Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes - Laura Rountree Smith
Tippy Toes cried, "Good night Bunny and Susan, good night dear Grandpa
Grumbles," and he danced this way, and danced that way, and he danced
himself right up to bed.
"How polite he is," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. Susan said, "He does not
seem to mind when we speak of noses!"
Grandpa Grumbles said, "He does not cry any more."
They all sat by the fire warming their paws. Grandpa Grumbles was
thinking. At last he said to Bunny and Susan, "One day I heard Snubby
Nose talking as he stood before a mirror, and he said,"
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Tippy Toes."
Now this Little Cotton-Tail dances before the mirror, and he says,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answers, "Snubby Nose."
"Snubby Nose, Tippy Toes," repeated Bunny and Susan over and over as
they warmed their paws by the fire.
By and by Grandpa Grumbles said, talking very fast, "Suppose there were
two little Cotton-Tails, one named Snubby Nose, and one named Tippy
Toes, suppose--just suppose they looked as much alike as two peas."
Bunny Cotton-Tail said, "My fur and whiskers, it seems like a fairy
tale, but Snubby Nose always cried, and this little Cotton-Tail is so
polite."
Susan cried, "Hark! I hear a rap-a-tap, who can be coming at this hour
of the night?"
The door opened; in fell Snubby Nose in a heap, and he cried and he
screamed and he howled!
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles cried, "Hush, be still, stop
crying, and tell us what is the matter."
Grandpa Grumbles asked, "Did you hurt your ugly little nose?"
Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled louder than ever.
Bunny asked, "Did you get stuck fast in another snowdrift?"
Snubby Nose cried so loudly that they did not hear the "patter, patter,
patter" of little feet. They did not know that Tippy Toes was coming
down the staircase. Tippy Toes came dancing into the room, singing at
the top of his lungs,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answers, "Snubby Nose?"
Then for one single minute Snubby Nose was still. He looked at Tippy
Toes. He looked him up and down.
Tippy Toes kissed him on both cheeks and nearly hugged the life out of
him.
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles said, "They are as much alike as
two peas. They both have ugly noses!"
When Snubby Nose heard them speak of _noses_ he cried and he
screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes said, "Don't care about your nose. People know you wherever
you go."
Snubby Nose pricked up his ears and asked, "Don't you mind about your
ugly nose at all."
Tippy Toes danced this way and he danced that way and answered,
"I don't mind noses, for you see,
I am polite as I can be."
Then Snubby Nose stopped crying and hugged Tippy Toes and said, "I am
so glad to find you, Tippy Toes. How do you make up those funny little
rhymes. They tickle my eardrums."
All this time Grandpa Grumbles was thumping on the floor with his
umbrella. He made such a noise that Bunny said, "Hush, listen, Grandpa
Grumbles has something to say."
Susan said, "Hush, be still, Grandpa Grumbles wants to speak."
At last Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes stopped talking and dancing, and
they all listened to Grandpa Grumbles. He said,
"I want you both to come and stay,
With Grandpa Grumbles a year and a day."
Tippy Toes answered, "Thank you, Grandpa Grumbles, I will come and
visit you for a year and a day," but Snubby Nose cried and he screamed
and he howled.
I don't know what would have happened next, but Grandpa Grumbles went
outside, and opened wide his green cotton umbrella, and invited Snubby
Nose and Tippy Toes to step inside.
They did so, and in less time than it takes to tell it they were
sailing away with Grandpa Grumbles in his green cotton umbrella!
[Illustration: "THEY WERE SAILING AWAY WITH GRANDPA GRUMBLES"]
Bunny and Susan said, "How will he ever get along with Snubby Nose for
a year and a day? We wish Tippy Toes was back. He was such a good
little fellow."
Susan picked up the pink wrapper and Bunny picked up the pink cup and
saucer. Bunny Cotton-Tail said, "We will have a long quiet evening
alone."
"Don't be too sure of that," sang the wind as it whistled down the
chimney.
Susan said, "I will put on my new spectacles and we will read by the
new lamp."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The Seventeen Little Bears came tumbling in the doors and windows!
They came in laughing and shouting,
"The Circus Cotton-Tails you see
Are just as funny as can be."
They got out their seventeen little stools and sat by the fire.
Bunny and Susan said, "What do you know about the Circus Cotton-Tails?"
The Seventeen Little Bears said,
"You only see them now at Fairs,
But we've become the Circus Bears."
"Have you got a Circus tent? Have you got a merry-go-round?" asked
Bunny and Susan. "Do tell us how long you have been Circus Bears."
The Seventeen Little Bears got on top of their seventeen little stools
and shouted, "We have just become Circus Bears today, that is the
reason we came tumbling in the door and windows."
CHAPTER VI
The Seventeen Little Bears woke up early next morning. They all
whispered together so they would not wake Bunny and Susan.
The Seventeen Little Bears tiptoed very softly out of bed, and
"pitter-patter, pitter-patter" went their little feet down the stairs.
"We can stew, we can bake,
If we make no mistake."
They made the fire and began to stew and bake. They made coffee and
fried sausages and cakes. By and by Bunny and Susan woke up.
"My fur and whiskers, I smell something cooking," said Bunny.
Susan said, "Bless my buttons, I smell something cooking, too."
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "Ha, ha, ha! Bunny is talking about
his fur and whiskers. Ha, ha, ha! Susan is talking about her buttons.
We will give old Bunny and Susan something new to talk about!"
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted at the top of their lungs,
"We are Circus Bears, as all can see,
The merry-go-round waits you and me."
Susan called, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Bunny do get dressed! Let us see
what the Seventeen Little Bears mean. How I do love to ride in a
merry-go-round!"
When Bunny and Susan got downstairs they were surprised to see a fine
breakfast ready for them all on the table. They all sat down and had a
very merry time.
After breakfast the Seventeen Little Bears began to practice their
tricks. They slid on the banister and came downstairs head first.
Soon they were all crying, "Oh," and "Ah, how I hurt my head;" and
"Oh," and "Ah, how I hurt my toes!"
Bunny cried, "Bring the camphor! Bring the smelling salts, while they
are practicing their tricks!"
Susan Cotton-Tail sat down in the corner. She wiped her eyes.
Bunny said, "Have you lost your spectacles?"
Susan Cotton-Tail said, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"
The Seventeen Little Bears all came crowding around Susan to see what
was the matter.
Susan still rocked to and fro and said, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!"
Bunny said, "Will you never tell us what is the matter?" Susan said
finally,
"I have some pride, but thought to ride,
In the merry-go-round, above the ground."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears all turned somersaults at once, and
Susan cried, "Stop them, stop them, or they will break their little
bones."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The Seventeen Little Bears made a low bow and said,
"In the merry-go-round we'll go,
Laughing gayly, ha, ha, ho, ho!"
They ran out the back door and Bunny and Susan went after them. There
stood a neat little merry-go-round, as fine as you please.
"Where?" and "How?" and "Why?" and "Please tell us about it," said
Bunny and Susan.
The Seventeen Little Bears replied,
"Get inside, and have a ride,
Bunny and Susan, side by side."
They all jumped into the merry-go-round and rode in seats side by
side. Round and round and round they went.
Bunny waved his hat and Susan waved her red sunbonnet! The Seventeen
Little Bears shouted, "Hurrah, hurrah!"
They went faster and faster. Bunny said, "I am afraid the wind will
blow off my fur and whiskers."
Susan said, "The wind will blow off my spectacles."
Faster, faster, faster they went! Would they never stop?
The Seventeen Little Bears said,
"This is a very funny business,
It gives us all a little dizziness."
Faster, faster, faster they went! It began to rain. First the rain fell
with a few drops, then it came down in sheets. My! how wet they were!
Faster, faster, faster went the merry-go-round.
Suddenly Bushy-Tail ran and jumped right into the merry-go-round and
said, "What will you give me if I stop the merry-go-round?"
Bunny said, "I will give you a warm seat by the fire, sir."
Susan said, "I will give you a basket of cookies."
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "We will give you seventeen pieces of
peppermint candy."
"Help, help, help!" they all cried, "Do stop the merry-go-round!"
Bushy-Tail looked as saucy as you please.
"I can ride faster than this," he said, "I was brought up in a
merry-go-round. I want Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes to come and pay me
a visit."
Bushy-Tail said no more, and Bunny saw there was no use to mince
matters, and the rain was coming down harder and harder.
Bunny said, "If Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes want to pay you a visit I
have no objection."
Then the merry-go-round went slower and slower, and slower, and finally
stopped.
Bushy-Tail said, "Go get Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes for me or _I will
eat you all up!_"
They all went into the house. They pretended to look for Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes, though they knew they had gone away. They looked in
every nook and corner, but knew well enough that Snubby Nose and Tippy
Toes had gone sailing away with Grandpa Grumbles.
Bushy-Tail was angry. He went down the road calling, "Woo, woo, woo!"
He would not even stop for his basket of cookies.
Bushy-Tail called back,
"Where they have gone to nobody knows,
I'll find Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes."
Bunny and Susan said, "We are glad to get out of the merry-go-round,
but we must send word to Grandpa Grumbles not to let Snubby Nose and
Tippy Toes out. Who will carry the message?"
The First Little Bear said, "It is so far to go."
The Second Little Bear said, "I am all out of breath."
The Third Little Bear said, "Oh wait 'till to-morrow."
Now, will you believe it? The Seventeen Little Bears sat on their
seventeen little stools as though, nothing had happened!
Bunny and Susan got ready to go out in the rain. They took their
raincoats and caps and umbrellas. They went to Grandpa Grumbles' house.
The Seventeen Little Bears said in a sing-song way,
"We really are not quite polite,
We're selfish as can be,
We sit on stools around the fire,
Just singing merrily!"
CHAPTER VII
When Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes rode home with Grandpa Grumbles in his
green cotton umbrella they sang a merry song,
"Oh, ho! It is fun to go riding along,
Singing and whistling a right merry song."
The umbrella came to the chimney of Grandpa Grumbles' house. It began
to close up a little.
"Help, help!" cried Snubby Nose, "we shall be squeezed to death!"
Tippy Toes sat very still. He made himself as small as possible.
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Down my chimney every one goes,
How we shall travel the umbrella knows!"
Then whisk! Before they could wink an eyelash they were safely down the
chimney.
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes danced this way, and he danced that way, and said, "Oh,
Grandpa Grumbles, how I enjoyed the ride!"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Off to bed when the merry winds blow,
So back up the chimney old Grandpa can go."
Snubby Nose said, "You are not going to leave us alone in this house
are you?" Then he cried and he screamed and he howled!
Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and before they could
say another word, whisk! up the chimney old Grandpa Grumbles was off
and away. He went off to ride in his green cotton umbrella.
Tippy Toes kissed Snubby Nose and led him before the mirror, singing,
"Who will visit us to-day?"
The mirror answered,
"Bushy-Tail is on his way."
Snubby Nose said, "What fun it is to have the mirror talk. Come, let us
bolt the doors and windows. We will not let Bushy-Tail in."
They danced again before the mirror and sang,
"We're locked in safely, that we know,"
The mirror said,
"Down the chimney he can go."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes said, "Oh" and "Ah," and "Oh" and "Ah." "We
never thought of the chimney! What shall we do with the chimney?"
They built a roaring fire, and none too soon, for they could hear the
"patter, patter, patter" of feet upon the roof.
Bushy-Tail climbed down from the roof. He looked in at the window and
said, "Please let me in, please let me in."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes sat as still as they could in their little
chairs by the fire and never winked an eyelash.
Bushy-Tail said, "Let me in or I will come down the chimney, fire or no
fire."
Then Snubby Nose coughed and Tippy Toes sneezed.
Bushy-Tail climbed the roof once more. Out came the smoke in great
puffs. He gave it up and then went away down the path growling every
step of the way.
All this time Bunny and Susan were coming nearer every minute. They
said, "What if we should meet Bushy-Tail?"
In less time than it takes to tell it, Bushy-Tail came down the bend of
the road scolding and waving his beautiful tail to and fro.
He howled, "Bring out Snubby Nose, bring out Tippy Toes or _I will
eat you up_."
I do not know what in the world would have happened if Grandpa Grumbles
had not come sailing along just then. He came sailing down in his green
cotton umbrella and said, looking hard at Bushy-Tail,
"Jump inside and have a ride,
There's room for you and me beside."
Bushy-Tail jumped into the umbrella. He was pleased you may be sure.
They rode away, and away, and away, over houses, over tree-tops, and
over a big blue lake. Then they began to sail slowly down, down, down.
Bushy-Tail said, "Oh, Grandpa Grumbles, don't land us in the lake! Oh,
Grandpa Grumbles, look out what you are doing!"
Grandpa Grumbles then said loudly,
"Speak into my better ear,
I am so deaf I cannot hear."
Bushy-Tail cried out as loud as he could, "Oh, Grandpa Grumbles, we are
going down into the lake! Look out, look out! We shall be drowned!"
Grandpa Grumbles shouted,
"Speak a little louder, please,
Shall we sail above the trees?"
Bushy-Tail got so excited he did not know what he was doing. He got
right out of the umbrella and went splash, dash, into the lake.
[Illustration: "BUSHY-TAIL WENT SPLASH, DASH, INTO THE LAKE"]
Grandpa Grumbles, as he sailed homeward, said,
"Sink or swim, just as you please,
For I have no desire to tease."
He left poor Bushy-Tail to swim to shore.
When Grandpa Grumbles got home he saw smoke coming out of his chimney.
He grumbled,
"It seems to me quite like a bore,
To have to enter by the door."
He was so used to sailing down the chimney!
The door opened for him and there stood Bunny and Susan. Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes danced up to him and told him how Bushy-Tail had tried
to get in.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green umbrella fiercely and said,
"He will not come this way again,
Either in sunshine or in rain."
Then Bunny and Susan and Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes begged Grandpa
Grumbles to tell what had become of Bushy-Tail, but Grandpa Grumbles
would only say,
"I am so deaf 'tis hard to hear,
Come, speak a little louder, dear."
Then Bunny spoke into his right ear, and Susan spoke into his left ear,
and asked him to tell where he had left Bushy-Tail.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his head and said,
"Bunny and Susan, what do you say?
I am so old and deaf to-day."
Then Snubby Nose cried into his right ear, and Tippy Toes cried into
his left ear, but Grandpa Grumbles only said,
"I can't hear, my deafness grows;
Ask the umbrella, for it knows."
Then the Cotton-Tails asked the umbrella what had become of Bushy-Tail
and the umbrella said,
"Bushy-Tail went swimming away,
But he'll come back in a year and a day."
"Oh" and "Ah" and "Oh" and "Ah," cried all the little Cotton-Tails,
"Bushy-Tail is swimming away is he?"
They all went merrily to bed.
CHAPTER VIII
The next morning Grandpa Grumbles called out,
"The Cotton-Tails are all in bed,
Every one is a sleepy-head."
"My fur and whiskers, we have overslept," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. "It
is nine o'clock by my little silver watch."
"Bless my buttons," cried Susan, "I meant to get up and get breakfast."
Tippy Toes was the first down stairs after Grandpa Grumbles. He danced
this way and he danced that way, and set the table for breakfast.
Grandpa Grumbles had a fine breakfast ready. They all sat down except
Snubby Nose. Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Where is Snubby Nose? 'tis plain,
He must have gone to sleep again."
Now, what do you suppose happened next? Grandpa Grumbles went upstairs
and took Snubby Nose by the feet and dragged him out of bed. He made
him dress in a hurry and come down to breakfast! All the time Snubby
Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles soon finished their breakfast.
They went for a walk but Tippy Toes sat at the table and said, "Oh,
Snubby Nose, why do you cry so much? I have just as ugly a nose as you
have."
Then Snubby Nose stopped crying. He stared at Tippy Toes. Sure enough,
Tippy Toes had a very ugly nose.
Snubby Nose shouted, "Pass me the cream! Pass me the butter! Pass me
the bread! Can't you see I am starving?"
The mirror spoke up suddenly,
"Snubby Nose it's no use to tease,
You might say, 'Thank you,' and 'if you please.'"
Tippy Toes slipped down from his chair and ran out after Bunny and
Susan.
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! He reached for the
sugar bowl and it sailed away in the air! He reached for the bread and
butter but they went farther out of his reach. He was very hungry and
he cried and he screamed and he howled, but there was no one to answer
him. By and by he danced before the mirror and said,
"Mirror, mirror, I'll be good,
And speak politely as I should."
The mirror said,
"If you say, 'Thank you' I suppose,
You'll be loved like Tippy Toes."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Snubby Nose said, "Thank you for a bowl of milk." The milk stood at his
plate. Then he said, "Thank you for cookies and sugar and pie." The
cookies and sugar and pie stood by his plate. He had never had so much
fun before in all his life. He kept on ordering things and they came
before him.
By and by Snubby Nose cleared off the table and washed the dishes,
saying over and over,
"I must forget to try to tease,
I will say, 'Thank you' and 'If you Please.'"
At this very minute in came the Seventeen Little Bears. They cried,
"Hurrah, hurrah, old Snubby Nose!
What has happened, do you suppose?"
Snubby Nose made a low bow and said, "If you please I should like to
know what has happened."
The Seventeen Little Bears stared at Snubby Nose. They had never seen
him so polite before.
They said, "We met Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles and they said
we could go up in the garret and get skates and go skating."
No sooner said than done. Up to the garret danced the Seventeen Little
Bears. They found seventeen pairs of skates and danced out again.
Snubby Nose was left alone in the house. He forgot to be polite. He
cried and he screamed and he howled!
The mirror said,
"If you're polite, as you should be,
Perhaps a pair of skates you'll see."
Snubby Nose looked about the house. He looked high and low, but he
could not find any skates. He rubbed his eyes and he rubbed his little
red nose. He put on his cap and mittens and went to the pond. Tippy
Toes came to meet him. He had two pairs of skates and cried,
"Where were you so long, goodness knows,
Here are your skates. Come Snubby Nose."
He kissed Snubby Nose on both cheeks.
The Seventeen Little Bears sat on the bank trying to fasten their
skates. Their little paws got colder and colder every minute. Snubby
Nose helped them fasten their skates and Tippy Toes helped them too.
Then they put on their own skates and went skating away, and away, and
away.
By and by Bunny and Susan said,
"'Tis rather sad now to relate,
We are too old and stiff to skate.'"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Chilly business this sport I think,
Let's go roller-skating in a rink."
Bunny and Susan said they must really go home and Grandpa Grumbles said
he, too, would go to his own home.
He shouted to the Seventeen Little Bears,
"Don't skate where the ice is thin,
You'll make a hole and tumble in."
The Seventeen Little Bears skated on and on, the wind whistling in
their ears.
Snubby Nose said to Tippy Toes, "What if the Seventeen Little Bears
should fall into the water, what would we do?"
Tippy Toes said, "The wind blows so hard they cannot hear. I hope they
know where the ice is thin."
The Seventeen Little Bears formed a circle and skated round. Suddenly
the ice gave way. Splash, dash, they all fell into the water!
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and they danced that way,
and shouted, "Help, help, help! The Seventeen Little Bears have fallen
into the water!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail was riding by in his sleigh. He said, "Come, we will
pull them out of the water." So they all helped pull the Seventeen
Little Bears out of the water.
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "I will tuck them in my sleigh and take them
to Bunny and Susan. They will tuck them up warm in bed."
[Illustration: "I WILL TUCK THEM IN MY SLEIGH"]
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes hung on to the back of the sleigh and they
went whizzing merrily homeward, the wind whistling in their ears. The
Seventeen Little Bears sneezed all the way.
Did Bunny and Susan tuck them up warm in bed? Well, I guess they did,
and Doctor Cotton-Tail gave them hoarhound candy.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes smacked their lips and said, "If we had
fallen in the water we could have had candy too."
Doctor Cotton-Tail said, "You cunning little things, you look as much
alike as two peas. You shall each have a stick of lemon candy."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and
said,
"Lemon candy is good to eat,
We always think it quite a treat."
Susan said, "Hush; be still. Don't wake the Seventeen Little Bears;
they are all asleep."
CHAPTER IX
The Seventeen Little Bears took cold when they fell through the ice
into the water, so they had to stay in bed all day. They cried, "Tell
us a story, please tell us a story."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and that way, before the
mirror and cried out together,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered,
"Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes."
The Seventeen Little Bears clapped their little paws and cried, "Tell
it again, tell it again!"
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and that way, before
the mirror and asked,
"Who took cold when they fell through the ice?"
The mirror would not answer this time.
The Seventeen Little Bears wept and wailed. Bunny and Susan came
upstairs to see what was the matter.
Bunny said, "Never mind, I will tell you a story about my reading by
candle-light."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears cried, "Oh, Bunny, tell us a new story,
please."
Now, Bunny could not think of a new story to tell to save his life, so
Susan said, "I will tell you about the Circus cookies that came alive."
Then, the Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "We know that story by heart,
we know every word of it."
They took out their seventeen little red pocket handkerchiefs and cried
and cried.
All this time Grandpa Grumbles was sitting in an easy chair by the
fire. He grumbled,
"'Tis silly to make such a dreadful noise,
You are worse than seventeen girls and boys."
Then he took his green cotton umbrella and went upstairs.
As soon as the Seventeen Little Bears caught sight of Grandpa Grumbles
they set up a shout, "A story, a story, do tell us a story."
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and shouted,
"Every one must keep as still as a mouse,
So you can hear a pin drop in the house."
Then, will you believe it? The Seventeen Little Bears were so still you
could hear a pin drop.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes were so still they did not wink an eyelash.
They sat on two little stools in the corner.
Grandpa Grumbles said, "You can guess all day and you can guess all
night, but you cannot one of you guess what kind of a shop I am going
to open."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears begged for Bunny Cotton-Tail's
thinking-cap. They put it on in turn and guessed and guessed what kind
of a shop Grandpa Grumbles would open.