Snubby Nose cried, “Grandpa Grumbles, tell us a story, please tell us a story.”

Bunny Cotton-Tail said, in a whisper, “Please don’t mention noses.”

Susan Cotton-Tail said, “Please don’t mention snowdrifts.”

Grandpa Grumbles was wet and cold, so he grumbled right out loud, “I will tell about as many noses and snowdrifts as I please in this story!” Then Snubby Nose cried and he screamed and he howled!

Susan took him up in her arms.  She carried him to bed and sang him a nonsense song.  By and by Snubby Nose fell asleep.  Susan went back downstairs and found Grandpa Grumbles asleep by the fire.

Bunny said, “I wonder what makes him grumble so much?”

Susan said, “T wonder what happened to Snubby Nose.  He has such a funny little nose!”

Then the most surprising thing happened!

As they sat talking, “thump, bump” was heard, and Snubby Nose fell down stairs!  He fell right on his ugly little nose and broke it!

“Get the camphor!  Get the smelling salts!  Help, help!” cried Bunny and Susan.

Grandpa Grumbles woke, up and cried,

     “Someone has a sad mishap,
     Just when I try to take a nap.”

I do not know what in the world they would have done if Doctor Cotton-Tail had not come in that very minute.  He came in to dry his fur and whiskers!

He set Snubby Nose’s little ugly nose and said, “It will not look very pretty, but perhaps it did not look pretty before.  You must wear a pink wrapper, and drink tea out of a pink cup, and eat pink wintergreen candy!”

Snubby Nose liked the idea of wintergreen candy.  He hugged Doctor Cotton-Tail and stopped crying at once.

Susan got a pink wrapper and got a pink china cup for his tea.  Grandpa Grumbles felt in his overcoat pocket and took out sixteen pieces of Wintergreen candy.  It was pink wintergreen candy of course!

Susan said to Doctor Cotton-Tail, “How did you happen to come out in this big snowstorm?”

Doctor Cotton-Tail said, “I had a call to make, I was going to visit—­”

Just then Susan began to sneeze.  She sneezed so hard she nearly sneezed her head off!

Doctor Cotton-Tail said,

     “Susan that is quite absurd,
     Such sneezing I have never heard.”

Susan said by and by, “I beg your pardon, what were you saying when I started to sneeze?”

Doctor Cotton-Tail said, “I had a call, I was going to visit—­”

At this very minute Snubby Nose set up a shout, for dear Bunny Cotton-Tail leaned too near the candle and burned one of his whiskers!

Then Grandpa Grumbles shook his green cotton umbrella fiercely and said,

     “Such a noise I never heard,
     I cannot hear a single word.”

[Illustration:  “Grandpa Grumbles had not seen Dr. Cotton-tail for two hundred and six years”]