No More Learning

There they stood, one against the other on either
side of the candle, and nibbled away until not a
thing but the string remained. At first they did
not like the taste of candle very much, but when
they had finished, they one and all decided that it
was not the worst fare in the world after all, and
some of them concluded that they really liked the
candle much better than they did the ginger snaps.
At any rate, they felt repaid for their trouble and
decided that some night they would all go again
to the kitchen and get another candle.
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? The Mouse's Easter Egg.
It was spring, and it was Easter time. The
mice knew it was Easter because one of them while
rummaging in the kitchen cupboard for a nibble
of something liad overheard the cook giving the
order to the grocer's boy. Miss Mousey had heard
her say -- " I want a great many eggs, for I have
promised to dye some for the children, and besides
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? The Mouse^s Easter Egg. 245
Easter is not Easter without plenty of eggs. "
The grocer's boy seemed to be of the same opinion,
and cook laughed merrily when he told her how
many he could eat.
Now Miss Mousey made up her mind that if
cook and the grocer's boy found eggs such fine
food, she must certainly try to have one for her
breakfast on Easter day.
Such a commotion as reigned in the kitchen on
Saturday morning ! Of course the children had
no school, and they all wanted to help cook. You
should have heard the bursts of gleeful laughter
as the blue and crimson, green, purple and yellow
eggs were put on a platter to cool. Miss Mousey
saw and heard it all as she sat peeping through a
crack in the cupboard door that morning. "If
they will only leave them on the platter until to-
morrow," thought Miss Mousey, "I can easily
help myself, and I know the children will not
mind letting me have just one. " Fortune was
good to this little gray lady, and when cook fixed
the fire for the night and turned out the gas, the
eggs still stood on the plate. Now Miss Mousey
knew that her two young brothers would like to
try the eggs just as well as she, so she asked them
to come with her, and armed with knife, fork and
spoon they started on their journey.
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? 246
The Mouse's Easter Egg.
It was easy enough to reach the egg, but not
quite so easy to take it home. It was so round
and so smooth that, try as they might, not one
could manage it. At last Miss IMousey jumped
for joy -- she had hit on a splendid plan. It was
the easiest thing in the world to manage. She
would lie down flat on her back, hold the egg with
her four little feet, and then her two strong brothers
could pull her along by her tail. To think was to
act this time and before many minutes the egg was
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? The Monkeys^ Trick. 247
landed in a safe hiding-place to stay until morning.
Then what a feast they had and how proud the
brothers were to think that all had been so well
managed by their gray sister.
The Monkeys' Trick.
Jocko and Jerry were two iiv^ely, long-tailed
monkeys that lived with their father and mother
in the sunny, Southern lands. They were the
most mischievous little fellows you could well im-
agine, and their poor mother punished and scolded
them all the time, but all in vain ; hardly a day
passed that Jocko or Jerry did not get into some
kind of trouble.
It was great fun to watch them skipping from
tree to tree in search of the large, yellow bananas
that grew in great quantities near their home, or
climbing after the cocoanuts they so dearly lovea,
and which furnished many a dainty meal for the
hungry youngsters.
Jocko and Jerry seemed never to be still. If
they wTre not jumping from limb to limb of the
tall forest trees they were swinging from the
branches by their tails, which they twisted securely
around the limbs, or else they were cutting up
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? 248
The Monkeys' Trick.
some other kind of caper. When night came they
needed no rocking, for so tired were they that they
hardly had time to settle themselves for the night
before they were in dreamland.
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? The Monkeys' Trick. 249
Brown Bruin was a solemn, dignified bear that
dwelt in the forest where the monkey family lived.
He had grown so fat in his old age that his greatest
pleasure was to take things easy. Hurrying and
scurrying were not to his liking, and the merry,
chattering ways of Jocko and Jerry bothered him
no little. He had many times talked to them, and
tried to show them how much better it was to live
a quiet, peaceful life. The little monkeys listened
to all he said, and they seemed so solemn that
Brown Bruin felt sure his words had not been in
vain ; but time showed him his mistake.
Old Bruin had among his possessions a beauti-
ful red hammock that he prized very highly, not
only for itself, but for the many happy hours he
had spent in it. He swung it up one morning as
usual, and, placing his high hat on the ground be-
neath, crawled into the hammock to read his morn-
ing paper and take a little nap. Jocko and Jerry
watched the bear preparing to spend a comfortable
morning and decided to play a trick on him. So
they sat very quietly, hidden among the leaves,
until Bruin was lost in the reading of his paper.
Poor fellow ! He was so deeply engaged in reading
the report of the stock market and wondering
whether he would not be able to indulge in a little
veal, mutton and pork, now they were going so
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? 250 The Monkeys' Trick.
low, that he had not noticed that the monkeys were
near. They stole down, and Jocko witli his sharp
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? The Magpie's Revenge. 251
little knife cut the rope, and down went Mr. Bruin
all in a heap. How these merry little monkeys did
chatter and laugh when they saw the old fellow on
the ground, but they had good sense enough to run
away as fast as they could go, for they knew, if
they were caught, they would get a good scolding,
and they should have a good hard scolding, for
they were very naughty monkeys, indeed, to dis-
turb the poor bear in his hammock.
Poor Bruin did not know what to make of it
when he found himself suddenly landed on his
head on the hard ground, but he soon made up his
mind that it was all a trick which mischievous
Jocko and Jerry had played on him, and he felt
very badly to think that his fine silk hat was ruined
and his hammock injured just through the work
of frolicsome monkeys, and he decided that he
would find some other place to spend his leisure,
where he would not be troubled by such naughty
little creatures as Jocko and Jerry.
THe Magpie's Revenge.
It was all due to the treatment which Madame
Magpie had received at the time of the great ball
in the early spring. Invitations had been sent
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? 252 The Magpie's Revenge.
far and near, and she had been slighted. "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.