in the Moon caught an umbrella, and then Willie caught a diamond crown, which sparkled and glittered like a row of stars.

"Oh! how beautiful," cried the Treedeedle; "you must be a king. Let's all put on the things we have caught."

So the Treedeedle put on his boxing-gloves, and the Owl put on his rubber boots, and the Man in the Moon put up his umbrella, and Willie put the diamond crown on his curls, and they started for the house of the Man in the Moon.

"I must go home quickly, for I am going to a ball at the Mud Turtle's to-night," said the Owl.

They looked all about for the comet to take them home, but as the Owl had forgotten to fasten it to the Man in the Moon's hitching-post, it had gone off. "How shall we get home?" cried the Treedeedle.

"Let's fly;" said the Owl, and he flapped his wings and flew off toward home. "Oh! I can't fly," cried Willie.

"You will have to jump," said the Man in the Moon.

"All right; good-by! Come, Willie, take my hand," said the Treedeedle.

So Willie took the Treedeedle's hand, and together they jumped. Willie looked down and saw something sailing below them, and when they got nearer they saw that it was a balloon, and as it was directly beneath them they tumbled into it.

The balloon was manned by a big black pussy cat with green eyes.

"What do you mean by jumping into my balloon?" asked the Black Pussy Cat, as Willie and the Treedeedle came tumbling into the basket.

"We did not mean to," said the Treedeedle; "but you were in our way, so we had to fall in. Won't

you take us home in your balloon?"

"I haven't time," said the Black Pussy Cat. "I'm on my way to the Mud Turtle's ball; you can go with me if you like, and I will take you home after the ball is over."

"Let's go," said the Treedeedle to Willie.

66 THEY STARTED FOR THE HOUSE OF THE MAN IN THE MOON."

"All right," said Willie; and away they sailed with the Black Pussy Cat. The Mud Turtle lived by a pond, under a willow-tree, and as it was getting rather dark, the bushes, and grass, and trees were all lighted up with fireflies, that snapped and sparkled like electric lights, and made the place as bright as day. The guests were sitting about on stones.

There was the Owl in his rubber boots, and he winked one big eye at Willie when he saw him come in with the Black Pussy Cat and the Treedeedle.

Then there was a big grasshopper, and a robin, and a field-mouse, and a bull-frog, and a blue butterfly, and ever so many others.

The Mud Turtle was in the center, shaking hands and talking with everybody.

Then the music struck up.

Choose your partners for a hopity-kick waltz!" shouted the Mud Turtle.

Willie looked up to see where the musicians were, and saw them sitting on the branches; two thousand mosquitoes, humming and buzzing a waltz as loud as they could sing.

Then the Bull-frog came and

asked Willie to dance. Willie saw the Black Pussy Cat dancing with the Mud

Turtle, and the Grasshopper waltzing with the Field-mouse, and they seemed to be having such a gay time that he thought he would dance, too.

The Bull-frog hopped and leaped about so fast that Willie had hard work to keep up with him.

"The one who dances the longest wins the prize," shouted the Mud Turtle. First the Mud Turtle got tired out and stopped, then the Field-mouse and the Rabbit, then the Robin and then the Blue Butterfly, and all the others, one by one, till only the Grasshopper and the Treedeedle were left.

They danced and danced, and hopped and twirled, till the room fairly seemed to Willie to whirl, too.

Then the Treedeedle threw off his boxing-gloves, and unbuttoned his coat, and danced faster all the time, till at last the Grasshopper fell down in a faint, and they had to bring him

was a hand-organ, and then they all cheered again, and the Treedeedle played them a tune on his organ.

"Now for the refreshments," cried the Mud Turtle; and they brought in a great wash-boiler full of molasses candy, and each one took a big spoon and dipped it into the boiler and began to eat.

Presently Willie noticed the Blue Butterfly sitting on the fence, eating his lunch all by himself out of a little tin dinner-pail.

"Why don't you come and eat with us?" asked Willie.

"I don't like molasses candy, so I always bring my own lunch," said the Blue Butterfly.

Willie looked to see what the Butterfly had for lunch, and saw that he had brought five sausages all on a string.

After they had finished the molasses candy, and scraped the boiler nice and clean, the Treedeedle said it was time to go home; so they all shook hands with the Mud Turtle and told him what a good time they had had.

"I'm coming to see you, Willie," said the Mud Turtle.

"That will be nice," said Willie. "I will show you my playhouse."

"Oh! I'll come, too," said the Owl.

"And I," said the Black Pussy Cat.

"Can't I come, too?" cried the Blue Butterfly.

"And I?" asked the Grasshopper.

"I am coming," said the Robin.

"I'm coming, too," croaked the Bull-frog.

"All right," said Willie; "perhaps my mamma will let me have a birthday party and invite you all."

"Hurrah! hurrah! We are all going to Willie's birthday party!" cried everybody.

Then the Black Pussy Cat and the Treedeedle climbed into the balloon and pulled Willie in after them, and very soon they stopped at Willie's front gate and let him out.

"Good-by! I've had a beautiful time," said Willie," and now I am going in to tell my mamma all about it."

Agnes Blackwell.

S a quaint and carven casket may some precious treasure hold,
So this proverb from the Orient doth a gracious truth enfold:

"We should spread our garments widely when the heavens are raining gold."

Ruth Hall.