Gogo And The Sailor Win A Championship - September 24th, 1922

It was a warm day. The older Teenie Weenies sat about on the lawn under the rose bush, napping and reading, while the children played hide and seek.

"It is entirely too hot for the boys to run so hard," said Mrs. Lover. "I'm afraid they'll both have sunstroke. But how can I stop them?"

"I tell you," said the General, jumping up. "Let me take your whole family for a ride."

"0, how lovely," said Mrs. Lover. "That will be just the thing. And you've learned to drive so well now, I don't feel at all afraid."

"Thank you," said the General, stiffly. He still did not like to hear any one refer to the accident when he began to drive.

After the little car had rolled away, the other Teenie Weenies began to wish that they, too, had something special to do, and at last the Dunce jumped up and exclaimed: "Let's go swimmin'!"

"0, do let's," cried the Lady of Fashion, and she and the Guff girls rushed into the house to put on their tiny bathing suits.

Quite soon all the little ladies were on their way to a swimming hole nearby, where the Teenie Weenie men and boys were already enjoying the cool water.

"Say," said the Turk, as he came up after a dive, "I've been reading somewhere about tournaments. Let's us have a water tournament. We'll get out the pea pod canoes and have straws for lances, and instead of trying to throw each other off horses like he knights of old, we'll try to upset each other's canoes."

"Humph—heap fun," said the Indian, with a broader smile than he usually wore, while the Sailor danced a hornpipe for glee, and the Dunce and the Cook and Paddy Pinn gave three cheers for the great idea.

In a little while the canoes were ready and the men had padded long straws with milkweed thistle down, so that no one should get hurt, even if hit by one of the lances.

It was decided that the Indian, the Sailor, Paddy Pin, and Zip should do the paddling, while the Turk, Gogo, the Dunce, and the Cook handled the lances, and soon the four little canoes put out upon the water, and the fun began.

Luckily, a long, low limb from a bush grew out over the pond, and a good grandstand it made for the other Teenie Weenies and for Tillie Titter, the English sparrow, who flew down for a bath and a drink, and stayed to see the fun.

The Dunce, with Paddy Pin paddling, fought with Gogo, rowed by the Sailor, and Zip managed the canoe for the Cook, who was to conquer the Turk and the Indian.

They all went at it as skillfully as they could, but Zip got so excited watching the Cook he forgot his part, and splash! the two went into the water. Then the Dunce tried to be funny as well as skillful, and during one of his pranks Gogo gave a clever shove with his straw that sent the Dunce head over heels. All the Teenie Weenies applauded and Tillie Titter shrieked herself hoarse.

"Ere, ere," she cried as the Turk and Gogo, the two victors, faced each other for the deciding battle, "Hi'm for the gentleman of color, Hi am."

"Thlee yells for the Turkie," shrieked the Chinaman.

Carefully the two canoes came up and faced each other. Skillfully Gogo and the Turk fenced with their long straws. The audience sat, now in breathless interest, now yelling with excitement. At one minute they were sure the Turk would win. But suddenly the colored boy gave a clever flip to his straw, caught the Turk under his arm, and tipped him and his boat over as neatly as you please.

The Chinaman was so excited he fell over backward and made a third splash. Tillie Titter laughed and cheered till she nearly fell off herself, and all the others cheered loudly for Gogo, who bowed modestly and would have blushed if he had been able, at the praises which were shouted by his friends.

"Best fun Hi've 'ad since my pin feathers sprouted," cackled Tillie, as she flew away. And the Teenie Weenies agreed that they had had a wonderful afternoon.

Pea Pod Canoes - August 9th, 1942

For several days there had been much activity under the rosebush where the Teenie Weenies lived. The peas which the little people had planted in their garden were ripe. The huge pods were cut away from the vine with Teenie Weenie axes and carried under the rose bush, where they were carefully slit open along one side and the fat green peas lifted out. Most of the peas were to be dried and put away for next Winter's use. However, the Teenie Weenies always eat some of the peas fresh, and how the little folk do enjoy them!

Peas are a very important crop to the Teenie Weenies. Of course, the food they supply is most important, but the big pods also supply the little people with transportation. When the peas are removed the pods are carefully dried and then coated with a waterproof liquid which is made from the milk, or sap, of the dandelion plant. Tiny seats, ribs and floor boards are then added to make a very nice little canoe that will safely carry two Teenie Weenies. Most of the Teenie Weenies know how to build pea pod canoes and they always try to see who can make the best boat.

It takes over a week to make one of the pea pod canoes. Of course, the little folk are always anxious to put them in the water at once to try them out. But for several days before the canoes were finished there came very hard rains, and the water was so high and swift in the creek that the General considered it unsafe for such tiny craft.

"You must wait until the water goes down," the General warned. "We don't want to invite any Teenie Weenie accidents."

"Yes, that's right," agreed the Sailor, who was an expert canoeman. "There are always lots of floating things in the creek when the water is high. A floating twig or a clothespin can very easily upset a canoe!"

"Why can't we try out the canoes in a pan of water?" asked the Dunce. "I know where there is a pan of drinking water in a chicken yard. The chickens who live there wouldn't care if we used it."

"That's not a very good place," said the Turk. "There's hardly enough room to turn a canoe around in a pan of water. The creek will settle down in a day or two, and then we can have a real place to try the canoes out."

"Well," urged the Dunce, who was always impatient, "couldn't we use the swimming pool?"

"That's silly!" exclaimed the Cook. "How in the name of common sense are you going to try out a canoe in a sauce dish? I agree with the General that we'd better wait until the creek is safe."

The Teenie Weenies watched the creek carefully. In a couple of days the water began to fall. Then it rained again and the water was higher than ever. The little people were greatly disappointed, but the very next day the Chinaman brought news that filled them all with joy.

"Me find place for canoe. Allee same hose makin' big lake over there," shouted the Chinaman, pointing with his tiny finger. "Muchie water for canoe."

"Where is this lake?" asked the Turk.

"Flollow me. Me show where lake is," said the Chinaman, and he set off, followed by several of the Teenie Weenies.

The Chinaman led the little men to a spot in the garden back of a big house, where they saw a garden hose lying on the ground. The little boy and girl who lived in the house had been playing you- spray-me-and-I'll-spray-you in their bathing suits and forgot to shut the water off carefully when they went to dress. Water was running from the hose in a small stream, but there was enough coming out to make a large Teenie Weenie lake.

"This is great!" exclaimed the Turk. "Come on, fellows, and let's get our canoes."

The Turk and his friends dashed off to the shoe house. In a short time they returned with the canoes and with the rest of the Teenie Weenie family tagging on behind.

While the water was scarcely deep enough to cover the toes of a wading boy or girl, it was quite deep enough to make excellent canoeing. So the little people had a fine time skimming over the smooth water in their pea pod canoes.

A Teenie Weenie Flood - March 21st, 1943

When the heavy snow melted and ran off into the creek near the Teenie Weenie village, that little stream was filled almost to the top of its banks. But when it rained hard for two days the water overflowed and flooded the land on either side of the creek.

The Teenie Weenies spent most of their time standing on the bank and watching the water flow by. They saw all sorts of things drifting on the current, and occasionally the Sailor would go out in his pea pod canoe, fasten a line around a lead pencil or wooden clothespin and tow it to shore. For pencils and clothespins make fine Teenie Weenie firewood when sawed and split into suitable sizes for Teenie Weenie stoves.

The Teenie Weenies worried considerably about Nick the Squirrel, because his house was in the top of a tree which was right in the middle of the flooded woods.

"When the water settles down a little and is not running so swiftly, I think we had better paddle out and see if Nick is all right," the General said.

In a couple of days the water had quieted down some and the Sailor and the General put out in a pea pod canoe. When they came to the tree in which Nick lived, there was no answer to their shouts, then they heard Nick call from a tree near by. The Sailor paddled toward the tree, while Nick ran down the trunk and settled on a small limb near the water.

"What are you doing over in this tree?" asked the General, when the Sailor had brought the canoe up to the tree.

"I thought," said Nick, in the peculiar way he had of talking with the Teenie Weenies, "I could jump from limb to limb and in that way make my way to shore, but I found that I couldn't go far on account of my rheumatism. I'm afraid I can't make the jump back into my home tree, so I think I'd better stay here until the water goes down."

"Have you had anything to eat?" asked the General.

"Nothing since yesterday except a little bark off this tree," answered Nick.

"That won't do," said the General. "We'll bring some food to you just as soon as we can."

The Sailor paddled back to shore and the General told some of the Teenie Weenie men to bring down a few nuts from the Teenie Weenie storehouse.

"We'll need a raft to carry the nuts out to Nick," said the Sailor. "A pea pod canoe is too light to carry nuts in."

"We all could make a raft out of these," put in Gogo, pointing to some clothespins, a piece of pencil and several sticks which had been towed in for firewood.

"That's fine," said the General. "Get busy and make one."

The Teenie Weenies soon made a stout raft by lashing together two clothespins, a pencil stub and a small stick with a bit of string. The Old Soldier with the wooden leg made a pair of paddles, while the other Teenie Weenies brought the nuts down to the edge of the water. Two peanuts and a hazelnut were loaded onto the raft. Then Gogo and the Dunce pushed off, while the Sailor and the General led the way in a pea pod canoe.

It was hard work to paddle the raft in the swift water, and there were many floating objects which had to be avoided. Once they ran into an empty, floating bottle and it nearly upset the raft. One of the peanuts rolled off and floated away, but fortunately that was the only damage done.

Nick was very happy to get the nuts, and he carried them up the tree where he stored them in a knothole. The Teenie Weenies made several trips that day and delivered enough nuts to keep Nick supplied with food for several days.

It was almost a week before the water went down and Nick was able to get back to his home tree. He was very grateful for what the Teenie Weenies had done. When he saw the firewood they had pulled out of the water, he set to work to help them drag it up to the Teenie Weenie wood pile near the shoe house.

Pea-Pod Canoes - August 1st, 1943

Now that the vegetables in the Teenie Weenie garden were ready to eat, the little people were kept mighty busy. The vegetables had grown well and some of them were so big it became a problem for such little people to handle them.

The carrots were so huge it took a week to get five of them out of the ground and moved to the Teenie Weenie storehouse.

First, the great tops had to be chopped off with Teenie Weenie axes and dragged away. Then the little men had to dig around each carrot, and they had to dig down so deeply that the hole had to be timbered to keep the earth from falling in on the workers. When the carrot had been uncovered, it was then necessary to put up a derrick and slowly pull the big vegetable out of the ground with a Teenie Weenie block and tackle.

The Teenie Weenies seldom use more than two carrots, but they like to store away a few extra for their friend, the Rhyming Rabbit, who is quite old and so crippled with rheumatism that he can't always get food when he needs it during the Winter.

The little people dry most of their vegetables, although the Cook does put up a number of two and three-drop cherry seed jars of berry jam and tomato preserves. Corn, beans and peas are always dried for Winter use and some of the little men are impatient for the coming of the time when the peas are ripe. Peas are much prized by the Teenie Weenies, for they not only supply the little people with food, but with canoes. Pods in which the peas grow can be made into trim little canoes. Several of the Teenie Weenies are fine canoe makers, and these little men watch the vines grow. They study the pods and select the ones which they believe will make the best canoes.

After the pea pod is cut from the plant, it is opened with much care along the back of the pod. The peas are then removed, and work starts on the canoe. The pod is carried to the Teenie Weenie workshop. (This is really an old coffee can, but it makes a fine work place for the little men.) There the canoe is placed on Teenie Weenie work horses outside the shop, if the weather is nice, for the Teenie Weenies love to work outdoors.

First, the pod is given a coat of a certain paint which the Teenie Weenie Doctor has invented. This keeps the pod from drying too quickly. Next, the Old Soldier with the wooden leg carefully takes measurements for the wooden framework which must be built inside the canoe to make it sturdy. The Old Soldier is a fine workman, even though he is no taller than a common safety match, and he usually plans the work for the rest of the little men.

When the measurements for the pea pod have been taken, the little men set to work cutting out the various wooden parts which are needed to strengthen the canoe. Burned matches and other lumber is cut up to furnish the wood necessary for making the canoe seaworthy. As soon as the wooden parts are in place, the canoe is given several coats of waterproof paint, and when that is thoroughly dry, the boat is ready for the water.

Almost all the Teenie Weenie men build pea-pod canoes. The Sailor is very particular about his canoe, and he spends a great deal of time over the work. The Dunce is always in such a hurry to get his canoe done he never makes a very good one. So after he has used it a few times it has to go to the workshop for repairs.

The Teenie Weenies enjoy building their canoes, and the tiny workshop fairly buzzes when the season is on. While the little men work, they are so happy that they often sing an old Teenie Weenie song which runs like this:

Come take a ride in my little canoe
And we'll sail away on the morning dew.
My boat is the pod of a garden pea
And there's plenty of room for you and me.
So come along and I'll sing to you
As we paddle away in my little canoe.