E-text prepared by Melissa Er-Raqabi, Ted Garvin, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 16954-h.htm or 16954-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/6/9/5/16954/16954-h/16954-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/6/9/5/16954/16954-h.zip) "US" An Old Fashioned Story by MRS MOLESWORTH Author of "carrots", "cuckoo Clock", etc. With Illustrations by Walter Crane [Illustration: IN ANOTHER MOMENT TOBY'S NOSE WAS IN THE BOWL TOO, TO TOBY'S SUPREME CONTENT!--p. 26. _Front_] [Illustration] London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd 1899 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE HOW THEY CAME TO BE "US" 1 CHAPTER II. BREAD AND MILK 20 CHAPTER III. QUEER VISITORS 40 CHAPTER IV. BABES IN A WOOD 59 CHAPTER V. TIM 79 CHAPTER VI. TOBY AND BARBARA 100 CHAPTER VII. DIANA'S PROMISE 119 CHAPTER VIII. NEW HOPES 139 CHAPTER IX. CROOKFORD FAIR 156 CHAPTER X. A BOAT AND A BABY 177 CHAPTER XI. A SAD DILEMMA 197 CHAPTER XII. GOOD-BYE TO "US" 218 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. IN ANOTHER MOMENT TOBY'S NOSE WAS IN THE BOWL TOO, TO TOBY'S SUPREME CONTENT Front. FROM BEHIND SOME STUBBLE A FEW YARDS OFF ROSE THE FIGURE OF THE YOUNG BOY WHOM THE CHILDREN HAD SEEN WALKING BEHIND THE GIPSIES--WHISTLING WHILE HE CUT AT A BRANCH HE HELD IN HIS HAND Page 74 "HERE'S SOME SUPPER FOR YOU. WAKE UP, AND TRY AND EAT A BIT. IT'LL DO YOU GOOD" 89 "THEY WANT OUT A BIT," SHE SAID. "THEY'RE TIRED LIKE WITH BEING MEWED UP IN THERE ALL DAY AND NEVER A BREATH OF AIR--NO WONDER" 132 "UPON MY WORD THEY ARE SOMETHING QUITE OUT OF THE COMMON," HE SAID; "I WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED THEM FOR A GOOD DEAL. WHAT A KING AND QUEEN OF THE PIGMIES, OR 'BABES IN THE WOOD,' THEY'D MAKE" 173 "I DO FINK WHEN US IS QUITE BIG AND CAN DO AS US LIKES, US MUST HAVE A BOAT LIKE THIS, AND ALWAYS GO SAILING ALONG" 195