Racketty-Packetty House | Page 3

and
Gustibus and Peter Piper, even when I had work for them to do in
Fairyland. But there, I was so fond of that shabby disrespectable family
myself that I never would scold much about them, and I often went to
see them. That is how I know so much about them. They were so fond
of each other and so good-natured and always in such spirits that
everybody who knew them was fond of them. And it was really only
Cynthia who didn't know them and thought them only a lot of old
disreputable looking Dutch dolls--and Dutch dolls were quite out of
fashion. The truth was that Cynthia was not a particularly nice little girl,
and did not care much for anything unless it was quite new. But the
kitten who had torn the lace mantilla got to know the family and simply
loved them all, and the Newfoundland puppy was so sorry about
Leontine's paint and her left leg, that he could never do enough to make
up. He wanted to marry Leontine as soon as he grew old enough to
wear a collar, but Leontine said she would never desert her family;
because now that she wasn't the beauty any more she became the useful

one, and did all the kitchen work, and sat up and made poultices and
beef tea when any of the rest were ill. And the Newfoundland puppy
saw she was right, for the whole family simply adored Ridiklis and
could not possibly have done without her. Meg and Peg and
Kilmanskeg could have married any minute if they had liked. There
were two cock sparrows and a gentleman mouse, who proposed to them
over and over again. They all three said they did not want fashionable
wives but cheerful dispositions and a happy, home. But Meg and Peg
were like Ridiklis and could not bear to leave their families--besides
not wanting to live in nests, and hatch eggs--and Kilmanskeg said she
would die of a broken heart if she could not be with Ridiklis, and
Ridiklis did not like cheese and crumbs and mousy things, so they
could never live together in a mouse hole. But neither the gentleman
mouse nor the sparrows were offended because the news was broken to
them so sweetly and they went on visiting just as before. Everything
was as shabby and disrespectable and as gay and happy as it could be
until Tidy Castle was brought into the nursery and then the whole
family had rather a fright.
[Transcriber's Note: See picture mouse.jpg]
It happened in this way:
When the dolls' house was lifted by the nurse and carried into the
corner behind the door, of course it was rather an exciting and shaky
thing for Meg and Peg and Kilmanskeg and Gustibus and Peter Piper
(Ridiklis was out shopping). The furniture tumbled about and
everybody had to hold on to anything they could catch hold of. As it
was, Kilmanskeg slid under a table and Peter Piper sat down in the
coal-box; but notwithstanding all this, they did not lose their tempers
and when the nurse sat their house down on the floor with a bump, they
all got up and began to laugh. Then they ran and peeped out of the
windows and then they ran back and laughed again.
[Transcriber's Note: See picture fashionable_wives.jpg]
"Well," said Peter Piper, "we have been called Meg and Peg and
Kilmanskeg and Gustibus and Peter Piper instead of our grand names,
and now we live in a place called Racketty-Packetty House. Who cares!
Let's join hands and have a dance."
And they joined hands and danced round and round and kicked up their
heels, and their rags and tatters flew about and they laughed until they

fell down; one on top of the other.
It was just at this minute that Ridiklis came back. The nurse had found
her under a chair and stuck her in through a window. She sat on the
drawing-room sofa which had holes in its covering and the stuffing
coming out, and her one whole leg stuck out straight in front of her, and
her bonnet and shawl were on one side and her basket was on her left
arm full of things she had got cheap at market. She was out of breath
and rather pale through being lifted up and swished through the air so
suddenly, but her saucer eyes and her funny mouth looked as cheerful
as ever.
"Good gracious, if you knew what I have just heard!" she said. They all
scrambled up and called out together.
"Hello! What is it?"
"The nurse said the most awful thing," she answered them. "When
Cynthia asked what she should do with this old Racketty-Packetty
House, she said, 'Oh! I'll put it