== Be SS Ss So Senso, New York State College of Agriculture At Cornell University Ithaca, N. B. Library ‘ornell University Libra ee SSS 2 —————— i ! ui) ) Mi wh | ! | | TT i i SS SS AGERIE, a A PEEP AT THE ME Four FEET, Two FEET, AND NO FEET: OR, FURRY AND FEATHERY PETS, AND HOW THEY LIVE. EDITED BY LAURA E. RICHARDS. FULLY ILLUSTRATED. BOSTON: DANA ESTES AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, ve. R392 Fo Copyright, 1885, By THE RUSSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Set igs CONTENTS. Good Mother Eider-Duck . . . The Saucy Bird vas Mary and Dog Carlo. . 2. . A Funny Little Mother. . . The Cat Learns to Dance . . . Zip and Betty . . . 2... A New Story . . . Pe a How Insects Make on ay | ses) 56 Fly-Away Facts ws A Bird with an Gmtbreila, Ene The Greedy Pelican In Winter Time © Boece Oh! Those Wasps . . . % Benjamin Beaver, the Builder i Fire! Fire!! Fire!!! Harry’s Winged Mouse, . Who Got the Crust The Wise Old Mouse. ‘i ** Polly Wants to go to Detroit’ Per The Nest in the Mail-Box Duke and the Kitten . A Goose Flying a Kite Winged Wonders . ‘ How the Wonders See and Tiber ‘ A Queer Conductor A Monkey’s Story The Donkey that Lives ina Caste A Beer-Drinking Sheep . Who’s There? . How the Bears Another A Mouse that Lives in the Mud ene One Page ll 18 15 16 19 20 21 23 25 26 29 31 33 34 36 38 39 4] 43 44 46 47 49 51 52 ora Nc Nobody’s Cat . . . . 4. Clever Mrs. Partridge . . . A Visit to the Tame Fishes . Not Fond of Music How Scamp Hid from the Rats Tiny Tormentors . Me Se The Mouse and the Oyster . The Boats the Gnats Build . The Dog that Earned a Medal . A Grand Ball . Our Parrot . Queer Conveyances A Toad with Horns Caper, the Goat oo The Mud-Turtle . . . Ponto’s Drill A Good-Natured Bear A Gay Little Gardener . The Greedy Hens . The Bug with a Mask The Cow that said ‘‘ Please ” Apple-Jack’s New Hat . Something about Tommy All Kinds of Crabs The Hurdle Race . Mrs. Humming-Bird . The Orphan Chickens . . . A Wise Dog The Tame Deer . . . . Professor ee ceca, Ship Ahoy! Unele Jack’s Pak of Houde : aT ost sd sl ODke Wwe owe vo DOD DOHO OW DOeNrF ON OF WO 100 103 104 106 107 109 111 112 115 Vi Madam Owl and the Chickens . Zack, the Cockatoo eX Machines that Creep and Fly . Robbie and the Moose Dusky George and his Coon. Little.Carpenters with Wings . Dot and the Portmanteau Shuffle, the Alligator . Scamp and the Fat Woman. Our Jenny . . Oe A Moving Nukseny Yo at ee ae The Goose and the Geese Snowball and the Lobster The Black Sheep. . .. . Josephine The Rabbit and the Porenpine:. Philo’s Funny Team. . . . Beppo. . 3) How Lena Fed the Tah . Lizzie, the Elephant. . . . Some Queer Ants. . .. . The King of Birds. . . . The Canoe of the Water-Moth . Polly and Prince . . .. . Tibby Tab’s Nest. . . « . A Very Funny Colt . . . . Sleepy-Heads . . . « « - Cunning Mice. . . .« « The New Nest. . . » © « Duke and the Chickens . . . Josie and his Pigeon. . . The Cat and the Can, A Hen-quiry . . «+. « - Ned’s Black Lamb a % The Baby Monkey ... . Ilow Birds Use their Bills The Jealous Little Dog . . Going to the Golden Wedding . The Two Goats a The White Egg . .. . Some Funny Fellows. . . Naughty Nasna . . « « « Slippery Solomon. . . « « CONTENTS. 3 Page 117 | Saved from Freezing to Death . 119 | Helen’s Daisy . . . «| . 120 | Scamp and Psyche. . . . .» 122 | Dinner for Three. . . « » 123 | Tillie Texas. . . wey Se 126 | Up Came a Little sae Bw 127 | A Cat-astrophe. . . . . 128 | Railway Jack . . . 2 e 130 | Fisherman Pussy . . .. . 133 | A Bad Neighbor . . . . 134 | Tommie, a Pet Prairie Dog. 136 | Catching the Colt.’ . . . . 139 | A Queer Animal 142 | Scamp’s Visit to Coney sland, 144 | The Things that Happened . 145 | A Dog Hospital yi 146 | The Pet Lizards . . . .:. 149 | A Fantastic Fly-Catcher . 151 | Baby Bruin. . . . ... 153 | A Sad Story 154 | Sailor Babies . . . . . 156 | Bowser 159 | ‘* Sandy,” the Runaway Colt 161 | How Silk is Made. ‘i 162 | How the Pigs were Raised . 164 | Dame Gilfin and her Goats . 166 | A Letter from a Christmas Turkey - 167 | What Puss Heard . 169 | Tabby and Josey . 172 | Fido’s Appeal . 174 | Hoppy’s First Egg . 175 | Wise Snow-drop and si Billy 178 | Bad Sir Moses. . . es 179 | C.O. D. : : 181 | Queen, — A True ete > . 182 | Major and the Kitten. . . . 183 | A Peep at the Menagerie . . 185 | ‘* Look here, Stupid!” 187 | Mollie and the Sparrows. . 188 | An Afternoon at the Circus. 191 | Chucky and his Picture . 192 | Wise Little Sparrows. . . . 196 | The Butterfly Wedding . . Page 200 202 204 206 207 209 210 213 214 216 219 221 223 224 227 229 230 232 235 257 241 244 246 248 -. 250 252 254 256 257 259 260 262 264 266 267 269 270 272 274 275 277 279 281 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page A Peep at the Menagerie oe rele e Good Mother Hider-Duck 5 “Tiow pleasant to have a home of our own’ 7 “T wish I had a pretty hdme like this” . . 7 Carle «5. 6 #8 9 “ Asleep under the large evergreen trees”. . 9 “He ran before her”. =, “Se “She laid her curly head against hits eck? a 10 “She pecked atthem” . ........ 21 «T'll be your mother” . . . reenrage “He hopped high inthe air”. . é2.a00, At “Out walked the missing Betty” 2 16 “ One day alittle girl came to sce ‘the bears,” 17 Katydid . Suk Lah etna unde ee OTD Bee@S. iia dog aie Gee a ae, a o aeglate, Te Dragon Fly co ces ew ee teas FB Viawest Fly ek ee ee ee 20 “T’ve got one!” Shin 9 fo Crch Tabed ~~. 2 Umbrella Birds . . , ke atew wa SE Pelicans... . 1. > 23 “He hangs himself up by ‘his hind awa” 2) “O Katy, they’re killing Te gag eae 126 “Tell me what the matter is” oe ee 27 Heaver Doma p16 «245 e080 «= Bf Fire-Fish ... 32 “Lying in an old bee was a dead little creature”. wee 33 * Snatched the er ust from my hand’ ig -» oo “Oho,” cried the cat. ..... .. 36 “The mouse at once popped into his hole” . 37 “The cat watched all day”. . sie “Polly wants to go to Detroit” aoe 38 “The mail-box”’ ae aoe aay £389) “She flew round and yound’ BR Sd iattte 40 We watched closely ” ‘ Fis ot oa 40 “Finally the boys took the lastone” .... 41 Duke andthe Kitten... 2... 2.0. 42 Goose Fiving sa Kite ¢1 «3s see ee ew 48 Insects and Grasshoppers. ......+...- 4¢ Butterflies and Moths ........... £49 “The eyes ofinsects” ...... teeene 486 “Don't stop thigeay again” 2h aces ace «6 “ My name is Mingo” . tates “Why Jack lived in the castle’ Re eeniGt gae anie: TO The Dogandthe Lamb... «2.2.4. 53 Tap) Tapt Tap? Tape sa 24 aa « a4 “He fellinto a pit” . . 55 “Mr. Bruin managed to seramble out” es 56 «“\ mouse that does not know the taste of cheese ” ee ae av fed her every morning "so 4 x as 3 59 “The bird went slowly”... . 00.0. 61 “Can nottakeithome?” ......... £62 “They came toalarge pond” .. ». 63 “He held some bread between his enacts ee 63 “ He would look upinthe lady’sface” .. 65 “T saw a big barrel close by me”... 1 “Te caught holdof me”... «ees as “Little mosquitoes”... ....-4- “The oyster closed”. . de s3 Seisnlars fate Eggs of Insects Juno ae «She leaped over ‘the bauks of earth” The Orchestra... “Right claw, left claw, bien the middle” * An enemy i coming ” “The supper” - es “One day an organ-srinder came’ ae es Hen and Chickens Soe Ss a B's Cranes ahd small Birds... ... “T think you had better put him i in the box” “ The goat was a fine playmate” . . “ There he was sure to stand on his hin legs,” “You need not be so scornful” ...... ” ‘Ready, shoulder arms!” . . 2... “Die for your country!” . 2. 2 ee ee ee “The bear smelling some berries”... Bird-house and Garden . . el See Garden-bird. - 6 ww ee ee “ While they were chasing aac other” “ Devil’s darning-needles”” . .. 1. “She took him to callonthecow” .... “Uncle John gave himaride” ..... “ The horse knew Harry ” hose Sgt sap 3a “ He kicked up his hecls” aoe big ‘Please carty ine” 2k “Likes tositin herlap”’ ........ All Kinds of Crabs “Out came the rabbits” . oo Mrs. Humming-bird . . é ‘ “ They were about as large as bumble- reer oe “ Picking bugs and worms for them”. “ He was sitting onthe porch” . ... “Kept the sheep inthe yard”. “A queer-looking horse” a “Who threw that stone?” 2. 2... we “Look at the ship, children” . 2... “He raises a cry” ri “ The school-house door was open” . “So [have caught you at la+t” om “ Bit her heel” 5 ariek dona Sashes Spiders . . SB: senor 4 “ He saw three hunters with guns. 2 a x “Started with the hoe over his shoulder” “Three bright little animals ” Dee 'and Coon. sa ge we el ew Flies and Bees . “ Dot seated in the portmanteau” : “A black boy caughtone” ....... “T went to a funny place” E oe x “Topened my mouth and beyan to bite it”. “A small brown donkey ” 125 Vill ILLUSTRATIONS. Page ‘This is Mrs. Toad” 4 “Jack jumpsonatrain”-.... eRe s ‘‘She walked down to the shore” ...... ‘Laid it at the cook’s feet” .....2..4. Mud-fish 2... ike ES “Carried him some bea. a FRR eS “Nestle on my shoulder” .. 1.0.06. « James held out the corn” ...e ese “Galloped off” 2... 1... ee ee ee ‘ Camels-300 ieee we a ee a evar “He took mein hisarms” .... 2.56.6. “A boy caught me ” aise: eee ee “The catranupthetree? .... «ee. “Was crying with pain”... 2... ee eee “ He struck the side of thecdnoe” ..... “Put your finger on that leaf? oe dose oan ce vA dragon-fly came’ 7 eo Sg isis “The bear curled up close to her” o 4 ewe “He put his fore-paws into the pan “Standing erect” 2... 2.08. og as “Something huge and dark” ....... “Mr. and Mrs. Grebe”... 2 ew ee ee “Pop! they go into the water” - ...... “Held out his aching foot” ........ “Sandy trotted out”... 2... ee ee ee “Living skeleton ofacolt” ........ “ Day after day they BLE? oh et ap es ce elo “Began tospin” 2... 2... te ea ews ‘“‘ Beautiful white moths” ......... Spoolsof Silk . 2... ...0202-0, “Some fell head-foremost” ........ ““Animmense yoat” 2. 1 ..e-. 0. “‘ Harnessed into dainty little carriages”. . . «Tam alone in the little pen” ....... “He pointed atme”. ........2. “They were sitting before the open fire ” “Gave hersomemilk” .......... “He laid Fido on his back” ........ “Oh,look, mamma” ........ Heveisione? ak kw ee we ee eS “Jumped over her”... . 2... 2... ae “Put his paw in the pitcher” ........ Codhsbingys ji ay gees as er ee Bw i “Upon this bed lay eight little doggies ” “He carried her to the farm-house”. . . . . Comes Polly t?? seg sg eo He ‘‘ Mamma raised the window ” The Circus (full page) . “Let’s have Chucky’s prota taken” “Very fond of these little birds” ..... “They would perch on his head”. 2... Butterflies. oi 6 6 ae ieee, BS BTS Page 205 206 207 208 209 210 221 222 226 227 TO THE CHILD READER. Curious beasts, with paws and claws, Curious birds, with plume and feather, Strangest freaks of Nature’s laws, Here for you are brought together. Owls and monkeys, pigs and bears ; Humming-birds and toads and rabbits; Hunt them to their nests and lairs; Study all their ways and habits. Learn how the mosquitoes talk; Why the wasp and hornet sting you; Learn the meaning of the songs Linnet and canary sing you; How the beaver builds his dam ; How the penguin feeds her baby ; Of the lobster and the clam; What their moods and manners may be. All these things, when you shall know, Write a book yourself, my dearie! For, so learned you will grow, All the world will flock to hear ye. FOUR FEET—[WOFEET=NO: FEET. GOOD MOTHER EIDER-DUCK. Wuart should you think if your mother had no blankets to put over you at night, and if she should | pull out all her pretty hair, and make you a blanket of that? You would think she was a very kind, loving mother, would you not? And you would be quite right. But still she would not be kinder or more loving than the quiet, unpretending eider-duck, who strips her own soft breast to keep her babies warm. In a very cold country, far away in the Northern ocean, — Iceland it iscalled, —there are thousands of these beautiful birds ; wherever you step you find one. You would think they would not like to stay where the rivers are always frozen, and snow is on the ground all the long year, with only a few days of sunshine. But they do, because they can be very quiet there, and do pretty much as they like. 6 GOOD MOTHER EIDER-DUCK. Their nests are a sort of little mattress, made of drift-grass and sea-weed, and over it they spread a bed of finest down. The care- ful mother plucks this down from her own breast, heaping it up in a thick, fluffy roll around the edge of the nest. You know that while she is sitting on her eggs she must some- times leave the nest for food. The weather is so cold that before she goes she carefully turns this roll of down over the eggs, to keep them warm until her return. A great deal of money is made by the Icelanders in selling the down. When it is taken from the nest the little mother goes to work just as carefully as before, and makes it all over. But if they take it the second time, and her home is left with bare walls, her breast bare, too, what is she to do? In a moment the male bird comes to her help, and plucks the down off his own breast. His feathers are whiter, though not so soft. This down is so light that it takes a great many feathers to weigh anything at all. If you should fill your father’s hat with them they would not weigh an ounce. And yet, after all, they would make you the warmest covering in the world. Once there young birds, as of the sky. They would keep house together in the limb of a tree. Their family name ; ee was Gnat-Snap- per; but they were not in the . least related to the Snap-dragons or Snapping-turtles. In fact, you never saw a sweeter, gayer pair in all the days of your life. Their nest was very neat, and the three eggs in it were white, with a pink blush all over them, like the blush that lies on apple- blossoms. “ How pleasant it is to have a home of our own!” said the bird- wife, looking at the eggs, with a twinkle in her eye. were two pretty blue as a piece thought they 8 THE SAUCY BIRD. The husband wiped his bill. “Iam glad there is no rent to pay,” said he. ‘Well, they did not know what was going to happen. They sang and were very happy, till one day, when they were both gone from home, a great brown bird came visiting. She walked in with- out knocking, and sat down in the nest. It was a lazy cow-bird, who had really no manners at all. “T wish I had a pretty home like this, but I shall not take the trouble to make one,” said she. And the next thing she did was to lay anegg. Could anything have been morc impolite? It was rather larger than the other eggs, and not pink, like an apple-blossom, but brown, like a ball of mud. It was quite too bad; and when little Mr. and Mrs. Gnat-Snapper came home they were very angry, and very much surprised to find a strange egg in the nest. “But we cannot help it now,” said little madam, ready to cry. ‘“ And, oh, dear, if I sit on my own pretty pink eggs I must sit on the big, brown, homely egg, too!” Yes; and so she did. Soon her own birdie-babies came out of the pink eggs, and lovely blue darlings they were. But in a little while the big egg opened, and out stepped a lazy brown bird. Papa scolded, and little madam cried. ‘But we cannot help it now,” said she. ‘‘ And we must feed the big bird, too; it will never do to let her starve.” Starve? There was no danger of her starving! Oh, how she did eat! She seized all the best food that was brought to the nest, and the other birdies had to take what was left. And then, how she did push! “This is my home,” said she to the little blue nestlings, —“ this is my home, and there is no room for you. Why do you stay here and crowd me so?” Papa scolded; but the brown bird pushed and pushed. ‘We cannot help it, I suppose,” said little madam, weeping. ‘Our darlings must go, or there will be no peace.” So, as soon as might be, the little blue sisters tried their wings, and one by one they flew away into the wide, wide world. And then the little cow-bird was happy, for she had the whole nest to herself. MARY AND DOG CARLO. LittLte Mary and her great black Newfoundland dog, Carlo, were a very familiar picture to me. I often stopped to look at them as they ran about the yard. If it was a warm afternoon they lay asleep under the large evergreer. trees. Mary’s light curls made a lovely contrast to Carlo’s shaggy black sides. His loving gentleness made him seem as good as he was handsome. Little Mary had a naughty habit of running away from home, and when she did this Carlo would not leave her for a moment. He seemed to try to get her home again. He ran before her, keeping 10 MARY AND DOG CARLO. her from getting off the walks, and trying to coax her to turn about. Sometimes he would succeed; and then I heard his joyful bark when he saw her once more safely in the yard. If he could not get her home he would never desert her. When she was tired out she laid her curly head against his neck, ready to gowherever he led, andthen you may be sure he led her home just as straight as he could go. One day, when I came out of the gate, Carlo met me, barking and jumping about in a most anxious manner. He ran a little way, al FUNNY LITTLE MOTHER. 11 and then came back to me, as if coaxing me to follow him. 1 thought him too wise a dog to be mistaken; so I followed him, though alittle slowly. He seemed to notice this, and to beg me to hasten. In a moment more I saw dear little Mary toddling along the railroad track. I felt sure that the dog’s quick ears must have heard the train, which was coming round the curve. I hurried fast enough, I can tell you. Carlo had never before allowed me to pick her up, even for a moment. Now he seemed fairly wild with joy when I caught her in my arms. He led me home in a perfect dance of delight. After that I was a privileged friend, for Carlo never forgot that morning. To the day of his death he thanked me, in his mute, loving way, every time he saw me. A FUNNY LITTLE MOTHER. Perr! Peep! Peep! Ten little orphan babies all crying at once, and each one trying to cry louder than the other. What should be done with them? Poor mother Hen Blacky had been killed, and who was to take care of her ten baby- chickens? Hen Speckle had twelve children of her own,—as many as she could cover. No room for the orphans there. Hen Whitey’s eight children were so large and so ill-natured they would not let the downy little new- comers so much as look in their coop. 12 A FUNNY LITTLE MOTHER. Hen Topknot, who had but four in her brood, would not hear of adopting any more, and taking care of the little strangers. She pecked at them so sharply that the poor things ran off, and stood in a group by themselves in a corner of the chicken-yard, crying as loud as they could cry. Susie felt like cry- ing, too, she was so sorry for the mother- less ones. She took up the chickens im her apron, where they cuddled down, glad to get warm, and glad to hide away from cross Hen Topknot. ‘“‘T’ll be your mother, myself!” said Susie. And a good mother she was, too. She soon taught the ten little black and white and speckled chickens to scratch for worms. She put them to bed every night in an old basket, and covered them up warm. In the morning how glad they were to see their new little mother! They ran to her wherever she was when they were tired. And such a funny sight it was to see those ten chickens fly into Susie’s lap, creep under her apron, and cuddle against her neck with little cooing sounds! THE CAT LEARNS TO DANCE. 13 They never knew any other mother, and they never wanted a better one. Susie never forgot to feed her babies, and they grew as fast and were as fine-looking as the other chickens, who had hen-mothers to take care of them. And Susie learned how to be thoughtful and kind to helpless things. But one does not often find a little girl who is mother to ten chickens. [GBA eh Ran er € Js Bs ey a a j Oe LPR eK : Lf Crs THE CAT LEARNS TO DANCE. A Buzz, the cat, was feasting in the garden. He had a fine bow! of bread and milk, which one of the children had left there. The moon shone brightly, and the cat purred aloud for joy. All at once he cried, ‘‘ What a night to dance, if there were only a fiddle!” The wise old mouse sat at the door of his hole, with one eye on the bread and milk. ‘I will teach you how to dance without a fiddle,” cried he. The cat jumped up quickly. “Oh, do show me! ” he shouted. The. mouse brought out some pretty paper boots with tassels. “Put these on,” said he; ‘they are fairy boots.’ This made the cat laugh, and he hastened to draw the boots over his paws. But there was wax in them, and it tickled his toes. His feet began to go up and down. Then he hopped high in the air, and skipped and spun all about the garden till he was quite out of breath. “Oh, do stop me,” he screamed; “take off these dreadful boots!” 14 THE CAT LEARNS TO DANCE. “T only know how to make you dance,” replied the mouse. “TI do not know how to stop you.” So poor Buzz had to dance all night, till the boots wore out. But the wise old mouse ate up the bread and milk. Since then cats cannot help dancing when they put on paper boots. And a proverb in cat-land says, “It takes a friendly fiddle to make merry heels.” ZIP AND BETTY. Ir was “as good as a show” to see Zip eat. Zip was Uncle Will’s tame crane. He was very fond of meat. When he was given a piece he began at once to swallow it. Then you could watch it all the way down. It went round and round his neck, for a crane’s throat curls about in a coil. Dr. Stym came in one day, and was amusing himself by seeing Zip swallow. As the lump of meat twisted about and down that long neck the doctor cried, “ What fun he must have eating if he tastes it all the way down!” Among the pets of the house was a tame chicken, who used to come into 16 A NEW STORY. the sitting-room. She would jump upon Uncle Will’s knee, and eat corn from his hands. One morning, when Dr. Stym was there, he said he would like to see this famous chicken. So Uncle Will went to the door and called, “‘ Betty! Betty!” but no. chicken came. He called again and again, but no Betty was to be seen. He looked all about the yard and stable, but all in vain. Then the doctor ran out to help in the search. To make fun, he began to look in all sorts of odd places. He felt in his pockets. He peeped under the door-mat. He looked into the key-hole. He made everybody laugh with his jokes. At last he said that Zip must have swallowed the chicken, and he would look down his throat. Zip was standing on one foot, as usual, upon a small wooden pail; the pail was upside down, and made a fine perch for the crane. As Zip saw the doctor coming near, he stepped down to run away, and as he did so he turned the pail over. Then, lo and behold! out walked the missing Betty. The pail was so small that the poor chicken’s tail was bent square about. How they all laughed at her odd figure! “ Now, did Zip hide that chicken in there?” asked Dr. Stym. Nobody knew. Zip looked wise enough to have done it. But no doubt Betty did it herself, when she hopped upon the edge of the pail, hoping to find some corn inside. A NEW STORY. «A story?” I said, as they all came clamoring around me, cry- ing, “Story-time! story-time!” ‘ Well, let me see! I'll tell you a story about —” “No, you won't!” cried Billy. “I hate Jacky Nory. Tell us a nice, new story, please, mammy! ” “Tl tell you a story,” I continued calmly, “about a bear, and about: another bear, and about another bear.” “ Oh, the three bears!” said Billy. ‘+ Well, that is good, though A NEW STORY. 17 itis not new. Allright,mammy! They lived in a little red house in a deep, dark forest — ” “Begging your pardon,” I said, “ they did nothing of the kind; and if you interrupt me again they will stay in my head, and never come out. “ These three bears,” I con- tinued, ‘ lived in a very funny house. The front of it was ‘open, with bars all across it, so that they could not get out. The house stood ina large park,—a very fashionable place indeed,— and the bears saw all the best society. Their names were Daddy Jack, and Mammy Joan,and Baby Betty. Betty was only a year old, and a great pet of her parents. She was a round, fat, greedy little thing, and would often take away her mother’s dinner and gobble it up after eating her own. Mammy Joan sometimes gave her a cuff or a push, but not half often enough. Well, one day a little girl came to see the bears. Her name was Silverlocks, of course; all little girls who go to see bears are named Silver- locks; but she was not lost, nor was she alone, for her nurse was with her. Now, when the three bears saw Silverlocks they 18 A NEW STORY. came forward and poked their noses through the bars of their house. And the great, big, huge bear (that was Daddy Jack, you know) said, in his great, big, gruff voice, ‘ SOMEBODY HAS BROUGHT ME AN APPLE!’ and the middle-sized bear, Mammy Joan, said, in her middle-sized voice, ‘ Somebody has brought me a cooky !’ and then Baby Betty, the little, wee bear, said, in her little, wee voice, ‘Somebody has brought me some peanuts, and there they are!’ The little bear was right, of course, as she always is in the story, for Silverlocks had a bag of peanuts in her hand, and she began to feed the bears with them; Betty first, because she was the little one, and then Mammy Joan, and then Daddy Jack. Oh, what a cracking, and crunching, and scrabbling there was! These bears were very fond of peanuts, and they had not had any for several days. Daddy Jack would cram a pawful at a time into his great red mouth, and then sit up on his hind legs and crunch them slowly and solemnly; while fat little Betty squeaked aloud with excite- ment, rolling about after the peanuts, as Silverlocks tossed them between the bars. At last, sad to tell, the paper bag was empty. ‘Now, Miss Silverlocks, said nurse, ‘you must come home, for it is your tea-time. Say good-by to the bears!’ ‘Oh! must I go?’ cried Silverlocks. ‘Good-by, you dear bears! Good-by, great, big, huge bear! and good-by, middle-sized bear! and good- by, little, wee bear! I like you best, little, wee one. I wish you were mine!’ Just then Baby Betty pushed her fat brown paw through the bars, hoping that more peanuts might be forthcoming; and Silverlocks, to nurse’s great horror, took the paw and shook it heartily. Nurse pulled her away hastily, but the three bears were much pleased with the little girl’s politeness, and they all three said, ‘ Good-by, my dear! Come again, and bring the peanuts with you!’” HOW INSECTS MAKE MUSIC. rious to look at. You have seen this little insect, I have no doubt. Its color is light green, and just where the wing joins the body there is a thick ridge, and another on the wing. On this ridge there is a thin and strong skin, which makes a sort of drumhead. It is the rubbing of these two ridges, or drumheads, that makes the queer noise you have heard. There is no music in it, surely. The insects could keep quiet as well as not, and they must enjoy doing it. The katydid usually makes three rubs with its drumheads, some- times only two. You can fancy she says ** Katy did,’ and * She did,” or “She didn’t.” The moment it is dusk they begin. Soon the whole company are at work. As they rest after each rubbing it seems as if they answered each other. Did you know that bees hum from under their wings? It is not the stir of those beautiful light wings we hear. It is the air draw- ing in and out of the ; air-tubes, in the bee’s quick flight. E The faster a bee flies the louder the hum- ming is. Don't you believe insects Prey feel? In- 4 deed they do! They have nerves all over them, even through their wings, and out to the end of every feeler. They suffer just as much as you do when hurt. You must remem- ber this, and be kind to all the little in- sects God has made. Tue katydid has a wing that is very cu- | FLY-AWAY FACTS. TuEre is nothing more delicate than the wings of insects. They are like gauze, but they have a framework that makes them quite firm, just as the leaves on the trees are firm from the little ribs that are in them. These wings are all covered with hair. You could see it under the magnifying-glass, but not otherwise. In some small gnats the hairs spring from each side of the veins, like butterflies’ feathers, or like blossoms on the twigs in springtime. Even the wing of a common fly is very. beautiful. Did you ever notice that if you take a butterfly by the wings a colored dust is all over your fingers? Then the wings are left trans- parent where they have been touched. If you should put some of this dust on a slip of glass, and examine it, you would find that each A BIRD WITH AN UMBRELLA. 2] particle is a little scale of regular form, and sometimes most beau- tifully shaped. But the insect flies just as well without the dust. Besides his regular wings the fly has others, for sails. They are all lifted by a great number of little, tough muscles in his sides. Thus he moves in the air and darts away. Before he goes he ‘‘plumes” his wings, just like a bird. A BIRD WITH AN UMBRELLA. ‘¢ But where is your umbrella? ” I asked. “On my head, of course,” replied the bird. ‘“ Where is yours? ” “TJ carry mine in my hand,” said I; “though I always hold it over my head when the rain is falling.” “We say ‘claw,’ not ‘hand’!” said the bird, with some severity. “You should learn to speak correctly; I am sure you are big enough. What do you call yourself ?” “T belong to the human race,” I replied. “ But never mind me. Tell me a little about yourself.” “JT live in South America,” said the umbrella-bird, “in the fai: country of Brazil. My family is the only one, I believe, which possesses umbrellas. You see how gracefully the feathers are curved over my head, making a perfect shelter from sun and rain. This is what J call an umbrella; as for that hideous thing you hold in your claw, —I don’t know what to call it, but I am sure no bird 22, A BIRD WITH AN UMBRELLA. would carry such a thing. Observe the fine glossy black of my coat and waistcoat! Our family never wear anything but black: colors are so very vulgar! You see that I have also a beautiful tippet, which hangs down from my neck. I confess that I am proud of that, as well as of my umbrella. In fact, I feel that I ought, by rights, to be called The Black Brazilian Beauty.” A BirD with a basket! Who ever heard of such a funny thing? But there is a bird called a pelican, which has a large pouch, or bag, under its beak. Some people have called it a basket. The pelican is a very clumsy, if not a really ugly, bird. His bill is almost as long as his body, and he has very short legs. When he walks, or rather waddles, he topples along from side to side, just as you may have seen some old sailor, who is as awkward on land as a duck. The pouch, or bag, under the pelican’s bill is the most curious thing about this odd bird. Although this pouch cannot be seen except when in use, it is large enough to hold nearly a pailful of 24 THE GREEDY PELICAN. water. The pelican uses it as a basket, in which to carry to his mate and young their dinner of fish, which he catches by diving down into the water with his mouth open. It is fortunate that nature has fitted him to catch fish so easily. He is so greedy that for dinner he will eat as many fish as would satisfy half-a-dozen persons. Once a pelican, which was kept in a large cage with other curious birds, acted very much like the “dog in the manger.” When corn was put in the cage for the other birds to eat, the pelican stood over it, and would not permit any of the birds to get even a kernel. When a hungry little duck, or pigeon, would approach, the pelican would open his immense mouth, and make a hissing noise, which made him seem quite terrible. He looked as though he would have said, if he could have spoken, “I can’t eat corn, and so you shall not eat it either. If I can’t have some fish nobody shall have cori.” Finally his fish was brought, and while he was swallowing it the other birds ate up the corn. IN WINTER TIME. THERE are some kinds of animals that hide away in the winter that are not wholly asleep all the time. Their blood moves a little, and once in a while they take a breath. If the weather is at all mild they wake up enough to eat. Now, isn’t it curious that they know all this beforehand? Such animals always lay up some- thiug to eat, just by their side, when they go into their winter sleeping-places. But those that do not wake up never lay up any food, for it would not be used if they did. The little field-mouse lays up nuts and grain. It eats some when it is partly awake cn a warm day. The bat does not need to do this, for the same warmth that wakes him wakes all the insects on which he feeds. He catches some, and then eats. When he is going to sleep again he hangs himself up by his hind claws. The woodchucek, a kind of mar- mot, does not wake, yet he lays up dried grass near his hole. What is _ it for, do you think? On purpose to have it ready the first mo- ment he wakes in the spring. Then he can eat and be strong before he comes out of his hole. How many things are sleeping in the winter! Plants, too, as well as animals. What a busy time they do have in waking up, and how iittle we think about it! SCREAMING, running, toss- ing up their arms, Patty and Poppy and Fan and Margery Ann came into grandma’s kitchen one day. They had been playing in the meadow, and Patty had poked her foot into a nest of ‘queer black and yellow flies,” as she called them. And oh, dear! oh, dear! of, dear!!! The flies were chasing them, und sticking red-hot needles into them. Es SSS 1 I) —_= “O Katy, they’re killing us,—the flies!” shrieked Margery Ann at the kitchen door. “The flies!” said Katy, drawing her stout, red arms out of a wash-tub, “ They’re wasps, and they are chasin’ ye, the mane craturs! Out wid ye!” shouted Katy to the invaders. OH! THOSE WASPS. 27 Through the kitchen, into the dining-room, across it, along the hall, and upstairs to grandma dear, raced the screaming children, the wasps in hot pursuit. “O grandma! ” cried Poppy, “ they’re killing us! ” ‘“ Why, children, what 7s the matter?” said grandma, whose peaceful face and white cap had just been bending over the family Bible and its picture of Jacob and those angels on the ladder, like morning-glories on a vine. “Sit down on the lounge and tell me what the matter is. Wasps, if I ever!” Didn't grandma spring then? “Oh, here comes Katy!” she said. “Yes,” cried Katy, swinging a broom in one hand, shaking a mop in the other, her eyes flashing like an express-locomotive’s 28 OH! THOSE WASPS. light, “I’m jist a-goin’ for ’em. I broom ’em, and then I mop ’em up and squaze em. Five quite dead in the kitchen. And here’s bad luck to ’em up here! ” While Katy was raging like a tornado among the angry wasps, slaying in every direction, grandma was soothing the bitten arms and legs. There they were on the lounge in a row, eight bare little arms, and eight bare little re also, for the wasps had put their needles through the children’s stockings. Did they mean to darn any holes there? When Major-General Katy had killed all the enemy with charges of broom and mop, grandma asked for an account of the accident. Then she said, ‘‘ Well, what are you going to do about it? ” “ Let’s put them in a pail of hot water,” said Poppy. “Pail of hot water! No; drown ’em in the freezing, freezing ocean,” said Patty, shaking her head. “No, let’s go up just as quietly as we can, and pull their stingers out,” said Margery Ann, who belonged to a Band of Mercy, and did not want to kill them. . “No; Ill tell you,” exclaimed grandma, and she looked wise as Moses in the Old Testament. “I wouldn’t go near them. That is the best way for children to treat wasps, and a good many other things in this world. Don’t go near them, and then you will never have trouble. Ill get Patrick to go out some day with a lot of sulphur, a bunch of hay, and some matches, and he will take care of them. The best way for you to manage wasps is to keep away from them.” Patty and Poppy and Fan and Margery Ann thought it was queer advice to such old children as they were. As they all lived in the city, and did not know much about the dangers of the country fields, grandma continued to look more and more like the wise Moses. They thought they would not again go near those “ queer black and yellow flies.” EN BENJAMIN BEAVER, THE BUILDER. Wuar queer little things beavers are! What strange houses they can build! They make a sort of cabin of branches of trees and mud. The mud answers nicely for mortar. They have large, strong teeth. When they are cutting the branches for use they gnaw them off with their teeth. They make the sticks just as nearly the same length as they can. They dig up the mud with their paws, for they are great diggers. When they are ready to build their cabin they use their flat tails just as masons use a trowel. With it they spat and smooth the coat of mud as they put it on. The beaver’s tail is very short, and well adapted to this purpose. As the wall of the cabin rises higher it is hard for the builder to reach the top. What do you think he does? Why, he props him- self up on it and goes on with his work. These little creatures lead an idle sort of life during most of the summer months, and keep by themselves; but the last of Aug‘ust they form into companies and begin to cut down their timber. The beavers always select a place for building ciose to a stream of water. To get to the entrance they must go down under the water. In order to keep the water over the doors just high enough they make a perfect dam. This dam is also built of branches and mud. For fear the branches might move and get out of place they fix stones upon them, sometimes of large size, to keep them down. Do you see how they can understand all this? If they did not have a dam the door of the cabin might be closed up with ice if the water got low in the stream in winter. In this cabin there are two little rooms. They are shaped like an oven. The beavers live in the upper one, and in the lower they store away their food. They eat the roots and branches of differ- BENJAMIN BEAVER, THE BUILDER. ent vegetables in the winter. They often lay up food in very large quantities. This wonderful little animal is about three feet long. His tail is eleven inches long. He uses it as a rudder in swimming, as well as a trowel. This rudder, with his web feet, enables him to swim much faster than he can walk. So you see that God gives to every creature certain tools to do his own work. FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!! Wuer: is it? Where is it? Why, it is in the water! Isn’t that funny? But you see it isn’t a real fire, but only a fire-fish. Sweet creature, isn’t he? Suppose you were a little, innocent mermaid, swimming alone for the first time; how would you feel if you were to meet this fellow darting towards you with his great red mouth open? Why, you would scream with fright, and swim to your mother as fast as you could, and catch hold of her tail for protec- tion. At least that is what J should do if I were a mermaid. But Mrs. Mermaid would tell you that the fire-fish will not hurt you unless you hurt him first, in which case he will prick you dread- fully with his long, sharp spines. I never see his picture without thinking of a red Indian in his war-paint and feathers. Perhaps — who knows? — perhaps when Indians are greedy, and eat too much fish, they may turn into fire- fish, and have to swim about forever under water, and never see a green forest again. If you are an Indian I advise you to be care- ful, my dear. Nobody knows why this fish has such enormous wing-like fins. Wise men used to think that he could raise himself out of the water with them, like the flying-fish, but it is now proved that he cannot, and there seems to be no reason why a set of plain, small 32 FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!! fins would not serve him just as well for swimming. He prefers warm water to cold, so he lives in the tropical seas, swimming about the coasts of India, Africa, and Australia. The natives of Ceylon call him Gini-maha, and they think he is very good to eat. They take great care in catching him, for they are very much afraid of him, thinking that his sharp spines are poisoned, and can infiict a deadly wound. But in this they are too hard upon the poor fellow. He can prick them deeply and painfully, and he will if they meddle with him; but he is a perfectly respectable fish, and would not think of such a cowardly thing as poisoning anybody. HARRY'S WINGED MOUSE. Litre Harry is only four years old, yet he is very fond of all kinds of animals. He is always ready to share his food with any stray dog or cat which he can induce to accept it. He is never happier than when he can secure a bird or mouse, or even a toad, for a_ pet. One day he came running into my room, with his eyes wide open with wonder, saying, “O pa- pa, I have found such a strange- looking mouse! Do come and see him. He has wings just like a bird.” “JT think it must be a bird, ifit has wings.” Treplied. “ Did you catch it?” “Oh, yes! He was dead mee when I found hin. I think the cat must have killed him. I have him in a box. Do. come and see him.” I went with him, to see what ay his new pet might be. I soon ae found that he was not so far from right as I had supposed. Lying in an old box was a little dead creature, very much like a mouse, but with large wings stretched out to their full length. “Poor little mouse!” said Harry, kneeling by the box. “It has lost its tail; I think the cat must have bit it off.” 34 WHO GOT THE CRUST? “*T don’t think he ever had a tail,” said I. “This is not a mouse, as you suppose, but a bat. You never saw one before, and we wili look at him, and see where = he is not like amouse. Then you will know a bat the next time you see one.” Harry was much pleased with what he learned. He often speaks of the bat he found, and is on the lookout for a live one. He would like to see anything so much like a mouse flying through the air like a bird. WHO GOT THE CRUST? Yow see, if I had stopped to finish my breakfast in the house, it would never have happened; but I wanted to speak to Thomas before he started for town, so I came out into the yard with a piece of toast in my hand. Now, when the hens saw me eating the toast they all came running towards me, expecting their breakfast. First came Johnny, the rooster; he always came first, because he was the greediest; then pretty Miss Brown came, with a scarlet comb in her hair; and after her came Speckle, and Cluckety, and Topknot, and all the rest of them. I sat down on the steps, mean- ing to break up the crust (for nothing more was left now) into tiny bits, and give them each a taste; but, while I was waiting for Topknot, who was lame, and could not run as fast as the others, to come up close, that impudent Miss Brown stole up behind me, snatched the crust from my hand, and made off with it. Oh! what a hue-and-ery arose then! “Cackle! Wackle!” ‘Craw! Craw! Craw!” ‘“ Cut-cut-ke-deh-cut!” Hurry-skurry, helter-skelter, off they all went after Miss Brown, bills open, feathers ruffled, eyes blinking with anger and envy. Run, Miss Brown, run as fast as your short legs will carry yon. WHO GOT THE CRUST? 35 Those long yellow legs of Johnny, the rooster, are dangerously near. Ah! Johnny has overtaken her, and snatched the crust from her bill. Off he goes in his turn, and off go Miss Brown, Speckle, Cluckety, Topknot, and the rest, after him. See! see! Speckle makes a peck at it; he has got it, and now the hunt is after him. Through the yard, round the house, into the hen-house 36 THE WISE OLD. MOUSE. and out again, and finally. round behind the barn and out of sight. Tran after them, determined to see who finally comes out victor in the strife. But, alas! when I come round behind the barn there is no crust, and no sign of there ever having been one. The hens are pecking about quietly, and Johnny, the rooster, is flapping his wings and preparing to crow. They look at me, and make some explanatory remarks, doubtless, relating to the strife and its result; but I cannot understand them. And now, alas! and alas! I shall never, never know who finally ate that crust of toast. THE WISE OLD MOUSE. A WISE old mouse went. on tiptoe into the kitchen, to see if Jane had swept up all the crumbs. There, to his surprise, he met Buzz, the cat. “Qho,” cried the cat, “‘this is lucky! Now I shall have a fine dinner.” The mouse saw that he was caught. So he said, THE WISE -OLD MOUSE. 37 “Thank you, Mr. Buzz; but if I am to dine with you I should like first to put on my red Sun- day coat. My old gray jackec is not nice enough.” This amused the cat. He ,,, had never seen the mouse “with his red Sunday coat. “Perhaps he will taste better,” thought he. “ Very well, Mr. Mouse,” he said, “do not be long, for I am hungry. I will wait for you here.” The mouse Jost no time, but at once popped into his hole. The cat waited all day, softly singing to himself; but the wise old mouse did not come back. Since then there is a new proverb in cat-land. It is this: “A mouse ina gray jacket is sweeter than a mouse in a red Sunday coat.” “POLLY WANTS TO GO TO DETROIT.” Pott Parror belonged t¢ a lady in Detroit. She lived in a great house on Woodward avenue. Polly was a favorite. All the nice little children on the aveaue knew and loved her. On their way to school they would stcp to say, ‘“‘Good-morning, Mistress Polly,” and to offer her a bit of cake or a cracker from their lunch-baskets. For these friendly offices they were amply repaid by the quaint sayings which were sure to follow from the glib tongue of Polly. Sometimes, in answer to a cheerful ‘““Good-morning, Mistress Polly!” the bird would drawl out, ‘ G-o-o-d — m-o-r-n-i-n-g — Polly’s— sleepy.” For the next it might be, “Good morn- ing, — don’t bother a bird.” Polly’s mis- tress lost the , bulk of her fortune, and went to =—-- live in another city. ‘When she was ready to move, a ~ change came over : Polly. She grew moody and silent. To her little friends’ greetings she would scarce deign a reply. _— (it i RUSS THE NEST IN THE MAIL-BOX. 39 At her new home her mood changed, but, alas! not for the better. She now complained all the time; and the burden of her cry was ever the same: ‘Polly wants to go to Detroit; poor Polly wants to go to Detroit!” So sad was the bird’s moan that a lady who. lived across the street had to close the front doors and windows of her house and retire to the rear, that she might not hear it. .For fourteen days the poor creature sent forth her pitiful wail. She refused food, and died with the half-finished petition upon her ” tongue: “ Poor Polly wants to go” — THE NEST IN THE MAIL-BOX. WE had to fasten a box for our mail on the gate-post, because the postman is afraid of our dog, and will not come into the yard. Last summer two little blue- birds made a pretty nest right in that box. The mamma bird laid five tiny eggs, and sat on them, letting the postman drop the letters on her. Every morn- ing and evening the news- boy put in the paper. Papa bird brought her worms, and mamma, my sister, and I used to watch him. He would We never go into the box while we looked on, but when we walked away he | would drop down quick as a flash. | By and by there were five little birds in the nest. We thought the letters | | and papers would surely kill them. But | they did not; the birds grew finely. ’ Their mouths were always wide open. 40 THE NEST IN THE MAIL-BOX. One day I put some fine crumbs in the nest, thinking they would like to eat them. I wish you could have seen the mamma bird. She flew round and round, acting as if crazy. Finally she began taking out the tiny crumbs one by one, until the last one was thrown away. I had seen pictures of chil- dren feeding crumbs to birds, and I thought it the right thing to do. But surely it was not the food these birds needed. For several weeks we watched them, and saw them. grow. We wanted to see the mamma teach them to fly. But they all left suddenly. The nest. was empty one day, and we could never tell our birds from the others in the yard. I brought the nest into the house and kept it all winter. We wondered if we should see the little birds again the next year. At the opening of spring we watched closely, and, sure enough, the blue- birds did come again, and built a nest in the same box. This time they made a better foundation, raised the nest higher up, lined it with horse-hair, and put it in one corner of the box. Then the mamma bird laid five little eggs, and we and they were happy. One day we missed an egg. The VUKE AND THE KITTEN. 41 next day another was gone, and then another, until only one was left. We found that some bad boys had discovered the nest and were stealing = all the eggs. Finally the boystook @ =” ‘ the last one; then we felt so sor- QU; ry, and thought we should see the birds no more. But they did not 1 They at once tore to pieces the old nest, and built a new one in another corner. Four more little eggs were laid in it. The bad boys took two of those out. Then papa and I locked the box. I thought the mamma bird might’be so frightened she would net want to stay on the nest. But she did stay; and now we have two little baby birds, which open their mouths wide and squirm whenever we raise the cover of the box. IT wonder if any other little boy \ y= has such pretty pets. DUKE AND THE KITTEN. Duke was a large black and white dog. He had long, silky ears and large, bright eyes. When he was a pup he was so full of mis- chief that his mistress used to say, “ We really shall have to send Duke away; we cannot have any peace of our lives while he stays here.” But somehow Duke was never sent off. very one thought too much of him. Even his mistress, although she scolded him, would have been sorry to have him go. 42 DUKE AND THE KITTEN. Duke was very fond of a little yellow kitten, and the kitten was fond of him. Although Duke teased the kitten he was very careful not to hurt it, and they had some lively times together. They used to play hide-and-seek together. The kitten would run under an ottoman, which came so close to the floor that there was just room for her to get under. Duke would lie down and put his head close to the floor. The kitten would stick out its yellow paw, and Duke would try to catch it; after a while the kitten would run out, and they would play up and down the walks. Sometimes the kitten would run under the porch and put its paw up through a hole in the floor. Duke would come and put his paw on it; then the kitten would put its head up. Duke would take its head in his big mouth, pull it up through the hole, and carry it around the garden. They both seemed to think it fun. A GOOSE FLYING A KITE. Nor long ago some little boys were flying small paper kites. They were made of newspaper, about as big as your hand, with straws stuck through for sticks. A flock of tame geese came waddling along, picking up stray grains of corn. One of the boys took a grain and tied his kite-string firmly to it. An old gray goose, a little behind the rest, with her neck stuck out as far as possible, made a grab for the corn. She got it, but found she had the kite, too. Off she started, — ‘Quack, quack, quack!” —with the kite flying up above her head and her wings flapping all the while. It frightened the rest of the geese, and such a quacking and flapping as they made! The boys raced after them, and thought it fine fun to see an old goose flying a kite. WINGED WONDERS. Ir you go out into the fields and meadows you will find there many wonderful little insects. If you are afraid of some of them don’t forget that the good God made them, and finished every part of their bodies just as carefully as he has made yours, my dear children. There are many strange things to learn about them too. Do you know how grasshoppers sing, and bees buzz? Do you know how the wasp builds its paper nest?— how the cricket beats its little tambourines WINGED WONDERS. 45 all night long? —or how the tiny ant builds such wonderful houses, some of them many stories deep? The ugliest worms, too, will change by and by to most beautiful butterflies and silvery moths. All insects are made without Ane is hardened into a sort v bones. Their of horn; it has been cut into one another. Yet they are as ‘which have a great many bones. Instead of lungs and blood-vessels, like ours, they have curious little breathing-places all along their sides. They have small air veins, which are filled from these and make the whole body light. rings, which move easily upon solid and strong as animals HOW THE WONDERS SEE AND HEAR. HAvE you ever noticed the long horns on the grasshop- pers, beetles, and the like? These are antenne, or feelers. They turn every way, and are what they hear with, — that is, it seems so. If you watch some of them when they hear a noise you will see them stretch out these feelers. They keep them motionless, as if they were listening. When the noise is over they will move them about care- lessly again. The eyes of insects are wonderful things; they have many in one. Under a glass they seem just like paved streets. These strange, eyes do not help them to see at a distance, but they are very useful when the insects go inside of flowers. To a fly everything must look very rich, for one rose may appear to him like ten thousand, and one drop of honey like ten thousand drops. Now, if a man were made without bones, breathing out of his sides, with a head = almost all eyes, = A GRAND BALL. “Mr. and Mrs. Sand-hopper request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. Sand-screw’s com- pany, on Thursday evening, May 24th. Dancing.” That is the way the invitations were worded. Now, we were not invited to the party, it is true; but still, as we happen to be strolling in the neighborhood, there certainly can be no harm in our looking in for a moment, to see how the dancers are enjoying themselves; and it will be very easy, for, as it is a warm evening, the ball is held out of doors, on the sand-beach here. Dear! Dear! What a gay scene! What is it they are dancing? “First couple forward and back, jump over each other, and turn somersault back to places! All hands jump! Second couple right and left, three back somersaults, and hop to places! Jiadies chain! All hands hop! Right claw, left claw, down the middle! All hands somersault back to places!” 1 GRAND BALL. 75 Well! I never saw a dance like that before, did you? And everybody is dancing: no lazy people here. There must be a thousand people. A thousand! There must be a million! “Hop! Hop! Skip! Skip! Right claw, left claw, down the middle!” Don’t you wish we could be sand-hoppers, too, just for a few minutes? That is Mr. Sand-hopper himself in the picture, the one who is just jumping backward so nimbly. He is dancing with his cousin, Miss Corophium, — that lovely creature with the long, graceful, claw- like antenne. She is not quite used Ha Hh to dancing on sand, for she a em lice iin the mud at home; but , still she is enjoy- ing herself very much. The lady awk in the left-hand \~ & corner is Mrs. Sand-screw, who is dancing back to back with Mr. WS Kroyler’s Sand- SS Pe serew, her third / cousin. It is quite a family party, you see, for host and guests are all related to each other. Curious people, aren’t they? The biggest cannot be more than an inch long. Their hard, shining shells are polished as bright as possible, and their claws all neatly arranged. They have twelve legs, some of which they use in walking and some in swimming; indeed, one of their family names is Amphipoda, which means “both kinds of feet.” Some of the ladies are carrying their eggs with them, packed away under the fore-part of their bodies, just where the legs are joined on. Shouldn’t you think they wouid be: afraid of dropping them? Ah! Now they are going to supper! There is the feast, spread put on the sand. Great heaps of delicious rotten sea-weed, and plenty of worms, — a supper fit for a king, if the king happens to 76 OUR PARROT. be a sand-hopper. They seem very hungry, and no wonder, after dancing so hard! They will eat anything and everything, — these tiny creatures; if you were to drop your handkerchief now, it would be bitten to rags in five minutes. The lovely Miss Corophium is beating the sand with her long feelers, to see if there are any more worms under it. Greedy creature! Can’t you be content with what is given you? But look! What is the matter now? Oh! Oh! How dreadful! An enemy is coming. “The Green Crab! The Green Crab! Run, hop, burrow under ground, for your lives!” Off they all go, helter-skelter, Hopper, Screw, and Corophium. The family, and as many guests as they can shelter, disappear under ground into their tiny holes; the rest make off wherever they can. Have all escaped? Alas! No! The unfortunate Kroyler’s Sand-screw has a lame leg, and cannot go as fast as the rest. He is seized by the terrible Green Crab, the enemy of his whole race, and gobbled up before our very eyes. The ball is over; come away! Somehow I don’t care so much about being a sand-hopper now, do you? OUR PARROT. SoME years ago we had a large green and yellow parrot, which was a great pet with some of the family. Polly had her favorites, and would seem to hate some people and like others, for no reason at all that we could see. ; On rainy days she would show off all she knew. She would sing, ery, and laugh, and call up all the servants one after another. OUR PARROT. a Bn Sip Tepe IS we She could imitate different voices so exactly as to deceive any one, but her own voice was very harsh 2 a and unmusical. 0, NWA. ) One day an or- W . 3 ) gan-grinder with h/ SS == a monkey came to the house, and children and ser- vants collected around him. Af- ter dancing and showing his tricks Jocko ran up to Polly’s cage and i \ pa ae sa Ee A grinned at her. She flew into a rage, and screamed and clawed at him, but luckily the strong bars of a fight. In summer she was always turned out dur- ing the day, and flew from tree to tree on the lawn, seeming to enjoy herself. She returned to her cage at nigat, and would often come back of her own accord et dinner-time. One night she stayed out too late. The girl who took care of her could not induce Polly to come down from the top of a high tree. At last she was obliged to leave her, as she thought, until next morning. But this was “ poor Poll’s” last night of life. The next day her bright and pretty feathers were found scattered under the tree, for she had been torn in pieces by a large owl. QUEER CONVEYANCES. Our little ones in the country may have smiled to see a chicken mounted on the old hen’s back while she sat sunning herself in the yard. Perhaps the young thing with few feathers sang a soft ‘“‘Cree-cree,” to tell that he enjoyed his position. At night he would like better to be brooded under the mother’s wings. When Biddy got upon her feet and went marching on, off tumbled chick. Now he must use his own legs or be left behind. Those bits of legs may well be weary sometimes with long journeys about the farm. QUEER CONVEYANCES. 79 One or two species of birds are known to fly long distances, carrying their young on their backs. Small birds take passage across the Mediterranean Sea on the backs of large and strong ones. They could not fly so far them- selves. Their strength would give out, and they would drop in the water and drown. Along the northern shore of the sea, in autumn, these little birds assemble, to wait the coming of cranes from the north, as people wait for the train at a railroad station. With the first cold blast the cranes arrive, flock after flock. They fly low, over the cultivated fields. They utter a peculiar cry, as of warning, or calling. It answers the same purpose as the ringing of the bell when the train is about to start. The small birds understand it so. They get excited. They has- ten aboard, scrambling for places. The first to come get the best seats. If the passengers are too many, some will have to flit back to the hedges till the next train. How they chatter good-byes, — those who go and those who stay! 80 A TOAD WITH HORNS. No tickets have they, but all the same they are conveyed safely. Doubtless the great birds like this warm covering for their backs. In this way the small birds pay their fare; and it is these last who must be out in the wet if it rains. The little passengers are of different species, like Americans, Irish, Germans, and Chinese, travelling together in cars or steamships. Their journey takes them through the air, high above the wide sweep of waters. They are close companions on the way. By and by they reach the beautiful South country. There they build nests and sing sweetly, as they build here, and sing for us in our happy summer-time. . Indeed, God cares for the sparrows! A TOAD WITH HORNS. Mark always went to the post-office at noon on his way home from school, and May always met him by the elm-tree. One day the two children came running into the house, calling “O mamma, come quick and see what we have got!” “Well, Mark, what is it?” mamma asked, as she came into the room. “ We don’t know. It came in the mail and it’s directed to Mark and May Arwine. What do you suppose it is? Who could have sent it?” The children danced around the table, on which lay a small square box. “T think I know who sent it,” Mrs. Arwine said, smiling. “What it is I cannot tell. The quickest way to find out will be to open the box.” So Mark cut the strings. May looked on, getting her head so much in his way that the scissors almost went into her eyes. When he took off the cover something hopped up in her face. She screamed with fright, and even Mark jumped quickly out of the way. A TOAD WITH HORNS. nh “Why, mamma!” he exclaimed, “‘it’s alive. It’s like a toad; bat seé what quéer bunches it has on its head, like little horns.” The toad sat perfectly still after its first jump, and May came a little nearer. “ Will he bite, mamma, or poison us?” she asked. “No, May, I don’t think he will bite. Papa must have sent him from Wyoming. Don’t you remember he told us about the horned toads they had there?” “Oh, yes, mamma; that’s it! What a funny fellow he is! How can we keep him?” “What shall we call him?” “What will he eat?” “Wait,” mamma said, time. I thmk you had box now, and come to _ waiting for you for some time.” “ All right, mamma. I should think the toad would be hungry, too. He has been waiting a good while for his dinner.” After dinner mamma gave the children an old bird-cage to keep their pet in. They gave him a good meal of flies and bread-crumbs, which he seemed to like very much. They talked of a great many names for him, but at last called him Joe. The last time I heard from them Joe was very tame and knew his name. He was a great pet with all the children in the neighborhood. “one question at a better put him in the dinner. I have been fn cal CAPER, THE GOAT. One summer, in the country, Eddy and John found a man who had a goat to sell. The man asked three dollars for him. Eddy and John and a boy who played with them had each a dollar, and they bought the goat. The goat was a fine play- mate. The boys named him Caper, and they had great fun with him. But, when it was time to go back to the city, what was to be done about the goat? “We cannot take two-thirds of Caper home,” said John. «“ Well,” said Eddy, “maybe papa will give us a dollar, and we will ask Carl to sell us his part. We own most of him, you know.” CAPER, THE GOAT. 83 Papa gave the dollar, and Carl at last made up his mind to sell out his share, rather than divide poor Caper. So the goat went to the city. The little boys cared more for him there than they had cared in the country, where there were plenty of pets. It was fun to see the boys and the goat play at hide-and-seek. ‘When Eddy gave a sign the two boys ran off to hide. In a minute Caper rushed into the house to find them. All over the house he would go. As soon as he found the boys he skipped out before them to the gate-post, which was the “goal.” There he was sure to stand, on his hind legs, ready to butt them as they came up. This he seemed to think was a part of the play. When Christmas came some friends gave Eddy and John a beautiful little carriage for Caper, with harness and all complete. Caper went quite well in har- ness, and the little boys had more fun with him than ever. When the warm days came again the boys were told that they were going with mamma to spend the summer on a farm. “Oh, may we take Caper?” they asked. Mamma said they might write and ask the farmer. So they did, and he said, * Yes bring the goat. I shall be glad to have him here.” One day, at the farm, Caper ran into the yard where all the cows were. They were not used toa goat, so they chased him into a corner, and then they all stood in a half-circle about him. They looked as if they would ask, “ What strange thing is this, with horns on its head?” Poor Caper was glad when the farmer came and drove the cows off. 7 THE MUD-TURTLE. “ WILL youmarry me?” said the mud-turtle to the yellow-bird. The yellow-bird sat on a spray of jewel-weed, and was as bright as the jewel blossoms themselves; but she turned her back on the mud-turtle, and paid no attention to him. “You need not be so scornful,” said the mud-turtle. “TIT am well-to-do, and can make you _ happy. My mud-house has three rooms in it, and T hope that is enough. ‘You are probably not used to more than one.” “That is true,” answered the yellow- bird, turning and looking at him with her bright black eyes; “I am used to one room only, but that one room is a large one. Its ceil- ing is the blue sky, and its floor is the green earth; and it is so wide that I have never found the walls of it yet. Sweet! sweet! chirrup! chu! Good-by to you, mud-turtle! I wisk you joy of your three rooms!” and away flew the yellow-bird. “What a disagreeable, ill-tempered bird!” said the mud-turtle, as he drew his head in slowly. ‘She would have made a very bad wife. I will marry one of my own kind. After all, there is noth- ing like a mud-turtle.” And he was quite right. PONTO'S DRILL. « An-ouo-yu-ow!” said Teddy, yawning. “Ya-hor-wayu!/” responded Ponto promptly, waking up te yawn also. ‘“Don’t mock me, sir!” said Teddy, sternly. “Your manners are shocking. Ponto, do you like fractions? Frankly, now, on your honor!” . “Yow!” said Ponto, in a mournful whine. “ You don’t!” exclaimed Teddy. “Sensible dog! Give me your paw! I detest them.” “Tt is a singular thing, Ponto,” he added, “that you and I always think alike. It only shows what a very remarkable dog you are. I am sure you are thinking at this moment that, as I have learned my lesson, it is time for you to learn yours. Eh?” 86 PONTOS DRILL. Ponto wagged his tail feebly, and looked dejected. “Right, as usual!” said Teddy. “It és time; high time. Go and get your musket.” Ponto went slowly and sadly into the hall, and returned with a stick in his mouth. “Sit up, now!” said Teddy. ‘Hold up your head, while I put your cap on: so! Ready! Shoulder arms! ” Ponto sat up, and shouldered his musket very cleverly. “Present arms!” cried Teddy. Ponto took the musket in his mouth, and held it steadily. “ Ground arms!” Ponto dropped the musket on the ground, and put his nose on it. “Good dog!” said Teddy. “Said your lesson very well. Here’s your cooky.” “Now,” he continued, when the cooky had been disposed of, “¢show me how the brave soldier dies for his country.” Ponto rolled over on his back, with his four legs waving in the air. “No! no!” cried Teddy. ‘That isn’t the brave soldier, stupid! That’s the recreant knight begging for mercy. Brave soldier,. Ponto! Try again! Die for your country!” A GOOD-NATURED BEAR. 87 Ponto threw his head back, then fell suddenly on his face, and lay motionless. ‘That’s a good boy!” said his master, patting him. ‘Clever Ponto! Best of doggies! No more school for to-day. Come along and have a run in the meadow. One! two! three! and away!” A GOOD-NATURED BEAR. Lirt.e Carl, his father, mother, and little sister, lived in the far West, where there were very few people or houses. Near their house was a thick wood. One day Carl, though his mamma had often told him not to do so, thought he would take Allie into the wood to see if he could not tind a hobby-horse. He knew a hobby-horse was made of wood, though he had never seen one. In a childlike way he reasoned 88 ‘A GOOD-NATURED BEAR. that, if they were made of wood, hé could perhaps find one in the woods. His papa had promised to buy him one when he went to the village; but Carl felt that he could not wait. They wandered hand-in-hand into the woods. They saw so many pretty flowers, and found such sweet berries, that they almost forgot the hobby-horse. Suddenly Carl shouted, ‘ Here, Allie! Here is our hobby-horse at last, and a real live one, too! Isn’t he cunning? Come, quick, and hold him till I can get on.” Of course it was not a hobby-horse. It really was a good- natured little tame bear. He had wandered away from his home, like the children, and was as fond of roaming about as they. Allie tried to hold him by the ears till Carl could climb on his back, but the bear’s hair was so soft and glossy that her little fat fingers slipped off. The bear, smelling some berries which Allie had in her hand, began licking them out with his tongue. In this way he remained quiet long enough for Carl to scramble on his back. He got seated, and was thinking what a nice ride he would have, but just then a loud scream from his mother, who had come in sight, caused the bear to scamper off in a fright. He went so fast that poor little Carl was tumbled upon the ground. Mamma was so glad to get her children home safe that she did not punish Carl for his disobedience. If he had not disobeyed her he would not have had that big lump on his forehead, which he got by falling from the bear. After that day Allie always felt sad and worried when her papa went out to hunt, fearing lest he might shoot the “runaway horsey.” She liked the bear because he was so nice and sleek, and “ didn’t mean to hurt Carl, after all.” Ze A GAY LITTLE GARDENER. In New Guinea there is a bird which not only builds a house, but has a garden too. He is known by the name of the garden- bird. This is a strange habit for a bird, is it not? Perhaps our little ones would be pleased to see how the bird house and garden look. If so, here is a picture of them. When he is going to build, the garden bird first looks for a level spot of ground which has a shrub in the centre. Then he covers the bottom of the stem of this shrub with a heap of moss. Why he does this I cannot tell you. No doubt he thinks it looks fine. Next he brings some long twigs from other plants. These he sticks into the ground, so that they lean against his shrub. On one side he leaves a place open fora door. The twigs keep on growing, so that his little cabin is like a bower. Last of all, in front of the door, this dainty bird makes a pretty lawn of moss. He carefully picks out every pebble and bit of 90 A GAY LITTLE GARDENER. straw. Then upon this lawn he scatters purple berries and pink flowers. As often as the flowers wilt he takes them away, and brings fresh ones. Now, this is quite a large house and garden for a bird. The little cabin is. sometimes three feet wide, and half as high. There is plenty of room in it for two or three families, if need be; and we TW We = “ey a Yih x be ines = » vi the garden is larger than the house. So busy and tasteful a bird as the garden-bird ought to be a good example to idle children. The people of New Guinea think so much of him that they never molest his little dwelling. You may like to know how this bird gardener is dressed. In modest colors, you may be sure. The top of his head, his back, his wings, and tail are olive-brown, and beneath he is greenish-red. He is about as large as a thrush or blackbird. THE GREEDY HENS. One day I chopped up a large plate of meat and took it out to feed my hens. There happened to be one piece much larger than the others, having a bone in it so I could not cut it. As I set the meat before my hens one greedy one caught this large piece and ran off with it. Another hen wanted the same piece, and ran after her to see if she could not get it for herself. While they were chasing each other around the yard, trying to eat the bone, which was too large for them to swallow, the other hens ate up all the finely cut meat. 92 THE BUG WITH A MASK. When the two hens got tired of quarrelling about the bone they.went off and left it lying on the ground. They looked silly enough when they came back and found the nice meat all gone. They had lost their dinner through their selfish greediness. Doubtless this was very foolish conduct in the hens; but I have known boys and girls to be no wiser in this respect than Bantam and Speckle. THE BUG WITH A MASK. THERE is a funny little creature that wears a covering all over his face just like a mask. And what do you think it is for? Let us see. Perhaps you have seen the beautiful dragon-flies that look so much like humming-birds and butterflies,too. They have broad wings, as thin as a fly’s, that glitter like glass in the sunshine. Their backs are just like blue steel. You will always find them in the hot summer months flying through the fields, or over ponds and rivers. In the coun- try they are called “dev- il’s darning-needles,” be- cause they are so slender, perhaps. s The French people call them “ demoi- ie selles,” which means young ladies. Now, this handsome, swift creature grows from an ugly bug, that crawls over the mud at the bottom of the pond. And this is the way it comes about: — THE BUG WITH A MASK. 93 Little white eggs are laid on the water; the ripples carry them far away, and then they sink into the mud. The warm sun hatches them, and from each egg creeps a tiny grub of greenish color. They are hungry creatures, with very bad hearts. They eat up every little insect that comes in their way. They are very sly, too. They creep towards their prey as a cat does when she is in search of a rat. They lift their small, hairy legs as if they were to do the work. It is not the legs, but the head that does it. Suddenly it seems to open, and down drops a kind of visor, with joints and hinges. This strange thing is stretched out until it swings from the chin. Quick as a flash some insect is caught in the trap and eaten. This queer trap, or mask, is the under lip of the grub. Instead of being flesh, like ours, it is hard and horny, and large enough to cover the whole face. It has teeth and muscles, and the grub uses it as a weapon, too. It is nearly a year before this ugly-looking grub gets its wings. A little while after it is hatched four tiny buds sprout from its shoulders, just as you see them on the branch of a tree. These are really only watery sacs at first. Inside of them the wings grow slowly until you can see the bright colors shining through. Some morning this hairy-legged little bug creeps up a branch. Then he shakes out his wings and flies away into the air, a slender, beautiful dragon-fly. I have told you of the only creature in the world that wears this curious mask. THE COW THAT SAID “PLEASE.” FREDDIE was a sad little coward. He always wanted mamma to sit close beside him when he was going to sleep. One night, when he called for his usual go-to-bed story, mamma told him this one: “ Once up~ on a time there was a lady who had a little boy, and one night she said to him, ‘Now, if you will be brave and go to sleep all alone, I will pack a trunk, and to- morrow we will go out to see Uncle John and Aunt Bessie.’ ” That was the shortest story she ever told him, but Freddie thought it the nicest, for he guessed in a minute who the lady was and who the little boy was. He thought so much of the good times coming that he was not afraid, and the first thing he knew it was bright morning. They got out to the farm just in time for dinner. Freddie could hardly stop for that, though, he was so impatient to go out to the barn to see all the animals. THE COW THAT SAID ‘ PLEASE.” 95 Aunt Bessie hurried her dinner, so t\x,z- as to please the little boy. She took him first to SIR call on the cow. Her name was Whitefoot, and mh) ‘ A VS she thought it was nearly time she had her dinner, / 4 tes so she said, “Moo!” very loud. Such a loud noise, coming from such a great, big creature, frightened making a the cow did. by telling Freddie, and he began to cry, great deal more noise than Aunt Bessie tried to quiet him him that Whitefoot was only saying “Please,” because she wanted her dinner. Freddie told mamma af- terwards that he would like that cow better if she wouldn’t talk so loud. 7B 7 Whitefoot seemed tof gis be quite a as much surprised at Fred- die’s big noise as Freddie was at hers, and she didn’t talk any more. Aunt Bes- sie patted her nose and gave her some cornstalks. After a little while Fred-. die grew brave enough to feed her with some of the longest stalks. Every day Uncle John gave him a ride out to the garden in his ‘wheelbarrow, and back again on top of his load of cornstalks. APPLE-JACK’S NEW HAT. Harry’s father had an old white‘horse. His name was Jack. But he.liked apples so well that they called him Apple-Jack. He would eat them out of Harry’s little, fat hand, and nod his head, as if he was saying “ Thank you, thank you! Give me another.” Bridget said she often wished the horse was dead. She could never keep an apple in the kitchen to make a pie, or a pudding, or any- thing. She thought she should be obliged to lock them up in a strong box. The little boy was very much vexed, and began looking about to see what else he could find to give, the old white horse. Everything had seen put away. He was just going out ready to cry, when he saw Sridget’s new knitted dishcloth that mamma had made for her. “ Oh,” he cried, “here’s Apple-Jack’s net.” And he took it, and went off with it to the stable. The horse knew Harry, and seemed to love him. When the little fellow climbed up to his shaggy white head, and fitted Bridget’s dishcloth carefully about his ears, he was quite proud, and turned round to see if the other horses noticed what a nice hat he had on. The next morning there was a great inquiry to know what had become ‘of the new dishcloth. . Harry APPLE-JIACI’S NEW HAT. QT _ heard them asking, but he thought he had only taken what belonged to the horse. It looked to him very much like Apple-Jack’s net. In the course of the day the horse was eating grass in the yard. Bridget, looking out of the window, saw something on his head which she fancied looked like her new dishcloth. She looked again. It was very strange. Then she went to the door to see plainer. Yes, there it was on the old horse’s head, — her beautiful dishcloth, that she-only washed the china with! Out she went, and ran after the horse with such fury that he kicked up his heels. He took-to the road, with Bridget after him, in a way that made everybody laugh. One or twice she had almost got it, and then App.e-Jack was off swifter than ever. On, on, they went, till the overhanging trees by the roadside caught the net and lifted it far out of Bridget’s reach. She was obliged to leave it waving in the wind, and it may possibly be there now. She says it’s a pretty pass if she’s got to lock up even the dishcloths, to keep them away from an old white horse that’s “neither fit to ride, nor in the cart to draw.” SOMETHING ABOUT TOMMY. Tommy, as we call our cat, was born in the stable. But he did not care to stay in his nursery, with the horses. When he was quite a wee kitten he began to follow us about the garden. . As he grew stronger and bigger he would run quite a long way after us. When we went for a walk through the fields on summer evenings he used to follow till he was tired, and then he would sit down and say, “‘ Mew, mew,” which meant “Please carry me, some one.” If no one would carry him he would sit there till we came back, and then follow us to the house. SOMETHING ABOUT TOMMY. 99 Who could help liking such a dear cat? He became such a pet that we soon took him into the house altogether. He generally sits all day long just in front of the fire when it is cold. He is very fond of auntie, and likes to sit in her lap and rub his head against her chin, and then he sings his song, “ Purr, purr.” At meal-times he sits close to auntie’s side and watches her. ‘When he thinks she has been eating long enough he says, “Mew,” which means, “I think it’s my turn now.” He knows —the sly fellow! — that he will get a bit off her plate when she has done. Tommy keeps himself very nice. He wears a gray fur coat, and a gray fur cap to match, with clean white shirt and stockings. But I am sorry to say that he does not grow better as he grows older. He is very fond of catching the poor little dicky birds in the trees; but he never dares to touch the chickens, for he knows the mother-hens would peck him. Lately Tommy has become a great thief. One day the cook was preparing some pigeons for dinner. She was called away for a minute, and when she came back one of the pigeons was gone. She guessed who was the thief, and ran out of the kitchen just in time to see Tonmy jumping out of an open window, with the pigeon in his mouth. Sometimes he fights, too. A little while ago we did not see him for two or three days. One stormy morning he came crawling in, wet through, with his fur coat all brushed the wrong way. Both -100 ‘ALL KINDS OF CRABS. ‘his ears were torn, and great scratches were all over his face. One eye was quite closed. up, and he was so lame that he could just man - age to craw] to the kitchen fire. ' He scarcely left the front of the fire for days,.and did not wash his face once for 4 whole-week. But he is quite well again now, has grown very big and fat, and puts on a clean shirt every day. ALL KINDS OF CRABS. Ir I should tell you about all the kinds of crabs in the world there would be no space left to tell of their curious habits and ways of life. So I will mention only a few. The great red crab frightens one when he suddenly pops out of a hole under the sea-weed. There are some smaller crabs you might not notice. Did you ever see the hermit crab? He lives alone in a shell belonging to some other shell-fish. It has been cast off, like an old shoe, and he steps in. He is very brave in his borrowed shell, but a great coward when out of it. He is one of the few that can leave his house when it is too small for him, and seek another. The spirit crab glides over the sand so fast that you can’t catch him, run as hard as you please. The funniest of all crabs ‘is the fiddler. He lives ina little hole in the sand. He doesn’t fiddle: oh! no; but there is music when he gets hold of your toes! He has two frorit claws, a big one and a little one. Ile shakes them at you as much as to say, ‘‘ You dare not trouble me!” Then he dives into his hole in the sand, peeping out now and then to shake his fist. git om: _ yds dip Big ALL KINDS OF CRABS. 101 102 ALL KINDS OF CRABS. See that crab on the beach! Do you wish to know whether or not he is a ‘regular fighter ?” Don’t try to find out by sticking your finger between his claws. Try him first with a stick. If he bites hard at the stick you may (if you please) tempt him with your finger. A crab will bite at almost anything; but a toe or a finger is what he likes best to get hold of. You don’t need a hook to catch him with when he is in the water. A piece of meat or fish tied to the end ofa string will do. This crab doesn’t know enough to let go, when he once takes hold. He will allow himself to be pulled out of the water first. Perhaps the best of the crab family is the one that is good to eat. This is called the soft-shell crab. He is juicy and tender only when he has shed his hard covering, and before another shell is formed. If you will go with me to the West Indies I will show you the land crabs. They live in holes in the mountains. Every year they travel down to the sea. They take this long journey in order to lay their eggs. The eggs can be hatched only on the sea-shore. Thousands of land crabs travel together. They are like the sea crab. In the Spice Islands we may find a crab that climbs trees. It is said that he does this to get the fruit of the cocoanut-trees. Crabs are at home everywhere near salt water. They eat any- thing good to eat that comes in their way. They have'very small mouths, but they take a great deal of food. They fight fiercely over a dead fish. They clash their great claws and wriggle their feelers, while their bead-like eyes stick out with anger. At last one of them gets the fish. Then he crawls into a dark nook in the sea-weed, under the waves, and eats it. He doesn’t know that he is getting himself ready for the market. The fatter he is, the better price will he bring. In the picture the boy with the net has an eye to business. He will sell the crabs, at a good price, by the dozen. THE HURDLE-RACE. Eppy and John had some pretty rabbits for pets. They were so kind to the rabbits that they became very tame, and learned some funny tricks. By and by Eddy and John asked their friends to come and see a hurdle-race run by their rabbits. The race-course was a ditch which the boys had made, leading from the rabbit-hutch round quite a large circle, and back. Across the ditch, at short spaces, some little sticks were placed. ‘When all were ready to see the race Eddy raised the door of the hutch and whistled. Out came the rabbits, hopping along as fast. as they could go. They jumped over each stick as they came to it; this made it a hurdle-race, you see. Round the course they went, and back into their house again. How the friends did laugh and clap their hands! It was a funny sight. You may be sure the boys were asked to show off their rabbit-race very often. MRS. HUMMING—BIRD. A TRUE STORY. OnE day grandpa said to Harry and Ida, “ Children, if you will come out while I am picking peas to-morrow morning, you will see something very pretty.” That was all he would tell them. They kept wondering about it every little while through the day, and made mamma promise to wake them early. I was a little curious, myself, to know what could be there at six o’clock in the morning, and at no other time. The children were very wide awake at the appointed hour, and full of fun. Grandpa said they must be quiet, or they would frighten away his little pet. “Won't you tell us what it is, grandpa?” cried Harry. “Do tell us, grandpa!” chimed in Ida. Grandpa smiled, with a teasing look in his eyes, and said, ‘‘ Oh,. you will soon find out’ for yourselves, if her royal highness favors. us.” He had been at work only a few minutes, and was whistling softly to himself, when out flew the daintiest littie humming-bird! Her nest was in a quince-tree, just beyond the fence. At first she was very shy, and did not alight; but her wings. MRS. HUMMING-BIRD. 105 quivered in the sunshine, and showed the lovely colors. She flashed around like a bit of a rainbow, and the childien were wild with delight. Grandpa pretended not to see her, and soon she gained more courage. Then she flew back to her nest, and called her two young ones. They had just begun to use their wings, and the mother-bird coaxed them along to the pea-vines. The children had a good look at them then. They were about as large as bumble-bees, only slimmer in the body. Their feathers had begun to grow, and they seemed like a mixture of red and green and gold. The mother-bird flew away, and left her little ones near grandpa, as if she knew he would keep them from harm. In a few minutes she was back again, her bill laden with sweets, which she fed to the birdies. She did this several times. Then she gave a little call, and flew towards the nest. The birdies soon followed her. Grandpa said she helped the little birds along with her bill the first morning she came. The children were delighted with grandpa’s pet. They had never seen a humming - bird before, and to have one so near was an in- ducement for them to wake up early. Mrs. Humming-bird came every morning until the little ones were able to fly away, and grandpa’s peas were all picked. THE ORPHAN CHICKENS. Dick was a very large and heavy rooster. He was pure white, with wings and tail tipped with black. A few years ago he had some grandchildren. After the mother- hen had brooded them long enough she forsook them, and went to roost with the other hens. The young ones wandered about, not knowing what to think of it. Dick saw that they were left to them- selves. He stalked up to them, and spoke to them in such a fatherly way that the chickens, after a while, took ref- uge under his wings. It was amusing to see how tenderly he eyed them and covered them with his large wings. They were glad of a shelter, and liked him i: for taking pity on them. For a long time = before he had been in the habit of picking bugs and worms for them. After the mother left them he fed them better still, and they followed him all day. Every night they crept close to him, or under his wings. Was he not good to the orphans? We always liked him better after that. Dick was very tame. He would eat from our hands at any time, and allow us to lift him whenever we chose. We kept him till he was old and lame; and when he died some genuine tears were shed by one who loved him. A WISE DOG. Harry had gone to the country to make a visit. He was sitting on the porch, talking with Farmer Hughes, when the farmer said, “Isn’t it about time you brought up those cows?” Harry was used to being called upon to help everybody at home; but as this was his first visit to the farm-house he felt a little surprised at being 108 A WISE DOG. ,re bet Bebe i told to bring up the cows. However, he started to go; but the farmer kept.on talking so busily to him that. he could, not-get away Without being impolite. He sat down, to wait till the end of the farmer’s story. Pretty soon Harry saw the cows coming up, and a gray shepherd dog driving them. “Qh!” said he; “I understand now. You told the dog to go for the cows. I thought you meant me.” Farmer Hughes laughed. ‘“ You must have thought we were in ahurry to set our visitors at work. Nero knew whom I meant. He was in the kitchen, and went out the back door.” “Ts his name Nero? It seems a shame to call a nice, innocent dog by that name.” Harry had been reading history, and had learned about a wicked emperor named Nero, who used to burn Christians to light his garden. “Yes,” said the farmer; “but he doesn’t care. The dog is so THE TAME’ DEER. 109 intelligent and good that it makes us quite like the name of Nero. He understands everything. Nero; bring up that lamb.” , Nero walked quietly away, and soon came back driving a lamb before him. - i “Now, bring the sheep.” And he brought them. In a little while the sheep started back to the fields. ‘“ You would better hold those sheep, Nero,” said the farmer. And Nero went out and placed himself in the gate, and kept the sheep in the yard. “Do you believe a dog can tell one color from another?” asked the farmer. “Oh, no!” replied Harry. “Nero can. [ have two red and two spotted oxen. And he will bring the one or the other, as I tell him. Nero, bring up the red oxen.” Away went Nero, and soon came back driving a red ox and a spotted ox before him. “ Ha, ha!” laughed Harry. “I thought he couldn’t tell color.” “ Nero,” said the farmer, sternly, “what did you bring that spotted ox for? I told you the red ones. Now, take that spotted one back and bring the other red one.” Nero looked very much ashamed of his blunder. He hastened to take the spotted ox back to the field, at a good canter, and quickly came back with the other red one. THE TAME DEER. A FEW years ago some men were hunting for deer on the prairies of Nebraska. One day they shot a doe, which had two young ones with her. The young deer, or fawns, were so frightened that they did not know which way to go. One of them ran right up to the hunters and was caught. One of the men, whose name was Gray, took the fawn home and kept him. He soon got quite tame, and would go to his master when called. 110 THE TAME DEER. As soon as he was fully grown a harness was made for him, and he was taught to draw a buggy like a horse. It was a curious sight to see Mr. Gray riding through the streets of the village in a carriage drawn by such a queer-looking horse. It not only attracted the attention of the people, but the horses, as they passed, would look very shyly at the deer’s long horns. Some of them were frightened. Mr. Gray had two children, a boy and a girl, who learned to drive the deer, and who grew to be very fond of him. One night the people were awakened from their sleep by the cry of * Fire! Fire!” and the ringing of bells all over the village. The fire proved to be in Mr. Gray’s stable, and had burned so much before it was seen that it could not be put out. The poor deer was tied in the stable; he could not get away, and was burned to ashes in the flames. The children mourned over their loss for a long time. Every one felt sorry, for the tame deer was well known all over the village, and had become a great favorite. PROFESSOR BULLFROG. “Coax! coax! bre- ke-ke-kex! Who threw that stone?” ‘*I really must beg you, boys, not to throw stones into this pond. It cannot give you much pleasure, and it does me a great deal of harm.” a ad and there are a great many of them. Now, what does Mr. Toad do? He takes the eggs up, and puts them into little round holes in his wife’s broad back. Every cell receives its eggs, and then is shut down with a kind of lid, or flap, which fits quite closely. When the eggs are all put away Mr. Toad’s task is done, and he goes off to amuse himself; and Mrs. Toad hops slowly about, or sits quietly blinking in a dark corner, waiting for the eggs to hatch. In due time out of each little egg comes a tadpole with a round body and a wriggling tail. To tell the truth they look very much | i} a Hil 136 THE GOOSE AND THE GEESE. like their vagrant cousins, the tadpoles, who are hatched in the water, and grow up anyhow and ‘everyhow, without any care or attention from anybody. Indeed (though you need not tell Mrs. Toad I said so), if I were a tadpole I would much rather be a common one. These little fellows lead the merriest life imaginable, wriggling about in the clear water, or the nice, soft mud, frolicking and chasing each other, and listening to the thrilling tales the big frogs tell each other in the evenings. Whereas Mrs. Surinam Toad’s little fellows have to spend all their tadpolehood in their mamma’s dark little pockets, with no freedom and no society; and they are not allowed to come out at all until their tails are gone and their legs are come; in fact, until they are no longer tadpoles. but toads. Then they hop out, say good-by to their fond parent, and go off to see the world, and to lay eggs in their turn; and Mrs. Toad watches them as they go, and says, “Ah! Now that is what I call a fine family! Brought up in the most genteel seclusion, with no vulgar associates, and with every advantage that the most refined toad could aspire to. I certainly have done my duty by my children.” Well, I suppose you have, Mrs. Toad, I suppose you have! But, oh! dear —me!! To think of having to be a toad all one’s life, and never to have had any fun when one was a tadpole! THE GOOSE AND THE GEESE. “ GEORGIE, do you want to go to the orchard with me while I hang up the clothes?” “Oh! yes, yes, Barbie,” said Georgie, clapping his hands. He was always glad to go to the orchard with some one; but he was Bureau Nature Study, Aeowory Tiny cerry liharm IV. ¥. 1D THE GOOSE AND THE GEESE. 137 afraid to go alone, for he was such a little fellow. He felt sure Barbie would take just as good care of him as mamma always did; but when the clothes were hung up Barbie went to the house with- outsayingaword to Georgie. The little boy very soon found that he was alone, and set up aloud cry. This drew the atten- tion of a flock of geese, who were nibbling grass near by, and they all came around him. No doubt they wondered what small thing it was that stood so still and made such anoise. It \ AN eae o couldn't be a Sita ic ae aa fe ih if goose, though Saker rH gal “ Georgie was not Wa ON much bigger than a goose, and, you may think, acted much like one. Was it something good to eat? They quacked to each other these questions, and then they be- gan to nibble his fingers. Georgie’s cries grew louder and his tears fell faster, and, oh, how far away the house seemed, and there were no windows looking out upon the orchard! He would run, but he was afraid the geese would knock him down with their 138 THE GOOSE AND THE GEESE. wings. If he stood still he was afraid they would eat him up,and mamma would never know where her little boy had gone to. Oh, he must get home to mamma; and, giving one great, big, frightened yell, he started and ran, expecting the next moment to feel the strong white wings beating him to the ground; but, to his great surprise, the geese made no objections to his going, and he was soon showing his bleeding fingers to mamma and telling the story of his wonderful escape. Mamma listened, and kissed the little finger-tips and bound them up carefully. She rocked her little boy in her arms and sang to him. Meanwhile the geese in the orchard went on quietly nibbling the grass. They had for- gotten all about him. Tom had just brought in something in a covered basket; some- thing which he put down on the kitchen floor for a moment, while he went into the pantry to see the cook, and taste the fresh, crisp doughnuts. The two kittens had been enjoying a nap in the sunshine on the wide window-sill, and when Tom came into the kitchen the noise he made woke them. Snowball lazily stretched himself and gave a great yawn. Then he mewed to Kitty that he would like his dinner. He began to hunt for some mice, and Kitty purred that she would go with him anywhere. Snowball was a large white kitten, and wore a blue ribbon around his neck. Kitty was younger and smaller than Snowball, and always allowed him to take the lead in their adventures. Kitty’s coat was gray, and her four legs were pure white. Mary said she wore white stockings and white gloves. 140 _ SNOWBALL AND THE LOBSTER. eee As the two kittens were walking across the kitchen floor to the door Snowball saw Tom’s basket, and went up to see what was in it. With his nose he pushed up the lid of the basket. He found something alive under it. He turned around to call Kitty to come, and in doing so his tail fell across the now open basket. There was a cross old lobster inside the basket. He did not like to have Snowball’s tail in his face; the hairs on it tickled his nose. So he just caught hold of the tail with his pincers. He gave it a strong nip, and would not let it go. SNOWBALL AND THE LOBSTER. 141 Poor Snowball mewed piteously, and ran round and round the kitchen, the lobster and the basket spinning round behind him. Seeing the trouble Snowball was in Kitty gave one frantic ‘*mew,” and ran out of the door. She perched in safety upon the fence. The luckless Snowball pulled so hard that he drew the lobster out of the basket. He ran out into the yard and around the house, where he was seen by the dog. Watch ran after the flying lobster. Tom heard Watch barking loudly, and went out to see what all the fuss was about. He rescued Snowball from the lobster, and the lobster from Snowball and Watch, and carried the shell-fish back into the house. «As soon as Snowball was free he ran under the house. He could not be coaxed out all the rest of the day. He lay there, sadly looking at his poor tail, and licking it from time to time. Since then he has not seemed at all curious about baskets and their contents. a “A TAIL PIECE THE BLACK SHEEP. Farmer Date had a flock of sixty sheep. Sammy Dale had a flock of six sheep. They were all his own, and when their wool was sheared off and sold to the mill-men he had the money. He had a cow, too, and sold her milk every day. He did not spend his money for candy and toys; he kept it and had it put into the bank. He saved all the dollars he could. He was planning to buy a mill when he was a man. Sammy’s Uncle George lived at Hill Farm. He owned a great many sheep, and among them were several black ones. There was one named Peggy, who was very tame and gentle. Sammy wanted her, and Uncle George agreed to take a white one in ex- change for her. So one day Sammy took a sheep from his flock, named Hopover, and carried her to Hill Farm, and Uncle George gave him Peggy. Sammy went home pleased with the bargain he had made. He took Peggy along to the pasture and put her with the other sheep. They were scattered about, feeding quietly; but when they saw their black cousin coming towards them they began to run away as fast as they could. They had never seen a black sheep before, and were as much frightened as if a fierce dog had come among them. THE BLACK SHEEP. 143 Peggy was not afraid of their white coats, and she wanted to be friendly, so she kept running after them, while they persisted in running away. Sometimes Old Lady Southdown, who was very courageous, would stop and face Peggy. She stamped her foot and shook her head at her, and then she would turn and run again. At last Sammy called Peggy out of the pasture and put her into the barn. His father told him to wait till night, and let her go into the yard with them, and then they would get acquainted with her. So when it was dark Sammy let Peggy into the yard with the flock. They could not see that she was black, therefore they were not at all disturbed. In the moring Sammy looked into the yard and saw Peggy right in the midst of them, lying close to Lady Southdown. They knew now that she was a sheep, like themselves, though her wool was of another color. They were always friendly with her afterwards. JOSEPHINE. A THU STORY. Ovr beautiful pet was called Josephine. She was a collie, with soft brown eyes, and had a great deal of sense. She seemed to understand whatever was said to her, and to have many thoughts of her own besides. One day we were going to send off some of her pretty pup- pies on the train. Josephine went with us to the express Office, and saw the lit- tle creatures in the box ready to set out. She came home with us, but we soon missed her. We found that she had gone back alone to take leave of her puppies. Poor Jose- phine came to us one evening in great agony. She lay at our feet with her soft brown eyes raised, as if pleading for help. We did everything we could for our pet. A cruel man had given her poison. For three days she suffered the greatest pain, and then died. We buried her as a friend, and covered her grave with green turf and flowers. i) y. i i ty i ! a aa THE RABBIT AND THE PORCUPINE. Ove fine morning the rabbit and the porcupine met together at the edge of the Looking-glass Pond. The pond was shining with all its might, and reflected the blue sky and the white, fleecy clouds, the butterflies that danced over it, and the purple flags that bent down to smile at it. But the rabbit and the porcupine saw nothing save their own reflection. 146 PHILO’S FUNNY. TEAM. “Tt is pleasant to be beautiful,” said the porcupine; “I am always sorry for ugly people.” “T agree with you,” replied the rabbit, “though I am surprised to hear such language from your lips, for I cannot suppose that you set up any claims for beauty yourself.” The porcupine bristled up, and looked very angry. “Oh, indeed!” he cried. “ You cannot, eh? I am considered the finest specimen of my whole race, and my beauty is the theme of every tongue; but I can quite understand that you should have no idea of what good looks really are. You have not a sign of a quill on your body; and as for those hideous long things on your head —” “Sir!” exclaimed the rabbit, “do you speak in this insulting way of my lovely ears, the pride of my heart, the envy of all the other rabbits I know? It only shows that you are as stupid as you are ugly.” “Yah!” said the porcupine. “Bah!” said the rabbit; and they trotted off in opposite direc- tions. The Looking-glass Pond sparkled, and a little ripple of a smile passed over it. “Ah!” said the pond, “what hard work it is to reflect such ugly creatures; and how pleasant to be left alone again with the blue sky and the white clouds, the butterflies and the purple flags!” PHILO’S FUNNY TEAM. ARTHUR was four years old, and he had come up from the city, with his mamma, to spend a few weeks at a pleasant farm-house. After supper, on this first night in the country, Arthur sat close to his mamma on the piazza steps. Pretty soon the sun went away, the air began to grow cool, and then mamma said, “It is time to go to bed.” PHILO’S FUNNY TEAM. 147 Arthur scowled, and did not stir. He knew that it was his bed- time; bnt he felt that it was a great deal pleasanter to sit there, with so many people around, talking and laughing, than to go up- stairs to bed, in a strange room, even if mamma were within call. No, he made up his mind that he would not go just yet. So when mamma held out her hand, and said, ** Come, Arthur!” he scowled harder than before, and said, “I den’t want to; it is too early!” Just then Philo, a boy who livea at the farm-house, and who was more than three times as old as Arthur, came out of the door. ‘< See here,” said he; “if you will go to bed, like a good boy, I will take you to ride to-morrow morning with my team.” “Oh, have you a pair of ponies?” asked Arthur, the scowl all gone. “No, not ponies,” said Philo, laughing. “ Are they big horses?” said Arthur, a little disappointed. 148 PHILO’S FUNNY TEAM. ‘They are not horses at all,” answered Philo. ‘ You will find out what they are to-morrow morning; it is such a team as you never rode after.” “‘ Perhaps they are dogs,” said Arthur. Philo shook his head. ’ “ Or reindeer, like those of Santa Claus,” suggested mamma. “No,” said Philo. “Tell me,” urged Arthur. But Philo only laughed, saying, “ You had better go to bed now, your mamma is waiting, and if you will get up early I will give you a ride before breakfast.” So Arthur went upstairs, wondering what kind of a team Philo’s could be. The next morning Arthur thought mamma was a long time but- toning his clothes; but it really took but afew minutes, and then he ran downstairs in search of Philo. He found him waiting at the door, and Arthur opened his eyes in wonder when he saw Philo’s team. There were two pretty calves, yoked together, in front of a light, two-wheeled cart, and Philo was holding a whip instead of reins. When he saw Arthur he jumped out, and in a minute more the two boys were sitting in the funny little carriage, and the well-trained calves were trotting down the road at a quick pace. Arthur thought he had never had so pleasant a ride before. When they reached home Philo made the calves go through some very odd tricks, in which he had trained them. Arthur had many other rides after the gentle creatures; and when he returned to the city he had a great deal. to tell his little friends about Philo and his funny team. : ROE ae MM, <% ir. yy Vy i, po 2 = pr ne an tt Z BEPPO. Beppo was a donkey, or a burro, as the Mexicans called him. He lived in Colorado. He was little, and furry, and mouse-colored, and had great, sad eyes, with long, dark lashes. When] first knew him he had no home, but wandered idly about the village. He was beaten and ridden by the schovl-boys, and lived on whatever he could find. One day, when it was very cold, he came and stood by the fence, looking wistfully in. His big, sad eyes were sadder than ever, and his long ears hung meekly down beside his head. “ Are you hunger , old fellow?” I asked, as I opened the gate. He gave mea look of assent, an@ I soon had the pleasure of seeing him eat a hearty meal. 150 BEPPO. After that he came every day. He was very grateful for his food, and would rub his head against my hand as if to thank me. He soon grew very plump. Whenever I took a stroll he would walk along beside me, and if he saw a boy he would come very close to me indeed. One morning I heard some merry voices near my window. I looked out and saw Beppo walking slowly by, with four langhing. rosy-cheeked little girls on his back. Perhaps you will smile if I tell you they were not riding lady-fashion either. “ Where are you going, Susie, Ethel, Mabel, and Maud?” I cried. HOW LENA FED THE LAMB. 151 “We are going a-riding,” three of the little ones answered in chorus. “¢ A-widing,” echoed little Maud, who sat upon the tail. Alas! Beppo heard my voice, and not one step further would he go. I gave Susie a large yellow carrot; she held this on a stick in front of his nose, and then he moved on. He always walked so like a snail that I feared he was infirm. But one day, when a pet mule was brought in from the ranch, I found I was mistaken. Beppo at once made friends with this little colt. He was very playful, and I soon saw that Beppo could be quite as sprightly as the mule. After that, whenever I took a ride on Beppo, I let the mule come, too. We had lively runs over the broad, sunlit plains. When I left Colorado Beppo came to the depot to see me off. I am almost sure I saw tears in his big, sad eyes as I bade him good-by. HOW LENA FED THE LAMB. OnE morning before breakfast Lena ran into the nursery to tell mamma something dreadful. She said the dogs had broken into the sheepfold and killed ten sheep. Lena lived on a sheep farm, and played all day with the lambs. Now the dogs had killed old Sukey and left her little lamb. Lena heard it bleating, and knew it was crying for itsdeadmamma. The lamb’s teeth were too small to eat grass with, and Lena was afraid it would starve to death. 452 HOW LENA FED THE LAMB. Le Ni Wy, ii ffi ¢ ie Fi ii Adi “ie ‘ oS te sy Fi, “Let me give it some milk out of baby’s bottle,” said Lena. Mamma let Lena carry the glass bottle, with the rubber top, out into the field where the little lamb lay bleating. ‘« Baa, Baa, Baa, I want my ma!” — cried the little lamb. Lena put the end of the rubber tube to the lamb’s mouth, and it sucked the milk just as baby did. The lamb stopped erying, and forgot all about its mamma. Many times a day Lena gave the lamb its bottle of milk. It grew big and strong, and always loved Lena very much for her kindness. LIZZIE, THE ELEPHANT. ‘WomBWELL’s collection of wild beasts was once the most famous in Europe. Among the animals was a beautiful female elephant, named Lizzie. While visiting a town in England Lizzie was taken very ill with an attack of colic. A doctor in the place brought some medicine which saved Lizzie’s life. Some days afterwards the animals were marching through the street. Lizzie caught sight of the doctor standing in his shop, and stopped at the door. The doctor came out to see what was the matter, when Lizzie thrust her trunk gently towards his hand. The doctor took hold of the trunk and patted it in a friendly way, to Lizzie’s great delight. After a little of this caressing Lizzie marched forward again with evident pleasure. All animals are grateful for kindness, and none more so than elephants. SOME QUEER ANTS. SHAT would you think to see an ant carrying a parasol?” asked Uncle Fred. “OQ uncle!” cried Johnny and Puss at the same time. «You know an ant could not carry a parasol,” added Puss. Their uncle had just come home from a long trip to the West Indies and South America. He had a great f ns many wonderful stories to BL an Wy, tell them about the queer : f Wn." sights he had seen and the strange places where he had been. But they thought he must be joking SOME QUEER ANTS. 155 with them now, for they could not believe that an ant could do such a thing. , “Well,” said Uncle Fred, “their parasols were not made of silk stretched over a wire frame. They were only pieces of leaves from trees, and the ants held them in their mouths in such a way that they covered their bodies entirely. You could not see the ants at all, so the leaves looked as if they were marching along of their own accord. The first time I saw any was in the West Indies. One day, when I was riding with a friend out to his plantation, a great swarm of these ants crossed our road. We watched them a long time. It was a very queer-sight, I assure you. They did not travel very fast. There must have been thousands and thousands of them, for we could not see either end of the column.” “ Where were they going, I wonder?” said Johnny. “They were carrying the leaves to their nests. They do not eat the leaves, but they are very fond of a fungus which grows on them after they have been a little while in their underground nests. These ants are very destructive, and do a great deal of damage. Sometimes they will cut every leaf off a tree.” “Don’t we have any here?” asked Puss, who was much inter- ested, and wished she could see some. “No,” said Uncle Fred. “We have some curious ants, but none like those I have been telling you about.” Aero “THE KING OF BIRDS. Nos you think I am going to tell you about as Sais: Con- fess that you do! “Of course!” you say. “ Everybody knows that the eagle is the king of birds. Do you think we are dunces?” No, I don’t think you are dunces, but perhaps there may still be a few things that you do not know, though, of course, it is only because you have not had time to learn them. And one of these few things is, that, according to ancient story, the king of all birds is not the mighty eagle, but — the wren /— the tiny, chattering, brown wren, who builds his pretty, little, round nest in hedgerows and hayricks. I will tell you the story as it was told by a famous writer, many hundreds of years ago, and then you may believe it, or not, just as you like. Once upon a time, then, all the birds met together to choose a king; and they decided that the one who could soar the highest should be ruler over all the feathered tribes. Up they all sprang into the air, hawk and heron, swallow and skylark, and every bird THE KING OF BIRDS. 157 that flies; up, up, up, till their wings were weary and their hearts faint. But far above all the rest flew the mighty eagle, his broad wings bearing him up like sails. When the other birds paused, exhausted, he alone soared onward and upward; till at length, rest- ing on his outspread wings, at a dizzy height above the earth, he screamed in triumph: ‘“O birds, behold your king!” “ Behold him, indeed!” cried a tiny voice at his ear. “But not in you, clumsy fel- 4& low!” And the wren, who had been ‘perched all the \ while, unseen and un- noticed, on the eagle’s shoulder, \ now boldly took flight, and twit- Go tered and chirped from a still greater height; while the weary eagle, unable to soar higher, beat his broad wings in anger and disappointment. So the wren was proclaimed the king of all birds, and remains so to this day; and it is a very pretty story, whether you believe it or not. Now, let us look at this saucy little king, and see what he is like. He is about four inches long, of a rich reddish- brown color; and he has a saucy little cocked-up tail, and knowing black eyes, and a very sweet voice, which says very impudent things. He is always gay and cheery, and sings as merrily on a cold day as on a warm one; this is a good point in any king. He builds his own palace, and a very fine one it is for its size, being made very neatly of leaves, moss, and grass, and having always a dome, which covers it completely, the opening of the nest being always at the side. King Wren prefers this 158 THE KING OF BIRDS. domed nest to any other; first, because it is more lofty, and, second, because it protects the royal eggs from cold and rain. But sometimes he chooses the strangest places for his nest. A wren’s nest has been found in the body of a dead hawk, which had been killed and nailed to the side of a barn, to frighten other hawks. Once a farmer had killed a calf, and hung its body on atree, (It seems a singular thing to : hang a calf on a tree, as if he were a horse-thief ; but that is the way I heard the story.) ad Some days after, when the farmer cut the calf down in order to cut it up, he found a wren’s nest in its throat. Again, I have heard of a lit- tle Queen ‘Wren, who made her nest inside a pump, and went in and out through the spout to, attend to her natural du- ties. “What did L. she do when they were pumping water?” Why, I suppose she waited until they stopped, don’t you? At least that is ‘@ what I should have done in her case. 4 When winter comes the little wrens are put to all sorts of shifts to keep themselves Warm, * Sometimes, in very cold weather, they may be found all huddled together in heaps, six or seven of them together, looking like masses of soft brown feathers. Sometimes they get into their summer nests, the whole family, parents and children, crowding into the little hollow under the dome. Once a kind lady, who was very fond of birds, and used to scatter crumbs for them in her garden every day in cold weather, happened to see a party of wrens go to bed; and this is how they did it. They gathered together on a large branch of a tree, about four inches above which grew another branch. On the lower branch the wrens packed themselves comfortably together, three or four deep, the topmost bird always having his little brown back THE CANOE OF THE WATER-MOTH. 159 pressed against the upper branch, as if to keep the whole pile steady. The lady pitied the poor, shivering little creatures, and the next day she nailed to the branch a square box, lincd with flannel, with a very small round hole by way of door. When the wrens came to go to bed they examined the box, and soon seemed to understand all about it, for they crowded in eagerly, jostling each other in their hurry to get into the fine new bedroom. The next night there were more of them, and more and more, till at last more than forty:wrens would crowd into the box, which did not seem big enough to hold more than half that number. Just think! Forty kings and queens, all in one palace! What a proud lady she must have been! THE CANOE OF THE: WATER-MOTH. Tue gnat builds his egg boat. The water-moth, another little creature, puts together a real canoe. It is a very curious thing, made of bits of straw and reeds all matted together. It is just the shape of the caterpillar that lives in it. The insect breathes with gills just like a fish, and yet cannot swim. So he fastens this straw and grass together, winding them all around with his own silk. The body of the caterpillar is soft and delicate, you know, and might get hurt if it was left exposed. This is the reason why he covers it so carefully, all but his head. This funny sort of canoe is open at both ends. It is so fixed that when the grub is tired of sailing he can sink down upon the sand. Reaching out of the upper end are his six little feet, with which he drags his small boat after him whenever he wants to get 160 THE CANOE OF THE WATER-MOTH. his dinner or put up for the night. After several days he not only creeps out of this strange house, but out of his skin, at the same time taking on moth wings. Many people call these queer creatures “laddis worms.” If you hunt for them with your young eyes you can find these little nests ‘of stone, and gravel, and leaves, made by the grubs, though they are very small. \ They seem to have great taste in fixing them. You \ should see the houses they make of fresh leaves, curious- ly put together. They hang from their shoulders like so many ! (gn? she | ge Wings. They are even Teo der fe == : like a bud just ready malay to open. These pretty cases of leaves are glued to- gether, leaving anopen- ing at its top just large enough for the little creatures to put out their head and shoul- ders when they want about for food; others same species cut pieces and join them together to look of the of reed, or wood, into lengths, or strips, as they go on with their work. They use a certain kind of cement, which is better able to stand water than any ever made by man. And they often finish up the whole by putting a broad piece, longer than all the rest, overhead, to shade the door-way, so that no one shall see them work. Some of these funny grubs break off bits of the stems of rushes, which, you know, grow in the water, and weave them into a sort of round ball. Then they hang them together on the stem of some other water-plant, making a little cell in the middle to live in. Some use tiny shells even, with snails and other animals alive in them. They keep these poor things just as if they were in prison, and drag them all about: with them. POLLY AND PRINCE. Puy goes on two legs, and lives in a cage. Prince goes on four legs, and lives all over the house. And the little parrot that can talk is very jealous of the black-and-tan terrier that can only is wheltatg bark. Polly likes Prince well enough during the day; then they are on the best of terms. Polly will call, “Here, Prince! Here, Prince!” if the dog is out of sight, and whistle for him just like a boy. Polly doesn’t like to be alone. When her mistress goes out of the room the bird will listen, first with one ear and then with the other. As soon as she hears her voice she cries out, ‘‘ Peek-a- boo!” and seems as happy as a child who has found its mother. 162 TIBBY TAB’S NEST. But the fun is when the master comes home at night. As soon as he sits down to his supper Prince is on hand, ready to receive all the attention. Sometimes he is on four legs, sometimes on two, and all the while keeping his ridiculous little tail going like mad. At this performance Polly turns all sorts of colors, principally green. She begins to whimper and cry, “Take Polly! Polly’s all alone! Poor Polly!” — until the master opens the cage-door and lets the queer bird perch on his shoulder. Then there is a regular dog-and-parrot time, — Prince barking and jumping up at one side, and Polly shrieking at the other, “Out, Prince! Out, Prince! Get down, sir! Get down, sir!” Between the noises I wonder how the master manages to eat a mouthful. For I may as well tell you that neither Polly nor Prince is capable of learning good manners. I never heard of any parrot or black-and-tan terrier that was particularly well behaved. But there is one thing to be said in Polly’s favor, — she never says any bad words. And that is more than can be said of some parrots, and of some boys and girls I know about. TIBBY TABS NEST. One day, late in the fall, Aunt Phcebe was getting ready to go to the city to pass the winter with her sister. Her pet cat, Tibby Tab, was to be sent to a cousin’s, as usual. Tibby did not like that, for she was very fond of her mistress. Aunt Pheebe’s trunk was packed and locked. She had a large hand-valise, in which she carried some things, and when tea-time came she left the valise open and went downstairs. The next morning the carriage came for her before she was quite ready, and so she had to tumble some of her things into the valise, and it was taken out with the trunk. Aunt Phebe took her seat in the carriage and drove away, but before she had reached the great gate she heard Tibby Tab cry, ~Mew! Mew-mew!” TIBBY TAB’S NEST. 163 Aunt Phebe said to Timothy, ‘‘ Tibby is in this carriage.” “No, ma’am,” said Timothy; ‘‘ she cannot be.” “But I hear her. Stop a moment.” ‘“‘Mew-mew!” was heard again, but nothing could be seen of Tibby. Aunt Phoebe looked under the seat and turned over the cushions. Then there was another “mew,” and a scratching. Suddenly it came to Aunt Pheebe’s mind to look into the valise. She opened it, and lo and behold, there was Tibby! She jumped out very quickly. Aunt Pheebe was glad that she was not stifled, and drove round to her cousin’s to leave Tibby; so the poor kitty did not go to town, after all, but had to stay in the country all winter. Wasn’t that sad? A VERY FUNNY COLT. I wisn you could see our coltie. He is the nicest pet that ever was. He is-so gentle that when he lies down on the grass to rest, little baby sister and I can lie beside him, with our heads on his soft side, as long as we like. Anna sucks her thumb; and I wish you could see her, lying on the grass, with her head on the colt’s side, and her thumb in her mouth. Sometimes Prince, the colt, and Fido, our big black dog, have u romp together. They run races, and play “Tag,” ard “ Pussy wants a corner,” I guess, just as we do. If I go out in the yard, and do not play with Prince, he will put his head on my shoulder, or poke his funny nose into my face. He wants to say, “ Why, Allen! are you going to forget me?” Then he will hunt for a lump of sugar in my hand or pocket. After that we have a race or a roll together. 3 A VERY FUNNY COLT. 165 One day a strange pig got into our yard, and papa sent Fido to chase him out. Prince thought he must go, too, and the poor pig was frightened almost to death. He wasn’t used to being chased by a colt, you see. The other night I coaxed Prince up to the piazza, to show some ladies how nice he was. He was in high spirits, and he began to try to kick at me, in a very comical way. He doesn’t know how to kick like other colts, he is so gentle. He would work his heels, and make a funny noise, like colt-laughing, and say in colt-talk, “Now, Allen, I am going to k-i-i-ick!” His heels would come up just a little bit. Then he would whisk round and smile, as though saying, “ Wasn’t that clever?” Then in a minute more he would put his heels together again, and say, “ N-n-n-ow I’m going to k-i-i-ick!” And we would laugh till we cried, to see a colt kick that didn’t know how. It was as funny as hearing a rooster learning to crow, or seeing a trick mule in a circus. : WH well or. SLEEPY—HEADS. ' ALL animals have their time for sleeping. We sleep at night; so do most of the insects and birds. But there are some little creatures that take such very long sleeps! When they are all through their summer work they crawl into winter-quarters. There they stay until the cold weather is over. Large numbers of frogs, bats, flies, and spiders do this. If they were only to sleep for the night the blood would keep moving in their veins, and they would breathe. But in this winter sleep they do not appear to breathe, or the blood to move. Yet they are alive, only in such a “ dead sleep.” But wait until the spring-time. The warm sun will wake them all up again. They will come out one by one from their hiding- places. I have told you that this sleep lasts <* winter. But it often lasts much longer than that. Frogs have been known to sleep CUNNING MICE. 167 several years. When they were brought into the warm air they came to life and hopped about as lively as ever. I have read of a toad that was found in the middle of a tree fast asleep. No one knew how he came there. The tree had kept on growing until there were over sixty rings in the trunk. As a tree adds a ring every year, the poor creature had been there all that time! What do you think of that for a long sleep? And yet he woke up all right, and acted just like any other toad! CUNNING MICE. Up in the garret in our house there used to be a great many mice. But they never gave any trouble until one day, when papa put some corn there to dry, so that he could use it to plant in the spring. When he went to look at it, not long after, he found that much of it had been carried off by the mice. So he told me that he would give me a penny for every mouse I would catch. I was delighted, and immediately got our old trap, put some cheese in it, and placed it in the garret. The trap had but two holes, and so could catch but two mice at a time. But I thought that a great many, when for three mornings I had found the trap full, and had been paid six cents for the mice. I thought how rich I should be if I found two mice in the trap on every morning for a year. But it did not happen so, unfortunately for me. One morning, when I went to look at my trap, I found it sprung, and the cheese all gone, but there was no mouse. I set the trap 168 CUNNING MICE. again, and the next’morning it was the same way, —trap sprung; but no mice and no cheese. I told papa about it, and he was so much surprised that he said he would watch for the mice the next night and find out how they did it. Well, he went up to the garret long after I had gone to sleep. First, he heard a little squeak, then in the bright moonlight he saw a little gray mouse, with large ears and bright eyes, looking ee Yh Hi | Hii crore tt | Mi | ct out from behind a barrel. Then the little fellow came out, looked around to see that there was no danger, and then gave another little squeak, when three or four more came out and all went to the trap, peeped into it, and saw that there was more supper for them. But none of them put their heads in to eat it. The largest mouse put his tail into a hole, and, striking the cheese, sprung the trap; then he pulled out his tail, got the cheese, and shared it with the others. They all seemed quite happy in thinking how nicely they were cheating that little boy whom they saw socarefully setting the trap co catch them. ry dh THE NEW NEST. “Ou!” said Janet. “There is a stone in my shoe! Oh-ee! It hurts. I must take it off.” So little girl Janet sat down on the door-step, and took off her shoe. Sure enough, there was a tiny sharp stone. She shook it out, and was rubbing her foot, when suddenly little boy Billy came running by. “Where are you going, Billy boy?” asked Janet. “ Down to the barn, Jenny girl,” answered Billy, without stop- ping. “There is a new calf, George says, —a black calf. Come along.” “Oh! a black calf!” said Janet, springing up. “ Wait for me, Billy! Here I am!” Just then she remembered her shoe, which she had dropped when she began rubbing her foot. “ But I can- 170 THE NEW NEST. not stop to put it on now/” she cried. So she caught up the shce, and poked it in behind one of the columns of the veranda; then off she flew, one shoe off and one shoe on, and Billy boy and Jenny girl went racing down the gréen lane towards the barn. The little black shoe stood up straight behind the column, and wondered what was to become of it. “I cannot walk alone,” said the shoe, “I am not accustomed to it. Must I stay here all day? I want to see the black calf, too. I was made out of a black kid myself, I believe; and I remember many boxes in the shoe-shop which were marked “Calf.” It would be very interesting to me.” Just then a twittering and chirping was heard, and down flew two little brown birds. They were Mr. and Mrs. Wren, and they were looking for a place to build their nest. Mrs. Wren cocked her head on one side and looked up, down, and all around, with her bright eyes. Presently she spied the little black shoe. She flew up to it, and perched on it. She poked her head in. She looked at it on this side and then on that side, and at last she chirped to her husband: — ‘* Sweetest and best, I have found a fine nest.” THE NEW NEST. 171 Mr. Wren flew up, and in his turn examined the shoe; then, nodding his head, he replied: — : “Bestest and sweet, It is really complete.” Now there was no time to lose, for it was already afternoon, and the nest must be well under way before night; so the two wrens flew hither and thither, and brought this and that, and worked all day. But where was Janet all this time? Oh, Janet had seen the calf, and then George had taken her and Billy off in the cart to the village, and they did not get home till tea-time. ““Why, Janet,” said her mother, “where is your other shoe, child? ” Janet looked down in surprise, for she had actually forgotten about her shoe. “JT —I left it behind one of the columns of the veranda, ” she said. “I will go and get it.” She went, and there, lo and behold! were two tiny brown heads peeping out of the shoe. Mr. and Mrs. Wren were just going to sleep in their new nest. Janet stared and stared, and then she laughed, and ran in to tell her mother. And, “Mother,” she said, “mayn’t they keep the shoe, please? It is an old one, you know, and has a hole in the side; and they look so happy and comfort- able, — the little things!” Her mother went to look, and decided that it would be a shame to turn the pretty birds out, and that they might keep the shoe for their own. “ They might have consulted me!” said the shoe. “I am accus- tomed to exercise, and cannot do well without it. I shall crack, I know I shall. I wish I had stayed in the shoe-shop!” DUKE AND THE CHICKENS. I witt tell you about something naughty that Duke, the large black and white dog, did, and how he was cured of it. He thought it was great fun to chase the chickens. When the chickens weve very small he would run after them and catch one. Then he would carry it around in his mouth, and when he was tired of play- ing with it he would dig a hole in the ground and bury it. Whenever anybody saw Duke catch a chicken he would run after the dog and scold him, and, if he could get close to him, would switch him. But it was not easy to get very close to him, for when he saw any one coming he would scamper off. Duke always took care not to drop the chicken. Sometimes he would hold the bird in his mouth’ so that it would not show, and sometimes just one little yellow foot’ would: hang out. Sy ap SSS SAR teus. ay Pee reer - DUKE AND THE CHICKENS. 173 One day, when Duke was running after the chickens, old Sport, — another dog that lived in the same house, — went after him, and caught him by the back of the neck and shook him. How Duke did ery! Every one about the place came to see what the matter was. Old Sport came up and wagged his tail, as much as to say, “Well, I’ve taken matters into my own hands, and we’ll see if that foolish puppy will not let the chickens alone after this!” Duke never tried to touch a chicken again. He would watch them, sometimes, but he never forgot his shaking, and did not offer to run after them. JOSIE AND HIS PIGEON. Drm you ever see a ruff-necked pigeon? When Josie was six years old his Aunt Margaret brought him one, and Josie named him Billy. He had a ring of feathers round his neck, which looked like the collars we see in old pictures. . Aunt Margaret cut the ends off the long feathers on Billy’s left wing, so that when he tried to fly he went round and round, but = = B ale LS a could not get over the fence. By and by the feathers grew out long again, and then Billy flew up on Mr. Davidson’s barn, and would not let the children catch him any more. Mr. Davidson has chickens, and Billy flies down and helps them eat the crumbs and scraps that are thrown out to them every day. But he did something worse than this last summer. The chickens had a pan of fresh water every day to drink, but Billy would fly down and bathe in the pan. Was not he a bold fellow? THE CAT AND THE CAN. THE people in the house had had salmon for supper. It was not fresh salmon, but it was very good, for all that, even though it had travelled many hundred miles in a tin can. Mops, the cat, knew it was good; so when the people were at supper she found the can, and found, too, that it had not been quite emptied. In fact, the cook had left a little salmon in it on purpose, meaning to warm it for her own supper later. But Mops, the cat, did not care - about: the-cook’s. supper ;-her:own was of more importance. She put in her paw, and daintily picked out the best morsels. Salmon was certainly much better than salt cod. She was making an excellent supper, when in came the cook. Oh! how angry she 176 THE CAT AND THE CAN. was when she saw Mops with the can. ‘‘ You horrid cat!” she cried, snatching up the broom. “You greedy, thieving, sly — Scat!” but Mops did not wait for the broom. Out of the window she leaped for her life; and the cook threw the broom, and the tongs, and finally the can itself, after her. “I wouldn’t demean myself by eating after a cat/” said the cook. So there the can lay, in the back yard, until Tommy came by, and kicked it about by way of a foot-ball, and finally left it out behind the barn. Now, Mops, though she dared not come near the house just then, kept an eye on the can from behind the hedge, and when Tommy kicked it behind the barn she thought, “ Now is my chance to finish that salmon! IT am very glad the cook was too proud to eat after me!” She crept along behind the hedge, and round through the orchard to the barn. There was the can, lying on its side. “ Why shouldn’t I put my head in, instead of my paw,” said Mops, ‘‘and get it all at once?” Suiting the action to the word, she thrust her head inside the can. Ah, that was all very well! But when she had eaten the last scrap of fish, and tried to draw her head out again, it would not come out. She pulled and pulled; the sharp, jagged edges of tin only stuck into her neck, and held her tight. Half-mad with pain and fright, the cat sprang wildly about, striking the can against the ground, and making frantic efforts to escape; but all in vain. THE CAT AND THE CAN. Tey The sharp points had her by the throat, and would not loose their hold. She was shut up forever in this dreadful head-prison. At last poor Mops became so exhausted that she lay quietly on the ground, only hoping that death would come to release her from her misery. But she did not have to wait for death, — the poor pussy! After a time she heard footsteps. She trembled. Was it the cook? But it was a man’s voice that she heard, speaking in gruff, but kind, tones: “ Well! well! who ever saw the like of that? Poor kitty! Poor puss! Cheer up, there! Ill take you out of that. How she got in is a mystery to me,” said Farmer Johns, as he stooped down and carefully bent the edges of the can out- ward. Then, grasping Mops firmly by the neck, he gently drew her head out. Mops looked up. It seemed too good to be true. The light dazzled her eyes so that she could hardly see her kind preserver; but she rubbed against his legs, and purred, and squeaked with pleasure and gratitude. “There now!” said the kind farmer. “Who says cats have no sense?” —“T’ll tell you, what, pussy,” he continued, “ you are always getting into trouble with cook, and it’s no wonder. Suppose you live out here in the barn, and catch mice all day, and I'll give you a dish of new milk twice aday. What do yousay, hey?” “Mew! mew! mi-a-anow!” said Mops. “I will! I will! I will!” And she did. A HEN-QUIRY. This little hen is not.. This little hen is a-fretting. This one’s content with her lot. This little hen says, “ Cut-cut-ce-dah-cut! Where’s the corn kept?” NED’S BLACK LAMB. Nor long ago little Ned had a present of a black lamb. Ned was crying when the lamb came. His mamma had gone to drive and had taken one child with her; she could take but one at a time. So Ned, and the others whose turn it was not, stood on the stone terrace with tearful eyes, watching mamma out of sight. Just then a man came into the yard with tae lamb. Ned and the other children did not cry any more, you may be sure. The black lamb was a very little thing; it had a line of white about its neck and feet, like a collar and cuffs. The children called it “a beauty” and “a darling,” and they jumped up and down around it for joy. Pretty soon the lamb did 80, too, Jumping up and down on its little legs, stiffly but joyfully. It grew very fond of Ned, and would follow him about all day. After a while Ned’s mamma noticed that his hair was jagged and stubby. “Why, Ned,” she said, “ what is the matter with your hair? ” “My lambie eats it, mamma,” said Ned. “Lambie eats it, and he likes it so much; ‘just as well as he does hay! ” This was true: when the little boy sat with his book, or lay in the shade, the lamb would come up and lovingly nibble his hair. By and by lambie grew large, and he took a fancy to dance a stately minuet on the baby whenever it toddled out on the lawn. 180 NED’S BLACK LAMB. So the mother had to send him off to the field, some miles from town. Poor Ned sadly missed his playmate, and his little heart was full of grief. Some weeks after, when a flock of sheep went by, his mamma heard him say to the driver, ‘‘ Please, have you a little black lamb with a white collar round its neck? I would like just a little one. If you have not any black, a white one will do ’most as well! ” Even now the family do not talk about the bad ways of that “black sheep,” for fear of grieving Ned’s faithful little heart. ! THE BABY MONKEY. Last summer I went to see a baby- monkey. He wasabout ten days old, and was in a cage with other mon- keys. He was a cunning little fel- low, and his mother was very fond of him. The other monkeys took great delight in’ pulling the baby-monkey’s tail, to make him cry. The mother would escape with her baby from her tormentors by running up a swinging rope. I gave the baby monkey an almond. It was not a “ paper-shell,” and it was too hard for him to crack. What do you think the mother-monkey did? She took the almond from her baby, cracked it, and threw away the shell. “Then gave the kernel to the baby,” I hear you all say. She did not do anything of the kind. She ate it herself, much to my disappointment, but more so to baby’s, no doubt. HOW BIRDS USE THEIR BILLS. Tue birds do not have hands, : but they have something that answers just as well. Their bills are as useful to them as your hands are to you. They are not all made alike, or used in the same way. The duck has a very queer bill. It is made so because this bird has to find its food under water. It cannot see what it gets, and must feel in- stead. So this bill is filled with nerves for the purpose. It has a row of little points, too, all around the edge, something like teeth. But how does the duck use it? Let us see. When searching for food it thrusts this bill down, and brings it up full of mud. Now, in the mud are the very things the bird lives upon. THE JEALOUS LITTLE DOG. 183 These little nerves tell it just what is good to eat. What is not good is sent out through these queer points, just as if it were a sifter. The nerves in this funny sieve take very good, care that nothing shall be lost that is worth the eating. You know all about the little birds that build nests with their bills, and what wonderful things they are. Some can sew very well with their beaks; of course they use their feet, too. ‘id Wer ra ei ects THE JEALOUS LITTLE DOG. My name is Curly. I am a pretty, little cream-colored dog. I have a long, bushy tail which curls up over my back when I am happy, and drags in the dust when I am sad. Tam usually pretty happy, for I have a sweet, little golden-haired girl for my mistress. She loves me very dearly; at least, I suppose she does, from the way she squeezes me, and lets me lick her hands. Her name is Ivy, and she is so kind to me that I should never be cross or sad if it were not for Tom. I just wish Tom were dead. If I were big enough I would tie him up in a bag and throw him into the river. Tom is a big white cat with sharp claws, and a tremendous appetite for beefsteak. He eats all the meat that Ivy gives him, and then growls and spits at me till I give him mine too. Half the time I am so hungry that I could eat Tom, hair and all, if he would only lie still and let me; but he won’t. He is just the meanest cat I ever saw. The worst of it all is, Ivy seems to love him nearly as well as she does me. She actually hugs him, and calls him her “ Dear kitty; ” and I can’t stand it. I always growl at Tom, and try to squeeze 184 THE JEALOUS LITTLE DOG. myself in between him and Ivy; but she says, “‘ Ah, you manEhy: dog, you’re jealous!” Jealous! The idea of a handsome, dashing dog, like me, being am jealous of an ugly old cat! I declare, such injustice almost breaks my heart! I am going off to lie down under the currant-bush now, and try to die — if the fleas will only let me lie still long enough. : GOING TO THE GOLDEN WEDDING. PavuL was going to a golden wedding. Grandpa and grandma had been married fifty years, and the children and grandchildren were to meet at the old home. What a good time Paul expected! Would the day never come? At last it dawned. So impatient was Paul that his papa allowed him to start first. As he approached the station Paul saw a small dog pursued by a New- foundland. “Seize him! Shake him!” roared some idle boys. “For shame!. It is wicked to make dogs fight!” “ Hear the goodie boy! Hear mother’s baby!” ....... 2) 186 GOING TO THE GOLDEN WEDDING. Encouraged by the shouts of the boys the Newfoundland sprang upon the small dog. “Qh, call him off! He’ll kill him! Stop him!” cried Paul. “Shake him! Shake him!” was their reply. Paul’s temper rose. ‘“T’ll part them myself!” he said. Spring- ing into the street, he seized the Newfoundland and held him firmly until his frightened victim had time to slink away. “ Bravo!” called a policeman; and the muttering boys fled. “Why, why, what is this? ”— “Our Paul!” —cried papa and mamma. Here Paul’s strength gave way; he let go the New- foundland, and began to cry. But the officer told the story, and praised him so highly for his courageous act that Paul felt like a man. Following papa and mamma to the cars, he was quickly for- getting his adventure, when a noise under his seat caused him to look down. What do you think was there? The Newfoundland! He looked at Paul pleadingly, as if to say, “Oh, be my master! Speak kindly to me; I’ve had blows and kicks all my life. I knew no better than to fight!” ““O papa, may I keep him?” “Tf no one claims him. But you must never get angry and strike him; treat your dog as you like to be treated yourself, my boy.” Paul promised; and, could Rover speak, he would say that he had kept his word. Paul was quite a hero to grandma and his cousins, and grandpa was so pleased with his namesake that he bought Rover the handsomest collar he could find. And both Paul and Rover had great fun at the golden wedding. THE TWO GOATS. Tosy had a brown and white goat, of which he was very fond. He had a little cart also, and used to drive out with his goat. Tommy was Toby’s playmate, and lived not far away. We liked very much to ride after Toby’s goat. Tommy’s birthday came in December, and what do you think his papa gave him for a present? Why, another little goat; only this one was all white, and had black horns. It was called Snowball. Tommy was very happy, and thought he would go at once and make a call on Toby. There was snow upon the ground, and so Tommy harnessed Snowball to his little red sled. He set out in fine style. Oh, how proud he was of his handsome team! As Tommy turned the corner he saw Toby coming in his goat- cart. Toby shouted with surprise when he saw Tommy’s goat. 188 THE WHITE EGG. The boys hurried to meet each other. The path was wide, and Tommy tried to turn out, and make room for Toby. But Snowball would not turn. He wanted to have his own way. Tommy pulled first one rein and then the other. It was of no use. Snowball went straight ahead. “You must turn out, Toby,” shouted Tommy. “T can’t,” answered Toby; “my goat will not mind me!” In fact, both goats wanted to do as they pleased. They began to run, with their horns pointed out ahead. “Whoa! whoa! whoa!” shouted the two boys. It was no use; the goats would not obey. Bump they went against each other with all their might. Over went the sled. Over went the cart. Toby and Tommy tumbled headlong into the snow; but, after all, nobody was hurt. It is a bad thing for ‘aber goats or boys always to have their own way. THE WHITE EGG. “WELL, well!” said Dame Partlet. “I really cannot wait for this chicken any longer. If he doesn’t choose to come out he must stay in, that’s all. You are all tired of waiting; aint you, my dears?” “Peep! peep! Yes! we are very tired of waiting!” said all the little chickens. There were nine of them, and some of them had been out of their shells for more than an hour; and their mother had promised to- THE WHITE EGG. 189 take them over to the barn-yard as soon as they were all out. But one white egg still lay motionless in the nest; no picking or scratching was heard inside it; no crack appeared in the smooth shell. What could be the matter? Dame Partlet turned the egg over and over with her beak. “TI don’t approve of helping chickens out, as a rule,” she said. “They are always lazy if one does, and don’t work for themselves. But there must be something the matter with this one.” She gave a sharp peck at the egg, adding, “I have heard of a chicken being born with only one leg, but I have never had any- thing of that kind in my family.” She eyed the egg anxiously, and pecked vigorously at it, but her pecks, sharp though they were, made no crack or mark on the smooth white surface; and no answering peck came from within. 190 THE WHITE EGG. “Tl give him five minutes more,” said the dame, “and if he isn’t out by that time, we must go to the barn-yard without him. Perhaps,” she added, in a louder tone, for the benefit of the naughty chicken who was giving her so much trouble, — “ perhaps the old gander may come along and eat him up, shell and all. He’d better come out!” And all the nine little chickens ran up to the egg, and, putting their beaks close to the shell, peeped, “‘ You’d better come out!” But the white egg lay still in the nest, and showed no sign of cracking; and when the five minutes were over, the old hen marched off with her nine chickens, and left it alone, at the mercy of the old gander. Now, I may as well tell you that the strange white egg was a china nest egg, so there was not much chance of its cracking at all; but of course Dame Partlet did not know that. When she came back and found it still whole, and no sign of a chicken, she was very angry at first, but afterwards she became frightened. “T fear the’ chicken must be dead!” she said. “Indeed, the shell is so hard that I cannot break it myself, and how:can I expect a little chicken to do it? My dears,” she continued sadly, “your poor little brother (or sister) must certainly be dead. Let us weep for him!” So the nine little chickens took their nine little pocket hand- kerchiefs out of their nine little coat-tail pockets, and wept for their poor little brother (or sister) who lay dead inside the nest-egg. And the nest-egg lay there and took no notice of them, and would not even take the trouble to tell them that there was no chicken inside it. But it was made of china, and probably knew no better. { Hl a iN SOME FUNNY FELLOWS. THERE is a bird that knows how to sew so well that it is called the tailor-bird. Look at this queer nest, which is hidden in the leaves all sewed together. Perhaps you wonder where it gets its thread. Even that it makes from the fine cotton on the back of the cotton-plant, which it spins into a thread with its delicate bill and little feet. When it is all ready to sew, it makes holes through the leaves with its small bill, and then sews them nicely together. Some birds, like the wood- pecker, use their bills to drill holes in the trees, to get at worms and insects, which they eat. You can hear the sound of this little instrument a good ways off. It is like many knocks, one after the other. I will tell you of one other, and this is a strange-looking bird. It really has no wings, but such a long bill, which it uses, like all the others, for gathering its food,—insects and worms. But it has a stranger use than that, for it makes a cane of it. It puts the tip, which is pointed, on the ground, and rests upon it, just as an old 192 NAUGHTY .NASNA. man does when he leans upon his staff. On account of this funny habit it is called the cane-bird. NAUGHTY NASNA. NAsNA was a coati-mundi, a cousin of the raccoon family. She was about the size of a cat, with thick, coarse fur, brown on the back and sides, and shading from yellow to orange underneath. She had a head and four legs, and a fat body; but the two most important parts of her, in her own ES opinion at least, were her nose Se Y) » and her tail. The tail was 1 vhs : ae ON certainly very handsome, ‘ ( 1 AY long, and bushy, with black iY, =) I \'—°r, and yellow rings round it. We AD RW The nose was long, too, \ VES W = a et d 1 oOW™ \ ong and sharp, an QQ always poking, poking itself everywhere. There never was such an in- quisitive nose. Now it MNS XS pot on the kitchen fire (for Nasna was tame, and a great pet of her master’s), and scalding itself with the steam; now it was sniffing at a bottle of strong ammonia, with- out seeming to be troubled in the least by the smell; now it was in her master’s pocket, trying to find out what it was that went “ Tick! tick!” NAUGHTY NASNA. 193 But what do you think the nose did one day? oh! what do you think it did? ‘You never could guess, and so I must tell you. The old cat had been asleep beside the kitchen fire. She had had a long, long nap, —the sleepy old cat, — and when she woke up she felt that she needed a long, long stretch before she was quite herself again. Now, the way in which the old cat stretched herself was this: she put her four feet close together, and humped her back just as high as she could possibly hump it; then she stretched = Iii Co tg \ NX i : sss 7 ON 194 NAUGHTY NASNA. herself and opened her mouth to its fullest extent and said, “ Mu- aw-yu-aouw! ” This was a singular performance. Nasna had never seen it before, and when she saw the red mouth open, wide, wider, widest, she immediately said to herself, “Dear me! how very odd! I wonder what there is inside that red cavern? I'm going to look!” and the next moment the long, velvety nose was poked right mto the old cat’s mouth and almost down her throat. Did the old cat shut her mouth? She did, indeed, my child; and who can blame her for doing so? But there was a sound of woe in the air, and a squealing as of a coati in despair, and the next moment Nasna was crouching in the farthest corner of the room, holding her wounded nose in both hands, and sneezing violently. 3ut do not think this was a lesson to Nasna; nothing of the kind! The very next morning she managed to find her way into the dining-room when the master and mis- tress were at breakfast. She climbed up at once into the mistress’ lap and poked her nose at the shining coffee-pot. Ah! it was hot. Pop went the Ny nose into the cup of coffee that w was steaming beside the mistress’ plate. Oh! that was hotter. “T won’t stay here any longer, to be treated so!” cried Nasna; and down she jumped to the floor. NAUGHTY NASN-L 195 Buzz! buzz! what is that by the window? Something small flying about, with a black and yellow jacket on. See, now it is crawling on the floor, and Nasna can catch it. Nasna does catch it, putting her soft paw on it. Mr. Wasp extends his sting, as the utmost he has to offer. Nasna squeaks wofully, but does not understand yet, so puts her nose down instead of her paw. This time there is no doubt about the matter, and she retires in great anguish to the kitchen. One day as she was playing about, tettered by a string to a chair, her master took an egg and placed it on the floor, at a very pro- voking distance. Nasna could just touch it with one paw, but could not get hold of it. She tried with fore paws, she tried with hind paws; but all in vain: she only succeeded in rolling the egg a little farther off. What was to be done? She sat down and looked at the egg long and thoughtfully. At last she put her head on one side and winked: she had an idea. She turned her back on the coveted treasure, and backed towards it as far as she could. Then she grasped her tail with one paw, stiffened it and curved the tip almost into a hook, and, touching the egg with this hook, slowly and cautiously rolled it round in front of her, till she could reach it with her fore paw. Then, in triumph and much pride, she sat on her haunches, cracked the egg, and sucked it, without spilling a drop. oD? Clever Nasna! I think she deserved a good breakfast, don’t you? 20 SLIPPERY SOLOMON. SLIPPERY Solomon was a gentleman who formerly lived in a cer- tain aquarium in London.’ He is dead now; so there can be no objection to my telling you all I know about him. I call him a gentleman, because his manners and his appearance were polished in the extreme; but perhaps most people would have called him an eel. In point of fact he was an eel, though he preferred to be called a fish. Perhaps you do not know that eels are fish. I have met a great many grown people, and even some children, who did not. “Hat eels!” I have heard a man say. ‘‘ When I want to eat fish I will eat fish; and when I want to eat snakes I will eat snakes; but I won’t eat eels.” But the eel is a fish, for all that, and very good to eat, as many people know. Thousands and thousands of eels are caught in the streams and rivers of New England, put in barrels, and sent to New York, where there are plenty of people ready to eat them. They are not pleasant things to cook, for even when you have cut one up into small pieces, the pieces jump, and squirm, and hop about in the frying-pan just as if they were still alive. But about Slippery Solomon. He was a fine fellow, indeed, nearly five feet long, smooth and glossy, and very handsome in his way. Not a common eel was Solomon. Oh, dear, no! He was an electric eel, and he came from the river Amazon, in — oh, you know where the Amazon, is do you? I beg your pardon, I’m sure! He had more names than most people, for beside the two I have already mentioned, he was called Gymnotus by the SLIPPERY SOLOMON. 197 wise men, and Carapo by the South Americans. He didn’t like the tank he lived in nearly as well as the river Amazon, though it was a good, big tank, and he had it all to himself. He could lie at full length in it, and he could wriggle, — oh! how he could wrig- gle! Positively, even a boy taking his medicine is nothing com- pared with Slippery Solomon when he wanted his dinner. By the way, I must tell you how he took it. His servant brought it to him every day at one o’clock precisely. If he was late Solomon invariably bit him, which served him quite right. The dinner consisted of a number of live fish, which were thrown, one by one, into the tank. Now, how did Solomon behave 198 SLIPPERY SOLOMON. when he saw a fish? Did he rush at it and gobble it up greedily, without any consideration for its feelings? Not he! He was far too genteel and well-bred for that. He glided softly up to the fish, and merely touched it, curving his long black body slightly at the same time. Just a touch; but that was enough; the fish turned over instantly on its back, struck as if dead, without life or motion. Then Solomon ate it in a refined and gentlemanly manner, and looked up for another. Now, how did he do this, you ask? Well, you see, that is why he is called an electric eel. Stored up in his body, in a mysterious way, is a great quantity of that strange SLIPPERY SOLOMON. 199 power which makes the thunder-storms, and which works the tele- graph and the telephone. Do you know what an electric shock is like? Ask your papa to give you one; or stroke the cat on a cold day, and you will get one without asking. Well, when Solo- mon Gymnotus touched the fish he gave it such a shock that it never knew anything again, and had not the slightest idea that it was being eaten. Convenient, isn’t it? The wonderful power of the electric eel is shown by the way in which the natives catch them in South America. First they catch a herd of wild horses (that is easy, of course! I have often caught one myself; haven’t you?), and drive them down to a stream, or river, where they know the eels live. They drive the horses into the water, where they plunge about, snorting and kicking. This makes the eels very angry, and they all come up and turn their electric batteries on the horses, gliding under their bellies, and giving them shock after shock, till the poor beasts are mad with pain and terror. They try to get away from their terrible enemies, but the cruel men (who seem to value an eel much more than a horse) drive them back into the water again and again, till often some of them are drowned. After a time the electric power of the eels becomes exhausted by giving out repeated shocks; they lose their strength, and are then easily killed by the natives, who let the poor horses go, and rush boldly in themselves, when all the danger is over. I call that the most cowardly trick I ever heard of. What do you think? SAVED FROM FREEZING TO DEATH. Wuen Bobby Smart was six years old he was left to the care of his Uncle James, who lived in the country. His aunt took him to his future home, and at the station he saw his uncle for the first time. Bobby was lonely and sad; his uncle often treated him with harshness, and even cruelty. The cold winter had come on early. Bobby was the only boy about the farm, and he had to work very hard. His clothing was unfit for the winter weather, and he often suffered from the cold. Among the duties which this poor boy had to perform was that of tending a flock of sheep. One afternoon, when there were signs of a snow-storm, he was sent to drive the flock to the barn. Te started for the field, but his clothes were so thin that he was be- numbed by the intense cold. He sat down on a large rock to rest himself. He felt strangely tired and cold. In a little while he SAVED FROM FREEZING TO DEATH. 201 began to feel drowsy. Then he thought it was so nice and com- fortable that he would stay there awhile. In a very few moments he was asleep, and perhaps dreaming. Suddenly he was aroused by a tremendous blow, which sent him spinning from his perch on the rock to the ground. Looking about him, he saw an old ram near by. The creature looked as though he had been doing mischief, and Bobby was no longer at a loss to know where the blow came from; but he thought the attack was an accident, and in a short time he was again in the land of Nod. Again the ram very rudely tumbled him over into the snow. He was now wide awake, and provoked at the attack of the beast. He began to search for a stick to chastise his enemy. The ram understood his intention, for he turned upon Bobby as if to finish the poor boy. Bobby was forced to take to his heels, and ran towards home. The ram chased him, while the rest of the flock followed after their leader. The inmates of the farm-house were surprised to see Bobby rushing towards the house as fast as his little legs could carry him. His hair was streaming in the wind, and he was very 202 HELEN’S DAISY. much terrified. Close upon him was the old ram, kicking up his heels in his anger. Behind him could be seen a straggling line of sheep, doing their best to keep up. Bobby won the race, however. His uncle came out in time to turn the flock into the barn. It was a long time before Bobby would venture near the ram again. Bobby knows now that but for the efforts or that old ram in. knocking him from his seat, on that bitterly cold day, he would have been among the angels in a very short time. The sleepy feeling which overcame him would have ended in death. Bobby declares that the ram knew all the time what ailed him, and that he butted him from the rock on purpose. I cannot explain it, but do know that ‘* God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.” HELEN’S DAISY. HELEN STuART was a little girl about eight years old. She lived in the city, in an old-fashioned frame house, with a large yard. One cold day a little kitten, as black as coal, came to Helen’s home. She crawled down a rat-hole under the barn to keep warm. Helen called her out and brought her in the house. She gave her some milk, which she seemed to think was very nice. The kitten was so pretty that Helen thought she would keep her. So she named her ‘ Daisy.” Was not that a funny name for a black kitten? One morning Helen went to the barn to call Daisy, and found in the hay, not only Daisy, but three little kittens, — one black, one white, and the other gray. She named them for flowers, — the black one, Buttercup; the white, Snowdrop; and the gray, Violet. They grew up to be very pretty kittens, and very playful. Some- times they wanted to play with their mother when she was sleepy. She would keep telling them not to trouble her; but they would not mind, and would pull her ears, until finally she would get up and box first one on the ear, and then another. But she did not have to punish them very often, for they were generally good. HELEN’S DAISY. 203 Helen now thought they were old enough to drink milk out of a saucer; but they did not like it. So she filled a spoon with milk; then they lapped it up very nicely. After a while they learned to drink out of a saucer, and sometimes Daisy and her three little kittens would all drink out of the dish together. Helen gave her kittens to three of her girl friends, but she still had Daisy left. One night Daisy wanted to get into the house. She went to the front door and stood on the railing of the ; steps, put her paw up and rat- | tled the knob. Helen’s papa who it was. He went CaN wondered LE Nh ; 4 EY to the ZA id door. When he found it was only Daisy he had a great laugh. Daisy did not like music, and if Helen began to practise she would jump on the piano and walk on the keys. Daisy is now ten years old, and she has become very dignified. Helen is eighteen, _and is very handsome. She and Daisy think they are too old to run races and frolic together. So Daisy lies down by the stove and dreams of the time when she was young, and Helen reads and studies and helps her mother. SCAMP AND PSYCHE! My master’s brother Alexis has a kitten. She is a very young kitten, and does not know how to behave herself. Now, when I was a pug-puppy I was quite bad. But I have learned how to behave myself. When Alexis first got this Litten she was very ill-mannered, and often scratched me. He calls her Psyche. She is white and black. The first thing she did was to put up her back and fly at me. I knew at once that this was wrong, so I thought I would teach her better. I went up to her to speak to her, and what do you think she did? Why, she flew at on the nose. I for the next two Then she said day, when I was and began to play with my tail. I just wagged it ever so hard,and it hit her and knocked her down. Then: she found out I was somebody. 1 Pronounced Sy -ke. me and scratched me did not look at her days. I was cross, and one asleep, she came up Since that time we ‘have been good friends. SCAMP AND PSYCHE. 205 One day she was very ill-mannered in her eating. She ate too fast. I told her to lap her milk slowly, and not spill it all over the floor. She said that she ate as well as I did. Don’t you think that was rude? I sat down and gave her a good scolding for “talking back to her elders.” She seemed ashamed of herself, for I have noticed she eats with more care now. Whenever my master spoke to me Psyche would mew as loud as she could. I told her “ Children must be seen and not heard,” and the next time he spoke she only sat and looked on. In a few days I will give her some lessons in talking loud and singing at her meals. When she grows up I think she will be a model cat. Anyhow, her manners will be good. (oi See SS Ya || a BS NY NY \ OZ Wy ps \ wl ST) WW Ve DiNNER FOR THREE. Lirrte Eva took a plateful of dinner out into the wood-shed, to feed her kitties. When she called them the black kit and the gray kit both ran to the plate. They each seized a bit of meat, and began to shake it and growl over it. “Don’t quarrel, little kits!” said Eva. When the meat was all picked out the kitties ran away. “Oh, now they have wasted all the rest of the dinner,” said Eva. But just then old Dobbin, the horse, saw the plate. He had been turned loose into the yard to eat grass. Dobbin came and put his head in at the door, and he ate up every bit of the vege- tables and bread. Then Eva laughed, and clapped her hands. “O mamma!” she said, “it is just like the story of Jack Sprat in my ‘ Mother Goose’: — “<*Twixt them both they cleared the cloth, And licked th: platter clean!’ ” TILLIE TEXAS. WE have had some funny boarders at our house. Tillie Texas was perhaps the funniest. She came one hot summer day, dressed in a heavy black coat. She was an entire stranger to all of us. She did not look or act like any one who had ever before been among us. We were very shy of her at first, and didn’t give her a warm welcome, but by and by we grew to like her and enjoy her society. What do you suppose she was? ” :“~ | ofthe bridle as it hung down. “ Humph!” said the gray colt. “YT know what that means, young gentle- man. You may be a clever boy, but I think I am a clever colt. We shall see about this!” . Accordingly Jerry came up quite close to James, who held the hat out invitingly, while his other hand was all ready to clap the bridle on the moment the gray nose was well in the corn. But Jerry knew a trick worth two of that. Down went his nose, slowly, carefully; now he sniffed at the edge of the hat; now his nose was almost in it; when suddenly, with a quick jerk of his head, he knocked it out of the boy’s hand. Then, wheeling swiftly, he pre- sented his two white hind feet in a gentle, but decided manner. which left James but one course to pursue. He tumbled backward on the grass; and while he was picking himself up and rubbing his shins and his shoulders, gray Jerry ate the corn, and then seizing the hat, which was a straw one, galloped off with a whinny of triumph, to munch it quietly under the oak-tree. A QUEER ANIMAL. 223 James walked slowly back to the stable, hung’ up the bridle, and then went into the house. “Well, my boy,” said his father. “Did you catch the colt?” “Yes!” replied James. “ At least, I caught part of him.” “Part of him?” said the father. ‘“ What do you mean by that? What part of him?” “His two hind feet!” said James. A QUEER ANIMAL. Wuen I was a little girl grandpapa gave me a book all about animals. How I liked that book! Mamma used to read it to me, just as your mamma reads to you. There was a picture of one very queer animal in the book. He was not at all pretty. He had a big hump on his back; he had 224 SCAMP’S VISIT TO CONEY ISLAND. long legs and a long neck, and such an ugly head! But I used to like to hear about him. He wasacamel. Did you ever see a camel? In the countries where camels live the people ride on them. They cross the great deserts of sand on the backs of camels. Do you think you would like to ride on one? The little children ride in a kind of basket. The people often travel many days in the great deserts without finding any water. They always carry water with them in great leather bottles. But the camels themselves can go many days with- out water. They do not get thirsty. I wish you could see a baby camel, —a baby camel is such a queer little thing. His body is small, and his legs are very, very long. He has big black eyes. His hair is fluffy and yellow. It is a funny sight to see the camels eat. The driver spreads a cloth on the ground and pours the grain upon it. Then all the camels sit down on the ground around the cloth and eat. It is just like a picnic. They behave very well at their table. They bend their long necks down to the grain. They look as if they were bowing politely to each other. Sometimes a camel feels cross, and will not eat at all. Do you ever feel so cross that you cannot eat? SCAMP’S VISIT TO CONEY ISLAND. ~ NE day my master told me to get ready to go away. He began packing up my neck-rib- bons and pug-dog harness. I wondered | where he was going. At last he took me | in his arms. Wyatt, the waiter, carried his | valise down-stairs, and we got into the car- riage. My master’s sisters and brothers were there, too. We drove away, and at last stopped at a big house, and my master said, “ Here’s the station.” Then we got into a sort of long carriage, with seats SCAMP’S VISIT TO CONEY ISLAND. 225 on either side, and a great many windows in it. My master told me it was a car. Then something in front gave a loud scream and began to toot. “The engine is moving; we are off,” cried my master; and he let me look out of the window. The houses and st. eets be- gan to pass by me as if they were wilking. I looked iound at my master. He laughed, and said, ‘Scamp doesn’t know what to make of this.” I did not, indeed; I looked out for a long time, until I got tired, and then lay down and went to sleep. 226 SCAMP’S VISIT TO CONEY ISLAND. When I awoke, my master said, “We are at Coney Island.” We all got out, and went into the big house he called a hotel. After we had dinner we all walked out. It was very sandy, and water was running, up and down upon the sand. I looked at the water. I saw it away off in the distance. Then it came running in towards me, and after making a great noise it splashed and rolled up on the sand almost at my feet. Then it went back again. I grew angry, for the water kept dving this for ever so long. My master wanted to go up the sand and see all the funny houses and people. I did not want to go, but wished to bite the water because it chased me. At last I made a dart at the water as it was running away. Iran down the sand, when, oh, dear! a great big wave — that’s what my master called it—came up. It splashed all over me. I fell down and began to roll. My master called me, but I could not get up. The water came all over me, and I thought I should drown. T hate water. All pug-dogs do. Another wave came up, and I know I should have been washed away if a boy had not run out into the water and caught me. My master gave me a good scold- ing when I got safe on Jand again. I can tell you I did not like my first day at Coney Island. THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED. OF course it was the cat’s fault. It always is, whenever there is a cat in the case at all, I notice. But the cat could not have done it all by herself if she had tried. You see, Uncle Charles had given this fine new carriage to Ethel and Lily, and had taught Dash and Diver, the two dogs, how to draw it nicely. That was most delightful; but Ethel and Lily could not enjoy anything properly unless their children enjoyed it, too. What mother can? So Armida Sophia and the Chinese Am- bassador were put into the carriage, and sent out for a drive. Armida Sophia was dressed in a green silk frock, a pink bonnet, and a white muslin mantle, and her appearance was most gratifying. She did not speak to the Chinese Ambassador, because she did not want him to find out that she could not talk Chinese. He, how- ever, was of an amiable and cheerful disposition, and nodded 228 THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED. constantly in reply to the remarks which Armida Sophia did not make. The dogs trotted along quietly, and Ethel and Lily looked across the hedge in delight. “ How well Armida holds herself!” said Lily. “She has real dignity. Papa said so last night, when she fell into the jam, and kept her back perfectly straight all the time. It isa great thing to have a doll like that.” “She needn’t be quite so stiff to the Ambassador!” said Ethel. “She seems to forget that he is third cousin to the emperor, and that his pigtail is three times as long as himself.” Lily was about to reply in defence of her beloved Armida Sophia, when suddenly —the cat appeared! And then, all in a minute, everything happened. The cat ran up a tree (doubtless with a deep design), and the dogs ran after her; and the carriage caught on some stones, and the wheel came off, and it tipped over, and Armida Sophia was thrown out, and the Chinese Ambassador stood on his head, and was nearly strangled with his pigtail. Ethel and Lily shrieked and screamed; the dogs barked and Jeaped at the tree, and the designing cat mewed and shivered on the topmost branch. But Armida Sophia lay on the grass and kept her back perfectly straight. “TI can die with dignity,” she said, “and he will never know that I could not speak Chinese.” ~The Ambassador stood on his head, and tried to keep his eyes from rolling out. “I can no longer nod my head in answer to her remarks,” he said; “ but it is true that she did not make any.” ae pe A DOG HOSPITAL. One day last winter a druggist heard something scratching at the door of his shop. Then there was a soft whine. He opened the door. A strange dog limped in, holding up a bleeding paw. How did the dog know that he could be cured in a drug-store? The good apothecary took care of the dog’s foot, and it soon got well. After that the dog came every morning to the shop, and wagged his tail thankfully. He was never in such haste as to forget this duty. A few weeks later, when he called at the shop, he brought another dog. This one also had a bitten paw, and was crying with pain. How the good doctor laughed to see this new cripple! But he cured him, too. Now he is expecting other dogs. All ‘this took place in the great city of Paris. There is a hospital there for lost dogs and cats. They are kindly fed and cared for till they find good masters. Per- haps the dog with the lame paw had lived at this hospital. If he had he might have learned to know a doctor by his scent. Per- haps this was why he scratched at the apothecary’s door. Not long ago a grand ball was given in Paris to aid the dog and cat asylum. Was that not astrange party? Well, really kind people care for even dogs and cats. THE PET LIZARDS. MONG Uncle Will’s pets were some gray lizards. A great many of these little fel- lows are found near the city of Washington. They are four or five inches long. They are nice and clean to the touch, and make amusing pets. You will see them sitting on the walls and fences, in the sun, and you can catch them easily, if you know how. You must go up to them very slowly, for if you make iw, a swift motion they are off. When you get near enough grasp swiftly a little before the lizard’s nose. If you grasp at the spot where he is you will only catch the end of his tail. Nowa ‘ lizard drops his tail off as easily as a boy loses his jack-knife; so if you catch only the lizard’s tail you lose the rest of the lizard. One of Uncle Will's lizards had a broken tail, but he seemed just as happy for all that. If you are kind to the lizard, and tickle him gently with your finger, he will soon be tame. Te will catch flies on the table, and -will also come and take insects from your hand. In the tropics the lizards are more nimble. It is harder to catch them. Here is one good way. Take a long,slender switch. Then approach the lizard softly. When you are near enough hit him a blow with the switch. He will tumble over, and while he is scrambling you can pounce upon him. But Jook out! He is not tame yet, and may bite you. To be sure it will not hurt much. The lizards in the tropics are green and golden, and red and pur- ple, and, indeed, all colors. They are beautiful creatures, and most of them may be tamed, like their gray cousins in Virginia. But sometimes they are very large and fierce. I was once sailing in a canoe with some Indians. Ye passed beneath a tree. A lizard, nearly as long as a broom-handle, leaped down from a branch. If THE PET LIZARDS. 231 I had not bowed my head he would have hit me. As it was, he struck the side of the canoe and fell into the river. One of the Indians cried out, “ He mean bite! ” Whether he meant bite, or not, I cannot tell. All ! know is this: I should not want a lizard, with such a great mouth and such sharp teeth, taking flies from my hand; should you? A FANTASTIC FLY-CATCHER. Come with me into my garden, and I will show you something. Where is my garden? Why, it is in Africa, of course; where else should it be? Don’t ask foolish questions, but come down to the farther end of the garden, and sit down on this bench, under the thick green leaves of the cork-tree. Now look at that branch, and tell me what you see on it. “Leaves?” Yes; but what else? “ Nothing else?” Why, where are youreyes? Put your finger on that leaf and see—. “Oh! oh! It is alive!” Indeed, it is very much alive. That is a chameleon, and a very singular fellow he is. He isa kind of lizard, and — see! -Look, how his color changes! He was green when we first saw him, and now he is nearly black, with round yellow spots all over him. He can change the color of his dress whenever he pleases, without having to change the dress itself; that is a great convenience. He is so perfectly still you might think him asleep if it were not for his green, big, round eyes, which are constantly moving. He can move them in different directions at the same time; which is more than you can do, or your school-ma’am either. One up and the other down; one forward and the other back; truly, that is the way to use one’s eyes. It seems very paltry to be obliged to move both at once, and in the same direction. Ah! he moves a little, just a very little; u A FANTASTIC FLY-CATCHER. 233 now he is still again. I think he sees that large fly which has just lighted on the branch. He says to himself, ‘It is dinner-time.” (N.B. It is always dinner-time whenever he sces a fly or any other insect.) Now, how do you think he is going to catch that fly? It is so far off he certainly cannot reach it from where he sits, and his motions are so slow that the fly might be half a mile away before he had uncoiled his tail from the branch round which it is closely twisted. Flash! What was that? Out from his mouth darted a long, slender, round thing, as long as his whole body almost; it darts back again, with the fly on its tip; and Mr. Chameleon swallows quietly the first course of his dinner. That long, slender thing, as straight as a billiard-cue, and as sure of its aim, was the gentle- man’s tongue. ‘ What avery remarkable tongue!” you say, and vou say well. It is gun and fishing-rod, knife, fork, and spoon, to the chameleon. He will sit there for hours, perhaps, perfectly 234 A FANTASTIC FLY-CATOHER.:. motionless, except for his tongue; and whenever a fly, or other insect, alights within reach of that wonderful member, flash! it is out and in again, and the unhappy insect is devoured before he can say Jack Robinson, supposing that he knows how to say it, which I doubt — Ah! look! You did not look quickly enough, my dear In the time that it took you to turn your head a dragon-fly came, and was seen, and was conquered, and the last wing of him has just disappeared from view inside the chameleon’s gaping jaws. And now I do believe the creature is changing color again! Yes! the yellow spots fade out, and the black lightens, until now he is a light brown all over, — just the color of a dead leaf. Pop! Another fly has met his fate. Have you seen enough of this very greedy fellow? Jump up then and shake the branch. Whisk! Scrabble! He is gone. You see he can make haste, after all, when he tries. BABY BRUIN. OnE day we stopped at the Hot Springs, about five miles from Helena, in Montana. When I went into the reception-room I was surprised to find a little cinnamon bear, six weeks old, lying on the sofa. I put my little sister, who was about the same aye, beside him, and the bear curled up close to her and went to sleep. Before we left we were invited to go out and see Mas- ter Bruin eat his supper. A large pan of bread and milk was placed before him. He put his fore paws in- to the pan, drew out the pieces of bread and ate them. Then he lapped the milk. For a while he was allowed to run all over the house and grounds. 236 BABY BRUIN. He soon found where the sugar and molasses were kept, and helped himself so freely that he had to be secured with a chain. Not long ago Bruin slipped his chain from the pole to which it was fastened, and climbed a tree. The chain caught on a branch, and he found himself hung up in mid-air. The proprietor of the springs heard his cries; hastening i out, he found Bruin kicking } violently, and striving to reach the body. of the tree. After a great deal of trouble the bear was taken down, and was glad to find him- self once more on_ solid ground. During the sammer we often called to interview “his Bearship.” After we knew of his liking for sweets we made it a point to take some candy with us. He seemed to know us, and to watch for our coming. Stand- ing erect, he would walk round us, hug- ging us with his fore paws. ‘Then. he snuffed at each pocket, to find where the sweets were hidden. Sometimes he showed his savage nature, for he would snap and snarl if the promised treat were withheld. ‘When the cold weather came Bruin hid away in a large hole fo. his winter sleep. He did not show himself again until the warm days of spring. A SAD STORY. “ Au me!” said the sponge. “ Dear! dear! dear! well-a-day!” “ What is the matter?” asked the bath-tub. ‘Have you been squeezed too hard, or has the nurse rubbed soap on you again? I know soap never agrees with you.” “T am rather exhausted by the squeezing, I confess,” replied the sponge; “but it was not for that I sighed. I am gradually getting used to these daily tortures. ‘* But I was thinking about the past; about my beautiful home, from which I was so cruelly torn, and about the happy, happy life T led there.” “Tell me about it,” said the bath-tub. “You have told me before, but I always find it interesting. My home was in a tin-shop, as you are aware. The society was good, but it was rather a dull place, on the whole. You lived, you say ”— “On the coast of Syria,” said the sponge, with a sigh, —‘‘the coast of beautiful Syria. There is a tiny bay, where the shore is bold and rocky. The rocks are bare above the water, but down below they are covered with lovely plants, and fringed with gay mosses, beautiful to behold. The bottom of the sea is covered with silver sand, and over it move the crimson and gold colored jelly- fish, the scarlet star-fish, and a thousand other brilliant creatures, making the neighborhood always attractive and delightful. On a certain ledge of rock, close by the bottom, I lived, as happy an animal as could be found in the Mediterranean Sea.” 238 A SAD STORY. “What do you mean?” interrupted the nail-brush, which was new, and very ignorant. “ You, an animal? I don’t believe it. If your back were bone, and your hair. pig-bristles, like mine, you might at least call yourself an animal product; but you have no back that I can see, nor hair either.” “You are extremely rude,” said the sponge. “ But you. know no better, and ignorance should always be pitied rather than blamed. I was an animal, my young friend, though now, alas! I am only the skeleton of one. “JT lived, as I said, a very happy life on my rocky ledge. I never moved from it. I had no occasion to do so, even if I had been provided with legs, as many animals are. I never had any fancy for a roving life. To draw in the warm, delicious water through the thousand small holes and canals of my frame, and spout it out again through my large holes, was my chief occupation, and one of which I was never weary. The water was full of tiny creatures of all kinds, and these formed my food, and gave me always plenty to eat. In the spring I was always busy with my maternal duties. I brought out hundreds of lovely, little, round eggs, yellow and white,—the prettiest eggs you ever saw. Ina short time they put out tiny feelers, a sort of fringe of waving lashes, like those things on the nurse’s eyes; as soon as they appeared I knew my babies were ready to come out; and, sure enough, they soon broke through the egg-covering, and, waving their lashes, swam out into the sea. ‘At first they stayed near me, delighting my heart with their pretty tricks; but very soon they felt the need of homes of their own, and went off to fix themselves on rocks, or coral-trees, and become, in their turn, full-grown sponges, like myself. I could not complain, for I had left my own mother in the same way. I never saw any of them again, except one dear child, who made his home on the shell of a large crab. He grew finely, and became a noble sponge; but the crab never seemed to mind him in the least, and carried him about with him wherever he went. In this way he often passed near my ledge, and as the crab was a friendly and sensible fellow we often had'a pleasant chat together. A SAD STORY. 239 “One day, one dreadful, dreadful day, I was talking thus with my son and his landlord, when suddenly something huge and dark was seen above us, swimming slowly downward through the clear water. At first I paid no attention to it, supposing it to be a shark, or some other large fish; but as it drew nearer I saw that it was no fish, but a strange and horrible monster, the like of which had 240 A SAD STORY. never been secn under the sea. It had four long arms, something like those of a cuttle-fish, only much less graceful, and divided at the end into -five claws, or feelers. (I have since learned that two of these arms are called legs, and that the feclers are fingers and toes.) It had gleaming eyes, and in one claw it held something bright and shining. Ah! it makes me cold to think of it. To my horror the monster fixed his shining eyes on me, and swam directly towards my ledge. The crab scuttled off with my son on his back, and I was left alone and helpless. I saw one of the long arms extended; the five feelers clutched me in their grasp. I shrank down, and clung with all my might to the rock; but in vain. The shining thing in the monster’s other claw was slipped under me. It cut my delicate fibres; I felt them give way one by one; and at last, with one terrible cut and a violent wrench, I was torn from my peaceful home; torn from it, alas! forever! ‘‘T was thrown into a bag full of other sponges, which the mon- ster had slung about his middle; and then he pursued his path of destruction. I will pass briefly over the dark days that followed the drying in the sun, till all the life was dried out of me; the fear- ful squeezing, with thousands of other wretches like myself, into wooden cases; the voyage over seas; finally, the exposure of my bleached and miserable skeleton in the window of a druggist’s shop. All these things are too painful to be dwelt upon; and, as you know, I am now resigned to my lot. I find in you a sympathizing friend. I have water given me (though of very inferior quality) morning and night, and, were it not for the soap and the squeezing, I should make no complaint. But often, as I hang idly in my wire basket, my thoughts go back to my own dear home under the Syrian shores; and I long for a draught of the warm, delicious water, for the cool retirement of my rocky ledge, and for the sight of my dear son, riding gracefully about on the back of his crab.” SAILOR BABIES. Birps, and birds, and birds! Have you any idea how many kinds of birds there are? J am very sorry you could not count them all. And such queer fellows many ofthemare! There are butcher-birds and tailor-birds, soldier-birds — the penguins, you know, who stand on the sea-shore like companies of soldiers, “heads up, eyes front, arms (meaning wings) at the sides” — and sailor-birds. It is about one of the sailor-birds and his babies that I am going to tell you now. She is called the Little Grebe, or sometimes, by her intimate friends, the Dabchick. She is a pretty little bird, about nine inches long, with brown head and back, and grayish-white breast. She and her husband are both extremely fond of the water. “ We are first cousins to the Divers!” they sometimes say proudly. “The Divers are never happy away from the water, and neither are we. It is very vulgar to live on land all the time. One might almost as well have four legs, and be a creature at once!” (The Divers are a very proud family, and speak of all quadrupeds as “creatures.”) Mr.and Mrs. Grebe have very curiously webbed feet, looking more like a horse-chestnut leaf with three lobes than any- thing else. They are excellent swimmers and divers; indeed, in diving, the Great Northern Diver himself is not so quick and alert. 242 SAILOR BABIES. If anything frightens them, pop! they are under the water in the shaking of a feather; and you may sometimes see them in a pond, popping up and down like little absurd Jacks-in-the-box. As they think the land so very vulgar, of course they do not want to bring up their children on it. Oh, dear, no! They find a pleasant, quiet stream, or pond, where there are plenty of reeds and rushes growing in the water, and where there is no danger of their being disturbed by “creatures.” Then they go to work and make a raft, a regular raft, of strong stems of water-plants, reeds, and arrow-heads, plaited and woven together with great care and skill. It is light enough to float, and yet strong enough to bear the weight of the mother- bird. While she is building it she sits, or stands, on another and more roughly built raft, which is not meant to hold together long. Mr. Grebe helps her, pulling up the water-plants and cutting off the stems the right length; and so this little couple work away till the raft-nest is quite ready. Then Mrs. Grebe takes her place on it, and pro- ceeds to lay and hatch her eggs. There are five or six eggs, and they are white when she lays them; but they do not keep their whiteness long, for the water-weeds and the leaves that cover the raft soon decay, and_ stain the pretty white eggs, so that they are muddy brown by the time they are Well, there little Madam Grebe sits, brooding contentedly over her eggs, and thinking how carefully she will bring up her children, so that they will be a credit to the family of the Divers. Mr. Grebe paddles, and dives, and pops up and down about the nest, and brings her all mK ily hatched. SAILOR BABIES. 243 sorts of good thing's to eat, — worms for dinner, minnows for supper, and for breakfast the most delicate and appetizing of flies and beetles. One day, when he brings his wife’s dinner (a fine stickle- back), he finds her in a state of great excitement. “My dear,” she says, ‘I am going to move. #4 , I cannot endure this place another hour. I only waited to tell you about it.” “ Why, what is the matter, my love?” asks Mr. Grebe, in amazement. “Some creat- ures have been here,” answers little madam, in- dignantly, — ly monsters, with “huge, ug- horns; cows, I believe they are called. They have torn up the reeds, and muddied the water; and, if you will chick, one walked believe it, Dab- of them nearly ight over me; but I flew in his face, and gave hima good fright, I can tell you. But the whole thing cae has unset me very much, a and 1 am determined to leave the place.” * Very well, my love.” says the dutiful Dabchick. ‘ Whatever you say is always right!” Accordingly, when she has finished her dinner, Mrs. Grebe puts one foot into the water, and paddles her raft away as skilfully as if she were an Indian ina birch canoe. She steers it round the corners, and paddles on and on, till she find another quiet nook, where there is no sign of ‘any “creatures.” Then she draws in her paddle-foot, and broods quietly again, while Mr. Grebe, who has followed her, goes to explore the new surroundings, and see what he can pick up for supper. 244 BOWSER. After a time themuddy brown eggs crack open one by one, and out come the young Dabchicks, pretty; little, fuzzy brown balls. They shake themselves, and look at each other, and say how-d’-ye-do to their mother and father; and then, without any more delay, pop! they go into the water. “Hurrah!” says one. “I can swim!” “And I can dive! ’says another. “ Ho! I can do both!” cries a third. “ Here I go for the bottom! Catch me if you can!” and down they all go, with Mr. Grebe after them, to see that they come to no harm. Mamma Grebe watches them, her gray breast swelling with pride. “ Ah!” she says, “see what it is to belong to a good family.” BOWSER. Bowser is only a horse; but he knows how to behave when he wears his Sunday suit. That is more than some children know. There are little ones who make mud-pies when they have on their best clothes. Bowser never does. Bowser drags a cart on week-days; on Sunday he goes to church with a buggy. When John puts the heavy harness upon Bowser the horse goes to the cart and backsin. When he is dressed in the nice buggy-harness he steps off proudly and gets into the shafts of the buggy. He does this all alone. He never makes a mistake. One day Bowser had a set of new shoes. When the blacksmith put them on he drove a nail into one of Bowser’s feet. John did not notice it till they were almost home. When he saw that Bowser limped a little he said, “I must lead the poor fellow back, when I get him out of the cart.” BOWSER. 245 They reached home, and John took off Bowser’s harness. As soon as he was free the horse turned about and trotted off. When John ‘ ‘ called him he did not mind. He went straight back to the black- smith. “ Hello, Bowser! ” cried the blacksmith. The poor horse said nothing, but he walked up to the man and held out his aching foot. Then the blacksmith put the shoe on all right; and he patted Bowser kindly, and said, ** You know a great deal, for a horse.” “SANDY,” THE RUNAWAY COLT. A TRUE STORY. SanDy was a colt. Often, as he saw the big horses driven through the farm-gate into the road, on their way to town, he thought how nice it would be if he could go too. So, one day, seeing the gate open and no one in sight, Sandy trotted out to seek his fortune. In the evening, when the farm hands came to put away their horses, Sandy was nowhere to be found. Search was made for the runaway in every nook and corner of the farm where a colt could possibly hide ; but no Sandy. Days came and went. The farmers read of their neighbor’s’ loss in the paper. Each one, as he drove to market, looked about in hopes that he “SANDY,” THE RUNAWAY COLT. 247 might somewhere see the missing Sandy; but all to no purpose. At last his owner gave up the search, and thought he should never see Sandy any more. The weather was cold, the grass was with- ered, and the dead leaves were falling from the trees. One morning a farmer’s son shouldered his gun and started into the woods to hunt rabbits. During his tramp he came upon the living skeleton of a colt. This was all that was left of poor Sandy. With difficulty the farmer’s son succeeded in leading the half- starved colt home. Sandy never forgot this foolish adventure of his youth. Though he grew up to be a fine, able horse, and was ready for any work on the farm, he never wanted to run away again. HOW SILK IS MADE. you ever think, children, when your pretty sashes and ribbons are tied on, and you look at them admiringly, that the glossy, beautiful silk is made by a worm? Some of you may have seen silk-worms; but many do not know what an interest- ing story their little life makes. Last winter there was sent me a tiny package of what looked like little gray seeds, or beads. I had to keep them very cold until the mulberry leaves were well grown. Then I put the seeds ina warm place. In a day or two there were myriads of tiny little creatures crawling out from the seeds or eges. At once they be- gan to eat the leaves of the mulberry Day after day they ate, and grew until they were as large as my little finger, and longer. They ate so much that we were y_ all kept busy feeding them. * They would seize a leaf, and leave nothing but the veins in a few mo- menis. If you ever saw a skeleton “wi, - bouquet you. can. imagine how they 1 “i we HOW SILK IS MADE. 244 left the leaves. But one morn- ing they did not seem so hungry. They wan- dered apout, and climbed up the bun- dles of straw I had set for them. In a little while. many of them began to spin the most beautiful silken threads, very much as a spider does. Back and forth, over and over, in loops like a figure 8, went their queer “hooded” heads. By and by each one could be seen inside a beautiful silk- en veil, or shell, about the size of a large peanut. The worm continued to spin until the veil was too thick for us to see » through ; but we could hear his little “ click, click, click,” as he worked. The worms have to be killed in the case. If they are allowed to live they will break the delicate threads. We did not kill them all, however. I wish you could have seen the room when we gathered the cocoons, which is the proper name for the peanut ciapel home of the silk-worm. All along the ceil- ing, behind the window-curtain, on papa’s desk, in baby’s over- 250 HOW THE PIGS WERE RAISED. shoe, — which she forgot to put away, behind the pictures, — on the cord, under the broom, on the floor, around the door-knobs, — cocoons, cocoons, everywhere; countless numbers were also hung, like pretty birds’ eggs, in the straws. From these, after a few days, came beautiful white moths, not at all like the ugly worms. From the cocoons in which we killed the worms we reeled the delicate threads from which all our silk is made. Is it not indeed a curious story? HOW THE PIGS WERE RAISED. A FaAmity of ten little pigs was suddenly left motherless. What a misfortune! Farmer Clough had raised a great many pigs, but he wondered what was to become of those wee grunters. Their mother would have known just what to do with them. The man almost wished her babies had died with her. He would try to take care of them. Farmer Clough turned down a barrel on its side. Then he filled it half full of clean straw. The ten piggies sank out of sight in their bed. They cuddled all in a heap and went to sleep. A pretty good beginning. When Farmer Clough went to the barn with some warm milk to feed them, he called “Piggy, piggy, piggy!” The straw in the barrel began to move. The ten little fellows came scampering out. HOW THE PIGS WERE RAISED. 251 ‘lune pigs were so eager for milk that they tumbled over one another. Lach little pig said, “ Awo-hoo, awo-hoo!” The farmer thought that meant, “Hurry up my dinner.” He placed the pan of milk on the floor. He tried to teach the little things to drink. Every one seemed afraid it would not get its share. They were piggish, you see. Some fell head-foremost into the pan of milk. It was funny. Their owner told them to behave themselves; but they did not. Soon they were running over his feet and crying for more. He told them more at that time was not good for them; so they crept back into the nest contented, and went to sleep again. They grew fast, as all pigs do. With their warm milk and their fresh straw they fared well. By and by they outgrew their barrel. Farmer Clough said that every barrel of pork he ever had before grew less and less till it was empty; but this one grew more and more till it was more than full. DAME GILFIN AND HER GOATS. A COMELY, hard-working Scotch woman, well known to us at the parsonage, having no little ones of her own, gathered about her humble home an odd crowd of pets. The heroine of this wonderful family was an immense goat, of yellowish-drab color, bearing the queenly name of Esther. The shaggy pet paid great attention to the minister’s wife when she called at the busy cabin-home. Her ways were of a kind not always agreeable. She would put her great paws upon the lady’s shoulders and sniff and sniff, until finally the mistress had to be called. Dame Gilfin knew full well what this. dumb language meant, and so she said to her guest: — “‘Dinna ye ken what’s the matter wi’ her? — Weel! weel! Dll just tell ye. When ye’ve yer Astrachan cloak on, Esther sets to think- ing. She kens just as well as ye do that it’s made of young kids’ DAME GILFIN AND HER GOATS. 253 skins. Verra likely she thinks there’s some o’ her ain amang them. She’s a rare creature to smell, is Esther! ” At the next call a shawl was worn, in which Esther had no inter- est. To Esther, Dame Gilfin talked as if she were a real person. When any one called Esther pushed herself in to be noticed. She was very fond of society, and her mistress would say, “Dinna ye ken I’ve company to-day? Now, if ye can behave yersel, ye can just sit doon in the far corner an’ listen. If ye can’t, ye can just go out-o’-doors. Do ye mind my words, Esther?” Esther usually crouched down in a corner of tne funny little cabin-parlor, and silently enjoyed the chatter going on. It was part of Dame Gilfin’s business to rear young goats, and then sell them to rich people, to be harnessed into dainty little car- riages. You can see such any day in the parks, and very likely Esther’s pretty kids may be among them. For a span of thoroughly trained ones Dame Gilfin often received two hundred dollars. A LETTER FROM A CHRISTMAS TURKEY. Dear LitrLte ONES: — VERY suspicious-look- ing man came into the barn-yard the other day. He looked all around _ among my brothers and cousins. Then he Ziyi pointed at me and said J. Twas a nice, big fellow. This made me feel very proud. When he put his hand into his pocket I sup- posed he was going to give me some corn. Instead of that he counted out money to my master. Then I knew he would take me away, and I began gob- bling good-by to my relatives and friends of the barn-yard. Now I am alone in the little pen he brought me to. I have been thinking of all this fuss over me, and having so many good things to eat must mean something. I gobbled to some other fowls run- ning about in a yard, and found out from them that it was almost Christmas-time. Now let me ease your tender little hearts about my career being so suddenly cut short. I want to tell you that in Turkeydom it is considered a great glory to be the centre of attraction at a Christ- mas dinner-table ; to be dressed up in a nice brown coat; to be surrounded by sparkling jellies, rich cranberry sauce, and all the other good things; to hear the children ery, “Oh! Oh!” and the papas and mammas say, “ What a fine turkey!” This is what we A LETTER FROM A CHRISTMAS TURKEY. 255 live for, my little dears. So, when I have gobbled my last gobble, don’t be sorry for ‘Yours, when fat, TURKEY GOBBLER. WHAT PUSS HEARD. THEY were sitting before the open fire, in the twilight, telling fairy- stories. Frank had just brought in an armful of locust-wood and laid it upon the hearth. Suddenly puss, who had been sleeping upon the rug, waked, and climbed on the locust-wood and listened. “She hears a mouse in the wainscot,” they said. “Hush!” All were silent. Presently puss returned to the rug, and made believe go to sleep. But she could have had only a cat-nap before she was TABBY AND JOSEY. 257 scampering over the wood-pile again. A beautiful blue and black butterfly flew up into the warm firelight, as if he had mistaken it for summer weather. ‘“‘T call that a fairy-story,” said the children. Puss had heard the butterfly break the chrysalis. TABBY AND JOSEY. Papa was on the back porch smoking a cigar. Little John was playing near by with a pretty wind-wheel papa had made for him. Across the way two children were holding a yellow and white kitten by the tail. itty struggled to get away. By and by she did get away, and ran to Johnnie’s papa, who stroked her gently, saying, “Poor kitty! poor kitty!” Johnnie gave her a saucer of milk, and she ran up and down the piazza for a bit of beef tied to a string. She lay down to rest after she had swallowed the meat, and part of the string, which mamma had to pull out of her throat. “She is such a homely cat, I don’t want her here,” said mamma. “She is a beauty,” replied papa. “Let her stay.” “She is Tabby Wilson,” said John. Nobody could tell why our six-year-old called the new cat “ Tabby Wilson,” but she goes by thatname. Tabby Wilson said John’s house was good enough fe- her to live in, so she thought she would stay. When Tabby Wilson had been with John a few days in walked a dirty little black-and-white kitten. She was very thin and sick- looking, and Tabby Wilson flew at her, growling and spitting, with her paw raised to strike her. “Let Josey Brooks alone, Tabby Wilson!” screamed John, taking up the poor little kitten and stroking her. “JT shall not,” mewed Tabby Wilson, and she flew at her. Bu‘ John tock the new kitten into the kitchen and gave her some milk. So Josey Brooks and Tabby Wilson became our cats. After a while Tab and Jo became quite good friends and played together. John harnessed them toa pasteboard box. “Get up,” he 258 TABBY AND JOSEY. cried. “TI shall not,” spit Tabby. ‘ Nor I, either,” growled Josey. They ran under a chair and crouched close together. “They won’t drive, mamma,” whined little John, comin; close to mamma. “They are ungrateful quadrupeds, then,” said mamma. “ Quadrupeds, mamma; what are they?” asked John, stopping his whining at once. “How many feet has Tabby Wilson?” asked mamma. = John seized Tabby and counted, ‘“*‘ One, two ; three, four.” “Very well,” said mamma; “if she has four feet she is a quad- ruped.” “Andis Josey Brooks a quadruped too?” “Count her feet and see.” “Yes, she has four; so she is a quadruped. But what am J, mamma? I have but two feet.” “You are a_ biped, dear; so is papa.” John threw himself on the floor and kicked his heels into the air, hold- ing Tabby Wilson and singing, “My kitty is a quadruped, quadruped, quadruped; but I am a biped, biped, biped, biped.” FIDO’S APPEAL: Fipo was a great pet with us all, and had so much sense that he could almost talk. One day we were sitting at work, when some one knocked at the door, and when it was opened, in walked Fido. He seemed to be in pain, and limped very much, but came straight up to me. He whined, looked at me, and then put his injured paw on my knee, as much as to say, “ Help me.” I took it imo. men Aral ! cian up, and found a sheep-burr stuck into his foot. The place was much inflamed, and so sore that I could not take out the burr without hurting him very much. SoI waited for papa, who was a doctor, and knew how to manage this new patient. He laid Fido on his back, and held him down while he drew out the burr with pincers. It was like having a tooth: drawn, and Fido yelled with pain; but it was soon over, and he capered with joy at the relief. LirtLte Emma came running home from /’ school one day. “Oh, do look, mamma!” _ she cried, holding out her hands. She had something hidden in them. ‘“What have you there?” asked her mother. “Guess,” replied little Emma. But just then a speckled feathery head peeped out between Emma’s fingers. “Oh, what a pretty chicken!” cried Mrs. Long. ‘“ Where did you get it?” “Some boys gave it to me. They were go- ing to kill the poor thing. It is lame, and I want to keep it for my own. May I, mamma?” Papa looked in at the door at that moment, and asked, ‘“ Keep what? ” When he saw the chicken he laughed, and said he had never been in the hen business, but he would begin with Hoppy. Hoppy was the name that Emma had given the chicken. A fine house was made out of a soap-box, and Hoppy was put to bed. Papa Long showed the little girl how to feed and eare for her pet. “By and by Hoppy grew to be alarge hen. She was very handsome, but she always limped. Emma was very fond of her, and never neglected her. One day Hoppy was heard singing very loud in the garden, and “Mr. Long said, * Emma, I think vou had better look in the nest.” Emma ran out, and soon returned in great glee, bringing a fine large egg. “Oh, do see Hoppy’s beautiful egg!” she cried. “May J have it to eat all myself?” Mamma thought it quite right that Emma should have her chick- en’s first egg, and the little girl putit carefully away for dinner. When she returned from the pantry Emma found her mother HOPPY’S FIRST EGG. 261 talking with a poor old woman. She was spreading some bread and butter for her. ‘‘ What do you think, Emma?” she asked; this poor woman has nothing at home to eat.” Emma stood a few moments while the old woman was telling her story; then she ran suddenly out of the room. ‘When she came back she went timidly up to the stranger. “Do 262 WISE SNOW-DROP AND SILLY BILLY. you like eggs?” she asked. ‘‘ Because here is one. It is all my own, and you may have it.” ‘““You precious dear!” cried the woman; “you have a good heart, like your mamma. I am very thankful indeed for the egg.” Mrs. Long was much pleased by Emma’s kind conduct. So was Hoppy I fancy, for she laid a much finer egg the very next day. WISE SNOW-DROP AND SILLY BILLY. Litre Davie Morgan lived in North Wales. His father kept a great many goats. They used to climb up and down those high, rocky mountains, and leap from crag to crag, where no other animal would dare to go. On Davie’s sixth birthday his father brought down from the mountain a pair of twin kids for his birthday present. One of them was pure white with buff ears, and Davie named her “Snow-drop.” The other, a beautiful gray shaded with black, he called “Billy,” after his older brother. They were to be Davie’s own pets; and he did pet and feed them so that they soon grew fat and saucy. Billy, I have no doubt, really loved his pretty twin-sister, “Snow-drop;” but he delighted to tease her whenever he had a chance. In Wales there are a great many mountain streams, narrow but deep, that go dashing over their rocky beds, making foamy water- falls and dark pools, where the speckled trout play “ hide-and-seek” on sunny days. The only foot-bridge over some of these streams is a plank, or a~ - WISE SNOW-DROP AND SILLY BILLY. 263 couple of small trees laid down side by side. They are round, and often slippery. It would seem dangerous crossing for anything but Welsh children and goats. Of course the folks or the animals that cross have to go over “ Indian file.” They could not possibly pass each other. Billy and Snow-drop often trotted over these little bridges, he al- ways taking the lead. One day, when he was in a very mischiev- ous mood, he trotted over as fast as he could; then turned round and came back! In this way he met poor Snow-drop, as the rogue knew he should, about, the middle of the bridge. Then what a fuss! He capered and butted, and threatened to throw her into the river. Davie, who stood on the bank, was quite sure that “ naughty Billy” would drown his beautiful pet. But he didn’t; for what do you think she did after he had teased and threatened her for ever so long? Why, the sensible little creature lay down on the narrow plank. Billy, tired of the fun, took the hint, and jumped over her ! This is a true story of two Welsh goats. Ithink Davie was right when after this he called them “ Wise Snow-drop” and “Silly Billy.” BAD SIR MOSES Str Mosss was called a model kitten. He was nice in his habits, and grave and quiet in his behavior. To be sure he would chase wildly after a ball of yarn when Flora dragged it. And he would scamper fast enough down the garden-walk behind his little mis- tress, mewing with glee as he ran. But most of the time he was very still. He was asleep in Flora’s lap, or Jay upon the rug watch- ing her with half-shut eyes. An old proverb says, “Still waters run deep.” Perhaps the man who wrote it knew a cat like Sir Moses. “[ would like to know what becomes of my cream!” This was what mamma Painter said at the breakfast-table. The children all opened their eyes at her in surprise. ‘‘ What do you mean, mamma?” asked Bessie. “ Why,” replied her mother, “I bring in the cream in this little pitcher every morning, when I first come down, and put it on the table. Now, for three mornings it has been half gone by breakfast- time. Who ean have taken it?” Nobody knew. The pitcher was an odd little thing, with a small ieck. One fact was very strange. There was no mark of cream on the edges of the pitcher. There was a great deal of wonder and talk about this curious loss. of the cream. It happened again the next morning, and the morning after that. On the third day Bessie was heard shouting, « Ah, you rogue, I have caught you at last!” Andsoshe had. It was that meek Sir Moses. When the pitcher was put upon the BAD SIR MOSES. 265 able he waited till he was left alone. Then he leaped upon the table, and put his paw in the pitcher. You may be sure it did not take him long to lick the cream from his paw. Then he dipped again and again, till he heard somebody coming. When the person entered, he seemed to be sound asleep. It was planned so that the sly rogue could steal no more cream. That night nurse Katy heard Flora add to her prayer: “O God, please forgive Sir Moses, for he didn’t know any better!” G.. QO: D; PROBABLY our ©. O. D. notice, which will soon be familiar to the little ones,! if it is not now, is never seen off the coast of Norway. Yet there is the greatest place for cod in the world. During the months of January and February the C-O-D —cod — come about the Loffoden Islands from the south and west in immense numbers. It seems as if all the families of all countries could dine on those fish, and none be missed. They arrive in what the fishermen call “cod mountains.” These codfish are piled upon one another, often to a depth of more than a hundred feet. The mountains they form are wide as well as high, — great moving mountains of cod. If you have seen a fish-net, you know it has weights along the lower edge for sinking it. When the fishermen of Norway cast 1C.0. D., ‘*Collect on delivery.” QUEEN. 267 their nets among the mountains of cod, they feel the sinkers hitting the fish, that seems to have barely room to swim. Have you ever thought that creatures living in the sea have more space than we who live on the land? If it were not so, in time the fish might all be caught and eaten. Some lakes and streams, where too many men and boys go fishing, after a while have hardly any fish left in the water. It is said that this can never happen to the sea. There the fish have plenty of places where no hooks or nets can take them. People may expect to eat broiled cod and chowder as long as the world stands. The saying will always be a true one, that ‘“ there are as good fish in the sea as ever were caught.” QUEEN. A TRUE STORY. QUEEN was an Irish setter dog. She was not at all proud of her “blood,” though she had every reason to be; but she was very proud of her nine little baby doggies. Such cunning mites they were, too, and as blind as bats! Baby doggies cannot see until they are nine days old, and these were not old at all; indeed, they were very new. Now, Queen’s master thought there were nine dogs too many, and he said, ‘* These baby doggies must be drowned in the creek.” One day, when Queen’s little family were all soundly sleeping, and she had gone off to search for a bone, something dreadful happened. It was just this: the little blind doggies were carried to the creek, and all were dropped right into the water ! Drowned ? You shall know. Later in the day Queen trotted up to her master, and in her dumb way made him understand that she wished him to follow her. He did follow her, and she led him straight to the creek. There upon the mossy bank he saw — all cuddled up in a funny heap — the baby doggies ! 268 : QUEEN. Queen had scratched together in a snug pile some fallen leaves. Upon this pretty bed lay eight little doggies, sleeping as sweetly as if tley had not been in the water at all. How did they get there? Queen had carried them there, to be sure. She had saved her babies, all but one. Do you not think Queen was a royal mother? The master thought so, and told her, as she had saved her babies, she might keep them. How did Queen ever find out that the baby doggies were thrown into the creek ? Ah! no one knows that but Queen, and she will not tell. MAJOR AND THE KITTEN. Masor is one of our neighbors. He is a great dog, and his father wasa Saint Bernard. There is not time now to relate all that Major knows; but one little story ought to be told. Every day Major takes a tin pail in his mouth and goes after the milk. He always brings it home safely, without spill- ing. This is more than some boys can do. Sometimes when Major comes out with a pail of milk he finds the gate closed. This does not stop him. He gives a sharp look, and leaps over the fence, milk and all. One day Major’s master went away, with all the family. The _~ - dog was left to guard the house. ee There wasa op little kitten at home, also, and bynoonshe grew very hun- BS 270 A PEEP AT THE MENAGERIE. No dinner had been left for her. She began to mew in distress. Now, what do you think Major did about it? The poor kitten could not eat the dog’s bone, or perhaps he would have given her a piece. As it was, he took her in his mouth, and carried her to the farm-house where he got the milk. The people at the farm praised Major very much, and poured a saucer full of milk for the hungry kitten. When kitty had drunk enough, the faithful dog picked her up again, leaped the fence, and trotted home with her. Now, was not this a very kind, as well as wise, act for a dog? A PEEP AT THE MENAGERIE. OF course you have seen a menagerie, where they have so many wild animals in cages. Did you ever think that the great shaggy lion, with his eyes shut, might be dreaming of the good old times when he and his mate and cunning little cubs were so happy, hidden snugly away in the tall grass? Or he may, perhaps, have been thinking how nice it was to eat those pretty giraffes which he used to hunt and sud- denly spring upon from behind some bush or tree. Now the old fellow does not have to find his own dinner, for it is brought to him every day. ‘Twice a day he has all he wants to eat. When he is done eating he licks his chops, vawns once or twice, and then lies down to sleep, perhaps to forget that he is shut up in a cage far away from his native land. A PEEP AT THE MENAGERIE. 271 He sleeps a great deal of the time, and so I don’t think he can be so very unhappy. Do you? The lion in his own home does not often hurt any one unless he is hungry or hunted. When he is very hungry he shakes his mane and whips his sides with his tail. When he does this it is very dangerous to be anywhere near him. There are no lions in this country except those shut up in cages. They live wild only in Asia and Africa. Most animals kept in cages are very fond of the men who feed and care for them. One day a rough man quarrelled with one of the keepers in a menagerie. The lions and tigers tried to break out of their cages and help their keeper, they were so afraid he would get hurt. They made a great noise, and roared so loud that the people came from other parts of the menagerie and helped put out the quarrel- some man. The giraffe, the animal which the lion is fond of hunting, is the tallest animal in the world. Is it not strange that he is also one of the most gentle,— as gentle as a kitten ? He lives on grass and hay, and his neck is so long that when he is fed, his dinner is placed in a box or pail which has to be put much higher up in his cage or stall than a man’s head, so that he can eat out of it easily. “LOOK HERE, STUPID!” A LApDy had a parrot, which, among other words, picked up the above. This sentence the bird probably learnt from hearing the housemaid scold a girl for neglect in dusting. So Poll would often surprise visitors by bursting out with ‘‘ Look here, stupid!” Poll was often allowed to go about the room out of her cage. One day, when the lady was away from home, the servants left the front. door open, and Poll, being out of her cage, flew away from the house, and could not be found. All gave her up for lost. MOLLIE AND THE SPARROWS. 273 Towards the end of summer, when the nights began to get cool, the lady was walking ‘in some pleasure-grounds under a grove of trees close by. All at once she heard the voice of the parrot with the well-known words, “Look here, stupid !” “Polly! Polly! Pretty Polly!” said the lady. “Come and have a bit of sugar! Come, Polly !” Polly flew down, and was soon safe in the lady’s hands. Polly had plenty of sugar when she was safe again in her cage. MOLLIE AND THE SPARROWS. Ir was snowing very hard. The white flakes came tumbling down as though they were ina hurry to get here. The wind blew, and the air was very cold. But little Mollie did not care for the cold. She sat on the rug by the fire playing with her kitten. Mamma sat close beside her, knitting, and Mollie felt very warm and comfortable. Pretty soon she heard a great chirping. She ran to the window and looked out. On the rose-frame, by the piazza, sat six pretty birds. They looked right in at the window at Mollie, and did not seem at all afraid. Their feathers were ruffled by the wind. They drew up first one foot then the other under them, as if trying to get them warm. ‘‘Cheep, cheep, cheep,” chirped the sparrows, looking at Mollie. “Dear little birdies!” said Mollie. ‘May they come in and get warm, mamma?” “Their pretty feathers keep the cold out; but they are hungry,” said mamma. “May I feed them, mamma?” “Yes, Mollie; run and get a piece of bread.” Mollie soon brought the bread, which she broke up into small bits. Then mamma raised the window softly and threw out the crumbs. The birds all flew away. “Keep very still, Mollie,” said mamma; “they will soon come back.” Mollie stood by the window as still as a little mouse. 274 MOLLIE AND THE SPARROWS Soon the sparrows came flying back. They looked first at the bread, then at Mollie. Finally they decided to eat their supper. So they flew on the piazza and began picking up the crumbs very fast. Mollie clapped her hands; but they were too hungry to hear her. When they had eaten all the crumbs they were tired. Then they went to sleep on the rose-frame with their heads under their wings. Mollie fed them every day until the snow was gone and there was plenty for them to eat. AN AFTERNOON AT THE CIRCUS. Tommy and Nellie, when they went out to walk with mamma, saw ever so many great pictures pasted on the walls. They were pictures of lions, tigers, elephants; of wild Indians, strange birds, and funny men. The children were delighted with them, and mamma told them that all these strange sights could be seen at the circus. It was coming to town in a few days. Tommy asked no end of questions. He talked about the circus all day, and dreamed about it at night. He wanted to see the strange things; and Nellie said she must go if Tommy did. They played circus, and by turns each of them became lions, elephants, wild Indians, and Zulus. Tommy straddled the chairs, as the great rider did the three horses. He played the clown, and tried to be funny. Both of them were wild with delight when mamma said she would take them to the great show. They thought so much of it they could not sleep at night. They went in a horse-car. The show was ina great tent. Thou- sands of people were around it. Many men, women, and boys were selling things to eat, drink, and play with. A band of music was in front of the tent. Tommy saw a lot of wild boys trying to get under the cloth. Some of them did so, and got in without paying. But Mrs. Wilde paid for herself and the children. In the tent they walked about, looking at Jumbo, the baby ele- phant, the Zulus, the wild Indians. Sidney was the name of a.lion. Near him were some giraffes, tall enough to look in at the second- story windows of a house. The peacock carriage pleased them. Tommy tried to talk with the Zulu boy; but neither could under- stand the other. The tent was very large, and it made a long walk to go all over it. They were very tired when they went into the second tent to see the circus. They ate peanuts and candy, and laughed when the clown stood on his head. AN AFTERNOON AT THE CIRCUS. 2 oe iF a bo ui a nn oe FAST CHUCKY AND HIS PICTURE. 277 They saw the men turn somersets over the backs of the elephants; but when the three-horse rider came out, both Tommy and Nellie were fast asleep. It was too much circus for them. The next day, and for a whole week after, they talked about the circus, the elephants, and the wild Indians. CHUCKY AND HIS PICTURE. Cuucky was his name. It may seem a funny name for a poor little orphan woodchuck; but that is what we called him when he came to live at our house. When he was very little we built him a house. It was a box with slats nailed across the front and sides. He was very much afraid of Rover; and the dog, thinking he was no better than any other woodchuck, would bark at him. He wanted to give him a good shaking for coming to live at *‘The Elms.” After we had scolded him and told him not to touch, he finally let little Chucky alone. Still he looked very crossly at him as Chucky poked his little brown nose through the bars of his prison-house. Chucky grew rapidly, and soon found that his house was toa small for him. He told us so by gnawing atthe slats. We let him out, and he went to live under the wood-shed. He was a roguish little fellow, and enjoyed playing with Kitty Tom very much. But he was shy of Rover, and showed his dis- like by snapping his teeth at him. One day a “picture-man,” as Neddie called him, stopped at our house to dinner. Ashe was about starting away Charlie exclaimed, 278 CHUCKY AND HIS PICTURE. “Oh, let’s have Chucky’s picture taken!” So he ran and caught little Chucky, and put him up in Neddie’s high-chair. At first Chucky was frightened and wanted to jump down, but Charlie fed him with clover-tops and kept him still. The picture- man peeped through his glass and said, “All right!” We all held our breath during the few seconds that followed. We were afraid Chucky would get tired of keeping still. Soon, however, the man said “ Enough!” and we sprang to take little Chucky from his high position. The picture looked exactly like our funny little pet, and we were very proud of it. Charlie said he never heard of a woodchuck having his picture taken before. He thought Chucky must be the first one ever hon- ored in that way. WISE LITTLE SPARROWS. In one of the very busiest and dreariest parts of a great city there is a small square. It is planted with trees and grass, which do their best to look green and bright in spite of the smoke and dust which fall upon them nearly all day. A fewyears ago a number of saucy little sparrows came there to live. They builtthemselvesnests high up in the dusty trees, where naughty boys could not easily get at them. The keeper of the square was a rough, red-faced man; but he grew to be very fond of these little birds. He took such good care of them that no bad boy dared to throw stones at them while he was near. They knew this so well that they hopped about the paths, look- 280 WISE LITTLE SPARROWS. ing for worms, or took their baths in the fountain without fear, while he was cutting grass or cleaning up leaves. When he was away they kept up in : the trees, only flying down once in a while, when nobody was in sight. One morning, very © early, a tall, straight old gentleman walked through the square. He was a very odd-looking man. The little birds noticed it, and talked a good deal about him, up in their trees. He was so large that the red-faced man looked like a little boy beside him. His gray hair was long and curly; his eyes were bright and black; he had a heavy cane in his right hand, which made him look quite fierce. He saw the little birds and whistled to them; but ae had lived too long to trust anybody but their red-faced fiend: Every day after that, at five o’clock, when the keeper opened the iron gate, the tall man walked through the square. As he did so he took some bread from his pocket and scattered crumbs along the broad walk. At first the little birds paid no attention to him; then they began to come down after he had gone; next they ventured afer a crumb before he was well out of the square. As they found he never hurt them, a few of the boldest began to eat their breakfast at his very feet. The saucy sparrows had grown so bold that they would perch on his head, his shoulders, and his hands, and even tangle their claws in his long gray hair. The sparrows learned to know his figure as he came down the street. They would wait for him by the gate, eager for their break- THE BUTTERFLY WEDDING. 281 fast and morning frolic. He was a very wise old man, for he had studied all his life. But none of the greetings he had all day pleased him so much as that of the wise little birds who knew him as a friend. Some butterflies gave a party. Vel- vet-Body, a very handsome young butterfly, was going to marry Miss gp = Golden-Wing. They held the party in a sum- mer-house, and nearly everybody was invited. Old Mr. and Mrs. Butterfly were nearly a month getting ready, sending out the invitations, laying in the good things to eat, and so on. Robin Redbreast said that he would pipe for them all to dance. Bumblebee stood guard at the door. The cut- worm wanted to come; but the butterfly family all said No, and when they were told that they were worms themselves once, got very red in the face, and only said, ‘“‘ We've got up in the world since then.” They served milk and honey in bluebells turned upside down, and some very nice fresh dew-drops flavored with violets. .A military-looking butterfly gave the bride away, and as she danced the first set with her new husbarid she showed off her rose-leaf fan and little slipper of dwarf-pear blossom. The bride wanted to have strawberries; but it was too early in the season. Miss Jenny Wren sang a pretty love-song. There was cider handed in little pink shells and made of apple-blossoms. The 2d. THE BUTTERFLY WEDDING. carpet was of lovely moss. The pale moonlight was very becoming to all the ladies, and every one seemed happy. After the moon went down the gentlemen saw the ladies all to their homes, using fire-flies as lanterns. Old Mrs. Butterfly swept the crumbs all up and set the summer-house to rights, and pretty soon all was still as a mouse. Y Uy ty Uy YO