t always,
As people may have thought,
A goody-goody little girl
Who never mischief wrought.

Oh, no, our darling Ethel,
The precious little woman,
Although so very dear to us,
Was most intensely human.

She waded into mischief
Like ducklets into water,
And kept us ever on the watch
With, "Daughter!" "Oh, my Daughter!"

{251}

She took the ribbon from her hair
The kitten to bedeck,
Then brought its tail between its legs
And tied it tail and neck.

She took her dolly to the pump
And pinned it on the spout,
And then with all her might and main
She pumped the water out.

"Oh, little Haynth tho' thelfith,'
She cried, because her cousin {252}
Besought one pillow, while she hugged
Them all, a half a dozen.

She found a bell that tinkled,
And fastened it, for fun,
'Round kitty's neck then clapped her hands,
And cried, run! Kitty, run!

She fain would pick the eyes out,
Of little baby-brother,
"To find the pretty balls like those
In fishes' eyes, and other."

{253}

And then she'd fold her little hands
So quaintly and demurely,
You'd think she must be quite a saint,
Or not a sinner, surely.

And thus her pranks from day to day
And hour to hour repeated,
Would bring the thought, "Tis all for naught,
Our aims are all defeated."

* * * * *

Nay, nay, not so, the years roll by,
And Ethel's baby-mischief
Becomes the power that leads her kind,
For by her force she is chief.

* * * * *

_THE SIX SISTERS._

ONE of us e'er lives in dates,
One in every peach awaits;
One in pine-apple is found,
One in orange, bright and round,
One in plum, so luscious sweet,
And our last in strawberry--treat.

{254}

_THE LITTLE GIRLS' LETTER TO GOD._

Now Susy's such a naughty dirl,
And I ain't any better,
And so we thought we just would wite
The dear dood Dod a letter.

And tell him all about our bad,
Betause he'd have to know,
Or else he touldn't mate us dood,
And so we told him how,

{255}

Once when I spit on Susy's dwess
Then Susy spit on me;
And when I bwote her dolly's arm
She smashed my Twistmas-twee.

Then when I pushed her off the wall,
She spattered me with mud;
When I pulled up her tolumbine,
She snapped my wed wose-bud

{256}

I talled her "old dwanmother Dwill"
And she taile