_THE ROLY-POLY BOOK_




Books by

LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH


    Bear and Bunny Book, The
    Bunny Boy and Grizzly Bear
    Bunny Bright Eyes
    Bunny Cotton-Tail Junior
    Candy-Shop Cotton-Tails, The
    Children’s Favorite Stories
    Circus Book, The
    Circus Cotton-Tails, The
    Cotton-Tail First Reader, The
    Cotton-Tail Primer, The
    Cotton-Tails in Toyland, The
    Drills and Plays for Patriotic Days
    Games and Plays
    Hawk-Eye, An Indian Story Reader
    Language Lessons from Every Land
    Little Bear
    Little Eskimo
    Merry Little Cotton-Tails, The
    Mother Goose Stories
    Primary Song Book
    Roly-Poly Book, The
    Runaway Bunny, The
    Seventeen Little Bears
    Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes
    Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail, The
    Three Little Cotton-Tails

                               Published by
                           A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
                                 CHICAGO




                                   The
                              Roly-Poly Book

                                    BY
                           LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH

                                   1923
                           A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
                                 CHICAGO

                              [Illustration]

                        If you will come and read with me,
                        Our Roly-Poly friends you’ll see.
                        You’ll often laugh, if you will look
                        Inside the Roly-Poly Book!

                          COPYRIGHT, 1910, 1923
                          BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY

                 Printed in the United States of America




The Roly-Poly Book




CHAPTER I


“What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.

“What’s that?” asked Papa Roly-Poly.

“What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly.

Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs
again!”

Thump, thump! bump, bump! Humpty Dumpty fell all the way down-stairs.

Mama Roly-Poly went to pick him up, and she said, “Some day you will get
hurt if you are not careful.”

[Illustration: THUMP, THUMP! BUMP, BUMP!]

Then—what do you suppose happened?

Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly shouted:

    “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
    Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
    All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
    Can not put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

Then the Roly-Poly family began to eat their breakfast.

“Oh, ow!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

“Oh, ow!” cried Teddie and Freddie.

What do you suppose was the matter this time?

All the little Roly-Polys had burned their mouths because their oatmeal
was so hot.

“Never mind,” said Papa. “You must eat your breakfast or you will be late
for school.”

Sure enough, the first bell for school was ringing that very minute.

Teddie looked at Freddie and Freddie looked at Teddie.

Any one could have told they were twins, they looked so much alike.

Teddie said, “How can I go to school with a sore mouth?”

Freddie said, “My mouth is sore, too.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “I have a lame back because I fell down-stairs.”

Mama Roly-Poly looked over her spectacles and said, “If you are not able
to go to school, I will put you all to bed!”

Then Teddie dried his eyes on the corner of his napkin, and Freddie
said, “I feel much better.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “I can go to school if the twins will draw me in the
cart.”

The children got down from their seats at the table and began to get
ready for school.

“Where is my red cap?” cried Teddie.

“Where is my red cap?” shouted Freddie.

Mama and Papa looked in every nook and corner, but they could not find
the red caps.

Humpty Dumpty stood looking out of the window. Suddenly, he began to
dance a jig. He danced so hard that he spun around like a top.

“Stop him! stop him!” cried Mama Roly-Poly. “Stop him, or he will hurt
his back.”

Teddie went and whispered something in his right ear and Freddie
whispered something in his left ear, and Humpty Dumpty stopped.

The twins asked, “What made you spin around that way?”

Humpty Dumpty said:

    “I know something I shan’t tell,
    Three little nuts in a pea-nut shell.”

“He knows where our caps are,” cried the twins. “O Ma, make him tell! O
Pa, make him tell!”

Then Humpty Dumpty led the twins to the window and pointed to the caps
lying under the maple tree.

It had rained the night before and the caps were wet.

The twins were in such a hurry to get to school that they put on their
wet caps and ran merrily along, and Humpty Dumpty forgot all about
wishing to ride in a cart and ran merrily after them.

When they reached the school all the children set up a shout.

Teddie’s face was all streaked with red, and Freddie’s face was all
streaked with red.

The water from their wet caps had run down their cheeks.

The teacher sent them out to the pump to wash their faces.

Then school opened, and Humpty Dumpty began to cry.

He cried so hard that a little stream of tears ran out of each eye.

The teacher asked, “What is the matter, Humpty Dumpty?”

The little fellow was crying so hard that he could not answer.

Then Freddie raised his hand and asked, “Please, may I speak?” and Teddie
raised his hand and asked, “Please, may I speak?”

The teacher nodded, and the twins said, “Perhaps Humpty Dumpty is hurt,
for he fell down-stairs this morning.”

Then the teacher said that the twins might put Humpty Dumpty into a
wheel-barrow and take him home.

The teacher said, “Say your tables and count numbers all the way.”

The twins put Humpty Dumpty into a wheel-barrow, and they put their wet
caps by his side and started homeward.

Then they began to count: “One, two, three, four.”

“See that squirrel,” cried Teddie.

“Nine, ten, seven,” said Humpty Dumpty.

“See that robin,” said Freddie.

“Eight, four, sixteen, twelve,” counted Humpty Dumpty.

The children went on counting and talking in the funniest way.

When they got home they found that Papa and Mama had gone away.

[Illustration: THE TWINS SANG HIM A NONSENSE SONG]

Humpty Dumpty began to cry. “I want my ma,” he said.

Teddie said, “Don’t cry and we will sing you a song.”

Freddie said, “Indeed we will.”

Mama had left a note on the table, and the note said:

    I have left your dinner in the pantry. If we do not come home
    to-night Grandpa Grimes will stay with you.

Humpty Dumpty lay down on the sofa and the twins sang him a nonsense
song, in hopes that he would soon be better.

They sang:

    “Oh, beets and carrots are good to eat,
    And pears and apples are nice and sweet;
    But Mrs. Potato of all is most wise,
    For she has such a number of eyes!”

Then they drew a picture of Mrs. Potato and soon Humpty Dumpty fell
asleep.

Then the twins went to the window to see whether or not Grandpa Grimes
was coming.

[Illustration]

    If Humpty Dumpty now should fall
    From other places than the wall,
    He might get a crack or two,
    And that would never, never do.




CHAPTER II


Grandpa Grimes was nowhere to be seen, so the twins went out-doors to
play. They had so much fun turning somersaults on the lawn that they
forgot all about dinner, and they forgot all about Humpty Dumpty.

Very likely they would have forgotten all about supper, too, if they had
not happened to look down the road.

“Hurrah!” cried Freddie. “There is Grandpa Grimes.”

“Hurrah!” cried Teddie. “But why doesn’t he come in! He is going past the
gate!”

The twins ran down the road to catch Grandpa Grimes.

Grandpa Grimes was a jolly old fellow. He carried a suit-case and a big
umbrella.

He never went anywhere without his umbrella.

He said, “Who can tell whether it will rain or shine?”

One of the twins grabbed his suit-case and the other twin grabbed his
umbrella.

Grandpa asked, “Where is Humpty Dumpty?”

“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and Freddie, “we had forgotten all about him, and
we had forgotten all about our dinner, too!”

Grandpa Grimes began to whistle a merry tune and they all went into the
house.

[Illustration: GRANDPA GRIMES]

Humpty Dumpty did not wake up when they came in.

Grandpa Grimes looked at him and said, “Strange! Extraordinary! Most
extraordinary!”

Then he took a good look at Humpty Dumpty and cried, “Get the bottle of
glue! Get it quickly!”

What do you suppose Grandpa Grimes saw? He saw that Humpty Dumpty had a
crack in his back!

Grandpa put the glue on the poor little fellow’s back. Then Humpty Dumpty
woke up and said, “I want Ma, boo-hoo!”

Grandpa Grimes said, “If you will be still I will tell you a story.”

“A story! a story!” cried the twins together. “Do tell us a story!”

Grandpa Grimes said:

    “How can I talk with nothing to eat?
    Cold bread and butter would be quite a treat!”

The twins took the hint and ran about getting supper ready.

They set the table and warmed up the dinner that Mama Roly-Poly had left
them.

Humpty Dumpty cried, “I want supper, too.”

So Grandpa rolled the sofa into the dining-room and for fun they all sat
on the sofa and ate their supper.

“How about the red caps?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

He had given the caps to the twins on their last birthday.

Then Freddie hung his head and said, “We were careless,” and Teddie said,
“We let them get wet, Grandpa.”

Then Grandpa Grimes chuckled and asked, “What mischief have you been up
to, Humpty Dumpty?”

Humpty Dumpty said, “Oh, I only fell down-stairs.”

Then the twins said, “Where can Pa and Ma have gone?”

Grandpa pretended he did not hear. He only said, “This is very good tea
for cold tea.”

Freddie said, “I wonder if Ma went up town.”

Teddie said, “I wonder if Pa went to the farm.”

“Speak a little louder,” said Grandpa Grimes. “How can you expect an old
man to hear?”

Then he winked one eye at Humpty Dumpty and he winked the other eye at
the cat, for he could hear as well as any of them.

Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell us a story, please, Grandpa.”

“Who will wash dishes?” asked Grandpa.

“I will,” said all the children at once.

“Look out, Humpty Dumpty, or you will fall off the sofa,” said Grandpa
Grimes.

The twins washed and wiped the dishes and then they shouted, “Now for the
story! Tell us the story!”

“Who fed the cat?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

Then Freddie got a saucer, and Teddie poured milk into it, and the old
cat purred and drank her milk.

The twins got two little stools and sat down at Grandpa’s feet.

“Did you lock the back door?” asked Grandpa with a twinkle in his eye.
“We don’t wish to have any tramps coming in here.”

So Teddie went and locked the door and they thought that now Grandpa
would surely begin.

Then Grandpa said:

    “How can I tell the story right,
    Without a ray of candle-light?”

Freddie lighted the lamp, and then Grandpa said:

“Now then! you are such dear, good children that I will tell you the
story of Amaryllis.”

This is the fairy tale that Grandpa told:

                               AMARYLLIS

    Amaryllis sat by the fire, playing his fiddle.

    He was alone in the house.

    His brothers had gone to the ball.

    Amaryllis was thinking of the story of Cinderella.

    “I am like Cinderella, only I am a boy,” he said. “I sit among
    the ashes and cinders.”

    “By and by,” he said, “I will pretend I am at the ball.”

    So he took up his fiddle again and played a merry tune.

    A little mouse that lived in the house came out and began to
    dance as he played.

    Amaryllis laughed when the little mouse danced.

    He forgot that he had wished to go to the ball.

    Amaryllis had two brothers. They were proud and cruel. They had
    said, “Amaryllis is so little that we will give him a girl’s
    name. We will make him black our boots and tend the fires and
    wait on us.”

    While Amaryllis sat playing the fiddle a fairy came in.

    “Heigho! that was a merry tune,” said the fairy. “Come, let us
    dance.”

    So Amaryllis laid down his fiddle, and he and the fairy joined
    hands and danced right into the ball-room where the brothers
    were, and all the fine lords and ladies.

    Amaryllis was afraid at first. He thought of his shabby
    clothes. He looked down and saw that he had on a fine velvet
    suit with gold buttons.

    The fairy still danced with him.

    Round and round and round they went.

    “Mind that you don’t play the fiddle here until the third
    night,” the fairy said, and then she disappeared.

    All the fine ladies bowed to Amaryllis and all the lords stared
    at him.

    The lovely princess danced with Amaryllis and he was very happy
    indeed.

    They had danced all this time without music.

    Suddenly the king rose from his throne and said:

        “He who takes the fiddle,
        And plays a jolly air,
        Shall have half my kingdom,
        And the princess fair!”

    Then every one of the lords wished to play the fiddle, you may
    be sure, and Amaryllis could hardly keep his hands still.

    The proud brothers tried to play, but they could not make a
    sound.

    Many of the lords tried to play, but the fiddle would only
    squeak for them. Sometimes it would fly right out of their
    hands.

    All this time Amaryllis was longing to play the fiddle, and his
    arm went to and fro as though he had hold of the bow.

    Some one noticed him and cried, “See! we have the fiddler
    here.”

    Amaryllis remembered the words of the fairy just in time, and
    so he would not play the fiddle. He went out of the room and
    ran home as fast as his legs could carry him.

    When the brothers got home they told great tales about the ball.

    They told Amaryllis about the handsome young prince who would
    not play the fiddle.

    The next night the king gave another ball and both the brothers
    were invited.

    “Black my boots,” said one.

    “Brush my coat,” said the other.

    Amaryllis waited on them as usual.

    When, at last, the brothers were gone, Amaryllis sat down by
    the fire and began to play as before.

    In came the fairy.

    “Let us dance,” she said.

    Amaryllis and the fairy danced round and round as before, and
    danced again into the ball-room.

    “Don’t touch the king’s fiddle until the third night,”
    whispered the fairy, and she was gone.

    Everybody had a fine time at the ball that night, and after a
    while the king rose as before and said:

        “He who takes the fiddle
        And plays a jolly air,
        Shall have half my kingdom
        And the princess fair.”

    Amaryllis could stand it no longer. He forgot that he was at
    a great ball. He forgot the lords and ladies. He forgot the
    fairy’s words, and reached out his hand for the fiddle.

    He began to play, but the tune he played was not a merry one.
    He looked down and saw that he had on his old, shabby clothes.

    All the lords and ladies cried, “Put him out! Put him out! He
    is a street musician.”

    Amaryllis ran out of the ball-room and went sadly home.

    The two brothers did not know what had happened. They had eaten
    so much that they had fallen asleep at the ball.

    The third night the king gave another ball.

    The two brothers were invited. They had lost so much sleep that
    they were very cross while they were getting ready.

    They made Amaryllis wait on them, and they whipped him soundly
    because he moved slowly.

    Poor Amaryllis was sleepy, too.

    At last Amaryllis sat in the chimney corner as before.

    He said, “It is too late for the fairy to come to-night.”

    He began to play a sad tune.

    Then the fairy peeped in at the window and asked, “Will you be
    good this time and remember what I tell you about playing the
    fiddle?”

    Amaryllis nodded and the fairy came in.

    They danced into the ball-room at exactly quarter of twelve.

    “Now,” whispered the fairy, “whatever happens, when the clock
    strikes twelve, you must play the fiddle.”

    Then the fairy opened her bag and a little mouse jumped from it
    and ran behind a chair.

    The king rose from his throne and began to talk, and just then
    the little mouse ran across the floor, and the lovely princess
    fell in a faint.

    All the noblemen wished to help the princess, and all the
    ladies wished to fan her.

    Amaryllis wished to go to the princess, too, but just at that
    minute the clock struck twelve.

    He remembered the fairy’s words and reached out for the king’s
    fiddle and began to play a very merry tune.

    He played such a merry tune that the princess revived.
    Everybody began to waltz, and the princess danced so hard that
    she danced right into Amaryllis’s arms!

    The little mouse was frightened and ran away.

    Then the whole company made merry. The king gave Amaryllis half
    his kingdom. Amaryllis married the princess, and they lived
    happily ever after.

“Tell it again,” said Freddie.

“Tell it again,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty rolled over to the edge of the sofa. He nearly rolled off
the sofa.

Grandpa Grimes said, “Humpty Dumpty, I believe you roll off something
every day!”

Humpty Dumpty said, “That was a fine story.”

Grandpa said, “I will tell it to you again some day.”

Freddie said,“I should like to act out the story.”

Teddie said, “I should like to act it out, too.”

Then Grandpa Grimes laughed.

He pulled out his watch and said, “Bed-time for honest folks.”

Then all the children went merrily to bed.

[Illustration]

    The Roly-Polys can not spell,
    They do not know their lessons well,
    They sit on stools and wear dunce-caps, too,
    As any child might have to do.




CHAPTER III


Next morning who do you suppose was the first one to wake up?

Humpty Dumpty woke up and rolled out of bed.

“Bump!” he fell to the floor and rolled over and over. Humpty Dumpty was
so fat he was always rolling about.

“Help! help!” called the twins. “Humpty Dumpty has fallen out of bed.”

“Hush!” said Humpty Dumpty, “don’t waken Grandpa. I did not hurt myself
at all this time.”

Then the twins looked at the great clock in the hall. Its hands pointed
at quarter of six, so they all went back to bed.

“I am not a bit sleepy,” said Freddie.

“Neither am I,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty said, “Let us tell one another fairy stories.”

Freddie began, “Once there was a princess. She had golden hair.”

“No, she had red hair,” said Humpty Dumpty.

“No, no,” said the twins, “we wish her to have golden hair.”

Then Humpty Dumpty said, “Red hair, red hair,” and he laughed so hard
that he fell out of bed again.

The funny little Roly-Polys could not go on with the story because they
could not agree about the color of the princess’s hair.

They all got up and tip-toed down-stairs.

They did not wish to waken Grandpa.

The twins started to get breakfast, and such a time as they had! First
the fire would not burn, then the water would not boil.

They burned their fingers and they burned the toast.

Grandpa Grimes came down at last, and they all sat down to breakfast.

Grandpa Grimes said, “The coffee is so good I will give you all new red
caps and you may go with me to the store to buy them.”

“Hurrah!” shouted the twins together.

Humpty Dumpty said, “I want a blue cap. I haven’t any twin.”

Then they all laughed until they cried.

“I wonder where Ma and Pa have gone,” said the twins.

“How many of you will be late for school?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

Then they all ate their breakfast and started on a run for school.

Grandpa Grimes stood in the doorway and waved a red pocket-handkerchief
at them as they ran along.

Humpty Dumpty began to cry as soon as school opened. He cried and he
screamed and he howled.

The teacher said, “Humpty Dumpty, I can not send you home every day!”

Humpty Dumpty would not tell what was the matter and he only cried, “I
want my grandpa, boo-hoo!”

At last the teacher said that Humpty Dumpty must go home, but that he
must go alone this time.

Then Humpty Dumpty made a bow and went home.

It was time for the classes to stand up and spell. Teddie and Freddie
stood up with the rest.

“Spell ‘Africa,’” said the teacher.

Teddie missed and went to the foot of the class. Then Freddie missed and
went to the foot of the class.

So, alas! it went on all day long. Teddie and Freddie could not spell and
they could neither read nor write.

What do you suppose was the matter?

Freddie was wondering where his mama was and Teddie was wondering where
his papa was, and so they could not study.

At the close of school those two funny little twins had to sit on stools
and wear dunce-caps.

At five o’clock they went home. They walked slowly. They were thinking
about the dunce-caps.

When they got home they wore such long faces that Grandpa Grimes said,
“Come right into the parlor!”

There sat Humpty Dumpty on the floor. The twins sat down beside him, and
Grandpa said, “A penny for your thoughts,” and he held up three bright
new pennies.

Each of the Roly-Polys told what he was thinking about and Grandpa gave
each of them a penny.

Then they began to beg for a story.

“Dear Grandpa,” they said, “tell a story. Please, Grandpa, just one
story.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell a bran-new story, please.”

Grandpa Grimes dearly loved to tell stories, so he said, “I will tell you
about the Tree Fairies.”

When he finished the story, the little Roly-Polys were fast asleep, so
Grandpa laughed and said to himself, “I can tell that same story again,
some day!”

This is the story Grandpa Grimes told:

                            THE TREE FAIRIES

    The Pied Piper played a tune, and the children of Hamelin
    followed him.

    They followed him until he came to a mountain.

    A door in the side of the mountain opened, and the piper and
    the children went inside.

    “Hurry, hurry, hurry!” said the piper. “We must get inside the
    mountain before the door closes.”

    The children all followed him.

    The door in the mountain-side closed, and no one ever saw them
    again.

    The children now looked about them.

    They stood in the most wonderful green room. It looked like
    Fairy Land.

    The chairs and tables were made of green moss, and green
    hammocks were swinging everywhere.

    The children ran about, making a great noise.

    Then the funniest dwarf appeared. He had a beard that reached
    clear down to the floor.

    He stamped his foot, and shouted to the Pied Piper, “What
    mischief have you been in now?”

    The Pied Piper said, “I freed the town of Hamelin of rats, and
    the mayor promised to pay me a thousand guilders. He would not
    pay the money, when the time came, so I took his children, and
    all the other children of the village.”

    The dwarf stamped his foot again, and shouted, “What do you
    intend to do with all these children?”

    The Pied Piper did not answer. He only played a merry tune.

    “They shall not stay here!” shouted the dwarf. Then he went
    into the next room, where his brothers were at work.

    The dwarfs in this room were starting young plants, and they
    tended the roots of trees to make them grow.

    The dwarf stamped his foot and shouted to his brothers:

    “The Pied Piper has brought in a whole villageful of children.
    I will not keep them all. I can never feed so many!”

    One funny dwarf answered him. He was a queer fellow, as broad
    as he was long.

    This dwarf laid his finger on the side of his nose and asked:

    “Why not change the children into fairies and let them live in
    the trunks of the trees?”

    “The very thing!” shouted the first dwarf.

    So he opened a little door at the root of a maple tree, and
    called one of the children to him.

    Then the other dwarfs said a magic verse, and whisk! the child
    was changed into a fairy and went up into the trunk of the tree!

    So the dwarfs kept on, until all the children were changed into
    fairies and went to live in the trunks of trees.

    Soon after this the Pied Piper and the dwarfs went away across
    the sea.

    They rode on the Magic Carpet, and they forgot all about the
    children they had changed into fairies and shut up in the trees.

    One day Prince Charming went into the woods.

    He was looking for the Beautiful Princess.

    He was tired, for he had walked a long way through the woods.
    He lay down under the tree, to rest.

    He was almost asleep when a maple seed fell on his head, and he
    said:

    “The seed makes me think of the hair of the Beautiful Princess.”

    Then he heard a gentle tapping.

    The tapping seemed to come from the tree under which he lay. He
    got up and called in a loud voice:

        “Princess, princess, come to me,
        If princess, now, you really be!”

    Then, he heard a gentle sigh, but he thought it was the wind
    stirring the new green leaves.

    Then the prince fell asleep, and dreamed a dream.

    He dreamed that a door opened in the tree under which he lay
    and out walked the beautiful princess.

    He thought that the princess said, “All the fairies are shut up
    in trees. You must let them out. Then I can come to you.”

    The prince awoke. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and ran to a tree
    near by, and said:

        “Pretty Fairy Thistle-Down,
        Spread your airy wings,
        Open, now, your secret door,
        While Prince Charming sings.”

    Click! click! click! A little door opened in the tree, and out
    came Fairy Thistle-Down. She floated away on the wings of the
    breeze.

    Then Prince Charming went to another tree and said:

        “Pretty Fairy Silver-Sheen,
        In your dainty dress of green,
        Open wide your door to me,
        I have come to set you free.”

    Click! click! click! The door opened and out came Fairy
    Silver-Sheen.

    The prince went to another tree and said:

        “Good-Luck Fairy, light and airy,
        Open your tree-door wide,
        This is such a pleasant world,
        You must not stay inside.”

    Click! click! click! Open came the door, and out came the
    Good-Luck Fairy. She bowed, and smiled at the prince.

    So the prince went on, all day, calling the fairies to come out
    of the trees.

    When evening came he stood beside an old oak tree, but he
    called in vain, for the Oak-Tree Fairy would not come out.

    Then he went back to the tree in which the Beautiful Princess
    was, and he said, “Can you come out now?”

    The Beautiful Princess said, “I can not come until you let out
    the Oak-Tree Fairy!”

    The next day it rained, and the next, and the next.

    It is very sober business walking in the woods in wet weather.

    The poor prince got the feathers in his cap all wet, but he
    must make the Oak-Tree Fairy come out.

    He pleaded and pleaded with her to leave her tree.

    At last the Oak-Tree Fairy sang this little song:

        “O prince, I promise to leave my tree
        When yellow slippers you bring to me.”

    The prince was delighted. He went into town, and bought the
    prettiest yellow satin slippers he could find. He took them to
    the fairy in the oak tree, but she only repeated the same verse.

    The prince then puzzled his brains to find out what kind of
    slippers the fairy wished.

    He was almost in despair, when, one day, he was walking through
    the woods and saw a queer little yellow flower growing.

    He went nearer the flower. Then he clapped his hands and
    shouted for joy, because the flower was in the shape of a
    yellow slipper.

    He searched a long time until he found another flower just like
    it. Then he ran as fast as his feet would carry him, and came
    to the oak tree and said:

        “Now I am happy. Without any doubt,
        Kind Oak-Tree Fairy, you will come out.”

    Click! click! click! went the door in the tree and the Oak-Tree
    Fairy came out.

    She put on the slippers and went tripping away through the
    woods.

    Then the prince went back to the tree in which the Beautiful
    Princess lived. He tapped on the tree and called out:

        “Beautiful Princess, come to me,
        Open now the door in your tree.”

    Click! click! click! Open came the door in the tree and out
    came the Beautiful Princess.

    She had eyes like violets and hair like silky corn tassels, and
    she said:

        “Prince Charming has set the fairies free,
        And all will our willing servants be.”

    The prince and the princess were married. All the fairies came
    to the wedding, and the Good-Luck Fairy was the jolliest one of
    all.

    The Oak-Tree Fairy said, “You see, I had to have yellow
    slippers to wear to the wedding!”

    The prince ordered the Flower-Fairy to plant some more seeds of
    the wonderful flower that bore the yellow slippers, so that the
    Oak-Tree Fairy might have a new pair of slippers every year.

    If you search in the deep woods you may see the slippers
    growing there. They are called Lady Slippers now.

    The prince and the princess lived happily ever after, and the
    fairies went all over the world.

After Grandpa had finished the story Freddie woke up.

He rolled over against Teddie.

Then Teddie woke up, of course, and they began to talk.

Then Humpty Dumpty woke up.

“When did you fall asleep?” asked Grandpa.

The Roly-Polys all began to talk at once.

Grandpa Grimes shook his head. “One at a time, please,” he said.

Then Freddie and Teddie and Humpty Dumpty all held up their hands.

Grandpa Grimes nodded to Teddie, who said:

“I fell asleep when you were telling about a dwarf.”

Then Freddie said, “I fell asleep when you were telling about the
Oak-Tree Fairy.”

Humpty Dumpty did not say a thing.

[Illustration]

    Grandpa Grimes is old and gray,
    But he still delights in play.
    He will entertain you all,
    So gather round him, large and small.




CHAPTER IV


Next morning Grandpa Grimes was the first to wake.

He called out, “Great news! glorious news! Your ma and your pa are coming
home to-day!”

Then Humpty Dumpty rolled out of bed, but he declared it did not hurt him
a bit.

The twins dressed so fast that they forgot to brush their hair and had to
run back up-stairs to do it.

Grandpa said, “After breakfast we will go to town and meet your ma and
your pa.”

The Roly-Polys finished breakfast. Then they washed the dishes and fed
the cat and made the house look as neat as a pin.

Grandpa said, “It is so warm that you do not need your caps, and I am
going to buy you new ones, anyway.”

So they went down the road together.

They passed some children going to a picnic, and Humpty Dumpty set up a
cry and a scream and a howl.

“What’s the matter?” asked Grandpa.

“What’s the matter?” asked the twins.

“Do you wish to go to the picnic?” asked Freddie.

“Did you lose your penny?” asked Teddie.

But Humpty Dumpty shook his head and cried.

Then Grandpa stooped down and said, “Whisper in my ear what the trouble
is. We haven’t time to cry all morning.”

Then Humpty Dumpty whispered something to Grandpa, and Grandpa picked him
up and carried him all the rest of the way to the store.

When they reached the store, what a time they had!

Teddie and Freddie tried on all the caps the man had, and Humpty Dumpty
got so hungry that they had to buy him a box of crackers!

At last Teddie and Freddie chose stocking caps just alike, and Humpty
Dumpty chose a sun-bonnet, and they were all as happy as children could
be.

Then Grandpa pulled out his watch and said:

“We shall have to hurry. It is twenty minutes of train time, and you
still have your pennies to spend.”

Then the little Roly-Polys danced about the shop and they asked the
price of this article and that article, and the clerk was so pleased to
see that they all had money to spend that he got out three big bags of
peanuts and placed them in a row on the counter.

Then Freddie said, “I want peanuts,” and Teddie said, “I want peanuts,”
and Humpty Dumpty said, “Oh, oh, oh! peanuts!”

The clerk handed each one a bag of peanuts and asked, “Can I do anything
else for you young gentlemen to-day?”

Humpty Dumpty piped up in his funny little voice and said, “I think
Grandpa needs a new suit-case.”

Grandpa was so surprised that he laughed until he cried, and—will you
believe it?—before he left the store he had bought a bran-new suit-case!

The clerk gave each of the Roly-Polys a gum-drop and they said they had
never had so much fun in all their lives.

Then Grandpa pulled out his watch again and said, “Train time. Hurry,
hurry, hurry!” and they all went to the station.

Sure enough, when they got there the train was coming in.

There were Mama and Papa Roly-Poly, round and smiling, and there were
lots of people besides.

The Roly-Polys all hugged and kissed one another at a great rate, you may
be sure. Then they all went home.

It was not until evening that Freddie thought to ask, “Where have you
been, Ma?”

Then Teddie asked, “Where have you been, Pa?”

Then Mama said, “Run off to bed. We will tell you about our travels
to-morrow.”

Freddie woke up in the night. He called to Teddie and said:

“I forgot to ask what Humpty Dumpty was crying about on the way to town!”

Then Humpty Dumpty woke up and said, “I cried because a girl said I
looked just like an egg!”

“The very idea!” said Freddie.

“The very idea!” said Teddie.

Then they all rolled over and went to sleep.

Humpty Dumpty had a wonderful dream about a little lame prince. He
remembered the dream next morning and told it to the family at breakfast.

Grandpa Grimes said, “You are going to be as good a story-teller as I am,
some day!”

This is the story that Humpty Dumpty told:

                         THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE

    Once there were a king and a queen who had three daughters.

    The elder daughters were very beautiful, but they were as proud
    as could be.

    The youngest daughter was ugly, but she was good and gentle.

    One day the king and the queen went away for a long visit. They
    left the three daughters at home.

    The eldest daughter said, “I wish to be married, so I will have
    a sign made. On the sign I will have printed: ‘Look Here for
    the Beautiful Princess.’”

    The gardener was ordered to make the sign and hang it on the
    golden gate.

    A great many princes came to the palace now, but none of them
    were rich or handsome enough to suit the proud sisters.

    Late one evening a little lame prince came up the walk. The
    sisters sat by the window, watching. When they saw that he was
    lame, they cried:

    “Do not let him in. We will have nothing to do with a lame
    prince.”

    Now the lame prince was very, very tired, for he had had a long
    journey. He felt that he could go no farther. So when he was
    not admitted at the front door he went to the kitchen, thinking
    the cook might let him in.

    It was the cook’s night out, and the ugly sister was working in
    the kitchen.

    “Honey, will you let me in?” asked the lame prince.

    The ugly sister was so surprised to be called “Honey,” that she
    let fall a platter which she had in her hand. The platter broke
    into a hundred pieces!

    The prince came in and the ugly sister, whose real name was
    Marygold, said:

    “What shall I do! What shall I do! I have broken the best
    platter!”

    Just then a pixie came dancing into the kitchen. He was a fat
    little fairy.

    “What will you give me if I mend the platter?” he asked.

    “Oh, oh!” cried Marygold, “please mend the platter!”

    “What will you give me?” asked the pixie again.

    “I will give you my wedding-ring some day,” said Marygold.

    Then the pixie took a feather duster from his pocket. He dusted
    the broken bits of china and—click, click, click!—they went
    together, and the platter was whole again. There was not even a
    crack to be seen!

    The lame prince had been sitting on a bench by the fire. Now he
    got up and began to walk about, for he was very stiff from his
    journey.

    The pixie cried out, “What will you give me if I mend your lame
    leg? Say, what will you give me if I mend your lame leg?”

    The prince was so surprised that he did not know what to do,
    but he said, “I will give you a marble statue.”

    “May I choose the statue out of your palace?” asked the pixie.

    The prince nodded his head, and the pixie began to dance about
    him. He waved his feather duster to and fro about the prince’s
    lame leg, and soon—will you believe it?—the leg was no longer
    lame!

    Then the prince asked Marygold to marry him, and they went
    down the garden walk, laughing and singing in the moonlight.

    When the sisters heard that Marygold had really gone, and that
    the prince had a fine castle, they were very jealous, you may
    be sure.

    They said, “We should like to live in the castle. We must drive
    Marygold away.”

    Just then the pixie came into the room. “Your hearts are ugly
    and cracked,” he said. “Shall I mend them?”

    The proud sisters said, “Go away, you horrid little fairy! We
    have no need of your help.”

    So the pixie went away. He went away to see Marygold.

    The prince had gone on a long journey.

    The pixie said to Marygold, “Do not venture outside the castle
    grounds until the prince comes back from his journey.”

    It rained for three days, and Princess Marygold was very lonely.

    One evening there was a loud rap at the door and Marygold went
    to answer it herself.

    She thought the prince might have come back.

    One of the proud sisters was at the door dressed as a doctor.

    She said, “Come quickly in my automobile, for the prince lies
    ill in a distant city.”

    The other sister was hiding near by and when Marygold stepped
    into the automobile, the proud sisters gave it a push and it
    ran away with Marygold in it. It ran over a steep cliff, and
    Marygold fell out. Down, down, down, she went.

    The sisters thought they had seen the last of her. They hurried
    away as fast as they could.

    But Marygold was not hurt at all, for the Sun-bonnet Fairies
    were waiting at the bottom of the cliff with a soft blanket.
    They caught her in the blanket as she fell.

    The Sun-bonnet Fairies danced about Marygold.

    They cried, “Oh, ho! so we have caught you!”

    The Sun-bonnet Fairies are funny little creatures. They wear
    their bonnets night and day.

    Marygold begged them to let her go, but the fairies said, “No,
    no!” and held her fast.

    Now when the prince returned to his palace, he was sad not to
    find Marygold. He searched for her high and low.

    One of the proud sisters went to his palace. She hoped he would
    marry her, but he was too sad to notice her at all. The proud
    sister was angry and went away.

    One evening Marygold sat up late. The Sun-bonnet Fairies had
    gone to bed.

    Marygold was braiding her hair and singing:

        “Oh, I am sad as sad can be,
        Pixie, fairy, come to me.”

    There was a rustle in the tree-branches overhead and a shrill
    voice called, “Who said ‘pixie’?”

    There sat the pixie, up in the tree.

    “I told you not to go outside the castle grounds,” said the
    pixie. “What will you give me if I take you home?”

    “I will give you my pearl necklace,” said Marygold.

    “I don’t wish your pearl necklace,” said the pixie.

    “I will give you my breast-pin,” said Marygold.

    “I don’t wish your breast-pin,” said the pixie.

    “Well, what can I give you?” asked Marygold.

    “I wish your wedding-ring,” said the pixie. “You promised to
    give it to me some day.”

    “Oh, oh, oh! please do not ask for my ring!” said Marygold.

    “I will never take you home unless you give it to me,” said the
    pixie.

    Then, at last, Marygold gave him the ring and he took her home.

    Now, the prince had given orders that no more ladies be
    admitted to the castle. He did not wish to see the proud
    sisters again.

    The pixie left Marygold outside the south gate of the castle
    and she cried, “Let me in. I am Princess Marygold.”

    The guard said, “Show me your wedding-ring!”

    Then Marygold went to the east gate, and the west gate, and the
    north gate, and begged to be let in. But each time the guard
    said, “Show me your wedding-ring.”

    Next day as the prince was roaming in the garden Marygold
    cried, “Let me in, please.” The prince looked over the wall.
    He could not believe it was Marygold who stood outside, for
    she wore a dress the fairies had given her, and a big blue
    sun-bonnet.

    “Throw your wedding-ring over the wall and I will let you in,”
    he said.

    Then Marygold sat down and cried.

    Presently one of the proud sisters came along. She was dressed
    like a peddler, and she said:

    “My poor lady, eat this peach and you will feel happy again.”

    Marygold ate the peach. She began to grow stiff and cold. She
    grew colder and colder, until she turned into a statue. Then
    the proud sister went away.

    Next day the prince saw the statue and ordered that it be
    brought into the garden.

    “It is a statue of my lost princess,” he cried.

    The prince grew fond of the statue. He went to see it morning
    and evening. He placed an evergreen wreath about its neck.

    One day the pixie came.

    He said to the prince, “I have come for my statue.”

    The prince led the pixie about the palace and showed him many
    statues.

    “There is a more beautiful one in the garden,” said the pixie.
    “I will take the one in the garden.”

    “No, no, I can not spare it!” cried the prince.

    The pixie said, “It is the only statue I will have.”

    At last the prince gave in and the pixie went away with the
    statue.

    The prince was sad indeed. He sat alone at twilight and sang:

        “O princess dear, O princess dear,
        I am sad in the fall of the year.
        I should be happy, it is plain,
        If you would come back to me again.”

    The prince’s heart gave a crack. It almost broke in two.

    An autumn leaf floated in through the window. On it was written:

        “The princess dear will come again.
        She is not afraid of cold or rain.”

    The prince was cheered a little, and he went to bed.

    The pixie now had the ring and the statue.

    The soft wind blew on the statue and the rain fell, and the
    statue began to grow warmer and warmer, and at last Marygold
    came back to life.

    “I had a funny dream,” she said. “I thought I was a statue in
    the garden at home.”

    Then the pixie said, “What will you give me for this ring?”

    Then Marygold laughed and clapped her hands, and every time she
    laughed a new flower bloomed in the pixie’s garden.

    “There, that is enough,” said the pixie, and he gave Marygold
    back the ring.

    She sailed away on a cloud, and was soon with the prince again.

    All would have gone well if his heart had not been cracked.
    The proud sisters were visiting at the castle and the prince
    seemed to like them as well as he liked Marygold. It was all
    on account of the cracked heart.

    At last Marygold could stand it no longer.

    She sent for the pixie and asked, “What can be the matter with
    the Prince?”

    The pixie said, “Oh, ho! He has cracked his heart.”

    Then the pixie took out his feather-duster and began to mend
    the prince’s heart.

    The proud sisters said, “Please mend our hearts, too,” and the
    pixie did so. Then they went away and the prince and Marygold
    were very happy again.

    The pixie started away, waving his feather-duster.

    Marygold said, “Come to see us often.”

    The pixie whirled his feather-duster. Out fell ten shining
    gold-pieces!

    The prince said, “You will always be welcome at the palace.”

    The pixie whirled his feather-duster again. Out fell ten more
    shining gold-pieces!

    “That is my wedding present to you,” said the pixie, and he was
    gone.




CHAPTER V


Early next morning Grandpa Grimes went home.

He went home before the children had come down to breakfast.

Mama Roly-Poly called out, “Do think about it. Go with us, Grandpa.”

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Please go with us, Grandpa.”

Grandpa shook his umbrella very fiercely and said:

“The country is good enough for me, plenty good enough for me.”

Freddie and Teddie called down-stairs, “Who is talking outside the
window?”

Humpty Dumpty called, “May I go somewhere? May I go with you?”

Mama Roly-Poly called, “Dress quickly, children. We have great news.”

The little Roly-Polys were dressed in a twinkling and they were so
excited at the breakfast table that they could not eat a mouthful.

Then Papa Roly-Poly said, “Have you ever heard of a circus?”

“We have,” shouted the Roly-Polys.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “Would you like to belong to a circus?”

“We would,” shouted the Roly-Polys. “When may we go?”

Then Papa Roly-Poly told them all about it.

He said he had seen an advertisement in a paper for a fat family to go
with a circus.

“And you know we are fat, my dears!” he said proudly.

He and Mama had gone to see the circus manager.

The manager had said, “You are truly the fattest people I have ever seen.
You may travel with us for a year.”

“Hurrah!” cried the little Roly-Polys, waving their spoons in the air.

“Now,” said Papa Roly-Poly, “the first thing to do is to sell the house.”

So they wrote a big sign, “For Sale,” and put it on the front door.

“I wonder who will buy our house?” said Freddie.

“I wonder how soon we can go,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty was so happy that he turned three somersaults.

“Don’t fall again,” said Mama Roly-Poly. “If you hurt yourself it will
spoil everything.”

Then Humpty Dumpty climbed up on the sofa and was as still as a mouse.

“What does Grandpa think about our going?” asked Freddie.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Grandpa does not think we shall like the circus.”

[Illustration]

    The Roly-Polys, you must know,
    Like to sit up in a row,
    So I’ve often heard them call,
    “Oh, Humpty Dumpty, do not fall!”




CHAPTER VI


Early next morning Humpty Dumpty woke up and rolled out of bed, as usual.

He looked out of the window and cried, “Wake up, everybody, wake up! Here
comes Grandpa Grimes.”

Then Teddie and Freddie woke up and looked out of the window and cried,
“O Ma, O Pa, do wake up! Here comes Grandpa Grimes.”

Then Mama and Papa Roly-Poly woke up and looked out of their window, and
there, sure enough, was Grandpa, coming along the road.

He carried three packages in his arms.

“I wonder why he comes so early,” said Mama.

“I wonder what he has in his arms,” said Humpty Dumpty.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “Hurry up, Papa, and let Grandpa Grimes in.”

The little Roly-Polys began to dress as fast as they could, but
everything seemed to go wrong.

Freddie said, “I can not find my coat.”

Teddie said, “I can not button my shoes.”

Humpty Dumpty rolled over and over.

He said, “I can not dress in a hurry.”

Grandpa Grimes came in, and set on the lowest step of the staircase.

He called out, “Get dressed, you little rascals! Get dressed, every one
of you!”

Then Freddie cried, “I can’t find my collar,” and Teddie cried, “I
can’t find my neck-tie,” and Humpty Dumpty cried, “Do, please, help me,
somebody!”

All the time Grandpa Grimes sat chuckling softly to himself.

At last, the Roly-Poly family were all dressed and down-stairs.

Then the children shouted, “What have you in your bundles, Grandpa? what
have you in your bundles? Please let us see!”

“Not a peep into the bundles,” said Grandpa, “until every one has
finished his oatmeal.”

All the little Roly-Polys sat down and ate their oatmeal.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “No one has come to buy our house.”

Then the most surprising thing happened.

Grandpa Grimes got up and bowed three times and looked over his
spectacles and said, “I know some one who will take your house.”

“Who is it? who is it?” cried all the Roly-Polys, and—will you believe
it?—it was fully ten minutes before Grandpa could hear himself speak.

Then Grandpa said, “I will take your house. I will move in to-morrow
morning.”

“Who will keep house for you?” asked Papa.

Grandpa Grimes made another bow and said, “I have asked Little Red Riding
Hood to keep house for me.”

The little Roly-Polys were all so excited that they did not know what to
do.

They cried out, “O Ma, may we stay at home? O Pa, please let us stay at
home! We wish to see Little Red Riding Hood!”

“How very strange!” said Papa Roly-Poly.

“How very extraordinary!” said Mama Roly-Poly.

[Illustration]

    The lion has a pleasant smile
    (You see him on this page),
    But, though I like to hear him roar,
    I’m glad he’s in his cage.




CHAPTER VII


At last everything was ready and the whole family set out for the station.

Grandpa Grimes went to see them off.

The little Roly-Polys carried the bags Grandpa had brought them.

At the station Humpty Dumpty began to cry. He cried so hard that Mama
said:

“Bless my buttons! what ails the child? Have you hurt your back again, my
son?”

Humpty Dumpty cried, “Boo-hoo! I am going to be homesick! I know I am!”

[Illustration: “WHAT AILS THE CHILD!”]

“Give him a lemon-drop,” said Papa.

Mama put her hand into her pocket and brought out a lemon-drop.

When Humpty Dumpty saw it he felt better, and soon he had it in his
mouth. Then of course he could not cry.

Humpty Dumpty had stopped crying just in time, for the train was coming.

Puff, puff! came the engine, and all the passengers got on board the
train.

The little Roly-Polys waved their handkerchiefs, and Grandpa stood on the
platform and made a bow.

The little Roly-Polys soon cuddled down in their seats and went to sleep.
They slept a long time.

“Wake up! wake up!” cried Papa Roly-Poly at last. “We are almost at
circus town.”

Then the little Roly-Polys all woke up.

“Where are the elephants?” cried Freddie.

“Where are the ponies?” cried Teddie.

“Where are the camels?” cried Humpty Dumpty.

Then Papa Roly-Poly said, “Hush! be still! You will see the animals soon
enough.”

Sure enough, the train stopped at a station just then, and the Roly-Poly
family got out.

A man dressed in red and gold came up to them and asked, “Will you ride
in the band-wagon?”

They all got into the band-wagon and the band began to play, and they
rode on and on until they came to the circus tent.

“Hurrah!” shouted Freddie.

“Hurrah!” shouted Teddie.

“Three cheers!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

The band played “Yankee Doodle,” and the band-wagon drew up in splendid
style in front of the tent.

The circus manager came, and helped the Roly-Poly family out of the
wagon, and took them all off for supper.

They were hungry, you may be sure, after their long ride.

“Can you do any tricks?” asked the manager.

Mama Roly-Poly smiled, but Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.

Then the most surprising thing happened.

The twins had carried a big basket all the way. Out of the basket jumped
the monkey. He had crept into the basket while no one was looking, and
had been fast asleep all the time.

The Roly-Polys began to roll and the monkey jumped over them. Then they
stood on their heads and turned somersaults.

The manager cried, “That will do. I will make a side show of you. Your Ma
and Pa may sell tickets.”

“I wish to see the big parade,” said Freddie.

“I wish to see the big parade,” said Teddie.

Then Humpty Dumpty began to cry and fuss and say he would not roll at all
unless he could see the elephants and the ponies.

The manager said, “Very well; if you are brave, you may ride in the wagon
with the tamest lion.”

Mama Roly-Poly shuddered and Papa Roly-Poly said they were very
comfortable in the tent, but the little Roly-Polys said they were not
afraid of even a fierce lion.

So it was arranged that they should ride with the lion in the big parade.

The time came for the parade. The little Roly-Polys were a bit scared
when they thought of the lion.

A man opened the door of a big wagon and helped the little Roly-Polys
inside.

There sat the lion at the end of the cage. He had his back turned toward
them.

“What if he should eat us up!” whispered Freddie.

“Oh! Let’s tickle his ears,” said Teddie.

Then Humpty Dumpty began to roll, and he rolled right up on the lion’s
back, and the lion never moved a bit.

He did not even roar.

What do you suppose was the matter with this lion?

He was stuffed with sawdust!

Then the Roly-Polys shouted with delight and they spied a little glass
window and they all climbed up on the lion’s back and looked out.

They saw the big procession, and they were a part of it. They could see
beautifully as the animals turned the corners.

First there were seven large elephants, and each elephant had a rider
dressed in red velvet.

Then came seven big camels, and each one had a rider dressed in blue
velvet.

Then came fourteen little ponies, stamping their feet.

Then came the big band-wagon playing “Yankee Doodle” and the caliope
playing “Annie Rooney.”

Then came cages with more animals in them.

Then came the clowns and another band that played “Marching through
Georgia.” The parade was very splendid indeed.

The procession went up one street and down another, and there were crowds
and crowds of people.

Every one said, “There must be a fierce lion in that covered wagon.”

They meant the wagon in which the Roly-Polys rode.

What do you suppose those comical little Roly-Polys did?

They all roared like very fierce lions, and they made a terrible noise.

The manager was so pleased when he heard about this that he gave each of
them a penny.

Then the procession marched back to the tent, for it was time for the
performance to begin.

The little Roly-Polys were very much excited. They could hardly wait for
the time to come for them to do their tricks.

“Wont it be fun!” said Teddie.

“Wont it be sport!” said Freddie.

“It will be if I don’t break my back,” said Humpty Dumpty.

[Illustration]

    O Roly-Polys, big and small,
    Do you never tire at all?
    To your home I’d like to go,
    And sit up with you in a row.




CHAPTER VIII


The Roly-Polys got out of the wagon and barely had time to see the sign
that hung by their tent, for a man hurried them inside.

The sign on the tent said:

                           MOST REMARKABLE SHOW

                  The Roly-Polys we have found.
                  They’re always turning round and round.
                  If these wonders you would see,
                  Just step inside and look with me.
                  On the table or the ground
                  They’re always turning round and round!

Mama and Papa Roly-Poly stood at the tent door and took tickets.

The little Roly-Polys got up on a high table and pretty soon the people
began to come in.

When the tent was full the manager came and whispered something to each
of the Roly-Polys.

Did they roll? Well, I should think they did!

Humpty Dumpty stood on his head so much that he nearly fell off the table.

The people in the tent clapped their hands and shouted, and that made the
people outside wish to come in.

When one show was over another show began. The little Roly-Polys had to
roll until their backs ached.

Just before the last performance was to be given Teddie began to cry
and Freddie began to cry, and Humpty Dumpty began to cry, and they all
declared that they could roll no more.

Then Papa and Mama Roly-Poly said they would come inside and that the
twins could sell tickets. But the children cried more and more.

The manager came in and asked: “What can you do besides roll?”

Then Freddie and Teddie dried their eyes on their little
pocket-handkerchiefs and said together:

“We can all tell fairy tales.”

So it was decided that the Roly-Poly family should sit in a row and tell
fairy tales.

The tent filled with people, and the Roly-Poly family acted out the
stories as they told them. The people liked the stories.

They went away and told other people about the Roly-Polys. More and more
people came and the manager was very much pleased.

The Roly-Poly family stayed with the circus for a month, and they went
from place to place.

One night Humpty Dumpty crept out of bed and he whispered something
to Freddie, and Freddie whispered something to Teddie, and the twins
whispered something to Mama and Papa, and then the whole Roly-Poly family
were awake.

What do you suppose the whole family were whispering about?

They were all tired of the circus, and wished to go home.

“How can we find the way home?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.

“How can we get out of the tent?” asked Freddie.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow me, and don’t make any noise!”

If the Roly-Polys had not been able to roll they surely would have made a
noise and waked some one up.

They rolled softly out of bed and softly under the wall of the tent and
soon they were out in the moonlight.

“Which way shall we go?” they whispered.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow the leader, and keep a stiff upper lip.
Remember whatever happens to keep a stiff upper lip.”

“That means that we must not cry,” said Freddie.

“That means that we must be brave,” said Teddie.

They rolled along the railroad track for a long way, for Papa said it
must lead somewhere!

They went on all night and by morning they saw, across a meadow, a big
red barn. Near it was a hay-stack.

“We will go and rest beside the hay-stack,” said Papa.

So, they went to the hay-stack and crept under the hay. Soon they were
all fast asleep.

When morning came Papa and Mama Roly-Poly said they would see if they
could find some breakfast. So they left the little Roly-Polys under the
hay and went away.

About this time a very exciting thing happened.

Two little girls came and stood by the hay-stack. They said, “The old hen
has stolen her nest. We will try to find it.”

Then Teddie and Freddie crept farther under the hay, but Humpty Dumpty
rolled out!

The little girls clapped their hands and said, “Here is an egg, but what
a queer egg it is!”

The first little girl caught Humpty Dumpty up in her apron and the second
little girl looked under the hay at the foot of the hay-stack.

Teddie and Freddie were very much frightened. They went under the
hay-stack so far that no one could find them.

Then the little girls ran to the house, carrying Humpty Dumpty with them.

“See, Grandma,” they shouted, “the old hen has stolen her nest beside the
hay-stack, and here is one of the eggs.”

“The idea of any one calling me an egg!” thought Humpty Dumpty.

He was angry. He was frightened, and kept saying to himself, “Keep a
stiff upper lip.”

Grandma could not see very well, but she said, “I do not believe it is a
good egg. I think it is cracked.”

Then the little girls said, “May we take it up to the play-house? May we,
Grandma?”

Grandma nodded and the little girls carried Humpty Dumpty off to their
play-house.

The little girls left Humpty Dumpty on top of their play-house and forgot
all about him. Soon they ran off to play.

Humpty Dumpty began to look about. “I am glad Grandma did not think I was
a good egg,” he said to himself. “They might have put me into a cake.”

“Tick, tock,” said the clock in the play-room.

“Oh, ho! so you can talk, too,” said Humpty Dumpty. He climbed up to the
chimney of the play-house to see the clock better.

Then the clock said in a sweet voice:

    “How do you do? I’m lonely, too.
    Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty begged the clock to tell him how to get out of the house,
and back to the hay-stack.

The clock said:

    “Well, well, I will tell.
    Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty yawned and said, “Then hurry up, please. I am in a hurry.”

The clock said:

    “Don’t tease, if you please.
    Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Then Humpty Dumpty was still for a long time and the clock begged for a
story.

[Illustration: “THEN HURRY UP, PLEASE”]

Humpty Dumpty told the clock all about the circus parade.

Then the clock said:

    “Go by the stair, but take care.
    Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty made his very prettiest bow, and slipped off the play-house
and rolled out at the door and down-stairs.

He rolled right down upon a soft white rug.

The door was open and he rolled out of doors and rested under a maple
tree.

The clock hung near the play-room window. It called out:

    “Turn heels over head. The barn is red.
    Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Then Humpty Dumpty turned a somersault and there, sure enough, was the
red barn and the hay-stack.

It did not take him long to get there, you may be sure.

Teddie and Freddie and Mama and Papa all ran to meet him.

They cried, “Hurrah for Humpty Dumpty! Hurrah for the stiff upper lip!”

Mama and Papa had not found anything to eat.

“We shall have to wait till we get home,” said Papa.

“Before we start for home we must rest a little,” said Mama.

So they all went back to the hay-stack.

[Illustration]

    If in the woods you chance to meet
    A gentleman both round and neat
    And if you say, “How do you do?”
    Old Grandpa Grimes will smile at you!




CHAPTER IX


“Hurry, hurry!” said Papa Roly-Poly, after they had rested for a while.
“We must get home.”

“We are so hungry,” said Freddie.

“We are so thirsty,” said Teddie.

“Keep a stiff upper lip,” said Humpty Dumpty.

Then they all rolled out of the hay and found a path that led to the
woods.

“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and Freddie.

“Oh, see the raspberries!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

Sure enough, there were bushes in the woods full of raspberries.

All the Roly-Poly family had a fine feast.

They had walked on a little way when they saw some one coming down the
path.

It was an old gentleman.

“Hurrah!” cried Teddie, waving his cap.

“Hurrah!” cried Freddie, waving his pocket-handkerchief.

“Hurrah!” cried Humpty Dumpty, dancing a jig.

All the Roly-Polys cried, “Hurrah for Grandpa Grimes!”

There, sure enough, was Grandpa coming down the path toward them.

When Grandpa Grimes heard the noise, he dropped his suit-case and he
dropped his umbrella and cried:

“Can I believe my eyes, or is this a new fairy story?”

Then Mama Roly-Poly shook his hand and Papa Roly-Poly kissed him and all
the little Roly-Polys said:

“We did not know we were near home. We thought we were lost in the woods.”

Then Grandpa Grimes sat down on a stone and he laughed until he cried.

At last Grandpa Grimes said, “We are lost in the woods! I have been
traveling for two weeks to find you!”

Then everybody began to talk at the same time and ask questions. Grandpa
said he had been so lonely that he was going to beg the Roly-Polys to
come back.

Papa Roly-Poly began to gather up branches while they were talking.

What do you suppose he was going to do?

He was going to make a wigwam so that they could rest in the woods at
night.

All the Roly-Polys helped and they went into the woods and got more
berries before evening.

They had a fine supper and went to bed.

Next morning, early, Mama Roly-Poly said, “How shall we get home?”

Grandpa Grimes shook his head.

Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.

All the little Roly-Polys shook their heads.

Just then some one came tripping down the path, singing:

    Who goes singing on her way?
    Little Red Riding Hood.
    Who has a heart so light and gay?
    Little Red Riding Hood.

“Who is that singing?” asked Freddie.

“Who is that singing?” asked Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty said, “I believe it is Red Riding Hood.”

They ran a little way down the path.

“I see a red hood,” said Freddie.

“I see a red cape,” said Teddie.

“I see a basket,” cried Humpty Dumpty. “Oh, oh, oh! It surely must be Red
Riding Hood!”

[Illustration: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD TUCKED ALL THE ROLY-POLYS INTO HER
BASKET]

Red Riding Hood came in sight, and her pretty song was interrupted by a
shout, for all the Roly-Polys begged to be taken home.

Red Riding Hood set down her basket. She said:

“Guess what I have in the basket. Each of you may have one guess.”

Papa Roly-Poly said, “You have a pat of butter.”

Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “You have some cake.”

Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Freddie said, “You have some ginger-bread.”

Teddie said, “You have some ginger-snaps.”

Still Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Humpty Dumpty rolled over and said, “I guess cookies!”

Humpty Dumpty was right.

Red Riding Hood had cookies in her basket.

She gave the Roly-Polys the cookies and my! how they did enjoy them!

What do you suppose happened next?

Little Red Riding Hood tucked all the Roly-Polys into her basket and took
them safely home.

    Now when you close this little book,
    Just open it again and look,
    To see if Humpty Dumpty fell
    From out the basket. (I can’t tell.)