fields; and at last he came to his own house.

When he was in his own house he set the shiny acorn on the table. I
guess he set it down hard, for all at once, with a little snap, it
opened!--exactly like a little box.

And what do you think! There was a tiny necklace inside! It was a
most beautiful tiny necklace, all made of jewels, and it was just big
enough for a lady mouse. So the little Field Mouse gave the tiny
necklace to his little Mouse-sister. She thought it was perfectly
lovely. And when she wasn't wearing it she kept it in the shiny acorn
box.

And the little Red Man never knew what had become of it, because he
didn't know where the little Field Mouse lived.

ANOTHER LITTLE RED HEN[1]

[1] Adapted from the verse version, which is given here as an
alternative.

Once upon a time there was a little Red Hen, who lived on a farm all by
herself. An old Fox, crafty and sly, had a den in the rocks, on a hill
near her house. Many and many a night this old Fox used to lie awake
and think to himself how good that little Red Hen would taste if he
could once get her in his big kettle and boil her for dinner. But he
couldn't catch the little Red Hen, because she was too wise for him.
Every time she went out to market she locked the door of the house
behind her, and as soon as she came in again she locked the door behind
her and put the key in her apron pocket, where she kept her scissors
and a sugar cooky.

At last the old Fox thought up a way to catch the little Red Hen.
Early in the morning he said to his old mother, "Have the kettle
boiling when I come home to-night, for I'll be bringing the little Red
Hen for supper." Then he took a big bag and slung it over his
shoulder, and walked till he came to the little Red Hen's house. The
little Red Hen was just coming out of her door to pick up a few sticks
for kindling wood. So the old Fox hid behind the wood-pile, and as
soon as she bent down to get a stick, into the house he slipped, and
scurried behind the door.

In a minute the little Red Hen came quickly in, and shut the door and
locked it. "I'm glad I'm safely in," she said. Just as she said it,
she turned round, and there stood the ugly old Fox, with his big bag
over his shoulder. Whiff! how scared the little Red Hen was! She
dropped her apronful of sticks, and flew up to the big beam across the
ceiling. There she perched, and she said to the old Fox, down below,
"You may as well go home,