The success of "The Children's Book of Christmas Stories" has encouraged the Editor to hope that a similar collection of stories about Thanksgiving would prove useful to parents, librarians, and teachers, and enjoyable to children.
Like the former book, this one is exactly what the title would indicate-a select collection of children's stories closely connected with our American festival.
The short descriptive note placed before each story will be of use in choosing a tale suited to one's audience in reading aloud.
May the present volume make as many friends as did its older brother! [A. D. D.]
Older boys and girls who are familiar with "The Courtship of Miles Standish" will enjoy the colonial flavour of this tale of 1705.
"OBED!" called Mistress Achsah Ely from her front porch, "step thee over to Squire Belding's, quick! Here's a teacup! Ask Mistress Belding for the loan of some molasses. Nothing but molasses and hot water helps the baby when he is having such a turn of colic. Beseems me he will have a fit! Make haste, Obed!"
At that very moment Squire Belding's little daughter Hitty was travelling toward Mistress Ely's for the purpose of borrowing molasses wherewith to sweeten a ginger cake. Hitty and Obed, who were of an age, met, compared notes, and then returned to their respective homes. Shortly afterward both of them darted forth again, bound on the same errands as before, only in different directions.
Mr. Chapin, the storekeeper, hadn't "set eyes on any mo-lasses for a week. The river's frozen over so mean and solid," he said, "there's no knowing when there'll be any molasses in town."
