Three Minute Stories

“I think so, too,” said his mother.

SUPPITY SIPPITY!

Suppity, sippity!Milk for my Pippity,Milk for my Pippity Poppity Boy:From a big jug of itPour a full mug of it,Sip it and sup it in comfort and joy.Sippity, soppity,Bread for my Poppety,Crusty and crumby and tender and white:Now for a bowl of it!Milk for the whole of it!Sippity, suppity, morning and night.

JOHNNY’S RED SHOES AND WHITE STOCKINGS

For every day, Johnny always wears blue; blue rompers in the morning, when he is playing in the sand box or helping Maggie make bread in the kitchen, and a blue sailor suit in the afternoon, when he goes “walk-a-walk-a” with Mamma. But on Sunday afternoon he goes walk-a-walk-a with Daddy (but they take Mamma too!), and then he has on his white sailor suit, and his white stockings and red shoes. Aunt Kitty brought him the shoes, and when they came there was a china cat inside one, and a tin frog inside the other. They were surprises, the cat and the frog; Aunt Kitty likes to give surprises.

Well! one Sunday morning Mamma and Daddy were going to church, and Maggie was very busy, so she put Johnny in the sand box, and told him to play like a good boy, and he did. He made two forts, one with the red tin pail and one with the blue tin pail; and then he hammered on them with the old kitchen spoon and said, “Bang! bang! bang!” and that made a battle. While he was having the battle, the Boy Over the Fence came and looked through the pickets, and said, “Hurnh! I’ve got new shoes on!” Johnny looked, and he had; new brown shoes, that tied in front. So Johnny said: “I have new shoes too, only they are not on; they are up-stairs, and they are red.”

“They ain’t!” said the Boy Over the Fence. He was not a very nice boy.

“They are!” said Johnny. “Bright red, with wankle buttons. Aunt Kitty bringed them, and there was a cat in one, and a frog in the other, and they were s’prises. And white stockings too, so there!” Then he stopped, for he was out of breath.

“Hurnh!” said the Boy Over the Fence. “Let’s see ’em!”

Johnny trotted up the back stairs and brought down the white stockings and the red shoes; they were laid out on the chair, with the white suit, all ready for him to put on. He held them up so that the Boy Over the Fence could see them, and said, “So there!” again; it was all he could think of to say.

And the Boy Over the Fence said, “Hurnh!” again, as if that was all he could think of to say.

Just then Maggie opened the kitchen door and said: “Come in this minute of time, Johnny boy, and get your luncheon! see the nice cracker and the lovely mug of milk Maggie has for ye!”

Johnny was hungry, and he dropped the red shoes and white stockings and ran in to have his luncheon. While he was eating it, Maggie told him the story of the Little Rid Hin; (Mamma says it is “Red Hen,” really, but Maggie always says it the other way, and Johnny likes it better); and then she said it was time for his nap, and she whisked him up-stairs and tucked him up in his crib and told him to go to sleep like a good boy, and he went.

By and by he woke up, and Mamma came in to dress him for dinner. She washed his face and hands, and brushed his hair, and put on his white sailor suit; and then she said, “Why, where ever are the shoes and stockings?”

She looked under the chair, and on the bureau, and under the bed. “Johnny,” she said, “I cannot find your red shoes and white stockings. I put them here with your suit, and now they are gone.”

“Oh!” said Johnny.

“Do you know where they are, dear?” asked Mamma.

“Oh!” said Johnny again. “I think – they are in – the sand box!”

“In the sand box!” said Mamma.

“The Boy Over the Fence said they wasn’t red,” said Johnny; “and they was, and I gotted them and showed him, and then Maggie called me, and – and – I think that is all I know.”

“My goodness!” said Mamma. And she ran down-stairs and out into the yard to the sand box. But no red shoes or white stockings were there. Mamma looked all about carefully. There was the red tin pail, and the blue tin pail, both turned upside down, and the old kitchen spoon laid across them. And there were the marks of Johnny’s moccasins, and – oh! there were the marks of another pair of shoes, a little bigger than Johnny’s, with heels to them.

“My goodness!” said Mamma. “You don’t suppose – ” but she did not say what you didn’t suppose.

She looked over toward the next yard. There was no one there, but there were muddy footmarks leading from the fence to the sand box, and sandy footmarks leading back from the sand box to the fence.

“Now,” said Mamma, “I am afraid – ” but she did not say what she was afraid of.

Just as she was stepping out of the sand box, her foot struck against the red tin pail and knocked it over; and – what do you think? Inside of the pail was one red shoe and one white stocking.

“My goodness!” said Mamma again. Then she turned over the blue tin pail, and there was the other red shoe and the other white stocking.

Mamma looked very severely over the fence, but no one was there; so she took the shoes and stockings up-stairs and showed them to Johnny. “Oh!” said Johnny.

She told him where she had found them; and then she put them away in the drawer, and brought out Johnny’s old brown moccasins and a pair of rather old brown stockings. “You shall wear these to-day!” said Mamma.

“But why?” said Johnny. “I like my red shoes and white stockings best.”

“But you took them out and left them in the sand box!” said Mamma.

“But I did forget!” said Johnny.

“But this will help you to remember!” said Mamma.

And it did.

THE FOOLISH TORTOISE

(Adapted)

Close beside the Pool of the Blue Lotus lived the two geese White-Wings and Gray-Back, and in the pool lived the tortoise Shelly-Neck, and the three were good friends. One night Shelly-Neck heard two fishermen talking together beside the pool. “To-morrow morning,” they said, “we will lay our nets and catch that old tortoise and cook him for our dinner.”

Shelly-Neck was much frightened, and when the men were gone he called his friends the geese, and begged them to save him.

“We will save you,” said White-Wings.

“But you must do just what we tell you to do!” said Gray-Back.

“I will! I will!” cried poor Shelly-Neck.

The two geese waddled about, looking till they found a stick. “Now,” said White-Wings, “take this in your mouth and hold on tight!”

“And remember,” said Gray-Back, “that once you have taken hold you must not let go till we bid you.”

The tortoise promised and took hold on the middle of the stick with his strong jaws. Then White-Wings took one end of the stick in his bill and Gray-Back took the other, and they flew high up in the air over the roofs of the houses.

All the people came running to see this strange sight. “Look! look!” cried one. “See the flying tortoise!”

“Ho!” said another, who was one of the fishermen. “He has no wings; soon he will forget and open his mouth, and then down he will come and we shall have him for dinner.”

“I will not let go! You shall not have me for dinner!” cried Shelly-Neck.

Crash! Down he fell on the hard ground. When the fishermen picked him up he was dead and they did have him for dinner.

White-Wings and Gray-Back flew sadly away. “We did our best,” they said; “but a fool cannot be saved from his folly.”

THE GARDEN GATE

Early and late, early and late,Little Boy swings on the garden gate.“It isn’t a gate; it’s a motor car!I’m travelling fast and I’m travelling far.I toot my horn and I turn my wheel,And nobody knows how grand I feel!”Early and late, early and late,Little Boy swings on the garden gate.“It isn’t a gate; it’s a great big ship!I’m off to the Pole on a ’sploring trip.I’ll ride a white bear, holding on by his hair,And I’ll hurry him up with a whaleskin whip.”Early and late, early and late,Little Boy swings on the garden gate.“It isn’t a gate; it’s a big balloon!I’m going to sail till I reach the moon.I’ll play with the Man as hard as I can,And I’ll stir up the stars with a great horn spoon.”Early and late, early and late,Little Boy swings on the garden gate.“It isn’t a gate; it’s – ” off runs he,His mother is calling, “Come in to tea!”It’s a wonderful gate, but it just isn’t ableTo turn itself into a supper-table.

LITTLE CAT’S VALENTINE

Great Old Dog was taking a nap before the parlor fire. He lay stretched out on the white bear skin, and reached almost from end to end, for he was a very great old dog indeed. By-and-by he woke up, and saw Little Dog sitting in front of him looking very melancholy.

“What’s the matter, young one?” asked Great Old Dog. “Where’s Little Cat?”

“I don’t know!” said Little Dog dolefully. “We don’t speak to each other any more.”

“Wuff!” said Great Old Dog. “Since when?”

“Since half an hour.”

“Wuff!” said Great Old Dog. “Why?”

“She was horrid to me,” said Little Dog, “about a bone; and – and then I was horrid to her.”

“And you think two wrongs make a right?” said Great Old Dog. “They don’t. That is monkey arithmetic, not fit for respectable dogs and cats. My advice to you is to make it up as soon as you can.”

“But she says she will never speak to me again!” said Little Dog piteously.

Great Old Dog yawned so wide that Little Dog could have got inside his mouth and turned around.

“She will!” he said.

“How do you know, Great Old Dog?”

“Wuff! I know cats.”

“I think she has gone out to see Old Cat in the Barn,” Little Dog continued. “Perhaps she may live out there and never come back.”

“She’ll come back,” said Great Old Dog. “She will miss you just as much as you miss her. Make it up, I tell you! Quarrelling is the silliest thing there is,” and he went to sleep again.

“Oh, dear!” said Little Dog. “I do miss Little Cat dreadfully, and the door is shut. Oh, oh dear!”

Little Girl was sitting at the desk, doing things with gold and silver paper. Little Dog went up to her and asked very prettily to be let out; but Little Girl was not so clever as usual.

“What is the matter, Little Dog?” she asked. “Do you want a valentine?”

“Please let me out!” said Little Dog; but she thought he said “Yap!”

“Listen, Little Dog!” she said. “Will this do?” She took up a frilled sheet with gold hearts on it and read:

“‘If your heart is true as mine,Come and be my valentine.’”

“Please let me out!” said Little Dog; but she thought he said “Yap!”

“This is Valentine’s Day, Little Dog,” Little Girl went on. “You ought to send a valentine to Little Cat.

“‘If your heart is true as mine,Come and be my valentine.’

Why, Little Dog, you shall be her valentine. Come here, sir!”

Little Girl took a sheet of lace paper, crimped it into a frill, and tucked it into Little Dog’s collar. It tickled him woefully, but he said not a word, for he loved Little Girl almost next to Little Cat.

“You are lovely, Little Dog!” said Little Girl. “You are the best valentine I have made yet. Wait now!” She made a big star of gold paper and pinned it to his collar; then she made two little stars and pasted them on the tips of his ears.

“You are a lovely valentine!” she cried, clapping her hands. “And there is Little Cat mewing to be let in this minute. Now when I open the door, Little Dog, go straight up to her and say:

“‘If your heart is true as mine,Let me be your valentine!’”

She opened the door and Little Cat started to come in, but when she saw Little Dog she stopped and looked shy.

Little Dog went up to her and said:

“If your heart is true as mine, Little Cat, I am sorry I was horrid about the bone; let me be your valentine and I want to make up.”

“Oh! Little Dog,” said Little Cat, “I was horrid first, and I was just coming to say I was sorry. Let’s never quarrel again, Little Dog; it is so lonely!”

“Dear little things!” said Little Girl. “They are rubbing noses and telling each other something. Oh, dear! and I was cross to Brother this morning; I’m going to find him this minute and say I am sorry and ask him to be my valentine.”

TO MY VALENTINE

Dear, will you be mine,My little Valentine?I’ll meet you, and greet you,And dress you up so fine!A cooky for your hat,And a pancake for your coat;We’ll hollow out a pumpkin shellAnd use it for a boat.Dear, will you be mine,My little Valentine?I’ll meet you, and treat you,And take you out to dine.We’ll have gold and silver fishIn a gold and silver dish.We’ll serve them up with diamond sauceAnd then how they will shine!

MARCH

Blow, March, blow!Go, Winter, go!Drive away,Strive away,Blow, March, blow!Blow, March, blow!Grow, grass, grow!Crocus-cup,Twinkle up;Blow, March, blow!Blow, March, blow!Flow, water, flow!River, run,Just for fun,Blow, March, blow!

SOMETHING NEW

There’s a new thing at our house:It’s not a cat; it’s not a mouse;It’s not a bird; it’s not a dog;It’s not a monkey or a frog;A sweeter thing than any other;It’s just a little Baby Brother!

MR. SPARROW’S BATH

One day Johnny followed Mamma up into the attic, where there are all kinds of pleasant things, and he saw a very pleasant thing indeed. It was a small dish, white with pink roses all over it; really and truly, it was the prettiest dish that ever was. Johnny said, “O-o-oh! may I have that dish for mine?”

Mamma looked, and then she took the dish in her hand and thought a minute. Mamma always likes to be sure about things before she says “Yes!” for fear it might not really be “yes” after all. But now she nodded her head, and said, “Yes, Johnny, you may have it.”

“O-oh!” said Johnny. “For my welly own?”

“For your very own. The rest of the set is broken, and I have just kept this dish because it is so pretty. Now you may take it down into the nursery, and have it for a bath for Flora.”

Flora was a small doll, all china, and her clothes came off, so she could have a bath any time, and Johnny often gave her one. Now he gave her one in the rosy-posy dish, and it was just exactly the right size, and Johnny was so pleased, and said, “Oh, thank you, dear Mamma!” without having to be told. (Sometimes he forgets to say “thank you,” but he is getting to be quite good about it.)

The next time Johnny went down-stairs, he took the doll’s bath to show to Maggie, and she said ’twas the pick of the world for a dish, and asked Johnny to lave her bake a cake in it; but Johnny said no, not now, though perhaps by and by, for now he must take it out to show to Muffy. Muffet was out in the sand-box, and when Johnny showed her the dish she mewed and rubbed against his legs, and seemed to want something very much.

“Maggie,” said Johnny, “Muffy wants something! What do you suppose it is?”

“Sure she might be wanting a sup o’ milk!” said Maggie. “Bring me here the grand dish and we’ll give the crature a sup in itself, and won’t she be the proud kitty!” that is the way Maggie talks; it is a nice, funny way, Johnny thinks.

Well! so Maggie filled the pretty dish with milk, and Johnny set it down in the sand box before Muffet, and she lapped it up, every single drop, purring all the time. Johnny was watching her when Mamma called him in to take his nap. Muffet had not quite finished, so he left the dish standing, and ran in to Mamma, and then he went for his nap. When he woke up it was raining hard, and it rained all the afternoon, so he did not go out again, but stayed in the nursery building a Choo Choo House. The next morning was bright and clear, and the very first thing Johnny thought of, when he had had his bath, and Mamma was dressing him, was the rosy posy dish.

“I wants my diss,” said Johnny, “to give Flora her bath!”

So Mamma looked for the dish, all over the nursery, but it was not to be found.

“Where did you leave it, Johnny Boy?” said Mamma. “Think a minute!”

So Johnny thought a minute, and then he remembered. “I left it in the sand box,” he said. “Muffy was very thirsty, and she was drinking out of it, and you called me, and she hadn’t finished, and so, you see – and so, you see – ”

And Mamma said she saw. Then she looked out of the window, and said yes, there was the dish, right in the sand box, beside the red tin pail and the blue tin pail and the old kitchen spoon. Then she said, “Oh! oh, Johnny, come here and look!”

So Johnny went to the window, and stood on his tippy-toe-toes, and looked; and what do you think he saw? A little brown sparrow had come fluttering down, and was drinking out of the rosy posy dish. (You see, it had rained all night, so the dish was full of water.) He perched on the edge, and dipped his little beak in, and drank and drank; he must have been very thirsty. And then – oh! oh! what did he do but hop down into the dish, and begin taking his bath! He splashed, and he shook himself, and rustled his feathers, and then he splashed again. “Oh!” said Johnny. “Oh! Mamma, he is doing it all himself. Nobody told him to, not one bit.”

“No, indeed!” said Mamma. “He likes to take his bath and be clean, just as Johnny does. He knows it feels good to be clean.”

“Mamma!” said Johnny. “I want to tell you something. Shall we have something else for Flora, and let the rosy posy dish be the sparrow’s bath, his ownty donty?”

“Suppose we do!” said Mamma. And they did.

LITTLE GIRL

When Little Girl wakes in the morning gayThen everybody is glad;The cat in the kitchen sits purring away,And the puppy dog barks like mad.The bell in the steeple turns head over heels,That’s his way of showing how glad he feels;And all the wide world seems to say,“Our dear Little Girl is happy to-day!”When Little Girl wakes in the morning sad,Then everybody must mourn;The little birds sigh, and the big birds cry,And the scarecrow sobs in the corn.The fishes all pull their hankies out,And go and weep with the poor hornpout,And the clock says, “Tock! I’m sorry to sayOur dear Little Girl is sad to-day!”So, Little Girl, when you go beddy at night,Put a smile right under your pillow,And when you wake up, just slip it on tight,And wear it all day with a will, oh!Then the sun will shine and the wind will blow,And the bells will ring, “Ho! ho! ho! ho!”For in all the wide world there’s naught can beSo sweet as a happy child to see!

HOW MR. PEACOCK WENT TO THE FAIR

(Adapted)

Mr. Peacock was proud. He had a fine long train, a splendid crest, and the gayest blue-green coat that ever was seen; and all day long he would strut up and down the barnyard and say: “See what a beauty I am!”

The geese and ducks and turkeys were much displeased at this. “Beauty, indeed!” they said. “Of what use is your beauty? Can it hatch eggs? Tell us that!” and they turned their backs and walked away.

“These are stupid creatures!” said Mr. Peacock. “Why should I stay among them? I will go to the Fair, for there people will see my beauty and admire it.”

So he spread his tail like a fan, raised his crested head and strutted off down the road to the Fair. Pretty soon he met some young men who also were going to the Fair. “Aha!” said Mr. Peacock. “These people will admire me!” and he strutted more than ever.

“Look!” said the young men. “What a fine peacock, and what splendid feathers he has! They are just what we want for our hats.” They surrounded Mr. Peacock, and, spite of his screams of rage and terror, tore out three or four of his finest tail feathers and went away laughing. Presently he fell in with a large flock of geese which a boy was driving to the Fair to sell. He spread his tail and tried to push his way to the head of the flock, but they took no notice of him and waddled steadily on, keeping close together.

“Make way, you stupid creatures!” said Mr. Peacock. “Keep your dirty feet off my fine train!”

“Quack!” said an old gray goose, the grandmother of the flock. “Keep your train out from under our feet, Mr. Strut! Who asked you to join our company?”

“Join your company, indeed!” cried Mr. Peacock. “Get out of my way, you rude, clumsy thing, and learn how to treat your betters!” and he gave the goose a hard peck.

When the other geese, who loved their grandmother, saw this, they all fell upon Mr. Peacock and beat and pecked and hustled him till he ran screaming away, dragging his tail behind him.

He was now in a sad way, covered with dust, and many of his finest feathers were torn and broken; but still, when he came to the Fair he spread his tail, reared his crest and made as much of himself as he could.

“I am still handsomer than any one else!” he said, “and people will be sure to admire me.”

“Look there!” said a man. “There is a peacock. Let us kill and stuff him and add him to our show.” And he chased Mr. Peacock, who ran off screaming with terror. Coming around a corner he ran into a large dog who was coming the other way.

“Get out of my way!” screamed Mr. Peacock.

“Get out of mine!” growled Mr. Dog, and he grabbed Mr. Peacock by the neck, shook him hard and tore out a great mouthful of feathers.

More dead than alive, the poor Peacock ran and ran and ran, and never stopped till he got home.

The geese and turkeys looked at him in great surprise. “Who is this wretched, shabby bird?” they asked each other. “It cannot possibly be Mr. Peacock?”

“Yes,” sobbed the poor creature, “it is I; but I have left my pride behind. If you will only let me stay with you I will do my best to hatch eggs.”

But he never could.

LITTLE BOY

Mother, the hen is cackling;What is she trying to say?She says, “Cluck! cluck! I humbly begTo tell you all I’ve laid an eggFor Little Boy to-day!”Oh! oh! is it so?Truly now, I did not know!But in return what shall I give?“Be kind, be kind, to all that live!”Mother, the cow is lowing;What is she trying to say?“Milk and cream and butter and cheese,Good people, I have brought you theseFor Little Boy to-day.”Oh! oh! is it so?Truly now, I did not know!But in return what shall I give?“Be kind, be kind, to all that live.”Mother, the sheep is bleating;What is she trying to say?She says “I’ll give my fleecy woolTo make warm clothes for play and schoolFor Little Boy to-day.”Oh! oh! is it so?Truly now, I did not know!But in return what shall I give?“Be kind, be kind, to all that live.”

FAITHFUL TRUSTY

(Adapted)

“Where are you going in such haste, friend?” said Trusty, the shepherd’s Dog, to a great wolf that was jogging along the same road.

“If I were sure you would not betray my secret,” said the Wolf, with a sly leer, “I would let you know.”

“You need not fear me; I shall tell no one a word of the matter,” said Trusty.

“Well, then,” said the Wolf, “you must know, as I was prowling around yonder cottage I saw the farmer’s wife put a fine baby into the cradle, and heard her say: ‘Lie still, my darling, and go to sleep, while I run down to the village to buy bread for your father’s supper.’ As soon as the babe is asleep I shall go and fetch it: it is fair and fat, and will make a nice supper for me and my cubs.”

“Then,” said Trusty, “I would advise you to wait a little longer, for I saw the baby’s mother step into the next house to speak to a neighbor: take care lest you are seen.”

The Wolf thanked the Dog for his good advice, for he did not know that the baby belonged to Trusty’s master; and he said he would take heed and keep close.

Then Trusty ran home with all the speed he could. The door was ajar, and the innocent baby was fast asleep in the cradle; so he lay down on the mat behind the door and listened for the coming of the Wolf. It was not long before he heard the tread of the Wolf’s feet on the gravel path, and in another minute the savage beast was in the room and stealing with cautious steps to the cradle; but just as he was preparing to seize the poor baby Trusty sprang upon him and after a fierce struggle laid him dead on the floor.

The first thing the mother saw on her return was the Wolf dead at the foot of the cradle, while the baby, unhurt, lay soundly sleeping on his little pillow, and faithful Trusty watching beside him. She flew to look the little one all over, to make sure that he was safe and sound, and then, oh! how she patted and fondled the good Dog who had saved her darling’s life! She called in all the neighbors, and told them what Trusty had done, and from that time he became the pet of the whole village, and all the mothers wished they had such a dog to watch over their children.