Twinkle Toes lived with Uncle Mouser in a little wee house in the woods, and as he ran in and out in the twinkling of an eye, every one called him Twinkle Toes.

He liked to travel about and to meet his friends, so on his second birthday, Uncle Mouser gave him a fine new travelling bag, with his initials upon it.

Twinkle Toes, like Uncle Mouser was quite a story-teller. He liked to run about in the woods at twilight and gather his animal friends about him, and tell stories.

Most of all, however, he liked to travel through the woods with his new travelling bag.

One evening he started out through the woods and ran on until he came to the home of the THREE LITTLE KITTENS WHO LOST THEIR MITTENS.

He rapped on the door, rap-a-tap-rap-a-tap.

The Three Little Kittens were at home, and they cried in turn, “May I go? Ma, may I go?”

Old Mother Kit-Cat opened the door herself, and in waltzed Twinkle Toes with his travelling bag.

They made him welcome you may be sure, and Dot and Tot and Trot cried,

Then Twinkle Toes jumped right over the travelling bag, with the letters “T-T” upon it, and said,

He opened his travelling bag, and took out another travelling bag, a little smaller. He opened the second bag and took out another, and another.

He gave each of the Three Little Kittens a new travelling bag.

Each bag had the Kitten’s initials upon it.

The Three Little Kittens were happy you may be sure, and marched round and round the room with their new travelling bags.

They begged for a story again, but Twinkle Toes only said,

The Three Little Kittens called, “Good night Ma, good night Twinkle Toes,” and they went merrily off to bed.

Twinkle Toes slept in Old Uncle Mouser’s red plush-lined basket by the fire.

Next morning the Three Little Kittens begged to go with Twinkle Toes on a journey.

Mother Kit-Cat said,

Twinkle Toes waltzed around trying to catch his tail and the little bell, on the little blue ribbon, round his neck went tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!

They all started off merrily, the Three Little Kittens singing,

“Don’t be so sure of that,” whistled the Wind, and before they got home it nipped their ears and paws, and blew their long whiskers!

Then Dot and Tot said,

Brave Little Trot said,

Sure enough, they soon forgot that they were cold, they soon forgot that they had left their mittens at home.

They were wondering whom they would visit, when they heard Three Little Curly-Tails cry, “Chip, chip, chip, come into our tree, come into our tree.”

Dot and Tot and Trot made their best bow and said politely,

Twinkle Toes waltzed around and said,

Old Mother Curly-Tail looked out from her hole in the hollow tree, and said,

Even Twinkle Toes did not know how a hollow tree looked inside.

They all scrambled into the tree and Mother Curly-Tail said, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

They helped for one hour and sixteen minutes to store the Squirrels’ nuts away for the winter.

Then, a surprise awaited them for Mother Curly-Tail said,

They sang a song, and in rolled a table and chairs for them all.

They climbed up into the chairs and Mother Curly-Tail said,

In came the dishes, knives, forks, and spoons, and they all jumped to their proper places upon the table.

In came a kettle of food, smoking hot.

The Three Little Curly-Tails said, “Oh Ma, please help our plates first, we are so hungry.”

Mother Curly-Tail said,

The Three Little Curly-Tails would not wait, they were so hungry. They put their paws in the kettle and burned them badly.

“Oh,” and “Ah,” they wailed.

The three little chairs in which they sat turned round and remained with their backs to the table.

Twinkle Toes and the Three Little Kittens began to eat the food put on their plates, saying “Thank you” and “If you please,” politely.

By and by the three chairs, in which the Three Little Curly-Tails sat, rolled back into place, and they were given some sharp nuts to crack with their sharp little teeth, for by this time the food in the kettle was all gone.

Dot wanted to tell the story of the lost mittens and began, “One day when we were sliding on the ice.”

At that very moment Mother Curly-Tail jumped down from her chair, and whispered in the ear of each little Curly-Tail.

Tot wanted to tell about finding the mittens, so she began,

“Oh, oh,” cried the Curly-Tails, “Did you lose your rubbers? Did you lose your hoods? Did you lose your overshoes?”

“No,” said Trot, “We lost——”

At that very minute the Curly-Tails cried, “Come out and climb, come out and climb.”

No sooner said than done, they all ran out of the hollow tree and jumped from branch to branch.

One after another cried,

By and by Twinkle Toes said,

They all took up their little travelling bags and started to run home through the woods.

All at once they stopped still.

They said, “We forgot to say good bye, we forgot our manners.”

Right about face, they all marched back to the hollow tree and shouted,

The little Curly-Tails answered,

Old Mother Kit-Cat stood in the doorway looking for them.

She said,

Sure enough, their paws were cold as cold could be.

Late that night Dot, and Tot, and Trot, woke up and said, “We wonder why the Curly-Tails did not want us to talk about our mittens?”

Twinkle Toes called out sleepily from Old Uncle Mouser’s red plush-lined basket,

I don’t know whether he knew what he was talking about or whether he was talking in his sleep.

He lay all curled up in the red, plush-lined basket.

He was dreaming about a pair of Magic Mittens that would always fit and never wear out.

He said, “When will I get my Magic Mittens?”