Further Doings of Milly-Molly-Mandy Read online

  Contents

  1 Milly-Molly-Mandy Has a Tea-Party

  2 Milly-Molly-Mandy Minds a Baby

  3 Milly-Molly-Mandy Goes Motoring

  4 Milly-Molly-Mandy Gets a Surprise

  5 Milly-Molly-Mandy Goes on an Expedition

  6 Milly-Molly-Mandy Helps to Thatch a Roof

  7 Milly-Molly-Mandy Writes Letters

  8 Milly-Molly-Mandy Learns to Ride

  9 Milly-Molly-Mandy Makes a Garden

  10 Milly-Molly-Mandy Camps Out

  11 Milly-Molly-Mandy Keeps House

  12 Milly-Molly-Mandy Goes Carol-Singing

  About the Author

  1

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Has a Tea-Party

  Once upon a time Milly-Molly-Mandy had a nice little surprise.

  Uncle came back from market one Saturday with a square cardboard box under the seat of the pony-trap, and he gave it to Milly-Molly-Mandy to hold while he got his other parcels out. It was a neat little whity-brown box, tied round with string, and it wasn’t very heavy, and it didn’t rattle much, and it didn’t smell of anything except cardboard, and Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t guess what was in it. So she asked Uncle.

  And Uncle said, “Oh, just some odd bits of things I want to get rid of. Throw them away for me, Milly-Molly-Mandy!”

  Milly-Molly-Mandy looked at Uncle in surprise, for it didn’t seem the sort of box to be thrown away. She thought Uncle was looking a bit twinkly, so she said, “I’d better just peep in it first before I throw it away, hadn’t I, Uncle?”

  And Uncle, gathering up his parcels, said, “Oh, yes, yes. We don’t want to make any mistake about it,” and went off with them towards the kitchen door.

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy picked the knot undone, and when she got the box open what DO you think she saw inside? The sweetest little dolls’ tea-set, with cups and plates and milk-jug and all complete, fitted neatly in holes cut in the cardboard so that they shouldn’t rattle about!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy gave a squeak of excitement and put the box down on the ground in a hurry, while she ran after Uncle, crying, “Oh, Uncle, thank you! Is it for me? Oh, thank you, Uncle!” And Uncle pretended to be surprised, and said, “What’s that? Wasn’t it rubbish after all? Well, well, what a good thing you looked!” and went indoors with his parcels; and Milly-Molly-Mandy ran back to her tea-set.

  It was the prettiest little tea-set, with a teapot that would really pour, and a sugar-basin with a tiny lid, and two little cups and saucers and plates – “One for me, and one for Susan,” thought Milly-Molly-Mandy to herself. “I’ll ask Mother if I can ask Susan to tea today.”

  So she carried the box into the kitchen (where Mother was busy taking the cakes out of the oven), and asked. And Mother admired the tea-set, and said, “Certainly, Milly-Molly-Mandy. And you may have this little cake on a saucer, and one of these little bread rolls to look like a loaf.”

  So that afternoon Milly-Molly-Mandy laid a small cloth on the garden table and arranged her tea-set on it, with a little vase of flowers in the centre, and all the good things Mother had given her to eat; and when everything was ready she ran down the white road with the hedges each side to ask little-friend-Susan to come to the tea-party.

  But what do you think?

  Before she got as far as the Moggs’ cottage (where little-friend-Susan lived) she met little-friend-Susan herself coming up to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof (where Milly-Molly-Mandy lived).

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Hullo, Susan! I was just coming to ask you to a dolls’ tea-party. I’ve got a new tea-set!” And little-friend-Susan said just at the same moment, “Hullo, Milly-Molly-Mandy! I’ve got a new tea-set – will you come to a dolls’ tea-party with me?”

  So then they both stopped still and stared at each other.

  “Mine’s a perfectly new tea-set,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Uncle brought it to me from market, and it’s pink.”

  “I only had mine today,” said little-friend-Susan. “Father brought it home from market, and it’s blue.”

  “But I’ve got a special little cake and a proper loaf,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Do come!”

  “No, you come!” said little-friend-Susan. “I’ve got a tiny little tart and a weeny little pot of strawberry jam!”

  “I’ve got lots of bread-and-jam on an ordinary plate for us to eat,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy, “and it is such a sweet little tea-set!”

  “Oh, Milly-Molly-Mandy,” said little-friend-Susan, “mine’s all laid in the summer-house, and there’s a daisy beside each plate, and lots and lots of bread-and-dripping, and my tea-set is simply beautiful too!”

  It was very difficult indeed to know what to do, for Milly-Molly-Mandy felt secretly sure that her party would be nicer, and she didn’t want it wasted; and little-friend-Susan felt secretly sure too that her party would be nicer, and she didn’t want it wasted either!

  “Do come!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “No, you come!” said little-friend-Susan.

  Just then they saw Billy Blunt wandering down the road, scraping a bit of stick with his knife.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan were standing looking so solemn that Billy Blunt stopped and said, “What’s up?”

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy told him, and little-friend-Susan told him too. And Billy Blunt scraped away for a moment, and then said, “Better take your things into the meadow or somewhere and have a double tea.” (And he had his mouth open to add “And ask me too,” but he thought he’d better not, in case they didn’t want him, so he shut it again.)

  BILLY BLUNT STOPPED AND SAID, “WHAT’S UP?”

  And directly Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan heard that they both wondered why they hadn’t thought of a double tea themselves! Milly-Molly-Mandy hopped on one leg, because she was so pleased. And she said, “Then we shall each have a cup over, so, Billy, you must come and have tea too!”

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy carried her little pink tea-set out into the meadow; and little-friend-Susan carried her little blue tea-set out into the meadow too; and they all sat round on the grass and ate off the tiny plates and drank out of the tiny cups. And Milly-Molly-Mandy poured out for little-friend-Susan, and little-friend-Susan poured out for Milly-Molly-Mandy, and they both poured out for Billy Blunt (who had two cups all to himself, because he was guest at two tea-parties)!

  When they had finished eating (which happened when there wasn’t anything more to eat) they took the tea-things to the brook at the bottom of the meadow and washed them, and stood them on some moss to drain.

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan both thought a double tea-party was much more fun than just an ordinary one. And Billy Blunt (as the cups and plates were very small!) thought being a double guest was ever so much better than being just an ordinary single one!

  So THAT was all right!

  2

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Minds a Baby

  Once upon a time Milly-Molly-Mandy had to mind a tiny little baby.

  It was the funniest, tiny little baby you could possibly imagine, and Milly-Molly-Mandy had to mind it because there didn’t seem to be anybody else to do so. She couldn’t find its mother or its father or any of its relations, so she had to take it home and look after it herself (because, of course, you can’t leave a tiny little baby alone in a wood, with no one anywhere about to look after it).

  And this is how it happened.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy wanted some acorn cups (which are useful for making dolls’ bowls, and wheels for matchbox carts, and all that sort of thing, you know). So, as little-friend-Susan was busy looking after her baby sister, Milly-Molly-Mandy went off to the woods wi
th just Toby the dog to look for some.

  While she was busy looking she heard a loud chirping noise. And Milly-Molly-Mandy said to herself, “I wonder what sort of bird that is?” And then she found a ripe blackberry, and forgot about the chirping noise.

  After a time Milly-Molly-Mandy said to herself, “How that bird does keep on chirping?” And then Toby the dog found a rabbit hole, and Milly-Molly-Mandy forgot again about the chirping noise.

  After some more time Milly-Molly-Mandy said to herself, “That bird sounds as if it wants something.” And then Milly-Molly-Mandy went towards a brambly clearing in the wood from which the chirping noise seemed to come.

  But when she got there the chirping noise didn’t seem to come from a tree, but from a low bramble bush. And when she got to the low bramble bush the chirping noise stopped.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy thought that was because it was frightened of her. So she said out loud, “It’s all right – don’t be frightened. It’s only me!” just as kindly as she could, and then she poked about in among the bramble bush. But she couldn’t find anything, except thorns.

  And then, quite suddenly, lying in the grass on the other side of the bramble bush, Milly-Molly-Mandy and Toby the dog together found what had been making all the chirping noise. It was so frightened that it had rolled itself into a tight little prickly ball, no bigger than the penny india rubber ball which Milly-Molly-Mandy had bought at Miss Muggins’ shop the day before.

  For what DO you think it was? A little tiny weeny baby hedgehog!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy was excited! And so was Toby the dog! Milly-Molly-Mandy had to say, “No, Toby! Be quiet, Toby!” very firmly indeed. And then she picked up the baby hedgehog in a bracken leaf (because it was a very prickly baby, though it was so small), and she could just see its little soft nose quivering among its prickles.

  Then Milly-Molly-Mandy looked about to find its nest (for, of course, she didn’t want to take it away from its family), but she couldn’t find it. And then the baby began squeaking again for its mother, but its mother didn’t come.

  So at last Milly-Molly-Mandy said comfortingly, “Never mind, darling – I’ll take you home and look after you!”

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy carried the baby hedgehog between her two hands very carefully; and it unrolled itself a bit and quivered its little soft nose over her fingers as if it hoped they might be good to eat, and it squeaked and squeaked, because it was very hungry. So Milly-Molly-Mandy hurried all she could, and Toby the dog capered along at her side and at last they got home to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof.

  Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty were all very interested indeed.

  Mother put a saucer of milk on the stove to warm, and then they tried to feed the baby. But it was too little to lap from a saucer, and it was too little even to lick from Milly-Molly-Mandy’s finger. So at last they had to wait until it opened its mouth to squeak and then squirt drops of warm milk into it with Father’s fountain pen filler!

  After that the baby felt a bit happier, and Milly-Molly-Mandy made it a nest in a little box of hay. But when she put it in it squeaked and squeaked again for its nice warm mother till Milly-Molly-Mandy put her hand in the box; and then it snuggled up against it and went to sleep. And Milly-Molly-Mandy stood there and chuckled softly to herself, because it felt so funny being mistaken for Mrs Hedgehog! (She quite liked it!)

  When Father and Grandpa and Uncle came in to dinner the baby woke and began squeaking again. So Uncle picked it up in his big hand to have a look at it, while Milly-Molly-Mandy ran for more milk and the fountain pen filler.

  And the baby squeaked so loudly that Uncle said, “Hul-lo, Horace! What’s all this noise about!” And Milly-Molly-Mandy was pleased, because “Horace” just seemed to suit the baby hedgehog, and no one knew what its mother had named it (but I don’t suppose it was Horace!).

  THEY WERE ALL VERY INTERESTED INDEED

  Milly-Molly-Mandy was kept very busy all that day feeding Horace every hour or two. He was so prickly that she had to wrap him round in an old handkerchief first – and he looked the funniest little baby in a white shawl you ever did see!

  When bedtime came Milly-Molly-Mandy wanted to take the hedgehog’s box up to her little room with her. But Mother said no, he would be all right in the kitchen till morning. So they gave him a hot bottle to snuggle against (it was an ink bottle, wrapped in flannel), and then Milly-Molly-Mandy went off to bed.

  But being “mother” even to a hedgehog is a very important sort of job, and in the night Milly-Molly-Mandy woke up and thought of Horace, and wondered if he felt lonely in his new home.

  And she creepy-crept in the dark to the top of the stairs and listened.

  And after a time she heard a tiny little “Squeak! Squeak!” coming from the kitchen. So she hurried and pulled on her dressing-gown and her bedroom slippers, and then she hurried and creepy-crept in the dark downstairs into the kitchen, and carefully lit the candle on the dresser.

  And then she fed Horace and talked to him in a comfortable whisper, so that he didn’t feel lonely any more. And then she put him back to bed and blew out the candle, and creepy-crept in the dark upstairs to her own little bed. (And it did feel so nice and warm to get into again!)

  Next day Horace learned to open his mouth when he felt the fountain pen filler touch it (he couldn’t see, because his eyes weren’t open yet – just like a baby puppy or kitten). And quite soon he learned to suck away at the filler just as if it were a proper baby’s bottle! And he grew and he grew, and in a week’s time his eyes were open. And soon he grew little teeth, and could gobble bread and milk out of an egg-cup, and sometimes a little bit of meat or banana.

  He was quite a little-boy hedgehog now, instead of a little baby one, and Milly-Molly-Mandy didn’t need to get up in the night any more to feed him.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy was very proud of him, and when little-friend-Susan used to say she had to hurry home after school to look after her baby sister, Milly-Molly-Mandy used to say she had to hurry too to look after the baby Horace. She used to give him walks in the garden, and laugh at his funny little back legs and tiny tail as he waddled about, nosing the ground. When Toby the dog barked he would roll himself up into a prickly ball in a second; but he soon came out again, and would run to Milly-Molly-Mandy’s hand when she called “Horace!” (He was quite happy with her for a mother.)

  One day Horace got out of his hay-box in the kitchen, and they couldn’t find him for a long time, though they all looked – Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy. But at last where do you think they found him? – in the larder!

  “Well!” said Uncle, “Horace knows how to look after himself all right now!”

  After that Horace’s bed was put out in the barn, and Milly-Molly-Mandy would take his little basin of bread and milk out to him, and stay and play till it got too chilly.

  And then, one frosty morning, they couldn’t find Horace anywhere, though they all looked – Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy. But at last, a day or two after, Grandpa was pulling out some hay for the pony Twinkletoes, when what do you think he found! A little ball of prickles cuddled up deep in the hay!

  Horace had gone to sleep for the winter, like the proper little hedgehog he was! (Grandpa said that sort of going to sleep was called “hibernating”.)

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy put the hay with the prickly ball inside it into a large box in the barn, with a little bowl of water near by (in case Horace should wake up and want a drink).

  And there she left him (sleeping soundly while the cold winds blew and the snows fell) until he should wake up in the spring and come out to play with her again!

  (And that’s a true story!)

  3

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Goes Motoring

  Once upon a time Milly-Molly-Mandy had a lovely invitation.

  The little girl Jessamine, who lived in the Big House w
ith the iron railings by the crossroads, came round to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof one Saturday morning to see Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  She walked up the path and knocked at the door, and when Milly-Molly-Mandy (who had seen her through the window) ran to open it the little girl Jessamine said, “Hullo, Milly-Molly-Mandy! Mother and I are going in the car to have a picnic on the Downs this afternoon, and Mother says would you like to come too?”

  Milly-Molly-Mandy was pleased.

  She ran to ask Mother if she might go, and then she ran back to the little girl Jessamine and said, “Mother says thank you very much, I’d love to come!”

  So the little girl Jessamine said they would fetch her about two o’clock that afternoon. And then she went back home with a basket of sweet juicy yellow gooseberries, which Father picked for her from his best gooseberry bushes.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy was so excited that she wouldn’t have bothered to eat any dinner at dinner-time, only Mother said she must, so she did. And then she put on her hat and coat, and Aunty lent her a nice woolly scarf, and Mother saw that her hair was tidy and that she had a clean handkerchief. And then just when she was ready she looked out of the window and saw the big motor-car drive up to the gate.

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy, in a great hurry, kissed Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty goodbye (she did so wish they could have been going for a motor-ride too), and then she ran down the path to the car. And Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty all came to the door and waved, and Milly-Molly-Mandy and Mrs Green and the little girl Jessamine all waved back from the car.

  And then the car went whizzing off, and the nice white cottage with the thatched roof was out of sight in a twinkling.