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    [Illustration:




    THE YOUNG AND FIELD LITERARY READERS

    _Book Two_

    BY

    ELLA FLAGG YOUNG


    _Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools_

    AND

    WALTER TAYLOR FIELD

    _Author of "Fingerposts to Children's Reading," "Rome," Etc_

    _Illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright_


    GINN AND COMPANY
    BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON]


    COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY ELLA FLAGG YOUNG

    AND WALTER TAYLOR FIELD

    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    116.3


    The Athenæum Press

    GINN AND COMPANY · PROPRIETORS ·
    BOSTON · U.S.A.




TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS


Dear Boys and Girls:

Do you like fairy stories?

You do not need to tell us.

We know you like them.

So we are going to give you some to read.

You may have heard some of these stories before, but not many of them.

Some have come from far across the sea, and some have come from our
own country.

Mothers have told them to their children again and again, and children
have never been tired of them.

We think you will like them, too.




ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


The poems of Mr. Frank Dempster Sherman and Miss Abbie Farwell Brown
are used by special arrangement with the Houghton Mifflin Company,
publishers.

Acknowledgments are also due to the following publishers and authors
for permission to use copyrighted material: to Charles Scribner's Sons
for poems from Robert Louis Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of Verses"
and Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge's "Rhymes and Jingles"; to the Macmillan
Company for poems from Christina Rossetti's "Sing Song"; to Little,
Brown, and Company for poems from Mrs. Laura E. Richards's "In My
Nursery"; to G. P. Putnam's Sons for the use of Sir George Webbe
Dasent's version of the story "East of the Sun and West of the Moon,"
from "Popular Tales from the Norse," as the basis for our story of the
same name; to the A. Flanagan Company and Miss Flora J. Cooke for the
use of "The Rainbow Bridge," from Miss Cooke's "Nature Myths," in a
similar way; to Miss Marion Florence Lansing for permission to adapt
her dramatized Hindu Tale, "The Man's Boot," from "Quaint Old
Stories," in our story "The Shoe"; to Mr. William Hawley Smith for
permission to use his poem "A Child's Prayer."




    CONTENTS


    ENGLISH FAIRY TALES
      CHILDE ROWLAND
      TOM TIT TOT

    POEMS BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI
      LAMBKINS
      FERRY ME ACROSS THE WATER
      CORAL
      THE SWALLOW
      WRENS AND ROBINS
      BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS

    FABLES FROM ÆSOP
      THE LION AND THE MOUSE
      THE HONEST WOODCUTTER
      THE WOLF AND THE CRANE
      THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE
      THE WIND AND THE SUN
      THE ANT AND THE DOVE
      THE LARK AND HER NEST
      THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW
      THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

    POEMS BY MARY MAPES DODGE
      FOUR LITTLE BIRDS
      IN THE BASKET
      COUSIN JEREMY
      LITTLE MISS LIMBERKIN
      SNOWFLAKES
      HOLLYHOCK

    GERMAN FAIRY TALES
      THE LITTLE PINE TREE
      THE FAITHFUL BEASTS

    POEMS BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
      WHERE GO THE BOATS?
      AT THE SEASIDE
      RAIN
      AUTUMN FIRES
      THE WIND

    HINDU FABLES
      THE TIMID HARES
      THE SHOE
      THE CAMEL AND THE JACKAL

    POEMS BY LAURA E. RICHARDS
      THE BUMBLEBEE
      LITTLE BROWN BOBBY
      JIPPY AND JIMMY
      THE SONG OF THE CORN POPPER

    A FRENCH FAIRY TALE
      THE FAIRY

    A NORSE FOLK TALE
      EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON

    POEMS BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN
      THE SAILOR
      A MUSIC BOX

    AMERICAN INDIAN LEGENDS
      LITTLE SCAR-FACE
      THE HUNTER WHO FORGOT
      THE WATER LILY

    RUSSIAN FABLES
      FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR
      THE SPIDER AND THE BEE
      THE STONE AND THE WORM
      THE FOX IN THE ICE

    POEMS BY FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN
      CLOUDS
      GHOST FAIRIES
      DAISIES

    OLD GREEK STORIES
      THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE STAR GIANT
      THE WIND AND THE CLOUDS
      THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

    POEMS OLD AND NEW
      THANK YOU, PRETTY COW   _Jane Taylor_
      PLAYGROUNDS             _Laurence Alma-Tadema_
      SLEEP, BABY, SLEEP      _German Cradle Song_
      A CHILD'S PRAYER        _William Hawley Smith_

    LISTS OF WORDS FOR PHONETIC DRILL

    LIST OF NEW WORDS ARRANGED BY LESSONS




THE YOUNG AND FIELD LITERARY READERS

BOOK TWO




ENGLISH FAIRY TALES


CHILDE ROWLAND

Once upon a time there was a little princess.

Her name was Ellen.

She lived with her mother the queen in a great house by the sea.

She had three brothers.

One day, as they were playing ball, one of her brothers threw the ball
over the house.

Ellen ran to get it, but she did not come back.

The three brothers looked for her.

They looked and looked, but they could not find her.

Day after day went by.

At last the oldest brother went to a wise man and asked what to do.

"The princess is with the elves. She is in the Dark Tower," said the
wise man.

"Where is the Dark Tower?" asked the oldest brother.

"It is far away," said the wise man. "You cannot find it."

"I can and I will find it. Tell me where it is," said the oldest
brother.

The wise man told him, and the oldest brother set off at once.

The other brothers waited.

They waited long, but the oldest brother did not come back.

Then the next brother went to the wise man.

The wise man told him as he had told the oldest brother.

Then the next brother set out to find the Dark Tower.

The youngest brother waited.

He waited long, but no one came.

Now the youngest brother was called Childe Rowland.

At last Childe Rowland went to his mother the queen and said:

"Mother, let me go and find the Dark Tower and bring home Ellen and my
brothers."

"I cannot let you go. You are all that I have, now," said the queen.

But Childe Rowland asked again and again, till at last the queen said,
"Go, my boy."

Then she gave him his father's sword, and he set out.

He went to the wise man and asked the way.

The wise man told him and said:

"I will tell you two things. One thing is for you to do, and one thing
is for you not to do.

"The thing to do is this: When you get to the country of the elves,
take hold of your father's sword, pull it out quickly, and cut off the
head of any one who speaks to you, till you find the princess Ellen.

"The thing not to do is this: Bite no bit and drink no drop till you
come back. Go hungry and thirsty while you are in the country of the
elves."

Childe Rowland said the two things over and over, so that he should
not forget.

Then he went on his way.

He went on and on and on, till he came to some horses with eyes of
fire.

Then he knew he was in the country of the elves.

A man was with the horses.

"Where is the Dark Tower?" asked Childe Rowland.

"I do not know," said the man. "Ask the man that keeps the cows."

Childe Rowland thought of what the wise man had told him.

He pulled out his father's sword, and off went the man's head.

Then Childe Rowland went on and on, till he came to some cows with
eyes of fire.

The man who kept the cows looked at Childe Rowland.

"Where is the Dark Tower?" asked Childe Rowland.

"I cannot tell. Ask the woman that keeps the hens," said the man.

Childe Rowland took the sword, and off went the man's head.

Then Childe Rowland went on and on, till he came to some hens with
eyes of fire.

An old woman was with them.

"Where is the Dark Tower?" asked Childe Rowland.

"Go on and look for a hill," said the old woman. "Go around the hill
three times. Each time you go around say:

    'Open, door! open, door!
    Let me come in.'

When you have gone three times around, a door will open. Go in."

Childe Rowland did not like to cut off the head of the old woman, but
he thought of what the wise man had told him.

So he took hold of the sword, and off went her head.

After this he went on and on and on, till he came to a hill.

He went three times around it, and each time he said:

    "Open, door! open, door!
    Let me come in."

When he had gone three times around, a door opened. In he went.

The door shut after him, and he was in the dark.

Soon he began to see a dim light.

It seemed to come from the walls.

He went down a long way, and at last he came to another door.

All at once it flew open, and he found himself in a great hall.

The walls were of gold and silver, and were hung with diamonds.

How the diamonds shone!

And there sat the princess Ellen in a great chair of gold, with
diamonds all about her head.

When she saw Childe Rowland, she came to him and said:

"Brother, why are you here? If the king of the elves comes, it will be
a sad day for you."

But this did not frighten Childe Rowland. He sat down and told her all
that he had done.

She told him that the two brothers were in the tower.

The king of the elves had turned them into stone.

Soon Childe Rowland began to be very hungry, and asked for something
to eat.

Ellen went out and soon came back with bread and milk in a golden
bowl.

Childe Rowland took it and was about to eat.

All at once he thought of what the wise man had said.

So he threw the bowl down upon the floor, and said:

    "Not a bit will I bite,
    Not a drop will I drink,
    Till Ellen is free."

Then they heard a great noise outside, and some one cried out:

    "Fee-fi-fo-fum!
    I smell the blood
    Of an Englishman!"

The door of the hall flew open and the king of the elves came in.

Childe Rowland took his sword.

They fought and they fought.

At last Childe Rowland beat the king of the elves down to the ground.

"Stop!" cried the king of the elves. "I have had enough."

"I will stop when you set free the princess Ellen and my brothers,"
said Childe Rowland.

"I will set them free," said the king.

He went at once to a cupboard and took out a blood-red bottle.

Out of this bottle he let a drop or two fall upon the eyes of the two
brothers, and up they jumped.

Childe Rowland took the hand of his sister and went out of the door,
and up the long way.

The two brothers went after them and left the king of the elves alone.

Then they came out from the hill and found their way back to their own
country.

How glad the queen was!


TOM TIT TOT

Once a woman made five pies.

When she had made them, she found that they were too hard.

So the woman said to her daughter:

"Put those pies into the cupboard and leave them there a little while
and they'll come again."

She meant that they would get soft.

But the girl said to herself,

"Well, if they'll come again, I think I will eat them."

So she ate them all up.

At supper time the woman said,

"Daughter, get one of those pies. I think they must have come again."

The girl went to the cupboard and looked, but no pies were there.

Then she came back to her mother and said,

"No, they have not come again."

"Well, bring one," said the mother. "I want one for my supper."

"But I can't. They have not come."

"Yes, you can. Bring me one."

"But I ate them all up."

"What!" said the mother, "You bad, bad girl!"

The woman could not stop thinking about those five pies.

As she sat at the door spinning, she kept mumbling to herself:

    "My daughter ate five pies to-day,
    My daughter ate five pies to-day."

The king was going by, and he heard the woman mumbling.

"What are you saying, woman?" asked the king.

The woman did not like to tell him about the pies, so she said:

    "My daughter spun five skeins to-day,
    My daughter spun five skeins to-day."

"Well, well, well!" said the king, "I didn't know that any one could
spin so much as that!"

"My daughter knows how to spin," said the woman.

The king thought a little while.

Then he said: "I want a wife. If your daughter can spin as much as
that, I will make her my wife. She shall have fine clothes, and for
eleven months in every year she may do anything she wishes. But the
last month of the year she must spin five skeins each day. If she
doesn't, she must have her head cut off."

"Very well," said the woman.

She thought how fine it would be if her daughter should be the queen.

The girl could have a good time for eleven months, anyway, and there
would surely be some way to get the skeins spun.

So the king took the girl away and made her queen.

For eleven months she had everything she could think of.

She had gold and silver and diamonds and fine clothes and good things
to eat.

But when the last month of the year came, she began to think what she
should do about those five skeins.

She did not have long to think, for the king took her into a room, all
by herself, and said:

"Here is a spinning wheel, and here is a chair, and here is some flax.

"Now, my dear, sit down and spin five skeins before night, or off goes
your head."

Then he turned and went out.

How frightened she was!

She could not spin.

She could only sit down and cry.

All at once there was a rap at the door.

She jumped up and opened it, and what should she see but a little
black thing with a long tail!

"What are you crying about?" asked the little black thing.

"It would do no good to tell you," said the queen.

"How do you know that?" asked the little black thing, and he twirled
his tail.

"Well, I will tell you," she said. And she told him all that the king
had said to her.

"Then," said the little black thing, "I will come here to your window
every morning and take some flax, and bring it back at night all spun.

"If you can guess my name, you shall pay nothing for my work.

"You may try three times each night, when I bring back the skeins. But
if you can't guess my name before the last day of the month, I will
carry you off with me."

The queen thought that she could surely guess, so she said:

"Very well. Take the flax."

"Yes," said the little black thing, and my! how he twirled his tail!

That night he came back with five skeins of spun flax, but she could
not guess his name.

So it went on day after day. Every night the little black thing
brought five skeins, but she could not guess his name.

On the last day of the month the king came in to see her.

"You are doing well, my dear," said he.

"I think I shall not have to cut off your head, after all."

So he had a fine supper brought in, and they ate it together.

As they were eating, the king said:

"I was hunting to-day in the woods, and I heard a queer song. It came
from a hole in the ground. I looked in, and there sat a little black
thing with a long tail. He was spinning. He twirled his tail as he
spun, and sang:

    'Nimmy, nimmy, not!
    I'm Tom Tit Tot.'"

The queen at once jumped up and danced all around the table, but she
said nothing.

The king thought she was glad because her spinning was done.

That night the little black thing brought the last five skeins of
flax.

"Well," he said, "what is my name? You may guess three times more."

How he twirled his tail!

"Is it Jack?" she asked.

"No, it is not Jack," he said.

"Is it Tom?" she asked.

"No, it is not Tom."

You should have seen him laugh!

"One more guess; then I take you," said the little black thing, and he
twirled his tail again.

This time the queen laughed.

She looked at him a long time and then said:

    "Nimmy, nimmy, not!
    You're Tom Tit Tot."

At that the little black thing gave a great cry, and away he flew, out
into the dark.

The queen never saw him again.




POEMS BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI


LAMBKINS

    On the grassy banks
    Lambkins at their pranks;
    Woolly sisters, woolly brothers,
        Jumping off their feet,
    While their woolly mothers
        Watch by them and bleat.


FERRY ME ACROSS THE WATER

    "Ferry me across the water,
        Do, boatman, do."
    "If you've a penny in your purse,
        I'll ferry you."

    "I have a penny in my purse,
        And my eyes are blue;
    So ferry me across the water,
        Do, boatman, do."

    "Step into my ferry-boat,
        Be they black or blue,
    And for the penny in your purse
        I'll ferry you."


CORAL

    "O sailor, come ashore.
        What have you brought for me?"
    "Red coral, white coral,
        Coral from the sea.

    "I did not dig it from the ground
        Nor pluck it from a tree;
    Feeble insects made it
        In the stormy sea."


THE SWALLOW

    Fly away, fly away over the sea,
    Sun-loving swallow, for summer is done;

    Come again, come again, come back to me,
    Bringing the summer and bringing the sun.


WRENS AND ROBINS

    Wrens and robins in the hedge,
        Wrens and robins here and there;
    Building, perching, pecking, fluttering,
        Everywhere!


BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS

    Boats sail on the rivers,
        And ships sail on the seas;
    But clouds that sail across the sky
        Are prettier far than these.

    There are bridges on the rivers,
        As pretty as you please;
    But the bow that bridges heaven,
        And overtops the trees,
    And builds a road from earth to sky,
        Is prettier far than these.




FABLES FROM ÆSOP


THE LION AND THE MOUSE

A lion was asleep in the woods.

A little mouse ran over his paw.

The lion woke up and caught him.

"You are a very little mouse, but I think I will eat you," he said.

"Do not eat me," said the mouse, "I am so little! Let me go. Some time
I may be of help to you."

The lion laughed.

"What can you do?" he said.

But he let the mouse go.

Not very long after this the lion was caught by some men and made fast
with a rope.

The men left him and went to get more rope, to bind him.

"Now is my time!" said the mouse.

He ran to the lion and began to gnaw the rope.

He gnawed and he gnawed.

At last he gnawed through the rope and set the lion free.

"You laughed at me," said the mouse, "but have I not helped you?"

"You have saved my life," said the lion.


THE HONEST WOODCUTTER

One day a woodcutter lost his ax in a pond.

He sat down by the water and said to himself, "What shall I do? I have
lost my ax."

All at once a man stood beside him.

"What have you lost?" asked the man.

"I have lost my ax," said the woodcutter.

The man said nothing, but jumped into the pond and soon came out with
a golden ax.

"Is this your ax?" he asked.

"No," said the honest woodcutter, "my ax was not a golden ax."

The man jumped in again, and soon came out with a silver ax.

"Is this your ax?" asked the man.

"No," said the woodcutter, "my ax was not a silver ax."

Again the man jumped in.

This time he came out with the ax that the woodcutter had lost.

"Is this your ax?" he asked.

"Yes," said the woodcutter, "thank you! How glad I am! But who are
you, kind sir? You must be more than a man."

"I am Mercury," said the other, "and you are an honest woodcutter. I
will give you the golden ax and the silver ax."

The woodcutter thanked him and went home.

Soon he met another woodcutter and told what Mercury had done.

This other woodcutter thought he should like a golden ax, too.

So he went to the pond and threw his ax into the water.

Then he sat down and began to cry,

"O, I have lost my ax! What shall I do? What shall I do?"

Mercury came again and jumped into the water.

Soon he came out with a golden ax.

"Is this your ax?" he asked.

"O, yes, yes! that is my ax," said the man.

"No, it is not," said Mercury. "You are not an honest woodcutter, and
you shall have no golden ax."

"Then get my own ax for me," said the woodcutter.

"Get it yourself," said Mercury.

With that he went away and was seen no more.


THE WOLF AND THE CRANE

     (Once a wolf was eating his supper.

     He was hungry and he ate very fast.

     He ate so fast that he swallowed a bone.

     A crane was going by.

     The wolf called to the crane.)

WOLF. My dear crane, come, help me. I have a bone in my throat.

CRANE. What do you want me to do?

WOLF. Put your bill down my throat and pull out the bone.

CRANE. You will bite off my head.

WOLF. O, no, I will not. I will pay you well.

     (The crane came and put his head into the wolf's mouth.

     Then he ran his long bill down the wolf's throat and so pulled
     out the bone.)

CRANE. There, Brother Wolf, there is the bone. Now give me my pay.

WOLF. You have had your pay.

CRANE. No, I have not.

WOLF. You have had your head in the mouth of a wolf, you have pulled
it out, and your life is saved. What more can you ask?

CRANE. After this, I will keep away from a wolf.


THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE

Once a country mouse asked her cousin, the town mouse, to come and
visit her.

The town mouse came, and the country mouse gave her the best she had
to eat.

It was only a little wheat and corn.

The town mouse ate some of it.

Then she said:

"Cousin, how can you live on this poor corn and wheat? Come to town
with me, and I will give you something good."

So the two mice set off and soon came to town.

The town mouse lived well and had everything she wished for.

She had cake and pie and cheese and everything good to eat.

O, it was so good!

The country mouse was hungry, and she ate and ate and ate.

"How rich my cousin is," she said, "and how poor I am!"

As she said this, there was a great barking at the door.

Then two dogs ran into the room.

They chased the mice about, barking all the time.

At last the mice ran into a hole.

"Good-by, cousin, I am going home," said the country mouse.

"What! Are you going so soon?" asked the other.

"Yes, I do not like that kind of music with my supper. It is better
to have corn and wheat and be safe than to have cake and cheese and be
always in fear," said the country mouse.


THE WIND AND THE SUN

Once the wind and the sun had a quarrel.

The sun said,

"I am stronger than you."

The wind said,

"No, I am stronger than you."

"Let us see," said the sun. "Here comes a man with a big cloak. Can
you make him take it off?"

"Surely I can," said the wind.

"Try," said the sun.

The sun went behind the clouds.

The wind began to blow.

How he did blow!

But the man pulled his cloak close about him.

He did not care for the wind.

At last the wind gave it up.

"Now you try," he said to the sun.

The sun came out from the clouds.

He shone down upon the man.

"How warm it is!" said the man. "I must take off my cloak."

So he took off his cloak.

"You have beaten," said the wind. "You are stronger than I."


THE ANT AND THE DOVE

A little ant once fell into a pond.

A dove was perching in a tree over the water.

The dove saw the ant fall.

She pulled off a leaf with her bill and let it drop into the water.

"There, little ant! get on that leaf, and you will be safe," she said.

The ant jumped upon the leaf, and the wind blew it to the shore of the
pond.

Not long after this, a man laid a net to catch the dove.

He pulled it in and found the dove caught fast in it.

The ant saw the man with the net, and ran up his leg and bit him.

"O!" said the man, "what is that?"

He let the net drop to the ground, and the dove flew away.

Next time the dove saw the ant, she said:

"Good ant, you saved my life."

"You saved my life once, and I only tried to pay you back," said the
ant.


THE LARK AND HER NEST

A lark had made her nest in a field of wheat.

The wheat was almost ripe.

One day the old lark said to her young ones:

"The men will soon come to cut this wheat. You must watch for them and
tell me all you see or hear while I am away."

Then she left them and went to get something for them to eat.

When she came home, she asked,

"Did you see or hear anything?"

"Yes, mother," said the young ones.

"The owner of the field came and looked at the wheat. He said, 'This
wheat is ripe. It must be cut at once. I will ask my neighbors to come
and help me cut it.'"

"That is good," said the old lark.

"Must we not leave the nest?" asked the young ones.

"No," said the mother. "If the man waits for his neighbors to come and
help him, he will wait a long time."

Next day the owner came again.

"This wheat must be cut," said he. "I cannot wait for my neighbors. I
must ask my uncles and cousins."

When the old lark came home, the young ones said:

"O, mother! we must leave the nest now.

"The man said that he should ask his uncles and cousins to help him
cut the wheat."

"We will not go yet," said the mother. "If he waits for his uncles and
cousins, he will wait a long time."

The next day the man came again. His boy was with him.

"We can't wait any longer," he said. "We must cut the wheat
ourselves."

Soon the mother lark came home.

The young ones told her what the man had said.

"Now we must be off," she cried. "When a man sets out to do his work
himself, it will be done."

So the lark and her young ones left the nest and found another home.


THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW

A dog once had a piece of meat.

He was going home with it.

On the way he had to go across a bridge over some water.

He looked into the water, and there he thought he saw another dog.

The dog looked like himself and had a piece of meat in his mouth, too.

It was his shadow in the water.

"That meat looks good. I want it," said the dog.

"My piece is not big enough. I will take the meat away from that other
dog."

So he barked at the other dog.

As he opened his mouth to bark, his piece of meat fell into the water.

"Splash!" it went, and that was the last he ever saw of it.

"If I had let that dog keep his piece of meat, I should not have lost
my own," he said.


THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

A hungry fox once saw some sweet grapes hanging over a wall.

"I want those grapes," he said to himself.

So he jumped for them.

He did not get them.

He jumped again.

Still he did not get them.

He jumped again and again.

They were too high.

At last he gave it up and went away.

"I don't want those grapes," he said.

"They are sour grapes. I know they are sour. They are not fit to
eat."




POEMS BY MARY MAPES DODGE


FOUR LITTLE BIRDS

    Four little birds all flew from their nest--
    Flew north, flew south, flew east and west;

    They thought they would like a wider view,
    So they spread their wings and away they flew.


IN THE BASKET

    Hark! do you hear my basket
      Go "kippy! kippy! peek"?
    Maybe my funny basket
      Is learning how to speak.

    If you want to know the secret,
      Go ask the speckled hen,
    And tell her when I've warmed them
      I'll bring them back again.

COUSIN JEREMY

    He came behind me and covered my eyes;
      "Who is this?" growled he, so sly.
    "Why, Cousin Jeremy, how can I tell,
      When my eyes are shut?" said I.


LITTLE MISS LIMBERKIN

    Little Miss Limberkin,
      Dreadful to say,
    Found a mouse in the cupboard
      Sleeping away.
    Little Miss Limberkin
      Gave such a scream,
    She frightened the little mouse
      Out of its dream.


SNOWFLAKES

    Little white feathers,
      Filling the air;
    Little white feathers,
      How came you there?
    "We came from the cloud birds
      Sailing so high;
    They're shaking their white wings
      Up in the sky."
    Little white feathers,
      How swift you go!
    Little white snowflakes,
      I love you so!
    "We are swift because
      We have work to do;
    But hold up your face,
      And we'll kiss you true."


HOLLYHOCK

    Hollyhock, hollyhock, bend for me;
    I need a cheese for my dolly's tea.
    I'll put it soon on an acorn plate,
    And dolly and I shall feast in state.




GERMAN FAIRY TALES


THE LITTLE PINE TREE

Once a little pine tree grew in a valley.

It was covered with needles that were always beautiful and green.

But it did not like the needles.

The little tree said:

"All the other trees in the woods have beautiful leaves, but I have
only needles. I do not like needles. I wish I could have leaves. But I
should like to be more beautiful than the other trees. I should not
like green leaves. I should like gold leaves."

The little tree went to sleep.

A fairy happened to be passing and said to herself:

"This little pine tree would like gold leaves. It shall have them."

Next morning the tree woke up and found that it was covered with
leaves of shining gold.

"How beautiful!" said the tree. "No other tree has gold leaves!"

Soon a man came by with a bag.

He saw the gold leaves.

He ran to the little pine tree and began to pull them off and to put
them into his bag.

He pulled them all off and carried them away.

The little pine tree was bare.

"O," cried the little tree, "I don't want gold leaves any more, for
men will take them away. I want something beautiful that they will not
take away. I think I should like glass leaves."

The little tree went to sleep.

The fairy came by again and said:

"This little tree wants glass leaves. It shall have them."

Next morning the tree woke up and found that it was covered with
leaves of shining glass.

How they shone in the sun!

"These leaves are much better than gold leaves," said the little tree.
"They are very beautiful."

But a wind came down the valley.

It blew and it blew.

It blew the glass leaves together and broke them all to pieces.

The little pine tree was bare again.

"I don't want glass leaves," said the little tree. "I want leaves that
will not break. Perhaps green leaves are best, after all, but I want
leaves. I don't want needles."

The little tree went to sleep.

The fairy came by again and said:

"This little tree wants green leaves. It shall have them."

Next morning when the tree woke up it was covered with green leaves.

"This is fine!" said the tree. "Now I am like the other trees, but
more beautiful."

Soon a goat came down the valley.

"These leaves look good," said the goat.

So he ate them all up.

The little pine tree was bare again.

"I think I don't want leaves after all," said the little pine tree.
"Gold leaves are beautiful, but men carry them away. Glass leaves are
beautiful, but the wind breaks them. Green leaves are beautiful, but
goats eat them. My old green needles were best. I wish I could have
them back."

The little pine tree went to sleep.

The fairy came by again, and said:

"This little tree has found out that needles were best for it after
all. It shall have them back."

Next morning the tree woke up and had the old green needles again.

Then it was happy.


THE FAITHFUL BEASTS

Once upon a time a man went out to seek his fortune.

As he walked along, he came to a town and saw some boys teasing a
mouse.

"Let the poor mouse go. I will pay you if you will let it go," said
the man.

He gave the boys a penny.

They let the mouse go, and it ran away.

After this the man went on till he came to another town.

There he saw some boys playing with a monkey.

They had hurt the poor beast so that he cried out with pain.

"Let the monkey go," said the man. "I will pay you to let him go."

So he gave the boys some money.

They let the monkey go, and the monkey ran away.

The man went on, and by and by he came to another town.

There he saw some boys trying to make a bear dance.

They had tied the bear with a rope and were beating him.

"Let the poor bear go," said the man. "I will pay you to let him go."

He gave the boys some money, and they let the poor beast go.

The bear, was glad to be free and walked off as fast as he could.

The man had spent all his money.

He had not a penny left.

He was hungry too, and could get nothing to eat.

Then the king's men took him and put him into a great box.

They shut and fastened the lid, and threw the box into the water.

The man floated about in the water many days and thought he should
never see the light again.

At last he heard something gnaw and scratch at the lid.

Then the lid flew open.

The box was on the shore, and there stood the bear, the monkey, and
the mouse beside it.

They had helped him because he had helped them.

As they stood there, a round white stone rolled down to the water.

"This has come just in time," said the bear. "It is a magic stone and
will take its owner wherever he wishes to go."

The man picked up the stone and wished he were in a castle with
gardens around it.

All at once the castle and the gardens were there, and he was in the
castle.

It was very beautiful.

Soon some merchants came by.

"See this fine castle," said one to another. "There was never a castle
here till now."

The merchants went in and asked the man how he had built the castle so
quickly.

"I did not do it," said the man. "My magic stone built it."

"Let us see the stone," said the merchants.

The man showed them the stone.

Then the merchants showed him gold and silver and diamonds and other
beautiful things, and said:

"We will give you all these if you will give us the stone."

The things looked very beautiful to the man, so he took them and gave
the stone to the merchants.

All at once he found himself again in the dark box on the water.

As soon as the bear, the monkey, and the mouse saw what had happened,
they tried to help him.

But the lid was fastened more strongly than before.

They could not open it.

"We must have that stone again," said the bear.

So the three faithful beasts went back to the castle and found the
merchants there.

The mouse looked under the door and said:

"The stone is fastened with a red ribbon under the looking-glass, and
beside it are two great cats with eyes of fire."

The bear and the monkey said:

"Wait till the men go to sleep. Then run quickly under the door, jump
quickly up on the bed, scratch the nose of one of the men, and bite
off one of his whiskers."

The mouse did as he was told.

The merchant woke up and rubbed his nose. Then he said:

"Those cats are good for nothing. They let the mice in, and the mice
eat up my very whiskers."

So he drove the cats away.

The next night the mouse went in again. The merchants were asleep.

The mouse gnawed at the ribbon till it gave way, and the stone fell.

Then he rolled the stone out under the door.

The monkey took it and carried it down to the water.

"How shall we get out to the box?" asked the monkey.

"I will tell you," said the bear. "Sit on my back and hold fast. Carry
the stone in your mouth. The mouse will sit in my right ear, and I
will swim out to the box."

They did as the bear said, and were soon out in the water. No one said
anything, and it was very still. The bear wanted to talk.

"How are you, Monkey?" he asked.

The monkey said nothing.

"Why don't you talk to me?" asked the bear.

"Silly!" said the monkey. "How do you think I can talk when I have a
stone in my mouth?"

As he said this, the stone rolled out into the water.

"Never mind," said the bear. "The frogs will get it for us."

So he asked the frogs to get it, and one of them brought it to him.

"Thank you," said the bear. "That is what we need."

Then the three faithful beasts broke open the great box.

They gave the stone to the man.

He took it and wished himself in the castle again, and wished the
three faithful beasts with him.

At once they were in the castle.

The merchants were gone.

So the man and his three faithful beasts lived there ever after.




POEMS BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON


WHERE GO THE BOATS?

    Dark brown is the river,
      Golden is the sand;
    It flows along for ever,
      With trees on either hand.

    Green leaves a-floating,
      Castles of the foam,
    Boats of mine a-boating--
      Where will all come home?

    On goes the river
      And out past the mill,
    Away down the valley,
      Away down the hill.

    Away down the river,
      A hundred miles or more,
    Other little children
      Shall bring my boats ashore.


AT THE SEASIDE

    When I was down beside the sea
    A wooden spade they gave to me
      To dig the sandy shore.
    My holes were empty like a cup;
    In every hole the sea came up,
      Till it could come no more.


RAIN

    The rain is raining all around;
      It falls on field and tree,
    It rains on the umbrellas here
      And on the ships at sea.


AUTUMN FIRES

    In the other gardens
      And all up the vale,
    From the autumn bonfires
      See the smoke trail!

    Pleasant summer over
      And all the summer flowers;
    The red fire blazes,
      The gray smoke towers.

    Sing a song of seasons!
      Something bright in all!
    Flowers in the summer,
      Fires in the fall!


THE WIND

    I saw you toss the kites on high
    And blow the birds about the sky,
    And all around I heard you pass
    Like ladies' skirts across the grass--
      O wind, a-blowing all day long
      O wind, that sings so loud a song!

    I saw the different things you did,
    But always you yourself you hid;
    I felt you push, I heard you call,
    I could not see yourself at all--
      O wind, a-blowing all day long,
      O wind, that sings so loud a song!

    O you that are so strong and cold,
    O blower, are you young or old?
    Are you a beast of field and tree,
    Or just a stronger child than me?
      O wind, a-blowing all day long,
      O wind, that sings so loud a song!




HINDU FABLES


THE TIMID HARES

Once there was a timid little hare who was always afraid something
dreadful was going to happen.

She was always saying, "What if the earth should fall in? What would
happen to me then?"

One day, after she had been saying this to herself many times, a great
coconut fell from a tree.

"What was that!" said the hare.

She jumped as if she had been shot.

"The earth must be falling in!" she cried.

So she ran and she ran as fast as she could run.

Soon she met another hare.

"O Brother Hare," she said, "run for your life! The earth is falling
in!"

"What is that you say!" cried the other hare. "Then I will run, too."

This hare told another hare, and the other hare told other hares, and
soon all the hares were running as fast as they could run, and crying:

"The earth is falling in! O, the earth is falling in!"

The big beasts heard them, and they too began to run and to cry:

"O, the earth is falling in! Run for your life!"

A wise old lion saw them running and heard them crying.

"I cannot see that the earth is falling in," he said.

Then he cried out to the poor frightened beasts to stop.

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"We said the earth is falling in," answered the elephants.

"What makes you think so?" asked the lion.

"The tigers told us," said the elephants.

"What makes the tigers think so?"

"The bears told us," said the tigers.

"What makes the bears think so?"

"The buffaloes told us," said the bears.

"Why do the buffaloes think so?"

"The deer told us," said the buffaloes.

"Why do the deer think so?"

"The monkeys told us so," said the deer.

"And how did the monkeys know?"

"The jackals said so," said the monkeys.

"And how did the jackals know?"

"The hares said it was so," said the jackals.

"And how did the hares know?"

One of the hares then said that another hare told him, and the other
hare said that another told him, and so it went on until at last they
came to the first little hare.

"Little hare," said the lion, "why did you say that the earth was
falling in?"

"I saw it," said the little hare.

"Where?" asked the lion.

"I saw it there, under that big coconut tree," said the little hare.

"Come and show me," said the lion.

"O, no, no!" said the little hare. "I am so frightened. I couldn't
go."

"Jump on my back," said the lion.

The little hare at last jumped up on the lion's back, and the lion
took her back to the big tree.

Just then another coconut fell with a great noise among the leaves.

"O, run, run!" cried the timid hare. "There is that dreadful thing
again!"

"Stop and look," said the lion.

As the hare could not get down from the lion's back, she had to stop
and look.

"Now what do you think it is?" asked the lion.

"I think it must be a coconut," said the little hare.

"Then I think you had better go and tell the other beasts," said the
lion.

So the little hare told the other beasts that the earth was not
falling in, after all. It was a coconut that was falling.


THE SHOE

     (A man once left his shoe in the woods. The beasts found it.

     They had never seen anything like it before, so they came
     together and began to talk about it.)

BEAR. It must be the husk or the outside of some fruit.

ALL THE BIRDS. O, just hear him!

ALL THE BEASTS. O, just hear him!

WOLF. No, that is not it. It is some kind of nest. See! Here is the
hole at the top, for the bird to go into, and here is the place for
the eggs and the young birds.

BIRDS. O, just hear him!

BEAR. Just hear him talk!

GOAT. No, you are both wrong. It is the root of some plant.

     (He showed them the shoe string hanging at the side.)

See this long, fine root. Surely it is a root!

BIRDS. O, just hear him talk!

BEASTS. Just hear him!

BEAR. I tell you it is the husk of a fruit.

WOLF. And I tell you it is a nest.

GOAT. And I tell you it is a root. Surely it is a root!

OWL. Let me speak. I have lived among men, and I have seen many such
things as this. It is a man's shoe.

BEAR. What is a man?

GOAT. What is a shoe?

OWL. A man is a thing with two legs. He can stand up like a monkey, he
can walk like a bird, but he cannot fly. He can eat and talk, and he
can do many things that we cannot do.

BEASTS. O, no!

BIRDS. No, no!

BEAR. How can that be? How can anything with two legs do more than we,
who have four?

BIRDS. And this thing you call a man cannot be good for much if he
cannot fly.

GOAT. But what does the man do with this root?

OWL. It is not a root. I tell you it is a shoe.

WOLF. And what is a shoe?

OWL. It is what the man puts on his feet. He puts one of these shoes
on each of his feet.

BIRDS. Hear the owl talk!

BEASTS. Who ever heard of such a thing as a shoe?

GOAT. Hear that! The man puts them on his feet!

WOLF. It is not true!

BEAR. No, it is not true! The owl doesn't know.

WOLF. You know nothing, Owl. Get out of our woods. You are not fit to
live with us.

BEAR. Yes, Owl, go away!

BEASTS. Leave us! Go away!

BIRDS. Leave us! Leave us, Owl! You surely don't know what you are
talking about!

     (The beasts chase the owl out of the woods.)

OWL. (Going off) But it is a shoe, anyway.


THE CAMEL AND THE JACKAL

Once upon a time a camel and a jackal lived together by the side of a
river.

One fine morning the jackal said:

"There is a big field of sugar cane over on the other side of the
river. Take me on your back, Brother Camel, and I will show you where
it is. You may eat all the sugar cane, and I will find some crabs or
fish on the shore."

This pleased the camel very much. So he waded through the river and
carried the jackal on his back.

The jackal could not swim.

The camel found the sugar cane, and the jackal found some crabs.

The jackal ate much faster than the camel and soon had enough.

"Now, Brother Camel," he said, "take me back. I have had enough."

"But I haven't," said the camel.

So the camel went on eating.

The jackal tried to think how he could make the camel go home.

At last he thought of a way.

He began to bark and to cry and to make such a noise that all the men
from the village ran out to see what was going on.

There they found the camel eating the sugar cane, and at once they
beat the poor beast with sticks and so drove him out of the field.

"Brother Camel, hadn't you better go home now?" asked the jackal.

"Yes, jackal, jump on my back," said the camel.

The jackal jumped on his back, and the camel waded through the river
with him.

As he went, he said to the jackal:

"Brother Jackal, I think you have not been very good to me to-day. Why
did you make such a noise?"

"O, I don't know," said the jackal. "It's a way I sometimes have. I
like to sing a little, after dinner."

The camel waded on.

When they got out where the water was deep, the camel stopped and
said, "Jackal, I feel as if I must roll a little in the water.

"O, no, no!" said the jackal. "Why do you want to do that?"

"O, I don't know," said the camel. "It's a way I sometimes have. I
like to roll a little, after dinner."

With that, he rolled over, and the jackal fell into the water.




POEMS BY LAURA E. RICHARDS[1]


THE BUMBLEBEE

    The bumblebee, the bumblebee,
    He flew to the top of the tulip tree.
      He flew to the top,
      But he could not stop,
    For he had to get home to his early tea.

    The bumblebee, the bumblebee,
    He flew away from the tulip tree;
      But he made a mistake,
      And flew into the lake,
    And he never got home to his early tea.

[1] Copyright, 1890, by Little, Brown, and Company.


LITTLE BROWN BOBBY

    Little Brown Bobby sat on the barn floor,
    Little Brown Bossy looked in at the door.
    Little Brown Bobby said, "Lackaday!
    Who'll drive me this little Brown Bossy away?"

    Little Brown Bobby said, "Shoo! shoo! shoo!"
    Little Brown Bossy said, "Moo! moo! moo!"
    This frightened them so that both of them cried,
    And wished they were back at their mammy's side.


JIPPY AND JIMMY

    Jippy and Jimmy were two little dogs.
    They went to sail on some floating logs;
    The logs rolled over, the dogs rolled in,
    And they got very wet, for their clothes were thin.

    Jippy and Jimmy crept out again.
    They said, "The river is full of rain!"
    They said, "The water is far from dry!
    Ki-hi! ki-hi! ki-_hi_-yi! ki-hi!"

    Jippy and Jimmy went shivering home.
    They said, "On the river no more we will roam;
    And we won't go to sail until we learn how,
    Bow-wow! bow-wow! bow-_wow_-wow! bow-wow!"


THE SONG OF THE CORN POPPER

    Pip! pop! flippety flop!
    Here am I, all ready to pop.
    Girls and boys, the fire burns clear;
    Gather about the chimney here,
    Big ones, little ones, all in a row.
    Hop away! pop away! here we go!

    Pip! pop! flippety flop!
    Into the bowl the kernels drop;
    Sharp and hard and yellow and small,
    Must say they don't look good at all;
    But wait till they burst into warm white snow!
    Hop away! pop away! here we go!

    Pip! pop! flippety flop!
    Shake me steadily; do not stop!
    Backward and forward, not up and down;
    Don't let me drop, or you'll burn it brown.
    Never too high and never too low;
    Hop away! pop away! here we go!




A FRENCH FAIRY TALE


THE FAIRY

Once on a time there was a woman who had two daughters. The older was
very much like her mother, and was very ugly.

The younger was not like her, but was very good and beautiful.

The woman liked the older girl because she was like herself.

She did not like the younger; so she made her do all the hard work.

One day the younger daughter had gone to the spring to get water. It
was a long way from home.

As she was standing by the spring, a poor old woman came by and asked
her for a drink.

"Indeed, you shall have a drink," said the girl.

She filled her pitcher and gave the old woman some water.

The woman drank, and then said, "You are so kind and good, my dear,
that I will give you a gift."

Now this old woman was a fairy, but the girl did not know it.

"I will give you a gift," she said, "and this shall be the gift: With
every word that you speak, either a flower or a jewel shall fall from
your mouth."

When the younger girl came home, her mother scolded her because she
had been so long at the spring.

"I am very sorry indeed, mother," said the girl.

At once two roses, two pearls, and two diamonds fell from her mouth.

"What is this!" cried the mother. "I think I see pearls and diamonds
falling out of your mouth! How does this happen, my child?"

This was the first time the woman had ever called her "my child."

The girl told her all that had happened, and while she spoke, many
more diamonds fell from her mouth.

"Well, well, well!" said the woman, "I must surely send my dear Fanny
to the spring, so that she too may have this gift."

Then she called her older daughter. "Fanny, my dear, come here! See
what has happened to your sister. Should you not like to have such
diamonds whenever you wish them?

"All you need to do is to go out to the spring to get some water. An
old woman will ask for a drink and you will give it to her."

"I think I see myself going out there to the spring to get water!"
said the older daughter.

"Go at once!" said the mother.

So the older daughter went.

She took with her the best silver pitcher in the house, and grumbled
all the way.

When she had come to the spring, she saw a lady in beautiful clothes
standing under a tree.

The lady came to her and asked for a drink.

It was really the fairy, but now she looked like a princess.

The older daughter did not know that it was the fairy, so she said:

"Do you think that I came to the spring to get water just for you, or
that I brought this fine silver pitcher so that you could drink from
it? Drink from the spring if you wish."

"You are not very polite, I think," said the fairy, "but I will give
you a gift, and this shall be the gift: With every word that you
speak, either a snake or a toad shall fall from your mouth."

When the older daughter went back to the house, her mother called out,
"Well, daughter?"

"Well, mother," said the girl, and as she spoke, a snake and a toad
fell out of her mouth.

"What!" cried the mother. "Your sister has done all this, but she
shall pay for it!"

With that, the mother took a stick and ran after the younger daughter.

The poor child ran away from her and hid in the woods.

The prince of that country had been hunting and happened to pass
through those woods on his way home.

He saw the young girl and asked her why she was standing there and
crying, all alone in the woods.

"O sir, my mother has turned me out of the house," she said.

The prince was greatly surprised to see five or six pearls and as many
diamonds fall from her mouth as she spoke.

"Tell me how all this happened," said the prince.

So she told him all about it.

The prince took her with him, and they went to the king's house, and
there they were married, and were very happy.

But the older sister grew more and more ugly in her heart, until even
her mother could not live with her.

So her mother turned her out, and no one ever heard of her again.




A NORSE FOLK TALE


EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON

Once there was a poor woodcutter who had so many children that it was
hard to get enough for them to eat.

They were all pretty children, but the youngest daughter was the
prettiest of them all.

One cold, dark night in the fall they were sitting around the fire,
when all at once something went rap! rap! rap! on the window.

The father went out to see what it was, and there stood a big white
bear.

"Good evening," said the bear.

"The same to you," said the man.

"Give me your youngest daughter, and you shall be rich," said the
bear.

"You can't have her," said the man.

"Think it over," said the bear, "I will come again next week."

Then the bear went away.

They talked it over and at last the youngest daughter said that she
would go away with the bear when he came back.

Next Thursday night they heard the rap! rap! rap! on the window, and
there was the white bear again.

The girl went out and climbed up on his back and off they went.

When they had gone a little way, the bear turned around and asked,
"Are you afraid?"

No, she was not afraid.

"Well, hold fast to me, and there will be nothing to be afraid of,"
said the bear.

They went a long, long way, until they came to a great hill.

The bear knocked on the ground, and a door opened. They went in.

It was a castle, with many lights, and it shone with silver and gold.

The white bear gave to the girl a silver bell, and said to her, "Ring
this bell when you want anything."

Then he went away.

Every night, when all the lights had been put out, the bear came and
talked with her. He slept in a bed in the great hall.

But it was so dark that she could never see him, or know how he
looked, and when she took his paw, it was not like a paw. It was like
a hand.

She wanted so much to see him! but he told her she must not.

At last she felt that she could not wait any longer.

So one night, when he was asleep, she lighted a candle and bent over
and looked at him.

What do you think she saw?

It was not a bear, but a prince, and the most beautiful prince that
was ever seen!

She was so surprised that her hand began to shake, and three drops
from the candle fell upon the coat of the prince.

This woke him up.

"What have you done?" he cried. "You have brought trouble upon us. An
ugly witch turned me into a bear, but every night I am myself again,
and if you had waited only a year, and had not tried to find me out, I
should have been free.

"Now I must go back to my other castle and marry an ugly princess with
a nose three yards long."

The girl cried and cried and cried, but it did no good.

She asked if she could go with him, but he said that she could not.

"Tell me the way there," she said, "and I will find you."

"It is East of the Sun and West of the Moon, but there is no way to
it," he said.

Next morning when the girl awoke, she found herself all alone in the
deep woods.

She set out and walked and walked till she came to a very old woman
sitting under a hill. The old woman had a golden apple in her hand.

The girl asked the woman to tell her the way to the castle of the
prince who lived East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

The old woman didn't know, but she gave the girl the golden apple, and
lent her a horse, and said to her:

"Ask my next neighbor. Maybe she will know. And when you find her,
switch my horse under the left ear and tell him to be off home."

So the girl got on the horse and rode until she came to an old woman
with a golden comb. This old woman answered her as the first had done,
and lent her another horse and gave her the golden comb.

The girl got on the horse and rode till she came to another old woman
spinning on a golden spinning wheel. This old woman did as the others
had done, and lent her another horse and gave her the golden spinning
wheel.

"You might ask the East Wind. Maybe he will know," she said.

So the girl rode on until she came to the house of the East Wind.

"I have heard of the prince and his castle, but I never went so far as
that," said the East Wind.

"Get on my back, and I will carry you to my brother, the West Wind.
Maybe he will know."

She got on his back, and away they went. O how fast they went!

At last they found the West Wind, but he had never been so far as the
castle of the prince.

"Get on my back," said West Wind, "and I will take you to our brother,
the South Wind. He will know, for he has been everywhere."

So she got on the West Wind, and away they went to the South Wind.

"It is a long way to that castle," said the South Wind, with a sigh.
"I have never been so far as that, but our brother, the North Wind, is
stronger than any of us. If he has not been there, you will never
find the way, and you might as well give it up. So get on my back, and
I will take you to him."

The girl got on the back of the South Wind, and soon they came to
where the North Wind lived.

"Boo-oo-oo! What do you want?" roared the North Wind.

"Here is a girl who is looking for the prince that lives East of the
Sun and West of the Moon. Do you know where that is?" asked the South
Wind.

"Yes, once I blew a leaf as far as that, and I was so tired after it
that I couldn't blow for a long time. But if you are sure you want to
go and are not afraid, I'll take you."

Yes, she was sure she wanted to go.

North Wind blew himself out so big that he was dreadful to look at.

But she jumped on his back, and away they went.

How they did go!

The North Wind grew so tired that he almost had to stop.

His feet began to trail in the sea.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

No, she was not afraid.

So they kept going on and on, till at last they came to the castle,
and the North Wind put her down and went away and left her.

The next morning, as she sat there, Princess Long-Nose looked out of
the window.

"What will you take for your big golden apple?" asked Long-Nose.

"It is not for sale," said the girl.

"I will give you anything you ask," said Long-Nose.

"Let me speak to the prince, and you may have it," said the girl.

"Very well," said Long-Nose.

She made the girl wait till night, and then let her in, but the prince
was fast asleep.

He would not wake up.

Long-Nose had given him a kind of drink to make him sleep soundly.

So the girl went sadly out.

Next morning Long-Nose looked out of the window and said to her, "What
will you take for the comb?"

"It is not for sale," said the girl.

Long-Nose said that the girl might see the prince again if she would
give her the comb.

So she saw the prince again, but he was asleep as before.

Next morning Long-Nose looked out and saw the spinning wheel.

She wanted that too. So she said she would let the girl come in and
see the prince once more if she would give her the spinning wheel.

Some one told the prince about it, and that night he did not take the
drink which Long-Nose gave to him. He threw it out of the window.

When the girl came, he was awake, and she told him her story.

"You are just in time," said the prince, "for to-morrow I was to be
married to Long-Nose.

"Now I will have no one but you. I will tell Long-Nose that I will
marry no one who cannot wash three drops of candle grease out of my
coat. She cannot do it, but I know that you can."

So the next morning the prince said that he must have three drops of
grease washed out of his coat, and that he would marry no one who
couldn't wash them out.

Long-Nose began to wash the coat, but she couldn't get the grease out.
It turned black.

Then the old witch tried, but she had no better luck.

Then the younger witches tried.

"You cannot wash," said the prince. "I believe the poor girl out under
the window can wash better than you. Let her try."

So the girl came in and tried, and as soon as she put the coat into
the water it was white as snow.

"You are the girl for me!" said the prince.

At this the old witch flew into such a rage that she fell to pieces,
and Princess Long-Nose fell to pieces, and the younger witches all
fell to pieces. And no one could ever put them together again.

The prince married the poor girl, and they flew away as far as they
could from the castle that lay East of the Sun and West of the Moon.




POEMS BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN


THE SAILOR

    Little girl, O little girl,
      Where did you sail to-day?
    The greeny grass is all about;
      I cannot see the bay.

    "The greeny grass is water, sir;
      I'm sailing on the sea,
    I'm tacking to the Island there
      Beneath the apple tree.

    "You ought to come aboard my boat,
      Or you will soon be drowned!
    You're standing in the ocean, sir,
      That billows all around!"

    Little girl, O little girl,
      And must I pay a fare?
    "A penny to the apple tree,
      A penny back from there.

    "A penny for a passenger,
      But sailors voyage free;
    O, will you be a sailor, sir,
      And hold the sheet for me?"


A MUSIC BOX

    I am a little music box,
      Wound up and made to go,
    And play my little living tune
     The best way that I know.

    If I am naughty, cross, or rude,
      The music will go wrong,
    My little works be tangled up
      And spoil the pretty song.

    I must be very sweet and good
      And happy all the day,
    And then the little music box
      In tune will always play.




AMERICAN INDIAN LEGENDS


LITTLE SCAR-FACE

Among the pine trees, by a quiet lake, stood the wigwam of a great
Indian whose name was Big Moose. His sister kept the wigwam for him,
and took care of all that was his. Her name was White Maiden.

No one but White Maiden had ever seen Big Moose. The Indians could see
the marks of his feet in the snow, and they could hear his sled as it
ran over the ice, but they could not see him.

It was said that this was because they were not kind and good.

White Maiden was kind and good, and she could always see him.

One day White Maiden called all the Indian maidens and said:

"My brother, Big Moose, wishes to marry, but he will not marry any one
who cannot see him, and only those who are good can see him."

All the Indian maidens were glad when they heard that Big Moose wished
to marry. They had all heard how brave and strong he was, and what a
great hunter he was, and how kind and good and wonderful he was, in
every way.

Each wished that he would choose her for his wife, and each was very
sure that she could see him.

For a long time after that the Indian maidens would go down to the
wigwam of Big Moose, by the lake, and try to see him. Every evening
some of them would go at sunset and sit and watch for him.

When he came they would hear him, and the door of the wigwam would be
opened, and he would go in, but they could not see him.

At the other end of the village lived an old Indian with his three
daughters. The two older daughters were not kind to the youngest one.
They made her do all the work and gave her little to eat.

The oldest sister had a very hard heart. Once, when she was angry, she
threw a pail of hot ashes at the youngest sister.

The child's face was burned, and she was called Little Scar-Face.

One day in early winter, when the first white snow lay on the ground,
the oldest sister said:

"Come, Scar-Face, bring me my shell beads and help me to dress. I am
going to marry Big Moose."

Little Scar-Face brought the beads and put them on the oldest sister
and helped her to dress.

At sunset the oldest sister went down to the wigwam by the lake. White
Maiden asked her to come in. By and by they heard Big Moose. They
could hear his sled running through the snow.

White Maiden took the sister to the door of the wigwam and said, "Can
you see my brother?"

"Yes, I can see him very well," answered the other.

"Then look and tell me what the string of his sled is made of," said
White Maiden.

"It is made of moose skin," said the sister of Little Scar-Face.

"No, it is not made of moose skin. You have not seen my brother. You
must go away," said White Maiden.

So she drove out the oldest sister. Next day the next to the oldest
sister said to Little Scar-Face:

"Come, Scar-Face, bring me my shell beads and help me to dress. I am
going to marry Big Moose."

Little Scar-Face brought the beads and helped her sister to dress.

In the evening, just at sunset, the sister went down through the pine
trees to the lake.

"Come in," said White Maiden.

Soon they heard Big Moose coming.

"Can you see my brother?" asked White Maiden.

"Yes, I can see him very well," said the other.

"Then what is his sled string made of?" asked White Maiden.

"It is made of deerskin," said the other.

"No, it is not made of deerskin," said White Maiden.

"You have not seen my brother. You must go away."

And she drove her out.

The next morning Little Scar-Face worked very hard. She built the fire
and carried out all the ashes and brought in the wood and did
everything that she could.

Then she said to her two sisters, "Sisters, let me take your beads. I
too should like to find out if I can see Big Moose."

Her sisters laughed loud and long. They would not let her take their
beads. No, indeed!

At last one of the sisters said she had an old broken string of beads
that Scar-Face might take.

So Little Scar-Face took the old broken string of beads and tied it
together and put it on. Then she made a queer little dress out of
birch bark, and she washed herself all fresh and clean, and brushed
her hair, and put on the dress and the old string of beads. So she
went down through the village and the dark pine woods to the wigwam of
Big Moose.

She was not a pretty child, for her face and hair were burned, and her
clothes were very queer.

But White Maiden asked her to come in and spoke kindly to her. So she
went in and sat down.

Soon she heard Big Moose coming.

White Maiden took her to the door of the wigwam and said:

"Little Scar-Face, can you see my brother?"

"Yes, indeed, and I am afraid, for his face is very wonderful and very
beautiful."

"What is his sled string made of?" asked White Maiden.

"How wonderful! how wonderful!" cried Little Scar-Face.

"His sled string is the rainbow!"

Big Moose heard her and said, "Sister, wash the eyes and hair of
Little Scar-Face in the magic water."

White Maiden did so, and every scar faded away, and the hair of Little
Scar-Face grew long and black, and her eyes were like two stars.

White Maiden put a wonderful dress of deerskin and a string of golden
beads on Little Scar-Face, and she was more beautiful than any of the
other maidens.

And Big Moose made her his wife.


THE HUNTER WHO FORGOT

Once there was a great hunter who was very rich. He had many strings
of shell money around his neck. The Indians call these shells wampum.

In the woods near his home lived a big white elk that used to come and
talk to him. The elk told him what was right and what was wrong. The
Great Spirit sent the elk to him.

When he obeyed the elk, he was happy and everything went well, but
when he did not obey, he was not happy, and everything went wrong.

One day the elk said to him:

"You are too hungry for wampum. Look! your neck and shoulders are
covered with long strings of wampum. Some of it belongs to your wife.
You took it from her. You took some of it from other Indians and gave
them deer meat that was not fit to eat. You are not honest."

The hunter was much ashamed, but he would not give back the wampum. He
thought too much of it to give it back.

"I will give you enough wampum to fill your heart," said the elk, "but
you must do just as I tell you. Will you do it?"

"I will do it," said the hunter.

"Go to the top of the great white mountain. There you will find a
black lake. Across the lake are three black rocks. One of them is like
the head of a moose.

"Dig in the earth before this rock. There you will find a cave full of
wampum. It is on strings of elk skin. Take all you want.

"While you dig, twelve otters will come out of the black lake. Put a
string of wampum around the neck of each of the otters and upon each
of the three black rocks."

The hunter went back to the village. There he got an elk-horn pick and
set out. No one knew where he went.

He made his camp that night at the foot of the great white mountain.
As soon as it was light, he began to climb up the mountain side. At
last he stood on the top, and there before him was a great hollow. It
was so great that he could not shoot an arrow across it.

The hollow was white with snow, but in the middle was a black lake,
and on the other side of the lake stood the three black rocks.

The hunter walked around the lake over the snow. Then he took the
elk-horn pick and struck one blow before the black rock which looked
like the head of a moose.

Four great otters came up out of the black lake and sat beside him.

He struck another blow. Four more otters came and sat behind him.

He struck again. Four more otters came and sat on the other side.

At last the pick struck a rock. The hunter dug it out, and beneath it
was a cave full of wampum.

The hunter put both of his hands into the wampum and played with it.
It felt good. He took out great strings of it and put them around his
neck and over his shoulders.

He worked fast, for the sun was now going down, and he must go home.

He put so many strings of wampum around his neck and shoulders that he
could hardly walk.

But he did not put any around the necks of the twelve otters, nor on
the three black rocks. He did not give them one string--not one
shell.

He forgot what the white elk had told him. He did not obey.

Soon it grew dark. He crept along by the shore of the big black lake.
The otters jumped into it and swam and beat the water into white foam.
A black mist came over the mountain.

Then the storm winds came, and the Great Spirit was in the storm.

It seemed as if the storm said, "You did not obey! You did not obey!"

Then the thunder roared at him, "You did not obey!"

The hunter was greatly frightened. He broke a great string of wampum
and threw it to the storm winds, but the storm winds only laughed.

He broke another string and threw it to the thunder voices, but the
thunder roared louder than before.

He threw away one string after another until all of them were gone.
Then he fell upon the ground and went to sleep. He slept long.

When he woke up he was an old man with white hair. He did not know
what had happened, but he sat there and looked at the great mountain,
and his heart was full of peace.

"I have no wampum. I have given it all away. I am not hungry for it
any more. I will go home," he said.

He could hardly find his way, for the trees had grown across the
trail.

When at last he got home, no one but his wife knew him. She was now
very old and had white hair like himself. She showed him a tall man
near by, and said it was their baby.

The hunter looked at them.

"I have slept many moons," he said.

He lived among the Indians long after that and taught them much. He
taught them to keep their word, and to obey the Great Spirit.


THE WATER LILY

One summer evening, many years ago, some Indians were sitting out
under the stars, telling stories.

All at once they saw a star fall. It fell halfway down the sky.

That night one of the Indians had a dream about the star. It seemed to
come and stand beside him, and it was like a young girl, dressed all
in white.

She said, "I have left my home in the sky because I love the Indians
and want to live among them. Call your wise men together and ask them
what shape I shall take."

The Indian woke up and called all the wise men together.

Then he told them his dream.

The wise men said, "Let her choose what shape she will take. She may
live in the top of a tree, or she may live in a flower, or she may
live where she will."

Every night the star came down a little lower in the sky, and stood
over the valley where the Indians lived, and made it very bright.

Then one night it fell down upon the side of the mountain and became a
white rose.

But it was lonely on the mountain. The rose could see the Indians, but
it could not hear them talk. So one day it left the mountain and came
down into the plain and became a great white prairie flower.

Here it lived for a time. But the buffaloes and the other wild beasts
of the prairie ran all around it and over it, and it was afraid.

One night the Indians saw a star go up from the prairie.

They knew that it was the prairie flower and they thought that it was
going back into the sky.

But it floated toward them until it came over the lake that lay just
beside them.

It looked down into the lake, and there it saw its shadow and the
shadows of the other stars that live in the sky.

It came down lower and lower, and at last floated on the top of the
water.

The next morning the lake was covered with water lilies.

"See! the stars have blossomed!" said all the children.

But the wise men answered:

"It is the white star and her sisters. They will stay with us."




RUSSIAN FABLES


FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR

A poor beggar, with a ragged old bag, crept along the road one day,
begging his bread.

As he went he grumbled to himself because there were so many rich men
in the world.

"The rich never think that they have enough," he said to himself.
"They always want more than they have. Now if I had a very little
money, I should be happy. I should not want too much."

A fairy named Fortune, who brought good gifts to men, heard the poor
beggar grumbling to himself and came to him.

"Friend," said Fortune, "I have wanted to help you. Open your bag. I
will give you all the gold that it will hold. But if any falls out
upon the ground, it will turn to dust. Your bag is old. Don't try to
have it too full, for if you do, it will break, and you will lose
all."

The beggar was so happy that he began to dance up and down.

He opened his bag and let the gold run into it in a big, yellow
stream. Soon the bag was almost full.

"Is that enough?" asked Fortune.

"No," said the beggar, "not yet."

"The bag is old. It is going to break," said Fortune.

"Never fear!" said the beggar.

"But you are now a rich man. Isn't that enough?" asked Fortune.

"A little more," said the beggar.

"Now," said Fortune, "the bag is full, but take care, or you will lose
it."

"Just a little more," said the beggar.

Fortune put in just a little more. The bag broke. All the gold fell
through upon the ground and turned to dust.

The beggar had nothing left but his old broken bag. He was as poor as
he had been before.


THE SPIDER AND THE BEE

A merchant brought some linen to a fair and opened a shop. It was good
linen, and many came to buy of him.

A spider saw what was going on, and said to herself:

"I can spin. Why shouldn't I open a shop, too?"

So the spider opened a little shop in the corner of a window, and
spun all night, and made a beautiful web. She hung it out where
everybody could see it.

"That is fine!" said the spider. "Surely, when the morning comes, all
will want to buy it."

At last the morning came.

A man saw the web in the corner and swept it away, spider and all.

"That is a pretty thing to do!" cried the spider. "I should like to
ask whose work is the finer, mine or that merchant's?"

A bee happened to fly past.

"Yours is the finer," said the bee. "We all know that. But what is it
good for? It will neither warm nor cover any one."


THE STONE AND THE WORM

     (A stone lay in a field. A farmer and his son were talking near
     by.)

FARMER. That was a fine rain we had this morning.

SON. Yes, indeed! A rain like that makes everybody glad.

FARMER. I have been wishing a long time for such a rain as that.

SON. It was better than gold.

     (As they walked away, a worm crept out from under the stone.
     The stone called to the worm.)

STONE. Friend Worm, did you hear what those men were saying?

WORM. Yes, they were saying how good the rain was.

STONE. What has the rain done, I should like to know? It rained two
hours and made me all wet.

WORM. That didn't hurt you.

STONE. Yes, it did. But it hurts me more to hear everybody saying how
fine the rain was. Why don't they talk about me? I have been here for
hundreds of years. I hurt nobody. I wet nobody. I stay quietly where I
am put. Yet nobody ever has a kind word for me.

WORM. Stop your talk. This rain has helped the wheat and made it grow.
And the wheat will help the farmer. It will give him bread. What have
you ever given to anybody?


THE FOX IN THE ICE

Very early one winter morning a fox was drinking at a hole in the ice.

While he was drinking, the end of his tail got into the water, and
there it froze fast.

He could have pulled it out and left some of the hairs behind, but he
would not do this.

"How can I spoil such a beautiful tail!" said the fox to himself.

"No, I will wait a little. The men are asleep and will not catch me.
Perhaps when the sun comes up the ice will melt."

So he waited, and the water froze harder and harder.

At last the sun came up.

The fox could see men coming down to the pond. He pulled and pulled,
but now his tail was frozen so fast that he could not pull it out.

Just then a wolf came by.

"Help me, friend," cried the fox, "or I shall be lost."

The wolf helped him, and set him free very quickly. He bit off the
tail of the fox.

So the fox lost all of his fine great tail because he would not give
up a little hair from it.




POEMS BY FRANK D. SHERMAN


CLOUDS

    The sky is full of clouds to-day,
      And idly, to and fro,
    Like sheep across the pasture, they
      Across the heavens go.
    I hear the wind with merry noise
      Around the housetops sweep,
    And dream it is the shepherd boys--
      They're driving home their sheep.

    The clouds move faster now, and see!
      The west is red and gold;
    Each sheep seems hastening to be
      The first within the fold.
    I watch them hurry on until
      The blue is clear and deep,
    And dream that far beyond the hill
      The shepherds fold their sheep.

    Then in the sky the trembling stars
      Like little flowers shine out,
    While Night puts up the shadow bars,
      And darkness falls about.
    I hear the shepherd wind's good night,
      "Good night, and happy sleep!"
    And dream that in the east, all white,
      Slumber the clouds, the sheep.


GHOST FAIRIES

    When the open fire is lit,
      In the evening after tea,
    Then I like to come and sit
      Where the fire can talk to me.

    Fairy stories it can tell,
      Tales of a forgotten race--
    Of the fairy ghosts that dwell
      In the ancient chimney place.

    They are quite the strangest folk
      Anybody ever knew,
    Shapes of shadow and of smoke
      Living in the chimney flue.

    "Once," the fire said, "long ago,
      With the wind they used to rove,
    Gypsy fairies, to and fro,
      Camping in the field and grove.

    "Hither with the trees they came
      Hidden in the logs; and here,
    Hovering above the flame,
      Often some of them appear."

    So I watch, and sure enough,
      I can see the fairies! Then
    Suddenly there comes a puff--
      Whish!--and they are gone again!


DAISIES

    At evening when I go to bed
    I see the stars shine overhead;
    They are the little daisies white
    That dot the meadow of the night.

    And often while I'm dreaming so,
    Across the sky the moon will go;
    It is a lady, sweet and fair,
    Who comes to gather daisies there.

    For when at morning I arise,
    There's not a star left in the skies;
    She's picked them all and dropped them down
    Into the meadows of the town.




OLD GREEK STORIES


THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE STAR GIANT

A great many years ago the Greeks told beautiful stories about what
they saw in the earth and in the sky and in the sea.

They said the Sun drove each day across the sky in a car of fire, and
gave light and heat to men.

He always had a bow and arrows with him, and his arrows were the
sunbeams.

When he shot them very hard and struck men with them, the men were
said to be sun-struck, but when he let the arrows fall gently on the
earth, they did only good.

The Sun was called Apollo.

He was said to be a beautiful young man with golden hair, and he made
wonderful music on a kind of harp called a lyre.

Men loved him, but they were a little afraid of him, too; he was so
bright and strong.

His sister was the Moon. Her name was Artemis, or Diana. She rode
through the sky at night in a silver car, and she, too, had a bow and
arrows.

Her bow was a silver bow, and her arrows were the moonbeams.

She loved hunting, and often at night she would come down to earth and
roam through the woods with her bow in her hand and her arrows at her
side or on her back.

In pictures she is always seen with a little new moon in her hair.

Artemis was so beautiful that men were afraid to look at her. It was
said that if any man should look full at her he would lose his mind.

So when she came to those whom she did not wish to hurt, she covered
herself with clouds.

For a time the good giant Orion helped Artemis in her hunting, for he
too was a great hunter. Artemis loved him as well as she loved any
one, but she was very cold and did not care much for anybody.

After a time Orion left her. He wanted to marry the daughter of a king
in one of the islands of the sea. The king said that he might if he
would drive all the wild beasts out of the island. Orion did this, but
the king did not keep his word.

Instead of that, he put out the eyes of Orion, but Orion went to
Apollo, and was made to see again.

Then Orion went back to help Artemis with her hunting, but Apollo did
not like that and wished to get rid of him.

He did not wish, himself, to hurt Orion, so he made Artemis do it.

"Sister," he said to her one day, "some men say that you can shoot as
well as I can, but we all know that is not so."

"I should like to know why it is not so!" said Artemis.

"Well, let us try," said Apollo. "Do you see that little black speck
away out there in the sea?"

"Yes, I see it," said Artemis.

"Can you hit it?" asked Apollo.

"Indeed I can," said Artemis; and with that she let an arrow fly from
her bow. It went straight through the black speck.

The black speck was the head of Orion. He was swimming back to Artemis
from the country of the bad king.

The speck at once went under the water and was seen no more.

When Artemis found what she had done, she was very sad indeed. She
could not bring Orion back to earth, but she took him up into the sky
and put him among the stars, and there he is standing to this day.

If you will look up into the sky on any clear winter night, you can
see him. Just before him is his dog. We call it the Dog Star.


THE WIND AND THE CLOUDS

The Sun and the Moon had a brother, the Summer Wind. His name was
Hermes, but sometimes he was called Mercury.

He had shoes with wings on them, which always took him very quickly
wherever he wished to go, and he had a magic cap which kept him from
being seen.

He ran on errands for his father and his older brothers. He went
everywhere, and he often picked up things that lay in his way, and
that didn't belong to him.

One day, when he was a small child, he crept down to the seaside and
there found the shell of a tortoise. He stretched some strings
tightly across it, and blew upon the strings, and made wonderful
music.

He called this thing a lyre.

On the same day, toward evening, he looked across the meadows and saw
some beautiful white cows. His brother Apollo was looking after them.

"What fun it would be to drive those cows away!" he said.

So he crept up behind the cows while Apollo was not looking, and he
drove them away. He drove them far, and at last shut them up in a
cave, where he thought Apollo could not find them.

Apollo saw that the cows were gone, and went to look for them, but he
had a hard time.

He thought that Hermes might have had something to do with them. So he
went to Hermes.

Hermes was playing upon the lyre which he had made, and was singing
gently to himself.

The music was so beautiful that Apollo forgot all about his cows.

"Where did you find that wonderful thing?" asked Apollo.

"O, I made it," said Hermes.

"Let me see it!" cried Apollo. "Show me how to play upon it."

Hermes showed him, and Apollo sat down and played until it grew dark.

"O, give me this thing! I must have it," said Apollo.

So Hermes gave it to him, and Apollo played upon it, gently at first,
and then louder. He made such wild, sweet music as had never before
been heard.

To pay for the lyre, Apollo gave Hermes a magic stick which would
bring sleep to men and would stop all quarreling.

One day Hermes saw two snakes fighting. He touched them with the
magic stick, and they stopped at once and wound themselves around it,
and stayed there ever after.

In the pictures of Hermes you will see this magic stick with the
snakes around it. You will see, too, the cap and the shoes, with the
wings upon them.

When Hermes and Apollo had made these gifts to each other, Apollo
said:

"Hermes, my dear boy, you like my white cows so well that I am going
to let you take care of them. I shall not have much time to take care
of cows now, for you know I am learning to play upon the lyre."

Hermes took care of the white cows after that, and on summer days he
used to drive them across the blue meadows of the sky.

When the Greeks saw the white clouds running before the wind, they
would say:

"It is Hermes driving his cows to pasture."


THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

Hermes was so useful that Juno, the queen of the heavens, thought she
must have a messenger, too. So she took Iris, a little sky fairy.

Iris lived up among the clouds, and played with the stars, and romped
with the little winds.

At night she used to sleep in the silver cradle of the Moon.

Sometimes Apollo, the Sun, took her in his golden car. Sometimes she
slipped down to earth with the rain. Sometimes she went to visit her
grandfather, the gray old Sea.

Her grandfather was always glad to see her, and when she came down, he
would hitch up his white sea horses and drive her over the tops of the
waves. What fun that was!

Old grandfather Sea loved Iris very much, and Apollo loved her, and
Juno loved her.

No one who saw her could help loving her; she was so bright and
beautiful and good.

When Juno sent her down to the earth on errands, the old Sea always
wanted her to stay.

But Apollo, the Sun, wanted her, too, and Juno wanted her.

At last the Sun and the Sea and the Air and the Rain all said they
would make a bridge for Iris, so that she might go back and forth
more quickly between the earth and the sky, on the errands of Juno.

The Earth brought the colors of all her beautiful flowers--rose, and
blue, and violet, and yellow, and orange, and the green of the grass.

The Sea gave silver mist.

The Clouds gave gray and gold.

The Sun himself spun the bridge out of all these colors.

Then he fastened one end of it to the sky and hung a pot of gold on
the other end, to keep it from blowing away; and it is said that the
pot of gold is still there in the earth at the end of the rainbow
bridge.

But no one has ever found it.




POEMS OLD AND NEW


THANK YOU, PRETTY COW

    Thank you, pretty cow, that made
    Pleasant milk to soak my bread,
    Every day and every night,
    Warm, and fresh, and sweet, and white.

    Do not chew the hemlock rank,
    Growing on the weedy bank;
    But the yellow cowslip eat,
    That will make it very sweet.

    Where the purple violet grows,
    Where the bubbling water flows,
    Where the grass is fresh and fine,
    Pretty cow, go there and dine.

    JANE TAYLOR


PLAYGROUNDS

    In summer I am very glad
      We children are so small,
    For we can see a thousand things
      That men can't see at all.

    They don't know much about the moss
      And all the stones they pass;
    They never lie and play among
      The forests in the grass;

    But when the snow is on the ground,
      And all the puddles freeze,
    I wish that I were very tall,
      High up above the trees.

    LAURENCE ALMA-TADEMA


SLEEP, BABY, SLEEP

      Sleep, baby, sleep!
      Thy father watches his sheep;
    Thy mother is shaking the dreamland tree,
    And down comes a little dream on thee.
      Sleep, baby, sleep!

      Sleep, baby, sleep!
      The great stars are the sheep;
    The little stars are the lambs, I guess,
    And the gentle moon is the shepherdess.
      Sleep, baby, sleep!

    FROM THE GERMAN


A CHILD'S PRAYER

    When it gets dark, the birds and flowers
    Shut up their eyes and say good night;
    And God, who loves them, counts the hours
    And keeps them safe till it gets light.

    Dear Father! Count the hours to-night,
    When I'm asleep and cannot see;
    And in the morning may the light
    Shine for the birds and flowers and me!

    WILLIAM HAWLEY SMITH




PHONETIC TABLES


NOTE TO THE TEACHER. The vocabulary of this book is here rearranged
for class drill. This should be given daily until the pupils are able
to pronounce at least thirty words per minute either by following the
columns or the lines.

In this grade children may be expected to give the reasons for the
several vowel sounds herein taught, but should not be required to
commit and apply phonetic rules. As the words in a column are
generally in the same phonetic group, column drills tend to fix the
principle there presented. But in the line drills and in the review
tables children must rely upon their own knowledge of the phonetic
elements.

Table I consists of monosyllabic words of not more than four letters
in which a single consonant precedes a short vowel or in which a short
vowel begins the word. There is a column for each vowel.

Table II contains words with two consonants final or initial or both.

Table III introduces vowels made long by final silent _e_.

Table IV is a mixed review with some additional words.

Table V contains long vowel digraphs and _y_ equivalent to long _i_,
and has a review column of forms ending in _s_.

Tables VI, VII, and VIII contain lists of words illustrating the
remaining vowel sounds in frequent use throughout the book.

Table IX presents groups of words taught by analogy. It also
illustrates _c_, _g_, and _dg_, followed by silent _e_.

Table X is a review of monosyllables with some additional words.

Table XI teaches words of two syllables with the endings _ing_, short
_y_, and _er_; also the elision of _e_. Column five is largely a
review.

Table XII presents three columns of words of two syllables
illustrating the phonetic principles previously set forth. Column four
illustrates the long vowel ending an accented syllable; column five
gives final _ed_ pronounced as _d_ or _t_.

Table XIII, column one, gives _a_ and _be_ as prefixes and _ful_ as a
suffix; column two, silent letters; column three, contractions and
possessives; column four and column five, unclassified phonetic words.

Table XIV contains unphonetic words or words but partly phonetic.


    TABLE I

    sad    met    dim    box    sun

    ax     yet    dig    fox    cup

    bag    wet    bill   top    dug

    cap    bell   fit    pop    puff

    hand   web    kiss   hop    fun

    man    nest   lid    dot    husk

    sand   bend   hid    not    dust

    camp   felt   lit    got    but

    rap    send   rid    pot    must

    bad    bent   hit    on     run


    TABLE II

    rich   drop   still   switch  things

    ring   spun   dress   struck  banks

    neck   flax   flop    swept   ships

    witch  than   fresh   whish   pranks

    rank   swim   shell   pluck   wings

    hitch  shot   swift   drink   frogs

    bank   thin   crept   spent   rocks

    such   sled   stand   string  logs

    fish   shop   speck   spring  crabs


    TABLE III

    safe    these   fine    shone  tune

    crane   here    white   those  spoke

    plate   cave    life    stone  rode

    state   shape   pine    hole   rope

    spade   flame   side    woke   froze

    vale    sale    dine    shore  rove

    shake   lake    shine   drove  grove

    brave   name    drive   smoke  more


    TABLE IV

    when    spade   grove   thin    yes

    husk    shine   pranks  these   dwell

    ring    smoke   mist    same    drive

    must    spent   lent    banks   drove

    skin    whish   end     tune    puff

    shell   logs    snake   shore   here

    witch   white   things  flame   man

    drink   gift    melt    frogs   went

    drops   elk     stand   pip     spring

    thank   still   step    such    crabs

    dress   wave    mine    dust    struck


    TABLE V

    bee     tea     sail    boat    grapes

    sweep   each    pain    goat    boats

    three   year    rain    road    goats

    freeze  bleat   trail   throat  snakes

    thee    leaf    plain   cloak   shapes

    queer   meat    wait    foam    kites

    free    scream  pay     toad    miles

    wheel   dream   play    roam    flows

    feet    wheat   gray    coat    holes

    sweet   feast   bay     soak    seas

    need    leaves  sky     goes    years

    green   beasts  sly     bow     grows

    seek    clear   dry     row     tales

    deer    grease  try     show    rains

    deep    beads   thy     low     stones

    feel    clean   pies    snow    times

    week    near    lie     grow    seems

    peek    stream  tied    grown   waves

    sheet   heat    tried   new     skies

    cheese  speaks  cried   knew    Greeks


    TABLE VI

    far    sharp   sir     nor    burn

    car    hard    first   for    hurt

    dark   scar    birds   corn   turn

    lark   stars   birch   north  burst

    barn   marks   skirts  storm  purse

    hark   yards   perch   horse  purr


    TABLE VII

    ball   glass   moo    true   foot

    hall   past    shoo   flue   stood

    small  grass   room   blew   full

    tall   ant     root   chew   put

    paw    fast    moose  rude   pull

    walk   last   choose  rule   push


    TABLE VIII

    soft    air     word   cows     sour

    toss    hair    words  town     south

    moss    fair    worm   brown    round

    cross   chair   work   owl      loud

    strong  care    works  tower    wound

    long    fare    world  flowers  hours


    TABLE IX

    high    kind   old    ice     rage

    light   mind   gold   mice    orange

    bright  find   fold   face    hedge

    right   grind  hold   place   bridges

    night   child  told   peace   head

    fright  wild   cold   prince  spread


    TABLE X

    bars    trail   shore   peace   grass

    town    grease  shape   child   talk

    rage    dance   swift   tight   blew

    drink   room    watch   freeze  stood

    struck  fair    clear   flows   birch

    smoke   snake   soak    worm    sharp

    spade   noise   gray    clouds  bread

    south   spoil   world   beasts  hold

    strong  counts  small   hitch   shine

    grown   harp    wound   white   skirts

    queen   quite   storm   bear    true

    throat  waves   leaves  care    perch

    cried   brown   hedge   cross   burst


    TABLE XI

    spinning  grassy   never    feeble   Bossy

    mumbling  woolly   summer   uncles   every

    hunting   ferry    rivers   needles  gipsy

    pecking   stormy   owner    castle   Bobby

    barking   funny    sister   bottle   kippy

    hanging   happy    whiskers little   Jippy

    filling   sandy    blower   purple   Jimmy

    shaking   empty    dinner   puddles  Fanny

    passing   ugly     gather   gentle   valley

    shining   sorry    pitcher  beaten   lilies

    trembling marry    silver   golden   fairies

    sitting   greeny   hunter   gardens  teasing

    tacking   thirsty  otters   wooden   evening

    living    angry    thunder  maiden   perching

    begging   lily     farmer   given    camel

    driving   lonely   winter   frozen   jewel

    camping   merry    slumber  hidden   kernels

    swimming  hurry    hither   frighten ragged

    growing   gently   either   happen   scolded

    bubbling  weedy    neither  broken   floated


    TABLE XII

    until   errands  snowflakes  secret   saved

    arrows  cowslip  boatman     faded    seemed

    billows seaside  sunbeams    waded    turned

    swallow jackals  moonbeams   table    tired

    yellow  carried  thousand    blazes   twirled

    shadow  forests  rainbow     tigers   growled

    hollow  princess wampum      tulip    happened

    maybe   hundred  housetops   roses    rubbed

    basket  hemlock  ourselves   lady     grumbled

    magic   insects  shepherd    music    surprised

    flowers forgot   wigwam      quiet    drowned

    timid   within   merchants   giant    tangled

    visit   himself  bonfires    baby     roared

    sunset  window   darkness    finer    used

    spirit  appear   strangest   wider    showed

    ashes   indeed   playgrounds cradle   brushed

    voices  forget   dreamland   stories  dropped

    daisies outside  sun-struck  going    stretched

    linen   herself  perhaps     open     romped

    coral   mistake  married     Iris     slipped


    TABLE XIII

    ago      knew     I've     God        fluttering

    arise    comb     I'll     Ellen      passenger

    around   climb    I'm      Juno       woodcutter

    ashamed  lambs    it's     Hermes     hollyhock

    across   lambkins we'll    Orion      umbrellas

    ashore   wrens    you'll   Diana      bumblebee

    along    wrong    you've   Childe     lackaday

    afraid   answered you're   Jeremy     shivering

    aboard   sword    they'll  Mercury    everything

    among    honest   they're  Indian     everywhere

    Apollo   autumn   didn't   suddenly   shepherdess

    belongs  fastened don't    overtops   elephants

    before   fighting who'll   different  buffaloes

    beyond   tightly  haven't  coconut    everybody

    because  ought    doesn't  violet     messenger

    beneath  fought   won't    shouldn't  Rowland

    beside   brought  ladies'  mammy's    Limberkin

    became   taught   she's    myself     Tom Tit Tot

    useful   naughty  there's  polite     Artemis

    faithful daughter dolly's  speckled   Thursday


    TABLE XIV

    son    elves   prayer   building  wonderful

    fro    eyes    colors   together  hovering

    sure   to-day  touched  quarrel   to-morrow

    blood  floor   instead  eleven    shoulders

    meant  rolled  months   dreadful  everywhere

    heard  skeins  obeyed   feathers  blossomed

    guess  fruit   twelve   to-night  neighbors

    warm   built   toward   island    hastening

    love   ribbon  beggar   monkey    steadily

    dove   above   fortune  youngest  pictures

    field  pearls  voyage   seasons   overhead

    piece  forth   country  diamonds  grandfather

    view   ready   coming   chimney   wherever

    buy    acorn   enough   pasture   pleasant

    folk   friend  anyway   backward  sugar cane

    both   idly    ancient  forward   learning

    does   ghosts  halfway  prairie   covered

    earth  often   loving   trouble   beautiful

    lyre   sailor  pretty   anybody   prettier

    lose   ocean   heaven   nobody    Englishman




WORD LIST


This list does not include words used in Book One. The numeral before
each group refers to the page on which the words first appear.


    11. Childe Rowland
        princess
        name
        Ellen
        ball

    12. elves
        dark
        tower
        far

    13. youngest

    14. sword
        things

    15. country
        head
        speaks

    16. drop
        thirsty
        forget
        eyes
        knew

    18. around
        each

    20. dim
        light
        seemed
        himself
        hall
        gold
        silver
        diamonds
        shone
        sad

    21. turned
        stone
        golden

    22. floor
        free
        noise
        outside
        fee-fi-fo-fum
        blood
        Englishman
        fought

    23. enough
        bottle

    24. hand
        sister
        left

    25. Tom Tit Tot
        hard
        daughter
        those
        meant
        soft

    26. herself

    27. spinning
        mumbling
        to-day
        heard
        spun
        skeins

    28. fine
        eleven
        months
        every
        year

    29. anyway
        everything

    30. room
        wheel
        flax
        before
        goes

    31. twirled
        window
        guess
        pay
        work

    32. try

    33. brought

    34. together
        hunting
        queer
        hole
        nimmy
        I'm

    35. table
        because

    36. never

    37. lambkins
        grassy
        banks
        pranks
        woolly
        feet
        watch
        bleat

    38. ferry
        across
        boatman
        you've
        purse
        I'll
        step
        boat

    39. coral
        sailor
        ashore
        white
        dig
        nor
        pluck
        feeble
        insects
        stormy

    40. swallow
        sun-loving
        summer

    41. wrens
        hedge
        building
        perching
        pecking
        fluttering
        everywhere

    42. sail
        rivers
        ships
        clouds
        sky
        prettier
        than
        these
        bridges
        pretty
        bow
        heaven
        overtops
        road
        earth

    43. paw
        woke

    44. saved
        life

    45. honest
        ax
        woodcutter
        stood

    46. kind
        sir

    47. Mercury
        met

    49. crane
        throat
        bill

    51. town
        visit
        mice

    52. rich
        barking
        music

    53. safe

    54. quarrel
        cloak
        care

    55. warm

    56. ant
        dove
        leaf
        blew
        shore

    58. lark
        nest
        field
        owner

    59. neighbors
        uncles

    60. yet
        ourselves

    61. shadow
        piece
        meat

    63. grapes
        sweet
        hanging
        still
        high
        don't
        sour
        fit

    64. birds
        north
        south
        wider
        view
        spread
        wings

    65. bark
        basket
        kippy
        peek
        maybe
        funny
        learning
        secret
        speckled

    66. Jeremy
        covered
        growled
        sly
        Limberkin
        dreadful
        scream
        dream

    67. snowflakes
        feathers
        filling
        air
        they're
        shaking
        swift
        love
        we'll
        kiss
        true

    68. hollyhock
        bend
        need
        dolly's
        tea
        acorn
        plate
        feast
        state

    69. pine
        valley
        beautiful
        needles
        green

    70. leaves
        happened
        passing
        shining

    71. carried
        glass

    72. perhaps

    74. happy

    75. faithful
        beasts
        seek
        fortune
        along
        teasing
        monkey
        hurt
        pain

    76. tied

    77. spent
        box
        fastened
        lid

    78. floated
        round
        rolled
        magic
        wherever

    79. castle
        gardens
        merchants
        built

    80. showed

    81. ribbon

    82. whiskers
        rubbed
        drove

    83. swim

    84. mind
        frogs

    85. brown
        sand
        flows
        either

    86. foam
        mine
        past
        hundred
        miles

    87. seaside
        wooden
        spade
        sandy
        empty
        cup
        rain
        umbrellas

    88. autumn
        vale
        bonfires
        smoke
        trail
        pleasant
        flowers
        blazes
        gray
        seasons
        bright

    89. toss
        kites
        ladies'
        skirts
        grass
        loud

    90. different
        hid
        felt
        push
        strong
        cold
        blower
        child

    91. timid
        afraid
        coconut
        shot

    92. running

    93. answered
        elephants
        tigers

    94. buffaloes
        deer
        jackals

    95. first
        show

    97. husk
        fruit

    98. top
        place
        both
        wrong
        root
        string
        side

    99. owl
        among
        stand

    100. does

    102. camel
         sugar cane
         crabs
         waded

    103. haven't

    104. dinner

    105. deep
         feel

    106. bumblebee
         tulip
         mistake
         lake

    107. Bobby
         barn
         Bossy
         lackaday
         who'll
         shoo
         drive
         moo
         mammy's

    108. Jippy
         Jimmy
         logs
         wet
         thin
         crept
         dry
         ki-hi

    109. shivering
         roam
         won't
         until
         pip
         pop
         flippety
         flop
         ready
         clear
         gather
         chimney
         row
         hop

    110. kernels
         sharp
         yellow
         small
         burst
         shake
         steadily
         backward
         forward
         you'll
         low

    111. ugly
         spring

    112. indeed
         pitcher
         gift
         jewel
         scolded
         sorry

    113. roses
         pearls

    114. send
         Fanny
         myself

    115. grumbled
         lady

    116. polite
         snake
         toad
         spoke

    117. prince

    118. surprised
         married

    119. sitting
         evening
         same

    120. week
         Thursday

    121. bell
         ring

    122. bent

    123. coat
         trouble
         witch

    123. marry
         yards

    124. lent
         horse

    125. switch

    126. rode
         comb

    128. boo-oo-oo
         roared
         tired

    130. sale

    132. to-morrow
         grease

    134. rage

    135. greeny
         bay
         tacking
         island
         beneath
         ought
         aboard
         drowned
         ocean
         billows

    136. fare
         passenger
         voyage
         sheet

    137. wound
         living
         tune
         naughty
         cross
         rude
         tangled
         spoil

    138. scar
         quiet
         wigwam
         Indian
         moose
         maiden
         marks
         snow
         sled
         ice

    139. brave
         hunter
         wonderful
         choose

    140. sunset
         end
         angry
         ashes

    141. shell
         beads
         dress

    142. skin

    145. broken
         birch
         fresh
         clean
         brushed

    146. hair

    147. rainbow
         faded
         stars

    148. forgot
         neck
         elk
         wampum
         used
         spirit
         shoulders
         obeyed

    149. belongs
         ashamed

    150. rocks
         cave
         twelve
         otters
         camp
         foot

    151. climb
         hollow
         middle
         struck

    152. dug

    153. mist
         storm
         thunder
         voices

    155. peace
         given
         grown
         tall
         near
         baby
         taught

    156. lily
         ago
         stories
         halfway
         shape

    157. became
         lonely
         plain
         prairie

    158. wild
         toward

    159. blossomed
         lilies

    160. beggar
         ragged
         begging

    161. friend
         dust
         lose
         stream

    163. bee
         linen
         fair
         shop
         buy
         shouldn't

    164. web
         everybody
         swept
         finer
         neither

    165. worm
         farmer
         son

    166. hours
         nobody
         grow

    167. winter
         froze

    168. melt
         frozen
         coming

    169. idly
         fro
         pasture
         merry
         housetops
         sweep
         shepherd
         driving
         hastening
         within
         fold
         hurry
         beyond

    170. shine
         trembling
         bars
         darkness
         slumber

    171. ghost
         fairies
         lit
         tales
         dwell
         forgotten
         ancient

    172. quite
         strangest
         folk
         anybody
         flue
         rove
         gypsy
         camping
         grove
         hither
         hidden
         flame
         hovering
         appear
         sure
         suddenly
         puff
         whish

    173. daisies
         overhead
         dot
         often
         arise
         there's
         skies
         she's
         dropped

    174. giant
         Greeks
         car
         heat
         arrows
         sunbeams
         sun-struck
         gently

    175. Apollo
         harp
         lyre
         Artemis
         Diana

    176. pictures
         moonbeams
         new
         Orion

    177. word
         instead
         rid

    178. hit
         speck
         swimming

    180. Hermes
         cap
         errands

    181. stretched
         tightly
         fun

    184. quarreling
         fighting
         touched
         themselves

    186. useful
         messenger
         Juno
         Iris
         romped
         cradle
         slipped
         grandfather

    187. hitch
         waves

    188. forth
         colors
         violet
         orange

    189. soak
         chew
         hemlock
         rank
         growing
         weedy
         cowslip
         purple
         bubbling
         dine

    190. playgrounds
         thousand
         moss
         lie
         forests
         puddles
         freeze
         above

    191. thy
         dreamland
         thee
         lambs
         gentle
         shepherdess

    192. prayer
         God
         counts
         to-night