0073m
0074m
9075Original
NE day in the summer Toots sat on the doorstep talking with his little friend, Fred Haldon, when a man came up to the gate with a hand-organ and asked if he might come in.
"Oh, mamma! mamma!" called Toots, "come as soon as you can, for he has a monkey with him."
His mother looked out of the window and nodded to the man. "Yes, he could play if he wished." Then she went out on the doorstep with the children. The monkey came to her at once. It looked so tired and sad, she said, "Poor little fellow!" He seemed to understand her, for he sprang into her lap and rubbed his head against her hand.
"How tired he is!" she said kindly, "do let him rest while we feed him."
The monkey would not eat much, he seemed too weary, but he bowed his thanks and then put his head on her hand again. When the man stopped playing the lady told him he would lose his monkey if he did not let it rest.
0076m
The man laughed and sat down under a tree. This seemed to please the monkey, for he went to him and kissed him and then returned to his new friend, nestling down in her lap like a tired child.
"He has danced too much when it was warm," said the man in broken English.
"Then you must be very good and let him sleep." After a good rest the organ-grinder went away with him, and soon after Toots went with all the family to the sea-side, where the monkeys in the park made them think of their tired little visitor. Long, long after, when winter came and all the family were in town and all the aunts and cousins were invited to meet grandpa Bergland—little May's grandpa from over the sea, the door opened just in the very midst of the Christmas festival, and in walked Leno, all dressed in his best suit.
"Where is his master?" asked Toots, "bring him in and let him show us the old tricks."
So the master came in. He said, "the kind ladies and gentlemen must excuse him, but he could not make Leno pass the gate where the lady was so kind to him when he was sick."
"He was quite sick then, poor thing!" said Toots' mamma.
"He was very sick, dear lady. I took him away in the cool country, but he was like to die, and for many days I thought I must leave him there, for he could neither eat nor sleep, only look in my face and make a sad noise. I could not Leno die, for he is my only friend."
"There, mamma," said grandpa Bergland, "you was kind to the dumb brute and it did thank you."
9078Original
MAN who took charge of the park was very kind to Toots and allowed him to feed the parrots, birds, and rabbits. The rabbit-house was a favorite place with the children. They never tired of watching them, and the family was so large that the good keeper who cared for them called the old rabbit "Mr. Smith."
"You see he has so many children, his name must be Smith," said he.
The children fed them grass and clover, and many of the little creatures had pet names, but it was impossible to name them all, for the family increased so fast. One morning when the gardener went into the park to look at some plants he had set out the day before, he found them all out of the ground and the earth thrown about in every direction. "Ah!" said he, "those puppies must be shut up; they did all this mischief last night; I heard them barking."
Then the gardener took the three puppies and shut them in a cellar, while he hurried his garden-making, in order to get more plants in place before the superintendent came that way. He was so anxious to get the plants cared for before the sun was hot that he quite neglected the other pets.
While he was hard at work Toots ran to him crying, "Oh, Mr. Snyder, they are all out, the whole of Mr. Smith's family, and there is a big hole dug down under their house."
Sure enough, the house was empty and the family nowhere to be seen. Toots and the boys found them at last hiding under some steps. After some trouble and much chasing about over the grounds they were put into their cage and the big hole was securely fastened.
Toots released the puppies and fed them well, while Mr. Smith's family seemed tired out with their travels and were glad to lie down and rest.
That evening while the family sat on the piazza watching the moonlight on the water, something ran up the steps and hid in one corner.
"It must be one of those ugly rats," said Aunt Bell.
"No, indeed, it is some poor hunted thing seeking refuge," said mamma. "Bring me a lamp, Bridget, and let us see."
The lamp was brought and there in one corner of the piazza was a poor, lonely little rabbit. He had strayed from the rest, and now when it was dark he sought shelter where he heard familiar voices.
0080m
9081Original
HAT shall we do with baby,
The bright-eyed mischievous one?
He wakens us all in the morning,
Two hours before the sun.
From the time that his peepers open,
He pinches and pulls at our nose;
Or, perhaps, by way of diversion,
He gives us a taste of his toes.
We find him rattles and clothes-pins,
We give him books by the score,
And make him a house in the corner
When lo! he is at the door.
We pile up a basket of playthings,
And seat the rogue in a chair;
We leave to order the dinner,
Behold! no baby is there.
He has found his way to the closet,
He is rattling our chinaware;
We run—he is clasping a goblet,
And trying to climb a chair.
0082m
He is full of the funniest capers,
And scolds in the funniest way;
But never will own he is weary,
Or rest from his busy play.
He struggles and battles with slumber,
He scratches and picks at his eyes,
We fancy him quietly sleeping,
But baby is watching the flies.
We give him a seat at the table,
We make him a house of our chairs,
And while the coach is preparing,
The baby is tumbling down stairs.
The apples are thrown from the basket,
His milk is spilled on the floor;
Bread and butter sticks to the carpet,
And sugar sticks on the door.
We puzzle our brains to amuse him,
We bow to his lordly will;
But do what we may, the baby
Is never a moment still.
Oh, what shall we do with baby—
With his fun, and frolic, and fears?
He charms us all with his mischief,
And conquers us all with his tears.
9084Original
T was a queer, very queer name, but the soldiers gave it to him, and when you hear how he conducted himself you will not wonder. Daddy Tough lived in a fort in the western country, and he belonged to the United States Government. On one side he had the letters "U. S." branded, in order to keep people from stealing him. The children in the fort all called those letters "Uncle Sam," and everything with that mark on it was said to belong to Uncle Sam, meaning the Government.
The children about the fort used to ride on his back in a sort of double saddle made of willow. One day the soldiers took him inside of a small gate in order to remove some ashes from a cellar. The cart was backed in and Daddy stood with his head just outside of the gate. He looked like a droll picture in a frame. There he stood winking his eyes and shaking his long ears. When the soldiers had the ashes all in the wagon they told Daddy to go on, but he would not move; then they coaxed him but he did not stir. His driver pelted and pulled, but Daddy winked and never moved a step.
"We must get him away somehow," said the soldiers, and at last they struck him. Daddy looked at them in the most reproachful manner, but he did not move an inch. For more than half an hour the poor soldiers tried to have him carry his burden away.
"We must be all cleared up before dress parade," said one.
"We must get him out of here somehow," said the other.
"Just think how the boys would laugh if they saw Daddy standing here winking while the colonel was issuing his orders at dress parade."
"It will never do," said the driver. "Come, Daddy, you must move on or you will disgrace the command."
Daddy looked knowing, but still stood firm. Other soldiers came and they tried, but Daddy would not yield even after hard whipping. Then the colonel came out and told them what to do, but Daddy winked at the colonel as if to say, "I like this place very much and I will not go even for you."
When all efforts had failed the colonel's wife said,
"Let me try; we cure horses of ill-temper by feeding them sugar."
"Nothing will cure Daddy," said her husband, "but you may try."
The lady brought out some sugar and gave Daddy a taste. He shook his ears and made a sort of grunt. Then she patted him and held it farther away and at last he marched after her out of the gate and ran so fast he upset part of the ashes. After that when Daddy grew sulky a little sugar would win him over.
0086m
9087Original
OOTS had a brother much older than himself, and never were two boys better friends. Nothing pleased Toots more than stories of his brother's pranks when he was small. Then Toots' parents travelled nearly all the time, and their eldest boy saw a great deal of this busy world. All the soldiers in his father's regiment called him "Button Blue," for when they first saw him he wore little dresses with a good many buttons on them. After that he had a jacket and pants, or, as he called them, "Bocker-nickers." He was a droll little fellow, and always managed to twist words about. The soldiers were very fond of Button, and made him many presents. They taught him games of all kinds, and here we see him showing the major's little daughter how to play cat's cradle.
0088m
One day Button Blue was lost and all the camp was astir. The black man, whose duty it was to care for him, said he left him at the sutler's little store, and the sutler said he saw him playing with a dog near the flag-staff just before the general's door. The general was away on horseback and he had not taken the child, for some one had seen seen him riding away with one of his officers and their orderlies. The men were nearly wild over the lost boy, but Button's mother said she only feared his going to the river, and yet Button never went anywhere without permission. The dinner hour came and went, but no boy answered to the summons, and men were sent in different directions to find him. They had not returned when the general came up on horseback.
"We are in great trouble, sir," said the surgeon; "the colonel's boy is lost."
"Button, our little Button; it is impossible. Have you sent out men to search? Have you looked in all the men's quarters? Why, bless you, I kissed the little rogue good-bye the last thing before starting; we had a grand romp together. I will go myself to search for him." The general sprang off his horse and unlocked the door of the little house known as his headquarters. He threw his gloves on the table and said aloud in an anxious tone:
"Why, I love that rascal like one of my own. He must be somewhere about."
"We have searched everywhere, sir, and no trace can be found. Even the colonel is discouraged, but his mother will not give up. She says he will be found."
"Found! found! of course he will," replied the general. "Why, there isn't a man or boy that doesn't love Button."
"Here I am, General," piped a boy's voice; and there, just waking up from a sound sleep, was the boy who had slipped in as the general's servant locked the door, and then, tired with play, threw himself on a lounge behind a screen where his friend the general had often rested.
9090Original
T was a dreary, rainy day, and Toots and his cousins were gathered in the library, where a cheerful open fire made them forget the chilling rain outside.
"Auntie," said May, "please tell me why you keep that pretty bird always sitting above your desk?"
"Toots has something to do with that. It is his bird, and perhaps you would like to hear about it; wait one moment until I get you a dish of fruit, and I will tell you how the pretty bird came here:
"One summer when Toots was quite small and not very strong, our family doctor said, 'Couldn't you go and camp out in the pine woods somewhere for a few weeks?' At first it seemed quite impossible to take all the family, but Button Blue was so active and helpful, and the cook said she would like the fun of it, so at last we went, taking care to be near a house where we could get pure water. We had two tents. One was our parlor by day and the boys' bedroom by night; the other held my bed and an easy camp cot for Toots. We were very cosey and happy. The birds sang over our heads all day, and at night we could hear the whip-poor-will's note only a few feet from our tent door."
"What did you do when it rained?" asked one of the boys.
"We drew the tent curtains close, made little ditches outside to carry off the water, and read, played games, or told stories. One day a party of gentlemen came to our camp. They were out hunting, and one of them had in his game bag a pretty cuckoo he had just killed. Poor Toots felt terribly when he saw it. Only the day before he had heard its pretty note, 'Cuckoo! cuckoo!' and we had told him that its name was given it because it made that peculiar song."
"I think he was wicked to shoot it," said Toots.
"We all felt very sorry," said his mother, "and I think the hunters did, too, for they promised to keep away from our camp and avoid shooting any of our pets. When they left us, they told Toots he would hear from them again, but we forgot all about it until one day a small box was brought to our house by the expressman. It was directed to Toots and marked 'with care.' On opening it we found our little friend the cuckoo handsomely stuffed and mounted on a branch. Toots was very much pleased and it has stood where it now is ever since it came."
"I wish he could fly once more, and say 'Cuckoo, cuckoo,' as he used to," said Toots.
0092m
9093Original
KIND lady and dear friend of Toots and his mother owns a bright little dog named Benjamina. Its mother was blind and lame when the little puppy was born, and the good lady thought it was the child of the dog mother's old age; so she called it Benjamina, and a very cunning, wise little creature she is.
Benjamina likes to curl up on a sofa pillow and take life easy. Nearly every day she takes a walk with her mistress and frisks about here and there. Once when they were out walking, naughty Bennie ran too near the horse car and was kicked by one of the horses. She lay quite still for a moment, and all who saw her feared she was dead. Before any one could reach her, a large, strong dog who belonged to a neighbor sprang across the street and carried her to her mistress. Poor doggie had a bad cut in her side which the doctor sewed up, and it was so very sore that she could not lie down for many days. It was quite pitiful to see it walk around and around in a circle, trying to go to sleep. Old Major came every day to see her, and when he was allowed to come into the room he would sit down gravely and look at her. He evidently wanted to say, "I am very, very sorry for you and shall be glad to see you out again."
0094m
After a time poor Benjamina grew well enough to sit in a chair at the window, and Major would sit outside on the piazza and look at her. They really seemed to understand each other perfectly. If anything went wrong in the street Major would run down the steps and attend to it, and then come back to his station before the window. At last Bennie was taken out for a drive and Major ran all the way by the side of the carriage, barking with pleasure.
Once Bennie's mistress found a large bone put on her piazza, which Major had brought for his friend's breakfast, and great was the good fellow's delight when it was carried to Bennie.
Major went to church every Sunday and sat in the porch until his master came out; he tried very hard to go inside but was never allowed to do so. When the sexton went out to open the doors Major would shake himself and take his position on the steps. Once he came on Sunday and tried to coax Bennie out, but her mistress said no. When I last saw Bennie she was sitting in her mistress' lap while she wrote some letters. Major is still the same faithful friend and visits her every day.
9096Original
OW happy the little people were at the seashore! There was so much to see and so much to do that the long days ran quickly away.
Toots and his friend learned many things. They caught hermit crabs, and were told how they stole shell houses to live in. They found star fish, and horse-shoe crabs, and beautiful sea anemones, and sometimes a kind old sailor would tell them about trawls, lobster traps, nets, and the queer tricks of the various fish they caught.
Away out on a point of rocks near the water lived some very bright little boys who often came to play with Toots. One day their parents were invited to visit a beautiful yacht lying in the harbor. The ladies and gentlemen were much pleased, and when they returned from their visit they told the children all about it. Two little boys, Philip and Harry, who lived in the cottage at the point, heard the story with much pleasure; so did Toots, who wished he could see it. One morning when the wind blew hard and the water was covered with white caps, Philip's mother missed both her little boys. "Perhaps they have gone over to Toots'," she said. Their sister inquired, but Toots was swinging in the hammock with another little friend. He had not seen Philip or Harry all the morning. Then the nurse and all the family began to look, but no boys could they find.
At last an old sailor said, "There's a little boat a-bob-bing up and down out there, and I think it has two little chaps in it."
The ladies took a glass, and there indeed were the two little rogues liable to be drowned at any moment; but two kind sailors went after them and brought them safe on shore.
"Where were you going?" asked their mamma.
"To visit the Tommodore's pretty water-house."
Both boys were very small and could not speak distinctly.
"But how strange! you were not invited," said their mother.
"Oh, yes, I 'vited 'Ilip and 'Ilip Vited me!"
"What would you have done if you had reached the yacht?"'
"I was going to 'duce 'Ilip to the Tommodore and 'Ilip was going to 'duce me."
"But you must not introduce people anywhere unless you are welcome yourself and invited. When the Commodore invites my little boys, I will take them out to his yacht and introduce them myself. Besides, the water is very rough and you are too young to row a boat so far."
"We could do it;'cause 'Ilip rowed one oar and I rowed the other. We like it."
Their mother was very glad to get them back again, and the good Commodore never knew what funny little guests he missed seeing that summer morning.
0098m
9099Original
RAIN, plenty of grain,
Sang the birds in the harvest field;
Grain, plenty of grain;
H ow grandly it doth yield!
Grain, plenty of grain,
Eat, and chirp, and sing;
Come one and all to the harvest field,
Each with buoyant wing.
Grain, plenty of grain,
The reapers are out to-day;
And every bird from far and near,
Must sing a roundelay.
Grain, plenty of grain,
And not a farmer near;
Chirp, chirp, how glad are we,
To find this harvest here!
Over the top of the stack,
Down on the bundle bound;
Swoop and pick, and sing your songs;
Such a feast is seldom found.
0100m
Chirp, chirp, chirp,
Sing with all your might,
The glorious day will soon be done,
And the harvest ends to-night.
Grain, plenty of grain,
Eat your fill, my friends;
Let us gladly, cheerfully take,
The food the dear God sends.
"I think," said Toots, "that every song you read is the best one, and I wish birds could talk.
"They certainly talk to each other," said his mother, "and the robins in our apple-tree try very hard to answer me when I talk to them."
0101m
0105m