“Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called ‘Little Red-Cap.‘”
“In the beginning, Bartholomew Cubbins, didn’t have five hundred hats. He had only one hat. It was an old one that had belonged to his father and his father’s father before him.”
“Bartholomew quickly snatched off the hat. He stared at it in astonishment. It was exactly the same as his own hat the same size, the same color. It had exactly the same feather.”
“And he let fly an arrow. zZZ!.. it grazed Bartholomew’s forehead and nipped off his hat. Away it blew, and over the parapet. But another hat appeared on his head. zZZ! zzz! zZZ!... the arrows flew.. till the Grand Duke’s whole bagful of arrows was gone. And still a hat sat upon Bartholomew’s head.”
“The hats began to change! Hat 451 had, not one, but two feather! Hat 452 had three.. 453 also had three and a little red jewel! Each new hat was fancier than the hat just before.”
“But when Bartholomew stepped up on the wall they gasped in amazement. He was wearing the most beautiful hat that had ever been seen in the Kingdom of Didd. ”
“The King’s hand trembled with joy as he reached for the hat. Slowly, slowly, Bartholomew felt the weight of the grat hat lifting from his head. He held his breath.... then suddenly he felt the cool evening breezes blew through his hair.
“Frog pushed a coat down over the top of Toad. Frog pulled snowpants up over the bottom of Toad. He put a hat and scarf on Toad’s head. ‘Help!’ cried Toad. ‘My best friend is trying to kill me!’ ‘I’m only getting you ready for winter,’ said Frog. ”