“Oh, Mr. Owl, please don’t eat me. I will be very good,” cried the little squirrel. The old owl blinked and blinked but made no promises. That night was a very unhappy one for the poor little squirrel. He dare not go out for fear of the owl and the owl could not get in the small hole where the squirrel was.
Next morning his father came along and the owl flew away. His father looked in the hole and said:
“Now, will you be good?” But there was no need for an answer, the poor little squirrel was only too glad to go back home, and he was never bad afterwards.
JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK
Part One
A poor bargain can often be turned to good account, by one who knows how.
A long time ago there lived a poor woman who had an only son named Jack. The time came when they had no bread at all, and Jack’s mother said:
“Take the cow, my son, and sell her, so that we can have bread to eat.”