Little Wee Pumpkin's Thanksgiving

: STORIES BY FAVORITE AMERICAN WRITERS
: Boys And Girls Bookshelf

BY MADGE A. BINGHAM





It was the night before Thanksgiving in Peter Pumpkin-eater's garden.

Great Big Pumpkin, Middle-Sized Pumpkin, and Little Wee Pumpkin were

speaking together.



"All here?" asked Great Big Pumpkin.



"I'm here," answered Middle-Sized Pumpkin.



"I'm here," answered Little Wee Pumpkin. "But I heard Peter say that he

would pul
us to-morrow and send us away."



"That will be fine!" said Great Big Pumpkin. "I hope we shall make good

pies for some one's dinner. I wish we could go to the palace."



"So do I," said Middle-Sized Pumpkin. "Maybe we could see the King."



"I should like to see Cinderella," said Little Wee Pumpkin. "But I am

not large enough to go to the palace. Still, I wish I could make some

one glad on Thanksgiving Day."



Little Wee Pumpkin was the first to wake in the morning. Peter had

opened the garden gate, and Cinderella was walking into the garden.



Little Wee Pumpkin opened her eyes and listened.



Cinderella was beautiful, and Little Wee Pumpkin knew that she was

good and kind. She was carrying a basket full of yellow flowers.



"They are for you, Peter," she said, laughing. "I have brought them

from the palace garden. They are for your Thanksgiving.



"Now you must help me find the right pumpkin for a jack-o'-lantern. It

is to make a little girl glad. She has been ill a long time, and must

have a jack-o'-lantern for Thanksgiving."



"Yes, my lady," said Peter; and they went from vine to vine.



First, they stopped at Great Big Pumpkin, but that was too large. Then

they stopped at Middle-Sized Pumpkin, but that was too flat. Then they

stopped at Little Wee Pumpkin, and that was just right.



"This is the pumpkin for the jack-o'-lantern, Peter," she said,

pointing to Little Wee Pumpkin. "This will make the little girl glad."



"Yes, my lady," said Peter, as he pulled Little Wee Pumpkin from the

vine.



"The two large pumpkins shall go to the palace, to the King," said

Cinderella. "They will make fine pies for his Thanksgiving dinner."



"Yes, my lady," said Peter, as he pulled the two pumpkins from the

vines.



So Great Big, Middle-Sized, and Little Wee all had their wishes.



[B] From "Mother Goose Village," by Madge A. Bingham,

published by Rand, McNally & Company, and used by special arrangement.



More

;