ason." But
at last the eggs, like riches, had taken to themselves wings.

The soft, speckled creatures found plenty of admiring friends to welcome
them as they tried their first "peep" at the world. They did not see
much of the world, however, for some time, it must be confessed, on
account of the corn-meal dough which the children sprinkled into their
eyes.

"We won't let you starve, our ony dony Ducky Daddleses," said Dotty.

"Our deenty doiny Diddleses," said Katie after her, running hither and
thither like a squirrel.

It was a time of great satisfaction. Dotty regretted that Jennie Vance
had gone to Boston, for it would have been pleasant to see Jennie
envious. What were gold rings compared to ducklings? The blunt little
beaks pecked out very fast. As soon as they were all out, except the two
eggs which were addled, the step-mother hen gathered her family
together and went to house-keeping, gipsy fashion, in the back yard. She
clucked to the ducklings, and they followed her, their little feet going
pat, pat, on the soft grass. A nice time they had, no doubt, eating
picked-up dinners, with now and then a banquet of corn-meal dough. There
were eleven ducklings, five for Dotty, five for Prudy, and one for
Katie, the little girl with flying hair.

After they had been alive two days, Prudy thought they ought to have a
bath; so she took the large iron pan which Ruth used for baking
johnny-cakes, filled it with water, put the tiny creatures in, and bade
them "swim," to Madam Biddy's great alarm. They did it well, though they
were as badly crowded as the five and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.

Katie wished the Charlie boy to see the ducklings, which were "velly
difrunt from a piggie;" but dear Charlie was very ill, and when the
children went with the milk, they were not allowed to see him.

I may as well give you here the history of the ducklings.

The next morning after their "swim" there were only ten left, and
Dotty's lamentations could be heard all over the house. It was Katie's
odd one, she said, that was gone, the one with a black picture on his
back that looked like a clover. Next morning there were nine; and on the
tenth day there was but one solitary duckling left to pipe out his
sorrows all alone. The anguish of the children was painful to be behold.
Dotty's grief affected her somewhat like the jumping toothache. Who
could have carried away those dear, dear little duckies?

Who indeed? About this ti