Genre Fairy Tale. Page - 15

owardly Lion has kingly parents and a palm tree! But I must keep thinking. My brains have never failed me yet. Who was I? Who were I? Who were I?"

Often he thought so hard that he forgot to look where he was going and ran headlong into fences, stumbled down gutters, and over stiles. But fortunately, the dear fellow could not hurt himself, and he would struggle up, pat his straw into shape, and walk straightway into something else. He made good time in between falls, however, and was soon well on his way down the yellow brick road that ran through the Munchkin Country. For he had determined to return to the Munchkin farm where Dorothy had first discovered him and try to find some traces of his family.

Now being stuffed with straw had many advantages, for requiring neither food nor sleep the Scarecrow could travel night and day without interruption. The stars winked out one by one, and by the time the cocks of the Munchkin farmers began to crow, he had come to the banks of a broad blue river!

d hear. She heard Danny Meadow Mouse running along one of his little tunnels under the snow.

Plunge! Old Granny Fox dived right into the snow and right through into the tunnel of Danny Meadow Mouse. Her two black paws actually touched Danny's tail. He was glad then that it was no longer.

"Ha!" cried Granny Fox, "I almost got him that time!"

Then she ran ahead a little way over the snow, listening as before. Plunge! Into the snow she went again. It was lucky for him that Danny had just turned into another tunnel, for otherwise she would surely have caught him.

Granny Fox blew the snow out of her nose. "Next time I'll get him!" said she.

Now Reddy Fox is quick to learn, especially when it is a way to get something to eat. He watched Granny Fox, and when he understood what she was doing, he made up his mind to have a try himself, for he was afraid that if she caught Danny Meadow Mouse, she would think that he was not big enough to divide. Perhaps that was because Reddy is very

his place, when his neighbors presented him with pens and a print; and another boy, from the last bench, sent him a Swiss postage-stamp.

MY COMRADES.

Tuesday, 25th.

The boy who sent the postage-stamp to the Calabrian is the one who pleases me best of all. His name is Garrone: he is the biggest boy in the class: he is about fourteen years old; his head is large, his shoulders broad; he is good, as one can see when he smiles; but it seems as though he always thought like a man. I already know many of my comrades. Another one pleases me, too, by the name of Coretti, and he wears chocolate-colored trousers and a catskin cap: he is always jolly; he is the son of a huckster of wood, who was a soldier in the war of 1866, in the squadron of Prince Umberto, and they say that he has three medals. There is little Nelli, a poor hunchback, a weak boy, with a thin face. There is one who is very well dressed, who always wears fine Florentine plush, and is named Votini. On the bench in front of

indeed to be such a warrior as she neededin her enterprise, and her hopes of success tooka sudden bound when Files told her he knewwhere a gun-tree grew and would go there atonce and pick the ripest and biggest musket thetree bore.

Chapter Two

Out of Oogaboo

Three days later the Grand Army of Oogabooassembled in the square in front of the royalpalace. The sixteen officers were attired ingorgeous uniforms and carried sharp, glitteringswords. The Private had picked his gun and,although it was not a very big weapon, Files triedto look fierce and succeeded so well that all hiscommanding officers were secretly afraid of him.

The women were there, protesting that Queen AnnSoforth had no right to take their husbands andfathers from them; but Ann commanded them to keepsilent, and that was the hardest order to obeythey had ever received.

The Queen appeared before her Army dressed in animposing uniform of green, covered with goldbraid. She wore a

>"I b'lieve, Cap'n," remarked Trot, at last, "thatit's time for us to start."

The old man cast a shrewd glance at the sky, thesea and the motionless boat. Then he shook his head.

"Mebbe it's time, Trot," he answered, "but I don'tjes' like the looks o' things this afternoon."

"What's wrong?" she asked wonderingly.

"Can't say as to that. Things is too quiet to suitme, that's all. No breeze, not a ripple a-top the water,nary a gull a-flyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottestday o' the year. I ain't no weather-prophet, Trot, butany sailor would know the signs is ominous."

"There's nothing wrong that I can see," said Trot.

"If there was a cloud in the sky even as big as mythumb, we might worry about it; but -- look, Cap'n! --the sky is as clear as can be."

He looked again and nodded.

"P'r'aps we can make the cave, all right," he agreed,not wishing to disappoint her. "It's only a little wayout, an' we'll be on the watch; so come along, Trot."

Together they descended the win

ould leap out, deal blows about them with their swords likehail, leap on the horses, on the pole, spring back into thechariots anyhow; and, as soon as they were safe, the horses toreaway again.

The Britons had a strange and terrible religion, called theReligion of the Druids. It seems to have been brought over, invery early times indeed, from the opposite country of France,anciently called Gaul, and to have mixed up the worship of theSerpent, and of the Sun and Moon, with the worship of some of theHeathen Gods and Goddesses. Most of its ceremonies were keptsecret by the priests, the Druids, who pretended to be enchanters,and who carried magicians' wands, and wore, each of them, about hisneck, what he told the ignorant people was a Serpent's egg in agolden case. But it is certain that the Druidical ceremoniesincluded the sacrifice of human victims, the torture of somesuspected criminals, and, on particular occasions, even the burningalive, in immense wicker cages, of a numbe

r-class cadets in deep blue, enlisted spacemen in scarlet red, and Solar Guard officers in their striking uniforms of black and gold. Chatting and laughing, they all were entering the great building.

The Polaris unit was well known among other cadet units, and they were greeted heartily from all sides. As Astro and Roger joked with various cadet units, forming up in front of the slidestairs leading down to the mess halls, Alfie turned to take a slidestairs going up. Suddenly he stopped, grabbed Tom by the shoulders, and whispered in his ear. Just as abruptly he turned and raced up the ascending slidestairs.

"What was that about?" asked Roger, as Tom stood staring after the little cadet.

"Roger--he--he said our next assignment would be one of the great experiments in space history. Something to be done that--that hasn't ever been done before!"

"Well, blast my jets!" said Astro. "What do you suppose it is?"

"Ahhh," sneered Roger, "I'll bet it's nothing more than takin

ly a screw went mad,
And then the boiler burst!

With gloomy face he picked it up
And took it to his Mother,
Though even he could not suppose
That she could make another;

For those who perished on the line
He did not seem to care,
His engine being more to him
Than all the people there.

And now you see the reason why
Our Peter has been ill:
He soothes his soul with pigeon-pie
His gnawing grief to kill.

He wraps himself in blankets warm
And sleeps in bed till late,
Determined thus to overcome
His miserable fate.

And if his eyes are rather red,
His cold must just excuse it:
Offer him pie; you may be sure
He never will refuse it.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things. He had often acted as veterinary surgeon to the wooden rocking-horse; once he had saved its life when all huma

e others might not be likely to stumble upon it. So finally hedecided it must be written somewhere in his own house.

Bini Aru had a wife named Mopsi Aru who was famous for making finehuckleberry pies, and he had a son named Kiki Aru who was not famousat all. He was noted as being cross and disagreeable because he wasnot happy, and he was not happy because he wanted to go down themountain and visit the big world below and his father would not lethim. No one paid any attention to Kiki Aru, because he didn't amountto anything, anyway.

Once a year there was a festival on Mount Munch which all the Hyupsattended. It was held in the center of the saucer-shaped country, andthe day was given over to feasting and merry-making. The young folksdanced and sang songs; the women spread the tables with good things toeat, and the men played on musical instruments and told fairy tales.

Kiki Aru usually went to these festivals with his parents, and thensat sullenly outside the circle and would not danc

precious the Saviour's promise, 'If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that you shall ask, it shall be done for you of my Father which is in heaven'!"

"Yes, mother dear," assented Mrs. Leland, "and we will claim and plead it for our poor dear Laura, and for Eva, that she may be sustained under the bereavement which awaits her."

"Yes," said Dr. Conly, "and there are many of our friends who will be ready to join us in the petition. I am going now to Woodburn--the captain having telephoned me that one of the servants is ill--and we all know that he and his will be full of sympathy for Eva and her sick mother."

"No doubt they will," said Grandma Elsie, "both as Christians and as warm friends of Evelyn. And it will be quite the same with our other friends."

With that the doctor bade good-morning and took his departure in the direction of Woodburn. The family there were surprised and interested by the news he had to tell of the arrival at Fairview, and of Laura's feebl