since Christmas, and I find it very nice
indeed. I have a nice young uncle in Washington who sends it to me,
and told me to write to you. I have a pony named Ben, who is only
four feet and a half high, and is very wild sometimes, but I can
ride him without either bridle or saddle.

NELLIE S.

* * * * *

CLINTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

I have a bird. It is a bullfinch. It is real pretty, and whistles
like a boy. It likes potatoes and corn very much, and eats them out
of my mouth and hand. When it whistles it says "Pretty Poll" just
as plain as a parrot, and when it bathes it spatters me all over.

LENA E. SCHMIDT.

* * * * *

DES MOINES, IOWA.

I want to tell you about a cat-bird or mocking-bird that built its
nest in the tree near our house last summer. I have three brothers,
and when we all go off to play, mamma could not always make us hear
when she called. She bought a whistle, and when she blew it once,
it was for me, and two, three, and four times for my brothers. The
mocking-bird learned to imitate the whistle so well that we could
not always tell whether it was mamma calling or the bird. It would
also imitate the squeaks of the saw when the men were sawing wood.
We hope it will come back again next spring.

M. I. WATROUS.

* * * * *

TROY, NEW YORK.

I am a little girl nine years old, and take YOUNG PEOPLE, and I
watch for it every week. I have three pets--two cats and one
squirrel. The cats are twins; one is named Girofle, and the other
Girofla. They were born on Palm-Sunday, and are nearly three years
old. They are so much alike that you can not tell them apart. My
squirrel's name is Prince.

GRACE MACLEOD.

* * * * *

WAYNE, ILLINOIS.

I am a boy ten years old, and I have a cat older than myself. Its
name is Noah. One day last summer it caught a rat in the yard as
big as a half-grown kitten. The rat squealed so loud that a large
Newfoundland dog at the store across the street heard it, and came
running over to see what was the matter. The dog scared old Noah so
much that it let the rat go, and ran under the shed. I think that
dog better mind his own affairs hereafter, and let my old Noah
catch rats.

A