Funny Little Socks Read online

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  THE CHILDREN GIVING GAWOW A DANCE.]

  THE SOCK STORIES,

  BY "AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER.

  FUNNY LITTLE SOCKS:

  BEING

  THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SERIES.

  BY

  "AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER,

  THE AUTHOR OF "THE LITTLE WHITE ANGEL."

  NEW YORK: LEAVITT & ALLEN, 21 & 23 MERCER ST. 1863.

  ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by S. L. BARROW, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

  JOHN T. TROW, PRINTER, STEREOTYPER AND ELECTROTYPER, 60 Greene Street, New York.

  TO

  DARLING LITTLE

  ALLIE BABY,

  These Funny Little Socks

  ARE AFFECTIONATELY

  DEDICATED.

  CONTENTS OF VOL. IV.

  PAGE LITTLE MOTHER, 7 DOLLS AT HOUSEKEEPING, 40 THE FAIRY WISH, 102

  LITTLE MOTHER.

  ONE day Kitty's mother called her little daughter to her, and takingboth her dimpled dots of hands in her own soft white ones, said, "Kitty,my darling, I am going to New York this morning, to see your deargrandma', and I shall have to leave the house in your charge until Icome back. Do you think you can be my little housekeeper for to-day?"

  "Oh yes, mamma! I should like that so much! I will keep house as well asyou--that is, 'most, not quite!" and Kitty jumped up and down for joyat being trusted with such important affairs.

  "You must take care of dear little Luly and Walter, you know; see thatthey have their dinners fixed right, and go out walking with them andnurse; and if any company comes, you must go down and see them, and saythat mamma has gone to New York, will you?"

  "Yes, mamma; I will be just as good as pie!" said Kitty, earnestly;"Luly and Wawa will like to have me for a mother, I guess."

  "Yes; you are their Little Mother for to-day," said her mamma. "I knowyou love me, Kitty, and want to save me all the trouble you can; itwill be a great comfort to me, while I am away, to feel that I can trustyou perfectly;" and she kissed the little, rosy cheek, I'm sure I can'ttell how many times, and Kitty felt so proud and happy that she onlywished she had been trusted with a much larger family of little brothersand sisters, instead of two; that she might show the more what anexcellent Little Mother she intended to be. You would wish so too,wouldn't you! yes, of course!

  Kitty May lived with her papa and mamma, Luly and Walter, Mary thenurse, and Betty the cook, three brown horses, two red cows, a blackdog, and a white kitten, at a beautiful country seat up the HudsonRiver. She was only eight years old, but her obedience to her parents,and tender, loving care of her little brother and sister, were beautifulto see, and a shining example to some little girls I know. On the daythat I am telling you about, her papa had gone to town, as usual, earlyin the morning, and now here was mamma going too, and Kitty would beleft to play lady of the house as grand as anything.

  Well, the carriage was brought to the door, and mamma got in, afterkissing her little family all round about twenty times. Everybody rushedto the front piazza to bid her good-by in their own fashion. Trip, theblack dog, jumped and barked around the horses, until they nearly kickedhim, when he sprang away, snapping out, "No, you don't! no, you don't!"Dody, the white kitten, so called by Walter for "Daisy," mewed as hardas she could from Luly's arms. Walter crowed and chuckled, and said,"Boo-bi!" meaning good-by; Luly lisped, "Dood-by, dear mamma, _div_ my_yove_ to gan'ma;" and Kitty said, "Good-by, mamma; I'll be a famousLittle Mother--see if I'm not!" And so the carriage drove away.

  When it was quite out of sight, the little girls skipped and climbed,and wee Walter was carried by nurse up stairs into the nursery; andKitty said, "Now, Mary, you can just go on with your sewing; you needn'tmind us a bit. I'm going to take care of _the children_; mamma saidso."

  "Very well, Miss Kitty," said Mary; "I'll sit in the window here, and ifyou want me, you can call."

  So Mary fixed little Walter in his chair, and Luly got hers, and Kittysat down in her mamma's rocking chair, to be grander.

  Walter's chair had a little tray fastened before it, on which his toyswere put. His dearest plaything was a ridiculous old doll, with no eyes,half a wig, such a dilapidated pair of kid arms that the stuffing camebursting through in every direction, making her look as if she had acotton plantation inside her, and the bolls were sprouting out; and suchan extremely short pair of legs in proportion to her body, that itseemed as if they must shut into her like a pair of telescopes. Besidesthis, there was a stale sugar peacock without a tail, a monkey that ranup and down a stick, and a woolly dog that could open his mouth and barkwhen you pressed him underneath; but the doll was the prime favorite,after all. Walter called her Gawow, and as nobody in the house couldimagine what he meant by it, it was supposed to be a pure piece ofinvention, and a very fine sort of thing.

  The children played on peaceably together for some time, when all atonce there came a ring at the bell.

  "Dear me!" cried Kitty, springing up and smoothing down her littleblack silk apron in a great flurry. "There comes company, and I'm to goand see them."

  "Ou!" said Luly; "me want to see tompany too!"

  "And so you shall, you little darling!" said Kitty, kissing her; and,sure enough, up came Ellen, the waiter, to say that the good minister,Mr. Lacy, was down stairs; for Mrs. May had smilingly told her, beforeshe went, that "Miss Kitty would see any one who called."

  In high glee, yet somewhat awed by her grown-up dignity, Kitty let Marybrush her soft brown braided wig and Luly's golden curly one; then sherushed into her mother's room in a hurry, called Luly out into theentry, and the little sisters took hold of hands and went down stairs tosee the company.

  Mr. Lacy was sitting by the window, looking out on the beautiful garden,and did not know the children had entered until he felt a mite of a handput softly on his, and heard two little pipy voices saying, "How do youdo, Mr. Lacy?" The minister turned round and burst right out laughing!for Kitty, when she ran into her mother's room, had put on--what do youthink?--why, one of mamma's caps, which was lying on the dressing table!and the queer little thing looked so funny with the lace cap perched ontop of her head, that Mr. Lacy laughed heartily, and said, "Why, Kitty!are you the old woman that lived in a shoe? or have you got bald all ofa sudden, that you have taken to caps?"

  "Oh, I'm Little Mother!" said Kitty; "mamma has gone to the city, andleft me to take care of _the children_, and the house, and Dody, andTrip, until she comes back; and I'm Little Mother to all of them."

  "Well, Little Mother," said Mr. Lacy, who was none of your cross,crabbed old ministers, with faces as sour as vinegar, and voices assharp as a needle, who frighten children half out of their wits,forgetful that "of such is the kingdom of heaven;" "I hope your childrenwill be well brought up, and learn all they should. What does this oneknow?" lifting Luly to his knee.

  "I know 'ittle hymn," said Luly, smiling up confidently in his face.

  "Can't you say it for me?" asked the minister. "What is it all about?"

  "'Bout 'at a 'ittle child can do," lisped Luly.

  "Say it, Luly," said Kitty.

  Luly folded her cunning fat hands over each other, and crossed her feet.Then she looked up sideways in Mr. Lacy's face, and sucked her tongue alittle bit, and at last, all at once, in a little singing voice, shebegan:


  "I'm a very 'ittle maid; Hardly can I talk, 'tis true; Yet mamma I'd love to aid-- What can 'ittle Luly do?

  "I can go, on busy feet, Errands for her all day through; Work for her, I feel, is sweet-- This can 'ittle Luly do!

  "I can hold the gate long skein When 'tis tangled and askew; Never wanting to _compain_[A]-- This can 'ittle Luly do!

  "I can search, her book to find, And be _glad_ to do it, too! I can always _quickly mind_-- This can 'ittle Luly do!

  "I can