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her cottage, when, to her great joy, she found a silver sixpence. The good Dame sat down to think what she should do with such a good piece of luck, for you must know that in days gone by a silver sixpence was worth much more than it is now-a-days; and first of all she thought she would buy a fat duck, and then she thought she would buy a hen that laid eggs well, but after thinking and thinking for a long, long time, she thought she would buy a pig! So the old Dame put up her broom in the closet, and then got out her best high-heeled shoes, and her best cap, and her steeplecrowned hat, and made herself very smart, and then taking her good old stick, the old Dame set out for the market-town close by.

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The way to the town was through green lanes and across large meadows, and as the old Dame clambered over the stile at the end of the meadow, she sat on the top to rest herself and to think again on her good luck. Then she went on again till she came to the town, and she went straight to the market-place, and there she found a boy with a nice white pig to sell; so, after a

little bargaining, she gave the boy the silver sixpence for the white pig, and then she tied a piece of string to one of the pig's hind legs, and began to drive him home.

Piggy went through the streets very well, only grunting sometimes and running into the gutter when he saw anything he could eat, until at last they came to the stile into the meadow. The old Dame tried to lift the pig over the lower bar of the stile, but he squeaked, and grunted, and wriggled about till the old Dame was quite tired, and then piggy laid down and would not stir. Just then a little dog came trotting up, so the old Dame said to him,

"Good dog, bite pig, pig will not get over the stile, and I shall not get home to-night."

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But the dog would not.

So the old Dame held up her stick and said,

"Good stick, beat dog; dog will not bite pig, pig

will not get over the stile, and I shall not get home to-night."

But the stick would not.

So the old Dame gathered some bits of wood together, and set them on fire, and then threw her stick into the fire, and said,—

"Good fire, burn stick; stick will not beat dog, dog will not bite pig, pig will not get over the stile, and I shall not get home to-night."

But the fire would not.

So the old Dame fetched a pail of water that was standing near, and said,-

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"Good water, quench fire; fire will not burn stick,

stick will not beat dog, dog will not bite pig, pig will not get over the stile, and I shall not get home to-night."

But the water would not.

So the old Dame turned round in a passion, and then she saw an ox coming; so she said,—

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