He used to try to get out of the cage. Sometimes he tumbled over. The fox never bit us. We kept him for some time. Later my father sold him. I do not know how much money father got for this pet fox. I suppose the new owner wanted the fox for his beautiful fur. The Little Foxes Among my tender vines I spy A little fox named “By-and-by.” Then set upon him quick, I say, The swift young hunter “Right-away.” Around each tender vine I plant, I find the little fox “I can’t.” Then, fast as ever hunter ran, Chase him with bold and brave “I can.” Our Monkey Now, instead of a fox, we have a monkey. We have a trapeze for him. He climbs up this trapeze. He swings himself by his tail. We feed the monkey bread. He likes peanuts too. Sometimes he shakes hands with us. We talk to him. He seems to understand what we say to him. He acts just like a little old man. [Illustration: Monkey with hat] The Monkey and the Hand-Organ Man When my mother was a little girl, a hand-organ man sometimes came to our city. His pet monkey would sit on top of the hand-organ. This monkey wore a green cap, a bright red jacket, and little black trousers. Sometimes he lifted his cap, as if he were saying, “How do you do!” After the hand-organ man had played some lively music, the monkey collected pennies from the people who were listening. He always brought the pennies to his master. The monkey did many tricks. My mother and her playmates were always sorry when the hand-organ man went away. I wish I could see a hand-organ man and a monkey sometime soon again. The Monkey Man The sun in winter goes away And makes you light the light, But in the summer time it’s day All day until it’s night. So we just play until at last We don’t know what to do. And then the monkey man comes past And brings the monkey, too. _Edmund Vance Cooke from Cheerful Children_ Our White Mice We had some white mice for pets. We kept them in a wire cage. The white mice ran round and round the cage. They liked to ride on the merry-go-round that was in the cage. They worked the merry-go-round, and made it go round and round. One day we went away. We forgot to fasten the door of the cage. The white mice got out. When we came back, we looked for them. But we never found them again. You may be sure that we were sorry to lose them. Next time I shall be more careful with my pets. A Little Mouse Ding dong! ding dong! I’ll sing you a song. ’Tis about a little mouse. He looked very cunning As I saw him running About my father’s house. _Eliza Lee Follen_ My Uncle’s White Mice My uncle had some white mice. One day he brought them into the room.