottle Mamma could say “No!” Molly -had gone upstairs and had waked all the Babies up before she found Polly! - -The Ink-Bottle Babies looked so much alike it was hard to tell them apart! - -All the Ink-Bottle Babies woke up and cried, “We want to hear the fairy -tale, Ma! Please tell us all a fairy tale!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Get back into bed, every one of you, and -I will tell you a story.” - -Then the Babies all crept back into bed and their Mamma told them the -story of the Magic Pitcher. - -Here is the story she told: - -Once there was a little dwarf who lived alone in the woods. He lived in -a little blue house with a red chimney. He was very proud of his red -chimney. He painted the chimney every spring. - -The little dwarf was very good-natured except when he started to cook. -He could not cook a decent meal to save his life. He went about all day -humming a little song: - - “I can live without clothing and live without books, - But how is a fellow to live without cooks?” - -One day as he passed by a little brook he sang this song, and the brook -said, - - “If you take the pebbles from out this brook, - I will try to help you find a cook!” - -Then the little dwarf stooped down and began to pick the pebbles out of -the brook. - -At last, only one large stone remained. He pulled and tugged with all his -might, and at last the brook ran merrily along, for he got the big stone -up on the bank. - -The brook sang, - - “Look again, now I am free, - The magic pitcher you will see!” - -The little dwarf looked down into the brook, and sure enough, there was a -magic pitcher all blue and gold. The water ran deeper now, in the little -brook, so the little dwarf had to dive down after the pitcher. - -He came out choking and sputtering, but he had the magic pitcher in his -hand. Then he ran homeward singing and whistling all the way. He sang: - - “I can live without clothing and live without books, - But how is a fellow to live without cooks?” - -[Illustration: “_He poured once more_”] - -He got some bread and cheese out of a cupboard and drew the pitcher full -of water, and sat down to his lonely meal. - -He started to pour out a glass of water, and as he poured it from the -magic pitcher, it turned into fine, rich milk. He poured once more, and -this time it was honey that came out of the magic pitcher. - -He tried again and out came tea! So it went on. Every time he poured from -the magic pitcher, out came something delicious to drink. - -The little dwarf grew so happy and healthy that when he went into the -woods to chop down trees he could chop six trees while the other little -dwarfs could only chop down one. - -He never sang any more about wanting a cook, and he seemed so happy that -the other little dwarfs were jealous of him, and they said, “We will find -out his secret.” - -So, one evening when it was late, they all crept to the house where the -little dwarf lived, and they all peeped in at the window. - -There sat the little dwarf by the table pouring from his magic pitcher. -He poured out coffee, and cream, and molasses! - -My! the other little dwarfs turned green with envy. They said, “We will -have that pitcher.” - -They opened the door, ran into the house, seized the pitcher, and ran -away, away, away, into the deep woods. - -The little dwarf was so sad, he went to the brook again and said, - - “The dwarfs have carried my pitcher away, - Alas! alas! alackaday!” - -“I will fix them,” said the little brook. “You were so good to take all -my stones away, you shall soon have the pitcher back again; never fear.” - -Then the little dwarf went back home singing a merry song. - -Now the dwarfs had carried the pitcher away with them, and when they had -run for a long time, they saw a little brook, winding in and out among -the trees, and they said, “We will fill the pitcher with water.” - -So the first little dwarf ran and filled the pitcher with water. Then he -ran back to his companions who sat in a circle, and began to fill their -glasses. They all set up a shout, for out of the pitcher came only thick -mud! - -“You have played a trick on us,” they cried. - -Then the second little dwarf went and filled the pitcher. - -“It is pure water,” he said, but when he went to pour from the pitcher, -lo! and behold! out came vinegar! - -Then the third little dwarf said, “Let me try,” and the next said, “Let -me try,” but each time there came out of the pitcher something quite -unfit to drink. - -Then the dwarfs said, “This pitcher is of no account after all; we will -throw it into the brook.” - -They said, “If the little dwarf finds it again, he is welcome to drink -all the mud and vinegar he wants.” - -Then they threw the pitcher back into the brook, and the brook carried it -safely back to the place in the woods where the little dwarf passed every -day. Pretty soon the little dwarf came along. He sang, - - “Ha! ha! Ho! ho! What do I see? - A beautiful pitcher floats in to me!” - -He filled the pitcher with water and soon poured out a fine drink of -buttermilk. - -He ran home as fast as his legs could carry him, and he hid his pitcher -safely away. - -He worked at home very busily all that day. He made shades for his -window, so no one could look in. He put a lock on his door, and he made -a little key to fit the lock. - -“Now, no one can see what I pour from my pitcher,” he said, “and no one -can come in, unless I invite him.” - -He went to bed and slept well. Late that night a most remarkable thing -happened. Five and twenty little men came to his door and they rapped and -they tapped, and he would not let them in! - -Then they laid down five and twenty little parcels on his doorstep and -they crept away. Next morning the little dwarf went to his door and saw -the five and twenty little parcels. They were all from the grocery store. - -On each parcel was written, “Compliments from the little dwarfs, with -thanks for the borrowed pitcher.” - -On one package was written, “Don’t drink too much mud and vinegar!” - -The little dwarf went to the brook and asked what all this meant. When -the brook told him he laughed until he cried. - -The little dwarf may still live in the woods, for all I know, and he may -still be drinking out of his magic pitcher. - -As soon as the Ink-Bottle Mamma stopped talking all her Babies went to -sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE FORTUNE TELLER - - October, October, you gay little rover, - You are welcome, the wide world over; - Merrily, merrily, school-bells ring - And children all delight to sing. - The Ink-Bottle Babies are absent to-day, - Or perhaps they lingered upon the way; - I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies sigh, - “We are busy bidding the birds good-bye!” - - -The Ink-Bottle Babies woke up cross. Every one of them got up out of the -wrong side of the bed! - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma called, “Hurry, hurry, or you will all be late to -school!” - -Then Molly called, “I can’t find my shoes,” and Polly called, “I can’t -find my dress,” and all the Ink-Bottle Babies set up such a wail that the -Ink-Bottle Mamma had to come upstairs and help them dress. - -She said, “My dear children, will you never grow up?” - -[Illustration: “_Give us a ride, please!_”] - -When they sat down at the table, Molly said, “I don’t want this oatmeal,” -and Polly said, “I don’t want any either.” - -Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “We don’t want any oatmeal!” - -They laid down their twenty-five little spoons. And will you believe it? -Not one of the Babies would eat any breakfast! - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Get down from your chairs, every one of -you.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies got down from their chairs, pouting and scolding. -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma put on their caps and sent them right off to -school. - -“Hurry! hurry!” she said. “Don’t be late for school!” - -They had not gone far when the first Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I will not go -another step!” - -Then the second Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I will not go another step!” - -Then what do you suppose happened next? They all sat down in a row and -they cried and they screamed and they howled! - -Just then an old farmer came along with his wagon. - -When he saw all the Ink-Bottle Babies in a row, he said, “Bless my heart! -What funny little babies! What are you all doing here?” - -Then Molly and Polly cried, “Give us a ride, please! We don’t care which -way we go!” - -Then the farmer got down and helped all the Babies into his wagon and -they rode merrily away! - -They laughed and talked and said, “Oh!” and “Ah!” and “What a fine ride!” - -When they rode by the school they kept very still, and they all crept -down in the bottom of the wagon. - -On and on they rode, through the woods and into a town and away off to a -little red house on a farm. - -“Will you spend the day with me?” asked the farmer. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “We will! We will!” And they jumped up and -down with joy. They had a fine time all day. They saw the sheep and pigs -and cows, and they took turns riding on a little pony. - -When night came Molly and Polly cried, “We want our Ma! We want our Ma!” - -The farmer’s wife was very deaf, but she saw that all the Ink-Bottle -Babies were crying at once, so she gave each one a cookie. The cookies -had red sugar on them. They had raisins in them. The Ink-Bottle Babies -cried and would not eat their cookies. - -Then the farmer’s wife took Polly on the right arm of her chair, and she -took Molly on the left arm of her chair. Then she let all the rest of the -Ink-Bottle Babies crowd around her. - -Next, the farmer’s wife put on her spectacles and opened a great red -book. Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and set up a -shout, for they could see the name of the book. - -It was called “Tip-Top Fairy Tales.” - -The farmer’s wife smiled at the Babies and began to read slowly. She -skipped the hard words and stumbled over the easy ones! - -If you do not like to listen to her read, you will have to read for -yourself the story of Goldy and Brownie, or The Fortune Teller. Here is -the story: - -Once upon a time there were two sisters. They were as different as they -could be. - -Goldy was good and beautiful. Brownie was ugly and cross. - -One day Goldy said, “I am going down into the valley to see the Fortune -Teller. I am going to have my fortune told.” - -Brownie said, “You shall not go. I am afraid you will have a better -fortune than mine if you go first.” - -Then Brownie tied Goldy into a chair and she went out of the house and -locked the door. - -Brownie said, “I will have my fortune told first.” - -She went into the valley where an old Gypsy lived. She knocked at the -door and the Gypsy called out, - - “Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Sit by the fire and spin; - Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Open the door, come in.” - -[Illustration: “_She stamped her foot_”] - -Brownie was a little afraid to pull the latch at first, but as the Gypsy -did not speak again she knew she must do something, so she pulled the -latch. The door opened, and she went into the house. - -She said, “You cross old woman, I want my fortune told.” - -The Gypsy looked at her and said, - - “You may bake and brew, - But whatever you do, - You’ll uglier grow each day; - But make a wish, just make one wish, - Make a wish and go away!” - -Brownie was so angry she stamped her foot and said the first thing that -came into her mind. - -She said, “I wish I had a fine fur coat to wear all the time.” - -Then the Gypsy touched her with her cane, and her dress turned into a fur -coat, and Brownie herself turned into a caterpillar! - -“There!” said the Gypsy, “I guess you have a fur coat to wear all the -time.” - -The Gypsy forgot one thing. She forgot to take away Brownie’s voice, so -she could talk as well as ever. - -Brownie went crawling slowly home. She called out to Goldy, - - “Go to the Gypsy, whatever you do, - A very fine fortune waits there for you!” - -She really hoped that the Gypsy would turn her sister into a caterpillar, -too! - -Then Brownie sighed, for she remembered that she had tied Goldy into her -chair, and that she could not get away if she wanted to. - -Pretty soon a prince came by and Brownie cried, - - “The beautiful princess sits in a chair; - Just take a peep in the window there!” - -The prince was so surprised to hear a voice and see no one, that he cried -out, - - “What shall I do? What shall I do? - I’ll peep through the window to see if it’s true.” - -Then he tiptoed to the window so softly his feet never made a sound, and -sure enough, there he saw Goldy sitting in the chair—tied in, fast asleep. - -The prince tried to get into the house. He tried the front door, and the -back door, and the side door, and all the windows. At last he found a -window that would open. He sat on the window sill and cried, - - “Golden Hair, will you come to me? - May I come in and set you free?” - -Then Goldy woke up. She had read about princes, but she had never seen -one before. She was so surprised she only nodded her head. - -Then the prince came in and cut the cords that bound her. - -Goldy said, “Thank you!” Then she went and made the prince a cup of tea. - -They were about to sit down and enjoy the tea when a dove flew in at the -window. It had a message tied round its neck. The message was for the -prince. It said, “Come home at once. Your father is ill.” - -So the prince took off his cap with the big feather in it, and made a -bow. Then he went out of the window as suddenly as he had come. - -Goldy said to herself, “I will go to the Gypsy and have my fortune told. -Perhaps I shall meet the prince again.” - -So she put on her blue dress and sunbonnet, and went to the house where -the Gypsy lived, and knocked at the door. - -The Gypsy said, - - “Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Sit by the fire and spin; - Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Open the door, come in!” - -Then Goldy opened the door and walked in. - -“Will you tell my fortune?” she said. - -The Gypsy liked Goldy, but to save her life she did not know how to tell -a very good fortune, so she said, - - “Whatever you do your wish will come true, - So make it, I pray, and go quickly away!” - -Goldy was wishing in her heart that she could see the prince, so she said -at once, “I wish I could fly.” - -[Illustration: “_She knocked at the door_”] - -Then the Gypsy touched her with her cane and her blue dress turned into a -shining pair of wings. She became a beautiful blue butterfly, and sailed -away and away in the sunshine. By and by she sailed into the king’s -garden. - -The prince came out and cried, “Oh what a beautiful butterfly.” - -Then Goldy told him what had happened and she said, “Go to the Gypsy and -see how I can be changed back again.” - -Then the prince went in a hurry to the Gypsy, you may believe. When the -Gypsy heard him knock she cried as before, - - “Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Sit by the fire and spin; - Cross-Patch, pull the latch, - Open the door, come in!” - -The prince opened the door and made his very best bow and said, “I wish -Goldy were changed back into a beautiful girl and standing here beside -me.” - -The Gypsy nodded her head and soon a blue butterfly came floating in -through the window. The Gypsy said a magic verse, and changed the -butterfly back into the girl Goldy. - -Then Goldy and the prince thanked the Gypsy. They were married at once, -and they went to live in the king’s palace. They were not so happy as -they had expected to be for Goldy cried all day, “I miss my sister -Brownie. Go and find my ugly little sister.” - -The prince went out to look for Brownie. He traveled high and low but he -could not find her. - -Then Goldy went out to look for her sister. She went to her old home and -she heard a voice say, - - “I am as lonely as can be, - Sister Goldy, come to me!” - -Then Goldy cried, “Here I am. Where are you hiding, little sister?” - -Then Brownie told about her being changed into an ugly caterpillar, and -they went together to the Gypsy. - -The Gypsy was sitting on her doorstep and Goldy cried out, “See, I will -give you this golden dish if you will change the caterpillar into my -little sister.” - -The Gypsy liked the dish and she said a few magic words and changed the -caterpillar into the girl Brownie. - -Brownie was now so happy that she was good-looking. Many a young prince -came and fell in love with her but Brownie was so happy to live with her -sister and the prince, that she sang a very merry song: - - “I have lovers four and twenty; - One or two would be a plenty; - And I am as happy as happy can be, - Since the old Gypsy set me free.” - -One day there came to the palace a little lame prince. He was as ugly as -a barb-wire fence, but Brownie let him in. She gave him a cup of tea and -said: - - “I have lovers four and twenty; - One or two would be a plenty; - And I am happy as happy can be, - Since the old Gypsy set me free.” - -The little lame prince said, “I am ugly and no one loves me. Will you -marry me?” - -Brownie said, “I will marry you.” And they were married in the rose -garden, and they grew better looking and happier every day. - -Whenever they saw sick caterpillars or butterflies with broken wings, -they took care of them. - -Brownie and Goldy each had a home near the king’s palace, and they were -happy all their lives. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Is that all? Tell it again! Tell it again! -Please do! Read it or tell it! It is a lovely story!” - -The farmer’s wife said, “It must be bedtime.” They looked at the great -clock that stood in the hall, and the clock said it was ten o’clock! - -“I am going home to-morrow, and I am going to school,” said Molly. - -“I, too,” said Polly. - -“We, too,” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies. “We are all going to learn to -read that story.” - -Then they scampered upstairs and went to bed. - -Just as they were about to go to sleep, Molly said, “It is awful to have -to spell out the words like the farmer’s wife does.” - -Polly said, “I am going to learn to read!” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THANKSGIVING DINNER - - Old November’s come once more; - Children, see the snow! - Riding out in grandpa’s sleigh, - We all will gladly go, - For Thanksgiving brings such joys - To the waiting girls and boys; - I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies sigh, - “Please give us a piece of pumpkin pie!” - - -Next day the farmer hitched up his horses and took all the Ink-Bottle -Babies home. - -They said, “Oh Ma, we want to learn to read. Oh Ma, we will go to school -every day!” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma kissed all her babies and sent them to school. - -They wanted so much to learn to read fairy tales that they never missed a -day of school, from the 16th of October to Thanksgiving. - -[Illustration: “_They never missed a day of school_”] - -The day before Thanksgiving Molly began to cry on the way home from -school. Then Polly began to cry! Pretty soon all the Ink-Bottle Babies -took out their twenty-five little pocket handkerchiefs and began to cry! - -When they got home Mamma said, “Why do you cry?” - -The first Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I don’t know, boo-hoo!” - -The second Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I don’t know, boo-hoo!” - -Polly said, “I am crying because Molly is crying.” - -Molly said, “I am crying because we have no grandma and grandpa to go to -see on Thanksgiving Day.” - -Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “We want a grandma and grandpa, -boo-hoo!” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Dry your eyes, and I will tell you what to -do.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies dried their eyes and Mamma said, “Suppose we -go and spend Thanksgiving Day with the farmer and his wife!” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and shouted, “Hurrah! hurrah!” - -When they had stopped their noise, Mamma said each Baby should take a pie -in a little basket to the farmer and his wife. - -Then she took the Babies to the pantry and showed them twenty-five little -pies all in a row. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies were so anxious to start that they said, “To-morrow -will never come!” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma knew a few things to make the time pass, so she -said, “Who will sweep my floor? Who will dust my chairs? Who will wipe my -dishes?” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all set to work at once, and they swept the -floor and dusted the furniture, and they wiped the dishes, and soon the -work was all done. - -At bedtime the Babies said, “Three cheers for the farm. Hurrah for the -farmer and his wife! Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!” - -Then they all went to bed and fell asleep. - -Early next morning the Ink-Bottle Babies were all ready to start. Each -one carried a basket. The Ink-Bottle Mamma locked the house and put the -key under the doormat. Then they were all ready to go. - -They walked a long way, and were getting quite tired, when a man came -along in his automobile. - -He said, “You cunning little Babies, where are you going?” - -Then the Babies shouted, “We are going to the farm. We are going to see -the farmer and his wife, and we are taking them some pumpkin pies!” - -The man said, “I will take you to the farm if you will give me one or two -of your pies!” - -He said, “I have not tasted a pumpkin pie for forty years!” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies wept to think of a man not tasting a pie for so -many years, and they all crowded around the automobile and cried, “Take -mine! Please take mine!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma stepped up and said, “Please Sir, we need all -these pies to-day, but if you care to give us a ride and then will call -at my house to-morrow you may have all the pies you can carry.” - -The man was delighted, you may be sure. He helped the Ink-Bottle Mamma -right into the automobile and called to the Babies, “Pile in, one and -all!” - -Soon they were all riding merrily along the road. - -The man allowed Polly and Molly to blow the horn and they rode right into -the farmer’s yard and right up to his front door. - -The farmer’s wife came out and cried, “Bless my soul! What a fine -automobile! And bless my soul! Here are the Ink-Bottle Babies again!” - -Then the farmer heard the noise and came out and said, “Bless my buttons! -Let me count the Babies! Yes, they are here, every last one of them!” - -Then he caught sight of the Ink-Bottle Mamma, and he bowed to her -politely and helped her out. - -The man who owned the automobile looked at the farmer and said, “Will you -have a ride, good people?” - -Now the farmer and his wife had never ridden in an automobile in their -lives. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Go right along; don’t mind us; we will get -the dinner!” - -The farmer said, “Wait till I get some turkeys and ducks ready for -dinner,” and the farmer’s wife said, “Wait till I make a few dozen pies!” - -At the word “pies,” the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout, and each one -made a low bow and presented the farmer’s wife with a little pie. She was -so surprised that she hardly knew what to say. - -The farmer called, “Put on your old gray bonnet!” Then the Babies began -to sing, - - “Put on your old gray bonnet, - With the blue ribbons on it!” - -Then the stranger said, “You are very sweet singers!” - -Soon the farmer and his wife were ready, and they went whizzing away in -the automobile. Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma began to cook the turkeys and -many other things, and the Ink-Bottle Babies had the table all set by the -time the farmer and his wife returned. - -Did they have a big dinner? Well, I guess they did. They had turkey and -duck, and sweet-potatoes and white potatoes, and squash, and carrots, and -rice, and jelly, and pickles, and pudding, and cranberry sauce, and cake, -and ice cream, and pumpkin pies! - -The farmer and his wife said, “We never had such a happy Thanksgiving -before!” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Hurrah for the turkey! Hurrah for the -pumpkin pies!” - -[Illustration: “_Presented the farmer’s wife with a little pie_”] - -After dinner the Babies begged for a story. They said, “Read us a fairy -tale; please read us a fairy tale!” - -The farmer’s wife said, “I have broken my glasses and I cannot see to -read, but Pa will tell you a story!” - -Then the farmer grew quite red in the face and said, “I don’t know any -fairy stories; honestly I don’t!” - -“You know about the fox and the crow,” said the farmer’s wife. - -Then the Babies climbed up on his chair and on his knees and there was no -way out of it; he had to begin: - - “There once was a crow, and at early morn - He spied the farmer’s field of corn; - He said, ‘As sure as I am born, - I’ll have that corn, heigh-o!’” - -“Go on! Go on!” shouted all the Babies. “Tell about the fox. Please tell -us some more.” Then the farmer said: - - “There once was a fox so very sly - He knew that farmer’s field hard by; - ‘To catch the crow, I’m going to try,’ - Said the fox with a soft heigh-o!” - -Then the farmer stopped. The Babies begged him to go on but he said, -“Honestly that is all I know.” - -“Did the crow get the corn?” asked Molly. - -“Did the fox get the crow?” asked Polly. - -“I don’t know,” said the farmer. “How can I tell about such things? I -only went to school one year in all my life.” - -“Oh,” said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “we intend to go to school for -seventeen years!” - -“That is right,” said the farmer; “then you will learn all about the fox -and the crow.” - -Just at this minute, the farmer’s wife set up a cry. “Oh see the cunning -little baskets! See the twenty-five little baskets! We must not send them -home empty!” - -Then she whispered something in Molly’s ear, and she whispered something -in Polly’s ear, and each Ink-Bottle Baby whispered to the next one. - -Then they carried their twenty-five little baskets with them and they all -scampered down to the cellar. The farmer’s wife went with them and showed -them five barrels of apples. - -The farmer’s wife said, “Help yourselves. Fill your baskets full.” - -What fun they had, picking apples first out of one barrel and then out of -another! - -They were all ready to start home at last, when the farmer said, “Where -are the apples for the Ink-Bottle Mamma?” - -Then the farmer’s wife gave her a bag of apples and a bag of nuts. - -The farmer hitched up his horses to the wagon, and the Ink-Bottle Mamma -and the Ink-Bottle Babies all piled in. - -“Crack!” went the whip, and they were off and away singing and whistling -as they went. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said to the farmer, “It is very kind in you to take -us home in your wagon!” - -The farmer said, “I never had twenty-five grandchildren, and I love every -one of your babies.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies began to get sleepy. They tried to remember the -story the farmer had told and they said, - -“There once was a fox at early morn.” - -“No! That is not right!” said Molly. - -Then they tried it again, and they said, “There once was a farmer’s field -of corn.” - -“No! no!” shouted Polly, “that is not right.” - -The farmer had to tell the story again, and the Babies repeated it after -him in a singsong way: - - “There once was a crow, and at early morn - He spied the farmer’s field of corn; - He said, ‘As sure as I am born - I’ll have that corn, heigh-o!’” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE LITTLE DWARF’S CHRISTMAS - - Old December’s come again; - Stockings large and small, - Hang by the fireside with care, - For Santa’ll fill them all; - I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies cry, - “Santa will in his sleigh dash by; - We always like to have him call, - For we have stockings large and small!” - - -It was December and Christmas was coming. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “May we hang up our stockings now? May we -hang all our stockings in a row?” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies all talked at once. They made such a noise that the -postman had to rap five times before he could be heard. - -Then Molly said, “Hush! Listen! I hear a knock!” - -Polly went dancing to the door and came back with a letter in her hand. -The letter was addressed to the Ink-Bottle Mamma. - -She opened it and said, “The farmer and his wife want us to go and spend -Christmas day with them! They say, ‘Tell the Babies to bring their -stockings.’” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies were glad, you may be sure. - -They clapped their hands and shouted, “May we go, Ma? Say yes, Ma. Please -let us go!” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “We will go with pleasure.” - -The days passed very fast after that, and it was almost Christmas time; -and all would have gone well, I am sure, but two days before Christmas -Molly was taken sick, and Polly said, “I don’t feel well either.” - -Then what do you suppose happened? All the Ink-Bottle Babies came down -with the measles. - -They cried and they howled, “We can’t go away on Christmas Day! Oh dear! -Oh dear!” - -[Illustration: “_I don’t feel well either_”] - -When they had stopped their noise the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Never mind, -Santa Claus will not forget you.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies dried their eyes. They began to think about -Santa Claus. - -Toward evening a package was left at the door. It said, “For the measley -Babies from the farmer’s wife.” - -When the Ink-Bottle Mamma brought the parcel upstairs the Babies cried, -“Untie it quickly; please do, and let us all see what is inside!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma untied the parcel, and took out a big red book! -The book was called “Tip-Top Fairy Tales.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies were so happy they forgot all about the measles, -and they cried, “Please read us a fairy tale.” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma laughed and sat down and read to them. And here is -the story she read: - -There was once a little dwarf who lived all alone in the deep woods. He -was so cross that no one would live with him. One evening as he sat alone -by his fire he heard the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, of sleigh bells. - -“Santa Claus, maybe,” he said, “but what do I know about Santa Claus? I -never hung up my stockings in all my life.” - -Nearer and nearer came the sound of sleigh bells. Then there was a great -shout, and the little dwarf went out to see what had happened. - -Now what do you suppose had happened? - -[Illustration: “_Brushed Santa Claus all over_”] - -Santa Claus had driven into a snowdrift and he could not get out. His -sleigh had tipped over and his toys had spilled upon the snow. - -Santa Claus was half buried in the snow when the little dwarf ran out and -cried, “Hello, old Santa Claus! Can’t you get out?” - -The little dwarf pulled and tugged at the reindeer, and he pulled and -tugged at Santa Claus. Then he went for a snow-shovel, saying, “You are -so big I will have to dig you out!” - -He dug Santa Claus out of the snow. Then he and Santa picked up the toys, -and put them all safely back into the sleigh. - -Then the little dwarf whisked into the house and came back with a tiny -broom and brushed Santa Claus all over, and helped him shake off the snow. - -Poor old Santa Claus was so wet and cold he began to sneeze, “A-kit-chew! -a-kit-chew!” - -The little dwarf stamped his foot and said, “This will never do! Come in -and get warm! Come in and dry your whiskers!” - -Then Santa Claus laughed until he shook all over, but he was very glad to -follow the little dwarf into the house, though he had to stoop to get in -at the doorway. He said, - - “A bowl of soup if you please, - Will help Santa not to freeze!” - -The little dwarf stamped his foot again and shouted, - - “What do you suppose? What do you suppose? - Shall I stir soup with my ugly nose?” - -Old Santa Claus laughed and said, - - “Ha! ha! ha! hee! hee! hee! - Make for me a cup of tea!” - -The little dwarf stamped his foot again and said, - - “What do you think? What do you think? - Can an ugly dwarf make tea to drink?” - -Then the little dwarf was gone for a long time and Santa Claus almost -fell asleep. He shook himself to keep awake. - -He said, “I must not go to sleep to-night of all nights in the year!” - -Then he said, “I wish the dwarf would hurry. I wish he would get me some -tea.” - -Then Santa Claus began to sing a little song: - - Jolly, jolly Santa Claus - Rides out across the snow; - Jolly, jolly Santa Claus - Brings nicest toys, you know; - Hang up your stockings large and small, - For Santa Claus will fill them all; - Late at evening he will call, - Jolly Santa Claus! - -All the time Santa Claus was singing, the cross little dwarf worked away -in the kitchen. - -He rapped and he tapped and he mixed and he stirred, and after awhile he -came in and said, - - “Last call for soup in the dining car! - Hurry, old Santa, wherever you are!” - -Santa Claus went into the kitchen and there was the nicest supper you -ever saw! - -The little dwarf yelled, - - “What do you think? My dishes are small, - So I gave you the bucket, the dish-pan, and all!” - -Then Santa Claus laughed until he cried, for sure enough, there was the -soup in the little dwarf’s dish-pan, and the tea was served in a bucket! - -Santa Claus was so very hungry that he ate and drank all the food that -was before him. - -Then he rolled his eyes and said in a half whisper, “Did you ever hang up -your stocking?” - -The little dwarf stamped his foot and cried, - - “What? ho! ho! I am foolish I know, - But I do not hang up my stocking, no! no!” - -“All right,” said Santa Claus, “I must be going. If you change your mind -about the stocking, it will be all right.” - -Then Santa Claus put on his great fur cap and his great fur coat, and the -little dwarf stood before him and he stamped his foot and cried, - - “I never hung up my stocking at all, - I never believed old Santa would call.” - -The little dwarf ran out into his barn and got a great armful of hay. It -was all he could do to carry such an armful. He fed Santa’s reindeer. - -And Santa Claus said, - - “I thank you kindly, have a care, - You may find a stocking there!” - -Then Santa Claus gave a whistle and shout and his reindeer bounded over -the snow. - -“I will not hang my stocking up!” roared the little dwarf, and he stamped -his foot in the snow. - -Soon Santa Claus was out of sight. Then the little dwarf went back into -his house. - -When he got into the house, he winked and he blinked his eyes, and he was -so surprised that he forgot to scold, for by the fireplace hung a little -red stocking! - -“I did not hang that up!” shouted the little dwarf. “I did not hang that -up!” - -He took a peep into the stocking, and what do you suppose he saw? There -in the stocking was a little gold cane, just the right size for a little -dwarf. - -“Well,” said the dwarf, “that is a pretty nice cane, but mind you, I did -not hang that stocking up!” - -By and by he went into the kitchen to wash his dishes, and imagine his -surprise to see all his dishes dry and hanging in their right places. - -“I want my own supper!” he roared. - -Then he lifted a plate from the shelf, and under it he saw a new penny. -Then he took a spoon from the drawer and out rolled another penny, so it -went on, until he got down the dish-pan to wash his dishes, and a whole -bag full of pennies rolled down and nearly choked him! - -Then the little dwarf looked at his pennies and he laughed until he cried. - -“I can never count them all,” he said. He put all the pennies in little -piles. - -“I shall be quite rich,” he cried. “I wish Santa Claus would call again.” - -Then the little dwarf went back and looked at his gold cane. He walked up -and down the room with his cane in his hand. - -[Illustration: “_A bag full of pennies rolled down_”] - -“I wish Santa Claus had left another red stocking,” he said. “I would -like to wear fine red stockings!” - -Then he tripped on the edge of the rug and he rolled the rug up and saw -another red stocking and a red cap and a pair of red mittens! - -He was so happy he shouted with delight, - - “Old Santa is a merry elf, - And I will have a care, - When Christmas comes again next year, - My stocking will be there!” - -Then what do you suppose that comical little dwarf did? - -He put on his red cap and his red stockings and his red mittens, and he -just curled up on the rug and went to sleep! - -The Ink-Bottle Babies fell asleep long before the end of the story was -reached, but the Ink-Bottle Mamma liked the story so well that she read -it on to the end to herself. - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma went to bed. It was now Christmas Eve. - -Did Santa Claus remember the Ink-Bottle Babies, and did he fill all their -stockings full? - -Well, I guess he did! and the Ink-Bottle Babies all woke up early and -cried, “Oh Ma! please bring us our stockings,” and the Ink-Bottle Mamma -brought in twenty-five stockings full of apples and nuts and toys. - -But the great joy of the day was still to come. Molly and Polly had their -beds near the window and they cried, “Oh Ma, here comes a farmer’s wagon!” - -Sure enough the wagon came and stopped right at their door. Out jumped -the farmer and his wife! - -The twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!” and -the farmer and his wife called, - - “Twenty-five babies, all in a row; - This is Christmas day, you know!” - -Then the farmer and his wife made a bow and the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped -their hands and shouted, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A WONDERFUL DREAM - - January now is here, - The first glad month of all the year; - Get your sled and snowshoes out; - The coasting is good without a doubt; - We are so merry and glad, ho! ho! - We like the winter’s ice and snow; - I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies say, - “Snow-men we’ve made all the day!” - - -One Saturday in January it began to snow, and down came the flakes bigger -and bigger. - -By noon the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “There is enough snow now to make a -snow-man!” - -“How can we make a snow-man?” asked Molly. - -“Please show us how to make a snow-man,” said Polly. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma shook her head. She said, “I am too stiff and old to -make a snow-man.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all began to talk at once and they said, “Will -no one show us how to make a snow-man?” - -Then the Mamma said, “Hush! Listen! Stop your noise!” - -Then the Babies were still and they heard the far-off tinkle of sleigh -bells. - -Molly cried, “Oh, is it the farmer again?” - -Polly cried, “Oh, are we going to have company?” - -Then the twenty-five little Babies were very still. They flattened their -little noses against the windowpanes, and looked out into the great white -world. - -Nearer, nearer, nearer, came the tinkle of sleigh bells, and very soon a -cunning little sleigh came in sight. - -In the sleigh were seated two dwarfs. They were as much alike as two peas. - -They stopped right in front of the house and got out of the sleigh. - -They ran to the door and asked, “Can you tell us if we are on the right -road?” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma bowed and said, “It all depends on where you are -going, gentlemen!” - -“It always depends on where we are going,” snapped the first little dwarf. - -The second little dwarf said, “We are not gentlemen at all, we are only -dwarfs!” - -Just at that minute, the first little dwarf caught sight of the -twenty-five Babies with their noses still flattened against the -windowpanes, and he cried, “Excuse me, but I must have one of those -Babies.” - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Mamma. “They are not for sale. You -cannot have one of my Babies.” - -Then she shut the door quickly and left the two little dwarfs standing on -the doorstep. - -“I want one of the Babies!” howled the first little dwarf. - -The second little dwarf took him by the arm and led him down the walk -back to their little sleigh. - -“I wonder if they live in the deep woods,” said Polly. - -“I wonder where they were going,” said Molly. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma went and kissed every one of her Babies. - -She said, “They cannot have any of my Babies. I cannot spare one of you!” - -The old clock sang a new song. It sounded like this: - - “Tick, tock, tick, tock, - They’re very sly, very sly, - Tick, tock, tick, tock, - They may return by and by.” - -[Illustration: “_A whole row of snow-men_”] - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma pretended that she did not hear the clock’s song, -and she said, “Hurry, hurry into your caps and mittens and I will tell -you how to make a snow-man!” - -Then the twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies put on their caps and mittens, and -went out doors. - -Mamma called to them to roll the snow over and over. Each Baby rolled a -snow-man. - -“Put in sticks for arms,” she called. “Make eyes, and mouth, and nose.” - -My! what a jolly time the Ink-Bottle Babies had! - -They made a whole row of snow-men, and they worked so late that the stars -came out and began to twinkle. - -Then twenty-three of the Babies said, “We are cold and hungry. We are -going into the house.” - -Molly and Polly said, “Run on; we are not ready to go in yet.” - -So the twenty-three Babies ran in and found Mamma making gingersnaps in -the kitchen. - -Then Molly said, “Hark! what is that?” - -Then Polly said “Hark! I hear something.” - -Just at that minute a tiny sleigh drew up at the door. It was the same -sleigh that had been there before. - -In the sleigh sat the two little dwarfs. They sat very still. They had -hidden their sleigh bells. - -The first little dwarf jumped out of the sleigh and whispered to Molly -and Polly, “Have a sleigh ride? We will bring you home again safe and -sound!” - -Then Polly said, “We must ask Ma.” - -And Molly said, “I will ask Ma.” - -The little dwarf winked his eye and said, “I have asked Ma already!” - -So Molly and Polly got into the sleigh and they bounded away, away, away -over the snow. - -Why didn’t the Ink-Bottle Mamma come out and stop them? She was busy -making gingersnaps! - -“Are you warm enough?” asked the first little dwarf. - -Then the second little dwarf began to sing in a drowsy voice, - - “Heigho! over the snow, - Away in our little sleigh we go; - Heigho! hear the merry winds blow; - Away, away, away we go!” - -Pretty soon Molly and Polly went to sleep. - -When they woke up they found themselves in the cutest little house in the -world. They were in the house of the two little dwarfs! - -The little dwarfs capered and danced about them and said, “You are the -cutest Babies in the world. Come and see grandpa!” - -They went into the next room and there sat a very old dwarf. He stared at -the Babies and said, - -“I am two thousand years old. Pray tell, how old are you?” - -“Say you are two hundred,” said the first little dwarf, stamping his foot -at grandpa. - -Grandpa shook his head and said, “I have always been two thousand years -old as long as I can remember.” - -He pointed his finger at Molly and Polly and said, “Can you tell the -time?” - -Then he took a large gold clock out of his pocket. “I always carry a -clock,” he said. “I don’t believe in watches. They run fast or slow.” - -Then he turned to the little dwarfs, and said, “Speaking of time, is -supper ready?” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies stared at the clock. They could not tell the time. - -They said, “We must learn to tell time; there is so much to learn!” - -Just then the two little dwarfs said, “Come into the candy room,” and -they all skipped into the next room. - -There were bookshelves of candy and sofas of candy, and chairs of candy! - -Molly and Polly clapped their hands with delight. - -“Eat all you want to!” said the little dwarfs. - -“Eat a chair!” shouted the first dwarf. - -“Eat a table!” shouted the second dwarf. - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried Molly and Polly, “we must not eat up your furniture, -but it does look good.” - -“Eat it all! Eat it all! We have plenty more!” roared the dwarfs. - -Then Molly ate a leg of a table and Polly ate the corner of the bookcase. - -Just at this time grandpa came in. - -[Illustration: “_He was leaning on a cane made of candy_”] - -He was hobbling along leaning on a very pretty cane made of striped -candy! He made a funny appearance, indeed. - -“Supper time,” he called. “Supper time, I say.” - -Then the two little dwarfs offered grandpa a candy rocking-chair, and -they ran and got on the cutest little aprons you ever saw. - -They went to the kitchen stove and began to fry and bake and stew, and by -and by they called, “Supper is ready; soup is served.” - -They had a nice supper and grandpa was so hungry he ate with a fork and -spoon at the same time! - -Molly and Polly had eaten so much candy they could not eat any supper. - -Grandpa said, “That is the way our visitors always do.” - -Then he pulled the clock out of his pocket and said, “Tell the time, -please.” - -Molly and Polly said, “We are sorry but we do not know how to tell the -time.” - -“That is too bad,” said grandpa. “If you want to enjoy life, you must -learn to tell the time.” - -Just then one of the little dwarfs began to pour out a glass of milk from -a very strange-looking pitcher. - -“I wonder if that is the magic pitcher?” whispered Polly. - -Polly whispered so loud that the little dwarf heard her. - -He was so surprised that he dropped the pitcher and it broke into one -hundred pieces. - -The room began to melt away and Molly and Polly woke up and rubbed their -eyes. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma was shaking them. - -“You poor dears!” she said. “Are you almost frozen? You have been asleep -in the snow!” - -Then she carried Molly and Polly into the house. - -They rubbed their eyes again and cried, “Where are the little dwarfs? -Where is the old grandpa? Where is the magic pitcher?” - -Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout, “You have been asleep! You -fell asleep playing in the snow!” - -Molly and Polly could not believe they had been dreaming. They said, “We -went riding in a sleigh!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma put dry clothes on them and said, “Sit and -toast yourselves by the fire, while I get you some gingersnaps!” - -When Molly and Polly were warm again, they told their wonderful dream. - -When they had finished talking the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Can’t you -really tell the time, my dears?” - -[Illustration: “_It is nine o’clock_”] - -The Ink-Bottle Babies all shook their heads. Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma -gave them twenty-five little circles of pasteboard, and she gave them -some little pieces for hands of each clock. - -They fastened the hands on the clocks with twenty-five little pins. - -Now she said, “We will make numbers on the clockface.” - -So they wrote twelve at the top of the circle, and six at the bottom; -they wrote three at the right and nine at the left; then they put the -other numbers between. - -The Mamma said, “Put the long hand at twelve, and the little hand at -nine; now tell the time!” - -Not one of the Ink-Bottle Babies could tell what time it was. Could you? - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, - - “The little hand tells the hour, you know, - As round and round the two hands go; - The big hand never makes a sound; - It tells the minutes as it goes around!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and said, “It is nine -o’clock!” - -Then they looked up at the big clock on the mantle-piece, and just then -they cried, “The big clock is nine o’clock, too.” - -At this very minute the big clock began to strike. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies held their breath and counted the strokes of the -clock. - -They counted the strokes on their fingers! - -Sure enough, the big clock struck nine. - -“Hurrah!” cried the Babies. “We are learning to tell the time.” - -Just then there was heard a gentle tap at the door. The door opened and -in walked an Ink-Bottle Baby. She wore a red dress and a red sunbonnet. - -She said, - - “How do you do? I am tired, too; - May I come in and sit with you?” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies all shouted, “Can you tell the time?” - -The new Ink-Bottle Baby shook her head and said, “I have been walking -over maps all day. The children want a red line here, and a red dot -there, and I am very tired.” - -“Did you meet the little dwarfs in the woods?” asked Molly and Polly -together. - -“Who are the little dwarfs?” asked the new Ink-Bottle Baby, and Molly and -Polly said, - - “We have a picture of two little dwarfs; - If you will only look, - The magic pitcher, too, is seen - Within our picture-book.” - -At the words “magic pitcher,” the new Ink-Bottle Baby sprang from her -chair, and ran out of the house as fast as her legs could carry her. - -“Well, what do you think of that?” asked the Ink-Bottle Mamma. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and danced up and down. - -They shouted, “There really must be a magic pitcher! There truly must be -a magic pitcher!” - -Then they looked out of the window and saw the snow-men they had made. -The snow-men looked very real in the moonlight. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Listen! the snow-men are singing.” - -They kept very still and they heard this song: - - “Last night I saw a funny sight, - Upon the ground all glistening white; - Queer people standing in a row, - Who told me they were made of snow! - - “They waved their arms so queer and long, - And kept time to a winter song; - And when I said I’d go away, - Their frosty voices bade me stay. - - “I looked up at them in surprise, - And each man rolled his wooden eyes; - Then said if I’d excuse the joke, - They’d light a match and take a smoke! - - “Now if you’d like to hear them talk, - Come out with me and take a walk; - You’ll find them standing in a row, - These funny people made of snow!” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE MAGIC SPOON - - In February as you know, - Stormy winds will often blow, - And sometimes on a Saturday, - In the house the children stay, - Playing pleasant games, you see, - They are happy as can be. - The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Heart of mine, - Come now, and make a valentine!” - - -One Saturday morning it began to storm and it snowed and the wind blew -harder and harder. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Oh Ma! what shall we do?” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “What month is this?” - -Molly and Polly said, “It is February.” - -Then the twenty-three other Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout. They cried, -“Valentines! Valentines!” - -[Illustration: “_Polly set up a cry_”] - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “You have guessed right; we are going to make -valentines.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies got some tables and scissors and paste. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma brought paper and some pictures, and she said, “You -may cut out some hearts.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies went to work. They got paste on the table and -on their hands and faces. - -Then suddenly Polly set up a cry, and soon all the Ink-Bottle Babies -shouted, “Oh Ma! Polly has cut her finger! Oh Ma! Come quickly!” - -Sure enough, Polly had cut her finger. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma came and tied it up and said, “Every one of you wash -your hands. I can’t have all my Babies cut their fingers!” - -So the Ink-Bottle Babies got out twenty-five little basins and filled -them with water, and they washed their hands. - -Then they said, “Read us a fine fairy tale, Ma, please do.” - -So Mamma got out the fairy tale book and read this story of The Magic -Spoon: - -Once upon a time there was a merry little dwarf. He sang all day, - - “Who is so merry, heigho! heigho! - As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho! - He may dance away by the light of the moon, - But happy is he with his magic spoon!” - -Then the little dwarf sat down by the table. He had a great yellow bowl, -and a silver spoon in front of him. - -He stirred some flour around in the bowl, and what do you suppose he took -out of the bowl? He took out a beautiful gold necklace! - -Then he stirred again, and he took out a blue necklace; then he stirred -again, and he took out a red one. - -All the time as he worked he sang over and over, - - “Who is so merry, heigho! heigho! - As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho? - He may dance away by the light of the moon, - But happy is he with his magic spoon!” - -At last the spoon got tired working and it said, - - “Little dwarf, upon my word, - What would you do if that song were heard?” - -The little dwarf was so surprised to hear the spoon speak that he stopped -stirring the flour in the bowl, and just at that very minute there was -heard a rap at the door. - -The little dwarf hid the spoon and went to the door. There stood a very -ugly old dwarf. His name was Cross-Patch. All the dwarfs in the wood were -afraid of him. - -He stamped his foot now and said, - - “I have come to get the magic spoon; - Better give it to me soon; - Be it morning, night, or noon, - Will you give up the magic spoon?” - -Then the first little dwarf shook his head and cried, - - “I do not give my spoon away; - You’d better call another day!” - -Cross-Patch said, - - “I will call to-morrow noon; - Then perhaps I’ll get the spoon!” - -He went off muttering to himself, and shaking his cross old head as he -went away. - -Now the little dwarf was not at all afraid. He said, “I will hide my -spoon in a safe place.” - -Then he put on the red necklace and the blue necklace and the gold -necklace, and he said, “When I meet the Fairy Queen I will give her a new -necklace every day.” - -Just then the little dwarf heard a great flapping of wings. He looked out -and he saw one hundred crows. - -Old Cross-Patch had sent the crows to eat up the little dwarf’s corn! - -The crows ate all night, and till noon the next day. - -Then they flapped their wings and went away, and old Cross-Patch came and -said, - - “I have come to-day at noon, - Will you give up the magic spoon?” - -The little dwarf was angry, you may be sure. He shook his head and cried, - - “I will not give my spoon away; - You need not call another day.” - -Then old Cross-Patch shook his fist at the little dwarf and ran down the -road. “I have spoiled your corn,” he called back, but this time the -little dwarf did not answer him. - -The next night there was a great noise, and five and twenty little dwarfs -came and blew so much soot down the chimney that everything in the little -dwarf’s house was ruined. - -I should say everything except one was ruined. The box in which the -little dwarf kept the spoon and necklaces was safe because it was under -his pillow. - -The next morning old Cross-Patch came as before and said, - - “Here I am at break of day; - Will you give your spoon away?” - -The little dwarf was very angry and he shouted, - - “I will not give my spoon away; - You may not have it now, I say.” - -Old Cross-Patch went away scolding and grumbling as before. Late that -night there was a great noise, and the bricks from the chimney began to -fall. The little dwarf had just time to grab his box and run out at the -door. - -All the bricks from the house fell one upon another, and soon the little -house was all gone; only a pile of bricks remained! - -Old Cross-Patch came again and said, - - “If you won’t give the spoon away, - I’ll turn your pretty hair all gray!” - -The little dwarf had lovely golden curls. Now the spoon was so angry at -Cross-Patch that he could stand it no longer. - -He turned very red in the face and began to kick and roll over. - -He sprang out of the box, and jumped right at old Cross-Patch and cried, - - “Be it morning, night, or noon, - Come and take the magic spoon!” - -Then the spoon boxed Cross-Patch on the right ear and on the left ear. - -“Oh! oh! oh! please stop!” called Cross-Patch. - -The little dwarf was so tickled he stood by and clapped his hands. - -Then the spoon turned to old Cross-Patch and said, - - “You shall build the house again; - You’ll work in sunshine and in rain.” - -[Illustration: “_Boxed Cross-Patch on the right ear_”] - -Then old Cross-Patch saw there was no way out of it, so he had to go and -pile one brick on another, and if he did not work fast enough the spoon -would slap him on the back. - -The five and twenty dwarfs who had sent soot down the chimney came, and -they were sorry for Cross-Patch, and went to work to help him rebuild the -house. - -The spoon danced about and rapped them all sharply every once in a while. - -When the house was all done the spoon cried, - - “Now, old Cross-Patch, step inside; - Clean the rug and fireside.” - -The spoon made Cross-Patch clean everything in the house. Then the spoon -cried, - - “Cross-Patch, take your little men, - Plant the corn in rows again!” - -Then Cross-Patch and the little dwarfs worked all night. They planted -corn in the little garden. The spoon got so angry it beat them all until -they were black and blue; then finally it chased old Cross-Patch away, -and away, and away, out into the Land of Nowhere. - -The five and twenty little men saw that the corn they had planted was -already beginning to grow, so they laid down and went to sleep. - -Pretty soon the spoon came back. - -There high in the tree sat the little dwarf; beside him sat the Fairy -Queen. - -The Queen said, - - “I try the necklaces, one, two, three, - But none is good enough for me.” - -Then the little dwarf helped the Fairy Queen down from the tree and they -went into the house. - -[Illustration: “_I try the necklaces, one, two, three_”] - -The spoon went in, too, and it began to stir at a terrible rate, all by -itself in a great big bowl, and pretty soon there came out of the bowl -the finest gold necklace in the land. - -The Fairy Queen clapped her hands and cried to the dwarf and the spoon, -“You will always be welcome in my palace.” - -Then the dwarf clasped the necklace around her neck, and she was gone. - -The spoon stood up very straight and sang, - - “Whatever song you wish to sing, - Remember, ’tis the safest thing, - To put the spoon upon the shelf, - And keep the secret to yourself!” - -Then the spoon jumped up into the box on the shelf. The five and twenty -little dwarfs woke up and tapped politely at the door, and asked for -breakfast, but the spoon called out from its hiding place, - - “If you do not go away, - I’ll box your ears again to-day!” - -Then the five and twenty little dwarfs ran away as fast as their legs -could carry them. - -The little dwarf forgot what the spoon had said and he went about his -work singing, - - “Who is so merry, heigho! heigho! - As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho? - He may dance away by the light of the moon, - But happy is he with his magic spoon.” - -Now the magic spoon was so upset to think the little dwarf could not keep -still that he sprang down from the shelf and cried, - - “You will not heed whate’er I say, - So, little dwarf, you’ll go away!” - -Then he beat the little dwarf all the way to the palace of the Fairy -Queen, where he became a servant and he never dared to return to his home. - -The magic spoon went back to his place on the shelf. - -For all I know he may be there yet! - -“Didn’t any one ever see the magic spoon after that?” asked Polly. - -“Is it a really, truly, true story?” asked Molly. - -Then the other Babies laughed so hard that they rolled over and over on -the floor, and at last they said, “Some day we will go in search of the -magic spoon and the magic pitcher. May we go, Ma?” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma laughed and said, “It is time for you funny little -Babies to go to bed.” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma read so slowly it had taken her all day to read the -story. - -The Babies went off happily to bed singing, - - “Oh, the magic pitcher and magic spoon, - We will try to find them soon; - By and by to the woods we’ll go, - And meet the dwarf with his merry heigho!” - -Just then some one tapped on the door. It was the Ink-Bottle Papa. He had -been away for his health for a year and a day! - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma was glad to see him again, you may be sure. - -She said, “Hush, my dear, we may wake the Babies.” But she was not quick -enough, for all the Babies woke up and began to come downstairs by twos -and threes to see who had come to their house. - -They hugged their dear Papa until he cried out, “Look in my pockets and -see a surprise!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies looked in his pockets and drew out twenty-five -little silver spoons. - -They all looked exactly alike, and the Babies cried, “Thank you, Papa, we -will call them our magic spoons.” - -Then the Babies went to bed again. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE MAGIC KITES - - The merry March wind is singing a song, - “Blow, blow, blow! - Sweet springtime is coming, coming along, - Blow, blow, blow!” - Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;” - They said, “It is fun in the wind to play; - We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day. - Blow, blow, blow!” - - -One day in the merry month of March, the Ink-Bottle Papa said, “I have a -half-holiday. What shall we do?” - -Then the twenty-five little Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and -cried, “Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!” - -“Shall we do the family washing?” asked the Ink-Bottle Papa with a -twinkle in his eye. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies said, - - “We are so little, it is true, - The washing is very hard to do!” - -The Ink-Bottle Papa laughed and he said, “Then shall we sweep the house -all over, from top to bottom?” - -Then the Babies said, - - “The brooms are heavy for us to hold, - And after all we are not very old!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Papa clapped his hands and said, “Shall we mow our -lawn, front and back?” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, - - “We are very little to mow to-day; - Let us help keep your holiday!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Papa stopped fooling, and he said, “There is a fine -wind for flying kites; we will all make kites to-day; then we will go out -and fly them.” - -“Hurrah! Hurrah!” cried the Babies. “We will all make kites. We will make -big kites, little kites, and middle-sized kites!” - -Now, did the Ink-Bottle Babies make kites? Well, I guess they did! - -[Illustration: “_Oh, oh, oh, my kite pulls so hard!_”] - -They cut and they pasted, and they rapped and tapped away, and then they -said, - -“Our kites are finished. May we go and fly them, Pa?” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Papa said, - - “One, two, three, away we go; - March like soldiers in a row!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies got into two rows and they followed the -Ink-Bottle Papa over to the meadow. - -Then they began to run and fly their kites. - -“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Polly, “my kite pulls so hard!” - -“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Molly, “I am afraid my kite will get away.” - -The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “It is the merry March wind pulling at the -kites!” - -Then they laughed and danced and played in the sunshine, and by and by -Papa said, “Come, sit down and rest and I will tell you a story.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies all sat down. They still held on to the strings of -their kites. - -The Ink-Bottle Papa began his story of The Magic Kite: - -Once upon a time a little boy made a kite. He made the kite of paper and -string. - -Then the little boy was very happy, and he said, - - “Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and I - Along with the breezes will fly, and fly.” - -Just then a voice said, - - “Perhaps you can fly, - If you only try!” - -The little boy looked around, and there sat the funniest little dwarf. -The dwarf sat cross-legged on an old tree-stump. - -“Ever think much about flying?” he said, and he screwed his face up into -a thousand wrinkles. - -The little boy shook his head. - -Then the dwarf said, - - “Flying might be easy for you, - The butterflies try it, - The birds try it, too; - Yes, it might be easy for you!” - -The little boy said, “I would like to fly; tell me truly how to do it.” - -The little dwarf said, “Just lend me your kite.” - -Then the dwarf took the little boy’s kite and he blew on it until it -became bigger and stronger and it was indeed very hard to hold. - -The little dwarf then took hold of the string and the kite pulled harder -and harder and harder, and soon it lifted the little dwarf off of his -feet. He did not let go of the string. - -The little dwarf went up, up, up among the clouds. Soon the little boy -could see only a speck among the clouds. He was beginning to be sorry he -had loaned the dwarf his kite, for he was afraid he would never see it -again. - -Then he heard a whistle and a voice called out, - - “Sailing high up over the town, - Here I come again, down, down, down.” - -Sure enough, down came the little dwarf, holding to the kite. - -“Want to fly now?” he asked. “It is lots of fun.” - -The little boy lost no time, you may be sure, in taking hold of the kite -string. He took hold of the string and the kite began to pull. - -“Hold on tight!” shouted the little dwarf. “Hold on tight!” - -Then the little boy went up, up, up, over the tree-tops, and over the -houses until he came to the stars! My, but he was away up high in the -sky! - -[Illustration: “_The little boy went up, up, up, until he came to the -stars_”] - -The stars were so bright he winked and blinked his eyes, and suddenly he -forgot to keep hold of the string, and down, down, down he fell to earth -again, and his kite flew away and he never saw it again! - -“Did the fall hurt him?” asked Molly. - -“Did he truly lose his kite forever?” asked Polly. - -The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “The boy was not hurt at all, for he fell on -his mother’s feather bed that she had out on the porch airing!” - -“Oh my!” cried all the Babies at once. “What fun it would be to fall on -a feather bed! We wish we could fly and fall in soft places, too!” - -Just then Molly gave a little cry, and Polly gave a little cry. - -What do you suppose was happening? - -They felt their kites pulling so hard that they began to go up, up, up. -Before the Ink-Bottle Papa could stop them they had sailed out of sight! - -The Ink-Bottle Babies said to the Papa, “We will go home and ask Mamma -what to do. She always tells us what to do!” - -Molly and Polly went up, and up, and up, and then just as suddenly they -began to go down, and down, and down. - -They said, “We wonder if we will come down on a feather bed?” - -Did they come down on a feather bed? Oh no, they came down to a hole in -the ground, and they went down in the hole, down, down, and they still -held their kite strings, and they cried, “What a jolly ride, up and down, -up and down.” - -Pretty soon they came to a stop and landed right in a strawberry-bed. - -They were so pleased to see the strawberries, that they forgot about -their kites for the first time and let go of the strings. They began to -pick berries and eat them as fast as they could. - -[Illustration: “_Led them into a room full of toys_”] - -While they were eating away a little old woman came in and cried, - - “Fi-go-fee, what do I see, - Children as sure as sure can be!” - -Then Molly and Polly stopped eating and made a bow and said, - -“We hope it does not annoy you to have us eat strawberries. You have so -many of them, and we rode here all the way with our kites!” - -Then the little old woman looked out of the window and saw the kites -floating away. - -She clapped her hands and cried, - - “Come with me, come with me, - Many curious sights you’ll see!” - -Then she took Molly and Polly by the hand and led them into a room full -of toys. - -The little old woman cried, - - “See the toys, the many toys, - Lost by careless girls and boys!” - -Molly said, “May I get on the rocking-horse?” And Polly said, “May I ride -in that funny little carriage?” - -The little old woman said in an old squeaky voice, - - “No time to play, no time to play; - Call again another day!” - -Then she showed them a room full of caps and coats and all kinds of -clothing, and she said with a wave of her hand, “Careless children lost -them all! Come now, help me count and sort out the clothes.” - -Then Molly and Polly went to work to sort the caps. There were red caps, -and blue caps, and yellow caps, and all kinds of caps. Then they went to -work and sorted the neckties, and they worked all day, and still there -were more caps and more neckties than you ever dreamed of. - -The room they were in led into a hall and the hall, too, was full of lost -things. - -Suddenly Molly and Polly wanted to go home. They stopped work and said, -“We want to go home right away!” - -The little old woman clapped her hands and said, - - “You are lost, you belong to me, - Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!” - -Then the little old woman went down the hall and locked the door and -left Molly and Polly alone. - -“How shall we ever get home?” they said. - -Then they heard a voice say, - - “Through the tree-trunk, come with me; - Only find the magic key!” - -They looked around, and sure enough, right in the middle of the room was -a tree-trunk! Its roots came down to the floor. In the lower part of the -tree-trunk there was a door and the door was locked. - -“Where shall we look for the magic key?” asked Molly and Polly. And the -tree fairy said, - - “The magic key will open the door; - It never has been found before.” - -Then Molly and Polly looked all over the room, you may be sure. - -They looked under the piles of clothing and they looked under the -furniture. Just then a canary began to sing, - - “Give me, please, some food and drink; - I can help you then to think!” - -Now Molly saw a little pitcher of water on the window sill, and Polly saw -a little package of birdseed on a chair; so they gave the canary some -food and drink. - -As they peeped into the bird-cage, they saw on the floor of the cage a -tiny key! The key was tied with blue ribbon. “Oh, the key! the key!” they -cried, but the Tree Fairy said, - - “Softly, softly, for you see, - You must gently turn the key!” - -Then Molly and Polly went to the tree-trunk on tiptoe, and they put the -key in the lock. Click! went the lock, and the door opened. - -There stood the Tree Fairy all dressed in red and yellow! - -The Tree Fairy was so little he could sit in Polly’s hand. - -The Fairy called, - - “There is room, the tree is wide, - Quickly, quickly jump inside.” - -And it was well that Molly and Polly lost no time, for just as they had -gotten inside the tree the little old woman came back. - -Up, up, up the tree they went. The Fairy held the key. - -“I will let you out by and by, if you grant me a wish,” said the Fairy. - -“What is your wish?” asked Molly and Polly, and the Fairy said, “Two -white sheets, nice and neat. Then I’ll use the key and set you free!” - -Molly and Polly laughed and each one of them took out a neatly folded -pocket-handkerchief, and they presented them to the Fairy! - -The handkerchiefs were just the right size for fairy sheets and the Fairy -was delighted. - -He put the key in the lock; click, click, the door opened, and out -stepped the Ink-Bottle Babies in their own park at home. - -They were in such a hurry to get home they forgot to say, “Thank you,” -and they did not even stop to see which tree they had stepped out of. -They have been looking for the tree ever since. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies were so pleased to see Molly and Polly, that they -hugged them nearly to death. - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma and Papa said, “No more magic kites for our family.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma gave them each a cup of hot chocolate and put -them to bed. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE MAGIC ROCKING-CHAIR - - Hear the rain, April rain! - Falling on the windowpane; - Pitter, patter, all day long; - Can you hear the raindrops’ song? - “We call the flowers to bloom again, - They are refreshed by April rain.” - Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Without any doubt, - It is time to get our umbrellas out!” - - -When the Ink-Bottle Babies woke up next morning they cried, “Oh Ma! Oh -Pa! It is raining!” - -Sure enough, the rain came splash, not a gentle patter, but splash! -splash! splash! - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies. “How can we get to school -in the rain?” - -The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “I will get your umbrellas.” - -The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “I will get your rubbers.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Hurrah for rubbers and umbrellas! -Hurrah for a rainy day!” - -[Illustration: “_The little dwarf called ‘Halt!’_”] - -How funny they looked going along the street with their twenty-five -little umbrellas bobbing up and down. - -As they went along they heard a voice cry, - - “In and out, without a doubt, - I will keep dry if I but try!” - -The Babies looked down and there stood a little dwarf. He had a long -white beard that came to the ground. He bobbed in and out among the -Babies and skipped first under this umbrella, and then under that -umbrella, and it kept the Babies quite busy looking for him. - -“Are you going to school with us?” asked Molly. - -“Do you know where the magic pitcher is?” asked Polly. - -Then the most surprising thing happened! - -The little dwarf called “Halt!” and every one of the Ink-Bottle Babies -stood still in the pouring rain. - -Then the little dwarf said, - - “The magic pitcher has melted away; - Don’t tell the secret, I beg you, pray!” - -Then Molly said, “How could it melt away?” - -Then the little dwarf said, - - “The magic pitcher is safe and sound, - Perhaps you will find it underground.” - -Then Polly said, “I believe you do not know anything about the magic -pitcher; you are only guessing!” - -“Isn’t guessing allowed?” asked the dwarf. Then he shouted, “Forward! -march!” and they all went on to school. When they came to school the -dwarf said, - - “I hardly dare to go inside, - Unless I find a place to hide!” - -Then the Ink Bottle Babies suggested various places for the little dwarf -to hide in, but none of the places pleased him, so he said, - - “If you stay till afternoon, - I will come back very soon!” - -Then in a twinkling of an eye he was gone. - -The teacher was so surprised to see all the Ink-Bottle Babies on such a -rainy day that she let them sit wherever they pleased. They went to the -blackboard and did neat little sums, and they all got their answers right. - -At noon the teacher went home for dinner, and the Babies took out their -twenty-five little dinner pails, and began to eat their lunch. - -The rain came down harder and harder, and the Babies said, “We wonder if -the little dwarf got drowned?” - -Soon there was heard a rap-a-tap at the window, and a voice called, - - “The rain is rather wet to-day; - Will you open your window a little way?” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies ran and opened the window and let the little -dwarf in. - -Such a sputtering and fussing you never heard! He shook the rain from his -coat and said, - - “With no umbrella, how do you suppose, - I could keep dry in my little clothes?” - -Then he danced, and he hopped, and he skipped about until he was quite -dry. - -He tasted something out of every one of the twenty-five dinner pails. - -Then he climbed up on the window sill and said, “What shall we play, -‘I-Spy’?” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “There really is no place to hide. Please -tell us a story instead!” - -“Tell about the magic pitcher, or the magic spoon,” cried Molly and Polly! - -Then the little dwarf said, - - “If you really, truly do not care, - I prefer The Magic Rocking-Chair!” - -“Tell us about it! Tell us about it!” cried the Babies. - -The little dwarf waited until the Babies were still; then he began the -tale of The Magic Rocking-Chair! Here is the story he told: - -Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived with his grandparents -in the woods. - -The grandparents were so old and feeble that the little boy had all the -wood to cut and the water to bring in. He was kept busy working from -morning till night. - -One evening, as his grandparents fell asleep by the fire, the little boy -said, “I wish I had some one to play with me. I do wish I could have some -fun once in a while!” - -A little dwarf stuck his head in at the door and said, softly, - - “Little boy, if you do not care, - I’ll give you a magic rocking-chair!” - -There stood the little dwarf in the doorway. He carried a beautiful red -rocking-chair. The chair was so heavy and large for the dwarf it was all -he could possibly carry. - -[Illustration: “_Kept rocking until they arrived in China_”] - -He set it down in the doorway and said in a whisper, - - “Wherever you think you’d like to go, - Just sit in the chair and rock to and fro.” - -Then in the twinkling of an eye the little dwarf was gone. The little boy -lost no time trying the chair, you may be sure. - -He said, “I think I would like to go to China.” And he began to rock to -and fro. He rocked so hard that he rocked right out of the house. Then -the chair sailed away up over the tree-tops, and he kept rocking all the -way until they arrived in China. - -The chair stopped outside of a fine house, and said, “I will wait for -you.” - -Then the little boy went into the house and the Chinamen were very polite -to him. They taught him to eat with chopsticks, and they gave him a -pound of tea to take home with him. They tied the tea up in a fine silk -handkerchief. - -A great clock struck twelve and the little boy remembered that the chair -did not want to wait later than twelve, so he bade his new friends -good-bye and went outside. - -He stepped into the chair and said, “Home again, home again,” and they -rode along homeward. - -The chair said, “I know one little verse the dwarf keeps whispering to -himself when he uses this magic chair. It is this, - - “‘When ’tis midnight heed the hour, - Or the chair may lose its magic power.’” - -“Thank you, I will remember that,” said the little boy, and whizzing -along they went on home. - -There sat the old people just as he had left them, nid-nid-nodding by the -fire. - -“Good-bye,” said the chair, “I will hide outside.” - -The little boy took his tea and his silk handkerchief with him to his own -room and he soon fell asleep. - -His work seemed easy to him next day. He said, “I wonder where I shall go -to-night. I believe I will go to Holland if the chair comes around.” - -Next evening the old people fell asleep as before and there was a gentle -tap at the door. The little dwarf had brought the chair again, but he -wanted a present this time. - -He begged so hard for a present that at last the little boy gave him the -red silk handkerchief. The little dwarf tied the handkerchief about him -as a sash and went off singing in the moonlight. - -The little boy said, “I will go to Holland.” - -He rocked away across the sea and he had a fine time, you may be sure. - -The people in Holland gave him a cheese and a pair of wooden shoes to -take home. - -At exactly twelve o’clock he stepped into the chair and rocked home. - -Night after night the little boy rode away in the rocking-chair, and all -went well until the night he went to the circus. - -The clown said so many funny things he forgot about the time. It struck -twelve o’clock, and one o’clock, and then the circus was over. - -The little boy stepped out of the tent and his chair was nowhere to be -seen, so he had to walk all the way home. - -The next evening the little dwarf came without the chair. He looked very -sad and he said, - - “Of course, little boy, you meant no harm, - But you have broken the magic charm.” - -Then the dwarf explained that the chair would rock no longer because the -little boy overstayed his time. He said with tears in his eyes that the -chair now would not rock across the room. - -[Illustration: “_The clown said so many funny things_”] - -Then the boy said, “Dry your eyes, I will tell you what to do.” - -He took the little dwarf by the hand and they ran to the house of the -crossest giant in the land. They persuaded the giant to come and look at -the rocking-chair and mend it, for he was very clever about such things. - -The giant made the chair as good as new; then he turned to the little boy -and said fiercely, “I have not had a good meal to-day. I will just eat -you up!” - -Then the chair grew very angry. It grew so large suddenly that the giant -could sit in it, and it said, - - “Come have a ride, and rock to and fro; - I am sure I know where you want to go!” - -The giant forgot how hungry he was and he sat down in the chair. The -chair rocked him down to the river and threw him in. - -He was not drowned, of course, but he was awfully scared, and the chair -rocked back to the little dwarf. - -The little boy had many rides in the chair after that, but he took the -little dwarf with him, so that they would be sure to remember the time, -and not stay out after midnight. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Is that the end? Surely that is not the -end. There must be more.” - -The little dwarf did not want to answer, so he said, “It is raining so -hard the teacher may not come back to school.” - -“Please tell the end of the story,” begged the Babies. - -Then the little dwarf cried, “What! ho! Here comes the farmer to take you -home!” - -Sure enough, there was the farmer in his big wagon. He had come to take -the Ink-Bottle Babies home. - -“Was that the end of the story?” called Molly and Polly. - -The little dwarf smiled and said, - - “If you should ever want a ride, - Come to my house and step inside!” - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies clapping their hands. “Do you -own the magic rocking-chair? Will you please take us to ride?” - -The little dwarf ran out in the rain, laughing as he went. - -How were the Ink-Bottle Babies to guess whether he owned the -rocking-chair or not? - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -MAY-DAY - - In glad springtime the birds all sing, - And sweet the woodland echoes ring; - Why should we not be happy too, - When skies are blue? when skies are blue? - I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies say, - “We’ll hang May baskets up to-day!” - - -“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies. “It is May-Day! hurrah! -hurrah!” - -Then they all got up and dressed in a hurry and said, “Oh Ma! may we go -to the woods? Oh Pa! may we all go to the woods together?” - -Then Mamma and Papa said they might all go to the woods if they would be -very careful not to get lost. - -The Ink-Bottle Babies each took a cute little basket, and they all went -to look for flowers and berries in the woods. - -“I wonder if we will meet Red Riding-hood,” said Molly. - -“I wonder if we will meet the wolf,” cried Polly. - -At that very minute the Ink-Bottle Babies stood still for they heard a -voice cry, - - “Out of my house and off my land! - How you came here I don’t understand!” - -There stood a fierce little dwarf stamping his foot at them. - -All the Ink-Bottle Babies bowed politely and said, “If you please, Sir, -may we gather a few violets and buttercups?” - -Then the little dwarf said, - - “I love all the little flowers that grow, - You shall not gather them, no! no!” - -[Illustration: “_A fierce little dwarf stamping his feet_”] - -Then Molly and Polly said, “If we each give you a cookie, would you let -us gather a few flowers?” - -Then the little dwarf came and peeked into each one of the baskets and -saw, sure enough, that each Baby had a cookie in the basket. - -Then the little dwarf clapped his hands and cried, - - “Cookies big and cookies round, - Put them all upon the ground!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all put their cookies on a large, flat stone, -and the little dwarf filled his pockets and his cap full of them. - -Then he made a bow and said, - - “Pick all the flowers you like to-day, - But after sundown do not stay!” - -Then whisk, bound, the little dwarf was gone! - -The Ink-Bottle Babies lost no time in picking flowers, you may be sure. - -They found violets, daisies, and buttercups, and before they could -believe it, it was sundown. - -They said, “We do not care what the little dwarf said, we will not hurry -home.” - -Then they sat down and ate the sandwiches and apples they had brought -with them. - -Just as the sun was setting Molly cried, “Oh, oh, oh,” and Polly cried, -“Oh, oh, oh,” and all the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Oh, oh, oh.” What do -you suppose was the matter? They all began to sink down, down, down, and -it became quite dark! - -They sank down until they came to the top of the magic tower, which was -built under the sea! - -They saw the fishes swim past them and they cried, “Oh, oh, oh, where are -we going?” - -The roof of the magic tower opened and down the Ink-Bottle Babies went -to the very bottom of the tower. They were just beginning to get their -breath when the most beautiful princess in the world came and stood -before them. - -She said, - - “Where did you come from, Babies dear, - And how did you happen to come here?” - -She saw only Molly at first; then Polly and all the rest of the Babies -came tumbling down the staircase. - -The princess gathered up an armful of Babies and cried, - - “I am so happy, the charm is broken; - I welcome the Babies now as a token.” - -[Illustration: “_They had to work days and days to braid her hair_”] - -The Babies patted the princess’ dress; it was soft and silky. Then they -all begged to braid her hair. They had to work days and days to braid all -her hair, it was so long and heavy. - -“Tell us a story, please,” said the Babies. - -And the princess began, “Once upon a time I went into the woods to gather -flowers!” - -“Just like we did,” shouted all the Ink-Bottle Babies together. - -“I was going along humming a little tune, when I saw a fierce little -dwarf,” continued the princess. - -“Oh, oh, oh,” cried the Babies, “we met him, too! We met him, too!” - -“The dwarf talked in rhyme,” said the princess. Then all the Babies -nodded their heads. - -The princess said, “The dwarf would not let me have any flowers unless I -gave him a cookie, and when I did give him a cookie, he said, - - “‘Pick all the flowers you like to-day, - But after sundown do not stay!’” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout, for those were the very words -the little dwarf had said to them. - -The princess said, “I was so happy gathering flowers that I forgot what -the little dwarf said, and after sundown I began to sink, down and down, -until I came to this magic tower.” - -The princess shook her head and said, “All the doors and windows are -fastened. Besides, we are under the sea.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies looked out of the window, and sure enough, fishes -were swimming past. - -Suddenly the princess said, “Hush, the little dwarf is coming. Run -Babies, and hide, every one of you!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies ran upstairs. - -Click, click, went the key in the door, and the door opened and the -little dwarf came in stamping and scolding. - -He came into the room where the princess was, and said, - - “Silver and gold have I none; - How many skeins have you spun?” - -The princess went to her spinning wheel, and showed the dwarf that she -had spun two skeins of thread. - -The little dwarf stamped his foot and cried, - - “If out of the tower you want to go, - You will spin one hundred skeins you know!” - -Then he looked very cunning indeed, and he opened the door to his -storeroom. “There are one thousand bundles of flax,” said he. “You must -spin all of this.” - -Then he said, - - “How soon do you really want to go, - In about a hundred years or so?” - -The princess laughed gaily and said, - - “At sundown if you care to call, - Perhaps you’ll find I’ve spun it all!” - -The little dwarf was so surprised at this answer that he looked -cross-eyed, but he did not answer the princess. - -Next he drew from his pocket a pitcher and a spoon. Then he went and got -a rocking-chair that he had brought with him, and he said, - - “I’ll leave these treasures under the sea; - Some day they’ll be of use to me.” - -Then whisk! bound! he was off and away and the princess began to sing -softly, - - “Round and round the big wheel goes, - Spin, spin, spin; - Merrily the spring wind blows, - Spin, spin, spin.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies came in dancing and singing for they had heard -every word that had been said. - -They cried, “We are so glad Ma taught us to spin.” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies looked in the garret and they found twenty-five -little spinning wheels. They all sat down and began to spin as hard as -they could. - -Suddenly Molly stopped spinning and Polly stopped spinning and then all -the Babies stopped spinning, and they ran to the place where the chair -and spoon and pitcher were. - -They cried out, “Oh, the magic chair and spoon and pitcher!” - -Then the magic chair said, “All jump in and have a ride.” - -And the magic spoon said, “I will show you how to spin.” - -Then the magic pitcher said, “I will give you a drink of cider.” - -They all made merry, you may believe. - -[Illustration: “_Found the princess sitting alone by her spinning wheel_”] - -In a short time the magic spoon had all the flax spun into thread; then -they grew tired and sleepy and went to bed. The next day they had no work -to do as the spinning was all done, so they looked all over the tower and -peeped into every closet and corner. - -At last it was sundown and the little dwarf came as before and found the -princess sitting alone by her spinning wheel. - -He winked his eye and said, - - “Did you spin all the flax I gave you yesterday? - Are you sure you’re quite ready to go away?” - -Then the princess showed him all the thread, and the dwarf was so -surprised that he hardly knew what to say. He began to gather up the -thread to take away with him, and he said, - - “You may laugh and shout, you can’t get out, - You have had help beyond a doubt!” - -Then the magic spoon came in and beat him, and the magic pitcher stood in -front of him and poured water on him. Then the magic chair came up behind -him and he fell right into it. The chair rocked him out of the window -into the deep sea, and he never troubled the princess any more. - -Then the chair came back and said, “Get in, every one of you, and I will -give you a ride.” - -Then they all got in, the magic pitcher and spoon, too, and they rode -away, away, away, to the palace where the princess lived. They let the -princess out; and then they rode to the home of the Ink-Bottle Babies, -and let all the Babies out. The magic chair then rocked away, taking the -magic spoon and pitcher with it. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -VACATION TIME - - June’s a name we like to hear; - Glad vacation’s drawing near; - Good-bye, good-bye, lesson books; - Welcome fields and merry brooks; - All our lessons now are over; - See the fields of nodding clover. - The Ink-Bottle Babies gladly cry, - “’Tis vacation time, good-bye, good-bye!” - - -“Hurrah!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies, “hurrah! hurrah! it is glad -vacation time!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “We will all go to the woods to-day.” - -So the Babies were busy packing their twenty-five little dinner pails and -they packed a basket of lunch for Ma and Pa. - -They all started merrily toward the woods. Molly said, “Do you suppose we -will find the house where the little dwarfs live?” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all clapped their hands and shouted, “Oh Ma! -oh Pa! do help us find the little dwarfs!” - -Then Mamma took out a red and white table cloth and spread it on the -grass, and all the Ink-Bottle Babies began to unpack their dinner pails, -and soon they had a fine dinner ready. - -They filled their glasses with water from a spring, and just as they were -going to sit down a little dwarf ran past them and called, - - “When you take your meal at noon, - You should use the magic spoon!” - -[Illustration: “_They filled their glasses with water from a spring_”] - -Then the little dwarf took the magic spoon and dipped it into every glass -of water, and the water turned at once into lemonade. - -They looked around to thank the little dwarf, but he was gone! - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “We must find the house where the -little dwarfs live!” - -After a while the Ink-Bottle Mamma and Papa got tired and went home. They -left the Babies in the woods for a while. - -The Babies were so sleepy they took quite a nap, and when they woke up -they said, “Let us look for the home of the little dwarfs.” They spoke in -whispers; they were almost afraid to speak out loud. - -They picked up their dinner pails and walked a long way. Suddenly they -saw a light twinkling in the distance. The light came from a little wee -house in the woods. One of the Babies rapped at the door and a little -dwarf came out and said, - - “We have bedrooms five and twenty, - And of food we have a plenty; - Kindly step in, please, to-night, - By this ray of candlelight!” - -The Ink-Bottle Babies stepped inside, and they saw five and twenty little -dwarfs sitting at a table, eating soup with their five and twenty little -spoons. The little dwarfs got up politely and offered their seats to the -Babies and they sang, - - “Ink-Bottle Babies, ’tis very fine, - With the magic pitcher at last to dine.” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies started to eat some soup, but one little dwarf -ran around and poured something into each soup dish out of the magic -pitcher. One plate of soup was changed to jelly and one plate was changed -to ice cream and so it went all round the table! - -The Babies shouted, “Hurrah! for the magic pitcher,” and they laughed -until they cried! - -Then they all sat down in a circle and they told stories and one little -dwarf cried, - - “I am so hungry to-night, ho! ho! - Where did the magic spoon chance to go?” - -The little dwarfs all shook their heads sadly. Then what do you suppose -happened? The Ink-Bottle Babies all rose and began to dance and cry, - - “We know who has the magic spoon, - A little dwarf we met this noon!” - -[Illustration: “_Whirling a great spoon_”] - -Then all the dwarfs put on their fuzzy coats and their fuzzy caps, and -they said, - - “Follow the leader, every one, - Follow along till rise of sun!” - -Then the dwarfs went out of the door, two and two, and the Ink-Bottle -Babies did not know what else to do, so they followed them. - -They ran along up hill and down dale until they came to a valley. - -Then their leader called, “Hark! Listen! Hark!” They looked down in a -valley and they saw a little dwarf, dancing and singing. - -The little dwarf was whirling a great spoon in the air. He sang, - - “Be it morning, night or noon, - No one knows I’ve the magic spoon!” - -Then the little dwarfs rushed at him from one side, and the Babies rushed -at him from the other side, and the magic spoon began to beat everybody, -and at last they all ran back to the home of the little dwarfs. Where the -magic spoon went nobody knew. - -Then the five and twenty little dwarfs cried, - - “We will not cry, we will not sigh, - The magic spoon will soon pass by!” - -Pretty soon the magic spoon came dancing along and said, - - “I will go and hide upon your shelf, - If you’ll let me go and help myself!” - -The dwarfs replied, - - “Oh magic spoon, ’tis very clear - To every one, you’re welcome here.” - -The magic spoon was so pleased then that it began to stir the river that -flowed by the little dwarfs’ home, and the river became solid gold! - -The little dwarfs sang, - - “Ha! ha! ha! when we are old, - We shall never want for gold!” - -Then they ran and got five and twenty little bags, and they began to -break up the gold in the river and fill their bags. Still there was more -gold than the little dwarfs could carry away. - -At last the little dwarfs were done working and the Ink-Bottle Babies -were tired and sleepy and they said, “Tell us a story, please.” - -Then one little dwarf told this story: - -Once upon a time there was a little dwarf who had a rocking-chair. - -The rocking-chair was a pretty one; it had golden rockers and golden -arms. It was a very comfortable rocking-chair! One day a dwarf got into -the chair. He was a very naughty dwarf. He would not say, “Thank you,” -and “If you please.” - -Now, the chair took him for a ride and said, - - “Say ‘thank you for this ride,’ - Or you will have to stay inside!” - -The naughty dwarf shook his head and cried, - - “You’ll not teach me manners, I do declare, - You funny little rocking-chair!” - -[Illustration: “_Splash! the chair went right into the water_”] - -The chair said, - - “You may laugh and cry and even shout, - Without ‘Thank you, Sir!’ you don’t get out!” - -Then the dwarf began to laugh and cry and shout, for he was stuck fast in -the rocking-chair, and he could not get out! - -Now the chair was in earnest and it rocked as fast as it could down to a -river and the dwarf cried, - - “What are you about? What are you about? - If we rock in there, we will never get out!” - -Splash! the chair went right into the water. It came up by and by and the -little dwarf shouted, - - “Thank you, thank you, please take me out, - Thank you, thank you, I’ll laugh and shout!” - -Then the chair took the dwarf out and set him on dry land. - -Now as soon as the dwarf was free he would not say “Thank you,” again, -and the chair said, “I will teach him a lesson this time.” - -So the chair asked the little dwarf to take another ride, and he rocked -him away, away, away up north to the land where the polar bear lives. -Then he rocked him right into a snowdrift. The little dwarf nearly froze -his toes and fingers, and the chair said, - - “I’ll leave you in this drift of snow, - For far away I soon will go!” - -The dwarf was so scared at the idea of being left alone in the snowdrift -that he said, - - “I’ll say to you on bended knees, - Thank you, sir, and if you please.” - -Then the chair rocked the little dwarf safely home, and ever after he was -so polite that if he even met a squirrel in the woods he would stop and -say, “Excuse me, sir, am I disturbing you? Thank you, sir, I will come -this way again, if you please!” - -This was the end of the story and the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout as -usual. - -“What became of the magic rocking-chair?” they all shouted together. - -Then they clapped their hands softly, for they saw something rocking -toward them! - -What do you suppose it was? - -It was the magic rocking-chair! - -Then the dwarf who had told the story said, - - “Tell the chair where you want to go; - Ride away, ride away, singing ho! ho!” - -Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all climbed into the rocking-chair, and they -shouted as they waved their twenty-five little pocket handkerchiefs, - - “We wave good-bye with backward looks; - We will ride into the story books!” - -The magic chair began to rock, and it rocked the Ink-Bottle Babies away, -away, away, into the Land of Story Books. - -If you use your eyes well, you may see the Ink-Bottle Babies some day! - -Did they ever come out of the books? Did they ever come home again? I did -not remember to ask them any questions. Perhaps you will meet them in -school. - -[Illustration: “_We wave good-bye_”] - -The last I saw of them they were rocking away and they sang this song, - - “Vacation time! Vacation time! - ’Tis an hour for song and rhyme; - We are very happy, for what do you think? - We all came out of a bottle of ink! - The Ink-Bottle Babies in every clime, - Cry, ‘Hurrah! hurrah! for vacation time!’” - - - - -Fairy Tales of Long Ago - - - By Julia Darrow Cowles - - Grades 3-4 Cloth Binding - 128 Pages Colored Illustrations - - Price, 60 Cents a Copy, Postpaid - -Train a child’s imagination by feeding it with the fancies of great -story-tellers, is a truism familiar to all teachers. There is nothing -like the old fairy tales for nourishing young imaginations. This group of -tales Mrs. Cowles has gathered from many sources and retold in charming -fashion. That they have gained, rather than lost, by the retelling, will -soon become apparent to teachers; for only the simplest words and phrases -are used, and the narrative is so handled as to emphasize the homely -lesson in manners or morals concealed in the story. - -These tales are full of action and delicious nonsense which accord with -the child’s mode of living and thinking. Besides teaching the children -to read, and furnishing them with much fine entertainment, these stories -inculcate lessons in good-fellowship, usefulness, politeness, and -agreeable wholesome living. - -The volume comprises fifteen stories, five of which are dramatized for -schoolroom use. - -CONTENTS - -[Illustration] - - The Nightingale - The Six Swans - Bruno’s Picnic - Ole Shut-Eyes - Inger’s Loaf - Southwest Wind Esquire - The Three Lemons - The Twelve Months - A Mad Tea Party - The Enchanted Mead - The White Cat - The Ugly Duckling - The Miller’s Daughter - Professor Frog’s Lecture - The Spring in the Valley - - A. FLANAGAN COMPANY—CHICAGO - - - - -The Children of Mother Goose - - By JULIA DARROW COWLES - - - _For Grades Two and Three_ - - _Illustrations in Colors_ - - _128 Pages Cloth Binding_ - - Price, 60 Cents a Copy, Postpaid - - THE CHILDREN OF MOTHER GOOSE - - [Illustration: “_I wonder which goose gave it to me_”] - - “Oh, Mother Goose,” they all cried, “your goose has laid a - golden egg!” - - “Why, sure enough,” said Mother Goose. “That must be my Easter - present. I wonder which goose gave it to me!” - - Then Simple Simon waved his hand just as though he were in - school, and said, “It was Jack-A-Dandy. I saw him put it in the - nest!” - - _Specimen Page_ - -Many a young reader longs to know more about his favorite characters in -Mother Goose—more than the short rhyme about each is able to tell him. -In this collection of miniature stories, he has his wish gratified. Here -he gets intimate glimpses of the home and community life of many old -friends: Mistress Mary, Boy Blue, Peter Piper, Curly Locks, Crosspatch, -Simple Simon, Jack and Jill, Tommy Tinker, Bobby Shaftoe, and a host of -others. - -It appears that the Mother Goose children are a healthy, fun-loving, -workaday lot of youngsters, exactly like the boys and girls who read -about them. They attend Dame Trot’s school. They give tea parties and -Valentine parties. They take care of the babies of the Old Woman Who -Lives in a Shoe. They help the Crooked Man build himself a new chimney. -Dr. Foster takes them walking in the woods and teaches them things about -insects and spiders which every child is simply aching to know. Mother -Goose herself presides delightfully over their revels. - -Teachers will find these stories valuable for inculcating a love of -reading in the child; first, because they are intrinsically fascinating, -and second, because they quicken his mental powers by a shrewd -application of some lesson in daily living. - - A. FLANAGAN COMPANY—CHICAGO - - - - -The Circus Cotton-Tails - -[Illustration] - - By - LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH - - Illustrated by Fred Stearns - - -“Please tell us a laughing story,” pleaded a group of tenement children -at the Settlement story hour. - -All children laugh when they read “The Circus Cotton-Tails” and how -the merry little bunnies diligently practice their circus tricks -while mischievous Bushy-Tail plays his tricks—whirling them off the -merry-go-round, and stealing Susan Cotton-Tail’s cookies. How the cookies -become alive and punish Bushy-Tail satisfies the little folk’s sense of -justice. And they delight in the description of the big circus parade, -and in the colored frontispiece and end sheets, to say nothing of the -many fascinating black and white illustrations. - -128 pages. Cloth, 60 cents - - A. FLANAGAN COMPANY - CHICAGO - - - - -JUST STORIES - - BY - ANNIE KLINGENSMITH - - Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Gary, Indiana - - AUTHOR OF - “Household Stories” and “Norse Gods and Heroes” - - -In “Just Stories” Miss Klingensmith has selected and adapted from the -best in children’s literature more than thirty of the stories she -considers especially needed in work with children in the third and -fourth grades. They were originally printed as leaflets by Gary pupils -and aroused an enthusiasm that demanded their continued existence. -The illustrations are exceptionally good, and with the large, clear -type, good paper, and durable binding, “Just Stories” is an unusually -attractive book. - - 128 Pages—Illustrated - Cloth—60 Cents - -[Illustration: “‘WHAT HAVE YOU TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?’ SAID THE LION” - -(Illustration from “Benjy in Beastland”—one of the stories.)] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY BABIES *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The fairy babies, by Laura Rountree Smith</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The fairy babies</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Laura Rountree Smith</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Dorothy Dulin</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 30, 2022 [eBook #69075]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY BABIES ***</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<p class="center larger">THE FAIRY BABIES</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="box1"> - -<p class="center">Books by<br /> -LAURA ROUNTREE<br /> -SMITH</p> - -<ul> -<li>Bunny and Bear Book, The</li> -<li>Bunny Boy and Grizzly Bear</li> -<li>Bunny Bright-Eyes</li> -<li>Bunny Cotton-Tail Junior</li> -<li>Candy-Shop Cotton-Tails, The</li> -<li>Children’s Favorite Stories</li> -<li>Circus Book, The</li> -<li>Circus Cotton-Tails, The</li> -<li>Cotton-Tail First Reader, The</li> -<li>Cotton-Tail Primer, The</li> -<li>Cotton-Tails in Toyland, The</li> -<li>Drills and Plays for Patriotic Days</li> -<li>Fairy Babies, The</li> -<li>Games and Plays</li> -<li>Hawk-Eye and Hiawatha</li> -<li>Language Lessons from Every Land</li> -<li>Little Bear</li> -<li>Little Eskimo</li> -<li>Merry Little Cotton-Tails, The</li> -<li>Mother Goose Stories</li> -<li>Primary Song Book</li> -<li>Roly-Poly Book, The</li> -<li>Runaway Bunny, The</li> -<li>Seventeen Little Bears</li> -<li>Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes</li> -<li>Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail, The</li> -<li>Three Little Cotton-Tails</li> -</ul> - -<p class="center">Published by<br /> -A. FLANAGAN COMPANY<br /> -CHICAGO</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">THE FAIRY BABIES</p> - -<p class="titlepage">By<br /> -Laura Rountree Smith</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">Illustrated by</span><br /> -Dorothy Dulin</p> - -<p class="titlepage">1924<br /> -A. FLANAGAN COMPANY<br /> -Chicago</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller"><span class="u">COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> - -</div> - -<table> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg">Page</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter I</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Magic Pitcher</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">7</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter II</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Fortune Teller</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter III</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Thanksgiving Dinner</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter IV</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Little Dwarf’s Christmas</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter V</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>A Wonderful Dream</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter VI</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Magic Spoon</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter VII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Magic Kites</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter VIII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Magic Rocking-Chair</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">91</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter IX</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>May-Day</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="2">Chapter X</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Vacation Time</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">114</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" id="illus01" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>And they put the key in the lock</i>” (<a href="#Page_89"><span class="smcap">Page 89</span></a>)</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h1>THE FAIRY BABIES</h1> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MAGIC PITCHER</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What do you think?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We all came out of a bottle of ink!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We are very little to mind each rule,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But still we are going to start to school;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And if we remember, it starts in September!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">This old-fashioned thing called school!”</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Said the Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies, “What fun!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">See, school has already begun!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>The Fairy Ink-Bottle Babies sat in a row. They -looked as though they would roll off the top of the -desks at any minute.</p> - -<p>“You are almost as bad about rolling over as -the Roly-Poly children,” said the teacher.</p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried one of the Ink-Bottle Babies. -“I am rolling over!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, thump! bump! thump! she went. -She fell off the desk to the floor, leaving the marks -of her little black feet behind her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies together, -“somebody pick her up! Somebody pick -her up!”</p> - -<p>The teacher was so scared that she went out of -the room.</p> - -<p>Pretty soon all the children went home. What -do you suppose happened next?</p> - -<p>The Fairy Ink-Bottle Mamma came -down from the window sill and picked -up her baby!</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp46" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Picked up her baby</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>She said, “You are too -little to go to school; you -had better come with me.”</p> - -<p>Then the other Ink-Bottle -Babies set up a cry, -“May we come, too, Ma? -May we come, too?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma -said, “Creep down quietly -from the desks and you may -all come.”</p> - -<p>Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies crept down and -followed their Mamma out of the door. They -walked a little way until they came to their home -in the woods.</p> - -<p>“I am so sleepy,” said the first Ink-Bottle -Baby.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p> - -<p>“I am so sleepy,” said the second Ink-Bottle -Baby.</p> - -<p>Then all but one of the twenty-five Ink-Bottle -Babies said, “I am so sleepy!”</p> - -<p>One Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I am not sleepy at -all. I rolled off the desk and I feel wide-awake!”</p> - -<p>This little Baby’s name was Molly. The Ink-Bottle -Mamma put all of her babies to bed except -Molly, and Molly said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I am wide-awake as if it were day,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll sit on the parlor rug and play.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma was so sleepy herself -that she did not know what to do. Pretty soon -she said, “Listen, Molly, and I will tell you a -fairy tale.”</p> - -<p>Then Molly cried, “I must wake Polly up to -hear the fairy tale.” Polly was Molly’s twin -sister.</p> - -<p>Will you believe it? Before the Ink-Bottle -Mamma could say “No!” Molly had gone upstairs -and had waked all the Babies up before she -found Polly!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies looked so much alike it -was hard to tell them apart!</p> - -<p>All the Ink-Bottle Babies woke up and cried,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -“We want to hear the fairy tale, Ma! Please -tell us all a fairy tale!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Get back -into bed, every one of you, and I will tell you a -story.”</p> - -<p>Then the Babies all crept back into bed and their -Mamma told them the story of the Magic Pitcher.</p> - -<p>Here is the story she told:</p> - -<p>Once there was a little dwarf who lived alone in -the woods. He lived in a little blue house with -a red chimney. He was very proud of his red chimney. -He painted the chimney every spring.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf was very good-natured except -when he started to cook. He could not cook a -decent meal to save his life. He went about all -day humming a little song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I can live without clothing and live without books,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But how is a fellow to live without cooks?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>One day as he passed by a little brook he sang -this song, and the brook said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you take the pebbles from out this brook,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I will try to help you find a cook!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span></p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf stooped down and began -to pick the pebbles out of the brook.</p> - -<p>At last, only one large stone remained. He -pulled and tugged with all his might, and at last -the brook ran merrily along, for he got the big -stone up on the bank.</p> - -<p>The brook sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Look again, now I am free,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The magic pitcher you will see!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf looked down into the brook, -and sure enough, there was a magic pitcher all -blue and gold. The water ran deeper now, in the -little brook, so the little dwarf had to -dive down after the pitcher.</p> - -<p>He came out choking and sputtering, -but he had the magic pitcher in his hand. -Then he ran homeward singing -and whistling all the -way. He sang:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I can live without clothing and live without books,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But how is a fellow to live without cooks?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>He poured once more</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span></p> - -<p>He got some bread and cheese out of a cupboard -and drew the pitcher full of water, and sat down -to his lonely meal.</p> - -<p>He started to pour out a glass of water, and as -he poured it from the magic pitcher, it turned into -fine, rich milk. He poured once more, and this time -it was honey that came out of the magic pitcher.</p> - -<p>He tried again and out came tea! So it went -on. Every time he poured from the magic pitcher, -out came something delicious to drink.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf grew so happy and healthy that -when he went into the woods to chop down trees -he could chop six trees while the other little -dwarfs could only chop down one.</p> - -<p>He never sang any more about wanting a cook, -and he seemed so happy that the other little dwarfs -were jealous of him, and they said, “We will find -out his secret.”</p> - -<p>So, one evening when it was late, they all crept -to the house where the little dwarf lived, and they -all peeped in at the window.</p> - -<p>There sat the little dwarf by the table pouring -from his magic pitcher. He poured out coffee, and -cream, and molasses!</p> - -<p>My! the other little dwarfs turned green with -envy. They said, “We will have that pitcher.”</p> - -<p>They opened the door, ran into the house, seized<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -the pitcher, and ran away, away, away, into the -deep woods.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf was so sad, he went to the brook -again and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The dwarfs have carried my pitcher away,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Alas! alas! alackaday!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“I will fix them,” said the little brook. “You -were so good to take all my stones away, you shall -soon have the pitcher back again; never fear.”</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf went back home singing a -merry song.</p> - -<p>Now the dwarfs had carried the pitcher away -with them, and when they had run for a long time, -they saw a little brook, winding in and out among -the trees, and they said, “We will fill the pitcher -with water.”</p> - -<p>So the first little dwarf ran and filled the pitcher -with water. Then he ran back to his companions -who sat in a circle, and began to fill their glasses. -They all set up a shout, for out of the pitcher came -only thick mud!</p> - -<p>“You have played a trick on us,” they cried.</p> - -<p>Then the second little dwarf went and filled the -pitcher.</p> - -<p>“It is pure water,” he said, but when he went<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -to pour from the pitcher, lo! and behold! out came -vinegar!</p> - -<p>Then the third little dwarf said, “Let me try,” -and the next said, “Let me try,” but each time -there came out of the pitcher something quite unfit -to drink.</p> - -<p>Then the dwarfs said, “This pitcher is of no -account after all; we will throw it into the brook.”</p> - -<p>They said, “If the little dwarf finds it again, -he is welcome to drink all the mud and vinegar -he wants.”</p> - -<p>Then they threw the pitcher back into the brook, -and the brook carried it safely back to the place -in the woods where the little dwarf passed every -day. Pretty soon the little dwarf came along. He -sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Ha! ha! Ho! ho! What do I see?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A beautiful pitcher floats in to me!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>He filled the pitcher with water and soon poured -out a fine drink of buttermilk.</p> - -<p>He ran home as fast as his legs could carry him, -and he hid his pitcher safely away.</p> - -<p>He worked at home very busily all that day. -He made shades for his window, so no one could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -look in. He put a lock on his door, and he made -a little key to fit the lock.</p> - -<p>“Now, no one can see what I pour from my -pitcher,” he said, “and no one can come in, unless -I invite him.”</p> - -<p>He went to bed and slept well. Late that night -a most remarkable thing happened. Five and -twenty little men came to his door and they rapped -and they tapped, and he would not let them in!</p> - -<p>Then they laid down five and twenty little parcels -on his doorstep and they crept away. Next -morning the little dwarf went to his door and saw -the five and twenty little parcels. They were all -from the grocery store.</p> - -<p>On each parcel was written, “Compliments from -the little dwarfs, with thanks for the borrowed -pitcher.”</p> - -<p>On one package was written, “Don’t drink too -much mud and vinegar!”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf went to the brook and asked -what all this meant. When the brook told him -he laughed until he cried.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf may still live in the woods, for -all I know, and he may still be drinking out of -his magic pitcher.</p> - -<p>As soon as the Ink-Bottle Mamma stopped talking -all her Babies went to sleep.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE FORTUNE TELLER</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">October, October, you gay little rover,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You are welcome, the wide world over;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Merrily, merrily, school-bells ring</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And children all delight to sing.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Ink-Bottle Babies are absent to-day,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Or perhaps they lingered upon the way;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies sigh,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“We are busy bidding the birds good-bye!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies woke up cross. Every one -of them got up out of the wrong side of the bed!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma called, “Hurry, hurry, -or you will all be late to school!”</p> - -<p>Then Molly called, “I can’t find my shoes,” -and Polly called, “I can’t find my dress,” and all -the Ink-Bottle Babies set up such a wail that the -Ink-Bottle Mamma had to come upstairs and help -them dress.</p> - -<p>She said, “My dear children, will you never -grow up?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp65" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Give us a ride, please!</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>When they sat down at the table, Molly said, “I -don’t want this oatmeal,” and Polly said, “I don’t -want any either.”</p> - -<p>Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “We don’t -want any oatmeal!”</p> - -<p>They laid down their twenty-five little spoons. -And will you believe it? Not one of the Babies -would eat any breakfast!</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Get down -from your chairs, every one of you.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies got down from their chairs, -pouting and scolding. Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma -put on their caps and sent them right off to school.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> - -<p>“Hurry! hurry!” she said. “Don’t be late for -school!”</p> - -<p>They had not gone far when the first Ink-Bottle -Baby said, “I will not go another step!”</p> - -<p>Then the second Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I will -not go another step!”</p> - -<p>Then what do you suppose happened next? They -all sat down in a row and they cried and they -screamed and they howled!</p> - -<p>Just then an old farmer came along with his -wagon.</p> - -<p>When he saw all the Ink-Bottle Babies in a row, -he said, “Bless my heart! What funny little babies! -What are you all doing here?”</p> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly cried, “Give us a ride, -please! We don’t care which way we go!”</p> - -<p>Then the farmer got down and helped all the -Babies into his wagon and they rode merrily -away!</p> - -<p>They laughed and talked and said, “Oh!” and -“Ah!” and “What a fine ride!”</p> - -<p>When they rode by the school they kept very -still, and they all crept down in the bottom of -the wagon.</p> - -<p>On and on they rode, through the woods and -into a town and away off to a little red house on -a farm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span></p> - -<p>“Will you spend the day with me?” asked the -farmer.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “We will! We -will!” And they jumped up and down with joy. -They had a fine time all day. They saw the sheep -and pigs and cows, and they took turns riding -on a little pony.</p> - -<p>When night came Molly and Polly cried, “We -want our Ma! We want our Ma!”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife was very deaf, but she saw -that all the Ink-Bottle Babies were crying at once, -so she gave each one a cookie. The cookies had -red sugar on them. They had raisins in them. -The Ink-Bottle Babies cried and would not eat -their cookies.</p> - -<p>Then the farmer’s wife took Polly on the right -arm of her chair, and she took Molly on the left -arm of her chair. Then she let all the rest of the -Ink-Bottle Babies crowd around her.</p> - -<p>Next, the farmer’s wife put on her spectacles -and opened a great red book. Then all the Ink-Bottle -Babies clapped their hands and set up a -shout, for they could see the name of the book.</p> - -<p>It was called “Tip-Top Fairy Tales.”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife smiled at the Babies and -began to read slowly. She skipped the hard words -and stumbled over the easy ones!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p> - -<p>If you do not like to listen to her read, you will -have to read for yourself the story of Goldy and -Brownie, or The Fortune Teller. Here is the story:</p> - -<p>Once upon a time there were two sisters. They -were as different as they could be.</p> - -<p>Goldy was good and beautiful. Brownie was ugly -and cross.</p> - -<p>One day Goldy said, “I am going down into the -valley to see the Fortune Teller. I am going to -have my fortune told.”</p> - -<p>Brownie said, “You shall not go. I am afraid -you will have a better fortune than mine if you -go first.”</p> - -<p>Then Brownie tied Goldy into a chair and she -went out of the house and locked the door.</p> - -<p>Brownie said, “I will have my fortune told -first.”</p> - -<p>She went into the valley where an old Gypsy -lived. She knocked at the door and the Gypsy -called out,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sit by the fire and spin;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Open the door, come in.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>She stamped her foot</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Brownie was a little afraid to pull the latch at -first, but as the Gypsy did not speak again she -knew she must do something, so she pulled the -latch. The door opened, and she went into the -house.</p> - -<p>She said, “You cross old woman, I want my -fortune told.”</p> - -<p>The Gypsy looked at her and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You may bake and brew,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But whatever you do,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You’ll uglier grow each day;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But make a wish, just make one wish,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Make a wish and go away!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span></p> - -<p>Brownie was so angry she stamped her foot and -said the first thing that came into her mind.</p> - -<p>She said, “I wish I had a fine fur coat to wear -all the time.”</p> - -<p>Then the Gypsy touched her with her cane, and -her dress turned into a fur coat, and Brownie herself -turned into a caterpillar!</p> - -<p>“There!” said the Gypsy, “I guess you have a -fur coat to wear all the time.”</p> - -<p>The Gypsy forgot one thing. She forgot to take -away Brownie’s voice, so she could talk as well as -ever.</p> - -<p>Brownie went crawling slowly home. She called -out to Goldy,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Go to the Gypsy, whatever you do,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A very fine fortune waits there for you!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She really hoped that the Gypsy would turn -her sister into a caterpillar, too!</p> - -<p>Then Brownie sighed, for she remembered that -she had tied Goldy into her chair, and that she -could not get away if she wanted to.</p> - -<p>Pretty soon a prince came by and Brownie cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The beautiful princess sits in a chair;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Just take a peep in the window there!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span></p> - -<p>The prince was so surprised to hear a voice and -see no one, that he cried out,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What shall I do? What shall I do?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll peep through the window to see if it’s true.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then he tiptoed to the window so softly his feet -never made a sound, and sure enough, there he -saw Goldy sitting in the chair—tied in, fast asleep.</p> - -<p>The prince tried to get into the house. He tried -the front door, and the back door, and the side -door, and all the windows. At last he found a -window that would open. He sat on the window -sill and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Golden Hair, will you come to me?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">May I come in and set you free?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Goldy woke up. She had read about -princes, but she had never seen one before. She -was so surprised she only nodded her head.</p> - -<p>Then the prince came in and cut the cords that -bound her.</p> - -<p>Goldy said, “Thank you!” Then she went and -made the prince a cup of tea.</p> - -<p>They were about to sit down and enjoy the tea -when a dove flew in at the window. It had a message<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -tied round its neck. The message was for the -prince. It said, “Come home at once. Your father -is ill.”</p> - -<p>So the prince took off his cap with the big -feather in it, and made a bow. Then he went out -of the window as suddenly as he had come.</p> - -<p>Goldy said to herself, “I will go to the Gypsy -and have my fortune told. Perhaps I shall meet -the prince again.”</p> - -<p>So she put on her blue dress and sunbonnet, -and went to the house where the Gypsy lived, and -knocked at the door.</p> - -<p>The Gypsy said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sit by the fire and spin;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Open the door, come in!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Goldy opened the door and walked in.</p> - -<p>“Will you tell my fortune?” she said.</p> - -<p>The Gypsy liked Goldy, but to save her life she -did not know how to tell a very good fortune, so -she said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Whatever you do your wish will come true,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">So make it, I pray, and go quickly away!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p> - -<p>Goldy was wishing in her heart that she could -see the prince, so she said at once, “I wish I -could fly.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp42" style="max-width: 14.0625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>She knocked at the door</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then the Gypsy touched her with her cane and -her blue dress turned into a shining -pair of wings. She became a beautiful -blue butterfly, and sailed away -and away in the sunshine. By and -by she sailed into the king’s garden.</p> - -<p>The prince came out and cried, -“Oh what a beautiful butterfly.”</p> - -<p>Then Goldy told him what had -happened and she said, “Go to the -Gypsy and see how I can be -changed back again.”</p> - -<p>Then the prince went in a -hurry to the Gypsy, you may -believe. When the Gypsy -heard him knock she cried as -before,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sit by the fire and spin;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cross-Patch, pull the latch,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Open the door, come in!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The prince opened the door and made his very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> -best bow and said, “I wish Goldy were changed -back into a beautiful girl and standing here beside -me.”</p> - -<p>The Gypsy nodded her head and soon a blue -butterfly came floating in through the window. The -Gypsy said a magic verse, and changed the butterfly -back into the girl Goldy.</p> - -<p>Then Goldy and the prince thanked the Gypsy. -They were married at once, and they went to live -in the king’s palace. They were not so happy -as they had expected to be for Goldy cried all -day, “I miss my sister Brownie. Go and find -my ugly little sister.”</p> - -<p>The prince went out to look for Brownie. He -traveled high and low but he could not find her.</p> - -<p>Then Goldy went out to look for her sister. She -went to her old home and she heard a voice say,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I am as lonely as can be,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sister Goldy, come to me!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Goldy cried, “Here I am. Where are you -hiding, little sister?”</p> - -<p>Then Brownie told about her being changed into -an ugly caterpillar, and they went together to the -Gypsy.</p> - -<p>The Gypsy was sitting on her doorstep and Goldy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -cried out, “See, I will give you this golden dish -if you will change the caterpillar into my little sister.”</p> - -<p>The Gypsy liked the dish and she said a few -magic words and changed the caterpillar into the -girl Brownie.</p> - -<p>Brownie was now so happy that she was good-looking. -Many a young prince came and fell -in love with her but Brownie was so happy to -live with her sister and the prince, that she sang -a very merry song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I have lovers four and twenty;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">One or two would be a plenty;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And I am as happy as happy can be,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Since the old Gypsy set me free.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>One day there came to the palace a little lame -prince. He was as ugly as a barb-wire fence, but -Brownie let him in. She gave him a cup of tea -and said:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I have lovers four and twenty;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">One or two would be a plenty;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And I am happy as happy can be,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Since the old Gypsy set me free.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> - -<p>The little lame prince said, “I am ugly and no -one loves me. Will you marry me?”</p> - -<p>Brownie said, “I will marry you.” And they -were married in the rose garden, and they grew -better looking and happier every day.</p> - -<p>Whenever they saw sick caterpillars or butterflies -with broken wings, they took care of them.</p> - -<p>Brownie and Goldy each had a home near the -king’s palace, and they were happy all their lives.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Is that all? Tell -it again! Tell it again! Please do! Read it or -tell it! It is a lovely story!”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife said, “It must be bedtime.” -They looked at the great clock that stood in the -hall, and the clock said it was ten o’clock!</p> - -<p>“I am going home to-morrow, and I am going -to school,” said Molly.</p> - -<p>“I, too,” said Polly.</p> - -<p>“We, too,” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies. “We -are all going to learn to read that story.”</p> - -<p>Then they scampered upstairs and went to bed.</p> - -<p>Just as they were about to go to sleep, Molly -said, “It is awful to have to spell out the words -like the farmer’s wife does.”</p> - -<p>Polly said, “I am going to learn to read!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">THANKSGIVING DINNER</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Old November’s come once more;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Children, see the snow!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Riding out in grandpa’s sleigh,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We all will gladly go,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For Thanksgiving brings such joys</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To the waiting girls and boys;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies sigh,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“Please give us a piece of pumpkin pie!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>Next day the farmer hitched up his horses and -took all the Ink-Bottle Babies home.</p> - -<p>They said, “Oh Ma, we want to learn to read. -Oh Ma, we will go to school every day!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma kissed all her babies -and sent them to school.</p> - -<p>They wanted so much to learn to read fairy -tales that they never missed a day of school, -from the 16th of October to Thanksgiving.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>They never missed a day of school</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p> - -<p>The day before Thanksgiving Molly began to -cry on the way home from school. Then Polly -began to cry! Pretty soon all the Ink-Bottle Babies -took out their twenty-five little pocket handkerchiefs -and began to cry!</p> - -<p>When they got home Mamma said, “Why do -you cry?”</p> - -<p>The first Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I don’t know, -boo-hoo!”</p> - -<p>The second Ink-Bottle Baby said, “I don’t know, -boo-hoo!”</p> - -<p>Polly said, “I am crying because Molly is -crying.”</p> - -<p>Molly said, “I am crying because we have no -grandma and grandpa to go to see on Thanksgiving -Day.”</p> - -<p>Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “We want -a grandma and grandpa, boo-hoo!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Dry your eyes, -and I will tell you what to do.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies dried their eyes -and Mamma said, “Suppose we go and spend -Thanksgiving Day with the farmer and his wife!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and -shouted, “Hurrah! hurrah!”</p> - -<p>When they had stopped their noise, Mamma -said each Baby should take a pie in a little basket -to the farmer and his wife.</p> - -<p>Then she took the Babies to the pantry and -showed them twenty-five little pies all in a row.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span></p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies were so anxious to start -that they said, “To-morrow will never come!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma knew a few things to -make the time pass, so she said, “Who will -sweep my floor? Who will dust my chairs? Who -will wipe my dishes?”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all set to work at -once, and they swept the floor and dusted the -furniture, and they wiped the dishes, and soon -the work was all done.</p> - -<p>At bedtime the Babies said, “Three cheers for -the farm. Hurrah for the farmer and his wife! -Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!”</p> - -<p>Then they all went to bed and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Early next morning the Ink-Bottle Babies were -all ready to start. Each one carried a basket. The -Ink-Bottle Mamma locked the house and put the -key under the doormat. Then they were all ready -to go.</p> - -<p>They walked a long way, and were getting quite -tired, when a man came along in his automobile.</p> - -<p>He said, “You cunning little Babies, where are -you going?”</p> - -<p>Then the Babies shouted, “We are going to -the farm. We are going to see the farmer and -his wife, and we are taking them some pumpkin -pies!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> - -<p>The man said, “I will take you to the farm -if you will give me one or two of your pies!”</p> - -<p>He said, “I have not tasted a pumpkin pie for -forty years!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies wept to think of a man -not tasting a pie for so many years, and they -all crowded around the automobile and cried, -“Take mine! Please take mine!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma stepped up and -said, “Please Sir, we need all these pies to-day, -but if you care to give us a ride and then will -call at my house to-morrow you may have all -the pies you can carry.”</p> - -<p>The man was delighted, you may be sure. He -helped the Ink-Bottle Mamma right into the automobile -and called to the Babies, “Pile in, one and -all!”</p> - -<p>Soon they were all riding merrily along the -road.</p> - -<p>The man allowed Polly and Molly to blow the -horn and they rode right into the farmer’s yard -and right up to his front door.</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife came out and cried, “Bless -my soul! What a fine automobile! And bless my -soul! Here are the Ink-Bottle Babies again!”</p> - -<p>Then the farmer heard the noise and came out -and said, “Bless my buttons! Let me count the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -Babies! Yes, they are here, every last one of -them!”</p> - -<p>Then he caught sight of the Ink-Bottle Mamma, -and he bowed to her politely and helped her out.</p> - -<p>The man who owned the automobile looked at -the farmer and said, “Will you have a ride, good -people?”</p> - -<p>Now the farmer and his wife had never ridden -in an automobile in their lives.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “Go right along; -don’t mind us; we will get the dinner!”</p> - -<p>The farmer said, “Wait till I get some turkeys -and ducks ready for dinner,” and the farmer’s -wife said, “Wait till I make a few dozen pies!”</p> - -<p>At the word “pies,” the Ink-Bottle Babies set -up a shout, and each one made a low bow and -presented the farmer’s wife with a little pie. She -was so surprised that she hardly knew what to -say.</p> - -<p>The farmer called, “Put on your old gray bonnet!” -Then the Babies began to sing,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Put on your old gray bonnet,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With the blue ribbons on it!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the stranger said, “You are very sweet -singers!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span></p> - -<p>Soon the farmer and his wife were ready, and -they went whizzing away in the automobile. Then -the Ink-Bottle Mamma began to cook the turkeys -and many other things, and the Ink-Bottle Babies -had the table all set by the time the farmer and -his wife returned.</p> - -<p>Did they have a big dinner? Well, I guess they -did. They had turkey and duck, and sweet-potatoes -and white potatoes, and squash, and carrots, -and rice, and jelly, and pickles, and pudding, and -cranberry sauce, and cake, and ice cream, and -pumpkin pies!</p> - -<p>The farmer and his wife said, “We never had -such a happy Thanksgiving before!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Hurrah for the -turkey! Hurrah for the pumpkin -pies!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Presented the farmer’s wife with a little pie</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>After dinner the Babies begged for -a story. They said, -“Read us a fairy tale; -please read us a fairy -tale!”</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife -said, “I have broken -my glasses and I cannot -see to read, but Pa -will tell you a story!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p> - -<p>Then the farmer grew quite red in the face and -said, “I don’t know any fairy stories; honestly I -don’t!”</p> - -<p>“You know about the fox and the crow,” said -the farmer’s wife.</p> - -<p>Then the Babies climbed up on his chair and -on his knees and there was no way out of it; he -had to begin:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There once was a crow, and at early morn</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He spied the farmer’s field of corn;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He said, ‘As sure as I am born,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll have that corn, heigh-o!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Go on! Go on!” shouted all the Babies. “Tell -about the fox. Please tell us some more.” Then -the farmer said:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There once was a fox so very sly</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He knew that farmer’s field hard by;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">‘To catch the crow, I’m going to try,’</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Said the fox with a soft heigh-o!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the farmer stopped. The Babies begged -him to go on but he said, “Honestly that is all -I know.”</p> - -<p>“Did the crow get the corn?” asked Molly.</p> - -<p>“Did the fox get the crow?” asked Polly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said the farmer. “How can -I tell about such things? I only went to school -one year in all my life.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “we intend -to go to school for seventeen years!”</p> - -<p>“That is right,” said the farmer; “then you -will learn all about the fox and the crow.”</p> - -<p>Just at this minute, the farmer’s wife set up -a cry. “Oh see the cunning little baskets! See -the twenty-five little baskets! We must not send -them home empty!”</p> - -<p>Then she whispered something in Molly’s ear, -and she whispered something in Polly’s ear, and -each Ink-Bottle Baby whispered to the next one.</p> - -<p>Then they carried their twenty-five little baskets -with them and they all scampered down to the -cellar. The farmer’s wife went with them and -showed them five barrels of apples.</p> - -<p>The farmer’s wife said, “Help yourselves. Fill -your baskets full.”</p> - -<p>What fun they had, picking apples first out of -one barrel and then out of another!</p> - -<p>They were all ready to start home at last, -when the farmer said, “Where are the apples -for the Ink-Bottle Mamma?”</p> - -<p>Then the farmer’s wife gave her a bag of apples -and a bag of nuts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span></p> - -<p>The farmer hitched up his horses to the wagon, -and the Ink-Bottle Mamma and the Ink-Bottle -Babies all piled in.</p> - -<p>“Crack!” went the whip, and they were off -and away singing and whistling as they went.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said to the farmer, “It -is very kind in you to take us home in your -wagon!”</p> - -<p>The farmer said, “I never had twenty-five -grandchildren, and I love every one of your -babies.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies began to get sleepy. -They tried to remember the story the farmer had -told and they said,</p> - -<p>“There once was a fox at early morn.”</p> - -<p>“No! That is not right!” said Molly.</p> - -<p>Then they tried it again, and they said, “There -once was a farmer’s field of corn.”</p> - -<p>“No! no!” shouted Polly, “that is not right.”</p> - -<p>The farmer had to tell the story again, and -the Babies repeated it after him in a singsong -way:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There once was a crow, and at early morn</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He spied the farmer’s field of corn;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He said, ‘As sure as I am born</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll have that corn, heigh-o!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE LITTLE DWARF’S CHRISTMAS</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Old December’s come again;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Stockings large and small,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hang by the fireside with care,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For Santa’ll fill them all;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies cry,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“Santa will in his sleigh dash by;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We always like to have him call,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For we have stockings large and small!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>It was December and Christmas was coming.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “May we hang up -our stockings now? May we hang all our stockings -in a row?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies all talked at once. They -made such a noise that the postman had to rap -five times before he could be heard.</p> - -<p>Then Molly said, “Hush! Listen! I hear a -knock!”</p> - -<p>Polly went dancing to the door and came back -with a letter in her hand. The letter was addressed -to the Ink-Bottle Mamma.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> - -<p>She opened it and said, “The farmer and his -wife want us to go and spend Christmas day with -them! They say, ‘Tell the Babies to bring their -stockings.’”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies were glad, you may be -sure.</p> - -<p>They clapped their hands and shouted, “May -we go, Ma? Say yes, Ma. Please let us go!”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “We will go with -pleasure.”</p> - -<p>The days passed very fast after that, and it was -almost Christmas time; and all would have gone -well, I am sure, but two days before Christmas -Molly was taken sick, and Polly said, “I don’t -feel well either.”</p> - -<p>Then what do you suppose happened? All the -Ink-Bottle Babies came down with the measles.</p> - -<p>They cried and they howled, “We can’t go -away on Christmas Day! Oh dear! Oh -dear!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus09.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>I don’t feel well either</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>When they had -stopped their noise -the Ink-Bottle Mamma -said, “Never -mind, Santa Claus -will not forget you.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -Babies dried their eyes. They began to think -about Santa Claus.</p> - -<p>Toward evening a package was left at the -door. It said, “For the measley Babies from the -farmer’s wife.”</p> - -<p>When the Ink-Bottle Mamma brought the parcel -upstairs the Babies cried, “Untie it quickly; -please do, and let us all see what is inside!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma untied the parcel, -and took out a big red book! The book was -called “Tip-Top Fairy Tales.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies were so happy they forgot -all about the measles, and they cried, “Please -read us a fairy tale.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma laughed and sat down -and read to them. And here is the story she read:</p> - -<p>There was once a little dwarf who lived all -alone in the deep woods. He was so cross that -no one would live with him. One evening as he -sat alone by his fire he heard the tinkle, tinkle, -tinkle, of sleigh bells.</p> - -<p>“Santa Claus, maybe,” he said, “but what do -I know about Santa Claus? I never hung up -my stockings in all my life.”</p> - -<p>Nearer and nearer came the sound of sleigh -bells. Then there was a great shout, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -little dwarf went out to see what had happened.</p> - -<p>Now what do you suppose had happened?</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp80" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus10.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Brushed Santa Claus all over</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Santa Claus had driven into a snowdrift and -he could not get out. His sleigh had tipped over -and his toys had spilled upon the snow.</p> - -<p>Santa Claus was half buried in the snow when -the little dwarf ran out and cried, “Hello, old -Santa Claus! Can’t you get out?”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf pulled and tugged at the reindeer, -and he pulled and tugged at Santa Claus. -Then he went for a snow-shovel, saying, “You -are so big I will have to dig you out!”</p> - -<p>He dug Santa Claus out of the snow. Then he -and Santa picked up the toys, and put them all -safely back into the sleigh.</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf whisked into the house and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -came back with a tiny broom and brushed Santa -Claus all over, and helped him shake off the snow.</p> - -<p>Poor old Santa Claus was so wet and cold he -began to sneeze, “A-kit-chew! a-kit-chew!”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf stamped his foot and said, -“This will never do! Come in and get warm! -Come in and dry your whiskers!”</p> - -<p>Then Santa Claus laughed until he shook all -over, but he was very glad to follow the little -dwarf into the house, though he had to stoop -to get in at the doorway. He said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“A bowl of soup if you please,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will help Santa not to freeze!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf stamped his foot again and -shouted,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What do you suppose? What do you suppose?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Shall I stir soup with my ugly nose?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Old Santa Claus laughed and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Ha! ha! ha! hee! hee! hee!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Make for me a cup of tea!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf stamped his foot again and -said,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What do you think? What do you think?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Can an ugly dwarf make tea to drink?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the little dwarf was gone for a long time -and Santa Claus almost fell asleep. He shook -himself to keep awake.</p> - -<p>He said, “I must not go to sleep to-night of -all nights in the year!”</p> - -<p>Then he said, “I wish the dwarf would hurry. -I wish he would get me some tea.”</p> - -<p>Then Santa Claus began to sing a little song:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Jolly, jolly Santa Claus</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Rides out across the snow;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Jolly, jolly Santa Claus</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Brings nicest toys, you know;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hang up your stockings large and small,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For Santa Claus will fill them all;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Late at evening he will call,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Jolly Santa Claus!</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>All the time Santa Claus was singing, the cross -little dwarf worked away in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>He rapped and he tapped and he mixed and -he stirred, and after awhile he came in and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Last call for soup in the dining car!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hurry, old Santa, wherever you are!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span></p> - -<p>Santa Claus went into the kitchen and there -was the nicest supper you ever saw!</p> - -<p>The little dwarf yelled,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What do you think? My dishes are small,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">So I gave you the bucket, the dish-pan, and all!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Santa Claus laughed until he cried, for -sure enough, there was the soup in the little -dwarf’s dish-pan, and the tea was served in a -bucket!</p> - -<p>Santa Claus was so very hungry that he ate -and drank all the food that was before him.</p> - -<p>Then he rolled his eyes and said in a half -whisper, “Did you ever hang up your stocking?”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf stamped his foot and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What? ho! ho! I am foolish I know,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But I do not hang up my stocking, no! no!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“All right,” said Santa Claus, “I must be -going. If you change your mind about the stocking, -it will be all right.”</p> - -<p>Then Santa Claus put on his great fur cap and -his great fur coat, and the little dwarf stood before -him and he stamped his foot and cried,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I never hung up my stocking at all,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I never believed old Santa would call.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf ran out into his barn and got -a great armful of hay. It was all he could do to -carry such an armful. He fed Santa’s reindeer.</p> - -<p>And Santa Claus said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I thank you kindly, have a care,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You may find a stocking there!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Santa Claus gave a whistle and shout and -his reindeer bounded over the snow.</p> - -<p>“I will not hang my stocking up!” roared the -little dwarf, and he stamped his foot in the snow.</p> - -<p>Soon Santa Claus was out of sight. Then the -little dwarf went back into his house.</p> - -<p>When he got into the house, he winked and he -blinked his eyes, and he was so surprised that he -forgot to scold, for by the fireplace hung a little -red stocking!</p> - -<p>“I did not hang that up!” shouted the little -dwarf. “I did not hang that up!”</p> - -<p>He took a peep into the stocking, and what do -you suppose he saw? There in the stocking was -a little gold cane, just the right size for a little -dwarf.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> - -<p>“Well,” said the dwarf, “that is a pretty nice -cane, but mind you, I did not hang that stocking -up!”</p> - -<p>By and by he went into the kitchen to wash -his dishes, and imagine his surprise to see all his -dishes dry and hanging in their right places.</p> - -<p>“I want my own supper!” he roared.</p> - -<p>Then he lifted a plate from the shelf, and under -it he saw a new penny. Then he took a spoon -from the drawer and out rolled another penny, -so it went on, until he got down the dish-pan to -wash his dishes, and a whole bag full of pennies -rolled down and nearly choked him!</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf looked at his pennies and -he laughed until he cried.</p> - -<p>“I can never count them all,” he -said. He put all the pennies in little -piles.</p> - -<p>“I shall be quite rich,” he cried. -“I wish Santa Claus would call -again.”</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf went back -and looked at his gold cane. He -walked up and down the room -with his cane in his hand.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" style="max-width: 17.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus11.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>A bag full of pennies rolled down</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>“I wish Santa Claus had -left another red stocking,” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -said. “I would like to wear fine red stockings!”</p> - -<p>Then he tripped on the edge of the rug and he -rolled the rug up and saw another red stocking -and a red cap and a pair of red mittens!</p> - -<p>He was so happy he shouted with delight,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Old Santa is a merry elf,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And I will have a care,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When Christmas comes again next year,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">My stocking will be there!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then what do you suppose that comical little -dwarf did?</p> - -<p>He put on his red cap and his red stockings and -his red mittens, and he just curled up on the rug -and went to sleep!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies fell asleep long before the -end of the story was reached, but the Ink-Bottle -Mamma liked the story so well that she read it on -to the end to herself.</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma went to bed. It -was now Christmas Eve.</p> - -<p>Did Santa Claus remember the Ink-Bottle -Babies, and did he fill all their stockings full?</p> - -<p>Well, I guess he did! and the Ink-Bottle Babies -all woke up early and cried, “Oh Ma! please -bring us our stockings,” and the Ink-Bottle Mamma<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -brought in twenty-five stockings full of apples -and nuts and toys.</p> - -<p>But the great joy of the day was still to -come. Molly and Polly had their beds near the -window and they cried, “Oh Ma, here comes a -farmer’s wagon!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough the wagon came and stopped right -at their door. Out jumped the farmer and his -wife!</p> - -<p>The twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Hurrah! -hurrah! hurrah!” and the farmer and his -wife called,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Twenty-five babies, all in a row;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">This is Christmas day, you know!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the farmer and his wife made a bow and -the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and -shouted, “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">A WONDERFUL DREAM</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">January now is here,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The first glad month of all the year;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Get your sled and snowshoes out;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The coasting is good without a doubt;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We are so merry and glad, ho! ho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We like the winter’s ice and snow;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies say,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“Snow-men we’ve made all the day!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>One Saturday in January it began to snow, and -down came the flakes bigger and bigger.</p> - -<p>By noon the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “There -is enough snow now to make a snow-man!”</p> - -<p>“How can we make a snow-man?” asked Molly.</p> - -<p>“Please show us how to make a snow-man,” -said Polly.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma shook her head. She -said, “I am too stiff and old to make a snow-man.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all began to talk -at once and they said, “Will no one show us -how to make a snow-man?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span></p> - -<p>Then the Mamma said, “Hush! Listen! Stop -your noise!”</p> - -<p>Then the Babies were still and they heard the -far-off tinkle of sleigh bells.</p> - -<p>Molly cried, “Oh, is it the farmer again?”</p> - -<p>Polly cried, “Oh, are we going to have company?”</p> - -<p>Then the twenty-five little Babies were very -still. They flattened their little noses against the -windowpanes, and looked out into the great white -world.</p> - -<p>Nearer, nearer, nearer, came the tinkle of -sleigh bells, and very soon a cunning little sleigh -came in sight.</p> - -<p>In the sleigh were seated two dwarfs. They -were as much alike as two peas.</p> - -<p>They stopped right in front of the house and -got out of the sleigh.</p> - -<p>They ran to the door and asked, “Can you tell -us if we are on the right road?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma bowed and said, “It -all depends on where you are going, gentlemen!”</p> - -<p>“It always depends on where we are going,” -snapped the first little dwarf.</p> - -<p>The second little dwarf said, “We are not gentlemen -at all, we are only dwarfs!”</p> - -<p>Just at that minute, the first little dwarf caught<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -sight of the twenty-five Babies with their noses -still flattened against the windowpanes, and he -cried, “Excuse me, but I must have one of those -Babies.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Mamma. -“They are not for sale. You cannot have one -of my Babies.”</p> - -<p>Then she shut the door quickly and left the -two little dwarfs standing on the doorstep.</p> - -<p>“I want one of the Babies!” howled the first -little dwarf.</p> - -<p>The second little dwarf took him by the arm -and led him down the walk back to their little -sleigh.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if they live in the deep woods,” said -Polly.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where they were going,” said Molly.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma went and kissed every -one of her Babies.</p> - -<p>She said, “They cannot have any of my Babies. -I cannot spare one of you!”</p> - -<p>The old clock sang a new song. It sounded like -this:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Tick, tock, tick, tock,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They’re very sly, very sly,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Tick, tock, tick, tock,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They may return by and by.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter illowp87" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus12.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>A whole row of snow-men</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma pretended that she did -not hear the clock’s song, and she said, “Hurry, -hurry into your caps and mittens and I will tell -you how to make a snow-man!”</p> - -<p>Then the twenty-five Ink-Bottle Babies put on -their caps and mittens, and went out doors.</p> - -<p>Mamma called to them to roll the snow over -and over. Each Baby rolled a snow-man.</p> - -<p>“Put in sticks for arms,” she called. “Make -eyes, and mouth, and nose.”</p> - -<p>My! what a jolly time the Ink-Bottle Babies -had!</p> - -<p>They made a whole row of snow-men, and they -worked so late that the stars came out and began -to twinkle.</p> - -<p>Then twenty-three of the Babies said, “We are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -cold and hungry. We are going into the house.”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly said, “Run on; we are not ready -to go in yet.”</p> - -<p>So the twenty-three Babies ran in and found -Mamma making gingersnaps in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>Then Molly said, “Hark! what is that?”</p> - -<p>Then Polly said “Hark! I hear something.”</p> - -<p>Just at that minute a tiny sleigh drew up at -the door. It was the same sleigh that had been -there before.</p> - -<p>In the sleigh sat the two little dwarfs. They sat -very still. They had hidden their sleigh bells.</p> - -<p>The first little dwarf jumped out of the sleigh -and whispered to Molly and Polly, “Have a sleigh -ride? We will bring you home again safe and -sound!”</p> - -<p>Then Polly said, “We must ask Ma.”</p> - -<p>And Molly said, “I will ask Ma.”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf winked his eye and said, “I -have asked Ma already!”</p> - -<p>So Molly and Polly got into the sleigh and they -bounded away, away, away over the snow.</p> - -<p>Why didn’t the Ink-Bottle Mamma come out -and stop them? She was busy making gingersnaps!</p> - -<p>“Are you warm enough?” asked the first little -dwarf.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span></p> - -<p>Then the second little dwarf began to sing in -a drowsy voice,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Heigho! over the snow,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Away in our little sleigh we go;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Heigho! hear the merry winds blow;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Away, away, away we go!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Pretty soon Molly and Polly went to sleep.</p> - -<p>When they woke up they found themselves in -the cutest little house in the world. They were -in the house of the two little dwarfs!</p> - -<p>The little dwarfs capered and danced about -them and said, “You are the cutest Babies in -the world. Come and see grandpa!”</p> - -<p>They went into the next room and there sat -a very old dwarf. He stared at the Babies and -said,</p> - -<p>“I am two thousand years old. Pray tell, how -old are you?”</p> - -<p>“Say you are two hundred,” said the first -little dwarf, stamping his foot at grandpa.</p> - -<p>Grandpa shook his head and said, “I have -always been two thousand years old as long as -I can remember.”</p> - -<p>He pointed his finger at Molly and Polly and -said, “Can you tell the time?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span></p> - -<p>Then he took a large gold clock out of his -pocket. “I always carry a clock,” he said. “I -don’t believe in watches. They run fast or slow.”</p> - -<p>Then he turned to the little dwarfs, and said, -“Speaking of time, is supper ready?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies stared at the clock. They -could not tell the time.</p> - -<p>They said, “We must learn to tell time; there -is so much to learn!”</p> - -<p>Just then the two little dwarfs said, “Come -into the candy room,” and they all skipped into -the next room.</p> - -<p>There were bookshelves of candy and sofas of -candy, and chairs of candy!</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly clapped their hands with delight.</p> - -<p>“Eat all you want to!” said the little dwarfs.</p> - -<p>“Eat a chair!” shouted the first dwarf.</p> - -<p>“Eat a table!” shouted the second dwarf.</p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried Molly and Polly, “we -must not eat up your furniture, but it does look -good.”</p> - -<p>“Eat it all! Eat it all! We have plenty -more!” roared the dwarfs.</p> - -<p>Then Molly ate a leg of a table and Polly ate -the corner of the bookcase.</p> - -<p>Just at this time grandpa came in.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus13.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>He was leaning on a cane made of candy</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span></p> - -<p>He was hobbling along leaning on a very pretty -cane made of striped candy! He made a funny -appearance, indeed.</p> - -<p>“Supper time,” he called. “Supper time, I -say.”</p> - -<p>Then the two little dwarfs offered grandpa a -candy rocking-chair, and they ran and got on the -cutest little aprons you ever saw.</p> - -<p>They went to the kitchen stove and began to -fry and bake and stew, and by and by they called, -“Supper is ready; soup is served.”</p> - -<p>They had a nice supper and grandpa was so -hungry he ate with a fork and spoon at the same -time!</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly had eaten so much candy they -could not eat any supper.</p> - -<p>Grandpa said, “That is the way our visitors -always do.”</p> - -<p>Then he pulled the clock out of his pocket and -said, “Tell the time, please.”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly said, “We are sorry but we -do not know how to tell the time.”</p> - -<p>“That is too bad,” said grandpa. “If you want -to enjoy life, you must learn to tell the time.”</p> - -<p>Just then one of the little dwarfs began to pour -out a glass of milk from a very strange-looking -pitcher.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p> - -<p>“I wonder if that is the magic pitcher?” whispered -Polly.</p> - -<p>Polly whispered so loud that the little dwarf -heard her.</p> - -<p>He was so surprised that he dropped the pitcher -and it broke into one hundred pieces.</p> - -<p>The room began to melt away and Molly and -Polly woke up and rubbed their eyes.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma was shaking them.</p> - -<p>“You poor dears!” she said. “Are you almost -frozen? You have been asleep in the snow!”</p> - -<p>Then she carried Molly and Polly into the house.</p> - -<p>They rubbed their eyes again and cried, “Where -are the little dwarfs? Where is the old grandpa? -Where is the magic pitcher?”</p> - -<p>Then all the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout, -“You have been asleep! You fell asleep playing -in the snow!”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly could not believe they had been -dreaming. They said, “We went riding in a -sleigh!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma put dry clothes on -them and said, “Sit and toast yourselves by the -fire, while I get you some gingersnaps!”</p> - -<p>When Molly and Polly were warm again, they -told their wonderful dream.</p> - -<p>When they had finished talking the Ink-Bottle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -Mamma said, “Can’t you -really tell the time, my -dears?”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>It is nine o’clock</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies all -shook their heads. Then the -Ink-Bottle Mamma gave them -twenty-five little circles of -pasteboard, and she gave them some little pieces -for hands of each clock.</p> - -<p>They fastened the hands on the clocks with -twenty-five little pins.</p> - -<p>Now she said, “We will make numbers on the -clockface.”</p> - -<p>So they wrote twelve at the top of the circle, -and six at the bottom; they wrote three at the -right and nine at the left; then they put the other -numbers between.</p> - -<p>The Mamma said, “Put the long hand at twelve, -and the little hand at nine; now tell the time!”</p> - -<p>Not one of the Ink-Bottle Babies could tell what -time it was. Could you?</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The little hand tells the hour, you know,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As round and round the two hands go;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The big hand never makes a sound;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">It tells the minutes as it goes around!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands -and said, “It is nine o’clock!”</p> - -<p>Then they looked up at the big clock on the -mantle-piece, and just then they cried, “The big -clock is nine o’clock, too.”</p> - -<p>At this very minute the big clock began to strike.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies held their breath and -counted the strokes of the clock.</p> - -<p>They counted the strokes on their fingers!</p> - -<p>Sure enough, the big clock struck nine.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” cried the Babies. “We are learning -to tell the time.”</p> - -<p>Just then there was heard a gentle tap at the -door. The door opened and in walked an Ink-Bottle -Baby. She wore a red dress and a red sunbonnet.</p> - -<p>She said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“How do you do? I am tired, too;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">May I come in and sit with you?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies all shouted, “Can you -tell the time?”</p> - -<p>The new Ink-Bottle Baby shook her head and -said, “I have been walking over maps all day. -The children want a red line here, and a red dot -there, and I am very tired.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<p>“Did you meet the little dwarfs in the woods?” -asked Molly and Polly together.</p> - -<p>“Who are the little dwarfs?” asked the new -Ink-Bottle Baby, and Molly and Polly said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We have a picture of two little dwarfs;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">If you will only look,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The magic pitcher, too, is seen</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Within our picture-book.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At the words “magic pitcher,” the new Ink-Bottle -Baby sprang from her chair, and ran out -of the house as fast as her legs could carry her.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you think of that?” asked the -Ink-Bottle Mamma.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and -danced up and down.</p> - -<p>They shouted, “There really must be a magic -pitcher! There truly must be a magic pitcher!”</p> - -<p>Then they looked out of the window and saw -the snow-men they had made. The snow-men -looked very real in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Listen! the snow-men -are singing.”</p> - -<p>They kept very still and they heard this song:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Last night I saw a funny sight,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Upon the ground all glistening white;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Queer people standing in a row,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Who told me they were made of snow!</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“They waved their arms so queer and long,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And kept time to a winter song;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And when I said I’d go away,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Their frosty voices bade me stay.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I looked up at them in surprise,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And each man rolled his wooden eyes;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Then said if I’d excuse the joke,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They’d light a match and take a smoke!</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Now if you’d like to hear them talk,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Come out with me and take a walk;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You’ll find them standing in a row,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">These funny people made of snow!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MAGIC SPOON</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">In February as you know,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Stormy winds will often blow,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And sometimes on a Saturday,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In the house the children stay,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Playing pleasant games, you see,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They are happy as can be.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Heart of mine,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Come now, and make a valentine!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>One Saturday morning it began to storm and -it snowed and the wind blew harder and harder.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Oh Ma! what -shall we do?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, -“What month is this?”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly said, -“It is February.”</p> - -<p>Then the twenty-three -other Ink-Bottle Babies -set up a shout. They cried, -“Valentines! Valentines!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus15.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Polly set up a cry</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span></p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “You have -guessed right; we are going to make valentines.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies got some tables -and scissors and paste.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma brought paper and some -pictures, and she said, “You may cut out some -hearts.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies went to work. They -got paste on the table and on their hands and -faces.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly Polly set up a cry, and soon all -the Ink-Bottle Babies shouted, “Oh Ma! Polly -has cut her finger! Oh Ma! Come quickly!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, Polly had cut her finger.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma came and tied it up -and said, “Every one of you wash your hands. -I can’t have all my Babies cut their fingers!”</p> - -<p>So the Ink-Bottle Babies got out twenty-five -little basins and filled them with water, and they -washed their hands.</p> - -<p>Then they said, “Read us a fine fairy tale, Ma, -please do.”</p> - -<p>So Mamma got out the fairy tale book and -read this story of The Magic Spoon:</p> - -<p>Once upon a time there was a merry little dwarf. -He sang all day,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Who is so merry, heigho! heigho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He may dance away by the light of the moon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But happy is he with his magic spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the little dwarf sat down by the table. -He had a great yellow bowl, and a silver spoon -in front of him.</p> - -<p>He stirred some flour around in the bowl, and -what do you suppose he took out of the bowl? -He took out a beautiful gold necklace!</p> - -<p>Then he stirred again, and he took out a blue -necklace; then he stirred again, and he took out -a red one.</p> - -<p>All the time as he worked he sang over and -over,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Who is so merry, heigho! heigho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He may dance away by the light of the moon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But happy is he with his magic spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At last the spoon got tired working and it said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Little dwarf, upon my word,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">What would you do if that song were heard?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span></p> - -<p>The little dwarf was so surprised to hear the -spoon speak that he stopped stirring the flour -in the bowl, and just at that very minute there -was heard a rap at the door.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf hid the spoon and went to the -door. There stood a very ugly old dwarf. His -name was Cross-Patch. All the dwarfs in the -wood were afraid of him.</p> - -<p>He stamped his foot now and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I have come to get the magic spoon;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Better give it to me soon;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Be it morning, night, or noon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will you give up the magic spoon?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the first little dwarf shook his head and -cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I do not give my spoon away;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You’d better call another day!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Cross-Patch said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I will call to-morrow noon;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Then perhaps I’ll get the spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>He went off muttering to himself, and shaking -his cross old head as he went away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span></p> - -<p>Now the little dwarf was not at all afraid. -He said, “I will hide my spoon in a safe place.”</p> - -<p>Then he put on the red necklace and the blue -necklace and the gold necklace, and he said, -“When I meet the Fairy Queen I will give her -a new necklace every day.”</p> - -<p>Just then the little dwarf heard a great flapping -of wings. He looked out and he saw one hundred -crows.</p> - -<p>Old Cross-Patch had sent the crows to eat up -the little dwarf’s corn!</p> - -<p>The crows ate all night, and till noon the next -day.</p> - -<p>Then they flapped their wings and went away, -and old Cross-Patch came and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I have come to-day at noon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will you give up the magic spoon?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf was angry, you may be sure. -He shook his head and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I will not give my spoon away;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You need not call another day.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then old Cross-Patch shook his fist at the little -dwarf and ran down the road. “I have spoiled<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -your corn,” he called back, but this time the -little dwarf did not answer him.</p> - -<p>The next night there was a great noise, and -five and twenty little dwarfs came and blew so -much soot down the chimney that everything in -the little dwarf’s house was ruined.</p> - -<p>I should say everything except one was ruined. -The box in which the little dwarf kept the spoon -and necklaces was safe because it was under his -pillow.</p> - -<p>The next morning old Cross-Patch came as -before and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Here I am at break of day;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will you give your spoon away?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf was very angry and he shouted,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I will not give my spoon away;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You may not have it now, I say.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Old Cross-Patch went away scolding and grumbling -as before. Late that night there was a great -noise, and the bricks from the chimney began to -fall. The little dwarf had just time to grab his -box and run out at the door.</p> - -<p>All the bricks from the house fell one upon<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -another, and soon the little house was all gone; -only a pile of bricks remained!</p> - -<p>Old Cross-Patch came again and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you won’t give the spoon away,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll turn your pretty hair all gray!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf had lovely golden curls. Now -the spoon was so angry at Cross-Patch that he -could stand it no longer.</p> - -<p>He turned very red in the face and began to -kick and roll over.</p> - -<p>He sprang out of the box, and jumped right -at old Cross-Patch and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Be it morning, night, or noon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Come and take the magic spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the spoon boxed Cross-Patch on the right -ear and on the left ear.</p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh! please stop!” called Cross-Patch.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf was so tickled he stood by and -clapped his hands.</p> - -<p>Then the spoon turned to old Cross-Patch and -said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You shall build the house again;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You’ll work in sunshine and in rain.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter illowp70" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus16.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Boxed Cross-Patch on the right ear</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then old Cross-Patch saw there was no way -out of it, so he had to go and pile one brick on -another, and if he did not work fast enough the -spoon would slap him on the back.</p> - -<p>The five and twenty dwarfs who had sent soot -down the chimney came, and they were sorry for -Cross-Patch, and went to work to help him -rebuild the house.</p> - -<p>The spoon danced about and rapped them all -sharply every once in a while.</p> - -<p>When the house was all done the spoon cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Now, old Cross-Patch, step inside;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Clean the rug and fireside.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span></p> - -<p>The spoon made Cross-Patch clean everything -in the house. Then the spoon cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Cross-Patch, take your little men,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Plant the corn in rows again!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Cross-Patch and the little dwarfs worked -all night. They planted corn in the little garden. -The spoon got so angry it beat them all until they -were black and blue; then finally it chased old -Cross-Patch away, and away, and away, out into -the Land of Nowhere.</p> - -<p>The five and twenty little men saw that the -corn they had planted was already beginning to -grow, so they laid down and went to sleep.</p> - -<p>Pretty soon the spoon came back.</p> - -<p>There high in the tree sat the little dwarf; beside -him sat the Fairy Queen.</p> - -<p>The Queen said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I try the necklaces, one, two, three,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But none is good enough for me.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the little dwarf helped the Fairy Queen -down from the tree and they went into the house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus17.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>I try the necklaces, one, two, three</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span></p> - -<p>The spoon went in, too, and it began to stir -at a terrible rate, all by itself in a great big bowl, -and pretty soon there came out of the bowl the -finest gold necklace in the land.</p> - -<p>The Fairy Queen clapped her hands and cried -to the dwarf and the spoon, “You will always -be welcome in my palace.”</p> - -<p>Then the dwarf clasped the necklace around -her neck, and she was gone.</p> - -<p>The spoon stood up very straight and sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Whatever song you wish to sing,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Remember, ’tis the safest thing,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To put the spoon upon the shelf,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And keep the secret to yourself!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the spoon jumped up into the box on -the shelf. The five and twenty little dwarfs woke -up and tapped politely at the door, and asked for -breakfast, but the spoon called out from its hiding -place,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you do not go away,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll box your ears again to-day!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the five and twenty little dwarfs ran away -as fast as their legs could carry them.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf forgot what the spoon had said -and he went about his work singing,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Who is so merry, heigho! heigho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">As a dwarf who lives in the woods, heigho?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">He may dance away by the light of the moon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But happy is he with his magic spoon.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Now the magic spoon was so upset to think the -little dwarf could not keep still that he sprang -down from the shelf and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You will not heed whate’er I say,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">So, little dwarf, you’ll go away!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then he beat the little dwarf all the way to the -palace of the Fairy Queen, where he became a -servant and he never dared to return to his home.</p> - -<p>The magic spoon went back to his place on the -shelf.</p> - -<p>For all I know he may be there yet!</p> - -<p>“Didn’t any one ever see the magic spoon -after that?” asked Polly.</p> - -<p>“Is it a really, truly, true story?” asked -Molly.</p> - -<p>Then the other Babies laughed so hard that they -rolled over and over on the floor, and at last they -said, “Some day we will go in search of the magic -spoon and the magic pitcher. May we go, Ma?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma laughed and said, “It -is time for you funny little Babies to go to bed.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span></p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma read so slowly it had -taken her all day to read the story.</p> - -<p>The Babies went off happily to bed singing,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Oh, the magic pitcher and magic spoon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We will try to find them soon;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">By and by to the woods we’ll go,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And meet the dwarf with his merry heigho!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Just then some one tapped on the door. It -was the Ink-Bottle Papa. He had been away for -his health for a year and a day!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma was glad to see him -again, you may be sure.</p> - -<p>She said, “Hush, my dear, we may wake the -Babies.” But she was not quick enough, for all -the Babies woke up and began to come downstairs -by twos and threes to see who had come to their -house.</p> - -<p>They hugged their dear Papa until he cried -out, “Look in my pockets and see a surprise!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies looked in his pockets -and drew out twenty-five little silver spoons.</p> - -<p>They all looked exactly alike, and the Babies -cried, “Thank you, Papa, we will call them our -magic spoons.”</p> - -<p>Then the Babies went to bed again.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MAGIC KITES</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">The merry March wind is singing a song,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">“Blow, blow, blow!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Blow, blow, blow!”</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Blow, blow, blow!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>One day in the merry month of March, the Ink-Bottle -Papa said, “I have a half-holiday. What -shall we do?”</p> - -<p>Then the twenty-five little Ink-Bottle Babies -clapped their hands and cried, “Hurrah! hurrah! -hurrah!”</p> - -<p>“Shall we do the family washing?” asked the -Ink-Bottle Papa with a twinkle in his eye.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We are so little, it is true,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The washing is very hard to do!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span></p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Papa laughed and he said, -“Then shall we sweep the house all over, from -top to bottom?”</p> - -<p>Then the Babies said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The brooms are heavy for us to hold,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And after all we are not very old!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Papa clapped his hands -and said, “Shall we mow our lawn, front and -back?”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We are very little to mow to-day;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Let us help keep your holiday!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Papa stopped fooling, and -he said, “There is a fine wind for flying kites; -we will all make kites to-day; then we will go out -and fly them.”</p> - -<p>“Hurrah! Hurrah!” cried the Babies. “We -will all make kites. We will make big kites, -little kites, and middle-sized kites!”</p> - -<p>Now, did the Ink-Bottle Babies make kites? -Well, I guess they did!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus18.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Oh, oh, oh, my kite pulls so hard!</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span></p> - -<p>They cut and they pasted, and they rapped and -tapped away, and then they said,</p> - -<p>“Our kites are finished. May we go and fly -them, Pa?”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Papa said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“One, two, three, away we go;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">March like soldiers in a row!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies got into two rows -and they followed the Ink-Bottle Papa over to the -meadow.</p> - -<p>Then they began to run and fly their kites.</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Polly, “my kite pulls so -hard!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Molly, “I am afraid my -kite will get away.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “It is the merry -March wind pulling at the kites!”</p> - -<p>Then they laughed and danced and played in -the sunshine, and by and by Papa said, “Come, -sit down and rest and I will tell you a story.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies all sat down. They still -held on to the strings of their kites.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Papa began his story of The -Magic Kite:</p> - -<p>Once upon a time a little boy made a kite. He -made the kite of paper and string.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> - -<p>Then the little boy was very happy, and he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and I</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Along with the breezes will fly, and fly.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Just then a voice said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Perhaps you can fly,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If you only try!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little boy looked around, and there sat the -funniest little dwarf. The dwarf sat cross-legged -on an old tree-stump.</p> - -<p>“Ever think much about flying?” he said, and -he screwed his face up into a thousand wrinkles.</p> - -<p>The little boy shook his head.</p> - -<p>Then the dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Flying might be easy for you,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The butterflies try it,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The birds try it, too;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Yes, it might be easy for you!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little boy said, “I would like to fly; tell -me truly how to do it.”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf said, “Just lend me your kite.”</p> - -<p>Then the dwarf took the little boy’s kite and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -he blew on it until it became bigger and stronger -and it was indeed very hard to hold.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf then took hold of the string -and the kite pulled harder and harder and harder, -and soon it lifted the little dwarf off of his -feet. He did not let go of the string.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf went up, up, up among the -clouds. Soon the little boy could see only a speck -among the clouds. He was beginning to be sorry -he had loaned the dwarf his kite, for he was -afraid he would never see it again.</p> - -<p>Then he heard a whistle and a voice called out,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Sailing high up over the town,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Here I come again, down, down, down.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Sure enough, down came the little dwarf, holding -to the kite.</p> - -<p>“Want to fly now?” he asked. “It is lots of -fun.”</p> - -<p>The little boy lost no time, you may be sure, -in taking hold of the kite string. He took hold -of the string and the kite began to pull.</p> - -<p>“Hold on tight!” shouted the little dwarf. -“Hold on tight!”</p> - -<p>Then the little boy went up, up, up, over the -tree-tops, and over the houses until he came to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -the stars! My, but he was away up high in the sky!</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus19.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>The little boy went up, up, up, until he came to the stars</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The stars were so bright he winked and blinked -his eyes, and suddenly he forgot to keep hold -of the string, and down, down, down he fell to -earth again, and his kite flew away and he never -saw it again!</p> - -<p>“Did the fall hurt him?” asked Molly.</p> - -<p>“Did he truly lose his kite forever?” asked -Polly.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “The boy was not -hurt at all, for he fell on his mother’s feather bed -that she had out on the porch airing!”</p> - -<p>“Oh my!” cried all the Babies at once. “What<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -fun it would be to fall on a feather bed! We -wish we could fly and fall in soft places, too!”</p> - -<p>Just then Molly gave a little cry, and Polly gave -a little cry.</p> - -<p>What do you suppose was happening?</p> - -<p>They felt their kites pulling so hard that they -began to go up, up, up. Before the Ink-Bottle -Papa could stop them they had sailed out of sight!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies said to the Papa, “We -will go home and ask Mamma what to do. She -always tells us what to do!”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly went up, and up, and up, and -then just as suddenly they began to go down, and -down, and down.</p> - -<p>They said, “We wonder if we will come down -on a feather bed?”</p> - -<p>Did they come down on a feather bed? Oh no, -they came down to a hole in the ground, and they -went down in the hole, down, down, and they still -held their kite strings, and they cried, “What a -jolly ride, up and down, up and down.”</p> - -<p>Pretty soon they came to a stop and landed -right in a strawberry-bed.</p> - -<p>They were so pleased to see the strawberries, -that they forgot about their kites for the first -time and let go of the strings. They began to -pick berries and eat them as fast as they could.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus20.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Led them into a room full of toys</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span></p> - -<p>While they were eating away a little old woman -came in and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Fi-go-fee, what do I see,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Children as sure as sure can be!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly stopped eating and made -a bow and said,</p> - -<p>“We hope it does not annoy you to have us -eat strawberries. You have so many of them, and -we rode here all the way with our kites!”</p> - -<p>Then the little old woman looked out of the -window and saw the kites floating away.</p> - -<p>She clapped her hands and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Come with me, come with me,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Many curious sights you’ll see!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then she took Molly and Polly by the hand and -led them into a room full of toys.</p> - -<p>The little old woman cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“See the toys, the many toys,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Lost by careless girls and boys!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Molly said, “May I get on the rocking-horse?” -And Polly said, “May I ride in that funny little -carriage?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span></p> - -<p>The little old woman said in an old squeaky voice,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“No time to play, no time to play;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Call again another day!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then she showed them a room full of caps and -coats and all kinds of clothing, and she said with -a wave of her hand, “Careless children lost them -all! Come now, help me count and sort out the -clothes.”</p> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly went to work to sort -the caps. There were red caps, and blue caps, and -yellow caps, and all kinds of caps. Then they -went to work and sorted the neckties, and they -worked all day, and still there were more caps -and more neckties than you ever dreamed of.</p> - -<p>The room they were in led into a hall and the -hall, too, was full of lost things.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Molly and Polly wanted to go home. -They stopped work and said, “We want to go -home right away!”</p> - -<p>The little old woman clapped her hands and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You are lost, you belong to me,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the little old woman went down the hall<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -and locked the door and left Molly and Polly -alone.</p> - -<p>“How shall we ever get home?” they said.</p> - -<p>Then they heard a voice say,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Through the tree-trunk, come with me;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Only find the magic key!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They looked around, and sure enough, right in -the middle of the room was a tree-trunk! Its -roots came down to the floor. In the lower part -of the tree-trunk there was a door and the door -was locked.</p> - -<p>“Where shall we look for the magic key?” -asked Molly and Polly. And the tree fairy said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The magic key will open the door;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">It never has been found before.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly looked all over the room, -you may be sure.</p> - -<p>They looked under the piles of clothing and -they looked under the furniture. Just then a -canary began to sing,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Give me, please, some food and drink;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I can help you then to think!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span></p> - -<p>Now Molly saw a little pitcher of water on the -window sill, and Polly saw a little package of -birdseed on a chair; so they gave the canary some -food and drink.</p> - -<p>As they peeped into the bird-cage, they saw on -the floor of the cage a tiny key! The key was -tied with blue ribbon. “Oh, the key! the key!” -they cried, but the Tree Fairy said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Softly, softly, for you see,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You must gently turn the key!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly went to the tree-trunk on -tiptoe, and they put the key in the lock. Click! -went the lock, and the door opened.</p> - -<p>There stood the Tree Fairy all dressed in red -and yellow!</p> - -<p>The Tree Fairy was so little he could sit in -Polly’s hand.</p> - -<p>The Fairy called,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“There is room, the tree is wide,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Quickly, quickly jump inside.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And it was well that Molly and Polly lost no -time, for just as they had gotten inside the tree -the little old woman came back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span></p> - -<p>Up, up, up the tree they went. The Fairy -held the key.</p> - -<p>“I will let you out by and by, if you grant me -a wish,” said the Fairy.</p> - -<p>“What is your wish?” asked Molly and Polly, -and the Fairy said, “Two white sheets, nice and -neat. Then I’ll use the key and set you free!”</p> - -<p>Molly and Polly laughed and each one of them -took out a neatly folded pocket-handkerchief, and -they presented them to the Fairy!</p> - -<p>The handkerchiefs were just the right size for -fairy sheets and the Fairy was delighted.</p> - -<p>He put the key in the lock; click, click, the door -opened, and out stepped the Ink-Bottle Babies in -their own park at home.</p> - -<p>They were in such a hurry to get home they -forgot to say, “Thank you,” and they did not -even stop to see which tree they had stepped out -of. They have been looking for the tree ever -since.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies were so pleased to see -Molly and Polly, that they hugged them nearly to -death.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma and Papa said, “No -more magic kites for our family.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma gave them each a -cup of hot chocolate and put them to bed.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MAGIC ROCKING-CHAIR</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Hear the rain, April rain!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Falling on the windowpane;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Pitter, patter, all day long;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Can you hear the raindrops’ song?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“We call the flowers to bloom again,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">They are refreshed by April rain.”</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Without any doubt,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">It is time to get our umbrellas out!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>When the Ink-Bottle Babies woke up next -morning they cried, “Oh Ma! Oh Pa! It is -raining!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, the rain came splash, not a gentle -patter, but splash! splash! splash!</p> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried all the Ink-Bottle Babies. -“How can we get to school in the rain?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “I will get your -umbrellas.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “I will get your -rubbers.”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies said, “Hurrah for -rubbers and umbrellas! Hurrah for a rainy day!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus21.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>The little dwarf called ‘Halt!’</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>How funny they looked going along the street -with their twenty-five little umbrellas bobbing up -and down.</p> - -<p>As they went along they heard a voice cry,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“In and out, without a doubt,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I will keep dry if I but try!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Babies looked down and there stood a little -dwarf. He had a long white beard that came to -the ground. He bobbed in and out among the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -Babies and skipped first under this umbrella, and -then under that umbrella, and it kept the Babies -quite busy looking for him.</p> - -<p>“Are you going to school with us?” asked -Molly.</p> - -<p>“Do you know where the magic pitcher is?” -asked Polly.</p> - -<p>Then the most surprising thing happened!</p> - -<p>The little dwarf called “Halt!” and every one -of the Ink-Bottle Babies stood still in the pouring -rain.</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The magic pitcher has melted away;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Don’t tell the secret, I beg you, pray!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Molly said, “How could it melt away?”</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The magic pitcher is safe and sound,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Perhaps you will find it underground.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Polly said, “I believe you do not know -anything about the magic pitcher; you are only -guessing!”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t guessing allowed?” asked the dwarf. -Then he shouted, “Forward! march!” and they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -all went on to school. When they came to school -the dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I hardly dare to go inside,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Unless I find a place to hide!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink Bottle Babies suggested various -places for the little dwarf to hide in, but none of -the places pleased him, so he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you stay till afternoon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I will come back very soon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then in a twinkling of an eye he was gone.</p> - -<p>The teacher was so surprised to see all the Ink-Bottle -Babies on such a rainy day that she let -them sit wherever they pleased. They went to the -blackboard and did neat little sums, and they all -got their answers right.</p> - -<p>At noon the teacher went home for dinner, and -the Babies took out their twenty-five little dinner -pails, and began to eat their lunch.</p> - -<p>The rain came down harder and harder, and -the Babies said, “We wonder if the little dwarf -got drowned?”</p> - -<p>Soon there was heard a rap-a-tap at the window, -and a voice called,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“The rain is rather wet to-day;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Will you open your window a little way?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies ran and opened the -window and let the little dwarf in.</p> - -<p>Such a sputtering and fussing you never heard! -He shook the rain from his coat and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“With no umbrella, how do you suppose,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I could keep dry in my little clothes?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then he danced, and he hopped, and he skipped -about until he was quite dry.</p> - -<p>He tasted something out of every one of the -twenty-five dinner pails.</p> - -<p>Then he climbed up on the window sill and said, -“What shall we play, ‘I-Spy’?”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies said, “There really is no -place to hide. Please tell us a story instead!”</p> - -<p>“Tell about the magic pitcher, or the magic -spoon,” cried Molly and Polly!</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you really, truly do not care,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I prefer The Magic Rocking-Chair!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Tell us about it! Tell us about it!” cried the -Babies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span></p> - -<p>The little dwarf waited until the Babies were -still; then he began the tale of The Magic Rocking-Chair! -Here is the story he told:</p> - -<p>Once upon a time there was a little boy who -lived with his grandparents in the woods.</p> - -<p>The grandparents were so old and feeble that -the little boy had all the wood to cut and the -water to bring in. He was kept busy working -from morning till night.</p> - -<p>One evening, as his grandparents fell asleep by -the fire, the little boy said, “I wish I had some -one to play with me. I do wish I could have some -fun once in a while!”</p> - -<p>A little dwarf stuck his head in at the door and -said, softly,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Little boy, if you do not care,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I’ll give you a magic rocking-chair!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There stood the little dwarf in the doorway. He -carried a beautiful red rocking-chair. The chair -was so heavy and large for the dwarf it was all -he could possibly carry.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp81" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus22.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Kept rocking until they arrived in China</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>He set it down in the doorway and said in a -whisper,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Wherever you think you’d like to go,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Just sit in the chair and rock to and fro.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then in the twinkling of an eye the little dwarf -was gone. The little boy lost no time trying the -chair, you may be sure.</p> - -<p>He said, “I think I would like to go to China.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span> -And he began to rock to and fro. He rocked so -hard that he rocked right out of the house. Then -the chair sailed away up over the tree-tops, and -he kept rocking all the way until they arrived -in China.</p> - -<p>The chair stopped outside of a fine house, and -said, “I will wait for you.”</p> - -<p>Then the little boy went into the house and -the Chinamen were very polite to him. They -taught him to eat with chopsticks, and they gave -him a pound of tea to take home with him. They -tied the tea up in a fine silk handkerchief.</p> - -<p>A great clock struck twelve and the little boy -remembered that the chair did not want to wait -later than twelve, so he bade his new friends good-bye -and went outside.</p> - -<p>He stepped into the chair and said, “Home -again, home again,” and they rode along homeward.</p> - -<p>The chair said, “I know one little verse the -dwarf keeps whispering to himself when he uses -this magic chair. It is this,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘When ’tis midnight heed the hour,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Or the chair may lose its magic power.’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Thank you, I will remember that,” said the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -little boy, and whizzing along they went on home.</p> - -<p>There sat the old people just as he had left them, -nid-nid-nodding by the fire.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” said the chair, “I will hide outside.”</p> - -<p>The little boy took his tea and his silk handkerchief -with him to his own room and he soon -fell asleep.</p> - -<p>His work seemed easy to him next day. He -said, “I wonder where I shall go to-night. I believe -I will go to Holland if the chair comes -around.”</p> - -<p>Next evening the old people fell asleep as before -and there was a gentle tap at the door. The -little dwarf had brought the chair again, but he -wanted a present this time.</p> - -<p>He begged so hard for a present that at last -the little boy gave him the red silk handkerchief. -The little dwarf tied the handkerchief about him -as a sash and went off singing in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>The little boy said, “I will go to Holland.”</p> - -<p>He rocked away across the sea and he had a -fine time, you may be sure.</p> - -<p>The people in Holland gave him a cheese and a -pair of wooden shoes to take home.</p> - -<p>At exactly twelve o’clock he stepped into the -chair and rocked home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span></p> - -<p>Night after night the little boy rode away in -the rocking-chair, and all went well until the night -he went to the circus.</p> - -<p>The clown said so many funny things he forgot -about the time. It struck twelve o’clock, and one -o’clock, and then the circus was over.</p> - -<p>The little boy stepped out of the tent and his -chair was nowhere to be seen, so he had to walk -all the way home.</p> - -<p>The next evening the little dwarf came without -the chair. He looked very sad and he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Of course, little boy, you meant no harm,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But you have broken the magic charm.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the dwarf explained that -the chair would rock no longer because -the little boy overstayed -his time. He said -with tears in his eyes -that the chair now would -not rock across the room.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp56" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus23.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>The clown said so many funny things</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then the boy said, -“Dry your eyes, I will -tell you what to do.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<p>He took the little dwarf by the hand and they -ran to the house of the crossest giant in the land. -They persuaded the giant to come and look at the -rocking-chair and mend it, for he was very clever -about such things.</p> - -<p>The giant made the chair as good as new; then -he turned to the little boy and said fiercely, -“I have not had a good meal to-day. I will just -eat you up!”</p> - -<p>Then the chair grew very angry. It grew so -large suddenly that the giant could sit in it, and -it said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Come have a ride, and rock to and fro;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I am sure I know where you want to go!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The giant forgot how hungry he was and he -sat down in the chair. The chair rocked him -down to the river and threw him in.</p> - -<p>He was not drowned, of course, but he was -awfully scared, and the chair rocked back to the -little dwarf.</p> - -<p>The little boy had many rides in the chair after -that, but he took the little dwarf with him, so that -they would be sure to remember the time, and not -stay out after midnight.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Is that the end?<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -Surely that is not the end. There must be more.”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf did not want to answer, so he -said, “It is raining so hard the teacher may not -come back to school.”</p> - -<p>“Please tell the end of the story,” begged the -Babies.</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf cried, “What! ho! Here -comes the farmer to take you home!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, there was the farmer in his big -wagon. He had come to take the Ink-Bottle -Babies home.</p> - -<p>“Was that the end of the story?” called Molly -and Polly.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf smiled and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If you should ever want a ride,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Come to my house and step inside!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies clapping -their hands. “Do you own the magic rocking-chair? -Will you please take us to ride?”</p> - -<p>The little dwarf ran out in the rain, laughing as -he went.</p> - -<p>How were the Ink-Bottle Babies to guess -whether he owned the rocking-chair or not?</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="smaller">MAY-DAY</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">In glad springtime the birds all sing,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And sweet the woodland echoes ring;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Why should we not be happy too,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When skies are blue? when skies are blue?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I heard the Ink-Bottle Babies say,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“We’ll hang May baskets up to-day!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>“Oh! oh! oh!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies. “It -is May-Day! hurrah! hurrah!”</p> - -<p>Then they all got up and dressed in a hurry and -said, “Oh Ma! may we go to the woods? Oh Pa! -may we all go to the woods together?”</p> - -<p>Then Mamma and Papa said they might all go -to the woods if they would be very careful not -to get lost.</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies each took a cute little -basket, and they all went to look for flowers and -berries in the woods.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if we will meet Red Riding-hood,” -said Molly.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if we will meet the wolf,” cried -Polly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span></p> - -<p>At that very minute the Ink-Bottle Babies stood -still for they heard a voice cry,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Out of my house and off my land!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">How you came here I don’t understand!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There stood a fierce little dwarf stamping his -foot at them.</p> - -<p>All the Ink-Bottle Babies bowed politely and -said, “If you please, Sir, may we gather a few -violets and buttercups?”</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I love all the little flowers that grow,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You shall not gather them, no! no!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus24.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>A fierce little dwarf stamping his feet</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then Molly and Polly -said, “If we each give -you a cookie, would you -let us gather a few -flowers?”</p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf -came and peeked into -each one of the baskets -and saw, sure enough, -that each Baby had a -cookie in the basket.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> - -<p>Then the little dwarf clapped his hands and -cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Cookies big and cookies round,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Put them all upon the ground!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all put their cookies -on a large, flat stone, and the little dwarf filled -his pockets and his cap full of them.</p> - -<p>Then he made a bow and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Pick all the flowers you like to-day,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But after sundown do not stay!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then whisk, bound, the little dwarf was gone!</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies lost no time in picking -flowers, you may be sure.</p> - -<p>They found violets, daisies, and buttercups, and -before they could believe it, it was sundown.</p> - -<p>They said, “We do not care what the little -dwarf said, we will not hurry home.”</p> - -<p>Then they sat down and ate the sandwiches and -apples they had brought with them.</p> - -<p>Just as the sun was setting Molly cried, “Oh, -oh, oh,” and Polly cried, “Oh, oh, oh,” and all -the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “Oh, oh, oh.” What -do you suppose was the matter? They all began<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -to sink down, down, down, and it became quite -dark!</p> - -<p>They sank down until they came to the top of -the magic tower, which was built under the sea!</p> - -<p>They saw the fishes swim past them and they -cried, “Oh, oh, oh, where are we going?”</p> - -<p>The roof of the magic tower opened and down -the Ink-Bottle Babies went to the very bottom -of the tower. They were just beginning to get -their breath when the most beautiful princess in -the world came and stood before them.</p> - -<p>She said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Where did you come from, Babies dear,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And how did you happen to come here?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She saw only Molly at first; then Polly and all -the rest of the Babies came tumbling down the -staircase.</p> - -<p>The princess gathered up an armful of Babies -and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I am so happy, the charm is broken;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">I welcome the Babies now as a token.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> -<div class="figcenter illowp58" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus25.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>They had to work days and days to braid her hair</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span></p> - -<p>The Babies patted the princess’ dress; it was -soft and silky. Then they all begged to braid her -hair. They had to work days and days to braid -all her hair, it was so long and heavy.</p> - -<p>“Tell us a story, please,” said the Babies.</p> - -<p>And the princess began, “Once upon a time I -went into the woods to gather flowers!”</p> - -<p>“Just like we did,” shouted all the Ink-Bottle -Babies together.</p> - -<p>“I was going along humming a little tune, when -I saw a fierce little dwarf,” continued the princess.</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh, oh,” cried the Babies, “we met him, -too! We met him, too!”</p> - -<p>“The dwarf talked in rhyme,” said the princess. -Then all the Babies nodded their heads.</p> - -<p>The princess said, “The dwarf would not let -me have any flowers unless I gave him a cookie, -and when I did give him a cookie, he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“‘Pick all the flowers you like to-day,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But after sundown do not stay!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies set up a shout, for -those were the very words the little dwarf had -said to them.</p> - -<p>The princess said, “I was so happy gathering -flowers that I forgot what the little dwarf said, -and after sundown I began to sink, down and -down, until I came to this magic tower.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span></p> - -<p>The princess shook her head and said, “All the -doors and windows are fastened. Besides, we are -under the sea.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies looked out of the window, -and sure enough, fishes were swimming past.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the princess said, “Hush, the little -dwarf is coming. Run Babies, and hide, every one -of you!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies ran upstairs.</p> - -<p>Click, click, went the key in the door, and the -door opened and the little dwarf came in stamping -and scolding.</p> - -<p>He came into the room where the princess was, -and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Silver and gold have I none;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">How many skeins have you spun?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The princess went to her spinning wheel, and -showed the dwarf that she had spun two skeins -of thread.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf stamped his foot and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“If out of the tower you want to go,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You will spin one hundred skeins you know!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then he looked very cunning indeed, and he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -opened the door to his storeroom. “There are -one thousand bundles of flax,” said he. “You -must spin all of this.”</p> - -<p>Then he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“How soon do you really want to go,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">In about a hundred years or so?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The princess laughed gaily and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“At sundown if you care to call,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Perhaps you’ll find I’ve spun it all!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarf was so surprised at this answer -that he looked cross-eyed, but he did not -answer the princess.</p> - -<p>Next he drew from his pocket a pitcher and a -spoon. Then he went and got a rocking-chair that -he had brought with him, and he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I’ll leave these treasures under the sea;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Some day they’ll be of use to me.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then whisk! bound! he was off and away and -the princess began to sing softly,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Round and round the big wheel goes,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Spin, spin, spin;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Merrily the spring wind blows,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Spin, spin, spin.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies came in dancing and singing -for they had heard every word that had been -said.</p> - -<p>They cried, “We are so glad Ma taught us -to spin.”</p> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies looked in the garret and -they found twenty-five little spinning wheels. -They all sat down and began to spin as hard as -they could.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Molly stopped spinning and Polly -stopped spinning and then all the Babies stopped -spinning, and they ran to the place where the chair -and spoon and pitcher were.</p> - -<p>They cried out, “Oh, the magic chair and spoon -and pitcher!”</p> - -<p>Then the magic chair said, “All jump in and -have a ride.”</p> - -<p>And the magic spoon said, “I will show you -how to spin.”</p> - -<p>Then the magic pitcher said, “I will give you -a drink of cider.”</p> - -<p>They all made merry, you may believe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus26.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Found the princess sitting alone by her spinning wheel</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>In a short time the magic spoon had all the -flax spun into thread; then they grew tired and -sleepy and went to bed. The next day they had -no work to do as the spinning was all done, so -they looked all over the tower and peeped into -every closet and corner.</p> - -<p>At last it was sundown and the little dwarf came -as before and found the princess sitting alone by -her spinning wheel.</p> - -<p>He winked his eye and said,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Did you spin all the flax I gave you yesterday?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Are you sure you’re quite ready to go away?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the princess showed him all the thread, and -the dwarf was so surprised that he hardly knew -what to say. He began to gather up the thread to -take away with him, and he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You may laugh and shout, you can’t get out,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You have had help beyond a doubt!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the magic spoon came in and beat him, -and the magic pitcher stood in front of him and -poured water on him. Then the magic chair came -up behind him and he fell right into it. The chair -rocked him out of the window into the deep sea, -and he never troubled the princess any more.</p> - -<p>Then the chair came back and said, “Get in, -every one of you, and I will give you a ride.”</p> - -<p>Then they all got in, the magic pitcher and spoon, -too, and they rode away, away, away, to the palace -where the princess lived. They let the princess out; -and then they rode to the home of the Ink-Bottle -Babies, and let all the Babies out. The magic chair -then rocked away, taking the magic spoon and -pitcher with it.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="smaller">VACATION TIME</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">June’s a name we like to hear;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Glad vacation’s drawing near;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Good-bye, good-bye, lesson books;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Welcome fields and merry brooks;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All our lessons now are over;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">See the fields of nodding clover.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Ink-Bottle Babies gladly cry,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">“’Tis vacation time, good-bye, good-bye!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>“Hurrah!” cried the Ink-Bottle Babies, “hurrah! -hurrah! it is glad vacation time!”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma said, “We will all -go to the woods to-day.”</p> - -<p>So the Babies were busy packing their twenty-five -little dinner pails and they packed a basket -of lunch for Ma and Pa.</p> - -<p>They all started merrily toward the woods. -Molly said, “Do you suppose we will find the -house where the little dwarfs live?”</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all clapped their -hands and shouted, “Oh Ma! oh Pa! do help us -find the little dwarfs!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p> - -<p>Then Mamma took out a red and white table -cloth and spread it on the grass, and all the Ink-Bottle -Babies began to unpack their dinner pails, -and soon they had a fine dinner ready.</p> - -<p>They filled their glasses with water from a -spring, and just as they were going to sit down -a little dwarf ran past them and called,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“When you take your meal at noon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You should use the magic spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus27.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>They filled their glasses with water from a spring</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then the little dwarf -took the magic spoon -and dipped it into every -glass of water, and -the water turned -at once into lemonade.</p> - -<p>They looked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -around to thank the little dwarf, but he was gone!</p> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies cried, “We must -find the house where the little dwarfs live!”</p> - -<p>After a while the Ink-Bottle Mamma and Papa -got tired and went home. They left the Babies in -the woods for a while.</p> - -<p>The Babies were so sleepy they took quite a -nap, and when they woke up they said, “Let us -look for the home of the little dwarfs.” They -spoke in whispers; they were almost afraid to -speak out loud.</p> - -<p>They picked up their dinner pails and walked -a long way. Suddenly they saw a light twinkling -in the distance. The light came from a little wee -house in the woods. One of the Babies rapped at -the door and a little dwarf came out and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We have bedrooms five and twenty,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And of food we have a plenty;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Kindly step in, please, to-night,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">By this ray of candlelight!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Ink-Bottle Babies stepped inside, and they -saw five and twenty little dwarfs sitting at a -table, eating soup with their five and twenty little -spoons. The little dwarfs got up politely and -offered their seats to the Babies and they sang,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Ink-Bottle Babies, ’tis very fine,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">With the magic pitcher at last to dine.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies started to eat some -soup, but one little dwarf ran around and poured -something into each soup dish out of the magic -pitcher. One plate of soup was changed to jelly -and one plate was changed to ice cream and so -it went all round the table!</p> - -<p>The Babies shouted, “Hurrah! for the magic -pitcher,” and they laughed until they cried!</p> - -<p>Then they all sat down in a circle and they -told stories and one little dwarf cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I am so hungry to-night, ho! ho!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where did the magic spoon chance to go?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The little dwarfs all shook their heads sadly. -Then what do you suppose happened? The Ink-Bottle -Babies all rose and began to dance and -cry,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We know who has the magic spoon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A little dwarf we met this noon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp87" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus28.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Whirling a great spoon</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>Then all the dwarfs put on their fuzzy coats -and their fuzzy caps, and they said,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Follow the leader, every one,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Follow along till rise of sun!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the dwarfs went out of the door, two and -two, and the Ink-Bottle Babies did not know -what else to do, so they followed them.</p> - -<p>They ran along up hill and down dale until -they came to a valley.</p> - -<p>Then their leader called, “Hark! Listen! Hark!” -They looked down in a valley and they saw a -little dwarf, dancing and singing.</p> - -<p>The little dwarf was whirling a great spoon in -the air. He sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Be it morning, night or noon,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">No one knows I’ve the magic spoon!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> - -<p>Then the little dwarfs rushed at him from one -side, and the Babies rushed at him from the other -side, and the magic spoon began to beat everybody, -and at last they all ran back to the home of -the little dwarfs. Where the magic spoon went -nobody knew.</p> - -<p>Then the five and twenty little dwarfs cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We will not cry, we will not sigh,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The magic spoon will soon pass by!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Pretty soon the magic spoon came dancing along -and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I will go and hide upon your shelf,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If you’ll let me go and help myself!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The dwarfs replied,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Oh magic spoon, ’tis very clear</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To every one, you’re welcome here.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The magic spoon was so pleased then that it -began to stir the river that flowed by the little -dwarfs’ home, and the river became solid gold!</p> - -<p>The little dwarfs sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Ha! ha! ha! when we are old,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We shall never want for gold!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>Then they ran and got five and twenty little -bags, and they began to break up the gold in the -river and fill their bags. Still there was more gold -than the little dwarfs could carry away.</p> - -<p>At last the little dwarfs were done working and -the Ink-Bottle Babies were tired and sleepy and -they said, “Tell us a story, please.”</p> - -<p>Then one little dwarf told this story:</p> - -<p>Once upon a time there was a little dwarf who -had a rocking-chair.</p> - -<p>The rocking-chair was a pretty one; it had -golden rockers and golden arms. It was a very -comfortable rocking-chair! One day a dwarf got -into the chair. He was a very naughty dwarf. He -would not say, “Thank you,” and “If you please.”</p> - -<p>Now, the chair took him for a ride and said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Say ‘thank you for this ride,’</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Or you will have to stay inside!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The naughty dwarf shook his head and cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You’ll not teach me manners, I do declare,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">You funny little rocking-chair!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp95" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus29.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>Splash! the chair went right into the water</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The chair said,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“You may laugh and cry and even shout,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Without ‘Thank you, Sir!’ you don’t get out!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the dwarf began to laugh and cry and -shout, for he was stuck fast in the rocking-chair, -and he could not get out!</p> - -<p>Now the chair was in earnest and it rocked -as fast as it could down to a river and the dwarf -cried,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“What are you about? What are you about?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If we rock in there, we will never get out!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Splash! the chair went right into the water. It -came up by and by and the little dwarf shouted,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Thank you, thank you, please take me out,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thank you, thank you, I’ll laugh and shout!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<p>Then the chair took the dwarf out and set him -on dry land.</p> - -<p>Now as soon as the dwarf was free he would -not say “Thank you,” again, and the chair said, -“I will teach him a lesson this time.”</p> - -<p>So the chair asked the little dwarf to take -another ride, and he rocked him away, away, -away up north to the land where the polar bear -lives. Then he rocked him right into a snowdrift. -The little dwarf nearly froze his toes and fingers, -and the chair said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I’ll leave you in this drift of snow,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For far away I soon will go!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The dwarf was so scared at the idea of being -left alone in the snowdrift that he said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“I’ll say to you on bended knees,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thank you, sir, and if you please.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the chair rocked the little dwarf safely -home, and ever after he was so polite that if he -even met a squirrel in the woods he would stop -and say, “Excuse me, sir, am I disturbing you? -Thank you, sir, I will come this way again, if -you please!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p> - -<p>This was the end of the story and the Ink-Bottle -Babies set up a shout as usual.</p> - -<p>“What became of the magic rocking-chair?” -they all shouted together.</p> - -<p>Then they clapped their hands softly, for they -saw something rocking toward them!</p> - -<p>What do you suppose it was?</p> - -<p>It was the magic rocking-chair!</p> - -<p>Then the dwarf who had told the story said,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Tell the chair where you want to go;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ride away, ride away, singing ho! ho!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the Ink-Bottle Babies all climbed into the -rocking-chair, and they shouted as they waved -their twenty-five little pocket handkerchiefs,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“We wave good-bye with backward looks;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We will ride into the story books!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The magic chair began to rock, and it rocked -the Ink-Bottle Babies away, away, away, into the -Land of Story Books.</p> - -<p>If you use your eyes well, you may see the Ink-Bottle -Babies some day!</p> - -<p>Did they ever come out of the books? Did -they ever come home again? I did not remember<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -to ask them any questions. Perhaps you will meet -them in school.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus30.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<i>We wave good-bye</i>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The last I saw of them they were rocking away -and they sang this song,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Vacation time! Vacation time!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">’Tis an hour for song and rhyme;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We are very happy, for what do you think?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We all came out of a bottle of ink!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Ink-Bottle Babies in every clime,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cry, ‘Hurrah! hurrah! for vacation time!’”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="ads"> - -<p class="center larger">Fairy Tales of Long Ago</p> - -<p class="center">By Julia Darrow Cowles</p> - -<table> - <tr> - <td>Grades 3-4</td> - <td class="tdpg">Cloth Binding</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>128 Pages</td> - <td class="tdpg">Colored Illustrations</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">Price, 60 Cents a Copy, Postpaid</p> - -<p>Train a child’s imagination by feeding it with the fancies of -great story-tellers, is a truism familiar to all teachers. There -is nothing like the old fairy tales for nourishing young imaginations. -This group of tales Mrs. Cowles has gathered from -many sources and retold in charming fashion. That they have -gained, rather than lost, by the retelling, will soon become apparent -to teachers; for only the simplest words and phrases are -used, and the narrative is so handled as to emphasize the homely -lesson in manners or morals concealed in the story.</p> - -<p>These tales are full of action and delicious nonsense which -accord with the child’s mode of living and thinking. Besides -teaching the children to read, and furnishing them with much -fine entertainment, these stories inculcate lessons in good-fellowship, -usefulness, politeness, and agreeable -wholesome living.</p> - -<p>The volume comprises fifteen stories, five of -which are dramatized for schoolroom use.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - -<p class="center larger">CONTENTS</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp70" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/ad1.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="list"> - -<ul> -<li>The Nightingale</li> -<li>The Six Swans</li> -<li>Bruno’s Picnic</li> -<li>Ole Shut-Eyes</li> -<li>Inger’s Loaf</li> -<li>Southwest Wind Esquire</li> -<li>The Three Lemons</li> -<li>The Twelve Months</li> -<li>A Mad Tea Party</li> -<li>The Enchanted Mead</li> -<li>The White Cat</li> -<li>The Ugly Duckling</li> -<li>The Miller’s Daughter</li> -<li>Professor Frog’s Lecture</li> -<li>The Spring in the Valley</li> -</ul> - -</div> - -</div> - -<p class="center" style="clear: both;">A. FLANAGAN COMPANY—CHICAGO</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center larger">The Children of Mother Goose</p> - -<p class="center">By JULIA DARROW COWLES</p> - -<p class="center"><i>For Grades Two and Three</i></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Illustrations in Colors</i></p> - -<p class="center"><i>128 Pages Cloth Binding</i></p> - -<p class="center">Price, 60 Cents a Copy, Postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft box2 illowp100" style="max-width: 25em;"> - -<p class="center">THE CHILDREN OF MOTHER GOOSE</p> - -<img class="w100" src="images/ad2.jpg" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">“<i>I wonder which goose gave it to me</i>”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mother Goose,” they all cried, “your -goose has laid a golden egg!”</p> - -<p>“Why, sure enough,” said Mother Goose. -“That must be my Easter present. I wonder -which goose gave it to me!”</p> - -<p>Then Simple Simon waved his hand just -as though he were in school, and said, “It -was Jack-A-Dandy. I saw him put it in the -nest!”</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Specimen Page</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>Many a young reader longs to know more -about his favorite characters in Mother -Goose—more than the short rhyme about each -is able to tell him. In this collection of miniature -stories, he has his wish gratified. Here -he gets intimate glimpses of the home and -community life of many old friends: Mistress -Mary, Boy Blue, Peter Piper, Curly Locks, -Crosspatch, Simple Simon, Jack and Jill, Tommy -Tinker, Bobby Shaftoe, and a host of -others.</p> - -<p>It appears that the Mother Goose children -are a healthy, fun-loving, workaday lot of -youngsters, exactly like the boys and girls who -read about them. They attend Dame Trot’s -school. They give tea parties and Valentine -parties. They take care of the babies of the -Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe. They help -the Crooked Man build himself a new chimney. -Dr. Foster takes them walking in the -woods and teaches them things about insects -and spiders which every child is simply aching -to know. Mother Goose herself presides delightfully -over their revels.</p> - -<p>Teachers will find these stories valuable for inculcating a love of reading in -the child; first, because they are intrinsically fascinating, and second, because -they quicken his mental powers by a shrewd application of some lesson in -daily living.</p> - -<p class="center">A. FLANAGAN COMPANY—CHICAGO</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/ad3.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center larger">The Circus Cotton-Tails</p> - -<p class="center">By<br /> -LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH</p> - -<p class="center">Illustrated by Fred Stearns</p> - -<p>“Please tell us a laughing story,” pleaded a group of -tenement children at the Settlement story hour.</p> - -<p>All children laugh when they read “The Circus Cotton-Tails” -and how the merry little bunnies diligently practice their -circus tricks while mischievous Bushy-Tail plays his tricks—whirling -them off the merry-go-round, and stealing Susan -Cotton-Tail’s cookies. How the cookies become alive and -punish Bushy-Tail satisfies the little folk’s sense of justice. -And they delight in the description of the big circus parade, -and in the colored frontispiece and end sheets, to say nothing -of the many fascinating black and white illustrations.</p> - -<p class="center">128 pages. Cloth, 60 cents</p> - -<p class="center">A. FLANAGAN COMPANY<br /> -CHICAGO</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center larger">JUST STORIES</p> - -<p class="center">BY<br /> -ANNIE KLINGENSMITH</p> - -<p class="center">Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Gary, Indiana</p> - -<p class="center">AUTHOR OF<br /> -“Household Stories” and “Norse Gods and Heroes”</p> - -<p>In “Just Stories” Miss Klingensmith has selected -and adapted from the best in children’s literature -more than thirty of the stories she considers especially -needed in work with children in the third and fourth -grades. They were originally printed as leaflets by -Gary pupils and aroused an enthusiasm that demanded -their continued existence. The illustrations are -exceptionally good, and with the large, clear type, -good paper, and durable binding, “Just Stories” is an -unusually attractive book.</p> - -<p class="center">128 Pages—Illustrated<br /> -Cloth—60 Cents</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp64" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/ad4.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“‘WHAT HAVE YOU TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?’ SAID THE LION”</p> - <p class="caption">(Illustration from “Benjy in Beastland”—one of the stories.)</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/endpaper1.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/endpaper2.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY BABIES ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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