Aunt Katy Didd wheeled Johnny's little sister Teeny in the Cricket baby buggy and helped Mamma Cricket lay the rugs and wash the stone-work, for you see the Cricket winter home was in the chimney of a big old-fashioned house and the walls were very dusty, and everything was topsy-turvy.
But Mamma Cricket and Aunt Katy Didd soon had everything in tip-top order, and the winter home was just as clean and neat as the summer home out under the rose bush had been.
There the Cricket family lived happily and every thing was just as cozy as any little bug would care to have; on cold nights the people who owned the great big old fashioned house always made a fire in the fireplace, so the walls of the Cricket's winter home were nice and warm, and little Teeny Cricket could play on the floor in her bare feet without fear of catching cold and getting the Cricket croup.
There was one crack in the walls of the Crickets' winter home which opened right into the fireplace, so the light from the fire always lit up the Crickets' living room. Papa Cricket could read the Bugville News while Johnny Cricket fiddled all the latest popular Bug Songs and Mamma Cricket rocked and sang to little Teeny Cricket.
One night, though, the people who owned the great big old fashioned house did not have a fire in the fireplace, and little Teeny Cricket was bundled up in warm covers and rocked to sleep, and all the Cricket family went to bed in the dark.
Johnny Cricket had just dozed into dreamland when he was awakened by something pounding ... ever so loudly ... and he slipped out of bed and into his two little red topped boots and felt his way to the crack in the living room wall.
Johnny heard loud voices and merry peals of laughter, so he crawled through the crack and looked out into the fireplace.
There in front of the fireplace he saw four pink feet and two laughing faces way above, while just a couple of Cricket-hops from Johnny's nose was a great big man. Johnny could not see what the man was pounding, but he made an awful loud noise.
Finally the pounding ceased and the man leaned over and kissed the owners of the pink feet. Then there were a few more squeals of laughter, and the four pink feet pitter-patted across the floor and Johnny could see the owners hop into a snow-white bed.
Then Johnny saw the man walk to the lamp and turn the light down low, and leave the great big room.
Johnny Cricket jumped out of the crack into the fireplace and ran out into the great big room so that he might see what the man had pounded. The light from the lamp was too dim for him to make out the objects hanging from the mantel above the fireplace. All he could see were four long black things, so Johnny Cricket climbed up the bricks at the side of the fireplace until he came to the mantel shelf, then he ran along the shelf and looked over. The black things were stockings.
Johnny began to wish that he had stopped to put on his stockings, for he was in his bare feet. He had removed his little red topped boots when he decided to climb up the side of the fireplace and now his feet were cold.
So Johnny started to climb over the mantel shelf and down the side of the fireplace when there came a puff of wind down the chimney which made the stockings swing away out into the room, and snowflakes fluttered clear across the room.
There was a tiny tinkle from a bell and, just as Johnny hopped behind the clock, he saw a boot stick out of the fireplace.
Then Johnny Cricket's little bug heart went pitty-pat, and sounded as if it would run a race with the ticking of the clock.
From his hiding place, Johnny Cricket heard one or two chuckles, and something rattle. Johnny crept along the edge of the clock and holding the two feelers over his back looked from his hiding place....
At first all he could see were two hands filling the stockings with rattly things, but when the hands went down below the mantel for more rattly things, Johnny Cricket saw a big round smiling face all fringed with snow-white whiskers.
Johnny drew back into the shadow of the clock, and stayed there until the rattling had ceased and all had grown quiet, then he slipped from behind the clock and climbed down the side of the fireplace as fast as he could. Johnny Cricket was too cold to stop and put on his little red boots, but scrambled through the crack in the fireplace and hopped into bed. In the morning Mamma Cricket had a hard time getting Johnny Cricket out of bed. He yawned and stretched, put on one stocking, rubbed his eyes, yawned, put on another stocking and yawned again. Johnny was still very sleepy and could hardly keep his eyes open as he reached for his little red-topped boots.
Johnny's toe struck something hard, he yawned, rubbed his eyes and looked into the boot. Yes, there was something in Johnny Cricket's boot! He picked up the other boot; it, too, had something in it!
It was candy! With a loud cry for such a little Cricket, Johnny rushed to the kitchen and showed Mamma, then he told her of his adventure of the night before.
Mamma Cricket called Papa and they both had a laugh when Johnny told how startled he had been at the old man with the white whiskers who filled the stockings in front of the fireplace. "Why, Johnny!" said Mamma and Papa Cricket. "Don't you know? That was Santa Claus. We have watched him every Christmas in the last four years fill the stockings, and he saw your little red topped boots and filled them with candy, too. If you will crawl through the crack into the fireplace you will see the children of the people who own this big house playing with all the presents that Santa Claus left them!"
And, sure enough, it was so!
THE TWIN SISTERS
Everybody in the little village called them the twin houses because they were built exactly alike. But the two little cottages looked different even if they were built alike, for one was covered with climbing vines and beautiful scarlet roses while the other had no vines or flowers about it at all.
Everybody called the two cottages the twin houses for another reason: the owners were twins. One of the twins was Matilda and the other Katrinka and they were as much alike on the outside as their two cottages were alike; but as their two cottages differed, so did the two twins differ.
Matilda could not be told from Katrinka should you just see them walking down the street, but the minute either of them spoke you would know which was Matilda and which was Katrinka. Matilda, who lived in the bare cottage, was sour and disagreeable, while Katrinka was happy and cheery.
So the people in the little village called Matilda "Matilda Grouch" and they called Katrinka "Katrinka Sunshine". All the children of the little village loved Katrinka, for she always had a cooky or a dainty in her apron pocket to give them, or she would pat them on their curly heads and smile cheerily at them through her glasses. And all the children avoided Matilda, for, sometimes mistaking her for Katrinka and running close to greet her, they would have their noses tweeked for their trouble.
Matilda's life was lonely and cold; no one went to see her. She was always unhappy.
Katrinka's house always echoed with the laughter of children; everyone went to see her. She was always joyful and cheery.
One night while Matilda sat at her dark window looking across at Katrinka's house, she saw a crowd of people tip-toeing up to the stoop with baskets under their arms and flowers in their hands and when all had crowded upon the porch they stamped their feet and made a great noise.
Matilda was very angry, but Katrinka ran laughing to the door and greeted all with her kindliest smile. It was a surprise party for Katrinka, for it was her birthday.
Matilda watched the party from her dark window and the longer she watched, the more angry she grew, for the longer the party lasted, the louder grew the happy laughter.
Finally when all the guests had gone, Matilda saw Katrinka gather up half of the presents and put them in a basket.
Then Katrinka stole softly up to Matilda's stoop and stamped her feet. Matilda sat scowling by the dark window a long time before she finally went to the door, for she was very peevish.
"This is a fine time to come stamping upon a person's stoop!" she scolded, as Katrinka walked into the living room.
"Oh, sister," Katrinka cried, as she tried to kiss Matilda. "This is our birthday and I have brought you half of the presents which were given me! See?" and she piled the presents high upon the table.
"I do not wish them!" said Matilda, frowning at her sister. But Katrinka could see that Matilda did wish them.
"The presents were not for me, Katrinka!" she said.
"Oh yes they are!" Katrinka replied. "They were given to me and I give them to you! I have saved one half for myself! But you should have been to the party!" said Katrinka, "We had such a happy time!"
"I do not enjoy being with people!" Matilda scolded, "I wish to be left to myself!"
"Yes, but Matilda," her sister said, "you do not know the happiness in being kind and friendly to others!"
"Pooh!" sniffed Matilda.
"I just wish you could take my place and know the happiness that is in my heart tonight," Katrinka smiled.
"I just wish you could take my place and know the unhappiness that is in my heart tonight!" said Matilda, "You would see that a lot of children screeching about the house with all their presents could not bring me happiness!"
Katrinka thought a moment, "I have it, Matilda! We will change places! You must live in my house and pretend that you are me, and I will live in your house and pretend that I am you! And you must smile and be friendly just as I would do."
After a great deal of coaxing, Matilda finally agreed that she would change places with Katrinka and try to smile when anyone came to see her.
"But only for three days!" she said.
So Matilda went over to Katrinka's cottage and went to bed and Katrinka stayed in Matilda's cottage, but she did not go to bed.
Instead she went all over the house and tidied everything up and placed pretty white curtains at the windows. In the morning neighbors came to Katrinka's house, and Matilda, taking Katrinka's place met them with a smile, and soon in spite of herself she was laughing and enjoying herself.
And when they left, Matilda felt that she enjoyed having them there.
But what was the callers' surprise when they passed Matilda's cottage to see someone planting flowers around the stoop. They stopped in wonderment and, as Katrinka looked up at them with a cheery "Good Morning!" and a happy smile they could scarce believe their eyes and ears, for they thought it was Matilda.
And these callers told other neighbors and they called at Katrinka's house and visited with Matilda and Matilda was so pleased she laughed as cheerily as Katrinka could laugh. And as the neighbors left they saw Katrinka in Matilda's front yard planting flowers and stopped in open mouthed wonder to gaze at her, for they thought she was Matilda.
And when Katrinka smiled at them and said her cheery "Good morning" they could scarcely believe their eyes and ears.
The neighbors all put their heads together, and that evening they filled their baskets with goodies and presents and, with large bouquets of flowers, they tiptoed up to Matilda's front stoop and stamped their feet.
Now Katrinka had called Matilda over to her own house to see the changes she had made and Matilda was beginning to see what she had missed all along. And as they were talking, there came a noise at the front stoop.
"Shall I go to the door, Matilda?" asked Katrinka.
"No, I will go, Katrinka!" Matilda replied, her face alight with happiness. So Matilda welcomed her guests as cheerily as Katrinka had done the evening before and the laughter lasted until 'way in the night.
And when the last guest had left, Matilda took Katrinka in her arms and said, "I will not need to change places with you again, Katrinka, for I have found that there is far more pleasure in being happy than in being unhappy!" "Of course there is, Matilda!" Katrinka replied. "You see, in order to be happy ourselves we must reflect happiness to others, and the more cheer we give to others the more joy we receive ourselves, so we must continue to change from one house to another every other day so that no one will know which of us is Matilda and which is Katrinka and we will share our happiness with each other."
So Matilda's house was soon surrounded with beautiful flowers and her house echoed with the fun and laughter of happy children.
And the two sisters who looked alike now acted alike and could not be told apart, and they changed about so often people never knew whether they were visiting Katrinka or whether they were visiting Matilda, for one was as cheery as the other and was as happy in the love of all the people in the little village.
And, as they could not be told apart, everyone called Matilda or Katrinka the Cheery Twins whenever they spoke of either.
LITTLE THUMBKIN'S GOOD DEED
Thumbkins lived in a tiny, cozy little house right down beneath a mushroom. The tiny, little house was made of cobwebs which Thumbkins had gathered from the bushes and weeds. These he had woven together with thistle-down, making the nicest little nest imaginable.
One day Thumbkins was passing through the meadow and it began to rain. "Dear me! I shall get soaking wet!" Thumbkins cried as he hurried along.
A mamma meadow-lark, sitting upon her nest, saw Thumbkins running and called to him: "Come here, little man, and get beneath my wing and I will keep you warm and dry!"
So Thumbkins crawled beneath Mamma Meadow-Lark's wings and, snuggling down close to the bottom of the meadow-lark's nest, he found three tiny little baby meadow-larks. It was too dark for Thumbkins to see them, but he felt that the baby Meadow-Larks were as warm as toast.
Thumbkins kept very quiet, for the baby meadow-larks were sleepy little fellows, and before he knew it Thumbkins was sound asleep himself, with an arm around one of the baby birds.
Thumbkins did not know how long he had been asleep, but when he awakened the rain had ceased. Thumbkins knew it had stopped raining for he could no longer hear the rain drops pattering upon Mamma Meadow-Lark's back. So now he climbed out of the nest and looked about.
The ground about the Meadow-Lark's nest was covered with tiny puddles, and Mamma Meadow-Lark was soaking wet. She looked very uncomfortable. Her feathers stuck out in all directions and a drop of water fell from her head and rolled down her beak.
Thumbkins thought at first Mamma Meadow-Lark was crying, and he said: "Are you cold, Mamma Meadow-Lark?"
"Yes, indeed!" Mamma Meadow-Lark replied as she shook her ruffled feathers, sending the water flying in all directions.
"But, you see," she continued, "if I did not cover my baby Meadow-Lark chicks they would get very, very cold, for they have little bald heads with not a single feather upon them to protect them! So, while I get wet, it does not matter so much, for I know I have kept my little Meadow-Lark chicks dry and warm and cozy and that, of course, makes me very happy! And I had the pleasure of keeping you warm and dry, too!" Mamma Meadow-Lark added.
"Perhaps Mamma Meadow-Lark is very happy inside!" Thumbkins thought to himself as he stood and looked at her. "But she does not look very happy with such wet feathers."
"I thank you ever and ever so much, Mamma Meadow-Lark!" Thumbkins said.
"You are indeed very welcome," Mamma Meadow-Lark replied, "and any time it rains you can come back to my nest and crawl beneath my wing and keep warm and dry. For you are tiny and do not take up much room!"
Thumbkins thanked Mamma Meadow-Lark again, and told her of his nice warm cozy little nest beneath the mushroom. "It is always nice and dry there," he said, "for the rain runs right off the mushroom and does not touch my little cobweb home!"
That night as he lay in his little thistle-down bed, Thumbkins heard it thundering. "I'm very glad that I haven't a home built right out upon the bare ground like the meadow-larks!" he said. And as the thunder grew louder, Thumbkins turned over and tried to go to sleep.
Presently the raindrops began to patter on the round top of the mushroom and "drip-dropped" to the ground without getting Thumbkins' little house the least bit wet. Usually when it rained, the patter of the raindrops upon his mushroom roof lulled Thumbkins right to sleep, but tonight Thumbkins lay wide awake and thought and thought.
"I can't go to sleep!" Thumbkins said, so he hopped out of his warm little bed and lit his tiny lantern. Then, though it was raining ever so hard, he pulled his little hat well down on his head and ran out into the storm.
Yes! There was Mamma Meadow-Lark sitting upon her nest with her head tucked under her wing, sound asleep. But when he held his tiny lantern close, Thumbkins could see that she shivered as the cold raindrops splashed upon her back.
So Thumbkins ran to the woods where he knew the mushrooms grew, and breaking off the largest one he could find he carried it to where Mamma Meadow-Lark sat sleeping upon her nest, and planted it so the raindrops rolled off the round roof and did not touch her at all.
Then, shivering himself, for he was soaking wet, he ran home as fast as he could, took off his dripping clothes, put on his little pajamas, and climbed into his warm little cozy cobweb bed.
Now of course Thumbkins was happy because he had helped another, and when a person is happy there is nothing to worry about, and when there is nothing to worry about, of course there is nothing to keep one awake.
So Thumbkins fell fast asleep and dreamed the most pleasant dreams.
And they were such happy dreams Thumbkins slept until almost half-past eight the next morning.
THE WISHBONE
The stove lifter lay upon his iron side and looked across the top of the shelf which stood above the stove. "Who is he?" he asked of the box of matches lying near him.
The box of matches looked at the strange new object standing upon two thin white legs and leaning against the wall near the coffee pot.
"I do not know!" the match box answered.
Then they asked a number of other objects lying about if they knew who the newcomer was, but none of them had ever seen anything like him before.
When the new two-legged object with the bald head heard everyone whispering he felt they were talking about him, and he stepped out where all might see him, and walked up and down the shelf at the back of the stove.
The stove lifter, the match box and all the other objects watched him with interest as he strutted back and forth.
At last the new object stood still and with his head thrown back he said: "I am a wish-bone, but as none of you know what a wishbone is, I shall tell you! A wishbone is an object of great importance in this world. Some of us come from the breasts of chickens and some from the breasts of turkeys. When we are placed above a doorsill in a house, we bring good luck!"
"Don't the people in the house here wish good luck?" asked the match box.
"What a silly question!" replied the wishbone, "Anyone could easily see you do not know much!"
"Then why didn't they place you above the door?" asked the stove lifter.
"Because I have greater qualities than bringing good luck!" the wishbone answered. "The children placed me here to dry, for they have heard that I make wishes come true! And if you keep your eyes and ears open you will see just what a great object a wishbone really is!"
All the other objects upon the shelf on the back of the stove held their breaths to think such an important object deigned to talk to them.
Then the children came romping into the kitchen. "Here they come!" cried the wishbone. "Now watch me make their wishes come true!"
And all the other objects scarcely breathed while they watched the children as they took the wishbone from the shelf. They could see how proud he looked as the children each took one of the wishbone's legs between their fingers.
"I wish that this kitchen were just filled with candy and cake, then we could eat all we wish to!" one of the children said. "And I wish for a million golden pennies piled high upon the kitchen table!" the other child cried.
"Now watch!" the wishbone winked to the objects upon the shelf behind the stove.
The two children pulled upon the wishbone's legs. "Ouch!" he cried. There was a loud snap, and the wishbone broke in two.
"I get my Wish!" cried the child with the longest part of the broken wishbone, "The room will be filled with candy!"
"Watch the room fill with candy!" cried all the objects upon the shelf. "How wonderful it must be to be a wishbone!"
But the room did not fill with candy.
"That's another time the wish did not come true!" cried one child.
"They never come true!" cried the other child as the broken wishbone was tossed in the coal scuttle. "Wishbones are just ordinary bones and do not make wishes come true!" And the children ran outside to romp and play.
"How much better it is to be a useful object!" said the stove lifter.
"Yes indeed!" replied the match box. "And the more useful one is, usually, the less he brags about himself!"
TIM TIM TAMYTAM
"This looks like an excellent place, Tim Tim!" Mrs. Tamytam said, as she threw her little poke bonnet back from her head. "An excellent place!" Tim Tim Tamytam scrambled up the root of the tree and peered into the dark hole in the tree trunk. "HMMM!" he said by way of reply, "Did you bring the candle with you, Tum Tum?"
"Oh, I forgot it, Tim Tim!" his little wife replied, "I will run right back and get it!"
"No, Tum Tum! I will run home and get it! You sit down upon this soft little toad-stool and wait until I return. It will take me but a moment!"
So Mrs. Tamytam sat down to wait upon the little soft toad-stool, with her bonnet hanging over her shoulders, and she sang and knitted.
Now, Mrs. Tamytam was a delightful little elfish lady, and she and Tim Tim were very, very happy together, even though they were only six inches tall.
So, while she sang and knitted, Tim Tim ran down the tiny path made by the woodfolk, past the bubbling spring and around the bend in the bank of the tumbling brooklet until he came to his home, which was another hole in the trunk of an old tree.
As Tim Tim climbed into his doorway, he stood and looked with dismay at what had been his cozy living room, for now it was filled with sawdust and small pieces of sticks and twigs, for the whole top of the old tree had broken off and now the rain would splash right down on everything the first time there was a shower.
Tim Tim Tamytam searched about in the sawdust and twigs until he found a tiny bit of bayberry candle, and, putting this in his pocket, he turned to go out of the hole. But just then Tom Tom Teenyweeny walked in the door.
"Hello, Tom Tom Teenyweeny!" Tim Tim cried cheerily.
"Hello, Tim Tim Tamytam!" Tom Tom cried at the same time, "What ever has happened to your lovely home, Tim Tim?"
"Well, I will tell you, Tom Tom," Tim Tim answered, "You know Mrs. Fuzzytail lived with her grandchildren squirrels up in the top of the tree, and they had a very cozy den up there, too, but Mrs. Fuzzytail wished to make some small improvements, such as a new peep-hole window and a little cupboard for Chinkapins and hickory nuts. So last summer she sent for the carpenter ants and arranged with them to do the carpenter work. And do you know, Tom Tom," and here Tim Tim Tamytam put his hand upon Tom Tom's shoulder and got very confidential, "those mischievous carpenter ants, when they once got started, they sawed and chipped, until they had cut almost all of the shell of the tree away, and when it blew so very hard last night the top of the tree broke right in two, where the ants had made their tunnels, and down it fell with a great crash and made this great pile of sawdust and sticks!" "Dear me!" said Tom Tom. "Was anyone hurt when the top of the tree fell?"
"Fortunately no one was injured!" Tim Tim replied, "But our home was ruined and so was Mrs. Fuzzytail's and Wally Woodpecker's, the bachelor and we have been out looking for another home. If you will come with me, Tom Tom, I will show it to you, for now I have a candle and can look about inside!"
So Tim Tim and Tom Tom ran back along the tiny wood-folk path until they came to the place where Tim Tim had left Mrs. Tamytam.
There hung her knitting bag upon the stem of a flower, but Tum Tum Tamytam was no where about.
"OOOHooooo!" Tim Tim called, putting his hands to his mouth and forming a sort of horn. Charley Chipmunk stopped whittling upon a hickory nut and peeped over the limb to see who called.
Mrs. Tamytam did not answer, so Tom Tom took a leaf and rolled it into a horn. Across the small end he strung a fibre from a piece of moss and with this elfin horn he blew the Tim Tim Tamytam wood-call: "Tahoo Tahoo Tahoo-hoo-hoo!"
"That's the Tim Tim Tamytam call!" all the wood creatures, said, as they listened.
"Tahoo Tahoo Tahoo-hoo-hoo!"
And as Tim Tim and Tom Tom listened, they heard away off the answering Tamytam wood-call: "Toowoo-toowoo-tooawoooooo!" sounding like the plaintive notes of the turtle dove but was easily distinguished by any of the woodfolk.
Tim Tim and Tom Tom followed the sound of the answering call until they came to a beautiful woodland glade. There, where the sweet ferns and fragrant flowers grew in profusion and a carpet of velvety moss spread upon the ground, they saw Mrs. Tom Tom Teenyweeny and Mrs. Tim Tim Tamytam with tiny brooms sweeping out a little hole in a great blue-gray beech tree.
"I came upon Mrs. Tamytam sitting upon the toad stool," said Mrs. Teenyweeny, "and as I had just heard of this lovely home for rent, she came with me to see it and we decided to take it!"
"And will Tom Tom and Mrs. Teenyweeny live with us, Tum Tum?" Tim Tim asked.
"They have the little nook right across the hall!" Mrs. Tamytam replied. Upon hearing this Tom Tom and Tim Tim caught hold of hands and danced about, kicking up their heels with pleasure.
"Just wait until you see inside, Tom Tom and Tim Tim!" Mrs. Teenyweeny and Mrs. Tamytam cried, and then they led the way inside the trunk of the great blue-gray beech tree.
And after they had inspected Mrs. Tamytam's home, Mrs. Teenyweeny's Tom Tom and Tim Tim were as delighted with the new homes as their tiny wives had been, so Tim Tim and Tom Tom ran to their old homes and brought all their furniture and placed it about the large living rooms.
When all was finished and the tiny rugs had been placed just right, they heard a stamping of tiny feet in the hallway.
And as they ran to the door a merry, laughing crowd of tiny creatures like themselves, each carrying an acorn basket, trooped into the living room.
"It's a surprise party!" they all shouted and then one, Tee Tee Tubbytee, a great speaker, said: "We watched you moving in, and decided to have a nice, fine, lovely party for you, so I called all the neighbors together and here we are!"
Some of the tiny creatures had brought their tiny violins and some their elfin flutes, and as all were in a merry mood they played rollicking airs such as "The Wind Tinkles the Fairy Bells" and "Mother Hulda Picks Her Geese."
Tim Tim and Tom Tom danced and sang elfin songs. And then the merry tiny creatures ate the goodies brought in the acorn baskets.
After the dinner all the tiny creatures went outside, and upon the soft, mossy carpet they held a wood-folk dance while the silvery moon peeped down through the leaves of the woodland glade and bathed the scene in fairy light.
When the first rooster crowed, far away in a distant farm yard chicken coop, the tiny creatures, after planning another surprise party the next moonlit night, bade each other good night and went to their tree trunk homes.
So upon soft summer evenings, should you pass near the woodland glade, you may hear the "Tahoo Tahoo Tahoo-hoo-hoo!" and the answering notes of plaintive melody, "Toowoo-toowoo Tooawoooooo!" For the tiny creatures have adopted the Tamytam call as the call to the evening parties. And you must step quietly and approach softly so as not to disturb the tiny creatures, when you wish to see one of their moonlight surprise parties.
A CHANGE OF COATS
Two mischievous little gnomes were walking along the beach one day and as they came to a pile of rocks they heard voices. One of the little gnomes put his finger to his lips for silence and peeped cautiously around the largest stone. There he saw a crab and a lobster sitting upon a bunch of sea-weed in the sunshine.
The other little gnome tip-toed up and joined his brother and when they had listened a while they winked at each other and quietly walked back to the beach. After whispering together a moment one of the little gnomes ran up the beach and over a sand dune.
The other gnome again crept up behind the large stone and listened to the lobster and the crab.
"Yes," said the crab, "I agree with you, Mr. Lobster! While our coats are just a plain green they are still quite beautiful!"
"Ah! You speak the truth, Friend Crab," the lobster replied, "Green is a lovely color and I am very glad that we are not purple!"
"I am very glad that we are green, too." the crab said, "Just suppose we were colored blue! I know I should not be able to stand it! Would you, Friend Lobster?'
"No indeed!" the lobster cried, "Nor would I care to change to any other color, would you, Friend Crab!" "It is nice to be satisfied! Isn't it, Friend Lobster?"
"Yes! Especially when we are as satisfied as we are!" The lobster answered.
The little gnome listening behind the large stone winked at himself and smiled. He knew the lobster and the crab would give anything if they were of a different color, for he could tell by their conversation they were dissatisfied with their green coats.
Soon the other little gnome appeared over the sand dunes carrying a large kettle, and when he got to a spot on the beach where the crab and the lobster could see and hear him he began shouting in a sing-song manner: "Old clothes changed to new! Old clothes changed to new! Old clothes changed to new!"
"Pooh!" said the lobster. "Who is foolish enough to wish to change their natural coats?"
"Hmm!" said the crab as he sidled towards the beach. "Let's go over and talk with him, anyway, and ask him if anyone ever changes the color of their clothes. Not that I wish to change my lovely green coat, you understand, but—"
"It would be interesting to hear about it, anyway!" the lobster replied, as he crawled after the crab.
The little gnome with the large kettle sat upon the beach and pretended he did not see the crab and lobster, but continued crying: "Old coats changed to new! Green ones changed to red! Old coat changed to new! Old coats changed to new!"
When the crab and the lobster came up quite near the little gnome pulled a number of pieces of colored cloth from his pocket and placed them upon the sand.
"How pretty!" said the crab.
"Very lovely!" said the lobster.
"Do you wish your coats changed in color?" asked the little gnome.
"Ah, no, thank you!" the two hypocrites said. "We were just looking around a bit!"
"Well, I am glad to have your company," said the little gnome as he took a piece of scarlet cloth and laid it over the lobster's back.
"How do you like that?" he asked of the crab.
"It looks fine!" said the crab. "Try it on me!"
The little gnome placed the scarlet piece of cloth over the crab's back.
"How do you like it?" he asked the lobster.
"Did I look that well in that color?" asked the lobster by way of reply.
"I think both of you will look far better if you let me change you to scarlet. It's in far better taste, too!" the little gnome added, pinching himself to keep from laughing.
"Shall we change?" the crab asked the lobster and the lobster asked the crab.
"You will find the color a great deal warmer," said the little gnome. "Green is decidedly cold, you know!"
So the little gnome gathered an armful of drift-wood and built a fire. Then he dipped the kettle into the sea and placed the crab and the lobster in the kettle of water and put the lid on.
"Be sure and make us a brilliant scarlet!" cried the lobster and the crab, as the little gnome placed the kettle over the fire. An hour later the two little gnomes lay upon their backs upon the sand and yawned contentedly, their little round stomachs almost bursting their belts. Near them was the upturned kettle, and scattered all about them on the sand were lovely pieces of scarlet lobster and crab shells.
"It's funny," one little gnome said drowsily, "how one sometimes will become dissatisfied with the way he was made by Mother Nature and try to improve upon her work! It usually leads to misfortune."