Nibbles Poppelty-Poppett

Nibbles Poppelty-Poppett was a nice, plump, little mouse, with bright black eyes, and a silky coat of soft gray fur.

He lived with his mother, and his sisters and brothers, down a green lane near the river. There[Pg 8] were Sniffy and Snuffy, the twins, who were always having colds together; Gobble, who, I am sorry to say, was very greedy, and Little Topsy, the baby.

Nibbles’s father had come to a most untimely end in a mouse-trap, into which he had been beguiled by a too attractive bit of toasted cheese.

Poor Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett had then been obliged to move into a wee, little cottage, where she did cooking and washing to support her children. Her apple-seed cookies, pine-cone and maple sugar roly-poly, and cheese and acorn pies were quite famous among all the little squirrels, mice, and rabbits of the neighboring woods.

She had a tiny mite of a shop, in[Pg 10] the front part of her house, where Ruddy Squirrel, Frisky Bushy-Tail, and Bobtail and Rosamund Bunnikins-Bunny spent all their pennies on cakes and goodies.

It made Nibbles very unhappy to have his mother work so hard, although he did his best to help her; so at last he decided to go out into the world and seek his fortune.

One fine morning, bright and early, he kissed the family good-bye, and away he went, after making Sniffy, Snuffy, and Gobble promise to be good children and mind their mother.

Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett, shedding[Pg 11] many tears, had made a little bundle of his clothes, neatly tied up in a red bandanna handkerchief, which Nibbles easily carried over his shoulder, at the end of a stick.

At first he felt very sad and lonely, but the sun was so warm, and the crickets and birds were singing so gayly, that he soon cheered up, and trotted briskly along.

Towards noon Nibbles began to feel so very hungry that he decided it must be about dinner time. Not far off he saw, beneath a shady elm tree, a neat, cosy-looking house. From a branch of the tree there hung a sign, on which was written in large gold letters:

“That is just the place for me,” thought Nibbles, “for I am fond of guinea pigs.”

In front of the inn, leaning comfortably back in his chair, with his feet up against the door post, sat a fat, black and white guinea pig. When Nibbles went up to ask him if he could have some dinner, he saw that Mr. Guinea Pig was fast asleep, and snoring loudly.

“It is a pity to wake him,”[Pg 14] thought Nibbles, “but I am awfully hungry; and besides, his mouth is so wide open that he might easily swallow a wasp.”

Nibbles coughed, and then he whistled, but the Guinea Pig never stirred. Finally, in desperation, Nibbles got a straw, and began to tickle his nose.

First Mr. Guinea Pig twitched his nose, then he opened one eye; at last he gave such a tremendous sneeze that he nearly fell out of his chair, and with a snort he woke up.

“Hullo!” said he angrily. “What do you want? This is the third time [Pg 15]this morning that I have been waked up, and I’m sleepy and want my nap.”

“Excuse me,” answered Nibbles timidly, “but I am very hungry, and should like to have some dinner.”

“Well, go into the house and get the Salamander,” growled Mr. Guinea Pig. And before Nibbles could ask another question, he was sound asleep again, and snoring away as hard as ever.

“I wonder what the Salamander is?” thought Nibbles. “It sounds like a sandwich or a salad. The thing is to find it.”

As Mr. Guinea Pig completely[Pg 16] blocked the front doorway, Nibbles had to hunt about until he at last found another entrance. Then he wandered down a long hall with empty rooms on either side, but no Salamander could he find.

Finally he heard a squeaking and a squealing, which seemed to come from a room at the end of the hall. He knocked gently on the door, but, as no one answered, he ventured to peep in.

A bright fire was burning in the fireplace, in spite of its being a summer day, so the room felt very hot.

On a footstool in front of the[Pg 17] fire, sat two tiny guinea pigs, who had evidently just been washed, and were now being dried. Their hair had been carefully curled, and each had a blue ribbon tied around its neck in a big bow.

Mrs. Guinea Pig held on her lap a third little pig, whose hair she was curling, while the littlest piggy of all was sitting in the bathtub.

“I beg your pardon,” said Nibbles politely, “but can you please tell me where I can find the Salamander?”

Mrs. Guinea Pig, whose back was to the door, gave such a jump that she nearly dropped the little pig.

“Oh, come right in,” she said pleasantly, when she saw Nibbles. “I am delighted to see you, only please close the door, as I don’t like a draft.”

Nibbles thought a draft of fresh air was very much needed, but he said nothing, and closed the door.

“You will find the Salamander in the kitchen,” said Mrs. Guinea Pig. “He ought to be cooking[Pg 19] the dinner, but he probably is asleep, as the heat from the stove seems to go to his head.”

Just then there was a sudden splash and a loud squeal. While Mrs. Guinea Pig had been talking to Nibbles, one of the little pigs had jumped off the footstool, and had come over to see what the littlest piggy was doing. He had climbed up on the edge of the tub, and then had slipped, and fallen into the water, right on top of the baby.

Mrs. Guinea Pig was very angry with the naughty little pig for being disobedient, and also for spoiling its best blue bow. While she was giving him a shaking, the piggy on her lap fell onto the floor, and then there was such a squeaking and a squealing that Nibbles ran out of the room, without even waiting to say good-bye.

Nibbles was sorry that he had not asked where the kitchen was, but he preferred to hunt it up himself rather than to go back to Mrs. Guinea Pig’s hot bath-room, and after a little while he found it.

The tea-kettle was boiling cheerily on the stove, and Nibbles noticed a delicious odor of toasted cheese and bacon, but nowhere could he see the Salamander.

He looked in the cupboard and under the sink, behind the door and under the table, in the coalhod and behind the stove, until at last, being very hungry, he began to call: “Mr. Salamander! Oh, Mr. Salamander!”

At once he heard a sleepy, squeaky voice saying: “Yes, yes, I’ll get up in a minute. Is it time for breakfast already?”

The voice came from the stove, and, to Nibbles’s amazement, he saw the[Pg 23] oven door slowly open, and the most curious looking animal with a very sleepy face jump out. It looked like a fat black lizard, with large flame-color spots, bright black eyes, and queer, short little legs.

After giving such a prodigious yawn that Nibbles was afraid that he might never be able to shut his mouth again, he looked at Nibbles and said very sadly: “Oh, dear! I was having such a lovely dream when you woke me up.”

“I am very sorry,” replied Nibbles, “but I am so hungry that I shall soon be ready to eat my whiskers.”

“Well, well,” said the Salamander, “you sha’n’t wait another minute”; and he bustled about so fast that, before he knew it, Nibbles was eating large quantities of cheese and bacon pie, and drinking cups of tea so hot that it made him wink.

Meanwhile, the Salamander had climbed up on top of the stove, where he sat with his feet hanging over the edge, nodding and dozing.

“Oh, no,” replied the Salamander. “I belong to a very chilly family. We are all devoted to heat and poetry. Would you like to hear my favorite poem?”

“Do you remember what comes next?” he inquired anxiously. “I am afraid that I have forgotten.”

“No,” said Nibbles. “I am very fond of singing, but I don’t know any poetry.”

“Well,” yawned the Salamander, “in that case, I think, if you don’t mind, that I’ll take another nap. Poetry always makes me very sleepy.”

Then, curling his short little arms around the tea-kettle, and resting his head so near the spout that Nibbles was afraid the steam would blow it off, he began once more to recite very drowsily.

By this time Nibbles had eaten all that he possibly could, so he said good-bye to the Salamander, who paid no attention, and started off again.

As he trotted briskly down the hall, he could still hear the Salamander murmuring sleepily to himself: “He—likes—the—lit—tle—scar—let——flames——which——” and then nothing more; so he must have gone fast asleep.

Nibbles spent the night in a cosy nest which he found in a hazel bush, and early the next morning he was off once more on his travels.

Towards noon, while he was picking acorns for dinner, whom should he see, running along the road, but his cousin, Teenie Weenie, the dearest little white mouse in the world?

“Why, I live in a village not far from here,” replied Teenie Weenie. “And where are you going, Cousin Nibbles?”

“All right, come along,” answered Nibbles. “Two is company and one is none. Only don’t keep getting tired.”

“No, I certainly won’t,” promised[Pg 32] Teenie. “But you must come and have supper at my house before we start.”

By the time they reached the village, it was dark, and the lights in the houses were beginning to shine. They crept cautiously down the street until they came to a pretty house in the middle of a large garden.

A brightly lighted window was open, around which grew a honeysuckle. Up the vine ran Teenie Weenie, closely followed by Nibbles, and, sitting on the windowsill, they looked into a beautiful room.

On a long table there were numbers of lighted candles in high silver candle-sticks, and never had Nibbles seen such wonderful things to eat,—nuts and raisins, figs and dates, oranges and grapes, cakes and candy.

In a moment, Teenie Weenie and Nibbles had run across the room and jumped up on the table. Nibbles tried first one thing and then another, each tasting better than the last.

Suddenly Teenie Weenie gave a little gasp of terror, which startled Nibbles so that he nearly fell into a finger-bowl.

“What is the matter, Teenie?” he asked, rather crossly, for in his fright he had dropped a particularly nice bit of cake on the floor.

Nibbles looked around, and suddenly he saw, in a chair close by, a big gray and[Pg 36] white animal, which was evidently just waking up, and was stretching itself and yawning. Such terrible teeth and sharp claws as it had!

While Nibbles gazed at it, too frightened to move, the Cat turned around, and its green eyes glared as it saw the two trembling little mice.

Before the sleepy Cat could jump on the table however, Nibbles and Teenie Weenie were on the floor, and an instant later they were fairly tumbling out of the window into the garden. Down the village street they ran, and [Pg 37]never stopped until they were safe in the open country once more.

“Well,” said Nibbles, “I have never seen a Cat before, and I sincerely hope that I never may again. You may live in a village if you like, Teenie Weenie, but I prefer the quiet woods.”

They traveled on for several days, close to the river, until Nibbles suggested that it would be more fun and easier to sail than to walk.

They at once began to make a little raft with willow twigs and bits of birch bark, and to prevent the water coming through, they filled up the cracks with clay. The big bandanna handkerchief they used as a[Pg 39] sail, and with his jack-knife Nibbles whittled out a nice little rudder.

One warm, sunny day, they hoisted their sail and were just starting off, when they heard some one shouting. Looking around, they saw, on the bank above them, a big gray Rat, waving his hat and calling: “Wait a minute, and take me with you.”

“I am very sorry,” answered Nibbles, “but the raft is small and there is not room enough.”

“But I will go,” shouted the Water Rat very rudely, “and I am in a hurry too.”

Poor Teenie Weenie was frightened, for she knew that Water Rats sometimes ate mice, especially if they were cross or very hungry, so she begged Nibbles not to go near the shore.

As they sailed away, the Water Rat, I regret to say, danced with rage, making frightful faces at Nibbles and Teenie Weenie, and saying things which were not at all polite.

Day after day they sailed down the winding river, sometimes landing for dinner, and at night always tying their raft to a tree or bush in some sheltered cove, where they [Pg 42]could find a comfortable nest to sleep in.

One afternoon they came to a pretty wood, where they decided to spend the night. Near the bank was a dark, gravelly point, which seemed an excellent place to land. Nibbles got out, and was just beginning to pull the raft up high and dry, when suddenly the whole point began to move, and then something struck poor Nibbles, and sent him whizzing far out into the river.

Down down, down he sank, until he felt sure that he was going through to China. His head was buried in the[Pg 43] soft sand at the bottom of the river, and he had to struggle hard to free himself. Finally he came up to the surface of the water, and was able to swim to the raft, where little Teenie Weenie still sat, too terrified to move.

Floating on the water, so near the raft that he could have touched it, Nibbles saw a huge animal covered with brown scales. It had small black eyes, and a long tail, while its head was mostly made up of a very long nose, and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth.

“Hullo!” said the Animal, “I thought you were never coming up.[Pg 45] What kept you so long under the water?”

Poor Nibbles was dripping wet, covered with sand, and still gasping for breath, but he tried to answer politely:

“I could not come up any sooner, Sir, because my head was stuck in the sand. Will you please tell me what you are? I thought you were a landing place.”

“No, no,” replied the Animal, “my name is Scratchetty-Claw, and I am an Alligator of a very fine old family. I have lived in this river for a hundred years, and I probably shall live a thousand. I am very[Pg 46] sorry that I upset you, but I thought a fly had lighted on my back, so I swished my tail, and I am afraid that you rolled off.”

“I certainly did,” said Nibbles sadly, as he tried to wipe the sand out of his eyes and ears.

Suddenly Mr. Scratchetty-Claw opened his eyes very wide, and staring at Nibbles, he shouted:

Nibbles put up his paw, and, sure enough, there was something which felt like a ring. How it came there he could not imagine, but he must have pushed his head through it while he was floundering in the sand at the bottom of the river.

Teenie Weenie helped him pull it off, and when they had brushed the sand away, they found that it was a gold ring, beautifully carved, and set with diamonds and rubies.

“That must surely be the Lucky Ring of the foreign Prince, who[Pg 48] owns all this part of the country,” said the Alligator. “He lost it one day last summer, while out sailing, and nobody was able to find it. The Prince offered a big reward for its recovery, as he prized the ring more than anything he owned.”

“Just fasten your raft to my tail,” said the Alligator, “and I’ll take you there before you know that you’ve started. Only wait until I get my shade hat, as I don’t like the sun in my eyes.”

“Please don’t go too fast, Mr.[Pg 51] Scratchetty-Claw,” said little Teenie Weenie, timidly, “or we might be upset again.”

Scratchetty-Claw promised to be very careful, and after he had tied on his shade hat, and Nibbles had fastened the raft to his tail, away they went.

The Prince’s beautiful garden was close to the river, so when Nibbles and Teenie Weenie landed, they soon found their way to his palace.

Nibbles had put the ring around his neck again for safe keeping, but when he showed it to a footman in the palace hall, he took Nibbles[Pg 52] and Teenie Weenie at once to the Prince, who was sitting in a lovely rose arbor in the garden.

“I think I have found your lordship’s ring, which you lost. I have it around my neck.”

“In the sand at the bottom of the river,” answered Nibbles, and he told the Prince how nearly drowned he had been, and about Mr. Scratchetty-Claw.

“My old friend, the Alligator,” laughed the Prince. “Oh, I know him well, the lazy scamp, for he eats up all my best trout.”

Then he took the ring carefully from Nibbles’s neck, and put it on his own finger.

“You have given me back what[Pg 54] I prize most in the world,” he said, “and your reward shall be in proportion. Every year, as long as you live, you shall receive a bag of gold.”

Nibbles was almost too happy to speak, but he thanked the Prince and kissed his hand. A page was sent to bring the gold, and a few minutes later, Nibbles and Teenie Weenie, carrying the precious bag between them, were hurrying back to the raft.

They found Mr. Scratchetty-Claw fast asleep, but Nibbles, dancing with joy, woke him up to hear the great news.

“Good enough!” said the Alligator. “It’s a lucky thing for you that I tipped you into the river.”

“It certainly was,” said Nibbles, “for now my mother will never have to work any more. Let us hurry home to her as fast as we can, Teenie Weenie.”

“I’ll take you part of the way,” yawned Mr. Scratchetty-Claw, “although I am fearfully sleepy.”

Mr. Scratchetty-Claw towed them for a long way, until he became so sleepy that he had to stop and take a nap. He shed tears when he said good-bye to Nibbles and Teenie Weenie, but he soon settled himself comfortably on a mud bank in a shady spot, and in two minutes was snoring so loudly that you could have heard him half a mile away.

Nibbles and Teenie hoisted their sail, and, as they floated along, Teenie Weenie sang this song:

[Pg 58] For more than a week they sailed up the pretty river, but at last, one afternoon at sunset, they reached home. Quietly they stole up to the cottage and peeped in at the window.

There was Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett cooking supper, while Sniffy and Snuffy were peeling potatoes, and Gobble was eating an apple behind the door.

Nibbles tapped gently on the window-pane, and Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett turned quickly around. With a squeak of perfect delight, she cried: “Oh, here is Nibbles!” and ran to the door, upsetting the soup-kettle right into the fire in her haste. Of course, Sniffy and Snuffy, Gobble and the baby, all ran out, too, and then they all talked together so fast that no one knew[Pg 61] what any one else was saying. Pretty soon they quieted down, and Nibbles told them of his wonderful adventures, and of the finding of the Lucky Ring. When he gave his mother the bag of gold, poor little Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett did not know whether to laugh or cry with happiness, so she did both. She had worked hard for her children, and now there would be comfort and plenty for the rest of her life.

After a little while she dried her eyes, and thought of supper. It was all in the fire and burned up!

“Never mind,” said Nibbles. “Teenie Weenie and I would far rather have some of your nice corn cake and toasted cheese than soup.”

So they all helped, and in a few minutes everything was ready; and how good the supper tasted!

When at last they went to bed, they all dreamed of bags of Lucky Rings, and rivers of gold, guarded by Alligators, who ate nothing but toasted cheese and corn bread.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIBBLES POPPELTY-POPPETT ***

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nibbles Poppelty-Poppett

NIBBLES
POPPELTY-POPPETT

EDITH B. DAVIDSON

Chapter I

The Poppelty-Poppetts

Chapter II

The Guinea Pigs’ Rest

Chapter III

The Salamander

Chapter IV

The Terrible Cat

Chapter V

Down the River

Chapter VI

Mr. Scratchetty-Claw

Chapter VII

The Lucky Ring

Chapter VIII

Nibbles’ Return

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE