“What’s that?” asked Teddie
and Freddie Roly-Poly.
Then Humpty Dumpty called
out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs
again!”
Thump, thump! bump, bump!
Humpty Dumpty fell all the way
down-stairs.
Mama Roly-Poly went to pick
him up, and she said, “Some day you
will get hurt if you are not careful.”
THUMP, THUMP! BUMP, BUMP!
Then—what do you suppose
happened?
Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly
shouted:
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Can not put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
Then the Roly-Poly family began
to eat their breakfast.
“Oh, ow!” cried Humpty
Dumpty.
“Oh, ow!” cried Teddie and
Freddie.
What do you suppose was the
matter this time?
All the little Roly-Polys had
burned their mouths because their
oatmeal was so hot.
“Never mind,” said Papa. “You
must eat your breakfast or you will
be late for school.”
Sure enough, the first bell for
school was ringing that very minute.
Teddie looked at Freddie and
Freddie looked at Teddie.
Any one could have told they
were twins, they looked so much
alike.
Teddie said, “How can I go to
school with a sore mouth?”
Freddie said, “My mouth is
sore, too.”
Humpty Dumpty said, “I have
a lame back because I fell down-stairs.”
Mama Roly-Poly looked over her
spectacles and said, “If you are not
able to go to school, I will put you
all to bed!”
Then Teddie dried his eyes on
the corner of his napkin, and Freddie
said, “I feel much better.”
Humpty Dumpty said, “I can go
to school if the twins will draw me
in the cart.”
The children got down from their
seats at the table and began to get
ready for school.
“Where is my red cap?” cried
Teddie.
“Where is my red cap?” shouted
Freddie.
Mama and Papa looked in every
nook and corner, but they could not
find the red caps.
Humpty Dumpty stood looking
out of the window. Suddenly, he
began to dance a jig. He danced so
hard that he spun around like a top.
“Stop him! stop him!” cried
Mama Roly-Poly. “Stop him, or he
will hurt his back.”
Teddie went and whispered something
in his right ear and Freddie
whispered something in his left ear,
and Humpty Dumpty stopped.
The twins asked, “What made
you spin around that way?”
Humpty Dumpty said:
“I know something I shan’t tell,
Three little nuts in a pea-nut shell.”
“He knows where our caps are,”
cried the twins. “O Ma, make him
tell! O Pa, make him tell!”
Then Humpty Dumpty led the
twins to the window and pointed to
the caps lying under the maple
tree.
It had rained the night before
and the caps were wet.
The twins were in such a hurry
to get to school that they put on
their wet caps and ran merrily along,
and Humpty Dumpty forgot all
about wishing to ride in a cart and
ran merrily after them.
When they reached the school
all the children set up a shout.
Teddie’s face was all streaked
with red, and Freddie’s face was all
streaked with red.
The water from their wet caps
had run down their cheeks.
The teacher sent them out to the
pump to wash their faces.
Then school opened, and Humpty
Dumpty began to cry.
He cried so hard that a little
stream of tears ran out of each eye.
The teacher asked, “What is the
matter, Humpty Dumpty?”
The little fellow was crying so
hard that he could not answer.
Then Freddie raised his hand
and asked, “Please, may I speak?”
and Teddie raised his hand and
asked, “Please, may I speak?”
The teacher nodded, and the twins
said, “Perhaps Humpty Dumpty is
hurt, for he fell down-stairs this
morning.”
Then the teacher said that the
twins might put Humpty Dumpty
into a wheel-barrow and take him
home.
The teacher said, “Say your
tables and count numbers all the
way.”
The twins put Humpty Dumpty
into a wheel-barrow, and they put
their wet caps by his side and started
homeward.
Then they began to count: “One,
two, three, four.”
The children went on counting
and talking in the funniest way.
When they got home they found
that Papa and Mama had gone
away.
THE TWINS SANG HIM A NONSENSE SONG
Humpty Dumpty began to cry.
“I want my ma,” he said.
Teddie said, “Don’t cry and we
will sing you a song.”
Freddie said, “Indeed we will.”
Mama had left a note on the
table, and the note said:
I have left your dinner in the pantry. If we
do not come home to-night Grandpa Grimes will
stay with you.
Humpty Dumpty lay down on
the sofa and the twins sang him a
nonsense song, in hopes that he
would soon be better.
They sang:
“Oh, beets and carrots are good to eat,
And pears and apples are nice and sweet;
But Mrs. Potato of all is most wise,
For she has such a number of eyes!”
Then they drew a picture of Mrs.
Potato and soon Humpty Dumpty
fell asleep.
Then the twins went to the window
to see whether or not Grandpa
Grimes was coming.
If Humpty Dumpty now should fall
From other places than the wall,
He might get a crack or two,
And that would never, never do.
CHAPTER II — AMARYLLIS
Grandpa Grimes was nowhere to be
seen, so the twins went out-doors to
play. They had so much fun turning
somersaults on the lawn that
they forgot all about dinner, and
they forgot all about Humpty
Dumpty.
Very likely they would have forgotten
all about supper, too, if they
had not happened to look down the
road.
“Hurrah!” cried Freddie. “There
is Grandpa Grimes.”
“Hurrah!” cried Teddie. “But
why doesn’t he come in! He is going
past the gate!”
The twins ran down the road to
catch Grandpa Grimes.
Grandpa Grimes was a jolly old
fellow. He carried a suit-case and
a big umbrella.
He never went anywhere without
his umbrella.
He said, “Who can tell whether
it will rain or shine?”
One of the twins grabbed his
suit-case and the other twin grabbed
his umbrella.
Grandpa asked, “Where is
Humpty Dumpty?”
“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and
Freddie, “we had forgotten all about
him, and we had forgotten all about
our dinner, too!”
Grandpa Grimes began to whistle
a merry tune and they all went into
the house.
GRANDPA GRIMES
Humpty Dumpty did not wake
up when they came in.
Grandpa Grimes looked at him
and said, “Strange! Extraordinary!
Most extraordinary!”
Then he took a good look at
Humpty Dumpty and cried, “Get
the bottle of glue! Get it quickly!”
What do you suppose Grandpa
Grimes saw? He saw that Humpty
Dumpty had a crack in his back!
Grandpa put the glue on the
poor little fellow’s back. Then
Humpty Dumpty woke up and said,
“I want Ma, boo-hoo!”
Grandpa Grimes said, “If you
will be still I will tell you a story.”
“A story! a story!” cried the
twins together. “Do tell us a story!”
Grandpa Grimes said:
“How can I talk with nothing to eat?
Cold bread and butter would be quite a treat!”
The twins took the hint and ran
about getting supper ready.
They set the table and warmed
up the dinner that Mama Roly-Poly
had left them.
Humpty Dumpty cried, “I want
supper, too.”
So Grandpa rolled the sofa into
the dining-room and for fun they
all sat on the sofa and ate their
supper.
“How about the red caps?” asked
Grandpa Grimes.
He had given the caps to the
twins on their last birthday.
Then Freddie hung his head
and said, “We were careless,” and
Teddie said, “We let them get wet,
Grandpa.”
Then Grandpa Grimes chuckled
and asked, “What mischief have you
been up to, Humpty Dumpty?”
Humpty Dumpty said, “Oh, I
only fell down-stairs.”
Then the twins said, “Where can
Pa and Ma have gone?”
Grandpa pretended he did not
hear. He only said, “This is very
good tea for cold tea.”
Freddie said, “I wonder if Ma
went up town.”
Teddie said, “I wonder if Pa
went to the farm.”
“Speak a little louder,” said
Grandpa Grimes. “How can you
expect an old man to hear?”
Then he winked one eye at
Humpty Dumpty and he winked
the other eye at the cat, for he could
hear as well as any of them.
Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell us
a story, please, Grandpa.”
“Who will wash dishes?” asked
Grandpa.
“I will,” said all the children
at once.
“Look out, Humpty Dumpty, or
you will fall off the sofa,” said
Grandpa Grimes.
The twins washed and wiped the
dishes and then they shouted, “Now
for the story! Tell us the story!”
“Who fed the cat?” asked
Grandpa Grimes.
Then Freddie got a saucer, and
Teddie poured milk into it, and the
old cat purred and drank her milk.
The twins got two little stools
and sat down at Grandpa’s feet.
“Did you lock the back door?”
asked Grandpa with a twinkle in
his eye. “We don’t wish to have
any tramps coming in here.”
So Teddie went and locked the
door and they thought that now
Grandpa would surely begin.
Then Grandpa said:
“How can I tell the story right,
Without a ray of candle-light?”
Freddie lighted the lamp, and
then Grandpa said:
“Now then! you are such dear,
good children that I will tell you
the story of Amaryllis.”
This is the fairy tale that Grandpa
told:
Amaryllis sat by the fire, playing
his fiddle.
He was alone in the house.
His brothers had gone to the ball.
Amaryllis was thinking of the
story of Cinderella.
“I am like Cinderella, only I am
a boy,” he said. “I sit among the
ashes and cinders.”
“By and by,” he said, “I will pretend
I am at the ball.”
So he took up his fiddle again
and played a merry tune.
A little mouse that lived in the
house came out and began to dance
as he played.
Amaryllis laughed when the little
mouse danced.
He forgot that he had wished to
go to the ball.
Amaryllis had two brothers.
They were proud and cruel. They
had said, “Amaryllis is so little that
we will give him a girl’s name. We
will make him black our boots and
tend the fires and wait on us.”
While Amaryllis sat playing the
fiddle a fairy came in.
“Heigho! that was a merry tune,”
said the fairy. “Come, let us dance.”
So Amaryllis laid down his fiddle,
and he and the fairy joined
hands and danced right into the
ball-room where the brothers were,
and all the fine lords and ladies.
Amaryllis was afraid at first.
He thought of his shabby clothes.
He looked down and saw that he
had on a fine velvet suit with gold
buttons.
The fairy still danced with him.
Round and round and round
they went.
“Mind that you don’t play the
fiddle here until the third night,” the
fairy said, and then she disappeared.
All the fine ladies bowed to
Amaryllis and all the lords stared
at him.
The lovely princess danced with
Amaryllis and he was very happy
indeed.
They had danced all this time
without music.
Suddenly the king rose from his
throne and said:
“He who takes the fiddle,
And plays a jolly air,
Shall have half my kingdom,
And the princess fair!”
Then every one of the lords
wished to play the fiddle, you may
be sure, and Amaryllis could hardly
keep his hands still.
The proud brothers tried to play,
but they could not make a sound.
Many of the lords tried to play,
but the fiddle would only squeak
for them. Sometimes it would fly
right out of their hands.
All this time Amaryllis was longing
to play the fiddle, and his arm
went to and fro as though he had
hold of the bow.
Some one noticed him and cried,
“See! we have the fiddler here.”
Amaryllis remembered the words
of the fairy just in time, and so he
would not play the fiddle. He went
out of the room and ran home as
fast as his legs could carry him.
When the brothers got home
they told great tales about the
ball.
They told Amaryllis about the
handsome young prince who would
not play the fiddle.
The next night the king gave
another ball and both the brothers
were invited.
“Black my boots,” said one.
“Brush my coat,” said the other.
Amaryllis waited on them as
usual.
When, at last, the brothers were
gone, Amaryllis sat down by the fire
and began to play as before.
In came the fairy.
“Let us dance,” she said.
Amaryllis and the fairy danced
round and round as before, and
danced again into the ball-room.
“Don’t touch the king’s fiddle
until the third night,” whispered the
fairy, and she was gone.
Everybody had a fine time at the
ball that night, and after a while
the king rose as before and said:
“He who takes the fiddle
And plays a jolly air,
Shall have half my kingdom
And the princess fair.”
Amaryllis could stand it no
longer. He forgot that he was at a
great ball. He forgot the lords and
ladies. He forgot the fairy’s words,
and reached out his hand for the
fiddle.
He began to play, but the tune
he played was not a merry one. He
looked down and saw that he had
on his old, shabby clothes.
All the lords and ladies cried,
“Put him out! Put him out! He
is a street musician.”
Amaryllis ran out of the ball-room
and went sadly home.
The two brothers did not know
what had happened. They had
eaten so much that they had fallen
asleep at the ball.
The third night the king gave
another ball.
The two brothers were invited.
They had lost so much sleep that
they were very cross while they were
getting ready.
They made Amaryllis wait on
them, and they whipped him soundly
because he moved slowly.
Poor Amaryllis was sleepy, too.
At last Amaryllis sat in the chimney
corner as before.
He said, “It is too late for the
fairy to come to-night.”
He began to play a sad tune.
Then the fairy peeped in at the
window and asked, “Will you be
good this time and remember what I
tell you about playing the fiddle?”
Amaryllis nodded and the fairy
came in.
They danced into the ball-room
at exactly quarter of twelve.
“Now,” whispered the fairy,
“whatever happens, when the clock
strikes twelve, you must play the
fiddle.”
Then the fairy opened her bag
and a little mouse jumped from it
and ran behind a chair.
The king rose from his throne
and began to talk, and just then the
little mouse ran across the floor, and
the lovely princess fell in a faint.
All the noblemen wished to help
the princess, and all the ladies wished
to fan her.
Amaryllis wished to go to the
princess, too, but just at that minute
the clock struck twelve.
He remembered the fairy’s words
and reached out for the king’s fiddle
and began to play a very merry
tune.
He played such a merry tune
that the princess revived. Everybody
began to waltz, and the princess
danced so hard that she danced
right into Amaryllis’s arms!
The little mouse was frightened
and ran away.
Then the whole company made
merry. The king gave Amaryllis
half his kingdom. Amaryllis married
the princess, and they lived
happily ever after.
“Tell it again,” said Freddie.
“Tell it again,” said Teddie.
Humpty Dumpty rolled over to
the edge of the sofa. He nearly rolled
off the sofa.
Grandpa Grimes said, “Humpty
Dumpty, I believe you roll off something
every day!”
Humpty Dumpty said, “That
was a fine story.”
Grandpa said, “I will tell it to you
again some day.”
Freddie said,“I should like to act
out the story.”
Teddie said, “I should like to act
it out, too.”
Then Grandpa Grimes laughed.
He pulled out his watch and said,
“Bed-time for honest folks.”
Then all the children went merrily
to bed.
The Roly-Polys can not spell,
They do not know their lessons well,
They sit on stools and wear dunce-caps, too,
As any child might have to do.
CHAPTER III — THE TREE FAIRIES
Next morning who do you suppose
was the first one to wake up?
Humpty Dumpty woke up and
rolled out of bed.
“Bump!” he fell to the floor and
rolled over and over. Humpty Dumpty
was so fat he was always rolling
about.
“Help! help!” called the twins.
“Humpty Dumpty has fallen out of
bed.”
“Hush!” said Humpty Dumpty,
“don’t waken Grandpa. I did not
hurt myself at all this time.”
Then the twins looked at the
great clock in the hall. Its hands
pointed at quarter of six, so they all
went back to bed.
“I am not a bit sleepy,” said
Freddie.
“Neither am I,” said Teddie.
Humpty Dumpty said, “Let us
tell one another fairy stories.”
Freddie began, “Once there was
a princess. She had golden hair.”
“No, she had red hair,” said
Humpty Dumpty.
“No, no,” said the twins, “we wish
her to have golden hair.”
Then Humpty Dumpty said,
“Red hair, red hair,” and he laughed
so hard that he fell out of bed
again.
The funny little Roly-Polys could
not go on with the story because
they could not agree about the color
of the princess’s hair.
They all got up and tip-toed
down-stairs.
They did not wish to waken
Grandpa.
The twins started to get breakfast,
and such a time as they had!
First the fire would not burn, then
the water would not boil.
They burned their fingers and
they burned the toast.
Grandpa Grimes came down at
last, and they all sat down to breakfast.
Grandpa Grimes said, “The coffee
is so good I will give you all new
red caps and you may go with me to
the store to buy them.”
“Hurrah!” shouted the twins together.
Humpty Dumpty said, “I want a
blue cap. I haven’t any twin.”
Then they all laughed until they
cried.
“I wonder where Ma and Pa have
gone,” said the twins.
“How many of you will be late
for school?” asked Grandpa Grimes.
Then they all ate their breakfast
and started on a run for school.
Grandpa Grimes stood in the
doorway and waved a red pocket-handkerchief
at them as they ran
along.
Humpty Dumpty began to cry
as soon as school opened. He cried
and he screamed and he howled.
The teacher said, “Humpty
Dumpty, I can not send you home
every day!”
Humpty Dumpty would not tell
what was the matter and he only
cried, “I want my grandpa, boo-hoo!”
At last the teacher said that
Humpty Dumpty must go home,
but that he must go alone this time.
Then Humpty Dumpty made a
bow and went home.
It was time for the classes to
stand up and spell. Teddie and
Freddie stood up with the rest.
“Spell ‘Africa,’” said the teacher.
Teddie missed and went to the
foot of the class. Then Freddie
missed and went to the foot of the
class.
So, alas! it went on all day long.
Teddie and Freddie could not spell
and they could neither read nor
write.
What do you suppose was the
matter?
Freddie was wondering where his
mama was and Teddie was wondering
where his papa was, and so they
could not study.
At the close of school those two
funny little twins had to sit on stools
and wear dunce-caps.
At five o’clock they went home.
They walked slowly. They were
thinking about the dunce-caps.
When they got home they wore
such long faces that Grandpa Grimes
said, “Come right into the parlor!”
There sat Humpty Dumpty on
the floor. The twins sat down beside
him, and Grandpa said, “A
penny for your thoughts,” and he
held up three bright new pennies.
Each of the Roly-Polys told what
he was thinking about and Grandpa
gave each of them a penny.
Then they began to beg for a
story.
“Dear Grandpa,” they said, “tell
a story. Please, Grandpa, just one
story.”
Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell a
bran-new story, please.”
Grandpa Grimes dearly loved to
tell stories, so he said, “I will tell
you about the Tree Fairies.”
When he finished the story, the
little Roly-Polys were fast asleep, so
Grandpa laughed and said to himself,
“I can tell that same story
again, some day!”
This is the story Grandpa Grimes
told:
The Pied Piper played a tune, and
the children of Hamelin followed
him.
They followed him until he came
to a mountain.
A door in the side of the mountain
opened, and the piper and the
children went inside.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” said the
piper. “We must get inside the
mountain before the door closes.”
The children all followed him.
The door in the mountain-side
closed, and no one ever saw them
again.
The children now looked about
them.
They stood in the most wonderful
green room. It looked like
Fairy Land.
The chairs and tables were made
of green moss, and green hammocks
were swinging everywhere.
The children ran about, making
a great noise.
Then the funniest dwarf appeared.
He had a beard that reached
clear down to the floor.
He stamped his foot, and shouted
to the Pied Piper, “What mischief
have you been in now?”
The Pied Piper said, “I freed the
town of Hamelin of rats, and the
mayor promised to pay me a thousand
guilders. He would not pay
the money, when the time came, so I
took his children, and all the other
children of the village.”
The dwarf stamped his foot again,
and shouted, “What do you intend
to do with all these children?”
The Pied Piper did not answer.
He only played a merry tune.
“They shall not stay here!”
shouted the dwarf. Then he went
into the next room, where his brothers
were at work.
The dwarfs in this room were
starting young plants, and they
tended the roots of trees to make
them grow.
The dwarf stamped his foot and
shouted to his brothers:
“The Pied Piper has brought in
a whole villageful of children. I
will not keep them all. I can never
feed so many!”
One funny dwarf answered him.
He was a queer fellow, as broad as
he was long.
This dwarf laid his finger on the
side of his nose and asked:
“Why not change the children
into fairies and let them live in the
trunks of the trees?”
“The very thing!” shouted the
first dwarf.
So he opened a little door at the
root of a maple tree, and called one
of the children to him.
Then the other dwarfs said a
magic verse, and whisk! the child
was changed into a fairy and went
up into the trunk of the tree!
So the dwarfs kept on, until all
the children were changed into fairies
and went to live in the trunks of
trees.
Soon after this the Pied Piper
and the dwarfs went away across the
sea.
They rode on the Magic Carpet,
and they forgot all about the children
they had changed into fairies
and shut up in the trees.
One day Prince Charming went
into the woods.
He was looking for the Beautiful
Princess.
He was tired, for he had walked
a long way through the woods. He
lay down under the tree, to rest.
He was almost asleep when a
maple seed fell on his head, and he
said:
“The seed makes me think of the
hair of the Beautiful Princess.”
Then he heard a gentle tapping.
The tapping seemed to come
from the tree under which he lay.
He got up and called in a loud voice:
“Princess, princess, come to me,
If princess, now, you really be!”
Then, he heard a gentle sigh, but
he thought it was the wind stirring
the new green leaves.
Then the prince fell asleep, and
dreamed a dream.
He dreamed that a door opened
in the tree under which he lay and
out walked the beautiful princess.
He thought that the princess said,
“All the fairies are shut up in trees.
You must let them out. Then I can
come to you.”
The prince awoke. He rubbed
his sleepy eyes and ran to a tree
near by, and said:
“Pretty Fairy Thistle-Down,
Spread your airy wings,
Open, now, your secret door,
While Prince Charming sings.”
Click! click! click! A little door
opened in the tree, and out came
Fairy Thistle-Down. She floated
away on the wings of the breeze.
Then Prince Charming went to
another tree and said:
“Pretty Fairy Silver-Sheen,
In your dainty dress of green,
Open wide your door to me,
I have come to set you free.”
Click! click! click! The door
opened and out came Fairy Silver-Sheen.
The prince went to another tree
and said:
“Good-Luck Fairy, light and airy,
Open your tree-door wide,
This is such a pleasant world,
You must not stay inside.”
Click! click! click! Open came
the door, and out came the Good-Luck
Fairy. She bowed, and smiled
at the prince.
So the prince went on, all day,
calling the fairies to come out of the
trees.
When evening came he stood beside
an old oak tree, but he called
in vain, for the Oak-Tree Fairy
would not come out.
Then he went back to the tree
in which the Beautiful Princess was,
and he said, “Can you come out
now?”
The Beautiful Princess said, “I
can not come until you let out the
Oak-Tree Fairy!”
The next day it rained, and the
next, and the next.
It is very sober business walking
in the woods in wet weather.
The poor prince got the feathers
in his cap all wet, but he must make
the Oak-Tree Fairy come out.
He pleaded and pleaded with her
to leave her tree.
At last the Oak-Tree Fairy sang
this little song:
“O prince, I promise to leave my tree
When yellow slippers you bring to me.”
The prince was delighted. He
went into town, and bought the prettiest
yellow satin slippers he could
find. He took them to the fairy in
the oak tree, but she only repeated
the same verse.
The prince then puzzled his brains
to find out what kind of slippers the
fairy wished.
He was almost in despair, when,
one day, he was walking through the
woods and saw a queer little yellow
flower growing.
He went nearer the flower. Then
he clapped his hands and shouted
for joy, because the flower was in the
shape of a yellow slipper.
He searched a long time until he
found another flower just like it.
Then he ran as fast as his feet would
carry him, and came to the oak tree
and said:
“Now I am happy. Without any doubt,
Kind Oak-Tree Fairy, you will come out.”
Click! click! click! went the door
in the tree and the Oak-Tree Fairy
came out.
She put on the slippers and went
tripping away through the woods.
Then the prince went back to the
tree in which the Beautiful Princess
lived. He tapped on the tree and
called out:
“Beautiful Princess, come to me,
Open now the door in your tree.”
Click! click! click! Open came
the door in the tree and out came
the Beautiful Princess.
She had eyes like violets and hair
like silky corn tassels, and she said:
“Prince Charming has set the fairies free,
And all will our willing servants be.”
The prince and the princess were
married. All the fairies came to
the wedding, and the Good-Luck
Fairy was the jolliest one of all.
The Oak-Tree Fairy said, “You
see, I had to have yellow slippers to
wear to the wedding!”
The prince ordered the Flower-Fairy
to plant some more seeds of
the wonderful flower that bore the
yellow slippers, so that the Oak-Tree
Fairy might have a new pair of
slippers every year.
If you search in the deep woods
you may see the slippers growing
there. They are called Lady Slippers
now.
The prince and the princess lived
happily ever after, and the fairies
went all over the world.
After Grandpa had finished the
story Freddie woke up.
He rolled over against Teddie.
Then Teddie woke up, of course,
and they began to talk.
Then Humpty Dumpty woke up.
“When did you fall asleep?”
asked Grandpa.
The Roly-Polys all began to talk
at once.
Grandpa Grimes shook his head.
“One at a time, please,” he said.
Then Freddie and Teddie and
Humpty Dumpty all held up their
hands.
Grandpa Grimes nodded to Teddie,
who said:
“I fell asleep when you were telling
about a dwarf.”
Then Freddie said, “I fell asleep
when you were telling about the
Oak-Tree Fairy.”
Humpty Dumpty did not say a
thing.
Grandpa Grimes is old and gray,
But he still delights in play.
He will entertain you all,
So gather round him, large and small.
CHAPTER IV — THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE
Next morning Grandpa Grimes
was the first to wake.
He called out, “Great news!
glorious news! Your ma and your
pa are coming home to-day!”
Then Humpty Dumpty rolled
out of bed, but he declared it did
not hurt him a bit.
The twins dressed so fast that
they forgot to brush their hair and
had to run back up-stairs to do it.
Grandpa said, “After breakfast
we will go to town and meet your
ma and your pa.”
The Roly-Polys finished breakfast.
Then they washed the dishes
and fed the cat and made the house
look as neat as a pin.
Grandpa said, “It is so warm that
you do not need your caps, and I
am going to buy you new ones,
anyway.”
So they went down the road
together.
They passed some children going
to a picnic, and Humpty Dumpty
set up a cry and a scream and a howl.
“What’s the matter?” asked
Grandpa.
“What’s the matter?” asked the
twins.
“Do you wish to go to the
picnic?” asked Freddie.
“Did you lose your penny?”
asked Teddie.
But Humpty Dumpty shook his
head and cried.
Then Grandpa stooped down and
said, “Whisper in my ear what the
trouble is. We haven’t time to cry
all morning.”
Then Humpty Dumpty whispered
something to Grandpa, and
Grandpa picked him up and carried
him all the rest of the way to the
store.
When they reached the store,
what a time they had!
Teddie and Freddie tried on all
the caps the man had, and Humpty
Dumpty got so hungry that they
had to buy him a box of crackers!
At last Teddie and Freddie
chose stocking caps just alike, and
Humpty Dumpty chose a sun-bonnet,
and they were all as happy
as children could be.
Then Grandpa pulled out his
watch and said:
“We shall have to hurry. It is
twenty minutes of train time, and
you still have your pennies to
spend.”
Then the little Roly-Polys
danced about the shop and they
asked the price of this article and
that article, and the clerk was so
pleased to see that they all had
money to spend that he got out
three big bags of peanuts and placed
them in a row on the counter.
Then Freddie said, “I want peanuts,”
and Teddie said, “I want peanuts,”
and Humpty Dumpty said,
“Oh, oh, oh! peanuts!”
The clerk handed each one a bag
of peanuts and asked, “Can I do
anything else for you young gentlemen
to-day?”
Humpty Dumpty piped up in
his funny little voice and said, “I
think Grandpa needs a new
suit-case.”
Grandpa was so surprised that
he laughed until he cried, and—will
you believe it?—before he left the
store he had bought a bran-new
suit-case!
The clerk gave each of the Roly-Polys
a gum-drop and they said
they had never had so much fun in
all their lives.
Then Grandpa pulled out his
watch again and said, “Train time.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!” and they all
went to the station.
Sure enough, when they got there
the train was coming in.
There were Mama and Papa
Roly-Poly, round and smiling, and
there were lots of people besides.
The Roly-Polys all hugged and
kissed one another at a great rate,
you may be sure. Then they all
went home.
It was not until evening that Freddie
thought to ask, “Where have
you been, Ma?”
Then Teddie asked, “Where
have you been, Pa?”
Then Mama said, “Run off to
bed. We will tell you about our
travels to-morrow.”
Freddie woke up in the night.
He called to Teddie and said:
“I forgot to ask what Humpty
Dumpty was crying about on the
way to town!”
Then Humpty Dumpty woke up
and said, “I cried because a girl said
I looked just like an egg!”
“The very idea!” said Freddie.
“The very idea!” said Teddie.
Then they all rolled over and
went to sleep.
Humpty Dumpty had a wonderful
dream about a little lame prince.
He remembered the dream next
morning and told it to the family at
breakfast.
Grandpa Grimes said, “You are
going to be as good a story-teller as
I am, some day!”
This is the story that Humpty
Dumpty told:
Once there were a king and a
queen who had three daughters.
The elder daughters were very
beautiful, but they were as proud as
could be.
The youngest daughter was ugly,
but she was good and gentle.
One day the king and the queen
went away for a long visit. They
left the three daughters at home.
The eldest daughter said, “I wish
to be married, so I will have a sign
made. On the sign I will have
printed: ‘Look Here for the Beautiful
Princess.’”
The gardener was ordered to
make the sign and hang it on the
golden gate.
A great many princes came to
the palace now, but none of them
were rich or handsome enough to
suit the proud sisters.
Late one evening a little lame
prince came up the walk. The sisters
sat by the window, watching. When
they saw that he was lame, they
cried:
“Do not let him in. We will have
nothing to do with a lame prince.”
Now the lame prince was very,
very tired, for he had had a long
journey. He felt that he could go
no farther. So when he was not
admitted at the front door he went
to the kitchen, thinking the cook
might let him in.
It was the cook’s night out, and
the ugly sister was working in the
kitchen.
“Honey, will you let me in?”
asked the lame prince.
The ugly sister was so surprised
to be called “Honey,” that she let
fall a platter which she had in her
hand. The platter broke into a
hundred pieces!
The prince came in and the ugly
sister, whose real name was Marygold,
said:
“What shall I do! What shall I
do! I have broken the best platter!”
Just then a pixie came dancing
into the kitchen. He was a fat little
fairy.
“What will you give me if I mend
the platter?” he asked.
“Oh, oh!” cried Marygold,
“please mend the platter!”
“What will you give me?” asked
the pixie again.
“I will give you my wedding-ring
some day,” said Marygold.
Then the pixie took a feather duster
from his pocket. He dusted
the broken bits of china and—click,
click, click!—they went together, and
the platter was whole again. There
was not even a crack to be seen!
The lame prince had been sitting
on a bench by the fire. Now he got
up and began to walk about, for he
was very stiff from his journey.
The pixie cried out, “What will
you give me if I mend your lame
leg? Say, what will you give me if
I mend your lame leg?”
The prince was so surprised that
he did not know what to do, but he
said, “I will give you a marble
statue.”
“May I choose the statue out of
your palace?” asked the pixie.
The prince nodded his head, and
the pixie began to dance about him.
He waved his feather duster to and
fro about the prince’s lame leg, and
soon—will you believe it?—the leg
was no longer lame!
Then the prince asked Marygold
to marry him, and they went down
the garden walk, laughing and singing
in the moonlight.
When the sisters heard that
Marygold had really gone, and that
the prince had a fine castle, they
were very jealous, you may be sure.
They said, “We should like to
live in the castle. We must drive
Marygold away.”
Just then the pixie came into
the room. “Your hearts are ugly
and cracked,” he said. “Shall I
mend them?”
The proud sisters said, “Go away,
you horrid little fairy! We have
no need of your help.”
So the pixie went away. He went
away to see Marygold.
The prince had gone on a long
journey.
The pixie said to Marygold,
“Do not venture outside the castle
grounds until the prince comes back
from his journey.”
It rained for three days, and Princess
Marygold was very lonely.
One evening there was a loud rap
at the door and Marygold went to
answer it herself.
She thought the prince might
have come back.
One of the proud sisters was at
the door dressed as a doctor.
She said, “Come quickly in my
automobile, for the prince lies ill in
a distant city.”
The other sister was hiding near
by and when Marygold stepped into
the automobile, the proud sisters
gave it a push and it ran away with
Marygold in it. It ran over a steep
cliff, and Marygold fell out. Down,
down, down, she went.
The sisters thought they had
seen the last of her. They hurried
away as fast as they could.
But Marygold was not hurt at all,
for the Sun-bonnet Fairies were
waiting at the bottom of the cliff
with a soft blanket. They caught
her in the blanket as she fell.
The Sun-bonnet Fairies danced
about Marygold.
They cried, “Oh, ho! so we have
caught you!”
The Sun-bonnet Fairies are funny
little creatures. They wear their
bonnets night and day.
Marygold begged them to let her
go, but the fairies said, “No, no!”
and held her fast.
Now when the prince returned to
his palace, he was sad not to find
Marygold. He searched for her
high and low.
One of the proud sisters went to
his palace. She hoped he would
marry her, but he was too sad to
notice her at all. The proud sister
was angry and went away.
One evening Marygold sat up
late. The Sun-bonnet Fairies had
gone to bed.
Marygold was braiding her hair
and singing:
“Oh, I am sad as sad can be,
Pixie, fairy, come to me.”
There was a rustle in the tree-branches
overhead and a shrill voice
called, “Who said ‘pixie’?”
There sat the pixie, up in the
tree.
“I told you not to go outside the
castle grounds,” said the pixie.
“What will you give me if I take you
home?”
“I will give you my pearl necklace,”
said Marygold.
“I don’t wish your pearl necklace,”
said the pixie.
“I will give you my breast-pin,”
said Marygold.
“I don’t wish your breast-pin,”
said the pixie.
“Well, what can I give you?”
asked Marygold.
“I wish your wedding-ring,” said
the pixie. “You promised to give it
to me some day.”
“Oh, oh, oh! please do not ask for
my ring!” said Marygold.
“I will never take you home
unless you give it to me,” said the
pixie.
Then, at last, Marygold gave
him the ring and he took her
home.
Now, the prince had given orders
that no more ladies be admitted to
the castle. He did not wish to see
the proud sisters again.
The pixie left Marygold outside
the south gate of the castle and she
cried, “Let me in. I am Princess
Marygold.”
The guard said, “Show me your
wedding-ring!”
Then Marygold went to the east
gate, and the west gate, and the
north gate, and begged to be let in.
But each time the guard said, “Show
me your wedding-ring.”
Next day as the prince was roaming
in the garden Marygold cried,
“Let me in, please.” The prince
looked over the wall. He could not
believe it was Marygold who stood
outside, for she wore a dress the
fairies had given her, and a big blue
sun-bonnet.
“Throw your wedding-ring over
the wall and I will let you in,” he said.
Then Marygold sat down and
cried.
Presently one of the proud sisters
came along. She was dressed like a
peddler, and she said:
“My poor lady, eat this peach
and you will feel happy again.”
Marygold ate the peach. She
began to grow stiff and cold. She
grew colder and colder, until she
turned into a statue. Then the proud
sister went away.
Next day the prince saw the
statue and ordered that it be brought
into the garden.
“It is a statue of my lost princess,”
he cried.
The prince grew fond of the
statue. He went to see it morning
and evening. He placed an evergreen
wreath about its neck.
One day the pixie came.
He said to the prince, “I have
come for my statue.”
The prince led the pixie about
the palace and showed him many
statues.
“There is a more beautiful one
in the garden,” said the pixie. “I
will take the one in the garden.”
“No, no, I can not spare it!” cried
the prince.
The pixie said, “It is the only
statue I will have.”
At last the prince gave in and
the pixie went away with the statue.
The prince was sad indeed. He
sat alone at twilight and sang:
“O princess dear, O princess dear,
I am sad in the fall of the year.
I should be happy, it is plain,
If you would come back to me again.”
The prince’s heart gave a crack.
It almost broke in two.
An autumn leaf floated in
through the window. On it was
written:
“The princess dear will come again.
She is not afraid of cold or rain.”
The prince was cheered a little,
and he went to bed.
The pixie now had the ring and
the statue.
The soft wind blew on the statue
and the rain fell, and the statue
began to grow warmer and warmer,
and at last Marygold came back
to life.
“I had a funny dream,” she said.
“I thought I was a statue in the garden
at home.”
Then the pixie said, “What will
you give me for this ring?”
Then Marygold laughed and
clapped her hands, and every time
she laughed a new flower bloomed
in the pixie’s garden.
“There, that is enough,” said the
pixie, and he gave Marygold back
the ring.
She sailed away on a cloud, and
was soon with the prince again.
All would have gone well if his
heart had not been cracked. The
proud sisters were visiting at the
castle and the prince seemed to like
them as well as he liked Marygold.
It was all on account of the cracked
heart.
At last Marygold could stand it
no longer.
She sent for the pixie and asked,
“What can be the matter with the
Prince?”
The pixie said, “Oh, ho! He
has cracked his heart.”
Then the pixie took out his
feather-duster and began to mend
the prince’s heart.
The proud sisters said, “Please
mend our hearts, too,” and the pixie
did so. Then they went away and
the prince and Marygold were very
happy again.
The pixie started away, waving
his feather-duster.
Marygold said, “Come to see us
often.”
The pixie whirled his feather-duster.
Out fell ten shining gold-pieces!
The prince said, “You will always
be welcome at the palace.”
The pixie whirled his feather-duster
again. Out fell ten more
shining gold-pieces!
“That is my wedding present to
you,” said the pixie, and he was
gone.
CHAPTER V
Early next morning Grandpa
Grimes went home.
He went home before the children
had come down to breakfast.
Mama Roly-Poly called out,
“Do think about it. Go with us,
Grandpa.”
Papa Roly-Poly said, “Please go
with us, Grandpa.”
Grandpa shook his umbrella very
fiercely and said:
“The country is good enough for
me, plenty good enough for me.”
Freddie and Teddie called
down-stairs, “Who is talking outside
the window?”
Humpty Dumpty called, “May I
go somewhere? May I go with
you?”
Mama Roly-Poly called, “Dress
quickly, children. We have great
news.”
The little Roly-Polys were
dressed in a twinkling and they
were so excited at the breakfast
table that they could not eat a
mouthful.
Then Papa Roly-Poly said, “Have
you ever heard of a circus?”
“We have,” shouted the Roly-Polys.
Mama Roly-Poly said, “Would
you like to belong to a circus?”
“We would,” shouted the Roly-Polys.
“When may we go?”
Then Papa Roly-Poly told them
all about it.
He said he had seen an advertisement
in a paper for a fat family to
go with a circus.
“And you know we are fat, my
dears!” he said proudly.
He and Mama had gone to see
the circus manager.
The manager had said, “You are
truly the fattest people I have ever
seen. You may travel with us for a
year.”
“Hurrah!” cried the little Roly-Polys,
waving their spoons in the
air.
“Now,” said Papa Roly-Poly,
“the first thing to do is to sell the
house.”
So they wrote a big sign, “For
Sale,” and put it on the front door.
“I wonder who will buy our
house?” said Freddie.
“I wonder how soon we can go,”
said Teddie.
Humpty Dumpty was so happy
that he turned three somersaults.
“Don’t fall again,” said Mama
Roly-Poly. “If you hurt yourself
it will spoil everything.”
Then Humpty Dumpty climbed
up on the sofa and was as still as a
mouse.
“What does Grandpa think
about our going?” asked Freddie.
Papa Roly-Poly said, “Grandpa
does not think we shall like the
circus.”
The Roly-Polys, you must know,
Like to sit up in a row,
So I’ve often heard them call,
“Oh, Humpty Dumpty, do not fall!”
CHAPTER VI
Early next morning Humpty
Dumpty woke up and rolled out of
bed, as usual.
He looked out of the window and
cried, “Wake up, everybody, wake
up! Here comes Grandpa Grimes.”
Then Teddie and Freddie woke
up and looked out of the window
and cried, “O Ma, O Pa, do wake
up! Here comes Grandpa Grimes.”
Then Mama and Papa Roly-Poly
woke up and looked out of their
window, and there, sure enough, was
Grandpa, coming along the road.
He carried three packages in his
arms.
“I wonder why he comes so early,”
said Mama.
“I wonder what he has in his
arms,” said Humpty Dumpty.
Mama Roly-Poly said, “Hurry up,
Papa, and let Grandpa Grimes in.”
The little Roly-Polys began to
dress as fast as they could, but everything
seemed to go wrong.
Freddie said, “I can not find my
coat.”
Teddie said, “I can not button
my shoes.”
Humpty Dumpty rolled over and
over.
He said, “I can not dress in a
hurry.”
Grandpa Grimes came in, and set
on the lowest step of the staircase.
He called out, “Get dressed, you
little rascals! Get dressed, every one
of you!”
Then Freddie cried, “I can’t find
my collar,” and Teddie cried, “I
can’t find my neck-tie,” and Humpty
Dumpty cried, “Do, please, help me,
somebody!”
All the time Grandpa Grimes sat
chuckling softly to himself.
At last, the Roly-Poly family
were all dressed and down-stairs.
Then the children shouted, “What
have you in your bundles, Grandpa?
what have you in your bundles?
Please let us see!”
“Not a peep into the bundles,”
said Grandpa, “until every one has
finished his oatmeal.”
All the little Roly-Polys sat down
and ate their oatmeal.
Papa Roly-Poly said, “No one
has come to buy our house.”
Then the most surprising thing
happened.
Grandpa Grimes got up and
bowed three times and looked over
his spectacles and said, “I know
some one who will take your
house.”
“Who is it? who is it?” cried all
the Roly-Polys, and—will you believe
it?—it was fully ten minutes
before Grandpa could hear himself
speak.
Then Grandpa said, “I will take
your house. I will move in to-morrow
morning.”
“Who will keep house for you?”
asked Papa.
Grandpa Grimes made another
bow and said, “I have asked Little
Red Riding Hood to keep house
for me.”
The little Roly-Polys were all
so excited that they did not know
what to do.
They cried out, “O Ma, may we
stay at home? O Pa, please let us
stay at home! We wish to see Little
Red Riding Hood!”
“How very strange!” said Papa
Roly-Poly.
“How very extraordinary!” said
Mama Roly-Poly.
The lion has a pleasant smile
(You see him on this page),
But, though I like to hear him roar,
I’m glad he’s in his cage.
CHAPTER VII
At last everything was ready and
the whole family set out for the
station.
Grandpa Grimes went to see
them off.
The little Roly-Polys carried the
bags Grandpa had brought them.
At the station Humpty Dumpty
began to cry. He cried so hard
that Mama said:
“Bless my buttons! what ails the
child? Have you hurt your back
again, my son?”
Humpty Dumpty cried, “Boo-hoo!
I am going to be homesick! I know
I am!”
“WHAT AILS THE CHILD!”
“Give him a lemon-drop,” said
Papa.
Mama put her hand into her
pocket and brought out a lemon-drop.
When Humpty Dumpty saw it
he felt better, and soon he had it in
his mouth. Then of course he could
not cry.
Humpty Dumpty had stopped
crying just in time, for the train was
coming.
Puff, puff! came the engine, and
all the passengers got on board the
train.
The little Roly-Polys waved their
handkerchiefs, and Grandpa stood
on the platform and made a bow.
The little Roly-Polys soon cuddled
down in their seats and went
to sleep. They slept a long time.
“Wake up! wake up!” cried Papa
Roly-Poly at last. “We are almost
at circus town.”
Then the little Roly-Polys all
woke up.
“Where are the elephants?” cried
Freddie.
“Where are the ponies?” cried
Teddie.
“Where are the camels?” cried
Humpty Dumpty.
Then Papa Roly-Poly said,
“Hush! be still! You will see the
animals soon enough.”
Sure enough, the train stopped at
a station just then, and the Roly-Poly
family got out.
A man dressed in red and gold
came up to them and asked, “Will
you ride in the band-wagon?”
They all got into the band-wagon
and the band began to play, and they
rode on and on until they came to the
circus tent.
“Hurrah!” shouted Freddie.
“Hurrah!” shouted Teddie.
“Three cheers!” cried Humpty
Dumpty.
The band played “Yankee Doodle,”
and the band-wagon drew up in
splendid style in front of the tent.
The circus manager came, and
helped the Roly-Poly family out
of the wagon, and took them all off
for supper.
They were hungry, you may be
sure, after their long ride.
“Can you do any tricks?” asked
the manager.
Mama Roly-Poly smiled, but
Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.
Then the most surprising thing
happened.
The twins had carried a big basket
all the way. Out of the basket
jumped the monkey. He had crept
into the basket while no one was
looking, and had been fast asleep all
the time.
The Roly-Polys began to roll and
the monkey jumped over them. Then
they stood on their heads and turned
somersaults.
The manager cried, “That will
do. I will make a side show of you.
Your Ma and Pa may sell tickets.”
“I wish to see the big parade,”
said Freddie.
“I wish to see the big parade,”
said Teddie.
Then Humpty Dumpty began to
cry and fuss and say he would not
roll at all unless he could see the
elephants and the ponies.
The manager said, “Very well;
if you are brave, you may ride in the
wagon with the tamest lion.”
Mama Roly-Poly shuddered and
Papa Roly-Poly said they were very
comfortable in the tent, but the little
Roly-Polys said they were not afraid
of even a fierce lion.
So it was arranged that they
should ride with the lion in the big
parade.
The time came for the parade.
The little Roly-Polys were a bit
scared when they thought of the
lion.
A man opened the door of a big
wagon and helped the little Roly-Polys
inside.
There sat the lion at the end of
the cage. He had his back turned
toward them.
“What if he should eat us up!”
whispered Freddie.
“Oh! Let’s tickle his ears,” said
Teddie.
Then Humpty Dumpty began
to roll, and he rolled right up on the
lion’s back, and the lion never
moved a bit.
He did not even roar.
What do you suppose was the
matter with this lion?
He was stuffed with sawdust!
Then the Roly-Polys shouted
with delight and they spied a little
glass window and they all climbed
up on the lion’s back and looked
out.
They saw the big procession, and
they were a part of it. They could
see beautifully as the animals turned
the corners.
First there were seven large
elephants, and each elephant had a
rider dressed in red velvet.
Then came seven big camels, and
each one had a rider dressed in blue
velvet.
Then came fourteen little ponies,
stamping their feet.
Then came the big band-wagon
playing “Yankee Doodle” and the
caliope playing “Annie Rooney.”
Then came cages with more
animals in them.
Then came the clowns and another
band that played “Marching
through Georgia.” The parade was
very splendid indeed.
The procession went up one street
and down another, and there were
crowds and crowds of people.
Every one said, “There must be
a fierce lion in that covered wagon.”
They meant the wagon in which
the Roly-Polys rode.
What do you suppose those comical
little Roly-Polys did?
They all roared like very fierce
lions, and they made a terrible
noise.
The manager was so pleased
when he heard about this that he
gave each of them a penny.
Then the procession marched
back to the tent, for it was time for
the performance to begin.
The little Roly-Polys were very
much excited. They could hardly
wait for the time to come for them
to do their tricks.
“Wont it be fun!” said Teddie.
“Wont it be sport!” said Freddie.
“It will be if I don’t break my
back,” said Humpty Dumpty.
O Roly-Polys, big and small,
Do you never tire at all?
To your home I’d like to go,
And sit up with you in a row.
CHAPTER VIII
The Roly-Polys got out of the
wagon and barely had time to see
the sign that hung by their tent, for
a man hurried them inside.
The sign on the tent said:
MOST REMARKABLE SHOW
The Roly-Polys we have found.
They’re always turning round and round.
If these wonders you would see,
Just step inside and look with me.
On the table or the ground
They’re always turning round and round!
Mama and Papa Roly-Poly stood
at the tent door and took tickets.
The little Roly-Polys got up on
a high table and pretty soon the
people began to come in.
When the tent was full the manager
came and whispered something
to each of the Roly-Polys.
Did they roll? Well, I should
think they did!
Humpty Dumpty stood on his
head so much that he nearly fell off
the table.
The people in the tent clapped
their hands and shouted, and that
made the people outside wish to
come in.
When one show was over another
show began. The little Roly-Polys
had to roll until their backs ached.
Just before the last performance
was to be given Teddie began to
cry and Freddie began to cry, and
Humpty Dumpty began to cry, and
they all declared that they could
roll no more.
Then Papa and Mama Roly-Poly
said they would come inside and that
the twins could sell tickets. But the
children cried more and more.
The manager came in and asked:
“What can you do besides roll?”
Then Freddie and Teddie dried
their eyes on their little pocket-handkerchiefs
and said together:
“We can all tell fairy tales.”
So it was decided that the Roly-Poly
family should sit in a row and
tell fairy tales.
The tent filled with people, and
the Roly-Poly family acted out the
stories as they told them. The people
liked the stories.
They went away and told other
people about the Roly-Polys. More
and more people came and the manager
was very much pleased.
The Roly-Poly family stayed
with the circus for a month, and
they went from place to place.
One night Humpty Dumpty
crept out of bed and he whispered
something to Freddie, and Freddie
whispered something to Teddie,
and the twins whispered something
to Mama and Papa, and then
the whole Roly-Poly family were
awake.
What do you suppose the whole
family were whispering about?
They were all tired of the circus,
and wished to go home.
“How can we find the way home?”
asked Mama Roly-Poly.
“How can we get out of the tent?”
asked Freddie.
Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow me,
and don’t make any noise!”
If the Roly-Polys had not been
able to roll they surely would have
made a noise and waked some one up.
They rolled softly out of bed
and softly under the wall of the
tent and soon they were out in the
moonlight.
“Which way shall we go?” they
whispered.
Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow the
leader, and keep a stiff upper lip.
Remember whatever happens to
keep a stiff upper lip.”
“That means that we must not
cry,” said Freddie.
“That means that we must be
brave,” said Teddie.
They rolled along the railroad
track for a long way, for Papa said
it must lead somewhere!
They went on all night and by
morning they saw, across a meadow,
a big red barn. Near it was a hay-stack.
“We will go and rest beside the
hay-stack,” said Papa.
So, they went to the hay-stack
and crept under the hay. Soon they
were all fast asleep.
When morning came Papa and
Mama Roly-Poly said they would
see if they could find some breakfast.
So they left the little Roly-Polys
under the hay and went away.
About this time a very exciting
thing happened.
Two little girls came and stood
by the hay-stack. They said, “The
old hen has stolen her nest. We
will try to find it.”
Then Teddie and Freddie crept
farther under the hay, but Humpty
Dumpty rolled out!
The little girls clapped their
hands and said, “Here is an egg,
but what a queer egg it is!”
The first little girl caught
Humpty Dumpty up in her apron
and the second little girl looked
under the hay at the foot of the hay-stack.
Teddie and Freddie were very
much frightened. They went under
the hay-stack so far that no one
could find them.
Then the little girls ran to the
house, carrying Humpty Dumpty
with them.
“See, Grandma,” they shouted,
“the old hen has stolen her nest beside
the hay-stack, and here is one
of the eggs.”
“The idea of any one calling me
an egg!” thought Humpty Dumpty.
He was angry. He was frightened,
and kept saying to himself,
“Keep a stiff upper lip.”
Grandma could not see very well,
but she said, “I do not believe it is
a good egg. I think it is cracked.”
Then the little girls said, “May
we take it up to the play-house?
May we, Grandma?”
Grandma nodded and the little
girls carried Humpty Dumpty off
to their play-house.
The little girls left Humpty
Dumpty on top of their play-house
and forgot all about him. Soon they
ran off to play.
Humpty Dumpty began to look
about. “I am glad Grandma did
not think I was a good egg,” he said
to himself. “They might have put
me into a cake.”
“Tick, tock,” said the clock in the
play-room.
“Oh, ho! so you can talk, too,”
said Humpty Dumpty. He climbed
up to the chimney of the play-house
to see the clock better.
Then the clock said in a sweet
voice:
“How do you do? I’m lonely, too.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!”
Humpty Dumpty begged the
clock to tell him how to get out of
the house, and back to the hay-stack.
The clock said:
“Well, well, I will tell.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!”
Humpty Dumpty yawned and
said, “Then hurry up, please. I
am in a hurry.”
The clock said:
“Don’t tease, if you please.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!”
Then Humpty Dumpty was still
for a long time and the clock begged
for a story.
“THEN HURRY UP, PLEASE”
Humpty Dumpty told the clock
all about the circus parade.
Then the clock said:
“Go by the stair, but take care.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!”
Humpty Dumpty made his very
prettiest bow, and slipped off the
play-house and rolled out at the door
and down-stairs.
He rolled right down upon a soft
white rug.
The door was open and he rolled
out of doors and rested under a
maple tree.
The clock hung near the play-room
window. It called out:
“Turn heels over head. The barn is red.
Tick, tock, tick, tock!”
Then Humpty Dumpty turned a
somersault and there, sure enough,
was the red barn and the hay-stack.
It did not take him long to get
there, you may be sure.
Teddie and Freddie and Mama
and Papa all ran to meet him.
They cried, “Hurrah for Humpty
Dumpty! Hurrah for the stiff upper
lip!”
Mama and Papa had not found
anything to eat.
“We shall have to wait till we
get home,” said Papa.
“Before we start for home we
must rest a little,” said Mama.
So they all went back to the hay-stack.
If in the woods you chance to meet
A gentleman both round and neat
And if you say, “How do you do?”
Old Grandpa Grimes will smile at you!
CHAPTER IX
“Hurry, hurry!” said Papa Roly-Poly,
after they had rested for a
while. “We must get home.”
“We are so hungry,” said Freddie.
“We are so thirsty,” said Teddie.
“Keep a stiff upper lip,” said
Humpty Dumpty.
Then they all rolled out of the
hay and found a path that led to the
woods.
“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and
Freddie.
“Oh, see the raspberries!” cried
Humpty Dumpty.
Sure enough, there were bushes
in the woods full of raspberries.
All the Roly-Poly family had a
fine feast.
They had walked on a little way
when they saw some one coming
down the path.
It was an old gentleman.
“Hurrah!” cried Teddie, waving
his cap.
“Hurrah!” cried Freddie, waving
his pocket-handkerchief.
“Hurrah!” cried Humpty Dumpty,
dancing a jig.
All the Roly-Polys cried, “Hurrah
for Grandpa Grimes!”
There, sure enough, was Grandpa
coming down the path toward them.
When Grandpa Grimes heard the
noise, he dropped his suit-case and he
dropped his umbrella and cried:
“Can I believe my eyes, or is this
a new fairy story?”
Then Mama Roly-Poly shook his
hand and Papa Roly-Poly kissed him
and all the little Roly-Polys said:
“We did not know we were near
home. We thought we were lost in
the woods.”
Then Grandpa Grimes sat down
on a stone and he laughed until he
cried.
At last Grandpa Grimes said, “We
are lost in the woods! I have been
traveling for two weeks to find you!”
Then everybody began to talk at
the same time and ask questions.
Grandpa said he had been so lonely
that he was going to beg the Roly-Polys
to come back.
Papa Roly-Poly began to gather
up branches while they were talking.
What do you suppose he was
going to do?
He was going to make a wigwam
so that they could rest in the woods
at night.
All the Roly-Polys helped and
they went into the woods and got
more berries before evening.
They had a fine supper and went
to bed.
Next morning, early, Mama
Roly-Poly said, “How shall we get
home?”
Grandpa Grimes shook his head.
Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.
All the little Roly-Polys shook
their heads.
Just then some one came tripping
down the path, singing:
Who goes singing on her way?
Little Red Riding Hood.
Who has a heart so light and gay?
Little Red Riding Hood.
“Who is that singing?” asked
Freddie.
“Who is that singing?” asked
Teddie.
Humpty Dumpty said, “I believe
it is Red Riding Hood.”
They ran a little way down the
path.
“I see a red hood,” said Freddie.
“I see a red cape,” said Teddie.
“I see a basket,” cried Humpty
Dumpty. “Oh, oh, oh! It surely
must be Red Riding Hood!”
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD TUCKED ALL THE ROLY-POLYS INTO HER BASKET
Red Riding Hood came in sight,
and her pretty song was interrupted
by a shout, for all the Roly-Polys
begged to be taken home.
Red Riding Hood set down her
basket. She said:
“Guess what I have in the basket.
Each of you may have one guess.”
Papa Roly-Poly said, “You have
a pat of butter.”
Red Riding Hood shook her head.
Mama Roly-Poly said, “You have
some cake.”
Red Riding Hood shook her head.
Freddie said, “You have some
ginger-bread.”
Teddie said, “You have some ginger-snaps.”
Still Red Riding Hood shook her
head.
Humpty Dumpty rolled over and
said, “I guess cookies!”
Humpty Dumpty was right.
Red Riding Hood had cookies in
her basket.
She gave the Roly-Polys the
cookies and my! how they did enjoy
them!
What do you suppose happened
next?
Little Red Riding Hood tucked
all the Roly-Polys into her basket
and took them safely home.
