"He ran under the crust and began to nibble and, of course, did not see Puss; but when she reached the fish she gave it a pull and the tail hit the pie. "Oh dear! when I think of it I just have to laugh," and Pitcher-man again held his sides while he almost burst with laughing. "Oh, do tell us what happened!" asked the dishes, so interested they could hardly wait to hear the end of the story. The Pitcher-man wiped his eyes and then went on: "As I said, the tail of the fish hit the pie where the mouse was eating. That, of course, scared him and he jumped out. "He landed right on Puss's head and that scared her so she tumbled off the shelf, the fish on top of her. "Puss never knew what happened. She thought the fish was alive and ran for her life, and the mouse hustled about helter-skelter trying to find the hole in the wall, for his wits were just scared out of his head. "Oh dear! it was so funny, and the next day when the cook gave the fish-head to Puss she ran out of doors and cook thought she had a fit because no cat was ever known to refuse fish before. "But I knew what was the matter, and every time I think about it all I just have to laugh. Ha! ha! ha!" And that is the reason little Pitcher-man is always laughing. He cannot stop, for he always is thinking about what he saw many years ago one moonlight night in the pantry. THE WINDFLOWER'S STORY [Illustration: The Windflower's Story] One day a little Windflower growing in a garden heard the Rosebush say to the Pansies, "What a quiet little creature the Windflower is! She seems to be a modest little thing, but she never stays here long enough to get acquainted; so I do not know whether she hides her ignorance by keeping quiet or is a deep thinker." "I think she is deep, Miss Rose," said the Hollyhock, near by. "You know I can see farther than anyone here, and it is my opinion that the Windflower is deep, and I think, too, she has a story." "A story!" cried the Pansies, turning up their pretty faces to the Hollyhock. "Oh, how interesting." "What do you mean by a story?" asked the Rosebush. "Oh, I mean she is deep and knows things of which we little dream. There is something between her and the Wind, but I cannot learn her secret." Rosebush held up her head, the Pansies turned their little faces around and looked at the modest little Windflower to see if they could read her secret. "I have no secret the world cannot know," said the Windflower. "All my family love the Wind; this all the world would know if they knew our history." Rosebush and the Pansies and Hollyhock began to question the little Windflower, and this is what she told them: "Oh, a long, long time ago some beautiful goddess grieved very much over the death of some one she dearly loved, and she created in memory of this friend a beautiful flower which she named Anemone. That is our real name." "Oh, how grand is sounds!" said the Rosebush. "Such a big name, too, for such a little flower."