Curly and Floppy Twistytail, the Funny Piggie Boys
by Howard R. Garis
Curly and Floppy Twistytail is about the adventures of the two Twistytail pig brothers.
Source: Garis, H. R. (1918). Curly and Floppy Twistytail, the Funny Piggie Boys. New York, NY: A. L. Burt Co.
- Chapter 1: “Curly Twistytail Is Named”
- A little pig boy is caught by a bear and tied to a tree by his tail. When his brother rescues him, his tail is permanantly curled. From now on, he was called Curly.
- Chapter 2: “Floppy Gets His Name”
- Curly and his brother (who had no name) went into town to buy candy. The unnamed brother wanted to buy a name at one of the store. A small dog wanted to play tag with him, lost control, and tripped and pulled his ear so it sagged and flopped and from then on they called him Floppy.
- Chapter 3: “Pinky’s Rubber Ball”
- While Curly and Flop were playing soldier in the forest, baby Pinky played alone. A fox spied her and carried her away to the forest. Pinky squealed for her brothers and tossed them her rubber ball to wet the fox. They filled the ball with water and squirted the fox.
- Chapter 4: “How Curly Helped Mother”
- The pig children help their mother do the laundry. When she leaves to help a sick neighbor, Curly decides to surprise her and finish the laundry. When he tries to hang up a large pillowcase, the wind picks him up into the air and into a tree.
- Chapter 5: “Curly and the Elephant”
- Curly buys eggs at the store for his mother and, on the way home, is approached by a dog who wants to eat the eggs. The pig decided to run away and roll eggs at the dog. When the dog catches up to the pig, he is scared away by Grandpa Goosey. The author forgets to include the elephant in the story and vows to put him in the next one.
- Chapter 6: “Flop and the Bag of Meal”
- Flop goes to the market to get corn meal. On the way, he spots an elephant with a sliver in his foot. He helps to remove it. The alligator comes by to eat the pig when the elephant sneezes at the gator and frightens him away.
- Chapter 7: “Piggy Boys at School”
- Curly and Flop look for adventures and come upon a school. They find they can’t spell or cut paper, but they can do tricks and, after scaring away a bear, are invited to join the class.
- Chapter 8: “Curly is Vaccinated”
- Curly finds out that he can’t go to school until he’s vaccinated.
- Chapter 9: “Curly and the Spinning Top”
- Curly is recovering from his vaccination. Flop buys him a top to take his mind off the soreness. A giant snail comes to take his vaccination, so Curly activates the top. The snail get so dizzy that it falls out of the window into a bush.
- Chapter 10: “Flop and the Turtle”
- While Curly went to school, Flop stayed home and played. He found a stone and gave it to his mom to use as a doorstop. A mean egg-dog comes by to eat his mom’s pies. The stone began to talk and explained that he was a frozen turtle. The turtle bit the dog and it ran away.
- Chapter 11: “Curly and the Chestnuts”
- Curly was punished by his teacher and had to stay after school. While cleaning the chalkboard, Jacko the organ-monkey hit Curly in the head with chestnuts. They decided to roast them. The alligator came to attack them, but was frightened away by the popping of the chestnuts.
- Chapter 12: “Baby Pinky and the Doctor”
- Baby Pinky is sick and wakes up the whole household with his crying. They take her to the hospital to make her well again.
- Chapter 13: “Curly and the Big Apple”
- Cury and Flop are sent to the store to get cornmeal. Each brother took a bag. On the way home, they were invited to take apples from a tree. Flop took a small one that he could carry. Curly took the largest one he could find. When a fox jumped out to catch the pigs, Curly was unable to run as fast and still refused to drop his large apple.
- Chapter 14: “The Piggies and the Pumpkin”
- Curly and Flop are sent to the store to get bread and, along the way, are asked by the nice old rat gentleman if they want a large pumpkin to make a Jack O’Lantern. They are greeted by a wolf who wants to eat them. They must figure out a way to escape him.
- Chapter 15: “The Piggies in a Cornfield”
- On their way home from school, Curly and Flop come upon a girl mouse whose tail is stuck under a rock. The piggie boys help her and she promises to help them someday. When the alligator comes by to eat them, the mouse girl helps out after all.
- Chapter 16: “Flop Has a Tumble”
- Curly and Flop are late for school and on their way, they see a sign telling them not to slide down the cellar door. Flop can’t resist the temptation and slides down into a tub of water. The rat lady scolds him for disobeying the sign and he feels guilty.
- Chapter 17: “Mr. Twistytail’s Lost Hat”
- Curly, Flop, and their dog friends are playing in the forest and they find a hat. They realize it’s Mr. Twistytail’s hat and deduce that the wolf must have him. They rush to the wolf’s house and spy the pig father tied up. They trick the wolf and save Mr. Twistytail.
- Chapter 18: “Mother Twistytail’s New Bonnet”
- Mrs. Twistytail takes Baby Pinky to buy a bonnet. On their way home, the wolf grabs mother and daughter and tries to eat them. The wolf throws the bonnet outside and bees see it. They get angry that the flowers aren’t real and go after the wolf.
- Chapter 19: “Curly and the Sour Milk”
- During a brief vacation from school, Curly and Flop agree to go to Uncle Wiggley’s island bungalow. While there, Curly hears Ethel Rose crying and walks her home. A bear appears and drinks the sour milk from their pail and they escape.
- Chapter 20: “Flop and the Pie Lady”
- While at the bungalow, Curly, Flop, and Uncle Wiggly meet a woman with brown hair, Margaret More. She offers to make pies for them and shoos them away. When they return, a wolf comes by to eat the pie lady, Flop, and the pie. Flop throw the peels at him and sends him running back home.
- Chapter 21: “The Piggies and the Jelly”
- Curly and Flop are left alone at Uncle Wiggly’s bungalow. They meet Pocohontas who wants some jelly. They give her what they have and she promises to do them a favor sometime. Then, a big bear comes and captures the two pigs. Pocohontas makes a bow and arrow and wounds the bear saving the two pigs.
- Chapter 22: “Flop and the Marshmallows”
- At the bungalow, Curly and Flop split up to look for adventures. Flop sees his friend Cora Janet and she tells him her dilemma about marshmallow candy and a bear who will want to eat them and her too. Flop comes up with a plan and, when the bear finally arrives, he is pelted with marshmallow candy and retreats.
- Chapter 23: “The Piggies and the Fish”
- On Halloween morning, Curly and Flop decide to dress up and fool Uncle Wiggly. However, he overhears their plan and hatches one of his own. He dresses up like a fish and is caught by a local fisherman.
- Chapter 24: “Curly and the Afraid Girl”
- Curley and Flop split ways to see who will find an adventure first. Curly comes upon a mouse girl named Edna who was afraid of the water and seeing an alligator. Just when she feels safe and comfortable, Curly spies a gator approaching their boat. He tells her to put on a blindfold so she won’t see the gator.
- Chapter 25: “The Piggies at the Party”
- Sadie, a lady pig with long earrings, asks Curly and Flop to her party. A bear comes to the house to eat them and Sadie throws marshmallows in his face. The bear thought it was snowing and rushed back to his cave before he got snowed in.
- Chapter 26: “Floppy and the Bonfire”
- Curly and Flop decide to build a bonfire and have a party. While looking for more potatoes to put on the fire, Flop is left alone. A fox comes by to throw him into the fire, sees a potato and runs away with his mouth on fire.
- Chapter 27: “Flop and the Skate Wagon”
- When Flop stays home sick from school, Uncle Butter teaches him how to make a wagon from a single roller skate. As he rides, Flop sees a cat lady being chased by a dog. He gives her a ride and they escape from the dog.
- Chapter 28: “Pinky and the Lemon”
- Mrs. Twistytail goes to a neighbor to borrow a spool of thread leaving baby Pinky alone in the house. While she’s gone, a baboon with a bad case of the mumps tries to eat the pig. She accidentally squeezes a lemon and squirts him in the eye causing him to flee.
- Chapter 29: “The Piggies and Santa Claus”
- Cury and Flop meet Santa Claus.
- Chapter 30: “Floppy and the Stockings”
- On the way home from buying a cake at the store, Flop meets Nurse jane Fuzzy Wuzzy and she gives him some stockings to hang out for Santa. When she leaves, he is chased by a fox. When he hides, he sees a mouse who tells him to throw a stocking full of leaves at him to fool him. He does and escapes.
- Chapter 31: “The Twistytails’ Christmas”
- The Twistytail family wait for Santa to arrive on Christmas Eve. The next morning the entire family opens their bountiful gifts. The author wishes the readers a merry christmas.