The Magic Soap Bubble Read online

  Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Emmy and theOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  _"Come with me for a visit To Fairyland, dear Ned. I'll show you many won'drous things," The tiny Gnomeman said._

  _"I've lost a magic golden ring," The pretty Bluebird sighed. "Don't worry," laughed the kind old fish, "I have it safe inside."_

  _"I'll hurry, Mother," Jimmy cried, As down the road he ran, When in a jiffy up there jumped A little Rabbitman._

  _"Come, Mr. Elephant," cried Shem, "Don't fear the dreadful Shark. The Circus Folk are calling us To leave the big Noah's Ark."_

  THE MAGIC SOAP BUBBLE

  by

  DAVID CORY

  LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND

  The Cruise of the Noah's Ark The Magic Soap-Bubble The Iceberg Express The Wind Wagon The Magic Umbrella

  BY DAVID CORY Author of Little Jack Rabbit Series (Trademark Registered)

  NED ATE THE MAGIC CAKE

  _The Magic Soap Bubble_ _Frontispiece_]

  LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPY LAND

  (Trademark Registered)

  * * * * *

  THE MAGIC SOAP BUBBLE

  BY

  DAVID CORY

  AUTHOR OF

  THE LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS

  PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED

  BY

  E.I. JONES AND P.H. WEBB

  GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

  * * * * *

  Made in the United States of America

  COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY GROSSET & DUNLAP.

  CONTENTS

  PAGE

  THE MAGIC SOAP PIPE 9

  THE MAGIC CAKE 25

  THE MAGIC NECTAR 39

  THE MAGIC AXE 53

  THE MAGIC SPRING 63

  MAGIC FOOD 73

  MAGIC EARS 85

  THE MAGIC BASKET 95

  THE MAGIC RING 123

  THE MAGIC BALLOON 139

  THE MAGIC SOAP PIPE

  The King of the Gnomes prepares the Magic Pipe for making the Magic SoapBubble.

  THE MAGIC SOAP PIPE

  NED had been reading a very interesting book about fairies and goblins,and how these real queer little folk inhabit dense forests and loftymountain caves and lead a wonderful life apart from the homes and citiesof men.

  The book was very large and heavy, and the afternoon was very warm, andthe big armchair in which he was curled up was so comfortable that byand by he let the book slip to one side.

  He had just closed his eyes for a moment to rest them, when he wasstartled by a little squeaky voice at his elbow.

  He opened his eyes with a start and saw a Gnome standing on thewindow-sill just in front of him. Yes, there was no mistake about it, itwas a Gnome. For had not Ned a moment before seen his picture in the bigbook he had been reading? Indeed, it almost seemed as if the pictureitself had stepped out of the page from between the covers, so exactly aduplicate did the little man appear.

  "Hello, Ned!" said the little squeaky voice again. "I say, hello! Youought to know me well enough by this time to answer, since you've beenreading about me for the last hour."

  "Hello, yourself!" replied Ned, laughing in spite of himself, andrubbing his eyes again to make sure that it was not a picture from thebook.

  "Can't you see a fellow is sleepy after reading so long a time? Ididn't think you were coming out of the book to speak to me, you know."

  "Neither did I," retorted the Gnome, with a funny wink. "I came from theforest to invite you to take a little journey with me through Gnomeland.I am the King of the Gnomes, and my subjects have told me how interestedyou are in reading about us, so I have come to take you for a tripthrough our kingdom. I know you will love to see all the wonderfulthings you have been reading about. Will you come?"

  "Indeed, I will," said Ned.

  "Then follow me," replied the Gnome.

  Ned jumped through the window after the little fellow, who ran swiftlydown the walk and across the fields to the forest beyond.

  As they neared the brook that ran through the meadow, the Gnome paused.Taking from his pocket a clay pipe, he stooped over and filled it withwater.

  "Did you ever blow soap bubbles?" he asked, taking a piece of soap fromanother pocket and rubbing it carefully around the inside of thepipe-bowl.

  "Yes," replied Ned, "lots of times."

  "Well, you wait and see what sort of a bubble I'll blow," replied theGnome.

  It was a bubble! But the strangest part of it all was that Ned foundhimself inside of it with his companion.

  "How did we get inside, or how did the bubble get around us?" asked Ned,but before his question was answered away went the bubble up in the air,across the meadow, above the little brook, yes, over the roof of his ownhouse, higher and higher, until finally it reached the big high mountainthat he had so often dimly seen from the window of his bedroom at home.

  After circling about the highest peak the bubble at length safelylanded on a rocky ledge.

  Before Ned could ask how they were ever going to get out the Gnomeopened a little door through which he led him to the outer air.

  There was a great change in the temperature, or else the inside of thebubble was very warm, for Ned began to shiver and shake. "Who-o-!" hecried; "it's co-old!"

  "Of course it is. Look," answered the Gnome, and Ned's eyes, followingthe pointing finger of his little friend, fell upon a strange andterrifying figure.

  Behind a bank of icicles stood a giant, with an immense helmet upon hishead, from which hung long sharp pieces of ice. The top part was coveredwith snow which slipped off at intervals like a small avalanche to theground below. His beard and mustache were festooned with thin sliversof ice, and his shoulders bore epaulets of frosted snow. The cuffs ofhis greatcoat were fringed with snowflakes, and altogether he was astartling and frigid looking individual. In his hands he held amonstrous bellows, from which he forced out a blast of icy air which,scattering the snow in whirling clouds, went howling down the rockyravines.

  "He's the Wind Man of the Mountain," explained the Gnome, turning toshivering Ned, whose toes and fingers by this time were quite numb withthe cold.

  "Well, I'd like to meet a Hot Air Man," said Ned, blowing on his handsto keep them from freezing. "I'd like to feel warm again."

  "Well, then follow me!" cried the Gnome, and turning to a big rock hetapped upon it twice with the toe of his little red boot. In a moment adoor opened, showing a pair of rocky steps leading down into themountain.

  "Be careful," admonished the Gnome, as he and Ned descended the roughflight. "Don't slip, for you might fall a long way."

  Ned assured him he had no desire to fall, but that his feet were so numbhe wasn't at all sure but what he might slip, no matter how hard hetried to be careful.

  Although it was not exactly dark, at the same time the light was notsufficient for Ned to make out anything distinctly, and as the stairwaywas narrow and the walls dim he kept his eyes closely upon the ground.

  Soon they came to a level corridor and he perceived a dim light in thedistance. "Where are we going?" he asked. But at this point an iron doorarrested their progress, and without pausing to answer, the Gnome tookfrom his pocket a key. Inserting it
in the lock, the door slowly swungopen, and Ned heard the faint beating of a drum.

  "Sit down," said the Gnome, drawing forward a wooden stool, much toosmall for Ned, but probably just the right size for a Gnome; "sit downand wait a moment while I go in search of the Gnomeland Band. I want youto hear them play, and I hear them practising now."

  Ned glanced curiously around the strange place. It suddenly occurred tohim that he was a long, long way from home. Here he was, deep down inthe mountain, in a rocky cavern, sitting on a little Gnome stool,waiting for his friend to return. But what if he did not come back?

  Ned's hair suddenly stood on end at the thought. Going over to the bigiron door, he tried to turn the great knob, but his fingers either werenot strong enough or he did not know the secret of the lock. Returningto his seat, he made up his mind to wait a while before allowing hisfears to get the better of him. This is what every brave boy would dounder the circumstances, he said to himself, resolving not to be acoward.

  Presently he was relieved to hear music, as the Gnome, at the head ofthe Gnomeland Band, came into view; and the funniest band that Ned hadever seen. Why, each instrument was playing itself and dancing theMountain Tango at the same time!

  The big drum went "Bum, bum, bum, diddle dum," and pranced around on apair of short, fat legs in red stockings. Two fat little arms beat thedrumsticks on the top of his head, or what appeared to be the top of hishead, which was in reality a funny face, which winked and blinked asthe drumsticks traveled over the queer little features.

  "Toot! toot!" went the big yellow horn, as his fat little fingerspressed in the brass stops that made the notes high or low, or soft orshrill. Over the floor he skipped, after the round, fat drum.

  The 'cello and the violin came next. The latter ran his bow across hisstringed waistcoat in perfect time, while the former twanged the stringsthat covered his happy face in a jolly fashion. The rest of the bandplayed on themselves beautifully, and the Gnome, with his baton, proveda most capable leader. In fact, the music was so delightful that Nedfinally could restrain himself no longer, and, jumping up, began dancingaround to the tune of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!"

  "Heigh-ho! hey diddle-do! Down in the mountain deep, Fiddle and drum, tiddle-dy-um, Are doing the Leopard Leap!"

  Just then the music stopped, or, rather, the Musical Instruments pausedto take breath, and Ned sat down again, wondering what next wouldhappen. In a few minutes the round, fat drum commenced to beat "Left,right! left, right!" and the Gnomeland Band fell into line and marchedslowly down the long cavern until it was out of sight.