But Beckie was not to be carried off by the ’gator. All of a sudden the grandpa monkey, whose toothache was all better now, saw the skillery-scalery creature.
“Wake up, Beckie! Wake up!” cried the good monkey. “Get out of the way, and I’ll attend to that alligator.”
Beckie awakened, and rolled out of the way just in time, or the alligator might have grabbed her. Then the monkey took four pawfuls of sawdust and threw it in the eyes of the alligator and down his throat and into his mouth and nose and ears, making the ’gator sneeze forty-’leven times. And whenever a ’gator sneezes that way he can’t harm anybody.
That’s what happened to this skillery-scalery alligator, and away he went, taking his humpy-bumpy tail with him. So Beckie was saved, which shows that you should always stop a monkey’s toothache when you can.
Then the bear children and the circus animals had their supper, and there was pickled ice cream for those who wanted it. And, in the next story, if the baby doesn’t sit down in the peach basket so tightly that we have to take the poker to get her out, I’ll tell you about Neddie and Beckie going back home.
STORY XII
NEDDIE AND BECKIE GO HOME
“Oh, Neddie!” exclaimed Beckie Stubtail, the little girl bear, as she rolled over in the clean shavings on the floor of the barn where the circus animals stayed during the cold winter months.
“Oh, Neddie, I’ve just thought of the nicest game we can play! Oh, it’s just too lovely for anything!”
“Pooh! A girl’s game!” answered Neddie, the boy bear, as he looked under a pile of sawdust to see if he could find popcorn ball, or maybe an ice cream cone. Mind, I’m not saying for sure, but maybe. Anyhow, Neddie found nothing good to eat, so it doesn’t make any difference.
“I don’t want to play any girls’ games,” went on Neddie.