Pussy will play man-Friday till
It's time to wet her paw
And make her walk on the window-sill
(For the footprint Crusoe saw);
Then she fluffles her tail and mews,
And scratches and won't attend.
But Binkie will play whatever I choose,
And he is my true First Friend.

Pussy will rub my knees with her head
Pretending she loves me hard;
But the very minute I go to my bed
Pussy runs out in the yard,
And there she stays till the morning-light;
So I know it is only pretend;
But Binkie, he snores at my feet all night,
And he is my Firstest Friend!

THE BUTTERFLY THAT STAMPED

THIS, O my Best Beloved, is a story--a new and a wonderful story--a
story quite different from the other stories--a story about The Most
Wise Sovereign Suleiman-bin-Daoud--Solomon the Son of David.

There are three hundred and fifty-five stories about Suleiman-bin-Daoud;
but this is not one of them. It is not the story of the Lapwing who
found the Water; or the Hoopoe who shaded Suleimanbin-Daoud from the
heat. It is not the story of the Glass Pavement, or the Ruby with
the Crooked Hole, or the Gold Bars of Balkis. It is the story of the
Butterfly that Stamped.

Now attend all over again and listen!

Suleiman-bin-Daoud was wise. He understood what the beasts said, what
the birds said, what the fishes said, and what the insects said. He
understood what the rocks said deep under the earth when they bowed in
towards each other and groaned; and he understood what the trees
said when they rustled in the middle of the morning. He understood
everything, from the bishop on the bench to the hyssop on the wall, and
Balkis, his Head Queen, the Most Beautiful Queen Balkis, was nearly as
wise as he was.

Suleiman-bin-Daoud was strong. Upon the third finger of the right hand
he wore a ring. When he turned it once, Afrits and Djinns came Out of
the earth to do whatever he told them. When he turned it twice, Fairies
came down from the sky to do whatever he told them; and when he turned
it three times, the very great angel Azrael of the Sword came dressed
as a water-carrier, and told him the news of the three worlds,
Above--Below--and Here.

And yet Suleiman-bin-Daoud was not proud. He very seldom showed off, and
when he did he was sorry for it. Once he tried to feed all the animals
in all the world in one day, but when the food was ready an Animal came