fox smelled the gingerbread, and spied the baby on
the rock.

Then he came up close and said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a
piece of your gingerbread, or I'll box your ears."

The baby did not answer, so the old fox climbed up on the rock, and
boxed her on the ear; and his paw stuck so fast he could not pull it
away again.

Then he said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a piece of your
gingerbread, or I'll box you on the other ear."

The baby did not say a word, so he boxed her on the other ear, and his
other paw stuck fast.

Then he said, "Little girl, little girl, give me a piece of your
gingerbread, or I'll bite off your nose." Still the baby would not
answer, so the fox bit at her nose; and his teeth stuck tight in the
pitch, and he was almost choked with the tar.

The little rabbits then all came out and danced around the wicked old
fox, saying, "Now you can't choke the pretty brook, for your own mouth
is choked with tar!"

At last Frisky asked, "Now what shall we do with him?"

"Leave him to starve," said one. "Set fire to his tail," said another.
And they all proposed something, except Snowflake, the youngest and
prettiest of the family, who said nothing until Frisky turned to her and
asked, "And what would you do?"

"I should let him go," replied Snowflake, "if he would promise not to
trouble the water again."

"Snowflake is right," said Frisky; "he has been punished enough. We will
let him go."

So they first loosened his mouth, and rubbed his teeth with butter to
take off the tar, and when he had said three times, "Hope my tail may
drop off if I ever hurt you or the brook again," they set his paws free,
and he scampered off, and hid himself in his den in the wood.

And the little rabbits lived happy forever after.

[Illustration: OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.]

BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

I am a teacher in one of the public schools of this city. I take
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE to school with me, and my pupils enjoy it
very much.

I have the oldest children in the building, and they can
understand all of the pieces. I read them the articles as a reward
for good behavior and well-learned lessons, and let them copy and
work out the puzzles.

It would please you to see how anxiously they wait for each new
issue, and how happy they are when it comes. We are reading the
touching story of "Biddy O'Dolan" now, and I hope it will lead
them t