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 dishesand 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, andHumpty 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 tobed. 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 PRINCEOnce 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 haveprinted: ‘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 gono 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 gotup 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 Marygoldto 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 nearby 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 funnylittle 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 shecried, “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 morningand 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.
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 haveprinted: ‘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 gono 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 gotup 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 Marygoldto 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 nearby 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 funnylittle 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.”
“Oh, I am sad as sad can be,Pixie, fairy, come to me.”
“Oh, I am sad as sad can be,Pixie, fairy, come to me.”
“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 shecried, “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 morningand 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 princess dear will come again.She is not afraid of cold or rain.”
“The princess dear will come again.She is not afraid of cold or rain.”
“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.