[Illustration: 9018]
VERY night just before bedtime Toots and his mamma had a happy hour
together.
Sometimes a friend or two would share the pleasures of this evening
hour, and Toots enjoyed it much more if Bessie or Flossie, or some of
his mates, could hear mamma's stories or verses written expressly for
children. When Toots was quite small he was rude enough one day to
strike his nurse, and after mamma had heard all the story, she read
these lines about