"Dog, dog, bite pig! Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the dog would not. She went a little farther, and she met a stick. So she said: "Stick, stick, beat dog! Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the stick would not. She went a little farther, and she met a fire. So she said: "Fire, fire, burn stick! Stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the fire would not. She went a little farther, and she met some water. So she said: "Water, water, quench fire! Fire won't burn stick; Stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the water would not. She went a little farther, and she met an ox. So she said: "Ox, ox, drink water! Water won't quench fire; Stick won't beat dog; Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the ox would not. She went a little farther, and she met a butcher. So she said: "Butcher, butcher, kill ox! Ox won't drink water: Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the butcher would not. She went a little farther, and she met a rope. So she said: "Rope, rope, hang butcher! Ox won't drink water; Dog won't bite pig; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the rope would not. She went a little farther, and she met a rat. she said: "Rat, rat, gnaw rope! Rope won't hang butcher; So Fire won't burn stick; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." But the rat would not. She went a little farther, and she met a cat. So she said: "Cat, cat, kill rat! Rat won't gnaw rope; Pig won't get over the stile, And I shan't get home to-night." The cat said, "If you will give me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat." So the old woman gave the cat the milk, and when she had lapped up the milk The cat began to kill the rat; The pig jumped over the stile, And so the old woman got home that night. SILVER-LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS LONG time ago, in a far-off country, there were three bears who lived together in a snug little house of their own, deep in the woods. One of them was a Little, Small, Wee Bear, and one was a MiddleSized Bear, and the other was a Great, Big, Huge Bear. Their house was in a lonely place, but they had all the porridge they could eat and were always very happy. Each had a pot for his own porridge: a little pot for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; a middle-sized pot for the Middle-Sized Bear, and a great pot for the Great, Big, Huge Bear. And each had a chair to sit in: a little chair for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; a middle-sized chair for the Middle-Sized Bear, and a great chair for the Great, Big, Huge Bear. And each had a bed to sleep in: a little bed for the Little, Small, Wee Bear; a middle-sized bed for the Middle-Sized Bear and a great bed for the Great, Big, Huge Bear. One morning, after they had made the porridge for their breakfast and poured it out into the porridge pots, they walked out in the woods while the porridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths by beginning too soon to eat it. And while they were walking, a little girl who 101 was called Silver-Locks, because her curly hair shone like silver in the sun, came to the house. She was a lively little girl, and so restless that she could hardly stay at home, and whenever it was possible she ran away without leave. When she came to the bears' house in the woods, she first peeped in at the window; then she peeped in at the keyhole, and seeing nobody in the house, she lifted the latch. The door was not fastened, because the bears were good bears who did nobody any harm and never thought that anybody would harm them; so SilverLocks opened the door and went in, and there she saw the three bowls of porridge. She was a sad little scamp, and so she tasted the largest bowl, which belonged to the Great, Big, Huge Bear; but that was too hot for her. Then she tasted the middle-sized bowl, which belonged to the Middle-Sized Bear; and that was too cold for her. Then she went to the porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that, and that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well that she ate it all. Then she went into the parlor, and there were three chairs. She tried the biggest chair, which belonged to the Great, Big, Huge Bear; and she found it too high. Then she tried the middle-sized chair, which belonged to the Middle-Sized Bear; and she found that too broad. Then she sat down in the little chair, which belonged to the Little, Small, Wee Bear; and she |