I go to a private girls' school in the morning, and study
German in the afternoon with my mother.

With much love I am your faithful reader,

HELEN W. A.

* * * * *

PROVIDENCE, R. I.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time that I have
written to you.

I have a funny story to tell about a mouse. My canary bird
used to hang up in our nursery-window on a chain. Sometimes
in the evening or night, we would hear mice running around,
and in the morning we would find that some of the seed was
gone. Mamma thought it was a mouse, but _we_ did not think
so. Papa had been trying to catch them in a trap, but did
not catch many. We then thought that we would try another
way. So Papa took the cage down and put a pail of water on
the chain, and when the little mouse went up the chain, as
he used to do, instead of going in the cage, he went in the
pail of water and was drowned. This is a true story. I am
eleven years old. Good-bye.

am your constant reader,

B. G. H.

* * * * *

CARRINGTON, DAKOTA.

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You do not know me at all, but I know you
and love you so much! When you were brought to me this
morning I almost kissed your bright face for joy. It was
stormy this morning, and I was tired playing with kitty;
besides that I had been waiting so long to read some more
about Little Lord Fauntleroy! He is such a brave, wise
little boy! Will you ask Mrs. Burnett to please not make him
unhappy with his grandfather? Ever since we had our
Christmas entertainment, I have wanted to tell you about it,
but have been too sick to write you. We called it "An
Evening with Mother Goose and the Brownies." Yes,--we had
all the cute little boys in Carrington dressed up like
Brownies. They did mischief very nicely, all quietly in
their stocking-feet. While Mother Goose was singing her
melodies, they came and stole away her goose, and they
pelted Mother Hubbard with paper balls when she sang that
song in the ST. NICHOLAS: "I had an Educated Pug." In the
tableaux, they tripped up Jack and