*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43808 ***

Transcriber's Note: This book is heavily illustrated. The
illustrations that do not have captions have been removed in the text
version; they are retained in the HTML version.




    Marys Little Lamb

    A PICTURE GUESSING STORY
    FOR LITTLE CHILDREN

    BY
    EDITH FRANCIS FOSTER

    WITH 500 PICTURES BY THE AUTHOR

    [Illustration]

    SALEM MASS
    SAMUEL EDSON CASSINO




CONTENTS


    FRONTISPIECE
    DEDICATION
    HOW MARY FOUND HIM               9
    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.




    TO
    LITTLE AUNT HANNAH
    (ON HER
    NINETY FIRST BIRTHDAY.)




[Illustration: HOW MARY FOUND HIM.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


I

When little Mary Moffett's mother asked her to go up to the Clover
Farm for some fresh [eggs], Mary felt a little sorry, for she was very
busy making her [doll] a [dress], but she laid down her [thimble] and
[scissors] and [yarn], tied on her pink [bonnet], and set off up the
hill, with her little [basket] on her [arm]. As she was coming home
she heard a queer little patter, patter, behind her. She looked back
and saw something white! [Mary] felt a wee bit afraid, and began to
run but her [foot] struck a [stone] and down she tumbled on her
[nose]! Before she could get up something soft and woolly was rubbing
gently against her [face], saying "Ba-a-a!" "Oh you darling lamb!"
cried Mary, hugging it--and the little [lamb] snuggled close, and said
"Ba-a-a! Take me home with you, little Mary." [Mother] was
astonished. "Whose lamb is it?" she asked. "Oh Mother, I think it's
just a wild lamb! Mayn't I keep it?" begged [Mary]. But Mother said
she must ask Farmer Clover if it was one of his [sheep], first. So
back they went, and found Farmer Clover mending his [fence] and Mary
asked him. But there were two big tears in her [eyes]--she did so want
that dear [lamb]--and the kind old [man] 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 [Mary], her eyes dancing, now, and her
[feet] dancing, too. "_I'd_ be willing! _I'd_ treat it well! May _I_
have it?" So Mary and the little [lamb] went dancing home together.
And kind old [Mr. Clover] watched them and laughed till his [axe]
danced in his [hand], and his [glasses] danced on his [nose].




[Illustration: HOW THEY WASHED HIM.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


II

"Mother! Mother!" cried little Mary, running into the [house]. "Mr.
Clover says he doesn't need this [lamb]--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 [house] and
the [barn], and over to Grandfathers, to play with little Aunt Hannah.
Mary's Aunt Hannah was only three years older than [Mary] herself and
they played together all the time. The two little [girls] thought the
[lamb] 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 [Aunt Hannah]. "Father
washes all his [sheep] in the [river] every spring." Out by the [barn]
stood the [faucet] with the big wooden [trough] where the [cows]
drank. The [trough] was full of water, standing in the [sun]. Mary
leaned over the edge and dipped her [hand]. "It's nice and warm," she
said. "Now, dear little [lamb] jump right in!" But the lamb wouldn't
jump--so Mary and little Aunt Hannah lifted him, and dropped him into
the [trough]. Then they rubbed him with [soap], and squeezed his [fur]
with their [hands]. The poor little lamb didn't like it, and kept
trying to get out--till, as [Mary] tried to hold him her [foot]
slipped and in she fell, [head] first! Oh, how she screamed! And [Aunt
Hannah] screamed, too, and the [lamb] cried "Ba-a-a!" as loud as he
could. Little Aunt Hannah's mother came running from the [house]
fished them out of the water, and carried them into her [living room]
one under each [arm]. There she rubbed them dry, wrapped them both in
[towels] and set them by the [fireplace], to get warm.




[Illustration: HOW THEY FED HIM.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


III.

Mary's lamb was too young to eat [grass], as old [sheep] do. He wanted
milk, but he did not know how to drink from a [bucket]. He was just a
baby sheep, you see. So Mary's [mother] found an old tin [teapot] and
filled it with warm new milk. Then she tied a [cloth] over the
[spout], and [Mary] held it while the little [lamb] sucked up every
drop of the milk. Three times a day they filled the [teapot], and he
drank it all, while Mary tilted it up for him. One day [Mary] and
little [Aunt Hannah] went up Clover [Hill] to pick [berries] for their
mothers to put in [pies]. They took their luncheon in the
berry-[pail], and each had a tin [cup] to pick into. Mary's [lamb]
went too, and of course he would want his luncheon, so [Mary] carried
the old [teapot] in a [basket]. When the [pail] and [basket] were
full of [berries], they started home. Along the roadside grew white
[flowers], and they made a [wreath] for the lamb's [neck]. Then Mary
said "The [sun] shines so, he must be hot. He shall wear my [bonnet]."
So they tied it snugly over his [ears]. Then they sat under a [tree]
to finish their luncheon, and afterward Mary gave the [lamb] the rest
of his milk. Two [women] came past, in a low [carriage], and they
laughed to see the little lamb drinking from the teapot. Mary did not
notice that one [woman] held up a little black leather [camera] and
pointed it at her. But next week a flat, square [package] came from
the postoffice marked "For the Little Girl and Lamb who live near
Clover Hill." [Mary] cut the [string] with her [scissors], and
unfolded the [package]--and what did she find inside it? A beautiful
photograph of herself, feeding her [lamb] by the roadside!




[Illustration: HOW HE WENT TO SCHOOL.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


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 [books]
and do sums on her [slate], without her dear little woolly [lamb]
close beside her? But schooltime came, and she had to start. If she
had looked back, she would have seen the [lamb] trotting along behind,
all so pretty, with a blue [bow] on his [neck]. He loved to follow
little Mary, and he didn't know [lambs] mustn't go to school. Before
he caught up with her, the [bell] rang, the [children] all ran in, and
the [door] was shut; but he stood on the door-[step] and heard them
singing. Then the arithmetic class began, and the [teacher] said:
"Mary, if you had three [apples], and gave one [apple] to Hannah, how
many would you have left?" Mary was not thinking of [apples].
"Four," she said, "but please teacher, did you know I had a [lamb]?"
and the lamb heard her voice and called "Baa!" outside the [door], as
loud as he could. "Why, there he is!" cried [Mary]. "He must go home,"
said the teacher; and she opened the [door] to send him away. But the
little [lamb] came right in, and ran to [Mary], so glad to see her
again! "Oh, please let him stay!" said she: "I am sure he will be
good!" But all the other [children] laughed--it was so funny to see a
lamb in school--and the [teacher] had to turn him out. But the [lamb]
would not go home. He wanted to stay near Mary; So he waited on the
[step] and every time he heard her voice he cried "Ba-a-a!" At last
the [teacher] said [Mary] must take him home; so she put away her
[books], and the little [lamb] jumped and danced, he was so happy, as
they ran home together.




[Illustration: HOW HE WOULDN'T JUMP.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


V

All the week the little lamb had to stay at home while Mary went to
[school]; but on Saturday they had such good times! First, [Mary] had
her tasks to do. She wiped all the [cups] and [plates] and [spoons],
dusted the [chairs] and made her own [bed]. Then she went out to play.
The nicest place to "play house" was the [roof] of a [hut] by the
[barn]. Mary and little Aunt Hannah climbed up by the [fence], with
their [dolls] and [tea set] but the [lamb] couldn't climb. They tried
to carry him, but he was too heavy--and he kicked, too. So they took
him up on the [straw] in the [barn] and dropped him out of a [window]
onto the [roof]. Then they all had a good time playing "party", with
some caraway [biscuits] and a little [jug] of milk. But at noon,
when Mary's Mother blew the dinner-[whistle], the lamb couldn't get
down! They couldn't lift him up to the [window], and he was afraid to
jump to the ground. Little Aunt Hannah stood on the [wheelbarrow], but
could not reach him. Then they brought out armfuls of [straw] and made
a big soft [haystack] and [Mary] stood on the [roof] and tried to push
him off into the [straw] but he wouldn't budge. "Come to dinner,
children," called Mary's [Mother]. "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 [caraway biscuits], anyway." At last
[Hannah's] big brother came out to find them. He laughed when he saw
the [lamb] and the [haystack] but he went for a [ladder], and very
quickly brought the little [lamb] safely down to the ground. Then they
all went in and had their dinner together.




[Illustration: HOW LITTLE MARY SPUN.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


VI

"When my lamb is big enough" said Mary to little Aunt Hannah, "my
father will shear him with the [clippers], like the old [sheep] and
Mother will teach me to spin, and knit the wool; and so my little lamb
will give me my [gloves] and [socks]." "Let's shear him now." said
[aunt Hannah]. "I can teach you to knit." "Well." said Mary. "He is
very little--but we will only take a little of his [wool]." So she got
the [scissors], and they cut some wool from his [back]. But they
found it must first be spun into [yarn]--and they didn't know how: so
they went to ask Mary's [mother]. She laughed at the poor little
[lamb] with the big bare spots in his pretty white [fleece]. "If you
are in such a hurry for [gloves] and [socks]," she said, "we will
begin them at once. First, you must learn to spin." So she brought
out the big [spinning wheel] and some tiny soft [threads] of wool and
showed her how to spin the rolls into [yarn]. Mary liked to walk
backward and forward, and twirl the great [spinning wheel] with a
[clothes-pin]; but her yarn was all uneven, and kept snarling and
breaking. Soon she grew tired--and cross, too, and then the [yarn]
snarled worse than ever. As last [Mary] gave the [spinning wheel] a
great whirl, as hard as she could, and ran off to the [barn]. There
she hid in the [straw] and cried, until the little [lamb] found her
and rubbed his [head] against her [hair]. Then she stopped crying to
laugh, his ragged [fleece] looked so funny! Pretty soon she went back
to the [house] and said she was sorry for being cross. Then [Mother]
gave her a nice [ball] of yarn and some [knitting needles] and [Aunt
Hannah] taught her to knit a [sock].




[Illustration: HOW HE WENT BOATING.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


VII

When the time really came to wash and shear the [sheep], Mary's
[father] said the lamb wasn't big enough to spare any more [wool]--but
he did get washed in the [river]. Mary and little Aunt Hannah went
down in the meadow to gather cowslips--not for the pretty [flowers]
but to boil in a [pot] for dinner. They took off their [shoes] and
[socks] and splashed about in the wet [grass], filling their [bucket]
with [cowslips]. They picked some tall blue [flowers] too, and pulled
sweet-flag to eat. To get the sweet [flag], they had to cross a little
[bridge] over the brook. The [lamb] followed them, but he stepped on a
loose [board], and it tipped him off into the water! It wasn't deep
enough to be over his [head], but he waded the wrong way and scrambled
out on a little [island] in the middle of the [brook]. They
couldn't coax him to wade ashore;--he didn't like water, and would
only shake his [head] and say "Ba-a-a! No-o-o!" "We must build a
[bridge] for him" said [Mary]. "No," said [Aunt Hannah] "we will get
the boat. The [boys] keep it at the mill." They followed the brook up
to the [mill] and untied the [boat]. There were no [oars], but they
found a long [pole] and pushed it along to the [island]. The little
[lamb] was very glad to jump in with them. But they could not push the
[boat] ashore, for the water ran too fast. So they floated along,
dipping their [fingers] in the water, and watching the little [fish]
swimming below, till they ran into a [fence] across the brook. Then
they climbed ashore and went back for their [bucket] and [shoes and
socks]. "Oh, you funny lamb!" said Mary, "What good times you do make
us have!"




[Illustration: HOW DOLLABELLA TOOK A RIDE.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


VIII

Dollabella, Mary's biggest doll, had had the measles, but she was
getting better. "When people get better" said [Mary], "they always go
to ride." So she tried to give her [doll] a ride on the [lamb]'s back,
but he danced up and down and she fell off. Then Mary took a [string]
and tied her on, so when the [lamb] danced again he couldn't shake
[Dollabella] off. He didn't like that, so he thought he would run away
from her, and off he went! The [gate] was shut, but he squeezed
through a gap in the [fence], and tore Dollabella's [dress] on a
[nail]. Mary squeezed through the gap, too, and her [skirt] caught on
the [nail], and tore a great big three-cornered [hole]. The [lamb] ran
across a field and jumped over a [stone wall] into the [bushes] and
Mary ran after him, laughing. Dollabella's [hat] fell off her
[head], and so did Mary's [bonnet]. The [branches] of the [trees]
caught her [hair] and tangled them and almost pulled the [doll] from
the lamb's back. At last they came out into a [wheat]field and saw
Farmer Clover at work with his [hoe]. "Hello!" said he. "Who's running
away--you or your lamb?" "Oh, we aren't running away," said [Mary],
all out of breath. "We are just giving my [doll] a ride. She is sick!"
"Well, that's a pretty fast ride for anybody that's sick!" said
[Farmer Clover]. "Now I am going to the [barn], to get a [jug] of
molasses. Don't you want to ride home in my [buggy]?" Mary and the
[lamb] were tired, and glad to have a ride--and I think the poor sick
[doll] must have been just as glad. But when they got home [Mary] had
to take a [sewing needle] and [thimble] out of her [basket] and mend
her [dress] and Dollabella's too.




[Illustration: HOW BOSSY BUNTED HIM.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


IX

As the lamb grew big and strong he got very frisky, too. He found out
that when he ran at things with his hard little [head] down and bunted
them, the things would fall down. He thought that was funny, so he
bunted everything. In the [house] he bunted over [chairs] and the
[shovel] and [tongs], and nobody dared set a [bucket] or [tub] on the
floor. Outdoors, he ran at the [hens] and [chicks], to see them
flutter and scream. Once he bunted little Aunt Hannah's [cat]--but she
didn't fall down; she stood up and cuffed him with her [paw], and
scratched him! But [Mary] fell down when he bunted her, and so did
[Hannah], although they were bigger than the [cat]. One night he ran
at Mary's father, bringing in the [pail], and spilled all the milk
over his [boots]. Then Mary's [father] said if the [lamb] didn't
stop bunting he must be tied up. So [Mary] tried to teach him better,
but he didn't understand it was naughty, and kept right on bunting. At
last one day, he bunted the [cow] which was tied to the [fence] by a
long [rope]. Now Bossy liked to bunt, too; so when the [lamb] ran at
her she put her [head] down and ran at him! And she was the biggest,
so it was the little [lamb] himself that fell down that time! First he
flew right over the [fence] and fell on his [head],--then he rolled
over and over into the duck-[pond]. All the [ducks] began to flap
their [wings] and quack, and the big gray [goose] hissed at him and
chased him. The poor naughty little [lamb] was so frightened that he
ran to [Mary], all wet and muddy, and hid his [head] in her [dress].
After that, he didn't bunt things any more!




[Illustration: HOW THEY PLAYED HIDE AND SEEK.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


X

One day Mary and her lamb were playing in the [barn]. He would lie
still as a [mouse] while she buried him in the [hay], but when she
clapped her [hands] he jumped up and ran to her like a [dog]. Then
[Mary] began to pull out [hay] from the mow, and made a deep hole
where they could both creep in out of sight. After supper they played
hide-and-seek with [Hannah]. So many nice hiding-places--under the
[flower]-bushes, behind the rain-[barrel], and around the [wood] by
the [woodshed]. At last [Mary] remembered her hole in the [hay] and
crept in, with the [lamb] which followed her everywhere. Then they
waited, keeping very still, till by and by [Mary] grew sleepy--for it
was almost [bed]-time. She laid her [head] on the [lamb]'s soft neck,
as they cuddled down together in their [nest], and before they knew
it they were fast asleep! [Hannah] hunted and hunted, till she thought
[Mary] must have gone in the [house], to play a trick on her; so she
went into her own [house] a little vexed. [Bed]-time came and her
[Mother] came to the [door] to call Mary in. "I guess she's gone home
with Hannah," said [father], as he came from the [barn] with his
[lamp]. The [girls] often slept together, and Mary's mother didn't
hear the "I guess," so she only said "It is naughty to go without
telling me. She mustn't again." So nobody knew where [Mary] was, all
night! But next morning she didn't come home--she was not at
[Hannah]'s--and how frightened everybody was! They hunted everywhere,
and at last started to drive to the neighbor's [houses]. The noise of
the [carriage] and of the [horse] trampling on the [street] waked
Mary--and how astonished everybody was, when she and the [lamb] came
creeping out of the [hay]!




[Illustration: HOW HE SAVED MARY!]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


XI

Once little Mary and her lamb really did get lost--and something
dreadful almost happened! They had been picking [berries] in the
[bushes] up Clover [hill], and couldn't find the way out. The [sun]
was setting, and [Mary] thought of [snakes] and [bears]! She was tired
and hungry, too. She was eating [blueberries] from her [pail], and
crying, and the [lamb], who would not eat [berries] and wanted his
milk in the old [coffeepot] was crying, too--"Ba-a-a!"--when a big,
tall [boy] with a [rifle] in his [hand] broke through the bushes
behind them. He sat down on a [stump] and stared at them, looking so
white and scared that [Mary] felt sorry for him. "Did a [bear] chase
you?" she asked. "Oh no," said he, "It's only I'm so glad you are
alive!" He didn't dare tell her he had mistaken her little brown
[head] bobbing among the [leaves], for a [bird], and raised his
[gun] to shoot it when he saw a little white [lamb] bobbing beside it
and stopped to look closer! So her little [lamb] had saved Mary's
life--but she never knew it. "Now how came you up here?" the boy
asked. "Are you lost?" "Oh no," said [Mary], winking away the [tears],
and smiling; "We aren't exactly lost--only we can't just find our
[home]. And we want our supper, too." "You shall have it!" said the
[boy]. "You are little Mary--I know your [house]--and I'm going to
carry you there, quicker than a [horse] can trot!" So he took [Mary]
in one [arm] and the [lamb] in the other, and the [gun] he left hidden
in the [forest] under a [tree]. Then he quickly found the [road] (it
was close by, after all,) and in ten minutes they were safe home
again; and Mary's [mother] thanked the big [boy] and gave them all
some supper.




[Illustration: HOW HE WON THE PRIZE.]


[Illustration: MARY'S LITTLE LAMB.]


XII

Now Mary and the big [boy] with the [gun] became great friends. He
used to bring her [candy] in his [satchel]; once he took her out in
his [boat] to gather [flowers]; and he promised to take her to the
County Fair. Early on that day he came for her with his [horse] and
[carriage]. Mary was all ready, in her new [hat], with [bows] on her
[shoes]. "Where is the [lamb]?" he asked. "[Father] says he mustn't
go," said Mary sadly, "so I shut him up in the [barn]". "Oh but he
must go!" cried the [boy]. "He's entered--they expect him." [Mary]
didn't understand that, but she was very glad to take her dear [lamb]
with her. They walked about the Fair grounds and saw the [horses] and
[cows] and [sheep] and [pigs] in the [pens]; and visited the [tent]
where the [rabbits] and [chickens] were, in their [cages]. And
everywhere that [Mary] went the [lamb] kept close beside her; and
all the [people] looked at them and smiled. At last the [boy] said,
"Now we are going into the [exhibit hall] so we will leave our [lamb]
in this nice little [pen] beside all the other [lambs] to wait for
us." They looked at the [fruits] and [flowers] and the [quilts] and
[preserves] in the [exhibit hall]. Then they found Marys [father] and
[mother] and had dinner together; and afterward they saw the [horse]
race, and the [hot-air balloon] go up, and heard the [marching band]
play. It was a long time before they went for the [lamb]. Some
[people] were looking at him, and just as Mary ran up they fastened a
blue [ribbon] on his [head]. "Oh, thank you! How pretty!" she said.
"Hurrah!" cried the [boy]. "Our [lamb] has won first prize! That means
he's the best [lamb] in town!" "Of course!" said little [Mary]. "He's
the best [lamb] in the whole [world]!"





End of Project Gutenberg's Mary's Little Lamb, by Edith Francis Foster

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43808 ***