Part 7 (2/2)

He must be a very silly old Brownie to live under a luued with herself, and made the men lift it ”You must lift it, you see, if you are to sweep the coal-cellar out clean And you may as well put it on the barrow, and I'll wheel it out of your way”

This she said in quite a civil voice, lest they should tell of her, and stood by while it was being done It was done without any thing happening, except that a large rat ran out of the coal-cellar door, bouncing against her feet, and frightening her so much that she nearly tumbled down

”See what nonsense it is to talk of Brownies living in a coal-cellar

Nothing lives there but rats, and I'll have theet rid of thehtened all the sa rat, and had looked at her, as it darted past, with such wild, bright, mischievous eyes--brown eyes, of course--that she all but juot her lu, to her cottage at the bottoarden She was a hard-worked wos harder for her

Still, she was not quite easy at taking what did not belong to her

”I don't suppose any body will miss the coal,” she repeated ”I dare say the iven it tothe Brownie's luan to creak dreadfully, and every creak sounded like the cry of a child, just as if the wheel were going over its leg and crushi+ng its poor little bones

”What a horrid noise! I rease-box All goes wrong, now my old man's laid up Oh, dear! oh dear!”

For suddenly the barrow had tilted over, though there was not a single stone near, and the big coal was turound, where it broke into a thousand pieces Gathering it up again was hopeless, and it ravel-walk, that the old woman was thankful her e, where nobody was likely to come

”I'll take a broooes near the orchard now, exceptabout it to the old man or any body But ah! deary me, what a beautiful lot of coal I've lost!”

She stood and looked at it e, where she found two or three of the little children keeping Gardener company They did not dislike to do this now; but he was so h he suffered very much

And he had never once reproached them for what they always remembered--hoas ever since he was on the ice with theot the rheumatism

[Illustration: Suddenly the barrow had tilted over]

So, one or other of the his they could think of--indeed, it was a contest ah They did not succeed in doing that exactly; but they rateful to the ill

But his as not pleasant; she gru especially snappish this day, because she had lost her big coal

”I can't have you children co outthem to dry Be off with you!”

”Let us stop a little--just to tell Gardener this one curious thing about Dolly and the pig--and then we'll help you to take your clothes to the orchard; we can carry your basket between us--we can, indeed”

That was the last thing the woman wished; for she knew the that the children would be sure to see the ravel-walk--and they were such inquisitive children--they noticed every thing They would want to know all about it, and how the bits of coal came there It was very a aard position But people who take other people's property often do find theentlemen,” said she, quite politely; ”but indeed the basket is too heavy for you However, you er with my old man He likes it”

And, while they were shut up with Gardener in his bedroo her clothes carefully out--the big things on lines between the fruit trees, and the little things, such as stockings and pocket handkerchiefs, stuck on the gooseberry-bushes, or spread upon the clean green grass

”Such a fine day as it is! they'll dry directly,” said she, cheerfully, to herself ”Plenty of sun, and not a breath of wind to blow them about

I'll leave therows dark Then I shall get allto- bundled the, never was such a sight as those clothes! They were all twisted in the oddest way--the stockings turned inside out, with the heels and toes tucked into the legs; the sleeves of the shi+rts tied together in double knots, the pocket-handkerchiefs ht that if you had pelted a person with theiven very hard blows indeed And the whole looked as if, instead of lying quietly on the grass and bushes, they had been dragged through heaps of mud and then stamped upon, so that there was not a clean inch upon them from end to end

”What a horrid mess!” cried the Gardener's wife, who had been at first very angry, and then very frightened ”But I knohat it is; that nasty Boxer has got loose again It's he that has done it”

”Boxer wouldn't tie shi+rt-sleeves in double knots, or make balls of pocket-handkerchiefs,” Gardener was heard to answer, solemnly