knee.
“This will do the trick,” said Loppy in his best doctor’s voice. “You won’t even notice how quickly everything heals. And these are for you, Snoutie: cold pebbles from the stream. You need to hold them up against your snunk.”
Then it was time to say goodbye. Loppy the Believing Bunny wished the friends good health and gave them each of juicy, orange carrot.
As they came out of the den, Snoutie and Michelle noticed that the sun was already starting to set beyond the tips of the trees. Dusk was settling in over the forest and the first stars were appearing in the sky.
“To tell you the truth, I’m a little hungry, and I wouldn’t mind a light dinner,” complained Michelle. “A warm bun with raisins and a mug of hot chocolate would be just right.”
Snoutie also felt quite hungry.
At that moment they heard a strange rustling of leaves and a delicate little squeak.
A small, chubby grey mouse appeared between the trees. Her round tummy didn’t seem to prevent her from moving quickly, and on her back she was carrying a sack filled with grain, which was quite large for her height.
“Into the den! Everything into the den! Don’t block the path! Move aside!” she exclaimed by way of a greeting. “I have to get everything into the den or the rains will start and I’ll lose all my supplies! Then what will we eat all winter? Into the den! Everything goes into the den right away!”
“Let’s help her,” Michelle whispered into Snoutie’s ear. “She’s so small and those sacks must be so heavy for her.”
Snoutie and Michelle helped their new friend gather up the grain and carry it into her den. After that, Housey Mousey—for that is what this little mouse who stored her food wisely was called—offered them some dinner:
“We’ve done what we needed to do! My supplies of grain are safe and well-hidden! Now we should have a bite to eat.”
Housey Mousey took all the best things out of her cold cellar: little ears of oats and wheat, grains of buckwheat and corn, dried white mushrooms, and last year’s acorns, and laid them out on a wide stump. Then she invited her guests to start eating.
Snoutie and Michelle, who were starving, threw themselves at the food and quickly ate their fill. They warmly thanked their kindly hostess for the meal, but then they suddenly felt embarrassed: together they had probably eaten a year’s supply of the mouse’s food.
“Learn how to give generously and your gifts will be returned to you,” said Housey Mousey, as if in response to their thoughts. Then she bid them farewell.
As they continued on their way, the mouse’s song carried to them from somewhere behind the trees:
Give generously
And you’ll be a plump old Mousey!
Give generously
And you’ll be a wise old Mousey!
“We really need to get home,” worried Michelle. “It’s too bad we weren’t able to find our magical white flower,” she added sadly.
“It really is,” answered Snoutie. “We must have done something wrong or looked in the wrong place.”
“H-o-o-o-t!” rang out a voice from somewhere way up high in a pine tree. “As far as doing something wrong, well you sure got that right. For starters, you never should have gone out on such a long walk without permission from your parents. And that goes for both of you,” the voice scolded. “You must have known that your parents would get very worried and upset! Well, anyway, let’s get acquainted.”
The invisible speaker flew noisily down to a lower branch.
“My name is Michelle,” said the girl, who was the first one to collect herself. “And this is my friend Snoutie. We have been searching the forest for a magical white flower…”
“I am Owl. The forest creatures call me Wise Old Owl, and it’s true that I have seen quite a bit in my time. And it’s safe to say I know everything there is to know about the Big Forest. For example, I know that you are good and kind creatures, and that you saved Little Squirrel. I will always be happy to see you in our forest, and I think that you will have many friends here. But now you must go home. H-o-o-o-t!” And Owl disappeared.
Snoutie and Michelle understood that their trip was coming to an end and that they would be home that night. The rising moon brightly lit up all the forest paths, and its light guided the young friends to an opening in the trees. Snoutie and Michelle hurried in that direction. Soon they came out to the edge of the Big Forest, right next to the familiar green hill they had left behind that morning when they set off on their trip.
* * *
One fall evening, after dinner, when Michelle had grown bored of watching the wet leaves spin in the wind as dusk set in, she went to see her Daddy in his office. Daddy was sitting at a wide table, leaning back in a dark-green leather chair, and reading a big, fat book. When he saw Michelle, Daddy smiled, set aside the book, and cleared a place on the table. Michelle climbed up, got comfy, and started swinging her legs, letting her slippers knock against the oak panels of the table.
“Daddy, you’re probably quite busy?” asked Michelle sweetly.
“Not very, I don’t think,” answered Daddy. “In fact, I’m quite sure of it.”
“Well, that’s great, then,” said Michelle. “Please tell me my favorite story about Snoutie.”
“About Snoutie?” Daddy asked.
“Yes. You do remember Snoutie, don’t you? He’s a little funny-looking, but very good and kind,” answered Michelle. “He and I are best friends.”
“Yes, now lots of children know who Snoutie is, and they write him letters,” said Daddy. “Snoutie sometimes drops in for a visit, and I let him sit in my chair at the table and read those letters.”
“He’s an Incredible Snoutie!” cried Michelle.
“I have no doubt about it,” said Daddy.
And Daddy began telling Michelle about Snoutie again.
“As you will remember, Snoutie and Michelle once did some traveling in the Big Forest,” said Daddy. “I would even say they did quite a bit of traveling for such little travelers.”
“Of course I remember,” nodded Michelle. “That was where they met so many friends. Tell me what happened next, Daddy.”
“I’ll try,” said Daddy.
And he did.
CHAPTER TWO,
IN WHICH SNOUTIE VISITS FRIENDS, GOOSE BECOMES A CEREMONIAL GIFT, AND MICHELLE HOSTS A CELEBRATION
One day, late in the morning (for some reason our hero’s mornings always started late) and after a filling breakfast, Snoutie was walking around his room trying to catch spots of sunlight.
