Millions of kids grow up reading that rhyme about a fearless, adventure-seeking little girl named Madeline.

This summer, Madeline's big excitement is a trip to the movies.Of course, when you're making a movie about a fearless young girl, you have to cast a spunky personality in the main role. Nine-year-old English schoolgirl Hatty Jones was the perfect fit to play the big-screen version of the smallest of the girls. ("They left the house/In two straight lines/The smallest one was Madeline.")

On a recent trip to the United States, Jones was up w-a-a-a-a-y past her bedtime on The Late Show with David Letterman. When asked what she thought of New York City, compared to Los Angeles, she said she was amazed at the size of the buildings. Little legs dangling from the guest chair, she observed simply and accurately: "The buildings are tall."

This red-headed, brown-eyed girl understands what tall is all about because playing the part of author Ludwig Bemelmans' infamous heroine is one tall order. Amazingly, Jones won the right to wear Madeline's hat four months after filmmakers began auditioning young actresses throughout America, Canada and Europe.

Without ever having read the stories (although she had seen the TV cartoons) or acting in anything but her after-school drama class, she beat out all the other hopefuls. "It's my first thing," admitted Jones. "I've never done plays, commercials - anything."

For her first time in front of the camera, Jones jumps right into Madeline's shoes, bringing to life the escapades of four books: Madeline, Madeline and the Bad Hat, Madeline's Rescue and Madeline and the Gypsies.

Needless to say, that responsibility kept Jones hopping. What with Madeline having her appendix out, falling in the river and being rescued by a lifesaving dog named Genevieve, and making friends with Pepito, the crafty son of the Spanish Ambassador, she was kept on her toes.

What is the hardest part? "I'd have to say it's being tired all the time," she told a reporter on location in Paris. "That's why I loved the appendicitis scenes so much. I got to lie in bed the whole day!"

All the effort was worth it. Jones' first major role meant working with Oscar-winner Frances McDormand (Fargo), who plays the beloved Miss Clavel and Nigel Hawthorne as the villainous Lord Cucuface.

But there doesn't seem to be any danger of stars getting in her eyes. Although Jones likes acting, preferring it to her other loves - street dancing and ballet - she hasn't made any long-term plans. So how long does she hope to keep it up? "Until I'm 16," she says confidently.