ne of the
English soldiers dreamed that they were within many miles of the
place.

The woman watched them until the last one had passed around a corner
out of sight. She was not afraid, for in the dark-en-ing twi-light
they looked indeed like cattle. After a little while she began to sing
to her child:--

"Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye,
Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye,
The Black Douglas shall not get ye."

All at once a gruff voice was heard behind her, saying, "Don't be so
sure about that!"

She looked around, and there stood the Black Douglas himself. At the
same moment a Scottish soldier climbed off a ladder and leaped upon
the wall; and then there came another and another and another, until
the wall was covered with them. Soon there was hot fighting in every
part of the castle. But the English were so taken by surprise that
they could not do much. Many of them were killed, and in a little
while the Black Douglas and his men were the masters of the castle,
which by right be-longed to them.

[Illustration: "Don't be so sure about that!"]

As for the woman and her child, the Black Douglas would not suffer any
one to harm them. After a while they went back to England; and whether
the mother made up any more songs about the Black Douglas I cannot
tell.

THREE MEN OF GOTHAM.

There is a town in England called Go-tham, and many merry stories are
told of the queer people who used to live there.

One day two men of Go-tham met on a bridge. Hodge was coming from the
market, and Peter was going to the market.

"Where are you going?" said Hodge.

"I am going to the market to buy sheep," said Peter.

"Buy sheep?" said Hodge. "And which way will you bring them home?"

"I shall bring them over this bridge," said Peter.

"No, you shall not," said Hodge.

"Yes, but I will," said Peter.

"You shall not," said Hodge.

"I will," said Peter.

Then they beat with their sticks on the ground as though there had
been a hundred sheep between them.

"Take care!" cried Peter. "Look out that my sheep don't jump on the
bridge."

"I care not where they jump," said Hodge; "but they shall not go over
it."

"But they shall," said Peter.

"Have a care," said Hodge; "for if you say too much, I will put my
fingers in your mouth."

"Will you?" said Peter.

Just then another man of Gotham came from the market with a sack of
meal on his horse. He heard his neigh-bors quar-rel-ing about sheep;
but