'THIS COMES HOPPING' 



19 



prisoned water got free, and rushed with a mighty 

 swoop down the beautiful valley. 



It lifted the poor old mill right off its legs 

 and tossed it about everywhere, and all the village 

 was swept away. Was it not awful ? And it was 

 all the doing of my clever and harmless little 

 cousin. Of course, lots of us were drowned too, 

 though we can swim very well, for we were stuffed 

 up in the corn -stacks and pig-sties, and could not 

 get out in time : and even if we had got out, we 

 could never have contrived to swim in all that 

 monstrous whirl of water. AVe call our cousin a 

 national hero all the same. 



That is the end of one story, and I have just time 

 for one more — a pleasant one this time for a change. 

 It begins badly, but everything comes right in the 

 end. 



There was once a prison full of dark and gloomy 

 dungeons, where people sat in chains and boundless 

 misery, and ate their meals on the floor, because 

 there were not any chairs or tables. That would 

 have been nice enough if the floors had been clean, 

 but they were hideously dirty. Very few of the 

 prisoners had done anything wicked : they were 

 only there because somebody who did not like them 

 had caught them and put them there. It was quite 



2—2 



