There was one little song he always loved to hear; and once, when papa and mamma were singing at prayers, he made them laugh by saying, "Mamma, sing Patty tune, pitty tee." He could not talk plain; but he meant "pretty tree."
Perhaps you have never heard this song; and I will repeat it for you: —
"Out in a beautiful field
There stands a pretty pear tree,
Pretty pear tree with leaves.
What is there on the tree?
A very pretty branch.
Branch on the tree,
Tree in the ground.
"Out in the beautiful field
There stands a pretty pear tree,
Pretty pear tree with leaves.
What is there on the branch?
A very pretty bough.
Bough on the branch,
Branch on the tree,
Tree in the ground.
"Out in the beautiful field
There stands a pretty pear tree,
Pretty pear tree with leaves.
What is there on the bough?
A very pretty nest.
Nest on the bough,
Bough on the branch,
Branch on the tree,
Tree in the ground.
"Out in a beautiful field
There stands a pretty pear tree,
Pretty pear tree with leaves.
What is there in the nest?
A very pretty egg.
Egg in the nest,
Nest on the bough,
Bough on the branch,
Branch on the tree,
Tree in the ground.
"Out in a beautiful field
There stands a pretty pear tree,
Pretty pear tree with leaves.
What is there in the egg?
A very pretty bird.
Bird in the egg,
Egg in the nest,
Nest on the bough,
Bough on the branch,
Branch on the tree,
Tree in the ground."
CHAPTER VII
FRANKIE'S BREAKFAST
Frankie was now old enough to like to hear stories, and almost every day he asked, "Pease tell me tory, mamma." Sometimes, when he did not feel like playing, he would ask her a great many times in a day.
One morning she went into the nursery, after she had eaten her own breakfast, and found Sally feeding him with his bread and milk.
"He spits it out, ma'am," she said, "and won't let it down his throat."
"Patty want pig, mamma," said the little boy. He meant that he wanted a fig.
"Has he had a fig this morning?" asked mamma.
"Yes, ma'am," said nurse. "Willie came in eating one, and Frankie cried for it. So Willie gave it right up to him, though he had only taken one mouthful. I think he is the generousest boy, ma'am, that I ever see."
Mamma smiled, and seemed very happy when she heard this. You know nothing makes mammas so happy as to know that their little boys and girls are good. She said to herself, "Dear child, I will give him another when he comes in." Then she took Frankie in her arms, and told nurse to go and eat her own breakfast. She tucked the bib nicely around his neck, and then she began to feed him. But, as Sally said, he would not let it down, but spit it all over his clothes and mamma's hand. "Patty want pig," he said again.
"No, darling, you must eat your breakfast now," said mamma. "Though it is not so sweet as a fig, it is very good, and will make my little boy grow and be strong, so that he can run out to play like Willie."
"Patty want pig, mamma," said the baby, putting up his hand to pat mamma's face. "Patty want pig vely much."
"Frankie shall have a fig by and by," said mamma; "now I will tell him a little story.
"Once there was a little boy; his name was Harry. He had no kind mamma to give him good breakfasts. His mamma had gone to heaven to live with God.
"Little Harry was poor, and often when he woke up he was very hungry. But he could not lay his head on his mamma's breast, because she was dead, you know. Poor little Harry used to cry for somebody to come and take care of him. All babies need some person to hold them and rock them."
"Patty got mamma," cried the little boy.
"Yes, darling, Frankie has a mamma who loves him dearly, and tries to take good care of him, and makes him nice warm clothes. But Harry had none. The woman who let him live in her house was too busy to attend to him; so, when he was cold, or hungry, or tired, and wanted to lay his poor, weary head in her lap, she had no time to let him do so. Dear little fellow, it would have done him so much good to have some kind mamma take him in her lap and squeeze him close to her breast, as mamma does Frankie, and call him her darling, dear little Harry. I think he would have stopped crying at once, and he would have looked up in her face and smiled his thanks."
Frankie was so much pleased with the story, that he put up his little mouth to kiss mamma; and when he had done so, he patted her face softly, and said, "Patty love oo." He could not say "you."
"One day," said mamma, "a kind lady called at the poorhouse where Harry lived. He was sitting on a little bed in the corner, crying; but he stopped when the lady went in. His hair had not been combed for many days; his face was very dirty where the tears had run down over his thin, pale cheeks; his clothes were soiled and torn; but the lady pitied him very much. When she found he had no mamma, and that his papa was at work a great way off, she wrapped her shawl about the poor baby, and took him home in her carriage.
"First of all she gave him a cup of milk to drink, and then she told nurse to bring some warm water in a tub, and some soap and towels, for she was going to wash the poor baby. She did not wonder then that the poor little fellow cried, for he was all sore, because he had had no kind mamma to wash him and put on nice powder. She kept him in the water a long time, and washed him very clean; and then she told the nurse to go up garret and bring a small trunk with some baby clothes in it. She had a little baby once, and these were his clothes. Then she tried to get the snarls out of his hair, and by this time Harry was so tired, he was glad to go to sleep.
"When he woke up he began to cry again, for he thought he was back in his old home; but as soon as he saw the kind lady, he smiled very sweetly. He held out his arms for her to take him. She had some warm bread and milk all ready, and she took him in her lap and put a towel round his neck and fed him.
"He did not spit it out on his clean clothes, but he ate it all, and liked it very much; and then he looked up in the kind face that was bending over him so fondly, and smiled, and tried to stroke her cheek. This was all the way he knew how to thank her for his good breakfast."