THE LAMB AND THE PONY.
A curious friendship once existed between a lamb and a pony. The lamb, which was purchased by a farmer in England from a passing shepherd, was very wild, and grieved at being separated from the flock. It was an odd, sturdy-looking creature with a black face. The farmer put it in a meadow in company with a cow and a little white pony. The lamb took no notice of the cow; but the pony seemed to captivate its heart at once. Wherever the one went, the other followed. If people gathered, as was natural, to look at the companions, the lamb would slip under the pony and pop out its head between his fore or hind legs with an air of perfect security. At night it went regularly to the stable, and slept in the manger near its favorite. If, as sometimes happened, the pony was taken to draw the farmer's wife to market, the lamb bleated pitifully all the time it was away, and frisked about joyfully on its return.
One day, to test its love, its owner carried the lamb to a pasture where a flock of sheep was grazing. The pony went too. In the course of the day the farmer came after the pony, and mounting him, rode homeward. Presently he looked behind. Yes, there came the shaggy black-faced lamb, forsaking its own kindred, and rushing on its eager legs to overtake its adopted friend.
Whether the pony returned this affection we do not know. It neither resented it nor appeared weary of it, at all events.
Paris Hill, Maine.
I am only seven years old, and can not write very well, but I want to tell you how much I like Harper's Young People. My grandfather gave it to me for a Christmas present. I read the stories to my mother. I liked "The Little Dolls' Dressmaker" so much! I was sorry when it was finished. My home is in the highest village in Maine, and we can see the White Mountains against the sky in the distance. I do not go to school; my mother teaches me at home. I am afraid I have written too much. Good-by.
Maynard M.
The Postmistress thinks that Bessie Alexander has written a very pretty story about Carlos and the mermaid. But the story would have been prettier still had the little boy come to life again here on earth. Make it a rule, dear young contributors, to let your stories end happily. As many smiles and as few tears as possible, little dears: