Boys -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories, American; Fantasy literature; Short stories, American
"That night, of course, Forepate had to release him, and Tiny hurried
away fairly howling with anger. When he arrived at home he told his
mother how he had been treated and how he had been done out of a whole
day's cream cakes and picture books and roller skates, and she advised
him to go at once to the Whirlwind and confide his woe to him, which he
did.
"'Forepate ought to be ashamed of himself,' said the Whirlwind, when
Tiny had told his story.
"'But he never does what he ought to do unless somebody makes him,' said
Tiny, ruefully. 'Can't we do something to make him ashamed of himself?'
"'Well, I'll see,' said the Whirlwind, with a shake of his head that
meant that he intended to do something. 'What does the Dude Giant do
with himself on Sundays?'
"'Shows off his best hats on Fifth avenue," returned the Dwarf.
"'Very well then, I have it,' said the Whirlwind. 'Next Sunday, Tiny,
we'll have our revenge on Forepate. You stand on one of the stoops at
the corner of Fifth avenue and Thirty-fourth street at midday, and
you'll see a sight that will make you happy for the rest of your days.'
"So, on the following Sunday the Dwarf climbed up on one of the front
stoops on Fifth avenue, near Thirty-fourth street, and waited. He hadn't
been there long when he saw Forepate striding down the avenue dressed in
his best clothes, and wearing upon his heads four truly magnificent
beavers, which he had just received from London, and of which he was
justly proud.
"'I wonder where the Whirlwind is,' thought the Dwarf, looking anxiously
up and down the avenue for his avenger. 'I do hope he won't fail.'
"Hardly were the words out of his mouth when Forepate reached the
crossing of Thirty-fourth street, and just as he stepped from the walk
into the street, bzoo! along came the Whirlwind, and off went Forepate's
treasured hats. One hat flew madly up Fifth avenue. A second rolled
swiftly down Fifth avenue. A third tripped merrily along East
Thirty-fourth street, while the fourth sailed joyously into the air,
struck a lamp-post, and then plunged along West Thirty-fourth street.
And then! Dear me! What a terrible thing happened! It was perfectly
awful--simply dreadful!"
"Hurry up and tell it," said Jimmieboy, jumping up and down with anxiety
to hear what happened next.
"Then," said his papa, "when the Dude Giant saw his beloved hats flying
in every direction he howled aloud with every one of his four voices,
and craned each of his necks in the direction in which it's hat had
flown.
"Then the head with the auburn hair demanded that the Giant should
immediately run up Fifth avenue to recover its lost beaver, and the
giant started, but hardly had he gone a step when the head with the
black hair cried out:
"'No! Down Fifth avenue after my hat.'
"'Not at all!' shrieked the head without any hair. 'Go east after mine.'
"'Well, I guess not!' roared the head that had curly hair. 'He's going
west after mine.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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