"If you please, missus," she said, "there is a queerest little baby on the front porch in the big clothes-basket." "A baby!" cried the astonished Mrs. Tompkins. "Yes'm, a white baby." "Where is its mother?" "I don't know, missus. It must a been there nearly all night, an' I suppose they who ever left it there wants you to keep it fur good." "Bring the poor little thing here," said Mrs. Tompkins, rising to a sitting position in the bed. In a few minutes Dinah returned with a baby about six months old, dressed in a faded calico gown, and hungrily sucking its tiny fist, while its dark brown eyes were filled with tears. "It was in de big basket among some ole clothes," said Dinah. "Poor, dear little thing! it is nearly starved and almost frozen. Prepare it some warm milk at once, Dinah," said the kind-hearted mistress. The girl hurried away to do her bidding, leaving the baby with Mrs. Tompkins, who held the benumbed child in her arms and tried to still its cries. Mr. Tompkins was wide awake now, and his mind busy with conjecture how the child came to be left on their piazza. "What is that?" called Oleah, from the next room. "Why, it's a baby," answered Abner, and a moment later two pairs of little bare feet came pattering into their mother's room. "Oh, the sweet little thing!" cried Oleah; "I want to kiss it." His mother held it down for him to kiss. "Isn't it pretty!" said Abner. "Its eyes are black, just like Oleah's. Let me kiss it, too." The little stranger looked in wonder at the two children, who, in their joy over this treasure-trove, were dancing frantically about the room. "Oh, mamma, where did you get it?" asked Oleah. "Dinah found it on the porch," the mother answered. "Who put it there?" "I don't know, dear." "Why, Oleah," said Abner, "it's just like old Mr. Post. Don't you know he found a baby at his door? for we read about it in our First reader." "Oh, yes; is this the same baby old Mr. Post found?" asked Oleah. "No," answered the mother; "this is another." "Oh, isn't it sweet?" said Oleah, as the child cried and stretched out its tiny hands. "It's just as pretty as it can be," said Abner. "Mamma, oh, mamma!" said Oleah, shaking his mother's arm, as she did not pay immediate attention to his call. "What, dear?" she asked. "Are we goin' to keep it?" "Yes, dear; if some one who has a better right to it does not come to claim it." "They shan't have it," cried Oleah, stamping his little, bare foot on the carpet. "No," added Abner; "it's ours now. They left it there to starve and freeze, and now we will keep it." "You think, then, that the real owner has lost his title by his neglect?" said the father, with a smile. "Yes, that's it," the boy answered. "It's a very good common law idea, my son." Dinah now came in with warm milk for the baby, and Mrs. Tompkins told her to take the two boys to their room and dress them; but they wanted to wait first and see the baby eat.