Page:Stories and story-telling (1915).djvu/264

 "Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home, Your house is on fire, Your children all burned."

Home flew Ladybug, pale with fright.

"How thankful I am," said the snail, "that I carry my house on my back!" But on second thought he too turned pale with fright. "Perhaps my darling children will crawl near poor Ladybug's house to see the fire, and be burned to death." He turned about and crawled home as fast as his snail's pace would let him, and that wasn't very fast.

But it was all a joke; it happened on April Fool's Day. The snail's children were quite safe and so were Ladybug's.

"Ha, ha, ha, Mr. Snail, you 're an April Fool," cried the little girl, skipping past again.

But I don't know whether they understood her. What do you think?

HIMSELF

"Who are you?" said Tom, to a small black shadow beside him.

"Why, I'm you," said the shadow; "don't you know me?"

"What, a little fellow like you!" cried Tom; "you're very much mistaken." And away he strode.