Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes - Laura Rountree Smith
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes said, "Will it be a candy-shop?"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and
grumbled, "I told you, you could not guess. I am going to open a Toy
Shop!"
"A Toy Shop!" shouted the Seventeen Little Bears at the top of their
lungs. "A Toy Shop!"
"Who is telling this story?" asked Grandpa Grumbles. He began to tell
the story in real earnest. He said, "I am going to open a Toy Shop in
the woods."
"Not a real Toy Shop," said Snubby Nose. "You don't mean a real Toy
Shop," said Tippy Toes.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella and grumbled, "Now, I
shall have to start all over again."
So he began once more, "I am going to open a Toy Shop in the woods."
"Will you make a rocking-horse?" asked the First Little Bear.
"Will you make drums?" asked the Second Little Bear.
"Will you make horns? Toot, toot, toot!" said the Third Little Bear.
Now, will you believe it? All the Seventeen Little Bears put their paws
to their mouths as though they had horns and cried, "Toot, toot, toot!"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his umbrella fiercely and shouted,
"I will not tell the story to-day,
I will take my umbrella and go away."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Grandpa Grumbles held fast to the handle of the umbrella and sailed out
through the open window!
"Oh," and "Ah," said Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes, "that was rather
sudden!"
"Oh," and "Ah," said the Seventeen Little Bears, "how fast he went!"
Then they were as merry as you please. Whenever any one would cough or
sneeze the other ones would say, "Let us talk about Grandpa Grumbles'
Toy Shop! Can you hear him hammer away? Can you hear him saw?"
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes put on their hats and coats and danced this
way, and that way, and said, "We will go and, visit Grandpa Grumbles'
Toy Shop."
At this very minute, to the surprise of all, Grandpa Grumbles came
sailing in through the window. He said,
"If I were little and young and gay,
I'd sail away for a year and a day."
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "Please tell us about the Toy
Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles shook his umbrella. Out fell a little rocking horse.
He shook it again. Out fell a horn. He shook it again. Out fell a drum.
The Seventeen Little Bears shouted, "Hurrah, hurrah! It is really true,
Grandpa Grumbles, you are going to open a Toy Shop."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes and the Seventeen Little Bears did not know
whether Grandpa Grumbles was teasing or not. They did not know if he
meant to open a real Toy Shop.
The Seventeen Little Bears said, "Will you tell us the whole story
to-morrow?"
CHAPTER X
The Seventeen Little Bears still had to stay in bed next day. Snubby
Nose and Tippy Toes danced about the room and cried, "Grandpa Grumbles,
do tell us the story of the Toy Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles came upstairs leaning on his green cotton umbrella. He
coughed six times and then he sat down in the rocking-chair by the
Window. He said, "The story of the Toy Shop begins with a question."
The Seventeen Little Bears clapped their paws and shouted, "Hear, hear,
the story is going to begin!"
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced this way, and danced that way, and
cried, "Hear, hear, the story is going to begin!"
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Grandpa Grumbles pointed his green cotton umbrella at Snubby Nose and
asked, "Which of your toys did you break first at Christmas?"
Snubby Nose could not remember, so he cried and he screamed and he
howled!
Grandpa Grumbles said, "I cannot begin this story until I have nineteen
questions answered."
Tippy Toes said, "Grandpa Grumbles, I can tell you which toy I broke
first, I broke my little rocking-horse."
Then Snubby Nose shouted, "I broke my rocking-horse too."
Grandpa Grumbles pointed to the First Little Bear and said, "Which toy
did you break first?"
The First Little Bear said, "I broke my little red drum."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears all held up their paws and said, "Let
me tell, let me tell next which toy I broke at Christmas!"
Now, will you believe it? They all made such a noise that Grandpa
Grumbles could not sit still another minute. He went downstairs shaking
his green cotton umbrella, fiercely, and grumbling to himself as he
went.
The Seventeen Little Bears cried, "Oh, come back and tell the story! We
will be good."
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced downstairs and said. "We will,
be good, indeed we will be good."
Grandpa Grumbles still looked very cross. He grumbled,
"Speak into my other ear,
'Tis very hard indeed to hear."
Then Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes shouted into his other ear, "Please
come back upstairs and tell us about the Toy Shop. We will be good,
indeed we will."
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Speak a little louder, please,
If you do not want to tease."
Bunny and Susan saw that something must be done to make Grandpa
Grumbles happy again, so Susan made a bowl of fine soup for him, and
Grandpa Grumbles drew up to the table. He said,
"In cooking you can never fail,
Thank you, dear Susan Cotton-Tail."
Then Bunny went upstairs and said to the Seventeen Little Bears, "You
may get up and put on your little red wrappers and sit by the fire
downstairs."
So the Seventeen Little Bears got up and put on their little red
wrappers and crept downstairs. They crept down so softly that Grandpa
Grumbles never heard a sound.
By and by when Grandpa Grumbles went back into the sitting-room there
sat the Seventeen Little Bears on their seventeen little stools by the
fire. Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes sat on the arm of Grandpa Grumbles'
chair. He was surprised you may be sure.
He began to tell his story quite as if nothing had happened. He said,
"Last Christmas I went about and picked up all the broken toys I could
find and I said I would open a Toy Shop and mend them so you could not
tell them from new toys!"
"Hear, hear!" cried the Seventeen Little Bears softly.
"Hush, hush!" said Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes, "Grandpa Grumbles is
talking."
Grandpa Grumbles went on, "On long winter evenings I sat and mended and
glued and pasted the toys and soon they looked as good as new."
"Rap-a-tap," sounded on the door, "Rap-a-tap."
Bunny took the candle and went to the door. There stood Doctor
Cotton-Tail.
He said, "Good evening, how are the Seventeen Little Bears? I heard
they fell in the water!"
The Seventeen Little Bears stuffed their little paws into their mouths
to keep from laughing, for they felt as well as ever, sitting before
the fire in their little red wrappers.
Doctor Cotton-Tail took a seat by the fire and began to warm his paws,
first one paw and then the other.
"Chilly spring weather, but most time to make garden," he said.
"Chilly weather," said Bunny Cotton-Tail.
"Chilly weather," said Susan.
_Then the most surprising thing happened_!
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella and out came flower
seeds falling everywhere. The Seventeen Little Bears scrambled to pick
them up.
"Who will make your garden?" asked Doctor Cotton-Tail, looking at Bunny
and Susan.
Bunny and Susan said, "We do not know, we are too old and stiff to make
a garden."
"You will miss the turnips and cabbages," said Doctor Cotton-Tail.
Then he added,
"I came in a wagon, and as the Seventeen Little Bears are quite well,
I can take them home."
Then the Seventeen Little Bears began to weep loud and long. They wept
into their seventeen little pocket handkerchiefs.
Bunny and Susan said, "Never mind, dears, you can come to visit us
again."
Soon the Seventeen Little Bears were tucked safely into the wagon and
Doctor Cotton-Tail took them home.
"Bless my buttons," said Susan, "you did not finish your story Grandpa
Grumbles."
"My fur and whiskers," said Bunny, "I should like to visit your Toy
Shop!"
Grandpa Grumbles said,
"At night I always shake my head,
'Tis time for all to go to bed."
The Cotton-Tail family knew that it was no use to tease, so they went
merrily to bed.
Snubby Nose set his little alarm clock. He set it at four o'clock in
the morning. He said, kissing Tippy Toes good night, "We must get up
early in the morning and make a garden for Bunny and Susan."
CHAPTER XI
"Tinkle, tinkle" went the alarm clock next morning. Snubby Nose put his
paw on it so it would not ring too loudly. He whispered to Tippy Toes,
"Get up, it is time to make the garden."
They took the seeds Grandpa Grumbles had thrown from his umbrella. They
planted the seeds in even rows. They worked so fast, they had the
garden planted and were back in bed by eight o'clock.
Grandpa Grumbles woke up next. He went downstairs and out of doors. He
saw a little garden all planted in even rows. He shook his green cotton
umbrella and said,
"Radishes it is time to grow,
For spring has come again you know."
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
The radishes began to peep up and show their little green heads.
Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella again and said,
"Young cabbage heads, all in a row,
Wake up, wake up, it's time to grow."
The cabbages came up as big and round as you please. Then Grandpa
Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella again and said,
"Turnips come, wake up, 'tis clear
Merry, merry spring is here."
The turnips came up nodding in the sunshine, and Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Open green umbrella and sail away,
They were magic seeds, good day, good day."
He opened the green cotton umbrella and sailed away, and away, and
away.
Bunny Cotton-Tail woke up and looked out of the window. "My fur and
whiskers, look at the garden," he shouted.
Susan woke and looked out the window and said, "Bless my buttons there
is a real little garden."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes woke up again and said, "Hurrah, hurrah, how
fast the seeds grow! We must ask Grandpa Grumbles if they were magic
seeds that he gave us."
But Grandpa Grumbles had sailed away, and away, and away!
At that very minute the Postman brought two letters. The letters were
for Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes. They were from their Mothers asking
them to come home.
When Snubby Nose read his letter he cried and he screamed and he
howled!
When Tippy Toes read his letter he said, "Never mind, Snubby Nose, we
can go together to the bend of the road."
Before they had breakfast, Susan got out her rolling-pin and flour and
sugar and said, "I will make you some cookies to take with you."
Bunny said, "My fur and whiskers, I have two neat little baskets. I
will pack them with your lunch."
So Susan made cookies and Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes packed their
little traveling bags and Bunny packed their lunches in the little
baskets.
Bunny said, "I will take you in my wheelbarrow to the bend in the road,
then Snubby Nose goes east and Tippy Toes goes west."
Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled! He did not want to go
home. Tippy Toes did not want to go home either, but he said, "Thank
you Bunny for the ride."
Soon Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes were ready to go. They stood before the
mirror and danced this way and that way and sang,
"Tell us, good mirror, whom shall we meet?"
The mirror answered,
"Circus Cotton-Tails in the street."
Then Snubby Nose held his breath and Tippy Toes held his breath.
Snubby Nose said, "I was one of the Circus Cotton-Tails once myself."
They went downstairs and kissed Susan good-bye.
Then they jumped into the wheelbarrow and Bunny wheeled them to the
turn in the road. He kissed them good-bye and Snubby Nose cried and he
screamed and he howled! Tippy Toes said, "Never mind, we shall meet
again some day and my nose is as ugly as yours is!"
Snubby Nose said, "_I beg you not to talk about noses_," and he
cried and he screamed and he howled, louder than ever.
Tippy Toes saw something must be done, so he said, "Oh, never mind, I
will go home with you. It will be a long walk around then to my house."
They both went east.
Snubby Nose said, "Listen, what is that? It sounds like a band!"
Tippy Toes said, "What is that? It sounds like the roar of a Lion."
They did not know whether to go east any longer or not. They hid behind
some bushes by the roadside, and all the while the sound of the band
came nearer and nearer. All the while the lion roared louder and
louder. They peeped through the branches. Soon the Circus Cotton-Tails
came in view.
[Illustration: "SOON THE CIRCUS COTTON-TAILS CAME IN VIEW"]
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced out of their hiding places and cried,
"Hurrah for the Circus Cotton-Tails! They have formed a real little
Circus!"
There was the band wagon. There were the elephants and camels. There
were the animals in cages.
The Circus Cotton-Tails cried, "Hurrah, hurrah! Here are Snubby Nose
and Tippy Toes. Come and join the Big Parade."
Bunny Bright Eyes said, "Can you walk a tight rope?"
Tippy Toes said he did not know, but Snubby Nose said he had walked a
tight rope off and on all his life!
Tippy Toes drew a little mirror out of his pocket and said,
"Who will walk the tight rope? Whom do you suppose?"
The mirror answered,
"Two cunning little Bunnies, Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes!"
CHAPTER XII
Bunny and Susan sat quietly by the cheerful fire warming their paws.
Bunny said, "My fur and whiskers, I hope Snubby Nose got home safely."
Susan said, "Bless my buttons, I was thinking of Tippy Toes this very
minute. Those two cunning little Bunnies are as much alike as two peas!
We could not tell them apart if Snubby Nose did not cry so much."
Bunny said, "I suppose we shall have no visitors for some time now."
"Don't be too sure of that," said a gruff old voice, "Here I am
standing now." There stood Grandpa Grumbles in the doorway. He had
never looked so happy in all his life. He struck the floor fiercely
with his green cotton umbrella and said,
"The Circus Cotton-Tails will come,
A-rat-a-tat, just hear the drum."
Bunny and Susan listened. Sure enough, they heard the "rat-a-tat," of a
drum. Soon they heard the Lion roar in his cage. They all went out as
fast as they could.
_There came the Circus Cotton-Tails on parade!_
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes danced in front beating a drum.
Bunny and Susan and Grandpa Grumbles cried, "Hurrah, hurrah, for the
Big Parade!"
Grandpa Grumbles waved his green cotton umbrella and shouted, "Have you
a merry-go-round?"
The Circus Cotton-Tails stood still. They cried "Hurrah, Bunny! Hurrah,
Susan! Of course we have a merry-go-round."
Then the real little Circus Parade stopped. The Circus Cotton-Tails
cried, "Hurry, hurry! Help us unpack."
They went to one of the wagons and began to unpack the merry-go-round.
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes helped and Bunny and Susan helped too.
Grandpa Grumbles cried,
"One for the money, ten for the show,
Put up the tent, and away we go."
He forgot to grumble. He had never been so happy before in all big
life.
It took the Circus Cotton-Tails and Bunny and Susan just exactly one
hour and sixteen minutes to put up the merry-go-round, and Grandpa
Grumbles bossed the job.
"Will it go?" asked Bunny and Susan under their breath.
Grandpa Grumbles was the first to get in. He cried,
"I'm the first to get inside,
Come one and all and have a ride."
Susan said, "Oh, dear! I have lost my spectacles."
It took the Circus Cotton-Tails one hour and sixteen minutes to find
Susan's spectacles. There they were safe and sound upon her forehead
all the time! Then Bunny went in-doors and burned his paw again by
candle-light and it took one hour and sixteen minutes to get his paw
well.
Grandpa Grumbles did not grumble a bit. He only sat patiently in the
merry-go-round and said to Susan,
"Now, the spectacles are found,
All jump in the merry-go-round."
Then he called good-naturedly to Bunny,
"If you'll use a lamp dear Bunny,
It will save you time and money."
Bunny and Susan got into the merry-go-round, and the Circus
Cotton-Tails got in too.
They were all ready for a ride when Grandpa Grumbles said,
"Some are absent, whom do you suppose?"
The Circus Cotton-Tails shouted in one breath,
"_Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes!_"
Snubby Nose was so little he could not climb up into the merry-go-round
without help. He cried and he screamed and he howled! Tippy Toes was so
little he could not climb in either but he waited patiently below.
Grandpa Grumbles saw what was the matter. He lowered his green cotton
umbrella and helped Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes up into the merry-go-round.
Now they were ready to start. They all cried,
"Give three cheers, away we go,
The Circus Cotton-Tails, ho, ho!"
The merry-go-round would not start. They all got out to see what was
the matter.
_Then the most surprising thing happened!_
Doctor Cotton-Tail jumped out from under the merry-go-round and said,
"A-riding, too, I'd like to go,
Though I may take a nap or so."
Grandpa Grumbles said cheerfully,
"You'll take no nap when with us you go,
We may ride too fast, but never slow!"
Doctor Cotton-Tail took a seat in the merry-go-round.
The music began to play and they went round, and round, and round,
faster and faster. Bunny began to talk about his fur and whiskers.
Susan began to talk about her buttons. Grandpa Grumbles shouted,
"I'm just as happy as I can be,
The Circus life is the life for me."
Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes jumped down from the merry-go-round and
danced this way and danced that way, and for all I know they are
dancing yet!
More Cotton Tail Stories
CHAPTER I
Bunny Cotton-Tail and Susan were sitting by the fire, warming their
paws.
[Illustration: "BUNNY AND SUSAN WERE SITTING BY THE FIRE"]
"The evenings are growing cold," said Bunny Cotton-Tail. "It feels like
snow to-night."
"Oh, joy!" cried Bunny Boy, "how I do love snow!" Then he began to jump
around the room so fast that Susan was afraid he would upset the table.
"I am going to play that the sofa is a hill, and slide down!" he cried.
Then Susan said if Bunny Boy did not sit down in his little red rocking
chair and be good, she would put him in a bag!
So Bunny Boy sat down, but he began to cry. There is no telling what
would have happened just then if a soft "tap, tap," had not been heard
on the window.
Susan looked out. There stood Bushy Tail with his traveling bag in his
hand!
Susan was a little afraid to let him in, but there was nothing else to
do, so she opened the door, and whisk! bound! Bushy Tail was in,
hugging Bunny Cotton-Tail!
"Who is the youngster!" asked Bushy Tail, pointing to Bunny Boy.
Then Bunny Boy made himself as small as possible. He did not care for
Bushy Tail.
Bushy Tail said he must tell about his trip. Besides, he had something
for Bunny and Susan in his bag.
It had begun to snow, and Bushy Tail was very wet. He stood by the fire
and warmed his paws. Susan whispered to Bunny that she had never seen
so handsome a fox in her life.
All the time Bushy Tail had a cunning look in his eyes. After his fur
was dry, and he had had a bowl of soup, he opened his bag, and my! what
fine things he took out!
There was dried fruit for Susan. There was fresh cabbage for Bunny. And
there were oranges, and peaches, and pears! They had a fine feast, but
the greatest fun of all was just before they went to bed, when Bushy
Tail took from his bag a little telephone. He hung it on the wall and
fooled the rabbits with it for nearly an hour.
It had a little bell and a receiver, and one could call "hello" into
it.
Perhaps Bunny and Susan would never have known the joke about the
telephone if it had not been for Bunny Boy. Bunny Boy crept out from
under the sofa, where he had been hiding, and climbed up in a chair and
pulled the receiver hard. Then, bang! the top of the telephone came
off, and showed that it was only a candy box!
Bushy Tail did not like this, but Bunny Cotton-Tail said he would
rather have it a candy-box, after all, as he was a little afraid of
telephones!
Then they shook one another's paws, and went to bed.
Bushy Tail slept on a sofa in the parlor. About eleven o'clock he got
up and began, to stir around. There was the same cunning look in his
eyes.
First he went and looked at Susan Cotton-Tail, and thought, "I have
half a mind to eat you up." Then he went and looked at Bunny Cotton-Tail
and thought, "I have half a mind to eat you up." Then he saw Bunny
Boy out in the kitchen, wide awake, eating mince pie! Bushy said, "I
have you, and I will eat you up!"
But Bunny Boy was too quick for him. He ran down the stairs, into the
cellar, and had hopped through the cellar window in less than no time.
Then Bushy Tail took a mince pie and put it in his right-hand coat
pocket. He took a currant pie and put it in his left-hand coat pocket.
He hid an apple pie in his hat, and he went slyly out of the door with
a piece of blueberry pie in his mouth!
Next morning, when Bunny and Susan awoke, they saw that their pies were
gone, and they saw that Bushy Tail and Bunny Boy were gone too!
Susan Cotton-Tail cried, and Bunny Cotton-Tail whistled.
CHAPTER II
Why do you suppose Susan Cotton-Tail had made so many pies? There was
going to be a fair, and Susan had been asked to make pies for it. All
the animals were going to the fair.
"We cannot go when we have no pies to sell," said Susan.
"All the animals will come to find out why we are not there," said
Bunny.
Now Bunny Cotton-Tail was a very clever rabbit, even though he was
getting old. He put on his overcoat and took a card and a hammer, and
went out.
He was out a long time, tacking something up on the front door.
When he had finished, he asked Susan to come out and get a breath of
air.
They walked up and down in front of the house. Then Susan began to
laugh, and then she began to sneeze, and then she laughed and sneezed
together, and what do you suppose was the matter?
Bunny Cotton-Tail had put up this sign on the house,
SCARLET FEVER HERE
"Well," said Bunny, "if you don't want to go anywhere or have any one
come to see you, just put up a sign like that, and see how well it will
work!"
Bunny and Susan went back into the house and peeped out their front
window to see how the animals would act when they saw the sign.
First came Bushy Tail, big as life, trotting along. When he saw the
sign he waved his beautiful tail in the air and ran down the road as
fast as his legs could carry him!
Next came Mr. Owl. He read the sign aloud, and flew away.
So all day long, animals came to ask why Bunny and Susan did not come
to the fair, and all were frightened and ran away.
Early in the evening old Grizzly came. He had followed Bushy Tail from
California.
"What a beautiful bear!" said Susan.
"He looks kind," said Bunny.
Old Grizzly read the sign. He did not pass by as the other animals had
done. He went straight up to the front door and knocked.
"Perhaps he can't read," said Bunny, so he shouted, "Scarlet Fever
here!"
Old Grizzly nodded his head. He said he had had scarlet fever three
times, and he was not afraid to have it again.
So they opened the door and let old Grizzly in. Then they all had a
jolly time, and Bunny told why he put up the sign on the house.
"You may have a new kind of scarlet fever," said Old Grizzly, "maybe I
shall catch it!" and they all laughed.
Old Grizzly had been in a circus, and had traveled in the East and in
the West. He could tell lovely stories, so he stayed a long time and
told stories, and Susan Cotton-Tail went out in the kitchen and came
back with a mince pie in each hand. (These pies had been hidden away in
a tin.)
They all enjoyed the pies, and then Bunny asked old Grizzly to spend
the night with them. Old Grizzly said, "No, thank you." The house next
door was vacant and he was going to live there.
Susan held the candle at the door and old Grizzly went to his new home.
"I like him, but I am glad he went out for the night," said Bunny.
"Just think!" Susan said, "he has promised to come in every night and
tell us a story!"
CHAPTER III
When old Grizzly came next evening he had a book tucked under his arm.
"What have you there?" asked Bunny and Susan together.
It was some time before old Grizzly would tell. Then he coughed and
said he had one story that every one liked so well that he had written
it down, and drawn pictures for it.
The two rabbits begged so hard to see the pictures that old Grizzly
opened the book and showed them all the pictures before he began to
read. And this is the story he read:
Once there was a gentleman who wrote stories. He had a fine large cat
called Whiskers.
One day Whiskers thought he would see the man write his story, so he
sat up on the desk beside him.
The man started to write a story about an elephant. It was to be a long
story with big words in it.
Whiskers wanted to be petted just then, and as the man did not notice
him, he gave the pen a little slap, and it made a funny mark down the
page.
"Never mind," said the man, "that will do for the path along which the
elephant walked."