all in love, and it is really amazing
what a deal of knocking about, children will stand and laugh at,
if they know it to be done in love or play, when a slight touch
in punishment will set them crying.

One pleasant morning, just before last Christmas, Lillie was
conversing with Willie while they were eating their breakfast
with the family; for Willie had been promoted to the dignity
of a high chair, and had commenced the business of feeding
himself, and did it very well, considering. About once in five
times he would stick the spoonful of hominy in the middle of
his cheek, or on the tip of his chin, expecting to find an
extra mouth or two, I suppose; so that in a little while his
face would be ornamented with a variety of white patches,
which made Lillie laugh, and Willie laugh back; so upon the
whole he fed himself in what might be called an _entertaining
manner_, and began to grow fat upon it.

Lillie was older, and of course ate her breakfast like a
dainty little maiden, as she was, in the neatest possible way,
but for all that, she liked plenty to eat, and presently she
held out her plate for some more cakes.

"Why, Lillie!" said her father, pretending to be astonished,
"more cakes? you're just like Oliver! I am sure you must be
full up to here," and he pointed to his throat.

"Oh! no, papa, you are mistaken, only look here, how loose my
skin is," and she grasped the skin of her white neck, and
pulled it up, and cried, "see papa, quite a big room left."

Her father laughed, and gave her the cakes, and while she was
enjoying them, she cried to Willie:

"I'm learning to spell and read, Mr. Willie."

"_Is_ you?" answered Willie, "why for?" and in his earnest
attention to this announcement, he forgot the way to his mouth
again, and landed a spoonful of hominy on the end of his
nose.

Lillie laughed, and polished his nose with her napkin; and
rubbed it so hard, that it made Willie wink, and said:

"Because people must learn to read and spell, and you must
learn too--I'm going to teach you; come, spell 'cat.'"

"But I _tant_," said Willie.

"But you must," said Lillie, "you must spell 'cat,' and you
must learn to read the Bible; and you and I will read the
Bible every single morning, and a great many times besides."

"Come, begin: spell 'cat.'"

Willie looked gravely down, with very large eyes, at the cat,
as if he thought that she might tell him; then lifted his mug,
on which was elegantly painted,