wrong! Pray take warning, and never be obstinate yourselves; and
meantime, let us have a good hearty groan for the LESSON misery."

The little ones obeyed, and breathed out a groan that seemed to come
from the very depths of their hearts; but somehow or other, as the
story proceeded, the faces looked rather less amused, and rather more
anxious, than at first.

What could the little ones be thinking about to make them grave?

It was evidently quite a relief when Aunt Judy went on:-

"You will be very much surprised, I dare say," said she, "to hear of
the next misery I am going to tell you about. It may be called the
DINNER misery, and the little Victims underwent it every day."

"Did they give them nasty things to eat, Aunt Judy?" murmured No. 8,
very anxiously.

"More likely not half enough," suggested No. 5.

"But you promised not to make the story TOO sad, remember!" observed
No. 6.

"I did," replied Aunt Judy, "and the DINNER misery did not consist in
nasty food, or there not being enough. They had plenty to eat, I
assure you, and everything was good. But--"

Aunt Judy stopped short, and glanced at each of the little ones in
succession.