to leave the carriage standing there, and continue his

journey on foot.

Here was one of his wishes fulfilled.

But he did not trouble himself much about that when he remembered that he and his wife still had

three more. He could easily get as many horses as he wanted, together with many other good things. So he trudged quite contentedly along the high road.

Meantime his wife was at home, waiting and waiting and longing for her husband to come that they might begin to wish. She went outside and looked up the road, but he was not in sight.

"If he were only here, the lazy bones!" she exclaimed, and as she spoke there he stood.

"Ah!" she cried, "now I have wasted one of my wishes! But how is it you come trudging along like

any vagabond? What have you done with the carriage and horses?"

"I wished the wicked elves might take my best horses, and they have taken them. You have only yourself to thank. There is no luck in such cheating. It was you who said the ox had four horns. I only wish two of them were sticking out of your own head."

And as soon as he had spoken, there they were.

Three out of their four wishes had now been fulfilled, and the only one left belonged to the woman.

"Dear little wife," said her husband coaxingly, "now make a good use of your wish and ask for a heap of money, that all may be well."

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No, thank you," answered the woman, "and I going about with a pair of horns until the day of my death!"

Determined not to do that at any cost, she straightway wished the wicked elves might take the horns, and in an instant they vanished.

Thus the farmer and his wife were no richer for all their wishes, but rather the poorer by a pair of horses and an ox.

-KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN AND NORA A. SMITH.

mead: a kind of sweet drink.-host: a man who entertains others at his house.-host'ess: a woman who entertains others at her house.trace: a strap, rope, or chain that stretches from the horse's collar to the wagon.-trudged: walked along.-vag'abond: one who wanders from place to place

AN ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND STORY

If you had only been in the right place at the right time and had looked in the right direction, you might have seen all this yourself; but since not one of you was anywhere near the Palace of the Future when its great doors swung slowly open, you did not see the people-one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve of them-as they came out. But they did come, nevertheless, and looked about them in a puzzled way as if they did not know what to do or where to go.

Before they had much time to wonder, however, an old man stepped forward and greeted them heartily.

"Glad to see you, friends! Glad to see you. I knew you would come if I sent for you. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. That's right, you are all here. And now I suppose you would like to know why I sent for you."

The twelve friends said they would indeed.

"Look, then," said Father Time, for that was the old man's name; and he opened his big cloak, which he had been holding close about him.

The twelve crowded near to see, and what they saw was well worth looking at, for it was a dear, sweet, tiny baby, laughing and cooing and stretching up its pretty hands to be taken.

"There!" said Father Time, "that's my youngest child and his name is New Year. I do not want him to be all alone during his visit up on the earth, and besides, there are so many things to be sent with him that he could not possibly carry them all."

"Oh! I'll go with him!" "And I!" "And I!" shouted the twelve in chorus.

"Softly, softly," said Father Time. "You cannot all go at once, but you shall each have your turn. You shall each carry something for little New Year. My storehouse is right here and we can plan now what you shall each take, so as to have no confusion later. Come, January, you must be the first."

"I will carry this banner," said January; and he brought a beautiful silken flag from the storehouse. On it was "Happy New Year" in flashing golden letters. January had a large pack upon his back. This was full of snow, with which he intended to make snowy hillsides where the children might coast.

"February," called Father Time; and a little fellow

stepped forward and ran into the storehouse. Presently he came out with a package of valentines in one hand and George Washington's picture in the other.

"You have chosen well," said Father Time, “valentines for fun, and George Washington's picture to remind people of that good man.”

"March!" "March where?"
where?"

said February.

"March!" said Father Time, a trifle sternly.

"Oh, excuse me," said February, skipping off to talk with January.

March was rather a wild looking fellow, and very noisy and excited; but he showed that he had a good heart and liked to make people happy. When he came out of the storehouse, behold! he had chosen kites for the children to fly, a big bunch of silvery pussy willows, and a few, a very few, flowers, just one or two daffodils and crocuses and some spears of green grass.

"But see," said he, " and listen! This is my greatest treasure and the one that will be best loved." And there was a warbling bluebird perched upon his hand. April!" called Father Time.

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April danced forth from the waiting group, curtsied to Father Time, and ran to the storehouse. She brought out a lapful of violets and a flock of robins.

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Right, right!" said Father Time.

"And now, May, run in and choose your burden." Another pretty maiden answered this call; and a beautiful sight she was, especially after she had