Chapter 1
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Anuradha Valsa Raj, Leonard Johnson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
BOY BLUE AND HIS FRIENDS
BY ETTA AUSTIN BLAISDELL
AND
MARY FRANCES BLAISDELL
AUTHORS OF "CHILD LIFE," "CHILD LIFE IN TALE AND FABLE," "CHILD LIFE IN MANY LANDS," "CHILD LIFE IN LITERATURE," ETC.
COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
~PREFACE~
This is a book of short stories for the youngest readers,--stories about old friends, which they can easily read themselves.
Here they will learn why Mary's Lamb went to school, what the mouse was looking for when he ran up the clock, why one little pig went to market, how one little pig got lost, and the answers to a great many other puzzling questions.
The stories are written around some of the Mother Goose rhymes because the children love to meet old friends in books just as well as we do.
The vocabulary is limited to words easily recognized by beginners in reading, and the sentences are made short and direct, so that they will be understood. The stories progress gradually from very easy to more difficult matter, keeping pace with the child's increasing knowledge and ability,--the book being carefully arranged for use as a supplementary reader, or for home reading for the little ones.
~CONTENTS~
LITTLE BOY BLUE
SNOWBALL
FIRE-CRACKER
BOY BLUE'S DREAM
MARY'S LAMB
THE LAMB AT SCHOOL
LITTLE BO-PEEP
HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK
MISTRESS MARY
TOMMY TUCKER
FIVE LITTLE PIGS
JACK AND JILL
JACK HORNER'S PIE
THE OLD WOMAN IN THE SHOE
MISS MUFFET
HUMPTY DUMPTY
THE MOTHER GOOSE BOOK
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn. Where's the little boy who looks after the sheep? He's under the haycock, fast asleep.
LITTLE BOY BLUE
Little Boy Blue was not his real name.
Oh, no! His real name was Richard Snow.
But his mother always called him "Little Boy Blue."
His father called him "Boy Blue," too.
Every one called him "Little Boy Blue," and so I will.
Boy Blue's eyes were as blue as the sky on a summer day.
When he was a baby he always wore a blue ribbon in his hair.
When he was five years old he wore a blue blouse and a blue cap.
Now he wears a blue suit and a blue tie.
For Boy Blue is seven years old now, and is a big boy, you see.
Boy Blue lives on a large farm in the country.
There are horses, and cows, and sheep, and pigs, and ducks, and hens and chickens on the farm.
Of course, Boy Blue likes the cows and sheep best.
He likes to drive the cows to the pasture in the morning.
Sometimes, at night, he drives them home again.
He likes to watch his father milk the cows and feed them.
"When I am a big boy," he says, "I shall milk my own cow every day."
Sometimes he goes with the boy to watch the sheep.
Shep, the dog, always goes with them. He watches the sheep all day long.
They like to get into the meadow where the grass is green and sweet.
But Shep drives them out every time.
Boy Blue and Shep play together in the fields. They run and jump and chase each other.
Boy Blue hides, and Shep finds him. "Bow-wow!" Shep says. "Here you are! Now for a frolic."
And off they go again.
Boy Blue likes to feed the chickens.
He likes to drive the ducks down to the brook and watch them swim about in the water.
Sometimes he helps his mother take care of Little Sister.
Then she calls him her "Little Helper."
"No," he says, "I am your Big Boy Blue."
SNOWBALL
One morning Boy Blue had tears in his big blue eyes.
He could not find his Snowball.
You will laugh when I tell you who Snowball was.
She was not hard and cold.
She was soft and warm.
Snowball was a pretty, white hen.
She was Boy Blue's very own, and she would follow him all over the yard.
She would eat grain from his hand, and let him smooth her white feathers.
But now Boy Blue could not find her.
He had looked in the hen-house and all over the yard.
"Have you looked in the barn?" asked his mother.
"Oh, no!" said Boy Blue, "and I saw her coming out of the barn yesterday."
"So did I," said his mother. "I think you will find her in the hay."
Boy Blue climbed up on the hay.
There in a corner he found his Snowball.
When she saw her little friend, she began to scold.
"Why, Snowball, what are you doing here?" said Boy Blue.
"Cluck, cluck," said Snowball. "Do not come too near."
"I have some eggs in this nice warm nest.
"Soon I shall have some little chickens for you.
"Oh, oh!" cried Boy Blue, "I must tell Mamma."
"You must feed Snowball," said his mother.
"Give her some corn and a drink of water."
Boy Blue took very good care of his pretty, white Snowball.
He gave her corn and fresh water every morning.
Three weeks seemed to him a long time to wait.
But Snowball did not seem to think so.
One morning Boy Blue went out to feed her, and she would not leave her nest.
"Cluck, cluck!" said she, "I can hear my little chickens."
Boy Blue kept very still and listened.
"Peep, peep, peep," he heard.
"Yes, Snowball," he said, "I can hear your chickens, too."
All day he was busy helping John build a chicken house.
They built the house in the field near the barn.
"I know Snowball will like this house," said Boy Blue.
The next morning Snowball let him see her chickens.
"Cluck, clack, cluck!" she said.
"Oh, how pretty they are!" said Boy Blue.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
"You have seven dear little snowballs."
Snowball was proud of her babies,
Boy Blue put them in his hat.
They were too little to walk.
"Come, Snowball," he said, "I have a new house for you."
"Cluck, cluck! This is a good house," she said.
Snowball and her seven little balls were very happy.
Boy Blue took good care of them, and they grew fast.
When the summer was over, he had eight big white snowballs.
FIRE-CRACKER
Fourth of July! Fourth of July!
This is the best day for boys in all the year.
Boy Blue liked the Fourth of July.
He liked fire-crackers and torpedoes and fire-balloons.
He liked everything that made a noise.
This was the Fourth of July, but poor little Boy Blue had no fire-crackers.
He could not even blow his horn.
Little Sister was sick, and Mamma had said he must be very quiet.
It did not seem one bit like the Fourth of July.
He was sitting on the steps, whistling and trying not to care.
"Boy Blue," called his father, "I have something to show you out here."
The little boy jumped up and ran to the barn as fast as he could.
Perhaps he was going to have some fire-works after all!
He ran into the barn, and what do you think he saw?
There stood a little pony.
He had a glossy brown coat and a white star on his forehead.
"Oh! oh!" cried Boy Blue. "Is this pony for me?"
"Yes, my boy, it is for your very own."
"What a beautiful pony! What is his name, Papa?"
"I do not know his name."
"You must name him yourself."
"'Star' would be a good name,--or I might call him 'Brownie.'
"Oh, I know a good name! I shall call him 'Fire-cracker.'"
"This is the Fourth of July, you know, and I did want some fire-crackers so much!"
Fire-cracker was a good little pony.
He and his master soon became very fond of each other.
Boy Blue learned to ride on his pony's back, and he took long rides with his father.
One day he said, "I wish I had a pony cart, then I could take Little Sister to ride.
"Fire-cracker is very strong. I am sure he could draw both of us, if we did not go very fast."
Papa thought that was a good idea.
The next day he took Boy Blue to town to buy a pony cart.
They went to two or three stores but they could not find one small enough for Fire-cracker to draw.
At last Boy Blue saw one in a window.
It was painted blue and had red wheels.
It had a seat just big enough for Boy Blue and Little Sister.
So Papa and Boy Blue went into the store and bought it.
The next morning Boy Blue took Little Sister for a ride.
Fire-cracker was very careful.
He walked slowly and looked around very often to see the two children.
Perhaps he was thinking, "How fine we all look this morning!
"That is a very pretty carriage, and I like this harness, too.
"My coat shines in the sun and Boy Blue put a red ribbon in my mane.
"How proud he looks, holding the reins!
"I think he likes to take Little Sister for a ride.
"I like to see them both so happy.
"Good-bye, I am going to trot fast now."
BOY BLUE'S DREAM
It was a very hot day.
Boy Blue had played all the morning and he was tired.
Little Sister had been making mud pies and she was tired, too.
Mamma was too busy to read to them.
"Come, Little Sister," said Boy Blue, "It is too hot to play. I will read my story-book to you."
"Where shall we go?" asked the little girl.
"Let us sit under the maple tree," said her brother. "It looks cool there."
Little Sister had her baby doll.
She rocked back and forth as Boy Blue read to her.
Soon Little Sister and her doll were fast asleep.
All at once Boy Blue heard a voice.
He listened. It seemed to be saying:--
"Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn."
"Oh," thought the little boy, "I must hurry!"
He looked for his horn. There it lay in the grass.
But he was so sleepy,--he couldn't run after the sheep.
In a moment he fell asleep.
Then he heard the voice again:--
"Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn."
Yes, he could see the cow eating the corn in the field.
And there was the sheep in the meadow, eating the fresh green grass.
He must call them away.
So he took up the horn and put it to his mouth.
Then he blew one loud call.
"Oh!" he said, as he opened his eyes, "What a loud noise that was!"
Then he laughed and rubbed his eyes.
"I guess I was dreaming," he said.
"I guess I was dreaming, too," said Little Sister, opening her blue eyes.
Then she waked up her doll, and Boy Blue went on reading from his story-book.
Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow, And everywhere that Mary went The lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school one day, Which was against the rule. It made the children laugh and play To see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher put him out, But still he lingered near, And waited patiently about Till Mary did appear.
MARY'S LAMB
Of course you know all about Mary and her little lamb.
The little girl in this story was named Mary, and she had a little lamb, too.
Mary was Boy Blue's cousin.
She lived in the city, and her father owned a big toy-store.
Mary liked to go to the store with him.
She liked to see all the dolls and toys and books.
Sometimes she played store with her own toys.
But I must tell you about her lamb.
One summer Mary went to the country to visit Boy Blue.
Of course there were cows, and pigs, and sheep, and lambs on the farm,
Mary liked the lambs best, and one of them was a great pet.
She called him Fleecy, and pulled sweet clover for him to eat.
Fleecy followed Mary all over the farm. Sometimes he even ran down the road after her.
When Mary was going home her uncle said to her, "You may take Fleecy with you, if you wish."
So the next day Fleecy had a long ride in the train.
I don't think he liked it very well, but he didn't say a word.
When Mary took him out of the box he was glad to run about in the yard.
He soon became used to his new home.
He liked to play with the children.
They often played hide and seek.
When they hid behind the trees he could always find them.
THE LAMB AT SCHOOL
One morning Fleecy could not find Mary.
He looked everywhere for her.
She was not in the yard, and she was not in the barn.
He went to the gate, and looked down the street, but he could not see her.
Then he went to the back door, and called, "Baa-a, Baa-a!" but she did not come.
Where could she be?
After a long time she came running into the yard.
Fleecy trotted up to her.
"Baa-a, Baa-a!" he said; which meant, I think, "Where have you been, Mary?"
"I have been to school," said Mary.
You see she knew what he meant.
"To school," thought Fleecy. "I wonder what that is."
Everyday Mary went away and left him.
Did I say every day?
Once in a while she stayed at home.
Then Mary and the lamb played together in the yard.
"Now," thought Fleecy, "she is going to stay at home with me."
But no, on Monday Mary went away again.
At last Fleecy could bear it no longer.
"I must go to school, too," he said.
"I must see what Mary does all day.
"If she goes to school to play games, I can play with her."
The next day Fleecy watched Mary go through the gate.
Then he followed her very quietly.
Mary ran along with the other little girls and boys.
They were playing tag and they did not see Fleecy.
Soon he heard a bell ring.
Then how the children ran!
They all ran into a little house and shut the door.
"Oh!" thought Fleecy, "What shall I do? I can never open that door."
Just then he saw a little boy running very fast.
The boy ran up to the same little house.
He opened the door and went in, but he did not shut it.
Fleecy climbed up the steps.
He put his head in at the door and looked around.
He could see no one, so he walked in.
There was another door, and that was open, too.
Fleecy stood still and listened.
The children were singing as if they were very happy.
Then he put his head against the door and pushed it wide open.
What a room-full of children he saw!
And they were all sitting very still, and not playing at all.
"I don't think I shall like school," thought Fleecy.
Just then the children saw him.
How they did laugh to see a lamb at school!
The moment Fleecy saw Mary he ran up to her.
The children laughed and laughed.
The teacher laughed, too.
Of course the lamb could not stay in school all the morning.
The children could not work because they liked to watch him.
So Mary put him out and shut the door.
But Fleecy nibbled some sweet clover and waited for Mary.
When the children came out he trotted home with them.
After that day Fleecy often went to school with the children.
But he never went in again.
I think he liked clover better than books.
Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them; Leave them alone, and they'll come home, And bring their tails behind them.
Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep, And dreamed she heard them bleating; But when she awoke she found it a joke, For they were still a-fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook, Determined for to find them; She found them, indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they'd left their tails behind them.
LITTLE BO-PEEP
Alice is seven years old to-day.
She is going to have a birthday party.
Alice's aunt wrote the invitations, and Alice gave them to all her little school friends.
The invitation said:--
"Little Bo-peep is to have a birthday party. She would like to have you come and help her take care of her sheep. Please come Friday afternoon after school."
Of course the children asked Alice about her party.
"Are you little Bo-peep?" they said.
"Have you lost your sheep?
"Are we going to help you find them?"
"No," said Alice, "But my sheep have lost their tails, I think.
"You'll know all about it on Friday."
At last it was Friday afternoon.
The children came to school all dressed for the party.
It was very hard to wait.
How slowly the clock ticked!
Two o'clock! Three o'clock! Four o'clock, at last!
The children ran almost all the way to Alice's house.
When they were all ready Alice put on a tall cap.
Then she took a long crook and stood in the middle of the floor.
As she called the names of the children they stood in a line behind her.
Then they began to march and sing:
"Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them; Let them alone, and they'll come home, And bring their tails behind them."
The children marched around the room, and through the hall into the dining-room.
There they saw a big green curtain, and there they found the sheep.
"She found them, indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they'd left their tails behind them."
Sure enough! There was a sheep on the curtain, but it had no tail.
There were some tails in a box on the table.
Bo-peep's mother gave one of them to each of the children.
"Now," said Bo-peep, "I will try first to pin a tail on the sheep."
So her mother tied a handkerchief over her eyes, turned her around three times, and said, "Go."
Bo-peep started off bravely, and pinned the tail to her mother's apron!
How the children laughed! and Bo-peep laughed too, when she saw what she had done.
Boy Blue was sure he could pin a tail on the sheep.
But he pinned it right on the corner of the table cloth.
Then it was Mary's turn. She shut her eyes tight and walked very straight.
She was going to pin the tail in just the right place.
All the children stood still and watched her cross the room.
She pinned on the tail, and how they all shouted!
She had put it into the sheep's mouth.
But she did better than any one else.
So Bo-peep's mother gave her a little woolly lamb to take home to her baby brother.
All the children had a good time at the party.
They played games and ate ice-cream and cake and candy.
Then they sang songs, and Alice's mother told them some stories.
Last of all they sang "Little Bo-peep" again.
And to this day they call Alice "Little Bo-peep."
Hickory, dickory, dock! The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one And down he run. Hickory, dickory, dock!
HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK
It was very quiet all over the house.
Little Boy Blue was fast asleep, dreaming of Santa Claus.
Boy Blue's father and mother were asleep, too, but I don't know what they were dreaming about.
"Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."
Hark! Was that a mouse? Yes, I think it was.
Some one was awake after all.
Mr. and Mrs. Mouse lived in a hole in the pantry wall.
They were talking quite loud now.
"Yes, we must move right away," Mrs. Mouse was saying.
"This nest is not large enough for six."
"That is true," said Mr. Mouse. "I can't get my tail in now, and when the babies grow, it will be still worse."
"But where shall we go?" said Mrs. Mouse.
"I will go house-hunting this very night, my dear."
"Be sure you find a large house, where the cat can't find us."
"Yes, indeed!" said Mr. Mouse. Then he whisked through a little hole and went away.
"Be careful, dear," called Mrs. Mouse, and she peeped through the hole and watched him out of sight.
Mr. Mouse ran across the kitchen floor into the dining-room.
It was very still!
Then he ran into the hall.
"This is too far from the kitchen," he thought.
"I am afraid the babies would have to go to bed hungry in here."
Then he went back into the dining-room.
"This would be a good place for us," he thought.
He looked all around the room.
Where could he find a home?
It must be high up out of the reach of Pussy Cat, and big enough for Mrs. Mouse and her four babies.
What was that in the corner?
It was like a box, only very, very tall.
Mr. Mouse certainly did not know what it was, but I will tell you.
It was Boy Blue's grandfather's clock.
It had stood in that corner a long, long time, but Mr. Mouse had never seen it before.
"I think I could make a good nest on top of that box," he thought.
"Pussy Cat could not get up there, I know."
So Mr. Mouse began to run up the clock.
He heard it ticking very loudly.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock!" it was saying.
"I wonder what that noise is," he said to himself.
"I hope it doesn't make that noise in the day-time.
"It might keep the babies awake."
He climbed a little higher, looking this way and that.
"I think Mrs. Mouse will like this," he thought.
Just then the clock struck one.
How Mr. Mouse trembled!
He nearly fell off the clock, he was so frightened.
He took one jump down to the floor, and then he ran.
Oh, how he ran! Across the dining-room, across the kitchen, across the pantry, and into his hole he ran!
"Oh, my dear, my dear! what is the matter?" cried his wife. "Did you see the dog? Was the cat chasing you?"
"No, no!" panted Mr. Mouse.
"I was hunting for a house, and I climbed up on a tall box.
"Just as I had found the very place for us, there was an awful noise inside the box."
"That was a clock, my dear," said his wife.
"It tells Boy Blue's mother when to have dinner, and when to put the baby to bed.
"I have heard her telling Boy Blue about it."
"I think it was telling me it was time to go home," said Mr. Mouse, and they both laughed softly so as not to wake up the babies.
The next night Mr. Mouse went house hunting in the barn.
There he found a very good home in a box of grain.
Mistress Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row.
MISTRESS MARY
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Mary.
She had no brothers and sisters, but she had a dear, good father and mother.
Mary always went to school with her little friends.
She played with them after school and on Saturdays.
One Saturday in winter all the children went coasting down the long hill near the school-house.
Mary took her new red sled and went with them.
Oh, it was such fun to coast down that long hill!
The children ran and laughed and shouted all the way.
They had not been coasting long when Mary fell off her sled right into a snow bank.
That was fun, too, and Mary didn't care one bit.
But when she tried to stand up, it hurt her so it made tears come into her brown eyes.
"Are you hurt very much?" asked Little Boy Blue.
"My foot hurts," said Mary, trying not to cry.
"We'll give you a ride home," said Jack Horner.
So Mary sat on her sled, and Boy Blue and Jack Horner played they were her horses.
They trotted so fast that Mary was soon at home and in her mother's arms.
When the doctor saw Mary's foot he shook his head.
"This little girl has sprained her foot," he said.
"She will have to stay in the house for some time."
I am afraid Mary cried when the doctor said this.
She did not like to stay at home.
She wanted to go to school with all her playmates.
She wanted to go coasting and skating and play in the snow.
In a few days Mary could sit by the window and watch the children.
Then she was not so lonely.
Jack brought home her school books and she studied very hard.
"I want to keep up with my class, Mamma," she said.
So every day Mary and her mother played school together.
Every week Miss Brown came in to see how the little girl was getting along.
Of course the children went to see Mary very often.
They told her everything they had been doing in school.
One day Jack said, "I think it would be good fun to give Mary a surprise party."
"Oh yes," said Alice, "and we can all take something to make her happy."
"We can have the party next Saturday afternoon," said Jack.
"I asked Mary's mother, and she said we could come at two o'clock."
At recess the children told Miss Brown about the surprise party.
"Why don't you take some plants to Mary?" she said.
"Then she could have a garden to watch while she has to stay in the house."
"Oh, that's just the thing for Mistress Mary," said Jack.
And all the children began to sing:--
"Mistress Mary quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row."
Saturday afternoon Mary was playing with her dolls when the bell rang.
"Alice has come to play with me," she thought.
Just then the door opened and there stood twelve little boys and girls.
Each one was carrying a plant with a pretty, bright blossom.