Nutricia Baby Books 1 – Timmie The Tiger

When I was very, very little, Nutricia coffee milk came with vouchers that could be traded in for a series of booklets for children. These booklets were written an dillustrated by Yvonne Perrin and never stray far from traditional, safe kiddie fare, with lovely animals and a fair but stern lesson at the end. They would be considered very old-fashioned if they were published today, but I simply adore Perrin’s illustrations. After reading these books time and time again, they are simply branded into my subconscious, I guess.

Starting this week, I will present one book every week. There’s supposed to be a total of 15 out there, of which I managed to collect 11.

Have fun with today’s book, as we present…

“Timmie The Tiger”

“Timmie the tiny tiger leaped merrily through the forest. He felt big and strong. Suddenly he came across a bush full of wonderful flowers. Using his sharp teeth he cut some. ‘I’ll take these along for Nippo, the hippopotamus’, he said.”

“The hippopotamus lived in a muddy river. He was very happy to see his friend again. ‘What lovely flowers’, he called out. ‘Thanks a lot, Timmie ! I’ll plant them quickly, and thing will get very cose here soon'”

“He said, while taking something from under a leaf, ‘I have a surpise for you as well. It’s a whistle that I made from a blade of reed’. Naturally Timmie was very happy with the whistle. He thanked Nippo en went on home.”

“As he walked through the forest playing merrily on the flute, he saw a little monkey who was weeping sadly. ‘What seems to be the problem ?’ Timmie asked.”

“‘I’ve lost my ball’, the monkey whimpered. Timmie immediately felt sorry for him. ‘Stop crying’, he said, ‘Here, you can have my flute’. The monkey disappeared between the trees, dancing with joy. ‘What will Nippo say when he hears that I’ve given away his present’, Timmie suddenly thought.

“Much to his consternation, his mother asked Timmie to take a packet of dates to Nippo. He didn’t dare to say anything, but he didn’t feel like going to see his friend.”

“On the way, he constantly though of how angry Nippo would be when he heard about the flute.”

Finally Timmie arrived at the pond. He looked around in surprise. Where were the flowers he had given to Nippo ? And why was his friend so sad ? When he gave him the dates, the hippopotamus looked very shy. ‘You see, Timmy, my neighbour was a little ill and… I gave her your flowers. You’ll probably be very angry, but…'”

“Timmie started laughing very loudly. ‘I’m not angry, but happy, Nippo,’ he said, ‘because…’ And he told him everything about the monkey and the flute.”

“‘Then we both made somebody happy, and that’s always good’, Nippo said laughing after Timmie had finished his story. ‘Let’s not talk about it anymore’. And after a while they were both feasting on the lovely dates that Timmie‘s mother had given along.”