p you have," he said.

"So it is," said Anders. "And it is made of mother's best yarn, and
she knitted it herself, and everybody wants to get it away from me."

"But surely you would like to change caps with me," said the King, and
raised his large, heavy gold crown from his head.

Anders did not answer. He sat as before, and held on to his red cap
which everybody was so anxious to get. But when the King came nearer
to him, with his gold crown between his hands, then he grew frightened
as never before, for a King can do what he likes, and he would be
likely to cheat him out of his cap, if he did not take good care.

With one jump Anders got out of his chair. He darted like an arrow
through all the halls, down all the stairs, and across the yard. He
twisted himself like an eel between the outstretched arms of the
courtiers, and over the soldiers' muskets he jumped like a little
rabbit. He ran so fast that the Princess's necklace fell off his
neck, and all the cakes jumped out of his pockets. But he had his cap.
He still held on to it with both hands as he rushed into his mother's
cottage.

And his mother took him up in her lap, and he told her all his
adventures, and how everybody wanted his cap. And all his brothers and
sisters stood round and listened with their mouths open.

But when his big brother heard that he had refused to give his cap for
a King's golden crown, he said that Anders was a stupid. Just think
what splendid things one might get in exchange for the crown; and
Anders could have had a still finer cap.

Anders' face grew red. That he had not thought of. He cuddled up to
his mother and asked:

"Mother, was I stupid?"

But his mother hugged him close.

"No, my little son," she said. "If you dressed in silk and gold from
top to toe, you could not look any nicer than in your little red cap."

Then Anders felt brave again. He knew well enough that mother's cap
was the best cap in all the world.

_Dust under the Rug_

MAUD LINDSAY

There was once a mother, who had two little daughters; and, as her
husband was dead and she was very poor, she worked diligently all the
time that they might be well fed and clothed. She was a skilled
worker, and found work to do away from home, but her two little girls
were so good and so helpful that they kept her house as neat and as
bright as a new pin.

One of the little girls was lame, and could not run about the house;
so she sat still in her chair