A CAT having made acquaintance with a mouse, professed such great love
and friendship for her, that the mouse at last agreed that they should
live and keep house together.
"We must make provision for the winter," said the cat, "or we shall
suffer hunger, and you, little mouse, must not stir out, or you will be
caught in a trap."
So they took counsel together and bought a little pot of fat. And then
they could not tell where to put it for safety, but after long
consideration the cat said there could not be a better place than the
church, for nobody would steal there; and they would put it under the
altar and not touch it until they were really in want. So this was done,
and the little pot placed in safety.
But before long the cat was seized with a great wish to taste it.
"Listen to me, little mouse," said he; "I have been asked by my cousin
to stand god-father to a little son she has brought into the world; he
is white with brown spots; and they want to have the christening to-day,
so let me go to it, and you stay at home and keep house."
"Oh yes, certainly," answered the mouse, "pray go by all means; and when
you are feasting on all the good things, think of me; I should so like a
drop of the sweet red wine."
But there was not a word of truth in all this; the cat had no cousin,
and had not been asked to stand god-father: he went to the church,
straight up to the little pot, and licked the fat off the top; then he
took a walk over the roofs of the town, saw his acquaintances, stretched
himself in the sun, and licked his whiskers as often as he thought of
the little pot of fat; and then when it was evening he went home.
"Here you are at last," said the mouse; "I expect you have had a merry
time."
"Oh, pretty well," answered the cat.
"And what name did you give the child?" asked the mouse.
"Top-off," answered the cat, drily.
"Top-off!" cried the mouse, "that is a singular and wonderful name! is
it common in your family?"
"What does it matter?" said the cat; "it's not any worse than
Crumb-picker, like your god-child."
A little time after this the cat was again seized with a longing.
"Again I must ask you," said he to the mouse, "to do me a favour, and
keep house alone for a day. I have been asked a second time to stand
god-father; and as the little one has a white ring round its neck, I
cannot well refuse."
So the kind little mouse consented, and the cat crept along by the town
wall until he reached the church, and going straight to the little pot
of fat, devoured half of it.
"Nothing tastes so well as what one keeps to oneself," said he, feeling
quite content with his day's work. When he reached home, the mouse asked
what name had been given to the child.
"Half-gone," answered the cat.
"Half-gone!" cried the mouse, "I never heard such a name in my life!
I'll bet it's not to be found in the calendar."
Soon after that the cat's mouth began to water again for the fat.
"Good things always come in threes," said he to the mouse; "again I have
been asked to stand god-father, the little one is quite black with white
feet, and not any white hair on its body; such a thing does not happen
every day, so you will let me go, won't you?"
"Top-off, Half-gone," murmured the mouse, "they are such curious names,
I cannot but wonder at them!"
"That's because you are always sitting at home," said the cat, "in your
little grey frock and hairy tail, never seeing the world, and fancying
all sorts of things."
So the little mouse cleaned up the house and set it all in order.
Meanwhile the greedy cat went and made an end of the little pot of fat.
"Now all is finished one's mind will be easy," said he, and came home in
the evening, quite sleek and comfortable. The mouse asked at once what
name had been given to the third child.
"It won't please you any better than the others," answered the cat. "It
is called All-gone."
"All-gone!" cried the mouse. "What an unheard-of-name! I never met with
anything like it! All-gone! whatever can it mean?" And shaking her head,
she curled herself round and went to sleep. After that the cat was not
again asked to stand god-father.
When the winter had come and there was nothing more to be had out of
doors, the mouse began to think of their store.
"Come, cat," said she, "we will fetch our pot of fat, how good it will
taste, to be sure!"
"Of course it will," said the cat, "just as good as if you stuck your
tongue out of window!"
So they set out, and when they reached the place, they found the pot,
but it was standing empty.
"Oh, now I know what it all meant," cried the mouse, "now I see what
sort of a partner you have been! Instead of standing god-father you have
devoured it all up; first Top-off, then Half-gone, then"----
"Will you hold your tongue!" screamed the cat, "another word, and I
devour you too!"
And the poor little mouse, having "All-gone" on her tongue, out it came,
and the cat leaped upon her and made an end of her. And that is the way
of the world.
The WOLF and the SEVEN LITTLE GOATS.
THERE was once an old goat who had seven little ones, and was as fond of
them as ever mother was of her children. One day she had to go into the
wood to fetch food for them, so she called them all round her.
"Dear children," said she, "I am going out into the wood; and while I am
gone, be on your guard against the wolf, for if he were once to get
inside he would eat you up, skin, bones, and all. The wretch often
disguises himself, but he may always be known by his hoarse voice and
black paws."
"Dear mother," answered the kids, "you need not be afraid, we will take
good care of ourselves." And the mother bleated good-bye, and went on
her way with an easy mind.
It was not long before some one came knocking at the house-door, and
crying out,
"Open the door, my dear children, your mother is come back, and has
brought each of you something."
But the little kids knew it was the wolf by the hoarse voice.
"We will not open the door," cried they; "you are not our mother, she
has a delicate and sweet voice, and your voice is hoarse; you must be
the wolf."
Then off went the wolf to a shop and bought a big lump of chalk, and ate
it up to make his voice soft. And then he came back, knocked at the
house-door, and cried,
"Open the door, my dear children, your mother is here, and has brought
each of you something."
But the wolf had put up his black paws against the window, and the kids
seeing this, cried out,
"We will not open the door; our mother has no black paws like you; you
must be the wolf."
The wolf then ran to a baker.
"Baker," said he, "I am hurt in the foot; pray spread some dough over
the place."
And when the baker had plastered his feet, he ran to the miller.
"Miller," said he, "strew me some white meal over my paws." But the
miller refused, thinking the wolf must be meaning harm to some one.
"If you don't do it," cried the wolf, "I'll eat you up!"
And the miller was afraid and did as he was told. And that just shows
what men are.
And now came the rogue the third time to the door and knocked. "Open,
children!" cried he. "Your dear mother has come home, and brought you
each something from the wood."
"First show us your paws," said the kids, "so that we may know if you
are really our mother or not."
And he put up his paws against the window, and when they saw that they
were white, all seemed right, and they opened the door; and when he was
inside they saw it was the wolf, and they were terrified and tried to
hide themselves. One ran under the table, the second got into the bed,
the third into the oven, the fourth in the kitchen, the fifth in the
cupboard, the sixth under the sink, the seventh in the clock-case. But
the wolf found them all, and gave them short shrift; one after the other
he swallowed down, all but the youngest, who was hid in the clock-case.
And so the wolf, having got what he wanted, strolled forth into the
green meadows, and laying himself down under a tree, he fell asleep.
Not long after, the mother goat came back from the wood; and, oh! what a
sight met her eyes! the door was standing wide open, table, chairs, and
stools, all thrown about, dishes broken, quilt and pillows torn off the
bed. She sought her children, they were nowhere to be found. She called
to each of them by name, but nobody answered, until she came to the name
of the youngest.
"Here I am, mother," a little voice cried, "here, in the clock-case."
And so she helped him out, and heard how the wolf had come, and eaten
all the rest. And you may think how she cried for the loss of her dear
children. At last in her grief she wandered out of doors, and the
youngest kid with her; and when they came into the meadow, there they
saw the wolf lying under a tree, and snoring so that the branches shook.
The mother goat looked at him carefully on all sides and she noticed how
something inside his body was moving and struggling.
"Dear me!" thought she, "can it be that my poor children that he
devoured for his evening meal are still alive?" And she sent the little
kid back to the house for a pair of shears, and needle, and thread. Then
she cut the wolf's body open, and no sooner had she made one snip than
out came the head of one of the kids, and then another snip, and then
one after the other the six little kids all jumped out alive and well,
for in his greediness the rogue had swallowed them down whole. How
delightful this was! so they comforted their dear mother and hopped
about like tailors at a wedding.
"Now fetch some good hard stones," said the mother, "and we will fill
his body with them, as he lies asleep."
And so they fetched some in all haste, and put them inside him, and the
mother sewed him up so quickly again that he was none the wiser.
When the wolf at last awoke, and got up, the stones inside him made him
feel very thirsty, and as he was going to the brook to drink, they
struck and rattled one against another. And so he cried out:
"What is this I feel inside me
Knocking hard against my bones?
How should such a thing betide me!
They were kids, and now they're stones."
So he came to the brook, and stooped to drink, but the heavy stones
weighed him down, so he fell over into the water and was drowned. And
when the seven little kids saw it they came up running.
"The wolf is dead, the wolf is dead!" they cried, and taking hands, they
danced with their mother all about the place.
[Illustration: FAITHFUL JOHN
"IT HAPPENED, AS THEY WERE STILL
JOURNEYING ON THE OPEN SEA, THAT
FAITHFUL JOHN, AS HE SAT IN THE FORE
PART OF THE SHIP, & MADE MUSIC, CAUGHT
SIGHT OF THREE RAVENS FLYING OVERHEAD.
THEN HE STOPPED PLAYING &
LISTENED TO WHAT THEY SAID TO ONE ANOTHER"]