"
So she came to the cart and looked within, and saw Miss Muffet, who
was still asleep.
"Where did you get the little girl?" asked the farmer's wife, in
surprise.
"What little girl?" asked he.
"The one in the cart."
He came to the cart and looked in, and was as surprised as his wife.
"She must have climbed into the cart when I left the town," he said;
"but waken her, wife, and we will hear what she has to say."
So the farmer's wife shook the girl by the arm, and Miss Muffet sat up
in the cart and rubbed her eyes and wondered where she was.
"How came you in my cart?" asked the farmer.
"I caught on behind, and climbed in," answered the girl.
"What is your name, and where do you live?" enquired the farmer's
wife.
"My name is Miss Muffet, and I live in a big city,--but where, I do
not know."
And that was all she could tell them, so the woman said at last,
"We must keep her till some one comes to claim her, and she can earn
her living by helping me make the cheeses."
"That will be nice," said Miss Muffet, with a laugh, "for Nurse
Holloweg never lets me do anything, and I should like to help somebody
do something."
So they led her into the house, where the farmer's wife wondered at
the fine texture of her dress and admired the golden chain that hung
around her neck.
"Some one will surely come for her," the woman said to her husband,
"for she is richly dressed and must belong to a family of some
importance.
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