THE ROCK-A-BY BABY
"WELCOME, Sir Cat," said the dusty miller. "Sit down and tell me the news." But just then a sweet voice commenced to sing:
Down in the village all the long day
Mother's been toiling the hours away;
While up in the tree-top beneath the blue sky
Baby has rocked to the wind's lullaby.
Waiting is over, my sweet little one,
Mother is here for her own blue-eyed son.
Home we will go, and baby shall rest,
All the night through on mother's warm breast.
"Dearie me," suddenly exclaimed the dusty miller, "how tired she looks," and he walked to the door.
"Let me carry the cradle," said Puss, and lifting it on his shoulder, followed the grateful little woman down the road.
When they reached the house Puss was tired, for the cradle was heavy, and had nearly slipped off his shoulder two or three times, and once, when the baby caught hold of it, Puss nearly stumbled.
"Come and rest," said the baby's mother, opening the little wicket gate in the white fence. Puss looked up at the pretty porch, covered with a honeysuckle vine. "Thank you," he answered, "I will," and he set the cradle down on the floor.
"Please look after the baby," said the little mother, "while I get the supper?"
"I'll try," said Puss, "but I'm not used to babies, and perhaps he'll roll off the porch."
"Oh, you can keep him from doing that," replied the little mother, "he's the best baby in the world!" So Puss sat down and played with him for almost half an hour. By and by a little bird began to sing:
"Dance to your daddie,
My bonnie laddie;
Dance to your daddie, my bonnie lamb.
You shall get a fishy
On a little dishy;
You shall get a fishy when the boat comes home."
Pretty soon after that the little mother carried the baby into the house.
Puss followed her into a cozy room, where, on the mantlepiece, stood a tick-tocky clock, just striking six. The tablecloth was spread and everything was ready for supper. Over in the corner hung a cage, in which sat a big green parrot.
"Polly want a cracker?" asked Puss.
"No, I don't want a cracker," replied the parrot; "I want a little mouse."
"What!" cried Puss, "you don't mean to say you don't like crackers?"
"I'm tired of them," said the parrot.
"Did you ever eat a raisin cracker?" said Puss, with a grin.
But the parrot didn't reply. Pretty soon he opened the door of his cage and came out. Puss was all alone in the room, for the mother had taken the baby upstairs.
"I'm going to fly out of the window," exclaimed the parrot. "I'm tired being alone all day in this house." And before Puss could stop him, he opened the window and flew away.
"The parrot's gone!" cried Puss running to the foot of the stairs. Then he rushed out into the yard and found the parrot perched on the limb of an old apple tree.
"I won't come back!" he cried. "I won't!"