his brought smiles to Miss Mousie's sad face, and
she dried her tears. The women gave her a nice Girl,
and Mousie took the Girl home. They set up house
together, and planted a crop of corn. The corn ripened,
and they went out to cut it. Miss Mouse was a
wee mousie, and was quite hidden among the
stalks of the corn. While the Girl was
cutting the corn with a sickle, she did
not see poor little Mousie, so she
cut her in two, and that
was the end
of her.

[Illustration]

The Jackal that Lost his Tail

THERE was once a Farmer, who used to go out every morning to work in his
field, and his wife used to bring him dinner at noon. One day, as the
Farmer's wife was carrying out the dinner to the field, she met a
Jackal, who said--

"Where are you going?"

Said she, "To my husband, and this is his dinner."

Said the Jackal, "Give me some, or I will bite you."

So the woman had to give the Jackal some of this food. And when her
husband saw it, he said--

"What a small dinner you have brought me to-day!"

"A Jackal met me," replied his wife, "and threatened to bite me if I
gave him none."

"All right," said the Farmer, "to-morrow I'll settle with that Jackal."

On the morrow, the Farmer's wife went after the plough, and the Farmer
dressed up in her clothes and carried out the dinner. Again the Jackal
appeared.

"Give me some of that," said he, "or I'll bite you."

"Yes, yes, good Mr. Jackal," said the man, "you shall have some, only
don't bite me."

Then he set down the plate and the Jackal began to eat.

"Just scratch my back, you, woman," said the Jackal, "while I am eating
my dinner."

[Illustration]

"Yes, sir; yes, sir," said the man. He began gently to tickle and
scratch the back of the Jackal, and in the middle, suddenly out with his
knife, and slish! cut off the Jackal's tail.

The Jackal jumped up and capered about. "Yow-ow-ow!" he went, "what has
come to my tail? Oh dear! how shall I swish away the flies? Oh dear, how
it hurts! Yow-ow-ow!" Away he scuttled, as fast as his legs could carry
him.

When he got home, all the Jackals came round him, and asked what had
become of his tail. The Jackal was ashamed to have lost his tail, which
was a particularly long and fine tail; but he pretended to like it.

"Poor fellow!" said the Jackals, "where is your tail?"

"I had it cut off,"