"LET me swim first," said old Mrs. Duck,
"To this side, now to that;
There, snap at those great brown-winged flies,
They make young ducklings fat."
"See who can swim the fastest," cried Puss. "Why don't you have a race?"
The nine little ducklings stopped.
"Line up in a row," cried Puss, "and when I cry 'Go!' swim as fast as
you can, and the one who reaches this bank first wins. I'll give a
bright penny to the winner."
All the ducklings arranged themselves in a row, and when Puss cried
"One, two, three, go!" they paddled away as hard as they could. Back and
forth went their little yellow feet. Such a splashing! Nearer and nearer
they came. One little duck flapped his wings upon the water and in this
way managed to get ahead. He was the first to land.
"Here is your penny," cried Puss.
"What can I do with it, mother?" he asked.
"You can get a stick of candy to-morrow," replied his mother. "Not this
afternoon, for it is time now to go home to the farm.
"Now when you reach the poultry yard
The hen-wife, Molly Head,
Will feed you with the other fowls
On bran and mashed-up bread."
Mrs. Duck came out of the water and shook herself well, sending quite a
shower of water in little drops all about her. Puss jumped back to avoid
a shower bath. The ducklings stood up on their toes and flapped their
small wings. Then off they all went, Mrs. Duck in the lead. Puss
followed behind, taking care not to step on the yellow toes of the last
duckling.
As they neared the barnyard Mrs. Duck turned and said:
"The hens will peck and fight, but mind,
I hope that all of you
Will gobble up the food as fast
As well bred ducks should do."
The woman who took care of the poultry yard was already there. From a
well filled pan she was scattering handfuls of corn in all directions.
There were a great many chickens, who darted hither and thither, picking
up the grains of corn. When the corn was all gone she set down a dish of
food. No sooner had she done this than Mrs. Duck exclaimed:
"You'd better get into the dish
Unless it is too small;
In that case, I should use my foot
And overturn it all."
The ducklings did as they were bid,
And found the plan so good
That from that day the other fowls
Got hardly any food.
"My, but she's a wise old duck," said Puss to himself with a grin.
"WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY"
IT was a queer looking house that Puss, Junior, saw in the distance. It
seemed more like a box, with another little box tacked on, through the
top of which rose a long piece of stove pipe, which, I suppose, served
as a chimney, although chimneys are usually made of bricks in Old Mother
Goose Country.
On the front porch sat a little old man, smoking a pipe, from which the
smoke drifted away in little gray clouds, while the smoke from the
stovepipe chimney stretched out like a long black feather.
"Good-day," said Puss, taking off his hat.
"Come and rest beside me," said the old man, pushing forward an
armchair. So Puss sat down, and after wiping the perspiration from his
forehead remarked, "A warm day, my good sir."
"Yes, indeed," replied the little old man, "but all days seem very much
alike to me."
"Do they?" asked Puss. "Why?"
"Well, I'll tell you the story of my life," said the little old man,
and, taking his pipe from his lips, he began:
"When I was a little boy
I lived by myself,
And all the bread and cheese I got
I laid upon the shelf.
The rats and the mice
They made such a strife,
That I was forced to go to town,
And buy me a wife.
The streets were so broad,
And the lanes were so narrow,
I was forced to bring my wife home
In a wheelbarrow.
The wheelbarrow broke,
And my wife had a fall.
Farewell wheelbarrow, wife and all."
"And have you lived alone ever since?" asked Puss.
"Yes," replied the old man, "and the mice and the rats give me no peace.
They eat up all my cheese and flour."
"I'll help you," said Puss. "Let me stay here to-night, and I'll catch
every rat and mouse that bothers you inside the house."
"You can make up poetry as well as I can," said the old man, with a
laugh. "Why, that's the first laugh I've had in many a long year. I like
you, Sir Cat. You are an obliging sort of person. You shall have the
best that my small home affords. I only hope you will rid the place of
rats and mice."
"Leave that to me," replied Puss, with a grin.