Stir the Soup Read online

  Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup

  Cynthia Rylant

  * * *

  Mr. Putter & Tabby

  Stir the Soup

  CYNTHIA RYLANT

  Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup

  Illustrated by

  ARTHUR HOWARD

  Harcourt, Inc.

  San Diego New York London

  For Michael Debra, Rebecca, Sophia, and Nina

  —A.H.

  Text copyright © 2003 by Cynthia Rylant

  Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Arthur Howard

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

  any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,

  recording, or any information storage and retrieval system,

  without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work

  should be mailed to the following address:

  Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc.,

  6277 Sea Harbor Drive,

  Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

  www.HarcourtBooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Rylant, Cynthia.

  Mr. Putter & Tabby stir the soup/Cynthia Rylant;

  illustrated by Arthur Howard,

  p. cm.

  Summary: Mr. Putter and Tabby go to their neighbor's house

  to make soup, but Zeke the dog makes it very difficult for them.

  [1. Soups—Fiction. 2. Cats—Fiction. 3. Dogs—Fiction.

  4. Neighbors—Fiction.] I. Title: Mr. Putter and Tabby stir the soup.

  II. Howard, Arthur, ill. III. Title.

  PZ7.R982Mud 2003

  [E]—dc21 2002011387

  ISBN 0-15-202637-1

  Manufactured in China

  C E G H F D B

  * * *

  1

  Soup Day

  2

  Maybe Not

  3

  Neighbors

  4

  The Bother

  5

  Soup

  1

  Soup Day

  Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby,

  lived in an old house

  with an old porch

  and an old swing

  and lots of old things inside.

  Mr. Putter and Tabby

  didn't mind old things.

  They were old, too,

  so they felt right at home.

  One of the oldest things in

  Mr. Putter's house

  was the stove.

  Mr. Putter was very attached

  to his stove.

  He called her Bessie.

  Every day Bessie cooked up

  oatmeal and tea for

  Mr. Putter and Tabby.

  Some days she

  cooked up muffins.

  And on really special days,

  she cooked up soup.

  Mr. Putter and Tabby loved soup.

  But it was a lot of trouble.

  Mr. Putter never had all the

  right ingredients at the right time.

  "No onions," he would say to Tabby.

  "No soup."

  Or, "No beans," he would say.

  "No soup."

  And sometimes:

  "No macaroni. No soup."

  Tabby was really sorry

  about the macaroni.

  It was her favorite part.

  But one day when Mr. Putter

  and Tabby wanted soup,

  Mr. Putter found he had everything.

  "Look, Tabby," said Mr. Putter.

  "Even macaroni!"

  Tabby purred and purred.

  Today would be a soup day.

  2

  Maybe Not

  Mr. Putter put everything on the

  counter and started chopping.

  He chopped up celery.

  He chopped up carrots.

  He chopped up potatoes.

  He chopped up onions and

  cried and cried.

  Tabby worried and rubbed

  against his legs.

  "Don't worry, Tabby,"

  said Mr. Putter.

  "It's just the onions."

  He smiled and gave her a pat.

  Tabby felt much better.

  Mr. Putter dumped all of the

  chopped things into a big

  pot of water.

  He turned on the stove

  to let them cook.

  But nothing happened.

  Bessie didn't warm up.

  She didn't warm up even a little.

  She just sat there, cold and quiet.

  "Oh no," said Mr. Putter. "Bessie's

  on the blink. Now what do we do?"

  Mr. Putter looked at Tabby.

  Tabby looked at Mr. Putter.

  They both looked at Mrs. Teaberry's

  house through the window.

  "Hmmm," said Mr. Putter.

  3

  Neighbors

  Mrs. Teaberry was Mr. Putter's friend.

  Her good dog, Zeke, was Tabby's friend.

  They all liked being neighbors.

  And Mrs. Teaberry loved to cook.

  "Maybe Mrs. Teaberry will help us

  make soup," said Mr. Putter.

  He phoned her up.

  "Mrs. Teaberry," said Mr. Putter,

  "Bessie's on the blink, and I'm

  trying to make soup."

  "Oh dear," said Mrs. Teaberry.

  "May Tabby and I make soup at your house?"

  asked Mr. Putter.

  "Well," said Mrs. Teaberry, "I'm

  just on my way out to shuck oysters

  with the girls."

  (Mrs. Teaberry enjoyed odd things.)

  "Can you make your soup with

  Zeke in the house?" she asked.

  "Of course," said Mr. Putter.

  "He'll be good," said Mrs. Teaberry.

  "Of course," said Mr. Putter.

  "He'll be nice," said Mrs. Teaberry.

  "Of course," said Mr. Putter.

  "And he promises not to be a bother,"

  said Mrs. Teaberry.

  "Oh, Zeke's not a bother," said Mr. Putter.

  "We'll be right over!"

  4

  The Bother

  Mr. Putter and Tabby carried

  all of their soup things over

  to Mrs. Teaberry's house.

  Zeke met them at the door.

  He had his leash.

  "No walk, Zeke," said Mr. Putter.

  He and Tabby went into the kitchen.

  Zeke came in with his ball.

  "No ball, Zeke," said Mr. Putter.

  Mr. Putter started chopping tomatoes.

  Zeke came in with his stick.

  "No stick, Zeke," said Mr. Putter.

  Mr. Putter started chopping turnips.

  Zeke came in with a potted plant.

  "Jiminy!" said Mr. Putter.

  Mr. Putter and Tabby chased Zeke

  all over Mrs. Teaberry's house.

  Finally Zeke gave up the plant.

  Mr. Putter put it in the bathtub

  where Zeke couldn't reach it.

  "No plant, Zeke," said Mr. Putter.

  He and Tabby went back to the kitchen.

  Mr. Putter started chopping parsley.

  Zeke came in with a radio.

  "Jiminy!" said Mr. Putter.

  Mr. Putter and Tabby chased Zeke

  all over Mrs. Teaberry's house.

  Finally Zeke gave up the radio.

  Mr. Putter and Tabby went back

  to the kitchen.

  Zeke came in with a lamp.

  "Jimmy
!" said Mr. Putter.

  It was a very interesting morning.

  5

  Soup

  When Mrs. Teaberry finally got home,

  Mr. Putter was asleep,

  Tabby was asleep, and

  Zeke was eating a carrot.

  "Oh dear," said Mrs. Teaberry.

  Her house looked a little different.

  It was missing things.

  She looked through all of the rooms.

  Then she looked in the bathtub.

  "Oh dear," she said.

  Mrs. Teaberry looked at Zeke.

  "Were you a bother?" she asked.

  Zeke wagged.

  Mrs. Teaberry went into the kitchen.

  Poor Mr. Putter.

  His soup was still not cooked,

  and there was a lamp in

  the kitchen sink.

  Mrs. Teaberry got to work.

  She made raisin bread and

  chocolate fudge and

  melted cheese toasties.

  And she stirred Mr. Putter's soup

  all afternoon.

  When Mr. Putter woke up,

  they had the most wonderful

  meal—and the best soup Mr. Putter

  and Tabby had ever tasted!

  "I'm sorry Zeke was a bother,"

  said Mrs. Teaberry.

  "Oh," said Mr. Putter,

  "Zeke is never a bother..."

  "But have you seen my hat?"

  The illustrations in this book were done in pencil, watercolor,

  and gouache on 250-gram cotton rag paper.

  The display type was set in Artcraft.

  The text type was set in Berkeley Old Style Book.

  Color separations by Colourscan Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore

  Manufactured by South China Printing Company, Ltd., China

  This book was printed on totally chlorine-free Enso Stora Matte paper.

  Production supervision by Sandra Grebenar and Wendi Taylor

  Designed by Arthur Howard and Judythe Sieck

 

 

  Cynthia Rylant, Stir the Soup

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