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 '■>':•■ 
 
 THE OLD DAME 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 LEAVITT & ALLEN, 
 
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 THE OLD DAME 
 
 AND 
 
 HER SILYER SIXPENCE, 
 
 Once upon a time an old Dame was sweep- 
 ing out her cottage, when, to her great joy, 
 she found a silver sixpence. The good 
 Dame sat down to think what she should 
 do with such a good piece of luck, for you 
 must know that in days gone by, a silver 
 
 sixpence was worth much more than it is 
 
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 cr 
 
 CO 
 
THE OLD DAM 
 
 now-a-days, and first of all she thought she 
 would buy a fat duck, and then she thought 
 she would buy a hen that laid eggs well, 
 but after thinking and thinking for a long, 
 long time, she thought she would buy a pig ! 
 So the old Dame put up her broom in the 
 closet, and then got out her best high-heeled 
 shoes, and her best cap, and her steeple- 
 crowned hat, and made herself very smart, 
 and then taking her good old stick, the old 
 Dame sat out for the market town close by. 
 
 The way to the town was through green 
 lanes and across large meadows, and as the 
 old Dame clambered over the stile at the 
 end of the meadow, she sat on the top to 
 rest herself, and to think again on her good 
 luck. 
 
 « 
 
THE OLD DAME. 
 
 Then she went on again till she came to 
 the town, and she went straight to the mar- 
 ket-place, and there she found a boy with a 
 nice white pig to sell; so, after a little 
 bargaining, she gave the boy the silver six- 
 pence for the white pig, and then she tied a 
 piece of string to one of the pig's hind legs, 
 and began to drive him home. 
 
 Piggy went through the streets very well, 
 only grunting sometimes and running into 
 the gutter when he saw anything he could 
 eat, until at last they came to the stile into 
 the meadow. The old Dame tried to lift the 
 pig over the lower bar of the stile, but he 
 squeaked, and grunted, and wriggled about 
 till the old Dame was quite tired, and then 
 piggy laid clown and would not stir. 
 
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THE OLD DAME 
 
 Just then a little dog came trotting up, 
 so the old Dame said to him, — 
 
 "Good dog, bite pig, pig will not get over 
 the stile, and I shall not get home to- 
 night." 
 
 But the dog would not. 
 
 So the old Dame held up her stick and 
 said, — 
 
 "Good stick, beat dog; dog will not bite 
 pig, pig will not get over the stile, and I 
 shall not get home to-night. 
 • But the stick would not. 
 
THE OLD DAME, 
 
 So the old Dame gathered some bits of 
 wood together, and set them on fire, and then 
 threw her stick into the fire, and said, — 
 
 "Good fire, burn stick; stick will not beat 
 dog, dog will not bite pig, pig will not get 
 over the stile, and I shall not get home to- 
 night. 77 
 
 But the fire would not. 
 
 So the old Dame fetched a pail of water 
 that was standing near, and said, — 
 
 "Good water, quench fire; fire will not 
 burn stick, stick will not beat dog, dog will 
 not bite pig, pig will not get over the stile, 
 and I shall not get home to-night. 77 
 
 But the water would not. 
 
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 ^J^i Uu 
 
THE OLD DAM 
 
 So the old Dame turned round in a pas- 
 sion, and then she saw an ox coming; so she 
 said, — 
 
 "Good ox, drink water; water will not 
 quench fire, fire will not burn stick, stick 
 will not beat dog, dog will not bite pig, pig 
 will not get over the stile, and I shall not 
 get home to-night." 
 
 But the ox would not. 
 
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THE OLD DAME 
 
 So the old Dame turned round to the stile 
 again, and then she saw a jolly butcher 
 leaning on the stile ; so she said to him, — 
 
 " Good butcher, kill ox ; ox will not drink 
 water, water will not quench fire, fire will 
 not burn stick, stick will not beat dog, dog 
 will not bite pig, pig will not get over the 
 stile/ and I shall not get home to-night." 
 
 But the butcher would not. 
 
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THE OLD DAME, 
 
 So the old Dame took a rope out of her 
 pocket, and said, — 
 
 "Good rope, hang butcher; butcher will 
 not kill ox, ox will not drink water, water 
 will not quench fire, fire will not burn stick, 
 stick will not beat dog, dog will not bite pig, 
 pig will not get over the stile, and I shall 
 not get home to-night.' 7 
 
 But the rope would not. 
 
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THJE OLD DAME 
 
 So the old Dame was in despair; but 
 just then a large brown mouse ran across 
 the meadow, and she said, — 
 
 "Good mouse, gnaw rope; rope will not 
 hang butcher, butcher will not kill ox, ox 
 will not drink water, water will not quench 
 fire, fire will not burn stick, stick will not 
 beat dog, dog will not bite pig, pig will not 
 get over the stile, and I shall not get home 
 to-night." 
 
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13 
 
THE OLD DAME, 
 
 "Yes," said the mouse, "I will, if you 
 will give me some cheese." 
 
 So the old Dame put her hand in her 
 pocket and brought out a nice piece of 
 cheese and when the mouse had eaten it — 
 
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THE OLD DAME, 
 
 The mouse began to gnaw the rope, thp 
 *ope began to hang the butcher, the butcher 
 oegan to kill the ox, the ox began to drink 
 the water, the water began to quench the 
 fire, the fire began to burn the stick, the 
 stick began to beat the dog, the dog begaa 
 to bite the pig, — the pig he rushed rig>t 
 through the stile, 
 
 And so the old Dame got home in time V> 
 boil her apple-dumplings. 
 
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