Suppose the man should fall asleep, Suppose the man should fall asleep, We'll put a pipe into his mouth, With a gay ladye. THE TWO GRAY KITS The two gray kits And the gray kits' mother, All went over The bridge together. The bridge broke down, May the rats go with you, Says Tom Bolin. -Mother Goose -Mother Goose GOOD KING ARTHUR When good King Arthur ruled his land, He took three pecks of barley meal A bag-pudding the king did make, The king and queen did eat thereof, And noblemen beside; And what they could not eat that night, The queen next morning fried. A MAN OF WORDS -Mother Goose A man of words and not of deeds, THE LITTLE ELVES I. There was once a shoemaker and his wife who were very poor. They had only enough leather in the house to make one pair of shoes. The shoemaker told his wife that when these shoes were sold they must starve. In the evening he cut out the leather and said he would make the shoes the next morning, but when morning came he found them lying on the table all made. The shoemaker did not know what to say. Who could have made the shoes for him? Soon a man came in and bought them. The man liked the shoes so much he paid a large price for them. With this money the shoemaker bought enough leather to make two more pairs of shoes. These he cut out in the evening as before and said he would make them the next day, but when morning came there stood the two pairs of shoes on his table all made. Soon two men came in and bought the shoes. They paid so much for them that the shoemaker could buy leather for four more pairs of shoes. These he cut out in the evening as he had the others. In the morning four pairs of shoes stood on his table ready to be sold. This went on until the shoemaker was a rich man. One evening just before Christmas, he said to his wife, “Good Wife, let us sit up to-night and see who it is that helps us so kindly." "Yes, let us find out who the good people are,” said the wife. So they hid in a corner of the room and this is what they saw: Just at midnight a troupe of little elves came jumping through the open window. The elves began working on the leather at once. Their tiny fingers worked very fast and they did not stop working until all the leather on the table was made into shoes. Then the busy elves ran quickly away. "O Husband," said the shoemaker's wife, "It is these little elves who have made us rich. We should show them how much we thank them. I will make them some warm coats if you will make each one a pair of shoes." Atlast the shoes and the coats were ready and they were put on the table in place |