Produced by David Widger from page images generouslyprovided by The Internet Archive
BOBBIE BUBBLES
By E. Hugh Sherwood
And
By Maud Gridley Budlong
Illustrated by E. Hugh Sherwood
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BOBBIE BUBBLES
Bobbie Bubbles was the most wonderful bubble blower that ever lived.
No, his father's name wasn't Bubbles, and bubble blowing wasn'tthe family trade. Maybe the Smiths got their name because theirgreat-great-great-grandfather's grandfather was a blacksmith, and maybethe Johnsons got their name because once, ages ago, a man named John hada son; but Bobbie Bubbles didn't get his name secondhand from anybody.He got it himself, because he was a famous person. And this is how ithappened.
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One day Bobbie and Betty and Billy were out in the garden blowingbubbles. They all blew bubbles, big ones and little ones, till eveningcame and it was almost time for tea. Then Billy said, "I can blow thebiggest bubble anybody's blown to-day," and blew a bubble as big as anapple.
"I can blow one bigger than that," said Betty, and blew a bubble as bigas a toy balloon.
"I'll blow a bigger one still," said Bobbie, and he blew and blew, andthe bubble grew and grew--as big as a pumpkin, as big as the snowballthey'd rolled in the yard at Christmas.
Even then the wonderful bubble did not stop, but kept growing biggerand bigger. And still Bobbie blew and blew, and still the shining bubblegrew and grew.
Then, wonder of wonders! The great shimmering bubble, floating in thesunlit air and glowing with all the colors of the rainbow, suddenlyreached out and took in Bobbie--pipe, arm, and all.
Slowly the bubble rose with the surprised Bobbie and, light asthistledown, floated gently to and fro in the soft summer air just abovethe garden.
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"Dear me!" thought Bobbie, looking down through what seemed like wallsof gleaming crystal. "Dear me! That's not our garden where Betty andBilly and I blew soap bubbles. No, that rainbow-colored place looks justlike Fairyland in our story books. Really, now," thought he, "have wesailed over into Fairyland?"
Then, just as he was wondering what would happen next, along came a puffof wind, and, whiff! away sailed the bubble with Bobbie in it.
Over the trees they went, up toward the clouds. Bobbie looked downthrough the bubble and saw his house grow smaller and smaller. Soon thewhole village was only a little dark speck.
Honk! Honk! Honk!
"Mercy!" thought Bobbie. "Have they automobiles up here?" He lookedaround at the smooth sides of his delicate airship, but there was no wayto steer it that he could see. Honk! Honk! Honk!
"I can't!" shouted Bobbie. "I'd get out of the way if I could, but--"
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By this time he'd managed to wiggle around in the bubble so that hecould see what was behind him. It was a flock of geese.
"Honk! Honk!" cried the leader again. He seemed to be dashing straighttoward the bubble.
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"I'd get out of the way if I could--" began Bobbie once more.
"Certainly, certainly," the goose interrupted rudely, "but there's nooccasion. Don't you think we've made this trip often enough not to runinto things?"
"But you honked," said Bobbie, as the goose flapped his great wingwithin a feather's breadth of the bubble.
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"Why have a danger signal if you don't use it?" answered the goose,craning his head back over his wing; and in a moment nearly the wholeflock had skimmed past and were honking away again, though there wasnothing in the sky that Bobbie could see.
"What are they honking at now?" he cried to an old goose, stragglingbehind.
"That rooster on the weather vane," said the goose. "It'd better lookout. It's only two miles off." And he went honking on after the others.
Up soared the bubble, and Bobbie soon saw that the clouds now formedthemselves into a long, crooked roadway lined with little houses andbarns and windmills. Tiny cows grazed on the fleecy pink clouds, likecows in a meadow of pink and white clover. And, strange to say, what hadlooked like stars were buttercups--golden buttercups.
Soon Bobbie sailed up close to a funny little farmer who was milking acow.
"Please, sir," Bobbie called to him "will you tell me what country thisis?"
The little farmer turned around in such surprise that his stream of milkfollowed his glance, and came splashing against the side of the bubble.Bobbie held up his hands, for he was thirsty. But the bubble was likea big glass, with Bobbie on the inside and the milk on the outside--andnot a drop came through.
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"Oh, whizaphats!" said Bobbie in disgust. "We don't put even goldfishin such a mean thing as this. At least we leave a hole in the top to putfood in!"
"Eh? What's that? I can't hear you," said the little farmer in a squeakyvoice.
"Oh!" said Bobbie. "Oh! I was asking you what country this is."
"The Milky Way," answered the little farmer. "This is where we makecheese and butter for his Beaming Majesty the Moon. I'm Chief CheeseServer," he added proudly.
Majesty! Was that jolly looking man in the moon, who'd winked at him somany times, a king? He didn't act very dignified.
"Must be some relation to Old King Cole," thought Bobbie. But before hehad time to ask about this, up jumped the little farmer in such hastehe overturned his milking stool, which rolled down perilously near thebubble.
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"Time to serve his Majesty!" he cried, and dashed into the house for hiscourt costume. A second later he appeared wearing a wig and goatee likeUncle Sam's and carrying a big cheese on a gold plate. Behind him came apretty little milkmaid with a glass of buttermilk.
"Follow us," the farmer called out to Bobbie, and the bubble bouncedalong after them.
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They didn't seem to have time to wait for Bobbie, and when he reachedthe door of the great hall he saw the moon beaming down on them as theystood before his throne. Bobbie wondered what he ought to do when he gotin, but just then the bubble was caught up by the wind again, and sailedgently on.
"Well, it's all very queer," said Bobbie. "Anyway, I found out that'sall wrong about the moon's being green cheese."
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Now just about this time it chanced that the King of Mars picked up hispowerful spyglass and began to scan the heavens for signs of possiblewar. He was a crusty old fellow, the King of Mars, and nothing delightedhim so much as to stir up trouble. In fact, he was one of those peoplewho to make things unpleasant, _half_ the time they don't mean to.Even in his own court, where he _always_ manage when at least wished toappear very nice to every one, his wife was always having to step onhis toes--under his royal robes, of course--to remind him to be polite.She'd stepped on them so often, indeed, that he had to have one footbound up in a bandage.
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Now when the king looked out, everything seemed very peaceful anduninteresting. There were the golden buttercups and the fleecy meadowsof the Milky Way, and the calm blue sea of the sky--all quiet andeveryday looking.
But at length, as he looked at the sky, the king saw a little shiningball sailing up into the air. What could it be? A new planet, perhaps.He sent post haste for charts and maps, but not a thing could he findabout any such fairylike world. He was about to declare himself thediscoverer of a new heavenly body and to summon his army to conquerits people when another glance through his glasses showed him that thislittle globe had only one inhabitant, and that one a little boy!
However, no telling but even this little boy might be a spy from somedistant land and dangerous, so he summoned his soldiers and ordered themto capture the stranger.
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Away went the soldiers at double quick, and in a moment Bobbie wassurrounded by hundreds of little winged men. They had large heads andqueer faces; but fortunately, when they saw Bobbie and his frail little"world" they thought it a huge joke and quite forgot to look warlike.They seized the bubble, however, and soon Bobbie was hovering over agreat building that reminded him of pictures of either the English Houseof Parliament or the New York Terminal, he couldn't remember which.Anyway, it was very large and very high.
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The king was greatly disappointed to see what a little world he'd found,but nevertheless, he commanded Bobbie to come forth and swear allegianceto him.
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Now Bobbie would have been very glad, indeed, to step out of the bubbleif he could have gone home, but he
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