They sailed away in a paper boat, Nellie and Flo and Dan did, Wondering how they managed to float, For rather unsafe is a paper boat, Better it is to be candid!
And after a voyage across the seas They came to an island of flowers and trees.
And, wishing to feel rather more at ease, They anch.o.r.ed their craft and landed!
A bright little Fairy cried out from the strand, "You"re welcome my darlings, to b.u.t.tercup Land!"
They gazed around on a lovely scene, Nellie and Dan and Flo did, Golden the leaves of the trees, not green, No wonder they thought it a lovely scene, Happiness surely it boded!
And b.u.t.tercups grew on each inch of ground, No room for a pin could between be found, They gathered, and gathered, you may be bound, Till pinafores all were loaded!
The bright little Fairy said, "Isn"t it grand To rule o"er the kingdom of b.u.t.tercup Land?"
"Alas!" they cried, "it is late, so late, Home we must all be sailing!"
Sorrowful they that they could not wait, But they were good darlings "tis right to state, Duty was ever prevailing!
And so they embarked in their paper boat, And soon on the sea were again afloat, A merry cheer rang from each childish throat, Tho" tears down their cheeks were trailing!
The bright little Fairy cried, waving her hand, "Come soon again, darlings, to b.u.t.tercup Land!"
At last they came to their native sh.o.r.e, Nellie and Flo and Dan did, Noticing what they"d not noticed before, That beautiful too was their native sh.o.r.e, Better it is to be candid!
Then one to the other remarked, "I say I think that the sun must be hot to-day!
I"ve been fast asleep, and sailed far away, Where I on an Island landed!"
They laughed for they lay, gather"d flow"rs in each hand, Mid b.u.t.tercups sweet as in b.u.t.tercup Land!
E. Oxenford.
"TEASING NED."
Such a terrible tease was Ned! Mother"s patience lasted longer than any one else"s, but even _she_ was perhaps not altogether sorry when holidays were over and the boys were safely back at boarding-school. He teased the cats and the dogs and the chickens, teased the servants terribly with his mess and pranks; teased his bigger brother George, and more than all teased his good little sister Lizzie. "Lizababuff," she called herself, which was as near as her wee mouth could get to Elizabeth. George was something of a tease too, if the truth must be owned, only, beside Ned, people didn"t notice him so much. Yet tease as they might, by hanging her dolls high out of reach in the walnut-tree, setting her dear black kitty afloat on the pond in a box, or laughing at her when she failed to catch little birds by putting salt on their tails, or any other way, and they had a great many, Lizzie never sulked; she forgave them directly, and wherever the boys played, in garden, orchard, or paddock, Lizzie"s little fat face and white sun-bonnet could always be seen close by.
A very favorite place with the children was the paddock gate; here they would often swing for hours or amuse themselves by watching anything that might come along the road. Not much traffic pa.s.sed that way, to be sure, but knowing every one in the village, they seemed to find enough to interest them.
"Here comes Tom Crippy with two baskets," cried Ned, as they all leaned over the gate one sunny afternoon,--an afternoon on which even Lizzie"s sunny temper had almost given way, for both boys were in an especially teasing mood, and had brought tears very near her blue eyes more than once. "Don"t they look heavy?" he went on. "My! He"s got carrots and ripe apples in one. All ours are as hard as wood."
"Going to take them up to the house, Tom?"
"Not to yours, Master Ned," Tom answered, setting down his baskets and resting on a low wall. "This one is for you; but this one, with the apples, is for Mrs. Veale."
George looked at the baskets. "It is very hot, and you look tired right out," he said. "Suppose you leave Mrs. Veale"s basket here while you take ours."
Tom Crippy agreed at once, and gladly made his way up to the house with his lightened load, Ned shouting after him, "I say, Tom, you may as well spare us an apple when you come back!"
"Wouldn"t it be fun to hide his basket?" Ned went on; but, having offered to take care of it, both boys dismissed the idea as _mean_.
"Now for the apple," they said, when he returned.
In vain Tom protested, "I never promised it. It isn"t mine to give! not even father"s! Mrs. Veale has bought and paid for these apples."
George would have let him go after a bit; but Ned was somewhat greedy, and hankered after the apple, as well as after what he called a bit of _fun_.
"Well, it won"t be more than a mouthful apiece," said Tom, at last.
"Who"ll have first bite?" and he took a ripe, red apple from the basket.
"I," cried Ned at once.
"Well!" said Tom, "I should have thought you would have let the little lady!"
He looked at George, who at once blinded Ned"s eyes. Widely, eagerly, he opened his mouth, to close his teeth upon--a carrot.
People who tease can rarely stand being teased themselves. Frantic with rage, Ned struck out right and left, then dashing the basket over, trampled and smashed the delicious apples with his feet.
Well, the apples had to be paid for, and the boys had to be punished; even mother couldn"t overlook such an afternoon"s work as _this_.
The boys" pocket-money would be stopped till the two shillings were made up. Threepence a week each, and a month seemed long to look forward to.
Gloomily they leaned over the gate in the evening. Patter, patter, nearer and nearer came little feet. "Lizababuff has opened her money-box, and here is sixpence for George and sixpence for Ned."
How they hugged the sun-bonnet! "Lizzie, you are a brick! But we won"t take your money, nor tease you any more!"
"DAISY."
Far in the Highlands of Scotland, nestling amid their rugged mountains, lay a beautiful farm. Here one of our boys lived with the good old farmer for two or three years, to be taught sheep-farming. Every summer he came to see us; and one year, as we were staying at a country house, he brought us a dear little pet lamb, which he had carried on his shoulder for many a mile across the country. It was a poor little orphan, its mother having died; but Willie had brought her up on warm new milk, which the farmer had given him. We at once named her Daisy, she was so white and fluffy, just like a s...o...b..ll; and twice a day we used to feed her with warm milk out of a bottle. She very quickly got tame, roaming about and following us in our walks. She knew Sunday quite well, and never attempted to go to church with us but once; when we were half way there who should come panting after us but Daisy, so she had to be taken home, and very sulkily lay down beside Hero, the watch-dog, perhaps for a little sympathy. Of course she grew into a very big lamb, and as we had to go back to town for the winter a farmer offered to take Daisy and put her amongst his own flock of sheep. Next summer when we returned the first thing we did was to go and see Daisy. The flock was feeding in a meadow, and as we opened the gate a sheep darted from among them, came straight to us, and bleating out her welcome, trotted home with us. She went back to live with the farmer, and died at a good old age.
CHARLIE"S WORD.
"Well, children, I"ll let you go and have this picnic by yourselves if you"ll give me your word that you"ll behave just as you would do if I were with you. Will you promise?"
"Yes, Nurse, we do promise; and we"ll keep our word," said Algy Parker, "won"t we?" and he turned round to Charlie, Basil, and little Ivy, as if to ask them to confirm his words.
"Yes, we promise," they repeated eagerly, full of delight to think that they might actually picnic by themselves for a whole day.
"Don"t leave the Home Fields, mind," said Nurse. "You can"t come to much harm there, I should think; and I should be glad of a free day, so as to get the nurseries cleaned out before your mother comes to-morrow; so mind your promise, and take good care of little Miss Ivy."
In a very short time all was ready. Cook had packed a most tempting lunch of ham sandwiches, plum-cake, and gooseberry turnovers, and this was placed in a basket on Algy"s mail-cart; and then off he started, and Charlie and Basil, with little Ivy between them, ran after him down the long avenue, laughing and singing as joyfully as young birds.
The Home Fields lay at the bottom of the avenue, and the children were no sooner in them than Ivy gave a scream of delight. "The roses, Algy!
The wild roses are out; oh, do pick me some!"
Ivy always got her own way with her brothers; and Algy obediently stopped, threw off his hat, pulled out his clasp-knife, and gathered a good bunch of the delicate blossoms for the little queen.
Charlie did not care for roses; he was better amused with the duck-pond, and began building a little pier for himself with some stones that lay near, much to the disgust of a pair of respectable old ducks, who considered the pond their private property, and very much resented Charlie"s operations.
"Just listen to old Mrs. Quack preaching to me," cried Charlie, smiling to himself as he stood some little way in the pond. As he spoke, however, one of the stones of the pier slipped, and Charlie stumbled right into the water!
What of that?--it is a fine sunny day, and his boots will soon dry again, and he will not be a jot the worse.