d Brighteyes. But first, I must know why my
Fluff has been crying. You must have cried yourself to sleep, my mouse,
and that will never do. Tell your old Moonman what has happened, for I
have been watching a battle in Zululand all day, and have seen neither
mice nor mouse-trap."

"We have had a very melancholy day, Mr. Moonman!" replied Fluff, "Vashti
Ann has been hanged, and it is a terrible thing to hang your own child,
even if Nibble does it for you." "Vashti Ann hanged!" I exclaimed.
"Dear! dear! how very distressing! what had she done, pray, and how did
it all happen?" "We don't think she meant to do it," said Puff gravely;
"but Nibble said she ought to be hanged all the same. You see, we had
just dressed the baby"--"and she was Vashti Ann's _own_ child!" Fluff
broke in impressively.

[Illustration: FLUFF.]

[Illustration]

"Please do not interrupt me, Fluffy!" said Puffy with dignity. "And we
set her down in front of her mother, and told her to say her lesson like
a good baby, only she can't really say it, you know, but we play she
does. So then Fluffy went for a walk with the other dolls, but I had to
darn a hole in my stocking. Mrs. Posset is teaching me to darn, and it
is my duty, but I don't like my duty. So I was sitting by the window,
and nobody was doing anything at all, when suddenly Vashti Ann fell
right down on the baby's head and"--"and killed her!" cried Fluff,
bursting into tears. "Killed her all dead into little pieces!" "How
very, very shocking!" I said. "And was the wretched mother hurt
herself?" "No!" answered Puff. "Her head was china, Mr. Moonman, and the
baby's was wax, you see." "I see!" said I. "The brass pot and the
earthen one!" "If you had ever seen Vashti Ann, Mr. Moonman," said Fluff
through her tears, "you would not call her such names as a brass pot.
Her hair was gossy as the raven's wing, like the lady in the ballad that
Uncle Jack read to us last night; and I never wanted to call her Vashti
Ann, but I wanted to call her Isidora Vienna, but Uncle Jack said her
name was Vashti Ann when he buyed her, so I couldn't help it." And
Fluff dried her eyes with the end of the pillow-case, and looked very
mournful. "Well! well!" I said. "This is certainly very painful. So then
you hanged Vashti Ann?" "No, Nibble hanged her," said Fluff, "with a
clothesline, and it was a terribul scene, Uncle Jack said it was. And
then we buried them both together under a rose bush. We are going to
have a mo