Citation
The Rival babies

Material Information

Title:
The Rival babies
Cover title:
Brownies
Creator:
Veale, E.
Cox, Palmer, 1840-1924 ( illustrator )
Hubbard Publishing Co ( Publisher )
Place of Publication:
Philadelphia
Publisher:
Hubbard Pub'g. Co.
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
1 v. (unpaged) : ill. (some col.) ; 23 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Parties -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Children's stories ( lcsh )
Children's stories -- 1897 ( lcsh )
Fantasy literature -- 1897 ( rbgenr )
Bldn -- 1897
Genre:
Children's stories
Fantasy literature ( rbgenr )
novel ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Target Audience:
juvenile ( marctarget )

Notes

General Note:
With: The busy Brownies / illustrations by Palmer Cox ; stories by E. Veale. [Philadelphia : Hubbard Publishing Co.], c1896. -- and 10 other books.
Statement of Responsibility:
illustrations by Palmer Cox ; stories by E. Veale.

Record Information

Source Institution:
University of Florida
Rights Management:
This item is presumed to be in the public domain. The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not claim any copyright interest in this item. Users of this work have responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions may require permission of the copyright holder. The Smathers Libraries would like to learn more about this item and invite individuals or organizations to contact The Department of Special and Area Studies Collections (special@uflib.ufl.edu) with any additional information they can provide.
Resource Identifier:
004149525 ( ALEPH )
232606065 ( OCLC )

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RIVAL BABIES.

Dappy BEaR had gone off onahunting trip. He had
left Madam Bear and their little son ‘alone, but he had
-broughtsuch afine young lamb from the neighboring farm- ,
yard, that he had no fear of their being in want while he
was gone. | |
: Daddy Bear and his wife were very proud of their
: young son. They thought nothing so beautiful as his fat
little body and his sharp little eyes, that looked so bright ~

-and charming. His funny attempts to growl like his par-

~ ents made them both laugh merrily.’

Very near to the home of the Boars dc another
family. This family consisted of Father and Mother Fox
-.and their little son. Now the Fox parents were just as
“Yond and proud of their baby as Daddy and Madam Bear
A co of theirs, and they used often to think that their son
Was Justa little more elite than Baby Bear. These two

_ little chaps had been born about the same time, and each





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had been carefully watched and guarded by its fond par-
ents, who tried to outdo each other in their devotion to
their babies. If Madam Bear took her little boy walking,
young Master Fox was soon taken out fora stroll. If lit-
tle Foxy appeared in a new pinafore, Madam Bear lost no
time in arraying her son in one just likeit. So it went on,
and these rival babies grew strong and hearty, caring not
at all for the jealousies of their mothers. but spending
many happy hours together in play.

One day the two mothers and the two babies met in
the woods. The youngsters played happily together,
hile the mothers sat on a fallen log and chatted. Finally :
Mother Bear declared that herson was the taller. Mother
Fox said that could not be the case, for she knew that
honor belonged to Foxy. So the little folks were called
and made to stand up and be measured, but it did no good,
for each mother claimed:that her.son was the taller. At
last they decided to leave the matter to some friends that
happened " be passing, and they decided that there was no
difference between them. This did not satisfy the mothers,

and each one thought that the honor belonged to them.



THE DANCE IN THE WOODS.

Ir was spring and the butterflies now began to emerge
from the warm, soft covering in which they had been fold-
ed. They were the pictures of graceful beauty as they flit-

ted here and there from flower to flower. The flowers

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nodded to them, and gave them their sweetest juices to
drink. The birds watched them one morning as they
danced merrily on the green grass, still sparkling with the

early dew.



“Tt seems to me,” said a








young raven, “that if the but-
terfly can whirl so gracefully
on his tinylegs,we alk.

a,

so might learn to per 3c
form this most de My
lightful Reon nen

The raven prided himself upon his shiny black coat,
and itis likely he thought this a good chance of Showing.
off before his friends.

“Let's try it once,” said the stork who was out fora
stroll and had stopped to watch the merry - butterflies.

“We will dance together,” said the raven, so the stork

threw his long bill over the





raven’s shoulder, and wing
wing they whirled
around, not pictures
of grace, however, for
they moved very,
very awkwardly.

The eagle gazing



from his lofty nest, saw the








antics of the pair and laughed

R. merrily to: himselt:

Eics>
~

Sy °
/ a cc V 2
aN ll fly down and





/ a eetcnearer theaun«
a ; Wy re 2 = ss said he. Down he
“Ya ‘82 came and meeting a
plump, white goose
he told him of the
performance a nd
asked him to come along and see it. The goose had hard
work to keep up with the eagle, who walked along with
great rapid strides. The dancers soon crew tired, but not
discouraged, and so
after resting their
weary legs and gain-
ing once more their
breath they went at
it-again. |

By this’, time



quite a crowd of



if y) birds of one sort oranother had perched
tig :






themselves on trees and bushes, for
such a sight as two birds dane.
db. ing together was new and
Strange in the woods of
FPlyaway.

A little blue jay,
who sat swinging
on a bough of a

young cherry tree,





so

POUgTE if it were such an to watch the stork and the
raven, how much more fun it would be to trip it with
them. So down he flew, and commenced spinning around
andaround. This movement on the part of the jay put the
hawk in the notion, and she also joinedthe dancers. The
dodo and the s-crane
were the next to fallin,

and, before very long,

couple after couple, —*«



THEISURPRISE PARINS

DEAR me, did no one tell you about the party? It




was a perfect success all through. WY \ :
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That funny little turtle that lives NS

in the swamp back of the hedge- S\*

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hog’s got it up. One morning he arose bright and early,
did his’ work as quickly as possible and then started
around to his friend's the porcupine, to make him a visit.
“ Do you’ know,” said the turtle, after a while, “ I’ve been
thinking how pleasant it would be to get up a surprise
party for our neighbor, Mr Bruin’ ‘The’ very thing,”

replied the porcupine) “it you are willing to invite the peo-



was charged not tolet the news reach the ears of Mrs. Bruin,



Monday came bright and clear, and about eight
o-clock all the guests met at the weeping willow tree and

started off together. They looked very funny as they



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marched along, each one carrying his basket on his arm.
These baskets were very carefully guarded, for therein

were hidden all sorts of dainties for the feast to be given



during the evening. When they

reached the house, Jedekiah Fox



knocked at the door and instead of ©



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opening it, Mr. Bruin popped his head out of the window.
You never saw anybody so surprised in your life. Why
really he almost forgot toinvite them in. But what lots
of fun they did have after they had gone in and put down
their baskets. The bear was so glad to see them that he
consented to show them how he used to dance when he
travelled around with Prof. Trix.Sohe took his cane in
his hand and performed many queer antics, which were
exceedingly amusing to the whole company. They were
all so happy and time passed so pleasantly that the wee,
small hours of the morning dawned before the party broke
up. They all agreed that al
the turtle deserved much
praise for the fine time We
had been the means of af-
fording them, and decided
to arrange a surprise party

for him some day.





THE RAID OF THE RATS.

THERE was once a man named
Nathan Brown, who. kept the “ Silver
Lake Mill.” The Mill had been so

/ named on account of the beautiful



stream of water upon whose banks it was built. This
water as it flowed on and on, day after day, turned the
great wheel, and ground the wheat that the farmers
brought to Nathan to be made into flour. Nathan ae a
big, fat, red cheeked fellow who loved nothing better than
a chat with his neighbors, and while the mill wheel kept
busily and steadily aoe Hae: the dusty miller kept up a
merry chattering.

One day Nathan looked very solemn, and the farmer
who had come with his bag of wheat wondered what had
happened. He asked no questions, for he knew that in

time the miller would tell him. When Nathan had emp-



pm mice the wheat into the hop-

i

ee Aw ji per he sat down beside the



J Do you know,” said he,
“there is something carrying off my wheat, and what it
is I don’t know, although I have my suspicions it is the
rats. I have about made up my mind to set traps and see
if I can in that way discover who the thieves may be

Now it happened that the rats were the doers of all
the mischief, and it also happened that one of them,who
had been taking a nap on a beam, wakened in time to hear
what the miller said.

eVraps, thought he thatcends the fun for us. We
will carry off all we can to-night, and then get.away from
this place” Just is
as soon as old ff
Ratty could }
leave without
being seen, he |

hurried off to tell 5



the rest of the



rats the news he had heard. They all agreed that they

must get away as soon as possible, but like him they.

j

wanted one more night of fun.

When night came, a big crowd had gathered. They





f







“T have an idea,” said
one of the rats, “IJ think if.

' we tried we might manage



to carry away one of those
small bags of flour. | We
| could hide it in the wagon
| house, and have a merry
oe Eee | time with it.”
“That’s a splendid idea,” cried they all, “we can do it
if we try.” |
One of the smallest bags was selected and all went to

work, and they did work. It was not easy to lift the sack



up on their shoulders, nor to keep it there. One failure
followed another, but these little fellows would not give up
and they tried, and triedagain until at last success revere
ed their efforts, and they started to the wagon house.
Now the shortest road to the wagon house was by
way of the ledge outside of the large mill door. They
crept along, carefully balancing the sack when all at
once the bag slipped, and over all of them went down into
the stream be-
low. The flour
was forgotten,
and each ones

mightiest ‘effort



was devoted to.

saving himself. They had a good hard pull, but at last
all stood shivering and shaking on the bank, the sorriest
looking crowd of rats you ever saw. They gottogether a
lot of sticks and leaves and built a fire, and soon looked
quite themselves again—but the flour was gone, and all

agreed that they had paid very dearly for their fun.



iE SICK ELON:

Tue King of the Forest had been sick for weeks, and
every day he grew thinner and thinner—so thin that you
could count his ribs, and his great jaw-bones stood out
- sharp and bold from underneath his shaggy mane. He
could noteat and he could not sleep and he was becoming
so cross and surly that his friends and neighbors dared
not go near him. He had long ceased to wander through
the forest, and his roar once so strong. and mene now
sounded like a feeble groan.

The beasts all pitied their poor sick king, for though
they feared him, they had always thought him a very
handsome fellow, and were proud of his bold and daring
ways. But now they felt that all was over and that it
would not be long before the poor old lion would he down
to die. Now one bright sunshiny day the Rhinoceros left
his home some way down the river, to take a good long

swim and perhaps call upon his friends who lived on the







other side. The swim was a long one and the sun was
growing very warm, so when he reached the spot where
ine friends lived, he was most happy to stop there to rest
and refresh himself. The Rnineceros ac the Lion and
after the gentle breezes had fanned him and he had grown
cool and comfortable he went to visit him. Such a hope-
: less object as the RAImOCeTO:
found, he scarcely knew him.
“ He will surely die,’ thought
W/\ the RMOCerOs. CA muSt thysco

#\do something for him,’and he



thought and thought until at
last he hiton a plan that pleased him very much. “ My
friend, said he,’ will you go home with me? Iam sure
if you hada change you would soon be yourself again, and
it is much cooler where I live. If you will only consent
you can mount my back and we will swim down the river
ina little while.” It was a long while before the poor old
king would yield, but he did at last, and une Rhinoceros
took such good care of him, and his home was so cool and

pleasant that the Lion soon got well and strong.



EE BAG IV RD) Ease

‘Mrs. Mouse laid down her pen
and: breathed a sigh of>relief.. She =
had been busily at work getting out
invitations for a grand garden party
in the back yard, and now aie had
finished. The field mice, the mice at

the barn and wagon house, and of



course the house mice, all were invited. Mrs. Mouse
hoped that everything might be pleasant. The mice at
the house were rather inclined to
hold themselves a little above the
field mice, why she could not tell,
for she was quite sure one family
was as good as the other, and she
‘ had no wish to slight either.

Mrs. Mouse felt all of a flutter



whenthenight of the party arrived.



She had allowed her four little daugh-

ters to stay up fora whileand see part



of the fun, if they would promise to be
good. Very nice and proper they looked standing side by
side with their little arms folded. aie free to arrive was
the mouse who lived in the parlor cup-board. She was
igen ds ne eer iver ae a ea landecaeiam
her hie h | topped bon-
net. Grand- mother
Skipper] and her

youngest grand child



came next, | fand after
them came | Lady New-
ly-Wed and heures:



band. On| pleas _| they came
one after the other until quite a large, merry crowd had
gathered in the back yard. The young mice wanted to
dance, so partners were chosen, and the merry whirlers

went Spinning round and around un-

til they were almost ready to drop.



Billy Nibble and Patty Pry grew



tired of the dancing and seated them- a









| eS
selves on topof the gate. Tucker Gray

saw them and he felt jealous, for he



had a great fondness for little Patty and
did all in his power to coax her from
Billy, but she would not come. Then.

Tucker went off and devoted himself to

been sitting all alone waving her new turkey

feather fan. But all at once the fun was









brought to a close, the house door was thrown

open and out stole old Tom, the big, black cat.
Such a scampering you never saw, and no one
stopped until -he had safely reached his

home. It wasa shame that they should
) be a rudely disturbed in the midst of
their fun, for they were having a very
gay time all by themselves, and they
are such cute and cunning little

things that we like to see them

enjoy themselves. , |



BRUIN’S SINGING SCHOOL.

You will really be quite surprised when I tell you how
Uncle Bear started the singing school at Matchless Hol-
: low. It happened in this way. One
real cold winter night, when the snow
lay on the ground like a great white
blanket, quite a number of young.
Boonie made up a sleighing party. It

was the first sleighing of the winter,




and everybody was extremely anxious



mi as es togo. What lots of fun they had as
align » AS
ge y,. ~%% they sped over the hard, white crust.

After awhile, some of the folks began holding their ears
and rubbing their hands together ina manner that showed
they were far from warm. “ Wouldn't it be jolly,” some
one called out, “ to stop at Uncle Bear’s.” “ Oh,do,” came

from all sides. It did not take them long to reach the

home of the Bears, but it did take some time to rouse the



old folks from the sound sleep into which they had fallen.
Both theold people seemed glad to see their young friends,

and the warm fire soon sent the blood tingling through

their young bodies. “Won't you give us a song,” said



Auntie Bear, “Uncle and I are so fond of music.” I: took

= °

them some time to get started, but after awhile they began,
and they sung very merrily. One song after another was

sung, and then Uncle Bear asked them why they did not



have a singing school. He was willing to lead them, he
said, for he did not think he had forgotten all he had
lenmed when he was young. Everybody was delighted,
and an evening was set for the following week. With
many thanks for the kind reception they had received, the
young people started off, singing a farewell song as they
gathered toseiner out in the moonlight.

They wanted everybody to know about this singing
school they were to have every Tuesday evening, in the
Hollow, so on their way home they arranged to get Bonny
Bun, the white Pate to carry invitations to all the dwel-
lers of the forest. This he could do very easily, for he
wore a pair of erotics which helped him to get over
the ground very quickly. Everybody was invited, even

to the birds, and such a crowd as gathered in the Hollow




Se
was enough to fill Uncle Bears “XY

X| 5 Son
heart with delight. He arranged ¥e Z

them in acircle and began to sing,
starting out with a familiar song{
about the hunterand his gun. After

ky _& SA
a i ae Ev,
one or two more songs, he said they b ( oe



must settle down to business. He said they had better
put all AG time for this one evening on the scale, so he
made each one sing it alone, then altogether, while he
stood beating time with his soft, fat hand. Then he told
the animals to keep quiet and listen to a quintette of birds
that were perched on a nearby tree. These birds Sang a
very beautiful song that made the woods ring with melody.

Indeed, it was so very beautiful that the other animals
were almost afraid to try their voices afterward. However,
they all did the best they could to follow the instructions
oltheir leader:

When the hour for closing came, they all agreed that
they had spent a very pleasant evening, and voted to come
again the next week. This was the beginning of a sing-
ing school, the like of which had not been known in many
years. The singing school proved to be a very popular
thing, and before the winter was over there were hundreds
of the young folks of the forest attending it. The great-
est part of the fun was the going and coming, and this
was especially delightful to the young lovers, and in the

spring there were many weddings as a result.



ADVENTURES OF Hliie NICE

Nicut had come and the Nibble
Family had all returned to their home.
= in the front cellar. By and by some
& (| of the neighbors dropped in, until

‘A quite a party had gotten together.



“We had a feast,” said Lady |
Nibble, “ but no danger attended it. We found a whole
cheese on the pantry shelf with not a sign of a cover over
it. It would have been folly to miss such a chance as this,
so we went to work and ate until we could hardly move.
If it is not carried off, we hope to have another feast to-
morrow.”

“Do you know,I almost lost my life to-day,” said a
very young mouse, “and I’ll tell foi how; I saw the most

tempting piece of cheese in the centre of a funny red box

’

so I put my head in to take a bite, and, bless you, a spring

Snapped down and held me tight. I jumped around and



around with this thing on my head,
andshook itas hard as ever I could,
although I was nearly choked to.
death, -butl could, not-et out. At
last by some rare, good fortune, the
wire that held the spring broke and

‘setime ited: It was a narrow es-



I dive-will 1 venture near a trap.”
We Wad equitesa ‘scare: too,
spoke up one of the young Squeaks.
“My brothers and I crawled into
the jail to see what we could find to
_eat.. We often pick up crumbs
there. Well this morning we found
more than crumbs, we had quite a
fine breakfast of cold potatoes, bread
and a pitcher of milk. We were so
interested in our eating that we did

not hear a sound until a shadow



made me look up, and I saw a big



yellow cat coming towards us. I ran, a piece of bread
still in my mouth, and called to my brothers, and all of
us had just time enough to get out of the clutches of
that huge yellow monster.”

NS jou are all relating experiences,” said another:
mouse, “I might as well tell mine. I strolled out in the
wheat field, to-day, and there on asheaf of wheat sat a

dozen or more of our cousins, the

“3

= a

Ne . . ;
mj field mice, nibbling away at the

grain. They asked me to join
them, so I did, and I really had a
very pleasant time. If you have a

chance, visit them some day, you





will like them and the grain also.”













“Speaking of something to





eat,” this from Bobby Nibble,



email

“makes me think of the egg which three of us boys found.
We found it in the qonaal house play ground, and we ate
every bit of it. It had been cooked, I suppose, for some’
fellow’s lunch. Why he left it I don’t know, but at any

rate we found it, and had a jolly good time with it.”















































































“ T carried off a jam pie, this afternoon,” said Tommy
Scratch, “and if: you will come across to my house |
will share it with you.” No one needed a Eaton) invita-
tion, nor a bit of coaxing; away they all scampered

thinking that. the end of the day was to be the best part.











And they enjoyed the feast, to the fullest extent, for it
was not often that they had such a treat as this. They
thought Tommy must have been very brave to dare to
carry off a whole pie. They looked upon him as sort of a
hero, and were very polite to him all through the evening.

The little mice must have
kept very late : outs that
night, for all night long
could be heard the sound of

their little feet, asthey scam-



pered here and there.







COUSIN BEAR'S PARTY.

Mr. AND Mrs. Bruin had received an invitation to a
party. One of the Bear Cousins, who lived back of the

hill, had invited them, and Mrs. Bruin told her husband







Ay

ee ay Bees. that they mauee not fail to go, for

te Re would undoubtedly be a gtand

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aS affair, if the Bears gave it. . As
soon as possible, Mr. Bruin or-
dered a new suit of clothes from
Up, his tailor, a‘hat from his. hatter,

cae
RS and a pair of the most stylish




slippers from his shoemaker.



These, with his fine twisted cane
made up avery fine costume. Mrs. Bruin immediately
summoned her dressmaker, and together they fashioned
a gorgeous crimson own. Her bonnet of fine, white
straw was lined with red, and to her great delight, her fond

husband bought her a fine, feathered fan.



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The night of the party, Mr. Bruin and his loving wife
started off in high glee. As they went along they were the
objects of ereat admiration. Mrs. Bruin wore two magnifi-. :
cent sun flowersin her belt. The night nas periéct,,. Ihe
‘moon was shining brightly, and the snow beneath their feet
sparkled like diamonds. It was quite a lone walk, but the

house was finally reached, and a most delightful time they
had. Game followed game in quick succession until the
call to supper sounded in their ears. The refreshments
were superb. Mr. Bruin declared that he had never eaten
such pork, so tender and juicy, and the lamb was perfect.
Cousin Bear whispered to Mrs. Bruin that she had gotten
the pork from their neighbor, the |

farmer, while the lamb-had been

started for home, and as they *
-sauntered along beneath the stars,

they agreed that the party was a



creat success,and were more than

eS

,

glad to think that they had gone. Pe se







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RIVAL BABIES.

Dappy BEaR had gone off onahunting trip. He had
left Madam Bear and their little son ‘alone, but he had
-broughtsuch afine young lamb from the neighboring farm- ,
yard, that he had no fear of their being in want while he
was gone. | |
: Daddy Bear and his wife were very proud of their
: young son. They thought nothing so beautiful as his fat
little body and his sharp little eyes, that looked so bright ~

-and charming. His funny attempts to growl like his par-

~ ents made them both laugh merrily.’

Very near to the home of the Boars dc another
family. This family consisted of Father and Mother Fox
-.and their little son. Now the Fox parents were just as
“Yond and proud of their baby as Daddy and Madam Bear
A co of theirs, and they used often to think that their son
Was Justa little more elite than Baby Bear. These two

_ little chaps had been born about the same time, and each


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had been carefully watched and guarded by its fond par-
ents, who tried to outdo each other in their devotion to
their babies. If Madam Bear took her little boy walking,
young Master Fox was soon taken out fora stroll. If lit-
tle Foxy appeared in a new pinafore, Madam Bear lost no
time in arraying her son in one just likeit. So it went on,
and these rival babies grew strong and hearty, caring not
at all for the jealousies of their mothers. but spending
many happy hours together in play.

One day the two mothers and the two babies met in
the woods. The youngsters played happily together,
hile the mothers sat on a fallen log and chatted. Finally :
Mother Bear declared that herson was the taller. Mother
Fox said that could not be the case, for she knew that
honor belonged to Foxy. So the little folks were called
and made to stand up and be measured, but it did no good,
for each mother claimed:that her.son was the taller. At
last they decided to leave the matter to some friends that
happened " be passing, and they decided that there was no
difference between them. This did not satisfy the mothers,

and each one thought that the honor belonged to them.
THE DANCE IN THE WOODS.

Ir was spring and the butterflies now began to emerge
from the warm, soft covering in which they had been fold-
ed. They were the pictures of graceful beauty as they flit-

ted here and there from flower to flower. The flowers

a
at y
i ie UG

\
et



nodded to them, and gave them their sweetest juices to
drink. The birds watched them one morning as they
danced merrily on the green grass, still sparkling with the

early dew.
“Tt seems to me,” said a








young raven, “that if the but-
terfly can whirl so gracefully
on his tinylegs,we alk.

a,

so might learn to per 3c
form this most de My
lightful Reon nen

The raven prided himself upon his shiny black coat,
and itis likely he thought this a good chance of Showing.
off before his friends.

“Let's try it once,” said the stork who was out fora
stroll and had stopped to watch the merry - butterflies.

“We will dance together,” said the raven, so the stork

threw his long bill over the





raven’s shoulder, and wing
wing they whirled
around, not pictures
of grace, however, for
they moved very,
very awkwardly.

The eagle gazing
from his lofty nest, saw the








antics of the pair and laughed

R. merrily to: himselt:

Eics>
~

Sy °
/ a cc V 2
aN ll fly down and





/ a eetcnearer theaun«
a ; Wy re 2 = ss said he. Down he
“Ya ‘82 came and meeting a
plump, white goose
he told him of the
performance a nd
asked him to come along and see it. The goose had hard
work to keep up with the eagle, who walked along with
great rapid strides. The dancers soon crew tired, but not
discouraged, and so
after resting their
weary legs and gain-
ing once more their
breath they went at
it-again. |

By this’, time



quite a crowd of
if y) birds of one sort oranother had perched
tig :






themselves on trees and bushes, for
such a sight as two birds dane.
db. ing together was new and
Strange in the woods of
FPlyaway.

A little blue jay,
who sat swinging
on a bough of a

young cherry tree,





so

POUgTE if it were such an to watch the stork and the
raven, how much more fun it would be to trip it with
them. So down he flew, and commenced spinning around
andaround. This movement on the part of the jay put the
hawk in the notion, and she also joinedthe dancers. The
dodo and the s-crane
were the next to fallin,

and, before very long,

couple after couple, —*«
THEISURPRISE PARINS

DEAR me, did no one tell you about the party? It




was a perfect success all through. WY \ :
SN \ XN
\ (t

That funny little turtle that lives NS

in the swamp back of the hedge- S\*

ww dS
hog’s got it up. One morning he arose bright and early,
did his’ work as quickly as possible and then started
around to his friend's the porcupine, to make him a visit.
“ Do you’ know,” said the turtle, after a while, “ I’ve been
thinking how pleasant it would be to get up a surprise
party for our neighbor, Mr Bruin’ ‘The’ very thing,”

replied the porcupine) “it you are willing to invite the peo-



was charged not tolet the news reach the ears of Mrs. Bruin,
Monday came bright and clear, and about eight
o-clock all the guests met at the weeping willow tree and

started off together. They looked very funny as they



fr



(ae SAK
4 ZA i tia |
oe








marched along, each one carrying his basket on his arm.
These baskets were very carefully guarded, for therein

were hidden all sorts of dainties for the feast to be given
during the evening. When they

reached the house, Jedekiah Fox



knocked at the door and instead of ©



i ie (w

opening it, Mr. Bruin popped his head out of the window.
You never saw anybody so surprised in your life. Why
really he almost forgot toinvite them in. But what lots
of fun they did have after they had gone in and put down
their baskets. The bear was so glad to see them that he
consented to show them how he used to dance when he
travelled around with Prof. Trix.Sohe took his cane in
his hand and performed many queer antics, which were
exceedingly amusing to the whole company. They were
all so happy and time passed so pleasantly that the wee,
small hours of the morning dawned before the party broke
up. They all agreed that al
the turtle deserved much
praise for the fine time We
had been the means of af-
fording them, and decided
to arrange a surprise party

for him some day.


THE RAID OF THE RATS.

THERE was once a man named
Nathan Brown, who. kept the “ Silver
Lake Mill.” The Mill had been so

/ named on account of the beautiful



stream of water upon whose banks it was built. This
water as it flowed on and on, day after day, turned the
great wheel, and ground the wheat that the farmers
brought to Nathan to be made into flour. Nathan ae a
big, fat, red cheeked fellow who loved nothing better than
a chat with his neighbors, and while the mill wheel kept
busily and steadily aoe Hae: the dusty miller kept up a
merry chattering.

One day Nathan looked very solemn, and the farmer
who had come with his bag of wheat wondered what had
happened. He asked no questions, for he knew that in

time the miller would tell him. When Nathan had emp-
pm mice the wheat into the hop-

i

ee Aw ji per he sat down beside the



J Do you know,” said he,
“there is something carrying off my wheat, and what it
is I don’t know, although I have my suspicions it is the
rats. I have about made up my mind to set traps and see
if I can in that way discover who the thieves may be

Now it happened that the rats were the doers of all
the mischief, and it also happened that one of them,who
had been taking a nap on a beam, wakened in time to hear
what the miller said.

eVraps, thought he thatcends the fun for us. We
will carry off all we can to-night, and then get.away from
this place” Just is
as soon as old ff
Ratty could }
leave without
being seen, he |

hurried off to tell 5



the rest of the
rats the news he had heard. They all agreed that they

must get away as soon as possible, but like him they.

j

wanted one more night of fun.

When night came, a big crowd had gathered. They





f







“T have an idea,” said
one of the rats, “IJ think if.

' we tried we might manage



to carry away one of those
small bags of flour. | We
| could hide it in the wagon
| house, and have a merry
oe Eee | time with it.”
“That’s a splendid idea,” cried they all, “we can do it
if we try.” |
One of the smallest bags was selected and all went to

work, and they did work. It was not easy to lift the sack
up on their shoulders, nor to keep it there. One failure
followed another, but these little fellows would not give up
and they tried, and triedagain until at last success revere
ed their efforts, and they started to the wagon house.
Now the shortest road to the wagon house was by
way of the ledge outside of the large mill door. They
crept along, carefully balancing the sack when all at
once the bag slipped, and over all of them went down into
the stream be-
low. The flour
was forgotten,
and each ones

mightiest ‘effort



was devoted to.

saving himself. They had a good hard pull, but at last
all stood shivering and shaking on the bank, the sorriest
looking crowd of rats you ever saw. They gottogether a
lot of sticks and leaves and built a fire, and soon looked
quite themselves again—but the flour was gone, and all

agreed that they had paid very dearly for their fun.
iE SICK ELON:

Tue King of the Forest had been sick for weeks, and
every day he grew thinner and thinner—so thin that you
could count his ribs, and his great jaw-bones stood out
- sharp and bold from underneath his shaggy mane. He
could noteat and he could not sleep and he was becoming
so cross and surly that his friends and neighbors dared
not go near him. He had long ceased to wander through
the forest, and his roar once so strong. and mene now
sounded like a feeble groan.

The beasts all pitied their poor sick king, for though
they feared him, they had always thought him a very
handsome fellow, and were proud of his bold and daring
ways. But now they felt that all was over and that it
would not be long before the poor old lion would he down
to die. Now one bright sunshiny day the Rhinoceros left
his home some way down the river, to take a good long

swim and perhaps call upon his friends who lived on the

other side. The swim was a long one and the sun was
growing very warm, so when he reached the spot where
ine friends lived, he was most happy to stop there to rest
and refresh himself. The Rnineceros ac the Lion and
after the gentle breezes had fanned him and he had grown
cool and comfortable he went to visit him. Such a hope-
: less object as the RAImOCeTO:
found, he scarcely knew him.
“ He will surely die,’ thought
W/\ the RMOCerOs. CA muSt thysco

#\do something for him,’and he



thought and thought until at
last he hiton a plan that pleased him very much. “ My
friend, said he,’ will you go home with me? Iam sure
if you hada change you would soon be yourself again, and
it is much cooler where I live. If you will only consent
you can mount my back and we will swim down the river
ina little while.” It was a long while before the poor old
king would yield, but he did at last, and une Rhinoceros
took such good care of him, and his home was so cool and

pleasant that the Lion soon got well and strong.
EE BAG IV RD) Ease

‘Mrs. Mouse laid down her pen
and: breathed a sigh of>relief.. She =
had been busily at work getting out
invitations for a grand garden party
in the back yard, and now aie had
finished. The field mice, the mice at

the barn and wagon house, and of



course the house mice, all were invited. Mrs. Mouse
hoped that everything might be pleasant. The mice at
the house were rather inclined to
hold themselves a little above the
field mice, why she could not tell,
for she was quite sure one family
was as good as the other, and she
‘ had no wish to slight either.

Mrs. Mouse felt all of a flutter



whenthenight of the party arrived.
She had allowed her four little daugh-

ters to stay up fora whileand see part



of the fun, if they would promise to be
good. Very nice and proper they looked standing side by
side with their little arms folded. aie free to arrive was
the mouse who lived in the parlor cup-board. She was
igen ds ne eer iver ae a ea landecaeiam
her hie h | topped bon-
net. Grand- mother
Skipper] and her

youngest grand child



came next, | fand after
them came | Lady New-
ly-Wed and heures:



band. On| pleas _| they came
one after the other until quite a large, merry crowd had
gathered in the back yard. The young mice wanted to
dance, so partners were chosen, and the merry whirlers

went Spinning round and around un-

til they were almost ready to drop.



Billy Nibble and Patty Pry grew
tired of the dancing and seated them- a









| eS
selves on topof the gate. Tucker Gray

saw them and he felt jealous, for he



had a great fondness for little Patty and
did all in his power to coax her from
Billy, but she would not come. Then.

Tucker went off and devoted himself to

been sitting all alone waving her new turkey

feather fan. But all at once the fun was









brought to a close, the house door was thrown

open and out stole old Tom, the big, black cat.
Such a scampering you never saw, and no one
stopped until -he had safely reached his

home. It wasa shame that they should
) be a rudely disturbed in the midst of
their fun, for they were having a very
gay time all by themselves, and they
are such cute and cunning little

things that we like to see them

enjoy themselves. , |
BRUIN’S SINGING SCHOOL.

You will really be quite surprised when I tell you how
Uncle Bear started the singing school at Matchless Hol-
: low. It happened in this way. One
real cold winter night, when the snow
lay on the ground like a great white
blanket, quite a number of young.
Boonie made up a sleighing party. It

was the first sleighing of the winter,




and everybody was extremely anxious



mi as es togo. What lots of fun they had as
align » AS
ge y,. ~%% they sped over the hard, white crust.

After awhile, some of the folks began holding their ears
and rubbing their hands together ina manner that showed
they were far from warm. “ Wouldn't it be jolly,” some
one called out, “ to stop at Uncle Bear’s.” “ Oh,do,” came

from all sides. It did not take them long to reach the

home of the Bears, but it did take some time to rouse the
old folks from the sound sleep into which they had fallen.
Both theold people seemed glad to see their young friends,

and the warm fire soon sent the blood tingling through

their young bodies. “Won't you give us a song,” said



Auntie Bear, “Uncle and I are so fond of music.” I: took

= °

them some time to get started, but after awhile they began,
and they sung very merrily. One song after another was

sung, and then Uncle Bear asked them why they did not
have a singing school. He was willing to lead them, he
said, for he did not think he had forgotten all he had
lenmed when he was young. Everybody was delighted,
and an evening was set for the following week. With
many thanks for the kind reception they had received, the
young people started off, singing a farewell song as they
gathered toseiner out in the moonlight.

They wanted everybody to know about this singing
school they were to have every Tuesday evening, in the
Hollow, so on their way home they arranged to get Bonny
Bun, the white Pate to carry invitations to all the dwel-
lers of the forest. This he could do very easily, for he
wore a pair of erotics which helped him to get over
the ground very quickly. Everybody was invited, even

to the birds, and such a crowd as gathered in the Hollow




Se
was enough to fill Uncle Bears “XY

X| 5 Son
heart with delight. He arranged ¥e Z

them in acircle and began to sing,
starting out with a familiar song{
about the hunterand his gun. After

ky _& SA
a i ae Ev,
one or two more songs, he said they b ( oe
must settle down to business. He said they had better
put all AG time for this one evening on the scale, so he
made each one sing it alone, then altogether, while he
stood beating time with his soft, fat hand. Then he told
the animals to keep quiet and listen to a quintette of birds
that were perched on a nearby tree. These birds Sang a
very beautiful song that made the woods ring with melody.

Indeed, it was so very beautiful that the other animals
were almost afraid to try their voices afterward. However,
they all did the best they could to follow the instructions
oltheir leader:

When the hour for closing came, they all agreed that
they had spent a very pleasant evening, and voted to come
again the next week. This was the beginning of a sing-
ing school, the like of which had not been known in many
years. The singing school proved to be a very popular
thing, and before the winter was over there were hundreds
of the young folks of the forest attending it. The great-
est part of the fun was the going and coming, and this
was especially delightful to the young lovers, and in the

spring there were many weddings as a result.
ADVENTURES OF Hliie NICE

Nicut had come and the Nibble
Family had all returned to their home.
= in the front cellar. By and by some
& (| of the neighbors dropped in, until

‘A quite a party had gotten together.



“We had a feast,” said Lady |
Nibble, “ but no danger attended it. We found a whole
cheese on the pantry shelf with not a sign of a cover over
it. It would have been folly to miss such a chance as this,
so we went to work and ate until we could hardly move.
If it is not carried off, we hope to have another feast to-
morrow.”

“Do you know,I almost lost my life to-day,” said a
very young mouse, “and I’ll tell foi how; I saw the most

tempting piece of cheese in the centre of a funny red box

’

so I put my head in to take a bite, and, bless you, a spring

Snapped down and held me tight. I jumped around and
around with this thing on my head,
andshook itas hard as ever I could,
although I was nearly choked to.
death, -butl could, not-et out. At
last by some rare, good fortune, the
wire that held the spring broke and

‘setime ited: It was a narrow es-



I dive-will 1 venture near a trap.”
We Wad equitesa ‘scare: too,
spoke up one of the young Squeaks.
“My brothers and I crawled into
the jail to see what we could find to
_eat.. We often pick up crumbs
there. Well this morning we found
more than crumbs, we had quite a
fine breakfast of cold potatoes, bread
and a pitcher of milk. We were so
interested in our eating that we did

not hear a sound until a shadow



made me look up, and I saw a big
yellow cat coming towards us. I ran, a piece of bread
still in my mouth, and called to my brothers, and all of
us had just time enough to get out of the clutches of
that huge yellow monster.”

NS jou are all relating experiences,” said another:
mouse, “I might as well tell mine. I strolled out in the
wheat field, to-day, and there on asheaf of wheat sat a

dozen or more of our cousins, the

“3

= a

Ne . . ;
mj field mice, nibbling away at the

grain. They asked me to join
them, so I did, and I really had a
very pleasant time. If you have a

chance, visit them some day, you





will like them and the grain also.”













“Speaking of something to





eat,” this from Bobby Nibble,



email

“makes me think of the egg which three of us boys found.
We found it in the qonaal house play ground, and we ate
every bit of it. It had been cooked, I suppose, for some’
fellow’s lunch. Why he left it I don’t know, but at any

rate we found it, and had a jolly good time with it.”









































































“ T carried off a jam pie, this afternoon,” said Tommy
Scratch, “and if: you will come across to my house |
will share it with you.” No one needed a Eaton) invita-
tion, nor a bit of coaxing; away they all scampered

thinking that. the end of the day was to be the best part.











And they enjoyed the feast, to the fullest extent, for it
was not often that they had such a treat as this. They
thought Tommy must have been very brave to dare to
carry off a whole pie. They looked upon him as sort of a
hero, and were very polite to him all through the evening.

The little mice must have
kept very late : outs that
night, for all night long
could be heard the sound of

their little feet, asthey scam-



pered here and there.




COUSIN BEAR'S PARTY.

Mr. AND Mrs. Bruin had received an invitation to a
party. One of the Bear Cousins, who lived back of the

hill, had invited them, and Mrs. Bruin told her husband







Ay

ee ay Bees. that they mauee not fail to go, for

te Re would undoubtedly be a gtand

SSMS
ey






aS affair, if the Bears gave it. . As
soon as possible, Mr. Bruin or-
dered a new suit of clothes from
Up, his tailor, a‘hat from his. hatter,

cae
RS and a pair of the most stylish




slippers from his shoemaker.



These, with his fine twisted cane
made up avery fine costume. Mrs. Bruin immediately
summoned her dressmaker, and together they fashioned
a gorgeous crimson own. Her bonnet of fine, white
straw was lined with red, and to her great delight, her fond

husband bought her a fine, feathered fan.
es

mn ne
ae)

ij If "
Hl

a

Ht
es

;

Hii

yy
YEG


°

The night of the party, Mr. Bruin and his loving wife
started off in high glee. As they went along they were the
objects of ereat admiration. Mrs. Bruin wore two magnifi-. :
cent sun flowersin her belt. The night nas periéct,,. Ihe
‘moon was shining brightly, and the snow beneath their feet
sparkled like diamonds. It was quite a lone walk, but the

house was finally reached, and a most delightful time they
had. Game followed game in quick succession until the
call to supper sounded in their ears. The refreshments
were superb. Mr. Bruin declared that he had never eaten
such pork, so tender and juicy, and the lamb was perfect.
Cousin Bear whispered to Mrs. Bruin that she had gotten
the pork from their neighbor, the |

farmer, while the lamb-had been

started for home, and as they *
-sauntered along beneath the stars,

they agreed that the party was a



creat success,and were more than

eS

,

glad to think that they had gone. Pe se

aie G
herent

Brae
rtQe

FE
tons
Seater ni ete

oS a
Rare aie

Set

Setaeres
Ye ent)

rat EN es

er ee,