seemed to
be thinking deeply.

Suddenly he put his hand in his pocket. When he drew it out, it was a
little fist. When he opened the little fist, he gazed lovingly at a
piece of pink worsted, all crumpled up! He took an end of it in each
hand and stretched it out as long as he could reach. Then he crumpled
it up again and put it in his pocket.

[Illustration: "What's that in your pocket?"]

"What's that, Billy?"

Billy jumped. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw a
grasshopper sitting on a blade of grass.

"What's that in your pocket?" asked the grasshopper.

"Just a little piece of worsted," Billy replied, putting his hand in his
pocket again to be sure it was there.

"Where did you get it?" asked the grasshopper.

"At kindergarten," answered Billy.

"Teacher give it to you?"

Billy did not answer.

"Did she?" persisted the grasshopper.

"N--no," said Billy reluctantly while his face turned very red.

"Well, who did?" continued the grasshopper.

"Nobody! I found it on the floor!" replied Billy.

"Found it on the kindergarten floor," exclaimed the grasshopper, "and
brought it home with you?"

"Well," Billy defended himself, "'findin's keepin's!'"

"O Billy," cried the grasshopper, "if you lost your little tin-soldier,
and another little boy found it, wouldn't you want him to bring it back
to you?"

"Course!"

The grasshopper put his head on one side and looked at Billy. Billy
looked at the ground. Finally he spoke. "My teacher has so much worsted!
I don't know how many cards you could sew with all she has--all colors
too!"

The grasshopper put his head on the other side and looked at Billy.
Billy began to feel very uncomfortable.

"Why don't you take it back and tell your teacher all about it?" asked
the grasshopper.

"Take it back!" gasped Billy, "and give it to my teacher! I couldn't!
I'll take it back and put it on the the floor."

"Mercy on us!" exclaimed the grasshopper, jumping over to another blade
of grass, "Be a man! You will be happier after you have told her."

Now Billy knew that his teacher always stayed at kindergarten, after the
children had gone, to "straighten up" and his kindergarten was right
across the street. So he thought a moment and then jumped up. "You wait
here till I come back!" And away he ran as fast as his little legs would
carry him. But when he reached the kindergarten door, he stopped. His
teacher was sitting with her back to the door, arranging