The First Little Pet Book with Ten Short Stories in Words of Three and Four Letters. Fanny Aunt

      Was sad for Mop,

      And so his gun

      Did go off – pop!

      SAM, THE BAD BOY

      A boy was out one day. It was Sam. He had his new hum top. He did say to his mam-ma: "Oh! see my top! Can I go out and try my new hum top?"

      "Yes, my son, but do not go into the old hut."

      "Oh! no, mam-ma," Sam did say; and out he ran in the air.

      By and by, a big boy did run up to him and say: "Sam, let me try the top? oh! do."

      Sam let the big boy try, and, O my! how the top did go! and did hum, hum, hum so, Sam did say it was a big bee.

      But, oh! sad to say, the big boy did let the top fly off in-to the hut; and Sam did not do as he was bid, for he ran in to get it.

      He saw an ax in the hut.

      "Oh! see the ax," Sam did say, "I can try it on the old log, out in the lot; yes, I can see if it can cut."

      Was he not a bad boy to say so? for his mam-ma did say to him one day: "You are but a bit of a boy; so you can not do as a big man can do. Do not get the ax; if you do, you may cut off a leg or an arm, and you may die; so do not go to the hut at all, and to-day, too, she did say: "Do not go to the hut."

      But the bad boy got the ax, and ran out to the old log.

      And now, oh! oh! I am sad to say the ax did not cut the log. No! it cut off Sam's big toe!

      How he did cry and hop! His mam-ma ran out, and saw her boy out by the log; the ax was by him, and his big toe was off.

      It is no fun at all to get a big toe cut off, for Sam had to lie in bed, and cry all day; and the pig ate up his big toe.

      He can not buy a new toe. He has but one big toe now. So you see how bad it is not to do as you are bid.

      BEN AND SUE, AND THE SEE-SAW

      Can you go out to the see-saw to-day?" Sue did say to Ben.

      "O yes, yes! Let me see if mam-ma will let us. Yes, we can go: so you put on a hat, and let me get my cap, and we can run all the way."

      Ben got his cap off of the peg, and Sue got her hat out of a box; and the two ran off. Tip, the big dog, ran too.

      On the top of the see-saw sat an old cat; she sat on it, to try to spy out a rat, who had hid. The cat did not see Tip; and, I am sad to say, he was now a bad dog; for he ran at her, and bit her in the leg.

      The cat put up her paw to hit Tip, and Tip bit her in her ear; and the cat had to run off with a m-e-w! O my! was not Tip a bad dog?

      And now Sue and Ben got on the see-saw. Sue did go up, up, up, and Ben did go up, up, up. And it was fun! Was it not?

      Tip had his fun too, for he saw the rat. It had hid in a box by the see-saw, and the cat did not see it; but Tip did; and oh! how he did fly at it! He got it in his paw and bit it, so it did die. The rat did not say it was fun to be out at the see-saw, as Ben and Sue did. O no! It was no fun at all to be bit, and to die. Was it?

      And now the sun was hot, and Ben and Sue got off the see-saw and ran up to the old red cow, to see her eat hay, and out to the pig sty to see the old fat pig, who ate all day.

      "O my!" Sue did say, "see how fat the pig is! All she can do is to eat all day. I can not eat all day; can you Ben?"

      "Why, no," Ben did say, "but I can eat one big pie in a day."

      "Oh! so can I! Let us go in and ask mam-ma for a pie to eat now."

      So the two ran, and Tip ran. And mam-ma had a pie; she cut it up for Sue and Ben to eat, and they did hop for joy and eat it all up.

      "Did they? No! I can not say so, for Ben gave Tip, the dog, a big bit; and Sue did too. Ben was not a pig, and Sue was not a pig. So, you see, the two did not eat as the pig did; no! for Tip had his bit too.

      THE HEN AND FOX