n his stomach.

After that shouldn't you suppose he would do what she told him? But he
didn't. As soon as he was well he was just as careless and disobedient
as before.

One day he went out to the meadow and he just ran and ran and ran until
he got all overheated and perspired. Then he went down to the brook and
began drinking cold water.

"Oh, my dear," the little Hen cried, "you mustn't drink cold water while
you're overheated! Wait and cool off!"

But would the Rooster wait and cool off? No! He just drank that cold
water and drank it until he could drink no more.

Then he got a chill and the poor little Hen had to drag him home and put
him to bed and run for the Doctor.

The Doctor gave him bitter medicine and he didn't get well for a long
time. In fact it was winter before he got out of the house again.

Now shouldn't you suppose that after all this the Rooster would never
again disobey the little Hen? If only he had he would be alive to this
day. Listen, now, to what happened:

One morning when he got up, he saw that ice was beginning to form on the
river.

"Goody! Goody!" he cried. "Now I can go sliding on the ice!"

"Oh, my dear," the little Hen said, "you mustn't go sliding on the ice
yet! It's dangerous! Wait a few days until it's frozen harder and then
go sliding."

But would the Rooster listen to the little Hen? No! He just insisted on
running out that very moment and sliding on the thin ice.

And do you know what happened?

The ice broke and he fell in the river and, before the little Hen could
get help, he was drowned!

And it was all his own fault, too, for the little Hen had begged him to
wait until the ice was safer.

THE NICKERMAN'S WIFE

THE STORY OF LIDUSHKA AND THE IMPRISONED DOVES

[Illustration]

THE NICKERMAN'S WIFE

There was once a young housewife named Lidushka. One day while she
was washing clothes in the river a great frog, all bloated and ugly,
swam up to her. Lidushka jumped back in fright. The frog spread
itself out on the water, just where Lidushka had been rinsing her
clothes, and sat there working its jaws as if it wanted to say
something.

"Shoo!" Lidushka cried, but the frog stayed where it was and kept on
working its jaws.

"You ugly old bloated thing! What do you want and why do you sit there
gaping at me?"

Lidushka struck at the frog with a piece of linen to drive it off so
that she could go on with her work. The frog dived, came up at