eft them he tried
to trace his way back by means of these crumbs. But, alas, and
alackaday! The little birds had seen the crumbs and eaten them all up,
and when Johnnie went to search for them they had all disappeared.

So they wandered and they wandered, more and more hungry all the time,
till they came to a glade in which there was a funny little house; and
what do you think it was made of? The door was made of butter-scotch,
the windows of sugar candy, the bricks were all chocolate creams, the
pillars of lollypops, and the roof of gingerbread.

No sooner had the children seen this funny little house than they
rushed up to it and commenced to pick pieces off the door, and take
out some of the bricks, while Johnnie climbed on Grizzle's back, and
tore off some of the roof (what was that made of?). Just as they were
eating all this the door opened and a little old woman, with red eyes,
came out and said,

"Naughty, naughty children to break up my house like that. Why didn't
you knock at the door and ask to have something, and I would gladly
give it to you?"

"Please ma'am," said Johnnie, "I will ask for something; I am so, so
hungry, or else I wouldn't have hurt your pretty roof."

"Come inside my house," said the old woman, and let them come into her
parlour. And that was made all of candies, the chairs and table of
maple-sugar, and the couch of cocoanut. But as soon as the old woman
got them inside her door she seized hold of Johnnie and took him
through the kitchen and put him in a dark cubby-hole, and left him
there with the door locked.

Now this old woman was a witch, who looked out for little children,
whom she fattened up and ate. So she went back to Grizzle, and said,

"You shall be my little servant and do my work for me, and, as for
that brother of yours, he'll make a fine meal when he's fattened up."

So this witch kept Johnnie and Grizzle with her, making Grizzle do all
the housework, and every morning she went to the cubby-hole in which
she kept Johnnie and gave him a good breakfast, and later in the day a
good dinner, and at night a good supper; but after she gave him his
supper she would say to him,

"Put out your forefinger," and when he put it out the old witch, who
was nearly blind, felt it and muttered,

"Not fat enough yet!"

After a while Johnnie felt he was getting real fat and was afraid the
witch would eat him up. So he searched about till he found a stick
about the size of his fing