“Why are you making such a fine camp here, General?” asked the Doctor, as he noticed that the Teenie Weenies continued to improve the camp. “Won’t we have to move on pretty soon if the wild men do not attack?” “We’ll stay right here for some time,” answered the General, taking off his tiny sword and laying it on the table which stood in front of his tent. “We are within striking distance of the wild men’s village, so the aviator tells me, and we’ll use this camp for our base of operations.”
“General,” said the Cook, saluting the commander of the Teenie Weenie army, “I beg your pardon, but there is something I must tell you.”
“What is it, sir?” said the General, returning the Cook’s salute.
“Why sir, there’s a thimble missing from among my cooking things. I put two beans to soak in it last night and when I went to look at them a little while ago the beans were lying on the ground and the thimble was gone.”
“That’s most strange,” said the General; “I’ll have the Cowboy look into the matter and see if he can find out what has happened to the thimble.”
“Thank you, sir,” said the Cook, “I’m a little short of cooking pans and kettles and I’d like to have it back.”
The Cowboy was ordered to look for the lost thimble, but before he had fairly started the search, the thimble turned up in a most peculiar way. Down the main street of the camp towards the General’s tent marched the Dunce with the lost thimble over his head and followed by a laughing crowd of soldier.
“What’s the idea of this?” asked the General as the Dunce stopped before him.
“Safety first,” answered the Dunce.
“What do you mean by safety first?” asked the General, trying hard to keep from laughing at the ridiculous sight.
“W-w-well, you............