St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-18
HOW T0DDLEKINs GOT LOST.
He Fell in a Coal Hole, but Was Found
After a Long and Weary Search.

Toddlekins was the incest baby on the
street. Toddlekins was Just able to walk.
and to see him totter along, with his shoul-
ders all bumped up, as if he expected to come
down on the end of that little turn-up nose.
set between the bluest of blue eyes, was too
funny for anything. Papa mamma, and all
the others had such lots of fun when Toddle-
kins began to walk. Down he would 60, anS.
then he would look up so surprised, and his
red cheeks would get redder, and his yellov
curls would stand out all around the sides OF
his little blue bonnet. He could not guess
what they were all laughing at Maria. the
little tricky colored girl, was entrusted with
Toddlekins in the house, but whenever he
was let out to walk on the sidewalk, mamma
said Maria was too risky.
So Mary, Toddlekins' sister, who was
twelve years old, was sent out to let Toddle-
kins take the air when the weather was nice.
But Mary though she loved Toddlekins as
she said, almost to DEATH still liked to
gossip with her schoolmates, and especialI,
with Sally Palmer, who was full of fun anc
had such lots of stories to tell and the very
latest dolls and dolls dresses One day when
the sun was shining and the snow YVES all off
liio StiSOt, MARY, WHO Was ANXIOUS TO see
Sally, got permission to take Toddlekins out
for half an hour. She was not to go farther
away than six houses from the door, Mary
meant to obey, but when she had got Toddle-
kins out on the walk and he chirped and
laughed, and acted as if he wanted TO run a
race with the wagons in the street, and shook
his little blue cloak and said SHOOT" to a
big dog, and stamped his foot. Mary forgot,
and seeing Sally at the front door of her house,
ran over where Sally was, just to take peep
of the latest fashions. She quite forgot Tod
dlekins, the doll was so lovely, but Toddle-
kins was a moving object, and pulling his
hand out of Mary's, he started off. Sally had
to run upstairs and get a new dolls cloak to
show to Mary, and Mary had to look the doll
over, and when Sally came down there were
obs, and abs, and so much praise of the dolls,
that Toddlekins was forgotten, or at least for
time.
When Mary looked around there was no
Toddleklns in sight. No wagon had gone by
that Toddlekins could have been carried
away in. No tramp had passed. and nothing
had happened, but Toddekns had gone.
Mary fairly screamed, and after looking a
minute or two, ran home, thinking maybe
the baby had run home and mamma had
taken him in. But no, Toddlekins was not
there. Mamma almost tainted with terror.
and rushed out of doors. All the neighbors
were approached On either side Of the street
but no, not person knew where Toddlekins
had gone. How could child that weighed
thirty pounds be carried off and nobody
know it ?" said Mrs. Muggins. Slots, the DO
llceman, had seen nothing. Jorgens the
milkman, had noticed the baby on the walk
and all at once he was gone. Papa was sen,
Co RI lN.1-x,
any one could find the lost baby if they tried.
But after hunting an hour, the fast beating
heart of papa began to give way to grief, and
you could see tears in his eyes, Mamma was
down sick on the bed. Poor little Toddiekins.
should we never see him more? A half
dozen policemen looked all over for him. and
every woman on the block was engaged in
the search. There were as MANY DaopIe
around as at a fire, but not one could help in
the least.
Little Marta seven years old, VINO had been
reading about balloons, went to where papa
sat with his head in his hands, crying over
the lost baby, and softly said sc fink a man
in balloon came down an carried off poor
Toddlekins." Well, that was about as near
right as anybody could guess. 1t was mourn
ing over all the street, and as night came on
papa and mamma were almost crazy
AT last, about nine o'clock Jorgens the
mllkman, went down cellar in his milk office.
and taking lamp went out under the side
walk, where was a number of bales of hay
and there on the top of one lay little Toddle-
kins sound asleep, his yellow curls around
his sweet face, and traces of tears in his ewes.
How did he get there Easy enough. The
cover of a coal hole in the sidewalk had
slipped, and when Toddlekins sat down and
began to inspect it, he went out of sight in a
minute. As he went down he caught at the
cover, and when poor Toddlekins vanished
the cover slipped back to its place, and who
would have known where ToddIekins had
gone? The sudden fall upon pile of soft
hay had not hurt Toddlekins, and after a
good cry, which nobody heard, he fell asleep.
for he was tired, and after waking up and
calling for papa and mamma, he thought that
it was still night, and cuddled down and
slept again. Poor, dear little baby, the an
gels were watching over him, and he slept as
sound as If ne were in his crib at home.
while papa and mamma would not sleep a
wink, thinking what had become of their
dear, dear little Toddlekins. When Jorpens
found him he looked up and laughed. and
Jorgens said, "You could knocked me down
with a feather." Five minutes afterwards
the baby was in mammals arms, being almost
kissed TO death