Corgiville Fair

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cP^GlVILLEi^ TASHA TUDOR In Corgiville, as in

many

small towns

over America, the biggest event of the year is the Fair. And the most exall

citing thing at the Corgiville Fair

is

the goat race. Caleb Corgi had spent

many months

training his goat Jose-

phine for the big event. But Edgar Tomcats goat was fast, too, and Caleb

knew

that Edgar was not above indulging in some foul play in order to

win. Caleb tried to guard Josephine carefully before the race, but, even

an evil trick of Edgar's nearly put her out of the running. so,

The sights, sounds, and smells, the fun and excitement of a typical smalltown fair, are captured with humor and affection both in the text and in the marvelouslv detailed watercolor paintings.

Tasha Tudor, one of America's most beloved author-artists, has here created her most original work, a masterpiece of gentle satire, a loving observation of a particular segment of rural

of

a

American

life

couched in terms and superbly

rollicking story,

illustrated.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2010

http://www.archive.org/details/corgivillefairOOtudo

CORGIVILLE FAIR

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FAIR BY TASHA TUDOR

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THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY s&j

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NEW YORK

em

TA5HA TUDOR lives in a lovely eighteenth-century

3om

farmhouse

in

Webster, New Hampshire, a village that is not too unlike Corgiville. illustrations Her fondness for the New England rural scene is reflected in all her them at firsthand. many of which depict with loving accuracy the details of farm life as she observes for periods of travel in England and Europe. except life, her all England New in lived has she in Connecticut, One of the best known and most beloved of all American illustrators, Regina Medal Tasha Tudor has won many honors and awards, including the 1971 literature. for her distinguished contribution to children's

Copyright © 1971 by Tasha Tudor utilization of this work use in a review, the reproduction or for Except All rights reserved. or other means, any form or by any electronic, mechanical, in

now known or hereafter and

in

and recording, invented, including xerography, photocopying

any information storage and

retrieval

system

is

forbidden

publisher. without the written permission of the Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto. Published simultaneously in Canada by

Typography by Jack Jaget Manufactured in the United States of America 0-690-21791-9 L.C. Card 72-154042 ISBN 0-690-21792-7 (LB)

To my beloved

corgis

14& 1

»»

...

,1

Farley,

. »

2r

Jr.,

Mr.

B.,

Missus, Megan, Caleb, Snap, Farley, and Corey

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West

of

New

Hampshire and

east of

Vermont

there

is

a village. Its

Corgiville. It has a church, an inn, a post office, a general store,

War

statue. It

is

inhabited by corgis, cats, rabbits, and boggarts.

name

and

is

a Civil

You know about

cats

and

rabbits, but corgis

Corgis are small dogs the color of foxes.

You need only

enchanted.

Boggarts are

trolls. I

and boggarts you may not know about.

They have

them by moonlight

to see

believe they

short legs

have long

and

tails

their

arms come

off for

to

be wild.

sure.

Their hair

convenience when going

and smoke cigars and are apt

tails.

They

are

to realize this.

come from Sweden, but I'm not

that live in Corgiville are the olive green kind with spots.

are leather,

and no

is

down

The

boggarts

moss, their ears holes.

They

>x-

..,

This story

-^- --

about one of Corgiville's leading families, the Bigbee Browns, and

is

about the Corgiville Fair, which, next to Christmas,

is

the most exciting event of the

year.

The Browns

live

three puppies

on

a

— Caleb,

farm outside the Cora, and Katey.

village.

There are Mr. and Mrs. Brown and

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'/

Mr. Brown there

is

ii

ML

I

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raises racing goats. (Corgis use goats instead of horses.)

rivalry

On

Fair

Day

between the Browns and the Tomcat family, who come from the

other side of the town.

Mr. Brown sees that all

is is

First Selectman in order at

and Road Agent. Mrs. Brown

home and

proper places when he comes

that

Mr. Brown's

is

slippers

a

good mother and

and pipe are

in their

in at night.

Caleb, Cora, and Katey go to school in winter. In

summer

everyone else does in Corgiville, getting ready for the Fair.

they spend their time, as

One summer— the summer

this story

is

about— Cora was

raising gourds to display at

the Fair.

Katey,

who was

domestic, was making a complete layette for a rag puppy.

Caleb was the busiest of

all,

for besides helping his father with the

ing his goat, Josephine, for the silver dollars

Grand Race. The

first

prize

was

to

and an enormous cup, so you can see there would be

tion.

,

all

Edgar Tomcat was busy with

over Corgiville about

Red Pepper's

his billy goat,

superior qualities.

MEGANS-MARKET

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'rcAfaUr

Mrs. Horatio Rabbit said she had heard that someone else had heard, from a friend's cousin's sister, that

Edgar Tomcat was betting on the

"Making

money!

bets with

How

rfm r JK

shocking!"

race.

©Ji,

It

was the day before the

and already there was

autumn

air

Fair,

a smell

and the scent of

and the exhibits were

arriving.

tents

were up,

asters.

Everyone was excited, but Caleb was the most excited of could win, but would she?

The

of fried potatoes and hotdogs mixed with the brisk

The suspense was

all.

He

felt

tantalizing.

m?

H ft* Uy^

>.-_

sure Josephine

»**»£t

At

last

it

was the day of the

Fair.

Mr. Bigbee Brown and the town

fathers gave

speeches.

They

fired off the

cannon

cheered and waved

was

officially

flags,

opened.

that stood in front of the Civil

the Corgiville

band struck up

War

statue.

Everyone

a spirited tune,

and the Fair

There was the Big Tent, where vegetables,

fruit, preserves, flowers,

and fancywork

were shown. There was the Poultry Shed, the Goat and Guinea Pig Barns, the Ginger-Beer Stand, the Peep Show, and the Merry-Go-Round, with a calliope and

dashing wooden goats with flowing beards. There were runaway pigs and lost puppies,

and tabby

cats selling cotton candy.

There were boggarts with

patent-medicine remedies and old corgis with trained

fleas.

It

was wonderful!

Caleb found

it

hard not to leave Josephine and

visit the

tempting exhibits. However,

he remembered Mert's words of warning and remained faithfully by her stable door.

He wondered what

the rest of the family were doing.

No

doubt Father would be

looking at farm machinery or "talking cattle." Mother was probably comparing cakes

and pies with Mrs. Rabbit and the church

ladies.

~^

v

12

Katey would surely be with the Sunday School group

Cora should be with her gourd cream

stall

in the

fancywork

exhibit, but she wouldn't be; she

section.

would be

at the ice-

or the cotton-candy stand.

And what would Mert the Daredevils.

be doing? Probably setting up the fireworks or working with

It

was hard waiting, especially when lunch time came round. Caleb saw everyone

going into the lunch

He had

eaten his

tents.

He

own lunch

smelled good things like baked beans and apple pie.

before ten o'clock, and

now he

felt

painfully hollow

inside.

At

this

very

moment who should

looking hotdogs in a basket.

saunter by but Edgar Tomcat, with

some

delicious-

Edgar stopped and admired Josephine. Caleb was "I'm afraid you're going to give "That's what

I

aim

me some

to do, sir," replied

flattered.

keen competition!" said Edgar.

Caleb modesdy.

Edgar purred pleasandy. "You look hungry. Would you Caleb's sides,

mouth

fairly watered.

like a

Edgar's feelings might be hurt

hotdog?"

if

Edgar was being so sporting about Josephine. Caleb took

he refused, and bea hotdog.

Edgar continued

to talk in a flattering sort of

pleased and important. But he

felt sleepy,

"man

to

man"

tone,

and Caleb

felt

and he rather wished Edgar would go

away. In fact, he it

a

felt

dizzy,

and Edgar's purring sounded

like a

motor

in his ears.

Or was

motor? Caleb really didn't know, for he had fallen sound asleep in the straw. The

hotdog had contained

a soporific

r.-.>,

powder!

>

Edgar switched

his tail maliciously

and

box containing thirteen heavy mince While Caleb

up with

slept,

pleasure.

Edgar fed

She was

all

left,

pies

only to reappear a

and

moment

later

with a

twenty-two strong five-cent cigars.

these things to greedy Josephine,

who gobbled them

tired of diets.

She got rounder and rounder, and

at the nineteenth cigar (she

had already eaten the

pies) she collapsed, groaning.

Edgar Tomcat now

left this

deplorable scene, purring loudly, and feeling very

much

pleased with himself. Already he seemed to feel the jingle of one hundred silver dollars in his pocket. It

was half an hour before race time!

The was

bell

rang for saddling and bridling.

fifteen

minutes before race time!

u*>

I

Merton Boggart was checking

his rockets before leaving for the race

reached him, barking out the awful

tale

when Caleb

of what had happened.

Boggarts are resourceful. Mert saw instandy that there was but one thing to do.

Grabbing an armful of and roared It

was

five

rockets, he

jumped

to the goat stables.

minutes before race time.

into his tin lizzie with

Caleb behind him

'**-ix.^C-P

m/W They

got Josephine to her feet. Then, while Caleb saddled and bridled her,

ripped open the rockets with lightning speed and fed her as

The

results

were spectacular! Caleb barely had time

a fiery snort, Josephine tore out of the stable just in the nick

of time.

Bang! went the starting gun.

They were

off!

many

as she

to leap to the saddle

and toward the race

gate.

Mert

would

eat.

when, with

She arrived

The the in a

spectators cheered.

Dust

flew.

The sodapop boggart dropped

pop exploded. Edgar Tomcat gnashed

cloud of dust and flying pebbles. Caleb clung on for his very

twirled his

tail

and gave

off sparks.

his basket,

his teeth as Josephine passed life.

and

all

Red Pepper Mert

The

cheers turned to shouts, the shouts to

yells.

The grandstand shook with stamp-

ing paws.

Josephine passed the finish line in the

memory

five goat-lengths

of Corgiville's oldest inhabitant.

ahead, breaking

all

previous records

The band broke

into "Hail, the

Conquering Hero Comes"

as

Caleb and Josephine

were led to the platform to receive the enormous cup piled high with one hundred

newly minted

A

silver dollars.

wreath of roses was placed around Josephine's neck

(yes, she

managed

to eat

some), and two handsome satin rosettes were attached to her horns (these she ate later). It

was

a great

day for the Browns.

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the Pie-Eating Contest, the

CMJESSg jJOQP

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Turkey Shoot, and the Midway.

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a big square

much

to his

dance

at

which Miss Corgiville led

embarrassment and pleasure.

off the Virginia Reel with

Evening found everyone hungry again, so they

was dark enough

ate

supper and waited until

for the grand finale, Mert's fireworks.

jPtf

it

Such

fireworks!

They were

the brightest and noisiest and

kinds one never sees any more.

The

most dangerous

—

all

the

rocket display seemed a bit short, but only

and Caleb knew why.

The

biggest bang

came

last

with a shower of red, white, and blue

stars.

In their

Mert

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midst was a twenty-foot American

flag

done

in Catherine

wheels and supercharged

torpedoes.

Then was

the

band played "Good Night, Ladies," and everyone went home feeling there

just nothing, absolutely nothing, so glorious as the Corgiville Fair.

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In case you would care to know, Cora and Katey each

won

prizes too.

Josephine never ran another race. She couldn't. (She suffered from chronic indigestion

from

that time on.)

Edgar Tomcat

P.S.

left

town, and nobody missed him.

Caleb gave Mert

factory.

The

other

fifty dollars to

fifty

~~1

make needed improvements

he put in the bank towards college.

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in his fireworks

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Asll

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lives

ster,

New Hampshire is,

that Corgiville

fact

Web-

in

a village that

is

the

course,

of

is

(One im-

not too unlike Corgiville. portant difference

lovely

a

in

eighteenth-century farmhouse

inhabited not

by people, but by dogs, rabbits, cats, boggarts, and other creatures. Her fondness for the New England rural scene

is

reflected in

her

all

illus-

which depict with loving accuracy the details of farm life as she observes them at firsthand. trations,

many

of

Connecticut, she has lived

Born

in

New

England

all

her

in

except lor

life,

periods of travel in England and Europe. Mrs. Tudor's mother

known learned

portrait artist,

much about

was

from

a well-

whom

she

painting tech-

niques, and she has also studied art in England. One of the best known

and most beloved of all American illustrators, Tasha Tudor has won many honors and awards, including the 1971 Regina Medal for her distinguished contribution to children literature.

Thomas V NEW YORK

(

Irowell I

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lompan)

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