Carrots: Just a Little Boy   By: Mrs. Molesworth (1839-1921)

JUST A LITTLE BOY

"Is it then a great mistake That Boys were ever made at all?"

[Illustration: There she sat, as still as a mouse, holding her precious burden. ( See page 9.) Frontispiece ]

"CARROTS:"

JUST A LITTLE BOY

BY

MRS. MOLESWORTH

(ENNIS GRAHAM)

AUTHOR OF "TELL ME A STORY" "CUCKOO CLOCK" "GRANDMOTHER DEAR" ETC.

[Illustration: p. 210.]

ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER CRANE

LONDON MACMILLAN & CO. 1876

TO

SIX LITTLE COUSINS

MORIER, BEVIL, NOËL, LIONEL, EDWARD, AND BABY BRIAN.

EDINBURGH, 1870

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. FLOSS'S BABY 1

II. SIX YEARS OLD 12

III. PLANS 26

IV. THE LOST HALF SOVEREIGN 44

V. CARROTS IN TROUBLE 60

VI. CARROTS "ALL ZIGHT" AGAIN 78

VII. A LONG AGO STORY 91

VIII. "THE BEWITCHED TONGUE" 111

IX. SYBIL 130

X. A JOURNEY AND ITS ENDING 152

XI. HAPPY AND SAD 180

XII. "THE TWO FUNNY LITTLE TROTS" 206

XIII. GOOD ENDINGS 236

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

THERE SHE SAT, AS STILL AS A MOUSE, HOLDING HER PRECIOUS BURDEN Frontispiece.

"A YELLOW SIXPENNY, OH, HOW NICE!" 36

FLOSS TAPPED AT THE DOOR. "CARROTS," SHE SAID, "ARE YOU THERE?" 78

"NOW, BE QUIET ALL OF YOU, I'M GOING TO BEGIN" 114

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT, MY POOR OLD MAN?" SAID AUNTIE, FONDLY 148

"IT IS FLOSSIE AND ME, SYBIL DON'T YOU REMEMBER US?" 184

"SUDDENLY A BRIGHT THOUGHT STRUCK ME, I SEIZED GIP, MY LITTLE DOG, WHO WAS ASLEEP ON THE HEARTHRUG, AND HELD HIM UP AT THE WINDOW" 212

"CARROTS:" JUST A LITTLE BOY

CHAPTER I.

FLOSS'S BABY.

"Where did you come from, Baby dear? Out of the everywhere into here?

"But how did you come to us, you dear? God thought about you, and so I am here!"

G. Macdonald.

His real name was Fabian. But he was never called anything but Carrots. There were six of them. Jack, Cecil, Louise, Maurice, commonly called Mott, Floss, dear, dear Floss, whom he loved best of all, a long way the best of all, and lastly Carrots.

Why Carrots should have come to have his history written I really cannot say. I must leave you, who understand such things a good deal better than I, you, children, for whom the history is written, to find out. I can give you a few reasons why Carrots' history should not have been written, but that is about all I can do. There was nothing very remarkable about him; there was nothing very remarkable about the place where he lived, or the things that he did, and on the whole he was very much like other little boys. There are my no reasons for you. But still he was Carrots, and after all, perhaps, that was the reason! I shouldn't wonder.