The Sisters   The little sisters went into the room to play at ball. We must be careful not to wake the white cat,” the tall one said, softly. “Or to spoil the roses,” the fat one whispered; ” but throw high, dear sister, or we shall never hit the ceiling.” “You dear children,” thought the white cat, “why do you come to play here at all? Only just round the...

The Pink Parasol THE pink parasol had tender whalebone ribs and a slender stick of cherry-wood. It lived with the willful child in the white-house, just beyond the third milestone. All about the trees were green, and the flowers grew tall; in the pond behind the willows the ducks swam round and round and dipped their heads beneath the water. Every bird and bee, every leaf and flower, loved the child...

The Bad Girl SHE was always called the bad girl, for she had once, when she was very little, put out her tongue at the postman. She lived alone with her grandmother and her three brothers in the cottage beyond the field, and the girls in the village took no notice of her. The bad girl did not mind this, for she was always thinking of the cuckoo clock. The clock...

Smut Now, this story is quite true. Once upon a time there was a cat called Mr. Puff; he lived in a grand house, quite close to the Turkish Embassy. A lord and a lady ‘and several servants lived with Mr. Puff; he was very kind to them, letting them do in all things as they liked, and never sending them away or keeping the house to himself. One day Mr....

The Swallows THERE were some children in the north looking at the swallows flying south. “Why are they going away?” the little one asked. “The summer is over,” the elder sister answered, “and if they stayed here they would be starved and die of cold, and so, when the summer goes, they journey south.” “Our mother and sisters are in the south,” the little one said, as they looked after the...

Tommy Tommy was sitting on the bench near the end of the lane. By his side was a basin tied up in a cotton handkerchief; in the buttonhole of his coat there was a sprig of sweet-william. The girls from the big house came and stood still in front of him, staring at him rudely, but he did not speak. “Tommy, are -you tired?” they asked. “Yes,” Tommy answered, crossly,” I’m...

The Children and the Garland “Tomorrow  is May-day,” the children said; “the birds must call us very early, and we will go to the woods and make a garland.” And in the morning, long before the sun had looked over the tops of the houses into the village street, they were far away in the woods. “I will give them some roses as they come back,” the gardener said. “They shall...

The Kite IT was the most tiresome kite in the world, always wagging its tail, shaking its ears, breaking its string, sitting down on the tops of houses, getting stuck in trees, entangled in hedges, flopping down on ponds, or lying flat on the grass, and refusing to rise higher than a yard from the ground. I have often sat and thought about that kite, and wondered who its father and...