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Authors: Virginia Lee Burton

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (2 page)

BOOK: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
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They left the canals and the highways and the big cities where no one wanted them anymore and went away out in the country.

They crawled along slowly till they came to the little town of Popperville.

When they got there Mike Mulligan spoke to Henry B. Swap, one of the selectmen. "I heard," he said, "that you are going to build a new town hall. Mary Anne and I will dig the cellar for you in just one day."

"What!" said Henry B. Swap.

"It would take a hundred men at least a week."

"Sure," said Mike, "but Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as a hundred men can dig in a week."

Though he wasn't quite sure that this was true.

They started in early the next morning. Soon a little boy came along.

"Do you think you will finish by sundown?" he said to Mike Mulligan.

"Sure," said Mike, "if you stay and watch us. We always work faster and better when someone is watching us."

Then Mrs. McGillicuddy, Henry B. Swap, and the Town Constable came over to see what was happening, and they stayed to watch.

Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug a little faster and a little better.

This gave the little boy a good idea. He ran off and told all his friends in town and they stopped and stayed to watch. That made Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dig a little faster and a little better.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The Fire Department arrived. They had seen the smoke and thought there was a fire. Then the little boy said, "Why don't you stay and watch?" When they heard the fire engine, the children in the school across the street couldn't keep their eyes on their lessons. The teacher called a long recess and the whole school came out to watch.

BOOK: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
2.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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