o; but, O dear! what _will_ you say, when I
tell you that he ate up the end of his pa-pa's tail, and then gave a
snap of his lips, as much as to say: "Dear me! that was nice! How I
do wish I had some more!"

The rest did pull, till the egg was at the hole. Then old Bet, the
wife, went down, and the rest took off the wisp of hay, and gave the
egg a push, so that it fell in her fore-paws. Then they all went back
for more, till, at last, the nine eggs were safe in the hole.

What fun it was!

Just as the last of the nine rat-boys had gone with a hop, skip, and
jump, down the hole, the old cook came back in the room.

"Oh!" she said, "how nice the fire does burn! I will fry some of the
eggs the hens have just laid for tea." She went to the box and saw
that the lid was off, and all the eggs were gone!!!

She did look in the box, as if the eggs were out for a walk, and were to
come back in half an hour, and it was time for them to come now. But no
eggs did she see; and the old cook did cry out at last: "Why, who in
all the land has been at my eggs? I put them in the box, I am sure."

Then she did look in all the jars and cups; in the big blue bowl, and
the four tin pans, and the new red pail; but not an egg did she find.

Down in the hole the rats had a good time, I can tell you! Yes, all
of them; for the old gray rat, when he got safe home, laid the end of
his tail on a bit of soft wool, so that it did not hurt him much, and
then he gave the rat-boy Nip, who had bit it off, a kiss, and said he
did not mean to take away his tea now, as he was so sad. Then the
rat-boy said: "Oh! I am so glad, I will jump up to the moon for joy."
And so they all had a fine time.

The old gray rat made a hole in the big end of an egg, and gave it to
his wife to suck. Not a drop came out! "Why, how is this?" she said,
"it is as full as it can be!"

"Try a hole here," said the old gray rat, and he took the egg and made
one on the top of it. Oh! then it came out as fast as you like, and
you may be sure that Bet, the rat-wife, soon ate it all up.

Then the wise old rat made two holes in each egg, and all his nine
boys gave him one suck out of each, and ate the rest, and had a real
good time.

Now if you have a mind, and your mam-ma will let you, just try to suck
an egg with one hole in it: you will find that none will come out; but
if you make two, one at each end, you will get it all. A wise man told
me this, so it must be true; but I