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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Child's World
+by Hetty Browne, Sarah Withers, W.K. Tate
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Child's World
+       Third Reader
+
+Author: Hetty Browne, Sarah Withers, W.K. Tate
+
+Release Date: February 25, 2005 [EBook #15170]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHILD'S WORLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, David King, and the PG Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CHILD'S WORLD
+
+THIRD READER
+
+BY
+
+HETTY S. BROWNE
+Extension worker in rural school practice
+Winthrop Normal and Industrial College
+Rock Hill, S.C.
+
+SARAH WITHERS
+Principal Elementary Grades and Critic Teacher
+Winthrop Normal and Industrial College
+
+AND
+
+W.K. TATE
+Professor of Rural Education
+George Peabody College for Teachers
+Nashville, Tenn.
+
+JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
+Richmond, Virginia
+
+TEACHERS' AIDS
+
+Success with the Child's World Readers is in no wise dependent on the
+use of the chart, manual, or cards.
+
+Modern teachers of reading, however, recognize the saving of time and
+effort to be accomplished for both their pupils and themselves by the
+use of cards, chart, and manual, and look to the publisher to provide
+these accessories in convenient form and at moderate cost.
+
+The following aids are therefore offered in the belief that they will
+make the work of the teacher, trained or untrained, more effective.
+
+Child's World Reader Charts......................$6.00
+  (10 beautiful charts in colors 27x37--20 lessons)
+
+Child's World Manual.............................75c
+  (Suggestions and outlines for first 5 grades)
+
+Child's World Word Cards........................$1.00
+  (129 cards--258 words in Primer vocabulary)
+
+Child's World Phrase Cards........................75c
+  (48 cards--96 phrases)
+
+Child's World Phonic Cards...................80c
+  (80 cards printed both sides)
+
+JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+Richmond, Virginia.
+
+
+
+ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
+
+For permission to use copyrighted material the authors and publishers
+express their indebtedness to _The Independent_ for "Who Loves the Trees
+Best?" by Alice M. Douglas; to Oliver Herford and the Century Company
+for "The Elf and the Dormouse"; to the American Folklore Society for
+"How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and the Elephant," by Alcee
+Fortier; to the _Outlook_ for "Making the Best of It," by Frances M.
+Fox, and "Winter Nights," by Mary F. Butts; to Harper Brothers for "The
+Animals and the Mirror," from _Told by the Sand Man_; to Rand McNally &
+Company for "Little Hope's Doll," from _Stories of the Pilgrims_, by
+Margaret Pumphrey; to Daughady & Company for "Squeaky and the Scare
+Box," from _Christmas Stories_, by Georgene Faulkner; to D.C. Heath &
+Company for "The Little Cook's Reward," from _Stories of the Old North
+State_, by Mrs. L.A. McCorkle; to Charles Scribner's Sons for "A Good
+Play" and "Block City," by Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Glad New Year,"
+from _Rhymes and Jingles_, by Mary Mapes Dodge, "A Christmas Wish" and
+"Rock-a-by-Lady," by Eugene Field; to Houghton Mifflin Company for
+permission to adapt selections from _Hiawatha_; to Doubleday, Page &
+Company for "The Sand Man," by Margaret Vandergrift, from _The Posy
+Ring_--Wiggin and Smith; to James A. Honey for "The Monkey's Fiddle,"
+from _South African Tales_; to Maud Barnard for "Donal and Conal"; to
+Maud Barnard and Emilie Yonker for their versions of Epaminondas.
+
+
+Supplementary Historical Reading
+
+Life of General Robert E. Lee
+_For Third and Fourth Grades_
+
+Life of General Thomas J. Jackson
+_For Third and Fourth Grades_
+
+Life of Washington
+_For Fourth and Fifth Grades_
+
+Life of General N.B. Forrest
+_For Fifth Grade_
+
+Life of General J.E.B. Stuart
+_For Fifth and Sixth Grades_
+
+Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia
+_For Fifth Grade_
+
+Tennessee History Stories
+_For Third and Fourth Grades_
+
+North Carolina History Stories
+_For Fourth and Fifth Grades_
+
+Texas History Stories
+_For Fifth and Sixth Grades_
+
+Half-Hours in Southern History
+_For Sixth and Seventh Grades_
+
+The Yemassee (_Complete Edition_)
+_For Seventh and Eighth Grades_
+
+(Ask for catalog containing list of other supplementary reading)
+
+JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
+RICHMOND, VA.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+PHILEMON AND BAUCIS, _Flora J. Cooke_, 9
+
+THE POPLAR TREE, _Flora J. Cooke_, 15
+
+WHO LOVES THE TREES BEST?, _Alice May Douglas_, 18
+
+LEAVES IN AUTUMN, 19
+
+A STORY OF BIRD LIFE, _Henry Ward Beecher_, 20
+
+BOB WHITE, _George Cooper_, 25
+
+HOW MARY GOT A NEW DRESS, 26
+
+THE PLAID DRESS, 30
+
+THE GODDESS OF THE SILKWORM, 34
+
+THE FLAX, _Hans Christian Andersen_, 37
+
+THE WONDERFUL WORLD, _William Brighty Rands_, 41
+
+THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE, _Juliana H. Ewing_, 42
+
+THE ELF AND THE DORMOUSE, _Oliver Herford_, 46
+
+THE BELL OF ATRI, _Italian Tale_, 48
+
+A DUMB WITNESS, _Arabian Tale_, 53
+
+GIVING THANKS, 56
+
+THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG, _Grimm_, 58
+
+EPAMINONDAS, _Southern Tale_, 67
+
+HOW BROTHER RABBIT FOOLED THE WHALE AND THE ELEPHANT, _Southern Folk
+Tale_, 73
+
+A CHRISTMAS WISH, _Eugene Field_, 79
+
+THE CHRISTMAS BELLS, _Old Tale Retold_, 82
+
+GOD BLESS THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE, _Old English Rime_, 89
+
+SQUEAKY AND THE SCARE BOX, _Georgene Faulkner_, 90
+
+THE GLAD NEW YEAR, _Mary Mapes Dodge_, 99
+
+MAKING THE BEST OF IT, _Frances M. Fox_, 100
+
+THE ANIMALS AND THE MIRROR, _F.A. Walker_, 106
+
+THE BARBER OF BAGDAD, _Eastern Tale_, 115
+
+WINTER NIGHTS, _Mary F. Butts_, 122
+
+LITTLE HOPE'S DOLL, _Margaret Pumphrey_, 123
+
+NAHUM PRINCE, 130
+
+THE LITTLE COOK'S REWARD, _Mrs. L.A. McCorkle_, 134
+
+ROCK-A-BY, HUSH-A-BY, LITTLE PAPOOSE, _Charles Myall_, 139
+
+THE TAR WOLF, _The Indian Tar-Baby Story_, 140
+
+THE RABBIT AND THE WOLF, _Southern Indian Tale_, 149
+
+BLOCK CITY, _Robert Louis Stevenson_, 154
+
+A GOOD PLAY, _Robert Louis Stevenson_, 155
+
+THE MONKEY'S FIDDLE, _African Tale_, 156
+
+THE THREE TASKS, _Grimm_, 163
+
+THE WORLD'S MUSIC, _Gabriel Setoun_, 170
+
+THE SLEEPING BEAUTY, _Grimm_, 172
+
+THE UGLY DUCKLING, _Hans Christian Andersen_, 181
+
+THE WHITE BLACKBIRD, _Adapted from Alfred de Musset_, 192
+
+THE BROWN THRUSH, _Lucy Larcom_, 199
+
+THE KING AND THE GOOSEHERD, _Old Tale_, 200
+
+DONAL AND CONAL, _Irish Tale_, 206
+
+WHO TOLD THE NEWS?, 212
+
+THE BIRDS OF KILLINGWORTH, _Adapted from Longfellow_, 213
+
+THE TRAILING ARBUTUS, _Indian Legend_, 218
+
+HIDDEN TREASURE, _Grimm_, 223
+
+THE LITTLE BROWN BROTHER, _Emily Nesbit_, 228
+
+HOW THE FLOWERS GROW, _Gabriel Setoun_, 229
+
+WISE MEN OF GOTHAM, _Old English Story_, 230
+
+THE MILLER'S GUEST, _English Ballad (adapted)_, 233
+
+SADDLE TO RAGS, _English Ballad (adapted)_, 239
+
+THE ROCK-A-BY LADY, _Eugene Field_, 244
+
+THE SAND MAN, _Margaret Vandergrift_, 246
+
+A DICTIONARY, 249
+
+SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS, 253
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Girl reading a book]
+
+  Oh, for a nook and a story-book,
+    With tales both new and old;
+  For a jolly good book whereon to look
+    Is better to me than gold.
+
+--OLD ENGLISH SONG.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Country house]
+
+PHILEMON AND BAUCIS
+
+I
+
+
+Long ago, on a high hill in Greece, Philemon and Baucis lived.
+
+They were poor, but they were never unhappy. They had many hives of bees
+from which they got honey, and many vines from which they gathered
+grapes. One old cow gave them all the milk that they could use, and they
+had a little field in which grain was raised.
+
+The old couple had as much as they needed, and were always ready to
+share whatever they had with any one in want. No stranger was ever
+turned from their door.
+
+At the foot of the hill lay a beautiful village, with pleasant roads and
+rich pasture lands all around. But it was full of wicked, selfish,
+people, who had no love in their hearts and thought only of themselves.
+
+At the time of this story, the people in the village were very busy.
+Zeus, who they believed ruled the world, had sent word that he was about
+to visit them. They were preparing a great feast and making everything
+beautiful for his coming.
+
+One evening, just at dark, two beggars came into the valley. They
+stopped at every house and asked for food and a place to sleep; but the
+people were too busy or too tired to attend to their needs. They were
+thinking only of the coming of Zeus.
+
+Footsore and weary, the two beggars at last climbed the hill to the hut
+of Philemon and Baucis. These good people had eaten very little, for
+they were saving their best food for Zeus.
+
+When they saw the beggars, Philemon said, "Surely these men need food
+more than Zeus. They look almost starved."
+
+"Indeed, they do!" said Baucis, and she ran quickly to prepare supper
+for the strangers.
+
+She spread her best white cloth upon the table, and brought out bacon,
+herbs, honey, grapes, bread, and milk. She set these upon the table in
+all the best dishes she had and called the strangers in.
+
+Then what do you suppose happened? The dishes that the strangers touched
+turned to gold. The pitcher was never empty, although they drank glass
+after glass of milk. The loaf of bread stayed always the same size,
+although the strangers cut slice after slice.
+
+"These are strange travelers," whispered the old couple to each other.
+"They do wonderful things."
+
+
+II
+
+
+That night Philemon and Baucis slept upon the floor that the strangers
+might have their one bed. In the morning they went with the travelers to
+the foot of the hill to see them safely started on their way.
+
+"Now, good people," said one of the strangers, "we thank you, and
+whatever you wish shall be yours."
+
+As he said this, his face became like that of the sun. Then Philemon and
+Baucis knew that Zeus had spoken to them.
+
+"Grant, O Zeus, that one of us may not outlive the other," they cried in
+one voice.
+
+"Your wish is granted," said Zeus; "yes, and more. Return to your home
+and be happy."
+
+[Illustration: Philemon and Baucis walking home]
+
+Philemon and Baucis turned homeward, and, lo! their hut was changed to a
+beautiful castle.
+
+The old people turned around to thank their guests, but they had
+disappeared.
+
+In this castle Philemon and Baucis lived many years. They still did all
+they could for others, and were always so happy that they never thought
+of wishing anything for themselves.
+
+As the years passed, the couple grew very old and feeble. One day Baucis
+said to Philemon, "I wish we might never die, but could always live
+together."
+
+"Ah, that is my wish, too!" sighed old Philemon.
+
+The next morning the marble palace was gone; Baucis and Philemon were
+gone; but there on the hilltop stood two beautiful trees, an oak and a
+linden.
+
+No one knew what became of the good people. After many years, however, a
+traveler lying under the trees heard them whispering to each other.
+
+"Baucis," whispered the oak.
+
+"Philemon," replied the linden.
+
+There the trees stood through sun and rain, always ready to spread their
+leafy shade over every tired stranger who passed that way.
+
+--FLORA J. COOKE.
+
+
+
+
+THE POPLAR TREE
+
+
+Long ago the poplar used to hold out its branches like other trees. It
+tried to see how far it could spread them.
+
+Once at sunset an old man came through the forest where the poplar trees
+lived. The trees were going to sleep, and it was growing dark.
+
+The man held something under his cloak. It was a pot of gold--the very
+pot of gold that lies at the foot of the rainbow. He had stolen it and
+was looking for some place to hide it. A poplar tree stood by the path.
+
+"This is the very place to hide my treasure," the man said. "The
+branches spread out straight, and the leaves are large and thick. How
+lucky that the trees are all asleep!"
+
+He placed the pot of gold in the thick branches, and then ran quickly
+away.
+
+The gold belonged to Iris, the beautiful maiden who had a rainbow bridge
+to the earth. The next morning she missed her precious pot. It always
+lay at the foot of the rainbow, but it was not there now.
+
+Iris hurried away to tell her father, the great Zeus, of her loss. He
+said that he would find the pot of gold for her.
+
+He called a messenger, the swift-footed Mercury, and said, "Go quickly,
+and do not return until you have found the treasure."
+
+Mercury went as fast as the wind down to the earth. He soon came to the
+forest and awakened the trees.
+
+"Iris has lost her precious pot of gold that lies at the foot of the
+rainbow. Have any of you seen it?" he asked.
+
+The trees were very sleepy, but all shook their heads.
+
+"We have not seen it," they said.
+
+"Hold up your branches," said Mercury. "I must see that the pot of gold
+is not hidden among them."
+
+All of the trees held up their branches. The poplar that stood by the
+path was the first to hold up his. He was an honest tree and knew he had
+nothing to hide.
+
+[Illustration: Mercury among the trees]
+
+Down fell the pot of gold. How surprised the poplar tree was! He dropped
+his branches in shame. Then he held them high in the air.
+
+"Forgive me," he said. "I do not know how it came to be there; but,
+hereafter, I shall always hold my branches up. Then every one can see
+that I have nothing hidden."
+
+Since then the branches have always grown straight up; and every one
+knows that the poplar is an honest and upright tree.
+
+--FLORA J. COOKE.
+
+
+
+
+WHO LOVES THE TREES BEST?
+
+
+  Who loves the trees best?
+  "I," said the Spring;
+  "Their leaves so beautiful
+  To them I bring."
+
+  Who loves the trees best?
+  "I," Summer said;
+  "I give them blossoms,
+  White, yellow, red."
+
+  Who loves the trees best?
+  "I," said the Fall;
+  "I give luscious fruits,
+  Bright tints to all."
+
+  Who loves the trees best?
+  "I love them best,"
+  Harsh Winter answered;
+  "I give them rest."
+
+--ALICE MAY DOUGLAS.
+
+
+
+
+LEAVES IN AUTUMN
+
+
+  Red and gold, and gold and red,
+  Autumn leaves burned overhead;
+    Hues so splendid
+    Softly blended,
+  Oh, the glory that they shed!
+  Red and gold, and gold and red.
+
+  Gold and brown, and brown and gold,
+  Of such fun the west wind told
+    That they listened,
+    And they glistened,
+  As they wrestled in the cold;
+  Gold and brown, and brown and gold.
+
+  Brown and gold, and red and brown,
+  How they hurried, scurried down
+    For a frolic,
+    For a rolic,
+  Through the country and the town,
+  Brown and gold, and red and brown.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A bird in a tree]
+
+A STORY OF BIRD LIFE
+
+I
+
+
+Once there came to our fields a pair of birds. They had never built a
+nest nor seen a winter.
+
+Oh, how beautiful was everything! The fields were full of flowers, the
+grass was growing tall, and the bees were humming everywhere.
+
+One of the birds fell to singing, and the other bird said, "Who told you
+to sing?"
+
+He answered, "The flowers and the bees told me. The blue sky told me,
+and you told me."
+
+"When did I tell you to sing?" asked his mate.
+
+"Every time you brought in tender grass for the nest," he replied.
+"Every time your soft wings fluttered off again for hair and feathers to
+line it."
+
+Then his mate asked, "What are you singing about?"
+
+"I am singing about everything," he answered. "I sing because I am
+happy."
+
+By and by five little speckled eggs were in the nest, and the mother
+bird asked, "Is there anything in all the world as pretty as my eggs?"
+
+A week or two afterward, the mother said, "Oh, what do you think has
+happened? One of my eggs has been peeping and moving."
+
+Soon another egg moved, then another, and another, till five eggs were
+hatched.
+
+The little birds were so hungry that it kept the parents busy feeding
+them. Away they both flew. The moment the little birds heard them coming
+back, five yellow mouths flew open wide.
+
+"Can anybody be happier?" said the father bird to the mother bird. "We
+will live in this tree always. It is a tree that bears joy."
+
+
+II
+
+
+The very next day one of the birds dropped out of the nest, and in a
+moment a cat ate it up. Only four remained, and the parent birds were
+very sad. There was no song all that day, nor the next.
+
+Soon the little birds were big enough to fly. The first bird that tried
+his wings flew from one branch to another. His parents praised him, and
+the other baby birds wondered how he had done it.
+
+The little one was so proud of it that he tried again. He flew and flew
+and couldn't stop flying. At last he fell plump! down by the kitchen
+door. A little boy caught him and carried him into the house.
+
+Now only three birds were left. The sun no longer seemed bright to the
+birds, and they did not sing so often.
+
+In a little time the other birds learned to use their wings, and they
+flew away and away. They found their own food and made their own nests.
+
+Then the old birds sat silent and looked at each other a long while. At
+last the mother bird asked, "Why don't you sing?"
+
+"I can't sing," the father bird answered. "I only think and think!"
+
+"What are you thinking of?"
+
+"I am thinking how everything changes. The leaves are falling, and soon
+there will be no roof over our heads. The flowers are all gone. Last
+night there was a frost. Almost all the birds have flown away, and I am
+restless. Something calls me, and I feel that I must fly away, too."
+
+[Illustration: Two birds flying over a field]
+
+"Let us fly away together!" the mother bird said.
+
+Then they rose silently up in the air. They looked to the north; far
+away they saw the snow coming. They looked to the south; there they saw
+green leaves.
+
+All day they flew. All night they flew and flew, till they found a land
+where there was no winter. There it was summer all the time; flowers
+always blossomed and birds always sang.
+
+--HENRY WARD BEECHER
+
+
+
+
+BOB WHITE
+
+
+  There's a plump little chap in a speckled coat,
+  And he sits on the zigzag rails remote,
+  Where he whistles at breezy, bracing morn,
+  When the buckwheat is ripe, and stacked is the corn:
+  "Bob White! Bob White! Bob White!"
+
+  Is he hailing some comrade as blithe as he?
+  Now I wonder where Robert White can be!
+  O'er the billows of gold and amber grain
+  There is no one in sight--but, hark again:
+  "Bob White! Bob White! Bob White!"
+
+  Ah! I see why he calls; in the stubble there
+  Hide his plump little wife and babies fair!
+  So contented is he, and so proud of the same,
+  That he wants all the world to know his name:
+  "Bob White! Bob White! Bob White!"
+
+--GEORGE COOPER.
+
+
+
+
+HOW MARY GOT A NEW DRESS
+
+
+Mary lived a long time ago. She was a little girl when your
+great-great-grandmother was a little girl.
+
+In those days all cloth had to be made at home. Aunt Dinah, Aunt Chloe,
+and Aunt Dilsey were kept busy spinning and weaving to make clothes for
+the whole plantation.
+
+One day Mary's mother said, "Aunt Dilsey, Mary needs a new dress, and I
+want you to weave some cloth at once. Can you weave some very fine
+cloth?"
+
+"Yes, ma'am," said Aunt Dilsey. "I have some cotton I've been saving to
+make her a dress."
+
+Aunt Dilsey got out the cards and carded the cotton smooth and fine.
+Then she fastened a roll of this cotton to the spindle and sent the
+wheel whirling around with a "Zum-m-m-m--Zum-m-m-m!"
+
+Mary stood and watched the old woman.
+
+[Illustration: Mary watching Aunt Dilsey at spinning wheel]
+
+"Aunt Dilsey," she said, "the spinning wheel sings a song, and I know
+what it says. Grandmother told me. It says,
+
+  'A hum and a whirl,
+  A twist and a twirl,
+  This is for the girl
+  With the golden curl!
+  Zum-m-m-m-m-m!
+  Zum-m-m-m-m-m!'"
+
+"And that means you, honey," said Aunt Dilsey.
+
+When the yarn was ready, Aunt Dilsey fastened it in the loom and began
+to weave. The threads went over and under, over and under. As Aunt
+Dilsey wove, she hummed. Mary stood by and sang this song,
+
+  "Over and under and over we go,
+  Weaving the cotton as white as the snow,
+  Weaving the cloth for a dress, oh, ho!
+  As over and under and over we go."
+
+After the cloth had been woven, Aunt Dilsey took it out of the loom.
+Then she bleached it until it was as white as snow. Now it was ready to
+be made into a dress.
+
+"Mother, do tell me how you are going to make the dress," said Mary.
+"Will it have ruffles on it like Sue's? Will it have trimming on it? And
+how many buttons will you put on it? Sue's dress has twelve; I know, for
+I counted them."
+
+Mother did not answer all these questions; she just smiled as the
+scissors went snip, snip into the cloth. But she did cut out ruffles,
+and Aunt Maria began to hem them.
+
+[Illustration: Mary with her mother and grandmother]
+
+By and by grandmother came into the room.
+
+"Mary," she said, "here is some lace I got in England. Mother may put it
+on your dress."
+
+How happy Mary was! She danced for joy.
+
+Mother put on the lace, and grandmother worked the buttonholes. How many
+do you suppose she worked? Why, she worked twelve!
+
+When the dress was finished, it was just like Sue's. Only it was a great
+deal finer, for Mary's dress had three ruffles and Sue's had only two!
+And, then, there was the lace from England!
+
+
+
+
+THE PLAID DRESS
+
+
+"I want a warm plaid dress," said a little girl. "The days are colder,
+and the frost will soon be here. But how can I get it? Mother says that
+she cannot buy one for me."
+
+The old white sheep in the meadow heard her, and he bleated to the
+shepherd, "The little girl wants a warm plaid dress. I will give my
+wool. Who else will help?"
+
+The kind shepherd said, "I will." Then he led the old white sheep to the
+brook and washed its wool. When it was clean and white, he said, "The
+little girl wants a warm plaid dress. The sheep has given his wool, and
+I have washed it clean and white. Who else will help?"
+
+"We will," said the shearers. "We will bring our shears and cut off the
+wool."
+
+The shearers cut the soft wool from the old sheep, and then they called,
+"The little girl wants a new dress. The sheep has given his wool. The
+shepherd has washed it; and we have sheared it. Who else will help?"
+
+[Illustration: Shearer shearing the sheep]
+
+"We will," cried the carders. "We will comb it out straight and smooth."
+
+Soon they held up the wool, carded straight and smooth, and they cried,
+"The little girl wants a new dress. The sheep has given his wool. The
+shepherd has washed the wool. The shearers have cut it, and we have
+carded it. Who else will help?"
+
+"We will," said the spinners. "We will spin it into thread."
+
+"Whirr, whirr!" How fast the spinning wheels turned, singing all the
+time.
+
+Soon the spinners said, "The little girl wants a new dress. The sheep
+has given his wool. The shepherd has washed the wool. The shearers have
+cut it. The carders have carded it, and we have spun it into thread. Who
+else will help?"
+
+"We will," said the dyers. "We will dye it with beautiful colors."
+
+Then they dipped the woven threads into bright dye, red and blue and
+green and brown.
+
+As they spread the wool out to dry, the dyers called: "The little girl
+wants a new dress. The sheep has given his wool. The shepherd has washed
+the wool. The shearers have cut it. The carders have carded it. The
+spinners have spun it, and we have dyed it with bright beautiful colors.
+Who else will help?"
+
+"We will," said the weavers. "We will make it into cloth."
+
+[Illustration: Weaver at loom]
+
+"Clickety-clack! clickety-clack!" went the loom, as the colored thread
+was woven over and under over and under. Before long it was made into
+beautiful plaid cloth.
+
+Then the little girl's mother cut and made the dress. It was a beautiful
+plaid dress, and the little girl loved to wear it. Every time she put it
+on, she thought of her friends who had helped her,--the sheep, the
+shearers, the carders, the spinners, the dyers, the weavers, and her own
+dear mother.
+
+
+
+
+THE GODDESS OF THE SILKWORM
+
+
+Hoangti was the emperor of China. He had a beautiful wife whose name was
+Si-ling. The emperor and his wife loved their people and always thought
+of their happiness.
+
+In those days the Chinese people wore clothes made of skins. By and by
+animals grew scarce, and the people did not know what they should wear.
+The emperor and empress tried in vain to find some other way of clothing
+them.
+
+One morning Hoangti and his wife were in the beautiful palace garden.
+They walked up and down, up and down, talking of their people.
+
+Suddenly the emperor said, "Look at those worms on the mulberry trees,
+Si-ling. They seem to be spinning."
+
+Si-ling looked, and sure enough, the worms were spinning. A long thread
+was coming from the mouth of each, and each little worm was winding this
+thread around its body.
+
+Si-ling and the emperor stood still and watched the worms. "How
+wonderful!" said Si-ling.
+
+The next morning Hoangti and the empress walked under the trees again.
+They found some worms still winding thread. Others had already spun
+their cocoons and were fast asleep. In a few days all of the worms had
+spun cocoons.
+
+"This is indeed a wonderful, wonderful thing!" said Si-ling. "Why, each
+worm has a thread on its body long enough to make a house for itself!"
+
+Si-ling thought of this day after day. One morning as she and the
+emperor walked under the trees, she said, "I believe I could find a way
+to weave those long threads into cloth."
+
+"But how could you unwind the threads?" asked the emperor.
+
+[Illustration: Hoangti and Si-ling walking among the trees]
+
+"I'll find a way," Si-ling said. And she did; but she had to try many,
+many times.
+
+She put the cocoons in a hot place, and the little sleepers soon died.
+Then the cocoons were thrown into boiling water to make the threads
+soft. After that the long threads could be easily unwound.
+
+Now Si-ling had to think of something else; she had to find a way to
+weave the threads into cloth. After many trials, she made a loom--the
+first that was ever made. She taught others to weave, and soon hundreds
+of people were making cloth from the threads of the silkworm.
+
+The people ever afterward called Si-ling "The Goddess of the Silkworm."
+And whenever the emperor walked with her in the garden, they liked to
+watch the silkworms spinning threads for the good of their people.
+
+
+
+
+THE FLAX
+
+I
+
+
+It was spring. The flax was in full bloom, and it had dainty little blue
+flowers that nodded in the breeze.
+
+"People say that I look very well," said the flax. "They say that I am
+fine and long and that I shall make a beautiful piece of linen. How
+happy I am! No one in the world can be happier."
+
+"Oh, yes," said the fence post, "you may grow and be happy, and you may
+sing, but you do not know the world as I do. Why, I have knots in me."
+And it creaked;
+
+  "Snip, snap, snurre,
+  Basse, lurre,
+  The song is ended."
+
+"No, it is not ended," said the flax. "The sun will shine, and the rain
+will fall, and I shall grow and grow. No, no, the song is not ended."
+
+One day some men came with sharp reap hooks. They took the flax by the
+head and cut it off at the roots. This was very painful, you may be
+sure.
+
+Then the flax was laid in water and was nearly drowned. After that it
+was put on a fire and nearly roasted. All this was frightful. But the
+flax only said, "One cannot be happy always. By having bad times as well
+as good, we become wise."
+
+After the flax had been cut and steeped and roasted, it was put on a
+spinning wheel. "Whir-r-r, whir-rr-r," went the spinning wheel; it went
+so fast that the flax could hardly think.
+
+"I have been very happy in the sunshine and the rain," it said. "If I am
+in pain now, I must be contented."
+
+At last the flax was put in the loom. Soon it became a beautiful piece
+of white linen.
+
+"This is very wonderful," said the flax. "How foolish the fence post was
+with its song of--
+
+  'Snip, snap, snurre,
+  Basse, lurre,
+  The song is ended.'
+
+The song is not ended, I am sure. It has only just begun.
+
+"After all that I have suffered, I am at last made into beautiful linen.
+How strong and fine I am, and how long and white! This is even better
+than being a plant bearing flowers. I have never been happier than I am
+now."
+
+After some time the linen was cut into pieces and sewed with needles.
+That was not pleasant; but at last there were twelve pretty white
+aprons.
+
+"See," said the flax, "I have been made into something. Now I shall be
+of some use in the world. That is the only way to be happy."
+
+
+II
+
+
+Years passed by, and the linen was so worn that it could hardly hold
+together.
+
+"The end must come soon," said the flax.
+
+At last the linen did fall into rags and tatters; it was torn into
+shreds and boiled in water. The flax thought the end had come.
+
+But no, the end was not yet. After being made into pulp and dried, the
+flax became beautiful white paper.
+
+"This is a surprise, a glorious surprise," it said. "I am finer than
+ever, and I shall have fine things written on me. How happy I am!"
+
+And sure enough, the most beautiful stories and verses were written upon
+it. People read the stories and verses, and they were made wiser and
+better. Their children and their children's children read them, too, and
+so the song was not ended.
+
+--HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.
+
+[Illustration: Girl reading a book]
+
+
+
+
+THE WONDERFUL WORLD
+
+
+  Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,
+  With the wonderful water round you curled,
+  And the wonderful grass upon your breast,
+  World, you are beautifully drest.
+
+  The wonderful air is over me,
+  And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree--
+  It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,
+  And talks to itself on the top of the hills.
+
+  You friendly Earth, how far do you go,
+  With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,
+  With cities and gardens, and cliffs and isles,
+  And people upon you for thousands of miles?
+
+  Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,
+  I hardly can think of you, World, at all;
+  And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,
+  A whisper within me seemed to say,
+  "You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot!
+  You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!"
+
+--William Brighty Rands.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Hillman at the housewife's door]
+
+THE HILLMAN AND THE HOUSEWIFE
+
+
+As every one knows, fairies are always just. They are kind to others,
+and in return they expect others to be kind to them. In some countries
+across the sea there are fairies called Hillmen.
+
+Now, there once lived a certain housewife who liked to make bargains.
+She gave away only those things for which she had no use, and then
+expected always to get something in return.
+
+One day a Hillman knocked at her door.
+
+"Can you lend us a saucepan?" he asked. "There's a wedding on the hill,
+and all the pots are in use."
+
+"Is he to have one?" whispered the servant who opened the door.
+
+"Aye, to be sure," answered the housewife; "one must be neighborly. Get
+the saucepan for him, lass."
+
+The maid turned to take a good saucepan from the shelf, but the
+housewife stopped her.
+
+"Not that, not that," she whispered. "Get the old one out of the
+cupboard. It leaks, but that doesn't matter. The Hillmen are so neat and
+are such nimble workers that they are sure to mend it before they send
+it home. I can oblige the fairies and save sixpence in tinkering, too."
+
+The maid brought the old saucepan that had been laid by until the
+tinker's next visit, and gave it to the Hillman. He thanked her and went
+away.
+
+When the saucepan was returned, it had been neatly mended, just as the
+housewife thought it would be.
+
+At night the maid filled the pan with milk and set it on the fire to
+heat for the children's supper. In a few moments the milk was so smoked
+and burnt that no one would touch it. Even the pigs refused to drink it.
+
+"Ah, you good-for-nothing!" cried the housewife. "There's a quart of
+milk wasted at once."
+
+"And that's twopence," cried a queer little voice that seemed to come
+from the chimney.
+
+The housewife filled the saucepan again and set it over the fire. It had
+not been there more than two minutes before it boiled over and was burnt
+and smoked as before.
+
+"The pan must be dirty," muttered the woman, who was very much vexed.
+"Two full quarts of milk have been wasted."
+
+"And that's fourpence!" added the queer little voice from the chimney.
+
+The saucepan was scoured; then it was filled with milk the third time
+and set over the fire. Again the milk boiled over and was spoiled.
+
+Now the housewife was quite vexed. "I have never had anything like this
+to happen since I first kept house," she exclaimed. "Three quarts of
+milk wasted!"
+
+"And that's sixpence," cried the queer little voice from the chimney.
+"You didn't save the tinkering after all, mother!"
+
+With that the Hillman himself came tumbling from the chimney and ran off
+laughing. But from that time, the saucepan was as good as any other.
+
+--JULIANA H. EWING.
+
+[Illustration: The Hillman running off from the fire]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Elf and the Dormouse under the toadstool]
+
+THE ELF AND THE DORMOUSE
+
+
+  Under a toad stool
+    Crept a wee Elf,
+  Out of the rain
+    To shelter himself.
+
+  Under the toad stool
+    Sound asleep,
+  Sat a big Dormouse
+    All in a heap.
+
+  Trembled the wee Elf
+    Frightened, and yet
+  Fearing to fly away
+    Lest he get wet.
+
+  To the next shelter--
+    Maybe a mile!
+  Sudden the wee Elf
+    Smiled a wee smile;
+
+  Tugged till the toad stool
+    Toppled in two;
+  Holding it over him,
+    Gayly he flew.
+
+  Soon he was safe home,
+    Dry as could be.
+  Soon woke the Dormouse--
+    "Good gracious me!
+
+  "Where is my toad stool?"
+    Loud he lamented.
+  And that's how umbrellas
+    First were invented.
+
+--OLIVER HERFORD.
+
+[Illustration: The elf flying away with the toadstool as the Dormouse
+watches]
+
+
+
+
+THE BELL OF ATRI
+
+I
+
+
+Good King John of Atri loved his people very much and wished to see them
+happy. He knew, however, that some were not; he knew that many suffered
+wrongs which were not righted. This made him sad.
+
+One day the king thought of a way to help his people. He had a great
+bell hung in a tower in the market place. He had the rope made so long
+that a child could reach it.
+
+Then the king sent heralds through the streets to tell the people why he
+had put the bell in the market place. The heralds blew their trumpets
+long and loud, and the people came from their homes to hear the message.
+
+"Know ye," cried a herald, "that whenever a wrong is done to any man, he
+has but to ring the great bell in the square. A judge will go to the
+tower to hear the complaint, and he will see that justice is done."
+
+"Long live our good king!" shouted the people. "Now our wrongs shall be
+righted."
+
+And so it was. Whenever anyone was wronged, he rang the bell in the
+tower. The judge put on his rich robes and went there. He listened to
+the complaint, and the guilty were punished.
+
+The people in Atri were now very happy, and the days went swiftly by.
+The bell hung in its place year after year, and it was rung many times.
+By and by the rope became so worn that one could scarcely reach it.
+
+The king said, "Why, a child could not reach the rope now, and a wrong
+might not be righted. I must put in a new one."
+
+So he ordered a rope from a distant town. In those days it took a long
+time to travel from one town to another. What should they do if somebody
+wished to ring the bell before the new rope came?
+
+"We must mend the rope in some way," said a man.
+
+"Here," said another; "take this piece of grapevine and fasten it to the
+rope. Then it will be long enough for any one to reach."
+
+This was done, and for some time the bell was rung in that way.
+
+
+II
+
+
+One hot summer noon everything was very still. All the people were
+indoors taking their noonday rest.
+
+Suddenly they were awakened by the arousing bell:
+
+  Some one--hath done--a wrong,
+  Hath done--a wrong!
+  Hath done--a wrong!
+
+The judge started from a deep sleep, turned on his couch, and listened.
+Could it be the bell of justice?
+
+Again the sound came:
+
+  Some one--hath done--a wrong!
+  Hath done--a wrong!
+  Hath done--a wrong!
+
+It was the bell of justice. The judge put on his rich robes and,
+panting, hurried to the market place.
+
+There he saw a strange sight: a poor steed, starved and thin, tugging at
+the vines which were fastened to the bell. A great crowd had gathered
+around.
+
+"Whose horse is this?" the judge asked.
+
+"It is the horse of the rich soldier who lives in the castle," said a
+man. "He has served his master long and well, and has saved his life
+many times. Now that the horse is too old to work, the master turns him
+out. He wanders through the lanes and fields, picking up such food as
+can be found."
+
+"His call for justice shall be heard," said the judge. "Bring the
+soldier to me."
+
+The soldier tried to treat the matter as a jest. Then he grew angry and
+said in an undertone, "One can surely do what he pleases with his own."
+
+[Illustration: The judge sees the horse in the market place]
+
+"For shame!" cried the judge. "Has the horse not served you for many
+years? And has he not saved your life? You must build a good shelter for
+him, and give him the best grain and the best pasture. Take the horse
+home and be as true to him as he has been to you."
+
+The soldier hung his head in shame and led the horse away. The people
+shouted and applauded.
+
+"Great is King John," they cried, "and great the bell of Atri!"
+
+--ITALIAN TALE.
+
+
+
+
+A DUMB WITNESS
+
+
+One day at noontime a poor man was riding along a road. He was tired and
+hungry, and wished to stop and rest. Finding a tree with low branches,
+he tied his horse to one of them. Then he sat down to eat his dinner.
+
+Soon a rich man came along and started to tie his horse to the same
+tree.
+
+"Do not fasten your horse to that tree," cried the poor man. "My horse
+is savage and he may kill yours. Fasten him to another tree."
+
+"I shall tie my horse where I wish," the rich man replied; and he tied
+his horse to the same tree. Then he, too, sat down to eat.
+
+Very soon the men heard a great noise. They looked up and saw that their
+horses were kicking and fighting. Both men rushed to stop them, but it
+was too late; the rich man's horse was dead.
+
+"See what your horse has done!" cried the rich man in an angry voice.
+"But you shall pay for it! You shall pay for it!"
+
+Then he dragged the man before a judge.
+
+"Oh, wise judge," he cried, "I have come to you for justice. I had a
+beautiful, kind, gentle horse which has been killed by this man's savage
+horse. Make the man pay for the horse or send him to prison."
+
+"Not so fast, my friend," the judge said. "There are two sides to every
+case."
+
+He turned to the poor man. "Did your horse kill this man's horse?" he
+asked.
+
+The poor man made no reply.
+
+The judge asked in surprise, "Are you dumb? Can you not talk?"
+
+But no word came from the poor man's lips.
+
+Then the judge turned to the rich man.
+
+"What more can I do?" he asked. "You see for yourself this poor man
+cannot speak."
+
+"Oh, but he can," cried the rich man. "He spoke to me."
+
+"Indeed!" said the judge. "When?"
+
+"He spoke to me when I tied my horse to the tree."
+
+"What did he say?" asked the judge.
+
+"He said, 'Do not fasten your horse to that tree. My horse is savage and
+may kill yours.'"
+
+"0 ho!" said the judge. "This poor man warned you that his horse was
+savage, and you tied your horse near his after the warning. This puts a
+new light on the matter. You are to blame, not he."
+
+The judge turned to the poor man and said, "My man, why did you not
+answer my questions?"
+
+"Oh, wise judge," said the poor man, "if I had told you that I warned
+him not to tie his horse near mine, he would have denied it. Then how
+could you have told which one of us to believe? I let him tell his own
+story, and you have learned the truth."
+
+This speech pleased the judge. He praised the poor man for his wisdom,
+and sent the rich man away without a penny.
+
+--ARABIAN TALE.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Workers leaving a reaped field]
+
+GIVING THANKS
+
+
+  For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
+  For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
+  For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
+  For the rose and the song, and the harvest brought home--
+    Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
+
+[Illustration: A house]
+
+  For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
+  For the cunning and strength of the working-man's hand,
+  For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
+  For the friendship that hope and affection have brought--
+    Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
+
+  For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
+  For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
+  For our country extending from sea to sea,
+  The land that is known as "The Land of the Free"--
+    Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
+
+
+
+
+THE HARE AND THE HEDGEHOG
+
+I
+
+
+PLACE: A farmer's cabbage field.
+
+TIME: A fine morning in spring.
+
+(The hedgehog is standing by his door looking at the cabbage field which
+he thinks is his own.)
+
+HEDGEHOG: Wife, have you dressed the children yet?
+
+WIFE: Just through, my dear.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Well, come out here and let us look at our cabbage patch.
+
+(Wife comes out.)
+
+HEDGEHOG: Fine crop, isn't it? We should be happy.
+
+WIFE: The cabbage is fine enough, but I can't see why we should be so
+happy.
+
+[Illustration: The hare and the hedgehog with a cabbage]
+
+HEDGEHOG: Why, my dear, there are tears in your voice. What is the
+matter?
+
+WIFE: I suppose I ought not to mind it, but those dreadful hares nearly
+worry the life out of me.
+
+HEDGEHOG: What are they doing now?
+
+WIFE: Doing? What are they not doing? Why, yesterday I brought my pretty
+babies out here to get some cabbage leaves. We were eating as
+well-behaved hedgehogs always eat, and those horrid hares almost made us
+cry.
+
+HEDGEHOG: What did they do?
+
+WIFE: They came to our cabbage patch and they giggled and said, "Oh, see
+the little duck-legged things! Aren't they funny?" Then one jumped over
+a cabbage just to hurt our feelings.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Well, they are mean, I know, but we won't notice them. I'll
+get even with them one of these days. Ah, there comes one of them now.
+
+WIFE: Yes, and he laughed at me yesterday. He said, "Good-morning, Madam
+Shortlegs." I won't speak to him. I'll hide till he goes by.
+
+(Wife hides behind a cabbage.)
+
+HEDGEHOG: Good-morning, sir.
+
+HARE: Are you speaking to me?
+
+HEDGEHOG: Certainly; do you see any one else around?
+
+HARE: How dare you speak to me?
+
+HEDGEHOG: Oh, just to be neighborly.
+
+HARE: I shall ask you not to speak to me hereafter. I think myself too
+good to notice hedgehogs.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Now, that is strange.
+
+HARE: What is strange?
+
+HEDGEHOG: Why, I have just said to my wife that we wouldn't notice you.
+
+HARE: Wouldn't notice me, indeed, you silly, short-legged, duck-legged
+thing!
+
+HEDGEHOG: Well, my legs are quite as good as yours, sir.
+
+HARE: As good as mine! Who ever heard of such a thing? Why, you can do
+little more than crawl.
+
+HEDGEHOG: That may be as you say, but I'll run a race with you any day.
+
+HARE: Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! A race with a hedgehog! Well, well, well!
+
+HEDGEHOG: Are you afraid to run with me?
+
+HARE: Of course not. It will be no race at all, but I'll run just to
+show you how silly you are.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Good! You run in that furrow; I will run in this. We shall see
+who gets to the fence first. Let's start from the far end of the furrow.
+
+HARE: I will run to the brook and back while you are getting there. Go
+ahead.
+
+HEDGEHOG: I wouldn't stay too long if I were you.
+
+HARE: Oh, I'll be back before you reach the end of the furrow.
+
+(The hare runs off to the brook.)
+
+
+II
+
+
+HEDGEHOG: Wife, wife, did you hear what I said to the hare?
+
+WIFE: Did I hear? I should say I did. What are you thinking of? Have you
+lost your senses?
+
+HEDGEHOG: You shouldn't speak that way to me. What do you know about a
+man's business? Come here and let me whisper something to you.
+
+(He whispers and then walks to far end of the furrow. His wife laughs.)
+
+WIFE: Ha, ha! I see. I see. Nothing wrong with your brains.
+
+  "Short legs, long wit,
+  Long legs, not a bit,"
+
+as my grandmother used to say. The hare will find that out today.
+
+(She stoops down in the near end of the furrow. The hare returns and
+takes his place.)
+
+HARE: Well, are you ready?
+
+HEDGEHOG: Of course I am,--ready and waiting.
+
+  HARE: One for the money,
+  Two for the show,
+  Three to make ready,
+  And here we go!
+
+(The hare runs as swiftly as the wind. The hedgehog starts with him, but
+stops and stoops low in the furrow. When the hare reaches the other end,
+the hedgehog's wife puts up her head.)
+
+WIFE: Well, here I am.
+
+HARE: What does this mean?
+
+WIFE: It means what it means.
+
+HARE: We'll try again. Are you ready?
+
+WIFE: Of course I am.
+
+  HARE: One for the money,
+  Two for the show,
+  Three to make ready,
+  And here we go!
+
+(The hare runs swiftly back again. Wife starts, but stops and stoops
+low. The hare reaches the other end. The hedgehog puts up his head.)
+
+HEDGEHOG: Here I am.
+
+HARE: I can't understand this.
+
+HEDGEHOG: It is very clear to me.
+
+HARE: Well, we'll try again. Are you ready?
+
+HEDGEHOG: I'm always ready.
+
+  HARE: One for the money,
+  Two for the show,
+  Three to make ready,
+  And here we go!
+
+(Again the wife puts up her head and the hare is bewildered.)
+
+[Illustration: The hare racing as the hedhog looks on]
+
+WIFE: You see I am here.
+
+HARE: I just can't believe it.
+
+WIFE: A perfectly simple thing.
+
+HARE: We'll try once more. You can't beat me another time.
+
+WIFE: Don't boast. You had better save your breath for the race; you
+will need it.
+
+  HARE: One for the money,
+  Two for the show,
+  Three to make ready,
+  And here we go!
+
+(When the hare reaches the other end of the field, the hedgehog puts up
+his head.)
+
+HARE: This is very strange.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Shall we run again? You seem a little tired, but I am
+perfectly fresh.
+
+HARE (_panting_): No, no! The race is yours.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Will you call my wife and children names any more?
+
+HARE: No, no! I'll never do that again.
+
+HEDGEHOG: Very well. And if you wish a race at any time, friend hare,
+just call by for me.
+
+HARE (_walking off shaking his head_): It's very strange. I hope none of
+the other hares will hear of this race.
+
+WIFE (_as she meets the hedgehog_): I thought I should hurt myself
+laughing. As my grandmother used to say,
+
+  "Short legs, long wit,
+  Long legs, not a bit."
+
+--GRIMM.
+
+
+
+
+EPAMINONDAS
+
+
+Epaminondas had a good kind granny, who cooked at "the big house."
+Epaminondas liked to go to see her, for she always gave him something to
+take home with him.
+
+One day when Epaminondas went to see granny, she was baking a cake, and
+she gave Epaminondas a piece to eat. As he was leaving, granny said,
+"Epaminondas, you may take a slice home to your mammy."
+
+Epaminondas took it in his little hands and squeezing it just as tight
+as he could, ran all the way home. When his mammy saw him, she said,
+"What's that, Epaminondas?"
+
+"Cake, mammy. Granny sent it to you."
+
+"Cake!" cried his mammy. "Epaminondas, don't you know that's no way to
+carry cake? When your granny gives you cake, put it in your hat; then
+put your hat on your head and come home. You hear me, Epaminondas?"
+
+"Yes, mammy."
+
+The next time Epaminondas went to see his granny, she was churning, and
+she gave him a pat of fresh butter to carry to his mammy.
+
+Epaminondas said to himself, "What was it mammy said? Oh, yes! I know.
+She said, 'Put it in your hat and put the hat on your head and come
+home.' I'll do just what she told me."
+
+Epaminondas put the pat of butter in his hat, put his hat on his head,
+and went home.
+
+It was a hot day, and soon the butter began to melt. Drip, drip, drip,
+it went into his ears. Drip, drip, drip, it went into his eyes. Drip,
+drip, drip, it went down his back. When Epaminondas reached home, he had
+no butter in his hat. It was all on him.
+
+Looking at him hard, his mammy said, "Epaminondas, what in the world is
+that dripping from your hat?"
+
+"Butter, mammy. Granny sent it to you."
+
+"Butter!" cried his mammy. "Oh, Epaminondas! Don't you know how to carry
+butter? You must wrap it in a cabbage leaf, and take it to the spring.
+Then you must cool it in the water, and cool it in the water, and cool
+it in the water. When you have done this, take the butter in your hands
+and come home. You hear me, Epaminondas?"
+
+"Yes, mammy."
+
+The next time Epaminondas went to see his granny, she wasn't baking cake
+and she wasn't churning. She was sitting in a chair knitting.
+
+She said, "Epaminondas, look in the woodshed, and you'll see something
+you like."
+
+Epaminondas looked in the woodshed, and there he found four little
+puppies. He played with them all the afternoon, and when he started
+home, his granny gave him one.
+
+Epaminondas remembered what his mammy had told him. He wrapped the puppy
+in a big cabbage leaf, and took it to the spring. He cooled it in the
+water, and cooled it in the water, and cooled it in the water. Then he
+took it in his hands, and went home.
+
+When his mammy saw him, she said, "Epaminondas, what is that in your
+hands?"
+
+"A puppy dog, mammy."
+
+"A puppy dog!" cried his mammy. "Oh, Epaminondas! What makes you act so
+foolish? That's no way to carry a puppy. The way to carry a puppy is to
+tie a string around his neck and put him on the ground. Then you take
+the other end of the string in your hand and come along home. You hear
+me, Epaminondas?"
+
+"Yes, mammy."
+
+Epaminondas was going to be right the next time; he got a piece of
+string and put it in his pocket to have it ready.
+
+The next day company came to see Epaminondas's mammy, and she had no
+bread for dinner. She called Epaminondas and said, "Run to 'the big
+house' and ask your granny to send me a loaf of bread for dinner."
+
+"Yes, mammy," said Epaminondas. And off he ran.
+
+Granny gave him a loaf just from the oven--a nice, brown, crusty loaf.
+This time Epaminondas was certainly going to do what mammy had told him.
+
+He proudly got out his string and tied it to the loaf. Then he put the
+loaf on the ground, and taking the other end of the string in his hand,
+he went along home.
+
+When he reached home, his mammy gave one look at the thing tied to the
+end of the string.
+
+"What have you brought, Epaminondas?" she cried.
+
+"Bread, mammy. Granny sent it to you."
+
+"Oh, Epaminondas! Epaminondas! How could you be so foolish?" cried his
+mammy. "Now I have no bread for dinner. I'll have to go and get some
+myself."
+
+She went into the house and got her bonnet. When she came out, she said,
+"Epaminondas, do you see those three mince pies I've put on the doorstep
+to cool. Well, now, you hear me, Epaminondas. You be careful how you
+step on those pies!"
+
+"Yes, mammy."
+
+His mammy went off down the road; Epaminondas went to the door and
+looked out. "Mammy told me to be careful how I step on those mince
+pies," he said, "so I must be careful how I do it. I'll step right in
+the middle of every one."
+
+And he did!
+
+When his mammy came home, there were no pies for dinner.
+
+Now she was angry all over, and something happened. I don't know, and
+you don't know, but we can guess.
+
+Poor Epaminondas!--SOUTHERN TALE.
+
+[Illustration: Epaminondas stepping in the pies]
+
+
+
+
+HOW BROTHER RABBIT FOOLED THE WHALE AND THE ELEPHANT
+
+I
+
+
+One day Brother Rabbit was running along on the sand, lippety, lippety,
+lippety. He was going to a fine cabbage field. On the way he saw the
+whale and the elephant talking together.
+
+Brother Rabbit said, "I'd like to know what they are talking about." So
+he crouched down behind some bushes and listened.
+
+This is what Brother Rabbit heard the whale say:
+
+"You are the biggest thing on the land, Brother Elephant, and I am the
+biggest thing in the sea. If we work together, we can rule all the
+animals in the world. We can have our own way about everything."
+
+"Very good, very good," trumpeted the elephant. "That suits me. You keep
+the sea, and I will keep the land."
+
+[Illustration: Brother Rabbit listening]
+
+"That's a bargain," said the whale, as he swam away.
+
+Brother Rabbit laughed to himself. "They won't rule me," he said, as he
+ran off.
+
+Brother Rabbit soon came back with a very long and a very strong rope
+and his big drum. He hid the drum in some bushes. Then taking one end of
+the rope, he walked up to the elephant.
+
+"Oh, dear Mr. Elephant," he said, "you are big and strong; will you have
+the kindness to do me a favor?"
+
+The elephant was pleased, and he trumpeted, "Certainly, certainly. What
+is it?"
+
+"My cow is stuck in the mud on the shore, and I can't pull her out,"
+said Brother Rabbit. "If you will help me, you will do me a great
+service. You are so strong, I am sure you can get her out."
+
+"Certainly, certainly," trumpeted the elephant.
+
+"Thank you," said the rabbit. "Take this rope in your trunk, and I will
+tie the other end to my cow. Then I will beat my drum to let you know
+when to pull. You must pull as hard as you can, for the cow is very
+heavy."
+
+"Huh!" trumpeted the elephant, "I'll pull her out, or break the rope."
+
+Brother Rabbit tied the rope to the elephant's trunk and ran off,
+lippety, lippety.
+
+
+II
+
+
+He ran till he came to the shore where the whale was. Making a bow,
+Brother Rabbit said, "0, mighty and wonderful Whale, will you do me a
+favor?"
+
+"What is it?" asked the whale.
+
+"My cow is stuck in the mud on the shore," said Brother Rabbit, "and I
+cannot pull her out. Of course you can do it. If you will be so kind as
+to help me, I shall be very much obliged."
+
+"Certainly," said the whale, "certainly."
+
+"Thank you," said Brother Rabbit, "take hold of this rope, and I will
+tie the other end to my cow. Then I will beat my big drum to let you
+know when to pull. You must pull as hard as you can, for my cow is very
+heavy."
+
+"Never fear," said the whale, "I could pull a dozen cows out of the
+mud."
+
+"I am sure you could," said the rabbit politely. "Only be sure to begin
+gently. Then pull harder and harder till you get her out."
+
+The rabbit ran away into the bushes where he had hidden the drum and
+began to beat it. Then the whale began to pull and the elephant began to
+pull. In a minute the rope tightened till it was stretched as hard as a
+bar of iron.
+
+"This is a very heavy cow," said the elephant, "but I'll pull her out."
+Bracing his fore feet in the earth, he gave a tremendous pull.
+
+But the whale had no way to brace himself.
+
+"Dear me," he said. "That cow must surely be stuck tight." Lashing his
+tail in the water, he gave a marvelous pull.
+
+He pulled harder; the elephant pulled harder. Soon the whale found
+himself sliding toward the land. He was so provoked with the cow that he
+went head first, down to the bottom of the sea.
+
+That was a pull! The elephant was jerked off his feet, and came slipping
+and sliding toward the sea. He was very angry.
+
+"That cow must be very strong to drag me in this way," he said. "I will
+brace myself."
+
+Kneeling down on the ground, he twisted the rope around his trunk. Then
+he began to pull his very best, and soon the whale came up out of the
+water.
+
+Then each saw that the other had hold of the rope.
+
+"How is this?" cried the whale. "I thought I was pulling Brother
+Rabbit's cow."
+
+"That is what I thought," said the elephant. "Brother Rabbit is making
+fun of us. He must pay for this. I forbid him to eat a blade of grass on
+land, because he played a trick on us."
+
+"And I will not allow him to drink a drop of water in the sea," said the
+whale.
+
+But Little Rabbit sat in the bushes and laughed, and laughed, and
+laughed.
+
+"Much do I care," he said. "I can get all the green things I want, and I
+don't like salt water."
+
+--SOUTHERN FOLK TALE.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A mother with children in winter]
+
+A CHRISTMAS WISH
+
+
+  I'd like a stocking made for a giant,
+    And a meeting house full of toys;
+  Then I'd go out on a happy hunt
+    For the poor little girls and boys;
+  Up the street and down the street,
+    And across and over the town,
+  I'd search and find them every one,
+    Before the sun went down.
+
+  One would want a new jack-knife
+    Sharp enough to cut;
+  One would long for a doll with hair,
+    And eyes that open and shut;
+  One would ask for a china set
+    With dishes all to her mind;
+  One would wish a Noah's ark
+    With beasts of every kind.
+
+  Some would like a doll cook-stove
+    And a little toy wash tub;
+  Some would prefer a little drum,
+    For a noisy rub-a-dub;
+  Some would wish for a story book,
+    And some for a set of blocks;
+  Some would be wild with happiness
+    Over a new tool-box.
+
+  And some would rather have little shoes,
+    And other things warm to wear,
+  For many children are very poor,
+    And the winter is hard to bear;
+  I'd buy soft flannels for little frocks,
+    And a thousand stockings or so,
+  And the jolliest little coats and cloaks,
+    To keep out the frost and snow.
+
+[Illustration: Christmas toys]
+
+  I'd load a wagon with caramels
+    And candy of every kind,
+  And buy all the almond and pecan nuts
+    And taffy that I could find;
+  And barrels and barrels of oranges
+    I'd scatter right in the way,
+  So the children would find them the very first thing,
+    When they wake on Christmas day.
+
+--EUGENE FIELD.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The church tower]
+
+THE CHRISTMAS BELLS
+
+I
+
+
+Long, long ago, in a far away city, there was a large church. The tower
+of this church was so high that it seamed to touch the clouds, and in
+the high tower there were three wonderful bells. When they rang, they
+made sweet music.
+
+There was something strange about these bells. They were never heard to
+ring except on Christmas eve, and no one knew who rang them. Some people
+thought it was the wind blowing through the tower. Others thought the
+angels rang them when a gift pleased the Christ Child.
+
+Although the people did not know what rang the bells, they loved to hear
+them. They would come from miles around to listen to the wonderful
+music. When they had heard the bells, they would go out of the church,
+silent but happy. Then all would go back to their homes feeling that
+Christmas had come, indeed.
+
+One Christmas eve the people in the church waited and waited, but the
+bells did not ring. Silently and sadly they went home. Christmas after
+Christmas came and went. Nearly one hundred years passed by, and in all
+that time the bells did not ring.
+
+People sometimes asked one another, "Do you suppose the bells ever did
+ring?"
+
+"Yes," said one very old man. "I have often heard my father tell how
+beautifully they rang on Christmas eve. There was more love in the world
+then."
+
+Every Christmas eve the church was filled with people who waited and
+listened. They hoped that the bells would ring again as they had rung
+long ago. Though many gifts were laid on the altar, still the bells did
+not ring.
+
+
+II
+
+
+Christmas was near at hand again, and every one was happy.
+
+Not far from the city two little brothers lived on a farm--Pedro and
+Little Brother.
+
+Their father was poor and had no gift to lay on the altar. But Pedro had
+saved all his earnings, and he had one shining silver piece. His father
+had promised the little boys that they might go to the church on
+Christmas eve and take the gift.
+
+It was quite dark when the lads started on their way to the city. The
+snow was falling fast, but they buttoned their little jackets close
+about them and walked along briskly. They were not far from the church
+when they heard a low whine of distress. Little Brother, clinging to
+Pedro in fear, cried, "What is it, Pedro, what is it?"
+
+Pedro ran across the street, and there under a small heap of snow, what
+do you think he found? A little black and white dog, shivering with
+cold, and nearly starved. Pedro opened his jacket, and put the dog
+inside to keep it warm.
+
+"You will have to go to the church alone, Little Brother," Pedro said.
+"I must take this little dog back to the farm, and give it food, else it
+will die."
+
+"But I don't want to go alone, Pedro," said Little Brother.
+
+"Won't you please go and put my gift on the altar, Little Brother? I
+wish so much to have it there to-night."
+
+"Yes, Pedro, I will," said Little Brother.
+
+He took the gift and started toward the church. Pedro turned and went
+home.
+
+When Little Brother came to the great stone church and looked up at the
+high tower, he felt that he could not go in alone. He stood outside a
+long time watching the people as they passed in. At last he entered
+quietly and took a seat in a corner.
+
+
+III
+
+
+When Little Brother went into the church, all the people were seated.
+They sat quietly hoping that at last the bells would ring again as in
+the days of old.
+
+The organ pealed out a Christmas hymn. The choir and the people arose,
+and all sang the grand old anthem. Then a solemn voice said, "Bring now
+your gifts to the altar."
+
+The king arose and went forward with stately tread. Bowing before the
+altar, he laid upon it his golden crown. Then he walked proudly back to
+his seat. All the people listened, but the bells did not ring.
+
+Then the queen arose and with haughty step walked to the front. She took
+from her neck and wrists her beautiful jewels and laid them upon the
+altar. All the people listened, but the bells did not ring.
+
+Then the soldiers came marching proudly forward. They took their jeweled
+swords from their belts and laid them upon the altar. All the people
+listened, but the bells did not ring.
+
+Then the rich men came hurrying forward. They counted great sums of gold
+and laid them in a businesslike way upon the altar. All the people
+listened, but the bells did not ring.
+
+"Can I go all alone to the front of the church and lay this small gift
+on the altar?" said Little Brother. "Oh, how can I? how can I?"
+
+Then he said, "But I told Pedro I would, and I must."
+
+So he slipped slowly around by the outer aisle. He crept quietly up to
+the altar and softly laid the silver piece upon the very edge.
+
+And listen! What do you think was heard? The bells, the bells!
+
+Oh, how happy the people were! And how happy Little Brother was! He ran
+out of the church and down the road toward the farm.
+
+Pedro had warmed the dog and fed it, and was now on the way to the city.
+He hoped that he might see the people come out of the church.
+
+Down the road Little Brother came running. Throwing himself into Pedro's
+arms, he cried, "Oh, Pedro, Pedro! The bells, the bells! I wish you
+could have heard them; and they rang when I laid your gift on the
+altar."
+
+"I did hear them, Little Brother," said Pedro. "Their sound came to me
+over the snow,--the sweetest music I ever heard."
+
+Long years after, when Pedro grew to be a man, he was a great musician.
+Many, many people came to hear him play.
+
+Some one said to him one day, "How can you play so sweetly? I never
+heard such music before."
+
+"Ah," said Pedro, "but you never heard the Christmas bells as I heard
+them that Christmas night years and years ago."
+
+--OLD TALE RETOLD.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Family at prayer at the table]
+
+GOD BLESS THE MASTER OF THIS HOUSE
+
+
+  God bless the master of this house,
+    The mistress, also,
+  And all the little children
+    That round the table go:
+  And all your kin and kinsfolk,
+    That dwell both far and near;
+  I wish you a merry Christmas
+    And a happy new year.
+
+--OLD ENGLISH RIME.
+
+
+
+
+SQUEAKY AND THE SCARE BOX
+
+I
+
+
+Once upon a time a family of mice lived in the pantry wall. There was a
+father mouse, there was a mother mouse, and there were three little baby
+mice.
+
+One little mouse had sharp bright eyes and could see everything, even in
+the darkest holes. He was called Sharpeyes. His brother could sniff and
+smell anything, wherever it might be hidden, and he was called Sniffy.
+The baby mouse had such a squeaky little voice that he was called
+Squeaky. He was always singing, "Ee-ee-ee!"
+
+Mother mouse was very wise, and she had taught her babies to run and
+hide when they saw the old cat coming. She had also taught them not to
+go near a trap. The little mice obeyed their mother, and they were happy
+in their home in the pantry wall.
+
+They had many good times together. I could not tell you about all of
+these, but I am going to tell you about their Christmas party and what
+happened to Squeaky.
+
+It was the night before Christmas. The stockings hung by the chimney,
+and the tall tree was standing in the parlor. The children were asleep,
+and the father and mother had gone upstairs to bed.
+
+In the pantry wall, the little mice were all wide-awake.
+
+"Ee-ee-ee!" squeaked Squeaky; "why can't we creep into the big room and
+see the tall Christmas tree? The children have talked about it for days,
+and we have never seen one. Mother, please let us go and see it."
+
+"Yes," said Sniffy, "do let us go. Everything smells so good. The
+children and the cook made long strings of pop corn to-day. I found a
+little on the pantry floor, and I want some more."
+
+"I peeped out of our hole," said Sharpeyes, "and I saw cake and candy
+all ready for the children. Oh, I do want a bite of those good things!
+Please let us have a Christmas party."
+
+"Well," said mother mouse, "I will ask your father. If he says it is
+safe, we will go."
+
+When mother mouse asked father mouse, he said, "I will go out first and
+look all about. If it is safe, I will come back for you."
+
+So father mouse crept softly through the pantry, down the long hall, and
+into the parlor. The cat was nowhere to be seen. Father mouse ran back
+to the pantry and cried, "The cat is not near; come and see the tree."
+
+
+II
+
+
+Then all the mice came scampering from the hole in the wall. They crept
+through the pantry, down the long hall, and into the parlor. When they
+saw the tall Christmas tree, they squeaked again and again in their joy.
+Then they ran around and around the tree to see what was on it.
+
+[Illustration: The mice look at the Christmas tree]
+
+On the floor they saw a wonderful doll's house. "How fine it would be to
+live there!" they squeaked.
+
+They ran up and down the stairs, sat on the chairs, and lay down in the
+beds. Oh, they had a merry time!
+
+Then Sniffy said, "I smell that good pop corn again. Let's climb up into
+the Christmas tree and get some."
+
+They climbed up into the tree. They nibbled the pop corn; they nibbled
+the candy; they nibbled the nuts; and they nibbled the cakes.
+
+Soon Sharpeyes cried out, "Come here, I see a mouse! I see a mouse! But
+he doesn't look like our family at all."
+
+"I should say not," sniffed Sniffy; "and how good he smells!"
+
+"Why, he is good to eat!" squeaked Squeaky; and they all began to eat
+the chocolate mouse.
+
+Then they found another candy mouse--a pretty pink one. They were so
+busy eating it that they forgot to watch and listen; then--bang! The
+door was opened, and the lights were turned on.
+
+With a squeak, the mice scampered down from the tree; then they ran
+along the hall, through the pantry, and back to their home. There was
+the father mouse, and the mother mouse, and Sharpeyes, and Sniffy. But
+where was Squeaky?
+
+
+III
+
+
+Now, as Squeaky tried to run down the tree, he fell heels over head.
+Down, down, down, he fell until he was caught in a funny box. An ugly
+man with black hair and black whiskers seemed to be hopping out of the
+box.
+
+When Squeaky saw the lights turned on, he hid under the dress of this
+queer man. He lay very, very still, for he had been taught to be still
+when danger was near. He heard voices. The father and mother had come
+back.
+
+"Yes," the father was saying; "it would have been a shame to forget this
+train. I would like it to come right out from under the tree. Help me
+put the track down, mother."
+
+When the train was just where it should be, the mother turned to the
+beautiful tree.
+
+"Why, look at that Jack-in-the-box," she said. "The man is hanging out.
+That will never do. I will shut the box. Teddy must see the man jump
+out."
+
+The mother pushed the man with the black hair down, down, into the box
+and shut the lid. Poor Squeaky felt the springs close down on him and
+squeaked, "Ee-ee-"
+
+"That was a fine squeak," said the father. "The toys are wonderful these
+days."
+
+"Yes," said the mother, as she turned off the light. "When I was a
+child, we did not have such toys."
+
+"I am in a trap," said poor Squeaky, "but there isn't even a bit of
+cheese in it. I wonder what kind of trap it is; nothing seems to hurt
+me. Well, I am safe for a while, and I hope I shall soon get out."
+
+Squeaky lay in the box all night, and wondered what Sniffy and Sharpeyes
+were doing. The next morning, he heard children calling, "Merry
+Christmas! Merry Christmas!" And soon the toys were taken down, one by
+one. Then such a noise was heard--drums beating, horns tooting, children
+shouting. You should have heard it.
+
+[Illustration: The mother is surprised as Squeaky escapes]
+
+"See our new doll's house!" cried one child.
+
+"See my new train! How fast it goes!" cried another.
+
+"And see my beautiful dolly!" cried another. "She can open and shut her
+eyes."
+
+By and by the mother took the box from the tree. "Come here, Teddy," she
+said. "Here is a scare box. We will have some fun. Watch me open the
+lid."
+
+Teddy stood by his mother and watched closely.
+
+"Are you ready?" asked his mother. "Well, let us count. One, two,
+three!"
+
+The lid flew open, and out jumped the man with the black hair and black
+whiskers. And with a squeak of joy, out jumped the mouse.
+
+"Ee-ee-ee!" he cried, as he ran away.
+
+"Ee!" said the Jack-in-the-box.
+
+"Whee-ee-ee!" cried the boy with delight.
+
+"Oh,--a mouse! a mouse!" cried the mother. Then she threw the box on the
+floor and jumped up on her chair.
+
+"Where? where?" cried all the children.
+
+But they saw only the tip of Squeaky's tail as he ran across the hall to
+the pantry. Another moment and he was safe in the hole in the pantry
+wall.
+
+The children's father laughed as he helped their mother climb down from
+the chair.
+
+"Well," he said, "how did _you_ enjoy Teddy's scare box?"
+
+--GEORGENE FAULKNER.
+
+
+
+
+THE GLAD NEW YEAR
+
+
+  It's coming, boys,
+    It's almost here.
+  It's coming, girls,
+    The grand New Year.
+
+  A year to be glad in,
+    Not to be sad in;
+  A year to live in,
+    To gain and give in.
+
+  A year for trying,
+    And not for sighing;
+  A year for striving
+    And healthy thriving.
+
+  It's coming, boys,
+    It's almost here.
+  It's coming, girls,
+    The grand New Year.
+
+--MARY MAPES DODGE.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The goose and the hen]
+
+MAKING THE BEST OF IT
+
+
+"What a dreary day it is!" grumbled the old gray goose to the brown hen.
+They were standing at the henhouse window watching the falling snow
+which covered every nook and corner of the farmyard.
+
+"Yes, indeed," said the brown hen. "I should almost be willing to be
+made into a chicken pie on such a day."
+
+She had scarcely stopped talking when Pekin duck said fretfully, "I am
+so hungry that I am almost starved."
+
+A little flock of chickens all huddled together wailed in sad tones,
+"And we are so thirsty!"
+
+In fact, all the feathered folk in the henhouse seemed cross and
+fretful. It is no wonder they felt that way, for they had had nothing to
+eat or drink since early in the morning. The cold wind howled around
+their house. Hour after hour went by, but no one came near the henhouse.
+
+The handsome white rooster, however, seemed as happy as usual. That is
+saying a great deal, for a jollier old fellow than he never lived in a
+farmyard. Sunshine, rain, or snow were all the same to him, and he
+crowed quite as merrily in stormy weather as in fair.
+
+"Well," he said, laughing, as he looked about the henhouse, "you all
+seem to be having a fit of dumps."
+
+Nobody answered the white rooster, but a faint cluck or two came from
+some of the hens. They immediately put their heads back under their
+wings, however, as if ashamed of having spoken at all.
+
+This was too much for the white rooster. He stood first on one yellow
+foot and then on the other. Turning his head from side to side, he said,
+"What's the use of looking so sad? Any one would think that you expected
+to be eaten by a band of hungry foxes."
+
+Just then a brave little white bantam rooster hopped down from his
+perch. He strutted over to the big rooster and caused quite a flutter in
+the henhouse by saying:
+
+"We're lively enough when our crops are full, but when we are starving,
+it is a wonder that we can hold our heads up at all. If I ever see that
+farmer's boy again, I'll--I'll--I'll peck his foot!"
+
+"You won't see him until he feeds us," said the white rooster, "and then
+I guess you will peck his corn."
+
+"Oh, oh!" moaned the brown hen. "Don't speak of a peck of corn."
+
+"Madam," said the white rooster, bowing very low, "your trouble is my
+own,--that is, I'm hungry, too. But we might be worse off. We might be
+in a box on our way to market. It is true that we haven't had anything
+to eat to-day, but we at least have room enough to stretch our wings."
+
+"Why, that is a fact," clucked the brown hen. And all the feathered
+family--even the smallest chickens--stretched their wings, and looked a
+little more cheerful.
+
+"Now, then," went on the rooster, "suppose we have a little music to
+cheer us and help pass the hours until roosting time. Let us all crow.
+There, I beg your pardon, ladies; I am sorry you can't crow. Let us sing
+a happy song. Will you be kind enough to start a merry tune, Mrs. Brown
+Hen?"
+
+The brown hen shook herself proudly, tossed her head back and
+began,--"Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca!" In less than two minutes every one in the
+henhouse had joined her. The white rooster was the loudest of all, and
+the little bantam rooster stretched his neck and did the best he could.
+
+Now, the horses, cows, and sheep were not far away. They heard the happy
+voices, and they, too, joined in the grand chorus. The pigs did their
+best to sing louder than all the rest.
+
+Higher and higher, stronger and stronger, rose the chorus. Louder and
+louder quacked the ducks. Shriller and shriller squealed the pigs.
+
+They were all so happy that they quite forgot their hunger until the
+door of the henhouse burst open, and in came three chubby children. Each
+was carrying a dish of hot chicken food.
+
+"Don't stop your music, Mr. Rooster," said the little girl, who was
+bundled up until you could scarcely see her dear little face.
+
+[Illustration: The children arrive with food]
+
+"You see, we were so lonesome that we didn't know what to do. We heard
+you folk singing out here, and we laughed and laughed until we almost
+cried. Then we went to tell Jack about you. He was lonesome, too, for
+he's sick with a sore throat, you know. He said, 'Why, those poor hens!
+They haven't been fed since morning! Go and feed them.' And so we came."
+
+"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" said the white rooster. "This comes of making the
+best of things. Cock-a-doodle-doo!" And nobody asked him to stop
+crowing.
+
+--FRANCES M. FOX.
+
+
+
+
+THE ANIMALS AND THE MIRROR
+
+I
+
+
+Aunt Susan sent an old-fashioned looking-glass to the barn to be stored
+in the loft, with other old furniture. The farm boy stood it on the
+floor of the barn until he should have time to put it away. The mirror
+was broad and long, and it was set in a dark wooden frame.
+
+An old duck wandered into the barn and caught sight of herself in the
+mirror. "There is another duck," she said. "I wonder who she is."
+
+And she walked toward the reflection. "She is rather friendly," the duck
+went on. "She is walking toward me. What large feet she has, but her
+feathers are very handsome."
+
+Just then she bumped into the mirror. "Goodness!" she cried; "if that
+duck isn't in a glass case! Why are you in there?"
+
+"Well, you needn't answer if you don't want to," she said, walking away.
+"A glass case is a good place for you."
+
+Just then a pig came along, and nosing around, he came in front of the
+mirror.
+
+"What are you doing here?" he asked, thinking he saw another pig. His
+nose hit the glass, and he stepped back.
+
+"So you are in a glass pen," he said. "You are not very handsome, and
+your nose is not so long as mine; I cannot see why you should have a
+glass pen."
+
+And away he trotted to tell the other pigs about the very plain-looking
+pig.
+
+Kitty came along next and walked in front of the mirror, turning her
+head and swinging her tail. She had seen a mirror before and knew what
+it was. The cat wished to look in the mirror, but she saw the dog coming
+in the door, and she did not want him to think her vain.
+
+The dog walked over to the mirror and gazed in it. Then he looked
+foolish, although he had seen a mirror before, too, but not so often as
+puss.
+
+"Thought it was another dog, didn't you?" she laughed. "Here comes the
+donkey. Let us hide behind those barrels and see what he does."
+
+
+II
+
+
+The donkey went up to the mirror.
+
+"If they haven't another donkey!" he said. "I suppose I should speak
+first, as I have lived here so long. Why, he is coming to meet me. That
+is friendly, indeed."
+
+Bump! his nose hit the glass.
+
+"Well, I had better give up!" he said. "You are in a glass case, but I
+don't know why you should be. You are a homely creature, and your ears
+are not so long as mine." And he walked off with a disgusted air.
+
+The cat rolled over and over, and the dog buried his head in his paws.
+"Did you ever see anything so funny?" he said to puss.
+
+"Hush!" she replied, "Here is the rooster."
+
+[Illustration: The rooster and the mirror]
+
+The rooster stopped quite still when he saw himself in the mirror.
+
+"Well, where did you come from?" he asked, ruffling up his feathers. He
+walked straight to the mirror and flew at the other rooster. Bang! He
+went against the glass.
+
+"In a glass case, are you?" he said. He stretched out his neck and
+looked very fierce. "You should be; you are a sight--your feathers are
+ruffled, and you are not half so handsome as I am."
+
+And off he walked, satisfied that he was handsomer than the other
+rooster.
+
+"Oh, dear!" laughed the cat. "I certainly shall scream. They all think
+they are handsomer than their reflections. Here comes the turkey
+gobbler. Let us see what he does."
+
+The gobbler walked slowly over to the mirror and looked at his
+reflection.
+
+"Now," he asked, "where in the world did they get you? You are an old,
+bald-headed creature, and your feathers need oiling. You look like a
+last year's turkey." And off he strutted.
+
+The cat and the dog leaned against the barrels and laughed until the
+tears ran down their faces.
+
+"Keep still," said the dog. "Here comes speckled hen and her chickens."
+
+Speckled hen walked around, picking up bits of corn. Suddenly she looked
+up and saw the mirror.
+
+"There is a hen with a brood of chicks, but they are not so handsome as
+mine," she said, walking toward the looking-glass. "Where do you live? I
+know you do not belong here." And she looked closer at the other hen.
+
+Click! Her bill hit the glass.
+
+"Well, if she isn't in a glass coop!" the hen said, stepping back. "If
+master has bought her and those chicks, there will be trouble. Mercy!
+One of the chicks is bow-legged, and they are a skinny looking lot."
+
+Then she clucked to her chicks and walked out of the barn.
+
+"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" laughed the dog; "they all think the same. They
+certainly are a conceited lot. Here comes the goose."
+
+
+III
+
+
+The goose waddled over to the mirror.
+
+"Well, well! If there isn't a new goose!" she said, "and she is walking
+toward me. I must be friendly."
+
+Snap! Her bill struck the mirror.
+
+"Oh, you are in a glass box!" she said. "Have you come to stay?" And she
+stretched out her neck.
+
+"My, but you have a long neck!" she went on, "and your feathers are nice
+and smooth. I suppose you cannot hear in that box."
+
+Then she walked away, nodding good-by. The other goose, of course,
+nodded also, and goosey went away satisfied.
+
+"She is not so much of a goose as the others," the cat remarked.
+
+"The peacock is coming," said the dog. "Keep quiet."
+
+In walked the peacock. Seeing another bird, as he supposed, he spread
+his beautiful tail to its full width. He walked about, but never a word
+did he say.
+
+"Now, what do you make out of that?" asked the dog. "Did he know that he
+was looking in a looking-glass, or wouldn't he speak to another bird?"
+
+"I do not know," said the cat, "but here comes the goat. Hide, quick!"
+
+Billy was clattering over the boards, when suddenly he saw the other
+goat. He looked at him a minute. "I'll show him," he said, running at
+the mirror with head down.
+
+[Illustration: The goat crashes into the mirror]
+
+Bang! Smash! Crash! and Billy jumped back, a very much astonished goat.
+
+"Now you have done it," said the horse, who had been watching all the
+time from his stall. "All the animals will get out and run away."
+
+"What are you talking about?" said the dog, who was laughing so hard he
+could scarcely talk. "There are no animals in there. That is a
+looking-glass; you see yourself when you are in front of it."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me that those animals have all been looking at
+themselves and finding fault with their own looks?" asked the horse,
+with his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
+
+"Of course," said the cat. "Can't you see that Billy has smashed the
+looking-glass?"
+
+"Well, that is the best I ever heard," said the horse, laughing, "but I
+wish I had known that was a looking-glass before Billy broke it. I
+should very much like to know how I look."
+
+"You might not have recognized yourself; the others didn't," said the
+dog.
+
+--F.A. WALKER.
+
+
+
+
+THE BARBER OF BAGDAD
+
+ACT I
+
+
+PLACE: Ali's barber shop.
+
+TIME: Morning.
+
+WOODCUTTER: I have a load of wood which I have just brought in on my
+donkey. Would you like to buy it, good barber?
+
+ALI: Well, let me see. Is it good wood?
+
+WOODCUTTER: The best in the country.
+
+ALI: I'll give you five shekels for all the wood upon the donkey.
+
+WOODCUTTER: Agreed. I'll put the wood here by your door.
+
+(Lays wood at door.)
+
+Now, good sir, give me the silver.
+
+ALI: Not so fast, my good friend. I must have your wooden pack saddle,
+too. That was the bargain. I said, "All the wood upon your donkey."
+Truly, the saddle is wood.
+
+[Illustration: Ali and the woodcutter with the donkey]
+
+WOODCUTTER: Who ever heard of such a bargain? Surely you cannot mean
+what you say? You would not treat a poor woodcutter so. It is
+impossible.
+
+ALI: Give me the saddle, or I'll have you put in prison. And take
+that--and that--and that!
+
+(Ali strikes the woodcutter.)
+
+WOODCUTTER: Ah, me, what shall I do? What shall I do? I know. I'll go to
+the caliph himself.
+
+
+ACT II
+
+
+PLACE: Caliph's Palace.
+
+TIME: Hour later.
+
+COURTIER: My lord, a good woodcutter is at the door and begs leave to
+come into your presence.
+
+CALIPH: Bid him enter. There is none too poor to be received by me.
+
+(Courtier goes out and returns with woodcutter, who kneels and kisses
+the ground. Then he stands with arms folded.)
+
+CALIPH: Tell me, good man, what brought you here? Has any one done you a
+wrong?
+
+WOODCUTTER: Great wrong, my lord. The rich barber Ali did buy a load of
+wood from me. He offered me five shekels for all the wood on my donkey.
+When I had put down the load, I asked for my money, but he refused to
+pay me until I had given him my pack saddle. He said the bargain was
+"all the wood on the donkey," and that the saddle is wood. He said he
+would put me in prison if I did not give up the saddle. Then he took it
+and drove me away with blows.
+
+CALIPH: A strange story, truly. The barber has law on his side, and yet
+you have right on yours. The law must be obeyed, but--come here and let
+me whisper something to you.
+
+(The woodcutter listens smilingly and bowing low, leaves the room.)
+
+
+ACT III
+
+
+PLACE: The barber's shop.
+
+TIME: A few days later.
+
+ALI: Ah! here comes my stupid friend the woodcutter. I suppose he has
+come to quarrel about the wood. No, he is smiling.
+
+WOODCUTTER: Good day to you, friend Ali. I have come to ask if you will
+be so kind as to shave me and a companion from the country.
+
+ALI: Oh, yes, I suppose so.
+
+WOODCUTTER: How much will you charge?
+
+ALI: A shekel for the two.
+
+(To himself.)
+
+The poor fool cannot pay that sum.
+
+WOODCUTTER. Very good. Shave me first.
+
+(Ali shaves him.)
+
+ALI: Now you are shaved. Where is your companion?
+
+WOODCUTTER: He is standing outside. He will come in at once.
+
+(He goes out and returns leading his donkey.)
+
+This is my companion. Shave him.
+
+ALI (_in a rage_): Shave him! Shave a donkey, indeed! Is it not enough
+that I should lower myself by touching you? And then you insult me by
+asking me to shave your donkey! Away with you!
+
+
+ACT IV
+
+
+PLACE: Caliph's Palace.
+
+TIME: Half-hour later.
+
+CALIPH: Well, my friend, did you do as I told you?
+
+WOODCUTTER: Yes, and Ali refused to shave my donkey.
+
+CALIPH (_to Courtier_): Bid Ali come to me at once and bring his razors
+with him.
+
+(Courtier leaves and returns with Ali.)
+
+CALIPH: Why did you refuse to shave this man's companion? Was not that
+your agreement?
+
+ALI (_kissing the ground_): It is true, O caliph, such was the
+agreement, but who ever made a companion of a donkey before?
+
+CALIPH: True enough, but who ever thought of saying that a pack saddle
+is a part of a load of wood? No, no, it is the woodcutter's turn now.
+Shave his donkey instantly.
+
+(Ali lathers the beast and shaves him in the presence of the whole
+court, and then slips away amid the laughter of the bystanders.)
+
+CALIPH: Now, my honest woodcutter, here is a purse of gold for you.
+Always remember that the caliph gladly listens to the complaints of his
+people, poor and rich, and will right their wrongs if he can.
+
+WOODCUTTER: Long live the Caliph!
+
+COURTIERS: Long live the Caliph!
+
+--EASTERN TALE.
+
+
+
+
+WINTER NIGHT
+
+
+    Blow, wind, blow!
+    Drift the flying snow!
+  Send it twirling, twirling overhead.
+    There's a bedroom in a tree
+    Where snug as snug can be,
+  The squirrel nests in his cozy bed.
+
+    Shriek, wind, shriek!
+    Make the branches creak!
+  Battle with the boughs till break of day!
+    In a snow cave warm and tight
+    Through the icy winter night
+  The rabbit sleeps the peaceful hour away.
+
+    Scold, wind, scold!
+    So bitter and so bold!
+  Shake the windows with your tap, tap, tap!
+    With half-shut, dreamy eyes
+    The drowsy baby lies
+  Cuddled closely in his mother's lap.
+
+--MARY F. BUTTS.
+
+
+
+
+HOPE'S DOLL
+
+
+It was Saturday morning. Elizabeth Brown sat by a window in the big
+kitchen making a pink dress for little Hope's doll.
+
+On the chair beside her lay the doll, though you might not have thought
+of calling it one. It did not have curly hair--nor eyes that open and
+shut. In those days no child had toys like ours. Hope's doll was made of
+a corncob; the face was painted on a piece of linen stretched over a
+ball of wool on the end of the cob.
+
+Little Hope was taking her morning nap. When Elizabeth had sewed the
+last neat stitches, she dressed the doll and laid it on the bed by the
+little girl. How happy Hope was when she awoke and saw it! She thought
+it the most beautiful doll in the world.
+
+"What will you call your doll, Hope?" asked Elizabeth.
+
+"I will name her for mother," said Hope. "I will call her Mary Ellen."
+
+[Illustration: Hope and her doll]
+
+Hope played all the afternoon with her doll and was very happy. When the
+sunset gun sounded, she had to stop playing. With the Puritans, the
+Sabbath began at sunset, and no child could play after the gun was
+heard.
+
+The little maid kissed her baby and went into the bedroom to find a warm
+place for it to stay until the next evening. There lay father's Sunday
+coat; what warmer nest could she find for Mary Ellen than its big
+pocket?
+
+After breakfast the next day, every one got ready to go to meeting.
+Master Brown filled the little tin foot stove with hot coals from the
+hearth; then he took his gun from its hook. In those days no man went
+anywhere without his gun--not even to church, for the Indians were
+likely to come at any time.
+
+Sometimes the firing of a gun was the call to worship. More often a big
+drum, beaten on the steps of the meeting house, told the people it was
+time to come together.
+
+At the sound of the drum, Master Brown and his wife, with Elizabeth and
+Hope, started to church. From every house in the village came men,
+women, and children. They were always ready when the drum began to beat,
+for no one was ever late to meeting in those days.
+
+Master Brown led his family to their pew and opened a little door to let
+them in. The pew was very much like a large box with seats around the
+sides.
+
+The church was cold, for there was no fire. The children warmed their
+fingers and toes by the queer little foot stove their father had brought
+from home.
+
+When every one was seated, the minister climbed the steps to his high
+pulpit. The sermon was always very long--three hours at least. The
+children could not understand what it was all about, and it was very
+hard for them to sit still and listen quietly.
+
+Elizabeth was four years older than Hope, so she felt quite like a
+little woman. She sat up beside her mother and looked at the minister
+almost all the time; but sometimes she had to wink hard to keep awake.
+When she thought she could not let her feet hang down another minute,
+she would slip down to the footstool to rest.
+
+Elizabeth was often ashamed of Hope, who could not sit still ten
+minutes. She tried to listen to the sermon, but could not. When she
+began to stir about a little, her mother shook her head at her. She sat
+still for a few minutes, but was soon restless again.
+
+Presently she began to be sleepy and laid her head upon her father's arm
+for a nap. Just then she felt something in his pocket. A happy smile
+came over Hope's face; she was wide-awake now. Slipping her hand into
+the wide pocket, she drew out Mary Ellen and smoothed her wrinkled gown.
+
+Master Brown's thoughts were all on the sermon, and even Mistress Brown
+did not notice Hope for a little time. When she did, what do you suppose
+she saw? Hope was standing on the seat showing her doll to the little
+girl in the pew behind her.
+
+Oh, how ashamed her mother was! She pulled her little daughter down
+quickly and whispered, "Do you want the tithingman to come? Well, sit
+down and listen." Taking Mary Ellen, she slipped the doll into her muff.
+
+Little Hope did sit down and listen. She did not even turn around when
+the kind lady behind them dropped a peppermint over the high-backed pew
+for her. She was very much afraid of the tithingman, who sat on a high
+seat. He had a long rod with a hard knob on one end and a squirrel's
+tail on the other.
+
+[Illustration: The tithingman tickling the nodding lady]
+
+When he saw a lady nodding during the sermon, he stepped around to her
+pew and tickled her face with the fur end of the rod. She would waken
+with a start and be, oh! so ashamed. She would be very glad the pew had
+such high sides to hide her blushing face.
+
+Perhaps you think the boys who sat on the other side of the church had a
+good time. But there was the tithingman again. When he saw a boy
+whispering or playing, he rapped him on the head with the knob end of
+the rod. The whispering would stop at once, for the rod often brought
+tears and left a headache.
+
+Besides keeping the boys from playing and the grown people from going to
+sleep, the tithingman must turn the hourglass. In those days very few
+people could afford clocks, but every one had an hourglass. It took the
+fine sand just one hour to pour from the upper part of the glass into
+the lower part.
+
+When the sand had all run through, the tithingman turned the glass over
+and the sand began to tell another hour. The glass was always turned
+three times before the minister closed the service. Then the men picked
+up their muskets and foot stoves, the women wrapped their long capes
+closely about them, and all went home.
+
+At sunset the Puritan Sabbath ended. The women brought out their
+knitting and spinning, or prepared for Monday's washing, and the
+children were free to play until bedtime.
+
+--MARGARET PUMPHREY.
+
+
+
+
+NAHUM PRINCE
+
+
+More than a hundred years ago, our country was at war with England.
+George Washington was at the head of our army. As you know, he and his
+men were fighting for our country's freedom.
+
+The English army was larger than our army, and General Washington needed
+all the men he could get. The regular troops were with him.
+
+In one little town in Vermont all the strong, able-bodied men had gone
+to the front. News came that the English and the Americans were about to
+meet in battle. The Americans needed more men and called for volunteers.
+Old men with white hair and long beards volunteered. Young boys with
+smooth cheeks and unshaven lips volunteered. There wasn't a boy in the
+village over thirteen years of age who didn't volunteer.
+
+Even lame Nahum Prince offered himself. He brought out his grandfather's
+old gun and got in line with the others. He stood as straight and tall
+as he could--as a soldier should stand.
+
+Soon the captain came along the line to inspect the volunteers. When he
+saw Nahum, he said, "No, no, Nahum, you cannot go; you know you cannot.
+Why, you could not walk a mile. Go home, my lad."
+
+Just then the good old minister came by. "Yes, Nahum," he said, "you
+must stay at home. Who knows but that you will find a greater work to do
+for your country right here?"
+
+And lame Nahum dropped out of the line.
+
+Then the volunteers marched off, every man and boy in the village except
+Nahum Prince. Poor Nahum! His heart was heavy.
+
+"What can I do for my country in this small village?" he said to
+himself. "Oh, I wish I could be a soldier!"
+
+He walked toward his home slowly and sadly. Just as he passed the
+blacksmith shop, three horseman galloped up to the door.
+
+[Illustration: The horseman speaks to Nahum]
+
+"Where is the blacksmith?" asked one.
+
+"He and all the men and boys have gone to join the army," said Nahum.
+"There isn't a man or a boy in town except me. I wouldn't be here if I
+were not lame."
+
+"We cannot have this horse shod," said the rider to the others. "We
+shall not reach there in time."
+
+"Why, I can set a shoe," said Nahum.
+
+"Then it is lucky you are left behind," said the man. "Light up the
+forge and set the shoe."
+
+Nahum lighted the fire, blew the coals with the bellows, and soon put on
+the shoe.
+
+"You have done a great deed to-day, my boy," said the rider as he
+thanked Nahum and rode away.
+
+The next week the boys came home and told of a great battle. They told
+how the Americans were about to lose the fight when Colonel Seth Warner,
+leading a band of soldiers, rode up just in time to save the day.
+
+Nahum said nothing, but he knew that Colonel Warner would not have
+arrived in time if he had not set that shoe. And it was really Nahum
+Prince and Colonel Seth Warner who won the victory of Bennington.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE COOK'S REWARD
+
+
+Betty lived a long, long time ago on a farm in North Carolina. She knew
+how to clean up the house, to wash the dishes, to sew, and to cook. She
+knew how to knit, and to spin and weave, too.
+
+One day Betty's father said, "Let us go to town to-morrow. President
+Washington is passing through the South, and a man told me to-day that
+he will be in Salisbury to-morrow."
+
+"Yes," said Betty's brother Robert, "and our company has been asked to
+march in the parade. One of the boys is going to make a speech of
+welcome."
+
+"I should like to go," said their mother, "but I can't leave home."
+
+"Oh, yes, you can, mother," said Betty. "I have stayed here by myself
+many times, and I can stay to-morrow. You go with father, and I will
+take care of things."
+
+The next morning every one on the place was up before the sun. Robert
+was so impatient to start to town that he could scarcely eat any
+breakfast. Mother was so excited that she forgot to put coffee in the
+coffee pot.
+
+At last every one had left, and Betty was alone. "I wish I could see the
+President," she said, "and I do wish I could see his great coach. Father
+says that it is finer than the Governor's. Four men ride in front of it,
+and four behind it. The servants are dressed in white and gold. How I
+wish I could see it all!"
+
+While Betty was talking to herself, she was not idle. She washed the
+dishes and she cleaned the house. Then, as it was not time to get
+dinner, she sat down on the shady porch.
+
+"I wonder whether General Washington looks like his picture," she said.
+"Oh, if I could only see him!"
+
+But what sound was that? Betty stood up, and shading her eyes with her
+hands, looked down the road. Four horsemen came along at a gallop. Then
+there followed a great white coach, trimmed with gold and drawn by four
+white horses. There were four horsemen behind the coach, and last of all
+came several black servants.
+
+[Illustration: Betty looking up at the great coach]
+
+All stopped at the gate. A tall handsome man stepped from the coach and
+came up the walk. Betty felt as if she could neither move nor speak. She
+remembered, however, all that her mother had taught her, and she made a
+low curtsy as the gentleman reached the steps.
+
+"Good morning, my little maid," he said. "I know it is late, but would
+you give an old man some breakfast?"
+
+Betty's cheeks grew as pink as the rose by the porch. She made another
+curtsy and said, "Indeed, I will. I am the only one at home, for father,
+mother, and Robert have gone to Salisbury to see the great Washington.
+But I am sure I can give you some breakfast. Father says that I am a
+good cook."
+
+"I know you are, and that you are as brisk as you are pretty. Just give
+me a breakfast, and I promise you that you shall see Washington before
+your father, mother, or brother Robert does."
+
+"I will do the best I can, sir," Betty said.
+
+The other men came in, and all sat on the porch and talked while Betty
+worked. Getting her mother's whitest cloth and the silver that came from
+England, she quickly set the table. She brought out a loaf of new bread
+and a jar of fresh honey. Then she ran to the spring house and got
+yellow butter and rich milk. She had some fresh eggs that had been laid
+by her own hens. These she dropped into boiling water. Last of all she
+cut thin slices of delicious ham.
+
+When everything was ready, Betty went to the porch and invited the
+strangers in. Her cheeks were now the color of the red rose by the gate.
+
+The visitors ate heartily of all the good things Betty had prepared. As
+the tall, handsome gentleman rose to go, he leaned over and kissed her.
+"My pretty little cook," he said, "you may tell your brother Robert that
+you saw Washington before he did, and that he kissed you, too."
+
+You may believe that Betty did tell it. She told it to her children, and
+they told it to their children, and I am telling it to you to-day.
+
+--MRS. L.A. McCORKLE.
+
+
+
+
+ROCK-A-BY, HUSH-A-BY, LITTLE PAPOOSE
+
+
+  Rock-a-by, hush-a-by, little papoose,
+    The stars come into the sky,
+  The whip-poor-will's crying, the daylight is dying,
+    The river runs murmuring by.
+
+  The pine trees are slumbering, little papoose,
+    The squirrel has gone to his nest,
+  The robins are sleeping, the mother bird's keeping
+    The little ones warm with her breast.
+
+  The roebuck is dreaming, my little papoose,
+    His mate lies asleep at his side,
+  The breezes are pining, the moonbeams are shining
+    All over the prairie wide.
+
+  Then hush-a-by, rock-a-by, little papoose,
+    You sail on the river of dreams;
+  Dear Manitou loves you and watches above you
+    Till time when the morning light gleams.
+
+--CHARLES MYALL.
+
+
+
+
+THE TAR WOLF
+
+I
+
+
+Many hundreds of moons ago, there was a great drought. The streams and
+lakes were drying up. Water was so scarce that the animals held a
+council to decide what they should do.
+
+"I hope it will rain soon and fill the streams and lakes," Great Bear
+said. "If it does not, all the animals will have to go to a land where
+there is more water."
+
+"I know where there is plenty of water," said Wild Goose.
+
+"I do, too," said Wild Duck.
+
+Most of the animals did not wish to go away. "It is well enough for the
+ducks and geese to go," said Wild Cat; "they like to move about. It is
+well enough for Great Bear to go; he can sleep through the winter in one
+hollow tree as soundly as in another. But we do not wish to leave our
+hunting grounds."
+
+"If we go to a new country," said Gray Wolf, "we shall have to make new
+trails."
+
+"And we shall have to clear new land," said Big Beaver, who had to cut
+down the trees when land was cleared.
+
+All this time the Rabbit said nothing. "Brother Rabbit," Great Bear
+asked, "what do you think about this matter?"
+
+Brother Rabbit did not answer. His eyes were shut, and he seemed too
+sleepy to think about anything.
+
+Great Bear asked again, "What do you think about it, Brother Rabbit?
+Shall we go to the place the ducks and geese have found, where there is
+plenty of water?"
+
+"Oh," answered Brother Rabbit, "I do not mind the drought. I drink the
+dew on the grass in the early morning; I do not need to go where there
+is more water."
+
+And he shut his eyes again.
+
+"Well," said Red Deer, "if there is dew enough for Brother Rabbit every
+morning, there is dew enough for us. We need not go to another country."
+
+"Those are wise words, my brother," said Brown Terrapin.
+
+All the others said, "Those are wise words, my brother," and the council
+was over. The animals were happy because they thought they need not go
+away from their homes.
+
+Days passed, and still it did not rain. The animals found that the dew
+did not keep them from suffering from thirst. They were afraid that,
+after all, they would have to go to another country.
+
+Still the Rabbit looked sleek and fat. He declared that he got all the
+water he needed from the dew on the grass in the early morning.
+
+"You sleep too late," he said. "By the time you get up, the sun has
+dried the dew."
+
+
+II
+
+
+After that, the animals came out earlier than before, but they could not
+get water enough from the morning dew. They did not understand why the
+Rabbit looked so well.
+
+One day Gray Wolf said to Wild Cat, "Let us watch the Rabbit and see
+where he gets so much dew that he is never thirsty."
+
+That night they stayed in the woods near Rabbit's wigwam, so as to
+follow him on the trail. They kept awake all night for fear that they
+might sleep too late.
+
+Very early in the morning, Brother Rabbit came out of his wigwam and ran
+swiftly down the hill. Wild Cat and Gray Wolf followed as fast and as
+quietly as they could.
+
+The dew was on the grass and leaves, but Brother Rabbit did not stop to
+get it. Instead, he ran down the hill and pushed away a heap of brush.
+Wild Cat and Gray Wolf hid behind some bushes and watched him.
+
+Brother Rabbit drank from a little spring. Then he filled a jar with
+clear, fresh water, piled the brush over the spring again, and went up
+the hill to his wigwam.
+
+Ah! now Gray Wolf and Wild Cat knew why Brother Rabbit did not mind the
+drought; and they made a plan to punish him for being so selfish.
+
+They got tar and resin from the pine trees, and out of these they made a
+great wolf. After placing it close to the spring, they hid again in the
+bushes, to see what would happen.
+
+Early the next morning, Brother Rabbit came running down the hill for
+more water. He stopped when he saw the tar wolf by his spring.
+
+"What are you doing here, Gray Wolf?" he asked. Of course there was no
+answer.
+
+"Has my brother no ears?" asked Brother Rabbit.
+
+As the wolf was still silent, Brother Rabbit became angry. "Answer me,
+Gray Wolf," he cried. But there was no answer.
+
+Then Brother Rabbit slapped the tar wolf with his right front paw. It
+stuck fast, and Brother Rabbit could not pull it away.
+
+[Illustration: Brother Rabbit and the wolf]
+
+"Let me go," he cried, "or I will slap you with the other paw."
+
+He slapped the tar wolf with the left front paw. That too, stuck fast.
+
+Now Brother Rabbit was very angry. "Let me go, Gray Wolf," he cried.
+"Let me go, I say!"
+
+As Grey Wolf did not let him go, Brother Rabbit kicked the tar wolf,
+first with one of his hind paws and then with the other. Both stuck
+fast, and so he was held by all four paws.
+
+Just then Gray Wolf and Wild Cat came from their hiding place.
+
+"We have caught you, Brother Rabbit," they said. "Now we are going to
+take you to the council and tell how you tried to keep all the water for
+yourself."
+
+
+III
+
+
+They took Brother Rabbit to the council house, and sent for Great Bear
+and all the other animals. Soon all came, and the council began. Gray
+Wolf told that he had seen Brother Rabbit go to the spring, uncover it,
+get water, and cover the spring up again.
+
+The animals said that Brother Rabbit must be punished, but how they
+could not decide.
+
+"Burn him alive," said Gray Wolf.
+
+"I am quite willing," Brother Rabbit said, smiling. "Fire is my friend
+and will not hurt me."
+
+"We might cut off his head," said Brown Terrapin.
+
+"Very well," said the Rabbit, quietly. "Try that. It will not hurt me,
+for a better head will grow back."
+
+He said he was not afraid of each thing that was mentioned.
+
+"Is there nothing of which you are afraid?" asked Great Bear, at last.
+"Is there nothing that can hurt you?"
+
+"Of only one thing am I afraid," answered Brother Rabbit, in a low
+voice. "I am afraid you will turn me loose in the brier patch. Please do
+not throw me in the brier patch."
+
+"Turn him loose in the brier patch!" cried all the animals.
+
+How frightened Brother Rabbit looked now!
+
+"Oh, Gray Wolf," he begged, "burn me; cut off my head. Do anything else
+with me, but please don't throw me in the brier patch."
+
+The more he begged, the faster Gray Wolf hurried to the brier patch. The
+other animals followed close behind. They were all talking about the
+tricks Brother Rabbit had played on them and how they had never before
+been able to get even with him.
+
+When they came to the edge of the brier patch, Brother Rabbit begged
+harder than ever.
+
+"Good Wolf," he cried, "do anything else with me, but don't throw me in
+the brier patch!"
+
+Gray Wolf laughed and threw Brother Rabbit far into the patch.
+
+Brother Rabbit landed on his feet, and off he ran through the briers. He
+called back, "Thank you, good Wolf! You threw me right on my trail! I
+was born and bred in the brier patch. I was born and bred in the brier
+patch!"
+
+He was running so fast that by the time he said this, he was out of
+sight.
+
+--THE INDIAN TAR-BABY STORY.
+
+
+
+
+THE RABBIT AND THE WOLF
+
+
+The rabbit liked to play tricks on the other animals. Best of all, he
+liked to play tricks on the wolf. At last the wolf grew angry and said
+that he was going to get even with the rabbit.
+
+One day he caught the rabbit coming through a field.
+
+"Now," said the wolf, "I am going to pay you for all the tricks you have
+played on me. I will cut off your ears and use them for spoons to stir
+my hominy pot. As soon as I sharpen this stone, off your ears go!"
+
+While the wolf sharpened the stone, he sang in his harsh voice a song
+somewhat like this:
+
+  "Watch me sharpen,
+  Watch me sharpen;
+  Soon I am going to cut off your ears.
+  Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
+  Sicum, se mi su!"
+
+When he sang,
+
+  "Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
+  Sicum, se mi su!"
+
+the rabbit could almost feel the sharp stone cutting his ears. But he
+was a brave little rabbit and said nothing.
+
+At last the wolf stopped singing for a moment.
+
+Then the rabbit said, "Brother Wolf, I know a new dance. Don't you wish
+me to teach it to you?"
+
+"Yes, when I have cut off your ears," said the wolf.
+
+Then he went on singing,
+
+  "Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
+  Sicum, se mi su!"
+
+"After my ears are cut off," said the rabbit, "I can never dance any
+more."
+
+Now the wolf knew that the rabbit could sing and dance better than any
+other animal, and he wished very much to learn the new dance. He went on
+sharpening the stone, but he did not sing while he worked.
+
+After a while he asked, "Is the new dance as pretty as the Snake Dance?"
+
+"Oh, a great deal prettier," answered the rabbit.
+
+"Is it as pretty as the Turkey Dance?"
+
+"Oh, a great deal prettier than the Turkey Dance."
+
+"Is it as pretty as the Eagle Dance?"
+
+"Oh, a great deal prettier than the Eagle Dance."
+
+The wolf asked if the new dance was as pretty as other dances he had
+seen, and the rabbit said that it was much prettier.
+
+This pleased the wolf, as he wished to have a new dance for the green
+corn festival.
+
+"You may teach me the dance now," he said. "I can cut off your ears
+afterward."
+
+"Very well," said the rabbit; "pat your foot to keep time, and watch me
+while I dance."
+
+[Illustration: The rabbit danced as the wolf shook the rattle]
+
+So the wolf stood in the middle of the field, patting his foot and
+shaking a rattle while the rabbit danced around him and sang,
+
+  "Watch me dance around the field,
+  Watch me dance around the field,
+      Hi, la, hi, la, hi!"
+
+Then the rabbit made a ring in the middle of the field. He said to the
+wolf, "Now, you dance around this ring, and sing just as I do."
+
+He made a larger ring for himself and danced around just beyond the
+wolf. The wolf thought that this was the finest dance he had ever seen.
+He and the rabbit danced faster and faster, and sang louder and louder.
+
+As the rabbit danced, he moved nearer and nearer to the edge of the
+field. The wolf was dancing so fast and singing so loud that he did not
+notice this.
+
+The rabbit kept on singing,
+
+  "Now I dance on the edge of the field,
+  Now I dance on the edge of the field,
+  Hi, la, hi, la, hi!"
+
+At last, Brother Rabbit reached the edge of the field; then he jumped
+into the blackberry bushes and ran away. The wolf tried to give chase,
+but he was so dizzy that he could not run. And the rabbit got away
+without having his ears cut off.
+
+--SOUTHERN INDIAN TALE.
+
+
+
+
+BLOCK CITY
+
+
+  What are you able to build with your blocks?
+  Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
+  Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
+  But I can be happy and building at home.
+
+  Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,
+  There I'll establish a city for me:
+  A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,
+  And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride.
+
+  Great is the palace with pillar and wall,
+  A sort of a tower on the top of it all,
+  And steps coming down in an orderly way
+  To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.
+
+  This one is sailing and that one is moored:
+  Hark to the song of the sailors on board!
+  And see on the steps of my palace, the kings
+  Coming and going with presents and things!
+
+  Now I have done with it, down let it go.
+  All in a moment the town is laid low,
+  Block upon block lying scattered and free,
+  What is there left of my town by the sea?
+
+--ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
+
+
+
+
+A GOOD PLAY
+
+
+  We built a ship upon the stairs
+  All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
+  And filled it full of sofa pillows
+  To go a-sailing on the billows.
+
+  We took a saw and several nails,
+  And water in the nursery pails;
+  And Tom said, "Let us also take
+  An apple and a slice of cake;"--
+  Which was enough for Tom and me
+  To go a-sailing on, till tea.
+
+  We sailed along for days and days,
+  And had the very best of plays;
+  But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
+  So there was no one left but me.
+
+--ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONKEY'S FIDDLE
+
+I
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a great famine in the land, and Monkey could
+find no food. There were no bulbs, no beans, no insects, nor anything
+else to eat.
+
+At last Monkey said to himself, "Why should I perish here with hunger?
+My uncle Orang-outang has enough and to spare; I shall go to him, and he
+will give me food and shelter."
+
+So he set out and soon came to the place where Orang-outang lived. For a
+long time Monkey was happy in his new home, but by and by he heard that
+there was no longer a famine in his own land. Then he decided to go
+back.
+
+Before he started, Orang-outang made him a present of a fiddle and of a
+bow and arrow,
+
+"With this bow and arrow you can kill any animal," he said. "With this
+fiddle you can make anything dance until you bid it stop."
+
+Thanking his uncle for the presents, Monkey set out on his homeward
+journey. On the way he met Brother Wolf.
+
+"What news, Brother Wolf?" asked Monkey.
+
+When Wolf had told him the news, Monkey asked, "What have you been doing
+to-day?"
+
+"Oh," said Wolf, "I have been following a deer all the morning, but I
+have been unable to get near enough to kill him. Now I am faint with
+hunger."
+
+"I can help you," said Monkey. "I have a magic bow and arrow. Show me
+the deer, and I will bring him down."
+
+When Wolf showed him the deer, Monkey fitted an arrow to the bow and
+took aim. Hardly had the arrow left the bow when the deer fell dead.
+
+Monkey and Wolf sat down and had a good feast. As Wolf ate, he thought
+of the magic bow and arrow, and he planned to get them away from Monkey.
+
+"First I will ask for them," he said to himself. "If Monkey will not
+give them to me, I will use force."
+
+[Illustration: Wolf demands the bow and arrow]
+
+When Wolf had finished eating, he said to Monkey, "Please give me the
+bow and arrow."
+
+"I will not," said Monkey. "They were a present from my dear uncle; why
+should I give them to you?"
+
+"Very well," said Wolf. "I am stronger than you, and I will take them by
+force."
+
+
+II
+
+
+Wolf was just about to snatch the bow and arrow from Monkey when Jackal
+came along. Then Wolf thought of a new plan.
+
+He called out to Jackal, "Help! help! Monkey has stolen my magic bow and
+arrow."
+
+Jackal came running to them. Wolf told his side of the story, and Monkey
+told his.
+
+"I cannot believe either of you," said Jackal. "Let us lay the question
+before the court. There Lion, Tiger, and the other animals will hear you
+both; perhaps they will be able to decide to whom the magic bow and
+arrow belong. But to keep you two from quarreling, I had better take
+care of the bow and arrow."
+
+Monkey gave them to Jackal, and all three started off to court. When
+they arrived, there sat Lion on the throne. Seated around were the other
+animals of the jungle.
+
+Monkey told his story first. Standing in front of the throne, he made a
+low bow and said, "The great famine, my lord, drove me out of my
+country, and I had to take refuge with my uncle. When I started back
+home, he gave me this bow and arrow. Finding Wolf almost starving, I
+shot a deer for him. Instead of being grateful for the food, he tried to
+rob me of the bow and arrow. I am here to ask that you restore them to
+me."
+
+"He does not tell the truth," cried Wolf.
+
+Then Jackal said, "I believe that the bow and arrow belong to Wolf; he
+and Monkey were quarreling about them when I came along. They agreed to
+leave the question to you, King Lion. I know you will see that justice
+is done."
+
+Wolf looked very innocent and said nothing.
+
+King Lion rose and asked, "What say you? To whom do the bow and arrow
+belong?"
+
+"To Wolf," they all cried.
+
+"Stealing is a crime that must be punished," said King Lion. "What shall
+be done?"
+
+"Let Monkey be hanged," they all cried.
+
+Monkey still had his magic fiddle. Holding it in his hand, he made a
+deep bow and said: "Give me leave to play a tune on my fiddle before I
+hang, O King."
+
+Now, the beasts all loved a merry tune, and knowing that Monkey was a
+master player they called out, "Let him play."
+
+
+III
+
+
+Monkey placed the fiddle under his chin, drew the bow across the
+strings, and struck up "Cockcrow." This was a favorite tune with the
+court. At the first notes all nodded their heads in time to the music.
+As Monkey played on, the entire court began to dance.
+
+Round and round they went like a whirlwind. Over and over, quicker and
+quicker sounded the tune of "Cockcrow." Faster and faster flew the
+dancers, until one after another fell to the ground worn out.
+
+Monkey saw nothing of all this. With eyes closed and his head placed
+lovingly against the fiddle, he played on and on, keeping time with his
+foot.
+
+Wolf was the first one to cry out, "Please stop, Cousin Monkey. For
+pity's sake, stop."
+
+But Monkey did not seem to hear him. Again and again sounded the magic
+notes of "Cockcrow."
+
+King Lion had gone round and round with his young wife so many times
+that both were ready to drop. At last, as he passed Monkey, he roared,
+"Stop, ape! My whole kingdom is yours if you will only stop playing."
+
+"I do not want it," said Monkey. "Make Wolf confess that he tried to
+steal my bow and arrow. Then I will stop playing."
+
+"I confess! I confess!" panted Wolf, who was ready to fall to the
+ground.
+
+"Good," cried King Lion, as the music stopped. "Monkey is innocent. Let
+him have his bow and arrow."
+
+"Punish Wolf!" cried the animals.
+
+So Wolf was soundly beaten and driven from the court. Then Monkey went
+off rejoicing, carrying with him his magic gifts.
+
+--AFRICAN TALE.
+
+
+
+
+THE THREE TASKS
+
+I
+
+
+There were once two brothers who set out to seek their fortune. They
+wasted their time and their money in all sorts of foolish ways, and
+before long they were nearly penniless.
+
+After the two brothers had been gone some time, their younger brother,
+who had always been thought the simpleton of the family, set out to seek
+his fortune.
+
+One day as he was passing through a village far away from home, he found
+his two brothers.
+
+"Where are you going?" they asked.
+
+"I am going to seek my fortune," he replied.
+
+"Ha, ha! how foolish you are!" they cried. "With all our wit and wisdom
+we have been unable to make our fortune. It is silly of you even to
+try." And they laughed and made fun of him.
+
+Nevertheless, the three brothers decided to travel on together. As they
+journeyed on, they saw a large ant hill by the side of the road. The two
+elder brothers were about to destroy it, when the simpleton said, "Leave
+the poor ants alone. I will not let you disturb them."
+
+They went on their way until they came to a pond upon which two ducks
+were swimming. The two older brothers were about to kill them, when the
+simpleton said, "Leave them alone. I will not let you kill them."
+
+Soon the three came to a tree, in the trunk of which was a wild bee's
+nest. The two older brothers wished to steal the honey. They started to
+make a fire under the tree and smoke out the bees. The simpleton said,
+"Leave the poor bees alone. I will not let you rob them."
+
+
+II
+
+
+At last the three brothers came to a castle where everything looked as
+if it had been turned to stone. There was not a single human being to be
+seen. They walked along the great wide hall, but still they saw no one.
+
+"The castle must be enchanted," the brothers said to one another.
+
+After passing through many rooms, they came to a door in which there
+were three locks. In the middle of the door was a little grating through
+which they could look into the room beyond.
+
+They saw a little man, dressed in gray, seated at a table. Twice they
+called to him, but he did not answer. They called a third time. Then he
+rose, opened the three locks, and came out.
+
+He said not a word, but led them to a table on which a feast was spread.
+When they had eaten and drunk as much as they wished, the old man showed
+each of them to a bedroom. There they rested well all night.
+
+The next morning the little gray man came to the eldest brother and
+beckoned him to follow. He led him to a room in which there was a stone
+table, and on the table there lay three stone tablets.
+
+[Illustration: The little gray man and the tablets]
+
+On the table near the tablets was written:
+
+"This castle is enchanted. Before the enchantment can be broken, there
+are three tasks to be performed. The one who performs these three tasks
+shall marry the youngest and dearest of the three princesses who now lie
+asleep in the castle."
+
+When the eldest brother had read this, the old man gave him the first
+tablet. On it was written:
+
+"In the forest, hidden beneath the thick moss, are the pearls which
+belonged to the princesses. They are a thousand in number. These must be
+collected by sunset. If one single pearl is missing, then he who has
+sought them shall be turned to stone."
+
+The eldest brother searched the whole day long, but by sunset he had
+found only a hundred pearls. So he was turned to stone.
+
+The following day the second brother tried his luck, but by sunset he
+had found but two hundred pearls. So he, too, was turned to stone.
+
+Then it came the simpleton's turn. He searched all day amidst the moss,
+but he fared little better than his brothers. At last he sat down upon a
+stone and burst into tears.
+
+As he sat there, the king of the ants, whose life he had once saved,
+came with five thousand ants. Before long the little creatures had found
+every one of the pearls and piled them up in a heap.
+
+The little gray man then gave the simpleton the second tablet. Upon it
+was written the second task:
+
+"The key that opens the chamber in which the princesses are sleeping
+lies in the bottom of the lake. He who has performed the first task must
+find the key."
+
+When the simpleton came to the lake, the ducks which he had saved were
+swimming upon it. At once they dived down into the depths below and
+brought up the key.
+
+The simpleton showed the key to the little gray man, who then gave him
+the third tablet. On it was written the third task:
+
+"The one who has gathered the pearls and found the key to the chamber
+may now marry the youngest and dearest princess. He must, however, first
+tell which is she. The princesses are exactly alike, but there is one
+difference. Before they went to sleep, the eldest ate sugar, the second
+ate syrup, and the youngest ate honey."
+
+The simpleton laid down the tablet with a sigh. "How can I find out
+which princess ate the honey?" he asked himself.
+
+However, he put the key he had found in the lock and opened the door. In
+the chamber the three princesses were lying. Ah, which was the youngest?
+
+Just then the queen of the bees flew in through the window and tasted
+the lips of all three. When she came to the lips that had sipped the
+honey, she remained there. Then the young man knew that this was the
+youngest and dearest princess.
+
+So the enchantment came to an end. The sleepers awoke, and those who had
+been turned to stone became alive again. The simpleton married the
+youngest and dearest princess, and was made king after her father's
+death. His two brothers, who were now sorry for what they had done,
+married the other two princesses, and lived happily ever after.
+
+--GRIMM.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A child dancing]
+
+THE WORLD'S MUSIC
+
+
+  The world's a very happy place,
+    Where every child should dance and sing,
+  And always have a smiling face,
+    And never sulk for anything.
+
+  I waken when the morning's come,
+    And feel the air and light alive
+  With strange sweet music like the hum
+    Of bees about their busy hive.
+
+  The linnets play among the leaves
+    At hide-and-seek, and chirp and sing;
+  While, flashing to and from the eaves,
+    The swallows twitter on the wing.
+
+  From dawn to dark the old mill-wheel
+    Makes music, going round and round;
+  And dusty-white with flour and meal,
+    The miller whistles to its sound.
+
+  The brook that flows beside the mill,
+    As happy as a brook can be,
+  Goes singing its old song until
+    It learns the singing of the sea.
+
+  For every wave upon the sands
+    Sings songs you never tire to hear,
+  Of laden ships from sunny lands
+    Where it is summer all the year.
+
+  The world is such a happy place
+    That children, whether big or small,
+  Should always have a smiling face
+    And never, never sulk at all.
+
+--GABRIEL SETOUN.
+
+
+
+
+THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
+
+I
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who were very unhappy
+because they had no children. But at last a little daughter was born,
+and their sorrow was turned to joy. All the bells in the land were rung
+to tell the glad tidings.
+
+The king gave a christening feast so grand that the like of it had never
+been known. He invited all the fairies he could find in the
+kingdom--there were seven of them--to come to the christening as
+godmothers. He hoped that each would give the princess a good gift.
+
+When the christening was over, the feast came. Before each of the
+fairies was placed a plate with a spoon, a knife, and a fork--all pure
+gold. But alas! as the fairies were about to seat themselves at the
+table, there came into the hall a very old fairy who had not been
+invited. She had left the kingdom fifty years before and had not been
+seen or heard of until this day.
+
+The king at once ordered that a plate should be brought for her, but he
+could not furnish a gold one such as the others had. This made the old
+fairy angry, and she sat there muttering to herself.
+
+Her angry threats were overheard by a young fairy who sat near. This
+good godmother, fearing the old fairy might give the child an unlucky
+gift, hid herself behind a curtain. She did this because she wished to
+speak last and perhaps be able to change the old fairy's gift.
+
+At the end of the feast, the youngest fairy stepped forward and said,
+"The princess shall be the most beautiful woman in the world."
+
+The second said,
+
+"She shall have a temper as sweet as an angel."
+
+The third said,
+
+"She shall have a wonderful grace in all she does or says."
+
+[Illustration: The old fairy looks at the princess in her cradle]
+
+The fourth said,
+
+"She shall sing like a nightingale."
+
+The fifth said,
+
+"She shall dance like a flower in the wind."
+
+The sixth said,
+
+"She shall play such music as was never heard on earth."
+
+Then the old fairy's turn came. Shaking her head spitefully, she said,
+
+"When the princess is seventeen years old, she shall prick her finger
+with a spindle, and--she--shall--die!"
+
+At this all the guests trembled, and many of them began to weep. The
+king and queen wept loudest of all.
+
+Just then the wise young fairy came from behind the curtain and said:
+"Do not grieve, O King and Queen. Your daughter shall not die. I cannot
+undo what my elder sister has done; the princess shall indeed prick her
+finger with the spindle, but she shall not die. She shall fall into
+sleep that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time, a king's
+son will find her and awaken her."
+
+Immediately all the fairies vanished.
+
+
+II
+
+
+The king, hoping to save his child even from this misfortune, commanded
+that all spindles should be burned. This was done, but it was all in
+vain.
+
+One day when the princess was seventeen years of age, the king and queen
+left her alone in the castle. She wandered about the palace and at last
+came to a little room in the top of a tower. There an old woman--so old
+and deaf that she had never heard of the king's command--sat spinning.
+
+"What are you doing, good old woman?" asked the princess.
+
+"I am spinning, my pretty child."
+
+"Ah," said the princess. "How do you do it? Let me see if I can spin
+also."
+
+She had just taken the spindle in her hand when, in some way, it pricked
+her finger. The princess dropped down on the floor. The old woman called
+for help, and people came from all sides, but nothing could be done.
+
+When the good young fairy heard the news, she came quickly to the
+castle. She knew that the princess must sleep a hundred years and would
+be frightened if she found herself alone when she awoke. So the fairy
+touched with her magic wand all in the palace except the king and the
+queen. Ladies, gentlemen, pages, waiting maids, footmen, grooms in the
+stable, and even the horses--she touched them all. They all went to
+sleep just where they were when the wand touched them. Some of the
+gentlemen were bowing to the ladies, the ladies were embroidering, the
+grooms stood currying their horses, and the cook was slapping the
+kitchen boy.
+
+The king and queen departed from the castle, giving orders that no one
+was to go near it. This command, however, was not needed. In a little
+while there sprang around the castle a wood so thick that neither man
+nor beast could pass through.
+
+
+III
+
+
+A great many changes take place in a hundred years. The king had no
+other child, and when he died, his throne passed to another royal
+family. Even the story of the sleeping princess was almost forgotten.
+
+One day the son of the king who was then reigning was out hunting, and
+he saw towers rising above a thick wood. He asked what they were, but no
+one could answer him.
+
+At last an old peasant was found who said, "Your highness, fifty years
+ago my father told me that there is a castle in the woods where a
+princess sleeps--the most beautiful princess that ever lived. It was
+said that she must sleep there a hundred years, when she would be
+awakened by a king's son."
+
+At this the young prince determined to find out the truth for himself.
+He leaped from his horse and began to force his way through the wood. To
+his astonishment, the stiff branches gave way, then closed again,
+allowing none of his companions to follow.
+
+A beautiful palace rose before him. In the courtyard the prince saw
+horses and men who looked as if they were dead. But he was not afraid
+and boldly entered the palace. There were guards motionless as stone,
+gentlemen and ladies, pages and footmen, some standing, some sitting,
+but all like statues.
+
+[Illustration: The prince finds the princess]
+
+At last the prince came to a chamber of gold, where he saw upon a bed
+the fairest sight one ever beheld--a princess of about seventeen years
+who looked as if she had just fallen asleep. Trembling, the prince knelt
+beside her, and awakened her with a kiss. And now the enchantment was
+broken.
+
+The princess looked at him with wondering eyes and said: "Is it you, my
+prince? I have waited for you long."
+
+So happy were the two that they talked hour after hour. In the meantime
+all in the palace awaked and each began to do what he was doing when he
+fell asleep. The gentlemen went on bowing to the ladies, the ladies went
+on with their embroidery. The grooms went on currying their horses, the
+cook went on slapping the kitchen boy, and the servants began to serve
+the supper. Then the chief lady in waiting, who was ready to die of
+hunger, told the princess aloud that supper was ready.
+
+The prince gave the princess his hand, and they all went into the great
+hall for supper. That very evening the prince and princess were married.
+The next day the prince took his bride to his father's palace, and there
+they lived happily ever afterward.
+
+--GRIMM.
+
+
+
+
+THE UGLY DUCKLING
+
+I
+
+
+It was summer. The country was lovely just then. The cornfields were
+waving yellow, the wheat was golden, the oats were still green, and the
+hay was stacked in the meadows. Beyond the fields great forests and
+ponds of water might be seen.
+
+In the sunniest spot of all stood an old farmhouse, with deep canals
+around it. At the water's edge grew great burdocks. It was just as wild
+there as in the deepest wood, and in this snug place sat a duck upon her
+nest. She was waiting for her brood to hatch.
+
+At last one eggshell after another began to crack. From each little egg
+came "Cheep! cheep!" and then a little duckling's head.
+
+"Quack! quack!" said the duck; and all the babies quacked too. Then they
+looked all around. The mother let them look as much as they liked, for
+green is good for the eyes.
+
+"How big the world is!" said all the little ducklings.
+
+"Do you think this is all the world?" asked the mother. "It stretches a
+long way on the other side of the garden and on to the parson's field,
+but I have never been so far as that. I hope you are all out. No, not
+all; that large egg is still unbroken. I am really tired of sitting so
+long." Then the duck sat down again.
+
+"Well, how goes it?" asked an old duck who had come to pay her a visit.
+
+"There is one large egg that is taking a long time to hatch," replied
+the mother. "But you must look at the ducklings. They are the finest I
+have ever seen; they are all just like their father."
+
+"Let me look at the egg which will not hatch," said the old duck. "You
+may be sure that it is a turkey's egg. I was once cheated in that way.
+Oh, you will have a great deal of trouble, for a turkey will not go into
+the water. Yes, that's a turkey's egg. Leave it alone and teach the
+other children to swim."
+
+"No, I will sit on it a little longer," said the mother duck.
+
+"Just as you please," said the old duck, and she went away.
+
+At last the large egg cracked. "Cheep! cheep!" said the young one, and
+tumbled out. How large it was! How ugly it was!
+
+"I wonder if it can be a turkey chick," said the mother. "Well, we shall
+see when we go to the pond. It must go into the water, even if I have to
+push it in myself."
+
+Next day the mother duck and all her little ones went down to the water.
+Splash! she jumped in, and all the ducklings went in, too. They swam
+about very easily, and the ugly duckling swam with them.
+
+"No, it is not a turkey," said the mother duck. "See how well he can use
+his legs. He is my own child! And he is not so very ugly either."
+
+
+II
+
+
+Then she took her family into the duck yard. As they went along, she
+told the ducklings how to act.
+
+"Keep close to me, so that no one can step on you," she said. "Come;
+now, don't turn your toes in. A well-brought-up duck turns its toes out,
+just like father and mother. Bow your heads before that old duck yonder.
+She is the grandest duck here. One can tell that by the red rag around
+her leg. That's a great honor, the greatest honor a duck can have. It
+shows that the mistress doesn't want to lose her. Now bend your necks
+and say 'Quack!'"
+
+They did so, but the other ducks did not seem glad to see them.
+
+"Look!" they cried. "Here comes another brood, as if there were not
+enough of us already. And oh, dear, how ugly that large one is! We won't
+stand him."
+
+Then one of the ducks flew at the ugly duckling and bit him in the neck.
+
+[Illustration: The ugly duckling and the other ducks]
+
+"Let him alone," said the mother; "he is doing no harm."
+
+"Perhaps not," said the duck who had bitten the poor duckling, "but he
+is too ugly to stay here. He must be driven out."
+
+"Those are pretty children that the mother has," said the old duck with
+the rag around her leg. "They are all pretty but that one. What a pity!"
+
+"Yes," replied the mother duck, "he is not handsome, but he is
+good-tempered, and he swims as well as any of the others. I think he
+will grow to be pretty. Perhaps he stayed too long in the egg."
+
+"Well, make yourselves at home," said the old duck. "If you find an
+eel's head, you may bring it to me."
+
+And they did make themselves at home--all but the poor ugly duckling.
+His life was made quite miserable. The ducks bit him, and the hens
+pecked him. So it went on the first day, and each day it grew worse.
+
+The poor duckling was very unhappy. At last he could stand it no longer,
+and he ran away. As he flew over the fence, he frightened the little
+birds on the bushes.
+
+"That is because I am so ugly," thought the duckling.
+
+He flew on until he came to a moor where some wild ducks lived. They
+laughed at him and swam away from him.
+
+Some wild geese came by, and they laughed at the duckling, too. Just
+then some guns went bang! bang! The hunters were all around. The hunting
+dogs came splash! into the swamp, and one dashed close to the duckling.
+The dog looked at him and went on.
+
+"Well, I can be thankful for that," sighed he. "I am so ugly that even
+the dog will not bite me."
+
+When all was quiet, the duckling started out again. A storm was raging,
+and he found shelter in a poor hut. Here lived an old woman with her cat
+and her hen. The old woman could not see well, and she thought he was a
+fat duck. She kept him three weeks, hoping that she would get some duck
+eggs, but the duckling did not lay.
+
+After a while the fresh air and sunshine streamed in at the open door,
+and the duckling longed to be out on the water. The cat and the hen
+laughed when he told them of his wish.
+
+"You must be crazy," said the hen. "I do not wish to swim. The cat does
+not; and I am sure our mistress does not."
+
+"You do not understand me," said the duckling. "I will go out into the
+wide world."
+
+"Yes, do go," said the hen.
+
+And the duckling went away. He swam on the water and dived, but still
+all the animals passed him by because he was so ugly; and the poor
+duckling was lonesome.
+
+
+III
+
+
+Now the winter came, and soon it was very cold. Snow and sleet fell, and
+the ugly duckling had a very unhappy time.
+
+One evening a whole flock of handsome white birds rose out of the
+bushes. They were swans. They gave a strange cry, and spreading their
+great wings, flew away to warmer lands and open lakes.
+
+The ugly duckling felt quite strange, and he gave such a loud cry that
+he frightened himself. He could not forget those beautiful happy birds.
+He knew not where they had gone, but he wished he could have gone with
+them.
+
+The winter grew cold--very cold. The duckling swam about in the water to
+keep from freezing, but every night the hole in which he swam became
+smaller and smaller. At last he was frozen fast in the ice.
+
+Early the next morning a farmer found the duckling and took him to the
+farmhouse. There in a warm room the duckling came to himself again. The
+children wished to play with him, but he was afraid of them.
+
+In his terror he fluttered into the milk pan and splashed the milk about
+the room. The woman clapped her hands at him, and that frightened him
+still more. He flew into the butter tub and then into the meal barrel.
+
+How he did look then! The children laughed and screamed. The woman
+chased him with the fire tongs. The door stood open, and the duckling
+slipped out into the snow.
+
+It was a cruel, hard winter, and he nearly froze. At last the warm sun
+began to shine, and the larks to sing. The duckling flapped his wings
+and found that they were strong. Away he flew over the meadows and
+fields.
+
+Soon he found himself in a beautiful garden where the apple trees were
+in full bloom, and the long branches of the willow trees hung over the
+shores of the lake. Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white
+swans swimming lightly over the water.
+
+"I will fly to those beautiful birds," he said. "They will kill me
+because I am so ugly; but it is all the same. It is better to be killed
+by them than to be bitten by the ducks and pecked by the hens."
+
+So he flew into the water and swam towards the beautiful birds. They saw
+the duckling and came sailing down toward him. He bowed his head saying,
+"Kill me, oh, kill me."
+
+But what was this he saw in the clear water? It was his own image, and
+lo! he was no longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, but a--swan, a beautiful
+white swan. It matters not if one was born in a duck yard, if one has
+only lain in a swan's egg. The other swans swam around him to welcome
+him.
+
+[Illustration: The little children see the new swan]
+
+Some little children came into the garden with corn and other grains
+which they threw into the water. The smallest one cried, "Oh, see! there
+is a new swan, and it is more beautiful than any of the others."
+
+The ugly duckling was shy and at first hid his head under his wing. Then
+he felt so happy that he raised his neck and said, "I never dreamed of
+so much happiness when I was an ugly duckling."
+
+--HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.
+
+
+
+
+THE WHITE BLACKBIRD
+
+I
+
+
+I was born a blackbird in a bushy thicket near a meadow. My father took
+good care of his family and would peck about all day for insects. These
+he brought home to my mother, holding them by the tail so as not to mash
+them. He had a sweet voice, too, and every evening sang beautiful songs.
+
+I should have been happy, but I was not. I ate little and was weak; and
+from the first, I was different from my brothers and sisters. They had
+glossy, black feathers, while mine were dirty gray. These made my father
+angry whenever he looked at them.
+
+When I moulted for the first time, he watched me closely. While the
+feathers were falling out and while I was naked, he was kind; but my new
+feathers drove him wild with anger. I did not wonder. I was no longer
+even gray; I had become snow white. I was a white blackbird! Did such a
+thing ever happen in a blackbird family before?
+
+It made me very sad to see my father so vexed over me. But it is hard to
+stay sad forever, and one sunshiny spring day I opened my bill and began
+to sing. At the first note my father flew up into the air like a
+sky-rocket.
+
+"What do I hear?" he cried. "Is that the way a blackbird whistles? Do I
+whistle that way?"
+
+"I whistle the best I can," I replied.
+
+"That is not the way we whistle in my family," my father said. "We have
+whistled for many, many years and know how to do it. It is not enough
+for you to be white; you must make that horrible noise. The truth is you
+are not a blackbird."
+
+"I will leave home," I answered with a sob. "I will go far away where I
+can pick up a living on earthworms and spiders."
+
+"Do as you please," my father said. "You are not a blackbird."
+
+
+II
+
+
+I flew away early the next morning, and was lucky enough to find shelter
+under an old gutter. It rained hard that night. I was just about to go
+to bed, when a very wet bird came in and sat down beside me. His
+feathers were grayish like mine, but he was much larger than myself.
+
+"Who are you?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," I replied. "I pass for a blackbird but I am white."
+
+"I am the finest bird in the world," he said. "I am a carrier pigeon and
+carry messages."
+
+Then I saw that a traveling bag hung from his neck.
+
+"Maybe I am a pigeon," I said, "since I am not a blackbird."
+
+"No," he answered, "a runt like you could not be a pigeon."
+
+The next morning the pigeon sprang from the gutter and flew away as fast
+as the wind. As I was lonely, I followed him. He flew faster and faster,
+but I kept up for a good while. At last my strength gave out and I fell
+down into a meadow.
+
+I was stunned by the fall. When I came to my senses, two birds stood
+near by looking at me. One was a dainty little magpie; the other a
+soft-eyed turtle dove. The magpie kindly offered me some berries she had
+gathered.
+
+"Who are you?" she asked.
+
+[Illustration: The three birds meet]
+
+"A blackbird or a pigeon," I said sadly. "I don't know which."
+
+"Are you joking?" she cried. "You are a magpie."
+
+"But magpies are not white," I said.
+
+"Russian magpies are," she answered; "perhaps you belong to that
+family."
+
+My joy was great for a moment at finding out what I was. Still I was not
+sure that I was a magpie and thought I might settle the matter by
+singing. I burst into song and warbled and whistled, and whistled and
+warbled.
+
+The magpie looked at me in surprise. Then her face grew sad and she
+backed off from me. At last she flew away without another word. Whatever
+I might be, I was not a magpie--not even a Russian magpie.
+
+I made up my mind not to rest until I found out what bird I was. So I
+flew off to a place where birds of all kinds met to talk and enjoy
+themselves. There were robins and sparrows and crows and wrens and
+martins and every sort of bird. But I was not like any of them and
+whenever I began to sing, they all laughed.
+
+"You are not one of us," they said; "you are a white blackbird. That is
+what you are."
+
+
+III
+
+
+I had now seen all the birds, but none of them were as fine as the
+blackbirds. I did not want to be like any of these birds; I longed to be
+a blackbird, a real blackbird. That was not possible. So I made up my
+mind to be content with my lot, as I had the heart of a blackbird even
+if I were not black.
+
+A great flock of blackbirds lived on the edge of a cornfield. I went to
+them and asked them to let me be their helper.
+
+"I am only a white blackbird," I said, "but I have the heart of a true
+blackbird."
+
+They let me stay. I waited on them early and late, bringing straw to
+make nests and tender little worms for the baby blackbirds. The old
+birds were kind to me, and I began to be happy.
+
+Hard work did me good. I soon grew strong, and when the crows tried to
+drive us away, I led the blackbirds to victory. My sight was keen, and I
+was the first to find out that the scarecrow was not a man. I caught
+more worms, too, than any of the blackbirds.
+
+By and by a strange thing happened. I saw one day that my white feathers
+were speckled with brown dots. They grew larger and larger until the
+dots covered me all over; I was no longer white but brown. And now,
+little by little, my brown coat turned darker and darker until one
+morning it was black--a rich, glossy black! I was a blackbird at last.
+
+Then the other blackbirds hopped around me with joy, crying, "He is the
+largest and bravest of the blackbirds. Let him be king! Long live the
+king of the blackbirds!"
+
+--ALFRED DE MUSSET (_Adapted_).
+
+
+
+
+THE BROWN THRUSH
+
+
+  There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in
+      the tree,
+  He's singing to me! He's singing to me!
+  And what does he say, little girl, little boy?
+  "Oh, the world's running over with joy!
+    Don't you hear? don't you see?
+    Hush! look! in my tree,
+  I'm as happy as happy can be!"
+
+  And the brown thrush keeps singing, "A nest
+     do you see,
+  And five eggs hid by me in the juniper tree?
+  Don't meddle! don't touch! little girl, little boy,
+  Or the world will lose some of its joy!
+    Now I'm glad! now I'm free!
+    And I always shall be,
+  If you never bring sorrow to me."
+
+  So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree,
+  To you and to me, to you and to me.
+
+--LUCY LARCOM.
+
+
+
+
+THE KING AND THE GOOSEHERD
+
+ACT I
+
+
+(King in plain clothes had gone out for a walk in the park. He sat under
+a tree to read a book and fell asleep. When he waked up he walked on,
+forgetting his book. He sees a lad looking after a flock of geese and
+calls him.)
+
+KING: Boy, I left a book lying under a tree in the park. Will you please
+get it for me? If you do, I will give you a gold piece.
+
+BOY: Give me a gold piece to go to the park, indeed! You must have a
+pocketful of gold pieces. Or you must think me more stupid than I am.
+
+KING: Stupid! Who thinks you stupid?
+
+BOY: Why, who would be so foolish as to give me a gold piece just for
+running half a mile for a book? No, no, you are joking. You couldn't
+make me believe that.
+
+KING: Well, you know "seeing is believing." Look! here is the gold piece
+for you.
+
+BOY: But it is in _your_ hand. If I saw it in my own hand, that would be
+a different matter.
+
+KING (_laughing_): You are certainly not stupid, my boy; but you may
+have it in your own hand. Here it is.
+
+(Boy stands still, looking worried,)
+
+KING: Well, why don't you go?
+
+BOY: I only wish I could. But what would become of the geese while I am
+away? If they strayed into the meadow over yonder, I should have to pay
+trespass-money--more than the gold piece--and lose my place besides.
+
+KING: I'll tell you what we'll do. You go for the book, and I'll herd
+the geese.
+
+BOY (_laughing_): You herd the geese--a pretty gooseherd you would make!
+You are too fat and too old.
+
+KING (_to himself, shaking with laughter_): Well, Well, "fat and old."
+What next, I wonder!
+
+BOY: Why, you couldn't mind the geese. Just look at the "court gander"
+there--the one with the black head and wings. He is the ringleader
+whenever there is any mischief. He would lead you a pretty dance.
+
+KING: Never mind the geese. I'll answer for them, and I promise to pay
+all damages if they get away.
+
+BOY (_handing the king his whip_): Well, then, be careful. Watch the
+"court gander."
+
+(Boy walks on a few feet, then hurries back.)
+
+KING: What's the matter now?
+
+BOY: Crack the whip!
+
+(King tries but fails.)
+
+BOY: Just as I thought. Here, this way! Can't you see? You are stupid!
+
+KING: Just let me try once more.
+
+(King tries.)
+
+BOY: Well, that did pretty well.
+
+(Moves off muttering.)
+
+He is as big a goose as any in the flock.
+
+
+ACT II
+
+
+KING (_lying on the ground and laughing so that the tears run down his
+cheeks_): Oh, but this is fine! First I was fat and old. Now I am as big
+a goose as any in the flock. What would my courtiers say?
+
+(Springing up suddenly.)
+
+Look at that "court gander"! There he goes with the whole flock.
+
+(He dashes wildly after the geese and tries to crack the whip, but
+cannot.)
+
+Now they are in the meadow; what will the boy say?
+
+(Boy returns and sees the geese in the meadow; the king looks ashamed.)
+
+BOY: Just as I expected. I have found the book, but you have lost the
+geese. What a time I shall have trying to find them!
+
+KING: Never mind; I will help you get them together again.
+
+[Illustration: The king and the boy look for the geese]
+
+BOY: Humph! Much help you'll be. But go there by that stump and don't
+let the geese pass you. Wave your arms at them and shout at them. Surely
+you can do that!
+
+KING: I'll try.
+
+
+ACT III
+
+
+Boy: Well, they are back again! Thanks to goodness, but none to you.
+What can you do?
+
+KING: Pray excuse me for not doing any better, but you see, I am not
+used to work. I am the king.
+
+BOY: I was a simpleton to trust you with the geese; but I am not such a
+simpleton as to believe that you are the king.
+
+KING: Just as you will. You are a good lad. Here is another gold coin as
+a peace offering. Good-day.
+
+BOY (_as king walks away_): He is a kind gentleman, whoever he may be;
+but take my word for it, he will never make a gooseherd.
+
+--OLD TALE.
+
+
+
+
+DONAL AND CONAL
+
+I
+
+
+There was once in old Ireland a very fine lad by the name of Donal. He
+was not only a very fine lad, but a very gay lad. He would go for miles
+to a party or a wedding; and he was always welcome, for Donal knew where
+to wear his smile. He wore it on his face instead of keeping it in his
+pocket.
+
+The dearest wish of Donal's heart no one knew but himself. His soul was
+full of music, and he longed to have a violin.
+
+One night Donal was going home through a dark forest when a storm came
+up. He found an old hollow tree and got inside of it to keep dry. Soon
+he fell asleep.
+
+After a while Donal was awakened by a strange noise. He peeped out, and
+he saw a queer sight. The storm had passed, and the moon was shining.
+Many elves were dancing to strange music played by an old, old elf.
+
+[Illustration: Donal sees the fairies dancing]
+
+Such queer dancing it was! Donal crept out of the tree and drew nearer
+and nearer. Suddenly he laughed out loud and said, "Well, that's the
+worst dancing I have ever seen!"
+
+The fairies were astonished and angry, and they all began to talk at the
+same time.
+
+"We have a man among us!" cried one.
+
+"Let us hang him!" cried another.
+
+"Cut his head off!" cried a third.
+
+But the queen stepped out among them and said, "Leave him to me."
+
+Then she called Donal to her. Now Donal was a wee bit frightened, but he
+knew where to wear his smile, you remember. So he went up to the queen,
+smiling and bowing.
+
+"You say our dancing is the worst you have ever seen," she said. "Now,
+show us that you can do better."
+
+Donal smiled again and bowed low. Then he began to dance. Such dancing
+the elves had never seen! They clapped their hands and made him dance
+again and again. Finally, Donal was exhausted, and after making a low
+bow to the queen, sat down on the ground.
+
+The fairies crowded around him.
+
+"Give him our silver!" cried one.
+
+"Make it gold!" cried another.
+
+"Diamonds!" cried a third.
+
+But the queen said, "Leave it to me."
+
+She went up to the old, old elf who had been playing for the dance.
+Taking his violin from him, she gave it to Donal. You see, the queen
+knew the dearest wish of his heart.
+
+Then Donal was a happy lad, indeed! He thanked the queen and went home
+playing on his new violin.
+
+
+II
+
+
+There lived near Donal's home a lad named Conal. He was not such a fine
+lad as Donal, nor such a gay one. He was a greedy lad, and the dearest
+wish of his heart was to be rich. And he did not know where to wear his
+smile. If he had one, he kept it in his pocket.
+
+When Conal heard what had happened to Donal, he wished to know all about
+it. So he went to him and said, "Donal, man, how did you get that
+beautiful violin?"
+
+Donal told the story backward and forward, and forward and backward,
+from beginning to end, until Conal knew it by heart.
+
+Then Conal said to himself, "I will go to the hollow tree and dance for
+the elves; but I shall not be so foolish as Donal. I will take their
+gold and silver, and their diamonds, too."
+
+That night Conal went to the hollow tree and waited until the elves
+appeared. Then he crept out and watched them dance. And he said, just as
+Donal had, "Well, that's the worst dancing I have ever seen!"
+
+The fairies were astonished and angry again, and again they all began to
+talk at once.
+
+"Another man among us!" cried one.
+
+"Let us hang him!" cried another.
+
+"Cut off his head!" cried a third.
+
+But the queen said, "Leave it to me."
+
+Then she called Conal to her. Now Conal did not know where to wear his
+smile, you remember; he always kept it in his pocket. So he went up to
+the queen with a very sour face.
+
+The queen said to him, as she had to Donal, "You say our dancing is the
+worst you have ever seen. Now, show us that you can do better."
+
+Conal began to dance, and he could dance well. The elves were delighted.
+They clapped their hands and asked him to dance again, but he said
+roughly, "No, that is enough. Do you expect me to dance all night?"
+
+The elves were silent then, and the queen's face was stern. But she was
+a just queen, and she said, "You have danced well. Will you have some of
+our silver?"
+
+"Yes," said Conal, without a word of thanks; and he filled his coat
+pockets.
+
+"Will you have gold?" asked the queen.
+
+"Yes," said Conal greedily, as he filled the pockets in his trousers.
+
+"Will you have some of our diamonds?" the queen asked, and her face was
+dark with anger.
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Conal.
+
+"You shall not have them, you greedy lad!" cried the queen; "you shall
+have nothing."
+
+Just then a cloud passed across the moon, and the elves vanished.
+
+"Oh, well," said Conal, "I have the gold and silver."
+
+He plunged his hands into his pockets and lo! the gold and silver had
+turned to stones. Then Conal went home a sadder and a wiser lad.
+
+--IRISH TALE.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A bird singing]
+
+WHO TOLD THE NEWS?
+
+
+  Oh, the sunshine told the bluebird,
+    And the bluebird told the brook,
+  That the dandelions were peeping
+    From the woodland's sheltered nook.
+
+  Then the brook was blithe and happy,
+    And it babbled all the way,
+  As it ran to tell the river
+    Of the coming of the May.
+
+  Soon the river told the meadow,
+    And the meadow told the bee,
+  That the tender buds were swelling
+    On the old horse-chestnut tree.
+
+  And the bee shook off its torpor,
+    And it spread each gauzy wing,
+  As it flew to tell the flowers
+    Of the coming of the spring.
+
+
+
+
+THE BIRDS OF KILLINGWORTH
+
+I
+
+
+It was spring. The apple trees and the cherry trees were pink and white
+with blossoms. They filled the air with fragrance. The maples were red,
+and on the oak and poplar the buds were swelling. The brooklets were
+rushing and leaping on toward the sea.
+
+It was spring everywhere. The robin and the bluebird were piping sweetly
+in the blossoming orchard. The sparrows were chirping, and hungry crows
+were calling loudly for food. The farmers of Killingworth were plowing
+the fields, and the broken clods, too, told of spring.
+
+A farmer heard the cawing of the crows and the song of the birds.
+
+He said, "Did one ever see so many birds? Why, when we plant our seeds,
+these birds will take them all. When the fruit ripens, they will destroy
+it. I, for one, wish there were no birds, and I say kill them all."
+
+Another farmer said, "Yes, let us call a meeting of the people of the
+village and decide what is to be done with the pests."
+
+The meeting was called, and all came: the squire, the preacher, the
+teacher, and the farmers from the country round about.
+
+Up rose the farmer who had said he wished there were no birds.
+
+"Friends," he said, "the crows are about to take my field of corn. I put
+up scarecrows, but the birds fly by them and seem to laugh at them. The
+robins are as saucy as they can be. Soon they will eat all the cherries
+we have. I say kill all birds; they are a pest."
+
+"So say I," said another farmer.
+
+"And I," said another.
+
+"And I," "And I," came from voices in every part of the hall.
+
+The teacher arose and timidly said:
+
+"My friends, you know not what you do. You would put to death the birds
+that make sweet music for us in our dark hours: the thrush, the oriole,
+the noisy jay, the bluebird, the meadow lark.
+
+"You slay them all, and why? Because they scratch up a little handful of
+wheat or corn, while searching for worms or weevils.
+
+"Do you never think who made them and who taught them their songs of
+love? Think of your woods and orchards without birds!
+
+"And, friends, would you rather have insects in the hay? You call the
+birds thieves, but they guard your farms. They drive the enemy from your
+cornfields and from your harvests.
+
+"Even the blackest of them, the crow, does good. He crushes the beetle
+and wages war on the slug and the snail.
+
+"And, what is more, how can I teach your children gentleness and mercy
+when you contradict the very thing I teach?"
+
+But the farmers only shook their heads and laughed. "What does the
+teacher know of such things?" they asked. And they passed a law to have
+the birds killed.
+
+So the dreadful war on birds began. They fell down dead, with
+bloodstains on their breasts. Some fluttered, wounded, away from the
+sight of man, while the young died of starvation in the nests.
+
+
+II
+
+
+The summer came, and all the birds were dead. The days were like hot
+coals. In the orchards hundreds of caterpillars fed. In the fields and
+gardens hundreds of insects of every kind crawled, finding no foe to
+check them. At last the whole land was like a desert.
+
+From the trees caterpillars dropped down upon the women's bonnets, and
+they screamed and ran. At every door, the women gathered and talked.
+
+"What will become of us?" asked one. "The men were wrong,--something
+must be done."
+
+"The teacher was right," said another.
+
+At last, the farmers grew ashamed of having killed the birds. They met
+and did away with the wicked law, but it was too late.
+
+[Illustration: The wagon filled with branches and cages]
+
+Harvest time came, but there was no harvest. In many a home there was
+want and sorrow.
+
+The next spring a strange sight was seen--a sight never seen before or
+since. Through the streets there went a wagon filled with great branches
+of trees. Upon them were hung cages of birds that were making sweet
+music.
+
+From all the country round these birds had been brought by order of the
+farmers. The cages were opened, and once more the woods and fields were
+filled with the beautiful birds, who flew about singing their songs of
+joy. And again the harvests grew in the fields and filled to overflowing
+the farmers' barns.
+
+--_Adapted from_ LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRAILING ARBUTUS
+
+I
+
+
+Many, many moons ago, in a lodge in a forest, there lived an old man.
+His hair was white as the snowdrift. All the world was winter; snow and
+ice were everywhere, and the old man wore heavy furs.
+
+The winds went wildly through the forest searching every bush and tree
+for birds to chill. The old man looked in vain in the deep snow for
+pieces of wood to keep up the fire in his lodge. Then he sat down by his
+dull and low fire.
+
+Shaking and trembling he sat there, hearing nothing but the tempest as
+it roared through the forest, seeing nothing but the snowstorm as it
+whirled and hissed and drifted.
+
+All the coals became white with ashes, and the fire was slowly dying.
+Suddenly the wind blew aside the door of the lodge, and there came in a
+most beautiful maiden.
+
+Her cheeks were like the wild rose, her eyes were soft and glowed like
+the stars in springtime; and her hair was as brown as October's nuts.
+
+Her dress was of ferns and sweet grasses, her moccasins were of white
+lilies, on her head was a wreath of wild flowers, and in her hands were
+beautiful blossoms. When she breathed, the air became warm and fragrant.
+
+"Ah, my daughter," exclaimed the old man. "Happy are my eyes to see you.
+Sit here on the mat beside me; sit here by the dying embers. Tell me of
+your strange adventures, and I will tell you of my deeds of wonder."
+
+From his pouch he drew his peace pipe, very old and strangely fashioned.
+He filled the pipe with bark of willow, and placed a burning coal upon
+it.
+
+Then he said, "I am Manito, the Mighty. When I blow my breath about me,
+the rivers become motionless and the waters hard as stone."
+
+The maiden smiling said, "When I blow my breath about me, flowers spring
+up over all the meadows. And all the rivers rush onward, singing songs
+of joy."
+
+"When I shake my hoary tresses," said the old man, darkly frowning, "all
+the ground is covered with snow. All the leaves fade and wither."
+
+"When I shake my flowing ringlets," said the maiden, "the warm rains
+fall over all the land."
+
+Then proudly the old man replied, "When I walk through the forest,
+everything flees before me. The animals hide in their holes. The birds
+rise from the lakes and the marshes, and fly to distant regions."
+
+Softly the maiden answered, "When I walk through the forest, all is
+bright and joyous. The animals come from their holes. The birds return
+to the lakes and marshes. The leaves come back to the trees. The plants
+lift up their heads to kiss the breezes. And where-ever my footsteps
+wander, all the meadows wave their blossoms, all the woodlands ring with
+music."
+
+
+II
+
+
+While they talked, the night departed. From his shining lodge of silver
+came the sun. The air was warm and pleasant; the streams began to
+murmur; the birds began to sing. And a scent of growing grasses was
+wafted through the lodge.
+
+The old man's face dropped upon his breast, and he slept. Then the
+maiden saw more clearly the icy face before her--saw the icy face of
+winter.
+
+Slowly she passed her hands above his head. Streams of water ran from
+his eyes, and his body shrunk and dwindled till it faded into the
+air--vanished into the earth--and his clothing turned to green leaves.
+
+The maiden took from her bosom the most precious flowers. Kneeling upon
+the ground, she hid them all about among the leaves.
+
+[Illustration: The maiden hides the flowers among the leaves]
+
+"I give you my most precious flowers and my sweetest breath," she said,
+"but all who would pluck you must do so upon bended knee."
+
+Then the maiden moved away--through the forest and over the waking
+fields; and wherever she stepped, and nowhere else in all the land,
+grows the trailing arbutus.
+
+--INDIAN LEGEND.
+
+
+
+
+HIDDEN TREASURE
+
+I
+
+
+Once upon a time there was an old farmer named John Jacobs. He had heard
+that treasures were found in odd places. He thought and thought about
+such treasures until he could think of nothing else; and he spent all
+his time hunting for them. How he wished he could find a pot of gold!
+
+One morning he arose with a bright face and said to his wife, "At last,
+Mary, I've found the treasure."
+
+"No, I cannot believe it," she said.
+
+"Yes," he answered; "at least it is as good as found. I am only waiting
+until I have my breakfast. Then I will go out and bring it in."
+
+"Oh, how did you find it?" asked the wife.
+
+"I was told about it in a dream," said he.
+
+"Where is it?"
+
+"Under a tree in our orchard," said John.
+
+"Oh, John, let us hurry and get it."
+
+So they went out together into the orchard.
+
+"Which tree is it under?" asked the wife.
+
+John scratched his head and looked silly.
+
+"I really do not know," he said.
+
+"Oh, you foolish man," said the wife. "Why didn't you take the trouble
+to notice?"
+
+"I did notice," said he. "I saw the exact tree in my dream, but there
+are so many trees, here that I am confused. There is only one thing to
+do now. I must begin with the first tree and keep on digging until I
+come to the one with the treasure under it."
+
+This made the wife lose all hope. There were eighty apple trees and a
+score of peach trees.
+
+She sighed and said, "I suppose if you must, you must, but be careful
+not to cut any of the roots."
+
+By this time John was in a very bad humor. He went to work saying, "What
+difference does it make if I cut all the roots? The whole orchard will
+not bear one bushel of good apples or peaches. I don't know why, for in
+father's time it bore wagonloads of choice fruit."
+
+"Well, John," said his wife, "you know father used to give the trees a
+great deal of attention."
+
+But John grumbled to himself as he went on with his digging. He dug
+three feet deep around the first tree, but no treasure was there. He
+went to the next tree, but found nothing; then to the next and the next,
+until he had dug around every tree in the orchard. He dug and dug, but
+no pot of gold did he find.
+
+
+II
+
+
+The neighbors thought that John was acting queerly. They told other
+people, who came to see what he was doing.
+
+They would sit on the fence and make sly jokes about digging for hidden
+treasure. They called the orchard "Jacobs' folly."
+
+Soon John did not like to be seen in the orchard. He did not like to
+meet his neighbors. They would laugh and say, "Well, John, how much
+money did you get from the holes?"
+
+This made John angry. At last he said, "I will sell the place and move
+away."
+
+"Oh, no," said the wife, "this has always been our home, and I cannot
+think of leaving it. Go and fill the holes; then the neighbors will stop
+laughing. Perhaps we shall have a little fruit this year, too. The heaps
+of earth have stood in wind and frost for months, and that will help the
+trees."
+
+John did as his wife told him. He filled the holes with earth and
+smoothed it over as level as before. By and by everybody forgot "Jacobs'
+folly."
+
+Soon the spring came. April was warm, and the trees burst into bloom.
+
+"Mary," said John one bright spring day, "don't you think the blossoms
+are finer than usual this year?"
+
+"Yes, they look as they did when your father was alive," said his wife.
+
+[Illustration: John's trees full of fruit]
+
+By and by, the blooms fell, leaving a million little green apples and
+peaches. Summer passed and autumn followed. The branches of the old
+trees could hardly hold up all the fine fruit on them.
+
+Now the neighbors came, not to make fun, but to praise. "How did you do
+it?" they asked.
+
+"The trees were old and needed attention," said John. "By turning the
+soil and letting in the air, I gave them strength to bear fruit. I have
+found the treasure after all, and I have learned a lesson. Tilling the
+soil well is the way to get treasure from it."
+
+--GRIMM.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE BROWN BROTHER
+
+
+  Little brown brother, oh! little brown brother,
+    Are you awake in the dark?
+  Here we lie cozily, close to each other;
+    Hark to the song of the lark--
+
+  "Waken!" the lark says, "waken and dress you;
+    Put on your green coats and gay,
+  Blue sky will shine on you, sunshine caress you--
+    Waken! 'tis morning--'tis May!"
+
+  Little brown brother, oh! little brown brother,
+    What kind of flower will you be?
+  I'll be a poppy--all white, like my mother;
+    Do be a poppy like me.
+
+  What! you're a sunflower? How I shall miss you
+    When you're grown golden and high!
+  But I shall send all the bees up to kiss you;
+    Little brown brother, good-by!
+
+--EMILY NESBIT.
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE FLOWERS GROW
+
+
+  This is how the flowers grow;
+  I have watched them and I know:
+
+  First, above the ground is seen
+  A tiny blade of purest green,
+  Reaching up and peeping forth
+  East and west, and south and north.
+
+  Then the sunbeams find their way
+  To the sleeping bud and say,
+  "We are children of the sun
+  Sent to wake thee, little one."
+
+  And the leaflet opening wide
+  Shows the tiny bud inside,
+  Peeping with half-opened eye
+  On the bright and sunny sky.
+
+  Breezes from the west and south
+  Lay their kisses on its mouth;
+  Till the petals all are grown,
+  And the bud's a flower blown.
+
+--GABRIEL SETOUN.
+
+
+
+
+WISE MEN OF GOTHAM
+
+
+Once upon a time there were some wise men who lived in Gotham. Listen
+and you will hear how wise they were.
+
+Twelve of these wise men went fishing one day. Some went into the stream
+and some stayed on dry ground. They caught many fish and had a good
+time.
+
+As they came home, one of the men said, "We have risked much wading in
+that stream. I pray God no one of us is drowned."
+
+"Why, one of us might be! Who knows?" cried another. "Let's see about
+it. Twelve of us went fishing this morning. We must count and see if
+twelve are returning."
+
+So one man counted, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
+nine, ten, eleven." And he did not count himself!
+
+"Alas! One of us is drowned!" he cried.
+
+"Woe be unto us! Let me count," said another. And he did not count
+himself.
+
+"Alas! alas!" he wailed; "truly one of us is drowned!"
+
+Then every man counted, and each one failed to count himself.
+
+"Alas! alas!" they all cried; "one of us is drowned! Which one is it?"
+
+They went back to the shore, and they looked up and down for him that
+was drowned. All the time they were lamenting loudly.
+
+A courtier came riding by. "What are you seeking?" he asked, "and why
+are you so sorrowful?"
+
+"Oh," said they, "this day we came to fish in the stream. There were
+twelve of us, but one is drowned."
+
+"Why," said the courtier, "count yourselves and see how many there be."
+
+Again they counted, and again each man failed to count himself.
+
+"Well, this is sad," said the courtier, who saw how the mistake had been
+made. "What will you give me if I find the twelfth man?"
+
+"Sir," cried all together, "you may have all the money we own."
+
+"Give me the money," said the courtier.
+
+Then he began to count. He gave the first man a whack over the shoulders
+and said, "There is one."
+
+He gave the next a whack and said, "There is two." And so he counted
+until he came to the last man. He gave this one a sounding blow, saying,
+"And here is the twelfth."
+
+"God bless you!" cried all the company. "You have found our neighbor."
+
+--OLD ENGLISH STORY.
+
+
+
+
+THE MILLER'S GUEST
+
+I
+
+
+A hunter who had ridden ahead in the chase was lost. The sun went down,
+and darkness fell upon the forest. The hunter blew his horn, but no
+answer came. What should he do?
+
+At last he heard the sound of horse's hoofs. Some one was coming. Was it
+friend or foe? The hunter stood still, and soon a miller rode out into
+the moonlight.
+
+"Pray, good fellow, be so kind as to tell me the way to Nottingham,"
+said the hunter.
+
+"Nottingham? Why should you be going to Nottingham? The king and his
+court are there. It is not a place for the like of you," replied the
+miller.
+
+"Well, well, perhaps you are right, good miller," said the hunter. "And
+yet who knows? I'll wager that the king is no better man than I am.
+However, it is getting late, and lodging I must have. Will you give me
+shelter for the night?"
+
+"Nay, nay, not so fast," said the miller. "Stand forth and let me see if
+you are a true man. Many thieves wear fine clothes these days."
+
+The hunter stepped forward. "Well, and what do you think of me?" he
+asked gayly. "Will you not give a stranger lodging?"
+
+"How do I know that you have one penny in your purse?" asked the miller.
+"You may carry your all on your back, for aught I know. I've heard of
+lords who are like that."
+
+"True, good miller, but I have gold. If it be forty pence, I will pay
+it," said the hunter.
+
+"If you are a true man, and have the pence, then lodging you may have.
+My good wife may not like it, but we'll see," said the miller.
+
+"Good!" cried the hunter. "And here's my hand on it."
+
+"Nay, nay, not so fast," replied the miller. "I must know you better
+before I shake hands. None but an honest man's hand will I take."
+
+"Some day, my good miller," replied the hunter, "I hope to have you take
+my hand in yours. Proud will I be when the day comes."
+
+
+II
+
+
+And so to the miller's house they went. The miller again looked at the
+stranger and said, "I like his face well. He may stay with us, may he
+not, good wife?"
+
+"Yes, he is a handsome youth, but it's best not to go too fast," said
+the good wife. "He may be a runaway servant. Let him show his passport,
+and all shall be well."
+
+The hunter bowed low, and said, "I have no passport, good dame, and I
+never was any man's servant. I am but a poor courtier who has lost his
+way. Pray give me lodging for the night. Your kindness I will surely
+repay."
+
+Then the wife whispered to the miller, "The youth is of good manners and
+to turn him out would be sin."
+
+"Yea, a well-mannered youth--and one who knows his betters when he sees
+them," the miller replied. "Let the lad stay."
+
+"Well, young man," said the wife, "you are welcome here; and well lodged
+you shall be, though I do say it myself. You shall have a fresh bed with
+good brown sheets."
+
+"Aye," said the miller, "and you shall sleep with our own son Richard."
+
+Then they all sat down to supper--such a supper: pudding, apple pie, and
+good things of all kinds. Then at a wink from the miller, the wife
+brought out a venison pasty.
+
+"Eat!" said the miller. "This is dainty food."
+
+"Faith!" cried the hunter, "I never before ate such meat."
+
+"Pshaw!" said Richard. "We eat this every day."
+
+"Every day? Where do you buy it?"
+
+"Oh, never a penny pay we. In merry Sherwood Forest we find it. Now and
+then, you see, we make bold with the king's deer."
+
+"Then I think that it is venison," said the hunter.
+
+"To be sure. Any fool would know that," replied Richard; "but say
+nothing about it. We would not have the king hear of it."
+
+"I'll keep your secret," said the hunter. "Don't fear. The king shall
+never know more than he knows now."
+
+And so the evening passed merrily. It was late when the guest sought his
+bed, but right soundly did he sleep.
+
+The next morning the miller, the good wife, and Richard came out to see
+the hunter on his way. Just then a party of nobles rode up.
+
+"There's the king!" cried one.
+
+"Pardon, your majesty!" cried another, and all fell upon their knees
+before the hunter.
+
+The miller stood shaking and quaking, and for once his wife could not
+speak. The king, with a grave face, drew his sword, but not a word did
+he say.
+
+The terrified miller threw himself at his ruler's feet, crying out for
+mercy. Again the sword was raised, and down it fell, but lightly, upon
+the miller's shoulder, and the king said:
+
+[Illustration: The king knights the miller]
+
+"Your kind courtesy I will repay; so I here dub thee Knight. Rise, Sir
+John of Mansfield."
+
+For many a day the miller and his wife told of the night the king spent
+with them. And for many a day the king told of the time he was taken for
+a thief and ate of his own deer in the miller's house.
+
+--ENGLISH BALLAD (Adapted).
+
+
+
+
+SADDLE TO RAGS
+
+I
+
+
+  This story I'm going to sing,
+    I hope it will give you content,
+  Concerning a silly old man
+    That was going to pay his rent,
+  With a till-a-dill, till-a-dill-dill,
+    Till-a-dill, dill-a-dill, dee,
+  Sing fol-de-dill, dill-de-dill, dill,
+    Fol-de-dill, dill-de-dill, dee.
+
+A silly old man said to his wife one day, "Well, 'tis time I paid my
+rent. The landlord has been away for a year and a day, but now he is
+back, and I must pay for twelve months."
+
+"Yes, it's twice forty pounds that is due, and it should be paid," said
+the good wife. "So much money in the house keeps me from sleeping at
+night."
+
+"Well, I'll bridle old Tib, and away we shall go," said the old man.
+"Right glad I'll be, too, to be rid of the gold."
+
+The silly old man bridled old Tib and saddled her too. And away they
+started. As he was jogging along, a stranger came riding up on a fine
+horse with fine saddle bags.
+
+"Good morning, old man," said the stranger.
+
+"Good morning," said the old man.
+
+"How far are you going?"
+
+"To tell the truth, kind sir, I am going just two miles," said the old
+man.
+
+"And where are you going?" asked the stranger.
+
+"I am going to pay my rent, kind sir," said the old man. "I am but a
+silly old man who farms a piece of ground. My rent for a half year is
+forty pounds; but my landlord has been away for a year, and now I owe
+him eighty pounds. Right glad I am to pay it."
+
+"Eighty pounds! That is indeed a large sum," cried the stranger, "and
+you ought not to tell anybody you carry so much. There are many thieves
+about, and you might be robbed."
+
+"Oh, never mind!" said the old man. "I do not fear thieves. My money is
+safe in my saddle bags, on which I ride."
+
+So they rode along most pleasantly.
+
+When they came to a thick wood, the stranger pulled out a pistol and
+said, "Stand still, and give me your money."
+
+"Nay," said the old man. "The money is for my landlord. I will not give
+it to you."
+
+"Your money or your life!"
+
+"Well, if you will have it, you can go for it," cried the old man, as he
+threw his old saddle bags over a hedge.
+
+The thief dismounted and said, "Stand here and hold my horse while I go
+over the hedge. You are silly, but surely you can do that."
+
+The thief climbed through the hedge. When he was on the other side, the
+old man got on the thief's horse, and away he galloped.
+
+"Stop, stop!" cried the thief. "And half of my share you shall have."
+
+"Nay," cried the man. "I think I'll go on. I'd rather have what's in
+your bag."
+
+[Illustration: The old man gallops away]
+
+And away he galloped, riding as he never rode before.
+
+
+II
+
+
+The thief thought there must be something in the old man's bags; so with
+his big rusty knife he chopped them into rags. But no money did he find,
+for the silly old man was not so silly as he seemed. His money was in
+his pocket.
+
+The old man rode on to his landlord's home and paid his rent. Then he
+opened the thief's bag, which was glorious to behold. There were five
+hundred pounds in gold and silver.
+
+"Where did you get the silver?" asked the landlord. "And where did you
+get the gold?"
+
+"I met a proud fool on the way," said the old man with a laugh. "I
+swapped horses with him, and he gave me this to boot."
+
+"Well, well! But you're too old to go about with so much money," said
+the landlord.
+
+"Oh, I think no one would harm a silly old man like me," said the
+farmer, as he rode away.
+
+The old man went home by a narrow lane, and there he spied Tib tied to a
+tree.
+
+"The stranger did not like his trade, I fear," said he. "So I think I'll
+take Tib home."
+
+The old man went home much richer than when he left. When she heard the
+story, the wife danced and sang for glee. "'Tis hard to fool my old
+man," said she.
+
+--ENGLISH BALLAD (_Adapted_).
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Rock-a-By Lady walking by]
+
+THE ROCK-A-BY LADY
+
+
+  The Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby street
+    Comes stealing; comes creeping;
+  The poppies they hang from her head to her
+      feet,
+  And each hath a dream that is tiny and fleet--
+  She bringeth her poppies to you, my sweet,
+    When she findeth you sleeping!
+
+  There is one little dream of a beautiful drum--
+    "Rub-a-dub!" it goeth;
+  There is one little dream of a big sugar-plum,
+  And lo! thick and fast the other dreams come
+  Of pop-guns that bang, and tin tops that hum,
+    And a trumpet that bloweth!
+
+  And dollies peep out of those wee little dreams
+    With laughter and singing;
+  And boats go a-floating on silvery streams,
+  And the stars peek-a-boo with their own misty gleams,
+  And up, up, and up, where the Mother Moon beams,
+    The fairies go winging!
+
+  Would you dream all these dreams that are tiny and fleet?
+    They'll come to you sleeping;
+  So shut the two eyes that are weary, my sweet,
+  For the Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby street
+  With poppies that hang from her head to her feet,
+    Comes stealing; comes creeping.
+
+--EUGENE FIELD.
+
+
+
+
+THE SANDMAN
+
+
+  The rosy clouds float overhead,
+    The sun is going down;
+  And now the sandman's gentle tread
+    Comes stealing through the town.
+  "White sand, white sand," he softly cries,
+    And as he shakes his hand,
+  Straightway there lies on babies' eyes
+    His gift of shining sand.
+  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
+  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
+    When he goes through the town.
+
+  From sunny beaches far away--
+    Yes, in another land--
+  He gathers up at break of day
+    His store of shining sand.
+  No tempests beat that shore remote,
+    No ships may sail that way;
+  His little boat alone may float
+    Within that lovely bay.
+  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
+  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
+    When he goes through the town.
+
+[Illustration: The sandman]
+
+  He smiles to see the eyelids close
+    Above the happy eyes;
+  And every child right well he knows,
+    Oh, he is very wise!
+  But, if as he goes through the land,
+    A naughty baby cries,
+  His other hand takes dull gray sand
+    To close the wakeful eyes.
+  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
+  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
+    When he goes through the town.
+
+  So when you hear the sandman's song
+    Sound through the twilight sweet,
+  Be sure you do not keep him long
+    A-waiting on the street.
+  Lie softly down, dear little head,
+    Rest quiet, busy hands,
+  Till, by your bed his good-night said,
+    He strews the shining sands.
+  Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
+  As shuts the rose, they softly close,
+    When he goes through the town.
+
+--MARGARET VANDERGRIFT.
+
+
+
+
+A DICTIONARY
+
+
+To the Children: Below you will find the words in the Third Reader that
+you may not know the meaning of, or how to pronounce. Some words have
+more than one meaning. In looking for the meaning of a word, choose the
+meaning that best fits the sentence in which the word occurs.
+
+ad ven ture: a bold undertaking.
+af fec tion: love.
+a gree ment: a bargain.
+al mond: a nut.
+am ber: of the color of amber-yellow.
+ap plaud ed: praised.
+ar bu tus: a trailing plant with small pinkish-white blossoms.
+A tri (Ah tree): a town in Italy.
+aught: anything.
+
+Bau cis (Bor sis): a Greek woman.
+bel lows (lus): an instrument for blowing a fire, used by blacksmiths.
+bil low: a great wave.
+blithe (bl=ithe): joyous, glad.
+bred: brought up.
+bur dock: a coarse plant with bur-like heads.
+card: an instrument for combing cotton, wool, or flax.
+chase: hunt; pursuit.
+chris ten ing: naming a child at baptism.
+cliff: a high, steep face of rock.
+com rade (kom rad): a mate, a companion.
+Con al (C~on' al): an Irish lad.
+con ceit ed: proud, vain.
+con fess: to own; to admit.
+coun cil: a small body called together for a trial, or to decide a matter.
+court ier (court' yer): an attendant at the court of a prince.
+crime: a wicked act punishable by law.
+crouch: to stoop low.
+
+dan ger: risk.
+de li cious: pleasing to the taste.
+de nied: disowned.
+depths: deep part of sea.
+de stroy: break up; kill.
+dis tress: suffering of mind.
+dock: a place between piers where vessels may anchor.
+Don al (D~on' al): an Irish lad.
+dor mouse (dor mous'): a small animal that looks like a squirrel.
+drought (drout): want of water.
+dub: call.
+dumps: low spirits.
+
+eaves: overhanging lower edges of a roof.
+em bers: smouldering ashes.
+em per or: ruler of an empire.
+em press: wife of an emperor; a female ruler.
+en chant ed: bewitched.
+en e my: foe.
+es tab lish: to found.
+ex act ly: completely.
+ex haust ed: tired, worn out.
+ex tend ing: reaching.
+
+fam ine: scarcity of food.
+fes ti val: a time of feasting.
+flax: a slender plant with blue flowers, used to make thread and cloth.
+fol ly: foolishness.
+foot man: a man servant.
+forge: a place with its furnace where metal is heated and hammered into
+    different shapes.
+fra grance: sweetness.
+free dom: independence, liberty.
+
+gauz y: like gauze, thin.
+Got ham (Got am): a village in Old England, commonly called G=o tham.
+grate ful: thankful.
+groom: a servant in charge of horses.
+guard: one that guards; a watch.
+
+hail ing: calling.
+har bor: a protected body of water where vessels may anchor safely.
+haught y: proud.
+her ald: a messenger.
+Ho ang ti (H=o ~ang tee): an emperor of China.
+hoar y: white.
+horse-chest nut: a tree.
+hu man: like men.
+hu mor: mood, disposition.
+
+in no cent: guiltless.
+in spect: examine.
+in stant ly: at once.
+in vent ed: made.
+
+jest: joke.
+ju ni per: an evergreen, tree.
+jus tice: right treatment.
+
+king dom: country belonging
+to king or queen.
+kirk: church.
+knight: a mounted man-at-arms.
+
+lad en: loaded.
+la ment ed: wailed, wept.
+lin en: thread or cloth made of flax.
+lodge: dwelling place; wigwam.
+loom: a machine for weaving threads into cloth.
+lus cious: delicious.
+
+Man i tou (too): a name given by the Indians to the "Great Spirit," or God.
+marsh es: swamps.
+mer cy: pity, kindness.
+min is ter: a pastor, a clergyman.
+mis for tune: bad fortune.
+moc ca sin: Indian shoes.
+moor: to secure in place, as a vessel: a great tract of waste land.
+moult ed: shed feathers.
+
+no bles: lords.
+nurs er y: play room for children.
+
+o blige: do a favor.
+o rang ou tang: a kind of ape.
+or der ly: regular; in order.
+
+page: a youth training for knighthood.
+pas try (p=as): article of food made with crust of paste (or dough) as a
+    pie.
+peas ant (p~es): a tiller of the soil.
+pe can: a kind of nut.
+Pe kin duck: a large, creamy white duck.
+pest: a nuisance.
+Phi le mon (F=i l=e' mon): a Greek peasant.
+pil lar: a support.
+pin ing: drooping; longing.
+pound: a piece of English money, equal to about $5.00 in United States
+    money.
+prai rie: an extensive tract of level or rolling land.
+
+rag ing: furious, violent.
+rec og nized: known.
+re flec tion: image.
+ref uge: shelter.
+re fused: declined to do.
+reign ing (rain): ruling.
+re mote: distant.
+rest less: eager for change, discontented; unquiet.
+re store: to return, to give back.
+roe buck: male deer.
+runt: an animal unusually small of its kind.
+
+sad dle bags: a pair of pouches attached to a saddle, used to carry
+    small articles.
+Salis bur y (Sauls): a town in North Carolina.
+sav age: wild, untamed.
+scare crow: an object set up to scare crows and other birds away from
+    crops.
+score: the number twenty.
+serv ice: benefit, favor.
+shek el: ancient coin.
+shreds: strips, fragments.
+Si ling (Se): a Chinese empress.
+sim ple ton: a foolish person.
+six pence: six pennies--about twelve cents in United States money.
+squire: a justice of the peace.
+state ly: dignified, majestic.
+stat ues: likeness of a human being cut out of stone.
+steeped: soaked.
+striv ing: laboring, endeavoring.
+stub ble: stumps of grain left in ground, as after reaping.
+
+tab lets: a flat piece on which to write.
+tasks: work, undertaking.
+tem pest: storm.
+tem ple: a kind of church.
+thriv ing: prospering, succeeding.
+tid ings: news.
+till ing: cultivating.
+tim id ly: shyly.
+tink er ing: mending.
+tithing man (t=ith): officer who enforced good behavior.
+tor por: numbness, dullness.
+tread: step.
+tri als: efforts, attempts.
+troop: an armed force.
+
+
+u su al: ordinary, common.
+
+vain: proud, conceited; to no purpose.
+van ished: disappeared.
+ven i son (ven' z'n): flesh of deer.
+vic to ry: triumph.
+vol un teer: one who offers himself for a service.
+
+wa ger (wa jer): bet.
+wages: carries on.
+wand: a small stick.
+width: breadth.
+wig wam: Indian tent.
+wis dom: learning, knowledge.
+
+yarn: thread.
+
+Zeus (Z=us): a Greek god.
+
+
+
+
+WORD LIST
+
+
+This list contains the words in the Child's World Third Reader, except
+those already used in the earlier books of this series, and a few that
+present no difficulty in spelling, pronunciation or meaning.
+
+9
+Greece
+Philemon
+Baucis
+unhappy
+hives
+
+10
+gathered
+couple
+Zeus
+beggars
+
+11
+attend
+footsore
+herbs
+although
+pitcher
+
+13
+disappeared
+homeward
+
+14
+feeble
+linden
+
+15
+treasure
+lucky
+Iris
+precious
+
+16
+messenger
+swift-footed
+Mercury
+awakened
+
+17
+hereafter
+honest
+upright
+
+18
+blossoms
+luscious
+harsh
+
+19
+hues
+frolic
+glistened
+wrestled
+scurried
+
+21
+fluttered
+speckled
+tender
+
+22
+parents
+moment
+remained
+praised
+
+25
+zigzag
+remote
+comrade
+blithe
+amber
+billows
+stubble
+bracing
+
+26
+plantation
+spindle
+
+28
+woven
+loom
+ruffles
+
+29
+England
+buttonholes
+
+30
+shepherd
+shearers
+
+32
+dyers
+
+33
+colored
+plaid
+
+34
+Hoangti
+emperor
+China
+Si-ling
+empress
+suddenly
+
+35
+cocoons
+
+37
+dainty
+linen
+
+38
+frightful
+steeped
+
+39
+suffered
+aprons
+
+40
+shreds
+pulp
+glorious
+surprise
+verses
+
+41
+isles
+thousands
+prayers
+
+42
+Hillmen
+housewife
+bargains
+
+43
+saucepan
+aye
+sixpence
+tinkering
+
+44
+refused
+muttered
+vexed
+chimney
+
+45
+scoured
+spoiled
+exclaimed
+
+46
+shelter
+Dormouse
+lest
+
+47
+gracious
+lamented
+invented
+
+48
+Atri
+heralds
+ye
+complaint
+message
+
+49
+guilty
+
+50
+arousing
+justice
+
+51
+steed
+undertone
+jest
+
+52
+applauded
+
+53
+savage
+
+54
+dragged
+judge
+prison
+
+55
+denied
+wisdom
+
+56
+labor
+honeycomb
+
+57
+artists
+extending
+poets
+affection
+well-deserved
+
+59
+dreadful
+worry
+horrid
+notice
+
+62
+business
+
+65
+perfectly
+breath
+
+67
+Epaminondas
+granny
+
+75
+service
+
+76
+obliged
+gently
+
+77
+tremendous
+marvelous
+
+78
+forbid
+allow
+
+81
+caramels
+almond
+pecan
+taffy
+
+82
+except
+Christ
+
+84
+Pedro
+altar
+distress
+
+86
+stately
+haughty
+
+88
+musician
+
+90
+family
+scare
+pantry
+
+94
+chocolate
+
+95
+whiskers
+danger
+
+101
+huddled
+wailed
+usual
+faint
+
+102
+cheerful
+pardon
+
+104
+chorus
+shriller
+chubby
+bundled
+
+106
+furniture
+mirror
+reflection
+
+108
+disgusted
+
+110
+satisfied
+oiling
+
+111
+bow-legged
+conceited
+
+112
+remarked
+width
+
+113
+clattering
+astonished
+
+114
+fault
+recognized
+
+115
+shekels
+
+116
+impossible
+caliph
+
+117
+courtier
+presence
+refused
+
+119
+companion
+
+120
+razors
+agreement
+
+121
+instantly
+
+122
+cozy
+drowsy
+
+124
+Puritans
+Sabbath
+
+125
+Indians
+worship
+
+126
+sermon
+minister
+
+127
+tithingman
+peppermint
+
+130
+freedom
+regular
+Vermont
+able-bodied
+Americans
+volunteers
+
+131
+inspect
+
+133
+victory
+
+134
+president
+Salisbury
+
+135
+impatient
+governor
+
+138
+delicious
+heartily
+
+139
+murmuring
+papoose
+prairie
+Manitou
+
+140
+drought
+council
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+strength
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+arbutus
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+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Child's World
+by Hetty Browne, Sarah Withers, W.K. Tate
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