d been allowed to sweep the schoolroom floor.

--_Written for Dew Drops by Mary A. Spaulding Hatch._

LITTLE WHITE RIDING-HOOD.

In the New Year's box from Aunt Jo there was an unusually lovely present
for Leslie. It was really two presents: a beautiful warm white coat and
a black velvet hood, both trimmed with soft, white fur around the edges.

Leslie was very happy, and hurried to put them on.

"Oh, mother," she cried, looking at herself in the mirror, "I'm a Little
White Riding-Hood instead of a red one!"

"So you are!" said mother laughing. "I hope Granny Wolf will not eat you
up."

Leslie laughed, too, and clapped her hands. "Oh, I'll go and see Granny
Graham and play she is the wolf, only she is ever so much too kind to
eat anybody. I ought to have something nice to take her, mother, you
know Red Riding-Hood did."

[Illustration: _"Oh, I'll go and see Granny Graham and play she is the
wolf."_]

Mother gladly packed a basket with doughnuts and red apples, but Leslie
was not satisfied. "I can take doughnuts any time, I'd like to take
some of the oranges from Aunt Jo's box."

Mother looked a little surprised. "Are you quite sure you can spare
them, dear? You do not have oranges very often."

"I'd like to," Leslie insisted earnestly. "I don't believe Red
Riding-Hood was selfish, and I'm sure White Riding-Hood doesn't want to
be."

So mother put in three big yellow oranges, and Leslie ran down the hill
with her basket. Granny Graham was a tiny, sweet old lady who lived in a
tiny cottage at the foot of the hill.

Leslie knocked at the door and a pleasant voice called, "Come in."
Leslie opened the door and stood inside in her pretty furry things,
feeling quite nice and shivery over even playing that Granny was a wolf.

"Good-morning, Granny," she said, "I'm Little White Riding-Hood."

"Good-morning, my dear," said Granny, smiling, "how nice you look."

"Oh, Granny," cried Leslie, "'what bright eyes you've got!'"

Granny's bright eyes twinkled with fun as she answered, "'The better to
see you with'."

Leslie giggled; that was just the way it went in the story. "'Oh.
Granny,'" she went on playing, "'what long ears you have!'"

"'The better to hear you with,'" answered Granny; which was all very
funny because the ears peeping out from under Granny's cap were tiny
like the rest of her, and did not hear any too well at best.

After that, Leslie held her basket a bit tighter and said, "'Oh, Gran