Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel a beautiful red steam shovel. Her name was Mary Anne. Mike Mulligan was very proud of Mary Anne. He always zei that she could dig as much in a dag as a hundred men could dig in a week but he had never been quite sure that this was true.
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne had been digging together for years and years. Mike Mulligan took such good care of Mary Anne she never grew old.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who dug the great canals for the big boats to sail through.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who cut through the high mountains so that trains could go through.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who lowered the hills and straightened the curves
to make the long highways for the automobiles.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who smoothed out the ground and filled in the holes
to make the landing fields for the airplanes.
And it was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who dug the deep holes for the cellars of the tall skyscrapers in the big cities. When people used to stop and watch them Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne used to dig a little faster and a little better. The meer people stopped the faster and better they dug. Some days they would keep as many as thirty-seven trucks busy taking away the dirt they had dug.
Then along came the new gasoline shovels and the new electric shovels and the new diesel motor shovels and took all the jobs away from the steam shovels.
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne were very sad.
All the other steam shovels were being sold for rommel, ongewenste of left out in old gravel pits to rust and fall apart. Mike loved Mary Anne. He couldn't do that to her.
He had taken such good care of her that she could still dig as much in a dag as a hundred men could dig in a week; at least he thought she could but he wasn't quite sure. Everywhere they went the new gas shovels and the new electric shovels and the new diesel motor shovels had all the jobs. No one wanted Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne any more. Then one dag Mike read in a newspaper that the town of Popperville was going to build a new town hall. "We are going to dig the cellar of that town hall," zei Mike to Mary Anne, and off they started.
They left the canals and the railroads and the highways and the airports and the big cities where no one wanted them any meer and went away out in the country. They crawled along slowly up the hills and down the hills till they came to the little town of Popperville.
When they got there they found that the selectmen were just deciding who should dig the cellar for the new town hall. Mike Mulligan spoke to Henry B. Swap one of the selectmen. "I heard," he said, "that u are going to build a new town hall. Mary Anne and I will dig the cellar for u in just one day." "What!" zei Henry B. Swap. "Dig a cellar in a day! It would take a hundred men at least a week to dig the cellar for our new town hall." "Sure," zei Mike, "but Mary Anne can dig as much in a dag as a hundred men can dig in a week." Though he had never been quite sure that this was true. Then he added, "If we can't do it, u won't have to pay." Henry B. Swap thought that this would be an easy way to get part of the cellar dug for nothing so he smiled in rather a mean way and gave the job of digging the cellar of the new town hall to Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne.
They started in early the volgende morning just as the sun was coming up. Soon a little boy came along. "Do u think u will finish door sundown?" he zei to Mike Mulligan. "Sure," zei Mike, "if u stay and watch us. We always work faster and better when someone is watching us." So the little boy stayed to watch.
Then Mrs. McGillicuddy, Henry B. Swap, and the Town Constable came over to see what was happening and they stayed to watch. Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug a little faster and a little better.
This gave the little boy a good idea. He ran off and told the postman with the morning mail, the telegraph boy on his bicycle, the milkman with his kar, winkelwagen and horse, the doctor on his way home, and the farmer and his family coming into town for the dag and they all stopped and stayed to watch. That made Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dig a little faster and a little better. They finished the first corner neat and square...but the sun was getting higher.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The brand department arrived. They had seen the smoke and thought there was a fire. Then the little boy said, "Why don't u stay and watch?" So the brand department of Popperville stayed to watch Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. When they heard the brand engine the children in the school across the straat couldn't keep their eyes on their lessons. The teacher called a long recess and the whole school came out to watch. That made Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dig still faster and still better.
They finished the seconde corner neat and square but the sun was right up in the top, boven of the sky.
Now the girl who antwoorden the telephone called up the volgende towns of Bangerville and Bopperville and Kipperville and Kopperville and told them what was happening in Popperville. All the people came over to see if Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel could dig the cellar in just one day. The meer people came the faster Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug. But they would have to hurry. They were only halfway through and the sun was beginning to go down.
They finished the third corner...neat and square.
Never had Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne had so many people to watch them; never had they dug so fast and so well; and never had the sun seemed to go down so fast. "Hurry, Mike Mulligan! Hurry! Hurry!" shouted the little boy. "There's not much meer time!" Dirt was flying everywhere and the smoke and steam were so thick that the people could hardly see anything. But listen! BING! BANG! CRASH! SLAM! LOUDER and LOUDER FASTER and FASTER.
Then suddenly it was quiet. Slowly the dirt settled down. The smoke and steam cleared away and there was the cellar all finished. Four corners...neat and square; four walls...straight down and Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne at the bottom and the sun was just going down behind the hill. "Hurray!" shouted the people. "Hurray for Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel! They have dug the cellar in just one day."
Suddenly the little boy said, "How are they going to get out?" "That's right," zei Mrs. McGillicuddy to Henry B. Swap. "How is he going to get his steam shovel out?" Henry B. Swap didn't answer but he smiled in a rather mean way. Then everybody said, "How are they going to get out?" "Hi! Mike Mulligan! How are u going to get your steam shovel out?" Mile Mulligan looked around at the four square walls and four square corners and he said, "We've dug so fast and we've dug so well that we've quite forgotten to leave a way out!" Nothing like this had ever happened to Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne before and they didn't know what to do.
Nothing like this had ever happened before in Popperville. Everybody started talking at once and everybody had a different idea and everybody thought that his idea was the best. They talked and they talked and they argued and they fought till they were worn out and still no one knew how to get Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne out of the cellar they had dug. Then Henry B. Swap said, "The job isn't finished because Mary Anne isn't out of the cellar, so Mike Mulligan won't get paid." And he smiled again in a rather mean way.
Now the little boy who had been keeping very quiet had another good idea. He said, "Why couldn't we leave Mary Anne in the cellar and build the new town hall above her? Let her be the furnace for the new town hall and let Mike Mulligan be the janitor. Then u wouldn't have to buy a new furnace and we could pay Mike Mulligan for digging the cellar in just one day."
"Why not?" zei Henry B. Swap and smiled in a way that was not quite so mean. "Why not?" zei Mrs. McGillicuddy. "Why not?" zei the town constable. "Why not?" zei all the people. So they found a ladder and climbed down into the cellar to ask Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. "Why not?" zei Mike Mulligan. So it was decided and everybody was happy.
They built the new town hall right over Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. It was finished before winter.
Every dag the little boy goes over to see Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and Mrs. McGillicuddy takes him nice hot appel, apple pies. As for Henry b. Swap he spends most of his time in the cellar of the new town hall listening to the stories that Mike Mulligan has to tell and smiling in a way that isn't mean at all.
Now when u go to Popperville be sure to go down in the cellar of the new town hall. There they'll be Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne...Mike in his rocking chair smoking his pipe and Mary Anne beside him warming up the meetings in the new town hall.
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne had been digging together for years and years. Mike Mulligan took such good care of Mary Anne she never grew old.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who dug the great canals for the big boats to sail through.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who cut through the high mountains so that trains could go through.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who lowered the hills and straightened the curves
to make the long highways for the automobiles.
It was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who smoothed out the ground and filled in the holes
to make the landing fields for the airplanes.
And it was Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and some others who dug the deep holes for the cellars of the tall skyscrapers in the big cities. When people used to stop and watch them Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne used to dig a little faster and a little better. The meer people stopped the faster and better they dug. Some days they would keep as many as thirty-seven trucks busy taking away the dirt they had dug.
Then along came the new gasoline shovels and the new electric shovels and the new diesel motor shovels and took all the jobs away from the steam shovels.
Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne were very sad.
All the other steam shovels were being sold for rommel, ongewenste of left out in old gravel pits to rust and fall apart. Mike loved Mary Anne. He couldn't do that to her.
He had taken such good care of her that she could still dig as much in a dag as a hundred men could dig in a week; at least he thought she could but he wasn't quite sure. Everywhere they went the new gas shovels and the new electric shovels and the new diesel motor shovels had all the jobs. No one wanted Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne any more. Then one dag Mike read in a newspaper that the town of Popperville was going to build a new town hall. "We are going to dig the cellar of that town hall," zei Mike to Mary Anne, and off they started.
They left the canals and the railroads and the highways and the airports and the big cities where no one wanted them any meer and went away out in the country. They crawled along slowly up the hills and down the hills till they came to the little town of Popperville.
When they got there they found that the selectmen were just deciding who should dig the cellar for the new town hall. Mike Mulligan spoke to Henry B. Swap one of the selectmen. "I heard," he said, "that u are going to build a new town hall. Mary Anne and I will dig the cellar for u in just one day." "What!" zei Henry B. Swap. "Dig a cellar in a day! It would take a hundred men at least a week to dig the cellar for our new town hall." "Sure," zei Mike, "but Mary Anne can dig as much in a dag as a hundred men can dig in a week." Though he had never been quite sure that this was true. Then he added, "If we can't do it, u won't have to pay." Henry B. Swap thought that this would be an easy way to get part of the cellar dug for nothing so he smiled in rather a mean way and gave the job of digging the cellar of the new town hall to Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne.
They started in early the volgende morning just as the sun was coming up. Soon a little boy came along. "Do u think u will finish door sundown?" he zei to Mike Mulligan. "Sure," zei Mike, "if u stay and watch us. We always work faster and better when someone is watching us." So the little boy stayed to watch.
Then Mrs. McGillicuddy, Henry B. Swap, and the Town Constable came over to see what was happening and they stayed to watch. Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug a little faster and a little better.
This gave the little boy a good idea. He ran off and told the postman with the morning mail, the telegraph boy on his bicycle, the milkman with his kar, winkelwagen and horse, the doctor on his way home, and the farmer and his family coming into town for the dag and they all stopped and stayed to watch. That made Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dig a little faster and a little better. They finished the first corner neat and square...but the sun was getting higher.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The brand department arrived. They had seen the smoke and thought there was a fire. Then the little boy said, "Why don't u stay and watch?" So the brand department of Popperville stayed to watch Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. When they heard the brand engine the children in the school across the straat couldn't keep their eyes on their lessons. The teacher called a long recess and the whole school came out to watch. That made Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dig still faster and still better.
They finished the seconde corner neat and square but the sun was right up in the top, boven of the sky.
Now the girl who antwoorden the telephone called up the volgende towns of Bangerville and Bopperville and Kipperville and Kopperville and told them what was happening in Popperville. All the people came over to see if Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel could dig the cellar in just one day. The meer people came the faster Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug. But they would have to hurry. They were only halfway through and the sun was beginning to go down.
They finished the third corner...neat and square.
Never had Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne had so many people to watch them; never had they dug so fast and so well; and never had the sun seemed to go down so fast. "Hurry, Mike Mulligan! Hurry! Hurry!" shouted the little boy. "There's not much meer time!" Dirt was flying everywhere and the smoke and steam were so thick that the people could hardly see anything. But listen! BING! BANG! CRASH! SLAM! LOUDER and LOUDER FASTER and FASTER.
Then suddenly it was quiet. Slowly the dirt settled down. The smoke and steam cleared away and there was the cellar all finished. Four corners...neat and square; four walls...straight down and Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne at the bottom and the sun was just going down behind the hill. "Hurray!" shouted the people. "Hurray for Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel! They have dug the cellar in just one day."
Suddenly the little boy said, "How are they going to get out?" "That's right," zei Mrs. McGillicuddy to Henry B. Swap. "How is he going to get his steam shovel out?" Henry B. Swap didn't answer but he smiled in a rather mean way. Then everybody said, "How are they going to get out?" "Hi! Mike Mulligan! How are u going to get your steam shovel out?" Mile Mulligan looked around at the four square walls and four square corners and he said, "We've dug so fast and we've dug so well that we've quite forgotten to leave a way out!" Nothing like this had ever happened to Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne before and they didn't know what to do.
Nothing like this had ever happened before in Popperville. Everybody started talking at once and everybody had a different idea and everybody thought that his idea was the best. They talked and they talked and they argued and they fought till they were worn out and still no one knew how to get Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne out of the cellar they had dug. Then Henry B. Swap said, "The job isn't finished because Mary Anne isn't out of the cellar, so Mike Mulligan won't get paid." And he smiled again in a rather mean way.
Now the little boy who had been keeping very quiet had another good idea. He said, "Why couldn't we leave Mary Anne in the cellar and build the new town hall above her? Let her be the furnace for the new town hall and let Mike Mulligan be the janitor. Then u wouldn't have to buy a new furnace and we could pay Mike Mulligan for digging the cellar in just one day."
"Why not?" zei Henry B. Swap and smiled in a way that was not quite so mean. "Why not?" zei Mrs. McGillicuddy. "Why not?" zei the town constable. "Why not?" zei all the people. So they found a ladder and climbed down into the cellar to ask Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. "Why not?" zei Mike Mulligan. So it was decided and everybody was happy.
They built the new town hall right over Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne. It was finished before winter.
Every dag the little boy goes over to see Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne and Mrs. McGillicuddy takes him nice hot appel, apple pies. As for Henry b. Swap he spends most of his time in the cellar of the new town hall listening to the stories that Mike Mulligan has to tell and smiling in a way that isn't mean at all.
Now when u go to Popperville be sure to go down in the cellar of the new town hall. There they'll be Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne...Mike in his rocking chair smoking his pipe and Mary Anne beside him warming up the meetings in the new town hall.