or,
and then as deliberately walked over them. Oh, what a havoc was there!
My poor dear cows and sheep, that had cost the ingenious Fritz so much
time and trouble, had not three legs to boast of between them, and as
for the birds, they were most of them pounded to pieces and bits. I
thought with bitter regret of the green mountain heights where we had so
merrily proceeded under Fritz's laborious fingers, and had been the
admiration of the whole little Swiss village.

"When Beatrice's mother was better, she was much vexed to hear what had
happened to us, and was very angry indeed with Beatrice for her wilful
mischief. I believe from that time, the child took a dislike to us, for
she was a capricious, odd-tempered little thing, and certainly never
played with us without doing us some further injury. As for the animals,
they were left and dropped all over the house. Poor old Grandmamma
coming to spend the day, fell down and sprained her ancle by treading on
the elephant. The camel was thrown through one of the windows by a
little boy visitor during a romp with Beatrice, and Aunt Priscilla was
almost irreparably offended the last time she stayed there, by finding a
wooden pig in her fur-lined slipper. She put her foot hastily in without
seeing it, and hurt it so, that she declared she was lame for a month
afterwards. In short, we were always in trouble in some way or other,
and Beatrice's mother more than once threatened to give us away.

"It would have been a small consolation to us if our young owner had
played with us sometimes, or taken ever so little pride in us. But no;
she only took us out to bring more shame and disgrace on us, and on
herself. For instance, once when her Godmother took her to church for
the first time, Beatrice took her handkerchief out of her pocket, and
with it a number of wooden animals, which fell in a pattering shower on
the pavement. Naughty Beatrice would stop in the middle of the aisle and
pick us all up, to the astonishment of the congregation, the horror of
her Godmother, and the utter scandal of the grave old clerk. Nay, worse
even, for when the sermon commenced, she rushed out of her seat, and
began to hunt about under the people's feet in the free benches for a
missing camelopard!

"After this terrible mishap, Nurse laid hands on all the stray animals
she could find, and clapped them all hastily into my box, shutting down
the lid decidedly, and promising Beatrice she should see us no