STORY XXVIII

TOODLE AND JIMMIE

Toodle and Noodle Flat-tail, the little beaver boys, were playing on the bank of the pond in which their house was built. They had made a mud slide, which was slippery with water, and down that they were coasting, having almost as much fun as if there was snow and ice on the ground and they had red sleds, with blue tops, to ride on down the long hill.

"Come on!" called Toodle, when he had slid down backward, just to see how it would feel, "let's go down backward again, Noodle, and see who will slide the farthest."

"All right," agreed Noodle. "Wait until I get to the top, so we can both start even and at the same time."

Up the mud slide, which was just a bank of dirt near an old stump, scrambled Toodle and Noodle and then they got ready to go down backward.

"Are you all ready?" asked Noodle.

"All ready!" cried Toodle.

"Then here we go!" shouted Noodle, and down the mud slide they went backward.

But, oh, dear me! something happened. Just as they got to the bottom of the little slippery hill, old Mr. Chunky-lunky, the biggest, fattest beaver gentleman in the pond, came walking along. He was so fat that he couldn't see his shoes when he stood up straight and his neck was so thick he couldn't bend it, so of course he did not see Toodle and Noodle sliding right toward him.

The first thing he knew his hind paws were knocked out from under him, and down he came—"ker-flummux!"

"Ugh!" grunted old Mr. Chunky-lunky, and that was all he could say just then, for the breath was knocked out of him. He nearly sat down on Toodle and Noodle, who had bumped into him without in the least meaning to, and, if old Mr. Chunky-lunky had sat down on either of the beaver boys he would have squashed him flatter than a pancake. But this did not happen, I'm glad to say.

"Why—er—what—er—what happened?" panted old Mr. Chunky-lunky as he got up and brushed the dirt out of his ears.

"I—I guess we happened," said Toodle.

"You see, we were sliding down the mud-hill backward," explained Noodle.

"No," spoke Mr. Chunky-lunky, "I didn't see—that was the trouble. But, never mind, boys, you didn't mean to do it, I'm sure."

"Oh, no, we wouldn't think of doing such a thing!" cried Noodle. "Would we, Toodle?"

"No, indeed!" answered Toodle, and then he picked up old Mr. Chunky-lunky's hat to hand to him. The hat was a little muddy, but just then along came Jimmie Wibblewobble, the boy duck, and with his wing feathers he dusted the dirt off the beaver gentleman's hat until it was as good as new.

"Now, boys, don't slide down any more hills backward," said old Mr. Chunky-lunky as he waddled away, with his head high in the air, because he was too fat to look down.

Well, Toodle and Noodle played on the mud slide for some time longer, and then, all of a sudden—no, a big black bear did not jump out from behind a lollypop ice cream cone. I was going to put a bear in this story, but I've changed my mind about it.

So, all of a sudden, Mrs. Flat-tail called out from the front stoop:

"Hi, Noodle, Toodle! I want one of you to go to the store for me."

"Let Toodle go, ma!" cried Noodle.

"Oh, no, let Noodle go, ma!" cried Toodle.

"I went last time," said Noodle, sort of quick like.

"Well, I went with you, so it's your turn to go now all alone," spoke Toodle.

"Come, boys," cried Mrs. Flat-tail. "I'm in a hurry. I want a cocoanut to make a cake."

"Oh, I'll go!" cried Toodle, before his brother could say anything. "I'll go, mamma!"

"Ha!" laughed Jimmie Wibblewobble. "I guess I'll go too, Toodle. I could help you carry the cocoanut if you happened to drop it."

"Let's all go!" suggested Noodle. "Because if the cocoanut does fall and break, some one would have to pick up the pieces, and if there were any very little ones it might be better to eat them instead of letting them go to waste. We'll all go!"

So it was decided and the two beaver boys and Jimmie Wibblewobble, the duck, started out, Mrs. Flat-tail giving them the money for the cocoanut and also some for a cake of soap. But, of course, a cake of soap is not good to eat.

On and on the boy beavers and the duck went to the store, and soon they reached it. The store was kept by an old beaver gentleman named Skilly-scaly, because he was always weighing things on his scales. But he was no relation to the skillery-scalery alligator, with the humps on his tail.

Toodle and Noodle got what their mamma had sent them for and Toodle said:

"I'll carry the cocoanut; you might drop it, Noodle."

"So might you," said his brother. "We can carry it between us and Jimmie will take the cake of soap. See, we will tie the cocoanut to a long pole and carry it between us."

"That's a good plan," said the little duck boy.

So the round, brown, shaggy cocoanut was fixed up that way and slung on a pole between Toodle and Noodle, who carried it on their shoulders. Jimmie carried the soap on his back, where it would not get wet.

On the way home the beaver boys and the little duck chap came to a new pond of water. It had been built by some new beavers, who raised up a dam at one end, so the water could not run away, for they wanted to have their houses in the water, you see.

"Oh, let's swim across this pond!" cried Noodle.

"I'm with you," said Jimmie, who, being a duck, could swim very well, you know.

Of course, being a duck, Jimmie Wibblewobble could not swim under water as can beaver boys. But for all that Jimmie did very well.

"It won't hurt the cocoanut to get wet," said Toodle. "We can jump in the water and pull it after us like a boat."

"To be sure," said Noodle.

"And I can swim with the soap on my back, so that will not get wet and melt," said Jimmie.

Into the water plunged the three friends, and Toodle and Noodle, pulling the cocoanut between them, watched the big beavers at work, and made up their minds that they would tell their papa and mamma about the new neighbors, so they could pay them a visit.

Well, everything was going along nicely, when, all of a sudden, as Jimmie was swimming close by an old log, he gave a sudden cry.

"Quack! Quack! Quackity-quack!" he yelled. "Oh, dear!"

"Why, what is the matter?" asked Toodle, quickly swimming up close to his friend.

"Oh, something has hold of my leg, down under water," said the duck boy. "I think it is a bad water rat. Oh, dear!"

Jimmie pulled and tugged, trying to get loose, but he could not. He was held fast.

"Quick!" cried Toodle to his brother Noodle. "You swim home and get Grandpa Whackum. He'll know what to do. I'll stay by Jimmie!"

Off swam Noodle for help and Toodle stayed with the duck boy. And then the bad water rat, who had hold of Jimmie's leg under water, began pulling him along to his den beneath the rushes.

"Oh, save me! Save me!" cried poor Jimmie. "The rat is taking me away."

"I'll see if I can save you!" cried Toodle, and down under the water he dived. Surely enough, he saw the bad rat who had hold of Jimmie's leg.

"Let go my friend!" cried Toodle, bravely.

"No, no!" snapped the rat. "I'm going to eat him!" and that rat showed his teeth under water, which made them look very big, and he growled at Toodle so that the little beaver boy was frightened.

Up he came out of the water. He did not know how to save Jimmie, until, all of a sudden, he saw the cake of soap on the duck's back. It had not fallen off, very luckily.

"Ha!" cried Toodle. "I have it. I'll make a lot of soapsuds in the water; it will get in the rat's eyes, and he'll have to let Jimmie go."

No sooner said than done. Holding the cake of soap in his paws, Toodle sozzled it around in the water until he had made a thick lather. Of course, none got in his eyes, or in Jimmie's. But the bad rat's eyes got full of soapsuds, and so did his mouth, and you know how badly soap tastes. So the rat let go of Jimmie's leg and swam off to wash in some clean water, crying:

"Oh, dear! How my eyes hurt! Oh, that Toodle Flat-tail is too smart for me."

And so Toodle saved Jimmie, and when Grandpa Whackum came swimming back with Noodle there was nothing for him to do. So the duck and the beavers swam home together, and Mrs. Flat-tail made a lovely cocoanut cake, without any soap in it, and gave them all some.

And next, if the cork doesn't pop out of the ink bottle and blacken the eye of the needle, when it tries to sew a button on the bean bag, I'll tell you about Noodle helping Uncle Wiggily.