William Donahey

8/14/2019 William Donahey

1/24


2/24


3/24


4/24


5/24

Illustrated by

THE AUTHOR

The Reilly & Lee Co.

Chicago New York

ALICE AND THE

TEENIE WEENIES

BY

WILLIAM DONAHEY


6/24


7/24


8/24

several of the Teenie Weenies bathing in the creek and

with the help of a peculiar mouse, who was with her, shetold the little folks about Alice.

Shes stayin in that little white ouse at the top of the ill.Isnt that right, Jem? asked Tilly.

The mouse, whose name was Jem, bowed gravely.

You dont mean where that crabby old lady lives, doyou? asked the Dunce.

You must not speak about the lady in that manner,Dunce, warned the General.

Well, she is crabby, growled the Dunce. She chases allthe boys and girls away from walkin on her fence and I

saw her throw stones at a robin that was walkin on herflower bed.


9/24

Quite so, quite so, answeredthe mouse gravely. A mostmysterious mystery.

Yes, and she nearly it me with a wooden spoon oncewhen I was just tastin a cherry off her old cherry tree,snapped Tilly.

Go on, Tilly, tell us about Alice, said the Old Soldier.

Well sir, she came yesterday morning and I thinks its noplace for a nice little girl, livin in that lonesome old ousewith that crusty old woman. Aint that right, Jem?

Quite so, quite so, murmured the mouse.

But what gets my tail feathers, continued Tilly, is thefact that this little girl has been cryin almost every

minute since she came. Aint that a fact, Jem?Its a solemn fact, a solemn fact. Sad but true,answered Jem, brushing a tear out of the corner of hiseye with the tip of his long tail.

Crying! gasped the astonished Teenie Weenies. Whatabout? What was she crying about?

Thats what we dont under stand, do we, Jem? Its all amystery to us, aint it, Jem? said Tilly solemnly.


10/24

The Teenie Weenies were much disturbed over the news of the littlegirl coming to live with the peculiar old lady. They talked about it agreat deal and decided they would go to the little house on the hilland see Alice at the first opportunity.

Jinks! but Id like to get a look at that little girl, said the Duncethe morning after Tilly Titter had brought the news of Alicesarrival.

Well, as soon as this work is done we will take a walk up that wayand try and get a look at her, said the General.

The little folks were all busy helping the Cook make strawberryjam. Seven large strawberries were to be made into jam and stored

away for the Winter, so it kept every one hard at work. The berrieshad to be brought to the shoe house, where they were cut up, theseeds removed and then cooked in the big kettle and finally putinto tiny air tight cans and stored in the cellar under the old shoe.

Nick the Squirrel dropped around while the Teenie Weenies were atwork and gave them some news.

Tilly told me about the little girl, said Nick, so I took a jump up

that way to see what kind of a lookin little lady she was. I heardcrying when I came near the house and finally I climbed that oldtwisted apple tree near the bedroom window. I could see insidepretty well and I saw the little girl lying on the bed with her facedown in her arms. She was sobbing as though her heart wouldbreak, and finally that crusty old lady, who lives with the girl,

came into the bedroom and

shook her by the arm.Stop this sniveling, she said.You act like a baby and if youdont shut up I wont give youa bite of supper.

Well, bust my whiskers, if I wasnt about the maddes

squirrel you ever saw, so I justup and chattered out a piece

Chapter 2


11/24

of my mind to that crabby old dame.She never paid a bit of attention to me and for less than awormy nut Id have gone into that place and given her a goodbite on the shin.

Why didnt you? exclaimed the Dunce.

That old dame is so tough Im afraid Id have broken my teeth,answered the squirrel.

What else did you see? asked The Lady of Fashion, anxiously.

Not much, for a couple of Grackles came flyin around and keptpeckin at me until I had to get out of the tree.

Although the Teenie Weenies were terribly tired with their longdays work, they sat on the front porch of the old shoe houseuntil quite late, discussing the little girl.

I wonder what makes the little girl cry so much? asked Tess


12/24

Guff.

Shes probably lonesome, suggested the Turk.

Maybe shes got soap in her eyes, answered one of the Lovertwins, who always cried when his face was washed.

I think something is terribly the matter to make a girl cry as muchas this little girl has, said The Lady of Fashion.

Whats the use of worryin over a little cryin? asked Grandpa.Women have to have their fun and I sometimes think they have alot of sport out of cryin.

The Lady of Fashion gave the old gentleman a nasty look andnothing more was said about the matter for some minutes.

Its time every Teenie Weenie was in bed, said the General at last.And to morrow well see if we cant get to the bottom of this

mystery.


13/24

Chapter 3

Several of the Teenie Weenies thought about Alice a long timeafter they had climbed into their tiny beds. In fact, the Duncedreamed that he was drying the little girls tears with a TeenieWeenie mop.

Well, said the General as he finished a slice of strawberry thenext morning at breakfast, just as soon as the morning work isdone well take a walk up to that old house and see if we can geta glimpse of that poor little girl.

She cries so much maybe we had better wear rubber boots,giggled the Dunce, but a second later he felt much ashamed ofthe remark for the Teenie Weenies frowned on his poor joke.

After the tiny dishes had been cleaned and put away, and after alima bean had been prepared all ready to slip into the oven forlunch, and after the beds had been made and the house tidiedup a bit, the little folks set off toward the house on the hill.

It was a long walk to the place where Alice lived, but the TeenieWeenies were so anxious to get there they never stopped once to

rest.They met Tilly Titter on the way and she gave the little people abit of important news.

Alice is out in the yard this morning, joyfully announced Tilly,who loved the importance of carrying news. She isnt crying thismorning, but theres no tellin when she will start. Aint that so,Jem?

Quite so, quite so, nodded the Mouse.


14/24

What part of the yard is she in?asked the Lady of Fashion, pullingnervously at her tiny handkerchief, which was trimmed with spiderweblace and was no bigger than thehead of a carpet tack.

Shes back of the ouse near thelilac bush, aint she, Jem?answered Tilly, nodding at theMouse.

Quite so, said the Mouse, but I

might add a little to the right of the back of the lilac bush.

Jem is a terrible stickler for facts, chirped Tilly.

Quite so, quite so, answered the Mouse. I believe in the truth.Thats why I am against Swiss cheeseits half full of holes andholes in cheese are dishonest. Having delivered such a longspeech, Jem looked defiantly at the Teenie Weenies, ready to fightfor his belief if they dared question it.

No one being interested in the discussion of Swiss cheese, the talk

quickly turned to Alice.

Do you think we can get a look at her? asked the General.

Surest thing you know, answered Tilly. Just work up beind thelilac bush and youll see her.

The little folks made their way across the lawn in front of thehouse and after climbing the high hills of the potato patch they

slipped quietly up behind some bushes. Peering through thebranches, the Teenie Weenies saw Alice sitting on the ground andthe little folks stared for some time in silence.

Alice was certainly a most pretty child and the Teenie Weeniesgazed at her with wide open eyes. They had only a short look,however, for the child soon got up and disappeared around thecorner of the house.

The Teenie Weenies waited for a long time, hoping she would


15/24

All the little folks were much impressed with the sad expression onthe childs lovely face and they thought it was mighty strange, forsuch a sweet child ought to be happy.

Theres some tragedy there, remarked the General as the TeenieWeenies walked back to their tiny home.

appear again, but she did not come out and there was nothing todo but go back to the old shoe house.


16/24

Several of the littlepeople, hidden under aburdock leaf, were watching her oafternoon when a beesettled on her daintyhand. The child was

frightened, but she did

There is one thing in which the Teenie Weenies are mightyparticular and that is to keep well out of the way of big folks. Notthat they are afraid of them, but because the big people are so verybig and the Teenie Weenies are so tiny. What we might think wasmost gentle would be terribly rough to a Teenie Weenie. A TeenieWeenie can feel the ground tremble when a big person walkswithin a block of him, and if a big person should accidentally kicka pebble with his foot, it might fly against one of the little folks andcrush him.

If a big person should notice a Teenie Weenie, of course he or shewould be wonderfully surprised to see such a tiny creature, andthe first thing they would do would be to try and catch him.

Probably that would be the last of the Teenie Weenie, for a bigperson could hardly pick up one of the little people withoutinjuring him, unless they were wonderfully gentle.

The Teenie Weenies spent much of their time prowling about theplace where A1ice lived, but they were always careful to keep wellout of sight. They felt terribly sorry for the sad little girl and theywould have been most happy to comfort her but they were afraid to

take the chance of being injured.

Day by day the Teenie Weenies noticed how gentle the little girlwasshe was careful to avoid stepping on the ants, she was tender

of the butterflies andone day she did a thingthat displayed hergentleness.

Chapter 4


17/24

drop it in her lap some day when she is sitting in the yard.

Everyone thought the Generals idea a fine one, so they set to workat once writing the letter.

Now a Teenie Weenie letter is so tiny that Alice could not see the

writing, so the little folks were forced to get a large piece of paperabout the size of an envelope and on that they painted the wordswith a brush.

The little people had a hard time with the letterthe first one waspoorly done so they decided to do it over, and when that one wasnearly finished the Dunce spilled a thimble full of ink right in themiddle of it.

The third letter was a success and it was carefully folded and held

Anyone as gentle and kind-hearted as that would never hurt aTeenie Weenie, the General told the little folks one evening and all

the little folks agreed with him.How would we approach her, General? asked the Lady ofFashion. If we should suddenly appear before her withoutwarning, why, it might frighten her to see such little people.

I have been thinking about that, answered the General, and Ibelieve it would be best to write her a note and get Tillie Titter to

not knock the bee off and the Teenie Weenies quickly saw she wasafraid of hurting the bee if she tried it. It was just that little thingthat made the General decide to make friends with her.


18/24

One morning the Teenie Weenies saw Alice sitting in the yard andthey hurriedly brought out the letter which had been carefullyhidden under a board near by. Tilly caught the note in her beak

and flew slowly towards the little girl. When she was directly overthe childs head, the bird dropped the letter and it fluttered downright into the little girls lap.

Why, its for me! she exclaimed, as she glanced at the address on

the top of the folded note. This is what she saw:

in readiness for delivery. Tilly Titter promised to deliver the letter,but it was several days before an opportunity arrived.


19/24

Chapter 5

and leaving it at the foot of the old cherry tree at the back of thegarden. In case you should leave the note for us, it would be well toput a pebble on top of it to keep it from blowing away.

With best wishes,

The Teenie Weenies.

P.S. Please write the note, if you should leave one for us, in assmall writing as you can, for it will be much easier for us tohandle. T.W.

Oh, how wonderful! cried the child and she glanced all about her

in hopes of seeing some of the little folks.

Alice quickly unfolded the note and breathlessly read the message,just as it is set down on this page, word for word.

Dear Miss Alice Please do not think unkindly of us for writingthis letter, for we admire you very much. We understand that youare not very happy and if there is anything we could do to helpyou, we would gladly do so. We are a very tiny people, the tallest ofus stand just a trifle over three inches in your measurement. Wehave never made ourselves known to big folks like yourself, but wethink you are so kindly and gentle you would understand us andtherefore if we can be of service to you we will be glad.

If you care to call on us for help, you can do so by writing us a note


20/24

Dear me, what littlepeople the TeenieWeenies must be,murmured Alice aftershe had read the noteseveral times. Only

three inches tall! I canhardly believe it. Thenjumping to her feet, shedanced towards thehouse. Just as shereached the door sheturned around andraising her arms she

cried: Butterflies, birds, bees, dandelion down and bugs, listen tome! Hurry, all of you, and tell the Teenie Weenies I am answeringtheir letter.

A moment later she disappeared into the house and Tilly Titter,who had been sitting in a near-by tree, quickly flew under a bushacross the yard where the Teenie Weenies had been anxiouslywatching.

What do you think of that? chirped Tilly, hopping about withdelight. I knew she would answer your note.

Do you really think she will? asked the Lady of Fashion.

Of course she will, wont she, Jem?

Infinitely so, said the Mouse, bowing gravely to the Lady ofFashion.

Ill tell you what Ill do, cried Tilly. Ill fly around the ouse andsee if I cant get a squint through a window. Maybe I can find outwhether she is: answering the letter or not. Aint that right, Jem?

Positively so, yawned the Mouse.

Tilly flew up into the air and disappeared around the corner of thehouse while the little folks waited anxiously for news. Presently the

bird returned and reported that Alice was busy answering their


21/24


22/24

The Teenie Weenies saw Alice from their hiding place when she brought the note

out and left it at the cherry tree and they were so excited to see what she had

written they nearly expired while waiting for a chance to get the note. But as long

as the little lady watched the Teenie Weenies were forced to wait.

The little people tried to get Tilly Titter to bring the note to them, but the stone ontop was quite too heavy for the little bird to lift. They would have asked Jem, the

Mouse, to get it, but he was fast asleep, and although they shook him until they

nearly shook his whiskers off, he never batted an eye.

Well just have to wait until Alice gets tired of watching, said the General.

So he sat down on a peach seed to wait. The Turk and the Policeman offered to

get the note, but the General thought it was not best to show themselves until they

had read the letter. It was a terribly long hour that Alice watched, to the TeenieWeenies, but when she went into the house the little folks pounced down on the

note with the greatest speed.

It took some work to roll the pebble off the note, for Alice didnt realize just how

little the Teenie Weenies were and a small pebble is quite a rock to such tiny

folks.

The note was enclosed in a small envelope and across the front was written these

wordsFor the Teenie Weenies.Several of the little men caught up the

envelope and quickly carried it under a

near-by bush, just as Alice ran out of the

house. The Teenie Weenies rested for a

few seconds and then they hurried to the

shoe house where the envelope was

quickly chopped open with an ax. It was

quite windy and the little folks had muchtrouble getting the letter spread open so

they could read it, but at last they

succeeded and this is what they read:

Dear Teenie Weenies:

I dont think unkindly of you. I think

you are perfectly lovely to offer your

help. I need your help for I am very

Chapter 6


23/24

lonesome and I have no one to play with. Miss Bett, the lady with whom I am

staying, is so strange. I think she means to be nice, but she doesnt seem to know

how. She doesnt believe in fairies or anything. Will you please come and see me?

I am wild to see such little people as you Teenies Weenies. I will be very careful

and Ill promise anything you say if you will only come to see me. You can have

lots of fun with my toys and I will cook for you on my little stove. I will make lots

of good things for you to eat. Oh, please come to see me! If you only knew howlonesome I am you would come.

Your friend,

Alice.

P. S. In my prayers to-night I will pray for you to come.

What a lovely letter! exclaimed the Lady of Fashion. Cant we go to see her,

General?

Yes, in time, in time, answered the General. I would rather go to see her first,

for then I can explain just how careful she must be with such little people as

ourselves and then, if all seems well, we can go in a body to pay her a visit.

Do it quickly, cried the Dunce, and maybe she will cook us some cookies or

something good.

Maybe me can do her dollys, washie, said the kind-hearted little Chinaman.


24/24

Documents

William Donahey