The Elf and the Dormouse by Oliver Herford

The Elf and the Dormouse

Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool, sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened and yet
Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

To the next shelter—maybe a mile!
Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile.

Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two.
Holding it over him, gaily he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be.
Soon woke the Dormouse—"Good gracious me!

"Where is my toadstool?" loud he lamented.
And that's how umbrellas first were invented.
--Oliver Herford

This poem was in Come Follow Me, a book of poems and stories about elves and fairies. Aunt Shirley gave it to me when I was two years old, and I still enjoy reading and looking at it today. It's not a very complicated poem -- just a bunch of rhyming couplets - but I do love the rhyme in the last set.

In response to crafty posts from my sister and sister in law, I thought I'd post some of my homemaking accomplishments too.

I've been trying to pretty up my yard for potential home buyers, so I decided to harvest all the veggies in the garden and pull up the dead vines and leaves. So here they are. One pumpkin was really nice, and the other is pretty stunted. I wish they could have stayed out there another month, but since the vine died, I guess they're done. I got plenty of zucchini (I hope to get around to making bread in the next few days). And then there's the carrots. Like the pumpkins, I had mixed results with the carrots as you can see from the picture. The next time I plant, I'll have a better system for watering them, and I'll also ask if anybody knows how to tell when carrots are done.


Peter's parents gave us money for a second car seat as their baby shower present for Elizabeth, and we finally bought it in June. It's fully convertible, and should last till she's done needing a car seat at all. I've really liked having a quickly removable car seat cover for the little portable one we've been using. When Elizabeth makes a mess, it's nice not to have to take the whole thing apart to clean it, and so I don't get as frustrated with her. With that in mind, I made a cover for this seat. I didn't use any pattern, so I feel pretty special for making it work as well as it does.


Mom bought this doll, and another Strawberry Shortcake one at the Goodwill. Blueberry Muffin here was missing her jacket. She had a white tank top on, but she looked cold every time I saw her, so I decided to crochet this sweater. The tough part was getting the neck to look small enough, yet be big enough to pull the whole body through (There's no way it was going over that HEAD). After I got the sweater the right size and shape, it needed something more, so I got out some tiny yarn and a smaller hook to do the trim at the borders and the lazy daisy in the middle. Now she looks nice and warm.


Getting back to our poem for the day, Heather's elf shoes were so cool that I just had to make a pair for Elizabeth. I've got both embroidered, and one assembled. I didn't realize just how much embroidery floss it would take to do all that stitching, so I ended up running out. I'll have to go to Jo-Ann's and get some more to match. While looking for the pattern online yesterday, I found some other cute ones, so expect to see more in the future.