In the air he was caught by a breeze and taken up higher than the trees.  Round and round he was twirled till he was so dizzy he thought he must perish.  “Don’t blow me so?  Wind,” he cried, “let me down!”

“Little Half-Chick, little Half-Chick,” said the Wind, “when I was in trouble you would not help me!” And the Wind blew him straight up to the top of the church steeple, and stuck him there, fast!

There he stands to this day, with his one eye, his one wing, and his one leg.  He cannot hoppity-kick any more, but he turns slowly round when the wind blows, and keeps his head toward it, to hear what it says.

THE LAMBIKIN[1]

[1] From Indian Fairy Tales.  By Joseph Jacobs (David Nutt).

Once upon a time there was a wee, wee Lambikin, who frolicked about on his little tottery legs, and enjoyed himself amazingly.

Now one day he set off to visit his Granny, and was jumping with joy to think of all the good things he should get from her, when whom should he meet but a Jackal, who looked at the tender young morsel and said, “Lambikin!  Lambikin!  I’ll eat you!”

But Lambikin only gave a little frisk and said,—­

 “To Granny’s house I go,
 Where I shall fatter grow;
 Then you can eat me so.”

The Jackal thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass.

By and by he met a Vulture, and the Vulture, looking hungrily at the tender morsel before him, said, “Lambikin!  Lambikin!  I’ll eat you!”

But Lambikin only gave a little frisk, and said,—­

 “To Granny’s house I go,
 Where I shall fatter grow;
 Then you can eat me so.”

The Vulture thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass.

And by and by he met a Tiger, and then a Wolf and a Dog and an Eagle, and all these, when they saw the tender little morsel, said, “Lambikin!  Lambikin!  I’ll eat you!”

But to all of them Lambikin replied, with a little frisk,—­

 “To Granny’s house I go,
 Where I shall fatter grow;
 Then you can eat me so.”

At last he reached his Granny’s house, and said, all in a great hurry, “Granny, dear, I’ve promised to get very fat; so, as people ought to keep their promises, please put me into the corn-bin at once.”

So his Granny said he was a good boy, and put him into the corn-bin, and there the greedy little Lambikin stayed for seven days, and ate, and ate, and ate, until he could scarcely waddle, and his Granny said he was fat enough for anything, and must go home.  But cunning little Lambikin said that would never do, for some animal would be sure to eat him on the way back, he was so plump and tender.

“I’ll tell you what you must do,” said Master Lambikin; “you must make a little drumikin out of the skin of my little brother who died, and then I can sit inside and trundle along nicely, for I’m as tight as a drum myself.”