Mother Stories | Page 7

his enemies from
his land, and opened the doors of the prison-house in which he and the
queen lay, and the king had ridden with them in haste to find his
darling child, who was worth his crown and his kingdom.
The sight of her face was the sunshine to lighten their hearts, and they
sent the glad news far and near, with blast of trumpet and shouts of joy.
But in all their great happiness the child did not forget the rabbit, and
she said to it, "Come with me and I will take care of you, for my father

the king is here." But the rabbit thanked her and wanted to go home.
"My babies are waiting," it said, "and I have my work to do in the
world. I pray you let me go."
So the child kissed it and bade it go; and she, too, went to her own dear
home. There she grew lovelier every day, for the light grew with her;
and when, long years afterward, she was queen of the country, the
foxes and wolves and tigers dared not harm her people, for her good
knights drove evil from her land; but to loving gentle creatures she
gave love and protection, and she lived happily all the days of her life.

THE LITTLE GRAY PONY MOTTO FOR THE MOTHER
_The humblest workman has his place, Which no one else can fill_.
There was once a man who owned a little gray pony.
Every morning when the dewdrops were still hanging on the pink
clover in the meadows, and the birds were singing their morning song,
the man would jump on his pony and ride away, clippety, clippety,
clap!
The pony's four small hoofs played the jolliest tune on the smooth pike
road, the pony's head was always high in the air, and the pony's two
little ears were always pricked up; for he was a merry gray pony, and
loved to go clippety, clippety, clap!
The man rode to town and to country, to church and to market, up hill
and down hill; and one day he heard something fall with a clang on a
stone in the road. Looking back, he saw a horseshoe lying there. And
when he saw it, he cried out:--
"_What shall I do? What shall I do? If my little gray pony has lost a
shoe_?"
Then down he jumped, in a great hurry, and looked at one of the pony's
fore-feet; but nothing was wrong. He lifted the other forefoot, but the
shoe was still there. He examined one of the hindfeet, and began to
think that he was mistaken; but when he looked at the last foot, he cried
again:--
"_What shall I do? What shall I do? My little gray pony has lost a
shoe_!"
Then he made haste to go to the blacksmith; and when he saw the smith,
he called out to him:--
"_Blacksmith! Blacksmith! I've come to you; My little gray pony has

lost a shoe_!"
But the blacksmith answered and said:--
"_How can I shoe your pony's feet, Without some coal the iron to
heat_?"
The man was downcast when he heard this; but he left his little gray
pony in the blacksmith's care, while he hurried here and there to buy
the coal.
First of all he went to the store; and when he got there, he said:--
"_Storekeeper! Storekeeper! I've come to you; My little gray pony has
lost a shoe! And I want some coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith
may shoe my pony's feet_."
But the storekeeper answered and said:--
"_Now, I have apples and candy to sell, And more nice things than I
can tell; But I've no coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith may shoe
your pony's feet_."
Then the man went away sighing, and saying:--
"_What shall I do? What shall I do? My little gray pony has lost a
shoe!"_
By and by he met a farmer coming to town with a wagon full of good
things; and he said:--
"_Farmer! Farmer! I've come to you; My little gray pony has lost a
shoe! And I want some coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith may
shoe my pony's feet_."
Then the farmer answered the man and said:--
"_I've bushels of corn and hay and wheat Something for you and your
pony to eat; But I've no coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith may
shoe your pony's feet_."
So the farmer drove away and left the man standing in the road, sighing
and saying:--
"_What shall I do? What shall I do? My little gray pony has lost a
shoe_!"
In the farmer's wagon, full of good things, he saw corn, which made
him think of