THE WISHING EGG

"Good morning," said Little Jack Rabbit as the little Yellow Hen opened the door of her tiny green house. "Uncle John and I would like to see your Wishing Egg."

"Who told you I had a Wishing Egg?" she asked, looking sharply at Prof. Jim Crow.

"I did," answered that old black bird, with a twist of his tail.

"You're a meddlesome old person," cackled the little Yellow Hen, "but as long as you're all here, come in," and she led the way to the sitting room. Over in the corner was a nest of nice clean straw, in which lay a big china egg.

"Now you all come here and make a wish," she said, spreading her wings over the egg while she sang very low:

But, oh dear me. For almost a minute and a half neither Little Jack Rabbit nor Uncle John Hare could decide what they wanted. But Prof. Jim Crow could. Oh, my, yes! For all of a sudden in through the window came a silk hat and a swallow tail coat and a big diamond pin.

The Wishing Egg Brings New Clothes to Professor Crow.

"Ha, ha!" he laughed, "here are my wishes—one, two, three. Well, now I'm as happy as happy can be," and in less than five hundred short seconds he had them on, silk hat, swallow tail coat and big diamond pin.

"Hurry up and make your wishes," said the little Yellow Hen to the two little bunnies. So Little Jack Rabbit wrinkled his little pink nose and Uncle John Hare shut his eyes, and pretty soon they must have made their wishes for in through the window came a lot of things—a pianograph, a box of lollypops, a gold watch, a Liberty Bond and a fountain pen.

"Now, that's a pretty good day's work," said the old gentleman rabbit with a smile, stroking his whiskers. "But what did you wish for?"

"Nothing at all," answered the little hen. "When you know you can get whatever you want by just wishing you don't want anything. But maybe some day I will, and then I'll wish, never fear." And after that she combed her yellow curls, beg pardon, I mean her feathers—with her red coral comb till she looked prettier than her picture, which hung over the mantelpiece in a red plush frame.

"Some day I hope we'll be able to do you a good turn," said kind Uncle John Hare as he and his little rabbit nephew hopped out to the Bunnymobile. "Any time you are in need call up 'Harebell, one, two, three, Hurray! Turnip City.'"

"Good-by," said the little Yellow Hen, and off they went, but Prof. Jim Crow flew away by himself because he wanted to show his new clothes to Mrs. Crow before supper. And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.