tilly-hoo! a crusade!

It has come to me; I have found my calling. To get The Tall Book of Make-Believe back in print. That such a collection, so wonderfully nursery-innocent and lovingly wrought, runs past a hundred dollars on eBay simply because you can't find it anywhere else is absolutely devastating.

But till Bad Mousie can make his way back to the press, I'm going to kickstart this crusade with my favorite pages from the book, a poem by Elizabeth Godley titled "The Little House."

And, as always: thanks, mum!


In a great big wood
in a great big tree
There's the nicest little house
that could possibly be.

There's a tiny little knocker
on the tiny little door;
And a tiny little carpet
on the tiny little floor;

There's a tiny little table,
and a tiny little bed,
And a tiny little pillow
for a tiny weeny head;

A tiny little blanket,
and a tiny little sheet,
And a tiny water bottle (hot)
for tiny little feet;

A tiny little eiderdown;
a tiny little chair;
And a tiny little kettle
for the owner (when he's there)

In a tiny little larder
there's a tiny thermos bottle
For a tiny little greedy man
who knows the Woods of Pottle.

There's a tiny little peg
for a tiny little hat,
And a tiny little dog
and a tiny, tiny cat.

If you've got a little house,
And you keep it spick and span,
Perhaps there'll come to live in it
A tiny little man.
You may not ever see him:
(He is extremely shy):
But if you find a crumpled sheet,
Or pins upon the window seat,
Or see the marks of tiny feet,
You'll know the reason why.