Hilda and the Runaway Baby

PreS—A surprisingly funny and sweet story of friendship. "At the top of the hill was a village, and in the village lived a baby who was never where people expected him to be./Which is why he was known as the Runaway Baby." Baby's poor parents are in a constant state of befuddlement, as illustrated in the screenprinted drawings showing Baby hiding in the middle of a bookshelf, in a pail, the laundry basket, under a chair, or in the cupboard. One day, while out on a walk with his parents, the Runaway Baby notices a particular yellow bird as it flies away, and off Baby goes, down the hill in his carriage headed straight toward a kind and orderly pig named Hilda who lives at the foot of the hill. When Hilda sees the runaway carriage, she instantly chases after it and catches the Runaway Baby as he leaps out. Hilda, being the responsible character in this chaotic and zany story, calmly deposits Baby back in his carriage and reunites him with his worried family. But then the Runaway Baby wakes up alone in his crib in the middle of the night and remembers his new friend, and he howls. Baby carries on so much that Hilda hears him, all the way down the hill and outside the village. Being a good pig, she leaves her house and runs back up the hill to the Runaway Baby's house, where she is welcomed.