CHAPTER V.NAMING THE FLAG
Uncle Mouser and Twinkle Toes went home next day, and the Three Little Kittens called “Good bye, good bye, good bye, come again soon to visit us.”
“Clip, clip, clip,” went Old Uncle Mouser’s cane as he went down the path.
He called back, “I will come again, if I may sleep in my red plush-lined basket.”
Twinkle Toes went off waving his Magic Mittens and he waltzed round and round.
Old Mother Kit-Cat put on her sun-bonnet and took her market basket and went to town.
The Three Little Kittens wanted to goout sliding on the ice, but Mother Kit-Cat had told them they must keep house while she was gone.
It was very quiet in the house with company gone.
It was very lonesome with Mother Kit-Cat away.
They missed Twinkle Toes and said, “How we do wish Twinkle Toes would come back.”
The Little Old Man of the Fire suggested,
“Three Little Kittens I think you’d betterSit right down and compose a letter,Ask him to come back, wherever he goes,Your queer little, dear little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Three Little Kittens I think you’d betterSit right down and compose a letter,Ask him to come back, wherever he goes,Your queer little, dear little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Three Little Kittens I think you’d betterSit right down and compose a letter,Ask him to come back, wherever he goes,Your queer little, dear little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Three Little Kittens I think you’d better
Sit right down and compose a letter,
Ask him to come back, wherever he goes,
Your queer little, dear little, Twinkle Toes.”
The Three Little Kittens did not know much about letter writing, but they thought they would write a letter to Twinkle Toes and drop it in the first mail that went out.
They were going to ask him to come back and visit them.
The Three Little Kittens drew their three little stools up to the table, and they got out pen, paper and ink.
Dot cried, “Oh, oh, oh, my pretty white fur.”
Tot cried, “I am drowning in ink.”
Trot cried, “Help, help.”
Now what do you suppose had happened?
They had upset the bottle of ink and it had splashed over their fur and whiskers.The Little Old Man of the Fire cried,
“Get a tub and rub-a-dub,Get one this minute and put kittens in it.”
“Get a tub and rub-a-dub,Get one this minute and put kittens in it.”
“Get a tub and rub-a-dub,Get one this minute and put kittens in it.”
“Get a tub and rub-a-dub,
Get one this minute and put kittens in it.”
The Three Little Kittens were not fond of a bath, but they got water and filled the tub and jumped in.
Such a rubbing and scrubbing you never saw.
Soon they were out and drying by the fire.
They sat down to start their letter over again when the Little Old Man of the Fire cried,
“For shame, you left a dirty tub,Go clean it now, go rub and scrub.”
“For shame, you left a dirty tub,Go clean it now, go rub and scrub.”
“For shame, you left a dirty tub,Go clean it now, go rub and scrub.”
“For shame, you left a dirty tub,
Go clean it now, go rub and scrub.”
They got cloths and tumbled into thetub, head-first and began to rub and scrub, until they had it clean.
They were so tired that Dot and Tot sat down then by the table, and began to cry until they had cried a little stream of water, but Trot said, “Will you cry a bowl full? Will you cry a tub full?”
The Little Old Man of the Fire sputtered again and said,
“’Tis pleasanter anyway, I think,To write with pencil instead of ink!”
“’Tis pleasanter anyway, I think,To write with pencil instead of ink!”
“’Tis pleasanter anyway, I think,To write with pencil instead of ink!”
“’Tis pleasanter anyway, I think,
To write with pencil instead of ink!”
At that very minute three little pencils sailed right down into the paws of the Three Little Kittens.
They did not write that letter that day.
They did not write that letter the next day.
They did not write that letter at all, for “rap a tap,” sounded on the door, and Twinkle Toes and Uncle Mouser appeared, Old Mother Kit-Cat right behind them.
They said,
“Don’t say you feel afraid,Come out and join the big parade.”
“Don’t say you feel afraid,Come out and join the big parade.”
“Don’t say you feel afraid,Come out and join the big parade.”
“Don’t say you feel afraid,
Come out and join the big parade.”
Sure enough, there was a big parade, and all the animals were marching, right foot, left foot.
The Three Little Kittens lost no time joining them, you may be sure.
Because many of the animals had flags, they cried, “Oh we wish we had a flag too.”
Twinkle Toes did not think of his Magic Mittens that minute, they were all so excited.
They marched a mile through the woods and back again, and went with a hop, and a skip, and a bound, back to their little wee house at the edge of the woods.
To their surprise they found Old Mother Kit-Cat had gotten back ahead of them, and there she sat rocking to and fro crying, “Oh dear, oh dear.”
“Get the doctor,” shouted Uncle Mouser.
Twinkle Toes said, “Get the camphor.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat rocked to and fro, crying, “Oh me, oh my.”
Dot and Tot said, “What is the matter, Ma.”
Trot said, “I believe she wanted to march beneath her own flag of red, white and blue.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat said,
“We’re too poor to buy a banner ’tis true,We have no banner of red, white and blue.”
“We’re too poor to buy a banner ’tis true,We have no banner of red, white and blue.”
“We’re too poor to buy a banner ’tis true,We have no banner of red, white and blue.”
“We’re too poor to buy a banner ’tis true,
We have no banner of red, white and blue.”
At that very minute Twinkle Toes thought of his Magic Mittens, and he wished that every one of their little travelling bags might be full of red, white, and blue bunting.
“Snip-snap,” they unclasped their little travelling bags.
Out rolled yards and yards of bunting.
The bunting was red, white and blue.
Uncle Mouser said, “Thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars.”
They begged him to tell a story aboutthe flag, but he only said again, adding a line to make a real verse,
“Thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars,Come, make this glorious flag of ours.”
“Thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars,Come, make this glorious flag of ours.”
“Thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars,Come, make this glorious flag of ours.”
“Thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars,
Come, make this glorious flag of ours.”
In less time than it takes to tell it, Old Uncle Mouser and Mother Kit-Cat, and Twinkle Toes, were measuring the bunting to make a great big flag.
The Three Little Kittens got scissors that went “snip, snip, snip.”
Now what do you suppose they were doing?
They were making a flag of red, white, and blue.
They were making a flag to wave outside the door.
The Little Old Man of the Fire was so happy he kept singing patriotic verses over and over,
“Hurrah for the flag and our country too,Hurrah for the flag red, white, and blue.”
“Hurrah for the flag and our country too,Hurrah for the flag red, white, and blue.”
“Hurrah for the flag and our country too,Hurrah for the flag red, white, and blue.”
“Hurrah for the flag and our country too,
Hurrah for the flag red, white, and blue.”
They cut out white stars and sewed them to the field of blue.
The Little Old Man of the Fire said,
“We’re true to the colors, the flag is ours,With thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars.”
“We’re true to the colors, the flag is ours,With thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars.”
“We’re true to the colors, the flag is ours,With thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars.”
“We’re true to the colors, the flag is ours,
With thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars.”
When the flag was finished the Three Little Kittens begged to take it out and Mother Kit-Cat said,
“I must say “yes,” for you’ll beg any way,To carry this flag for a year and a day.”
“I must say “yes,” for you’ll beg any way,To carry this flag for a year and a day.”
“I must say “yes,” for you’ll beg any way,To carry this flag for a year and a day.”
“I must say “yes,” for you’ll beg any way,
To carry this flag for a year and a day.”
Twinkle Toes marched ahead of the Three Little Kittens and they took turns carrying the flag.
All the animals bowed to them as they passed, and saluted the flag.
When they got home again Old Mouser told them stories about the flag as Twinkle Toes waved it to and fro.
They all sang a little song that you can sing to the tune of “Lightly Row.”
“Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it ever high above,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Flag that we all love,Bonnie red, and white and blue,To the colors we are true,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it high above.”
“Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it ever high above,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Flag that we all love,Bonnie red, and white and blue,To the colors we are true,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it high above.”
“Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it ever high above,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Flag that we all love,Bonnie red, and white and blue,To the colors we are true,Bring the flag, bring the flag,Wave it high above.”
“Bring the flag, bring the flag,
Wave it ever high above,
Bring the flag, bring the flag,
Flag that we all love,
Bonnie red, and white and blue,
To the colors we are true,
Bring the flag, bring the flag,
Wave it high above.”
When night came, the Three Little Kittens dreamed that they were sailing away in a sailboat with Uncle Mouser and Twinkle Toes, and that the sailboat had a sail like our flag red, white, and blue.
They thought that Mother Kit-Cat stood in the doorway to bid them good bye, and that Uncle Mouser said he would come again if his red plush-lined basket was waiting for him.
If you close your eyes you may join them too and sail away, away, away.
You may even hear the bell that Twinkle Toes wears “tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.”
I can hear the little bell sing,
“Who goes to the home of the Three Little Kittens?Twinkle Toes with his new Magic Mittens,Who has kind friends as everyone knows?Our dear little, queer little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Who goes to the home of the Three Little Kittens?Twinkle Toes with his new Magic Mittens,Who has kind friends as everyone knows?Our dear little, queer little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Who goes to the home of the Three Little Kittens?Twinkle Toes with his new Magic Mittens,Who has kind friends as everyone knows?Our dear little, queer little, Twinkle Toes.”
“Who goes to the home of the Three Little Kittens?
Twinkle Toes with his new Magic Mittens,
Who has kind friends as everyone knows?
Our dear little, queer little, Twinkle Toes.”