Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad Part 17

"Whoo-oop! hurrah! here we come! clear the track!" What a noise they did make, to be sure!

But it did not disturb anybody. n.o.body heard it but the young woman and some cows in the pasture near by.

How warm and soft the sand was! It was as good as coasting in winter.

It was better!

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PICTURE THE YOUNG WOMAN DREW.]

Down they went into the water like so many ducks. They can all dive and swim almost as well as ducks. Papa and mamma were off sh.o.r.e, taking a sail together. They saw the slide down hill, and the plunge into the water. They saw the brown and yellow heads bobbing about.

"Do look at them!" said mamma. "Perfect little Arabs!"

"Do 'em good," said papa. "Little Molly never had such rosy cheeks in all her life."

"But think of their clothes!" said mamma.

FARMER GRAY AND HIS APPLES.

Farmer Gray had a load of apples to sell one day. But n.o.body wanted them. People offered him such a small sum of money for them, he said he would rather give them away.

So he started for home with his load of apples. He drove down Summer street, past the schoolhouse. The boys were having their recess.

Now Farmer Gray loved children. So when he saw these boys he thought, "Here's just the market for my apples."

He stopped his horse and called out, "Do any of you boys know what to do with apples?"

Then there _was_ a shout! "O yes, sir, we guess we do!" said all the boys.

"Come on, then!" said Farmer Gray.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HE KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH FARMER GRAY'S APPLES.]

The boys crowded around the wagon, and the farmer tossed the apples to them.

"It is well for you, boys, that I found no market for my apples this morning," he said.

"That's so!" said the boys. Then they thanked him heartily.

Charlie Read said, "You are the funniest man I ever saw to stop and give us the apples."

"You would like to see another just like me to-morrow, wouldn't you?"

said Farmer Gray.

"Yes, I would," said Charley, "and I should like to live with you too."

Just then the school bell rang. The boys all shouted, "Good-by!

good-by!" as Farmer Gray drove off.

"I'm glad enough I didn't sell those apples this morning," thought Farmer Gray.

AH KEE.

Ah Kee is the funniest little fellow alive.

He can stand as straight as any boy I ever saw.

But the straighter he stands, the more you laugh.

He thinks he is very tall. He is about three feet tall.

He thinks he is a little gentleman, because he can drink out of a coffee-cup and not spill a drop.

But Ah Kee oftener behaves like a rogue than like a gentleman.

There is always a look of mischief in his bright black eyes.

His mistress never allows him to go into the parlor by himself.

She knows he would sit on the brackets with the little statues.

She knows he would like to swing to and fro on the curtain ta.s.sels.

She knows he would like to jerk the bell-pull, and bring Rose up from the kitchen.

She knows he would like to take the Sevres vases and walk up and down the room with them in his arms.

No, Ah Kee, with his roguish tastes, is not to be trusted in the parlor by himself.

But he sometimes comes in when she is there. Sometimes when she is reading she hears a soft sound like this, "_lsp-s-s-s!_"

She jumps up, looks all around. Under the table, or in a corner she sees a soft, round, feathery ball of fur--and one little paw raised, all claws and motion.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AH KEE'S GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.]

Ah, that is Ah Kee, and Ah Kee means mischief. Perhaps he will spring into his mistress' lap. Perhaps he will leap up on the piano. You cannot be sure what he will decide to do.

Yes, Ah Kee is a monkey, a gay little spider monkey, with a long tail that he likes to carry over his head in the shape of the letter S.

Ah Kee's mistress has made up her mind to do one thing. She will buy Ah Kee a silver collar with a ring. She will buy Ah Kee a broad blue ribbon.