Your affectionate
"NEIGHBOR NELLY.

"Saturday Morning."

You may believe how pleased I was with this dear little note, and I
thought I would answer it. So I sat down at my writing desk, found a
cunning little sheet of paper, with a flag on it, and commenced.

Now I happened to think, at that moment, of some very comical letters
written by the great poet, Tom Hood, to his little friends on the
seashore; and as they were ever so much funnier than anything I could
have written, I copied one of them out, and sent it to my little new
friend.

"MY DEAR NEIGHBOR NELLY:

"I am very glad you are to walk with me, and very
sorry you are going away so soon. Do you like to
be on the seashore? I did, when I was a boy. I
and my brother chucked hundreds of stones into the
sea, when we were there, but we came away before
we could fill it up. Then there is the fun of
finding shiny pebbles and jelly fish on the beach.
I used to think jelly fish were made of
sea-calves' feet, and no flavoring. I suppose the
mermaids eat them at their parties.

"Then there's fishing on the seaside. I used to
catch flat fish sometimes, with a long string
line, it was like swimming a kite. If you go out
in a surf boat, take care it does not "flounder"
and get "squamped," as some people say, instead of
founder and swamped.

"Have you ever been bathed in the sea? I was,
and, dear me! how I kicked and screamed; or, at
least, tried to scream, but the sea, ships and
all, began to run into my mouth, and so I shut it
up. Remember, when you are bathing, if you meet
with a shark, the best way is to bite off his
legs, if you can, before he walks away with yours;
and pray, pray, pray take care of yourself in the
sea, for in some places, they say, it has not even
a bottom to go to.

"Could you bring me a little crab off the beach?
If you would catch one for me, and teach it to
shake hands without nipping and biting, it would
make me quite happy, for I have not had any toys
or playthings in a long time. It would be a good
plan to hire a little crab to teach the baby to