~PREFACE~


This is a book of short stories for the youngest readers,--stories
about old friends, which they can easily read themselves.

Here they will learn why Mary's Lamb went to school, what the mouse was
looking for when he ran up the clock, why one little pig went to
market, how one little pig got lost, and the answers to a great many
other puzzling questions.

The stories are written around some of the Mother Goose rhymes because
the children love to meet old friends in books just as well as we do.

The vocabulary is limited to words easily recognized by beginners in
reading, and the sentences are made short and direct, so that they will
be understood. The stories progress gradually from very easy to more
difficult matter, keeping pace with the child's increasing knowledge
and ability,--the book being carefully arranged for use as a
supplementary reader, or for home reading for the little ones.




~CONTENTS~

LITTLE BOY BLUE