The Roly-Poly book
Date: 2022-09-29T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Children's stories

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Roly-Poly book

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The Roly-Poly book

Author: Laura Rountree Smith

Release date: September 30, 2022 [eBook #69076]
Most recently updated: October 19, 2024

Language: English

Original publication: United States: A. Flanagan Company

Credits: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROLY-POLY BOOK ***

THE ROLY-POLY BOOK

Books by
LAURA ROUNTREE
SMITH

- Bear and Bunny Book, The
- Bunny Boy and Grizzly Bear
- Bunny Bright Eyes
- Bunny Cotton-Tail Junior
- Candy-Shop Cotton-Tails, The
- Children’s Favorite Stories
- Circus Book, The
- Circus Cotton-Tails, The
- Cotton-Tail First Reader, The
- Cotton-Tail Primer, The
- Cotton-Tails in Toyland, The
- Drills and Plays for Patriotic Days
- Games and Plays
- Hawk-Eye, An Indian Story Reader
- Language Lessons from Every Land
- Little Bear
- Little Eskimo
- Merry Little Cotton-Tails, The
- Mother Goose Stories
- Primary Song Book
- Roly-Poly Book, The
- Runaway Bunny, The
- Seventeen Little Bears
- Snubby Nose and Tippy Toes
- Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail, The
- Three Little Cotton-Tails

Published by
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
CHICAGO

The
Roly-Poly Book

BY
LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH

1923
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
CHICAGO

If you will come and read with me,

Our Roly-Poly friends you’ll see.

You’ll often laugh, if you will look

Inside the Roly-Poly Book!

Copyright, 1910, 1923
By A. FLANAGAN COMPANY

Printed in the United States of America

The Roly-Poly Book

CHAPTER I

“What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.

“What’s that?” asked Papa Roly-Poly.

“What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly.

Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”

Thump, thump! bump, bump! Humpty Dumpty fell all the way down-stairs.

Mama Roly-Poly went to pick him up, and she said, “Some day you will get hurt if you are not careful.”

THUMP, THUMP! BUMP, BUMP!

Then—what do you suppose happened?

Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly shouted:

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Can not put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

Then the Roly-Poly family began to eat their breakfast.

“Oh, ow!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

“Oh, ow!” cried Teddie and Freddie.

What do you suppose was the matter this time?

All the little Roly-Polys had burned their mouths because their oatmeal was so hot.

“Never mind,” said Papa. “You must eat your breakfast or you will be late for school.”

Sure enough, the first bell for school was ringing that very minute.

Teddie looked at Freddie and Freddie looked at Teddie.

Any one could have told they were twins, they looked so much alike.

Teddie said, “How can I go to school with a sore mouth?”

Freddie said, “My mouth is sore, too.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “I have a lame back because I fell down-stairs.”

Mama Roly-Poly looked over her spectacles and said, “If you are not able to go to school, I will put you all to bed!”

Then Teddie dried his eyes on the corner of his napkin, and Freddie said, “I feel much better.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “I can go to school if the twins will draw me in the cart.”

The children got down from their seats at the table and began to get ready for school.

“Where is my red cap?” cried Teddie.

“Where is my red cap?” shouted Freddie.

Mama and Papa looked in every nook and corner, but they could not find the red caps.

Humpty Dumpty stood looking out of the window. Suddenly, he began to dance a jig. He danced so hard that he spun around like a top.

“Stop him! stop him!” cried Mama Roly-Poly. “Stop him, or he will hurt his back.”

Teddie went and whispered something in his right ear and Freddie whispered something in his left ear, and Humpty Dumpty stopped.

The twins asked, “What made you spin around that way?”

Humpty Dumpty said:

“I know something I shan’t tell,

Three little nuts in a pea-nut shell.”

“He knows where our caps are,” cried the twins. “O Ma, make him tell! O Pa, make him tell!”

Then Humpty Dumpty led the twins to the window and pointed to the caps lying under the maple tree.

It had rained the night before and the caps were wet.

The twins were in such a hurry to get to school that they put on their wet caps and ran merrily along, and Humpty Dumpty forgot all about wishing to ride in a cart and ran merrily after them.

When they reached the school all the children set up a shout.

Teddie’s face was all streaked with red, and Freddie’s face was all streaked with red.

The water from their wet caps had run down their cheeks.

The teacher sent them out to the pump to wash their faces.

Then school opened, and Humpty Dumpty began to cry.

He cried so hard that a little stream of tears ran out of each eye.

The teacher asked, “What is the matter, Humpty Dumpty?”

The little fellow was crying so hard that he could not answer.

Then Freddie raised his hand and asked, “Please, may I speak?” and Teddie raised his hand and asked, “Please, may I speak?”

The teacher nodded, and the twins said, “Perhaps Humpty Dumpty is hurt, for he fell down-stairs this morning.”

Then the teacher said that the twins might put Humpty Dumpty into a wheel-barrow and take him home.

The teacher said, “Say your tables and count numbers all the way.”

The twins put Humpty Dumpty into a wheel-barrow, and they put their wet caps by his side and started homeward.

Then they began to count: “One, two, three, four.”

“See that squirrel,” cried Teddie.

“Nine, ten, seven,” said Humpty Dumpty.

“See that robin,” said Freddie.

“Eight, four, sixteen, twelve,” counted Humpty Dumpty.

The children went on counting and talking in the funniest way.

When they got home they found that Papa and Mama had gone away.

THE TWINS SANG HIM A NONSENSE SONG

Humpty Dumpty began to cry. “I want my ma,” he said.

Teddie said, “Don’t cry and we will sing you a song.”

Freddie said, “Indeed we will.”

Mama had left a note on the table, and the note said:

I have left your dinner in the pantry. If we do not come home to-night Grandpa Grimes will stay with you.

Humpty Dumpty lay down on the sofa and the twins sang him a nonsense song, in hopes that he would soon be better.

They sang:

“Oh, beets and carrots are good to eat,
And pears and apples are nice and sweet;
But Mrs. Potato of all is most wise,
For she has such a number of eyes!”

Then they drew a picture of Mrs. Potato and soon Humpty Dumpty fell asleep.

Then the twins went to the window to see whether or not Grandpa Grimes was coming.

If Humpty Dumpty now should fall
From other places than the wall,
He might get a crack or two,
And that would never, never do.

CHAPTER II

Grandpa Grimes was nowhere to be seen, so the twins went out-doors to play. They had so much fun turning somersaults on the lawn that they forgot all about dinner, and they forgot all about Humpty Dumpty.

Very likely they would have forgotten all about supper, too, if they had not happened to look down the road.

“Hurrah!” cried Freddie. “There is Grandpa Grimes.”

“Hurrah!” cried Teddie. “But why doesn’t he come in! He is going past the gate!”

The twins ran down the road to catch Grandpa Grimes.

Grandpa Grimes was a jolly old fellow. He carried a suit-case and a big umbrella.

He never went anywhere without his umbrella.

He said, “Who can tell whether it will rain or shine?”

One of the twins grabbed his suit-case and the other twin grabbed his umbrella.

Grandpa asked, “Where is Humpty Dumpty?”

“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and Freddie, “we had forgotten all about him, and we had forgotten all about our dinner, too!”

Grandpa Grimes began to whistle a merry tune and they all went into the house.

GRANDPA GRIMES

Humpty Dumpty did not wake up when they came in.

Grandpa Grimes looked at him and said, “Strange! Extraordinary! Most extraordinary!”

Then he took a good look at Humpty Dumpty and cried, “Get the bottle of glue! Get it quickly!”

What do you suppose Grandpa Grimes saw? He saw that Humpty Dumpty had a crack in his back!

Grandpa put the glue on the poor little fellow’s back. Then Humpty Dumpty woke up and said, “I want Ma, boo-hoo!”

Grandpa Grimes said, “If you will be still I will tell you a story.”

“A story! a story!” cried the twins together. “Do tell us a story!”

Grandpa Grimes said:

“How can I talk with nothing to eat?

Cold bread and butter would be quite a treat!”

The twins took the hint and ran about getting supper ready.

They set the table and warmed up the dinner that Mama Roly-Poly had left them.

Humpty Dumpty cried, “I want supper, too.”

So Grandpa rolled the sofa into the dining-room and for fun they all sat on the sofa and ate their supper.

“How about the red caps?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

He had given the caps to the twins on their last birthday.

Then Freddie hung his head and said, “We were careless,” and Teddie said, “We let them get wet, Grandpa.”

Then Grandpa Grimes chuckled and asked, “What mischief have you been up to, Humpty Dumpty?”

Humpty Dumpty said, “Oh, I only fell down-stairs.”

Then the twins said, “Where can Pa and Ma have gone?”

Grandpa pretended he did not hear. He only said, “This is very good tea for cold tea.”

Freddie said, “I wonder if Ma went up town.”

Teddie said, “I wonder if Pa went to the farm.”

“Speak a little louder,” said Grandpa Grimes. “How can you expect an old man to hear?”

Then he winked one eye at Humpty Dumpty and he winked the other eye at the cat, for he could hear as well as any of them.

Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell us a story, please, Grandpa.”

“Who will wash dishes?” asked Grandpa.

“I will,” said all the children at once.

“Look out, Humpty Dumpty, or you will fall off the sofa,” said Grandpa Grimes.

The twins washed and wiped the dishes and then they shouted, “Now for the story! Tell us the story!”

“Who fed the cat?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

Then Freddie got a saucer, and Teddie poured milk into it, and the old cat purred and drank her milk.

The twins got two little stools and sat down at Grandpa’s feet.

“Did you lock the back door?” asked Grandpa with a twinkle in his eye. “We don’t wish to have any tramps coming in here.”

So Teddie went and locked the door and they thought that now Grandpa would surely begin.

Then Grandpa said:

“How can I tell the story right,

Without a ray of candle-light?”

Freddie lighted the lamp, and then Grandpa said:

“Now then! you are such dear, good children that I will tell you the story of Amaryllis.”

This is the fairy tale that Grandpa told:

AMARYLLIS

Amaryllis sat by the fire, playing his fiddle.

He was alone in the house.

His brothers had gone to the ball.

Amaryllis was thinking of the story of Cinderella.

“I am like Cinderella, only I am a boy,” he said. “I sit among the ashes and cinders.”

“By and by,” he said, “I will pretend I am at the ball.”

So he took up his fiddle again and played a merry tune.

A little mouse that lived in the house came out and began to dance as he played.

Amaryllis laughed when the little mouse danced.

He forgot that he had wished to go to the ball.

Amaryllis had two brothers. They were proud and cruel. They had said, “Amaryllis is so little that we will give him a girl’s name. We will make him black our boots and tend the fires and wait on us.”

While Amaryllis sat playing the fiddle a fairy came in.

“Heigho! that was a merry tune,” said the fairy. “Come, let us dance.”

So Amaryllis laid down his fiddle, and he and the fairy joined hands and danced right into the ball-room where the brothers were, and all the fine lords and ladies.

Amaryllis was afraid at first. He thought of his shabby clothes. He looked down and saw that he had on a fine velvet suit with gold buttons.

The fairy still danced with him.

Round and round and round they went.

“Mind that you don’t play the fiddle here until the third night,” the fairy said, and then she disappeared.

All the fine ladies bowed to Amaryllis and all the lords stared at him.

The lovely princess danced with Amaryllis and he was very happy indeed.

They had danced all this time without music.

Suddenly the king rose from his throne and said:

“He who takes the fiddle,
And plays a jolly air,
Shall have half my kingdom,
And the princess fair!”

Then every one of the lords wished to play the fiddle, you may be sure, and Amaryllis could hardly keep his hands still.

The proud brothers tried to play, but they could not make a sound.

Many of the lords tried to play, but the fiddle would only squeak for them. Sometimes it would fly right out of their hands.

All this time Amaryllis was longing to play the fiddle, and his arm went to and fro as though he had hold of the bow.

Some one noticed him and cried, “See! we have the fiddler here.”

Amaryllis remembered the words of the fairy just in time, and so he would not play the fiddle. He went out of the room and ran home as fast as his legs could carry him.

When the brothers got home they told great tales about the ball.

They told Amaryllis about the handsome young prince who would not play the fiddle.

The next night the king gave another ball and both the brothers were invited.

“Black my boots,” said one.

“Brush my coat,” said the other.

Amaryllis waited on them as usual.

When, at last, the brothers were gone, Amaryllis sat down by the fire and began to play as before.

In came the fairy.

“Let us dance,” she said.

Amaryllis and the fairy danced round and round as before, and danced again into the ball-room.

“Don’t touch the king’s fiddle until the third night,” whispered the fairy, and she was gone.

Everybody had a fine time at the ball that night, and after a while the king rose as before and said:

“He who takes the fiddle
And plays a jolly air,
Shall have half my kingdom
And the princess fair.”

Amaryllis could stand it no longer. He forgot that he was at a great ball. He forgot the lords and ladies. He forgot the fairy’s words, and reached out his hand for the fiddle.

He began to play, but the tune he played was not a merry one. He looked down and saw that he had on his old, shabby clothes.

All the lords and ladies cried, “Put him out! Put him out! He is a street musician.”

Amaryllis ran out of the ball-room and went sadly home.

The two brothers did not know what had happened. They had eaten so much that they had fallen asleep at the ball.

The third night the king gave another ball.

The two brothers were invited. They had lost so much sleep that they were very cross while they were getting ready.

They made Amaryllis wait on them, and they whipped him soundly because he moved slowly.

Poor Amaryllis was sleepy, too.

At last Amaryllis sat in the chimney corner as before.

He said, “It is too late for the fairy to come to-night.”

He began to play a sad tune.

Then the fairy peeped in at the window and asked, “Will you be good this time and remember what I tell you about playing the fiddle?”

Amaryllis nodded and the fairy came in.

They danced into the ball-room at exactly quarter of twelve.

“Now,” whispered the fairy, “whatever happens, when the clock strikes twelve, you must play the fiddle.”

Then the fairy opened her bag and a little mouse jumped from it and ran behind a chair.

The king rose from his throne and began to talk, and just then the little mouse ran across the floor, and the lovely princess fell in a faint.

All the noblemen wished to help the princess, and all the ladies wished to fan her.

Amaryllis wished to go to the princess, too, but just at that minute the clock struck twelve.

He remembered the fairy’s words and reached out for the king’s fiddle and began to play a very merry tune.

He played such a merry tune that the princess revived. Everybody began to waltz, and the princess danced so hard that she danced right into Amaryllis’s arms!

The little mouse was frightened and ran away.

Then the whole company made merry. The king gave Amaryllis half his kingdom. Amaryllis married the princess, and they lived happily ever after.

“Tell it again,” said Freddie.

“Tell it again,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty rolled over to the edge of the sofa. He nearly rolled off the sofa.

Grandpa Grimes said, “Humpty Dumpty, I believe you roll off something every day!”

Humpty Dumpty said, “That was a fine story.”

Grandpa said, “I will tell it to you again some day.”

Freddie said,“I should like to act out the story.”

Teddie said, “I should like to act it out, too.”

Then Grandpa Grimes laughed.

He pulled out his watch and said, “Bed-time for honest folks.”

Then all the children went merrily to bed.

The Roly-Polys can not spell,
They do not know their lessons well,
They sit on stools and wear dunce-caps, too,
As any child might have to do.

CHAPTER III

Next morning who do you suppose was the first one to wake up?

Humpty Dumpty woke up and rolled out of bed.

“Bump!” he fell to the floor and rolled over and over. Humpty Dumpty was so fat he was always rolling about.

“Help! help!” called the twins. “Humpty Dumpty has fallen out of bed.”

“Hush!” said Humpty Dumpty, “don’t waken Grandpa. I did not hurt myself at all this time.”

Then the twins looked at the great clock in the hall. Its hands pointed at quarter of six, so they all went back to bed.

“I am not a bit sleepy,” said Freddie.

“Neither am I,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty said, “Let us tell one another fairy stories.”

Freddie began, “Once there was a princess. She had golden hair.”

“No, she had red hair,” said Humpty Dumpty.

“No, no,” said the twins, “we wish her to have golden hair.”

Then Humpty Dumpty said, “Red hair, red hair,” and he laughed so hard that he fell out of bed again.

The funny little Roly-Polys could not go on with the story because they could not agree about the color of the princess’s hair.

They all got up and tip-toed down-stairs.

They did not wish to waken Grandpa.

The twins started to get breakfast, and such a time as they had! First the fire would not burn, then the water would not boil.

They burned their fingers and they burned the toast.

Grandpa Grimes came down at last, and they all sat down to breakfast.

Grandpa Grimes said, “The coffee is so good I will give you all new red caps and you may go with me to the store to buy them.”

“Hurrah!” shouted the twins together.

Humpty Dumpty said, “I want a blue cap. I haven’t any twin.”

Then they all laughed until they cried.

“I wonder where Ma and Pa have gone,” said the twins.

“How many of you will be late for school?” asked Grandpa Grimes.

Then they all ate their breakfast and started on a run for school.

Grandpa Grimes stood in the doorway and waved a red pocket-handkerchief at them as they ran along.

Humpty Dumpty began to cry as soon as school opened. He cried and he screamed and he howled.

The teacher said, “Humpty Dumpty, I can not send you home every day!”

Humpty Dumpty would not tell what was the matter and he only cried, “I want my grandpa, boo-hoo!”

At last the teacher said that Humpty Dumpty must go home, but that he must go alone this time.

Then Humpty Dumpty made a bow and went home.

It was time for the classes to stand up and spell. Teddie and Freddie stood up with the rest.

“Spell ‘Africa,’” said the teacher.

Teddie missed and went to the foot of the class. Then Freddie missed and went to the foot of the class.

So, alas! it went on all day long. Teddie and Freddie could not spell and they could neither read nor write.

What do you suppose was the matter?

Freddie was wondering where his mama was and Teddie was wondering where his papa was, and so they could not study.

At the close of school those two funny little twins had to sit on stools and wear dunce-caps.

At five o’clock they went home. They walked slowly. They were thinking about the dunce-caps.

When they got home they wore such long faces that Grandpa Grimes said, “Come right into the parlor!”

There sat Humpty Dumpty on the floor. The twins sat down beside him, and Grandpa said, “A penny for your thoughts,” and he held up three bright new pennies.

Each of the Roly-Polys told what he was thinking about and Grandpa gave each of them a penny.

Then they began to beg for a story.

“Dear Grandpa,” they said, “tell a story. Please, Grandpa, just one story.”

Humpty Dumpty said, “Tell a bran-new story, please.”

Grandpa Grimes dearly loved to tell stories, so he said, “I will tell you about the Tree Fairies.”

When he finished the story, the little Roly-Polys were fast asleep, so Grandpa laughed and said to himself, “I can tell that same story again, some day!”

This is the story Grandpa Grimes told:

THE TREE FAIRIES

The Pied Piper played a tune, and the children of Hamelin followed him.

They followed him until he came to a mountain.

A door in the side of the mountain opened, and the piper and the children went inside.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” said the piper. “We must get inside the mountain before the door closes.”

The children all followed him.

The door in the mountain-side closed, and no one ever saw them again.

The children now looked about them.

They stood in the most wonderful green room. It looked like Fairy Land.

The chairs and tables were made of green moss, and green hammocks were swinging everywhere.

The children ran about, making a great noise.

Then the funniest dwarf appeared. He had a beard that reached clear down to the floor.

He stamped his foot, and shouted to the Pied Piper, “What mischief have you been in now?”

The Pied Piper said, “I freed the town of Hamelin of rats, and the mayor promised to pay me a thousand guilders. He would not pay the money, when the time came, so I took his children, and all the other children of the village.”

The dwarf stamped his foot again, and shouted, “What do you intend to do with all these children?”

The Pied Piper did not answer. He only played a merry tune.

“They shall not stay here!” shouted the dwarf. Then he went into the next room, where his brothers were at work.

The dwarfs in this room were starting young plants, and they tended the roots of trees to make them grow.

The dwarf stamped his foot and shouted to his brothers:

“The Pied Piper has brought in a whole villageful of children. I will not keep them all. I can never feed so many!”

One funny dwarf answered him. He was a queer fellow, as broad as he was long.

This dwarf laid his finger on the side of his nose and asked:

“Why not change the children into fairies and let them live in the trunks of the trees?”

“The very thing!” shouted the first dwarf.

So he opened a little door at the root of a maple tree, and called one of the children to him.

Then the other dwarfs said a magic verse, and whisk! the child was changed into a fairy and went up into the trunk of the tree!

So the dwarfs kept on, until all the children were changed into fairies and went to live in the trunks of trees.

Soon after this the Pied Piper and the dwarfs went away across the sea.

They rode on the Magic Carpet, and they forgot all about the children they had changed into fairies and shut up in the trees.

One day Prince Charming went into the woods.

He was looking for the Beautiful Princess.

He was tired, for he had walked a long way through the woods. He lay down under the tree, to rest.

He was almost asleep when a maple seed fell on his head, and he said:

“The seed makes me think of the hair of the Beautiful Princess.”

Then he heard a gentle tapping.

The tapping seemed to come from the tree under which he lay. He got up and called in a loud voice:

“Princess, princess, come to me,

If princess, now, you really be!”

Then, he heard a gentle sigh, but he thought it was the wind stirring the new green leaves.

Then the prince fell asleep, and dreamed a dream.

He dreamed that a door opened in the tree under which he lay and out walked the beautiful princess.

He thought that the princess said, “All the fairies are shut up in trees. You must let them out. Then I can come to you.”

The prince awoke. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and ran to a tree near by, and said:

“Pretty Fairy Thistle-Down,
Spread your airy wings,
Open, now, your secret door,
While Prince Charming sings.”

Click! click! click! A little door opened in the tree, and out came Fairy Thistle-Down. She floated away on the wings of the breeze.

Then Prince Charming went to another tree and said:

“Pretty Fairy Silver-Sheen,
In your dainty dress of green,
Open wide your door to me,
I have come to set you free.”

Click! click! click! The door opened and out came Fairy Silver-Sheen.

The prince went to another tree and said:

“Good-Luck Fairy, light and airy,
Open your tree-door wide,
This is such a pleasant world,
You must not stay inside.”

Click! click! click! Open came the door, and out came the Good-Luck Fairy. She bowed, and smiled at the prince.

So the prince went on, all day, calling the fairies to come out of the trees.

When evening came he stood beside an old oak tree, but he called in vain, for the Oak-Tree Fairy would not come out.

Then he went back to the tree in which the Beautiful Princess was, and he said, “Can you come out now?”

The Beautiful Princess said, “I can not come until you let out the Oak-Tree Fairy!”

The next day it rained, and the next, and the next.

It is very sober business walking in the woods in wet weather.

The poor prince got the feathers in his cap all wet, but he must make the Oak-Tree Fairy come out.

He pleaded and pleaded with her to leave her tree.

At last the Oak-Tree Fairy sang this little song:

“O prince, I promise to leave my tree

When yellow slippers you bring to me.”

The prince was delighted. He went into town, and bought the prettiest yellow satin slippers he could find. He took them to the fairy in the oak tree, but she only repeated the same verse.

The prince then puzzled his brains to find out what kind of slippers the fairy wished.

He was almost in despair, when, one day, he was walking through the woods and saw a queer little yellow flower growing.

He went nearer the flower. Then he clapped his hands and shouted for joy, because the flower was in the shape of a yellow slipper.

He searched a long time until he found another flower just like it. Then he ran as fast as his feet would carry him, and came to the oak tree and said:

“Now I am happy. Without any doubt,

Kind Oak-Tree Fairy, you will come out.”

Click! click! click! went the door in the tree and the Oak-Tree Fairy came out.

She put on the slippers and went tripping away through the woods.

Then the prince went back to the tree in which the Beautiful Princess lived. He tapped on the tree and called out:

“Beautiful Princess, come to me,

Open now the door in your tree.”

Click! click! click! Open came the door in the tree and out came the Beautiful Princess.

She had eyes like violets and hair like silky corn tassels, and she said:

“Prince Charming has set the fairies free,

And all will our willing servants be.”

The prince and the princess were married. All the fairies came to the wedding, and the Good-Luck Fairy was the jolliest one of all.

The Oak-Tree Fairy said, “You see, I had to have yellow slippers to wear to the wedding!”

The prince ordered the Flower-Fairy to plant some more seeds of the wonderful flower that bore the yellow slippers, so that the Oak-Tree Fairy might have a new pair of slippers every year.

If you search in the deep woods you may see the slippers growing there. They are called Lady Slippers now.

The prince and the princess lived happily ever after, and the fairies went all over the world.

After Grandpa had finished the story Freddie woke up.

He rolled over against Teddie.

Then Teddie woke up, of course, and they began to talk.

Then Humpty Dumpty woke up.

“When did you fall asleep?” asked Grandpa.

The Roly-Polys all began to talk at once.

Grandpa Grimes shook his head. “One at a time, please,” he said.

Then Freddie and Teddie and Humpty Dumpty all held up their hands.

Grandpa Grimes nodded to Teddie, who said:

“I fell asleep when you were telling about a dwarf.”

Then Freddie said, “I fell asleep when you were telling about the Oak-Tree Fairy.”

Humpty Dumpty did not say a thing.

Grandpa Grimes is old and gray,

But he still delights in play.

He will entertain you all,

So gather round him, large and small.

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 dishes and 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, and Humpty 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 to bed. 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 PRINCE

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 have printed: ‘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 go no 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 got up 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 Marygold to 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 near by 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 funny little 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 she cried, “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 morning and 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.

CHAPTER V

Early next morning Grandpa Grimes went home.

He went home before the children had come down to breakfast.

Mama Roly-Poly called out, “Do think about it. Go with us, Grandpa.”

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Please go with us, Grandpa.”

Grandpa shook his umbrella very fiercely and said:

“The country is good enough for me, plenty good enough for me.”

Freddie and Teddie called down-stairs, “Who is talking outside the window?”

Humpty Dumpty called, “May I go somewhere? May I go with you?”

Mama Roly-Poly called, “Dress quickly, children. We have great news.”

The little Roly-Polys were dressed in a twinkling and they were so excited at the breakfast table that they could not eat a mouthful.

Then Papa Roly-Poly said, “Have you ever heard of a circus?”

“We have,” shouted the Roly-Polys.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “Would you like to belong to a circus?”

“We would,” shouted the Roly-Polys. “When may we go?”

Then Papa Roly-Poly told them all about it.

He said he had seen an advertisement in a paper for a fat family to go with a circus.

“And you know we are fat, my dears!” he said proudly.

He and Mama had gone to see the circus manager.

The manager had said, “You are truly the fattest people I have ever seen. You may travel with us for a year.”

“Hurrah!” cried the little Roly-Polys, waving their spoons in the air.

“Now,” said Papa Roly-Poly, “the first thing to do is to sell the house.”

So they wrote a big sign, “For Sale,” and put it on the front door.

“I wonder who will buy our house?” said Freddie.

“I wonder how soon we can go,” said Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty was so happy that he turned three somersaults.

“Don’t fall again,” said Mama Roly-Poly. “If you hurt yourself it will spoil everything.”

Then Humpty Dumpty climbed up on the sofa and was as still as a mouse.

“What does Grandpa think about our going?” asked Freddie.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Grandpa does not think we shall like the circus.”

The Roly-Polys, you must know,
Like to sit up in a row,
So I’ve often heard them call,
“Oh, Humpty Dumpty, do not fall!”

CHAPTER VI

Early next morning Humpty Dumpty woke up and rolled out of bed, as usual.

He looked out of the window and cried, “Wake up, everybody, wake up! Here comes Grandpa Grimes.”

Then Teddie and Freddie woke up and looked out of the window and cried, “O Ma, O Pa, do wake up! Here comes Grandpa Grimes.”

Then Mama and Papa Roly-Poly woke up and looked out of their window, and there, sure enough, was Grandpa, coming along the road.

He carried three packages in his arms.

“I wonder why he comes so early,” said Mama.

“I wonder what he has in his arms,” said Humpty Dumpty.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “Hurry up, Papa, and let Grandpa Grimes in.”

The little Roly-Polys began to dress as fast as they could, but everything seemed to go wrong.

Freddie said, “I can not find my coat.”

Teddie said, “I can not button my shoes.”

Humpty Dumpty rolled over and over.

He said, “I can not dress in a hurry.”

Grandpa Grimes came in, and set on the lowest step of the staircase.

He called out, “Get dressed, you little rascals! Get dressed, every one of you!”

Then Freddie cried, “I can’t find my collar,” and Teddie cried, “I can’t find my neck-tie,” and Humpty Dumpty cried, “Do, please, help me, somebody!”

All the time Grandpa Grimes sat chuckling softly to himself.

At last, the Roly-Poly family were all dressed and down-stairs.

Then the children shouted, “What have you in your bundles, Grandpa? what have you in your bundles? Please let us see!”

“Not a peep into the bundles,” said Grandpa, “until every one has finished his oatmeal.”

All the little Roly-Polys sat down and ate their oatmeal.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “No one has come to buy our house.”

Then the most surprising thing happened.

Grandpa Grimes got up and bowed three times and looked over his spectacles and said, “I know some one who will take your house.”

“Who is it? who is it?” cried all the Roly-Polys, and—will you believe it?—it was fully ten minutes before Grandpa could hear himself speak.

Then Grandpa said, “I will take your house. I will move in to-morrow morning.”

“Who will keep house for you?” asked Papa.

Grandpa Grimes made another bow and said, “I have asked Little Red Riding Hood to keep house for me.”

The little Roly-Polys were all so excited that they did not know what to do.

They cried out, “O Ma, may we stay at home? O Pa, please let us stay at home! We wish to see Little Red Riding Hood!”

“How very strange!” said Papa Roly-Poly.

“How very extraordinary!” said Mama Roly-Poly.

The lion has a pleasant smile
(You see him on this page),
But, though I like to hear him roar,
I’m glad he’s in his cage.

CHAPTER VII

At last everything was ready and the whole family set out for the station.

Grandpa Grimes went to see them off.

The little Roly-Polys carried the bags Grandpa had brought them.

At the station Humpty Dumpty began to cry. He cried so hard that Mama said:

“Bless my buttons! what ails the child? Have you hurt your back again, my son?”

Humpty Dumpty cried, “Boo-hoo! I am going to be homesick! I know I am!”

“WHAT AILS THE CHILD!”

“Give him a lemon-drop,” said Papa.

Mama put her hand into her pocket and brought out a lemon-drop.

When Humpty Dumpty saw it he felt better, and soon he had it in his mouth. Then of course he could not cry.

Humpty Dumpty had stopped crying just in time, for the train was coming.

Puff, puff! came the engine, and all the passengers got on board the train.

The little Roly-Polys waved their handkerchiefs, and Grandpa stood on the platform and made a bow.

The little Roly-Polys soon cuddled down in their seats and went to sleep. They slept a long time.

“Wake up! wake up!” cried Papa Roly-Poly at last. “We are almost at circus town.”

Then the little Roly-Polys all woke up.

“Where are the elephants?” cried Freddie.

“Where are the ponies?” cried Teddie.

“Where are the camels?” cried Humpty Dumpty.

Then Papa Roly-Poly said, “Hush! be still! You will see the animals soon enough.”

Sure enough, the train stopped at a station just then, and the Roly-Poly family got out.

A man dressed in red and gold came up to them and asked, “Will you ride in the band-wagon?”

They all got into the band-wagon and the band began to play, and they rode on and on until they came to the circus tent.

“Hurrah!” shouted Freddie.

“Hurrah!” shouted Teddie.

“Three cheers!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

The band played “Yankee Doodle,” and the band-wagon drew up in splendid style in front of the tent.

The circus manager came, and helped the Roly-Poly family out of the wagon, and took them all off for supper.

They were hungry, you may be sure, after their long ride.

“Can you do any tricks?” asked the manager.

Mama Roly-Poly smiled, but Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.

Then the most surprising thing happened.

The twins had carried a big basket all the way. Out of the basket jumped the monkey. He had crept into the basket while no one was looking, and had been fast asleep all the time.

The Roly-Polys began to roll and the monkey jumped over them. Then they stood on their heads and turned somersaults.

The manager cried, “That will do. I will make a side show of you. Your Ma and Pa may sell tickets.”

“I wish to see the big parade,” said Freddie.

“I wish to see the big parade,” said Teddie.

Then Humpty Dumpty began to cry and fuss and say he would not roll at all unless he could see the elephants and the ponies.

The manager said, “Very well; if you are brave, you may ride in the wagon with the tamest lion.”

Mama Roly-Poly shuddered and Papa Roly-Poly said they were very comfortable in the tent, but the little Roly-Polys said they were not afraid of even a fierce lion.

So it was arranged that they should ride with the lion in the big parade.

The time came for the parade. The little Roly-Polys were a bit scared when they thought of the lion.

A man opened the door of a big wagon and helped the little Roly-Polys inside.

There sat the lion at the end of the cage. He had his back turned toward them.

“What if he should eat us up!” whispered Freddie.

“Oh! Let’s tickle his ears,” said Teddie.

Then Humpty Dumpty began to roll, and he rolled right up on the lion’s back, and the lion never moved a bit.

He did not even roar.

What do you suppose was the matter with this lion?

He was stuffed with sawdust!

Then the Roly-Polys shouted with delight and they spied a little glass window and they all climbed up on the lion’s back and looked out.

They saw the big procession, and they were a part of it. They could see beautifully as the animals turned the corners.

First there were seven large elephants, and each elephant had a rider dressed in red velvet.

Then came seven big camels, and each one had a rider dressed in blue velvet.

Then came fourteen little ponies, stamping their feet.

Then came the big band-wagon playing “Yankee Doodle” and the caliope playing “Annie Rooney.”

Then came cages with more animals in them.

Then came the clowns and another band that played “Marching through Georgia.” The parade was very splendid indeed.

The procession went up one street and down another, and there were crowds and crowds of people.

Every one said, “There must be a fierce lion in that covered wagon.”

They meant the wagon in which the Roly-Polys rode.

What do you suppose those comical little Roly-Polys did?

They all roared like very fierce lions, and they made a terrible noise.

The manager was so pleased when he heard about this that he gave each of them a penny.

Then the procession marched back to the tent, for it was time for the performance to begin.

The little Roly-Polys were very much excited. They could hardly wait for the time to come for them to do their tricks.

“Wont it be fun!” said Teddie.

“Wont it be sport!” said Freddie.

“It will be if I don’t break my back,” said Humpty Dumpty.

O Roly-Polys, big and small,

Do you never tire at all?

To your home I’d like to go,

And sit up with you in a row.

CHAPTER VIII

The Roly-Polys got out of the wagon and barely had time to see the sign that hung by their tent, for a man hurried them inside.

The sign on the tent said:

MOST REMARKABLE SHOW

The Roly-Polys we have found.

They’re always turning round and round.

If these wonders you would see,

Just step inside and look with me.

On the table or the ground

They’re always turning round and round!

Mama and Papa Roly-Poly stood at the tent door and took tickets.

The little Roly-Polys got up on a high table and pretty soon the people began to come in.

When the tent was full the manager came and whispered something to each of the Roly-Polys.

Did they roll? Well, I should think they did!

Humpty Dumpty stood on his head so much that he nearly fell off the table.

The people in the tent clapped their hands and shouted, and that made the people outside wish to come in.

When one show was over another show began. The little Roly-Polys had to roll until their backs ached.

Just before the last performance was to be given Teddie began to cry and Freddie began to cry, and Humpty Dumpty began to cry, and they all declared that they could roll no more.

Then Papa and Mama Roly-Poly said they would come inside and that the twins could sell tickets. But the children cried more and more.

The manager came in and asked: “What can you do besides roll?”

Then Freddie and Teddie dried their eyes on their little pocket-handkerchiefs and said together:

“We can all tell fairy tales.”

So it was decided that the Roly-Poly family should sit in a row and tell fairy tales.

The tent filled with people, and the Roly-Poly family acted out the stories as they told them. The people liked the stories.

They went away and told other people about the Roly-Polys. More and more people came and the manager was very much pleased.

The Roly-Poly family stayed with the circus for a month, and they went from place to place.

One night Humpty Dumpty crept out of bed and he whispered something to Freddie, and Freddie whispered something to Teddie, and the twins whispered something to Mama and Papa, and then the whole Roly-Poly family were awake.

What do you suppose the whole family were whispering about?

They were all tired of the circus, and wished to go home.

“How can we find the way home?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.

“How can we get out of the tent?” asked Freddie.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow me, and don’t make any noise!”

If the Roly-Polys had not been able to roll they surely would have made a noise and waked some one up.

They rolled softly out of bed and softly under the wall of the tent and soon they were out in the moonlight.

“Which way shall we go?” they whispered.

Papa Roly-Poly said, “Follow the leader, and keep a stiff upper lip. Remember whatever happens to keep a stiff upper lip.”

“That means that we must not cry,” said Freddie.

“That means that we must be brave,” said Teddie.

They rolled along the railroad track for a long way, for Papa said it must lead somewhere!

They went on all night and by morning they saw, across a meadow, a big red barn. Near it was a hay-stack.

“We will go and rest beside the hay-stack,” said Papa.

So, they went to the hay-stack and crept under the hay. Soon they were all fast asleep.

When morning came Papa and Mama Roly-Poly said they would see if they could find some breakfast. So they left the little Roly-Polys under the hay and went away.

About this time a very exciting thing happened.

Two little girls came and stood by the hay-stack. They said, “The old hen has stolen her nest. We will try to find it.”

Then Teddie and Freddie crept farther under the hay, but Humpty Dumpty rolled out!

The little girls clapped their hands and said, “Here is an egg, but what a queer egg it is!”

The first little girl caught Humpty Dumpty up in her apron and the second little girl looked under the hay at the foot of the hay-stack.

Teddie and Freddie were very much frightened. They went under the hay-stack so far that no one could find them.

Then the little girls ran to the house, carrying Humpty Dumpty with them.

“See, Grandma,” they shouted, “the old hen has stolen her nest beside the hay-stack, and here is one of the eggs.”

“The idea of any one calling me an egg!” thought Humpty Dumpty.

He was angry. He was frightened, and kept saying to himself, “Keep a stiff upper lip.”

Grandma could not see very well, but she said, “I do not believe it is a good egg. I think it is cracked.”

Then the little girls said, “May we take it up to the play-house? May we, Grandma?”

Grandma nodded and the little girls carried Humpty Dumpty off to their play-house.

The little girls left Humpty Dumpty on top of their play-house and forgot all about him. Soon they ran off to play.

Humpty Dumpty began to look about. “I am glad Grandma did not think I was a good egg,” he said to himself. “They might have put me into a cake.”

“Tick, tock,” said the clock in the play-room.

“Oh, ho! so you can talk, too,” said Humpty Dumpty. He climbed up to the chimney of the play-house to see the clock better.

Then the clock said in a sweet voice:

“How do you do? I’m lonely, too.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty begged the clock to tell him how to get out of the house, and back to the hay-stack.

The clock said:

“Well, well, I will tell.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty yawned and said, “Then hurry up, please. I am in a hurry.”

The clock said:

“Don’t tease, if you please.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Then Humpty Dumpty was still for a long time and the clock begged for a story.

“THEN HURRY UP, PLEASE”

Humpty Dumpty told the clock all about the circus parade.

Then the clock said:

“Go by the stair, but take care.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Humpty Dumpty made his very prettiest bow, and slipped off the play-house and rolled out at the door and down-stairs.

He rolled right down upon a soft white rug.

The door was open and he rolled out of doors and rested under a maple tree.

The clock hung near the play-room window. It called out:

“Turn heels over head. The barn is red.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!”

Then Humpty Dumpty turned a somersault and there, sure enough, was the red barn and the hay-stack.

It did not take him long to get there, you may be sure.

Teddie and Freddie and Mama and Papa all ran to meet him.

They cried, “Hurrah for Humpty Dumpty! Hurrah for the stiff upper lip!”

Mama and Papa had not found anything to eat.

“We shall have to wait till we get home,” said Papa.

“Before we start for home we must rest a little,” said Mama.

So they all went back to the hay-stack.

If in the woods you chance to meet

A gentleman both round and neat

And if you say, “How do you do?”

Old Grandpa Grimes will smile at you!

CHAPTER IX

“Hurry, hurry!” said Papa Roly-Poly, after they had rested for a while. “We must get home.”

“We are so hungry,” said Freddie.

“We are so thirsty,” said Teddie.

“Keep a stiff upper lip,” said Humpty Dumpty.

Then they all rolled out of the hay and found a path that led to the woods.

“Oh, oh!” cried Teddie and Freddie.

“Oh, see the raspberries!” cried Humpty Dumpty.

Sure enough, there were bushes in the woods full of raspberries.

All the Roly-Poly family had a fine feast.

They had walked on a little way when they saw some one coming down the path.

It was an old gentleman.

“Hurrah!” cried Teddie, waving his cap.

“Hurrah!” cried Freddie, waving his pocket-handkerchief.

“Hurrah!” cried Humpty Dumpty, dancing a jig.

All the Roly-Polys cried, “Hurrah for Grandpa Grimes!”

There, sure enough, was Grandpa coming down the path toward them.

When Grandpa Grimes heard the noise, he dropped his suit-case and he dropped his umbrella and cried:

“Can I believe my eyes, or is this a new fairy story?”

Then Mama Roly-Poly shook his hand and Papa Roly-Poly kissed him and all the little Roly-Polys said:

“We did not know we were near home. We thought we were lost in the woods.”

Then Grandpa Grimes sat down on a stone and he laughed until he cried.

At last Grandpa Grimes said, “We are lost in the woods! I have been traveling for two weeks to find you!”

Then everybody began to talk at the same time and ask questions. Grandpa said he had been so lonely that he was going to beg the Roly-Polys to come back.

Papa Roly-Poly began to gather up branches while they were talking.

What do you suppose he was going to do?

He was going to make a wigwam so that they could rest in the woods at night.

All the Roly-Polys helped and they went into the woods and got more berries before evening.

They had a fine supper and went to bed.

Next morning, early, Mama Roly-Poly said, “How shall we get home?”

Grandpa Grimes shook his head.

Papa Roly-Poly shook his head.

All the little Roly-Polys shook their heads.

Just then some one came tripping down the path, singing:

Who goes singing on her way?

Little Red Riding Hood.

Who has a heart so light and gay?

Little Red Riding Hood.

“Who is that singing?” asked Freddie.

“Who is that singing?” asked Teddie.

Humpty Dumpty said, “I believe it is Red Riding Hood.”

They ran a little way down the path.

“I see a red hood,” said Freddie.

“I see a red cape,” said Teddie.

“I see a basket,” cried Humpty Dumpty. “Oh, oh, oh! It surely must be Red Riding Hood!”

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD TUCKED ALL THE ROLY-POLYS INTO HER BASKET

Red Riding Hood came in sight, and her pretty song was interrupted by a shout, for all the Roly-Polys begged to be taken home.

Red Riding Hood set down her basket. She said:

“Guess what I have in the basket. Each of you may have one guess.”

Papa Roly-Poly said, “You have a pat of butter.”

Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Mama Roly-Poly said, “You have some cake.”

Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Freddie said, “You have some ginger-bread.”

Teddie said, “You have some ginger-snaps.”

Still Red Riding Hood shook her head.

Humpty Dumpty rolled over and said, “I guess cookies!”

Humpty Dumpty was right.

Red Riding Hood had cookies in her basket.

She gave the Roly-Polys the cookies and my! how they did enjoy them!

What do you suppose happened next?

Little Red Riding Hood tucked all the Roly-Polys into her basket and took them safely home.

Now when you close this little book,
Just open it again and look,
To see if Humpty Dumpty fell
From out the basket. (I can’t tell.)

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROLY-POLY BOOK ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- The Roly-Poly Book

- CHAPTER I

- CHAPTER II

- AMARYLLIS

- CHAPTER III

- THE TREE FAIRIES

- CHAPTER IV

- THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE

- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE