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diff --git a/25165.txt b/25165.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4515ee6 --- /dev/null +++ b/25165.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1803 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Candy Country, by Louisa M. Alcott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Candy Country + +Author: Louisa M. Alcott + +Release Date: April 25, 2008 [EBook #25165] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CANDY COUNTRY *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Anne Storer and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from scans of public domain material +produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) + + + + + + + THE CANDY COUNTRY + + BY + + LOUISA M. ALCOTT + + + AUTHOR OF "LITTLE WOMEN," "LITTLE MEN," "AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL," + "AUNT JO'S SCRAP-BAG," "LULU'S LIBRARY," ETC. + + + Illustrated + + + BOSTON + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + + + + + _Copyright, 1885,_ + BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT + + _Copyright, 1900,_ + BY JOHN S. P. ALCOTT + + + University Press + JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration: "Hollo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her. + PAGE 10.] + + +THE CANDY COUNTRY + + +"I shall take mamma's red sun umbrella, it is so warm, and none of the +children at school will have one like it," said Lily, one day, as she +went through the hall. + +"The wind is very high; I'm afraid you'll be blown away if you carry +that big thing," called Nurse from the window, as the red umbrella went +bobbing down the garden walk with a small girl under it. + +"I wish it would; I always wanted to go up in a balloon," answered Lily, +as she struggled out of the gate. + +She got on very well till she came to the bridge and stopped to look +over the railing at the water running by so fast, and the turtles +sunning themselves on the rocks. Lily was fond of throwing stones at +them; it was so funny to watch them tumble, heels over head, splash into +the water. Now, when she saw three big fellows close by, she stooped for +a stone, and just at that minute a gale of wind nearly took the umbrella +out of her hand. She clutched it fast; and away she went like a +thistle-down, right up in the air, over river and hill, houses and +trees, faster and faster, till her head spun round, her breath was all +gone, and she had to let go. The dear red umbrella flew away like a +leaf; and Lily fell down, down, till she went crash into a tree which +grew in such a curious place that she forgot her fright as she sat +looking about her, wondering what part of the world it could be. + +The tree looked as if made of glass or colored sugar; for she could see +through the red cherries, the green leaves, and the brown branches. An +agreeable smell met her nose; and she said at once, as any child would, +"I smell candy!" She picked a cherry and ate it. Oh, how good it +was!--all sugar and no stone. The next discovery was such a delightful +one that she nearly fell off her perch; for by touching her tongue here +and there, she found that the whole tree was made of candy. Think what +fun to sit and break off twigs of barley sugar, candied cherries, and +leaves that tasted like peppermint and sassafras! + +Lily rocked and ate till she finished the top of the little tree; +then she climbed down and strolled along, making more surprising and +agreeable discoveries as she went. + +What looked like snow under her feet was white sugar; the rocks were +lumps of chocolate, the flowers of all colors and tastes; and every sort +of fruit grew on these delightful trees. Little white houses soon +appeared; and here lived the dainty candy-people, all made of the best +sugar, and painted to look like real people. Dear little men and women, +looking as if they had stepped off of wedding cakes and bonbons, went +about in their gay sugar clothes, laughing and talking in the sweetest +voices. Bits of babies rocked in open-work cradles, and sugar boys and +girls played with sugar toys in the most natural way. Carriages rolled +along the jujube streets, drawn by the red and yellow barley horses we +all love so well; cows fed in the green fields, and sugar birds sang in +the trees. + +Lily listened, and in a moment she understood what the song said,-- + + "Sweet! Sweet! + Come, come and eat, + Dear little girls + With yellow curls; + For here you'll find + Sweets to your mind. + On every tree + Sugar-plums you'll see; + In every dell + Grows the caramel. + Over every wall + Gum-drops fall; + Molasses flows + Where our river goes. + Under your feet + Lies sugar sweet; + Over your head + Grow almonds red. + Our lily and rose + Are not for the nose; + Our flowers we pluck + To eat or suck. + And, oh! what bliss + When two friends kiss, + For they honey sip + From lip to lip! + And all you meet, + In house or street, + At work or play, + Sweethearts are they. + So, little dear, + Pray feel no fear; + Go where you will; + Eat, eat your fill. + Here is a feast + From west to east; + And you can say, + Ere you go away, + 'At last I stand + In dear Candy-land, + And no more can stuff; + For once I've enough.' + Sweet! Sweet! + Tweet! Tweet! + Tweedle-dee! + Tweedle-dee!" + +"That is the most interesting song I ever heard," said Lily, clapping +her sticky hands and dancing along toward a fine palace of white cream +candy, with pillars of striped peppermint stick, and a roof of frosting +that made it look like the Milan Cathedral. + +"I'll live here, and eat candy all day long, with no tiresome school or +patchwork to spoil my fun," said Lily. + +So she ran up the chocolate steps into the pretty rooms, where all the +chairs and tables were of different colored candies, and the beds of +spun sugar. A fountain of lemonade supplied drink; and floors of +ice-cream that never melted kept people and things from sticking +together, as they would have done had it been warm. + +For a long while Lily was quite happy, going about tasting so many +different kinds of sweeties, talking to the little people, who were very +amiable, and finding out curious things about them and their country. + +The babies were made of plain sugar, but the grown people had different +flavors. The young ladies were flavored with violet, rose, and orange; +the gentlemen were apt to have cordials of some sort inside of them, as +she found when she ate one now and then slyly, and got her tongue bitten +by the hot, strong taste as a punishment. The old people tasted of +peppermint, clove, and such comfortable things, good for pain; but the +old maids had lemon, hoar-hound, flag-root, and all sorts of sour, +bitter things in them, and did not get eaten much. Lily soon learned to +know the characters of her new friends by a single taste, and some she +never touched but once. The dear babies melted in her mouth, and the +delicately flavored young ladies she was very fond of. Dr. Ginger was +called to her more than once when so much candy made her teeth ache, and +she found him a very hot-tempered little man; but he stopped the pain, +so she was glad to see him. + +A lime-drop boy and a little pink checkerberry girl were her favorite +playmates; and they had fine times making mud-pies by scraping the +chocolate rocks and mixing this dust with honey from the wells near by. +These they could eat; and Lily thought this much better than throwing +away the pies, as she had to do at home. They had candy-pulls very +often, and made swings of long loops of molasses candy, and bird's-nests +with almond eggs, out of which came birds who sang sweetly. They played +foot-ball with big bull's-eyes, sailed in sugar boats on lakes of syrup, +fished in rivers of molasses, and rode the barley horses all over the +country. + +Lily discovered that it never rained, but snowed white sugar. There was +no sun, as it would have been too hot; but a large yellow lozenge made +a nice moon, and red and white comfits were the stars. + +The people all lived on sugar, and never quarrelled. No one was ill; and +if any got broken, as sometimes happened with such brittle creatures, +they just stuck the parts together and were all right again. The way +they grew old was to get thinner and thinner till there was danger of +their vanishing. Then the friends of the old person put him in a neat +coffin, and carried him to the great golden urn which stood in their +largest temple, always full of a certain fine syrup; and here he was +dipped and dipped till he was stout and strong again, and went home to +enjoy himself for a long time as good as new. + +This was very interesting to Lily, and she went to many funerals. But +the weddings were better still; for the lovely white brides were so +sweet Lily longed to eat them. The feasts were delicious; and everybody +went in their best clothes, and danced at the ball till they got so warm +half-a-dozen would stick together and have to be taken to the ice-cream +room to cool off. Then the little pair would drive away in a fine +carriage with white horses to a new palace in some other part of the +country, and Lily would have another pleasant place to visit. + +But by and by, when she had seen everything, and eaten so much sweet +stuff that at last she longed for plain bread and butter, she began to +get cross, as children always do when they live on candy; and the little +people wished she would go away, for they were afraid of her. No wonder, +when she would catch up a dear sugar baby and eat him, or break some +respectable old grandmamma all into bits because she reproved her for +naughty ways. Lily calmly sat down on the biggest church, crushing it +flat, and even tried to poke the moon out of the sky in a pet one day. +The king ordered her to go home; but she said, "I won't!" and bit his +head off, crown and all. + +Such a wail went up at this awful deed that she ran away out of the +city, fearing some one would put poison in her candy, since she had no +other food. + +"I suppose I shall get somewhere if I keep walking; and I can't starve, +though I hate the sight of this horrid stuff," she said to herself, as +she hurried over the mountains of Gibraltar Rock that divided the city +of Saccharissa from the great desert of brown sugar that lay beyond. + +Lily marched bravely on for a long time, and saw at last a great smoke +in the sky, smelt a spicy smell, and felt a hot wind blowing toward her. + +"I wonder if there are sugar savages here, roasting and eating some poor +traveller like me," she said, thinking of Robinson Crusoe and other +wanderers in strange lands. + +She crept carefully along till she saw a settlement of little huts very +like mushrooms, for they were made of cookies set on lumps of the brown +sugar; and queer people, looking as if made of gingerbread, were working +very busily round several stoves which seemed to bake at a great rate. + +"I'll creep nearer and see what sort of people they are before I show +myself," said Lily, going into a grove of spice-trees, and sitting down +on a stone which proved to be the plummy sort of cake we used to call +Brighton Rock. + +Presently one of the tallest men came striding toward the trees with a +pan, evidently after spice; and before she could run, he saw Lily. + +"Hollo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her with his black +currant eyes, while he briskly picked the bark off a cinnamon-tree. + +"I'm travelling, and would like to know what place this is, if you +please," answered Lily, very politely, being a little frightened. + +"Cake-land. Where do you come from?" asked the gingerbread man, in a +crisp tone of voice. + +"I was blown into the Candy country, and have been there a long time; +but I got tired of it, and ran away to find something better." + +"Sensible child!" and the man smiled till Lily thought his cheeks would +crumble. "You'll get on better here with us Brownies than with the lazy +Bonbons, who never work and are all for show. They won't own us, though +we are all related through our grandparents Sugar and Molasses. We are +busy folks; so they turn up their noses and don't speak when we meet at +parties. Poor creatures, silly and sweet and unsubstantial! I pity 'em." + +"Could I make you a visit? I'd like to see how you live, and what you +do. I'm sure it must be interesting," said Lily, picking herself up +after a tumble, having eaten nearly all the stone, she was so hungry. + +"I know you will. Come on! I can talk while I work." And the funny +gingerbread man trotted off toward his kitchen, full of pans, +rolling-pins, and molasses jugs. + +"Sit down. I shall be at leisure as soon as this batch is baked. There +are still some wise people down below who like gingerbread, and I have +my hands full," he said, dashing about, stirring, rolling out, and +slapping the brown dough into pans, which he whisked into the oven and +out again so fast that Lily knew there must be magic about it somewhere. + +Every now and then he threw her a delicious cooky warm from the oven. +She liked the queer fellow, and presently began to talk, being very +curious about this country. + +"What is your name, sir?" + +"Ginger Snap." + +Lily thought it a good one; for he was very quick, and she fancied he +could be short and sharp if he liked. + +"Where does all this cake go to?" she asked, after watching the other +kitchens full of workers, who were all of different kinds of cake, and +each set of cooks made its own sort. + +"I'll show you by and by," answered Snap, beginning to pile up the heaps +of gingerbread on a little car that ran along a track leading to some +unknown storeroom, Lily thought. + +"Don't you get tired of doing this all the time?" + +"Yes; but I want to be promoted, and I never shall be till I've done my +best, and won the prize here." + +"Oh, tell me about it! What is the prize, and how are you promoted? Is +this a cooking-school?" + +"Yes; the prize for best gingerbread is a cake of condensed yeast. That +puts a soul into me, and I begin to rise till I am able to go over the +hills yonder into the blessed land of bread, and be one of the happy +creatures who are always wholesome, always needed, and without which the +world below would be in a bad way." + +"Bless me! that is the queerest thing I've heard yet. But I don't wonder +you want to go; I'm tired of sweets myself, and long for a good piece of +bread, though I used to want cake and candy at home." + +"Ah, my dear, you'll learn a good deal here; and you are lucky not to +have got into the clutches of Giant Dyspepsia, who always gets people if +they eat too much of such rubbish and scorn wholesome bread. I leave my +ginger behind when I go, and get white and round and beautiful, as you +will see. The Gingerbread family have never been as foolish as some of +the other cakes. Wedding is the worst; such extravagance in the way of +wine and spice and fruit I never saw, and such a mess to eat when it's +done! I don't wonder people get sick; serves 'em right." And Snap flung +down a pan with such a bang that it made Lily jump. + +"Sponge cake isn't bad, is it? Mamma lets me eat it, but I like frosted +pound better," she said, looking over to the next kitchen, where piles +of that sort of cake were being iced. + +"Poor stuff. No substance. Ladies' fingers will do for babies, but pound +has too much butter ever to be healthy. Let it alone, and eat cookies or +seed-cakes, my dear. Now, come along; I'm ready." And Snap trundled away +his car-load at a great pace. + +Lily ran behind to pick up whatever fell, and looked about her as she +went, for this was certainly a very queer country. Lakes of eggs all +beaten up, and hot springs of saleratus foamed here and there ready for +use. The earth was brown sugar or ground spice; and the only fruits were +raisins, dried currants, citron, and lemon peel. It was a very busy +place; for every one cooked all the time, and never failed and never +seemed tired, though they got so hot that they only wore sheets of paper +for clothes. There were piles of it to put over the cake, so that it +shouldn't burn; and they made cook's white caps and aprons of it, and +looked very nice. A large clock made of a flat pancake, with cloves to +mark the hours and two toothpicks for hands, showed them how long to +bake things; and in one place an ice wall was built round a lake of +butter, which they cut in lumps as they wanted it. + +"Here we are. Now, stand away while I pitch 'em down," said Snap, +stopping at last before a hole in the ground where a dumb-waiter hung +ready, with a name over it. + +There were many holes all round, and many waiters, each with its name; +and Lily was amazed when she read "Weber," "Copeland," "Dooling," and +others, which she knew very well. + +Over Snap's place was the name "Newmarch;" and Lily said, "Why, that's +where mamma gets her hard gingerbread, and Weber's is where we go for +ice-cream. Do _you_ make cake for them?" + +"Yes, but no one knows it. It's one of the secrets of the trade. We +cook for all the confectioners, and people think the good things come +out of the cellars under their saloons. Good joke, isn't it?" And Snap +laughed till a crack came in his neck and made him cough. + +Lily was so surprised she sat down on a warm queen's cake that happened +to be near, and watched Snap send down load after load of gingerbread to +be eaten by children, who would have liked it much better if they had +only known where it came from, as she did. + +As she sat, the clatter of many spoons, the smell of many dinners, and +the sound of many voices calling, "One vanilla, two strawberries, and a +Charlotte Russe," "Three stews, cup coffee, dry toast," "Roast chicken +and apple without," came up the next hole, which was marked "Copeland." + +"Dear me! it seems as if I was there," said Lily, longing to hop down, +but afraid of the bump at the other end. + +"I'm done. Come along, I'll ride you back," called Snap, tossing the +last cooky after the dumb-waiter as it went slowly out of sight with its +spicy load. + +"I wish you'd teach me to cook. It looks great fun, and mamma wants me +to learn; only our cook hates to have me mess round, and is so cross +that I don't like to try at home," said Lily, as she went trundling +back. + +"Better wait till you get to Bread-land, and learn to make that. It's a +great art, and worth knowing. Don't waste your time on cake, though +plain gingerbread isn't bad to have in the house. I'll teach you that in +a jiffy, if the clock doesn't strike my hour too soon," answered Snap, +helping her down. + +"What hour?" + +"Why, of my freedom. I never know when I've done my task till I'm called +by the chimes and go to get my soul," said Snap, turning his currant +eyes anxiously to the clock. + +"I hope you _will_ have time." And Lily fell to work with all her +might, after Snap had put on her a paper apron and a cap like his. + +It was not hard; for when she was going to make a mistake a spark flew +out of the fire and burnt her in time to remind her to look at the +receipt, which was a sheet of gingerbread in a frame of pie-crust hung +up before her, with the directions written while it was soft and baked +in. The third sheet she made came out of the oven spicy, light, and +brown; and Snap, giving it one poke, said, "That's all right. Now you +know. Here's your reward." + +He handed her a receipt-book made of thin sheets of sugar-gingerbread +held together by a gelatine binding, with her name stamped on the back, +and each leaf crimped with a cake-cutter in the most elegant manner. + +Lily was charmed with it, but had no time to read all it contained; for +just then the clock began to strike, and a chime of bells to ring,-- + + "Gingerbread, + Go to the head. + Your task is done; + A soul is won. + Take it and go + Where muffins grow, + Where sweet loaves rise + To the very skies, + And biscuits fair + Perfume the air. + Away, away! + Make no delay; + In the sea of flour + Plunge this hour. + Safe in your breast + Let the yeast-cake rest, + Till you rise in joy, + A white bread boy!" + +"Ha, ha! I'm free! I'm free!" cried Snap, catching up the silver-covered +square that seemed to fall from heaven; and running to a great white +sea of flour, he went in head first, holding the yeast-cake clasped to +his breast as if his life depended on it. + +Lily watched breathlessly, while a curious working and bubbling went on, +as if Snap was tumbling about down there, like a small earthquake. The +other cake-folk stood round the shore with her; for it was a great +event, and all were glad that the dear fellow was promoted so soon. +Suddenly a cry was heard, and up rose a beautiful white figure on the +farther side of the sea. It moved its hand, as if saying "Good-by," and +ran over the hills so fast they had only time to see how plump and fair +he was, with a little knob on the top of his head like a crown. + +"He's gone to the happy land, and we shall miss him; but we'll follow +his example and soon find him again," said a gentle Sponge Cake, with a +sigh, as all went back to their work; while Lily hurried after Snap, +eager to see the new country, which was the best of all. + +A delicious odor of fresh bread blew up from the valley as she stood on +the hill-top and looked down on the peaceful scene below. Fields of +yellow grain waved in the breeze; hop-vines grew from tree to tree, and +many windmills whirled their white sails as they ground the different +grains into fresh, sweet meal, for the loaves of bread that built the +houses like bricks and paved the streets, or in many shapes formed the +people, furniture, and animals. A river of milk flowed through the +peaceful land, and fountains of yeast rose and fell with a pleasant foam +and fizz. The ground was a mixture of many meals, and the paths were +golden Indian, which gave a very gay look to the scene. Buckwheat +flowers bloomed on their rosy stems, and tall corn-stalks rustled their +leaves in the warm air that came from the ovens hidden in the hillsides; +for bread needs a slow fire, and an obliging volcano did the baking +here. + +"What a lovely place!" cried Lily, feeling the charm of the homelike +landscape, in spite of the funny plump people moving about. + +Two of these figures came running to meet her as she slowly walked down +the yellow path from the hill. One was a golden boy, with a beaming +face; the other a little girl in a shiny brown cloak, who looked as if +she would taste very nice. They each put a warm hand into Lily's, and +the boy said,-- + +"We are glad to see you. Muffin told us you were coming." + +"Thank you. Who is Muffin?" asked Lily, feeling as if she had seen both +these little people before, and liked them. + +"He was Ginger Snap once, but he's a Muffin now. We begin in that way, +and work up to the perfect loaf by degrees. My name is Johnny Cake, and +she's Sally Lunn. You know us; so come on and have a race." + +Lily burst out laughing at the idea of playing with these old friends of +hers; and all three ran away as fast as they could tear, down the hill, +over a bridge, into the middle of the village, where they stopped, +panting, and sat down on some very soft rolls to rest. + +"What do you all do _here_?" asked Lily, when she got her breath again. + +"We farm, we study, we bake, we brew, and are as merry as grigs all day +long. It's school-time now, and we must go; will you come?" said Sally, +jumping up as if she liked it. + +"Our schools are not like yours; we only study two things,--grain and +yeast. I think you'll like it. We have yeast to-day, and the experiments +are very jolly," added Johnny, trotting off to a tall brown tower of +rye and Indian bread, where the school was kept. + +Lily never liked to go to school, but she was ashamed to own it; so she +went along with Sally, and was so amused with all she saw that she was +glad she came. The brown loaf was hollow, and had no roof; and when she +asked why they used a ruin, Sally told her to wait and see why they +chose strong walls and plenty of room overhead. All round was a circle +of very small biscuits like cushions, and on these the Bread-children +sat. A square loaf in the middle was the teacher's desk, and on it lay +an ear of wheat, with several bottles of yeast well corked up. The +teacher was a pleasant, plump lady from Vienna, very wise, and so famous +for her good bread that she was a Professor of Grainology. + +When all were seated, she began with the wheat ear, and told them all +about it in such an interesting way that Lily felt as if she had never +known anything about the bread she ate before. The experiments with the +yeast were quite exciting,--for Fraeulein Pretzel showed them how it +would work till it blew the cork out, and go fizzing up to the sky if it +was kept too long; how it would turn sour or flat, and spoil the bread +if care was not taken to use it just at the right moment; and how too +much would cause the loaf to rise till there was no substance to it. + +The children were very bright; for they were fed on the best kinds of +oatmeal and Graham bread, with very little white bread or hot cakes to +spoil their young stomachs. Hearty, happy boys and girls they were, and +their yeasty souls were very lively in them; for they danced and sang, +and seemed as bright and gay as if acidity, heaviness, and mould were +quite unknown. + +Lily was very happy with them, and when school was done went home with +Sally and ate the best bread and milk for dinner that she ever tasted. +In the afternoon Johnny took her to the cornfield, and showed her how +they kept the growing ears free from mildew and worms. Then she went to +the bakehouse; and here she found her old friend Muffin hard at work +making Parker House rolls, for he was such a good cook he was set to +work at once on the lighter kinds of bread. + +"Well, isn't this better than Candy-land or Saccharissa?" he asked, as +he rolled and folded his bits of dough with a dab of butter tucked +inside. + +"Ever so much!" cried Lily. "I feel better already, and mean to learn +all I can. Mamma will be so pleased if I can make good bread when I go +home. She is rather old-fashioned, and likes me to be a nice +housekeeper. I didn't think bread interesting then, but I do now; and +Johnny's mother is going to teach me to make Indian cakes to-morrow." + +"Glad to hear it. Learn all you can, and tell other people how to make +healthy bodies and happy souls by eating good plain food. Not like this, +though these rolls are better than cake. I have to work my way up to the +perfect loaf, you know; and then, oh, then, I'm a happy thing." + +"What happens then? Do you go on to some other wonderful place?" asked +Lily, as Muffin paused with a smile on his face. + +"Yes; I am eaten by some wise, good human being, and become a part of +him or her. That is immortality and heaven; for I may nourish a poet and +help him sing, or feed a good woman who makes the world better for being +in it, or be crumbed into the golden porringer of a baby prince who is +to rule a kingdom. Isn't that a noble way to live, and an end worth +working for?" asked Muffin, in a tone that made Lily feel as if some +sort of fine yeast had got into her, and was setting her brain to work +with new thoughts. + +"Yes, it is. I suppose all common things are made for that purpose, if +we only knew it; and people should be glad to do anything to help the +world along, even making good bread in a kitchen," answered Lily, in a +sober way that showed that her little mind was already digesting the new +food it had got. + +She stayed in Bread-land a long time, and enjoyed and learned a great +deal that she never forgot. But at last, when she had made the perfect +loaf, she wanted to go home, that her mother might see and taste it. + +"I've put a good deal of myself into it, and I'd love to think I had +given her strength or pleasure by my work," she said, as she and Sally +stood looking at the handsome loaf. + +"You can go whenever you like; just take the bread in your hands and +wish three times, and you'll be wherever you say. I'm sorry to have you +go, but I don't wonder you want to see your mother. Don't forget what +you have learned, and you will always be glad you came to us," said +Sally, kissing her good-by. + +"Where is Muffin? I can't go without seeing him, my dear old friend," +answered Lily, looking round for him. + +"He is here," said Sally, touching the loaf. "He was ready to go, and +chose to pass into your bread rather than any other, for he said he +loved you and would be glad to help feed so good a little girl." + +"How kind of him! I must be careful to grow wise and excellent, else he +will be disappointed and have died in vain," said Lily, touched by his +devotion. + +Then, bidding them all farewell, she hugged her loaf close, wished three +times to be in her own home, and like a flash she was there. + +Whether her friends believed the wonderful tale of her adventures I +cannot tell; but I know that she was a nice little housekeeper from that +day, and made such good bread that other girls came to learn of her. She +also grew from a sickly, fretful child into a fine, strong woman, +because she ate very little cake and candy, except at Christmas time, +when the oldest and the wisest love to make a short visit to +Candy-land. + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration: Poor Billy dangling from a bough, high above the ground. + PAGE 43.] + + +HOW THEY RAN AWAY + + +Two little boys sat on the fence whittling arrows one fine day. Said one +little boy to the other little boy,-- + +"Let's do something jolly." + +"All right. What will we do?" + +"Run off to the woods and be hunters." + +"What can we hunt?" + +"Bears and foxes." + +"Mullin says there ain't any round here." + +"Well, we can shoot squirrels and snare woodchucks." + +"Haven't got any guns and trap." + +"We've got our bows, and I found an old trap behind the barn." + +"What will we eat?" + +"Here's our lunch; and when that's gone we can roast the squirrels and +cook the fish on a stick. I know how." + +"Where will you get the fire?" + +"Got matches in my pocket." + +"I've got a lot of things we could use. Let's see." + +And as if satisfied at last, cautious Billy displayed his treasures, +while bold Tommy did the same. + +Besides the two knives there were strings, nails, matches, a piece of +putty, fish-hooks, and two very dirty handkerchiefs. + +"There, sir, that's a first-rate fit-out for hunters; and with the jolly +basket of lunch Mrs. Mullin gave us, we can get on tip-top for two or +three days," said Tommy, eager to be off. + +"Where shall we sleep?" asked Billy, who liked to be comfortable both +night and day. + +"Oh, up in trees or on beds of leaves, like the fellows in our books. If +you are afraid, stay at home; I'm going to have no end of a good time." +And Tommy crammed the things back into his pockets as if there were no +time to lose. + +"Pooh! I ain't afraid. Come on!" And jumping down Billy caught up his +rod, rather ashamed of his many questions. + +No one was looking at them, and they might have walked quietly off; but +that the "running away" might be all right, both raced down the road, +tumbled over a wall, and dashed into the woods as if a whole tribe of +wild Indians were after them. + +"Do you know the way?" panted Billy, when at last they stopped for +breath. + +"Yes, it winds right up the mountain; but we'd better not keep to it, or +some one will see us and take us back. We are going to be _real_ hunters +and have adventures; so we must get lost, and find our way by the sun +and the stars," answered Tommy, who had read so many Boys' Books his +little head was a jumble of Texan Rangers, African Explorers, and +Buffalo Bills; and he burned to outdo them all. + +"What will our mothers say if we really get lost?" asked Billy, always +ready with a question. + +"Mine won't fuss. She lets me do what I like." + +That was true; for Tommy's poor mamma was tired of trying to keep the +lively little fellow in order, and had got used to seeing him come out +of all his scrapes without much harm. + +"Mine will be scared; she's always afraid I'm going to get hurt, so I'm +careful. But I guess I'll risk it, and have some fun to tell about when +we go home," said Billy, trudging after Captain Tommy, who always took +the lead. + +These eleven-year-old boys were staying with their mothers at a +farm-house up among the mountains; and having got tired of the tame +bears, the big barn, the trout brook, the thirty colts at pasture, and +the society of the few little girls and younger boys at the hotel near +by, these fine fellows longed to break loose and "rough it in the bush," +as the hunters did in their favorite stories. + +Away they went, deeper and deeper into the great forest that covered the +side of the mountain. A pleasant place that August day; for it was cool +and green, with many brooks splashing over the rocks, or lying in brown +pools under the ferns. Squirrels chattered and raced in the tall pines; +now and then a gray rabbit skipped out of sight among the brakes, or a +strange bird flew by. Here and there blackberries grew in the open +places, sassafras bushes were plentiful, and black-birch bark was ready +for chewing. + +"Don't you call this nice?" asked Tommy, pausing at last in a little +dell where a noisy brook came tumbling down the mountain side, and the +pines sung overhead. + +"Yes; but I'm awful hungry. Let's rest and eat our lunch," said Billy, +sitting down on a cushion of moss. + +"You always want to be stuffing and resting," answered sturdy Tommy, who +liked to be moving all the time. + +He took the fishing-basket, which hung over his shoulder by a strap, and +opened it carefully; for good Mrs. Mullin had packed a nice lunch of +bread and butter, cake and peaches, with a bottle of milk, and two large +pickles slipped in on the sly to please the boys. + +Tommy's face grew very sober as he looked in, for all he saw was a box +of worms for bait and an old jacket. + +"By George! we've got the wrong basket. This is Mullin's, and he's gone +off with our prog. Won't he be mad?" + +"Not as mad as I am. Why didn't you look? You are always in such a hurry +to start. What _shall_ we do now without anything to eat?" whined Billy; +for losing his lunch was a dreadful blow to him. + +"We shall have to catch some fish and eat blackberries. Which will you +do, old cry-baby?" said Tommy, laughing at the other boy's dismal face. + +"I'll fish; I'm so tired I can't go scratching round after berries. I +don't love 'em either." And Billy began to fix his line and bait his +hook. + +"Lucky we got the worms; you can eat 'em if you can't wait for fish," +said Tommy, bustling about to empty the basket and pile up their few +possessions in a heap. "There's a quiet pool below here, you go and fish +there. I'll pick the berries, and then show you how to get dinner in the +woods. This is our camp; so fly round and do your best." + +Then Tommy ran off to a place near by where he had seen the berries, +while Billy found a comfortable nook by the pool, and sat scowling at +the water so crossly, it was a wonder any trout came to his hook. But +the fat worms tempted several small ones, and he cheered up at the +prospect of food. Tommy whistled while he picked, and in half an hour +came back with two quarts of nice berries and an armful of dry sticks +for the fire. + +"We'll have a jolly dinner, after all," he said, as the flames went +crackling up, and the dry leaves made a pleasant smell. + +"Got four, but don't see how we'll ever cook 'em; no frying-pan," +grumbled Billy, throwing down the four little trout, which he had half +cleaned. + +"Don't want any. Broil 'em on the coals, or toast 'em on a forked stick. +I'll show you how," said cheerful Tommy, whittling away, and feeding his +fire as much like a real hunter as a small boy could be. + +While he worked, Billy ate berries and sighed for bread and butter. At +last, after much trouble, two of the trout were half cooked and eagerly +eaten by the hungry boys. But they were very different from the nice +brown ones Mrs. Mullin gave them; for in spite of Tommy's struggles they +would fall in the ashes, and there was no salt to eat with them. By the +time the last were toasted, the young hunters were so hungry they could +have eaten anything, and not a berry was left. + +"I set the trap down there, for I saw a hole among the vines, and I +shouldn't wonder if we got a rabbit or something," said Tommy, when the +last bone was polished. "You go and catch some more fish, and I'll see +if I have caught any old chap as he went home to dinner." + +Off ran Tommy; and the other boy went slowly back to the brook, wishing +with all his might he was at home eating sweet corn and berry pie. + +The trout had evidently gone to their dinners, for not one bite did poor +Billy get; and he was just falling asleep when a loud shout gave him +such a fright that he tumbled into the brook up to his knees. + +"I've got him! Come and see! He's a bouncer," roared Tommy, from the +berry bushes some way off. + +Billy scrambled out, and went as fast as his wet boots would let him, to +see what the prize was. He found Tommy dancing wildly round a fat gray +animal, who was fighting to get his paws out of the trap, and making a +queer noise as he struggled about. + +"What is it?" asked Billy, getting behind a tree as fast as possible; +for the thing looked fierce, and he was very timid. + +"A raccoon, I guess, or a big woodchuck. Won't his fur make a fine cap? +I guess the other fellows will wish they'd come with us," said Tommy, +prancing to and fro, without the least idea what to do with the +creature. + +"He'll bite. We'd better run away and wait till he's dead," said Billy. + +"Wish he'd got his head in, then I could carry him off; but he does look +savage, so we'll have to leave him awhile, and get him when we come +back. But he's a real beauty." And Tommy looked proudly at the bunch of +gray fur scuffling in the sand. + +"Can we ever eat him?" asked hungry Billy, ready for a fried crocodile +if he could get it. + +"If he's a raccoon, we can; but I don't know about woodchucks. The +fellows in my books don't seem to have caught any. He's nice and fat; we +might try him when he's dead," said Tommy, who cared more for the skin +to show than the best meal ever cooked. + +The sound of a gun echoing through the wood gave Tommy a good idea,-- + +"Let's find the man and get him to shoot this chap; then we needn't +wait, but skin him right away, and eat him too." + +Off they went to the camp; and catching up their things, the two hunters +hurried away in the direction of the sound, feeling glad to know that +some one was near them, for two or three hours of wood life made them a +little homesick. + +They ran and scrambled, and listened and called; but not until they had +gone a long way up the mountain did they find the man, resting in an old +hut left by the lumbermen. The remains of his dinner were spread on the +floor, and he lay smoking, and reading a newspaper, while his dog dozed +at his feet, close to a well-filled game-bag. + +He looked surprised when two dirty, wet little boys suddenly appeared +before him,--one grinning cheerfully, the other looking very dismal and +scared as the dog growled and glared at them as if they were two +rabbits. + +"Hollo!" said the man. + +"Hollo!" answered Tommy. + +"Who are you?" asked the man. + +"Hunters," said Tommy. + +"Had good luck?" And the man laughed. + +"First-rate. Got a raccoon in our trap, and we want you to come and +shoot him," answered Tommy, proudly. + +"Sure?" said the man, looking interested as well as amused. + +"No; but I think so." + +"What's he like?" + +Tommy described him, and was much disappointed when the man lay down +again, saying, with another laugh,-- + +"It's a woodchuck; he's no good." + +"But I want the skin." + +"Then don't shoot him, let him die; that's better for the skin," said +the man, who was tired and didn't want to stop for such poor game. + +All this time Billy had been staring hard at the sandwiches and bread +and cheese on the floor, and sniffing at them, as the dog sniffed at +him. + +"Want some grub?" asked the man, seeing the hungry look. + +"I just do! We left our lunch, and I've only had two little trout and +some old berries since breakfast," answered Billy, with tears in his +eyes and a hand on his stomach. + +"Eat away then; I'm done, and don't want the stuff." And the man took up +his paper as if glad to be let alone. + +It was lucky that the dog had been fed, for in ten minutes nothing was +left but the napkin; and the boys sat picking up the crumbs, much +refreshed, but ready for more. + +"Better be going home, my lads; it's pretty cold on the mountain after +sunset, and you are a long way from town," said the man, who had peeped +at them over his paper now and then, and saw, in spite of the dirt and +rips, that they were not farmer boys. + +"We don't live in town; we are at Mullin's, in the valley. No hurry; we +know the way, and we want to have some sport first. You seem to have +done well," answered Tommy, looking enviously from the gun to the +game-bag, out of which hung a rabbit's head and a squirrel's tail. + +"Pretty fair; but I want a shot at the bear. People tell me there is one +up here, and I'm after him; for he kills the sheep, and might hurt some +of the young folks round here," said the man, loading his gun with a +very sober air; for he wanted to get rid of the boys and send them home. + +Billy looked alarmed; but Tommy's brown face beamed with joy as he said +eagerly,-- + +"I hope you'll get him. I'd rather shoot a bear than any other animal +but a lion. We don't have those here, and bears are scarce. Mullin said +he hadn't heard of one for a long time; so this must be a young one, for +they killed the big one two years ago." + +That was true, and the man knew it. He did not really expect or want to +meet a bear, but thought the idea of one would send the little fellows +home at once. Finding one of them was unscared, he laughed, and said +with a nod to Tommy,-- + +"If I had time I'd take _you_ along, and show you how to hunt; but this +fat friend of yours couldn't rough it with us, and we can't leave him +alone; so go ahead your own way. Only I wouldn't climb any higher, for +among the rocks you are sure to get hurt or lost." + +"Oh, I say, let's go! Such fun, Billy! I know you'll like it. A real gun +and dog and hunter! Come on, and don't be a molly-coddle," cried Tommy, +wild to go. + +"I won't! I'm tired, and I'm going home; you can go after your old bears +if you want to. I don't think much of hunting anyway, and wish I hadn't +come," growled Billy, very cross at being left out, yet with no desire +to scramble any more. + +"Can't stop. Good-by. Get along home, and some day I'll come and take +you out with me, little Leatherstocking," said the man, striding off +with the dear gun and dog and bag, leaving Billy to wonder what he meant +by that queer name, and Tommy to console himself with the promise made +him. + +"Let's go and see how old Chucky gets on," he said good-naturedly, when +the man vanished. + +"Not till I'm rested. I can get a good nap on this pile of hay; then +we'll go home before it's late," answered lazy Billy, settling himself +on the rough bed the lumbermen had used. + +"I just wish I had a boy with some go in him; you ain't much better than +a girl," sighed Tommy, walking off to a pine-tree where some squirrels +seemed to be having a party, they chattered and raced up and down at +such a rate. + +He tried his bow and shot all his arrows many times in vain, for the +lively creatures gave him no chance. He had better luck with a brown +bird who sat in a bush and was hit full in the breast with the sharpest +arrow. The poor thing fluttered and fell, and its blood wet the green +leaves as it lay dying on the grass. Tommy was much pleased at first; +but as he stood watching its bright eye grow dim and its pretty brown +wings stop fluttering, he felt sorry that its happy little life was so +cruelly ended, and ashamed that his thoughtless fun had given so much +pain. + +"I'll never shoot another bird except hawks after chickens, and I won't +brag about this one. It was so tame, and trusted me, I was very mean to +kill it." + +As he thought this, Tommy smoothed the ruffled feathers of the dead +thrush, and, making a little grave under the pine, buried it wrapped in +green leaves, and left it there where its mate could sing over it, and +no rude hands disturb its rest. + +"I'll tell mamma and she will understand; but I _won't_ tell Billy. He +is such a greedy old chap he'll say I ought to have kept the poor bird +to eat," thought Tommy, as he went back to the hut, and sat there, +restringing his bow, till Billy woke up, much more amiable for his +sleep. + +They tried to find the woodchuck, but lost their way, and wandered +deeper into the great forest till they came to a rocky place and could +go no farther. They climbed up and tumbled down, turned back and went +round, looked at the sun and knew it was late, chewed sassafras bark +and checkerberry leaves for supper, and grew more and more worried and +tired as hour after hour went by and they saw no end to woods and rocks. +Once or twice they heard the hunter's gun far away, and called and tried +to find him. + +Tommy scolded Billy for not going with the man, who knew his way and was +probably safe in the valley when the last faint shot came up to them. +Billy cried, and reproached Tommy for proposing to run away; and both +felt very homesick for their mothers and their good safe beds at Farmer +Mullin's. + +The sun set, and found them in a dreary place full of rocks and blasted +trees half-way up the mountain. They were so tired they could hardly +walk, and longed to lie down anywhere to sleep; but, remembering the +hunter's story of the bear, they were afraid to do it, till Tommy +suggested climbing a tree, after making a fire at the foot of it to +scare away the bear, lest he climb too and get them. + +But, alas! the matches were left in their first camp; so they decided to +take turns to sleep and watch, since it was plain that they must spend +the night there. Billy went up first, and creeping into a good notch of +the bare tree tried to sleep, while brave Tommy, armed with a big +stick, marched to and fro below. Every few minutes a trembling voice +would call from above, "Is anything coming?" and an anxious voice would +answer from below, "Not yet. Hurry up and go to sleep! I want my turn." + +At last Billy began to snore, and then Tommy felt so lonely he couldn't +bear it; so he climbed to a lower branch, and sat nodding and trying to +keep watch, till he too fell fast asleep, and the early moon saw the +poor boys roosting there like two little owls. + +A loud cry, a scrambling overhead, and then a great shaking and howling +waked Tommy so suddenly that he lost his wits for a moment and did not +know where he was. + +"The bear! the bear! don't let him get me! Tommy, Tommy, come and make +him let go," cried Billy, filling the quiet night with dismal howls. + +Tommy looked up, expecting to behold a large bear eating his unhappy +friend; but the moonlight showed him nothing but poor Billy dangling +from a bough, high above the ground, caught by his belt when he fell. He +had been dreaming of bears, and rolled off his perch; so there he hung, +kicking and wailing, half awake, and so scared it was long before Tommy +could make him believe that he was quite safe. + +How to get him down was the next question. The branch was not strong +enough to bear Tommy, though he climbed up and tried to unhook poor +Billy. The belt was firmly twisted at the back, and Billy could not +reach to undo it, nor could he get his legs round the branch to pull +himself up. There seemed no way but to unbuckle the belt and drop. That +he was afraid to try; for the ground was hard, and the fall a high one. +Fortunately both belt and buckle were strong; so he hung safely, though +very uncomfortably, while Tommy racked his boyish brain to find a way to +help him. + +Billy had just declared that he should be cut in two very soon if +something was not done for him, and Tommy was in despair, when they +thought they heard a far-off shout, and both answered it till their +throats were nearly split with screaming. + +"I seem to see a light moving round down that way," cried Billy from his +hook, pointing toward the valley. + +"They are looking for us, but they won't hear us. I'll run and holler +louder, and bring 'em up here," answered Tommy, glad to do anything +that would put an end to this dreadful state of things. + +"Don't leave me! I may fall and be killed! The bear might come! Don't +go! don't go!" wailed Billy, longing to drop, but afraid. + +"I won't go far, and I'll come back as quick as I can. You are safe up +there. Hold on, and we'll soon get you down," answered Tommy, rushing +away helter-skelter, never minding where he went, and too much excited +to care for any damage. + +The moon was bright on the blasted trees; but when he came down among +the green pines, it grew dark, and he often stumbled and fell. Never +minding bumps and bruises, he scrambled over rocks, leaped fallen +trunks, floundered through brooks, and climbed down steep places, till, +with a reckless jump, he went heels over head into a deep hole, and lay +there for a moment stunned by the fall. It was an old bear-trap, long +unused, and fortunately well carpeted with dead leaves, or poor Tommy +would have broken his bones. + +When he came to himself he was so used up that he lay still for some +time in a sort of daze, too tired to know or care about anything, only +dimly conscious that somebody was lost in a tree or a well, and that, +on the whole, running away was not all fun. + +By and by the sound of a gun roused him; and remembering poor Billy, he +tried to get out of the pit,--for the moon showed him where he was. But +it was too deep, and he was too stiff with weariness and the fall to be +very nimble. So he shouted, and whistled, and raged about very like a +little bear caught in the pit. + +It is very difficult to find a lost person on these great mountains, and +many wander for hours not far from help, bewildered by the thick woods, +the deep ravines, and precipices which shut them in. Some have lost +their lives; and as Tommy lay on the leaves used up by his various +struggles, he thought of all the stories he had lately heard at the +farm, and began to wonder how it would feel to starve to death down +there, and to wish poor Billy could come to share his prison, that they +might die together, like the Babes in the Wood, or better still the Boy +Scouts lost on the prairies in that thrilling story, "Bill Boomerang, +the Wild Hunter of the West." + +"I guess mother is worried this time, because I never stayed out all +night before, and I never will again without leave. It's rather good +fun, though, if they only find me. I ain't afraid, and it isn't very +cold. I always wanted to sleep out, and now I'm doing it. Wish poor +Billy was safely down and in this good bed with me. Won't he be scared +all alone there? Maybe the belt will break and he get hurt bumping down. +Sorry now I left him, he's such a 'fraid-cat. There's the gun again! +Guess it's that man after us. Hi! hollo! Here I am! Whoop! Hurrah! Hi! +hi! hi!" + +Tommy's meditations ended in a series of yells as loud as his shrill +little voice could make them, and he thought some one answered. But it +must have been an echo, for no one came; and after another rampage round +his prison, the poor boy nestled down among the leaves, and went fast +asleep because there was nothing else to do. + +So there they were, the two young hunters, lost at midnight on the +mountain,--one hanging like an apple on the old tree, and the other +sound asleep in a bear-pit. Their distracted mothers meantime were +weeping and wringing their hands at the farm, while all the men in +the neighborhood were out looking for the lost boys. The hunter on his +return to the hotel had reported meeting the runaways and his effort to +send them home in good season; so people knew where to look, and, led +by the man and dog, up the mountain went Mr. Mullin with his troop. It +was a mild night, and the moon shone high and clear; so the hunt was, +on the whole, rather easy and pleasant at first, and lanterns flashed +through the dark forest like fireflies, the lonely cliffs seemed alive +with men, and voices echoed in places where usually only the brooks +babbled and the hawks screamed. But as time went on, and no sign of the +boys appeared, the men grew anxious, and began to fear some serious harm +had come to the runaways. + +"I can't go home without them little shavers no way, 'specially Tommy," +said Mr. Mullin, as they stopped to rest after a hard climb through the +blasted grove. "He's a boy after my own heart, spry as a chipmunk, smart +as a young cockerel, and as full of mischief as a monkey. He ain't +afraid of anything, and I shouldn't be a mite surprised to find him +enjoyin' himself first-rate, and as cool as a coocumber." + +"The fat boy won't take it so easily, I fancy. If it hadn't been for him +I'd have kept the lively fellow with me, and shown him how to hunt. +Sorry now I didn't take them both home," said the man with the gun, +seeing his mistake too late, as people often do. + +"Maybe they've fell down a precipice and got killed, like Moses Warner, +when he was lost," suggested a tall fellow, who had shouted himself +hoarse. + +"Hush up, and come on! The dog is barkin' yonder, and he may have found +'em," said the farmer, hurrying toward the place where the hound was +baying at something in a tree. + +It was poor Billy, hanging there still, half unconscious with weariness +and fear. The belt had slipped up under his arms, so he could breathe +easily; and there he was, looking like a queer sort of cone on the +blasted pine. + +"Wal, I never!" exclaimed the farmer, as the tall lad climbed up, and, +unhooking Billy, handed him down like a young bird, into the arms held +up to catch him. + +"He's all right, only scared out of his wits. Come along and look for +the other one. I'll warrant he went for help, and may be half-way home +by this time," said the hunter, who didn't take much interest in the fat +boy. + +Tommy's hat lay on the ground; and showing it to the dog, his master +told him to find the boy. The good hound sniffed about, and then set off +with his nose to the ground, following the zigzag track Tommy had taken +in his hurry. The hunter and several of the men went after him, leaving +the farmer with the others to take care of Billy. + +Presently the dog came to the bear-pit, and began to bark again. + +"He's got him!" cried the men, much relieved; and rushing on soon saw +the good beast looking down at a little white object in one corner of +the dark hole. + +It was Tommy's face in the moonlight, for the rest of him was covered up +with leaves. The little round face seemed very quiet; and for a moment +the men stood quite still, fearing that the fall might have done the boy +some harm. Then the hunter leaped down, and gently touched the brown +cheek. It was warm, and a soft snore from the pug nose made the man call +out, much relieved,-- + +"He's all right. Wake up here, little chap; you are wanted at home. Had +hunting enough for this time?" + +As he spoke, Tommy opened his eyes, gave a stretch, and said, "Hollo, +Billy," as calmly as if in his own bed at home. Then the rustle of the +leaves, the moonlight in his face, and the sight of several men staring +down at him startled him wide awake. + +"Did you shoot the big bear?" he asked, looking up at the hunter with a +grin. + +"No; but I caught a little one, and here he is," answered the man, +giving Tommy a roll in the leaves, much pleased because he did not whine +or make a fuss. + +"Got lost, didn't we? Oh, I say, where's Billy? I left him up a tree +like a coon, and he wouldn't come down," laughed Tommy, kicking off his +brown bed-clothes, and quite ready to get up now. + +They all laughed with him; and presently, when the story was told, they +pulled the boy out of the pit, and went back to join the other wanderer, +who was now sitting up eating the bread and butter Mrs. Mullin sent for +their very late supper. + +The men roared again, as the two boys told their various tribulations; +and when they had been refreshed, the party started for home, blowing +the tin horns, and firing shot after shot to let the scattered searchers +know that the lost children were found. Billy was very quiet, and gladly +rode on the various broad backs offered for his use; but Tommy stoutly +refused to be carried, and with an occasional "boost" over a very rough +place, walked all the way down on his own sturdy legs. He was the hero +of the adventure, and was never tired of relating how he caught the +woodchuck, cooked the fish, slid down the big rock, and went to bed in +the old bear-pit. But in his own little mind he resolved to wait till he +was older before he tried to be a hunter; and though he caught several +woodchucks that summer, he never shot another harmless little bird. + +[Illustration] + + + * * * * * + + + + +#The Children's friend Series# + + +[Illustration] + +Handy Illustrated Volumes by popular authors, including: LOUISA M. +ALCOTT, SUSAN COOLIDGE, NORA PERRY, HELEN HUNT JACKSON, LOUISE CHANDLER +MOULTON, JULIANA H. EWING, LAURA E. RICHARDS, A. G. PLYMPTON, etc. +Choicely printed and attractively bound in cloth, with gold and ink +stamp on side. Issued at the popular price of 50 cents per volume. + + +NEW ISSUES. + + MAY BARTLETT'S STEPMOTHER. + By NORA PERRY, + author of "Another Flock of Girls," + "Hope Benham," etc. + + TWO DOGS AND A DONKEY. + By A. G. PLYMPTON, + author of "Dear Daughter Dorothy," etc. + + MARY'S MEADOW. + By JULIANA H. EWING, + author of "Jackanapes," etc. + + BOOK OF HEROIC BALLADS. + Selected by MARY W. TILESTON, + author of "Daily Strength for Daily Needs." + + GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY. + By JEAN INGELOW, + author of "Stories Told to a Child," etc. + + LAND OF LOST TOYS. + By JULIANA H. EWING. + + GREAT EMERGENCY. + By JULIANA H. EWING. + + TWO GIRLS. + By SUSAN COOLIDGE, + author of "The Katy Did Series," etc. + + LITTLE TOMMY TUCKER. + By SUSAN COOLIDGE. + + POPPIES AND WHEAT. + By LOUISA M. ALCOTT, + author of "Little Women," "Little Men," etc. + + CANDY COUNTRY. + By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + JESSIE'S NEIGHBOR. + By LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON, + author of "Bed-Time Stories," etc. + + +PREVIOUSLY ISSUED. + + AGAINST WIND AND TIDE. + By LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON. + + A HOLE IN THE WALL. + By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + A LITTLE KNIGHT OF LABOR. + By SUSAN COOLIDGE. + + CHILDREN'S HOUR. + By MARY W. TILESTON. + + CHOP CHIN AND THE GOLDEN DRAGON. + By LAURA E. RICHARDS, + author of "Captain January," + "The Joyous Story of Toto," etc. + + COTTAGE NEIGHBORS. + By NORA PERRY. + + CURLY LOCKS. + By SUSAN COOLIDGE. + + DADDY DARWIN'S DOVECOT. + By JULIANA H. EWING. + + FOUR OF THEM. + By LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON. + + GOLDEN-BREASTED KOOTOO. + By LAURA E. RICHARDS. + + GOOSTIE. + By MARY CAROLINE HYDE. + + HUNTER CATS OF CONNORLOA. + By HELEN HUNT JACKSON, + author of "Ramona," + "Nelly's Silver Mine," etc. + + JACKANAPES. + By JULIANA H. EWING. + + LITTLE OLIVE THE HEIRESS. + By A. G. PLYMPTON. + + MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY. + By EDWARD EVERETT HALE, + author of "Ten Times One is Ten," etc. + + MARJORIE'S THREE GIFTS. + By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + MAY FLOWERS. + By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + MISS TOOSEY'S MISSION. + By the author of "Belle," "Laddie," etc. + + NONSENSE SONGS. + By EDWARD LEAR. + + RAGS AND VELVET GOWNS. + By A. G. PLYMPTON. + + STORY OF A SHORT LIFE. + By JULIANA H. EWING. + + SUNDOWN SONGS. + By LAURA E. RICHARDS. + + THAT LITTLE SMITH GIRL. + By NORA PERRY. + + UNDER THE STABLE FLOOR. + A Christmas Story. + By MARY CAROLINE HYDE. + + CHRISTMAS AT TAPPAN SEA. + By MARY CAROLINE HYDE. + + +THE CHILDREN'S FRIEND SERIES, put up in sets: + +[Illustration] + + THE LOUISA M. ALCOTT LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 5 vols. $2.50. + + THE SUSAN COOLIDGE LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 4 vols. $2.00. + + THE JULIANA H. EWING LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 6 vols. $3.00. + + THE LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 3 vols. $1.50. + + THE NORA PERRY LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 3 vols. $1.50. + + THE LAURA E. RICHARDS LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 3 vols. $1.50. + + THE A. G. PLYMPTON LIBRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. + 3 vols. $1.50. + + MARY CAROLINE HYDE'S CHRISTMAS LIBRARY. + 3 vols. $1.50. + + + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, Publishers + 254 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Candy Country, by Louisa M. 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