you back
again."

[Illustration: The children began to cry as loud as they could]

When they heard this they left off crying, and followed
Hop-o'-my-Thumb, who soon brought them to their father's house by
the very same path which they had come along. At first they had not
the courage to go in, but stood at the door to hear what their parents
were talking about. Just as the fagot-maker and his wife had come home
without their children a great gentleman of the village sent to pay
them two guineas for work they had done for him, which he had owed
them so long that they never thought of getting a farthing of it. This
money made them quite happy; for the poor creatures were very hungry,
and had no other way of getting anything to eat.

The fagot-maker sent his wife out immediately to buy some meat; and as
it was a long time since she had made a hearty meal, she bought as
much meat as would have been enough for six or eight persons. The
truth was, when she was thinking what would be enough for dinner, she
forgot that her children were not at home; but as soon as she and her
husband had done eating, she cried out: "Alas! where are our poor
children? How they would feast on what we have left! It was all your
fault, husband! I told you we should repent leaving them to starve in
the forest! Oh, mercy! perhaps they have already been eaten by the
hungry wolves!" The poor woman shed plenty of tears. "Alas! alas!"
said she, over and over again, "what is become of my dear children?"

The children, who were all at the door, cried out together, "Here we
are, mother, here we are!"

She flew like lightning to let them in, and kissed every one of them.

The fagot-maker and his wife were charmed at having their children
once more with them, and their joy for this lasted till their money
was all spent; but then they found themselves quite as ill off as
before. So by degrees they again thought of leaving them in the
forest: and that the young ones might not come back a second time,
they said they would take them a great deal farther than they did at
first. They could not talk about this matter so slyly but that
Hop-o'-my-Thumb found means to hear all that passed between them; but
he cared very little about it, for he thought it would be easy for him
to do just the same as he had done before. But although he got up very
early the next morning to go to the river's side to get the pebbles, a
thing which he had not thought of hindered