irectly in her way,
and the good woman stumbled over it, and knocked her head against the
mantel-piece and dropped all the stockings. This she did not like, as
you may imagine. "Dear me! children," she cried, "it's as much as my
life is worth to enter this nursery, with all your crinkum-crankums! my
stars! will you look at the strings now, all over the room, fit to break
a body's neck! Whatever are you doing now, Miss Puff?"

"We washed the dolls' clothes, Possy dear," said Puff, "because they
were dirty, and you said this morning dirt was a sin."

"So we couldn't have our children dirty and sinful too, you know,
Possy!" cried Fluff, earnestly. "And now we are playing wind, and drying
the clothes beautifully."

"Well, dears," said Mrs. Posset, resignedly, as she sat down with her
mending, "'tis a very nice play, no doubt; but if you _could_ play
something that would not shake the room quite so much, the stockings
would be mended sooner, that's all."

"Well, Puffy," said Fluff, "what shall we play?"

"Oh! let us play 'Five Little Princesses'!" said Puff.

"But there are only three of us!" Fluff objected. "Unless Mrs. Posset
will be one, and _that_ would only be four. _Would_ you mind being a
princess, Possy?"

"Oh! Miss Fluffy, dear, indeed I have not time, now," said the good
nurse; "but you might play that one of the princesses was lame, and
could not walk."

So the three mice began to walk slowly about, with their eyes shut,
singing, as they went:

Five little princesses started off to school,
Following their noses because it was the rule.
But one nose turned up, and another nose turned down,
So all the little princesses were lost in the town.

[Illustration]

Here they all tumbled against each other, and pretended to cry bitterly;
then starting off again, they sang:

Poor little princesses cannot find their way!
Naughty little noses, to lead them astray!
Poor little princesses, sadly they roam,
Naughty little noses, pray lead them home!

Now is not that a pretty game? Yes, and it is quite new, so you may try
it yourselves if you like. Just shut your eyes, and bump against all
the chairs and tables, singing this song, and you will find yourselves
very much amused. At least, the twins and Downy enjoyed it extremely,
until Fluff, the unlucky, tripped over one of her own clothes-lines, and
fell against the stove (which, luck