Just for that the doctor said that Little Elephant would have to have a bandage on his throat. So Mother took one of her old red flannel petticoats and tore it up into long strips—yards and yards of them.
Then she rubbed hot oil all over Little Elephant's neck and wrapped the bandage around and around and around and around and around, till Little Elephant could hardly turn his head.
All that day Little Elephant stayed in bed. At first he thought it was fun, not having to go to school (he was in first grade). But then he got ever so tired of having nothing to do. He'd played with all his blocks and broken his toys and crayoned all the picture books. And then there was nothing else to do.
At lunch time he smelled the good things his mother was cooking down in the kitchen. But when she came upstairs with his tray she said, "I have some nice milk toast for you."
"I don'd wand ady milg doast," said Little Elephant and squirmed down under the covers again.
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