 STORY XXIII. SUSIE LITTLE TAILS HOT CROSS BUNS. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. SAMMY AND SUSIE LITTLE TAIL by HOWARD R. GARRIS Let's see, where did we leave off last night? Oh, I remember now. It was about how Sammy fell down and hurt his nose, wasn't it? Oh, no, it wasn't either. It was about how he was colored sky blue pink, to be sure. Well, now I'm going to tell you about hot cross buns, how Susie Little Tail made some very especially fine ones, and what happened to them. But the last part is a secret, so I wish you wouldn't tell anyone. Susie was out skipping her grapevine rope and thinking what a nice day it was when her mama called to her. Susie, don't you want to help nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy make some hot cross buns? Of course, the little rabbit girl said, and being a very kind little creature she added, can Sammy help me, mama? Oh, I don't want to, said Sammy, who was playing marbles with bully the frog. They were using old hickory nuts and acorns for their shooters and for the aggates in the ring. I'm going to be a soldier or run an automobile when I grow up, so I don't want to learn to cook. Hmph! I guess soldiers and automobile men are glad enough to eat when someone else cooks for them, said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Anyhow, I can't have you messing around my kitchen, Sammy, so Susie is the only one who can help me make hot cross buns. Ask her if we can have the batter dishes and the one she mixes the frosting in to clean out proposed bully in a whisper, and when Sammy asked the nurse who was also a cook, she said, oh, I suppose so, but don't come around bothering while Susie and I are busy, I'll set the dishes out for you. Then Sammy and bully felt very good, for it's lots of fun to clean out the cake dishes when anyone is baking, especially when hot cross buns are being made. So the little boy rabbit and the little frog, who was such a good jumper, played marbles under the trees in the big woods. Then Susie and nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to work in the kitchen. First they took some flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and whatever else goes into hot cross buns, and mixed them all up in a big dish. Oh my, how good that smells, exclaimed Susie. Won't Sammy and bully be glad to get that? Yes, said the nurse cook. But now we must make the frosting to go on top, and I think I'll mix in it some of the maple sugar that Uncle Wiggly boiled. Oh, fine, exclaimed Susie, and she clapped her two front paws together, she was so glad. So she and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a nice dish of maple sugar frosting to go on top of the buns when they were baked. Now, said the cook after a little while, we must get the pans ready to bake them in. And as we haven't much room in the kitchen, we will just set the dish of dough and the frosting out on the windowsill, where they won't be in our way. As soon as we have the tins greased, we will make the buns and put them in the oven to bake. So the nice, sweet, good-smelling, and good-tasting batter and the dish of maple sugar frosting were set outside on the windowsill. Oh, how nice it smelled. It's a good thing that sly old fox wasn't around, I tell you. Well, after a while, Sammy and Bully got tired of playing marbles, and they walked around to the back of the underground house. And what do you think, if Bully didn't see those dishes that had been set out on the windowsill? Yes, indeed, he saw them. Oh, he had sharp eyes, let me tell you. Look here, he cried to Sammy. They've put the stuff out for us. Oh, what a lot of it. Nice, sweet batter, and nice maple sugar frosting. How kind they are. Dispose all this is for us, asked Sammy, who, whenever he cleaned out the baking dishes, had never seen so much as that in them. Of course it is, answered Bully. Jane Fuzzy was, he said, she'd put it out for us, and here it is out. Of course it must be for us. Well, Sammy thought so, too, after that, and then the little boy rabbit and Bully sat down with those two dishes that had stuff in to make hot cross buns, and they began to eat it all up. And after a while, when it was pretty nearly all gone, who should come limping along but Uncle Wiggly long ears? Well, well, he said, just like that. What have we here? Then Sammy told him how the good stuff had been left out by Jane Fuzzy was he. My goodness me, exclaimed the old rabbit, leaning on his corn stalk crutch. How very odd. Would you like some? asked Bully the frog, very, very politely. Indeed I would, answered Uncle Wiggly long ears. So they gave him some, and it tasted just as good as when he was a little boy rabbit. But just as the last of the sweet batter and the maple sugar frosting was eaten up, what should happen but that Jane Fuzzy was he went to the window to take it into bake, and of course it was gone. Well, you should have seen how surprised she was. She was going to scold Sammy and Bully, only they said it was all a mistake. So they didn't get a whipping, and very luckily there was enough more stuff in the burrow to make more hot cross buns. So Jane Fuzzy was he, and Susie mixed up some, and these were soon baking in the oven. And oh, how good they smelled, and they tasted as good as they smelled, each one with the maple sugar cross on. Now tomorrow night, if you would like me to, I'll tell you about hiding the Easter eggs. End of Story 23 Story 24 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 24 Hiding the Easter Eggs What a lot of Easter eggs there were. I'm sure if you tried to count all that Sammy and Susie Little Tale, and Papa and Mama Little Tale, to say nothing of Uncle Wiggly long years and Nurse Jane Fuzzy was he had colored, ready for Easter, you never could do it. Never, never, never. Of course Uncle Wiggly couldn't get so very many of the eggs ready for the children, because you know he has rheumatism. But then Sammy and Susie were so quick, and Jane Fuzzy was he hurried so, that long before Easter Sunday morning, or Easter Monday morning, whenever you children hunt for your eggs, they were all ready. You see, the rabbits have to hide all the Easter eggs that you children hunt for. Of course I don't mean those in the store windows, the pretty ones made of candy, and with the little windows that you look through to see beautiful scenes. Oh no, not those, but the ones you find at home. Those in the windows are put there by different kinds of rabbits. Well all the Easter eggs were ready, and Sammy and Susie, their Papa and Mama, Uncle Wiggly long years and Nurse Jane Fuzzy was he set out to hide them. There were many colors, I think I have told you about them, but I'll just mention a few again. There were red ones, blue ones, green ones, pink ones, Alice blue ones, Johnny red ones, froggy green ones, strawberry color, and then that new shade, Skilligamink, which is very fine indeed, and which turned Sammy sky blue pink. So the rabbits started off with their baskets of colored eggs on their paws. Now be careful, Sammy, called his Mama, don't fall down and break any of those eggs. No Mama answered Sammy, who was still colored sky blue pink, for it hadn't all worn off yet. I'll be very careful. So will I, Mama, called Susie. So they walked on through the woods to visit Newark, and all the places around where children want Easter eggs. Of course, if you had gone out in the woods on top of Orange Mountain, you could not have seen those rabbits because they were invisible. That is, you couldn't see them because Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen, had given them all cloaks spun out of cobwebs, just like the Emperor of China once had, and this made it so no one could see them. For it would never do, you know, to have the rabbits spied upon when they were hiding the eggs. It wouldn't be fair any more than it would be right to peek when you're playing it in Blind Man's Bluff. Well, pretty soon, after a while, as they all walked through the woods, Sammy kept going slower and slower and slower, because his basket was quite heavy, until he was a long way in back of his Papa, his Mama, and Susie. But he didn't mind that, for he knew he had plenty of time, when all at once what should come running out of the bushes but a great big dog. At first Sammy was frightened, but then when he looked again he knew this dog was not a rabbit dog. No, what is worse, he was an egg dog. Now an egg dog is a dog that eats eggs, and they are one of the very worst kinds of dogs there are. So the dog saw Sammy and knew what the little rabbit boy had in his basket. But he asked him, making believe he didn't know. What have you in that basket, my little chap? You see, he called him little chap so as to pretend he was a friendly egg dog. There are Easter eggs in the basket, said Sammy politely. And what, pray, are Easter eggs? If I may be so bold as to ask, inquired the dog, licking his teeth with his long red tongue and blinking his eyes, as if he didn't care. Easter eggs replied, Sammy, are eggs for children for Easter, and they are very prettily colored. Oho exclaimed the dog, just like that, and he sniffed the air. Please excuse me, but would you kindly be so good as to let me see those eggs? I never saw any colored ones. Well, answered Sammy, I'm in a hurry, but you may have one peep. So he opened the top of the basket, and there, sure enough, were the eggs, the green, the blue, the pink, the johnny red, and the skill of the mink colored ones and all. Oh, how lovely, cried the bad dog, sniffing the air again. May I have one? No, said Sammy very decidedly. These are for the little children. Then that dog got angry. Oh, you should have seen how angry he got. No, on second thoughts, I am glad you did not see how unpleasant he was, for it might spoil your Easter. Anyhow, he was dreadfully angry, dreadfully. He showed his teeth, and he made his hair stand up straight, and he growled, Give me all those eggs, or I'll take them right away from you. I am an egg dog, and I must have eggs. Give them to me, I say. Well, maybe poor Sammy wasn't frightened. He trembled so that the eggs rattled together, and very nearly were broken. Then he started to run away. But the bad dog ran after him. And what do you think? Just as the horrid creature was about to take those lovely Easter eggs out of the basket and eat them up, who should come flying through the woods but Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. She dashed at that dog with her feather sticking out, and made him run off. Then how glad Sammy was. He hurried and caught up to his papa and mama, and soon all the Easter eggs were hidden. Oh, what fun Sammy and Susie had running back through the woods after the eggs were all put in the secret places. Susie found a turnip in a field and Sammy a carrot, and they ate them as they hopped along. Uncle Wiggly walked quite slowly, for his rheumatism was bothering him. And when those rabbits got home to the burrow, what do you think they found? Why, there were invitations for them all to come to a party that was going to be given by Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble. Alice and Lulu were little duck girls, and they lived with their papa and mama, Mr. and Mrs. Wibblewobble, in a pen not far from the rabbit burrow. They had a brother named Jimmy, but it wasn't his birthday, for he was a day older than his sisters, who were twins. That is, their birthdays came at the same time. Some day I'm going to tell you a lot of stories about these same ducks. May we go to the party mama, asked Susie? Of course, answered mama little tale, and they all went to even nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy. They had a fine time, which I will tell you about in another book that has a lot of duck stories in it, but I just want to mention one thing that occurred. Just as the party was over and everyone was coming home, Uncle Wiggly couldn't find his crutch, which nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy had gnawed out of a corn stalk for him. Finally he did find it behind the door. Then he and Sammy and Susie and Mr. and Mrs. Little Tale started for the burrow. Then, all at once, when they were in the front yard of the Wibblewobble home, if a silver trumpet didn't sound in the woods, tarah, tarah, tarah, just like that, and up came riding a little boy, all in silver and gold on a white horse. He wanted to know if he was too late for the party, the little boy did, and when Uncle Wiggly said yes, the little boy was much disappointed. Then Uncle Wiggly asked him who he was and the little boy said, I am the fairy prince. I used to be a mud turtle and live in the pond where Lulu and Alice and Jimmy Wibblewobble swim, but I got tired of being a mud turtle, though I was a fairy prince, so I changed myself into a little boy. But do you know Uncle Wiggly didn't believe him, and what's more he said so. Oh yes, indeed he did. Then what did that little boy fairy prince do, but up and say, well you will soon believe me, Uncle Wiggly, you come back to the woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen. I'll make you believe in fairies, that's what I will, for you will see a red fairy very shortly. But still Uncle Wiggly didn't believe, and he went home moving his nose and ears at the same time. But you just wait, for if I should happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you tomorrow night about Uncle Wiggly and the red fairy. End of Story 24 Story 25 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 25 Uncle Wiggly and the Red Fairy Well, I didn't find that penny rolling up the hill after all. But never mind. I'll tell you a story just the same. Let's see. We left off about Uncle Wiggly long years, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn't we? Uncle Wiggly walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble had. Sammy Little Tale saw how slowly his uncle walked, and asked, What is the matter, Uncle Wiggly? Does your rheumatism hurt you very much? No, it isn't that, replied the old gentleman rabbit, though it does pain me some. I was just wondering about that red fairy. Oh, do you really suppose one will appear as the fairy prince said, asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a frosty night? No, spoke Uncle Wiggly very decidedly. I don't really believe one will. Still, there may. You never can tell in this world what is going to happen, and I think Uncle Wiggly was right about it. Oh, cried Susie. I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggly. I never saw a real fairy in all my life. Couldn't I come with you? And the little rabbit girl went close to her uncle and took hold of his crutch, nod by the muskrat, nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a corn stalk. Yes, I suppose you could, answered Susie's uncle, who was very kind to her. Oh, no, exclaimed Sammy. It might spoil the magic spell if more than one went, Uncle Wiggly. Maybe the fairy would not like it. You had better go alone. All right, answered the old gentleman rabbit. Anything to please you. I'll go alone. Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle Wiggly should meet the red fairy. Sammy and Susie didn't want to go to bed. They were so excited. But their mama sent them up with nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Now listen very carefully, for the fairy will soon appear, and you know what happens then. Oh, yes, indeed. Something wonderful. Well, when it came time Uncle Wiggly started off alone to the woods to meet the red fairy. He walked on and on and on, and he had to go pretty slow because his rheumatism was hurting him again. And suddenly, when he was right under a big oak tree, what should he hear but a silver trumpet blowing just like that, honest. Then he stood still and a sort of shivery feeling came over him. And he looked up and he looked down, and he looked to one side and then to the other. And then he wiggled his ears and he wrinkled up his nose as fast as fast could be. Then he heard someone call, Uncle Wiggly Long Ears. Yes, I'm here, he answered. And I am the red fairy, cried the voice again. And when the old gentleman rabbit looked up in the tree, what do you suppose he saw? Well, you'd never guess, so I'll tell you. There, perched on a limb, was a beautiful little lady, all dressed in red, with a red cloak on and a red hat on, and it had a red feather in it. In fact, she was as red as red riding-hood ever thought of being. Do you believe in fairies, Uncle Wiggly, she asked? No, replied the old rabbit. I can't say that I do. Well, went on the little creature. You soon will. Watch me carefully. And with that, what did she do but float down from that tall tree, just as one of those red balloons you buy at the circus floats along? Yes, sir. She floated right down to where Uncle Wiggly was. Then she waved her magic wand in the air three times and said this word, higgledy-piggly hobbly-hoi. It's a very hard word for you to say, I know, but easy for a fairy. Well, she said that word. And then, all at once, what should happen but that a golden ball appeared, floating in the air. Catch the golden ball, cried the red fairy. I can't, answered the old rabbit. I haven't played ball in years and years and years. Well, went on the fairy with a laugh. No matter. It will come to you. And you may not believe me, but if that golden ball didn't float right down into Uncle Wiggly's hands, he had to drop his crutch to catch it. Now proceeded the red fairy. Do you want to see me doing something magical to prove that I am wonderful and a real fairy? Yes, answered Uncle Wiggly, certainly. Well, what shall I do? Name something wonderful. If you could cure me of my rheumatism, it would be wonderful, he answered. It hurts me something fierce now. Ha! That is not wonderful at all, spoke the red fairy. That is altogether too easy, but I will do it all the same. Watch me carefully. Then, as true as I'm telling you, if that golden ball didn't begin to dance up and down and sideways and around and around Uncle Wiggly, leaping here and there and everywhere until he could hardly see it. And the silver trumpet blew, ta-ra, ta-ra, ta-ra, just like that, and all of a sudden Uncle Wiggly felt himself being lifted up and whirled around, and then came a clap of thunder, and then it all got still and quiet and a little bird began to sing. Then the fairy's voice asked, Well, Uncle Wiggly, how is your rheumatism now? Why? exclaimed the old rabbit. It is all gone. It certainly is. I never would have believed it. And honestly the pain was all gone, and he didn't need his crutch for a long time after that. Then he believed that the red lady was a fairy, and he hurried home to tell Sammy and Susie while the little red lady and the golden ball flew back into the tree. Oh! cried Susie when she heard the story. I wish I could see a fairy. And listen. She did. The very next day. And if nothing happens, the story to-morrow night will be about Susie Little Tale and the Blue Fairy. Now listen, Uncle Wiggly felt so good at being cured of his rheumatism that he asked the red fairy of some boys and girls who had been very good couldn't stay up after they had heard the bedtime story to-night. I want to make them happy because I am happy, said Uncle Wiggly. Yes, they stay up if their papas and mamas will let them, answered the red fairy. So now you just ask, but be very polite about it and see what happens. But don't stay up too late, you know, for that would never do, never at all. End of Story 25 Story 26 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 26 Susie and the Blue Fairy They were talking about Uncle Wiggly's visit to the red fairy in the rabbit's burrow the next day, when Susie remarked, Well, if I saw a fairy, I think I'd ask for something more magical than having my rheumatism cured. No, you wouldn't, said her uncle, as he nibbled a bit of chocolate-covered carrot that Nurse Jane Fuzzywuzzy had made. You think you would, but you wouldn't. In the first place, you never had rheumatism, or you'd be glad to get the first fairy you saw to cure it. And in the second place, when you see a fairy it makes you feel so funny, you don't know what you're saying. But I am certainly glad I met that one. I never felt better in all my life than I do since my rheumatism is cured. I believe I'll dance a jig. Oh no, don't, begged Mama Little Tale. Yes, I shall do, spoke Uncle Wiggly, begging your pardon, of course, Alvina. You see, Mama Little Tale's first name was Alvina. So Uncle Wiggly danced a jig, and did it fairly well, considering everything. That afternoon Susie Little Tale went for a walk in the woods. She was all alone, for Sammy had gone over to play with Bully, the frog, and Billy and Johnny Bushy Tale, his squirrel chums. Susie walked along, and she was rather hoping she might meet the fairy prince, who was changed from a mud turtle into a nice boy, and came to Lulu and Alice Wibblewobbles' party. But Susie didn't meet him, and, when it began to get dark, she started for home. Oh, she exclaimed aloud, as she came to a little spot where the grass grew nice and green, and where the trees were all set in a circle, just as if they were playing Ring Around the Rosie, Sweet Tobacco Posey. Oh, dear, I wish I would meet with the fairy, as Uncle Wiggly did. But I don't suppose I ever will. I never have any good luck. Only last week I lost my ring with the blue stone in it. And just then, oh, in fact, right after Susie finished speaking, what should she hear but a voice singing? Yes, a voice singing. A sweet, silvery voice, and this is what it sang. Of course, I can't sing this in a sweet, silvery voice, but I'll do the best I can. Now this is the song. If anyone is seeking a fairy for to see, If they will kindly glance up into this chestnut tree, They'll see what they are seeking, I'm truly telling you, For I'm a little fairy All dressed in baby blue. Then you may believe me or not, if Susie didn't look up into the tree, and there, in a hole where the owl school teacher once lived, was a really and truly, really fairy. Honest. Susie knew it once it was a fairy that she saw, because the little creature was colored baby blue, you know, the shade they put on babies, and she had gauzy wings with stars on them, and carried a magic wand which also had a star on it, did the little blue creature. Still, the little rabbit girl wanted to make sure, so she asked, Are you a fairy? I am replied the little creature in blue. Can you kindly tell me how much two and two are? Four answered Susie. Is it really? Of course you ought to know that, spoke Susie proudly, for she was at the head of her arithmetic class. Ought I, asked the fairy with a sigh? Well, I suppose I had, but I haven't been to school in ever so long, not since I was a wee bit of a child, and that's ever and ever so many years ago, when I was no bigger than that, and she pointed to something in the air. Bigger than what, asked Susie, who didn't see anything. Then that speck of stardust went on the blue fairy. It's so small you can't see it, but no matter. Because you are so kind as to tell me how much two and two are, I will give you three wishes. Will you really? cried Susie in delight. Yes, three wishes, for I am a regular fairy, and that is the regular number of wishes you may have. Some fairies only give two wishes, and some only one, but I always give three. Go ahead now, and wish. Let me see, thought Susie, and her nose twinkled like three stars she was so excited. First I wish for a golden coat drawn by four horses. Oh! cried the fairy. I'm so sorry, for wishes like that, though they come true, never last. Still you may have it. And she waved her magic wand, and if the golden coach and four horses didn't appear right there in the woods, honest. Wish again, my dear, went on the fairy, and this time Susie was more careful. I wish for ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, she said, and once more the fairy said she was sorry, for that wish wouldn't last. Still it came true, and down from the tree where the blue fairy sat came tumbling the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots. Each one wrapped up in lace paper. Susie put them in the golden coach and was ready for her next wish. She thought a good long while over this one. Then she said, I wish I could find my ring with the blue stone. At that the fairy clapped her tiny hands. That is a fine wish, she cried. It will come true and stay so, but the others. And she shook her head sorrowfully. Then she waved her magic wand three times in the air, and suddenly, in less than two jumps, if the ring with the blue stone that Susie had lost didn't appear right on the end of the wand. And it flew off and landed right on Susie's paw. Oh, wasn't she glad? And the fairy said, the ring will last because that is blue, and I am blue, too. Now good-bye, Susie. And with that she disappeared, changing into a butterfly with golden wings. Then Susie started to get in the golden coach and ride home, but would you believe me if those horses didn't run away, upsetting the coach and breaking it, and scattering all the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots all over? Oh, how badly Susie felt, but it was just what the fairy said would happen. The first two wishes didn't last. Anyhow Susie had the ring, and she hurried home to tell her story. Now, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, the story tomorrow night will be about Sammy and the green fairy. End of Story 26 Story 27 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 27 Sammy and the Green Fairy When Susie told her brother Sammy about what happened to her in the woods, when she saw the blue fairy, the little rabbit boy remarked, Ah, I guess you fell asleep and dreamed that, Susie, for that's the way with brothers sometimes. I once had a brother, and he—but there I'll tell you about him some other time. No answer, Susie, I didn't dream it. Why, here's my ring to prove it. And she held out the one with the blue stone in it. I guess you found that in the woods where you lost it, went on Sammy. I don't believe in fairies at all. But didn't one cure Uncle Wiggly's rheumatism? Ah, well, I guess that would have gotten better anyhow. It wouldn't, so there, exclaimed Susie. I just hope you see a fairy some day, and I hope they don't treat you as kind as the one treated me, even if the horses did run away and disappear. But of course Susie didn't really want anything bad to happen to our brother, but you just wait and see what did happen. Oh, it was something very, very strange, yes indeed, and I'm not fooling a bit, no indeed. I wouldn't make it out anything different than what it really was, not for a penny and a half. Well, it happened about a week later. Sammy was coming home from a ball game, which he had played with Johnny and Billy Bushytail, of whom I will tell you later, and some others of his chums, and he was in a deep, dark part of the wood, when suddenly he heard a crashing in the bushes. Poo! exclaimed Sammy. I suppose that's one of them fairies. I'm not going to notice her. And with that he tossed his baseball up in the air, careless like, to show that he didn't mind. But he was a bit nervous all the same, and his hand slipped and his best ball went right down in a deep, dark, muddy puddle of water. Then Sammy felt pretty bad, I tell you, and he was going to get a stick to fish the ball out, when he heard the crashing in the bushes again, and what should appear, but no, not a fairy, but a bad, ugly fox. Ah! exclaimed the fox, looking at Sammy, and smacking his lips. I've been waiting for you for some time. Yes, asked the little boy rabbit, and he tried to see a way to run past that fox, only there wasn't any. Yes, really, went on the fox, have you had your supper? No, replied Sammy, I haven't. Neither have I, continued the fox, but I'm going to have it pretty soon, in fact, almost immediately, which you children know means right away. I'm going to eat directly, went on that bad fox, and he smacked his lips again, and looked at Sammy, as if he was going to eat him up, for that's what he really meant when he said he was going to have supper. Oh! how frightened Sammy was! He began to tremble, and he wished he'd started for home earlier. Then the fox crouched down, and was going to jump up on that little boy rabbit, when something happened. Right up from that puddle of water, where Sammy had lost his ball, sprang a little man in green. He was green all over, like bully the frog, but the funny part of it was that he wasn't wet a bit, even though he came up out of the water. Ha! what have we here? he cried out, just like that. If you please, sir, began, Sammy. It's my supper time, and I'm going to have to go to It's my supper time, cried the fox, interrupting, which was not very polite on his part. It's my supper time, and I'm hungry. I don't see anything to eat, spoke the little green man. Nothing at all. And he looked all around. It, if you please, kind sir, went on, Sammy. I think he intends to eat me. What, what? cried the little green man. The very idea, the very idonical idea. We'll see about that. Oh my, yes, and a bushel of apple turnovers besides. Ah-ha! a him. Then he looked most severely at that fox. Most severely, I do assure you. And he asked, were you going to eat up my friend, Sammy Little-Tale? I was, but I didn't know he was a friend of yours, replied the fox, beginning to tremble. Oh, you could see right away that he was afraid of that little green man. Oh, you bad fox, you, cried the little green man. Oh, you bad fox! Just for that I'm going to turn you into a little country village. Presto change-o, smack-o, mack-io, brrrrr. And he waved his hands at the fox, who immediately disappeared. And he was changed into a little country village, with a church, a school, and thirty-one houses. And it's called Fox Town to this very day. I ought to know, for I used to live there. Well, Sammy, asked the little green man when the fox had vanished. How do you feel now? Much better, kind sir, thank you. But who are you? Me? Who am I? Why, don't you know? No indeed, unless you're some relation to bully the frog. Well, I am a sort of distant thirty-second cousin to him. I am the green fairy. And to prove it, look here, I will get your ball back for you. Then, while Sammy looked on, his eyes getting bigger and bigger, and his breath coming faster and faster, until it was like a locomotive or a choo-choo, whatever you call them, going uphill, if that little green man didn't wave his hands over that puddle of water where Sammy's ball had fallen. And he spoke the magic word, which must never be spoken except on Friday nights, so if you read this on any night but Friday, you must skip it, and wait. This is the word, tir-a-tar-a-tar-a-tir-a-tar-a-toon. And I put it apart so there would be no mistake. Well, all of a sudden, after the magic word was spoken, if Sammy's ball didn't come bounding up out of that water, and it was as dry as a bone, and it had a nice, new, clean white cover on. There, said the little green man proudly, I guess that's doing some tricks in the fairy line, isn't it? It certainly is, agreed Sammy. I can't thank you enough. Just believe in fairies after this, said the little green man, as he changed into a bumblebee and flew off. Now, how would you like to hear about Susie? Now, how would you like to hear about Susie and the fairy godmother to-morrow night, eh? End of Story 27 Story 28 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little-Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 28 Susie and the Fairy Godmother You can just imagine how excited Susie and her mama and papa and nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat, were when Sammy got home and told about the bad fox who had been changed into a country village. Uncle Wiggly Longhears was surprised, too. He said, My, it does seem to me that there are strange goings on in these woods. There never used to be any fairies here. I wonder where they come from. Well, it's a good thing that fox has been changed into a town, spoke Papa Little-Tale. If he hadn't been, I would have had him arrested for frightening you, Sammy. I know the policeman down at our corner, and I'm sure he would have arrested him for me. But it's all right now. And Sammy's papa sat back in his chair and read the paper, for he was tired that night from working in the turnip factory. You see, he changed from the carrot factory and got a place sorting turnips, and sometimes he would bring little sweet ones home to the children. One day Susie was hurrying back from the store with a loaf of bread, a yeast cake, and three-and-a-half of granulated sugar, and she was sort of wondering if she would meet the Blue Fairy again, when, just as she got opposite a place where some golden rod grew, she heard a voice saying, Oh dear, oh dear me, I shall never be able to reach it. Never, never, never. Susie looked around, and what should she see, but a nice little old lady, trying to break off a stem of golden rod. Oh dear me, Susedud, cried the old lady again, and then Susie saw that she was very little indeed, hardly larger than a ten-cent plate of ice cream after it's all melted. So she couldn't reach the golden rod, she was so little. What is the matter, asked Susie very politely? Can I help you? Thank you, my dear child, went on the little old lady. If you would be so kind, as to reach me down a stem of golden rod, I would be very much obliged to you. What do you want with it, asked Susie, wondering who the little old lady could possibly be. Why, I want it for a fairy wand, she answered. I have lost mine. Are you a fairy, too, asked the little rabbit girl, and she began to wonder what would happen next as she broke off a stem for the little old lady? Indeed I am, replied the little old lady. I am a fairy godmother. I have charge of all the other fairies, the blue fairy and the red fairy and the green fairy, and all the other colors, including the fairy prince, who used to be a mud turtle. But if you are a fairy, asked Susie, why couldn't you make that golden rod come down to you when you weren't tall enough to reach up to it? Hush, exclaimed the fairy godmother, for she really was one, as you shall see. Hush, my dear child, it's a great secret. Don't tell anyone. And she put her right hand over her mouth and her left hand over her ear, and held the golden rod under her arm. You see, I lost my magic wand, she went on, and I couldn't do any more magic until I got a new one. Now I am all right, and to reward you you may come with me. But I have to get home with a bread and sugar and yeast cake, said Susie. No, spoke the fairy godmother, you will not need to be in a hurry. Besides, what I will show you will happen in an instant, and you will get home in time after all. So she waved the golden rod in the air. And once more the silver trumpet sounded, and all of a sudden Susie found herself lifted up, and there she and the fairy godmother were sailing right through the air on a big burdock leaf. At first Susie was afraid, but she soon got over her fright and enjoyed the ride. Where are we going? she asked. We are going to where the fairies live, answered the little old woman. But she seemed larger now. And the old dress she had worn had changed into a cloak of gold and silver, with diamonds and rubies on it all over, like frost on a cold morning. So pretty soon. Oh, I guess about as long as it would take to eat a peanut, or maybe two, if they didn't come to Fairyland. At least that's what Susie thought it was, for there were fairies all about. The red fairy was there, and the green, and the blue one. And the blue fairy asked, Have you your ring yet, Susie? Then Susie said she had, but she didn't want to talk any more, for so many wonderful things were going on. The fairies were skipping about, leaping here and there, some riding on the backs of birds and butterflies and bumblebees, and some running in and out of holes in the ground. What are they doing? asked Susie, moving her long ears back and forth. They are doing kind things to the people of the earth, replied the fairy godmother, and it keeps them busy, let me tell you. Then Susie saw fairies doing all sorts of magical tricks, such as making lemonade out of lemons, and things like that. Then, all at once, just when one little fairy was making a hat out of some straw, the godmother said, It is time for us to go now. So the burdock leaf came sailing through the air, and Susie got on. As soon as they came near the woods where the golden rock grew, they saw a boy throwing a stone at a robin. Ah, I must stop that, cried the fairy godmother, so she waved her new magic wand that Susie had helped her get, and honestly, if that stone didn't turn right round in the air, and instead of hitting the bird, it flew back and hit that boy right on the end of his nose. Oh, how he cried, and what is better, he never threw stones at birds again. I call that a pretty good trick, don't you? Well, the burdock leaf came to the ground, and Susie ran home, and she was just in time to help her mother set bread. Tomorrow night's story is going to be about Uncle Wiggly in the Fairy Spectacles. That is, I think it is, but if you like, you may turn over the page to make sure. But you are only allowed just one peep, only one, mind you. End of Story 28. Story 29. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris. Uncle Wiggly in the Fairy Spectacles. Sammy and Susie Little Tale were playing out in front of their burrow. Their momma had a headache, and had gone to lie down in a dark room, and nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had put a mustard leaf on the back of momma Little Tale's neck, for that is sometimes good for a headache. What shall we do, asked Susie? Oh, I don't know, replied her brother. Suppose we play Stump Tag. All right, you're it, Sammy, called Susie. So Sammy began to hop after Susie. You see, when you play Stump Tag, you have to keep on a stump if you don't want to be tagged. It's lots of fun. Try it some day, if you can find a place where there are plenty of stumps. Well, after playing this for some time, the rabbit children got tired. Then they played other games, and they were making quite a noise when Uncle Wiggly Long Ears came out. You children will have to make less racket, he said. Real cross-like. Your momma has a headache. Then Sammy and Susie were quieter for a time, but soon they were almost as noisy as ever. Now you must run right away from here, cried Uncle Wiggly, coming to the door of the underground house again, and he spoke still more crossly. What do you suppose Ailes Uncle Wiggly asked Susie, as she and Sammy hopped away? I don't know, replied Sammy, unless it's his rheumatism again. No, it can't be that, don't you remember? The red fairy cured him. Maybe it came back. Oh no, fairies don't do things that way. I guess he must have indigestion, but I wish he wouldn't be so cross, especially when momma has a headache and Jane Fuzzy was he can't come out to play with us. Oh dear, isn't it too bad? What's too bad? asked a little voice, under a big clump of grass. And at that moment, what should come walking out but a little pink fairy? Oh, she was the dearest thing you ever saw. I just wish I could take you to see her, but it's not allowed. Some day, perhaps. But there I must get on with the story. Well, the little pink fairy stood out in the sunlight, and she asked again, what is the matter? Oh, explained Susie, who by this time had gotten used to fairies of all kinds. Momma has a headache and Uncle Wiggly is cross. Headache, eh? Uncle Wiggly cross. Perhaps his glasses do not fit him, suggested the fairy. Oh, I guess there's nothing the matter with his spectacles, answered Sammy. I saw him reading a book with them. You never can tell, declared the pink fairy. Suppose you call him out here and we'll take a look at his glasses. Maybe he has the wrong kind. What about momma's headache? asked Susie. Oh, I'll stop that in a minute, replied the fairy kindly. So she waved her magic wand in the air three times. Now your momma's head is all better, she added. And sure enough, when Susie ran in the borough to ask Uncle Wiggly to come out, if momma little tale's head wasn't all well, wasn't that just fine? Well, at first Uncle Wiggly didn't want to come out. He was still cross. But finally Susie begged him so hard that he did. He saw the little pink fairy and he asked, real cross-like. Well, what do you want of me? Aha! exclaimed the pink fairy. I see what the trouble is. It's your spectacles. They're all right, growled Uncle Wiggly. They are not, declared the fairy, very decidedly. Let me look at them. And before you could say, Pussycat Mole jumped over a coal. She frisked those glasses off. Oh, she cried. Look here, Sammy and Susie, what terribly gloomy spectacles. Then she held them up, first in front of Sammy, and then in front of Susie. And when they looked through them, the little rabbit children saw that everything was dark and gloomy and dreary, and even the sun seemed to be behind a cloud. Oh, it was as cold and unpleasant as it was just before a snowstorm. No wonder you were cross, cried the fairy. But I will soon fix matters. Presto change-o. Ring around the rosy, sweet tobacco-posy, she cried. And then she rubbed first one pink finger on one glass, and then another pink finger on the other glass of the spectacles. And a most wonderful thing happened. She smiled as she held the glasses up in front of Sammy and Susie, and as true as I'm telling you, if everything wasn't as bright and shining as a new tin dishpan. Oh, everything looked lovely. The flowers were gay and the sun shone, and even the grass was sort of pink, while the sky was rose-colored. There, said the fairy to Uncle Wiggly, try those. So Uncle Wiggly long-ears put on his glasses again, and he cried out, Why, goodness me! Oh, my, so's dud! Oh, turnips and carrots and a chocolate cake! Oh, my, goodness me! What's the matter? asked Susie. Why, everything looks different, answered her uncle. Oh, how much better I feel! Whoopty-dood will do! And he began to dance a jiggity-jig. Who would have thought my glasses were so dark and gloomy, he went on. I feel ever so much better now. Come on, Sammy and Susie, and I'll buy you some cabbage ice cream. And you, too, little pink fairy. You see, he had been looking through gloomy glasses all that while, and that was what made him cross. Oh, thank you! I only eat rose-leaf ice cream, the fairy said. But I'm not hungry now. Good luck to all of you, and may you be always happy. Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while Uncle Wiggly and the rabbit children went to the ice-cream store. Now, unless I'm much mistaken, tomorrow night's story will be about Sammy and how he saved Bailey Bushy Tale. But, of course, you never can tell what will happen. End of Story 29 Story 30 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 30 Sammy Saves Bailey Bushy Tale Sammy Little Tale was out in a green field digging a burrow or underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he, his papa, and mama, and sister lived in was very nice. But as he had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and maybe go all the way through to China. Sammy thought he would like to see how China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some Chinese rabbits. Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles from China, when he heard someone singing a song in a very loud voice. Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken the baby if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to sing it softly. This is the song Sammy heard. I want to be a sailor and sail the ocean blue. I journey to a distant land and then come back to you. I bring you lots of happiness, a big trunk filled with joy, a barrel full of hickory nuts for every girl or boy. Well, when Sammy heard that, he cried out, Is that a fairy? No, it's me was the answer. Oh, then you must be Billy or Johnny Bushy-tail went on, Sammy, for he remembered that once the little boy's squirrels went sailing and were shipwrecked. Yes, I'm Billy, said the voice, and then a pup the little squirrel. But what did you say about a fairy, he asked. I thought at first you were a fairy, continued Sammy, and then he stopped digging the hole in the ground. There have been such a lot of fairies around here lately, Sammy added. Red ones, and green ones, and blue ones, and— Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else, inquired Billy Bushy-tail? Fairies, of course. Oh, get out, oh, don't tell me that. Why, how superfluous! cried Billy. For that last was a new word he had just learned. Don't mention fairies to me, he continued. Why not, Sammy wanted to know? Because I don't believe there are such things, cried Billy, frisking his big tail until it looked like a dusting brush that they used after sweeping to knock the dust from the furniture onto the floor again. Don't talk to me like that, Sammy. Well, remarked the little boy rabbit. All I've got to say is that there are fairies. But where's Johnny? Maybe he believes in him. No, he doesn't. Besides, he's gone out walking with Sister Sally. Come on, let's have a catch. Where's your ball? I didn't bring it, replied Sammy, but we can have some fun playing in this whole live, Doug. So they played for some time, and pretty soon, oh, in about two and a half frisks of Billy's tail, what should happen but that all of a sudden a great big hawk swooped down from the sky and grabbed that little boy squirrel up in its claws and flew off with him. Well, you can just imagine how scared Sammy was. His nose wiggled so he sneezed three times. Then he looked up, and there was the hawk, flying away and away, and away with poor Billy. Oh, wasn't it dreadful? Save me, save me! Billy cried from up there among the clouds. I will, I will, shouted Sammy, and then he got so excited that he ran around in a circle and tried to catch his tail, but it was so short that he couldn't even see it, no matter how fast he went around. Then he grabbed up a stone and he threw it at that hawk, but of course he couldn't hit him, for the big bad bird was too far away. Oh, whatever shall I do, exclaimed Sammy, if I could only fly now I'd go up after that hawk. Oh, why didn't Susie wish for wings for me and her, instead of for a golden chariot and ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, the time she saw the Blue Fairy? Oh, why didn't she? Wings would have been of some use. Then he ran around after his tail some more, but he couldn't catch it, and the hawk kept taking Billy farther and farther away, and then Sammy cried out, Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, three times, just like that. Then all at once, if the little green man didn't suddenly appear, he always appears when anyone says, Oh dear, three times in exactly the right way, but it's hard to know just what is the right way. Well, said the little green man, you seem to be in trouble. I am, cried Sammy, a hawk has Billy bushy tail, and I want to save him. Very well, said the little green man, since you are so kind you shall save him. Shut your eyes and cross your front paws, and wrinkle your nose three times and a half. So Sammy did this, and would you believe it if in another instant the little green man hadn't changed into a big, kind, good-natured eagle? Get up on my back, the eagle said to Sammy, and we will save Billy. So Sammy got on the eagle's back, and the big bird flew after that hawk, and pretty soon it caught up to him. Here, you let Billy bushy tail go, cried Sammy, and then he took a long stick he had grabbed up, and he hit that hawk. At first the hawk wasn't going to let go of the little squirrel, but when the eagle bit him three times on each leg, then that bad bird was glad enough to drop Billy and fly off. Oh my no, he didn't drop Billy to the ground, that would have been too bad. He only dropped him on the eagle's back, where Sammy was, and pretty soon the two boys were safe on the ground once more, and the eagle had turned into a little green man again. I am ever so much obliged to you for saving me, Sammy, spoke Billy. Oh, I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the green fairy, replied Sammy, and of course he couldn't. Then Billy thanked the little man very kindly, and he felt sorry for not believing in fairies, and he said he would try to after that. So the boy squirrel and the boy rabbit played together some more until it was time to go home. Now, if you don't walk in your sleep tonight, I'll tell you tomorrow about Susie and the fairy carrot. End of Story 30 Story 31 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Clarica. Sammy and Susie Little Tale by Howard R. Garris Story 31 Susie and the Fairy Carrot Susie and Sammy Little Tale had been off in the woods for a walk and to gather some flowers, for they expected company at the underground house, and they wanted it to look nice. Mr. and Mrs. Bushy Tale, and Billy and Johnny, and Sister Sally were coming, and Susie and her brother hoped to have a very nice time. Well, they wandered on and on and on, and had gathered quite a number of flowers, when Sammy said, Come on, we've got enough, let's go home. No, answered Susie, I want to get some sky blue pink ones. I think they are so pretty. I don't, answered her brother, for that color always reminded him of the time he fell in the dye pot when they were coloring Easter eggs. I'm going home. Yellow and red and blue and white flowers are good enough. I don't want any fancy colors. Well, you go home, and I'll come pretty soon, said a sister. So while Sammy turned back, the little rabbit girl kept on. Oh, I don't know how far she went, but it was a good distance, I'm sure, but still she couldn't seem to find that sky blue pink flower. She looked everywhere for it, high and low, and even sideways, which is a very good place. But she couldn't find it, and she kept on going, hoping every minute it would happen to be behind a stump or under a bush. But no, it wasn't. And then, all of a sudden, about as quick as you can shut your eyes and open them again, if Susie wasn't lost. Yes, sir, lost in those woods all alone. She looked all around, and she didn't know where she was. She'd never been so far away from home before, and oh, how frightened she was. But she was a brave little rabbit girl, and she didn't cry, that is, at first. No, she started to try to find her way back. But the more she tried, the more lost she became, until she was all turned around, you know, like when they blindfold you and turn you around three times before they let you try to pin the tail on the cloth donkey at a party. Yes, that's how it was. Well, then Susie began to cry, and I don't blame her a bit. I think I would do the same myself. Yes, she sat right down and cried. Then she felt hungry, and she looked around for something to eat, and what should she see right there in the woods, but a carrot. Oh, she cried, how lucky! Now I shan't be hungry, anyhow. So she picked up the carrot and started to eat it, when all at once that carrot spoke to her. What's that? You don't see how a carrot could speak? Well, it did all the same, but you just listen, please, and maybe you'll see how it happened. Please don't eat me, the carrot said in a squeaky voice. Why not ask Susie, who was very much surprised? Because I am a fairy carrot, it went on. Now do you see how it could speak? Well, I guess. Yes, I am a fairy carrot, Susie, and I can help you. What do you want most? it asked. I want to find my way home, said the little rabbit girl. Very well, my dear, went on the vegetable, placed me on the ground in front of you, stand on your hind legs, wiggle your left ear and see what happens. So Susie did this, and would you believe me, for I'm not exaggerating the least bit, if that fairy carrot didn't roll right along on the ground in front of Susie. Follow, follow, follow me, and you soon at home will be. The carrot said in a sing-song voice, and it rolled on, still more, and Susie followed. First the carrot went through a deep, dark part of the woods, but Susie wasn't at all afraid, for she believed in fairies. Then pretty soon the carrot came to a great big hole. It was too big to jump over, and too deep to crawl down into, and too wide to run around. Oh dear, cried Susie. I don't see how to get over this. But do you suppose that carrot was bothered? No, sir, not the least bit. It stretched out, like a piece of rubber, and stuck itself across that hole, until it was a regular little bridge, and Susie could walk safely over. Then it became an ordinary fairy carrot again, and it rolled on in front of her, showing her just which way to go. After a while she came to a great big lake, once she had never seen before. Oh, how shall we get over this? cried Susie. Don't worry, spoke the carrot. Then what did it do but turn into a little boat, and Susie got into it, and sailed over that lake as nicely as you please. Then it turned into an ordinary garden fairy carrot again, and rolled on, Susie following. Pretty soon they came to a place where the woods and brush were all on fire. Oh, I know we shall never get over that place, exclaimed Susie, for she was very much afraid of fire, because she once burned a hole in her apron. Oh, we'll get over that, promised the carrot, just you watch me. And really truly, if it didn't turn into a rainstorm, and sprinkle down on the flames and put that fire out, and then, just so Susie wouldn't get wet, it turned into an umbrella, and held itself over her all the rest of the way home. So Susie got safely back to the burrow, with all the flowers but the sky blue-pink one, and maybe she wasn't glad, and maybe her folks weren't glad too. They had begun to worry about her, and Sammy was just going to start off to look for her. So Susie told how the fairy carrot had brought her home, and Uncle Wiggly said. Well, there certainly are queer things happening nowadays. I never would have believed it if you hadn't told me. Now listen, tomorrow night's story is going to be about, let me see. Oh, on second thought, I believe there are enough stories in this book, and if you would like to read some more, I'll have to put them in another. How would you like to hear about some squirrels? Billy and Johnny Bushy-Tale, and Sister Sally and Jenny Chipmunk and their friends, A. If you would like to read of them, you can do so in the next volume, which is going to be named Bedtime Stories, Johnny, and Billy Bushy-Tale. I hope you will like the squirrels, for they are very good friends of Sammy and Susie Little-Tale, and Uncle Wiggly Long-Ears too. Now goodbye for a little while, dear children. End of Story 31, End of Sammy and Susie Little-Tale, by Howard R. Garris.