ROCK-A-BY

IT was lucky that the balloon fell into the big willow tree, as I mentioned in the last story, for otherwise Puss, Junior, and his fellow pa.s.sengers might have been badly hurt. As it happened, they were none the worse except for a few scratches. Puss pulled himself together and after arranging his clothes, which were torn and mussed by the branches of the tree, looked about him. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a baby, and turning around, he saw a little cradle swinging back and forth. It was fastened securely to a limb, and rocked to and fro as the breeze blew through the trembling leaves.

"Rock-a-by, baby, upon the tree top!

When the wind blows the cradle will rock; When the bough breaks the cradle will fall; Down tumbles baby, cradle and all."

"S-s-sh!" cried the balloon man, "We will wake the baby if we are not careful."

"Won't it be sad if the bough breaks," said Puss, Junior, "it will be almost as bad for the baby as it was for us when the balloon fell into this tree."

"It might be worse," said one of the pa.s.sengers, who stood near them on a limb, looking anxiously to the ground.

"Suppose we take down the cradle," said the balloon man.

"Somebody must have hung it up here," said Puss, "we have no right to take it down; it's not our baby."

"You are perfectly right," said another pa.s.senger. "It isn't our cradle and it isn't our baby, so the best thing for us to do is to leave the cradle and climb down."

As soon as the pa.s.sengers were once more upon the ground they demanded their fare back, saying that they had paid for a trip to the moon, and not for a fall into a willow tree.

"This doesn't seem quite fair to me," remarked the balloon man, looking ruefully at his wrecked balloon. "I don't think I should give you back more than half, for the first part of the journey was successful."

"You didn't keep to your bargain," cried Puss, stoutly; "and besides, you endangered our lives. I don't want to pay to go up in the air a little way and then be hurled down into a willow tree; it takes all the niceness out of the way up and makes the way down too dangerous."

So the balloon man paid back the money and turned away. "Why don't you take the basket car with you?" asked Puss, Junior.

"It's too big to carry," replied the balloon man. "I'll come around for it to-morrow with a horse and wagon."

Pretty soon all the pa.s.sengers had gone, leaving Puss alone under the willow tree. All of a sudden the baby began to cry, so Puss sang softly:

"Hush-a-by, baby, upon the tree top, When the wind blows the cradle will rock."

And then the baby stopped crying, so Puss turned away and entered the old mill that stood in the shade of the old willow tree.

THE ROCK-A-BY BABY

"WELCOME, Sir Cat," said the dusty miller. "Sit down and tell me the news." But just then a sweet voice commenced to sing:

Down in the village all the long day Mother's been toiling the hours away; While up in the tree-top beneath the blue sky Baby has rocked to the wind's lullaby.

Waiting is over, my sweet little one, Mother is here for her own blue-eyed son.

Home we will go, and baby shall rest, All the night through on mother's warm breast.

"Dearie me," suddenly exclaimed the dusty miller, "how tired she looks,"

and he walked to the door.

"Let me carry the cradle," said Puss, and lifting it on his shoulder, followed the grateful little woman down the road.

When they reached the house Puss was tired, for the cradle was heavy, and had nearly slipped off his shoulder two or three times, and once, when the baby caught hold of it, Puss nearly stumbled.

"Come and rest," said the baby's mother, opening the little wicket gate in the white fence. Puss looked up at the pretty porch, covered with a honeysuckle vine. "Thank you," he answered, "I will," and he set the cradle down on the floor.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"Please look after the baby," said the little mother, "while I get the supper?"

"I'll try," said Puss, "but I'm not used to babies, and perhaps he'll roll off the porch."

"Oh, you can keep him from doing that," replied the little mother, "he's the best baby in the world!" So Puss sat down and played with him for almost half an hour. By and by a little bird began to sing:

"Dance to your daddie, My bonnie laddie; Dance to your daddie, my bonnie lamb.

You shall get a fishy On a little dishy; You shall get a fishy when the boat comes home."

Pretty soon after that the little mother carried the baby into the house.

Puss followed her into a cozy room, where, on the mantlepiece, stood a tick-tocky clock, just striking six. The tablecloth was spread and everything was ready for supper. Over in the corner hung a cage, in which sat a big green parrot.

"Polly want a cracker?" asked Puss.

"No, I don't want a cracker," replied the parrot; "I want a little mouse."

"What!" cried Puss, "you don't mean to say you don't like crackers?"

"I'm tired of them," said the parrot.

"Did you ever eat a raisin cracker?" said Puss, with a grin.

But the parrot didn't reply. Pretty soon he opened the door of his cage and came out. Puss was all alone in the room, for the mother had taken the baby upstairs.

"I'm going to fly out of the window," exclaimed the parrot. "I'm tired being alone all day in this house." And before Puss could stop him, he opened the window and flew away.

"The parrot's gone!" cried Puss running to the foot of the stairs. Then he rushed out into the yard and found the parrot perched on the limb of an old apple tree.

"I won't come back!" he cried. "I won't!"

SAILORS TWO

"THERE was an old woman of Glo'ster, Whose parrot two guineas it cost her, But his tongue never ceasing, Was vastly displeasing To the talkative woman of Glo'ster."