parasol
Which the little Jap girl wears out to call:

This little Jap girl, when she goes to bed,
Has no soft pillow beneath her head,
For little Jap girls have to take great care
Of their smooth little, black little Japanese hair!

And _this_ is the pillow! Imagine, chicks,
A pillow like this--and as hard as bricks!

THE SEVENTH BIRTHDAY OF THE LITTLE COUSIN FROM CONSTANTINOPLE

BY EMMA C. DOWD

The Little Cousin from Constantinople was to have been given a party on
her seventh birthday; but, just before the invitations were written,
Mumps came uninvited, and, of course, there could be no other guests
while Mumps stayed.

[Illustration: "EAGERLY SHE TORE OFF THE WRAPPINGS." (SEE NEXT PAGE.)]

The Little Cousin could not help feeling just a little tearful on her
birthday morning, for Mumps, as nearly everybody knows, is a painful,
disagreeable visitor. She did not cry when anybody was near--oh, no,
indeed! She even tried to smile; but she found smiling very difficult
with a poultice on each side of her face, and she had to give it up. The
Merry Mother understood, however, and told her she was a dear, brave
little girl, and strove to comfort her just as the dear absent Mother in
Constantinople would have comforted her if she had been there.

Before the Merry Mother left her the Little Cousin felt almost happy,
sitting up among her soft pillows, and wearing her new, pink, birthday
sacque, with its pretty ribbons.

"I am sorry I must be away all the morning," the Merry Mother said; "but
I hope your pleasant company will keep you from missing me. I am going
to shut your door for a minute, and when it opens you can pull in your
visitors as fast as you please." She laughed to see the Little Cousin's
astonished face, for the doctor had said that the children must not come
in to see her as long as Mumps stayed. Then the door closed.

There was a slight commotion outside. The Little Cousin listened
eagerly. What could it mean? Hushed voices, bits of laughter, the
sliding of something over the polished floor, scurrying footsteps here
and there--the Little Cousin heard it all, and waited breathlessly.

At last the feet retreated, the door opened, and the Merry Mother's face
appeared. Something attached to a string came flying toward the bed.

"Catch it!" she called.

The Little Cousin grabbed it--only a small block of wood, on which was
printed, "PULL."

Eagerly the little