"'It is a story that all came of his having a great liking for buns. Jack lived in the next house to Mother Goose, and every morning, if she peeped between the curtains, she was sure to see Jack waiting on the pavement for the bun-man. You see the bun-man went around very early, so that people could have their buns for breakfast.

"'But one morning Jack slept too late, and, when he ran out, the bun-man had already gone by and was almost out of sight. Jack ran after him, but could not catch him.

"'It didn't seem to Jack a bit nice, not to have any bun with his milk that morning; and so all day Jack kept saying to himself, "That bun-man won't get by the house to-morrow morning without my knowing it, I guess!" And this was the last thing he thought of as he took off his shoes and stockings at night before the fire.

"'But all his thinking did not seem to be of much use; for, before he had slept half as long as he wanted to, he heard the jingle of the bun-man's bell. Up he jumped, pulled on his clothes as fast as he could, and had got on all except one shoe, when the bell rang below the window. Down he ran, but the bun-man wasn't there.

"'Jack forgot that he had on only one shoe, and started to run after the man. He was soon only half a square behind him; but just then the man turned a corner, and was out of sight. Jack turned the corner too; but the man had walked fast and was just turning another corner.

"'Poor Jack began to think he was not going to get his bun; but he still ran on, and turned the next corner and the next, for the bun-man seemed to be always turning corners. Jack got very hot, and was just beginning to cry, when, as he was turning the ninth corner after the man, he saw him go into a house.

"'"Ah!" thought Jack, "that's the place where they make the buns. I'll hurry in after him, and then I'll surely get my bun, and he'll tell me the way home besides."

"'So in went Jack. But the man was not to be seen. There was nothing to be seen except buns, all in great piles like walls, and all smoking hot. Jack was very warm already, you know, and the steam from so many hot buns made him warmer still; but he tried not to mind it, and walked on, looking all the time for the bun-man.

"'He could hear his bell every little while; but the more he tried to go where the bell was, the more he could not find it, Jack by this time, had gone through so many rooms, that he did not know how to get out: so he went down some stairs that he saw ahead of him, and found himself in the place where the buns were baked.

"'There were plenty of men here, all in baker's caps; but instead of making buns, they were pouring out milk for two rows of little boys, who stood, each with a bib under his chin and a bun in his hand. The strangest part of it was that the boys did not seem to be a bit hot, while poor Jack was almost melting. Jack thought that if he could only drink some milk, he should feel better.

"'But just as he was about to take his place with the rest of the boys, they disappeared, and instead of pouring out milk, the men were shovelling buns out of ovens on all sides of the room. Now, Jack had heard his mamma tell about the great oven that buns were baked in, and he had always wanted to see one: so he ran up to the door to look in.

"'The heat drove him back, and he turned quickly to run, just as one of the bakers was putting his shovel in for more buns. The baker did not notice him, and, the first thing Jack knew, the baker's elbow drove him bump against the oven door. My! how he screamed!

"'Then, all of a sudden, there was no oven to be seen, only a fire; and his mother was coming in at the door,—not the bun-man's door, but his own nursery door,—saying, "Why, Jack, not undressed yet! I sent you to bed a half-hour ago!"

"'But she stopped suddenly, and picked Jack up, hugging and kissing him, and calling his father to go for the doctor. Poor Jack! what with the hurt on his head, and his mother's crying, and the thought of the strange bake-shop, he wondered whether he was Jack O'Nory at all.

"'While he was wondering the doctor came, and his mother began to tell him about Jack's hurt. "You see, doctor," she said, "my little boy went to sleep as he was sitting very near the fire, and fell over and cut his head against the hot andiron."

"'Then Jack knew that the bun-man, the bake-shop, and the oven, were all a dream. He told his mamma the dream, and she promised him three buns every day till his head was well. Then she tucked him up in his bed, and told him not to dream of the bun-man again.'