Our Little Quebec Cousin

VING ON SNOWSHOES BROU

rived Oisette Mary was allowed to keep very late hours. Her brothers and sisters w

n a table; from this platform he called the dances and played his fiddle and beat time with his f

Habitant serves to his guests at this season. Her pockets were full of nuts and raisins, and she was holding a new doll in her arms. As they arrived, eve

heir guests. He sang with them, feasted with them, and smoked with the men. He was a very lovable character and had a wonderful power for good among his people. He brought Ois

he windowsill a little sparrow hopping about on the snowy ledge, so she t

according to a superstition that the French Canadian holds, no person should be allowed to

the outside door. It was very hard work for her to wait, and the bird seemed very impatient, but the family had sai

th much scraping and pounding the outer door opened and in came h

es, where he had been in retreat. He, too, kissed all his relatives on both cheeks, as he distributed his gifts. When he came to little Ois

box drop with a bang, crumbs and all. "Is it

or it," he said. "If we find some sand, some stones and some water." "

d opened it carefully. "Oh-oo! la-la," she said, as out walked, ve

o, explaining that it was full size and would need a lit

, and sand from a celery box, a nice h

musing, indeed, to watch him study his own image which was reflected in the side of the tin box. This tin, you see, was as clear and bri

e Napoleon told her that the good vicar of St. Remo had named

. "Now, you see," she explained to her uncle, "since you have entered our house and brought in a turtle, I can carry out some crumbs to the poor oiseaux,-and

uld think the milk was brought in the first thing very early this morning, wa

e must thank the Bon Dieu that

, and not kept the birds waiting all this time! She could

tte Mary opened the outer door and threw out plenty of crumbs; so it would see