Produced by Heather Clark and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) MINNIE; OR, THE LITTLE WOMAN A Fairy Story. BY THE AUTHOR OF "VIOLET." BOSTON: PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY, 13 WINTER STREET. 1857. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. STEREOTYPED BY HOBART & ROBBINS, New England Type and Stereotype Foundry, BOSTON. [Illustration: MINNIE AND THE SQUIRREL.] HOW THE STORY CAME TO BE WRITTEN. One evening, last summer, a little girl, with laughing eyes that no one could resist, looked up into my face, and said, "'Touldn't you wite me a story?" "Yes. What shall it be about?" was the answer. "O, wite something I could wead myself,--something with pictures,--something like Tom Thumb, you know; and I shouldn't care if it had pink covers, too, and wasn't larger than--this." And she held up the palm of a rosy hand. In a moment more she came bounding back to whisper, "I shouldn't care if you left off the fingers, only make a _cunning_ story, and something I can wead." Instead of leaving off, I should have to add a great many of Minnie's fingers, to cover the book, which would grow so large, and I couldn't help it, any more than you can when a little bud opens out to a great flower. So, I ask her forgiveness; hoping that she will find, inside of the volume, something "cunning" enough to make her forget the covers. And now, dear children, if you like my story, you must all thank Minnie C----, to whom it is dedicated, with the heartiest good wishes of THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I.--RODOCANACHI, 9 " II.--DANDELION, 15 " III.--MINNIE'S HOME, 21 " IV.--MINNIE AND THE SQUIRREL, 26 " V.--A SQUIRREL-BACK RIDE, 31 " VI.--LIVING IN A TREE, 36 " VII.--MASTER SQUIRREL, 40 " VIII.--NIGHT, 45 " IX.--THE NEW HOME, 51 " X.--IN THE WOODS, 56 " XI.--THE SQUIRREL'S PARTY, 60 " XII.--BY THE RIVER, 63 " XIII.--YELLOW-BIRD, 70 " XIV.--IN A BIRD'S NEST, 75 " XV.--MINNIE AND THE BIRDS, 81 " XVI.--THE SQUIRREL'S TEAM, 87 " XVII.--THE MOONLIGHT DANCE, 92 " XVIII.--THE LITTLE NURSES, 96 " XIX.--MOUSE, 100 " XX.--HOUSEKEEPING, 104 " XXI.--TROUBLE FOR MINNIE, 108 " XXII.--TROUBLE STILL, 113 " XXIII.--FREE AT LAST, 118