TABLE MANNERS
One day Daddy Do-Little called out,
There was no answer sure enough.
The old clock struck twelve, and one, and still Curly-Tail did not come home.
Daddy Do-Little got out his new yellow and green walking stick, and started out to look for Curly-Tail.
Early that morning Curly-Tail had gone with a hop, and a skip, and a bound into Farmer Brown’s garden to get an apple to roast for dinner.
“Click,” went a spring, and for the first time in his life Curly-Tail was caught in a trap!
He said, “If I could only uncurl my tail, if I could only uncurl my tail I would feel happier.”
His tail was caught in the trap.
He was wondering what he would do when he heard the “patter, patter, patter,” of many little feet.
Then a most delightful thing happened!
The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs were coming into Farmer Brown’s garden to get ripe, red, rosy apples to roast for dinner.
They came with a hop, and a skip and a bound, and suddenly stopped, for they saw poor Curly-Tail caught in the trap.
It took them one hour and fourteen minutes to find out how to open the trap, but at last the spring gave with a “click, click, click” and Curly-Tail was free once more.
They all were so glad to set Curly-Tail free that they danced round and round in a circle, and they all forgot to get the ripe, red, rosy apples for dinner.
They Danced Round and Round in a Circle
The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs invited Curly-Tail to come to their home for dinner, which he gladly did.
They all sat down at the table and the Darling Dogs made a great noise eating their food.
Curly-Tail said, “If you will come to my little tent in the woods for supper, I will teach you some table manners.”
Then he curled his funny little tail up tighter and tighter, and ran away to his own little tent in the woods.
At exactly six o’clock the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs appeared at his tent.
They cried, “Oh,” and “Ah” and “How very surprising.”
There was a table in the tent with fifteen little chairs around it.
On the table were plates, and knives, and forks, and spoons.
There was a cup and saucer for each one.
They all sat down at the table and began to talk at once, and drum with their silver spoons.
Curly-Tail said,
He gave each one of them a little red and white checked napkin.
By this time they were so hungry and the food looked so good that they began to smack their lips.
Curly-Tail said,
The Fourteen Little Darling Dogs took their fourteen little spoons and began to eat their broth.
It was much too hot and burned their mouths and they began to weep and wail.
Curly-Tail gave each one a sip of milk to cool their mouths, and at this very minute, some one rapped on a tree outside saying,
“Daddy Do-Little,” shouted the Fourteen Little Darling Dogs.
They ran outside and hugged the old fellow and Curly-Tail was pleased to invite him into the tent.
The Darling Dogs forgot all about their table manners for Daddy Do-Little carried a great basket of good things to eat, and they danced about the basket and helped themselves.
By and by Daddy Do-Little grew tired of the noise and he whispered something into Curly-Tail’s left ear and they went outside.
Daddy Do-Little spread out his magic red cotton handkerchief, they stepped upon it and sailed away, away, away.
Over hill and dale they went and sailed right into Daddy Do-Little’s front yard and landed on his door step.
Curly-Tail went into the kitchen and put on a blue and white checked apron, and made a good fire.
Daddy Do-Little sat still saying,
Curly-Tail was all this time measuring and sifting and mixing. By and by he got out a rolling pin and rolled out some wonderful cookies.
“Over the Hill and Dale They Went”
He took the cookie cutter and cut out cookies shaped like animals.
Soon he had a plate full of cookies to take to Daddy Do-Little.
Daddy Do-Little was delighted, he said,
Curly-Tail noticed that one cookie was larger than the rest and stuck to the pan.
It grew larger, and larger and larger, crack, crack it jumped suddenly out of the pan and came and stood in the doorway, shouting,
This funny cookie animal made a low bow and bounded out of the window.
Daddy Do-Little laughed until he cried.
Curly-Tail ran down the road after the cookie animal.
The cookie animal shouted,
Curly-Tail came nearer, and nearer, and the cookie animal cried out,
Curly-Tail came so near that the cookie animal felt his hot breath and he whispered,
Then the cookie dog jumped into a hole in a hollow tree, and though Curly-Tail stood and coaxed for an hour he would not come out.
When Curly-Tail got back he found Daddy Do-Little nodding by the fire.
“It Jumped Suddenly Out of the Pan”
Just as he remarked that he thought they would see the cookie dog no more, “rap-a-tap,” was heard at the window-pane, and there stood the cookie dog singing,
Curly-Tail opened the window and the cookie dog jumped into the cookie jar and fell asleep.
Daddy Do-Little complained,
They went to bed, and in the morning, the cookie dog was gone.