from the North Pole in my airship, when I got caught in the tree. I’m
stuck fast and I can’t get out, and I don’t know what to do. Can you
find some one to help me?”
“I will help you myself,” said Neddie bravely and kindly. Then, laying
down his school books, he climbed the tree sticking in the bark his
sharp claws as he had learned to do from George, the tame trained bear,
who went around with the Professor.
Soon Neddie was at the top of the tree. Then he broke off the branches
that held fast Santa’s airship, and dear old St. Nicholas could travel
on again, with his bag of good things for Christmas.
Off through the air sailed Santa Claus, and as Neddie climbed down the
tree, after having helped the nice old gentleman, a voice called.
“I’ll see you soon again, Neddie. But don’t tell anybody you saw me for
it’s a secret.”
“I won’t,” said Neddie, and he didn’t. Then the little bear boy hurried
on home, and he had honey cakes for supper, and he never said a word
about Santa Claus. And on the next page, if the umbrella doesn’t climb
up the hat tree and pick off all the breakfast oranges, I’ll tell you
about Neddie and Beckie in the chimney.
STORY XXXI
NEDDIE AND BECKIE IN THE CHIMNEY
“Neddie, what makes you act so queerly?” asked Beckie Stubtail, the
little bear, one morning when she and her brother were on their way to
school.
“Queer! Do I act queer?” asked Neddie, as he turned around to see if any
snowballs were growing on the end of his tail. None were, I’m glad to
say.
“Queer! I really think you do act strange,” said Beckie, as politely as
she could, while eating a bun Aunt Piffy had given her.
“What do I do that’s queer?” asked Neddie, curious-like.
“Why, you go around looking up in the air all the while, and listening,
and then looking up again. I should think you would get a stiff neck,”
said Beckie. “Why do you do it, Neddie?”
“Oh, that’s nothing,” said Neddie, sort of confused like. “I—er—I guess
I’m looking up to see if it’s going to snow any more for Christmas.”
“Neddie Stubtail!” exclaimed Beckie, shaking her paw at him. “That isn’t
it at all! You’re looking for something in the air and I know it. And,
besides, you talked in your sleep last night!”
“Did I?” asked Neddie, sort of anxious-like. “What did I say, Beckie?”
“Well, I couldn’t understand it all. But it was something about a tree,
and getting caught in it, and then you hollered out: ‘I won’t tell,
Sandy!’ That’s what you talked.”
“Did I say Sandy?” asked Neddie.
“Well, it sounded like that,” answered Beckie. “But I won’t be sure.”
Then she looked at her brother. Neddie was all sort of red back of his
ears, and his little stubby tail was going wiggle-waggle-wog. Then
Beckie suspected something.
“Neddie Stubtail!” she cried. “I believe you know something about Santa
Claus! That’s it! It was Santa—not Sandy. Oh! Neddie, do you—really?
Tell me, please! I won’t tell. Come on, do, it’s so near Christmas!”
Beckie took hold of Neddie’s paw and kissed him on the nose.
“Aw, quit!” he cried. “I’m not a girl!”
“I know, Neddie, dear,” said Beckie softly. “But I love you!”
“Huh! Yes! I guess you want me to tell you the secret, don’t you?” he
asked, and really Neddie did not speak as politely as he might have
done. But he did not mean to be unkind.
“Oh, a secret!” cried Beckie, clapping her paws. “Do tell me, Neddie,
dear.”
“I promised not to,” said the little boy bear, looking at his toes.
“Oh, if you will,” said Beckie, “I’ve got a honey cake, and I’ll give it
to you. Do tell me!”
“Well,” said Neddie, slowly, as he ate the cake his sister gave him, “It
happened last night. I promised not to tell, but then you’re my sister
and it’s almost Christmas, anyhow. I guess he won’t care.”
And then, because he loved his little sister bear, Neddie told all about
having helped Santa Claus, who got caught in the tree top with his
airship, as I told you in the story before this one.
“Oh, how perfectly lovely!” cried Beckie, clapping her paws. “Neddie, if
I had another honey cake I’d give it to you. Just to think! You really
saw Santa Claus!”
“But it’s a secret!” said Neddie, quickly.
“Of course—I know,” said Beckie, sticking up her nose just the little
tiniest bit. “I won’t tell a single soul.”
And then they were at school. They studied their lessons and then, as it
was recess, all the animal children went out in the yard to play. And,
of course, Beckie had to go and tell that she had a secret.
And, of course, all the girls wanted to know what the secret was. And,
of course, Beckie said she couldn’t tell, but the girls, like Alice and
Lulu Wibblewobble, the ducks, and Kittie Kat, and Brighteyes, the guinea
pig girl, all begged and teased, and well——
“Now promise, cross your heart and twist your paws you’ll never, never
tell if I tell you,” asked Beckie.
“Oh, we promise,” said all the animal girls.
Well, you can easily guess what happened. Beckie told how her brother
Neddie had helped Santa Claus out of the tree in his airship. And, of
course, all the girls promised not to even whisper it. And then,
somehow, all the boys had heard of what happened to Neddie. And, in a
short time, everybody in the school knew all about the little boy bear
having seen Santa Claus.
“Well, it’s very queer!” exclaimed Beckie when Neddie spoke to her about
it. “I only just told a few girls—only a very few, and they all promised
not to tell!”
“Huh!” exclaimed Neddie. And then, as he saw that his little sister felt
badly, he added: “Never mind, Beckie. You didn’t mean to, and I guess
Santa Claus won’t care, anyhow.”
And Neddie let Beckie kiss him again, which was very nice of him, I
think.
Then, when recess was almost over, Jackie Bow Bow, the puppy dog boy,
said:
“Pooh! I don’t believe Santa Claus comes down the chimney the way they
say he does.”
“You don’t believe that?” cried Neddie Stubtail, surprised-like.
“No, I don’t,” said Jackie. “Maybe he has an airship, for you saw that,
but nobody ever saw him come down the chimney.”
“The idea!” cried Beckie. “What a funny boy! Of course he comes down the
chimney.”
“How can he with a pack on his back? Answer me that!” cried Jackie.
Neddie and Beckie looked at one another. They both thought of the same
thing. Then Neddie said:
“Of course Santa Claus comes down the chimney. What if he is big? I’m
bigger than Sammy Littletail, the rabbit, and I can go down a chimney.”
“So can I!” cried Beckie.
“And we’ll do it, too!” added Neddie. “We have a few minutes of recess
yet. Beckie and I will go down the school chimney to show them all that
Santa Claus can do the same thing.”
Then, while all the other animal children looked on in wonder, Beckie
and Neddie scrambled up on the roof of the schoolhouse. They could
easily do this as there was a tree growing near it. Then Neddie got in
the chimney first. It was a large, wide one.
“You’ll get all black soot,” said Beckie.
“Never mind, it will all wash off,” spoke Neddie. “Come on in, Beckie.
There’s lots of room.”
So Beckie got in the chimney, too. Just then the school bell rang.
Recess was over. All the animal children had to run in.
“Oh, you’ll get a bad mark!” they cried to Neddie and Beckie. “You’ll be
late!”
“Hurry up! Slide down the chimney and go to school that way!” cried
Beckie to Neddie.
“I can’t! I’m stuck fast!” he said.
“I’ll give you a push!” she cried. And she did. She pushed so hard that
both she and Neddie fell right on down through the hole in the chimney,
into the fireplace in the school room. But, luckily, there was no fire
on the hearth, so they were not burned. Which shows you that Santa Claus
can come down a chimney, and which also shows you that you should not
have a fire in the grate on Christmas eve.
Well, of course, Neddie and Beckie coming down the chimney made quite
some excitement in the school, but all the animal children laughed, and
the professor-teacher laughed, too, and then, as it was so near
Christmas, he said there would be no more lessons that day. So Neddie
and Beckie, having proved that Santa Claus could come down a chimney,
went home to wash off the soot.
What’s that? How does Santa Claus get the black soot off him when he
comes down a chimney? Why, he always has a whiskbroom with him, you
know, and every time he comes down a chimney he brushes himself off.
See?
And now we have come to the end of this book, for you can easily tell,
by looking, that there isn’t room for another story in it.
I’ll just say, though, that Neddie and Beckie had the finest Christmas
that ever you can imagine. And such presents as they received! And the
candy and nuts and oranges and honey cakes—Oh, my! It makes me hungry
just to write about it.
And the two little bear children, and their papa and mamma, and Aunt
Piffy, the fat bear, and Uncle Wigwag, and Mr. Whitewash lived happily
for ever after—for many years after. And every time he got a chance
Uncle Wigwag would play a joke. And Mr. Whitewash would always sit on a
cake of ice when he could find one.
But if I can’t get any more stories in this book, I can put them in
another. And I will. That book will be called “Bully and Bawly No-Tail,”
and they will be stories about the two little frog boys, who lived in a
pond, and could swim as good as a gold fish. They had no tails, except
when they were baby tadpoles, but those tails soon fell off. So their
names were “No-Tail” you see, just as Buddy and Brighteyes, the guinea
pigs, had no tail.
So I’ll say good-bye now, for a little while, as I have to write the new
book for you.
THE END
THE FAMOUS BED TIME SERIES
Five groups of books, intended for reading aloud to the little folks
each night. Each volume contains 8 colored illustrations, 31 stories,
one for each day of the month. Handsomely bound in cloth. Size 6½x8¼.
=Price 60 cents per volume, postpaid=
* * * * *
HOWARD R. GARIS’ Bed Time Animal Stories
No. 1 SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL
No. 2 JOHNNY AND BILLY BUSHYTAIL
No. 3 LULU, ALICE & JIMMIE WIBBLEWOBBLE
No. 5 JACKIE AND PEETIE BOW-WOW
No. 7 BUDDY AND BRIGHTEYES PIGG
No. 9 JOIE, TOMMIE AND KITTIE KAT
No. 10 CHARLIE AND ARABELLA CHICK
No. 14 NEDDIE AND BECKIE STUBTAIL
No. 16 BULLY AND BAWLY NO-TAIL
No. 20 NANNIE AND BILLIE WAGTAIL
No. 28 JOLLIE AND JILLIE LONGTAIL
Uncle Wiggily Bed Time Stories
No. 4 UNCLE WIGGILY’S ADVENTURES
No. 6 UNCLE WIGGILY’S TRAVELS
No. 8 UNCLE WIGGILY’S FORTUNE
No. 11 UNCLE WIGGILY’S AUTOMOBILE
No. 19 UNCLE WIGGILY AT THE SEASHORE
No. 21 UNCLE WIGGILY’S AIRSHIP
No. 27 UNCLE WIGGILY IN THE COUNTRY
* * * * *
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
publishers
=A. L. BURT CO., 114–120 East 23d St., New York=
Copyright, 1913, by
HOWARD R. GARIS
Copyright, 1914, by
R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
Neddie and Becky Stubtail
The Boy Allies With the Battleships
(Registered in the United States Patent Office)
By ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
Price, 40 Cents per Volume, Postpaid
Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, meet each other
in an unusual way soon after the declaration of war. Circumstances place
them on board the British cruiser “The Sylph” and from there on, they
share adventures with the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert L. Drake,
the author, is an experienced naval officer, and he describes admirably
the many exciting adventures of the two boys.
THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing Submarine.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields of Ice to Aid the
Czar.
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or, Striking the First Blow at
the German Fleet.
THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the Enemy from the Seas.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The Naval Raiders of the
Great War.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS; or, The Last Shot of
Submarine D–16.
The Boy Allies With the Army
(Registered in the United States Patent Office)
By CLAIR W. HAYES
Price, 40 Cents per Volume, Postpaid
In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads unable to
leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the soldiers of the
Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them. Their experiences and
escapes are many, and furnish plenty of the good, healthy action that
every boy loves.
THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the Italian Army in the Alps.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The Struggle to Save a
Nation.
THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of Steel.
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days Battle Along the
Marne.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash over the
Carpathians.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and Shell Along the
Aisne.
Our Young Aeroplane Scouts Series
(Registered in the United States Patent Office)
By HORACE PORTER
Price, 40 Cents per Volume, Postpaid
A series of stories of two American boy aviators in the great European
war zone. The fascinating life in midair is thrillingly described. The
boys have many exciting adventures, and the narratives of their numerous
escapes make up a series of wonderfully interesting stories.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN ENGLAND; or, Twin Stars in the London
Sky Patrol.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN ITALY; or, Flying with the War Eagles of
the Alps.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM; or, Saving the
Fortunes of the Trouvilles.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN GERMANY; or, Winning the Iron Cross.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN RUSSIA; or, Lost on the Frozen Steppes.
OUR YOUNG AEROPLANE SCOUTS IN TURKEY; or, Bringing the Light to Yusef.
The Big Five Motorcycle Boys Series
By RALPH MARLOW
Price, 40 Cents per Volume, Postpaid
It is doubtful whether a more entertaining lot of boys ever before
appeared in a story than the “Big Five,” who figure in the pages of
these volumes. From cover to cover the reader will be thrilled and
delighted with the accounts of their many adventures.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS ON THE BATTLE LINE; or, With the Allies
in France.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS AT THE FRONT; or, Carrying Dispatches
Through Belgium.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS UNDER FIRE; or, With the Allies in the
War Zone.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS’ SWIFT ROAD CHASE; or, Surprising the
Bank Robbers.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS ON FLORIDA TRAILS; or, Adventures Among
the Saw Palmetto Crackers.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS IN TENNESSEE WILDS; or, The Secret of
Walnut Ridge.
THE BIG FIVE MOTORCYCLE BOYS THROUGH BY WIRELESS; or, A Strange
Message from the Air.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Moved first ad page from after the Title page to after p. 253.
2. P. 182, changed “I’ll you” to “I’ll tell you”.
3. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
4. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as
printed.
5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
6. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.