The batter filled Tom's mouth, and prevented him from crying; but he kicked and struggled so much in the pot, that his mother thought that the pudding was bewitched and she hurled it outside the door.

A poor tinker, who was passing by, lifted up the pudding, and put it into his basket, and walked off.

As Tom had now got his mouth cleared of the batter, he then began to cry aloud, which so frightened the tinker that he flung down the pudding and ran away.

Tom crept out of the pudding covered all over with the batter, and walked home.

His mother, who was very sorry to see her darling in such a woeful state, put him into a teacup, and soon washed off the batter; then she kissed him, and put him to bed.

Soon after the adventure of the pudding, Tom's mother went to milk her cow in the meadow.

As the wind was very high she tied him to a thistle with a piece of fine thread to stop him being blown away.

The cow soon saw Tom's oak-leaf hat, and took poor Tom and the thistle at one mouthful.