CHAPTER VIITHE MAGIC KITESThe merry March wind is singing a song,“Blow, blow, blow!Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,Blow, blow, blow!”Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.Blow, blow, blow!”
The merry March wind is singing a song,“Blow, blow, blow!Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,Blow, blow, blow!”Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.Blow, blow, blow!”
The merry March wind is singing a song,“Blow, blow, blow!Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,Blow, blow, blow!”Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.Blow, blow, blow!”
The merry March wind is singing a song,“Blow, blow, blow!Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,Blow, blow, blow!”Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.Blow, blow, blow!”
The merry March wind is singing a song,
“Blow, blow, blow!
Sweet springtime is coming, coming along,
Blow, blow, blow!”
Said the Ink-Bottle Babies, “Don’t blow us away;”
They said, “It is fun in the wind to play;
We’ll fly our kites on this merry March day.
Blow, blow, blow!”
One day in the merry month of March, the Ink-Bottle Papa said, “I have a half-holiday. What shall we do?”
Then the twenty-five little Ink-Bottle Babies clapped their hands and cried, “Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!”
“Shall we do the family washing?” asked the Ink-Bottle Papa with a twinkle in his eye.
The Ink-Bottle Babies said,
“We are so little, it is true,The washing is very hard to do!”
“We are so little, it is true,The washing is very hard to do!”
“We are so little, it is true,The washing is very hard to do!”
“We are so little, it is true,
The washing is very hard to do!”
The Ink-Bottle Papa laughed and he said, “Then shall we sweep the house all over, from top to bottom?”
Then the Babies said,
“The brooms are heavy for us to hold,And after all we are not very old!”
“The brooms are heavy for us to hold,And after all we are not very old!”
“The brooms are heavy for us to hold,And after all we are not very old!”
“The brooms are heavy for us to hold,
And after all we are not very old!”
Then the Ink-Bottle Papa clapped his hands and said, “Shall we mow our lawn, front and back?”
Then the Ink-Bottle Babies cried,
“We are very little to mow to-day;Let us help keep your holiday!”
“We are very little to mow to-day;Let us help keep your holiday!”
“We are very little to mow to-day;Let us help keep your holiday!”
“We are very little to mow to-day;
Let us help keep your holiday!”
Then the Ink-Bottle Papa stopped fooling, and he said, “There is a fine wind for flying kites; we will all make kites to-day; then we will go out and fly them.”
“Hurrah! Hurrah!” cried the Babies. “We will all make kites. We will make big kites, little kites, and middle-sized kites!”
Now, did the Ink-Bottle Babies make kites? Well, I guess they did!
“Oh, oh, oh, my kite pulls so hard!”
“Oh, oh, oh, my kite pulls so hard!”
They cut and they pasted, and they rapped and tapped away, and then they said,
“Our kites are finished. May we go and fly them, Pa?”
Then the Ink-Bottle Papa said,
“One, two, three, away we go;March like soldiers in a row!”
“One, two, three, away we go;March like soldiers in a row!”
“One, two, three, away we go;March like soldiers in a row!”
“One, two, three, away we go;
March like soldiers in a row!”
Then the Ink-Bottle Babies got into two rows and they followed the Ink-Bottle Papa over to the meadow.
Then they began to run and fly their kites.
“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Polly, “my kite pulls so hard!”
“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Molly, “I am afraid my kite will get away.”
The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “It is the merry March wind pulling at the kites!”
Then they laughed and danced and played in the sunshine, and by and by Papa said, “Come, sit down and rest and I will tell you a story.”
The Ink-Bottle Babies all sat down. They still held on to the strings of their kites.
The Ink-Bottle Papa began his story of The Magic Kite:
Once upon a time a little boy made a kite. He made the kite of paper and string.
Then the little boy was very happy, and he said,
“Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and IAlong with the breezes will fly, and fly.”
“Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and IAlong with the breezes will fly, and fly.”
“Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and IAlong with the breezes will fly, and fly.”
“Blow, merry wind, blow; my kite and I
Along with the breezes will fly, and fly.”
Just then a voice said,
“Perhaps you can fly,If you only try!”
“Perhaps you can fly,If you only try!”
“Perhaps you can fly,If you only try!”
“Perhaps you can fly,
If you only try!”
The little boy looked around, and there sat the funniest little dwarf. The dwarf sat cross-legged on an old tree-stump.
“Ever think much about flying?” he said, and he screwed his face up into a thousand wrinkles.
The little boy shook his head.
Then the dwarf said,
“Flying might be easy for you,The butterflies try it,The birds try it, too;Yes, it might be easy for you!”
“Flying might be easy for you,The butterflies try it,The birds try it, too;Yes, it might be easy for you!”
“Flying might be easy for you,The butterflies try it,The birds try it, too;Yes, it might be easy for you!”
“Flying might be easy for you,
The butterflies try it,
The birds try it, too;
Yes, it might be easy for you!”
The little boy said, “I would like to fly; tell me truly how to do it.”
The little dwarf said, “Just lend me your kite.”
Then the dwarf took the little boy’s kite andhe blew on it until it became bigger and stronger and it was indeed very hard to hold.
The little dwarf then took hold of the string and the kite pulled harder and harder and harder, and soon it lifted the little dwarf off of his feet. He did not let go of the string.
The little dwarf went up, up, up among the clouds. Soon the little boy could see only a speck among the clouds. He was beginning to be sorry he had loaned the dwarf his kite, for he was afraid he would never see it again.
Then he heard a whistle and a voice called out,
“Sailing high up over the town,Here I come again, down, down, down.”
“Sailing high up over the town,Here I come again, down, down, down.”
“Sailing high up over the town,Here I come again, down, down, down.”
“Sailing high up over the town,
Here I come again, down, down, down.”
Sure enough, down came the little dwarf, holding to the kite.
“Want to fly now?” he asked. “It is lots of fun.”
The little boy lost no time, you may be sure, in taking hold of the kite string. He took hold of the string and the kite began to pull.
“Hold on tight!” shouted the little dwarf. “Hold on tight!”
Then the little boy went up, up, up, over the tree-tops, and over the houses until he came tothe stars! My, but he was away up high in the sky!
“The little boy went up, up, up, until he came to the stars”
“The little boy went up, up, up, until he came to the stars”
The stars were so bright he winked and blinked his eyes, and suddenly he forgot to keep hold of the string, and down, down, down he fell to earth again, and his kite flew away and he never saw it again!
“Did the fall hurt him?” asked Molly.
“Did he truly lose his kite forever?” asked Polly.
The Ink-Bottle Papa said, “The boy was not hurt at all, for he fell on his mother’s feather bed that she had out on the porch airing!”
“Oh my!” cried all the Babies at once. “Whatfun it would be to fall on a feather bed! We wish we could fly and fall in soft places, too!”
Just then Molly gave a little cry, and Polly gave a little cry.
What do you suppose was happening?
They felt their kites pulling so hard that they began to go up, up, up. Before the Ink-Bottle Papa could stop them they had sailed out of sight!
The Ink-Bottle Babies said to the Papa, “We will go home and ask Mamma what to do. She always tells us what to do!”
Molly and Polly went up, and up, and up, and then just as suddenly they began to go down, and down, and down.
They said, “We wonder if we will come down on a feather bed?”
Did they come down on a feather bed? Oh no, they came down to a hole in the ground, and they went down in the hole, down, down, and they still held their kite strings, and they cried, “What a jolly ride, up and down, up and down.”
Pretty soon they came to a stop and landed right in a strawberry-bed.
They were so pleased to see the strawberries, that they forgot about their kites for the first time and let go of the strings. They began to pick berries and eat them as fast as they could.
“Led them into a room full of toys”
“Led them into a room full of toys”
While they were eating away a little old woman came in and cried,
“Fi-go-fee, what do I see,Children as sure as sure can be!”
“Fi-go-fee, what do I see,Children as sure as sure can be!”
“Fi-go-fee, what do I see,Children as sure as sure can be!”
“Fi-go-fee, what do I see,
Children as sure as sure can be!”
Then Molly and Polly stopped eating and made a bow and said,
“We hope it does not annoy you to have us eat strawberries. You have so many of them, and we rode here all the way with our kites!”
Then the little old woman looked out of the window and saw the kites floating away.
She clapped her hands and cried,
“Come with me, come with me,Many curious sights you’ll see!”
“Come with me, come with me,Many curious sights you’ll see!”
“Come with me, come with me,Many curious sights you’ll see!”
“Come with me, come with me,
Many curious sights you’ll see!”
Then she took Molly and Polly by the hand and led them into a room full of toys.
The little old woman cried,
“See the toys, the many toys,Lost by careless girls and boys!”
“See the toys, the many toys,Lost by careless girls and boys!”
“See the toys, the many toys,Lost by careless girls and boys!”
“See the toys, the many toys,
Lost by careless girls and boys!”
Molly said, “May I get on the rocking-horse?” And Polly said, “May I ride in that funny little carriage?”
The little old woman said in an old squeaky voice,
“No time to play, no time to play;Call again another day!”
“No time to play, no time to play;Call again another day!”
“No time to play, no time to play;Call again another day!”
“No time to play, no time to play;
Call again another day!”
Then she showed them a room full of caps and coats and all kinds of clothing, and she said with a wave of her hand, “Careless children lost them all! Come now, help me count and sort out the clothes.”
Then Molly and Polly went to work to sort the caps. There were red caps, and blue caps, and yellow caps, and all kinds of caps. Then they went to work and sorted the neckties, and they worked all day, and still there were more caps and more neckties than you ever dreamed of.
The room they were in led into a hall and the hall, too, was full of lost things.
Suddenly Molly and Polly wanted to go home. They stopped work and said, “We want to go home right away!”
The little old woman clapped her hands and said,
“You are lost, you belong to me,Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!”
“You are lost, you belong to me,Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!”
“You are lost, you belong to me,Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!”
“You are lost, you belong to me,
Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!”
Then the little old woman went down the halland locked the door and left Molly and Polly alone.
“How shall we ever get home?” they said.
Then they heard a voice say,
“Through the tree-trunk, come with me;Only find the magic key!”
“Through the tree-trunk, come with me;Only find the magic key!”
“Through the tree-trunk, come with me;Only find the magic key!”
“Through the tree-trunk, come with me;
Only find the magic key!”
They looked around, and sure enough, right in the middle of the room was a tree-trunk! Its roots came down to the floor. In the lower part of the tree-trunk there was a door and the door was locked.
“Where shall we look for the magic key?” asked Molly and Polly. And the tree fairy said,
“The magic key will open the door;It never has been found before.”
“The magic key will open the door;It never has been found before.”
“The magic key will open the door;It never has been found before.”
“The magic key will open the door;
It never has been found before.”
Then Molly and Polly looked all over the room, you may be sure.
They looked under the piles of clothing and they looked under the furniture. Just then a canary began to sing,
“Give me, please, some food and drink;I can help you then to think!”
“Give me, please, some food and drink;I can help you then to think!”
“Give me, please, some food and drink;I can help you then to think!”
“Give me, please, some food and drink;
I can help you then to think!”
Now Molly saw a little pitcher of water on the window sill, and Polly saw a little package of birdseed on a chair; so they gave the canary some food and drink.
As they peeped into the bird-cage, they saw on the floor of the cage a tiny key! The key was tied with blue ribbon. “Oh, the key! the key!” they cried, but the Tree Fairy said,
“Softly, softly, for you see,You must gently turn the key!”
“Softly, softly, for you see,You must gently turn the key!”
“Softly, softly, for you see,You must gently turn the key!”
“Softly, softly, for you see,
You must gently turn the key!”
Then Molly and Polly went to the tree-trunk on tiptoe, and they put the key in the lock. Click! went the lock, and the door opened.
There stood the Tree Fairy all dressed in red and yellow!
The Tree Fairy was so little he could sit in Polly’s hand.
The Fairy called,
“There is room, the tree is wide,Quickly, quickly jump inside.”
“There is room, the tree is wide,Quickly, quickly jump inside.”
“There is room, the tree is wide,Quickly, quickly jump inside.”
“There is room, the tree is wide,
Quickly, quickly jump inside.”
And it was well that Molly and Polly lost no time, for just as they had gotten inside the tree the little old woman came back.
Up, up, up the tree they went. The Fairy held the key.
“I will let you out by and by, if you grant me a wish,” said the Fairy.
“What is your wish?” asked Molly and Polly, and the Fairy said, “Two white sheets, nice and neat. Then I’ll use the key and set you free!”
Molly and Polly laughed and each one of them took out a neatly folded pocket-handkerchief, and they presented them to the Fairy!
The handkerchiefs were just the right size for fairy sheets and the Fairy was delighted.
He put the key in the lock; click, click, the door opened, and out stepped the Ink-Bottle Babies in their own park at home.
They were in such a hurry to get home they forgot to say, “Thank you,” and they did not even stop to see which tree they had stepped out of. They have been looking for the tree ever since.
The Ink-Bottle Babies were so pleased to see Molly and Polly, that they hugged them nearly to death.
The Ink-Bottle Mamma and Papa said, “No more magic kites for our family.”
Then the Ink-Bottle Mamma gave them each a cup of hot chocolate and put them to bed.