wn were the donkey and the old
cow. They went to the bee, but they danced along as if they didn't care
at all whether they spelled cat with a _c_ or a _k_. They each had two
partners. The donkey had two regular danseuses, but the cow had to
content herself with the court librarian and the apothecary.

[Illustration]

Out in the green grass where the company assembled there were a lot of
grasshoppers and little gnats. The grasshoppers said to each other, "We
can't put letters together to make words, so let us dance for a spell,"
which they did,--all but one poor young creature who had no partner,
and who sat sorrowfully on one side, while the others skipped gayly
about.

[Illustration]

As soon as the people and the chickens and donkeys and wasps and cows
and all the others were seated, side by side, in two long rows, the
magician gave out the first word. It was "Roe-dough-mon-taide"--at
least that was the way he pronounced it. The king and the queen were at
the heads of the two lines, and it was their duty to begin,--first the
king, and then the queen, if he missed.

But neither of them had ever heard of the word, and so they didn't try.
Then one of the wasps tried, and afterward a ram, a rabbit, and the
head ninny-hammer; but they made sad work of it. Then each one of the
company made an effort and did his, her or its very best, but it was of
no use; they could not spell the word.

Uprose then the little chicken that had stood on his mother's back and
tried to crow in tune with his father, and he cried out: "Give it up!"

"Wrong!" said the magician. "That's not it. You are all now under the
influence of a powerful spell. Here you will remain until some one can
correctly answer my question."

They are all there yet. How long would you, my reader, have to sit on
the grass before you could spell that word?

[Illustration]

SCRUBBY'S BEAUTIFUL TREE.

BY J.C. PURDY.

I.

"Papa!"

"Well, dear!"

"Wont to-morrow be Kissmuss?"

"Why, no, darling! We had Christmas-day long ago. Don't you remember?"

"Yes; but you said we'd have another Kissmuss in a year, and then I'd
have such a pitty tree. I'm sure it's a year. It _is_ a year, papa; and
it takes so awful long to wait for some time--it's jess a noosance. I
fink ole Kriss was drefful mean not to let me have a tree only cos we'd
got poor. Wasn't we ever poor before, papa? Don't he give trees to
_any_ poor little girls? I _do_ want a tree--sech a p