he floor, and "if I leave it," he thought, "the
child is sure to upset it." So he took the churn on his back, and
went out with it; but then he thought he'd better first water the cow
before he turned her out on the thatch; so he took up a bucket to draw
water out of the well; but, as he stooped down at the well's brink,
all the cream ran out of the churn over his shoulders, and so down
into the well.

Now it was near dinner-time, and he hadn't even got the butter yet; so
he thought he'd best boil the porridge, and filled the pot with water,
and hung it over the fire. When he had done that, he thought the cow
might perhaps fall off the thatch and break her legs or her neck. So
he got up on the house to tie her up. One end of the rope he made fast
to the cow's neck, and the other he slipped down the chimney and tied
round his own thigh; and he had to make haste, for the water now began
to boil in the pot, and he had still to grind the oatmeal.

So he began to grind away; but while he was hard at it, down fell the
cow off the housetop after all, and as she fell she dragged the man up
the chimney, by the rope. There he stuck fast; and as for the cow, she
hung half-way down the wall, swinging between heaven and earth, for
she could neither get down nor up.

And now the goody had waited seven lengths and seven breadths for her
husband to come and call them home to dinner; but never a call they
had. At last she thought she'd waited long enough, and went home. But
when she got there and saw the cow hanging in such an ugly place, she
ran up and cut the rope in two with her scythe. But as she did this,
down came her husband out of the chimney; and so when his old dame
came inside the kitchen, there she found him standing on his head in
the porridge-pot.

* * * * *

BUTTERCUP

BY GEORGE WEBBE DASENT

Once on a time there was an old wife who sat and baked. Now you must
know that this old wife had a little son, who was so plump and fat,
and so fond of good things, that they called him Buttercup; she had a
dog, too, whose name was Goldtooth, and as she was baking, all at once
Goldtooth began to bark.

"Run out, Buttercup, there's a dear!" said the old wife, "and see what
Goldtooth is barking at."

So the boy ran out, and came back crying out,--

"Oh, Heaven help us! here comes a great big witch, with her head under
her arm, and a bag at her back."

"Jump under the kneading-trough