[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.] Our Little Japanese Cousin The Little Cousin Series [Illustration] Our Little Japanese Cousin BY MARY HAZELTON WADE Our Little Indian Cousin BY MARY HAZELTON WADE Our Little Brown Cousin BY MARY HAZELTON WADE Our Little Russian Cousin BY MARY HAZELTON WADE [Illustration] L. C. PAGE & COMPANY, Publishers 200 Summer Street, Boston, Mass. [Illustration: LOTUS BLOSSOM.] Our Little Japanese Cousin By Mary Hazelton Wade _Illustrated by_ L. J. Bridgman [Illustration] Boston L. C. Page & Company _MDCCCCI_ _Copyright 1901_ BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY (INCORPORATED) _All rights reserved_ Colonial Press: Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. List of Illustrations PAGE LOTUS BLOSSOM _Frontispiece_ "SHE IS SOON SOUND ASLEEP" 18 TOYO FEEDING THE PIGEONS 26 THE CANDY MAN 33 AUNT OCHO'S GARDEN 37 A LESSON IN ARRANGING FLOWERS 50 Our Little Japanese Cousin LOTUS BLOSSOM is the dearest little girl in the world. I beg your pardon--I mean in the Eastern world, for she lives far away across the Pacific, on one of the beautiful islands of Japan. Lotus Blossom is very pretty. She has a round face, with a clear, yellow skin, and her teeth are like little pearls. Her black hair is cut square across the forehead and braided behind. It is never done up in curl-papers or twisted over a hot iron; the little girl's mamma would think that very untidy. Lotus Blossom does not smile very often, yet she is always happy. She does not remember crying once in her life. Why should she cry? Papa and mamma are always kind and ready to play with her. She is never sent to bed alone in the dark, for she goes to sleep, and gets up in the morning when her parents do. She does not play so hard as to get tired out and cross with everybody. She takes everything quietly, just as the big folks do, and is never in a hurry. Her playmates do not say unkind words to make her sad, for the children of Japan are taught to be polite above everything else. Why, I have heard that once upon a time one little yellow boy so far forgot himself as to call a lady bad names. His parents were terribly shocked. They felt that they had been disgraced, and at once sent for a policeman to go to the lady's house and ask for their child's pardon. As for him! well, he was severely punished in a way you will hear about later on in my story. [Illustration: TOYO FEEDING THE PIGEONS.]