IN MEMORY OF
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
who knew the child-mind and delighted in
its every fanciful imagining; who was himself
a child at heart, a player of make-believe, a
dweller in fairyland.
Indebted to the great Hoosier for guidance
and inspiration, another and a lesser Hoosier
has long felt a compelling desire to show
through the making of some such volume
as is here offered in dedication, his deep
appreciation and his abiding affection.
Johnny Enelle


LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE *
By JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
LITTI
ITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs
away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an'
sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'
keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,—
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him
bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an'
press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
**
Copyright, 1885, 1890, 1913, 1918, James Whitcomb Riley.


ORPHANT ANNIE
Greencastle?" Then in a gruff voice: "No, lady, this is the ten
forty-five for Indianapolis."
"Oh, dear!" Orphant Annie went on, but now in the thin
quavering voice of an old lady, “I wanted to go to Green-
castle!" The children could see the old lady with her shawl
pinned about her stooped shoulders and a little black
bonnet tied on her white head, while there before her
stood the big Conductor with all his shiny brass buttons and
his blue and gold cap.
"Well, I'll tell you what, Missus, we'll change this train to
run to Greencastle instead of Indianapolis! Get aboard there
and you'll find a seat right by the third window. That's it!
There you are!" Then as the children imagined the con-
ductor helping the little old lady on the train, Orphant
Annie turned and cupped her hands as if shouting a long way
down the train. "Hey, Bill!" And Bill answered from way
off where he sat in the engine cab, "Whatcha want?” “Turn
the train 'round, here's a nice ole lady wants to go to Green-
castle 'stead of Indianapolis !" the Conductor answered. "Aw
right,” came back from Bill, sitting up in his cab window way
down at the head of the train. Then with a cry from the Con-
ductor of “All aboard!” Orphant Annie picked up an arm-
ful of dry dishes and with much chug, chugging and shuffling
of feet, turned the train around and sent it to Greencastle
while she herself carried the dishes and arranged them in
the cupboard.
Many accidents happened on the trip, which lasted until
all the dishes were wiped and placed on the shelves.
As the last cup was put away, the train whistled and came
to a stop, and the Conductor helped down the old lady, who
promised to remember him in her will.
"There!" said Orphant Annie, her eyes dancing, “Le's go
in and play the organ and sing songs!" And with their arms
about her, the children went skipping from the kitchen.
6


STORY BOOK
"Oh, you mean the little Gnome! I had forgotten!"
laughed Orphant Annie. “It isn't every time that I can peel
a whole potato without breaking the curl! It's a sign of good
luck when you can do that, or else you will find a hidden
treasure, or a pocketbook filled with money that doesn't belong
to any one."
At the side of the woodshed there stood an old apple tree,
gnarled and twisted in all the agony of apple trees, and at the
bottom of the trunk there was a hole large enough for an
ordinary sized cat to crawl in and out.
"Did the little Gnome go into the hole in the apple tree?"
Carl asked.
“No, he just came out and went across the meadow,"
Orphant Annie answered. "Oh pshaw! I broke that one!"
she added, as another long curl fell in two pieces.
Carl and Bessie walked down to the apple tree and took
turns looking up into the hole, but it was so dark inside they
could see nothing.
Orphant Annie went on peeling the potatoes and paid not
the least heed to the children until they came again and sat
on the steps beside her. Then, as if it were quite natural for
them to know, she said, “Yes, he's lived there ever since the
tree was knee-high to a grasshopper.”
“How do you know, Orphant Annie?” Bessie asked.
Orphant Annie looked at her in surprise, but did not teil
how she knew.
“When that apple tree was a teeny weeny apple tree,” said
Orphant Annie, “the little Gnome lived over in a great oak
in the woods. He was a very kindly little fellow and when-
ever any of the other woodland folk were in trouble, he would
always help them as much as he could. When Mrs. Bunnikin's
rabbit babies ate bitter toadstools, the little Gnome ran over
to the Bunnikin home and gave them just the right kind of
medicine, so their fat little stomachs would not ache. Indeed
9



1
၁၀၀၀၀၀၀၀
со
8
Ei
JOHNNY
When Mrs. Bunnikin's rabbit babies ate bitter toadstools, the little Gnome
ran over to the Bunnikin home and gave them just the right kind of medicine,
so their fat little stomachs would not ache


ORPHANT ANNIE
when any of the woodland creatures came quietly along, they
could bump right into him and knock him head over heels!
So you see, even if Minky-the-Magician was invisible, he
could be scented and he could be felt.
.
“One day Wally Woodpecker, the woodland mail carrier,
who wears such a fine red hat, brought the little Gnome
word that Mrs. Henrietta Hedgehog wanted him to run right
over to her house, for one of the Hedgehog twins had swal-
lowed an acorn and had a very bad stomach-ache. So the
little Gnome picked up his medicine case and ran out the door
of his tree-home as fast as he could run, and as it happened,
Minky-the-Magician was at that moment looking through the
little Gnome's keyhole, so when the little Gnome ran out
through the door, he bumped right smack into Minky-the-
Vagician and knocked him down. The little Gnome was sur-
prised to feel such a bump and not be able to see what caused
it, but he was in a hurry, so, picking up his hat, he ran on
through the woods to Mrs. Henrietta's home. Of course the
little Gnome did not know that Minky-the-Magician was very
angry because he had been bumped into and knocked over,
1
1

1
1
nor did he know that Minky had a large stick with which he
intended whacking the little Gnome when he caught up with
him. Nor did the little Gnome know that Minky-the-
Magician was so close at his heels when he opened Mrs.
Henrietta Hedgehog's door and slammed it shut behind
him. If the little Gnome had known that Minky-the-Magi-
14


ORPHANT ANNIE
years. And do
"And Minky said he thought that would be very nice, so
he moved right in with the little Gnome and the two of them
have been living there for years and
you
know
it is very hard to tell Minky from the little Gnome when you
see them together. I do not believe that many of the woodfolk
know whether it is Minky or the little Gnome who is doing
kindnesses for them!"
"Does Minky-the-Magician help the little Gnome take
care of the woodland creatures?" Bessie asked.
"Oh, yes!" Orphant Annie replied. "And he has taught the
little Gnome all the good magic there was in the large magic
book, so that between the two of them, they can do a great
deal of good and bring a lot of happiness to the woodland
creatures.
"Gracious me! Was that eleven o'clock that just struck?"
Orphant Annie cried as she got to her feet. “I'll have to fry
these potatoes in a jiffy for I heard your Daddy say he wanted
an early dinner so he could get into town around one o'clock!"
And with this, Orphant Annie ran into the kitchen, leaving
the children sitting on the porch step gazing in the direction
of the gnarled apple tree, in the hope that they might catch
a glimpse of the little Gnome or the Magician who had been
changed from an ugly selfish creature into a happy one with
a heart filled with sympathy and love for others.
1

1
1


ORPHANT ANNIE
arms.
up at the tired old horse. There was a twinkle in Orphant
Annie's eyes as she nodded her head and said: “Dan, I believe
you were fibbing to me!" Carl and Bessie smiled, but remained
silent. “If you two could understand horse talk, I'd have old
Dan tell you what he just told me!" laughed Orphant Annie
as she lay back on the grass and pillowed her head upon her
“But you can't understand him so I'll tell you myself
what it was.
“He said that his great-great-grandfather-horse worked
for a man who did nothing but pick up rags and bottles and
bones and pieces of iron and brass which he sold to a junk
dealer. And he said that the rag-man for whom he worked
was such a gentle and kindly man that he never touched him
with a whip or even spoke crossly to him. Every evening
Dan's grandpa-horse and the rag-man went to the rag-man's
home and the rag-man always fed and watered the grandpa-
horse before he ate his own supper. And the rag-man was
very, very poor for he only made a few pennies each day.
But all the children in the town liked the rag-mạn and his
grandpa-horse, because the rag-man gave them pennies to buy
goodies with, and the old grandpa-horse would let them climb
all over his back or even pull his tail without so much as
Alicking an ear.
“But there were people in the town who did not like the
rag-man. It may have been because he was just a rag-man,
or it may have been because he was poor and did not live in
à fine house and wear fine clothes as they did. Anyway, one
of the persons who did not like the rag-man and the grandpa-
horse was a very rich man with very fine clothes, who had
lots and lots of gold dollars and who owned lots and lots of
big houses. In fact, he even owned the barn in which the
rag-man and his grandpa-horse lived. But the rich man would
never do anything for any of his houses. He let them go
until the roofs leaked and the people had to sit in bed with
20



GRUELLE
Old Mister Doodlesnipper didn't say a word, he just went out to the kitchen
and ate all the Goblins' pancakes and maple syrup and then came in and sat
down facing Gertrude Gartersnake


ORPHANT ANNIE
her things out of the cunning little acorn house. And Charlie
Cricket said 'deed, he would be glad to when he got back
from Aunty Katydid's new corncob house.
"So Mama Ladybug promised Aunty Katydid that she
would come over and see her some day and asked Aunty Katy-
did to come back and see her too:
“Then after Aunty Katydid had gone, Mama Ladybug sat
down and thought, 'I believe I'll run down to town and tell
Daddy Ladybug. He'll be mighty tickled I know!
"So Mama Ladybug ran all the way down to the little
bug village and told Daddy Ladybug. And Daddy Ladybug
was real tickled.
" "I'll tell you what, Mama Ladybug! Daddy Ladybug
said, 'you go back home and pack all the dishes, and I'll
bring a lot of paint and we'll paint the inside of the corncob
house just like Aunty Katydid's new house!'
“Mama Ladybug thought this was very nice, so she ran
home to pack the dishes and Daddy Ladybug took a lot of
paint and painted the long hall of the new corncob house.
Then when Charlie Cricket did not return from Aunty Katy-
did's house and it began to grow dark, instead of staying in
their own cozy, cunning little acorn house until morning,
Daddy Ladybug ran over and said, 'Mama Ladybug, shall we
spend the night at the new house?' And Mama Ladybug said,
You betcha!' and hippitty hop they went right over in the
dark to their corncob house. But the paint was still wet and
the two foolish Ladybugs had to crawl up to the ceiling of
the long corncob hall and hang there all night."
"I would rather have stayed in the cunning little acorn
house," said Bessie.
“So would I," exclaimed Carl.
"Well, that's just what I say!" Orphant Annie agreed, as
she smiled at the Ladybug still walking up her hand. "But
they went anyway and climbed to the top of the hallway out
40



of the wet paint. Then they had hardly got to sleep when
some larger creature, running through the woods stepped on
the corncob house and sent it rolling down the hill. And as
the corncob house went rolling along, Mama and Daddy
Ladybug began running around the sides of the long hallway,
first across the ceiling, then as the corncob turned over, they
found themselves running across the wet paint. And when
their feet got covered with the wet paint, they would slip from
the ceiling and, splash! they would fall down into the wet red
paint upon their backs!"
Carl and Bessie joined in Orphant Annie's laughter as
they thought of the two Ladybugs scrambling over the walls
as the corncob house rolled along.
"Finally,” said Orphant Annie, "when the corncob house
stopped rolling, Mama Ladybug and Daddy Ladybug were
so tired they just lay down where they were and went sound
asleep. And in the morning, what a sight they were! Their
backs were covered with red paint that had dried hard in the
night, so instead of being nice white Ladybugs, they were red
Ladybugs.
“Mama Ladybug looked at Daddy Ladybug and cried and
cried, and Daddy Ladybug looked at Mama Ladybug and he
cried and cried. At last, thinking of their nice little cozy
acorn house, they opened the door of the corncob house and
1
41



VI
THE NINE LITTLE GOBLINS WITH GREEN EYES
"O
!"
said Orphant Annie, when the children had teased her
into telling them a story. “And they had nine little goblin
wives with red eyes. The nine little goblin wives had red eyes
because they spent all their time in weeping. They were
always sad, it seemed, and nothing the nine little green-eyed
goblins could do seemed to please them.
"If it happened to be a rainy day, one of the little green
eyed goblins would look out of the window and say: 'Ho, ho!
It's raining to-day! And at that all of the nine little goblin
wives would begin crying in different keys, which sounded
so funny that the nine little green-eyed goblin husbands would
have to run out in the kitchen and snicker with their hankies
in their mouths to keep their wives from hearing them laugh.
For the nine little green-eyed goblins were happy little fellows
and could see fun in almost anything.
"And when the goblins awakened in the morning to find
the sun shining brightly, if one of the little green-eyed goblins
43


ORPHANT ANNIE
the Groundhog children sometimes muss the garden up a good
deal!"
"Shucks!" Carl exclaimed, "what difference does it make?
We always have more than we can use anyway and stuff is
left in the garden that just lays there and spoils!"
"You are right, Carl," Orphant Annie laughed, "but the
Hired Man does not think of that. Why, when Georgiana
Groundhog says to one of the Groundhog boys, Willie, take
the basket and run over to the garden and bring back some
vegetables,' Willie Groundhog hustles about his errand with
his little Groundhog heart beating as happily as any real for
sure, grown-up boy's, when he is doing something nice to help
his mother. And if, when he runs to the garden, he sees a
great big Hired Man rise up from behind the fence with
something in his hands that makes a great bang, you can
imagine just how frightened Willie becomes. You see, the
Groundhogs do not know that the Hired Man plants the
vegetables in the garden. The Groundhogs think they just
grow there for every one who cares to take them. So they
don't know it is stealing when they take the vegetables !"
"I wonder what Groundhogs do to amuse themselves?"
Carl asked.
"Oh, don't worry," laughed Orphant Annie, “they have
lots of fun, and that is what I started out to tell you. You
know, nearly all animals can see much better than we can,
for Mother Nature has given them very keen eyes. So they
often see Fairies and Pixies and Dwarfs and Elves and
Gnomes and everything like that; and it is quite easy for
Georgiana Groundhog to see a Pixie, if the Pixie wishes to
be seen.
"Well, one day a Pixie did wish to be seen, for he walked
right up to Georgiana Groundhog's doorway where she was
sweeping and said: 'Good morning Georgiana Groundhog.
It's a nice day, isn't it?'
62


ORPHANT ANNIE
“And Georgiana Groundhog looked around and saw the
dear little Pixie and she said: 'Good morning, cunning little
Pixie! Yes, it is a lovely day.'
“And the Pixie dug his little toe in the soft ground as if
he wanted to ask something but was shy about doing it. So
Georgiana Groundhog laughed a little Groundhog laugh and
asked: “What is it you want, little Pixie?'
“Then the little Pixie laughed a little Pixie laugh and
said: 'I'd like a piece of bread and butter with sugar on it.'
“So Georgiana Groundhog leaned her broom against the
front door and said, 'Come around to the kitchen, Mr. Pixie,
and I'll see what we can find !'
"Then Georgiana Groundhog led the way to the kitchen
and opened the cupboard door. "Which would you rather
have, Mister Pixie?' Georgiana Groundhog asked, 'bread
and butter with sugar on it, or bread and butter with honey
on it, or bread and butter with raspberry jelly on it?'
“The little Pixie fidgeted around as if he were embar-
rassed, so Georgiana Groundhog laughed again and said,
'Now, Mister Pixie, you just sit on that chair and I'll fix you
a piece of bread and butter with sugar on it, and a piece of
bread and butter with honey on it, and a piece of bread and
butter with raspberry jelly on it! And that is what she did.
"Then she gave the little Pixie a glass of spring water and
when he had eaten the three pieces of bread, she washed the
raspberry jelly from around his mouth and asked him: 'Have
you had enough?'
“And the little Pixie said, 'Yes, thank you, and it was very,
very good, too."
“I'm glad you liked it,' Georgiana Groundhog said.
"I
guess
I'll go home now,' replied the little Pixie.
"Where do you live?' Georgiana Groundhog asked him.
“Would you like to see where I live?' the little Pixie
asked in reply. And when Georgiana Groundhog exclaimed,
64


STORY BOOK
And so something to wear grew on all the bushes, neckties and
everything, and all the Groundhogs had to do was to pick the
slippers, stockings, pants and dresses and bonnets and hats
that fitted them, and the first thing you knew, they were
dressed so prettily they hardly knew themselves.
"Then when the little Pixie came out he was so pleased
to see they had helped themselves that he told them the Pixies
always grew the clothes for little creatures of the fields and
forests, and led them out the back garden gate and into what
looked like a large Fair Ground, for there were shows and
swings and candy booths and pop-corn places and peanut-
brittle shops and lemonade stands and ice-cream soda, foun-
tains and roller-coasters and merry-go-rounds, and everything.
Not large ones like we have, but small, ones for the little
creatures of the fields and forests. And there, riding on the
merry-go-rounds and roller-coasters and eating ice-cream and
lollypops, were hundreds of little creatures, playing together
and having the nicest time. You see,' said the little Pixie,
‘all of the creatures here have been invited by the Pixies, and
it is a Pixie law that there must be no fighting or quarreling,
nor must any creature harm another while in Pixie land!
"And sure enough, the happy Groundhog family saw that
old Mister Fox was having the nicest time riding on the
merry-go-round with Mrs Rabbit, and Winifred Weazel was
showing two little Chipmunk boys all around the great
Amusement Park.
« Now I must leave you,' said Pixie to the Groundhog
family, ‘and go bring others here, so have as much fun as you
possibly can and when you get ready to leave just walk to the
spot where you came in and say what I told you to say at the
stone. Then you can go back home!
“So Georgiana Groundhog and George Groundhog and
Willie and Winnie Groundhog all thanked the dear little
Pixie and asked him to come see them. And then they went
67



IX
THE THINGAMAJIG AND THE WHATCHAMACALLIT
"THE
HE Thingamajig and the Whatchamacallit once had an
argument as to which one was right,” said Orphant
Annie, as she held the new pup under the pump while Carl
pumped the water over him. “The Thingamajig said that
fleas hopped and the Whatchamacallit said that fleas jumped.
"Here, now! don't you do that!" Orphant Annie cried, as
the puppy wiggled and twisted to get out from under the
water spout. “You have to get your bath. There, that's
enough, Carl. Now hand me the soap, please.
“Well, sir," Orphant Annie said, as she rubbed the new
puppy dog's back with the soap and covered him with the
lather, "the Thingamajig and the Whatchamacallit argued
and argued until they grew tired, then they rested and thought
up new things to say to each other, then they would start all
over again and argue until it was time to go to bed.
69



WHEESWIDDLE
GROCERY
ORO
FM
JOHNN
GRUE LLE
The Thingamajig and the Whatchamacallit argued and argued


ORPHANT ANNIE
good evening to him and then started their argument all over
again.
" 'I tell you, Whatchamacallit, you are wrong! cried the
Thingamajig
“'I tell you I'm right and it is you who are wrong! the
Whatchamacallit replied, as he reached in the cracker barrel
and took a handful of crackers.
“ 'I tell you that I AM right! cried the Thingamajig, as
he, too, reached into the cracker barrel and took a handful
of crackers.
“ 'It looks like it might rain to-morrow,' said the Snarſy-
gig, as he reached into the cracker barrel and took a handful
of crackers.
“They jump! cried the Whatchamacallit with his mouth
full of crackers.

HISMARK
BERRING
womente
POLLY
TI
0
GINGER
(RACKERS
SNAPS
I||||



1
PER 79205
‘Oh, yes,' said the Snarlygig, as he reached into the prune
box and took another handful of prunes. 'Every one knows
that fleas skip. Yes, yes, indeed.'
"'I knew they did,' said the Thingamajig and the What-
chamacallit together, “but I didn't want to let on that I knew it.'
“So the Thingamajig and the Whatchamacallit shook
hands and agreed never to argue again, and went home.
"When they got home, the Thingamajig said, 'I knew all
along that fleas jumped.' And the Whatchamacallit said,
'And I knew all along that fleas hopped, and we have just been
contrary, and all about some silly little thing, too.'
“ 'Yes,' replied the Thingamajig, and I am ashamed of
myself.
"And I am ashamed of myself, too,' said the Whatchama-
callit.
75



8
1
000
Jom
མམས ༦ • ཙ ་ཆགས་
Ć
1
7
1
EL
of boards and put a padlock on it so that no one could open
it except herself.”'
“Didn't she give them any food ?" Carl asked.
"Oh, yes,” Orphant Annie replied, "Witchy Crosspatch
knew that the tiny little people would not last until summer
time unless she fed them. But she only gave them bread
crumbs, and lots and lots of nights she forgot to give them
anything at all."
"She must have been very wicked and cruel,” Bessie said,
her heart swelling at the thought of any one mistreating such
dear little cunning creatures.
"Indeed she was," Orphant Annie agreed. “But cross-
patches always think more of themselves than of others, or
they would not be crosspatches.
“But someway or other, even though they did not get the
kind of food they were used to, the little fairy family lived
in the wooden box until the warm sun melted the ice and
snow, and the leaves and grasses became green in their summer
dresses. Then Witchy Crosspatch caught the Epizoodick
from eating too many toadstools and had to stay in her bed
for days and days, so the tiny little fairies went without any-
thing to eat at all.
1
1
Ć
1
1
79


ORPHANT ANNIE
when he saw that it was Georgie Grasshopper, 'for Witchy
Crosspatch has locked all my brothers and sisters in it, and
I am sure they must be very tired living in a stuffy box!'
“ Yes, indeed, they must be uncomfortable! Georgie Grass-
hopper said, and he scratched his head, trying to think of a
way to help the little fairy rescue the other fairies. Finally
Georgie Grasshopper scratched just the right spot on his head
and so thought of a plan. “Just you wait until I return! he
said to the little fairy. And Georgie Grasshopper crawled
out under the kitchen door. Pretty soon he was back again,
and with him came hundreds of his uncles and aunts and
cousins and grandpas and grandmas, and Georgie Grasshopper
jumped up on the wooden box and said, Now I will work
until I get tired, then another Grasshopper can work until
he gets tired and in a short time we will have all of the little
fairies out of the box.'
"The little fairy wondered how Georgia Grasshopper ex-
pected to get the box opened but it did not take him very
long to find out. See,” said Orphant Annie as she held up the
Grasshopper. “Each Grasshopper has queer long legs that
look just like saws. And of course that is what Georgie Grass-
hopper thought of. So he sat down on the edge of the top
of the box and used one leg as a saw until it grew tired, then
he used the other leg and sawed away until it grew tired.
When he had done this six or seven times, Georgie Grass-
hopper was ready for a rest, so another grasshopper jumped
up on the box, took his place and sawed until he grew tired.
“It was fortunate that Witchy Crosspatch had made the
box out of thin boards, for it was very hard work for the
grasshoppers. But they were willing little workers and kept
at it until they sawed a hole large enough for all the fairies
to climb through. And it wasn't a very large hole either, for
living only on bread crumbs had not by any means made the
little fairies any fatter.
82