Chapter 7

Anyhow the tooth didn't ache any more, and the next day Brighteyes went to the dentist's and had it pulled. And the painter monkey didn't mind about the paint that was spilled, and Mrs. Pigg didn't mind about Brighteyes's dress being spoiled, and they all thought Grandpa Croaker was as kind as he could be, and he didn't mind because his cane was colored pink, where he fished out the little guinea pig girl with it. So everybody was happy.

Now in case our cat doesn't fall into the red paint pot and then go to sleep on my typewriter paper and make it look blue, I'll tell you next about Papa No-Tail and Nannie Goat.

STORY XXII

PAPA N

One morning, bright and early, Papa No-Tail, the frog gentleman, started for the wallpaper factory where he worked at making patterns on the paper by dipping his feet in the different colored inks and jumping up and down. And when he got there he saw, standing outside the factory, the man who made the engines go, and this man said:

"There is no work to-day for you, Mr. No-Tail."

"Ah ha! What is the matter?" asked Bully's papa.

"That bad Pelican bird came again in the night and chewed up all the ink," said the engine man. "So you may have a vacation until we get some more ink."

"This is very unexpected--very," spoke Papa No-Tail. "But I will enjoy myself. I'll go take a nice long hop, and perhaps I will see something I can bring home to Bully and Bawly." So off he started, and he had no more idea what was going to happen to him than you have what you're going to get for next Christmas.

Papa No-Tail was hopping along, thinking what a fine day it was when, all of a sudden, he came to a place in the woods where there were some nice flowers.

"Ha! I will take these home to my wife," thought Mr. No-Tail, as he picked the pretty blossoms. Then he hopped on some more, and he came to a place where there were some nice round stones, as white as milk.

"Ah! I will take these home for Bully and Bawly to play marbles with," said the frog papa. Then he hopped on a little farther and he came to a place in the woods where was growing a nice big stick with a crooked handle.

"Ho! I will take that home to Grandpa Croaker for a cane that he can use when he gets tired of carrying the one with the pink paint on it," spoke Mr. No-Tail, and he pulled up the cane-stick, and went on with that and the flowers and the round white stones, as white as molasses--Oh, there I go again! I mean milk, of course.

Well, it was still quite early, and as he hopped along through the woods Papa No-Tail heard the school bell ring to call the boy and girl animals to their classes.

"I hope Bully and Bawly are not late," thought their father. "When one goes to school one must be on time, and always try to have one's lessons." Still he felt pretty sure that his two little boys were on time, for they were usually very good.

On hopped Mr. No-Tail, wishing he could see the bad Pelican bird, and make him give up the wallpaper-printing ink, when all of a sudden, as quickly as you can tie your shoe lace, or your hair ribbon, Papa No-Tail heard a great crashing in the bushes, and then he heard a growling and then presto-changeo! out popped Nannie Goat, and after her came running a black, savage bear! Oh, he was a most unpleasant fellow, that bear was, with a long, red tongue, and long, sharp, white teeth, and long claws, bigger than a cat's claws, and he had shaggy fur like an automobile coat.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't catch me! Don't catch me! Don't catch me!" cried Nannie, the goat girl, running on and crashing through the bushes. But the bear never minded. On he came, right after Nannie, for he wanted to catch and eat her. You see he used to be in a cage in a big animal park, but he got loose and he was now very hungry, for no one had fed him in some time.

Well, Papa No-Tail was so surprised that, for a moment, he didn't know what to do. He just sat still under a big cabbage leaf, and looked at the bear chasing after Nannie.

"Oh, will no one save me?" cried the poor little goat girl. "Will no one save me from this savage bear?"

"No; no one will save you," answered the shaggy creature, as he cleaned his white teeth with his red tongue for a brush. "I am going to eat you up."

"No, you are not!" cried Papa No-Tail, boldly.

"Ha! Who says I am not going to eat her?" asked the bear, surly-like.

"I do!" went on Papa No-Tail, hopping a bit nearer. "You shall never eat her as long as I am alive!"

"And who are you, if I may be so bold as to ask," went on the bear, stopping so he could laugh.

"I am the brave Mr. No-Tail, who works in the wallpaper factory, but I can't work to-day as the bad Pelican bird took the ink," replied Bully's and Bawly's papa.

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" cried the bear, real impolite-like. "Now, just for that I will eat you both!" He made a rush for Nannie, but with a scream she gave a big jump, and then something terrible happened. For she jumped right into a sand bank, which she didn't notice, and there she stuck fast by her horns, which jabbed right into the hard sand and dirt. There she was held fast, and the bear, seeing her, called out:

"Now I can get you without any trouble. You can't get away from me, so I'll just eat this frog gentleman first."

Oh, but that bear was savage, and hungry, and several other kinds of unpleasant things. He made a big jump for the frog, but what do you think Bully's papa did? Why he took the bunch of flowers, and he tickled that bear so tickily-ickly under the chin, that the bear first sneezed, and then he laughed and as Papa No-Tail kept on tickling him, that bear just had to sit down and laugh and sneeze at the same time, and he couldn't chase even a snail.

"Now for the next act!" bravely cried Mr. No-Tail, and with that he took the stick he intended for Grandpa Croaker's cane, and put it under the bear's legs, and he twisted the stick, Papa No-Tail did, and the first thing that bear knew he had been tripped up and turned over just like a pancake, and he fell on his nose and bumped it real hard.

Then, before he could get up, Papa No-Tail pelted him with the round stones as white as milk, and the bear thought it was snowing and hailing, and he was as frightened as anything, and as soon as he could get up, away he ran through the woods, crying big, salty bear tears.

"Oh, I'm so glad you drove that bear away! You are very brave, Mr. No-Tail," said Nannie Goat. "But how am I to get loose in time to get to school without being late?" For she was still fast by her horns in the sand bank.

"Never fear, leave it to me," said Papa No-Tail. So Nannie never feared, and Papa No-Tail tried to pull her horns out of the sand bank, but he couldn't, because the ground was too hard. So what did he do but go to the pond, and get some water in his hat, and he threw the water on the sand, and made it soft, like mud pies, and then Nannie could pull out her own horns.

After thanking Mr. No-Tail she ran on to school, and got there just as the last bell rang, and wasn't late. And the teacher and all the pupils were very much surprised when Nannie told them what had happened. Bully and Bawly were afraid the bear might come back and hurt their papa, but nothing like that happened I'm glad to say.

Now in case the tea kettle doesn't sing a funny song and waken the white rabbit with the pink eyes that's in a cage out in our yard, I'll tell you to-morrow night about Mamma No-Tail and Nellie Chip-Chip.

STORY XXIII

MRS. N

Nellie Chip-Chip, the little sparrow girl, flew along over the trees after school was out, with a box of chocolate under her wing. And under her other wing was a purse, with some money in it that rattled like sleigh bells.

"What are you going to do with that chocolate?" asked Bully No-Tail, the frog boy, as he and his brother, who were hopping to a ball game, happened to see Nellie.

"Oh, I guess she's going to eat it," said Bawly. "If you want us to help you, we will, won't we, Bully?" he added.

"Sure," said Bully, hungry like.

"Oh, indeed, that's very kind of you boys," replied Nellie, politely, "but you see I'm not eating this chocolate. I am selling it for our school. We want to get some nice pictures to put in the rooms, and so I'm trying to help get the money to buy them by selling cakes of chocolate."

"Ha! That's a good idea," said Bully. "Say, Nellie, if you go to our house maybe our mamma will buy some chocolate."

"I'll fly right over there," declared the little sparrow girl, "for I want very much to sell my chocolate, and, so far, very few persons have bought any of me."

"I guess our mamma will," said Bawly, and, then when Nellie had flown on with her chocolate, Bawly winked both his eyes and spoke thusly: "Say, Bully, if mamma buys the chocolate from Nellie I guess she'll give us some."

"I hope so," replied his brother, and then they went on to the ball game and had a good time. Well, as I was telling you, Nellie flew over to Mrs. No-Tail's house, and knocked at the door with her little bill.

"Don't you want to buy some chocolate so I can make money to get pictures for our school?" the sparrow girl politely asked.

"Indeed I do," replied Mrs. No-Tail. "I just need some chocolate for a cake I'm baking. And if you would like to come in, and help me make the cake, and put the chocolate on, I'll give you some, and you can take a piece home to Dickie."

"Indeed, I'll be very glad to help," said Nellie, so she went in the house, and Mrs. No-Tail paid her for some of the chocolate, and then Nellie took off her hat, and put on an apron, and she helped make the cake.

Oh, it was a most delicious one! with about forty-'leven layers, and chocolate between each one, and then on top! Oh, it just makes me hungry even to typewrite about it! Why the chocolate on top of that cake was as thick as a board, and then on top of the chocolate was sprinkled cocoanut until you would have thought there had been a snow storm! Talk about a delicious cake! Oh, dear me! Well, I just don't dare write any more about it, for it makes me so impatient.

"Now," said Mrs. No-Tail, after the baking was over, "we'll just set the cake on the table by the open window to cool, Nellie, and we'll wash up the dishes."

So they were working away, talking of different things, and Nellie was a great help to Mrs. No-Tail. Every once in a while, however, Nellie would look over to the cake, because it was so nice she just couldn't keep her eyes away from it. She was just wishing it was time for her to have some to take home, but it wasn't, quite yet.

Well, all of a sudden, when Nellie looked over for about the twenty-two-thirteenth time, she saw that all the chocolate was gone from the top of the cake. All the chocolate and the cocoanut was missing.

"Oh! Oh!" cried the little sparrow girl.

"What's the matter?" asked Mrs. No-Tail quickly.

"Look!" exclaimed Nellie, pointing to the cake.

"Well, of all things!" cried Mrs. No-Tail. "That chocolate must have disappeared. It must have gone up like a balloon. I will have to buy some more of you, and put that on." Then she went over and looked at the cake, and she wondered at the queer scratches in the top, just as if a cat had clawed off the chocolate. But there were no cats around.

So Mrs. No-Tail and Nellie put more chocolate and cocoanut on the cake, and they went on washing up the dishes, and pretty soon, not so very long, in a little while Nellie looked at the cake again. And, would you believe me, the chocolate was all off once more.

"This is very strange," said Mrs. No-Tail. "That must be queer chocolate to disappear that way. Perhaps a fairy is taking it."

"Maybe Bully and Bawly are doing it for a joke," said Nellie. So she and Mrs. No-Tail looked from the window but they could see no one, not even a fairy, and, anyhow, Mrs. No-Tail knew the boys wouldn't be so impolite as to do such a thing.

"It is very strange," said the frog boys' mamma. "But we will put the chocolate and cocoanut on once more, and then we'll watch to see who takes it."

So they did, making the cake even better than before. Oh, with such thick chocolate and cocoanut on! and then they hid down behind the stove, and watched the window.

Pretty soon a big, shaggy paw, with long, sharp claws on it, was put in the open window, and the paw went right on top of the cake, and scraped off some of the chocolate and cocoanut.

"Ah! Yum-yum! That is most delicious!" exclaimed a grumbling, rumbling voice, and the paw, all covered with the cake chocolate, just as a lollypop stick is covered with candy, went out of the window, and the paw was all cleaned off somehow, when it came back again. More chocolate was then scraped off the cake by those sharp claws.

"Oh, ho! This is simply scrumptious!" went on the voice, as the paw was pulled back. Then a third time it came, and scraped off what was left of the chocolate and cocoanut.

"Oh, how perfectly delightful and proper this sweet stuff is!" cried the voice. "I wish there was more!"

Then a great, big, shaggy, ugly bear, the same one that once chased Nannie Goat, stuck his head in the window.

"Oh, did you scrape the chocolate off my cake?" asked Mrs. No-Tail.

"I did," the bear said, "have you any more?"

"No, indeed," she answered. "But you are a bold, bad creature, and if you don't get away from here I'll have you arrested."

"I am not a bit afraid," answered the bear impolitely, "and as there is no more chocolate I'll take the cake."

Well, he was just reaching for it with his sharp clawy-paws, and Mrs. No-Tail and Nellie were very much frightened, fearing the beast would get them. But just then a man's voice cried out:

"Ah, ha! You bad animal! So I've caught you, have I? And you are up to your tricks as usual! Now you come with me!" And who should appear but the man from the animal park where the bear once lived. And he had a whip and a rope, and he tied the rope around the bear's neck and whipped him for being so bad, and took him back to his cage. And Mrs. No-Tail and Nellie were very glad. And I guess you'd be also. Eh?

There was some chocolate left, and some cocoanut, and soon the cake was even better than before, and Nellie had sold all her chocolate to Mrs. No-Tail, and she could buy lots of pictures for the school. And Nellie took home a big piece of the cake for Dickie, her brother, and of course some for herself. So it all came out right after all, and that bear was very sorry for what he did.

Now, in the story after this one, if the fish we're going to have for supper doesn't swim away with my new soft hat and get it all wet, I'll tell you about Bully No-Tail and Alice Wibblewobble.

STORY XXIV

BULLY AND ALICE WIBBLEWOBBLE

"Bully," said the frog boy's mamma to him one Saturday morning, when there wasn't any school, "I wish you would go on an errand for me."

"Of course I will, mother," he said. "Do you want me to go to the store for some lemons, or some sugar?"

"Neither one, Bully. I wish you would go to Mrs. Wibblewobble's house and tell the nice duck lady I can't come over to-day to help her sew carpet rags, and piece-out the bedquilt. I have to put away the winter flannels so the moths won't get in them, and then, too, it is so rainy and foggy that we couldn't see to sew carpet rags very well. Tell her I'll be over the first pleasant day."

"Very well," answered Bully, "and may I stay a while and play with Jimmie Wibblewobble?"

"You may," said his mother, and off Bully hopped all alone, for his brother Bawly had gone fishing.

It was a very unpleasant day for any one except ducks or frogs. For sometimes it rained, and when it wasn't rainy it was misty, and moisty, and foggy. And it was wet all over. The water dripped down off the trees and bushes, and even the ponds and little brooks were wetter than usual, for the rain rained into them, and splished and splashed.

But Bully didn't mind, not in the least. Away he hopped in his rubber suit, that water couldn't hurt, and he felt very fine. Soon he was at Mrs. Wibblewobble's house, and he delivered the message his mother had given him.

"And now I'll go play with Jimmie," said Bully. "Where is he, and where are Lulu and Alice, Mrs. Wibblewobble?"

"Oh! the girls went over to see Grandfather Goosey Gander," replied their mamma. "As for Jimmie, you'll find him out somewhere on the pond. But be careful you don't get lost, for the fog is very thick to-day."

"I should think it was," replied Bully as he hopped away, "it's almost as thick as molasses." Well, pretty soon he came to the edge of the pond, and in he plumped, and began swimming about.

"Jimmie! Hey, Jimmie! Where are you, Jimmie?" he called.

"Over here, making a water wheel," answered the boy duck, and though the frog chap couldn't see him, he could tell, by Jimmie's voice, where he was, and soon he had hopped to the right place.

Well, Bully and Jimmie had a fine time, making the water wheel, that went splash-splash around in the water. And when they became tired of playing that, they played water-tag with the water-spiders, and then they played hop-skip-and-jump, at which game Bully was very good.

"Now let's go up to the house," proposed Jimmie, "and I'm sure mother will give us some cornmeal sandwiches with jam and bread and butter on."

Off they went through the fog, and it was now so thick that they couldn't see their way, and by mistake they went to the barn instead of the house. I don't know what they would have done, only just then along came Old Percival, the circus dog, and he could smell his way through the misty fog up to the house. Maybe he could smell the sandwiches, with jam and bread and butter on. I don't know, but anyhow Mrs. Wibblewobble gave him one when she made some for Bully and Jimmie.

Well, now I'm coming to the Alice part of the story. As Jimmie and Bully were eating their sandwiches on the back porch, not minding the rain in the least, all at once Lulu Wibblewobble came waddling along. As soon as she got to the steps she called out:

"Oh, is Alice home yet?"

"Alice home?" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Why, didn't she come from Grandfather Goosey Gander's house with you?"

"No, she started on ahead, some time ago," said Lulu. "She said she wanted to put on her new hair ribbon for dinner. She ought to have been here some time ago. Are you sure she isn't here?"

"No, she isn't," answered Jimmie. "She must be lost in the fog!"

"Oh, dear! That's exactly what has happened!" cried the mamma duck. "Oh, this dreadful fog! What shall I do?"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Wibblewobble," spoke Bully. "Jimmie and I will go and hunt her. We can find her in the fog."

"Oh, you may get lost yourselves!" said the duck lady. "It's bad enough as it is, but that would be dreadful. Oh, what shall I do?"

"I'll tell you," said Lulu. "We'll all hunt for her, and so that we will not become lost in the fog, we'll tie several strings to our house, and then each of us will keep hold of one string, and when we go off in the fog we can follow the string back again, and we won't get lost."

"That's a good idea!" cried Bully, and they all thought it was. So they each tied a long string to the front porch rail, and, keeping hold of the other end, started off in the fog, Mrs. Wibblewobble, Jimmie, Bully and Lulu. Off into the fog they went, and the white mist was now thicker than ever; thicker than molasses, I guess.

Mrs. Wibblewobble looked one way, and Jimmie another, and Lulu another, and Bully still another. And for a long time neither one of them could find Alice.

"I'm going to call out loud, and perhaps she'll hear me," said Bully. "She probably wandered off on the wrong path coming from Grandfather Goosey Gander's house." So he cried as loudly as he could: "Alice! Alice! Where are you, Alice?"

"Oh, here I am!" the duck girl suddenly cried, though Bully couldn't see her on account of the fog. "Oh, I'm so glad you came to find me, for I've been lost a long time."

"Walk right over this way!" called Bully, "and I'll take you home by the string. Come over here!"

"Yes, come over here!" called another voice, and Bully looked and what should he see but a savage alligator, hiding in the fog, with his mouth wide open. The alligator hoped Alice would, by mistake, walk right into his mouth so he could eat her. And he kept calling right after Bully, and poor Alice got so confused with the two of them shouting that she didn't know what to do.

Bully was afraid the alligator would get her, so what did he do but take up a big stone, and, hiding in the fog, he threw the rock into the alligator's mouth.

"There! Chew on that!" called Bully, and the alligator was so angry that he crawled right away, taking his scaly, double-jointed tail with him.

Then Bully called again, and this time Alice found where he was in the fog, and she waddled up to him, and she wasn't lost any more, and Bully took her home by following the string. Then the fog blew away and they were all happy, and had some more jam sandwiches.

Now, in case it doesn't rain and wet my new umbrella so that the pussy cat can go to school, and learn how to make a mouse trap, I'll tell you next about Bawly No-Tail and Lulu Wibblewobble.

STORY XXV

BAWLY AND LULU WIBBLEWOBBLE

Bawly No-Tail, the frog boy, was hopping along one day whistling a little tune about a yellow-spotted doggie, who found a juicy bone, and sold it to a ragman for a penny ice cream cone. After the little frog boy had finished his song he hopped into a pond of water and swam about, standing on his head and wiggling his toes in the air, just as when the boys go in bathing.

Well, would you ever believe it? When Bawly bounced up out of the water to catch his breath, which nearly ran away from him down to the five-and-ten-cent-store--when Bawly bounced up, I say, who should he see but Lulu Wibblewobble, the duck girl, swimming around on the pond.

"Hello, Lulu!" called Bawly.

"Hello!" answered Lulu. "Come on, Bawly, let's see who can throw a stone the farthest; you or I."

"Oh, pooh!" cried the frog boy. "I can, of course. You're only a girl."

Well, would you ever believe it? When Bawly and Lulu were out on the shore of the pond and had thrown their stones, Lulu's went ever so much farther than did Bawly's. Oh! she was a good thrower, Lulu was!

"Well, anyhow, I can beat you jumping!" cried Bawly. "Now, let's try that game."

So they tried that, and, of course, Bawly won, being a very good jumper. He jumped over two stones, three sticks, a little black ant and also a big one, a hump of dirt, two flies and a grain of sand. And, as for Lulu, she only jumped over a brown leaf, a bit of straw, part of a stone and a little fuzzy bug.

"Now we're even," said Bawly, who felt good-natured again. "Let's go for a walk in the woods and we'll get some wild flowers and maybe something will happen. Who knows?"

"Who knows?" agreed Lulu. So off they started together, talking about the weather and ice cream cones and Fourth of July and all things like that. For it was Saturday, you see, and there was no school.

Well, pretty soon, in a little while, not so very long, as Bawly was hopping, and Lulu was wobbling along, they heard a noise in the bushes. Now, of course, when you're in the woods there is always likely to be a noise in the bushes. Sometimes it's made by a fairy, and sometimes by a giant and sometimes by a squirrel or a rabbit, or a doggie, or a kittie, and sometimes only by the wind blowing in the treetops. And you can never tell what makes the noise until you look. So Bawly and Lulu looked to see what made the noise in the bushes.

"Maybe it's a giant!" exclaimed Lulu.

"Maybe it's a fairy," said Bawly, and they looked and looked and pretty soon, in a jiffy, out came a man--just a plain, ordinary man.

"Oh, me!" cried Bawly.

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Lulu.

Then they both started to run away, for they were afraid they might be hurt. But the man saw them going off, and he called after them.