Children's own library . mulation. The fair little listener, for fair she was, and young,lighted a candle; glanced at the Haymaker on the top ofthe clock, who was getting in a pretty average crop ofminutes; and looked out of the window, where she sawnothing, owing to the darkness, but her own face imagedin the glass. And she might have looked a long way,and seen nothing half so agreeable. When she cameback, and sat down in her former seat, the Cricket andthe Kettle were still keeping it up, with a perfect furyof competition. 6 THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH. There was all the excitement of a race a
Children's own library . mulation. The fair little listener, for fair she was, and young,lighted a candle; glanced at the Haymaker on the top ofthe clock, who was getting in a pretty average crop ofminutes; and looked out of the window, where she sawnothing, owing to the darkness, but her own face imagedin the glass. And she might have looked a long way,and seen nothing half so agreeable. When she cameback, and sat down in her former seat, the Cricket andthe Kettle were still keeping it up, with a perfect furyof competition. 6 THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH. There was all the excitement of a race about it. Chirp,chirp, chirp! Cricket a mile ahead. Hum, hum, hum—m—m! Kettle making play in the distance, like agreat top. Chirp, chirp, chirp! Cricket round thecorner. Hum, hum, hum—m—m! Kettle sticking tohim in his own way; no idea of giving in. Chirp, chirp,chirp! Cricket fresher than ever. Hum, hum, hum—m—m! Kettle slow and steady. Chirp, chirp, chirp!Cricket going in to finish him. Hum, hum, hum—m—m!. Kettle not to be finished. Until at last, they got sojumbled together that whether the Kettle chirped andthe Cricket hummed, or the Cricket chirped and theKettle hummed, or they both chirped and both hummed,it would have taken a clearer head than yours or mineto have decided. But of this, there is no doubt: thatthe Kettle and the Cricket sent, each his fireside song ofcomfort, streaming into a Tay of the candle that shoneout through the window; and a long way down the this light, bursting on a certain person who, on theinstant, approached toward it through the gloom, ex THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH. 7 pressed the whole thing to him, literally in a twinkling,and cried, Welcome home, old fellow! Welcome home,my Boy! This end attained, the Kettle, being dead beat, boiledover, and was taken off the fire. Mrs. Peerybingle thenwent running to the door, where, what with the wheelsof a cart, the tramp of a horse, the voice of a man, thetearing in and out of an e
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidchildrensown, bookyear1910
