“The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” was first published in 1938, and tells us the story of young Bartholomew, who, to begin with, only had one hat. It was an heirloom hat, passed down from his grandfather, to his father, to him. It wasn’t very fancy, but it did have a feather that stood straight up from his head, and he really liked it.
Bartholomew lived in the Kingdom of Didd, which was ruled by King Derwin. The king was very proud of his land and loved to stand at his window and gaze out at it. Down below, Bartholomew liked to look up at the castle.
One day Bartholomew went into town just as the king arrived. The Captain of the Guards rode out ahead, telling everyone to remove their hats to honor the king. He was going to ride right in front of Bartholomew!
The carriage stopped and the king himself asked why Bartholomew didn’t take his hat off. Bartholomew was confused – he did take it off, but there was another one on his head! He tried to pull it off, but then he had a hat in each hand, and still had one on his head.
The king was furious and commanded the Captain of the Guard to bring Bartholomew along. They’d teach him to take off his hat!
As they rode to the castle, a wind picked up and began to blow hats off Bartholomew’s head. For every one that blew away, another appeared. By the time they arrived, he’d lost eighty-seven. He tried pulling forty-five in the throne room, not to mention the three he’d removed in town.
All the wise men in the kingdom were called, but none of them could remove a hat without another one appearing. The archers were called to shoot the hats off with arrows, but that didn’t do the trick either – the arrows took the hats off without any problem, but sure enough, another would appear.
Finally they decided it must be magic, and the court magicians were called, but they couldn’t figure it out. Then it was decreed that Bartholomew must be executed, but the executioner wouldn’t behead anyone who still had their hat on, and so his life was spared.
At last the Grand Duke Wilfred proclaimed that he himself would take Bartholomew to the highest tower and push him off. All the way up the stairs, Bartholomew pulled off his hats, and they were becoming more and more grand. Soon they had two feathers, and gemstones, and all kinds of elaborate decoration.
At the top of the tower, Bartholomew reached his 500th hat, and it was a beauty. When the king saw it, he wanted it for himself, and offered Bartholomew five hundred pieces of gold for it. Bartholomew agreed, and when he took that hat off, his head was bare!
He had finally removed his hat in the presence of the king, and so his life was spared. He went home with a sack full of gold, wondering what on earth had happened, but having no explanation at all. It was just one of those things, they supposed.
A definite Seuss classic, this one deserves to be in your collection.
Related Blogs:
Dr. Suess Series: Hunches in Bunches
Dr. Seuss Series: Happy Birthday to You!