ese, and
ducks. It took the elephant and Noah and all his sons to get the horses
out, plunging and curvetting as they were. Some sly foxes got out of
themselves, leaping from the roof to the back of a kneeling camel.

Jedidiah's eyes sparkled with joy. Mrs. Dyer sat with folded hands, and
said, "Why, Mr. Dyer!" And Mr. Dyer occasionally helped a stray donkey,
whose legs were caught, or a turkey fluttering on the edge. At last a
great roaring and growling was heard at the bottom of the ark. The
elephant nodded his trunk to the giraffe; the camel was evidently
displeased; Noah and his sons stood together looking up at the roof.

"It's the wild animals," said Jedidiah.

"If they should get out," thought Mrs. Dyer; "all the wild tigers and
the lions loose in the house!" And she looked round to see if the closet
door were open for a place of retreat.

Mr. Dyer stepped up and shut the roof of the ark. It was in time; for a
large bear was standing on his hind legs on the back of a lion, and was
looking out. Noah and his family looked much pleased; the elephants
waved their trunks with joy; the camels stopped growling.

"I don't wonder they are glad to get out," said Jedidiah. "I do believe
they have been treading down those wild animals all night."

Mrs. Dyer wondered what they should do with the rest. Come Tuesday she
would want her ironing-board,--perhaps baking-day, to set the pies on.

"They ought to have some houses to live in, and barns," said Jedidiah.
Then it was Mr. Dyer had said they could never get them back into the
ark; and Jedidiah had said, "We might ask the 'grateful people,'"--for
this was the name the inhabitants of Spinville went by in the Dyer
family ever since the time of the potatoes.

The story of their coming for the potatoes had been told over and over
again; then how the "people" felt so grateful to Mr. Dyer. Mr. Dyer said
he was tired of hearing about it. Mrs. Dyer thought if they meant to do
anything to let Mr. Dyer see they were grateful, they had better not
talk so much about it. But Jedidiah called them the "grateful people;"
and it was he that caught the first glimpse of the procession when it
came up with the ark, Mr. Jones at the head. He had some faith in them;
so it was he that thought there ought to be a village built for Noah and
his family; and when Mr. Dyer had some doubts about building it he
suggested, "Let's ask the 'grateful people.'"

What they did will be told in another c