of
Sir Thomas Thumb?"

The King was so charmed with this address that he ordered a little
chair to be made, and also a palace of gold a span high, with a door
an inch wide, for little Tom to live in. He also gave him a coach,
drawn by six small mice. This made the Queen angry, because she had
not a new coach too; therefore, resolving to ruin Tom, she complained
to the King that he had behaved very insolently to her. The King sent
for him in a rage. Tom, to escape his fury, crept into a large,
empty snail-shell, and there lay for some time, when, peeping out of
the shell, he saw a fine butterfly on the ground. He ventured forth
and got astride the butterfly, which took wing, and mounted into the
air with little Tom on his back. Away he flew straight to the King's
court.

[Illustration: THE WOOD-CUTTER'S DAUGHTER.]

The King, Queen, and nobles all strove to catch the butterfly. At
length poor Tom slipped from his seat, and fell into a sweet dish
called white-pot, where he was found, almost drowned. The Queen vowed
he should be punished, and he was secured once more in a mouse-trap,
when the cat, seeing something stir, and supposing it to be a mouse,
patted the trap about till she broke it and set Tom at liberty.

[Illustration]

Soon afterwards a spider, taking poor Tom for a big fly, made a
spring at him. Tom drew his sword and fought valiantly, but the
spider's poisonous breath overcame him.

King Thunstone and his whole court went into mourning for little Tom
Thumb. They buried him under a rose-bush, and raised a nice, white
marble monument over his grave.

[Illustration]

THE LION AND THE FOX

There was once a fox who had never seen a lion; and so, when he saw a
lion for the first time, this fox was so scared that he did not know
what to do.

The lion did him no harm: and the fox crept off out of the way, and
ran to his hole, and there hid. He stayed in his hole a long while,
until he found he must go in search of food, and then he crept out.

[Illustration]

Ella and May are the girls you see on this page. Ella is older than
May, and can read, but May cannot.

But Ella is kind, and will read to May a long time, if May will do as
she is bid, and sit still on her lap.

And Ella will show May how to read herself.

[Illustration]

In a country called Holland, storks are very kindly treated, for so
many frogs live in the marshes there, that if the storks did not eat
them, the people would ha