"I would like a good boy to help me."
"That is a good idea," said Grandma.
"It is lonely now that all our children are gone.
"And Tommy is just the kind of a boy I like."
So the next morning Grandma asked Tommy if he would like to live with them.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"Could Rags stay here, too?" asked Tommy.
"Of course he could," said Grandma.
"You could help Grandpa in the summer, and in the winter you could go to school."
What do you think Tommy did?
He couldn"t say a word.
He threw his arms around Grandma"s neck and kissed her.
"Bow-wow," said Rags, jumping up beside them and barking as hard as he could.
"Bow-wow, this is a good home, Tommy."
And Tommy thought so too.
This little pig went to market, This little pig stayed at home, This little pig had bread and b.u.t.ter, This little pig had none, This little pig cried, "Wee, wee, wee!
I can"t find my way home!"
FIVE LITTLE PIGS
Tommy Tucker and Mary had been busy all day helping Grandpa Hall pick apples.
Now the supper dishes were done and the lamp was lighted.
"Tell us a story, Grandma," they begged.
"What shall I tell you?" said Grandma. "Shall I tell you about "The Three Bears," or "Tom Thumb," or "Red Riding Hood"?"
"Tell us a new story, please," said Mary.
"Well, I will tell you the story of the "Five Little Pigs"."
"What five little pigs?" the children asked at the same moment.
"You know," said Grandma.
"This little pig went to market, This little pig stayed at home, This little pig had bread and b.u.t.ter, This little pig had none, This little pig cried, "Wee, wee, wee!
"I can"t find my way home!""
"Is there a story about those little pigs?" asked Mary. "I know I should like that."
So Grandma Hall told the children this story:
Once upon a time there was a mother pig and she had five little pigs.
They were the very prettiest little pigs you ever saw.
They were every one white, with pretty pink noses and very curly tails.
Perhaps the mother pig tied each little tail up at night to make it curl more tightly.
Curly and Whitey, Pearly and Twisty, and Baby, were the names of the five little pigs.
One day the mother pig said to Curly: "You must go to market to-day, my son. I want a nice big cabbage for my soup."
So this little pig went to market.
The market was not very far away,--just down the road and across the field to Grandpa Hall"s cabbage patch.
"Be sure and get a good large one," said the mother pig, as Curly trotted away.
"Oh, Mother," said Whitey, "may I go to market with Curly?"
"No, Whitey," said his mother, "I want you to stay at home and take care of Baby.
"I shall be very busy all the morning.
"You may take Baby out into the yard and play with her."
So this little pig stayed at home.
Whitey took Baby and went out into the yard.
Pearly and Twisty were out there, but they were not playing.
I am sorry to have to say that they were quarrelling, for one little pig had some bread and b.u.t.ter and the other little pig had none.