Garth Williams - Stuart Little

This ebook edition first published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2015

HarperCollins Children’s Books

A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in the USA 1945

First published in Great Britain by Hamish Hamilton Children’s Books Ltd, 1946

Stuart Little

Text copyright © E.B. White, 1945

Text copyright renewed © E.B. White, 1973

Illustration copyright renewed © Garth Williams, 1973

Colourisations copyright © 1999 by Estate of Garth Williams

E.B. White and Garth Williams assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780008139421

Version: 2015-03-09

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Copyright Copyright 1. In the Drain 2. Home Problems 3. Washing Up 4. Exercise 5. Rescued 6. A Fair Breeze 7. The Sailboat Race 8. Margalo 9. A Narrow Escape 10. Springtime 11. The Automobile 12. The Schoolroom 13. Ames’ Crossing 14. An Evening on the River 15. Heading North Keep Reading About the Author About the Illustrator Also by the Author About the Publisher This ebook edition first published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2015 HarperCollins Children’s Books A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in the USA 1945 First published in Great Britain by Hamish Hamilton Children’s Books Ltd, 1946 Stuart Little Text copyright © E.B. White, 1945 Text copyright renewed © E.B. White, 1973 Illustration copyright renewed © Garth Williams, 1973 Colourisations copyright © 1999 by Estate of Garth Williams E.B. White and Garth Williams assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780008139421 Version: 2015-03-09

1. In the Drain

2. Home Problems

3. Washing Up

4. Exercise

5. Rescued

6. A Fair Breeze

7. The Sailboat Race

8. Margalo

9. A Narrow Escape

10. Springtime

11. The Automobile

12. The Schoolroom

13. Ames’ Crossing

14. An Evening on the River

15. Heading North

Keep Reading

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Also by the Author

About the Publisher

WHEN Mrs Frederick C. Little’s second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse. The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much like a mouse in every way. He was only about two inches high; and he had a mouse’s sharp nose, a mouse’s tail, a mouse’s whiskers, and the pleasant, shy manner of a mouse. Before he was many days old he was not only looking like a mouse but acting like one, too – wearing a grey hat and carrying a small cane. Mr and Mrs Little named him Stuart, and Mr Little made him a tiny bed out of four clothespins and a cigarette box.

Unlike most babies, Stuart could walk as soon as he was born. When he was a week old he could climb lamps by shinnying up the cord. Mrs Little saw right away that the infant clothes she had provided were unsuitable, and she set to work and made him a fine little blue worsted suit with patch pockets in which he could keep his handkerchief, his money, and his keys. Every morning, before Stuart dressed, Mrs Little went into his room and weighed him on a small scale which was really meant for weighing letters. At birth Stuart could have been sent by first class mail for three cents, but his parents preferred to keep him rather than send him away; and when, at the age of a month, he had gained only a third of an ounce, his mother was so worried she sent for the doctor.

The doctor was delighted with Stuart and said that it was very unusual for an American family to have a mouse. He took Stuart’s temperature and found that it was 98.6, which is normal for a mouse. He also examined Stuart’s chest and heart and looked into his ears solemnly with a flashlight. (Not every doctor can look into a mouse’s ear without laughing.) Everything seemed to be all right, and Mrs Little was pleased to get such a good report.

‘Feed him up!’ said the doctor cheerfully, as he left.

The home of the Little family was a pleasant place near a park in New York City. In the mornings the sun streamed in through the east windows, and all the Littles were up early as a general rule. Stuart was a great help to his parents, and to his older brother George, because of his small size and because he could do things that a mouse can do and was agreeable about doing them. One day when Mrs Little was washing out the bathtub after Mr Little had taken a bath, she lost a ring off her finger and was horrified to discover that it had fallen down the drain.

‘What had I better do?’ she cried, trying to keep the tears back.

‘If I were you,’ said George, ‘I should bend a hairpin in the shape of a fishhook and tie it on to a piece of string and try to fish the ring out with it.’ So Mrs Little found a piece of string and a hairpin, and for about a half-hour she fished for the ring; but it was dark down the drain and the hook always seemed to catch on something before she could get it down to where the ring was.