y private opinion is, he was almost as foolish as
the Wolf.
Well, when night came, the Boy's mother went to bed, and she was soon
snoring, but the Boy stayed up to wait for the Wolf. About ten o'clock
came a knock at the door.
"Come in," said the Boy.
The Wolf opened the door, and came in, and says he, "Now, Boy, you must
come along with me."
"All right," says the Boy, "mother doesn't mind."
I have never been able to understand why his mother did not mind, but
perhaps he was a very naughty Boy, and she was glad to get rid of him.
If he did nothing but pull his sisters' hair, and put spiders down their
necks, he was just as well out of the house, I think.
So the Boy got on the Wolf's back, and the Wolf trotted off briskly to
his den. Then the Wolf thought to himself, "I have had my dinner, and I
don't want any Boy to-night. Suppose I leave him for to-morrow, and go
for a spin with my friend the Jackass."
So he left the Boy in his den, and off he went after the Jackass.
What makes me think more than ever that he was a foolish Wolf, is that
he never even tied the Boy's legs together. So when the Wolf was gone,
the Boy went out of the den, and climbed up a tree.
In an hour or two back came the Wolf, ready for bed. He looked in at the
mouth of the den, but no Boy.
"Where on earth has that Boy got to?" said he; "I left him here safe and
sound." It never occurred to this Wolf that legs can walk, and Boys can
climb trees. He felt very anxious, and as many people do when their wits
are puzzled, he opened his mouth wide.
The Boy saw him standing at the opening of the den, with his mouth wide
open, so he pulled the sharp stone out of his pocket, and threw it in.
This Boy was a very good shot with a stone, and the stone went straight
into the Wolf's inside, and cut his inside so much that he died.
Then the Boy climbed down from the tree, and
he was at home in time for breakfast. I don't
know whether his mother was pleased
to see him or not; but there he was,
and there he stayed, and if he
has not gone away, he is
there still.
Reflected Glory
THERE was a Shepherd who owned a multitude of goats. Among these was one
Goat, weak and lame. You might suppose that the shepherd took especial
care of this lame Goat, but not he; on the contrary, he beat him and
bullied him, and made his whole life a misery.
A time came when the la
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