The tale of Curly-Tail

Little Curly-Tail called out one morning,

Curly-Tail curled his little tail up tighter and tighter, as he ran down stairs three steps at a time, and he set the table and got breakfast, before Daddy Do-Little had a chance to answer him.

Curly-Tail kept humming over and over, “A Happy New Year, A Happy New Year.”

cried out Daddy Do-Little, suddenly.

Sure enough, there was a “rap, tap, tapping,” at the door, but when they got to the door, no one was there.

said Daddy Do-Little.

Just then, they heard a “rap, tap, tapping,” on the window pane.

They ran quickly of course to the window but could see no one.

They sat down to breakfast and Daddy Do-Little said, “More sugar, please.”

A voice spoke up, “More sugar, please.”

Curly-Tail said,

He looked about in-doors and out-doors and still he could see no one.

Now Daddy Do-Little was a famous old cook, and he felt like cooking that morning, but he called,

At that, Curly-Tail got out his little red cap and cape and market basket, and said, “I will go to the grocers and get the sugar.”

“Get the sugar,” repeated a familiar voice, and Daddy Do-Little said,

They searched one hour and sixteen minutes but could not find the Parrot.

Little Curly-Tail went out of the house, “click,” went the gate and he started down the road.

Daddy Do-Little came to the door waving his red pocket handkerchief frantically, and shouted,

Sure enough, Curly-Tail did have a cold, and so he came back good naturedly, and got the handkerchief and started again to the grocers after the sugar.

This time he did not even get as far as the garden gate when Daddy Do-Little rapped on the window, crying,

Curly-Tail laughed and came back with a hop and a skip and a bound.

Will you believe it? It took Daddy Do-Little three quarters of an hour to find his rusty-hinged old pocket book, and when he found it, it only had twenty-five cents in it.

Then they looked in the old cracker jar and found sixteen hundred pennies!

“Pennies will do, pennies will do,” called a merry voice, but they could see no one.

Curly-Tail started again.

By this time it was snowing and blowing.

“Click,” went the gate, he thought he was off in good earnest this time, but Daddy Do-Little cried again,

Then a very surprising thing happened.

A great shout was heard and the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs came trooping down the road.

Daddy Do-Little was thoroughly and entirely cross at this unlooked for interruption, and he shouted,

Curly-Tail danced up to him and whispered, “Snowmen, let the Darling Dogs stay outside and make Snowmen.”

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs came on with a whoop and a bound, and Daddy Do-Little shouted,

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs went to work with a will, and Curly-Tail started off saying, “I will really, truly get the sugar this time.”

Just as he was nearly out of sight of the house, he heard a great shout, and the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs ran after him and brought him back.

Daddy Do-Little said,

It took them all forty-seven minutes to decide what kind of sugar they wanted for their ginger snaps, and what kind of sugar to have on the frosting.

All this time, the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs jumped up and down and said, “Oh Daddy Do-Little are you really going to make nice, moist ginger snaps? And can we all stay to lunch?”

By and by Curly-Tail slipped off, and this time he went on safely to the grocery store.

He got brown sugar to put in the ginger snaps and red sugar to put on for frosting.

He went back home with a hop, and a skip, and a bound, and helped the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs make Snowmen, while Daddy Do-Little made the nice, moist ginger snaps.

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs were so cold they begged to come in and warm their paws, so by and by they all shook off the snow and crept quietly into the parlor and sat down in a semi-circle about the parlor stove, and warmed their paws.

“A-kit-chew,” sneezed the First Little Darling Dog.

“A-kit-chew,” sneezed the second.

Just as Daddy Do-Little came to the door to scold, the Parrot came out from his hiding place under the sofa and said,

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs crowded around and said, “It must be a magic cage, see it move.”

Curly-Tail said, “Where did you come from, Sir. I have looked for you over hill and dale.”

“Poor old Polly,” said Daddy Do-Little.

This put the Parrot in a rage at once and he shouted,

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs took out their fourteen little pocket handkerchiefs and laughed until they cried, waving their handkerchiefs in the air.

The sun had come out so bright and warm the Snowmen began to melt.

The Parrot cried,

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs got fourteen little pails of water, and carried out water to pour on their Snowmen.

Curly-Tail let the parrot out of his cage, and Daddy Do-Little finished his moist ginger snaps.

The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs went happily homeward each with a moist ginger snap, with red sugar upon it.

Late at night the Parrot called,

The Snowmen were singing in the moonlight,

“Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah,” cried Curly-Tail, “at last we know the Parrot’s name,” they looked about, but the Parrot was nowhere to be seen!