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THE BROWNIES TOBOGGANING.

BY PALMER COX.

ONE evening, when the snow lay white
On level plain and mountain height,
The Brownies mustered, one and all,
In answer to a special call.

All clustered in a ring they stood
Within the shelter of the wood,
While earnest faces brighter grew
At thought of enterprises new.

Said one, "It seems that all the rage,
With human kind of every age,

Is on toboggans swift to slide

Down steepest hill or mountain side. Our plans at once we must prepare, And try, ourselves, that pleasure rare.

We'll not depend on other hands
To satisfy these new demands;
The merchants' wares we 'll let alone
And make toboggans of our own;
A lumber-yard some miles from here
Has seasoned lumber all the year.

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We might enough toboggans find
In town, perhaps, of every kind,

If some one chanced to know where they
Awaiting sale are stowed away."
Another spoke, "Within us lies
The power to make our own supplies;

There pine and cedar may be found,
Like ancient castles, piled around.
Some boards are thick and some are thin,
But all will bend like sheets of tin.
At once we 'll hasten to the spot,
And, though a fence surrounds the lot,

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WHY CO-RA-LIE WAS ILL.

MAY could not see why her dol-ly daugh-ter should feel ill. She had been well e-nough the night be-fore, but that morn-ing, Mam-ma May said she found her dar-ling in a high fe-ver, with a bad head-ache. May took her up, be-cause Co-ra-lie nev-er could bear to stay in bed; and she gave her a dose of wa-ter, out of a bot-tle, to cure the fe-ver. Then she made some gin-ger-bread pills, and gave Co-ra-lie a pill ev-er-y hour through the day. But when night came, the doll was no bet-ter, and Mam-ma May said to her mother, "I must sit up all night! The dear child must not be left a-lone." "Why not put her crib on the ta-ble be-side your bed," said her moth-er. "You would not take cold then." "Yes, I sup-pose that would do," said May. "But of course I shall not sleep a wink, Mam-ma!” “Oh no!" said her moth-er. "Of course you will not." So May put Co-ra-lie to bed, and tucked her up nice-ly, and then she set the crib close to her own bed, and put on one of Aunt Sue's night-caps, be-cause nurses al-ways wore them and then she went to bed her-self. She tried hard to keep a-wake. But by and by her eyes hurt her, and though she was not a bit sleep-y, she shut them for a few min-utes, just to rest them. Pret-ty soon she heard a lit-tle noise, and thought she saw-what do you think? she thought she saw Co-ra-lie out of bed, and slid-ing down the leg of the ta-ble. May thought that the doll was walk-ing in her sleep. I must not wake her too quick-ly!" she said to her-self, "for she might go cra-zy." But Co-ra-lie real-ly looked very wide a-wake. She ran straight to the lit-tle drawer where Mam-ma May kept her good-ies, and she took out the box of can-dy that Un-cle Jack had sent a few days before, and then she be-gan to eat as fast as she could. It did not seem as if a doll could eat so fast. Then May was an-gry. "You wick-ed doll!" she cried. "You greed-y, bad child! No won-der you are sick! I'm sure you ought to be!"—Just then in came her moth-er with a lamp, to see what was the mat-ter. "Mam-ma," cried May, "I know now why Co-ra-lie is sick! She has been eat-ing my can-dy!" "What do you mean, dear?" said her moth-er. "Here is poor Co-ra-lie in bed, fast a-sleep. And where is your can-dy? I thought you had put it a-way." May looked and looked, and, sure enough, there was Co-ra-lie in bed: and no can-dy was to be seen. Well, Mam-ma," said May, at last, "it is real-ly ver-y strange. I just shut my eyes for a few min-utes to rest them. You know I told you, Mam-ma, that I should not sleep a wink." "Yes," said her moth-er; "I know

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