Produced by Emmy, Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. Music by Linda Cantoni. THE NURSERY _A Monthly Magazine_ FOR YOUNGEST READERS. VOLUME XXI.--No. 4. BOSTON: JOHN L. SHOREY, No. 36 BROMFIELD STREET, 1877. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by JOHN L. SHOREY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. FRANKLIN PRESS: RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 117 FRANKLIN STREET, BOSTON. [Illustration: Contents] IN PROSE. "Why did Elfrida go to Sleep?" 97 The Prairie-Dog 100 Strut 101 Third Lesson in Astronomy 103 The Robbery 104 The Little Recruit 107 One good turn deserves another 109 A Letter from Texas 110 Drawing-Lesson 113 A Story of a Seal 114 Fun in Winter 117 Old Whitey 118 Why do they all Love Freddy? 122 My Rabbits 125 The Council of Buzzards 127 IN VERSE. The Caterpillars 102 Puss and her Three Kittens 106 Fred and Ned 120 How the Morning comes 124 A Mother Goose Melody (_with music_) 128 [Illustration] [Illustration: "WHY DID ELFRIDA GO TO SLEEP?" VOL. XXI.--NO. 4.] "WHY DID ELFRIDA GO TO SLEEP?" [Illustration: T]HAT was the question, "Why did Elfrida go to sleep?" She had been sent to the grocer's in the village; and the grocer's was only half a mile off from Brook Cottage, where she lived with her aunt and five cousins. She had been sent to buy a pound of sugar, half a pound of coffee, and five small rolls of bread. Usually she would go to the shop and return in less than half an hour. Now a whole hour went by, and no Elfrida was to be seen. What could be the matter? Had she run a thorn into her foot, and been lamed? Had she stopped to talk with the children on their way home from school? Had she been run over by a fast horse? "Let us go and find her," cried James, the eldest of the three boys. "Let us all go!" echoed Susan, his youngest sister. "Shall Sport go with us?" asked Emma. "By all means!" said James. "Here, Sport, Sport! Where are you, old fellow?" A big black-and-white Newfoundlander soon rushed frisking in, wagging his tail, and seeming ready to eat up every one of the children, just to show them how fond he was of them all. Then the children all set out for Mr. Spicer's shop. There they learned that no Elfrida had been seen in the shop that afternoon. "Where can she be?" cried James, a little anxious. "Sport, where is Elfrida?"