{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_32535/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_32535","id":"gutenberg_32535","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32535","summary":null,"tags":["Animals -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Cats -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Suzanne Shell, Emmy and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: ROBINSON CRUSOE THOUGHT HE SAW CANNIBALS IN THE DISTANCE.\n\n  _Puss-in-Boots Jr. and Robinson Crusoe._      _Frontispiece._]\n\n\n\n\nPUSS JUNIOR AND ROBINSON CRUSOE\n\nBY DAVID CORY\n\n          AUTHOR OF\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS,\n          LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND,\n          PUSS IN BOOTS BOOKS, Etc.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\nPROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED\n\n          GROSSET & DUNLAP\n          PUBLISHERS      NEW YORK\n          Made in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\n          PUSS JUNIOR\n          AND ROBINSON CRUSOE\n\n          Copyright, 1922\n          By Harper & Brothers\n          Printed in the U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                         PAGE\n\n          JACK SPRAT                        1\n          THE YELLOW HEN                    5\n          DICKORY DARE PIG                  8\n          THROUGH THE FOREST               11\n          A TURTLE AND A FISH              14\n          PUSS FINDS A SUPPER              17\n          ARKVILLE                         21\n          HOTEL ARK                        24\n          ALL ABOARD                       26\n          PRECIOUS MOTHER GOOSE            30\n          CAPTAIN NOAH                     33\n          FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS      36\n          UP AND DOWN                      39\n          ROCK-A-BY                        43\n          THE ROCK-A-BY BABY               46\n          SAILORS TWO                      50\n          A WONDERFUL SHIP                 53\n          ALL ABOARD                       56\n          OLD TOM                          59\n          A NEW PASSENGER                  62\n          OVER THE WATER                   65\n          CUSTARD AND MUSTARD              68\n          ROWLEY FROG                      71\n          MRS. MOUSEY                      75\n          A SAD ENDING                     78\n          BEAVER DAM                       81\n          DUCKLINGS                        86\n          A LESSON IN WADDLING             89\n          HOW TO BE A DUCK                 92\n          WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY          95\n          GOOD RIDDANCE                    97\n          MR. FOX                         100\n          MR. SLIPPER-SLOPPER             103\n          A DINNER INVITATION             106\n          ROAST DUCK                      108\n          TAFFY                           111\n          A KIND VISIT                    113\n          THE RED BEARD                   116\n          ROBINSON CRUSOE                 119\n          CRUSOE CASTLE                   122\n          FRIDAY                          125\n          SUPPOSING                       128\n          THREE MEN IN A TUB              131\n          A BIG FISH                      134\n          MARY LEE                        137\n          STORY-TELLING                   140\n\n\n\n\nPUSS JUNIOR AND ROBINSON CRUSOE\n\n\n\n\nJACK SPRAT\n\n\nONE day as little Puss, Junior, was traveling through New Mother Goose\ncountry, he came to a funny little house all covered with rose vines,\neven up to the top of the small red chimney they grew in crimson\nsplendor. And as Puss stopped to look at the pretty sight, a tiny blue\nbird in a cage on the front porch began to sing:\n\n          \"Jack Sprat had a pig,\n           Who was not very big;\n           He was not very lean\n           He was not very fat;\n           'He'll do for a grunt,'\n           Says little Jack Sprat.\"\n\n\"Oh, ho,\" thought Puss, and he turned into the yard and walked around to\nthe little red barn. There stood Jack Sprat himself, leaning against the\nsty, watching his pig eat his dinner.\n\nWell, just then, all of a sudden, a swarm of golden bees came humming\ninto the little farmyard, and before long they had made a home in the\nempty beehive that stood close by.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"You have brought me luck,\" said little Jack Sprat, turning to Puss.\n\"Now I shall have honey, and with bees and a pig I shall grow rich and\nsupply all Mother Goose Country with good things to eat.\" And would you\nbelieve it, the pig began to grow fat, and the bees to buzz out of the\nhive and wing their way over to the roses for sweets with which to make\ntheir honey.\n\nThen Jack Sprat asked Puss to come into his little house, and when he\nwent to the cupboard to look for bread and butter, he found all kinds of\ngood things to eat.\n\n\"What luck you have brought me,\" said little Jack Sprat, but Puss was as\nmuch surprised as he. But pretty soon when they had sat down to the\ntable, they heard a strange little voice from the hearth, and looking\ndown they saw a tiny black cricket, who began to sing:\n\n          \"I'm just a little cricket,\n           But if you'll let me stay\n           Within your house this winter\n           You will not rue the day.\"\n\n\"It is the little cricket that brings you luck,\" said truthful little\nPuss, Junior. And then Jack Sprat began to laugh happily, for up to this\ntime the pig was the only thing he owned, and that wasn't very much, let\nme tell you. Oh, dear, no. Not in these hard times when eggs are worth\ntheir weight in gold and a gallon of milk costs a ton of silver.\n\nWell, by and by, Puss, Junior, once more went on his way, and perhaps\npretty soon he'll find his father, the famous Puss in Boots, unless,\n\n          A great big husky giant\n          Jumps into a trolley car,\n          And turns the coin box upside down\n          To see how many nickels there are.\n\n\n\n\nTHE YELLOW HEN\n\n\nWELL, a big husky giant didn't jump into the trolley car, as I feared he\nmight in the last story, so little Puss, Junior, kept up his search for\nhis dear father until late in the evening when he came to a city on\nGoosey Gander River. For the moment I've forgotten the name, but if I\nremember it I will tell you later. At any rate, it won't matter much,\nfor Puss didn't stay there long. Well, as I was saying, he entered the\ncity, tired and hungry, for he had traveled far that day, and as he\nwalked up the brightly lighted street he heard a man say:\n\n          \"Saw ye aught of my love a-coming from the Opera?\n             Around her throat a string of pearls,\n             And on her neck two little curls;\n           Saw ye aught of my love a-coming from the Opera?\n\n\"My good man, I'm a stranger and have just arrived. I have seen no\nstring of pearls nor little curls on any pretty little girls,\" answered\nPuss wearily, for he was too anxious to find a night's lodging to notice\npearls and curls.\n\n\"Dear me!\" sighed the man, and he took off his opera hat and flattened\nit and then snapped it out again, which made a little newsboy open his\neyes and say, \"Do it again, Mister; it sounds like a pistol.\" But the\nman wouldn't, so the little newsboy ran off and Puss turned away, for he\nhad no time to be talking to operagoers at that time of evening. By and\nby he came to a narrow street at the end of which shone a little light.\nSo he turned down and presently found himself in front of a little\nhouse. In the hammock on the front porch sat a pretty yellow hen,\nswinging back and forth, and every now and then singing to herself:\n\n          \"It's after ten! It's after ten!\n           Time for bed for Yellow Hen.\"\n\n\"Good evening!\" said Puss, taking off his plumed hat and bowing\npolitely. \"May I ask for a night's lodging. I'm tired and footsore, and\nhave traveled many miles in New Mother Goose Country.\"\n\nThe little Yellow Hen flapped her wings and fluttered down to the\npiazza. \"Come,\" she said, stretching out her right wing. \"Travelers are\nalways welcome. We hear little down at the end of this narrow street.\nTell me some news, my good Sir Cat.\"\n\n\"Are you sure you are not too sleepy?\" asked Puss. \"It was only a few\nminutes ago you were singing 'It's after ten, it's after ten; time for\nbed for Yellow Hen!'\" But the little hen only laughed and said, \"I must\nwait up for Mr. Rooster.\"\n\n          \"He's the Cock at early dawn\n           Who blows on the Mayor's auto horn\n           To wake the city and stir the men\n           To be up and at their work again.\"\n\nJust then a gaily feathered rooster walked up the steps, but what he\nsaid I shall have to tell you in the next story, for it's so late now\nthat I must say good-night.\n\n\n\n\nDICKORY DARE PIG\n\n\nYOU remember, I hope, where I left off in the last story--just as the\nrooster came up the steps of the little house at the end of the narrow\nstreet where Puss, Junior, was making a call on the little Yellow Hen.\nWell, he was very much surprised to see our small traveler, but\nnevertheless he was most polite. He stretched forth his right wing to\nshake hands when, all of a sudden,\n\n          Dickory, dickory, dare,\n            The pig flew up the stair,\n          A very funny thing to do,\n            And made the rooster doodle-doo.\n\n\"Gracious me! Oh me, Oh my!\" screamed the little Yellow Hen. \"That awful\npig will just spoil my stair carpet.\" This made the rooster all the more\nangry at the Dickory Dare Pig, as he called him, and he strutted across\nthe piazza. \"I'll spur him when he comes down,\" he said, and he waited\nat the front door. But Mr. Pig took no chances. He staid upstairs until\nthe little Yellow Hen began to cry. \"I want to go to bed.\" Puss, by this\ntime, was also very sleepy, and the gaily feathered rooster--well, I\nthink he was half asleep, as he stood by the front door, with his head\ntucked under his wing.\n\n          \"He'll forget to crow in the early morn;\n           And little Boy Blue with his silver horn\n           Is always asleep, so what shall I do\n           If my Rooster sleeps the whole night through?\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"It's time for me to do something,\" exclaimed Puss, Junior, whipping out\nhis sword and running upstairs two at a time. But, would you believe it\nif I told you, he couldn't find the Dickory Dare Pig anywhere? Puss\nlooked in every room and in every closet. He even lifted the cover of\nthe big clothes hamper that stood in the bathroom, but Mr. Pig was not\nto be found.\n\nWell, after a while, Puss looked out of the window. There on the roof of\nthe porch was the Dickory Dare Pig. \"What are you doing?\" asked Puss,\nand he waved his sword threateningly. But the Pig only grunted.\n\n\"You people downstairs are making an awful fuss,\" and he closed his eyes\nagain, he was so sleepy. And, anyway, he had a very nice soft place, for\nhe had spread a big woolen comforter on the roof for a bed.\n\n\"Well, you get out of here,\" said Puss. \"You have no right to take the\nYellow Hen's nice comforter, nor have you any right to sleep on the\nroof, and if you don't go I'll stick my sword in you.\" Well, after that,\nthe Pig ran downstairs and out of the front door, and maybe he's running\nyet, if a butcher hasn't caught him and made him into little sausages.\n\n\n\n\nTHROUGH THE FOREST\n\n\nYOU remember when we left off in the last story, Puss had just made the\nDickory Dare Pig get off the roof of the Yellow Hen's front piazza,\nafter which the gaily feathered rooster and the Yellow Hen and Puss,\nJunior, went to sleep, which they couldn't do before on account of that\ndreadful pig snoring. Well, he never came back, for he was so afraid of\nPuss, Junior's, sword, that he kept on running until he lost his shadow,\nspent a year and a day hunting for it, and after that he sat down and\nrested.\n\nThe next morning bright and early, just as the sun was waking up in the\nEast, the gaily feathered Rooster began to blow his silver horn to wake\nthe people before the morn, and some got cross when they heard his song,\nbut others hurried their dressing along, and pretty soon Puss was\ndressed and the little Yellow Hen combed her feathers and came down to\nbreakfast. And while they were at the table, the Rooster came in and\nsaid:\n\n          \"There was an old woman, as I've heard tell,\n           Who went to market her eggs to sell.\n           As she went to market her eggs to sell\n           On the asphalt pavement she slipped and fell.\n\n           Then came a policeman whose name was Stout,\n           When he saw all the eggs lying strewn about,\n           He said, 'What is this, a river of eggs\n           Too bad, my old woman, you slipped on your legs!'\n\n           Then he helped the little old woman to stand,\n           And placing a new dollar bill in her hand,\n           He said, 'My old woman, don't scramble your eggs\n           On the pavement again by losing your legs.'\"\n\n\"I'll never let her take my eggs to market,\" said the Yellow Hen, and\nthe Rooster flapped his wings and crowed, he was so glad. And after that\nPuss, Junior, said good-by and went upon his journey, and by and by he\ncame to a forest. Now this forest was full of bold robbers, but Puss\ndidn't know that, so he walked in and by and by he came to a little hut.\nFrom the chimney a thin gray feather of smoke slowly made its way up\nthrough the tall tree tops, and around the front door climbed a wild\nvine. Puss went up boldly and knocked and when the door opened he saw a\nfox. At first he was somewhat frightened, but the fox said, \"Come in,\nSir Cat,\" so our little traveler entered and sat down.\n\nThen the fox asked him where he was going. \"To see my dear father, the\nfamous Puss in Boots,\" replied little Puss, Junior. \"It's not very far\nfrom here,\" answered the fox, \"but the way is dangerous. Many robbers\nlie in wait for the unwary traveler.\"\n\n\"I have my trusty sword,\" cried Puss, \"I'm not afraid.\"\n\n\"Well, since you are so brave, I will help you,\" said the fox; \"I know a\nway and will show you how you may escape the robbers.\"\n\n\n\n\nA TURTLE AND A FISH\n\n\nAS I told you in the last story, the Fox promised to help Puss and\npretty soon he led him out of the little log house and through a thick\nundergrowth of young timber until they came to a river. \"Now, the\nrobbers will never think for a moment that you would travel by water,\"\nsaid the Fox with a grin. \"Here is a little boat,\" and he pushed aside\nthe bushes behind which lay a rowboat with a pair of oars.\n\nAs Puss got in, the Fox gave him some parting directions. \"Follow the\nstream until you come to a lake. Then leave your boat and follow the\nright bank until you come to a bridge. After that you will find the\nhighway which will take you to the castle of my Lord of Carabas, where\nyour famous father, Puss in Boots, lives.\"\n\n\"Thank you, my good friend,\" cried our little hero, pushing off from the\nshore, and in a few minutes he was gliding down the stream.\n\n\"Heigh-ho!\" he sighed. \"This is a new way to travel, but I have had\nmany experiences, so why not a rowboat instead of a gander or an\nautomobile,\" and he bent to his rowing and by and by he came to a bend\nin the river, and as it was late in the afternoon, he decided to land\nand camp for the night. But no sooner had he landed on the bank than a\nlarge turtle came up to him and said:\n\n\"This is Turtle Island. No one is allowed to land unless he has a\npermit.\" Of course, little Puss, Junior, didn't have one, but after a\nmoment's reflection, he said:\n\n\"I am about to visit my father, the famous Puss in Boots, and if I\ncannot remain here for the night, I may have an accident on the river.\nPlease let me stay.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said the Turtle, scratching his head, \"you may remain on my\nisland,\" and then he crawled away to his own house on the hill, which\nPuss could see in the distance. I think the Turtle was a disagreeable\nsort of person not to have asked our little traveler to spend the night\nwith him, but then, you know, there are some disagreeable people even in\nNew Mother Goose Country, and the Turtle was one of them.\n\nThe next morning, bright and early, Puss, Junior, got up and cooked his\nbreakfast, and then he jumped into his rowboat and started off and by\nand by, as he was gliding along, a big fish came up to the surface and\nsaid, \"Helloa, there!\" At first Puss was startled, for he didn't see the\nfish, but as soon as he did, he replied:\n\n\"Don't get in my way! I might push my oar in your eye.\" This made the\nfish laugh so hard that he cried, and after that he laughed some more,\nonly he didn't cry that time. \"Where are you going?\" he asked.\n\n\"To the castle of my Lord of Carabas,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"A long journey, my brave little cat,\" said the fish, \"but keep up a\nbrave heart. You are already more than half way across New Mother Goose\nCountry.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS FINDS A SUPPER\n\n\nFOR many days Puss, Junior, traveled in his boat down the river and\ntowards evening he heard a voice on the shore singing:\n\n          \"Rock-a-by baby, thy cradle is green,\n           Dad's a policeman, the finest yet seen;\n           And mother's a lady and goes to a ball,\n           And Johnny's a member of Tammany Hall.\"\n\nOf course this made our little traveler laugh, for he didn't know there\nwas a Tammany Hall in New Mother Goose Country and neither did I until\nPuss told me.\n\nWell, he pulled his boat up on the bank and got out, and after that he\nlistened again for the song, but there wasn't a sound, so he thought the\nbaby must be asleep. Then he tiptoed over to a little cottage nearby and\nlooked in the window. There sat a pretty little woman with a baby in her\narms. And when she saw Puss she lifted her finger very gently to let him\nknow that her baby was in the Land of Nod, and after that she placed him\ngently in the cradle.\n\n\"Come in,\" she whispered to our little pussy cat traveler and when they\nwere in the nice bright kitchen, for the fire in the stove made bright\nstreaks of light over the clean floor, she said:\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Sir Cat, you are a traveler, I see. Tell me one of your adventures\nwhile I get the supper. My good man will soon be home, hungry and tired\nfrom his day's work.\"\n\nNow Puss, Junior, was tired, too, and he didn't feel a bit like sitting\ndown and telling a story. But he was an obliging little pussy and he\nknew, like Little Tommy Tucker, he must pay for his supper.\n\n\"Once upon a time,\" he began, \"there was a famous cat, and the reason he\nwas so famous was because he had done a great favor for his master. You\nsee, his master was the youngest of three sons, who, when his father\ndied, got nothing but the cat, while the others got the farm and the\nmoney. But he never complained, which so pleased the cat that he made up\nhis mind to help his young master. And what do you think he did? One day\nhis master's clothes were stolen while in bathing, and the king, who was\npassing by at that moment in his coach, felt so sorry that he gave the\nyoung man a beautiful suit and asked him to drive with him. Of course\nthe cat went, too, and as they passed along he waved his paw and said,\n'All these lands belong to my master.' By and by they came to a castle\nwhere lived a giant. So the cat ran ahead, and said to the giant, who\nwas sitting in his big room; 'I hear you can change yourself into\nanything. Let me see if you can turn into a mouse!' 'That's easy!'\nlaughed the foolish giant. Whereupon this wise cat ate him up. And when\nthe king arrived, he said, 'Here is my master's castle;' which so\npleased the king that he gave his daughter to wed and the young man\nnever forgot how his cat helped him to fame and fortune. And this cat is\nmy father,\" concluded little Puss, Junior, with a bow.\n\n\n\n\nARKVILLE\n\n\nTHE next morning when Puss, Junior, went down to the river, he found his\nboat was gone.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Now I must trust again to my red-topped boots,\" he sighed, and at once\nset off to find his dear father. By and by he saw a little man in the\ndistance, who, on coming nearer, turned out to be Tom Thumb.\n\nPuss picked him up and placing him on his shoulder, set off once more.\nBut, goodness me! It soon began to rain, and Tom Thumb crept into a\npocket to keep dry.\n\nTowards the middle of the day they arrived on the outskirts of a small\nvillage. In the distance they could hear the strokes of a hammer, and\nthen, now and again, the whirr of a saw cutting into hard wood.\n\n\"What's going on, I wonder?\" said Tom Thumb; \"sounds as if they were\nbuilding a house.\"\n\n\"Don't know,\" answered Puss, \"but let's hurry, for I am soaked to the\nskin.\"\n\nOn arriving in the village they saw what appeared to be an immense boat\nin the early stages of construction. It was being erected in the city\nsquare, the little park that stood in the midst of the stores and\nhouses.\n\nDrawing nearer they heard a voice singing:\n\n          \"Noah of old did build an Ark\n           Of spicy gopherwood and bark\n           To float upon the deluge dark.\n           Now on this Ark they had no sail,\n           For it was made (and true the tale)\n           Without a mast to break the gale.\"\n\nWhen Puss and Tom halted at the side of the Ark a kind-looking man\nstopped his hammering and said:\n\n\"It's going to rain for forty days and forty nights. There's going to be\nan awful deluge. You'd better stay in Arkville and get aboard the Ark as\nsoon as it's finished. If you don't you'll get drowned.\"\n\n\"He speaks the truth, I'm thinking,\" answered Tom Thumb, peeping out of\nPuss, Junior's, pocket. \"It looks to me as if the rain were never going\nto stop.\"\n\n\"My good sir,\" said Puss, turning to the man, \"it seems to me your\nadvice is good. We'll stay in Arkville for a few days. But where shall\nwe stop? Is there a hotel near?\"\n\n\"Over yonder is the Hotel Ark,\" said the man. \"I'm the proprietor, and\nmy name is Noah. Go in and make yourselves at home. My sons and I will\nfollow you shortly. We have a few more nails to drive before we quit for\nthe day.\"\n\n\n\n\nHOTEL ARK\n\n\nTHE Hotel Ark was a comfortable sort of a place, not very up-to-date,\nbut with enough conveniences to make the traveler perfectly at home. He\nfelt even more so after meeting the proprietor's wife, Mrs. Noah, a\nmotherly-looking woman, with kind blue eyes and red cheeks.\n\n\"Come right in,\" she said as Puss, Junior, and Tom Thumb, both wet to\nthe skin, rapped on the door.\n\n\"You'd best dry yourselves in the kitchen,\" she said, leading them down\na narrow hall. \"It's so warm in there you'll be dry in no time.\"\n\nThis was good news to our two small travelers, for their teeth were\nchattering like twenty-four small white horses on a red hill.\n\n\"Here's a chair for you and here's a chair for Tom Thumb,\" said Mrs.\nNoah. \"I'm not sure about your name, but I can't mistake that of your\nlittle friend.\" Puss, Junior, turned and bowed. Although he was wet, he\ndid not forget his manners. \"My name is Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\n\"To be sure, to be sure,\" cried Mrs. Noah, \"I might have known it.\"\n\nThe kitchen fire was burning merrily, bright flames shot up the chimney\nand sparks from the wood flew out like stars upon the polished floor.\nPuss pulled off his dripping hat and laid it down on the chair. The\nfeather was much bedraggled and had lost its wave. Tom Thumb undid his\ncoat and hung it up, and then took off his shoes and placed them close\nto the hearth.\n\n\"I think my boots are half full of water,\" said Puss, Junior; \"they are\nas heavy as lead, and when I walk they make a funny noise.\" They\ncertainly were full of water, for when Puss finally got them off and\nturned them over, a stream of water ran down the floor, nearly washing\nTom Thumb across the room.\n\nBy the time their clothes were dry, Noah and his three sons arrived for\nsupper.\n\n\"Still raining!\" said the good man, as he closed the door. \"I must\nfinish the Ark to-morrow. We may find a lake around the hotel by the\nmorning. Who can tell? But I shall be ready to take in all the animals\nand my family by noon at the latest.\"\n\n\n\n\nALL ABOARD\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIT was still raining when Puss, Junior, and Tom Thumb awoke. They had\nspent a comfortable night at the Hotel Ark and felt much refreshed.\nAfter a hearty breakfast they again looked out of the window. The rain\nwas still coming down in torrents, and water lay inches deep upon the\nstreet. The Hotel Ark was surrounded by a shallow lake which, however,\nwas growing deeper every minute.\n\nPuss, Junior, stepped out upon the veranda and looked over the village\nsquare. Through the rain he could make out the outlines of the Ark. Just\nthen a voice began to sing:\n\n          \"He built it high, he built it strong,\n           He built it wide, he built it long,\n           To hold a jolly, motley throng.\"\n\nPretty soon Noah himself came splashing through the water toward the\nhotel.\n\n\"There is no time to lose,\" he cried, \"the Ark will soon be afloat.\nMother, make haste. Tell the girls to come along. We've no time to\nlose.\" Mrs. Noah appeared almost immediately, followed by the wives of\nher three sons. Lifting up their skirts, they waded after Noah. Puss,\nJunior, picked up Tom Thumb and placed him on his shoulder. From far and\nnear, from the forest and the plain, from everywhere, the animals came\nhurrying up.\n\n          \"There were the Elephant and Bee,\n           The Hippopotamus and Flea,\n           The tall Giraffe and Chick-a-dee,\n           The Cock-a-doodle and the Ass,\n           And three young men, each with his lass,\n           Shem, Ham and Japhet had a pass!\n\n           Noah of old, and Noah's dame,\n           I think I never heard her name,\n           But she went in tho' all the same.\"\n\n\"This reminds me of the circus,\" laughed Puss, Junior. \"I once was with\na circus; three days or so; whenever I see an elephant I think of my\ncircus days.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Let down the gang-plank,\" commanded Noah, and soon a long procession of\nanimals began to enter the Ark. The rain kept up its heavy downpour and\nby noon the water was waist deep. All the smaller animals had come\naboard and Captain Noah (as he was now called) felt certain by evening\nhe would be able to start on his voyage.\n\n\n\n\nPRECIOUS MOTHER GOOSE\n\n\nAS the last animal came on deck and the Noah boys hauled in the\ngang-plank, the ark began rolling heavily, for the wind was high and the\nwater rough. \"Are we sure every one is aboard?\" asked Captain Noah,\n\n          \"But best of all, my little dears,\n           'Twill most delight your listening ears,\n           So give with me three mighty cheers,\n           To hear that sheltered by that truce,\n           Loved more than Monkey, Owl or Moose,\n           In walked Your Precious Mother Goose!\"\n\nIf there was anyone more delighted than Puss, Junior, he could not be\nfound aboard the Ark. To once more see Mother Goose who had so kindly\ncarried him on her Gander many miles filled him with delight. He ran\nforward to greet her as she alighted from her faithful Gander.\n\n\"Mother Goose! Mother Goose!\" cried Puss, \"I'm so glad to see you\nagain.\"\n\n\"Let us go in. It's getting dreadfully wet outside,\" she replied giving\nhim a big hug.\n\nInside the cabin all was dry and cheerful. Mrs. Noah had the stove\nburning brightly and her three daughter-in-laws were busy; getting\nsupper.\n\n\"Let me take your bonnet,\" said Mrs. Noah and before that dear old lady\ncould remove her headgear, Mrs. Noah had taken out the big pin and\nundone the strings.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"There, make yourself comfortable,\" she cried, pushing forward a\nrocking-chair. \"And have you found your father?\" asked the Gander, for\nhe and Puss were having a fine time talking over old times.\n\n\"No, not yet,\" answered Puss sadly, \"But I hear he is Seneschal at the\ncastle of my Lord of Carabas.\"\n\n\"You must be patient,\" answered the Gander. \"And go in search of more\nadventures.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Puss, \"and I have with me my good comrade, Tom Thumb.\"\n\n\"All ashore that's going ashore,\" shouted the hoarse voice of Captain\nNoah. Then came the tinkle-jingle of the bell and the Ark quivered from\nbow to stern, and in another moment was off on the dark waters.\n\n\n\n\nCAPTAIN NOAH\n\n\nTHE first night on the Ark was most uncomfortable. It was not an easy\nthing to provide sleeping quarters for the animals, and although Captain\nNoah and his three sons did their best, from the complaints that were\nheard in the morning, it was easy to see that very few were satisfied.\n\n\"We must get up a set of rules and regulations,\" said Captain Noah at\nthe breakfast table. \"It's all very well to carry a cargo of coal or\nsalt but when it comes to animals it's quite another thing. Each animal\nis so blamed different,\" and Captain Noah heaved a great sigh as he\nlifted the steaming cup of coffee to his lips.\n\nPuss, Junior, and Tom Thumb had risen with the sun--that is, I should\nsay, at an early hour, for of course there was no sun. No, indeed, there\nwas nothing but rain and a wide expanse of water. Water, water,\neverywhere, but not a speck of dirt. The whole world seemed nothing but\nwater. The only thing that wasn't water was the Ark and its passengers.\n\nHowever, this did not keep Puss, Junior, and Tom Thumb from eating a\nhearty breakfast. They were good travelers, whether by land or sea, and\nto Puss, who had passed through many a dangerous adventure, the present\nsituation seemed one of great interest.\n\nMother Goose was also in high spirits. Turning to Captain Noah, she\nsaid:\n\n\"My dear Captain, if it weren't for you, I hardly know what in the world\nI should have done. To fly on gander-back through the rain for forty\ndays and nights would be impossible, so I have you to thank for my\ndeliverance.\"\n\n\"Don't mention it, my dear Mother Goose,\" replied Captain Noah. \"I did\nonly what was my duty. You know, I have always been the Weatherman of\nArkville, and, if I do say it, I have hit the mark every time. I knew,\nin fact, I felt, that we were to have forty days and forty nights of\nrain. For the last two weeks I have published this in the Arkville News.\nTo have the Ark finished in time was my greatest ambition, and now to\nreach Mount Ararat will be the crowning joy of my career.\n\n          \"We didn't know where we were at,\n             One wide river,\n           Until we bumped on Ararat,\n             One wide river to cross.\"\n\n\"I've so often heard that song at the Minstrels,\" said Mother Goose,\n\"that I believe it's really coming true.\"\n\n\n\n\nFORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS\n\n\nTHE Ark was an exceedingly good sea craft. It rode the waves and\nbreasted the gale without a mishap. Some of the animals became sea sick.\nBut this, of course, was to be expected. Even Captain Noah himself felt\nrather queer at times, and as for little Tom Thumb, he kept to his bed\nfor almost a week. Puss, Junior, proved to be a very fine sailor. Not\nonce did he feel the least bit ill, and was able to help Mrs. Noah\nattend to the sick passengers.\n\nOf all the animals, however, the elephant was the most sea sick.\n\n\"Of course, it had to be the biggest animal!\" said Captain Noah at\nbreakfast one morning. \"Too bad, my dear,\" turning to Mrs. Noah, \"that\nyou have such an unwieldy patient on your hands.\" Mrs. Noah only smiled.\n\n\"He does very little complaining,\" replied Mrs. Noah, \"that is one thing\nto be thankful for. Now, take the little black ant. She does nothing\nbut complain all the time. I'd rather attend to the elephant ten times\nover.\"\n\n\"Well, mother, you always had something to be thankful for at the Ark\nHotel. I'm glad that on board the Ark you still keep your cheerful\ndisposition!\" answered Captain Noah.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBut, oh, dear me! Pretty soon Puss, Junior, and Tom Thumb wondered if\nthe forty days and forty nights would ever end and if the rain would\never stop. At last, one day, it seemed as if the sun were trying to\nbreak through the clouds. And then, all of a sudden, the rain ceased,\nand in the distance the dim outline of a mountain appeared through the\nmist.\n\nAt once the animals began to sing:\n\n          \"We didn't know where we were at,\n             One wide river,\n           Until we bumped on Ararat,\n             One wide river to cross.\"\n\nAs if in obedience to the words of the song the Ark grounded, the sun\ncame out from the clouds, and every one knew the voyage was at an end,\nfor\n\n          \"The Ark she landed high and dry,\n             One wide river,\n           And the monkey kissed the cow good-by,\n             One wide river to cross.\"\n\nIn a few minutes the gang-plank was lowered and the animals landed.\nCaptain Noah was the last to leave.\n\n\"Well,\" he exclaimed, \"we have passed through an awful lot. But we're\nsafe on land again.\" \"Hurrah!\" shouted all the animals, \"we're safe at\nlast!\"\n\n\n\n\nUP AND DOWN\n\n\n          WHAT is the news of the day,\n          Good neighbors, I pray?\n          They say the balloon\n          Is gone up to the moon.\n\nIt was the day of the county fair. Puss, Junior, had bought his ticket\nand stood looking about him uncertain what to do.\n\n\"They say the balloon has gone up to the moon,\" cried the crowd.\n\n\"Why, I've been up to the moon,\" said Puss, Junior, \"but never will I\nget excited over that?\" But, nevertheless, he walked up to the balloon\nman and asked. \"When does your next balloon go up?\"\n\n\"In about five minutes,\" replied the owner of the air craft. \"We have an\nascension every half hour.\"\n\n\"Well,\" replied our little hero, \"I would like to be one of your\npassengers!\"\n\n\"Pay your shilling and you shall have a seat in the basket,\" answered\nthe owner.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter waiting for perhaps an hour the basket car was filled. My, how the\npeople cheered as the balloon ascended, and when it had almost reached\nthe clouds Puss leaned over the edge of the basket and threw little\nnotes down to the people below. \"Tell my good friends that Puss in\nBoots, Junior, has gone up in a balloon,\" he wrote on one of them.\n\nOn another, he scribbled, \"Puss in Boots, Junior, is about to visit the\nMan in the Moon.\"\n\n\"You had better be careful,\" said the owner of the balloon, \"how do I\nknow we'll reach the moon?\"\n\n\"If you follow my directions you will,\" replied Puss, Junior, \"for I\nhave been there before and, to tell you the truth, it is a most\nremarkable place. The moon is an unexplored country.\"\n\n\"Well, I'll take your word for it,\" said the navigator of the balloon\nexpress. \"I don't know much about these sky roads, but if you'll kindly\nconsent to tell me where to steer my air craft, perhaps we'll reach the\nmoon without a mishap.\"\n\n\"Trust to me,\" said Puss, Junior, \"for I have traveled far and if I\ndon't know the way to the moon, my name is not Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\nSo the owner of the balloon steered the big air craft straight up to the\nsky. Oh, dear me! But strange things will happen! For as they were\nsailing along as smoothly as could be, there came a sudden gust of\nwind, and the balloon, instead of pointing for the big, round moon that\nshone like a silver dollar overhead, suddenly swerved to one side and\nbefore anyone could say \"Jack Robinson\" there was a dreadful explosion\nand Puss and his fellow passengers found themselves falling to the\nearth.\n\n\"Good gracious!\" exclaimed Puss. \"What's the matter?\"\n\nBefore his question was answered the balloon crashed into a big willow\ntree.\n\n\n\n\nROCK-A-BY\n\n\nIT was lucky that the balloon fell into the big willow tree, as I\nmentioned in the last story, for otherwise Puss, Junior, and his fellow\npassengers might have been badly hurt. As it happened, they were none\nthe worse except for a few scratches. Puss pulled himself together and\nafter arranging his clothes, which were torn and mussed by the branches\nof the tree, looked about him. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a baby, and\nturning around, he saw a little cradle swinging back and forth. It was\nfastened securely to a limb, and rocked to and fro as the breeze blew\nthrough the trembling leaves.\n\n          \"Rock-a-by, baby, upon the tree top!\n           When the wind blows the cradle will rock;\n           When the bough breaks the cradle will fall;\n           Down tumbles baby, cradle and all.\"\n\n\"S-s-sh!\" cried the balloon man, \"We will wake the baby if we are not\ncareful.\"\n\n\"Won't it be sad if the bough breaks,\" said Puss, Junior, \"it will be\nalmost as bad for the baby as it was for us when the balloon fell into\nthis tree.\"\n\n\"It might be worse,\" said one of the passengers, who stood near them on\na limb, looking anxiously to the ground.\n\n\"Suppose we take down the cradle,\" said the balloon man.\n\n\"Somebody must have hung it up here,\" said Puss, \"we have no right to\ntake it down; it's not our baby.\"\n\n\"You are perfectly right,\" said another passenger. \"It isn't our cradle\nand it isn't our baby, so the best thing for us to do is to leave the\ncradle and climb down.\"\n\nAs soon as the passengers were once more upon the ground they demanded\ntheir fare back, saying that they had paid for a trip to the moon, and\nnot for a fall into a willow tree.\n\n\"This doesn't seem quite fair to me,\" remarked the balloon man, looking\nruefully at his wrecked balloon. \"I don't think I should give you back\nmore than half, for the first part of the journey was successful.\"\n\n\"You didn't keep to your bargain,\" cried Puss, stoutly; \"and besides,\nyou endangered our lives. I don't want to pay to go up in the air a\nlittle way and then be hurled down into a willow tree; it takes all the\nniceness out of the way up and makes the way down too dangerous.\"\n\nSo the balloon man paid back the money and turned away. \"Why don't you\ntake the basket car with you?\" asked Puss, Junior.\n\n\"It's too big to carry,\" replied the balloon man. \"I'll come around for\nit to-morrow with a horse and wagon.\"\n\nPretty soon all the passengers had gone, leaving Puss alone under the\nwillow tree. All of a sudden the baby began to cry, so Puss sang softly:\n\n          \"Hush-a-by, baby, upon the tree top,\n           When the wind blows the cradle will rock.\"\n\nAnd then the baby stopped crying, so Puss turned away and entered the\nold mill that stood in the shade of the old willow tree.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ROCK-A-BY BABY\n\n\n\"WELCOME, Sir Cat,\" said the dusty miller. \"Sit down and tell me the\nnews.\" But just then a sweet voice commenced to sing:\n\n          Down in the village all the long day\n          Mother's been toiling the hours away;\n          While up in the tree-top beneath the blue sky\n          Baby has rocked to the wind's lullaby.\n\n          Waiting is over, my sweet little one,\n          Mother is here for her own blue-eyed son.\n          Home we will go, and baby shall rest,\n          All the night through on mother's warm breast.\n\n\"Dearie me,\" suddenly exclaimed the dusty miller, \"how tired she looks,\"\nand he walked to the door.\n\n\"Let me carry the cradle,\" said Puss, and lifting it on his shoulder,\nfollowed the grateful little woman down the road.\n\nWhen they reached the house Puss was tired, for the cradle was heavy,\nand had nearly slipped off his shoulder two or three times, and once,\nwhen the baby caught hold of it, Puss nearly stumbled.\n\n\"Come and rest,\" said the baby's mother, opening the little wicket gate\nin the white fence. Puss looked up at the pretty porch, covered with a\nhoneysuckle vine. \"Thank you,\" he answered, \"I will,\" and he set the\ncradle down on the floor.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Please look after the baby,\" said the little mother, \"while I get the\nsupper?\"\n\n\"I'll try,\" said Puss, \"but I'm not used to babies, and perhaps he'll\nroll off the porch.\"\n\n\"Oh, you can keep him from doing that,\" replied the little mother, \"he's\nthe best baby in the world!\" So Puss sat down and played with him for\nalmost half an hour. By and by a little bird began to sing:\n\n          \"Dance to your daddie,\n           My bonnie laddie;\n           Dance to your daddie, my bonnie lamb.\n           You shall get a fishy\n           On a little dishy;\n           You shall get a fishy when the boat comes home.\"\n\nPretty soon after that the little mother carried the baby into the\nhouse.\n\nPuss followed her into a cozy room, where, on the mantlepiece, stood a\ntick-tocky clock, just striking six. The tablecloth was spread and\neverything was ready for supper. Over in the corner hung a cage, in\nwhich sat a big green parrot.\n\n\"Polly want a cracker?\" asked Puss.\n\n\"No, I don't want a cracker,\" replied the parrot; \"I want a little\nmouse.\"\n\n\"What!\" cried Puss, \"you don't mean to say you don't like crackers?\"\n\n\"I'm tired of them,\" said the parrot.\n\n\"Did you ever eat a raisin cracker?\" said Puss, with a grin.\n\nBut the parrot didn't reply. Pretty soon he opened the door of his cage\nand came out. Puss was all alone in the room, for the mother had taken\nthe baby upstairs.\n\n\"I'm going to fly out of the window,\" exclaimed the parrot. \"I'm tired\nbeing alone all day in this house.\" And before Puss could stop him, he\nopened the window and flew away.\n\n\"The parrot's gone!\" cried Puss running to the foot of the stairs. Then\nhe rushed out into the yard and found the parrot perched on the limb of\nan old apple tree.\n\n\"I won't come back!\" he cried. \"I won't!\"\n\n\n\n\nSAILORS TWO\n\n\n          \"THERE was an old woman of Glo'ster,\n           Whose parrot two guineas it cost her,\n           But his tongue never ceasing,\n           Was vastly displeasing\n           To the talkative woman of Glo'ster.\"\n\nNow as soon as the old woman who lived next door saw Puss, Junior, climb\nthe tree to catch the parrot who had flown out of the window, she cried,\n\"Don't let the pussy cat get you, Polly.\"\n\nBut goodness me! As soon as the old woman's parrot heard that he was up\nin the tree with the other parrot, and then they both began to scream,\n\"I won't come back! I won't come back!\"\n\n\"I don't care what they do,\" said the old woman, \"I'd much rather have a\ncat for a pet than a parrot, anyway. He has been a dreadful care ever\nsince my son, who is a sailor, brought him home.\"\n\nSo Puss looked down from the tree and said, \"Then would you rather I\ndidn't catch your parrot?\"\n\n\"Yes, let him go,\" said the old woman.\n\n\"But I must catch the other one,\" said Puss.\n\n\"Well, you'll have to get a pair of wings, my dear Sir Cat,\" cried the\nparrot. \"You may be Puss in Boots, Junior, but you can't fly. So I bid\nyou farewell,\" and away he flew, and then the old woman's parrot clapped\nhis wings and followed him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSo there was nothing for Puss to do but come down from the tree. And\nthen all of a sudden the old woman cried, \"Why, here comes my son,\" and\na sailor boy jumped over the fence and threw his arms around her.\n\n\"My ship just got in to-day, mother,\" he cried, giving her a big hug.\nAnd after that he looked at Puss, and said, \"Shiver my timbers, but\nthat's a fine cat you have, mother.\"\n\n\"He's not mine,\" answered the old woman, \"but I wish he would stay with\nus, my parrot has just flown away.\"\n\n\"Thank you, madam,\" said Puss, \"but I must be on my way to find my\nfather, Puss in Boots.\"\n\n\"We sail to-morrow,\" said the sailor boy, \"why don't you come aboard\nship? You'll have a fine trip, and maybe you'll find your father at the\nfirst sea-port we reach.\"\n\n\"Good idea,\" cried Puss, \"I'll go with you.\"\n\n\"All right, my hearty,\" cried the sailor boy, slapping Puss on the back,\n\"you and I will be pals. A sailor's life is the life for me.\"\n\n\"Then I'll be a sailor, too,\" cried Puss, \"and to-morrow we will sail\nthe ocean blue.\"\n\n\n\n\nA WONDERFUL SHIP\n\n\n          \"I SAW a ship a-sailing,\n            A-sailing on the sea;\n          And it was full of pretty things\n            For baby and for me.\"\n\n\"Hurrah!\" cried Puss, Junior, \"A sailor's life is the life for me.\" The\ngood ship was at the dock, and her crew of sailor boys were ready to\ncast off the mooring lines. Puss, Junior, had been promised a\nsailor-suit as soon as the ship's tailor had the time to make it.\n\nJust then the little woman who hung her baby's cradle on the willow tree\nby the old mill, came walking down to the dock.\n\n\"Are you going, too?\" asked Puss, helping her with the cradle, for she\nhad walked a long way and was very tired.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" she replied, \"because it's full of pretty things for baby\nand for me.\"\n\n\"How jolly!\" cried Puss, dancing about on his toes. \"We'll have a fine\ntrip.\"\n\n\"That's what the 'rusty, dusty' miller said,\" cried the baby's mother.\n\"He told me this morning when I put the cradle in the 'Rock-a-by' willow\ntree that the ship was sailing to-day and that they needed a cook; so\nI'm going to ask the Captain if I may cook and bake for you all. I know\nhow to make the nicest cookies you ever ate. You just wait and see what\nnice things we will have to eat.\"\n\nThen Puss helped her over the gang-plank, for the crew was busy loading\nthe good ship with all kinds of things.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPretty soon the miller came running down the dock. \"Here is a sack of\nflour,\" he panted, \"I thought you might need some for muffins.\"\n\n\"Isn't that fine?\" said Puss, leaning over the rail. \"There's nothing\nlike having plenty of food aboard in case the voyage is a long one.\"\n\n\"I don't know where we are bound,\" said the baby's mother, \"but baby\nwill like it, I'm sure. One can 'rock-a-by baby' on the sea as well as\non the old willow tree.\"\n\n\"I heard,\" said the 'rusty, dusty' miller, as he laid the heavy sack of\nflour on the deck, and wiped the perspiration from his forehead, \"that\n\n          \"There were sweetmeats in the cabin,\n             And apples in the hold;\n           The sails were made of silk,\n             And the masts were made of gold.\"\n\n\"Why, so they are,\" cried Puss, gazing up at the beautiful tall shining\nmasts. \"They are of gold, of course they are. Look, baby,\" he cried,\n\"see the gold masts.\"\n\n\"He's too young to know whether they are made of gold or good old oak,\"\nsaid his mother, \"but we'll teach him to be a good sailor, won't we,\nPuss, dear?\"\n\n\n\n\nALL ABOARD!\n\n\n\"ALL aboard!\" shouted the Captain.\n\n          \"The four and twenty sailors\n             That stood between the decks,\n           Were four and twenty white mice,\n             With chains about their necks.\"\n\n\"There's a locket fastened to every chain,\" cried Puss. \"What pretty\nlockets.\"\n\n\"Each little sailor mouse has a picture of his mother in his locket,\"\nsaid the Captain, who stood near by giving the orders. Now,\n\n          \"The captain was a duck,\n             With a packet on his back;\n           And when the ship began to move\n             The Captain cried, 'Quack! Quack!'\"\n\n\"Hello!\" said Puss, Junior, stretching out his right paw. \"Hello,\nCaptain! Aren't you the duck that took me across the pond on your back a\nlong, long time ago. You told me about your cousin, the Golden Goose,\ndon't you remember?\"\n\n\"So I did,\" said the Captain, looking Puss over. \"Shiver my timbers if\nyou're not Puss, Junior!\"\n\n\"The very same,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"And haven't you found your daddy yet?\" asked the Captain as his good\nship swung away from the dock, her silk sails filling with the breeze\nuntil they looked like great big balloons cut in half.\n\n\"No, Captain,\" replied Puss, sadly, \"I haven't.\"\n\n\"Well, we'll ask for him at every port,\" replied the kind master of the\ngood ship, which was now rolling and dipping in the most graceful way\npossible. \"I'll ask every old land lubber on the docks when we touch\nport. We'll hear some news, never fear.\" And then the Captain went over\nto tell the man at the tiller where to go. The \"man\" at the wheel was a\nlittle white mouse, but he knew how to steer the ship as well as any\npilot, let me tell you.\n\n\"I don't have to rock the cradle,\" said the baby's mother, with a smile,\nlooking up at Puss, as he tip-toed over to where she sat.\n\n\"No, he's fast asleep,\" replied Puss, \"and the big blue ocean is rocking\nhim better than the willow tree.\"\n\n          \"Rock-a-by baby, safe on the ship,\n           Where the foam-crested billows ripple and dip;\n           And the breeze from the land of the big yellow moon\n           Is turning the sail to a great white balloon.\"\n\n\"Where did you hear that pretty song?\" asked Puss.\n\n\"Why, I just made it up,\" replied the baby's mother.\n\n\"Mothers always do that when they rock their little ones to sleep, you\nknow.\"\n\n\n\n\nOLD TOM\n\n\nTHE next morning the good ship came in sight of an old seaport. The\nharbor was very safe, for a tall white lighthouse stood upon the rocks\nto guide the sailors, and bellbuoys clanged their solemn warning from\nthe dangerous reefs. In the distance rose a church spire, and near it\nstood a little red schoolhouse with a flag flying in the breeze. Down on\nthe wharf ran a low row of buildings, worn and battered, where the old\nsailors lounged and told stories of their early days.\n\nPretty soon the good ship came about, and with her silken sails flapping\nin the wind, drifted up to the dock.\n\n\"Make fast!\" shouted the Captain. The four and twenty little sailor mice\njumped nimbly on the dock, and in a few minutes made the silk ropes fast\nto the posts. Then the good ship came to a standstill, and the\ngang-plank was lowered.\n\n\"All ashore that's going ashore!\" quacked the captain.\n\n\"Oh Captain Duck,\" cried Puss, Junior, \"we don't have to land, do we?\"\n\n\"No,\" replied the Duck. \"But you may go ashore for a little while if you\nwish. We don't sail for two hours.\"\n\n\"All right!\" replied Puss, \"I'll take a run on the grass,\" and he walked\ndown the gang-plank across the old wharf, until he came to a path, well\nworn by the sailors who for years had carried the cargoes up to the\nlittle village. Under a tree close by sat an old sailor. He was smoking\na big black pipe as contentedly as could be. But as soon as he saw Puss\nhe took it out of his mouth.\n\n\"Ahoy, my breezy little reefer,\" he cried.\n\n\"Good morning,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"Don't be in a hurry,\" said the old sailor. \"Just moor your little hulk\nalongside of old Tom.\"\n\n\"What's the matter, my breezy little skipper?\" asked the old sailor\nafter a few minutes silence, for, Puss, you see, didn't know what to\nsay.\n\n\"Nothing,\" replied Puss, sadly, \"only, I can't find my father, the\nfamous Puss in Boots.\"\n\n\"What did he look like?\" asked the old sailor, with a grin.\n\n\"He looked like me----or, rather, I look like him,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"Well, my merry little sandpiper!\" cried the old salt, \"you should have\nstayed at home!\"\n\n\"I don't agree with you,\" said Puss stoutly, \"I wanted to see the\nworld.\"\n\n\"Give me your flipper,\" said the old sailor kindly. \"Good luck to ye. I\nhope you find your daddy.\"\n\n\n\n\nA NEW PASSENGER\n\n\nPUSS, JUNIOR, waved his paw to the old sailor, who put his pipe back in\nhis mouth and smoked away contentedly under the shady tree. All of a\nsudden a pretty little girl jumped out from behind a stone wall.\n\n          \"Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,\n           Silver buckles on his knee;\n           He'll come back and marry me,\n             Pretty Bobby Shafto.\n           Bobby Shafto's fat and fair,\n           Combing down his yellow hair;\n           He's my love for aye and ere,\n             Pretty Bobby Shafto.\"\n\n\"Hello,\" said Puss when she had finished her song.\n\n\"Did you just get off that pretty ship,\" she asked.\n\n\"Yes, Miss,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"Was Bobby Shafto on board?\"\n\n\"I didn't see him,\" replied Puss. \"Did you expect him?\"\n\n\"I don't know,\" replied the little girl, \"but I run down to look every\ntime a ship comes to the old dock. And I always ask the old sailor who\nsits on the bench over there if he has seen my Bobby.\"\n\n\"You're looking for your Bobby, and I'm searching for my daddy,\" said\nPuss, sadly. And then he told the little girl how discouraged he was\nbecause in all his travels he had not yet found him.\n\nAnd then, all of a sudden, they heard a voice calling, \"All aboard!\"\n\n\"Goodness!\" exclaimed Puss, \"I must hurry; the ship's going to sail.\nGood-by!\" and off he ran to the dock as fast as he could.\n\n\"Wait for me,\" called out the little girl, \"I guess I'll go, too. I may\nfind Bobby Shafto.\"\n\n\"Hurry, hurry!\" cried Puss, looking back. \"I'll run ahead and ask the\nCaptain to wait.\"\n\nAnd it was lucky he did, for the gang-plank was being hauled in just as\nhe arrived. \"Wait for us!\" he shouted.\n\n\"Why, I don't see anybody else,\" said the Captain, as Puss stepped\naboard.\n\n\"Yes, there is,\" answered Puss, \"There she comes!\"\n\nAnd in another minute, with her bonnet strings streaming in the wind,\nthe little girl came running down the dock.\n\n\"Thank you for waiting,\" she cried, turning to the Captain. \"I'd have\nbeen so disappointed if you had left me behind.\"\n\nAnd then she stood close to Puss as the good ship left the dock. \"Good\nluck, my little skipper,\" shouted the old sailor.\n\n\"Good-by,\" cried Puss, waving his cap to the old salt.\n\n\n\n\nOVER THE WATER\n\n\nWHEN the old dock and the gray-haired sailor, the tall church spire and\nthe flag on the little red schoolhouse were out of sight, Puss, Junior,\nturned to the little girl and said: \"Let's go down in the cabin. I'll\nshow you the cutest little baby you ever saw. It's the 'rock-a-by, baby,\nupon-the-tree-top.' His mother always hung the cradle on a willow tree\nso that the breeze might rock him to sleep. But now the ocean does the\nrocking and baby sleeps almost all the time.\"\n\nSo the little girl followed Puss down the stairs to the cabin, where\nthey heard a sweet voice singing:\n\n          \"Over the water, and over the sea,\n             And over the water to Charley.\n           I'll have none of your horrid beef,\n             Nor I'll have none of your barley:\n           But I'll have some of your very best flour\n             To make a white cake for my Charley.\"\n\n\"S-s-sh!\" said the mother of the baby as Puss and the little girl came\nin.\n\n\"Are you going to make a cake with the flour the miller brought on\nboard?\" asked Puss in a whisper.\n\n\"Yes,\" said the baby's mother. \"But what's your name?\" turning to the\nlittle girl.\n\n\"She's looking for Bobby Shafto,\" answered Puss.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"What's your name, little girl,\" asked the rock-a-by-baby's mother.\n\n\"Alice,\" said the little girl.\n\n\"A pretty name.\"\n\n\"I'm glad you like it,\" said the little girl. \"And what is yours?\"\n\n\"Mine? Oh, you can call me 'The Rock-a-by Baby's Mother.'\"\n\n\"Let's go out on deck,\" suggested Puss. \"Won't you come, too?\" he asked,\nturning to the baby's mother.\n\nRolling in the sea were huge black porpoises. Over and over they rolled\nlike great footballs. Flying fish rose out of the water, and overhead\nthe gulls sailed back and forth on their great wings. The breeze was\nblowing strong and steady, and now and then the salt spray came over the\nrailing. Some of it wet Puss, Junior's, whiskers.\n\n\"Did you get wet?\" asked Alice.\n\n\"Not much,\" said Puss. \"Besides, I don't care for a little spray,\nanyway.\"\n\n\"Come over here and sit down on this coil of rope,\" said the\nRock-a-By-Baby's Mother, and I'll sing you a song:\n\n          \"Rock-a-by, rock-a-by on the deep blue,\n           Sailor Boy, Mother is dreaming of you.\n           Thinking of Sailor Boy out on the foam,\n           Hoping that Sailor Boy soon will be home.\"\n\n\n\n\nCUSTARD AND MUSTARD\n\n\nFOR several days the good ship, with the four and twenty sailor mice and\nthe duck captain, sailed over the big blue sea. Puss, Junior, learned to\nclimb the mast and to run out to the very tip of the great boom to tie a\nrope for Captain Duck when it was blowing a gale. The Rock-a-By-Baby's\nMother made a most delicious cake with the flour which the 'rusty,\ndusty' miller had sent on board, and altogether it was a most enjoyable\ntrip, and when the good ship put into port on the fifth day everybody\nwas sorry.\n\nEven the little girl who was waiting for Bobby Shafto to come home told\nPuss she had forgotten all about him.\n\nWell, as soon as the ship was fast to the dock, Puss said good-by to\nCaptain Duck and the sailor mice.\n\n\"I hope Bobby Shafto will return soon,\" he whispered to the little girl\nas he kissed her good-by.\n\n\"I shall miss you very much,\" he said to the Rock-a-By-Baby's mother.\n\n\"Will you, my dear Puss?\" she answered, giving him a hug. \"You're a dear\nlittle cat! I hope you soon find your father. When you do, tell him he\nhas a fine little son--tell him that from me, won't you?\"\n\nAnd after that Puss went upon his way, and by and by, after a while he\nfound himself on a broad highway. \"I wonder what will happen next?\" he\nsaid to himself, and just then he came to a small house near the road.\nSo he stopped at the front gate to listen to a sweet voice singing:\n\n          \"When Jacky's a very good boy\n             He shall have cakes and a custard;\n           But when he does nothing but cry\n             He shall have nothing but mustard.\"\n\nPuss opened the gate and peeped through the window. In the centre of the\nroom stood a small boy, wiping his eyes with a little pink handkerchief.\n\n\"Nothing but mustard,\" repeated his mother, \"if you don't stop crying.\"\n\n\"Meow!\" cried Puss at the window. \"Won't you give me some custard?\" And\nthen, my goodness! didn't that little boy stop crying!\n\n\"Look at the cat with boots on!\" he cried, running up to the window.\n\n\"You both shall have some custard,\" said Jack's mother, \"and then you\nmay go out to the swing and have a good time.\"\n\nWell, it didn't take long to eat the custard, and then Jacky and Puss\nwent out under the big tree.\n\n          \"Swing high, swing low.\n           Away we go,\n           Up to the skies,\n           Down to the ground;\n           This is the finest\n           Sport I've found,\"\n\nsang Puss, Junior.\n\n\"After supper, Jacky, I'll tell you how I was a sailor boy for almost a\nweek on the ocean blue!\"\n\n\n\n\nROWLEY FROG\n\n\nNOW let me think what happened after Puss finished telling how he had\nbeen a sailor for a week on the ocean blue.\n\nOh yes, of course. He had scarcely said good-by to the little boy when\nwhom should he meet but Mr. Rowley Frog and a big rat.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"So you're going to make a call on Mrs. Mousey,\" said Puss, as he and\nMr. Rowley Frog and the rat reached the dusty highway.\n\n\"Yes, sir-ee,\" replied Mr. Rowley Frog. \"She lives just over there.\" And\nwhen Puss looked across the meadow he saw a cute little house.\n\n\"Looks like a pretty nice little place,\" said the rat; \"let's hurry\nalong.\" So all three started off on a run.\n\n          When they came to the door of Mousey's hall,\n            Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n          They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call.\n          Pray, Mrs. Mouse, are you within?\n            Heigh-ho, says Rowley!\n          Oh, yes, kind sirs, I'm sitting to spin.\n\n\"I guess she's too busy,\" said Puss. \"We'd better not interrupt her.\"\n\n\"Nonsense,\" replied Mr. Rowley Frog, bowing to Mrs. Mousey, who happened\njust then to look out of her little window. Then Mr. Rat took off his\ncap and said:\n\n          \"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, will you give us some beer?\"\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n          \"For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer.\"\n\n\"Indeed, I will not,\" said Mrs. Mousey. \"You ought to be ashamed of\nyourself! And as for Mr. Anthony Rowley, he must throw away that horrid\ncigar if he wants to call on me.\"\n\nWell, goodness gracious! Didn't Mr. Rowley look ashamed! He threw his\ncigar away at once, and Mr. Rat hid behind Puss, he was so embarrassed,\nand as soon as Mrs. Mousey saw that they were both truly sorry for what\nthey had done, she smiled and said:\n\n[Illustration]\n\n          \"Pray, Mr. Frog, will you give us a song?\"\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n          \"But let it be something that's not very long.\"\n          \"Indeed, Mrs. Mouse,\" replied the Frog,\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n          \"I've caught quite a cold, for it's damp in the bog.\"\n          \"Since you have caught cold, Mr. Frog,\" Mousey said,\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n          \"I'll sing you a song that I have just made.\"\n\nBut first she opened the door and invited them in. \"I'm not afraid of\nyou,\" she said to Puss, \"for I know you are Mr. Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\nWell, just as soon as they were all seated, she began to sing:\n\n          \"Mrs. Mousey has a housey,\n             Very small and trim,\n           Nice Swiss cheeses good for sneezes,\n             Filled up to the brim.\n           Also candy, fine and dandy,\n             Ice cream soda, too,\n           If you're nice to little mice,\n             I'll give some to you.\"\n\n\"I'll see that my two small friends behave,\" said Puss, with a grin.\n\n\n\n\nMRS. MOUSEY\n\n\n\"WHAT will you have?\" Mrs. Mousey asked Puss, Junior, as she opened the\ncupboard door.\n\n\"I'll have a strawberry ice-cream soda,\" said Puss. So Mrs. Mousey\npoured some red syrup into the glass and dropped in a ball of ice cream,\nand after that she held the glass under a regular soda-fountain spigot\nwhich was fastened to a cute little ice-box. \"Fiz-z-z, fiz-z-z!\" went\nthe water until the pink-colored foam almost ran over the edge of the\nglass. But it didn't. Wasn't that lucky?\n\n\"I'll take a pink and white peppermint stick,\" said Mr. Rowley Frog, and\nMr. Rat said, \"Cheese, if you please!\" when Mrs. Mousey asked him what\nhe would have.\n\n          \"But while they were all a merry-making,\n             Heigh-ho!\" says Rowley.\n          \"A cat and her kittens came tumbling in.\"\n\nAnd, oh dear me! Puss dropped his soda-water glass, and it broke all to\nsmithereens. And then,\n\n          The cat she seized the rat by the crown:\n            Heigh-ho! says Rowley.\n          The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.\n\nAnd after that the cat jumped through the open window with the rat and\ndisappeared around the house, and the kittens ran out of the door with\npoor Mrs. Mouse.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPuss jumped through the window, but before he could catch them they ran\ninto a hole just big enough for them to squeeze through, and Puss was\nleft outside, wondering what to do. The old cat was nowhere to be seen.\nShe had taken good care to get out of sight, for she knew that Puss,\nJunior, would take Mr. Rat away from her if he ever caught her.\n\n          \"This put Mr. Frog in a terrible fright,\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley!\n           He took up his hat, and he wished them good night.\"\n\n\"I'll go home to mother,\" he said when he reached the roadway. \"I am\ngetting homesick. I think the old pond is the best place for me.\"\n\n          \"Home, sweet home, in the dear old pond,\n             That is the place for me.\n           I'll never go even a foot beyond,\n             I'll sit there and croak, and never will smoke,\n           In my pond by the grassy lea!\"\n\n\"That's right,\" said Puss, as he hurried along with Rowley, who, now\nthat he had made up his mind, could not get home fast enough.\n\n          \"A wise frog stays in his bog,\n           And sits and croaks upon his log.\"\n\n\n\n\nA SAD ENDING\n\n\n\"I'M very sorry for poor little Mrs. Mousey,\" said Puss, as he and Mr.\nRowley Frog hastened toward the pond.\n\n\"So am I,\" answered Rowley. \"She was very generous with all her good\nthings to eat.\"\n\n\"And the poor rat,\" continued Puss. \"It was a sad ending to our little\nfeast. I guess he's been eaten up by this time. That naughty old cat\nlooked very hungry.\"\n\n\"Oh dear, oh dear,\" sobbed Rowley, the tears rolling down his face, \"I\nwant to get home. I'll never run away again.\"\n\n          \"But as Froggy was crossing over a brook,\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n           A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up,\n           So there was an end of one, two and three,\n             Heigh-ho, says Rowley.\n           The Rat, the Mouse and the little Frog-gee,\n           With a rowley, powley, gammon and spinach,\n             Heigh-ho, says Anthony Rowley!\"\n\n\"This is dreadful,\" cried Puss, as he saw his small friend disappear\ndown the duck's long neck; \"it has been a sad day. All three of my\nlittle friends are gone.\"\n\n\"Never mind,\" cried the lily-white duck, looking up at Puss standing\nmournfully by the side of the brook, \"Frogs are good to eat, and if they\nwill run away from home, it's their own lookout. They should stay in\ntheir ponds and not go wandering about strange places.\"\n\nPuss did not answer. It seemed pretty hard to meet such a sad fate, and\nhe did not like the lily-white duck at all.\n\n\"Come, come,\" cried the duck, \"cheer up, I'll ferry you across the brook\nif you wish to reach the other side.\"\n\n\"That's kind of you,\" said Puss, seating himself on her back.\n\n\"I'm not such a bad sort of duck,\" she continued, paddling swiftly\ntoward the opposite bank, \"but I must eat, and frogs are mighty good\neating, let me tell you.\"\n\nAs she finished speaking she waddled up the bank, and Puss sprang nimbly\nfrom her back. \"Thank you, Mrs. Duck,\" he said, \"indeed, I'm obliged to\nyou; but I wish you hadn't eaten my friend, the little frog.\"\n\nJust then nine little yellow ducklings waddled toward them. \"These are\nmy children,\" said Mrs. Duck, very proudly.\n\n\"How are you, my little ducklets?\" cried Puss.\n\n\"Quite well, thank you,\" they answered. It was a pretty sight to see\nthose yellow balls of down cuddle up to their mother, and Puss began to\nfeel that, after all, she must be a good sort of duck, for her children\nloved her so much. Perhaps he had judged her too harshly for gobbling up\nthe frog, and when she turned to Puss and said:\n\n\"Come home with us, Mr. Puss,\" he forgave her for what she had done, and\nfollowed her downy, yellow brood.\n\n\n\n\nBEAVER DAM\n\n\nPUSS, JUNIOR, had gone but a short distance when he heard a sad voice\nsay:\n\n          \"Oh dear, I've lost my brother,\n           Where will I ever find another?\n           He never should have left the bog,\n           Alas, Alas! poor Rowley Frog!\"\n\n\"Dear me,\" cried Puss to Mrs. Duck and he looked about him for the owner\nof the sad croaky voice. Pretty soon he saw a big bullfrog in a brook.\n\n\"Come along with me,\" cried Puss, Junior.\n\nJust then a little muskrat jumped out of the water and from behind a\ntree ran a pretty gray squirrel and a striped chipmunk.\n\n\"Did you call us?\" they asked Puss all at once.\n\n\"No, my little friends,\" he replied, \"but come along,\" and when they\nreached Beaver Dam, they looked around to see what had become of the old\nbullfrog. There he was in the water about halfway down the stream,\nswimming away for all he was worth.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Ker-chunk, ker-chunk!\" he cried, as he came up to them, \"Why don't you\nwait for a fellow? And why didn't you tell me you were going up\nstream?\"\n\nPuss, Junior, felt very sorry to think that he had really forgotten all\nabout the old bullfrog.\n\n\"Well, you got here all right, didn't you?\" asked the muskrat. \"Now,\" he\ncontinued, \"I'm going to knock three times on the dam to let Mr. Beaver\nknow that we would like to cross.\"\n\nAfter giving three loud knocks, Mr. Beaver looked over and said: \"What's\nthe matter? Who are you? What do you want? Where did you come from?\nWhere are you going?\"\n\n\"We'll answer the last question first,\" said Puss, Junior, with a grin.\n\"We'd like to cross over on your beautiful great big dam.\"\n\n\"The toll is a penny,\" said the beaver, looking them over carefully.\n\n\"I haven't got a penny with me,\" said the little squirrel, \"but I have a\ndandy big nut, if that will do.\"\n\n\"All right,\" said the beaver, \"give me the nut.\" He put it in his\npocket, remarking as he did so, \"it looks like a good nut. I only hope I\nshall not be disappointed when I crack it.\"\n\nTurning to the chipmunk, he said, \"What have you got?\"\n\n\"A little acorn,\" answered the chipmunk.\n\n\"I don't want any more nuts,\" said the beaver, disgustedly. \"I'm not\nparticularly fond of nuts, anyway. I only took this one from the\nsquirrel because I knew he didn't have anything else.\"\n\n\"Here are two pennies, Mr. Beaver--one for Chipmunk and one for me,\"\nsaid Puss, Junior.\n\n\"All right, Sir Cat,\" said the beaver, \"walk across, but see that you do\nnot slip, for the water is very deep on the upper side.\"\n\nPuss carefully wended his way over, followed by the little squirrel and\nthe chipmunk. The old frog swam over, as did the muskrat. When they all\nreached the other side, Puss went forward, followed by his small\ncomrades, who stretched out behind him like a funny little army.\n\nThey hadn't gone very far, when a rabbit jumped out from behind a bush.\nPuss, Junior, called out, \"Don't be frightened. We won't hurt you.\"\n\n\"Baby!\" cried the squirrel, \"you're bigger than I am, but you're twice\nas much afraid.\"\n\n\"I'm going to a wedding,\" said the rabbit. \"I've no time to wait!\" and\naway he went.\n\n\"Gracious me!\" exclaimed the squirrel. \"I had forgotten all about Cock\nRobin's wedding! I must be going.\"\n\n\"And so must I,\" cried the chipmunk and the beaver, but what the old\nbullfrog said I will tell you in the next story.\n\n\n\n\nDUCKLINGS\n\n\nWELL, you will certainly agree with me that the old bullfrog, in the\nlast story, is a wonderful fellow when you hear what he says about Mrs.\nDuck, and, it is all in poetry, too.\n\n          \"Old Mother Duck has hatched a brood\n             Of ducklings, small and callow;\n           Their little wings are short, their down\n             Is mottled gray and yellow.\"\n\n          \"There is a quiet little stream,\n             That runs into the moat,\n           Where tall green sedges spread their leaves\n             And water lilies float.\"\n\n          \"Close by the margin of the brook\n             The old duck made her nest,\n           Of straw, and leaves, and withered grass,\n             And down from her own breast.\"\n\n          \"And there she sat for four long weeks,\n             In rainy days and fine,\n           Until the ducklings all came out--\n             Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.\"\n\n\"So this is your home,\" said Puss, Junior, as Mrs. Duck stepped into her\nnest, followed by her brood.\n\n          \"One peeped out from beneath her wing,\n             One scrambled on her back;\n          \"That's very rude,\" said old Mrs. Duck;\n             \"Get off! quack, quack, quack, quack!\"\n\n\"What do you do when it rains?\" asked Puss, Junior.\n\n\"What do we do when it rains?\" repeated Mrs. Duck, \"why, what do you\nsuppose a duck's feathers are good for? They shed the water as well as a\nbarn roof. Yes, even better, for feathers are water-proof and shingles\nare not.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Well, my good Mrs. Duck, of course it's all right for you and your\nfamily, but should it rain, what would I do? I couldn't possibly crawl\nunder your wings.\"\n\n\"Not very well,\" laughed Mrs. Duck.\n\n\"But it's not going to rain,\" cried one little duck, peering out from\nbetween her feathers. \"I know it's not going to rain, for there isn't a\ncloud in the sky.\"\n\nThen all the little ducklings poked their heads out and cried, \"It's not\ngoing to rain, it's not going to rain!\"\n\n\"If it should, and there's no telling lately, for the weather has been\nso unsettled, I could take you up to the barnyard and introduce you to\nMolly Head,\" said Mrs. Duck, turning to Puss, Junior. \"She has charge of\nall the poultry and is a very kind woman, very kind indeed.\"\n\n\"If I knew where to buy an umbrella,\" said Puss, after a pause, \"I\nwouldn't mind a little shower, but you know how a cat hates to get wet.\"\n\n\"Yes, they make as much fuss over a little water as a hen does,\" laughed\ngood Mrs. Duck.\n\n\n\n\nA LESSON IN WADDLING\n\n\nPUSS, JUNIOR, was very tired with his journey, so he cuddled up in the\nlong grass close to Mrs. Duck's nest and he was soon fast asleep. Then\nMrs. Duck tucked in her yellow ducklings and they were soon dreaming of\nnice fat worms and little silver fishes. By and by Mrs. Duck closed\nfirst one eye and then the other, and pretty soon she was asleep.\n\nThe wind played little lullabys in the tall grass and the brook close by\nmurmured over its pebbly bottom. The crickets in the meadow made sleepy\nlittle noises, so that it must have been over an hour before anybody\nwoke up.\n\n          \"'Tis close,\" said Mrs. Duck, shoving out\n             The eggshells with her bill,\n          \"Besides, it never suits young ducks\n             To keep them sitting still.\"\n           So, rising from her nest, she said,\n             \"Now, children, look at me:\n           A well bred duck should waddle so,\n             From side to side--d'ye see?\"\n\n\"I'll play duck too,\" said Puss, jumping to his feet and imitating Mrs.\nDuck. The ducklings looked at Puss in wonder.\n\n\"He'd make a fine duck,\" said one little duckling.\n\n\"If he had feathers instead of fur,\" laughed Mrs. Duck.\n\n\"If he had yellow stockings like ours,\" said another duckling, \"instead\nof red-topped boots.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Stop your quacking,\" cried Mrs. Duck. \"Did you hear what I said about\nwaddling just now?\"\n\n          \"Yes,\" said the little ones, and then\n            She went on to explain:\n          \"A well bred duck turns in his toes\n            As I do--try again.\"\n\nPuss, Junior, turned in his toes exactly the way they did, which made\nthem laugh; even Mrs. Duck chuckled. \"Look out,\" she cried, \"or Puss,\nJunior, will do it better than you.\"\n\n\"Thank you, ma'am,\" said Puss with a grin.\n\n\"Won't you try to do better?\" said Mrs. Duck, turning to her brood with\nan anxious expression on her kind face.\n\n          \"Yes,\" said the Ducklings, waddling on,\n             \"That's better,\" said their mother;\n          \"But well bred ducks walk in a row,\n             Straight, one behind the other.\"\n\n\"I wish I had a drum,\" cried Puss, \"I'd beat time. We could make believe\nwe were soldiers.\" But Mrs. Duck did not answer. \"Do your best,\" she\nsaid to her little brood.\n\n          \"Yes,\" said the little ducks again,\n             All waddling in a row.\n          \"Now to the pond,\" said old Mrs. Duck.\n             Splash, splash! and in they go.\n\n\"I wish I could swim,\" cried Puss; \"it looks like great sport!\"\n\n\n\n\nHOW TO BE A DUCK\n\n\n          \"LET me swim first,\" said old Mrs. Duck,\n          \"To this side, now to that;\n           There, snap at those great brown-winged flies,\n           They make young ducklings fat.\"\n\n\"See who can swim the fastest,\" cried Puss. \"Why don't you have a race?\"\nThe nine little ducklings stopped.\n\n\"Line up in a row,\" cried Puss, \"and when I cry 'Go!' swim as fast as\nyou can, and the one who reaches this bank first wins. I'll give a\nbright penny to the winner.\"\n\nAll the ducklings arranged themselves in a row, and when Puss cried\n\"One, two, three, go!\" they paddled away as hard as they could. Back and\nforth went their little yellow feet. Such a splashing! Nearer and nearer\nthey came. One little duck flapped his wings upon the water and in this\nway managed to get ahead. He was the first to land.\n\n\"Here is your penny,\" cried Puss.\n\n\"What can I do with it, mother?\" he asked.\n\n\"You can get a stick of candy to-morrow,\" replied his mother. \"Not this\nafternoon, for it is time now to go home to the farm.\n\n          \"Now when you reach the poultry yard\n           The hen-wife, Molly Head,\n           Will feed you with the other fowls\n           On bran and mashed-up bread.\"\n\nMrs. Duck came out of the water and shook herself well, sending quite a\nshower of water in little drops all about her. Puss jumped back to avoid\na shower bath. The ducklings stood up on their toes and flapped their\nsmall wings. Then off they all went, Mrs. Duck in the lead. Puss\nfollowed behind, taking care not to step on the yellow toes of the last\nduckling.\n\nAs they neared the barnyard Mrs. Duck turned and said:\n\n          \"The hens will peck and fight, but mind,\n             I hope that all of you\n           Will gobble up the food as fast\n             As well bred ducks should do.\"\n\nThe woman who took care of the poultry yard was already there. From a\nwell filled pan she was scattering handfuls of corn in all directions.\nThere were a great many chickens, who darted hither and thither, picking\nup the grains of corn. When the corn was all gone she set down a dish of\nfood. No sooner had she done this than Mrs. Duck exclaimed:\n\n          \"You'd better get into the dish\n             Unless it is too small;\n           In that case, I should use my foot\n             And overturn it all.\"\n\n           The ducklings did as they were bid,\n             And found the plan so good\n           That from that day the other fowls\n             Got hardly any food.\n\n\"My, but she's a wise old duck,\" said Puss to himself with a grin.\n\n\n\n\n\"WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY\"\n\n\nIT was a queer looking house that Puss, Junior, saw in the distance. It\nseemed more like a box, with another little box tacked on, through the\ntop of which rose a long piece of stove pipe, which, I suppose, served\nas a chimney, although chimneys are usually made of bricks in Old Mother\nGoose Country.\n\nOn the front porch sat a little old man, smoking a pipe, from which the\nsmoke drifted away in little gray clouds, while the smoke from the\nstovepipe chimney stretched out like a long black feather.\n\n\"Good-day,\" said Puss, taking off his hat.\n\n\"Come and rest beside me,\" said the old man, pushing forward an\narmchair. So Puss sat down, and after wiping the perspiration from his\nforehead remarked, \"A warm day, my good sir.\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" replied the little old man, \"but all days seem very much\nalike to me.\"\n\n\"Do they?\" asked Puss. \"Why?\"\n\n\"Well, I'll tell you the story of my life,\" said the little old man,\nand, taking his pipe from his lips, he began:\n\n          \"When I was a little boy\n           I lived by myself,\n           And all the bread and cheese I got\n           I laid upon the shelf.\n           The rats and the mice\n           They made such a strife,\n           That I was forced to go to town,\n           And buy me a wife.\n           The streets were so broad,\n           And the lanes were so narrow,\n           I was forced to bring my wife home\n           In a wheelbarrow.\n           The wheelbarrow broke,\n           And my wife had a fall.\n           Farewell wheelbarrow, wife and all.\"\n\n\"And have you lived alone ever since?\" asked Puss.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied the old man, \"and the mice and the rats give me no peace.\nThey eat up all my cheese and flour.\"\n\n\"I'll help you,\" said Puss. \"Let me stay here to-night, and I'll catch\nevery rat and mouse that bothers you inside the house.\"\n\n\"You can make up poetry as well as I can,\" said the old man, with a\nlaugh. \"Why, that's the first laugh I've had in many a long year. I like\nyou, Sir Cat. You are an obliging sort of person. You shall have the\nbest that my small home affords. I only hope you will rid the place of\nrats and mice.\"\n\n\"Leave that to me,\" replied Puss, with a grin.\n\n\n\n\nGOOD RIDDANCE\n\n\nNOW, let me see. In the last story we left little Puss, Junior, in the\nhouse of the old man who brought his wife home in a wheelbarrow. Well,\nPuss heard him take off his shoes and get into bed, and then out went\nthe light. I guess the old man leaned out of bed and blew it out. But\nPuss didn't go to bed. Oh, my, no! He slipped off his red-topped boots,\nso as not to frighten the rats and the mice and stole softly over to the\nwindow. The moon was bright and the stars were twinkling in the sky.\n\n\"It's a long time since I've been a mouser!\" laughed Puss to himself. \"I\nwonder if I have lost my cunning?\" And he sat down by the window and\ncrossed his leg over the other. \"Not a creature was stirring, not even a\nmouse,\" and it was not the night before Christmas, either. Pretty soon\nthe sound of scampering feet caught his ear, and, turning his head, he\nsaw a dozen mice or more running over the floor, and after that two big\nrats stole softly across the old rag rug in front of the fireplace.\nWith a leap, Puss landed close to the rats, and with his right paw, laid\nhold of the nearest, and with his left paw caught the other. \"Squeak,\nsqueak! Oh, let us go!\" they cried.\n\n\"Not unless you promise to leave this house,\" replied Puss, fiercely,\nhis whiskers standing out straight and his eyes glaring like two balls\nof fire.\n\n\"We will, we will!\" squeaked the rats.\n\n\"Then go!\" cried Puss, \"and don't you ever come back!\"\n\n\"We won't, we won't!\" cried the terrified rats.\n\nAnd after that Puss softly crept into the kitchen, where on the table\nsat three little mice eating a piece of cake. In a second Puss had them\nfast in his claws.\n\n\"Squeak, squeak!\" screamed the little mice.\n\n\"I'll spare you,\" said Puss, glaring at them with eyes as bright as\nautomobile lamps. \"I'll let you go if you'll promise to leave this house\nwith all your sisters and brothers and cousins and aunts and fathers and\nmothers and grandmothers and grandfathers, and all your friends, and\neverybody else that I can't think of, for I'm so mad I could eat you.\"\n\n\"Oh don't,\" they cried; \"we'll go, we'll go! We'll promise to leave.\"\n\nAnd after that the little old man was never bothered with rats and\nmice.\n\n\n\n\nMISTER FOX\n\n\nIT was late in the evening as Puss, Junior, entered a gloomy forest. It\nwas very dark beneath the big, tall trees, so by and by he stopped and\nlooked about him, when all of a sudden--\n\n          \"A fox went out in a hungry plight,\n           And he begged of the moon to give him light,\n           For he'd many miles to trot that night.\"\n\nWell, as soon as the Fox had finished asking Lady Moon to show him the\nway Puss cried out:\n\n\"Oh, Mr. Fox, take me with you, for I'm lost in this forest.\" But\ngoodness me! the Fox was so frightened at the sound of Puss, Junior's,\nvoice that he jumped behind a tree.\n\n\"Who speaks to me?\" he asked, faintly.\n\n\"Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\n\"Ah,\" replied the Fox, coming out from his hiding place, \"now I'm not\nafraid. At first I thought you were a farmer; farmers don't like me!\"\n\n\"Why should they?\" asked Puss. \"You steal their ducks and chickens.\"\n\n\"Softly, softly!\" whispered the Fox; \"someone may hear you.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Very well,\" replied Puss, \"I'll whisper if you'll show me the way.\"\n\n\"Come along,\" replied the Fox. So they walked along through the dark\nforest, and every now and then the moon peeped through the tree tops to\nhelp Mr. Fox find his way, but for all that, the forest was very gloomy\nand Puss nearly stumbled two or three times and so did Mr. Fox.\n\n          \"At first he came to a farmer's yard,\n           Where the ducks and geese declared it hard\n           That their nerves should be shaken and their rest be marred\n           By the visit of Mister Fox.\"\n\n\"Do you hear what they say about me?\" asked the Fox in a whisper.\n\n\"They say you give them bad dreams,\" replied Puss; \"that you keep them\nawake and ruin their nerves.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" laughed Mr. Fox, \"what do they expect? Do they imagine I come\nhere to sing them to sleep? To stand under the coop window and sing a\nlullaby? Ha, ha! I'm very fond of duck and very fond of goose, but not\nin that way. Oh, my, no!\" And he grinned until all his long white teeth\nshone in the moonlight.\n\n\n\n\nMR. SLIPPER-SLOPPER\n\n\nWHEN Mr. Fox laughed he showed all his long, sharp teeth, and Puss was\nmighty glad he had his trusty staff with him in case Mr. Fox became\nugly. But nothing unpleasant happened, and by and by they came to the\nhen-house.\n\nPuss was peeking through a crack in the boards, but before he had time\nto utter a cry of warning, Mr. Fox,\n\n          Seized the black duck by the neck,\n          And swung her across his back;\n          The black duck cried out, \"Quack! quack! quack!\"\n          With her legs hanging dangling down.\n\nand away he went, out through the door, across the barnyard and up the\nhill. And I guess Lady Moon wished she hadn't shown that bad old fox the\nway through the dark forest.\n\nAnd after that Puss pounded on the kitchen door and shouted, \"The fox\nhas run off with the black duck!\"\n\n\"What's the matter?\" asked Mrs. Slipper-Slopper. \"Who has taken the\nblack duck?\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Hurry up!\" called Puss. \"The fox has a good start; 'twill be hard to\ncatch him.\"\n\nSo Mrs. Slipper-Slopper pulled in her head and pretty soon came thumping\ndown the stairs and opened the door.\n\n\"Which way did the fox go?\" asked Mr. Slipper-Slopper.\n\n\"Up the hill,\" said Puss.\n\n\"Where's my gun?\" asked Mr. Slipper-Slopper, turning to his wife.\n\n\"Why, don't you remember, John?\" she replied. \"You lent it to old\nNeighbor Jones last week.\"\n\n\"So I did,\" said Mr. Slipper-Slopper. \"Too bad!\"\n\n\"Well, I'm going after him, anyway,\" cried Mr. Slipper-Slopper, picking\nup the broom. \"If I catch him I'll hit him a whopper!\"\n\n\"You wouldn't hit an old man like Neighbor Jones?\" cried Mrs.\nSlipper-Slopper excitedly.\n\n\"No----the fox,\" cried Mr. Slipper-Slopper. \"I mean the fox.\"\n\n\"You'd better put on your boots,\" said his wife. \"You can't go in your\nslippers.\"\n\n\n\n\nA DINNER INVITATION\n\n\nGOODNESS me, Mr. Slipper-Slopper took so long to pull on his boots that\nPuss said, \"Really, if you don't hurry the fox will be miles away, and\nyou'll never get back your gray goose.\"\n\n\"Yes, John, you had better take this young cat's advice,\" cried Mrs.\nSlipper-Slopper.\n\n          \"Then John, he went up to the hill,\n           And he blew a blast both loud and shrill;\n           Says the fox, 'This is very pretty music--still\n               I'd rather be at my den.'\"\n\n\"Gracious me!\" exclaimed Puss to himself, \"Mr. Slipper-Slopper is crazy.\nWhy does he blow his horn? It's bad enough to hunt a fox with a broom!\"\n\n\"Look here, Mr. Slipper-Slopper,\" he cried, \"you have no boots--you've\nnothing but slippers. You have no gun--you've nothing but an old broom.\nAnd what's more, you have no sense. You deserve to lose your gray goose\nand your black duck. Good-by.\" And Puss ran off in disgust.\n\n\"I've no use for a man who can't protect his own,\" he muttered to\nhimself. \"I won't help catch that fox. Let him have a feast. He must eat\nas well as Mr. Slipper-Slopper. Probably Mr. Slipper-Slopper would have\nkilled the gray goose for dinner in a few days, anyhow.\"\n\n\"Helloa, what are you talking about?\" cried Mr. Fox, jumping out from\nbehind a large stone.\n\n\"So you think old Slipper-Slopper would have killed the goose and eaten\nit himself, do you?\" asked the fox with a grin.\n\n\"Well,\" answered Puss, startled at the sudden appearance of Mr. Fox, \"I\nthought it pretty mean of you to steal his goose, but now that I've\nfound out what a foolish man Mr. Slipper-Slopper is, I'm glad you have a\ngood dinner in store for yourself and family.\"\n\n\"That's very nice of you,\" said Mr. Fox, with another grin.\n\n\"Neither have I forgotten that you helped me out of the forest,\"\ncontinued Puss, \"and I feel very friendly toward you.\"\n\n\"If that's the case,\" said the fox in a kind voice, \"you come home with\nme and Mrs. Fox will give you some of the best roast duck you ever\ntasted in your life.\"\n\n\n\n\nROAST DUCK\n\n\nPUSS, JUNIOR, accepted the invitation of Mr. Fox to dine, for he was\nhungry, and the very thought of roast duck for supper made his mouth\nwater.\n\n\"Thank you, Mister Fox,\" he answered. \"Let me carry the duck for\nyou--the goose is enough of a load!\"\n\n\"You are right,\" replied the fox, handing the duck to Puss. \"It was a\nhard run up that hill. If I had known the farmer better, however, I\nwouldn't have hurried so.\"\n\n\"Well, lead the way, and I'll follow,\" said Puss.\n\n          \"At last the fox got home to his den;\n           To his dear little foxes, eight, nine, ten,\n           Says he, 'you're in luck, here's a good fat duck,\n           With her legs hanging dangling down.'\"\n\n\"This is Puss in Boots, Junior,\" he said, turning to his good wife, Mrs.\nFox. \"He has carried the duck for me, for I have a big fat goose.\"\n\nThen Mrs. Fox asked Puss to sit down and rest while she cooked the\nsupper, and the little foxes begged him to tell them a story.\n\n\"What kind of a story do you like?\" asked Puss.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"Tell them how I crept into the hen-house and got away from old Mr.\nSlipper-Slopper,\" said Mr. Fox. \"You keep them quiet and I'll pluck off\nthe feathers while Mrs. Fox heats the oven. Then we'll lose no time in\nroasting the duck.\"\n\n\"All right,\" replied Puss, \"I'll tell them about it,\" and as soon as Mr.\nFox went out of the room Puss commenced.\n\n\"Your father and I crept softly into the barnyard and then your daddy\ntiptoed into the hen-house and said to Madam Goose: 'By your leave, I'll\ntake you away and carry you home to my den Oh!' I'm not quite sure\nwhether he or Madam Goose said 'Oh!' but that doesn't make any\ndifference.\"\n\n\"I think it must have been Madam Goose,\" said a little fox. \"I think she\nwas frightened.\"\n\n\"Maybe you are right,\" said Puss, with a smile. \"At any rate, when your\nfather caught the black duck there was no mistake about what she said,\nit was 'Quack! quack! quack!'\"\n\nWell, just then Mr. Fox came in and said dinner was ready.\n\n          \"He then sat down with his hungry wife.\n           They did very well without fork or knife.\n           They never ate a better goose in all their life;\n             And the little ones picked the bones!\"\n\nAnd Puss, Junior, had all he could eat, too.\n\n\n\n\nTAFFY\n\n\n          \"TAFFY was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief,\n           Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef;\n           I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't home,\n           Taffy came to my house and stole a marrow-bone;\n           I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was in bed,\n           I took the marrow-bone and beat about his head.\"\n\n\"Well, I guess you did what was right,\" said Puss, Junior, as he and Tom\nThumb neared a butcher shop in a small village.\n\nThe butcher, who had just spoken in rhyme, shifted from one foot to the\nother in an uneasy sort of way. \"But that isn't all,\" he went on to say,\nin rather an anxious tone of voice.\n\n\"Tell us the worst, then,\" laughed Puss, Junior, who didn't appear very\nsympathetic, although the name Taffy appealed to him and made him wonder\nwhat sort of a person Taffy was.\n\n\"The truth of the matter is,\" the butcher went on to say, \"I hit him a\nbit too hard with the marrow-bone. His head is in bad shape, and the\ndoctor says it will be some weeks yet before Taffy gets out of bed.\"\n\n\"Gracious me!\" exclaimed Tom Thumb. \"Why weren't you more careful?\"\n\n\"That's just it,\" replied the butcher. \"Why wasn't I more careful?\" And\nthen he gave a sigh and went into his shop to wait on a customer.\n\n\"Let's make a call on Taffy,\" said Puss, Junior. \"Somehow, I can't help\nliking him. I don't know whether it's on account of his name, or not.\nBut Taffy sounds awfully nice to me.\"\n\n\"It tastes awfully good to me,\" laughed Tom Thumb. \"You must have him\nmixed up with candy. That's the reason you like him, I guess.\"\n\n\"Come on and we'll soon find out,\" cried Puss, Junior. \"I'm curious to\nsee what 'Welsh Taffy' is like.\" So they both walked up the street,\ninquiring on the way where Taffy lived. If the house Taffy owned was any\nindication that Taffy was a nice sort of person, it certainly spoke well\nfor him, for it was the prettiest and most homelike little place Puss\nhad ever seen.\n\n\"I like him already,\" said Puss, as he knocked on the door.\n\n\n\n\nA KIND VISIT\n\n\nOF course, Taffy didn't come to the door. But a little Welshwoman did,\nand dropping a courtesy, she invited Puss and Tom Thumb to come in.\n\n\"How is Taffy?\" Puss asked.\n\n\"His head is still painful,\" replied the little Welshwoman, \"but for\nthat he feels quite well, thank you,\" and she dropped another courtesy.\n\n\"May we see him?\" asked Tom Thumb.\n\n\"Well, that I don't know,\" she replied, \"but I will enquire. Won't you\nstep into the sitting room?\" So our two small visitors walked in and sat\ndown. The little canary bird hopped about in her cage and the flowers in\nthe green boxes in the bay-window nodded in the sunlight, as the big old\nclock in the far corner ticked away the minutes.\n\n\"Come up and see Taffy,\" suddenly cried the voice of the little\nWelshwoman.\n\nI guess Puss had almost fallen asleep listening to the drowsy tick of\nthe old clock and the low twitter of the canary. Everything was so quiet\nand home-like it reminded him of his old home when he had prowled about\nin the garret and discovered the story book, \"Puss in Boots.\" Yes, Puss,\nJunior, felt a little bit homesick, for \"no matter how humble, there's\nno place like home.\"\n\nTaking Tom Thumb by the hand, he followed the Welshwoman up the stairs,\nwhere they found Taffy sitting propped up in bed, his head done up in\ngreat bandages. But, oh, what pleasant blue eyes he had! And his red\nbeard, big and soft, flowed down over the counterpane, and his big\nstrong hand lay so quietly on his lap that Puss forgot he was Puss in\nBoots, Junior, son of the Seneschal to my Lord of Carabas, and jumped\nright up on the bed and nestled up to Taffy, purring away just like an\nordinary cat!\n\nAnd what did Taffy do? Did he say \"Scat! You'll get the counterpane all\ndirty with your red-topped boots!\" No, he didn't. He just stroked Puss,\nJunior, with his big, kind hand, and the little Welshwoman picked up Tom\nThumb and cuddled him in her bosom, saying in a low voice, \"Dearie me,\nbut it's nice to have friends come to see you when everybody in town is\ncalling my Taffy a thief.\"\n\nAnd then a tear fell from her eye on little Tom Thumb's hat; but he\ndidn't care, for somehow he felt there must be some mistake, and that\nTaffy wasn't to blame. And Puss felt the same way, for he kept on\npurring and rubbing his nose against Taffy's big red hand.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RED BEARD\n\n\nBY and by Taffy stopped stroking Puss, Junior, and said in a kindly\nvoice:\n\n\"Well, my fine little cat, what can I do for you?\"\n\nPuss, Junior, didn't know just what to answer. In fact, as he hadn't\ncome for anything, he couldn't think of anything to fit the question.\nBut little Tom Thumb, however, called over from where he was sitting in\nthe Welshwoman's lap, that they had come to call, and that they were\nstrangers in town, traveling through on a journey of adventure.\n\n\"Did you hear what they say about me?\" asked Taffy.\n\n\"Yes, we did,\" replied Puss, \"but, somehow, I didn't believe it then;\nand I'm very sure I don't believe it now.\"\n\n\"Bless you for that,\" cried the little Welshwoman, \"my Taffy is no\nthief. There has been a great mistake about it all.\"\n\n\"Yes, that there has,\" said Taffy, \"but how can I prove it? Someone with\na red beard stole the piece of beef from the butcherman, and then they\nsaid it was I. But I was never near his place, nor did I lay hands on\nmeat or marrow-bone.\"\n\nAt that moment there came a loud knocking at the front door, and when\nthe little Welshwoman opened it, whom should she find but the butcherman\nhimself!\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"See what I have brought to you,\" he said, holding up a false red beard.\n\"I found this to-day behind a barrel in my shop. It's like your Taffy's\nbeard.\" At this the little Welshwoman opened her eyes very wide and\ntried to speak, but she was so surprised she couldn't.\n\nWhen the butcher went to say that perhaps the man who wore this beard\nwas the one who had stolen his beef, the little Welshwoman began to cry\nsoftly, and the big butcher, who had a kind heart, said, \"Don't cry, my\ngood woman, I don't think now your Taffy stole the beef, and that's the\nreason I've come all the way up here to show you this beard. So you tell\nTaffy that I shall tell everybody in town that it wasn't he who stole my\nbeef, but some thief who wore a red beard: and then, I'll show them what\nI found in my shop, and that will prove what I say. Everybody will be\nglad to know that Taffy isn't to blame.\"\n\nAs soon as the butcher had gone, she flew upstairs to tell Taffy the\ngood news. And it almost made Taffy cry. If he hadn't been a man, he\nwould have. But it was hard work not to, just the same. \"My head feels\nbetter already,\" he said with a laugh that had a big catch in it.\n\n\"Take off the bandages, little woman. I'll come down to supper, and\nthese two small friends of ours shall spend the night with us, for they\nhave brought us good luck to-day, that they have.\"\n\n\n\n\nROBINSON CRUSOE\n\n\nAFTER leaving Taffy, the Welshman, Puss, Junior, and little Tom Thumb\nwalked along for many a mile until they came to the seashore. Right\nthere in a sheltered cove lay a beautiful sailboat, on the stern of\nwhich was painted in gold letters:\n\n          \"Take, oh take me for a sail--\n           I can weather any gale.\"\n\n\"Shall we accept the pretty boat's offer?\" asked Puss, Junior.\n\nFor answer Tom Thumb jumped in and, so without another word, Puss\nhoisted the sail and steered for the big blue ocean. All day and all\nnight they sailed away, and when they woke in the morning they were\nsurprised to find the little boat fast aground on a sandy beach.\n\n\"How did we get here?\" asked Puss, sleepily, for it was still early in\nthe morning, and the sun had just begun to climb up to the sky, and the\ndew dripped from the tall meadow grass that grew close to the water's\nedge.\n\n\"Through no fault of ours,\" replied little Tom Thumb, with a laugh.\n\n\"Captain Puss, Junior, fell asleep at the helm, and the first mate, Tom\nThumb, did likewise,\" he added, running up to the bow and looking over\nthe land. \"Why, it's an island,\" he called out. \"I can see water on the\nother side.\"\n\n\"You don't say so,\" said Puss. \"Well, let's land.\" So they jumped ashore\nand walked up the beach towards a clump of trees.\n\n\"Pretty nice sort of a place,\" said Tom Thumb. \"Let's play Robinson\nCrusoe! I'll be your black man Friday. We can build a house under these\ntrees, and as we have lots to eat on board ship, we can spend some time\nhere without danger of starving.\"\n\nAnd just then, all of a sudden, a voice began to sing:\n\n          \"Poor old Robinson Crusoe!\n           Poor old Robinson Crusoe!\n           They made him a coat\n           Of an old Nanny Goat;\n           I wonder how they could do so!\n           With a ring-a-ting, tang,\n           And a ring-a-ting, tang,\n           Poor old Robinson Crusoe!\"\n\n\"Who's that?\" whispered Puss, Junior. But he needn't have asked the\nquestion, for just then a man dressed all in skins came toward them.\n\n\"Friends or enemies?\" he asked.\n\n\"Friends!\" cried Puss, Junior.\n\n\"Friends!\" screamed Tom Thumb.\n\n\"Welcome, then, to my island. I am Robinson Crusoe!\"\n\nPuss and Tom were too amazed to answer for a few minutes. Then Puss,\nJunior, stretched out his right paw, saying: \"I'm very pleased to meet\nyou, Mr. Crusoe.\"\n\n\"And so am I,\" said little Tom Thumb, standing on tiptoe and reaching up\nhis hand.\n\n\"Well, you're certainly as welcome as the flowers in May,\" said Robinson\nCrusoe. \"Visitors are few and far between. Come with me to my house.\"\n\n\n\n\nCRUSOE CASTLE\n\n\nROBINSON CRUSOE'S home was unlike anything Puss, Junior, had ever seen.\nNotwithstanding that he had visited many strange places and met many\nstrange people, he was greatly surprised at Robinson Crusoe's style of\ndwelling. It wasn't exactly like a fort, and yet it was one. Tom Thumb\nsaid it reminded him of some of the strange castles he had seen while\nwith Good King Arthur.\n\nIt stood against the side of a small hill, surrounded by a high\nstockade. There was no door to it, but while Puss was wondering how they\nwere going to get in, Robinson Crusoe placed a ladder against the wall\nand climbed up, saying, \"Follow me, my friends; this is the way we enter\nCrusoe Castle.\"\n\nAfter reaching the top they descended by the same ladder, which, of\ncourse, was pulled up and lowered on the inside. A very nice looking\ntent met their eyes, back of which was a large cave hollowed out of the\nrocky hill.\n\n\"Here is where I live, my little friends,\" cried Robinson Crusoe. \"This\nis my dog, Snoozer, and my two cats, Caromel and Caroline.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPuss had never been very fond of dogs, but Snoozer came forward in such\na respectful way that Puss took a liking to him at once. I suppose there\nwere so few visitors at Crusoe Castle that Snoozer would have welcomed\neven a strange cat.\n\nWith Caromel and Caroline, however, matters were different. Caromel from\nthe first was jealous of Puss. You see, he had no fine, red-topped\nboots, nor a sword and feathered cap. Caroline, however, made up for\nhim. She thought Puss, Junior, just about the handsomest cat she had\never seen. Poor Caroline! She had never been off of Crusoe Island.\n\nFor all that, however, I don't think if she had been all over the wide,\nwide world she would have met such a handsome cat as Puss, Junior. No,\nindeed! Puss, Junior, was the Prince of Cats; that goes without saying,\nthough we have said it.\n\n\"And now that we have all been introduced, let us sit down and talk,\"\ncried Robinson Crusoe, \"for I've hardly spoken to a soul for many years.\nI've forgotten how a voice sounds.\"\n\nSo they all began to talk and laugh and to tell all sorts of jokes and\nriddles until it began to grow dark. Then Robinson Crusoe jumped up and\nsaid, \"Come and watch me get supper, for I am Lord and Chief Cook of\nCrusoe Castle.\"\n\n\n\n\nFRIDAY\n\n\nPUSS, JUNIOR, and Tom Thumb enjoyed their supper at Crusoe Castle better\nthan any meal they ever had. \"Even when I visited the Man in the Moon,\nthe cheese wasn't as good as this,\" said Puss.\n\n\"Glad you like it,\" said Mr. Crusoe, \"I made it myself from goat's milk.\nI have some fine goats, let me tell you. I made me this coat from an old\nNanny goat. Do you wonder how Crusoe could do so?\"\n\n\"Well, I suppose there are no tailors on Crusoe Island,\" said Tom Thumb.\n\n\"I've never met any,\" replied Mr. Crusoe with a laugh. \"I've never met\nanybody so far except goats and kids, parrots and monkeys, ducks and\ndrakes, snakes and lizards.\"\n\n\"Where did you get Snoozer and Caromel and Caroline?\" asked Puss.\n\n\"They came off the ship with me when it was wrecked,\" said Mr. Crusoe.\n\"That is, I brought them off the next day when I went out on the raft to\nthe wreck. And they've been with me ever since.\"\n\n\"Oh, by the way,\" Puss, Junior, suddenly exclaimed. \"Is Friday here?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes,\" cried Tom Thumb, \"where is Friday?\"\n\nMr. Crusoe got up and walked over to a tall pole and looked over\ncarefully the notches cut into the wood. \"Let me see,\" he said. \"To-day\nis Thursday. Yes, that's right; Friday will be here to-morrow.\"\n\n\"You've made a mistake, Mr. Crusoe,\" said Puss, with a laugh.\n\n\"Have I,\" he replied, looking over his wooden calendar carefully a\nsecond time.\n\n\"I don't mean the day,\" said Puss. \"I mean your man Friday.\"\n\n\"Oh, you mean my black man Friday,\" said Mr. Crusoe. \"Oh, I gave him a\nholiday. He'll be here to-morrow.\"\n\n\"I'm very anxious to see him,\" said Tom Thumb.\n\n\"He'll be surprised when he sees you, too,\" said Mr. Crusoe, with a\ngrin. \"He's never seen a white man but me.\"\n\nBy this time it was quite dark, so Mr. Crusoe lighted some very nice\nhome-made candles and stuck them here and there in the cave. They gave a\nvery soft light. The waves on the beach murmured gently, and pretty\nsoon Snoozer was snoring and Caromel and Caroline were fast asleep on an\nold sack in a corner.\n\n\"Let us turn in,\" said Mr. Crusoe, showing Puss and Tom a very\ncomfortable hammock. In a short time everybody was sound asleep and\nsnoring away in Crusoe Cave.\n\n\n\n\nSUPPOSING\n\n\nTHE loud ringing of a bell awoke everyone in Crusoe Castle. Puss,\nJunior, jumped out of his hammock and little Tom Thumb yawned and asked\nin a sleepy voice, \"Who's ringing the door-bell?\" Then Mr. Crusoe picked\nup the ladder and went outside and, placing it against the fence,\nclimbed up to the top, and after that he pulled up the ladder and then\nlet it down on the outside. All this time Snoozer stood below wagging\nhis tail, while Mr. Crusoe's two cats, Caromel and Caroline, purred and\nrubbed against the calendar pole. Pretty soon a curly-headed black face\nappeared above the wall.\n\n\"Black man Friday,\" whispered Tom Thumb.\n\n\"Bow-wow!\" yelped Snoozer, and in a few minutes Mr. Crusoe and his man\nFriday climbed down the ladder.\n\n\"This is my good man Friday,\" said Mr. Crusoe. So Puss and Tom Thumb\nshook hands with him, which seemed to please him immensely.\n\n\"Glum-glum. Blum-blum!\" he cried, smiling and showing a row of very\nwhite teeth.\n\n\"That's 'Howdy! Pleased to meet you,' in his language,\" said Mr. Crusoe.\n\"He can talk very little English yet. I've had little time to devote to\nhis education so far.\"\n\n\"But who rang the bell?\" asked Puss, Junior.\n\n\"Why, Friday did, of course,\" replied Mr. Crusoe. \"Come over here and\nI'll show you,\" and he led Puss to the rear of the cave.\n\n\"I brought this bell from the wreck,\" explained Mr. Crusoe. \"After\nFriday came to me I tied a rope to it. At the other end of the rope I\nfastened a door-knob. When I go out Friday usually stays in. And when I\nring the bell he lets down the ladder to me. And when he's out he rings\nthe bell, just as he did this morning, and I let the ladder down to\nhim.\"\n\n\"What do you do when both of you go out?\" asked Puss. \"Does Snoozer\nattend to the ladder?\"\n\n\"No, no,\" replied Mr. Crusoe. \"We hide the ladder in the woods nearby.\nThen when we come back we get it out and stand it up against the wall\nand climb up.\"\n\n\"Supposing someone should come across the ladder and make a call while\nyou're out?\" asked Tom Thumb.\n\n\"Well, I don't know whether they'd think of that if they just happened\nto find the ladder,\" answered Mr. Crusoe.\n\n\"Well, supposing they did,\" said Tom Thumb.\n\n\"Caesar's Ghost!\" cried Mr. Crusoe. \"Suppose we don't do any more\nsupposing! I've been so long alone that I've forgotten how to play that\ngame. Let's all go down to the beach and get some fresh soft clams for\nbreakfast. Start the water boiling, Friday, we're going to have steamed\nclams for breakfast.\" And then Mr. Crusoe climbed up the ladder, with\nPuss and Tom Thumb close at his heels.\n\n\n\n\nTHREE MEN IN A TUB\n\n\nON reaching the seashore, Robinson Crusoe raised a spy glass to his eyes\nand looked carefully over the water. And then all of a sudden he lowered\nthe glass and whispered: \"The cannibals are coming! We must go back to\nmy fort at once.\"\n\n\"Do they eat cats?\" asked Puss, Junior.\n\n\"I don't know,\" replied Mr. Crusoe. \"You see, I've never met a cannibal;\nin fact, I've always held aloof from them.\"\n\nCrusoe's man Friday was nearly frightened to death. He was as pale as a\nblack ghost, which is pretty white for a negro.\n\nOnce inside the fort, Mr. Crusoe again took a look at the cannibals.\n\"Why, I guess I've made a mistake,\" he cried; \"it's a tub, not a canoe!\"\n\n              \"Rub-a-dub-dub!\n               Three men in a tub;\n          And who do you think they be?\n               The butcher, the baker,\n               The candlestick maker,\n          Turn 'em out knaves all three!\"\n\n\"Well, that's good news,\" cried Puss, Junior, while Black Man Friday\njumped about in great glee. You see, he had escaped only a short time\nbefore from the cannibals.\n\nLittle Tom Thumb, although safe inside Puss, Junior's, pocket, was also\nrelieved. The only one who didn't seem overjoyed was Mr. Crusoe himself.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\"What's the matter now?\" said Puss.\n\nMr. Crusoe gave a deep sigh. \"If you owed the butcher, the baker and the\ncandlestick maker as much as I do you wouldn't be overjoyed at seeing\nthem, either.\"\n\n\"But I'd rather see them than cannibals,\" cried Tom Thumb. \"I'd rather\nthey'd take my money than my life!\"\n\n\"That's very true,\" said Mr. Crusoe, \"but you don't quite get me. The\nlaws on this island are very strict. They will allow you to shoot a\ncannibal at sight but not your grocery man.\"\n\n\"Then you are powerless against these three men in a tub?\" said Puss,\nJunior.\n\n\"Well, not exactly,\" replied Mr. Crusoe. \"I needn't answer the bell, you\nknow.\"\n\nBy this time the three men had landed on the beach, and pretty soon the\ndoorbell rang.\n\n\"S-s-sh!\" whispered Mr. Crusoe, \"don't make a sound. They can pull the\nhandle off, for all I care.\"\n\nThey didn't do this, but they kept the bell going until every one in\nCrusoe Castle was nearly crazy. First the butcher took a hand, then the\nbaker, and then the candlestick maker. Then they began all over again.\n\n\n\n\nA BIG FISH\n\n\n\"IF those fellows don't stop ringing that bell, I'll get out my gun,\"\nsaid Robinson Crusoe. \"I didn't get the bell for them; it's all paid for\nlong ago.\"\n\nAt that moment, the bell-cord snapped, and the baker, who had just given\nthe handle a dreadful yank, fell over backwards and rolled down the hill\nto the beach.\n\n\"Mr. Crusoe's not at home,\" said the butcher. \"We might as well go\nback.\" So he and the candlestick maker went down to the shore and joined\nthe baker; and then all three got into the tub and sailed away.\n\n\"And we must do the same,\" said Puss, Junior. \"Tom Thumb and I thank you\nvery much for our nice visit on your island, but it's time we went forth\nagain on our journey of adventure.\"\n\n\"Well, I'm sorry to see you go,\" said Robinson Crusoe. And after that\nPuss shoved off the little boat and soon he and Tom were far out of\nsight on the big, wide sea.\n\n          \"When the wind is in the East,\n           'Tis neither good for man nor beast;\n           When the wind is in the North,\n           The skilful fisher goes not forth.\n           When the wind is in the South,\n           It blows the bait in the fish's mouth;\n           When the wind is in the West,\n           Then 'tis at the very best.\"\n\n\"Well, as the wind is in the South, why don't you fish?\" cried Captain\nPuss, Junior. So Tom Thumb started in, and presently he felt a\ntremendous tug on the line.\n\n\"I've got a fish! I've got a fish!\" he cried, and then he began pulling\nin his line as fast as he could. But, oh dear me! It wasn't a fish after\nall, but a great big whale!\n\n\"Don't you pull on that line any more,\" cried the whale, \"if you do I'll\nsmash your boat.\"\n\n\"Oh, is that so,\" said little Tom Thumb, although, of course, he was\nfrightened almost to death, but what was the use to show fear? It would\nonly make things worse, and if he put on a bold front, perhaps the whale\nwould let them alone.\n\n\"I'll take the hook out of your nose, if you'll promise not to swallow\nme,\" said little Tom Thumb.\n\n\"All right,\" said the whale, and then Tom tried to pull it out. But it\nwas in so tight that the whale began to spout great big tears. \"Oh, dear\nme! It hurts just like a tooth!\"\n\n\"Well, it's your own fault!\" said Tom. \"Next time don't swallow\neverything that comes along!\"\n\n\n\n\nMARY LEE\n\n\n\"IF you're not more careful, I'll spout water over your boat and sink\nit,\" cried the whale, growing tired of Tom Thumb's fruitless endeavors\nto get the fish hook out. \"My nose is bleeding now and the hook is still\nin it.\"\n\n\"Let me give the string a yank,\" said Tom Thumb. \"Didn't you ever have a\ntooth pulled out that way? It won't hurt much.\"\n\n\"Well, go ahead,\" said the whale, closing his eyes and shutting his\nteeth tight. And then out came the hook and over went Tom into the\nbottom of the boat.\n\n\"Ouch! Ouch!\" said the whale, while little Tom Thumb picked himself up\nand said to Puss, Junior, \"Don't you ever ask me to fish again in the\nocean. I'd rather fish like Simple Simon.\"\n\n          Simple Simon went a-fishing\n            For to catch a whale;\n          All the water he had got\n            Was in his mother's pail.\n\n\"What are you grumbling about?\" asked the whale, peering over the side\nof the boat. \"One would think you had been caught with a hook,\" and\nsaying this disagreeable thing, he dived down into the sea.\n\n\"No more fishing for me,\" laughed Tom Thumb.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAnd just then they came close to a lighthouse on a big rock. So they ran\nthe boat up on the little stretch of sand.\n\n\"I don't know what we're landing for,\" said Captain Puss, Junior, \"only\nI've never been in a lighthouse and here's a good chance.\"\n\n\"Haven't you?\" asked a pretty voice, and a young girl appeared on the\nstone steps leading down to the beach. \"Come, my gallant tars, and I'll\nshow you my lighthouse and after that you can tell me some of your\nadventures, for 'tis a lonely life I lead here alone on the rock until\nmy Bobby Shafto returns.\"\n\n           Bobby Shafto's gone to sea\n           In his schooner Mary Lee.\n           Hard-a-port, or hard-a-lee,\n          \"Hasten, Bobby, home to me.\"\n\nSo Puss picked up Tom Thumb and followed the girl into the lighthouse\nand up the stairs to the very top where the great lamp sent out its rays\nof light to guide the ships at night; or the great bell clanged in foggy\nweather to warn the weary sailor from the cruel rocks.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY-TELLING\n\n\nAFTER they had seen everything there was to be seen they all went into\nthe cosy kitchen, Puss, Junior, with Tom Thumb on his shoulder and the\npretty girl who kept the lighthouse.\n\n\"And now we shall have supper,\" she said. \"And after that, when the lamp\nis lighted in the tower, we'll sit outside on the doorstep and Puss,\nJunior, shall tell me one of his adventures.\"\n\n\"Well, what shall I tell and where shall I begin?\" asked Puss, when they\nall were seated outside the lighthouse.\n\n\"Tell me how you and Tom became fellow travelers,\" said the girl, taking\nTom up in her hand and placing him on her knee.\n\n\"Willingly,\" said Puss, stroking his whiskers and curling his great\nmustache, \"and should I make a mistake in the telling Tom may correct\nme.\n\n\"When I left my father at the Castle of my Lord of Carabas I had gone\nbut a few miles when I came to Tom Thumb's house. And as soon as his\nmother saw me she asked me to go to King Arthur's Court and find out\nabout her son, Tom Thumb. She had made him but a few days before a small\ncambric parasol, and with this as a sort of airship he had floated off\non the wind to the castle. When I got there I found that poor Tom was\nimprisoned in a mousetrap. He had fallen into the dough which the royal\nbaker was about to bake into cakes for King Arthur. And this had so\nangered the baker that he had thrown Tom into a mousetrap.\"\n\n\"It was worse than that, I was to be beheaded,\" interposed Tom. \"I owe\nmy life to Puss, Junior.\"\n\nAt this, Puss actually blushed, for he was a modest little cat, although\nhe had traveled much and had been royally treated.\n\n\"Say not so, my dear Tom,\" he cried, \"for King Arthur was only too glad\nto comply with my request when I asked him to release you. In fact, it\nwas not because he feared my sword, but because he liked my rhyme.\"\n\n\"How did it run?\" asked the girl. And Puss, blushing still more deeply,\ncommenced to recite this little verse:\n\n          \"My good King Arthur rules this land\n           With justice and a generous hand.\n           Far be it that a cat should plead\n           In vain that Tom Thumb shall be freed.\"\n\n\"Is that what you said?\" cried little Tom Thumb. \"Dear, dear Puss, I\nshall never forget what you did for me!\"\n\nDear, dear! Here we are at the end of the book and poor little Puss,\nJunior, has not yet found his father. Maybe he will in the next book.\n\n\nTHE END\n\n\n\n\nTHE PUSS-IN-BOOTS, Jr. SERIES\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\nAuthor of \"The Little Jack Rabbit Stories\" and \"Little Journeys to\nHappyland\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Handsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated.\n          Each Volume Complete in Itself.=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTo know Puss Junior once is to love him forever. That's the way all the\nlittle people feel about this young, adventurous cat, son of a very\nfamous father.\n\n          THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR.\n\n          FURTHER ADVENTURES OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR.\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR. IN FAIRYLAND.\n\n          TRAVELS OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR.\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., IN NEW MOTHER GOOSE LAND\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND THE GOOD GRAY HORSE\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND TOM THUMB\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND ROBINSON CRUSOE\n\n          PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND THE MAN IN THE MOON\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nLittle Jack Rabbit Books\n\n(Trademark Registered)\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\nAuthor of \"Little Journeys to Happyland\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Colored Wrappers With Text Illustrations.=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nA new and unique series about the furred and feathered little people of\nthe wood and meadow.\n\nChildren will eagerly follow the doings of little Jack Rabbit, and the\nclever way in which he escapes from his three enemies, Danny Fox, Mr.\nWicked Wolf and Hungry Hawk will delight the youngsters.\n\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S ADVENTURES\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND PROFESSOR CROW\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND OLD MAN WEASEL\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MR. WICKED WOLF\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND HUNGRY HAWK\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE POLICEMAN DOG\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MISS MOUSIE\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE LUCKY\n          LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE YELLOW DOG TRAMP\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Profusely Illustrated. Individual Colored Wrappers.=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      Printed in large type--easy to read.\n       For children from 6 to 8 years.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n=A new series of exciting adventures by the author of the LITTLE JACK\nRABBIT books. This series is unique in that it deals with unusual and\nexciting adventures on land and sea and in the air.=\n\n\nTHE CRUISE OF THE NOAH'S ARK\n\nThis is a good rainy day story. On just such a day Mr. Noah invites\nMarjorie to go for a trip in Noah's Ark. She gets aboard just in time\nand away it floats out into the big wide world.\n\n\nTHE MAGIC SOAP BUBBLE\n\nThe king of the gnomes has a magic pipe with which he blows a wonderful\nbubble and taking Ed. with him they both have a delightful time in\nGnomeland.\n\n\nTHE ICEBERG EXPRESS\n\nThe Mermaid's magic comb changes little Mary Louise into a mermaid. The\nPolar Bear Porter on the Iceberg Express invites her to take a trip with\nhim and away they go.\n\n\nTHE WIND WAGON\n\nLittle Hero stepped aboard the Wind Wagon and started on a journey to\nmany wonderful places and had a delightful time.\n\n\nTHE MAGIC UMBRELLA\n\nA little old man gave Jimmy the Magic Umbrella which took him to\nHappyland, where he had many adventures.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS SERIES\n\nBy LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Handsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated.\n             For Children 6 to 12 Years.=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThis series presents early American history in a manner that impresses\nthe young readers. Because of George and Martha Washington Parke, two\nyoung descendants of the famous General Washington, these stories follow\nexactly the life of the great American, by means of playing they act the\nlife of the Washingtons, both in battles and in society.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS\n\nTheir thrilling battles and expeditions generally end in \"punishment\"\nlessons read by Mrs. Parke from the \"Life of Washington.\" The culprits\nlisten intently, for this reading generally gives them new ideas for\nfurther games of Indian warfare and Colonists' battles.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' RELATIVES\n\nThe Davis children visit the Parke home and join zealously in the games\nof playing General Washington. So zealously, in fact, that little Jim\nalmost loses his scalp.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' TRAVELS\n\nThe children wage a fierce battle upon the roof of a hotel in New York\nCity. Then, visiting the Davis home in Philadelphia, the patriotic\nWashingtons vanquish the Hessians on a battlefield in the empty lot back\nof the Davis property.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS AT SCHOOL\n\nAfter the school-house battle the Washingtons discover a band of gypsies\ncamping near the back road to their homes and incidentally they secure\nthe stolen horse which the gypsies had taken from the \"butter and egg\nfarmer\" of the Parkes.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' HOLIDAYS\n\nThey spend a pleasant summer on two adjoining farms in Vermont. During\nthe voyage they try to capture a \"frigate\" but little Jim is caught and\nabout to be punished by the Captain when his confederates hasten in and\nsave him.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nTHE BUNNY BROWN SERIES\n\nBy LAURA LEE HOPE\n\nAuthor of the Popular \"Bobbsey Twins\" Books, Etc.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.\n            Every Volume Complete in Itself.=\n\nThese stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five\nto ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively\ndoings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful\nsister Sue.\n\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN\n          BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS\n\nFor Little Men and Women\n\nBy LAURA LEE HOPE\n\nAuthor of \"The Bunny Brown Series,\" Etc.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.\n             Every Volume Complete in Itself.=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThese books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands\namong children and their parents of this generation where the books of\nLouisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this\ninimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a\nsource of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere.\n\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS KEEPING HOUSE\n          THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CLOVERBANK\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      Grosset & Dunlap, PUBLISHERS, New York\n\n\n\n\nTHE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS\n\nBy HELEN LOUISE THORNDYKE\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Individual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations Drawn by\n                         WALTER S. ROGERS=\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHoney Bunch is a dainty, thoughtful little girl, and to know her is to\ntake her to your heart at once.\n\nLittle girls everywhere will want to discover what interesting\nexperiences she is having wherever she goes.\n\n          HONEY BUNCH: JUST A LITTLE GIRL\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS ON THE FARM\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE SEASHORE\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST LITTLE GARDEN\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS IN CAMP\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST AUTO TOUR\n          HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP ON THE OCEAN\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS STORIES\n\nBy ALICE DALE HARDY\n\nAuthor of The Riddle Club Books\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =Individual Colored Jackets and Colored Illustrations by\n                         WALTER S. ROGERS=\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nA splendid new line of interesting tales for the little ones,\nintroducing many of the well known characters of fairyland in a series\nof novel adventures. The Flyaways are a happy family and every little\ngirl and boy will want to know all about them.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND CINDERELLA\n\nHow the Flyaways went to visit Cinderella only to find that Cinderella's\nPrince had been carried off by the Three Robbers, Rumbo, Hibo and Jobo.\n\"I'll rescue him!\" cried Pa Flyaway and then set out for the stronghold\nof the robbers. A splendid continuation of the original story of\nCinderella.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD\n\nOn their way to visit Little Red Riding Hood the Flyaways fell in with\nTommy Tucker and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. They told Tommy\nabout the Magic Button on Red Riding Hood's cloak. How the wicked Wolf\nstole the Magic Button and how the wolves plotted to eat up Little Red\nRiding Hood and all her family, and how the Flyaways and King Cole sent\nthe wolves flying, makes a story no children will want to miss.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND GOLDILOCKS\n\nThe Flyaways wanted to see not only Goldilocks but also the Three Bears\nand they took a remarkable journey through the air to do so. Tommy even\nrode on a Rocket and met the monstrous Blue Frog. When they arrived at\nGoldilock's house they found that the Three Bears had been there before\nthem and mussed everything up, much to Goldilock's despair. \"We must\ndrive those bears out of the country!\" said Pa Flyaway. Then they\njourneyed underground to the Yellow Palace, and oh! so many things\nhappened after that!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _\"Robinson Crusoe, how do you do!\"\n            As a strangely dressed man came into view,\n          Cried little Puss Junior, raising his paw,\n            As he stood 'neath a palm tree by the shore._]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _\"This makes a fine table I'd have you know,\"\n            Laughed Puss to Fairy Little Tiptoe.\n          \"We might all dine here on fairy cake,\n            Unless you fear the toadstool break.\"_]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _Little Puss Boots, hat in paw\n            Bowed as Miss Pussy opened the door.\n          \"Glad to see you,\" she purred. \"Come in!\n            My little house is as neat as a pin!\"_]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _\"Grandmother Goose your trusty broom\n            Makes spick and span each cottage room,\"\n          Said little Puss Boots, doffing his hat,\n            For he was a most polite little cat._]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _This funny gnome is puzzled quite\n            Why little Puss Junior is so polite.\n          But Puss has manners very grand\n            I would have everyone understand._]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _\"This makes a fine table I'd have you know,\"\n            Laughed Puss to Fairy Little Tiptoe.\n          \"We might all dine here on fairy cake,\n            Unless you fear the toadstool break.\"_]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _\"Robinson Crusoe, how do you do!\"\n            As a strangely dressed man came into view;\n          Cried little Puss Junior, raising his paw,\n            As he stood 'neath a palm tree by the shore._]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n          _A frog among some rushes dwelt;\n            A bachelor was he.\n          No frog was ever so polite\n            Or such a beau as he._]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\nObvious punctuation errors repaired.\n\nPage 67, \"Rock-a-by-Baby's\" changed to \"Rock-a-By-Baby's\" (said the\nRock-a-By-Baby's)","title":"Puss Junior and Robinson Crusoe","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":22156}