Story Hour Readers — Book Three

								

Hereafter your brown fur shall be white when the cold winter comes. Then
no one will see your body against the snow, and you will always be
safe."
The rabbit turned pure white.
He looked like a ball of snow beside the bushes.
Then Eagle Eye smiled.
"Your enemies will have a long chase after this," he said, "before they
will find Brother Rabbit!"
After many days, Eagle Eye reached his home once more.
The chief told his people that he had followed the footprints of deer,
and had found where the animals lived.
The Indians went with Eagle Eye after the deer, and soon they had plenty
of food.

QUEEN MAB

A little fairy comes at night,
Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown,
With silver spots upon her wings,
And from the moon she flutters down.
She has a little silver wand,
And when a good child goes to bed,
She waves her hand from right to left,
And makes a circle round its head.
And then it dreams of pleasant things--
Of fountains filled with fairy fish,
And trees that bear delicious fruit,
And bow their branches at a wish.
Of arbors filled with dainty scents
From lovely flowers that never fade;
Bright flies that glitter in the sun,
And glowworms shining in the shade.
And talking birds with gifted tongues,
For singing songs and telling tales,
And pretty dwarfs to show the way
Through fairy hills and fairy dales.
But when a bad child goes to bed,
From left to right she weaves her rings,
And then it dreams all through the night
Of only ugly, horrid things!
Then lions come with glaring eyes,
And tigers growl, a dreadful noise,
And ogres draw their cruel knives,
To shed the blood of girls and boys.
Then stormy waves rush on to drown,
Or raging flames come scorching round,
Fierce dragons hover in the air,
And serpents crawl along the ground.
Then wicked children wake and weep,
And wish the long black gloom away;
But good ones love the dark, and find
The night as pleasant as the day.
THOMAS HOOD.

CINDERELLA

Once upon a time, there was a proud, selfish woman who had three
daughters. The youngest was prettier than her sisters, and they were
jealous of her beauty. They made her do all the housework, while they
went to parties and balls.
The girl washed the dishes and swept the floors. She tended the fire and
fed the parrot whose cage hung by the kitchen window. She spent so much
time among the ashes and cinders, that her sisters called her
Cinderella.
Now it happened that the king was to give a ball, in honor of the young
prince. Cinderella's mother and sisters were invited.
How pleased they were to receive the invitation! They could think of
nothing but the fine clothes they intended to wear.
They sent for the best dressmaker they could find. The oldest sister
chose a pink silk gown. "I shall wear my red satin cloak trimmed with