Once upon a time, Tommy the tortoise and Squeaky the mouse lived in a Magical Garden. One sunny day, the sun glittered through the leaves on the tall trees and painted the flowers with a thousand colors red and blue, yellow and green, and all the other colors you can think of. All the insects were out too. Billy the bee was buzzing to the flowers saying, “Don’t be so slow; I’m getting nearly starved to death,” while Polly the parrot was screeching out jokes to Lemon the lizard and Tip the Toad.
Tommy the tortoise opened one eye and looked about him. Then he opened the other eye and looked some more.
“Well!” he said, “this is fine. Just think of all those lovely flowers to munch.”
But Squeaky the mouse could not see anything to eat.
“Oh dear!” said Squeaky. “I can’t find anything to munch.”
“Of course not, you’re so small,” said Tommy. “You can’t see cake that’s under your very nose.”
“Oh yes I can,” squeaked Squeaky, “and oh look, there’s a chance for my dinner now,” and he hopped down the road, sniffing and sniffing as he ran along.
“I’m sure that’s something very good,” he said.
“Heil!” called Tommy, who is fond of giving German salutes, but Squeaky did not hear him. “Anyway, I’m not going today,” Tommy said. “It’s too hot, and it might rain before I get back.”
So Tommy sat up and looked down the road to where Squeaky was hopping to. Soon he could see a pretty bit of blue, shining like the clear water of a pond.
Now the more Squeaky sniffed, the more he found he was right. There just before him was a big hole in the ground, and in it there was a lovely blue cake such as never was seen.
“Yum! yum! how sweet it smells,” squeaked Squeaky, standing up on his hind legs, with his eyes dancing with delight.
“I’m sure it’s a lovely cake, though it’s rather too blue,” and he hopped into the hole to have a taste. Yes, it was a lovely cake enough. Squeaky nibbled a piece and then threw his paws up in the air and clapped them together to show how good it was.
“I’m getting nearly starved,” he squealed, “and this is delicious. I never ate such a lovely cake before.”
But what he did not know was he was nibbling at the blue icing of a big wedding cake that Jack and Jill, a couple of stout folks, were to have for their wedding feast.
“I say,” squeaked Squeaky, “who lives here, I wonder?”
Then he saw a fork standing at the side of the big white plate that held the big blue cake. Forgive him, he couldn’t help it; it was stronger than he was. He felt he must stick his nose in the fork; he felt he must hop on to it, too. Until he got his feet off the floor, it was no go at all, and he did not want to hurt the wedding cake Jack and Jill were to eat at their wedding breakfast. But no sooner had he jumped down on the plate than
“Ban-n-ng!” went the plate fluttering in the air, and Squeaky the mouse found himself rushing round and round with the plate, fast asleep, as dizzy as a dog with a bad fit.
“Oh dear, oh dear, what will Tommy think?” squeaked Squeaky; and then just then was the time Tommy had just got up to quickly.
Squeaky had no sooner struck up than over came Mr. Tortoise.
“Squeaky! Squeaky!” he called out.
“I’m here,” squeaked Squeaky the mouse, as loud as he could, but Tommy couldn’t hear him.
Then Tommy looked down the road toward where Squeaky had gone.
“I wonder where Squeaky can be,” he said. “I wish I’d gone with him. I’ll just peek in that hole in the ground. Yes, he is, of the fresh air. Come out, Squeaky,” Tommy cried.
But Squeaky could not get out, he was so dizzy with turning round and round. So Tommy got hold of the fork in his strong mouth. But try as he would he was not strong enough. At last he had an idea.
“I’ll stick my head through one of the forks,” he said to himself; and so he stuck his head through a big fork, and then he twisted himself till he could hold the other end with his mouth near the points. Then he began to pull and he began to pull and he began to pull until he pulled away Squeaky the mouse all in one piece as you would pull up a flower out of the ground.
“Oh, thank you, Tommy, thank you!” squeaked Squeaky.
“I’m so afraid I hurt your nice merry-go-round,” squeaked Squeaky.
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Tommy. “That’s all right. And don’t go eating strange cakes, that’s all.”
They then went off to see Tilly, their neighbor, who was to meet Polly the parrot, Shag the shaggy dog, Fan the fawn, and quite a number of other friends for a stroll under the trees near the big pond.
Then they all went together to watch a snail have a race with a frog.
This wowee how they did yell! And then they rushed off home to play the tambourine, fetch and carry, and what not, till supper time and bed time.