Queer Stories for Boys and Girls | Page 5

left and became brass. As soon as Bobby had pulled out the
brass key and turned round, he saw that the fairy was clad in a white
coat, which, with his stunning yellow vest, made him cut quite a figure.
"Now, my yellow cap," said the stake-driver, adding a cheerful
ke-whack or two, and Bobby guessed that he was to put the brass key
in the key-hole, whereupon it was immediately turned round by some
unseen power until it became iron, and then thrown out on the ground
where Bobby Towpate had found it at first. Sure enough, the fairy now

wore a yellow cap, and, quick as thought, he stepped out to where the
key was lying, and struck it twice with his nose, whereupon it changed
to a pair of three-toed boots, which he quickly drew on. Then he turned
and bowed to Bobby, and said:
"Ke-whack! You've ironed my coat and vest, and brushed my cap and
blacked my boots. Good-day, ke-whack, I'm going to the party. You
can go in if you want to."
Bobby stood for some time, looking after him as he flew away along
the creek, crying "ke-whack, ke-whack, ke-whack!" And Bobby said
once again: "Well, I never, in all my born'd days," and then added,
"Haint Daddy Longlegs peart? Thinks he's some in his yaller wescut, I
'low."
When once the fly-up-the-creek had gone out of sight and out of
hearing, Bobby started on his search for the Sleepy-headed People. He
travelled along a sort of underground gallery or cave, until he came to a
round basin-like place. Here he found people who looked like fat little
boys and girls, rather than men and women. They were lolling round in
a ring, while one of the number read drowsily from a big book which
was lying on a bowlder in the middle of this Sleepy-hollow. All seemed
to be looking and listening intently. But as soon as those who sat facing
Bobby caught sight of him, they gave a long yawn and fell into a deep
sleep. One after another they looked at him, and one after another the
little round, lazy fellows gaped, until it seemed their heads would split
open, then fell over and slept soundly, snoring like little pigs. Bobby
stood still with astonishment. He did not even find breath to say, "Well,
I never!" For presently every one of the listeners had gone off to sleep.
The reader, whose back was toward the new-comer, did not see him.
He was the only one left awake, and Bobby looked to see him drop
over at any moment. But the little fat man read right along in a
drawling, sleepy mumble, something about the Athenians until Bob
cried out: "Hello, Ole Puddin'-bag, everybody'th gone to thleep; you'd
jeth as well hole up yer readin' a while."
The little man rolled his eyes round upon Bob, and said: "Oh, my! I'm
gone off again!" And then he stretched his fat cheeks in an awful yawn.

"Hey! You'll never get that mouth of your'n shet, ef you don't be
mighty keerful," cried Bob; but the fellow was fast asleep before he
could get the words out.
"Well now, that'th a purty lookin' crowd, haint it?" said Bob, looking
round upon the sleepers.
Just at that moment they began to wake up, one after another, but as
soon as they saw Bob, they sighed and said: "He's so curious," or, "He's
so interesting," or something of the sort, and fell away into a deep
slumber again. At last Bob undertook to wake some of them up by
hallooing, but the more noise he made, the more soundly they slept.
Then he gave over shaking them and shouting at them, and sat down.
As soon as he was quiet they began to wake up again.
"Hello!" cried Bob, when he saw two or three of them open their eyes.
"If you'd only keep still till I get awake," said one of them, and then
they all went to sleep again.
By keeping quite still he got them pretty well waked up. Then they all
fell to counting their toes, to keep from becoming too much interested
in Bobby, for just so sure as they get interested or excited, the
Sleepy-headed People fall asleep. Presently the reader awoke, and
began to mumble a lot of stuff out of the big book, about Epaminondas,
and Sesostris, and Cyaxeres, and Clearchus, and the rest, and they all
grew a little more wakeful. When he came to an account of a battle,
Bobby began to be interested a little in the story, but all the others
yawned and cried out, "Read across, read across!" and the reader
straightway read clear across the page, mixing the two columns into
hopeless nonsense,