hehastilygaveittoher,andfledtothemealchest。\"Howdidyoucomehere?\"askedPiglingBland。
\"Stolen,\"repliedPig-wig,withhermouthfull。Piglinghelpedhimselftomealwithoutscruple。
\"Whatfor?\"\"Bacon,hams,\"
repliedPig-wigcheerfully。\"Whyonearthdon\'tyourunaway?\"
exclaimedthehorrifiedPigling。
\"Ishallaftersupper,\"saidPig-
wigdecidedly。
PiglingBlandmademoreporridgeandwatchedhershyly。
Shefinishedasecondplate,gotup,andlookedabouther,asthoughsheweregoingtostart。
\"Youcan\'tgointhedark,\"saidPiglingBland。
Pig-wiglookedanxious。
\"Doyouknowyourwaybydaylight?\"
\"Iknowwecanseethislittlewhitehousefromthehillsacrosstheriver。WhichwayareYOU
going,Mr。Pig?\"
\"Tomarket——Ihavetwopigpapers。Imighttakeyoutothebridge;ifyouhavenoobjection,\"
saidPiglingmuchconfusedandsittingontheedgeofhiscoppystool。
Pig-wig\'sgratitudewassuchandsheaskedsomanyquestionsthatitbecameembarrassingtoPiglingBland。
Hewasobligedtoshuthiseyesandpretendtosleep。Shebecamequiet,andtherewasasmellofpeppermint。
\"Ithoughtyouhadeatenthem,\"
saidPigling,wakingsuddenly。
\"Onlythecorners,\"repliedPig-
wig,studyingthesentimentswithmuchinterestbythefirelight。
\"Iwishyouwouldn\'t;hemightsmellthemthroughtheceiling,\"
saidthealarmedPigling。
Pig-wigputbackthestickypeppermintsintoherpocket;\"Singsomething,\"shedemanded。
\"Iamsorry……Ihavetooth-
ache,\"saidPiglingmuchdismayed。
\"ThenIwillsing,\"repliedPig-wig。
\"YouwillnotmindifIsayiddytidditty?Ihaveforgottensomeofthewords。\"
PiglingBlandmadenoobjection;
hesatwithhiseyeshalfshut,andwatchedher。
Shewaggedherheadandrockedabout,clappingtimeandsinginginasweetlittlegruntyvoice——
\"Afunnyoldmotherpiglivedinastye,andthreelittlepiggieshadshe;
\"(Tiiddittyidditty)umph,umph,umph!andthelittlepigssaid,wee,wee!\"
Shesangsuccessfullythroughthreeorfourverses,onlyateveryverseherheadnoddedalittlelower,andherlittletwinklyeyesclosedup。
\"Thosethreelittlepiggiesgrewpeakyandlean,andleantheymightverywellbe;
\"Forsomehowtheycouldn\'tsayumph,umph,umph!andtheywouldn\'tsaywee,wee,wee!
\"Forsomehowtheycouldn\'tsay——
Pig-wig\'sheadbobbedlowerandlower,untilsherolledover,alittleroundball,fastasleeponthehearth-rug。
PiglingBland,ontip-toe,coveredherupwithanantimacassarHewasafraidtogotosleephimself;fortherestofthenighthesatlisteningtothechirpingofthecricketsandtothesnoresofMr。
Pipersonoverhead。
Earlyinthemorning,betweendarkanddaylight,PiglingtieduphislittlebundleandwokeupPig-
wig。Shewasexcitedandhalf-
frightened。Butit\'sdark!Howcanwefindourway?\"
\"Thecockhascrowed;wemuststartbeforethehenscomeout;theymightshouttoMr。Piperson。\"
Pig-wigsatdownagain,andcommencedtocry。
\"ComeawayPig-wig;wecanseewhenwegetusedtoit。Come!
Icanhearthemclucking!\"
Piglinghadneversaidshuh!toaheninhislife,beingpeaceable;
alsoherememberedthehamper。
Heopenedthehousedoorquietlyandshutitafterthem。Therewasnogarden;theneighbourhoodofMr。Piperson\'swasallscratchedupbyfowls。Theyslippedawayhandinhandacrossanuntidyfieldtotheroad。
Thesunrosewhiletheywerecrossingthemoor,adazzleoflightoverthetopsofthehills。Thesunshinecreptdowntheslopesintothepeacefulgreenvalleys,wherelittlewhitecottagesnestledingardensandorchards。
\"That\'sWestmorland,\"saidPig-wig。ShedroppedPigling\'shandandcommencedtodance,singing——
\"Tom,Tom,thepiper\'sson,stoleapigandawayheran!
\"Butallthetunethathecouldplay,was\'Overthehillsandfaraway!\'\"
\"Come,Pig-wig,wemustgettothebridgebeforefolksarestirring。\"
\"Whydoyouwanttogotomarket,Pigling?\"inquiredPig-wigpresently。
\"Idon\'twant;Iwanttogrowpotatoes。\"\"Haveapeppermint?\"
saidPig-wig。PiglingBlandrefusedquitecrossly。\"Doesyourpoortoothyhurt?\"inquiredPig-wig。PiglingBlandgrunted。
Pig-wigatethepeppermintherselfandfollowedtheoppositesideoftheroad。\"Pig-wig!keepunderthewall,there\'samanploughing。\"
Pig-wigcrossedover,theyhurrieddownhilltowardsthecountyboundary。
SuddenlyPiglingstopped;heheardwheels。
Slowlyjogginguptheroadbelowthemcameatradesman\'scart。Thereinsflappedonthehorse\'sback,thegrocerwasreadinganewspaper。
\"Takethatpeppermintoutofyourmouth,Pig-wig,wemayhavetorun。Don\'tsayoneword。Leaveittome。Andinsightofthebridge!\"
saidpoorPigling,nearlycrying。
Hebegantowalkfrightfullylame,holdingPig-wig\'sarm。
Thegrocer,intentuponhisnews-
paper,mighthavepassedthem,ifhishorsehadnotshiedandsnorted。
Hepulledthecartcrossways,andhelddownhiswhip。\"Hallo!
WhereareYOUgoingto?\"——PiglingBlandstaredathimvacantly。
\"Areyoudeaf?Areyougoingtomarket?\"Piglingnoddedslowly。
\"Ithoughtasmuch。Itwasyesterday。Showmeyourlicence?\"
Piglingstaredattheoffhindshoeofthegrocer\'shorsewhichhadpickedupastone。
Thegrocerflickedhiswhip——
\"Papers?Piglicence?\"Piglingfumbledinallhispockets,andhandedupthepapers。Thegrocerreadthem,butstillseemeddissatisfied。
\"Thisherepigisayounglady;ishernameAlexander?\"
Pig-wigopenedhermouthandshutitagain;Piglingcoughedasthmatically。
Thegrocerranhisfingerdowntheadvertisementcolumnofhisnewspaper——\"Lost,stolenorstrayed,10s。reward。\"HelookedsuspiciouslyatPig-wig。Thenhestoodupinthetrap,andwhistledfortheploughman。
\"YouwaitherewhileIdriveonandspeaktohim,\"saidthegrocer,gatheringupthereins。Heknewthatpigsareslippery;butsurely,suchaVERYlamepigcouldneverrun!
\"Notyet,Pig-wig,hewilllookback。\"Thegrocerdidso;hesawthetwopigsstock-stillinthemiddleoftheroad。Thenhelookedoverathishorse\'sheels;itwaslamealso;thestonetooksometimetoknockout,afterhegottotheploughman。
\"Now,Pig-wig,NOW!\"saidPiglingBland。
Neverdidanypigsrunasthesepigsran!Theyracedandsquealedandpelteddownthelongwhitehilltowardsthebridge。LittlefatPig-
wig\'spetticoatsfluttered,andherfeetwentpitter,patter,pitter,assheboundedandjumped。
Theyran,andtheyran,andtheyrandownthehill,andacrossashortcutonlevelgreenturfatthebottom,betweenpebblebedsandrushes。
Theycametotheriver,theycametothebridge——theycrossedithandinhand-
thenoverthehillsandfarawayshedancedwithPiglingBland!
THEEND
THETALEOF
TWOBADMICE
FOR
W。M。L。W。
THELITTLEGIRL
WHOHADTHEDOLLHOUSE
ONCEuponatimetherewasaverybeautifuldoll\'shouse;itwasredbrickwithwhitewindows,andithadrealmuslincurtainsandafrontdoorandachimney。
ITbelongedtotwoDollscalledLucindaandJane;
atleastitbelongedtoLucinda,butsheneverorderedmeals。
JanewastheCook;butsheneverdidanycooking,becausethedinnerhadbeenboughtready-made,inaboxfullofshavings。
THEREweretworedlobsters,andaham,afish,apudding,andsomepearsandoranges。
Theywouldnotcomeofftheplates,buttheywereextremelybeautiful。
ONEmorningLucindaandJanehadgoneoutforadriveinthedoll\'sperambulator。
Therewasnooneinthenursery,anditwasveryquiet。
Presentlytherewasalittlescuffling,scratchingnoiseinacornernearthefireplace,wheretherewasaholeundertheskirting-board。
TomThumbputouthisheadforamoment,andthenpoppeditinagain。
TomThumbwasamouse。
AMINUTEafterwardsHuncaMunca,hiswife,putherheadout,too;andwhenshesawthattherewasnooneinthenursery,sheventuredoutontheoilclothunderthecoal-boxTHEdoll\'shousestoodattheothersideofthefireplace。TomThumbandHuncaMuncawentcautiouslyacrossthehearth-rug。Theypushedthefrontdoor——itwasnotfast。
TOMTHUMBandHuncaMuncawentup-stairsandpeepedintothedining-
room。Thentheysqueakedwithjoy!
Suchalovelydinnerwaslaidoutuponthetable!Thereweretinspoons,andleadknivesandforks,andtwodolly-chairs——allSOconvenient!
TOMTHUMBsettoworkatoncetocarvetheham。
Itwasabeautifulshinyyellow,streakedwithred。
Theknifecrumpledupandhurthim;heputhisfingerinhismouth。
\"Itisnotboiledenough;itishard。Youhaveatry,HuncaMunca。\"
HUNCAMUNCA
upinherchair,andchoppedatthehamwithanotherleadknife。
\"It\'sashardasthehamsatthecheesemonger\'s,\"saidHuncaMunca。
THEhambrokeofftheplatewithajerk,androlledunderthetable。
\"Letitalone,\"saidTomThumb;\"givemesomefish,HuncaMunca!\"
HUNCAMUNCAtriedeverytinspooninturn;
thefishwasgluedtothedish。
ThenTomThumblosthistemper。Heputthehaminthemiddleofthefloor,andhititwiththetongsandwiththeshovel——bang,bang,smash,smash!
Thehamflewallintopieces,forunderneaththeshinypaintitwasmadeofnothingbutplaster!
THENtherewasnoendtotherageanddisappointmentofTomThumbandHuncaMunca。Theybrokeupthepudding,thelobsters,thepears,andtheoranges。
Asthefishwouldnotcomeofftheplate,theyputitintothered-hotcrinklypaperfireinthekitchen;butitwouldnotburneither。
TOMTHUMBwentupthekitchenchimneyandlookedoutatthetop——therewasnosoot。
WHILETomThumbwasupthechimney,HuncaMuncahadanotherdisappointment。Shefoundsometinycanistersuponthedresser,labeled\"Rice,\"\"Coffee?\"
\"Sago\";butwhensheturnedthemupsidedowntherewasnothinginsideexceptredandbluebeads。
THENthosemicesettoworktodoallthemischieftheycould——especiallyTomThumb!HetookJane\'sclothesoutofthechestofdrawersinherbedroom,andhethrewthemoutofthetop-
floorwindow。
ButHuncaMuncahadafrugalmind。AfterpullinghalfthefeathersoutofLucinda\'sbolster,sherememberedthatsheherselfwasinwantofafeather-bed。
WITHTomThumb\'sassistanceshecarriedthebolsterdown-stairsandacrossthehearth-rug。Itwasdifficulttosqueezethebolsterintothemouse-hole;buttheymanageditsomehow。
THENHuncaMuncawentbackandfetchedachair,abookcase,abird-cage,andseveralsmalloddsandends。
Thebookcaseandthebird-cagerefusedtogointothemouse-hole。
HUNCAMUNCAleftthembehindthecoal-
box,andwenttofetchacradle。
HUNCAMUNCAwasjustreturningwithanotherchair,whensuddenlytherewasanoiseoftalkingoutsideuponthelanding。Themicerushedbacktotheirhole,andthedollscameintothenursery。
WHATasightmettheeyesofJaneandLucinda!
Lucindasatupontheupsetkitchenstoveandstared,andJaneleanedagainstthekitchendresserandsmiled;butneitherofthemmadeanyremark。
THEbookcaseandthebird-
cagewererescuedfromunderthecoal-box;butHuncaMuncahasgotthecradleandsomeofLucinda\'sclothes。
SHEalsohassomeusefulpotsandpans,andseveralotherthings。
THElittlegirlthatthedoll\'shousebelongedtosaid:
\"Iwillgetadolldressedlikeapoliceman!\"
BUTthenursesaid:\"Iwillsetamouse-trap!\"
SOthatisthestoryofthetwoBadMice。Buttheywerenotsovery,verynaughtyafterall,becauseTomThumbpaidforeverythinghebroke。
Hefoundacrookedsixpenceunderthehearth-rug;anduponChristmasEveheandHuncaMuncastuffeditintooneofthestockingsofLucindaandJane。
ANDveryearlyeverymorning——beforeanybodyisawake——HuncaMuncacomeswithherdust-panandherbroomtosweeptheDollies\'
house!