work to do every day."

"Very well," said Aunt Polly. And so by-and-by Aunt Polly went to find
Little Boy Blue. And she said to him: "Dear Little Boy Blue, what can
you do to help?" He thought a minute, and then he said: "I can eat
apples to see if they are ripe. And I can pull the roses in the garden,
if you have too many."

"The apples are not ripe, and I have just enough roses in the garden,"
said Aunt Polly. "Can you drive the cows out of the corn?"

"Oh, yes, I can," said Little Boy Blue, "if Towzer can come too." Towzer
was the dog.

"And perhaps you can look after the sheep?"

"Yes, Aunt Polly, I can do that," said Little Boy Blue.

On the shelf in Little Boy Blue's room stood a little blue clock. And
every morning at five o'clock the door of the clock flew open, and a
cuckoo came out. The cuckoo said, "Cuck-oo," five times, and then went
into the little blue clock again, and the little door closed after him.
Then Little Boy Blue knew it was time to get up.

When he was dressed, he came down-stairs, and Aunt Polly gave him his
breakfast. He had new milk in a blue bowl, and johnny-cake on a little
blue plate. These he always carried out onto the door-step because he
liked, while he was eating and drinking, to see the green grass bending
in the breeze, and the yellow butterflies dancing here and there in the
sunshine.

"This is the creamiest milk I ever saw," said Little Boy Blue.

"That's nice," said Aunt Polly. "Do you want some more?"

"Yes, please," said Little Boy Blue. So Aunt Polly brought the blue
pitcher, and poured more creamy milk into his little blue bowl, and
Little Boy Blue said: "Thank you, Aunt Polly."

When Little Boy Blue could eat no more golden johnny-cake, and drink no
more creamy milk, he jumped up from the door-step.

First he put his arms around Aunt Polly's neck, and gave her a hug and a
kiss. Then he went into the house to get his horn. The horn was a little
blue one, and it hung on a peg near the kitchen door.

What do you suppose the horn was for? Why, Little Boy Blue watched the
cows and the sheep. Then if they got into the wrong places, and trampled
on the crops, Little Boy Blue blew the horn. One of the men always heard
the horn, and came to help drive the cows or the sheep back where they
belonged.

All this was very pleasant. But one day--what do you think? The sheep
ran away, and jumped over a stone wall into the meadow, and the cows got
into the corn. Nobody knew