Tommy sometimes visits his old nurse. Nurse lives in a tiny house and
keeps geese. Tommy is afraid of the geese. The gander hisses at him
and Tommy does not like that.
One day Nurse went into the goose-house and brought out ten little
goslings. Tommy took one of them in his hands. How pretty they were
with their pink feet and fluffy white feathers!
"To-morrow, they will go out and eat the tender grass," said Nurse.
"Then I shall catch them," said Tommy.
"The old gander won't let you," said Nurse.
"Pooh! who's afraid?" said Tommy very bravely.
So the next day Tommy tried to catch a gosling. Nurse had gone down
cellar and the gander was in the goose-house. But the mother-goose
hissed and the gander heard her and flew out of the goose-house after
Tommy.
Tommy ran, but the gander caught hold of his clothes and began to beat
Tommy's legs with his wings. The old goose screamed, and Tommy ran and
screamed, and the gander ran and screamed and whipped. What a noise
they made! and Nurse ran up from the cellar to see what the matter
was.
Just as Tommy went up the steps the gander bit both his red stockings.
Nurse picked Tommy up and shut the door so the gander could not get
in. Then she kissed Tommy, and cuddled him, and laughed, and said,
"Who's afraid?"
"I am," sobbed Tommy. "And I want that old gander shut up in the
barn. He isn't good for anything."
"Oh, yes, he is," said Nurse, "he takes care of the goslings."
The next day Tommy saw something very pretty. He was looking over the
gate. He did not dare to go out for fear the gander would bite him
again. He heard a gosling cry "peep, peep." The goose and gander heard
it too, and ran and looked down into a deep hole.
Tommy used to play this hole was his "well." Tommy saw the gander
stretch his long neck down into the hole and lift out a little
gosling, and put it carefully on the grass. Then the mother goose was
so pleased that she screamed outright.
[Illustration: TOMMY'S NURSE.]
And Tommy screamed too. "O Nurse, Nurse, that gander is good for
something. He lifted a gosling right out of my well. I saw him!"
[Illustration: TOMMY DOES NOT DARE TO GO OUT.]
[Illustration: A VAMPIRE BAT.]