Aunt Fanny

“ JOE, WHO DID NOT MIND.
my! what a cold day!" said Tom; "I am sure the pond is all ice. What fun it will to run my sled on it! Come, Joe, get your sled, and I will race [Pg 158] home and get mine, and we will have a real good time."
"O no! I can not," said Joe; "pa-pa told me not to go on the pond to-day; he said the ice was too thin."
"Stuff! the ice is two feet deep, I know. Come, it will not hurt you, and then you need not tell. Don't be such a gump. Go, get your sled, [Pg 159] I tell you. Come; one! two! three! Why don't you run?" ”

“ If I can get my pie, the tom-tit, and you and I can eat it."
He got up on top of the tin pot to see far off, and he did cry out: "O my! I [Pg 15] see it now! I see my pie! The sly old ape has got it, and he has eat a big bit out of it, too! Oh! oh! he will eat it all up! How can I get at him?"
And now the sly old ape, who had the pie in his paw, saw Ned, and Ned did say: "Now for a run!" So he did run, and the sly old ape did [Pg 16] run, and the dog did run, and the cat did run, and the pup did run, and the kit did run, and all did run, and it was fun. ”

“ He did not fret a bit, but had a kiss and a kind word for all who took care of him.
[Pg 181] When he got well, he did not go near that bad boy, Tom, who had made him to sin, and then when he was in such a sad way, and like to die, ran off. For you know when Joe sank down thro' the hole in the ice, Tom did not help him, but, like a bad, mean boy, ran away. All bad boys and girls act so; they will get [Pg 182] you to sin, and then when you are in pain, and want to get rid of your sin, they will not help you. Not they! So keep far away from all such, if you wish to lead a good life. ”

“ Well, this day, Aunt Peg [Pg 140] said: "What am I to cook, ma'am?"
"Oh!" said mam-ma, "we will have some ham and eggs, and peas, and rice, and——"
"Pie!" said Ann. "O yes! you must make me a big pie, Aunt Peg, or you will get your head shot off."
"O good-y! I hope not, Miss Ann," said Aunt Peg. [Pg 141] "If you cut my head off, I shall hop up and down like the poor hen who flew in our yard from next door with her head off; and then all the pies you will get will be the dirt pies you make your-self; and they are not as good to eat as mine, are they?"
"Oh! I was in fun, dear Aunt Peg," said Ann. ”

“ He put his paw on the end of his nose, and then all at once gave a jump for joy in the air. "Good! good! good!" he did cry; "I have it! I can get all the eggs in the hole."
"Come here, Bet!" he said to his wife. "Come out, all of you, and help me."
[Pg 79] Up they came with a hop, skip, and jump, all ears and eyes, and each tail gave a slap on the side of the wall, it came out with such a jerk.
"Here we are, my dear," said old Bet, the rat's wife. "Come; go to work as fast as you can. I hear the cat."
"Well, you and I must [Pg 80] go out to the mill, to get a wisp of hay to tie my legs with." ”

“ If a boy or [Pg 160] girl tells you not to mind your pa-pa or mam-ma, I beg you to run away from them as if they were a bear or a wild cat, come to bite your head off; for, let me tell you, a bad boy or a bad girl will do you more harm than a wild bear or cat; they will make you bad too; and you will be sure to come to harm, just as Joe did. [Pg 161]
For he got his sled and Tom got his, and they ran off to the pond.
It was full of boys, and for an hour or two, our two boys had fine fun. They all slid down the pond in a long line ”

“ You know I can beat the drum, if I can not beat the bad men, [Pg 106] who will try to do all they can to hurt us.'"
"Then I said: 'O no! Will; I can not let you go. They will kill you.'
"'Why, who can want to kill a boy like me? Come, dear pa-pa, do let me go; I want to be with you, I love you so much. If you get hurt, I can take care of you, [Pg 107] and then I can beat the drum, or play on a fife. ”

“ But Ben did [Pg 55] hop up, and he and Bob ran off.
"Ben and Bob ran off to see the men mow the hay."—P. 54.
Ben did go in to his mam-ma and say: "O mam-ma! we are so hot and so dry! do let us get a pie to eat and a big tin mug of wa-ter; and oh! may we put a big bit of ice in the tin mug?"
His mam-ma did say, Yes; and so Ben and Bob did eat [Pg 56] the pie and had a lot of fun; for Ben bit his pie to look like a cat who had one leg, and Bob bit his pie in-to a dog who had one ear. He ate it all up; and Bob did say he had a dog-pie, and Ben had a cat-pie. Was it not fun? ”

“ Joe got well, and he grew up a good boy and good man. He is a man now, and when he is told to do what is bad, he says to him-self: "This is like Tom; this will get me into a hole, like the hole in the ice ”

“ But she was a good wife, and knew how to mind; so she went with the old rat, and they got a fine long wisp of hay, and ran back [Pg 81] to the eggs and the nine rat-boys.
"They got a fine long wisp of hay."—P. 80. ”