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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11162 ***
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE STORY OF LITTLE BLACK MINGO
+
+
+By The Author Of
+'The Story Of Little Black Sambo'
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Little Black Mingo.
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a little black girl, and her name was Little
+Black Mingo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+She had no father and mother, so she had to live with a horrid cross old
+woman called Black Noggy, who used to scold her every day, and
+sometimes beat her with a stick, even though she had done nothing
+naughty.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One day Black Noggy called her, and said, "Take this chatty down to the
+river and fill it with water, and come back as fast as you can, _quick
+now_!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So Little Black Mingo took the chatty and ran down to the river as fast
+as she could, and began to fill it with water, when Cr-r-rrrack!!!
+Bang!!! a horrible big Mugger poked its nose up through the bottom of
+the chatty and said "Ha ha! Little Mingo, I'm going to eat you up!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Little Black Mingo did not say anything. She turned and ran away as fast
+as ever she could, and the Mugger ran after her. But the broken chatty
+round his neck caught his paws, so he could not overtake her.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But when she got back to Black Noggy, and told her how the Mugger had
+broken the chatty, Black Noggy was fearfully angry. "You naughty girl,"
+she said, "you have broken the chatty yourself, I have a good mind to
+beat you." And if she had not been in such a hurry for the water she
+_would_ have beaten her.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then she went and fetched the great big chatty that the dhobi used to
+boil the clothes in. "Take this," said she, "and mind you don't break
+it, or I _will_ beat you."  "But I can't carry that when it is full
+of water," said Little Black Mingo.
+
+"You must go twice, and bring it half full each time," said Black Noggy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So Little Black Mingo took the dhobi's great big chatty, and started
+again to go to the river. But first she went to a little bank above the
+river, and peeped up and down, to see if she could see the old Mugger
+anywhere. But she could not see him, for he was hiding under the very
+bank she was standing on, and though his tail stuck out a little she
+never saw him at all.
+
+She would have liked to run home, but she was too much afraid that
+Black Noggy would beat her.
+
+So Little Black Mingo crept down to the river, and began to fill the big
+chatty with water. And while she was filling it the Mugger came creeping
+softly down behind her and caught her by the tail, saying, "Aha, Little
+Black Mingo, now I've got you."
+
+And Little Black Mingo said, "Oh! please don't eat me up, great big
+Mugger."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"What will you give me, if I don't eat you up?" said the Mugger. But
+Little Black Mingo was so poor she had nothing to give. So the Mugger
+caught her in his great cruel mouth and swam away with her to an island
+in the middle of the river and set her down beside a huge pile of eggs.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Those are my eggs," said he; "to-morrow a little mugger will come out
+of each, and then we will have a great feast, and we will eat you up."
+
+Then he waddled off to catch fish for himself, and left Little Black
+Mingo alone beside the big pile of eggs.
+
+And Little Black Mingo sat down on a big stone and hid her face in her
+hands, and cried bitterly, because she couldn't swim, and she didn't
+know how to get away.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Presently she heard a queer little squeaky noise that sounded like
+"Squeak, Squeak, Squeak!!! Oh Little Black Mingo, help me or I shall be
+drowned." She got up and looked to see what was calling, and she saw a
+bush coming floating down the river with something wriggling and
+scrambling about in it, and as it came near she saw that it was a
+Mongoose that was in the bush. So she waded out as far as she could, and
+caught hold of the bush and pulled it in, and the poor Mongoose crawled
+up her arm on to her shoulder, and she carried him to shore.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When they got to shore the Mongoose shook himself, and Little Black
+Mingo wrung out her petticoat, and so they both very soon got dry.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Mongoose then began to poke about for something to eat, and very
+soon he found the great big pile of Mugger's eggs. "Oh, joy!" said
+he, "what's this?"
+
+"Those are Mugger's eggs," said Little Black Mingo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"I'm not afraid of Muggers!" said the Mongoose; and he sat down and
+began to crack the eggs, and eat the little muggers as they came out.
+And he threw the shells into the water, so that the old Mugger should
+not see that any one had been eating them. But he was careless, and he
+left one eggshell on the edge, and he was hungry and he ate so many that
+the pile got much smaller, and when the old Mugger came back he saw at
+once that some one had been meddling with them.
+
+So he ran to Little Black Mingo, and said, "How dare you eat my eggs?"
+
+"Indeed, indeed I didn't," said Little Black Mingo.
+
+"Then who could it have been?" said the Mugger, and he ran back to
+the eggs as fast as he could, and sure enough when he got back he found
+the Mongoose had eaten a whole lot more!!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then he said to himself, "I must stay beside my eggs till they are
+hatched into little muggers, or the Mongoose will eat them all." So he
+curled himself into a ring round the eggs and went to sleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But while he was asleep the Mongoose came to eat some more of the eggs,
+and ate as many as he wanted, and when the Mugger woke this time, oh!
+_what_ a rage he was in, for there were only six eggs left! He roared
+so loud that all the little muggers inside the shells gnashed their
+teeth, and tried to roar too.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then he said, "I know what I'll do, I'll fetch Little Black Mingo's big
+chatty and cover my eggs with that, then the Mongoose won't be able to
+get at them." So he swam across to the shore, and fetched the dhobi's
+big chatty, and covered the eggs with it. "Now, you wicked little
+Mongoose, come and eat my eggs if you can," said he, and he went off
+quite proud and happy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+By and by the Mongoose came back, and he was terribly disappointed
+when he found the eggs all covered with the big chatty.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So he ran off to Little Black Mingo, and asked her to help him, and
+Little Black Mingo came and took the big chatty off the eggs, and the
+Mongoose ate them every one.
+
+"Now," said he, "there will be no little muggers to make a feast for
+to-morrow."
+
+"No," said Little Black Mingo, "but the Mugger will eat me all by
+himself I am afraid."
+
+"No he won't," said the Mongoose, "for we will sail away together in the
+big chatty before he comes back."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So he climbed on to the edge of the chatty, and Little
+Black Mingo pushed the chatty out into the water, and then she clambered
+into it and paddled with her two hands as hard as she could, and the big
+chatty just sailed beautifully.
+
+So they got across safely, and Little Black Mingo filled the chatty
+half full of water and took it on her head, and they went up the bank
+together.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But when the Mugger came back, and found only empty egg-shells he was
+fearfully angry. He roared and he raged, and he howled and he yelled,
+till the whole island shook, and his tears ran down his cheeks and
+pattered on the sand like rain.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So he started to chase Little Black Mingo and the Mongoose, and he swam
+across the river as fast as ever he could, and when he was half way
+across he saw them landing, and as he landed they hurried over the
+first ridge.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So he raced after them, but they ran, and just before he caught them
+they got into the house, and banged the door in his face. Then they shut
+all the windows, so he could not get in anywhere.
+
+"All right," said he, "you will have to come out some time, and then I
+will catch you both, and eat you up."
+
+So he hid behind the back of the house and waited.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now Black Noggy was just coming home from the bazaar with a tin of
+kerosene on her head, and a box of matches in her hand.  And when he
+saw her the Mugger rushed out and gobbled her up, kerosene tin, matches
+and all!!!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When Black Noggy found herself in the Mugger's dark inside, she wanted
+to see where she was, so she felt for the match-box and took out a match
+and lit it. But the Mugger's teeth had made holes in the kerosene tin,
+so that the flame of the match caught the kerosene, and
+
+BANG!!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+the kerosene exploded, and blew the old Mugger and Black Noggy into
+little bits.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+At the fearful noise Little Black Mingo and the Mongoose came running
+out, and there they found Black Noggy and the old Mugger all blown to
+bits.
+
+So Little Black Mingo and the Mongoose got the nice little house for
+their very own, and there they lived happy ever after. And Little Black
+Mingo got the Mugger's head for her seat, and the Mongoose got Black
+Noggy's handkerchief for his. But he was so wee he used to put it on
+the Mugger's nose, and there they sat, and had their tea every evening.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Little Black Mingo, by Helen Bannerman
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11162 ***