Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

“ Pretty soon he met some young men who also were going to the Fair. “Aha!” said Mr. Peacock. “These people will admire me!” and he strutted more than ever.
“Look!” said the young men. “What a fine peacock, and what splendid feathers he has! They are just what we want for our hats.” They surrounded Mr. Peacock, and, spite of his screams of rage and terror, tore out three or four of his finest tail feathers and went away laughing. Presently he fell in with a large flock of geese which a boy was driving to the Fair to sell. ”

“ I know what I know!”
“We know, too,” cried the Maples. “We know that in snow-time Santa Claus comes, and chooses the finest tree, and dresses it in gold and silver and hangs stars all over it. That is why we wish to be fine and gay.” ”

“ For every day, Johnny always wears blue; blue rompers in the morning, when he is playing in the sand box or helping Maggie make bread in the kitchen, and a blue sailor suit in the afternoon, when he goes “walk-a-walk-a” with Mamma. But on Sunday afternoon he goes walk-a-walk-a with Daddy (but they take Mamma too!) , and then he has on his white sailor suit, and his white stockings and red shoes. Aunt Kitty brought him the shoes, and when they came there was a china cat inside one, and a tin frog inside the other. They were surprises, the cat and the frog; Aunt Kitty likes to give surprises. ”

“ Why do you think the Big People keep you? Because you are soft and pretty and foolish? Not at all! They keep you because you are supposed to be useful. Your mother, Little Cat, was a hard-working, self-respecting mouser, who caught her daily mouse as regularly as she ate her daily bread and milk. Your father, Little Dog, hunted rats with me in this barn as long as he had legs to stand upon, and between us we kept the place in tolerable order. Great Old Dog cannot be expected to hunt at his age, and besides, he is too big ”

“ It’s just a little Baby Brother!
[70]
MR. SPARROW’S BATH
One day Johnny followed Mamma up into the attic, where there are all kinds of pleasant things, and he saw a very pleasant thing indeed. It was a small dish, white with pink roses all over it; really and truly, it was the prettiest dish that ever was. Johnny said, “O-o-oh! may I have that dish for mine?”
Mamma looked, and then she took the dish in her hand and thought a minute. Mamma always likes to be sure about things before she says “Yes!” for fear it might not really be “yes” after all. ”

“ Flora was a small doll, all china, and her clothes came off, so she could have a bath any time, and Johnny often gave her one. Now he gave her one in the rosy-posy dish, and it was just exactly the right size, and Johnny was so pleased, and said, “Oh, thank you, dear Mamma!” without having to be told. (Sometimes he forgets to say “thank you,” but he is getting to be quite good about it.)
The next time Johnny went down-stairs, he took the doll’s bath to show to Maggie, and she said ’twas the pick of the world for a dish, and asked Johnny to lave her bake a cake in it ”

“ As they drew near, Sharp-Sense, the Crow, called from the tree where he was perching: “Who is this number two, Friend Deer?”
“It is Small-Wit, the Jackal,” said the Deer. “He is lonely, and wishes to be our friend.”
“Friendship with stranger,
Friendship with danger!” said the Crow.
[111]
“Nay!” said the Deer. “I like this rhyme better:
“Foe is friend, and friend is foe,
As our actions make them so.” ”

“ We don’t call hay leaves!”
“How many rats have you caught this week?” asked Old Cat, turning to Little Dog.
“None!” said Little Dog. “The last rat I caught bit me horridly; besides, they are odious, [23] vulgar beasts, and I don’t care to have anything to do with them.”
“Fffff!” said Old Cat. “Little Cat, how many mice have you caught in the kitchen this week?”
Little Cat hung her head. “I haven’t caught any,” she said. “I don’t care for mice, the flavor is too strong; I like cream better.”
“Ffffff! grrrr-yow!” said Old Cat; her green eyes shot out sparks, and her fur began to stand up. ”

“ Johnny was hungry, and he dropped the red shoes and white stockings and ran in to have his luncheon. While he was eating it, Maggie told him the story of the Little Rid Hin; (Mamma says it is “Red Hen,” really, but Maggie always says it the other way, and Johnny likes it better) ; and then she said it was time for his nap, and she whisked him up-stairs and tucked him up in his crib and told him to go to sleep like a good boy, and he went.
By and by he woke up, and Mamma came in to dress him for dinner. She washed his face and hands, and brushed his hair, and put on his white sailor suit ”

“ The Frog was very much afraid of Slyboots’s sharp teeth and claws, so he fell to work and made a shield from the bark of an old willow tree, and then he plucked a long bulrush for a spear. “Now,” said he, “I am well armed: I have a shield to defend myself and a spear to attack the enemy with. If I had but a brave friend to be my second in the fight I should do very well.”
“I will be your second,” said a great Pike, raising his head above the water; “I will lie close to the bank among these rushes, and if you break [95] your spear come to me and I will procure you another.” ”

“ Next Jack went and read for an hour to old Mr. Green, who was blind. He read a book about the sea, and they both liked it very much, so the hour went quickly. Then it was time to help Mother get dinner, and then time to eat it; that took two hours, and Aunt Jane’s pie was wonderful. Then Jack took the Smith baby for a ride in its carriage, as Mrs. Smith was ill, and they met its grandfather, who filled Jack’s pockets with candy and popcorn and invited him to a Christmas Tree that night. ”

“ Next day she tried to find her way home, but the garden was large, and she was too afraid of snakes to go far; so she decided to stay where she was, and make her home in the hole by the summerhouse.
One day, as she was lying in the sun, Goldstar saw a boy standing near her, with a cane in his hand. At first she was afraid to move, fearing he might strike her; but Carlos (for that was the boy’s name) was fond of lizards, and would not have hurt one for the world. He spoke softly to [116] Goldstar, and she soon saw that he was kind and good. ”

“ The door shut then—on the tip of my tail, too—and I heard no more; but what do you suppose it means?”
Little Dog shook his head. “We must ask somebody,” he said. “Let me see! Great Old Dog is out for a walk, and Crosspatch Parrot bit me the last time I asked her a question.”
“I know,” said Little Cat. “We will ask Old Cat in the Barn. She knows a good many things, and if she isn’t catching rats—but she generally is—she will tell us.” ”

“ So Johnny said: “I have new shoes too, only they are not on; they are up-stairs, and they are red.”
“They ain’t!” said the Boy Over the Fence. He was not a very nice boy.
[48]
“HE HELD THEM UP SO THAT THE BOY OVER THE FENCE COULD SEE THEM.”
“They are!” said Johnny. “Bright red, with wankle buttons. Aunt Kitty bringed them, and there was a cat in one, and a frog in the other, and they were s’prises. And white stockings too, so there!” Then he stopped, for he was out of breath.
“Hurnh!” said the Boy Over the Fence. “Let’s see ’em!” ”

“ He lives on meat, and Mamma says perhaps that makes him cross. Anyhow, he is cross, and he growls and snarls and spits at Muffet and Jetty and Topaz and Malta, and tries to steal their fishbones, and upsets their milk, and is really a very horrid cat.
The story happened one night last week. Johnny was asleep, and Maggie was tidying up the nursery before going to bed, when suddenly she heard a queer noise. It came from the yard, and she stepped to the window and looked out. It was bright moonlight; and what do you think? The cats were having a party in the sand box! ”

“ LITTLE GOLDSTAR
(Adapted)
In a southern garden lived a family of green lizards, under the roots of a palm-tree. They were merry little creatures, and their parents loved them dearly.
One day Father Lizard said to his children: “Your mother and I must go away this morning; now be good children; stay close together, and be sure that one of you keeps watch for fear of snakes and hawks!”
The little lizards promised; and for some time they were very careful; first one kept watch, and then another; but at length Sprightly said: “There is no danger near. ”

“ We will each bring a friend to see fair play. To-morrow at twelve o’clock I shall be ready to take the field; [94] and if you fail to meet me here I shall be King of the Fen, and the mice shall be my servants.” For Croaker thought Slyboots was braver in word than in deed, as cowards are often the foremost to talk of fighting.
Then the Frog retired among the bulrushes and the Mouse ran home to his hole under the nut tree. ”

“ Why should we not all play together, just for a little while?”
Oh dear! they forgot their promise, and see what came of it! While they were playing merrily, [115] a great snake glided quietly out from the grass, seized poor Sprightly, and carried her off to his den.
The other lizards fled in terror. Swiftfoot ran up the tree, Longtail hid in the nest, and Goldstar ran away and away, to the farthest end of the garden. She did not dare to go home again, but found a hole in the bank near a summerhouse, and slipping into it, stayed all night, weeping for the death of her dear Sprightly. ”

“ I know cats.”
“I think she has gone out to see Old Cat in the Barn,” Little Dog continued. “Perhaps she may live out there and never come back.”
[61]
“She’ll come back,” said Great Old Dog. “She will miss you just as much as you miss her. Make it up, I tell you! Quarrelling is the silliest thing there is,” and he went to sleep again.
“Oh, dear!” said Little Dog. “I do miss Little Cat dreadfully, and the door is shut. Oh, oh dear!”
Little Girl was sitting at the desk, doing things with gold and silver paper. Little Dog went up to her and asked very prettily to be let out ”

“ I shall tell no one a word of the matter,” said Trusty.
“Well, then,” said the Wolf, “you must know, as I was prowling around yonder cottage I saw the farmer’s wife put a fine baby into the cradle, and heard her say: ‘Lie still, my darling, and go to sleep, while I run down to the village to buy bread for your father’s supper.’ As soon as the babe is asleep I shall go and fetch it: it is fair [86] and fat, and will make a nice supper for me and my cubs.” ”

“ THE CAT’S NAME
Tom had a cat who was so white that he named her Snow. He loved Snow and thought her the best cat in the world, but she would not come when she was called.
One day Snow went and played in the coal-bin, and when she came out she was quite black.
“See, Mother,” said Tom: “Snow cannot be Snow now, for she is black. What shall I name her?”
“You might name her Soot!” said his mother.
So he named Snow Soot. Snow did not care, and Soot did not care, but neither of them came when she was called.
One day Snow saw a tin pot on the shed floor, and Soot thought there might be cream in it ”

“ Mamma, he is doing it all himself. Nobody told him to, not one bit.”
“No, indeed!” said Mamma. “He likes to take his bath and be clean, just as Johnny does. He knows it feels good to be clean.”
“Mamma!” said Johnny. “I want to tell you something. Shall we have something else for [75] Flora, and let the rosy posy dish be the sparrow’s bath, his ownty donty?”
“Suppose we do!” said Mamma. And they did.
[76]
LITTLE GIRL
When Little Girl wakes in the morning gay
Then everybody is glad;
The cat in the kitchen sits purring away,
And the puppy dog barks like mad. ”

“ Is good for bird and beast and man.”
Then Trusty went back to mind his master’s sheep, and Mrs. Crane flew to her nest and fed and tended her crane babies.
[90]
Some time after this she was flying homeward and stopped at a clear pool to drink. As she did so she heard a sad, moaning sound, and looking about, whom should she see but good Trusty, lying on the ground, almost at the point of death. She flew to him. “Oh, my good, kind friend,” she cried, “what has happened to you?” ”

“ One very hot day, Carlos was taking a nap in the summerhouse, when he was waked by something running over his face. He brushed it away without opening his eyes, but it came again, and [117] still again. In fact, he could not get rid of it. At last he sat up, wide awake and very angry, and found that it was Goldstar. ”

“ Now one day we looked out of the south parlor window, and what do you think we saw? Dick was coming across the lawn looking very proud and very happy. Every now and then he stopped and looked over his shoulder and mewed as if he were calling some one to follow him. And some [160] one was following him! Across the lawn after him came:
One very thin and wretched-looking tortoise-shell cat.
One Maltese kitten.
One yellow kitten.
All three looked half-starved, and all three were scared out of their wits!
“Come on!” said Dick, as plain as mew could speak. “They won’t hurt you ”