第7章

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!