They made up their minds at last that it must have been
the creaking of the fire logs that they had heard. The housewife
washed, and scrubbed, and scoured the saucepan, and then she filled it
for a third time with all the milk that she had left. She set it for
the third time over the fire, and both she and the maid-servant
watched it to see that nothing happened to it.
Then, before their very eyes, the milk burned and boiled over for a
third time. It was hopelessly spoiled. The housewife began to cry at
the waste. "I never had anything like this befall me in my life!" she
bemoaned. "I have wasted three quarts of milk for one meal!"
"And that's sixpence," said the voice that seemed now to be right at
her elbow. "You didn't save the price of the tinkering after all."
She turned and there was the Hillman, standing right beside her, his
little green cap in his hand, and laughing with all his might. Before
she could catch him, he was off and out through the kitchen door.
But after that the saucepan was just as good as any other one.
TOYS
THE TOP THAT COULD SING
Once upon a time there was a little painted tin top that lay in a toy
shop window. It was a most beautiful tin top with a painted stripe of
red, and a painted stripe of yellow, and a painted stripe of green.
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