A Lucky Magpie 159 



with a spadeful of ashes on them to keep the 

 seeds from flying ; and so to her little stable, 

 where she showed me the pony and harness, and 

 a little whitewashed room upstairs where I was 

 to sleep. It was as neat as herself, and over 

 the bed was a large piece of cardboard with 

 three words on it ' Tidiness, Punctuality, Obe- 

 dience.' Very good words for a lad just be- 

 ginning to serve the Queen," added the farmer, 

 " and very good they were for me too ; but if 

 I'd stuck hard to them all three I shouldn't be 

 here now, as you shall hear. 



" So I said very humbly that I was very 

 thankful to take the place, if my parents 

 agreed; and when I got home they were very 

 thankful too. And then I went off to find 

 Nelly, and hold a council of war about poor 

 Mag. 



"We went up to the hillock and the three 

 elms to be out of the way. Nelly cried a bit 

 when she heard that our climbing days were 

 over, and that I was to be what she called 

 slave to a Jackdaw ; but she dried her eyes 

 on her frock on my telling her that she should 



