something with which to amuse your brother," for you see Flop hadn't
yet been vaccinated, and his arm was not sore.

"What would you like?" asked Flop of his brother. "Shall I get you a
mouth organ, or a kite, so you can fly away up to the clouds?"

"Neither one," said Curly. "I want a spinning top that I can make go
around when I lie down in bed. And I want it to make music and jump
around on a plate and slide on a string and all things like that."

"All right," said Flop Ear. "I'll try to get it for you."

So he went down to the eleven-and-six-cent store to buy a spinning
top for his brother. And he found it, too. It was a top all painted
red and blue and yellow and green, and when you wound it up, and
pressed a spring, it spun around and around as fast as anything,
making soft and low music like the wind blowing through the trees on
a summer night, and sending the mosquitoes all sailing away to the
north pole.

"I know Curly Tail will like this," said Flop Ear.

So the store man wrapped the top up for him in a nice piece of blue
paper, tied with a pink string, just the kind they have in the drug
store, and Flop started back with the top to amuse his little sick,
vaccinated brother.

And when Curly saw that top, all colored red and green, and blue and
yellow and skilligminkpurple, as it was, he felt better at once,
and, sitting up in bed, he began to spin it on a nice smooth board