h these straws up and down stairs, and said they were in mines.

When Mrs. Green saw them do so she would scold them, and put them on
chairs, or send them to bed, and did all she could to break them of it,
but still they did not mind, and in a short time they would do the
same.

Once one of the straws dropt and set their work on fire; and it might
have done much harm, had not the maid just then come in to put on some
coals. She threw the rug on the blaze, and put it out.

One day Mr. and Mrs. Green went out for a walk, and, as they could not
take Kate and Anne with them, they were left in the house. When Mrs.
Green left the house, she told them to mind not to touch the fire, and
that, if they were good and did not touch it, she would bring them a
nice toy.

Kate and Anne were glad at the time, but as soon as she was gone, they
went down to the dog's house, which was full of straw, and each got
some nice long straws. Then they went up stairs to pull down the
blinds, to make it, as they said, seem more like a real mine. They then
put long straws in the fire to light, and went with them up and down
the room.

Kate bent some straws, and made them go round and round, and said they
were squibs; Anne did the same; and they did this for more than half an
hour.

They found that to do this did not burn them, as Mrs. Green had told
them it would do, and they did not know why she did not like them to do
it. This made them more bold, and they did it still more.

And at last Anne's frock caught fire,--and how it did blaze up!

She ran up and down the room, and did not know what to do, she was in
so much fear. Kate went to her to try to put out the blaze; then she,
too, caught fire, and not one of them had the sense to roll on the rug.

Their cries brought up the maid, who wrapt them in the rug, which soon
put out the fire; but when she took them out, what was her grief to see
how they were burnt! Kate was not so much burnt as Anne, but still she
was so sore that she could not stand; and so loud were their screams,
that the maid thought that they would scream till they were dead. Great
was their pain, and the maid put them in bed.

As soon as they were in bed Mr. and Mrs. Green came home from their
walk. They were most sad when they saw the state in which Kate and Anne
were; and still more sad were they to think that they had been at the
fire, when Mrs. Green had told them not to go there.

She had brought Kate a book, an