UNIVERSITY OF 
 fSORTH CAROUNA 
 
 ,■*-.-._•.-,. 
 
 feckoal »t Libi»*y 
 
 JH 
 
 / J 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/auntfannysstorybfanny 
 
This is little Annie Browne. 
 
'S 
 
 IT 
 
 CSV 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, BROADWAY. 
 
AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 STORY BOOK, 
 
 LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 
 
 NEW-YORK 
 MPA 
 
 1852. 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 200 BROADWAY. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by 
 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District 
 of New-York. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 To the Little Girls and Boys, 5 
 
 The Christmas Party, 7 
 
 The Spider, . 21 
 
 The Mischievous Boys, . . 26 
 
 The Brothers, 34 
 
 Annie Browne, 48 
 
 The Three Bears, 55 
 
 About Minding Quickly, 62 
 
 The Twins, 71 
 
 The Little Boy that was afraid of the Water, ... 80 
 
 The May Queen, 87 
 
 The Apple Dumpling, 98 
 
 The Dentist, 105 
 
 The Wig, Ill 
 
 The Boys' School, 118 
 
TO THE LITTLE GIRLS AND BOYS. 
 
 Once on a time, tliere lived a little bit of a 
 lady who had a great many nephews and nieces. 
 She was very little indeed, so all the children 
 loved her, and said she was the best little auntie 
 in the world, and exactly the right size to play 
 with them and tell them stories. Sometimes 
 she told them interesting stories about George 
 Washington, and other great and good men; 
 sometimes tunny stories, about Frizzlefits and 
 Monsieur Pop, and sometimes she would make 
 them nearly die laughing with stories about the 
 Dutchman, Hansansvanansvananderdansvaniede- 
 neidendiesandeusan. 
 
6 TO THE LITTLE BOYS AND GIKLS. 
 
 At last, one day, one of her nieces said to 
 her, " Dear Auntie, do write some stories, and 
 put them in a book for us to read, and keep, as 
 long as we live." 
 
 The little Aunt thought this was a very good 
 plan, and here are the stories, dear little children, 
 for all of you. If you like them, just let me 
 know, and you shall have some more next year 
 from 
 
 Aunt Faniht. 
 
THE CHRISTMAS PARTY. 
 
 Me. and Mrs. Percy had seven grandchildren, 
 all very pretty and very good. These children 
 did not all have the same father and mother, that 
 is, Mr. and Mrs. Percy's eldest son had three 
 children, whose names were Mary, and Carry, 
 and Thomas ; and one of their daughters was 
 married, and had three children; their names 
 were Willy, and Bella, and Fanny; and their 
 youngest son was married and had one child. 
 Her name was Sarah. She was the youngest of 
 the children, and they all loved her very much, 
 and her Grandma made a great pet of her. 
 
 The children and their parents had been in- 
 vited to eat a Christmas dinner with their Grand- 
 ma, and they had been promised a little dance in 
 
8 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 the evening. Even little Sarah was to go, and 
 stay to the Ball, as she called it. They were 
 glad ; for they liked to go to their dear Grandma's 
 very ranch. 
 
 At last Christmas came. It was a bright, 
 frosty day ; the icicles that hung from the iron 
 railing sparkled as the sun shone upon them, and 
 the little boys in the streets made sliding ponds 
 of the gutters, and did not mind a bit when they 
 came down on their backs, but jumped up and 
 tried it again; and a great many people were 
 hurrying along with large turkeys to cook for 
 their Christmas dinner, and every body looked 
 very happy indeed. 
 
 After these children, about whom I am telling 
 you, came back from church, they were dressed 
 very nicely, and although they lived in three dif- 
 ferent houses, they all got to their Grandma's very 
 nearly at the same time. The first thing they 
 did was to run up to their Grandma, and wish 
 her a merry Christmas, and kiss her, and say that 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 9 
 
 they hoped, she felt quite well. Then they did 
 the same to their Grandpa and Aunties, for they 
 had two dear, kind aunts who lived with their 
 Grandparents. Then they all hugged and kissed 
 each other, and jumped about so much, that some 
 kissed noses and some kissed chins, and little 
 Sarah was almost crazy with delight, for she had 
 never been to so large a party before. 
 
 " Grandma," said Willy, " I hung up my 
 stocking last night, and what do you thing I got 
 in it?" 
 
 His Grandma guessed that he got a birch 
 rod. 
 
 " No," said Willy, laughing, " I got a dough- 
 nut in the shape of a monkey with a long tail. 
 I eat the monkey for my breakfast, and it was 
 very good indeed." 
 
 The children all laughed at this, and Bella, 
 Willy's sister, who was the oldest of all the chil- 
 dren, said she thought Willy had a monkey look 
 about him. So he went by the name of the 
 monkey-eater for the rest of the day. 
 
10 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 Soon the bell rang for dinner, and they all 
 went down stairs ; for the children and grown 
 people were to dine together. It was now quite 
 dark, and the gas chandelier that hung over the 
 table was lighted, the curtains were drawn close, 
 the fire burnt brightly, and the table-cloth was 
 so white and fine that it looked like satin. 
 
 The happy party sat down at a large round 
 table, and the children's eyes looked so bright 
 and their cheeks so rosy, that it was the pleas- 
 antest sight in the world to see. Little Sarah 
 could not help having a great many little laughs 
 all to herself. She could not keep them in. She 
 was only four years old, so you may suppose she 
 could not look very grave and stiff on such a 
 delightful occasion. 
 
 When Willy saw his little cousin Sarah try- 
 ing to hide her sparkling eyes, and her funny little 
 laugh behind her mother's arm, he felt just as if 
 somebody was tickling him. So he pinched his 
 lips together very tight indeed, and cast his eyes 
 
CHEISTMAS STOKEES. 11 
 
 up to the ceiling, and tried to look as grave as a 
 judge. But it would not do ; he burst out into 
 such a fit of laughing, that every body else laugh- 
 ed too, and it was a long time before they could 
 get their faces straight enough to eat their dinner. 
 Would you like to know what they had for 
 dinner? "Well, I will tell you. After their 
 Grandpa had asked a blessing, they had some 
 very nice soup. The children did not care for 
 soup. Then they had a fish stuffed with all sorts 
 of things, and stewed, and the grown people said 
 the fish was very nice ; but the little ones did not 
 care for that either. Then they had some roast 
 beef and a boiled turkey with oysters. The chil- 
 dren all took turkey ; Willy asked for a drum- 
 stick, and his cousin Mary said he wanted it to 
 beat the monkey he eat in the morning. Bella 
 chose a merry-thought ; little Sarah liked a hug- 
 me-fast ; Carry took a wishing-bone ; Thomas 
 said he would have the other drum-stick to help 
 beat the monkey, and Fanny thanked her Grand- 
 
12 
 
 ma for a wing, so that she could fly away when 
 the beating of the monkey took place. 
 
 But this was not half the good things, for 
 they afterwards had some delicious game, such as 
 partridges, and woodcocks, and some fried oysters. 
 All this pleased the grown people most. The 
 children saved their appetites for the dessert. 
 Well, after this the cloth was taken off, and under 
 that was another table-cloth just as white and 
 fine as the first. 
 
 Then came something that was quite astonish- 
 ing. What do you think it was ? It was a great 
 plum-pudding all on fire ! it blazed away terribly, 
 and Willy thought they had better send for the 
 fire-engines to put it out ; but it was blown out 
 very easily, and the children each had a very 
 small piece, because it was too rich to eat much 
 of, and their parents did not wish them to get 
 sick. 
 
 After that there came ice-cream, and jellies, 
 and sweetmeats, that were perfectly delicious; 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 13 
 
 and then the other white cloth was taken off, and 
 under that was a beautiful red one. Then the 
 servants put on the table what the children liked 
 best of all, and that was a dish of fine mottoes, 
 and oranges and grapes and other nice fine fruits. 
 The children sent the mottoes to each other, 
 and had a great deal of sport. Some one sent 
 Willy this : 
 
 " Oh "William, "William, 'tis quite plain to see 
 That all your life, you will a monkey be." 
 
 He thought his cousin Mary had sent it, because 
 he saw that she was trying very hard to look 
 grave — so he sent this to her : 
 
 " Dear Mary, you are too severe, 
 You are too bad, I do declare ; 
 Your motto has upset me quite, 
 I shan't get over it to-night." 
 
 Mary laughed when she read it, and said she had 
 been just as cruel to Thomas, for she had sent 
 him this — 
 
14 AUNT FANNYS 
 
 " The rose is red, the violet blue, 
 The grass is green and so are you." 
 
 They had a good laugh at Thomas, but as he 
 laughed as hard as any one, it did no harm. Little 
 Sarah had a great many mottoes. Her Mamma 
 read them to her, and it pleased her very much. 
 She said it was a very nice play, but she was 
 tired with sitting such a long time at table, so 
 her Mother let her slip down from her chair. 
 
 Very soon all the rest got up, and went up 
 stairs in the parlor. But what was that in the 
 middle of the room ? It seemed to be a large 
 table covered all over with a cloth. "What could 
 it be ? Willy said, " Grandma, that table looks 
 as if something was on it ;" and little Sarah said, 
 " Grandma, I guess Santa Claus has been here." 
 
 "Yes, dear children," said their Grandma, 
 "Santa Claus has been here, and this time he 
 looked very much like your Grandpa. He will 
 be up soon, and then we will see what is on the 
 table." 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 15 
 
 Oh how the children did wish to peep! 
 They could not look at any thing else; they 
 danced and jumped round the table, and were in 
 a great hurry for their Grandpa. In a few min- 
 utes he came into the room, and all the children 
 ran up to him and said, " Dear Grandpa, do let 
 us see what you have got on the table." 
 
 He smiled, and went to the table and took 
 the cloth off. The children were so astonished 
 that they could not say a single word ; the table 
 was covered with beautiful things, and under it 
 was something that looked like a little red-brick 
 house. 
 
 " Well," said their kind Grandpa, " my dear 
 children, you did not think you were going to 
 be treated to such a fine show as this ; you may 
 go up to the table, and see if you can find out 
 who they are for." The children gathered round 
 the table, and Willy took from the top a fine 
 brig with all her sails set, and colors flying. His 
 eyes sparkled when he saw written on a slip of 
 
16 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 paper which lay on the deck, these words ; " For 
 my dear Willy." The children clapped then- 
 hands, and nothing was heard, but " How beauti- 
 ful !" " What a fine ship !" " It is a brig of war," 
 said Willy : " only look at the little brass guns on 
 her deck ! thank you, dear Grandpa ; it will shoot 
 all the enemies of America ! What is the name 
 of my ship f 
 
 " Her name is painted on her stern," said his 
 Grandpa. Willy looked and saw that she was 
 called the "Louisa." He blushed, and looked 
 very funny, and the other children laughed, for 
 Willy knew a very pretty little girl, whose name 
 was Louisa, and he liked her very much ; and 
 that was what made them laugh when they heard 
 the name. 
 
 After they had all admired the brig, they went 
 back to the table, and there were two beautiful 
 books, full of engravings or pictures, one for 
 Bella and one for Mary ; and next to these was a 
 large wax doll for Carry and another for Fauny. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 17 
 
 Carry's doll was dressed in blue satin, with a 
 white satin hat and a lace veil, and Fanny's doll 
 was dressed in pink satin with a black velvet hat 
 and feathers — their eyes opened and shut, and 
 they had beautiful faces. 
 
 How delighted the little girls were ! They 
 hugged their dolls to their little breasts, and then 
 ran to hug and kiss their Grandpa. Carry said, 
 " My dolly's name shall be Eose ;" and Fanny 
 said, " My dolly's name shall be Christmas, be- 
 cause I got her on Christmas day." 
 
 Well I must hurry and tell you the rest, for I 
 am afraid my story is getting too long. Thomas 
 found for him a splendid menagerie, and all the 
 animals made noises like real animals. There 
 were roaring lions, and yelling tigers, and laugh- 
 ing hyenas, and braying asses, and chattering 
 monkeys, and growling bears, and many other 
 wild beasts. Oh how pleased Thomas was, and 
 all the children ! 
 
 Little Sarah did nothing but jump up and 
 
18 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 down and say, " So many things ! So many 
 things ! I never saw so many things !" 
 
 But who was to have the little house under 
 the table, I wonder ? There was a little piece 
 of paper sticking out of the chimney, and Sarah 
 pulled it out and carried it to her Grandpa. He 
 took her up in his arms and read it to her. "What 
 was written on it was, a A baby-house for my 
 little darling Sarah." 
 
 " Why, I guess this must be for you," said 
 he. 
 
 " Yes, it is for me," said the little girl ; " my 
 name is Sarah, and it must be for me." 
 
 Her Grandpa put her down, and led her to the 
 table. He drew the little house out, and opened 
 it. The whole front of the house opened, and 
 there, inside, were two rooms ; one was a parlor, 
 and one a bedroom. The children all cried out, 
 " What a fine baby-house ! Look at the cen- 
 tre-table, and the red velvet chairs ; and only see 
 the elegant curtains ! Oh dear ! how beautiful 
 it is!" 
 
CHRISTMAS STOEIES. 19 
 
 Little Sarah did not say a word. She stood 
 before the baby-house with her hands stretched 
 out, and jumped up and down, her eyes shining 
 like diamonds. She was too much pleased to 
 speak. She looked so funny jumping up and 
 down all the time, that she made Willy laugh 
 again, and then every body laughed. 
 
 At last she said, " There is a young lady sit- 
 ting in the chair with a red sash on. I think she 
 wants to come out." 
 
 "Well, you may take her out," said hei 
 Grandpa. So Sarah took the young lady out, and 
 then took up the chairs and sofa, onr by one, and 
 smoothed the velvet, and looked at the little 
 clock on the mantel-piece, and opened the little 
 drawers of the bureau ; and then putting them 
 down, she began to jump again. 
 
 There was never such a happy party before. 
 The children hardly wished to dance, they were 
 so busy looking at their presents. But after a 
 little while they had a very nice dance. One of 
 
20 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 their aunts played for them ; she played so well, 
 and kept such nice time, that it was quite a plea- 
 sure to hear her. 
 
 It was now quite late, and little Sarah had 
 fallen fast asleep on the sofa, with the young lady 
 out of the baby-house clasped tight to her little 
 bosom. So they wrapped her up, doll and all, in 
 a great shawl, and the rest put on their nice 
 warm coats and cloaks ; and after a great deal of 
 hugging and kissing, they got into the carriages 
 with their parents, and went home happy and 
 delighted. 
 
 Thus ended this joyful Christmas day. 
 
CHKISTMAS STOEIES. 21 
 
 THE SPIDER. 
 
 Little Harry was afraid of spiders. He 
 would scream and run to get into his Mother's 
 lap, if he saw the least spider in the world. 
 
 The reason he was so afraid was, that his 
 nurse, when he was a very little fellow, had told 
 him very often, that if he did not go to sleep, 
 she would catch a spider and put it on him. 
 ISTow this was very wicked indeed in the nurse, 
 and when his Mother found out that she had 
 been telling Harry this, she was very angry, and 
 sent her directly out of the house. 
 
 Harry's Mother had tried very hard to cure 
 him of his foolish fears about spiders ; but he did 
 not get over them, and they often made him 
 miserable. 
 
 One day Harry went with his Mother to visit 
 
22 aunt fancy's 
 
 a friend. This lady had a little daughter about 
 two years old, a very pretty and good-humored 
 child. She was sitting on the carpet when 
 Harry came in, playing with a little woolly dog 
 and making it bark. She knew Harry, for he 
 had been there before with his Mother. So she 
 held the dog out to him and said, " Turn here, 
 Henny." She could not speak plain, and what 
 she said sounded very funny. 
 
 Harry sat down on the carpet by her, and 
 took the dog, and made it say, a bow wow 
 wow !" 
 
 Little Mary laughed and clapped her hands, 
 and said, " Do it aden, Henny." 
 
 So Harry pressed the spring again, and made 
 the dog say, " bow wow wow," when just as he 
 was going to give it back to little Mary, she 
 stooped down, and cried, " Look, look, Henny, 
 what a pretty little 'pider, only see the little 
 'pider." 
 
 Harry threw down the dog, and began to 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 23 
 
 scream with all his might. He ran to his Mother 
 and hid his face on her shoulder, and cried, " Take 
 it away ! Oh take it away !" 
 
 All this time little Mary had been looking at 
 him with surprise. She did not cry, for she was 
 not afraid of the poor spider. It was of the 
 kind that children call a ' daddy long-legs,' and 
 Mary thought it was very funny to see it strad- 
 dling over the carpet, trying to get away as fast 
 as it could. 
 
 "Oh Harry! for shame," said his Mother; 
 " why, which is the biggest — the spider or you ? 
 Only see — little Mary is laughing at you." 
 
 Henry raised his head from his Mother's 
 shoulder, and looked at Mary. He stopped crying, 
 and began to feel ashamed. He saw the spider 
 crawling over little Mary's frock, and she sat 
 quite still, and let it go just where it wanted to 
 go. His Mother said to him, " Go, Harry, and 
 count the long legs of the spider, and see if you 
 can find his mouth — it cannot hurt you." 
 
24 AUNT FANOTS 
 
 But Harry trembled, and said lie did not 
 want to go near it, he would not touch it for any- 
 thing. His Mother was not angry with him, for 
 she knew he had tried to overcome his fears, and 
 he could not help them ; she knew it was the 
 fault of the wicked nurse, who had made him 
 suffer all this pain. So she took his hand and 
 wiped the tears from his cheeks, and went home 
 with him. 
 
 As Harry grew older, he was not so much 
 afraid of spiders, but he never could bear to see 
 one near him ; even when he was a great boy of 
 fourteen or fifteen years, he would get away 
 from a spider as fast as he could. He knew it 
 was foolish, and tried to overcome his fears, but 
 he never got entirely over them. 
 
 Parents cannot be too watchful or careful 
 about their nurses, for sometimes a thoughtless 
 or wicked nurse, will do worse things to a child 
 than Harry's nurse did to him. If parents 
 would forbid nurses when they are first employed 
 
CHRISTMAS STOKIES. 25 
 
 from saying or doing the least thing to frighten 
 their children, many a poor little victim would 
 be saved a great deal of present and future 
 misery. 
 
26 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 THE MISCHIEVOUS BOYS. 
 
 " Hokace, come up stairs with me into Uncle 
 James's room," said Edward one day to his 
 brother. 
 
 Horace took hold of Edward's hand, and 
 they ran up stairs together. When they got into 
 their Uncle's room, they shut the door. There 
 was nobody in the room but the two little boys ; 
 so Edward thought it was a fine chance to do 
 some mischief. He began to open all the 
 drawers, and look at the things that were in 
 them; he took out a bottle that was full of 
 cologne water, and calling Horace to him, he 
 poured it all out, some of it on his brother's hair 
 and some on his own. Their hair was all wet 
 with the cologne, an<) it ran down their faces. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOELES. 27 
 
 After lie had done this, he saw a pair of 
 scissors in the same drawer. 
 
 " Sit down, Horace," said he, " and I will cut 
 your hair for you : it wants cutting very much." 
 
 Horace was a little fellow ; he was only three 
 years old ; but Edward was six years old, and 
 knew better than to be doing all this mischief. 
 
 Horace sat down and Edward cut his hair all 
 over. He cut bunches out in different parts, 
 close to his head, and made it look frightful, but 
 he said, " Dear me ! how nice you look ! now 
 you cut my hair." 
 
 So Horace cut Edward's hair, and almost cut 
 off his ears, and hardly left any hair on his head. 
 
 After that, this naughty boy Edward took his 
 Uncle's best coat out of the drawer and put it on. 
 The tails of the coat dragged on the ground, and 
 it made Horace laugh very much to see his 
 brother marching round, with the tails of the 
 coat dragging on the ground. 
 
 When he was tired of wearing the coat, he 
 
28 aunt fanny's 
 
 took it off. He did not put it back in the 
 drawer, but threw it on the floor, where all the 
 hair was, that he and his brother had cut. 
 
 Presently he ran to the wash-stand. He 
 lifted the pitcher. It was full of water, and very- 
 heavy, and he spilled some of the water on the 
 carpet. Then he poured out the water into the 
 slop-jar, which stood by the side of the wash- 
 stand, and in doing it, he spilled the water all 
 round the outside of the slop-jar and wet the 
 carpet. 
 
 Did you ever hear of such a naughty boy 
 before ? But this is not half as bad as what I 
 am now going to tell you. 
 
 Little Horace had done just as he saw his 
 brother do — for little boys will always follow the 
 example of their older brothers. If any little 
 boy reads this, that has a brother younger than 
 himself, I hope he will remember this, and try to 
 set his little brother a good example. 
 
 "Well, as I was telling you, Horace opened 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 29 
 
 the drawer of the wash-stand, and took out a 
 box of tooth-powder, and then he got a glove out 
 of another drawer, and then he wet the glove 
 and dipped it in the tooth-powder. Some of the 
 powder stuck to the glove, and with this he 
 began to rub the brass tops of the tongs and poker. 
 
 "Only see, Edward," cried he, "how nice 
 this cleans the brass ! I am rubbing it, just as I 
 saw Jenny do, and I am making it look so clean 
 and bright ! don't it make it bright, Edward V 
 
 " Oh yes ! very bright," said Edward, " but 
 only look here, what I have found ! a beautiful 
 razor ! oh my ! how sharp it is ! Uncle James 
 shaves with it every morning. I'll tell you a 
 first-rate play, Horace. I will be a barber, and 
 you shall come to me to be shaved. You know 
 I will only make believe ; I won't really shave 
 you." 
 
 " Oh that will be fine," said Horace, throw- 
 ing down the tooth-powder, " that will be fine ! 
 Put some soap on my face, brother." 
 
30 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 " Yes," said Edward, " I will make a great lot 
 of soap-suds, and put it all over your face. Oh ! 
 won't it be nice ? won't it be a grand play V 
 
 So saying, he got out the shaving-brush, and 
 dipped it into the water that was in the slop- 
 iar, and rubbed it on the soap, till he had made 
 a great lather. He called it soap-suds, and then 
 he put it all over Horace's face with the brush, 
 and made him look like a fright. 
 
 Then this naughty boy took the sharp and 
 shining razor, and began to shave the soap off 
 his face. At first he only took the soap off, but 
 the next time he took off a piece of the skin 
 from Horace's face. 
 
 The little boy said, " Oh, Edward ! you hurt 
 me. I don't want to be shaved any more ! It 
 isn't a good play at all !" 
 
 " Don't be a coward," said Edward ; " it 
 always hurts to be shaved ; come, let me do it 
 once more." 
 
 Horace was not afraid of a little pain, and he 
 
CHEISTMAS STOKIES. 31 
 
 did not like to be called a coward. He believed 
 what his brother told him. So he held up his 
 face, and Edward began again to scrape off the 
 lather ; but this time Horace moved just as he 
 put the razor on his face, and it took the skin 
 all off of his cheek. 
 
 It began to bleed terribly, and smarted so 
 much, that Horace screamed, and ran out of the 
 room, and down stairs into the kitchen where his 
 Mother was. 
 
 She was very much frightened when she saw 
 the little boy with his face covered with blood 
 and lather, and cried, 
 
 " What is the matter with you, my child ? 
 What have you been doing V 
 
 " Oh, Mamma !" said he, crying bitterly, 
 " Edward has been shaving me, and I am all cut 
 to pieces — Oh ! how it hurts me — will it kill me, 
 Mamma f 
 
 His Mother got some water quickly and wash- 
 ed his face. She saw that he was very much cut. 
 
32 
 
 She was very sorry indeed, and tied up Ms face, 
 and did every thing she could think of, to relieve 
 the pain. But it hurt him very much all that 
 day and the next. 
 
 "When Edward came down stairs, he was 
 afraid to come where his Mother was, because he 
 knew he had been a very naughty boy, and he 
 was sure she would punish him. So he went and 
 hid himself under the bed. 
 
 His Mother called, "Edward! Edward!" but 
 he was afraid to come. So she had to hunt for 
 him, and found him all curled up as small as 
 possible under the bed. 
 
 " Come out instantly," said his Mother. 
 
 Edward crept out and began to cry, and beg 
 his Mother not to punish him, but his Mother 
 said: 
 
 " Edward, you knew you were doing wrong 
 when you got your uncle's razors to play with, 
 and if I do not punish you, you will always be 
 doing mischief, and grow up to be a very bad 
 man-" 
 
CHRISTMAS STOEIES. 33 
 
 So his Mother took a birch-rod out of the 
 closet, and gave Edward a very severe whipping ; 
 so severe that he remembered it for a long time, 
 and although after a great while he forgot, and 
 sometimes was tempted to do wrong, he never 
 wanted to play barber again, or make believe 
 shave any body with a razor. 
 
34 
 
 THE BROTHERS. 
 
 One day Henry came bounding home from 
 school, his face beaming with joy. He was head 
 of his class, and he held fast in his hand a fine 
 silver medal, which had been awarded to him for 
 good behavior. 
 
 " Oh !" said he to himself as he ran along, 
 " how happy this will make my dear Mother. I 
 know she will kiss me ; perhaps she will kiss me 
 five or six times, and call me her dear, dear boy. 
 Oh ! how I love my Mother." 
 
 He ran up the steps of the house where he 
 lived as he said this, and pulled the bell very hard, 
 for he was in a great hurry. His Father opened 
 the door. " Hush ! Henry," said he, " come in 
 very softly, your Mother is very sick." 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 35 
 
 " My Mother ! Dear Father, what is the mat- 
 ter with her ? May I go in to her if I will step 
 very •softly V 
 
 "No," said his Father, "you must not see 
 her now ; you must be very still indeed. I see, 
 my dear boy, that you have been rewarded for 
 good conduct in school ; I am glad that I have so 
 good a son. And now, Henry, I know you love 
 your Mother so much, that you will promise me 
 to be very still, and wait patiently until she is 
 able to see you." As he said this, he drew Henry 
 close to him, and smoothed down his long curling 
 hair, and kissed his cheek. 
 
 Henry Ihrew his arms around his Father's 
 neck, and promised him, and then putting away 
 his medal, he went softly on tiptoe up to his play- 
 room, and shutting the door, began to work on a 
 sloop that he was rigging. He did not get on 
 very fast, for he could not help thinking of his 
 dear Mother, and wishing he could see her. She 
 had hemmed all the sails of the sloop for him, 
 
36 aunt fanny's 
 
 and he was going to name it the " Eliza," after 
 her. 
 
 The next morning, Susan, the old nurse, 
 knocked very early at the door of the room where 
 Henry slept. " Master Henry," said she, " what 
 do you think happened last night V 
 
 " What did ?" said Henry, sitting up in the 
 bed ; " is my Mother better |9 
 
 " Yes, she is better," replied Susan, " but do 
 guess what has come. Something that you have 
 wished for very often. Something you can play 
 with, and take care of, and love more than you 
 love your dog Hector." 
 
 a Is it alive V said Henry. 
 
 "Yes," replied Susan, "it is alive, and in 
 your mother's room." 
 
 " Can it be a brother, a real live brother P 
 cried Henry, jumping out of bed, and running 
 up to Susan. 
 
 " Yes, it is a brother, a real live brother," said 
 Susan, laughing. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 37 
 
 " I Ve got a brother, I've got a brother, a real 
 brother !" shouted Henry, running up and down 
 the room, clapping his hands, jumping over the 
 chairs, and making a terrible noise, for in his joy- 
 he hardly knew what he was about. 
 
 " Oh hush, Master Henry !" said Susan. 
 " What a crazy little fellow !" your Mother is 
 still very ill. Now dress yourself quickly and 
 quietly, and you shall see your little brother." 
 
 Henry trembled with joy, and in his haste he 
 put his feet into the arms of his jacket, and his 
 arms into the legs of his trousers ; but after a 
 while he managed to get them on right, and 
 though he washed his face and hands in a minute, 
 and brushed his hair with the back of the brush, 
 yet he did not look so bad as you might suppose. 
 
 He went very softly into his Mother's room. 
 It was darkened, and he could not see very well. 
 He went up to the side of the bed. His Mother 
 smiled and said, " Come here, my son." Her 
 face was pale, but it had a very happy look, for 
 4 
 
38 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 in her arms, sweetly sleeping, was the little 
 brother that Henry had longed for. He had a 
 sister, who was nearly his own age, but he had 
 always wished for a brother, and the brother 
 had come at last. 
 
 " Dear Mother, may I help yon take care of 
 my little brother V said Henry ; " yon know I am 
 strong enough to hold him. I would not let 
 him fall for the world." 
 
 " Yes, dear boy," replied his Mother, " when 
 he is a little older, I shall have a great deal of 
 comfort in trusting this dear little brother with 
 you. It is more necessary now than ever, my 
 son, that you should try always to be good, and 
 to set a good example before your brother. He 
 will be sure to do just as you do. If you are a 
 good boy, you will be a good man; and how 
 happy you will be, when you are grown up, to 
 think that your good example will have made 
 your brother a good boy, and a good man too. 
 Now kiss me, and go get your breakfast." 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 39 
 
 Henry kissed his Mother, and told her of his 
 good conduct in school, at which she was very 
 glad, and then stooping down, he kissed the soft 
 cheek of the little sleeping baby, and went gen- 
 tly out of the room. 
 
 In a few weeks, his Mother got quite well, 
 and Charles (that was the baby's name) began 
 to laugh and play with his brother. Henry was 
 never so happy as when he was with Charles. 
 He always put him to sleep at night. The dear 
 little fellow would clasp his little hand tight 
 round one of Henry's fingers, and fall to sleep 
 in his bed, while his brother sang to him. 
 
 One day when Charles was about four years 
 old, he said, M Dear brother, will you ride me on 
 your back V Henry was very busy just then ; he 
 was making a bow and arrow. He looked down, 
 and saw a sweet little face, and two bright blue 
 eyes, looking at him, and saying as plainly 
 as eyes could say, "Do, dear brother." So 
 he said, "Yes, Charley, I will, if you will help 
 
40 AUNT FANISTY'S 
 
 me to put away.niy things." Charles ran about, 
 and helped Henry put his play-room in nice or- 
 der, and then climbing on his back, and holding 
 fast to a ribbon, for a bridle, which Henry held 
 between his teeth, he gave him a little tap on the 
 shoulder, and crying " Get up, old fellow," away 
 they went around the room, Henry galloping so 
 hard, that Charles bounced about almost as much 
 as if he was on a real pony. 
 
 " Let us go in the parlors, they are a great 
 deal larger," said Charles ; " do, dear brother." 
 
 " I am afraid it would not be right," replied 
 Henry ; a we may break something. Mother 
 has said that we had better never play there." 
 
 "But we will be so careful," said the little 
 boy ; "we can play circus so nice. I want to go 
 in the parlor." 
 
 Henry's Father and Mother had gone out 
 riding, so he could not ask leave to play in the 
 parlors. He was almost sure it was wrong to go 
 there, but he wanted to gratify his brother ; so 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 41 
 
 promising himself to be very careful, he trotted 
 down stairs into the parlor, with Charles on his 
 back. At first he went slowly round the two 
 rooms, but Charles began to whip his horse and 
 cry, " Get up, old boy, you are getting lazy. 
 You shall be a race-horse — you shall be Boston. 
 Now go faster, faster ; go round the room like 
 lightning." 
 
 So round he went, fast and faster, shaking 
 his head, and taking great jumps, and kicking his 
 legs up behind, with Charley holding on, laugh- 
 ing and screaming with delight, till alas ! sad to 
 tell, his elbow brushed against a beautiful and 
 costly vase, which stood upon a little table, 
 knocked it off, and broke it into a hundred pieces. 
 
 Henry stopped short, and let Charles slide 
 down from his back. He looked at the broken 
 vase, and then at his brother, and Charles looked 
 at Henry, and then at the pieces on the floor. 
 
 "It is all broken," said he. "It can't be 
 mended at all, can it, brother V 1 
 
42 
 
 " No, it is past mending," said Henry ; " and 
 the first thing we must do will be to tell Mother." 
 
 " Oh no !" said the little boy, " I am afraid 
 to tell her." 
 
 " We must never be afraid to tell the truth, 
 dear Charley. I will set you a good example. 
 You shall never learn to tell a lie from me." 
 Henry had always remembered what his Mother 
 had said to him, the very first time he ever saw 
 his little brother ; and very often, when he was 
 tempted to be naughty, or get in a passion, the 
 words " Your brother will do just as you do," 
 would seem to come from his heart, and he would 
 conquer his passion. 
 
 In a few moments the boys heard the wheels 
 of the carriage. Henry went to the hall door, 
 and opened it. He held Charles by the hand. 
 He had to hold him pretty tight, for Charles tried 
 to get away. His face was pale. He waited 
 until his Mother got out of the carriage and came 
 up the steps — and taking hold of her hand and 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 43 
 
 looking up in her face, he said in a firm voice, 
 a Mother, I have broken your vase." 
 
 " And I too," said the little boy, " and it is 
 broken all to pieces." 
 
 Henry was glad to hear his little brother say 
 this, and oh ! how happy it made him feel, to 
 think that he had learned to speak the truth from 
 him. 
 
 Their Mother kissed them both and said, 
 " My darling boys, I am rejoiced that you are 
 not afraid to speak the truth. I would rather 
 lose twenty vases than have you tell a lie ; but 
 you knew it was wrong to play in the parlors, 
 did you not V 
 
 "Yes, dear Mother, it was wrong, and I 
 knew it was," replied Henry. "I will submit 
 to any punishment you think right. I ought 
 to have remembered that you advised us not to 
 go there." 
 
 " If you think you ought to be punished," 
 said his Mother, " Charley shall go to bed to- 
 
44 AUNT FANNYS 
 
 night without your singing to him. This will 
 make you both remember. Is that right V 
 
 "Yes, dear Mother," said Henry; but he 
 looked very sorry ; and little Charles made up a 
 long face, for he loved his brother so much, that 
 he could not bear to think that he must go to 
 sleep without holding his finger and hearing him 
 sing. 
 
 When bed-time came, Charley wanted to beg 
 his Mother to think of some other punishment for 
 him. He wanted his dear brother so much. He 
 looked at Henry, but Henry said, " Good-night, 
 little fellow. "We deserve this. Come ! — one 
 night will soon be over. Now, let us see how 
 well you can behave ; and he gave him a smile, 
 and a kiss so full of love, that the little fellow 
 put his lips tight together, and marched off to 
 bed without a tear. It was pretty hard to do it, 
 but he had this kind brother to set him a good 
 example, and he was determined to be as good a 
 boy as Henry. 
 
CHKISTMAS STOEIES. 45 
 
 Not many weeks after this, poor little Charles 
 was taken sick. He was very sick indeed, and 
 every day he grew worse. The doctor did all he 
 could for him, and Henry staid with him night 
 and day, and would hardly take any rest. He 
 gave him all his medicine, and sang to him very 
 often when he was in pain. But Charles did 
 not get any better, and at last, the doctor said 
 that he could not make him well— the little boy 
 must die. 
 
 When Henry heard this, the tears burst from 
 his eyes, and he sobbed out, " Oh my brother ! 
 Oh my brother ! I cannot part with you, my 
 little precious brother." 
 
 The poor little fellow had become so weak 
 and thin that he could scarcely lift his hands 
 from the bed where he lay. 
 
 The last night came. He knew that he 
 would not live many hours, for his dear Mother 
 had told him so ; and now she told him, that as 
 he had always tried to be a good boy, he would 
 
46 aunt fanny's 
 
 go to Heaven, and Jesus would take him into Ms 
 bosom, and love him, and keep him, until they 
 came to him. 
 
 His little pale face grew bright. "Dear 
 Mother," said he, "will Jesus let my brother 
 come to me? I want my brother in Heaven. 
 Come here close to me," said he to Henry. His 
 brother leaned his face down close to the little 
 boy's face, and helped him clasp his arms around 
 his neck, and then he whispered, in a soft weak 
 voice, " Do not cry, dear brother, do not cry any 
 more. I will pray to Jesus, to let you come very 
 soon and sing me to sleep in Heaven." 
 
 These were the last words he spoke, for his 
 breath grew shorter and shorter, and soon after 
 his little hand dropped away from his brother's, 
 and he was dead. 
 
 His Father had him buried in Greenwood 
 Cemetery. 
 
 It was in the summer time that he died, and 
 his brother Henry planted a white rose-bush at 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 47 
 
 the foot of the little grave, and a red rose-bush 
 at the head, and often in the pleasant summer 
 afternoons he would go alone to Greenwood, and 
 sit upon little Charley's grave, and think how he 
 might now be praying for him in Heaven. 
 
 Henry is now a man. He was always a good 
 boy. He is now a good man; and although 
 many years have passed since he lost his little 
 brother, he goes every summer to Greenwood to 
 visit his grave ; and the tears always come into 
 his eyes when he speaks of him, and tells that 
 little Charley's last words were, that he would 
 pray to Jesus to let his darling brother come 
 soon, and sing him to sleep in Heaven. 
 
 
 w 
 
 J**r 
 
48 aunt fanny's 
 
 ANNIE BROWNE. 
 
 Little Annie Browne was "an only child, that 
 is, her parents had no little boys at all, and only 
 this one little girl; so yon may be sure they 
 loved this little girl very much indeed, and were 
 all the time doing every thing to make her happy. 
 Now I wonder if the dear little boy, or girl, who 
 is reading this, can guess the means that Annie's 
 Father and Mother took to make her happy. 
 
 Did they give her plenty of candy? No. 
 Did they buy new play things for her every 
 day ? No. Did they take her very often to the 
 Museum, or the Circus, or the Menagerie ? No. 
 This was not the way. I will tell you what they 
 cl fend I will tell you what Annie did, for one 
 wW&e day, when she was about five years old, 
 
 Mb 
 
 n»* 4 * 
 

 CHRISTMAS STORIES. 49 
 
 and that will give you a very good idea of the 
 way they took to make her good, for then she 
 was save to be liajppy. 
 
 *■ "Well, one day Annie woke up very early in 
 the morning, and, sitting up in her little bed, 
 which was close by the side of her Mamma's, she 
 first rubbed her eyes, and than she looked all 
 round the room, and saw a narrow streak of 
 bright light on the wall. It was made by the 
 sun shining through a crack in the shutter. She 
 began to sing softly this little song, that she had 
 learned in school — 
 
 " What is it shines so very bright. 
 That quick dispels the dusky night ? 
 
 It is the sun, the sun, 
 Shedding around its cheerful light — 
 It is the sun, the sun." 
 
 Presently she looked round again, and saw 
 her Mamma sleeping. She said in her soft little 
 voice — "Mamma, Mamma, good morning, dear 
 Mamma." 
 
50 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 But her Mamma did not wake up. Then she 
 crept over her to where her Papa was sleeping, 
 and said — 
 
 a Papa, Papa, good morning, dear Papa." 
 
 But her Papa was too fast asleep to hear her. 
 So she gave her Papa a little kiss on the end 
 of his nose, and laid gently down between 
 them. 
 
 In a few minutes, her Papa woke up, and 
 said — 
 
 "Why! what little monkey is this in the 
 bed?" which made Annie laugh very much. She 
 then jumped out of bed, and put on her stock- 
 ings and shoes herself, as all little boys and 
 girls of five years old ought, and put on her 
 clothes ; and her Mamma, who was now awake, 
 fastened them, and brushed her hair nicely, and 
 washed her face and hands. After that, she said 
 some little prayers, that her Mamma had taught 
 her — and then ran down stabs, singing as gay as 
 a lark, and dancing as light as a fairy. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 51 
 
 After breakfast, her Mamma got her school 
 basket, (it was a cunning little basket,) and put 
 in it a nice slice of bread and butter, and a 
 peach, and gave her a little bouquet of flowers 
 to present to her teacher, whom little Annie 
 loved dearly ; and then her Mamma said, " Good 
 bye, my darling," and Annie made her such a 
 funny little curtsey, that she nearly tumbled 
 over, and off she went to school with her Papa, 
 who always saw her safe to the door. 
 
 Annie staid in school from nine o'clock until 
 two. When she came home, her Mother kissed 
 her, and said — 
 
 " Have you been a good little girl in school 
 to-day?" 
 
 " I think I have," said Annie ; " Miss Harriet 
 said that I was very diligent. What is diligent, 
 Mamma P 
 
 "To be diligent, my dear," answered her 
 Mamma, "means to study your lesson all the 
 time, without thinking of play, or any thing 
 else, until you know it perfectly." 
 
52 aunt fanny's 
 
 Annie said she was glad it meant such good 
 mings, and added, " Mamma, will yon play I am 
 a lady, coming to see you, if you are not too 
 busy ff 
 
 Her Mamma said she would. So Annie got 
 her two dollys. One was a very pretty wax doll, 
 with eyes that could open and shut. Her name 
 was Emily; and the other was not wax, but 
 was larger. Her name was Augusta. She put 
 on then hats and visites, and dressed herself in 
 an old hat, with a green veil, and came near her 
 Mamma, and made believe ring a bell, and said, 
 " Ting a ling, ting a ling." 
 
 " Come in," said her Mamma. 
 
 Little Annie shook hands with her Mamma, 
 and said, " How do you do, Mrs. Browne ?" 
 
 "Thank you, I am very well," said her 
 Mamma. " Take a seat, my dear Mrs. Frisby," 
 that was Annie's name. "How are your chil- 
 dren, Mrs. Frisby ?" 
 
 " Oh ! they are very sick," answered Annie : 
 
CHEISTMA8 STORIES. 53 
 
 "one has the toothache, and the other has & 
 little square hole in the back of her head, ar# 
 it has made her head ache." 
 
 " Dear me, Mrs. Frisby," said her Mamma, 
 " I am very sorry to hear it ; yon ought to go 
 to the doctor with them." 
 
 Then Annie pretended to go to the doctor, 
 and she took out of the drawer a little bit of 
 sugar for medicine. She eat the medicine up 
 herself, and said that it had done the dollys 
 a great deal of good. In this pleasant way she 
 amused herself until dinner time. 
 
 After dinner, her Papa and Mamma took 
 her to Union Park, as it was pleasant ; and there 
 Annie jumped the rope with other little girls, or 
 rolled a great hoop. She could roll the hoop 
 very well. 
 
 Then she came skipping home, and had her 
 tea ; and after that her Mother undressed her and 
 heard her say her prayers, and kissed her for 
 good night ; and she jumped into bed, and in a 
 
54 aunt fanny's 
 
 moment was fast asleep. Don't you think 
 ^Lnnie was a happy little girl? I think she 
 was, for all her days passed in this pleasant 
 manner. Some other time, perhaps, I will tell 
 yon more about little Annie Browne. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 55 
 
 THE THREE BEARS. 
 
 Laura and Fanny came one Saturday to 
 spend the day with their Grandmamma. The 
 moment they got into the house, little Laura ran 
 to the book-case, to get a book to read; and 
 Fanny asked for a needle and thread, and began 
 to sew up a corner of the red cloth that was on 
 the work-table. 
 
 Both these little girls were very fond of com- 
 ing to see their Grandmamma, and she liked to 
 have them come ; for they gave her no trouble, 
 and were very good and polite to every body. 
 
 Pretty soon Laura said, " Oh, dear ! this is 
 not a very interesting book, I am tired of reading 
 it. I wonder where Aunt Fanny is. I believe 
 
56 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 I will go find her, and get her to tell me a 
 story." 
 
 "A story!" said Fanny, "then I will go 
 too." So she stuck her needle in her work, 
 and they both ran out of the room. 
 
 They found their Aunt Fanny in the next 
 room. She was sitting at her writing-desk, 
 writing a letter. 
 
 " Oh v Auntie !" said Laura, coming up to the 
 desk, " how much you have written ; I am sure 
 you must "be tired. Suppose you stop a little 
 while, and rest yourself by telling us a story." 
 
 Her Aunt laughed, and said that was a very 
 clever way of getting a story out of her, and 
 asked the children what kind of a story they 
 would like. 
 
 " I like a fairy tale," said little Fanny. 
 
 " And I like a ghost story," said Laura. " I 
 think a ghost story is great fun, for I never 
 believe a word of it." 
 
 " But you know I never tell ghost stories," 
 replied her Aunt ; " they are very silly things. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 57 
 
 I will tell you a story about three bears, which I 
 read a long while ago. I do not remember it 
 exactly, but I think I can make it do for you." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! yes !" cried the children, " three 
 bears ! — that will be funny I know." 
 
 So their kind Aunt laid down her pen, and 
 took little Fanny upon her lap, and told Laura to 
 get a bench and sit by her side, and commenced 
 her story* 
 
 " Once upon a time there were three bears, 
 that lived in a thick wood. One was a GREAT 
 BIG- BEAR, one a middling sized bear, and 
 the third a tiny hit of a hear. The GREAT 
 BIG BEAR lived in a GREAT BIG HOUSE; 
 the middling sized bear lived in a middling 
 sized house ; and the tiny hit of a hear lived in 
 
 * This story should be read aloud. When the reader 
 comes to the "great big bear," or to any thing he says 
 or does, he (the reader) should read in a loud gruff voice ; 
 all about the " middling sized bear," in the ordinary voice ; 
 and all about the "tiny bit of a bear," in a high small 
 squeaking voice. 
 
58 aunt fanny's 
 
 a little speck of a house; and the houses were 
 close together. 
 
 " Well, one day the bears went off to take 
 a walk; and, while they were gone, a little 
 ragged dirty old woman came through the wood. 
 All at once, she spied the three houses ; so she 
 hobbled up to see who lived in them. First 
 she went into the great big bear's house, and 
 there she saw a great big bowl of porridge 
 on the table. She tasted it. It was a great 
 deal too hot. Then she came out of the house, 
 and went into the middling sized bear's house, 
 and there she saw a middling sized bowl of 
 porridge. So she tasted it, and found it was 
 a little to hot. She came out, and went into 
 the tiny bit of a bear's house, and there she 
 saw a little mite of a bowl of porridge. She 
 tasted it, and it was just right, so the little 
 ragged dirty old woman eat it all up. Then 
 she went up stairs and laid down on the tiny 
 bit of a bear's bed, and was very soon fast 
 asleep. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 59 
 
 "By and by, the bears came home. The 
 great big bear went into his house, and looked 
 on the table. Then he said, in a tremendous 
 voice — 
 
 " ' Somebody has been at my bowl of por- 
 ridge.' 
 
 "The middling sized bear went into his 
 house, and, looking on the table, he said in 
 a middling sized voice — 
 
 " ' Somebody has been at my bowl of por- 
 ridge.' 
 
 " Then the tiny bit of a bear went into his 
 house, and, looking on the table, he said, in a 
 little squeaking voice — 
 
 " ' Somebody has been at my bowl of por- 
 ridge, and eat it all up.' 
 
 " Oh, how angr) he was. He wers t to the 
 door, and called the other bears, and they all 
 three went up stairs together, to search for the 
 thief; and there they found the thief, in the 
 shape of the little ragged dirty old woman that 
 
60 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 was fast asleep, and snoring like a trumpeter, on 
 the bed. The great big bear went and stood at 
 the head of the bed ; the middling sized bear 
 went and stood at the middle of the bed ; and 
 the tiny bit of a bear went and stood at the foot 
 of the bed. Then the great big bear said — 
 " ' Who is this in the bed V 
 u The middling sized bear said — 
 " ' It looks like a dirty old woman.' 
 " - And there's some of my porridge sticking 
 on her lips,' said the tiny bit of a bear. As he 
 said this, the old woman awoke, and opened her 
 eyes. 
 
 "When she saw the bears, she was fright- 
 ened almost out of her wits ; so sbe started up, 
 and jumped right out of the window, that was 
 tlose to the bed, and ran off with all her might 
 and main. Then the bears tumbled down stairs 
 head over heels, pell-mell, and rushed out of the 
 house, to catch her and eat her up ; but they 
 were so fat, they could not run as fast as she 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 61 
 
 could ; so the little ragged dirty old woman got 
 off, all out of breath, but safe and sound." 
 
 " What did the tiny bit of a bear do for his 
 dinner ?" asked Fanny. 
 
 "He had to suck his paws, I suppose," 
 answered her Aunt ; " but I do not know, for 
 that was the end of the story." 
 
 The children had laughed very much at this 
 story, because their Aunt had told it to them in 
 a way that made it very amusing. They thanked 
 her, and said they hoped she would tell it to 
 them again, the next Saturday. She promised 
 she would, and told them to run off, as she 
 wanted to finish her letter. So the little girls 
 went off, and spent the rest of the day in various 
 ways, taking care not to be troublesome or 
 noisy; and when they went home, they told 
 their Mother, as well as they could, the funny 
 story of the three bears. 
 
62 
 
 ABOUT MINDING QUICKLY. 
 
 Emma was one day sitting by the fire, on a 
 little bench. She was trying to cut a mouse out of 
 a piece of paper. She had a pair of scissors, with 
 round ends. Her Mother had given her these 
 scissors for her own, because they were safer 
 for her to use than scissors with pointed ends. 
 
 Presently her Mother said, " Come here to 
 me, Emma." 
 
 " Wait a minute, Mother," said Emma. 
 
 " Do you know," said her Mother, " that it 
 was naughty for you to say that ?" 
 
 "Why, you can wait a little minute," said 
 Emma ; u I am very busy. Don't you see that 
 I am making a mouse ?" 
 
 u Emma," replied her Mother, " do you know 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 63 
 
 that I ought to punish you, because you do not 
 mind?" 
 
 "I am coming right away," cried Emma, 
 dropping her scissors and her paper mouse, 
 and running up to her Mother. 
 
 Her Mother took her up on her lap, and said, 
 " My little girl, this will never do. You must 
 learn to come at once when you are called ; you 
 must obey quickly. If you continue in this very 
 naughty habit of not minding until you are told to 
 do a thing two or three times, you will grow up a 
 very disagreeable girl, and nobody will love you." 
 
 Emma looked up mournfully into her Moth- 
 er's face, and said, " Mother, I will try to do bet- 
 ter." 
 
 She was a good-tempered child, and was sel- 
 dom cross or sullen ; but she had this one bad 
 habit, and it was a very bad habit indeed — she 
 waited to be told twice, and sometimes oftener, 
 and many times she made her kind Mother very 
 unhappy. 
 
64 AUNT FANNYS 
 
 For a few days after this Emma remembered 
 what her Mother had said to her, and always 
 came the first time she was called. She came 
 pleasantly, for it is very important to mind plea- 
 santly, and did every thing she was told to do 
 right away, and her Mother loved her dearly, and 
 hoped she was quite cured of her naughty ways. 
 
 But I am very sorry to have to say that a time 
 came when Emma entirely forgot her promise. 
 You shall hear how it happened. 
 
 One morning Emma's Mother said to her, 
 " Emma, it is time for you to get up, and put on 
 your stockings and shoes." 
 
 Emma did not move. She lay with her eyes 
 wide open, watching a fly on the wall, that was 
 scrubbing his thin wings with his hind legs. 
 
 "Did you hear me, Emma? Put on your 
 stockings and shoes." 
 
 Emma got up very slowly. She put one foot 
 out of bed, and then looked again at the fly. 
 This time he was scrubbing his face with his fore 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 65 
 
 legs. So she sat there, and said to herself, " I 
 wonder how that funny little fly can stay upon 
 the wall. I can't walk up the wall as the fly can. 
 What a little round black head he has got." 
 
 "Emma!" said her Mother, and this time 
 she spoke in a very severe tone. 
 
 Emma started, and put her other foot out 
 of bed, and took up one of her stockings. 
 
 Her Mother got out of her bed, which was 
 close to Emma's crib, and began to dress herself. 
 When she was dressed, she looked round, and saw 
 Emma, with one stocking half on, and the other 
 rolled up in a little ball, which she was throwing 
 up in the air. 
 
 Her Mother was angry with her. She went 
 up to her, and took her stocking away from her, 
 and told her to get into bed again, for if she 
 would not dress herself when her Mother bid her, 
 she should be punished by being made to lie in 
 bed. She shut up the window shutters, and took 
 all the books out of the room, and telling Emma 
 
6$ AtTNT FANNY'S 
 
 not to get up until she gave her leave, she went 
 down stairs to breakfast. 
 
 Now children don't like to be put to bed in 
 the daytime ; at least I have never heard of any 
 one that did ; and Emma was soon tired of lying 
 in bed, in a dark room, wide awake, with nothing 
 to do, and no pleasant thoughts, for she could 
 think of nothing but her naughty behavior. So 
 this was a very severe punishment, and she began 
 to cry, and wish she had minded ' quickly, and 
 then she would have been down stairs, where the 
 sun was shining brightly into the windows. She 
 would have been sitting in her chair, with her 
 dear little kitten in her lap, and a nice bowl of 
 bread and milk for her breakfast. She always 
 saved a little milk in the bottom of the bowl for 
 Daisy her kitten, and after she had done, she 
 would give the rest to Daisy. So you see that 
 Emma lost a great deal by not minding quickly 
 and what was worse than all, she had displeased 
 her Mother and made her unhappy. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 67 
 
 Oh, how weary she got. How she longed to 
 get up. She did not dare to disobey her Mother, 
 and she lay in her crib a long, long time, and 
 thought she never could be so naughty again. 
 
 At last her Mother came in the room. She 
 opened the shutters, and said, " Emma, you may 
 get up and put on your stockings and shoes.*' 
 
 Emma jumped up quickly, and had them on 
 in two minutes, and then she took off her night- 
 gown and put on her day clothes, which hung 
 over the back of the chair by her crib, and went 
 to her Mother to have them fastened, for she 
 could not fasten them herself. Her Mother fast- 
 ened her clothes, and then taking her little girl's 
 hand, she said, " My dear little Emma, you have 
 made me feel very unhappy this morning. I do 
 not like to punish you, but it is my duty to try to 
 cure you of all your naughty ways, and it is your 
 duty to try to overcome them. If you do not, 
 some day you may meet with some terrible mis- 
 fortune, like that which happened to a boy I used 
 
68 
 
 to know when I was young. I will tell it to yon. 
 This boy, like yon, grieved his parents often, by 
 not minding quickly ; and he suffered for -it in a 
 way that he will never forget, as long as he lives. 
 He was one day standing on the steps of the 
 house where he lived, and I was standing at the 
 window of the house opposite, where I lived. I 
 was watching some men that were on the top of 
 this boy's house, fixing the roof. The roof was 
 covered with loose pieces of slate, and nails, and 
 rubbish. 
 
 " Presently one of the men on the roof cried 
 out, l Go in, little boy ; go in.' But the boy was 
 looking at a kite that some other boys had in the 
 street, and he did not choose to go in. The man 
 thought that he had minded what he told him, 
 and without looking again, he tumbled down a 
 great heap of slates and rubbish. The house was 
 quite high, and a large and sharp piece of slate 
 came down very swiftly, and struck the boy on 
 the side of his head, and cut off nearly the whole 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 69 
 
 of his ear. In a moment the blood poured down 
 his neck and over his clothes, and I thought he 
 would bleed to death. Oh Emma ! what a 
 dreadful punishment for not minding quickly ! 
 
 "For a long time he went about with his 
 head bound up, and when he got well again the 
 side of his face looked very bad indeed, for where 
 his ear had been there was a dreadful scar that 
 never went away. Now he is a man, and he 
 often tells children how he got this dreadful scar, 
 and all^because he did not mind quickly." 
 
 The tears had rolled down Emma's face, while 
 her Mother was telling her this story. "When she 
 had finished it, Emma put her arms around her 
 mother's neck, and told her that indeed she would 
 try to obey at once, and be a good little girl, so 
 that her dear Mother would never be unhappy 
 about her again. 
 
 Her Mother kissed her, and took her down 
 stairs, and gave her some breakfast, and all this 
 day, and ever after, she did try very hard to be 
 
70 aunt fanny's 
 
 good. "Whenever she felt herself going about 
 any thing slowly, the thought of the poor boy 
 who had lost his ear would come into her mind, 
 and she would jump up at once, when her Moth- 
 er called her, and do whatever she wanted her to 
 do, pleasantly and quickly. 
 
'Presently their mother opened the door. 1 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 71 
 
 THE TWINS. 
 
 "Well, Susan," said her Father one day, 
 as she came home from school, " I am glad to 
 see you ; I wish to inform you that two young 
 gentlemen arrived here to-day." 
 
 " What are their names, Father ?" asked 
 Susan. 
 
 " I do not know," answered her Father — " I 
 do not believe they have got any names. They 
 are very small — so small, that at this moment 
 they are both asleep in the great chair." 
 
 "Both asleep in the great chair?" cried 
 Susan, astonished at what her Father had said. 
 " I do believe you have been buying two little 
 monkeys." 
 
 " No, I have not," said her Father, laughing, 
 
72 aunt fact's 
 
 " Now come with me, and I will show you these 
 strangers, and then see if you will say they are 
 monkeys." 
 
 Susan went with her Father. He took her 
 hand, and led her into her Mother's room. The 
 room was dark, and her Mother was lying in the 
 bed. Susan was afraid that she was sick. She 
 went to her and said — 
 
 "Dear Mother, are you sick? You look 
 very pale." 
 
 Her Mother kissed her, and said, "I am very 
 weak, my dear child ; but do you not want to 
 see your little brothers ?" 
 
 "Brothers? — where?" cried Susan. "Have 
 I a brother ?" 
 
 " Two of them," said her Father. " Come 
 here, Susan, here they both are, fast asleep." 
 
 Susan went up to the great easy chair, and 
 in the seat of it she saw, all tucked up warm, 
 two little round fat faces lying close together. 
 Their noses nearly touched each other, and they 
 looked funny enough. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. f 3 
 
 ""Well, Susan," said her Father, "do you 
 like the monkeys ?" 
 
 " Oh Father !" answered the little girl, clasp- 
 ing her hands, " I am so glad — I am so happy ! 
 They are exactly alike- — how I shall love them, 
 the dear little toads." 
 
 "Toads," said her Father, laughing; "they 
 don't look a bit like toads." 
 
 " "Well, I said that "because I loved them so," 
 replied Susan, "just as you sometimes call me 
 your little mouse." 
 
 For two weeks, the little twins slept together 
 in the great chair, and there was no end to 
 Susan's wonder and delight. Her Mother had 
 to tie a bit of red silk around the wrist of one of 
 them, to tell them apart. They grew very fast, 
 and were the dearest little fellows in the world, 
 they had such bright merry black eyes, and were 
 always ready to have a frolic with Susan. As 
 they grew up, they were so good, and so pretty, 
 that every body loved them, and a great many 
 
74 aunt fanny's 
 
 people came to see them. I forgot to tell yon that 
 one was named George and the other James. 
 
 One day, when the twins were three years 
 old, they were left alone in the breakfast room. 
 The things on the breakfast table had been 
 cleared away, except a bowl nearly full of 
 sugar, which was standing on the table. 
 
 Presently the little fellows spied the bowl 
 of sugar. " George," said James, " if you will 
 help me with this chair, I will give you some 
 sugar." 
 
 So both the boys took hold of the heavy 
 chair, and dragged it to the table. Then James 
 helped George to climb upon it, and from that 
 he scrambled up on the table. He walked 
 across, to where the sugar was, and sat down on 
 the table, and took the sugar bowl in his lap. 
 
 " Now you get the bench," said George. 
 
 So James got the bench, and put it close to 
 the side of the table where George was, and 
 stood upon it. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 75 
 
 You should have seen how their merry black 
 eyes sparkled, at the fine feast they were going 
 to have. They did not think that they were 
 doing wrong, for their Mother had often given 
 them a little sugar. 
 
 So George took the spoon that was in the 
 sugar, and helped James to a spoonful, and 
 then took one himself. He was very particular 
 to give James exactly as many spoonfuls as he 
 took himself. 
 
 They were having such a delightful time, 
 that, for* some moments, they did not speak a 
 single word. George began first — 
 
 " This is nice," said George. 
 
 " I like sugar," said James. 
 
 "It is so sweet," said George. 
 
 " And so good," said James. 
 
 " "We will eat it all up," said George. 
 
 " We won't leave a bit," said James. 
 
 " It is most all gone," said George. 
 
 " There is hardly any left," said James. 
 
76 aunt fanny's 
 
 All this time they were talking, George had 
 been stuffing his brother and himself with the 
 sugar. 
 
 Just then their Mother opened the door. 
 She had opened it softly, and the little boys had 
 not heard her. When she saw them so busy — 
 with their round faces stuck all over with crumbs 
 of sugar, and George sitting on the table, deal- 
 ing it out so fairly — she could not keep from 
 laughing. 
 
 The twins heard her laugh, so they laughed 
 too ; and George cried out — " Mother, this 
 sugar is nice — I like it." 
 
 " And so do I," said James. 
 
 Their Mother lifted George from the table, 
 and told them they must not do so again, for so 
 much sugar would make them sick. She washed 
 their faces, and sent them to play in the garden., 
 There was a fine large garden at the back of 
 the house, where they could play without danger. 
 
 Three years after this, the twins were sent 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEEES. 77 
 
 to school, where they soon became great favorites, 
 because they were amiable, and good, and always 
 willing to do as they were told. They looked so 
 exactly alike, and were dressed so exactly alike, 
 that often very funny mistakes were made. I 
 will tell you something that happened, that was 
 not funny, but it will show you how hard it was 
 to tell which was George, and which was James. 
 
 One day, the teacher gave the twins a 
 spelling lesson, and told them that they must 
 know it perfectly that morning. 
 
 Now George, for the first time, was naughty, 
 and instead of learning the lesson, he was mak- 
 ing elephants and giraffes on his slate; but 
 James studied his lesson, and soon knew it. 
 Presently the teacher said, "James, do you 
 know your lesson V 
 
 " Yes, sir," said James. He went up to the 
 desk and said it very well. 
 
 " You know it perfectly," said his teacher ; 
 " you are a good boy. Now go to your seat." 
 
78 
 
 In a few moments he said, " George, come 
 and say your lesson." 
 
 But George did not know a word of it ; and 
 James whispered to him, " I don't want you to 
 be punished, brother ; I will go for you and say 
 it again." 
 
 So James went and repeated his lesson. 
 The teacher thought of course it was George ; 
 he said, a Very well indeed, George ; you know 
 it just as well as James: you are both good 
 boys." 
 
 When George heard this praise, which he 
 did not deserve, he was troubled. He had been 
 taught never to deceive. He did not think at 
 first how wrong he had been ; now, he saw 
 plainly, that it was very wrong ; that he and his 
 brother had been acting a lie. 
 
 He whispered to James, "Brother, I can't 
 bear to cheat, so I will go right away and tell 
 the teacher." 
 
 So he went directly up to the desk, and said, 
 " Sir, I have not yet said my lesson." 
 
CHEISTMAS STOKIES. 79 
 
 " Why, yes you have," replied the teacher, 
 %C I have just heard you say it." 
 
 "No, sir, if you please," said George, "I 
 do not know it at all. James said it twice, to 
 save me from being punished." 
 
 " Well, George," replied his teacher, ' ' I am 
 very glad you have told me this. I never should 
 have found it out. But your conscience told you 
 that you were doing wrong ; and I am thankful 
 you have listened to its warnings, and made 
 up your mind at once, to be an honest boy. I 
 will not punish you, or James, for I am sure 
 neither of you will do so again." 
 
 The little boys promised him they never 
 would — and they never did. They grew up 
 honest and good. 
 
 Some other day, I will tell you more about 
 them. 
 
80 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 THE LITTLE BOY THAT WAS AFRAID OP 
 THE WATER. 
 
 Once on a time, there were two little boys. 
 "William was five years old, and Johnny was not 
 quite three. The weather was very warm, and 
 these little boys got very weak, and looked so 
 pale and sick, that the doctor said their parents 
 had better take them to Newport, and let them 
 bathe in the surf. So their Mother packed up 
 their clothes, and some books, for she did not 
 wish them to be idle ; and, one pleasant after- 
 noon, they all went on board of the steamboat 
 that was going to Newport. 
 
 The little boys were very much amused at 
 all they saw. There were a good many other 
 boys in the boat, and William and Johnny looked 
 
" Oil ! dear mamma come and kiss me 'fore I die. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 81 
 
 very hard at them, and wished they knew what 
 their names were, and whether they had a 
 Noah's Ark and Velocipede like theirs. 
 
 After they had had their supper, their Mam- 
 ma put them to bed in a berth. I suppose 
 you all know what a berth is. It is a narrow 
 bed, fastened to the side, of the cabin. Some- 
 times there are three, one above the other ; and 
 sometimes two. These little boys got into one 
 of the under ones, so that, if they rolled out, 
 they would not be as likely to hurt themselves. 
 They thought it was very funny to be squeezed 
 up in such a little bed. William counted twenty 
 babies in the cabin. Some of these babies cried 
 a great deal; yet, for all that, the boys were 
 fast asleep in a very few minutes, and slept very 
 soundly all night. 
 
 The next morning, their Mamma came to 
 their berth and said, "Come, William — come, 
 Johnny, it is time to get up — for we are at New- 
 port, and must go on shore as quickly as we 
 can." 
 
82 aunt fanny's 
 
 "Are you going to put me into the water 
 now?" said Johnny, beginning to look very 
 much frightened, for Johnny was afraid of the 
 water. 
 
 "Oh, Johnny, don't be so foolish," cried 
 William: "why, I should like to go in head 
 over heels. Mamma, don't they duck us ?" 
 
 " I believe they do," replied his Mother. 
 
 William now begged his Mother to let him 
 go out of the cabin, as he was all dressed. She 
 said he might stand just outside of the door, and, 
 if he saw his Father, he might go to him, but 
 he must never run about the boat alone. 
 
 In a few minutes they all went on shore, 
 and got into a carriage, and were driven up to 
 the Hotel. 
 
 After breakfast, William and Johnny walked 
 down to the smooth and beautiful beach with 
 their parents, where a great many people, some 
 of them children, were bathing. They seemed 
 to like it very much ; and it really did look very 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 83 
 
 inviting, for the sun made the water sparkle 
 like diamonds, and the waves seemed dancing 
 and leaping, and looked as if they longed to 
 give every body a good splashing. 
 
 William was delighted. He could hardly 
 wait for his Father to undress and put on his 
 bathing clothes, he was in such a great hurry 
 to be ducked ; and when his Father took him 
 and plunged him under the water, although he 
 gasped for breath, he laughed, and kicked, and 
 splashed the water at his Father, and cried, 
 "Duck me again, duck me again, Papa," and 
 he looked so pleased, that some other children, 
 with their parents, came to where he was, and 
 they all had a grand frolic together. 
 
 Little Johnny laughed too, as he stood on 
 the dry ground; but, when his Father said, 
 " Come, Johnny, now it is your turn," he made 
 a terrible face, and cried "Dear Papa, dear 
 Mamma, please let me go home. I shall never 
 see you again if you put me in that great big 
 
84 aunt fanny's 
 
 water." But his Mamma said he must go in, 
 because it would do him a great deal of good, 
 and she undressed him, and put him into his 
 Father's arms. 
 
 Johnny now began to scream as loud as he 
 could, and cried out, " Mamma, Mamma, I want 
 to go back to you." But his Father did not 
 mind him a bit, and holding him by his arms, 
 he plunged him under the water. 
 
 The poor little fellow came up gasping and 
 panting, and sobbed out, " Oh ! my dear Mamma, 
 come and kiss me 'fore I die." 
 
 Every body laughed — for there was no dan- 
 ger — except his kind Mother. A tear stared to 
 her eye, for she knew her dear little son really 
 thought he was dying, and would never see her 
 again. But in a little while he felt better, and, 
 after his Mother had taken him, and had rubbed 
 him all over and dressed him, and he had run up 
 and down the beach with William and the other 
 children, he felt such a nice warm glow all over 
 him, that he forgot all about his fright. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 85 
 
 Pretty soon he said, "Mamma, I am so 
 hungry — I am as hungry as a little bear." 
 
 "That is because you have been in the 
 water," replied his Mother. 
 
 "Are the fishes always hungry? — does the 
 water make them hungry too V said Johnny. 
 
 "I believe they are always ready to eat," 
 replied his Mother ; " you know that they are 
 caught by bait. This bait is a bit of a clam or 
 a little worm, put upon a sharp hook. The fish 
 snap at the bait, and the hook catches them in 
 the mouth. Come, little hungry fish," added 
 his Mother, " and I will give you something to 
 eat; but I will not put it on a hook to hurt 
 you." 
 
 The next day the little boys went into the 
 water again, and, although Johnny made up a 
 doleful face, he did not think he should die this 
 time ; and, when he saw the other children 
 laughing and splashing each other, and crying 
 " Duck me again — what fun we are having," he 
 
 7 
 
86 aunt fanny's 
 
 tried to like it too, and after a little while did 
 begin to like it ; for, when children try to over- 
 come their foolish fears, they will almost always 
 succeed, and be rewarded as Johnny was, by the 
 pleasure they enjoy, and the happiness they give 
 to their parents. 
 
 After a few days, Johnny got to be so brave, 
 that he was the first to run down to the beach 
 and jump into his Father's arms, and he cried 
 louder than any, " Duck me again," and splashed 
 every body that came near him ; and both Wil- 
 liam and Johnny got so strong, and ate so 
 heartily, and had such geat red cheeks, that 
 when they went home to New- York, a few 
 weeks after, their friends hardly knew them, 
 and Johnny never again had any foolish fears 
 about going into the water. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 87 
 
 THE MAY QUEEN. 
 
 " Mothee," said Frederick Stanley, " is it not 
 wrong to treat servants unkindly ?" 
 
 " What makes you ask that question V an- 
 swered his Mother. a "What can have put that 
 into your head V 
 
 " Nothing — I don't know," replied he, look- 
 ing at his sister Kate, who was sitting near him, 
 working a pair of slippers. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley saw that there was something 
 on their mind, so she laid down her book, and 
 tried to draw it out. She began : 
 
 " What is the reason that your little Scottish 
 friend Jessie has not been here lately I I thought 
 that you, Kate, could not take a walk, with any 
 
88 
 
 pleasure, without her, and Fred has become quite 
 a beau, since her arrival. I am afraid you have 
 done or said something to offend her." 
 
 "Fred," said Kate, — who was two years 
 younger than her brother, and much smaller, 
 and had a great respect for him, — "Fred, do 
 you tell Mother." 
 
 Fred gave his pantaloons a little pull, shook 
 the hair away from his face, half laughed, and did 
 not speak a word ; but Kate, like a real little wo- 
 man, could not keep the secret a moment longer. 
 " We have had a quarrel, Mother ; that's all !" 
 
 " ' A quarrel ! that's all !' " said her Mother. 
 " That's a great deal too much ; but what did 
 you find to quarrel about ?" 
 
 " Why, Mother," answered Fred, getting over 
 his bashfulness, now that the secret was out, " it 
 was all about treating those who were beneath 
 us with kindness." 
 
 " Well done !" exclaimed his Mother. " Let 
 m hear what you had to say upon the subject." 
 
CHKISTMAS STOKIES. 89 
 
 " I said it was a sliame to abuse those who 
 were poorer than we were ; that in God's eyefc 
 all were equal. I could not bear to hear Jessie 
 say that she had her own servant at home, and 
 when this servant did any thing to displease her 
 she would pinch and slap her. I told her she 
 was a downright wicked girl." 
 
 "Oh, shocking! shocking!" said Mrs. Stan- 
 ley. " And my sweet little Kate, did you too 
 stand up for kindness to servants ?" 
 
 " I did all I could, dear Mother," she replied, 
 a but Fred did the most." 
 
 a Well, tell me, what else did you say." 
 
 " I told her," said Fred, hesitating a little, 
 ' that here in our own country, we said ' if you 
 please' and ' thank you,' when a servant did any 
 thing for us, and that she had better go back to 
 Scotland, and not stay another day in a place 
 where she was deprived of the pleasure of pinch- 
 ing people." 
 
 " Oh, Frederick ! Frederick ! how could a boy 
 
90 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 of your politeness be so rude to a young lady ? 
 That was a great mistake." 
 
 Frederick looked mortified, and Kate hung 
 her head. "But what happened after that?" 
 asked Mrs. Stanley. 
 
 " Oh, she was so angry that she went away, 
 and we have not seen her since. I am very 
 sorry ; but it can't be helped now." 
 
 " No," said Kate, a we can't help it now." 
 
 " But, my dear children," said their Mother, 
 " I think you owe Jessie an apology." 
 
 U I have no objection," said Fred, after re- 
 flecting a moment, " if you think I have been 
 so very impolite ; but it will do no good." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Stanley, " it must be done. 
 Perhaps I can assist you in making up the quar- 
 rel. Next Thursday, you know, is the first of 
 May. You shall have a little party, and Jessie 
 shall be Queen of May. That will be certain 
 to please her." 
 
 " Jessie ! Queen !" exclaimed Kate. " You 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 91 
 
 can't, Mother, you can't. Jessie will not come ; 
 I am sure she will not come. I do not believe 
 she will ever speak to us again." 
 
 " I tell you she will come," said her Mother ; 
 " and she will be Queen. I will manage it for you." 
 
 " Ah, well, Mother," said Fred, looking at his 
 sister, " you don't know Jessie as well as we do. 
 She won't forgive us so easily." 
 
 Company now came in, and the children went 
 to their studies. In the afternoon Mrs. Stanley 
 sent a polite invitation to Jessie and her parents 
 to pass the next Thursday evening at her house, 
 and as they were sitting at the tea-table, the 
 answer was returned. 
 
 "There," said Mrs. Stanley, "one point is 
 gained ; they will all come." 
 
 " They may come," said Frederick, " but she 
 won't be civil to us, I know." 
 
 The next day was spent in preparing the 
 crown, throne, and flowers, &c, and Frederick 
 set himself to work to learn by heart some lines 
 his Mother had written for the occasion. 
 
92 aunt fanny's 
 
 Thursday evening arrived, and the children, 
 though afraid of Jessie's cold looks, were in good 
 spirits. Kate came into the parlor, and found 
 Fred before a large glass, making his speech, and 
 practising the most graceful bows and gestures. 
 
 a Goodness !" she exclaimed, a how light and 
 beautiful the room looks ! Oh, Fred, I hope we 
 shall have a pleasant time." 
 
 The arrival of the company now interrupted 
 them, and when nearly all had come, Mrs. Stan- 
 ley told her plan with regard to Jessie ; and this 
 important matter was just settled, when that 
 young lady and her parents entered. 
 
 Jessie, not knowing the honor awaiting her, 
 was very stiff and grave in her salutations. Her 
 large dark eyes were turned away from Fred and 
 Kate, yet an expression about her pretty mouth 
 seemed to say, 
 
 " I am not so very angry as you think." 
 
 " She looks like a Queen, don't she ?" whis- 
 pered Fred to his sister. 
 
CHRISTMAS STOEEES. 93 
 
 " She is stiff enough, at any rate," said Kate. 
 
 " I wonder who she will choose for her 
 King V said Fred. 
 
 " I am sure I don't know," answered Kate, 
 looking round. " I suppose the biggest boy." 
 
 a Dear me !" said Fred, a I forget that I 
 must go out until it is time for the Address," and 
 he left the room, to await his Mother's signal. 
 
 Refreshments were now handed round the 
 room, and many a sly glance was cast upon the 
 unconscious Jessie, who was still looking very 
 grave, and almost cross, till, at a hint from his 
 Mother, Fred made his appearance, and with 
 blushing face, but firm voice, pronounced the fol- 
 lowing lines : 
 
 "0 ! valiant knights, and ladies fair ! 
 I'm very glad to see you here ; 
 Your happy looks and eyes so bright, 
 Have quite inspired me to-night. 
 Though I'm unused to courtly ways, 
 My choice from you will meet with praise. 
 
94 
 
 Our Western land, so brave and free, 
 Where waves the flag of liberty, 
 Can yet, while all our hearts approve, 
 The British stranger fondly love. 
 (No looks of grave distrust are seen,) 
 Fair Jessie ! I proclaim you Queen ! 
 And kneeling lowly at your feet, 
 To be your knight I do entreat. 
 Now deign to say what happy one 
 Amongst us all shall share your throne." 
 
 Fred rose from his knees, and awaited Jes- 
 sie's reply. 
 
 Her anger was ail gone, but she was so sur- 
 prised that she looked down and did not say a 
 word. 
 
 " Well," thought Fred, " I knew she would 
 act so. I suppose every body is laughing at me." 
 
 " Jessie," said her Mother, " speak quickly. 
 " Whom will you have for King ?" 
 
 Jessie blushed, and smiled, and whispered in 
 a soft little voice, " Frederick." 
 
 Astonished and delighted by this kindness, 
 
CHKISTMAS STOEIES. 95 
 
 Fred again kneeled down, then rising he took her 
 little white hand, and led her in triumph, followed 
 by all the company, to the next room, where a 
 splendid throne had been erected. A beautiful 
 crown of flowers was placed on Jessie's head, 
 and gave new beauty to her soft and curling 
 brown hair. Frederick also had a handsome 
 crown. Sceptres were placed in their hands, and 
 then they arranged their court. Kate was made 
 a Duchess, at which she grew quite dignified ; 
 there were plenty of Earls and Countesses, and 
 the sweet little maids of honor and the pages 
 stood behind the throne. 
 
 They then formed a procession, to return to 
 the parlor, and in an instant a march burst forth 
 from a band of music which had been concealed 
 for the purpose. 
 
 At this unexpected event, hk Majesty jumped 
 so high that his crown tumbled off, and the Queen 
 was in such a delightful agitation that she could 
 not confine her steps to a walk, and so the King, 
 
96 aunt fanny's 
 
 and the Queen, and the Duchess, and all the maids 
 of honor and pages, ran helter-skelter, as fast as 
 they could, and took places for dancing. 
 
 Never were merrier hearts or brighter eyes 
 than now leaped and shone in that little party. 
 The Queen was the gayest of all, and the King 
 was nearly out of his wits with joy, to find him- 
 self and Jessie once more friends. Little Kate 
 got so tired of being a Duchess that she skipped 
 about like a little fairy, and all the lords and la- 
 dies, and maids of honor and pages, were so mer- 
 ry and so full of innocent fun, that they looked a 
 great deal more like little republicans. And so 
 the happy evening concluded, to the satisfaction 
 of all. ' 
 
 The next morning, Mrs. Stanley asked her 
 children if they had had a pleasant party. 
 
 " Oh, yes !" they both answered ; " it was 
 perfectly delightful ; and Jessie was as pleasant 
 as she could be, and seemed to have forgotten 
 all about the quarrel." 
 
CHEISTMAS STOELES. 97 
 
 " She behaved very well indeed," said Mrs. 
 Stanley, " and I think after this you will not al- 
 low any thing to disturb your friendship. Jessie 
 is a good, warm-hearted girl, but she has been 
 allowed to indulge sometimes in fits of ill-tem- 
 per, and has not been taught to be good to those 
 who wait upon her. If you were to talk to her 
 with kindness and forbearance, you would con- 
 vince her that this was wrong. Her own heart 
 would soon tell her so. You must not expect her 
 to do better all at once ; but no doubt, with a little 
 patience on your part, and a little trying on hers, 
 she will find her happiness much increased by 
 being kind to those beneath her, and in time she 
 will feel that in this country all are equals, 
 though for one night she was a May Queen." 
 
98 aunt fanny's 
 
 THE APPLE DUMPLING. 
 
 A long time ago, there was a little old woman 
 that lived away off in the woods. She lived all 
 by herself, in a little cottage with only two rooms 
 in it, and she made her living by knitting blue 
 woollen stockings, and selling them. 
 
 One morning the old woman brushed up the 
 hearth all clean, and put every thing in order ; 
 then she went to the pantry and took out a great 
 black pot, and filled it full of water, and hung it 
 over the fire, and then she sat down in her arm- 
 chair by the fire. She took her spectacles out 
 of her pocket and put them on her nose, and be- 
 gan to knit on a great blue woollen stocking. 
 
 Pretty soon she said to herself, " I wonder 
 what I shall have for dinner ? I believe I will 
 

 -Ob dear! oh dear! that's bad! that's bad-: cried the old woman. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEEES. 99 
 
 make an apple dumpling." So she put her knit- 
 ting down, and took her spectacles off of her nose, 
 and put them in her pocket, and getting out of 
 her arm-chair, she went to the cupboard and got 
 three nice rosy-cheeked apples. Then she went 
 to the knife-box and got a knife, and then she 
 took a yellow dish from the dresser, and sat 
 down in her arm-chair, and began to pare the ap- 
 ples. 
 
 After she had pared the apples, she cut each 
 one into four quarters. Then she got up again, 
 and set the dish of apples on the table, and went 
 to the cupboard, and got some flour and a lump of 
 butter. Then she took a pitcher, and went out 
 of doors to a little spring of water close by, and 
 filled the pitcher with clear, cold water. So she 
 mixed up the flour and butter, and made them 
 into a nice paste with the water ; and then she 
 went behind the door and took down a rolling- 
 pin that was hung up by a string, and rolled out 
 the paste, and put the apples inside, and covered 
 
100 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 the apples all up with the paste. " That looks 
 nice," said the old woman. So she tied up the 
 dumpling in a nice clean cloth, and put it info 
 the great black pot that was over the fire. 
 
 After she had brushed up the hearth again, 
 and put all the things she had used away, she sat 
 down in her arm-chair by the fire, and took her 
 spectacles out of her pocket and put them on her 
 nose, and began to knit on the big blue woollen 
 stocking. 
 
 She knit eight times round the stocking, and 
 then she said to herself, " I wonder if the dump- 
 ling is done V So she laid down her knitting, 
 and took a steel fork from the mantelpiece, and 
 lifted the lid of the pot and looked in. 
 
 As she was looking in, her spectacles tumbled 
 off of her nose, and fell into the pot. 
 
 " Oh dear ! Oh dear !— that's bad, that's bad," 
 said the old woman. 
 
 She got the tongs, and fished up her spec- 
 tacles, and wiped them with the corner of hpr 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 101 
 
 apron, and put them on her nose again, and then 
 she stuck the fork into the apple dumpling. 
 
 The apples were hard. "No, no, no," she 
 said, " it is not done yet." 
 
 So she put on the lid of the pot, and laid the 
 fork on the mantelpiece, and sat down in her 
 arm-chair, and began to knit again on the big 
 blue woollen stocking. 
 
 She knit six times round the stocking, and 
 then she said to herself — " I wonder if the 
 dumpling is done ?" 
 
 So she put her knitting down, and took the 
 fork from the mantelpiece, and lifted the lid of 
 the pot, and looked in. 
 
 As she was looking in, her spectacles tumbled 
 off of her nose, and fell into the pot. 
 
 " Oh dear ! Oh dear !— that's bad, that's bad," 
 said the old woman. 
 
 She got the tongs and fished up her specta- 
 cles, and wiped them with the corner of her 
 apron, and put them on her nose again, and 
 
102 aunt fanny's 
 
 took the fork and stuck it into the dumpling. 
 The apples were just beginning to get soft. 
 
 " No, no, no ; it is not quite done yet," said 
 the old woman. 
 
 So she put on the lid of the pot, and laid the 
 fork on the mantelpiece, and sat down in her 
 arm-chair, and began to knit again on the big 
 blae woollen stocking. 
 
 She knit twice round the stocking, and then 
 she said to herself — " I wonder if the dumpling 
 is done ?" 
 
 So she laid down her knitting, and took the 
 fork from the mantelpiece, and lifted the lid of 
 the pot, and looked in. 
 
 As she was looking in, her spectacles tumbled 
 off of her nose, and fell into the pot. 
 
 " Oh dear ! Oh dear !— that's bad, that's bad," 
 said the old woman. 
 
 She got the tongs and fished up her spec- 
 tacles, and wiped them with the corner of her 
 apron, and put them on her nose again, and took 
 the fork and stuck it into the dumpling. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. . 103 
 
 The apples were quite soft. "Yes, yes, yes; 
 the dumpling is done," said the old woman. 
 
 So she took the dumpling out of the pot, and 
 untied the cloth, and turned it into a yellow dish, 
 and set it upon the table. 
 
 Then she went to the cupboard and got a 
 plate, and then to the knife-box and got a knife ; 
 then she took the fork from the mantelpiece, and 
 drew her arm-chair close up to the table, and sat 
 down in it, and cut off a piece of the dumpling, 
 and put it on her plate. 
 
 It was very hot, and it smoked a great deal, 
 so the old woman began to blow it. She blew 
 very hard. As she was blowing, her spectacles 
 tumbled off of her nose, and fell into the dump- 
 ling. 
 
 " Oh dear ! Oh dear !— that's bad, that's bad," 
 said the old woman. 
 
 She took her spectacles out of her plate, and 
 wiped them with the corner of her apron, and 
 said to herself — " I must get a new nose. My 
 
104 aunt faknt's 
 
 nose is so little, that my spectacles will not stick 
 on my nose." 
 
 So she put her spectacles into her pocket, 
 and began to eat the dumpling. 
 
 It was quite cool now. So the old woman 
 ate it all up, and said it was very good indeed. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 105 
 
 THE DENTIST. 
 
 One day little Emily's Grandma said to 
 her — u My dear child, you must go with me to- 
 day to the dentist's, and have some of those 
 teeth pulled out. They are growing so fast and 
 so crooked, that you have not room enough in 
 your mouth for them all." 
 
 " Dear Grandma," said the little girl, " will 
 it hurt me very much ?" 
 
 " Yes, my dear," replied her Grandma, " it 
 will hurt you a great deal, but you must try 
 to bear the pain ; it will not be long." 
 
 Poor little Emily sighed, and the tears stood 
 in her eyes. She knew that her Grandmother 
 always told her the exact truth. She knew that 
 
106 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 she would suffer a great deal of pain, because her 
 Grandma had told her so. 
 
 It is always the best way to tell a little boy 
 or girl the exact truth. If Emily's Grandma 
 had said that it would not hurt her to have her 
 teeth pulled out, it would have been very wrong, 
 and Emily would not have believed her another 
 time, when she was to have any thing done to 
 her. 
 
 This little girl had no Mother. Her Mother 
 was dead, and her Grandma took care of her, 
 and was very kind to her, and Emily loved her 
 dearly, and so she made up her mind to go and 
 have her teeth out, without any trouble, because 
 her Grandma was in bad health, and she knew 
 that if she cried and made a great fuss about it, 
 it would trouble her, and perhaps make her sick. 
 
 Now was not this thoughtful and good, in a 
 little girl, only seven years old ? I hope all the 
 little boys and girls that read this will try to be 
 as good. 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 107 
 
 After dinner, Emily and her Grandma put on 
 their things, and went to the dentist's house. 
 The little girl trembled when the door was 
 opened, but she walked in without saying a 
 word. 
 
 They went into the parlor, for there were 
 some persons up stairs in the dentist's room, 
 and they had to wait. 
 
 "Grandma," said Emily, "may I look at 
 the books on the table ? It will keep me from 
 thinking about my teeth." 
 
 Her Grandma said she might, and the little 
 girl was soon quite interested in looking at the 
 pictures in the books, and showing them to her 
 Grandma. 
 
 In a little while the servant came to tell her 
 she could go up stairs. Her heart beat fast, but 
 she went up to her Grandmother, and said, 
 "Dear Grandma, you are not well; you look 
 quite pale to-day. Do not go with me ; I will 
 go alone, and I promise you I will be a brave 
 little girl." 
 
108 AUNT FAOTSTy's 
 
 She kissed her Grandma, and ran out of the 
 room. 
 
 When she entered the room up stairs, she 
 saw two ladies there. She stopped ; but the 
 dentist said, "Come in, my little girl, do not 
 be afraid, I will be as gentle as I can." 
 
 The ladies saw that she was alone, so one of 
 them went up to her and took her hand. She 
 was an old lady, and wore spectacles, and she 
 looked very kind and good. So the dear little girl 
 let the dentist lift her into the great chair, and 
 take off her hat, and the old lady kept hold of 
 her hand, and said, " It will be over in a minute, 
 my dear child," and then she pressed her little 
 hand so kindly, that Emily felt quite comforted. 
 
 The other lady was a young lady, and she 
 too felt sorry that Emily was to suffer. She 
 wanted to smooth her hair, and give her a kiss ; 
 but she thought that the little girl might be 
 afraid of so many strangers, so she sat down 
 very quietly. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEEES. 109 
 
 When the dentist had looked into Emily's 
 month, he saw that four teeth must come out. 
 So he got the instrument, and held her head 
 tight with his arm. 
 
 Emily turned pale, but she kept quite still, 
 and did not cry or scream ; and the dentist 
 pulled out the four teeth, one after the other, 
 without a sound from her lips. 
 
 When they were all out, some large tears 
 came from her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks ; 
 but she only said " Thank you," to the lady that 
 held her hand ; and, putting her handkerchief to 
 her mouth, she ran down stairs. 
 
 "My darling child," said her Grandma, 
 " how well you have behaved ; I did not hear 
 the least noise." 
 
 "No, Grandma," replied Emily, "I tried 
 very hard not to scream ; I was determined to 
 be quite still ; and a good old lady like you, 
 Grandma, held my hand, which was a great 
 comfort. But, oh ! Grandma, it did hurt me 
 most terribly.* 1 
 
110 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 "My dear child, I know it did," said her 
 Grandma ; " yon are the best little girl in the 
 world, and a happiness and a treasure to me." 
 
 After Emily had gone, the ladies who had 
 witnessed her good conduct, and admired her 
 courage, asked her name and where she lived, 
 and one of them, the young lady, sent her a 
 pretty little gold ring with a blue stone in it, 
 and a little note containing these words : 
 
 " For the dear little girl, who had the courage 
 to bear a great pain nobly." 
 
 Emily was very much pleased with this little 
 present ; it was so unexpected. She could not 
 find out who had sent it to her. 
 
 I hope all the little boys and girls will read 
 this story with attention, and when they go to 
 the dentist's they will think of Emily, and try 
 to imitate her good conduct. 
 
James putting his father's wig on the poor boy's head. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. Ill 
 
 THE WIG. 
 
 Julia and her brother James were very 
 early, one cold winter morning, sitting in the 
 basement. They were not wicked children, but 
 they were very thoughtless, and sometimes they 
 did a great deal of mischief. 
 
 I am afraid they were doing mischief now, 
 for Julia was sitting by the window, cutting up 
 Mamma's apron to make a dress for her doll ; 
 and James was kneeling on the rug, pulling 
 pieces of worsted out of it and throwing them 
 into the fire, and seemed very much amused as 
 he watched them rolling about and curling up 
 with the heat. 
 
 While they were thus employed, two children 
 passed the window. 
 
112 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 " Only look, brother," said Julia, " at these 
 poor children. How cold they must be ! see, the 
 little boy has no hat on, and his toes are corning 
 out of his shoes, and the little girl's frock is all 
 ragged." 
 
 "Let us call them in," said James, "and 
 they can warm themselves by the fire." 
 
 As James said this, he tapped on the window, 
 and the little children came to the basement 
 door. James ran and opened the door, and said, 
 " Come in, poor children, and warm yourselves." 
 He placed his own and his sister's little chair 
 for them by the fire, and then Julia and he went 
 into a corner of the room to consult together 
 what they should give them, to make them 
 warm. 
 
 Now the Father of these children had had 
 the misfortune to lose his hair, and he was 
 obliged to wear a wig. Every night, when he 
 went to bed, he used to take off his wig, and 
 hang it upon a nail in his dressing-room, and 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 113 
 
 put on a white night-cap with a long tassel at 
 the end of it. 
 
 The morning that I am telling about, he was 
 not yet up, as it was very early; and the wig 
 was hanging on the nail, as I have told you. 
 
 James looked at the poor little boy. He saw 
 that his ears were very red with the cold, and he 
 said to his sister, "I will go up stairs, and find 
 something to pnt on his head." 
 
 So he ran up stairs very fast, and went into 
 his Father's dressing-room and looked all round. 
 Presently he saw the wig hanging on the nail. 
 "Oh!" said he to himself, "that is just the 
 thing. It will come all over the poor boy's 
 ears, and keep them very warm indeed." 
 
 So this thoughtless little fellow climbed up 
 on a chair, and pulled the wig off the nail, and 
 then went into the closet and got a pair of new 
 boots of his own; and running down as fast 
 as he could, he pulled the wig over the poor 
 boy's ears, and helped him on with the boots. 
 
114 AUNT FAJ^STY's 
 
 They fitted exactly, for James and lie were very 
 nearly of the same size. 
 
 While he was doing this, Jnlia had dressed 
 the little girl in a nice warm frock of her own, 
 and also made her a present of her school muff, 
 and the little beggar children went away, highly 
 delighted with their good fortune, and were out 
 of sight long before any one had come into the 
 room to prevent all this mischief. 
 
 "When their Father got up, he opened the 
 door of his bed-room, which led into the dressing- 
 room, and began to dress himself. Presently he 
 went to the side of the room where he had hung 
 up his wig the night before. The nail was 
 empty. There was no wig on it. He looked 
 down on the carpet, and on all the chairs, and 
 in all the drawers, but there was no wig to be 
 found. He rang the bell, and said to the servant, 
 "Do you know any thing about my wig?" 
 
 But the servant said she had not been in the 
 room. She did not know where it was. 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 115 
 
 Now only see, what trouble these children 
 had made for their kind Father; and how 
 ashamed and frightened they were, when they 
 saw him come into the basement room with his 
 night-cap on, and their Mother with him, looking 
 very grave, for she was afraid that the children 
 knew more about the wig than any body else. 
 
 "James," said his Father, "do you know 
 where my wig is?" 
 
 At first James was afraid to speak; but 
 although these children were heedless, and fond 
 of doing mischief, they were not liars. So 
 James came close to his Father, and said, "Dear 
 Papa, I will tell you the truth. I am afraid I 
 have been very naughty. I gave your wig to a 
 poor boy who had no hat, and I gave him my 
 new boots too, for his shoes were full of holes. 
 I am very sorry, Papa. Please to punish me, 
 and forgive Julia." 
 
 " Why, what has Julia been doing ?" said her 
 Mamma and Papa at the same time. 
 
116 aunt fakntt's 
 
 " I gave tlie little girl my new frock, and my 
 school muff," said Julia, "she looked so cold. 
 Her little hands were nearly frozen." 
 
 " My dear children," said their Father, " I do 
 not blame you for wishing to be kind to the poor, 
 but do you not see how wrong it is to be so 
 thoughtless, and what trouble you give your 
 Mother and me by such conduct? If you do 
 not think before you act, you will always be in 
 mischief, and perhaps do a great deal of injury. 
 To make you remember this — you, Julia, must 
 go to school for two weeks without a muff, and 
 wear your old dress ; and you, James, must have 
 your old boots patched, and wear them instead 
 of the new ones which you gave to the poor 
 boy." 
 
 The children submitted to this punishment 
 without a murmur; but they were dreadfully 
 grieved when they saw the trouble they had 
 made for their dear Father, who could not leave 
 the house, or attend to his business for two whole 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 117 
 
 days, as it took all that time to have another wig 
 made for him. They even could not laugh when 
 the kitten climbed up the back of his chair, and 
 tried to play with the tassel of his night-cap ; 
 and ever after, when they were going to do a 
 thoughtless thing, they would recollect their 
 Father's wig in time to stop ; and at last they 
 got to be as careful and thoughtful, as they were 
 before heedless and mischievous. 
 
11-8 AUNT FANNT'S 
 
 THE BOYS' SCHOOL. 
 
 Not very long ago, Mr. Harrison kept a 
 boarding-school for little boys, in a delightful 
 village in Connecticut. He took twenty boys to 
 educate, and he was so kind, and had such a 
 pleasant way of teaching, that the boys were 
 happier with him than they would have been at 
 home. 
 
 When the boys came in the spring, Mr. Har- 
 rison gave to each of them a little plot of ground 
 for a garden ; and the little fellows were very 
 busy during play-hours, in preparing and arrang- 
 ing their gardens. They had permission to go 
 to the gardener and get just what seeds they 
 wanted ; so some of the boys planted melons and 
 cucumbers, and some pumpkins and radishes, and 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 119 
 
 • 
 
 two of them made an elegant flower-garden. 
 They put their ground together, and erected a 
 little hill in the centre, with a path all round it, 
 and all the borders they planted with lady-slip- 
 pers, and coxcombs, and mignonette, and sweet 
 alysum, and many other pretty flowers ; and when 
 the flowers came out, their garden gave quite a 
 brilliant appearance to the place. 
 
 The boys had also a very large play-ground, 
 and in it, their kind teacher had had a number of 
 gymnastic fixtures put up, for their healthy exer- 
 cise and amusement. There was a very high 
 pole, with four strong ropes fastened to the top 
 of it, and an iron ring at the ends of the ropes. 
 The boys would take hold of the rings, and run 
 round as fast as they could ; then lifting their 
 feet off the ground, away they would fly in the 
 air, round and round, like so many little crazy 
 monkeys. There was one little chap that could 
 climb up one of the ropes like a cat, and hang 
 upon the top of the pole. 
 
120 AUNT FANNY'S 
 
 Then they had swinging bars, and jump- 
 ing bars, with a spring-board to jnmp from, 
 and wooden horses, and a climbing pole, and 
 several other things ; but what was better 
 than all, they had a funny little ragged pony, 
 and a short-legged, long-eared donkey, for their 
 especial use, and many were the fine rides they 
 had on their backs. 
 
 Sometimes, to be sure, the pony had a fashion 
 of dancing a slow jig on his hind legs, with his 
 fore feet in the air ; but the boys were used to 
 that, and stuck on like wax, until the dance was 
 finished; then the pony would trot off very 
 peaceably. 
 
 The donkey, too, had a way of putting his 
 nose to the ground, and pitching his rider, head 
 over heels, on the grass. But the boys were used 
 to that too, and did not mind it in the least. 
 They would jump up and shake themselves, and 
 try again, and by dint of poking and punching 
 the sides of the sulky little animal, he would af- 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 121 
 
 ter a while make up his mind to go. When he 
 had once done that, it was all right. You would 
 think he was the most amiable donkey in the 
 world. The pony's name was Napoleon, and 
 the boys called the donkey " Old Pudding-head." 
 
 Twice a week, during the summer, Mr. Har- 
 rison took the boys to bathe in a fine pond, where 
 such as could would swim, and the rest would 
 tumble about in the water ; and altogether, he 
 was so kind to them that the boys thought there 
 never was a better teacher, or such a famous 
 boarding-school. 
 
 I have not yet told you that they learned any 
 thing. I suppose you all think that playing was 
 the principal thing they went to that school for. 
 But if you do, you make a great mistake, for the 
 greater part of every day was spent in the school- 
 room. 
 
 Mr. Harrison made school-time very pleasant. 
 He seldom had to punish a boy for bad conduct 
 or neglect in getting his lessons. He always en- 
 
122 
 
 couraged them to ask questions about their 
 studies, and told them never to learn any thing 
 by rote, like a parrot, but to come to him when 
 they did not understand a lesson ; and he always 
 made it so dear that it was a pleasure to learn. 
 Sometimes a boy would ask a foolish question, 
 which would make the rest laugh ; but then Mr. 
 Harrison would say it was better to be laughed 
 at for trying to learn, than to grow up a dunce. 
 
 In this way the boys would improve so much, 
 both in mind and body, that their parents left 
 them with Mr. Harrison as long as he could keep 
 them ; and both the boys and their parents were 
 very sorry when the time came for them to leave, 
 for Mr. Harrison would not take any boy after 
 he was fourteen years of age. 
 
 One afternoon, after school, the boys were all 
 busy weeding in their gardens, when one of them 
 suddenly cried out, "Phil, do you know how 
 long it is to the Fourth of July V 
 
 " To be sure I do," answered Philip ; " it k 
 just four weeks and four days." 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEEES. 123 
 
 "So it is, I declare," said Thomas, the first 
 boy who had spoken. " Boys, I'll tell you what 
 we will do. Let us all write to our parents, for 
 an immense lot of fireworks ; then, we will club 
 together, and keep all, except the crackers, for a 
 grand display of fireworks, in the evening." 
 
 " Oh yes, yes," cried all the boys, " that is 
 an excellent idea." 
 
 " I will ask Mr. Harrison," said Phil, " to help 
 us fix the wheels and so forth, for all I ever fixed 
 myself, stuck fast, and would not go round at 
 all." 
 
 a I mean to write for lots of Eoman candles," 
 said Frank, "they look so beautiful going up. 
 They look like planets with wings." 
 
 " ./will go largely into the snakes and grass- 
 hoppers," said another boy ; "it is such fun to 
 see the boys cutting round to get out of the 
 way." 
 
 a We'll make some wooden pistols, to put the 
 crackers in," said another boy. 
 
124 
 
 a Yes, and I will send for a little brass can- 
 non that my uncle Major Brown gave me," said 
 another. 
 
 Just then the hell rang for tea, and the boys, 
 putting their little rakes and hoes into their tool- 
 house, ran in to wash their faces and hands, and 
 brush their hair. Then they took off their over- 
 alls or coarse pantaloons, which they wore when 
 at work in the garden, and hung them up in the 
 play-room. They had a nice large play-room for 
 playing when the weather was unpleasant. 
 
 It was astonishing what large quantities of 
 bread and butter, and apple-sauce, these boys 
 consumed for their supper, for working out of 
 doors in the fresh country air, is sure to make 
 people hungry, and boys especially are always 
 ready for eating. After supper Mr. Harrison 
 made a prayer, while all the boys knelt at their 
 chairs around the table. Then they were per- 
 mitted to play out of doors again until the sunset. 
 Phil and Frank allowed themselves to be har- 
 
CHEISTMAS STOKEES. 125 
 
 nessed to a hand-wagon, and galloped off at full 
 speed, with two of the smaller boys in it. The 
 rest had a game at leap-frog, and Mr. Harrison 
 and his family sat in the porch watching and ad- 
 miring the gorgeous tints lent to the clouds by 
 the rays of the setting sun, and sometimes 
 laughing heartily at the capers of the boys. 
 
 At length the sun sank beneath the horizon, 
 and Mr. Harrison said, " Come in, boys." He 
 never had to speak more than once, for the boys 
 were so well governed that they found it to their 
 advantage and happiness to obey directly. So 
 they came in as quietly as they could, and went 
 into the study, where Mr. Harrison soon joined 
 them, and read aloud an interesting book of trav- 
 els for an hour. Then they went up stairs to 
 bed. 
 
 One evening, not long after this, the boys 
 were all together in the sitting-room. Philip was 
 reading a book in which was an anecdote about a 
 bad boy who had frightened another, by coming 
 
126 aunt fanny's 
 
 into his room at night with his face apparently in 
 a blaze, and looking, as the terrified child thought, 
 like a flaming dragon. All at once Phil shut the 
 book, and said, " I say fellows, I will show you 
 a funny thing, if you will put out the light, and 
 it will be useful to you too. But first, let me 
 read this story to you, and then we will try the 
 game, and none of you little chaps will be fright- 
 ened, because you will know what it is." 
 
 So saying, he read the story, which interested 
 the boys very much indeed, and made them all 
 eager for Philip's experiment. 
 
 Phil took a box of locofoco matches from the 
 mantelpiece, and gave some to each of the boys ; 
 but suddenly he cried, " Wait a moment : I will 
 be back before you can say Jack Robinson," and 
 ran out of the room. 
 
 He went out to ask Mr. Harrison's permission 
 to try this experiment. Mr. Harrison said, " I 
 am glad, my dear boy, you have come first to me ; 
 I believe I can always trust you. You may try 
 
CHEISTMAS STORIES. 127 
 
 your plan, and I will go with yon and join in 
 your amusement." 
 
 The boys were glad to see their teacher. 
 He often helped them in their plays ; and they 
 were never afraid to frolic and laugh before him. 
 
 So Phil blew out the light, and then told the 
 boys to take a match, and wet it on the tip of 
 the tongue, and rub it on the sides of their faces, 
 and they would soon have a pair of fiery whis- 
 kers apiece, without its burning them in the 
 least. 
 
 In a moment all the boys had flaming whis- 
 kers, and streaks of flame all over their faces. 
 
 Peals of laughter resounded from all sides. 
 Such a troop of little blazing imps were never 
 seen before. Some had noses on fire, some ears ; 
 some made fiery circles round their eyes, and 
 some rubbed their fingers with the matches — 
 always taking care to wet them first — and ran 
 after the rest. 
 
 Only one person was frightened ; and that 
 
128 aunt fanny's 
 
 was because she had not been let into the secret. 
 This was a servant girl, who opened the door, 
 and seeing a room fall of dark figures, with faces 
 on fire, dancing, and laughing, and capering 
 about, she ran, screaming, up stairs, crying 
 murder ! fire ! help ! with all her might, which 
 made the boys laugh till they were nearly suffo- 
 cated. But Phil ran after her, and with much 
 difficulty persuaded her that they were really 
 human beings, and good friends of hers. 
 
 After they had danced about for some time, 
 Mr. Harrison advised them to go and wash their 
 faces, and said that they had better not play this 
 game again, as some accident might occur: a 
 match might get lighted and set fire to their 
 clothes. He said he had been willing to let them 
 try it once, for then they would not be frightened 
 if any wicked or thoughtless person should play 
 a trick of this kind upon them. So the boys put 
 up the matches, and went off to bed full of the 
 fun they had had, and saying, that if they saw 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 129 
 
 a person with Ms nose on fire, coming into their 
 rooms at night, they would take hold of it, and 
 give it a good pinching. 
 
 During this time each of the boys had writ- 
 ten home for fireworks ; and for two or three 
 days before the glorious Fourth, all kinds of 
 boxes, directed to the different boys, had been 
 left at Mr. Harrison's house, and safely locked 
 up by him, until the right time. 
 
 At last the day came. The boys tumbled 
 out of bed in the greatest hurry, dressed, and 
 went out on the lawn, where they gave nine 
 hearty cheers ; three for the day, three for Mr. 
 Harrison, and three for fun. After that they 
 all ran into the play-room, where they found 
 the boxes, which had been put there the night 
 before. 
 
 Never were boxes opened so quickly. They 
 tore off the tops, and for some moments nothing 
 was heard on all sides but " Only look here," and 
 "Just see here;" "Fellows, here is my cannon;" 
 " Here are lots of Koman candles," <fcc. 
 
130 
 
 They had crackers enough between them 
 all to keep them busy the whole clay, and they 
 soon got to work at them, and such a popping 
 and cracking began, as frightened all the cats 
 and dogs about the house into the woods. 
 
 It was fortunate that the house was situated 
 on a hill, away from any other ; so Mr. Harrison 
 let them make as much noise as they pleased, 
 without fear of disturbing any neighbors. 
 
 Presently the bell rang for prayers, and 
 directly after that they had breakfast ; but the 
 nice hasty-pudding and molasses were not so 
 much in favor as usual, for the boys were so full 
 of the Fourth of July, that they had no room 
 for pudding. 
 
 Nearly all the fireworks were piled up on 
 a seat against the wall in the play-room. The 
 boys were firing their crackers from their wooden 
 pistols, at some distance from the house. 
 
 For some time every thing went on well. 
 Mr. Harrison had strictly forbidden them to have 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 131 
 
 any fire in or near the play-roorn,> and they were 
 careful to obey him. But, alas ! I must tell you 
 what happened through the thoughtlessness of 
 one of the boys. He was the youngest and 
 smallest of them all. He had fired off the 
 crackers he had taken out, and he ran into the 
 play-room to get more. He held in his hand 
 a piece of punk. All boys know that this is 
 what they use to light their fireworks, as it 
 burns very slowly, and lasts very long. The 
 punk which the little fellow held was burning. 
 He had forgotten to lay it down. He went to 
 the seat where the fireworks were, and began 
 to pull them about to find his crackers. 
 
 As he was leaning over, the punk slipped 
 from his fingers, and fell into the midst of the 
 combustibles. 
 
 The little fellow was so terribly frightened 
 at this, that he rushed out of the room, without 
 trying to pick it up. 
 
 In a moment the fireworks all began to go 
 
132 aunt fanny's 
 
 off together. Pop ! crack ! fizz ! bang ! whizz ! 
 went the elegant wheels and the crackers, the 
 grasshoppers, the Roman candles and the snakes, 
 while the smoke rushed through the house. 
 
 Mr. Harrison ran out of his room where he 
 was reading, and saw, instantly, that the house 
 was in great danger of burning up. The boys 
 heard the noise, and came flying back to the play- 
 room, to save what they could ; but it was impos- 
 sible to enter. The room was black with smoke, 
 and they looked on dismayed, as they heard the 
 popping and banging of their precious fireworks, 
 while " Who did it P " Who did it f* was asked 
 on all sides. 
 
 Mr. Harrison instantly shut all the doors lead- 
 ing to the play-room, and, quicker than I can tell 
 you, he got some pails of water, and threw them 
 into the room. After some effort, he succeeded 
 in quenching the fire, and ending this display of 
 fireworks, which was a very different one from 
 what had been intended. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOEIES. 133 
 
 But what a sight presented itself! There 
 lay the blackened remnants of the wheels and 
 Roman candles, and a large hole was burned in 
 the side of the room. The overalls of the boys, 
 which hung just above, were burned, some 
 one leg, some both ; and the room looked like 
 desolation. 
 
 After the fright, and hurry, and confusion 
 were over, Mr. Harrison called all the boys into 
 the study. He looked very much offended, 
 indeed; and asked in a stern voice, "Which 
 boy went into the play-room with fire?" 
 
 The poor little fellow who had done the 
 mischief was crying bitterly. It was very easy 
 to see that he was the guilty one, for the rest 
 looked grave, but not confused. 
 
 "Come to me, Edwin," said Mr. Harrison, 
 " and tell me if you have disobeyed me ; don't 
 be afraid to speak the truth." 
 
 " I did not mean to do it," sobbed the little 
 boy. " I forgot to leave my punk outside, and I 
 
134 aunt fanny's 
 
 dropped it by accident. I ana very, very sorry 
 Mr. Harrison. I am afraid all the boys will hate 
 me, because I have spoiled their sport. I hope 
 yon will forgive me, sir." And here his tears 
 and sobs redoubled. 
 
 " Edwin," said his kind teacher, " do you not 
 know that my house might have been burned 
 to the ground by your carelessness? — and this 
 night, which we expected to spend so joyfully, 
 we might have been without a roof to cover us. 
 I must punish you to make you remember this 
 accident, which your thoughtless disobedience 
 has occasioned. You must remain in the study 
 until dinner-time. The rest of the boys may go 
 out." 
 
 When the boys were out on the lawn again, 
 they got together in a knot, to talk about the 
 accident. Some were very angry with Edwin, 
 and said Mr. Harrison ought to have given him 
 a tremendous flogging; but others were more 
 generous. They were just as sorry for the loss 
 
CHRISTMAS STORIES. 135 
 
 of tlieir fireworks ; but, when they looked to- 
 wards the house, and saw little Edwin gazing 
 mournfully at them from the study window, and 
 wiping away the tears that fell from his eyes, 
 they were more sorry for him, and wished that 
 he could be out among them. Still, they knew 
 it was right that he should be punished. 
 
 " Come, fellows," said Phil, when they had 
 been standing there talking some time, — " come, 
 let us go and see if any thing is left." 
 
 They all ran to the play-room, and some of 
 the boys cried out to Edwin, " Don't cry, little 
 fellow, we forgive you." 
 
 " Why here," shouted Phil — " here's a lot of 
 Roman candles all safe and sound. Hurra ! !" 
 
 " And here are six wheels in this corner," 
 cried Thomas. " We are not so badly off, after 
 all." 
 
 The boys at this good news began to rum- 
 mage under the pile of ruins, and managed to 
 collect quite a respectable quantity of fireworks. 
 
186 AUNT FANNYS 
 
 There were enough left to make a display with 
 in the evening, though not near so splendid as 
 they had intended. 
 
 " Hurra !" cried the boys, " we have plenty 
 of Fourth of July left — we ain't dead yet." 
 
 " I have lots of crackers outside," said Phil ; 
 " but we won't fire them off now. They will do 
 for the small fellows to-night. Let us go to the 
 stable, and pay our respects to Napoleon, and 
 Old Pudding-head. They will think themselves 
 quite neglected on this glorious occasion." 
 
 So they sallied off to the stable, and saddled 
 the pony and the donkey, and led them out to 
 the play-ground, where Napoleon treated them 
 in turn to a very fine dance on his hind legs, 
 and Old Pudding-head, not to be behindhand in 
 politeness, gave all the little boys a somerset 
 over his nose. They had a first-rate frolic, and 
 did not think once of the lost fireworks. 
 
 After dinner, and a fine dinner they had of 
 chickens, and goose pie, and custard, Mr. Har- 
 
CHEISTMAS STOELES. 137 
 
 rison took the boys (little Edwin too) down into 
 the village, where a band of musicians were 
 playing and parading through the street. Every 
 little while they wonld stop playing and hurra ! 
 The boys always hurraed when the band did, for 
 boys in general are not slow about making a 
 noise. So they made all the noise they possibly 
 could, and came back to tea, each one so hoarse, 
 that Mrs. Harrison asked them if they had bull- 
 frogs in their throats. 
 
 At last the evening came, and a still and 
 beautiful evening it was. The stars peeped out, 
 one by one, and the moon staid in — that is, she 
 did not make her appearance until very late. 
 They could not have had a finer night for the 
 grand display. 
 
 The family were all assembled on the lawn, 
 and Mr. Harrison fixed the wheels so nicely, that 
 +hey whizzed round in the most astonishing man- 
 ner. The Roman candles went up beautifully, 
 and the grasshoppers and snakes sent the little 
 
138 aunt fanny's 
 
 fellows laughing and scampering in all direc- 
 tions. 
 
 The hurraing was tremendous, and the shouts 
 of laughter were tremendous too. 
 
 Altogether they had a very nice time, and 
 went off to bed tired, it is true, but highly 
 pleased with the day's enjoyment — all except 
 little Edwin. He sighed many times, and could 
 hardly get to sleep ; but his carelessness was a 
 good lesson to him, for it afterwards made him 
 the most careful boy in the school. 
 
 After the glorious Fourth, the boys settled 
 down into their usual employments. Their gar- 
 dens were carefully tended, and many a fine 
 cucumber and bunch of radishes were presented 
 with pride and pleasure to Mrs. Harrison. They 
 ate pumpkin pie made with their own pumpkins, 
 and thought them the most delicious pumpkins 
 that ever grew ; and their melons were the 
 sweetest melons they ever tasted in all their 
 lives. 
 
CHEISTMAS STOKIES. 139 
 
 They were very attentive in school also, and 
 at the end of the term, when the "boys were pre- 
 paring to go home for the vacation, they all said, 
 it was the pleasantest term they had ever spent 
 together. They parted with their kind teacher 
 with many thanks for his kindness, and hopes 
 that after vacation, all would meet together again, 
 and be happy and glad to come, 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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