and the master of it. There was nobody to be considered, nobody to be
consulted, nobody to be attended to, but Limby Lumpy.

II

Limby grew up big and strong; he had everything his own way. One day,
when he was at dinner with his father and mother, perched upon a
double chair, with his silver knife and fork, and silver mug to drink
from, he amused himself by playing drums on his plate with the mug.

"Don't make that noise, Limby, my dear," said his father.

"Dear little lamb!" said his mother; "let him amuse himself. Limby,
have some pudding?"

"No, Limby no pudding!"

_Drum! drum! drum!_

A piece of pudding was, however, put on Limby's plate, but he kept on
drumming as before. At last he drummed the bottom of the mug into the
soft pudding, to which it stuck, and by which means it was scattered
all over the carpet.

"Limby, my darling!" said his mother; and the servant was called to
wipe Limby's mug and pick the pudding up from the floor.

Limby would not have his mug wiped, and floundered about, and upset
the cruet-stand and the mustard on the table-cloth.

"Oh, Limby Lumpy--naughty boy!" said his father.

"Don't speak so cross to the child: he is but a child," said his
mother. "I don't like to hear you speak so cross to the child."

"I tell you what it is," said his father, "I think the boy does as he
likes. But I don't want to interfere."

Limby now sat still, resolving what to do next. He was not hungry,
having been stuffed with a large piece of pound-cake about an hour
before dinner; but he wanted something to do, and could not sit still.

Presently a saddle of mutton was brought on the table. When Limby saw
this he set up a crow of delight.

"Limby ride," said he--"Limby ride!" and rose up in his chair, as if
to reach the dish.

"Yes, my ducky, it shall have some mutton," said his mother, and
immediately gave him a slice, cut up into small morsels.

That was not it. Limby pushed that on the floor, and cried out: "Limby
on meat! Limby on meat!"

His mother could not think what he meant. At last, however, his father
recollected that he had been in the habit of giving him a ride
occasionally, first on his foot, sometimes on the scroll end of the
sofa, at other times on the top of the easy chair. Once he put him on
a dog, and more than once on the saddle; in short, he had been in the
habit of perching him on various things, and now Limby, hearing this
was a _saddle_ of mutton, wanted t