I’m sorry that it’s been this long since the last Nutricia Baby Book. I had some stuff to sort out, and didn’t get around to scanning it. However, I’ve been able to scan the seven remaining books (I’m still looking for “Doll Bathing Day”), so here’s the next one. So, without further ado, let’s plunge once again into the dark and murky worlds of educational and moralistic children’s fodder with oh so cute drawings, for here is…
“The Little Cobbler”
“Deep in the forest there’s a big hollow tree. In the stem of that tree is a cute little house. That’s where Pucky the Gnome lives. Everyone knows Puckie, because he’s the gnome cobbler. He makes the most beautiful shoes of gnome country. Every day, if it’s not raining, Puckie sits in front of his house and beats and sows and hammers.”
“All the while singing the nicest songs. The forest’s animals would come and sit by him.”
“One day, while Pucky was cooking dinner, the door opened and a letter was thrown inside. ‘I wonder who sent that letter’, Pucky thought and he quickly opened the letter. ‘Dear gnome cobbler’, he read, ‘would you please make a pair of shoes for me ? I’ll make a drawing of the size of my feet, and in the morning I will come and collect them.’ Pucky was very surprised when he saw the drawing.”
“He had never seen such tiny feet ! Whose feet could they be ?”
“That day Pucky worked even harder than before. He didn’t even have time to sing ! All the animals came by to watch. And in the evening, as it was getting dark, the tiny shoes were ready.”
“The following morning Pucky woke up very early ? What was it again ? Ah, yes, the little red shoes ! Somebody was going to collect them in a minute ! He jumped out of bed and started cleaning his house. He dusted and swept and polished until everything was shiny and new. Then he went picking some flowers. They would look very nice on the table ! ‘There’, Pucky thought, ‘Now all we need are cups for the tea, and then everything is ready.”
“He put the the little shoes in a very pretty box. Who would be coming to collect them ?…”
“Pucky was tired because of all that work. He went to sit in his easy chair for a while, and have a rest. But then he falls asleep. He had gotten up so early that day ! All of a sudden there’s a knock on the door. Pucky woke up with a shock and jumped up. A cute little girl was standing there, with beautiful curls and a bow in her hair.”
“‘Hello, little gnome’, she said, ‘Did you finish my shoes ?’ And Pucky gives her the box.”
“The girl immediately put on the shoes. Luckily they fit immediately. ‘You are the best cobbler in the world’, the girl said, and she gave Pucky a little bag of gold. That evening, as he was lying in bed, Pucky proudly thought, ‘That girl surely must have been a little princess’. And at that, he falls asleep.”
