  But now All the Beasts were HUNGRIER and HUNGRIER. They could have eaten nails if there had been any nails in the Great Wood. They sat in a circle round the tree and thought a while. Then they said, “Giddy Goat is older than Pinky Pig, and wiser than Robin Rat. Let us send him to King Leo to ask the name of the tree, so that we may eat the fruit of it before we starve. But Giddy Goat, “A-rashum!” said Giddy Goat. He was afraid of catching cold. Away he ran—ker-lipp, ker-lipp—to his house to get a big woolly muffler to wear on the river. He wrapped it three times round his neck and tucked it neatly under his beard. Then he ran—ker-lipp, ker-lipp—down to his little sailboat on the river. All the day and all the day he sailed and he sailed up the big river. And the Great Red Sun dropped behind the trees. SAILING TO KING LEO Then he found King Leo on the bank, not ready to receive visitors. His crown was on straight and he looked very CROSS. “A-rashum!” said Giddy Goat. “I beg your Majesty’s pardon. I have a cold coming on.” He showed King Leo the fruit that looked like an APPLEORANGEPEARPLUMBANANA and smelled like a BANANAPLUMPEARORANGEAPPLE, and said, “If you would be so very kind, King Leo, to tell us the name of this tree, so that we may know whether we may eat the fruit of it.” Then King Leo said,
“I BEG YOUR MAJESTY’S PARDON” “A-rash-oo!” said Giddy Goat and he skipped away—ker-lipp, ker-lipp—to his sailboat. All the night and all the night he sailed All the way he was remembering the name, and he remembered it very well. He sailed so fast that he got home in the early, early morning. And all the way when he wasn’t remembering the name, he was sneezing: “A-tchoo! A-rashum! A-tchoo!” A-TCHOO! All the Beasts were waiting for him—rows and rows of them. Those in the back rows looked over the shoulders of those in the front rows, or climbed on their backs. They pushed and jostled one another until they had upset Giddy Goat’s sailboat. Ker-splash!—he went into the river. Such a sight as he was when they pulled him out. His long hair was full of water. His beard was full of water. His eyes were full of water. His beautiful new muffler was full of water. When the animals crowded round him to ask the name of the tree, he shook himself so that the water flew in their faces, and ran away home—ker-lipp, ker-lipp—with a most dreadful SUCH A SIGHT! His wife made him go to bed. And not one word could anyone get from him all that day but A-tchoo! A-rashum! A-TCHOO! |
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