s small,
little, black eyes seemed to eat her up. "Take time! Remember! next
guess and you're mine!" Well, she backed just a wee bit from it, for it
was just horrible to look at; but then she laughed out and pointed her
finger at it and said, says she:

"Name me, name me not,
_Your_ name is
_Tom_
TIT
_TOT_."

And you never heard such a shriek as that small, little, black Thing
gave out. Its tail dropped down straight, its feet all crumpled up, and
away That flew into the dark, and she never saw it no more.

And she lived happy ever after with her husband, the King.

[Illustration: Away That flew into the dark, and she never saw it no
more]

THE GOLDEN SNUFF-BOX

Once upon a time, and a very good time too, though it was not in my
time, nor your time, nor for the matter of that in any one's time, there
lived a man and a woman who had one son called Jack, and he was just
terribly fond of reading books. He read, and he read, and then, because
his parents lived in a lonely house in a lonely forest and he never saw
any other folk but his father and his mother, he became quite crazy to
go out into the world and see charming princesses and the like.

So one day he told his mother he must be off, and she called him an
air-brained addle-pate, but added that, as he was no use at home, he had
better go seek his fortune. Then she asked him if he would rather take a
small cake with her blessing to eat on his journey, or a large cake with
her curse? Now Jack was a very hungry lad, so he just up and said:

"A big cake, if you please, 'm."

So his mother made a great big cake, and when he started she just off to
the top of the house and cast malisons on him, till he got out of
sight. You see she had to do it, but after that she sate down and cried.

Well, Jack hadn't gone far till he came to a field where his father was
ploughing. Now the goodman was dreadfully put out when he found his son
was going away, and still more so when he heard he had chosen his
mother's malison. So he cast about what to do to put things straight,
and at last he drew out of his pocket a little golden snuff-box, and
gave it to the lad, saying:

"If ever you are in danger of sudden death you may open the box; but not
till then. It has been in our family for years and years; but, as we
have lived, father and son, quietly in the forest, none of us have ever
been in need of he