asking once more for his Camel, and in the
letter he hid a little packet of snuff. He put the letter in the post,
and waited.

Next day, as the Woodcutter Chief was sitting in his house, the postman
came to the door--Rat-tat. The footman brought in a letter, and the
Woodcutter Chief opened it. He read it through, and laughed. Then he
waved it in the air, and said, "Let them come." As he waved the letter
in the air, all the snuff fell out of it upon his nose. The Woodcutter
gave a terrific sneeze, Tishoo! Tishoo! The thin shell of earth could
not stand the shock; it trembled, and crumbled, and fell in, and all the
Woodcutters fell in too, and all their village, and nothing was left of
them but a big hole.

Then the Mouse King and his army went back to Mouseland; and though they
never got the old Camel back (for he was swallowed up along with the
Woodcutters), yet no one ever molested Mouseland again.

The Valiant Blackbird

A BLACKBIRD and his mate lived together on a tree. The Blackbird used to
sing very sweetly, and one day the King heard him in passing by, and
sent a Fowler to catch him. But the Fowler made a mistake; he did not
catch Mr. Blackbird, who sang so sweetly, but Mrs. Blackbird, who could
hardly sing at all. However, he did not know the difference, to look at
her, nor did the King when he got the bird; but a cage was made for Mrs.
Blackbird, and there she was kept imprisoned.

[Illustration]

When Mr. Blackbird heard that his dear spouse was stolen, he was very
angry indeed. He determined to get her back, by hook or by crook. So he
got a long sharp thorn, and tied it at his waist by a thread; and on his
head he put the half of a walnut-shell for a helmet, and the skin of a
dead frog served for body-armour. Then he made a little kettle-drum out
of the other half of the walnut-shell; and he beat his drum, and
proclaimed war upon the King.

As he walked along the road, beating his drum, he met a Cat.

"Whither away, Mr. Blackbird?" said the Cat.

"To fight against the King," said Mr. Blackbird.

"All right," said the Cat, "I'll come with you: he drowned my kitten."

"Jump into my ear, then," says Mr. Blackbird. The Cat jumped into the
Blackbird's ear, and curled up, and went to sleep: and the Blackbird
marched along, beating his drum.

Some way further on, he met some Ants.

"Whither away, Mr. Blackbird?" said the Ants.

"To fight against the King," said Mr. Blackbird.

"All right,"