CHAPTER II.EARNING MONEY
Twinkle Toes woke up early next morning, and skipped about with his travelling bag, singing,
“With travelling bag away he goes,So sings your little Twinkle Toes.”
“With travelling bag away he goes,So sings your little Twinkle Toes.”
“With travelling bag away he goes,So sings your little Twinkle Toes.”
“With travelling bag away he goes,
So sings your little Twinkle Toes.”
“Let me go too, let me go too,” cried the Three Little Kittens in one breath.
They all had their little travelling bags with them and they shouted,
“To Squirrel Town away we go,Three Little Kittens, ha, ha, ho, ho.”
“To Squirrel Town away we go,Three Little Kittens, ha, ha, ho, ho.”
“To Squirrel Town away we go,Three Little Kittens, ha, ha, ho, ho.”
“To Squirrel Town away we go,
Three Little Kittens, ha, ha, ho, ho.”
As it happened, they did not go to Squirrel Town that day, nor the next, nor the next, for Old Mother Kit-Cat said, “Dot, Tot, Trot, you must earn some money, so I can knit a pair of mittens for Twinkle Toes.”
TWINKLE TOES WAS DREAMING ABOUT A PAIR OF MAGIC MITTENS
TWINKLE TOES WAS DREAMING ABOUT A PAIR OF MAGIC MITTENS
Old Mother Kit-Cat’s rocking chair went to and fro, to and fro, and all this time her needles went “click, click click.”
Dot and Tot said,
“Oh dear, oh dear, pray, what shall we do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn money for you?”
“Oh dear, oh dear, pray, what shall we do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn money for you?”
“Oh dear, oh dear, pray, what shall we do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn money for you?”
“Oh dear, oh dear, pray, what shall we do,
Mother Kit-Cat, to earn money for you?”
Brave Little Trot said,
“I’ll take my snow shovel, that’s what I’ll do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn pennies for you.”
“I’ll take my snow shovel, that’s what I’ll do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn pennies for you.”
“I’ll take my snow shovel, that’s what I’ll do,Mother Kit-Cat, to earn pennies for you.”
“I’ll take my snow shovel, that’s what I’ll do,
Mother Kit-Cat, to earn pennies for you.”
“Hurrah, hurrah,” cried Dot and Tot, “we will all take our snow shovels and go to the woods and shovel paths for the animals!”
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round, and suddenly without warning, down came a little snow shovel, and he put it over his shoulder and marched merrily along.
I don’t know whether it was a magic snow shovel or not, but Twinkle Toes worked three times as fast clearing paths as the Three Little Kittens.
“My furry tail, how cold it is!” said Dot.
“My long whiskers, how the wind whistles,” said Tot.
Brave little Trot said,
“If we will sing once in a while,It will shorten the longest mile.”
“If we will sing once in a while,It will shorten the longest mile.”
“If we will sing once in a while,It will shorten the longest mile.”
“If we will sing once in a while,
It will shorten the longest mile.”
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round while the Three Little Kittens shouted at the top of their lungs in a sing-song way,
“We are Three Little KittensWho once lost our mittens,We are Three Little KittensWho frolic and play,We are Three Little KittensWho once found our mittens,We are Three Little Kittens,So cunning and gay.”
“We are Three Little KittensWho once lost our mittens,We are Three Little KittensWho frolic and play,We are Three Little KittensWho once found our mittens,We are Three Little Kittens,So cunning and gay.”
“We are Three Little KittensWho once lost our mittens,We are Three Little KittensWho frolic and play,We are Three Little KittensWho once found our mittens,We are Three Little Kittens,So cunning and gay.”
“We are Three Little Kittens
Who once lost our mittens,
We are Three Little Kittens
Who frolic and play,
We are Three Little Kittens
Who once found our mittens,
We are Three Little Kittens,
So cunning and gay.”
At this very minute, an astonishing thing happened!
TWINKLE TOES WORKED THREE TIMES AS FAST CLEARING PATHS
TWINKLE TOES WORKED THREE TIMES AS FAST CLEARING PATHS
A great deep growly voice cried,
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,
I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
They were by old Curly-Bear’s den.
They were not a bit afraid.
They all went to work with a will and shoveled a good path to the old Bear’s den.
Then Curly-Bear reached out his paw and said,
“When I heard Three Little Kittens sing,I thought it was almost time for spring.”
“When I heard Three Little Kittens sing,I thought it was almost time for spring.”
“When I heard Three Little Kittens sing,I thought it was almost time for spring.”
“When I heard Three Little Kittens sing,
I thought it was almost time for spring.”
He handed Trot six pennies and went back into his den for another nap.
“I wish we could sleep all winter,” said Dot. Tot said, “I do miss my nice warm mittens, why do I always forget to put them on?”
“Overshoes too, overshoes too,” laughed the wind as he whistled by.
They had all done enough shovelling of snow that day, but next day they went to the Ground Hog’s hole and he cried sleepily,
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,
I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
They began to shovel with right good will and all the while Old Shadow, the Ground Hog was scolding about sunshine and shadow.
He said he could never tell whether or not he would cast his shadow until he came out of his hole.
By and by he peeped out and gave Trot the pennies, then he went back into his hole for another nap.
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round, and the Three Little Kittens went on until they heard a voice cry:—
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
“Come shovel me out, you dear little Kittens,
I’ll give you pennies to buy wool for mittens.”
They went to the Beaver’s house built by the pond and worked away, and will you believe it, the Beaver said all the time, “Work like a Beaver, work like aBeaver. Some day we may tell you how we build our homes, but don’t come too near, for we are very shy.”
The Beaver tossed six pennies out of his window and called “Good bye” as the Three Little Kittens trudged merrily down the road.
“My shovel gets heavier every minute,” said Dot.
“I cannot walk another step, I am most frozen,” said Tot.
Brave Little Trot said, “We will keep on a few steps more and maybe we will meet some of our friends, or cousins, or uncles, or aunts.”
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round.
Just then, was heard the “Jingle, jingle,jingle,” of sleighbells. Some one was coming in a sleigh.
The Three Little Kittens stood in the road waving their snow shovels, and they blocked the path.
The sleigh came nearer, and nearer, every minute.
When Twinkle Toes saw who was in the sleigh he set up a shout, “It is Old Uncle Mouser, stop him, stop him.”
Uncle Mouser was pleased to see his old friends you may be sure and he said,
“Creep under my fur robe, as still as a mouse,Then home we will ride to your own little house.”
“Creep under my fur robe, as still as a mouse,Then home we will ride to your own little house.”
“Creep under my fur robe, as still as a mouse,Then home we will ride to your own little house.”
“Creep under my fur robe, as still as a mouse,
Then home we will ride to your own little house.”
No sooner said than done, they allscrambled under the warm fur robe and rode away, away, away, to the home of the Three Little Kittens.
When they arrived Old Mother Kit-Cat stood in the doorway looking for them.
She was delighted to see Uncle Mouser again and he said he would stay, if he could sleep in his red plush-lined basket.
Such a shaking of snow as there was from fur and whiskers, and Trot gave Old Mother Kit-Cat the pennies they had earned.
When they were all ready to go to sleep Dot said, “We forgot to ask Curly-Bear if he had ever seen our mittens.”
Tot said, “We forgot to ask Old Shadow if he had seen our mittens, that time they were lost so long.”
Trot said, “Perhaps Billy Beaver could have told us something about them.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat said,
“Hush, be still, ’tis time to sleep,Three Little Kittens, quiet keep.”
“Hush, be still, ’tis time to sleep,Three Little Kittens, quiet keep.”
“Hush, be still, ’tis time to sleep,Three Little Kittens, quiet keep.”
“Hush, be still, ’tis time to sleep,
Three Little Kittens, quiet keep.”
Twinkle Toes and Old Mouser were already asleep.
They lay side by side in the red plush-lined basket.
Old Mother Kit-Cat had already started a pair of mittens for Twinkle Toes, but she needed yarn to finish them.
She said, “I will send the Three Little Kittens for yarn to-morrow.”
She was not at all sleepy, so she thought she would finish one of the mittens she had started.
She took up her needles, and to her surprise, they went to and fro, to and fro, in her paws and in less than a twinkling of an eye, one mitten was finished.
“By my furry tail,” said Mother Kit-Cat, that must be a magic mitten after all. “Perhaps this is one of the magic mittens Twinkle Toes has been talking about.”
Then, to her surprise the finished mitten began to sing,
“When you do good deeds for others,Fathers, sisters, cousins, mothers,Even helpful things for kittens,You may wear some magic mittens.”
“When you do good deeds for others,Fathers, sisters, cousins, mothers,Even helpful things for kittens,You may wear some magic mittens.”
“When you do good deeds for others,Fathers, sisters, cousins, mothers,Even helpful things for kittens,You may wear some magic mittens.”
“When you do good deeds for others,
Fathers, sisters, cousins, mothers,
Even helpful things for kittens,
You may wear some magic mittens.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat was not sure whether she was asleep or dreaming, for all the rest of the family had gone to dreamland.