Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History BookOpen Original Text tion: "'YOU'RE YOUNG,' SAID GAY, 'AND IS THAT WHY YOU
ACT SO SILLY?'"]
She whistled and called; they were out of sight.
She waited a moment, then laughed outright.
For who was this coming? Why, little dog Spy!
But he didn't look happy--with head held high--
Indeed, he looked rather ashamed instead
For he hadn't caught the squirrel red.
Spy couldn't climb trees, and so, you see,
Master Squirrel escaped quite easily.
"You're young," said Gay, "and is that why
You act so silly?"
"_Bow-wow!_" said Spy.
"I'm tired of walking," the little girl said,
"I think I will pick some flowers instead.
I will take them home to my Grandma, dear;
She loves them but she can't walk out here."
There were plenty of flowers all around.
Sweet white violets covered the ground.
There were lovely long-stemmed blue ones, too,
And all around the May-flowers grew.
But when she had all her hands would hold,
It was time to leave, it was growing cold.
The sun was sinking. But where was Spy?
She whistled and called,--but no reply!
"Where can he be?" she said, when hark!
Off in the distance she heard him bark.
"He must have a rabbit," said she, "that's all."
And sure enough, by an old stone-wall,
Spy was barking away as hard as he could--
As if scaring the rabbit would do any good.
"The rabbit is safe in that wall," said Gay,
"He wouldn't come out if you barked all day.
So you better come home for it's growing late.
And Mother will wonder why I wait.
Supper'll be ready, too. Oh, my!
Are you hungry as I am?"
"_Bow-wow!_" said Spy.
[Illustration: "I'SE BIGGEST!"
FROM AN ENGRAVING OF THE PAINTING BY ARTHUR J. ELSLEY.]
The Ballad of a runaway Donkey:
by Emilie Poulsson:
here shadow'd forth in divers pictures by Alfred Brenon.
A sturdy little Donkey,
All dressed in sober gray,
Once took it in his long-eared head
That he would run away.
2 So, when a little open
He saw the sable door,
He ran as if he never would
Come back there any more.
3 Away that Donkey galloped
And ran and ran and ran
And ran and ran and ran and ran
And Ran and RAn and RAN!
4 Behind him ran the Children,
The Groom and Coachman, too;
The Farmer and the farmer's man,
To see what they could do.
5 Some carried whips to whip him,
Some, oats to coax him near,
Some called "Come here you foolish beast!"
And some, "Come, Barney, dear."
6 But not a whit cared Barney
For cross or coaxing word;
And clatter, clatter, clatter still,
His little hoofs were heard.
7 And all across the meadow,
And up and o'er the hill,
And through the woods and down the dale
He galloped with a will.
8 And into every hayfield
And through the swamp and mire
Still Barney ran and ran and ran
As if he'd never tire!
9 His chasers all stopped running,
Then meek as any lamb
Did Barney stand as if to say,
"Come catch me! here I am."
10 But when one of them started,
Then Barney started, too;
As if the chase had just begun
Away he swiftly flew.
11 But there's an end to all things,
And so, (the stupid elf)
When no one else could capture him
This donkey caught himself.
12 For, running in the barn-yard,
He did not calculate
What consequences would befall,
And hit the swinging gate.
13 It quickly swung together,
Down dropped the iron latch
O, Barney Gray! to think that you
The runaway should catch!
14 The Children danced with pleasure,
The Groom roared with delight,
The Others smiled their broadest smiles
Or laughed with all their might.
15 But Barney, naughty Barney,
Had mischief in him still
For when the laughing Coachman tried
To lead him up the hill
16 His donkeyship determined
That he would yet have fun
So braced himself and stood stock still
As if he weighed a ton!
17 But mighty was the Coachman
And pulled with such a will
That Barney soon was being dragged
Full roughly up the hill.
18 "Well, well!" at last thought Barney
"The Coachman is so strong
I might as well be good just now,"
And so he walked along.
19 And when he reached the stable
And stood within the stall,
You'd scarce believe so meek a beast
Could run away, at all!
20 Now all the meditations
Of this same Barney Gray
Are only of some future chance
When he may run away.
THE THREE BEARS[M]
Once upon a time there were three bears who lived in a castle in a great
wood. One of them was a great big bear, and one was a middling bear, and
one was a little bear. And in the same wood there was a fox who lived
all alone; his name was Scrapefoot. Scrapefoot was very much afraid of
the bears, but for all that he wanted very much to know all about them.
And one day as he went through the wood he found himself near the Bears'
Castle, and he wondered whether he could get into the castle. He looked
all about him everywhere, and he could not see any one. So he came up
very quietly, till at last he came up to the door of the castle, and he
tried whether he could open it. Yes! the door was not locked, and he
opened it just a little way, and put his nose in and looked, and he
could not see any one. So then he opened it a little way farther, and
put one paw in, and then another paw, and another and another, and then
he was all in the Bears' Castle. He found he was in a great hall with
three chairs in it--one big, one middling, and one little chair; and he
thought he would like to sit down and rest and look about him; so he sat
down on the big chair. But he found it so hard and uncomfortable that it
made his bones ache, and he jumped down at once and got into the
middling chair, and he turned round and round in it, but he couldn't
make himself comfortable. So then he went to the little chair and sat
down in it, and it was so soft and warm and comfortable that Scrapefoot
was quite happy; but all at once it broke to pieces under him and he
couldn't put it together again! So he got up and began to look about him
again, and on one table he saw three saucers, of which one was very big,
one was middling, one was quite a little saucer. Scrapefoot was very
thirsty, and he began to drink out of the big saucer. But he only just
tasted the milk in the big saucer, which was so sour and so nasty that
he would not taste another drop of it. Then he tried the middling
saucer, and he drank a little of that. He tried two or three mouthfuls,
but it was not nice, and then he left it and went to the little saucer,
and the milk in the little saucer was so sweet and so nice that he went
on drinking it till it was all gone.
Then Scrapefoot thought he would like to go upstairs; and he listened
and he could not hear any one. So upstairs he went, and he found a great
room with three beds in it; one was a big bed, and one was a middling
bed, and one was a little white bed; and he climbed up into the big bed,
but it was so hard and lumpy and uncomfortable that he jumped down again
at once, and tried the middling bed. That was rather better, but he
could not get comfortable in it, so after turning about a little while
he got up Previous Next |