So the next day Tommy tried to catch a gosling. Nurse had gone down cellar and the gander was in the goose-house. But the mother-goose hissed and the gander heard her and flew out of the goose-house after Tommy. Tommy ran, but the gander caught hold of his clothes and began to beat Tommy's legs with his wings. The old goose screamed, and Tommy ran and screamed, and the gander ran and screamed and whipped. What a noise they made! and Nurse ran up from the cellar to see what the matter was. Just as Tommy went up the steps the gander bit both his red stockings. Nurse picked Tommy up and shut the door so the gander could not get in. Then she kissed Tommy, and cuddled him, and laughed, and said, "Who's afraid?" "I am," sobbed Tommy. "And I want that old gander shut up in the barn. He isn't good for anything." "Oh, yes, he is," said Nurse, "he takes care of the goslings." The next day Tommy saw something very pretty. He was looking over the gate. He did not dare to go out for fear the gander would bite him again. He heard a gosling cry "peep, peep." The goose and gander heard it too, and ran and looked down into a deep hole. Tommy used to play this hole was his "well." Tommy saw the gander stretch his long neck down into the hole and lift out a little gosling, and put it carefully on the grass. Then the mother goose was so pleased that she screamed outright. [Illustration: TOMMY'S NURSE.] And Tommy screamed too. "O Nurse, Nurse, that gander is good for something. He lifted a gosling right out of my well. I saw him!" [Illustration: TOMMY DOES NOT DARE TO GO OUT.] [Illustration: A VAMPIRE BAT.] A NIGHT VISITOR. We were all sitting in the parlor one evening last summer when in flew a creature through the open window. Bump--bump, he went against the wall and ceiling. "A bat! a bat!" shrieked aunt Mary, and ran behind the door. Mamma jumped up into a chair and gathered her skirts about her, just as though it were a mouse. Grace and Mabel ran out of the Room, while papa and Frank and Kate chased the bat. The poor little bat fluttered about, and almost fell into the kerosene lamp chimney. Then he got entangled in the window draperies. You know a bat cannot see by a light any more than an owl can. He finally tumbled behind the sofa where papa caught him. Mamma then got down from the chair, aunt Mary came out from behind the door, Grace and Mabel ventured in, and we all gathered about and looked at the bat. How he panted! "Think of being afraid of such a little creature as that," said Kate scornfully. "But he bites," said Grace. "Doesn't he, papa?" "I don't think he would bite," said papa. "He's a good deal more frightened than you were." "What made him fly into the window then?" asked Grace. "He is out after insects," replied papa. "He was dazzled by the light from the window, and flew towards it, as all half-blind creatures will."