“Dear friend Nanny,” she said with a sweet smile, “my little ones have gone out and I am very lonely at home. Do please let one of your dear little kids sleep with me.”
“Why, I shall be very glad to have one of them go,” answered the stupid goat, for she felt flattered that one of her children should be invited to visit the great tiger.
So Mother Goat went out to find her children. They were all having a frolic together. Roley and Poley were rolling over and over upon the ground, and Jumpster was jumping over Skipster.
“Come, children! Come, children!” called their mother. “A good, kind friend has invited one of you to come and spend the night in her house.”
“Ma—aa, Ma—aa,” bleated all the kids as they came running up and three of the little kids shouted, “Let me go! Let me! Oh, let me!”
But Roley, who was a wise little kid, said very quietly, “Who is the friend, Mammy?”
“Why, it is your dear Aunt Yellow-Stripe,” answered the Mother Goat.
Then all the little kids looked very sad, for they were afraid of the tiger. Although the Mother Tiger always smiled upon them, they could see her glistening teeth and when she tried to shake paws with them, they were afraid of her cruel claws; sometimes, when she rolled her eyes and looked at them, they felt that there was a gleam in her eyes which was not for their good.
“No-oo, thank you, Mammy! I would rather stay at home with you,” said Skipster.
“No-oo, No-oo, thank you, Mammy!” said Jumpster.
“No-oo, No-oo, thank you, Mammy!” said Poley.
They looked about at Roley to join in their frolic but, to their great surprise, Roley said, “Yes, Mammy, I will go, gladly.”
“Baa-ba-bad. Too bad-baa-baad!” bleated the other three kids. “Oh, don’t go, poor Roley, we do not trust that terrible tiger!”
But Roley would not heed their warning. He knew what he was about and he made up his mind that he would not let that terrible tiger trick him.
So Roley went home with the tiger, and although she purred over him and made a great fuss over him, he watched her very sharply.
When it was time to go to bed, Roley pretended to go to sleep, but he was watching all the time. At last he heard the old tiger snoring. He got up as softly as he could and went to the back of the den and found one of the baby tigers. They had not gone out as their mother had said, but were sleeping in a dark corner.