“You can, can you? We’ll see!” they said, and threw down their spades and ran after him. But Johnny-cake soon was very quick, and when they saw that they could never catch him, they sat down to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to a bear. The bear said, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”
He said, “I outran an old man, and an old woman and a little boy, two well-diggers and two ditch-diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”
“You can, can you?” growled the bear, “We’ll see!” and tried to catch Johnnycake. But Johnny-cake did not stop and ran away. The bear was very tired and lay down to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and he came to a wolf. The wolf said, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”
He said, “I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditch-diggers, and a bear, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”
“You can, can you?” snarled the wolf. “We’ll see!” And he began to run after Johnny-cake, but Johnny-cake was so quick that the wolf saw that there was no hope to catch him, and he lay down to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to a fox that was lying quietly near the fence. The fox asked him gently, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”
He said, “I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditch-diggers, a bear, and a wolf, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”
The fox said, “I can’t hear you, Johnny-cake, please come a little closer.”
Johnny-cake stopped and went a little closer and said in a very loud voice, ”I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditchdiggers, a bear, and a wolf, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”
“Oh, I can’t hear you; can you come a little closer?” said the fox in a weak voice.
Johnny-cake came closer and screamed, “I OUTRAN AN OLD MAN, AN OLD WOMAN, A LITTLE BOY, TWO WELLDIGGERS, TWO DITCH-DIGGERS, A BEAR, AND A WOLF, AND I CAN OUTRUN YOU TOO-O-O!!!!”
“You can, can you?” yelped the fox and caught Johnny-cake with his paw and threw him in his sharp teeth.
The Mouse and the Cat
The Mouse went to visit the Cat. The Cat was sitting behind the hall door and spinning.
MOUSE. What are you doing, my lady, my lady,
What are you doing, my lady?
CAT. I’m spinning old breeches, my dear, my dear,
I’m spinning old breeches, my dear.
MOUSE. I was sweeping my room, my lady, my lady,
I was sweeping my room, my lady.
CAT. It will be cleaner, my dear, my dear,
It will be cleaner, my dear.
MOUSE. I found a silver sixpence, my lady, my lady,
I found a silver sixpence, my lady.
CAT. You’ll be richer, my dear, my dear,
You’ll be richer, my dear.
MOUSE. I went to the market, my lady, my lady,
I went to the market, my lady.
CAT. You went so far, my dear, my dear,
You went so far, my dear.
MOUSE. I bought me a pudding, my lady, my lady,
I bought me a pudding, my lady.
CAT. You’ll have more food, my dear, my dear,
You’ll have more food, my dear.
MOUSE. I put it in the window to cool, my lady,
I put it in the window to cool.
CAT. You’ll eat it faster, my dear, my dear,
You’ll eat it faster, my dear.
MOUSE. The cat came and ate it, my lady, my lady,
The cat came and ate it, my lady.
CAT. And I’ll eat you too, my dear, my dear,
And I’ll eat you too, my dear.
Jack the Buttermilk
Jack was a boy who sold buttermilk. One day he met a witch. She asked him to give her some of his buttermilk for free[36]. “If you don’t give me some buttermilk,” said the witch, “I’ll put you into my bag and carry away[37]”. Jack refused to give the witch any of his buttermilk, so the witch put him into a bag that she carried over her shoulders.
She walked home with him. But on her way she suddenly remembered that she forgot a pot of fat that she bought in the town. Jack was very heavy, and the witch did not want to carry him back to the town, so she asked some men who were brushing the hedge by the road to take care[38] of her bag till she came back.
When the witch went away, Jack cried to the men, “If you take me out[39] of this bag and fill it full of thorns[40], I will give you some of my buttermilk.”
So the men took Jack out of the bag and filled it with thorns, and then Jack gave them some buttermilk and ran home.
When the witch came back from town, she picked up her bag and walked home. But the thorns began to prick her back. When she came home, she emptied the bag on a clean white table. But when she found that there was nothing in the bag but thorns, she was very angry and said, “I’ll catch you tomorrow, Jack, and I’ll boil you.”
Next day she met Jack again and asked him for some buttermilk and told him, “If you do not give me some buttermilk, I’ll put you into the bag again.” But Jack said, “I’ll give you no buttermilk.” So the witch put him into her bag, and again she remembered that she forgot something in the town.
This time she left the bag with some men who were mending the road.
When the witch went away, Jack cried to the men, “If you will take me out and fill this bag full of stones, I will give you some of my buttermilk.”
Then the men took Jack out of the bag, and he gave them the buttermilk.
When the witch came back from town, she picked up her bag and walked home. But the bag was very heavy. So she chuckled and said, “Indeed, Jack, you must eat less.”
When she came home, she emptied the bag on the white table again. But when she saw the stones, she was very angry and cried, “I swear, Jack, that I’ll boil you when I catch you!”
Next day she met Jack again and asked for some buttermilk. But Jack said, “No,” again, so she put him into her bag and went straight home with him and threw him out on the white table.
When she did this, she saw she did not have enough water to boil the boy. So she put Jack back in the bag and went away. But she forgot to tie the bag. So while she was away, Jack crept out of it, opened all the cupboards in the house, and filled the bag with all the pots that he could find. After that he went away, and soon he was safely home.
When the witch came back, she emptied the bag on the table again and broke all the pots that she had. After this she never caught Jack any more.
Teeny-Tiny
Once upon a time, there was a teeny-tiny woman. She lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village. Now, one day this teeny-tiny woman put on her teeny-tiny bonnet and went out of her teeny-tiny house to take a teeny-tiny walk. And when this teeny-tiny woman went a teeny-tiny way, she came to a teeny-tiny gate. So the teeny-tiny woman opened the teeny-tiny gate and went into a teeny-tiny churchyard. And when this teeny-tiny woman got into