In those days, children used to play at rolling cherry stones like marbles.

When Tom was old enough to play with the boys, and had lost all his own cherry-stones, he used to creep into the bags of his playfellows and fill his pockets.

One day, however, as he was coming out of a bag of cherry-stones, where he had been stealing as usual, the owner of the bag spotted him:

" Ah, ah! My little Tommy, " said the boy, " so I have caught you stealing my cherry-stones at last, and you shall be rewarded for your thievish tricks."

On saying this, he gave the bag such a hearty shake, that poor little Tom became so dizzy that he could hardly stand when eventually he was let out again.

A short time afterwards his mother was making a butter-pudding, and Tom, being very anxious to see how it was made, climbed up to the edge of the bowl;

but his foot slipped, and he plumped over head and ears into the butter – plop! And his mother, who did not notice this, stirred him into the pudding-mixture.