Ball with Peter Piper in a tin
crown, and shavings for supper--because they had nothing else, and
in fact the gentleman mouse had brought the shavings from his nest
as a present.

[Transcriber's Note: See picture gentleman_mouse.jpg]

Cynthia played nearly all day and the Duchess and Lady Gwendolen
and Lady Muriel and Lady Doris and Lord Hubert and Lord Francis and
Lord Rupert got worse and worse.

By evening they were all raging in delirium and Lord Francis and
Lady Gwendolen had strong mustard plasters on their chests. And
right in the middle of their agony Cynthia suddenly got up and went
away and left them to their fate--just as if it didn't matter in
the least. Well in the middle of the night Meg and Peg and Lady
Patsy wakened all at once.

"Do you hear a noise?" said Meg, lifting her head from her ragged
old pillow.

[Transcriber's Note: See picture noise.jpg]

"Yes, I do," said Peg, sitting up and holding her ragged old
blanket up to her chin.

Lady Patsy jumped up with feathers sticking up all over her hair,
because they had come out of the holes in the ragged old bed. She
ran to the window and listened.

"Oh! Meg and Peg!" she cried out. "It comes from the Castle.
Cynthia has left them all raving in delirium and they are all
shouting and groaning and screaming."

Meg and Peg jumped up too.

"Let's go and call Kilmanskeg and Ridiklis and Gustibus and Peter
Piper," they said, and they rushed to the staircase and met
Kilmanskeg and Ridiklis and Gustibus and Peter Piper coming
scrambling up panting because the noise had wakened them as well.

They were all over at Tidy Castle in a minute. They just tumbled
over each other to get there--the kind-hearted things. The servants
were every one fast asleep, though the noise was awful. The loudest
groans came from Lady Gwendolen and Lord Francis because their
mustard plasters were blistering them frightfully.

Ridiklis took charge, because she was the one who knew most about
illness. She sent Gustibus to waken the servants and then ordered
hot water and cold water, and ice, and brandy, and poultices, and
shook the trained nurse for not attending to her business--and took
off the mustard plasters and gave gruel and broth and cough syrup
and castor oil and ipecacuanha, and everyone of the Racketty-Packettys
massaged, and soothed, and patted, and put wet cloths on heads,
until the fever was gone and the Castle dolls all lay back on their
pillows pale and wea