What
funny places the hens choose sometimes!
funny places the hens choose sometimes!
Childrens - Brownies
"Why,
she could not guess -- not because she had been for-
gotten, she was sure of that, for had she not whis-
pered to all the birds in the forest that she was
most anxious to attend this wonderful dance. The
Ostrich was one of the committee, and she knew
she had told him of her wish. At last the truth
slipped out -- one and all thought she talked too
much. Madame Magpie felt very badly about it,
but she decided to keep perfectly quiet, make no
fuss, and see if a time would not come when she
might punish these folks who called themselves
her friends. The days of spring passed by, and
one by one the summer months came creeping on,
and still Madame Magpie could think of no plan
that just exactly pleased her. At last she hit upon
something that suited her perfectly.
Her first movement was to provide herself with
writing material. She needed no pen, for her own
wing served that purpose. Then she proceeded to
write a host of invitations. It kept her busy for
several days, but at last all was finished and each
sent to the proper person.
You see, Madame Magpie had decided to give
a feast, and she had also decided to let these folks
who thought she talked too much see how much
she really could talk.
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? The Magpie's Revenge.
253
At last the day and hour arrived, and the guests
came in crowds. The little hostess had spared no
pains in securing all sorts of good things, and
when all were come, and had taken their places,
and were ready to enjoy the feast, the Madame's
fun began. She commenced chattering at such a
lively rate that the guests were almost distracted.
She rattled on and on, and on, her voice growing
louder and shriller every minute, until one by one
the animals rushed away almost deafened by tne
Magpie s shrieks. Not one was brave enough to
stay, and although the Magpie's throat was raw,
she felt she was revenged.
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? The Searcli for Food.
"Tick Tock ! Tick lock ! Tick tock ! " slowly
and steadily the hands of the kitchen clock moved for-
ward, but still it kept on with its oft-repeating song.
Madame Mouse felt as though she could stand
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? The Search for Food.
255
it no longer. About two hours ago her husband
had crept cautiously out of the cupboard and
across the kitchen floor, and had stolen quietly
down cellar, hoping to find lots to eat for his wife
and hungry little ones. Madame Mouse was grow-
ing very nervous. The cellar was not so far away
that he must be gone two hours. She longed to
go to the cellar herself and see what could have
become of him, but she dared not leave her little
ones alone.
Just as the clock struck again
Madame blouse, who was taking another peep,
spied her husband moving slowly across the room,
the empty bag at his side. He had gone to the
cellar but liad not found a single thing. He
guessed then that the folks had gone away on a
visit, and had left nothing behind them, not even
the tiniest morsel to reward his search. Madame
Mouse and her husband put their heads together
to try to think of some plan for finding food for
their hungry babies. At last they decided that
Father Mouse should try the big hall closet. He
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? 256 The Search for Food.
had once found there a lunch basket belonging to
one of the children, and there was quite a lot in
it, too. As soon as he went into the closet a half
dozen heads or more peeped out from holes in the
floor. " YouVe come to a sorry place for food,"
said they, " we are almost starved. "
Mr. Mouse said not a word but turned towards
home. Having heard from her husband that the
folks were away, Mrs. Mouse and her four babies
had ventured out. Mr. Mouse saw them as soon
as he entered the kitchen. Tiny was in his
mother's arms, while Tip, Top and Teddy huddled
around her. "lam too big a coward," thought
Mr. Mouse, "to go back to them empty handed,"
so he stole away without their having seen him.
He wandered about the shed, wondering what
next to do, when all at once his eyes spied some-
thing round and white gleaming at him from the
corner. " Luck at last," thought he, and it was,
too, for it proved to be a long white candle. A
few seconds brought him to his family, the good
news was told, and they all hurried away to have
a royal feast. It seemed such a treat after the
long waiting: and the tedious search they had had,
and they all felt very thankful, even baby Tiny
who sat in his mother's arms and quietly nibbled
away at his shart.
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? THe Visit to Jerry's.
Feiday afternoon had come round once more,
which meant that lessons were done for the week,
and to-morrow was free from books and study.
Tom and Fred were chums. If the bovs at school
saw Tom without Fred, or Fred without Tom,
they were sure something must be the matter, for
where one went the other went also. They were
in the same class at school ; they played on the
same base-ball team ; they read the same books, in
fact, they did everything as much alike as possible.
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? 258 The Visit to Jerry's.
Now, as they sauntered home from school this Fri-
day afternoon, their brains were busy planning
some way to spend the next day.
" If it were only time to go fishing," said Tom,
" I^m just aching to try my luck with the pole and
line that Uncle gave me at Christmas/'
" I wish some of the fellows could play cricket,"
said Fred, " I want to use my bat. " But wishes
were useless, and this the boys knew, so they went
to thinking once more.
"Let's go see old Jerry, Tom," said Fred,
" we've not seen him for a long time. "
Jerry used to work for Tom's father and was
very fond of the boys. Now he lived on a little
place just outside the city and raised pigs, which
he brought into the town market. This plan
pleased Tom very much, and they agreed to meet
bright and early the next morning, so that they
might have a good long day. Tom's mother had
packed a basket of good things for Jerry, for he
lived all alone, and women's cooking was such a
treat, he once told the boys. It was a beautiful
day, and the boys leaped and shouted when they
had left the city behind them and had entered into
the freedom of the country roads. The sun was
high up in the heavens when they reached Jerry's
and Tom was glad to put down the basket, for it
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? The Vist to Jerri's. 259
was beginning to feel pretty heavy. Fred wanted
to help him, but Tom insisted on carrying it all
alone, too proud to own that he was tired. At
length the cottage where Jerry lived came in sight,
and before long they lifted the latch of the gate
and walked up the gravel walk to the house.
How pleased Jerry was to see them, and how full
of delight over the basket of goodies ! Jerry had
a funny new pet to show the boys that day -- a wee
little pig that he had taught to come into the
kitchen and drink milk from a saucer.
The boys had a fine time, and when they said
good-bye to Jerry they promised him and them-
selves, too, that it would not be long before they
came again.
The opportunity to again pay a visit to Jerry
came in the course of a few months, and bright
and early one Saturday the boys started on their
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? 260 The Visit to Jerry's.
trip. Jerry was delighted to see them, but they
found him in so much trouble that they really
pitied him. It was all on account of the pig that
had been so cute and pretty when they visited him
before. He had sent them a photograph of piggy
as he looked when performing his tricks, and they
fully expected to see him dance and play the fiddle.
This was one great reason they were so anxious to
go out to Jerry's once more, for they were wild to
see this wonderful creature about whom they had
heard so much.
As they drew near the house, they heard the pig
squealing and grunting at a great rate, while above
all the din rose the voice of Jerry, evidently in no
very pleasant frame of mind. Opening the door,
they beheld Jerry standing, hat in hand, and look-
ing very much troubled. Tables and chairs were
overturned, and the stove-pipe was just falling
down, while the stove lay upset on the floor. In
the midst of it all stood a great ugly hog, so huge
that it seemed to fill the whole room. The boys
were thunderstruck to see such a big hog in the
house and wondered how it got there. Then Jerry
explained to them that this was the little pig of
which they had all been so fond. It had kept
growing and growing, and every day he had
thought he would put it out of doors, but he had
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? rhe Visit to Jerry's,
261
not done it, and now it was more of a task than
he could do alone. The boys offered to help him,
and together they drove the pig to the door, but
alas, alas, he was so big that all he could get out-
side the cottage door was his head. He would
have been very glad to get out, for the house was
uncomfortably small, but try as he might, he could
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? 262
Out in the Storm.
get no further. So they decided to set to work
and take down a portion of the wall so as to make
a place large enough for him to get out. It was a
good deal of work, and by the time they got the
work all done it was growing dark and time for
the boys to be starting for home. They felt that
they had had a very exciting day, take it all in all,
and they were glad that they happened to be on
hand to help Jerry in his time of trouble, and
Jerry was no less pleased to think that he had
had such good helpers.
Out in the Storm.
Little Letty Lee had come to Aunt Kuth's
to spend her vacation. Aunt Ruth and UncU
William lived on a great big farm, and they gladly
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? (263)
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? 264 Out in the Storm.
welcomed their little niece, for they loved her
dearly. It made them very happy to hear her
merry voice and to watch her as she ran joyfully
around the place. She made friends with the
cows, patted the horses as they stood in their
stables, and she even made visits to the pen where
the old mother pig and her ten little ones dwelt.
But Letty loved the chickens best of all. She
never tired of watching them, and she would hop
out of bed at the first call to help Aunt Euth
scatter the corn for the breakfast of this hungry
flock. She would jump with delight when Aunt
Euih called, "Chick! Chick! Chick! '' and hens
and roosters, and chickens of all sizes, came
running from every direction. Another of Letty's
amusements was to hunt for the eggs.
What
funny places the hens choose sometimes! Letty
felt sure they were trying to hide from her. One
day she came to the house with fourteen new-laid
eggs in her basket. "Now," said Aunt Ruth,
"let's go right away and put these under old
Biddy, and the first chick she hatches out shall be
yours. " Letty watched every day, and by and by
the shell was broken and out came a tiny baby
bird. Letty was so pleased. One morning a
heavy shower fell and Letty's little chick got lost
from M>>e rest. Uncle William found him when
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? t265)
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? 266 In the Meadow.
he came in from the barn. The poor baby was
sitting on a fence post almost drowned. Letty
wrapped him in soft flannel, tucked him away in
a basket, and in an hour or so he was jumping
around as lively as ever. Oh, how delighted she
was, for she feared the poor little fellow would die.
In the Meadow.
Beside the brook that flowed through the
meadow, bubt>>ling and rippling along day after
day, grew a young tree. It had sufiered greatly
during the long, cold winter, and it sometimes
grew so tired of Jack Frost's pinches and his
strong, icy breath that it wanted to die. But now
old Jack Frost had left the meadow and gone far
north to his snow-clad home, and the warm, gentle
sun smiled so sweetly upon the little tree that it
felt like growing and blooming again, and one by
one it put forth its little leaves until it was fully
decked in its soft, green gown.
A robin saw the pretty tree one day, and thought
what a fine home he and his bride might find
among its branches. So he went busily to work
and soon the dearest little nest rested snugly
almost in the top of the tree, and when it was fin-
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? In the Meadow. 267
ished he brought home his mate, and the tree was
very proud to think that it had been selected as
the home of such a loving pair. But one day
something happened that made the little birds
happy, too, and this is what it was : For some
time four tiny blue eggs had been carefully tended
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? 268 In the Meadow.
by the robins, and at last four little beaks picked
the shell and four little baby robins came out to
live in this great, big world. The tree rocked
them gently, and the mother thought that no baby
robins ever had a prettier cradle than hers. The
robin family stayed in the tree all summer, and
the tree kept growing stronger and stronger, and
taller and taller, and when the birdies flew away
it was only comforted by the promise that the old
birds would come back again the next year. Just
before he flew away the old robin lingered beneath
the tree just long enough to sing a farewell song.
Down by the very brook over which hung the
tree, which was the home of the robins, dwelt a
handsome green frog. He was born there in the
early spring, and before the robins came the tree
had watched little Froggy-woggy with great in-
terest. It wondered to see him growing so fast,
and he looked so jolly v/Ith his great grinning
mouth and his big, bulging eyes. Just as soon as
the sun reached the banks of the little brook
Froggy would perch himself on a smooth stone,
blinking and winking as though the world gave
nothing but happiness to him. Now the tree soon
learned that Froggy loved a little lady frog.
Every morning went the youthful lover to take
his lady love for a walk ; he carried a huge bou-
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? In the Meadow.
269
quet of flowers so beautiful that the bees and but-
terflies followed him, sipping of their sweetness.
One day Froggy and his lady love went away and
never came back again. The tree felt sure they
had found a home for themselves by some other
stream.
A hill sloped up from the brookside, and among
the grasses and low shrubs flowers of all sorts
lifted their heads. Daisies opened their bright
eyes at the peep of morning, and nodded their
sleepy little heads at the coming of the shadows.
The blue violets shyly put forth their bloom, and
the yellow buttercups sparkled and gleamed in the
bright sunshine. But the hillside was most beauti-
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? 270 In the Meadow.
ful when the children coming home from school
stopped to gather the posies. Their chatter and
joyous laughter rang out like the sweetest music,
as beautiful, so thought the tree, as the song of
the birds that sang so sweetly all day long.
One night the flowers and trees were awakened
from their happy dreams by the strangest noise
they had ever heard. The moon was big and
round that night and was shedding her brightest
light, so that the meadow was almost as bright as
day. Flowers lifted their drowsy heads, and the
trees bent and swayed to peep around each other
to find out, if possible, the cause of so much
trouble. They soon discovered that a flock of
young birds tliat had doubtless wandered from
their nests and had stayed out too late had been
attacked by some big, round-eyed owls, and the
loud cry of fear from the young birds as they hur-
ried through the air had wakened all the sleeping
hillside and put sleep to flight.
But the meadow was not only the home of the
birds, the flowers and the fat little frogs, but the
children nsed to go there and spend the long beauti-
ful summer days playing in the soft, green grass
hunting for the birds^ nests and gathering the
bright, pretty flowers. But, best of all, they loved
to chase the butterflies that flitted here and there,
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? The Lost Prize.
^1
drinking the honey from the flower cup*h,*iiid rest-
ing lightly on the nodding grasses. Take it all in
all, the meadow was the most delightful place in
the world, not only for the children, but for all the
merry crowds of birds and insects that made it their
home and their pleasure ground, and none of them
would have known how to get along without it.
The Lost Prize.
Kitty Gray had been brought to her new
\^me in a covered basket. She remembered well
li:)W one of the boys had brought a saucer of new
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? 272
The Lost Prize,
milk to the barn, set it down on the~ floorTand,,
when she and her brothers and sisters were busy
lapping up the milk, she had been picked up, car-
ried to the house, and tucked away in the basket.
It was hours before she was taken out. Time
and time again had she called " Mew ! Mew ! "
iust as loud as ever she could, but it had done no
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? The Lost Prize.
273
good, a gentle voice would always say, " Lie still,
Kitty Gray, and be real good/^
When the basket was opened and Kitty jumped
out she found herself in a place very different
from the big barn in which she had always lived.
But she soon grew to like it very much. She
loved the warm fire, beside which she curled her-
self every night, and the cook gave her lots o^
good things to eat.
Cook sat by the fire reading one night, efK
Kitty lay curled up in her lap. Kit's eyes roam-^fii
lazily around the room until they rested upon ac
empty pickle bottle that cook had left standing on
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? 274
The Lost i=^ze.
the dresser. What was that black object that
kept moving around in the bottle? "As sure as
you are living," thought Kitty Gray, " that is a
mouse. I'll wait until cook goes to bed, and then
I'll have a feast. "
The clock struck ten, and cook put out tke light
and went up stairs. Kit jumped up on the dresser,
peeped in at the mouse, stuck her paw in the
bottle, but no mouse came out. Then Kitty shook
the bottle, then she turned it upside down, but the
mouse would not shake out. Then Kit grew cross,
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? The ! Lost Prize.
275
and seizing the bottle, brought it down crash on a
flat iron that lay Dear. It flew in a hundred
pieces, and away scampered the mouse, right
through a hole in the wall, and so swiftly that
Kitty had no chance at it at all. She was dread-
r. ^^y^ fi
rally disappointed, but that did not help mattei-s,
so she curled herself in a heap by the fire to for-
get her troubles in sleep, but in the future she
will have too much good sense to strike a bottle
on an iron.
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? Rival Babies.
Daddy Bear had gone off on a hunting trip.
He had left Madam Bear and their little son alone,
but he had brought such a fine young lamb from
the neighboring farm-yard that he had no fear of
their being in want while he was gone.
Daddy Bear and his wife were very proud of
their young son. They thought nothing so beauti-
ful as his fat little body and his sharp little eyes,
that looked so bright and charming. His funny
attempts to growl like his parents made them both
laugh merrily.
Very near to the home of the bears dwelt an-
other family. This family consisted of Father
and Mother Fox and their little son. Now the
Fox parents were just as fond and proud of their
baby as Daddy and Madam Bear were of theirs,
and they used often to think that their son was
just a little more cute than Baby Bear. These
two little chaps were born about the same time,
and each had been carefully watched and guarded
by its fond parents, who tried to outdo each other
in their devotion to their babies. If Madam Bear
took her little boy walking, young Master Fox
was soon taken out for a stroll. If little Foxy
appeared in a new Pinafore, Madam Bear lost no
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? (277)
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? 278 The Dance in the Woods.
time in arraying her son in one just like it. So it
went on, and these rival babies grew strong and
hearty, caring not at all for the jealousies of their
mothers, but spending many happy hours together
in play.
One day the two mothers and the two babies
met together in the woods. The youngsters played
haj)pily together, while the mothers sat on a fallen
log and chatted. Finally Mother Bear declared
that her son was the taller.
she could not guess -- not because she had been for-
gotten, she was sure of that, for had she not whis-
pered to all the birds in the forest that she was
most anxious to attend this wonderful dance. The
Ostrich was one of the committee, and she knew
she had told him of her wish. At last the truth
slipped out -- one and all thought she talked too
much. Madame Magpie felt very badly about it,
but she decided to keep perfectly quiet, make no
fuss, and see if a time would not come when she
might punish these folks who called themselves
her friends. The days of spring passed by, and
one by one the summer months came creeping on,
and still Madame Magpie could think of no plan
that just exactly pleased her. At last she hit upon
something that suited her perfectly.
Her first movement was to provide herself with
writing material. She needed no pen, for her own
wing served that purpose. Then she proceeded to
write a host of invitations. It kept her busy for
several days, but at last all was finished and each
sent to the proper person.
You see, Madame Magpie had decided to give
a feast, and she had also decided to let these folks
who thought she talked too much see how much
she really could talk.
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? The Magpie's Revenge.
253
At last the day and hour arrived, and the guests
came in crowds. The little hostess had spared no
pains in securing all sorts of good things, and
when all were come, and had taken their places,
and were ready to enjoy the feast, the Madame's
fun began. She commenced chattering at such a
lively rate that the guests were almost distracted.
She rattled on and on, and on, her voice growing
louder and shriller every minute, until one by one
the animals rushed away almost deafened by tne
Magpie s shrieks. Not one was brave enough to
stay, and although the Magpie's throat was raw,
she felt she was revenged.
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? The Searcli for Food.
"Tick Tock ! Tick lock ! Tick tock ! " slowly
and steadily the hands of the kitchen clock moved for-
ward, but still it kept on with its oft-repeating song.
Madame Mouse felt as though she could stand
(-254)
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? The Search for Food.
255
it no longer. About two hours ago her husband
had crept cautiously out of the cupboard and
across the kitchen floor, and had stolen quietly
down cellar, hoping to find lots to eat for his wife
and hungry little ones. Madame Mouse was grow-
ing very nervous. The cellar was not so far away
that he must be gone two hours. She longed to
go to the cellar herself and see what could have
become of him, but she dared not leave her little
ones alone.
Just as the clock struck again
Madame blouse, who was taking another peep,
spied her husband moving slowly across the room,
the empty bag at his side. He had gone to the
cellar but liad not found a single thing. He
guessed then that the folks had gone away on a
visit, and had left nothing behind them, not even
the tiniest morsel to reward his search. Madame
Mouse and her husband put their heads together
to try to think of some plan for finding food for
their hungry babies. At last they decided that
Father Mouse should try the big hall closet. He
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? 256 The Search for Food.
had once found there a lunch basket belonging to
one of the children, and there was quite a lot in
it, too. As soon as he went into the closet a half
dozen heads or more peeped out from holes in the
floor. " YouVe come to a sorry place for food,"
said they, " we are almost starved. "
Mr. Mouse said not a word but turned towards
home. Having heard from her husband that the
folks were away, Mrs. Mouse and her four babies
had ventured out. Mr. Mouse saw them as soon
as he entered the kitchen. Tiny was in his
mother's arms, while Tip, Top and Teddy huddled
around her. "lam too big a coward," thought
Mr. Mouse, "to go back to them empty handed,"
so he stole away without their having seen him.
He wandered about the shed, wondering what
next to do, when all at once his eyes spied some-
thing round and white gleaming at him from the
corner. " Luck at last," thought he, and it was,
too, for it proved to be a long white candle. A
few seconds brought him to his family, the good
news was told, and they all hurried away to have
a royal feast. It seemed such a treat after the
long waiting: and the tedious search they had had,
and they all felt very thankful, even baby Tiny
who sat in his mother's arms and quietly nibbled
away at his shart.
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? THe Visit to Jerry's.
Feiday afternoon had come round once more,
which meant that lessons were done for the week,
and to-morrow was free from books and study.
Tom and Fred were chums. If the bovs at school
saw Tom without Fred, or Fred without Tom,
they were sure something must be the matter, for
where one went the other went also. They were
in the same class at school ; they played on the
same base-ball team ; they read the same books, in
fact, they did everything as much alike as possible.
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? 258 The Visit to Jerry's.
Now, as they sauntered home from school this Fri-
day afternoon, their brains were busy planning
some way to spend the next day.
" If it were only time to go fishing," said Tom,
" I^m just aching to try my luck with the pole and
line that Uncle gave me at Christmas/'
" I wish some of the fellows could play cricket,"
said Fred, " I want to use my bat. " But wishes
were useless, and this the boys knew, so they went
to thinking once more.
"Let's go see old Jerry, Tom," said Fred,
" we've not seen him for a long time. "
Jerry used to work for Tom's father and was
very fond of the boys. Now he lived on a little
place just outside the city and raised pigs, which
he brought into the town market. This plan
pleased Tom very much, and they agreed to meet
bright and early the next morning, so that they
might have a good long day. Tom's mother had
packed a basket of good things for Jerry, for he
lived all alone, and women's cooking was such a
treat, he once told the boys. It was a beautiful
day, and the boys leaped and shouted when they
had left the city behind them and had entered into
the freedom of the country roads. The sun was
high up in the heavens when they reached Jerry's
and Tom was glad to put down the basket, for it
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? The Vist to Jerri's. 259
was beginning to feel pretty heavy. Fred wanted
to help him, but Tom insisted on carrying it all
alone, too proud to own that he was tired. At
length the cottage where Jerry lived came in sight,
and before long they lifted the latch of the gate
and walked up the gravel walk to the house.
How pleased Jerry was to see them, and how full
of delight over the basket of goodies ! Jerry had
a funny new pet to show the boys that day -- a wee
little pig that he had taught to come into the
kitchen and drink milk from a saucer.
The boys had a fine time, and when they said
good-bye to Jerry they promised him and them-
selves, too, that it would not be long before they
came again.
The opportunity to again pay a visit to Jerry
came in the course of a few months, and bright
and early one Saturday the boys started on their
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? 260 The Visit to Jerry's.
trip. Jerry was delighted to see them, but they
found him in so much trouble that they really
pitied him. It was all on account of the pig that
had been so cute and pretty when they visited him
before. He had sent them a photograph of piggy
as he looked when performing his tricks, and they
fully expected to see him dance and play the fiddle.
This was one great reason they were so anxious to
go out to Jerry's once more, for they were wild to
see this wonderful creature about whom they had
heard so much.
As they drew near the house, they heard the pig
squealing and grunting at a great rate, while above
all the din rose the voice of Jerry, evidently in no
very pleasant frame of mind. Opening the door,
they beheld Jerry standing, hat in hand, and look-
ing very much troubled. Tables and chairs were
overturned, and the stove-pipe was just falling
down, while the stove lay upset on the floor. In
the midst of it all stood a great ugly hog, so huge
that it seemed to fill the whole room. The boys
were thunderstruck to see such a big hog in the
house and wondered how it got there. Then Jerry
explained to them that this was the little pig of
which they had all been so fond. It had kept
growing and growing, and every day he had
thought he would put it out of doors, but he had
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? rhe Visit to Jerry's,
261
not done it, and now it was more of a task than
he could do alone. The boys offered to help him,
and together they drove the pig to the door, but
alas, alas, he was so big that all he could get out-
side the cottage door was his head. He would
have been very glad to get out, for the house was
uncomfortably small, but try as he might, he could
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? 262
Out in the Storm.
get no further. So they decided to set to work
and take down a portion of the wall so as to make
a place large enough for him to get out. It was a
good deal of work, and by the time they got the
work all done it was growing dark and time for
the boys to be starting for home. They felt that
they had had a very exciting day, take it all in all,
and they were glad that they happened to be on
hand to help Jerry in his time of trouble, and
Jerry was no less pleased to think that he had
had such good helpers.
Out in the Storm.
Little Letty Lee had come to Aunt Kuth's
to spend her vacation. Aunt Ruth and UncU
William lived on a great big farm, and they gladly
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? (263)
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? 264 Out in the Storm.
welcomed their little niece, for they loved her
dearly. It made them very happy to hear her
merry voice and to watch her as she ran joyfully
around the place. She made friends with the
cows, patted the horses as they stood in their
stables, and she even made visits to the pen where
the old mother pig and her ten little ones dwelt.
But Letty loved the chickens best of all. She
never tired of watching them, and she would hop
out of bed at the first call to help Aunt Euth
scatter the corn for the breakfast of this hungry
flock. She would jump with delight when Aunt
Euih called, "Chick! Chick! Chick! '' and hens
and roosters, and chickens of all sizes, came
running from every direction. Another of Letty's
amusements was to hunt for the eggs.
What
funny places the hens choose sometimes! Letty
felt sure they were trying to hide from her. One
day she came to the house with fourteen new-laid
eggs in her basket. "Now," said Aunt Ruth,
"let's go right away and put these under old
Biddy, and the first chick she hatches out shall be
yours. " Letty watched every day, and by and by
the shell was broken and out came a tiny baby
bird. Letty was so pleased. One morning a
heavy shower fell and Letty's little chick got lost
from M>>e rest. Uncle William found him when
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? t265)
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? 266 In the Meadow.
he came in from the barn. The poor baby was
sitting on a fence post almost drowned. Letty
wrapped him in soft flannel, tucked him away in
a basket, and in an hour or so he was jumping
around as lively as ever. Oh, how delighted she
was, for she feared the poor little fellow would die.
In the Meadow.
Beside the brook that flowed through the
meadow, bubt>>ling and rippling along day after
day, grew a young tree. It had sufiered greatly
during the long, cold winter, and it sometimes
grew so tired of Jack Frost's pinches and his
strong, icy breath that it wanted to die. But now
old Jack Frost had left the meadow and gone far
north to his snow-clad home, and the warm, gentle
sun smiled so sweetly upon the little tree that it
felt like growing and blooming again, and one by
one it put forth its little leaves until it was fully
decked in its soft, green gown.
A robin saw the pretty tree one day, and thought
what a fine home he and his bride might find
among its branches. So he went busily to work
and soon the dearest little nest rested snugly
almost in the top of the tree, and when it was fin-
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? In the Meadow. 267
ished he brought home his mate, and the tree was
very proud to think that it had been selected as
the home of such a loving pair. But one day
something happened that made the little birds
happy, too, and this is what it was : For some
time four tiny blue eggs had been carefully tended
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? 268 In the Meadow.
by the robins, and at last four little beaks picked
the shell and four little baby robins came out to
live in this great, big world. The tree rocked
them gently, and the mother thought that no baby
robins ever had a prettier cradle than hers. The
robin family stayed in the tree all summer, and
the tree kept growing stronger and stronger, and
taller and taller, and when the birdies flew away
it was only comforted by the promise that the old
birds would come back again the next year. Just
before he flew away the old robin lingered beneath
the tree just long enough to sing a farewell song.
Down by the very brook over which hung the
tree, which was the home of the robins, dwelt a
handsome green frog. He was born there in the
early spring, and before the robins came the tree
had watched little Froggy-woggy with great in-
terest. It wondered to see him growing so fast,
and he looked so jolly v/Ith his great grinning
mouth and his big, bulging eyes. Just as soon as
the sun reached the banks of the little brook
Froggy would perch himself on a smooth stone,
blinking and winking as though the world gave
nothing but happiness to him. Now the tree soon
learned that Froggy loved a little lady frog.
Every morning went the youthful lover to take
his lady love for a walk ; he carried a huge bou-
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? In the Meadow.
269
quet of flowers so beautiful that the bees and but-
terflies followed him, sipping of their sweetness.
One day Froggy and his lady love went away and
never came back again. The tree felt sure they
had found a home for themselves by some other
stream.
A hill sloped up from the brookside, and among
the grasses and low shrubs flowers of all sorts
lifted their heads. Daisies opened their bright
eyes at the peep of morning, and nodded their
sleepy little heads at the coming of the shadows.
The blue violets shyly put forth their bloom, and
the yellow buttercups sparkled and gleamed in the
bright sunshine. But the hillside was most beauti-
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? 270 In the Meadow.
ful when the children coming home from school
stopped to gather the posies. Their chatter and
joyous laughter rang out like the sweetest music,
as beautiful, so thought the tree, as the song of
the birds that sang so sweetly all day long.
One night the flowers and trees were awakened
from their happy dreams by the strangest noise
they had ever heard. The moon was big and
round that night and was shedding her brightest
light, so that the meadow was almost as bright as
day. Flowers lifted their drowsy heads, and the
trees bent and swayed to peep around each other
to find out, if possible, the cause of so much
trouble. They soon discovered that a flock of
young birds tliat had doubtless wandered from
their nests and had stayed out too late had been
attacked by some big, round-eyed owls, and the
loud cry of fear from the young birds as they hur-
ried through the air had wakened all the sleeping
hillside and put sleep to flight.
But the meadow was not only the home of the
birds, the flowers and the fat little frogs, but the
children nsed to go there and spend the long beauti-
ful summer days playing in the soft, green grass
hunting for the birds^ nests and gathering the
bright, pretty flowers. But, best of all, they loved
to chase the butterflies that flitted here and there,
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? The Lost Prize.
^1
drinking the honey from the flower cup*h,*iiid rest-
ing lightly on the nodding grasses. Take it all in
all, the meadow was the most delightful place in
the world, not only for the children, but for all the
merry crowds of birds and insects that made it their
home and their pleasure ground, and none of them
would have known how to get along without it.
The Lost Prize.
Kitty Gray had been brought to her new
\^me in a covered basket. She remembered well
li:)W one of the boys had brought a saucer of new
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? 272
The Lost Prize,
milk to the barn, set it down on the~ floorTand,,
when she and her brothers and sisters were busy
lapping up the milk, she had been picked up, car-
ried to the house, and tucked away in the basket.
It was hours before she was taken out. Time
and time again had she called " Mew ! Mew ! "
iust as loud as ever she could, but it had done no
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? The Lost Prize.
273
good, a gentle voice would always say, " Lie still,
Kitty Gray, and be real good/^
When the basket was opened and Kitty jumped
out she found herself in a place very different
from the big barn in which she had always lived.
But she soon grew to like it very much. She
loved the warm fire, beside which she curled her-
self every night, and the cook gave her lots o^
good things to eat.
Cook sat by the fire reading one night, efK
Kitty lay curled up in her lap. Kit's eyes roam-^fii
lazily around the room until they rested upon ac
empty pickle bottle that cook had left standing on
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? 274
The Lost i=^ze.
the dresser. What was that black object that
kept moving around in the bottle? "As sure as
you are living," thought Kitty Gray, " that is a
mouse. I'll wait until cook goes to bed, and then
I'll have a feast. "
The clock struck ten, and cook put out tke light
and went up stairs. Kit jumped up on the dresser,
peeped in at the mouse, stuck her paw in the
bottle, but no mouse came out. Then Kitty shook
the bottle, then she turned it upside down, but the
mouse would not shake out. Then Kit grew cross,
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? The ! Lost Prize.
275
and seizing the bottle, brought it down crash on a
flat iron that lay Dear. It flew in a hundred
pieces, and away scampered the mouse, right
through a hole in the wall, and so swiftly that
Kitty had no chance at it at all. She was dread-
r. ^^y^ fi
rally disappointed, but that did not help mattei-s,
so she curled herself in a heap by the fire to for-
get her troubles in sleep, but in the future she
will have too much good sense to strike a bottle
on an iron.
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? Rival Babies.
Daddy Bear had gone off on a hunting trip.
He had left Madam Bear and their little son alone,
but he had brought such a fine young lamb from
the neighboring farm-yard that he had no fear of
their being in want while he was gone.
Daddy Bear and his wife were very proud of
their young son. They thought nothing so beauti-
ful as his fat little body and his sharp little eyes,
that looked so bright and charming. His funny
attempts to growl like his parents made them both
laugh merrily.
Very near to the home of the bears dwelt an-
other family. This family consisted of Father
and Mother Fox and their little son. Now the
Fox parents were just as fond and proud of their
baby as Daddy and Madam Bear were of theirs,
and they used often to think that their son was
just a little more cute than Baby Bear. These
two little chaps were born about the same time,
and each had been carefully watched and guarded
by its fond parents, who tried to outdo each other
in their devotion to their babies. If Madam Bear
took her little boy walking, young Master Fox
was soon taken out for a stroll. If little Foxy
appeared in a new Pinafore, Madam Bear lost no
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? (277)
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? 278 The Dance in the Woods.
time in arraying her son in one just like it. So it
went on, and these rival babies grew strong and
hearty, caring not at all for the jealousies of their
mothers, but spending many happy hours together
in play.
One day the two mothers and the two babies
met together in the woods. The youngsters played
haj)pily together, while the mothers sat on a fallen
log and chatted. Finally Mother Bear declared
that her son was the taller.
