[Illustration: Dorothy turned, and there stood the dearest little doll
with coal-black curls and coral-pink cheeks.--Page 78. _Little Miss
Dorothy._]
LITTLE MISS
DOROTHY
[Illustration]
_The Story of
the Wonderful
Adventures of
Two Little People_
By MARTHA
JAMES
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS
BY J. WATSON DAVIS
A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER, 52-58 DUANE
STREET, NEW YORK
Copyright, 1901, by A. L. BURT.
LITTLE MISS DOROTHY.
PREFACE.
O the wonderful journeys the children take
In fairy boats o’er sunset lake:
A drowsy fleet with Captain Snore,
Who lands them safely on slumber shore!
And Little Boy Blue is waiting there
To show them the road to dreamland fair.
Over the road they float away,
Meeting their friends of every day,
Heroes of “once-upon-a-time”
And magic scenes of ev’ry clime;
Playthings and friends the same until
They reach dear Topsy-turvy Hill.
And fairies nightly frolic there
All on the road to dreamland fair.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
THE FUNNY PUDDING. 1
CHAPTER II.
THE LITTLE ROSEBUD CALENDAR. 15
CHAPTER III.
THE BOY IN THE TEAPOT. 30
CHAPTER IV.
THE BRONZE WOMAN. 42
CHAPTER V.
THE FAIRY BELL. 53
CHAPTER VI.
THE ROSE-JAR BABY. 67
CHAPTER VII.
THE DOLLS’ PARADISE. 76
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SUGAR-BOWL FAIRY. 90
CHAPTER IX.
A STRANGE TRIP TO TOY-LAND. 101
CHAPTER X.
THE LAUGHING ROCK. 115
CHAPTER XI.
THE TALKING CHAIR. 132
CHAPTER XII.
THE ENCHANTED HORSE. 147
CHAPTER XIII.
THE THREE BOXES. 159
CHAPTER XIV.
THE TWO BROTHERS. 172
CHAPTER XV.
LITTLE MISS HELPFUL. 194
CHAPTER XVI.
THE WONDERFUL JOURNEY WITH THE SCREEN GIRL. 206
CHAPTER XVII.
A QUEER LITTLE STOREKEEPER. 219
CHAPTER XVIII.
A PAIR OF OLD SHOES. 235
CHAPTER XIX.
JOCK O’ THE PIPES. 246
CHAPTER XX.
THE PROFESSOR’S SPECTACLES. 264
INTRODUCTION.
Dorothy May was a dear little girl, whose soft eyes met yours with
a twinkle in their brown depths. She was very fond of Cousin Ray, a
bright-haired boy all curves and dimples, who lived quite near and
often came to play with her.
These two little people wondered about the great world around them;
about the trees and flowers, the birds and the blue sky.
Of course the fairies loved them, because fairies love all children,
and hover around them to whisper strange sounds in their childish ears
and picture wonderful sights for their innocent eyes. At least Aunt
Polly said so, and told beautiful stories to prove it. But there, if I
am going to tell you about the adventures of these two little folks, I
must begin with _The Funny Pudding_.
LITTLE MISS DOROTHY.
CHAPTER I.
THE FUNNY PUDDING.
Dorothy and Ray were making mud pastry on Aunt Polly’s back steps. “Get
me a little more water, please; this paste is too thick,” said Dorothy,
and Ray brought the water from Aunt Polly’s bright kitchen. They made
mud pies and mud cakes and took tiny sticks, with which they traced
lines, circles, and faces on them.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to make real pies and cakes?” said Dorothy.
“Yes,” answered Ray, “if you knew how.”
“Why, anybody can make them!” exclaimed Dorothy. “It’s just raisins and
things!”
“If I could make real pies and cakes I’d eat them all the time,” said
Ray.
“So would I!” exclaimed Dorothy.
“O no! you wouldn’t,” said a wee voice behind them. The children turned
and there stood a little old woman about as high as your twelve-inch
rule. She wore a white cap and blue apron and carried a tiny spoon in
her hand.
“You couldn’t eat sweets all the time,” cried the little old woman.
“Just try us,” said Ray. “I think I could.”
“I know I could,” cried Dorothy. “I love tarts, I could live on tarts.”
“And pudding,” said Ray; “I could eat it all day long.”
“So could I,” replied Dorothy; “I wish I had some pudding now.”
“You shall have all the pudding you want,” said the old woman, “if you
do as I say. Sit close together; close your eyes and when I say ‘Salt’
open them.”
The children did as the old woman said and sat very still with their
eyes closed while she sang these words:--
“Listen, children, while I tell
How to make a pudding well:
Sift your flour fine and white,
And a quart will be all right;
Sugar, just a cup--no more;
Eggs, well beaten--put in four;
Lump of butter melt, and--halt!
Don’t forget a pinch of--SALT.”
The children opened their eyes at the magic word. The old woman had
disappeared, and instead of Aunt Polly’s back steps they were in the
kitchen of a great castle.
“How funny you look, Ray,” said Dorothy, “with that cap and apron on
just like a baker.”
“Well, you look funny too,” replied Ray; “there’s a big daub of flour
on your nose.”
Dorothy tried to brush it off and asked, “Is it off?”
“No,” replied Ray; “it looks bigger than ever.”
“Never mind it,” said Dorothy, “let’s go to work and make a pudding, a
sweet, juicy, delicious pudding.”
“Good,” cried Ray; “my mouth waters already. What can I do?”
“You can help,” said his cousin; “first of all, we’ll get a large pan
to mix things in.”
Over the fireplace in the great kitchen hung shining pans of all sorts
and sizes.
“I’ll have that large one,” said Dorothy, pointing to one, and Ray
started to get it. But imagine their surprise when a round face
appeared on the pan that grinned at them, and all at once the pan
jumped down from its place and began to waltz around the floor. It
looked so funny with its round body and short legs that the children
laughed aloud. All of a sudden it gave a jump on to the table, where it
remained quiet, like any sensible pudding pan.
“Now for the flour,” said Dorothy; and no sooner did she say the words
than a barrel of flour came dancing into the kitchen on long spindle
legs with the funniest face you ever saw, and with its hands folded on
its great stomach. The children laughed so heartily at this droll sight
that the tears rolled down their cheeks; and when the funny barrel made
a low bow in the middle of the floor, Dorothy was laughing so hard that
she could not speak, but Ray went to the barrel and took out a quart of
flour. Then the barrel made another bow and walked with a swagger out
of the kitchen.
“Eggs next,” said Dorothy, “and here they are.”
Four eggs appeared walking on stilts into the kitchen. All at once
they jumped off the stilts and began to chase each other. The children
gave peals of laughter as they watched the activity of the four eggs:
at last Ray cried out, “Let’s catch them.” The children began to run
after the eggs. Dorothy caught one and broke it in the pan, and then
the three other eggs scrambled in as fast as they could. “This is the
funniest pudding I ever heard of,” said Dorothy. “I wonder what comes
next.” Just then a voice sang--
“Listen, children, while I tell
How to make a pudding well:
Sift your flour fine and white,
And a quart will be all right;
Sugar, just a cup--no more;
Eggs, well beaten--put in four;
Lump of butter melt, and--halt!
Don’t forget a pinch of--SALT.”
“Get the sugar and salt, and I’ll melt the butter,” said Dorothy; and
no sooner did she say the words than sugar, salt, and butter dropped
into the pan before their eyes.
Then a great spoon walked up to the pan and began to mix the pudding
while Dorothy and Ray looked on in wonder.
“I forgot raisins,” said Dorothy; and just then a shower of raisins
fell into the pudding. The children watched the wonderful pudding
making itself. “I wonder whose castle this is,” said Ray; “let us walk
around and see if we can find out who lives here.”
“And when we come back the pudding will be all made,” exclaimed Dorothy.
They walked out of the kitchen and came to a great dining-room where a
table was spread with all sorts of good things. There were two chairs
at the table, and it did not take the children a minute to sit in them
and sample the goodies. Ray passed Dorothy a plate that was heaped with
flaky jam tarts, and in a very few minutes there wasn’t a tart left on
the plate.
They ate plum cake and mince pies, and when these were disposed of a
great steaming pudding appeared in the center of the table.
“Perhaps it’s our pudding all cooked,” said Ray, “how good it smells.”
They piled their plates with the pudding again and again, forgetting
their good manners until it was all eaten up.
When everything on the table was eaten they arose and walked into
another room. They found a table filled with fruit, candies and
bon-bons.
In a short time these were all eaten up and another room in the castle
explored.
“Suppose we go outside,” cried Dorothy. “I couldn’t eat any more, could
you?”
“No,” said Ray; “I don’t feel very well.”
“I don’t either,” said the little girl, and they took each other’s
hands and went outside into a garden.
There was a beautiful fountain playing in the sunlight, but the
children never noticed it. To tell the truth they had eaten so much
that they did not feel happy at all, and could not enjoy the lovely
garden.
“I shan’t go another step,” said Ray, with a frown; “I’m going to rest
on this bench.”
“Don’t be so cross,” cried Dorothy. “I’m going to sit down too.”
Just as Dorothy sat down there was a loud noise, and in the distance
the children saw a great giant approaching.
“Let’s hide,” said Dorothy, and quick as a flash the children got
behind the bench before the giant had seen them.
There was a hole in the back of the bench and they could peek through.
The giant walked right over to the bench and sat down, while close
behind it, the children were hiding as frightened as could be.
They didn’t dare speak, but they thought that the giant was the ugliest
monster they had ever seen.
After a while he put up his great arms and yawned. The bench groaned
and creaked with his immense weight, and all at once it broke down and
the giant lay sprawling on the ground. The children jumped from their
hiding-places, but not before the giant had seen them.
“What are you doing in my garden?” roared the giant, getting on his
feet.
“If you please, we got here by mistake,” said Ray.
“We were in the castle,” explained Dorothy, “where we ate so many tarts
and things that we had to come out here.”
“So ho!” roared the giant. “Did you know that whoever enters my castle
belongs to me?”
The children trembled, and the monster continued: “This is the kingdom
of the greedy, and I am the ruler; henceforth and forever you belong to
me.”
“Oh, please let us go home,” said Dorothy; “we don’t like your castle.”
“Silence!” roared the giant. “If you disobey me I’ll boil you in my pot
of soup.”
The children were very quiet after that terrible threat and did not
dare raise their eyes to look at the giant. They felt very badly.
Dorothy had a pain in her stomach and Ray’s head ached.
[Illustration: “What are you doing in my garden?” roared the giant,
getting on his feet.--Page 10. _Little Miss Dorothy._]
Suddenly a great bell rang and the giant jumped saying: “There’s the
dinner-bell, come with me.”
“Please, Sir Giant, we don’t want any dinner,” said Ray, timidly.
“Silence!” roared the giant, “if you disobey me I’ll boil you in my pot
of soup.”
Poor sick, surfeited children! They followed the giant into the castle
and sat at the very table where they had eaten so much.
The table was all piled high with a fresh supply of pastry and the
great greedy giant soon devoured everything in sight. The table of
goodies made Ray frown, and Dorothy’s head ache. When the greedy
monster had eaten everything in sight, he leaned back in his chair,
closed his eyes, and in a few minutes began to snore.
“Now is our chance,” whispered Ray, and he took Dorothy’s hand and they
stole on tiptoe out of the room. Just as they reached the door a voice
sang out, “I’m all ready.”
The children turned and there stood their great pudding that had made
itself. They started to run away, but the pudding ran after them
calling:
“Come back, come back!” On and on ran the children, and every now and
then a slice of pudding struck them on the back as they ran.
Down the long garden, through winding paths, over hedges the children
fled from the funny pudding and the kingdom of the greedy.
At last they reached a gate and when they were outside the very first
person they met was the little old woman with the white cap and blue
apron. “What!” she exclaimed, “you are not running away from all the
good things in the castle, are you?”
“Yes, we are,” cried Ray, “we want to go home.”
“But think of all the pies and tarts and puddings in there!” cried the
little woman.
“I would rather have my nice bread and milk than all the tarts in the
world,” said Dorothy.
“But you said you could live on sweets and eat pudding all day long,”
said the old woman.
“We didn’t mean it,” replied Ray. “We don’t want any more pudding and
we do want to get away from the kingdom of the greedy and this terrible
giant.”
“Well, well!” said the old woman; “I don’t blame you for that; he is
certainly a very ugly giant, and little boys and girls ought not to
belong to his kingdom.”
“Never,” said Ray.
“You know,” continued the old woman, “when little boys and girls are
greedy and want more than mamma thinks is good for them, they belong
to the kingdom of the greedy and this giant is their ruler.”
“He is such a horrid giant, too,” said Dorothy, “so ugly and impolite.”
“Yes,” cried Ray, rubbing his stomach, “he gives me a pain.”
Then the little old woman touched them lightly with her spoon and
vanished with a smile and the children found themselves on Aunt Polly’s
back steps in the midst of their dear mud pies.