Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad Part 25

"No, I _won't_!" said Moses. He felt pretty cross, for he did hate to have his hair cut.

"Well, then," said his grandma, "you can't go to the candy party."

Moses thought a few moments, and then he jumped up and said, "Well, grandma, cut it, then."

Now grandma wasn't much of a barber. She was apt to cut his hair so it hung in scallops. But this time she wanted to cut it very even, as Moses was going to a party. So she brought out an old wooden bowl that just fitted his head.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOSES HAS HIS HAIR CUT.]

Then she cut his hair straight to the edge of the bowl, and when she took the bowl off, there it was beautifully even, and banged right down over his forehead!

Then he put on the trousers and jacket grandma herself had made, and his new shoes, and a blue bow where his collar met, and went off to the party. It was Sally Poole's party and Sally was one of Moses'

playmates.

They boiled mola.s.ses in a kettle over a fire in the big kitchen fireplace; then they poured it into b.u.t.tered pans and set them out in the snow for the candy to cool. It was great fun pulling it, and when Moses went home, Sally gave him two sticks and a big braided piece.

"And I think, Moses," she said, "your hair is banged beautiful."

FAN'S CARDS:--A CHRISTMAS HINT.

What do you think I did with all my beautiful Christmas cards?

I had saved ever and ever so many, and Easter and New Year's, and Birthday cards, and a lot of Valentines. I knew I would get more this Christmas, so I thought I would give these away.

Then I thought I would paste them in a sc.r.a.pbook, or tack them up on the wall instead. Then, I thought I would just keep them in a box forever, and show them to my grandchildren; but, when aunt Nora told me about the sick children at the hospital, then I thought I'd give my cards to them. I just made up my mind I would, and so I did.

Aunt Nora took me to the hospital, and I wore my new red cloak and hat. I think I looked sweet, too. The hospital is pretty big, and we had to go down a long hall and a long pair of stairs. I began to be frightened, 'cause suppose one of the doctors made a mistake and thought I was sick!

So I held aunt Nora's hand tight until we came to a big room where there were lots of beds and poor little sick boys and girls in them.

Some more children were playing around, and they were sick too. One of them, a wee little mite, was eating bread and mola.s.ses, and her face was all sticky. She wanted to kiss me.

A pretty nurse in a white cap came up and spoke to us, and aunt Nora told her about my cards. She said I might give them round myself.

So I went up to the first cot, and, oh dear! there was such a sick little girl in it. I asked her if she would like a card, and she seemed so delighted that I gave her a beauty, with red and white fringe. Then all the children said, "Gi'me one too, lady! Oh, lady!

gi'me one!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: "I THINK I LOOKED SO SWEET."]

n.o.body ever called me "lady" before, but then I am most grown up now.

One child there was just as old as I am; only he was a boy, and he had a big iron thing on his leg. When I gave him a card, he said, "Thank you marm, and merry Christmas!"

Then they all waved their cards and cried "Merry Christmas! merry Christmas!" as I went out of the door.

I hope I'll get ever so many cards this Christmas, so I can give them to the hospital children. It's such fun!

KITTY'S TRAMP.

One cold day in January Kitty Blake had dined with grandma and was on her way home through the fields. Perhaps you wonder why Kitty should walk in the fields when the snow was so deep. But there was a hard crust on the snow and she could skip along over it without breaking through. It was great fun.

Suddenly she stopped, for there in a slight hollow in the snow lay a tiny bird.

"Poor little birdie, it must have frozen to death," said Kitty softly, and a tear stood in her eye, for she has a tender heart for all little creatures. Then she said "Oh!" and gave a start that sent the tears tumbling over her m.u.f.f for just that instant, one of the bird's legs twitched and the tears would not stay back.

"P'r'aps it's still alive, after all;" she thought, and she picked it up and tucked it into her m.u.f.f. Her m.u.f.f was lined with fur.

She reached home quite breathless, and when she took out the bird and laid it on mamma's lap, it gave one little "Peep!" stood on its legs, and then flew up into the ivy that ran all about the south bay window.

"What made it make b'lieve dead?" asked Kitty.

"It didn't make believe," said mamma. "I think it was dizzy. Birds sometimes are dizzy. But if you had not found it, it would soon have frozen to death."

Kitty named him "The Tramp," and he lived in the bay window with mamma's plants. This bay window was shut off from the rest of the room by gla.s.s doors. It was a sunny and fragrant home for the little chickadee, and a lucky bird he was to have it just then.

For on the first day of February it began to snow and snowed three days, and when it cleared there were piles and piles of snow.

Great flocks of birds then came about the house searching for food.

"We must feed them or they will die," said mamma. "The snow is so deep they cannot find food."

So Kitty scattered meal and hemp seed on the snow and tied meaty bones on the lilac and rose bushes, and there wasn't a moment of the day when some blue jay, or snow bird, or chickadee, or robin, was not picking up grain, or pecking at the bones.

"That is the way to have birds in winter!" said Kitty.

The Tramp did not seem to care a fig about his relations till one day in March when a flock of chickadees flew past, and he fluttered against the windows and begged to be let out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TRAMP VISITS CHARLEY.]

Mamma opened the window and off he flew! Kitty sighed and said, "That is the last of him, I suppose." But it wasn't.

One sunny May day Charley was sitting up in bed. Charley is Kitty's brother. He had been sick and the window was open so he could breathe the soft spring air. Suddenly a bird dropped upon the window sill and began to whistle "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!" so blithely and c.o.c.k his head at Charley.

"It's the Tramp!" said Charley; and sure enough it was! After that he came almost every day. If the window was shut they opened it for him.

Charley used to hide hemp seed and sugar under the edge of the pillows for the Tramp to find. He always found it. Sometimes he would tie sugar up in a paper and the Tramp would peck at it until he got it out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TRAMP'S HOME.]

He would perch on Charley's shoulder and eat seeds from his mouth.

He wanted to build a nest in an old letter box nailed up against a wall. Ever so many birds, blue birds, wrens and sparrows wanted to build in that box too.