ad for some time been amusing himself by hiding a ball,
which he made Ponto find and bring to him in his teeth, while Nelly
shouted and danced at every new discovery, saying "I never saw such a
funny dog before."

At last they grew tired of this, and even Ponto began to think they had
played this game quite long enough; so Frankie sat down on the floor,
and putting one arm around the dog's neck, said, "Mamma, I want to hear
a toly."

"You said some time you would tell us some more about Moses," exclaimed
Nelly.

"So I will," said mamma. "I told you that his mother counted the
oranges, and found there were but twelve. 'I'm sorry,' she said to
Moses, 'because I wanted one for Sarah Christie; but I suppose your
father forgot to get it, and I'll send her one another time.'

"'You can give her some figs,' said Moses.

"'So I can,' replied his mother; and then she went on cutting the peel
and tearing it down a little way, so that, when they were put into the
large glass dish, they looked like great yellow flowers.

"'O, how pretty they are!' said Moses.

"His mother then set all the dishes on the sideboard, and covered them
over with a clean table cloth. After tea, she said, 'I will set them out
on the table, and then when the children have done playing, they can
come here and eat them.'

"When Moses' father came home from the city, the lady said, 'I'm sorry
you forgot to get thirteen oranges. There were only twelve in the
basket.'

"'There were thirteen when I brought them home,' said papa; 'I am sure
of it, because I counted them myself, and they were nice ones too; I had
to give three cents apiece for them, though they are quite plenty now.'

"'I don't know where the other can have gone,' said mamma, looking very
sober, as a painful suspicion flashed through her.

"'I hope Moses wouldn't take one without leave,' said the gentleman.

"'I asked him,' replied mamma, 'and he said he hadn't touched them.'

"'Where is he?' asked papa, 'I will ask him. I don't care at all about
the orange, because I can easily get another; but somebody must have
taken it, and I am afraid it was our little boy.' The gentleman then
went to the door and called, 'Moses! Moses!'

"Presently Moses came, and his father took him in his lap, and said,
'Tell me, my dear, have you taken an orange from the basket?'

"'No, papa,' said the boy, his face growing very red. 'I told mamma I
hadn't touched them.'

"The gentleman couldn't think t