HOW TOMMY MADE UP HIS MIND. 299

and teasing. Here is Tom. He never Fanny, ever keeping her little brother
seems so happy as when he can tease his Willie crying out,
sister Jane, and make her cry. He loves Mother, Fanny keeps plagueing me."
to pull away her book, rub out her sums, Mother, Fanny's snatched away my
hide her dolls, jerk her dress or a curl of ball." "Mother, Fanny's brokenmy kite
her hair as he passes slyly behind her. string," etc.
Half as much effort in trying to please Now some children are real apes. At
her would make her one of the happiest any rate, they ape the monkeys in teas-
little girls, and would make him one of ing and mischief-making.
the best of brothers. We hope none of our readers will be
 And then, there is mischief-loving obliged to say, "That means me."




HOW TOMMY MADE UP HIS MIND. next day-such prime coasting as they
 had not had before that winter.
 UCH glorious coasting as it was, And why did not Master Tommy spring
 that Saturday morning, down out of bed, and hurry off with the rest,
 in the little village! now that it had really come?
 The long hill just behind The poor little fellow instead lay cov-
Tommy's house was fairly alive with ered up in his little bed, crying and
glad, shouting boys; some flying down groaning with the toothache, too mis-
with all speed, over its smooth, tempting erable hardly to cast a thought out of
surface, while others toiled up the steep the window; though he did wonder how
sides, drawing their sleds after them for those boys could shout and laugh so
another coast. merrily. The world had suddenly grown
 The clear, frosty air was full of spark- so very dark to him !
ling crystals, and every tree was wrapped Tommy's mother tied up his face with
in a shining, white robe, over which the one of his father's big handkerchiefs,
sunlight falling, made all the world look and did everything she could for his re-
like Fairy land. lief. His sister Jennie came and stood
 Tommy's sled was all ready and wait- by his bedside and "wished she could
ing, out in the barn. All the afternoon do something to make him feel better."
before he had sat looking out of the win- Her kind little heart was so touched by
dow, watching the thick, driving snow his misery, that she even proposed to let
falling so steadily down, until he could him play with her big wax dollie, while
see no longer, and had confided to his she was away at school; and this would
mother, that if it only cleared off in the have been the greatest treat in the world
night, there would be "jolly fun" the to little Jennie, for most of the time,