LINES FOB LITTLE FOLK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 47, 23 March 1894, Page 4

LINES FOB LITTLE FOLK.

nibals and goblin*, that he thought upon what be had done, and wondered if his work wai at an end. And ha said this to a certain woman. But she replied, " Not to fast, Master, for there yet remains One whom no one has ever oonquered, or got tbe better of in any way, and who will remain unconquerable to the end of time." "And who is be?" inquired the Master. " It is the mighty Wasi*," she replied ; " and there he sits ; and I warn you that if you meddle with him you will be in sore trouble." Now, Wasti was the Baby, and he sat on tbe floor sucking a piece of maple sugar, greatly contented, troubling no one. As the lord of meo and beasts bad never married or bad a child, he knew naught of tbe way of managing children. Therefore he was quite certain, as is the wont of sneb people, that be knsw all about it. So he turned to Baby with a bewitching smile, aud bad* him come to him. Then Baby smiled again, but did not budge, and tbe Master spake sweetly, and made his voice like that it a summer bird ; bat it was of no avail, for Wasis still sat and sucked his maple sugar. Then the Master frowned and spoke terribly, and ordered Wasis to come to him immediately. And Baby burst out into crying and yellirg, bat did not move for all that. Then, since be could do but one thine more, the Master bad recourse to magic. He used his most awful spells, and sang tbe songs which raise tbe dead and scare tbe devils. And Waiis tat and looked on admiringly, and seemed to fiad it very interesting ; but fell tbe same he never moved an inch. So Olooßkad gave it up in despair, and Wasis. sitting oa tbe floor in tbe sunshine, went goo I goo ! and crowed. And to this day, when you see a baba wtll contented, going goo ! goo! and crowing, and no one c»n tell why, know that it if beoante be remembers the time when he overcame the Matter who had conquered all the world. For of all the beings that bare ever been since the beginning, Baby is alone the only invincible one. I live in a musical neighbourhood, And I'd certainly move out at once if I could,

I Nevbb bad any pets as a boy, except a few chickens, which I wai ▼cry fond of, writes Mr F. S. Caurch in Scribner't Magaiine. I remember once a neighbour sent over and wanted to bay one of me to make a broth for a sick lady. I didn't stop to say whether I would sell him or not, bat started on a run for the chickens, drove them all into the coop, went in with them myself, and we lay io a state of siege till I thought all danger was over. I remember confiding to them (I was about ten) the situation, with assurance that if the enemy came, it would be over my dead body. I would have as soon consented to have my mother made into broth as one of my chickens. There was a boy who lived next door who had about the same number of chickens, and he was as fond of tbem as ny self. I know we conspired once to give them a Thanksgiving dinner. We made a sort of a long table, such as you see on picnic grounds, boring plenty of holes in the seats. Thanksgiving morning we captured all the chickens (both seta were very tame), nw\ collected daring the day part of the food we were to give them. At the regular dinner (our two families dined together that day) we put lurreptitioosly iv onr pockets as much of the dainties as we ould, and hurried iff sooo after to the chickens. They were brought out, each boy's chickens tied by their feet to the seats, the two old loosters at either end, and the dainties put before them. There wai a great deal of excitement and some remonstrance, but they were hungry and soon disposed of the dinner. I imagine the two roosters had the least appetite, as they seemed anxious to get at each other. It was a sight I

Mr Charles Godfrey Leland tells the following story recounted to him by a Penotecot Indian woman : — Now, it came to pass when Olooskad had conquered all his enemies, even the Xewahqu', who were giants and sorcerers, and the m'teoulin, who were magicians, and the Pamola, who is tbe evil •pint of the night air, and all manner of ghosts, witches, devils, can-

Bnt I've Ukea my flit till the first of next May, So yon see very well that I can't get away. There's a young man down -stairs who sits np late at night, And thumps on the banj i with wearisome might, While I walk up and down for I can't sleep a wink For the sound of bis plinkety-plinkety-plink I On the floor just below there's a man with a flute — Ob, that tootlety-tootlety.tootletj-toot I To the nerves it is quite as distressing, I think, As the other one's plinkety-plinketyplink 1 A man on a trombone below tries to bang, But all be gets from it is whangsty. whang ; And it's dreadful, mixed Dp with the banjo and flute— Whang-wbangety-plinkety-tootltty-tootl And then there's a quartet of zealous young mer, Who try glees and anthema again and again ; But all that they do is so wofully queer That they ehouid go to a wood, where there's no one to DMT ! There's a lady besides oa the very first floor, And on a piano tbe scale she rune o'er — Just do, ie mi fa sol and la si and do, First up, and then down, sometimes fast and then slow, The jautor, too, bis tbe musical craze, And on tie front sts},s an ccordion plays ; Oh, I'd move right away if I could— wouldn't yon ?— Bnt my rent is all paid, so what can I do ? — MALCOLM DOUGLAS in February St Nicholas.