jim c row's 
 
 :an g uag e 
 
 LES S O NS 
 
 JMD OTHER. STORCES OF 
 
 ►IRDS & ANIMALS 
 
 JULIA DARROW C OWlMB 
 

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A BIG BLACK CROW PICKED UP THE HANDKERCHIEF AND FLEW OFF 
 WITH IT. 
 
JIM CROW'S 
 LANGUAGE LESSONS 
 
 AND OTHER STORIES 
 OF BIRDS AND ANIMALS 
 
 -^ - =5=» -= ; =s» -«=S» By «5» «-^ <sp- -*5=»> 
 
 JULIA DARROW C0WLE5 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THOnAS Y. CROWELL & C° 
 
 PUBLISHERS. 
 
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 J&kU- 
 
Copyright, 1003, 
 By Julia Darrow Cowles. 
 
 Published September, IQ03. 
 
95*6 
 
 LOVINGLY DEDICATED 
 
 TO 
 MY FOUR CHILDREN 
 
 ?fa$el, iFlorence, HagmontJ, anto ^tifeoarti 
 
 WHOSE LOVE FOR PETS AND ANIMALS 
 
 LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR 
 
 THESE STORIES 
 
 48677 
 
The author wishes to acknowledge the 
 courtesy of the editors of " The Youth's 
 Companion/' "The New York Observer," 
 "Happy Hours/' "Little Folks," " Our 
 Little Ones/' and "The Weekly Magnet/' 
 in whose papers some of the following 
 stories have appeared, and whose cordial 
 good will has encouraged her to offer them, 
 with others which have not been published, 
 in this more permanent form. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Jim Crow's Language Lesson .... 9 
 
 A Saucy Thief 16 
 
 Mrs. Wiggins' Sweet Peas 23 
 
 Tipple's Visit 31 
 
 Ponce's Vacation 36 
 
 Brave Trix 43 
 
 Peter's Boarding-House 48 
 
 How Muff won her Way 54 
 
 How the Kittens were Named .... 61 
 
 Old Woolly Stockings 64 
 
 The Bescue of Mother Hen's Family . 69 
 
 A Bestaurant for Birds 75 
 
 A Saucy Band of Bobbers 82 
 
 A Bace 88 
 
 A Winter Walk 92 
 
 The Dog that Telegraphed 99 
 
 What Grandma Sent ....... 103 
 
 An Unexpected Parade 107 
 
 The Booster's Joke 112 
 
 The Bird that Sang in the Night . . 115 
 
JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE 
 LESSON. 
 
 TT^ARLY one summer Ray and Elsa Wil- 
 -*— * cox went with their papa to visit 
 some cousins who lived in the country. 
 The cousins were named Ernest and Flor- 
 ence, and the four children had all sorts of 
 fun. 
 
 They especially enjoyed going off into 
 the woods which skirted the farm, where 
 they found the loveliest places to play, and 
 where they could study the curious habits 
 of the birds and squirrels. One morning 
 while they were playing tree tag, Ray, who 
 had gone quite a distance from the rest, 
 heard curious and persistent cries from the 
 tree over his head. 
 
 9 
 
10 JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 
 
 He called the other children, and they 
 all listened. 
 
 "It must be a lot of } r oung birds, but 
 what a noise they make ! " said Ray. 
 
 Ernest stood still a moment and then 
 exclaimed, " They 're crows ! I see the 
 nest ! " 
 
 Then, after watching for some time, the 
 children went back to the house, but all the 
 way there they were followed by the cries 
 of the birds. 
 
 In the afternoon they again went to the 
 woods, and took Mr. Wilcox with them. 
 The birds were still crying in a distressed 
 way, and Mr. Wilcox concluded that the 
 parent birds had been killed, and that the 
 young crows were hungry. 
 
 Then, to the delight of the children, he 
 climbed the tree, loosened the nest from 
 its fastenings and brought it down with the 
 birds in it. 
 
 It turned out as the children had guessed. 
 
JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 11 
 
 They were crows — and there were four of 
 them. 
 
 The nest was taken carefully to the 
 house, and for the next few weeks the 
 birds were fed and cared for by the children 
 till they grew to be quite large, and were 
 very tame. 
 
 When Ray and Elsa went home they 
 took two of the crows with them, and as 
 the birds were now well grown and able 
 to care for themselves, they were given a 
 home in the hen-house with the fowls. At 
 first there was a great commotion over the 
 strangers, but in time the occupants of 
 the hen-house grew quite friendly, and the 
 birds took their breakfast with the chickens 
 quite as though that was the usual manner 
 of crows. 
 
 The children thought a great deal of 
 their odd pets, and when in the autumn 
 one of them flew away with a passing flock 
 of crows, they felt very badly about it. 
 
12 JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 
 
 The remaining crow was known as Jim ; 
 and as he was the more mischievous of the 
 two, and the one which seemed to have the 
 greater intelligence, the children doubled 
 their attentions to him, and became recon- 
 ciled to the loss of his mate. 
 
 All winter Jim lived with the fowls, and, 
 as later events proved, he did not pass the 
 time in idleness, but sought during these 
 months to broaden his education and acquire 
 a foreign language. 
 
 One day early in the spring Ray thought 
 it warm enough to let the hens out in the 
 yard to be fed. As he was scattering the 
 grain about he heard a distant cackling on 
 the housetop, far above his head. 
 
 "How on earth could a hen get up there ! " 
 he exclaimed in astonishment, as he looked 
 around. 
 
 But it was n't a hen, it was Jim Crow, 
 cackling away in great glee. How Ray 
 laughed! Then he ran into the house to 
 
JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 13 
 
 call Elsa, but when she came out Jim was 
 cawing in his usual crow language. 
 
 A few days later, however, when the 
 hens had again been given the liberty of 
 the yard, Elsa saw Jim following them 
 about, and this time, much to her delight, 
 imitating exactly their contented clucking. 
 
 Elsa stood and watched him, for his 
 way of imitating their manner of walk 
 and search for food was as funny as the 
 noise he was making. Just then Elsa 
 noticed that some people passing on the 
 sidewalk had been attracted by the crow's 
 accomplishment, and they, too, had stopped 
 to watch him. But it was not many minutes 
 before Jim realized this, and with a sudden 
 "caw" he flew straight before their faces, 
 almost brushing against them with his 
 wings. The unexpected movement startled 
 them so that they jumped, and one of the 
 ladies of the group cried out in alarm. 
 
 This seemed to amuse Jim greatly, for he 
 
14 JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 
 
 perched upon a tree across the way and 
 screamed, " Caw ! caw! caw!" exactly as 
 though he were laughing at his own per- 
 formance. 
 
 After Jim had learned to imitate the 
 hens so well, he turned his mind to a 
 higher branch of education, much as a 
 scholar who has mastered Latin next turns 
 his attention to Greek. 
 
 It was later in the summer when the 
 children noticed that he was beginning to 
 strut around the yard after the big rooster. 
 He held up his head and lifted his legs 
 with a genuine rooster strut which was in- 
 describably comical. The children laughed, 
 of course, and although Jim never could be 
 coaxed to " show off " it was certain that 
 he enjoyed having his antics appreciated. 
 
 But his self-esteem was destined to have 
 a fall. After he had learned to walk like 
 the rooster, he evidently thought it time to 
 talk like one. 
 
JIM CROW'S LANGUAGE LESSON. 15 
 
 He was strutting around one day, and the 
 children, unknown to him, were watching. 
 Presently he opened his mouth, stretched 
 out his neck, and beyond a doubt tried to 
 crow. It was a dismal failure, however, and 
 sounded much more like a croak than a crow. 
 
 Both the children shouted with laughter. 
 Poor Jim heard them, glanced quickly 
 round with the drollest of faces, and flew 
 to the shelter of the hen-house, where no 
 amount of coaxing could get him out for a 
 long time. Nor was he ever known to at- 
 tempt to crow again, although later on he 
 regained sufficient confidence in himself to 
 strut around after the rooster in his old 
 fashion. 
 
 Greatly to the regret of the children, 
 the following autumn Jim followed the 
 example of his mate and flew away with a 
 flock of crows ; and Ray and Elsa are sure 
 that the chickens miss him as much as 
 they do. 
 
A SAUCY THIEF. 
 
 EALPH had been sick a whole month, 
 and now that he was able to sit up 
 again, he liked to have his chair by the 
 window, where he could look out and watch 
 the men who were at work upon a new 
 house being built next door. 
 
 He was very glad that the men were at 
 work here just at this time, for the days 
 sometimes seemed very long to him, and 
 to see a house growing before his eyes was 
 so interesting that he could watch it almost 
 for hours at a time. Nothing else helped 
 so well to pass the long days away. 
 
 But one day the funniest thing happened 
 at the new house. A strange workman 
 appeared upon the scene, but this workman 
 hindered more than he helped. 
 
 16 
 
A SAUCY THIEF. 17 
 
 Ralph was at his accustomed place at 
 the window and was watching a carpenter 
 measure pieces of lumber for a certain 
 part of the building. Ralph saw him take 
 out his rule and mark the length with 
 a pencil. He then laid the pencil down 
 beside him while he sawed the board. Pretty 
 soon he looked around to get his pencil and 
 it was gone. He searched for it a few min- 
 utes, then he took another pencil from his 
 pocket. He marked another board with 
 this and laid it down as before, but when 
 he wanted it again, that one, too, was gone. 
 
 The man now began to look vexed, and 
 he searched all about, probably expecting 
 to find some mischievous boy around, Ralph 
 thought. But finding no boy and no pen- 
 cils, he borrowed another pencil from one 
 of the workmen, and this time when he got 
 through using it he put it in his pocket. 
 So he managed in this way to keep the one 
 he had borrowed. 
 
18 A SAUCY THIEF. 
 
 Presently he finished measuring all the 
 boards he needed, and began nailing them 
 in place. He took a handful of nails from 
 the pocket of the big apron that he wore 
 and laid them down within easy reach. 
 He used a few of them and when he 
 reached around for more, there were no 
 more in sight. Then he stood straight up, 
 took off his cap, and scratched his head. 
 
 Ralph had been watching all this time, 
 and had seen where all the missing articles 
 went, and now at the man's perplexity he 
 laughed aloud. Mamma, who was in the 
 next room, heard the merry laugh and it 
 did her good. She determined to go in, as 
 soon as she had finished the dusting, and see 
 what was amusing Ralph so much. 
 
 After the loss of his nails, the workman 
 seemed to think something was wrong. He 
 looked all about, questioned some of the 
 other carpenters, and finally went to work 
 once more. But this time he took the nails 
 
A SAUCY THIEF. 19 
 
 from his pocket only as he needed them, 
 and once in a while he wonld look around 
 as though watching for somebody. But as 
 nobody appeared, he at last seemed to for- 
 get his mysterious losses and to work on in 
 his usual manner. 
 
 It was a warm day, and as the sun rose 
 higher he began to feel very warm. Ralph 
 could see how heated he looked, and finally 
 he took out a large red handkerchief and 
 wiped his forehead. 
 
 He seemed a very absent-minded sort of 
 workman, for now he laid his handkerchief 
 down beside him while he again turned to 
 his work. 
 
 " Mamma, come quick, quick ! " Ralph 
 shouted, and mamma hurried to his side. 
 
 He pointed to the window. " Now watch 
 that man's handkerchief,'' he said. " Don't 
 take your eyes from it." 
 
 Mamma wondered what Ralph meant, 
 but she did as he said, and pretty soon, 
 
20 A SAUCY THIEF. 
 
 when the man had gone to work and quite 
 turned his back to his handkerchief, down 
 swooped a big black crow, picked up the 
 handkerchief and flew off with it. 
 
 Then how Ralph did laugh and clap his 
 hands! "It's just too funny, mamma/' 
 he said. And then he explained to her how 
 the crow had been playing jokes on the 
 carpenter all the morning. 
 
 Mamma laughed, too, and then she said, 
 " I think, Ralph, that we will have to arrest 
 Mr. Crow. Shall we tell the man who his 
 tormentor is ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Ralph ; " only do please wait 
 until he finds his handkerchief gone." 
 
 So they waited, and presently the man 
 turned to take up his handkerchief, for he 
 had grown very warm again. His look of 
 blank astonishment when he found it gone 
 was too much for both Ralph and mamma, 
 and they laughed till the tears stood in 
 their eyes. 
 
A SAUCY THIEF. 
 
 Then mamma went out on the front 
 steps and tried to call to the man, but he 
 was shouting and motioning to the other 
 workmen in such a frantic way, that she 
 had to go over to the building before she 
 could make him hear her. 
 
 Ralph watched from the window. He 
 saw the man turn at last and listen to what 
 his mamma had to say, and then he saw them 
 both go around to the farther end of a pile 
 of lumber, where there was a space between 
 two boards ; and there, safely stowed away, 
 were the pencils, the nails, and the handker- 
 chief ! 
 
 Then Ralph saw mamma point up into 
 the branches of a tree which stood near; 
 and as she did so, there came from it a 
 saucy cry of " Caw ! caw ! caw ! " 
 
 The other workmen shouted with laugh- 
 ter. At first the subject of Mr. Crow's 
 practical joke was inclined to be angry, but 
 
A A SAUCY THIEF. 
 
 at last his better nature conquered, and he 
 laughed with the rest. 
 
 As he went back to work, Ralph saw him 
 take the handkerchief and tie it under his 
 chin, and mamma explained when she 
 came in that he said he would have to tie 
 his cap on next, or the bird would be fly- 
 ing; off with that. 
 
 But Jim Crow seemed satisfied with his 
 morning's work, and after his trick was 
 discovered he flew off home, and the poor 
 workman was left in peace. 
 
 Ralph was so much better the next day, 
 that mamma said she believed his laughing 
 over the crow's pranks had done him more 
 good than medicine. 
 
MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS 
 
 "A /TRS. WIGGINS was cross ; really cross. 
 -L*J- She had planted and watered and 
 weeded her sweet pea bed, till it was full 
 of delicate buds just beginning to show a 
 promise of the pink and lavender and red 
 and white glories that would soon gladden 
 her eyes. 
 
 "They will be out by morning, I am 
 sure," Mrs. Wiggins had said as she took 
 a last look at them in the twilight ; and 
 she had even dreamed of them in her sleep. 
 She was a lonely woman, who had lived to 
 middle life without any children about her 
 to brighten up the sombre little home, and 
 her blossoms meant a great deal to her. 
 
 In the morning she went out to the 
 yard early, and behold, her vines were bare 
 
 23 
 
24 MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 
 
 of every blossom ! There coulb de no mis- 
 take, — somebody bad picked them, — for 
 did not the little empty stems stand shak- 
 ing in the wind with indignation ? 
 
 At first Mrs. Wiggins was too much as- 
 tonished to speak, if indeed there had been 
 anybody to speak to. But finally she found 
 her voice, and it was a very angry one in- 
 deed. 
 
 " It 's those Martin children ; I just know 
 it is. There 's nobody else around here so 
 mischievous as they are, and it must have 
 been they." 
 
 I suppose she was talking to the little 
 stems, but they only shook in the wind 
 and answered never a word. 
 
 Mrs. Wiggins went into the house, but 
 her breakfast did not suit her and none of 
 her work went right. The more she thought 
 of her sweet peas, the surer she became that 
 the Martin children had taken them, until 
 at last she felt as though she actually had 
 
MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 25 
 
 seen them do it. So when little Bessie 
 Martin went tripping past her house along 
 toward noon, she stalked to the door and 
 exclaimed, 
 
 " What in the world did you children take 
 my sweet peas for, I 'd like to know ! " 
 
 Bessie stopped, and her big, brown eyes, 
 looked up in wonder. u I did n't take 
 your sweet peas, Mrs. Wiggins," she said. 
 
 " Well, some of you must have, and I 
 should think you 'd be ashamed of your- 
 selves ! " And then Mrs. Wiggins disap- 
 peared and the door closed with a bang. 
 
 Bessie stood a moment, too much sur- 
 prised to move. Then with a burst of 
 tears she turned about and sped home. 
 Ben, who was several years older, met her 
 at the gate. 
 
 " What 's the matter ? " he exclaimed, 
 for it was something unusual to find Bessie 
 in tears. 
 
 " Somebody has stolen Mrs. Wiggins' 
 
26 MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 
 
 sweet peas, and she thinks it's us," said 
 Bessie, losing sight of her grammar in her 
 excitement. 
 
 Ben was indignant. 
 
 "I'll find out who stole those flowers, if 
 for no other reason than to show her we 
 didn't do it!" he said; and he kept his 
 word. 
 
 All that day he kept one eye — as he ex- 
 pressed it — on Mrs. Wiggins' sweet-pea bed, 
 but there was nothing worth while to see. 
 But early the next morning he was out 
 weeding his vegetable garden, and suddenly 
 he remembered the sweet peas. He looked 
 across to Mrs. Wiggins', and there, in the 
 very act of picking a beautiful blossom, was 
 his own pet crow. His first impulse was 
 to rush at the bird, but then he thought he 
 would wait and see what was done with the 
 blossoms. Jim Crow flew from the vines 
 to the gate-post, where he worked away for 
 a time, and then flew back for another 
 
MBS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 27 
 
 blossom. But Ben was too quick for him, 
 and drove him home in disgrace. 
 
 Then Ben went in and told Bessie all 
 about it — how Jim Crow had picked the 
 blossoms and poked them all into a crevice 
 under the top of the gate-post. Bessie had 
 been very much troubled by Mrs. Wiggins' 
 accusation, and now she said, " I '11 go and 
 see Mrs. Wiggins to-day." 
 
 "I guess I wouldn't go near her," Ben 
 said. " She was cross enough to you yester- 
 day morning, I should think. You had bet- 
 ter keep away." 
 
 " Oh, but I don't want her to be cross," 
 Bessie answered with a bright little smile; 
 " and that is the reason I am going over to 
 explain." 
 
 " Well, if the matter must be explained," 
 said Ben, half won over by Bessie's smile, 
 " let me go and do it. I '11 tell her it was 
 Jim Crow that did it, and that she 'd better 
 not speak to you again the way she did." 
 
28 MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 
 
 At that Bessie laughed outright. " Now, 
 Ben," she said, " you know you would n't 
 say that, when you got there, and it 
 would n't do, anyway. No, indeed ; I know 
 a much better way than that. I '11 make 
 it all right, you see if I don't.'' 
 
 " Very well," answered Ben ; " I suppose 
 you 're right ; but I don't envy you your 
 visit.'' Ben knew that Bessie's kind, happy 
 ways were much more apt to set things 
 right than were his own, so he gave vent 
 to his feelings by going out to the yard and 
 bestowing a good scolding upon Jim Crow. 
 But Jim only said, " Caw, caw," in a very 
 saucy way. 
 
 As Mrs. Wiggins was washing her break- 
 fast dishes, Bessie suddenly appeared in the 
 doorway with something square and hard 
 in her fat little hands. She stepped into 
 the room and sat down on the floor. 
 
 " Mrs. Wiggins," she said, " it ivas one of 
 us that took your sweet peas, but it was n't 
 
MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 29 
 
 one of us children. It was our Jim Crow, 
 and I can show you just where he hid the 
 blossoms. But as long as he belongs to us, 
 I suppose we 're responsible for him, and so 
 I thought I 'd pay you for the flowers he 
 took ; '' and with that she grasped the hard 
 object which had been lying in her lap and 
 began to shake it. It was her bank, and 
 out the pennies began to roll. 
 
 Mrs. Wiggins was once more too much 
 astonished to speak. She stood and looked 
 at the little girl on the floor. She was still 
 shaking her bank, while the pennies rolled 
 in all directions. 
 
 Perhaps a great longing came into Mrs. 
 Wiggins' heart at the sight. Perhaps she 
 wished — well, at any rate the next thing 
 Bessie knew Mrs. Wiggins was holding her 
 close in her arms and crying over her. 
 But somehow Bessie seemed to know that 
 Mrs. Wiggins was not crying over the loss 
 of her sweet peas ; and after a while they 
 
30 MRS. WIGGINS' SWEET PEAS. 
 
 went out into the yard together, and looked 
 into the crevice under the gate-post, and 
 then Mrs. Wiggins actually laughed. Then 
 she gathered a few blossoms which had 
 burst out since Jim Crow's depredations 
 and put them into Bessie's hand. 
 
 After that she and Bessie had great fun 
 gathering up the pennies, which had gone 
 off into all sorts of odd corners, and which 
 Mrs. Wiggins insisted upon putting back 
 into the bank. 
 
 When Bessie had said "good-by," prom- 
 ising to come again, and had started down 
 the path, Mrs. Wiggins looked after her, and 
 said to the sweet pea stems, " She 's just as 
 sweet as your blossoms ! " 
 
 And the sweet pea stems fluttered gladly, 
 but answered never a word. 
 
TIPPIES VISIT. 
 
 r I HIPPIE was a little black-and-tan dog 
 -*- that lived in the Hawaiian Islands. 
 He belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Austin, and 
 they thought a great deal of him. They 
 quite often talked to Tippie, and as he 
 never spent much time with other dogs, 
 but was with people every day, he learned 
 to be very intelligent. All his friends con- 
 sidered him a smart dog, but he surprised 
 even them one day, and this is the way 
 he did it : 
 
 He used to go very often to visit a little 
 boy who lived about two blocks from his 
 home. This little boy's name was Charlie. 
 
 One day Charlie's mamma was taken 
 sick. Charlie always slept in his mother's 
 room, but now his grandmother did not 
 
 31 
 
32 TIPPIE' S VISIT. 
 
 think best for him to do so, so she said to 
 him, 
 
 " Now I am going to make a bed for you 
 on the floor of this small room just off from 
 mamma's, and when Tippie comes over you 
 may invite him to come and sleep with you 
 to-night." 
 
 Charlie thought that would be fine, so 
 he made no objection to sleeping away 
 from mamma, but said, " All right," in- 
 stead. And this was just what his grand- 
 mother had hoped. 
 
 When Tippie came over, Charlie took him 
 into the little room and showed him his 
 bed. Then he said, 
 
 " Now, Tippie, when you go home you ask 
 your mamma to let you come over here to- 
 night and sleep with me. Come to-night" 
 he added, slowly, looking straight into Tip- 
 pie's eyes, "and stay all night. Now, 
 Tippie, remember." 
 
 Tippie put his head on one side for a 
 
"NOW.TIPPIE, REMEMBER. 
 
TIPPIE' S VISIT. 33 
 
 moment as he looked at Charlie, then he 
 wagged his tail and went home. 
 
 That evening about eight o'clock Tippie 
 stood up in the corner and barked. This 
 was the way in which he had been taught 
 to say that he wanted to get out doors. 
 
 Mrs. Austin started to open the door, 
 but Mr. Austin stopped her. " It is too 
 late," he said. " If Tippie goes out at this 
 hour he will get lost or some one will take 
 him off." 
 
 " I think he will be all right," Mrs. 
 Austin answered, and opened the door. 
 
 Tippie quickly frisked out with every 
 sign of delight. The evening passed, but 
 no Tippie came to the door to be let in. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Austin grew anxious, 
 and Mrs. Austin began to think that her 
 husband had been right. The house was 
 closed for the night, and still no Tippie 
 appeared. 
 
 In the morning Mr. Austin was obliged 
 
34 TIP PIE'S VISIT. 
 
 to go to the office early. After he had 
 gone Mrs. Austin heard a sound that made 
 her hurry to the door. As she opened it, 
 in walked Tippie, apparently as glad to see 
 her as she was to see him. 
 
 She knew that Mr. Austin would be glad 
 to know that Tippie was safe, so she walked 
 down to the office, taking the little truant 
 with her. 
 
 On her way back, she thought she would 
 see how Charlie's mamma was, so she and 
 Tippie stopped at the house. After visit- 
 ing awhile, Charlie's grandmother said, 
 
 " Did you miss Tippie last night ? " 
 
 " Why, yes," Mrs. Austin answered ; 
 " do you know anything about where he 
 was?" 
 
 " Why, he was here," she replied. And 
 then she told about Charlie's invitation to 
 Tippie, and of Tippie' s putting his head on 
 one side as if to consider what Charlie said, 
 then wagging his tail and going home. 
 
TIPPIE'S VISIT. 35 
 
 "At eight o'clock," she added, "we 
 heard a scratch on the door. We opened 
 it, and there stood Tippie. We invited 
 him in, and he ran right across the house 
 to the little room that Charlie had shown 
 him. He sniffed around the bed until he 
 discovered that Charlie was in it, and then 
 he curled quietly down by his feet and went 
 to sleep. And there he spent the night, 
 just as he had been invited to do." 
 
PONCE'S VACATION 
 
 DO you think that dogs can appreciate 
 jokes ? I am inclined to think that 
 they can. Ponce could, anyway ; I am 
 positive of that. 
 
 Ponce was a fine shepherd dog, very in- 
 telligent, and valuable to his master. But 
 for a wonder, Ponce had run away from 
 home. I don't know what possessed him 
 to do it, for he was always well fed and 
 well cared for, and he had regular daily 
 tasks to do besides. He knew how to 
 bring home the cows at night just as well 
 as John, the hired man, did. Perhaps it 
 was because of these tasks that he ran 
 away. To be sure he really enjoyed them, 
 and they were not in the least hard, but it 
 was in the spring of the year, and the long- 
 
 36 
 
PONCE'S VACATION. 37 
 
 ing to be free and to rove without restraint, 
 which sometimes takes possession of people 
 at that time, may have had its effect on 
 Ponce, too. 
 
 Whatever the reason, he had run away 
 and was trotting contentedly down the 
 street, wagging his tail with satisfaction. 
 
 Presently he met four girls. 
 
 " Why," exclaimed Madge, " is n't that 
 the dog that ran away from Mr. Price's ? " 
 
 "I just believe it must be," answered 
 Edna. " That was a shepherd dog, and 
 yes, it has a black spot on its forehead." 
 
 "Of course it is," declared Caroline; 
 " there is the white tip on the tail." 
 
 " How do you know so much about Mr. 
 Price's dog ? " questioned Gertrude. " Did 
 any of you ever see it ? " 
 
 "No," responded Caroline quickly, "but 
 I guess we 've got the description by heart. 
 Mr. Price thought so much of him, and he 
 helped drive the cows home, and every- 
 
38 PONCE'S VACATION. 
 
 thing. He described him to the boys 
 around, and said he 'd give a dollar to any 
 one who would bring him home." 
 
 Gertrude opened her eyes. "A dollar ! 
 Goodness, girls, we could have a lot of fun 
 with a dollar." 
 
 "And wouldn't it be a joke on the boys 
 if we could get ahead of them and take the 
 dog home before they knew about it," said 
 Madge. 
 
 " Let 's do it," they exclaimed in chorus. 
 
 " But who knows where Mr. Price lives ? " 
 suggested Edna. 
 
 And then the girls looked at each other, 
 but nobody said a word. 
 
 " Here comes Fayra ! " exclaimed Madge. 
 "Let's see if she knows." 
 
 And then they all began talking to Fayra 
 at once. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I know where Mr. Price 
 lives," she answered. " Why do you want 
 to know ? " 
 
PONCE'S VACATION. 39 
 
 They explained that they had found his 
 shepherd dog which he had offered one 
 dollar to have returned. 
 
 " It \s quite a way out in the country/' 
 said Fayra, " but it 's a perfect day for a 
 walk. Let 's start right away." 
 
 " How '11 we take the dog?" asked Edna. 
 
 " Oh, I'll get a rope and we'll lead 
 him/' answered Caroline, and off she 
 started toward the barn. 
 
 The other girls began calling to Ponce, 
 who had fortunately stopped on the oppo- 
 site side of the street to examine a suspi- 
 cious-looking hole. 
 
 He came when they called, wagging his 
 tail in friendly fashion ; and when Caroline 
 came back with the rope he made no par- 
 ticular objection to their putting it around 
 his neck. 
 
 Then they started for the country, tak- 
 ing turns in leading Ponce, who seemed 
 really glad to have fallen in with such good 
 
40 PONCE'S VACATION. 
 
 company, even though they were leading 
 him captive and spoiling his plans for a 
 more extended vacation. 
 
 On the way they talked a great deal 
 about the best use of the dollar they were 
 to receive, and made wild dashes after 
 stray flowers that grew along the roadside. 
 Ponce dashed out with them, and some- 
 times it seemed as though he were having 
 the best time of them all. 
 
 There was one steep hill to climb, and 
 the girls agreed with Fayra's statement 
 that it was a long way to Mr. Price's, but 
 there were woods and flowers along the 
 way, and it was pleasant after all. 
 
 Presently they came to a big gate, which 
 seemed to block the road. 
 
 " Take hold, girls, and help push it back," 
 called Fayra. "This is where Mr. Price 
 lives." 
 
 They all took hold, and the gate slid 
 back, and in a moment more they were 
 
PONCE'S VACATION. 41 
 
 walking down the lane which led to the 
 farmhouse. 
 
 Ponce barked and jumped and almost 
 wagged himself in two, running from one 
 to another of the girls. 
 
 " See how glad he is to get home/' said 
 Caroline. 
 
 Just then a pleasant-looking man came 
 out of the door of the house and walked 
 down the lane toward them. 
 
 " That 's Mr. Price," said Fayra, quickly. 
 " Now, Madge, you do the talking." 
 
 And as some one had to say something, 
 Madge began : 
 
 " Mr. Price, we have brought your 
 dog" — but something in the expression 
 of Mr. Price's face made her stop. 
 
 " I thank you very much for having 
 gone to so much trouble," he answered, 
 " but really, that isnt my dog." 
 
 And then you should have seen the ex- 
 pression on the faces of those five girls ! 
 
42 PONCE'S VACATION. 
 
 But what do you suppose Ponce did ? 
 He just laid down and rolled on the 
 ground, and no one who saw him could 
 help but believe that he was laughing too 
 hard to stand up. 
 
 The girls did not lead him home, but he 
 pranced along with them, as though he were 
 not half so disgusted with their society as 
 they were with his. 
 
 And that night Ponce went back to his 
 real home and settled down to work again, 
 feeling, no doubt, that his vacation fun had 
 done him a world of good. 
 
BRAVE TRIX. 
 
 "TTNCLE FRED was a fireman, and he 
 ^ was Lawrence's hero. Trix was 
 Uncle Fred's dog, and the most wonderful 
 dog, in Lawrence's estimation, that ever 
 lived. And Trix proved that he deserved 
 Lawrence's good opinion, but that is what 
 I am going to tell you about. 
 
 Whenever Lawrence heard an alarm of 
 fire sounded, he flew to the window of the 
 fire barn and looked in, for he never could 
 tire of seeing the horses dash from their 
 stalls to their places in front of the engine 
 or the hose cart. And then it was quite 
 as exciting, after the men had dropped the 
 harnesses upon their backs and snapped 
 them into place, to see the great doors 
 swing open and the horses go clattering 
 
 43 
 
44 BRAVE TBIX. 
 
 out of the barn and away up the street, 
 with the men holding to their places, the 
 drivers grasping the lines and bracing 
 back at arm's length, and the men at the 
 back of the great hook and ladder truck, 
 turning the wheel which helps to guide it. 
 
 But if Lawrence flew when he heard an 
 alarm of fire, Trix went faster still, and he 
 did not stay to look through the windows, 
 but darted into the barn and jumped up 
 beside the driver's seat, where he rode to 
 every single fire. 
 
 Of course the firemen all petted Trix, 
 and every one in the neighborhood knew 
 and spoke to him. 
 
 One day the fire alarm sounded, and 
 Lawrence and Trix came bounding out of 
 the yard together, and then Lawrence 
 clasped his hands and drew a sharp breath 
 of terror, for the fire was in the house 
 directly opposite his own. He was about 
 to shout to Trix, but he did not need to, 
 
BRAVE TEIX. 45 
 
 for Trix's nose had detected the familiar 
 smell of smoke, and he stopped short and 
 began to look around. In a moment he 
 saw the thinly curling smoke coming from 
 the house across the street, and away he 
 dashed, not to the fire barn this time, but 
 straight for the front door of the house, 
 which stood wide open. 
 
 " Oh," screamed Lawrence ; " Trix '11 get 
 burnt up ! " 
 
 By this time mamma had come out into 
 the yard, too. 
 
 " Trix is used to fires, you must remem- 
 ber," she said, quietly, for she saw how ex- 
 cited Lawrence was ; but really, she wondered 
 herself why Trix should go into the house. 
 
 But they had not long to wonder, for 
 just at that moment Trix came dashing out 
 again with a sofa pillow in his mouth. 
 Running to a corner of the yard he 
 dropped it on the grass and ran back. 
 Lawrence clapped his hands and began to 
 
46 BRAVE TRIX. 
 
 watch eagerly, and in a moment Trix came 
 out again, carefully carrying a lady's hat, 
 which he laid beside the sofa pillow. 
 
 By this time the family and neighbors 
 began bringing out pieces of furniture, 
 bedding, and clothes, but Trix went fastest 
 of all, and soon added to his collection a 
 floor-brush and a waste-paper basket. 
 
 Then the fire department came dashing 
 up, with a ringing of gongs and a clatter of 
 horses' hoofs, and as the men jumped down 
 and went hurrying up the steps of the 
 house, out dashed Trix again, and what do 
 you suppose he had this time ? Well, it 
 was a dear little baby, and he was carry- 
 ing it just as carefully as its mother could 
 have done, only he had it by the back, 
 grasping its clothes firmly in his teeth, 
 and holding his head high up in the air. 
 
 " Good dog ! " exclaimed Uncle Fred, 
 who was just running into the house. 
 And then Trix wagged his tail hard, as 
 
BRAVE TEIX. 47 
 
 Uncle Fred took the baby in his arms and 
 carried it across the street to Lawrence's 
 mother, while all the people around gave 
 a great shout. 
 
 Somehow, in the excitement everybody 
 had supposed that somebody else had the 
 baby, for its mother was away from home. 
 
 It was not long after the firemen came 
 that the fire was put out, and Trix, after 
 riding back to the barn in his usual place, 
 ran over to see Lawrence again. 
 
 Lawrence's praise would quite have 
 turned his head, I am sure, if he had not 
 been a sensible dog ; but as it was, he was 
 just as ready for a game of tag as before 
 he became a hero. 
 
 Of course the story of Trix's presence 
 of mind was told many times over in the 
 neighborhood, and the father of the baby 
 gave him a beautiful collar with a little 
 silver plate, on which was engraved 
 " Brave Trix." 
 
PETER'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 
 
 F~\ID you ever hear of a cat taking in 
 -*-^ boarders ? I never did till I heard 
 of Peter. But he was a real cat, and this 
 is a true story I am going to tell you. 
 
 Peter was only an adopted cat, but his 
 master thought just as much of him as 
 though he had been born and brought up 
 on the premises. And it is no wonder, for 
 he proved himself more kind and thought- 
 ful than some of the grown people of his 
 neighborhood. But that was afterward. 
 
 Peter's master, Dr. Hartley, found him 
 during a pelting rain, and took the poor, 
 forlorn, wet kitten home with him and 
 put him on his warm hearth-rug. Peter 
 soon shook off the rain-drops and the 
 air of dejection which he had brought in, 
 
 48 
 
PETER'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 49 
 
 and prepared to make friends with his new 
 master, and it was not long before Dr. 
 Hartley decided that he would keep Peter 
 for his own cat. 
 
 Peter thrived finely, for of course a 
 doctor's cat would be expected to eat only 
 those things which were good for him, and 
 he grew to be big and sleek. He was a 
 friendly cat, and he made the acquaintance 
 of the other cats of the neighborhood while 
 the doctor was out calling on his patients. 
 
 Every morning Peter went with the 
 doctor to the corner near their house, and 
 at the corner the doctor would turn and 
 say "good-by," and Peter would give an 
 answering " mew " and turn and trot back 
 home. But one morning the doctor was 
 thinking of a particularly trying case that 
 he was going to visit, and when he reached 
 the corner he forgot to say " good-by." 
 
 Peter reached the corner and mewed, 
 but the doctor walked on. Peter stopped 
 
50 PETER'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 
 
 a minute, then he trotted on after, and 
 mewed again ; but still the doctor walked 
 on with his mind full of other matters. 
 Peter ran after him with patient determi- 
 nation, and mewed again, this time louder 
 than ever. 
 
 Then Dr. Hartley stopped, looked down 
 at Peter and back to the corner where he 
 usually left him. " Good-by, Peter," he 
 said, suddenly remembering his companion 
 and his own failure in courtesy. 
 
 Then Peter gave a contented mew, and 
 turned and trotted back home. 
 
 Dr. Hartley lived next door to a double 
 house, the yard of which was separated 
 from his own premises by a high board 
 fence. With the family which occupied 
 one-half of this double house there lived a 
 cat and her five kittens, and with the 
 family in the other half of the house there 
 lived a very small puppy. Peter had made 
 the acquaintance of all of them. 
 
PETER'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 51 
 
 One day the two families went away for 
 a visit of a week, and evidently they for- 
 got the kittens and the puppy, for they 
 were all left behind. 
 
 Not long after these families had gone 
 away, Dr. Hartley was looking out of a 
 back window, when he noticed that Peter 
 went over the high fence several times in 
 succession, and each time brought the cat 
 from next door back with him. Dr. Hart- 
 ley thought he would watch and see what 
 Peter was up to. In a few minutes the 
 cats went back, and when they came 
 over again, each had a small kitten in its 
 mouth. A second trip was made, each 
 bringing a second kitten, and then back 
 they went once more. After a little longer 
 time they appeared again, and this time 
 the mother cat had her remaining kitten 
 in her mouth, while Peter held on firmly 
 to the small puppy from the house be- 
 yond. The puppy was not enjoying his 
 
52 PETER'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 
 
 trip, evidently, for he kicked and squealed 
 with fright ; but Peter was not easily dis- 
 mayed, and carried him in triumph into 
 the woodshed. 
 
 Presently the doctor heard a mewing and 
 a scratching at his door, and opened it to 
 find Peter standing in the hall. Now, 
 Peter was a diplomatic cat, and when the 
 doctor opened the door he rubbed up against 
 his leg in the most coaxing manner. Then 
 going a few steps down the hall, he turned 
 and mewed, evidently asking the doctor to 
 follow. 
 
 The doctor understood, and followed. 
 Peter went straight to the pantry door, 
 arched his back and rubbed against it, at 
 the same time looking up into the doctor's 
 face. 
 
 The doctor had a way of humoring Peter, 
 so now he opened the door and took a gener- 
 ous plateful of food from the pantry shelves. 
 Then Peter in triumph led the way to the 
 
PETER'S BOARDItfG-HOUSE. 53 
 
 woodshed, where in his own box lay, not 
 only the mother cat with her five kittens, 
 but the refractory puppy as well. 
 
 " Well ! " exclaimed the doctor. " So 
 you 've taken boarders, have you, Peter?" 
 
 But as he set the plate of food down 
 at the same time, Peter did not take the 
 trouble to answer. 
 
 For a week Peter took care of his " board- 
 ers," and then the two families returned. 
 
 As soon as Peter learned of their arrival, 
 he went to his box and took up one of the 
 kittens. The mother cat seemed to under- 
 stand, and took up another, and in the 
 same fashion that the boarders had arrived, 
 they took their departure, the puppy going 
 in company with the last kitten, and ob- 
 jecting just as vigorously as when he came. 
 
 After returning from the last trip, Peter 
 walked lazily over and stretched himself out 
 in the middle of the pansy bed for what he 
 evidently considered a much needed rest. 
 
HOW MUFF WON HER WAY 
 
 "A yTAMMA did not like cats one bit, and 
 -*-»-*- the strangest part of it was that 
 she did not even like kittens. So we 
 children never had owned any, although 
 we hugged every neighbor's cat that we 
 could get hold of, and often talked over by 
 ourselves how perfectly lovely it would be 
 if we could just have one for our very own. 
 We had been forbidden to feed stray cats 
 about the door; so when we found one 
 that seemed especially needy, we coaxed 
 it off down the alley, and brought it as 
 many dainties as we could induce cook to 
 give us. All this did not satisfy our long- 
 ing to possess a kitten of our own, but it 
 had to answer us for a long time. But at 
 last something happened. 
 
 54 
 
HOW MUFF WON HER WAY. 55 
 
 It was a very cold week during the win- 
 ter, and the snow was several feet deep. 
 One day as we were coming home from 
 school, just as we reached the corner of our 
 yard, Dick espied something gray in the 
 snow. He stopped to look at it, and then 
 called the rest of us excitedly. 
 
 "Why, it's a kitten!" he exclaimed, 
 " and I believe it 's frozen in the snow." 
 We all cried out in horror at this, and 
 were at his side at a bound. 
 
 It was a kitty, sure enough, and she did 
 not move or make a sound. 
 
 « She must be dead," Dick repeated, 
 while the rest of us wrung our hands at 
 such a calamity. 
 
 "Run for mamma," Dick suddenly com- 
 manded ; and I darted away, glad to be 
 able to do something. 
 
 Mamma was the one to go to in trouble 
 of any sort, and I reached her quite out of 
 breath. 
 
56 HOW MUFF WON HER WAT. 
 
 " Oh, mamma, there 's a cat out in the 
 snow-drift, and she can't move, and we 're 
 afraid she 's frozen. Won't you come out 
 and see ? " 
 
 Then, for the first time, I remembered 
 how mamma disliked cats, and my heart 
 gave a big jump. But, dear me, I might 
 have known better, for mamma was always 
 ready to help anything that was in trouble, 
 and almost before I had finished speaking 
 she had on her overshoes and a shawl, and 
 was ready to go with me. 
 
 As soon as we reached the kitty, mamma 
 began digging away the snow, and pretty 
 soon she lifted it out. Poor kitty seemed 
 quite stiff, but mamma said, " I don't 
 think she is dead ;" and then how glad we 
 all were. 
 
 We took her into the kitchen, wrapped 
 her in a blanket, and after a while she gave 
 a faint mew. We children fairly danced 
 about at that, and some of us watched her 
 
HOW MUFF WON HER WAY. 57 
 
 all the rest of the afternoon. By night she 
 was able to take a little milk ; and then we 
 felt sure she was going to get well. 
 
 Somehow nothing was said about where 
 she was to live after she should grow quite 
 strong again ; but we children made the 
 most of our opportunity, and cuddled her 
 and loved her and fed her dainty bits that 
 we saved from our plates. 
 
 After the kitty got well, mamma paid 
 no attention to her. She sort of acted as 
 though she did n't know there was a kitty 
 around. But one night when we children 
 were all having a good time with Muff, as 
 we had named the kitten, I heard papa say 
 to mamma, " Just watch those children;" 
 and mamma answered, " Yes, I have. I 
 did n't suppose children could think so 
 much of a cat." 
 
 I would have felt quite glad over mam- 
 ma's answer if she hadn't said "cat" in 
 such a tone at the end. 
 
58 HOW MUFF WON HER WAY. 
 
 One evening, a little later, as we were 
 all sitting before the grate fire, kitty came 
 in and curled down at papa's feet. In a 
 little while she began to purr contentedly, 
 and papa smiled at mamma as he said, " It 
 sounds quite homelike, does n't it ? " 
 
 Mamma smiled a little, but did not say 
 anything. I began to wonder if papa 
 did n't like kittens pretty well. 
 
 After awhile Muff got up and began 
 playing with the balls on mamma's wrap- 
 per. She boxed the balls around, and 
 tumbled the cutest little somersaults, and 
 danced around on her back legs, till we all 
 began laughing so heartily that she ran 
 behind the heavy curtains and looked out 
 at us in wonder. Then mamma tied a 
 string to an empty spool and gave it to me 
 so that I could coax her out, and we all 
 watched her as she played with it a long 
 time. 
 
 I looked at papa when mamma did that, 
 
HOW MUFF WON HER WAY. 59 
 
 and he nodded and smiled to me, and I 
 smiled back, but we did n't say anything. 
 
 After that we watched the kitty play 
 very often in the evening. It was great 
 fun. 
 
 One day we children sat on the back 
 doorstep and cautiously began talking over 
 the possibility of kitty's being allowed to 
 make her home with us. 
 
 " Oh, mamma 'd never ! " Dick exclaimed, 
 with firm conviction. 
 
 The others began looking forlorn over 
 this emphatic speech, and I was sent to 
 bring out Muff so that we might enjoy her 
 as much as possible before we were obliged 
 to give her up. 
 
 I knew that mamma was lying down, so 
 I tiptoed in softly. I looked in the kitchen 
 and in the library, two of Muff's favorite 
 places for napping, but did not find her, so 
 I went on into mamma's room. I peeped 
 in quietly, and what do you suppose I 
 
60 HOW MUFF WON HER WAY. 
 
 saw ? Why, mamma was lying on the 
 couch, and there curled down beside her 
 was Muff, fast asleep, with mamma's hand 
 stroking her gray fur softly. 
 
 I did n't say a word to mamma, but I 
 rushed out to the children, and dancing 
 before them I exclaimed, " Mamma 's cud- 
 dling the kitten ! Mamma \s cuddling the 
 kitten ! " 
 
 "Then she can stav ! " we all shouted; 
 and in we rushed pell-mell to mamma, and 
 hugged both her and the kitten in our 
 ecstacy. 
 
 And that is how Muff became one of the 
 family. 
 
HOW THE KITTENS WERE 
 NAMED. 
 
 r I 1HERE was the mother cat with five 
 -^ kittens, and none of the kittens had 
 names. Somehow, the children had been 
 so busy watching them tumble over each 
 other and try to walk and then all go to 
 sleep in a bunch, that they had not thought 
 of naming them. 
 
 The mother cat was gray, and four of 
 the kittens were gray, but the fifth cat was 
 black, jet black, and so without planning 
 or forethought the fifth kitten came to be 
 called Blackie. 
 
 It was easy enough to tell her from the 
 others, but how to tell the four gray ones 
 apart was a question. At last it was dis- 
 covered that three of the gray ones had 
 
 61 
 
62 HOW THE KITTENS WERE NAMED. 
 
 white feet, while the fourth one was gray all 
 over. So again, without a thought of nam- 
 ing her, the children began calling her Gray 
 Paws. 
 
 And then there were the other three. 
 One of these had but one eye, the children 
 found out, sorrowfully, after the kittens 
 were old enough to prove that they had 
 any eyes at all, and then in all tenderness 
 and with no thought of reproach, the 
 afflicted kitten became One Eye. 
 
 Still there were two left ; two that 
 looked almost exactly alike. But of course 
 the children watched them every day, and 
 it did not take them long to find out that 
 one of these was a very spunky kitten. 
 She would spit at the others if they came 
 near when she was eating, or if she was 
 suddenly surprised by any one ; and when 
 this was discovered she was dubbed the 
 Spitfire of the family. 
 
 But the remaining kitten was the one 
 
HOW THE KITTENS WERE NAMED. 63 
 
 that made the others " stand 'round." If 
 they did not do as she saw fit she boxed 
 their ears. If the rest came around her 
 saucer of milk she cuffed them away, and 
 so, of course, she was the Boss. 
 
 And no one was more surprised than 
 the children when they discovered that the 
 kittens were all named, for every one was 
 sure he had not named them. 
 
 And such a funny lot of names as it was : 
 Blackie, Gray Paws, One Eye, Spitfire, and 
 Boss. But the names all fitted, and some 
 of them had been earned, and the kittens 
 did n't seem to mind them in the least. 
 
OLD WOOLLY STOCKINGS 
 
 OLD Woolly Stockings was a big white 
 rooster that belonged to Freddie 
 Coates. He had been christened Woolly 
 Stockings because his feet and legs were 
 covered with white feathers. 
 
 The way Freddie came to have the 
 rooster was this : Freddie's papa had bought 
 him when he was just a young rooster, and 
 brought him home, intending to have him 
 killed and broiled ; but this seemed alto- 
 gether too dreadful to Freddie, who begged 
 that the rooster be given to him to keep, 
 instead. 
 
 So Woolly Stockings became Fred's prop- 
 erty, although this was before he had been 
 given a name. 
 
 Before the winter was over, Fred had 
 04 
 
OLD WOOLLY STOCKINGS. 65 
 
 become the possessor of two more roosters, 
 which a friend in the country had brought 
 to him. He was too tender-hearted to have 
 either of these killed, but Woolly Stockings 
 continued to be his favorite. 
 
 Both the other roosters were dark in 
 color, but the white one, by virtue of being 
 the oldest inhabitant of the barnyard, con- 
 sidered himself the most important. He 
 never allowed the other roosters to crow 
 during all their residence with him. 
 
 He was selfish, too. When Freddie threw 
 the corn to " his chickens," as he always 
 called them, old Woolly Stockings would 
 spread out his big feet, with their covering 
 of feathers, and hide as much of the corn 
 as possible. The other roosters would try 
 to pick the kernels out from under his feet, 
 but he would scold them and try to drive 
 them away, until he had eaten as much as 
 he wanted. 
 
 " I 'm dreadfully afraid Woolly Stockings 
 
66 OLD WOOLLY STOCKINGS. 
 
 is growing up to be a greedy, naughty 
 rooster," Freddie said to mamma one day. 
 " How can I teach him to be nice and gen- 
 erous ? " 
 
 But mamma had n't the least idea how 
 to teach roosters good manners, although 
 she taught one little boy with the best of 
 success. 
 
 Fred alternately coaxed and scolded at 
 Woolly Stockings every time he fed him ; 
 but, as far as he could discover, without 
 making the slightest improvement in his 
 behavior. 
 
 But Woolly Stockings was not wholly 
 bad, as was proved one day in the early 
 spring. 
 
 Papa gave Fred a great surprise one 
 morning by offering to let him have six hens 
 in exchange for the two dark roosters. Of 
 course he knew better than to offer to make 
 any exchange for Woolly Stockings, in 
 spite of the hitter's bad manners. 
 
OLD WOOLLY STOCKINGS. C7 
 
 Fred was delighted at the offer, and 
 agreed to the exchange at once. So papa 
 took the two roosters away with him, and 
 at supper-time he came home, bringing the 
 six hens. If Woolly Stockings had been 
 lonely during the day, he was too indepen- 
 dent to show it. 
 
 Papa took the box out into the back 
 yard, and pulling off the slats, let the hens 
 out. 
 
 Woolly Stockings stood for a moment and 
 looked at them. He put his head on one 
 side and walked about, evidently admiring 
 the new arrivals. 
 
 Then how he did strut around, flap his 
 wings and crow, as though challenging the 
 admiration of the hens. 
 
 Pretty soon two of the hens started to 
 run out of the yard. Woolly Stockings 
 gravely placed himself in front of them and 
 drove them back, and all with an air of gal- 
 lantry which was delightfully funny to see. 
 
68 OLD WOOLLY STOCKINGS. 
 
 After that there was no more trouble 
 about Woolly Stockings' manners. He 
 grew up to be as kind and polite as even 
 Freddie could wish. 
 
 " Mamma," Freddie said one morning, 
 after feeding the chickens, " Woolly Stock- 
 ings does n't step on the corn any more. 
 When he sees me coming with it, he calls 
 the hens to come and share it with him. 
 I am so glad he has learned good manners, 
 for now lie is just the nicest rooster in this 
 town." 
 
THE RESCUE OF MOTHER 
 HEN'S FAMILY. 
 
 "/~\H, dear! Oh, dear ! " exclaimed Rod- 
 ^-^ ney, as he stood in the doorway of 
 the great barn watching the drenching 
 downpour of rain outside. 
 
 "What's the matter, Rodney?" asked 
 papa, who was sitting upon an overturned 
 keg. 
 
 " Well/' answered Rodney, " I wish 
 mamma was out here, or that we were in 
 there." 
 
 Papa laughed a little. "That isn't a 
 bad wish," he said; "but we should be 
 glad wa got this far before the deluge 
 came." 
 
 " Yes, I am," Rodney replied, looking 
 out again to see what he had escaped. 
 
70 RESCUE OF MOTHER HEN'S FAMILY. 
 
 He and papa had been out in the field 
 together when they noticed a great bank 
 of green, angry-looking clouds in the west, 
 and heard distant thunder, and saw forks 
 of bright lightning chasing each other 
 rapidly across the sky. 
 
 " We must hurry home as fast as we 
 can, Rodney," papa had said ; and he 
 called to Alfred, the hired man, who was 
 working near by. 
 
 So they all jumped into the wagon and 
 then — my! how fast papa did drive the 
 horses home! But it was none too fast 
 after all, for just as they drove inside the 
 door of the big barn, down came the rain, 
 as though the whole ocean might have 
 been let loose up above them. 
 
 Mamma had been watching for them 
 from the house, and she waved her hand 
 to Rodney as the horses went dashing past 
 the door, feeling very glad indeed that 
 they were back in time. But the down- 
 
RESCUE OF MOTHER HEN'S FAMILY. 71 
 
 pour had come so soon after, that she 
 could not get to the barn any better than 
 Rodney could get to the house. 
 
 Pretty soon the water began to run 
 along all the little slopes, like small rivers, 
 and to stand in deep pools in the yard. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " Rodney began again, won- 
 dering how he was ever to get to mamma, 
 when he heard a queer noise, and stopped 
 to listen. Papa and Alfred had gone up- 
 stairs in the barn to do some work, so they 
 did not hear the queer noise down below. 
 
 " Oh," said Rodney to himself, " the 
 water's running into the basement. It 
 sounds just like a river. Papa ! Papa ! " 
 
 Papa did not hear at first, but when he 
 did he came downstairs, and then he hur- 
 ried to the top of the steps which led to 
 the basement of the barn. 
 
 "My ! my ! " he exclaimed, as he looked 
 down. " The basement is filling with water." 
 
 Alfred hurried part way down the stairs 
 
72 BESCITE OF MOTHER HEN'S FAMILY. 
 
 after him, and Rodney perched on the top 
 step and peered down as best he could. 
 
 " There 's nothing we can do," papa said 
 at length, "until the water stops running." 
 
 So they all came up again, and papa and 
 Alfred went on upstairs to their work. 
 
 After awhile Rodney grew tired of 
 watching the puddles in the yard and the 
 great splashes of water that fell into them, 
 and he thought he woidd look down into 
 the basement again and see how deep the 
 water was now. 
 
 He went part way down the stairs, and 
 then he sat upon one of the steps to watch 
 it. After a few minutes his eyes became 
 used to the darker room, and presently he 
 thought he heard a noise down there that 
 was different from the sound of the water. 
 He strained his eyes to look all about, and 
 then suddenly he cried out : 
 
 u Why, Mother Hen, are you down 
 here ? " 
 
BESCUE OF MOTHER HEN'S FAMILY. 73 
 
 For there, perched upon a round of a 
 ladder which leaned against the opposite 
 wall, and just above the water, was Rod- 
 ney's own Mother Hen, drawn up into a 
 strange-looking bunch, and clucking with 
 all her might. 
 
 Rodney strained his eyes again ; for, 
 surely, where Mother Hen was, there her 
 chickens could always be found, too. And 
 then Rodney discovered, floating about in 
 the water in a helpless fashion, three yel- 
 low balls. 
 
 " Oh, papa," he exclaimed, breathlessly, 
 a moment later, " do come down quick ! 
 Mother Hen is in the basement, and her 
 little chicks are all drowned." 
 
 Papa and Alfred ran down quickly, and, 
 seeing that Rodney had not been mistaken, 
 they quickly pulled off their shoes and 
 stockings, rolled up their trousers' legs, 
 and waded into the water. They fished 
 out the three poor little chickens and 
 
74 RESCUE OF MOTHER HEN'S FAMILY. 
 
 handed them to Rodney, who was delighted 
 to find that they were not dead after all. 
 
 " But there are two more, papa/' he 
 said. " You know Mother Hen had five 
 chickens." 
 
 So papa and Alfred hunted for the other 
 chickens, but they could not find them 
 anywhere. 
 
 " It is no use," papa said at last. " The 
 others must have drowned." 
 
 Then, thinking it was time that Mother 
 Hen was rescued, he waded over to where 
 she was, and there suddenly stopped. 
 
 "Why, Rodney!" he exclaimed. Then 
 he picked up Mother Hen carefully, and 
 carrying her over to where Rodney was, 
 held her up before him, and what do you 
 think Rodney saw ? Why, sticking out 
 from under each of Mother Hen's wings 
 was a little yellow head, and there, safe 
 and dry, were the two missing chickens ! 
 
A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 
 
 "HT INTEND driving out to see Uncle 
 
 -*- Otto to-day/' said Mr. Marcy, at 
 the breakfast-table. " Who would like to 
 take a sleigh-ride with me ? " and he 
 looked straight into Kitty's eyes. 
 
 " Oh, I would like to, papa," said Kitty, 
 quickly. "May I?" 
 
 " If mamma thinks best," Mr. Marcy 
 answered ; and as mamma was willing, 
 Kitty was soon putting on warm wraps 
 and preparing for her five-mile drive. 
 
 Uncle Otto lived upon the State experi- 
 mental farm, where he studied the birds 
 and insects, and then told the farmers 
 about them, and how to get rid of those 
 that destroyed the crops ; and a visit to 
 him was always full of interest to Kitty. 
 
 75 
 
76 A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 
 
 Indeed, she thought there never could be 
 another uncle quite so nice as Uncle Otto. 
 
 Kitty lived in Minnesota, where they 
 sometimes have a great deal of snow in 
 the winter, and this year there had been 
 an unusual amount. The sleighing was 
 fine, and the country seemed so clean and 
 pretty that Kitty could not help exclaim- 
 ing as they sped along, for in the city the 
 snow was dirty, and here everything was 
 white, as snow ought to be. 
 
 The drifts were piled high on each side 
 of the somewhat narrow road, and when 
 they met a team, papa had . to turn out 
 very carefully in order to avoid upsetting 
 the sleigh. * But Kitty thought it all great 
 fun, and helped lean over when necessary, 
 in order to keep the sleigh balanced. 
 
 " I wonder what Uncle Otto will have 
 new to show me this time," said Kitty, as 
 they caught the first sight of the large 
 buildings which told her that they were 
 
A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 77 
 
 nearly at the end of their ride. " He 
 always has something different from what 
 anybody else would have/' she added, 
 " and I learn something every time I come 
 out here." 
 
 "I wonder, too," answered papa. And 
 then he drove up to the house, and Uncle 
 Otto himself came out and helped Kitty to 
 unwrap the big fur robe which tucked her 
 in so comfortably, and pretty soon they 
 were all sitting beside the fire and talking 
 as if it had been a year instead of two 
 months since they had seen each other. 
 
 Immediately after lunch Uncle Otto turned 
 to Kitty and said, "I am going out now to 
 see to my birds' restaurant. Would you 
 like to s;o with me?" 
 
 " Indeed I would ! " said Kitty, looking 
 puzzled. But she ran to get her wraps. 
 
 When they started, Uncle Otto took with 
 him a large covered basket, and he went 
 out toward the great grove of oak-trees 
 
78 A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 
 
 which extended for miles back of his 
 house. 
 
 Presently he stopped beneath a tree and 
 showed Kitty a coil of loose wire hanging 
 from a branch. Then he opened his basket 
 and took out something white and round 
 like a ball. 
 
 "What is that, Uncle Otto?" asked Kitty. 
 
 " That is mutton suet," he answered. 
 Then he uncoiled the wire, placed the suet 
 on the branch, and bound it securely with 
 the wire. 
 
 "Now," he added, turning to Kitty, 
 "one table is spread ready for dinner." 
 
 "Oh," said Kitty, suddenly, "you do it 
 for the birds ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed," Uncle Otto returned. 
 " You see there are lots of cold-weather 
 birds who do not leave us through the long 
 winter, and when the snow gets very deep 
 they have a hard time to find enough to 
 eat ; then besides, when it is very cold in- 
 
WHAT A CHATTERING!" EXCLAIMED KITTY. 
 
A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 79 
 
 deed, as it has been lately, they need some 
 kind of food which will produce heat in 
 their little bodies, and the mutton suet 
 does just that. So when I began to think 
 how deep the snow was and how long it 
 had been cold, I thought I had better open 
 a restaurant for the birds, or some of them 
 might die ; and this is the way I did it." 
 
 Kitty looked interested, so Uncle Otto 
 went on. " I fasten the suet in place with 
 wire, because if I tied it on with string 
 the birds would peck at the string, and 
 their dinner would drop to the ground and 
 probably be eaten by a dog or cat. I tie 
 it high on the tree for the same reason, so 
 that only the birds shall have it." 
 
 Uncle Otto had been tying many pieces 
 of suet in place while he talked, and now 
 that the last one was secured they turned 
 back to the house. 
 
 "What a chattering ! " exclaimed Kitty, 
 stopping suddenly and looking back. 
 
80 A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 
 
 " Yes/' said Uncle Otto, " the birds are 
 very sociable at dinner, and sometimes, I 
 am sorry to say, they do not display the 
 best of manners or disposition, but I al- 
 ways try to think it is the fault of their 
 training, and so do not blame them so 
 much. At any rate, I would not want 
 even the naughty ones to go hungry." 
 
 " But how do they know so soon that 
 their dinner is ready ? " asked Kitty. 
 
 "I have come to believe," said Uncle 
 Otto, "that some of them watch for me, 
 and when they see me they call out to the 
 others that dinner is ready, for only a few 
 days after I began putting the suet out for 
 them, I noticed the noise, and that they all 
 gathered very quickly after I went away. 
 So I have come to the conclusion that they 
 look for me, and know that I am manager 
 of their restaurant." 
 
 Kitty laughed heartily. " What a funny 
 idea!'* she said. "I believe I'll start a 
 
A RESTAURANT FOR BIRDS. 81 
 
 restaurant on a small scale at home. I 
 like to see the birds around, and it would 
 be such fun to watch them. But do you 
 know/' she added, " I never thought be- 
 fore about the deep snow making it hard 
 for them to find enough to eat. If I can- 
 not have a restaurant, I will at least start 
 a lunch counter." 
 
A SAUCY BAND OF ROBBERS. 
 
 FRANKIE sat by the tightly-closed 
 window of the hotel, watching, with a 
 very small degree of interest, the horses 
 and the people who passed, and wishing 
 with all his might that he had not sprained 
 his ankle on the slippery sidewalk two days 
 before. 
 
 His foot did n't hivrt so dreadfully, now 
 that the doctor had fixed it, but he could 
 not even step on it, and so he had to sit in 
 a chair all clay, and he was getting pretty 
 tired of that. 
 
 Mamma had read stories to him, and 
 they had played checkers and dominoes 
 and looked at pictures, and then he had 
 watched the strange procession of black 
 horses, gray horses, and brown horses, with 
 
 82 
 
A SAUCY BAND OF BOBBERS. 83 
 
 occasionally a little long-eared donkey, 
 driven by people dressed in all kinds of 
 coats, caps, and hats. But at last he had 
 grown tired of that, too. 
 
 " Mamma, they all look alike now," he 
 exclaimed ; " and there is n't another thing 
 to look at ! " 
 
 " I wonder if that is right," said mam- 
 ma, and she looked earnestly out of the 
 window for a moment. Then she laughed 
 softly. 
 
 " Frank," she said, " I have discovered a 
 band of robbers right across the street from 
 the hotel. You watch the fruit-stand over 
 there and see if you can find them, too." 
 
 Frank was interested now. What boy 
 would n't be when he was given the task 
 of discovering a bold band of robbers, es- 
 pecially from so safe a place as a hotel 
 window ? So he began to watch the fruit- 
 stand opposite very intently. 
 
 The proprietor of the stand, a moment 
 
84 A SAUCY BAND OF BOBBERS. 
 
 after he began watching, laid two cracked 
 nuts on top of the pile of nuts which was 
 temptingly displayed on a shelf or tray out- 
 side the door. 
 
 " I suppose he thinks people will see by 
 those how nice and fresh his nuts are, and 
 will buy them," Frank said, as the pro- 
 prietor went in and shut the door. 
 
 "Yes," said mamma, " that is the way 
 he advertises them." 
 
 " Oh-h ! " exclaimed Frank, almost before 
 mamma had finished speaking, for, as soon 
 as the door of the shop had closed, a fat 
 little sparrow new down, lighted on the 
 pile of nuts, and driving his bill firmly into 
 the meat of a nut that was cracked, flew 
 away with it to the low roof of the fruit- 
 stand. In a moment another sparrow 
 pounced down upon the second nut, and 
 carried that off to the roof. Then they 
 chattered and hopped about and pecked 
 away at the nut kernels, and seemed just 
 
A SAUCY BAND OF BOBBERS. 85 
 
 as happy over them as though they had not 
 been stolen. 
 
 Pretty soon the proprietor came to the 
 door again, and he seemed to discover that 
 his nicely cracked nuts were gone, for he 
 looked at the pile, and then looked up and 
 down the street. 
 
 " He thinks some boys have come along 
 and taken them," said Frank, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 Mamma laughed, too. " I 'm afraid he 
 will not catch them this time," she said. 
 
 Pretty soon he came out again with more 
 nuts nicely cracked, and placed those, as 
 he had the others, on the top of the pile. 
 
 The sparrows must have been watching, 
 for as soon as he was safely within the 
 door, down they flew again, one after 
 another, until every piece of the cracked 
 nuts had been carried off. 
 
 At least five birds had taken part in this 
 theft, and they danced and chattered harder 
 
86 A SAUCY BAND OF ROBBERS. 
 
 than ever on the roof of the little fruit- 
 stand as they pecked and pecked at the 
 delicious nut meats. 
 
 In a moment the owner of the nuts came 
 out of the door again. His nice samples 
 were gone, and not a boy in sight ! 
 
 He seemed very much puzzled, and took 
 off his cap and rubbed his head thought- 
 fully. And just then something happened. 
 
 I don't know whether one of the spar- 
 rows was particularly careless or particu- 
 larly roguish, but at any rate he dropped 
 his empty nut-shell straight down upon the 
 man's bare head. 
 
 The man looked down to see what had 
 hit him, and then he looked up to see 
 where it had come from, and then — well, 
 then he put his hands on his two fat sides 
 and laughed. 
 
 Frank laughed, too, you may imagine, 
 and so did mamma, and then Frank 
 watched to see what would happen next. 
 
A SAUCY BAND OF ROBBERS. 87 
 
 But evidently the man did not think his 
 method of advertising had proved a success, 
 for he brought out no more nuts, and at 
 last the sparrows flew away to look up 
 some new piece of mischief. 
 
A RACE. 
 
 in RED was almost asleep. He had 
 been travelling on the cars for nearly 
 two clays, and all of this second day they 
 had been crossing the plains of Montana, 
 where there had been very little to interest 
 a boy of ten outside the car windows. 
 
 But just as his head was beginning to 
 droop in a sleepy nod, Cousin Arthur took 
 hold of his arm, and said : " Do you see 
 that pony standing beside the car ? That 
 is a real cowboy's pony." 
 
 Fred was awake in a moment, and he 
 looked out of the window eagerly. 
 
 The train had stopped at a station, but 
 there were no buildings to be seen, except 
 the depot and one other small frame house. 
 
 The pony was standing quite near the 
 
 88 
 
A BACE. 89 
 
 car, his head stretched out and the reins 
 hanging down toward the ground. 
 
 " When the cowboy throws the reins 
 over the pony's head," said Cousin Arthur, 
 " the pony knows that he is to stand still, 
 just as our horses stand still when they 
 are tied." 
 
 "Why don't the cowboys tie their 
 ponies ? " asked Fred, curiously. 
 
 " What would they tie them to ? " asked 
 Cousin Arthur ; and then Fred laughed at 
 his own question, for as far as you could 
 see in any direction there was not a bush 
 nor a post in sight, to say nothing of a tree 
 or a fence. 
 
 " The ponies understand," said Cousin 
 Arthur, " and one that has been trained 
 will not move when he is left that way." 
 
 Just then the whistle blew for the train to 
 start, and as it whistled a cowboy, the owner 
 of the pony, dashed out of the little frame 
 building and jumped on the pony's back. 
 
90 A RACE. 
 
 He wore a broad felt hat, a bright red 
 shirt, a bandana handkerchief tied loosely 
 aronnd his neck, and a pair of leather 
 breeches with the hair left upon that part 
 of the leather which formed the front of 
 the legs. Around his waist was a cart- 
 ridge belt, with two big " six-shooters " 
 fastened to it. Fred watched him with 
 wide-open eyes. 
 
 When he jumped so suddenly into the 
 saddle the pony placed its four feet close 
 together and began to "buck." The mo- 
 tion that it made was like that of a rock- 
 ing-horse, only it was not nearly so smooth. 
 First its fore feet struck the ground to- 
 gether, then its back feet, and as they 
 went as fast as he could make them go 
 right in the same spot, and as he kept his 
 head and tail down as close to his feet as 
 possible, it took a very good rider to keep 
 in the saddle. 
 
 Fred laughed heartily at the comical 
 
A RACE. 91 
 
 sight, and at the same time wondered how 
 the cowboy could stay on. But he did. 
 
 Presently the man struck his spurs into 
 the pony's sides, and with one great plunge 
 he started off. The train had started, too, 
 and for a mile the cowboy and his pony 
 kept up with the train. 
 
 Fred grew more and more excited as the 
 race kept up, and when at last the cowboy 
 drew rein and the plucky little pony 
 dropped behind, Fred got up and waved 
 his cap. Then he dropped back into his 
 seat, but you may be sure he was not 
 sleepy for some time after that. 
 
A WINTER WALK, 
 
 " /^ OME, Charlie," called Uncle Lewis one 
 ^~J winter morning, " let us take a walk 
 through the woods." 
 
 "All right," Charlie responded. He 
 could not understand why Uncle Lewis 
 should want to go into the woods in 
 winter, but he and Uncle Lewis were the 
 best of friends, so he was soon ready to go 
 with him. 
 
 There had been a fresh fall of snow a 
 few days before, and as they started out 
 Charlie could not help noticing how clean 
 and white everything looked. 
 
 " The snow is beautiful in the woods," 
 said Uncle Lewis as he strode along. 
 " Just see how the dark trunks of the 
 trees stand out against it," 
 
 92 
 
A WINTER WALK. 93 
 
 The chickadees were flitting about and 
 calling gayly to one another. 
 
 " I am so glad the chickadees stay 
 through the winter ! " said Charlie. " They 
 are not fine singers, but they don't desert 
 us as soon as it grows cold, like most of 
 the birds do." 
 
 " I like the chickadees, too," said Uncle 
 Lewis. " It is always easy to find warm- 
 weather friends." 
 
 Presently Uncle Lewis laid his hand on 
 Charlie's arm and said, "Hark ! " very softly. 
 
 From just over their heads came two 
 soft, liquid notes that were sweet and 
 musical. Charlie looked up. There was 
 no bird in sight but a blue-jay. Charlie 
 was about to turn away, when he saw the 
 bird's throat swell and the bill open, and 
 then again came the two soft, sweet notes. 
 He looked at Uncle Lewis in surprise. 
 
 " Why, I thought the blue-jay could only 
 scream and scold ! " he said. 
 
94 A WINTER WALK. 
 
 " We have caught him unawares/' replied 
 Uncle Lewis. " It is true that his reputa- 
 tion as a singer and as a neighbor is none 
 of the best, but he really has a better side 
 to his nature which he is usually careful to 
 conceal from men." 
 
 " I shall always like the blue-jay better 
 after this," said Charlie. " What a pity it 
 is that he cannot always show this side of 
 his nature ! " 
 
 They walked on a little farther, when 
 they were suddenly startled by a whirr of 
 gray wings, and a partridge flew across their 
 path and disappeared among the trees ahead. 
 
 " Here are some interesting footprints," 
 said Uncle Lewis, stepping out into the 
 deep snow. u Let us look at them." 
 
 Charlie stopped. " What funny tracks ! " 
 he exclaimed. 
 
 "Yes," said Uncle Lewis, "those are 
 rabbit tracks. You can just imagine one 
 bounding along as you look at the prints 
 
A WINTER WALK. 95 
 
 in the snow. And here," he added, " are 
 the tiny footprints of a field-mouse. What 
 dainty little marks it has made I " 
 
 " See," said Charlie, following the small 
 trail, " a bird has hopped across the field- 
 mouse's track. You can tell that it hopped 
 because the tracks are side by side." 
 
 A few steps farther on there was another 
 queer trail. "What is this?" Charlie 
 asked, pointing to the marks. 
 
 Uncle Lewis looked carefully. " I do 
 not know what animal made those," he 
 said, "but it was evidently an animal with 
 a long tail, for do you see the continuous, 
 wavering line between the footprints ?" 
 
 Charlie fairly clapped his hands. " Yes, 
 I see," he said. " Oh, Uncle Lewis, I wish 
 I could see the animals that made these 
 tracks all out on the snow together. It 
 would be like a comical fairy story." 
 
 Uncle Lewis laughed. " It really would 
 be fun," he replied. 
 
96 A WINTER WALK. 
 
 "Let us go and look over that bank," 
 he said, when they had gone on a little 
 farther. 
 
 Just as they reached the edge of the 
 bank there was a sudden, startled rush of 
 something small and gray, which disap- 
 peared under the edge of the bank at their 
 feet. They both stooped down and looked 
 closer. It was a tiny animal, probably a 
 field-mouse, judging by the track it had 
 left in the snow. 
 
 " Why," said Charlie, looking intently, 
 " it certainly went under this bank, but its 
 tracks only go part way up." 
 
 " That is so," said Uncle Lewis, getting 
 down to peer over, " for here is the hole it 
 went into." 
 
 Charlie looked puzzled. 
 
 "I think I understand," Uncle Lewis 
 went on. " The little field-mouse has 
 many enemies in the wood which are big- 
 ger than himself, but perhaps not half so 
 
IT DISAPPEARED UNDER THE EDGE OF THE BANK. 
 
A WINTER WALK. 97 
 
 smart. You see, the mouse runs along in 
 the snow until it is about a foot from its 
 hole and then it leaps in, leaving the tracks 
 cut off far enough away to puzzle and mis- 
 lead its enemies. This is undoubtedly the 
 tiny creature's means of safety and defence. 
 Perhaps he has a wife and children under 
 the bank to care for, and his winter stores 
 are undoubtedly laid away there. How 
 wonderfully God has taught each of his 
 creatures how to defend and care for itself 
 and little ones ! " 
 
 Charlie knelt down on the edge of the 
 bank and peeped into the little hole. " We 
 know your secret, little mouse," he ex- 
 claimed softly, " but we won't hurt you, 
 you wise little fellow." 
 
 " It is time to go back now," said Uncle 
 Lewis, looking at his watch. 
 
 " All right," answered Charlie, scram- 
 bling to his feet. "But, Uncle Lewis," he 
 went on, as he ran along by his side, " I 
 
98 A WINTER WALK. 
 
 knew there were flowers and lots of nice 
 things to see in the woods in summer, but 
 I never knew that there was anything to 
 see in winter before." 
 
 Uncle Lewis smiled. " There are lots of 
 people who have not found that out yet," 
 he said. 
 
THE DOG THAT TELE- 
 GRAPHED. 
 
 HATTIE and her mamma were on 
 their way to visit grandma, who 
 lived over one hundred miles from their 
 home. They had taken a train early in 
 the evening, and would have reached 
 grandma's long before bedtime if it had 
 not been for one thing — they had to 
 change cars at a little station in the coun- 
 try and wait a whole hour before their 
 train came. 
 
 Before the hour was over Hattie grew 
 very tired and sleepy. She had tried each 
 bench in the station, but had found them 
 equally hard ; she had unpacked and packed 
 over again the little valise which papa had 
 given her for her very own just the day be- 
 
 99 
 
100 THE BOG THAT TELEGRAPHED. 
 
 fore they started ; and she had looked 
 through the little window into the office, 
 where a young man sat making a funny, 
 ticking noise on a little instrument. 
 
 " I guess it 's a play piano," she said to 
 mamma in a whisper, " but it does n't 
 make any music, only tick, tick, tick." 
 
 Mamma explained that it was a tele- 
 graph instrument the young man was 
 playing upon, and then for some time 
 Hattie was interested in mamma's explana- 
 tion of how a message could be sent over 
 the wires by means of those little ticks. 
 
 But after a time all this lost its interest, 
 too, and the noise of the little instrument 
 grew fainter and fainter in her ears. 
 
 Mamma discovered this and saw the little 
 head begin to droop, so she tried to interest 
 Hattie once more in the contents of her 
 valise. 
 
 I think the young man must have heard 
 mamma trying to keep Hattie awake till 
 
THE DOG THAT TELEGRAPHED. 101 
 
 the train came, for pretty soon he came 
 out from the office and whistled. Then 
 a little curly dog that Hattie had not seen 
 at all before came out of the office, too, 
 wagging his tail vigorously. 
 
 Hattie opened her eyes wide at this. 
 
 "Here, Pompey," said the young man, 
 " show the little girl how you can tele- 
 graph." 
 
 Hattie was very wide awake by this 
 time and sat up quite straight, and what 
 do you suppose the little dog did ? Well, 
 he laid down on his back on the bare floor 
 and began to beat upon the boards with his 
 tail, tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, just as the young 
 man had been doing on his telegraph in- 
 strument. 
 
 How Hattie did laugh, and mamma, 
 too ; and then the little dog jumped up 
 and wagged his tail, as much as to say, 
 " Did n't I do that pretty well ? " 
 
 After that Hattie found Pompey so 
 
102 THE BOG THAT TELEGRAPHED. 
 
 amusing that almost before she knew it 
 the train came puffing into the station, and 
 she had to bid good night to the dog that 
 could telegraph, and that had kept her 
 from going to sleep before she reached 
 grandma's. 
 
WHAT GRANDMA SENT. 
 
 EALPH ROGERS was making a col- 
 lection of birds' nests. He had be- 
 come interested in watching the birds while 
 studying about them in school, and when 
 his vacation came he began looking for 
 birds whenever he had an opportunity. 
 
 He learned a great deal about the habits 
 of the different kinds, and how they con- 
 structed their nests. Then later in the 
 season, when the baby birds had learned 
 to fly and the nests were of no more use 
 to the bird families, he began his collec- 
 tion. He would cut down the small 
 branch of the tree on which the nest was 
 hung, or dig up the bit of sod or moss on 
 which it rested, and in this way his nests 
 made a fine showing. His collection was 
 
 103 
 
104 WHAT GRANDMA SENT. 
 
 praised by the older members of the family 
 and by his teachers, until Ralph began to 
 take a great deal of pride in it. 
 
 At the close of his vacation he wrote a 
 long letter to his grandmother, who lived 
 in the country, but away off in another 
 State, telling her how he had spent his 
 vacation, and what he had learned during 
 the summer months. 
 
 Of course, one of the main things that he 
 told her about was his collection of birds' 
 nests. He described how he had thrown 
 bits of string out on the lawn, and then 
 had watched the orioles come and take 
 them and use them to weave into their 
 nest on the end of one of the elm-tree 
 boughs. Then after the orioles had left 
 the nest he had cut it down and kept it. 
 
 Grandma always enjoyed Ralph's let- 
 ters, and she enjoyed this one especially, 
 because she knew at once that she could 
 give him a delightful surprise. 
 
WHAT GRANDMA SENT. 105 
 
 About a week later, Ralph, received a 
 letter from grandma, and in the same mail 
 was a strong, square pasteboard box di- 
 rected to him. 
 
 Ralph opened the letter and this is what 
 it said : 
 
 " Deae Ralph : I was very glad to re- 
 ceive your letter, and very much interested 
 in your collection of birds' nests. And 
 now I have a story to tell you about a 
 bird's nest. One day in the early summer 
 grandpa was out on the side porch having 
 his hair cut." (Ralph remembered what 
 beautiful silvery- white hair grandpa had.) 
 " Of course the wind blew the bunches of 
 hair out into the grass, and a little while 
 afterwards we noticed that a pair of small 
 birds were making frequent trips from a 
 tree near-by to the grass beside the porch. 
 Then we saw that they were carrying 
 away the bunches of hair, and we knew 
 that they must be making a nest. And 
 
106 WHAT GRANDMA SENT. 
 
 sure enough, as we found out afterwards, 
 they were lining the nest with the soft, 
 white hair, to make it smooth and beauti- 
 ful for their babies. Now if you will open 
 the package which I have mailed to you, I 
 think you will find something in it which 
 you will like to add to your collection of 
 nests. " Your loving 
 
 " Grandma/' 
 
 Ralph opened the package pretty quickly 
 after reading the letter, and there, inside 
 the box, attached to a small branch of a 
 tree, was a little round nest beautifully 
 made, and with the inside completely cov- 
 ered with soft, white hair, woven so that it 
 formed a part of the dainty bird-cradle. 
 
 " It 's grandpa's hair ! " exclaimed Ralph, 
 as he ran to show his treasure to mamma. 
 
 And do you wonder that all the mem- 
 bers of the family considered that nest the 
 chief treasure of all Ralph's collection ? 
 
AN UNEXPECTED PARADE. 
 
 A NNA had been sick for two weeks, 
 -£-*- but now she was able to sit up by 
 the window and see the children go by on 
 their way to school, and watch the chickens 
 scratch industriously in Mrs. Fitkin's yard. 
 There did not seem to be much else to look 
 at ; and after a day or two she began to 
 tire of having to sit so still. 
 
 But the worst of all was when her 
 brother Tommy told her that papa had 
 promised to take him down town the next 
 afternoon to see the parade, for mamma 
 had read to her about it from the news- 
 paper, and there were to be soldiers in it, 
 and bands of music, and men on horseback 
 all dressed in splendid uniforms, and, oh, 
 she did want to see it so much ! 
 
 107 
 
108 AN UNEXPECTED PARADE. 
 
 But of course she could n't, for the doctor 
 would not even let her walk about the 
 house yet. It did seem too bad. 
 
 " I 'm awful sorry, Anna," said Tommy, 
 as he and papa started off the next day, 
 " but I '11 tell you all about it when I get 
 back, just the best I can.'' 
 
 Papa kissed her good-by, and whispered 
 a loving little message in her ear, and then 
 they were gone. 
 
 Anna tried to be very brave, because she 
 knew it would grieve mamma if she was 
 unhappy about it, and of course it could n't 
 be helped ; but at the same time she could n't 
 help wishing that she was well and able to 
 go too. 
 
 She did not feel at all interested in Mrs. 
 Fitkin's hens, and there wasn't anything 
 else to watch, except a yellow dog that was 
 lying stupidly in the middle of the road. 
 
 Anna laid her head against the back of 
 the big easy chair and closed her eyes. 
 
AN UNEXPECTED PARADE. 109 
 
 She was thinking about Tommy and the 
 soldiers and the music, when, from out in 
 the street, she heard a strange, shrill laugh. 
 
 She sat up very quickly and looked out. 
 And there was the strangest procession ! 
 There were three, four, five, six wagons 
 coming up the street, and on each wagon 
 there were two or three cages, although at a 
 distance they looked simply like big boxes. 
 
 Anna called mamma excitedly, for in one 
 of the cages on the first wagon was a gor- 
 geous red and blue parrot, which was talk- 
 ing and laughing by turns, and evidently 
 enjoying the ride very much. There were 
 several other cages on this wagon, some 
 of which held eagles, and others owls, 
 and in one was a small monkey, which now 
 and then opened its mouth as widely as 
 possible, and gave the funniest long, shrill 
 squeal. 
 
 Anna sat up and clapped her hands softly. 
 " Oh, mamma," she said, " how funny ! " 
 
110 AN UNEXPECTED PARADE. 
 
 The other wagons held larger cages. 
 There were black bears standing on their 
 hind legs, holding to the bars at the sides 
 of their cages, and wolves walking back 
 and forth as if they would like to find 
 some way of getting out so that they might 
 run off to the woods again. There were 
 foxes, too, and in one cage was a wildcat. 
 It did not look one bit wild, but like an 
 immense, big house cat, with beautiful eyes 
 and a coat of silky hair. Anna said she 
 felt like hugging it. 
 
 In a big cage with a tank in it, which 
 occupied an entire wagon, there were sea- 
 lions, but Anna could not see them very 
 well, for they could not climb or walk 
 about like other animals. But one raised 
 its head, and Anna was satisfied with 
 that. 
 
 On the last wagon was a large ape, 
 which must have been teased by the boys 
 and girls, for as soon as it caught sight of 
 
AN UNEXPECTED PARADE. Ill 
 
 Anna at the window it began making faces 
 at her. This was the funniest sight of all. 
 
 She watched the ape until it was out of 
 sight, and then she turned to mamma and 
 asked, " Where do you suppose they came 
 from, and was n't it funny that they came 
 to-day, just when I was wishing so much 
 to see a parade ? " 
 
 Mamma laughed. " Yes, it was funny," 
 she said, answering Anna's last question 
 first, " but I think I know where they 
 came from. They are the animals that 
 have been kept in the park during the 
 summer, and now that the weather is be- 
 coming colder, they are being moved to 
 winter quarters. They are to be kept in 
 some large barns on a stock-farm outside 
 the city." 
 
 " Well," replied Anna, as she leaned back 
 in her chair, " I am so glad they went 
 past here; and won't I have something to 
 tell Tommy when he comes home ! " 
 
THE ROOSTER'S JOKE. 
 
 rTlHE old Plymouth Rock rooster had to 
 -*- be tied to a tree, because he was such 
 a fighter, and Myrtle watched with interest 
 while her auntie fastened a bit of strap about 
 his ankle, and then a long line from the 
 strap to the tree. 
 
 After that Myrtle was allowed to feed 
 him with corn and wheat, and keep his 
 drinking-cup filled with fresh water. In 
 time she began to feel somewhat acquainted 
 with him, and she learned that roosters 
 have traits of character quite as strongly 
 marked as those of people. 
 
 One day he had grown tired of walking 
 about his tree and tangling the line into a 
 succession of knots, and he evidently de- 
 termined to play a joke upon the hens that 
 112 
 
THE ROOSTER'S JOKE. 113 
 
 were roaming about and enjoying the 
 freedom which he was denied, and this is 
 the way he did it, for I am telling you a 
 true story. 
 
 He began to scratch in the ground very 
 earnestly, and then, throwing up his head, 
 he called, " Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck ! " 
 in rapid succession. This is rooster 
 language for, " Come, see what I 've 
 got!" 
 
 The hens all came running in haste, for 
 the roosters are the knights of the poultry- 
 yard, and frequently treat the hens to 
 delicious morsels of food — grubs and 
 worms which they dig out of the ground. 
 
 Well, when the hens had gathered ex- 
 pectantly around, that old rooster turned 
 his back upon them — for he hadn 't a 
 thing for them to eat — and laughed, 
 " H-a-w, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck ! H-a-w, 
 cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck ! " (" Oh, was n't 
 that a good joke ! Oh, wasn't that a good 
 
114 THE BOOSTER'S JOKE. 
 
 joke ! ") just as plainly as Myrtle herself 
 could have expressed it. 
 
 And the hens ? They walked away with 
 a disgusted air and began to scratch for 
 themselves. 
 
THE BIRD THAT SANG IN 
 THE NIGHT, 
 
 TjpTHEL was only four years old, so I 
 -r* am sure that it cannot be thought so 
 very, very strange that she should be afraid 
 when she woke up in the night and every- 
 thing around her was dark and still. But 
 little Ethel was really much troubled about 
 
 it. 
 
 " I know I ought not to be afraid," she 
 
 would say to mamma, " but I am every 
 
 time." 
 
 Mamma tried in many ways to teach 
 
 Ethel that there was nothing for her to 
 
 feel frightened about in the darkness, but 
 
 Ethel still was afraid. 
 
 One day mamma and Ethel started off 
 
 on the railway train to visit Aunt Char- 
 
 115 
 
116 BIRD THAT SANG IN THE NIGHT. 
 
 lotte, who lived several hundred miles 
 away. They were to be in the cars two 
 clays and three nights, and it is not surpris- 
 ing that Ethel thought the journey would 
 be quite wonderful. 
 
 There were many things to interest her 
 the first evening, and it took her a long 
 time to get to sleep. 
 
 " I feel as though I was packed away in 
 a trunk," she said to mamma, when she 
 was tucked into the berth in the sleeping- 
 car. Mamma laughed, and told her she 
 would not mind it in a little while. 
 
 At last Ethel fell asleep, and in a short 
 time mamma went to sleep too. 
 
 Some time far on in the night Ethel 
 woke. 
 
 "Oh, dear, why did I?" she whispered 
 to herself, and then she felt a jolting which 
 gradually grew less until the train stopped 
 quite still. 
 
 Ethel remembered where she was as soon 
 
BI1W THAT SANG IN THE NIGHT. 117 
 
 as she woke up, and as usual she began to 
 feel afraid. 
 
 The cars were very quiet. Her window 
 was up a little way, and she ventured to 
 peep out. It was perfectly dark. 
 
 She was going to reach for mamma's 
 hand and waken her, when she heard a 
 little twitter just outside the car, and then 
 in the stillness and darkness a bird began 
 to sing. 
 
 " Why," she said to herself, in sudden 
 surprise, " I did n't know that birds sang in 
 the night. I s'pose it woke up and just 
 began to sing so 's to get to sleep again." 
 
 She thought about it for several minutes, 
 and forgot to waken mamma. 
 
 "The little bird is n't afraid," she said to 
 herself, " and it 's all alone in the woods. 
 I wonder if I could sing myself to sleep 
 too." 
 
 So she began to hum a song she had 
 learned, very softly, so that she would not 
 
118 BIRD THAT SANG IN THE NIGHT. 
 
 waken the other passengers. And her song 
 grew softer and softer, until it ended in a 
 sleepy little murmur, and ceased altogether. 
 And Ethel never was afraid when she 
 wakened in the night after that. She 
 always thought of the little bird in the 
 dark woods, disturbed by the passing train, 
 and like it, she sang herself to sleep again. 
 
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