one summer ray went to the country to visit uncle josiah. at first he was so much interested in everything around the farm that he did not find time to take any walks in the pleasant fields and woods.

he liked to watch the busy hens and the downy little chicks. every day he talked to a dear little bossy calf that had great soft velvety eyes. but after a while, when he had become well acquainted with the plump little rabbits and bonnie bess, a good old horse, he started in to see some of the pretty places around him. not far from the house was a long shady lane path called “lovers’ lane,” and one summer afternoon ray found himself sitting on the grass in lovers’ lane with his back against a large rock. it was a very warm day and ray felt so116 sleepy that his eyes began to close in spite of himself.

suddenly something tickled his nose and he brushed it away. he closed his eyes again to have a little nap when something tickled his ear and he quickly brushed that off. once more he settled for a sleep when a very pronounced tickling at his neck made him jump to his feet.

“i wonder what is tickling me so?” exclaimed ray, looking around.

all at once he caught sight of a little man so tiny that you could have taken him up and put him in your pocket. he stood right on the top of the rock and as his clothes were just the color of it, you could not see him unless you looked sharp. but there stood the tiny little fellow with his hands in his pockets, his legs far apart and a broad smile on his face as he winked at ray.

“did you tickle me when i was trying to go to sleep?” asked ray.

the grin on the face of the little man broadened and he began to shake all over, he laughed so heartily.

“excuse me,” he said; “i was only putting in my winter coal.”

ray was greatly surprised, he didn’t know just what to think of the little fellow. he thought he had better introduce himself, so he said,

“my name is ray, and i live in that white house with uncle josiah and aunt prudence.”

“my name is pebble and i live in this brown rock with mrs. pebble and all the little pebbles,” said the tiny man, laughing harder than ever.

in fact he laughed so heartily that he began to slap his knee with his little fat hands. ray laughed too and slapped his knee and shook all over like the little man. every now and then in the midst of the laughter mr. pebble would catch something that flashed like sunbeams in his hand, but he did it so quickly that ray could not make out just what he was doing.

“it’s really very funny,” said ray; “but i’m not laughing at you, mr. pebble.”

“i’m not laughing at you,” returned little mr. pebble.

“what are you laughing at, may i ask?” said ray politely.

“this is my busy season,” replied the little fellow; “that is why i laugh.”

ray did not quite understand, but thinking he would find out later on in the conversation asked, “did you say you lived inside this rock?”

“yes, my boy, that is where we live.”

“isn’t that strange?” murmured ray to himself.

“not at all,” replied mr. pebble, “my family—that is the entire pebble branch—always live in rocks.”

“i’d like to see the inside of your house,” exclaimed ray.

“well, come home to dinner with me,” said mr. pebble, and he gave three little taps on the rock.

all at once it opened and before ray knew it he was inside. a tiny fat woman with a crowd of children tugging at her skirts, came up and greeted mr. pebble. the little pebbles skipped and hopped about, cutting up all sorts of capers. it was all so funny that ray was laughing all the time and mr. and mrs. pebble and all the little pebbles laughed too.

“how about the coal, my dear,” said mrs. pebble suddenly; “did you get any this morning?”

“oh, yes,” replied her husband, “i have been very busy.”

“well, i hope you will get a good supply, because i think it is going to be a hard winter. don’t you think so, ray?”

“i don’t see what you want coal for,” said ray; “inside a big rock i should think it would be nice and warm.”

“so it would be, my dear,” returned mrs. pebble; “but there are two great cracks in this house and they let in all the cold air. why, last winter tommy pebble had the measles.”

“which is tommy?” asked ray, looking around at the brood of pebbles.

“i’m tommy,” shouted a pompous little fellow standing on his tiptoes and throwing out his chest.

“well, you needn’t feel so stiff about it,” said ray, “you’re not the only pebble;” whereupon mr. and mrs. pebble and all the children except tommy roared with laughter.

suddenly ray noticed a coal-bin in one corner of the house, and taking up a piece he cried, “what queer-looking coal, it doesn’t look like the kind we use.”

“it’s not the same kind, you know,” said mr. pebble; “my coal is made from laughter.”

“how funny!” exclaimed ray. “i don’t quite understand.”

“well,” said mr. pebble, “if there is any laughter going around i catch it and turn it into coal. i’ll throw a piece into my fire and you will see what i mean.”

the coal burned with a blue flame, and all at once ray could see in the midst of the flame his uncle josiah holding a horse and talking to a strange farmer as plainly as if they were standing before him.

suddenly the farmer led the horse away and when they were out of sight ray could hear his uncle laugh—

“haw, haw! haw, haw, haw!

best trade i ever saw!

haw, haw, haw, haw!”

ray laughed aloud, although he really didn’t know why, and all the pebbles shook with laughter.

“did my uncle sell that horse to the farmer?” asked ray.

“yes,” said mr. pebble, “the bargain was made sitting on this rock and i got in a good load of coal that day.”

“but i don’t see anything to laugh about in that,” exclaimed ray.

“the farmer that got the horse didn’t either,” cried mr. pebble.

ray was puzzled, but he took up another piece of coal and threw it on the fire. it burned with a beautiful rose-colored flame, and ray could see two lovers sitting on the rock looking into each other’s eyes.

suddenly he heard a giggle and then:

“he, he, ha, ha, ha! you are, you know you are!”

ray was laughing again. “what does it all mean?” he asked.

“i’m sure i don’t know,” said mr. pebble, who was almost doubled in two laughing.

“they came here last summer a great deal,” continued the little fellow. “they’re married now and live in the village. i don’t see them so123 often, but there are others, and i must say they belong to one of the best sources of my coal supply in the world.”

“try this one,” said ray, and he threw a piece of coal on the fire that burned with the most beautiful flame of all. a group of merry children were playing together in the bright flame, and their laughter was like sweet music.

“what good times they are having!” said ray, and mr. pebble cried:

“yes, indeed, i love little children, and would rather hear their laughter than any other sound in the world.”

“is that why you tickled me?” questioned ray, and the little man replied:

“well, of course, it’s my business to make people laugh. i was looking out for some more coal, you know.”

“you certainly have a very large family to keep warm,” remarked ray.

“yes,” answered mr. pebble, “and it grows larger every year, and more than all, tommy is a great care.”

“is he mischievous?” said ray.

“o, very,” replied the happy father. “i wonder what he is doing now. tommy, tommy,” called his father, “where are you?” but tommy did not answer, and his numerous brothers and sisters could not find him.

“i think i had better go now,” said ray, “i’ll stay to dinner some other day.”

“we’re going to have pudding,” cried one of the tiniest pebbles, but ray was afraid aunt prudence would think he was lost, so he said good-by to the funny pebbles and quietly left the rock. when he was outside on his way to the farmhouse he happened to put his hand in his pocket and there sat tommy pebble as comfortable as possible.

“why, tommy, how did you get into my pocket?” cried ray.

“jumped in, when you weren’t looking,” replied the little fellow.

“but what will your father say?” exclaimed ray; “they were all looking for you in the rock.”

“o, i’ve taken little trips before,” said tommy, “and when i come back my papa always says to me, ‘tommy, a rolling stone gathers no moss.’”

ray laughed because he seemed such a mischievous little fellow, and as for tommy he rolled all around the pocket in his mirth.

“i don’t think you ought to leave your home,” said ray, but tommy replied quickly:

“i want to see the world, and i never had a better chance than to travel in a boy’s pocket.”

“well, if you are very quiet and don’t get into mischief, i’ll let you stay for a while.”

ray returned to the house with tommy pebble safe in his pocket, and just then aunt prudence called him to dinner.

126 when ray was sitting at the table he was going to tell about his adventure with the laughing rock when he felt something in his mouth. he was eating some jam, and imagine his surprise to find that tommy pebble had got into the jam and was walking around the roof of his mouth. ray removed tommy as quickly and quietly as possible to his pocket and ate the rest of his dinner in silence.

“now, look here, tommy,” said ray after dinner, “don’t you ever get into the jam again, it’s not nice at all.” tommy began to laugh and shake his fat little body. but he promised to be more careful in the future. after a while ray thought he would go to the barn, but the minute he started something tickled the sole of his right foot. he sat right down on the grass and took off his shoe, and there was tommy pebble in his stocking grinning at him.

“o, you rogue!” cried ray. “how did you ever get down there?” but tommy only laughed while ray put him in his pocket again. tommy was quiet for a long time, and it was not till bedtime that ray remembered his existence. when ray was in bed and his auntie had said good night, he felt something between the sheets that wiggled around his toes.

“is that you, tommy pebble?” asked ray, but there was only the sound of laughing and ray knew that tommy was up to his old tricks again.

ray squirmed himself down to the foot of the bed and caught tommy pebble.

“i’ve a great mind to throw you out of the window,” said ray.

“do,” pleaded tommy, “i like to be out after dark.”

ray caught the little fellow up between his thumb and finger and tossed him lightly out of the window. as tommy was a pebble of course it did not hurt him. ray turned over and tried to go to sleep, but it was impossible,128 as tommy was knocking on the window pane for him.

“come out, come out, ray,” cried tommy, “there’s going to be a party to-night.”

“what a mischievous little rogue tommy is,” said ray to himself, “i won’t mind him at all,” and he turned on the other side to have a sleep.

“if you won’t come out, please take me in, ray,” whispered tommy in his most coaxing voice. “you know i’ve had the measles and the night dews are so bad for my chest.”

ray could not resist this appeal, so he jumped up and put on his clothes as quickly as possible. he stole softly out of the window and climbed down the low shed.

“where are you, tommy?” cried ray, when his feet touched the ground.

“here i am,” replied tommy, and there he stood with a tiny lantern in his hand.

“where did you get that lantern?” asked ray.

tommy was laughing and his eyes twinkled129 as he said, “a will-o’-the-wisp let me take it to go to the party.”

“what party?” asked the astonished ray.

“why, there’s a grand ball to-night in jack-o’-lantern’s hall, and everybody is going.”

“you can’t go,” cried ray; but tommy suddenly started off and ran as fast as he could down the hill with ray after him.

ray could see the flash of light from the lantern every now and then, and he tried hard to catch tommy. all of a sudden the lantern disappeared, and ray was alone in the darkness.

all at once he became aware of two eyes staring at him, and looking up he saw a great owl sitting on the low branch of a tree.

“o wise owl, will you please tell me where jack-o’-lantern’s hall is?” asked ray.

“go over the hill to the marsh-land and you will find it, my boy,” said the wise owl.

“did you see tommy pebble pass by with a lantern just now?”

“they all carry lanterns who go there,” replied the owl.

“why don’t you go to the party?” asked ray.

“because i have an engagement with another party,” was the answer.

“i hope you have a pleasant time,” remarked the boy; but the owl said in a very solemn voice:

“this is a business engagement with a field mouse or two; i might say it is business and pleasure combined.”

just then several lanterns went past and ray left the wise owl to follow the flittering light. on and on he ran and never stopped until he was quite out of breath. he found himself at the laughing rock, and on top of it was mr. pebble, sitting cross-legged, smiling at him.

“where’s tommy?” asked the jolly papa.

“i don’t know,” replied ray, “he’s up to some mischief very likely.”

then he told mr. pebble about tommy’s running off to the party. mr. pebble roared with laughter, and ray found himself sitting on the rock laughing so hard that it shook.

all of a sudden he saw mr. pebble roll up his sleeves and work very fast, while flashes like sunbeams seemed to shoot out of the rock.

at last ray stopped laughing and mr. pebble disappeared, saying softly:—“good supply of coal to-day.”