On Ground-Hog day in February, Dot cried, “Oh, Ma, may we go to visit Old Shadow, the Ground-Hog?”
Tot cried, “Oh, Ma, may we go out with our little travelling bags?”
Trot stood first on one foot, then on the other, and said, “Ma cannot hear herself think if we all talk at once.”
Twinkle Toes said, “I think we can all take our travelling bags.”
Mother Kit-Cat looked severely at the Three Little Kittens and said, “You may go, if you will only remember to wear your mittens.”
IT GREW DARKER AND DARKER IN OLD SHADOW’S BURROW
“Mittens, mittens, I will wear my magic mittens,” said Twinkle Toes.
By this time Mother Kit-Cat had finished the mittens for Twinkle Toes.
He put on his mittens and the Three Little Kittens all put on theirs, and followed Twinkle Toes with a hop and a skip and a bound.
It was a cold day in February, and the wind was blowing.
Suddenly Dot, and Tot and Trot cried, “We are tired, we wish we were at our journey’s end.”
Twinkle Toes rubbed his mittens together and said, “I wish we were at Old Shadow’s hole.”
Then the funniest thing happened.
In the twinkling of an eye, they were at Old Shadow’s hole, and there he was, busily digging.
He said,
Just then he caught sight of Twinkle Toes and said,
The Three Little Kittens made a bow and said,
At that, the strangest thing happened, Old Shadow ran into his hole calling,
The Kittens all ran after him.
The hole was funnel-shaped, and the passage-way grew smaller, and smaller, and smaller, and wound in and out.
By and by they saw Old Shadow at the far end, and he called,
By and by he stopped digging, and said, “Ha, ha, ha, let us measure whiskers.”
He had very long whiskers and was proud of them.
“Come, help me dig, for we may then find some clover roots. How I do like clover roots!”
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round and then began to dig with a will, to please Old Shadow.
Dot soon said, “I must stop, for my paws are tired.”
Tot said, “Oh dear, my paws were not made for digging.”
Trot said,
At the mention of the word, “mittens,” the most remarkable thing happened.
ALL THE ANIMALS WERE MARCHING, RIGHT FOOT, LEFT FOOT
Old Shadow took out his watch and cried, “It is quarter to spring, it is quarter to spring. I must hurry, hurry, hurry or I will be too late to meet Lady Spring.”
Whisk! bound! He was out of his burrow before you could wink an eye lash!
It was dark in the strange burrow, and Twinkle Toes and the Three Little Kittens ran this way, and that way, trying to find the way out.
The burrow had several rooms and they kept losing themselves every few minutes.
They could always hear the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle of the little bell that hung from Twinkle Toes’ neck.
Dot and Tot began to cry, but brave little Trot said,
It grew darker and darker in Old Shadow’s burrow, and I don’t know what in the world they would have done, if Twinkle Toes had not thought of his Magic Mittens.
He thought of his mittens, and rubbed them gently saying, “I wish the Little Old Man of the Fire would appear.”
No sooner said, than done.
The Little Old Man of the Fire appeared in his green cap and jacket of yellow.
His jacket shone with light and he sang,
“Not in February,” said Dot.
“Not in February,” said Tot.
Brave little Trot said,
Twinkle Toes said never a word, but his little bell went, “tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,” every step he took.
The Little Old Man of the Fire said, “I came upon you so suddenly, you almost scared me out of a year’s growth.
“I see Twinkle Toes, and Three Little Kittens, big as life and half as natural. Ho, ho, so you do not think it is time for spring? Look above you, see the roots growing.”
Dot said, “Please show us the way out.”
Tot said, “We are afraid of the dark, lead the way out.”
Brave Little Trot said, “We will do a kindness for you, kind Sir, if you will light us home.”
Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round.
The Little Old Man of the Fire was full of mischief and he said
Without another word the Little Old Man of the Fire disappeared.
Dot and Tot began to cry softly into their little pocket handkerchiefs and even Trot got his little pocket handkerchief out, but Twinkle Toes waltzed round and round.
Twinkle Toes said,
Then he rubbed his Magic Mittens and wished for Uncle Mouser.
They all listened.
For steps were coming nearer, and nearer every minute.
Uncle Mouser appeared at the opening of the burrow with the Little Old Man of the Fire, whom he had caught, and now carried inside a lantern!
Uncle Mouser shouted,
They all shouted, “Hurrah Uncle Mouser, here we are, here we are!”
They lost no time getting out of Old Shadow’s burrow you may be sure, and the Little Old Man of the Fire hopped merrily about in the lantern singing,
Uncle Mouser said, “It is not safe to go into deep burrows. Let me count, are you all here?”
THEY WERE MAKING A FLAG
THEY DREAMED THEY WERE SAILING AWAY
Twinkle Toes and the Three Little Kittens were so pleased to see Uncle Mouser, they hugged and kissed him so hard, and jumped about so much, he could not count them to save his life.
He kept saying anxiously, “I hope I have you all here, two, three, or four.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat stood in the doorway looking for them and she said, “Oh Uncle Mouser, your red plush-lined basket is waiting for you.”
She hugged and kissed Twinkle Toes, and the Three Little Kittens and gave them some milk, and put them to bed.
They talked a good deal in their sleep that night and Twinkle Toes said,
The Magic Mittens were very busy that night, they dusted everything in Twinkle Toes’ room. They said in a sing-song kind of way.
I wonder what the Magic Mittens meant, don’t you?