“How are you going to get the egg home?” asked the old hen.
“Oh we can roll it very nicely,” answered the General.
“Well, I was just going to say that I couldn’t deliver it at the low price of twenty grains of corn,” cackled the hen. “Give me ten grains more and I’ll walk over to the shoe house and lay it anywhere you say.”
“It isn’t far and we can roll it easily,” answered the General.
“Well clear out and give me a little time and I’ll lay the egg for you,” said the hen. “You don’t think I can lay an egg with all you folks standin’ around here starin’, do you?”
The Teenie Weenies retired to the other end of the chicken yard, where they sat down on several corn cobs to wait.
Presently the old hen announced the laying of the egg with loud cackles and the little folks started at once to roll the egg home.
It was easy work rolling the egg over the level ground, but when the Teenie Weenies came to a steep hill that lay in their path they found that it would be necessary to use ropes in order to let it down safely. The little fellows rolled the egg up to the edge of the hill, while the Turk made the ropes ready to handle the heavy load.
Suddenly a puff of wind struck the egg and it rolled over the edge of the hill. The Cook and Gogo tried to catch it, but they were too late, and the egg and the two Teenie Weenies tumbled down the hill. The Policeman, who was standing below, just had time to fall out of the way as the egg and the Cook rolled past him and smashed up against an old birch.
The Cook was able to save a great deal of the broken egg, which he dipped up into many wash tubs and thimbles. The Teenie Weenies went to bed that night with heavy hearts, for they knew that it would be quite impossible to buy another egg at such high prices.
Easter morning Shoehurst was filled with the greatest excitement, for on the ground in front of the house lay a fine big egg. Most of the Teenie Weenies thought the Easter rabbit had left the egg, but they were greatly mistaken, for the old hen, who was really a kind-hearted old lady in spite of her gruff manner, had heard of the broken egg and, feeling sorry for the little people, had slipped over early in the morning and laid the egg herself.
THE RAIN CAME DOWN BY THE THIMBLEFUL
WHEN Zip, the little wild man, came to live with the Teenie Weenies there wasn’t a bit of room left in the old shoe house, so the kind hearted Chinaman took the little chap into his tea pot laundry. There was plenty of room in the old tea pot, so here the two little fellows lived in great comfort and Zip paid for his board by helping the Chinaman launder the Teenie Weenie clothes.
Zip and the Chinaman had eaten a great deal of the easter egg and being tired and sleepy they had retired quite early. While the little chaps lay dreaming in their tiny beds, a great storm came up and the big rain drops came down by the thimbleful. The little men were awakened by the roar of the rain drops splashing on the roof, but they merely turned over in their beds and went to sleep again, for why should they worry about the storm when they were sheltered in a strong tea pot?
Presently the Chinaman was awakened by a queer bouncing of his bed, and to his great astonishment he found that he was floating about the room. The frightened Chinaman sat straight up, and as he did so he lost his balance and tumbled kersplash into the water. He quickly jumped to his feet and found that the water was just up to his waist. Next he groped about the room for some Teenie Weenie matches and in a few minutes he lit a tiny candle.
A wonderful sight met the little fellow’s eyes, for all about the room chairs, tables, and things floated in great confusion. Zip lay snoring on his bed, which floated about, and the Chinaman had to shake him hard before he could be awakened.
“Zippie! Zippie! klick! klick!” shouted the Chinaman. “Wake up klick! Oh, suchee muchee wet.”
Poor Zip was scared half out of his wits when he looked about the room and it didn’t take the two Teenie Weenies long to grab a few clothes and scramble up onto the roof, for the water was almost up to their necks and was rising fast. The rain had stopped, but it was pitch dark, so the little fellows could do nothing but put on their clothes and wait for daylight.
The rest of the Teenie Weenie houses were not injured by the heavy rain, for they stood on the high ground and the water ran off down the hill into the little hollow in which the tea pot stood. The laundry was entirely surrounded by water, which was fully fourteen Teenie Weenie feet deep, and as neither of the little men dared swim among the floating sticks, they were forced to wait until help arrived.
Shortly after daylight the Chinaman and Zip were discovered sitting on top of the tea pot and in a short time the Teenie Weenies came to their rescue. They made a raft out of a couple of clothes pins, an old lead pencil and some boards. Gogo and the Turk pushed the raft through the floating rubbish about the tea pot and soon landed the Chinaman and Zip on dry land.
“J-J-J-Jimminie fish hooks!” exclaimed the Dunce, who was much excited over the rescue. “When I-I-Ig-g-go to bed to-night I’m goin’ to take a c-c-c-cork with me for a life preserver.”
“Allee same me savee irons,” cried the Chinaman, who had brought two of his flat irons through the flood.
“It’s a mighty good thing you held onto those irons,” laughed the Clown. “They might have floated away.”
The ground around the laundry was a sight when the water finally settled, for the Teenie Weenie wood pile was quite near and pencils, matches, and many sticks lay scattered all over the ground.
The Teenie Weenies carried eight thimblefuls of mud out of the tea pot and in a short time the little folks had the laundry as clean as a billiard ball, for every one of the little people helped with all his might.
GOGO AND THE COOK RUN ACROSS AN EARLY BIRD
A FEW days after the big flood, Gogo and the Cook washed up the breakfast dishes, cleaned the kitchen and set out in search of a mushroom for lunch.
“There’s some powerful big fat ones over in de big field,” remarked Gogo. “Why dere was one we all saw one day what was so big that fo’ of us done stand under it while it was rainin’ and nevah a single drop done touch us.”
“Listen,” whispered the Cook as the little fellows were making their way through some tall grass, “what in the name of goodness is that awful noise?”
“Sounds powerful funny like,” answered Gogo. “Suppose we go through the weeds and see what it is.” The two Teenie Weenies pushed their way quietly through the thick weeds and soon they saw a sight which made them laugh. A young robin stood at the side of a freshly spaded flower bed, and in his beak he held one end of a big, fat worm. The other end of the worm was fast in a piece of earth and the robin, with his feet braced, was holding on to the worm with all his might. The robin was gurgling and trying to call for help through his half closed beak, and the two Teenie Weenies quickly saw he needed help if he wished to save the worm.