Dot and Tot of MerrylandBaum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)
Science
Dot and Tot of Merryland
Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)
Fantasy fiction
At the next platform were some juggling Clowns. One of these placed a
light ladder on his shoulders, and another ran up it and stood upon
his head on the top rung.
In another place the Clowns threw small silver balls into the air,
one after the other, and then caught them cleverly as they came down.
Near the end of the street a Clown, dressed in a costume of scarlet
with green spots upon it, and wearing a white, pointed cap upon his
head, was singing a comic song. They stopped to listen while he sang
as follows:
A goat to a barber went one day;
"Just trim my beard," the goat did say,
"And cut my hair in a stylish way"--
Sing shivvy, shovvy, shavey!
The barber then began to snip,
But soon he let the scissors slip,
And cut the goat upon his lip--
Sing shivvy, shovvy, shavey!
Then Mr. Goat, with angry bleat,
Gave one big jump from out his seat,
And knocked the barber off his feet--
Sing shivvy, shovvy, shavey!
"Enough!" he cried, "I'll have you know,
If barbers treat their patrons so,
I'll just allow my beard to grow!"
Sing shivvy, shovvy, shavey!
After each verse another Clown cracked a long whip at the singer,
which made him leap into the air and screw his face up in such a
comical way that Dot and Tot were greatly amused, and applauded him
rapturously.
Just across the street was another singing Clown; but this one was
dressed in a curious costume that was all white on one side of his
body and all red on the other side. This fellow balanced the point of
his cap upon the end of his nose, and then, making a bow, sang the
following song:
Little Tommy Harris
Made a trip to Paris.
There he went within a tent,
Saw a convex firmament;
Then he peered within a booth,
Saw a shark without a tooth,
Heard a dumb man sing and chant,
Saw a crimson elephant.
Next he walked into a street,
Saw a lamp-post drink and eat,
Heard a turtle loudly roar,
Saw a rainbow through a door.
Then a man without a leg
Danced upon a horse's egg.
Then a steeple on a dome
Cried, "My boy, you'd best go home."
But as Tommy homeward sped,
He awoke--and was in bed!
Little Tommy Harris
Never went to Paris!
This singer had so droll an expression on his face that Tot yelled
with rapture, and Dot found herself laughing heartily. Indeed, the
whole performance was a delight to the children, and they were sorry
when a bell rang and put a stop to the antics of the Clowns.
At once the they all dived into the trapdoors of their platforms, and
Flippityflop said they had gone to bed and would not appear until the
next morning.
The children were somewhat tired by the adventures of the day, so
when Flippityflop helped them to gain the room under his platform,
they crept to the soft-cushioned benches that lined the walls and lay
down. In less than a minute Dot and Tot were fast asleep, curled up
side by side, with their arms entwined.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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