The true story of Humpty Dumpty

"The true story of Humpty Dumpty" by Anna Alice Chapin is a children's fantasy novel written in the early 20th century. It follows three siblings—Dick, Meg, and Bab—whose mockery of nursery lore prompts Mother Goose to summon them to Make Believe Land and send them on branching quests to free Humpty Dumpty from the Wicked King. Each child must prove courage and kindness while encountering fairies, Santa Claus, owls, goblins, and other magical beings. The opening of the story shows Meg, Bab, and Dick as quarrelsome skeptics who fall asleep by the nursery fire and are summoned by Bizzybuzz the sprite, then carried by owl through storms to Mother Goose’s country. After a stop at the Owls’ Inn and a glimpse of the City of Dreams, the Sea of Glass, and the Red City of the Wicked King, Mother Goose assigns punishments-turned-quests: Meg must serve the Fairy Queen, Bab must seek Santa Claus, and Dick must rescue Humpty Dumpty. In the Wonderful Wood, each travels alone: Bab resists temptations (vain goblins, the Idle Princess, the drowsy Sand Man), realizes her terrier Wiggles is “with her” by make-believe, foils Mischief Brownies from chopping Santa’s Wooden Cow, repairs it, and earns Santa’s gratitude and freedom. Meg is seized by Grump the Gray Dwarf, learns the Wicked King plans to steal the Fairy Queen’s freeing spell, overturns Grump’s magic cauldron to escape, reaches Fairyland, warns the Queen, and receives the sky-blue spell and escape instructions for Dick. The excerpt closes as Dick reaches the Sea of Glass and steps onto it, beginning his approach to the Wicked King’s domain. (This is an automatically generated summary.)