THE 8TBIKE AT SHANE'S, 2T 



and make Tom come after me every night instead of 

 going up to the barn to be milked, as I have always 

 done," said the cow, "and I shall give just as little 

 milk as possible." 



The other horses all agreed to feign some kind of 

 sickness to avoid work. 



"I will not do anything that I can get out of," said 

 Towser, "if I have to chase any of you, you needn't 

 get scared, for I'll not hurt you. There is one thing 

 that I have always done, and that is, kill the moles in 

 the yard and garden. They burrow under the ground, 

 where puss can't get at them, and I have always made 

 it a point to watch for them and kill them. I will not 

 kill another mole if they destroy all the garden." 



"I will not kill another rat or mouse on the farm, if 

 they eat up all the grain," said Puss. 



"Thank you for that," said a big rat, that came up 

 out of a fence corner, where he had been hiding and 

 listening. 



^ ' I want you to understand that it is not out of any 

 consideration or respect I have for you that I made 

 that statement," said Puss, and she walked over 

 towards the rat, who immediately dropped back into 

 his hole. 



"Quite right and proper," said Dobbin ; "we want 

 no such characters in this convention." 



The snake and toad said they would move over to 

 the next farm. 



* ' I shall move off the farm just as soon as my mate 

 gets well of a wound received the other day from a 



