E-text prepared by David Newman, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online
Distributed Proofreading Team(https://www.pgdp.net). Cover image repair by
David Garcia.
Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original lovely illustrations.
See 15280-h.htm or 15280-h.zip:
(https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/2/8/15280/15280-h/15280-h.htm)
or
(https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/2/8/15280/15280-h.zip)
Bedtime Stories
LULU, ALICE AND JIMMIE WIBBLEWOBBLE
by
HOWARD R. GARIS
Author of _Sammie and Susie Littletail_, _Johnnie and Billie Bushytail_,
_Those Smith Boys_, _Dick Hamilton's Fortune_, etc.
Illustrations by Louis Wisa
1912
* * * * *
R.F. Fenno & Company
18 East Seventeenth St.
New York
Children's Books
By HOWARD R. GARIS
THE BEDTIME STORIES SERIES
EIGHT COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS
Price 75 cents each, postpaid
SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL
31 Rabbit Stories
JOHNNIE AND BILLIE BUSHYTAIL
31 Squirrel Stories
LULU, ALICE AND JIMMIE WIBBLEWOBBLE
31 Duck Stories
JACKIE AND PEETIE BOW-WOW
31 Dog Stories
Other volumes in preparation
* * * * *
THE UNCLE WIGGILY SERIES
EIGHT COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS
Price 75 cents each, postpaid
UNCLE WIGGILY'S ADVENTURES
31 of the Old Gentleman Rabbit Stories
UNCLE WIGGILY'S TRAVELS
31 More Old Gentleman Rabbit Stories
BOY'S BOOKS
THOSE SMITH BOYS SERIES
FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS
Price 75 cents each, postpaid
THE SMITH BOYS
Or, The Mystery of the Thumbless Man
THOSE SMITH BOYS ON THE DIAMOND
Or, Nip and Tuck for Victory
THE ISLAND BOYS SERIES
FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS
Price 75 cents each, postpaid
THE ISLAND BOYS
Or, Fun and Adventures on Lake Modoc
Other volumes in preparation
* * * * *
R.F. Fenno & Company
BEDTIME STORIES--Lulu, Alice and Jimmie
The stories herein contained appeared originally in the Evening News, of
Newark, N.J., where (so many children and their parents have been kind
enough to say) they gave pleasure to a number of little folks, and
grown-ups also.
Permission to issue the stories in book form was kindly granted by the
publisher and editor of the News, to whom the author extends his thanks.
[Illustration]
LULU, ALICE AND JIMMIE WIBBLEWOBBLE
STORY I
LULU WIBBLEWOBBLE STUCK IN THE MUD
Once upon a time, not so very many years ago, there lived three ducks in a
duck pen. And this pen was not far from where Sammie and Susie Littletail,
the rabbit children, had their burrow, and it was close to the trees where
Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, the squirrel brothers, learned to jump from
their nest. Now I am going to tell you some stories about these ducks, and
what they did.
To begin with there was the mamma duck. She was Mrs. Wibblewobble, a nice,
white duck, being a cousin to Mrs. Quack-Quack, who once rescued Billie
and Johnnie Bushytail, and Jennie Chipmunk from the desert island where
they had been shipwrecked, you remember.
Then there was the papa duck, and, of course, his name was Mr.
Wibblewobble. Also there were the children ducks; Jimmie Wibblewobble and
his two sisters, Lulu and Alice.
Lulu was a duckling who could throw a stone almost as well as could
Jimmie, but Alice was not so fond of doing this. She would rather dress
up, and play keep house, while Lulu wanted to be off having a good time
with her brother. But the three ducklings got along very nicely together
just the same.
What's that? Why were they named Wibblewobble? Well, because, you see they
did wibblewobble from side to side when they walked, and so they had to be
named Wibblewobble, or things wouldn't have come out right. So there!
Well, the Wibblewobble family lived in a nice, wooden house, called a pen,
near a pond of water, and their house had a door and two windows to it, so
you see they were quite well off. In fact they were very stylish ducks,
and once Jimmie Wibblewobble even rode in an automobile, but I can't tell
you about that now, because you see I am going to relate to you how Lulu
was caught fast in the mud. It happened one day when Jimmie and his two
sisters were swimming about on the pond, just like three white boats.
"Let's see who can swim the fastest!" suddenly called the little boy duck.
"We'll race over to the other side of the pond," and he put his head down
under the water to get a fine, juicy bit of weed, with some water-cress
sauce on it.
"Oh, no," exclaimed Alice Wibblewobble, "it's not nice for girl ducks to
race," and she spread out her wings to see how they looked.
"Yes it is," said Lulu. "Come on, Jimmie, I'll race with you."
So off they started, splashing the water with their yellow, webbed feet,
throwing up a little spray, which sparkled in the sunshine, just like
baby's eyes when you come close to her and she laughs at you so cunningly.
On they went, faster and faster and faster, Lulu and Jimmie, while Alice
remained behind, to gaze in the water which was just like a looking glass,
you know. Oh, my yes, but please don't try it, unless the water is very,
very shallow. You see Alice wanted to see if all her feathers were on
straight, and they were, believe me, as straight as straight can be.
Well, of course, Jimmie won the race, being a very good swimmer, but Lulu
was close behind him, and would have beaten, only one of her legs got
caught in a weed. Now I call that too bad, don't you? For I was hoping,
all the while, that Lulu would win. But you never can tell what is going
to happen in this world; now can you? No, indeed.
"Let's race back again," proposed Lulu, after she had rested.
"Oh, don't race any more," spoke Alice, swimming up just then. "Let's walk
out on land and see if we can't find some nice corn meal. I'm sure it must
be almost dinner time, and I just love corn meal."
"I know something better than that," suddenly said a quivery-quavery
voice, right beside the ducks, and when they looked around who should be
there but Mr. Goosey-Gander, the grandfather of all the ducks in the pen.
"I know something better than corn meal, little ones," he said, and he
splashed his wings in the water.
"What is it?" asked Lulu, as quickly as you can shoot a marble into the
ring and out again. "Is it gum drops?"
"No," answered Grandfather Goosey-Gander, "it is not gum drops. It is
better than that. It is nice, sweet roots and grasses that grow down under
water," and, with that, what do you think he did? Why, he stood right up
on his head, and reached his bill down beneath the pond, and got some of
the nicest grass that ever was. "There," said the old gentleman duck,
poking up his head, "do as I did, little ones."
So those three Wibblewobble children did, and pretty soon, Alice and
Jimmie had as much as they could eat, and raised their heads. Then they
saw that Lulu still had her bill down under the water.
"She must be getting lots more than we did," spoke Alice.
"Yes, indeed," replied Jimmie. "I wonder how she can hold her breath so
long?"
Just then, what should happen but that Lulu began to wave her feet in the
air, and she flapped her wings until the spray went up in a regular
shower, just like at Asbury Park.
"Oh, my goodness me sakes alive, and three teaspoonsfull of corn meal with
pepper in!" cried Grandfather Goosey-Gander. "Lulu is stuck in the mud! We
must pull her out. Quick!" That's just the way he said it.
And, would you believe me, Lulu was held fast in the mud by her dear
little bill! Oh, how terribly frightened Jimmie and Alice were. They
squawked and they quacked, and they tried to pull Lulu out, but she was
stuck too fast.
Then all the other ducks came swimming up to see what the trouble was, and
they tried to pull her out, but they couldn't, and, all the while her feet
were wiggling as fast as they could wiggle, almost like Sammie
Littletail's nose.
Then Grandfather Goosey-Gander called out: "What ho! Make way there! I
will save her!" And with that, what do you think he did? Why, he dived
right down under the water, yes, sir, right down in the mud, and he
pushed, and he pulled, and he hauled and he splashed, and he yanked, and
he rooted, and he twisted, and he turned, and he shoved, and then, all
alone, brave old grandfather that he was, he got Lulu up from the mud,
where she had been stuck by her little bill!
And it was almost time, too, let me tell you, for her breath was nearly
gone. But she soon got better, and she never put her head so far down
under water again.
Then all the ducks said: "Quack, Quack, Quack!" three times, they were so
glad, and they swam around in a circle, and the old rooster stood on the
bank and crowed, just as if he had done it all! Oh, how glad Papa and
Mamma Wibblewobble were that Lulu was saved!
Now, if you do not get your feet wet, I shall tell you, to-morrow night,
how Jimmie rode in an automobile.
STORY II
JIMMIE WIBBLEWOBBLE IN AN AUTO
One day, well, it must have been about a week after Lulu Wibblewobble got
caught in the mud, she and Jimmie were out swimming around the pond.
"Come on," said Lulu, "let's go over and see Mrs. Greenie, the frog. She
always has some candied sweet-flag root hidden away, and perhaps she will
give us some."
"I don't believe there's any left," spoke Jimmie, "for Bully, the boy
frog, is so fond of it that he eats all he can get."
"Well, we'll go, anyhow," went on Lulu. Just then she heard her mother
calling:
"Jimmie! Lulu! Where are you going?"
"We are going over to see Mrs. Greenie," replied Jimmie.
"Wait for Alice," called Mamma Wibblewobble. "She will go with you. She is
just putting a clean apron on."
"Oh, dear!" cried Lulu. "Why does Alice always make us wait while she
puts on something clean?"
"I suppose," answered Jimmie, and he scratched his bill with his left leg,
"I suppose it is because she wants to look nice."
"Yes," agreed Lulu, with a sort of quacking-sigh, "I suppose I ought to
want to look nice, too; but, somehow I don't--ever. I always seem to be in
such a hurry."
"Maybe you'll change, some day," suggested her brother.
"Maybe," spoke Lulu, and just then Alice came swimming along, looking just
as nice and pretty as do some ducks which are in a picture. They all went
over to see Mrs. Greenie, the old lady frog, who lived down on the bottom
of the pond, at the far edge, by a big willow tree.
And, honestly, though I don't like to mention it, for fear you'll think
Bully a greedy little boy, there wasn't a single bit of candied sweet-flag
root in the house. No, sir, not a tiny, weeny bit. So Mrs. Greenie gave
the Wibblewobble children some nice snails, which they liked very much,
and then they went on swimming around. Jimmie was looking for Bully, but
the little boy frog had hopped off to see his cousin. Now, in a few
minutes Jimmie is going to have an adventure, and, if you please, I want
you to listen very carefully, so as not to miss it.
Well, the three ducklings swam on, thinking how nice it was on the water,
with the warm sun on their backs, when they suddenly came to the end of
the pond. And who should be standing there but the man who owned the
little puddle. And, more than that, there was another man also standing
there in the road and beside him was a queer thing, with big fat wheels,
fatter than the fattest duck or goose you ever saw. It was puffing away,
and some smoke and a funny smell came from it. Of course, you've guessed
it! An automobile! Now, what do you think about that? The ducks listened
to what the men were saying, for, though the Wibblewobbles couldn't talk
as the men did, they could understand our language.
"It's too bad," said the man who owned the pond. "Can't you go any
farther?"
"No," said the man who had the automobile, "I can't. You see my horn, that
I blow to tell people to get out of the way, is broken. I can't sound any
warning, and if I ran my machine I might hurt some one; and I wouldn't do
that for the world; no, not for two worlds, if you were to offer them to
me."
"That is very kind of you; very kind, indeed, I'm sure," went on the man
who owned the pond. "I am glad to have met you; and I wish I could help
you."
"I'm afraid you can't," answered the other. "I have to walk way down to
Newark, to get a new horn for my auto, so I can blow it, to warn people
out of the way."
So he started to walk off, and then what do you think happened? Why,
Jimmie Wibblewobble got so excited that he gave a loud "Quack-Quack!" Oh,
so loud and clear! As soon as the man who owned the auto heard it he cried
out, "My gracious goodness! What's that?"
"That," replied the man who owned the pond, "is one of my ducks. Doesn't
he speak very loudly?"
Then Jimmie, just to show what he could do, quacked again, harder than
before.
"Oh, extemporaneousness!" cried the auto man. "That is very fine quacking,
indeed. I never heard better. I have the greatest idea," he added. "Would
you be so kind as to lend me that little duck? I will bring him safely
back to you and not harm him in the least."
"What will you do with him?" asked the man who owned the pond.
"I will take him on the seat beside me," replied the other, "and maybe he
will go 'quack-quack' whenever a person gets in the way of my auto. Then
they will not be run over. Why, this little duck will be as good as an
auto horn! Will you let me take him?"
"I guess so," answered the other man. "But please do not frighten him, as
he is very little."
The man who owned the auto said he would be careful, and he went over to
where Jimmie was, and picked him right up.
Now I should have thought that Jimmie would have been frightened, but he
wasn't a bit, no, would you believe me, not a bit. So the man took him and
put him on the seat and started off in the auto. Jimmie knew exactly what
to do. Every time he came to a crossing he "quack-quacked" as loudly as he
could, without being told, and he did the same thing whenever he saw a
person in the way of the big machine.
Oh, what a fine ride he had in the auto, and how proud he was! Not too
proud, you know, but just proud enough. Well, as true as I'm telling you,
if Jimmie wasn't as good an auto horn as one could wish. Not a single
accident happened when he was on the seat, "quack-quacking" away, and when
the man went to a store and got his regular horn, with the rubber handle
to it, why, he brought Jimmie right back to the pond.
Now, wasn't that quite an adventure? All the other ducks thought so
anyhow. To-morrow night, if you do not slam the door, you shall hear about
Alice Wibblewobble's new bonnet.
STORY III
ALICE WIBBLEWOBBLE'S NEW BONNET
When the Wibblewobble family came back to their house after a swim around
the pond one bright sunny afternoon, and when the grass on the edges of
the water was as green as it could be, Mamma Wibblewobble looked at her
children, who were walking ahead of her. Jimmie and Lulu were throwing
stones along the path, but Alice, who was as ladylike a little duck as one
could wish, would not throw pebbles even, to say nothing of stones.
"I declare," exclaimed Mamma Wibblewobble, "those girls will have to have
new bonnets. I must see to it at once."
"Very well," answered Papa Wibblewobble, "I will get them when I come home
to-morrow. I met Mrs. Gooseyoosy this morning and she said they had a
special sale of hats at the store by the barnyard gate."
"A man duck cannot get bonnets for Alice and Lulu," declared Mrs.
Wibblewobble. "You would not know what to pick out! It is bad enough to
have you get Jimmie's hats and shoes, but you would never know how to buy
bonnets for the girls."
"Very well," answered Papa Wibblewobble, "then I will let you do the
buying. I think a green colored bonnet would be nice for Alice."
"Green! With her complexion!" cried his wife. "Never! It must be
blue--blue for Alice and a brown one for Lulu. Give me the money and I
will start out shopping to-morrow."
So Mamma Wibblewobble started out the next day, taking Alice and Lulu with
her, while Jimmie stayed home and played cross-tag with Bully, the frog,
and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had a day's vacation.
They had lots of fun, and once Jimmie nearly fell down a great big--but
there, I started to tell you about Alice Wibblewobble's bonnet, and I must
not get off the track. That story about Jimmie will do for another time.
Well, you should have seen the numbers and numbers of duck-bonnets that
Mrs. Wibblewobble looked at before she was satisfied with two for the
girls. Not that Alice and Lulu were hard to please. Oh, my, no! But their
mamma wanted them to look just right, and you know it is quite difficult
to fit a bonnet on a duck and make it look like anything. The milliner
said so herself, and she ought to know. But at last the two duck girls
both had very fine bonnets indeed; as fine as mustard seeds, which are
very, very fine. Alice had a nice blue one, and Lulu a brown one.
Well, would you ever imagine it? Something is going to happen to Alice's
bonnet, and very soon, too. Just be patient and you shall hear.
"Now children," said Mrs. Wibblewobble, when they had reached the pen
where they lived, "you may go out and swim around a bit with your new
bonnets on until your papa comes home. I want him to see how well they fit
you, for I think I have very good taste when it comes to bonnets."
"Oh, I don't want to wear my new one," spoke Lulu. "I will put on my old
one and go and play with Jimmie and Bully, the frog."
So she did, but Alice, who was very fond of nice clothes, went for a swim
on the pond. At first she paddled around, gazing down in the water, which
was just like the looking-glass some men shave by, and she thought: "Oh,
what a lovely bonnet I have! How fine I shall look when I go for a walk on
Sunday!"
And just then--really I'm not exaggerating a bit--If it didn't begin to
rain! Now, of course, rain couldn't hurt Alice any, for she was a duck
and was used to the water, but she knew it would spoil her new bonnet. So
she took it off and laid it under a big burdock plant leaf near the pond,
to keep the flowers and ribbons dry.
"I wish it would stop raining," said Alice, after a while. "I want to go
home," but the big drops kept on falling, and she had to remain near her
bonnet for fear something would happen to it.
Then, in a little while, oh, maybe half an hour or so, all at once as
quick as a wink, along came Mooleyooly, the big brown cow. Mooleyooly
walked up to the burdock leaf, under which was the new bonnet, and
Mooleyooly saw the pretty yellow flowers on it, and she saw the blue
flowers on it and she saw the red flowers on it. Then Mooleyooly said, as
she licked her lips with her red tongue:
"What have we here? It looks very nice."
"It is nice," answered Alice proudly, for she was glad to have some one,
even a cow, admire her bonnet.
"It looks just like the green meadow where I live," went on Mooleyooly,
"with buttercups, and daisies, and ragged sailor flowers and some red
poppies growing in it. Oh, very fine, indeed. Why, those flowers are
real!" exclaimed the cow, looking carefully at the new bonnet under the
big leaf.
"Of course," cried Alice, "certainly they are real."
"Better and better!" went on Mooleyooly. "Most delightful, I am sure!"
Then, oh, how sorry I feel that I have to tell it--then, if that brown cow
didn't start right in and eat up Alice's new bonnet!
Yes, sir, every single bit, down to a bunch of green grass that looked so
pretty on it. She ate it all up at one mouthful, before Alice could cry
out "stop" or "halt" or "cease" or any words like that. Well, of course,
Alice cried. Wouldn't you, boys and girls--I mean, of course, you
girls--have done the same? Well, I guess so!
Then, when the cow saw how sorry Alice felt, Mooleyooly felt badly, too,
and she cried great big tears until you would have thought it was raining
harder then ever. Then, being a good cow, Mooleyooly promised to get Alice
a new bonnet, which she did, made of the finest straw in the stable.
So Alice had a hat for Sunday after all, even if one was eaten up by
mistake. Well, pretty soon it stopped raining and Alice went home with the
bonnet the cow gave her, and Mamma Wibblewobble said it was even better
than the one she had bought. Now, wasn't that rather odd? I thought so,
myself.
To-morrow night if you do not sneeze, I hope to have the pleasure of
telling you how Jimmie Wibblewobble almost fell over the waterfall; but
don't let that alarm you the least bit, for he was saved in a most
wonderful way.
STORY IV
JIMMIE AND THE WATERFALL
It was such a nice day that Mr. and Mrs. Wibblewobble decided to go
visiting, as they had an invitation to call on Mrs. Greenie, the frog lady
who lived at the end of the pond. So the two ducks, after seeing that the
pen was in order, and the windows nice and clean, in case any company
should call on them while they were out, started off, swimming very
slowly, for they had their best clothes on and did not want to splash
water on them.
"Now, I hope you children will be good," called Mamma Wibblewobble to
Jimmie and Lulu and Alice. "Don't get into any mischief and we'll be back
at supper time."
"We'll be good," promised Alice, but Jimmie and Lulu didn't say anything,
though, of course they meant to be good also. Only, sometimes, you know
how it is, just when you want to be good and make no trouble something is
sure to happen; that is, most always. Well, that's the way it was this
time.
The papa and mamma ducks hadn't been gone more than half an hour before
Jimmie thought of something to do. Of course, he didn't know it was
mischief but it was, all the same.
It happened that at one end of the pond where the ducks lived there was a
waterfall. That is, the water ran from the pond, and fell over a high wall
of stones upon some more stones down below, and made a lot of foam and a
rushing, gurgling noise that was very cool in summer, making you think of
ice cream and all nice things like that. And besides this there was, near
the waterfall, a big mill, with a wheel that went around and around, to
grind the corn and grain.
Well, Jimmie's papa and mamma hadn't been gone more than half an hour
before the little boy duck called to Lulu and Alice. "Let's see how near
we can go to the waterfall," he said.
Now this was a very dangerous thing to do, because there was a strong and
swift current at the fall, and any one who went too near it might be
carried over. Mr. and Mrs. Wibblewobble knew this, and many times had told
their children to keep away. But, you see, Jimmie forgot, or else didn't
want to remember, so he called to his sisters, telling them to see how
near they could go.
"I'll not," spoke Alice. "And you hadn't better either, Jimmie. You know
what mamma said."
"Oh, well, the water's low now," replied Jimmie. "I don't believe there's
any danger. Come on, Lulu."
"All right," said Lulu. So she and Jimmie started to swim as close as they
could to the waterfall. But Alice stayed near shore, and who should come
along but Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat nurse who was out for a
walk. She told Alice about Sammie and Susie Littletail, and said the
little rabbit children were well.
Now all this while Jimmie and Lulu were swimming nearer and nearer to the
waterfall. They could hear the water splashing on the rocks below, and
they liked to listen to it.
"We had better stop," called Lulu, after a while.
"No, I'm going closer," declared Jimmie. "There is no danger; come on!"
But just then Lulu felt something pulling her down toward where the big
wheel went around and around, and she got frightened. Then she swam just
as hard as she could toward shore, and called to her brother: "Jimmie,
don't go any closer! Come back!"
But Jimmie was a boy duck, and wanted to be brave, so he answered: "I'm
going just a little bit closer."
Now Lulu had a very hard time, indeed, getting to shore, as the current
was so strong, but she finally managed it. Jimmie, however, kept on
swimming nearer and nearer to the falls. Then, all at once, before you
could stick a pin in a cushion, what should take place but that the little
boy duck felt himself being pulled along by the rushing water, just as the
soap floats along when you pull the plug out of the bathtub. Oh, how fast
the water swept him along! Jimmie splashed and paddled with all his might,
and tried to swim ashore, where Lulu was anxiously watching him, but he
couldn't seem to move. There he was, being carried along to the edge of
the falls, with the cruel, sharp stones below, and the big millwheel going
around and around. Then Jimmie knew he was in great danger, and he cried
out: "Help! Help! Help!" three times, as loudly as he could call.
Lulu and Alice heard him, and were much frightened. They started to go to
the aid of their brother, but Grandfather Goosey-Gander warned them not
to.
"But who will save Jimmie?" they cried.
"I will try to," answered the old gentleman duck.
So he got a rope and threw it to Jimmie, but the rope wasn't long enough,
and the poor little boy duck kept getting closer and closer to the edge
of the falls, and the big millwheel. Oh, how hard he was swimming, but the
water was stronger than he was.
"Get a board!" cried Bully, the frog, who came hopping along just then. So
the ducks and the geese got a board and threw it to Jimmie, but it floated
past him, and he couldn't get upon it. Then it surely did look as if he
were going to be carried right over the falls, for he was being swept
nearer and more near, and he could hear the water making a terrible
roaring, splashing sound on the rocks. You have no idea how scared Jimmie
was, and he wished he had never gone near the falls.
Then the other ducks got a long stick and Grandfather Goosey-Gander held
it out, so the little boy duck could grasp it in his bill, but the stick
broke, and every one said it was too bad! Then, just as Jimmie was almost
to the edge of the falls, if Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy didn't call out:
"Stand aside, everybody! I am a good swimmer and I will save him!"
Then what do you think happened? Why that good, kind muskrat jumped right
into the water, and hurried to where Jimmie was. She dived down, and got
hold of his yellow legs in her teeth, but she took hold very gently, so as
not to hurt him. Then she was such a fine swimmer that she managed to get
to shore, towing and pulling Jimmie with her, for the water could not hurt
Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, no matter how hard the millwheel splashed.
So that is how Jimmie was saved from the waterfall, and when his papa and
mamma came home they were very glad, of course, and why shouldn't they be?
But, all the same Lulu and Jimmie had to be punished for disobeying, and
going too near the falls when they had been told not to, and their
punishment was that they could not go in swimming for three days. And if
you ever were a duck you know that was very severe punishment indeed, very
severe.
But I'm not going to say that Jimmie and Lulu didn't deserve it, no indeed
I'm not; not if you were to offer me an orange and a half; and I'm very
fond of oranges; very. Well, that's how things will sometimes happen in
this world, won't they? do the best that you can. But now I suppose you
want to know what the story will be about to-morrow night. Well, if I see
a pink grasshopper, I shall tell you about a visit the Wibblewobble
children paid to poor, sick, Billie Bushytail.
STORY V
A VISIT TO BILLIE BUSHTAIL
You remember how Lulu and Jimmie had to be punished for disobeying their
papa and mamma, and going too near the waterfall, I suppose? They couldn't
go in swimming for three days. Well, the three days were very nearly up;
that is there was just one day left, so Lulu said:
"Come on, Jimmie, we will go for a walk in the woods. Don't you want to
come, too, Alice?"
Now, of course, Alice could go in the water if she wanted to, for she was
not punished, as she had not gone near the waterfall, but instead of going
swimming alone, she stayed with her brother and sister, and I call that
very kind of her. So, when Lulu asked her to take a walk in the woods,
Alice answered:
"Of course, I will go with you. Who knows, perhaps we may have an
adventure!" For you see Alice was very romantic. That is, she always hoped
something would happen that never had happened before, and she was always
hoping a fairy prince would come along and rescue her from some danger.
But, up to this time, nothing like this had ever occurred, though those
duck children are going to have a small adventure pretty soon, I think.
"All right," spoke Jimmie, "let's take a walk, and see what happens." So
they walked on through the woods, which were very fine that day, and they
felt the nice, warm, brown earth on their yellow feet, and it was almost
as good as going in the water. Pretty soon, just after they had passed
under a buttonball tree, the ducklings heard a noise, and who should run
out from under a bush but little Sister Sallie. You remember her, I hope;
Sister Sallie, who was named after Lolly-pop-Lally, and who lived with
Johnnie and Billie Bushytail.
"Why, Sister Sallie!" cried Lulu Wibblewobble, "where are you going this
bright, beautiful, sunshiny day?"
"I'm going for the doctor," answered Sister Sallie.
"Are you sick?" inquired Jimmie. "You don't look so."
"No, it's Billie Bushytail," said the little girl squirrel. "He is quite
ill, and I am going for Dr. Possum. Billie has a fever and headache, and
he snuffles something terrible. His papa and mamma are quite worried
about him. Isn't it terrible to be sick?"
"I don't know," answered Jimmie, "for I was never sick."
"I was once," remarked Alice, "and it is not nice, I do assure you.
Suppose we go call on Billie Bushytail Maybe we could cheer him up."
"I think that would be lovely," spoke Sister Sallie. "You go see him,
while I hurry for the doctor."
So the three Wibblewobble children walked on through the pleasant woods,
until they came to the place where the Bushytail family had moved. Their
home was now in a hollow stump, close to the ground, and there was a
fallen tree leading up to it, just like a plank over the brook, so the
ducks could easily walk up it. They went right to the front door, and
Jimmie knocked with his strong, yellow bill. Mrs. Bushytail opened the
door, and when she saw the little ducklings, she said:
"Oh, my dears! Do not come too near, for we don't know what disease Billie
may have. I would not want you to catch it."
"Oh, we are not afraid," spoke Jimmie. "But we will not come too near. We
were out walking in the woods, and we met little Sister Sallie. We came to
call on Billie, and cheer him up."
"That is very kind of you," said Mamma Bushytail. "The poor little fellow
is quite miserable. I put his feet in hot mustard water, and gave him some
Jamaica ginger, and he is now in bed. I fear he has the epizootic, which
is a very dreadful disease."
"Oh, I hope not!" exclaimed Alice, kindly. "Perhaps he only has the pip,
which is not nearly so bad."
"Perhaps," answered Mamma Bushytail. "I have sent Johnnie for some
quinine, and that may help Billie."
"May we see him?" asked Lulu. "Perhaps we can cheer him up."
"To be sure, you may see him," replied Billie's mamma; so she opened the
door a little wider in order that the ducklings might look in the
hollow-stumphouse, for of course they could not enter, as it was too
small. They saw Billie, all wrapped up in blankets, in bed, and he looked
quite ill. But he seemed happy in spite of that, for the hot mustard
footbath had helped him some. He smiled when he saw Jimmie and Lulu and
Alice. Then Jimmie gave Mrs. Bushytail some nice acorns he had picked up
in the woods and had carried under his wing.
"They are for Billie," said Jimmie. Next Lulu gave the sick squirrel-boy
some nice, sweet grass she had gathered on the edge of the pond, and
Alice had some lovely sugared sweet-flag root, which is very good in case
of sickness. Then Billie felt much better, and after a while Jimmie said:
"Let's sing a funny little song for Billie." So Jimmie, Alice and Lulu
sang this little verse to cheer up poor, sick Billie, and, if you can get
a good singer to sing it for you, it doesn't sound at all bad, I assure
you:
Don't mind if you have to take stuff from a spoon,
'Tis better than having to climb to the moon.
You might make a stumble or else have a tumble,
And then you would fall pretty soon.
We came, little Billie, to make you feel better.
At first we were going to write you a letter;
But we had no ink, dear, so that's why we came here.
We're dry now, but we'll soon be wetter.
Then Billie laughed right out loud, he felt so much better, and he ate
some acorns and the sweet-flag root, nibbling at it with his sharp teeth.
Then a scratching sound was heard on the stump, and who should come up it
but Sister Sallie, with Dr. Possum.
The doctor said "He!" and he said "Hum!" and he said "Ahem!" Then he felt
Billie's pulse and made him put out his tongue. Then Dr. Possum exclaimed:
"Why, this little squirrel isn't sick at all! No, sir! Not at all. My
goodness me; no, indeed! Why, the very idea! Sick? I guess not!"
But Mrs. Bushytail said her little boy had been very ill, and Dr. Possum
answered:
"Well, if he was sick, these little ducks have cured him. They are just as
good at doctoring as I am; yes, indeed; and a thermometer or two besides.
There is no need for me."
"It was the funny little song that cured me," said Billie. Then he got out
of bed and began frisking around; the doctor went home, and the little
squirrel was all well. After a while Jimmie, Lulu and Alice had to leave,
and they went home, feeling very happy for the good they had done to
Billie Bushytail, for it always makes you feel happy to help some one.
Now, if you promise not to whisper in school next week you shall hear
to-morrow night how Jimmie tried to become a flying machine.
[Illustration:]
STORY VI
JIMMIE AS A FLYING MACHINE
One day, I think it must have been about three-and-a-half-quacks past
cornmeal time, there was a great commotion in the yard, and around the
pond where Jimmie Wibblewobble and his two sisters and his papa and mamma
lived. There was a great fluttering in the air, and something, colored in
beautiful tints, flew down and settled on the water with a little splash.
"My goodness, what is that?" asked Alice Wibblewobble, who was easily
frightened. At first no one knew, for, though the creature was shaped just
like a duck, it was not colored like any duck Jimmie had even seen. It was
gold and bronze and green, with little patches of red and blue here and
there, and was a most beautiful creature.
"Maybe that is a fairy," suggested Lulu, who sometimes read fairy stories.
"Oh, if it only might be one, and could tell me where the fairy prince
is!" exclaimed Alice, with a sigh.
"Nonsense!" cried Jimmie, who was just going off to see his friend Bully,
the frog. "Stuff and nonsense!"
"That's what I say, too," called out the strange creature. "Nonsense! I'm
not a fairy at all. I'm a duck like yourselves, only I am a wild duck."
Then its wings beat the air and water, and the wild duck arose and flew
right over the pond and back again, as quickly as could be.
"My goodness! How do you do that?" asked Jimmie, who never could fly more
than a few feet.
"Why," answered the wild duck, "I just did it, that's all."
"Snippery, snappery snails!" cried Jimmie, "you're just like a flying
machine that my papa read about in the paper."
"Well, somewhat like one, perhaps," admitted the wild duck. "I can fly a
long distance. Did you ever try?"
"No," answered Jimmie; "I never did."
"Perhaps you would like to try now," suggested the other. "I will stay
here a little while, and show you. It is very easy. You can just as well
become a flying machine as not. Come, I will fly up on the fence. You come
up here, too, and when I say 'Go!' why start off, and, who knows? perhaps
you will do as well as I. Don't be afraid."
"Of course, I'll try," said Jimmie, very bravely, for he was always
wanting to try new things.
"So will I," cried Lulu. "I want to fly, too."
"Oh, you had better be careful," warned Alice, who was a very cautious
duckling, never getting into danger if she could help it.
"Oh, we'll be careful, but we are going to become flying machines just the
same," said Jimmie.
So the wild duck flew up on the fence, which was at one edge of the pond,
and, oh, how beautiful he looked with the sun shining on his finely
colored feathers. Jimmie had quite a struggle to get on the top rail of
the fence, and so did Lulu, but they finally managed it, and, just as they
stood beside the wild duck, who should come along but Grandfather
Goosey-Gander. He asked the two Wibblewobble children what they were going
to do, and when Jimmie said they were going to learn to become flying
machines, the old duck said, "Humph!" just as quickly as he could.
"If you had such hard work getting to the top of the fence, how do you
think you can fly across the pond?" he asked, and then he sneezed three
times, for he was catching cold.
"Oh, we will do it," answered Jimmie, for, of course, you see, he really
thought he could.
But something is going to happen, just as sure as you can add up two and
three and make five out of them.
"Are you all ready?" asked the wild duck of Jimmie and Lulu, as they stood
beside him, balanced on the fence rail.
"Yes," replied Jimmie, trying to stop his heart from beating so rapidly,
"we are ready, Mr. Wild Duck. You fly and we will fly also."
"Watch me carefully," said the beautiful creature, "and do exactly as I
do."
They were just about to fly, when the old rooster, who had been picking up
corn down the road, come running up.
"Hold on!" he cried, "I can fly as good as that wild duck! Wait for me and
we will have a race!"
So they waited until the old rooster got up on the fence rail, too. Then
the wild duck counted: "One to begin with, two for a show, three to make
ready and four to go!"
Then he flapped his wings, gave a loud "squawk-squawk" and sailed over
that pond as nice as you please.
Well, of course, I've got to tell exactly what happened, or it wouldn't be
fair. Jimmie tried to fly, but I wish you could have seen him. He only
went a little way, and then, because his body was too heavy for his wings,
or because his wings were too light for his body, he came flopping right
down to the ground, ker-thump, and he hurt his nose considerably, let me
tell you, for considerably is quite a lot.
Well, poor Lulu, if she didn't fall, too! Yes, sir, she turned a
somersault right in the air, before all those watching ducks, and she,
too, came down ker-flimmax-ker-flump, and she hurt her left-hand wing.
Then she cried once, "Boo-hoo!" just like that. Then she stopped.
Jimmie didn't cry at all, if you'll believe me, no, sir, not a mite, but
he felt badly all the same. And then that rooster! Oh, dear me, how
foolish some roosters are, anyhow, now aren't they, really? Well, he
started off all right, but just then the wind got in the wrong place, and
it turned him upside down. Now, no rooster can fly upside down, no matter
what else he can do, so that one came flippity-flop down into the water
ker-splash-ker-sposh; and one more besides! Maybe he didn't feel
mortified!
But that wild duck! Oh, my, goodness me! How he did fly. Around and
around, and around that pond he went, never touching the water once. Then
he came to where Jimmie and Lulu were, and he told them how sorry he felt
for them, before he flew away to a far, far distant land, where only wild
ducks live. Then Grandfather Goosey-Gander went up to those two
Wibblewobble children, and so did Alice, to lend Lulu her handkerchief.
And Grandfather Goosey said: "It is better for tame ducks to stay on the
water, or on land. They were not made for flying." So that was the end of
Jimmie trying to become an air ship. To-morrow night you may hear about
Lulu and the gold fish, that is if the lemon squeezer doesn't pinch me.
STORY VII
LULU AND THE GOLD FISH
Well, here we are again, after a rest over night, and all ready for
another story, I suppose. Let me see, it was to be about the fairy prince
and Alice Wibblewobble--no, hold on there, I'm wrong. I know it. Lulu and
the gold fish; to be sure! Well, here we go. Now, of course, I could make
this about the fairy prince--in fact, he has something to do with this
story--but as the gold fish has more, I put her name at the top.
Lulu Wibblewobble, the little duck girl, who could throw stones almost as
straight as a boy, was swimming around the pond near the pen where she
lived. It was a nice, warm, sunshiny day, and Lulu wanted to do something,
but she didn't just know what. Jimmie, her brother, was off playing with
Bully, the frog, and Alice, her sister, was straightening out her feathers
in the back parlor bedroom, where a piece of tin could be used for a
looking glass.
All at once Lulu's mamma called to her:
"Lulu, I want you to go to the store to get some acorn meal and a yeast
cake. I am going to set bread to-night. Hurry, now, that's a good girl."
"All right, mamma," answered Lulu, and she steered herself around, just
like a motorboat in the water, and started for the store, paddling as hard
as she could.
She had not gone very far, with the little ripples and waves chasing each
other across the pond, before she saw something swimming close beside her.
Lulu looked down, and what do you think she saw? Well, you might guess,
but then again, you might not, so I'll tell you. It was a gold fish.
Oh, it was such a beautiful gold fish, with red and silvery spots and
streaks, and a long, feathery tail that looked like lace in the water.
"Hello!" exclaimed Lulu; "I didn't know you lived here."
"Oh, yes," answered the fish. "I have lived here for some time, but, you
see, during the cold weather I stay down in the mud. However, as it is now
spring, I have come up, and I am going to play around all summer."
"That's nice," remarked Lulu. "What's your name?"
"My name is Fannie Tail," replied the fish. "You see I got that name
because my tail is shaped like a fan, but most persons just call me Fan
Tail. You may, if you like."
"All right," agreed Lulu. "I will. My name is Lulu, but you may call me
Lu, if you wish."
"Good," answered the fish, turning a double somersault in the water and
wiggling her right fin as if trying to shake hands. "Now we are well
acquainted. And may I ask where you are going?"
So Lulu told the fish girl about having to go to the store, and Fan seemed
quite pleased to hear it. The two swam on together for some distance, the
fish just under the water and Lulu on top. Pretty soon Lulu asked Fan
where she was going, and the gold fish replied:
"I am going to the drug store for some sweet flag root for the fairy
prince," and once more the fish girl turned a double somersault and opened
her mouth wide, for she had a cold in her head, in consequence of being so
wet. But as it is very difficult to write a story and make a gold fish
talk as if she had a cold in the head, I have decided to make Fan talk
just ordinarily. You never would have known anything about the cold if I
hadn't mentioned it, so it's just as well.
"Pardon me," said Lulu, just like a telephone girl, "but did I understand
you to say you were going for some sweet flag root for the fairy prince?"
"Yes," answered Fan Tail, "that's what I said."
"But!" cried Lulu. "A fairy prince! I never knew there were fairies in
this pond!"
"Neither did lots of other persons," replied Fan. "It's supposed to be a
secret, but I'll tell you. And, another thing. There is something strange
about this fairy prince. Do you promise never to tell?"
"Yes," answered Lulu. "Cross my heart I'll never tell," and she lifted one
leg out of the water and crossed her heart as well as she could.
"Then," said the gold fish in a whisper, "If you will come with me I will
show you the fairy prince. That is, after I go to the drug store for him.
But mind, it's a great secret."
So the two swam on together, but Lulu felt sad. And the reason she felt
sad was this: Her sister Alice, who was very romantic--that is, she
continually wanted things to happen that never could happen--Alice always
had wished to see a fairy prince. Now, unless Fan would let Lulu tell the
secret, Alice would never see a prince. And to think he was right in the
same pond with her! Oh, it's dreadful to have a secret you can't tell even
to your own sister, I think.
Lulu sighed so that she made quite a wave in the pond, and when the fish
saw this she knew something was the matter. So she asked Lulu what it was,
and Lulu told her how Alice was just crazy to see a fairy prince, and had
been dreaming of one for ever and ever so long.
"And I've promised not to tell," ended Lulu. "Poor Alice! How disappointed
she will be not to see a real, live fairy!"
"Well, perhaps it is too bad," admitted Fan Tail, and she sneezed so hard
that the water flew up in a spray, just like a fountain. "Perhaps I shall
let you off from your promise," the gold fish went on. "Yes, I think you
may bring Alice to see the fairy prince."
"And Jimmie? Jimmie's my brother. I know he would love to see him, too.
May he come?"
"Yes, you may bring Jimmie also. But mind, I don't want you to be
disappointed. Most fairy princes are disappointing, so don't say I didn't
warn you."
"Oh, that will be all right," spoke Lulu, now quite happy again. "May I
bring them this afternoon?"
"Oh! I suppose so, but no one else, mind. You see the fairy prince is
rather bashful."
So Lulu promised she would bring no one else, and she hurried to the store
and back again. Fan Tail, the gold fish, went to the drug store for the
sweet flag root for the fairy prince, and on the way she stubbed her nose
against a stone, which made her cold in the head worse than ever; but of
course we have nothing to do with that except to feel sorry for her.
When Lulu got home she was so excited she dropped the yeast cake in the
pond, and it would have gotten all wet only it was wrapped in tin-foil.
Then she told Alice and Jimmie about the fairy prince she was going to
see, but, as this story is too long already, I must stop, and in case the
postman does not blow his whistle too loud and scary, I shall have the
pleasure, to-morrow night, of telling you about the fairy prince. And I
hope you won't be disappointed.
STORY VIII
WHO THE FAIRY PRINCE WAS
Mamma and Papa Wibblewobble were sitting in front of the duck pen, talking
with Grandfather Goosey-Gander and the big rooster. They were so busily
engaged in conversation about the best way to serve cold corn meal mixed
with water, that when Lulu asked her parents if she and Jimmie and Alice
could go for a swim, Mrs. Wibblewobble said:
"Yes, my dear, but be careful you don't get wet."
Now wasn't that a funny thing for a duck mamma to say to her little duck
girl? But Mamma Wibblewobble was absent minded, so we must excuse her. You
see she thought Lulu wanted to go for a walk in the woods. Well, it didn't
much matter, but I thought I would speak about it.
"Can we go?" asked Jimmie, when Lulu came back.
"Yes," she answered. "Hurry now, for we are going to see the fairy prince,
as the gold fish promised."
"Oh, I'm so excited I can hardly wait!" exclaimed Alice, who was quite
romantic, as I have explained. "Am I swimming straight, Lulu? I wouldn't
for all the world, have a fairy prince see me swimming crooked."
"Oh, don't be so fussy!" called out Jimmie. "I wish Bully, the frog was
here. He and I could have some fun."
"Oh, no!" cried Lulu. "We are the only ones allowed to see the fairy
prince. It's a secret, and he is quite bashful."
"How are you going to find him?" asked Jimmie. "This is a large pond, and
it's going to be quite a task to locate the fairy prince, or even the gold
fish."
"Oh! let's don't worry," suggested Alice. "Worrying is one of the very
worst things you can do, especially when there is anything in it about a
fairy. Don't you know that fairies are especially made not to worry? We
will find our way somehow. Either a golden ball will appear and roll on
before us to show us the right direction, or else a magical boat will
suddenly come up in the water, and we can ride right to the place."
"Hu! What do we want of a boat?" asked Jimmie. "Can't we swim? I don't
believe much in this fairy business, anyhow."
"Then, if you don't believe, you never will see the fairy prince,"
declared Alice. "Only those who believe in fairies can see them. I know,
for I've read lots of fairy stories." You see Alice was very much in
earnest about this matter.
So the three children swam on together over the pond, and the waters
sparkled in the sun, until you would have thought there were thousands of
diamonds floating on top. The breeze blew just enough to make little
ripples, and altogether it was a very fine day. They went on and on, until
pretty soon they were in a part of the pond they had never before visited.
Tall rushes grew on either side, and the long meadow grass came right down
to the edge of the water and trailed in it, making little green caves in
which to hide. It was cool and quiet there, and very lovely. The ducks
liked it, but still there was no sign of the fairy prince; and the gold
fish had not come to show them the way.
"I don't believe we'll ever see any fairy prince," said Jimmie.
"Oh! but the gold fish promised me," spoke Lulu.
"Hush!" cried Alice. "We must keep very quiet. We may meet the magical
boat, or the golden ball, any minute."