The Gray Goose's Story   By: Amy Prentice

Aunt Amy's Animal Stories

THE GRAY GOOSE'S STORY

By AMY PRENTICE

[Illustration]

With Thirty Two Illustrations and a Frontispiece in Colors By J. WATSON DAVIS

[Illustration]

THE GRAY GOOSE'S STORY.

BY AMY PRENTICE.

On pleasant afternoons your Aunt Amy dearly loves to wander down by the side of the pond, which lies just beyond the apple orchard, and there meet her bird or animal friends, of whom she has many, and all of them are ready to tell her stories.

[Illustration: The Gray Goose.]

There it is she sees Mr. Frisky Squirrel, old Mr. Plodding Turtle, Mr. Bunny Rabbit, and many others; but never until yesterday did she make the acquaintance of the gray goose, and then it was owing to Master Teddy's mischief that she found a new friend among the dwellers on the farm.

Your Aunt Amy was walking slowly along on the lookout for some bird or animal who might be in the mood for story telling, when she heard an angry hissing, which caused her to start in alarm, thinking a snake was in her path, and, to her surprise, she saw two geese who were scolding violently in their own peculiar fashion.

One was the gray goose, who afterward became very friendly, and the other, a white gander from the farm on the opposite side of the road.

[Illustration: An Angry Pair.]

"What is the matter?" your Aunt Amy asked, as the geese continued to hiss angrily without giving any heed to her, and Mrs. Gray Goose ceased her scolding sufficiently long to say sharply:

"It's that Mr. Man's boy Teddy; he never comes into the farm yard without raising a disturbance of some kind, and I for one am sick of so much nonsense."

Your Aunt Amy looked quickly around; but without seeing any signs of the boy who had tried Mrs. Goose's temper so sadly, and, quite naturally, she asked:

"What has he been doing now, and where is he?"

"Down in the meadow, or, he was there when Mr. Gander and I were driven out by his foolish actions," and Mrs. Goose continued to hiss at the full strength of her lungs.

[Illustration: Mr. Crow.]

"If he is so far away your scolding will do no good, because he can't hear it," your Aunt Amy said, finding it difficult to prevent herself from actually laughing in the angry bird's face.

"Some of the other people on this farm can hear me, and thus know that I do not approve of such actions," Mrs. Goose replied sharply. "Since Mr. Crow began to write poetry about Young Teddy, the boy thinks he can chase us around whenever he pleases. He'll kill Mrs. Cow's baby, if he isn't careful."

"Do you know Mr. Crow?" your Aunt Amy asked in surprise, for every bird or animal she had met seemed to be on friendly terms with the old fellow who spent the greater portion of his time in the big oak tree near the pond.

"Of course I know him," Mrs. Goose replied as she ceased scolding and came nearer your Aunt Amy, while Mr. Gander sat down close at hand as if listening to what was said. "Teddy has been trying for nearly a week to use that poor calf as if the baby was a horse that's what he's doing now, and Mr. Crow wrote some poetry about it. Of course old Mamma Speckle must run straight to Teddy Boy with it, and since then he has been carrying on worse than ever."

TEDDY AND THE CALF.

"Oh yes, I'll repeat it if you like; but I'd rather you didn't tell Teddy that you heard it, for he is already much too proud. This is the way it goes:

Young Ted was a rider bold, Who never did things by half, And so he hitched to his cart one day A strong and frolicsome calf.

Away he went, and on behind Came a troop of merry boys, Who tossed their caps, and screamed aloud, Till the woods rang with the noise.

But the steed was like his driver, He wouldn't do things by half, And never had Ted a drive like that He had with his frolicsome calf.

[Illustration: The Bold Bare Back Rider.]