She arose early in the morning and made ready the bread and butter for
the little giants to eat while she was gone.

When she had finished her work it was not yet time to start upon her
journey.

She said to herself, "My children are the best children in the world
and they shall have a treat. I have many plums left from the Christmas
feast. I will make them a plum pudding for a surprise.

The good woman brought together the plums which it had taken her many
days to prepare with the help of all her children. Indeed she had
emptied several mountain lakes to get water enough to wash them all.

She now mixed these wonderful plums into a pudding and put it into an
oven to bake.

The mixing took so long that she had to hurry, and she quite forgot to
say anything about the pudding to the little giants.

She had intended to tell them about it just before she left them.

It was afternoon when the giant children found the pudding.

It was badly burned upon the top by that time.

They had already eaten the bread and butter and were not hungry.

One little giant said to the others, "Let us make balls of the pudding
and see who can throw the farthest."

You know that giants are very strong, and away went the pudding up into
the air.

The little giants made little balls and the older giants threw pieces as
big as a house.

Many pieces went over the mountains and fell down into the valley
beyond.

Indeed this wonderful pudding was scattered for miles over the whole
land, for the giants did not stop throwing as long as there was any
pudding left in the pan.

When the sun had shone upon it many days and dried and hardened it,
people called it pudding stone.

You may find it to-day thrown all over the land, full of the plums which
the good woman washed with the waters of many lakes.

STORY OF SISYPHUS.

Little White Cloud was the Ocean's daughter. The Ocean loved her, and
wished always to keep her near him.

One day, when her father was asleep, White Cloud went out to walk alone.

The Sun saw her and said, "Come, White Cloud, I am your king, I will
give you a ride upon my bright rays." White Cloud had often longed for
this very thing, so she went gladly, and soon found herself among the
fleecy clouds in the sky.

When the Ocean awoke he called his little daughter. She did not answer.
He called again and again, louder and still louder, until the people
said, "Listen, it is thundering!"

But the Oce