er away. How the children laughed!
Mollie said: "Did you ever see anything so funny! I am going to ask Mama
to write a funny story about it,--how our old hen 'dopted the kittens."

The hen had been sitting upon some eggs in a nest near where the cat had
set up housekeeping, and when the cat went out, the hen came over and
took the cat's little family under her wings, just as if they had been
so many chick-a-biddies. And when the cat went home again, the hen
wouldn't let her come near the kittens. Mollie took the hen off, and
Mrs. Tomkins was happy.

[Illustration: "EVERY NOW AND THEN SHE LOOKED BACK TO SEE IF THE
CHILDREN WERE REALLY COMING."]

The next day she came again, looking as though she said, "I am very
sorry to trouble you, but I _must_." Then she said, "M-i-e-o-u!
m-i-e-o-u!" So the children left their play and went to the stable with
her, and found the hen playing mother to Mrs. Tomkins's kittens again
and trying to make them keep still and stay under her wings. If one of
them poked its head out, she would give it a sharp peck to make it go
back.

The children laughed again, and Mollie said: "Poor Mrs. Tomkins, I would
look for a new house if I were you--you do have such meddlesome
neighbors! Then she took the hen off, and Mrs. Tomkins picked up one of
the kittens.

[Illustration: "MRS. TOMKINS GAVE A SHARP 'M-I-E-O-U,' AS IF TO SAY,
'WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?'"]

The children's mama was sitting in the library reading when the old cat
came in, with a kitten in her mouth. She put it softly down, went out,
and soon returned with another. She kept on doing this until she had
moved all her family of five kittens. Then she settled herself in a cozy
corner, and looked at the lady, and purred in this way: "If you only
knew how much trouble I have had with that bad old hen, you would let me
and my children stay here."

The lady laughed and said: "I will see what I can do for you."

Just then the children came in and begged to have the kittens stay. So a
new home was made for them in a box in the woodhouse.

DOT'S BIRTHDAY CAKE

Once there was a little girl called Dot. And she was just five years
old. And she had a fine birthday cake. It was big and round, and it had
five beautiful little pink candles set in pink rosebuds on top.

Dot sat at the big table at dinner that day, and by and by they put a
pretty pink paper cap on her head and then brought in the birthday cake.
And the little candles