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B LE
BOOK
By D a v i d C o r y
JUMBLE
OF GOOD
THINGS
GEORGE SULLY Es! COMPANYNEW YORK
THE
JUM
HELLO CENTRAL!Hello Central!
Give me all the l ittle boys and gi rls in the World. I
want to tel l them about the JUMBLE BOOK !“Hello ! Is that you, Jimmy ! ”Well , this i s David Cory , the JUMBLE BOOKman .
Do you like Indian stories ! You do,eh ! Well
,you ’ l l find
some in the JUMBLE BOOK . Good-by l“Hello, Po lly !
”
Thi s i s the man who wrote the JUMBLE BOOK . Doyou l ike Fairy Stories ! I thought you did . Well , you ’ l lfind lots of them in the JUMBLE BOOK. Good-by.
”
“Hello , B illy .
”
This i s the JUMBLE BOOKman. Do you like storiesabout animals ! Well , I ’m glad you do , for I ’ve written alot of them for you in the JUMBLE BOOK. Good-by.
”
“Hello, Mary !”
This i s you r friend David Gory . What kind of storiesdo you like ! All kinds , eh ! Well , the JUMBLE BOOK ’
S
the book for you, then . You ’ l l find all kinds of stories alljumbled together between its covers ! Good-by l”
T h e In b l e B o o k
LITTLE SIR CAT
Sir Cat Takes a Farew el l LookCast le
Once upon a” time I promised to tel l a little boy howLittle Si r Cat caught the Knave of Hearts who had runaway with the Queen ’s tarts .Well , Si‘r ! That Knave had run only about hal f way
across the courtyard when Little Si r Cat pounced on himas i f he were a mouse
,and his Highness
,the Knave of
Hearts , stopped right then and there , but he sp i lt the tartsall over the ground . Wasn ’t that a shame !This made the King dreadfu l ly angry
,and he beat the
Knave fu l l sore ,” as the rhyme goes in dear Old MotherGoose , and i f youdon ’t believe me , just get the book and seefor yoursel f. “Now ask me a favor , and it shall be granted ,”said the Queen who had asked Little Si r Cat to come into thecastle and sit on the throne by her side.Tel l me where I may find my fortune , answered Litt le
Sir Cat.“Ah ! cried the Queen , that is not so easy. For each
of us must make his own fortune . But I wi l l help you,
” andshe called for her old seneschal .
“Hewill not find it on Tart Island , said the old retainer.Mayhap in Mother Goose Island he wil l find it.”
LITTLE SIR CAT TAKES A FAREW ELL LOOKAT THE CASTLE
Little Sir Cat80 pretty soon , not so very long , Little Si r Cat left the
big castle , and by— and —by he came to an old willow tree bya pond . And who do you think he saw !! Why , li tt le Mrs .Oriole sitting close beside her nest that hung like a big whitestocking from the branch . As soonas she saw Little Si r Catshe began to sing , and al l her li ttle birds peeped out of thenest, but they didn ’ t say anything , for they had never methim before . Children , thi s i s Si r Cat . I knew him when helived in a castle
,said Mrs . Oriole .
Well , after that , he went in to the farmyard, for i t wasnoontime , and he was hungry , and knocked on the kitchendoor . Just then the Cuckoo Clock in the kitchen soundedthe hou r of noon
,and the farmer ’s wi fe looked out of the
window to see i f her man was coming through the gate ,when , of cou rse , she spied Little S i r Cat .
“Dinner i s ready . Come in , Kitten ! So he steppedinto the neat
,clean kitchen
,and as soon as the good woman
had put on a clean ap ron , they sat down to supper . By
and— by the cuckoo came out of her l ittle clock and said“Time for kittens to be in bed
,
” and the twinkle,twinkle star
shone through the window , and sang a little lu l laby
S leep , little pussy eat, sleep .
The little white clouds are like sheep
That p lay all the n ight while themoon’
s shining bright.
S leep , little pussy eat, sleep .
”
And in the next story youwil l find what Little Si r Cat didwhen he woke up in the morning.
Lit tle St ories 0 amous An imals
How a DogDiscov ered a Hot SpringTradition reports that Charles IV. discovered the Carls
bad Spring , but after you have read this l i ttle history per!haps you will agree with me that i f i t hadn ’t been for hisdog he never would have even seen the sp ring.
It happened this way :More than fou r hundred yearsago Charles IV. was hunting in the neighborhood. In theexciting chase and pu rsu it of a stag he suddenly lost al ltrace of i t. As he paused , undecided which cou rse to take ,he heard the yelping of one of his hounds , and fol lowingthe sound
,he found it lying scalded in the waters of the
sp ring, which , as you know ,i s a stream of water probably
escaping from a smoldering volcano way down deep in theearth . The faithfu l animal had followed the stag’s leapinto the valley, and had missed a su re footing on the rocksnear by.On the top of the hil l , which is now cal led theHi rschen
sprung (stag’s leap ! , a cross has been erected , and a littlelower down a lookout house has been bui lt . Sti l l fartherdown , on a high pointed rock, a citizen of Carlsbad hashad erected an i ron figure of a chamois .After chance had made known the hot waters of the
spring to Charles IV he had a bath and a hunting lodgebui lt there
,which were cal led after him , Karlsbad.
The real discoverer of the sp ring,the faithfu l hound,
has no mention made of him by name or monument , although
’ the crest of the hil l i s named for a stag and thespring after a king.
TESSIE.
TOTTIE AND TEDDYOr the Three Tiny T s
Free
The Three Tiny T’
s 2111 in a Row.
CHAPTER I“Li sten , whispered Tessie , “I ’ve got a secret to tel l you;
snuggle up so nobody’ll hear !”Tottie squeezed up close to her little sister , and Teddy
shoved himsel f along the piazza seat unti l al l three werepacked as tight as little sardines.
“What is i t ! ” asked Tottie .Hurry up and tel l ,” whispered Teddy, hugging Tessie ’s
Tessie, Tottie and Teddyarm
,while Tottie squeezed her hand with her little fat
fingers.“S-s-sh l rep lied Tessie, s-s-sh lTessie ! cal led mother ’s voice , Tessie, come here, I
want you to run down to the grocer .“Oh
,dear !” sighed the three tiny T ’s .
Tessie jumped up quickly and ran inside the house,
closely followed by Tottie and Teddy .
“You can wear you r rol ler skates , said mother , and
Teddy can put on his and go with you, i f he wishes .”In a few minutes the skates were strapped on each im
patient l ittle foot, and mother ’s darling messengers weregliding down the front walk .
“Be very carefu l not to break the eggs , said mother, asshe stood in the doorway watching them go out of the gate.“Hold the bag tight and don ’t go fast on the way home .”
CHAPTER II
Tessie and Teddy skated along smoothly on thei r errandfor mother. The roller skates behaved very well , and didnot t ry to race with each other , so that neither l ittle messenger had a fall , or even a bump against anybody on thesidewalk who did not get out of the way in time .The fat grocer man said good morning very pleasantly
,
and gave them each a little animal cracker . Tessie told himwhat she wanted , and while he was counting out the eggsand putting them in the bag , she stroked his big tiger cat,who layhal f asleep on the top of the sugar barrel .
Tessie, Tottie and TeddyHere you are , Miss , said the grocer man , handing the
package to Tessie , “and be careful , li ttle man , he added ,tu rning to Teddy , that you don ’t run into sister and upsether— you won ’t have any eggs i f you do !”Of course not ,” rep lied Teddy, biting off the hind legs
of his buffalo cracker. “ I ’ l l take care ,” and both chi ldren
Crash ! Th ere Were S cramb led Eggs All Over the Walk.
wabbled over the floor and through the doorway out ontothe sidewalk.
Everything went along beauti fu l ly. Teddy kept well
Tessie, Tottie and Teddybehind so that Tessie wou ld have plenty of room , and thedistance was half over , when something happened. Abouta block from the house
,the sidewalk ran down a smal l hi l l .
Although Tessie had time and again coasted down withoutthe slightest trouble , today it seemed as i f she were goingvery much faster than usual . Perhaps she was a l ittle worried over the bag of eggs . At any rate , al l of a sudden herfeet behaved very badly
,and before she could help it
, one
foot went off to one side and Tessie did , too . Down she wentin a heap . Crash ! smash ! mash ! there were scrambled eggsal l over the walk !Tessie turned a frightened glance towards Teddy who
just came up .
“0 dear me ! How shal l I ever exp lain to mother !
cried poor little Tessie.
CHAPTER III
After Tessie and Teddy arrived home th ey hunted aroundfor mother to tel l her the awfu l news
,and how sorry they
were that the bag of eggs was lying out on the sidewalk infunny yel low patches , wi th bits of broken shel l strewn allaround.
About hal f an hou r later Tessie was tel ling her l ittlekitten what mother had said.
“And,Pussy dear ,” confided
Tessie , “don ’t you ever try to carry any robin ’s eggs downfrom the nest . I f you do , you ’ l l find you get sl iding fasterand faster
,and before you reach the ground you r foot wil l
s lip and down you ’l l come with a crash !”
Tessie, Tottie and TeddyPussy looked up out of the corners of her blinky green
eyes but said nothing.
“And maybe you r mother won ’t be so nice about it ,added Tessie. “My motherdidn ’t scold me ’cause whenI ’
sp lained how my skatenearly came off and trippedme up she just wiped myeyes , ’cause I felt awfu lsorry , and told me not to cryabout it any more , and byand by she gave us all alump of sugar .”Just then puss jumped
through the low open window and skipped over thelawn . Tessie stepped outon the p i azza to see what
0/l
f
D J”!
Tess Was Tel l ingHer Little K ittenr
l/Vha t Mother Had Sa id.
Tessie, Tottie and Teddyshe was about . At the foot of the old apple tree pussystopped and then ran up the trunk and out on a l imb .
“ I do believe ,” exclaimed Tessie , “ that she is going totry to bring down some eggs from the robin ’s nest .
“What did my little gi rl say ! ” asked mother,who came
out on the porch at that moment . When Tessie explainedit all
,mother laughed and said , “Why , there aren ’ t any eggs
now in that nest , l i ttle girl— don ’t you know al l the l ittlerobins were hatched long ago ! ”
“Well , I don ’t believe pussy knows it , answered Tessie ,for there she i s now looking into the nest— how disap
pointed she ’ l l be !”
CHAPTER IVGoodness me , Tottie , why don ’t you fasten the button !
cried Tessie to her litt le sister . But Tottie was too frightened to answer ; she ju st stood sti l l whi le sister fastened thelittle white pants which had slipped down on the tops of herpink slippers .Let ’s go out in the garden now , said Tessie , and the
two l itt le sisters ran out on the piazza and down the walk .
They found brother Teddy already there fi l ling h i s wagonwith grass
,for the lawn had just been cut and was covered
with the loose grass.We ’ l l make a big hay mow ! cried the chi ldren , andvery soon they had pi led up the fragment grass as high asthei r heads. It was great fun rol ling over it , or coveringeach other up unti l nothing but a little toe stuck out at oneend , or the tip of a little pug nose showed at the other.
Tessie, Tottie and Teddyto get her saucer of milk before the chi ldren had fin i shed.
“Pussy never has to bother with buttons,said Tessie
,
looking over at Tottie , and smi l ing.
“No,
” answered Tottie , ’cause she has only fu r.
CHAPTER VTottie never l iked to take a bath unti l one day Mother
said : Let ’s make believe you are in the big ocean wading
I t Was Lots of Fun in th e 3 19 Round Ti n Tub .
and there are lots of little si lver fishes swimming all around .
After thi s Tottie wanted to take a bath all the time , forMother bought some toy fishes and Tottie didn ’t have tomake believe very hard .
Tessie, Tottie and TeddyIt was lots of fun in the big round tin tub . I t was painted
green on the outside and yel low on the inside , which lookedjust like the sand on the seashore . And then , too , i t had anice wide
,flat edge all around
,so that i t seemed almost like
a beach to Tottie .Sometimes Mother would put a little red bathing cap on
Tottie ’s head and let her wade for a whi le before her bath .
Tottie then kept her little shi rt on , making believe it was alovely si lk bathing su it . Perhaps the little fishes thought shewas a big fat giantess . At any rate they slipped through hersoapy li ttle fingers as i f they were swimming away for thei rvery l ives . This made Tottie laugh very much , and she wouldsoap them well so that they would even slip through thewater for quite a distance when she squeezed them realhard .
Tottie ’s sister Tessie often wanted to p lay like her littl esister
,but Mother said
,
“You are too big a girl , Tessie , notto take you r bath without making a play of it . BrotherTeddy
,too
,wanted to get the fishes to p lay with when he
took h i s bath,but Mother said to him ,
“These are Tottie ’sfish . You and sister Tessie are big enough to be good whi lein the tub without toys ,” so Tottie was the only one in thehouse who made believe that the bathtub was the big oceanand her little toy si lver fishes real l ive ones !
flit . 18m(EurMr. B igToe
Is a rogue. do youknow
He tries to poke throughThe t ip of Ted
’
s shoe !
And always . it ’
s shocking,
He'
s half through h is stocking
TOO -WIT.TOO-WOO ANDHIS OWL FAMILY
Too-Wit,Too-Woo lived in a big hol low tree with his
fami ly. There was Mrs . Too-Wit , and thei r two li ttle sons ,T ’wit and T ’woo . In one of the biggest holes in the oldhol low tree they had a very comfortable home .Every night as the shadows began to creep through the
Great Forest , T ’wit wou ld sing a little song. He/was very
proud of it,for he had made i t up himsel f. He would look
over at T ’woo as much as to say , You never could make upsuch a lovely song ,” and then he wou ld toot across to hisbrother
How happy I am
In the forest so deep ;I sing and I p lay
While other fo l/es sleep !
T ’woo was quite p rovoked to think that his brother hadmade up such a pretty song , and he tried very hard to thinkup one for himsel f. Final ly
,one evening just as T ’wit was
Too-wit, Too-woo and His Owl Familyabout to sing his evening verse
,T ’woo opened his beak very
wide , and before T ’wit cou ld commence,he tooted across
All thro’
the night
I sing and lay ,
While other folk do
Just the opposite way ! ”
T ’wit was so su rp rised that he almost fel l off the l imb onwhich he sat , winking and blink ing in the early twi light .Mr . and Mrs . Too-Wit
, Too-Woo looked at each otheras much as to say, “Did you ever see such bright childrenas ou rs !Presently Mr . Too-Wit flew off for his evening flutter ,
and both his smal l sons fol lowed, whi le Mrs . Too-Wit wentinside the house .
“Where are you going,father ! asked T ’wit as they flew
along si lently ; but hi s parent did not vouchsafe a reply unti lthey neared the edge of the forest . Then he tu rned andsaid , “You two boys sit here while I fly over to tel l my littlefriend some news
,
” and with these words, off he flew straight
for the Indian camp,leaving the two smal l owls perched on
a l imb of a tree . When he reached a tent near a big tree ,he fluttered down to the ground , and gave a low hoot. Thelittle Indian boy pushed his head out :
“What i s i t, TooWit ! he asked.
“There ’s a flock ofwild turkeys roosting in the clump oftrees by the lake . Bring you r bow and arrows before i tget s too dark . I ’ l l wait at the edge of the wood for you.
T ’wit and T ’woo are keeping a look-out while I ’m here .
To’
o-wit, Too-woo and His Owl FamilyLittle Indian hasti ly picked up his bow and arrows
,and
started off for the lake . As he drew near the clump of trees,
he crep t stealthi ly along,so as not to frighten the wi ld tu r
keys . When he was near enough,he fitted a bow to his
arrow , and taking carefu l aim ,shot one of the bi rds . The
flock became frightened as soon as they saw one o f thei rcomrades fal l , and taking wing , they flew off in al l directions , not before , however , the little Indian boy had shot offhis how the second time . This time , his aim was not sotrue ; the tu rkey must have been only slightly wounded , because there was no trace of him, save a few feathers , whenlittle Indian ran up to the spot where he had last seen him .
Picking up the bi rd which he had ki l led with his firstarrow , he tu rned back to the camp .
“Thank you,
” he saidto Too-Wit , as he passed the tree on which his featheredfriend sat , “You see , I ’ve got my dinner for tomorrow.
Too-Wit sp read his wings,and his two small sons fol
lowed after , and presently they were al l three back at the bighol low tree , where Mrs . Too-wit had a nice supper al l readyfor them .
The next afternoon Little Indian and Too-Wit went tosee two funny li ttle Frogs who lived in the lake.
“Look ,” said Little Indian to Too-Wit. Aren ’t theyCunning ! ”
“Yes , answered the Owl ; that’s Freddie and FannieFrog . Wait a minute and I ’ l l fly over and tel l them howkind you are , for the Forest Folk are quick to trust afriend .
”
So Too-Wit flew over to where Freddie and Fannie Frog
Too-Wit, Too-woo and His Owl Familywere contentedly sitting on thei r li ly-pad under the longgrass on the edge of the lake.
“Hello,hu llo
,Too-woo !” cried Too-Wit .
Freddie jumped up so quickly that the l i ly-pad til ted toone side , and overboard went Fannie Frog with a sp lash .
But Fannie knew how to swim , as every well- trainedLady Frog does , and after shaking the water from her eyes ,
she scrambled back upon the li ly-pad , none the worse for herducking.
But,dear me
,I forgot to say she had lost her p retty para
sol ! Little Indian saw it floating away from the spot— a
pretty little li ly,the petals of which Fannie had bent down
ward until they had made a very nice umbrella top , indeed ,
COME , LITTLE PUSSY CAT !
Come,l i ttle Pussy Cat
,let u s go
To see a pussy cat movie show .
Shaggy Angoras and kittens white ,Big Tom Cats as black as night ,And nice old Tabby Cats drinking tea ,Oh
,the Pussy Cat Show is the one to see .
JIMMY SAV ES HIS TEDDYBEAR
Clang , clang ! went the hell on the fire engine,and
the whistle blew fiercely as the wheels rumbled along overthe pavement .Tommy ran across to the nu rsery window and pressed
his face against the pane .“Nurse , nurse he called out . The engine has stoppedjust across the way. Why , i t ’s at J immy Watson ’s .”Margaret , the nu rse , looked out. “Why , so it i s , dearie
me !” she cried.
“Just see the smoke .
Ladders were being placed against the house,and fire
men in big red helmets ran up and down,dragging the hose
after them and squirting water through the windows . Itwas very exciting and Tommy danced up and down on
‘histoes . Just then a mass of flame shot up through the roof
,
and smoke poured out of the upper windows in big blackclouds .
“ I guess J immy ’s room is al l bu rning up,said Tommy .
Just see the smoke going out of his window .
As he finished speaking he saw Jimmy himsel f comingdown the front steps , holding tightly in his hands his fa
Too-wit, Too-woo and His Owl Familyvorite Teddy bear. After him came his mother and theservants
,each carrying something.
“Dearieme !” said Nurse Margaret, “I ’m afraid the housewi ll be al l burned up .
Well,rep lied Tommy
,there ’s one thing to be thank
ful for, Jimmy has saved hi s Teddy bear.”
DO UNTO OTHERSPhi l and Marjorie had been very selfish . When baby
brother had toddled up to them after dinner and asked themfor a li ttle bite of thei r candy they had run away and hiddenbehind the bureau , where they greedily ate i t al l . Soon after ,whi le they were looking out of the nursery window
,they saw
a li tt le boy earn a nickel by carrying several packages fora lady up to the front doorstep of her house . To thei r greatsu rp rise he ran down the street and gave it to a poor blindman on the corner.This made the children think how mean they had been
to thei r li ttle brother . So Phi l said , “Let ’s go to the candyshop and buy a peppermint stick for baby brother . We ’ l ltake our very own money .
”
“Let ’s give the poor blind man something,too
,added
Marjorie,as she tu rned her bank upside down to get out
the money.
“And I ’ l l give my other hye-cent piece to the l ittle boywho was so kind to the blind man cried Phi l .When they retu rned both children were smiling happi ly.
Did you see how glad the poor boy was to get the fivecents ! ” asked Phil .
“Yes,
” answered Marjorie,and did you hear how grate
fu l ly the blind man thanked me ! ”But - al l that baby brother said was Yum ! Yum! as he
sucked away on hi s pink and whi te peppermint stick !
THE JOLLY JUNGLE FOLK
Mikey Monk Play s Naught y Pranks
All The Jungle Folk were mad,every one was wild,
Everybody wore a scowl,not a creatu re smiled .
What was al l this row about ! Listen to what hadHappened in the Jungle to make them al l so mad.
Mikey Monk had climbed a tree . Who was Mikey Monk !Mikey was a monkey and ful l of li fe and spunk ;Also fu l l of naughty tricks
,I am sad to say
,
That is why the Jungle Folks are so mad to-day.’
Up a tree had Mikey climbed , clear up to the top ,Then he threw some cocoanuts , threw them down ker-flop .
Charlie Crocodi le got mad , so did George Giraffe ,And they both grew angrier when they heard hi s laugh.
Harry Hippopotamus happened to come near ;Suddenly a cocoanut whistled by hi s ear .He had hardly time to wink when another shotMade him think he ’d better not linger in that spot.Tommy Tiger came along on his stealthy toes ;Suddenly a cocoa ball barely grazed hi s nose .
Oscar Ostrich sauntered by as a nut came down ;“Goodness , what was that ! ” he squawked, with an angryfrown .
Mikey Monk Plays Naughty PranksHarry Hippopotamus looked around and said
,
“Don ’t you think there ’s something queer happening overhead !
It i s rather difficu lt , he added , with a sigh ,Finding out why cocoanuts are raining from the sky !
Say, why don ’t you fellows ascertain the cause !Where is a Policeman to enforce the laws !Oscar Ostrich , won ’t you go— for you are so fleetSee i f you can run across a Copper on his beat ! ”
Sure enough , in hal f a wink back again he cameWith a big Policeman , Eddie E lephant by name .“What is this distu rbance ! Move along !” he said.
Suddenly his helmet tumbled off his head.
Who did that ! he shouted , when another nutWhistled by hi s ivories , hi t him on the foot.With his trunk he grabbed the tree , gave some mighty heaves ,My ! what a commotion up amongst the leaves .
Then he butted al l his might with his great big head .
“Break it up in kindling wood !” Tommy Tiger said.
Back and forth the tal l tree swayed with a swishing sound ,Then a little scream was heard, something bumped to theground.
Mikey Monk Plays Naughty PranksAs youwish , King Lion answered with a roar .Then they slipped the handcuffs over Mikey’s pawAnd Policeman E lephant took poor Mike awayTo the Jungle Lockup , where he had to stay.
Til l the Jungle Animals thought that just aboutPunishment enough he ’d had ! then they let him go ;And no better monkey after thi s than heIn the Jol ly Jungle ever climbed a tree
LITTLE BOY B LUE
Little Boy B lue,where have you gone !
I he cows are eating the tal l green corn .
Drive them away or Farmer LaneWil l give you a beating with his cane .
MASTER . SPARROW’
SBREAKFAST
Oh,my ! what a snowstorm! Little Dorothy looked
out of the window at the fast fal ling flakes,which covered
up so quietly and softly the shivering brown grass on thelawn and the trembling rose bushes in the garden .
“How
warm they ’ l l be said Dorothy to hersel f,
“with thei r eiderdown covers .Just then a little sparrow flew down on the walk and
looked up at the window .
“Hel lo !” said Dorothy,
“whatdo you want ! The little bi rd tu rned his head first to oneside and then the other , as i f he didn ’t quite hear what Dororthywas saying behind the pane of glass . “Don ’t you hearme ! ” she cal led out , but he tu rned hi s head , as i f to say ,“No ! Dorothy pushed up the window and called out ,
What do you want , birdie ! but he flew away just acrossthe walk to the maple tree , where he sat looking at her withhis queer little eyes . Every now and then he wou ld tu rnhis head this way and that way , as i f , so Dorothy thought ,trying to hear what she was saying. But Dorothy wasn ’tsaying anything now . She was so disappointed that her litt le friend had flown off and that he shou ld be afraid of her ,just because she had opened the window , that she tu rned
Master Sparrow’s Breakfastto Mother, who came into the room at that moment , andsaid : “Mother
,just look at that cute l ittle bi rd ; only just a
minute ago he was hopping on the walk right down here ,but when I opened the window to say ‘How-de—doo he flewover to the maple tree . See him over there ! ”
“ I think he i s waiting for you to give him some crumbsfor breakfast ,” Mother answered with a smile . “Run intothe dining- room and ask Mary for a piece of bread and wewil l see i f Master Sparrow won ’t come back again .
“Oh , goody !” cried the little gi rl , and in a few minutesshe was back at the window with enough crumbs for anarmy of sparrows .
“Open the window gently,said Mother
,and throw out
the crumbs , and we will see what Master Sparrow wil l do .
”
Mr . Sparrow did exactly what Mother thought , andDorothy hoped he would do . He looked at them with hisl ittle bright eyes and tu rned his head first this way and thenthat way , and after that, to Dorothy ’s delight , flew overto the crumbs and ate them up as i f he had a great , big,healthy appetite . And when al l the crumbs were gone hetu rned his head this way and that way (and I think hewinked one of his little black eyes at Dorothy , only I ’m notquite su re about this ! and flew away .
“Oh , Mother cried Dorothy,
“ I think that’s his way oftalking— wagging his l ittle head— something l ike the wayBijou wags his stubby tai l l” And Mother said she thoughtso , too.
TRANSPLANTING THEFLOWERS
Oh , see that wagon ful l of flowers . I wish we cou ldget some
,
” cried Bertie to sister Phi llis .“ I ’l l ask Mother ,” rep lied Phil lis ; she said the other
day that we might buy flowers for our garden .
”
“Good,
” said Bertie,
“where ’s my bank ! ”And when Phi lli s found hers
,both chi ldren ran down
the stai rs and out into the street. As soon as they hadbought the flowers they hu rried to the yard at the back of
the house where each had a little garden .
“Look , Mother ,” said Phi l lis , “Bertie has two geraniumsand one l i ly , and I have three tu lip s .”
“They are very pretty,
” said Mother ; be carefu l howyou handle these frai l l i ttle plants . By— and-by they wil l bestronger .”Then she helped take them out of the pots and place
them careful ly in the earth .“Now you must water them . But remember never to
water plants i f the sun is shining on them .
” After everything was cleaned up nice and neat , the chi ldren fel t just al ittle bit ti red
,so Mother told them they might go over to
the drug store and get an ice cream soda , at which Bertieand Phi l li s both gave Mother a great big kiss .
LITTLE SIR CAT
L it t le Sir Cat Helps Piggie
The next morning as Mrs . Oriole was singing her prettysong , al l of a sudden , a big tramp cat ran up the tree . Andhewould have caught Mrs . Oriole right then and there i fLittle Si r Cat had n ’
t shouted : “Don ’t touch that l ittle bi rd !”And would you believe it ! That tramp cat said
,
“I won ’t !and began to pu rr
Last Saturday night a week ago
Iwent to the city to see a fine show .
And Sunday morn ing, just for a lark,I chased a gray squirrel a ll over thePark!
and then he grinned like a cousin of his from Chesire, andclimbed down the tree.Well , al l of a sudden , Little S i r Cat said Ph ist ! which
so frightened that naughty cat that he ran away , and I guesshe ’s running yet
,for nobody ever saw him again . And this
made the little Orioles so happy that they began to sing“Oh , how hraoe is Little Sir Cat !
We like the feather in his hat,But more than that we like the way
He saved ourMother B ird to-day .
”
LITTLE SIR CAT HELPS PIGGIE
Little Sir Cat
Wel l , after that Little Si r Cat and Piggie Porker wentinto thewood to see Goggle Woggle , a little dwarf who knewjust where the fai ries and Giant Oatencake l ived. And assoon as Goggle Woggle saw Little Si r Cat and Piggie
,he
said : “Let ’s go up the hi l l to Giant Oatencake. I ’ve gota wooden sword and i f he comes out of his castle , I ’ l l cu t offhis head !” 80 off they went , Little Si r Cat , Piggie andGoggle Woggle , and by and by , not so very long , theycame to the top o f the hi l l .
“Wait a minute ti l l I get my sword ready , said GoggleWoggle
,and maybe it took him quite a long time
,for he was
just a l ittle bit a fraid,you know . And so would you and
so would I i f we were going to fight Giant Oatencake.
But Little Si r Cat said : “Don ’t be afraid . I ’m withyou !” and this made Goggle Woggle feel lots braver. Andafter that he shouted :
“Come out of you r castle !Now Giant Oatencake was only a great big tremendou s
cornstalk , and as soon as Goggle Woggle struck him withhis sword
,a big ripe ear of corn fel l to the ground.
“Here is hi s head,
” cried Goggle Woggle , as he put i tunder his arm .
“ I ’ l l make pop-corn bal ls out of i t , andhe ran back to his big tree in the wood . And in the nextstory you shal l hear what happened after that, unless
The little mouse in the pantry
Catches my Tabby Cat,And my little yellow canary
Runs away with a high silk hat.
AS I WAS GOING UPMURRAY HILL
As I was going up Murray Hi l l,Little Miss , pretty Mi ss ,
Murray Hil l was di rty ; I f I had a tri l lionThere I met a pretty Miss . I wou ld wed you , but, alas !Very trim and perty. I only have a mi llion !”
SANTA’
S LETTERFROM DOT
Dear Santa Claus , I hope that youWil l find it easy to get throughOur chimney , ’cau se i f you should stickUp there where al l the smoke is thick ,What wou ld we do , and what wou ld you ,For goodness sakes , what would you do !So i f you find it i s not wiseEnough for you to safely slideDown to our room without mistake,The attic window you must take .It’s quite close to the chimney , too ,And big enough , I know , for you .
I ’l l creep up there the day beforeAnd leave unlocked the attic door ;And i f I can I ’ l l open , too ,The window so you can get throughWithout the leastest bit of fussWith al l the presents you ’ve for us .I don ’t see how you ’ l l tel l apartOur stockings , so you ’d better start
Santa’s Letter From DotWith mine ; i t ’s close up to the clock ;The next i s father ’s si lken sock ;The others al l are just like mine ,’Cept J immy ’s— his i s tied with twine .
I want a dol l with V iolet eyesWho
,when you squeeze her ,
“Mamma l” crieS °
And little baby carriage , too ,
With pi l lows and a cover b lue ;Some candy and a china setOf teacups for my dol ly pet .J im wants a ball , a mask and bat,A soldier su it , a gun and hat ,
Some candy and a picture bookFor rainy days at which to look .
Mother says she ’ l l write to you ,And father says that he wil l , too .
Now,please remember what I ’ve said
About the attic overhead ;The window which I ’ l l leave for youWide open so you can get through
And whose each stocking is,and where
,
When you come creeping down the stai r,
Good-by, dear Santa Claus , I ’ve wroteAl l I can think of in this note .
THE ANGELS’
SONG
Hark ! the herald angels cryLeaning from the starry sky ,“ In a manger Christmas mornChrist the baby King is born !”
Near Him stand the lowly kine ,O ’er her little babe divineMother Mary bends her faceFu l l of wonder , tender grace .
Kneeling are the Wise Men Three ,Si lent in humility .
In the humble wooden stal lS leeps the baby King of al l .
On the straw that warms His bedShines the halo ’ round His head ,Like a little candle ’s lightMaking all the stable bright .Hark ! the dewy Heavens ringWith the song the Angels sing
,
“ In a manger Christmas mornChrist the baby King is born !”
THELITTLE RAG-A-
‘
MUFFINS
I wish I cou ld do something for those poor little B rownchildren ,” said Susan one morning as she and brother B illysat by the nursery W lndOW reading.
“Thei r father i s out ofwork
,and I ’m afraid they won ’t get any Thanksgiving din
ner this year.”“I tel l you what
,suggested B il ly
,as we have spent all
our money , let ’s dress up in some of mother ’s old clothesand make believe we are rag-a-mufh ns. We ’ l l sl ip out
carefu lly tomorrow morning , without making any noise .”“That ’s a fine idea ,” said Susan .
“We can use you rwater colors to paint our faces .About 1 0 o ’clock Thanksgiving morning the chi ldren
went quietly upstai rs to thei r p layroom and painted thei rfaces . Then , after dressing , they crept downstai rs and outof the house . Thei r queer costumes attracted much attention , and thei r p retty , wistfu l ways gained for them manyfriends . In an hou r, when they had counted thei r pennies ,
The Little Rag-a-Muffins
they found to thei r delight that they had over three dol lars.
Now we had better hurry to the store and buy thethings ,” said Susan . The kind-hearted butcher let themhave a chicken for hal f p rice , in order that there should be nodisappointed l ittle hearts over the lack of sufficient funds .The basket was soon fil led to overflowing and on the topo f the vegetables was p laced with great care a mince pie .The Browns were very gratefu l and Bobby
,Billy and
Susan were very happy to think that they had done it al lthemselves .
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit t le Sir Cat V isit s Mr s . Parker
As Little Sir Cat and Piggie Porker traveled on theymet Si r Launcelot , the noble Knight of good King Arthu r ’sround table , riding a great horse with Miss Muffet in thesaddle . Well , by-and—by, along came old Dame Trot witha basket of eggs on her arm . She was singing in a highcracked voice a funny song that went like this
Who wan ts to buy some nice fresh eggs
Laid by a hen w ith yellow legs,
Yellow legs and a bright red comb,In a little round nest in my own dear home!
How much are they ! asked Sir Launcelot, taking agold piece from his purse . And of cou rse , she didn’t answer but handed the basket to him with a curtsy “Theyare you rs , Si r Knight ,” and , taking the gold piece , shewrapped i t up in her handkerchief and put i t away in thepocket o f her short green ski rt.Si r Launcelot laughed , for he knew that a gold piece was
too much to pay for the eggs , but he was such a generousknight he didn ’t care.
LITTLE SIR CAT VISITS MRS. PORKER
Little Sir CatThen Piggie took Little Si r Kitten home with him to
meet Mrs . Porker and the little Porkers . And after a whi leLittl e Si r Cat set out again to find hi s fortune.Well
, by-and-by, he came to a tal l flag-pole at the top ofwhich floated a beauti fu l flag with red stripes and si lverstars . But Little Si r Cat didn ’t know what flag this was
,
for he had never crossed the ocean blue , and Mother GooseLand is not on thi s side of the water , you know. And thena big bird said , Three cheers for the Red ,White and B lue l”He was the big American Eagle
,only
,of course
,Little Si r
Cat didn ’t know that either ; he only knew Mother Goosepeop le
, you see .Why, I didn ’t think you cou ld cheer so wel l , said Little
Sir Cat , and he opened his knapsack and took out a red ,white and blue lollypop and gave it to him
,and wasn ’t that
eagle p leased ! Well , I shou ld say he was . He flappedhis wings and began to sing :
Oh , I’
m the bird as you all have heard
Who fights for the U. S . A.
I love the stars on our beautiful flagAs I watch it wave frommy lonely crag,
!And I give a screech that is heard afar,Three cheers for every silver star,
And the bands of red and white and blue,
And the so ldier boys who are brave and true,
And the sailor lads on the deep w ide sea,
Oh , theU. S .A. is the land forme!”
Little Sir CatAnd when he finished he said to Little SirCat ’, “Climb
on my back and we ’ l l fly away , far away, across the waterwi ld with sp ray , way , way off to the U . S . A.
”
Isn ’t i t wonderfu l how an eagle cou ld say things like thisin rhyme ! It must have been because he was in MotherGoose Land where everybody talks in poetry .
“I’m afraid I can ’t
,
” rep lied Little Si r Cat . My motherwould worry i f I went so far away .
” So the big eagle saidgood-by, but before he left , he pinned a tiny red , white andblue flag on the l ittle Kitten ’s coat .
On another page of this jo lly book,Ifyoujust turn over the pages and look,
You’
ll find a story about Sir Cat
And the Cow that jumped over theMoon Man’
s Hat.
ZBuhhin
Dobb in has an iron shoeOn each of h is feet . so you
Can see it'
s hard for h im to go
Anyth ing but very slow.
Ten Little B oy Scouts
One little Boy Scout beating a tat-tooA little comrade heard the cal l— then there were two .
Two little Boy Scouts climbing up a treeAlong came another one— then there were three .Three l ittle Boy Scouts standing by the doorRunning out they met a Scout— then there were fou r .Fou r little Boy Scouts in the water dive ;Another one swam up to them— then there were five .Five little Boy Scouts doing lots of tricks ;Thei r captain called out , “Shoulder arms ! — then therewere six .
Six little Boy Scouts looking up to heavenAn airship brought another down— then there wereseven.
Seven l ittle Boy Scouts got to school quite lateThey found a scholar in the room— then there were eight.E ight little Boy Scouts dressed up very fine ;They caught a littl e ragged one— then there were nine .Nine l ittle Boy Scouts chased a speckled hen ;They bumped into another Scout— then there were ten .
Ten little Boy Scouts yel ling Hip , hurrah !This i s al l there i s to tel l— these are al l there are !
The Little Green Lady FrogAt first she hardly dared sing with Tommy Tree Toad
,
because she was afraid of Bil ly Bu l l Frog , and then , too ,
she didn ’t know Tommy Tree Toad very well .But after a whi le she became bolder and one night
,when
the moon was shining brightly in the sky and throwing asi lver path from the water right up to Tommy Tree Toad’stree , she climhed up the bank and stood on the silver pathof the moon and listened whi le Tommy sang his most beauti fu l song .
And the longer she waited the more she wanted to goclose up to the big tree and sing with Tommy. He keptsinging in his beauti fu l tenor voice , “Kum—kum
,kum-kum
and at last she hopped along the si lver way up to the bigtree . And then they sang a lovely duet together and al l thefrogs in the lake held thei r breath because it was so sweet.
THE PRINCESS LIL
The Princess Li l stood on the edge o f the lake waitingfor her turtlemobile to take her to her li ly castle , whichrested on the bright waters in the center of the li ly pond .
Presently she heard the honk,honk of chauffeu r B il ly
Bul l frog’s horn , and in another moment the turtlemobileswung around the tal l sedge grass .
“You ’re late ,” she said , as she took her seat .“ I ’m sorry
,you r Royal Highness
,said chauffeu r Bi l ly
Bu ll frog,
“but the turtlemobile was ti red , and I couldn ’tmake him put on more speed.
”
The princess made no reply,but sat gazing at the setting
sun ’s reflection in the bright waters of the lake. The skywas al l fai ry colors
,and just above the green tree tops the
evening star was shining.
The turtlemobile glided swiftly in and out among theli ly pads and hummocks of grass unti l i t came to the openwater . In the center of the lake was a beauti fu l white l i ly .
Here the turtlemobile stopped , and the Princess Li l steppedout on the smooth green lily pad . Quickly running across ,she tripped lightly down the golden stai rway inside the stemof the beautiful white pond li ly . When she reached the bottomof the golden flight , she opened a littl e door , and enteredher pink and white chamber . Throwing hersel f down on
The Princess Lila si lken couch , she rang a bel l , and presently a p retty littlefairy appeared .
Lorelei ,” said the princess , I am weary ; bring me mygossamer kimono , and do you loosen my hai r. Afterwardsyou may coi l i t again and fasten it with a single firefly
,as I
wish to si t out in the garden after supper .”The moon was shining brightly as the Princess Lil ran
up the golden stai rcase and out upon the big flat li ly pad,
which was arranged like a beauti fu l garden . There weresmal l pink flowers growing in little beds ofmoist earth , andwinding in and out was a narrow path of tiny shiny pebbles .Over this the p rincess tripped unti l she came to the end ofthe path , where she sat down , and began to sing soft ly, oh , sosoftly
,a fai ry lul laby .
Gently the w ind of the dewy night blows,
Over the quivering stream
While children are sleeping, the fairies are peeping,
Singing to thema dream.
Over and over, from daisy and clover,
From a ll of the sweet flower throng,
The fa i ri es are swinging and drowsily singing,
A sweet little hush-a-by song .
Ah !” said the little p rincess as she finished ; I think al lthe l ittle boys and girls are asleep by this time . Indeed , I ’msu re they are
,for there goes the blue-bel l tink ling ‘Nine
o ’clock ! ’
The Princess LilGood night, sweet moon ! she cried , as she paused be
fore the portal of her li ly castle,
“good night,sweet moon !”
And then the little fai ry princess ran down the goldenstaircase and disappeared in her pink and white chamber .
See the papa Pussy goSoft ly on his t ipp ie- t oe .
I don ’
t think it’
s v ery n ice
catch the cunn ing lit t le
DOROTHY’
SNEW ROLLER SKATES
Little Dorothy always begged her mother to loop up oneof her window cu rtains when she went to bed , that she mightgo to sleep watching the stars twinkle , and in the morningsee the sun rise
,and after he had risen , see i f his goldy locks
were al l on end,as her own often were.
One morning she woke up , not quite as early as usual ,and found her room fu ll of light
,which seemed to dance
about some bright object on a chai r by her bedside . For
a moment she lay quite sti l l,think ing that perhaps i t was
some fai ry ’s wand which caused such a glitter, and thatp resently a real
,live fai ry
,with beauti fu l gold wings ,
would perch on her thumb,and offer to grant her three
wishes l ike other obliging fai ries she had read about. Andthe very first wish that came into her head was for a pai r ofrol ler skates ; and having got fairly awake at last , she sawthat thi s bright something by her bedside was indeed a beauti fu l new pai r of skates , so bright that she could see her ownhappy face reflected in them !
“Mother , mother !” she called out , come quick ! Didyou or the fai ries bring me these lovely new skates !
Dorothy’s New Roller SkatesMother smiled . Who do you think ! ” she asked , cud
dling her li ttle daughter up close .“ I guess i t was you
,dear mother , answered the little
gi rl,with a gratefu l hug ; “you ’re better than any fai ry .
”
After breakfast Dorothy hurried off to the park . Shestrapped her skates on as fast as she cou ld and was just aboutto glide away on the smooth pavement when she noticed apoor little gi r l standing near
,watching her with almost a
hungry expression in her sad brown eyes . “Do you like toskate ! ” asked Dorothy .
“Do I ! I just love it ; but father had to sel l my skatesbecause he had no money to buy food with .
” Dorothy satdown again on the bench and undid the straps , letting oneof the skates fal l on the ground in her hu rry .
You put these skates on just as fast as you can , and thenyou take as long a skate as you want to ; I ’ l l sit here andwatch you .
”
When the little girl came back,
flushed and smi ling ,Dorothy said : “Would you l ike my o ld skates ! They ’renot very nice , because one of the straps is gone , and they aredingy and rusty , but perhaps you r father cou ld put on anew strap .
The little gi rl smi led such a glad little smile . Wel l , Ij ust guess I would l” she answered quickly .
“You ’ re awful lygood to me,” and she looked at Dorothy with such a gratefu l litt le face that Dorothy answered , Let ’s go home rightaway and get them .
”
RAT-A-TAT-TAT. RAT-A
TAT-TAT
Look ! there go the soldiers , cried Mazie , leaning outof the nursery window.
“Jamie , come quick and see the realsoldiers .”Her little b rother left his toy warriors and ran to the
window .
“Rat-a- tat- tat , rat-a- tat- tat went the drums as thetroops swung forward in a long line , the gay flags flying inthe breeze .
“Why , there ’s Harold Gray ’s papa ! said Mazie . Therehe is , Jamie , on that beauti fu l black horse .”The little boy clapped hi s hands . “Hurray ! he shoutedI wish my papa was a soldier .”
“So do I ,” cried Mazie ; “wouldn ’t father look fine on abig horse !
“ I ’m very glad he ’s not,said Mother
,coming into ’ the
nu rsery.
“War is cruel , and many of those brave men maynever come back.
”
Just then in the crowd Mazie saw little Harold Grayholding tightly to hi s mother ’s hand . The li ttle boy ’s eyeswere fi l led with tears as he watched hi s father ride away.
“Oh,mother cried Mazie and Jamie together , catching
hold of her hand , “ I ’m so glad father isn ’t a soldier . How
we ’d miss him i f he didn ’t come home tonight .”
LITTLE SIR CAT SEES THE COWJUMP OVER THE MOON
Little Sir Cathe came to a Pat-a-Cake Baker Shop
,outside of which
stood a little boy.
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,
Baker’
s man ,
Bakeme a doughnut
As fast as you can .
And goodness me ! that li ttle boy stuffed a whole doughnut into his mouth , he was in such a hurry .
“Hold on !”cried Little Si r Cat , “don ’t choke yoursel f ! And prettysoon the Baker Man came out of his l ittle shop and gaveDapple Gray a lump of sugar . “
You have a fine horse,
Sir Cat . How much do you want for him ! ”“Nothing .
”
What !” cried the Baker Man , in astonishment.He ’s not for sale , said Little Si r Cat . And just then
the school bel l rang and offwent the little boy to his lessons .So Little Si r Cat said “Gid-ap ! and rode away with
Muff at his heels , and by-and-by they came to a thick wood .
“Don ’t let u s go in ,” said Dapple Gray , “ for , there may berobbers hidden among the trees .” And just then a h ercelooking man ran out and , seizing Dapple Gray by the bridle ,shouted : “Give me you r purse
, or I ’l l make you my prisonerP
’
But Dapple Gray rose on his hind legs and with his frontfeet knocked the robber heels over head
,and then off he
went on a gallop . And after a whi le,not so very long ,
Little Si r Cat saw a great white bi rd sitting on a gold egg .
Little Sir CatDid you lay that golden egg, Mr . Big Bird ! he asked .
But the great white bi rd didn ’ t answer . Maybe she wasfrightened
,or maybe she was waiting for the golden egg to
hatch,for j ust then , all of a sudden , the shel l broke open and
out hopped twenty-one li ttle white bi rds armed with swords .And one of them was dressed like a captain
,with gold
epau lets on his shou lder wings , and one had a drum ,like a
regular l ittle drummer boy . And then they al l began tosing
We are the soldier birds of the air,And we need no aeroplane,
For we can fly across the skyIn sunshine and in rain .
And if an enemy comes in view
With our bright sharp swords we’
ll cut him in two .
Hurrah ! cried Little Si r Cat , and the great whitemother bi rd flapped her wings , for she was mighty proudto think that she had raised a little sky army for MotherGoose Land.
ROCK-A-BYE BABY
Some might cal l Tommy naughtyBecause he sleeps too long ,But when you ’re fast asleep
,I ’m sure
You can ’t be doing wrong.
Besides he ’s dreaming such good dreamsOf boys on time each day ,That never miss a day at schoolOr straggle on the way.
A LITTLE STORY ABOUTTHE ROSES
The flowers in the big garden were al l talking about thenew rose that had just come to stay with them .
“Moss Roseis very beauti ful
,
” remarked Peony to the Hol lyhock ; “youknow she was just an ordinary kind of a rose unti l one evening
,when the Queen of the Fai ries didn ’t know just where
to go for the night , she leaned over and said to her, “Wi l l yousleep in the heart of a rose ! ’ and the Queen said of cou rseshe wou ld
,and in the morning the Fai ry Queen in retu rn
for the hospital ity gave her a delicate vei l o f moss , and fromthat time she was called the ‘Moss Rose .’Indeed !” rep lied the Hollyhock.
“How lovely ; I wisha fai ry wou ld come through ou r garden .
“Perhaps one will ,” said the Peony. At any rate theRose has always been the queen of flowers
,and now that
we have a new rose perhaps the Queen of the Fai ries mayvi si t our garden .
”
The Hollyhock smiled. Tel l me more,she said. Do
you kn ow any more stories abou t red roses , or white roses ,or pink roses
,or yellow roses ! ”
“Yes , indeed, replied the Peony , for I love roseseverybody does . You know the old Romans loved them
A Little Story About Rosesjust as much as we , and they somehow managed to makethem bloom in the winter time . When they wanted to talkover matters that they did not want repeated abroad theyhung a rose from the cei ling over the table
,and all the con
versation was cal led ‘ sub rosa , ’ ‘under the rose. ’ The reasonfor this was because Cupid once gave a rose to Harpocrates,the God of Si lence , and that was what the o ld Romans werethinking about when they hung the rose over the table andtalked secrets .”
“How interesting ! said the Hollyhock . Where didyou learn al l of these wonderfu l things ! ”
“Oh ,” rep lied the Peony.
“ I learned i t from a poet whoused to walk among the flowers . The daughter of theowner of this garden would sit and listen to him whi le hetold her stories and legends about roses ; always roses , forher name was Rose
,you know.
“Tel l me more ,” said the Hollyhock , and al l the otherflowers bent near , too , for they had heard a littl e of what thePeony had told and were anxious to hear more of what thepoet knew .
He said,I remember , continued the Peony , that the
old name of Syria meant the ‘ land of roses ’ and many varieties came from there
,and one
,the ‘Rose of Jericho , ’ was the
most wonderfu l , for there is an old legend that i t grew inthe desert in p laces where the Virgin Mary touched her feetwhen flying into Egypt with the infant J esus ; and they say ,too ,i t wi l l always blossom at Christmas time .”“How beauti fu l !” cried al l the flowers . Poets are like
us— for thei r poetry is the perfume of thei r sou ls .”
LITTLE BOY’
S DREAM
I f dreams were only real , just thinkHow happy I wou ld be
,
’Cause mostly all the heroes comeAnd have a talk with me
When I ’m asleep ; i f only theyWould come when I ’m awake ,I ’d like to have my father giveTheir famous hands a shake .I know I ’ l l think that last night ’s dreamWas best of al l I ’ve had ,
For such a great,big gentleman
Cal led out to me , My lad ,Remember that to fight is brave ,But braver yet to be
A defender of the weak ones ,To set the captives free ,
To preserve you r country ’s honor ,And strive al l wrongs to right. !I liked him best of al l the menWho visit me at night.His name is Abraham Lincoln ,The kindest o f them all .I only hope some other nightHe ’ l l make a longer cal l.
RUTH’
S THANKSGIV INGDINNER
I wish I cou ld dress up like ( those Rag-a-mufhns ! exclaimed Ruth , looking out of the nu rsery window on
Thanksgiving Day , “ I think i t would be such fun !”“Do you, dear ! ” said Mother , standing behind her little
daughter who was watching a number of chi ldren dressedgrotesquely in grown-ups ’ clothes parade up and down theavenue .
“Yes , indeed, rep lied Ruth , just see the fun they arehaving.
”
“But think how poor they are and how few pleasu res theyreal ly have ; they are not looking forward to a lovely Thanksgiving dinner
,
” said Mother,noticing the discontented look
on Ruth ’s face .“Don ’t they get any dinner ! she asked
,tu rning to
Mother in su rp rise .“Yes
,but only a very poor one ; no tu rkey , no nuts and
raisins .”“Mother
,cried Ruth
,could I give my dinner to one
of these poor little children ! ”How do youmean ! ” Mother asked, delighted at the
generosity of her little daughter.
Ruth ’s Thanksgiving DinnerWell
,answered Ruth
,suddenly realizing what she was
about to give up .
“ I mean,Mother dear , cou ld I give some
o f my dinner to that poor little boy over there by the lamppost ! ”
“Yes , you may , Mother answered , and , touching thebell , she told Wiggins to bring in the l ittle boy.
“Give hima piece of mince pie and some candy for dessert , Wiggins ,”she added , “and don’ t pass the mince pie nor candy to MissRuth at dinner .Then Mother came over to where Ruth was standing
and , p lacing her arms around her little daughter , said , “Youknow ,
clear , you are giving up some of you r dinner to makea little boy happy.
”
“Yes , Mother , answered Ruth with a smile , some ofmy very own dinner .”
A WELL-GROOMED PUSSY
Puss,come sit you on a chai r
And I wil l brush your si lken hair ;I ’ l l so enhance its satin sheenThat of al l cats you ’ l l be the queen .
LITTLE SIR CAT
L it t le Sir Cat K i lls the W o lf
Hel lo ! exclaimed Little Si r Cat , i f that isn ’t LittleRed Riding Hood.
” Sure enough it was . Just in frontof him , tripping along the path , was a little gi rl dressed ina red cape and hood.
“May I help you carry you r basket ! he asked politely.
Oh,dear ! screamed Little Red Riding Hood.
But when she saw Little Si r Cat , she said, with a sighof rel ief, “ I thought you were the Big Gray Wolf !”Well , pretty soon they reached her Grandmother ’s house ,
and , knowing that old women usual ly like cats , Little S i rKitten made up his mind to be very nice indeed to Li tt leRed Riding Hood ’s Grandmother.So he wiped his boots carefu l ly on the doormat , and ,
with hi s cap held politely in his paw , waited in the hal l whi leLittle Red Riding Hood ran upstai rs .Come up , Kitten ,” she called down in a few minutes ;
Grandma wants to see you , Hang your cap on the hatrack .
”
Then Littl e Red Riding Hood took hold of his paw , andled him into a sunny room , where in a big easy-chai r by thewindow her Grandmother sat knitting.
“Come here,Sir Kitten , and let me see your nice red top
boots,
” said her Grandmother . Ia lways did like cats .And just then the little canary bird began to sing
LITTLE SIR CAT KILLS THE W OLF
Little Sir Cat“Look out for the B ig Gray Wolf, my dears.
He has long sharp teeth and pointed ears ,
And he roams through the forest dark and dim.
B e careful you don’
t get caught by him!
So Little Red Riding Hood kissed her Grandma goodby and with Little Si r Cat started for home . But , oh , dearme ! They had gone only a little way when they heard anoise .
“Look ,whispered Little Si r Cat , there ’s the wol f.
What shal l we do ! sobbed Little Red Riding Hood .
Trust to me,
” rep lied Si r Cat , “ I have my trusty staff.But let’s hu rry ,” and taking hold of her hand they startedoff on a brisk run .
Nearer and nearer came a dark shadow , and al l of a sudden , with a dismal howl , the Big Gray Wolf leaped on thepath just in front of them . His cruel j aws were wide openand his long
,white teeth snapped with a dreadfu l sound .
But Little S i r Cat wasn ’t a fraid . He swung his staff andhit the Big Gray Wolf a tremendous blow on the head .
“Oh , you brave ki tten !” she cried , “you have saved myli fe ! But Si r Cat merely smiled and said : “That’s nothing , my dear ; my father once kil led an ogre !And then Little Si r Cat once more set off to find hi s for
tune , and pretty soon you wil l hear something more abouthim , i f
A little dog doesn’
t tie a can
On the tip of his waggy tail,And a tiny minnow in the brook
Swallow a great big whale.
Ted Finds the RingOn his birthday J immy had a party , and invited his two
new friends , Herbert and Helen , with a number of otherchi ldren
,to come and help him eat hi s birthday cake . In
this beauti fu l cake was hidden a little ring , and the luckyperson in whose piece was found the prize , was entitled tokeep it . Every one was very much excited , and each littleboy and gi rl looked anxiously through his piece in the hopeof finding the ring. But it was not to be found . SuddenlyJ immy
,who had given Ted a smal l bit of cake , looked down
on the floor and there beside Ted’s li ttle white foot was thering.
B ats
Mister Bu!
When Nursie puts me in myTo make me clean and fit ,I wonder wh ere the water goesWhen I sit down on it.
TOBY’
S FRIEND
Toby was a little French bu lldog. He was a very happylittle animal
,as his small mistress was extremely fond of
him . He had a big armchair with a fat cushion to sleep on .
He also had a collar with hi s name and address engraved onit,and a little license tag fastened to i t. In winter he wore
a sweater,which he found very comfortable
,although not
so becoming. Toby ’s only regret in li fe was that he had noplaymate . Of course his smal l mistress played with him
,
but he cou ld not answer her when she spoke to him,excep t
by wagging his tai l or by barking.
One day , while looking out of the window in the nurseryhe saw a little dog, with a tin can tied to his tai l , runningdown the street. After him ran a crowd of boys . Tobybarked
,as he always did when he saw a dog. In a minute
his li ttle mistress ran up to the window .
“Oh,Toby !” she
cried .
“Look at the poor little dog. I ’ l l ask mother i f Ican’t bring him in . In a minute she was in the bright sitting-room
,where mother was sewing.
What i s it,l ittle girl ! ”
Oh,mother ! she cried . There i s a poor dog with a
tin can tied to his tail , ju st outside the house , and a lot ofboys are tormenting the poor animal . They are all aroundhimso that he can ’t get away.
”
Toby’s FriendPoor dog ! said mother . “Call James and tel l him to
send the boys away and bring the dog inside .”Toby ’s mistress sped away on her errand of mercy and in
a short while James had ordered the boys off and was carrying the l ittle dog upstai rs . He was very cunning , and Tobymade a friend o f him at once , but he was very dirty and hadto have a bath as soon as mother looked him over. The decoration to his tai l was removed , much to the frightened animal ’s relie f, and after hi s bath he was du ly christened Rover .From that time Toby was never lonely and he and Roverbecame great friends . Rover was given a col lar and acushion , of which he was very proud , and he l ived happi lyever afterwards in his new home with the little gi rl andToby
,the French bul ldog.
THE LAZY PINK HEN
Once,a long time ago
,there was a little gi rl who lived
in a country where they had all sorts of hens . There was aGreen Hen and a Yellow Hen and a Pink Hen ; but theRooster was Sky Blue . They all sang a different song. TheYellow Hen said : “Hoop-de-dooden-do ! Hoop-de-doodendoo !
” and the Green Hen said : “Chick-a-chick-chee !Chick-a-chick— chee !” But the Pink Hen only said “Tra lala ! Tra la la ! for she was very lazy.
Now the Green Hen laid red eggs and the Yellow Henlaid blue ones ; but the Pink Hen never laid any , she wassuch a lazy thing.
Well , this little gi rl thought this wou ld never do , and sodid the Sky-blue Rooster. So , one day , she went to the PinkHen and said to her
“Snai l,snai l
,come out of you r hole , or else I ’ l l beat you
as black as a coal !”And the Sky— blue Rooster said to her :“Twinkle
,twinkle
,l i tt le star !”
I don ’t know what they meant by it,but the Pink Hen
knew , for she went straight to her nest and laid a little whi teegg. The Sky-blue Rooster was so tickled that he tu rnedfourteen somersau lts right off in succession
,and sung “The
Star-Spangled Banner” al l through three times,standing on
the tip of hi s longest tai l feathers . But the Pink Hen onlysaid “Tra la la she was such a lazy thing.
THE PROFITEER
I took some eggs to market And then , my dears, ~how awfu l ,All on a summer ’s day. (Exactly as I feared !I couldn ’t get high p rices , The neighbors ran me out of townSo I threw them all away . Because I profiteered.
The Fir st Thanksgiv ing
Come let us sit by the window , said mother , and Iwil l tel l you abou t the first Thanksgiving Day of al l . Thinkhow many years ago i t was that ou r Pi lgrim Fathers heldThanksgiving Day in America .
Youwill remember that they landed from the Mayflowerin the middle of winter on the cold bleak shores of Massachusetts. During that winter more than half thei r numberperished from cold and hunger . Nevertheless , when springcame they set out bravely to work to clear the land andplant thei r corn .
A friendly Indian named Squanto showed them the Indian way of making su re of rich soi l by putting smal l fishinto each hi l l , and he taught them many other things thathelped them to live in thei r new country.
When the first autumn came they were so happy athaving a good harvest
,thanks to Squanto ’
s help , that whenGovernor Bradford appointed a day for Thanksgiving theyinvited Massasoit , chief of the tribe to which thei r friendSquanto belonged , and ninety of hi s men to a three days ’feast .So you see our Thanksgiving is very American
,for
the first one was attended by the Indians , who were herein Ameri ca long before Columbus discovered it.
LITTLE SIR CAT SEES CINDERELLA
Little Sir Catand looked out : Why , ki tten , what are you doing here !she exclaimed.
“Looking for a p lace to sleep .
Come right in , she answered , in a kind voice , and ,leaning out , helped ti red little Puss over the windowsi l l .
“Take off you r boots and make you rsel f comfortable ,while I get you a nice supper of cake and cream .
”
Standing his boots up in a corner of the room , he warmedhis ti red toes by the open fire . After he had eaten hi s supper the Fai ry Godmother said
,You can stay here al l night
i f you wish , and he was so ti red and sleepy that he didn ’ thear her add, “but you ’d better get away early before Cinderella
’
s two big cross sisters come down for breakfast ,” forwhen he woke up it was morning and somebody was comingdownstai rs .But , oh , dear me ! He had hardly pu lled on his boots
when the door opened, and in came Cinderel la ’s two crossand very ugly si sters .
“Good morning ! said Little Si r Cat.Mercy ! What ’s that ! ” they both screamed , while one
of them seized a long-handled broom,pushed him down the
dark cel lar steps and bolted the door . It was very dampand dark , just like a dungeon , and he was just about to giveup al l hope when the door at the head of the stai rs opened ,and there stood Cinderel la .
“How you startled me ! she exclaimed,with a laugh ,
looking at his p retty red top boots . “But after what happened last night I ought not to be su rprised at anything.
”
“Of course you shou ldn ’t,
” he answered .
Little Sir CatWhy, what do you know ! ” asked Cinderella .
I saw you , but I won ’t tel l ,” he added, as a frightenedlook came over her p retty face . “Please give me somebreakfast .”And when he had finished he said good-by, but Cin
derella hardly heard him ,for she was sti l l dreaming of the
handsome prince whom she had met the night before .And pretty soon— I ’ l l tell you another story— unless
Tomorrow it rains dogs and cats
And ruins all the children’
s hats.
A LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
Monday
I love her on a Monday
When hanging out the clothes,'
And I’
mgunning for the blackbird
That dares trespass on her nose.
Monday morning after breakfast I start for school . Jack ,
and I go the same way , and he leaves me at the door , soMother knows I ’m safe . When school i s over , lots of usgi rl s go home together . Quite often some of my schoolmates come home with me for lunch , and then we p lay inthe house for a little whi le before we go to the park . Ofcourse
,Monday is Dol ly ’s wash day , so I usual ly wash her
clothes very carefu lly and hang them up to dry in the littlegarden on top ofmy dol l ’s house . Thi s j ust came for Christmas
,and I like it so much that I am going to keep i t in orderjust the way Mother does our house , so that 1 8 why I try todo every day just what they are doing in the big grown-up
house . It doesn ’ t take very long for Dolly’s little things todry , and then I fold them up and put them in a cunninglittle clothes basket unti l the next day , when I start my i ronmg.
THEJOLLY JUNGLE
FOLK’Tis July Fourth in Jungle Land
,
And down the Forest ’s EmeraldStrand
The animals in gay paradeMarch ’neath the big trees ’ leafyshade.
Wi th horn and trumpet , ratt lersloud ,
Which Rattle Snake has lent thecrowd ,
!They make a noise that wou ld compare
Wi th a tornado anywhere .Our old friend Tommy Tiger grins ,As Mikey Monk some trick begins ,Whi le Harry HippopotamusSays
,
“Don ’ t you dare to make afuss !”
Then Oscar Ostrich says How do !As Buster Bear comes into Vi ew ;I hope you have recovered quite,Those Bumble Bees know how tobite !”
Forget i t ! Buster growls withpluck ,
I haven ’t yet paid Doctor Duck !But seeing then thei r Lion Lord ,!They all bow down W l th one ac
cord.
The Jolly Jungle
King Leo , wi th his tawny mane ,Is sauntering down the Forest Lane ,In all his maj esty and prideHis Ladyship close by his side .
It must be almost midnight now ,
Cries Mikey with a lowly bow ;“Will not you r Royal Highnessstay
And see the rockets glitteringsp ray !
The Roman Candles shoot forthstars ,
The rockets ci rcle Jupe and Mars ,When suddenly across the skyA big black cloud goes dri fting by .
It hides from V iew the si lver moonThe Jol ly Junglers cease thei r tune ,A hush fal ls over leaf and rootAnd then the Owl begins to hoot .
Twelve times he toots his horn“Let ’s go to bed before the morn
,
King Leo cries , “Thi s awfu l dinHas made my noodle fai rly sp in !
So all the Jol ly Jungle BandGo home to sleep at hi s command
,
And al l i s quiet as a mouseWi thin each Jolly Jungler’s house .
DUCKEY DADDLES
Duckey Daddles loved to swim . Every day he beggedMrs . Duck to take him down to the Old Mil l Pond . Butshe couldn ’t take him there every day , for there were lotsof things to attend to at home . Besides , i t was quite a longway
,and she wasn ’t fond of walking.
So one day Duckey Daddles made up his mind to goalone . Off he went on hi s floppy yel low feet
,wabbly
,
wabbly down the road,under the Old Snake Fence and
then across the Pleasant Meadow ti l l he reached the OldMil l Pond.
Sitting very sti l l on his log was Old Uncle Bul l frog.
He was half asleep , with his hands folded across his whiteand yel low waistcoat . He had just eaten a lot of nice greenflies and was feeling very contented.
“Quack ! quack ! hip ! hu rray !” cried Duckey Daddles ;flapping his wings . Then he jumped in , spattering wateral l over Old Uncle Bu l l frog.
“Take care , there !” said Old Uncle Bul lfrog, waking upand wiping his yel low-rimmed spectacles . But Duckey
Duckey Daddlesa story he had once heard about his great-great-grandfather,Admi ral Drake . And Duckey Daddles paddled straightfor a little cove behind a clump of t rees .It was nearly dark when he finally reached home , for
he had to wait a long time before the boys left the OldMill Pond .
Duckey Daddles , where have you been ! askedMamma Duck .
“Come over here ! cried his father , laying down theDuckvi l le “Evening Quack.
“What has kept you out solate ! ”
Duckey Daddles
Duckey Daddles told the truth , and when he had fini shed, Daddy Duck said , Duckey Daddles , I won ’ t punishyou because you ’ve told the truth . But next time look out !
I shan ’t ask any questions .”
THE COASTING PARTY
Means really that ‘ these boys and girlsWere painted al l this way ;I f so , such colored chi ldrenWould be a bit too gay !
The hil l was fine for coasting,
The snow was wel l packed down,
And Sammy Black and Margie White,
And little Bi l ly Brown,
And also pretty Winnie GreenAnd gracefu l Gertie GrayNow
,please
,my little readers
,
Don ’ t imagine what I say
Thei r fathers ’ names Were Mr . Black ,Or Mr . Whi te , or Mr . Brown ;And
,funny
,too , i t was Greenvil le
The name they called the town .
Well,j ust as I was saying ,
The coasting was immense ,And after school the boys and girlsWere ready to commence.
The Coasting PartyJust as they reached the bottom ,
The front sled gave a swing ,And plump into a big snowdri ftThey went like anything !The Blacks were mixed up with the Whites,The B rowns on top of Green
,
A sort of coast kaleidoscope ,With sleds stuck in between .
And when they al l were sorted out,N0 easy thing to do ,They found that almost every boyAnd girl was black and blue !
THE HOBBY HORSE
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat on a fine horseIs gal loping off for Raspberry Cross.When he gets there i f he says Please
,Ma ’am
,
A lady wi l l give him some raspberry j am.
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit t le Sir Cat Meet s The Ma iden AllFO I‘IO I‘ D
After leaving Cinderel la ’s house Li ttle S i r Cat continned his jou rney with a happy heart
,for had he not had a
fine night ’s rest and a good breakfast , and for a travelerthat i s a good beginning . The road now led through thecountry , with wel l-kept farm lands on either side .
“That looks like the House That Jack Buil t ! he exclaimed
,as he neared a big farm house . Sure enough it
was , for there in the meadow close by was the Cow Withthe Crumpled Horn , and leaning against the tu rnsti le at thecorner of the fence was the Maiden All Forlorn .
“Good morning , Miss ,” said Little Si r Cat, but for ananswer the maiden began to cry .
“Don ’t cry , he said , wiping the tears from her eyes, forhe was a very tender-hearted puss . “Don ’t cry.
”
“I can ’t help it ,” whimpered the Maiden Al l Forlorn .
You ’d cry , too , i f you ’d been ki ssed by the Man All Tattered and Tom.
”
“Did it tickle ! inqui red Little Sir Cat .Tickle !” exclaimed the Maiden Al l Forlorn . It
scratched ! But where are you going !
Little Sir Catbright tin horn , and the Sheep that Trampled the WavingCorn , and , oh , dear me again , I can ’t go on like this anylonger
,unless I can find a word to rhyme with corn.
I must be going , my pretty maid,” said Little Si r Cat ,gal lantly taking offhis hat with the long feather and bowing .
Then away he went to find his fortune .And maybe he wil l in the next story , unless
The big high church steeple
Falls down on the people.
iLittlt isomer
Lit t le Jack Homer sat in the
cornerOf h is father s candy shop .
He held in h is thumb . not a sugar
HOW Mister B r eeze Sav ed
Marjoriei
s Easter Lily
I t was Easter morning and the happy bells from belfryand steep le were ringing out the glad Easter tidings . Sunday School was just over and Marj orie walked throughthe Park on her way home . In her arms she carried a large pot of l i lies and a little fluffy yel low chick
,— a
tiny fuzzy yel low chicken ,— which she had received fromthe Sunday School for Easter . The flower pot was ratherheavy , and after a whi le , Marjorie became ti red , so she satdown on a bench to rest . Crossing one little fat leg overthe other she carefu lly balanced the li ly on her knee , andtucked the smal l chicken under her arm for safe keeping.
It was quite windy , and the ribbons on her hat stretched outbehind like the tai l of a kite , but Marjorie didn ’t care nearlyasmuch about her pretty Easter hat being blown off herhead as she did about the li l ies being broken by the mischievous breeze . It made so much noise rustling the driedleaves and branches , that she didn ’t hear a big white bunnycreep up softly behind the bench . He looked cautiouslyaround with his b right pink eyes
,but there was nobody
near . The big policeman , who had passed but a momentbefore with a smile and a nod to Marjorie
,was far down
Marjorie’s Easter Lily
peeped ! He wasn ’t going to take any chances with a biganimal l ike that !A sparrow close by tried his best to tel l Marjorie that her
lovely li ly was being devoured , but she only laughed whenhe fluttered his wings and twittered .
Isn ’t he p retty ! she thought. He ’s a funny little fellow,
and she watched him hop about,not understanding
that he was trying his best to save her Easter flower .Even the mischievous breeze began to feel sorry for the
little girl and tried to blow away the leaves from the bunny ’smouth
,but Mr . Bunny crept up closer and quietly kept on
nibbling. Th is was too much for the mischievous li‘ttlebreeze . He gave another hard puff, almost overtu rning theflower pot.Marjorie gave a little scream when she saw what Mr.
Bunny had done , and then of course he scampered away“Younaughty little rabbit ,” she cried , l i fting up the half
eaten leaf, “ j ust see what you ’ve done to my li ly .
”
“I f you had paid attention to me it wouldn ’t have happened , twittered the little sparrow. But of course Mar
j orie didn’ t understand him .
“ I saved the li ly for you , whispered the mischievou sbreeze , as she started for home. And I think she understoodhim , for she laughed as she pushed back her cu rls , as muchas to say , “You needn ’t muss my hair al l up tel ling me so ,Mr. Breeze !”
WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT
Outside my window in the treeThe owl toots on his horn .
(It wi l l be dark unti l the lark ,
Comes singing in the dawn . !
Above the sky one little starLooks down with friendly eye .
(Thro ’ all the night i t won ’t be lightUnti l the sun ’s on high . !It seems so long to wait to p layI ’ve ’most forgotten how .
I guess I ’ l l go to sleep and dreamAbout the fai ries now !
A Joke on Uncle J immywill look just l ike a man standing by the tree , and perhapswe can think up something to make Uncle J immy imaginehe is being attacked by a highwayman .
”
“You goose,
” said hi s si ster,laughing ; how wil l you
manage that ! ”“You j ust wait , said Jack , “ I ’ l l work out some sort of a
plan .
The snowman grew bigger every minute . It was getting dark
,and at a l ittle distance the snowman looked as
natu ral as li fe . But how to make him scare Uncle J immywas the question . All the afternoon Jack had cudgeled hisb rains for an idea , but in vain , and here it was almost timefor the climax .
Suddenly Jack gave a whoop of delight . “ I ’ve got i t !I ’ve got it !” In a moment he was rushing inside the house ,and in a few minutes retu rned with a long rope . “May ,stuff the right coatsleeve with snow , while I cl imb up thetree . In a few minutes Jack had the rope over an overhanging limb , and having tied one end to the wrist of Mr .Snowman ’s right arm
,he led the other end around the side
of the piazza .
Come on , May , he cried excitedly , I see Uncle J immycoming !” Both chi ldren darted behind the house as thefront gate clicked . Up the walk came Uncle J immy andjust as he got abreast o f the tree Jack let go the rope andthe right arm of Mr . Snowman hit Uncle J immy on theshou lder . There was a smothered exclamation
,and then
Mr. Snowman ’s hat flew off hi s head like a cannon bal l .A hearty laugh fol lowed and before the children could
A Joke on Uncle J immyescape Uncle J immy , guided by the long rope , darted aroundthe side of the house and Mr . Jack Joker was being treatedto a face massage of cold snow . Uncle J immy was not anytoo particu lar about some getting down Jack’ s collar
,either.
When his nephew finally begged for mercy Uncle J immylet him up and gave chase to May . What a scramble ! Andwhat a lot of screams ! May had seen Jack ’s good-naturedpunishment
,but nevertheless she didn ’t want any of Uncle
J immy ’s facial treatment . Just then,kind fate intervened
,
and mother opened the door . What are you chi ldren doing ! ” she called , peering into the darkness . “Come in atonce !
“All right,answered Uncle Jimmy
,and W i th a rush
they al l ran for the open door .After kissing him mother tu rned to Jack and saidGoodness , what makes you r face so red ! Why , i t ’s al lwet !”
“ I ’l l run up stai rs and fix up , answered Jack hu rriedly ,and off he went . Uncle J immy smi led . That snow-man
of you rs,Jack
,tackled the wrong fel low , don ’t you think
so ! ” But Jack kept right along going upstairs, so goodnatu red Uncle J immy didn ’t say another word .
SIR CAT SAVES THE PUSSY FROMTHE W ELL
Little Sir CatYes, my Lord , he answered , and then the leader of the
fi fe and drum corps handed him a little drum,and Litt le
Si r Cat started right in to play just like a regu lar drummerboy . And the way he made that li ttle drum sound was justwonderful . The whole regiment began to cheer , and one
big captain said, “Three cheers and two tigers for Little Si rCat !”And , goodness me, the cheers that went up from that
regiment were heard al l over Mother Goose Land and everybody asked everybody else what was the matter
,and the little
yel low bi rd , whose name I ’m going to tel l you some day , toldthem it was for Little Si r Cat . Then al l the Mother GoosePeop le began to cheer and when the regiment heard them ,
they asked what was the matter , and the little yel low birdtold them who were cheering .
Wasn ’t that a wonderful l itt le bi rd !
D iddle Dum! D iddle Dum!
Went the little drum,
As Little S ir Cat marched off to war
B eating the drum sticks o’
er and o’
er.
Pretty soon they came in sight of the enemy , and al l thebig guns were rushed to the high p laces and the infantryspread out in long , thin lines , with the cavalry in the rear .All of a sudden the bul lets sputtered and the big shel l sscreamed
,and
, oh ,dear me
,the little drum cou ldn ’t be heard
at all,although Little Si r Cat beat on i t with al l h is might .
By and by the enemy ran away . Then the tents were set up
Little Sir Catand the field where they had been fighting looked like atented city , only it didn ’t have any little church or schoolhouse.At last
,when everything was quiet , the general pinned
a gold medal on Litt le Si r Cat , who felt very proud , andtold his little drummer not to be afraid for he wou ld neverlet the enemy get him.
And pretty soon you will find another story— unless
The postman in themorning
Gives me a candy pill,
And the doctor sends me a valentine
Instead of a great big bill.
BILLY LOV ES CANDY
Bil ly was only five years old,but he had learned to like
candy ! You smal l boys who are hearing thi s read to youneedn ’t look su rp rised . It p robably was very natural to youto like candy
,but that i s no reason why Bi lly didn ’t have to
learn . He first began on a peppermint stick ; one of thoselovely sticks with red lines running curly upwards
,and
white inside,with hol low tubes running through , so that you
can suck an orange with it— well , i t was just thi s sort of astick that Bi lly first tasted
,and at first he didn ’t l ike it , but
as he got a taste almost every day,he final ly was just as fond
of it as was his l itt le master . There , I have let the cat outof the bag
, or the dog— and there is no use in my tel ling anymore of thi s story
,for you know al l about i t now . That i s ,
you know who Bil ly is , and that ’s al l there real ly is to thistale of a little dog.
DICK’
S VALENTINE
The front doorbel l rang fu riously and Mary , knowingthat i t was snowing and blowing a gale outside , answeredthe ring as fast as she was able .Two shivering little figures stood upon the doorstep , one
a small boy , 1 0 or 1 2 years of age , who su rveyed her a moment quite as cool ly as she su rveyed him . Deliberatelystepping into the lighted hal lway , he dragged with him hislittle companion , a shivering mite of a girl , almost hidden inthe folds of a ragged coat . Thi s coat he suddenly jerkedfrom her shou lders , saying
“Here ’s a valentine for the lady wot lives here ! Then ,tu rning
,he ran rapidly down the steps and disappeared
around the corner into the snowy darkness .Aunt Dorothy at that moment entered the hall , but , be
fore she had time to speak the litle wai f thrust a piece ofpaper into her hand , with the simple explanation , “Dickwrit i t .”Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded i t
carefu lly . After a few minutes she managed to read thescrawling letters :
Dick’s ValentineThis l ittle girl ain ’t got no folks and no place to stay ;
so she ’s been staying in a box with straw in i t with me nights .I ’ve fetched her to be your valentine . She ’s hungry.
”DICK .
Aunt Dorothy ’s eyes fi l led with tears . Mary,take the
chi ld into the kitchen and give her something to eat. I wi l lcome presently and perhaps I can find out what i s the bestthing to do .
”
Mary led her down the hall .“A valentine ! she ejacu lated . Blest i f I don ’t think
this i s the queerest p iece of business I ever seen ! Her
manner softened a l ittle as she watched the greediness withwhich the chi ld devoured the big s lice of bread and butter
,
and when Aunt Dorothy came down she found her “valentine” seated in Mary ’s own rocking chai r before the fire
,
while Mary hersel f, down on the floor , had the almost frozenfeet in her lap .
Aunt Dorothy sat down near them and watched Maryfor a few minutes in si lence .
“Now that you feel better,my
chi ld,tel l me where you live !
“ I don ’t l ive nowhere ,” answered the chi ld , cept withDick— he ’s got a big box with straw in it . I crawled in onenight after they took father away— the police
,you know .
”
Aunt Dorothy sighed , “Give her a warm bath,Mary
,
and make a bed on the lounge in my room . I wi l l try to findsomething which wil l do for a nightdress .The poor li ttle , wondering chi ld was soon wrapped in
Dick’s Valentineup in it asleep . I felt kinder sorry for so small a mite
,so I
covered her up with some old carpet rags .“I seen folks sendin ’ valentines for p resents an ’ thought
some one ought to l ike a little gi rl better than a pictu re . Iseen you one day , ma ’am , give a lame man some money , an ’I fol lowed and seen where you l ived. An’ I says to mysel fi f you was so kind to a man you ’d be kind to a little gir l thathad no one but me to look after her .
“I think I ’ l l keep my valentine , Dick , she answeredlooking into the fire with a smile . “ I never heard of sendingone back ,
I believe . And I think I ’ l l send onemysel f too . Iwil l give you a letter to a man who I think wil l give you aposition as an errand boy .
” And so Dick had a good jobas a messenger boy in a big dry goods house , where he grewup to be a very u sefu l man .
THE ALPHABETANIMAL CIRCUS
Jamie has been studying his alphabet al l the morning ,but somehow the letters got twisted and wouldn ’t fol loweach other in thei r regular order . By and by mother said :“Let u s wait awhi le ; perhaps the letters wi l l come moreeasi ly to my little boy i f he takes a rest now.
”
So Jamie ran out to p lay and soon forgot al l abou t thealphabet . But that night , after he had fal len asleep , he hada most wonderfu l time . All the alphabet letters came trooping into his little bed and said to him
,
“Jamie,come with
u s to the Circus ! And pretty soon he found himsel f ina big white tent . All of a sudden the Letters ran together ,
The Alphabet Animal Circusand
,jumping on top of one another , formed themselves
into a lion .
Jamie clapped hi s hands and laughed outright . At this ,
all the letters tumbled down,and
,cal ling to him to fol low
,
jumped into the ring and made a giant rooster .
The Alphabet Animal Circusden , a funny little squeak made him turn his head.
Someof the alphabet letters had formed themselves into a queerlittle pig, who cried, “Thi s l ittle pig went to market
,
” butwhen Jamie ran up to play with him al l the letters jumpedapart and scampered away.
“Come, we ’l l show you the
man who owns the ci rcus ! After much scrambling andclimbing on thei r part
,the ci rcus owner appeared , wearing
a high si lk hat.Jamie had hardly time to bow poli tely , when al l the let
ters tumbled apart and there stood a great , big elephant .But , goodness me ! In another minute the elephant fel l apartand again the Letters shouted, “Follow us , Jamie !” and away
The Alphabet Animal Circusthey raced , and before he cou ld stop he bumped into a tal lgi raffe .
Oh , what fun ! cried Jamie . I wonder what wi l l happen next ! ”
“Hel lo , my little man ! cried a voice close at hand. Jamie
The Alphabet Animal Circuslooked around and there stood the Alphabet Clown smilingat him .
“How do you do , Sir ! answered Jamie.
Here are the pictu res ofmy two brothers , said the Alphabet Clown , showing Jamie two photographs ; thereweren ’ t enough letters to go around , so when I ’m acting, I
The Alphabet Animal Circus“Tickets !” cried a voice at his side . A little Alphabet
Man sitting on an Alphabet Chair looked at Jamie as i f
expecting him to hand over his ticket at once . Just as hewas about to explain how the Letters had brought him to the
ci rcus,the little man fel l apart , and al l the Letters laughed
and said,
“Never mind you r ticket, Jamie— fol low us !”
The Alphabet Animal CircusBowlwow !
” said the little Alphabet Dog as Jamie ranup to pat him .
“Don ’t tu rn into letters just yet ,” he begged ,giving the little dog a hug , but with a merry laugh the Letters jumped apart and Jamie saw a pretty horse , who li ftedhis right fore leg to shake hands with him. But the Alphabet
Horse lasted no longer than the other animals , and the nextinstant a funny man
,with a big E for his eye and nose and a
capital C for his mouth and chin,and a big D for his cap ,
stood before him . A big V made the front of his coat andvest , and a capital I his back , whi le a large W and ! madea pair of funny legs .I wonder who he is ! thought Jamie .
The Alphabet Animal Circus“ I ’m the Lion Tamer , answered the man , as i f readingthe little boy ’s thoughts .Are you! ” said Jamie . I saw you r lion the first thing
— just as I came into the tent . Aren ’t you afraid you ’ l l losehim !
The Alphabet Animal Circusjust l ike the letter 0
,I guess . And then the Letters tumbled
apart and the Ci rcus Queen disappeared .
I
But they were not idle,these wonderfu l Alphabet Letters .
They ran ahead for a li ttle way and then,al l of a sudden , ar
ranged themselves into a beauti fu l whi te cow , which lookedto Jamie very much like the one in Mr . Jones ’ big pastu re .
“Where ’s Mother ! ” cried a loud voice,and Jamiesaw a
small elephant looking anxiously about. A big J made a
The Alphabet Animal Circusmost beauti fu l trunk , whi le a capital M served for two stu rdylegs . An S made a nice tai l
,and the other letters finished his
body very satisfactori ly.
“You ’d better hurry , advised Jamie , or the first thingyou know the Letters wi l l get ti red of making you an elephant
,and tu rn into some other sort of animal .”
Jamie was right , for the next instant there was nol ittl e elephant
,but instead, a quiet looking camel , with two
big humps .In a few minutes
,the camel
,too , di sappeared , and the
wonderfu l Alphabet Letters ran over to the other side of thetent , and the next thing Jamie saw was a funny little manwhose make-up consisted of only a few big letters , but who
The Alphabet Animal Circusnevertheless seemed a very important person . He stood justoutside of a door over which was printed in big red letters
,
Come to the ‘Alphabet Moving Pictu res , calledout. “Come and see ‘Alphabet Movies ’ Upon a big white
The Alphabet Animal Circusask Mother when he got home al l about i t . In a j lffy, theLetters again fel l apart
,and a picture
,which l ittle Jamie
cou ld understand much better,was shown . Hurray !
Mother Goose !” shouted Jamie , kicking up his feet so highthat down fel l the big whi te ci rcu s tent , and he awoke to findhimsel f in his own l i ttle bed , with hi s feet up underneath thesheet
,holding it up just like the tent where the Alphabet
Letters had done all the funny things .
Jamie rubbed his eyes , just as Mother came in . Well,I
guess I ’l l know my alphabet to-day ,” he said . After breakfast he told Mother where he had been
,and when she asked
him to say his alphabet, he recited it without a miss .“Wasn ’t i t lucky I went to the ci rcus with the “Alphabet
he asked, and Mother said i t certainly was .
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit tle Sir Cat Tries t o Comfort B o-Peep
Often whi le with the soldiers Little Si r Cat thought ofhis dear home at the castle and the quiet si lver moat fu l l ofsi lver fish that darted here and there in the sparkling water
,
and maybe he wished he was back at the castle,but he was
too brave a kitten to say so , youmay be su re .Day after day they dri l led and marched, and at last they
came up with the enemy again and there was a dreadfu l battleand
,when it was al l over , Little Si r Cat found himsel f at
the edge of a wood with a bu l let wound in his leg . He
couldn ’ t march any more , so they left him alone wi th hi sl ittle drum , and when night came down he was faint andhungry and very miserable .Well , by and by , when the big moon was high in the sky,
and al l was quiet , except for a little breeze that wou ldn ’tgo to sleep , but p layed hide and seek among the leaves on thetal l dark trees , a little owl said to him :
Cheer up, little comrade,And beat your little drum,
LITTLE SIR CAT TRIES TO COMFORTBO -PEEP
Little Sir CatAnd now she
’
ll take care to mind
No more will they roam,
For she’
ll lead them home
B ringing their tails behind them.
And pretty soon you wil l find another story about LittleSi r Cat
Un less you lose this pretty book
And cannot find it tho’
you look
Inside the silver sugar bowl
And down the cellar in the coal.
The Little Wh ite House on the Hillas she took Madge in her lap and placed an arm aroundhim .
“Suppose we make believe the old mi rror is a portrai t,
she said .
“And I ’l l make believe I’m naughty , added Bi lly . Itwi l l be the first time I ’ve ever had to make believe !”Madge jumped off her lap and ran to the closet . Come
,
mother,
” she cal led,
“make Bil ly go inside !” In a momenthe was shut in
,and even Mrs . Whi tcomb began to laugh
,
for Billy ’s acting was almost as real as i f he had indeed beena bad boy and was undergoing a just punishment . One ofthe candlesticks tumbled over on top of the tiny mahoganybox
,knocking it off upon the floor . It broke open on the
hearthstone,and as Mrs . Whi tcomb stooped to pick up the
broken pieces she uttered a cry of joy .
Come here !” she cal led,come
,see what I ’ve found ,
and she held up a five-dollar gold piece before Madge ’s delighted eyes .Oh
,mother , darling ! screamed Madge , where did it
come from! ”“What’s the matter ! Let me out ! yelled Bi l ly from
the depths of the closet ; let me out ! What ’s the matter ! ”Madge rushed over to the closet , but in her excitement
found it difficu lt to tu rn the key .
“What ’s i t al l about ! ” cried Bil ly.
Oh , Bil ly ,” gasped Madge , as she twisted and turned thehandle , “what do you think ! Mother has found a five-dollar gold piece !”
“Goodness me ! exclaimed Mrs . Whitcomb , after the
The Little Wh ite House on the Hillnoise and excitement had subsided
,how in the world I ever
forgot that I put that money away for safe keeping in thatlittle box years ago is beyond me . But I did , and it isn ’t adream !”
“No,indeed
,mother ! cried Madge , pinching the gold
piece , “ i t ’s as real as can be !”“Let ’s al l go down to the vi l lage and get the dinner
things,
” suggested Bi l ly.
By the time the celery and vegetables , the nuts and raisins
,together with the big , fat tu rkey , were safely packed ,
the basket was fai rly bu lging over .“Oh , what a feast we ’ l l have tomorrow , gasped Madge .
They set the heavy basket down before the mantel-piece,as
mother closed the outer door and came in .
“What a j ol lydinner ! I ’m so glad Bi lly and I got to talking before goingto bed . Wasn ’t i t lucky I remembered that story ! ”
“Yes , indeed ,” answered mother , smi l ing away , as sheunpacked the basket and stowed away al l the good things insafe p laces unti l the next day .
“Just like a play ,” volunteered Bi l ly , with me as thehero !”
“With 'Madge as the author,said mother .
Right you are , mother dear ,” answered Bi l ly , onlywithout the great acting on the hero ’s part there wou ld neverhave been any success to the play . That closet wasn ’t sucha joke after al l !”
“No , indeed , laughed Madge , you shal l have the wishbone for your reward
,Mr . Hero Actor .”
LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
W ednesday
I love her on a WednesdayWhen she kneads the snowy dough,
For the dimples in her elbows
Make such a pretty show .
Wednesday , as soon as I get back from school , i f cook ismaking bread I beg her to let me have some of the dough ,and then Dolly sits by me while I make i t into al l sorts ofp retty little cakes and things , and put i t in the oven in thestove— Imean
,of cou rse
,the doll house stove
,for the kitchen
i s all fitted up with everything just l ike a real kitchen .
There is a big dresser,and shelves ful l of tin pans
,and
crockery. There i s a cunning , li ttle towel on a woodenroller
,and a sink with faucets , and real water . The range
is heated by electricity and real ly cooks the cakes , only Dollyand I don’t eat them
,for mother says ou r cook ’s are better,
so we eat little pieces of cookies instead .
Of cou rse,i f i t i s a nice day
,I go out to the park on my
roller skates, or take my hoop , but I usually get time before
I go to help Dolly with her household duties .
HOW JAMIE PLAYED
TROUBADOUR
Jamie had received a violinfor Christmas ,much to his delight
,for he was
very fond ofm u s i c a n (Iwanted to learnto play the violin more than
How Jamie Played Troubadourany instrument he cou ld think of— even his big drum
,which
sometimes he wou ld beat with al l his might after a long,
long lesson on his violin .
When New Year ’s Day came he made up his mind that hewou ld make believe he was a little troubadou r . So he tuckedhis beloved violin under his arm and set gaily forth . Onthe next block l ived a little gi rl named Rosalie , of whom Jamie was veryfond . When he reached thehouse in which shel ived , he stopped before the big parlorwindow which was quite closeto the sidewalk
,and
,taking
his violin from under his arm,
commenced to p lay. Very soon,who
should come to the window but l i ttleRosalie hersel f, and as soon as she sawJamie she Opened the window andleaned out .
“Why , Jamie , she cried , are youp laying for money ! ”
“No ,” rep lied Jamie , quite indignantly,
“ I ’m playing for you.
”
“How lovely ,” answered Rosalieand how beauti ful ly you p lay !”Jamie ’s face became quite red whenshe said this , and he almost made a mistake in the music . But he kep t on p laying
,and very soon
How Jamie Played Troubadourthere was quite a crowd around him . Just then an old gentleman said , “Look out , l i ttl e Juliet— youmay catch cold !”
“Why , i t ’s Grandpapa , cried Rosalie , and in anotherminute he and Rosalie were pul ling the little musician andhis beloved violin into the housewhere they all had a merryNew Year ’s afternoon , with cake and ice cream.
Friends of Oursing of different crops . The peop le watched for the overflowwith great anxiety , fearing that i t wou ld not take p lace . Atthe time of year when the overflow was due a certain starappeared in the sky
,which we know as Si rius . When they
saw that the Egyptians drove thei r cattle to high pastu resand left the lowland to be watered by the river . In time thepeople began to associate the constant appearance of the starwith the overflow which meant so much to them
,and they
began to think that the star watched over them,as a good
dog watches the home of its master . So they cal led the starthe “Dog Star” and worshipped i t , and also lavished a greatdeal of love on al l .
LITTLE STORIES
OF FAMOUS ANIMALS
How a Cow Set Fire t o a B ig City
It i s said that Nero , when he was Emperor of Rome , setfire to the city
,and watched the flames from a high tower
,
while he sang to his lyre verses on the burning of Troy . Hethen laid the blame on the Christians , whom he persecutedwith great cruelty . Afterwards he rebui lt the ru ined portion of Rome with great magnificence , erecting a beauti fu lpalace for himsel f on the Palatine Hill
,which was called
Nero ’s golden house .Thi s was all very long ago , for he ki lled himsel f with a
dagger in the year 68 when,after many cruel deeds , the
Senate condemned him to death .
In 1 87 1 there l ived in Chicago , I l linois , a womannamed Annie O ’
Leary who has since become knownthroughout the country as the owner of the cow that set fireto Chicago . One evening thi s cow , while being milked , became unruly
,and kicked over a kerosene lamp . Soon the
whole city of Chicago was in flames and Mrs . O ’
Leary’
s
cow probably rang her cowbell quite as frantical ly as did theEmperor Nero complacently fiddle whi le his beauti ful citywas burning.
Little Stories of Famous AnimalsThough Chicago was destroyed by one of the most ter
rib le fires in the world , the city was rebuilt in a year or two ,even better than before . Prior to the fire , i t was one of thenewest cities in the country , for in 1 830 there were only a fewfami lies there besides the soldiers in the fort which UncleSam had built in 1 804.
So you see the people were not discou raged,although
Mrs . O ’
Leary’
s cow had bu rned up thei r beauti ful city .
COASTING
Hip-hurrah ! away they goGliding over the glittering snow
,
Down the hi l l at a fu rious rate ,Over the lawn and out through the gate .J immy in front i s squeezed pretty tight
,
But what does he care ,~ — he ’s safe all right !Bil ly
,the motorman
,guides the wheel
Wh ich steers the sled on i ts runners of steel .Flossie i s cuddled up next to Bil l
,
And last on the sled is Sister J il l .Hip -hurrah ! as on they glide ,Isn ’t i t lots of fun to slide !Up again to the top of the hi llDragging the sled for Motorman Bil l .Then once more they get into p lace ,All aboard ! for another race .
What is more fun I ’d like to knowThan coasting over the glittering snow.
A LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
Thursday
I love her on a Thursday
When she darns a gap that shows
In the sombre socks ofFather
Or B rother’
s careless hose.
Thursday, Mother teaches me how to mend. She saysthat every little girl should know these things . Father givesme a penny for every hole I mend in his socks , and brotherJack gives me little p resents ; once he gave me a whole set offu rniture which he had cut out with his fretsaw.
There is one nice thing about Dolly— she very seldomhas a hole in her stocking. I f she did , I hardly know what Iwou ld do , for Father and Jack keep me pretty busy— at least,Mother laughs and says they do . Learning al l the aecomp lishments of a grown-up woman is p retty hard work , and ,real ly, I often wonder how I ’l l ever get any time for play inthe park. Mother , however , finishes lots of my duties sothat I shan ’t miss my regu lar hours in the open ai r with myfriends.
LITTLE SIR CAT AND MARY IN THE
GARDEN
Little Sir Catthey had gone for many miles , they came across Little MissMuffet who sat on a tuffet. But thi s time she wasn ’ t running away from the big cruel spider who had sat down besideher.Whither are you bound
,l i ttle maid ! asked the knight.
And then without waiting for an answer he leaned over andli fted her up into the saddle beside Little Si r Kitten . Andwasn ’t she glad to see ou r little traveler again ! Well
,i f
you had only been there you would have laughed with joy ,for she was so happy that she hugged him again and again .
After a while they came to an old mil l where the rusty,
dusty mil ler ground the corn for the farmers . “Please letme down here ,” said little Miss Muffet , “ for mother askedme to bring home some meal .” So the kind knight pu l ledin his great steed and Little Miss Muffet ran into the mi ll .But Si r Launcelot didn ’t wait
,for he wasn ’ t going back ,
you see , so he and Little Si r Cat called out good-by andwent upon thei r way. And the sun shone down and glittored on the bright armor of the noble knight and pussy catfelt very p roud to be riding with h im .
“You shal l !go with me to King Arthur ’s Court , said
Si r Launcelot,
“ for little friend Tom Thumb is with mygood king and he has told al l the knights what a good comrade you are .
”
Towards evening,they came to the Court of King Arthu r
where al l the knights were eating their evening meal at thegreat round table . But when they heard the hoof beats ofSi r Launcelot ’s great horse
,they ran outside to greet him .
Little Si r Kitten was taken into the great dining hall and
Little Sir Catplaced on the right hand of King Arthur and merry was thefeast that fol lowed , for they had al l heard of brave Little Si rCat and loved him and Mother Goose , although they hadgrown up to be great strong knights .And pretty soon youwill find another story— unless
The friendly clock upon the wa ll
Should strike out three times playing ball.
Lily’s Circusof was just after that dreadfu l battle , when the great Indianchief, Sitting Bu ll , ki l led brave General Custer and half ofhis noble regiment of cavalry. This success had made al lthe other Indians very fierce and restless , and the small garrison of which Captain Morton had command were keptbusy day and night ready for attack .
But Li ly,Captain Morton ’s litt le daughter
,did not trou
ble hersel f about danger . She was not allowed to go out
of the garrison inclosu re , but she p layed with her chickensand her little pony , which her father had bought and trainedfor her. Its name was Tecumseh Sherman , after the general of the army
,but Li ly called it Tic for short . It soon
followed her in and out of the log house and wherever shewent , and showed a most decided liking for anything of ared color . When Lily wore a red dress , Tic would take afold in his mouth and pu l l her about , and even knock herdown in his p lay , for he never meant to hurt her . In theevening Li ly ’s little sidesaddle was put on Tic , and shewou ld gallop over the p rai rie with her father.One morning Li ly rushed into the house calling out“Mama
,mama
,here ’s a ci rcus ! Come and see ! It ’s
right outside the door !”Sure enough , j ust outside the garri son was a great crowd
of gayly dressed people , and near the front were six girlsmounted on ponies
,the saddles beauti fu l ly embroidered
with beads,and fine large umbrel las over thei r heads made
of red,white and blue cloth . These were princesses , daugh
ters of the great chief of the tribe . Lily ever after talkedof them as the “six Pocahontases.
”
LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
Fr iday
I love her on a Friday
When the house is upside down
And her go lden hair is muffled
In a twisted turban brown .
Friday i s the last of school for the week , and Satu rdayis coming. There are two reasons why I like Friday . Oneis that i t is the last day of school week
,and the other— be
cause tomorrow is Satu rday.
I do just about the same things on Friday , that is , schoolas usual
,and then a romp or walk in the park , rol ling my
hoop or skating on my rollers . But at home I ’m very busy.
It ’s dol l ’s house cleaning day,and oh
,dear me ! I have to
brush i t out from attic to ki tchen . I t i s a lot of work , for al lthe rooms have carpets or hardwood floors with little rugs ,and everything must be dusted thoroughly . I do my hairup just as regu lar grown-up cleaners do , and by and byDolly ’s house i s al l done . For a li ttle gi rl i t is hard work ,and Mother says she thinks I wi l l make a fine housekeeperwhen I grow up . I hope I won ’t get another dol l ’s housenext Christmas
,for I don ’t see how I cou ld run two houses
at once .
LILY AND THE PAPOOSE
This i s ‘Annuity Day , ’ Lily, said her father . Getyou r hat and we will go and see the Indians get thei r clothesand provisions for the next year .
“What i s asked Lily. Is i t Indian ‘
for
birthday ! ”“Well
,yes
,i t i s sort of a birthday , for the United States
Government gives a good many p resents that day to the Indians— food and clothes for the men
,women and chi ldren
for a whole year.”“Well
,let ’s go , said Li ly , “and I ’ l l j ust touch one of
those papooses with my own hand i f I get near enough . Ithink they are just dol ls . No real
,l ive baby wou ld stay
quiet tied on a board and fastened up all in a bunch to i tsmother ’s back . They do wink thei r eyes , that ’s certain ; butI can make my Rosy wink her eyes , too , only I have to pu lla wire to get her to shut them.
”
So off started Li ly with her papa,and soon they came to
an open space,in the center of which was a great pi le of
blank ets,clothing
,bacon
,flour
,corn
,coffee
,sugar
,tobacco
and many other things which good Uncle Sam gives oncea year to his “wards
,
” the Indians . Around thi s pi le of things
Lily and the Papooseas a general expression of her good will . So Lily presently put out her hand very softly and touched the bundle .What a scream ! Even the dignified chiefs tu rned thei r
p lumed heads to find out what the cause of the noisecould be .There was the papoose shrieking on its mother ’s back
,
proving most positively its claim to be considered a “ real,
l ive baby,
” and there was a drop of bright red blood on itslittle brown arm. Lily had stuck a pin in the Indian babyto find out i f it was alive or not .Poor little gi rl ! She stood frightened and trembling ,
crimson blushes on her cheeks,and two great tears j ust
b rimming over her eyes . Not unti l she had made a peaceoffering of candy to the baby
,and left i t contentedly sucking
away at a peppermint stick,could she be consoled and inter
ested once more in the strange scenes around her .
LITTLE SIR CAT
L it t le Sir Cat Meet s Jack and Jill
Jack and JillWent up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell downAnd broke his crown ,
And Jill came tumbling after.
As Little Si r Cat came to a pretty cottage,a yellow bird
sang this Old Mother Goose song. And just then a littlegi rl and boy ran out of the front door , and said
“Mother , come see a cat with red top boots !”Don ’t wait , chi ldren . Get me a pai l ofwater , for father
wi l l be home soon for dinner .”
S o Jack and JillWent up the hill
But, oh , dear me, I hate to tell
They spilt the water when they fell.
And poor Little Si r Cat ’s boots were spattered al l over .But he didn ’ t care
, for the big warm sun soon dried them ,
and he set off once again on his journey through MotherGoose Country , and by— and— by he came to a giant ’s castle ona big high mountain .
Little Sir CatCome in , said the great big man . You can sleep in
my fur cap — it wil l make you a fine bed .
When Little Si r Cat woke up in the morning the sun wasshining through the window and it was time to get up . Sohe hu rriedly dressed , for he didn ’t know what time the Gianthad breakfast and he didn ’t dare be late
,and ran down to
the dining room, where the Giant was just about to eat hi sbuckwheat cakes and maple syrup . After they had finished
,
the Giant took him out to the stables and showed him al l hishorses . I have a very smal l horse which I wil l give you
,
”
he said , and he led Little Si r Cat into another stable . Therestood Dapple Gray , only , of course , he seemed like a littletoy to the Giant , for hi s other horses were al l giant horses ,you see . And wasn ’t Si r Cat glad to see the little pony !Well
,I guess he was
,for he was ti red walking and one of his
boots had a hole in the toe .“Oh
,I’m so glad to see you, l i ttl e master , whinnied Dap
ple Gray,as Little Si r Cat untied the halter and jumped on
hi s back .
Well,after a whi le as he rode down the mountain he
came to a little cottage al l covered with climbing rose vines .In this cottage lived a shepherd and hi s wi fe who tendedthe sheep in the big meadow close by .
“Are they little BoPeep ’s ! ” asked Little Si r Cat ; but the kind- faced shepherdsaid no
,so Little Si r Cat rode on , and pretty soon you wi ll
hear what happened to the poor Lady Bug , un lessThe Sun tomorrow morning
Should go upon a strike,
And want a penny extra
To do!his daily hike!
A BELL TALE
There was an o ld sheepWithra hell on his tai l .It rang with a clatterAnd clanged wi th a wai l .
Whenever that poor li ttle sheepHove in sight
The bi rds and the beastsDisappeared in a fright.
HOW A TORTOISE
KILLED A GREAT POET
There was once a boy in olden times who dreamed thathe cou ld write verses , and the dream came true , and he became a very famous writer . And the way it happened wasthat this boy, whose name was fEschylus, fel l asleep one
day whi le guarding the grapes in a vineyard . He dreamedthat Bacchus , the god of the vine , came and told him thathe could write poetry . Immediately he awoke and tried
,and
to his delight he found out that i t was true .He kept on writing , and afterwards became very famous .
In those days p rizes were given for the best tragedies,and
at the age of 4 1 he won his first p rize . He wrote , also , manywonderfu l plays
,and for many years was esteemed one of
the greatest of t ragic poets .When quite an old man , he was sitting in a field
,p lunged
in deep thought . An eagle , which was flying overhead,
mistook his bald head for a stone and dropped the tortoisewhich it was carrying in its claws to break its shel l . Theforce of the b low ki l led the famous poet and warrior
, who
had fought in the Battle of Marathon and received greathonors for hi s bravery as wel l as thirteen prizes for hi stragedies . He might have written a great many more i fthe eagle had not dropped the tortoise .
Easter on a Farmthe case might be , and after they were al l done , what a prettypile of rainbow-colored eggs !
“Old Speckle and Rosy Comb wouldn ’t know what tomake of them now , wou ld they ! ” remarked little Ruth .
“No , answered Donald , “ I wonder i f we ’d get a pinkrooster i f thi s one was hatched ! he added
,jokingly
,holding
up a bri l liant carmine egg.
“Well , let ’s hide them ; you hide you rs first,Ruth
,
’causeyou ’re the youngest . Remember
,for goodness sake
,where
you put them in case we can ’t find them.
”
You see , the game was for each one to hide hi s share , andwhen all the eggs were hidden they were to invite thei r twocousins over and everybody was to hunt as fast as he could
,
except , of cou rse , for his own eggs , so as to get as manyas possible , for “findings were keepings .”I t took little Ruth quite a whi le to hide hers . She put a
big red egg carefu lly in the oat bin and covered it overwith oats . The next one she put deep down in the b ran bin ,and then she looked around for another safe p lace . Therewas father ’s old coat hanging on a nai l by the harness room .
In the pocket nearest her she slipped a green egg carefu l lylest i t fal l through a possible hole in the wel l-worn garment ,but the lining was sound and the egg was safe out of sight .The door of the harness room was ajar . Ruth stepped
inside and looked around. The very thing ! An old tin canstood half-hidden in the corner behind a pi le of rubbish . Inwent the pu rple egg , and now she had only two left .
“What shall I do ! ” said Ruth to hersel f. Just then anold l antern hanging on the wal l met her eyes , and in a mo
Easter on a Farmment she had carefu l ly li fted the dingy shade and p laced anegg inside . Only one egg was now left , and soon that wastucked away behind an o ld pictu re adverti sing harness ,which rested on a beam running along the side of the wall .
“No one must hunt for hi s own eggs ,” said Donald.
Then it wi ll be fai r for al l . All ready !” and away theywent .The two cousins had been told that the barn , the wagonhouse and the orchard were the p laces where the eggs werehidden
,and in a few minutes a yell was heard in the barn .
Dan had discovered Ruth ’s green egg in the overcoatpocket.
“ I ’ve got one ! screamed Ruth from the wagon house,
as she pul led out a yellow beauty from under the seat of theold buggy . Then a shout was heard from Donald
,and the
can in the corner of the harness room gave up its p rize .“Who ’ l l get the last one ! ” Here and there they ran ,
looking with the utmost care,but the li ttle egg sti l l defied
the hunters . “Let ’s give up and let Donald have it,they
at last agreed , and Donald , proudly marching up to a bigcherry tree, . from a crotch of a limb just above thei r reachpicked out a red egg, the only one that had resi sted successfully al l efforts of captu re .
WHEN ROBIN
RED-BREAST ARRIV ES
Everybody loves Robin Redbreast . Who of us in earlysp ring is not gladdened by the sight of thi s red waistcoatedlittle chap hOpp ing about on the lawn ! But few of us stopto think that our robin is total ly unlike the English robin
,
the dear old Robin Redbreast of nursery days he who covered with leaves the Babes in the Wood and was shot by theSparrow with his little arrow !The Redbreast of Eu rope is only hal f the size of our
robin,being about five inches and three-quarters from the
tip of i ts bi ll to the end of i ts tai l feathers . Its color i s ayel lowish olive-brown . The throat and breast are of areddish orange color
,and thi s gives to him the name of Red
breast.They remain al l the year round
,and when the fields and
gardens are covered with snow ,making it difficult for them
to obtain food they come up to the door steps,picking up
the crumbs which are thrown to them . When they are wel lt reated they soon become very fami liar and make themselvesquite at home
,entering the cottage door and often roosting
confidently over night in the warm kitchens . Thei r trustand confidence have made friends for them everywhere andthey become domestic pets in almost every country in Eu
AFTER MOTHER’
S SAID
GOOD NIGHT
When I ’m in bed I feel so small,
And al l the shadows seem so tal l .The little l ight out in the hal lA thin bright line throws on the wall ;It squeezes thro ’ the crack betweenThe hal f-closed door and nursery screen .
And after I have said my prayerAnd mother ’s footstep on the stai rGrows fainter , fainter , fainter , thereCreeps over me a sort of scare ;It p rickles me from toe to headAnd seems to wiggle al l the bed.
But i f I cuddle down and keepReal quiet , and don ’t kick my feet ,And have the clothes al l smooth and neat
,
Why, pretty soon I fall asleep ;And then the fai ries from thei r glenPlay with me ti l l i t ’s day again .
LITTLE SIR CAT
The Fire-Engine
Lady Bug, Lady Bug , fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are gone!
Sang the l ittle yel low bi rd whose name I shall tel l yousome day when Little Si r Cat finishes h is j ou rney throughMother Goose Country.
And just then the fire engine went by,so he jumped up
behind and away they went over a bridge across the RiverDee near which the Jol ly Mil ler on his pi llow found aflea .
Well,pretty soon they came to a meadow in which a lit
tle bush was on fire . And right there close beside it , wasthe poor Lady Bug flapping her red wings wildly in fearand panic for hidden under the bush were al l her little ladybugs .
“Oh,save my chi ldren l” she cried.
Little Si r Cat scrambled under the thicket bu t the brambles kept catching in his boot straps and pul ling him back .
So he kicked them off,taking care not to burn his bare toes
on the hot stubbles , and careful ly felt his way through thesmoke unti l he finally reached the nest near the heart of thethicket . There lay al l the Lady Bug’s chi ldren , hundreds ofthem huddled together
,frightened and smothered nearly to
death .
Little Sir CatOh
,I hope they are not quite dead
,he said
,tenderly
picking up the smal lest one.
“But what shall I do now !How can I carry them al l out !Then
,quick as a wink , before the fire reached him
,he
picked them al l up and put them in his hat .“Hurry , my brave fireman !” cal led the Mother Lady
Bug ; save my treasu res .”And in less time than I can take to tel l i t
,he carried them
out of danger .Just then up came Dapple Gray , so Little Si r Cat said
good-by and rode away .
“By-and—by, he whispered to Dapple Gray , Yonder
stands the lady who rode you far away . Do youwant to runright by her
, or do you want to stay behind thi s clump of
bushes unti l she walks away !Dapple Gray made no reply . He stood perfectly sti l l
and didn ’t even peek around unti l the lady was ou t of sight .So that was answer enough for Little Si r Cat , and he rode offtowards a little chu rch
,for i t was vesper time and the hell
was ringing for the people to come to worship . Pretty soonthe organ began to play , so he stopped to li sten , and so didthe stars and the big moon up in the sky . They didn ’t move ,but shone right down on the l ittle whi te building . After awhile he got down and led Dapple Gray into a grove of treesand lay down on some leaves for the night. And pretty soonyou shal l hear how he and his pony had another adventu re,— unless
A giant goes down the.
street for a stroll,And thinks a peppermint sti ck i s a barber
’
s pole.
The Little G o o se
Many years ago there lived a little goose-girl namedHelena . Every morning at sunrise she left the hut whereher mother lived
,and trudged away in the midst of her
flock of geese . All day long she stayed in the fields withthem to see that they did not wander away , and in theevening she brought them back to the vi l lage .The hamlet she l ived in was very smal l
,and Helena
had the care of al l the geese in the p lace . Ten of theflock belonged to her mother , the rest belonged to theneighbors .Helena was almost as fat as the fattest goose in her flock .
Over her p lump , freckled face she wore a flat cap , andher flaxen hai r in two long braids down her back . Herwaist was black , without any sleeves and Opened in thefront , while the sleeves of her smock were ful l and long.
Her skirt was very short and ful l,and plaited al l around
the waist . In summer she went barefooted,but in winter
she wore thick stockings and wooden shoes .She carried in her hand a long stick
,with which to man
age her goose fami ly,but she was kind— hearted and never
struck them hard . Her li ttle dog,Hero
,helped her keep
them in order . He was so well trained that when theywandered away , he would bark and snap at them unti l hefrightened them back.
The Little Goose-GirlEvery morning at sunrise the geese waited in front of
the huts for Helena . Amid a great squawking and hissingthey were col lected from door to door , and when the flockwas al l gathered
,Helena drove them Off to the feeding.
ground,a low flat marshy p lace
,near the river , where they
delighted to waddle in the greenish pools and coarsegrasses .Helena had collected a pi le of stones on a dry spot which
was a little higher than the marshy ground around it , andhere she would sit on her throne , l ike a queen lookingover her goose kingdom .
When dinner time came,she wou ld take from a basket
a sl ice of very coarse bread,almost black , a piece of cheese ,
or a slice of thick , raw sausage . When she had finishedeating
,she wou ld take from the same basket her spinning ,
and with her distaff she twi rled the thread around anddrew it through her fingers . This was the old-fashi onedway of spinning , and even now one often sees gi rl s andwomen with thei r distaffs spinning in the fields whil e theywatch thei r cows or sheep or geese .There were many beauti fu l flowers growing in the
marshy land, and when Helena grew ti red of spinning ,she gathered violets and forget-me-nots . She wou ld makea wreath of blue li l ies and yel low dandelions and hang itabou t her neck . Sometimes she wou ld make a collar forher dog , and once she made a wreath for a pet gander ,but he twisted his long neck and ate up the flowers , atwhich Helena laughed
,showing that she was a happy little
gi rl , although she did have to tend the geese al l day.
RISING TIME
Pussy’s asleep,and the little gray mouse
Is looking about the quiet house .But Oh , dear me ! I f Pussy should wakeThe li ttle mouse wou ldn ’t get any cake .
FebruaryFor the boy of to-day two such men as Washington and
Lincoln are an inspi ration . Human nature was just thesame in those days as now— politics were just as corrupt andmorals just as bad— but each of those men shone out withthe attributes of greatness— courage , honesty and truth .And for the girl of to-day who realizes how the mothers
of those two men gave to this country each a hero ; how thosemothers by early training and instruction brought thei r boysup to reverence courage and honesty and truth
,there is an
inspi ration ; for the sweetest word that i s murmured in thenursery or whispered in p rayer on the battlefield is Mother .
LITTLE STORIES
OF FAMOUS ANIMALS
HOW the G eese Sav ed Rome
The Capitol in the city of Rome was bui lt on a high ,steep hil l cal led the Tarpeian Rock . When in 390 B . C .
the Gau ls entered Rome,after having defeated the Roman
Army,most of the citizens fled
,except a few who had taken
refuge on this steep hill . One very dark night , the Gaulsattempted to climb the steepest part and captu re the Capitol .The Roman sentinels were al l fast asleep , and the enemyhad nearly reached the top , when suddenly some geesebegan to cackle and raise a great hub-bub . The noiseawakened a Roman soldier named Marcus Manliu s , whorushed out to the spot just in time to throw down the Gau lsand save the Capitol .After this , the Gauls agreed to leave the city for a thou
sand pounds of gold , but the Romans took so long to weighi t , that Camillus arrived with a big army just in time . “Romebuys her freedom with i ron !” he cried
,and attacking the
Gau ls , drove them out in great confusion . But i f i t hadn ’tbeen for the geese
,who were ‘
wide awake and not soundasleep like the Roman sentinels , Rome would have beencaptu red that dark n ight by the Gauls.
THE CARNIVAL
Let us make believe we are in Nice during Carnival timeand are hastening to the Promenade duCours , up and downwhich the procession is to pass .
Fi rst,however
,I shal l buy for you each a little blue
gauze mask ; for you cannot even peep at Carnival unmasked . And i f any of you can wear linen clusters withhoods attached
,al l the better . Don ’t leave a square inch Of
skin unprotected I warnyou .
Besides the l1ttle masks , you may buy , each of you , awhole bushel of these “ sugar plums , and have them sentto our balcony . Also for each a little tin scoop fastenedon a flexible handle , which you are to fi l l with confetti buton no account to pu ll— at least , not yet .The crowds are gathering. Pretty peasant girls in thei r
holiday atti re of bright petticoats,laced bodices
,and white
fri l led caps ; stray dominoes ; richly dressed ladies with maskin hand ; carriages so decorated with flower\s as to be artistically hidden— even the wheel s covered with batiste— blue ,pink , pu rple , green or buff. Even the sidewalk , as we pass ,i s fringed with chai rs at a franc each .
The “Cours” i s gay with su spended banners,bright with
festooned balconies and merry faces . Sidewalks and streets
The CarnivalBut they are crowded on . A colossal stump fol lows ,
trai ling with mosses and vines . Upon it a bi rd’s nest fil ledwith young
,thei r mouths wide open for food ; wonderfu l ,
because the arti stic ski l l i s so perfect that , although so immense
,they seem living and not unnatu ral .
Up and down the procession sweeps . Up one side thewide Cours” and down the other ; the space within fi l ledwith the merry su rging crowd , under the feet Of the horsesi t wou ld seem . But no matter . Horses and men and womenand chi ldren bear a charmed li fe to-day.
LITTLE STORIES
OF FAMOUS ANIMALS
How A Spider Sav ed Sco t land
For several years , Robert Bruce , the hero King of Scotland
,was an outlaw with but
‘
a few fol lowers . He even hadto leave his beloved Scotland at one time
,and hide himsel f
on a smal l island off the coast of I reland .
He had only a wretched but to live in , although he wasa king
,but he was as patient as he was brave
,and willing to
suffer hardships i f he cou ld only free his native land .
While lying on his bed one day , he noticed a spider whowas sp inning its web . Time after time i t fai led to run itss lender thread from one beam to another . Six times it triedand as many times it fai led . Thi s was just the number ofbattles that B ruce had been defeated by the English .
“ I f the sp ider tries again,
” he said to himself,sitting up
on his bed and watching the determined li ttle insect intently ,“ i f the sp ider tries again , so wi l l I !” Once more the spidertried , and this time with success . Bruce jumped from hisbed , and in a few days was back in Scotland .
It was indeed a happy omen , for from that time the tidetu rned in his favor , and gradually he won back all the citiesand castles which the English had conquered . And soB ruce freed Scotland and won back hi s throne , but i f i t hadnot been for the little spider
,perhaps he never wou ld have
had the heart to attempt it .
LITTLE SIR CAT
Mo ther Hubbard finds L it t le Sir Cat at Home
Old Mother Hubbard
Wen t to the cupboard
To get her poor dog a bone,
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
Oh , dear me ! said Little Si r Cat , that ’s too bad , andhe pul led out a shi l l ing and gave i t to Mother Hubbard.
And after that he went away and by and by he came to abig ci rcus tent . And while he stood there , a woman cameby and stopped to talk to him. For everybody was interested in Little Si r Cat . He rode Dapple Gray as wel l as aci rcu s man , and there was nothing he cou ldn ’t do on horseback
,except
,perhaps
,go to sleep . Well , the woman
stopped and looked at him for a few minutes , and then shesaid
“I have a little husband
No bigger than my thumb,So I put him in a bird cage
And keep him safe at home.
Little Sir CatWhy don’t you bring him to the circus ! said Little
Si r Cat. “He ’l l make more money than in a bird cage .”“80 he might ,” said the woman .
“I wil l bring himhere this very day , and away she went as fast as she could .
Well , by and by, she retu rned car rying a leather bag,and when she opened i t
,who shou ld jump out but Tom
Thumb . Wasn ’t that strange ! And , oh , how glad hewas to see Little Si r Cat.
“What ! Are you O ld friends ! asked the woman ,stretching out her hand to take TomThumb .
“She is cruel,don ’ t let her take me ,” cried the little fel
low ,and of course Si r Cat didn ’ t, although the woman he
came very angry.
Wel l , pretty soon Li ttl e Si r Cat tu rned to her and saidwi th a fierce look
,
“Leave h im with me . He shal l be mycomrade . You have no right to him ,
” and then he took TomThumb into the tent
,leaving the '
woman to do what shemight. He didn ’t care , for he was in the right , and whenthat is the case
, one can be brave even i f he i s a smal l cat .And as soon as he told the clown what had happened , hesaid : “We ’ l l never let her have Tom Thumb . He shal lstay with us as long as he likes
,
” and then the lovely ci rcuslady came up and shook hands with him , and everybodysaid , “Hurrah for Littl e Si r Cat !”And pretty soon I ’ l l tel l you another story unless
The B ig Red Barn gets friskyAnd jumps across the road,
And the buzzy , wuzzy horseflyEats up the little toad.
MR . TURKEY DECIDES TO
TAKE DAY OFF
Said the great big Turkey GobblerTo the little Turkey Turk
,
I guess I ’ l l stay at home todayAnd not go down to work ;
I have a sort of feel ingThat it ’s wiser not to roamAnd that i t would be saferFor me to stay at home.”
LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
Saturday
I love her on a Saturday
When she and .Mother go
Together to a matinee
Ormoving picture show .
Satu rday is a holiday al l the time . In the morning Itake a run in the park to get the fresh ai r and exercise ; andthen after lunch , Mother and I— Oh , i t ’s such fun l— go to amatinee or a motion pictu re play . When we come out, wehave a cup of hot chocolate somewhere
,with little cakes or
crackers , and it ’s just lovely ! After that, i t ’s time to gohome . Dolly is waiting for me , and I tel l her al l abou teverything whi le I undress her and put her to bed , and she i sso good she never cries or says : Why didn ’ t you take me ,too ! ”
HOW a Horse Founded a Citybeen very carefu lly watching the beautifu l white animal
,
noticed that Bucephalu s was afraid of hi s own shadow . Hetherefore tu rned his head toward the sun and after pattingthe animal unti l he grew quiet mounted and rode him without any trouble . After that he was always hi s favoriteCharger .When Alexander set out to conquer the Persians Eu
cephalus was the first to swim across the River Granicus withAlexander
,amid a shower of arrows and spears .
On Bucephalus and at the head of his army of
foot soldiers Alexander defeated Darius,with over
men .
For five years longer Bucephalu s carried Alexander tovictory
,but finally in a battle in India against King Poru s
Bucephalus was so badly wounded that he died.
Alexander gave his noble horse a splendid burial andfounded a city on the battlefield , which he named in hishonor Bucephala
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit t le Sir Cat Meet s Tom, the p iper’
s S
One can ’t stay with a ci rcus and travel up high mountains and cross rivers and vi si t castles and dungeons
,so Lit
tle Si r Cat said good-by to the kind circus people and littleTom Thumb , who was making so much money exhibitinghimsel f that he wanted to remain with them unti l he hadmade a mill ion dollars .So once more Little Si r Cat was traveling alone. Well ,
on he tramped ti l l by-and-by he came to a Vi l lage , and as hewalked down the main street
Little Johnny CurlytopSat in his father
’
s shop .
In his thumb he held a plum
And a lo llypop .
But when he saw Little S i r Cat , he almost dropped hiscandy
,for he had never seen a cat with boots and spu rs rid
ing on a pony. But Little Si r Cat only grinned and said“Pick up you r candy
,Johnny Curlytop , for candy doesn ’t
grow on trees,and you are a lucky boy to have a lol lypop .
LITTLE SIR CAT MEETS TOM. THE PIPER’
SSON
Little Sir CatI hope mother won ’t scold me for being away so long
I hope she won ’t .”In the distance he cou ld see the stout figure of hi s mother
standing in the cabin door . At the sight of her Piggiebegan to cry
,he was so glad to be home again .
And hi s mother never punished him after al l,but just
hugged him unti l he squeaked , “Oh , mother , you ’re squeezing the breath out of me !”
But just the same, dear children,
Remember to obey ,
For youmight be un luckyAnd lose your homeward way .
NEW YEAR S PRAYER
G od grant that I the new year throughMay strive with heart and sou l to doThose things which are most good and true .
God grant that I each morning startMy duties with a cheerfu l heart ,And faithfu l ly performmy part .
To wear a smile al l through the day ,To banish though ts unkind away ;And when my bedtime comes
,to p ray .
To say my prayers with folded handsAs night comes softly o ’er the lands ,To Him ,
who always understands .
And when the bel ls on New Year ’s dawnProclaim the bright New Year is born ,And I awake on New Year ’s morn ,
I p ray Him whisper , low and sweet,To help me guidemy wayward feet ,Lest I forget my prayer to meet .
THE OLD WOMAN UNDER
THE HILL
There was an old woman“
Lived under the hil l ,And if she ’s not marriedShe ’s l iving there sti l l .
The First ChristmasSuddenly a mu ltitude of the heavenly host j oined the
angel in singing praises to God .
Glory to G od in the highest, and on earth
Peace, good will toward men .
”
When the angels had gone back to heaven the shepherdssaid they would go to Bethlehem and see this Saviou r -
of
whom the angels sang . They went , and found Him ,a
l ittle baby,in a stable , with no cradle to lie in ; only a
manger for His bed. That little baby was Jesus , who whenHe grew up saidLet the little children come unto me , and forbid them
not , for of such i s the kingdom of heaven . His birthday was the first Christmas Day , and ever since that timewe keep that day as a joyfu l and happy one.
PLANTING A PUSSY
Charlie was a little rogue,and Charlie ’s papa was a big
rogue ; and two rogues together get into all sorts of mischief.Charlie wanted a kitten , and one day when he was teas
ing papa said carelessly“Plant old black Nig. I wouldn ’t wonder i f she came
up sort of kittenish !Papa laughed behind his paper to see him march out to
the garden with the big, sleepy black cat under one arm anda hoe under the other.But when Charl ie began to dig , Pussy began to struggle
out from under his arm , and , getting away , she ran for herl i fe . Charlie dropped his hoe and ran too . Tears alsowou ld have run had there been less wisdom in that littlecurly head . But Charl ie knew that Puss wou ld not waitwhi le he mourned her departu re !What a race that was ! Puss led him under fences ,
through bushes , over gates , up trees , and , at last , throughthe open window , Charlie of course fol lowed , and what afal l was that !When Charlie rose , the black cat sat calmly upon the
Planting a Pussytable . Charlie thought she actual ly laughed at his forlornappearance . Well , he didn ’t look as wel l as when the racebegan
,but his cou rage was sti l l good ; so he resolved to try
again , i f the Big Rogue wou ld help .
So Charlie asked papa to hold Puss while he dug. Papawas wil ling , and the digging began again . Soon papa saidthe hole was big enough , but he had no sooner said the word ,when Puss thought i t was time to run away again , and offshe darted . She looked so funny , with her tai l all swelledup
,that Charlie forgot al l about the p lanting and began to
laugh,and then papa began to laugh too .
“I don ’t believeshe ’s the right kind of a cat to plant , he said , and then heand Charlie went into the house for lunch , as mama was atthe window waiting for them.
LITTLE SIR CAT AND LITTLE BOY BLUE
Little Sir Catsu rp rised to meet them . All of a sudden, the Dog beganto sing
OldMother Hubbard never goes to the cupboard
To getme a bone any more;For she has an excuse, so what is theuse!
She remembers what happened before.
So now we both go to a nicemovie show,
'And then to a restaurant fine,Wherewe order a stew of giblets for two,!And the orchestra plays whilewe dine.
”
Hu rray ! cried Little Si r Cat , things are certainlyvery different in this country .
” And pretty soon he toldthem he must be on his way . So off he went through thewoods , and by-and-by he came to a deep pool under a greatoak t ree . But he didn ’t know that a Frog Prince lived in i t .No , Siree. And perhaps it was just as wel l that he didn’ t ,for the Frog Prince didn ’t like cats at al l .Wel l , as soon as he saw Little Si r Cat , he gave a dreadfu l
loud croak and hopped out on the bank .
Shal l I kick him ! ” asked Dapple Gray with a toss ofhis head, for he wasn ’t afraid of that croaky old frog, notthe least little bit .
“Of cou rse not , answered Li ttle Si r Cat . Are youreally a frog, or an enchanted prince ! ” he asked , tu rningto the Frog Prince .And , wou ld you believe it, the tears came to that poor
frog’s eyes, as he answered :
Little Sir CatA wicked witch has cast a spel l over me. I was once a
handsome p rince .”“ I wi l l help you , answered Little Si r Cat , and , j umping
offDapple Gray , he hunted through the grass unti l he founda tiny
,l ittle flower , blue as the summer sky .
“Tomorrow morning when the cock 'crows eat thisflower ,” he said , handing i t to the Frog Prince , “and youwi l l once more be you r natural sel f. And before the happyfrog cou ld thank him he jumped on Dapple Gray and rodeaway to the next story.
MAY DAY FROLICS
IN MERRY OLD ENGLAND
Suppose we go a-Maying among old t raditions andsee with what ceremonies ou r English ancestors welcomedthe “merry month .
” We do not celebrate the first day of
May to any extent in this country,but in England
,where
the season is much earlier than ou rs,and the earth is al ready
covered with wild flowers,May-day is more fitly celebrated ;
but even in England the old customs have sadly fal len away .
Once upon a time every V i l lage had its annual settingup of the May-pole
,which was consecrated to the Goddess
May Day Frolics in Merry Old Englandof Flowers , and early on May morning the young peop lewent out to “gather the May.
” The first thing was to selectthe May-pole . The landed gentry allowed the vi llagers thechoice of a suitable tree on thei r domains . A tal l , straightsapling having been selected , i t was speedi ly cut down anddragged to the vi l lage green by oxen gayly decorated withflowers and bright colored ribbons . Fol lowing after camethe youths and maidens with wreaths of flowers , which theytwined around cottage doorways on thei r way to the green ,where they were to choose from among thei r number a Lordand Lady ofMay.
After a bower was bui lt for them and the May-pole set
up,there were merry dances , the revellers donning mask
and costume to rep resent Robin Hood , Friar Tuck , MaidMarian
,Much the Mil ler ’s Son ,
Little John,Will Scarlet
and al l the other famous characters ofmerry Sherwood. Pantomimewas also indulged in , for this was a simple age , whensimple pleasu res satisfied the country peop le . Into the ringwould come a hobby-horse and a dragon , the former ambling and prancing about , while the latter hissed and shookhis wings
,to the great delight of the spectators . There were
also morris-dancers , with bel ls attached to thei r knees andelbows , who danced and capered musical ly. After thiscame trials of ski l l in archery by Robin Hood and his fellows
,and when al l these amusements grew ti resome
,the
vi l lagers thronged about the May-pole and spent the re
mainder of the day in dancing.
But these May-day observances were not confined onlyto the country . In London at one time tal l poles were
May Day Frolics in Merry Old Englanderected on May morning , and green arbors and branchesdecorated the streets . I t was a great day for the milkmaidsand chimney-sweeps
,who paraded the streets in companies
,
begging a trifle from thei r customers .The leader of the chimney-sweeps , cal led Jack in the
Green ,” was covered , with the exception of his legs , withgreen boughs
,garlands and nosegays . He looked like a
dancing bouquet , as he moved up and down the street.Many a penny the sweeps collected from the admiring bystanders . This was a custom up to about one hundredyears ago , and wi l l perhaps remind some ofmy little readersof the ragamuffins who parade the streets of New York onThanksgiving Day , begging a penny from every passer-by.
Final ly , many abuses arose in the observance of the day.
In 1 644 Parliament passed an act forbidding the erection ofMay-poles . Later , during the restoration of the gayCharles the Second , the May-poles came back and flourished for a long time . Gradually , however , as the ancientsimplicity Of manners departed from the lower orders ofthe people , who were its chief upholders , the May-day festival fel l into disu se , and now there are neither May-polesnor morris—dancers nor Jacks in the Green.
THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
A big Black Spider was spinning away ,Spinning her lacey web al l day ;And when she had finished i t , close to the wal lShe curled hersel f up in a round black bal l .
Laz i ly buzzing , buzzing away,A little B lue Fly was buzzing al l day.Into the open window he flewAnd close to the Spider ’s web he drew.
Oh , what' a pretty piece of lace
Swinging away in the window space !The little B lue Fly remarked to himsel f,As he carefu lly crawled on the narrow shel f.
Then he brushed the dirt from his gauzy wingAnd watched the spider web swing and swing.
Now this l ittle Fly was a mischievous Fly,And there wasn ’t a bit of green in his eye !
The Spider and the FlySO ,as he watched it swing and swing
,
He thought ’twou ld be fun to cut the string.
Then Mrs . Spider ’s hammock would fal lDown with a somersault Off the wall .
Creeping up to her hiding p lace ,He gave a pul l on the flimsy lace .Down one end of the hammock fell
,
Whi le the Big Black Spider gave a yell .
Out thro ’ the window the l ittle Fly flew ;’Twas safer out there for him ,
he knew .
And he said , as he winked his little blue eye“Good-by, Mrs . Spider ; good-by, good-by l
B enn iei
s Easter Dream
Bennie woke up on Easter morning and saw alittle rabbi t with a big how o f blue ribbon aroundhis neck standing in the doorway.
“Come along !” he said.
“ I ’m going to giveyou a ride on my back .
”
In a few minutes Bennie had on his clothes andtiptoeing down the stai rs , they s lipped out of thefront door.
“Hold on to my ears ! said the rabbit , andaway they went down the garden walk. Whenthey reached the barnyard the rabbit stopped before the haystack , and pu ll ing out a small basketand a big si lver spoon , said to Bennie :
“Take this basket and come with me to the henhouse . I f we get there before the fai ries we willfind the pretty colored eggs which the hens laygor Easter . But hurry, for we must get thereI'
St .
They opened the door quietly , just as the bigRed Rooster began to crow.
“Lift up the eggswith the si lver spoon said the rabbit , as theypeeped into the nests ; don ’t touch one with you rhand or wi l l lose its lovely color.” Soon
B en n iei
s Easter Dr eam
basket was fu l l . Come on , cried the rabbit ;hu rry up and get on my back ; i t ’s getting late .”Bennie jumped on
,but just as they started off
fou r little chickens ran out of thei r coop andscreamed
Cock-a—doodle doo !You
’
ve got my egg of blueMy yellow one, my purple one,My little green one, too !
Suddenly he found himsel f in his own littl ebed
,whi le outside the happy Easter bel ls were
ringing. He wondered where h i s l i ttle friendthe rabbit had disappeared to
,and the fou r l ittle
chickens .Then he looked down at the counterpane
,and
what do you suppose he saw . A whole nest ful lof beautiful ,painted Easter eggs with the funniestfaces and the brightest colors . Bennie gave asqueal of delight and hopped out of bed to dressso that he cou ld show his treasu re to all the otherchildren he knew , but in his excitement forgotall abou t the dear li ttle bunny.
LITTLE GIRL’
S DIARY
Sunday
I love her on a Sunday ,
As she goes to church with me,With her little gilt-edged B ibleHeld close and reverently .
Sunday morning Father and I start Off for chu rch beforethe rest of the family , because Father wants his early walk ,and I love to go with him . Through the park we go ,watching the pretty l ittle squ irrels who run up to us , for theyseem to know that Father wil l let me wait a few minutes togive them some nuts or l i ttle pieces of cracker which I havealmost always in my pocket . I cal l one squirrel the “LittleMinister” because he looks so solemn , and walks up soquietly and slowly to me , and then holds his nut betweenhis paws and looks i t over , as i f i t were a book , before hestarts to open the cover and eat the inside . After churchwe al l come home and have early dinner. In the afternoon ,brother and I go for a long walk in the park . After supper , the nicest part of al l the day , we smg hymns and BrotherJack and I say a piece of poetry , which we learn for eachSunday . Then we kiss everybody good night .
“mutt“!l”
LITTLE SIR CAT AND DAME TROT
Little Sir CatYou can drop me a line , rep lied the fish with a swish
of h istail ,“but I won ’t p romise to bite .
“ I don ’ t care fot any more fish to-day,answered Little
Si r Cat , “ I ’ve just had a feast at Dame Trot’s little Inn.
”
If that’
s the case, replied thefish ,G iving his tail a shimmery swish,
“I’
ll go right home to Mrs . Trout'
And tell her it’
s safe for her to go out.
And away went that poetical old t rout, and so did LittleSi r Cat , and after he had ridden for maybe a mile or three ,he met the Maiden All jForlorn 3Wh0 Milked the Cowwith the Crumpled Horn. But she wasn ’t miserable nowat al l . No , Si ree. She wore a lovely smile and a pink sunbonnet with a bi t of ribbon on i t. And as soon as she sawLittle Si r Cat her smile broke into a laugh : “Here is mydear l ittle puss. Where has he been this long time ! ”
“Oh,just traveling,” he answered.
“What have youbeen doing !
You remember th e tramp all tattered and torn !
Well, he made lots ofmoney in cotton and corn .
So he bought me an automobile and a ring,
And theministermarried us both in the spring ,
she answered,taking the pink ribbon Off her sun-bonnet and
tying i t around Little Si r Cat ’s neck.
“There, you look l ike a prize winner , she laughed , and
Little Sir Catafter that she ran hack into the farm yard to see i f the LittleB lack Hen had laid a whi te egg for breakfast .By-and-by Little Si r Cat met the Spider who frightened
Miss Muffet. She was busy spinning a big web and said tohim,
Please go’
way , don’
t bother me,
For I’
m as busy as can be.
So youmust wait for the next story to hear what happenedto Tommy Green , unless
That little B lack Spider
Puts salt in her cider.
ACROSS THE PRAIRIE !
’Way back in the early days of this country , when thereweren ’t any rai l road trains crossing the great Westernp lains
,only big herds of wild buffalo by day and fierce
wolves by night ; when the only way to reach one ’s destination was in a big
,canvas-covered wagon drawn by oxen
when every man rode a horse and carried a gun , and wheneven the women knew how to handle a rifle— then therewere lots of Indians .Those were dangerous times
,and it needed a brave heart
and a quick hand and a steady head to overcome the peri lso f crossing the great p lains in search of a new home and afortune .This was what Dick ’s father was doing, however , and
Dick was the happiest boy on earth , he thought , when theystarted out on thei r journey. The big “prai rie schoonerwas thei r Pu llman car , and the patient team o f oxen the motive power . Dick was old enough to straddle a mustang,and so he rode by father and Uncle Bi l ly. Mother andAunt Mary , Sister Lou and Cousin Tommy al l rode in thewagon , and when night came on they got the supper , al lexcept Bi l ly, of cou rse ; he just watched.
Across the PrairieFather and Uncle Bi l ly made the fire and unhitched the
oxen and tethered the ponies .Dick soon learned that the most important thing to do
as the day came to a close was to find a good grazing placeon which to pitch tent for the night , as the best grass for theanimals must be selected with care , near water i f possible .The animals must be looked out for first
,otherwise how
would they ever get anywhere i f these faithfu l friends shouldbecome sick and die !The next thing Dick did was to collect for the fire the
dry buffalo dung which covered the prai rie , and after making a pi le in the shape of a huge cone he lighted a few sticksof kindling
,a supply of which was always carried in a sack
hung from the bottom of the wagon , and soon the heap wasa mass of du ll
,glowing coals ; then the tin coffee pai l and
the frying pan , and then , thank goodness — for Dick wasalways hungry— supper .After that they pu l led down the big
,long canvas back of
the wagon cover , which was spread double over the top of
the wagon during the day,and fastened it to the ground
with pegs , and under this slanting roof, with thei r b lanketsbetween them and the earth
,with thei r toes towards the fire ,
they slept quite comfortably through the night .The oxen and the ponies knew enough not to stray any
great distance from the campfire,and i f frightened at any
thing would come rushing back,helter-skelter
,for protec
tion . They know that on the p rai rie man is thei r best friendand protector .
“What are those figu res away over there to the west
Across the Prairieward ! said Dick’s father. Uncle Bi lly shaded his eyeswith his hand and looked in that di rection for a few minuteswithout answering.
“Don ’ t know,
” he replied,uneasily.
“They look like horses , but I don ’ t see any riders .” “NorI , rep lied Dick ’s father , “but those wily redskins have away of hanging over the far-side O f the animal so ’s to deceive any one who happens to catch sight of them . Theydon ’ t act like wi ld horses .”It was an anxious moment . Neither man spoke for
some time but rode along quietly,keeping a sharp lookout
,
however , ln order to detect the sl ightest change in theappearance Of the figures to the westward.
“They seemto be fol lowing ou r way ,” suggested Uncle Bi l ly about anhou r later . “Supposing we pitch camp to-night a little earlier . That clump of trees yonder wil l give us some protection in case they tu rn out to be redskins .”
“Good plan,murmured Dick ’s father
,tu rning in the
direction of the trees . “We needn ’t let on we ’re worried tothe women folks
,
” he added,
“we ’ l l j ust wait and see howthings tu rn out . Maybe nothing wil l happen .
”
But something did happen . About midnight Dick ’sfather awoke with a start . A shadow fel l across the opening in the canvas . In another moment he was grapp lingwith an Indian . Over and over he rol led, but the Indianhad found his match . Dick’s father was a powerfu l man ,and
,whipping out his revolver
,shot him dead. None too
soon,for Uncle Billy was being hard pressed by a number
of redskins,two of whom he had already laid low with his
rifle.
Across the Prairiefenders than there were , final ly withdrew
,much to the re
l ief of the besieged.
There was no more sleep in the camp that night,and
in the morning,at the first break of day , Dick ’s father went
out to investigate . Two dead Indians close to the camptestified to the good aim of i ts defenders . “They took theother dead and wounded with them ,
” said Dick ’s father,
tu rning to his brave boy, they didn ’t dare come in so closeto get them . Here ’s the fel low you shot , sonny— I remember he was just abou t to tomahawk me as you shot him inthe nick of time— guess you saved you r dad’s l i fe ,” andDick felt as p roud as Punch when his father slapped himon the back ’ l ike a man.
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit t le Sir Cat and Tommy G r een
Please, Mister Cat, go ring the bell,
I’
m sure it won’
t be wrong .
Perhaps my Mary will come out,
I’
ve waited here so long,
”
said Mary ’s Little Lamb .
I can ’t do that ,” answered Little Si r Cat the teacherwou ldn ’t like i t . Just then al l the children ran out Of thelittle red school-house . But , oh , dear me ! One of the boyspinched Little Si r Cat ’s tail .And I don’ t know what wou ld have happened i f the
teacher hadn ’t looked out of the W indow at that moment .Wel l
,i t didn ’ t take him long to run out and give that
naughty boy a good shaking.
“ I know it was you, Tommy Green . You ’re the boywho drowned poor pussy cat , who never did you any harmbut ki l led the mice in you r father ’s barn l” And then thatangry teacher pu l led that naughty boy into the schoolhouse .
“Tommy Green,I ’m going to send you home with a let
ter to you r father. I think hehad better keep you away from
THE CANARY
Canary Bird , Canary Bird,In your golden j ai l
,
On your trapeze balancingWith you r yellow tai l ,
Don ’t youwish that‘you cou ld fly
Through the window paneTo the Robin Redbreast gaySinging in the lane !
Where the apple trees in b loomDrop thei r petals white ,
80 you almost think it hasSnowed ’most al l the night !
Wou ld you love to see the nestMrs . Robin ’s made ,
And the eggs of china blueWhich she just has laid !
Don ’t you want to leave you r cage !See
,the door 1 8 wide
Open and the window , tooYou can fly outside.
THE LAND OF NOWHERE
Jack and Grace were in the nu rsery playing with thei rtoys , when suddenly they were startled by a tiny voice cal ling out “Good-by lThey looked up quickly , and to thei r su rprise thei r little
tin airship was slowly rising from the floor . In anothermoment it sai led across the room and out of the top of thewindow , which was down a little to let in fresh ai r . Thel ittle man at the steering wheel waved hi s hand as the ai rshipdisappeared . Jack rushed to the window .
“Grace , G race l” he shouted , “did you ever hear of such
a thing ! Come on . I ’m going to run outside and seewhere it goes .” Both chi ldren hurried down stai rs and outon the sidewalk. Su re enough , j ust over the top of the nexthouse they could distingu ish thei r Christmas present ascending higher and higher into the clear blue sky .
Just then something fluttered at thei r feet . Jack stoopeddown and picked up a piece of paper on which was written :Sorry I didn ’t have time to tel l you as the airship was
under way and I didn ’t dare make a turn inside the room .
The Land of Nowherebut i f you both wil l come up on the roof, I wi ll come backand tell you something lovely .
”
exclaimed Grace,who had read the note over
Jack ’s shou lder ; and in another moment both chi ldren wererunning up to the attic. After some difficu lty , they raisedthe little door in the cei ling and stood upon the roof. Sureenough , just overhead and about to descend was an airship .
But , goodness me ! i t was a regular ai rship , j ust l ike thekind they had seen in pictu res
,and not the little toy machine
which they had but a few minutes before seen sai ling out ofthe window and up over the next house . Nor did the lovelyfai ry who now alighted from the ai rship look anything likethe queer little painted man .
“Hello !” she said , in a veryfriendly voice :“wou ld you like to take a sai l ! ”Jack helped Grace in , and before long they were flying
above the clouds , which looked like huge snow banks below them
,white and fluffy. Everything was b lue about
them , and the ai r seemed ful l of perfume .“ Isn ’t i t lovely , Jack ! exclaimed Grace . “ I ’m so glad I
came !”“So am I , rep lied her brother , but I wonder where we
are going. I don ’t see the earth any more ; we must be goingsomewhere . Where are you taking us , li tt le Fai ry Queen ! ”he called out, and he and Grace waited anxiously for theanswer .
“Nowhere ! she answered .
Don ’t you know where Nowhere is !Well
,not exactly ,” rep lied Jack .
“ I ’ve often heard ofit , but I ’ve never been there .”
The Land of NowhereJust then the ai rship swerved to the right and in a few
seconds landed gracefully on the broad steps of a beautifu lcastle . Everything was blue , even the tall chimney was builto f blue bricks . The fai ry had hardly tu rned off the power
,
and the big ai rship was sti l l qu ivering,when the castle door
opened,and a beauti fu l p rincess
,dressed all in blue
,came
graciously forward . The only thing about her that wasn ’ tblue was her long flowing hai r
,which was of the most won
derful golden hue that Grace had ever seen .
“How do youdo ! ” she said in a sweet voice . “Come in . Have you comefrom very far away ! ”
“We don ’t know,Princess , answered Jack , bowing po
litely,whi le Grace made a pretty courtesy ; “we real ly don’ t
know how far we have come,nor just where we are .
“Well,I ’ l l tel l you then ,” answered the lovely blue
Princess , taking them each by the hand and walking betweenthem through the open castle door ; “at least , I ’ l l tel l youwhere you are and then after that you can tel l me where youcame from
,and then we ’ l l know a little more about each
other .“How beauti fu l you are , said Grace as they al l three sat
down on a big blue sofa in the big blue hal l of the statelyb lue castle .
“Am I,dear ! said the Princess , looking at Grace with
a smile , “and why do you think so ! ”“ I never saw such wonderfu lly beauti fu l gold hai r , ex
c laimed Grace,admiringly , gradually getting over her bash
fu lness .The lovely B lue Princess laughed . When I was a little
LITTLE SIR CAT
Lit t le Sir Cat V isit s the O ld W oman W ho
Liv ed in a Sh
Therewas an OldWoman who lived in a shoe,
And it was a pity she didn’
t have'
two .
It was crowded so tight from the heel to the toe
The children were packed lilae sardines in a row .
Well,as Little Si r Cat went on hi s way to find his for
tune in Mother Goose Land , he came in sight of a queerlooking little house , and when he drew nearer he found itwasn ’ t a house at al l but a big shoe , with a little chimney ontop and a tiny door in the toe and two small windows abovethe heel .
“ I ’d ask you to make us a visi t , said the Old Woman ,but , dearie me ! I haven ’t even a spare closet , and rents areso high I ’ve not been able to hi re another o ld shoe .”
“Thank you just the same ,” rep lied Little Si r Cat , andoff he went , and by- and-by, after a whi le , not so very long ,he saw a little bear dressed in a red cap and khaki trousers ,but I don ’ t think he wore anything on his feet because hisclaws were so sharp they made holes in his shoes and hismother wouldn ’t buy him any more .
“I f you want to find you r fortune ! said the little bear,
follow me ,” and he led Little Si r Cat down a narrow pathti l l they came to a cave in a great rock. And
,oh my, i t
LITTLE SIR CAT VISITS THE OLD W OMANW HO LIVED IN A SHOE
Little Sir Catlooked dark inside , but the little bear wasn ’t afraid , and byand-by he found a candle. And when he had lighted it ,they went farther into the big dark cave
’j
till they came toa li ttl e i ron door . But before the little bear opened it
,he
said, “ I f anybody speaks to you, you mustn ’t say anythingbut ‘Bump ty bump Then the l ittle bear opened the doorand there sat twenty-one little dwarfs at a table fi l ling littlebags with gold.
“What are you doing here ! they asked,al l in one voice .
Bump ty bump !” rep lied the little bear.And what are you doing here ! ” And , oh , dear me !
for a moment Little Si r Cat forgot what the littl e bear hadtold him . And i f he hadn ’ t remembered to say “
Bumptybump !” p retty quick I guess something dreadfu l might havehappened .
Then al l the l ittle dwarfs looked frightened to death , andthey whispered together and tried to hide the bags of goldunder the three- legged stool s . But the little bear wou ldn ’tgo away
,and of cou rse Littl e Si r Cat did just what the little
bear did,for he didn ’t know what else to do , you know.
Wel l , after a whi le the dwarfs asked , “What do youwant ! ” And Little Si r Cat rep lied
,
“Bump ty bump !” And
then the little dwarfs looked at one another , and , oh , dearme ! how they did scowl . But p retty soon one of them fi l ledtwo small bags with gold and gave them to him .
“Bump ty bump !” said Little Si r Cat with a bow , and
then the l ittle bear opened the door and led him back throughthe big cave til l they came out into the sunlight again .
And that ’s how Little Si r Cat found his fortune.
