me taste. Yes, yes; I fear
Too many plums and currants here.
But, stop; I must just taste again,
For that will make the matter plain.

MARY

But, Doctor, pray excuse me, now--
You've eaten all the cake, I vow!
I thank you kindly for your care;
But surely that was hardly fair.

DOCTOR JOHN

Ah, dear me! did I eat the cake?
Well, it was for dear baby's sake.
But keep him in his bed, well warm,
And, you will see, he'll take no harm.
At night and morning use once more
His draught and powder, as before;
And he must not be over-fed,
But he may have a piece of bread.
To-morrow, then, I dare to say,
He'll be quite right. Good day! good day!

THUMBELINA

BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

She had a little house of her own, a little garden, too, this woman of
whom I am going to tell you, but for all that she was not quite happy.

"If only I had a little child of my own," she said, "how the walls would
ring with her laughter, and how the flowers would brighten at her
coming. Then, indeed, I should be quite happy."

And an old witch heard what the woman wished, and said, "Oh, but that is
easily managed. Here is a barley-corn. Plant it in a flower-pot and tend
it carefully, and then you will see what will happen."

The woman was in a great hurry to go home and plant the barley-corn, but
she did not forget to say "Thank you" to the old witch. She not only
thanked her, she even stayed to give her six silver pennies.

Then she hurried away to her home, took a flower-pot and planted her
precious barley-corn.

And what do you think happened? Almost before the corn was planted, up
shot a large and beautiful flower. It was still unopened. The petals
were folded closely together, but it looked like a tulip. It really was
a tulip, a red and yellow one, too.

The woman loved flowers. She stooped and kissed the beautiful bud. As
her lips touched the petals, they burst open, and oh! wonder of wonders;
there, in the very middle of the flower, sat a little child. Such a
tiny, pretty little maiden she was.

They called her Thumbelina. That was because she was no bigger than the
woman's thumb.

And where do you think she slept? A little walnut shell, lined with
blue, that was her cradle.

When she slept little Thumbelina lay in her cradle on a tiny heap of
violets, with the petal of a pale pink rose to cover her.

And where do you