The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary's Little Lamb, by Edith Francis Foster This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Mary's Little Lamb A Picture Guessing Story for Little Children Author: Edith Francis Foster Release Date: September 24, 2013 [EBook #43808] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY'S LITTLE LAMB *** Produced by Katie Hernandez, Jason Isbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of public domain works in the International Children's Digital Library.) cover 1 2 Marys Little Lamb MARY'S LITTLE LAMB CONTENTS FRONTISPIECE DEDICATION HOW MARY FOUND HIM 9 3 5 HOW THEY WASHED HIM 15 HOW THEY FED HIM 21 HOW HE WENT TO SCHOOL 27 HOW HE WOULDN'T JUMP 33 HOW LITTLE MARY SPUN 39 HOW HE WENT BOATING 45 HOW DOLLABELLA TOOK A RIDE 51 HOW BOSSY BUNTED HIM 57 HOW THEY PLAYED HIDE-AND-SEEK 63 HOW HE SAVED MARY! 69 HOW HE WON A PRIZE 75 Copyright, 1901, By S. E. Cassino. Copyright, 1903, By S. E. Cassino. 6 7 Mary's Little Lamb. I. When little Mary Moffett's mother asked her to go up to the Clover Farm for some fresh , Mary felt a little sorry, for she was very busy making her a , but she laid down her and and , tied on her pink , and set off up the hill, with her little on her . As she was coming home she heard a queer little patter, patter, behind her. She looked back and saw something white! felt a wee bit afraid, and began to run but her struck a and down she tumbled on her ! Before she could get up something soft and woolly was rubbing gently against 9 11 her , saying "Ba-a-a!" "Oh you darling lamb!" cried Mary, hugging it—and the little snuggled close, and said "Ba-a-a! Take me home with you, little Mary." was astonished. "Whose lamb is it?" she asked. "Oh Mother, I think it's just a wild lamb! Mayn't I keep it?" begged . But Mother said she must ask Farmer Clover if it was one of his , first. So back they went, and found Farmer Clover mending his and Mary asked him. But there were two big tears in her —she did so want that dear —and the kind old saw them. "Well, yes," he said, "that's my lamb— but it's an extra one, that I haven't any room for. If I knew anybody who would be willing to take it and treat it well—" "Oh, Mr. Clover!" cried , her eyes dancing, now, and her dancing, too. "I'd be willing! I'd treat it well! May I have it?" So Mary and the little went dancing home together. And kind old watched them and laughed till his danced in his , and his danced on his . 13 15 II. "Mother! Mother!" cried little Mary, running into the . "Mr. Clover says he doesn't need this —it's extra—and I may have it for my very own!" Yes, now it was Mary's little lamb—and how they loved each other! They went together everywhere—in the and the , and over to Grandfathers, to play with little Aunt Hannah. Mary's Aunt Hannah was only three years older than herself and they played together all the time. The two little thought the was beautiful, but it was not very clean. "I don't want a dirty, dusty little lamb," said Mary; "I want a nice, clean, white lamb." "Then we must wash it." said little . "Father washes all his in the every spring." Out by the stood the with the big wooden where the drank. The was full of water, standing in the . Mary leaned over the edge and dipped her . "It's nice and warm," she said. "Now, dear little jump right in!" But the lamb wouldn't jump—so Mary and little Aunt Hannah lifted him, and dropped him into the . Then they rubbed him with , and squeezed his with their . The poor little lamb didn't like it, and kept trying to get out—till, as tried to hold him her slipped and in she fell, first! Oh, how she screamed! And 17 19 screamed, too, and the cried "Ba-a-a!" as loud as he could. Little Aunt Hannah's mother came running from the fished them out of the water, and carried them into her one under each . There she rubbed them dry, wrapped them both in and set them by the , to get warm. How they fed him. III. Mary's lamb was too young to eat , as old do. He wanted milk, but he did not know how to drink from a . He was just a baby sheep, you see. So Mary's found an old tin and filled it with warm new milk. Then she tied a over the , and 21 23 held it while the little sucked up every drop of the milk. Three times a day they filled the , and he drank it all, while Mary tilted it up for him. One day and little went up Clover to pick for their mothers to put in . They took their luncheon in the berry- , and each had a tin to pick into. Mary's went too, and of course he would want his luncheon, so carried the old in a . When the and were full o f , they started home. Along the roadside grew white , and they made a for the lamb's . Then Mary said "The shines so, he must be hot. He shall wear my ." So they tied it snugly over his . Then they sat under a to finish their luncheon, and afterward Mary gave the the rest of his milk. Two came past, in a low , and they laughed to see the little lamb drinking from the teapot. Mary did not notice that one held up a little black leather and pointed it at her. But next week a flat, square came from the postoffice marked "For the Little Girl and Lamb who live near Clover Hill." cut the with her , and unfolded the —and what did she find inside it? A beautiful photograph of herself, feeding her by the roadside! 25 27 How he went to school. IV. Mary didn't like to go to school and leave her lamb at home. She knew he would not be happy all alone; and how could she study her and do sums on her , without her dear little woolly close beside her? But schooltime came, and she had to start. If she had looked back, she would have seen the trotting along behind, all so pretty, with a blue on his . He loved to follow little Mary, and he didn't know mustn't go to school. Before he caught up with her, the rang, the all ran in, and the was shut; but he stood on the door- and heard them singing. Then the arithmetic class began, and the said: "Mary, if you had three , and gave one to 29 31 Hannah, how many would you have left?" Mary was not thinking of . "Four," she said, "but please teacher, did you know I had a ?" and the lamb heard her voice and called "Baa!" outside the , as loud as he could. "Why, there he is!" cried . "He must go home," said the teacher; and she opened the to send him away. But the little came right in, and ran to , so glad to see her again! "Oh, please let him stay!" said she: "I am sure he will be good!" But all the other laughed—it was so funny to see a lamb in school—and the had to turn him out. But the would not go home. He wanted to stay near Mary; So he waited on the and every time he heard her voice he cried "Ba-a-a!" At last the said must take him home; so she put away her , and the little jumped and danced, he was so happy, as they ran home together. 31 33 How he Wouldn't Jump. V. All the week the little lamb had to stay at home while Mary went to ; but on Saturday they had such good times! First, had her tasks to do. She wiped all the and and , dusted the and made her own . Then she went out to play. The nicest place to "play house" was the of a by the . Mary and little Aunt Hannah climbed up by the , with their and but the couldn't climb. They tried to carry him, but he was too heavy—and he kicked, too. So they took him up on the in the 35 and dropped him out of a onto the . Then they all had a good time playing "party", with some caraway and a little of milk. But at noon, when Mary's Mother blew the dinner- , the lamb couldn't get down! They couldn't lift him up to the , and he was afraid to jump to the ground. Little Aunt Hannah stood on the , but could not reach him. Then they brought out armfuls of and made a big soft and stood on the and tried to push him off into the but he wouldn't budge. "Come to dinner, children," called Mary's . "It is getting cold." "Oh dear!" said little Mary, almost crying. "He'll have to stay up here and starve! But he's had three , anyway." At last big brother came out to find them. He laughed when he saw the and the but he went for a , and very quickly brought the little safely down to the ground. Then they all went in and had their dinner together. 37 39 How little Mary spun. VI. "When my lamb is big enough" said Mary to little Aunt Hannah, "my father will shear him with the , like the old and Mother will teach me to spin, and knit the wool; and so my little lamb will give me my and ." "Let's shear him now." said . "I can teach you to knit." "Well." said Mary. "He is very little—but we will only take a little of his ." So she got the , and they cut some wool from his . But they found it must first be spun into —and they didn't know how: so they went to ask Mary's . She laughed at the poor little with the big bare spots in his pretty white . "If you are in such a hurry for 41 43 and ," she said, "we will begin them at once. First, you must learn to spin." So she brought out the big and some tiny soft of wool and showed her how to spin the rolls into . Mary liked to walk backward and forward, and twirl the great with a ; but her yarn was all uneven, and kept snarling and breaking. Soon she grew tired—and cross, too, and then the snarled worse than ever. As last gave the a great whirl, as hard as she could, and ran off to the . There she hid in the and cried, until the little found her and rubbed his against her . Then she stopped crying to laugh, his ragged looked so funny! Pretty soon she went back to the and said she was sorry for being cross. Then gave her a ni ce of yarn and some and taught her to knit a . How he went boating. 45 47