Now you must know that Tweedle-dee , the canary , was let out every day to fly about the room and enjoy himself . Mother Bunch never tried to catch him , though he often hopped temptingly near her . He was a droll little bird , and Patty liked to watch his promenades , for he did funny things . That day he made her laugh by trying to fly away with a shawl , picking up the fringe with which to line the nest he was always trying to build . It was so heavy he tumbled on his back and lay kicking and pulling , but had to give it up and content himself with a bit of thread . Patty was forbidden to chase or touch him at these times , but always felt a strong desire to have just one grab at him and see how he felt . That day , being alone in the dining-room , she found it impossible to resist ; and when Tweedle-dee came tripping pertly over the table-cloth , cocking his head on one side with shrill chirps and little prancings , she caught him , and for a minute held him fast in spite of his wrathful pecking . She put her thimble on his head , laughing to see how funny he looked , and just then he slipped out of her hand . She clutched at him , missed him , but alas , alas ! he left his little tail behind him . Every feather in his blessed little tail , I do assure you ; and there sat Patty with the yellow plumes in her hand and dismay in her face . Poor Tweedle-dee retired to his cage much afflicted , and sung no more that day , but Patty hid the lost tail and never said a word about it . ` Aunt Pen is so near-sighted she wo n't mind , and maybe he will have another tail pretty soon , or she will think he is moulting . If she asks of course I shall tell her . ' Patty settled it in that way , forgetting that the slide was open and Aunt Pen in the kitchen . So she made a neat blue and buff patch , and put it away , meaning to puzzle aunty when the reading-time came . But Patty got the worst of it , as you will see by-and-bye . Another day she strolled into the store-room and saw a large tray of fresh buns standing there . Now , it was against the rule to eat between meals , and new hot bread or cake was especially forbidden . Patty remembered both these things , but could not resist temptation .
One plump , brown bun , with a lovely plum right in the middle , was so fascinating it was impossible to XXXXX it alone ; so Patty whipped it into her pocket , ran to the garden , and hiding behind the big lilac-bush , ate it in a great hurry .
asks clutched eat enjoy forbidden got let made standing strolled