polly pepper's book

Front matter

Polly Pepper's SBook

THE FAMOUS PEPPER BOOKS by Margaret Sidney ‘

IN ORDER OF PUBLICATION

Contents

Tue Princess Esmerarpa’s BALL .

‘Tue Story oF THE Circus .

Curistmas AT THE Bic House .

II The Princess Esmeralda’s Ball

“Tr was a most beautiful place,” cried Polly. “Oh, you can’t think, children, how perfectly beautiful it all was,” and she clasped her hands and sighed.

“Tell us,” they all begged in one breath, crowding around her chair.

“Well, I can’t till Ben gets back, because you know he wanted to hear this story”; and Polly flew out of her rapture, and picked up her needle again. “Dear me!” she exclaimed, and a wave of remorse sent the color flying over her cheek, “I didn’t mean to stop even for a minute,” and she glanced up at the old clock.

“Ben never'll come,” grumbled Joel, racing to the window with Davie at his heels. “He’s so awful slow.”

“Well, it’s slow work,” said Polly, stitching away briskly, “to carry a great heavy molasses jug and a bag of Indian meal way up here from the store. Now, if you two boys wanted to go and meet him, you could help ever so much.” 12

Sener

The Pees Esmeralda’s Ball 13

-\ “IT went last time down to that old store,” said Joel, kick- ~ ing his toes against the wall as he stared out of the window. “Tr’s Dave’s turn now, Polly.” | _ “Oh, oh!” cried little Davie. “I’ve beet everand tyes.co many more times, Polly, truly I have.”

“And we've just got through doing all our work,” went on

E Joel, ignoring David’s remarks, “and we had such a lot to do es today Polly,” he added in an injured tone. 2 “You needn’t go if you don’t want to, said Polly with a fine scorn. “I said if you wanted to go.” g “Well, we don’t want to,” declared Joel loudly, and he i kicked his toes hence. Phronsie, curled up in a ball on the floor at Polly’s feet while’ she nursed Seraphina, stared at them gravely.

“TII go, Polly,” she said at last, laying Seraphina, with a __ sigh, on the floor, and getting up to her feet. “Oh, no, pet! You can’t go,” said Polly quickly. “You're too little. Why, you aren’t bigger’n a mouse, Phronsie”; and _ she began to laugh, but she turned a cold shoulder to the boys.

“Pm very big, Polly,” said Phronsie gravely, and standing up on her tiptoes. “See—oh, so big! And I must go down and help poor Bensie. Let me, Polly, do!” and she put up her lips, and the tears began to come into the brown eyes.

“Now you see, boys,’ ’ began Polly, casting aside her work “ to take Phronsie on her lap.

“Oh, I'll go, Polly!” cried little Davie, springing forward, his face all in a flame. “I want to go. Truly I do.”

“No, I will,” howled Joel, dashing away from his window.

“You've been ever so many times, Dave. I’m going.”

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14 oa Pepper's Book

“Joel,” ” cried Polly, as he was rushing off, * ‘come here a minute.”

He came back slowly, with one eye on Davie. “What do 4 you want, Polly?” he cried impatiently. “David wants to go,” said Polly slowly, and looking steadily into his flushed face. “Now, unless you really want to go _ to help Bensie, why you must stay at home.”

“I—want—to go—to help Bensie,” declared Joel insist- — ently, with a very red face. “Oh, Polly, I do! Let me go.” He was so near to crying that Polly said hastily, “I know, Joey, you do want to help Bensie. There, there,” and she gave him an approving little pat. mi

“I want to help Bensie,” cried Joel, his smiles all come - again to the chubby face, and off he dashed.

“Now, Davie,” said Polly in her briskest fashion, and setting toon.the long seam, “I think if I were you, I'd play with Phronsie a bit,” with a glance é at the disappointed little face.

“Come on, Phronsie,” said little David, gulping down his disappointment; for now that Joel was fairly on the way to meet Ben, nothing seemed better than to be of the party. But he sat down on the floor where’ Phronsie immediately crouched beside him, and in a minute the only sound in the old kitchen was the soft hum of their voices and Phronsie’s delighted little gurgle as the play went on.

“T better be going over that story again in my mind,” said

Polly to herself. “I’ve a good ehance now, it’s so quiet and lovely,” and she beamed at Davie when he looked up, in a way to make his little heart glad. And then Polly was lost in the depths of her story till the old kitchen and the Little

Brown House and the children faded away, and she was reveling in the glories of the palace, with retinues of courtiers ee ee ve Se RAINY ARERR RO» Pr Se CSUR A ee a ay LPS BSNS | Bosh BRE Wh sees Ray ar ey un easy unas SPS ea INE ANNE EEE i

The Pee Esmeralda’s ‘Ban 15

_ and servants at her beck and call, and all the paraphernalia _ of royalty around her. For was she not the Princess Esme- _ ralda herself? And a smile played around Polly’s lips as she _ stitched on, all unconscious of the task her fingers were per- | _ forming. :

_ “Hi-hi!” It was Joel shouting close to her chair, and there __ was Ben coming in the door with a pleased look on his face. _ “Now for the story,” screamed Joey, setting down the bag of _ meal with a bang on the table; and down tumbled Polly’s _ castle all around her ears. “Well, I’m glad I’ve got it fast in _ my mind so I can tell it good,” she said with a sigh of relief. ~ “Yes, Pm ready,” and she smiled at Ben.

_ “That’s good,” said Ben heartily, “that you didn’t tell that _ story until I got home, Polly.”

“Did you suppose I would, Ben?” said Polly with an air - of reproach.

_ “No, I didn’t really,” said Ben, wiping his hot face. “But _ it was good of you, Polly, to wait for me. And it was good of you Joe, too, to come to meet me, for I had to go around to Parson Henderson’s with a letter.” __

_ “Oh, Ben!” exclaimed Polly. “Did you have to go all around there with those heavy things?”

_ “Yes,” said Ben, “I did. But you wouldn’t have had me «not go, Polly, for Mr. Atkins said Parson Henderson had been for his letters very early, and this came afterward, and he wouldn’t be there again today.”

“Oh, no, no, of course not,” said Polly hastily. “I mean I wouldn’t have had you not go for anything in this world, Ben Pepper. You know I wouldn't,” and she looked so distressed that Ben hastened to say most assuringly:

“I know you wouldn’t, Polly; and don’t you think, Mrs.

Henderson said it was a most important letter indeed, and if Mr. Henderson hadn’t had it today it would have been very bad.”

' “Oh, I am so glad he got it today, Ben Pepper!” Polly flew out of her chair to run and throw her arms around him. “And you were the one to carry it to him.”

“And then when I got to the Four Corners,” went on Ben, “there was Joel running to meet-me. You can’t think how good it seemed to see him!”

“Oh, Joey! Did you get clear down to the Four Corners?”

-cried Polly, turning to him in a transport.

“Yes, I did,” bobbed Joel, glad to think he had run every step of the way without stopping to think, and forgetting how his arms ached carrying the meal bag. “Now, Polly, tell us the story quick, do.”

“So I will,” cried Polly merrily, rushing back to her chair and the sewing. “Oh, it’s so splendid that Ben’s back! We've got a whole hour now before Mamsie’s to be home. Now, then,” as the group huddled up around her. “Once upon a time, long years ago, there was one of the richest kings and queens that the world has ever seen. Why, they had so much money that nobody had ever counted it; they hadn’t time, you know. And it kept coming in until the bags of gold pieces filled up all one side of the courtyard, and they had to. ’

build great sheds to put the rest in.’ “Where'd it come from?” broke in Joel abruptly, unable to keep still at thought of such a state of affairs. “Oh, the things they sold in the whole kingdom were so many,” said Polly. “There were millions—no, billions of bushels of corn, and wheat and rye and silks and ribbons and

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The Princess Esmeralda’s Ball 17 butter and cheese, and fetes and artificial Fawr and candy, | and—

“Oh, my!” cried Joel, smacking his lips.

“Like the pink sticks old Mrs. Beebe gave oe the day she hurt her toe?” queried David, his mouth watering at ig the remembrance.

“Yes, the very same,’ ” said Polly.

“Now, you children mustn’t interrupt every single min-

_ ute,” commanded Ben. “If you do, Polly and I will go off _ into a corner, and she will tell me the story. And Phronsie— _ welll take her, because she hasn’t said a word.”

“Oh, we won’t—we won’t again, will we, Dave?” cried

_ Joel, with a punch on that individual’s back.

“No,” said little David promptly. “Please go on, Polly.” “You see, everything that anybody wanted to buy—I

_ mean the people in other countries—was all for sale in this _kingdom; and big ships went sailing off ever so many times

| “ a day with the things piled in them; and when they came back the captain brought all the money he got for the things,

_ tied up in big bags; and the ships kept coming back, ever so

_ many a day, so that there was no hope that the gold pieces would ever be any less. And one day the king walked up and

_ down his palace hall, wringing his hands. ‘Oh! I wish there wasn’t so much money in the world,’ he cried, ‘for pretty soon I shall be turned out of doors, with all the gold pieces

_ crowding me out.’ And he looked so very sad as his wife, the ~ queen, put her head in the doorway, that she said, ‘My dear, we will have the golden coach brought around to take us out to drive.’ ; ‘

““Don’t say golden anything to me,’ cried the king in a me} ; ey j

18 Polly Seu Book passion, for he was almost beside himself. ‘I’m ei of the | ~sound of the word, my dear,’ and he beckoned her to him and they went and sat together on the great throne at one end of the hall. It shone with diamonds and rubies and emeralds, and all manner of precious stones; and it had great curtains of twisted. ropes of jewels looped up over their heads; and there they sat, and he held her hand. ‘T’m really afraid, and he looked in her face, ‘that something must be done, for this is a dreadful state of things.’

““Now, if you are going to talk business,’ said the queen tartly, ‘I think it is time to call Esmeralda.’ You see, whenever there was anything to decide in the kingdom, the king and queen never did the leastest little bit of a thing about it, without at first calling Esmeralda and laying the case before - her. So now they rang five or six golden bells in turn, and the king blew a blast on a glass horn, oh, ever so many feet long, that hung by his side of the throne; and the queen ~ whistled on a tremendous silver whistle that hung by her — side of the throne; and pretty soon Esmeralda came running — in all out of breath. She was dressed in sea-green satin, over 4 a white lace petticoat pinned up with diamonds, and she had —

i soot SAREE Ree Selita tne PCE sina ee aan See seca g: SCTE a a bunch of flowers in her hand that were sweet with the — morning dew. She had long floating yellow hair, just like — Phronsie’s,” and Polly paused long enough to glance lov- — ingly at the small head snuggled up against her knee.

“‘Good morning, father, and ‘Good morning, mother,’ said the Princess Esmeralda, kneeling before her parents sit-; ting on the throne; and she laid the flowers, with the morning dew on them, in their hands.

““We have summoned you, Esmeralda,’ said the nee in troubled way, ihecause vec aren dite extremity, and must have your advice.’ _ “Esmeralda wrinkled her, pretty brow and looked very wise, but her heart beat dreadfully against her bodice and—” _ “What's a bod—” began Joel.

- “Ugh!” cried Ben with a aes eg bas up, as Joel ducked instantly.

“It's a waist that princesses always v wear,” said Polly, “and a Esmeralda’s was all spangled with gold and silver. It shone so that no one could look at it more than a minute at a time. Well, so she said, ‘Yes, father, and ‘Yes, mother.’ “We have too much gold,’ said the king, smiting his hands together. ‘Esmeralda, I tell you truly, if it keeps comi ing in we shall all have to move out from this palace and find another home. What shall we do, my child?’ “Esmeralda jumped up from her knees, and ran to the casement, and climbed up the golden seat beneath it, and peered out. There were the ships below her in the harbor, with the men taking out the bags and bags and bags of gold; and as far as her eye could reach, there were more ships and more ships and more ships all coming in, filled with bags to the very brim. She got down and ran back. ‘It is certainly very dreadful, father and mother,’ she said, clasping her

M Be fe it is, declared the king; and he cee to tear his hair.

“Husband, don’t feel so badly,’ implored the poor queen at that sight, throwing her arms around him. ‘Esmeralda, ° you must think quickly, because you see we are both going ‘quite distracted.’

“So Esmeralda said the first thing that came into her head. ‘You might tell the men to.untie the bags, and pour the gold © pieces into the sea at the mouth of the harbor.’

“ “The very thing!’ exclaimed the king in delight, and his : face was covered with smiles. ‘Oh, what it is to have a clever child!’ and the queen fell upon Esmeralda’s neck, and kissed and kissed her.

“So then the king rang all his bells, and blew his long — glass horn, and then he struck a big silver gong that was al- — ways the signal for the lord high chamberlain to appear. And when. he popped in his with his robes of office all caught up in his hands, to let him run to obey the king’s call, and his high peaked hat awry for the same reason, the king gave him the order just as Esmeralda said; and then the lord high chamberlain plunged out, after bowing himself before the throne five and twenty times to the marble floor; and the king said to the queen, in the greatest satisfaction, ‘My dear, we must give Esmeralda a ball for being so clever.’

“And the queen said, ‘Yes, a ball,’ with the greatest alacrity. And Esmeralda hopped up and down in glee, she was so happy; and she danced and danced until off flew seventynine of the diamonds from her lace petticoat, and rolled away into as many cracks and crevices in the corners of the marble hall. But she didn’t care, for there were bushels in her room, and a dozen or two women always sitting on their crickets, with their needles threaded with silver thread, — ready to sew on more.

“So then the word went out from the palace all over the. kingdom, that there was to be a ball for the Princess Esme-

The Princess Fenenhins Ball’ | 21 alda; and all the while the golden stream was pouring out _ every minute from the big bags into the mouth of the har-

bor. And Esmeralda fell asleep every night to dream of the _ beautiful music and flowers and lights, and the gay young _ princes to be sent for as company from every other kingdom; _ for you must know that never had there been such a ball in _all this world before as this one was to be. And every morning Esmeralda waked up quite, quite happy, because the ball night was just so much nearer. And at last her dress was all ready, and lad out upon her little white bed. It was’— Polly paused most impressively to allow her hearers to take it all in properly, “it was made out of the very finest cobwebs that had all been spun in the sunshine of the palace courtyards. For this, millions of spiders had been caught by the _command of the king, who had sent out an edict for that purpose; and they had been set spinning until they had -made this beautiful dress of the princess. And it was trimmed around the bottom and the neck by a rainbow,

and—”, Me

“Oh, Polly!” exclaimed Ben.’

_ “There, ‘Ben’s talking!” broke in Joel in huge delight. ~ “Hoh! Hoh!”

“Yes, a rainbow,” repeated Polly stoutly, “a beautiful red and green and blue and yellow rainbow. Oh, you can’t begin to think, children, how perfectly lovely Esmeralda did _ look when she was all dressed ready for the ball. Well, and | _then the princes began to arrive. There were two hundred of them, and each one brought the princess a present. But __ the king had said that she should not accept anything of __ gold, so it had been some little trouble for them to get anything that was nice enough without having it golden. But __ they did, and there were two hundred presents set out in the palace hall. And Esmeralda was to walk up and down the whole length, and choose the present she liked the best out of the whole collection; and then she was to dance with the. prince who had given her this present. Oh, dear me, she . thought she would cry her eyes out when the king decided _ this must be done, for how was she to choose between so many perfectly beautiful things, and there would be one — hundred and ninety-nine princes feeling very unhappy indeed. She was just going to say, ‘Oh, my father! I cannot do it’; and then she knew the king would ring, and strike his big silver gong, and blow for the lord high chamberlain to take him off from the throne and put him to bed, and then the lights would be turned out, and everybody would go home, and there would be no ball at all. She couldn’t do that, of course, as you see. So she stopped a minute to think, as she always did when she had hard questions to decide, until the king roared at her. “Do as I say, daughter, or out go the lights’; and then she said the first thing that came in ~ her head. ‘T like all the presents best, and we'll all dance together at once.’

““Dear me!’ exclaimed the king, ‘how clever!’ and he screamed joyfully to the musicians to begin; and the princess and the two hundred princes all began hopping and jumping about the hall, and presently it looked so nice, the king gave his hand to the queen, and she slid down from the throne, and began to hop about too; and the lord high chancellor picked up his flowing robes, and danced on the tips of

“his toes; and the court ladies skipped back and forth; and the

The Princess Esmeralda’s Ball 23 servants came to look in the doorways, and so did the retinues of soldiers. And they couldn’t help it, the music was so

_ fine, and oh, dear me, it went just like this,’"—and Polly _ broke off into a merry little tune:as she sprang to-her feet

ES and held out her hands, “Come on, let us all dance!” and she seized Ben’s arms, and danced him half across the old _ kitchen floor.

“Take me, Polly!” begged Joel, who had tumbled over himself in surprise, and now got to his feet to run after the two spinning off so finely.

“Can't,” said Polly over her shoulder. “You take Phronsie,” and then she began again on the gay tune—Ben whis-

_ tling away for dear life as an accompaniment.

“Dave’s got her,” said Joel in great discomfiture, turning around to see little Davie and Phronsie’s pink calico gown flying along at a merry rate. “I haven’t got anybody,” seeing - which Polly stopped short. “Come with us,” and she held out her hand, and Ben grasped Joel’s arm, and away they _ went till the old kitchen rang with the fun.

Ul : ;

~The Story of the Circus

“You see,” said Polly, “as it rains today, I think we ought to have the circus story.”

“Oh, oh, oh!” cried all the Five Little Peppers together,

Ben not being ashamed to add his shout of approval too.

“Do you think you really ought to, Polly?” he asked, com: 3 ing out of it, and leaving the others in the babel of rejoicing. “Won't you want it more for some other time?” Polly ran over and caught him by the jacket sleeve.

“T really think we ought to have it today, Bensie,” she — whispered. “You see, they've been awfully good, and it’s.

rained for three days now, and you know there wasn’t enough mush for breakfast, and Mamsie couldn’t get any coats to do this week, ’cause Mr. Atkins didn’t dare let her ~ have any more to sew until he’d sold what he had, and trade's so poor.” And Polly sighed and wiped away two tears.

Ben turned away a moment‘and swallowed something hard that was in his throat. Polly, at sight of this, began to laugh;

and she said gaily, “Yes, indeed, we'll have the circus story 24 x Porn yes = a RS IT eR iat Ie POTN IES Si Na Lg SR ETE EES A

The Story of, the Circus 25

_ now. Get your chairs, and let’s sit around in a ring, chil-

_ dren.”

With that the babel of rejoicing changed into a scuffle for

_ chairs and crickets, Joel protesting that he should sit next to

_ Polly, and Phronsie scuttling along to crowd into Polly’s lap,

_ till the little old kitchen fairly rang with the noise.

“Let’s sit in a ring on the floor, Polly, that’s best,” begged little David. So they all got down, and Polly had Joel on one side and Phronsie on the other; though to be sure everybody was next to everybody else, as the ring was constantly mov-

_ ing up closer till it was a bunch of Five Little Peppers, and

everybody looked as if there had been plenty of breakfast, and all sorts of good things in the Little Brown House— enough for all time to come.

_ “Now, you know, children,” said Polly, folding her hands ~ inher lap, and feeling quite elegant to be sitting down in the _ morning telling stories, and she looked at them impressively, _ “Te promised you the circus story for a lo-ong time.” “Yes, we know,” said Joel, hitching impatiently. “Don’ t

talk, but begin.”

Polly shot him a reproving glance that made him duck behind Davie, who sat next, as she went on,’ “And now today I'm going to give it to you. I know Mamsie'd say ‘twas best,

_ everything’s all clean spick span,’ and she glanced with _ pride around the little old kitchen that shone from top to toe. “Mamsie’d like it,” cooed Phronsie, and she patted her pink apron down and looked at Polly to begin. _ “The circus story,” said Polly, beginning with a great flourish, “is about so many best and splendid things that you must keep quite still and not interrupt me a ‘single teenty | wee bits:

They one and all protested that they wouldn’t say a won So she began, while each one sat as still as a mouse.

“Way far over the top of a high mountain,” said Polly, “so far that no one had ever been entirely over it, at least to come back, lived a big man. He was so large that he couldn’t have found any house in all Badgertown big enough to get into if he had tried ever and ever so much, He had arms and legs and eyes to match, you know, and feet and ears, so he could take perfectly dreadfully large steps, and he could lift as big

rocks in his hands as the one hanging over Cherry Brook. Oh, and he could see with his big eyes that stood right out of his face just like cannon balls, so that nothing Bes hide _ from him, even if it tried ever somuch.”

Joel twisted uneasily and wriggled up nearer to Polly’s side. “And one day the big man sat down on a spur of the mountain and dangled his feet down the side. This was his swing, you know, and he always sat there when he was thinking hard over anything, or making plans.

“Well, there he sat thinking—thinking away as hard as ever he could. And pretty soon he got up and slapped his knee, just as Mr. Tisbett does, you know, and he roared out,

“The very thing—the very thing!’ And folks down in the valley all ran, to their windows and said it thundered, and they drove into the barns and sheds and got ready for the storm. Well, after the big man stopped roaring ‘the very thing,’ and leppine his knee, he looked down the mountain, the side he lived on, you know, and the first thing he saw was a hippo—hippo—mopp? —poppicus.” Here Polly paused to take breath. She was very fond of long words, and it was her great delight to wrestle with them; so now she thought she had done very well indeed, and she ran on in

The Story of the Circus Lap

_ the best of spiritt—“Oh, he was so big—there isn’t anything, children, that can tell you how big he was! Well, the big man no sooner saw him than he ran like lightning on his perfectly dreadfully large feet down his side of the moun-

_ tain, and he said to the hippo—pippo—poppi—moppicus—

‘Here, you, sir, put your head in this,’ and he twitched out

_ of one of his side pockets a string. It was made of leather, and was just as strong—oh, you can’t think. Well the ‘hippo,’ I’m going to call him that for short,” said Polly suddenly, quite tired out, “took a good look all around, but he saw no way of escape; and the big man kept growing more

2 dreadfully cross every minute he waited, so the poor hippo at last said, ‘As you please, sir,’ and he put his head into the

_ string and was tied fast to a big tree that was one hundred and sixty-seven feet around. Then the big man laughed a perfectly dreadful laugh, and he said, when he had finished, ‘Now you are going to the circus, sir, and see the pennies taken in at the door.’ Then he went off up to his mountain spur again.

“And presently he looked down his side of the mountain again, and he spied a gre-at big snake—oh, a beautiful one, all green and gold stripes, and great flashing green eyes to match. The big man watched Mr. Snake raise his head as he wriggled along, and he ran down his side of the mountain on his dreadfully large feet as quick as a flash, and stood in front of Mr. Snake, who looked this way and that for a chance to escape. But there was none, you see, for the dreadfully large feet of the big man took up all the room. So at

~ ast Mr. Snake said in a tired-out voice, just like this: ‘If you please, sir, would you move just a very little?” ““Put your head in here, sir,’ roared the big man at him,

28° Polly Pepper's Book ri so that the snake shook and shook just like a leaf on one of q our maple trees in a storm. Well, and at last he had his head with the flashing green eyes fast in a big bag which, you must know, in a twinkling the big man had pulled out of his other side pocket, and then he was left to go flopping and flopping around on the ground most dismally. And then the big man scrambled up to his‘mountainside again. a “Well,” said Polly with a long breath, “the next thing he saw was a gi-raffe, as much bigger than the others as youcan imagine. And he got him fast, too, so he couldn’t get away; and then he went up to spy out more animals, And by the _ time the sun went down behind the mountain, and he © couldn’t catch any more, he had two hundred creatures all tied fast to trees, or with their heads in bags. And then he sat down on a big stone to rest.”