The next morning Grandpa Grumbles called out,
"The Cotton-Tails are all in bed,
Every one is a sleepy-head."
"My fur and whiskers, we have overslept," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. "It
is nine o'clock by my little silver watch."
"Bless my buttons," cried Susan, "I meant to get up and get breakfast."
Tippy Toes was the first down stairs after Grandpa Grumbles. He danced
this way and he danced that way, and set the table for breakfast.
Grandpa Grumbles had a fine breakfast ready. They all sat down except
Snubby Nose. Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Where is Snubby Nose? 'tis plain,
He must have gone to sleep again."
Now, what do you suppose happened next? Grandpa Grumbles went upstairs
and took Snubby Nose by the feet and dragged him out of bed. He made
him dress in a hurry and come down to breakfast! All the time Snubby
Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles soon finished their breakfast.
They went for a walk but Tippy Toes sat at the table and said, "Oh,
Snubby Nose, why do you cry so much? I have just as ugly a nose as you
have."
Then Snubby Nose stopped crying. He stared at Tippy Toes. Sure enough,
Tippy Toes had a very ugly nose.
Snubby Nose shouted, "Pass me the cream! Pass me the butter! Pass me
the bread! Can't you see I am starving?"
The mirror spoke up suddenly,
"Snubby Nose it's no use to tease,
You might say, 'Thank you,' and 'if you please.'"
Tippy Toes slipped down from his chair and ran out after Bunny and
Susan.
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! He reached for the
sugar bowl and it sailed away in the air! He reached for the bread and
butter but they went farther out of his reach. He was very hungry and
he cried and he screamed and he howled, but there was no one to answer
him. By and by he danced before the mirror and said,
"Mirror, mirror, I'll be good,
And speak politely as I should."
The mirror said,
"If you say, 'Thank you' I suppose,
You'll be loved like Tippy Toes."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Snubby Nose said, "Thank you for a bowl of milk." The milk stood at his
plate. Then he said, "Thank you for cookies and sugar and pie." The
cookies and sugar and pie stood by his plate. He had never had so much
fun before in all his life. He kept on ordering things and they came
before him.
By and by Snubby Nose cleared off the table and washed the dishes,
saying over and over,
"I must forget to try to tease,
I will say, 'Thank you' and 'If you Please.'"
At this very minute in came the Seventeen Little Bears. They cried,
"Hurrah, hurrah, old Snubby Nose!
What has happened, do you suppose?"
Snubby Nose made a low bow and said, "If you please I should like to
know what has happened."
The Seventeen Little Bears stared at Snubby Nose. They had never seen
him so polite before.
They said, "We met Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles and they said
we could go up in the garret and get skates and go skating."
No sooner said than done. Up to the garret danced the Seventeen Little
Bears. They found seventeen pairs of skates and danced out again.
Snubby Nose was left alone in the house. He forgot to be polite. He
cried and he screamed and he howled!
The mirror said,
"If you're polite, as you should be,
Perhaps a pair of skates you'll see."
Snubby Nose looked about the house. He looked high and low, but he
could not find any skates. He rubbed his eyes and he rubbed his little
red nose. He put on his cap and mittens and went to the pond. Tippy
Toes came to meet him. He had two pairs of skates and cried,
"Where were you so long, goodness knows,
Here are your skates. Come Snubby Nose."
He kissed Snubby Nose on both cheeks.
The Seventeen Little Bears sat on the bank trying to fasten their
skates. Their little paws got colder and colder every minute. Snubby
Nose helped them fasten their skates and Tippy Toes helped them too.
Then they put on their own skates and went skating away, and away, and
away.
By and by Bunny and Susan said,
"'Tis rather sad now to relate,
We are too old and stiff to skate.'"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Chilly business this sport I think,
Let's go roller-skating in a rink."
Bunny and Susan said they must really go home and Grandpa Grumbles said
he, too, would go to his own home.
He shouted to the Seventeen Little Bears,
"Don't skate where the ice is thin,
You'll make a hole and tumble in."
The Seventeen Little Bears skated on and on, the wind whistling in
their ears.
Snubby Nose said to Tippy Toes, "What if the Seventeen Little Bears
should fall into the water, what would we do?"
Tippy Toes said, "The wind blows so hard they cannot hear. I hope they
know where the ice is thin."
The Seventeen Little Bears formed a circle and skated round. Suddenly
the ice gave way. Splash, dash, they all fell into the water!
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and they danced that way,
and shouted, "Help, help, help! The Seventeen Little Bears have fallen
into the water!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail was riding by in his sleigh. He said, "Come, we will
pull them out of the water." So they all helped pull the Seventeen
Little Bears out of the water.
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I will tuck them in my sleigh and take them
to Bunny and Susan. They will tuck them up warm in bed."
[Illustration: "I WILL TUCK THEM IN MY SLEIGH"]
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes hung on to the back of the sleigh and they
went whizzing merrily homeward, the wind whistling in their ears. The
Seventeen Little Bears sneezed all the way.
Did Bunny and Susan tuck them up warm in bed? Well, I guess they did,
and Doctor Cotton-Tail gave them hoarhound candy.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes smacked their lips and said, "If we had
fallen in the water we could have had candy too."
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "You cunning little things, you look as much
alike as two peas. You shall each have a stick of lemon candy."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and
said,
"Lemon candy is good to eat,
We always think it quite a treat."
Susan said, "Hush; be still. Don't wake the Seventeen Little Bears;
they are all asleep."