Nibbles Poppelty-Poppett
Nibbles Poppelty-Poppett is a plump young mouse with black eyes and gray fur who lives in a lane by the river with his widowed mother and his siblings — the twins Sniffy and Snuffy, greedy Gobble, and baby Topsy. His father died in a mouse-trap, baited by toasted cheese, leaving Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett to support the family by baking and running a tiny shop. Grieved to see his mother work so hard, Nibbles sets out one morning to seek his fortune, bundle and stick over his shoulder, after extracting promises of good behavior from his siblings. At noon he finds an inn, The Guinea Pigs' Rest, kept by a bad-tempered, sleepy guinea pig who directs him to "the Salamander" for dinner. Searching the house, Nibbles stumbles into Mrs. Guinea Pig's chaotic bath-time with her four piglets, then finally locates the kitchen, where a fat, fire-loving Salamander lives in the stove's oven. The drowsy creature feeds Nibbles cheese and bacon pie, recites a half-remembered poem about his love of heat, and falls back asleep mid-verse. Nibbles sleeps that night in a hazel bush. The next day he meets his cousin, Teenie Weenie, a small white mouse, who joins his journey. They visit her home in a village, sneaking through a window to a candlelit table laden with delicacies, only to be nearly caught by the household Cat and forced to flee back to open country. The two mice then build a raft from willow twigs, birch bark, and clay, rigging Nibbles's bandanna as a sail. A rude Water Rat demands passage and is refused, shouting insults as they sail off. Drifting downriver, they make camp nightly until Nibbles, landing on what he takes for a gravelly point, is flung into the water when the "point" turns out to be an Alligator, Scratchetty-Claw. Surfacing after being buried in the riverbed sand, Nibbles discovers a jeweled gold ring caught around his neck. The Alligator recognizes it as the Lucky Ring lost by a foreign Prince who owns the region and has offered a reward for its return. Scratchetty-Claw tows the mice's raft to the Prince's palace garden. Nibbles presents the ring to the Prince, recounting his near-drowning and the Alligator's role. Delighted, the Prince rewards Nibbles with a yearly bag of gold for life. Overjoyed, Nibbles and Teenie Weenie hurry back to say farewell to Scratchetty-Claw, who tows them partway home before settling down for a nap on a mud bank. Sailing the rest of the way, Teenie Weenie sings a song of their river journey and the ring found in the sand. After more than a week's voyage, the pair reach the Poppelty-Poppett cottage at sunset, startling Mrs. Poppelty-Poppett into upsetting the soup-kettle in her excitement. Amid the family's joyful commotion, Nibbles recounts his adventures and presents his mother with the bag of gold, securing her comfort for the rest of her life. Supper, ruined by the spilled kettle, is remade with corn cake and toasted cheese, and the story closes with the family and Teenie Weenie sharing a happy meal before drifting off to dreams of lucky rings, golden rivers, and cheese-loving alligators.
By Edith B. Davidson · First published 1911 · Genre: Children's Literature, Fairy Tale, Fantasy · 8 chapters
Contents
- The Poppelty-Poppetts
- The Guinea Pigs' Rest
- The Salamander
- The Terrible Cat
- Down the River
- Mr. Scratchetty-Claw
- The Lucky Ring
- Nibbles' Return