THE CAT AND THE MOUSE.

leapt

farm'er

be-gan'

but'cher

A cat and a mouse

At play in a house:

a.gain'
ba'ker

The cat bit off the tail of the mouse. 'Pray, puss, give me my tail,' said the mouse.

'No,' said the cat, 'I will not give you your tail, till you go to the cow, and get me some milk.'

Then she leapt, and then she ran,

Till she came to the cow, and thus began:

'Pray, cow, give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my tail again.'

'No,' said the cow, 'I will give you no milk, till you go to the farmer, and get me some hay.

Then she leapt, and then she ran,

Till she came to the farmer, and thus began:

Pray, farmer, give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my tail again.'

'No,' said the farmer, 'I will give you no hay, till you go to the butcher, and get me some meat.'

Then she leapt, and then she ran,

Till she came to the butcher, and thus began:

Pray, butcher, give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my tail again.'

'No,' said the butcher, 'I will give you no meat, till you go to the baker, and get me some bread.'

Then she leapt, and then she ran,

Till she came to the baker, and thus began:

Pray, baker, give me bread, that I may give butcher bread, that butcher may give me meat, that I may give farmer meat, that farmer may give me hay, that I may give cow hay, that cow may give me milk, that I may give cat milk, that cat may give me my tail again.'

'Yes,' said the baker, 'I will give you some bread;

But if you eat my meal, I will cut off your head.'

Then the baker gave mouse bread, and mouse gave butcher bread, and butcher gave mouse meat, and mouse gave farmer meat, and farmer gave mouse hay, and mouse gave cow hay, and cow gave mouse milk, and mouse gave cat milk, and cat gave mouse her tail again!

Little Boy Blue, come blow up your horn,

The sheep's in the meadow,

the cow's in the corn;

Where's the little boy

that looks after the sheep?

He's under the hay-cock fast asleep.
Will you wake him? No, not I;

For if I do, he'll be sure to cry.

Stay, little blackbird, stay, ah! stay;
Why wilt thou fly from me, I pray?
Stay, and sing thy pretty song;
I will not keep thee here too long.

I would not rob thy downy nest
Of the young ones thou lovest best;
I would not hurt thy gentle wing;
Stay, little blackbird, stay, and sing.

In bright summer, I'll give thee
Red ripe cherries from the tree;
When the ground is white with snow,
At the door some crumbs I'll throw.

Stay, little blackbird, stay, ah! stay;
Fly not yet from me, I pray!
Stay, and sing thy pretty song;
I will not keep thee here too long.

One day a boy, whose name was Tom, was at play in a wood, when he saw at the foot of a tree something like a ball of black fur. The boy went up to it, and found that it was a little bear. So he took it home in his arms.

Tom kept the bear, and it grew big and strong. He was kind to the bear, and the bear went about with him like a dog. One morning Tom took the bear to school. The boys were all afraid of the bear, for they thought he might tear them to pieces. But when they saw how tame he was, their fears