“GENERAL,” said the Doctor, walking into the Teenie Weenie sitting room
where the General sat before the fireplace, “I need some help.”
“What’s the trouble, Doc? Has the Dunce been getting into trouble
again?”
[‡Illustration: A plate]
“No,” answered the Doctor, “that bump he got the other day when he
tumbled off the block house ought to keep him steady for a while,” and
the Doctor drew up a chair and sat down, while the General threw several
matches onto the fire.
“What I wanted to tell you was this,” continued the Doctor. “Several of
the children have a bad cough and—”
“I knew it, I knew it,” cried the Old Soldier. “I knew they’d get their
feet wet. They were over in the garden yesterday, sliding on some ice in
a saucer, and I told them that ice was dreadfully thin and it would
break, and they’d slip in and get wet and catch their death of cold.”
“You’re right,” said the Doctor, “they got their feet wet, caught bad
colds, and I haven’t a bit of cough syrup in the house.”
“I know where there’s some,” cried the Clown, who had been listening to
the conversation. “The Dunce and I were looking for some pills to use as
bowling balls, and we saw a big bottle of cough syrup on the bathroom
window sill of that house next door.”
“We’ll go over and get some for you, Doc,” said the General. “It will do
us good to have the exercise.”
Glad of an excuse to get out, the Teenie Weenies were soon on their way
after the cough syrup.
The window sill on which the bottle of syrup stood was very high, but
the Clown and the Cowboy soon climbed to the top. Lowering a piece of
thread that two Teenie Weenies had carried between them for just such
use, they soon pulled the rest of the little people up beside them.
[‡Illustration: Teenie Weenie and spoon]
“Now,” said the Turk, who had been examining the bottle of syrup, “four
or five of you fellows get hold and tip the bottle, and I’ll hold the
spoon somebody has thoughtfully left beside it, while you pour out a
dose.”
“Goodness gracious,” cried the Lady of Fashion, “we don’t need a whole
spoonful!”
“Well, it says on the bottle, one teaspoonful for children,”’ said the
Turk.
“So it does, so it does,” cried the little lady, as she stood on her tip
toes and carefully read the label on the bottle.
“You see I’m right, don’t you?” asked the Turk. “The Doctor told me to
read carefully what it said on the bottle, and to bring about three
doses. It says one teaspoonful is a dose for children, so we’ll take
about three spoonfuls.”
[‡Illustration: Bottle]
“But that does seem an awful lot of medicine,” said the Lady of Fashion
doubtfully.
“It makes no difference,” announced the Turk, “I’m going according to
directions.”
The Teenie Weenies poured out three spoonfuls of the syrup, which filled
half an English walnut shell.
“Mercy on us,” cried the Doctor, when he saw the Teenie Weenies carrying
the heavy load of syrup up the walk to the shoe house, “you don’t bathe
in cough syrup.”
“Well,” muttered the Turk, “I went according to directions.”
“The directions are all right for big children,” laughed the Doctor,
“but ours are Teenie Weenie children.”
“Oh, my,” exclaimed the Turk. “I never thought of that!”
“Well we can put it away and keep it,” said the Doctor, “for it’s likely
we’ll need it again before the winter is over.”
[‡Illustration: Teenie Weenies falling off can]
The Doctor took out enough of the syrup to give the children each
several doses and the rest was put in the half of a large English
walnut. It was then carried to the cellar, covered tightly and put away
for future use.
Of course the Dunce had to get into trouble while the rest of the Teenie
Weenies were getting the syrup.
He climbed to the top of a talcum powder box, which stood on the window
sill, and when he tried to pull the Chinaman up the foolish fellow
slipped and tumbled off. He nearly fell on top of Zip, but that little
chap managed to get safely out of the way.
The Dunce was badly shaken up by the fall and he almost knocked out one
of his teenie weenie teeth.
“That’s the last time I’ll ever try climbing onto a talcum powder box,”
he said as he felt the tooth which had been bumped. “They’re so awful
slippery.”
[‡Illustration: Two Teenie Weenies carrying water]
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