ys and two nights he reached his father's house in safety.

Tom had traveled forty-eight hours with a huge silver-piece on his
back, and was almost tired to death, when his mother ran out to meet
him, and carried him into the house.

Tom's parents were both happy to see him, and the more so as he had
brought such an amazing sum of money with him; but the poor little
fellow was excessively wearied, having traveled half a mile in
forty-eight hours, with a huge silver threepenny-piece on his back.
His mother, in order to recover him, placed him in a walnut shell by
the fireside, and feasted him for three days on a hazel-nut, which
made him very sick; for a whole nut used to serve him a month.

Tom was soon well again; but as there had been a fall of rain, and the
ground was very wet, he could not travel back to King Arthur's Court;
therefore his mother, one day when the wind was blowing in that
direction, made a little parasol of cambric paper, and tying Tom
to it, she gave him a puff into the air with her mouth, which soon
carried him to the King's palace.

Just at the time when Tom came flying across the courtyard, the cook
happened to be passing with the King's great bowl of porridge, which
was a dish his Majesty was very fond of; but unfortunately the poor
little fellow fell plump into the middle of it, and splashed the hot
porridge about the cook's face.

The cook, who was an ill-natured fellow, being in a terrible rage at
Tom for frightening and scalding him with the porridge, went straight
to the King, and said that Tom had jumped into the royal porridge, and
thrown it down out of mere mischief. The King was so enraged when
he heard this, that he ordered Tom to be seized and tried for high
treason; and there being no person who dared to plead for him, he was
condemned to be beheaded immediately.

On hearing this dreadful sentence pronounced, poor Tom fell
a-trembling with fear, but, seeing no means of escape, and observing a
miller close to him gaping with his great mouth, as country boobies
do at a fair, he took a leap, and fairly jumped down his throat. This
exploit was done with such activity that not one person present saw
it, and even the miller did not know the trick which Tom had played
upon him. Now, as Tom had disappeared, the court broke up, and the
miller went home to his mill.

When Tom heard the mill at work he knew he was clear of the court, and
therefore he began to roll and tumble about, so t